This and That

Alright, time for some odds and ends...

Where we went last Saturday. Friday night we stayed in Independence and had dinner at the Hereford House- yum! I opted not to bring my camera into the park, after we got completely soaked last year at Elitches in Denver.

The Mamba or as Genna kept calling it the Mamma. The boys went on it, us girls had a grand ol' time on the Merry Go Round.


Didn't get a picture, but Sunday we got to see both of my sisters and their families, which was very nice!

A sneak peak of my incredibly fantastic birthday present made by Amber. Seriously, how lucky am I? I promise I'll show you more of them later!

A few fun things that I found recently...


my cool new vintage scale + ugly, but necessary outlet

tiny little wreath and pear

Daddy and what I think is one of our 6 babies who fledged from our bluebird box this spring and summer

Wrapping Idea- kraft paper + clearance candy + homemade card

Card I made for my Sorority Sister(Yikes, her birthday was in March)

Connor got his drum for band yesterday and it has been played nonstop since. Don't you wish you were me?

Jameson broke his arm today at recess. He fell flat on his face after losing his grip while hanging from a soccer goal post. He gets his permanent cast next Tuesday.

the 2nd Day of Christmas

Brought singing, toe tapping and all the extra features. Stay with me though, I promise, the rest of my gifts are Christmasy in nature. This one was just for fun. We will see if the weather cooperates with tomorrow's gift.




Good news, I got all my packages ready to go tonight. Here are some presents that were included in my sister's package. Amber gave me these cute stamps. Originally, I was planning on covering these little boxes with Christmas scrapbook paper, but I had a hankering to use my stamps, so I went that route.




Still left on my to do list:

make pj's for the kids
make & deliver neighbor goodies
wrap all the presents for my family

Ok, so there is cleaning and a few other things I'd like to get done before then, but I will feel really good if I can get these things done before next weekend.

Is is still November?

Gosh, it doesn't feel like it, with Thanksgiving coming so early this year. I sat down and wrapped a few presents today- which I think is a new record. I tried taking some pictures of the tree- but upon closer inspection they are all blurry and so I'll give it another go tomorrow.

I did finish up my November Swap cards, just in the nick of time. Thank you Melissa, for the inspiration, again! I just love this patterned paper- it has such a fun vintage feel to it!

Lucky + Cards

Last week I won a blog giveway over at Savoring the Details! I have long been an admirer of Melissa's work over at 2peas. I got a copy of Cards- which is one of those magazines I drool over, but never buy because I am too cheap. Thanks so much, Melissa!

Melissa also inspired my October card challenge- a gender neutral birthday card. My friend, Marilyn gave me the star stamp.

Lucky

I am feeling rather lucky today...

*I have the sweetest little girl who I get to hang out with all day:




*I was finally able to finish my February card group card. I am ashamed to say these just went in the mail today. I wish I wasn't so talented in the procrastination department.



*I was able to go to lunch with Troy today. Adult conversation is always nice.

*I found the motivation to exercise today.

*I get to go to Time Out for Women with my sisters and Mom this weekend.

*I have the 2nd half of Masterpiece Theater's Great Expectations to finish while I fold the mountain of laundry that has accumulated.

*Ok, and last but not least, I seriously feel so lucky to be able to be friends with so many people through the magic of the internet. It definitely enrichs my life!

Cards

When Jameson was a baby, a good friend of mine introduced me to stamping and I was immediately hooked. Shortly after that I got into scrapbooking and my pocketbook has never been the same since. I love cardmaking and crafting I think so much b/c it is something you can sit down and channel all your creative energy into a project that you can finish. While I love being a SAHM, there is a part of me that needs that sense of accomplishment that comes with doing a card or a scrapbook page, as opposed to the never ending pile of laundry that appears day after day.

So this week I made cards for a swap group I am a part of. The theme was Baby Girl cards and the challenge to not use pink. Boy, I struggled with this one. I didn't turn out like I had anticipated, but I think I am ok with it today. Amber, if you are reading this, close your eyes if you want to be surprised when you get these in the mail!!





Then this week, my friend Micki, sent me the February Kit from Cardsadaisy, a site that sells kits for making cards & scrapbook pages. The papers are so fun & easy to work with. Plus for me Valentine's Day is one of those fun holidays where there isn't much pressure to make the perfect birthday card or Christmas layout. Here are the samples I came up with for her. Check out her fun site!