A late night trip to Walmart found me wandering through the aisles, I don't even remember what I was there for... when I came upon these!
I remember these cookies! I think my mom used to buy them. I had no idea they were called "Vanilla Wafers." I was so proud of myself. Boy was I going to get "mom of the year" or what?! The next morning, after a healthy breakfast of Cheerios and juice, Zoe sat munching on the "real" vanilla wafers. And of course, I was basking in the glow of Zoe saying, "mom, you are the best!" Mission accomplished, lesson learned.
OK, I just noticed both of these have polka dot paper, I swear I did not plan that. Oh and they both have colored brads too. Jeesh!
Here is the big crop room at the convention center. Look at all these scrappin' ladies, goin' crazy! It was energizing being in the same place with all these women that share the same passion. We did not crop in here, mostly in our hotel room, it was awesome, we had our stuff spread all over, cropping on the beds, the floor, etc. Just like college!
Me and Margie Romney-Aslett from Making Memories. She is a hoot, love her, love her style, love her cowboy boots!
Me and Shimelle Laine from jolly-good England. I loved her class and it was the one I was most hesitant to take! We are making (in progress, b/c the poor thing lost a bag coming from England and so she is sending us the directions!) a book called "Just a Girl" based on the song by No Doubt, using the lyrics to create titles and journal prompts. How cool is that? We also are using lots of pink to embellish- love it! I showed her my Smurf ruler, she was diggin' it. See me holding it...
Here is my best scrapbooking resource/idea-bouncer-offer/cropping pal, Kristin. Thanks for everything chicka, loved it! Are we so happy or what?!
I highly recommend all mommies take a trip with a friend or two or even by yourself. It was better than I imagined and I cannot wait to take another one!
I can't believe that Valentine's Day has already come and gone. Every year I plan to make cards for my family and I forget. I did make some for the kids and my husband, just not everyone else. (Better get that reminder in next year's calendar now! Good tip for today!) I remember my elementary school days when Valentine's Day was the best party of the year. Passing out those little cards and envelopes was such an exciting job, I couldn't wait to give my cards to my friends and I couldn't wait to see the ones I would receive. I remember taking mine home and pouring over them for days and days. How did one friend decide to give me a kitty card and someone else decide Strawberry Shortcake would be the card for me? Oh and how about that cute little boy who sent me a card and wrote "love" on it, did he really love me? In my mind, I thought so. From my teaching days, I remember these parties as hectic and a little crazy but still exciting for the kids. There is something so gratifying to get a whole bag (or box) of cards picked out just for you! I love it that the same is still today. Zoe has been studying her cards from her school party since she got them. She knows who gave her which card and she is speculating why they picked a particular card for her. She is also wondering if everyone liked the cards she made (no store bought cards for my little mini-me!) Like mother like daughter I guess! Call it nostalgia, call it remeniscing, call it just plain fun, I love Valentine's Day!
I've been puttin' too many of these in my mouth!
So here is one of my favorite places on earth, the Lane Library. I love it, I love it, I love it. Not only is it a beautiful building, inside and out, the staff is the most helpful, nice group of people I interact with on a regular basis. Seriously, they are so nice I am smiling just thinking about them. I take the kids every few weeks and we get so many books and DVDs our bags are busting by the time we leave. Today was no exception. On the way out, I have Zoe's pink princess backpack, loaded to the brim, my tote bag, loaded to the brim, and Parker's backpack, loaded, well, to the brim. AND I have our DVDs in my hand and Zoe has some books and CDs in her hand, we really like to read at our house! We're walking down the steps in the pouring rain (I sound like that story our Grandpas tell us... "walking to school in the snow with no boots, uphill all the way"....) and I say, "Zoe hold Parker's hand please." I think she did hold it for about a nanosecond, then KABLAMO! Down he goes, head-first, on the concrete steps. I swear in my mind, I thought, gosh darnit (well I might have thought something a little less PG) he's gonna need stitches again and that is really gonna make me mad! But luckily, he was ok, no cuts, although he was scared and crying. In the meantime, Zoe is crying not because she is hurt but because her hair is getting wet and she can't get her hood up. OK, whatever, I'm freezing and wet too! I throw all bags, DVDs, and keys on the ground because Parker is laying facedown with his head on the bottom step and his feet are still pointing to the top step. I pick him up, check him, he's ok. In the van he goes. I go get Zoe, she is really ticked, because she said, "I'm soaking wet Mom!" In the van she goes. My blood pressure is rising by the second, I want to swear profusely, and I am going to scream at any time. I am opening the door so I can literally throw all our books, etc, in the van when (here comes the good citizen part!) a nice, elderly lady picks up two of my bags and puts them in the car while I get the rest of our stuff. I thank her very much and I want to hug her too, but I refrained. She said, "I remember how hard it is to take little ones places." Oh, she is an angel, I just know it. I buckle up the kids, check them again for boo boos, give them some fruit snacks and head off to take Zoe to school. I swear if it weren't for that wonderful woman, I would have been in tears too. I didn't even care that I was soaked and my hair was a mess. God Bless that mysterious angel.
Our little glittered hearts look so cute in our niche. The kids had so much fun making these, just glitter, glue, and cardstock hearts, who knew!? The "love" is from the dollar aisle at Target. The greenhouse has silk flowers in it, I put this thing everywhere, depending on my mood. I've had it forever and I change the stuff inside a lot, depending on the season, but I like these flowers a lot.