EYE CANDY

Credits are in my gallery HERE

And I am writing this post from my new space! Still working on hiding the wires and the little messes that come with moving rooms. I love it and in the few days it has been set up it has made a HUGE improvement in our household. Life is good!

WEEK IN REVIEW

Usually I do a weekend review but this week has just flown by and I forgot about my poor little blog. It is in need of a makeover and a little spring cleaning. So here goes the week:

Monday
see previous post

Tuesday
Garrett went to school while Lance and I went to the ENT. He still has fluid behind his eardrums. The doctor took his tubes out since they were just resting in the ear canal anyways. He said that as long as Lance is comfortable than there is no need to put another set of tubes in right now. It is bad timing with all the water activities that go on during the summer. If he does get another infection then we will reconsider. It is also something to think about in the fall. After that we came home and I tried to get him to nap. Didn't work. So we went to get Garrett and when we came home they were both cranky. Lance slept for an hour and Garrett watched Word Factory. I don't remember the rest of the day.

Wednesday
I woke up feeling horrible. Allergies. We just played around all day. The boys played "cup game." It is actually bowling with paper cups and little balls but Lance calls it "cup game." Garrett is the one who came up with the idea. They also played Teacher. Guess who was the teacher? Garrett was made for that role. He loves to boss. We dyed our eggs and that was interesting. Lance ended up looking like the Incredible Hulk. He was quite green when it was all said and done.

Thursday
Both boys went to school and had their egg hunt. Lance was very possessive of his basket when I picked him up and would not let me look in it. Garrett was very excited that he got bubble gum. We played outside and rode the power wheels and scooter in the driveway.

Friday
Billy is going fishing and we might go to the strawberry patch. I'll let you know what we did on Monday.

Designs

A Little Crumpled- Circles (If you buy the crumpled ribbons you can receive $1 the wrinkled ribbons- use coupon code dollar off)



Kelsey Paper Stack


Layouts
credits: template and staple by Jen Caputo, blue solid and green solid by me, papers and cardboard by Dani Mogstad, fonts are You Are Loved and Problem Secretary, Photoblast actions



credits: Love Sprung by Dani Mogstad and Traci Reid and the font is Jennifer by Darcy Baldwin.

The blog will be taking a hiatus this weekend. The house needs to be cleaned so the Easter Bunny won't kill himself tripping over all the toys. Have a happy weekend!

FREEBIE FRIDAY

Friday is finally here! And to celebrate I have a little gift for you. I have been working on a few ribbons and received great complements on the one I used in this layout:



CREDITS HERE

There are many more of these ribbons in the works right now. When I use ribbons on crafts and paper scrapbooking they are never straight. I am not sure if that is user error or not but I thought that my digi pages should have the same look. And since I am too cheap to buy something I could attempt to make I gave it a shot. Here is a sneak peek to what I have been up to:



There are wrinkled straight ribbons, crumpled crooked ribbons and crumpled circles. I have a few other shapes and styles ideas floating around in my head. And yes, there will be ric rac. That just takes longer.

So here is a chance to try one out for me. I wasn't to thrilled about the color so instead of trashing it I thought I would share it. Let me know what you think!

This link will be taken down tonight so grab it while you can! (drop shadows for preview only)


Yellow Crumpled Circle (sorry! link has been removed)

Enjoy your weekend!

DANG OAK TREES

The green stuff is in the air. Oak tree pollen is floating around and covering every surface. Which makes me suffer. Zyrtec can only take me so far. But hey- I know with the next rain it will knock the pollen count down. But then the rain makes the grass grow and grass allergies are my nemesis. COME ON SUMMER!

If you pay no attention to the 4 runny noses around here we are all great. Spring Break is over and we are trying to find our routine again. With the longer days it makes bedtime harder. But the boys are adjusting.

We spent the weekend working around the house. We emptied out the front flower beds and gave them a mini make over. The boys enjoyed all the worms we uncovered.



That is about it. Nothing exciting, just normal.

I did a little bit of designing and came up with this:




And I did a little bit of scrapping and came up with this:

This is a layout for Audrey Neal. I am a Guest CT this month and when I saw this kit I dug out a picture from Easter 1986 to use. Can you believe that was 20 years ago? Credits coming soon!

Credits Here

SPRING CLEANING

Why is it that when you clean you make more of a mess? The spring cleaning bug has hit me and I am tackling some projects that were long overdue. But in the process I am making other little piles and messes. So frustrating! I did get my make up drawer cleaned out and the craft closet. Garrett will be thrilled to see all the paint materials I found. Of course I found other items that I now need to find a new home for. My next project is to get into the boy's closet and dig out summer clothes and make a bag of clothes to donate. I might have to throw a few toys in there also.

It is quiet around here today. The boys are at my parents for spring break. I tried to convince my mom that it should be the entire week but she did not agree. I think they might be coming home soon because Lance seems to have another cold and is not feeling well. I have enjoyed the alone time. It is amazing how much faster I can clean without little helpers!

I have only scrapped one page. I have been attempting to make elements to match my papers and that has taken all my computer time. But here is the layout of Lance's version of hide and seek:

CREDITS HERE

And here are the elements I made. This was so difficult to do and I am not all that happy with the results. But you have to start somewhere.



Included are 4 marker drawn stickers, 3 not so straight ribbons, 3 eyelets and 3 staples.

You can download them here. LINK REMOVED- Sorry!

The papers will be up for a couple more days. The links are a few posts below. I will take them down soon because I am reaching my download limit.

Thanks for all the lovely comments last week! I enjoyed reading them and they brightened my day! And please send me a link to any layouts using my stuff- I would love to leave praise!

GOODIES

I made more goodies! Patterns are MUCH harder than solids! And since I really have no clue what I am doing I did not venture into florals or ornate designs. I would love to try it but I am still trying to figure some of it out. Like where can you get brushes that are available for commercial use that are also free? What clip art is available? So many questions.

But this is what I came up with to match the Summer Solids:



And you can download it here. (Sorry- link removed!) The solids are still available below.

Enjoy!

Any suggestions for elements? I would love to hear some feedback if you have tried them. You can email me (address in the TOU) I need to know how to improve or what to fix. Thanks!

HOLY MOLY

Thanks for the great response! I never imagined so many people would come and grab my papers. There have been OVER 1,000 hits on my blog since Monday morning. WOW! Now I have no way of knowing if everyone downloaded the papers- or if they are even using them but the interest makes me happy. And I am attempting to make pattern papers now. Not as easy as solids! LOL! A few people asked where I got my textures. They are all mine. :) See Billy- unfolded laundry has its strong points.

And a few have asked what made me decide to attempt to design something. I am the type of person that wants to know it all. I want to learn PSE5 and start using the many tools it offers. So I did a little research and read a few tutorials and combined all I learned and made papers. It was fun to do and opened a whole new world of learning for me.

Here is another link if the ones below expire: CLICK HERE


***********************************************************************************
LANCE
We went for his 2 year check up yesterday. The boy is big. He is 35 3/4 inches long (95%) which is 1/4 inch shorter than Garrett was at 2. I don't remember his weight but it was in the 75%. So was his head. Everything checked out ok and he only had one shot.

He is talking a mile a minute now. He newest is "Wook Ma!" He says that constantly when we are driving somewhere. And he is aware of bodily functions. He thinks it is funny to run and tell me "I toot!"

GARRETT
A little funny: We got Sonic drinks today after going to the Y. Garrett was drinking his pretty fast and I guess he inhaled a little bit of his Sprite. He told me he had "Sonic drink snot and it is cold!" Made me laugh.

BILLY
Billy made us a garden! The boys are so excited that they get to plant their seeds this weekend. We will be growing tomatoes, peppers and watermelon. Garrett thinks we will grow watermelon.

ME
I am just great! My house is in need of some spring cleaning and I could really use another arm. Or maybe x-ray vision so I could see through the walls when the boys are in another room. But life is good.

TREVOR
Trev is getting old. He is looking pretty pathetic right now. He was bit this past weekend and had to have a couple staples on the top of his head. In addition to the teeth he had pulled and his vaccinations he is feeling the pain right now. Poor Trev. We really have no idea how old he is most likely over 10 years old. He looks older right now with half of his head shaved and a droopy mouth where his tooth use to be.

LAYOUTS
I have 2 for your viewing pleasure.

CREDITS HERE

CREDITS HERE

Time to go make supper!

Lookie!

So I was planning on having a 200th post blog party. But I am too impatient and decided to have it now!

In celebration of my blogiversary and my impending 200th post I have a gift for you! I have a major case of scrapper's block but needed to do something creative so I made papers. This is my first time designing anything so any feedback is great! Give me the good, the bad and even the ugly.

Here they are:

Summer Solids




My inspiration for the colors is our beach umbrella. I am so ready to get it out and start using it!

You can download it here. Sorry- link has been removed!



Please leave me a comment if you grab it and I would love to see any layouts using the papers.

The link is only good for 100 downloads so let me know if I need to fix it.

Thanks for a great blog year!

TWO

By the time everyone reads this my baby will be two. Where did time go? Lancer turning 2 is much harder than when Garrett did. Maybe because this might be my last baby. Maybe because he is a momma's boy. All I know is that my heart is aching right now. Birthdays are always hard for a mommy because it is just another reminder that your children are growing up. If there was a time that I could bottle Lance up it would be now.

I miss having a baby in the house.

WELL

I can't think of a title today. I can't think at all. The nasty virus that has plagued our house this winter has struck again.

I took Garrett to the doctor yesterday because he was complaining about his ears again. We did not see our usual doctor and the only appointment available was with the doctor I don't like. He said Garrett has fluid behind his ears but to wait and see if it gets better. He said it probably would. But he was not concerned about the green snot that Garrett has had for 3 weeks. He is coughing up all kinds of junk and his nose is still running. I was hoping for some kind of relief. So there goes $20.

We came home and Lance took a nap and woke up with a fever. UGH! So there was no AWANAS for Garrett again. And Lance still has a fever today. We had to make a quick trip to Walmart for Tylenol and pull ups. He took a long nap when we got home and now his fever is up to 102 this afternoon. So if it does not break tonight we will be back at the Drs tomorrow.

And I am in a foul mood because this weekend was going to be our little getaway. Just Billy and I. We had to cancel it because Billy's coworker had to go out of town for a family emergency. Which means Billy is now doing 2 jobs and has awful hours. He had to be at the jobsite at 3:00 AM Wednesday morn. That is insane!

We are hoping to go get Lance's birthday gift this weekend and set it up for the boys to play in. That was actually my plan today but we took a sick day today. Other than that we have no plans this weekend. Just rest and hopefully get well. Of course there is always housework to do! I need to make Garrett some new chore charts and add dusting to his list of things to do. The boy loves to dust. He goes to town with my Swiffer duster.

And in one week Lance will be 2! I can't believe it! I was holding him today and noticed how all his baby fat has disappeared. No more chunky legs. He is a little boy now.

I need to go before I make myself cry!

Here is a layout of my little one:

CREDITS HERE

THE WEEKEND

Time sure does fly when Billy is around! It seems that there are never enough hours in the day to do all we want to do. It all started yesterday when Billy replaced the water pump in the TrailBlazer. That took a little while but he did most of it while the boys were napping. Then Lance went out to help him. After Garrett got out of his post-nap funk the boys rode their bikes down the sidewalk. This is the first time Garrett was excited about riding his bike and did not want any help from me. Until he fell off.

After that we went to return a few things, ate a Denny's and went grocery shopping. The boys cleaned their plates at Denny's. They have never eaten that much at a restaurant and they were so good! Billy and I were amazed! Garrett ate a personal sized pizza and applesauce. Lance had a Jr. Grand Slam and ate almost all of it! That is a serving of scrambled eggs, sausage link, bacon and 3 silver dollar pancakes and a little side of fruit. That boy would eat breakfast all day long if I let him.

On the way home from HEB we were wondering why traffic was so bad. Turns out that there was a gas pipeline explosion a about a mile from our house. I am so glad we weren't home. There was a huge fire but luckily it was in a pasture so nothing was hurt or damaged. A few of the intersections around the neighborhood were closed and that is why it took forever to get home. There have been helicopters flying over ever since. It is getting a little annoying.

And today we stayed home. Billy let me sleep in until 8:35! That felt good! Garrett and Lance are still coughing and snotty so I didn't want to take them to Sunday School and spread yucky germs around. And I did not feel comfortable leaving them here with Billy and his peg leg. Not both boys at least. So we did not make it to church. Billy did go on a few errands and picked up his new grill. It is so cool! I can't wait for April to come now!

The boys spent the day with Billy in the garage watching the "Piston Cup" (NASCAR), eating Popsicles and playing. I did a few things inside, got caught up on my email and scrapped! And Garrett made an executive decision that we would have supper outside. So we did. That was the end of the day. They fell pretty hard after that. And now all 3 are in their beds snoring. The two little ones snoring is cute. I am not liking the big one snoring.

Here are the layouts I finished up this weekend:

CREDITS HERE

CREDITS HERE

CREDITS HERE (coming soon)

Time to find the Breath Rights...

CRAZY CRAZY

Just when I thought it would get back to what we call normal...

Garrett is now sick. He has a temp of 101 and a bad cough. I am sure Lance will be next since he is always taking away G's sippy cup. He stayed home with me today while Lance went to MDO. It has been a long time since we have had any time without Lance. Kinda nice. I need to do this when he is not sick. Maybe go on a date with just Garrett.

We took Billy to the doctor yesterday. He has a Level 3 sprain and is now in a walking boot. I (and Billy) are so relieved that he no longer has to use crutches. When he took the boot off last night I took a picture of his foot and it still looks like the picture I posted earlier. He has to wear the boot for at least a month and will start PT in a month. Getting rid of the crutches was the best Valentine's gift EVER!

Yesterday was a very nice Valentine's day. We got to spend half the day with Daddy. After his appintment we went to Gander Mountain to shop for his new gun. I picked up some Crocs for me picked out Billy's Father's Day gift that he is getting way early! I want it for trips to the beach.



I need to get busy attacking the laundry pile. I am leaving you with some layouts of Miss Shelby!

CREDITS HERE

CREDITS HERE

CRAFT DAY

The boys love it when we have Craft Day. We should do it more often but you can imagine the mess it makes! This is what they made:

We used papers from Dani Mogstad's Carzy Love kit.



And this is something Lance worked on:




And this is what I have been working on:

CREDITS HERE

CREDITS HERE

The kit used in here was named after Garrett. Sarah was working on it and I was chatting with her. She told me she couldn't think of a name and I told her it looked like G's vest he wears constantly so she named it after him!

CREDITS HERE

CREDITS HERE


CREDITS HERE

I need to go find some medicine. This cold is kicking my hiney! I want to feel normal again!

LITTLE GOODIES

Valentine's Day is my 2nd most favorite holiday. Aw heck- who are we kidding? I love every holiday! But Valentine's Day is extra special since it is my sweetheart's birthday. And he hates it! So I try to separate the two events and this year I have something extra special planned for Billy. (Don't make plans for next weekend Billy!) Garrett is in on it with me and is getting excited also. Now I just need to figure out how to fit 32 candles on his cake.

The boys will have Valentine's parties at MDO and AWANAS. We already bought their CARS cards and tattoos. And I am making them a little something extra to pass out to their friends.

Aren't they the cutest! I made some using Dani's new kit also. And you can get them FREE! Check out Dani's blog and grab the link to her newsletter. Lots of inspiration in there!

***CLICK ME***

At the very bottom of the newsletter is a link to grab a page of 3 sweetheart box covers. Just print, tape/glue and add a little ribbon. I added the boy's names before printing but you could always add it with a Sharpie after printing.



Today is Craft Day in our household. That means that it will be a mess when you get home Billy. We are making a cute little project that involves red, pink and hearts! I miss making crafts- it is the only thing I miss about teaching. So I have decided to establish Craft Day.

But first I need to go to the grocery store. Super Bowl weekend is almost as crazy as Thanksgiving so I plan to get our goods before it gets crowded. And we need glue.

Have a great weekend! And check back soon- I hope to have adorable pictures up!

PASS THE COLD

Ever play that game? Not fun!

I am now the one with the nasty cold. I sometimes wish that I was the first to get the cold so I would then know how it feels and what to do. I hate not knowing how to help my little ones. I totally understand the "bugs" in ears today! So I am taking some meds and drinking my orange juice and praying this does not turn into a sinus infection or bronchitis.

Yesterday my I met my mom and she took the boys for the night. It was a much needed break. I was already feeling crummy but the yuckies really hit me last night. So I got to sleep in this morning and now I am washing clothes and just sitting. Don't have any energy to do anything else. The boys will be back after lunch and hopefully we can just lay around and watch a movie. Garrett has AWANAS tonight and I don't think Billy will make it home in time to take him. Hopefully I can find a quiet corner in the church and just hang out with Lance until Billy gets there.

I promised more stuff to share with you and here it is!

This is a CD Magnet I made. I used papers from Dani Mogstad's Crazy Love kit and various ribbons.



And this is an invitation I made for Lance's 2nd birthday. I used papers from Dani's Hard At Play kit. NOTE TO FAMILY: THIS MAY NOT BE THE ACTUAL DATE! I AM STILL WORKING OUT DETAILS!

And right now I am printing out papers for the cutest little kiddie project ever! I did this with my students every Valentine's Day and they loved it! And hopefully Friday I can do it with Lance and Garrett.

Need to find a cough drop...

AS PROMISED

Lance and his new hair cut:


Garrett climbing a tree:


CREDITS HERE
CREDITS HERE
CREDITS HERE



CREDITS HERE AND HERE

I took Garrett to see the doctor today and he does have an ear infection- two of them. The right ear is worse than the left but there were definitely "bugs" in there. So now he is on a round of antibiotics. This should be interesting since he is allergic to most antibiotics and will most likely get a rash. Dr. C checked and the last time he had to get medicine was last March.

After the Dr visit I took the boys to MDO. Lance was excited to go today. He must have had a growth spurt because he towers over all the other little kiddies. I went ahead and let Garrett go on his field trip since he did not have a fever and was dying to go. I drove him and a classmate to the jump place. And he jumped for 2 hours straight! They then had pizza and we took them back to the church. Garrett wanted to stay because they were going to "rest" and watch a movie. That was fine with me! So I have an hour to myself right now. And I am using that hour to get rid of the headache that 40 3 and 4 yr olds can give you.

After I pick them up and we have snack we are going to put all the toys in their proper homes. Somehow this week toys got scattered everywhere and it is driving me nuts! Lance is really into Thomas right now and there is a train in every room. And there is always laundry to do. Good thing Thursday night is my TV night. I can sit and fold while watching my shows.

Tomorrow is MOPS and more cleaning. Saturday is going to be a Family Fun Day and Sunday we have church and I need to get a good picture taken of the boys. Somewhere in there I would love to take a nap- or even sleep in but I doubt that is likely.

Time to go get the boys!