Confessions of a 20-something Scrapbooking Mother

New Blog!

2009-06-26T09:34:00.000-07:00

For anyone who's still checking in here-sorry I've been missing!! Life has been insane, to say the least. Anyway, I decided I wanted to start anew, so I started a new blog at wvmommyof2boys.blogspot.com. I don't have much timr for crafting anymore, but I will have some new projects to show soon! Thanks!!

Photo Challenge!!

2009-01-26T05:55:00.000-08:00

Carol has tagged me with a great challenge!! The challenge is to find the 6th picture in the 6th folder and post it on your blog. Isn't that fun??!! So here's mine:

This is a picture from last April. For at least 6 months, this was the face Aaron gave me when I told him to say "Cheese!". Isn't he a stinker??!!

So now I am challenging 6 others: Becky, Veronica, Heather, Okie, Angel, and Liz. Have fun ladies!!

I probably won't be around much this week. I've decided to start my spring cleaning early. I will only be watching the kids 3 days this week, so I thought it would be a good time to start. Between playing with the boys, blog hopping, the Cricut MB, scrapping, and organizing my scrap room, I've been letting the housework slide more than I would like. But no more! So this week I will be cleaning from floor to ceiling. Today I'll be working on the kitchen. I'm also hoping to get rid of some of the clutter by listing some things on Craigslist and freecycle. Maybe I can make some much needed money at the same time!!

I hope you all have a great week! Thanks so much for stopping by!!

Valentines Card for Alex

2009-01-25T15:50:00.000-08:00

Here's the Valentine's Day card I made for my little Alexander!
Basically everything was part of a RAK I received last week from Deb on the Cricut MB. The papers are K&Co, I used my new MS punch, some Skittles, and the cupcake is a Studio G stamp. I stamped it twice, cut it out and pop dotted it. And used lots of Stickles of course!!

I hope you all had a wonderful weekend!! Today Jamie painted and hung up a piece of pegboard in my room. Its hot pink. :) I will take pictures this week and post them. Have a great night!!!

A few layouts and a RAK

2009-01-22T09:25:00.000-08:00

Here are the layouts I've been working on. I've done more in the past week than I have in the past 6 months! I feel energized and recharged. :)

This is the first picture of my little Alexander. He was so teeny tiny-3 pounds, 9 ounces. Now he's chubby! :) The papers are Bo Bunny, I journaled on the computer, and the embellishments are Karen Foster. The mobile on the little crib lights up. Its so cute. I think if Aaron pushes it one more time the battery will be dead though!

These are the pics I took on Monday of Aaron playing in the snow! He had so much fun! Last year he played in the snow, but was done after a few minutes. This year, I had to carry him kicking and screaming back into the house! He had so much fun. I had fun too. :) This snowflake paper came from my stash. I've found all sorts of things I forgot about while I was cleaning my room!! Moving on! I also used a Heidi Grace glass snowflake, Jolees snowflakes, DCWV chipboard letters, and a paper pieced snowman that I've had for years. The date at the bottom was done with Magic Scraps adhesive rubons. Have you ever used these? They're awesome! You can cover them with chalk or glitteror whatever you want. I think these are my new favorite thing!

This is my Uncle Lee and Aunt Kristi holding Alex! For this page I used Karen Foster paper, scraps, a Bo Bunny sticker, Making Memories rub-ons and my Opposites Attract cart.

And here's a RAK I received in the mail today! It is from my new friend Deb (Blue-Ridge-Mts-Mom on the Cricut MB) and I can't wait to play with these! The papers are beautiful! And I can't wait to use the punch! She also sent me some dyed skittles which I LOVE! If you read this Deb, THANK YOU SO MUCH!

I'm off to clean for a bit. And maybe I'll scrap a little later! Thanks for stopping in!!

Quick update and more blog candies!

2009-01-22T04:42:00.000-08:00

What a busy few days I've had! I've finished 3 or 4 layouts this week in my pretty new scrapbook room. Carol, you were right when you said I would be inspired in there! Every time I walk in, all of these new ideas jump into my head. My old room was a disaster and I barely ever completed anything. Now I'm doing a layout a day and I'm thrilled! Pretty soon the boys albums will be completely caught up! YAY!

Yesterday Jamie was home pretty early from work, and he spent about 6 hours fixing my old laptop from college. He installed all new stuff on it, then he put it, my camera dock and my beloved printer in my scrap room! Then I downloaded all of my Creating Keepsakes fonts on it, so I am set!!

Its been a long, rough few months for me, but so many great things have happened this past week that I feel like things are finally starting to change. Scrap wise, I have my pretty room and computer set up now, I've won a few blog candies and RAKs, and I've made a lot of new friends. I feel very lucky and very, very blessed! Financially, things have been bad for a while. Worse than they've ever been before. After having months of no inquiries of my child care, I've had 3 people contact me this week alone. My ideal situation is to have 2 full time children, so hopefully that will happen!

I have all of my new layouts to show you, but when my hubby hooked everything up in my scrap room, he wasn't thinking about the internet. ;) So I don't have any internet in the room for now, and my camera is in the room... Lol. I will try to upload them later though.

Now for some blog candies! I love goodies! I like to share them too, even the ones I don't enter. (Not that I'm "too good" for something, its just that I don't need to win all girly stuff when I only scrap the boys stuff!) So here are some today:

1. Kim has some great goodies including great Basic Grey papers, ribbons, flowers, and all kinds of fun things! Also go check out her blog because everything she makes is stunning!
2. Melissa also is giving away some "yummy confections" for reaching 10,000 hits! Check out her blog and you'll see why she has so many hits! ;) Tell her Becky sent you!
3. Irene is giving away a stamp set that she designed herself!
4. Sarah from Red Oak Lines hit 10,000 views and she's giving away some ROL loot! Go check out her awesome blog!
5. Katharina from Whiff of Joy is giving away a complete stamp kit. Go check out her blog. Her cards are so detailed and beautiful.
6. Paula has amazing "Blog Sherbert" up for grabs!! RUN to check it out! Also look at her blog because her stamps and creations are gorgeous!!
7. The Creative Cafe is giving away $150 worth of their products. AHHH!!!

I think that's all for today. I will try to post some pictures later. I have the whole day free to spend time with my guys! So I'll be having a great day, and I hope you do the same! Thanks for stopping by!

My scrap room-LOTS of pics!

2009-01-19T15:06:00.000-08:00

I've been working so hard trying to get my room organized. At least enough so that I can actually craft in it. ;) So here is my "Scrap Room on a Budget"!

As you can see, this room is VERY small. So trying to fit everything in here AND having room to work has been a challenge! I would love to go to Ikea and buy all of their beautiful storage, or invest in some Jetmax cubes, but I'd rather by groceries! So I improvised! My mom didn't need such a large desk anymore, so she gave it to me! My brother and stepdad put it up for me this weekend and I LOVE it. On the desk I keep all of my cardstock and scraps. The Cropper Hopper paper holders were given to me from my friend Jill for Christmas a few years ago. The container I keep my scraps in was a few dollars at Wal Mart. I also have a pink container that holds my flowers (sorted by color), my Stickles and my bling. In the corner I have a lazy susan that I got at a yard sale for $1. I keep my pens, markers, and pencils in 3 metal buckets that I got in the Target dollar bins on clearance for 25 cents each! Someday I'll alter them... I also keep my adhesives and a few tools that I use often in a little bucket.

The other side of my desk is my work station. Over here I keep my idea book, paper trimmer, and a basket of boy embellishments so they're always handy!!

I bought this 7 drawer container for 50 cents at a yard sale. 50 CENTS! I keep my stamps, ink pads, punches, mini albums, and tools in here.

The small table my stereo is on came from freecycle. And I keep some of my I Love Lucy stuff on top! :) I've had the white table for almost 10 years now. I bought it when I was a junior in high school and first started scrapping. When I got my first job (as a pharmacy tech) I took my first paycheck and went to Lowes to get this table. I still lived with my grandparents then, and I had the whole basement to myself, so I was able to set up a nice little craft area there. Anyway, moving on! I used to use the white shelves in my closet for my shoes, but now that I'm a mom I don't have as many shoes as I used to, so I don't need shelves anymore! I keep my Cricut carts, Xyrons, chalks, glitters, and all of my small embellishments here.

In the drawers are seasons, holidays, alphabets, animals, sports, and school. I bought these years ago at WM. I keep stickers, embellishments, and some papers in here.

These organizers came in a tool box from WM for about $5. They are great for traveling because the lids are super tight so nothing gets mixed up! I have everything mainly sorted by color, but I also have some sorted by theme.

This is where my Cricut and Cuttlebug live. :)

As I said, my room is teeny tiny, so I have to keep things under the table too. Jamie said he was going to hang my ribbon holder on the wall. So maybe that will happen. Someday. ;) I bought this shelf at a yard sale for $3. It is supposed to hold books or movies. But it works great for my ribbon!

I keep my paints and photo case under here too. I also have a rolling organizer with a drawer for Christmas items, baby/kid/family items and a drawer for non-paper crafting items!

Over here is my paper. I LOVE paper. I got the paper rack when the LSS I used to work at closed. :( I have it sorted mainly by brand, but the top 4 shelves hold boy and family papers! On the wire stand I have my albums, things to alter, and kits. On top are my paper stacks.

So that's my room! I still have a few things to do. Pictures to hang and I'd like to get a pegboard for the wall too. I LOVE my room though. I'm so happy. I told Jamie I want to sleep in there! :) Aaron got to play in the snow tonight-first time this winter-so I'm going to print the pictures off that I took and go scrap tonight. I hope you have a wonderful night, and thanks so much for stopping by!!

Blog candies...

2009-01-18T15:36:00.000-08:00

I always like to pass along all the blog candies that I come across while hopping! So are some for today! Go check out Kerry's blog!! She has 3 different candies up for grabs, and they're all GREAT! Also check out the So Cal Scrap blog as they're giving away some awesome goodies on Valentine's Day!

Also, check back in this week to see pictures of my newly organized scrap room! I've been working on it for 2 weeks now, and it should be completely done in the next day or two!!! Thanks for stopping in!

I scrapped!!!!! FINALLY!

2009-01-17T20:08:00.000-08:00

I honestly haven't had time to scrap for weeks and weeks. I feel so deprived! So this evening I sat down and whipped some pages up. I feel like a new person. ;)

These are pics from Christmas. I love the one of Aaron crying, lol. Jamie asked me why I wanted to put that picture on the page. I want to show all of our memories-even the non happy ones! Aaron was crying here because the first gift he opened was one of those toy organizers with the different bins, and on the box it had a bunch of toys on it, so he thought it was a box of toys! And then he didn't want anything else but that box! Silly boy. Anywho, I used Martha Stewart papers-aren't they yummy? It is glittered. I believe the chipboard letters are Heidi Swapp, and I used some Martha glitters on them. Boy was that M-E-S-S-Y! But worth it! I love glitter!

I finally got to scrap Aaron's first trip to the pumpkin patch. I feel like I'm so far behind! I used MME papers. I've had them in my stash for years. I also used some Dew Drops and the ribbon is from the dollar store.

And I'll leave you with this deliciousness. Isn't he gorgeous?! Thanks for stopping in!!

Mickey Mouse Stamps Winner

2009-01-14T06:48:00.000-08:00

Oops-a few days late picking a winner!!! Sorry! Anyway, Aaron picked a winner, and it was Robyn! Congrats!

Blah...

2009-01-09T05:28:00.000-08:00

Yuck. I feel really poopy, lol. Pretty sure I have strep throat. Again. I need to break down and have my tonsils removed, but I'm a chicken. Going to the doctor today. But when you get strep throat at least 4 times a year, it gets pretty easy to self diagnose yourself. So I'll be going to get some antibiotics later. I just want to stay in bed for a few days, but that is hard when you have 2 little ones!

Nothing new and crafty to share. Thats because I've been super busy redoing my scrap room. I will be taking a few days rest from that though because I feel really bad. My mom is giving me a desk to put in there, so I've been re-organizing, decluttering and cleaning. My room will be pretty now instead of a big ol' mess.

I hope you all have a great weekend. I know I won't. :( I'll leave you with a few blogs to check out. They are all great and offering wonderful blog candies. I normally like to tell you a bit more about the blogs, but I am just too tired, so here ya go. I'll try to edit it later when I don't feel like I'm going to pass out at any moment!

1. Sally
2. Irina
3. Rach
4. Pink Gem Designs-They're releasing some great new stamps this month!
5. Michelle
6. Lim
7. Simon Says Stamp-All I have to say is...WHOA.

Great candies out there. Good luck. ;)

I'm Walking for Alex!

2009-01-02T11:51:00.000-08:00

I'm walking in the March of Dimes March for Babies for my little Alexander. There is a place on my sidebar to donate, but even if you can't donate (I know we can't right now) maybe you could participate in a walk in your own area. And those of you that are local-come join my team! I know for sure that Mom and I will be walking, and depending on the weather I may bring one or both boys! Aaron will make you laugh the whole time! The walk is on April 25 (that was actually my due date for Aaron, and I always remember that!) and it is 5 miles long.

Having Alex so early, and seeing him in the hospital for 22 days was probably the worst thing I've ever experienced. Thankfully he is perfect-5 months old and 15 pounds! He's healthy and one of the happiest babies I've ever seen. It breaks my heart thinking about the babies that never make it home. Thanks for stopping by! :)

Goodies to share and a RAK!

2008-12-31T07:24:00.000-08:00

I am such a lucky girl! I was given a little bit of money and gift cards to spend on MYSELF for Christmas. And what did I do with almost all of that money?? Bought things for the boys, of course. Lol. Bought Aaron a few new cups, Alex a few new bottles, bought some things to make Alexander's baby food (anyone done this? Advice?), had to order a toy for Aaron from Amazon because I couldn't find it anywhere (the Yo Gabba Gabba Dancing Brobee!), and I got some other little things that they needed. I did have some money left over though, and got this stuff!I got some of the Martha Stewart products on sale, including a yummy Christmas paper stack, some glitter, and 2 acrylic stamp sets. The paper and glitter were only $4! YAY! I also got some things on sale at ACMoore. They had a bunch of clearance things, so I got the Halloween stack for $5, and the Heidi Swapp mini iron for $3. I love the Halloween papers, and hopefully I can finally get the boys Halloween pics scrapped! Then I got some Wall Pops-black, red, orange, yellow, blue, and a cute pink and purple striped border that I'm going to put in my scrap room. I didn't even spend $30 for all of that. ;) I love a deal!

THEN, a few days ago I went over to my friends house and she gave me all of this and MORE!

She used to own the LSS that I worked at, and these were some things she had left. (Also, besides the things for me, she gave me a ton of kiddie stamps and 20-30 decorative scissors to add to Aaron's craft stash!) I got a Coluzzle envelope template, a bunch of great idea books that perfectly fit my style, about a 4 inch stack of paper (PAPER!!!), TONS of stickers and embellies, 2 Bo Bunny class kits, 2 Karen Foster 12x12 rub ons, a bag of ribbon (!!!!!!!!), 2 Scrapbook Girl tees (I LOVE the green/pink one!), and a lot more. To be fair though, I won't be keeping a lot of it-a bunch of it is for my 15 year old sister who I've just gotten started scrapping! Now I'll always have a buddy to scrap with, since she lives behind me. ;) Isn't all of that wonderful! I'm so happy about all of this because I am now on a spending ban. Ughhh. Just saying it makes me cringe! YUCK! So from now on I will only be buying necessities like cardstock and adhesive. At least thats the plan!

Now for my RAK. I bought this before Christmas to do a RAK. I found it at JoAnns in the dollar bin. The dollar bin! So I bought 2-1 for me, 1 for one of you. ;) Not a great pic though...

I will also add some other goodies before I send it out of course! All you have to do is leave a comment and I will have Aaron pick a name out of the hat next Saturday the 10th! I will put your name in twice if you link me on your blog!

I'll be starting to pack up the Christmas stuff today and finish tomorrow. I was going to do it last weekend but my mom yelled at me and said its bad luck to take your tree down before New Years. And since we need all the good luck we can get right now, I thought I'd better wait. ;)

What will you be doing tonight? I haven't been up to see the ball drop in years. I think I will stay up tonight. We'll see! Maybe I can keep myself awake by staying in my scrap room until about 11:30! I hope you have a happy, happy New Year! Thanks so much for stopping by!

2008-12-30T03:26:00.000-08:00

I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas! Ours was perfect-how could it not be with these two??

If Aaron looks like he was "caught" in that picture, its because he was! He took those Junior Mints out of MY stocking and ate a ton of them while I was in the kitchen getting his breakfast. Little stinker.

Aaron got some great toys including a Thomas track that's as big as the kitchen table (what am I going to do with that??!!) and his Leapster that he just loves. He got a few clothes, books, and movies too. He's very spoiled. :) He also woke up one morning with a much higher IQ-he now knows all of his colors, shapes and most of the alphabet. I think I can have him reading when he's 3! I need to videotape him doing the ABC's, its too cute.

Alexander got some cute little toys too, including this one that he loves:

Its his "First Bear" and it rattles. He also has this cute little frog that sings and vibrates, but Aaron's been playing with that! How happy is this little man?? You can tell in the picture that he had a fever (stupid teeth) but he's just smiling away. I love him.

Jamie and I didn't exchange gifts this year, which felt a little weird. :( My parents and grandparents did get Jamie some much-needed clothes though. And my mom got me the Paper Doll cart which I've been dying to use. We also got some gift cards for groceries, and lots of diapers and formula-we shouldn't need to buy anything for at least a month or two, which helps us out immensely.

I could write 10 posts about Christmas. It was just so wonderful. I loved all the time we got to spend with my family. My family is the best. Aaron was so pooped from all the fun that he fell asleep around 4 in the afternoon, so Jamie and I got to actually sit down and watch a movie-UNINTERUPPTED. Wow. We haven't done that in years! He got The Dark Knight from my grandma, so that's what we watched. I didn't like it though. Maybe a little too dark for me. But the day after Christmas I cuddled with Aaron and watched Horton Hears a Who-much better. :)

I have a few things to share, but need to let my camera charge first! I did make more Christmas cards, but forgot to take pics before I gave them away! Oops! Thank you so much for stopping by! I'll leave you with a link to Karen's blog who has some awesome blog candy. Wouldn't that be a great belated Christmas present?? I also have a small little RAK I'll be doing soon, just need to take a picture of it! Have a wonderful day. ;)

Update on my guys

2008-12-18T13:33:00.001-08:00

So I posted a few days about my little Alexander being sick. Thankfully he is much better. They diagnosed him with bronchiolitis. He is taking an antibiotic, a steroid, and using a nebulizer every 4 hours while he is awake. He saw the doctor twice this week and will go back next Tuesday. Poor Aaron is sick as well. He has an ear infection and an upper respiratory infection. I'm glad they are both on antibiotics and well on their way to being better so they aren't sick at Christmas! Aaron was sick last Christmas and didn't even want to open presents! I didn't even get any pictures to scrap! Hopefully this year will be different. :) Thanks for all the prayers for my little men. I know it helped.

I probably won't post until after Christmas unless I get some extra time. I still have a few presents to finish and wrap, and LOTS of baking to do! I hope you all have a wonderful Christmas!!

Please say a prayer for my little Alexander!

2008-12-15T14:50:00.000-08:00

Jamie is on the way home from the doctor with Alex now and he has bronchiolitis. He has a terrible cough and just started wheezing today. The doctor sent him home with a nebulizer to use every 4 hours and an antibiotic (not sure why though since what he has is a virus!). We'll be going back to the doctor tomorrow afternoon to determine if he needs to keep using the nebulizer. Thank goodness he doesn't have RSV though, because I was sure thats what it was and was having quite a freak out. :) So please say a prayer for my beautiful little man! Having such a little person so sick is quite scary!

Santa Changito :)

2008-12-11T08:37:00.000-08:00

I have really been working on cards. The boys albums are a few months behind, but at least I have a few cards made. ;) I have another one to show you, but I can't get a good picture of it, so this will be all for today!

I LOVE this monkey. I just want to him on everything! Isn't he cute? That cute little Santa image was sent to me from Becky (THANKS BECKY!). Both PP are from last years DCWV Christmas stack. I found the rub on in my stash-I believe its Bo Bunny. I found an entire sheet of those, so I will use them up on my Christmas cards! I used a dauber to sponge red around my image-I realize it looks a little messed up-that's because I touched it before it dried and got ink EVERYWHERE! I have since fixed it though! The present was sent to me from Michelle in a blog candy I won. Thanks Michelle!! I really like this card. Oh, and there is glitter all over it! I don't know why it doesn't show up! But there are Stickles on the white parts of Changito's Santa suit, and red glitter on the edges.

YAY! I posted something crafty! Its been a while, huh?!

So, are you guys ready for Christmas? I've always loved Christmas, but its so much better now that I have my beautiful boys. Aaron is starting to understand about Santa and Christmas, and he is just so funny. He calls anything associated with Christmas "MY CHRISTMAS!". Its so cute. Our neighbor has his lights up, so every morning Aaron makes me open the blinds so he can look at them. Plus, I can totally pull out the Santa card when he's being bad, so that's good. :) I am so thankful to be spending my holidays with my family. Now that Alexander is here, I feel like my family is complete. I'm just so blessed.

Thanks so much for stopping by. I'm off to make the kids lunch and then clean a bit, and hopefully spend some time in my scrap room if I can get them all to nap at the same time! Have a great day!

My first award!

2008-12-09T09:30:00.000-08:00

I got an award! Thank you Liz! I've never won an award before. :)

Although I'm not feeling very creative lately, I'll take it. Lol. I'm supposed to give it to 6 people so here goes.

1. Carol at Crazy for Crafting is one of my favorite blogs to read. She always has something new and crafty to share, plus I love when she shares what her "Guest Designer" daughters have made-they are just as talented as she is! I've learned a lot of new techniques from her, and have a bunch more bookmarked to try someday when I get caught up. ;)

2. Next up is Michelle. I just recently stumbled upon her blog and have been frequenting it ever since. Her creations are beautiful. Just stunning. And if I had half of the beautiful stamps she has, I would be happy forever!

3. If you haven't been to Veronica's blog, go now. RIGHT NOW! She is an actual real life stamping friend, and her work is amazing. She is so talented.

4. Another one of my favorite blogs is Angel at Angelosity. She is super talented. Not to mention her birthday challenge really got my creative juices flowing again, so thanks Angel!! I just love checking out her new creations.

5. Next up is Becky. No, not me, another one! Becky creates the most beautiful cards, and they have so much detail! And not only is she talented, she's so sweet. She's the wonderful person that sent me all of those awesome Changito images! I'm crazy about that little monkey. :) So go check out her blog-you won't be sorry!

6. And last but not least, LIZ! I know she's the one that gave me this award in the first place, but she's super deserving of it as well. We are a lot alike and I think we will be great friends. Her work is beautiful, and I love reading all of her family updates. Also, check out her blog and then go vote for her gorgeous button card on Tip Junkie!!

So thanks again for the award Liz! And go check out all of these wonderful ladies blogs! I am off to work on a few more cards. I have a few to share, but can't get my camera to upload. Its always something, huh?!

Changito Happy Mail!!!

2008-12-04T08:19:00.000-08:00

Look what I got in the mail!!!!!

Aren't they the cutest? I am crazy about that little monkey! I love the Christmas ones! Maybe they will help me get going on my Christmas cards... These were sent to me by one of my favorite bloggers, whose name also happens to be Becky! ;) Go check out her blog here. She is so talented and super nice. Her work is stunning. Be sure to go check out her blog, you won't be sorry! I can't wait to color these and make some cute cards. Thanks so much Becky, you're the best! This was a great pick-me-up!!

Well, thats all for now. Aaron and Alana (the little girl I watch) both fell asleep watching Nemo, so its just me and Alex! I think I'll take this time to catch up on my TV shows and have a nice cuddle in. Have a great day!!

Blog candies everywhere!

2008-12-03T04:08:00.001-08:00

There are so many talented ladies offering up blog candy! Check them out:

Bev has some wonderful "pink" candy including a Whiff of Joy stamp (love them!) and a DCWV Christmas stack!

Go check out Jo's blog for a chance at some High Hopes stamps and other goodies!

Annie is giving away some WOJ stamps! You have to tell her 5 things you'd have with your on a deserted island-only five things is pretty tough!

Claire is celebrating her 36,000 blog hits-yes you read that right! 36 THOUSAND!!-with some awesome candy! Basic Grey and Stickles and stamps and all kinds of fun stuff! Go check out her blog-she's had 36,000 hits for a reason!!

Also, be sure to go check out Michelle's blog! She is giving away a RAK of beautiful 12x12 papers!

All of these ladies are so super talented! So go check their blogs out and get inspired! :)

Still nothing crafty to share...

2008-11-29T05:34:00.001-08:00

I haven't done anything crafty for weeks and weeks now. Plus I don't see myself having any time to scrap any time soon. :( We are FINALLY over the bug we've been passing back and forth. Luckily we were better in time to gorge on turkey on Thursday! I'm starting to feel semi-human again, guess my PPD is finally going away. Still a tad down in the dumps-financially things are getting bad which is stressful and a little scary. Plus I can't tell you the last time I've gotten more than 4 or 5 hours of sleep a night, but I can finally think straight again and don't just want to lay in bed under the covers 24/7 so I guess thats good. ;)

Thanksgiving was wonderful because this was Alexander's first big holiday! Everyone of course passed him around and he was loving it. He's really been "talking" and laughing a lot lately. He's just way too cute for words. And Aaron is still the most awesome 2 year old EVER! He just blows my mind everyday. I hope you all had a wonderful holiday!

Here's a few pics of my guys. Aren't they the cutest?? I had a friend come over and take some pics of us at home. They turned out great!

Look what I got in the mail!! These were the goodies I won over on Michelle's blog. You should defnitely go check out her blog. She is so insanely talented. Her cards are just gorgeous. I started a card with the HH wreath stamp and some of that beautiful Basic Grey paper, but haven't been able to finish it yet. This weekend looks like I'll be able to get some crafting done-cross your fingers for me!! :) I could use the break!

So, did anyone go shopping on Black Friday?? I did of course-I can't pay full price for anything! :) My mom and I go BF shopping every year, its our little tradition. Last year we stood in line outside at Toys R Us for 2 hours, then were in the line inside for almost 2 more hours. We're never doing that again! This year we decided to go to Walmart since they will match any and all other ads. Luckily our Walmart is open 24/7, so we got there about 3 and were able to shop, shop, shop! Everything that was on sale was under black plastic, but we were able to go through the entire store, scope out where the sale items were, and get the items we wanted that weren't on sale. The only thing I really wanted on sale was the $30 Leapster for Aaron. He played with one at the hospital when Alexander was born and loved it. I had said that I was done shopping for him, but I decided to sell some scrapbook stuff so I could buy him this one last present. This is the only one that's not secondhand, so I made it a good one! Anyway, I found the Leapster pallet that said $30 on them, but some nice person at our Walmart mislabeled the new Leapster 2's (these are $70 instead of the older ones that were $50) as the ones on sale, so I got the brand new $70 Leapster for $30! A manager had to come and she didn't believe me that they were labeled wrong, but the person behind us in line had one and backed me up! :) But that wasn't the REALLY big deal I got! One of the dollar stores had $5 Leapster games in their ad. I'm sure they only had 1 or 2 older, discontinued games for that price, but Walmart said they'd match any ad, so I figured I'd give it a shot! My mom got Aaron 2 games, and I got him SIX GAMES! The grand total for all of that would've been $270, and we only spend $70. GO ME! I'm a bargain shopper extraordinaire. :) If I didn't hunt for all of the deals, Aaron only would've had 1 game. Now he will be extra spoiled, but its well deserved! There were so many other things they had that I would've liked, and we really could've used, but I was good, because like I said, money is extra, extra tight! The only other thing I bought were some $1.50 towels because we are in desperate need, and a hot pink $9 Eureka stick vacuum. I bought a really nice large vacuum about 2 years ago, but our house only has hardwood floors, so we don't need a vacuum really. This new one is great though, plus it barely takes up any room. So I was nice and gave my mama my old one, cause she was going to buy a new one. And she has 5 kids at home still, plus they've not only cut her and my stepdad's hours at work, but they've given my mom and entire week off every month, so she couldn't afford a new one. Now we're both happy! Plus my new vacuum is pink, so that will make me want to clean more. ;)

Well, I think I've rambled on long enough. Things have just been so very busy around here-I wish I had more time to craft and share. But my life is completely in the hands of 2 little men whose names start with "A", and I can't really complain.

Thanks for stopping by!!

Ughhh...

2008-11-23T08:45:00.001-08:00

I feel very BLAH. Yuck. Haven't posted anything in a few weeks, and I don't have anything crafty to show you today. SORRY! Aaron and I have been sick for almost 2 weeks, and now Jamie's came down with it. Thank goodness Alexander is healthy and perfect (and over 12 pounds now!!) Today Aaron and I are getting Christmas decorations out and baking some cookies. We need to get in the mood for Christmas and out of this funk we've been in! Hope all is well with everyone, and hopefully I can post some new stuff soon!

Also, you have to check out this blog candy on Debbie's blog. Have you ever seen anything so wonderful?? I would love those Copics-I'll never be able to afford them! I've been saving my money for a $30 Cricut cartridge for myself for Christmas, so that's all I'll be buying for a while. :(

What a great weekend!

2008-11-10T08:50:00.000-08:00

Just wanted to share a layout, some goodies, and a recap of our weekend! Be prepared for a LONG post!!
Here's a layout of my little man. I don't know why the photos look blue, but they're not! Just another testament to my fine photography skills. ;) These were pics from our church picnic at a local park. Aaron had so much fun! I used a TLC kit for this layout. Everything is TLC-the paper, die cuts, and chipboard-except the little black letters. I think they are Doodlebug. This layout was a quick and easy, just the way I like it!

Here are some Halloween goodies I got at Target for the boys Halloween pages. I took so many pictures, I'm sure I'll use every last bit of this stuff. Everything was on sale of couorse, or else I couldn't have afforded it! I got a ton of K&Co. stuff-the paper pack, buttons, letters, die cuts and epoxy stickers. They are all glittery too--Hooray for glitter! :) I also got MM epoxy letters, adhesive felt shapes, and some KI Memories stamps. The ribbon, brads, and small photo albums were a quarter each. Oh how I love Target!! I think the most expensive thing there is the stamps, and they weren't even $3. I'm going to use the little albums to document the boys in their Halloween costumes each year. I'm so crazy about those two!

We had a pretty good weekend here. On Saturday, my mom and I went to a Consignment Sale. We had tons of fun and got a lot of great stuff. I've decided the boys are going to have a secondhand Christmas. They're young enough that they won't know the difference, and financially, if we didn't do it this way, we probably wouldn't be able to get them anything at all. We are also not really going to be able to buy for everyone else this year. I am going to make all of the adults a small scrapbook of the boys. I have 5 siblings, and there's no way we can buy each of them something. :( There's always next year though!

Anyway, I am proud to say, that I AM DONE SHOPPING FOR THE BOYS!! I'm ecstatic. At the sale I got Aaron a Leap Pad with a ton of books for $5, I got quite a few books (they already have 2 full bookcases!), DVDs still in the plastic, some clothes for both boys, including a onesie for Alex that says "Photos with Baby-50 cents" and has a camera on it! SO CUTE! I also got myself a few shirts and a pair of jeans for basically nothing. I got the new Nora Roberts book for $1! I was so excited. The cheapest I had found it was $20 at Walmart, so I'm thrilled. I started reading it Saturday night and finished it this morning. It was so good! We got so many great deals, and everything was in perfect condition. It was great.

And what made my weekend even better? I won a subscription to Paper Crafts from Angel!! I think I talked about it all night long. My husband had no idea what I was talking about, but that's ok! Paper Crafts is by far my favorite magazine. I had so much fun participating in the Rainbow Days of Angelosity challenges. Angel really got my creative juices flowing, and I feel like I'm a whole different crafter! Thanks Angel!!

And THEN, this morning, I found out that I won blog candy on Michelle's blog!! I am so excited to play with my new stamps and goodies. I LOVE High Hopes stamps. As soon as I get rich, I am buying one of every High Hopes stamp ever made! Along with all the ODBD stamps, every Changito, the Sesame Street Cricut carts, every boy sheet of paper ever printed....I could go on and on. ;)

I am beyond ecstatic. I feel so very lucky. You should go check out Angel and Michelle's blogs. They are both so talented!

So that's all of my weekend fun. :) Aaron has had a fever since yesterday, but I have a feeling he is getting some new teeth in the back of his mouth. I laid in bed with him all day long yesterday and cuddled him. I didn't get anything done that I needed to, but I loved spending the whole day with him! Alex even came and laid with us for a while too. I just love being their mama! What could be better than spending the whole day warm and cozy in bed with the 2 cutest boys ever?!

And the winner is...

2008-11-09T10:40:00.000-08:00

After a crazy weekend, I finally got Aaron to draw a name from the bucket, and the winner is Liz! Congrats! Please send me your address to browneyedbabeblb@aol.com and I will send your goodies out as soon as I can. Thanks to all who entered!

I'm hoping to post later today or tomorrow and tell everyone about our great weekend, but Aaron isn't feeling well, so I don't have a lot of time today. Thanks for stopping by!

My blog candy...

2008-11-07T03:05:00.000-08:00

Please feel free to enter my blog candy. (I believe its on the 2nd page now.) I know I said 20 comments, but we have a busy, busy day today and tomorrow, so I don't if I'll get to it until then. So comment away, and I'll be back soon to announce the winner! I've also added a bunch of things to the box. Good luck!

You take the cake!

2008-11-06T13:35:00.001-08:00

Ok, here's my last card for the day. :( I need to make dinner and finish getting our things ready for the consignment sale this weekend. Hoping to make LOTS of money for Christmas! Cross your fingers for us!!

This is for Angel's Challenge from yesterday. These are more PP from my scraps! I can't believe I haven't used them sooner. I have so many scraps of gorgeous paper. I will be using them from now on! I think the paper is Bo Bunny, but I can't remember. I love the striped sheet! The stamp is another Lizzie Anne.

I hope you all have a wonderful night! I may be back tomorrow if I have time to make anything else. Thanks so much for stopping by! :)

Special Delivery

2008-11-06T12:26:00.000-08:00

Here's a tag I made for a gift for a relative! I used Angel's challenge to use scraps. This was a scrap of MME double sided paper (I think!). And I used another Lizzie Anne stamp!

Hats off to you!

2008-11-06T09:22:00.001-08:00

Here's a card I made for Angel's Day #9 sketch! I'm definitely going to be doing more sketches from now on. I can't believe I've went so long without doing so-I feel like I've been missing out on some big secret!

All the PP are MME from my scraps! I used scraps again! YAY! The stamp is Lizzie Anne Designs. Isn't it cute? I really like this card!

Happy Day Birthday Card!

2008-11-06T07:53:00.000-08:00

Here's another birthday card for Angel's 18 Days of Angelosity challenge. Today is the last day of challenges. I have to tell you guys that I have had so much fun participating in this challenge! I normally only make cards on an "as needed" basis, but now here I am with a whole pile of premade cards that I can't wait to use!

I used one of Angel's sketches from her birthday celebration from last year. I used a scrap of Cloud 9 PP that I've had since the CKC over a year ago! That cute little balloon charm is from Joann's. I got it on clearance of course. ;) The little circles are from a stamp set from Target. There is also a set in my blog candy for someone to win!

I'm spending my day today making cards. I'm just having so much fun! I moved a little table out in the living room so Alex can be in his swing, Aaron can watch TV and play and I'll be right here! I will be busy tonight and tomorrow getting ready to take things to a consignment sale, so today will be the last day for me to play until at least Sunday. Thanks so much for stopping by!

Happy Birthday-Angel's Challenge Day 18

2008-11-06T06:58:00.001-08:00

Here's my card for Angel's challenge to make a birthday card!

I used another sheet from my DCWV Glitter Stack. My image is from a sheet of Penny Black acrylic stamps. Isn't he cute?? I didn't color him because I thought he was cute as is! I wrote my sentiment with this awesome Pentel Outline marker. It is a vibrant silver with a pink outline around everything. It is SO MUCH brighter on the card. I guess the flash washed it out, but it looks great on the card. Little crooked, but that's ok! Nothing's perfect!

Will be making and posting more cards later!

Hey Chick!

2008-11-06T05:27:00.000-08:00

Ok, I had already posted this-no idea what happened to it, but here we go again! Angel's challenge for day #16 was to use anything birdy. Here's what I did.

SUPER cheap card! A piece of my DCWV Glitter Mat Stack, a piece of ribbon I got at Target (6 spools for $1), a scrap of TLC paper, my TW punch, and my own handwriting.

Thanks for stopping by!

Charlie Brown Christmas for Angel's sketch #15!

2008-11-03T08:23:00.000-08:00

Here is my take on Angel's sketch #15. I had to tweak it a bit because my image is fairly large, but here it is!

Do you love that stamp or what?? I'm doing all my Christmas cards with it this year. I normally try to do them different, but I'm in a time crunch, so this will be my card!

Thanks for stopping by! Have a wonderful day!

My very own blog candy!!

2008-11-02T15:25:00.000-08:00

Aaron and I got up early this morning and decided to do some shopping. I bought him and Alex matching jack-o-lantern shirts for next year, along with some other little things-all on clearance of course! Aaron got a really cute Brobee from Yo Gabba Gabba shirt. Do any of your kids watch this show? Aaron goes crazy when it comes on! They have this song called "There's a Party in my Tummy"-- it teaches kids to eat things like vegetables and not just the "fun" stuff. Aaron sings this song at every meal! Its the cutest.

So while my little guy and I were out bargain hunting, we came across some scrappin' goodies at Target. I picked up some things and then decided to get some extras to offer to one of you lovely people out there! I've also added some things from my own stash. I may add some more, too, but just didn't have the time to dig for anything tonight! Shopping is exhausting. In addition to my goodies from today, there are a bunch of DCWV Christmas papers, some ribbons, and stickers/embellies from my stash. I've also included 2 uninked stamps-1 from Inkadinkadoo and 1 Debbie Mumm. These 2 lovely stamps were purchased last month at a yard sale. And as much as I love them, especially the Santa, they may just be too detailed for me to color!

I've been wanting to do this for a while, but just didn't have a lot of time. These boys take up every second of my day, but I am just loving every minute of it! My RAK may not be new and trendy items, but they're great just the same, and I'm excited to pass these along to someone else!

So, here are the rules-When this post reaches 20 comments, I'll randomly draw someone. So all you have to do is leave a comment and you'll be entered! If you post on your blog about my goodies, I'll give you a second entry. That's pretty easy, right? Good Luck!

Alexander's First Smile :)

2008-11-02T15:17:00.000-08:00

Happy Sunday everyone!! Here's a page I did a few days ago. I took this pic while Al was still in the NICU. Here he was smiling at me. :) I'm so crazy in love with this little man. He is now over 11 pounds and I'm pretty sure he gets cuter every day! He smiles as soon as he sees or hears me, and I just melt.
That super cute paper is from a Junkitz paper pack I've had for a few years. I love those colors together! I couldn't tell you where the other stuff came from, but its cute!

Getting ready to post some blog candy (unless I get interrupted!), so make sure you check back!

Card for Angel's #14 Challenge!

2008-11-02T07:23:00.000-08:00

Ok, you can't read that AT ALL, but this was the best I could get! The challenge was to use 1 layer of cardstock, and I got that from my scraps. I added a Prima stack and a rhinestone in the middle. The stamp is Stampin Up! and says "This is the day the Lord hath made, let us rejoice and be glad in it. -Psalms 118:24" I got this set at a yard sale for a few dollars this summer!

Well, thats all for me today! I need to clean and I'm going to spend time with my guys! Happy Sunday!

Angel's Challenge #2

2008-11-01T17:00:00.000-07:00

Here's my card for Angel's color challenge #2. We were supposed to use olive green, red, baby blue and baby pink. My colors are all there, but they look funny. I seriously want to stomp on my camera. But crappy pictures are better than no pictures at all!
The snowflake paper is from the DCWV Christmas stack, and the polka dot paper is a scrap of ScrapWorks paper. That cute little snowman came from a huge pack of All Night Media acrylic stamps that I got at Ollies last year for 99 cents!

Whew! That's all for tonight. I did 6 cards this afternoon, so I'm happy. I also have some layouts to show you-hopefully I can do that tomorrow. Thanks so much for stopping by!

#6-Use scraps!

2008-11-01T16:51:00.000-07:00

Here's my card for Angel's challenge #6-SCRAPS!
I hardly ever use my scraps. I don't know why. But I will start now! This was a fun card. My little froggy is a Penny Black. I have no idea where anything else came from! The "One year Older" was in my stash, and the papers were in my scraps-who knows how long they've been there! I think the party brad is from Around the Block, but I could be wrong!

Bookmark for my little reader-Challenge #8

2008-11-01T16:46:00.000-07:00

Challenge #8 over at the 18 Days of Angelosity was to create a bookmark. Mine is super simple, but it will do the job! Aaron loves to "read", and I like to read to him daily, so this will come in handy for us!
The PP is a scrap from Scenic Route I believe. I found the little orange spiral clip in my stash. The letters are Sticko and that cute little car brad is from Queen and Co.!

Angelosity-Sketch #5

2008-11-01T16:40:00.000-07:00

Here's my take on Angel's sketch for day #5. I turned the sketch sideways, and here's what I came up with!
Don't you just love that little Changito monkey? The stamp and the sentiment are Stampendous. The cardstock came from my scraps and that gorgeous flocked paper is from Heidi Grace!

18 Days of Angelosity-Color Challenge

2008-11-01T16:27:00.000-07:00

This is the card I completed for challenge day #10. This was a color challenge to use moss green, chocolate brown, deep red and kraft brown. All my colors are there, but my little angel looks so washed out. Maybe I can talk Jamie into getting me a new camera for Christmas. :)
The patterned paper is from last years DCWV Christmas Stack. The mat is kraft brown cardstock from my scraps. How adorable is this angel? She is a Rubber Stampede stamp that I got at a yard sale-uninked!- for a quarter. I think she's so cute! I've never made a square care before. This one is 5x5 and I love it! I don't have any envelopes for it though!!

The 18 Rainbow days of Angelosity-My 1st completed card!

2008-11-01T16:13:00.000-07:00

If you haven't checked out Angel's blog, YOU NEED TO! I've followed her blog for a while now, and I've been so excited for her daily challenges up until her birthday! I don't think I've ever done a card/layout based on someone's sketch. EVER! Can you believe that? I've been super busy with the boys this week, but I sat down today and did 6 out of 13 challenges. I'm so proud of myself! I also laid out a few more cards and a layout in my head. If you have been to my blog before, you'll know I'm a scrapbooker-not a card maker. Although I would like to be both. ;) I really enjoyed making my cards today, and the sketches helped SO MUCH. I think I'm getting into the hang of it now! I'm going to post all my cards (any my 1 bookmark) one after another, and here's the first one! Also sorry about the not-so-clear pics-I don't know what's going on with my photography skills lately!

This is from a sketch for day #3 of Angel's challenge. The stamp and sentiment are from Memory Box. How cute is that penguin?! I used a scrap piece of cardstock and the 2 PP are from my DCWV Glitter Mat Stack. Also used my beloved Pop-Dots. ;)

My dragon and Superman ;)

2008-10-31T20:35:00.000-07:00

Happy Halloween! I hope you all had a wonderful day! Here are some pics of my boys from tonight. Aaron was the cutest dragon ever. I LOVE this costume! Its an Old Navy costume, but I bought it secondhand for $5. I can't justify spending $50 on something my boys will wear for an hour. Aaron is such a stud.
And here's Superman! He's so gorgeous. Isn't he getting big?? I weighed up the other day and he was up to 11 pounds! You'd never know he was a preemie.

We went to a party at the church and it was tons of fun. Aaron had such a good time! They played games and had prizes and he of course came home with a HUGE bucket of candy which he wanted to take to bed with him. ;) Alex didn't make it at the party too long. It was just too loud so Jamie took him home. He's been sleeping all the way through the night this week-last week he slept from 8-5! Thank goodness! I've been a zombie for too long, so hopefully things will get semi-normal again. I'll be starting to watch my friends 2 children on Monday-Aaron and I are so excited! I hope you all had a safe and fun Halloween! Check back soon for some layouts that I finished!

Pages for Preemies!

2008-10-17T04:48:00.001-07:00

I came across this page during one of my blog runs. I think this is such a great idea! Pages for Preemies. I'm going to work on a few pages this week to send! The 22 days that we spent in the NICU were heartbreaking. Its terrible to sit and think about some parents who never get to experience bringing their sweet baby home. I absolutely can't imagine. Alexander was in the NICU simply because he was so small-3 pounds, 9 ounces at birth-but since he was born so early because of my pre-eclampsia, things could've been much, much worse. I thank God everyday that he is home and healthy and getting might chubby. Anyway, please click the link above and check the site out! Have a great day!

My guys are so stinkin' cute! Happy 3 month birthday, Alexander!!

2008-10-16T11:35:00.000-07:00

I do have another layout to show you, but the light in here has been terrible and I can't get a good pic. Instead I thought I'd share some other goodies with you! Here's Aaron!! The shirt fits him to a tee. :) And here's the sweetest, cutest baby in the whole world! Alexander is 3 whole months old today! It never ceases to amaze me how fast time flies! Alex is already 3 months old, and last week Aaron was 2 and 1/2 years old!
I'm so crazy in love with these two little munchkins! Have a great day!

LONG post since I've been AWOL...

2008-10-13T05:31:00.000-07:00

I haven't posted in a month...I'm such a bad blogger! Life has just been so hectic! Alexander will be 3 months old this week. I can't believe how fast time has flown by. I'm going to blink and it will be Christmas already. I got to scrap yesterday for the first time in about a month. I only worked about 3 hours, but it made me feel so much better. Here are some pages I finished:I LOVE this page!! I've been dying to use these penguins! I started by detail cutting my little man out. Isn't he the cutest? Then I stamped, colored, cut and Stickled the images. They are all FULL of glitter! I don't get to use my Stickles much in the boys albums, so I may have went a little overboard, but that's ok! I'm happy! The cardstock came from my scraps, and the letters are some that I've had for years. Seriously, I think this is my favorite page EVER!!
Ok, maybe not-I like this page too. ;) Not just for the page, but for the picture. I took it a few weeks ago at our church picnic at Clearbrook Park. Aaron loves to swim-he would live in the pool or the bathtub if we let him. He's always been a water baby. He was kind of pouting here because his mean daddy wouldn't let him "swim" in that dirty, nasty water! I just love this pic of the two of them. The paper and the "perfect" are from the SEI Doodley-Doo Boy line that I got at CKU 2 summers ago. I've been saving it for something, so here it is! The other letters are Making Memories rub ons. I cut the arrow out from a template that I got at the Dollar Tree. The Dollar Tree is awesome.
Here's my sweet little Alexander. He's so gorgeous I could just stare at him all day long. Even though he STILL isn't even close to sleeping through the night and I am beyond exhausted, I love getting up and cuddling with him in the middle of the night. The house is quiet-no crazy big brother running around or anything to do-its just me and Al. I might be sad when he does start sleeping at night! Really simple page. I used Pebbles Inc. papers, K & Co. chipboard, and some Studio G stamps from the $1 bin at M's. The ink I used is from a 12 color stamp set from Paintbox that I got at a yard sale. It was unopened and I got it for $1! I LOVE yard sales!!
I did most of this page last month at Happy Scrappers, but never got to finish it. That Aaron is such a stud muffin. ;) All of the Woody items and the "Horsin' Around" are all EK. The paper is Basic Grey and the letters are just miscellaneous chipboard letters that I had left over from other things. I sponged some ink on them-Studio G again from the $1 bin. Have any of you tried those? I picked up a few not expecting much, but I really liked them. Nice and juicy. Plus you can't beat them for a dollar!

I'm looking forward to a nice week at home with the boys. Might scrap again this week if I can get the boys to nap at the same time, but that normally never happens! I will start watching my girlfriends 2 kids at the beginning of November, so I'm going to take full advantage of all of this time with just my precious guys.

On a not so happy note-I would appreciate if you guys could keep me in your prayers. I had some pretty bad test results come back. I've been pretty depressed about it. So if you've messaged/emailed/called me and I haven't gotten back to you, that's why. I have thousands of emails from the past month and I just don't feel like going through them all. I've just been pretty down in the dumps and not too social. And my mind has just been in other places. But I'm trying to get back to normal...

And so I don't end my blog with something so negative, have you guys seen the full trailer for Twilight? How good does it look? I am so excited. I wish I didn't have to wait another month though. My hubby hates going to the movies, but he's already promised to take me as soon as it opens. I don't know if its because he wants to do something nice for his wonderful wife who gave him his 2 amazing sons, or if he's taking me because if he doesn't, I might hurt him. ;)

I hope you all have a great week. Thanks so much for stopping by!

Danielle's Halloween blog candy!

2008-09-18T13:35:00.000-07:00

Danielle has some super awesome blog candy-go check it out! Some great goodies!!

Sorry I've been slacking again. Things are just so crazy around here! Alexander has been keeping me up all night, every night, and Aaron keeps me super busy during the day. :) I do have some more pages to share though, hopefully I can do that in the next few days!

Aaron is a monster AND a conductor :)

2008-09-16T11:17:00.000-07:00

Finally time to update a little! What a crazy week its been. My sweet little Aaron fell off the bed the other day and had the largest goose-egg ever. It was terrible. He just screamed and screamed. He cried all the way to the hospital. It was a nightmare. So my little man had his first CAT scan at age 2! Luckily everything was ok though, he was just sore. Poor fella. Alexander is over 8 pounds now-can you believe it? He is great, but he is such a horrible sleeper! I feel like I haven't slept in a month. Aaron used to fall asleep as soon as I put him to bed, and he would barely move all night. Alex is the complete opposite though. He grunts and groans and moves around all night long. But that's ok. I may look and act like the living dead, but at least I have 2 amazing boys, so its totally worth it! ;)

We had a pretty good weekend. On Friday my moom took the day off so we could spend the day hitting all the yard sales. It was great. I maybe had a handful of clothes left in my closet that fit after Alex came, but now my closet is overflowing! Everything looks or is brand new though, and I didn't pay over $1 for anything! Jamie even gave me part of his closet since mine is so stuffed! :) Here is my favorite yard sale purchase EVER-my $3 authentic Prada bag!!

I also finally got to start the "Twilight" series. I read Twilight over the weekend, then started and finished New Moon yesterday. I just couldn't put it down! I hadn't bought the 3rd book, but I'm going to go get it tonight or tomorrow! Can't wait to finish the series. Also, for those of you that are local, I encourage you to visit Four Seasons Books in Shepherdstown. I haven't been there since I attended Shepherd College right out of high school. I was so impressed. Not only are they a regular book store with all the current releases, but they also carry used books, and their kids section is AWESOME! I am planning on taking Aaron there sometime next week. So please go visit!

On Saturday I was lucky enough to attend my monthly HappyScrappers meeting. It was so much fun. I haven't seen my scrappin' buddies in months, so it was so nice to be able to get together! Plus I was able to escape the house for a bit, and I also finished 5 pages, which completed my weekly goal. Here are a few of them-will show the rest a little later!

This is a photo I took of Aaron playing at his train table one day. I used some Thomas papers for this page. The letters are my $2 Karen Foster Snap-stamps that I got at the GASC. I also added some adorable Queen & Co train brads.

These are some photos I took at our Memorial Day picnic. Aaron was VERY unhappy because he didn't want to eat-he wanted to play! The papers and the dinosaur stickers are all Reminisce-love them. The letters are really cool puffy epoxy stickers that I got on clearance at M's, but I can't remember who makes them. It might've been Making Memories. I don't know, but they're cute!

If you're a tip junkie like me, go check out this blog!

That's all for now. Now I just want to leave you with this adorable video! This is Aaron going playing on the slide during our church picnic at the park. Aren't I the luckiest mom in the world?! Thanks for stopping by!

FAB Blog candy!

2008-09-12T15:16:00.001-07:00

Please go check out Misty's blog! She has some fabulous blog booty up for grabs, plus her blog rocks! :)

Sorry I haven't been around much. Been a crazy week with a cranky baby and a trip to the ER with Aaron. Will elaborate more later. Hope you all have a great weekend!

Oh Brother!

2008-09-06T18:38:00.000-07:00

Ok, I know I'm a tad bit biased, but aren't my boys beautiful?? I can't believe I get to wake up everyday to these little guys. Oh, life is wonderful!
As usual, my photo is crooked. :P Not too many different products used. The paper is Reminisce-I just love them!! They're papers are great and totally "me"! The cardstock is from EK, and you can't see it in the pic, but it has different little specks of color in it. The letters are a bunch of miscellaneous chipboard, and I just painted in with brown acrylic paint. Easy Breezy.

Ugghhh, I could just look at these photos forever! Better yet, I think I'll go cuddle with my boys a bit before bed. :) Have a great night and rest of the weekend!! Thanks so much for stopping by!

Blog Candy

2008-09-06T04:13:00.000-07:00

Jen at Scrappin in my Spare Time is giving away an awesome blog candy. Those papers are absolutely delicious! Go check out her blog to see her awesome projects and take a chance at her yummy candy. :)

Aaron's First Egg Hunt!

2008-09-05T05:30:00.000-07:00

Here is a layout from Easter-I'm so behind! This was Aaron's first Easter egg hunt, and he had a blast. He did not want to give his eggs back!! He wouldn't even let me count them, he kept throwing his body over all the eggs, lol. My kid is a trip.
Both patterned papers are from Moxxie. I love how it shows you the front AND the back of the bunny. :) Too cute. I cut the letters with my Opposites Attract cart, which has quickly become my favorite font cart. I've don't 3 layouts just this week with OA, and they are all completely different. I cut these with the upright circle feature. You can't see it in the photo, but I also inked the edges of the mat and the circles with light blue Studio G ink that I got for one whole dollar! Studio G is awesome!

Well, that's all for now. I'm hoping to finish a layout of the boys first photo session at home together today! I'm going to use the same photos in both of their albums, so I think I'll just do the same layout twice, then I can move on to something else! I'm hoping to post something later today or tomorrow, but if I don't get time to, I hope you all have a wonderful weekend! The four of us are having a quiet family day at home tomorrow, then on Sunday, Jamie and I are heading to Kings Dominion for a nice grown-up day at the amusement park. ;) Thanks for stopping by!

Cousins

2008-09-05T05:25:00.000-07:00

Here is a layout of Aaron and one of his favorite people-his cousin Lexy. Sorry the photo is so bad-I have such a hard time getting a decent pic in this house! Everything looks crooked, but its not in real life (I even double checked!), its just the way I had the page. The "cousins" paper was from Reminisce-I just LOVE their papers! They're one of my favorite companies! I also used my threading water punch for the very first time! YAY! The letters are Scrappy Cat Stamps that I got from M's the other day for $2.99 plus 40% off! What a deal!

Four wheelin'!

2008-09-04T16:56:00.000-07:00

Well, now that the boys and I are in a routine, I've set a goal of completing 5 layouts a week. So far, I've done 5 in 3 days, so I'm pretty happy with myself! Here is one I completed last night of Aaron and my granddaddy taking a ride on the 4 wheeler! The paper and the stickers are all Karen Foster. I wish you could see it better, but there is a large tire sticker at the bottom which is super cute. The rub ons are from TLC. I also added a few brads to the stickers.
I finished 2 other pages today, but I will wait until tomorrow to show them! Aaron and my hubby have overtaken our television to watch the Giants game, so I am taking advantage of this to go to bed early, curl up in my pjs and watch a movie! Hope you all had a wonderful day, and thanks so much for stopping by!!

"The Stork"

2008-09-02T07:25:00.001-07:00

My very best friend ordered us a stork for the first week Alex was home. Isn't he cute?! Unfortunately Alex didn't come home when he was supposed to, and we were only able to take one picture all together, the night before they took the cute guy down. I wish we had gotten a better photo, because it was getting dark and its just not a good pic! But I guess it will have to do. :) So here is the layout I made. The paper is Pebbles Inc. I love the colors! I used OA for my title (although I need to do something extra to it because its kind of blending in a bit). My little stork is Jolees, and I ticket punched my pic and mat.

Having a relaxing day at home today. YAY! Have been trying to redo the boys rooms, so I'm going to work on that and clean the house a little. Hopefully will spend some time in my scrap room later if I can get Aaron to nap when Alex does! :) We'll see! Thanks for stopping by!

Some NICU pages!

2008-09-01T19:46:00.000-07:00

Here is a layout I did from Alex's time in the NICU. I used this ADORABLE Imaginisce line called Baby Powder. I got it at the Great American Scrapbook Convention this summer. Isn't it cute? :) I used my Cricut Opposites Attract cart for the title. You can't see it very well, but the chipboard sticker on the 2nd page is very glittery and says Baby Boy. I got it a few days ago with my awesome 40% off my entire purchase at M's! It was the best shopping trip ever! I also added some dyed skittles so my layout wasn't too plain. With 2 boys photos to scrap, plus trying to catch up on other things, my layouts tend to be pretty simple nowadays.
That's all for now. I'm hoping to get some more pages done this week. I was all caught up for a while, now I'm about 3 months behind on Aaron's album, and I only have 4 pages done in Alex's! Thanks for stopping by! Have a great day!

I know, I'm slacking...

2008-08-26T10:45:00.000-07:00

Sorry I haven't updated in a while-thanks for the reminder Carol! :) We are all doing great here. Life is wonderful. We are so incredibly blessed. Alexander is growing more and more. He is around 6 pounds now, and will be 6 weeks old tomorrow! He's still in preemie clothes though, and probably won't make it to 0-3 months clothing for about another month! He is the sweetest baby. If I didn't have a house to run and a crazy 2 year old, I would just cuddle with Alex all day! Here's some new pics of the little man:

He looks really big here, but he's not! I guess its just because I was so close with the camera! Aaron just adores him. He wants to be wherever he is-he even goes and sits in the rocker in Alex's room when I'm putting Alex in bed. I have to carry him out because he won't leave! He just wants to sit there and be his protector. He's the best big brother in the whole world. :)Why is my kid always naked??!! In all of my pictures he has no clothes on! He always manages to get out of whatever outfit I put him in, although I don't know how. Maybe he's going to be a magician when he grows up. ;)

Here is one of the thank you cards I made for all of my wonderful friends and family who helped us out with Aaron, gave us gifts, and brought us food while I was recovering. I used one of my new Rachelle Anne Miller stamps that my hubby got me for my birthday-how cute are those turtles?! I colored them with colored pencils and used my OMS. I used my Tiny Bubbles Cuttlebug folder, my ticket punch, Stickles, sheer white ribbon with eyelets, and my patterned paper is TLC. On the inside I used a "Thank You" Heidi Swapp stamp. Very simple, which is what I needed since I had so many to make.

Thanks so much for stopping by. We're slowly getting in a routine here, so hopefully I will be back soon with some more creations! I have so many pics to scrap!

Alexander is home! :)

2008-08-13T07:10:00.001-07:00

After a LONG 22 days in the NICU, Alex came home last Thursday. We are SO happy to have him home! Life is perfect and I am so very blessed! We're getting into a routine, and everything is going great so far! Aaron LOVES him and is being the perfect big brother. If he can't see Alex, he walks around yelling "My baby, my baby" like he is missing! Being the protective older brother already! Alex had his first doctor's appointment yesterday and he is up to 5 whole pounds! The doctor said he is perfect, but we already knew that! :) I've even had some time to get some cleaning and crafting in! I've been making some thank you cards with my new Rachelle Anne Miller stamps! LOVE THEM! Jamie ordered me 5 for my birthday, plus some other goodies, so I'm a happy camper! Plus I made a few pages for Alex's scrapbook. Now I just need to take some pictures, but the camera is charging so that will have to wait. So I will leave you with this picture of my little man sleeping. Thanks for stopping by!

A few new pics of Alexander

2008-07-28T06:02:00.000-07:00

Thought I'd share a few new pics with you guys. Alex is getting stronger everyday. I haven't gotten his weight for today, but yesterday he was at 3 pounds, 15.9 ounces. He will be 2 weeks old on Wednesday, and this has probably been the longest 2 weeks of my life. I just can't wait to get him home. I will be so glad when I don't have to drive 30 minutes to the hospital! When he comes home, him, Aaron, and myself are staying inside for a month just to recover from all of this!! Anyway, here are some pictures of the little cutie. :)

Here he is smiling at me!!
If you look really close you can see him smiling. He was awake, too (which is rare!), but I happened to take the picture in the middle of him blinking!

Here's the handsome little man sleeping.

Thanks to everyone for all of your kind words and prayers. Having a child in the hospital isn't the easiest thing I've ever done, but it will be over soon and he will be home where he belongs! I am so anxious for Aaron to meet Alex I can hardly stand it! I wish he could see him in the hospital, but you have to be three to go into the NICU, so Aaron is about 8 months too young. :(

Hope all of my bloggin' buddies are doing great! I'm going to try to scrap some pictures this week when I have time-can't waste time and get behind now that I have TWO handsome men to scrap! I'll be sure to share them when I get done. Thanks for stopping in!

Pic of Alex

2008-07-22T06:48:00.000-07:00

Here's a pic of Alexander right after he was born. Its hard getting decent pictures of him in the incubator, but I'm hoping to get some good ones today. And even though he looks nothing like this now, here's the pic. :)

Update: Here's two from today! I look horrid, but I am still recovering! :)

Baby Alex is here!!!

2008-07-21T07:43:00.000-07:00

Just wanted to let everyone know that Alex is here! I'll give you all the details really quick, then I'm going back to bed. :) So, I started feeling kinda bad last Monday, and then on Wednesday I woke up and was bleeding. So my mom came and drove me to the hospital and Jamie met us there. It turns out I had toxemia, and my blood pressure was insanely high. So I had to have an emergency c-section, which is the one thing I didn't want! We got to the hospital around 10:30, and at 1:21pm, Alex made his entrance into the world. He was screaming and flailing around and perfect. He's so stinkin' cute! He was born at 3 pounds, 10 ounces and was almost 17 inches long. He's been in the NICU ever since, but he's doing really good. He had a little jaundice, but that is gone now. And last night they took him off his IV fluids which is awesome! He is doing great with his feedings, and hopefully they'll be able to take him off his feeding tube soon. He is so handsome. I can't wait for him to come home. But its probably better that he is being well taken care of there, because I am not handling this c-section well! I can't believe how badly it hurts! Its been 5 days and I still feel like death! Aaron doesn't understand what is going on. Why can't he jump on me to give me hugs like he always has?!?! He came almost everyday to see me at the hospital, but he is very confused. And he's too young to go in the NICU to see Alex which stinks. He's going to be mighty surprised when I bring a baby home! So thats all for now, just wanted to let everyone know that Alex is here and happy and healthy, just tiny! I will hopefully post some pics of the handsome little man later, so be on the lookout!

Taking a vacation...

2008-07-01T15:26:00.000-07:00

Just wanted to let you guys know I probably won't be around for a while. Not getting any new crafting done to show off anyways! I spent yet another night in the hospital, but still no baby, thank goodness! I hope you are all enjoying your summer, and I can't wait to share pics of Alex when he gets here! Take care!

Great American Scrapbook Convention!

2008-06-22T04:31:00.000-07:00

Well, its been 2 days since the GASC, and I think I've finally recuperated enough to share some pics and my recap! So first, here are some pics of some of my yummy goodies! This is a long post-sorry!
These were some of my favorite things of the day! The Maya Road train album is going to be turned into Aaron's counting book! (If you don't already know-he's into trains BIG TIME now!) I got 2 new Cuttlebug folders-the Tiny Bubbles and the Floral Fantasy! The Jolees are hard to see, but the one is a little red tricycle that looks exactly like Aaron's little Radio Flyer trike, then there is one that says "Boys and their Toys", and one that says "Little Brother"! (I already found "Big Brother" a few weeks ago!) The Deluxe Cut of the Exersaucer looks exactly like ours, so I had to get it for baby Alex! And the dragon/knight Sandylion stickers were one of the few things I was looking for, and I found them! YAY!

Ok, these were some things I got at the DollarScrapbooking booth. Lots of Bazzill stuff-the large blue brads, those adorable felt brads, the flower brads, the crocheted flowers, and the black chipboard alpha. Also got some Karen Foster Loopy Brads and Bug Brads, and a couple other odds and ends! By far my favorite booth!! Who can go wrong with stuff for a dollar??

And here are the stamps I bought! There were only 2 things I was looking for in the entire convention-those Sandylion stickers, and these Imaginisce penguin stamps! I was 2 for 2! Yay! I also got the popsicles because they looked so yummy! I bought 4 Heidi Swapp stamps-cherish, baby, cute, and delight. They were at the DollarScrapbooking booth! I got the large MM foam stamps for a project for the boys that I am working on, and they were only $5! But my best purchase of the day were the Karen Foster snap stamps for $2 each!! Can you believe that?! So I only spent $17 on all of these! I am a happy camper!

All in all, the convention was definitely worth it. It wasn't as good as the Creating Keepsakes Convention we went to last year, and if I had to choose, I would go to CKC over the GASC anytime! But this one was close to home, so we were able to make it a day trip which was nice. My class was great! A Quick Quotes class where we got enough supplies to do 4 layouts and a few little extra projects! I LOVE Quick Quotes classes! We got a free Quick Quote for taking the class, and I got this really funny one about potty training! I think Jill and I both liked the Chantilly LSS better than the convention though! She spent more at the store than at the hundreds of vendors! I can't think of the name-I think it was Scrapbooks N More but I may be wrong-but the store is GREAT. If you live locally you should make it a point to visit! They had a really large selection of EVERYTHING. Their baby/kid stuff made me very happy! They have gorgeous papers too. I LOVE paper! :) They have a huge crop room, and a place for the kids to play as well. Plus they were at the convention handing coupons out, so we got 10% off our entire purchase at the store! All the employees were very nice and knowledgeable as well. Two thumbs up!

So that is my recap. I'm sure I forgot something, but thats ok, I will remember later. :) Oh, the Skinny Cow ice cream was delicious as always! Its been a great weekend so far. First the GASC, then yesterday my mom and I set some things out a friends community yard sale. We made a more money than we ever have at home-enough to make up for my shopping trip!-and we even shopped a little. I didn't go far because I didn't want to overdue it. Wish I could've went through the whole thing, I bet I would've gotten a lot of good stuff! I stopped at one and almost didn't get out, but when I did-JACKPOT! Turns out the lady is a manager at Michael's, and when they change seasons, all of the $1 stuff goes on clearance for 50 cents, and whatever doesn't sell, they get to take! So she had bins and bins of M's $1 stuff for 10 cents each! I spent $3 and bought all of this ribbon, plus a bunch of things to alter! (Sorry for the bad pic!) Then at the next sale I stopped at, I FINALLY found Aaron a Thomas train track. I found one last month at a yard sale, and they wanted $50. YIKES! This one was marked $4, but the woman was feeling generous and told me to take it for $2! No complaints from me! I would've paid $10. ;) I also got a train table freecycled to me from the message board, so now Aaron has an awesome table and Thomas track, and the whole thing cost me TWO BUCKS! Can you tell how happy I am??!!

Well, this is probably the longest post ever, and I feel guilty for not having any work to share! After this weekend I will probably stay in bed all week and not move! I feel really, really good though, and haven't had anymore new problems with baby Alex-for now. I'm nesting REALLY badly right now. I wake up in the middle of the night and think, oh, I should clean the fridge, or scrub the floors! So far I haven't gotten up to do any of that, but the urge is there. I am almost finished with Alex's room, so it should be all ready when he gets here! I really am feeling good. I really think I was just overdoing it with work and Aaron and everything. Now that I've been resting so much, I feel like Superwoman! I'm even hoping to craft some this week! I bought all these new goodies, I just can't wait to use them! So that's all for now. I hope you all are having a great weekend! Thanks for stopping by, and I hope to be back soon with something new! Have a great day! :)

P.S. Not sure why all of my paragraphs are running together-it won't let me fix it. Sorry!

I've been tagged! (YAY! Something to do!)

2008-06-19T17:05:00.001-07:00

The wonderfully talented Tomi Ann has tagged me on her blog! That means I have something to occupy my time for a few minutes! I am so stinkin' bored! I've really been trying to take it easy this week so I can have a nice, stress-free day tomorrow at the Great American Scrapbook Convention! I am so excited. I've been cooped up here for too long! I just can't wait to get out and do something other than sitting home!! Anway, here goes!

The rules of the game: Each player answers the questions themselves. At the end of the post the player then tags 5-6 people and posts their names, then goes to their blogs and leaves them a comment letting them know that they've been tagged and asking them to read your blog. Let the person who tagged you know when you've posted your answers.

Ten years ago....
1.I was almost a freshman in high school!
2.I was a cheerleader...
3.I was very heavily involved with my church youth group.
4.I was also in a neighborhood group that cleaned up trash, etc. We even had our own club house in the woods behind my house!
5.My miracle baby brother was about to turn 1! (He'll be 11 in 2 weeks!)

Five things on today's "to do list"
1. Pack my supplies and things for the GASC tomorrow! :) DONE!!!
2. Load the dishwasher-Did it! YAY!
3. (The rest are things that NEED done, but I won't be doing them!) The bathrooms need cleaned.
4. My monster needs a bath, but that is Daddy time now since I can't really give him a bath right now. :(
5. The floors need scrubbed. No way I'm doing that!

Snacks I enjoy-(I could go on forever with this one!)
1.French fries
2.Gibbles Barbeque Chips
3.Ice Cream Sandwiches
4.Dairy Queen ice cream :)
5.Hamburgers-I know thats not a snack, but its my BIG craving!

Things I would do if I was a millionaire
1.Pay off all of our debts!
2.Pay off our house and car.
3.Give my grandparents whatever they needed so my beloved Granddaddy could finally retire.
4.Put enough money away so my kids could finish college!
5.I would become a full-time scrapbooker! :)

Places I have lived
1.That's an easy one! I've only ever lived in beautiful West Virginia! :)

Ahhh, thanks Tomi Ann for giving me something to do for a few minutes. :) I'm going to tag: MY Other Becky :), Veronica, Carol, Angel, and Rita! If you got this far, thanks for reading!

Also, check out Caz's blog-she's offering some great blog candy!.

Thanks for stopping by! Have a great day! Will be back this weekend to post my goodies from the convention! :)

Some great blog candy!

2008-06-18T04:01:00.000-07:00

I have 2 sites to share with you where there is some yummy blog candy right now! Not to mention these 2 ladies do really gorgeous work!

The first happens to be a real life friend and HappyScrappers buddy, and she is one of the most talented paper crafters I've ever seen! Her name is Veronica, so click the link and check out her amazing work!

The second blog is Hopefully Heather's Stuff. As you all know I have LOTS of free time on my hands, and I just stumbled onto her blog while I was surfing! Her cards are beautiful, and I'm in complete envy of her stamps! :) Go check her out!

That's all for now, just wanted to share those 2 great sites with you! Hope you're all having a great week! I'm trying to rest so I can save my energy for the Great American Scrapbook Convention in TWO DAYS! YAY! Thanks for stopping by!

Taking it easy!

2008-06-11T10:08:00.000-07:00

Still no new work to share. :( I thought I would be going scrappin' crazy now that I am home, but mostly I just lay around being lazy! I'm not really lazy, just exhausted. I really don't feel like its going to be much longer. I look for Alex to be here by the beginning of July. I am really just trying to take it easy so I don't miss the Great American Scrapbook Convention next Friday! I signed up to take 1 class this year-a Quick Quotes kid layout class-but I am most excited of course for the SHOPPING! I am hoping to come back with all the boy stuff they have available, plus maybe a new stamp or two! (Or five!!) So that is all that's been going on. Hopefully Alex will stay in my belly until next week, and I will be back then (if not before) with an update on the show! Have a great week! Thanks for stopping by!

I love pictures of Aaron :)

2008-05-31T17:40:00.000-07:00

I feel like I actually got something accomplished "craft-wise" today! What a great feeling! I ended up completing these 3 scrapbook pages plus a few cards that I'm saving to show you another day. So its been a pretty great day for me! (Plus I got a really long, wonderful nap in, which is probably the only reason I had energy to scrap!)

I took these pictures of Aaron tonight while we were having dinner just so I could do a page like this! We had spaghetti, which he is not a fan of, so I got some happy pictures and a few mad pictures! I cut all of the pictures down to 3.5 inches square. All of the paper, patterned and solid, is American Crafts that I bought last summer at CKU. The letters are Making Memories Heidi rub-ons in small and large. I love this page! It may go in a frame for a little while before it goes in his album. I just love all of his different, perfect little faces-even the mad ones!
This is one of my favorite pictures EVER, so I didn't want to put much on the page that would distract from the picture. We went to my grandparents for a cookout on Memorial Day, and this is Aaron and my Granddaddy grilling together! (I wish you could see more of Aaron's grill-it is so cute! Has all kinds of foods and utensils, plus it lights up and makes noise like a real grill! One of my favorite yard sale finds so far this year!) Anyway, the papers are both Bo Bunny, and I cut "Lean Mean Grillin' Machines" with my new Opposites Attract Cricut cart!

Here is a page that's been setting at my table half-done for a month or two. It needed something but I could never figure out what! I think the paper is American Crafts, but I'm not sure. The ribbon is something I bought and never used for Aaron, and I pop-dotted Alex's name on top of it. The letters are All my Memories rub-ons. I added a "Little Boy Blue" Jolees tee at the top. Now I finally have 1 page done in Alex's album! Can't wait to add more! I really need to take some pregnant pictures, which is something I failed to do with Aaron. I better get to it because Alex will be here before I know it!

Well, that's all for now. Its about 9pm which means its way past my bed time! Hope you're all having a great weekend! It stormed here today so we stayed indoors all day, but tomorrow my in-laws are opening their pool and having a cookout, so I'm hoping to break out of the house to go visit and get some pics of Aaron in the pool! Thanks for stopping by!

Bed rest :(

2008-05-29T11:32:00.000-07:00

So I had my weekly check-up today, and was feeling pretty good at the time. No real contractions-just those annoying Braxton Hicks. I have felt like I'm getting the flu or something, but I haven't been feeling too bad. When I saw the doctor, they said I'm 2cm dilated, I'm anemic, I have a horrid sinus infection, I need to use my inhaler for my asthma again, and I am on bed rest. So I went from feeling pretty good to being completely scared and sad. It is way too early for Alex to come, and I just hope he will be born healthy. I feel like a failure. I don't understand why my body has been having such a hard time handling this entire pregnancy. So now here I am-can't work, can't give my son a bath or play or even pick him up, and I can't even get my baby's nursery ready. Financially, this is going to hurt us pretty bad. But what are we to do? I just don't know. I have no idea what Jamie and I will do if Alex isn't ok. I'm feeling pretty emotional! Just want to cry and cry. I'm so scared that he is going to come sooner rather than later.

On a happier note, maybe I will be able to catch up on Aaron's scrapbook and start a few pages for Alex. I'll just get a TV tray and move some of my scrappin' stuff into my bedroom! :) I have to do something to keep me sane.

Well, that's all for now, just wanted to let everyone know what's going on. Maybe when I get my strength up I will be able to make something with my new Changito, Busy Bees, and Penny Black stamps! That will make me feel better! Thanks for stopping by!

What do you guys think??

2008-05-21T15:23:00.000-07:00

Wow, 2 posts in 1 day! I was just wondering what you guys thought about this? I thought it might be helpful to get Aaron semi-introduced to a baby. So I bought him a doll today. I also bought a boy outfit for the doll! :) But I thought we could teach him some things with the doll before the baby gets here. You know, things like don't poke the baby in the eye, don't hit the baby, don't put the baby in the toilet. Lol. These are the things that Aaron will need to learn! :) My husband however, is having a cow that I bought our son a doll. The first thing Aaron did when I gave it to him was give him his bottle. It was so sweet! So, what do you think?

More time has flown by...

2008-05-21T06:43:00.000-07:00

I can't believe almost another week has passed since I've blogged! I've had all of this new stuff to show you, but boy I am really slacking! I'm a bad blogger! :( Sorry!

Here are some of the new goodies I bought when I took myself shopping to try and feel better! And guess what-it totally made me feel better! :) I got the new DCWV Summer Stack, some "skittles", some bling, really cool silver eyelets, some blue snap eyelets, and some adorable acrylic alphabet and number stamps. They were on clearance at M's and I got them for $3! Woo-hoo!
Next are some new stamp sets I bought! I got the "Thank you" and "Happy Birthday" Heidi Swapp stamps, the new Fiskars Sweet Pea set, and the cutest Penny Black set. Isn't it adorable?! I wish I could take a better picture-these are so cute! My favorite is the fat cat in the top at the top!!

Next is some of my yard sale goodies from the past few weeks. I am in love with yard sales! As you can see, I only end up buying things for the boys, but that is ok! It makes me happy! I've gotten a ton of cute clothes this year for both boys, plus I got Aaron a pair of Thomas snow boots (that he's been wearing around the house!), Alex got a pair of brand new baseball booties, plus I got that adorable shelf for his room for only $10. Aaron also got a booster seat, a singing and dancing Pablo from the Backyardigans (for $0.50, can you believe that?!), a Diego counting game, a Lightning McQueen car and a few other things. Alex got an Elmo and cookie monster giggle ball, a light-up stacker that sings, and a talking baby Elmo. For all of this I spent about $21.00. Everything is in perfect condition too, otherwise, I don't buy it. Not bad, huh?!

Here is one of the cards I made for Mother's Day. Sorry its so blurry. I used Deja Views patterned paper for the background and for the flowers that I detail cut. They are also pop dotted. The black mat is Cuttlebugged with the Swiss Dots folder, and I stamped "Happy Mothers Day" with MME acrylic alpha stamps. I also added some sheer white ribbon and some bling of course! I made this card with different alterations for my grandma, my mom, and my mom-in-law!

Finally, here is the completed potty page I've worked on for weeks! Its terribly simple of course, but that is ok. I just want to keep caught up since I'll soon have 2 albums to scrap! The paper I used is Karen Foster, the letters are Cricut Zooballoo, the yellow mat was Cuttlebugged with Swiss Dots, then the edges were inked with blue and I dabbed it on the dots as well! I did the journaling on the computer, then tied a piece of rapphia around the bottom. That is one cute potty trainer! :)

And my last picture for the day-I came home to a dozen beautiful roses yesterday! Aren't they gorgeous? The photo does them no justice-they are so pretty! There are white, light pink, dark pink, a gorgeous pinkish-red, and some yellow ones. Jamie said Aaron helped him pick them out, and Aaron picked the yellow! (Its the only color he knows!) A very nice surprise after a long, stressful day!

Well, that is all for now. I have today and tomorrow off-YAY!- so I am spending the day with my main man! This morning we went and had breakfast at Shoney's with my Grandma, and now we are just relaxing. I am hoping to clean a little, plus work on Alex's room a little more. Then when Aaron takes his nap, I'm going to play in my scrap room! I hope you're all having a wonderful week! Thanks for stopping by!

Another stressful week!

2008-05-16T12:18:00.001-07:00

After 2 nights in a row of no sleep and feeling pretty horrid, I ended up in the ER the other night. Half of it is a blur now but I just remember being in so much pain and crying my eyes out. I didn't want to go anywhere since it was about midnight, but I finally decided to go just to check things out. When I got there and they hooked me up to all the wonderful machines, I was having contractions every 3 minutes. Then I kind of freaked out a bit. I was so scared my entire body was shaking from head to toe. Luckily they were able to give me something to stop the labor; I just thank God that I went to the hospital when I did! I had this nurse though that could not put an IV in at all. She ended up blowing 2 of my veins and now 2 days later my right hand is all black and blue and hurts so bad! Plus she tried to put the IV in down near my wrist, which is a really nasty place to stick a needle in! That hurt worse than the contractions and the back pain. I honestly almost passed out! Anyway, Alex is perfect though, so that's all that matters. I am way beyond stressed out and exhausted though. Feeling a bit better today, just really tired. My mind is at ease (at least for the time being) because they were able to do a test that will tell whether or not I'm going to go into labor within the next 2 weeks, and it came back negative. I can't believe they can find that out through a little test! But at least I can rest easy-for the next 2 weeks anyway! So I am resting at home for the weekend, then going back to work and life on Monday. I've had a few nasty contractions today, but I think they are just those stupid Braxton Hicks. I just want the rest of this pregnancy to be drama free!!

That's about all for now, I'm going to go lay down and enjoy the peace and quiet while my little monster isn't here! Poor thing doesn't understand what is going on and doesn't want to leave my side! I just hate that I can't pick him up all the time. Poor little guy is going to be so jealous of Alex! I've felt so guilty lately I've been buying him new toys or movies or making him special snacks! I hope he doesn't get used to it. :) I just feel so bad for all the changes! I know he won't mind in a few years though when he and Alex are best friends, and they'll always have someone to play with!!

I have some new things to show you later when I get the energy! Made some pretty cute cards for Mother's Day, plus I finally finished Aaron's potty layout! Also bought myself some new goodies the other day to make myself feel better! :) Hope you are all well, and thanks for stopping by!

Just a quick update....

2008-05-08T14:00:00.000-07:00

Just wanted to let everyone know what's going on since I don't have energy to respond to so many messages and emails! I went to see the doctor yesterday because I've been having some problems and haven't been feeling the greatest. Turns out my body has already started to get ready for the birth of little Alex, which is about 3 months too early. So I am now on bed rest until I go back to see the doctor next week. If things are the same, I am off bed rest. If things have progressed more, I'm on bed rest for the rest of this pregnancy. Which I certainly don't want, nor do I want Alex to be premature. So I've had a HUGE reality check and realize I'm not Superwoman, and I will no longer try to be. Last week I worked 6 days straight, Aaron was up 2 nights straight so I got NO SLEEP, plus I spent 3 hours at the doctor with him. Then on Sunday I cleaned and did some things in the baby's room, then worked all day Monday and Tuesday. So I now know that I can't do everything for everyone and I can't feel bad about that. I will do what I can do but not at the expense of mine and Alex's health. So you may not see me around for awhile. But I am ok, so no need to worry! I have a laptop and lots of magazines and books! I'm bored already, but nothing compared to how bored I will be if I am on bed rest for more than a week! So thanks for all the thoughts and prayers-we really appreciate it!

FINALLY! New stuff! :)

2008-04-30T05:27:00.000-07:00

Ok, its been way too long since I've posted some new stuff! SORRY! So far our week here has been going good. Nothing much out of the ordinary. Potty training is still fun... ;) I found some Thomas the Tank undies, so I'm going to get them today to help entice Aaron to use the potty more! I am tired as usual, so that's nothing new! I work Monday-Saturday this week. So Sunday I will go to church then probably just REST! I'm hoping to at least get Aaron's potty page scrapped! Next week I have my 6 month check-up for Alex plus I'm having a HUGE yard sale!! Really trying to get the house ready for Alex, so we have lots of stuff that needs to go! Plus a few extra dollars in my pocket can't hurt anything! We have pretty much all of the "big" stuff for the baby, but we do need to get a new playpen because ours was ruined when Aaron's old babysitters house caught on fire. So hopefully I will make enough money to get a new one! Really getting excited to meet Alex, but August seems so far away!

Here are some new goodies I've gotten recently. I didn't need anything new, but I've been a little emotional lately with all these crazy pregnant hormones, and shopping does make me feel better! :) I got a cute little baby boy paper pack in the $1 bin at Target. I got the tinsel ribbon and the 5 ribbon spools at our local ribbon outlet for 10 cents each! The 2 packs of American Crafts ribbon and rub on letters came from Big Lots for $2 each! I finally got the Swiss Dots Cuttlebug folder and the My Community cart I've been aching for from Custom Crops! CAN'T WAIT to get some crafting done with it!

At Happy Scrappers this past Saturday, we all brought some craft items and had a yard sale! It was great! I got a few magazines for a quarter, a really neat clip art book, and the cutest SU! set called "Rainy Days". I wasn't feeling the best that day, so I only stayed a few hours, but they were a great few hours! I love getting together with the girls for the day! Such a nice vacation from life!
Here are a few layouts I made 2 weekends ago. Got to scrap Aaron's birthday pages which was fun. Can't believe my sweet pea is 2! We didn't have a big party this year because I haven't felt well, plus Jamie's grandmother passed away 2 days before Aaron's birthday, so we didn't really feel much like a party. We did get him a cake though and shared it with my grandparents! He also got lots of presents since he's SPOILED ROTTEN!!

Supplies: Patterned paper, circle stickers, present and cake stickers-Pebbles Inc.; "Aaron is"-K&Co. chipboard; Birthday Boy-My Minds Eye; Striped and polka dot ribbon-American Crafts; 2 cut with Zooballoo cart and embossed with Mosaic Cuttlebog die.

This was another page I did a few weekends ago. VERY simple, but that's ok! These were the pics of the kids with the Easter Bunny, which was Aaron's first time meeting him!

Supplies: Cardstock; American Crafts blue rub on letters; Patterned paper-Doodlebug; Circle cut with George; Bunny cut with Doodlecharms; miscellaneous ribbon; Prima stack with a MM crystal brad in the center.

These last 2 layouts were done this past weekend at HappyScrappers! I finally scrapped these pictures from our visit to a local zoo last summer!

Supplies: Grass paper-Karen Foster, pop dots, Zoo die cuts-Reminisce (I think!).

These are the pics from my little monster when he snuck into the donuts a few months ago!

Supplies: Paper (says "I can sometimes resist temptaion, but never mischief!)-Reminisce, Letter stickers-TLC. Left that blank space towards the bottom for journaling!

Well that's all of my new stuff for now. I am hoping to scrap a little this weekend, plus I want to start on my new project-the table I took all of these photos on. It was a yard sale special! It is all wood with 2 chairs. The woman was handpainting it but never got finished. So I am going to redo it. Think I'm going to do it in primary colors and Modge Podge some cuts from my new cartridge on it! Trains, planes, cars, and trucks. Then I'm going to put Aaron's name on one chair and Alex's on the other! Can't wait to start on it! Will post pictures of my progress! Hope you're all having a GREAT week! Thanks for stopping by to visit!

BIG NEWS!!!

2008-04-27T06:18:00.000-07:00

I'm know this isn't near as exciting to anyone else as it is to me, but Aaron peed in his potty this morning! We've been talking to him about it for a little while, and I finally got his potty set up today, and he sat down for a few minutes and said "Mommy, I pee". He said it so matter-of-factly I didn't believe him, but he did! I ran around the house with him for about 5 minutes!! Then I called my entire family of course. I am just so thrilled and plan on scrapping this picture this afternoon!! :)
I'm so nuts about this kid! I am off to get ready for church, but I will be back later to post a few layouts I made last weekend, some recently purchased goodies, and a recap on HappyScrappers yesterday! Hope you all have a great day!

Yummy candy on Lim's Blog!

2008-04-18T05:15:00.000-07:00

Hey guys-
Go check out Lim's blog for some delicious blog candy! Also check out the rest of her blog-her work is amazing!

Sorry for not being around...

2008-04-15T04:25:00.000-07:00

Just wanted to update you guys since I haven't posted in a little while. Life has been so crazy. Last week my husband's grandmother passed away. As hard as that was, I believe she is happy and healthy and in a much better place now. If you go back a few posts you can see a layout titled "Aaron and Oma" and that is her.

Last week was also my little monsters 2nd birthday. I feel like he was just born, and now here he is two years old with a baby brother on the way. I can't believe it. Needless to say his birthday plans changed since Oma passed 2 days before his birthday, but we did get him a cake and spent some time with my grandparents opening presents. He got a ton of clothes, which was the only thing he really needed. So now his closet is overflowing! Jamie and I got him the Bee Movie, and he's been watching it everyday! This weekend he will get to see more family and get more presents, so I'm sure he'll be thrilled. Not that he needs anything-he is so spoiled rotten. But that is all for now. Have to go to work-its my 2nd day out of 6 straight-I am so tired. Just wanted to let you all know I am still here, just getting huge and tired! Also wanted to share a pic of Aaron! :) If I will be back to post some new layouts after HappyScrappers next weekend! Thanks for stopping by!

Bargain shopping!! WOO HOO!!!

2008-04-06T05:18:00.000-07:00

Ok, so I had to work all day yesterday-which was my 6th day straight-and I decided to make myself feel better by indulging in a little retail therapy! My first stop was KMart because they were having this huge sale, and I got some outfits for Alex! :) I only paid $1-3 for them! The two 3-piece outfits are fleece, so they'll be perfect for this fall, and I LOVE the little onesie that says "Stunt Man" on it! Too cute!
My next stop was ACMoore because they had all of their Cricut carts on sale! This was the main reason for going out last night because I really want Opposites Attract or My Community. Of course they had none when I got there! But they did give me a rain check. I only ended up getting a DCWV mat stack for my cards there. So I was a bit depressed that I didn't get to spend any money! But then I remembered my mom told me that Ollies bought a bunch of scrapbook stuff, so I thought I'd swing by and see what they had! (BTW, Ollies is like this huge bargain outlet, kind of like Big Lots, but cheaper!) They had so much great stuff! Look at the 2 albums I got!

They are both Just Jinger and were $5.99 a piece! I've been looking for a new album for Aaron because I've been getting a new one every year since his scrapbooks fill up so quick! And his birthday is on Thursday, so its time for a new one! I love how this album opens in the middle! Its cute and cheap-how could I go wrong!

I also got 2 packs of acrylic stamps-one with words and the other is winter. Guess how much they were?? 99 CENTS!!!

Here's most of the little embellies I bought. I got 2 K&Co. glitter rub ons ($1.99), 2 packs of fibers ($1.99), and all the other embellies were only 99 cents! (Except my mat stack of course!) I got 2 really cute pregnancy embellishments, one is a little pregnant woman in a hat, and the other has little feet on a scale and says "Worth the weight!". They also had lots of Jolees for only 99 cents. I could've bought everything!

Well, I guess that's all for now. Just wanted to show someone who would understand all of the fun things I bought! I tried to show my husband and he said I was talking Greek to him! I hope you all had a great week and an even better weekend! I will be home cleaning after church and getting ready for our yard sale next weekend, and I'm hoping to scrap a little! Wish me luck! Thanks for stopping by!

Anybody have any scrappin' trips coming up?

2008-04-03T07:45:00.000-07:00

I was just wondering if any of my blogging buddies have any fun scrappin' things coming up?! I have LOTS! First off I'm going to a HUGE scrapbook yard sale about an hour and a half away at the end of the month! I am so excited! I went last year and LOVED it and got some great deals, so I can't wait! It is in a huge indoor fairground building, and I can't wait to see what "treasures" I find this year! Secondly, my very good friend Jill and I are planning to take a 2 day mini road trip to all of the scrapbook stores within about a 3 hour radius. Its going to be awesome and a much needed vacation, even if its just for 1 night! Hopefully we'll be able to go in May or June, because I'd hate to go into labor while I'm out of town! And last but not least, I am all registered for the Great American Scrapbook Convention coming up in June! Last year I was lucky enough to spend 3 days at the Creating Keepsakes Convention, and it was a blast! This year we'll only be going for 1 day, and I'm only taking 1 class (a kid class of course!) but I can't wait to go shop all the goodies!! I've already started saving up for all my fun trips coming up! So do any of you have anything fun coming up?!

Stupid camera....

2008-03-30T07:21:00.000-07:00

Well, I had some new things to show you, but my camera totally freaked out and won't upload anything to my computer. Not sure what is wrong with it. And hubby is still not feeling well so he's in bed and can't help me. :( He stayed the night at the hospital Friday for his sleep test-he has sleep apnea. I am hoping that the machine they are giving him will make him stop snoring!! Anyway, I hopefully will be able to show you some of my work soon! Finished a few layouts of Aaron, plus I did Alex's ultrasound photo! I'm hoping to do a few layouts from Easter today, but we will see.

I hit up the first yard sales of the season yesterday!! SO EXCITING! I went out looking for clothes for both boys, a jumperoo, maternity clothes, an outside swing for Aaron, and any other odds and ends for Aaron and Alex. We ended up going to 6 yard sales, and only 2 of them were any good. One had a huge sign that said "GIANT YARD SALE" on it, and when we got there she had one table of junk set up. Seriously, her sign was just as big as her whole yard sale, lol. But I did end up finding a Jumperoo! I was so excited! I've slowly been registering for things online for Alex's shower, and when I looked at the Jumperoos, they were $60-$90. So I knew that was something I wanted to find at a yard sale this year. I paid $15 for it. It is in great condition and much larger than I expected. We had the doorway jumper for Aaron, and I hated it. Didn't feel secure about it, plus it was always in the way, and it had Aaron in a really weird place. He couldn't see me or watch TV or anything. So I'm still happy about my find today! The lady that I got that from also gave me some maternity clothes! We have been talking on the freecycle board, and was just coincidence that she had a yard sale! I also picked up 10 pieces of clothes for the boys and paid $2! The guy was practically giving things away because his family was moving. And he had some great stuff. A lot of the bigger things we already had, or else I would've bought a lot more from him! But I got Aaron 3 pairs of shorts and 4 shirts (including a Curious George one that he carried around half the night), and I got Alex a shirt, an outfit, and a really cute hat. I love yard sales. :)

Well, that's about all for now. Missed church this morning because I had one of those Braxton Hicks contractions for about an hour. Hurt so bad I just laid on the couch. Aaron kept coming over and saying "Mommy crying?". I told him no, my belly just hurt. He's so sweet. I hope you all had a great weekend, and here's wishing you a wonderful upcoming week! Thanks for stopping by!

This will be a long one!

2008-03-22T14:04:00.000-07:00

My blog has really suffered lately! SORRY! As you can imagine, I am pretty physically and mentally exhausted. My new job is working me pretty hard, but its nothing I can't handle! I just feel like I haven't rested in weeks. Last week on my days off I spent one whole day visiting all of my doctors, and the other scrapping all day! Not that I'm complaining! Just tired. This week I have the weekend off, but I'm still not getting any rest! Today I cleaned for a bit, did some laundry, and by 10am I had acquired 2 extra kids and found myself at Walmart which is pretty hectic the day before a holiday! So we met the Easter Bunny-whom Aaron loved! If you talked to me at Christmas you know that he hated Santa, but he threw a fit when I tried to make him leave the Easter Bunny! He wrapped his arms around him and said "NO, MINE!". It was so cute. I love that kid. Look how adorable he is!

After that we went to my church egg hunt, which was pretty insane! There were only about 20-25 kids there, and they "hid" over 2700 eggs! This was Aaron's first egg hunt! He had so much fun. So did my baby brother David and my niece Lexy. They both got about 150 eggs each! Picking Aaron up and down and up and down and having him ram me in the stomach with his knees for an hour wasn't much fun though...Now he is finally napping and I'm down to one extra kid who is in a really nasty mood. Anyone know of a good vacation spot?! And please don't think I'm complaining-I LOVE my life! I'm just so very tired!! Anyways, here is a pic of my little man hoarding his eggs!

Well, as I said before I spent one day last week scrapping with my HappyScrappers buddies! I had so much fun and it was so nice to be out of the house (but not at work)! I had the best time and it was much needed. I completed 4 pages, plus I did 2 more that are 90% finished. Not bad, huh?! Here are 2 pages I finished. This first one is a picture of Aaron and my husband's grandmother. She hasn't been in the greatest health lately, so I really want to cherish the few pictures that we have of the two of them together! I believe the paper is Chatterbox, the small letters are TLC, and I can't think of what the big ones are! Very simple, but I like it!

This next photo was taken right after we moved into our new house. Aaron LOVED his new room and played so hard, he fell asleep on the floor! These papers are Quick Quotes-the collection is called Aron! :) The Sleepyhead is a Karen Foster Rub on, and the poem is something I found online! That is one cute kid!

One of my very favorite blogging buddies, Carol, is having blog candy for her birthday, (HAPPY BIRTHDAY CAROL!) and one of the rules is you have to post a current pic of yourself on your blog. Ughh. I hate pictures of me, especially when I'm pregnant and feel yucky! Anyways, here's my photo Carol! Not the best, but as I said, its been a long day and I feel pretty crappy! But here I am world!

Well, that's about it for now. Sorry to have written so much, guess I just needed to write to get some things off my mind! :) Hope you all have a wonderfully blessed Easter! I'll be starting with church at 7am and probably won't be home until 7pm! Another long day, but it looks to be a great one! Thanks for stopping in!

IT'S A......

2008-03-13T04:20:00.001-07:00

BOY!!!!! I thought for sure it was a girl, but boy was I wrong! Aaron is going to have a little brother! And I'm not as far along as they thought-I'm now due on August 25! I'm so glad to finally know! I'm extremely tired though and feel like I just never get a break! Thankfully I have this weekend off, so I'm going to relax! Thanks for stopping by, and hopefully I'll get the new ultrasound page done by this weekend so I can show you!

Probably won't be around for a few days....

2008-03-05T04:02:00.000-08:00

Hey all, just wanted to check in and let you guys know you might not hear from me for a few days! My new job is EXHAUSTING! I am working 8-9 hours a day Monday through Saturday this week. Its only Wednesday and I'm already pooped! Plus I wake up like clockwork at 5:30 am every morning, so I'm not getting a lot of sleep. I am hoping to do some crafting this weekend. I am definitely going stamp shopping Sunday, too! So hopefully I'll have something new to show you. I am FINALLY having my ultrasound next Wednesday, so be on the lookout for that news! Well, that's all for now, just wanted to let you guys know where I was! Have a good day! :)

Pray for me today!

2008-02-28T05:54:00.001-08:00

Everyone please pray for me today! Starting my new job! As you can see, I am procrastinating because I DO NOT want to leave! Aaron will be staying with my grandma today, then will be starting back at his sitter on Monday. I am going to miss him terribly. He is sitting on my lap right now. I just want to sit here all day! I am so very nervous, but excited that we will be able to get our lives back together. Well, I hope you have a great day, thank you so much for stopping by! You all make my day!

Card I made this morning!

2008-02-27T06:41:00.000-08:00

Here is a card that I made this morning for someone very special-my gma! Gonna sneak it in her mailbox later (since she lives next door) because I love her so. I'm kinda loving this card! :) The background is a paint sample! (Thanks to my Happy Scrappers buddies who shared this neat paint card idea with me!) I went to Lowe's yesterday for some WallPops and took a couple of these with me! These were so cool because they had 3 coordinating colors, plus the cute little cutouts at the bottom! And-they were free!! I couldn't tell you where the flower and ladybug stamps are from. Just found them in my stash. I colored them with SU! colored pencils and tried out my gamsol for the first time! I could use a little more practice, but I love this stuff! The flowers are Primas of course, plus a cute gingham brad in the middle! The wording in the sentiment says "This is the day that the Lord hath made, let us rejoice and be glad in it. -Psalms 118:24." This is a SU! stamp. The paper it is on is very shimmery, so I couldn't get a decent pic! Also went around the sentiment with pale pink shimmery chalk from my Pebbles Inc. set. Like I said, I am really loving this card! I've been thinking about adding a ribbon, but I might just leave it the way it is. What do you think?
Well, that's all for now. Today is my last day home with Aaron before I start my new job tomorrow. :( Going to miss him like crazy! So I am going to spend the rest of the day with him! I hope you have a great day, and thanks for stopping by!

What a good day so far!

2008-02-26T07:45:00.001-08:00

I'm feeling so good today! Got on some new medicine for my "all day" sickness and I am feeling great! Had to go to my new job today to get my final job offer, and I will be going this Thursday to orientation and starting on Monday! I called our babysitter who we haven't seen in 6 weeks, and she said she will gladly make room for Aaron, so that makes me happy! Aaron and I both really like her! Unfortunately had to call to cancel my ultrasound for this Thursday though, but I am going to rescedule as soon as I get my new schedule! Can't wait to find out if this is a boy or a girl!! Right now I am getting ready to clean, because I've really been slacking lately, and when Aaron takes a nap I am going to scrap!! So hopefully I will be back later to show you something new! Also going to clean up my room from VSBN so I can post some pics! Hope you're having a great day! Thanks for stopping by! :)

New goodies! :)

2008-02-25T15:16:00.001-08:00

Ok, first off, for all my hometown friends or anyone within driving distance to Winchester, VA-you have to go to the Studio Art Shop!! I was at Michael's the other day looking for gamsol which they didn't have of course, when this cute little lady mentioned this art store. I'd never heard of it, so this morning I gave them a call and asked if they had gamsol-which they did! I told her I wanted it for rubber stamping, and she said that they had a ton of rubber stamps and scrapbook supplies. I didn't really expect much, but I should have because this store is awesome! Not only do they have stamps, they have really, really cute stamps! They have the newest stamps by the best companies. And their scrapbook supplies were the same way! Their paper was great! I am just so very thrilled that I found this gem! I will be going there instead of Michael's from now on! Plus they're prices were great! Unfortunately I was on a bit of a budget today, plus I had to stop and get a prescription filled, but I did end up with some great things! I got my gamsol, a little pencil thing to apply it with, a new Stickles color that I didn't have, brads with bling, some great paper (won't that blue and green be perfect for Aaron's scrapbook?!), 2 packs of DCWV grosgrain ribbon, and a flower Coluzzle template! The ribbon and the Coluzzle flower were 50% off! I also stopped at Michaels before I went there and got 2 new Studio G stamp set-one is "You are my Sunshine" and the other is a cute little pregnant lady with stamps for a baby shower! I also got 4 wooden $1 stamps, "From the heart", flowers, a baby bottle, and a "Thanks" with hearts hanging down! Had a really great shopping day!
Well, that's all for now, no new crafty things to show you, but after I clean tomorrow I'm hoping to scrap some more since I did 4 new pages over the weekend! Now I'm on a roll!! Thanks so much for stopping by!

Didn't make it last night!

2008-02-24T08:45:00.000-08:00

Here is what I did for the VSBN American Idol challenge, where you had to do a layout about performing. That was great for me because I still had a pile of pics from when I took Aaron and Lexy to see The Wiggles in October! I made it until about 8:30 last night, so I ended up making this this morning! I saw a layout a few weeks ago with this cute square technique, so I was excited to finally try it out! Then after I finished it, there was a challenge called Hollywood Squares where you had to do a layout just like this! Oops! Oh well!

The patterned and the solid papers are all American Crafts. Really cute papers! I also used Making Memories rub-ons for the letters, a miscellaneous ribbon, pop dots, and Stickles! Pretty simple pages, but I like how they turned out! Also if you look at the bottom of the first page, you can see the first girl that Aaron ever danced with! :)

Well, that's all for now, hoping to do some more later if I can get the energy! Thanks for stopping by!

Virtual Scrapbook Night!

2008-02-23T17:09:00.001-08:00

Here is my first time doing a challenge at VSBN on Splitcoast! It was so much fun! The first challenge was "Re-Run" where you had to do a past challenge that you missed the first time around. The challenge I chose was "What color crayon are you?" and I am the color red! So I had to use red in my layout, which was great because I still have so much from Christmas! These pictures were from last year's breakfast with Santa! As you can see, Aaron didn't like Mrs. Claus, didn't care about Santa Claus, and did NOT want his picture taken! Not the best pics to work with but I still wanted to scrap them!
The patterned paper and the red strip of paper is from Bo Bunny. The "Breakfast with" are white AMM rub-ons. The "Santa" and the actual santa sticker are from Doodlebug, and I pop-dotted both of them. The "I Believe in Santa Claus" is a DCWV vellum quote. It is on white cardstock which I made a mini-book out of for journaling! I put a green eyelet in the side and tied it together with a fiber that looks like red tinsel!

Well, that is all for now. Was hoping to do some more challenges tonight but Aaron is being very clingy and I am getting tired! Thanks for stopping by!

Oh my-3 posts in 1 day!!

2008-02-22T15:46:00.000-08:00

Whoo-Hoo!! I've been busy today y'all!! Finally have a day where I'm feeling good! These are pics of Aaron, our niece Alexis, and our nephew Christian at Christmas this past year. (Also, if you'll notice in the pic the year in the circle says '08! OOPS! Luckily it was an easy fix-just a sticker-so it now says 07!)

I really like how this page turned out, even if the pic doesn't do it justice! I haven't done a layout in a few weeks, and I'm so happy that I've had a few hours to scrap! The paper I used is Bo Bunny Classic Christmas, and the ribbon, "Christmas" sticker, and 08 (now 07) stickers are from the same line! The circle is the '07 on a Daisy D's rub on circle that says "the magic of christmas" around it. I put the rub-on on vellum, which I mounted on a sheet of cardstock. I cut the circles with my Coluzzle. The vellum quote is from a DCWV Christmas Quote Stack and it says "Christmas Memories Live Forever in our Hearts". I also pop dotted everything that is matted cardstock! I love pop dots!!

Well, I think that will be all for today! I am hoping to take pics of my scrap room this weekend, but since I've been scrappin' today I need to clean my mess up first! :) Also, don't forget to stop by the VSBN tomorrow (see my earlier post) and get some work done! I'm so excited that my very talented friend Becky is going to be a part of this! Can't wait! Have a wonderful night!

Virtual Scrapbooking Night Preview Party.

2008-02-22T12:08:00.001-08:00

Hi everyone! I just wanted to let you know about the Splitcoast Stampers Virtual Scrapbooking Night Preview Party. One of my very good friends, Becky, has been selected as a hostess for one of the challenges, so I will surely be stopping in and trying some challenges out! Congrats Becky-you deserve it! The preview party is tomorrow evening which is part of the larger event that will be next weekend. The theme is "TV TALK" and all of the challenges will be somehow related to that theme. For more info, visit http://www.splitcoaststampers.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=93 I hope you guys can stop in! I've never done this before, so I am excited for tomorrow to come! :)

An Easter card!

2008-02-22T08:11:00.000-08:00

Hi everyone! Here is a card I made for Easter, will probably give it to my niece so it is so shiny and sparkly! Woke up in a card-making mood!
I Cuttlebug embossed the front of the card with the Spots and Dots folder. Then I went over each circle with Pebbles Inc. Irridescent chalks in orange, yellow, pink, blue, and green. The bunny is from the Cricut Stretch Your Imagination cart. I added google eyes, some pink bling for his nose, a rub on smile, a pink chalked pom pom, and I chalked his little ears! The patterned paper is Doodlebug, and I cut that and the yellow oval with the George cart. The sentiment is a Studio G $1 stamp that I got over the weekend. I tied a really cute purple stitched ribbon around the front, and added 3 flower rhinestones. I also pop dotted the bunny and the sentiment.I wish you could see the detail in this card! Especially the sparkly chalk! The bunny really stands out on the card, but in the pic it doesn't look the best!

Here is a pic of my sweet little innocent boy from yesterday. He got a few new movies yesterday so we were both in his room reorganizing his movies to make room, and he walked out. I followed him less than 30 seconds later. In that time he got the donuts OFF OF THE COUNTER, opened them, and had a white powdered mess everywhere! Luckily he had his Wiggles blanket on the couch from that morning, which is easily washable, so I didn't have too much of a mess to clean up on the couch! It was just so cute!

Well, that is all for now. I am hoping to take some pictures of my scrap room this weekend to show you! I've been working hard trying to get rid of some things and get everything organized! Hope you're having a great day, and stay warm!

Cross your fingers for me!

2008-02-20T06:00:00.000-08:00

I have a job interview this morning! After applying at so many places, I finally have an interview! I need this job so badly! If I don't get a job soon, we won't be able to buy this house, plus we have this new little one on the way! So please pray for me! Will be back later to show you some goodies I bought! :)

UPDATE: I got the job! Back to work in the pharmacy-should be starting next week!! Hopefully this will be the start of a change of luck for us!

I forgot about a blog candy I won...

2008-02-19T06:06:00.000-08:00

OOPS! I can't believe I forgot to show you guys the AWESOME blog candy I won last month! See, I told you I was slacking. The candy was on Zee's blog, and the winner could pick out whatever Lizzie Anne stamp set they wanted! I chose this one-Petite Phrases. Isn't it adorable? I haven't been able to make any cards with it yet, because the only card I've made in more than a month is the one I showed you guys a few days ago! I did stamp a few images and color them just for fun though! Isn't it a great set?!

Well, thats all for now. Aaron is napping and I am resting while watching some I Love Lucy episodes! Hope you're having a great day!

Super fast card!

2008-02-17T05:41:00.000-08:00

Oops, I forgot another birthday! Had to do this card in just a few minutes last night. Don't mind how it turned out considering it was so last minute. This is for my aunt, who's favorite color is purple and she LOVES flowers. I just used a scrap from the DCWV Pocket Full of Posies paper, a sheer ribbon that was 10 cents at the outlet, a prima, some bling, some Stickles, an a really old Hero Arts stamp that I've had and never used. I colored it in with my SU Pencils. (Fixed the ribbon too so its not crooked!) Also used some Studio G $1 stamps in the inside for the Happy Birthday! Sorry again for the bad pic!

I hope you all have a wonderful day! We are getting ready to go to church now, then my hubby is taking me to dinner and a movie for Valentine's Day! (I was sick on the actual day. And if that wasn't good enough, he's taking me on a shopping trip to Michael's and ACMoore! YAY! So maybe I'll have some new goodies to show off tomorrow! Thanks for stopping by!

A few altered items for my niece!

2008-02-16T03:53:00.000-08:00

Here are a few little altered items I made for my niece. I was going to give them to her for Valentines Day, but didn't get them ready in time. I am also going to cover a journal and a clipboard for her too! But that's another day!

The mailbox is from Target of course, and the other container is from a Krista Light container I think. (This one is for her pens/pencils!) I used DCWV Pocket Full of Posies paper for both of these. (BTW, has anyone seen the new DCWN Blossoms and Butterflies line?? SO CUTE-gotta have it!) They already had glitter on them, but I did add quite a bit of Stickles! The ribbon I used is great, isn't it? It is some sort of specialty ribbon that was sold at Target, but I got it at our ribbon outlet at a Christmas sale and got it for a penny!! ONE CENT! (I also got it in orange and purple!) On the side of the mail box I put her name in chipboard and added some bling! The flowers were Primas and some flowers from a $1 bag at Michaels! The bling is from Walmart! The whole pack was $2! The only thing I need to do is tie ribbon around the flag, but I have SO much ribbon I just couldn't bear to look through it! Maybe later! Sorry for the bad pics, it is just so dark in here today. I honestly took 20-30 pictures of both of these and this was the only one that worked. Do you think a girly little 6 year old will like these for her new "adult" desk?!
I've had another sick, sick week. One day I even had to have my grandma to take Aaron for the day because I couldn't even pick him up. And if you know me, you know I NEVER ask anyone to watch him, because I'm selfish and don't like to share him! :) I am feeling ok so far today. Unloaded the dishwasher and swept the kitchen and dining room before 6am! Later on Aaron and I will be making maracas out of water bottles with macaroni noodles and buttons and such! I need to start his crafting now while he is still young!! May even drive to Michaels or ACMoore later. I haven't left the house for more than a week. So maybe I will have something new to show you tomorrow-even if it is water bottle maracas! Have a great day! :)

What a slacker I am!

2008-02-10T05:18:00.000-08:00

I haven't done any crafting at all for a few weeks. I am really slacking! I am just too tired. Being pregnant with a toddler is hard enough, but when you never feel well, its pretty tough. I need to go make my husband a birthday card because I just realized I hadn't done it yet! Today is his birthday and I'm throwing a big family birthday dinner after church later on. Its my first time hosting a party of my own in my own home! I'm really excited but at the same time I'll be glad when today is over because I have been doing so much to get ready for today! Its Jamie's 30th birthday though, so I wanted it to be special. But everything is just so crazy I forgot to make him a card! I also plan on altering another Target mailbox for my niece for Valentine's Day! Hopefully I can get everything done. I hope you are all well. Haven't done a blog hop in a few days, maybe I can do it tomorrow. Hopefully I'll have a few things to show you in the next few days! Thanks for stopping by!

Just another Tuesday....

2008-01-29T04:44:00.000-08:00

Just wanted to give everyone a quick update! Sorry I haven't posted any new work lately! I've been sick again for the past few days. I was hoping it would go away after the first trimester, but maybe I'm going to have all day sickness for the rest of the pregnancy! I haven't been in my scrapbook room at all for a few days. Really been trying to get our spare room cleaned out, but I'm not really getting anywhere. I'm just really exhausted! But one of my good friends is coming over tomorrow and we are going to spend the entire day scrappin', so hopefully I can post some work tomorrow night! Thanks for stopping by, check back tomorrow for some new pages!

My very first time being tagged!

2008-01-25T05:57:00.000-08:00

I've never been tagged before-I feel so special. Thanks Carol!

Five things I was doing 10 years ago:
1. Oh my, I was only 13....I went to school, lol.
2. My baby brother was born!
3. I was in a handbell club at school!
4. I had just moved in with my grandparents!
5. I helped start a group with friends that did things around our little community!

Five things on my to do list today:
1. Grocery shop
2. Laundry
3. Clean
4. Finish the Wiggles layout I started! (Looks like we're doing most of the same things today Carol!)
5. Play with my new printer some more!!

Five things I will do when I'm a millionaire:
1. Put money away for college for my little ones so they aren't stuck with student loans like hubby and me!
2. Pay off our house and buy a new, bigger one with tons of room for the kids inside and out, an extra room where hubby can watch all the sports he wants, and an entire floor for my scrapbook stuff! :)
3. Take my entire family (parents and in-laws and all!) on a vacation somewhere warm!
4. Buy a minivan!
5. Open a scrapbook store or start a scrapbook company.

Five things I'll never wear again:
1. A bikini-kids give you stretch marks.
2. A perm-had these my whole life-NOT GOOD!
3. A miniskirt-my stretch marks stretch pretty far, lol
4. A shirt that shows even a smidget of my belly!
5. Jelly shoes-I actually saw an adult with some of these last summer....

Five of my favorite toys:
1. My Cricut Expression-I love it!
2. My new Kodak printer!!!!
3. My laptop-when its working again.
4. My digital camera-gotta have it with kids!
5. My Stickles :)

Five banes of my existence:
1. Morning sickness
2. People who look at me and automatically think I'm 12 and pregnant or 12 with a toddler. Its not my fault I look so young!
3. Walmart...
4. Money, ok lack of money!
5. Driving

Ok, that was pretty fun for my first tag! I am going to tag...
1. Becky http://thegaragesalediva.blogspot.com/
2. Jana http://2worldswings.blogspot.com/
3. Tomi Ann http://tomiannie.blogspot.com/

I am only tagging 3 people because I don't really have a lot of people to tag! I'm still sort of new at this blog stuff!

My due date....

2008-01-23T14:59:00.000-08:00

So I finally got my due date today! My (hopefully girl!) will be due on July 24th, which happens to be my birthday! I am so excited!

Also, the wonderful UPS man should be bringing my printer tomorrow!!! YAY! I'm going to print so many pictures and get so many awesome pages done! Will be back soon to post some new projects! Thanks for stopping by!

Our Elf Pictures!

2008-01-22T09:37:00.000-08:00

Here's a layout that I've been working on for about a month! These are screenshots from the dancing elf thing that EVERYONE did at Christmas, lol. The pics are not good-sorry!

Both the striped and the snowflake paper is from the DCWV Christmas stack. "We've been" is Heidi Swapp chipboard and "ELFED" is Making Memories chipboard. I painted both of them with red acrylic paint. The snowglobe was cut on the Cricut with Doodlecharms. I cut out a picture of Aaron as an elf and used pop dots so he'd stick out a little! I also tied a really Christmasy fiber around it. I put Stickles in the middle of all the snowflakes, too! :) I love Stickles! I used some red glitter on MM brads to help hold my pictures down! I plan to put something else on the second page, but to be honest I am feeling a little too lazy to go through all of my stuff to look, plus I'm pretty tired! So that's all for now! Thanks for stopping by and I hope you have a great day!

My Target Mailbox for Aaron!

2008-01-21T13:35:00.000-08:00

Well, I don't know what is up with my camera today, but I could not get a good picture of this. It is so pretty and I was so excited to show it off! Anyway, here is the front of the box. The chipboard is Heidi Swapp and the heart is from a pack of rub-ons I got for $1 at Michaels.

And here's the side. All of the paper used was last year's Bo Bunny Valentine's line. I love it because it has blue in it! The polka dot strip is a border sticker cut in half from the Bo Bunny line also. On the flag is a Studio G stamp mounted on a sheet of paper. I Stickled the stamped area, and I also went over every single one of those little black dots with Black Diamond Stickles! The fibers were just random ones that I've been collecting!

I really, really love this box! I plan to add some more embellishments to it, but I haven't figured out quite what yet. I hope you are all having a great day! I treated Aaron and I to breakfast this morning at Shoney's because he was up half the night and I was too tired to cook! Then we went and got groceries and have spent the rest of our day at home playing! I've been cleaning because for the first day in months I'm not feeling bad! Thank God for small miracles! Thanks for stopping by!

Ok, I bought it!

2008-01-19T07:55:00.001-08:00

Ok, so I went ahead and bought the printer. Thanks for all of your printer suggestions! This is the Kodak 5100 All in One Printer. Isn't it pretty?! It prints, copies, and scans. I've always wanted a scanner, so I can't wait to play with this! Because of this being on Celebrity Apprentice last week, they are having a $50 off sale on the entire line of printers. This was regularly $130, so I got it for $80! I've been thinking about it for days, and after I read about the sale, I had to get it! I mean, the ink I need for my printer is $60! So that is my last big purchase for a while! I am having lunch with some girlfriends and their kids today then going to do a little shopping. Gotta go to Target and get some of those mailboxes in the dollar bins! Hope you guys have a great weekend!