Header help and December things....

So I'm trying to make a new fun, family header using the pictures we took the other day (by the way....6 1/2 year old girls do NOT cooperate well in photo shoots!) and this is all I can come up with!

If anyone has ANY tips for making this a little better....adding a little pop to it....I would be forever grateful!

Here are a few more pictures - in color - from our day - but the picture going out in our Christmas card is NOT included!!! need to save something for the surprise :)

Happy December!!

and speaking of December - Heather and a few mystery girls chose ME as member of the month over at YMBD! How cool is that??? Thanks everyone :)

my cute little Munch!

this is what my first grader looks like! I just love this photo! Her smile turned out pretty darn cute (these are retakes and the first set was AWFUL!) and since I pulled her hair back you can't tell she had been playing half the day....well except for the wrinkled shirt that I wasted my time ironing! lol

My in-laws fly in today for 2 weeks so I may not be around much - but I'll have updates and photos when I do get to finally post again!

don't tell - but I'm going to try to sneak out to see Twilight with my neighbor on Saturday!!! I just don't think I can wait 2 weeks to see EDWARD and BELLA on the big screen!

do you etsy???

well go check out Kimmie's store! her tags and notecards are SO cute! and they're all unique in their own way since she is hand stamping each one herself!!!!!

http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=6151239

yay!

I am always more excited than my kids - so let's start counting down together!!!!


cOUntdOwn tO chrIstmAs

Halloween pictures - FINALLY!

Here is Tinkerbell and Mickey Mouse - oh so cute!

thank you again, Kimmie, for the Tink costume!!!!!!

Scrap Within Reach -

big THANKS to SWR for sponsoring the Playground design team this month! What a fun collection of papers I received.

SWR Emerson Line:

Just enough red and green for me to make a Christmas card!!!

Fall photos

well - they aren't GREAT - but they're taken in the fall....outside....so that counts right? lol we didn't get to the pumpkin patch so I took photos of the kids by the scarecrow (Hailee loves him and decorates him every year with yard junk!).

now this next picture is just hilarious - when Braden is outside he's constantly rubbing his nose (I think it itches). So before I took the shot I asked him to put his hand down. I think he thought I said HEAD because this is what was on the camera! LOL

does he not look just evil to you? what a FACE! LOL gotta love pictures like this - a funny memory forever now :)

the little people...

picture share.

Hailee and her "dog" that she bought with her saved allowance.

then look what I found this morning - during a rare moment of him playing alone and in a DIFFERENT room than me!

(could he be ANY cuter?)

Ta-Da!!! and pumpkin thoughts!

first off - a big thank you to TaDa studios for sponsoring the Playground this month. Here are my creations! at first the colors through me off, but once I got working I had fun and everything fell into place!!

also - been drooling over the pumpkin recipes at PW's blog (link on the right) and I'm thinking of making some puree this year and having a pumpkin feast! I'll have to get my own pumpkins, I won't want the "leftovers" from the kids' carving! lol But I want to make the pumpkin butter and cake for SURE! and I'm going to try seeds again - last year it didn't turn out that great but I refuse to give up hope that I can do it - I mean it isn't difficult. and the seeds are lowfat so I have to do it. have to.

I'll let you know how that goes :)

I'm more than half way through New Moon. It's not pulling me in the way Twilight did, I'm falling asleep a lot :) but I have 2 more to read and I WILL read them all! I can't go into details - but if a certain someone doesn't show up in my pages soon I'm going to freak out!

oh - and I had a CT scan today. Yep, went and had pictures of my brain taken. Do you know what they charge for that? Highway robbery I tell you. anyway - if anything comes back that is worth talking about I'll let you know :)

I didn't make it through to round 3 over at YMBD. I'm really not surprised - I have thoughts on that - but I'm okay with it because I have a lot on my plate right now. I'm going to get going on my RSC projects (some are turning into Christmas gifts!) and continue reading and start a "holiday plan".

Here's the layout I did for round 2 - I can share it now. doesn't he look so intense?? LOL

October MiniMaps

I was asked to create a layout using a new mini map for October over at PageMaps! I was SO super excited! I don't usually do mini's but have a Santa album for the kids so I took advantage. BUT - didn't like how it turned out so I did another one and gave it to my mom as a gift - here are both the layouts.

thanks for looking :)

Thank you, Becky, for allowing me to be a part of your "friends list!"!!!!

I'm here.

bad blogger. I am here. Hailee was out of school on Monday and Tuesday with an ear infection. she complained Sunday afternoon then it hurt so bad she woke up in the middle of the night and I had to give her Tylenol. she tried to say it was fine Monday but we took her to the doc anyway - the doc said "oh YES it DOES hurt!". that bad, huh?

so she's back at school today. whew. she's a goofy high energy child I tell ya. lol

good news, sort of. the first person to come look at our glider rocker bought it! yay! extra money for bedding for the sofa sleeper! bad thing is that rocker put in a lot of hours between my two kids! Hailee and I rocked a lot when she was an infant, that's the only way I could get her to sleep. and Braden likes to be rocked and hugged when he gets up - so now we'll just have to "sway" in the recliner, lol.

let's see, what else. Darren played hookie yesterday - I was excited to have him home until he spent 6 hours playing that stupid Call of Duty game! grr! he's at work today thank goodness - I think that game haunts him in his sleep on nights he plays!

I won a contest! People actually voted for my layout in a sketch contest at YMBD. couldn't believe it! I didn't even vote for it! lol here it is:

oh and I have to do a layout for round 2 in the "So You Think You Can Scrap" contest also at YMBD. I can't share that one, but come by Friday after 8pm eastern (until Sunday) and cast your vote for your favorite layout there. There are SO many great scrappers in round 2 so I imagine it will be a difficult vote for ya'll!

I think that's it. I'm going to go change a diaper now because that is what I do :)

Card making day!!!

so what have you done? here's a few of what I've made!

time to vote!

We need your votes!!! Come and help us decide who should move on to Round #2 of YMBD's "So You Think You Can Scrap" Contest! Click HERE to view the submissions and cast your vote!

books and cards and crops oh my!

well I read Twilight. wow. it didn't take long. I would say total hours was maybe 8. one day I read for about 3 hours, the other day only an hour, then the next day I finished it! I'm super excited for New Moon. the odd thing is I am SO not into vampires - but the book was so different. I've seen the previews for the movie that's due to come out in November and I think it's geared in the "normal" vampire direction - I hope I'm wrong.

I think I finally have my Christmas cards all planned out. I've made about 15 or so cards and today I put one together using a Technique Tuesday stamp along with an Autumn Leaves stamp, ribbon, and patterned paper. ta-da! so now I just need a ribbon sale so I can stock up and get these puppies on the assembly line! yay! I'm so super ready for Christmas I can hardly stand it.

but - I must first get a list together for the kids' fall/winter clothing needs. It's almost time to do the shopping - we're hoping for cooler weather here in the next couple weeks. I found a coat I like at Target for Hailee so that's one thing that will be easy - Braden should still fit in his Carhartt from last year - so cute.

let's see - oh - world cardmaking day. October 4th. Check the {Use Your Stash} blog for some card prompts to challenge you. Also, there will be a sort of "card crop" at the {Playground} - so check in there, too!

then you can also check in at the {Playground} on October 17th for a crop hosted by the Bullies!!!

I think that's all folks.

see you next time!

September at the Playground

We had 2 super AWESOME sponsors at the playground this month! Cosmo Cricket and Paper Trunk. wow. lucky us!

here are a few things I made with the awesome Cosmo Hello Sunshine and Trunk Wrangler goodies!!!

Hello Sunshine. oh the colors are SO fun in this collection. I loved it. and using black cardstock just made those yummy colors pop even more!

Wrangler. It's not just for boys. I had to prove that when Hailee asked why there were lots of "bubby pages" laying around and none of her! lol

me & Munch

Here are the pics of me and Hailee - then of course Braden wanted to see so I got a couple of all of us - not sure what that kid was on! lol

Self Portraits!

ha! okay - I hate pictures of myself - but with the sudden death of a fellow scrapbooker I realize I should take nothing for granted and I need to make memories for my children. Not just scrapbook their childhood memories - but their LIVES. and I am a big part of their little lives - so I need to get in front of the camera more.

today - it's just me and Braden. We had a day of shopping so before we left I snatched him for some pictures! (no laughing folks!)

just LOVE that kissy photo!

and while we were at the mall I found new glasses! yay! I was really hoping the search for the perfect pair wouldn't take forever - it didn't. LensCrafters has a GREAT selection and they were having a special on the lenses so I got a pretty good deal! the color is sort of cranberry-ish. what do ya think?

okay - so I started getting goofy - but what can you do when you're in need of a major caffiene fix????

there you have it. pictures of me. wow, that's a lot for one day. Hailee and I will have to wait until Friday - I'll get them before we go out to dinner with Jenn & Damon!

later gators!

I'm done with the DIET.

No, I'm not going to run out and get Big Mac's or chocolate bars. What I am done with is the "oh, how much have you lost" and the "what are you doing to lose weight?" inquiries.

I'm going to eat healthy. Be more active. Take care of myself. If the pounds come off that's great. If not, then I guess this is the size I was meant to be. I don't like it - but I'll live with it.

When I started "dieting" in March my stress level went up. I'm taking motrin for headaches almost daily, and Maxalt for migraines almost weekly. That's more expensive than the food I was eating! I am going to continue with a healthier lifestyle and that's all that matters. No more weekly scale checks. No more calorie counting. No more explaining myself to friends and family about what goes into my mouth. I'm not a shallow person and do not judge people by what they look like on the outside. I would hope that people don't judge me that way either.

I'm a good person; a great mother; a wonderful wife. No, I don't look like a model. But is that what really matters?

Please know I still plan on teaching my kids what it takes to be healthy and showing them how it's done - yes, I 'd like to look better - but by following a diet I was not better. I'm not going to stock my cabinets with chips and cookies for the kids (Darren yes - kids no) but with pretzels and nuts. My fridge won't be crammed with fattening things like pre-made smoothies or ice creams but with fruit, veggies, yogurt and cheese. (and this is nothing new - ask my mom..I really limit the junk my kids are allowed to eat!) We will eat the healthy fats and work at being a happier family. So don't take this as a plan to eat anything I see - that's not what it is....just don't ask me what size I wear or what the scale shows - because I won't tell you! I do know what I weigh now and plan on checking it - just not often.

on to new things that are happier! lol

1 - there's still time to get your chipboard layouts done for the UYS challenge.

2 - there's even more time to get your stuff in for the 2 contests over at the playground

3 - you have until Tuesday to get some challenges done for the YMBD crop!

and here are some more pictures of the kids - taken when Darren's dad was here!

and our newest venture that is SLOW going and so far UNSUCCESSFUL!!!! lol

Keeping busy

Darren's dad, my father-in-law, is here. and my kids are sure keeping him busy! they are wearing him out - so much so that he had to find a nice, cool, quiet place to take a nap.










but he was soon found by one little girl who can't go 10 minutes without her grandpa.







so did he ever get that nap? nope - she drew pictures and made sure he looked. she climbed a tree and made sure he saw. she offered to be his pillow but wouldn't hold still. so he gave up. or should I say gave in....to Hailee! lol

more pictures to come after I look at them in photoshop!