Friday, May 30, 2008

new layout with Tracey Monette's products


these are pictures of my garden from a couple of weeks ago! isn't it pretty???
We have sugar snap peas, zucchini, green beans, watermelon, tomatoes, yellow tomatoes & carrots. We also planted marigolds around the perimeter and next to the tomatoes, hoping it keeps the bugs off the veggie plants.
supply list:
tracey monette's quirky farm kit at sbe
notepaper: natalie bird's wildflower kit

new layout with Misty Cato's products


meet the newest member of our family... our new GRILL! LOVE it!
supply list:
chillin' & grillin' kit by misty cato and penny springman at sweetshoppedesigns

New layouts to share

these pictures are of hannah from march. she is so tall and getting to be so big. she loves to do chores to help mom!
supply list:
Betsy Tuma's Spring Thing kit at PDW



these pictures are from last week. ainsley is so wiggly that it is hard to get a shot of her that is actually in focus!
supply list:
besty tuma's flower frenzy kit at pdw

Thursday, May 29, 2008

Portraits by Jenna

Yesterday, I got to meet my digi-friend, Jenna! We met down at Thanksgiving Point and she took the most amazing portraits of my girls! She posted four of them on her blog and told me that I could post them on mine as well. So, here they are. When I get the DVD from her, I'll post more. They turned out beautifully!




My girls LOVED Jenna! Ainsley warmed right up to her and just kept smiling. The only time she freaked out at all was when I tried to get her to stand on a chair! You'd think she would like it. Hannah asked Jenna if she could go home with her and eat dinner at her house. Poor Jenna just told Hannah that she didn't cook dinner yet and that she would probably have to make mac & cheese or something. Hannah told her that was okay and that macaroni & cheese and hotdogs is one of her favorite foods! Uhhhh, what? Hannah NEVER eats macaroni & cheese. Ainsley loves it. Thomas loves it. Hannah picks out the hotdog pieces and eats those. Silly kid! But she really loved Jenna and wants to go to Jenna's house and see Jenna's cats one day. I told her that she couldn't do that and be around Mommy because cats make Mommy not be able to breathe very well. My sweet little girl said, "Well, Mom, one day when you're tired of being able to breathe, let's go to Jenna's house and see her cats." I'll keep that in mind, Hannah! But we really should get together and take the kids back to the dinosaur museum or the farm. I'll load up on allergy meds that day!

Anyway, if you're in the market for a photographer, Jenna is awesome!

Wednesday, May 28, 2008

today...

Well, it's been a while since I blogged, so I thought I would send out an update!

It's been like old college buddy reunion month this month! One of my old freshman roomies found me (hi Amber!), a buddy from junior year (hi Ben!) and his wife (hi Gina!) found me & mary & subsequently reconnected us with another junior year roomie (hi Dana!), mary sent me an email earlier with a link to another college buddies' blog (hi Ryan!). It's kind of strange to talk to all of these people that I haven't seen/talked to in a LONG time! It's been more than six years since I have talked to any of them, and even longer since I talked to Amber. So much has changed! I'm married with 2 little girls and I've gained 10 lbs, and my house is always a mess! But inside I am still the same old nerd!

Well, today is a pretty bad pain day for me. I didn't want to move out of my house today, BUT of course we were about out of formula and bread. So, I made a quick but expensive trip to Costco & Wal-Mart. I got home from the store and had one bag & one box of diapers and I spent almost $175! Well, I also included filling the car up in that calculation. The joys of being a mom never end! :) But I swear my kids know when I am having a painful day. They are much more difficult. Although, Hannah did really well at the store today. She wanted to sit next to Ainsley in the cart at Coscto. Since she is so tall, it took some maneuvering to get her in the cart. She did whine for a churro & a rootbeer, but since she was buckled in she couldn't run off to find one on her own! :) Then she walked around Wal-mart with her harness on and did fine. We got her a cookie at the bakery and that helped tremendously! Ainsley got cookies, too, today. I think I wore my kids out, though. By the time we got home, Hannah just wanted to lay on the couch and watch movies and Ainsley fell asleep in her highchair eating lunch. It was so cute. Of course I took pictures, but I don't have time to share them.

So, tonight we are going to meet my buddy, Jenna, to take pictures of the girls. I am really hoping the weather holds out. It is beautiful right now, but it's supposed to get chilly and rainy. I have white dresses for the girls and I need to go find their white sweaters. I have been talking to Hannah about Mommy's cute friend, Jenna. I keep telling her that she needs to do what Jenna asks her to do and she needs to let Jenna take pictures of her. So, we'll see how she does. I kind of hope that Ainsley naps on the way down there. Then she'll be happy for the pictures. I share pictures when I can! I may have to just link you to Jenna's blog! She's a cute girl and I can't wait to meet her for REAL! See, my "imaginary" digiscrapping friends really do exist!

Okay, I am going to go cook dinner and get stuff ready to go.

Saturday, May 24, 2008

New layout to share


this is a layout i did for a challenge at tangiebaxterdesigns. the challenge was to do a layout about myself, but not use any pictures. it was a lot of fun to create!

credits:
all products available at tangiebaxterdesigns.com

New Layouts with Misty Cato's products

These are just layouts with my cutie girls. The photos are from the last few weeks!

New Layouts with SaraAmarie's products

These photos are from last summer, while we were visiting my parents in Chicago.

SaraAmarie's Design Blog

Attention DigiScrappers! SaraAmarie has a new blog for her designs! We are having a big ol' party to celebrate... prizes, games, challenges & freebies now through next Saturday! :) Be sure to stop by!

new layout with Natalie Bird's Designs


these are pictures from last month. i love my cutie girls!
supply list:
natalie bird's
time together
flourish, yellow paper for title: wildflower kit
from the May Grab Bag
at nataliebirddesigns & pickleberrypop

Friday, May 23, 2008

2008 Scrappers Choice Awards!


this is one of my very favorite layouts i have ever made! on national scrapbook day, i was browsing through the forums and saw the scrapper's choice awards. i nominated my own layouts for a bunch of stuff, never in a million years thinking that i would even come close to winning... and guess what.... I WON! I won best 2 page layout submitted by scrapper. I had to nominate myself to win, but I'll take it! :) If you are looking for some SERIOUS digiscrapping inspiration, take a look at the SCA Gallery.

My friend, Cheryl, who is on Krystal Hartley's CT with me also won! She didn't have to nominate herself, though! :) I would post her layout here, but I don't have her permission. So you'll have to go take a look at it!

I was very pleasantly surprised that I didn't recognize the names of most of the winners. There tend to be "favorite" scrappers out there who get tons and tons of comments on every layout they post. They get recognized and win awards all the time. I didn't really see that here. Anyway... just wanted to post and toot my own horn. And congratulations, Cheryl!

Cute Little Hannah-isms

I am interrupting my busy pajama-clad day of uploading albums, cleaning messes, folding laundry & feeding children to bring you this adorable little Hannah-ism! As most of you know, Hannah currently has two obsessions... watching kids' shows on tv and growing things in the garden. Today, I bring you a combination of those two!

I was in the kitchen getting lunch ready while Hannah was impatiently awaiting the return of Max & Ruby when a Lending Tree commercial came on. Hannah started yelling, "Mommy! Mommy! Money DOES grow on trees! The commercial said so!" I tried to explain that money doesn't really grow on trees. Hannah insisted that "if we found the right KIND of trees, money will grow indeed." (her words, not mine!) Then ever-patient Meredith (ha! that's a good one!) says, "Hannah. Money doesn't grow on trees. Commercials lie." Are you ready for this??? Hannah sighs and says, "Mommy, if we find MONEY SEEDS, then money TREES will grow." "Yep, Hannah, you're right." So, can anyone tell me where I can find some of those? I love hearing how her little mind works these days. I usually end up completely exasperated, but laughing! I love my little girl!

Thursday, May 22, 2008

New layout using Laura Burger's products


this is my girls a couple of weeks ago riding their bikes to the park... next door!

supply list:
Laura Burger's Brighton Kit currently at eclecticdigitaldesigns' 3 days for $2 promotion, coming SOON to ACOT

And check out Laura's Blog for a contest!!! You won't want to miss this one!

Monday, May 19, 2008

new layout using Tracey Monette's products


here are a few pictures that I managed to snap of hannah in a moment of cooperation! :) She is really growing up to be quite a beautiful young lady! I love my little girl!!!
supply list:
tracey monette's quirky street at scrapbook-elements

Layout with Natalie Bird's products


these pictures are from last week. isn't she funny?
thanks chrissy & cori for the input on this page!
supply list:
natalie bird's wildflower kit *may grab bag kit* at Pickleberry Pop
misty cato's see clearly alpha

Friday, May 16, 2008

Layout with SaraAmarie's products



these are a few pictures of ainsley's birthday party. isn't that cake adorable? i know i already posted these pictures, but i love them! and that top right picture is all the mess ainsley made with her cake. you should see how messy she usually gets. i think there was too much going on for her to pay attention to her cake!
supply list:
this is a layout of my daughter's first birthday party
the caterpillar on her shirt is by KRYSTAL HARTLEY! Thanks, K!
Popsicle Paradise by SaraAmarie & Heather Roselli at SweetShoppeDesigns

Thursday, May 15, 2008

layout to share


these are pictures from january... ainsley asleep in her exersaucer
supply list:
laura burger's easy as 123 layered templates set 2 at acot
sara amarie's western girlie kit at sweetshoppedesigns
katie pertiet's worn stamped alpha no 2 at designerdigitals

Wednesday, May 14, 2008

layout with LAURA BURGER'S products


this is a photo from last week. one of the few that i was able to sneak of hannah.
supply list:
laura burger's
creative mess kit
"artist" bits & pieces alpha
cherry bits: collection 1 revitalized
doodle, alpha "h": foolish kit
all at ACOT

you can click on the photo to leave me some love at DST!

Tuesday, May 13, 2008

some cute pictures & other fun stuff

this is my little big girl at the park. love that smile!

this is my small struggling garden! two rows of sugar snap peas, 2 watermelon mounds, 2 rows of pole beans, 2 zucchini mounds, 1 small beefsteak tomato, 1 early boy tomato, 1 lemon yellow tomato. gardening in the desert is a bit different than container gardening on my back porch in florida! I still have a small garden off my back porch where I have some hyacinth & tulips coming in. I have a couple of rosebushes back there and I am going to plant my pumpkins there. I have a couple of small geraniums in pots back there, too. I have some sunflowers & wildflowers to plant in another small bed. I also just got a small jasmine & a small honeysuckle. They smell soooooooo good! I know that none of my flowers match, but I love them all!

this is my cute little ainslers! She is getting too big! She sat on the porch steps while Daddy & Hannah rode bikes.

This is my sweet budding artist! She loves to play with Parker's chalk. I really need to get her some of her own!

This is Ainsley laughing at the park the other day.


This is my little baby looking not so much like a baby! I can't believe that she is big enough to climb up on the playground equipment!

This is my adorable little girl playing her favorite game, pat-a-cake! Seriously, she screams when you stop! Love those little pink crocs! I can't believe I found them that small. She has the tiniest feet ever!

My adorable girls riding their bikes this afternoon! Aren't they stinkin' cute?!

A close-up of the bike ride!

Okay, that's enough for the pictures. Let's talk about the past week! My mother's day was pretty cool. Thomas got me the new President Hinckley inspirational book about women. It was totally unexpected! I watched my RedBox 27 Dresses. Then I went and scrapbooked with the girls at Cori's house. My father-in-law came over to wish us all a Happy Mother's Day and we planned our trip to California. Woohoo! Now that I know details, I am really looking forward to the trip. I think that it will be fun. I am NOT looking forward to the drive. Ainsley hates her carseat. So, 10-12 hours in the car is NOT going to be fun at all!

Monday was a pretty ordinary day... bills, clean, cook, more bills, and more cleaning! I actually got some scrapping done. I finished a few client pages. They are so cute! I wish I could share them, but they aren't my kids or my memories, so I won't. Although, I am very tempted to put my kids' pictures in some of the pages! But my client has two boys so the pages are geared towards boys... Oh well!

Today was a busy day! Have I mentioned that my children don't sleep? Here's an example. Hannah fell asleep at 9pm last night. Perfect! Well, right as Thomas & I were getting ready to go to sleep about 10:30, Hannah woke up ready to go! So, I put her on the couch with a blanket and a pillow and strict instructions not to bother me! lol! The couch is literally less than 10 feet from my bed. I put on kids' shows and went to bed. Ainsley woke up at 3am to eat, I fed her and Hannah was still awake. But she fell asleep as I was putting Ainsley back down. Ainsley woke up at 5:45 again to eat and then she stayed up! I figured that Hannah would sleep until 9. Ainsley fell back asleep about 8. So I climbed back in bed for a few more minutes. My phone rang at 8:30 (thanks, Angie! just kidding! call whenever you want!) and then Hannah woke up at 8:45. I got the girls ready and headed out to drop off Thomas' glasses at his office. We got off the 45th South exit and were waiting to turn at the light... BAM! We got rear-ended. We're all fine. I put the car in park, jumped out to check on the car. It didn't appear to be damaged. The old guy who hit me yelled at me to get back in my car and drive since there wasn't any damage. Ummm, you hit me hard enough to jerk my car really hard, you're getting a ticket buddy! I grabbed my cell phone and called Thomas to get the police non-emergency phone number. I looked up and the JERK left! I was absolutely furious! And more mad at myself because I didn't get his license plate number. I pulled to the side of the road and called the police anyway. They said that unless there is noticeable damage they won't do an accident report in a hit and run because anyone could pull over to the side of the road and claim an accident. The Highway Patrol was very reluctant to come out and the lady told me to just leave. So, I did. When I got to Thomas' office, I got out and checked again and you can totally see the bolt marks from his front license plate holder (there was no plate there!). They are perfectly imprinted into my bumper. JERK! Sorry that just really pisses me off. He didn't ask if I was okay or if my KIDS were okay. I have TWO carseats in my car and you can definitely see them from the back. But we're all fine,, so that's good. So, I decided that I had earned a patio table. I ran down to IKEA, but they were sold out of their very cool glass patio tables. I was very sad. So I ran to Wal-Mart and got a few things that I needed and a few supplies for a craft project. I took Hannah to Wendy's for lunch. She ate her ENTIRE kids meal and most of the frosty. She must have been super hungry! Poor little girl! Not sleeping really makes a girl HUNGRY! Ainsley ate half of my fries. Does anyone else get self-conscious when they eat out at fast food restaurants? I was sitting there with my extra large fries and 44 oz Coke ( I KNOW! Not gonna lose weight that way!) and felt like a big ol' fat cow! I think it's because at the table next to us there was a tiny toothpick of a girl sitting in her exercise clothes eating a PLAIN baked potato! I think I am just self conscious right now. anyway... We got home, cleaned up a little, made dinner, watered the garden, rode bikes and played at the park. Disclaimer: I know that I am not fat. I am just not comfortable because I have re-gained some weight lately. I am still in my size 6 jeans, but they're tight and a month ago they were falling off. It's just frustrating because of my food allergies. The only thing I can drink is water or soda. I can't drink juices at all. I can't drink diet drinks because of the artificial sweeteners. I am really trying to limit my soda intake. Other than the fountain Coke today, I haven't had one in almost a week. And I have limited myself to one can of soda a day. I am drinking tons of water! I can't eat any of the typical lose-weight foods. I am allergic to fruit... all fruit except strawberries and raspberries. I try not to eat too much of those because I don't want to develop an allergy to either of them. There are very few veggies that I can eat. I go through 5-6 heads of romaine lettuce every week. Thomas and I have eaten almost half of a 5lb bag of carrots since Saturday. I am supposed to limit my poultry intake as well. I have an egg allergy and my allergist told me to not eat chicken more than a couple of times a week. So, that leaves me with a lot of carbs like potatoes & pasta. They have never affected me before! I hate getting old! I think this is just my body getting used to Ainsley not nursing as much. We're down to just a couple of times a day. I am hoping that she will wean herself from all daytime feedings before we leave for CA. I'm not in a hurry to rush her.

anyway... the plan for wednesday...
EXERCISE
plant some more garden stuff
work on some scrapbook pages
work on some craft projects
clean the bathroom
scrub the shower
mop the kitchen floor
trim scrapbook pages
make some chore/job charts

well, i am off to get some stuff done! y'all have fun and I will keep you posted on the garden & the craft projects & the weight loss!

Monday, May 12, 2008

new layout using Misty Cato's designs

this is a picture from halloween 2007... i am trying to get that skinny again! 4 more weeks until beach time! I can do it!
supply list:
Misty Cato's
Coffeehouse Kit at SSD
hearts: Homespun Love

Thursday, May 08, 2008

benefits to no sleep...

I fell into bed around midnight last night, woke up every hour and a half with Ainsley. She is teething and is cranky! And then Hannah woke up at 4:30 this morning and would NOT go back to sleep! I parked her little behind on the couch with some kid shows and strict instructions that she was not to get off the couch for any reason! I went back to bed. Our bedroom opens up into the family room, so I was literally fifteen feet away from her. Thomas got up at 5 for work. Ainsley woke up at 6:30 this morning. Now, to some people that's normal life. But let me tell you that Ainsley normally sleeps until 9 or 10. I don't do mornings, especially early mornings. But so far this morning, I have scrubbed the bathroom, including the nasty free-standing shower & bathtub, done three more loads of laundry, scrubbed the kitchen, mopped the floor and dusted the house, changed poopy diapers, bathed children & emptied the trash, not to mention that I spent almost an hour trying to get information on having a phone line installed and more time researching our trip to California... it looks like we are going to go. Hannah is napping, and has been for over an hour now. Now I get to fold the clean laundry and I may take the kids out to play at the park as it's a nice day. And it's only barely past noon. Go me! I have a feeling I will be in bed early tonight! :)

Tuesday, May 06, 2008

my weekend!

well, these photos are in random order and some are sideways... that's just for you, dad! he loves vertical photos, right?! :) seriously, did you know that when you rotate your photos & save them, you lose quality? that's no good. hope you don't get a crick in your neck...

adorable little nathan at ainsley's birthday party



cutie little zoey at ainsley's birthday party

ainsley sitting on the park table beside her cake... did you notice the caterpillar shirt that matched her invitations? thanks, krystal, for the adorable caterpillar!

cutie little ainsley!

a close-up of the birthday cake. my momma and i decorated it. it turned out pretty darn cute!

ainsley chomping on a pretzel tonight. love that dress on her!

ainsley being silly tonight. she is really developing her adorable little personality. she makes me laugh. she now fake laughs. it's too cute!

i put suntan lotion on ainsley earlier before we went out to work in the garden. gotta love that hair!

my momma with hannah, ainsley & zoey. she came to visit for a few days. she already left and we miss her so much! we've had a really rough day with hannah today because she keeps missing grandma. thank goodness we are going there in june!


ainsley eating birthday cake on her REAL birthday! i can't believe my baby is one already.

ainsley is one year old today! and still wearing 3-6 month skirts, leggings and 6-12 month shirts!

hannah's new favorite thing to do. she was washing the mirror for me! gee, thanks! she is going through another anti-camera stage, except this time she is running from me, not just turning away. so i don't have many pictures of my hannah. she is so cute.


this is ainsley just being silly! what a funny kid!

Thursday, May 01, 2008

MUST STOP shopping for NSD!

Okay, I may or may not have already made a stop at a few stores! But I'm not telling which ones or how much $$ I have spent! Less than $20, though. I am sooooo trying to be good! :) But when these amazing designs are anywhere from 25% to 75% off, you just can't beat it!

So, here is my shopping trip list. I don't know that I will buy stuff from everyone, but there are a few must haves that I am going to get!

The Lily Pad - 30% off
Catscrap - 25% off
Bren Boone Designs - 50% off
OScraps - 30% off
Sweet Shoppe Designs - Sale to be announced on Saturday... I can't wait!!! You can pick up beautiful designs by SARAAMARIE & MISTY CATO HERE... Look for a new collab kit by Sara & another talented designer. Guess who made the album??? ME! And it was so much fun!
Kay Miller Designs - 30% off
Nitwit Designs - 30.5% off
Melissa Bennett Designs - Big sale, but I can't remember what %; Will have products at TheSweetShoppe starting on SATURDAY! Woohoo!
Tangie Baxter Designs - 30% off PLUS another coupon in the DST Insider, adorable kits for NSD. I NEED that little Tutu kit! :)
Shabby Miss Jenn - surprise on NSD
FaithSisters - 25% off... You can pick up your MUST HAVE KRYSTAL HARTLEY goodies here!
PolkaDotPotato - 25% to 45% off designs AND PRINTING! I think it's up to each designer... but you can get KRYSTAL'S GOODIES here, too!

And I am SURE that there are a million billion other sales, and if you want to take a look at what some of them are, check this thread at DST out. But these are my favorite designers and favorite stores. So be sure to check them out!

Want free pictures???

Okay, I just saw this on a website. If you sign up you get 200 free 4x6 prints, 200 free 5x7 prints & a free 8x8 custom photo book... and if you use my referral link, I get free prints, too... :) yea!

Referral Link : http://www.artscow.com/default.aspx?Ref=350011

I can't vouch for the quality, but for free, I am willing to try it.