Our Life's Mosaic

Won't You Join Me?

2010-09-01T15:36:00.000-05:00

at my new blog?

Thanks! :)

The One With The Engagement Story

2010-06-27T12:51:00.004-05:00

I have a lot of friends wanting details on my very exciting news I had yesterday, and this seems the easiest way to get a story AND pictures in one spot!

James and I have been dating 9 months now, and had made the decision a few months ago that we were going to live together soon. The time when his lease was going to be up on his 1 bedroom apartment coincided with our 1-year dating anniversary, and after much discussion we decided we didn't want to live an hour apart for another whole year. So we decided that when it came closer to that time, we'd find a bigger place in Lexington..one with enough bedrooms for everyone, and move in together. We kept that decision mostly private for the last few months and just continued to enjoy life. Then, very recently, we started talking about marriage and how we *could* just go ahead and get married if we were going to be living together anyway...I mean, I'm not going to move myself and my children an hour away from our family and move in with a man I just *sort of* love. So we talked about it some, and talked with family about it (got my dad's blessing, teeheee). But then there was still no official proposal. I knew it would be coming soon because we had imagined a late summer wedding.

James said he wanted to go on an overnight date on Saturday and I asked Tabatha to watch the kids. We drove to Lexington and he headed for UK's campus. While he teaches English at UK, I knew we weren't going to get something from his office. The only place we regularly go to at UK is the arboretum. We love to walk around the trails and lay in the grass to cloud watch.

I looked at the temperature reading in his car and it read 95 degrees Fahrenheit. I immediately regretted wearing jeans. He pulled a bag out of the trunk and we walked to our favorite spot that we always cloud watch at. He reached in his bag and pulled out a blanket which he spread on the ground. Out of his pocket came his cell phone. He pressed play and Just Breathe by Pearl Jam (our song) started playing. He got down on one knee said a lot of sweet things that I'll keep just for me, but let's just say I was crying by the time he got around to the big question. He reached behind him and pulled something out of the bag. It was a box from our favorite dessert spot, Gigi's Cupcakes.

When we go there, I usually get the tiramisu cupcake. We go there often enough that James said when he went alone one day, they asked where his girlfriend was! :) But what he pulled out of the box was their wedding cupcake! Sitting half-melted into the 4" of frosting was a wedding ring. (not in this photo because I took these photos after the fact)

I pulled it out of the frosting and put it in my mouth (LOL!) After it was clean, I handed it back to him and he slid it on my finger.

I joined him on the blanket and hugged him, even though it was 95 degrees out and we were both miserably hot. About 2 minutes later he said to me, "Not trying to ruin the moment but I still haven't gotten an answer."--to which, I of course replied, "Yes!"

After the ring was extracted, we had a perfectly good cupcake there waiting for us. We hadn't had dinner yet and I asked him if we should eat it. His reply was, "Of course we can eat dessert before dinner...we are grown-ups afterall!" He decided we needed practice for the wedding and that he was going to smash cupcake in my face:

But what is good for the goose is good for the gander.

Here are a few more pics I took after the fact:

We hung out for awhile, laying on the blanket and cloud watching until we decided it was too hot to go on...we still had a half a mile walk back to the car. The rest of our evening consisted of dinner at Applebee's (not exactly fine dining but it's what I wanted and it was delish!), a movie (Knight and Day---GREAT flick!), and a moonlight swim in the pool at midnight (so romantic!). It really was a fairy tale kind of day--thanks for sharing it with me!

Every photo I tried to take yesterday of the ring came out a bit washed out...I'm guessing because of my white, white hand LOL. So here is a better photo I got today for those who asked:

We're planning a small ceremony around Labor Day weekend here at the house...just a few friends and family, with my uncle (a minister) marrying us...a casual, romantic affair :) Thank you SO SO MUCH for all the well-wishes and congratulations, friends! When I logged into Facebook this morning I had 99 notifications LOL! I'm so happy to share this news with my friends and family. I'm a very lucky, happy girl.

17,531 hours and counting!

2010-05-19T08:12:00.005-05:00

What is it about our children's birthdays that make us sentimental? Including their birth days, I've experienced 17 birthdays between my 3 children now. Every one of them leaves me sad that the time has gone by so fast, and excited for their futures all at the same time. In the last few years since I've been blogging, my sentimental walk down memory lane has been accompanied with a sappy blog post and photos. This one is no different :P

2 years ago I was about to pop with the biggest of my 3 children. When Naomi was born a month early, she was only 5 lbs. But Parker was born almost a month early and there was no way he was going to be a tiny baby! :)

The circumstances surrounding my birth were actually a bit stressful and I don't like to dwell on all of the details, but suffice it to say it was a sigh of relief to get in the operating room and get ready to meet my bubby! After being hospitalized for a few days prior, my doctor took Parker the day I turned 37 weeks due to a nasty spike in blood pressure.

He had to spend a few days in the NICU because of low blood sugar. Naomi had the same problem; they even stayed in the same isolette and had some of the same nurses!

Of course the next year flew by with all of the amazing milestones that the first year brings. And before we knew it, Parker was enjoying his first birthday donut! In a tradition borrowed from my dear friend Ashlee, we give the kids a birthday donut on their special day and the cake waits for the party day. They get to open one present on their big day and the rest waits for their party.

Parker has always been a happy rambunctious boy and 1 was no different. He made a very fun one-year-old! He was very active and smart and inquisitive. And SO sweet. He gives the sweetest snuggles and kisses!

And while I said Parker's first year of life flew by, I'd be lying if I said the last year has. Thanks to a crazy year of personal highs and lows, the last year with my kiddos has felt like much longer...but in a good way! Parker is a busy, fun two-year-old!

Yesterday morning he got to experience his second annual birthday donut!

Though, I think he was a bit apprehensive about the fire.

Once the candles were removed, he made pretty quick work of demolishing his treat!

And then it was time for the presents!

At 2, Parker is a good sleeper, a good eater and an all-around good boy. He's as sweet as ever, very curious about how things work, and absolutely loves phones. He fights with Naomi like siblings do, and he tries to imitate almost everything anyone says. He is in 2 hours of speech therapy a week, is healthy except for some ear problems, and is a VERY big boy! I'm a very lucky mom. Happy Birthday, big boy! :)

The One With Snack Time

2010-04-20T06:47:00.006-05:00

What is it with kids and snacks? Naomi loves bananas and one day, unbeknownst to me, ate 5. She was at Tab's in the morning and ate 3, and ate 2 in the afternoon with me. I would never have allowed 5 but let's just say the left hand didn't know what the right hand was doing LOL!

Both my kids love fruit snacks but I have a hard time reconciling that in my head as a healthy snack. They enjoy yogurt and we go through plenty of Gogurt in this house. But other snacks just...well they fail. I won't give them chips and cookies and stuff (though they'd love it). They are both predisposed to being overweight (between my family genes and their father's) and they get plenty of junk like that from special treats out, so I don't buy it for the house.

My last attempt at fruit was spit out on the plate. It was canteloupe. I suppose I'll just have to keep trying. Sometimes they like grapes. What is up with that? How do you *sometimes* like a food?

So yesterday, I fooled them. I nonchalantly handed a blueberry Nutri-grain bar to Parker (because he'll eat anything) and then acted like I wasn't going to give Naomi one. Well of course she got jealous and wanted one. So I gave her one, letting her think it was her idea. Then because Parker insists on two-fisting every snack, he wanted a second. He ate half of each (go figure). Naomi ate her whole first one and wanted a second. Which she ate one bite of.

Hey, I'll take it.

And their newest snack LOVE?

Pretzels are an idea I can get behind...so I'm glad they both like them. I give them a 3 oz dixie cup filled with the sticks and they run around the house with them. I'd love to hear your favorite toddler and preschooler snack ideas! Because mama always needs new ideas! :)

The One With The New Adoption

2010-04-19T05:25:00.003-05:00

I name my electronics. Mnemonically.

I have two Toshiba laptops. When I got the second one, had it been a Dell or another brand, I would have referred to them as such. But since they were both Genus:laptop Species:Toshiba, I was kind of screwed. I spent a whole week calling them the old laptop and the new laptop before I figured out a solution. I named them Norah (N for New) and Olivia (O for Old).

Well of course it didn't stop there.

Shortly thereafter my television broke. It was an old CRT and I'd been eyeing the flat-paneled ones for quite awhile so I found an RCA on sale and adopted her, and named her Ruby. (R for RCA)

Well this weekend Olivia started having problems with her charging jack and I ordered her a new part. She is going to have to go completely under for surgery with surgeon Tim and be sautered back together. I got to worrying about the stability of my little two-computer family. What if Olivia didn't make it back from the surgery? What if the part doesn't work and (covers Norah's speakers while I whisper to you) she needs a new motherboard?

I know it seems strange...you're wondering why I need so many computers. Well I use them for backup. I store my files in multiple places. Nathan uses the computer. Naomi even has gotten to the age where she likes to use the computer (some).

I talked to Tim, and asked him if he knew anybody. Tim is my sister's boyfriend, for those who don't know, and he works on computers. He always knows someone who has a computer for sale. Tim knows how to restore them and make them shiny and new. He of course, did know someone. Two phone calls, three hours, and one trip to the next town over later, I had a new *desktop* in my apartment! I know, I know! I'm not really a desktop kind of girl. They are bulky. But they are sturdy. It's not exactly a workhorse. 2 gigs of ram, 320 mb hd, and the monitor was icky big, and the keyboard was icky broken. Paid $100 for basically just the tower, dropped $40 on a new wireless mouse/keyboard/speakers set, and hooked the baby up to my TV! It's the best kind of recycling because the computer has found a new home. Like adopting a puppy instead of going to the pet store. Adopting a computer instead of going to Office Depot. Though, they do really love me at Office Depot.

Anyway, I named her Delilah. (D for Desktop). She's hooked up to Ruby (R for RCA). We're one big happy family but we like it that way.

The One With The Time Warp

2010-04-16T14:33:00.002-05:00

This is my second blog post in one day.

Umm, sort of.

Remember in my last blog post...the one I published this morning...I said I had sat down to write it several times but never finished?

Well when I went to finally write it this morning, I just edited one of my tries, so upon completion, it published with a date of two months ago. Whoops!
Well, that's a bit anti-climactic. So, ever a stubborn chick, I'm blogging again, darnit.

Check out the layout I did this morning. It was like a creative high. Best feeling in the world, I tell ya!

All by Shawna Clingerman:

I Heart Mommy
New on 4/17 @SSD:
Hugantic Frames
Finish Line Alpha
Metal Bits
Template by Angel Filter

And now...I'm going to go pick up the same toys for the 40th time today. Because I clearly have nothing better to do. Have a great weekend, friends!

Bad Blogger! Bad, Bad Blogger!

2010-02-17T07:50:00.007-05:00

I've been a very bad blogger! Life had been busy and exciting, I just haven't taken the time to blog about it! I'm going to try to creep back into it. I've sat down several times to compose an update. Even started one and saved in progress a few times. But ultimately here I sit, dusting the debris off of my blogger dashboard, eight weeks out, wondering what to write.

I realize that since I have posted, I have TEN new Project 365 layouts completed. That is 70 days of mundane and not-so mundane details of my life. Here are some:

There. Do you feel all caught up on me and mine?

No. Of course you don't!

So, here are some more!

Okay, so it really doesn't help you get much of a feel for what has been going on in my life. But it's the best I've got. I'm not really going to give you a play-by-play of the last two months. It would be quite boring for both you and me. At best this serves as proof that I've been alive and happy and just too darned distracted to meander on over here to my blog! It is my goal to not neglect ye olde bloggie anymore. I miss it when I do :)

So, enough about me. What's new with you?

The One With Karma

2010-02-03T08:00:00.003-05:00

Do you believe in karma?

One of my favorite sayings is that you don't have to believe in karma for it to happen to you.

Last night, I James and I met at a halfway point between the college he teaches at on Tuesday afternoons and where I live. The town doesn't have a lot there but we enjoyed Cracker Barrel and afterward were sitting in his car for a few minutes chatting, about to part ways. When I saw this strange man hovering near my car.

I then watched him checking handles at various cars across the way from us. James and I sat there, stunned. Then he managed to get into a car and was rifling around. That's when we went back into the Cracker Barrel and got the manager. They called the police but they were unsuccessful in apprehending him. At least they were able to scare him off though.

I feel bad that they didn't catch him but I'm glad he at least was stopped for the time being. I really think that if it were my car he had been rifling through, and someone else was witnessing it, that they would have done the same thing as me. I hope so, at least. Maybe I stopped someone's things from getting stolen last night, and that's a good feeling--doing a good thing and hoping that karma noticed ;)

And...onwards and upwards...the winner of my random drawing yesterday...
So, SidebySide, you'll receive a $5 Gift Card to Shawna Clingerman's shoppe...congrats! (and congrats on all those photos too!)

I have my 5 week post op appointment this morning so I'm outta here...will chat you bloggers up tomorrow! :)

The One With 200 Posts!

2010-02-02T08:08:00.008-05:00

So this is my 200th post, bloggers! I can't believe it has been a year! This blog has seen me through a lot of things. Here's my first post. It really wasn't all that interesting. This was was interesting though! Man, I was mad! Oh and then there was this one time that my blog was linked to this blog, which was funny and interesting. Do you remember that post? Ahhh, the fun.

I've also learned so much about myself through the old Sweet Shoppe FOBTY quizzes and other random stuff. The recap is:

* I am hip-hop music. (w.... t.....h.)
* My spelling is excellent
* I have a Midland American accent
* I could be a vampire if I had to
* I am 80% real (i beg to differ)
* I type 84 wpm

* I am terrible at naming crayola crayon colors

Now if that random mashup of crap isn't reason enough to blog daily, I don't know what is!

What is fun about blogging IS the longevity of it, the day after day stuff. It is a feeling of accomplishment knowing that I've stuck with it!

I'd like you to tell me about something you've accomplished, or stuck with for a while. Tomorrow, one lucky winner from my comments section will win a $5 gift card to
Shawna Clingerman's shoppe at Sweet Shoppe Designs!

So tell me about it and give yourself a pat on the back while you're at it! I'll be back tomorrow with our winner!

The One With The Big Question

2010-02-01T08:37:00.002-05:00

tomorrow will be my 200th blog post, friends! What should I do? I was thinking maybe I could snag a gift card from Bella Gypsy's store...maybe even snag one from a friend, to give away here tomorrow? 200 posts seems like a lot of verbal runoff to not celebrate in some way, shape, or form.

While you're thinking, let me get caught up on my Project 365 photos! I was so busy from Wednesday on last week I didn't have time!

27/365. Dry bed. In the great indoor precipitation disaster, 50 sq. feet of carpet and 1/2 of my king-sized bed were soaked...during my nightly call from James, I explained the aquatic catastrophe. He offered refuge and a dry bed...which honestly could have been found a little closer than a 1-hour drive, but I couldn't pass up the chance for a little spontaneity and a late-night impromptu trip to the 1222 for a mid-week sleepover.

28/365. Pancakes. A not-ordinary Thursday, thanks to the midweek sleepover...was nice to start the day with my sweetie at IHOP.

29/365. Papa's House. Took the kids to David's for the weekend. Naomi was pretty excited and talked about it all morning!

30/365. No Tiramisu for you!We went for Tiramisu cupcakes yesterday but they had run out. We got a different kind and saved them to eat today. They were yummy but I still want the tiramisu kind!

31/365. Written in the snow. James & I went out to play in the snow...we played with nerf swords for an hour on the tennis court, and I left a little note before we went in for the day!

....and I got my week four layout done! :)

That's really all...but that's a LOT so I suppose I'll get to work...and I'll see you back here tomorrow with my 200th post! :)

The One With The Quickie

2010-01-30T08:29:00.002-05:00

Hiya bloggers! Just a quickie post from me today...it has been a crazy couple of days and I haven't had time to post! Therein lies the rub...when you are really having a good time and have lots of interesting stuff to blog about, there's no time to blog! But I'll work on getting caught up over the next few days...for the moment I'm just going to share a few layouts, all with new products on sale at Sweet Shoppe Designs today!

ok so I gotta jet...busy day planned! :) Later!

The One With The Weekend Wrap-Up

2010-01-27T09:01:00.006-05:00

So I shared some photo yesterday of our weekend...but honestly it was such a busy weekend that I couldn't fit it all in one post. So I figured I'd share a few more photos!

That pretty much wrapped up our weekend and it was back to the grindstone. Monday means grocery shopping. Which brings me to my Project 365 photos for the last two days :)

25/365: Imagine That. Tab & I went grocery shopping and I took my camera with the assumption that today's photo would be of my grocery cart....then I ran into an old friend! We chatted for a bit and then interrupted her work to snap a photo!...what fun!

Yesterday I had a quiet day of work and then...a dinner date!

26/365. All Dolled Up. Had James over this evening for a very exciting date we've been planning...Wheel of Fortune and my infamous white chicken chili.Definitely something to dress up for right?

And now...it's Wednesday. What do you have planned for today? Will you document it in photos? I don't have anything exciting planned. I'm headed out for some fasting bloodwork...so I must get out the door before I ... cave and eat one of these cupcakes! ;)

The One With Saturday Fun!

2010-01-26T09:01:00.002-05:00

As promised, I have no To-Do Tuesday today...I'm trying to take it easy and focus on healing! I figured I'd share some snapshots from our Saturday though. Just a trip to the park and the salon, but in the middle of January when you luck out and get a 50 degree day, it is something to celebrate! :)

So that, in a nutshell, was our fun-filled afternoon. Really it was quite an ordinary day, but that's the best part about it! :)

The One With The Small Setback

2010-01-25T08:49:00.002-05:00

So it would appear I've had a minor setback. Tomorrow I'll be 4 weeks post-op from my abdominal surgery and I was recovering well, or at least I thought. I *sort of* got the kids back last week. I say sort of because the first day was really rough, I overdid it, and we had to revert to a time-share...kind of slowly reintroducing me to the world of parenting a VERY rambunctious one year old and a precocious three year old, all while trying to heal.

Last night I went to the ER and was given my marching orders, the raised eyebrow, the stern talking-to that they are not called "doctor's suggestions", they are called "doctor's orders".

Oh wait, let me back up and explain.

The kids came home on Tuesday. Tuesday was awful. I can't NOT lift these kids. Parker is always trying to climb on something, I have to get him down. Naomi can't get up on her barstool by herself to eat. You get the picture. Wednesday they stayed with Tab so I could recover from Tuesday.

Thursday I fell down the stairs.

Yep, slipped on mud. It's been rainy here. Friday I was recovering from that. Well by Saturday I felt well and I got the kids back, presumably for the final time this time. James and I took the kids to the park. Do you think I managed to not lift either child at all? No. Then we took them for haircuts. On Sunday we went to James' family's house and again...lots of overdoing it. I picked them up over and over again. I thought that because I was doing it from a seated position it would be ok.

By last night I was wishing for death my pain was so great. Needless to say, I'm home, alone again *sniff* and resting. I miss my kids so much! At this point it has been so long since they've been down here with me full time it actually feels strange. It was so nice to have them back this weekend and it felt back to normal...but obviously my body isn't ready for back to normal. So they're going to stay with Tab another week...maybe even two. Two weeks will get me to my 6 week post op mark and I should get the all clear from my doctor to resume normal activity.

Do I have a point? I suppose it is ... if you have surgery and you are feeling well...still take it easy...I'm reminded constantly of "what a major surgery this was" by the doctors and nurses and my friends at the hysterectomy board. I guess I've just felt so well that I pushed myself too hard. Also...if a loved one of yours has surgery like this...remind them of the same. It's hard because when you are feeling well, those around you expect that you are back to normal but it's really not time to be overdoing it.

There's no good segue but here are my P365 photos for the weekend:

Saturday my new camera bag came in the mail:

and here's a shot of Parker at James' dad's house yesterday. He was quite easily entertained with a cup for a while...they kids even fought over it. Go figure.

I'll probably forgo 'To-Do Tuesday" tomorrow, as I'm ordered to not do that much! Instead, I'll round up more of our photos from this weekend...the park stuff especially, and share more with you...I may be regretting it now, but it still was an amazingly fun weekend! :)

The One With The Project 365 Progress

2010-01-23T08:51:00.002-05:00

I'm making good progress on my P365. By this time last year I had given up completely, and I only finished 2 weeks worth of layouts. I'm already ahead by having 3 weeks down! Here is my week 3 layout:

The credits are here. 

And here is my 22nd photo for the year, mommy's little helper. She is at that really precious age where helping me with whatever it is I'm doing, is her favorite thing to do.

Have a great weekend bloggers! :)

The One With Something Up My Sleeve

2010-01-22T07:39:00.003-05:00

I'm planning something fun or Sunday...isn't it exciting when you have a secret? I feel all giddy inside. I made this simple invite and now I'm even more excited. My inspiration came from here and the kit here.

and speaking of fun....how fun are holiday M&M's? My fave! So, my P365 photo for yesterday :)

Today I'm working on my week three P365 layout and tying up some other loose ends...some tidying in the house, some scrapping, and getting ready for the weekend! Have a great one! :)

The One With The Hum Drum

2010-01-21T07:39:00.002-05:00

Yesterday was a bit hum-drum for me so I don't have a ton of things to share. I worked on some designwork, continued to upload my photos to flickr for a backup, and worked on doing some clean up on my hard drive. Renaming files, deleting things I don't need, that sort of thing. Tedious and boring! My mood seems to be fluctuating more this week than it has the rest of my recovery period, so I picked back up this book and began reading it again: I began it before the surgery but haven't finished it yet. I had felt great emotionally until just a few days ago. This week has been a bit tougher though, so I'm trying to get to the bottom of it. That includes a doctor's appointment this morning that I have to run and get ready for! So, I'll see you peeps tomorrow! :) Have a great Thursday! :)

The One With The Soup Recipe!

2010-01-20T08:22:00.005-05:00

Happy Wednesday, Friends! How was your Tuesday? Mine was crazy since the kids came back home after my surgery. We are staggering their return though...at the moment they are back upstairs while we correct some snafus we ran into with them being home yesterday...(what do you mean, Parker can now climb onto the counter? He's only been gone 3 weeks! etc) I swear they were like little tazmanian devils yesterday...but we had a lot of fun! Here was my P365 photo. Parker kept wanting to look at the camera, it was hilarious.

And I found a layout I hadn't shared yet, would you like to see?

Layered Up In You Stacks by Lauren Grier
 I've Been Waiting For This Moment by Lauren Grier
 Borderline 2 by Lauren Grier
 DJB Brittany Script by Darcy Baldwin
 So Chic by Jacque Larsen

And, I promised you a recipe today! I would LOOOVE to take credit for this recipe myself but alas, James located it with his friend google. So, the yummy potato soup that was my P365 photo for Sunday was found here:
Loaded Potato Soup Recipe

When James and I made the soup, we followed the recipe exactly and it turned out PERFECT! I've never had a potato soup better than this at home. The consistency and flavor are right on target!

Well, that's all from me for today...see you tomorrow!

The One With The Second Try

2010-01-19T09:13:00.004-05:00

I'm going to try To-Do Tuesday again. I enjoyed making a list (and actually working through it!) last week. Today is going to be busy, probably busier than what the list even says...but here's my take on today.

Now wish me luck on getting it done! Some stuff is easy but I'll forget if I don't write it down. Some days Tab and I remind each other at lunch time..to put dinner in the crockpot :)

Speaking of food, tomorrow I'm going to share our potato soup recipe that I mentioned yesterday!

But, I digress. I hope you're having a great week. Mine is good so far! Here is my P365 photo from yesterday, nothing too exciting. Was just sorting out the kids' toys (as they multiplied at Christmastime!)

 I should go then, and work on this list. 'Till tomorrow, friends :)

The One With The Busy Weekend!

2010-01-18T10:14:00.006-05:00

I find weekends are pretty busy for people...but this weekend was crazy busy! I'll get a chance to share my P365's from the weekend though. Today I'm one day shy of 3 weeks post-op and the kids are coming back home to me. I have missed them SO. MUCH. But the weekend was my one last chance for rest and relaxation. After 2.5 weeks of being in the house I was going stir crazy! So, I went to Lexington to spend the weekend with my boyfriend.

Friday night was quiet. We went to IHOP and watched some Netflix. Saturday we went to see Daybreakers (meh.), got some Jelly Belly's at the mall, went for a walk at the Arboretum (it was almost 60 degrees!) and went to a new cupcake store that opened across from his place. It was so yummy!

Sunday we went to visit his family and had Sunday dinner with them (a tradition in their family, though "dinner" is at noon. I enjoy the together time and any meal I didn't have to cook is a blessing, right? Later, James and I made loaded potato soup for dinner...his kitchen isn't that big so it was interesting squeezing us both in there but it was fun making it together and the soup turned out delicious!

This morning though, it's back to the normal work week for me...I'm home, feeling refreshed, and ready to resume a normal routine with my babies!

The One With Friday!!!

2010-01-15T07:45:00.003-05:00

I am SO happy it is Friday and I'm sure I'm not alone in this!

Yesterday's P365 photo comes to you by way of storyboard. I was so happy when my camera came in the mail, that of course my photo of the day had to be me ecstatically holding my camera. Maybe I don't look ecstatic--truth be told I look like I'm in love :P

And because that was out of the way, I went ahead and did my Project 365 week two layout. I really love how it turned out! :) And, I'm going for matchy matchy this year, so you can see how it compares to week one.

It's time for me to get this Friday started...if I don't blog over the weekend, I'll see ya Monday! :)

The One With The Small Projects

2010-01-14T08:26:00.004-05:00

I realized yesterday that I had a zillion small projects unfinished. I needed to wrap up a little bit of scrapping, a little bit of work, a little bit of home organizing. Well of course I didn't get to all of it...but I did tie up *some* loose ends at least. I worked some and I finished up my scrapping portfolio for January. I still plan to scrap some but it will be my CT work and stuff I just want to do. I needed a new fridge layout and those ones...I spend a lot of time on...because I have to look at them all the time! I spent a few hours and came up with this...I'm so happy with it! The credits can be found here.

At 15 days post-op, I was allowed to drive again. It was nice to have my freedom. I went to town to pick up a few things and it was nice to drive myself! :) Hence, my 365 photo for the day !

OH!!! Fed-Ex says that my camera will be delivered today!!! I could SHOUT IT I am so excited. I have missed my DSLR so much...hug your camerababies a little tighter for me! ;)

Well, I'm going to work some more today on finishing up those little projects...'till tomorrow, friends! :)

The One With The Happy Day

2010-01-13T08:17:00.005-05:00

I had a happy day yesterday. I'm generally a happy-go-lucky person anyway, but you know that great feeling you get when it's just an awesome day? Nothing spectacular happened. I spent time organizing and cleaning, which is one of my favorite activities. Since I've been recovering from surgery, I haven't been able to do much of that and I was going through withdrawal I think.

I talked on the phone with my best friend and my sister (she is just upstairs but we use an intercom feature on our phones).  I had my boyfriend over for dinner and made my favorite meal, chicken tacos. And, I got good news that my camera was repaired. Just a really great day.

My DSLR bit the dust at the end of October. One day it just stopped reading the memory card. I researched it and found it was a known problem with Canon Rebels. I couldn't afford the repairs at Christmastime though...I had other priorities. So I sent it off last week and my baby is safely on its way back home to me. I've been borrowing an old P&S from Tab. I appreciate the loaner, but the photo quality is terrible...mostly just a LOT of grain. But, it was such a happy day yesterday that this is what I decided to make my P365 photo about...just a happy me (grain and all) :) Have a Happy Wednesday friends!

The One With To-Do Tuesday

2010-01-12T09:01:00.004-05:00

I don't have categorized posts. I kind of wish I did. I don't really know what I would do, even if I did! Everyone has such neat ideas!! But today I wanted to try one on for size and try a To-Do Tuesday. I don't know if I'll stick with it or not, but I figured I'd try it anyway and share my to-do list with you. It was fun procrastinating and making the list instead of getting up and doing any of it HAHAH!!!!!!!!

It was fun because it was even my handwriting by Ms. Darcy Baldwin! If you don't have your own handwriting font, you should...because it's affordable and very neat to use for stuff like this, not just layouts! You can buy my handwriting too, but I recommend getting your own :P

Here's yesterdays' P365 photo...I love me a spinach salad! Now...I'm off to work on that list :) Till tomorrow, friends!

The One With Small Victories

2010-01-11T08:28:00.005-05:00

Here are my two P365 photos from the weekend!

9/365. I Love My Bed. Didn't want to get out of bed today. Once I did get out of bed, have been scheming reasons to go back to bed. Now that the day is winding down, can't wait for bedtime.

10/365. Small Victories. I have been on a slow and steady weight loss journey. Today when I weighed myself I was happy to see I had lost just a little over 20 pounds in the last few months. Yay!

I have been scrapping some more, too. I am really enjoying it but it is almost time to print! I print when I have 100 layouts done and it is about that time again! Hard to believe! I really love both of these layouts of two of my favorite people in the whole world <3

The credits for these layouts can be found here.   

That's all from me! I suppose it's time for me to get to work!

The One With the Random Act of Kindness

2010-01-09T09:22:00.002-05:00

Yesterday when I opened the mail, I expected this envelope to be a computer generated comment card from the hospital. I was quite surprised to find that it was a handwritten get well note from the nurse who cared for me two days last week. It was such a nice surprise!

I scrapped a bunch yesterday but I think for now I'll just share my Project 365 week one layout. I really like how it turned out!

I hope you have a great weekend, friends! Mine will be very, very quiet and low-key. I am alone (and if we are being honest, a tad lonely), and I plan on scrapping and watching a movie...and maybe a nap!

The One About Me

2010-01-08T10:52:00.003-05:00

So I'm participating in Sweet Shoppe Scrapper's Portfolio, and part of that is creating a Book of Me in 2010. I'm pretty good with scrapping about myself, I find it very cathartic. I have printed a whole book of layouts that were about me, my SO, my house, etc; everything not kids related. I called it "The Other Side of the Lens", vol I. But a whole organized book about me, I find this fun. So...I did my first 3 pages. I decided I'm going to do the facing pages using the same kit for some continuity. Here is my opener page, and my first two pages. The journaling and credits are here.

Also, I finished up P365 week one. I'll have a layout to show you tomorrow, it's almost done.

I love this photo, though I was in an interesting angle to get the shot :P
7/365. Snowed In. What fun is being snowed in if you can't crawl back in bed, snuggle, and nap?

That's all from me today, friends. We'll chat later! :)

The One With A Snow Day

2010-01-07T10:20:00.002-05:00

I'm pretty excited this morning (because I'm rotten). James was supposed to go home this morning. But, the weather kind of crapped out on us and it looks like he needs to stay one more day. So I'm not-so-secretly thrilled...what is more romantic than being snowed in? Well, really, we aren't snowed in. The roads are quite passable at my place (though they did shut down school b/c of all the hills and back roads)...but where he lives, an hour away, things are all shut down and snowy~! The snow is supposed to be mostly done by evening, so he'll go home tomorrow! I'll take my extra day and enjoy it.

We're on day 7 of project 365...I haven't decided what my day 7 will be yet, but yesterday I had an appointment to have my staples removed. So, that is naturally my photo...while we were waiting for the doctor to come in, James was snapping photos of me, but he was also saying very silly things that were making me laugh...and, with 19 staples in, laughing still hurt very much. So I was giving him "the look". LOL! I am so happy that once Dr. Barton removed the staples, SO much of my pain was gone! I had no idea that the staples were causing my pain. I'm feeling much better today.

I also found a bit of time to scrap yesterday...here's my layout for January 2010: Sweet Shoppe Scrapper's Portfolio Challenge # 22.

Enjoy your day, friends, and I hope the weather is treating you well!

The One With The Triple Word Score

2010-01-06T10:05:00.005-05:00

I love Scrabble.  There's something about it that just seriously relaxes me. While I've been recovering from surgery, my boyfriend has been staying with me at my house to help me. The first few days I couldn't even get out of bed without help (anyone who has had a c-section understands what I mean). I lucked out because James teaches college and was on holiday break...having him around has been wonderful. He's going home tomorrow *sniff sniff*...but while he was here he played a lot of Scrabble with me <3  Which brings me to my P365 photo from yesterday :) 

I scrapped a bit yesterday... I am working through Sweet Shoppe Designs' Scrapper's Portfolio Challenges for January 2010. Challenge #15 was to scrap a graphic style layout with no shadows. I had a hard time with it, but ultimately settled on something simple: the journaling reads:

for 3 weeks following my hysterectomy, I made plans for Parker & Naomi to stay elsewhere. 2 weeks of that is upstairs with Tab. 1 week down and 2 weeks to go, she brought the kids down to see me. Parker wishing to climb on me perfectly illustrates why I can't care for them right now. They both miss me, but judging from the way he immediately tackled me, I'd say he's really missing mama. (I really miss them, too.)

That's all from me for today...I'm headed out to run some errands and have a post-op visit with my doctor. Till tomorrow friends, toodles!

The One With A Little Break...

2010-01-05T16:00:00.003-05:00

4 months.

Seriously? Seriously. I can't believe I "shut down" my blog for 4 months. My friends and family know how important blogging is to me, but sometimes life gets in the way. This incarnation of my blog has been in existence for a year and a half, but my "old" blog has been around for years. I can't believe I've been blogging for almost 4 years!

You all know that I went through a divorce in 2009. Honestly it just wasn't something I felt like talking much about. There wasn't a lot to say about it. We were in an unhappy marriage and separately, we are both happier now. I can say that with complete certainty for me, and with probable certainty for my ex husband. I felt for a while in the latter part of 2009 that I didn't want to share things that were going on in my life for my ex to read about. I felt like eventually he would grow bored of checking up on me and I could resume my relationship with my online friends. A public online persona is just that...public, and anyone can read what you write, in most circumstances. I'm granted some privacy on Facebook and on private forums, but ultimately the internet is very public.

I've found out recently that my ex isn't as uninterested as I would have thought. Just today I found out that he is still interested enough in my life to find what he can online. But you know what? That's okay. I don't write for him. And I don't care if he reads what I write. He was a very important part of my life for 4 years, we shared some fun times and made some very beautiful children. But beyond that, I've moved on. In 2010, I'm going to re-embrace my passions...including scrapping and blogging, and I'm making no apologies.

I'm back, friends. It's so good to be back!

With that, let's get to it! I'd love to share my Project 365 to date!
1/365. Get Well Soon. My wonderful sister brought me flowers in hopes of lifting my spirits, 3 days post-op from my TAH/BSO.

2/365. Happy Birthday. Despite 20 degree weather and me being still under the weather, we ventured out for James' 35th birthday. We ate out and picked up a cake, a very nice evening!

3/365. Spiderman Cake. Today we had Tab, Tim, her kids & my kids down for a little party for James' birthday. The cake turned out awesome and was yummy too!

4/365. 6 days out. 6 days post-op and feeling okay. The estrogen is my friend.

Well this brings me up to date! I'm going to go now...I've got some scrapping to do...but we'll catch up more later, friends. Toodles!

Just a quick note to say.....

2009-09-07T11:21:00.002-05:00

Bella Gypsy has a TEAM BLOG now! Go here to check it out! My bloggie here will now get a chance to be used for all things personal again (woohooo!) And I promise to update it again soon!

The One With The Rockin' Tuesday!

2009-08-11T06:44:00.005-05:00

For those about to rock....we totally salute you! I know I showed you our uber cool punk-y kits yesterday so I won't bother you again with the previews...but I wanted to show you a handful of pages that our CT made this Rock The Cradle, Rebel Yell, and One Tough Cookie! These kits are all new at Gotta Pixel today and only ONE DOLLAR EACH :) Ok, I'll stop yelling now. But...I made you a little bitty freebie too!

Click HERE to snag these babies at Gotta Pixel!

and click HERE to download the frame cluster freebies :)

And...have a rockin' tuesday...I have appts today...nothing that exciting to share..but I'll try to come back tomorrow and show you Parker's new haircut! :-) Toodles!

The One With Exciting News!

2009-08-10T07:18:00.003-05:00

I'm here, I'm here! I'm eating leftover spaghetti for breakfast, I've got one eye propped open with a toothpick, and I'm here to share our exciting news!

I know I've been a bit scarce lately...I'm adjusting to designing as a full time income rather than a hobby and I'm adjusting to the "single mom" thing...sometimes it is a challenge and sometimes it is not...same as always. These few weeks have been CRAZY! But most of all we've been busy facilitating this little piece of news: (and maybe playing a little Sorority Life on Facebook)

So it's Monday and we have lots of great new goodies coming out today at Elemental Scraps...but they will also be coming out at Gotta Pixel tomorrow because we are joining their lovely community over there! Here is the ad...if you can't read the fine print you should read it here [it is important]: read the fine print. 

Also...would you like to see what a dollar buys today? Of course you would! Empty your change purse into your paypal account and go snag these babies up for such a great discount, K?

We have 3 kits up and a new template pack...all $1 each at ES today! If you prefer to shop from GP, you can buy them there tomorrow, also for $1! 
Have a great day friends!

When I Grow Up and Get Married.....

2009-08-05T07:52:00.002-05:00

"I'M LIVING ALONE!!!!"

That's what Macaulay Caulkin proclaims as a child in one of my favorite Christmas Movies, Home Alone.

That's kind of how I feel.

I don't want to make my family disappear (most days) but there definitely is NO shortage of company around here...

It's such a strange feeling to be married and living alone. Separation and divorce is such a weird state of limbo.  In my apartment it's me and the kids...but as most of you know...my apartment is in my sister Tabatha's basement...so I'm not far away from company....and what that means is...

I've become a squatter upstairs :P

I know I'll outgrow it but for now I haven't been living much downstairs. I buy groceries and they go in Tab's fridge, I buy laundry soap and it goes in Tab's laundry room, and I only go downstairs to sleep.

I'm not scared of being alone. I relish it at times. But at the moment I'd just rather be with people who love me during my waking hours. Who wouldn't?

And for the record.....I apparently know I'm single on even a subconscious level at this point.  They say that when you have mastered a foreign language, you will begin to dream in that language. Last night I dreamt....and in my dream I was single. So I thought that was an interesting turn of events...just a lot for my mind to process :)

And to those of you who have contacted me to ask how I'm doing...forgive me for my laziness in response. I'm actually doing quite well. I am focused on my work, my kids...and my happiness. I'm wading through a lot of crap to find my happiness...but it's out there...and I'm gonna get it!

The One With The Exhale

2009-07-27T07:44:00.003-05:00

There is our template pack for the week friends....Easy Peasy Lemon Squeezy. Tabatha and I work ahead a few weeks on certain things so it's amusing to me that this is the template pack that finds its way for release today...wouldn't it be nice if life was easy peasy?

I've been a bit scarce and *some* of you know why....others do not. I'm going to bring you up to speed! Last week my marriage ended and my husband moved out of state. Things have been understandably stressful here in Bella Gypsy Land! But...we are getting along just fine :) It's an adjustment but life is full of change right?

My sister and I created a kit to mark my newfound singlehood. I am anxious and sad but I still have hope...and hope floats! So we created Hope Floats and the Hope Floats add-on. Enjoy these worn papers and inspirational word art....they are only $1!

The Hope Floats kit is ALSO only $1 :)

There is a special download included with the Hope Floats kit. It's a surprise (shhh, I can't tell you what it is but I promise it's really special!) It is from my friends at ES (that's the only hint you are getting!) and is a token of all of their love and support for me! 

And we created these awesome unique girl and boy birthday kits for only $1 too!

Click  HERE if you are interested in shopping with us today...we really do appreciate it!

And...thank you ALL for your prayers and positive thoughts!

I'll be back to blogging like my normal self...in a jiffy!

Toodles!

The One Where You Can Consider Yourself Appreciated

2009-07-23T13:27:00.002-05:00

Hello dearest readers!

It's me, I'm back ;) Sort of....

I'll be back to my regularly scheduled blogging very soon...but I had to take a break from my hiatus today to come tell you I appreciate you!  Elemental Scraps is having a Customer Appreciation Week right now and there are a ton of freebies up for grabs. Today Bella Gypsy has a surprise freebie for you and you can get it RIGHT HERE. Don't forget to tell me you stopped by...I love reading your comments!

And with that...I'll TTYS!

The One With Tuff Guys, Preppy Girls and a Freebie!!

2009-07-20T08:58:00.011-05:00

Hey Bloggers! This is Tabatha stepping in for Lena this morning! She is having a brief break from blogging so I have come to talk to you about our new stuffs! We've got it all! Kits, templates and a FREEBIE! So keep reading if you want to hear more :)!

This is for all your little tuff guys out there! Grab Tuff Guy for $3.85 today!

Our creative team had a fun time working with this kit!

Lucky day! It is Free with Purchase Week at Elemental Scraps so if you purchase our Tuff Guy kit you will get these templates free! You can also buy them seperately if you just want the templates! Grab Sketchology: Put'em Up for 1.40 today!

We didn't forget the girls this week either! We have created one our favorite girls kit ever! Preppy and fun we hope you love it too! Grab Preppy Girl today for just $3.85!

Our team loved creating with this kit and we know you will too!

You guessed it! There are free templates with this kit too! Purchase Preppy Girl and you'll get Sketchology: Just Clique It free! Or you can purchase the templates for $1.30 seperately!

As promised we have an awesome freebie just you blog readers! We had so much fun creating Tuff Guy and Preppy Girl we couldn't stop! So here is another helping of Preppy Girl!
Click HERE to download Preppier Girl mini add-on!

The One With A Few Pages

2009-07-15T07:16:00.004-05:00

So Blogger was really, really cranky yesterday! I ended up pasting in my own HTML but I'm so glad it is functioning again properly! The last time I remembering this happening was several years ago and it took a full week for it to be fixed!

I took advantage of the again-working features to upload a few layouts to share with you. While I am not a chronological scrapper, I have been doing two layouts with every kit so that I can print them in a neater fashion. The idea isn't mine, I totally borrowed it from Vanessa (nesser1981). I love the way her books looked with the kit continuity.

I finally got around to using this Dani kit I bought what seems like ages ago:

and I used this kit from Fee. I had so much fun with it!

I've been trying to make time to scrap every day and it helps me feel not behind. I have given up on the thought of ever going back and getting "caught up" since I had a five year old when I started scrapping, but I've been staying on top of my current month or two of photos which is nice.

Till tomorrow, friends!

The One With The Fridge Project

2009-07-14T08:07:00.003-05:00

The One About Tabatha

2009-07-09T07:08:00.006-05:00

Today my big sister turns 30.

She's sad, but there's nothing to be sad about.

For 30 whole years, she's been blessing all of the lives around her.

I want to tell you about Tabatha.

Tabatha and I are very close in age. As a matter of fact, in one year and three weeks I will be turning 30 myself ;)

When we were very very young (3 and 2) our parents divorced and we were split up. My mom married a military man and my mom, stepdad and I traveled the world. Tabatha stayed in Kentucky with our dad. She was raised by our grandparents and set down strong roots here in KY.

We knew of each other but never were able to see each other until we were 17 and 18 respectively.

Wow. I know huh? Not a lot of people know that. It's no secret, it's just that it doesn't come up in common conversation.

We have spent the last 12 years making up for lost time!

We are about as close as two people can be.

And here are a gazillion reasons I love Tabatha.

Because even in 1998 we were a TON alike. We had never grown up together, but we liked the same things, said the same things, and wanted the same things.

Because she forgives me when I chase her around the apartment with a butter knife.

Because she loves my friends. 

Because she loves my kids.

Because she gives good kisses ;)
And she puts up with me making her take photos with me.

She is very patient!

 She is honest. Amazingly honest. One time, she had stopped working for a company. Six months later they sent a check for a recent holiday, one that she hadn't worked. Did she cash it? No, it wasn't her money.  Did she send it back to the company? No, she didn't want to get the person in trouble who had accidentally cut the check. She just simply shredded it. I've just never met someone so honest and concerned about others.

 She is shy. Soooo shy. Like will let me talk on the phone for her shy.

 She is SO funny. She can make me laugh when no one else can.

 She wants everyone to be happy. If you are having a down day, she does anything she can to cheer you up.

 She is an amazing scrapper. See her Gallery if you don't believe me.

 She has experienced more pain in her 30 years than some experience in a lifetime, and she doesn't complain about it.

 She didn't grow up with a loving, soft mother figure in her life...and yet she is the most loving and softhearted person I know.

 She puts up with Me. Enough said.

 She is old enough to be jaded....by love...by life....but not hard enough to have given up on it .... on love.... on life...

 She is a REALLY good cook!

 She makes no excuses for who she is.

 She takes care of two special needs children...day in and day out, and only grumbles a little.

 She'll share anything with anyone. Except she won't share Oreos. But can you blame her?

 She sings. Often. Loud. And Pretty Good!

 She'll drop what she's doing to ride to the store with me. In her jammies. At midnight.

 She lets me call her "hooker" and doesn't bat an eyelash.

 She's ever the peacemaker.

She is the most fun to be around!

 She can down a margarita better than anyone I know.

 She doesn't watch scary movies when I'm around.

 She goes without so that she can provide for her kids.

 She forgave me....for that one thing I did that one time...

 Because I could write 30 more things....(yes, I made this cake for you. Sorry it doesn't look prettier. I'll be upstairs with it in a little bit...along with your birthday donut!)

The One With The Zoo!

2009-07-08T07:13:00.003-05:00

Going to the Louisville Zoo was one of the most pleasant experiences I've ever had! The animals were interesting, the husbands and children behaved themselves ;) and the rain stayed away!

the kids were so excited!

the orangutan was my personal favorite!

the zoo had a gigantic playground that we let the kids play on at lunchtime. I'm not sure what this pouty face was about but it sure was funny!

Julian's looking at him like, "what's he doing? there's too much excitement to fall asleep!"

Naomi couldn't see anything unless someone picked her up of course! She alternated riding in the stroller and walking by herself, and spent plenty of time on Papa's shoulders, or being held up, stroller and all.

We saw so many cool animals and had such a good time...but I figured I had better keep the post manageable so there are 7 of my favorite photos of the day.

I still love the Cincinnati Zoo for the manatee building, but the Louisville Zoo was fun too!

*blog accessories for this post from Sherri Tierney's Gone Wild Kit at Elemental Scraps* 

I hope you all have a great day!

The One With An Independence Day Recap

2009-07-07T07:05:00.002-05:00

So I finally got around to going through some of my 4th of July photos! I have so many it was hard to pick...and I only whittled the list down to 10...so you'll have to imagine the fireworks we set off, k? (They were pretty.) ;)

Here are all of the kids in their getups. Photos are difficult with this many!

the babies were ready for a nap. we were grilling lunch and trying to have them wait it out!
we let the older kids play with sparklers...they really enjoyed it!

we baked yummy cupcakes!

and this pinata was the hit of the day (excuse the bad pun). But it was!

We really had a very enjoyable day at home despite the on again/off again sprinkling. I hope you had a pleasant holiday!

I have zoo photos to show you tomorrow...I'm going through them and they are SO cute! Today's plans are fairly low-key so I should have time to get caught up!

Until next time friends...have a great day ;)

We Interrupt Your Regularly Scheduled Summer Programming....

2009-07-06T08:51:00.002-05:00

I have taken over 1,000 photos this week bloggers! I am going to catch up with you on a personal note tomorrow....but for this moment I'd like to interrupt all the fun to share with you a freebie and some new releases! Here are some new templates from us! (there is a HOT freebie in our newsletter this week, btw!)

And a new mini kit at a mini price too:

Here's a new collab we did with our friend Danimoy...

And a freebie for you as well!

Click HERE to be taken to our shop!

Click HERE to download the freebie alpha!

And...brace yourself for all of the excitement in tomorrow's post...I bet you'll feel like you were at the (insert activity here...zoo/fireworks/splash pad) with us!

Until then, have a fantastic day, my friends...and I'll chat with you tomorrow!

The One With Stinky Insomnia

2009-07-04T22:57:00.002-05:00

Happy Sunday, bloggers!

I have a ton of photos to share with you, but I probably won't share them until tomorow!

On Friday we took the kids to see Ice Age 3 and went back to the Mill St. Splash Pad. I got some pretty cute shots of them!

Today we had a great Fourth at home. We grilled, played with sparklers, smashed a pinata full of candy, played in the pool and set off fireworks before bed.

However, I have been quietly suffering with some cruddy (non serious) medical junk that I haven't been sharing...and I'm on a hefty dose of steroids right now...complete with a steroid injection last night...which means---NO SLEEP!

I'm trying to go to sleep because we are getting up early tomorrow to take the kids to the Louisville Zoo. (okay, okay...I know what you're thinking. Don't they ever stop?) But hey, it's only summer once a year :) It's a two hour drive to the closest zoo (same distance to the Louisville Zoo or the Cincy Zoo and we've been to Cincy Zoo a gazillion times). So off to Louisville we go....

But I'm going to be tired from the Steroid-Induced-Jittery-Can't-Sleep-No-Good-Insomnia.

The upside is... I'll be back on Monday with lots of pics!

The One With A Splash :)

2009-07-02T20:03:00.005-05:00

We had a blast at Kentucky Splash today! Despite slathering on SPF 50 over and over, I somehow feel a little pink this evening anyway...which means tomorrow I'll probably be grumpy and burnt!

My wonderful husband has agreed to let me sleep in tomorrow (9 a.m. here I come) so I figured I'd blog this evening! The photos really tell the story so there's not a lot to say, but here are the highlights of our day (before I tucked the Canon safely away in a locker so I could quit fretting about ruining my camera and start enjoying the day :-) ... )

Tomorrow we are going to see Ice Age 3 and possibly revisit the splash pad...you know we have to wear the kids out every day! I hope you have a great day!

The One With The Splash Pad!

2009-07-01T06:53:00.003-05:00

So we had this hairbrained scheme to take everyone to the splash pad in town the other day. We loaded up 3 adults and 6 kids and hoped for the best! Well of Tabatha's kids the only one who really had fun was Tristan and of mine, the only one who had fun was Nathan. We were 2 and 4, but it was worth a shot!

We decided to just take Nathan and Tristan back next time!

I think the photos pretty much tell the story. I couldn't get any photos of Naomi or Parker in the water because they were too grumpy! But hey, at least I tried! :-)

Tomorrow we are going to Kentucky Splash with just Nathan. I told him yesterday and I'm pretty sure you could all hear him squeal...wherever you are! ;)

I'll be back on Friday with the full report ;)

The One Where Parents Snap

2009-06-30T08:34:00.002-05:00

So, it's summmer....and I'm not sure what that means at your house but at our house it means a LOT of family activities.

And with a lot of family activities come a lot of parental insanity. Well, maybe not for everyone...but for us, when you have such a wide age gap between your kids, it makes it hard! Nathan is about to turn 9...and he wants to do "almost 9" year old things like bowling and bumper cars. Parker just turned 1 and he wants to do "just turned 1" things like play in the sandbox and poop in his diaper. It's hard to find things that they both enjoy.

Yesterday we went to the splash pad and I thought that would be enjoyable for everyone....but alas only Nathan enjoyed it. Parker and Naomi were NOT impressed.

Don't tell him but I think we're going to take Nathan to a water park on Thursday. We've given up and decided that the only way to please everyone is to please them separately. Naomi and Parker will have to stay with Tabatha. They'll have more fun at home anyway ;)

This is what happens when you take a 1 year old bowling:

When we went to Gatti Town Nathan said "Momm! Mommmm! Mommmmmm!" one time too many.

Ok so you know I'm just kidding. No children were actually harmed in the creation of this blog post. But the outtakes from our family outings are just too good to not share ;)

Till tomorrow, friends!
Toodles!

The One With Layouts!

2009-06-29T07:04:00.007-05:00

I just printed a big book with VioVio and now I have room to scrap some more!So I have been busy scrapping, scrapping, scrapping!! I did this layout with Eva Kipler's Gettin Fresh:

I used Julie Billingsley's Little Slugger for this layout of Naomi (this is my favorite one I've done lately!)

I created this page of Naomi on the 4th of July last year! I love her little headband!

I used our new collab with Connie Prince to make that one...this kit The Fourth is on sale today for only $3.58!

I also made this page of Nathan ... that boy LOVES to climb trees!

I used Fort Wannahockaloogie...our other new collab with Connie Prince, to create this one! It is also $3.58 today! Check it out!

And that's really all from me today! We are going to do some summer reading and hang out today so I had better start...with breakfast! Till tomorrow friends!~

The One With The Public Library

2009-06-27T07:35:00.007-05:00

I was rifling through my June photos and I found something I wanted to show you.

The public library where I live is AWESOME!

It's a half an hour away which is a bit un-fun....but it has so much to offer!

I wanted to show you all of the stuff my kidlets and I have been doing at the library this summer besides reading! We've been going about twice a week.

We could spend hours there (and sometimes we do! Nathan enjoys it because he gets some peace and quiet...and he can use the computer. The kids run around from station to station acting like they've never seen toys before. Because obviously we don't have toys at our house ;)

Anywhoo.....just thought I'd share with you and let it be a PSA that you may want to see what your library has besides books! :-)

The One With A Makeover

2009-06-26T07:07:00.007-05:00

Hiya bloggers! How do you like my new look! Chelle (Roxxygerlie) has been helping me redo my blog...it's not 100% complete but we're getting there!

In honor of my makeover I figured I'd blog about Parker's makeover!

I've been lucky because I've never had to take my kids to the salon for their first haircut. Nathan's godmother is a hairdresser so we took him into her shop when he was about 1 and she cleaned up his scruffy neck.

Naomi couldn't wait any longer at 13 months and my stepmother cut her hair for us...and this past weekend my stepmother did Parker's first haircut too! We didn't pack up and drive the two hours to the salon she owns...instead she came to our porch and brought her scissors :)

He was cute but scruffy! He actually tolerated his haircut fairly well!

I don't think he cried even once!

I didn't let Anne touch his curls in the back...but she did trim up his bangs and around his ears...

By the end of the haircut he was definitely ready to play though!!

And that....was my last first haircut.

*sigh*

They grow up too fast!

Have a great day bloggers!

The One With The Summer Reading List

2009-06-22T06:48:00.010-05:00

What are your kids reading this summer, bloggers?

Parker is LOVING these chubby board books by Joanna Walsh. He's starting to get to the age where he actually will sit and look at one instead of trying to put it in his mouth.

His favorite reading buddy is his papa.
Now Naomi? This girl is crazy about Dora. Her favorite is Dora Climbs Star Mountain. There is this one part at the end where they have to clean up "green goo". Naomi giggles like crazy. Apparently there is no word in the English language funnier to a two year old than "goo".

She now knows most of her colors and can count to ten, and I attribute this to book reading (and tv-watching, *gasp* )

Nathan loves any Matt Christopher book. He writes about sports and I've found hockey, soccer, baseball, even skateboarding...but Nathan's favorites are the football ones. He just got done reading Halfback Attack and The Team That Couldn't Lose. They are chapter books and are about 100 pages each. I'm so proud of my reader!

I did this layout last week of him working through his summer reading list.

I scrapped it with the new kit that Tabatha and I designed called Bookworm. It is on sale for $1 today at Elemental Scraps!
Also we are giving away these free bookmark printables in our newsletter today! All you have to do is sign up for our newsletter if you aren't already. We put a freebie in our newsletter every week!

I'd LOVE to hear what books your kids can't get enough of right now! We are always looking to expand our horizons!

Have a great Monday bloggers!

The One With My Water Babies :)

2009-06-14T21:20:00.003-05:00

My kids absolutely love the water and I set out with my sister to create lots of water kits this summer. Last year I had tons of pictures and literally ran out of kits to scrap them all with! So I vowed for that not to happen to anyone :P

We made this kit (which is actually two kits)....with a boy half, and a girl half. I've shown you the combo pack which is wicked cheap on sale today so you should pick it up!

I made this layout with the girlie half of the kit, Itsy Bitsy Teenie Weenie

And I made this layout with the boyish half of the kit, Cannonball!

Both kits come with free with purchase templates, so you should check it out! The kits are helping me work through my backlog of pictures ... that one of Nathan is still from LAST summer! But I'll get caught up eventually right? :)

Have a great day!

The One With More Layouts :)

2009-06-13T11:22:00.002-05:00

I have been busy scrapping this week! I used All Summer Long by Julie Billingsley at SSD:

I also used Julie's collab with Manda Bean, Children at Play:

And, a new release: the newest kit from Scrap Kitchen and Misty Cato, Racer X.

So that sums up my last few days...just catching up on my scrapping and doing a bit of design work. Plus lots of dirty diapers as per usual ;-)

Toodles!

The One With A Nice Sister

2009-06-11T10:51:00.002-05:00

So the other day we were out at this little walking trail and there stood this lone hot pink flower. Naomi of course went and picked it for herself and was enjoying her flower!

Then she noticed there was another little tiny flower next to it, and she went and picked it "for Carker" she said.

She came running back with it, roots and all, so proud of herself.

We were laughing so hard because the ball of dirt and roots were much bigger than the tiny little pink flower.

But, she shared her find with her little brother...
It made me really happy to see them act nice because lately they have discovered their intrinsic ability to fight over toys. They have been insufferable! So....sharing is good :)

The One With A Short Note

2009-06-08T08:09:00.002-05:00

Just a short note today to say look at all our new goodies!!!!

And, everything is only $1!!! (except the one thing is free...even better!!!)

Click HERE to shop and have a GREAT day!

The One With Some Layouts!

2009-06-05T06:42:00.005-05:00

Wahoo for getting my mojo back! I've been working on layouts this week and it feels SO good!

Using Matryoshka by Scrap Kitchen @ SSD:

Using Shabby Daddy by Scrap Kitchen and Traci Reed @ SSD:

Using H2Ology by Bella Gypsy @ ES:

Using Joi de Vivre by Scrap Kitchen and Zoe Pearn @ SSD:

Using Bug Hunter by Nikki Scott and Angie Kovaks @ ES:

and.................

I'm going to share one more extra special layout to share because it is with a kit that's not out yet! This is using our new kit My Dad Rocks, and the kit will be available at ES on Monday. We had a LOT of fun with it!

Anywhoooo....

Told ya I'd been busy! Now I need to get busy finding breakfast! Toodles!

The One With TGIM!

2009-05-31T19:13:00.003-05:00

Thank Goodness it's Monday!

My intentions be damned, I have fallen into a routine of OAWB. Once a Week Blogging. I guess it's better than nothing but I do really mean to blog more often. I used to blog every night before bed and it became like my virtual public online diary...I miss that and want to find that routine again. It seems lately like brushing my teeth and remembering to remove my shoes are my main priority at night :P

I have over 900 photos on my camera waiting to be dealt with. I can't wait to pull them off, organize them and post some!

Tabatha and I have been busy this week, creating a fabulous new water kit for you. We hope you like H2Ology.
Our girls created beautiful pages with it!

We also made these new templates!

And, if you like *this* template, it's the template for our June challenge. The template is in our newsletter that went out this morning. If you want to play along, just sign up for the newsletter (I'll resend it to new subscribers tomorrow). Our newsletter subscribers get exclusive freebies every week so don't miss out :-)

Anyway...I'm posting this Sunday night because Parker has a well-baby first thing in the morning. I think it's time to go put the kiddos to bed and head there myself :) Here's hoping I'll see you before a week this time!

The One With a Grouchy Gift!

2009-05-25T07:44:00.003-05:00

So I have been terrible about blogging lately! I'm trying though!

We have a gift for you today. These are all new products....most a dollar! And we created a freebie to go along with our new kit, Scram!

CLICK HERE to go to our store and see all of our new stuff today! CLICK HERE to download the grumpy cranky grouchy freebie ! If you want more freebies, be sure to sign up for our newsletter....that little signup box is over on the side of my blog! We send out freebies every week that are exclusive for our newsletter subscribers!

Have a great day!

The One With The Last First Birthday

2009-05-18T09:03:00.001-05:00

My last baby turns one today. Happy Birthday, my Parker full of sunshine!

The One With Some New Stuff!

2009-05-10T20:12:00.003-05:00

It's Dollar Day at Elemental Scraps which means we have some new stuff for you and it's a great deal! Last week we brought you Crunchy Mama and Hip Mama...well now we'd like to share with you Prissy Mama! Keep your eyes open because next week we'll bring you Soccer Mama and that will complete our mini kit, mini collection :)

We also have a Sampler pack of templates for you!

Hope you enjoy the new releases! There's a few older items in Dollar Day too, our Boyish Kit and our Make It Sparkle CU alpha! Don't miss out!

CLICKIE FOR THE GOOD STUFF.

Have a great Monday friends :)

The One With Mother's Day :)

2009-05-10T18:15:00.002-05:00

Did you have a great day, mothers out there in blogland?

I don't live near my mom and I miss her a lot. I see her as often as I can but it's not nearly enough. For those of you who live near your moms this is your obligatory lecture to stop in on her more often :) I know I would if I could! (stop in on my mom, not yours. That would be weird.)

I had a fabulous day. I loved on my three babies...except at almost 9, Nathan doesn't want to kiss me anymore. (*sigh*) I woke up this morning and visited my grandmother's grave. It was just as much for my mom as it was for me. I know she's sad she can't visit more often. I called my mom and described how the snowball bush that she planted has bloomed and is showering a white petaled snow over the grass in my family's section. It was a nice morning :-)

David's mom came down from Ohio and we spent time with her. We celebrated Parker's first birthday a tad early and I got to spend some time with my stepmom too. I really do have a great family and days like today make all the bad days worthwhile.

Happy Mother's Day, ya'll. :)

Get Older, Not Fatter

2009-04-30T15:49:00.002-05:00

Yikes, yikes, yikes! My fairly healthy husband had to go to the hospital for chest pain yesterday! He left work and went to the hospital where they kept him overnight. After an EKG and a stress test they say he's fine. Phew! What a relief! He's maybe 30 lbs overweight but nothing major, kwim? It's still worrisome. :(

While I was waiting with him I read an article in Newsweek about a 60-something year old man who had vowed to get older but not fatter. He said that he couldn't control getting older but could decide he wasn't going to walk around looking like he was about to deliver a basketball.

I just thought it was pretty interesting reading. At the moment I believe I'm doing both...but maybe I should do something about one of them :)

The One With An Open Letter

2009-04-28T04:30:00.002-05:00

Dear female coworkers,

Recently the bathrooms were repainted and it was requested that you stop flushing the toilets with your feet because it leaves footprints on the walls.

Whoa.

Wait.

What?

I pondered over this while I used the facilities the other day, running over the logistics in my head.

Enter stall.

Put down seat cover.

Tinkle and don't sprinkle.

Flush toilet with your shoe.

Open locking mechanism on the door with your shoe.

Oh wait...you can't do that.

Go to sinks, turn on water with your shoe.

Right, can't do that either.

But now, those of us with opposable thumbs who have flushed the toilet, opened the door, and turned on the water with our HANDS all have germs that you would normally find on said inanimate objects PLUS whatever is lurking on the bottom of your shoes.

Thanks.

It's called common sense. Pick some up at Target.

Signed,
The New Girl.

The One With A First For Everything

2009-04-19T09:03:00.002-05:00

I've been scrapping over 3 years and I did something for the first time recently. I forgot about a layout. I had forgotten the password to my main photobucket for a month or so :p and had been using my backup account. I went to my main account the other day and remembered my password. Inside there was this layout. I barely even remembered doing it, and I couldn't even remember what kit I used. But I finally figured it out...Pieces of You by Shawna Clingerman. My poor little layout!

I did this one the other night too, using Wild at Heart by Julie Billingsley. Cutest. Kit. Ever!

Anywhoo I guess that's all from me for today. Toodles!

The One With The Taxman!

2009-04-15T07:21:00.001-05:00

We created this kit months ago and we really love it! Ever since we created we planned on releasing it today for free to our customers as a thank you! And a way to stick it to the tax man :giggle

Click on the image to go to the store and download :)

The One With The Hostage

2009-04-14T07:13:00.004-05:00

Help! My camera is holding my photos hostage! :P
I can't find my little converter thing that came with my Rebel, and I can't find the cord either *sigh*
I hate moving!

My poor little photos just sitting there, trapped on my camera. For shame! I think there's a chance Tabatha has a USB that will fit the cord part so I'll go up later and try to fish my photos off. Right now I don't have time because I have another job interview this morning. I also have another tomorrow afternoon, wish me luck! :D

I'll share with you, instead of photos, this layout of Naomi's fear of ladybugs or "daydaygugs" as she calls them. She tells us all the time that "daydaygugs care me".

The One With Lots and Lots of Flowers :)

2009-04-13T07:49:00.003-05:00

We created a lot of flowers for you this week. CU flowers, and some cute personal use ones to pretty up your layout with! Enjoy, friends! Click HERE to see them and all of our dollar deals!

Did you have a good Easter? Ours was fun. But we had some interesting highlights. On the way to taking Nathan to Ohio he got ill, and so did Naomi. The stomach bug sure has great timing. Or maybe they were just carsick. Who knows? They both seem fine today. :shrug:

I'll be back tomorrow to share some photos and layouts with you...Toodles!

The One With Custom Shirts!

2009-04-08T06:21:00.002-05:00

I stumbled across an Etsy seller that makes custom shirts using wool and material scraps on cotton shirts. I told you guys about her after I bought a hedgehog shirt for Naomi last fall. I loved having a shirt for her that was different than the norm, so I comissioned Melissa to make some shirts for Parker. The boy really loves food, and really loves my laptop, so we brainstormed and came up with these shirts for him that really lets him wear his two loves on his sleeve (well, his chest ;) )

I wanted to share them with you because I think they are utterly adorable!

I'm outta here for today, I have to make a run to Lexington for babyproofing supplies. Some of the less common items that I need will only be available at babies r us so it's a trip to the city for us :) The new place is nice and all, but until it is 100% babyproofed I won't be able to have a real moment to sit down with 2 kids 2 and under :)

Toodles :)

The One With A Grand Reopening!

2009-04-06T09:50:00.005-05:00

Elemental Scraps closed down for a bit to upgrade their software and when they came back up, lookie there's a new look! :) So here are our new releases this week....we have a few kits for you and some templates, plus word art for everyone!

Click HERE to go to our shop and fill up your cart ;)

Plus, everything is 25% off this week !

The One With A Personal Note...

2009-04-02T07:24:00.003-05:00

I hardly post personal notes here any more. I'm going to try and get better about that...because I know my family doesn't care that much about our sales and new products from Bella Gypsy :P

So this morning I am headed off to a minor outpatient surgery and I'll be down and out the rest of the day. Wouldn't it figure too, because it's supposed to be 71 today!

I finally did a layout! I know, I know, what do I want, a gold star? I hadn't done a layout in over 3 weeks and it felt really good to scrap :)

I have to get outta here! Toodles!!

2009-03-30T07:04:00.002-05:00

Look what you can get for only $1!!!

Bella Gypsy is retiring all of these items from Elemental Scraps to make way for all the new goodies coming next week!

You can pick up each of these items for only $1 each, all week long!

Don't miss out!~

Also, if you didn't sign up for newsletter yet, you're missing out sister! We sent one out this morning with a super cute freebie in it! It's the best way to keep in touch!

I hope you are having a great week already friends. Things are crazy here...trying to retile the bathroom, working a lot and playing with the kids a lot. I think my kids are extra cute lately! And, I've got a job interview tomorrow that I'm pretty excited about. So that's all from here, what's new with you? :)

Toodles!

The One With The Honk Honk and the Vroom Vroom

2009-03-23T07:14:00.005-05:00

It's Monday again! We have an ADORABLE new kit for you that's just gonna make you wanna go honk honk! Perfect for the little car lover in your life, and only ONE DOLLAR! You just can't beat it!

Also in our Dollar Day deals today we have these new sketches:

some commercial use labels:

and a soft and pretty kit, Lavender Fields:

We hope you enjoy the dollar goodies we made this week! We also sent out the first edition of our brand new newsletter this morning!If you missed out on it, don't worry...there will be another one next Monday and it will be filled with lots more goodies! So if you haven't signed up, please do! The box is in the upper right hand corner of my blog! You won't wanna miss out!

Click HERE to go snag our goodies!

Until tomorrow, friends...toodles!

The One With Free Templates!

2009-03-22T15:49:00.001-05:00

Hi everyone! Just a quick note to let you know that if you sign up for our newsletter that's coming out tomorrow, you'll be in store for all kinds of goodies and fun, including these two FREE templates that will be inside! The button is over on the right, so sign up and enjoy free stuff! :-)

The One With A Happy Sunday!

2009-03-22T07:49:00.002-05:00

I hope you are having a happy Sunday, friends! I really don't have all that much to say today...just wanted to pop in and say hello!

I have grocery shopping to do, and my stepmom and dad are in town helping us do some improvements on our new place! We have to put a railing up on the porch for safety, and do some tiling in the bathroom. Nothing major but I'm happy to have my own place to take care of!

I am going to make it a point this week to take pictures and scrap. I've been doing miserably with it, and it's about time I caught up ;)

Toodles!

The One With The Exhale

2009-03-20T07:50:00.002-05:00

I hope that I feel like I can truly exhale soon. Things have been soooo hectic around here! I'll feel much better after this weekend I hope! I've finally decided to let you all in on the little secret that I've been keeping...why I haven't been around!

What has been dividing my attention the most...I've moved from Tabatha's house! To Tabatha's basement (yes, I live in my sister's basement ) I've been living with Tab for the better part of a year. DH lost his job almost a year ago so we moved here to get back on our feet. Then he joined the Army and it just made sense for the kids and I to stay so we weren't alone! Of course that got a little snug once David came home, but we were making do.

Then the 81 year old man who had been renting the basement apartment for the last 10+ years decided he was going to move in with his daughter, so it became free. At first we didn't think it was inhabitable for a family (he was a bachelor and he didn't keep it up) but we have spent all week working on it. David, me, my stepmom and my brother have busted tail while Tab was watching all five kids last week. We painted the walls, laid new carpet, steam cleaned area rugs and one room of existing carpet, had a fridge delivered (Robert used a mini fridge), put new locks and deadbolts in, painted the washer and dryer, painted cabinets, drywalled, unboarded windows, repaired subflooring, fixed leaks, put in a new toilet, drove to Ohio and got all of our things from storage, and moved in. It took nine 14-hour days but we did it. We have our own space, we're out of Tab's hair, but we can still be close (really close!), the kids can still grow up together, we can still live with an extremely low overhead and everyone is happy Tab and I have have an intercom feature on our two-handset phone so we can chat when we need something

So that's the rest of the story, why I haven't had ANY computer time lately!

There are some other things going on too, though~! It looks like David will be leaving March 30th for truck driving school, so I'm adjusting to that. He's found a job with a good trucking company and they'll pay for his school since he's a veteran. He'll only be gone 3 weeks for school, but of course he'll miss Easter :( and then....he'll be on the road 10 days and home 2, I believe. Not terrible but we'll miss him just the same. Way better than being gone 100% of the time when he was in the Army though! I'll feel much better about this this afternoon when his "leave" date is finalized. Until he's out of school we have no major income coming in, so we're anxious to get through this patch!

I have another doctor's appointment this afternoon, and I'd sure appreciate any positive thoughts about that. We're going to be discussing my biopsy and the options that are my courses of treatment.

Sorry I was such a stranger, I'll try to update a little more often ;)

The One With Some New Kits

2009-03-16T07:37:00.004-05:00

even though I've been extremely busy, we've managed to crank out a few new things this week...mostly thanks to my sister! Here is what you can pick up this week...plus free stuff!

Buy this Carefree mini kit for $3, and get the Panoramabama templates free!

Buy this Down-To-Earth mini kit for $3, and get the Bracketeering templates free!

Click HERE to take a closer look at these babies and shop your little heart out!
I have to go now, more work to be done here. I won't be on tomorrow because of my nephew Gabriel's surgery, but I'll see you all on Wednesday. Until then, happy scrapping (and shopping!) Toodles!

The One With The Sale :)

2009-03-15T06:49:00.001-05:00

I think my big project will be wrapped up tomorrow and I'll share some new releases with you!!! Then Tuesday I'm taking Tab and Gabriel out of state for surgery, so it's a bit of a crazy week yet!! However, take advantage of our sale running today...everything in our store is 40% off PLUS you get entered into a drawing for a $10 GC with every purchase! The linkie to our store is over there on the right!

So with that, I'm headed back to work! Toodles!

The One With The Big Project

2009-03-12T07:40:00.002-05:00

So my regular readers have spoken...they notice my absence :) I've gotten a few emails/PMs and I'd like to rest your mind...everything is fine! But...I am working on a BIG project! I don't have the results of my cervical biopsy yet, but I'm sure the doctor will call soon! I haven't been around because I have been working on a big non-scrapbook-related project. It's been difficult to find computer time the last week or two, and I probably won't be back in the swing of things for another week or two. So just be patient with me...I'll pop in when I can with layouts and new products next Monday, but just know I really miss you guys...which means I'll be back as fast as humanly possible :)

Toodles!

The One With Work, Work, Work!

2009-03-09T08:52:00.003-05:00

Things have been crazy around here lately but we've still found time to work a little. We have four new things for you today, and they are all only $1!

Click HERE to go snag them up for only $1 each :)

The One With The Internet Defeat!

2009-03-08T08:35:00.001-05:00

No worries friends, I know I've vanished into thin air! I promise all is well :)

I had outpatient surgery on Friday that I hadn't much mentioned, and I'm doing okay. Naomi saw a specialist an hour away this week and she's also doing okay. So we've been busy. But the real reason I haven't been around is our internet. The tech came out on Friday evening and fiddled with it a bit, now we can get online SOME but we still get booted off here and there. Monday morning we'll call again I suppose :)

Hope you are well! :)

The One With Your Fix

2009-03-02T07:59:00.002-05:00

You know you need your Bella Gypsy fix! It's Monday again which means all you have to do is click HERE to go snag fantastic sketches for only $2.25 a set or this YUMMY kit for only $4.12!! Make sure to take advantage of the 25% off new releases today only, or you'll be stuck paying full price! (boo! hiss! Sales rock my socks!)

Hope this finds you well and you had a great weekend!

And....until tomorrow...toodles ;)

The One With The Whirlwind Weekend

2009-03-01T08:01:00.000-05:00

David's home, and we had Nathan for a long weekend, and now it's Sunday which means it's time to wrap it up. Of course the weather was beyond icky all weekend but we had some fun anyway. I hope you all had a pleasant weekend and I'll see you back here tomorrow with new releases!

It's been a hard day's night...

2009-02-27T07:22:00.002-05:00

....and I made a ton of money for being born...

Paul McCartney's Birth Certificate was auctioned in March 1997, for US $84,146. It is believed to be the world's most expensive Birth Certificate.

There's my random birthday trivia for you...for Sweet Shoppe's From Our Blog To Yours...If I had that kind of money laying around, even being the fan that I am, I still don't think I could have spent it on that ;)

The One With The Best Day Ever

2009-02-26T07:50:00.002-05:00

SO happy to have him home. Some other kid...and I do mean KID (David and I were talking about Operation Desert Storm and realized the kid didn't remember it because he was in diapers!) needed a ride home from the airport...he had gotten through school and was coming home to be in the National Guard. It took us an hour out of the way to get him home so I didn't get in till two this morning. Really tired but we have an out of state doctor's appt today so I gotta get off of here and get ready! have a GREAT day!

The One With A Great Day

2009-02-25T07:58:00.002-05:00

Today is going to be a great day. Bravo is running a marathon of Top Chef New York all day...and I've missed most of the episodes so that makes me happy! And...David called last night and said he's coming home TODAY! Now I'm just not sure if I'll get to see him today. He has a briefing this morning (he's probably in it right now) and then he'll know more. If he flies of course I'll see him today but if they send him by bus, I probably won't have him here until tomorrow. Either way, it's going to be a great day :)

The One With The Imminent Arrival

2009-02-24T07:51:00.002-05:00

and a much needed break!

So Parker was 7 weeks when David left for Basic Training. We'll call him 2 months. Parker was 9 months last week. So David has been gone a little longer than 7 months. That makes me so sad, that he's missed Parker's entire first year (almost!)

Well he has been going through the rigamaroll of being chaptered out of the military (he messed up his ankles which means running is kind of out of the question). That takes a long time (I remember when my ex got out it took months). Every day I wonder when he's coming home and I field questions from others about when he's coming home.

Looks like it will be the end of this week or beginning of next! He tentatively thinks Friday, Saturday, or Monday!

I've been preparing for this for months...I've paid all of our bills ahead for atleast 5 months, some longer. I've been hoarding money in our savings account like a nuclear holocaust is coming. I have a stack (no kidding!) of cases of diapers and cases of wipes that nearly reach the ceiling. Counting through it I realized it's about 4 months worth of diapers and wipesI bought hundreds of dollars worth of laundry soap, trash bags and other household necessities that we could need. We are literally as prepared as people could be to be unemployed.

When David returns home he'll immediately begin looking for a job and I'm 100% confident he'll find one in no time. He's qualified and the job market isn't too bad here. But it never hurts to be prepared.

I'm over the moon that he's coming home! And I already have plans for a 24 hour sabattical for me. I'll disappear one day next week and won't come home for a whole day...I'm staying at a hotel, going to see a movie alone, eating meals without being interrupted, scrapping my little heart out, reading a book, and sleeeeeeeping. I can't wait. After 7 months of going it alone, I will not feel guilty for one second. Okay maybe for one second.

The absolute best part about him being home is that he won't have missed Parker's first year in its entirety. It may only be months 9, 10 and 11 he can enjoy but at least he'll have that! I'm thrilled for him!

Alright well breakfast isn't making itself. Gonna go make waffles for the kids.

The One With New Release Monday

2009-02-22T23:25:00.003-05:00

Aaaah, I like Mondays again. Tabatha and I work so hard all week to design pretty things and then we have to wait until release day to share it with you! It's dollar day, so we have lots of yummy goodness for you, for only one dollar each!

We created this new kit, Home Grown...perfect for your little sprout!

We also created some great Commercial Use items this week!

If you're feeling bold, grab our Blind Date grab bag...it's full of brand new date products perfect for finishing up your layout!

These templates are not part of Dollar Day, but they are new, which means they are 25% off!

Well that's enough advertising for me...click HERE to go to our store at Elemental Scraps and check out the goodies!
I hope you had a great weekend and I hope you have a fabulous Monday :)

The One With The ScrapDay!

2009-02-22T08:30:00.003-05:00

So I had a scrapday on Friday...just buckled down and scrapped all day long... (I had to get up and down to work on house cleaning as we had a birthday party yesterday to prepare for) but overall, I spent my day getting caught up...It felt great! It's not always that I can do five pages in a day, but when I can, it's nice :)

Hope you're having a great day! Check back tomorrow for lots of great deals in Dollar Day at Elemental Scraps...including CU products, a grab bag, and a whole kit for only $1!!

FOBTY What does your Birthday mean?

2009-02-20T19:25:00.000-05:00

For the From our Blog To Yours challenge over at Sweet Shoppe Designs :)

You Are a Traditionalist

You're a pretty traditional person. If it's lasted, it's probably good.

You seek stability - both in your career and your romantic relationship.

In return, you're very loyal and predictable. Which is usually a good thing.

Without a partner, you feel lost. Being with someone is very important to you.

Your strength: Your dependability

Your weakness: You hate being alone

Your power color: Midnight blue

Your power symbol: Shell

Your power month: April

What Does Your Birth Date Mean?

The One With The Update :)

2009-02-20T08:04:00.002-05:00

Thanks for the well-wishes the other day! I have an update for you. Naomi's allergist appointment went well. They said that they had tested her for tomato allergies in August and they came back fine. It appears that she isn't allergic to tomatoes, but her skin sure thinks it is! I can feed her tomato based products as long as I keep benadryl on hand and make sure she doesn't smear it on her skin ( like she did the day of the reaction )

And...it looks like Parker has asthma. You could have knocked me over with a feather on that one, because he's been fine until a month or so ago. But he has a consistently runny nose, and excema....since allergies, asthma and excema all go hand in hand, it makes sense. So now on top of his Zoponex inhaler he's also taking Singulair every night. It's granules that I mix into yogurt and he took it very well last night! I also noticed less coughing overnight! I had asthma as a baby only, so I hope he outgrows it like I did :)

That's all from here for today. Been working on some designing (have four new products for Monday) and trying to get the house in order for a birthday party tomorrow! Have a great weekend!

The One With The Mom Post

2009-02-18T08:04:00.002-05:00

Being a mom is hard. That's just a no brainer. It's not something that I even think about most of the time. But times there are clusters of tough times that really test me and teach me patience.

I had to give Naomi two baths yesterday. Before noon. Which meant a total of 3. It's hard to describe but she is just a very messy child and needs a bath every night, no questions asked. Her first bath yesterday was because of a particularly icky diaper she had made overnight. She's potty trained except for nighttime and she had had an icky diaper in the middle of the night that needed more care than a baby wipe.

About 10 a.m. it became very quiet and I found that she had gotten ahold of a brand new tub of Eucerin for her excema and polished all of the wood on the headboard and footboard in Tristan's room with it.

Bath #2.

In the afternoon, where she found a marker I have no idea. I just know what she did with it. Drew all over her face and arms.

But, I waited till after dinner because inevitably that's our most needed bath of the day :p

Naomi has an allergist appointment this morning because she apparently has an allergy to spaghetti sauce/tomatoes? She got ravioli sauce on her skin last month and it caused her to scream and it to boil up. So, hopefully we'll get to the bottom of that.

Parker only slept a few hours last night so I need to take him in as well to find out what's wrong with him. I had to sit up with him for hours while he just cried and cried. I wish David were here.

The One With The Busy Week

2009-02-16T08:17:00.004-05:00

Good morning Bloggers! It's Monday again, which means we have new releases at Elemental Scraps! Only this week we were REALLY busy creating! This week is Free With Purchase Week at ES, so every second item you see here is free with purchase!!!

If you buy :

you get these free:

If you buy:

you get these free:

if you buy:

you get these free:

if you buy:

you get these free:

if you buy:

you get these free:

and, last but not least, if you buy:

you get these free!

Yep, we teamed up with Amanda Heimann to bring you this great boyish kit, we had tons of fun making more date products for you, and created two soft and sweet kits with free templates to boot! All of the FWP items are available in the shop for sale if you just want to purchase them, too. But head on over and see what you could be missing out on! We sure do appreciate it :)

The One With My Bundle Of Joy

2009-02-15T16:21:00.002-05:00

Ah, yes, my new shiny bundle of joy! I wasn't exactly in the market for a new laptop. My HP still has factory warranty on it, it's only 7 1/2 months old...but the poor thing is falling apart. I ordered a new keyboard for it after last week's keyboard debaucle. And, I ordered wrist and cover decals (skin) that are coming from China so they should arrive in September or so....I did that because my wrist spots were really scratched up from me *gasp* using them as a mouse pad. Note to self, that's a bad idea. Well now they'll be protected.

And last night, the power cord went. I've ordered one online, because my trusty old HP will be handed over to DH. It's still a newish computer with 3 gigs of ram and a 100mb HD (tiny, huh?) so it's a nice machine but just showing some wear and tear.

I can't wait 5 days for a new cord to use the computer...and a new one was sort of in the works (just wasn't planning on getting it today)...so this morning I scoured sale ads and went shopping.

I settled on this Toshiba ... I'm excited about more ram and a larger HD...plus it's running 64 bit windows so that's a good thing too...I got a great deal at Office Depot, I paid the MSRP that Toshiba recommends but I got a $75 rebate which I will be mailing in tomorrow :)

So my day has / will be spent reloading all my software, transferring stuff from my HP via EHD and getting everything else to my liking. Had to go scouring for my mozilla add ons and such...I'm off to spend quality time with my new baby :)

The One With Peace

2009-02-15T16:15:00.001-05:00

Your Word is "Peace"

You see life as precious, and you wish everyone was safe, happy, and taken care of.

Social justice, human rights, and peace for all nations are all important to you.

While you can't stop war, you try to be as calm and compassionate as possible in your everyday life.

You promote harmony and cooperation. You're always willing to meet someone a little more than halfway.

What's Your Word?

The One Out Of The Box

2009-02-14T07:55:00.004-05:00

The top layout is using Libby Weifenbach's Spelling Buzz at SSD.

I wanted to try and step out of my box just a tad so I made this layout yesterday...I used the frame from the kit to frame my entire layout (obviously the frame isn't square so a bit of white space was cut off the left of the layout but I like how it turned out overall :)

The bottom layout is using Shawna Clingerman's Waiting for the Rain. You should go buy it and make a layout just like this one :P

Both of those layouts are made with templates by Bella Gypsy *waves* coming to ES on Monday!

It is the dreaded grocery shopping day as soon as the sitter gets here...no taking 5 kids to the grocery store...so I'm off! Check back tomorrow to see sneak peeks of all of our new kits going into the store on Monday! Toodles!!

the one with six things

2009-02-12T08:23:00.003-05:00

i've been tagged by luann....and oh the pressure....she claims to have tagged me because i'm incredibly interesting. hmmmm, i don't know about that but i'm to tell you six things about me.

1. i'm generally one for capitalization and punctuation. but....i've had many incidents with my laptop in the last few months leaving my keys to be sticky and annoying. so....last night i sat and popped every key off. and used canned air on the board. and cleaned each key with a q tip and alcohol. i should have skipped all of that and just imbibed some alcohol. it was torture. me and my computer guy sat here and completed the task, only to leave me with a non working left shift key, my f5 and f11 keys won't pop back on and my fn key is only partway there.

you're not supposed to have leftover parts. :o

of course it was after all this that he told me i could just order a new keyboard and he could remove this one and screw on the new one. the new keyboards are $25.

w.t.h. he's fired.

i ordered one first thing this morning and it's coming from silicon valley so hopefully it will get here soon.

okay, he's fired after he puts the new keyboard in.

just kidding. if i had known how freaking inexpensive a new kb was i would have done much more exciting things with my evening yesterday.

like watching the grass grow.

2. i tell long stories.

3. i'm scared of nearly everything :p. esp. knives, fans, train tracks, railroad crossings, changing lightbulbs, falling out of the car (really? really.). i have no idea why i'm so squeamish.

4. i find visiting family incredibly relaxing because i don't take my laptop. yet i won't put the laptop away when i'm at home.

5. i'm really smart but that doesn't matter when you get older. i was a national merit finalist in high school, had a 4.0 average, had a full ride scholarship to college. i'm still pleased that i'm bright, but how does it really help me be a sahm? (wow, that was a bit cerebral for 8 a.m.)

6. i like using words and phrases that are lesser heard. not big words, just lesser used ones. words that often grace my vocabularly just because i like them are cerebral (see above), esoteric, diametrically opposed, mental acuity, presence of mind...i don't know why i like them, but i do. i also have a love of enunciation. i think all of this stems from my love of communication...i guess i can say a hobby of mine is talking ;)

7. i don't like following rules. so here are the six things about me :P

The One With My Boys

2009-02-10T08:18:00.003-05:00

Just a few layouts of my boys to share with you today :)

And a month in review in photos from me :) I think this is what I'm going to do to replace my P365...just doing a layout of 81 photos from the month (I always have hundreds of photos every month..just not necessarily one from each day!) Then I'll print a 20 page 8x8 photo book, with 12 months and then 8 of my favorite photos in large format. I'm excited about my new plan! :)

The One With New Loot!

2009-02-08T23:59:00.003-05:00

Hi Friends!

It's Monday which for many people means BLAH...but for us it means we have LOTS of new goodies to share with you, including some amazing sales!!!

First, I'd like to show you some fantastic templates we have in today's Dollar Day for ... you guessed it, $1 :)

We also teamed up with the amazing Jennifer Barrette to create this beauty...it's 25% off today only!

Our creative team made some pretty pages with it!

We also have Slowpoke! It's a kit inspired by Gabriel, my nephew...he has special needs but he is a slow and steady kinda guy! Tabatha wanted to make a kit that reminded her of him...and share it with you for only $1!

Our team made some great pages with it!

We also created Flightless Bird, a soft and pretty kit for your scrapping pleasure :)...also a steal at only $1! (inspired by one of our favorite songs!)

And here is what our fantastic team created with it!

Click HERE to go to our shop and take advantage of these great deals! And while I'm being bossy, have a great day, okay? :)

Musing on birthdays...

2009-02-07T22:34:00.001-05:00

Sweet Shoppe's From our Blog to Yours for February 5th was to blog about your birthday memories.

Even though growing up we were never poor or rich, gifts just didn't come between birthdays or Christmas. Having a July birthday meant it was midyear for my parents. Between August and December I was told, "wait for Christmas", and between January and July I was told, "wait for your birthday!"

That being said, my mom always went out of her way to make my birthdays so special. I could have parties, I always got everything I wanted and more, and around the age of 10 I really began understanding how much work it took for her to make everything happen. I remember that year, not only did I get spoiled but I marveled that mama had had everything professionally wrapped. Now, really that was probably because she worked outside of the home and didn't have time to do it herself, but I remember gazing at the beautiful packages that graced the formal diningh room table for the whole week before my birthday, just salivating over my future loot. It is a very pleasant memory to think about :)

The One With A Peek!

2009-02-07T09:52:00.002-05:00

just a peek of things to come on Monday! ;)