Hooo's busy?

Went to the zoo yesterday with a bunch of other mom's. Had a crazy fun time. Great weather. Spent a load of money on trees and other shrubs for our land. Want to plant today....we'll see. Lots going on today. Have a great day!

Out of town

Sorry, I was out of town and I've been running around all day. Got some cute stuff at the scrapbook store in Flagstaff! Can't wait to create with it! What this guy thinks is so funny I dont' know. This week is Spring Break so you probably won't see me around very much. Take care.

Green Dinner & Happy Birthday to Aaron

We had Green Chile Rellano caserole which was VERY green on the inside thanks to the help of some food coloring. Guacamole, no help needed there, green gatorade and green applesauce with pineapple mixed in. The kids called it "alien" brains. The kids complained that the chips weren't green and I guess if I had planned better we could have had guacamole chips which ARE green...maybe next year. We decided to forego the usual corned beef and cabbage and set our own theme this year. We had a lot of fun with it, and used plasticware because we wanted to have time for Family Home Evening.

Today is Aaron's birthday. He turns THREE!!!!! Now, we just have to get him fully potty trained before we can officially call him a big boy. Aaron is just going to be one of those people that makes others smile. It just comes so naturally to him, even at such a young age. Travis totally plays favorites sometimes (Aaron really takes after his daddy), and I have to remind him that he would have never let one of the other kids get away with Aaron's antics. I love my baby but pretty soon he'll be a big brother, I hope he transitions into that roll easily. Have a great day.

PS How do you like my new table cover? I gave in, I was SO tired of scrubbing dried up spilt cereal and milk off of the wood that I became my grandmother and bought a plastic cover! I think she would be proud. It might not look super stylish but it REALLY cleans up easily.

Pay it Forward...Finally!

So, I'm finally getting back into the swing of things and I really wanted to post. Jill over at Inkgenious sent me a wonderful Pay it Forward package. I in turn would like to pay it forward to the first three people who let me know that they would like to participate. You have to have a blog in order to "spread the love" as Jill says. I'll take a pic of all the goodies I received tomorrow when the light is better. Take care.

Just a little pic of Tessa in her new dress to brighten your day/night!

PS. THIS is my actual baby. I just love that pert little nose. Travis thinks it's a boy...don't tell him but I kinda do too. Even though having a girl would just make "things" easier... things like sleeping situations and space and Tessa wouldn't be sad to go to her room alone at night. We'll see next month though. Look at that skinny little leg sticking WAY out there. Weird that the baby is only about three to three and a half inches long in these ultrasounds. Amazing what technology can show us.

Pay it Forward and Birthdays

Birthday card for Tiffany. Another one of my friends is having a birthday. I made this card for her with my new wheel. I adore it. Thanks to Jill for the primas and the super Cowboy Kid card!!!! I got them with her pay it forward package. Later on after I go visiting teaching I'll post about the pay it forward fun. This is just a quick post to get me back into the swing of things after the long weekend. My dh and I actually had a date on Saturday. It was very nice. BTW I love the shrinky dink cowboy on Jill's card. I haven't done that for a while.

I'm in Love

I'm in love...with Wild Wasabi! When I had my party I was able to get a package of In Color cardstock. How did I ever live without it?!?!?! I hope the person I made this card for likes it. It's giong in the mail today. I thought I was using SCS sketch but upon reading the rules my panels don't go to the edges so it doesn't quite qualify. Oh well. I embossed the sentiment and flowers in white from the One of a Kind stamp set. The red strip is cuttlebugged with the polka dots.

Just thought I'd share this adorable pic of my little guy playing in the snow yesterday. Frozen fun.

Yesterday at the ultrasound the kids were so excited to see the baby in mommy's tummy. The technician gave them all their own copies of the pictures. Each got three; the foot, the profile and the 3D-4D pic. I got a lot more but I thought that ws really nice of her to do that for them. Aaron kept saying, "That's not me." So cute. I'll post a reall "pic" of my babe later. Have a great day.

SNOW DAY!

I just about hate that phrase now. I want a "SPRING DAY". Last night the snow began and it didn't stop for a long time. We got about a foot of snow. The sad thing is is that two days ago we were outside doing yard work in our T-shirts. Ughh! So my plans for today were to go to my dental cleaning at 10:00am...we'll see because that's out here with all the snow and then I have an ultrasound at 1:00pm in town. Hopefully some of the snow will have melted off by then. Living in the country sure has it's drawbacks sometimes, but I love it. The stars at night and the cool summer evenings. Oh yeah, and here's some super exciting news. Our Smith's grocery store remodeled and now there's a Starbucks. We're very shi shi now. My friend, Natalie, who IS a coffee drinker is extremely jealous. The Smith's remodeled because of our other super exciting news. Our very own Super Wal-Mart is opening tomorrow. At first I totally resisted because I was like, "NO, this is small town America, I don't want no stinkin' WM out here!" but then gas prices kept going up and my resolve kept weakening. Sorry, I gave in to the pressure.

Enough about that.

Look at the AMAZINGLY cute card I made. My mojo has definitely made a comeback.

Deelio: Swell News stamp set. Water color pencils (wish I would have used my crayons). American Crafts ribbon. I hand cut the flowers out of the paper.

Mama got some new stamps!

Update on the boy... he is grounded from all forms of media for a week and he has to clean the entire bathroom by himself. Cleaning has to be approved by mom. I think that's made an impression.

Update on the smaller boy... he's almost potty trained and was doing very well until yesterday. He was outside a lot with friends and had many accidents. Today will be a better day. I will be there when he needs to "go".










Update on the girl...she's perfect! Not always but it seems like it compared to my boys. She had crazy hair day yesterday at preschool and today is pajama day. This very moment she informed me that, "Mom, I just love having a dog and a cat." How cute is that?


Oh and this is apparently what my baby looks like about now.



Deelio: I created this card using Julee Tillman's Mojo Monday Sketch#27. I used my new One of a Kind stamp set with Soft Sky cardstock fo the background. The large flower is stamped in soft sky and the small one in Blue Bayou. I sponged around the edges of the panel with Wild Wasabi and Blue Bayou. Sentiment stamped in Wild Wasabi

I know, I know. Everyone and their grandma has made this onsie card, but I just couldn't resist any longer. I need a baby boy card for Wednesday. A friend of mine is due in a couple of weeks and it's for her shower. I'm sure it will be a big hit especially since no one at the party will ever have seen it before. The airplane image is from Rubber Soul. I outlined it with a quickie glue pen and then added glitter. You can see the tutorial on Lauren Meader's blog.

PS Last night my oldest decided it would be "Cool" to pee in the sink and show off for his siblings...I guess he didn't realize what a big tattle tale his sister is (even if it was two hours later and she was trying to get out of going to sleep when she tattled). I was SHOCKED and we're at a loss of what to do for a punishment. What on Earth was he thinking, and what should we do? Help.

Nicole's Birthday

I wanted this card to be funky and vibrant. We're going out tonight to celebrate my friend, Nicole's, birthday. I wonder if we'll go see The Other Boelyn Girl. Chic Flic! Birthday girl gets to pick so we'll see. Have a great day.

We're going to Arizona for Spring Break. We'll be seeing the famous Mesa Easter Pageant at the Mesa LDS Temple. It's so beautiful and has such a great spirit.

Card Request

My friend Debbie requested a card made from the "It's Pasture Birthday" set. Apparently her brother's birthday was over a month ago. Speaking of which, APPARENTLY my brother doesn't know his own address and I've gotten my Christmas card and his birthday card back in the mail. Sheesh. Is it that hard folks to look at some bill that's been sent to you and say, "OH, that's my address!" Enough griping. I'm just tired and worn out without the dh around to fill in the gaps between homework and guitar practice and preschool and meetings and potlucks, oh and WORK. Yuck. Didn't I already say enough griping. I'm done.

Today on the way to take Jakob to school it was fairly warm, I think today it going to be a beautiful day. Wonderful weather ahead. I'd better hurry along though. Oh, I bought Tessa the cutest dress yesterday. It has pink hydrangeas on it. I can't wait to take her pic in it. Soon. We really need to get family pictures done, I think Aaron was 6 months old the last time and he'll be three in March. Sheesh. I've been a total slacker on that front.

Just wanted to say thanks to Jenn D. I recently won the So Many Sayings stamp set on her blog and got it in the mail yesterday. THANKS JENN! You're such a sweetie!

If anyone has any tips on mounting this set it would be much appreciated. Have a great day.

Eggcellent!

So again with the Egg! This time I embossed it in white and then used my aqua painter and inks to fill it in. The coral bg paper is not that bright IRL but oh well. The swirls (grass) are from Technique Tuesday and stamped in Old Olive. I used my Fiskars edge punch for the detail on the side. Finished off with some Fruit Punch Stickles. This egg is more to my liking.

So a little note about the hubby being gone. He sorta kinda neglected to leave us with any cut wood (to be fair, when he left for work Mon. morning he didn't know he'd be gone all week). We heat our entire home solely by a wood burning stove, propane can get super expensive during the winter. So, yesterday me and my little peeps went outside and mommy proceeded to cut wood with a circular saw ( I won't dare touch a chain saw). My little helpers loaded all the wood I cut into their wagon and stacked it in the wood shed...even little A. I really felt like a Pioneer. My super wonderful friend Lucia came over and helped me with her dh's circular saw and I totally think we're gonna be toasty this week. Now when I need more wood I won't feel like I have to wait around for my man to cut it, I'm a confident, strong, woman. Go WOMAN! Have a great day.

Mojo Monday

My dh left this morning and will be gone for the whole week. This bums me out. I don't do well when he's away...the house is cleaner but it feels incomplete.

I wanted to use a sketch today and get some creating done, so I visited Julee Tillman's blog and used her MojoMonday#26 sketch . i finished up kinda late so my picture has the evening sun feel to it. I'll try to retake it tomorrow.

Deelio:

Stamps: Seeds of Kindness, Double line Doodles; Inks: So Saffron, Groovy Guava, Rose Red, Cameo Coral, Old Olive, Pumpkin Pie.

Paper: K&Co

Eggcitement!

Just wanted to let y'all know that the girls on my basketball team won the whole enchilada. They're awesome. I'm really proud of them especially since they had to play seven games in less than twentyfour hours. It's been a long couple of days.

I had a lot of fun making this little Easter card. I thought the white embossing powder would resist the chalk more than it did?!?! Oh well. I'm going to try watercoloring next time.

Deelio: Egg stamp, Impression Obsession; flower stamp from Stampin' Up Noteworthy. Easy Peasy

Priceless Poser

My daughter, Tessa, loves to pose for the camera. Yup, she's a natural. Papers are basic grey. I used my double heart punch. I believe the chip letters are from Heidi Swap. I sanded them and then inked them with a couple of different colors. The buttons are FooFaLa.
Time to get busy with the errands! Have a super day!

PS Don't forget about the awesome blog candy being offered when 10,000 hits rolls around.

Tzatziki--It's what's for dinner!

Well tzatziki and pita and spinach-feta hummus and lettuce and tomatoes and a little beef. YUM! We layered like tostadas because I couldn't get the wheat pockets to open.

TZATZIKI

1 pint sour cream (I used plain yogurt instead with a little sour cream added in.)
· 1 English cucumber , peeled, grated on a box grater, salted lightly for 5 minutes and squeezed between the hands to remove extra water (the long, thin, almost seedless kind)
· 3 garlic cloves , mashed to a paste
· 1/2 cup olive oil
· 1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
· 1 tablespoon minced fresh dill (optional)
· to taste salt
Directions
1. Just mix everything up together until it is all blended and the oil has emulsified into the yoghurt/sour cream. Taste for seasoning, and add salt if you think necessary. Put in a resealable container.
2. Allow to 'sit' in the refrigerator for at least 2-3 hours before using to allow the flavors to come out.

We made the hummus from scratch too but I have to warn you. The recipe calls for 1/4 cup of crushed red pepper flakes, we only used one Tablespoon and it was still WAY hot. I would ommit altogether next time or maybe only use a tsp otherwise super yummy. My dh said he would eat it as a chip dip.

SPINACH FETA HUMMUS
1 can garbanzo beans/chickpeas (15 oz), drained
1/2 cup fresh spinach
3 oz, crumbled feta cheese
1/4 cup olive oil
3 tablespoons lemon juice
1/4 cups red pepper flakes
1 teaspoon roasted garlic
PREPARATION:
In a food processor combine, beans, spinach, garlic, olive oil, and lemon juice. Blend well. Add cheese and red pepper flakes and blend to a smooth and creamy dip.

And I just wanted to say thank you to Samantha at Living Creatively for sending me this beautiful Valentine. So appreciated.

Have a great day.

I started this lo forever ago at a get together at my friend Linda's house She gave us a lot of the goodies that went into this lo. I can't exactly claim it as all mine but I've added my own personal touches, and it's a finished lo!My dd Tessa was a flower girl at a friend's daughter's wedding along with her closest friend Kate. The best part about it was that when Tessa walked down the aisle ahead of the bride she didn't toss out flowers at her feet, NO, she carefully placed one flower petal at a time on the ground. The guests all thought she was adorable and although it took her longer than practiced to get down the aisle she got there and Kate, such a sweetie, waited patiently for her.

I just needed to make some cards for the store. I find it really hard to do sympathy cards, but they sell so I need to do them. I've been thinking about retirement cards to because people have asked for them but I'm not sure what to do for them.

So today is a Costco day. I need to get refreshments for Saturday's get together as well as for my Young Women's Basketball tournament which is Friday and Saturday (had to get a sub for Saturday). Busy, busy weekend coming up. Travis just found out that he's supposed to attend this Boy Scout Training thing on Saturday which I was peaved about because I had asked him a month ago to do something with the kiddos. Jakob also has a bowling birthday party to attend Saturday afternoon. I know I should just be supportive but I have to admit frustration with last minute announcements about training.

Show me some love baby!

This is one of the layouts that I made the other night. I had a lot of fun with it. I told myself I had to use what I brought with me to complete my pages and I did. I didn't buy a SINGLE thing at the store. Aren't you proud of me. This is a picture of Tessa giving Jakob a kiss. She loves to do this so I have several through the years.

Deelio: Chipboard heart frame is from Technique Tuesday. Buttons, paper and rub on from FooFaLa. I used several different sized cirlce and hole punches to fill in the heart shape. They hd a butterfly punch there that I used to create the red butterflies. The black butterfly is a stamp from the SU Kind Thoughts set stamped in black staz-on.

I hope that they always stay this close and support eachother as life goes on.

Bibs Away

I went to Midnight Madness at a LSS last night and for once I got A LOT done...that might have to do with the fact that I knew no one there and pretty much kept to myself and scrapped away. I will be posting the layouts throughout the week. I'm throwing a Stampin' Up party this Saturday and I hope all goes smoothy this week with getting the homefront in order. Jakob has Monday and Tuesday off of school. I'm finally going to exchange Christmas gifts with my dear friend Natalie and her kiddos tomorrow. So that pretty much sums up my life right now...on to the fun stuff.

Here's a cute little bib card. I hope this looks like a bib anyway! I tried, I really did. I wanted a different kind of baby card so here's what I came up with.
Deelio: I used my creative memories circle cutter to cut out the card shape. I scored it along the top so that I could add eyelets and still be able to flip it open. I used my SU scalloped punch to make the neckline.
The hippo stamp is from Autumn Leaves and the sentiment is from SU Noteworthy. I just tied white ribbon through the eyelets for a finishing touch.