Back from Vacation....

hey there!....just thought i'd pop in and say hi! i'm a little short on time as we just got back last night and i am still trying to finish up the laundry, and clean our house (i know, we were on vacation and i cleaned before we left so how could my house be dirty? not sure but it is....
we had a really nice vacation. it was a busy one but we were able to see a lot of people and do a lot of fun things. but after being gone for 15 days i think we were all glad to get home.
i need to cut this short but will be back another day to post some pictures i have promised to post and some details of our vacation.
glad to be back!

I'm Here....

i'm such a bad blogger. or maybe i'm just too busy? busy doing what, i don't know? the days just seem to fly by. it's hard to believe summer is 1/2 over!

anyway, my august issue of CK arrived in the mail yesterday. so excited to see this little number in it....the article is about using shapes. i love the pictures of the girls. that was my first time being published in CK... i just noticed something though. if you look at my layout here and compare it to the one in the magazine my paper buttons are moved. huh? wonder if they fell off or someone thought they looked better w/ only 2 and in the center vs. off to the side. i'm all about balance and for some reason the one in the mag. looks goofy now. oh well. i guess no one would have noticed had i not said something. :)

hope everyone had a nice 4th of july. we spent the evening at a neighbors eating and shooting off fireworks, oh and sweating! geez, the humidity was terrible.

work outs are going good. it's been almost 3 weeks since i started. i wish my energy level would increase. ha! but otherwise i'm feeling good. workouts are getting easier and i'm not sore all of the time. so that's a good sign. my clothes are fitting better or i should say more loose. which is a good thing but may result in the need of a new wardrobe! (or at least that is my goal) and yes, i made sure to let my dear hubby know this also! ha ha

need to run...have a great weekend!

Checking In...

hey there....figured i needed to post real quick. it's been a while.
some fun stuff....i got an e-mail from laura yesterday congratulating me for having a layout in the august issue. huh, i had no idea! :) they had asked for this layout a long time ago, so i sent it to them....thinking it was supposed to be in the top 10 issue a while back. i kept looking for the layout and even though i had already been compensated i had given up on seeing the layout in print. so my first time being published with ck and i didn't know it. ha ha more scrap related news. i got an e-mail the other day to do 2 layouts for Making Memories magazine for an article that will be in the jan. 08 issue. i'm done with one and almost finished with the second. it's such an honor (at least for me) when someone asks me to do work for them. i'm tickled and appreciate the opportunity! so thank you!
it's been almost 2 weeks now since i joined the gym. i'm still going strong. i did take the weekend off but i feel guilty for doing so. not sure if that is a good thing. i tend to put too much pressure on myself to do all of these things. i almost set myself up to fail. but i really enjoy going and even though i have only lost 2 lbs. my body feels stronger and firmer already. (don't get me wrong, i still have a ways to go!)
big date night tomorrow. terry got the two of us cardinal tickets. so we have a sitter and plan to head down to the game a little early. take in some dinner etc.
i haven't been to the new stadium yet so i'm looking forward to going. i'm not a huge die hard but it will be fun anyway.
sorry for rambling....i need to head out. the church where lauren and kati had vbs this past week is having a big party in their parking lot this morning. big blow up bouncy house etc....so we had better run. have a good week!

*Disney* collectors?

a few months ago after terry finished building me some shelves in our basement i came across a large box of Disney beanies that i had collected several years ago when i worked in management for the Disney Store. i have never really been a huge fan but for some reason i thought i needed all of these beanies or that my children would some day need them. the last thing i want is 42 beanies to pick up every day....so before i put them on Craig's list or EBay i thought i would post it on my blog first. like i mentioned there are 41 beanies plus 1 "Cast Member" Mickey. ( i'm not suppose to sell this one because ONLY cast members should have them but i'm willing to send him to a new home, even if i'm breaking the rules :) all of the beanies have their original tags and are in good shape. i only have one that is doubled up, which is flubber. so if anyone knows of anyone who would like ALL of these send them to my blog and have them contact me. i'll give it a few days and then i'll put them up for sale elsewhere. i don't want my girls to see that i still have these otherwise they'll never leave my house. (kpbabb2000@yahoo.com)

Saturday...

i'm not feeling overly inspired to write much about anything today but figured it's been a few days so i should at least post something. not so sure it's a good thing to post when you have nothing to really yack about or to not post at all. we'll see....

the weeks are flying by already. it's hard to believe we're in the 3rd week of june. we've been kept busy with swimming lessons, gymnastics, trips to the pool, trips to the neighbors pool, library visits, bbq's and just this week i joined the gym. i don't know if i have ever been so excited to join a gym. guess that goes to show you how uneventful and exciting my life is. ha ha i guess being a stay at home mom i often times feel as though "my" time is limited and i'm losing a sense of who i am and where i'm headed. i'm hoping my time at the gym will help me to figure this all out. not only losing the 15-20lbs. i'd like to lose and toning up but giving me the "me" time i need. i figure it's a good excuse to find time for myself. my husband can't discourage me for going to the gym, can he? the first day i met w/ a trainer. man, was i sore the next day. day #2 was even worse. but after day #3 i wasn't nearly as sore and by day #4 i was feeling pretty good. so i wasn't in as bad of shape as i thought. ha i'm taking the weekend off from the gym but hittin' it again on monday!

we had an eventful night last night! we went down to a neighbors house for a visit and came home to locked doors and NO keys to get in. kati decided on her way out of the door that comes in from the garage to lock it. i have caught her doing this before but this time i didn't see her lock it nor did i bother to check it. luckily i had my cell phone with me and my neighbor had called a locksmith not that long ago for her car. $70 later....our house is open. scary thing is he opened the dead bolt in about 3 minutes! i didn't think dead bolts were that easy to pick but he said their no more difficult than a regular door knob. comforting. i'm so glad we have an alarm system on our house! helps me to sleep better at night :)

i found a really cool blog today....if you love interior design this is a good one. desire to inspire. i haven't had time to look through the archives but from what i saw it was totally inspiring.

the pictures i added (can't have a post without a picture or two) are just some random shots of the girls. kati at the pool and lauren at the park. the pocket is an assignment we had to do for creative xpress this past month.

have a good weekend!

Great Wk. End

so this weekend has been very busy but overall a great weekend. friday night started out with our monthly bunco group getting together. now, we haven't actually played bunco in months (don't tell our husbands...but i think their onto us!) but just getting together with neighbors and friends is always a treat. the host always makes great food and the beverages are usually pretty darn tasty as well.

saturday morning was the Susan Komen race for the Cure in st. louis. it was only a 5k but at 93 degrees and 65,000 of our closest friends joining us it was steamy to say the least. but what an amazing race. i wish i had brought my camera. but i knew with the heat i probably wasn't going to want to lug it around. if you ever have the opportunity to be a part of something of this magnitude or have never really given it a thought, it's definitely something everyone should experience at least once. we were all surprised at how organized and how smoothly everything seemed to go. with that many people you would think it would be a complete mess. the race got started on time and it took us an hour and 40 minutes to walk it. the first mile seemed like it took forever...i'm not sure how many people were in front of us but when we made it to the top of a hill it seemed as though there were miles of people in front of us and just as many behind us. it was just amazing. body after body. it probably sounds silly but it was so empowering. this is something i definitely want to do every year and get the rest of our family involved as well. lauren was pretty jazzed about it when i got home and said she wanted to race next year! st. louis just missed the record for most registered to race by 100!

i'm pretty sure my husband doesn't read my blog or at least not often but if by chance he happens to take a peak...happy father's day sweetheart! you're an amazing father and i probably don't tell you often enough. so thank you for all you do...for me, for the girls and for our family! i love you!

so i was looking around on line a bit ago and found a couple of cool sites. there is a new magazine coming out (if not already?) called Organize. i can't wait to get my hands on this one. and the other site is this one Sk*rt. a cool site for women with tons of information and ideas.

i'll leave you with a really good appetizer recipe....nancy made this on friday night for our bunco group. i have never had them before but they were so good.

i'm not sure what their called but you take cherry tomatoes and hollow them out a bit, then cream together sour cream (small tub), a bag of the hidden valley ranch dip and bacon bits. spoon a little into each tomatoe and chill. they were so good.

have a great week!

*the picture of the girls was taken a few weeks ago at the park.

Tuesday...

well, i can finally post and say i actually feel pretty good. that flu bug just did not want to go away. it took a good 5 days before i didn't feel queasy. hate that. although, it did help me loose 7 lbs. love that!

first i need to wish my dear friend Laura a happy birthday! hope you have a super birthday and a great time at the concert!

summer is in full swing here. i took the girls to the park today for a picnic, we met some friends and had a great time. although, 82 degrees seemed a lot more like 102! poor kati and the heat just don't mix.

we haven't been up to too much. i'll randomly fill you in.....

saturday we made it to the pool.

sunday we just hung out. i guess terry golfed

monday i took lauren to the library to get her signed up for a summer reading program. she's so excited about that. after reading so many books they get a prize and win 2 baseball tickets to see the river city rascals (a minor league baseball team) we also had to try to find another bathing suit for her. target seems to have the cutest ones for the best price. i can't justify paying $25 for a kids suit.

then today was the grocery store, the park for a picnic and tonight we're heading out for a nice dinner w/ terry's cousin scott who is in town for business.

lauren has swimming lessons again on wednesday.

gymnastics on thursday

thank goodness soccer is over for the season! so fridays and saturdays are now free. i'm thinking about taking the girls to 6 flags on friday w/ some neighbors and then saturday morning myself and 2 of my friends are doing the 5k run/walk for the cure in st. louis. i'm pretty excited about that. and then saturday night we have a party to go to.

whewwww! busy, but fun!

i was looking through my pictures and came across a couple of things i did for pink martini a while back. i figured i could show you them by now.... the bulletin board and magazine box.

i had better see what the girls are up to....chat later....

Back from the dead....

or at least that is how i feel. i ended up catching lauren's flu bug as did terry. so both of us were out of commission for almost 3 days. i'm still not completely back to normal yet but at least i can function.

so anyway, i have so much to catch up on, mainly laundry so i need to make this short and sweet....but thought i would share this layout i did of lauren before getting the flu. i used a lot of the jenni bowlin kit, some lil davis and making memories.

have a great weekend!

Not so Good!

we just can't get a break! the 3 of us have fought off colds these past few weeks and now poor lauren is having to deal w/ some sort of stomach bug. we've been up since 1:00 am last night, dozing off for maybe 20 min. in between bathroom runs! uh! she is just drained. you know when you get to the point where there just can't be anything left, anywhere! (i know, pleasant post first thing monday morning, right!) ha she only has 2 days of school left and it looks like she'll be missing one of them for sure. i hope she's better by tomorrow, i'd hate for her to miss out on the last day of school.
so anyway, hopefully i'll be back soon with a healthier post! hugs....

New Summer Do's

so these aren't the best pictures of the girls, as the sun was pretty bright and the wind was blowing but you can at least get an idea. we were at the park on memorial day when i saw a girl about kati's age with the cutest hair cut. just a simple bob, hair tucked behind her ear. i told terry i liked her hair. of course being the guy he is, he just shrugged his shoulders. well, later that night he said, "maybe we should cut kati's hair." so the next day we headed to the "plaid monkey", a cute hair salon for kids. this was kati's first major hair cut. she cut a good 4-5" off. the salon was really cute. they host b-day parties for girls also so there was a lot of glitter, boas and plastic high heal shoes. which caught lauren's eye! we were driving home from getting kati's hair cut and lauren says, "mom, i want to get my hair cut!" i told her she'd have to talk to her dad about that one! he has always wanted her to have long hair. i have mentioned cutting in several times and my idea was always shot down! but i knew if she told him she wanted it cut then she had a better chance of getting it cut. which only makes sense. it won't be long and we'll be in the 100's w/ 90% humidity! so we went back the next day and lauren got her hair cut! i'd like for kati's to be a little shorter but i was chicken!

i've been battling a cold for the past 2 weeks...i'm about tired of it! by mid day i'm feeling pretty good but at night when i go to bed i cough and cough and i wake up feeling like i've been hit by a mac truck! i keep telling myself one more day and then i'm going to the dr. ha ha i still haven't gone. i'm one of those people who has to be on their death bed before i go into the dr. i get that from my parents! not always a good trait to have, huh. but i don't feel like it's anything other than a cold. so i'll give it a few more days....LOL!

when we were in california on vacation we went to a very cool restaurant called "the slanted door". i guess it's a very well known (popular) restaurant. the food was awesome and the atmosphere was very neat. anyway, i asked for a diet coke (i'm not really picky but it always comes out as a diet coke vs. diet soda, although diet coke is my preference) the waiter brings me this bottle of diet soda. boylan diet soda. i had never heard of it before but it had a different kind of flavor to it. not like a diet coke. almost better. i can't even describe it but i've been craving one ever since!!!!!!!! terry and i went into a trader joes to pick up some goodies when we were there and i thought for sure they would have it. well i came across the diet creme soda which wasn't as good but not bad. i haven't found it here yet...darn it.

i thought i'd leave you with an old project i did way back when i was on the design team for scrapbook answers. i don't recall what issue it was in but i used a light switch plate cover as my album cover....

have a great weekend!

Blogger Burn out....

hi there....so i'm over due for a new post. just haven't been in the mood to sit down and post i guess. since getting back from our trip i haven't accomplished much in the world of scrapbooking, other than an assignment and a few gifts i had to get done. i do have a few layouts to share that i finished ages ago but never posted. they aren't all that great so do expect your jaw to drop....i'll post in a minute.

not much else is going on. school is almost done. june 5. we had a few snow days that we had to make up, which at the time is great but now i'm ready for school to be over. lauren is itching to spend the majority of her time at the pool, which would be fine but kati hates the hot weather so spending hours outdoors with kati isn't going to happen. but she does like going to the pool. she only has one more swimming lesson left before she is done with her lessons. and then lauren will start up again.

soccer season ends pretty soon also. it's just too hot to play outdoors all through the summer. seems like we just started the outdoor league. the days just go by too fast.

i took the girls to shrek 3 on monday. they had fun and the movie was cute. it's just too bad that it cost almost $30 to go to a movie. we don't go that often so it's a nice treat for the girls.

lauren lost her 2nd tooth....(i know this post is exciting!) i had my neighbor connie pull it out. lauren was thrilled when the tooth fairy brought $2 and another letter and a few coloring sheets. i'm so glad she is easy!

so i've probably rambled on enough about random stuff.... here are the layouts i did....my scanner was giving me a hard time again, so i had to take pictures.

A Few More Photos...

just a few more random photos from our mini getaway! i was surprised the photo of the golden gate bridge turned out through the car window. the photos that follow are: a door at the culinary institute, i guess the following 4 photos are also taken on the grounds of the institute. the huge brick mansion is the institute. it was amazing. i can't recall the name of the winery in the next photo. (the up close castle looking building) then a cafe we ate lunch at in calistoga. neat little town. then robert mondovi winery. the photo of us is at another winery, we didn't spend any time at this one but a guy offered to take our photo. i didn't realize i matched the flowers. then Alcatraz and us by the bay bridge.

We're Back!

hi! we made it back from california last night...we had a wonderful time...a much needed adult getaway! but of course the time went by way too fast and before we knew it we were on a plane heading back home. terry had the trip pretty much mapped out for us by the time we arrived. we first flew into san francisco and met a colleague of terry's along with his wife. it was a pleasure meeting both of them and spending a few hours together. they took us out for lunch at the slanted door....which, those of you who are from california know that this restaurant is absolutely amazing. the food was so good....if it had just been terry and i, i'm pretty sure i would have gorged myself! we then walked along the bay shore (which is where the first photo was taken) our last stop was an eclectic little coffee shop surrounded by row houses (so san francisco)... the next day we headed to napa....(terry even rented a convertible..he thought of everything!) napa was perfect! the weather was beautiful, the scenery was amazing, the wine, the food......it couldn't have been a better vacation....other than maybe an extra day or two. we managed to see a lot in just 3 days. and would you believe we even took a cooking class together at the culinary institute. it was so much fun. we ate lunch there also which was probably the best meal we had... we went to several wineries for tours and tasting! (we came home with 16 bottles of wine!) it's probably a good thing our vacation was short as the food and wine could easily cause one to gain a good 5 lbs in a very short amount of time! the only thing we didn't do that terry had planned was our couples massage! when he called to make the reservation the spa only had male's giving massages on the day and times we could go. terry just couldn't quite get into having another man give him a massage so we had to nix that idea. ha ha.... so anyway, i could ramble on and on about our amazing trip but i had better close up. i tried to post a few more photos but it wouldn't let me. so maybe tomorrow i'll share a few more....

ps...donna...thanks again for taking such good care of our girls and for keeping them busy with fun projects, shopping and picture taking! they miss you already!

San Francisco here we come!

just a quick post to say bye! terry and i are heading out tomorrow morning for california! i can hardly wait! i'm not really sure what our plans are once we get there...apparently terry has it all worked out. i'll be back with a full report and hopefully some good photos! grandma is all set to watch the girls while we're gone! i know everything will be fine but in a sense i'm kind of a control freak when it comes to my house and my routine etc....i keep telling myself to just let go! ha ha the girls absolutely adore grandma and they have all sorts of projects lined up. i was thinking it was going to be "easy" to say bye to the girls but as i was sending an e-mail to my friend michelle tonight i teared up just writing about it! this will be our first trip together, away from the girls since before lauren was born..... so this is huge! BUT....we're going to have a great time. ok....back to packing....hugs....

Tagged by Cari....

so for those who read me but aren't involved in the online scrapbooking scene are probably wondering what being "tagged" means....well, this particular game is one where i need to come up with 7 random facts about myself and then i am to tag 7 people. (well, i'm not sure i know 7 bloggers close enough, who haven't already been tagged....this game goes on forever :) but it's fun, so i don't mind playing along (thanks cari!)....let's see....this may be kind of a challenge w/o making myself sound like i'm OCD....ha ha


1. i can't leave the house without making the beds and picking up! not sure why....

2. i always blow my nose after taking a shower or when i go to the bathroom. (my sister does this too....must be a family thing)

3. i have to have cream in my coffee.

4. i stand up when i scrapbook...

5. i have carried a coach purse since i was 18....it's my only indulgence! (besides food!) i usually get a new one every other year or so? and i have had the same coach billfold since i was 19!!! and it's still in perfect condition. it's the only one i've owned! goes to show you that it pays to buy quality! but i buy my clothes from target! ha ha

6. i wish i had gone to college (i would love to be a buyer or a residential interior designer!)

7. i hate having food in my teeth. i floss all of the time. if i don't have floss and we're at a restaurant i'll use a sugar packet. terry gets so mad at me....i just hate that feeling....

i actually had to stop and think about these....

so not much else is new. terry comes home today, finally. he's been gone for 6 days! the girls actually did pretty good this trip. i'm usually pretty frazzled by now but it hasn't been too bad. must have been the nice weather!
kati was supposed to start swimming lessons today....she had a temp of 102 last night and was as white as a ghost. so i thought by this morning she was doing better and she seemed to be excited to go but 1/2 way there she yells, "mom" from the backseat...and to me that means she's going to throw up!! or so it's been the case in the past. but she didn't but said she wanted to go home. so i checked her temp again and it was 102! bummer we missed our first class!
kati and i went to lauren's school yesterday for lunch. the kindergartners were doing a trial run through the lunch line. they were so cute. they were all so excited and thought they were pretty big stuff. oh to be a kid again!
better scoot....chat again soon....hugs

Monday Bloggin'

hi! hope everyone had a great weekend. we had a busy one. terry has been out of town so i'm pulling double duty, again! the weather was absolutely beautiful. which lead to several outdoor chores and activities! one of which called for the use of a really sharp shovel! so i'm at a neighbors house picking up the girls from an afternoon of playing. kati had left her shoes by the sandbox. so we walked over and started putting her shoes on when i kept hearing this hissing and spitting sound and finally saw something more. here, not 12" away from us was a snake!!!! ya, holy crap is right! i hate snakes and spiders of any kind. so i can about imagine if anyone was looking out their window at the time they must have gotten a good laugh! melissa went to the garage and found a shovel and ended up killing it. she hates snakes too, which i could tell by the force she was putting behind the shovel! i was just thinking we could scoop it up and throw it in the pond across the road. i'm sure it wasn't poisonous but the fact that it kept striking at me and hissing was enough to scare the crap out of me. poor kati was just trying to figure out what i was screaming about. ha ha
so i just got an e-mail from Layle Koncar with Scenic Route....remember the duck watching layout i did (a few posts down) i entered into their kraft pattern paper contest and won! yah!!!! so i'm getting another set of their newest papers, stickers etc.... their one of my favorite manufactures, so i'm excited to be getting another set...(i chose the metropolis set this time!)
so by now i'm sure everyone has been to michaels and seen the new martha stewart line! wow! i was so impressed! it's very clean and classic. but she really thought of everything. there are kits for kids, kits for wedding stuff, kits for b-day parties....you name it. the packaging is very clean and simple. it's just very well done! i used to be a merchandise manager so i tend to analyze stores when i shop them.
well, only one more week! i think i mentioned it a while back, but terry is taking me to california! the napa area....we plan on visiting a few wineries, having dinner w/ a colleague of his and some other site seeing i'm sure. we're even flying first class! so i've never flown first class before so i had to get that in. ha ha i'm so looking forward to our little getaway! terry's mom is coming to watch the kids. they are so excited for grandma to come! i'm not sure how i feel about grandma spoiling them for 4 days and coming home to, "well, grandma let me do it, or grandma let me have candy!!" ha ha they'll all have a great time! we've never been away from the girls together so i can imagine after 4 days we'll be ready to get back home!
in my earlier post i had mentioned jen and her son joey. joey passed away over the wk. end. jen said it was rather fast and peaceful. he's in gods hands now.
stories like this are just so heart wrenching. and you know their are families and children that go through this every day. reality just sets in when it's someone you know.... god works in mysterious ways....but i bet he has a plan for joey!
sorry no photo today!
have a good week!

Saturday...

just popping in to say hi. it's a beautiful day here so i'll make this short. my car needs washing, the garage needs a sweeping, my car needs to be vacuumed...possibly mow and plant some flowers in my pots! but yet i could also think of a zillion things i could get done inside as well. the list never ends!

i played around yesterday while kati took a nap. i actually finished up one layout that i submitted and then this layout of lauren on the monkey bars. i used pop dots behind the chipboard stars so my scanner didn't like that much! the picture makes the photos look really dark, but they aren't...

changing directions a bit....those of you who are scrapbookers will know who jen gallacher is.... i don't personally know jen but i wish i did... she has a 13 year old boy named joey who is dying. i'm not quite sure the history of his illness or when it all began. but he is in the hospital now and is just hanging on. i guess they brought him in the other night to find out his kidneys are now failing. jen posted a thread on 2 peas the other night that brought me to tears and i haven't stopped thinking about them. i can't imagine watching my child dye and having an ounce of strength in me to keep it together. i'm sure she is falling apart inside but trying to keep herself composed for the sake of joey and his siblings. it just breaks my heart to even think about what their going through. she had talked about "letting go" and joey finding peace and comfort.... ah, i just can't even begin to imagine.... my heart goes out to them...go HUG your kids!

well, my "to-do" list seems pretty insignificant now.... but i guess i should get moving.... the day is a-wastin'. have a great weekend....hugs...

totally random...

hi there....so it's been a few days since i've posted so i thought i had better at least check in. i can't say i have anything exciting to report...

i did this layout earlier today...my scanner turned the little bird a funky puke color. it's green in real life. not sure why it did that but i couldn't fix it...i'm not really into the "bird" thing but these cute little felt birds came in jenni bowlin's april kit and it went so well with the scenic route paper i just had to use it. the black swirly stems are li'l davis as is the chipboard scalloped circle and the letters "us".

so i had a dentist apt. today. had 2 cavities filled. i have to say this dentist is by far the best i've ever been to. she is probably about my age and sweet as can be. i dread going to the dentist (as you may know from previous entries). but i barely even felt her give me the novocaine, it was amazing. i even had to bring my i-pod along just because i hate the sound of the drills on my teeth. not that the music made it feel any better or made it vibrate less...

well, the girls are in the tub (usually the best time to try and post...until they start throwing water or fighting!) so i had better wash hair and get some books read and get them to bed....

Productive...

don't you just love a productive week! by the time the end of the week rolls around you're exhausted but it feels good to get so many things done!
so i went to "once upon a child" yesterday to drop off some clothes that i had in tubs from our garage sale last summer. i'm not sure why i hadn't gotten rid of them yet...i think i was hanging on to them because i just wasn't ready to let them go! lots of baby clothes and maternity clothes. anyway, i had never really shopped at a second hand store before. i have been there looking for junky furniture that i could spruce up but never looking for clothes. i had a few minutes to waste while they looked through my stuff so i thought i'd look down the isle that had lauren's size.... i was totally shocked! they had tons of cute shorts and skirts that looked brand new. i even found an old navy skirt w/ the tag still on.... i ended up buying 2 pairs of shorts and 2 denim skirts for $15. and it all looks like new! i couldn't believe it! i was so excited! now, don't get me wrong, there was plenty of stuff in there that wasn't so great! i love a good deal!
i finally finished up an assignment that had been hanging over my head. i had actually done it once but apparently didn't understand the assignment and i needed to go back and finish it up. with that being done i thought i could play around a bit since i had a huge mess going anyway....i did these 2 layouts....of course my scanner cut off a 1/4" off the right side of my pages. hate that thing.... the "silly girls" layout i used the jenni bowlin kit from april. i added the MM letter stickers. and the "duck watching" layout is one i did for the scenic route monthly challenge. the challenge was to use their kraft pattern paper.... i've been meaning to scrap these photos for a long time and the paper seemed to be a pretty good fit....

tomorrow i'm painting! we picked up some paint to touch up some of the rooms that haven't been painted a different color. when we moved in to our house the builder had painted every room a nice khaki color, but had used flat paint! so rooms like my laundry room and 1/2 bath off of my kitchen really need a new coat of paint! shouldn't take me too long. it's the prep work that takes forever....
i've been trying to type this entry all day...so i had better spell check and get it posted before i lose it....

MIA

hey there! it's been a crazy few weeks around these parts! let's see....we went to omaha for easter. we met my family there for the weekend. it's a half way point for all of us, which makes the drive much easier. 6 hours vs. 11. the girls had so much fun playing with their cousins and spending time with nana and papa and of course their aunts and uncles! then we came home from that trip and had a few days of down time but were preparing for the arrival of my in-laws. they flew in on wed. night and just left today. we had such a nice time with them also. we celebrated kati's 3rd birthday while they were here. (april 13th) it's hard to believe she's already 3! (the photo of us was taken on her b-day)

life should get back to normal now this week. although, we still have lots of running around and things to do to keep us busy! lauren will go back to school tomorrow. she was on spring break all last week. we started outdoor soccer today! (i wish grandpa and grandma could have watched lauren play). their only 6 but so much fun to watch! it's amazing how much the girls learn and how their skill levels improve over just a few months!

and i just thought i'd share a few layouts i did for creative xpress....our assignments were to use the title "i believe" and to create a masculine layout.

so anyway....i had better start cleaning up my house and finishing up the laundry! have a great week!