A few layouts I did today...

I am working on a class that I am teaching for Creating Keepsakes Digital Scrapbooking Experience at the end of this month. I am teaching with a friend of mine, Nancie Rowe-Janitz. Well, I guess my sisters would call her a "fake" friend because I have not actually met her in real life. But I have known her on line for about three years. Any way, we are teaching a class called "The Easiest Ever Intro to Digital Scrapbooking". As I have been working on the class content I have been busy making layouts and taking screenshots of the process to help teach the class. These are the ones I have done today.

They are all of D. He is just at such a fun phase and is changing too much everyday, I want to capture each moment. I just love my little guy so so much...

credits: The Quickpage is from Aja Abney: Sweet Valentine QuickPages available at ScrapArtist.com

credits: Black Alphabet is mine: Tall and Chunky; Template is from Gina Miller: Front and Center 8; the kit is by Designs by Lili: B is for Boy.

Everything is available at ScrapArtist.com

credits: everything is from Funky Junky Old School by Kate Hadfield, Rachel Young, and Pixel Works available at ScrapArtist.com

I hope you enjoyed them. You can click on the images and see a bit of a larger version.

TTFN, and wish me luck with planning the rest of my class.

Just my baby being cute...

This was D yesterday morning.  I know his hair is getting a bit unruly, but I have a month left to enjoy his darling curls before I am cutting it.  I just love them.  Anyway, D was snuggling his very special horsie, hiding under S's drawing board.  I just could resist taking some photos.  He was just too too cute.  After a few photos I attacked him with kisses!  And you can click the image to see a slightly bigger version.

Some pictures from MAY! :D

132.365 12 may

This is my sweet little A before her school end of the year concert. I don't do her hair very often because, well, I just don't. I don't excel in the "doing hair" part of mommy-hood. LOL!! But she asked very sweetly if I could curl her hair before her concert. She just felt so special, it was worth the 45 minutes.

131.365 11 may

say CHEESE! This is how he smiles at the camera now. I know it is all my fault for taking WAY TOO many pictures! hee hee!!

130.365 10 may

Wishing and hoping and praying... that someone will open the door... so I can escape!

129.365 9 may

An eagle in the tree across the street.

128.365 8 may (photo 3)

Another one of D, just because I love this one!

128.365 8 may (photo 2)

D learning to ride.

128.365 8 may (photo 1)

J after a baseball game--trying to give me his game face look. :)

127.365 7 may

S-- she may look all sweet and innocent here, but trust me, this girl is trouble, hahahahaa!

126.365 6 may

D and his very best friend-- his blankie!

125.365 5 may

J ready for his first REALLY far away field trip. I was a nervous wreck while he was gone. LOL!! But he returned all safe and sound and had a great time in the city!


123.365 3 may

Daddy and D snuggling.


122.365 2 may

A few friends over to play, while the girls were coloring, the boys were video gaming. haha!


121.365 1 may (photo 2)

taking another stab at it.


121.365 1 may (photo 1)

Seriously, just too cute, as my littlest darling one decides to drink his milk from his cereal bowl! I believe most of the milk dribbled down the front of him.

April and May were busy busy...and June hasn't been much better

With the school year coming to an end, baseball season in full force, dance recitals, and end of the school year concerts, we had our calendar full. Not to mention, Mike and I went to Costa Rica for a week at the end of May. So in efforts to catch up on blogging I have to rewind a bit...

April 24-30 in photos...  you have to scroll down to the bottom if you want them in chronological order.  From the top down they are in reverse chronological order.

120.365 30 ap

S decided that she would make D happy by jumping in his crib

with him.  It DID NOT have the desired results. :)

119.365 29 ap (photo 2)

Again, D trying out the equipment.

119.365 29 ap (photo 1)

Mike and I have been exercising a TON lately.

We have converted half out basement into a "home gym" area.  

Here D trying out the new exercise equipment.

118.365 28 ap

D with his favorite toys, my little ponies, or "orsies" as he calls them.

Mike, of course, demanded that I get him some real "boy" type horses. 

Which he now has.  However, he still loves the ponies, and he picked

a my little pony coloring book at the store. hahaha :)

117.365 27 ap

The kids decided to make a "library" in J's closet.  

It was all fine until I made them put all the books back where 

they belonged, and the toys back in the closet.

116.365 26 ap

D trying to touch my camera lens.  A big NO NO! :D

If you look carefully you can see his black eye and big messy milk face.

115.365 25 ap

A lovely spring evening walk.  

I have a ton more pictures from this walk,

I will post them on Facebook. :P

J and A are like best buddies here, S is actually looking towards me, 

and D is giving me his crazy cheesy grin.  hahahaa!!

114.365 24 apr 2

D just as happy as can be because he is on the counter. :)

oh--and he still has his nice shiner.

114.365 24 apr 1

D sitting on the counter eating. 

Bad mamma, I know, but he wants to be right under my feet when I am 

cooking dinner, and this seems to be the happy solution for both of us. 

I get to get dinner ready without a crying baby tangled in my legs, 

and he gets to be right next to me. :)

Misty returned my kids....

I've just been too busy to post anything about my trip or anything since then!

Misty has my kiddos...

I am totally just going to copy her blog post for you. :) Here is what she has to say and a ton pf pictures she has taken... From this point on my comments will be in all CAPS.

HERE IS WHAT MISTY, MY SISTER, HAS TO SAY ABOUT HER WEEKEND THUS FAR WITH MY KIDS...

My sister and her hubby are in Costa Rica right now (AHHH YEAH!!), so I have the first shift of watching her kids. I brought them back to our house so we could hang out with Phil. He had several things going on this weekend so he couldn't come out with us. Anyhow, here are several pictures from today. We went to the park across the street and had some fun out there. The 3 big kids went back to the park while the little boys napped. I set myself up on the corner where I still had reception on the monitor and could see the kids at the park. After a visit from Grandma, Grandpa and Joslyn we went to a local water park. Little did we know there was a festival going on down town so it was packed! We still had fun, though! I think (hope) we're looking at early bedtimes tonight because if they feel at all like me, everyone should be pooped! Here a million picture (I'm hoping my sister will check my blog while she's gone so she can see her kiddos) THANK YOU! THEY TOTALLY MAKE ME SMILE! AND I MISS MY SWEET LITTLE RUGRATS!!

D on the slide
I AM THINKING IT MIGHT BE TIME FOR A HAIR CUT SOON!


J unhappy about being at the park - he eventually enjoyed it!
MAN, I DON'T MISS THAT LOOK, I SEE IT WAY TOO OFTEN. ;) LOL!
LOVE YOU, J!


A pushing D around in a circle
AHH--D LOOKS LIKE HE IS ENJOYING HIMSELF!
THANKS, A, FOR BEING SO HELPFUL!


D caught more speed than A thought he would coming down the slide
ROFL!! HAHAHA


J pushing S around in circles
WHAT A HELPFUL BIG BROTHER! AWESOME!


S avoiding the camera
SO SHE DOESN'T JUST DO THAT TO ME.


A and S walking Ty home
LOVE THAT! :)


Pre-lunch snack. Yes, I fed them from the floor!
GASP, SHOCK AND HORROR! LOL!!


What Ty thinks of our house guests. He really is having a harder time than anyone else. I guess it's good that he's getting used to om not being totally wrapped up in him since that will be our life in a few months!
HE LOOKS TOTALLY HAPPY HERE! :)


At the water park
MY LITTLE FISHIES!!


J, A, S in front of the spouting volcano/submarine/whale?


S making a run for it while J and A get soaked!
OH MY GOSH! THAT CRACKS ME UP. RUN, S, RUN!! :)


The park
WOW! WHY DIDN'T THEY HAVE SOMETHING COOL LIKE THAT WHEN WE WERE GROWING UP!


D content by the side. He never did move too far from this spot.
WHAT A SILLY LITTLE NUT!
WAS HE CONTENT OR JUST NERVOUS?


Ty running around
ADORABLE AS ALWAYS!


Phil and Ty
THANKS GUYS, FOR SHARING YOUR WIFE/MOM WITH US. :)


All of us, minus Phil
GOOD TIMES!


Fiona and D. No, I don't know Fiona. However, she came and stood in front of Tyler for about a minute and they just looked at each other. Later on she came and just sat next to D. I thought I should get a picture of her. She is very cute!
KISS THAT LITTLE BOY FOR ME! SIGH!

AND THEN SOME MORE FROM MISTY... SHE IS A BETTER BLOGGER ABOUT MY KIDS THAN I AM. HAHA!

Apparently, the night wasn't quite over! I realized it was time for all the kids to take baths. I put the 2 girls in our tub with the jets and then took the little boys into the other bathroom. We told them they could have a jetted bath, or a bubble bath but not both. I thought the girls sounded like they were having way too much fun, and, I was right! Here are some pictures from the evening. Who would've thought I needed to keep a closer eye on the two older ones? Needless to say, when J saw what they had done, he HAD to join in on the fun! Enjoy the pictures!

Little boys playing nicely
SO CUTE! I HOPE THEY ARE GETTING ALONG.


D with soap in his hair
DANG--HOW CUTE IS THAT LITTLE GUY!


Oh yeah! Check it out!
ROCK ON TY! LOVE THE HAWK!


Caught!!! It's a good thing I came in when I did - we almost had a tub overflow. Those bubbles just keep getting bigger and bigger!
RUH ROH! SNEAKY SNEAKERSONS!
HAHAHA!! THEY LOVE THEIR BUBBLE BATHS!


The Culprit!
GUILTY INDEED!


The accomplice
I AM THINKING SHE MIGHT ACTUALLY HAVE BEEN THE
MASTER PLANNER PLANNER OF THIS EVENT, BUT NOW HIDES
UNDER THE GUISE OF ACCOMPLICE. ;)


Couldn't pass up the opportunity!
TAKING FULL ADVANTAGE OF THE SITUATION! THAT'S MY BOY!

THANK YOU MISTY, FOR TAKING SUCH GOOD CARE OF THEM, YOU ARE BRAVE BRAVE WOMAN TO VENTURE OUT WITH ALL OF THEM. LOL!! REMEMBER TO THREATEN THEM WITH THE GIFTS FROM US IF THEY ARE MISBEHAVING! LOL! AND SMOOCH THEM ALL FOR ME. :)

WE ARE WELL AND HAVING FUN! SEE YOU ALL SOON! :)

Mother's Day Breakfast in bed (with love from an 8 yr old and 6 yr old): "Next year we'll cook it longer"

Mother's Day yesterday was fabulous. I was spoiled and doted on through out the day. We did nothing but go to church today, and I got to spend the whole relaxing day with the fam. Mike woke early and went to his pre-church planning meetings (as usual, the kids and I joined him a bit later for the actual service), but today instead of waking me before he left, he woke J, who is 8 years old. Mike asked him if he knew what today was, and he quickly replied, "It's Mother's Day; we have to do something!" So the plan was made. They decided that he and his sisters, (age 6 and 4) needed to make me breakfast in bed before we left for church. Mike suggested a nice bowl of cereal, and J told him that I like oatmeal better. Mike asked him if he knew how to make it and J confidently told him how. So Mike believed he did, and off he went to his meetings, leaving them to make my breakfast...alone. :D LOL!

I was awakened by my darling children coming into my room carrying a Santa Claus tray. On it was carefully placed a mug of Emergen-C, a bowl of oatmeal, a cheese stick, and two suckers. The PERFECT breakfast. They had succesfully made me breakfast in bed. They were smiling ear to ear and were so very proud of themselves. I didn't take a picture, and I have been kicking myself all day about it, but it was a terrific moment. Of course, I was a bit hesitant as I looked at the oatmeal, and it was quite watery. I touched the bowl and felt it was completely cold. uh oh! Still, I smiled at my children and told them how sweet and thoughtful they were. I told them that I loved it, and it looked so fabulous! I am not sure if you have had oatmeal that was cooked for only 30 seconds, but trust me, it is cold, grainy, watery and very uncooked. In addition to the oatmeal, they tried to make it JUST how I like it, which is a little odd. I usually add cottage cheese (for protein), cinamon, and just a pinch of brown sugar (for flavor). They sweetly added cold cottage cheese to my already cold oatmeal, and in their words, "put in extra brown sugar to make it super yummy." ooohhhh!!! Go ahead, imagine it!

There we were. Me sitting in bed with the tray on my lap, and them looking at me in anticipation of my first bite of their masterpiece. and Yes, I ate some of it. :) How could I not with those big proud eyes staring at me. LOL!! It was awesome!!

Later that day, while we were eating lunch the kids admitted that they weren't EXACTLY sure how long to cook it, so they put it in for 30 seconds, then 5 more, it was still cold, so for 2 more seconds and then 1 more second just to be sure it was finished. They asked me, "How long do you REALLY cook oatmeal for?" I told them 1 1/2 mintes to 2 minutes. They looked at each other with the look of "UH OH!", and I quickly told them it was just fine though because there was nothing better that a breakfast made full of love from my kiddos. :) They smiled and told me next year they would cook it longer. LOL!

Love those kids.