Fascinate{d}

I love this shot of Addison. It was kind of a fluke, really, but a happy fluke. I get all giddy inside when stuff like this happens!

We were out in the garage helping Kyle clean up and sort through the loads of junk and garbage we've got kicking around, and after a while, the kids discovered daddy had some of his old toys kicking around the garage. They also discovered there were some neato things in there- such as sand paper- which is what Addison is holding in this photo.

Everything on this layout is from scraps- in one way or another. The orange and gold flower sticker is actually a 12 inch border strip (K&Co) that I cut into four strips (all varying lengths), to get more mileage from. The white netting is packaging from toys that I bought from Walmart for the kids' prizes (for their weekly chore charts). You'll see it popping up on a few different projects in the near future!

The flower I am especially fond of. It came from a cheapo flower arrangement that my MIL bought the kids for their bedroom when they were first born. Truthfully, I was never keen on them (there were three), but now they seem to have grown on me a little. Now that the kids (aka Addison) tore them all to  shreds (except for one). I kept some of the flowers from one of them, and plan to incorporate them into my layouts. Here, you can see one of them- I used a black rhinestone for the centre of the flower.

For the title work, I threw together some sticker letters (I don't know where they came from- my sister gave them to me!), but the green banner is MS. The phrase sticker in the top right corner is K&Co.

All this was done for sketch #153 over at Lets Capture These Sketches. If you get the chance, head over there, and see what the design team has come up with. If you choose to use the sketch, let me know- I'd love to see how it inspires you!

~a

To Do

Its been a busy weekend around here, so far. Plants- like petunias, geraniums, marigolds, blah, blah, blah, were on sale, and I wanted to go and pick some up. (I did). I got some of them planted today, and then ran out of planters. Apparently I bought more flowers than I had room for in the planters I already had. Ooops. (The petunias were a really great deal- $6 for a 6 pack. I'm not sure I've ever come across anything like that!!)

Today, we went back, and bought a couple deep planters, and I'll put the rest of the flowers in there. They are so deep, though, that I don't have enough soil to fill them. (A slight oversight on our part). Kyle said that he'd go back to work tonight and pick up some gravel for me. We'll put some of that in the bottom of the planters, and then cover it with soil, and then plant my flowers.

(On a side note, how do you like the sidewalk that leads right into the fence? Pretty ingenious, huh? I think it was there before the fence was, and whatever was on the other side of the fence was probably used as a parking pad or something. Why else would there be a sidewalk that leads to nowhere? IMHO).

That's great, but I have a feeling it won't get done until tomorrow. Just because my husband moves so quickly on things. The amount of flowers I bought shouldn't take two days to plant, but I'm pretty sure that's how its going to play out. Oh well. I'm sort of thinking it might even be a little too early in the season to be buying and planting flowers anyways. In this northern climate, you can just never be too sure.

Especially considering its May long weekend. In my experience, the weather during this weekend is almost always cold. And, just to prove me wrong, so far, this weekend hasn't been too bad. We've had some rain, but the weather otherwise hasn't been really cold. (This coming from the girl that's started wearing her fleece jammies to bed (again) the last couple of nights because she just can't warm up. OH- and I should mention: socks, too. And, this coming from the girl that will wear flip flops until there's 2 feet of snow on the ground). Ha. That list could go on, actually, but I'll stop it there. I'm just a walking, talking oxy-moron!

Plants weren't the only thing we picked up for the house. We also bought a retractable screen to put in the patio door. I'm pretty excited about it. It will be like a patio screen door, but its 'invisible' when you don't want to use it, and when you do, just pull it out from the door jam, and it keeps the bugs and creepy crawlies out! Yay--no more flies in my house! We also need to invest in a screen for the window in the kitchen. Kyle swears there's one here, but I'm not too sure. I've never seen it.

We've also sort of tackled the garage again. When we moved in, I didn't get everything unpacked. We left everything in the garage, rather than paying for anymore storage, and I quickly got overwhelmed by the amount of junk that we've been hanging on to for the last five years. Seriously, there's so much of it (and all of it hasn't been missed), I don't know where to begin. Neither does Kyle. Most of it is his. And, mixed in with all that junk are still a few things that I would like in the house. The trick is finding them!

And, some of it we did. I am soooo excited about them! It was like going shopping and coming home with a bunch of freebies! The two pictures are actually a wedding gift from a dear friend, and the wall-hanging is a gift from another very dear friend. Honestly, I forgot all about these pictures, but I'd been thinking of that wall-hanging for quite some time. I was honestly hoping that we'd find it rather soon. Yipee! We did! And, as I speak, husband is out and at it again- trying to clean up the garage and get rid of some of the clutter and junk. (I'm in the house waiting for the kids to decide their bath time is over. They like staying in there for as long as they possibly can!)

And, the 'to do' list for this summer just keeps getting longer and longer. Tomorrow we're going to clean out and up the fifth wheel, and try and get it sold. Its sat for the last 6 months (since we're no longer living in it), and we have no use for something so large. I think its going on Kijiji. We also have plans to strip and re-paint the deck and fence in the backyard. Both are in serious need of repair! I want to rip out one of the flower beds in the backyard- it was just weeds, anyways, and the other 'flower bed' is going to have to be ripped out too, I think. Its just grass growing in it, and I can't pull it out! It was nearly impossible.

What are your summer plans?

111* long weekends
112* finding long lost treasures!
113* Dr. Pepper
114* sb.com
115* my new patio table umbrella
116* the new umbrella base (so that the wind doesn't blow away and break another one! ooops...)
117* property taxes are included in our mortgage
118* vacuums
119* dishwashers
120* having pancakes every day off Kyle has
121* family traditions
122* being able to create new ones!
123* home

BIG Deal

Cleanliness and organization. I mentioned that yesterday at the tail end of my post.

I had been talking with some friends about the state of our scrap rooms and how neat and/or tidy they are (or remain). I try, but mine always ends up being on the catastrophic end of things. Until yesterday.

I could not, for the life of me, find the bills. They needed to be paid, and I knew they were in the office somewhere. Its pretty awful, but that's how terribly bad my craft space was. It is also the office, but it was so disorganized and cluttered and just plain messy, that virtually every disappears, and absolutely everything can- and does- get lost.

So, instead of playing, which usually is what happens when I enter this room, I sat down and overhauled the office and scrap room. I have no before pictures (I'm too ashamed to share them, actually...I'm pretty ashamed to admit this here, too, truthfully! But, on the other hand, its pretty satisfying. I'm pretty excited to share how good it feels to have a room that I'm proud of once again!) I mean really. The rest of the house gives me anxiety when it isn't tidy. Well...so does this room, but its easy to hide when you can just shut the door. The anxiety is still there, though. Just easier to ignore :)

Here's some of the after pictures. It isn't totally cleaned up. There's still a few odds and ends that need to be removed or just put away, but here it is at 99.2 % completed:

(don't judge me--we have no batteries in the house for the camera, so i've been using my iPhone for everything, and I abhor the quality of pictures it takes. please bear with me!!) 


Seriously. What a relief! The paint card in the first picture--I'm working on choosing another paint colour for the office, and I'm thinking of going with an orangey/peachey colour called autumn mist. It'll coordinate beautifully with the flowers I've got in the window! And, its going to brighten up this room immensely! (That's to come after I've got the hallway and stairwell to the basement painted).

I've been bitten by the bug again. I've been thinking about painting....

Hey! Guess what decided to come out and play the other day???

Isn't she pretty?! She's the first of the four or five tulips that are along this side of the house. I think they're all going to be red, but we'll see. There's another one that's sooo ready to bloom, but hasn't yet. I can see that it's red, too. Now to keep the kids and cat out of there!! I don't want any more bulbs dug up! The one that I did find and transplant--it isn't doing so well. Maybe next summer.

And, now for the news I just couldn't wait to share! Eek! Eeeeee (*hopping from one foot to the other*)

This is the layout I created as my first design team assignment for Miracles' Momma's Diva's. I'm pretty excited (though I think that's an understatement. I'm pretty elated about it, actually!!) about this opportunity, and challenged by it!! You can find the sketch for this particular project here. Head on over to Miracle's Momma's Blog, and see what the other Diva's have shared, too! You'll love them- Heathers' got an incredible group of talented ladies there!

The picture I was working on here is recording what my house looks like on a daily basis. Mess everywhere. All of the time. Multiple times throughout the day. And, I can't help but run {in}to their messes all the time. While I'm cooking supper, walking about the house, even while I'm moving about the yard. Its everywhere. And, if it isn't their toys, its them or the cat. I can't escape it!! LOL And, as soon as its picked up, it starts all over again. I'm sure all you mama's out there can relate!


I have a dear friends' comment ring through my ears constantly--and now it mirrors my own wish: having a house as clean as my own mothers'. (Because we have small children, our houses are never clean). I know that one day it will be in the shape I'd like it to be- but that won't be for many years to come, I think!!

I also had the song, 'Run to You' (Lady Antebellum) playing in my head while I made this layout. Those words in particular, kept replaying in my brain. I wonder why?! And, that's why I made it my title. Because its true. And, it explains the picture perfectly!!

You know what goes perfectly with warm, summer-like weather?

Pudding pops!!

(and baths!!)


Maren is still fairly clean in this picture (on the right)--you should have seen her after this picture was taken! Talk about messes! 


They sure did love their 'ice cream' though!!! (and I love the trail of chocolate right up Addisons' nose. Too cute!!)


85* pudding pops
86* new opportunities
87* new friends!
88* a space I can be proud of

Bought Out

Fields is closing out here in town. I found out after I mentioned to Kyle yesterday that we really needed to head out and find some summer clothes for the girls. (It was such a gorgeous day, and they were playing outside, but all they've really got to wear are sweat pants and long sleeved shirts. Not appropriate for such a gorgeous spring day!) All they had (at that point) were a couple sun dresses that their grandma M had bought them. They desperately needed more than that- more t-shirts, shorts...

So, we went to check it out, and splurged way more than we ought to have, but I'm happy the kids finally have some summer clothes. I'd still like to find them more, but I'll work at it slowly. I'm finding it hard to shop at walmart for the kids these days (the place I normally frequent for most of our needs). They must be in an 'in-betweener' stage, because size 4 is big on them, and I can't find anything smaller than that to fit them. It could also be that walmart is just too disorganized and not stocked well enough, too.

(Of all the posts I've made here, do you see a recurring theme centring around my love of walmart? LOL...just thought I'd point that out...and, I hope you realize I'm being sarcastic, because what I feel about walmart is *far* from love)

But, I like that their t-shirts and other things are always marked down and on sale- $3 here, $3 there, and you can get a lot of clothes for a decent price! I just wish I could find something that's not too ridiculously big on them (for right now).

We found a lot of great things at Fields- cushions for my kitchen chairs (which coordinate beautifully with my colour scheme), a growth chart for the girls, a cute little sign for the kids room that says 'enchanted'...now I'd like to find a few more {star} accents to go along with it, because I feel like it just isn't enough. What do you think? Walmart might possibly have what I want...

The girls got nerf balls to play with, they got bubbles and cool bubble wands to play with, they got those hand clapper things (they love those to pieces)...*I* got my anniversary present (which husband never bought for me). I picked out some really pretty jewelry. I bought myself another pair of sunglasses, for lounging around home with. That way, I don't always have to run out to the Yukon to get my other pair. I bought some really cute napkins- because there'll always be a need for those; rooster dish towel and table cloth (because we all know how much I ADORE roosters! And, if you didn't know it, go check out my pinterest 'for the love of roosters' board. You'll see!) (you can check it out here). I also picked up some nail polish for myself. Now that spring is here (and since I gave my MIL all the old nail polish), its time to make the toe nails look all pretty again- especially since its the season to live barefoot again!!!! Wahoo!!!!


Mmmm...I'm trying to think what else we bought, but I'm coming up dry. I do want to go back, because I spied a really great bowling set that the kids are just going to go nuts over! OH and speaking of going 'nuts' over things--Maren spied the toy section, too. She plopped herself down on the floor, and played with a musical toy (a piano type thing), and didn't budge. She sure wasn't happy when I told her it was time to go home. Oh dear...every time I re-play the whole scenario in my head, I can't help but giggle. It was too funny!

I took the toy away from her, and she was so mad, she crawled away from me, crying. When she saw that I had gotten near her again (I was following her), she'd crawl off again. And again. And again. Finally I caught her and picked her up. The whole thing reminded me of trying to catch a spider to kill it, but keep missing it. Know what I mean?? Poor thing, and I felt kind of bad because she was enjoying herself so much, and being so good, but it really was time to get going. We had spent enough money, and I didn't want to spend any more there! (I may talk myself into buying that piano toy for the kids, though I think its a little too young for them...) But, if it makes them happy, then I'm happy!!

My most FAVORITE catch of the day were these (I bought two):

Suction cups do come along with these utensil trays, but I don't want to stick them to the wall (tiled) or a window or anything like that. The idea to use these came from a desire to buy spice racks from IKEA that look generally the same as this. I have a cupboard that's full of spices, and its kind of disorganized and annoying to me, so I thought this would be the ideal solution! I'm pretty excited about it. I know I haven't mentioned anything organizational/beef up the humble abode-ish lately, but it still is something that I want/plan to slowly work at.

The container back there with the packages- really needs an overhaul. Its all the gravies, etc. and I loathe having them in there. Its so jam packed full of different packages, I don't honestly know whats in there. (Kyle has to have his gravies. He adores gravy!!!)

So, this is the plan. We're going to screw the spice racks to the inside of my spice cupboard so that things stay nice and tidy. I do need to find different baskets/containers to hold the rest of the spices in. The ones that I'm currently using are going to get in the way. They're just too big. Or, I'll just opt out of using containers at all. Just as long as it isn't a nuisance to try and find that one particular spice you want to cook with! I might go with dish racks that are graduated- as long as they are small enough to fit inside this cupboard.

As you can see from the first picture, my top shelf is devoted to tea and hot chocolate, coffee, etc. It isn't used that often, but it could use some sprucing up, too! I wonder how?

51* closing out sales
52* a beautiful day (and today is supposed to be even nicer!!)
53* bonus checks that save us (financially)- especially since we're in the midst of spring break up
54* spring break up--
55* --which means more time with Kyle!! (and also smaller--waaayyyyyyy smaller pay checks)
56* really pretty jewelry, even if *I* had to pick it out
57* spice racks!!!
58* toys that make the kids happy
59* that spring break up usually (hopefully) is never too long
60* time for myself

Bubble Wrap

In the latest edition of scrapbooks etc., one of the techniques shown was stamping (with paint) using bubble wrap. The finished effect looks fantastic, and its become something that i'm really interested in trying out on a future lo.

At the moment, I don't have paint. So, I've been wondering if it would be possible to use ink instead, and luckily, it is! Google is a wonderful tool. Wouldn't you agree?

Luckily, I came across bubble wrap when I opened the box for a candle holder that goes around the umbrella stem of my patio set. I kept the bubble wrap and looked up stamping techniques using ink and bubble wrap. To see what it looks like, go here and here

Looks neat, right?

In a potential project, this is how it would look

Can't wait to try it out!

******

In other news, it was a busy weekend. My parents and Kyle's dad came up and helped us celebrate their (Kyle's and Tom's) birthdays. We went swimming Saturday morning--which the kids just absolutely loved--we cleaned up some of the yard, set up my patio set and the kids picnic table, hit the voting station, soaked up the sunshine and beautiful day, then barbecued supper, finishing off the evening with a yummy piece of carrot cake. Yesterday, we put a bunch of junk up on the local buy/sell/trade site, and have already sold some of the items on the 'get-rid-of-list'. It feels good!

It sounds like we may be holding a garage sale later this spring, too, in order to help us whittle down the junk pile. I'm pretty stoked about that, too. The things we aren't able to sell will go to the local second hand store.

Yay for de-cluttering!

Leap of Faith

The first step of many to come in the near future was taken last week, making me--officially--a stay at home mom!

My dream--what I've wanted for as long as I can remember--has finally come to be.

Now if only I could perfect the art of domestication!!

Well, I suppose I have the next five years- maybe more- to do it!

Next on that list, while I am working at Maren-proofing the house, is decluttering and 'thinning out'. We have too much junk and stuff we never look at--and no longer need--and it all is either being thrown out or going to the Salvation Army.

Or being sold.

I have a Rubbermaid container full of scrubs that I am fairly positive I will never wear again. Truthfully, I didn't need them to begin with. I just liked the idea behind them- not having to think about what to wear on a particular morning before heading to work. Besides, some unit clerks in the hospitals wear scrubs, so why couldn't I? They're comfortable and a lot of them out there are fairly flattering...

All this will help when the final step is taken...