Summer Water Fun

Since I took a little break the last couple days of last week, I thought I would share why...

The kids took advantage of the hot & humid weather by having fun with the garden hose. So much so, that their daddy built them a sprinkler. They love it!

And of course, I did a couple digi pages this weekend to celebrate it ...

I think the boy actually had more fun drenching his sister, but she didn't seem to mind at all. Although he seemed a little shocked when I didn't yell at him. LOL!

Hope you are enjoying the last of the summer as much as we are!

Look Mom - A Trophy!

First up I have to share a pic of the boy. He is absolutely in love with his trophy, and of course he really wanted to take it to bed last night. We decided that we would put up a special shelf in his room and he can put it on there, but for now it found a home on his dresser. First thing this morning, he tells me he is pretending to be a shelf, puts the trophy on his head and backs up to the wall. :) I love this kid!

And on a scrapping front, this is just a quick hybrid project I did for a challenge over at Scrap Takeout. I'm not really sure if I will use this for my paint brushes or if I'll give it to the kids, but either way it turned out really cute and I love the colors. I used the Aida Scrap Hipster Soul kit to make the label, printed it off and put it on the can. Can't get much easier than that!

I do wish I would have painted the inside, but I have decided that there are few projects I wish I hadn't done something different too. And of course, if the kids wind up with it I'm sure they will gunk it up soon enough anyway. 

hello?

Not terribly thrilled to welcome Thursday this week, hopefully yours is better. I have to take the girl to the doctor (which always takes forever) and I have to get my eyes examined. I know, no big deal. But I really hate it. I've lived with bad eyesight for so long that I just make do. I learned early to see things through a blurry lens. I've also learned to compensate for that. I really, really think I'm going to need bifocals too... and that I'm kinda dreading. Maybe I can put it off for a little longer. On the bright side, the boy has a game tonight. So at least there will be some smiles and laughs to the day!

The kids and I watched Mr. Popper's Penguins last night. I know, boring life. What is so great about that? Well, both kids talked and rambled through the whole movie until the moment the credits came on.Know what they did then? They got up, danced and sang (well, just the boy) to Ice, Ice Baby! Yes, my 4 year old can sing most of it. And cause you know you want to hear it now, watch the video. I've even linked it up to make it easy for you. LOL! Good times!!

Now, for the scrapping...
Today is a digital page. The girl loves her phone, I'm sure she'll be asking for a cell phone in exactly 2.5 years. Sigh. But if you will notice, the phone is upside down. Can't win them all I guess...

The kit is butterfly dance from Marie H Designs. I love the colors and they were perfect for this picture.

And because I love you guys so much... here you go :)

Love You

Sunshine & happiness is what this layout makes me think of. I participated in a scraplift challenge over at Scrap Takeout and this is what I did. If you'd like to see the page I lifted, you can see it here.

And yes, if you looked at the original, I even used the same kit (although I recolored a few pieces to match her shirt). The kit is skies are grey by nibbles scribbles. I just love the clustered effect, which isn't something I do too often. I also deepened my shadows quite a bit and I've been playing with changing them up lately.

We've got a tee ball game tonight and I'm really hoping we get the rest of the schedule. This only one step ahead thing is sort of annoying since I'm a planner type person. The boy was out practicing hitting a ball on Friday while I used this baby to mow the yard.

I never would have expected to be excited about a new mower, but this sucker is fantastic! Self propelled means it goes up and down our hill without me having to push it. But mind you, it is heavy, so if you do have to push it you will expend some energy. I mowed the yard in less time and still felt like breathing afterwards. I can't thank my husband enough for getting it!

Hope you are having a fabulous Monday (if that is possible) and I'll see you again tomorrow!

Climber (and tee ball)

My kids do their best to stress me out, and most days they accomplish it. Today however they have been angels and seem less than concerned at the fact that the tv isn't showing a picture. Something  momma is much more disappointed about. Guess that means I actually have to listen to them today instead of focusing on what is on in the background. We almost always have the tv on, my philosophy is that if it is always on it isn't that much of a novelty (something that worked for the first few years, but lately it seems to be backfiring on me). I think it is just a way of telling me I should get ready and run errands today.

The girl, well, I'm sure she will just find something to climb on and keep her happy. My layout today is about just that. The child will climb on ANYTHING and EVERYTHING. We do our best to limit her abilities, but she still finds a way. Yesterday she was on top of the flipped over laundry basket, she tried to scale the feet of the turned over desk chair and she tried to climb the ladder into her brother's loft bed again. The boy always climbed, but nothing to the extent her sister does. I am sure her goal in life is to put me in the hospital from a heart attack - and she will likely accomplish it before I'm 40 (which in and of itself is sad, cause I'm approaching that rather quickly).

On another note, the boy started tee ball last night. Here is my recap of the first practice...
a) he was not the only child to cry (although he was the first)
b) he had more fun kicking the gravel/sand in the field than paying attention
c) apparently he and another boy were trying to determine who was bigger (why do testosterone matches start so young?)
d) he listened to the coach tell him how to hold the bat (something I've been trying to teach him for awhile now at home, but has yet to sink in)
e) we are trying to decide if the coach volunteers for this (who volunteers to round up fifteen 3-5 year olds for an organized sport? The man deserves a medal)
f) clearly he comes from a non-athletic family (what can I say, we are fat & happy nerds around here)
g) he actually hit the ball!

Now, watching him try to run to first base was funny. He is such a goof ball, but I hope he enjoys it. And yes, I am *that* mom who took her camera to the first practice. And I will be *that* mom who likely has her camera at every game. I know you get it, but the other parents just looked at me funny. Apparently they haven't seen all the cute sports stuff you can get in the scrapbooking world. ;)

no!

Poor baby girl. She spent so much energy climbing up on the chair to get the salt & pepper shakers. daddy let her play with them for a couple minutes (long enough to get some cute pics) and then took them away. Shame on daddy!

And look how proud and happy she was to begin with...

I don't normally do a ton of photo blending in my digital pages, but lately I've really enjoyed how well it has turned out. So I kept it up with this one. Plus it puts more focus on that pitiful face, which really tugs at my heart.

Until next time, go get your craft on!

ADSR 7.7

Yesterday I lacked motivation to do nearly anything. Well, that is actually a lie. I wanted to sew. I would have loved to put on my ear buds and sew to my hearts content. Apparently my kids had other thoughts. So after attempting a project or two, I finally caved and took them outside. And you know what, after about 45 minutes they were both miserable and wanted to come back in. If I knew that, I would have done it early and then had the rest of the day to myself. Oh well. The only good thing is that I managed to get some yard work done, which I'm sure my neighbors appreciate. My yard no longer looks like a jungle!

Don't most 4 year old boys love bugs? Mine wouldn't pick up the rake yesterday because there was an ant on it. Really?! He got upset with me because I refused to come remove the ant from said rake. Turns out he wanted to use it on his sister like a sword. Good call on that one Mom! 

And I have yet to actually look at that paper page I did last week and try to add some finishing touches, so I'd like to accomplish that as well. But for now, I've got another digital page to share. This one was done for Challenge 7 of the ADSR. This challenge was difficult for me, I had no idea how I was going to complete it. I read someone post about doing the colors of their family and I was like - hey, that's great! So I totally swiped the idea and ran with it. Thanks!

Something I did different with this layout is most of it is actually created using negative space. That took longer than I expected, but I do like how it turned out. The only thing that isn't mine is the leaves and those are from Mira Designs (which I believe is no longer available).

And now I'm going to leave my blog and the intertubes and try to get some projects done that don't involve sun and weeds.

Digital {freebie} and nonsense

I know I said I was going to switch up between paper, digitals and other stuff, but I guess I can't be held to my word. LOL! I actually have a paper project sitting on my table that I think I'm finished with, but I am not sure I really like it. It needs a little extra something and until I figure out what, it will just sit there. But given that the next few days are busy, I'm sure I'll just give up and post it as it is now.

And speaking of the next few days, Jeff got lucky enough to score suite tickets to the nationwide race this weekend. With it comes a garage tour. I am super psyched about that part! I have to decide whether I should take my camera (which I really want to do, but don't want to lug it around). Don't get me wrong, I've seen the cars close up before... but I can't wait to actually see one in a garage.  Vroom Vroom Baby!! 

So today I'm sharing a digital page. This one was done for the ADSR7, challenge 6. The challenge was to use at least 2 pictures in shapes. This page came together fairly easily and I had a bunch of pictures to use for it because, of course, my kids cannot cooperate with the camera at the same time. LOL!

Most of the stuff on this page is from Audrey Neal's Chemistry kit. She is an awesome designer if you haven't seen her stuff. I did incorporate a few other things like masks and an overlay that I have from who knows where (note to designers - please put your name in the file).


And since I'm not keeping to my promise, I'm giving a peace offering. A digital freebie. :) It's actually a template set for you to use with whatever pieces you might have in your collection. Easy to do yourself, but I know sometimes I love having templates cause they make the process oh so much quicker.

You can grab the zip file here. If you have any trouble with the download or whatever, please let me know! This is the first time I'm using dropbox to share with anybody.

And now I should give Grayson a moment. Poor boy. I say that wholeheartedly (and not at all with sarcasm, which is unusual). I am now glad that I went ahead and got his vaccinations this year. His legs turned beat red, swelled and knotted up. But you know what, the only time he has complained is when I poked at it and asked if it hurt (I can't be sweet all the time). This is the first time he's ever had a reaction to the shots. Braelyn does it every time, but not him. I feel bad for him, but unfortunately there isn't much I can do. I just hope they go away soon. But he has been really good since we went. :)

ADSR 7.5

Yesterday I didn't get a chance to get a blog post up. I wound up taking Grayson to the doctor for his 4 year old check up. And went ahead and got him his immunizations so I wouldn't have to worry about it next year when he goes into Kindergarten. The doctor was proud to report he is a happy, healthy boy who is bright and stubborn. Yeah, thanks. Like we need another stubborn around here. My house is full of stubborn. Sigh.

The page I'm sharing today is a collab between myself and Pinky. She was kind enough to step up and be my partner in the ADSR7. For challenge #5 we were to each create a 6x12 layout which was a scraplift of the other. We also had some prompts to use for journaling, so this is what we came up with... 

The left side is Pinky's and the right side is mine. We used the Summer Lovin' kit available from The Lilly Pad. Cute kit kit with lots of bright colors and fun embellishments!

Dog {vs} Bug

My dog jumps up on my lap and curls up in a ball in the recliner. 

His dog hits you in the head with her tail.

My dog sleeps on the bed. 

His dog prefers to sleep on the concrete slab in the garage. 

My dog catches treats. 

His dog cowers from them. 

My dog is pristine - always keeping herself clean. She cowers next to the door to come in out of the rain.

His dog is a ball of slobber and the shade of southern clay (man I hate that stuff).

My dog has minimal and easily controlled fur. 

His dog sheds enough to make wigs for every balding man in our county (and that is saying something).

My dog could care less about what happens outside.

His dog barks at 5am when the trash truck enters the neighborhood.

My dog is a perfect little angel (aside from the fact she has a nasty habit of eating sippy cups and pacifiers).

His dog is an idiot (who also has a chewing habit, but it usually involves wood)!


And before you think they are one in the same, we actually do have two dogs. Don't get me wrong, I love both of them very much. I don't mind the brushing, cleaning, vacuuming, nail trimming, etc because I love dogs. But, his dog is by far the dumber of the species in our house.

His dog, Zoeller, is an 80 lb Great Pyranees. A beautiful dog, looking somewhat like a polar bear (well, when she is clean anyway). She is great with the kids, she has a massive bark and scares people who walk up to the door (no complaints on that one). But I can't get past the fact she is stupid, just flat out stupid.

The dog has paws the size of luncheon plates. Her head is practically as big as mine, and just reaches over the top of the kitchen table (not pleasant). She has a tail that can bring on an avalanche.

So yesterday, when there was a stink bug crawling along the kitchen floor, the dog got up and ran. That's right - R-A-N! Tail between the legs, scampering across the kitchen floor to hide behind the curtain. Really?! I've seen her sniff bugs up her nose to never see them again. A stink bug is about 3/4" long, roughly the same size as one of her nostrils. Yet here she was deathly afraid of the thing. She is lucky she is pretty, cause I'm pretty sure I would have traded her in - especially one of the times she managed to escape from the fence.

So today's layout is about Zoeller. Its a digital page for the ADSR, challenge #4. I'm having lots of fun doing these, but they are going really fast! I'm kinda shocked it is half over already.

Parents, Adoption & Searching

I'll go ahead and tell you, this is a long post and has nothing at all to do with scrapping...
so you may or may not want to read it. ;)

In case you don't know, I'm adopted. I've known as long as I can remember and for that I am happy. My parents never made a big fuss about it, they have loved me unconditionally - even with all the crap I put them through. {Thanks}

While being adopted means it takes less time to do my family history at the doctor's office, it also means that I have no idea what kind of blood line I come from. The information I have about my birth mother is limited, frankly very limited. And I would like to know more.


When I first started talking to my parents about this many years ago, I think my Dad couldn't understand. I don't know if he took it personally or not, but I can imagine from a parents point of view it would be difficult. I love my Dad. He and I disagree about a lot of things, we argue, we {not so} secretly despise the other for being stubborn. Sometimes I think we've tried to kill each other with our eyes. But, I will always look up to him. This man taught me to change a tire, to speed (and subsequently allowed me to fail my first driving test because of that), to stand up for my beliefs, to do what needed to be done and most importantly to appreciate what I have. The man was a rock, a rock who makes my blood pressure sky rocket and drives me to tears - but a rock none the less.

My mom had a hand in all my teachings as well, but I've always had a great relationship with my mom. I have no qualms about telling her she is being overbearing and she backs down. I call her when I need advice, I laugh when she comments on how I don't do things the way she taught me (like folding clothes). She is the first person I call when I need help. I can talk to her for an hour on the phone and call her back 5 minutes later because I completely forgot to tell her something else.

My desire to search for my biological parents is in no way reflected on my parents doing a poor job. In fact, I would say the opposite. My parents taught me things, and while I think there are things they may have missed along the way - that is life. Some lessons you have to learn yourself. They molded me into who I am today.

But I still have unanswered questions. Who do I look like? Do I have brothers and sisters? Did my biological parents go on to lead happy, healthy lives? Where do they live?

Years ago I printed the registration form. I take it out and look at it, then put it back in the drawer. You would think, reading my post, that I would have sent it in a long time ago. But you know what, part of me just can't do it. What if she never told anyone about me? What if she hasn't registered and there is no information? What if I send this form in and never hear anything? I have a fear of rejection, I'll be the first to admit that.

But you know what, this year, as a birthday present to myself I am going to take the plunge. I'm going to send in the form. It could take six months or more, and I may never hear anything. But I believe I owe it to myself and to my children, at least to search for a medical history.

If something comes of that, then hooray. If not, nothing in my life will change. I'll still write n/a on all of the medical forms I come across. I'll still have a wonderful set of parents. I'll still have a wonderful husband and two beautiful children.

But as a birthday present to myself this year I am mailing off the form.

Baby Girl

Why does life always get in the way of the things we *want* to do?! I think today would be a perfect day to scrapbook, it is pouring outside, everybody is kinda lazy... but instead I will be sucking the water out of our carpet. I guess we need the rain, but when it rains so much in a short period of time our basement floods. We thought it was behind us and we fixed the problem, but apparently not.

Being a grown up is hard, and sometimes it just sucks! Phoooey :(

And back to my scrapping world... it took me a few days to finish this page. I started it for a challenge over at Tally Scrapper, but I didn't get it posted by the deadline. It sat on my desk for a few days and I couldn't ever get it to where I was happy with it. After a few days I decided I had messed with it enough. I'm still not 100% happy with it, but it does look better than it originally did. Guess I just wasn't feeling it last week (or I was too busy reading the 50 shades of grey trilogy, which is probably more likely).

A couple weeks ago I had stamped out some butterflies and embossed them, so I decided to use those up with this layout. Since I used them all up, it means I need to get the supplies out and make some more. This time it should be easier since Jeff found my heat gun! Woohoo - no more attempts at burning down the house (all though I think it is entirely too soggy right now).

Tomorrow I'll be back with a digital project, see you then! Enjoy your Monday. :)

Turning 4

A special little guy is turning 4 today :)
I can't believe it
He is so excited, despite his allergies acting up and not feeling too hot

Happy Birthday Buddy!
I hope your day is super special.
You are so loved, I only hope you realize that.

Pinterest Inspired Projects

I know there has been a bunch of drama around pinterest, but I still like looking at it for inspiration. Some of the ideas on there are phenomenal - and it is cool that I don't have to scour the interwebs for projects individually.

I'm not into the make-up, jewelry, clothing pins... but I'm pretty sure you guys have seen my standard yoga pants & hoodie get up that I lounge into nearly every day. Plus I hate buying clothes, so there is no sense in me 'pinning' anything that would make me miserable trying to find.

However, I LOVE pinning recipes, crafts and stuff for the kids. It never ceases to amaze me how talented some people are. I don't claim any of these projects as my own, but I thought I would share some of the things I've made from inspiration I've found on pinterest. And because I try to give credit where it is due, I've included the links for you to follow if you are so inclined. :)

First up is a hanging hemp ball. Eventually I will turn it into a lamp, but for now it is just a decorative piece for Grayson's room. And just a note - when you can't find the needle to let the air out of the ball, it probably isn't a good idea to take a knife to it while the 3 year old is watching.

originally seen on crafty nest

Next is a sight word parking lot. I love this one and so does Grayson. Some days I pull it out while I'm cooking dinner and call out words to him. There are so many ways to do this. I actually want to make a new one and add pictures of the words - to give him more recognition of them. Plus I think it might be time for new words.

originally seen on Juggling With Kids

Next we have the toilet paper holder. The closet in our front bathroom is a distance from the toilet - and you know who always runs out of toilet paper?! Yup, me! If I left extra tp on the cabinet, no doubt a kid would run off with it. I didn't actually pin this one since every link I saw came from etsy, but I did keep the idea in my mind. And it was easy enough to put together. The thing that makes me happiest is that I can just throw it in the washing machine. :)


And of course, I have done multiple recipes...
Here are just a few of our favorites :)

Homemade Taco Seasoning from Smells Like Home
Cinnamon Butter from Fly Through Our Window
Chicken Nuggests from My Name is Snickerdoodle
Taco Stuffed Shells from Pearls, Handcuffs and Happy Hour

I've been determined to try a new recipe every couple weeks, and I've been lucky on most of them I tried. A few we decided weren't worth having again, but for the most part... you pinners are making my life soooooo much easier!

So I challenge you... step away from pinning and actually create something you pinned!

Welcome Back to the World!

Warning - this post might be full of random renal jiberish that you don't want to read. If so... skip to the great picture of my kids.

I took a few days off from blogging, I've been keeping myself busy with yard work and trying to get outside with the kids. I love how fresh air makes them sleep better at night. Plus I've had to recover from my Easter Candy coma (shhhhh.... don't tell the kids I swiped some of their goods). However along with trying to do yard work and riding in the car a ton this past weekend, my kidney's are killing me! So I called the doctor, who responds with 'they shouldn't be hurting that much'. Well, duh! Why do you think I called to begin with?! Don't get me wrong, I adore my urologist (except for the fact he wants me to do jumping jacks to knock my stones loose). I can give you all kinds of adjectives to describe him, but you'll just have to trust me. The man has saved my life (literally). But I know my kidney's shouldn't be hurting as much as they do. I was willing to live with it though, assuming they would eventually heal after being near death in January. Nope, *he* isn't willing to live with that.

So, the solution... I get more tests! I'm so excited (insert dripping sarcasm here if you couldn't tell). I get to have an IVP (intravenous pyelogram). Lovely! They will inject dye into my veins and watch my kidney's function. You know, I almost feel sorry for these people that have to run these tests. What can make your day more fulfilling than watching dye run through someone's internal organs?

Two things that really bum me out. 1 - I have to be on a liquid diet for most of the previous day. And I had planned breakfast for dinner that night. Sigh. 2 - You will need to remain still during the procedure, which may take up to an hour. Are you kidding me? I can't remain still for 60 seconds (one of the things my husband would change about me I'm sure), much less 60 minutes.

I don't have a layout to share today, but I do want to share the Easter Bunny picture of my kids. They told Grayson to smile (I have no idea who taught him to smile like that) and Braelyn well, I'm pretty sure you can hear her screaming 'get me away from this big fuzzy thing!' She had already ejected herself from his lap once, she was less than thrilled I took her back over there.


I'm sure some people would be terribly upset if they paid big bucks for a picture that turned out like this, but I've started to view these mall pictures as awesome. No way I'd be able to get crazy pictures of my kids like that! Kudos to the big bunny and his helpers - you make my life great and give me interesting stuff to scrap. And speaking of, I might do just that today. Scrap this pic! Cause I got a Reminisce prize in the mail a couple days ago with some Easter papers!

Easter Bunny & Chick Cookies

I hope you all are gearing up for the holiday weekend. Bunny Hops, Egg Hunts and Easter Baskets. :) I do hope everyone has a great Easter. And hopefully the Easter Bunny leaves you good stuff!

Today I'm switching my usual scrappy schedule to share some easter treats I made. These are fairly easy to do and I think they turned out kinda cute. Although Jeff says they don't really look like chicks. Thanks for raining on my parade! And to think, I was so proud. Eh, what does he know?!


So there they are, some cute little chocolate covered cookies. And I am by no means talented in the kitchen. These are fairly easy - so keep reading for a quick tutorial on how to make them.

First of all, gather up your supplies...
you'll need:
Oreos (or the lovely generic Creme-O's)
White Chocolate (or similar)
M&M mini's
Brach's Pastel Candy Corn
Lollipop Sticks & Bags (of which I will discover are entirely too small)

And most importantly, somewhere to place the coated cookies to dry. I used a cookie sheet lined with my silicone baking sheet. I love that thing for candies, they just pop right off.


If you are anything like me, after you have opened the package of cookies you'll want to eat them. I curb this by pulling out *only* the ones I am going to use and put the rest in the cookie jar. I can't help that I ate one between getting them out of the package and into the cookie jar, I chew fast. If somebody dared me, I could probably fit more than one in my mouth.

Now that we have the excess cookies out of the way, gather up some pieces of pink candy corn. Take a knife and cut off the pink end like such... feel free to eat the tops of the candy corn as you cut it. Then remember you wanted to take a picture. Oops. You didn't notice, did you?!


While you are doing this, you can have your chocolate melting. Use your desired method (check the package if you are new to this). I use the double boiler method. I have a pot and metal bowl that fit together perfectly.



While you are waiting, decide to eat some yogurt. Only to have the 15 month old walk up and say "num num" and not leave until you give her at least half. Guess she likes Chobani.


Be sure to break occasionally and stir your chocolate. Once it starts to melt, dip the end of your lollipop stick in and wedge it into the cream filling of the cookie.


Feed your inner OCD self and line them up.


Now comes the fun stuff. Using whatever method you wish, coat the cookies with your melted chocolate.

Given this image you'd think that I can just dip them, right?! Nope. For some unknown reason I *FAIL* at dipping things. And not just a small fail. I'm talking epic fail - cookie falling apart and crumbling in the bowl kind of fail. So, I take my spoon and bring the chocolate to the cookie. So Much Easier! I can give it a nice, even coating and it looks so much better. This reminded me why I no longer make chocolate covered peanut butter crackers at the holidays.

From there, add your mini M&M's for the eyes, the cut candy corn for the nose and some extra candy corn for the ears. And now you've created your sickeningly sweet Easter Bunny cookie on a stick. Cause everything is better on a stick!! And if you want to go the extra mile, by all means add a mouth and whiskers. I'm sure somebody can show me up on their designing.


The chicks come next. Add some yellow food coloring to your chocolate and stir it in well. Keep adding it in until you get the color you desire.


About this time you should realize that your 15 month old is quiet and you probably should look for her. Then you discover she has taken about half of the dish towels out of the cabinet and made a nice little 'couch' for herself.


Proceed to finish up your chicks in the same manner. Use mini M&M's for the eyes and nose (I turned the nose sideways). I don't suggest green eyes, it makes it look more like a zombie chick. Put your cookies in the fridge to harden and you are done! Package them up and serve them to your little ones!


Have a wonderful Easter weekend!

Hunting Eggs

Tomorrow I think we are going to visit Peter Rabbit and see which child freaks out first. My guess = Braelyn. She's not very friendly with people in costume or people in general for that matter. I'm still not sure how we managed getting Santa pictures without security escorting us out. I honestly felt kinda bad for Santa.

I also feel bad for the Chick Fil A cow, I think her little brain tells her to kick him in the shins and run the other direction. The funny thing, she doesn't even run for me. She just runs to hide.

So given Easter is coming up, I thought I would share a digital page of Grayson hunting for Easter Eggs. Since my cousin has been coming to visit for Easter, my mom is all into setting up fun stuff for the kids. I guess it's worth it when there are four of them, not just two. Either that or she found some secret energy booster that she has yet to share. I might have to ask her.

So here are some pictures of Grayson hunting for eggs last year in their yard. Since my cousin's kids are older we had to keep putting 'easy' eggs out for Grayson. Who honestly was more than happy with just one egg, especially once he discovered there were goodies inside. What can I say, my kids lead sheltered lives.


I did this page for a sketch over at Tally Scrapper. Head on over and check it out, it's a great sketch!

Life is all about moments

I know its a cliche... but it is the honest truth. So many times when we are upset, we tend to forget about the great things that constantly happen to us. At least I know I do. I always thought I was mostly normal, so I would assume everybody else does too. Maybe not though, who knows?

I started plotting this layout over the weekend (as one of the things that is on the list happened, you'll just have to guess which) and finished it up this morning. A reminder that it is the little moments that make up our life. The big ones count, but the little moments make it all worth it - good and bad. I didn't want to only scrap about bad moments, so I included some really great ones as well.



Moments I Love =>
When Jeff Walks In The Door
Hugs From The Kids
Hearing I Love You

Moments I Dislike =>
The Bathroom Is Out Of TP
You Spill Your Drink
Your Pants Are Too Tight
You Realize You Left Your Wallet

Hope you can get out and enjoy this wonderful Monday! It looks gorgeous here, hopefully it will stay that way and we can use the grill for dinner tonight. :)

And don't forget, you've got another day or two to enter the giveaway for the mystery box - so head on over!!

Storytime

My children can be destructive little demons. I'm pretty sure they have horns, pitchforks and the whole works. Some days I even believe they glow red and speak in tongues (pretty sure that is the only language Braelyn knows at this point).*

I always thought the dogs were destructive - chewing on random toys, snagging socks out of the dirty laundry, gnawing on the corner of the carpeted stairs, eating the scrapbook supplies I left sitting on the bottom shelf.

Then I had two kids.

At least the dogs can't pick up the paint roller you thought you put up high enough (and wrapped in a plastic bag). Or the nail polish bottle you left sitting on your desk (all be it closed). Or your drink (which you set down long enough to grab the remote before getting comfy in your recliner). And by far, the dogs are easier to house break.

My kids - they find everything. And they have to explore it. I mean, its a cup... why shouldn't they try to drink out of it?! Or... I just saw you paint the walls with this, so they think they'll try it (and paint walls, furniture, the bed, etc). I swear the motto of both of my kids is "determination". I can only hope they keep that determination and turn it into something positive later in life. Maybe something along the lines of, not trying to give our mother a stroke or not graying her hair before she hits 35 (oh wait, its too late for that).

The point of my ramble?! There are times when said demons revive my faith and act like absolute angels. The moments when they sit quietly and love each other unconditionally. Those moments, they melt my heart. Sometimes I even think I can see wings. So my page today is one of those such moments - they were sitting so nicely in my chair and reading a book together. They absolutely love each other, no doubt about it!


I would wish for all moments to be like this, but I'm pretty sure life would be boring. I mean, what would I do all day if I didn't have to moderate toy sharing? I would be confused if I could actually sit down with a cup of coffee and not be pummeled with little hands and feet. So I'll take the demon children, and their rarely visiting angel counterparts. Cause, no matter what I say, I love it that way!

Now, if you'll excuse me... I must go fix the curtain rod the kids have started to pull out of the wall by playing hide and seek and/or peekaboo. See ---------->


*disclaimer - my children are not demons. I've seen no evidence of horns (unless you count pigtails), pitchforks, glowing red or pointed tails. They are actually well taken care of, polite, wonderful normal children - with their ups and downs, learning along the way, testing the limits, mood swinging, potty training, booger picking, dirt collecting, exploring mud puddles and scraped knees. Both of whom I'm sure would rather have their mother to play with than see her type this blog post. :)