Awww.....September!

I know Autumn isn't until the 22nd...but I'm gearing up for it!

I bought a new wreath for our front door (beautiful fall leaves), a leaf garland with orange lights to go around the front window by the front door.

I hope to set up a really cool scarecrow this year...since we have a nice old radio flyer wagon, I hope to create a very festive fall setting.

It seems like every fall, we were in the middle of moving or I was tired (pregnant or new baby) or something...because I've never really decorated for the fall on the outside of our house.
I have a really neat autumn village that my mom gave me years ago, that I set up. Last year I set it up on the back of the piano and it looked gorgeous!

Hopefully this fall we can take a drive up through the New England states. That would be so beautiful! We need to, since we live in PA, we're so close! I'm not sure if it's in the cards though...we're going camping this weekend in Delaware. I just don't see us pulling off 2 long weekends in 1 month! :( Maybe next year?!

I'm really looking forward to the crisp cool autumn air...the sound of leaves crunching under our feet, going to the Apple festival (okay, so that's the first couple weekends in October), and so much more!

I don't know why I'm getting ahead of myself...but I just can't help myself! :) By the sounds of this, you'd think that fall was my favorite season!

Maybe it is, maybe it isn't....I wonder if you can guess which is my favorite season!? Any takers? It's pretty easy...you have a 1 in 4 chances of winning! :) Let's make this fun though...the first to guess correctly (and just for fun...tell me the reason why you think it is) will receive a surprise!

...the next few months are going to be hard on our Southern States from Alabama to Texas and especially Louisiana because of the devastation from Hurricane Katrina. It's so terrible, all the damage...I just can't imagine loosing everything of mine and my entire town!
I'm praying for all the victims of HK, and I hope they get the relief that they really need!

(image from WWL-TV LA local tv station)

Errands while Catherine is at school

This afternoon, once Catherine goes to school, Abby and I have some shopping to do. Not the fun shopping either (thankfully not grocery shopping). It seems like I'm out of almost all my cleaning supplies, so we'll be stocking up.

I'd like to get a new table cloth as well. I don't use one, but maybe it would be nice to start using one...especially since we rearranged furniture, you see the table more prominent now. I'd like to get chair cushions...but the girls still spill so I'm not sure...we'll see. :)

I also need to get some red candles to replace the green & lilac ones that were in the living room.

I still haven't painted the living room walls. We'll be camping in Delaware this weekend, so it will just have to wait until we get back.

I digress....so I have to make sure I don't take long shopping, since now I have to make sure I'm home by a certain time. Abby has loved walking down to the corner where the school bus stops. I've finally meet a few more neighbors too. There are 2 more kindergarteners that live right here, that we never knew before (they just moved here this summer). :)

1st day of School!

At 12:28 this afternoon we put Catherine on the school bus for her first day of school. A piece of my heart is missing today...it's just a few miles down the road in a kindergarten class and it won't be back until almost 4 o'clock.


Waiting for the bus at the corner - Catherine on the bus!

I wanted to take her to school for her first day of school but because of their tight security policy you can't enter the school. I wanted to walk her into her class, get a picture of her sitting at her desk and all that...but I can't! :( At the parent/teacher/principle meet & greet on Thursday night, they said that if you plan for your child to ride the bus for the year, it's best to let them ride it for the first day. (((sigh)))

I never realized how hard it would be to put my little girl on the bus and say goodbye!

I'll leave you with a quote that I like and will try to remember this year. (You know, the whole try not to compare one student to another and all)

Childhood is a journey not a race

The official end of summer!

Well, this weekend marks the official end of our 2005 summer! We've had a great summer and it went by pretty fast! We decided to start a new tradition and do something really special that's lots of fun the weekend before school starts.

We went to Knoebels Amusement park on Saturday. We didn't tell the girls what we were doing, they didn't know where we were going or when we'd ever get there! :) They were so surprised, and had a great time! We rode rides, played games, ate food & cotton candy! :)


(Shabby Princess Carnival Digi set)

When Catherine gets on that school bus tomorrow, it's a mark of a new beginning, so I celebrate her last few pre-school moments with happiness, excitement, nervousness and a little trepidation. I guess I'm just afraid my "baby" will grow up too fast! :)

Thanks to my wonderful husband...he got these clips up online for me....
I just had to share some video clips I took with my digital camera. They're really cute! The first one is the girls riding the Kiddie Whip ride...It's cute! The girls were really brave for all the rides with just one exception...(Abby wasn't scared of a single thing!) Now for something really funny... :) you've got to watch this one! :) It's a froggie bouncy type ride, the kids are supposed to shot "Ribbet, Ribbet, Ribbet" as they bounce their way down. Mind you that Catherine is 5 years old...the biggest kid on this ride! It was so hilarious!!!! Abby was smiling and really enjoying herself...then started looking away as if she didn't know Catherine (it was as if she was embarrassed of her!) :) Too cute! :)

She's getting so big!

I can't believe how big Catherine really is. When she first put on her new jeans (I haven't seen her wearing jeans all summer) I couldn't believe how old she's looking now. She's not my baby anymore! I hope I don't cry on the first day of K! :)


Me & the Girls outside before we head to school to meet Catherine's new Teacher & see her class room. Great picture of Catherine, poor Abby was close to the camera, so she looks a little silly! :)


Catherine doing an "air guitar" in her school hallway (where did she learn that?!). She's sporting a new outfit from Old Navy & her new Barbie shoes!

We meet the teacher, Mrs. Reese, got to see her classroom, and see lots of other kids...Catherine will be the pm K class...so it was hard for her to get to know her classmates before Monday. Cat's happy, excited & a little nervous. When we first walked up to the classroom door Catherine wispered "Mom, what's my name again?" LOL poor girl.....she tells strangers her full name, my full name, etc... but she got a little shook up I guess! :) I didn't expect that, since she's not shy 1 ounce! :)

My New Hair cut before going to PennDot...my drivers liscense isn't that great...I've got fat head syndrome! LOL :) I have to give it to Harrisburgs PDot...they're so organized that you can pop in and out of there so quickly!

We're meeting the Teacher today.

This morning Catherine gets to meet her teacher and visit her school for the first time. She's excited too!

I have to track down an old phone number to a Dr's office we used when we first got out of the Army....they didn't have record of Catherine getting the chicken pox vaccine. I know she had it though, because Bobby's never had the CP, so I remember worrying that he might get it twice, when C and when A had the vaccine. I've got 2 days to have them find the proof and fax it into my Dr's office before school starts on Monday! What fun! :(

They're always pretty booked at the Dr's office...they've had her school forms for weeks...they thought she didn't need any shots...then they call me to tell me she needs them....so the scheduled her with just the nurse for her shoots....that's why I'm so last minute with this if you're wondering. Whew!

I didn't get my hair cut or go to the DMV yesterday, so that's on the agenda today. Then at 7 tonight, we meet with the principle & teacher for our first mtg.

To Do...

• Get showered
• Get hair cut
• Renew my drivers license
• Take Catherine for immunizations
• Cook Dinner

Weekend Wedding was Wonderful :)

:) So, this weekend we went to a morning wedding of our friends Justin & Jenni.
Among other things Justin raises goats, and Jenni is a horseback rider. So their wedding had a very fitting country theme. It was so beautiful, it was overcast (which we all know is great for pictures) with a slight threat of rain...but luckily it didn't rain. The trees & grass was such a lush green, the backdrop was set up with hay bales, old wagon wheels and other country farm tools...really cute!
I didn't get a really perfect picture...because I didn't want to interfer with the photographer...but here's a few pictures...

After most people had left, the guys had some fun, and all brought out their holsters & handguns. The pictures from this came out really good! I also turned it into sepia toned. I plan to get 5x7 prints and give it to each guy. :) I think they might like that! Oh, I plan to put it in a rough wooden frame...maybe alter it up in some way to make it unique too. :)

We enjoyed the day, the girls enjoyed themselves & the cake! :) I felt really bad for Jenni though, she's pregnant and due in a few months, apperantly she fainted a few times before the wedding started then she got sick during the ceremony. All went well though, and they're very happy with each other!

-------> Oh, on other news.....

I recieved an awesome belated birthday card from Cami, and a package full of goodies! You are so sweet Cami...I loved everything you sent! You made my day!!! I really appreciated it! :) Thank you!!!!!!!!

Is it really Thursday?

I thought it was Friday today! I get up every morning to iron clothes for Bobby, this morning I get out his casual Friday clothes, he get's out of the shower and says "Hunny, it's not Friday, it's Thursday!" What? When did that happen? I thought it was Friday! So I hurry to go starch & iron another outfit for him.

What's on the agenda today then? Go to Home Depot and get a few new paint supplies & the paint for the living room. Then I must drag myself to the grocery store (can you tell I really despise grocery shopping?! The girls are great, but it's just a pain!)

I think I'll share some pictures this morning :)

My new drapes I finished sewing up yesterday. This is a picture in a picture (so you get a better idea of the color...I'm having lighting issues). You'll notice the drywall patching Bobby's doing to the wall (We had those vertical blindes & curtain sheers...so there was some adjusting involved with getting the new curtain rod). We plan to put up moulding around the door casing.

Once we put up moulding & paint the walls, all we need is a new coffee table (we gave away our old one when we had crawling babies, now it's time to have a new one again), and some new art for the walls!

Here's the lunch pail tin that I'm working on. The outside is complete, but I need to work on the inside file folders. The colors will go with the living room, so I plan for it to sit out on a bookshelf, end table or somewhere! :) I didn't want to go overboard on the outside, I wanted to keep it simple and elegant.

The folders are labeled: The Scott Family, Bobby, Heather, Catherine, Abby & Our Home.

Each folder will have a "frame" on the outside and I'll have a picture accordingly. (Temp I've got a tag on the front of the first one I'm working on until I print out a good family picture of us...it will be easier for measurements this way.

Oh, and another quick picture of the mini album I've been working on for Catherine to have in her backpack! :)

I've got lots of work to do to get it finished. It shouldn't take long though. I won't go into details about it since I've already mentioned it before I think.

I need to put her name on the front...I'll come up with a fun way to display it! :) The chalkboard pages, will have a picture of her school.

Thank you's & Updates on HI projects!

I don't know if it's proper etiquette it refer to comments made....but Cami & Maureen, you two are so sweet, thanks so much for your comments...you made me smile from ear to ear! And Shan, I know you reading this too... you're so sweet & thoughtful. I wish we all lived closer...someday we'll have to meet up! :)

Well, we got a lot done on the house this weekend. Most of the day on Saturday was spent shopping for all the stuff we needed. Bobby installed a new light fixture in the foyer (the glass part is frosted white and has a scrolly vine that's in the range of somewhere between black & brown in color) Now we can actually see, it's so bright & wonderful! :)

He also put up the wood 2" plantation blinds in the study. We got white ones for the kitchen window, I really wanted shutters, but we couldn't find any to fit our window (these will be put up today).

Oh, I almost forgot, our bathroom downstairs is in a Paris motif (I'm still working on getting this room looking really nice) but it just has a few basics now...anyways...he replaced the electric outlet & will replace the lightswitch today (I forgot it was a dual switch and we bought the wrong supplies). There's still lots of work to do in the bathroom...I've got to paint the walls, the base cabinet & I'm going to sew up a curtain to hide the electric pannel/box & to asorb sound since Bobby doesn't like carpet in there. (I'll have to buy the right color of hand towells too!) LOL

Sunday after church, Bobby put cable in on the other wall, we re-arranged the room (purged some CD's & other stuff)...Re-arranged the study & the dining room.

We need to get an oak filing cabinet (to replace our old metal ones) & I need to organize & purge some files. We also need to purge & organize the bookshelves (whew...both of these will be a huge job!).

We have a window type opening between the kitchen & living room (it's really nice when company's over because you still feel like you're part of the party when you're in the kitchen....but otherwise annoying). We're thinking of covering it up with some type of window covering...again, I'd love shutters, but can't find it in the right size! I think we'll get one of those rattan roll shades....but we'll see! :)

Bobby & Catherine is off at the store exchanging a few things and picking up a few more things...I'm supposed to be cleaning the kitchen, so I'm off to get busy.

Girls Night Out! :)

Tonight I meet up with 2 of my best friends Lisa & Ruth. We went into Harrisburg and had dinner & watched a drama group do "imprompto comedy" then we went to a great local coffee house. We had such a great time just talking and catching up. It's been such a busy summer for all 3 of us...and it's only going to get busier once school starts up here at the end of the month.

Oh, here's the flowers that I received on my birthday Wednesday...

As for Bobby and the girls? My wonderful husband not only watched our girls, but also a neighbors kid while they went out to eat dinner tonight before their granddaughter flew back to Texas.

Tomorrow/Saturday is scheduled to be a day of home improvement projects!

Shopping Purchases:

• New curtain rod
• Kitchen Shutters
• Rattan Blinds for the Study
• wire (cable job)

To Do:

• Open Cable up in opposite wall in living room
• Re-arrange Living room (including moving piano)
• Re-arrange Study
• Install new curtain rod - living room
• Install new shutters - kitchen
• Install new blinds - study

Okay, that's enough for one day! :) Honestly though, there's tons of work to do though. We still have one wall in the kitchen that needs wallpaper put up on. Did I ever share what it looks like? If not, here it is. :) (mind you, we re-did the cabinets last summer and put up the wal-paper last Aug...it's been a year already??? Man how the time flies!)

Just another day...

We had errands today again, I picked up a few cute things for the girls room.

Hancock Fabrics opened up in a new shop here, and I got a beautiful fabric that I'm going to make drapes out of for our living room. Since it's their grand opening, I got it at 50% off! That rocks, because had I gone to Jo-Anns last week and bought it, it would have cost me over $50 :)
I'm looking forward to making these. I want to get a new curtain rod while I'm redoing the living room. Right now I've got a cream colored rod-iron rod...I want to get the black rod-iron rod & rings. Maybe I'll go back out tomorrow...I'll check Hancocks & Linens & Things.

Tomorrow night I'll be going out with my friends Ruth & Lisa for a "girls night out"/my birthday combo! :) I'm looking forward to it.

This evening we're going over to another friends house for a small birthday party for their daughter Ellen (Catherine's friend).

My house is nice & clean again! :) I've got a ton of laundry to do tomorrow though. I don't know why it get's away from me every week. Each week I think I'll stay on top of it and it will be just a simple cycle...but I guess I get burned out from 1 major day of laundry that I don't want to touch it for several days! :) I need to get better about that!

We got another letter from the school that Catherine will be attending at the end of this month. We have all the special dates that the PTO has scheduled. That's nice to have it already!

I'm almost done with the mini album that I'm working on for Catherine to keep in her backpack (bus #, picture of her teacher, our phone # & address, etc...). I've made a lot of progress on the lunch pail tin that I bought. It looks really good so far, and I'm loving it! :) I'll share pictures later!

It's my Birthday today!

Help me celebrate, and eat a special treat today! :)

I ran around doing several errands yesterday, got my cake, came home prepared dinner, visited with my friend/neighbor, DH came home late from work. The family thought I should have my cake last night since tonight we'd be going out to eat. So here I am after a long day with no make-up, hair a mess, but you know what....that's me! :)

You know what? 28 candles all aglow makes a pretty warm fire! I made my wish and blew them all out with one breath. :)

I can't forget to call my twin sister and wish her a happy birthday this evening! :) I hope her family does something special for her.

Got Cake?

Today we went to Pennsylvania Bakery and picked up my birthday cake. It's a Strawberry Torte....oh it's delicious too! I can hardly wait until tomorrow when we can eat it! :) Any cake that comes in a sweet shade of pink has to be good, right?! :)

Isn't the Bakery itself just beautiful?! I love that building it's so pretty!

I'm not sure why both girls are doing this "tilt the head and scrunch down your neck" look...but it's showing up in almost every picture lately! ;~)




Saturday after we went to the Farmers Market, we took the girls to Libery Forge - Mini Golf. This was the first time that they had been, and they enjoyed themselves.

Catherine really worked hard to hold the club right and to swing it correctly. Abby just didn't care, she'd whack at it, and in the end, she would just pick up the ball and throw it in the hole! :)

At first it was hard watching them and not doing it right..but then we realized they should just do it whatever way they wanted to...they'll get better as they get older! Afterall they're only 3 & 5! It was fun watching them play!

It's Friday Night

Today, we went shopping...

Catherine got her first packpack! She picked it out herself, and is so proud of it! :)

I got the coolest little lunch pail tin from Michaels...did you all see this that Jen made? It's so awesome. I'll be working on my own little project...I think I'll make it to hold cards that I've made...but not 100% sure.

I somehow lost $10 out of my purse today...lots of stores...so who knows where...so somebody else had a "happy" day at my expense! :( Good for them though...I hope they'll use it for something fun.

I guess I'm on strike...because my house is a disaster area and I have no desire to clean it (which is not normal...I usually can't stand for it to get messy, especially going into the weekend!) But here I sit....doing nothing productive! Perhaps tomorrow I'll feel like it! :) I do want to remember to go to the Farmers Market...then the grochery store for other food...I know I should have taken care of that before Saturday (what was I thinking?) but I didn't feel like grochery shopping either! This is not good...I hope it's not a new pattern! :) LOL
I do think it has something to do with the fact that I bought myself some new scrapbook goodies and started a project (ahem...or two). The creative juices are flowing...and well....you just can't stop it! :) So...I'll apologize here and now to my loving and kind DH that will undoubtably read this (isn't he sweet?....except when he makes those (um...what's the word) "?" comments...like me being to aggresive & things LOL).

Found a coffee type personality thing...and hey, I love Frappacino's too! My wonderful FIL sent us Rival's Snow Cone Maker....oh man, do I love this little machine! Besides making the "snow cone" (tons of sryups to choose from too, although I can't find the root beer flavor that he had in AL), I now shave all my ice for my soda's, for my iced coffees that I make, for mixed drinks (Oh yeah!). This machine just totally rocks!!!!!!! If you love crushed ice...you have to buy this thing! ...I should be payed to endorse this I "love" this so much! :)

You Are a Frappacino

At your best, you are: fun loving, sweet, and modern At your worst, you are: childish and over indulgent You drink coffee when: you're craving something sweet Your caffeine addiction level: low

What Kind of Coffee Are You?

I've searched the b&n and have come up with a long list of chic lit I'd like to read. :) Way to many! All Chic Lit too! :) Yeah, I'm a shallow reader...(okay, not always...I do like other books...but hey it's the summer!!! For a little while longer anyways!)

• Devil Wears Prada by Lauren Weisberger
• Bergdorf Blondes by Plum Sykes
• Can You Keep a Secret? by Sophie Kinsella
• To Have and to Hold by Jane Green
• The Botox Diaries by Janice Kaplan & Lynn Schnurnberger
• Apocalipstick by Sue Margolis
• What a Girl Wants (Ashley Stockingdale) by Kristin Billerbeck
• Theodora's Diary: Faith, Hope and Chocolate by Penny Culliford
• The Other Side of the Story by Marian Keyes
• Twins of TriBeCa by Rachel Pine
• Soapsudsby Finola Hughes & Digby Diehl
• The Next Big Thing by Johanna Edwards
• Slightly Settled by Wendy Markham
• The Girlfriend Curse by Valerie Frankel
• I Don't Know How She Does It: The Life of Kate Reddy, Working Mother by Allison Pearson
• With This Ring, I'm Confused by Kristin Billerbeck
• Angry Housewives Eating Bon Bons by Lorna Landvik
• The Sunday Wife by Cassandra King
• The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants by Ann Brashares
• Play Dates by Leslie Sara Carroll
• The Ivy Chronicles by Karen Quinn
• The Bronxville Book Club by Pamela Hackett Hobson
• Silent Auction by Pamela Hackett Hobson
• The Starter Wife by Gigi Levangie Grazer
• The Second Assistant by Clare Naylor
• Handbags and Gladrags by Maggie Alderson
• Citizen Girl by Emma McLaughlin & Nicola Kraus
• As Seen On TV by Sarah Mlynowski
• Asking for Trouble: A Novel by Elizabeth Young & Liz Young
• Tales of a Drama Queen by Lee Nichols
• Bundle of Joy? by Ariella Papa
• Pink Slip Party by Cara Lockwood
• Original Cyn by Sue Margolis
• Fashionistas by Lynn Messina
• A Promising Man (and About Time, Too) by Elizabeth Young & Liz Young
• The Waitress by Melissa Nathan
• Something Borrowed by Emily Giffin
• The Big Love: A Novel by Sarah Dun
• Sleeping Over by Stacey Ballis
• 32AA by Michelle Cunnah
• Wolves in Chic Clothing by Carrie Karasyov & Jill Kargman
• Lipstick Jungle: A Novel by Candace Bushnell
• A Little Change of Face by Lauren Baratz-Logsted
• The Thin Pink Line by Lauren Baratz-Logsted
• The Go-To Girl by Louise Bagshawe
• Getting Over It by Anna Maxted
• For Better, for Worse: A Novel by Carole Matthews
• The Sweetest Taboo by Carole Matthews
• Catching Alice by Clare Naylor & Clare Alice
• Bookends by Jane Green
• The Whitney Chronicles by Judy Baer
• L. A. Woman by Cathy Yardley
• The Diva's Guide to Selling Your Soul by Kathleen O'Reilly
• What a Girl Wants by Liz Maverick
• Slave to Fashion by Rebecca Campbell
• Night I Got Lucky by Laura Caldwell
• Bad Heir Day by Wendy Holden
• Simply Divine by Wendy Holden
• Are You in the Mood? by Stephanie Lehmann
• and a ton of books by Nicholas Sparks

EDITED TO ADD: I checked out a book by Sue Margolis....I couldn't get into it. So books by her are now off my list! I guess in Chic Lit, I like the story told in first person. The book I read just didn't flow well, and I didn't care for it.

We went Camping

(click photo for better details!)

We went camping this past weekend. It was really nice, the weather was perfect, the girls had a fun playing, and Bobby & I relaxed.

We put up the tent & hammocks Friday. After we ate, we roasted marshmallows over the campfire. After we ate a big breakfast Saturday morning we took the girls fishing, then we went out on the lake in a row boat (with sections covered in beautiful lilly pads), came back to the camp site, had lunch then went swimming that afternoon.

We had planned on only staying one night, but we were having such a great time, we stayed another night (thank goodness I always overpack!). I started and completed my book Shopaholic and Sister , Bobby continued to read his
I, Claudius book. (yeah, I'm a shallow reader, and he's a deap reader!).

We had a fabulous weekend! I'd like to go again much to my own suprise! :) It's been 2 years since the last time I was camping. We went for a week in upstate New York in the Adirondak mountains. It was beautiful, but Abby had just turned 1 (actually the day we drove up there) and it rainted while we were there...so in my mind camping was hard. Now that they're older it was really great! Oh, and we had such wonderful treats too! Some of my favorites!


I hope you all are having a great summer! School starts back up soon so make the most of what's left!