layouts

Here's what I did with the December kit from Studio Calico. I did a bunch of cards too. So fun! Thanks Alyca for letting me steal those family photos from the beach to scrap. Someday I'll make a mini album with all of them to date. That should be fun to look at and add to every year!

I have some potentially big scrappy news to share, but I'm still in the process of getting approval and signing contracts, so I'm not sure what it really means, but it could be good! I can't wait to share!

In other news......

Morgan was BIT at school the other day. I should have taken a picture when we got home because it was more pronounced, but here we have the evidence. They have a room that was a little house, with baby dolls and beds and a little kitchen, etc... they just recently changed to to a grocery store. They have food in shelves and grocery carts, and even had real potatoes, carrots, and onions in tubs. There are two cash registers at the front of the "store".... and Miss Morgan and one of her classmates were fighting over the scanner thing. Nobody saw what happened, but I can only imagine that Morgan refused to let go, and her little friend just zoomed in for the kill. She got a huge chunk of Morgan's cheek in her mouth! It didn't break the skin, and Morgan refused treatment, but we got a phone call at home before I even returned from dropping her off! Egads! Alyssa's mama felt really bad, said she'd never bit before, and even called the next day to make sure Morgan was okay. I wasn't too upset... kids are kids, this happens, and I'm sure Morgan was just as much in fault over the quarrel. She certainly didn't deserve to get bit, but whaddya do.

House update:

Must keep track of the happenings.... Steve has had some overtime and been required to work for other people, so he hasn't been home as much as he'd like. That said... he put in the canned lights, and just finished up doing the wiring for all plug outlets, light switches, etc. He also framed in the wall and around the heating unit thing that will be in the room. The tile showed up the other day, so that's ready when he's ready too. So. Moving along!

Prepare yourself.... progress ahead!

Before:



This lovely green 800 gallon water tank came out of the room on the left. Steve drug it out with his truck. Lovely. We have some friends with 5 acres and no irrigation, so any day now they are going to be by to pick this thing up and take it home. They are going to bury it in the grown and use it as a reserve tank. That's fine by me... just get it out of here!

To the left downstairs, in the room where the tank once was, is 13x14 of pure future scrappy goodness. Oh. My. I am so excited about this. Scrapbooking is becoming a part-time job for me, and I would love to have a cozy place to do it in.

The focus of today's work... to take out the garage door on the right and put in a window.

Here are Steve and his dad in the early afternoon. Garage door and all the framing that went with it, gone. In it's place is framing for my window. Are you ready to see what it looks like today?

Brace yourself....

Ta da! I am so excited about this! Now, it's not finished. Steve had to work for someone at the "office" last night from 5-9... and they were still nailing up siding at 4:45 so it's in no way finished. But look. That there is a window! No more 1 car garage door that leaked light and had grass growing under it and into my house 365 days a year. Think of the energy savings! And with a window I no longer need a light in on the daylight. Yippee!

Here's another view. Now, keep in mind... they ran out of time yesterday, but the window in my scrapbook room will also be replaced with a window just like the one that was just put in. So they will match. More light. Natural light in my scrapbook room! Hooray!

Steve has already started putting canned lighting in my room, the tile for both my room and the "mud" room is already on order... we decided to go with the same tile that's in our entryway upstairs.... it's progress, I tell ya, progress! My scrapbook room is my Christmas present and while I don't know that Steve will have enough time to get it all finished by that big day, at least something is happening around here! We've been in limbo! So many projects, but where to begin!? This really is a good thing. We can't wait to live downstairs too... it will DOUBLE the square footage I've been living in for... ack.... 2 YEARS! I can't believe it's been that long. I can't wait!

In other home improvement news.... we just got a new bed. Steve hated our other bed. He'd wake up with sore shoulders and his handprint on his chest and a sleeping arm every day. So he picked up this:

**deleted link because it's messing with my blog layout!**

I don't know if this is the exact one, but the price is right and ours is a Memory Foam and we got it at Costco with $100 rebate, so this might be it.

The UPS truck showed up while Steve was hunting with this box that was 4' high. I was like .... "oh dear, that can't be right." But when Steve came home and dragged all 150 pounds of box up stairs on a dolly, it was an amazing experience to be had. They included an envelope opener, and you slit the bag open, unfold the mattress that's been folded in half, and then slit another bag open... the mattress was folded in half and then in a W shape. You open it on your bed, and then lay it out, and then it gradually expands. It was the weirdest thing... ever! We opened it at 12 and by bedtime it was okay to sleep on. At first we couldn't decide if we loved it or hated it, it's such a weird mattress, but since we bought it, Steve hasn't had any arm pain, I don't need to wear socks to bed because it really holds in the heat, and I look forward to getting in bed and dread getting out of it in the morning. It just hugs you close. It really is quite fabulous. But it's so different! There's no spring when you leap on to it... just a dull thud as you slowly sink down into to. And because we still have the box spring on our bed, it's really high. We might take that box spring out because we don't need it now, but for now it works as a platform so it's fine.

So there. Window. Bed. Progress at the casa de la Fiero!

Lastly.... the kiddos have been OBSESSED with washing windows lately... and who am I to crush their dreams and curb their passion by denying them this joy? Good thing I already purchase paper towels and window cleaner at Costco.... for I have been lathering our slider in order to provide them their entertainment on an almost daily basis. Yes, our house needs some cleaning... and it won't be long before I have them moving along to other windows too.

It's a banner day!

That's right it is! I just got 4 requests from Scrapbook Trends for their April issue! Woohoo! Payton is getting into a magazine again, as well as a layout with my mug in it, a layout with the two girls in it... and even a layout with Cooper! DAng! Where's the 5th request with a layout of Steve! It's a Fiero issue!

So. Keep that in mind. April 2008 issue of Scrapbook Trends. Must. Have.

Seriously.

How cute is this? Morgan's ballet class got combined with the class following because there were only 2 or 3 kids that would show up to her class each day. We went to class this week and I walked in to a room with 8 sweet little three year old girls.... and they were all in pink. Adorable!
This dance studio has a one way mirror and a window in the door that leads to the room. Parents and family can be distracting to the little ballerina's, so we wait outside. But with 8 sweet three year old girls in one class... well, there were about 800 family members standing outside. The one way mirror was being utilized by 798 of these people, so I tried strategically taking photos through the window without the 8 sweet three year old girls seeing me.... and I had a monkey named PJ climbing all over me, because she wasn't tall enough to see. Suffice it to say, I'm ecstatic with what I was able to capture.
Morgan did awesome in class, loves to go... and made an adorable sweet three year old bunny to boot!

This and That

First. I haven't been "tooting my horn" lately in the name of Scrapbooking, but things have been a'happenin'... so I guess I should share.

There is a layout of Morgan called "Bippity Boppity Boo" in a new book by Memory Makers called 601 Great Ideas. I just saw that it's been released, so you should be able to find it at Michaels, Barnes & Noble, etc. I haven't gotten my copy yet so I don't know what page she is on, but it's a dark pink and purple layout and it's photos from her birthday.

Yesterday my first layout of Payton got picked up for a new book by Scrapbook Trends called "Embellish It". I think that one comes out in April.

I have cards in the January, February, and March issue of Cards magazine.

I also just earned a spot on the 2008 Worldwin team. I am very excited about the opportunities with this team. And how fun to be on a cardstock team!

Studio Calico is a dream. I am so honored to be on the Design Team for this kit club. At the beginning of every month you can view the Design Team gallery here. Just click on me and you'll see a slide show of my work with that kit. You can also click on the link for past galleries, and if you choose a kit on the right side (like Red Carpet, Johnny Appleseed, etc.) you will see my work with previous kits. So far I have worked with Red Carpet and Johnny Appleseed... I just got my kit for the December kit, and oh dear I almost cried when I opened it, it was so fabulous.

Okay... I think that's it for scrappy stuff at the moment.

If you are ever bored, read this blog: http://thepioneerwoman.com/

This woman is brilliant, so well spoken, so funny and entertaining... it just is a must read. Be sure to click on her links for how she met her husband... "Black Heels to Tractor Wheels: A Love Story". Brilliant, I tell ya.

So... I'm going to CHA in February. I think it's the 9-12th. Looking forward to it again.

And then Steve and I are going to Vegas! I think we are going February 24-28th. With friends. At this point, I think we are staying at the Luxor. Must stay on the strip! And I've always loved how that spot was laid out, with the rooms looking over the casino. We haven't been on a vacation as a couple in many moons, so this is much needed and very exciting! There's a newer airline out of Redmond that flies to Vegas direct. Perfect!

Looking ahead to Christmas:

You are in NO WAY obligated to get my kiddos anything, but just in case you are interested, and need ideas:
I want to get both girls a bean bag. If there's a choice, pink, purple, princess first.
Morgan needs 5T. Pants. The waist and everything are fine, but she's got some legs, and everything is starting to get so short! I'd say 5T in shirts too... but it really depends. Some of her 4T's are too big, some too small.
Payton would LOVE some Children's Place jeans... 24months. And maybe a 2T. There is a difference in size, so if you have a choice, for some reason she doesn't have much in her current size so has been wearing jeans that are too big for her.
Payton is now obsessed with Elmo. She doesn't care about TV and movies at all, but just recently if I put on Sesame Street, she cheers for Elmo like the girls cheered for Elvis. She loves him! I got her a stuffed Elmo already, and I ordered one of those Look and Find board books from amazon.com to compliment the one we already have... but if you saw an Elmo T-shirt or a lightweight Elmos jacket... 2T... well, she'd probably sleep in it.
Speaking of sleeping, Morgan could use more jammies. 4t-5t. I have a princess nightgown for a Christmas gift, and she'd love more two piece jammies. No more fleece onesies for her.
I could also use more lotion. We get Aveeno from Costco. They both have a touch of Eczema, so they dry out in the winter time if I don't keep them lotioned up.


I'll post again if I think of anything else. But the main thing I WANTED to get them for Christmas are bean bags. They drag pillows from all over the house all the time, so I'd like them to just have their own bag to play in and watch Sesame Street in.


This is one of my entries for the Worldwin Design Team. All of it is cardstock. The Doublemates cardstock in my pinwheels is double sided, which is pretty cool.

Lastly, this is a layout I did for a challenge at Scenic Route, a manufacturer. The challenge was to use a specific line of product. I won some goodies and was featured at their site for this challenge, which was pretty cool. I won a paper pack of their new Loveland Collection, which is delicious! This is one in a series of my most favorite pictures of Morgan. I had some of my best photography that day. Great lighting. Everything in focus. ::sigh::

Anyway... that's it for now!

CAUTION: Smiling 3 year old below ::edited::

Isn't she cute? I was standing off to the side and I didn't think she'd smiled at all! I was pleasantly surprised and adore this photo. This IS what her smile looks like.

I love this class photo because it shows their personalities so well. Not many smilers, that same twin NOT wanting to be in the photo, the little girl in pink somewhat high maintenance and has a teacher nearby to hang on to her... just. in. case. Love it. BUT. NOBODY puts (my) baby in the corner. What's up with that? I guess that's the downside of being tall, although she really isn't that much bigger than anyone else in the class. Oh well. It's still a fun photo!

Edited:

For those of you who didn't know, or as a reminder to those who I've told before....

Morgan goes to a Co-op. That means that parent participation is required. In her class, there are two teachers and 3 parent volunteers every day. So the ratio is 3-4 kids per adult. The curriculum at her school is to learn through play, so all activities are geared around fun. On my volunteer day I go in early and get the synopsis for the day's activities, and help get projects prepared if they haven't already been done.

Next year there are the same two teachers and I think 1 parent volunteer every day. This is in preparation for Kindergarten, where you drop your kid off outside because they don't let the kids come in early, and then it's 1 teacher for about 25 kids. At this point Morgan isn't doing private school, so her co-op is great preparation for school to come.

Morgan's school is a school. We wait for the flag to be put out every day before we are allowed in the building. This is because the teachers and parents want to be prepared and ready. After the flag is put out, each child is greeted as they walk in, so that they enter the building acknowledged.

After that there is free time where they can play with puzzles, blocks, paint, play-doh, the baby area with strollers and cribs, etc., books, a fort, the pet rat, etc. etc. Then they do circle time, singing time, separate groups, outside time, more free time, crafts and groups, more circle time, snack time, until it's time to go home.

I LOVE this school and have already seen a big change in Morgan. She's coloring more and making things that actually look like something (her monster, for example), she writes her name, or at least, it's what she thinks her name looks like, and it looks the same every time she writes it, and has recognizable letters in it.... she sings silly songs all the time. ... I could go on and on. School has only been in session for 2 months and it's been worth every penny.

Because it's a co-op costs are able to be kept low, becuase parents are also responsible to sign up for housekeeping duties around the property, as well as fundraising duties too.

Between school and ballet we are paying more than $100 per month for our little lambchop. It's nice to know she's learning something and having fun at the same time. LOVe that.