My New Camera!!!

So, I have been slacking off lately........... but I am back now and have much to report! First of all, Jamie and I had our 3rd Anniversary! Hooray! We left Isaac with my parents and went out to a very nice restaurant called Mountain Jack's where we were seated in front of the fireplace and were given free dessert because of our anniversary! Then we went to a movie-which we never get to do anymore! I ended up spending the whole Thanksgiving week with my fam- which was very nice because I had lots of help with Isaac and got to sleep in! It's so fun to see him interact with my fam! He gets so excited to see them! We had a nice Thanksgiving with my extended family and then finally returned home in time for my best friend's babyshower. More about that later! As an anniversary/Christmas gift, Jamie got me a new digital camera. I am so excited!!!!!!! I have really been wanting a new camera and this one is so nice! With Isaac being so speedy these days, I really needed a camera with a fast shutter speed so I can actually capture his cuteness. With my old camera, he would move before I could get the camera to capture the picture-it was driving me crazy! So allow me to show off some of my new pictures.......

Feeling a little better.....

Just a quick update, thanks for your well wishes! I am feeling a bit better, though my energy is quite low! I am actually at my parents' house now, we were going to come this weekend and then next weekend for Thanksgiving. But I ended up staying for the week with Isaac so I can get some rest! He loves playing with Grandma and Grandpa, so that has been nice for everyone! I have not had access to a WiFi connection to use my laptop so I won't probably be on as much as usual! Hope you all have a very Thankful week!

OH BOY!

I am having massive frustration today and just need to vent a little. Hope you all don't mind! First of all, being sick while trying to care for a child just stinks! It was hard enough when I was sick and still had to go to my job. By the time I got off work, I was exhausted but I could come home and collapse for the rest of the night! And I could sleep hard all night long, which always helps me feel better! Now, I feel like crap and Isaac wakes me up all night long and then since I have gotten no sleep I feel even worse. For those of you who don't know, I have had mono 5 separate times, so I tend to be wary of feeling this type of exhaustion! It doesn't help that my 15 month old is still not on a normal nightly sleeping pattern..........something that I will be elaborating more on in another post as I am desperate! He is currently refusing to sleep in his crib and screaming as we speak! I have never been a fan of crying it out but this is getting ridiculous! I REALLY need a break and more specifically a nap, but since he is screaming I will not be able to sleep anyway!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Oh and I forgot to mention that because my hubby is in school as well as working full time, he has not been home the past 2 evenings and will not be around tonight until after Isaac's bedtime as well! AAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHH!

Mama Advice Needed!

Ok, I know you all love to give advice so let me hear it! I am going to put together an essentials kit to give to my best friend at her baby shower! I may do essentials for mom and new baby or maybe just for mom. I am thinking about all of the things I wish I would have had the first week or did have and was soooooooooooo grateful for! Here are some of my thoughts: Mama Kit- Breastfeeding book, maybe the Vaccine book by Dr. Sears, Lanosil (not sure it's spelled right) disposible breast pads and lanolin, Tucks pads, Dermoplast, chocolate........ and for the baby (some gowns and ???) So what do you think? What are things that you are thankful you had on hand when you got home from the hospital or what things do you wish you would have had? Let's hear it ladies!

Sunday Scrappin

So here is another addition of Sunday Scrappin......a place for me to post my TaDa's and To Do's of my scrapping adventures! Well, I had my Creative Memories Christmas Open House this week and it went ok! The turnout was better than some of my get togethers in the past but not as good as I was hoping! I was SO busy getting ready that I did not do any actual scrapping this week but I am hoping to get some done this week, specifically I am hoping to continue to work on my son's book because I am insanely behind. Hope you all have a very crafty week! Come back for my latest recipe!

I Won! I Won! I Won!

So last week was the Fall Bloggy Giveaway week and I am happy to announce that after entering around 600 contests, it has paid off! I have won 3 contests! Let's see......

First I won a beautiful Mother's bracelet from Tara at http://www.minnesotamamma.blogspot.com/ There will be special beads to represent Jamie, Isaac, and me. She is making it specially for me and is even praying for us as she makes it!

The Second Giveaway I won is a personalized notepad from Stephanie at http://herdofsteph.blogspot.com/om It will be in red lettering with The Yost Family across the top and our names at the bottom!

The Third Giveaway I won is Sheila Kippley's book, 'Breastfeeding and Natural Child Spacing'.from Jamie at http://princessruby.blogspot.com/ I cannot wait to read it!

Did you participate??? Did you win anything? I would love to hear about it!

Sunday Scrappin

Fun stuff!!!!!! Amy over at http://sundayscrappin.blogspot.com/ is hosting a new forum for scrappers and stampers to help each other stay accountable to work on our projects with what little time we may be able to scrape together! I know it is not easy for me as I have a very active 15 month old and I am sure you can all relate! Go to her blog to check out the fun and to sign up to participate! I look forward to seeing your stuff!

Well this was not the most productive week for me in the scrapbooking department but I have been more productive than usual the few weeks before. I have been working on my son's baby album.......it's about time since he just turned 15 months old. I have soooooooooo far to go but I am very excited about beginning to make progress. I have a ridiculous amount of pictures, so it will take awhile to try to catch up! I will try to post pictures in the weeks to come. I should also mention that I am a Creative Memories Consultant who is desperately trying to get her business off the ground and I am offering a 10% discount through the month of November if anyone needs anything! I am hosting a Christmas Open House this week for girls to make their Christmas wish lists and hang out and talk scrapbooking! I will update you on how it goes next Sunday! Have a happy week of crafting!

Recipe of the Week- Another Yummy Fall Treat!

I am very proud of myself, because I actually got inspired to cook using butternut squash which is something I have never done before! It is actually not to hard! It just takes a little time to bake the squash. I recommend baking the squash, scooping out the flesh, and putting it in the fridge the day before you are going to bake. This recipe is really sweet, depending on your taste you may want to cut the sugar in half. Also, as far as the topping goes you can be creative. The recipe calls for vanilla wafers but I used honey brunches of oats cereal. You could also use graham crackers. Let me know if you try it! Enjoy!

***I got this recipe off of AllRecipes.com!!!!

Butternut Squash Casserole

INGREDIENTS
3 cups of butternut squash
1 cup white sugar
1 1/2 cups milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 pinch salt
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
3 eggs
1/4 cup margarine, melted
TOPPING
1/2 (16 ounce) package vanilla wafers, crushed
1/2 cup margarine, melted
1 cup brown sugar

DIRECTIONS

Cut squash in half longways and bake facedown on a cookie sheet at 450 degrees for 45 minutes to an hour. Scoop out the flesh!

In a 9x13 inch casserole dish combine 3 cups mashed butternut squash, white sugar, milk, vanilla extract, salt, flour, eggs and 1/4 cup melted margarine.
Bake in preheated oven for 45 minutes, or until set.
In a medium bowl combine crushed vanilla wafers, 1/2 cup melted margarine and brown sugar. Crumble over top of cooked casserole and return to oven to brown.

And the WINNER is.........

Congrats to Cheryl from the Engineered Expressions! She is the lucky winner of the Creative Memories giftcard! If anyone else is interested in ordering, I am offering 10 % off any order through the end of November! Just comment on my blog that you are interested and I will get in touch with you! Thanks to all who participated! Please come back and check out my site sometime!

Fall Giveaway

Ok everybody, do some finger streching because you have some typing to do! Shannon over at Rocks in My Dryer is hosting a fall giveaway carnival. Just head on over to her Bloggy Giveaway site to enter tons of cool giveaways and to sign up to do one of your own! "http://rocksinmydryer.typepad.com/reviews/2007/10/the-fall-yall-b.html

Now for the good stuff!!!!!! As some of you may know, I am a Creative Memories consultant. I am giving away a $10 Creative Memories giftcard! You don't have to be a scrapbooker to enjoy these products. There are lots of fun new products out for the digital photographer and for those who don't have time for traditional scrapbooking. Just leave me a comment below to enter! I will be drawing a winner this weekend! Any non-bloggers make sure you leave me a way to contact you! This contest is only open to residents of the U.S. for shipping reasons! If you don't win, but are interested in learning more about Creative Memories, let me know! Good Luck to everyone!!!

Update: For anyone who does not win, but would like to order some CM stuff- I am offering a 10% discount on all orders through the end of November. You can check out the products online at creativememories.com and get in touch with me by posting on my blog or by e-mailing me at lizzy_142@hotmail.com

This contest is now closed!!!!! The winner will be announced soon! Thanks!

New Recipes are Fun!

So I have decided that once a week, I will post a new recipe to share with all of you out in bloggerland! If you like recipes, you will love this giveaway for a free cookbook and a year subscription to your choice of magazine (mostly food magazines!). Check it out!
http://molly-coddled.com/2007/10/22/time-for-a-giveaway/#comment-1174

In honor of fall, today's recipe is for Pumpkin Bread! It is to die for!!!!!! It make 3-4 loaves and it freezes great! I love having a loaf to pull out of the freezer when we have overnight company! Let me know if you try it and how it turn out! Also, if you are looking for a certain type of recipe (main dish, a snack for a holiday openhouse, dessert, side dish, etc) let me know! I'm not giving any guarantees but I will try to help you out!

Pumpkin Bread

31/2 c. flour

3 c. sugar

1 c. Oil ( can substitute applesauce for 1/2 the oil)

2 c. pumpkin

2/3 c. water

1 c. chopped pecans

4 eggs

2 t. baking soda

2 t. sal

2 t. cinnamon

2 t. nutmeg

1/2 t. cloves

1/2 t. allspice

Mix all ingredients together. Pour into 3 or 4 loaf pans. Bake at 350 for 1 hour. You may want to start checking the bread after 45 minutes of baking, it doesn't always take the full time.

Jewelry Giveaway

Check out this cool giveaway! They are giving away a beautiful pair of earings from Elite Bead Creations over at The Island Life http://islandlife808.com/giveaways/giveaway-elite-bead-creations/ Enter to Win!

I've finally done it!

Yes, that's right! I have finally stepped out and created my own blog. After months and months of reading everyone else's blogs and signing up for contests as a non-blogger, I have finally done it! I am not sure why I haven't done it sooner. Goodness knows, I am always looking for a good forum to show off my latest baby pics! So welcome to all and let the fun begin!