Thursday, December 30, 2010

sorry...

The cousins in front of Dad's tree
So sorry for my absence.  I can't believe its been close to two weeks since I've updated. The busyness of Christmas has kept me from doing anything crafty!  Plus, the last few days, I've been doing some sub work in a few dental offices (I am a dental hygienist).  It's been great to work but that prevents me from getting much done at home.  I feel like such a wimp...three days of work was pretty much enough. I guess I'm not used to it. But, as I said, it was good....especially to use my mad teeth cleaning skills :)  Seriously, I miss doing hygiene but I don't regret staying home with the kids.  Hopefully next school year, when Noah goes to kindergarten, I can maybe go back a day or two. It all depends on the job market, which currently stinks right now.  Right now, its tough for any new hygiene graduate to find a job.

Anyway, Christmas was crazy busy!  We had dinner Christmas Eve eve with our friends Bill and Eric who were here from CA.  We joined them, along with the Klein family, for dinner at a tapas restaurant. A lot of fun, but  A LOT of food! 

Christmas Eve day the snow started to fall. We headed to East Peoria to my dad's for the day.  It was nice to spend the day with my family (although my poor grandma couldn't make it due to being sick) :( 
The kids had a lot of fun and got the presents they were asking for.  I have to admit, Christmas has always been hard for me. I don't know why, although I think its because growing up, my brother and I always had to go to two or three places.  Now with my mom gone, Christmas just makes me sad. I still feel a huge hole in my life without her here. Holidays just seem to make the hole even bigger.  It does make me more thankful for my family. Definitely.

Christmas Day, the kids woke up to find tons of presents left by Santa and Mom & Dad.  It was a blast watching them! Noah kept saying "I've been waiting for this!".  Mid-morning, we left for Canton to go to my in-laws.  We had a nice lunch and visit with everyone. By 3:30 or so, we had to get on the road to get to my aunt and uncle's in East Peoria.  Unfortunately, that was the time most people were leaving. But the kids got to play a few games on my aunt's new Wii :)  The highlight of my night was going to Peoria to visit with my sister Jessica and her family! They were in town from Kansas...I haven't gotten to see them since Thanksiving of 2007!  It was a short visit but the kids held up great!


me and my beautiful sister, Jessica!

So today is the first day we've gotten to stay  home since Christmas Eve! The kids have been trying out all their new toys. Pretty soon though, we need to pack up and I have to go into the scrapbook store for a few hours.   My boss isn't feeling good so the kids and I are going in for a few hours LOL  Luckily, my good friend Stacey is going to pick up Noah after she gets off work. I don't think he'd last long at the store. Although he loves to greet customers! :)

Saturday, December 18, 2010

one more week til Christmas


Noah at his Christmas program

Where has the time gone?? I can't believe Christmas is almost here! I'm excited but yet, I'm so not ready! This week promises to be very busy with shopping, wrapping, and get togethers. (The latter will be the best of all).  My sister, Jessica and her family, are coming in from Kansas the end of this week! I haven't seen Jess in three years! My nephew, Aidan, was just a tiny baby (who I loved to snuggle). He's now an adorable 3 yr old. Jess and Austin also have a son, Caleb, who I've never met. 

Tonight, we have the annual Christmas party at Dennis' out at Lake Bloomington.  It's always so much fun (probably too much fun). I promised our sitter we'd be home by midnight at least :) 

I haven't had much time to do any scrapping either..which bums me out. Don't even ask about my December Daily! I've been taking pics but I'm so far behind. I'm hoping over break I will have a chance to get caught up. I will be home with the kids, but also am scheduled to work three days over break at two local dental offices. Extra cash is always nice, plus I miss doing dental hygiene.  I am hoping after Noah goes to kindergarten, I will be able to get a job at least one day a week.

After the gym this morning, we went to look at yet another house. I loved this one...its very affordable and comfortable.  I wish our house was ready to put on the market so we could put an offer on this house. It has everything we need without being too pricey. The houses we have been looking at are at least $100,000 more, which is nice. But, it also would make us house poor. And we need some new furniture.  Stressful to say the least. Will just pray about it and put it in God's hands.

The kids and I are off to East Peoria to visit with my aunt for a bit!!

Thursday, December 16, 2010

Water for Elephants Official Trailer 2011 HD



Cannot wait for this movie!! I loved the book. It's even better than Rob is playing the lead. *swoons*

Tuesday, December 14, 2010

Garden Party

I will admit, I am not a big fan of winter. The snow is pretty for awhile, but I despise the cold. I am already dreaming of warmer weather, green grass, and blooming tulips and daffodils.  The wonderfully talented Amy Coon at The Paper Life gave me Imaginisce's new Garden Party line to play with as an assignment.   I had so much fun creating with the papers and embellishments. I especially loved all the flowers, as well as the mesh brads, and Snag 'Em stamps.  Be sure to check out Garden Party as well as the rest of their cute paper lines on the Imaginisce blog

First, I created a one-page layout using a picture of my niece, Sidney, when she was 2 yrs old:


Garden Party has so many fun embellishments, including this cardstock sticker tag, as well as coordinating ribbon and flowers.

I used the new Quickutz Lifestyle Craft Essentials to make this cute banner


Love all of the flowers and brads..especially the mesh brads!


I had fun using my new toy I got for my birthday: my sewing machine! Now, I want to stitch everything! :)



Using my leftovers, I created a mini-book using the Maya Road chipboard scroll book and pictures from this year's Easter.




The Snag 'Em stamps are ideal for journaling!




A huge thank you again to Amy! It's fun to take a break from Christmas and do something different :)
Well, I'm off to do some present wrapping and addressing my Christmas cards! I feel so far behind but that's ok. It'll all get done sooner or later. The most important thing is that my kids will enjoy Christmas. Everything else is just a bonus. 

Monday, December 13, 2010

Winter has arrived

Wow, I didn't realize it had been a week since I last posted. I've had a busy week trying to finish up Christmas shopping (I have yet to wrap a present), as well as create some fun things to share! (as well as trying to get keep up with my December Daily!)
We got hit with a "blizzard" this weekend...although not a lot of snow fall, just lots of blowing wind! 
Today, the high is supposed to be 9 degrees.  Who's ready for spring??? I know I am. Later, I will be posting some cute spring projects to get me in the mood! 

Monday, December 6, 2010

my new toy....


Hubby surprised me with this for my birthday! Well, it wasn't much as a surprise as it was the one thing I asked for! I've been wanting one forever!  Can't wait to do some sewing on my pages!!

birthday weekend!


Sorry for my absence!! It's been crazy busy around here. I taught my 25 Days til Christmas class at the scrapbook store this past Saturday. Plus, today is my birthday and I was doing a lot of celebrating this past weekend LOL.  My husband, along with some friends, took me out to dinner Friday night. Then, my hubby surprised me with an overnight stay at a hotel!  Here is a pic of our rowdy bunch!





Then, yesterday after church, my dad and sisters came over and took me to Biaggi's for lunch. We went shopping and then saw a movie, Due Date.  My poor youngest sister did not like it and walked out towards the middle....some parts were a little raunchy. 

It meant a lot to me for them to come over and spend the day with me!!

Today, we started off with swim lessons for Noah. My MIL is coming this afternoon to take me to lunch. I have no clue where to go because I'm not all that hungry. I feel like all I've been doing is eating this weekend!
Tonight, the Brownie troop I lead is doing a tour at the local humane society.  I am hoping I will not break down and cry. Our male cat, Roadkill, is almost 13 and he was diagnosed with lymphoma this past spring. He hasn't been doing so well lately and tomorrow I'm taking him into the vet to have his paw checked. We may have to make the decision to put him down. He's been the sweetest cat ever, but I'm afraid he is suffering.

I've also been trying to work in my December Daily, as well as some other projects! There are about 5 things I want to get done! I wish I could just sit and scrap. Maybe this afternoon??

Wednesday, December 1, 2010

Happy December 1st!

I'm so excited to get started on my first December Daily!  I told myself this year I would take the time to do it, no matter what! :)
It's been a busy week as I'm trying to get ready for a class I'm teaching on Saturday.  I'm on page 15 of a 25 page book! It's taken me longer than I thought, but luckily my wonderful boss, Margaret, has been helping me.

Just wanted to share a mini book I put together for one of my BFFs, Shelley, for her birthday:
I used a Maya Road chipboard book, with My Mind's Eye Lost and Found collection.  The flowers I used are from Prima.



















These friends and I have known each other since junior high.....some of us since grade school!  We try to get together at least once a year and do something. Last December, we all went to Vegas for my 37th birthday. I had a friend that had invited me out to do the Las Vegas half marathon....so it turned into a girls' trip! We had a lot of fun. I've been telling all of them to save up...my 40th is in two years and I WILL BE on a beach somewhere!! :)
Ok, better get back to kitting!!