Layout using Amy Sumrall's new kit!

this is a picture of the girls at the park a week or so ago. they love to slide together!

Amy Sumrall's Raspberry Mint Truffle kit at TheDigiChick

A REAL LIFE update!

So, life has generally been crazy around here, nothing unusual in that. I have been busy designing, trying to get my house clean (which I have discovered is a never-ending process and just makes me feel like a complete failure), studying and trying to stay caught up with my History class, trying to scrapbook occasionally, and keep my girls from killing each other. They are so cute together most of the time, but Ainsley has recently discovered that she has an opinion and it doesn't always coincide with Hannah's opinion. And they have both decided that sleep is no longer a necessity. And since I can't get a thing done with them awake, I have been staying up until 2 or 3am just to have some "me" time. It has been insane and it has to STOP! Anyway...

Thomas came home from work yesterday with an announcement. He bought plane tickets for us to visit Chicago in the middle of November! We get to go see my parents! I thought we weren't going to be able to go until next summer! Although, he wasn't thinking and scheduled us to fly out on Wednesday night, so I have to miss class. I have to find someone to take notes and/or record the lecture for me. Thankfully, it is NOT the night of my big presentation or my mid-term, so that's good at least.

This morning, the girls both woke up at 5:30 and decided it was morning enough for them! So, we had an early start to our day... should have known it was going to be a LONG day! About 7:30, the power went out. A phone call to the power company let us know that it would be a few hours. A car hit a power line and it went down. Hannah was being really cranky and wanted her "kids' shows"! So, I sat her down and explained to her that there had been a really bad accident and someone in a car hit a big pole and it knocked down the electricity lines. And she still got really angry, so I had to go into a bit more depth and explain to her that someone was probably hurt very badly because it couldn't feel good to have your car hit a big pole. She got this look of complete sadness on her face and asked me if it was a daddy with kids or a mommy with little girls. I told her that I didn't know who it was, but it could have been someone's mommy or daddy or someone's little girl or boy in the car. She got so sad and asked if we could bless them in our prayers when we ask Heavenly Father to bless Cousin Paul's heart. What mother can resist that???? So, we said a prayer for Cousin Paul and the "mommy or daddy who hit the pole with their car so we can't watch kids' shows." I almost started laughing right then! After prayer, she asked if we could read together. I agreed, of course. So, she went in her room and came back after a few minutes really upset because she couldn't find her scriptures and she really wanted to read them. Wow! My four-year-old teaches me lessons every single day! So, we got my scriptures out and read them instead. She got bored after a verse or two, so we ended up having a tickling match. Ainsley got bored reading a book and fell asleep, so Hannah came in the kitchen and worked on some fall crafts while I cleaned the kitchen. I got the dishes all done (cold water is worse to wash dishes in than hot water!), the counters scrubbed, the trash taken out, the bathroom scrubbed, the floors mopped and the toys all put away. Man! I felt so productive! I think I am going to declare "Electricity Out Morning" at least once a week! Then the power came back on and I started working on some projects and the house is a wreck once again... but at least it is clean UNDER the toys and laundry... and the laundry is clean, too! :) We had a pretty uneventful rest of the day.

We left home at 3:30 to pick Thomas up and head down to Provo for our family photos. My friend, Jenna Nelson, is an absolutely amazing photographer! I am seriously hooked on her work! I check her photography blog all the time just to see if she has done any new shoots! So, this afternoon we headed up Provo Canyon to get some fall color shots. Since the girls got so little sleep last night, they were little stinkers this afternoon. Ainsley did not want to be held for the pictures or even sit still. It could be partly due to the hour drive it took to get down there. She is not a very patient child. And Hannah was just a typical four-year-old. We just want one good family photo. I like the family photo we got, but I don't like the way I look in it. I think that's typical, though. I don't think I have EVER liked a photo of myself! We haven't had a family photo in three years, so we just need one to put up on the wall and in the scrapbooks! Jenna put five of her favorite photos up on her blog and I uploaded them to mine... with her watermark of course! I LOVE LOVE LOVE the photos of the girls! I have a feeling we are going to have an entire wall of framed photos of the girls! Seriously. I love them all! If you want any of these, let me know so we can get them ordered early next week. There will be nine or ten more photos up on Jenna's site tomorrow, so we have even more to choose from! Okay, here's the part where you tell me how adorable my girls are!!!! And really, how amazing Jenna is! If you were with us, you would be amazed that she got anything from our cranksters!






I love the photos! And the more I look at the family photo, the more it grows on me. That's us. That's our life. Hannah doing her own thing. Ainsley doing her own thing. Thomas and I trying to just smile and get through it.

AFTER the photo shoot, we were HUNGRY! So, we drove through Orem trying to decide what to eat... Same stuff we have in Salt Lake... Thomas wanted Outback. I hate Outback... tastes like your food is already digested and spit back up for you. Blech. We've had a gift certificate for Outback for 5 years and haven't used it yet. I really wanted BBQ... REAL BBQ. So, we drove to downtown Provo and stopped at Smokehouse Pizza & BBQ. Jenna took the photos for the menu. And yes, the food is just as good as Jenna makes it look! Although... both of my kids turned up their noses at the macaroni & cheese, probably because it wasn't the fake orange Kraft stuff. But I have to tell you... their beef brisket sandwich is amazing! Mix the sauces and it's just PERFECT! The kids were both cranky. Ainsley kept climbing out of the highchair and screaming. Hannah was talking soooo loud. Thomas' only complaint was that they serve Pepsi and they didn't have french fries. But their homemade potato chips were really good. Sweet potato chips would have been better... hmmmm, sweet potatoes sound GOOD right now!

We came out of there totally full and drove around Provo for a bit, reminiscing and showing Hannah all of the places we lived and even drove by Grandpa Sardoni's house. Hannah kept telling us "Enough exploring, let's go home already." So, we headed up toward the freeway and yep, you guessed it... Krispy Kreme had HOT NOW doughnuts! We are both suckers for Krispy Kreme and it's hard to find good doughnuts in Utah that aren't made with either almond extract or a citrus mix. We ate a couple of doughnuts on the way home and still have quite a few left over for breakfast tomorrow. Hannah is excited because she gets a doughnut and chocolate milk for breakfast. I know, really healthy! She'll have a yogurt and fruit for lunch to make up for it! :) We got home around 8:30 and were exhausted. We aren't used to going out for long trips! I threw all the photo shoot clothes in the washer because Hannah & Ainsley both spilled most of their dinner on themselves and then transferred it to both Thomas and I. And I had to wash the clothes tonight because guess what we get to do tomorrow afternoon.... TAKE MORE PICTURES! Thomas' dad & step-mom arranged for a family photo shoot tomorrow afternoon in Park City, with a photographer friend of theirs. We haven't been in a Cardall Family photo since we were married so this will be good for us. Last I heard, the photo shoot is on the side of a highway, so hopefully we have all of our children with us when we finish. I am going to take my camera and try to play with a few settings/landscapes myself. I may need a few landscape shots to round out my family photo collage that I am going to have hanging on my wall!

Well, I think that is about all we have been up to lately. Just trying to get by and stay sane. My kids are both finally asleep, so I am going to go get some sleep because I am sure that they will be up at the crack of dawn in the morning. I'll post more photos when I get them...

Layout with my new kit!

This is a page I scrapped using my new kit Bringin' Back Summer, available at FaithSisters. I decided to make it into a QuickPage as well, which is also available at FS!


QuickPage
Bringin' Back Summer Kit

New Designs this Week!

All of my new products are 20% off ALL weekend! Come grab 'em while they're CHEAP!


http://faithsisters.com/shop/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=1619
This little tag album is grungy, bright, funky & fun!
Fits the Maya Road mini-tag coaster album.
Created using the digital designs of Kara Perrien.


http://faithsisters.com/shop/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=1620
This beautiful hybrid album was created using the digital designs of Kara Perrien. The neutral gray, kraft, green & white colors make this album perfect for anything from newborn baby photos to a wedding!
Album fits the Cosmo Cricket Jack Album. Created using the digital designs of Kara Perrien.


http://faithsisters.com/shop/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=1626
This funky fresh set of QuickPages was created using the digital designs of Krystal Hartley.
Pages are available bundled or individually!


http://faithsisters.com/shop/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=1640
It's only October and we have already had snow this year! I am tired of being cold, so I am Bringin' Back Summer with this kit! The bright colors and funky, fresh design are sure to brighten up your scrapbook pages! Pick up the entire kit or just your favorite piece!
Alpha 1
Alpha 2
Element Pack
Paper Pack
The Full Kit

New Collab Kit: Dream a Little Dream

This absolutely beautiful scrapbook kit was designed by some of my absolute favorite digital scrapbook designers ever! Amy Sumrall, Ellie Lash, Kreative Karma, Krystal Hartley & Sugarplum Paperie teamed up to create this kit! They were sweet enough to include my name on the kit, although, I didn't contribute to the kit. I did make the the QuickPages, though, using their amazing creations!


This kit is dedicated to a dear, sweet, mutual friend of all of ours who desperately wants to be a mother again. The proceeds of this kit will go to assisting with the costs of having her embryos transferred to the state she is currently living in and with the other costs associated with in vitro fertilization.

Find the QuickPages here
Find the Collab kit here

Lil Stinker QuickPage Bundle

These adorable QuickPages were created using the distinctive digital designs of Krystal Hartley!

The striking colors in these QuickPages are bold, bright and definitely make a statement! The pages are whimsically classy and are quite versatile. From elegant occasions to capturing the precious moments of your little stinker's life, these QuickPages will do the trick!

This purchase contains three 12x12 png files created at 300ppi for optimum print quality.

These QuickPages are on sale for 20% off until Saturday! They're less than $1 per page!
Pick up the QuickPages here at FaithSisters

You can also find Krystal's Little Stinker kit at FPD.

new layout with Elemental Scraps designs

more photos from the cabin last weekend...
credit list:
Elemental Scraps' October Mega Kit: Trickers Treat
Totally Rad Actions

one more for me tonight

these are pictures from june when we stopped in vegas on our way to palm desert.
I love my cutie girls!
credits:

Love This by Pamela Donnis at ElementalScraps
Chrissy W's AD it Up template at ES

another page...

Isn't Hannah beautiful? I think she is just such a pretty little girl! And she is soooo grown up these days! We're still dealing with a lot of tantrums, but we are having more good days than not. AND she recognizes ALL of her letters now and can write a bunch of them, too! She is just so smart! She is starting to sound out words. We've been working on it forever, but it's finally starting to click! Yea!
This picture was taken last weekend on the front porch at the cabin.
credits:
Totally Rad Actions
Pasha by Libby Weifenbach and Lauren Grier at SSD

Woohoo! I scrapped today!

these photos are from august. hannah fell asleep on the chair, stood up, turned around and fell back asleep! it was so cute! she is such a funny little girl!

credit list:
SaraAmarie's Sweet Silly Monkey Kit at SweetShoppeDesigns

these are photos from the cabin last weekend! my girls are so cute!

credit list:
My Little Miss Hailey Kit at FaithSisters

this is ainsley at the cabin on the front porch steps. i used a totally rad action or two. love those things!

credits list:
Misty Cato's Afternoon Stroll kit at SweetShoppeDesigns

The Greatest of These QP

This is a layout I just did of my girls! This photo is from the end of August. Every time we have spaghetti for dinner we end up having a bath after dinner! And Hannah loves it because I'll let her have a bubble bath!

credits:
Krystal Hartley's The Greatest of These mini-kit at FaithSisters

and then I turned it into a QuickPage!


You can find the QuickPage here:
The Greatest of These QP at FaithSisters

My new kit... Little Miss Hailey

This is my new kit for this week! I hope you like it!



The kit is available all in one piece or broken down in parts. It is currently only available at FaithSisters. I will be adding it to theHybridShoppe this weekend.

Full Kit
Paper Pack
Element Pack with alpha
Alpha Only

And of course, what kit of mine would be complete with QuickPages?!



You can purchase the entire set of QuickPages or as individual pages. The QuickPage Bundle is priced to give you more value for your scrapping dollar!

Little Miss Hailey QuickPage Bundle
Little Miss Hailey QuickPage 1
Little Miss Hailey QuickPage 2
Little Miss Hailey QuickPage 3

And since it is NEW RELEASE FRIDAY at FaithSisters, all of my new products for the week are marked down 20% until Saturday morning!

Just got my MyPicTales prints...

and I am very excited! Sometime in the next week I will be posting a review complete with photos. If you have used MyPicTales and want me to link to your blog, leave me a comment here with a link to your blog! I will link to both positive and negative reviews as long as they are constructively written. Reviews with photos are most appreciated!

New QuickPages in my store...

I have five brand new QuickPages in the store! They were released in conjunction with the Faith Sisters Harvest Collab Kit for October. So... instead of just getting them on sale on new release Friday, you get them 20% off from now through Friday night! Right now you can get 5 12x12 QuickPages for $4! That's $0.80 per QuickPage! Better hurry, though, because the price goes back up to $5 on Saturday morning!

These pages are also available individually for $1.50 each!
Click the image to go directly to my store at FaithSisters!

These Days are Golden BlogWare for EXISTING Bloggers

Just added this to my store...

See my post on my design blog for more information...

*REVEALED* Pear-fectly Passionate!

My newest kit has been revealed! Click on the kit image to be taken to my store!

Do you have a TON of photos to scan?

I just found this really cool site... I want to use it one of these days...

http://www.fromboxestoforever.com/

Now for a real life update...

Things have been really hectic around here lately. Very good, just hectic. Thomas was sick all weekend and just went back to work today. I need to buy more Lysol from all the disinfecting that was going on in this house!

Sunday I took the kids to church alone and they were insane. They just behave better when Daddy is there to help out! Actually, Hannah was pretty well-behaved this time. Ainsley was just really tired and a quick walk around the outside of the building got her to sleep during the third hour. While we were attempting to sit through Sunday School, Ainsley got mad at me because I wouldn't let her jab a colored pencil in my eye and let out a blood-curdling SCREAM! Of course, we were sitting at the front of the room, closest to the door for a quick escape in case such a thing happened. BUT the teacher and the microphone were about two feet in front of us. Yep, the microphone caught it. I scooped her up and took her out of the class. As we were walking out, she started giggling. Little stinker wanted out of class and she got out! I am such a mean mom, I wouldn't let her down to run around. She had to stay in my arms or sit quietly on a pew. She will learn one day! Hannah loves her Primary teachers. Their lesson on Sunday was about animals and about how we should love animals because they are a blessing from Heavenly Father. One of her teachers, who is just this absolutely adorable lady, brought in one of her pet birds for the kids to see. Hannah LOVED Penny the Parakeet and has talked about that bird all week and hopes that Sister Poulsen will bring it back to church one day soon! How on earth did Thomas & I, the anti-pets, end up with an animal loving child?

Monday was pretty uneventful... just trying to deal with sickness. I did make an amazing batch of soup! YUM! Will have to share the recipe one day.

Tuesday (was that only yesterday????) was pretty cool. I had to drive down to Provo to return something to the BYU Bookstore. It was the last day to return it, so I had to go. Since Thomas was home sick, the car situation actually worked out well. I was going to leave one of the kids home with him, but decided against that when he didn't want to get up off the couch at all. I figured he needed his sleep. So, I took both girls with me. We got down to campus and walked around. It was so pretty! I had forgotten how absolutely beautiful campus is! There were new buildings and it was just peaceful there! We walked around for a bit. I let the kids out of the stroller to run around and play on the perfectly groomed grass... well, it WAS perfectly groomed! They didn't do too much damage. Hannah just tried sweeping some loose dirt back into the flowerbeds with her hands... leaving MUD on her little hands, but the sidewalk looking much better! So, I load them back into the stroller and am getting ready to leave and walk by this guy sitting on a bench. I glanced at him because there was just something about the way he was sitting there that was familiar... Then I recognized him... it was ELI! My friend from highschool in Maryland! Eli was one of my very first and very best friends from that time in my life. He really helped me adjust to a new life there and get involved with the group of kids from church. It was great to stand there and talk to him. He was in town recruiting for the company he works for. You never know who you are going to run into on campus at BYU. It is a SMALL world! After that, we met Ashley at Target for a little bit. Zoey is quite possibly the funniest little girl ever! I just love that baby! I love all my nieces and nephews, but I just saw Zoey the most recently! :) When it was time to leave, she gave me a kiss on the cheek. And she smiled at me! Oh, the things that make me happy! We got home a little after four and hung out the rest of the night. I watched "Baby Momma". What a cute movie! There were a couple of crass moments, but it really wasn't as bad as I was expecting coming from those two. Greg Kinnear was an unexpected surprise in that movie and he really made it a heartfelt movie. I thought it was cute. I didn't think it was a life-altering movie or anything, but it sure wasn't the typical SNL-esque movie I was expecting either. It really was cute. I chuckled through quite a few parts of the movie! But I also almost cried! I was able to finish my new kit and got it loaded in the store this morning... see the post below if you haven't already seen it...

So... I stayed up really late last night working since I was gone all day yesterday. I finally crawled in bed around 2. Ainsley woke me up once last night... she is finally down to only waking up once or twice. Then Hannah woke me up at 6 this morning. She wanted some kids shows. So, I put her on the couch and attempted to go back to sleep. Hannah started coughing so hard she started throwing up. So, I cleaned her up and put her in the shower. Her pajamas were soaking wet. I thought it was throw up. Nope, I went in her room and she had wet her bed. So, I had to pull her sheets off the bed. Thankfully we have a waterproof cover on the mattress and she didn't have any blankets on her except the sheet. So, I rinsed out the sheets and the pukey blanket and put them in the washer. I had to go dig around the storage room this morning to find the humidifier. After her steamy shower, I slathered her feet in Vick's and put some socks on her. She is still coughing, but nowhere near as much as this morning. Ainsley woke up at 8:30, so we should have an early naptime for everyone this morning. :) I have to go change the laundry around, so I am going to go. Wish me luck today! I am so sleepy and it is only 9:15... and Thomas accidentally took my Dr. Pepper with him to work today (i left it in the trunk yesterday!). Oh well. It's probably better that way. Okay, off to switch laundry and get some desiging done...

Digital Designing Product Update...

I know, try not to fall over from shock... I am updating my blog! First, let's get rid of the business end of stuff...


This is my latest kit, released at FaithSisters on Friday! It's very cute, if I do say so myself! And yes, that is pink glitter on the frames!

And here is my other new product from last Friday... a set of BlogWare using Krystal Hartley's These Days are Golden kit! It comes with the code that you can copy & paste to get this to fit your blog! This is the same kit that I used on my design blog!

This is a sneak peek for my newest kit! You can get it today and Thursday for only $3! On Friday, the kit is revealed and it goes up to $4... or you can wait until Saturday when it is full price! :) You decide...

There will hopefully be QuickPages and some BlogWare for this one in the next week or so!

Some pictures

My mom & sisters have been asking for non-scrapped pictures of my girls. Here are some that I took a few weeks ago on my front porch. I tweaked them using some Totally Rad Actions samples. Amazing! When I get rich I am going to buy those actions! Okay, maybe not rich, but after I buy my new camera and get Thomas a big screen and get my laptop fixed and buy a house... it's right there at the top of my list! :) I combined some actions and added my own touches as well. There you go, folks, now it's back to scrapbook pages!

Recognize Ainsley's dress? It's one of Shelby's!