Behind the Scenes

Happy World Cardmaking Day.........a Day Late!

Seriously, I fully intended on posting my cards,I made Friday night, yesterday on World Card making Day and never had a chance. Saturday's are totally crazy with Mackenzie going from one swim practice to another. Then throw in Steven's sleepover and cleaning out my master closet, 4 loads of laundry, and doing dog duty in the back yard. Well, you can see where this is going. This was all in the morning prior to the early afternoon arrival of , Miss Sami . She was very excited about her sleepover. I secretly was just praying she would sleep. I believe this was her first true sleepover. My plan was t wear her out! We spent a good majority of the afternoon and early evening outside either on the trampoline or in the park with Kelsey. Oh, and Sami decided she also needed to swim in my rather cold pool instead of taking a nice warm bath. I was just hoping I wouldn't have to get more than my feet wet! I didn't! I was saved by the rain!!! Sami decided it was a bit more than a sprinkle and needed to get out.

Both of my kids were exhausted! Mackenzie said she was going to bed at 8 pm. Steven went to bed at 8:30pm and of course Sami and I were still up. We were laying in my bed watching a few cartoons with the lights out. Ssami decided she didn't like the one bedroom door open because she could see down my hallway. Well, after that problem was solved and I informed Sami and Ellie it was bedtime. Ellie hid under the covers a few times and then we went to bed. Mission accomplished!!! Of course at 6:30am when the dog insisted she be fed, Sami was bright eyed and ready to roll. I'm now back in the office trying to entertain her with crayons, markers and cut outs until one of the kids wakes up. I would bet Steven will be the first to crawl out of his cave.

Anyway, the native is getting restless and I'd better post my photos!  
I forgot to mention Karrie's little Cat's Pajama's stamp set she accidentally left at my house last weekend was needing some love! lol

More cards to share from last weekend

Sorry I haven't been good at posting everyday. Things just get a little crazy now and then and the blog posting is one of the first things to go.

Here are a few more cards from last weekend.

Not the best pictures but you get the idea:). I also sent a card to Rachel Mudry for her big 13th birthday but neglected to take a picture of it.

John left town today. He's headed to Las Vegas to play softball and gamble. I have to drive into work tomorrow <insert sad face here>. Today was one of those crazy days where I thought there was a full moon outside. Nothing major, just bizzare happenings. Hope tomorrow is better.

Steven and I are headed out to watch Mackenzie at her swim meet. They have a dual meet against Chandler and Desert Ridge. Here's hoping Mesa High swims well today!!

Birthday Party Update

Sunday we went to little Adam's 2 yr old birthday party. He actually had two parties, we went to the family one. We decided that since he was two years old he needed a Tonka Dump Truck. I know how many years use we got out of this item with Steven. Well, it took only a few moments for Adam to load it up and start wheeling it all over the house. He also got a pair of shoes. I believe they are called Squeakers! Hilarious!!! They make noise every time he walks. I'm sure who ever invented the things had older children who were past this stage!lol  Here are a few of my favorite pics from the party...and oh let me post the card I made using the Cat's Pajamas Pirate set.

Thinking of Winter when it's still over 100 degrees out!

I can't believe how hot it is for this time of year. Usually in September we had some break....maybe only in the 90's during the day. Not this year! Ugh! So Friday when my good stampin' buddy, Karrie, came over I had to use the new Rustic Snowflake set from Papertrey. Let me tell you this set is a slam dunk if you need a quick card. I made two cards with this set and have another one partially assembled on the counter in my office. Here's the first one......Karrie's favorite!
I'm in love with this thick brown ribbon and could kick myself for not purchasing more at Creative Escape. There's something like 15 yards on a roll and i paid $4.00. I really wish I had bought some in red. I need to go and see if they have it at Scrapbooks Etc.

Yesterday was a hectic day around here! Mackenzie needed to be at the High School at 5:45 am to catch the bus for the swim meet. So I dropped her off, came home had some coffee and then headed out to the fruit market to get some fixin's for Mango Salsa. John has been really into different salsa's lately and since we were having Tracy and Kevin over for dinner I decided I would whip some up. We had grilled chicken and veggies with Mango Salsa. It was pretty yummy! Back to the days activities......I came home unloaded the groceries and then headed over to the swim meet, was able to watch Mackenzie swim one of her events before I headed over to the Grand Court Knitters and then to Newborns in Need to drop off items. John took Steven to his first two ball games and had promised him he'd take him to Circle K for his free hot dog. At the D-backs game a few weeks ago Steven got coupons for a free 44oz drink and a D-back Dog. Well, things got messed up a bit and John didn't have as much time in between games and I ended up taking STeven for his dog. The bad thing was Circle K didn't have any on their grill and the poor kid had been SO patient. I let him and his friend pick out some cheetos and then stopped at Safeway, bought hot dogs and came home and finally made him lunch. John and I were hoping to put this hot dog thing to rest yesterday, but no such luck! John came home around 4pm, Steven's friend left at 5, Bannon's showed up at 6pm, I left to take Mackenzie to a b-day party and that my friends was my day.

Today John is gone to play softball this morning. I'm being a bit lazy enjoying the quiet and updating my blog while the kids sleep and then later today we are heading over to Jon and Jessie's to see Darryl and Mary and help celebrate little Adam Jon's birthday. It's hard to believe he turned 2 today:). We bought him a huge Tonka dump truck for the back yard. I hope it likes it!

Yesterday I also found out that little Miss Sami will be coming to hang out with us for part of next weekend when Trish heads off to a girls weekend in California. She deserves it! Lots of changes going on in her life right now. At the end of next month she and Sami will be moving to a smaller home closer to where Tena lives. It sounds like it's going to be just the perfect move for them. It will be 2 years, September 30th since John has passed away. I think he's been looking out for Trish lately, things have started to really fall into place for her and Sami. I know it will be emotional for Trish to move, but I also think it will give her a new fresh start on her life. John will be out of town next weekend for softball and who knows what the kids and I will come up with for us to do. I'm sure it will be fun.

Off to start the races....have a great day!

Childhood Memories

Tonight at dinner Mackenzie was asking her Dad if he would go get her some ice cream. His reply was "that darn Dave he really created a problem for you when you were just a baby". Dave was an old neighbor who lived across the street from us in Tempe. He had two boys and always wanted a daughter. When Mackenzie came along she was adopted by Dave. He spoiled her rotten!!!! Dave took her to the DQ by the time she was 4 months old and used to sneak ice cream and sweets to her all the time. Mackenzie was only 6 months old when her first Halloween rolled around. She was barely on solid foods. Dave asked to take her to a few neighbors houses to Trick or Treat and Mackenzie came back covered in chocolate. One of the things Dave gave Mackenzie when he and Susan moved away was this M & M machine. It has to be almost 20 years old.
This is what memories are made of!

P.S. Karrie if you are reading this.....that's your birthday present in the background. hahahahaha!!

In other news......I've been stamping a few more basic baby cards for Newborns in Need and have finished a couple more wash clothes. I need to make a delivery this weekend.

Oh, I have a funny picture to share of Steven. We went out to dinner last Friday night and this is what I was instructed to take a picture of. What a goof ball!
That is what 10 year old boys think is funny! Tonight we had to do an experiment with a straw, a spit ball and a match. The result.........No the spitball did not go screaming across the back yard on fire. Glad that is now off my list of things to do:)

Later!

Freshman Photo

Mackenzie got back her school photos that were taken a few weeks back. She was actually hoping to have her braces off by the time these were taken. She was pleasantly surprised and pleased with this picture.

T.I.T.

That stands for totally into Tim (as in Tim Holtz). Thought I'd share with you the project we made in Tim's class at Creative Escape. I finally made Mackenzie cough it up for a few minutes so I could photograph it. Tim thought of everything when designing this project. He knows women love jewelry and also that we can't wear one piece at all times. So therefore, part of the project was to make a place to store our jewelry piece. Here's my finished piece.

Just started a new book called "These is my Words", the Diary of Sarah Agnes Prine, 1881-1901 by Nancy E. Turner. I'm telling you this book grabs you right from the get go. Love that!

Wednesday's Child

Do you ever have those moments when you ask yourself "what did I do to deserve this child?". Not that Steven is unlike any other younger sibling I know, but I swear the kid slays me sometimes when I least expect it. Today we were reviewing his spelling words. He needed to tell me the definition and use the word in a sentence. We get to the word obscure and he informs me that on the practice test today his sentence was "My sister, Mackenzie, obscures her zits." Ok, now how am I as a mother not suppose to reprimand him? I couldn't even keep a straight face and totally burst out laughing. My god, what does his teacher think when she reads this stuff?!!! Hopefully, she has a sense of humor!

Anyway, I was going to post my Tim Holtz project today but unfortunately that zit faced daughter of mine, lol, has the darn neckkace I made and I can't find it. So, I guess you will have to settle for a few more of the cards made at the Friday night extravaganza.
This first card was designed by Heidi Lynn Schreiber and I love it! It was designed to house a gift card. How cute is that?

The second card was designed by Kelli Collins. I love the the clever design of this card.

In other news........I received my Cat's Pajama orderr today and now am the proud owner of both the new cleary swanky birthday sets! woohoo.....now I just need John to leave town for the weekend so I can play with all my new stamps! Speaking of new stamps, have you seen all the new Papertrey sets? I can't wait for my order to arrive!

Two for Tuesday

Here are two more cards from my creative escape weekend. Enjoy!
This card was designed by Jennifer Wagner and let me tell you this is not a 15 minute card! It opens up and accordions out to spell the word Thanks......the folding was not something easily taught in class. I left the pom-poms off too.....just not a pom-pom kind of girl. I do love the colors and when can you not use another "thank you" card?

Not the best picture here but I really liked this card. Very easy to throw together and a great way to use scraps. This card was designed by Kelli Collins.......now go create!

Card designed by Tena Sprenger

As promised to my friend Karrie I'm posting another Creative Escape item. This card was made at the Friday night Extravaganza and designed by my cousin Tena. BTW, Mackenzie thinks Aunt Tena designed the cutest card! Let me tell you all of them were very fun to do except for one that was way over the top! I won't mention names......anyone who attended will know exactly what card I'm talking about! lol

In other news......yesterday the D-backs games was fun although I though it was a bit of a joke to have our team walk on the field....they actually do it about an hour and 15 minutes before game time and the stands are empty! What's up with that??? Anyway, we got to watch the Reds beat the D-backs and eat a bunch of not so good food. Glad we don't do that on a regular basis.
Here are a few pictures from the event.
This is Kenzie and her little friend Jamie that she attends church with all the time. Showing off her latest manicure.
Here are the girls walking on the warning track.
Last but not least, John and Steven enjoying some cotton candy.