Seriously... Where DOES the Time Go?!?

So, what's shakin Hot Stuff? Busy, busy here. Over the last few weeks we've been busy with family visiting from out of town, making plans to move (locally), birthday celebrations and plans, plans plans. Gotta love a life constantly in a state of fluidity. At least it keeps one on one's toes!!

Had a wonderful visit with Geega & Dumpa and Aunt Debbie and Uncle George. They spoiled us with their time and fun stuff too. We celebrated a belated birthday for Julia and a very belated Christmas while they were here. Fun, fun, fun. One of the highlights (at least for Sullivan) has to be Sullivan FINALLY graduating to Big Boy status and receiving a much-loved Hess truck from Deb & George. Oh Happy Boy.




Someone else celebrated a birthday, as well. This one was a true milestone. Hubby celebrated the Big 4-0. Way too much was to be had on that day(s) for sure. This picture will have to suffice.


More news to share HERE. I guess I GOTTA make time to scrap with all of these new teams to play with, huh?!? The moving moxes and sorting and purging will have to wait. On that note, we were lucky enough to get through a typically year-and-a half-wait list to get into base housing in TWO MONTHS. so, as of the end of May, I'll be a Virginia Beach resident. Can't wait for all the fun stuff that will bring for the brood. Let alone not having to listen to Donk complain about the commute from he double toothpicks any longer. Can I get a, "Woot Woot?"

My last few projects for Scrapbook Express. I had a blast designing with their fantastic products including this Twig line from Little Yellow Bicycle.

Later. Is it Spring in YOUR neck of the woods? It sure is here... well, today anyways.

Change is Never Easy For This One

Well, I told you I had some news. I've joined the Creative Team over at Creative Soup. Creative Soup is a relatively new challenge blog/forum. I am absolutely floored by this new and fun concept. This is not your momma's challenge blog. It has an actual FORUM and GALLERY where members can chat, be inspired, ask questions, and share their stuff. Genius!! There is a ton going on at this place to inspire you, get your mojo flowing, so that you can create, create, create.

Mojo Mondays are a great way to kick off the scrappy week. Mondays bring you new challenges each week rotating between various topics including Get Meaningful, Get Sketchy, Get Inspired, and Get Crafty. Complete some challenges and earn ca-yute badges and be entered into a drawing for some scrappy goodness!

Creative Soup offers amazing free classes every quarter. The forum provides very detailed instructions and journaling prompts. I have never seen such a lenghty involved class offered in a free forum. I can't wait to get started on May's event!

The week doesn't end on Monday. Tuesdays offer Talk Tuesday to give you the opportunity to get to know your fellow Soup-ers better. Web Wednesdays bring you great projects and links from the web. CS does the web surfing for you! Thursdays are Thrifty Thursdays. They give you ideas to stretch your scrappy dollar. And Fridays are all about fonts. CS offers wonderful font finds and the links, to boot. Don't forget about your cameras, either. Sundays are Snapshot Sundays. The girls provide a fun photography challenge each week.

Creative Soup has monthly crops with challenges, games, and prizes. In fact, one just started yesterday. March Madness Crop goes through the 21st. Go HERE and join the forum and get started. See you there.

Before you go... Some fun new stuff for Scrapbook Express.

And, of course a little something for Scrap That Baby's newest prompt. Go make something and you may just win a wonderful prize from this month's sponsor, Ally Scraps.

Today, I am... February Edition, Part Dos

Today I am thankful for Diet Coke ON TAP from McDonalds. Pure bliss. Forget the recipe for the special sauce, just tell me how they make this Coke!

I am thankful for little girls' shoes that sparkle just like they do.

I am thankful for the "hot chair" in my Yukon XL that always goes on accidentally when the temperature is 110 degrees outside. These days it works wonders on my poor, old back.

I am thankful for the promise of Spring. It's getting light outside earlier and earlier. This makes it soo much easier to wake my sleepy brood.

I am thankful that I can still calm a crying toddler awakened by a nightmare involving monsters with just the sound of my voice and a "Momma's here."

I am thankful for three-year-olds who CAN'T listen to Pink loud enough while running errands with the Momma.

I am thankful that my hubby has a job that makes him happy. AND, one that allows him to fly up to Philly to pick me up a couple of these to sample and compare. Sigh...

P.S. All the layouts were done either for or over at Scrapbook Express. If you need lots of fun challenges to get you scrapping, that is the place to be!

Every Day is Groundhog Day

Every day. Every day I drink Diet Coke on ice. Every day I tell someone to stop looking at their sibling. Every day I pick up clothes off the floor and hang-up damp bath towels. Every day. Every day I make breakfast to order for 5 kids. Every day I tell the Middle to stop kicking random toys around the house. Every day. I empty and fill the dishwasher. Every day. Every day I wait for the standard soft kisses from the twinnies at naptime and bedtime (mouth, nose, head, each cheek, each eye...) Every day. Every day I hound my Cub Scout to work on his assignments. Every day I "watch" the news on my Ipod at bedtime. Every day. Every day I pour half apple juice/half water cocktails for Frick & Frack. Every day I rotate laundry. I don't do it. I just rotate it. Every day. Every day I marvel at my children's sheer brilliance. Every day I shuffle to and fro to the bus stop with the wee-est ones either running too fast or trailing behind to see off the Bigs. Every day. Every day I tell my older daughter, the one who is so smart and pretty to slow down, no REALLY slow down. Every day I ask the hubby how his day was. Every day he tells me something along the lines of "fine". Every day. Every day I watch Yo Gabba Gabba. Every day I look at football cards with my Biggest. Every Day I hear the constant drone of, "I Want You." Every Day. Every Day I heavy sigh the pure exhaustion and repetition that is my life. Every day I am thankful for my happy little family.

Every Day.


Some fun scrappiness just for the folks at Scrapbook Express...

These last ones are just for little old me...

All Good Things Must Come to an End, Part Deux

Had to at least touch on Christmas. Seeing as it's already more than a month past the big day. Just in case you were worried that we completely missed a visit from the Big Guy, I have included the first picture of the day...



and the last (Julia enjoying the Crayola Crayon Maker with Daddy) as proof. Now we move on.

Never really thought of us as the bird-watching types, but we've really enjoyed all of the birds that populate the feeder outside of our family room window this time of year. The bird feeder was for Sullivan and is dutifully filled by Bubba and Reagan. The enormous treeline behind our house also allows us to see even more great aviaries. P.J. has taken to reading his bird book from the school library and filling us in on the different species. Who woulda thunk the big lens for my Canon XS DSLR that I bought for Pop Warner football games, would be used for nature pictures, as well. Please tell me I'm not getting THAT old!??!

I mentioned that my LSS All About Scrapbooks was closing. I made a couple of trips into Chesapeake to say my goodbyes, not only to my friends and the owners, but to the store, as well. While there I begrudgingly dragged a chair around the store and took down tons of my layouts. Here's one I made for a monochromatic challenge I never had the chance to share here...

Fun stuff for Scrapbook Express. All of this is available here.

With CHAW just wrapping up, that means lots of new goodies are going to be heading my way in the coming months. What does that mean? It means it's time to Love Your Stash...

Can't wait to stock up on all the new Sass...

Been scrapping like mad this month already. Be prepared for more Love Your Stash layouts soon...

Twinnies On... Everyday

Yea, yea, yea. I know, I know. What's with the Christmas themed photos?!? Christmas was weeks ago. I know that because there is only one tree taunting me with it's droopy needles and dangling bead garlands. Yep, just one. We downsized our Christmas this year, as we ONLY put up 6 trees, down from last year's 8. I totally missed Christmas here in blogdom what with all the hecticness that is my life... class parties, folks in from out of town, shlepping kiddos to sports/scouts, wrapping, shipping, and crafting. But, before we move onto the promise and fun that 2011 holds, I need to share 2 things from last month.

Growing up in Chicago, I always looked forward to the official start of the Christmas season... the bellringers. My dad was never one to walk past a Salvation Army red kettle without dropping in a donation. He's semi-retired these days and has been talking about picking up the bell, this year he did it. Right here at MY local WalMart while my folks were in town for the holiday. It was soo cool to see him right outside my own WM in the bitter cold with my brood. The Bigs spent one of the 3 hour timeblocks with him. Dad being Dad, arranged to have 3 bells that day(one for each kiddo). They had a great time ringing away and setting a kettle record, twice. The twinnies also got in on the action and spent some time with Dumpa. These memories are so priceless for me(and them through my photos in their scrapbooks). Check out Puppy charming the ladies and ringing that bell...

The other bit of Christmas ketchup is the crafty gifts I made. Excuse the cra**y photos as I took them in the middle of the night before hubby boxed them up and got them off in the mail. I made a TON of gifts this year for family, teachers, and friends from bragbooks to my old standby clipboards to planners to treatcones to wall calendars. For your visual enjoyment...

And some crafting just for me. A little Sassafras love... I know, shocker, big shocker.

Not quite sure why, but I love these Sass lines with Halloween. Something about the unexpected...

This WOULD have been my last project for All About Scrapbooks, but it morphed into Scrap that Baby's 1/15 prompt, "Holiday Baby". I have such a paper & glue crush on this Dear Lizzy Christmas line. So sad to see my LSS, my scrappy "home" for almost almost my entire scrappy life close at the end of this month. Sigh. Please support your brick & mortar stores. It's just heartbreaking to see another one go by the wayside.

Some fun We R Memory Keeper's for Scrapbook Express...

Enjoy the rest of your weekend, Friends.