Yes, Yes, I know my blog says it has been some 5 weeks or something since I have updated....oops. I didn't manage to get anything creative done for quite awhile. We are in the middle of putting new windows and siding on our house and it seems like the summer has just been crazy. At the beginning of the summer I had huge plans for getting all of this stuff done, now it is August 19 and I look back and think "Hmmm what have I done all summer and where did it go?" I am ready for some routine in my life and all but one of my afternoons in the week to have all 4 of my kids at school!!!!!!!! I did, however get some scrap booking done last weekend. it was rainy and nothing even resembling the August weather I am used to so I locked myself in my room and went to work. Very enjoyable I must say, just wish I could get away with that every weekend, even if it was only for one day!

I spent most of last weekend in my scrap book room. It was a very nice change and I actually got some things accomplished. The layout with the spinner (below) I scrap lifted from Life as Lou, although she gives you full instructions on her blog it was much more complicated!!!!!!! I am not exactly sure what I did wrong, but it turned out ok anyway I guess....

This weekend I bribed my kids to go outside and let me take some pictures. I had all this wonderful paper from the Playground I needed to do something with, but couldn't find any Wonderful pictures to use with it... Ice cream always gets them to do what I want, or should I say most of the time! some of the layouts I did 3 similar ones using the same picture, one for each of their books and one for my mom's calendar for Christmas.


I stole this layout idea from Tessa, thank you for the inspiration. I think I like yours better in the frame, but.....

Wow, two updates in two days!!!!!!!! Since it was a rainy crappy day yesterday I struggled all day to get my typing done and then decided to spend the rest of the day scrapping. I just did some odds and ends. I have pictures from Christmas, fall and Easter!!!!!! It is amazing how much more motivation I have to get something done when it is something I WANT to do!!!!!!!!

I love how this layout turned out with the Bobunny paper from the playground. I totally stole this idea from the Trendz magazine, but it was just perfect for the picture with Hayden and his preschool teacher. Those two just adore eachother, it is just like having another grandma. She would take him home in a heart beat and he would go with her no questions asked!!!! Although she might not adore him quite as much if she had to keep him for very long!!!!!

I made preschool books for Hayden's class. They turned out really cute and the parents loved them. Each book had pictures of the child, pictures of the child with the teachers, their hand print and poem and then each teacher wrote a note on a crayon note card, which I stuck in a 8 pack crayon box. Turned out cute, but glad they are done. I can't believe school is out now, I am not sure if I am ready for this or not, especially with all the rain we are getting my kids are going stir crazy!!!!!!! and therefore I am going crazy too!

I have created a monster out of my daughter!!!!!!!!! Sunday night I realized she was supposed to take treats on Monday since her birthday is in July and will obviously be out of school. So with limited time and ideas I ran to Family Thrift and bought Little Debbie Cosmic Brownies, brought them home and informed the kids "DO not eat them, they are for Haley to take to school." Haley goes out and looks in the bag on her way to bed and says "Mom, what are we going to do with them?" "What do you mean 'What are we going to do with them' we are going to take them to school and hand them out to your class". "No Mom, how are we going to decorate them?" So I quickly stamped happy birthday and punched a scallop and put it on there and she was tickeled so I chalked it up to a job well done and went to bed!!!!!

I made baskets for the teachers for teacher appreciation week. this is a bad picture but.... it was kind of tricky finding all the candy bars, but finally ended up having the best luck at Boyds on the West Side and gas stations.

Throughout the school year you have been a LIFESAVER

and that's nothing to SNICKER about,

you've had to deal with TWIX from students acting like 3MUSKETEERS

but you have always RIESEN to the occasion.

Although there were many days you thought you'd lost your SKITTLES

or felt like an AIRHEAD with all you had to do

and the accidents caused by BUTTERFINGERS

I'm sure were GOOD N PLENTY

so while the PAYDAYS are probably not 100GRAND

it is time for you to TAKE 5 and rest your WATCHAMACALLIT

thank you for all you do and whether you go

across the country or into ORBIT

we hope you summer is EXTRA special.

Happy May Day!!!!!!! This is somewhat of a lost holiday.... I remember making May baskets for my class in school and especially for my grandpas and grandmas, setting the basket on the steps, ringing the doorbell and running around the house and they would come chase us and kiss us. Not sure if that is really what you are supposed to do or just something my mom thought up, but it was fun! I made the strawberry baskets for the kids' teachers and the other little baskets for their class. Haley was quite a help and did all of the stamping and punching of circles and scallops for the fronts. She loves being able to help with projects. Hayden did all of the pulling of the lever for the sizzix to emboss the strawberries. Have a great weekend!

It was a great weekend to stay in my jammies and scrap and I actually got ALOT done!!!!!!!! Friday night it was cold and yucky so the jammies went on early and I sat downstairs with my little space heater and did a few layouts, but more than anything tried to corral my mess and get things somewhat organized as it was very much needed. Saturday I did get out of my jammies as I did the cook book class at the Playground, then when I got home from that, EVERYONE in my house was asleep!!!!! How perfect so back downstairs I went and did a few more layouts, then back on went the jammies! On Sunday I got up and took a shower and put on clean jammies to spend the day in!!!!!!!!! I just love those days! I got my Project 365 caught up todate (you guys really shouldn't have quit so early, it is actually quite fun and interesting!), I worked on May baskets for my kids' classes and attempted to put my foot high pile of finished layouts into albums and realized I really need to start scrapping chronologically instead of always doing new pictures first because then I wouldn't have to take my books apart everytime I go to put the pages in there. I also realized that I don't have nearly enough page protectors or albums or space to put the albums when they are put together.!!!!!!!

Love this layout. I stole this idea from Kendra (Thank-x Kendra) I didn't have the cool chip board she did, so I just pop dotted each of my layers and it turned out really cute!!!!

These are the same pictures as above, just different papers. I really try to do two layouts of each, then my kids have one for their book and I have one for my family album.

It is a good thing my daughter didn't look at all of my finished pages fromt this weekend because I did all Hayden pictures and she might feel a little left out!!!!!!! (This weekend he was much easier to scrap because Haley was being a little pill and it is really hard to do "princess" pages when she is acting like she is 2!) Have a good week.

I made these adorable strawberries for my bunco group. These pictures aren't very good (sorry) but they are super cute and super easy. I am going to make some more for the kids' teachers' may baskets. They are filled with M&Ms. (splitcoast) I wish I had some of the old green plastic woven baskets that strawberries came in, but can't find them anywhere, so if anyone has a stash pile they would like to get rid of, let me know.

This weekend we went back to my mom and dad's in Murdo and the little tiny town (yes, they come smaller than Murdo) just outside of Murdo had a carnival that we went to. I remember always going as a kid and my kids have went every year. Every year we try and try to win a cake in the cake walk and up until this year my kids have both went home crying without a cake, but this year Hayden won one and was so tickled. It probably ended up costing us $30 as many times as we went, but we came home with a cake, then he was so proud of it he wasn't going to let us eat any of it. I am not sure what exactly he thought we were going to do with it if we didn't eat it but.........

Yes, yes I know, these don't do any of you much good now a month after Easter, but that is just the way my life functions right now. I made the fry box rabbits for Haley's class (thank you Cathy for the cute idea and use of your Big Shot!), the buckets were for the teachers and were filled with alcohol ink eggs and the carrots were for Hayden's class (modified a template from splitcoast to make it work!) The teachers loved them (probably more than the kids, the kids just want the candy)!!!!!!!!! So to all of you, I hope you had a happy Easter!

Finally, I am updating my blog!!!!! ~ I know it took me long enough!!!!!! These are some of the pages that I did during one of the MANY snow days we have had in the last month. I love snow days, sitting inside in my pajamas, baking cookies, watching it snow, watching the kids play in the snow, scrapbooking and watching movies, but ENOUGH is ENOUGH. We have had enough snow for this year. I am ready for spring, ready to plant flowers and mow the lawn and go camping, but according to the news, it isn't done yet and we are supposed to get another one this week. ERRRR. I think I will go by the 7 day forecast in the paper instead of the one on TV. According to today's paper it is supposed to be 60° and no snow!!!!!! Also my house could use a break from snow days. It is amazing how much bigger of a mess things are and how much more food we go through when everyone is snowed in!!!!!!