Saturday, February 28, 2009

Delighting in the little things

In case I haven't explained the name of my blog, or atleast haven't in a while, it's a my take on Eccl. 3 that says, "for everything there is a season..." And here I am with 2 kids under the age of 3 (one month ago I could say 2 under the age of 2 *sigh*) and it's really easy for me to complain about how "hard" life is, or testing/trying, or whatever you want to call it. But then God reminds me that there IS a purpose for me in this life, even if it's to raise my children to love and honor Him.

Well one such time was a few days ago. It was around 2:30 in the afternoon, and I was still hearing rumblings in Caroline's room signaling that she was NOT napping. No biggie, but I wanted to check on her anyway. When I walked in, this is what I saw...






okay, so I posed her a little, but still...I walked in to see her playing with all her Princess shoes fanned out in some order, playing the "drums" on them! She was happy as could be, and that just made my heart smile! I can't remember a day in my life that I ever played with such plastic high heeled shoes, but I love that my little girl does! I love that God made her a unique person with a very fun personality, perfect in His creation.

Random, I know. But I just wanted to share. Delighting in the little things. Enjoying the moment.

Friday, February 27, 2009

Color Me Daisy annoucements!

The new Color Me Daisy March kit:

Photobucket

This kit arrived on my doorstep this week, and I must say, I've LOVED playing around with these papers! They're SUCH fun colors, don't they just scream spring?! I'm not quite finished with my projects yet (thanks to numerous birthday festivities), but I can't wait to finish up and post them here!

Also in Color Me Daisy news, next weekend we're having an all-weekend online crop centered around a Dr. Seuss theme! Did you know that Dr. Seuss's birthday was March 1st? Just a little trivia I remember from teaching 1st grade. Anyway, his works are so fun, that we're centering our challenges around them! Don't worry if you don't have kids, or don't even remember the last time you read Dr. Seuss, we just got our inspiration from him. Challenges will not necessarily be child centered, but fun for all ages, and Michelle has some awesome prizes to give out too! So come stop by Color Me Daisy next weekend, March 6-8, for our Seussical crop! Can't wait to see you there! :D

Thursday, February 26, 2009

Final project and a promised layout

When I got my February kit from Crop Suey, I fell in looove with all the fun "boy" things from the Fancy Pants line. And well, as you know, I don't have any boys. BUT I do have a husband who very kindly endures my endless scrapbooking projects. He's so good, isn't he?! :D Anyway, since I'd made our girls some Valentine mailboxes, I thought why not make one for him too. So using some of the cards, rubons and such from my kit, I finished up the mailbox that I'd started for him.

Here's the finished product!


A shot with the side in plain view:


I handcut the heart from the backside of one the vintage Valentines in the kit. I plan to put his name on it, just hadn't gotten around to it quite yet. I also used the Fancy Pants rub-ons for the front, which I just love! Isn't that dino the cutest? Can you tell I liked working with boy stuff? hehe! Obviously I didn't make his as frilly or as embellished as the girls'. I didn't want to overdo it. But it WAS fun to dabble a little on the boy side of things, and it was a quick and easy project that I'll have in advance for next year.

Another project I've completed is this LO about Sarah Kate.

"I love this kid!"




Sorry the lighting is so horrific. The photos are NOT anywhere NEAR that grainy in real life! But at least you get the gist of the layout. It's kinda in celebration of her turning 2. I wanted to capture a lot of her personality traits, so the journaling is a list of all the ones I could think of off the top of my head.

Alrighty, Dad, Kathy, and Katie are on their way up to do the 2 yr. old b'day thing, so I need to hop off of here. I can't BELIEVE my baby's going to be 2 on Sunday! Wow! Time really DOES fly...or I've just lost a lot of sleep!

Have a great day for "This is the day the Lord has made!"

Wednesday, February 25, 2009

Playing a little catch up

Wow! Time flies when you're having fun! It seems like we've been on the go a lot lately. This weekend we went "home" to Birmingham for a joint birthday party for Sarah Kate, my grandmother, and my sister Meg. Also a fun surprise was the Meg (and Mark) announced that they are expecting twins in August! So fun!! So pretty soon I'll have some more nieces, nephews and/or both. And apparently twins definitely run in the family.

I got a few fun pics at the party that I wanted to share too. I know that it's been a while since I've showed some layouts and projects, and I promise I've been scrapping, it's just been hard to find time to take pictures and upload. Anyway, here are a few favorites from this weekend.

All the girls




Grandmother and Caroline

yeah, we only had one candle for all 3 of them! oops!

Meg and Sarah Kate


******************************

Some sneak peeks of my upcoming Serendipity projects:





Hope you're having a great day!

Tuesday, February 24, 2009

She got the baby

"Hey! There's a baby in my cake!"


"See?!"




Though we're not in Mississippi any more, we still like to participate in some of the festivities (sorta). Tonight we had jambalaya, beads, and Sarah sent us a real King Cake. So of course we had that too! And then we had a family dance party. You know, some lovely disco music (we don't have any cajun), lots of craziness from the sugar high, and some silly dance moves! It was actually really fun, a good family moment! Thank goodness there wasn't a camera there! LOL!

Happy Mardi Gras everyone!

PS--Yes, her dress is on backwards. I chalk it up to being 3, and having learned how to dress herself. It happens everyday at naptime. I don't change it, because I love it! :D

Tuesday, February 17, 2009

Just a quick post

to say that if you're interested, there's an online chat tonight with the scrapbook manufacturer Maya Road over at Serendipity. Just follow the link. I'm not sure which of their DT members will be chatting, but I'm sure it'll be fun!



Also I just wanted to give everyone a heads up that this weekend Serendipity is having a "Flashback Reunion crop". It'll be going on all weekend, Friday through Sunday. You can find more information here.Looks like it'll be tons of fun! Oh, and there's also a pre-crop card challenge going on right now, and some fun pre-crop accessory challenges (wearable art, ya know!)

Okay, we're off to go grab some dinner! Hope everyone had a wonderful Tuesday! I know I did thanks to a great discussion with the Bible study girls! ;)

Monday, February 16, 2009

Fun with the Fam

We were so excited that Mike and Sarah and the kids came up from MS just in time for a long Valentines Day weekend. We were REALLY busy cramming as much in as possible, and boy was it fun! Here are some of my favorite pics from those few days.

At the CDM museum, we spent a lot of time in the stage area.

C found her niche right away.


The picture that Ben will never live down...think HS Graduation roast...


Em was a natural too! (Good thing since she's in a play soon!)


Playing doctor. Must run in the family.


And my little peek-a-boo.

And then on Friday, we met up with Jim, Sharon, and Adin as they were passing through and were able to grab lunch and spend some time down by the river. It's VERY rare that we get all 6 grandkids together, esp. when it's not a holiday. So I tried to get pictures of everyone, but then it's hard to get 6 kiddos to sit (or stand) still when ages range from 11 to 1. Here's a few I was happy to get.


The "big" kids


Nonnie with 2 of her grandgirls.


4 were willing to pose...the other 2 not so much.


Caroine with Gramps. So sweet!

In all it was a fun, but jammed packed weekend that left us all exhausted! Sarah Kate has a new love for her Aunt Sarah, walks around calling for "An Darah". Then she'll switch to "Unc Mike". Caroline keeps talking about the "Gacie" and the new clothes "Gacie" gave her. We're so thankful to have such sweet cousins and we'll miss them dearly!

Saturday, February 14, 2009

Happy Valentines Day!

Well, this Valentines Day hasn't turned out exactly the way I'd planned, but I still wanted to wish everyone a Happy Valentines Day!

We started off really well, with a fun fun breakfast this morning. I made heart shaped pancakes, and covered them with strawberry syrup. Both the girls really enjoyed opening the packages their grandparents sent. And we got the girls a fun but practical gift, new slippers. So some of what I'd planned came to fruition...then I started getting sick. I've spent the rest of the day in bed resting, sleeping, and I finished reading Breaking Dawn (4th book of the Twilight series) again. Apparently I've finally gotten the virius that the girls have had. So my romantic dinner plans are put on hold. I may get to watch the movie we got from Netflix, PS I love you. We'll see. But I still wanted to wish everyone else a Happy Valentines.

Here's how the morning went in pictures:






Hope you've had a great day!
Happy Valentines Day!!!

Thursday, February 12, 2009

Well, today I'm so excited because our cousins are in town! We were able to meet up with them for a little bit last night at Panera, and today we plan to hit the museum for a day of playing! I can't wait! We haven't seen them since Christmas, and it's always so fun we all the kids get together even if there is a big age difference between Em and Sarah Kate. Hopefully I'll get some good pics, but really I'm looking forward to hanging out with Sarah and Mike, and watching the kids. They adore each other! :D

To leave you with a picture and not just another boring post, I thought I'd share this one. Virginia introduced me to this site that converts your photos to old looking vintage/heritage ones.(Just click on the "English" tab in the righthand corner to convert the site to English.) I can just hear my grandmother now..."Why'd you wanna do that for?!" But I think it's cool, so I guess that'll be my answer.

This is the "before" photo:


And then converted:


Okay, we're off! Hope everyone has a great day! :D

Tuesday, February 10, 2009

Since it feels like Spring

I'll post a Spring LO for ya! I did this one real "quick" (only took me one movie this time!) as a part of my entry from a Guest Design spot over at Treasured Scrapbooking. Whether I get the spot or not, I'm really happy that I got these pictures scrapped. I mean, they're almost a year old!!! It felt good to get around to it.

"On the hunt"








Oh, and for all you who said you'd like to try the cake pops just a warning--they're HIGHLY addictive! LOL!

Monday, February 9, 2009

Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde

That's what I'm naming this sickness that my girls have come down with! They're perfectly normal toddlers all day--full of curiosity, watching videos, playing outside, running around tagging each other with "TAG--you're it!" squeals...and then it's night. UGH! Both of them for the last 3 nights have been up and sick, which left me doing laundry at 1am last night because we were out of sheets and sheetsavers. Thank goodness for the armloads of pajamas we scored over Christmas! But this crazy virus is driving me crazy!! Just when I think I'm going to get a good night's sleep, I hear one of them and go scurrying across the house to do what I can. I guess it's the life of a mom. Sorry, I don't mean to complain, I'm just a little weary. Thankfully we were able to get out this weekend (because during the day they're absolutely FINE, no symptoms--baffling!)

Here's a fun pic I got of SK at the park on Saturday:

And I thought Caroline had no fear! This stinker is worse! She'll just fling herself down any ol' slide no matter how high or how bumpy! And yes, she got airborne on that particular trip down the slide. Good thing I was wearing the strap around my neck. I dropped it immediately after taking this shot, because I thought she was flying OFF the side of the slide!

And one more playground pic. This one's from Friday--before the Jekyll/Hyde illness began. It was so nice to get outside and play with friends while the mommies got to chat! C'mon Spring, Hurry up!!!!

Saturday, February 7, 2009

A little Christmas lovin'

So it's totally like me (b/c I'm random like that) to have yesterday's post be about Valentine treats, and then today's revert back to Christmas. So I hope you can go with the flow! LOL! This is a LO that I posted yesterday on the Crop Suey blog that I did with Camille's January kit, Jazz Cafe. When brainstorming this LO, my inspiration actually came from the red sequins. Even though I'm sure that Camille didn't intend for her kit to be Christmas-y at all, the sequins reminded me a lot like holly berries, so I went with it. Then I grabbed a sketch from Becky Fleck, and went to work. And voila! There you have it. I never thought that starting with inspiration from an embellishment would leave me with a LO that I like. But I do.

Christmas hugs


I hand cut the holly, inked them and the scallops. I also ran that same paper through my Martha Stewart doily border punch (thanks again Sarah! I love it!) to make the edge a little frilly. Why? Because my girls are frilly! LOL!

Anyway, thought I'd share my latest creation. Now I AM moving on to Valentine's stuff, both baking and crafting! Yay for lots of pink! :D :D :D

Friday, February 6, 2009

Valentine's Day treats

Okay so there's a little part of me that still thinks I can accomplish all things Martha Stewart, and I've been researching (yeah right, it's called Google Reader) fun stuff to do the the hubby and girls next week for Valentines Day. We've decided it's going to be a fun "family day", so I'm loooking for things,ideas,crafts etc. to make our day a little more special.

So far I've only come up with doing heart-shaped pancakes (the girls favorite), and possibly brownie cupcakes, or red-velvet cupcakes, or something along those lines. But then I ran across this from the Little Birdie Secrets blog:



Don't they look divine?!!!! They're called cake pops, and the how-to is actually from Bakerella. Now I want to try to do THESE!

But then of course there's an easier version, which instinct tells me to go for instead, that are marshmellow pops:


Equally as cute, maybe not quite as yummy due to a chocolate obsession, but definitely much easier.

And lastly, Parents magazine had these cookie pops.



Don't they all look scrumptious! Not sure which ones I'll actually do, and the overachiever in me wants to try all of them. But I'll let you know when they actually get done. Don't hold your breath! LOL! In the meantime, if you have any ideas crafty or otherwise, I'd love to hear them. I want to make this a special day for the fam, so I'm open to just about anything.

Hope you have a great day!

Thursday, February 5, 2009

Okay, so funny story

I can laugh now (sort of) becuse it's all behind me. But last week when Sarah Kate first came down with the stomach bug, she was even more clingy/cuddley that usual. I was at the computer with her in my lap happy that Caroline was quietly playing in her room. Soon I realized that she was a little too quiet. So I got up to investigate, and this is what I found in her room!




She'd decided to "do some cooking" in her room! AAAAHHHHHH! That particular week I had 2 cartons of eggs in the fridge, so there were 7 cracked eggs, 5-6 more set out waiting, and then a whole entire carton waiting to be cooked after that! OH MY! I didn't know whether to laugh, cry, or yell, so I grabbed my camera instead. And just in case you don't know, those eggs (and yogurt) are sitting on a custom made windowseat cushion that just can't be tossed in the washer. I was frantic! But then I couldn't get THAT mad at her either, because it was just a child-like thing to do. So I cleaned her up, cleaned the cushion as best I could (lots of Shout/Spray-n-wash/Antibacterial sprays, and let it dry. After quick phonecalls to my grandmother and mom, I learned that egg doesn't stain, and that everything would be okay. Now, I'm thinking about putting locks on the fridge! LOL!

In other good news, I learned late last week that I have been selected to be a part of the Serendipity Scrapbooks Design Team! I'm sooo excited, and can't wait to get started! The girls over there are great, and the kits look even better!

Hope you're having a fabulous day! :D

Wednesday, February 4, 2009

Wow! It's been a while!

So sorry for such the delay between posts! Most of you know that I don't usually do that! And now, I've got a long list of things I want to/ need to post. I'll try to spread it out so this isn't one long mega post, how 'bout that!

First, thank you all for the get well sentiments. The girls are just fine now, and thank goodness that bug only lasted about 48 hrs! We're all back to normal now, and are ready for the weather to heat up so we can use our pent up energies!

Lots going in the scrapping world for me right now. First, it's time for the Color Me Daisy February kit reveal. And this is a great kit!! Basic Grey's "Bittersweet" with LOTS of embellishments! I really loved working with it! Here's what I did:

"Love you Forever



Inspired by the Robert Munsch kid's lit book that makes all mommies cry when they read it. I did this one as a part of a challenge at the Noel Mignon challenge blog, and had so much fun with it!

"Smiley"



Lots of cutwork, and a little bit of bling, Sarah Kate at McDonalds! (Yes, that's ketchup still on her mouth!)

"I love being her mommy"

For the LIFE of me, I couldn't get the coloring right on this one! This is white cardstock with the Fancy Pants transparency cut and repositioned over it. Anyway, this is an older picture of me and Caroline taken in Feb. 2008 at my grandparents 60th wedding anniv. party.

Moving on, I've had 2 little things to celebrate this week. The first of which is that my Valentine's mailboxes came out in publication this week!!!!


I had NO IDEA they'd be on the Table of Contents AND THEN get a whole page to themselves! I was pretty floored by that one! (And btw those are the initials of my 2 nieces, Emma and Gracie. I made them mailboxes too and theirs were cuter than my girls'.)

Sweet story that I just gotta share--when I was sick with the stomach bug, I was feeling pretty rotten. I bundled up on the couch and was throwing a little pity party for myself. So Josh went to Walmart to get us some Gatorade, Pedialite, saltines, chicken noodle soup, you know the good stuff when you're sick. Anyway, I hadn't budged from the couch when he came home. From behind me (where I couldn't see him) he dropped the copy of the magazine onto my lap. I was shocked! One, because I didn't think he remembered that I was in it, and two I KNOW I didn't tell him which magazine it was! My dear sweet hubby had stood in the magazine section of Walmart flipping through scrapbooking mags, just to bring my article home to show me and cheer me up! Melted my heart right there!! Isn't he sweet?! I think I'll keep him! ;)

Okay, since this is starting to feel like a mammoth post, I'll keep some of my other good news a secret for a little while longer. But I've got more scrappy news to share, and some funny pics too.

Til then, hope you're having a great day!