My First Altered Item

I went to a Shoe Box Swap (SBS) with some Lovely Ladies from SCS. One of the things you could participate in was a door prize Drawing. How it worked was you brought something altered or stamped along with a $5 value of product. I got a clear plastic cube from Michaels and attempted to alter it. This was the result. I decided i *love* Stampin' Up!'s Chocolate Chip Designer series paper. I mean look at it, what's not to love? I put in some colored brads, glitter and jewels that I got on clearance (much more fun product to play with that way. *wink* ). So what do you think? I don't think it was too bad for a first attempt.

FYI~If this sounds like fun you would like to participate in they are hosting another SBS on November 8th. The details and registration form can be found here. I hope to see you there.

What a morning!

Well, I dropped Ethan off at preschool and seriously thought about not doing Wii Fit this morning so I could catch up with everything. In the end my *cough* dedication *cough* to exercise won out. I was going to put Seth down but he was playing nice by me. (Not to mention helping me work harder by jumping on my back for the push ups/plank exercises and jumping on my stomach for the sit up type things (what do they call them? )Well, obviously messing with my scores got boring to him so he went upstairs. I only had 2 more exercises so I kept going. Ok, here was one of the fatal flaws of my morning- When you hear what you *think* are crashes coming out of the pantry, DO NOT call the child to you- RUN upstairs and spy on him (her). So Seth comes downstairs in his socks which I notice are wet. Wet from what you ask? Well, let me tell you....Raw EGGS! Blech. So, yeah he had just walked down my freshly cleaned stairs in socks (and shirt & bottoms) covered in raw eggs. You see where this is leading right? Well, I stripped him and carried him to the kitchen thinking I would just hose him off in the sink and then tackle the mess. Well, When I got to the kitchen the fridge was still open and it was mostly emptied on the floor. Yep I had 18 scrambled eggs, 2 packages of bacon, jelly, miracle whip, ketchup, mustard, 4 smirnoffs (thankfully they didn't break), 2 beef sausages, 3 packages of cheese, a box of juice boxes.....I forgot the rest but I think you get my point. I made him sit in the kitchen sink while I cleaned up the nasty floor.

*Here is a helpful hint: When you child breaks several eggs on you stupid grooved hardwood floors( so not a fan of the grooved hadwood floors. Whoever came up with that idea hated his mom!-just ssaying) -scoop the majority of the egg up with your hands. I tried the towels last time, but really, just use your hands to get most of the slime up. It took my 90 minutes to clean it all up.

Where are the pictures you ask. Well, I did hear my friend Spicy before I started cleaning, but alas since I signed up to be the scrapbook parent again for Ethan's class and I have not gotten any pictures yet and it is the last day they meet in September, the camera was with him.

One last word of advice. When you realize that a fridge lock is needed in your house- Make SURE it actually gets locked when the door gets closed!

My Swap Card

Guess What....

I am at a Shoebox Swap today. Yippee! I get to see two of my friends from SCS. I, of course, procrastinated to the bitter end. At 11pm I still did not have my instructions written up. Needless to say I will be a little tired today, but I am sure it will be worth it!

Sorry the picture isn't the greatest. Like I said it was late.

Materials Used: SU Paper: Designer series Chocolate Chip, Chocolate Chip, Close to Cocoa, Creamy Caramel, Very Vanilla, Pumpkin Pie, Rust Red; SU Pumpkin Pie Ribbon, SU Ink: Chocolate Chip, Creamy Caramel; SU Stamps: Canvas, Autumn Harvest

Here is my morning...

I took Ethan to preschool, did some Girl Scout stuff, came home & put Seth down for a nap *really I just let him play in his room so he wasn't running amuck among my displaced stamping stuff (scroll down if you missed yesterday's post)*

Anyway to keep a long story from getting even longer- I looked at the clock and it was 25 minutes til, so I grab Seth and head to pick up Ethan. When I get there at 2 minutes til the parking lot is e-m-p-t-y.

*PSA Announcement*
When looking at the clock be sure to actually look at the hour hand and not just the minute hand!!!

Yep I was 1 hour early. As my Dad said when I called home to kill some time waiting for preschool to *actually* end, 'Better an hour early than an hour late." Yes, that's the upside of me spending an extra hour in the car with my 2 year old.

The reason there will be no stamping today...

My Stamping spot has never looked so bare! Don't my punches look sad all by themselves? Where is everything you ask? Just look below to find out.

My mess, I mean my stamping treasures, along with all the play room stuff has been moved into the family room area to clear the path for the carpet cleaners. By the way they should have been here 20 minutes ago, should I be scared that they are not going to show?

I love the picture above because you can play, 'Where are the boys?'. *wink*
This is just a good picture of all the stamp stuff I have. Clay decided a cabinet wouldn't hold it all because it has definitely grown since we moved 2 years ago. (Well, of course it has I've become a Demo since then!) Hopefully my stuff will find its way home tonight and I can get started on my swaps for Saturday.

It's Beginning to look a lot like...Halloween?

Well, on the way home from Apple Picking we stopped at Target to pick up a few things. Clay and Ethan ventured to the costume department and found 'the' costume for Ethan. Seth liked the same one and Maggie was talked into the Princess Leih (sp?) one. She wants me to be Padme...We will see.

Now, the key will be to keep it in one piece until Halloween actually gets here. I think Ethan has had his on more than off since we bought it!

Time to Pick the Apples

We went to Crooked Run Orchard for our third annual apple picking trip. This was our first time going this early in the year, we usually go the end of October. It was kinda strange going while it was still hot, sticky & buggy out. Seth didn't care that it was hot, he was ready to go!
Ethan had fun climbing Dad to get to the apples!
Maggie was not sure about using Dad as a ladder,

but she did enjoy the picking part.
I love this picture of the boys!
Here we are at the end of the outing.

It was fun, but I think next time we will wait until late October!

Guess what I did last night?

Our Moms Club had our monthly night out last night. We went Rock Climbing. I initally thought there was no way in the world that I would make it to the top.

Well, I did! Not just once, but twice. This photo is from the first time I made it. I also made it it on the climb to my left. Those climbs were pretty straight up. I also went 3/4 (and 2/3) up a different climb that was angled out. *Maybe* I could have made it if I wasn't already exhausted from the first two climbs.

I also free climbed a wall about 15 feet a few times (at least 3 times). It was awesome! (and I am sure counted as a few exercise points *wink* )

The fun part was going down, because it was an automated rope. It was very fun, but also very scarey the first time I let go!

Happy Birthday Sam!

Well, I didn't get to this weeks Sketch Challenge yet, maybe later today! I did however do last weeks, Sketch Challenge 193. This layout was yelling at me to get off the computer and actually stamp yesterday, so I did. Being that is was my nephew's 12th birthday, this card is for him. I *really* wanted to make him a Sock Monkey card, but unfortunately my sister (his mom) has my set. I need to order another one for me in the near future!

For this card I went with a blue theme. I have no idea why because I am sure it is not his favorite color! I used night of navy and brocade blue with whisper white. I like how the saying is in both colors. It would have been easier if I actually had the Rich Regal Marker set, but that is the only set I do not have. I used the Happy Birthday Embossing folder on the Whisper White behind the balloon and the Spots & Dots on the Night of Navy strip, but it is hard to tell in the picture. I tried using the Crystal Ice Stickles another chance on the white Happy Birthday section, but I seem to get a lot of glue and not much glitter. I stapled the Ribbon with a colored staple. I loaded black ones, but thankfully you can''t tell that a purple one was still in the stapler. I decided to leave it in because it doesn't stick out like a sore thumb. Then I popped the balloon & tag up on dimensionals. I think it all seems to look very 'manly'.

Materials Used: SU Paper: Night of Navy, Brocade Blue, Whisper White; SU Ink: Night of Navy, Brocade Blue; Cuttlebug Embossing folders: Happy Birthday, Spots & Dots; Other: Crystal Ice Stickles, SU Dimensionals, SU Night of Navy Ribbon, colored staple.

What are your thoughts? I live to read your comments! Thanks for stopping by.

Seth's 2 Year Pictures

So this post is going to be all about Seth! I have a lot of pictures to share, but I'm trying to show only the best.

We got this one on a post card that said,

Livin' the dream

Sethy Guiseppy

And I *had* to have the only with the 2 on the block. Plus this just screams Seth to me.

I did make it out with only the two poses. I was proud. They were taken at Portrait Innoventions. I really like there pictures. Unfortunately this time they had a *required* beachy background. um Yeah he is wearing long pants, why would I want a picture of him at the beach in these clothes? I wouldn't no matter how cute he looked! *vent over*

Here are the pictures from Seths Birthday by Starved Rock.

It started out innocently enough with a nice sheet cake.

First he picked off the sprinkles.


Then he started taking bites. Still, he doesn't look too bad.

I'm not *quite* sure how his face ended up a chocolately mess.





I guess in the end only the fun & games matter. *wink*

More Alternate Opening Swap cards. ;)

I absolutely *love* how this card looks. It was made by Jen aka Balance22 for my Alternate Opening Card Swap on SCS. Here is the inside of her card with the tab pulled out. It just screams *Party Time* to me.
This card is from Lauren aka Lauren32. I have never made on of these criss cross cards, but after looking at all the wonderfully done ones from this swap, I think I may have to jump in and do one.
Last, but by no means least, this card was made by Jocelyn aka Jocelyn1224. The panel with the sentiment flips up and the stripe panel folds down. It is a great idea.

I just want to say *THANKS!* to all the wonderful participants! (Especially Meredith for being on the ball and posting them much faster than I did!)

Wish you could have gotten some of these cards in a swap? Well, it is too late for this bunch. BUT I am currently hosting a Thank You Card Swap and several of these talented ladies have signed up for it already. The details can be found here. I hope you can join us!

*Wow, Three posts in a day, it must be a miracle!* I am going to try and post the SCS sketch challenge on Friday. Um, maybe I better go and look at it first. *wink*

Well, Way back when, when I started this blog I mentioned that I was hosting a card swap on SCS. Well, here are some of the wonderful cards that were submitted for that swap. I am once again tardy in displaying the results. My friend Meredith (aka Merrymoo2 on SCS) has beat me to posting some of the results. Since she is a *much* better blogger than I am here is a link to the cards she received. This first card was made by Meredith. Here is her description of it. Like I said she is much better at blogging than I am!
This was Meredith's second card. Once again, I'll link you to her description.
This card was made by my friend Heather, aka JustHeather. The template for this funky fold card can be found here.
This card was from Mindee aka Mindo. Mindee, is there a name for this type of card?


This is Mindee's other card and I am sure that there is a name for it, but I haven't a clue as to what it is...The more I see the less I know! *wink*

I have a few more cards to post, but I have to get Ethan from preschool now.

Thanks for reading!

School's in.... Yipee!

Well, as you may have noticed, I have been a bit of a slacker! School started 2 weeks ago for Maggie and last week for Ethan. For some strange reason I thought I would have more time, but I think that is just what I tell myself to get through the summer.*wink* So anyway, here is Maggie on the first day of school. She seems to be having a good year. Her teacher, Mrs. Charity, is very nice and Maggie has a few friends in her class.

Ethan started his last year of preschool on September 8th and is in the Elephant class this year. I find that very funny as I have called him Ethan the Elephant for a long time. (BTW-Maggie is a Monkey and I still can't find a good animal for Seth-he is definitely *not* a snake! Maybe a shark?!?) Ethan has Ms. Christy from last year and Ms. Sheri who is new to us. I *heart* these teachers! They are really into positive reinforcement and Ethan thrives in that kind of environment. I am hoping that he continues to thrive this school year!
This is what happens when Dad puts them to bed-they end up in ours! I will fess up that most nights Ethan goes to sleep in our bed listening to NPR's Star Wars Radio Drama. I just had to include this one because they look so sweet and innocent!