Earthquakes & Shopping

WOW! Yesterday was an interesting day. I woke up around 5:30 a.m. to my bed shaking. It felt like someone was standing at the foot of the bed, shaking the mattress. My DH was supposed to get up to go running around 5:45 a.m., so I thought it was him shaking the bed, trying to be funny. I looked around and didn't see anyone and went back to bed. Little did I know that it was the earthquake from Illinois that I was feeling. I couldn't believe that I could feel it all the way in West Michigan. WOW!!!

I got up a little while later and got ready to head off to IKEA. (It's about 2 hours and 15 minutes away) This was the first time I took the girls with me. Now that Emerson is potty trained, she can stay in the kids area. I tried to look up the details and instructions for the kids area at IKEA, but couldn't find anything. So the girls, my mother and I were off to do some shopping. We get there and they are only allowed to be in the kids area for 1 hour. I thought 2 hours at least. I wish they would have noted that on their website. So my mom, Camryn and I raced through the Marketplace (kitchen items, bedding, etc.) without Emerson. That's where we thought she would do the most damage!! It wasn't so bad going shopping with the girls. I would do it again believe it or not. I got some more white storage boxes for my craft room. Now I just need to get another shelf in my room to put the boxes on!!

I also found these adorable spice containers. I got 4 of them for only $2.99! Not a bad deal! I thought these would be cute to have on hand. You could whip one up with candy or whatever you wanted fairly quickly. I made one for my friend, Kristi. I recently joined in on Emily's ribbon share and knew that I wouldn't use it all, so I thought I would cut up some of it and put it in the jar. I hope she likes it! (Sorry about the picture...either my lighting is bad, my camera is mediocre at best or it's the user.....probably all of the above!!!)

I got some of these storage containers for my pantry. We have tons of food in our pantry, but Emerson doesn't eat most of it because she can't see it. (At least that's my theory.) I thought if I put it in clear containers, she could see it and want it eat it. Well.....it worked!! She wanted a mini trail mix of everything in there! Finally!! We can eat some of this food before it goes to waste! The had different size ones...they have another one that is more shallow. I might just use those ones in my craft room :)

Hope you all enjoy your weekend. We are sticking close to home and cleaning! This is our only weekend home without anything on our schedule until the middle of June! Wedding showers, weddings, birthday parties, our anniversary, etc. Busy, busy summer! Thanks for stopping by!

Where's Emerson?

I have to share a funny story with you. This afternoon, Emerson was having quiet time in her room and Camryn fell asleep in her bouncy seat in the craft room. I decided to catch up on my email while bouncing Camryn. Camryn woke up and it was time for her bottle. I walked out of the office/craft room and the rug in the front entryway was rolled up. Nothing new...Emerson likes to pull my rugs all over the house so I didn't think anything of it. I stepped on the rug to get to the kitchen and there was something in the rug. I thought maybe Emerson has wrapped up her dolls or something inside of the rug. I was holding Camryn so I tried to unroll the rug with my feet, ya know, kinda kicking at the roll so it would unwind. All of a sudden, as I am kicking at the rug, I see a piece of Emerson's hair come out at the top of the roll! Emerson was in the rug!! I get down to help unroll the rug and there she is rubbing her eyes and her cheeks were all rosy. I asked her what she was doing. "Taking a nap, Mama." Yes, my daughter who has this beautiful bedroom and comfy bed, chose to roll herself up in a rug and take a nap!! I have no idea how long she had been in there, as I thought she was in her room with the door closed. It couldn't have been more than 30 minutes, but still! I felt horrible that I know she was in there. Just thought I would share the excitement we get daily from having a 3 year old.

NOTE: This picture is a reenactment. I couldn't let this experience go undocumented so I had Emerson "show me" what she did, so I could take a picture!

Camryn & Emerson

I just had to share these pictures. This first picture of Camryn just about sums it up!! She is telling me her opinion of me putting those ridiculous reindeer antlers on her!

Next is a picture of Emerson being her usual self....silly!

Go Spartans & A Glass Ornament

We were gone all day tailgating for the Michigan State v. Penn State football game in East Lansing yesterday. The game didn't start until 3:30pm, but we were die-hard fans and arrived around 9:00 AM!! Our old neighbors and Penn State alums made the drive from PA and enjoyed the game with us. We had a blast....a little chilly, even with our propane heater, but definitely tons of fun!! It was a close game, but the Spartans were able to pull through in the very end. Go Green!

Today, I've been working in my craft room trying to get some more gifts for people checked off my list. I really liked the glass ornament that SCS did this week for its Holiday Tutorial Blitz and thought it would be a nice gift for someone. I had the darnest time trying to get a good picture of the ornament. With the iridecent bulb and the glare, it was hard to get a clear picture to show you. I followed the tutorial on SCS step-by-step and I think it turned out quite well!

Supplies: Stamps-Tags for All; Ink-SU! White Craft, Sharpie Markers, Black Stazon; Accessories: Clear (b/c I didn't have white) embossing powder, heat tool, 1/8" hand punch, dental floss (b/c I didn't have any silver cord), glue dot, red organdy ribbon, white glitter

Potty Talk & Pumpkins

I think I am going to throw in the towel and just start to buy Depends for Emerson! I don't think she'll ever be potty trained! Strong willed child + potty training = frustrated Mommy!!! We started training Emerson over a year ago when we moved into the apartment while our new house was being built. I figured I didn't care if she peed on their carpet! Then she was sick for a couple of week, which put things on hold. Then shortly after that, I got put on bedrest which meant potty training was being put off until a later date. After Camryn arrived, we figured we would give Emerson some time to get acclaimated to all the new changes and when summer came, we'd give it a shot again. We tried everything.....putting her in panties so she could feel herself get wet, get stickers on the potty chart and get to go to a park, Potty Pennies (get a penny for going pee-pee and two pennies for going poo in the potty), bribing with candy, TV, the computer.....you name it, we tried it. Finally the pediatrician said to put the diapers back on her and enjoy what was left of the summer. Well, she's now 3 and in my mind, it's about time. She knows how to do it and CAN do it, but she just chooses not to. After 4 wet panties/pants today, I had HAD IT! The diapers were going back on. She really wants to go to school, which we could do a second semester preschool starting in January, but if she doesn't get out of those darn diapers, she's going to be home FOREVER! I'm not prepared to homeschool! AAGGHHHHH! I know it is totally a control thing and they will do it in their own time, but it's just getting old. Okay, I digress. Thanks for letting me get that off my chest.

On to more exciting things......we went and picked out pumpkins tonight. Emerson had a great time. She wanted one of everything they had. So with 4 of us being in the house, we of course had to get 10 pumpkins!! I'm lucky we only walked away with 10....Emerson kept putting up more and more and more on the table. Here are a couple of pictures of Emerson and the pumpkins. Thanks for looking and thanks again for letting me vent about the potty issue.

Lions, Tigers & Bears, Oh My!......and Giraffes!

We went to the Binder Park Zoo in Battle Creek, Michigan recently.....the zoo in Grand Rapids just isn't up to par lately. Anyway, they had this huge Safari exhibit. It was absolutely beautiful. The animals were so amazing! Here are so great shots of the giraffes. They were all lined up in a row waiting to get some biscuits from people. We bought a biscuit for Emerson to feed them, but when she saw their long tongues go through the net, she said "No way!!" I just thought this picture was too cool not to share! Thanks for looking!

Happy 3rd Birthday, Emerson!

WOW!! We finally have all of Emerson's birthday parties out of the way! When you have a big family, not everyone fits in the house all at the same time, so we divided it up into 3 separate family parties and then another parties with just her little friends. Next year, I'm going to rent a hall if I have to....4 parties is way too much!!! Anyway, here is the card that I made for her. I only did a 4 1/4 by 4 1/4 card because I had about 10 minutes to do the card before dinner was ready. Nothing like waiting until the last minute! I'm just diggin' this cute little ballerina stamp and saying from Hambo stamps. It just fit Emerson perfectly.....she wears her little ballerina tutu all the time....she even wore it to the grocery store last weekend while wearing her pajamas! If you ever need a conversation starter, we've got one you can borrow!

Here is Emerson after she opened her new baby stroller/jogger from Mommy, Daddy & Camryn. In less than a year, she wore out her other baby stroller so it was time for new one. I just can't believe how old she is getting. You really start to realize that when they can reason with you. The other night we tried to put her down a little early....because she needed the sleep...and she said, "I can't go to sleep yet...the moon isn't out." I was speechless. I didn't know how to respond. It's at that moment that you realize that they are too smart for their own good!

Thanks for looking and I hope to have more to share tomorrow.

Supplies: SU! Paper-Pixie Pink, Green Galore, Whisper White; DCWV Glitter Stack paper; Ink: Black StazOn, Pixie Pink Marker, Blush Blossom Marker, Creamy Caramel Marker; Accessories: Coluzzle, Giga Scalloped Round Punch, Jumbo Round Punch, Horizontal Slit Punch, Sparkle Ribbon, 1/16 Fiskars hand punch

Happy Day at the Beach

Last night we had family pictures at the beach with my extended family. Unfortunately it was really windy and Camryn wasn't having any of it! We snapped our few quick pictures and then had to leave. I'm not sure I had ever heard Camryn cry like that! Anyway, my sister-in-law was the photographer and this is an adorable picture she got of Emerson. To be young and carefree again...........TFL.

Gotta love those rolls!

We comment on Camryn's rolls that she has daily. We just can't get over how many she has! Especially since our first daughter never had a single roll on her. She was always in the less than 5% for her weight and doesn't even weigh 23 pounds yet! Then there's Camryn! I think rolls on babies are so darn cute! And then there's those cheeks! Who can resist them?

Camryn just found her voice yesterday. It's been so neat to listen to hear make noises and talk. If they could only stay at this stage....nothing like a 3 year old who has a mind of her own and loves the word "no"!

No new cards to post lately. I haven't had time to get into the craft room and play. Rich is taking Emerson camping this weekend with some friends of his so it's just Camryn & I. That means plenty of time for me to play and make cards....I mean bond with Camryn :) I can do both, right???

Updated Pictures

I finally posted some more pictures to our Snapfish account. Check them out when you get a chance. If you need help remembering how to log in, email me; otherwise you can create your own Snapfish account along with a password and you can view the pictures that way.

Viewing Pictures

Welcome to our new blog. To view our pictures, there is a link to our Snapfish account to the right side of the screen labeled "Herrick Photo Album". You can either click on the link or right-click on the link opting to open it in a new window.

I still have lots more pictures to upload from the past month with all the weddings, etc., so check back often. Hope you enjoy!

New Photo/Blog Website

Well, I was notified by our photo website company that they were discontinuing their site. Apparently they weren't able to compete in the photo website world any longer. What a bummer! So, in order to still be able to post blogs as well as have the photo albums, things will be set up a little different. You can come to our blog and see what's new with us. There will be photos and updates to look at. Also, posted on the right side of the page under "My Favorite Links", there will be links to the new photo albums posted on Snapfish. I know it's a pain, but it's the only way I could still do both for FREE!

Bare with me as the site will be "under construction" for awhile as it will take me some time to get everything set up. It's not like I'm on bedrest and have nothing to do! Hope you enjoy our pictures.