I'm a Yarner

Valentine’s Day Heart

2012-01-26T16:20:00.001-08:00

Madison has been asking about our Valentine’s Day decorations for several days now. I keep telling her we’ll put it out soon, but the truth is, I don’t really have anything for Valentine’s Day. But I remembered seeing a picture of a wine cork heart, and since I’ve been saving boxes of corks for my Christmas trees, I pulled a few out and put together this heart.

I actually really like the way it turned out and Madison loves it. If I can whip up a few more things, I think I can officially say I’ve decorated for Valentine’s Day.

Linking to:
Somewhat Simple, Fireflies and Jellybeans, Finding Fabulous,
Fingerprints on the Fridge, Kojo Designs, The Shabby Nest

Project Life - Week 3

2012-01-24T09:08:00.000-08:00

This was a slow week for us and we didn't do anything other than our usual routine. I didn't even take my camera out of my office this week. I used my phone so all the pictures are a little blurry. I embellished a lot more than usual to try and detract from the blurry photos; I'm still trying to figure out if I like it so "scrappy."

Madison had a couple of funny moments this week.

1. She decided that she "loves chicken salad so much she could eat miles of it."

2. She wanted to know why one of our blankets was falling apart. I told her daddy had bought that blanket a long time ago and sometimes things start falling apart. She said, "No, you don't buy blankets, you make them!" Almost every other blanket in our house is homemade. She had no idea that blankets could be purchased!

Rainy Sunday

2012-01-22T13:01:00.001-08:00

It’s been raining all morning and the girls have been playing with their new play kitchen making cupcakes and soup. It kept them busy long enough for me to finish a layout I started earlier this week. I found this picture of Madison taken almost three years ago. She loved this dog so much, she would walk him everyday. I love her little overalls and her little wave.

Project Life - Week 2

2012-01-19T08:30:00.000-08:00

This was a fun week for us. Sidney turned 2, we rode our bikes to Old Sacramento, had lunch with Oma, ate ice cream outside in the cold and rolled down hills.

Project Life–Week One

2012-01-14T13:25:00.001-08:00

I started Project Life again this year. It will be my third album and I am still in love with it! I rarely do any traditional scrapbooking anymore, because this kit is so awesome! Project Life forces me to write things down as they happen and I immediately slip it into a slot for the week. If I wasn’t in the habit of doing so, I would have missed this funny conversation:

Madison and Sidney both in their beds about 6:00 in the morning.
Sidney: Massa! What are you doing?
Madison: Sidney, get Barney and go back to sleep!
Sidney: But I went poo poo! I have stinky butt!

I still laugh every time I think about it.

Snowman Blanket

2012-01-09T10:02:00.000-08:00

My first post of 2012. I say it every year, and hopefully I'll follow through this year, but I plan on updating my blog more than once a month. The time just keeps getting away from me. This is the year. Hopefully.

So my first finished project of the year is a blanket I started five years ago. Yes, five years ago. I was pregnant with Madison and when I got too big to sit on the floor and stitch everything together, I put it in a bag and it sat in my closet until we moved. Well, we moved three more times after that and it just kept getting transferred from one closet to the next.

Another resolution this year is to actually finish all my half started projects and using up supplies that I already have. So, that's where this blanket comes in. I picked it up again a week before Christmas hoping to finish it in time to wrap up in it while we were opening presents, but it didn't happen. However, it's done and that's all that matters.

Linking to:

Between Naps on the Porch, Making the World Cuter

Just Something I Whipped Up, Sumo's Sweet Stuff

Skip to My Lou, C.R.A.F.T., Embellishing Life

A Bowl Full of Lemons, Today's Creative Blog

Sugar Bee Crafts

December Daily – Day 7

2011-12-08T06:00:00.000-08:00

I ran out of ink on Monday so I couldn’t print any of my pictures and now I’m playing catch up with my pages.

We had fun tonight watching movies and making Sidney laugh.

We tried a new honey lime enchilada recipe and it just might be the best thing I’ve ever made. And I don’t think it was the three glasses of wine talking. Even Mike loved them. You should definitely try them right away. They are that good.

December Daily–Day 4

2011-12-05T06:00:00.000-08:00

Just a typical Sunday for us today. Didn’t really do anything Christmas-y. I didn’t take many pictures either. But I did manage to catch this picture of Sidney mid jump with my phone when she was playing hopscotch in her room.

December Daily - Day 3

2011-12-04T06:43:00.001-08:00

We had quite an adventure yesterday. We planned on going to the park, having a picnic, taking a nice long walk and then playing around in the leave for a bit. We sat down to eat our sandwiches and were immediately swarmed by ducks. Sidney started screaming and was scared so we moved everything into our van and ate in there.

We finished eating, got out the stroller and tried to pack our bags in the storage area but I decided the bag was too big so I threw it back into the van and shut the door. Then I realized my keys and my phone were in the bag. Oops. First time I’ve ever locked my keys in the car.

We walked to a dry cleaners thinking we could get a metal hanger and jimmie the lock. It didn’t work. While we were all standing around the van a couple came over to help us. I think they felt really bad that both of the girls were outside getting cold. They called AAA and waited with us while the tow truck came to open the door. They were so nice sitting in the cold with us. There really are amazing people willing to give a little help even when it’s an inconvenience. I don’t think I was able to express how much I appreciated it.

So, we still got to eat, walked a different path, met some new people and eventually played in the leaves.

December Daily–Day 2

2011-12-03T07:36:00.001-08:00

We started our Elf tradition yesterday and the girls are going crazy! They love him so much already and he’s only been around for a day. We named him Scout and Madison kept trying to trick him into moving. It was a good story for day two.

December Daily – Day 1

2011-12-02T20:15:00.001-08:00

I haven't done much scrapbooking since starting Project Life, so it took me a while to get day one finished. I had to re-learn how to use photoshop elements, re-learn how to work my sewing machine and re-learn how to use the scanner. Finally it's done and I can move on to day two.

Madison and Sidney got to watch a Christmas movie last night before bed. They picked Shrek the Halls and they were glued to the TV. After Sidney went to bed, we had a dance party with Madison. She is so funny with her rules. I was not allowed to wear an apron and everyone had to wear boots.

November

2011-11-28T19:41:00.001-08:00

November usually goes by in a blur and this year was no exception. With my annual boutique the weekend before Thanksgiving, I spend most of the month rushing to get more done. This year I did a lot! I ended up with almost 60 baby hats, lots of ornaments, a whole forest of cork trees and a few other items.

Now that the boutique is done it feels like I’ve got all sorts of free time on my hands. I spent the weekend working on my December Daily album for this year. I ordered the Studio Calico kit and I love it. I’m following pretty close to what Ali is doing with her album. I am using a 3”x8.5” separator sheet and then my daily page. The hardest part for me is keeping it simple. I always feel like I should add more. Here are a few of my favorites:

And finally I made a scrapbook page using my Studio Calico Field Guide Kit.

Scrapbox Giveaway - NEW Winner

2011-11-16T08:39:00.001-08:00

I didn't hear back from Sheeka so I picked a new winner - Carley C! You have 24 hours to contact me with your full name, address, and phone number so I can get the ribbon box shipped to you. If I don't hear from you in that time, a new winner will be selected.

Scrapbox Giveaway Winner

2011-11-15T08:32:00.000-08:00

Sheeka G. you are my winner! You have 24 hours to contact me with your full name, address, and phone number so I can get the ribbon box shipped to you. If I don't hear from you in that time, a new winner will be selected.

Original Scrapbox Holiday Blog Hop

2011-11-10T06:10:00.000-08:00

Welcome to The Original Scrapbox Holiday Blog Hop

The Original Scrapbox company has an incredible line of products for organization, scrapbooking storage, sewing--any kind of craft you can dream up would love a home in one of their phenomenal pieces of furniture. Check out The Workbox, that's one of my favorites. And there is Free shipping anywhere in the continental USA!

On November 18, 2011 The Original Scrapbox will give away one of these beautiful WorkTops!

The Original Scrapbox.com is giving away one limited edition WorkTop (value $150.00 U.S. Dollars).
You can enter to win your very own WorkTop from Thursday November 10^th - Monday Nov 14^th, 2011.

Here’s a blog post about this limited edition item http://scrapboxusa.blogspot.com/2011/06/work-top.html

There will be 10 preliminary giveaways with a chance to win an entry into the Grand Prize Drawing for one WorkTop.

Enter here to win one of the preliminary giveaways of one Ribbon Box (value $19.95) and One entry into the Grand Prize Drawing for a WorkTop in your choice of color. Visit the blogs listed below for additional entries.

If you are selected as a preliminary winner of the Ribbon Box, you will then be entered into the grand prize drawing held on The Original Scrapbox Blog on November 18, 2011. On that date, a random drawing will select a winner from all of the finalists to receive one WorkTop (value $150.00 U.S. Dollars) in their choice of black or white.

*The contest is open to addresses in the contiguous United States only.

Giveaway open from Thursday November 10- Monday November 14^th at 11:59pm.

Giveaway Rules:
*You can only enter under one name
* It is possible to win more than one preliminary prize, which means it’s possible to be entered into the grand prize drawing more than once.
*All winner’s addresses must be U.S. (48 contiguous state) addresses
*You must complete the required entry to be eligible to win

Here's how to enter: Leave a separate comment with your email address for each entry. I'll put all entries into a spreadsheet and use Random.org to select the winner. Visit all 10 blogs for extra entries into this fabulous giveaway!

*Required entry: You must watch the following 3 videos on YouTube, (they’re short and sweet!) to find and unscramble the secret message. Then come back to my blog, and enter the secret message in the form below.*Do NOT leave the secret message in the comments, please!
Here's the links to the 3 videos, or scroll down to watch them here

The WorkBox: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ICGpfiFjjhs

The CraftBox: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=olI5BBJUplk

The EZ View Desk: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mGvXmJQZ8U8

Extra Entries:

Like the Facebook page for The Original Scrapbox

Follow the ScrapboxUSA blog
Become a follower of I'm a Yarner
Leave me a comment letting me know how you would use the WorkTop.

Remember to leave a separate comment for each additional entry.

Remember to leave a comment about each additional entry.

Hop on over to each of the participating bloggers for your chance to win a fantastic prize and ONE entry into the grand prize giveaway of the WorkTop from The Original Scrapbox:
Crafty Sprouts
Dukes & Duchesses
Two Classy Chics
Just Jingle
Craftiness is not Optional
Paper or Fabric
Family Volley
Live.Teach.Create.
RachelleWrites

*Disclosure: I received free product from The Original Scrapbox to host this giveaway. All rules must be followed and correct United States address given for prize to be awarded.

Glitter Ornament Tutorial

2011-10-29T14:59:00.001-07:00

Have you seen all the glitter ornaments around blogland lately? I have and I’ve fallen in love with them.

As soon as I figured out how to make them, I ran to Michaels for all my supplies and got to work. I made two dozen the first night. They are so easy, so fast and they’ll make excellent hostess gifts for all my Christmas parties this year.

Here is what you’ll need:

Pledge Floor Care with Future Shine (this stuff will last forever)
Clear glass ornaments
Envelope – to use as a funnel. Cut in half and then snip off one corner
Extra Fine Glitter
Two small containers – one for the extra glitter and one for the extra Pledge

1. Pop out all the metal hooks from the ornaments

2. Squirt a little bit of the Pledge into the ornament and swirl it around. Try not to shake it so there won’t be a lot of bubbles.

3. After the inside of the ornament is completely coated in Pledge poor it into one of your containers.

4. Pour your glitter into the ornament.

5. Cover the opening of the ornament with your finger and shake the glitter so that everything is covered.

6. Pour excess glitter into the 2nd container.

7. Pop your hooks back on and you’re done!

,

Linking to:
Fingerprints on the Fridge, Kojo Designs, My Romantic Home, Sassy Sites
Tatertots and Jello, Tidy Mom, Whipperberry, A Vision to Remember
Funky Junk Interiors, Be Different Act Normal, I Heart Naptime, C.R.A.F.T.,
The DIY Showoff, Created By Cori, Dittle Dattle, Between Naps on the Porch
The Girl Creative, Skip to my Lou, Keeping it Simple, Embellishing Life
Sugar Bee Crafts, Serenity You

Dining Room Table Redo

2011-09-18T19:43:00.001-07:00

I bought a dining table and chairs off Craigslist several months ago and it sat in my dining room taking up space, collecting junk. I had towels on the chairs because the fabric was dirty, and it was just a mess. I started working on the chairs a few weeks ago and kept dragging my feet, not really getting it done. I didn’t really know what I was doing and I was scared to mess it up.

Today we had a housewarming party and I really wanted the table and the chairs to be done so everything would look nice. So I was outside in the garage every night last week stripping the old stain, sanding, painting, more sanding, more paining and then I put a top coat on the table. I can’t believe how different everything looks with a little bit of paint and new stain. I love how it turned out and it was much easier than I expected it to be.

Before:

After:

I’m totally hooked on redoing furniture. I have a buffet for our TV that’s next on my list of things to do. Hopefully it won’t sit in my garage until Christmas!

Linking to:
I Heart Naptime, Under the Table and Dreaming, Funky Junk Interiors Tatertots & Jello, Dittle Dattle, Between Naps on the Porch, The Girl Creative The DIY Showoff, Skip to my Lou, Keeping It Simple, CRAFT
Making the World Cuter, Sew Can Do, Embellishing Life

First Soccer Game

2011-09-11T18:41:00.001-07:00

Watching four and five year olds play soccer is the most frustrating thing ever! Yesterday was Madison’s first official soccer game. We went over everything before the game: run after the ball even if no one else is, they’ll follow you; try to get the ball into the goal; the goal what the net is called; try to keep the ball away from the other team; the other team is wearing a different color than your team, etc.

She seemed to get everything we told her. Then the game started. She kind of remembered what to do so she was having fun. Then at the end of the game she was standing right in front of the goal with the ball all by herself. She looked down and then looked at us like she didn’t know what to do! Everyone was screaming for her to kick it in the goal. By the time she realized what she was supposed to do, the other team had caught up and kicked the ball out of the way. She didn’t score a goal yesterday, but her team did win.

I’m also trying to finish up some old projects and get caught up on my scrapbook pages. I’m really trying to clear out some of the clutter in my craft room so I can figure out what I want to do with it.

Labor Day Weekend

2011-09-04T08:26:00.001-07:00

How is your weekend going? Ours is pretty quiet. The extra day off just means more time for running errands, cleaning and having a BBQ on Monday instead of Sunday. Even though we’re not doing a lot, I am getting a lot done and sometimes that’s all I want.

After I ordered my project life album for 2011, I loved it so much I ordered a second album for all my 2010 photos. I finally finished it last night. A few of my favorite pages:

Since starting project life I hadn’t done a single traditional scrapbook page until last week. I forgot how much fun it was to just play around with all the paper and embellishments I have laying around.

I am also working on my first furniture project. I found a dining table on Craigslist a few weeks after we moved into our house and it’s been sitting in the garage. It’s really not a hard project, but just the fear of screwing it up makes me put it off. Finally I couldn’t stand it any longer. I had to keep telling myself that the worst that could happen is I mess it up and have to find another one. Here is a before and after of the chairs:

The chairs are done now and I only have the table to do. I’m hoping by next weekend everything will be finished.

Update

2011-08-30T21:01:00.001-07:00

How about an update on what we’ve been doing lately. If you remember what our backyard looked like a few months ago, you know it wasn’t pretty.

April:

In June we rented two giant dumpsters and a jackhammer to get rid of all the concrete:

We hired someone to pour new stamped concrete and build a wall around the area where we will be laying sod. We will bring in dirt so that the grass will be even with the top of the wall:

And the front of the wall:

We still have a lot more work to do but I can finally envision how everything will turn out. I can’t wait to get some color back there.

When we’re not working in the yard we are going to soccer games:

Playing at the beach:

And taking silly pictures:

Wear Blue: Run To Remember

2011-08-02T22:49:00.001-07:00

This weekend was all about “Wear Blue: Run To Remember.” It’s a group my sister, Lisa, started when her husband died while serving in Afghanistan in 2009. Friday night was a golf tournament to raise money for her group. We had a great time trying to win the raffle and auction prizes, listening to her talk about Wear Blue and seeing the kids running around having fun.

Saturday we headed to San Francisco to get ready for the SF Marathon. We had our pre-race dinner at the hotel.

After dinner I went up to my room to get some sleep before my half marathon while Lisa headed out to San Bruno to start her ultra marathon, 52. 4 miles. Her and four other runners from Wear Blue: Run To Remember and Team Red White and Blue started at midnight and ran the first 26.2 miles to the start of the San Francisco Marathon.

Before they started they called out the name of the fallen soldier they were running for.

(photo by Joe Dannels)

They took turns carrying the flag throughout the entire race.

(photo by Joe Dannels)

2:18 a.m. Running past the Cliff House in San Francisco.

(photo by Joe Dannels)

They got to our hotel around 4:30 and met up with all the other runners.

We walked to the start line and waited for the race to start.

We ran over the Golden Gate Bridge and up some brutal hills.

We were all relaxing, drinking our coffee when Lisa and the rest of the ultra runners crossed the finish line. I don’t know how they did it, but it was amazing watching them step across the finish line holding the flag.

My favorite picture of the entire weekend. Lisa (on the right) has the craziest happy face I’ve ever seen. I just love it and laugh every time I look at it.

Julie (on the left) signed up to run the half marathon and then decided she couldn’t leave Lisa at a particularly difficult point in the race and decided to just finish with her. Who does that? She signs up for 13 miles, which is hard enough, and then just runs a full 26. Crazy.

It was a great weekend, and I can’t wait until next year when we do it all again.

New File Cabinet

2011-07-21T17:21:00.000-07:00

Can you believe it? My first post in almost two months! I have been working on a few things, but most are sitting half finished in the garage.

When I first saw Miss Mustard Seed's chalkboard cabinet, I knew I had to have one. I've been searching for a cheap two drawer file cabinet for all my paperwork and scrapbook paper. I finally found one a couple weeks ago. Who knew it would be so hard to find.

Here it is before. Not too bad, just a few chips. I lightly sanded the entire cabinet and then wiped it down to remove any dust.

After a coat of primer and two coats of chalkboard paint I ended up with this:

I'm still trying to find just the right spot for it, and something cute to put on top, but I like it. And once I actually file all my paperwork, my office will look so much more organized!

Linking To:
Embellishing Life, The Girl Creative, A Bowl Full of Lemons, Somewhat Simple
Fireflies and Jellybeans, Beyond the Picket Fence, Romantic Home,
Tidy Mom, Sassy Sites, Simply Sweet Home, Dittle Dattle

Our Disneyland Trip

2011-06-07T11:34:00.000-07:00

We had a great trip to Disneyland and I wish I could go back right now. I had prepared myself for the worst - long bathroom lines, cranky girls, Madison being too scared to go on the rides - but it ended up being so easy!

We started out slow on It's a Small World, then worked our way up to the bigger rides.

Once Madison got used to it, she wanted to go on everything. She wanted to ride "Faster than the wind" on the teacups.

While waiting in line to see Tinkerbell, we saw a little area of water filled with coins. Madison wanted to know why there was money in the water. I told her you throw a penny in the water and make a wish. I gave her a penny and asked her what shew as going to wish for. She said "True Love." ( in that Duh Mommy voice)

We had lunch with the Princesses.

And took lots of pictures.

We're still working on our house and I'm all up to date on my Project Life album so I'll have some updates soon!

Hello

2011-05-01T22:01:00.000-07:00

We have settled into our new place, we're mostly unpacked and we're starting to get some kind of routine. I am also completely unmotivated to do anything. I haven't quite figured out how to set up my new craft space, and everytime I try to work on anything I sit at my desk for a few minutes and then just leave. I hate that feeling. But I know that everytime I move, it takes a few months for me to get going again.

We did have a great Easter, the girls got a ton of candy, saw lots of family and we're having fun in our new place.

We've got a lot of things coming up soon. We leave for Disneyland in 10 days. Yay! And as soon as we get back, we're starting our first big project. The backyard. Not totally sure what we're going to do with it yet, but we've got lots of ideas floating around. Here's a little sneak peak at what we're getting rid of.

Rocks, rocks and more rocks. We've already had 6 or 7 truckloads taken out and it's hardly made a dent.

It's Moving Day

2011-04-09T06:21:00.000-07:00

It's finally here. Today is officially moving day and I'm already tired. I've been at the house every night this week cleaning so we won't have to do much after we bring in the furniture.

Here are a few pictures of the new place:

I'll be without internet for the next few days but I'll be back with some better pictures later in the week.

7 More Days

2011-03-28T10:38:00.000-07:00

This month has been full of ups and downs for us. We've definitely had more "excitement" than I care to have in one month. But now that it's starting to calm down we can get excited about moving. We only have seven more days to wait! This will be my 12th move in 13 years! I can't believe I have moved that many times. But I swear, this is it.

We've started packing up the things we won't be using for the next few weeks . Here's a tiny portion of my Rite Aid stash:

My mom came to visit for the weekend so Mike and I could have some uninterrupted cleaning time in the garage.

And in between packing, we've been taking trips out to Roseville for lunch and shoe shopping.

I am going to update the last two weeks of my Project Life tonight before I pack up the rest of my craft supplies and then I'll be back with pictures of the new house.

Project Life Weeks 8 and 9

2011-03-15T09:10:00.000-07:00

I know it's been awhile since I've posted anything, but I have a good reason. We've been house hunting! We did make an offer and it was accepted, so now we're in the middle of home inspections and appraisals. I am in love with this house even though it's stuck in the 80's. But that just means I'll have lots of before and after pictures to show you. In the meantime, here are my Project Life pages for weeks 8 and 9.

Week 8:

Week 9:

Project Life Week 7

2011-03-01T09:00:00.000-08:00

Still not a lot going on around here. One cold turned into three colds and we just hung out for most of the week. I was able to finish Project Life week 7:

Make one scrapbook layout:

And do my Rite Aid shopping on Sunday. Yep, didn't cost me anything. $-.04 and I got back $6.00 for next week.

One of these days I'll actually have something good to share with you. I've got a hutch in the garage just waiting for a good sanding and a fresh coat of paint. Until then, I hope you don't get sick of my Project LIfe pages and my Rite Aid shopping.

Linking to:
The Mom Creative

Project Life Week 6

2011-02-22T08:33:00.000-08:00

I've been a very lazy crafter/blogger lately. We had a crazy week that started with 4 hours in the urgent care for an ear infection, and ended with lots of colds in our house. But we made it through, and hopefully this week will be better. Here is a look at my Project Life week 6:

I ended up ordering a second Project Life kit for all my 2010 pictures. I spent most nights this week editing and uploading all our pictures from last year. I can't wait to put it all together, finish a couple layouts for 2009 (yes, totally behind on my scrapbooking) and then I will finally be caught up! I didn't think I would ever be able to say that, but I think by the end of March, I will be!

Linking to:
The Mom Creative

Project Life Week 5

2011-02-14T22:14:00.000-08:00

My Project Life is still going strong. I'm completely up to date, but can't get pictures of my most recent pages until this weekend when I've got some light. So until then, here is a look at week 5.

I had so many pictures this week I couldn't narrow it down enough, so I added a 6x12 sheet in the middle.

I am still loving this project. It is one of the best projects I've done. I love how I will remember little details that usually slip by because I'm not thinking about documenting the little things, and because I usually scrapbook it a year later. I love the daily pictures of the girls' clothes and hairstyles. I love that I am up to date, still having fun, and still looking foward to Monday nights when I get to put the week together.

Linking to:
The Mom Creative

Rite Aid Coupon Shopping

2011-02-13T09:01:00.000-08:00

I LOVE coupon shopping and my favorite store is Rite Aid. It's been a couple months since I've done any coupon shopping and my stockpile is getting low, so I started it up again today. Here's what I got:

2 Colgate Sensitive toothpastes ($3.50 each)
2 Dove Invisible Solid deoderants ($2.00 each)
1 Secret Clinical Strength ($7.99)
Total: $18.99 plus tax

Here are the coupons I used:
$4.00 off $20.00 purchase (Rite Aid video values coupon)
$2.00 off non-prescription purchase (Rite Aid video values coupon)
$1.00 off non-prescription purchase (Rite Aid video values coupon)
(2) $1.00 off Colgate Sensitive Toothpaste
(2) $2.00 off Dove deoderant
$1.00 off Secret Deoderant

Total after coupons (with tax): $4.16 and I got back $12 in +Up Rewards

I didn't have any +Up Rewards to use this time since I haven't done any coupon shopping lately, so my out of pocket was a little "expensive" for me, but I've got two more great transactions for next weekend that should be almost free. I'll let you know my plan later in the week if you are interested in doing some Rite Aid shopping.

Holiday Decoration

2011-02-11T20:23:00.000-08:00

I love decorating for holidays from Halloween through Sidney's birthday in January. Once February hits, I kind of run out of steam and have no desire to put up anything for Valentine's Day. This is a problem since Madison is all about decorating. Everything. She wants her room decorated, windows, doors, everything. So the other day I found this tree thing at a thrift store. I knew it would be perfect for Madison to decorate for all the holidays, but I wasn't crazy about the color.

After a little steel wool and some primer, I painted it with a pewter color and hung some paper hearts. Madison loves it and I can easily hang something on it for all the upcoming holidays.

Linking to:

Just a Girl, The Shabby Nest, My Romantic Home, Finding Fabulous

Fingerprints on the Fridge, The Girl Creative, Kojo Designs

Project Life - January

2011-02-03T19:28:00.000-08:00

January is complete in my book. Since I ordered this project so late, I didn’t document as many things as I would have liked, but I’ll start working on that this week. Here is a look at the first two weeks of January:

The last two weeks of January:

This has got to be one of the most fun projects I’ve ever done. It is easy and with hardly any effort, the pages end up looking so cute. Also, very easy to write down things I want to remember and stick them in the book right away.

At first, I had hoped to take at least a couple pictures every day. As I have already found out, that is just not going to happen. By the time we get home at night, we have just enough time to play with Sidney for a few minutes, make dinner, eat, sometimes squeeze in a bath, and get ready for bed. I carried my camera around all day yesterday, from room to room last night and didn’t take a single picture until 9:00 at night. So I’ve decided that if a great picture moment should arise during the week, then I’ll definitely be taking pictures, but mostly I’ll just be focusing on the weekends. That’s when we have time to relax and have the most fun.

Linking to:
The Mom Creative

December Daily is Done!

2011-01-30T19:55:00.000-08:00

My December Daily is finally done, only 30 days late. And that’s not too bad for me. I loved this project. I just sat down and looked through the book again and kept reading funny things the girls did or said that I probably wouldn’t have remembered if I hadn’t written it down. Writing things down is definitely something I’m working on this year. I’ve always done it in the past, but it’s on little bits of paper scattered around the house, and I can never find it when I need it.

Here are a few of my favorite pages from my December Daily:

I also got my Project Life in the mail yesterday! I was so excited I didn’t even change out of my cleaning clothes before I took a picture. Hopefully this project will help me to write things down, keep everything in one place and stay on top of my scrapbooking.

Blog Critique Party

2011-01-28T10:07:00.000-08:00

I came across a link party at My Repurposed Life and decided to join. It's a blog critique, and since I've been making some changes over the past several weeks, it was perfect timing. I've still got a lot of things I want to add/change, but let me know what you think so far. Here's the blurb on Gail's post:

Please take a look around my blog, check out the layout, pages, buttons, sidebar and gadgets. I would love for you to gently critique my blog. I’m hoping you will leave me some positive feedback about my blog. It would be great if you could give me constructive criticism but be sure to tell me what you like about my blog too! Do you like my pictures? Does my blog load quickly for you? How about the font? All tips and tidbits welcome!

Scrapbooking with my Silhouette

2011-01-27T19:46:00.001-08:00

A few months ago I got a new Silhouette machine for my anniversary. Since it was so close to the holidays, I didn’t really get a chance to use it. I pulled it out a few weeks ago and downloaded a few images from Donna Downey. It is so fun. Pretty much anything you can think of is in the Silhouette store. Kind of like iTunes. You search from their online database and save it to your library.

Every few months I get focused on one craft and that is all I seem to want to do. Right now it is obviously scrapbooking. I know in a few months it will be knitting again, and then when the weather gets warmer it will be refinishing all the furniture I’ve stashed in the garage. For now, I’m happy to be making a dent in all the pictures I’ve got laying around.

Two Year Scarf

2011-01-20T16:44:00.001-08:00

I started this scarf two years ago.

Then I got pregnant, the morning sickness kicked in and I had no desire to do anything crafty. By the time I was ready to start knitting again, I was too big to do it comfortably. So it sat in my closet. After Sidney was born, I thought I’d have plenty of time to finish my scarf while she was napping. Then I went back to work early, so it sat some more. I finally picked it up again this fall determined to finish it while it was still cold.

I’m so happy with the way it turned out. It’s soft, light and very warm. You can never have too many scarves and I can’t wait until I start the next one.

Linking to:

Somewhat Simple, House of Hepworths, Today's Creative Blog, My Backyard Eden
Someday Crafts, Blue Cricket Design, Fireflies and Jellybeans, The Shabby Nest
Decor Mamma, Tidy Mom, Fingerprints on the Fridge, Kojo Designs, Plums Life
Fumky Junk, A Little Lovely, Be Different Act Normal, Tatertots and Jello

Runner's World Article

2011-01-13T10:02:00.000-08:00

My sister (aka crazy person who runs 20 miles for fun) was featured in the February issue of Runner's World. You can read the article here.

She helped to start a group called Run To Remember when her husband passed away in 2009.

Runner's World did a great job with the article and it gets me all teary eyed every time I read it.

I'll be joining her in July to run the San Francisco Marathon in honor of John. It's time to start training.

Rose Wreath Tutorial

2011-01-09T19:45:00.001-08:00

Thank you for all your wonderful comments about this wreath. It is a bit time consuming, but totally worth it.

Supplies:

12 inch foam wreath
Cardstock – I used 8.5 x 11
scissors
hot glue gun
spray adhesive
glitter – I like Martha Stewart’s crystal fine glitter
1 1/2 yards sheer ribbon

1. I made two different sized circles. For the large circles, cut the cardstock into four pieces.

2. Cut each square into a circle. Doesn’t have to be perfect. Mine were ovalish, they both work.

3. For the smaller circles, cut your cardstock into strips about 3 inches wide. Then cut each strip into three squares. Cut each square into a circle.

4. Cut each circle into a spiral, trying to keep the thickness even throughout. Mine definitely were not even, but it is helpful.

5. Once all the spirals are cut, start rolling the flower starting with the outside. Roll as tight as possible keeping the bottom edge aligned at all times.

6. When it is completely rolled, pinch the flower together a little bit to help it hold it’s shape.

7. When you let go of your flower, it will spring open into shape.

8. Put a group of your flowers together on a sheet of newspaper and spray lightly with the spray adhesive. Then sprinkle your glitter on top. I was pretty generous with my glitter. Let dry at least 1/2 hour.

9. Hot glue the flower together by placing a little bit of glue on the bottom flap and then hold the flower in the shape you want while the glue dries. I found that if I left the individual flowers unglued, they would start to unwind and lose some of their shape after a few days.

10. Start gluing the large and small flowers on your foam wreath so that they are touching and showing as little of the foam as possible. You will probably have some little bits of the foam peeking through where you couldn’t fit even the little flowers. Continue with all your flowers and come back to that at the end. Once all the flowers are in place you can go back and cover some of the areas where a lot of the foam is showing. I took a left over glittered flower, pulled out a little bit of the middle, and tore it off from the rest of the paper.

11. I curled it as tight as I could and stuck it into the little holes in my wreath. If I needed more, I kept taking little bits from the left over flowers and wound them into little pieces.

12. I bought one and a half yards of sheer ribbon and wrapped it through the wreath and tied a bow at the top.

Email me if you have any questions and please send me a link with your wreath. I would love to see how it turns out!

Linking to:

Nesting Place

Scrapbooking and Punch Art

2011-01-08T14:25:00.000-08:00

One of my goals this year is to get caught up scrapbooking all of my pictures. I'm still working on a few from 2009, so I've got a lot of work to do. I finished these pages this week, and I think they are some of my favorite layouts.

I'm also working on decorations for Sidney's first birthday party next weekend. We're having an owl theme, with owl cookies, owl hats, owl shaped cheese ball and owl cupcakes. I also made this punch art picture to hang on the wall.

I used foam squares behind all the pink owls so they would pop out a little bit.

After the party I'll put the owls in Sidney's room since the poor girl has no decorations of her own.

Linking To:

Tatertots and Jello, Be Different Act Normal, A Little Lovely, Fingerprints on The Fridge

Decor Mamma, Under The Table and Dreaming, I Heart Naptime, Embellishing Life

Just A Girl, Today's Creative Blog

Paper Rose Wreath

2011-01-02T18:40:00.000-08:00

I have been working on this project for several weeks now. I had hoped to finish this wreath before Christmas, but I didn't make it. I think it will look great as part of my Valentine's Day decorations. I got this idea from a red cone tree I saw a Target, and a picture I found online of paper rosettes.

The roses are made from red cardstock. I made all the flowers, then sprayed them with a spray adhesive and then covered them in glitter. It's a little shiny in the pictures because of the adhesive, but it's not obvious on the actual wreath.

I used a 12 inch foam wreath and hot glued the rosettes to the foam. I bought a 3 inch wide sheer ribbon from JoAnn's and wrapped it around the wreath.

This was so easy to do, although a bit time consuming. I used my lunch breaks at work to make the roses and then would glue them on at night.

When I first started making the roses, I put them in a little box thinking I would glitter them all at once. I noticed that they started to unravel and didn't hold their shape very well if I waited too long.

Tutorial found HERE.

Linking to:
A Little Lovely, Funky Junk Interious, Tidy Mom, Finding Fabulous, Simply Designing
My Romantic Home, The DIY Showoff, While He Was Napping, Chic on a Shoestring
Fun To Craft, I Heart Naptime, CRAFT, Making the World Cuter, Sumo's Sweet Stuff
Crafts Keep Me Sane, Craftomaniac, Embellishing Life, Sew Chatty, Dittle Dattle
Today's Creative Blog, Craft Edition, Little Eme

December

2010-12-31T06:33:00.000-08:00

December went by in a blur, like usual. Madison turned four:

We watched lots of Christmas movies:

We hung out at the park when it wasn't raining:

Tried to take pictures of Sidney, but could only get side views or the back of her head.

Opened a ton of presents:

And hung out with cousins:

I finished quite a few projects this month so I'll start showing you next week. Hope you have a great New Year.

Wine Cork Christmas Trees

2010-12-03T16:15:00.000-08:00

I am always on the look-out for wine cork projects. As soon as I saw 4EyesandEars’ cork trees, I knew I had to make one. The only problem? It takes 72 corks plus 4 for the trunk. I can’t drink that much wine in an entire year (I’m more of a tequila girl myself). Luckily, my mom goes to art and wine shows all the time. She has started collecting the left over corks from all the vendors. It was one of her rare creative moments.

I love how it turned out!

Linking to:
Somewhat Simple, Fingerprints on the Fridge, My Romantic Home, The Girl Creative
House of Hepworths, Be Different Act Normal, Tatertots and Jello, Under the Table and Dreaming
CRAFT, Thrifty Decor Chick, I Heart Naptime, Dittle Dattle, Embellishing Life, Sew Chatty

December Daily

2010-12-03T09:23:00.000-08:00

I finally sat down and learned how to use Photoshop Elements. It was a pain in the butt, and took me all night to put together four pages, but totally worth it. I wanted to participate in the December Daily project this year and I wanted to keep things simple and do mostly digital pages for the pictures. I think I'll be able to put the rest of my pages together more quickly now that I know what I'm doing. Here is my favorite picture from Dec. 1.

Hopefully I can get my first week's worth of pictures printed this weekend so I can actually put them in the album.

Happy Thanksgiving

2010-11-25T15:13:00.000-08:00

We were up bright and early this morning on the coldest Thanksgiving Sacramento has ever had. It was 25 degrees and that is something we are definitely not used to. We headed over to the Run to Feed the Hungry and had to stand around for about an hour, jumping up and down, trying to stay warm while we waited to start the race. Madison and Sidney were so bundled they didn't even feel the cold. We took lots of pictures while we were waiting.

Now we are finishing our turkey and making the best rolls ever! Happy Thanksgiving.

Owl Hats

2010-11-13T18:38:00.000-08:00

My annual craft boutique is next week. I can't believe it's already that time of year. I've been working on a bunch of things, but mostly my baby hats. I made a few owl hats this year and as soon as Madison saw them, she just had to have one. I finished the hats for Madison and Sidney this morning and they thought it was the funniest thing to wear owls on their heads.

Tinkerbell Costume

2010-11-04T20:18:00.000-07:00

My sister requested a Tinkerbell costume for Heidi this year. Her whole family dressed up as Peter Pan characters. Aren't they cute!

I made Heidi's tutu, fairy wand and headband. It was my version of Tinkerbell.

Madison and Sidney also dressed up in tutus and carried fairy wands. Madison got so much candy, she couldn't even carry her bucket at the end of the night. She ate a piece of candy after dinner on Sunday and Monday and then she forgot about it.

This is the best picture I got of Sidney sitting in her costume.

Happy Halloween

2010-10-31T19:50:00.000-07:00

Pumpkin Patch

2010-10-25T21:02:00.000-07:00

Last weekend we went to the pumpkin patch and had so much fun I didn't even want to leave. There was a great corn maze and Madison and I got stuck and had to make a new path out.

We hung out with the pumpkins.

Drove the cars.

Went down the slide.

Searched for the best pumpkins.

And posed for pictures.

Korker Bows

2010-10-24T20:29:00.000-07:00

We love hair clippies in our house. Madison wants to wear them with everything, but only if they match what she's wearing. Most of the time, we don't have any bows that match. This weekend I made a ton of them and they are really addicting. I just kept going until I ran out of ribbon.

To Make these bows you will need:

Grosgrain ribbon, 1/4 inch or 3/8 inch. I used 3/8 inch.

1/4 inch wooden dowels

wooden clothespins

cookie sheet

scissors

candle

tweezers

thread

hot glue

plastic barrettes

To curl the ribbon, attach the ribbon to one end of the dowel and secure with a clothespin. Wrap the ribbon around the dowel and secure the other end with a clothespin.

Once all the dowels are wrapped with ribbon, place them on a cookie sheet (I lined mine with foil so the ribbon wouldn't get dirty) and bake 275 degrees for 30 minutes.

Remove the ribbon from the oven and let cool for a couple minutes. Remove the clothespins and unwind the ribbon.

Next, cut the ribbon into two inch pieces.

At this point you will need to burn the edges of each piece so the ends won't fray. Hold the ribbon with your tweezers and place the end close to the flame. Don't get too close because it will catch on fire.

Place the two inch pieces of ribbon along a piece of thread and then tie around the middle of the ribbon.

Cut off the excess thread and hot glue to a plastic barrette.

Christmas Cards

2010-10-21T19:49:00.001-07:00

I know its early, but if I don't start now, it will never get done. I have almost all of my Christmas cards done. I used my favorite Papertrey Ink stamps and made four different designs.

Halloween Decorations

2010-10-17T20:54:00.000-07:00

Every year I have a big list of decorations I plan to make. But other than pumpkins on my front porch, I have never decorated for Halloween. This year I managed to squeeze in a few things. I found a bunch of pumpkins at Michaels on clearance so I spray painted them white. I found some branches in the yard and sprayed them black and made a black crepe paper wreath. I added a few candles and now I have officially decorated for Halloween.

Book Wreath

2010-10-11T20:44:00.000-07:00

I have been loving fall wreaths lately. I especially loved this wreath by MaryJanes and Galoshes, but it was a little to plain for me. I also loved the pages of this book wreath by SimpleJoysPaperie, but overall, it is not my style. So, I combined the two and this is the book wreath I came up with:

Here's how I made my book wreath:

Supplies:

12 inch foam wreath
old book with several hundred pages
2 inch scalloped circle punch
ink pad
unsharpened pencil
glue gun

First I punched out my circles. I used about a third of my book and I think it had about 600-700 pages. I forgot to look.

Then I inked all the circles just around the edge.
ETA: The first two pictures were inked with brown for more of an aged look. It's not as noticeable as the red.

Once all your circles are punched and inked, you can start gluing them onto the wreath. Place the pencil in the middle of the circle and fold up the edges.

Place a small amount of hot glue on the bottom and then stick it on the wreath.

Keep gluing until your wreath is full. I hung mine by a ribbon hot glued to the back of the wreath.

Linking to:

Nesting Place

Tulle Fairy Wand Tutorial

2010-10-01T19:53:00.000-07:00

I was inspired to make this by Sweet 'N Sassy Girls.

Supplies needed:

tulle
dowell
ribbon
thread
hot glue

You'll need to cut twenty strips of tulle, about 6 inches long. Make two piles with ten pieces of tulle in each. If you are using more than one color, then you'll want to alternate the colors as you make your piles.

Tie a piece of thread in the middle of each pile. Make sure the thread is long enough to use again for the next step.

Place one pile across the other and secure them together with the thread.

Pull apart all the strips until it becomes a little poof. Cut the excess thread.

Hot glue ribbon to a small dowell so it is completely covered.

Cut six pieces of ribbon and hot glue to the top of the dowell. Then hot glue your proof on top of the ribbon.

There you go. A fairy wand for your little princess. So, tell me, how did I do? If you make one I would love to see it!

This Is Why I Love Having Girls

2010-09-25T10:53:00.000-07:00

It is so much fun to dress them up! I finally finished fairy wands to go with the tutus I made for Madison and Sidney. I think I have a little bit of crafting ADD. I can't seem to finish a project before I start another one (or five). My house has been taken over by craft supplies for future projects. If only I could quit my job and make a living out gluing and cutting and decorating.

The first wand I made for Madison turned out so cute I decided to make a bunch for party favors for her birthday.

Crafting

2010-08-28T16:08:00.000-07:00

I've been on a crafting spree lately and have been working on a bunch of different things. I've started the girls' Halloween costumes. They are both going to be fairies this year. I've made tutus and I'm working on the fairy wings. The tutus turned out so cute. I can't wait to get a picture of both girls when the costumes are complete. I've also been working on my Halloween decorations (I know, it's really early) and I've been making things for my annual craft boutique.

Lake Tahoe

2010-08-15T20:07:00.000-07:00

We spent the weekend in Lake Tahoe swimming and eating. Madison was very excited about staying in a hotel and using her sleeping bag. We had a great time but I'm happy to be home.

Completed Week in the Life - Part Two

2010-08-08T08:56:00.000-07:00

Completed Week in the Life - Part One

2010-08-07T14:09:00.000-07:00

Way back in April I actually finished my week in the life project, but never posted any of the pictures. I really love how this album turned out. I tried to keep it simple and make sure I took a picture of all our normal routines. As I was putting this together, I definitely noticed the amount of pictures decreasing as the days went by. I think I took almost 100 pictures on Monday, and by Sunday, I was down to a few. I did end up having to take some filler pictures the following week, but now I'll know what I need to do for next year. I can't wait to look at these down the road and see how our lives, routines, hair styles, hobbies, etc. have changed.

Time Just For Me

2010-08-05T21:10:00.000-07:00

It's not often that I get a lot of time just for myself. I have gotten a few nights this week and it has been so nice. Sidney goes to sleep at 6:30, Madison at 7:00 and then I've got the rest of the night while Mike plays baseball. I've been doing lots of scrapbooking, lots of cooking and lots of knitting. I do wish I could stay awake a little longer, but I'm usually asleep by 9:30. I don't know how I managed to got out at night while I was in college. Now I am perfectly happy with a good book and my comfy bed.

Summer

2010-08-03T15:45:00.000-07:00

So far this summer we have:

Been playing outside

Hanging out with Sidney

Going to the state fair

Watching Sidney try to crawl

Having people over for a BBQ and playing cornhole

Happy Birthday John

2010-07-06T10:06:00.000-07:00

Today John is 31 in heaven. Honor his birthday by organizing. Spread the word: July 6 is the National John Hallett Organization Day. You must organize something: info in excel, junk in the junk drawer, or your garage (John says its the foundation for the home)! Organize, think of John, & shoot us an email w/what you organized, & the memory you recalled while you organized.

Uncle John and Madison.

The Many Faces of Madison (Covered in Pudding)

2010-07-04T21:14:00.000-07:00

Happy:

Confused:

Tired:

Surprised:

Mad:

Sad:

What We've Been Doing Lately

2010-06-29T13:59:00.001-07:00

Here's a little of what we've been doing lately:

Going bowling:

Hanging out in San Francisco:

Going to the zoo:

Feeding Sidney real food:

Swimming:

Hanging out at the park with Michael:

Spring

2010-05-02T20:36:00.000-07:00

I love spring. Although I say I love each new season when it starts, I love spring the most. I love when it gets warm enough to leave the windows and doors open. I love when everyone on the block has freshly mowed grass and everything looks nice. And I especially love BBQ and margaritas.

We've been doing a lot of that lately. Just hanging out, doing nothing special. Madison and I have spent a lot of time in the kitchen. That girl loves to cook. We've made cake, brownies, bicuits, pasta and chicken. We've also been working in the yard, lots of scrapbooking and redoing Madison and Sidney's rooms.

Week in the Life Project

2010-04-21T16:11:00.000-07:00

My pictures are ordered, supplies are on the way and I'm ready to start putting together this project. It's funny the things I learned when I really paid attention to what was going on instead of just going about our daily routine.

1. Madison is more "helpful" with Sidney than I thought. She even tried to dress her one morning!

2. Madison remembers EVERYTHING! You can't say anything to her and think she won't remember. She can sing along with songs on the radio and is now requesting songs to listen to. Her favorites: the "Yeah, Yeah" song (Usher's Yeah!), the "Love, Love, Love" song (Lady Gaga's Bad Romance) and the "Sista" song (Train's Hey Soul Sister).

3. Madison loves taking pictures. Everything time I told her she looked cute she would say "Well let's take a picture."

Here are a few of my favorite pictures:

Madison "making daddy handsome."

Eating celery and ranch at Applebees:

Sidney's not really sure if she wants to go on our walk:

Happy Easter

2010-04-04T20:04:00.001-07:00

March

2010-03-29T12:05:00.001-07:00

We had a lot of fun last month. We took a trip to the Oakland Zoo and Madison had a ton of fun seeing all the animals and riding the rides.

We've been going for walks with our new stroller, going to Fairlytale Town and hanging out with Sidney. She's already 10 pounds and last week she laughed and rolled over for the first time. I think Madison was more excited than anyone else. She jumped up and started screaming "She rolled all by herself!"

We've also been moving all my craft supplies out of Sidney's room and into the front room. You just don't realize how much crap accumulates until you have to move it all. Hopefully she'll be sleeping in her own room in a couple weeks.

During all the fun I have managed to do some scrapbooking.

I am starting A Week In the Life next week and I'm really excited about it. It's going to be a lot of work but I'm hoping I can have it all put together the week after.

My New Bob

2010-02-28T18:27:00.000-08:00

We have had a very busy week. Last week I was back at work. It was super busy and I loved it. Since I'm only working 15 hours a week for now, the days flew by.

I was planning on hiring a personal trainer after Sidney was born, but now that I'm already back at work, I don't want to take any more time away from the girls. So I decided to use the money I had saved to buy a Bob Revolution stroller instead. It is crazy expensive but I love it! I never thought I could love a sroller so much but I do. We've been going for long walks and Madison loves it.

Mike's mom is in town for the next few weeks so Madison has been getting to spend time with Grandma. She always comes with tons of presents. Madison now has a new summer wardrobe. Here are some of the new outfits:

Madison and Sidney have been getting along great. Madison still loves to hold and sing and play with Sidney and Sidney is starting to smile and make cute little baby noises.

And just because I like this picture:

5 Weeks

2010-02-18T14:41:00.000-08:00

I can't believe Sidney is already 5 weeks old! She is sleeping at night and is starting to stay awake for good chunks of time during the day. We've been having lots of fun going for walks, playing dress up and taking lots of pictures. Here are a few from this past weekend:

And I have finally found some time to do a little crafting.

Next week I will be going back to work part time. I wasn't planning on going back at all until the middle of April, but apparently, the temp wasn't doing a good job and I was offered a nice big bonus to come back a little early. I'm only working a few hours three days a week, so I couldn't pass it up. I'm already sad to have to leave Sidney at daycare, but excited to get dressed up again and be around adults.

2010-01-24T17:32:00.001-08:00

We've had lots of sleepless nights here, but this morning everything felt like it was getting back to normal. I would never have guessed the emotional roller coaster that would come with having two children. Every time I leave one of them, I feel guilty like they're being ignored. Combine that with hormones that are still out of control, rainy weather and no sleep and it's not good. The tears just don't stop.

Last night Madison had a stuffed up nose and couldn't stop crying because she couldn't breathe. All I wanted to do was take care of her but I had a baby to feed and I didn't want to get sick and pass it along to Sidney. So Mike stayed with her all night and of course, I was crying, again.

Luckily, Sidney went to sleep at 10:00, got up once to eat and then was up at 7:30 this morning. Everything felt normal again, probably because I wasn't sleep deprived. I just don't do well without a routine.

Yesterday we had just a couple hours of sun before the rain started again. Madison and I took our babies for a walk. This is what she wore to go walking:

And Sidney all bundled up:

Hopefully, Sidney will sleep well again tonight and I can start scrapbooking again. I miss it. With all the midnight feedings, I've been online looking at different scrapbook blogs and have lots of inspiration!

Sidney Mickel

2010-01-20T12:35:00.000-08:00

She's finally here. Sidney was born on January 14 at 12:53 p.m. We came home from the hospital and we had one day before Mike left for New Orleans. It has been a rough few days. I forgot just how cranky and emotional I get when I don't sleep for days on end.

And to top it all off, Mike called Monday night and told me his ATM card was stolen. I checked our account online and someone wiped out our checking account. It was not a good night. I called the bank and they couldn't do anything for me over the phone. I had to go into the bank branch the next morning, taking both girls out in the stormy weather, and straighten everything out. It took forever. We finally got everything fixed but it will take a few weeks to get our money back.

Mike finally comes home today and I can't wait to go to sleep!

2 More Days

2010-01-11T13:26:00.000-08:00

The countdown in on. I am so ready to have this baby. I can barely stand up on my own, it take me forever just to roll over when I'm sleeping, and I am huge! I keep thinking about all the things I can't wait to do when I have this baby:

Run
Ride my bike
Have a glass of wine (or tequila)
Sit without feeling the bottom of my stomach on the tops of my legs (such a gross feeling)
Walk in a straight line, not side to side
Sleep on my stomach
Stand up from a chair in less than 20 seconds (that really is a long time)
Eat a Caesar salad from Jacks
Not have to pee every 20 minutes

Last week I watched the movie Julie and Julia and I loved it. I have not stopped cooking since I saw it. I got out my favorite cookbook, and marked a ton of stuff. I've made enchiladas, bruschetta, chicken pot pie, creme brule (so good), key lime pie, cookies, biscuits and a few things that were not very tasty so they are not worth mentioning. Now I've got to start marking those "healthy" meals I'll be eating for the next few months. I've got to get back into my regular clothes by the time I start work.

Here is one more scrapbook page I did this weekend:

4 More Days

2010-01-09T12:03:00.001-08:00

I can't believe in 4 days (or less, maybe) I will have another baby. Yikes! We'll be starting all over again with diapers, and midnight feedings. Just when things were calming down with Madison, we will start again. I am excited, though, even if it doesn't sound like it.

Last week Mike's brother and his family came to visit and brought Maidson a birthday present. All I can say is, Uncle Johnny will forever be her favorite uncle. She is still asking when she gets to see Uncle Johnny again. Take a look at what she got:

Just look at that monster! She got a little scared when she first sat down and pressed the gas pedal. Once we disconnected the battery and she could sit on it without being afraid, we couldn't get her off. She likes to sit backwards and stand on the seat like she's doing tricks. She can't get enough of it.

Lately, Madison has been posing for all her pictures with her eyes closed. I keep having to remind her to smile with her eyes open. That's when we end up with pictures that look this this (I can't stop laughing every time I look at this picture):

And finally, a few more scrapbook pages:

What I Love About Maternity Leave

2009-12-30T14:57:00.001-08:00

Lots of free time! Well, today anyway. I spent the morning working on a scarf, got my hair done, came home and did some scrapbooking and now I'm going to do some cleaning and start cooking dinner. I love not having to be somewhere I don't want to be, or do all my errands on a Saturday morning because that's the only time I have available. It's nice to just relax and do things when I feel like it.

It has been so long since I've done any scrapbooking. Our extra room has been a junk room since we moved in and I finally cleaned it out and had Mike paint it. I bought a new desk and hung my pictures on the wall. I love this room. I've got a few months now to get Madison's scrapbook up to date and start on Sidney's. Here are the pages I did today.

Merry Christmas

2009-12-26T17:16:00.000-08:00

We had a great Christmas this year. Madison got so much fun stuff, she didn't even know what to play with first. We stayed at home this year instead of heading out to the Bay Area. My mom and Lisa and the kids all stayed at our house. It was a crazy few days.

Madison riding her new tricycle and collecting leaves.

Madison holding Heidi, getting in some practice before Sidney arrives.

Madison and Jackson. Don't they look like boyfriend and girlfriend?

Heidi wearing her new "Auntie Sandi" hat.

My favorite picture. Getting ready to take a walk and look at all the Christmas lights. Did I mention it was crazy at my house?

Saturday morning at the train museum.

Next week will be just as crazy. Three more birthdays, New Years Eve and lots of appointments.

I am also officially on maternity leave and I can't believe I already miss work. It is really weird knowing some stranger is sitting at my desk doing my work. I don't know if I'll last for four months.

Weekend Before Christmas

2009-12-20T17:06:00.003-08:00

We have had a great weekend. Most of my Christmas shopping was done weeks ago, so I haven't had to go to any of the crazy stores. Last night we went to a Christmas party and Madison was running around like crazy, eating every cookie she could get her hands on and then passed out on the way home.

This morning we hung out at home and Madison wanted to take pictures with Santa.

Then I did some grocery shopping at Safeway, got into an argument with the cashier, and got all this stuff for...

22 cents! That cashier kept insisting she missed some of the items because she couldn't believe the total. Most of it was from ecoupons. Ever used them? They are great. You just load them onto your club card and they automatically come off. You can get them here, here and here.

Happy Birthday Madison

2009-12-16T19:14:00.000-08:00

I can't believe that it's been three years since Madison was born! Time flies. We took her to Chevy's for her birthday dinner and she was so excited when they sang happy birthday to her. She kept telling everyone she was a cowboy with the hat on.

Halloween

2009-11-06T12:03:00.000-08:00

Madison had so much fun trick-or-treating, she didn't want to stop. Even though she was a ballerina this year, she kept calling herself a princess.

Sunday we went to see Disney Princess on Ice with Oma. She was waving and clapping the entire time.

Pumpkin Patch

2009-11-03T10:18:00.000-08:00

I've totally been slacking on my blogging lately. I've been completely consumed with my coupon deals and knitting for my annual holiday boutique in a few weeks. I'm also really slowing down these days. I can't believe I'm almost 7 months pregnant. Baby can come any time now. Here are a few pictures from the pumpkin patch a few weeks ago. Madison had so much fun she wanted to go back every day for a week.

Big Deals

2009-09-25T19:31:00.001-07:00

I've been reading a lot of blogs lately about weekly bargains and coupons, etc. It's a little overwhelming at first. There is so much information. I finally decided I'd pick a few things and try it myself. I went out and bought these items:

Regular price (depending on what store you normally shop at) is around $30.00. I got all of this for $8.75! I was so proud of myself. It was kind of fun to see how much I could buy and how many coupons I could use. I can't wait to do it again next week.

I used the following websites for reference:

http://www.fistfulofcoupons.com/

http://www.abundantfoodsavings.com/

http://www.thebargainjargon.com/

Almost Fall

2009-09-24T15:25:00.001-07:00

Fall is almost here and I can't wait. My annual craft boutique is coming up and I've been knitting and crafting a lot over the past few weeks.

Last weekend we had Mike's birthday party and we had fun playing Cornhole Toss. Nicole and Rob were the big winners.

Madison had so much fun showing everyone her room and the yard and posing for pictures.

Madison also had her first haircut a few weeks ago. She was a little scared at first but as soon as she got a toy phone to play with, she was fine.

Baby Heidi

2009-09-11T08:45:00.000-07:00

Lisa sent me some pictures of Heidi taken just two weeks after she was born. I couldn't resist posting a couple of the pictures. Quite possibly the cutest pictures I've ever seen.

Back Home

2009-09-07T20:26:00.001-07:00

It's been a very long week and a half. I went to Seattle to stay with Lisa for a few days and then helped her fly home with all three kids. We got home Wednesday night and then it was the saddest three days of my life. We went to Travis Airforce Base where John's body was flown in and it was amazing. The amount of respect and the ceremony for John was more than I could have imagined.

We did manage to slip in a few happy moments. Friday was Brycie's birthday and even though he doesn't look happy in this picture, he had a great time and made everyone laugh.

It was also a good week because I got to see my brand new niece, Heidi Vi Hallett. She is four weeks old and I took advantage of every free moment I had to hold her.

Madison had her first limo ride and got to play with Jackson and Brycie all weekend.

1979 - 2009

2009-08-27T07:49:00.000-07:00

My brother-in-law, Cpt. John Louis Hallett, III, died this week while fighting overseas. He left behind a wife, two boys and a daughter he never got to meet. He was the funniest man I've ever met and we will miss him.

A donation page has been started if you are interested.

We're Having...

2009-08-25T10:46:00.000-07:00

Another girl! Yay! Sidney Ragusa. I'm so excited. I was going through all of Madison's old clothes and I would have been so sad to give it all away. I thought Mike was going to cry when he found out, he wanted a boy so bad, but he'll get over it.

August 2009

2009-08-24T19:32:00.001-07:00

Another month is almost over and I don't know where the time has gone. During the first weekend of August my mom and I were in Florida. We went to Disney World and Epcot Center. I had a lot of fun at Epcot. Who knew there was so much to see there? I thought Disney World was smaller than Disneyland in California and they didn't have a bunch of rides I was hoping to go on.

The day after I got home, we started moving. It is so nice to finally have a yard and a garage after being stuck in an apartment for so long. Everything was really easy and we were unpacked in a few days. We had a lot of help.

Comcast came to set up our cable/internet/phone the first weekend we were in the house. I had the worst experience! I don't know about anyone else, but I thought this was a totally unacceptable way to set up someone's internet. It felt like a bachelor house.

I had to set up my computer on the kitchen table because they said there were no other internet outlets in the house. I was on the phone with Comcast (practically yelling at them) and they finally agreed to come back the next day. Of course they sent the same guy that initially set everything up and he fixed it so that no wires are showing anymore. Why couldn't he have done that the first time around?

This past weekend we took Madison to a birthday party for her friend DJ.

Fed the ducks.

And went to a family reunion.

Our Summer Fun

2009-07-25T12:55:00.000-07:00

We have been very busy lately. July has been packed full every weekend so far. For the 4th we went to the singing flag in Concord and Madison was jumping around and waving her flag the entire time.

We also went to a wedding and Madison made friends with all the kids and danced all night.

Last weekend we were in Tahoe and we had a lot of fun at the beach.

Eating out.

And playing video games.

And we are still not slowing down. Next weekend I'll be in Florida, the weekend after that we are moving (again) and lots more.

Hope you're having a great summer.

Hello

2009-06-22T14:50:00.000-07:00

It has been quite some time since I've updated this blog. The morning sickness has kicked in and I have had no desire to do anything. No scrapbooking, no knitting and no blogging. The actual sickness part seems to be gone, but I am still constantly tired. I didn't have that with Madison. I can barely get up in the morning, barely make it through work and then I'm usually out by 8:00. Hopefully it will be better in the next couple weeks. Next week I'll be three months pregnant. Boy, times flies.

We haven't been doing much around our house, but we did manage to get Madison potty trained. The first two days were a nightmare, but the third day was like she'd been potty trained forever. She's been doing great and hasn't had any accidents, but we are still working on the night time thing. She's getting better.

Hopefully I'll be back to my usual self soon so I can start knitting and scrapping and posting something on here. Until then, it will be pretty quiet.

Papertrey Ink Blog Hop

2009-05-25T15:31:00.000-07:00

Today is the Papertrey Ink blog hop and it's my first time. I loved this month's challenge, which is to use yellow in a project. I love yellow, so this was pretty easy for me.

Supplies:
Paper: PTI Kraft Cardstock, PTI Lemon Tart Cardstock, PTI Vellum, My Mind's Eye "Blossom"
Stamps: PTI Butterfly Kisses and PTI Little Lady
Other: PTI Hibuscus Burst Buttons, Bazzil Self-Adhesive Jewels and Stamp-n-Stuff Yellow Embossing Powder

Raspberry Suite Color Challenge #7

2009-05-23T19:53:00.000-07:00

I've been doing a lot of crafting already this weekend. I have another challenge entry and a couple of scrapbook pages. I'm only ONE page away from finishing Madison's first year scrapbook! I am so happy, it's been a huge project and I can finally put it behind me. Almost.

Here is my challenge entry for this week:

And my scrapbook pages:

Finally Friday

2009-05-22T19:34:00.001-07:00

This past week has been so crazy at work, I was ready for the weekend on Monday. Today was especially bad, and I left at 3:00 to get a head start on my weekend. I had a great surprise when I got home, more free stuff and the new stamps I ordered from Papertrey Ink. I made a few pages today:

I also made reservations this week to go to Florida. I'm really excited. I was in Miami for a few hours on the way to our honeymoon, and it was a little scary. This time my mom and I are going to Orlando. On a whim I called her and asked her if she wanted to take a trip and she said sure. We will be going to Disney World for a few days and I will be going to the craft and hobby show.

And finally, I actually have some knitting to show you. I've been working on this scarf since February/March and I'm almost half done. I think I'll finish this just in time for the cold weather.

Raspberry Suite Color Challenge - Week 6

2009-05-17T20:10:00.000-07:00

I haven't done much this week except sleep. At least I don't feel sick like I did while I was pregnant with Madison. I managed one scrapbook page this weekend and I did it as part of a challenge:

Mother's Day Weekend

2009-05-13T16:34:00.000-07:00

We had a very eventful weekend. On Friday we found out we were having another baby(Yay!) due in January. On Saturday night Madison woke up screaming and vomiting so bad that we had to call 911. It was so scarry. She would not stop throwing up and then she kept choking on it. This lasted almost 10 minutes. Of course as soon as the paramedics arrived she was quiet and asked them if she could watch Barney. They said she might have had a feberal seizure, which I've never heard of, but it happens when the body tempurature rises too high too fast. Luckily she is just fine.

Mother's day was really nice. I got to spend some time scrapbooking and we went to visit my mom.

I'm not crazy about this one. It just seems to be missing something, but I don't know what to do.

Big News

2009-05-09T06:26:00.000-07:00

Baby number two is on the way!

Free Stuff March and April

2009-05-08T12:40:00.001-07:00

I have a talent for getting free stuff. Finding, winning, earning (I know, technically not free, but if I can earn it while I'm in my jammies, free enough), whatever, I can find it.

You know when you listen to someone winning on the radio and they say, "Oh my gosh. I've never won anything before!" Well, that's not me. In fact, there was a point when I won so much, the DJ's started to recognize my voice. The best stuff I've won? $635.00, a night on the town including limo, drinks, dancing, and food, concert tickets, and of course, lots of CD's.

In March and April, I got a lot of free stuf.

1. From www.freegrabber.com (If you decide to do this, I would suggest opening a separate email account that you don't have to check because you'll get a lot of spam):

Coffee
Ziploc baggie
Body wash
Lots of shampoo/conditioner

2. Things I've won:

1 dozen cookies from The Cookie Connection
Mini Scrapbook

3. Things I've gotten from surveys/testing:

3 full bottles of sunscreen
Box of Kleenex
Can of Pringles
2 boxes of Hostess cupcakes
Can of shaving cream
2 rolls of paper towels
Sweet and Sour Marinade
Package of Pampers Cruisers
Cash

This one is my favorite because I'm always finding packages in the mail, and I get to keep everything I test. Besides testing and keeping the products, I actually get paid for it!

If you want me to send you some links to the survey websites feel free to leave a comment with your email and I'll send them to you (that way I get referral points). Again, I would sign up for a separate email account because if you are consistent with this, you'll get a lot of surveys. I've done this for several years now, and I haven't gotten any spam from this, so you could use your regular email if you wanted to.

Happy Weekend.

A Weekend With Oma

2009-05-03T19:52:00.001-07:00

My mom came up and stayed with me for the weekend. We had big plans, but they all got rained out. I can't believe a little over a week ago it was 95 degrees and this weekend it stormed. On Saturday we went to a bridal shower and then went shopping. Today we were going to take Madison to Fairytale Town, but it was still raining. So we did what we do best, we went shopping. I got myself a new purse, a pizza crisper, new clothes for Madison and a new step stool. She carried that step stool around the house all day. It has been so long since I've done any shopping, it felt like I was out of control!

Here are the scrapbook pages I finished this weekend.

Not Going to Make It

2009-04-29T21:51:00.000-07:00

I'm not going to make my deadline for Madison's scrapbook, but I did manage to get a few done this week.

I have about 7 more pages left, but I'm in no mood to finish them. I've been trying really hard to get to the gym after work every night and by the time I get home, I just want to go to sleep.

I'm working on a scarf I started in February, but the yarn and needles I'm using are so tiny, it's going to be a few months before I'm finished with it. So, tonight I started a new sweater with much larger needles, so hopefully I can have it done in a few weeks.

Weekend Crafting

2009-04-26T19:52:00.000-07:00

I didn't do much of anything this week as far as crafting goes. Actually, I didn't do much of anything this week but watch TV and play Brick Breaker (I am totally addicted to this game). I realized my deadline was coming up soon to finish Madison's first year scrapbook so I got a few pages done this weekend.

I also made a set of cards for Lisa with one of my new stamps she got for me.

Easter Scrapbook

2009-04-19T12:47:00.000-07:00

I made this acrylic book in my first scrapbook class almost two years ago and I finally put it together this weekend.