Names and Potato Heads...

There has been a massacre in our house.

It started so nice and simple and friendly... with half a dozen potato heads all dressed up on my kitchen counter. About an hour later the entire down stairs, yes I said entire down stairs were covered with body parts.

Body parts. Everywhere you looked, everywhere you stepped, body parts.

I realized something today. We have entered that stage. You know, the one where toys will cover the floor of your house in every room. You pick them all up and put them away. Then as you begin to walk out of the room, you look over your shoulder and boom! They they all are again!

Yes, my two year old has discovered how to empty the toy box. Can't pull out just one toy and play, nope. She has to pull everything out before she can begin playing.

I think with Elizabeth, this phase lasted a year. Wow, that makes me tired, LOL.

Well anyway, moving on...

Titles. I hate coming up with titles. Not just for my blog posts, which you can see are always so original, but even for my pages. In fact, my friend Tracey Monette frequently asks me for help naming her kits. And every time she does I remind her that both of my kids weren't even named until they were hours old, and I had nine months to choose a name before they arrived, LOL. And really, she should know better because she has never once used one of my suggestions over the last year, LOL.

And since she doesn't read my blog very often I can say anything I want and she'd never know (wink).

Here are a few recent pages, with ever so creative titles! LOL

How does she always know? (Credits here). Yes, you have to go read the journaling on this one, trust me, it's worth the trip!


















She's a princess with attitude (credits here). I just love this photo of Elizabeth, the contrast of her flower girl dress and the denim jacket is just like her personality.


















Pedicure (credits here). Actually, let me just tell you...lol. This is a spectacular kit that will be coming to Scrapbook-graphics on the first of August, created by two very cool designers. But I'm not allowed to tell you who they are, you just have to head over there and see for yourself! August first!


















Becoming a butterfly (credits here). Love the girly funkiness of this background by Tracey Monette. Several very cool papers in this kit, in fact, I love the whole thing!


















Have a wonderful day my friends!

Oh, I almost forgot! If you haven't picked up the Nancy Comelab collab. with Two Sisters Designs (the Powers girls) then you should do so quickly. It will be disappearing from the ScrapArtist store very soon!

Which reminds me... I have to add the new Two Sisters beauty mark to my collection. Have you seen it? So cool.

Okay, bye for real now!

Potty training woes

So potty training isn't so fun.

In fact last week I saw a layout in the gallery about a little boy who had declared, I don't want to ride the potty train!" LOL Well, my little angel doesn't have a problem sitting on the potty, but she does have a problem staying on it. But an even bigger problem is that she won't keep her diaper on during nap/ night time!

I can't tell you how many times I have entered her room after nap time to find a... mess. And even though it was kind of cute to go in her room to cover her up before bed and find an un-diapered child, it was only cute the first time.

I have tried putting on the diaper backwards.

I have tried pull-ups.

I have tried bodysuits with pants over them.

I think I just have to wait until the phase passes... I give up, LOL. (sigh) Hopefully it will pass quickly! And, if you have any suggestions, please share!

Well, on the scrapping front there are a few paper packs that I want to show you because they are so very cool. You may have seen them, but they are worth checking out again. Worthy investments!

Tracey Monette's Luscious Grids (gorgeous colors!!!)


















Nancy Comelab's Ultimate Backgrounds, volume 2 (gorgeous textures!!!)


















And a few pages to share a well, all vacation pages.

Ellis Island, credits here.
Camping Fun, credits here.
Fisher Girl, credits here.





















Have a wonderful day!

Still playing catch-up

I have just gotten so behind in my blogging lately that I am just trying to catch up in posting my pages today. Click on the title for credits and journaling.

1. Up the Hill
2. Purple is your color
3. Crowns
4. Strawberries from the field
5. Fourth with friends
6. the Swingset

Personality

Personality... my kids have it! And occasionally, their personality just oozes through my pages, much like the ones I have posted below. Each page is definitely a story in itself, LOL.

When Elizabeth was little my impression of her was always that she was independent, strong willed and spirited. She was then and she still is now. Then Rachel came along and she was such a good sleeper and just a happy baby all the time. Then little hints of her personality started to show through... a true little stinker if I ever saw one, LOL. Boy, she keeps me on my toes!


Okay, page one is about her puppy phase. If only I could have added the little 'bark' she does, LOL. This phase has been going on far too long as far as I am concerned though, LOL. Then the second page is a photo from last summer when she was in her rock licking stage. Yes, you heard me correctly, her rock licking stage. Fortunately, that has passed, LOL.

Puppy Phase - credits here.

















Rock Candy - credits here.

















Page three is Elizabeth about a year and a half ago in her new Power Ranger costume. She was so proud of it. She modeled it and even did some action photos for me, LOL. But she wouldn't smile, because she insisted that Power Rangers don't smile... but she couldn't keep the smile off her face for long because she was so thrilled with her costume.

She still loves Power Rangers, but it's kind of sad that she's starting to move on to the older kid shows. Shows like Hannah Montanna... her new favorite.
Power Rangers - credits here

















Page four is from 2005 also. I just wanted to take a photo of her by the fountain, but she just couldn't keep from running through it, LOL. So I let her have fun, and she did until the cold set in.

What's funny though, is that we were there with a friend, and once Elizabeth got all wet, her friend didn't want to play with her anymore and Elizabeth got so mad at her. Those two little girls have so much fun together but they are so different. Her friend is a girly girl and Elizabeth is play hard and play outside kind of kid. But they are still great friends and I hope they will be for a long time.

Brrr - credits here

Yowzers

I can't believe how long it's been since I last posted! Time just flies by when you're having fun, LOL. It has actually been so hot this week that I can barely stand to sit here at the computer. So that means I haven't accomplished much... I have no excuse I can think of for the previous weeks though, LOL.

My kids have definitely been keeping me busy though, that's for sure. But since it's been so long I'm not really going to talk too much, I'm just going to update my pages so my family can see what I've been up to lately.

These pages are all vacation pages. The first is from New York back in 2003 (and uses mostly Jackie Eckles' products). Straphangers - credits and journaling here .

















Next up is a page from a camping trip on Whidbey Island with a bunch of my family (and uses mostly Tracey Monette and Nancy Comelab products). Curtis and Papa (my brother and dad) - credits here.

















This is from Washington D.C. in October 2006 and uses the new Nancy Comelab collaborative with Two Sisters Designs. Tour - credits and journaling here.

















And this next page has one of my favorite photos of Rachel during our New York visit in 2006 (it uses mostly Lori Barnhurst products). When I saw this photo, I just fell in love with it. My little girl is such a sweetie! Sunset - credits here

















Have a great day!

Summer Days

I can't believe it is almost the Fourth of July! The summer is already getting away from me and I feel like I haven't even had a chance to experience it yet.

But I did get to send my oldest daughter on a business trip with her Daddy last week. This has become an annual trip for them. They head down the coast and make a pit stop at a walk-through wild animal safari, then they go inland before heading back home. She loves this time with her Daddy; staying in hotels, swimming, eating in restaurants. And she even enjoys watching him work, especially when he goes into police departments. She thinks that is pretty cool.

The first photo here is Elizabeth with a lion cub last summer. Then the next photo is of the same lion, one year later.















Elizabeth was pretty amazed at the amount the lion grew. She thought that was pretty cool. (Look at the size of those paws!) And no, she didn't get to play with her on her lap this year, LOL.

One of these days I am going to go with them because I want to pet a lion or a tiger or one of those other cool animals that she has been able to pet. This time though, they didn't have any lion, tiger or bear cubs for to pet, but she did get to have a lynx on her lap. Very cool.

Okay, moving on...

Check out this new kit, a collaborative by the girls at Little Dreamer (Michelle Coleman, Lori Barnhurst and Jackie Eckles). Talk about the perfect summer kit to scrap all those fun Fourth of July and barbeque photos. I can't wait to use it! (and it's on sale right now too!)














Okay, I needed a break from CT pages, and I had these cute photos of Elizabeth to scrap. So here is me just having fun, and I really love how this page came out too.

Summer Vacation credits here.



















As you know, Nancy Comelab's creative team has been doing challenges each Monday on Nancy's blog. This week's challenge is a photo challenge. So here I am with some photos without people. The first is from the top of the Empire State Building. Of all the non-family photos I took from up there I really loved this one because of how packed it is with buildings.














And this photo (I couldn't decide) was from our trip to Niagra Falls. I thought it was just beautiful.













Now you should probably 'hop' on over to the Lily Pad's gallery too for a little bit of fun and a chance to win some cool prizes.
























Click here for the first clue. Here is the second clue. And click here to access the gallery.

Have a great day!

My family

The big news in my household today is that potty training has actually begun (in other words, she did it in the potty for the first time)! We were all so excited, including Rachel. She kept giving high fives, the little cutie pie. Of course, this makes up for the fact that she gave herself a zebra tattoo on her arm just prior, LOL.

I was standing at the stove stirring my pot of chili when I looked over at Rachel who had been contently drawing on a pad of paper at the counter. That was when I realized that she must have gotten bored with the paper and moved on to more interesting surfaces with more texture. Yes, a tattoo artist at just two years old.

Notice how she thinks a 'wink' will make it all better? LOL

Of course this goes perfectly with her purple lipstick, in fact it goes much better with purple lipstick than with red.

Yes, my munchkin is a handful, but I love her to pieces! Colorful credits can be found here.

And let me introduce you to some other family members... This is my sister Audra and her family on vacation in Maui last Spring. She hasn't seen this yet, so... Surprise Audra!

Love this kit by Michelle Coleman. Click the title for full credits:
Island Adventure

This uses the new Romantica kit by Sausan Designs at Scrapbook Graphics. Click the title for the full credits.

Us (untitled)

















And this is my baby brother, the youngest of five children, Kevin. Sausan Design's new 'boy oh boy' kit has the cutest little airplane in it that I really wanted to use. And since I don't have boys, I had to go ahead and scrap my brother, who just recently left the Air Force for a civilian life with his wife. Isn't he a handsome fellow?

Kevin

















Okay, I'll try to scrap a page of my other brother and sister in the near future so you can meet them too.

In the meantime, have a wonderful day!

Guest blogging gig...

Okay, this is mostly for my reference, but if any of you missed my blog entries on Nancy Comelab's blog, here they are!

I want to laugh

a little scrapping history

farm girl

kibbles

life is like a comic book

we have a winner

Just a few pages I wanted to share!

Remember, I'm guest blogging for Nancy Comelab this week! Check me out on her blog!

And not only are there weekly challenges every week with great prizes (come on, you know Nancy's reputation for prizes!), but anyone who participates for 20 weeks in a row will have their name put into a hat to win a major prize. She will put $100 in your paypal account to spend any way you want! Nancy is always surprising me with her generosity, isn't she the coolest?

My pages...

What I love about this page is how it shows Rachel's thought process. She is sitting in the clubhouse section of the swing set trying to make a decision. Then she decides, I think I might try sliding on my belly. And she gets closer and closer until she is ready to go down. And then, just as she starts to slide.... Mom swoops in and protects that precious face! Oh, I love her to pieces! Check out the credits here.



















This page was fun because of the mixture of textures and color. And of course because I love these three people more than anything! Check the credits out here.



















This is another page that is totally Rachel. For the longest time she would turn around abruptly and refuse to even look at me when I had my camera in my hand. Now, I get three chances to take a photo, and then when those three moments are over, she is out of there. She looks at me and says 'cheese' with a big smile, and then she does it again, 'cheese'. Then she looks at me and winks. And then if I haven't taken a photo or if I messed up and got it blurry then too bad, because she is done. LOL, she cracks me up! Check out my credits here!



















Have a great day everybody!

a little bit of wild life

Guess what? This week I am the guest blogger at Nancy Comelab's blog, You should definitely run over there, because I tried really hard to be much more interesting than I am over here, LOL. And because I have a fun challenge with a Nancy prize.

Check me out here at Nancy's blog. Monday through Sunday, June 11-17, 2007.

I just wanted to put up a few pages real quick of Elizabeth at a walk-though safari in Southern Oregon. These photos are actually taken one year apart, but you might have a hard time figuring that out because she is wearing the same shirt during both visits, LOL. I actually have more photos from the safari that I still want to scrap, they are actually the best photos too. I have a hard time scrapping photos that I love, I am always afraid that I will ruin them. Isn't it funny that I still have that fear of ruining them even when I am doing it digitally? LOL, some things just can't be explained.

These photos are from 2006 and I used Lori Barnhurst's Kid Couture kit at Little Dreamer Designs. Check here for full credits.



















The photos in this page are from 2005. The adult cats were in cages, but I still was a little freaked when I saw how big that tiger cub was that she was petting, LOL. No, I wasn't with her, this was a special trip she took with her dad. So when I saw the size of that tiger, my heart did leap just a little. Check here for credits.



















Now don't forget to visit me at Nancy's blog!

Like a little texture in your pages?

Well then, let me introduce you to Lil Jake...

It is a beautiful new kit from Sausan Designs that you are definitely going to want to invest in. Lil Jake is currently available at ScrapArtist, just for the month of June. Get it here.

Now when I saw this kit the first thing I thought of was what fun altered design I could do, but then as I opened it my mind wandered into the old West, lol. I used it for a cowboy page! lol, probably not what Sylvie had in mind when she designed it, but it worked so well for me. :)

So this is my page about our trip to Tombstone a few years ago. Tombstone is of course famous for Wyatt Earp and his gun fight at the OK Corral. Check my full credits and journaling here.

Last week we had beautiful weather here in Oregon. It was not quite hot enough to turn on the A/C (at least by my husbands standards, lol) but it was warm enough to turn on the fans and to go swimming. So my girls swam several times last week (it's raining this week, lol) and I got some cute photos that I have yet to scrap. But heck, check out my kids in all their cuteness...

My kids love the outdoors. In fact I have a hard time keeping the little one in, lol. I wish the door locks were higher on the sliding glass door, lol.

Now this next page contains some more cute photos of my oldest while she was enjoying the sunshine this past week. It uses mainly Jackie Eckles products, but check here for full credits.

Now this page uses one of Corina Nielsen's newest paper packs, which is filled with golden beauty, available at FPD. Check here for full credits.

But anyway, these are my brothers and sisters together last fall on the East coast for the retirement of our parents. We had such a great time together. Most of us are here in the Pacific Northwest, but at that time my youngest brother and his wife were stationed in Japan. Since then he has left the military and moved to Texas. So the five of us getting together will probably happen more now that my brother is back in the states, but prior to that it was a rare occurrence.

I tell you, I just love the golden tones! Maybe that's one of the reasons Autumn is my favorite season. That and I just love a crisp coolness in the air :)

Well, I have some fun projects coming up, but I'm going to wait and share those another day :) Here's hoping you have a great day!