I am in such a rush to get ready for my open house crop tonight, but I have to take just a quick minute to brag on my Julia, who got her second marking period grades today. She kept her three As as As, , raised her A- and B+ to As, and raised her C- in Algebra to a B-...that's right, straight As except for that one B-! Way to go, girl! Her overall GPA is now 3.783. And again, all her comments from teachers were positive.
She also had some excitement last night. The youth group small groups were surprised with a trip to the Casting Crowns concert! It was her first concert and she had a wonderful time.
Wednesday, November 30, 2005
Tuesday, November 29, 2005
Although I love to shop "Black Friday" is the one day I don't! I only go out that day if there are things I really need to get for a great deal...and unfortunately, this year there were. I don't do the 'up at 5' thing, though! This meant that I did miss out on a couple things I wanted but still got a LOT accomplished! Got myself some badly needed pots and pans that will be $30 after rebate (regularly $80,) and a DVD player that will be just $10 after rebate! Plus got some Christmas shopping done. I have enough done now that I need to pull it all out and start getting serious about what is left to do.
First, though, I'm preparing for my first ever Memory Works event, an open house/crop here on Wednesday. I don't know if I'm more afraid of nobody showing up or a lot of people showing up!
First, though, I'm preparing for my first ever Memory Works event, an open house/crop here on Wednesday. I don't know if I'm more afraid of nobody showing up or a lot of people showing up!
Look what I did for my son...am I the coolest Mom or what?
Gabe had been asking for a mohawk (or to gel his hair into a "faux" hawk) for ages. Well, we used to keep his hair pretty short, but had decided to try to let it grow longer again as he sometimes likes to gel up the front. We recently decided shorter was better and (in homage to a teen friend of ours who just did the same thing,) asked if he could have a mohawk for awhile first. Ta da!
Gabe had been asking for a mohawk (or to gel his hair into a "faux" hawk) for ages. Well, we used to keep his hair pretty short, but had decided to try to let it grow longer again as he sometimes likes to gel up the front. We recently decided shorter was better and (in homage to a teen friend of ours who just did the same thing,) asked if he could have a mohawk for awhile first. Ta da!
He hasn't yet quite decided if we will cut it off before AWANA on Wednesday, but I did tell him it has to come off prior to the Christmas pageant this weekend.
Thursday, November 24, 2005
~sigh~ I was just finishing up a rather lengthy post on what I've been up to lately when the computer decided that it needed a nap. So, now you are stuck with the condensed version...
Friday night I helped the youth group prepare shoe boxes for Operation Christmas Child (did you realize that gift bags have created an entire generation of people who do not know how to wrap a gift properly? Wasn't pretty.)
Planned to take my three middle kids to a really cool puppet show on Saturday for some quality time with Mom AWAY from The Diva formerly known as Lillian...but none of them wanted to go. Harumph.
Sunday hosted a bunch of the youth group girls at our house to string popcorn and cranberries for the ladies to use in decorating the church. Made waaaaaay too much popcorn.
Monday learned that Gabe will need another tooth pulled. The orthodontist has sort of been throwing us a bone, seeing as we've already paid for two kids orthodontia and he knows we have three more he can probably expect to see in the future. He has checked Gabe out, even taken x-rays, a couple of times, without charge. Right now he doesn't see any benefit in beginning orthodontia (thank you, Lord,) but we needed those couple teeth out to make room for the all-important Front Four.
Thanksgiving dinner was great. I have apparently finally pleased the cooking gods enough that I was able to make a turkey that wasn't dry and gravy that was the desired consistency and without (many) lumps. Had to make two separate batches of dressing, one vegetarian, as well as leave marshmallows out of the fruit salad and off a portion of the sweet potato casserole, as marshmallows contain gelatin, which contain animal products. Lillian was entertained by some sweet potatoes long enough for us to eat most of the meal in peace. Played Taboo, saw the Broncos on television...still debating whether or not I will try to shop tomorrow. It is the one single day of the year I tend to avoid shopping at all costs...but this year there are some really good deals on some things we really need to get, so...I guess I will just wait and see how I feel about it in the morning.
Saturday will be mostly taken up with practice and dress rehearsal for the Christmas pageant. Laura and Gabe need to be there at 9:00, and me too as I have been slotted to cook the hot dogs and coordinate the kitchen for lunch. Arnel will bring the rest of the kids and join us a couple hours later, probably in time for lunch, before they are all (less TDFKAL)are needed for the dress rehearsal. Don't expect to get out of there before 2 PM.
I decided that I would probably never get anythign started with my Memory Works "business" until I had to...so I printed out a bunch of fliers and stuck them in the mail. Guess I'm going to be having an Open House next Wednesday!!
Friday night I helped the youth group prepare shoe boxes for Operation Christmas Child (did you realize that gift bags have created an entire generation of people who do not know how to wrap a gift properly? Wasn't pretty.)
Planned to take my three middle kids to a really cool puppet show on Saturday for some quality time with Mom AWAY from The Diva formerly known as Lillian...but none of them wanted to go. Harumph.
Sunday hosted a bunch of the youth group girls at our house to string popcorn and cranberries for the ladies to use in decorating the church. Made waaaaaay too much popcorn.
Monday learned that Gabe will need another tooth pulled. The orthodontist has sort of been throwing us a bone, seeing as we've already paid for two kids orthodontia and he knows we have three more he can probably expect to see in the future. He has checked Gabe out, even taken x-rays, a couple of times, without charge. Right now he doesn't see any benefit in beginning orthodontia (thank you, Lord,) but we needed those couple teeth out to make room for the all-important Front Four.
Thanksgiving dinner was great. I have apparently finally pleased the cooking gods enough that I was able to make a turkey that wasn't dry and gravy that was the desired consistency and without (many) lumps. Had to make two separate batches of dressing, one vegetarian, as well as leave marshmallows out of the fruit salad and off a portion of the sweet potato casserole, as marshmallows contain gelatin, which contain animal products. Lillian was entertained by some sweet potatoes long enough for us to eat most of the meal in peace. Played Taboo, saw the Broncos on television...still debating whether or not I will try to shop tomorrow. It is the one single day of the year I tend to avoid shopping at all costs...but this year there are some really good deals on some things we really need to get, so...I guess I will just wait and see how I feel about it in the morning.
Saturday will be mostly taken up with practice and dress rehearsal for the Christmas pageant. Laura and Gabe need to be there at 9:00, and me too as I have been slotted to cook the hot dogs and coordinate the kitchen for lunch. Arnel will bring the rest of the kids and join us a couple hours later, probably in time for lunch, before they are all (less TDFKAL)are needed for the dress rehearsal. Don't expect to get out of there before 2 PM.
I decided that I would probably never get anythign started with my Memory Works "business" until I had to...so I printed out a bunch of fliers and stuck them in the mail. Guess I'm going to be having an Open House next Wednesday!!
Saturday, November 19, 2005
Thursday, November 17, 2005
The Movie Of Your Life Is An Indie Flick |
 You do things your own way - and it's made for colorful times. Your life hasn't turned out how anyone expected, thank goodness! Your best movie matches: Clerks, Garden State, Napoleon Dynamite |
I had to laugh...check out the last "best match movie" they list for me!
You are Deb and you could drink whole milk if you
wanted.
Which Napoleon Dynamite character are you?
brought to you by Quizilla
Wednesday, November 16, 2005
Monday, November 14, 2005
Whew! What a weekend! We figured out how to get kids to the photo shoot on Saturday morning and that went well. Lillian seemed to be in such a state of shock that she didn't put up a fuss at all (well, hardly at all) about all the different kids holding her and getting her picture taken. The director/photographer did a great job of getting everyone else set up, getting Lil in there, shooting fast, and then giving Lil a break for awhile. The woman knows my girl! ~grin~ Julia, we learned, does not make a good "mocker" and got switched to being a nice person when she couldn't pull off the requisite "mean face." ~grin again~ The photographer sent me a picture of one of Julia's attempts at being mean with the caption 'This should strike fear in us all.'
After the photo shoot Arnel took the boys and they went fishing and exploring around the river and came home with no fish but a couple cool shells. I took my three girls and three extras and off we went to the outlet mall. It is HUGE! And, they have some good stores there, too, in additin to the usual outlet mall fare. Turns out we were hitting it on their second-busiest day of the year, though...their annual "Deer Widow Weekend." Didn't get much Christmas shopping done as was my plan as the stores there leant themselves more towards buying for the girls, who were with me. We did get Julia a few things she needed, including my find for the day, a pair of Aeropostale khakis with a cool men's-tie belt for $4.99!
Another highlihgt of my trip to the outlet mall...I got to meet one of my online-friends in real life! She lives in Canada and makes the trip to this mall with a group of friends now and then and it was so fun to meet her and her little baby. It is odd how in this cyber-world you can meet someone for the first time and already know them!
The girls and I had a great time. They talked me into slurpees on the way home and all three spent the night at our house. On the way home they decided we should watch a movie, so they all ganged up on Dad when we got here and eventually wore him down. He took them to get the new teen classic Napolean Dynamite, which all except Laura, Arnel and I had already seen multiple times. From what I've heard, I was expecting a really stupid movie. Well it was, but it must be a special kind of stupid because I loved it!
Sunday morning we found out how long it would take us to get ready for church if we had eight kids...about fifteen minutes longer than we had allowed. Whoops! But we got there eventually. Afterwards, the boys came home and watched football while us girls, believe it or not, went shopping again! (Had to get stuff to fill the shoeboxes for Operation Christmas Child.) Somehow managed to make that take all afternoon, and then it was home briefly and back to church for youth group.
One of the two message boards I visit frequently was hacked last week and is still not up...having withdrawls here!
Tonight is Julia's cross-country banquet. That should be a lot of fun.
Oh, and I also learned that Lillian has a freakishly long and pointed tongue.
After the photo shoot Arnel took the boys and they went fishing and exploring around the river and came home with no fish but a couple cool shells. I took my three girls and three extras and off we went to the outlet mall. It is HUGE! And, they have some good stores there, too, in additin to the usual outlet mall fare. Turns out we were hitting it on their second-busiest day of the year, though...their annual "Deer Widow Weekend." Didn't get much Christmas shopping done as was my plan as the stores there leant themselves more towards buying for the girls, who were with me. We did get Julia a few things she needed, including my find for the day, a pair of Aeropostale khakis with a cool men's-tie belt for $4.99!
Another highlihgt of my trip to the outlet mall...I got to meet one of my online-friends in real life! She lives in Canada and makes the trip to this mall with a group of friends now and then and it was so fun to meet her and her little baby. It is odd how in this cyber-world you can meet someone for the first time and already know them!
The girls and I had a great time. They talked me into slurpees on the way home and all three spent the night at our house. On the way home they decided we should watch a movie, so they all ganged up on Dad when we got here and eventually wore him down. He took them to get the new teen classic Napolean Dynamite, which all except Laura, Arnel and I had already seen multiple times. From what I've heard, I was expecting a really stupid movie. Well it was, but it must be a special kind of stupid because I loved it!
Sunday morning we found out how long it would take us to get ready for church if we had eight kids...about fifteen minutes longer than we had allowed. Whoops! But we got there eventually. Afterwards, the boys came home and watched football while us girls, believe it or not, went shopping again! (Had to get stuff to fill the shoeboxes for Operation Christmas Child.) Somehow managed to make that take all afternoon, and then it was home briefly and back to church for youth group.
One of the two message boards I visit frequently was hacked last week and is still not up...having withdrawls here!
Tonight is Julia's cross-country banquet. That should be a lot of fun.
Oh, and I also learned that Lillian has a freakishly long and pointed tongue.
Thursday, November 10, 2005
Wednesday, November 09, 2005
Finally updated the family website with all new pictures. If you'd like to take a look, go here: The Negranza Family.
Well, we have snow in the forecast for the first time. 70% chance of "precipitation" overnight and in the morning, so it all depends on the temperature, I guess. The kids are excited, not sure I'm ready. It is not the snow, it is just how cold it gets when it snows! Although I don't relish driving in it and I will have to do that every day now to pick up Julia from school. Hmm...maybe it is time for her to start riding the bus...
Sunday, November 06, 2005
Okay, remembered a couple other things I wanted to say...
Laura saw a show on the Food Network the other day about gelatin...there are now a handful more things my little vegetarian will not eat.
Lillian has been into making some really funny faces lately, and also shaking her head "no." I didn't think she knew what it meant but she has spontaneously done it two or three times now appropriately (when she didn't want to go to someone who had their arms out to take her, etc.) So, maybe?
Had a huge rain storm last night, and lots of wind today...blew down a dead tree in our back yard. Arnel had been meaning to get out there and chop it down but God beat him to it! Right now, though, there is still a "stump" about ten feet tall that will have to be dealt with eventually.
You may remember that we have been keeping a couple of kitchen chairs at the bottom of the stairs to keep Lillian off. I just want to mention how entertaining it is to see Rex (our 70 lb. lab mix) try to get up and down with them in place!
Finally, I've been adding some of my layouts to the Memory Works Idea Gallery. If you are interested in seeing them, go here: The Memory Works Idea Gallery and click on my name in the Consultant Gallery.
Okay, I guess that is enough trivia on our lives for today.
Laura saw a show on the Food Network the other day about gelatin...there are now a handful more things my little vegetarian will not eat.
Lillian has been into making some really funny faces lately, and also shaking her head "no." I didn't think she knew what it meant but she has spontaneously done it two or three times now appropriately (when she didn't want to go to someone who had their arms out to take her, etc.) So, maybe?
Had a huge rain storm last night, and lots of wind today...blew down a dead tree in our back yard. Arnel had been meaning to get out there and chop it down but God beat him to it! Right now, though, there is still a "stump" about ten feet tall that will have to be dealt with eventually.
You may remember that we have been keeping a couple of kitchen chairs at the bottom of the stairs to keep Lillian off. I just want to mention how entertaining it is to see Rex (our 70 lb. lab mix) try to get up and down with them in place!
Finally, I've been adding some of my layouts to the Memory Works Idea Gallery. If you are interested in seeing them, go here: The Memory Works Idea Gallery and click on my name in the Consultant Gallery.
Okay, I guess that is enough trivia on our lives for today.
Another lazy day...in a nice way...around here today. Church was nice. Our interim preacher is just a hoot, soooo funny. And watching the kids rehearse for the Christmas pagaent was good, too...the script is hilarious and just keeps getting better and better as the writer/director tweaks it.
Came home and we whipped up a tater-tot casserole for lunch, which was a hit. I might make this for youth group when I have to cook for them (filling in for a mom who is going to visit her son in "sick bay" in the marine boot camp in San Diego!) next week. I'm cooking for them tonight, too, but there is tons of leftover spaghetti and salad from a program we had there last night, so I just need to reheat.
Last night we had a dinner catered by Fazoli's (Italian fast food for you west-coasters,) and took the Myers-Briggs personality test. I think it may have been an abbreviated version as there were only 32 question. Arnel, Julia, Laura and I all took it. I think Arnel's and Laura's were right on, and interestingly were almost the same except he scored as an introvert and she an extrovert. Mine and Julia's seemed very accurate in some regards but I'm not sure about others. I am interested in researching this more, though, as it was really interesting. I haven't checked it out yet, but there is supposedly more information at The Personality Page. I scored INTJ...let me know if this seems accurate to you!
Came home and we whipped up a tater-tot casserole for lunch, which was a hit. I might make this for youth group when I have to cook for them (filling in for a mom who is going to visit her son in "sick bay" in the marine boot camp in San Diego!) next week. I'm cooking for them tonight, too, but there is tons of leftover spaghetti and salad from a program we had there last night, so I just need to reheat.
Last night we had a dinner catered by Fazoli's (Italian fast food for you west-coasters,) and took the Myers-Briggs personality test. I think it may have been an abbreviated version as there were only 32 question. Arnel, Julia, Laura and I all took it. I think Arnel's and Laura's were right on, and interestingly were almost the same except he scored as an introvert and she an extrovert. Mine and Julia's seemed very accurate in some regards but I'm not sure about others. I am interested in researching this more, though, as it was really interesting. I haven't checked it out yet, but there is supposedly more information at The Personality Page. I scored INTJ...let me know if this seems accurate to you!
Friday, November 04, 2005
Thursday, November 03, 2005
Wednesday, November 02, 2005
Laura found a comb and was combing Lillian's hair. Lillian had this dreamy look on her face like "Ah, that feels goooood." Then Laura handed Lillian the comb and she tried combing her own hair. Laura brough her over to me and she did me, too! She has done everyone who is here at home at the moment...so sweet! And...she did it prior even to trying to eat the comb! Of course she mostly is combing our faces but it's a start...
Tuesday, November 01, 2005
Do you all know about the Halloween Fairy, aka the Great Pumpkin, aka the Sugar Fairy? He (she?) is a little like the Tooth Fairy...he goes to the home of children in certain families who leave their Halloween candy out for him, takes their candy, and leaves a small gift in it's place.
The Halloween Fairy apparently done good here this year. He left Laura a Bethany Dillon CD, a mid-sized soft football for Gabe, and a noisy spear and shield set for Isaac. They seem to be happy with the trade-off.
The Halloween Fairy apparently done good here this year. He left Laura a Bethany Dillon CD, a mid-sized soft football for Gabe, and a noisy spear and shield set for Isaac. They seem to be happy with the trade-off.
Just wanted to let you all know that much of our new winter stock is in and available at Enjoy the Journey Scrapbooking! Please check out my online store (you can find the link over to the left.) You will notice that wish-lists and gift certificates are now available, as well as the Basic Grey Blitzen line (but be warned, Blitzen is available for a very limited time!) I have also finally added some layouts to the Idea Gallery of the website for anyone interested. Thanks for looking!
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