Sunday, August 31, 2008

Cute Little Dancer & Grab Bag #1

Sometimes, Ben & I like to search the funny videos on youtube. Well, here's one that is funny & is one of the CUTEST little dancers I've seen!! {how old is this kid? he's so tiny!}

Enjoy!!

Now that you've had a little giggle & a smile on your face...

BIG NEWS!!!
This is the week to check out DSO!
Lots of Grab Bags {Personal Use}
only $3

This is my FIRST grab bag & I have $10 of brand NEW product for you, sorry not spillin' the beans on what's in there! It's a SURPRISE!!! Doesn't everyone love a good surprise?!!!

I have seen what's inside all the bags & let me tell you...there is some AWESOME stuff in there!!!

You better hurry though, cuz this fabulous deal will only last for one week!!

Saturday, August 30, 2008

Sweet Innocence - FREEBIE

I almost let this month go by without participating in one of my favorite challenges at DSO - Kim's Fabulous Color Challenge!! She has a wonderful sense of color, so here is yet another month with AWESOME colors!!

Here's my contribution
*Sweet Innocence*

I also can't help but make a layout every time I finish a kit! Plus, I get a kick out of seeing Ashley's toothless grin! (and her other top tooth is getting wiggly - luckily they're starting to grow in already - LOL)

{Credits: my "Sweet Innocence"; Ana Mara "Scalloped Templates"; Fonts - Madfont & CK Ali's Writing}


Ok, time for the FUN part!
If you would like this FREE kit...
Click HERE to download it
If you snag it, please leave a comment.
{I just LOVE comments!}

Mid-day Movie

Yesterday, Alicia, Sharlesa & I saw *Mamma Mia!*

My parents had seen the play & the movie & loved it. However, when I first saw the movie previews, I didn't really care if I saw it or not. I don't go to the movies too often, so I really pick & choose which ones I want to go out to see. Usually, we rent all the movies we want to watch.

I LOVED this movie, though! Yes, there was LOTS of singing, so if you don't like that, you probably won't like this movie. I love ABBA, so I already knew most of the songs & LOVE them! The whole cast was AMAZING & all had great singing voices!! Even Pierce Brosnan, who totally amazed me. I loved him in Remington Steele, but stopped oogling over him when I saw him take his shirt off in Mrs. Doubtfire! Ewwwww major hairy chest! hahaha Oh, I also LOVE Christine Baranski. She is a total crack up! Anyway, the movie was FABULOUS!!! {a couple inuendos that you may not want to explain to your kids, so don't take them}

Thanks girls for a wonderful day out without the munchkins! I had to hurry home when it was over because my visiting teachers were waiting for me. And a BIG thank you to my neighbor who does *drop-off babysitting*!!! We all took our kids to her house & they had a FUN time!

Wednesday, August 27, 2008

I'm still here...

Ooops can't believe it's been a week since I last posted! WOW Time has just been flying by for me! I'm amazed how much faster my days are zipping past while the kids are in school. Get up, get the kids ready & out the door (on time - yay!), go to the gym, make lunch, then BOOM it's time for the kids to come home, do homework, snacks, get dinner ready, eat, hang out a little bit, then DANG time for bed already! But the kids are having a blast at school!

And this weekend has been all about this little guy! Can you guess how old he is now?
Yep, he turned 4 on Saturday!

Went to lunch with some friends on Friday, then shopping with my Mom for his surprise treasures! Oh and while I was toy shopping (kids still in school), Ben called to tell me he had to go home right away & pack because work needed him to fly immediately to California to their other office to help out. My man is a super rockstar and got the problem solved & corrected Saturday and by Sunday evening he was home again! YAY!!

While Ben was gone, on Saturday we went to my parents' house to swim & have some lunch & treats! We were there several hours and had a great time! It was also their Anniversary! Married for 40 years! You guys ROCK!!! Thanks Mom & Dad for a fun day in the sun!

Thank goodness Ben was home so soon because that meant he could be home with us to celebrate Anson's birthday Monday evening with all the family! He made the hotdogs and then we had *spongebob* cake. It was yellow with Sponge Bob & Tatrik (that's Patrick in Anson's language) candies all over it. Personally, I canNOT stand Sponge Bob, but that's what Anson wanted so he got it! He was thrilled! And had so much FUN playing with all his cousins!


He's been playing with all his new dinosaurs, animals, and cars this week! I got Ashley & Anson this new toy! They both love it & have already passed all the levels to see their surprise that was hiding inside! {Ashley found the website a while back and wanted one. She even printed out the poster that shows all the different toy possibilities. When I finally found them, Anson liked it too & I couldn't get one for him without getting her one too - since she was the one who knew about them first! They were both ecstatic!}

Don't have time for more pictures, so hopefully I can upload some soon.

Nathaniel & Felicia started orchestra this week & are so excited!! They are itching to start making some music! LOL

***BIG NEWS***
DSO is now hiring 2 designers! If you're a designer & want to apply go HERE for information! I think it's one of the best places to be! Good Luck!!

Wednesday, August 20, 2008

V-Day

Now that Nathaniel & Felicia are in 4th grade, they have the opportunity to be in orchestra if they want. They all went for an introduction to the class & received some permission slips.

As you can guess, they BOTH want to join! {love how they want to follow in my footsteps}

I signed them up & they start next week. So, last night, we took them to get *measured* for an instrument (to rent). Felicia is starting with a 1/2 size violin & Nathaniel is already big enough for a 3/4 size violin. We also got them a starter pack that includes a music stand and shoulder rest for each of them. Oh and we got their beginner books that the school is requiring.

They are SO EXCITED!!!! They wanted to try out their violins last night but we told them to wait. We also had to make some rules that Ashley & Anson aren't too happy about {since they're the ones the rules are about - like NO TOUCHING EVER}.

Nathaniel & Felicia are begging to at least take out their violins tonight after their homework is done. And they want me to show them how to put the shoulder rest on & set up their music stands. They are SO CUTE!!! I love that they're excited!

{actually before we got to the music place, Nathaniel was having 2nd thoughts, but once he saw the violins, his eyes lit up}

I hope they have a good experience & enjoy learning something new! We let them know that it will be fun but also a lot of hard work! They seem to be up for the challenge!!!

Sunday, August 17, 2008

Yummy Recipe

DSO DOsie Week 7


Create a layout with a favorite *family* recipe.

Mine hasn't been passed down, but now that I found it, I'm definitely passing this one on. It's so yummy!!! {and easy}

{Credits: Andrea Dickinson "My Girl" kit & Addon
Fonts - Times New Roman & CK Ali's Writing}

If you want to participate, create a layout then post it in the DSO Gallery & leave a comment on the blog with a link to your layout! I'd love to see some of your favorite recipes!!

Saturday, August 16, 2008

My other hobby & another layout

I forgot to post this earlier in the week. Here's my DSO DOsie Week 6 - Showing you one of my hobbies (other than scrapping). Today's the last day to participate if you want to earn the free mini kit.


{used KimB's "Just Because" kit}

Yes, indeed. I LOVE to BAKE!!! These are some of my fave treats to make, usually during the holidays! I enjoy baking treats for my family, but it gets me in trouble (cuz I'd love to eat it ALL). haha

I also snuck in a little time Thursday night to scrap these pics (taken on Mother's Day 2008).

I Scraplifted "Nursery Rhyme Time" by Sunny1972 for the DSO scraplift challenge.

I used Sueli Colbert's "Kit Delicate"

Isn't it beautiful?! I love the pastel colors & those cute birdies!!

Lotsa stuffs

I'm so happy that the kids had a great first week of school. It has also been a productive week for me!

{warning - kinda gross pics coming up}

Oh but look what my Dad did last month to his hand! Let's see, can't remember exactly what he did but ended up needing a few stitches! Ouch! It's healing quite nicely.
However, he got hurt again this week {while my Mom was working at the Mesa Temple in the evening} so he wrapped it a little til his *nurse* could home & help him out. Apparently, he slipped & fell onto some sheet metal in his workshop. OUCH!!! I touched it too, felt like snake skin! LOL
Hope you're feeling better DAD!!!

On a prettier note, I finished my cards for the DSO August Card Swap. Last month we each made 10 cards (all the same). This month not as many people could sign up, so we each made 2 different cards - 5 each.

For my first one, I used KimB's "Softly Sweet" kit. I also printed extra flowers, cut them out, used sticky foam to attach them (so they stand out) and added a little *bling*!
For my 2nd card set, I used a kit that I'm currently working on and also printed out the bird (using KimB's "tweeties" templates) separately and used sticky foam again to make it stand out & used a little bling for the eye, then added a flower & brad.
I think they both turned out cute, not super fancy but I like them. Oh and they're both blank on the inside.

Ok, SUPER THANKS to my Mom for helping me this week organizing my kids' rooms!

On Thursday we worked all day on the girls' room {it was a major disaster before}. Here's what we had left at the end. Only 1 basket & 1 box of things for them to go thru to decide what toys they wanted to keep or donate.

I've also been working on mountains of laundry. Yep, I was totally behind. But look what I found yesterday when I went to retrieve a basket from my room in the middle of emptying the dryer & reloading the washer! hahaha My sweet Ginger loves the basket! She got mighty comfy, so I let her have it for the day!

Bunko was last night and a total BLAST!!! We had so much FUN & Alicia was a fabulous hostess! We had some delicious food & she even gave us some leftover pulled pork. Mmmmmm!! Thanks, Alicia!!! Here's my *prize*! Isn't it CUTE?!!! {uh ummm don't look too closely, apparently I need to clean the mirror - ahahah}

Yesterday was the designated Boys' room cleaning day! While they were at school, my Mom and I were at it again. We had 3 big trash bags when we were done & a few clothes to donate. Nathaniel was thrilled when he saw the results when he came home from school!!

Here's how it looks NOW!!! {sorry no BEFORE pics - too bad to show LOL}
the two baskets under their backpacks have clothes I need to sort, more donations.

And their closet after major reorganizing!

Remember those two containers the girls needed to sort thru? Well, I just helped them today and we got it all taken care of. More trash & some donations. The rest we organized into their closet. Now look at their room!! {again no BEFORE pics - theirs was worse than the boys}
They still have a few little things to put away, but for the most part, it's so much BETTER than it was! YAY!!
Ashley's side of the closet {those boxes in the corner are more old stuff we need to figure out later}
Felicia's side of the closet. Well, the buckets are for both of them, just their clothes are separated.
The girls are LOVING their spacious bedroom!!! There's enough space for them to do cartwheels! hahaha

Like I said, both of the kids' rooms aren't completely done, but we're off to a great start. Just a few more little things to sort out & they should be done. Now they all just need to keep them clean, which should be easier for them now. They had too much stuff lingering and nowhere to put them. I swear clutter stresses me out. I don't know how I let it get so cluttered, but I feel
tons better now that they can walk in their rooms & see carpet! I think they are feeling less stressed now too. And they don't have me nagging them to do something with their rooms!

On to the next project - MY ROOM! hahhaah

Ben was sick part of this week too. I teased him and said that while he was sleeping Thursday & Friday, I was busy working! I said it's like *Freaky Friday* here! hahaha {cuz I'm usually the one still in bed by the time he leaves for work around 5am & has worked a couple hours by the time I get up in the morning.} Thank goodness he's feeling better - well enough to go back to work today anyway. Get better quickly babe. Luv ya :)

Friday, August 15, 2008

Great week

The kids had a FANTASTIC first day of school! They LOVE their teachers and are ecstatic for this new school year! Each day they come home SMILING :)

I have been uber productive too! YAY!!

Yesterday, my Mom came over and helped me tackle the girls' room! It has looked like several tornadoes hit it over & over again for the last several months! And you haven't been able to see carpet to even vacuum. But not anymore! We filled 2 huge trash bags, 1 bag of clothes & a small bag of baby toys (don't know why those were in their room). They still have 2 baskets of toys to go thru & pick out what they want to keep, the rest will be donated! I even vacuumed & their room is looking GOOD! They still have a few odds 'n ends to straighten up - like their desk & the tops of their dressers. Whew! Thanks MOM you're the BEST!!!

Oh and it gets better - my Mom is coming back today to help me sort out the boys' room too! They have mostly larger toys that don't fit anywhere, so we'll go thru & get rid of stuff they don't play with anymore (or broken) and sift thru their clothes too to donate anything that doesn't fit.

I'm so excited & it feels so good to get their rooms organized!

I didn't tell the girls we were going to work on their room and they were so HAPPY when they came home and saw the results!! Their big SMILES made it all worth the hard work!

{and tonight is BUNKO} WOOHOOO!!!

Monday, August 11, 2008

And They're Off!

It's official - SUMMER BREAK is OVER!
Today is the FIRST day of SCHOOL for my kiddos!
They were so excited last night! I remember how that was when I was a kid, could NOT get to sleep from being so excited & nervous at the same time! Each one received a father's blessing from Ben, so they will have a great school year. They love that!
I made their lunches last night & the kids had their new clothes all laid out & backpacks full of school supplies. I suddenly noticed we didn't have anymore cereal for breakfast, so I whipped up some strawberry muffins (ok they were from a mix) and they were GOOD!!
Their backpacks are so full of supplies & lunches! Just look at their HUGE smiles!
Even Anson has school supplies (even though he's not going to school) in his backpack.
They rode their bikes while Ben and I jogged with them (Anson was in the stroller holding his backpack). I had to carry Ashley's backpack for her because it was too heavy (who knew school supplies could weigh her down so much). ha ha
We got to school with time to walk each munchkin to class. They even gave us hugs in front of everyone. They're so SWEET!!!
Now we're off to the gym (we already had our warm up jogging to school & walking home). Whew! It's already HOT outside!
I'm happy for the kids to be back with all their friends, but a little sad that our house is almost empty. But not too sad that I won't enjoy the quiet a little bit. LOL
Hope the kids have a great first day!

Sunday, August 10, 2008

My Sista


{Me, Christy & Mom}

Today is my sister's birthday! Even though we haven't spoken to each other in a while, I still want her to know that I LOVE her and hope she's having a great day!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, CHRISTY!!

Friday, August 8, 2008

Etch-a-Sketch

Remember those things? They were fun til someone shook it when you weren't ready or you dropped it and lost your *sketch* LOL :) I was never really good at it anyway. Not really an artist. haha


I've been so excited to share my good news!!
Last week I won a kit from JanaM Designs at DST.
Isn't it FABULOUS?!! It even comes with 2 alphas! WOW I was thrilled!!! Thanks again JanaM for choosing me to win your beautiful kit!!

I just made this layout using her awesome kit
It's for the DSO Challenge - Photo Op Stop hosted by Jazzy (you're suposed to change/edit/alter a photo in some way) I chose to make a sketch out of my photo. For the instructions on how I did it - click HERE.

How It's Made

Have you ever watched THIS show? We watch it periodically, only when flipping channels & come across it.

Apparently, no matter what they're showing being made, Ben & I canNOT look away!

In the last couple of days, we've learned how these things are made:
glass/acrylic eyes
{and that totally doesn't look like a round marble like in the movies - it made my eye twitch when they had to put plaster in the eye socket to make a mold and then when they inserted the finished artificial eye}
wooden brushes/brooms
wooden & aluminum blinds
dog/cat food
candles - various sizes
wooden-spoked wheel for a horse-drawn carriage
neon lights

Ok, I'm forgetting some things (so Ben if you're reading this, please remind me what else we've seen).

We are glued to the tv like little kids watching cartoons! ha ha So, if one of us has to get up, like go to the bathroom, during the episode, we will *pause* it to wait for each other! (thank goodness for the DVR)

We LOVE to learn how things are made! It's so fascinating! I think it's almost more intriguing to see the types of machinery that are used to make things. Someone had to invent a machine to do things that used to be done by hand. It's amazing!!

Have you ever watched "How It's Made"?? If so, what's your fave episode?

The *Shiner*

It all started on Monday (Aug. 4th), we were having fun swimming at my parents' house & having a BBQ.
Nathaniel & Anson (relaxing in his new hippo floaty)
Ashley & Felicia swimming with the pool noodles
My Mom & Dad (and Anson's little feet)
Ben was *holding* the hippo floaty while Anson was swimming without any help
Even their dog Madison joined us
I think this one was taken after the *shiner* so it didn't stop Nathaniel from having fun
Ok, so here's what happened..
Everyone was playing and having fun, then somehow Nathaniel got right behind or under Ben, well Ben went to move quickly and Nathaniel's eye got the brunt of Ben's elbow during a big stroke to swim away. It all happened so fast, that I didn't even realize that he got hurt until he came out of the water crying. We all took a look at his face. Yikes! Instant bruising and swelling plus a little cut. Poor guy! He put ice on it for a while then went back in the pool.


Here's how it looked when we were done swimming
(Ben felt so bad even though it was an accident)

He also kept ice on it while we watched "Goonies" that evening at my parents' house.
(The kids hadn't seen that movie yet and liked it. Total blast from the past. It came out in 1985. It was cracking me up the whole time!)


Here's how his eye looked on Wed morning
I used a little makeup to make it not look so bad (still very swollen though)
Here he is today. Hardly any swelling and most of the bruising gone.
He's already had to tell a few people asking about his *shiner* and who won the bar brawl. ha ha

He says it doesn't hurt much as long as no one touches it.

Good thing we have a couple more days before school starts. Don't want him looking like *Rocky* on his first day of school. LOL

Thursday, August 7, 2008

Hair Cuts

The last thing left to get the kids ready was haircuts! So, I finally did it! They have all needed haircuts for quite a while.

Ashley BEFORE
(forgot to take one right before, so this is from last month)
7 inches later
She liked it but wanted more cut off
So, 2 more inches later
I think she looks really CUTE
(and her hair is so shiny)

Felicia BEFORE

(it was almost hard for me to cut her hair because this is the longest it has ever been & it's so pretty except for the dry split ends!)

Off it came
6-7 inches later
Ahhh my pretty girls!!
Oh boy! This little guy is shaggy!
After some buzzing

Uh oh! And I thought Anson was shaggy!
(ummm I'll tell you about his *shiner* later)
There's my handsome little man!
My cute boys!

Whew! I had to vacuum all the stray hairs that were all over my bathroom! But now the kids look great!! And they get to meet their teachers this afternoon!
I need to go take a quick shower to get the rest of their hair off of ME! haha