My little piece of that azure sky

Happy Halloween!

2008-11-03T16:05:00.000-08:00

Hi Grammie. This post is for your sweet self.

Steve has been gone Elk hunting so the girls and I did Halloween with friends as usual. They had a BLAST. We trick-or-treated at the Old Mill district where they got to ride on a horse-drawn wagon, which is Payton's FAVORITE thing to do, as she's now a horsewoman, apparently.

After that we went to a friend's house for dinner, and then haunted their neighborhood. The kids are now old enough that one or two houses doesn't cut it, and we had to go up and down the street.

They LOVED the whole day and stay busy counting candy and separating it into different piles. They ask to count their stash every day and are really good about not eating it.

We also went to Morgan's school party that morning and had a lot of fun there too. Payton joined us and loved being able to stay at school.

A Guest Ranch near Susanville California 8/8-8/10

2008-09-01T14:18:00.000-07:00

Fiero Family Reunion

For entertainment for the kids, one of the cousins did some face painting, and another brought cowgirl hats for them to decorate.

Both Morgan and Payton LOVED the one-eyed horse named Pirate. They would have taken him home with them if there had been room in the truck, and haven't stopped talking about their horse ride. I think we'll have to do that more often.

The Fair 8/3

2008-08-12T16:52:00.001-07:00

We were there almost 6 hours! WE love the fair!

A tiny update: The Coast 7/27-7/31

2008-08-12T10:35:00.000-07:00

We had a BLAST!

Fun on the Fourth!

2008-07-06T17:54:00.000-07:00

We did the Bend Pet Parade, the Sunriver Fireman's Picnic, and then came home to Redmond for a nap. We mixed it up this year and went to a local barbecue and stayed in Redmond to watch the fireworks too. It made it low key for our evening which is perfect when you have two little firecrackers for daughter's. Morgan was up from 7am to 11pm without a nap and did so good! AirLife was able to land at the picnic, Morgan participated in her first balloon toss contest, the weather was perfect.... all in all a great day! Here are some highlights:

And when she DID know what to expect

2008-06-23T15:40:00.001-07:00

Steve had his hands full of Payton so missed the zoom, but what you didn't see is that I actually went up on stage and tried to get her to go back over there and dance with the other kids with me. She wasn't interested so I didn't make her. hee hee. Steve joked that I should have taken off her headband, put it on, and finished the song on my own. Whatever.

I think next year will be easier when I'm not standing right there. Once she's with the older kids, she waits backstage behind the curtains and I'm just in the audience. I think I was too much of a crutch for her. She was spooked the first night so it was hard enough getting her to line up with the other girls the second night. We thought it might be easier for her if she walked out with Miss Amber, but obviously, once the music came on, she was NOT interested. lol

When she didn't know what to expect......

2008-06-20T20:54:00.000-07:00

Open for Business!

2008-06-20T16:02:00.001-07:00

Finally! Something is finished in my home! And it's gorgeous! And Steve did the whole thing by himself! I couldn't be more proud. And now, a tour:

This is our double sink. Purchased at Costco. It's a very dark brown. It has lots of drawers and many of them are those non-slamming kind that pull themselves in. Very cool.

Steve tiled the back splash with the same tile as our shower. I found two matching windows at the antique store and we backed them with mirror. They are so cool.

Oil rubbed bronze hardware. Yum.

Me. See? The mirror doesn't look too weird with the six panes of mirror in it. See the cool latches on the bottom and the chipped shabby white paint? Love it.

We put this fancy heat mat under the floor tiles. Now we can set the temperature, and when Grammabon stays with us in the wintertime, her toesies will be all nice and toasty when she gets out of the shower, rather than walking on cold tile. Fancy schmancy.

The shower and the fancy man in charge. He's sitting on the seat, lol. He tiled it and put in the shower floor. And he has a little sidekick too.

And what a cute sidekick she is!

Shower seat and floor. The floor is little river rocks. It's lumpy and bumpy so you won't slip, and feels kinda like a foot massage as you are walking around in it.

So that's it! One fantabulous bathroom that is ready for visitors! So exicting!

True North

2008-06-17T14:32:00.000-07:00

http://www.truenorthparenting.com/view.php?content=13619&article=1

Check out my June/July article! I am helping to distribute a little bit in Redmond, so I have a box or two of the magazines, and it is FABULOUS. So honored to be a part of it all.

That's Steve's Father's Day card too! :)

June Studio Calico layouts

2008-06-15T11:14:00.000-07:00

My May Studio Calico layouts

2008-05-27T10:41:00.001-07:00

Grammie, I'm determined to get this layout or another layout with Grandjack in it published. I'll be sure to let you know who, what, when, and where when it happens.

The happenings in April and May.....

2008-05-17T18:09:00.000-07:00

We've been really busy lately, but I thought I'd better update with some pics.

The last weekend in April we took out the trailer for the first time. We went to Prineville Reservoir and had a lot of fun.

Morgan climbed her very first tree. I asked her what we should name it and she declared... "and I shall call it.... tree". Very funny.

I live on a dirt road, so it was a big deal that Morgan wanted to ride her trike. And look... she is already too big for it. We have plans to get her a big girl bike before we head back to Prineville Reservoir in June.

Unfortunately, I had my camera ISO on 1600 and didn't notice it, so every photo of Payton catching her first fish were overexposed, so I made this one black and white. It was a catfish so we let it go, but she reeled it in herself! Very cool.

Please excuse the binkie and the bottle in these two pics. She had her moments of fun, but PJ was sick... we just didn't realize it before we left. We caught this horrible cold. I didn't have my voice for almost 2 weeks! Poor PJ was a bit under the weather but the trailer worked awesome, because the extra crying, etc., didn't even bug me! :)

Eric took our family photo. He did a pretty good job!

On the 3rd we went to Krysta's birthday party. Her party theme was Hannah Montana so of course Morgan had to go and wear her hair down.... no wig needed for this kid!

The other day Morgan brought me this picture and said... this is me, riding a lion. And it totally is!

Last Saturday we had an irrigation issue with a neighbor's ditch overflowing and another neighbor not taking their water when they were supposed to, so our driveway was a bit flooded. The kids certainly didn't mind, so they put their galoshes on and dashed outside to enjoy it.

Morgan drove through it.

Morgan jumped in it. They even through rocks. And poor PJ wore her little self out! I walked into the living room later to find this:

hee heeeee!

On Mother's Day I asked to go to town and do a little shopping. We bombarded the Old Mill District and went to Red Robin for lunch. When we got home I got busy putting away my purchases when I realized I was missing 3 of my 5 for $25 panties I'd just bought at Victoria's Secret. After much searching I found this:

Yeppers. And she did that one on her own.

The other day the girls were playing with homemade playdough (which is the BEST kind, by the way) and Morgan told me she made a butterfly:

Again... it totally is! I am so excited by the artistic flair she has! This really is an exciting time for me. I just look forward to her creations so much! She really is quite talented.

The skies then parted and the sun came OUT. And it's been HOT. So of course it was time to break out the water toys.

And that's where the kids have been the last few days. Tomorrow will be more of the same.

Today, Saturday the 17th, was also a banner day for Morgan. She was invited to her first birthday party with a school friend. It was just the birthday girl and two little friends, but it was a ton of fun. She got a big trampoline so of course the kids played with that.... and they just had fun as 4 year old kids do. It was nice to chat with other mom's and play with other kids that we don't normally play with on the weekends. Morgan had a lot of fun with Kelsey, and the birthday girl, Maren.

And that's it for the last few weeks!

P.S. Goldie is still around, but alas, of course, MAMA has been designated as the bowl cleaner. The kids still get a big kick out of feeding her..... HIM every night, and this fish still cooperates. They love to watch him take a bite and spit his food out. He's really quite entertaining at chow time.

Next up? Steve is taking a promotional exam and test on Monday which could make him a captain. Cross your fingers for him. We want them to hire the right guy for the job, and we want that guy to be Steve. Actually.... I do anyway. Steve is a bit uncertain if it's time yet. He's enjoying the current position, and the higher you go, the more paperwork you are in charge of. This brings about the question.... do you HAVE to want to go up the ladder? Can't you just be satisfied where you are? Because if it was about the money, wouldn't everyone want to be chief? So.... let's hope he finds the path he was meant to take.

Also coming up is another camping trip to Prineville Reservoir. No worries here EXCEPT that we are camping from Tuesday to Friday, driving home, dropping off the trailer, and THEN zipping to Portland for the weekend and the Rose Festival. Why? All I can tell you is that I was not in charge of scheduling that one or I wouldn't have. The good thing is that the trailer can sit until you are ready to unload it, so it's just a matter of cleaning out the food. That said, let's hope I can get my laundry organized before we go. Camping clothes for camping, and city clothes ready and waiting to be tossed in the car for a trip to Portland.

Lastly... mark your calendars. Morgan's first ballet recital is on June 20 and June 21 at 7pm at the Redmond High School. The upside is that it's about 2 1/2 minutes and is going to be quite hysterical. The bad thing is that it costs something like $12 for each adult to go and she's the first 2 minutes in a big show with the entire Redmond School of Dance. Ayiyiyi. She has two dates set, so you can either go to the first, where she doesn't know what to expect, or the second, when she does. Both should be entertaining. And have I mentioned that I somehow volunteered to make the costumes for all 7 girls? Yes I did? Why? I don't know.... but for this first year, the 3 year old class, the parent's are in charge of the costumes. So I'm making them. The song is "the bear went over the mountain" and Payton has been watching the routine, and sings and does an almost better job than Morgan, which is sweet and sad at the same time, because it will be 1 1/2 years before she gets a chance to go to class.....

I'm a writer!

2008-05-07T09:41:00.000-07:00

Check it out:

www.truenorthparenting.com

And click on the Mother's Day card from the heart midway down the home page. That's me!

I was approached to contribute to this local parenting magazine and I am quite honored! 6 issues per year are in print, and I think the May issue is one of them. It's a free publication so I'm going to have to find it somewhere.

It has a lot of great resources for Central Oregon parents and I couldn't be more excited to be part of it!

:)

Spring Tea and a Fish named Goldie

2008-04-21T16:30:00.000-07:00

Last week Morgan and I went to a little Spring Tea at preschool. It was a fun little event. The kids had made chocolate covered strawberries the day before, so we munched on those and drank our tea at little tables with paper daffodils and a.k.a. chia pet grassheads that the kids were growing acting as placemarkers. The kids did a little program where they sang and acted out a couple of songs including "I'm a little teapot" and it was super cute. Morgan and I were the most foofy dressed of the bunch, so I'm glad I didn't go with the whole outfit I had planned. I just used the feather boa and the hat. Morgan too. But she also had pearls.

On Saturday the kids needed something to do so we ran an errand in Bend. While there we stopped at Petco to look around. I had ZERO intentions of getting the kids anything except maybe a dogbone for Cooper, but we ended up walking out with our first pet fish. We went with a single Beta. We bought the fishbowl, the pink and blue castle, and Morgan picked out the fish that she wanted, a blue/purple/red one with big tail waving. She declared Princess Goldie to be the name and off we went. It wasn't until later that I noticed that the container said it was a BOY, but that just made me giggle a little bit.

I don't know why I didn't do this sooner. I can't believe how entertained they are by this silly little thing. The bowl sits atop the TV, because of PJ and her enthusiasm, but the kids talk to the fish throughout the day, say goodbye to Goldie when we leave the house, and Morgan has even made drawings that she's propped up outside the bowl and has put photos up there introducing people to her new pet too. It's quite cute.

I've been starting to add to Morgan's chore chart, so figured that Goldie would be a good place to start with an additional weekly chore. I'm sure she'll enjoy helping me clean the bowl weekly. We'll see how long all of this enthusiasm lasts! For now, it was a good investment.

PJ's 2nd Bday

2008-04-01T20:59:00.000-07:00

Let's set the stage before watching the video, shall we?

Steve's birthday was March 20th

Easter party March 23rd

Mallory's birthday was March 29

Spring Break

By the time we got to March 30, we have been partied and cake and candled. OUT. Morgan's schedule. GONE.

So the girls are a bit at the end of their rope. And Payton knows EXACTLY what to do at a birthday party.

You will hear Morgan get upset about something.... I think she wanted to blow out the lighter or something... you will then hear her storm off and then later sweet Auntie Bean raced back to her room to help try and comfort her, to no avail.

Ignore all of that.

EDITED: Not sure why youtube looks blurry right now... maybe something to do with my blog template? I dunno.

Let's talk about Payton's stink eye when she hears her sister trying to mess up her song, hee heeee.

And Raegan. Seriously. That kid.

Look at Payton! Isn't she cute! And could she have been more on cue with blowing out the candles? NO! I snapped away with my camera and managed to catch this:

Did you see that! Candle smoke too! All in focus! Check out her birthday crown:

And Pin the Candle on the Cupcake!

And Auntie Bean took this one:

And these two are my favorites of the day:

Grammabon got her a ladybug raincoat and boots. SO cute. We got her a butterfly magnifying glass.

Is there a cuter kid in existence? Not today!

Layouts and such!

2008-03-28T21:31:00.001-07:00

One of my layouts from a March kit and the other 4 are from an April kit from Studio Calico. I just LOVE the 1234 Years layout. I love seeing Morgan side by side. These are photos taken of her on every birthday. I love how much she's changed yet how much she still looks like Morgan. And look at her 2 year old photo vs. Payton. They look related.

He Calls it the Tower of Terror

2008-03-19T11:14:00.000-07:00

And it's in my front yard. It's like an amusement park ride. Great.

Jobie stayed at my house in our trailer all weekend, and on Sunday, before he headed home, he and Steve decided to take on the tower. I think Steve has climbed it one time, and it isn't something I look forward to watching or encourage anyone to ever do again, but there they went. I'll attach photos of Steve later, but these are Jobie. Thank goodness I have a wide angle lens... it's the only way I got the whole thing in. But I had to switch out lenses to get Jobie at the top, but there you have it.

Jobie came down the ladder and admitted to being afraid of heights, so this was a big thing for him. He also said the views were breathtaking and our neighbors weren't doing anything naughty. :)

I figured it out!

2008-02-19T16:50:00.000-08:00

Oh man.... I have had this sweet little video camera for 4 years and have just now finally figured out how to post a video online... I think! Yahooie! We have tons of videos so you are going to see more of that on this blog.

Morgan sings:
Morgan doesn't always like to sing in front of people so this is a treat. She sings these songs at school

Payton reads:
Did you give us "Mommy, Mommy Carry me Pleas" ? If so, let me know. My girls got this as a gift and I don't remember who from, but this book is one of their favorites. Obviously. Payton can read each page but got a little gunshy once the camera was on. She does say the animal and "carry me please" on each page though.. and if you can sit through the whole thing, she reads the Lemur page at the end.

So fun!

Morgan Sings

2008-02-19T16:49:00.001-08:00

Payton reads

2008-02-19T16:43:00.000-08:00

New Fancy Pants!

2008-01-31T08:33:00.000-08:00

CHA is the Craft and Hobby Association. Twice a year they have a Convention, in the winter it's in Anaheim, and in the summer it's in Chicago... where vendors display their latest product for retailers to purchase. I'm lucky enough to get to go again for the second time. I'm so excited! I can't wait to play with my scrappy friends. I'm going to be working in a couple of different booths, which I haven't done before, and I was also fortunate enough to be asked to create several samples for various booths.

Fancy Pants Designs sent me a lot of their product that was geared towards the boys. I asked Sabrina if I could borrow a few pictures of Kael, and she was happy to oblige and sent me a ton to choose from. I may ask to use some more in the future. The birthday party pictures I took at Raegan's birthday party last year. In the meantime, I wanted you to check out some of the work that will be headed with me to California.

Jan. 20th Events of the Day

2008-01-20T17:12:00.000-08:00

I made Morgan a super cute crown. It has glitter and bling and butterflies on it. She LOVES it.

Opening gifts

Her sweet face as we sang Happy Birthday.

YUM! I've noticed that Morgan never eats her cake so I decided to go for Ice Cream Cake from Baskin Robbins. White cake with "Icing on the Cake" icecream. I had never heard of it, but that ice cream was YUMMMO. We will definitely do an ice cream cake again. It was a huge hit!

It snowed and snowed this morning, our first snow in a month, so after eating, presents, and cake, we suited up and headed outside. By then it was starting to melt off a little, but not enough to ruin our fun!

Morgan and Payton on the big sled.

Raegan preferred to go solo on her green disk or with our neighbor Sara who came over to sled with us.

The triple threat.

Goofing off as usual.

I knew she'd like it, so even though PJ said no, I sent her down in the sled solo anyway.

I knew she'd like it!

Even Steve took a spin.

Me too!

Payton was the last kid standing and before she headed in, requested a quick trip around the property from Grandma, who was happy to oblige.

I had to get a photo of the three girls. Rylee, on the left, will be moving a couple of hours away at the end of the month. She won't be too far away and I hope we see her often! These three are thicks as thieves!

After everyone came inside I realized we hadn't hacked into the butterfly pinata. So after most everyone left, we found a way to hang it inside, and Morgan, Payton, and Raegan beat on it for a little while, and eventually with our help they were able to get access to the goods inside. And then Steve took Rae home.

All in all it was a great birthday! Morgan got some great gifts and got to spend time with her closest friends. Who can ask for anything more!

She's 4

2008-01-20T16:31:00.000-08:00

I can't believe she's 4. I can't believe I'm the parent of a 4 year old. Happy Birthday sweetie.

How Cute is this?

2008-01-16T12:40:00.000-08:00

http://www.nickjr.com/shows/ni-hao-kai-lan/index.jhtml

Yes. That's Ni-hau Kai lan. And if you go to the middle of the screen on the right.... you can do a Dragon Boat race game.

How cute is that! The show hasn't started yet so I'm not sure what it's going to be like, but we've seen previews where this cute little chinese girl races boats with her little friends, and it makes us all smile, thinking of Grammabon.

Super cute!

The Follow UP

2008-01-14T15:38:00.000-08:00

They did fine.

They made cookies from scratch. They needed to chill the dough before baking the actual cookies, so I'm told Morgan slept with a cookie cutter.

PJ didn't sleep well but she doesn't always sleep well at home so I'm okay with that.

They had great fun.

I got a lot done! So did Steve. He had friends come help him downstairs and we are almost ready to texture and paint! Still filling in the cracks and sanding the drywall.....

As I've mentioned before, Scrapbooking is a part-time job for me now... and, well, January is going to be my biggest month ever because of commitments, preparations for CHA next month, and I've decided to enter this great big 'ole contest too. So I'm majorly swamped.

Anyway.... didn't want to leave y'all hanging. The girls did fine, we did fine, and we'll do it again.

:)

Packing Up

2008-01-10T12:28:00.000-08:00

For the first time in their little lives, Morgan and Payton are going to stay the night at Grandma and Grandpa's. I have some serious deadlines on some scrappy projects, and Steve could get some serious quality time downstairs, so they are staying the night with Jon and Kathy on Friday. I have a little anxiety about this, but it is solely around the fact that PJ doesn't always sleep through the night and I'll feel bad if they have to get up with her. But as they have said, they did the parent thing twice... so I'm sure everything will be fine.

At first Morgan didn't want to go... she wanted us to go with her. But after talking with her for a bit and reminding her that she'll have a lot of fun, she seemed to be a bit sold on the idea. Shortly thereafter she was hustling and bustling around the house with plastic grocery bags. Later I walked into her room to this:

While it is overkill for just one night, I was actually quite impressed with the items she thought to pack.

I think they'll be just fine.

Can I get a Woot Woot?!

2008-01-08T17:01:00.000-08:00

Yahooie! We got a trailer! We are very serious about family time. We do a lot of camping and running around during the summer. I'm not a non-outdoor girl, but once you have kids, I just want to be able wash my hands and their faces, you know? They get dirty the second they are outside their sleeping area, and after 4 years of diapers it's just a wonderful thing to have a place to get clean. After some serious negotiation skills that would make his mother-in-law proud, Steve wheeled a deal for this:

It's brand new. It's HUGE. It's much bigger now that we're home than it was sitting in the lot next to the motorhomes.

Wow. I think Steve said it's 25 feet? Not sure on that one.

This photo was taken from the couch. That's the sink and the stove, the microwave is up top, and the bunks are to the right. You can see a sliver of the bathroom door.

Here's the bunks! There is an emergency access door, and the bottom bed also lifts up because that door opens from the outside too so that you can store bikes or whatnot while on the road.

The girls already picked their spot!

This is me stading by the bunk with my back to the bathroom. That's the dinette and the couch, both of which pull out to become beds. Not house sized beds, but beds nonetheless.

My back is to the bathroom now, looking straight ahead. Kitchen on the right, entertainment center, and you can see the master suite behind Steve.

The master suite. We might dink around with the bed because it's a little small for Steve, but we ARE camping. I just love all the storage! That was such a headache in the camper. The bed lifts up and there's tons of storage underneath it too. Not a bad fabric pattern, eh?

This shows the entertainment center with surround sound and the kitchen with the entry door. We need to get a little TV. Roughing it shmoughing it. hee hee

This is a photo of the dinette and couch from the entry door. While trying to take this photo the stereo was on, and Morgan was busy doing an interpretive contemporary dance. wow. And yes, Alyca. You bought her that dress a couple of years ago and she wears it ALL the time.

The couch.

The dinette. the table collapses and you move the cushions around for the bed.

Both the dinette and couch are on the slideout.

The trailer with the slide out.

SO exciting. I can't wait to camp now! We already do a couple of trips that are 3-5 days but this makes me want to do more! We'll have enough water to bathe, I don't have to ration it like I did in the camper, room for the extra clothes, the dog can even come..... oh it just makes me smile.

Do I still look like me?

2008-01-02T15:50:00.000-08:00

So I walked in the bathroom, caught my mug in the mirror, and thought, wowee, does that really even look like me? I thought I'd check with those who know me.

I got my hair cut last week. It's a little too short, and it's fairly flat today because I'm not going anywhere so I didn't need to get too fancy. Too bad for the poor lighting, because it's darker and lighter.... a fun weave.

ANd... I'm wearing my glasses. I got glasses a year or two ago, but they were stolen the first day I wore them to the office because of the cute Kate Spade frames, and I've been too irritated to get more. I'm a little farsighted because of all my computer time, and I get headaches, so they aren't much of a prescription but make the computer screen just a tad bigger which helps. These are Coach and have little dragonfly bling on the side.

This is a photo of me with my makeup on, so that you can see the detail. hee hee. No really. That's what I look like when I'm all dolled up.
Anyway, I've never worn glasses in my life, I only need them sometimes on the computer so I didn't want contacts... which is good because I can't imagine sticking my FINGER in my EYE... so I thought I'd pick up some cute shades and watch them like a hawk so they don't get stolen!

Anyway... I'll update with more schtuff later. Steve just called me and may be driving home with a new camp trailer here in an hour or so... price is confirmed, deposit made, just having to do paperwork so I don't know if I'll see it today, but I'll post pictures when I do. A'camping we will go!

Happy New Year!

2007-12-31T10:50:00.000-08:00

I know I need to upload my Christmas photos and dish about all that, but I have no time today! We are getting ready to load the kids up and head to the hills for sledding with friends. Then we are headed to town to ring in the New Year with a houseful of kids 4 and under.... so it'll probably feel like midnight at 8:30 and we'll likely head home. But maybe not! Either way, Steve has to work tomorrow so we won't be partying past 12:01am.

Happy New Year! Tomorrow is 2008 and I still can't believe it!

Snow Play

2007-12-24T11:57:00.001-08:00

I saw that there snow, and then I saw that the sun was trying to creep in, so after breakfast, the kids and I made a beeline for the outside to enjoy what we were given while we had it.

Morgan made a snow angel.

We have had a round snow disc allllll summer long, and now that the snow has fallen, I can't find it anywhere. So I took the lid off the outdoor toy box and we used that because the turns up. It worked fine and if we had more snow she would have gone very far!

PJ enjoyed herself outside, but she doesn't have snow pants so was wearing a Children's Place lined track suit that Grammabon got Morgan last year or the year before.... and she wouldn't let me put gloves on her so I knew our time was limited.

Oh hey, Morgan looked at the camera!

We made a teeny tiny snowman. Cooper almost took it for a run......

But even more fateful, after I took a photo of it... Morgan took a big bite out of it's behind. Or as Morgan refers to it..... the snowman's cheek bottom.

And then PJ gave me the subtle sign that she was finished for the moment, and we came indoors.

Outdoor fun was had by all!

Merry Christmas!

2007-12-23T18:56:00.000-08:00

Happy Holidays! This is our Christmas card this year, and most of you should have or be receiving this shortly. I was hoping to make my own Christmas cards digitally this year, but the closest I came was a digital template at a scrapbooking site, so they aren't totally generic. We never got our family photo taken. This one was taken at the reindeer ranch the day we went to visit Santa. Speaking of which, in the event you did not see it, Morgan ended up in the Bulletin after that visit. You can get a peek at the photo here:

Morgan with Santa

Very cool! We were just in the right place at the right time, the girls were wearing their Christmas dresses, and Morgan was content to sit with Santa all day... hee hee. PJ had zero interest, until she was given a candy cane, and talk turned to the reindeer.

Speaking of Santa, this year is SO exciting. Morgan finally gets it and can't wait for the big day, although she wants to give Santa a hug when he gets to our house... I had to tell her that Santa won't come unless we are asleep, and we are going to leave a door unlocked so that he can get in. So cute. And I rented Prancer to help get some Christmas spirit and Morgan has already watched it several times. It's actually a very cute movie. I don't know that I've ever seen it before, but just now I saw that there's a sequel so we might have to check it out!

A month ago I bought the Grinch because it's a childhood classic, although I have always found it quite creepy. I can't believe it's only 1/2 hour long! It seemed like a full length feature when I was young... interesting.

So despite the weather, we are trying to get the Christmas spirit. But that's been tough now that we are a day and a half away because Steve had his regular shift Thursday, took an overtime shift for Friday, had Saturday off, had his regular shift on Sunday, and because a chief is on vacation and he is low man on the captain pole, he had a MANDATORY overtime shift for Monday. Yes. That' Christmas Eve. And that totally stinks! At least the overtime is split between two paychecks. Gotta find that silver lining. This means that I've had to do all the last minute things by myself, like the stockings and the shopping and the food preparation, etc., etc. Such a bummer. But I decided not to get worked up about it because there WILL be years where he is actually on shift Christmas DAY so we might as well get used to celebrating the holiday a little differently from everyone else. I'm just not sure how that will work during the "I believe in Santa" years but we'll figure it out.

Because Saturday Steve was home, we did some running around. Specifically, we ran to RV dealerships. Yep. In 2008 it can almost be guaranteed that we are getting a camp trailer. Camping in the summertime is something we as a family love to do, and because it's an opportunity for us to recreate together, we might as well do it more comfortably. We love our dear $1000 camper, but it's time to stretch our arms a little bit. Last summer we had to make the choice of taking Payton or Cooper, because there wasn't room for both because Morgan needed to sleep on the floor. If we get a trailer, there will be room for everyone and our dirty laundry. So on Saturday we did a little shopping. We know what floorplan we like, but we know nothing about brands and I know nothing about construction, so we don't know WHICH brand to go with. But we're looking.

After going to lunch at Mazatlan, my fave, and then shopping, we came home to recoup, and then headed out to Star Fest at Eagle Crest. You just drive your car through this long set up of different light displays. We've been going for a few years now and it's always a fun part of our holiday celebration. This year was no exception! We put the girls in their jammies, grabbed their blankies and even the dog, and trekked down the road. We even managed to get a couple of photos to give you an idea about some of the displays at the end of the road.

It's an annual tradition!

Look what I woke up to this morning! I had to take a photo of it because the skies are already parting so there is a chance it will burn off, but it sure brought on the Christmas spirit to wake up to the fluffy white stuff. I'll have to toss the kids outside to play in it!

I have a lot on my Christmas docket today... I am Santa, Mrs Claus, the housekeeper, present wrapper and display organizer and laborer, I have Christmas treats to make, Christmas Day food to pre-prepare, do laundry, clean up the house, encourage Christmas spirit for the kiddos, and still find time to shower, deliver some presents, and visit daddy at the firestation. Let's not forget I'm also the mama so have to allay all fears and separate all fights and console all heartache and read books and nurture learning and all that stuff too.

The good thing is that Steve and I did some pre-work on Saturday night. At the last minute we thought we should get out the kitchen we got the girls for Christmas and put it together. Well gal dang there's a reason why it was such a good deal. It was about a zillion little plastic pieces that you had to break apart. Wow. But after almost 2 hours it was finally together and we got to bed about midnight. Good thing he was here and I didn't have to figure that one out by myself!

Morgan is very easy this year and as I may have mentioned before, has consistently asked for two things from Santa. The Piranha Panic game, and a shiny rock. Piranha Panic was luckily in stock at the Walmart Supercenter, so that was good. We had a dilemma about what to do about the shiny rock. Steve suggested some cool rocks he found at elk camp. I wasn't sure about that. Morgan is obsessed with jewelry, so I wasn't sure if she meant a jewel, or if she meant a rock with some sparkle. I then thought to buy an agate from this house on the highway that advertises agates... but our dilemma was solved at Morgan's school Christmas party. One of the moms mentioned that while at Pier 1 she saw this great big gem that comes in a satin-lined box and was totally baffled what it was for. I immediately got all flushed. That gem is for my girl, that's what it's for! Turns out it's a paperweight. We asked Jon and Kathy to pick up one for us because I didn't have an opportunity to shop by myself before Christmas, so on Christmas morning, Morgan is going to wake up to a palm sized, RED gem in a red satin-lined box. She's going to flip. Seriously. And I don't worry about it becoming a weapon because I don't see it leaving her little hands. So we are excited about that reveal. You can see a picture of it here. It's right in the middle of the page.

I'll try and post some photos tonight before bed, but if I don't have time, I'll do it tomorrow.

Merry Christmas!

layouts

2007-11-29T10:45:00.001-08:00

Here's what I did with the December kit from Studio Calico. I did a bunch of cards too. So fun! Thanks Alyca for letting me steal those family photos from the beach to scrap. Someday I'll make a mini album with all of them to date. That should be fun to look at and add to every year!

I have some potentially big scrappy news to share, but I'm still in the process of getting approval and signing contracts, so I'm not sure what it really means, but it could be good! I can't wait to share!

In other news......

Morgan was BIT at school the other day. I should have taken a picture when we got home because it was more pronounced, but here we have the evidence. They have a room that was a little house, with baby dolls and beds and a little kitchen, etc... they just recently changed to to a grocery store. They have food in shelves and grocery carts, and even had real potatoes, carrots, and onions in tubs. There are two cash registers at the front of the "store".... and Miss Morgan and one of her classmates were fighting over the scanner thing. Nobody saw what happened, but I can only imagine that Morgan refused to let go, and her little friend just zoomed in for the kill. She got a huge chunk of Morgan's cheek in her mouth! It didn't break the skin, and Morgan refused treatment, but we got a phone call at home before I even returned from dropping her off! Egads! Alyssa's mama felt really bad, said she'd never bit before, and even called the next day to make sure Morgan was okay. I wasn't too upset... kids are kids, this happens, and I'm sure Morgan was just as much in fault over the quarrel. She certainly didn't deserve to get bit, but whaddya do.

House update:

Must keep track of the happenings.... Steve has had some overtime and been required to work for other people, so he hasn't been home as much as he'd like. That said... he put in the canned lights, and just finished up doing the wiring for all plug outlets, light switches, etc. He also framed in the wall and around the heating unit thing that will be in the room. The tile showed up the other day, so that's ready when he's ready too. So. Moving along!

Prepare yourself.... progress ahead!

2007-11-20T10:48:00.000-08:00

Before:

This lovely green 800 gallon water tank came out of the room on the left. Steve drug it out with his truck. Lovely. We have some friends with 5 acres and no irrigation, so any day now they are going to be by to pick this thing up and take it home. They are going to bury it in the grown and use it as a reserve tank. That's fine by me... just get it out of here!

To the left downstairs, in the room where the tank once was, is 13x14 of pure future scrappy goodness. Oh. My. I am so excited about this. Scrapbooking is becoming a part-time job for me, and I would love to have a cozy place to do it in.

The focus of today's work... to take out the garage door on the right and put in a window.

Here are Steve and his dad in the early afternoon. Garage door and all the framing that went with it, gone. In it's place is framing for my window. Are you ready to see what it looks like today?

Brace yourself....

Ta da! I am so excited about this! Now, it's not finished. Steve had to work for someone at the "office" last night from 5-9... and they were still nailing up siding at 4:45 so it's in no way finished. But look. That there is a window! No more 1 car garage door that leaked light and had grass growing under it and into my house 365 days a year. Think of the energy savings! And with a window I no longer need a light in on the daylight. Yippee!

Here's another view. Now, keep in mind... they ran out of time yesterday, but the window in my scrapbook room will also be replaced with a window just like the one that was just put in. So they will match. More light. Natural light in my scrapbook room! Hooray!

Steve has already started putting canned lighting in my room, the tile for both my room and the "mud" room is already on order... we decided to go with the same tile that's in our entryway upstairs.... it's progress, I tell ya, progress! My scrapbook room is my Christmas present and while I don't know that Steve will have enough time to get it all finished by that big day, at least something is happening around here! We've been in limbo! So many projects, but where to begin!? This really is a good thing. We can't wait to live downstairs too... it will DOUBLE the square footage I've been living in for... ack.... 2 YEARS! I can't believe it's been that long. I can't wait!

In other home improvement news.... we just got a new bed. Steve hated our other bed. He'd wake up with sore shoulders and his handprint on his chest and a sleeping arm every day. So he picked up this:

**deleted link because it's messing with my blog layout!**

I don't know if this is the exact one, but the price is right and ours is a Memory Foam and we got it at Costco with $100 rebate, so this might be it.

The UPS truck showed up while Steve was hunting with this box that was 4' high. I was like .... "oh dear, that can't be right." But when Steve came home and dragged all 150 pounds of box up stairs on a dolly, it was an amazing experience to be had. They included an envelope opener, and you slit the bag open, unfold the mattress that's been folded in half, and then slit another bag open... the mattress was folded in half and then in a W shape. You open it on your bed, and then lay it out, and then it gradually expands. It was the weirdest thing... ever! We opened it at 12 and by bedtime it was okay to sleep on. At first we couldn't decide if we loved it or hated it, it's such a weird mattress, but since we bought it, Steve hasn't had any arm pain, I don't need to wear socks to bed because it really holds in the heat, and I look forward to getting in bed and dread getting out of it in the morning. It just hugs you close. It really is quite fabulous. But it's so different! There's no spring when you leap on to it... just a dull thud as you slowly sink down into to. And because we still have the box spring on our bed, it's really high. We might take that box spring out because we don't need it now, but for now it works as a platform so it's fine.

So there. Window. Bed. Progress at the casa de la Fiero!

Lastly.... the kiddos have been OBSESSED with washing windows lately... and who am I to crush their dreams and curb their passion by denying them this joy? Good thing I already purchase paper towels and window cleaner at Costco.... for I have been lathering our slider in order to provide them their entertainment on an almost daily basis. Yes, our house needs some cleaning... and it won't be long before I have them moving along to other windows too.

It's a banner day!

2007-11-17T16:25:00.000-08:00

That's right it is! I just got 4 requests from Scrapbook Trends for their April issue! Woohoo! Payton is getting into a magazine again, as well as a layout with my mug in it, a layout with the two girls in it... and even a layout with Cooper! DAng! Where's the 5th request with a layout of Steve! It's a Fiero issue!

So. Keep that in mind. April 2008 issue of Scrapbook Trends. Must. Have.

Seriously.

2007-11-16T14:16:00.000-08:00

How cute is this? Morgan's ballet class got combined with the class following because there were only 2 or 3 kids that would show up to her class each day. We went to class this week and I walked in to a room with 8 sweet little three year old girls.... and they were all in pink. Adorable!
This dance studio has a one way mirror and a window in the door that leads to the room. Parents and family can be distracting to the little ballerina's, so we wait outside. But with 8 sweet three year old girls in one class... well, there were about 800 family members standing outside. The one way mirror was being utilized by 798 of these people, so I tried strategically taking photos through the window without the 8 sweet three year old girls seeing me.... and I had a monkey named PJ climbing all over me, because she wasn't tall enough to see. Suffice it to say, I'm ecstatic with what I was able to capture.
Morgan did awesome in class, loves to go... and made an adorable sweet three year old bunny to boot!

This and That

2007-11-09T17:57:00.000-08:00

First. I haven't been "tooting my horn" lately in the name of Scrapbooking, but things have been a'happenin'... so I guess I should share.

There is a layout of Morgan called "Bippity Boppity Boo" in a new book by Memory Makers called 601 Great Ideas. I just saw that it's been released, so you should be able to find it at Michaels, Barnes & Noble, etc. I haven't gotten my copy yet so I don't know what page she is on, but it's a dark pink and purple layout and it's photos from her birthday.

Yesterday my first layout of Payton got picked up for a new book by Scrapbook Trends called "Embellish It". I think that one comes out in April.

I have cards in the January, February, and March issue of Cards magazine.

I also just earned a spot on the 2008 Worldwin team. I am very excited about the opportunities with this team. And how fun to be on a cardstock team!

Studio Calico is a dream. I am so honored to be on the Design Team for this kit club. At the beginning of every month you can view the Design Team gallery here. Just click on me and you'll see a slide show of my work with that kit. You can also click on the link for past galleries, and if you choose a kit on the right side (like Red Carpet, Johnny Appleseed, etc.) you will see my work with previous kits. So far I have worked with Red Carpet and Johnny Appleseed... I just got my kit for the December kit, and oh dear I almost cried when I opened it, it was so fabulous.

Okay... I think that's it for scrappy stuff at the moment.

If you are ever bored, read this blog: http://thepioneerwoman.com/

This woman is brilliant, so well spoken, so funny and entertaining... it just is a must read. Be sure to click on her links for how she met her husband... "Black Heels to Tractor Wheels: A Love Story". Brilliant, I tell ya.

So... I'm going to CHA in February. I think it's the 9-12th. Looking forward to it again.

And then Steve and I are going to Vegas! I think we are going February 24-28th. With friends. At this point, I think we are staying at the Luxor. Must stay on the strip! And I've always loved how that spot was laid out, with the rooms looking over the casino. We haven't been on a vacation as a couple in many moons, so this is much needed and very exciting! There's a newer airline out of Redmond that flies to Vegas direct. Perfect!

Looking ahead to Christmas:

You are in NO WAY obligated to get my kiddos anything, but just in case you are interested, and need ideas:
I want to get both girls a bean bag. If there's a choice, pink, purple, princess first.
Morgan needs 5T. Pants. The waist and everything are fine, but she's got some legs, and everything is starting to get so short! I'd say 5T in shirts too... but it really depends. Some of her 4T's are too big, some too small.
Payton would LOVE some Children's Place jeans... 24months. And maybe a 2T. There is a difference in size, so if you have a choice, for some reason she doesn't have much in her current size so has been wearing jeans that are too big for her.
Payton is now obsessed with Elmo. She doesn't care about TV and movies at all, but just recently if I put on Sesame Street, she cheers for Elmo like the girls cheered for Elvis. She loves him! I got her a stuffed Elmo already, and I ordered one of those Look and Find board books from amazon.com to compliment the one we already have... but if you saw an Elmo T-shirt or a lightweight Elmos jacket... 2T... well, she'd probably sleep in it.
Speaking of sleeping, Morgan could use more jammies. 4t-5t. I have a princess nightgown for a Christmas gift, and she'd love more two piece jammies. No more fleece onesies for her.
I could also use more lotion. We get Aveeno from Costco. They both have a touch of Eczema, so they dry out in the winter time if I don't keep them lotioned up.

I'll post again if I think of anything else. But the main thing I WANTED to get them for Christmas are bean bags. They drag pillows from all over the house all the time, so I'd like them to just have their own bag to play in and watch Sesame Street in.

This is one of my entries for the Worldwin Design Team. All of it is cardstock. The Doublemates cardstock in my pinwheels is double sided, which is pretty cool.

Lastly, this is a layout I did for a challenge at Scenic Route, a manufacturer. The challenge was to use a specific line of product. I won some goodies and was featured at their site for this challenge, which was pretty cool. I won a paper pack of their new Loveland Collection, which is delicious! This is one in a series of my most favorite pictures of Morgan. I had some of my best photography that day. Great lighting. Everything in focus. ::sigh::

Anyway... that's it for now!

CAUTION: Smiling 3 year old below ::edited::

2007-11-06T11:10:00.001-08:00

Isn't she cute? I was standing off to the side and I didn't think she'd smiled at all! I was pleasantly surprised and adore this photo. This IS what her smile looks like.

I love this class photo because it shows their personalities so well. Not many smilers, that same twin NOT wanting to be in the photo, the little girl in pink somewhat high maintenance and has a teacher nearby to hang on to her... just. in. case. Love it. BUT. NOBODY puts (my) baby in the corner. What's up with that? I guess that's the downside of being tall, although she really isn't that much bigger than anyone else in the class. Oh well. It's still a fun photo!

Edited:

For those of you who didn't know, or as a reminder to those who I've told before....

Morgan goes to a Co-op. That means that parent participation is required. In her class, there are two teachers and 3 parent volunteers every day. So the ratio is 3-4 kids per adult. The curriculum at her school is to learn through play, so all activities are geared around fun. On my volunteer day I go in early and get the synopsis for the day's activities, and help get projects prepared if they haven't already been done.

Next year there are the same two teachers and I think 1 parent volunteer every day. This is in preparation for Kindergarten, where you drop your kid off outside because they don't let the kids come in early, and then it's 1 teacher for about 25 kids. At this point Morgan isn't doing private school, so her co-op is great preparation for school to come.

Morgan's school is a school. We wait for the flag to be put out every day before we are allowed in the building. This is because the teachers and parents want to be prepared and ready. After the flag is put out, each child is greeted as they walk in, so that they enter the building acknowledged.

After that there is free time where they can play with puzzles, blocks, paint, play-doh, the baby area with strollers and cribs, etc., books, a fort, the pet rat, etc. etc. Then they do circle time, singing time, separate groups, outside time, more free time, crafts and groups, more circle time, snack time, until it's time to go home.

I LOVE this school and have already seen a big change in Morgan. She's coloring more and making things that actually look like something (her monster, for example), she writes her name, or at least, it's what she thinks her name looks like, and it looks the same every time she writes it, and has recognizable letters in it.... she sings silly songs all the time. ... I could go on and on. School has only been in session for 2 months and it's been worth every penny.

Because it's a co-op costs are able to be kept low, becuase parents are also responsible to sign up for housekeeping duties around the property, as well as fundraising duties too.

Between school and ballet we are paying more than $100 per month for our little lambchop. It's nice to know she's learning something and having fun at the same time. LOVe that.

Happy Halloween

2007-10-31T10:05:00.001-07:00

Happy Halloween, all! We have big plans today, I hope you do too.

First, here's a Halloween card from Morgan. That's a happy monster there. Haha! Some of you should be getting one of these in the mail. Sabrina, you didn't send me your address, so this is what you missed! I used some old product from my stash, which was great.

Lastly is a photo of Morgan and her class at their Halloween party. This was the best I could do, because in my later photos Sarah's butterfly wings are in Morgan's face, and the little guy on his Mommy's lap had a fit and wouldn't sit int he photo. There are two sets of twins at this school, boys, which is very cool, and two very awesome teachers, which is so great. Morgan is standing next to Mrs Rau on the left. It was a very fun party. I just love this stuff!

Have a great day!

Happy Birthday Aunt Alyca!

2007-10-16T17:31:00.000-07:00

We are making dinner and I look over to see all of our kitchen towels arranged over the drawers. I commented to Morgan about her beautiful display, and she said it was Aunt Alyca's birthday present.... she thinks it would look really good on her drawers.

So. Happy Birthday Aunt Alyca! More gifts for you from Morgan.

In Memorium

2007-10-15T12:00:00.000-07:00

Of course he didn't show up until after we all got home.... Morgan said, "What's that! It sounds like a firecracker!"... and now I am nauseous. We are watching the Lion King now, as a distraction from the windows and doors.. and I'm listening to the whole "Circle of Life" song.... and trying not to barf. Oy. I probably should have picked out something else.

To Snowflake and Applesauce, our two sweet boys. Thank you for your time on our farm. Thank you for humoring my girls so that they could scratch your noses and talk to you in the yard. Near the end when we were grain feeding you to supplement, you always made me smile when you'd start mooing for your treat the minute I opened the door, even if it was only to put a diaper in the pail. It always cracked me up. Snowflake... our Donald Trump lookalike with your hair piece blowing in the wind. Applesauce, our more reserved yet still friendly friend. Thank you.

fa lalalalalal

2007-10-15T10:26:00.000-07:00

Humor me as I distract myself. Snowflake and Applesauce have a visit scheduled with their maker in about 20 minutes.... I was on the phone with Alyca and accidentally witnessed Moo and MOO MOO Moo last year and I didn't even like those cows but still shed a few tears. S and A are much sweeter and cuter, so they will be missed. Morgan is at school right now and PJ is down for a nap, so I'll just shut all the curtains and do my thing.... but I'll still here the POP POP! Ack. I like beef so I'm fine with it... but they were still sweet boys.

Next year we hope to get a couple of piggies so I'm going to have to get used to this sort of thing!

We are also thinking about getting a couple of bunnies. We can't have cats because Steve is allergic, but maybe with a couple of flopsy and mopsies the kids will still have a fun pet. We can make them a little house outside and then let the kids run them around the yard... it's a thought. At first I was against it because they live for 18+ years and I didn't want to still be babysitting their pets when the girls are off to college, but then again, with empty next syndrome, it might be nice to have something around here to snuggle! So we are thinking about it. What else do you do when you live on a tiny farm?

On an even better note.... I have it on good authority that Costco bought a ranch down the road by the reindeer ranch. That's a Costco within 2 miles of my house! And you know retail likes to follow.... so it'll be awesome to have some space, some peace and quiet, a couple of cows, a pig and a bunny if we want one.... and then take 5 minutes to get where I want to go. LOVE that. Can't wait!

C'mon already, Mister Meat Man! Let's get this overwith! You had better not be out there with my boys when I have to pack PJ out to the car to go pick Morgan up! ACK!

Another year at the patch!

2007-10-14T19:11:00.000-07:00

A butterfly fairy, skunk, Ariel, and then a monkey, a butterfly, and little flounder !

A butterfly fairy and her monkey!

One, two, three, four, five, SIX girls. Whoa.

I love this view

Would you like an ear of corn?

Pirate Morgan. AAarrrrgggh.

The corn maze was a pirate ship, and Krysta walked the plank! Morgan didn't want to do it. It was a little high and I'm surprised Krysta did it! She did it twice! Rylee wouldn't do it either.

The visit to the patch would not be complete without a ride on the zoo train. Morgan picked the animal. Because of the time of our visit, by the end of the journey, PJ was pooped, so in her mouth went the binkie. She really did a great job, though.

Steve, pretending to defy hunger and enjoy big crowds. Apparently yesterday they had 4000 people! Egads! It was the perfect weekend for it, though.

Had a blast at the pumpkin patch again this year! The weather was awesome! I'd say it was 70 degrees.... perfect. We have always lucked out with fabulous weather, which is amazing considering we scheduled our trip with friends several weeks ago, knowing this was the only weekend day we all would be able to go. Lucky us!

The theme was a pirate's ship which was loads of fun. We checked out the petting zoo, walked the maze, played on the hay fort, took a ride on the train, checked out the pumpkin patch.... and then finished up at Pappy's Pizza. A super fun family day! I always look forward to the patch because that means the beginning of the fall/winter parties and gatherings.

Fiero update

2007-10-12T11:30:00.000-07:00

http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/80073304

I think I want 4. I’d order it but this isn’t available for online purchase.

http://www.containerstore.com/browse/Product.jhtml?CATID=74126&PRODID=70412&referringCategory=77704

I’m also looking at that… the 26 drawers. I want them for all my alphas but then I thought that they’d be great for stamps, primas, etc., ….. actually, just writing all that out made me want the Ikea containers more. Maybe 5 now.

I get the room with the big tank in it! We are in the process of taking that big tank out right now. Steve called and even if we did want to continue with solar heat, which we will probably want to utilize a little bit, nowadays they use an 80 gallon tank. This big tank is 800 gallons. Um. Don’t need it. So a friend who has 5 acres down the road and no irrigation wants to take that big ‘ole tank and bury it in his yard, to use as a holding tank for water. Fine by us! Anyway…. The room is 13x14. Oh. Yah. And I’m going to put a big island in it so that I can stand to scrap, and also a desk so I can sit to scrap. It’s going to be big enough to invite people over! Even clients if I want to… and they won’t be going through my whole house to get there. They will come in through the exterior door downstairs… the mudroom. We are also in the process of taking out that garage door and putting a window in it’s place. All of this needs to be done before we can carpet the rest. Yes. Another setback to living downstairs, but I’m actually seeing progress and Steve has been rejuvenated in our remodel needs. It’s all good!

Let's see.... we finally got the keys for the house in Prineville. There were some things that needed fixed before we could go through with the whole purchase which is why it has taken so long. After Steve gets home from elk season the guys are going to go over and fix a few things, and then we'll throw it back on the market. Easy peasy! And no, I don't have any pictures. I haven't even seen it yet. I don't think Steve has either.

We also got renters in our other house. There was a small snafu and the guy who was going to rent the place backed out at the last possible moment, so it took a couple of weeks to get it back in the papers and applications processed, etc. But the renters that are in it now have plans to stay for a year, which is fine.

Mmmmm.... I've been busy scrapping. I have a really cute 6x12 album class on the 23rd, so I have been busy finishing that up to take to the store to show as an example. I'm also going to work on a class for December. I think I'm going to list this album class again in November because I do think it's a great idea. The theme revolves around this quote:

It's not houses I love, it's the life I live in them. - Coco Chanel

Very cool. Perfect for me. I always complain about how ugly this house is, but it really has given me a lot of great memories, and in the end, it is my dream house. So I need to appreciate what it has allowed me to experience. .... you know, the parties we've held here, Payton was born here, learned to walk, had her first birthday, Steve became a true cowboy because of this house, etc. etc. Very cool.

And finally, after almost 4 years I've started taking better care of myself again. I went to a salon yesterday and had my hair cut and a partial weave. Felt so good! Since Morgan was born, I've just raced to Great Clips and done that route. Crazy, because before she was born I was religiously headed to my salon every 8 weeks. My hair stylist actually came to the hospital to meet Morgan! So it's nice to get back into that groove.

I'll leave you with a picture of Morgan and Payton. She threw her comforter over the computer so I asked her if she was making a fort:

M: No, it's not a fort. It's a club.
Me: It's is? What's the name of your club?
M: Country.
Me: It's the Country Club?
M: Yes.

Silly girls.

Ummm. ...

2007-09-17T10:50:00.000-07:00

I'm not sure what to talk about right now. Alyca is in Australia, bored out of her mind, waiting for blog updates in her hotel (yah, right).

I guess what I can mention is that this is my best scrappy month for publishing, so it deserves it's own post. Actually, it's October, but everything hits newsstands before the month on the mag, so they are out about now.

I have a layout with Steve waterskiing in the October issue of Memory Makers Magazine. You can pick this up at your local grocery store.
I have a layout with Morgan in it in a book called 601 Great Ideas put out by Memory Makers books.
I have two cards in the October issue of Cards Magazine.
I have my Halloween treat can in the October issue of Paper Crafts magazine.

Wowee! I am so excited about this. I hope to have this kind of luck again.

I'll also post all of the layouts I did with the September kit from Studio Calico. I never would have purchased this paper on it's own, which is one reason I was so excited to work with this kit. I use kits as a way to think outside the box. These layouts and card came together so easily!

On October 23rd I'm teaching another mini album class at Scrapbooking Outside the Box. It is going to be themed "There's no place like Home".... and I'm in the process of making the cover right now. It's going to be a front door!

My other class had 12 signups but only 6 came that night. That was perfect, because the spacing is tight, so this enabled them to stretch out a bit.

So that's that on that....

Right now Morgan is at school and PJ is napping. I need to wake her up in a few so that we can pick up Morgan at 11:30am.

I also got a head start this morning on my Christmas shopping. It's easier to shop for both kids when Morgan isn't there. Payton is getting some Snap in Style schtuff for Christmas this year. I bought her the Keri doll and the accessory drawer thingy was on clearance, so I got that too.

It rained last night and it's a little cooler today, which is perfect for me. Fall is my favorite season. You know, I could totally move to Alaska where this is the summer temp. I do NOT like to be hot. I just melt, and my squint is so squinty... I just can't see anything and get quite the headache.

On another note, my friend Larie opened a store in downtown Bend called Clutch. It's a handbag store. We took the kids to Steve's parent's house and went to the Grand Opening and had a blast with some friends we haven't been able to spend time with in a long while. I even picked out a bag.... and there's a chance Steve will get it for me! hint, hint.

The one I want is a saddle color, though. Let's just say that I would consider this my third child, should he get it. But every girl deserves to have something nice like that, and I don't do anything for myself, so I should have a nice bag! This is an Elaine Taylor bag.

I also want this:

This is a Vera Bradley. I really want this one too. I would use it a lot over the summer months. So. Two bags. I WANT them. It's about time I got nice things for myself... you know, before I'm old and grey. They'd last me many, many moons, I think.

So there. Updated to here!

First Day of Preschool

2007-09-10T12:34:00.000-07:00

A quick update. I have a lot to tell you about Big Lake, ballet, school, me, scrapbooking, etc., etc., ... but I don't have time right now. I just wanted to make a quick post and show you a sweet pic of Morgan on her first day of preschool. ACK! I could cry right now. Today was only for an hour with only half of the kids in her class and all their moms... so it was quick, but tomorrow she'll be there from 9-11:30am by herself. Very exciting stuff! She's growing up so fast!

More later!

{Pre}ma

2007-08-28T11:17:00.001-07:00

Look at all that Ballerina goodness! Thank you Grammabon! Look at those leg warmers! I totall forgot about those. Now Morgan is all set for ballet class. She has a pink leotard and a black tutu that she got for her birthday, and I got her another pink tutut and another hair cover when we were at the coast (there are amazing things to be had at the Tillamook Cheese Factory gift store... seriously!)... so she's allll set. Can't wait! Ballet runs with the school year, and her first class is on September 5. I might not take any photos... not until I know the routine and what she'll be doing there... but I might take a couple pre class photos... we'll see.

Very excited about the goodies! The shoes are a bit snug, but they are leather, so I think they'll stretch out. Hopefully her feet stop growing for a few months, sheesh.

Flip'n 12 Calico Camping Trips!

2007-08-25T20:12:00.000-07:00

heehee.

So... a few things.

First. Yahooooie! Check it out:

I am SSSSSOOOOO excited to be part of this team. Their kits are fabulous. This is a huge thing for me, and I'm over the moon.

Next.....

I've had a head cold the last week and have some things coming up, so I was going to cancel my next class at Scrapbooking Outside the Box. And then Suzie told me I had 12 people sign up. 12! So I am reorganizing, because I'm not missing out on an opportunity to have a class for 12. I'm so excited! I was scared at first, because that's a lot of eyes, but the more people you have, the more they talk amongst themselves, which means the LESS they look at you. We are making a 6x12 album... I'm working on it now! So, Tuesday night, I'll be busy. With 12 people. Wish me luck!

On Wednesday we leave for the lake. For several days! We leave Wednesday and come home on Monday. I hope the weather is nice! We bought a yellow raft just like the one we had as kids, for Morgan to play in, and are packing up the camper as we speak. I'm excited and just crossing my fingers for warm weather. This year I won't be pregnant or nursing, so I might even go out in the boat for a dip! I'm going to at least try and get Morgan to ride the tube with me again. That might be fun!

Lastly... we just got the word that we landed our first flip. This one is in Prineville and is going to be CAKE. Seriously. It was in foreclosure so we got it from the bank. It needs some new flooring, but otherwise just has some cosmetic upgrades. And a yard. The yard is so dead it isn't really a yard anymore. I've only seen photos, but from what I've seen, it looks like a house that would have been in our old neighborhood. Same siding too. Not as big as our other house, but similar. We'll get it at the end of September and hope to have it back on the market by Halloween. Yahooie!

Speaking of the other house, sadly, our renters are getting divorce so will be out in a couple of days. Rather than worry about trying to fill it ourselves, we went with a Property Management company, and learned that we have been undercharging our rent, so between the raised rent price and the % we have to pay for their services, we are at about the same place we were before, which is fine by us! Paperwork hasn't been signed yet, but our house is the most popular on the market for this management company, so we aren't worried about it at all. If anything we'll pay a partial mortgage for October. So I'm excited about that.

That's it in a nutshell... I think. ... Oh.. I signed Morgan up for ballet and bawled on the way home because I am SO excited. I can't wait to go to the first recital. When I walked in the door that day I had the mail with me, opened it, only to find in addition to some outifts for the girls, Grammabon had sent tights, a leotard, and ballet slippers. It was so weird because I hadn't said anything, and I had JuST got home from the ballet studio! Morgan immediately put everything on and was ready to head in to class. She'll be going on Wednesday afternoon. I can't remember, but she's going to have preschool on either Monday and Tuesday or Tuesday and Wednesday from 9-11:30am. So it's almost that time... the time to get the family calendar where we start noting who is where, when. I'm actually quite excited about it!

Okay... i think that's it. Oh. I'll post some layouts, the latest I can share anyway. :)

MY little flower girl

2007-08-20T11:08:00.000-07:00

::sigh::

3 1/2 year old Miss Morgan Paige was in a wedding on Saturday night. On Friday we went to the rehearsal... and we hoped for the best. On Saturday she practiced several times with the other flower girl, so we were still hopeful that she'd be able to do it.

Saturday night. 7pm. At the appropriate time our little sweetie slowly walked down the aisle, tossing the flower petals just as they practiced. Of course, during practice, they were holding pretend baskets and tossing pretend petals, which is a big difference when you are someone who is only 3.

At the altar, they went up the steps just as they were supposed to and stood there, just as they were supposed to. And then Morgan became fascinated with her basket of petals. She sat down and started unloading them. Here, there, everywhere. And then she saw the mass of petals on the ground around her, so she got down and started gathering them up. She sat with them. She rolled around the floor with them. She turned toward the altar and leaned over them, her little flower girl dress up in the air, the faint pattern of her panties under her tights flashed to the crowd.

Me? Well I was having a heart attack. Miss PJ wouldn't let her daddy hold her, so I was standing out the end of a side pew, trying to get Morgan's attention without attracting the attention of all the attendees. Eventually Morgan got up off the floor and sauntered over to me. I whispered to her to sit down at an empty chair and she did so for a minute, but when I stood up and looked back at Steve, she got up, and sauntered BACK to the front of the church. She sat down, she stood up. I nodded my head when she stood. I shook my head when she sat. And then when she started messing with the petals and looked at me again, I did the sign for "all done", hoping that she remembered the signs from when she was young. Nope. She started making faces and waving at me! I decided it was going to be time for drastic measures, so I handed Payton to Steve and he immediately left the building, because she started crying, wanting me to hold her again. Shortly thereafter, Morgan decided she was done, and walked back down the aisle, head down, but eyes up and this fiesty look to her face. I walked down the outside of the aisle with her, and when I got down to the end to where she was, she started trying to dart in the aisles to get away from me! ACK! I grabbed her hand and we went straight outside.... and stayed out there for the rest of the ceremony.

Did I mention that throughout the ceremony and Morgan's antics, the other flower girl had her arms crossed over her chest and a big scowl on her face because Morgan wasn't cooperating? Priceless.

There's always those flower girl stories.... but this was the first time that person came from MY womb, so at first Steve and I were quite embarassed... but then we thought about it and decided that she DID do as requested... she got down the aisle.... and she IS 3. What more do you want!

I did NOT get any good photos.... my camera was still inside the church when I darted outside with her, and it was almost 8pm before the ceremony was done.... Morgan had been at the church since 5:15 for pre-wedding photos, so she was hungry and quite DONE with the whole thing, but this is what I did get:

::sigh:: There were kids from a church group next door running all over the place, so she would not look at me and cooperate, but the one smile I got was this one: Did I also mention that in the post wedding family photos, this is the same face she was using? The bugged eyes and overexaggerated grin? THAT's my girl.

:: sigh :: She and Payton made it till 10:15pm at the wedding reception, which was good. And she LoVED her dress. She's been wearing it every day since... she's wearing it right now with some orange tights. So she thinks she's quite the little princess.

I hope the pre-wedding photos turned out! Steve took her while I was home getting ready with Payton, and he said she did cooperate then. Phew!

2007-08-16T09:52:00.000-07:00

2007-08-10T09:02:00.000-07:00

Before:

During:

Isn't that a fun chair?
Morgan's not really a fan of the hairdryer, but she allowed it as long as it was on LOW.

After:

One headband, one cute necklace, and one adorable girl later..... (I know it doesn't really look it, but she had 2-3 inches trimmed).

Oh man, wouldn't it have been great if she had given me a pretty, genuine smile?

And on a PJ note.... she went to the doctor yesterday for some booster shots.... and she is 33 inches tall and 26 pounds. That's the 85% for weight and 98% for height! Turns out our sweet tiny girl is not so tiny after all! So funny, because she still seems so little to me! Looks like I have another amazon woman. And I wouldn't change a thing. I love every inch, every ounce! Sadly... she is now to a TBS when she needs some tylenol, no more 1/2... but she is now happily facing forward in her carseat! Steve read the manual on our carseats, and while you can turn them forward at a year, they still recommend that they face backwards. I turned her around and it is so weird to have both my babies looking at me in the rearview. They are growing so fast!

And in a couple of weeks Morgan starts preschool! ACK! AND BALLET! WAAAAAHHOOOOO! (well, hopefully ballet. You can't register yet.... crossing all fingers and toes that they have enough room in the 3 year old class).

FAIR! and Morgan's Mellon

2007-08-04T20:53:00.000-07:00

My blond girl wanted the blond horse... named Paris. (See PJ?)

Payton no likey the horsie... but we tried!

Morgan liked driving this car... it was on tracks, went at a consistent speed, and steering was unnecessary!

Payton's first carnival ride!

Can this one go for a ride? Is she 2? Say she's 2. She's 2 !

All in all, good times! PJ decided she didn't really appreciate missing her afternoon nap, so we grabbed our soba noodles and headed home. For some reason, I didn't take pictures of the kids in the animal barns, etc... all part of that "enjoy your children and let go of the camera" thing.

My only disappointment was that they didn't have a Ferris Wheel! I wanted to go on that ride with Morgan!

On another note.... the other day my sweet girl told us she was ready for bed, so her daddy said "let's go get your vitamin", to which she enthusiastically agreed.... off she skipped into the kitchen, and somehow she tripped, and spanked her mellon, straight into the corner of our island. Dead center of her forehead. It IMMEDIATELY swelled to the size of a golfball, black... and she CRIED. I cannot believe the skin didn't break. She might get a scar, the skin separated so much... but it held together. I am so grateful Steve was home at the time, because if he hadn't, it would have busted just like Sabrina's head busted on that swingset at the park... and Miss PJ got scared too and was hysterical. It would NOT have been good if I had been home alone, and there had been blood EVERYWHERE and both girls had been hysterical. EEK. Morgan shortly thereafter acted like she was going to pass out, but she was tired before the accident, and the crying really wore her out, and after a few questions from her daddy, where do you live, what are you going to do in a couple of weeks for Josh ( by the tower on Nickernut, be a flower girl in Josh's wedding) etc., etc., we thought it was okay for her to go to bed. Steve woke her up and checked on her a few times, but she got a clean bill of health. Right now her head is a puce, brown, grey, green color, with a vertical reddish scab strip. It's quite a beauty. But her bangs cover it up so you can't see it.

Speaking of bangs, I'm very excited, because I've always cut her hair but she's going to be a flower girl in two weeks, and she needs a trim and I don't want to mess it up, plus her hair is getting really, REALLY long... so I made an appointment for her at a child's salon in Bend. Oh my, they will treat her like a princess, she gets to sit in a special chair, they use glitter spray when they are finished. Wowee. She's going to LOVE it. I'm going to also check it out because they do birthday parties there, where the kids dress up and they do their hair and paint their nails and such... with a January baby, sometimes you have to be creative about what you do for their birthday parties... this might be an idea.

So there!

Stylin' Idol Week 5 - Paint

2007-08-01T18:16:00.000-07:00

I made it to the top 10 of the Stylin' Idol challenge at Scrapbook Lifestyle. This week the challenge was paint. You needed to use at least 3 colors.

With camping, etc., I ran out of time and did my layout at the last possible second. I actually like how it turned out and even used a photo from last weekend.

Link to the gallery: http://community.scrapbooklifestyle.com/photos/stylin_idol_challenge_-_week_5_paint_wendy_reed_moderator/default.aspx

Link to the voting: http://community.scrapbooklifestyle.com/forums/4413/ShowThread.aspx#4413

Check out what the top 10 did with this challenge and vote!

A camping at the beach... we did go!

2007-08-01T11:15:00.000-07:00

Yahooie! We've been having a blast at the beach! I've been wanting to take my girls to the beach all summer... Morgan loves it so much and I really wanted PJ to experience it this summer when she can walk. Steve had already scheduled a vacation day for last week expecting to camp, so we decided to do both and grabbed our dear friends the Hagan's and headed to the coast. It seemed as if EVERY campground on the Oregon Coast was full, but we managed to snag the last two spots at a campground just 7 miles inland from Tillamook. It ended up being ideal! It was along the Kilchis river which was slow moving and deep enough to swim, and was only a short drive to the beach. We set up camp, took the camper off, and played, and played. The girls had a blast! Payton did just as Morgan did when she was her age, and darted in and in the ocean. We'd grab her, set her up on the beach, and she'd run right in the surf, where Morgan already was. The weather was perfect, in the low 70's, which is great for the Oregon Coast, and while it was a little windy on the second day, it was still quite fabulous! I wish we could have stayed longer.

I didn't take as many photos as I usually do. I kept worrying about sand getting in my camera, and decided it was also more fun to play with the family than to observe them behind the lens.

On the road there, our camper took an 8 second ride on these rolling bumps we weren't prepared to hit, so our next camping trip, to Big Lake over Labor Day weekend, will probably be it's last for the family. Next year? A trailer baby! A big 'un! That'll be fabulous. We love taking the kids and experiencing the outdoors. Such a fun family time. And they enjoy themselves so much! So relaxing and refreshing. So nice to get away from home and all the drama.

Now we are back and recharged. What's next? The FAIR! And Morgan can go on a lot of the rides! I hope PJ doesn't really notice! Next year, girl, next year.

On another note, I'm teaching a layout class at my scrapbook store on Thursday. I'm really excited about it! I love this craft! Here's my two layouts for the class:

Their new ride

2007-07-25T17:16:00.001-07:00

So it was the 4th of July and Marci said that next year Krysta was going to drive her Barbie car in the parade... I said, "Well, we probably won't be walking with you then... Morgan doesn't have a Barbie car." I would never have bought her one. I'd rather she run around the yard. And if we were going to get motorized transport... well, we'll just get her a 4 wheeler when she's bigger.

I kid you not.... the next time Steve was on shift he called to say that one of his coworkers called and asked if we'd like a Barbie car. Apparently Kendall has outgrown her Barbie car, and she's an only child. HECK Ya we'd like it! And here she is. Morgan rode with Krysta in her car on the 4th, and it is MUCH faster than I thought they'd be, and she is a little daredevil... so my sweet girl is a bit scared of her Barbie car. But she has taken it for small treks and likes to climb in it, so that's a start. PJ likes it too... and if her legs were a little bit longer, I'm sure we'd see her toodling around the yard. It won't be long!

Morgan would like to type now:

morg0amn7p

New layouts

2007-07-20T10:53:00.000-07:00

I thought I'd post some of my recent layouts..... some of the pictures are older though. That makes it more fun!

This last one, Beluga, is my recent layout for the Scrapbook Lifestyle Stylin' Idol contest... the challenge was to use GREEN. I didn't do anything to the photos... they were taken in an underground exhibit at the Port Defiance Zoo. I thought they were perfect for this challenge!

I was also in a challenge at another site using a specific style. My style was Urban Chic, which is the use of black and white cardstock, doodling, bling... I made it through to the next round with this layout:

That's it for now!

Scrapbook Lifestyle Challenge #3 - Ribbon

2007-07-05T17:34:00.000-07:00

Okay... I made it through to the next round in the Stylin' Idol challenge put on by Scrapbook Lifestyle. This week, the challenge was all about ribbon.

The rules:
1. You must have at least 1 (one) FOOT of ribbon on your page. It can be an arrange of different ribbons, styles, shapes, colors. You just need to make it obvious that ribbon is what this challenge is about!
2. You can NOT tie the ribbon on to anything OR in a bow. (it can NOT resemble a bow at all).The ribbon can NOT be on your layout in a straight line.

For my layout, I ribbon wrapped some hand-cut chipboard for my flower stems. I then wrapped some circles for my flower centers, and used some ribbon for "grass".

You can view all the entries for this week here.

You can then vote for your favorite here.

Photos of the 4th

2007-07-05T10:21:00.000-07:00

Some photos from the 4th, straight from the camera. We went to the Pet Parade, to Sunriver for the Fireman's picnic, and to a BBQ. We left the house at 9am and didn't get home until almost midnight. It was a long, hot day, the girls did AWESOME, and we had a lot of fun. Morgan fell asleep in the car on the way home from Sunriver so we went to Jon and Kathy's where she slept for another hour on their spare bed.... a move that probably made the rest of our day happen. And sweet Payton, who usually gets 5+ hours of naps throughout her day, only slept for about 1/2 hour in the car. That's it. She was happy all day until she fell asleep while we were watching fireworks after 10pm. And she barely woke to get dressed for bed once we got home. It was a blast. Marci taught her how to show her belly, so she spent the better part of the afternoon flashing everyone, but it was super cute. Morgan had a blast jumping in the bouncy house, and made a friend with Maddie, the 7 year old daughter of a friend of ours, and wanted to play with "her friend" all day, which was great. She avoided the camera so I mostly caught photos of Miss PJ. I still took 280 shots! I tried getting a group shot of all the girls at the parade, but it was already hot, we weren't in the shade, we were standing on the blacktop... and the kids were ready to get going, so I took what I could take. Plus, several are very young, and had no idea what they should be doing.

All in all a great day! I feel a bit hungover though, and I didn't even consume! I drank a ton of water yesterday but I think I am still dehydrated. And I'm pooped! But it was all worth it.

Blow it up

2007-06-24T11:10:00.000-07:00

For some reason, this layout didn't get posted to where you can click to enlarge it. I'm posting again... hopefully you can do that. There are a lot of details in this sucker! :)

Scrapbook Lifestyle, week 2

2007-06-20T20:14:00.001-07:00

I made it through the first round of Scrapbook Lifestyle! For week two, the challenge was to use 4 photos. I have scrapped these photos before, but have never liked the layout, although I've always thought the photos were super cute, so I decided to scrap them again.

You can vote, here!

http://community.scrapbooklifestyle.com/forums/3025/ShowThread.aspx#3025

Wish me luck!

Upsy Daisy Designs

2007-06-19T08:02:00.000-07:00

Here is some Design Team work for Upsy Daisy Designs. So fun to scrap some pics of Morgan from 2004. She was 5 months old in these pics. Super cuteness.

Scrapbook Lifestyle Idol contest

2007-06-08T08:18:00.000-07:00

Go here: http://community.scrapbooklifestyle.com/photos/viewer_challenge_-_week_1_chipboard_wendy_reed_moderator/default.aspx

I am supporting my friend Wendy by participating in challenges at Scrapbook Lifestyle. I thought they were challenges, but it's a contest!

Go here: http://community.scrapbooklifestyle.com/forums/thread/2036.aspx

and vote for your favorite. Mine is the Pokey Little Puppy.

It's a Scrap Idol contest. Only half move on to the next round. I would love to move through one round at least, so if you think I made a good layout, please vote!

I did something I don't normally do. I scrapped my first layout with Cooper! And it's my favorite pictures. He's in Steve's truck, fresh from his mama. That's March 30, 2001 ! We got him on Payton's future birthday.

Thanks for your support!

DANG!

2007-06-07T13:49:00.000-07:00

Looks like someone snuck in with a higher bid. It's "affordable" because it was built in 1948ish and needs a LOT of work. I don't think anyone could move in and live in it as is. Such a stinker. We'll know more details and know for sure if we are out in a bit.

Looks like we're a flippin'

2007-06-06T09:17:00.001-07:00

So....

Steve is with our partner at the realty office right now.... putting another offer on this:

http://www.centraloregonrealtors.com/results/dsp_residential.cfm?fuseaction=showdetails&ln=2616377&query=fuseaction%3Dresults%26display%3Dall%26startrow%3D11

I went in for a tour myself on Monday... and seriously, my eyes were buggin' the whole time... it really needs a lot of work. But Steve said that's why it would make the best flip! It's in a great location, on a big lot... but wowee. You know where we'll be this summer! ACK! They hope to have it finished in 4 months.... which isn't a lot of time, considering Steve and Dan's work schedule. They are on the same shift so will make an awesome partnership.

One major problem is the floors. There are some big beautiful trees on the property that have, unfortunately, wreaked havoc on the floors. It's like walking on ocean waves when you are in that house.

Another major issue? No master bedroom. There are three bedrooms and two baths, but no bedroom seems to be the Master. And there's no laundry room either. So, another major renovation will be to move a bathroom to make a Master Bath and add a utility room.

All I can say is wowee. Obviously, I know nothing about doing any of this. But I'll be on the sidelines, cheering the boys on. It sure would be nice to pay for the rest of my downstairs renovation with cash. But geez. As they say, the cobbler's kids have no shoes. Looks like my downstairs will have to wait. LONGER. That's my only hangup about this whole thing.

So. Wish us luck! We shall find out soon if we are going to be really busy this summer.

Snowflake and Applesauce

2007-05-29T11:11:00.000-07:00

We have our two steers for the year. I was on the phone with my mom and working on a scrappy winter project when she asked to speak with Morgan. She asked Morgan what the cow's name was, and Morgan said, "Snowflake". Ok. And because the other one was a fair haired lad, I named him Applesauce. I must admit, they are the cutest cows we've had yet. They aren't friendly yet, but they aren't afraid of Cooper, which is a good thing, because they are very big, and if they got fiesty and busted out of the property, there isn't much I can do if Steve isn't home. Steve said one time when he was feeding them grain, Cooper and Applesauce both had their heads in the grain bowl, munching away, and they kept butting heads and moving each other around the pan. Cute.

Now, our two little men have a great fascination with a certain blond girl. When she has her great big pink boots on and is helping daddy with the irrigation, etc., he always has to make sure to put himself between her and our bovine, because they are a might curious about our sweet lass, and always want to check her out. And she's 3, so she doesn't notice, nor does she care abut personal safety.....

I managed some photos yesterday of said bovine and our other little lamb, Payton. Applesauce was lying right next to the fence so we tried to get a photo of them together, because of course PJ is fascinated by them as well. But Applesauce didn't take kindly to the sudden onset of Fiero fam, and stood up. We just set Payton down and she toddled over to say hello, and got her little index finger within millimeters of a snotty cow nose. I did manage to get a photo of the event as I hunkered behind the composter, trying not to scare him off. Isn't he cute?

And the next one is Snowflake. He is a little lighter in color, but now that I know him better, I think he should have been called "The Donald"..... because of that trademark hairdo.

Next year we plan to fashion a little pen for a couple of piggies to raise for the summer. I warned Steve that they are like dogs and he will be sad after spending the summertime hosing them down and scratching their bellies..... but we eat sausage and might as well raise our own.... it costs less, it tastes better, and we might as well utilize the space, teach our children about responsibility, and have ourselves a regular farm!

Happy 58th Anniversary!

2007-05-28T21:00:00.000-07:00

Bzzzzz.........

2007-05-28T14:40:00.000-07:00

I was g0ing through some boxes and making piles for Goodwill when I came across Morgan's Halloween costume from 2005. She of course immediately stripped down and put it on. Steve was outside building fence so she headed out to play, and when I caught a glimpse of her out the window, of course I immediately grabbed my camera. The mind whirls with ideas for the scrappy goodness that will come from this photo opportunity! And for once, my independent girl and her independent self did not bother me one bit. I tried for a smile, or at least EYE looking at the camera, and am actually ecstatic with what I got. This is a little sample. She's had that outfit on all day.... we shall see if I can get her out of it!

Mom's Day

2007-05-24T14:19:00.001-07:00

Now that Mother's Day is past, I can share what I sent Grammabon and Grandma Fiero for Mother's Day.

The red paper is just the background. I altered CD's and made them magnets for the refrigerator. I thought Grammabon would like these two because of the apple red she uses in her kitchen. Most of these supplies are Cosmo Cricket.

This one for Grandma Fiero was made with Making Memories products. It too matches her decor.

I think these are so cute! I'm going to make something similar to take with me to work. I have a metal cabinet that I can stick it to. I love these pictures of my girls!

My Little Lady

2007-05-24T13:40:00.000-07:00

Alyca would like to look at something different..... here's my latest layout! Everything here is Upsy Daisy Designs except the DMC floss and the black ink. I used a flower stamp on the background paper, and the title and sentiment are rubons, which are fabu! Morgan looks like such a little lady in this photo... It's amazing how fast she's growing.

Me. Again.

2007-05-09T22:34:00.000-07:00

I was looking through pictures for a project I am working on, and came across this one, fresh from the camera. Steve took this while I was at work last week. It was such a beautiful, pleasant surprise... I love it when he does that.

I just can't stop staring at this photo. When I first look at it, all I can think is, ohmygosh, she's Gorgeous! What a beautiful girl. What a great smile she has here. And she's looking right at the camera.... and it's in focus, and I love the composition... on and on and on and on and on... until it hits me.

Payton looks just like me.

I can't stop staring at this photo. I'm not sure why that makes me want to cry, but it is such a surreal feeling, looking at myself, as a small child. I know I have been a mother for a few years now, but staring at this photo makes me feel the enormity of my job as her mama, and the opportunity that being so allows. I have a chance to do for my babies what I always wanted, hoped, dreamed for myself as a child. I will be able to watch someone who looks just like me grow up in a completely different environment, and I'll get to see what kind of person she'll grow up to be. It's like turning back time and being a fly on a wall in a dream, or something. Don't get me wrong, I love Morgan too, so much so that my heart often feels like it might explode, or something.... but this is the first time I've really seen ME in my girls. Morgan is such a blend of both of us. I don't see a lick of Steve in PJ at all. Just me. That's just amazing to me.

Smiles

2007-05-06T08:44:00.000-07:00

This is based on a sketch and will be in the upcoming Ezine from Scrappin' Trends.... it's also made with Upsy Daisy Designs patterned paper and flower stamps. I'm on the DT for UDD.

Dis Dat 'N Daddy

2007-05-02T14:02:00.000-07:00

There's a lot of finger pointing going on at this casa. It is a common site to see our little PJ wandering around the house, pointer finger extended, saying "dis?" "Dis?" ALL day long. After a while it becomes "dat", "Dat", and "Dat". But occasionally it's "da" "dee". Da. Pause. Dee.

She's really quite funny to watch. We'll be sitting on the couch, looking out the window, and I'll talk to her about the trees, and the cows, and the birds flying around, and we'll wave at Daddy as he drives away... and she'll have her little finger out, and be "Dis"sin', making conversation with me. Super cute.

Not much "Mommy" happening here. She's said it before, so I know she can do it, but she doesn't say it much. Very deja vu because Morgan did the same thing... I'm sure it has something to do with the fact that I'm rarely out of their site, so they don't need to call for me much. And I don't mind. I get to be around them 24 hours a day. I'm a very lucky girl.... except at 2am.

Payton has been sleeping through the night the last couple of nights, but now it's Morgan's turn to wake up.... she is in panties all day long, but at night she's in pullups. I think it's all part of potty training.... she doesn't nap anymore so when she goes to bed for the night she's pooped... and I just don't think she's able to wake herself up enough to drag her little self out of bed and to the bathroom. She just cries a bit in her sleep. I just go in there, tuck her back in and tell her she's safe in her bed, that mommy and daddy love her, and that I'll see her in the morning. She sometimes has bad dreams about crocodiles, so I'm never sure why she's upset in her sleep, which is why I'm always sure to make sure she knows she's safe in her bed. We're working through it.

On another front... Morgan has started going to Gymnastics on Tuesday afternoon's at 1pm. They opened a Gymnastics Academy in Redmond which is fabulous, because I can leave the house 15 minutes before class and not have to waste the whole morning driving to and from Bend for a 1 hour class. She really likes it and I'm glad she has a place to run and jump around with other kids. We're going to do it through the summer until September, because that's when she's taking ballet. The Ballet Academy (www.redmondschoolofdance.com) runs with the school year, so right now they are training for their spring recitals, or she'd be in ballet now. But she's signing up in the fall. I think she'll like it too, because she loves ballerinas, loves to dress up in her play ballet slippers and tutu, and likes to curtsy for me. We'll see!

As for the house.... boy do we have a lot of projects happening at the same time! ACK! Will anything ever get finished! There's so much to do.... everywhere! Steve needs to get a table saw and a chop saw, and then will be able to get started on the trim and the wall of pine. After that it's carpet and we can move downstairs. We've still got a window to put in the stairwell, as well as some stair work as it needs redone and then carpeted, and we knocked out a wall so we need a banister, etc. And then there's my scraproom, and then there's the garage/laundry room... and then there's the pantry and the bathroom cabinets... and in the midst of it we are fencing our yard and creating a garden, and doing property maintenance, and raising two cows.... who's names are Snowflake (thanks Mom) and Applesauce, are quite purty..... and then... well, it goes on and on. So we are busy! But I just saw that gas is $3.29 a gallon, so it's good we have a lot of home work because we can't afford to drive anywhere! We both get 16/gallon! If we go to Bend, that's $7 before doing anything! Ack!

Bio-Diesel! Add that to the list! We are trying to set up a lab in our separate building, but Steve has to get educated on making the mixture, gathering supplies, etc. We are doing it with some guys from the fire department, so they all went in on this bio diesel kit.... but we have to find time to do that too!

AND.... Steve has been working one day or so a week for his friend Aaron, laying tile. Gotta get that renovation/project/summer camping money! So between that and the station, he's swamped!

But. After 1 1/2 years in this house, we did manage to finish the entryway. Mostly finish anyway, as Steve wants to do something just outside the house. But inside... we have a cool new front door, and he layed some tile. Looks very nice. I have my eye on a bench with a coat rack that'll fit perfectly. I guess I'll have to get another can out for the hall tree fund. Sheesh.

In the end, we love our little farm, are very happy here, and are doing just fine!

Where's the boy?

2007-04-27T17:43:00.001-07:00

M: Where’s my boy?
Me: What boy? There isn’t a boy here right now.
M: Yes there is.
Me: There is? Who’s the boy?
M: Aww, Mom! It’s daddy!
Me: You silly girl. Daddy is your boy? Daddy’s at work. He’ll be home in the morning.

On Parenthood

2007-04-20T10:42:00.000-07:00

I am hormonal, of late. But this really touched me. I think it is so true, agreed with every little thing she said, and it really made me stop and think.....

From Anna Quindlen, Newsweek Columnist and Author:

All my babies are gone now. I say this not in sorrow but indisbelief. I take great satisfaction in what I have today: three almost-adults, two taller than I am, one closing in fast. Threepeople who read the same books I do and have learned not to be afraidof disagreeing with me in their opinion of them, who sometimes tellvulgar jokes that make me laugh until I choke and cry, who need razor blades and shower gel and privacy, who want to keep their doorsclosed more than I like. Who, miraculously, go to the bathroom, zipup their jackets and move food from plate to mouth all by themselves.Like the trick soap I bought for the bathroom with a rubber ducky at its center, the baby is buried deep within each, barely discernibleexcept through the unreliable haze of the past.Everything in all the books I once poured over is finished for menow. Penelope Leach., T. Berry Brazelton., Dr. Spock. The ones on sibling rivalry and sleeping through the night and early-childhoodeducation, have all grown obsolete. Along with Goodnight Moon andWhere the Wild Things Are, they are battered, spotted, well used. ButI suspect that if you flipped the pages dust would rise like memories. What those books taught me, finally, and what the women onthe playground taught me, and the well-meaning relations --what theytaught me, was that they couldn't really teach me very much at all.Raising children is presented at first as a true-false test, thenbecomes multiple choice, until finally, far along, you realize thatit is an endless essay. No one knows anything. One child respondswell to positive reinforcement, another can be managed only with a stern voice and a timeout. One child is toilet trained at 3, hissibling at 2. When my first child was born, parents were told to put baby to bed onhis belly so that he would not choke on his own spit-up. By the time my last arrived, babies were put down on their backs because ofresearch on sudden infant death syndrome. To a new parent this ever-shifting certainty is terrifying, and then soothing. Eventually youmust learn to trust yourself. Eventually the research will follow. I remember 15 years ago poring over one of Dr. Brazelton's wonderfulbooks on child development, in which he describes three differentsorts of infants: average, quiet, and active. I was looking for a sub-quiet codicil for an 18-month old who did not walk. Was theresomething wrong with his fat little legs? Was there something wrongwith his tiny little mind? Was he developmentally delayed, physicallychallenged? Was I insane? Last year he went to China . Next year he goes to college. He can talk just fine. He can walk, too.Every part of raising children is humbling, too. Believe me, mistakeswere made. T hey have all been enshrined in the, "Remember-When- Mom-Did Hall of Fame." The outbursts, the temper tantrums, the bad language, mine, not theirs. The times the baby fell off the bed. Thetimes I arrived late for preschool pickup. The nightmare sleepover.The horrible summer camp. The day when the youngest came barrelingout of the classroom with a 98 on her geography test, and I responded, "What did you get wrong?". (She insisted I include that.)The time I ordered food at the McDonald's drive-through speaker andthen drove away without picking it up from the window. (They all insisted I include that.) I did not allow them to watch the Simpsonsfor the first two seasons. What was I thinking?But the biggest mistake I made is the one that most of us make whiledoing this. I did not live in the moment enough. This is particularly clear now that the moment is gone, captured only in photographs.There is one picture of the three of them, sitting in the grass on aquilt in the shadow of the swing set on a summer day, ages 6, 4 and1. And I wish I could remember what we ate, and what we talked about, and how they sounded, and how they looked when they slept that night.I wish I had not been in such a hurry to get on to the next thing:dinner, bath, book, bed. I wish I had treasured the doing a littlemore and the getting it done a little less.Even today I'm not sure what worked and what didn't, what was me andwhat was simply life. When they were very small, I suppose I thoughtsomeday they would become who they were because of what I'd done. Now I suspect they simply grew into their true selves because theydemanded in a thousand ways that I back off and let them be. Thebooks said to be relaxed and I was often tense, matter-of-fact and Iwas sometimes over the top. And look how it all turned out. I wound up with the three people I like best in the world, who have done morethan anyone to excavate my essential humanity. That's what the booksnever told me. I was bound and determined to learn from the experts. It just took me a while to figure out who the experts were.

First Friends

2007-04-15T19:36:00.000-07:00

My newest layout! I scrapped this photo back in the beginning of my obsession, but thought it was time to do it again because I like it so much. This is June 2005, camping at Paulina.... and this is Rylee and Morgan holding Krysta's hands as she's learning to walk, and this shot was taken milliseconds before she took a tumble. I love it. Morgan's first friends. Her first girlfriends. Super cute!

Details:

chipboard title

Hambly screenprint frame over the photo (white) and then a green rubon fluorish over the screenprint

the pink flowers were made with a flower dingbat that was downloaded from the internet and printed on the backside of my paper

the green scalloped "grass" is the reverse of the floral patterned paper that I trimmed off the top

She Sleeps

2007-04-10T11:05:00.000-07:00

I have a zillion pictures to load, but it's more difficult now without my Hello program... so I'll deal with that pain later. For now, a new layout. I have been having a long couple of weeks, and haven't had any scrap mojo, but I needed to get something done for my DT at Scrappin' Trends, so I did a layout using some Daisy Buckets paper yesterday. This is my sweet Morgan taking a snooze in early 2004. Love this pic! This is hybrid... a mixture of digital and traditional scrapbooking, because I desaturated my photo and added the word "hush" to the lower right. I am taking baby steps. I still do not understand my photo editing program and seriously need to take a class. I'd love to learn digital scrapbooking as well, just to have more knowledge, but don't know anything about that either. I think I'll wait until I can upgrade to PSE5.0

In other scrapbooking news.... one of my CHA contacts worked out, and I am honored to work for my first manufacturer! It's www.upsydaisydesigns.com - Amanda emailed me last week and asked me to be on her team! I am very excited about that.

I also got an email from www.inspiremecardkits.com asking me to be on their team too! So last week was a great week for scrappy news! I have wanted to get into making cards, so this works out great! Plus, May is my first month on the DT, and they are working with Cosmo Cricket, which is one of my all-time favorite manufacturers!

Lastly... I was ALSO asked to be a guest Design Team member at my favorite scrap site... www.scrappersbliss.com - You'll see my work in their DT gallery in May. I should be getting my box of scrappy goodness to play with any day now. I love the girls and this site so I look forward to playing with them.

Birthday Girl

2007-04-02T08:28:00.000-07:00

My sweet birthday girl. She turned one and now she looks like a little old lady. I can't believe how swiftly the time went by... I can't wait to see what the future might bring. I can't wait to see how Morgan and Payton interact as Payton gets more mobile. In the past couple of days she's decided to try walking first before she does a crawl, and gets quite frustrated if she doesn't make it to her destination before falling down, which is quite cute, because she gets quite dramatic, flopping down on the floor face down, arms stretched out above her head... too cute.

We've been working on "what does a puppy say? woof woof." She does grunt twice every once in a while, so she's getting it. Too funny.

I thought she was our itty bitty miss, but she's in the 90th percentile for her height. She's in the 65th for her weight, so I guess she is our tiny girl, becuase Morgan was always in the high percentages. I don't remember the exact numbers.... that info is still in the car. Oops!

Oh.... here's her birthday invites. They will now be birthday announcements, as Mama did not get her act together and get them finished in time. They are super cute, though! Be looking for them in your mailbox soon. Well.... maybe not 'soon' .... but before too long!

2007-04-01T19:00:00.000-07:00

My little stinker does this scrunchy nose face all the time where she breathes in and out really fast through her nose. I'm so glad to catch some of those silly faces on film. She's such a little jester sometimes!

A new post

2007-03-27T21:22:00.000-07:00

I found some mojo this morning and decided to scrap some recent pics of my sweet girl.

Wahoo!

2007-03-13T09:24:00.000-07:00

Just got an email from Memory Makers.... they have a new idea book coming out, called 601 great ideas.. for scrapbooking... and they requested a layout I just finished called "Bippity Boppity Boo"! I can't share it here, because there was this big controversy about them wanting only unseen layouts. They had also requested my layout called "She's a Dreamer" that I did for my Fancy Pants entry... the one with orange and blue, with Morgan on the beach and the swirls going away from her... anyway.... they can't have it though, becuase it's been posted online. But Bippity hasn't! Super excited. My only compensation is a copy of the book, but that's okay, because this is still a toot, and it's from one of the big dogs... even if it's for an idea book and not for their magazine. You'll know I'm over the moon if I EVER get published in Creating Keepsakes. THAT's the mac daddy.

So it's a happy day! And emails have just started. Hopefully they'll write and request another layout!

:)

2007-03-13T08:12:00.000-07:00

She's 11 months old

2007-03-13T07:57:00.000-07:00

Ahhh.... my sweet PJ. I can't believe she's 11 months old!

Let's see... we video taped her taking something like 8 steps on her 11 month day... but I can't figure out how to make a video to post here as we used our video camera, and not a digital camera. Steve will have to figure it out. But it was super cute! She is standing up all the time, and will walk a couple of steps to us or to Morgan before she sits down, but she hasn't just let go and walked anywhere. I don't know if I'm ready for that anyway. She's already fast enough!

She has her two front teeth starting to poke through. So now she has 4 on top and the two on the bottom. She can finally chew! That's great, because she hasn't let Mama feed her any baby food in quite a while. She's an independent girl and likes to feed herself, so it's been a challenge finding things for her to eat on her own, that are in small enough chunks, and that fill her up enough.

She seems little to me, compared to her big sister. I'll have to get out that pink jumper that Mom made Morgan and put it on her to compare. I have pictures of Morgan in December of 2004, which is her at 11 months. I do think she was bigger, though. So the sizes might be a tad off and I'll have to get some new clothes for PJ for the summertime. That's fine, because I don't want her to have to wear ONLY Morgan's hand-me-downs. She hasn't, because at this young age, the clothes get easily stained, especially Morgan's because she did still allow me to feed her baby food, and some guy thought it was a good idea to dye it all permanent yellow, so when it gets on clothes it's a booger to get out.

Payton isn't talking yet, but she still gets her point across. She also LOVES her daddy, and I love to see that. Morgan was such a mommy's girl, it's nice to see the kids love on their daddy too. He isn't complaining....

She's a cuddler too. Morgan never cuddled like she does. I LOVE that. LOVE the cuddling. I'll be sad if she ever stops cuddling.

Payton loves the Gloworm that Papa got her, loves to poke out baby doll eyes, and loves to read too. She'll just sit and actually look at pictures, but her favorite part is changing the pages. She loves to change the pages.

My sweet girl is NOT sleeping through the night. You'd think she could have a bottle and go to bed around 7:30 and sleep through, but nope, she gets up and I feed her sometimes 2 more bottles before morning time. I think it's becoming a habit. I can only let her cry it out for so long before it starts waking Morgan up.... last night I did have a little breakthrough, and only gave her one bottle. She woke up more than once, but I was able to give her back her binkie and settle her back down, and she went back to sleep. So maybe we are working our way towards a full night's rest. I know I'd certainly appreciate it!

Stemma for Scrappin Trends

2007-03-06T15:48:00.000-08:00

Stemma was our manufacturer sponsor for March at Scrappin Trends. I had a really hard time working with this product as I don't normally do well with graphic patterns....

She Eats Treats

2007-03-04T21:04:00.001-08:00

The beautiful thing about scrapping out of order is that you can see how quickly your kids grow, and moon over their earlier days......

I adore you

2007-03-01T13:35:00.000-08:00

Let it Snow!

2007-02-28T10:15:00.000-08:00

Last Thursday it snowed when I went to the office, and I came home to this big beautiful snowman, which made me really happy, because it meant that Morgan got some quality outside time, and she was with her daddy having fun. They did it while Payton was napping. However.... I took a picture, and am glad I did, because he toppled over 20 minutes later as the sun came out and melted all the white stuff. There are still bits of him in my yard right now.... but we have NOT had the snow like we should. Morgan has barely experienced winter! This girl likes four seasons, and I am sad that it doesn't look like I'm going to get them. No. I take that back. It'll probably dump on Payton's first birthday party, when the current plan is pinwheels and kites!

Go Davinie, it's your birthday......

2007-02-26T20:33:00.000-08:00

Happy Birthday to me!

Last year.
Stunk.
Stunk bad.
Stunk so bad I wasn't sure if I'd celebrate again.... considered instead cutting February a bit short.

This year........................... MUCH better.

It started on Saturday. Steve came home from work, and had Morgan hand me a card. It said.... be showered and dressed comfortably by 10:30am. Get a swimsuit. Wait for further instructions. I was like.... WHAT! You are only giving me 1 1/2 hours to lose 5 pounds! Why do I need a swimsuit! Where am I going? ACK ACK ACK!

Steve said.... "chill mama. No freaking allowed." Shower and dress, because Jessica is popping by at 10:30, and she's taking you to Eagle Crest... because you are going to the spa.

Yipppppeeeee!

Steve surprised me! He surprised me good! He sent both of us to the spa! We got an herbal wrap, a massage, and facials! Jessica did a lot of babysitting for us a bit ago, and she's going to babysit again next weekend when we go on a date night... and he hooked her up!

I've never had a spa day before. It. Was. Fabulous. I feel bad that I was concerned! But who knew what he was planning!

So that was Saturday. Payton isn't really sleeping..... at all, and as far as I can tell, it's just because of her two front teeth coming through. Anyway, she isn't sleeping, which means I am not sleeping.

Sweet story..... I tried letting her cry it out. Well, after a few minutes, I hear Morgan saying "it's okay Payton. Be quiet. It's okay Payton... a, b, c, d, e, f, g.... " she was singing to her. SO SWEET! I smiled, through my deprivation... went in their room, and Morgan was laying there with her eyes closed.... she was just barely awake. Anyway, it was super cute.

So. Payton not sleeping. The beautiful thing, though, is that, unlike her big sister, while at first she was certainly a mommy's girl, now she's somewhat a daddy's girl... so Steve is able to help me in the middle of the night. I usually take care of her until I just can't peel my eyes open, should she wake up about 4am.... so I gently nudge Steve and tell him it's "his turn".

So. Saturday night I didn't bug him, but got up with her... oh, every five minutes.... all night long. Well, super sweetie that my man is, the next morning when Morgan was up at 6am like clockwork, he took both girls out into the living room... and let me sleep till 9am! that was very, very nice of the boy.

Monday we woke up, did our morning routine, and went to Lowe's and the Scrapbook store. I got a little gift certificate, so I spent it on all the yummy new Fancy Pants and Basic Grey stuff... fabu! That's a great birthday gift! Then we came home... and I had an email from Scrapbook Trends magazine for their July issue. My Beachside layout. Fabulous again!

Then we ate dinner. We got some yummy burgers from Jody's (LOVE Jody's).... and then had some carrott cake with cream cheese frosting! Morgan and Steve made it while I was at the spa on Saturday. There was no evidence, so I wouldn't have known at all.... except that my sweet daughter kept asking me about birthday cakes, so I had a little feeling something was up, but I never found it!

So it ended up being a great birthday! One of the best parts, though.... was that my dear, sweet husband actually took a vacation day, as he was supposed to work today. I didn't ask him to, but that was.... on top.... of the icing on my cake!

We were supposed to go on a date tonight, but Morgan has herself a cold, and we didn't want to hand it off to Jessica, so we are staying home.... instead we are going to go out on Friday night. McMinnimans... we are going to go see the Departed. There's nothing really out, but this one just won for best Picture and best director at the Oscars... and at this restaurant, you can eat and watch the movie, which we haven't done before. I'm looking forward to it!

Fresh

2007-02-23T23:33:00.001-08:00

I'm glad to finally scrap this picture... This is a new, new Payton, still in the hospital. So adorable.

3 year old Party Girl

2007-02-23T23:31:00.000-08:00

A new manufacturer called Daisy Buckets sent me some paper to play with. I liked this line and thought it complimented Morgan's shirt on her birthday, and that the paper looked fun. I think it was a nice fit!

A {forever} Bond

2007-02-23T08:09:00.000-08:00

I'm excited to finally be a "Friend of Page Maps". This will be featured on the site www.pagemaps.com on March 1st when the March sketches are revealed. This product is Upsy Daisy Designs, a manufacturer out of Canada who I met at CHA. They sent me some paper to play with, and I was happy to promote them on the PageMaps site. I love these pictures of my girls, and liked having the opportunity to scrap the imperfect ones.... they are adorable too!

Happy

2007-02-23T08:07:00.000-08:00

This will be seen in the March/April Ezine from Scrappin Trends. It is loosely based on the sketch for this Ezine. Love the bright colors on this one.... that Goggle layout really inspired me to be more bold in color, and use some paint!

Toofers

2007-02-21T22:45:00.000-08:00

Mama's Little Sweet Peach

2007-02-21T11:41:00.001-08:00

Goggle -Eyed Girl

2007-02-17T21:09:00.000-08:00

I fear I may never get anything done, as I will be spending all my time at my own blog laughing at this layout. I LoVE it. There is a blog called scrapjack, where a group of scrappers got together and scraplift someone and post their layouts, and then they challenge everyone to do the same. I never scrapbook like this, but this picture was begging for this type of layout, so I'm ecstatic to have participated.

CRacking me UP

2007-02-16T12:37:00.001-08:00

If this wasn't Payton's first birthday.... I could tell you what I will be doing on March 30. My sound card doesn't even work and I was still rolling on the floor. I LOVE John Heder. This is a must-see.

http://www.bladesofglorymovie.com/

Happy Valentine's Day!

2007-02-14T07:45:00.000-08:00

wowee

2007-02-11T07:58:00.000-08:00

I just received an email from a lady who owns a scrapbook store and an online site..... in Brazil! She just wrote me to let me know she loved my work. What a great way to start the day! I didn't know my work was being seen in Brazil! I am very flattered!

Happy Sunday! I stayed up too late last night and then Payton couldn't sleep at all, so I am might tired and mighty grumpy this morning, as Steve is on shift and Morgan was up bright and early at 6. That email may be what saves my day.... it's not like I can just go back to bed.... ::sigh:: .... to sleep like I used to sleep..... before I had kids. Heaven.

New layouts.... made today! I'm on a roll

2007-02-10T22:04:00.000-08:00

Numero Dos en el Bano

2007-02-08T22:53:00.000-08:00

Uncoerced
Unannounced
anticlimatic

It's a banner day. Lollipops for everyone!

Are their cuter piggy tails out there?

2007-02-07T11:18:00.000-08:00

I don't think so!

Thank you Aunt Alyca!

2007-02-07T10:34:00.000-08:00

Morgan thanks you for her birthday present! As I mentioned, my favorite part is the CONTAINER. But my second favorite part is the colored paint containers with their color coordinated paintbrush. It is easier for little minds to figure out what brush goes where.... and makes them less likely to dip in every container. While her attention span isn't as long as I'd hoped.... Morgan still had fun creating, although she still prefers to paint her hand first. Thanks again! We LoVE art stuff!