life.captured

Blog Hop!!!

2010-04-01T18:04:00.000-07:00

Hiya all! I hope you are having fun on the blog hop! I know there are some AMAZING finds along the way! I have a QP for you from the AMAZING April BYOC! :)

As well as my favorite Outer Limits from Karah Fredricks!

Here is a page I created with it.

I hope you enjoy!!!!

Try the first link first until that expires.. etc.

Now hop on over to one of my FAVORITE scrappers... Eryn for your next goodie!!! :)

The one with the Rainbow Play-doh!

2010-03-14T10:56:00.000-07:00

Hiya all! For some odd reason I LOVE rainbow crafts this time of year!!! I had posted a picture on FACEBOOK with pictures of our rainbow play-doh we made with our Pre-K friends and got tons of requests for a mini tutorial! Sorry gals... I didn't think that far ahead so I don't have step by step pictures, but I can do my best to explain the process to you! :)

First off, you must start out with a tried and true play-doh recipe!

Play Dough Recipe:

1 cup white flour
1/2 cup salt
2 tablespoon cream of tartar (find it in the spice section)
1 tablespoon oil
1 cup water
food coloring

Combine all the ingredients over MED heat in a pot. Some recipes will tell you to cook this until its super thick and looks like... well like PLAY-DOH! No DON'T do it!!!!! Go against all your natural instincts and take it off the heat the moment it looks like mashed potatoes. If you cook it too long it will dry out and will be super crumbly. Once you take it off the heat knead it for about 5 minutes on a floured surface. You will think to yourself "OH NO I pulled it off the heat to early its never going to turn out" THAT is how you know it will be perfection in the end!!!!

Okay now down to this rainbow business! I was making rainbow play-doh for 25+ kids. I wanted each child to have their own little rainbow and not have to use anyone elses " rain cloud " what we called it once all the colors mixed. So I doubled this recipe. Once I had it all kneaded out I divided it into 6 (I believe rainbows are supposed to have 7 colors but you get the idea!) different balls of dough. To each ball I added a different color of the rainbow and kneaded until it was bright and fun!!

Next...I rolled out each ball into a long strip ( I would estimate about 6 inches wide by 16 inches long). Once I had all the balls rolled out I put them right next to each other in a long line. I arranged them in order I wanted the colors of my rainbow ( apparently my rainbow is backwards, but that is perfectly fine with me!) Then I rolled it up like one long cinnamon roll. Once we were ready to play I simple cut off a portion for each child, every child had a slice with all the colors! It was perfect!

Enjoy! If you make this PLEASE POST PICS and send me the link! I can't wait to see your rainbows!!!!

The one with the Art Journal tutorial....

2010-02-21T09:59:00.000-08:00

Snow Alert must interrupt this tutorial!

This was 24 hours ago

And this is what we woke up to this morning....

(sorry these are straight off the camera, no editing)

Crazy NV weather! :)

okay... now back to our regularly programed blogging...

As I have been exploring more and more into the hybrid world of digital scrapbooking, a couple people have been asking for some tutorials on projects. I don't feel like I am the best at tutorials but I will sure give it a shot! :)

As I have been searching the web lately I have been very inspired by art journals. They are a visual way of expressing you feelings, what is going on in your life or just plain ole' simple snapshot of your day. They usually involve some assortment of mixed media, which is always fun to dive into!

For my project I used an 8x8 canvas, acrylic paint, gesso, sharpies, modge podge, and some digital products from my favorite store THE LILYPAD!

I am not the type of artist that can just sit down and create, wherever the paint brush leads. I usually think about my project before hand and have a clear vision of the direction I want to take. Although if the project takes a turn during the creation process that is okay too!

This hasn't been the easiest couple of months for our little family but we have all really embraced this little song to help cheer us up.

Three Little Birds by Elizabeth Mitchell

So that is the title of this piece

P.S. Please excuse the poor lighting.... I had to wait until the girls went to bed for this one! :)

I applied a color wash of acrylic paint/gesso to help seal the canvas and create a smooth surface.

While I waited for that to dry I cut out the digital products I planned on using for this kit.

* I usually drag all the items I want in pages and size them in there. I find this easier than using photoshop elements, and I can fit it all on one page.*

I then applied another layer of gesso to create a white space for my lyrics. The gesso acts as a primer and I only needed one layer to cover the teal on the bottom. I also added a bit more color to the sides for depth.

Next I wrote the lyrics from my inspiration in the middle. For this I used my trusty sharpie. I find that the sharpie works better on the gesso than on the regular acrylic paint.

I then began to apply my digital products. I used modge podge to apply them. They usually will wrinkle up a bit. I just smooth them out as they dry a bit more.

I am too cheap to buy actual stamps so I used puzzles from the dollar store! :)

After some smearing, glueing, & doodling I think I am done! :)

I had a TON of fun with this little project and did it all while my husband watched HEROS!

Here are the links to the goodies I used over at the PAD! :)

paper cuts set 3 -Kaye Winiecki

Newspaper Print Papers -Jenna Desai

Thank You "Notes" -Jacque Larsen

pat me -Kaye Winiecki

Scruffy & Stripey alphabet Kate Hadfield

Thank you! Have fun creating!

The one with a new year - 2010!

2010-02-05T12:18:00.000-08:00

I decided I didn't need to make a huge welcome back to my blog post. Not because I wanted to sneak back into the blogging world, but simply because things like that stress me out! So lets just pretend like we have all been here all along. Okay?
Just for fun lets do a little catch up!
J- I am so proud of him! He is currently in his second semester at TMCC! I think this might ACTUALLY be the time we get through this college thing! He is also working with youth through the boys and girls club.
S- Also in full time college and working with my Pre-K kids over @ JKLC and feeling VERY blessed there! Loving being on the CT @ The Lilypad, it has really encouraged my creativity.
j- Is in 2nd grade and loving every moment of it. This year she has also started in the girl scouts and thanks too all of you is rounding up some awesome cookie sales!
a- Doing great in preschool and thinks Mickey Mouse is ALL hers! ( Minnie who?) She is turning three soon,.... when did that happen?

Grammy K helped us with this fun project for Valentine's day it was super fun and super cheap! I just adore it!
P.s. Brighter= Brighten opps!

I am still learning flicker so the promised pictures are below! :)

I have some other fun Valentine's projects I will be posting in the next couple of days so keep a look out!

The artist in her

2010-02-05T12:17:00.001-08:00

IMG_0882, originally uploaded by 4shanna.

Jaden has really been into embroidery . She is currently creating a collection of all her favorite fruits. Here she is working on a piece she calls 'grapes" ;)

Addy's got style!

2010-02-05T12:16:00.001-08:00

IMG_0772, originally uploaded by 4shanna.

The one with the Easter celebration!

2009-04-19T16:09:00.000-07:00

We had an amazing Easter this year! Church was amazing!
Both the girls really enjoyed the whole day this year.
I have to say though getting the girls ready in the morning really made me reflect on their personalities. Jaden wore her pink dress we got her for wicked, its what every little girl I ever knew wanted as a child.
Its HUGE, ..
its FLUFFY,..
its PINK...
and most of all,
... it TWIRLS..!
Every girl that is until I met AddyBug. I put her in a dress and shew wanted to tear it off from the moment I put it on her, so I found one less HUGE, FLUFFLY and with not much twirl factor that she though she could STAND if she had too. I had some cute little Easter shoes to go with it, did she want to wear those? NOPE! Keens please! YOu know maybe... there is a rock she wants to climb on the way, she wants to be prepared!

Jaden is old enough now that I usually put her in charge of a dish. This time it was strawberry shortcake (for dessert) she did an amazing job! This knife is perfect b.t.w for little kids who would like to help its plastic and doesn't cut little fingers. All I have to say is these were SUPER yummy!! P.S. This is Addys new face whenever I pull out the camera, charming eh?

And while I was looking through all the pictures from Easter this picture cracked me up! This is Jonathans sister Victoria and her fiance Nick, and I have NO idea why Jaden is so perturbed.

the one with the binky boo boo

2009-03-12T11:17:00.001-07:00

With age comes responsibility. Which in turn, when you turn two its time to say bubye to the binky. Addison only had the binky at night, most of the time she was very good about putting the binky "nunight" after she got up, but let me tell you she DID love that thing. I knew she would only grow to love it more and more with each month we let her love affair deepen. I don't think either one of the children would have bought the "binky fairy" story, nor would they believe we simply lost it. Which only leaves us with one option..... CUT IT OFF! Thats right as MEAN as it may sound thats exactly what I do, I cut the nipple off the binky and when she asked for it I showed her the broken binky. She was perplexed and said "binky boo boo?" "Yes Binky boo boo" we told her. She wanted to see her collection of binkies, surely they all didn't get a boo boo together. She was wrong, must have been some tragic binky accident. ;)

Rest assure, Addison is doing great without them. She has cried 5-10 mins every night when we lay her down and then she is out for the rest of the night. Really has gone amazingly well!

the one when she turns two

2009-03-08T20:13:00.000-07:00

I can not believe you have turned two. It was two years ago I first got to look in your eyes and see an exact replica of your father, it was like having a little mini J!
WE have all loved getting to know you over the past two years.
Here are a few of your favorite things!
TWO favorite words:
Please
Daddy

TWO favorite foods:
Pizza
Grapes

TWO favorite things to do:
Sleep
Play with sister

TWO favorite toys:
any purse
any fancy shoes

TWO favorite places to go:
Preschool
CA to see Grammys and Papa!

Our TWO favorite things about you:
Your sweet smile and your caring heart!
We love you sweetie pie happy birthday!

TWO pigtails!

TWO converse!

"TWO" sweet!

Practicing being TWO! I love Jaden is having her own little rock concert in the background!

The big TWO!! Auntie Tori made this beautiful cake!

Thank you Lindsey! She loves them!

the one with the comic strip

2009-03-05T18:50:00.000-08:00

I needed a little giggle today and thought you might also! :)

The one with how to BLOG! :)

2009-03-04T15:25:00.000-08:00

WOW!! I never thought I would have such an overwhelming response to my last post! I got a ton emails!!!! You know I don't KNOW Oprah right!?!? LOL Like I can't get you in! LOL ;) No in all truthfulness I had a dozen or so people write back and ask about how to start a blog. See I thought that post would be a dud considering no actual pictures of O but now... I know you all are a bunch of pastry lovers, its okay come out of the closet now we don't judge here! ;)

So this is a great question! I started blogging as a way to keep family and friends who wanted to keep up with the kids up to date! I also throw in some digital scrapbooking, cloth diapering, photography yumminess in there as well! YOu just never know what may pop up! I am not a writer by any means, I just type as I am talking to a bunch of family and friends. So certainly those who enjoy writing and are good at it would do a much better job! But I suppose thats the joy of a blog you can make it whatever you want! :)

How to get started! Here are some great places that offer a place to host a free blog!
Blogger (this is what I use)
LiveJournal (a lot of people I know use this and love it)
WordPress

Typepad - This is not a free service from what I understand. But I have many friends that use it and love it and wouldn't blog anywhere else! :)

Why Blog?! Like I said I use it mainly as a central place for anyone who wants to see the lastest and greatest (or sometimes not so great! LOL) from our family. I also find myself using it almost like a journal. I always wanted to keep a journal and would get to a week or two and just quit, loved to buy them but the commitment killed me! :) Here I can spill my guts, share my glory all in one place! I love you guys, I get so much support on here.

I had a couple people ask how to beautify your blog!
Well I am not sure I am the right person to ask. See my blog header?!?!? Its still from FALL!!! Hello here we head into spring I need to beautify my blog as well.
But to get you started here are some ideas!
First of all I can only speak from a "blogger" perspective since I have not used any of the other services listed above. But in blogger there are different templates available.
Also if you goggle blog templates there are a ton that pop up!
Blogger Templates 1
Blogger Templates 2
Blogger Templates 3

But to tell you the truth I mainly use digital scrapbooking to beautify my blog so I can personalize it with pictures and stuff. Most of the things I use are from designers I have worked with in the past! :)
Karah Fredricks
Jacque Larsen
Amy Wolff

So there you have it! If you have any futher specific questions either leave them in the comments section or email me and I will post answers here on the blog so that all the other baby bloggers can see!!!
Okay so now that I have dedicated a whole post to my baby bloggers I want to see the blogs when you make them and I will link them up on my site! :) Love you guys!

Now for the grandparents because they get a little testy when they don't get to see pictures of the girls (even though the littest one is with them right now!) ....
This was when we were in San Fran after Wicked we had a little walk to the car. No problem when you have Papa!!!! How cute are they together?!

And here is AddaBug. She hoped in this thing one morning when I was about to go shopping. Awwww I cute I thought to myself! She wants me to take her shopping. No Sir! I later found out Daddy pickes it up by the handles (with her still in it!) and twirls her around in circles! Who needs Disneyland when you have DADDY!

ps Friday Love Letters are behind... blame J everyone else is ahead of the game!

The one with OPRAH!

2009-03-02T20:01:00.000-08:00

So guess who won tickets to go see the OPRAH AFTER THE OSCARS PARTY!??!?! Yep thats right!!! ME!!!!!!! I was so excited when I found out! So my MOM actually won tickets as well so my Mom, MIL, Michelle and myself all made our way down to LA for the taping we were SOOOOOOO excited, we had even made up a little dance and chant about our excitement! I have a You-Tube clip to demonstrate..... lol just kidding, I wouldn't do that to my girls!
So K and I decided to head down there a day or so early for some extra fun!
Here are a couple pictures to chronicle our times! :)
Right when we got into town what do we do? You know us well! We find an outdoor mall to troll around in with our crocs and travel pants amongst LAs finest! WE had to take a picture of this for Tori! ITs the kids version of J. Crew! Adorable shop, but I would never spend $65 on a t-shirt for my kids! :)

That evening we stayed at Bobika's house (J's grandmother) she no longer lives there. I wish I had taken pictures of the front of the house. When you walk in its like you are stepping back in time. Its amazing! NOTHING has changed in well over 25 years. Its adorable though. I loved the old doors and just the simple little things! ;)

After a long night of creepy noises we went around the corner in search of a STARBUCKS and stumbled upon this store. I am telling you K and I had more fun in this store then any other store we visited that weekend!!! Come to think of it we spent the most in this store as well!

It was unlike the dollar stores here they had everything from party supplies to fresh produce! LOVED it!
Don't think we gave up on that Starbucks hunt either! We also found a YUMMY local pastry shop!

Minnie guided us through the city!

We were in search of a craft store K use to patron when she lived down here along the way we got to see some of LAs history!

K don't kill me but I love this picture of you!

After a disappointing jaunt @ STATS we went to visit Babika who was having a wonderful day! I am trying to capture moments with her so I can remember when the kids ask about her when they get older.

Now.... it was time for our own PRIVATE OSCARS party!!! JUST the girls back at the hotel P.Js,Chinese food, goodies and the OSCARS!!!! We had so much fun watching them and guessing who would be on OPRAH the next day!!!!!

So you may have gotten this far into the post and be asking yourself why if she went to see OPRAH is she showing us pictures of a pastry?!
Can you believe it...
NO
CAMERAS
ALLOWED!
Not even allowed to take them on the bus on the WAY to OPRAH! Not even allowed to take pictures of the KODAK THEATRE! !
Not even allowed to take pictures of us doing the JAI HO dance while waiting to get in! (Courtesy of the ULCA Cheerleaders who were warming up the audience)
No cameras.
So while we waited for OPRAH!!!!!...Hugh Jackman,Kate Winslet,
Sean Penn
, (before you ask, yes he was still drunk on the show Oprah even commented "we will tell him tomorrow that he was here"), Penelope Cruz, and all the stars from Slum Dog Millionaire.
K snuck this shot from the iphone!!

I have to say the whole experience was just as I had imagined! Oprah seemed very down to earth and had the audience laughing during commercial breaks. We also got to see some other celebrities such as Gayle King and David Foster. The whole thing was amazing and the best thing was I got to share it with some of my favorite people!It was one of those experiences we will never forget!
Then, it was time to head home!...

........... home to lots of loves!!!!

<3 Friday Love Letters <3 2/14 for Addison

2009-02-18T17:06:00.000-08:00

When I think of love and I think of Addison, there are some obvious ones, she loves her sister, she loves her daddy and me (most of the time! ;) but there is one thing she loves that she must soon part with (ok fine her MEAN mommy is cutting the TIPS off of them for her 2nd birthday, well not ON her birthday but shortly there after, lets face it shes far too stubborn for the "binky fairy" to pay us a visit!). I thought I would capture the pure bliss she experiences with it before its gone forever (or until she finds the stash she hid in her sock drawer!

You have fallen in love. Head over heels! Not for a special teddy bear or a certain blanket, no. Its for this pink binky. When you see it your whole face comes to life and your smile is HUGE. When offered another binky you look at it as if it is so below you to suck on a binky. But this pink binky makes your head spin with such glee! As we approach your2nd birthday I know its time to cut you off soon. But for now I will let you swoon in your new found love!

<3 Friday Love Letters <3 2/14 for Jaden

2009-02-16T21:22:00.000-08:00

So technically this is from Sat. but since we started this project for Valentines I thought it only appropriate! Here is my first page for the love letter project to Jaden. It is very much forcing me to journal more on my pages which was EXACTLY the goal! :)

A Day in the City.
One of my favorite things about you getting older are days like these. February 14th 2009: we went to see WICKED in San Francisco with Papa Vic, Grammy K, Aunt Victoria and Nick. Before the play you wanted to get all dressed up so we found this beautiful dress for you to wear. We all went to lunch at Buccas and afterwards you skipped through the city on that drizzly day as though it was a perfect spring afternoon. We had listed to the soundtrack to Wicked for several weeks prior so I had to remind you as we were watching the show to sing to yourself. As we entered the theater I could see your little mouth drop with excitement. When the lights dimmed and the show began I watched your face as the play lived up to all your expectations and beyond. You sat through the three hour play with the same look of pure contentment until the very end, when you were so sad it had ended. AS we were leaving the theater the actress who played Glenda (with a GA!) came out to sign your playbill. It was the perfect ending to a perfect day. I love moments like these with you my sweet daughter, and I will forever cherish them.

--------> Just a side note, Addison's will be up next! :)

<3 Friday Love Letters <3

2009-02-14T07:56:00.000-08:00

Sorry I knows its past Friday! The drive to CA took longer then expected so it moved everything back a bit! And now we are getting ready to go see WICKED! So you will have to wait a bit! ;) They will be here shortly! They are all done just waiting to post! ;)

No pictures, No movies, No pages of scrap yumminesss.... just me! :)

2009-02-09T20:28:00.001-08:00

Hiya all!
So J got me this wonderful FLIP camera for my birthday!! Isn't it cute? ANd while I ADORE it, I need a better video editing prgram. I would like ones thats easy to add differnt types of music to as well as fade in and out the music to hear the talking on the video when I so desire! :) Would also love all the other goodies like basic editing capabilities etc. So what do you suggest for me *cough*MATTHEW*cough* or any of my other video editing friends out there. *knock knock anyone there?*
So if you have any ideas send them my way! :)

I WILL be uploading at least a picture or 2 this Friday will our first installment on <3 FRIDAY LOVE LETTERS! <3.
Our extended family is taking turns each Friday writing love letters to each of the girls. I plan to scrap each of the letters along with a picture from that week, and at the end of the year collect them to print in a book. I can't wait to see how this project will turn out!

Short News from the Nalys:
All the girls had a tummy flu this weekend, Jaden is the only person I KNOW who could make me laugh as we are both in the bathroom at midnight.
Addison has learned to RUN... okay a light jog. I know you are thinking yeah shes NEARLY two whats the big deal but this is from the girl who waited until she was 14 months to walk. Come on people its time to celebrate!
J is steadily preparing for his big wheel competition (yes you heard me right) when he isn't at his Dodgeball tournaments. Really its a good thing he works with YOUTH!~ :)
*I* am super excited to go to CA this weekend to go to WICKED with the LADIES!!! Including JADEN who has now memorized the soundtrack! (I am sure those around us will find it as cute as I do?)

Till Friday! Have a good one! :)

One of my FAVORITE Photographers!!!

2009-01-24T22:45:00.001-08:00

Is Christie Mumm of JLM Creative shes SOOOOOOOOOOOOOO talented and just the sweetest person around!
On this beautiful day we were headed to CA for Thanksgiving, Addy was crying the WHOLE time, it was drizzling, and we had an hour. This is what I am talking about, she can work miracles!!!!
This slide show does not do the quality of the pictures justice! But you can get an idea!!!!

Things are going well here!
Jonathan just got back from a mission trip to CA with the Jr Highers. He is at church tonight for a youth concert, so you know life is tough for him... *wink*wink*.
Jaden is enjoying her 6 weeks off track (she is in year-around school and gets Jan, May and September off of school).
Addison is gearing up for those "terrible twos" and not wasting a moment! :)
I am enjoying my job, getting in the swing of things! It is the first time I have worked full time out of the home since Jaden was 3 but I think we are all handling it well! Because of less time at home I have sadly dropped out of my creative teams online as well as stopped designing logos, so that has cut down on my online time which has lead to less blogging. I am hoping to get caught up a bit here and start creating again! So I will be back! I promise!!!!

November Afternoons

2008-11-19T17:23:00.000-08:00

Halloween Fun!

2008-11-04T14:38:00.000-08:00

Hiya everyone! Back again! Thank you for being so patient with me as we get settled in here. For anyone that knows me I mean KNOWS me KNOWS me, they KNOW it takes months for me to get in the groove once we move. Plus it doesn't help that Addison has decided the computer is EVIL and will not let me go near it. So shhhhhhhhhh shes napping right now while I get some computer work done! :)
Here are some pictures of the girls on Halloween. Jaden is Dorothy from the Wizard of Oz and Addison is a boy, I mean the Scarecrow! They had so much fun! We all loved watching Addison being fascinated by the whole idea!
These pictures were taken at the Trunk or Treat they hold at our church, they got a TON of candy in like 10 minutes flat!
Then we headed over to Shannon's house for a party! The kids, and the adults all had a WONDERFUL time! Thanks Shannon!!!

p.s. sorry these pictures aren't amazing! My point and shoot was having a hay day! I will email the Grammies pictures for print is anyone else wants them just let me know! :)

Getting Caught Up

2008-10-03T16:43:00.000-07:00

With packing? Eh no way! With digital scrapbooking!!!! I took the summer off and now, I am back! Enjoying it very much!
I came back just in time for the BYOC kit for Oct. over @ the Lilypad!
I am on creative teams for Amy Wolff and Jacque Larsen so I was lucky enough to get to play with their goodies!
Her are a couple of my favorites!

(I used for my blog header!)

I mean how cute are those?!?!! THere are a ton more goodies to check out over @ the Lilypad!. Most of it is currently 20% off!!!

Some things you won't find @ the Lilypad
From Karah Fredricks @ The Blue Flombingo
Those Box Thingies, The Ol' Switcheroo

*I sent actual pictures of her first day to family, if you would like one too please email me!*

WAHM Wednesdays are BACK!!!!!!

2008-10-01T14:34:00.001-07:00

Hiya all!
We have made it to NV safe and sound. I have to tell you I never pictured myself living here, but its BEAUTIFUL!!!!!! But most of all,.... we love the people. Everyone here has been so welcoming. AMAZING!

My next WAHM featured is AH MA ZA ZING herself! Right before I moved from the Tacoma area I was lucky enough to meet up with Amy (I think I have a thing for Amy's?) of
Domestic Miracles.. Before our meeting I *HAD* to buy one of her adorable diapers (what? RESEARCH PURPOSES people!), the only large diaper she had in stock at the moment was and adorable HIPPO diaper, it was meant to be we collect hippos in this house! We met at Starbucks to talk diapers and just laugh. She is one amazing person. Her two children are so adorable I wanted to scoop them up and bring them with me. It was just an overall wonderful experience!!!

Isn't she beautiful!?

Describe your work in 6 words.
Absorbant cute fitteds - Made with Love

Please link us up to your 5 favorite WAHM stores besides yours!
Muttaqin Baby
Sarah's Baby Boutique
The Diaper Drive Thru
Ewe Need It
Baby Bear Diapers

What are 4 things people might be surprised to know about you?
I love to eat at McDonalds
We're homeschooling our daughter for the first time this year
I'm scared to death of spiders (like jumping on the couch screaming scared)
I love to sing and I sing on the praise team at my church

Can you show us 3 of your favorite prints?
Spaceships
Firetrucks
Monkeys and Bananas

Tell me 2 tips you would give to anyone wanting to be a WAHM?
1. Believe in yourself and your product. Because there will be a lot of times when you will be the only one who does.
2. It's all about one sale at a time. Celebrate every single sale.

What is the 1 thing that inspires you the most?
Watching other WAHM's achieve their dreams. I love to see other moms succeed with their visions and this inspires me to keep going, keep making contacts, keeping believing in myself and MY dream.

Are there any new and exciting things coming up for Domestic Miracles?
Several people have told me that the thighs on these diapers are a little tight. So, I'm working on a 'bikini cut' version that will fit the chunkier thighed baby a little better. :)

THANK you so much Amy for taking the time and giving your heart! You amaze me.
You will NOT believe Amy's generosity!!!! Amy is offering ALL my readers 10% instock good until the end of the year!!!! Just use CODE:WAHM Wednesday @ her store!! This is good until the end of the year! Please leave a comment thanking Amy and showing her some LOVE!!!!

On the move, yes again!!!!!!

2008-09-08T22:59:00.001-07:00

Its insane how many time we have moved, and yes once again we are on the move!!!!!
I will post all the details on the other side of the move but for now we MUST post WINNERS!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Thank you to everyone who participated!
For the Trader Joe's bag,CONGRATS!!!!!Andrea!! I will be emailing you for details!
Now for the yummy and delicious PB&E goodies...
CONGRATS..
to..
Catherine !!!!!!!!!!!!
YOu are the lucky winner of 2 natural Grae's or Molly's (you pick size and serging color). CONGRATS! And thank you to AMY for making this possible!!!!!

**WE will have a one week lapse in our WAHM Wedneday posting due to the move but I AM SUPER excited about the next WAHM I have lined up... shes a SWEETIE!!!!!!!!!!!**

Alright! Signing off from WA.....

WAHM Wednesday #3!!!!

2008-09-03T15:25:00.000-07:00

My hunny took this and I had to steal it because it just makes me smile every time I look at it. What a ham she is. Where does she get it?

First I wanted to thank Sarah for being featured last week and being so kind as to offer up 5 free wipes (on their next $20+ order)to one luck winner! That LUCKY winner is.............. drum roll please............Elizabeth!!!!! Congrats I will email you! ;)

I am super excited about this weeks WAHM! From the moment I entered into the cloth diapering world I heard raves and adoration for all things PB&E. I have never had the pleasure of owning any product from Amy of Peanutbutter & Ellie but I have recently gotten the chance to work with her on a fun logo project and let me just tell you.. shes a sweetie pie! But with a name like Peanubutter & Ellie what else would you expect?

Amy is best known for her bamboo preflats. PB&E actually coined the term preflats in the hopes of coming up with a modern twist on the prefold and flat. Mission accomplished people now stock her store in hopes of being one of the lucky ones to score this "squishy goodness".

In the couple months I have been cloth diapering I have yet to pick up any PB&E goodies so I had to go in search of raves and reviews, let me tell you that wasn't very hard to find. Here is what some of the lovely ladies at diaperswappers had to say!

"We use several of Amy's flats, in both the old style and new style Ava fleece and the Grae shorts, and they are the softest, thickest, and most absorbent preflats that dd owns! Amy's customer service is wonderful and her communication during custom orders is friendly and open. She has a warmth and sense of humour that makes it enjoyable to work with her, or even just chat when she hangs around internet forums. I especially like that she is very supportive of, and kind to, other wahms!"- Spirit Elf (screen name)

"PeanutButter&Ellie ROCKS!

Upon entering the cloth diapering world, I spent many hours researching qualified WAHMs to do business with. In my quest to find the "perfect WAHM", I discovered Peanutbutter& Ellie on Hyenacart and have been in cloth diapering bliss every since.

As a mother, it is important to find the best product for your little one, have one's items arrive in a timely manner and have a positive customer service experience. Without a doubt, PB&E earns an A++ in all of the above categories.

For me, aside from great products, It is imperative to feel that the WAHMs are competent about their products AND are willing to go the extra mile for their customers. Whether the "extra mile" means assisting with a plethora of questions, aiding a mama who is indecisive or guiding an unaware customer about the many choices available, *raises hand blushing*, I want to know that my needs come first. PB&E is always attentive, strives to do whatever needed to assure customer satisfaction and is willing to assist in any way!

PB&E's impeccable products and stellar customer service make the company stand alone compared to others. Amy's pride in craftsmanship and dedication to making sure ALL mommies and babies are happy will keep THIS mama coming back for more" - Javamama (screen name)

Thanks ladies!- A couple fun questions Amy was so kind to answer! :)

Describe your work in 6 words.
Squishy bamboo goodness with a side of wool.

Please link us up to your 5 favorite WAHM stores besides yours!
Necessitae
Sustainablebabyish
Sugarlump Boutique
Bagshot Row Bamboo
Woolybottoms

Thanks Amy I just got lost in those beautiful stores! LOL :)

What are 4 things people might be surprised to know about you?
I'm a redhead, have 6 kids, I own JournalModiste and used to design children's clothes (and am hoping to get back in it)!

Can you show us 3 colors that best represent the PB&E line?

(I know there's 4 there but I couldn't find a pic with just three)

Tell me 2 tips you would give to anyone wanting to be a WAHM?
Well, be unique! Don't just take an existing product and tweak it a little but find out a need and fill it. And have fun! You have to love what you're doing to combat those days when you want to give up.

What is the 1 thing that inspires you the most?

The desire to be a good and Godly example to my daughters (and son). I fall short of this so much but I hope they see that I love being at home with them, spending time with them, teaching them in school as well as in life.

I love this answer Amy because so many of us can relate! :)

Are there any new and exciting things coming up for PB&E?
We're introducing our wool Play All Day longies for the fall in girl and boy styles. There won't be many of them as I'm so busy making the preflats, lol but I'll try.

Thank you so much Amy! I can not tell you enough what a pleasure it is working with you!

Now attention to my lucky duck readers! You will never believe what Amy is offering up to ONE of you!!!! A set of 2 natural Grae's or Molly's (you pick size and serging color) WAHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!! Can you believe that? So if you would like to be entered just leave your name and email address in the comments section! One per household please! ;) THank you again!

Funny emails.

2008-09-01T20:56:00.001-07:00

You guys crack me up. I have been getting dozens of emails and comments from friends about family cloth. LOL I know I know it may seem really far fetched I am fully aware of how far out there it may seem. A lot of people tell me they would never go that far and since I have taken it to those extremes I must have officially lost it! Its true I have lost it, its what my husband loves most about me, but anyways different day different post for that subject! ;)
Anyways I want you all to know this "going green" didn't happen overnight. It was mostly baby steps, itsy bitsy baby steps anyone can do. We certainly are not perfect and have MANY more steps to take to decrease our ecological footprint, but like I said before BABY STEPS. I have had some requests to explain exactly what those baby steps were and how to go about doing them.

A couple years ago J and I started making earth day resolutions. Okay it was mainly me but J went along with it. The first one was to bring cloth bags to the grocery store. This was before you could find them in each and every store (which I think is AN AMAZING huge giantic step for retailers!!!!) and so I talked J into a bag "allowance" and I ordered some @ reusablebags.com. After looking through the HUGE assortment they have there I went with the CHICO bag which comes in a TON of colors and folds up super tiny for easy transportation. Now there are thousands of bags to choose from and they are fun to collect!

A lot of people tell me they buy these bags and then forget them in their home or car. I have to admit this was a problem for me at first too, to remedy this I promised myself no matter what I would NOT use a bag. I don't this J knew exactly how serious I was about this until one day I came pounding on the door with literally arms full of groceries. J asked what was wrong why didn't I have bags at home and I told him I forgot them at the house. He just laughed, he still laughs at me but.... he uses them too. I am so proud of him!

I know a lot of you use these now! They are so easy to find I will list some other great places to pick some up!
Blue Q - I fell in love with this retailer after my trip to N.Y. and Serendipity!
Punk Rock Padding - My friend Amber from Mudshrimps sent me some of these and they are great you can pick which fabric you want on it!
Trolley Dolley - okay these are just awesome, a little pricey but a great idea!
Trader Joe's - If you have one near you go pick up some bags, I get the MOST complements on these bags, they are cheap and I use them for everything!

For anyone who would like to enter to win a Trader Joe's bag leave a comment along with your email address. TRUST me they are super cute! ;)

Have a great one and have fun going green!

WAHM Wednesday #2

2008-08-27T18:23:00.000-07:00

Hooray!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Thank you all for the encouraging words to Amber last week. I have had a TON of emails and PMs encouraging giving the WAHM's the LOVE they deserve!!

Okay I won't make you wait to much longer, its time to see who got the $5 coupon to Amber's MUDSHRIMPS HC STORE!! drum roll please....................................CONGRATS to Jennie I will email you with the details! ;) Thank you to everyone who participated and I encourage you all to enter this week!!!

Thank you also to Amber for all the sweet comments and for being my first featured WAHM!

Yep you guessed it I am featuring another one of MY favorite WAHMS. Some may say SELFISH, to them I say NO WAY if you haven't met this WAHM goodies yet you will THANK me later!
I can thank this mama for my love affair with cloth wipes. She has the largest rainbow of dyed bamboo, sherpa, and terry I have seen! Her flannel selection is just so much fun to browse. She makes more then just cloth wipes though you can order a ton of things from unpaper towels, family cloth, burp cloths and facial wipes-Es just to name a few!, This WAHM's attention to detail is unmatched. On top of all this she has to be one of the sweetest mom's in town!
Here are some of the yummy goodies we have from her...

Who is this I am talking about? If you have not guessed yet its Sarah! From Eli's Wipe-Es, and here are some fun tid-bits to get to know her a little better!
Here she is with her ADORABLE family! The little guy is the famous "E" of Eli's Wipe-E's!

Describe your work in words.
Fun Squishy Soft Pretty Precise Bum-wipes

Please link us up to your favorite WAHM stores besides yours! :)
Middle Earth Diaper
Pot Bellied Pig
Woolen Wishes
Ewe Need It
LOL Sarah must have gotten busy with her wipes because she forgot the last one! ;)

What are favorite projects you have ever worked on?
Kind of a hard one as I primarily make wipes. I did make some dance outfits for my girls and this year I got talked into making one costume for my oldest daughter. She's in competitive dance, so they're quite elaborate. So we'll see how I do :)

I see you are into FABRIC as well can you show us fabrics that best represent your work?
I love dying fabric, it's so much fun to start with someone that everyone else has and make it bright, fun and original. My girls love helping me dye. My oldest wrote on her kindergarten homework her favorite thing to do with Mommy is "watch her die" Yes, spelled just like that.
I think my wide assortment of flannels, dyed sherpa and bamboo velours best represents my work.

Tell me tips you would give to anyone wanting to be a WAHM?
Keep your product quality consistent. Don't send out something you wouldn't use yourself in hopes the customer won't notice.
And be friendly, not just to customers but also to fellow WAHM's.

What is the thing that inspires you the most?
All of my kids. My sweet Eli, he's always so happy, I can have a really bum night where my serger is acting up and I spend so much time remaking things. I go upstairs and he's always got a smile and giggle for me. And my girly Kaitlyn and Genavieve. They're so much fun and so into my sewing. They love going to the fabric store, helping me find fabrics, and wash/dye material. My oldest is already begging me to get her a sewing machine when she turns 7 so she can sew wipes like Mommy. How inspiring is that? :)

Thank you so much Sarah is there anything exciting or NEW coming up in you business you want to share?
I have been asked to join a congo! I'm not sure if we are releasing the domain and info yet, but keep watching ds as we definitely have a great group together.

Thank you again Sarah! Now her products are very popular so be prepared to wait (currently about a 4 week turn around) but worth every moment!! As I told her GREAT things are worth waiting for and let me tell you, you will NEVER regret a purchase you make with Sarah!

Eli's Wipe-Es is kind enough to offer one of my readers FIVE free wipes on your NEXT $20+ order!! This is an AMAZING offer so if you want to be entered to win this please leave a comment along with your email address in the comments section! THANK YOU!

And don't worry some more summer pictures as promised!

Thank you for stopping by! See you next Wednesday!

Summer Break is almost over!

2008-08-20T17:51:00.000-07:00

So its time to start bloggin again!!! Thank you all for coming back to take a look at some things we have been doing over the summer. Over the next couple of days I hope to re-cap some fun things we did this summer! First and foremost its been an amazing couple of months, we have really grown together as a family which is always an awesome thing. I am so thankful for them.
We left off right before we went to D-I-S-N-E-Y! It was a blast!!! Jaden loved pin collecting and Addy LOVED the characters. Its always amazing to see Disney from their eyes! Because pictures are worth a thousand words....

Okay you might have noticed some changes! Well I am excited to be working with some of the work at home moms who make diapers and other "green" products in making logos for them! It has been a lot of fun and I look forward to each and every logo that is created! My little thread is over at the diaper swappers forum and is called criss cross applesauce. My background in early childcare lends itself easily to this fun title! ;) One of the things I wanted to do with this is to get the work at home moms AKA= WAHM, some LOVE!!!!!!!!! They work so hard to give us earth friendly products at a reasonable price! So each Wednesday I hope to feature a WAHM. So check back for more goodies!

This week I am featuring one of my FAVORITE WAHMS Amber from Mudshrimps
Here she is with her adorable family!~

Let me just tell you a little something about Amber. NOT ONLY are her products TOP NOTCH, but she has the BEST customer service around. You will always open her packages with a HUGE smile on your face, this is a promise! She is on top of her emails like none other and is just all around one of the sweetest mamas in town!
We have many products from Amber but she is most famous for her diaper covers. They are so stinkin cute and if you get to order a custom and browse her fabric gallery you will be lost for days in there, shes a fabric addict! So many yummy prints!

I interviewed Amber to give us more insight on her creativity...

Describe your work in words.
Making untypical diapers for cool babies.

Please link us up to your favorite WAHM stores besides yours! :)
Punk Rock Padding
My Punk House
Puddin Babies Potions
Booty Cubes
Berry Imperfect Designs

What are favorite projects you have ever worked on?

By far my favorite project was a really, really big diaper. I won't elaboarte but it was fun. I always enjoy getting put to a challenge and dared into things ;).
Then this diaper. It was one of my first appliqué jobs and I think it turned out awesome!
Next would be this set. It had tons of meaning and was for a mama who's sister is battling breast cancer and she wanted to show her support for her =).
Last but not least is pillow cases. You are probably wondering why pillow cases, well you see here my husband is always asking for me to make them for him. They are the simplest things but he sure does love them. Whatever makes him happy.

I see you are into FABRIC as well can you show us fabrics that best represent your work?
Quilt Pirates
Bewitched
Ooga Booga

Tell me tips you would give to anyone wanting to be a WAHM?
Not to give up is the most important thing. Also always remember your reasons for becoming a WAHM.

What is the thing that inspires you the most?
Not just one thing, but 3 little things....my boys. They are the reason for the whole existence of Mudshrimps!

Amber was kind enough to offer my readers a $5 off coupon (which is a STEAL if you have seen her prices!) to her store!! In order to be entered for this simply leave your name and email address (one per person please) in the comments section here on my blog and next Wednesday I will enter all the numbers into a random # generator for the lucky winner! THANK YOU AMBER!!!!

I am raising a genius or 2!

2008-06-14T11:23:00.000-07:00

I love my girls, I love watching how they take on the world! Their take on things, its so fun.
J has been SUPER busy working, actually we both have but since I take the girls to work with me I get to enjoy these moments with them.

The other day we were driving my a house with 2 chimneys, here was the conversation between Jaden and myself:
Mommy why does that house have 2 chimneys?
Why do YOU think Jaden?
Maybe its a duplex?
Yep hun I think you are right about that
Or Maybe they have two fireplaces to keep warm
Yes that could be it as well
Or MAYBE they have ONE to keep warm and ONE for MaRsHmElLoWs!!!!
Yes hunny that MUST be it!

Oh so cute!

Then Addison oh my sweet little baby Addison!!!
I have watched her closely over the past couple of days, orginally I thought she was just taking a little longer to develop some skills such a as talking. UM NO this is not the case. I have watched her and she has figured out to get by in life she only needs three tools of communication.
Of course there is crying, we all know how that works!
Nodding. She gets SOOOOOOOOOO much conversation through nodding her head "yes" or "no" people think its so cute and she gets so much attention for this.
And the most genuis of them all.... the simple often overlooked word "HI".
This is really the only word she uses @ her ripe old age of 15 months (she will say the rare "Daddy") but the USES for this word are ENDLESS!!!!! Let me show you (I have learned from the master aka=Addy!)
-Obviously; someone walks by "Hi" someone leaves "hi" people often think shes saying "bye" and just think THIS is adorable, EVERYONE says "HI" to her knowing she will return the favor.
-She wants a toy someone else has, she walks over to them looks up @ them with her blue blue eyes and says "HI" AS SHES taking the toy, the poor child never saw it coming.
-She hears ME say "Addison LEE" in my motherly voice and she once again looks up @ me and says "HI" as in hi mommy what could I possibly of done to deserve the middle name call?
- Another kid is in her "bubble" (she likes her space!) and she wants them out of her "bubble" shes says "HI HI HI HI HI HI HI" as in Hi-YA! As she bonks them on their head over and over again.
- She sees something she wants to eat "HI" as in hello come hither.
- She is rocking out in the back seat to some tunes on the radio she sings in perfect tune "Hi, HIHI, HHI HI HI" as in music to my hears.
This girl, what am I going to do with her. She is going to get by in life in a very minimalistic approach and a side of charm! ;) - Hum reminds me of a certain Uncle I know! ;)

On another note Kushies (cloth diapers) has a give away to enter comment on THIS blog! GOOD LUCK!

Its sort of like a UFO you dont believe it till you see pictures!

2008-06-12T17:12:00.000-07:00

Addy oh Addy. You started walking @ 14 months and then stopped for weeks. Now you think its cool again, I better get a picture before you decide its to much work again! :)

These 2 are so cute together, Jaden really is the best big sister in history!!! She is your biggest cheerleader Addison!
"
AND my favorite picture of the day

Goofy pictures of my goofy girls!

2008-06-09T20:26:00.000-07:00

I must start this off by saying I LOVE MY NEW CANON REBEL!!! Unfortunately its out of commission and even though I always loved our old Canon, taking pics with it makes me realize why I needed my NEW ONE!!!! SOooo I cant wait to have it back, in the mean time just look @ the subjects not the technical side of the photos! THANKS!
Today Jaden went to the dentist, when I asked to see her pearly whites this is what I saw on the other end of the camera.

After Dinner I asked Addy if she liked it, this is what I saw on the other side of the camera!

LOL this picture cracks me up, it was right before Jaden's first motorcycle ride with Jonathan, I guess she was nervous and didn't want me to take a picture. Just F.Y.I. she LOVES it now and NEVER EVER EVER wants to ride in the car again! "Faster Daddy FASTER!"

Talk to you soon! Thanks for stopping by!

Jadens Graduation, bike riding and nakie baby!

2008-06-08T21:50:00.000-07:00

For the Kindergarten Graduation each teacher picked 3 attributes to describe each child.

Courteous

Warm hearted

Thoughtful

Joyful

Loving

Harmonious

Those were the attributes your teachers see in you, they know you well :)
I love you Jaden and Daddy and I are so proud of you!!!! 1st Grade here we come!!!
Here is Jaden with her Kindergarten Teacher Miss Julie

On another note, I though with summer here it would be a great time to take my new found love for indoor group cycling to the great outdoors and involve the kids. I WANT to bike to work and back 2 times a week during the summer. So today J and I decided to go for a test run.
We get out the drive way.... turn left and there is a hill as I am going down it I realize, MY BREAKS ARE OUT!!!!! I yell back to J and he says "oh yeah I forgot to reconnect those" well since I have a 60 lbs trailer behind me NOW is a really great time to figure that out!! LOL so we fix that and go about a mile further and J wimps out and gets a flat tire. Its really just funny @ this point. So I tell him to go home and meet me @ Target with the car, we planed on going shopping and getting ice cream @ Cold Stone (hey I burned the cals!)I did preety good if I do say so myself, if I tuned out Addy crying (she hated it) and Jaden saying "Mommy are we there yet" every 2.4 seconds it was a nice ride! All in all it was about a 13 mile ride round trip, a lot of up hills, but some fun down ones as well, and I feel great I was able to make it! So we will be trying to bike to work a couple times a week during the summer! Between that and cloth diapering I really am getting very "crunchy".
Wish me luck!

I told you Addy loves it!!!!

and just for fun... she looks sooooooooooooooooo much like him in this picture!

WOW summer is here?

2008-06-06T13:07:00.000-07:00

When did this happen. As I type this I am minutes away from picking up JADEN from her last day of Kindergarten! Its insane. Shes a FIRST GRADER. This year went by so fast. Her school was such a blessing, she learned so many things there. I will post pictures of her with her award when she gets home.

On another note, we have started to use CLOTH DIAPERS! I know can you believe it? I sure can't! I didn't want to say anything to quickly, I wanted to make sure I liked it first!!!!! But I LOVE IT!!! Addison is reacting really well to it! Jonathan is even being supportive!
Some pics for you!!!! This diaper was made by my friend Sara her store is here!
BUBBLE BUTT DIAPERS!

Thanks for stopping by! Enjoy your summmer!!!!! ITS RAINING here!!! LOL!

I love how her mind thinks!

2008-05-18T21:16:00.000-07:00

YEAH!!!!!!!!!! I just got the family home. Its so good to have them in my arms again. Well... kinda,... Addy is mad @ me and will NOT under ANY circumstances SNUGGLE!! Except that once time I forced her!!! Jaden didnt stop talking till just NOW, NON stop since........ 11 am! We had a lot of catching up to do! :)
Once of the things she wanted to talk about was the ARMY. She wanted some more details and I went into a long explanation about the ARMY. When I was done there was a 1 min silence (the ONLY 1 min since 11 am so I was enjoying it! LOL) then she said with much certainty...
" So ... the Army is like TAG!......... without the freezing, or the taggging."

yep... you are creative soul.. xoxo

Speed Demon?

2008-05-17T12:25:00.000-07:00

ME?!! Its not as adventurous as you may think! LOL I was @ my 8:30am spin class on this GLORIOUS sunny day!!! As I was getting off my bike one of the "pro" riders came up to me and said she really admired my SPEED!!!!!!!! I looked around, sure she was talking to the person behind me. She said you really get going on this sprints you little SPEED DEMON. I just laughed and said thank you. This REALLY touches me because when Rochelle and I first started we couldn't sprint if our LIVES depended on it! Rochelle has gotten really great at it, she has her stance and gets in the zone. I am touch and go but lately have been trying a lot harder, so the fact she complimented me on my SPEED of all things astounds me!!! Thanks fellow spinner!!

One of my LOs was featured on this wonderful BLOG recently!

I also posted a NEW LAYOUT featuring these adorable elements from Jacque!! They are so much fun! I LOVE her work because its super easy to resize (she makes it large enough that the quality is amazing!), and you can have a lot of fun with blending to make her elements even MORE versatile!

Image clickable!!

Plus its only $2! You can't beat that!!!!
Here is a LO I did with this adorable element pack!
Photo by Rachel Whetzel!
All other credits here

Thanks for putting up with all this TALK about ME while the family is outta town! LOL You must be getting board outta your mind! Dont worry they will be back tomorrow! :) :) :)

Happy Birthday to you, Happy Birthday to you...

2008-05-17T01:23:00.000-07:00

Happy Birthday Dear Jaden, Happy Birthday to you!!!!
Jaden I can NOT believe you are 6. In this past year you have grown so much. Your giving heart astounds me, you are doing so well in school, learned to swim, and become the BEST big Sister around! I couldn't be more proud of you hunny. Love you "to the moon and back again 5makazillion times".

That cute little cupcake is from Miss Mint and WONDERFUL Frame is from Karah!

Side Note; Thank you ladies for all your support I REALLY couldn't do it without you!!
Side Note #2;Rochelle, you are NEVER to be replaced silly goose!

Here are some LOs I have worked on recently;

Credits can be found HERE!

I get my family back soon. I cant tell you how much I miss the nuggles!

Confession Time......

2008-05-13T20:41:00.001-07:00

Here it is. Time to lay it all right out there on the table. THIS is the time I normally give up. Half way. I want to continue. I need to continue, I need to break away from those bad habits! I lost 38 lbs and while that is nice, its not enough. I need to continue to be healthy and happy. I can do this and I will do this!!!! I have joined forces with a couple new people in this Marisa and Barbie, we are all hoping to lose @ least 30 lbs so together I have faith we can. I will always have Rochelle right there by my side cheering me on as well!! Thank you for your support and I hope it will continue!

On a different note.

Please keep Rochelle and her family in your prayers. She is an amazingly strong young woman, but prayer is ALWAYS a good thing! Her Brother Richard is now in Heaven and we are all celebrating his life, please join us! -we love you too Flora - you will always be fluorescent in her heart!!! :)

New york, new york, I want to wake up in a city, that never sleeps

2008-05-09T17:59:00.000-07:00

New York was AMAZING beyond belief!!!!!!!
Short run down of events!
Plane ride= WONDERFUL read my Canon Rebel Owners Manual (yes I have had this for 5 months, and what is your point?)
Arrive in Newark, find Mom, get to hotel. When we arrive its midnight and there is a TON of people, obviously in the same party in the lobby. WE know we have arrived on the East Coast. Think LARGE HATS!
Next Morning get up and take the train into NYC!
We arrive, flag a cab, Mom tells them to swerve, yell, and honk a lot so we can have a real NYC moment. The cabby followed directions well! ;)
We arrive at our wonderful hotel and go explore Times Square.
WICKED!!! (AH MA ZA ZING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!) Glenda with a GA!!!!
Dinner @ Ellen's Diner (understudies for Broadway work/sing at this fun place)
Evening tour of the city. Fell in love!
Tours of New York
Central Park.
Serendipity
Tours of New York
Hell's Kitchen
Chicago! (fun but after WICKED it had a LOT to live up to!)
Today Show!
Statue of liberty
Lost trying to find SOHO (met some WONDERFULY sweet people along the way)
SHOPPING
Lunch in Little Italy
Shopping @ ABC store
Starbucks (how any good trip ends!)

Thank you so much Mom for a wonderful trip!! I love dancing through the streets of New York City with you!!!!

Now before I post pictures I need to add a little blurb! Jonathan was sweet enough to get me the 50mmf1.8 lens for Mothers day! THANK YOU THANK YOU!! Well I loved it so I decided to ONLY take that on my trip, I know its not ideal for these kind of shots but I couldn't resist!. So here is New York city from a 50mm perspective (meaning I couldn't zoom in or out but it made for some interesting shots!) I took over 1000 shots (well my mom discovered the continuous shot on the camera LOL big mistake!) but here is a taste of what we saw!

Isnt she beautiful? Relaxing in NYC!

and just for fun I had to share what happened 1.4 seconds after we got to the airport!!!! (J took the girls to CA the same day I left)

Yep thats what you think it is! SHE NEVER EVER EVER wets through her diaper EXCEPT when we are @ the airport!
EVERY.
SINGLE.
TIME.

Before and Afters

2008-05-02T14:23:00.000-07:00

ROCHELLE and I TIED for first!!!!!!!!!!!!!! We are so happy we were work out buddies and became SUPER close friends through this competition, so we couldn't be happier to finish this TOGETHER!!So the competition is over. 3 months and 38 lbs lighter!!! We ended the competition a c0uple weeks shy of our 20 weeks. But we are all very happy with the results. I am by NO MEANS done! I still want to lose an additional 20-30 lbs to be at my ideal weight but I am very happy with the results so far. Here are my before and DURING (since I am not done can't put after!) pictures, as promised!!

Here is ROCHELLE, she is the true winner, since she started 30 lbs lighter then I did her % is actually higher then mine. Told ya girl, we should have gone my % you would have won by a landslide!! ANywho I put BEFORE and AFTER on her weight loss because she is essentially @ goal, just hopes to tone up a bit! :)
I couldnt have done it without Rochelle she encouraged me every step of the way, there aren't words to express how much I appreciate her!

WE are going to share the money (the person who lost the most lbs got the pot!) and we are going to purchase cycling shoes to continue in our efforts for a healthier life style!

To show exactly how much of a life style this has been... here is our SPLURGE meal after our final weigh in!!!! LOL (3 months ago that would have been a hamburger and fries!)
Veggie Chips and Salmon Salad!

Curious

2008-04-29T17:05:00.000-07:00

We went to the Spring Fair a couple weeks ago and Jaden fell in love with these ladybugs in this big pickle jar. She would have stayed there all day if we let her!

Featuring the new kit from Karah Fredricks; My 3 Sons; Mister Curious coming to The DigiChick May 1

All other credits here

Things are well! We are starting to pack for our weekend!!! NYC here I come!

Skinny Soup

2008-04-28T14:48:00.000-07:00

I got this amazing recipe from the growing small blog. Anything called "skinny soup" I HAD to try in my final week of the competition!! HELLO!!!!
It is SOOOOOOOOOOOOooooOOOOOoooOOOO yummy and filling! WOWZERS!

Skinny Soup
1 small head of cabbage
4-6 carrots
2 bell peppers (use 2 different colors- just for the variety)
1 medium onion
23 ounces V-8 juice ( I used the HOT AND SPICY to give it a little kick!)
Garlic to taste
1 teaspoon pepper or to taste1 15 oz. can tomatoes (the petite diced)
1 15 oz. can green beans
Cut first 4 ingredients into bite size or larger pieces; put in Dutch oven (or crock pot) and add juice, garlic and pepper. Cut until vegetables are done. (Cabbage will add more liquid as it cooks down). Add canned tomatoes and green beans. Continue to heat until hot. Not necessary to add salt, it is already in the canned vegetables.
The above recipe is Zero points (for those of us on weight watchers), you can add 1 lb. of lean ground beef (no more than 7% fat) and count 1 point per bowl

OH!! Someone pointed out I SHOULD mention the soup isn't as pretty as the picture AFTER you cook it! STILL yummy though!!!!

Stand Tall

2008-04-26T11:30:00.000-07:00

I continue to tell myself... enjoy these moments. These moments she isn't running away from me. These moments she wants me to hold her in my arms as she rests her head on my shoulder and rubs her snotty nose into my black shirt. Enjoy these moments!

Credits can be found here!

I really enjoy uploading my Canon and finding a picture of pure Serendipity! Such as this one!

This morning I got up and was loyal to my 8:30 Sat morning spin class. That one is the one that makes me feel the MOST dedicated to my weight loss. Since Sat. morning WAS the only day I could stay in my jammies and lounge around the house till AT LEAST noon! I always think @ 7am as I hit the snooze button MAYBE I won't go today... but then there is nothing better then leaving the house at 8:00, knowing I am doing the right thing for a BETTER ME. THank you for all your caring, thoughtful words. I really feel supported by each and everyone of you!.

We are LOSING it!!!!!!!

2008-04-25T13:40:00.001-07:00

I had my 2nd to final weigh in today. I am at -37 lbs in 17 weeks! One more week to go in the competition! :)
And JADEN lost her 2nd tooth, hence the PROMISED LO!!

Credits can be found here.

Please and Thank Yous

2008-04-24T13:53:00.000-07:00

PLEASE forgive me! I have been awful! AWFUL! I have something to confess!
I haven't written THANK YOU NOTES this year!!!! What has happened?! Everytime I sit down to write them I just get OVERWHELMED because I haven't written them in so long I need to write 10034493328 of them to catch up! I know if everyone had such problems uh?! So I promise to be better at them from THIS point forward!!!! THANK YOU to everyone for loving us so much and SPOILING us rotten!

Now for some updates!
Jaden is doing well! She is AN AMAZING swimmer now and has lost her 2nd tooth! (layout to be posted 4/25! So stay tuned!)
Addy said "DADA" yesterday to J but refuses to say it in front of me. She is also standing on her own!
J got a motorcycle and is super excited! (photos to come!)
I am doing well! I have ONE more week in the weight loss competition @ work.
I have lost 32 lbs. I will post before and after pictures along with IF I WON or not next Friday! :) I still have some weight to lose but this gave me a great start!

Tons of new layouts since my last post. For those of you interested check out my gallery!

Here are some pics of the girls

and my favorite from the zoo visit. Both the girls looking into the shark tank!

zoo visit

2008-04-20T15:49:00.000-07:00

Walking is for smucks

We are back from CA .......

2008-02-28T17:14:00.001-08:00

we had a blast!!!!
The kids were amazing on the flight there, the flight back? We will never speak of again! LOL!!!
It was great to see everyone and just a have a nice relaxing time!
Here are some pictures from our trip!
Here we are waiting to board the plan

While there we were celebrating Addisons first birthday!! I know I can't believe it either!
As the big sister it was Jaden's job to make the cupcakes...

With some help from Grammy K they turned out WONDERFULLY!

We were all wondering what Addy would think of her FIRST cupcake!....lol not love @ first sight!

On our way to the airport we found a fun green elevator in San Fransisco!

Thank you to EVERYONE for making it a WONDERFUL trip!!!!
On another note... I lost 4 lbs on the trip! (WAHO!) so I am up to 23 lbs lost in 8 weeks. 12 more weeks in the competition wish me luck!

Its been so long.

2008-02-18T14:03:00.000-08:00

I keep putting of blogging because of all the things I feel I need to catch up on. So I decided to just go ahead and post today and get started. I know I won't get it all out there but then it won't be soooooooooo much! :)
Jaden is out of school this week so are are looking forward to going home to CA so if anyone wants to see us while we are down give us a call! You know the Naly's # ... really... who doesn't?
The weight loss challenge is going well @ work I am down 19.6 lbs and in first place. We still have 13 weeks left so I hope to STAY in first place! :)

Since I blogged last I Have been into BENTO lunches for Jaden. Its just a fun style of packing luches... you can check out a pro here.
Here are some pictures of Jaden's first BENTO lunches.

Jonathan is even asking for one so they MUST be fun!!!

Recently I went to the children's museum with Jaden and my friend Rochelle's kids we had such a blast.

and just for fun a layout of Addy!

We are back!!!!

2008-01-06T16:35:00.000-08:00

We made it back safely! Thank you to everyone who helped to make this a wonderful Christmas!!!
It was amazing! I will be certain to update with Christmas soon!
I have made the mistake of downloading Adobe Lightroom free trial. Ummm.. can someone say addicting!?!?!?! Its amazing!!! So when I SHOULD getting the house together during Addys nap, I have been playing!!!
BEFORE

AFTER

These are a couple of pictures Sarah took. They are AMAZING to begin with but I was just having fun playing! If you would like to contact her about a shoot just email me! :)
BEFORE

AFTER

BEFORE

AFTER

I just adore the grungy feel these allow!
Okay I suppose I should go clean!!!!

PK alert. What will I do with her???

2007-12-17T11:10:00.001-08:00

As some of you may remember Jaden crucified her Polly Pockets for Easter.

This morning she came to me and said she would like to decorate her room in a "manger motif. I will need hay and a feeding troff to lay baby Jesus in. Mom please dont forget that I will need period pieces to dress up as Mary as well."

Oh please Lord give me the wisdom to raise her! :)

Christmas, Snow and a lost tooth!

2007-12-10T22:15:00.000-08:00

Its been a while! WE have been busy!
Jaden LOST her first TOOTH!
Addison is CRAWLING and blows kisses its SO cute!!!
I can't wait to see most of you soon for Christmas!!!
Jaden eating snow

One of the pictures my friend took for our CHRISTMAS pictures!!!

Me and Addy

Zumba!!!!!

2007-11-17T10:17:00.000-08:00

I have started taking this class @ the Y with my friend Stephanie. Its A LOT of fun.. but I really need to know how I was allowed on the cheerleading & dance squad! I HAVE NO RHYTHM!!! None what so ever... maybe I lost it when I had my children? To many dances to Barney to constitute any REAL rhythm back into my system. This class is a mix oh high speed salsa, and aerobics . Its a BLAST and I am in my own happy bliss the entire class as I go the exact opposite of everyone else the room. Its a very diverse group of people in the class. Some AMAZING dancers!!! Whenever I need to feel a little better about my movements I just look over @ the straight men and know I am ok! The gay men? Oh please they show up the instructor!

Okay on to pictures! One day on our way to church I locked myself out! Yes again! WHAT? Luckily Daddy was only minutes away. What shall we do? PHOTO SESSION!!!!

Here is Jaden on Friday at the Thanksgiving Fest her class hosted

And Addy @ the Y.. she will forgive me one day right?

Okay all enjoy your THANKSGIVING!!!! I am so thankful for each and every one of you!

Those pictures I promised!!!!

2007-11-11T18:21:00.000-08:00

Click HERE to see a larger version of the pictures :)

I have been a bad blogger!!!!

2007-11-03T18:21:00.002-07:00

I am so sorry! Wow its been so long since I have blogged last. Okay lets just be honest... Mel I am sorry! ;)

What happened to October???? It went by so fast!
Okay a random quote and a few non Halloween layouts is all your are getting out of me today!!! :) I will be back with Halloween pictures I promise!!!

Now for the random quote:
ME: Jonathan don't let Jaden wear her costume to school
Jonathan: Why?
Me: Because they are not allowed to
Jonathan: Why?
Me: Because its not P.C.
Jonathan: Why?
Jaden: Its not P.C. its P Q R S T

lol WHO sounds like the 5 year old in that conversation with all the "WHY"s?

Okay on to some layouts!
All Layouts can be seen larger with credits here @ DST

Back to work

2007-09-29T20:22:00.000-07:00

As most of you know I have started back to work. I work at the nursery @ the YMCA and I am loving it! We have a lot of fun there and the best part? Addison comes with me! Its just part time which allows me to be involved in Jaden's school etc etc etc. So that is going very well.
Jaden is still loving every thing about school. She came home the other day and said that she needed to give her phone number to LEO because he was going to "TAKE HER OUT SOMETIME" lol! Oh gesh I thought I had a couple years until I would have to have this conversation with Jaden. When I asked where he would take her she said a movie and ice cream! You should have seen Jonathan's expressions! You can only imagine!!!

Addison is getting her first TOOTH, its broken through!!!!!! Shes having a hard time getting them in poor thing. Will take pics as soon as you can see them!! :)

Two layouts this week. Larger versions with credits can be found here @ DST

Thursdays seem to be my blog day!

2007-09-20T11:06:00.000-07:00

We have had a wonderful week!!! Jaden enjoyed her first week of school, shes making a lot of friends and enjoying her homework (*I* will enjoy that while it lasts!!)
Addison and I started @ The YMCA and we are really enjoying that. One of the other staff members has a little girl born on the EXACT same day as Addybug so they are friends.
We are getting ready for J's birthday. Jonathan FULLY ENJOYED "talk like a PIRATE day" 9/19. He DRESSED like a Pirate all day as well! LOL :) He kept announcing that it was an "international holiday" for some reason it made it less far fetched in his mind!
He said Jaden was so proud of me because she kept telling everyone that it was pirate's day and that is why my Daddy is dressed like a pirate. I had to gently tell him she just didn't want her friends to think her Daddy was crazy. Live and learn. :)

Here are some recent layouts. I was asked to be on another creative team with Karah Fredricks @ Blue Flombingo, I am super excited to be working with her!!

** All credits can be found in my gallery **

First day of school pictures!

2007-09-13T12:58:00.000-07:00

this layout can be seen larger here

Cider Squeeeeeeeeeeeze

2007-09-09T21:01:00.000-07:00

Welcome back to Washington, the apple state! We went to a cider squeeze today and OH WAS it so much fun!!!!!! The city of University Place has an apple orchard, private people are allowed to 'adopt' apple trees in the farm, keep it up and have access to the apples from their tree. The city also has their own trees and once a year they host a cider squeeze. At 1pm they open their gates and its a free for all for the apples on the ground for those wanting a less physical adventure you can also purchase a large bag of apples for $5. You then take them to the washing station, then to the pressing station to make your own cider. Thats how the event is SUPPOSED to go. We didn't arrive until about 3:30 and you can imagine all the free apples (on the ground) and all the bags of apples were gone. Never fear, Brad is here! Who is Brad you may ask, he is a KIND man with the Parks department and when he saw Jadens face when they said they were sold out he promptly took us aside with assurance he knew where a secret stash may be. We hiked up a hill behind a fence, no apples, around to the front of the orchard, no apples, back in the corner, no apples, he was not giving up on us. He loudly announced " I am with the Parks department" as he started picking the apples off the trees lol.... "these would come right off in a wind storm, so really I am doing these people a favor". HE was great! Thanks Brad! 30 apples later we were ready to wash the apples for pressing. Jaden LOVED pressing the apples into juice.
1 hour of gathering apples
45 mins of listening to Brads adventures as an employee of the Parks Department
1 washing
$1 for the jug to put the apples in
30 mins of Jaden pressing apples
= 3/4 quarts of raw apple juice...

Jaden couldn't be happier!!! Tomorrow we are going to boil it to pasteurize it! Wish us luck!

Oh the places you'll go!

2007-09-06T09:55:00.000-07:00

Jaden had Kindergarten orientation yesterday!! As most of you know we have decided to put her in the private Kindergarten @ UPPC. We are VERY excited about this, her teacher is amazing and there are only 16 kids and 2 teachers, that bunch is going to have A LOT of fuN!! WOW!
Addison is sitting up now and loving life! She is sleeping so much better in her own room, (hum Daddy's snoring have anything to do with that?) :) She is enjoying some baby food and enjoys siting at the dinner table in her high chair with the rest of the family. She is still super laid back and thinks JAden is the best thing since sliced bread!! LOL
We have had so much fun since arriving in WA! We have been to the zoo, movies in the park, the fun playground, sand in the city....we are just ON THE GO. I wanted to share some pictures from our adventures.

We had so much fun at the zoo and aquarium, Jaden just LOVED this touch and explore tank!

Jaden discovered a ladder in a tree outside.

This is why I love Jonathan so much, he took Jaden to get her nails done for Kindergarten.... HOW CUTE IS THIS???

Loving life.

She is just so proud of herself! As she should be :)

I can fly!!!!

If you made it this far you deserve something special..... my favorite photo of the week!!!!!
If you know Jaden at all you know this kiss came from her toes...

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Summer is ending... we need to PARTY!!!! Oh wait did I say that out loud????

2007-09-04T15:36:00.000-07:00

Just one layout of little Addybug, but shes SOOOOOOOOO happy in it, it makes up for it!

The rest are of Jada-roo...

All credits for products used can be found in my gallery @ Digishoptalk.com

Some new LOs of my 2 FAV. gals!!!

2007-08-29T20:57:00.000-07:00

As always full credits for elements used can be found @ my Digishoptalk gallery

I just love these ladies! They make my everyday bright!
Tune in soon for more pictures of our recent adventures in WA!

The move

2007-08-27T16:33:00.000-07:00

Just wanted to let everyone know we are doing well here in WA! Made it safe and sound. Everyone is settling in just great. Jonathan is enjoying having a garage and Jaden has a new found green thumb with the garden in the back yard. School starts soon so we are gearing up for that! Talk to you all soon!!

Okay lets just focus on one

2007-08-27T16:22:00.000-07:00

Blog!!! :) I wasnt able to keep up with two so I am just going to post all family news and photos here as well as my scrapbooking adventures! :)_

I was really excited to get news soon after the move that I was selected to be on my first creative teams!! A creative team is a group of scrapbookers who basically pimp out a designer. The designer creates digital papers and elements and then the creative team uses them in their layouts free of charge to show off the designers work. Its REALLY fun and and honor to be on Sasha Jane (from My Digital Muse) and Sherrie Piegdon's (from Pixel Gypsy Designs)creative teams!!

So between that and participating in the AMAZING Digital Scrapbooking Race, I have a ton of new LOs to share with you all!!!
All Credits can be found @ DST.

Its been a while!

2007-07-13T15:03:00.000-07:00

Wow I havent posted pages in a while. Well *I* think I am starting to get the hang of this!! My pages seem to have more depth to them now, which is a good thing!! So let me know what YOU think!!!
This one was a challenge in my group on myspace.(Yes its an official addiction when you "join" a group, I KNOW I KNOW!!!) The challenge was to use lyrics from a song. I chose "In my daughters eyes" by Martina McBride.

Well I wont bore you 2 much more... those are just the most recent!! Have a great day!

The addiction continues

2007-04-23T09:44:00.000-07:00

Easter Pictures

2007-04-09T13:26:00.000-07:00

Daddy and his girls!

Sisters!

Jaden sings for Easter service

Addison makes a friend

Whats your name Mr Cow?

Jaden loves to add a little color..

2007-01-31T15:30:00.000-08:00

thank you Rachel!!

capturing the moments

2007-01-30T19:57:00.000-08:00

life is a journey

2006-12-19T20:05:00.000-08:00

For a friend

2006-12-19T20:04:00.000-08:00

Girls just want to have fun!

2006-12-17T12:01:00.000-08:00

Shirley Temple

2006-12-16T18:35:00.000-08:00

inspiration

2006-12-15T22:51:00.000-08:00

For my love

2006-12-15T21:56:00.000-08:00

Who needs sun to wear some cool glasses???

2006-12-14T09:38:00.000-08:00

Picture taken @ 7 a.m. on a blistery December morning.

3 friends for life

2006-12-14T07:44:00.000-08:00

2 dear friends who moved to Germany.. we miss you guys!

My sister

2006-12-14T07:42:00.000-08:00

Alright... I am starting to get this...

2006-12-13T10:41:00.000-08:00

Christmas Cheer is here

2006-12-13T10:38:00.000-08:00

My first pages

2006-12-13T10:24:00.000-08:00

New found addiction

2006-12-13T09:56:00.000-08:00

Over thanksgiving break I had decided to innocently pick up some new software. I say innocently only because I had no idea how much FUN I would have with it. This software opened me up to the endless world of digital scrapbooking. Its a dangerous place and you have to be careful of its temptations, always remember time flies when you are creating memories on the computer! I am still very new @ this new found world but here are a couple things I have learned so far....

1. To call it "Digital Scrapbooking" only points out the mere freshman existence you find yourself in. The correct and only term thou shall use is "Digi scraping" apparently with all the time we absorb in creating, the extra couple letters in the title were holding us back.

2. "Digi scraping" is competitive. Period. Competitions, challenges, and creations.. the 3 C's that can put any well intentioned scrapper in the dust!

I still have much territory to discover in this uncharted land .. will post as I learn more !