It's a Good Week!

it just dawned on me as i sat down to write this entry...it's been a good week! {and it's only wednesday!} can it get any better? what makes it such a good week you ask?
* i created a couple of projects for Pink Martini Designs and they loved them and will be recreating them as class kits!
* one of my best friends from high school called me the other night!!! so fun catching up! thanks kari!
* lauren still LOVES school!
* it isn't so stinkin' HOT here anymore...doesn't mean it won't be 99 degrees tomorrow
* tomorrow is my mom's birthday! LOVE her!
* i moved and reorganized my scrap space
* i'm pretty much ready for our subdivisions garage sale in 2 wks
* i sent a little gift to my friend nichole in california...
* amy from pink martini designs shared their 3 new paper lines with me last night. OMG they are fabulous!!! they'll be coming out for memory trends in oct. hopefully we'll get samples to create projects for them before the show! can't wait!
* and finally a trip to target and costco today! i love restocking the cupboards! filling up the cereal containers and straightening the soup cans....i know i know...it's the OCD thing again!
now, if only layle from scenic route would call me tomorrow and invite me to be on their design team! (ha ha...ya, me and the 500+ sb artists!) that would make for a killer week!
hope you're having a good week! hugs!

School Photos

thought i'd share some photos of lauren on her 1st day of school...all went ok. i had my melt down before we left the house and lauren never shed a tear! it was kati who screamed her way down the hall as we left! she wanted to stay and play! geez!when i picked lauren up from school she said, "mom, i love school!"

Today is the Day!

we're all ready!
* outfit picked out and ironed....check
* matching hair ponies picked out....check
* backpack by the door....check
* mom spiffied up the flip flops....check (it's still 90 degrees here, flip flops are a must for lauren when it's 90! her feet would sweat and then she'd be all mad at me cuz i made her wear "normal" shoes!)
* box of kleenex in the car....check
* space on my camera for pictures....check
* battery charged....check
i think we're set! i'll let you know how it goes.....
here are a few albums i made yesterday for a neighbor....she is giving them as gifts.... (the boys name is kai...)

One more day!

til' lauren heads off to kindergarten....i think we're all ready. still have to pick out the outfit and find a paint shirt....my camera has room for a few new pictures, so we're good to go! oh, and i had better stash a box of kleenex in my car!
i was able to work on a few layouts over the weekend...for the "pooped out" layout i used a lot of supplies from the Jenni Bowlin aug. kit....too cute! i'll never get the hoola hoop one to line up next to eachother but it's pretty obvious they go together! i did that one a few weeks ago...when my niece was staying with us....
have a good day! hugs...

Happy Dance!!!

ok, i feel a little silly about tootin' my own horn...but i'm too stinkin' excited to keep it a secret! amy goldstein from pink martini called me today and invited me to be on their design team! a little excited here! reinventing things is totally my thing....i love doing layouts etc...but embellishing something or creating something other than it's intended use makes me happy! so fun! thanks amy! can't wait to work with the rest of the team!
we're in the middle of a thunderstorm so i had better cut this short....hugs

trying to fix the link....

Debbie Hodge's blog ok, hopefully this will work? i had trouble w/ blogger yesterday so maybe that is why the link isn't working? if it doesn't work you can google debbie hodge and her blog name is unexpected destination. sorry for the hassle.

Debbie's GoT PhoTos!!!

if you visit Debbie Hodge's blog you'll see some awesome photos from the SBA girls weekend retreat! she has a link off to the right side that is titled SBA girls weekend retreat....check em' out... she did a great job capturing the "other" side of some of the girls! (ps. NO, i did not get up on stage!)

Back from Az...

wow, what a fun weekend! ok, so i have to admit it wasn't all fun and games nor did everything run smoothly 100% of the time....but overall it was a great experience and i met some great people! for instance: Amy Goldstein from Pink Martini...loved her...she has this dry sense of humor, this sarcastic personality....she oozes New York and i love it! Jill Davis from Scrapbook.com....wow, what a nice/genuine person!! and the rest of her crew was just as nice and down to earth! Michelle Hill from li'l davis...super sweet...leslie the editor from SBA....super sweet and you'd never know it but she's one hell of a singer/dancer! ha ha Kim Kwan & Lindsay Teague were super fun..... on looker Kim Kesti was there....loved her too! so very nice and hard to believe she has 7 kids! she doesn't look a day over 25! hee hee (serious!) and then of course meeting Jenni Bowlin is always a treat! she is one of those people who is so kind and has such a pleasant demeanor....and it's real! but what i think i enjoyed the most was meeting 4 of the other design team members! nichole (my roomate), mandy, debbie and danielle! love these girls! we had a blast together and hopefully we'll keep in touch! i'll share some pictures as soon as i get some...i didn't take very many with my camera but will snag some from nichole!
terry managed the house fairly well while i was gone....the house was still standing and the girls were in one piece....so i'm thankful! probably not as clean as i would have liked it to be but he did a good job and i'm certainly not going to nit pick about the clean dishes that had been left in the dishwasher since last wed. or the clean clothes he dumped into a basket to fold later.....um, i just rewashed those! no sense in even trying to fold them. bless his heart....he did good!
so i'm in the process of cleaning, doing laundry and getting lauren geared up for kindergarten. she starts on the 23rd! i have a feeling it's not going to be a good day for me! i got teary eyed today just thinking about it! :) but she's excited!
better get back at it....hugs to all!

back to reality!

saying "bye" is always so difficult for me! my sister and her family left early this morning to head back home. i think it's easier to say "bye" if you're leaving from some place else...vs. when someone is leaving your house. you get into the routine of having coffee together in the morning and planning out your day....and then the next day your house feels empty and you're drinking your morning coffee alone. (it doesn't help that my husband is out of town and i'm alone w/ the girls) to put it mildly....saying "bye" just sucks!
but good thing is i have a busy/exciting week ahead of me...
*head to lauren's new school to drop of kindergarten paperwork (can't believe she starts big girl school in 2 weeks!)
*tuesday is highlight day! thank god! i have 2" roots showing on the top of my head!
*pack for my trip to phoenix
* wednesday...leave for the "all girls weekend retreat for SBA"!!! i'm a little nervous about this....1.) i haven't left my girls since they've been born 2.) i'm getting on a plane alone, leaving my family behind 3.) my husband will be running the household for 4 days! ha ha
i know he can do it...he's just never had to....note to self....give him instructions on how to use our washer before leaving! (don't want that to be an excuse for not doing laundry for 4 days!)
my coffee cup is empty...getting back to reality! have a great day!

just stuff...

not a real clever title is it....i'm pooped & not feeling overly creative. the heat just drains a person...today was awful...we made a quick trip to target and that was the extent of my outdoor activity! when we finished shopping and got back to the car the thermostat read 117!!! i realize the temp goes up while just sitting in the sun but my gosh that's just insane!
i loaded my creative xpress layouts from last month into the gallery today...here they are....i just realized that my cx gallery link below my picture doesn't work. guess i'll have to figure that out...oh and i just love trying to figure that stuff out!
well, my sister and her family arrive tomorrow. (oh, won't they just love this heat!) i always look forward to family visits! we have a few fun things planned. terry was able to find some great cardinals tickets so the 4 guys are going to the game on monday and then we plan on hitting 6 flags at some point. i'd love to go to a flea market while my sister is here. i have yet to find someone who likes/enjoys scouting for "junk". although, my house doesn't have a lot of refurbished finds in it....i truly LOVE to recreate things. my dream is to have an old rustic lake home or house near the beach....and decorate and furnish it the way i "can't" decorate my house. ha ha wide plank rustic floors, white washed walls, painted furniture, soft colors, open shelves in my kitchen....oh i could go on and on. i got off track....not sure what else we'll do, i guess it depends on the heat and how much everyone can tolerate!
have a peaceful wk. end and a great week! k

SBA Girls Weekend!

won't be long now and i'll be on my way to steamy hot phoenix for the girls weekend w/ sba! it's a working weekend but i am so looking forward to it! i hope they work me to the bone! ya see, i've never been away for a major scrap event/class etc...in fact i have not gone anywhere without my girls since they were born! (lauren is almost 6). i'm anxious to meet some of the girls on the design team, the editors and of course Jenni Bowlin!
and that's just the begining...sounds like we'll get to sit in on a few of the classes and hopefully get our hands on some goodies as well.
if you're reading this and you're going give me a shout...
off to check on the girls....k

"Trying Out"

so i thought i would try out for another design team. scenic route is hosting a design team call...i'm sure hords of people will apply...many talented scrappers out there. they wanted 3 layouts submitted using their product. i had 2 done already that i really liked (you've seen before) and i cranked this one out last night.... i was going to show you the other 2 again but blogger is being slow...took me 5 min. to load this one! anyway, wish me luck! going to sign off for now....my girls need lunch. later....

Smokin' Hot!

geez....could it get any hotter? with the heat index yesterday it reached 110. but we were fortunate to spend the day swimming! a neighbor invited us to swim in her in-laws pool. what a sweet set up that was!!! makes me want a pool! here are a few fun photos... thank goodness this weekend calls for cooler temps!
not much else going on...my neice has been here for 2 weeks now. she's been such a treat to have around. she keeps lauren and kati busy...but i do have to admit having another "kid" in the house adds to the grocery bill, house cleaning duties and laundry! wow! so far no signs of being home sick! (sorry kim) :)
my sister called the other night to let me know they had brought my grandma into the ER. she is 93 years old and still lives on her own on in the farmhouse she has known her entire adult life. she is still pretty active (as active as a 93 year old person can be) and she is still very sharp in the mind. she walked out to her ditch to throw away some food scraps (she didn't want them stinking up the house) away. apparently her knee gave out on her and she slipped and fell. she layed by the ditch for 5 hours before someone drove by and saw her. thank god the temps had cooled off a bit but i guess her legs did get a little sun burned. they called 911 and the ambulance took her in. she had broken a hip. she had surgery that night and i guess the dr. said she did very well and the break was a "good" break! i'm trying to stay optimistic but you always hear that once an elderly person breaks a hip "it isn't good".....i have been kicking myself ever since i got this news that we didn't visit her while we were back in minnesota last month....in fact i'm down-right mad at myself for not taking the time to go see her. we get caught up in everything else and having to go here and there....a lesson well learned!
the house is starting to buzz so i guess i should wrap this up for now....have a good weekend...visit loved ones or pick up the phone! hugs...

Moving forward...

thought i'd share a few projects i did for the new aug/sept. issue of Scrapbook Answers...lots of fun how-to's in this one! i created a couple of altered items such as....
a light switch plate mini book and an altered altoid tin... (both items are property of Future)

i saw this light plate in Lowe's hardware store and knew there could be another use for it. why of course, a mini book! the Scrapbook Answers CD has a few of the inside pages featured there....i didn't take photos before sending the project off...

well, it's another hot/humid day here in Missouri. UHG! we're heading to the pool here shortly. even being at the pool feels miserable on days like today. i'd love to stay in and scrap as i have projects due soon....but the kiddos are bouncing off the walls....finally feeling caught up from being on vacation. i love going away but it seems like there is always so much to do when you get back home! have a good day! hugs...

I spoke too soon.....

hi! i hope everyone had a wonderful holiday....we enjoyed our vacation but am glad to be home and back into our somewhat normal routine!
do you ever wish you were better at keeping your secrets to yourself? or at least keeping them a secret for just a little while longer....i guess what i'm trying to say is...while on vacation i had a miscarriage. i guess i never really thought it could possibly happen to me again. i went to the ER just after arriving in fargo, after driving for 11 hours. i was spotting (but it wasn't "red"). they did a pelvic ultrasound and told me all looked ok? even though the dr. told me everything was ok, i knew in my heart it wasn't. i knew something was wrong. according to the ultrasound i was only 5-6 weeks along. none-the-less any loss is heartbreaking. i was happy to be with family but i truly wish i had been better at keeping this secret. telling lauren that she wasn't going to have a brother or sister, again, was difficult. i'm not sure if we'll try to have another baby or not? i have a dr. apt. this week and hopefully she can give me some answers. thanks again for the nice e-mails and comments! having great friends and support helps to make times like these a little easier to deal with! hugs to all! k

Thank You!!!

thanks SO much for all of your prayers and well wishes for my pregnancy! i have an ultrasound when i get back from vacation to give me my exact due date. i was never good at keeping track of my monthly deal! i also have 2 apts. set up already with the high risk dr. and my regular obgyn. so the ball is rolling and i AM getting more excited...just still a little wigged out. i always wondered how parents of 3+ kids did it.....i guess you just go with the flow and take on whatever comes your way....it is a blessing and i am very grateful... so thank you!
one of my neighbors hired a DARE officer to come to our neighborhood and talk to the kids tonight....i thought this was a great idea but i didn't know there was a "reason" behind it....come to find out a few weeks ago there was a man in a car that had stopped in one of the culdasacks where there were several kids playing and asked the kids if they had seen his lost puppy....well, one of the dad's had seen this car stopped so he went outside and when the man saw him coming he drove off! he didn't get his license plate no. but hopefully he remembers the car! so we're all a little freaked out about that....no matter how many times you tell your kids NOT to talk to strangers all it takes is for them to throw in the "puppy" and the kids are hooked! so very scary!!! and we live in a small subdivision that is tucked down into a secluded area with one way in and one way out! i really hope the kids will listen and learn from this officer tonight!
we're on vacation tomorrow....hope everyone has a safe and happy 4th of july!!!
hugs! k

Monday Monday....

good morning...hope everyone had a great weekend! ours was nice. didn't do much, but sometimes that's ok too! we have a busy week....swimming lessons, tumbling and then it's a car trip back home to visit! for years my folks have always thrown a big family 4th of july shindig @ their lake home....and this year we're finally going to join the festivities. i'm looking forward to seeing family we haven't seen in several years! unfortunately, this may be the last 4th of july party at their lake home. their in the process of looking for a different house closer to town and in north dakota. minnesota taxes on lake property is outrageous i guess and as they age it's best they be closer to a town with a hospital.
thought i would share a few pictures with you.... a layout i did of lauren playing soccer... a recent picture of kati....and a picture of my secret!
yup, it's true...we can't believe it either! one would think that after taking maybe 2 tests a person would come to grips with it and realize that false positives aren't all that common. i bought my first test at target and had to hit the bathroom before we even left the store. i cried. then on the way home from target i ran into walgreens. thought maybe if i spent a few extra bucks on a test it would give me different results. nope. new day...new test or two. finally the 5th test i waited until first thing in the morning. and i made sure i peed on the stick just right, no funny angles, counting the correct number of seconds it tells you to pee on the stick.....POSITIVE! oh boy!!!! we totally thought we were done! in fact terry doesn't think i should be telling anyone because i haven't had the best pregnancies and then had a miscarriage. (i'm only about 5-6 weeks) but being as that i wasn't all that happy about it in the first place i really wanted to tell people so i could feel better about it! i knew if i told people i would get a good reaction! people would be happy for us and in return maybe i could be happy too. and don't get me wrong, it's NOT like i'm not happy...i am. it's just scary. lauren was 4 weeks early, kati was 7 weeks early and spent 17 days in the NICU and then i had a miscarriage. but i keep telling myself there is a reason i am pregnant again. it's like god is giving us one last chance to have a healthy baby. i haven't seen the dr. yet. but i do have an apt. scheduled. she's nearly impossible to get into! she's a high risk dr. so i should be in good hands for hopefully a full 9 months! i did go in and had the blood test taken. not like i needed another test to tell me i was pregnant :)
the only other bad thing is the hospital she delivers at is a good 30-40 min. away. i didn't know i was in labor with kati. i felt crappy all wk. end but never thought it was labor. i have a high tolerance for pain....and the contractions didn't feel like contractions.....the drive to our hospital in ak was about 30 min. i delivered kati 11 min. after getting to the hospital! so i guess i'm a little wigged out about having a long drive and tons of traffic to fight....so if you think of it, say a little prayer for the life growing inside me....and that we can spend a full 9 months growing together!

Just for Fun...

finally getting around to creating a layout just for fun! i've had these pictures of the girls for a while now and they probably aren't the best pictures, lauren is looking pretty goofy in the one...but i still love the pictures and had to use them! the pictures of course only portray one side of their personalities....they aren't always so lovey dovey towards eachother! but most of the time!
geez, it's been hot here and when on earth is it going to rain? took the girls to the pool again yesterday....always a fun treat to cool off!
cutting this post short...lots to get done today....hopefully by next week i can share my secret!

Fathers Day!

can you believe it's the 3rd week in june already....crazy! happy fathers day! not that many "fathers" read my blog but thought i'd send the greeting out there anyway! terry is spending the afternoon golfing. which is fine, it's his day....not sure what we'll do later, maybe dinner?
can't say i have anything all that exciting to chat about...one last assignment to go and i'll be done, until the next one that is....then hopefully i can create some fun stuff just because!
i received a few e-mails and a couple of posted comments wondering what my secret is....hmmmm? i was wondering if anyone would catch that in my last post? can't share just yet....but i will do so soon. i'm terrible at keeping "fun" secrets of my own but i had better wait on this one...don't want to get in trouble.
well, since i don't have anything to report i'll close with this cute picture of kati. poor thing was trying to play and i kept making her look up at me! i'm surprised i was able to get such a cute picture. cheers!

a New Day...

well, only 2 projects to go! whooo! and i'm almost done with the one. i just realized i have this process i have to go through...and i think it's one i need to use when i muster my way through just about anything.
*i think about it
*i tinker with it
*i walk away
*i go back
*i think about it some more
*i look for inspiration
*i go back....and it hits me! so relieved!
aside from projects we've been busy with swimming lessons and gymnastics. i'm a little disappointed with the gymnastics class. it's a very introductory class, which is fine. it's been 2 years since lauren has been in a tumbling class so i thought this would be good for her to refresh and relearn the basics. well, the teacher (bless her heart) is all of 16, has an audience of parents staring at her and has a class of uncontrollable kids. well, just 2 boys! OMG these 2 boys were out of control. the parents were pretty embarrassed but it's hard for me to think lauren will get much out of it when there is so many distractions. hopefully she will and we can move on to the Gym Quarters...it's a facility that teaches only gymnastics.
so i was having a difficult time thinking of something for terry for fathers day...well, i know of several things he wants but my little ol' budget just isn't enough for me to provide him with these nice gifts....so he's been talking about golfing again so i talked to a neighbor and asked him if he knew of a nice golf course where i could purchase a couple of rounds for terry for fathers day. so i order these over the phone and they send them in the mail. SO...guess what....even tho' this envelope had MY name on it....terry thought it was some sort of advertising thing or something so he OPENED it! putz! and here i was all pumped cuz i thought of a nice/fun gift. note to self: do not order things over the phone and have them mailed to the house if i want it to remain a secret!
well, i was reading another blog and came across this little "questioners" so i thought i would play along....kind of fun...

I AM: blessed
I WANT: good health and happiness for family and friends.
I HAVE: a partner who makes me laugh, drives me crazy, loves me, and fits perfectly into the life I once dreamed about.... & "i have" a secret!
I WISH: upon stars & that kati was potty trained :)
I HATE: unfriendly people.
I MISS: my family, old friends, my dog, & seeing mountains out my window
I HEAR: kati rootin' around in bed
I WONDER: what my children will be when they grow up
I REGRET: not going to college
I AM NOT: selfish
I DANCE: with my clothes on
I SING: alone. You don't want to hear what it sounds like.
I CRY: when i see puppies
I AM NOT ALWAYS: patient
I MAKE WITH MY HANDS: art & sometimes a meal
I WRITE: without capital letters (type)
I CONFUSE: our 3 neighbor triplets
I NEED: to work out more; save $ more; relax a little more; call Mom & Dad more.
I SHOULD: tell my husband i appreciate him more often!
I START: new projects...and it often times takes me a while to finish them.
I FINISH: my dinner plate