Scrap Happens

It's Fall Ya'll!

2011-10-28T14:18:00.000-05:00

It's FALL! Fall is beautiful, but I have to be honest. I really don't like it that much. I get sick (cough cough cough all night) and it leads to winter. But if you have ever read my blog you know that. ;)
At least fall is a beautiful time for pics! (I'm taking pictures again in case you didn't know) I'm actually running a special right now! The trees are PERFECT at my house right now! I want everyone to be able to come and take advantage! So I'm doing Fall Mini Sessions! The lovely leaves do not last long here in Oklahoma! So the special only lasts until November 18th. If you have any more questions or to schedule call/text me at (405)816-6462 or email me at aprilmassad@yahoo.com!

So Brodey is Bumblebee from Transformers this year. I have to say I think his costume is pretty cool!
He really wanted to be Sonic the Hedgehog, but it was all sold out. I searched all over and I could only find it on Ebay for like $90. Sure! Like that's going to happen! So Bumblebee it was!
I pulled it on him this morning and it ripped right at the waist. We were already running late so I had to take it off of him and sew it back up. Thank goodness for my sewing machine! I don't think staples would have felt too great! ;)
If you are going to be in Tahlequah tomorrow you should come by and see me! Bring at least 2 cans of food to The Scrappin Pad's 2nd Location Open House, I'll take your little ghost or goblin's picture, and you get a free 4x6! (You can order additional prints online)

Scrappin Pod Open House
Saturday October 29
3pm - 5pm
609 W Delaware
Tahlequah, OK

Well friends! I'm off to clean the house! It has been neglected the last few days!
Have a wonderful weekend!
LOVE APRIL

Food for days!

2011-10-12T19:32:00.000-05:00

Food for days! And it only tastes better!
Have you ever eaten at Chipotle? (Yes it's the restaurant with the hot stock lol) Well it's REAL good and I have found a recipe that comes pretty close to the chicken they serve there! You can totally vary it depending on what you like/dislike. I put peppers and onlions in practically every dish I make! If you don't like them don't add them!
This dish is made in the crockpot and only takes about 2.5 hours total. If you are workin' momma it would be great if your crockpot had a timer you could set! Dinner ready when you get home!

Crockpot Mexican Chicken
6 boneless skinless chicken breasts, quartered
1 can gold and white corn, drained (regular corn will work but this stays crunchy)
1 can black beans (rinsed and drained)
1 jar (at least 2 cups) of your favorite salsa (I like the Wal-Mart World Table Salsa Casera)
Onions and green bell peppers (optional)
Fajita Chicken Seasoning (optional)

Pour the beans, corn, and 1 cup of the salsa into the crockpot. Stir together.
Lay the seasoned chicken breasts quarters on top. Lay your sliced onions and peppers on top of the chicken and pour the remaining salsa on top.
Cook on high for at least 2 hours or until chicken is done.
Take chicken breasts out of crockpot and shred with a fork. Mix the shredded chicken back in the crockpot and heat for an addional 30 minutes or until ready to eat!

Yes my friends it is that easy. I made this Monday night and we are still eating it! It's so good and it's even better after the flavors have mingled for a while!
We ate it on tortillas with some lime, cilantro, lettuce, sour cream, and cheese. I made Brodey a quesadilla with the meat. It would be awesome in a taco salad!
It's the perfect weeknight meal! We even thought it would be awesome at a party as a dip with chips!
Enjoy!
LOVE APRIL :)

Crop OR Shop for a Cure!

2011-09-28T16:59:00.001-05:00

Do you scrapbook?
Do you like to shop?
Do you want to support the fight for cancer?
I'll bet you answered yes to at least one of those questions! If you did you need to come to the 12 Hour Scrapbooking Crop October 8 hosted by the Pink Pearls Relay for Life Team! It's gonna be FUN!
I was supposed to attend and do a Make 'n Take, but I'll be in Texas that day! I'm sad! I love to see everyone and there will be a TON of vendors there!

Serendipity Retreat Store from Tulsa
Scrappin Pad Retreat
31 Gifts
Close to My Heart - Doing Workshops
Lia Sophia
Creative Memories
Pampered Chef
Arbonne
Tupperware
Cookie Lee Jewelry
Chicken Creek Hen House Retreat
Scenery
Mary Kay
Stampin Up
and more!

What a list! I'm so sad I'm going to miss it!
If you aren't a scrapbooker they would love to have you stop by and shop or even make a donation!
If you are a business that is interested in attending the crop or dontaing items for the auction, please contact Bobbie at bobbie-stamps@cherokee.org! She would love to have you!
I'll be donating scrapbook goodies as well as a free photo session! FUN!
If you will be in town that weekend please stop by! Or if your hubby will be glued to the tv for the OU/TX game head on down for some fun girl time!

The flyer is to the left! Click on it to enlarge it!
Hope you can make it!
Have a wonderful Wednesday!
LOVE APRIL

I'm so excited...and I just can't hide it!!!

2011-09-26T13:51:00.000-05:00

Santa came early for me this year. Yes he did. I got two things I have wanted for years. That's no joke.

The first is WiFi! Yes I know! I'm jumping up and down and you probably are too because you won't have to hear me complain about HughesNet anymore! (Yes my eye still twitches when I think about them.) That means I can actually post photos on Facebook instead of having to wait until the 1am free zone! Yippee!!!

And the other is HUGE! I mean HUGE!

Do you see that!?! That's my NEW CAMERA!!! I'm so excited that I snapped this unflattering photo of me with my new baby because I just had to share! Eeeek!

I have been waiting for this for a very long time. Most of you know that back when I had Brodey I went down to less than part time taking pics. I don't regret that at all! I have been SO lucky the last 5 years to be able to stay home with Brodey!
These last 5 years I have kept going to classes, events, workshops, and stayed in the loop! A couple of years ago I attended an awesome photography workshop and I got to chitchat with the Canon guy. He wrote down the equipment I needed on the back of his business card and I've kept it up on a shelf ever since. It's all wrinkled and kind of stained from me looking at it often. Last week I finally got to take it down and USE it. I can't tell you how excited I am!
I have all sorts of fun stuff coming in! The UPS guy is like enough already!

I know many of you will be as excited as I am and I've already talked to several of you! If you are seriously interested about booking a session send me an email at aprilmassad@yahoo.com!

Besides! Bro is sick of being my model! ;) But he's such a sweet one!
Anywho! Thanks for sharing in my excitement and thanks to all of you that have stuck with my through the years!
I'm going to go off and continue my happy dance now!
Happy Monday!
LOVE APRIL

A Fish Story

2011-09-12T19:46:00.000-05:00

I love to fish. LOVE it. I used to want my own fishing show. I wanted to be "that girl with the fishing show." I wanted my name on a reel, t-shirts, hats....okay back to reality.
As I said I love to fish so you can imagine how excited I am that Brodey loves it too! If Eric goes, he goes. It's so fun to see him getting excited about being old enough to be Eric's fishing buddy!
Last weekend he and Eric went fishing at Wetumka Lake. Brodey was SO excited about trying out his brand new fishing rod. (I have photos of this, but it's going to be a scrapbook layout haha) He got a big boy rod and reel. He is an excellent caster for his age, which Eric really appreciates. They both get to fish at the same time!
So Brodey was throwing all day and he did catch some good sized Crappies, but towards the end of the day Eric told him to "throw over there by those stumps."
He did and Eric was messing with his reel not paying attention and Brodey said "I think I have something, Dad."
Eric said he looked up and there was a huge swirl and Brodey's line started pulling out. Eric said he KNEW it was a good sized fish and Brodey got a little nervous. Eric started telling Brodey to "REEL! No! No! Don't reel! REEL REEL! You got a big fish, Bro!!" (Now this is word for word from Brodey) Eric said Brodey reeled it in all by himself, and it even did the whole cool jump out of the water bit. When he finally got it reeled to the boat Eric grabbed it with the net and he took a pic! He said Brodey was SO proud! Eric said that he thought about keeping it and mounting it, but Brodey was adamant about throwing it back. ;) He didn't weigh it but he said it was close to 6lb. This makes me laugh because it weighs more than Brodey did when he was born! Bro only weighed 4.4lb haha!
It was a good and memorable fishing day for both boys! It was so much fun for me to hear them tell the story! They were both so proud! Oh and thank goodness for camera phones!
Well I'm off to put my fisherman Brodey in the bathtub! He just read me his site reading homework. It's crazy to see him recognize words! I love it!
Have a wonderful Monday night!
LOVE APRIL :)

I "mustache" you a question...

2011-09-04T12:40:00.000-05:00

Are you having a relaxing Labor Day weekend?

Hahahaha! This pic makes me laugh so hard! Sometimes after school we stop at the gas station down the road from his school and I let him pick out some snacks. Well Thursday he chose a Grape Crush. I yelled at him to come into the scrapbook room and as soon as I saw him I busted out laughing. He looked so funny with his grape mustache that I told him to make a goofy face as I took a pic with my phone. It's so Zoolander I love it!

So I hope your weekend has been great and I hope you got a giggle out of the mustache pic!

LOVE APRIL :)

My Lil' KINDY GARDNER

2011-08-12T11:52:00.000-05:00

"Wake up my lil' KINDY GARDNER!!!" It hasn't been so fun waking up my little kindergarten boy the last couple of days! He's a sleeper!
Yesterday was our first day of school at Woodall! My little bitty baby boy is in Mrs Horner's kindergarten class. Wow.
After going to the meet and greet he was SO excited to get back to school and to see all of his friends! Several of the Mrs Tuck alumnae are in his class. It makes it easier to see familiar faces and to have someone to play with on the playground!

(Our traditional on the front porch before the first day of school shot)

(Bro with his best bud Cy)
We really didn't get to take too many pics! I wanted another pic in front of the Woodall school sign like we did last year, but it was raining. :( I LOVE the rain, but oh well! Maybe I'll dress him up in the same outfit and take him up after school today. Hehe
So I wanted a fun and unique gift for Brodey's new teacher. I can thank my buddy Jocelyn. She is who I have to blame for my Pinterest addiction.
As soon as I saw the crayon monogram I HAD to make it for Brodey's new teacher! It took less than an hour or two to make and I LOVE how it turned out! Mrs Horner totally loved it! It was a fun and unique gift and I enjoyed making it so much I added it to my Etsy store.

If anyone is interested to know how I made it let me know! I'll post a how-to.
Well I'm headed to the laundry room! Today is sheet washing day! Wahoo! LOL! My Dad's birthday is tomorrow! Can't wait to see the birthday boy! :)
Have a fantastic Friday!!
LUV APRIL :)

Bye Bye Baby Tooth

2011-07-22T19:30:00.000-05:00

Oh my. Yesterday was eventful.
First I get an angry phone call from Eric about how some lady was in the one lane toll booth with no money, he got out to give her 50 cents, and his truck was in reverse and totally bent back his door. As I type that I realize I don't really know exactly what happened there. All I know is the lady didn't even say thank you. He was mad.
Then last night Brodey pulled his tooth out. Yep. He's a BIG BOY now.
It has been hurting him for a while. Every time he eats it puts pressure on the tooth underneath it.
We even made his little Tooth Fairy box to be prepared. So cute.
Last night, though, was the last straw. I made corn on the cob and he couldn't eat it. I had to cut it off for him. Ugh he was mad.
So he wiggled on it all day and when Daddy got home he put some good prescription numbing gel on it. (Daddy is luckily a dentist) He got a paper towel and I got my iPhone.

I just could not believe my little baby just pulled his tooth out.
I mean did I NOT just take this picture!?!?! I can't believe this was 2006. Geez.

I was freaking out a little bit. I'm freaking out a little bit right now!
Eric was freaked out too, but not for the same reason. He had put the numbing gel in his own mouth to see how strong it was and both of his lips and tongue was numb lol. It was funny.
SO glad I got it on video. My wittle boy is gwowing up. It's so sad.
He was excited about the Tooth Fairy though. I told him since he takes good care of his teeth and he did such a good job on his Tooth Fairy box that she would leave him money. BUT I had to negotiate for his tooth. I mean it is his first tooth and I have to keep it.
So the Tooth Fairy was kind and left $8. Oh and a note saying how proud she was of him and that he was doing a great job taking care of his teeth! He was thrilled.
Phew what a day! So glad it's Friday. The boys are outside swimming. Tomorrow we get to see Kerry, McKennah, Will, and Lola! We are SO EXCITED!!!!!
I'm off to cook dinner!
Have a safe and wonderful weekend!
LUV APRIL :)

When you are bored...

2011-07-19T17:33:00.000-05:00

When you are bored you do silly things.

And take silly pictures of it...

with your iphone that needs to be upgraded.

These pieces are from the Brodey collection of fine handmade jewelry.

He's opening an Etsy shop.

I have a ceramic rooster that proudly displays his collection. Next to the rooster is our fish. The fish got a new home today. Brodey picked it out. Before you tell me how eeeeeevil Spongebob is I have to tell you that I watch it. I watch it with Brodey. GASP! He even has Spongebob pajamas! Pure eeeeevil!
I'm going now. It's hot. Too hot to swim even. That's pretty hot.
April :)

Sixth Fourth and SOB's

2011-07-01T13:59:00.000-05:00

Well this Monday marks Brodey's sixth 4th of July!
When I put all the pics together it is amazing the difference each year makes! He is still the happy boy in each pic, but he is an older happier boy year after year. Here is last years.
If you have a baby this year I BEG you to start this tradition NOW! You will be so very happy that you did! I actually wanted to get him a gray t-shirt this year, but they didn't have one in his size. Oh well! I guess the gray shirt will always mark his very first 4th!
We will be headed to the lake this weekend! I'm so ready! It is gonna be HOT! Hopefully no rain although it was kind of neat to watch the fireworks last year with lightning in the sky behind it! Destiny and Jason get to hang with us, we get homemade ice cream Monday, and hopefully I will get some sort of tan. Mine is all gone. It doesn't stick around long.
I need to tell a little story before I leave you today. Sometimes when Brodey is hanging with the guys he tends to say things like darn or dang. I guess it makes him feel all tough and guy like. Sometimes Eric will say things like SOB or spell things when he is working outside or doing whatever it is guys do.
(I'm getting to the point I promise)
So the other day I was at the Scrappin Pad helping my friend Christie's daughter, Addie, make sorority gifts. I had to take Bro with me and after a while his "good" ran out. He was messing around with Addie and he says "SOB." We are all like WHAT!?!! I've heard Eric say it but never Brodey.
He says "What? What did I say?"
I'm like "Bro you can't say SOB. It's a bad word."
Christie says "Where did you hear that?"
"My Dad." He says and after I tell him he can't say it he says it a few more times and eventually forgets about it.
We go home that afternoon and he goes straight to his room and he's all quite. (Of course you moms know that that means go see what they are up to.) I sneak into his room and I see he has his Magnadoodle.
"Hey Bro whatcha doin?"
He starts laughing. I look down and this is what he has written.

So I'm laughing now.
"What in the world is that, Bro?"
He turns all serious.
"It's my naughty list. I wrote it down so I would know not to say it."
Oh man. It's sweet unless you know what a smart alec my kid is. ;)
Have a safe and fabulous fourth!
LUV APRIL :)

No One Can Tell Us What to Dream

2011-05-20T11:05:00.000-05:00

"No one can tell us what to dream, Mom." Brodey said to me in the car this morning on the way to school.
"That's right. We can dream whatever we want."
"I like to dream about you."
"Aw Bro I like to dream about you too!" As I get all teary-eyed.
"Last night I dreamed that me and you were playing in the snow. It was a really good dream."
And I melt.
Yesterday I showed up a little bit early to pick Bro up from school. Mrs Tuck was reading them a book and in the book a baby tiger was dreaming. "No one can tell us what to dream" she told everyone. Brodey looked over at me and smiled. That must have meant something to him because I could see the wheels turning. It's like magic.
It's like when they are babies and they are learning to crawl. You are so proud that your heart is going to burst out of your chest, but at the same time it's sad because you know it's one step more to them growing up. Then they learn how to walk and it's the same feeling all over again...but you start putting the breakables away. ;)

I told Erin last night that it's the exact same feeling all over again when they start to learn letters and are on the edge of learning to read.
"Hey Mom. Your name starts with A."
"Yes Bro my name starts with A." I'm so proud my heart swells.
"Oh your name starts with an A like Arianna's name starts with an A!" And my heart explodes into a million pieces.
But you know what? I didn't teach him that. I helped along the way, but Mrs Tuck is the one that taught him that. And she also taught him that no one can tell us what to dream.

On the edge of Brodey's first year of PreK being over, I sit here and think of how thankful and appreciative I am. Sending your child off into the unknown for 7 hours every day is scary. I couldn't have done it if it weren't for an awesome teacher that I trust and I know that cares for Brodey as much as anyone besides his Mom could.
No gift I could give and no words I could type would express how thankful I am. I'm thankful for patience, empathy, humor, and caring. I'm mostly thankful for putting up with a neurotic Mom who freaks out if she sends her kid to school in shorts and it turns cold. ;)
WE LOVE YOU MRS TUCK!!! We couldn't have asked for a better teacher! Your future students are very lucky to have you! (Don't worry we'll make sure they appreciate! We'll be next door! Ha!)
Okay off to fix my nonwaterproof mascara! ;)
LUV APRIL

The Simple Things...

2011-05-19T11:35:00.000-05:00

Hi folks! I took a little break from the blogging world, but you know I'll always be back. ;)
Today I'm reminded that it's the simple things in life that make me happy.

My cat who is always happy to see me.

The coffee that Eric brings me home from the Amish store.

The handwritten notes Doc sends.

The green grass in my yard and the beautiful flowers on my back porch.

Showing up a little early to pic Bro up so I can watch him play on the playground.

Good parking spaces. FRONT ROW at Woodland Hills Mall. I mean the FIRST parking spot. Can't beat that! Even Brodey was impressed!

And my boys goofing off in the backyard.
Because it's also the simple things that our kiddos will remember. Ya sure they remember the vacations and birthdays, but it's the happy simple things that make LIFE.
I hope you have a simply happy Thursday.
LUV APRIL :)

Angry Birds and a Cat on a Hot Tin Roof

2011-03-25T10:08:00.004-05:00

Elizabeth Taylor in Cat on a Hot Tin Roof. I have always thought she was the most beautiful woman I have ever seen in that movie. Love that movie. I have also always been in love with the necklace she wears in it. If you have ever heard me say "I would like to have a diamond necklace with the diamond ON the chain. Not hanging on a pendant, but ON the chain" well...that's where I got that idea. I'll have one someday if I ever find one!
I was so sad when I heard she had passed away. I have always loved how she talked, moved, and I have always thought she was just the most beautiful woman. Giant, Father of the Bride, National Velvet. They are all some of my most favorite movies of all time. She is a legend.
I've been busy lately. Scrapbooking and cardmaking take over my brain. I can't do both at the same time. It's like I have a scrapbooking side and a cardmaking side. It's weird.
I taught the last run of my March Stamper's Night Out class last night! Fun times! I'll be posting the cards on my card blog soon!
Spring is finally here!!! You have NO idea how happy this makes me! These beautiful flowers are my most favorite flower of all time! They may not be the most beautiful, but to me they signify change and the end of winter! You know how much I dislike winter! The yard guys even mowed this week! Yeah for spring!
Oh before I go I must post this Public Service Announcement: My son has discovered Angry Birds on my phone.
What does this mean for me? A dead phone and ignored texts and phone calls.
What does this mean for you? You could have been one of the many ignored texts or phone calls.
If you have been ignored please send another text or give me another call! Oh and I apologize on behalf of my 5 year old. He has been instructed to quit ignoring texts and calls or no more Angry Birds! :)
And why are the birds so angry anyway?
Have a wonderful springy Friday!
LUV APRIL

The Weekend

2011-03-15T10:18:00.002-05:00

Well HELLO SPRING! Last weekend Brodey and I took a trip to Arkansas to stay with my awesome cousins! I was beyond excited driving there and back because the Daffodils were EVERYWHERE! If you don't know Daffodils are my most favor tie flower of all time! It might not be the most beautiful, but to me it signifies the end of yucky winter! LOVE them!
This weekend was Eric's birthday! We celebrated by heading down to Dallas to stay with our besties Destiny and Jason! We had an awesome time! Eric declared it as one of his best birthdays ever. We went to Al-Amir which was SO good! (Almost as good as my Lebanese dishes! Hehe!) They had belly dancers and a girl that hula hooped with about 30 at once! I can't even do one!!
Sunday I ate at one of my favorite places of all time...TACO DELITE!!! It was DELIGHTful. I even got a t-shirt. Don't be jealous Erin and Kerry! I'll let you borrow it! ;)
After Taco Delite we headed home. Our original plans were to meet Eric's parents in McAlester to pick up Brodey and head home. At the last second we changed our minds and headed towards Holdenville on highway 48.
I was driving and as we got just South of Tupelo I saw a mini van swerving in front of us. I was like "Look at this idiot."
Eric glanced up and then looked back down at his phone.
I'm watching the mini van and if you haven't driven on 48 it has NO shoulder. It's just dirt. So the mini van swerves off into the ditch, he jerks it back onto the highway and when he does he loses control. He goes back off the road once more and it comes across the highway and flips three times out of the ditch and lands in a dirt road perpendicular to the highway.
I'm smacking Eric "Call 911!!!" as I pull over onto the dirt.
We were literally so close that as I run up to the van it's still rocking a little bit. I could see feet on the ground out the driver back window but I don't hear anyone at first so I start yelling "Are you okay!?!?! Are you okay?" I'm praying please don't let anyone be in pieces or dead.
I run over to the front and see a woman hanging face down in the front passenger seat by the seat belt. She wasn't moving or talking and I'm like oh crap.
Finally I hear a man in the back freaking out. He pops up out of the window of the sliding door and I'm like "Are you okay!?!? Are there kids in here!?! Calm down!"
He's like "My wife my wife!"
I'm like "ARE THERE KIDS IN HERE!?!?!"
"Yes my son!"
"Is he okay? Can you hand him to me."
He goes back in and hands me his son over the side. The poor boy's face is covered in blood and of course he's shaking and crying. His poor eyes, mouth, and nose are filled with dirt from the dirt road. I'm telling him it's okay you're okay thinking please let him be okay. I'm asking him questions and he's answering me so I thought well okay. He could tell me his name, he was 4, how many fingers I was holding up and where he lives. I got him back to my car where I had water and wipes and LUCKILY a little McDonald's car still in the packaging. I'm not sure where all the blood came from because he was fine. He had a tiny bruise on his forehead and a couple of scratches on his arm. I couldn't believe it. I thought of all the kids I see that aren't in car seats or even seat belts and can't even imagine if he hadn't been in his.
Eric and the guy managed to kick the front windshield out of the car to get the lady out. She wasn't coming out any other way. She was epileptic and had come to when they got her out.
Within about 10 minutes of everyone getting out some medics arrived. Once the man calmed down he realized he was pretty hurt. He hadn't had his seat belt on. Guess that's why he was in the back when I ran up to the car. It took a long time for the ambulance and fire trucks to get there. Luckily it distracted the little boy from his hurt parents.
About 50 minutes after it all happened they finally took the little boy and the dad in ambulance. We left once I knew the little boy would be okay. They had to send the helicopter from Seminole to get the lady. I wish I could find out if everyone was okay! What an ordeal.
Literally about 5 miles passed them it started raining on us. Thank goodness it held out that long!
I had blood all over my neck, face, arms, and shirt. I just kept thinking thank God he was okay. Now that I think about it I think maybe his nose bled. Poor boy.
We finally make it to Holdenville and we leave for home that night. I had to give Bro lots of hugs.
Eric was too tired to drive so I told him if I was going to drive I would have to stop and get something to drink. I stopped at Okemah Love's right off I-40. When I went to get out of the car it was raining and I noticed a CUTE little girl about 2 in her car seat alone with the car running and lights on. Geez.
"Hey Eric this little girl is in the car by herself. Watch her."
I run in, get my drink, and get in line. I notice the girl in front of me with "Cassie" on her sweatshirt. "Hold on let me check on my kid." and she runs out of the store. I'm pointing to her to Eric out the window and I just knew he would say something to her.
NOW I have to say that I have left Bro in the car before and I'm sure several moms have too. BUT I would NEVER leave my 2 year old in a running car at a sketchy Love's right off I-40.
So I turn around and a clean cut Samuel L Jackson look alike (complete with beret I'm not kidding) gets in line behind me. He looks down at my toes and says "Little girl your toes look GOOD!"
I'm like "Aw thanks!! I just got a pedicure yesterday!"
"That color looks good!"
"Thanks! I tried to get my husband to get one with me but he wouldn't do it!"
"Why not? I get mine done! You know women don't take care of their toes anymore! It's a shame! They look like they've been playing floor hockey!"
I busted out laughing "Oh my gosh that's the funniest thing I've ever heard!"
"It's true!"
How can you argue with that!?! I don't even know what floor hockey is but after the day I'd had it was pretty darn funny!
So I go back out to the car and leave. By this time it's pouring and I'm only able to go 60. As I'm driving a car passes me like I'm sitting still. It's THE CAR FROM LOVE'S!!! I knew because she had a vanity plate from Texas. I couldn't even believe it.
"Hey Eric look it's that chick with the baby from Love's. Cassie."
"Wow she's going way too fast. Especially with that baby in the front seat."
"WHAT!?!?!! She was in the front seat." After the day I'd had I couldn't even believe it.
The moral to the story people is BUCKLE your KIDS UP!!! Be an idiot and don't buckle yourself. You'll end up in the back seat, but PLEASE buckle your kids up. It's annoying and takes time but just do it. Please.
Phew! My hands are cramping! I'm off to get ready! Brodey is beyond excited. We are meeting my parents and sister in Tulsa and my dad's taking him to Chuck E Cheese. "Mom won't let me go so I'm glad you are taking me Papa." Ha! ;) So am I Bro!
Have a fantastic Wednesday!
LUV YA!
April

Am I Crazy?

2011-02-08T10:43:00.004-06:00

I guess one week is my limit. I left my house today for the first time in a week. I wanted to do cartwheels and bust into song at Wal-Mart. I'll bet no one would have cared. You know...I wouldn't have been surprised if shoppers had pushed their carts away and broke into song with me. We could have done a musical dance number in the aisle at Wal-Mart. All Glee style. That would be awesome.
So back to reality. I just took that pic from my front porch. We still have snow, but the roads are mostly cleared off. Side roads aren't so good, but luckily my driveway faces the South and what little sun we have had has cleared it off.
Brodey went back to school today. He was excited to see his friends and Mrs Tuck. Last night I said "You get to go to school tomorrow! Are you excited?"
He said "Yes I'm ready to see my friends."
"I'm sure you are! You haven't had school in a long time!"
"Yes I know. Mrs Tuck knows how much kids like to play in the snow so she let us stay home."
Hahaha! "Yep that's exactly right, Bro!" ;)
His Valentine's Party is next week so I went ahead and bought what we need to make his little bags for his friends. He also signed me up to make the Ice Cream Cone Cupcakes. YUM!!! I think since we will likely be out another couple of days of school this week I'll let him make his Valentine's. I'm going to see if I can find some of the ones Eric made me when we were little to post next week. Hehe! Eric was an expert heart artist! ;)
Well I'm off to do laundry and clean up. This is the first day in a week that the house will actually STAY clean for 4 hours straight!
I'm not looking forward to more snow, but at least I can think about the grass starting to turn green next month! THAT makes me happy!
LUV APRIL

Hittin' the Slops

2011-02-04T14:32:00.005-06:00

So I'm grabbing my skis to hit the slopes...wait...I don't live in Colorado. Or do I? Whoa I thought I lived in Oklahoma. Is someone playing a trick on me!?! Cause I'm pretty sure we got about A FOOT OF SNOW AGAIN TODAY!!!
Any and all areas of snow that the boys tore up is now filled back in. It's like someone took a great big tub of frosting and spread another layer in my yard. That statement just made me really want some Red Velvet Cake. SEE what being stuck in the house all week will do to you!!! FOOD FOOD FOOD! That's all you think about! Well that and the little wet muddy footprints in the floor.
I'm over the snow, but there is nothing I can do about it so I give up. We aren't out of food yet but we are out of PPV movies to watch. Thank goodness I'm not out of scrapbook supplies!
Brodey is enjoying his break. He says he misses his friends and I think his mind gets bored, but he's great at keeping himself entertained.

It has warmed up a little so if it stops snowing he might get to go out and play! I hope Eric can make it home! He had to go 30mph just to get to work this morning! I can see vehicles driving on the highway, but they are creeping by. It might just take him a while to get here! The challenge will be making it up our driveway! He slid down it this morning!
Well I hope you have a safe and warm Friday!
Signing off from snowy Colorado...oops I mean Oklahoma!
LUV APRIL ;)

Lucky

2011-02-02T17:57:00.003-06:00

Well we lucked out! We got a TON of snow and sleet but hardly any ice! Wahoo!!! That means the odds of us losing power goes way down!
My parents lost power briefly yesterday, but it came back on last night. They were VERY relieved!
Tomorrow will be day 3 of no school for Brodey. It's been so difficult to keep him indoors. We have let him go out a few times, but only briefly. It's just WAY too cold. When he went out today he had his face totally covered up by a thick little Gap knit/fleece scarf. It still took his cheeks 30+ minutes for the redness to go away! It's just too cold! It's like a cruel joke to have all this snow outside and it's too cold to play!
We did make snow ice cream! It was Brodey AND Eric's very first time to eat it! I can't even remember when I first had it. It was before I was Brodey's age. They LOVED it.
We have an outside cat named Kitty. Eric rigged her little house up out on the back porch to block the wind, but since our back porch faces the North I decided to put her in the garage overnight. I opened the door this morning to get her and when I called for her she scared the you know what out of me! She popped up out of a cardboard box on top of our saferoom like a Jack in the Box. (If you know me you know I'm not a big fan of Jack in the Boxes...OR surprises for that matter) I jumped out of my skin and then I laughed because it was pretty funny. Wish I had it on video.
Oh my haha I just realized that Bro is wearing the same thing in this photo and in the photo I posted the other day. Apparently Eric likes to put him in that fleece top and Carharts. I took this pic right before he went out today.
Well I'm signing off for tonight. Eric and I watched Red last night on PPV. It was really good! Tonight we are watching Dinner for Schmucks. Fun times on the couch!
Stay warm and have a good night!
LUV APRIL :)

Rain and Snow and ICE OH MY!

2011-01-31T12:38:00.005-06:00

Well it's coming. Every local channel and even national channels are talking about this storm that is headed our way. Rain, freezing rain, ice, sleet and snow. The whole shebang. Sounds like fun....HA!!! I'm not even interested! If I didn't have dogs, a cat, and a fish to take care of I would already be on an airplane to somewhere WARM!
The pic is from this last snow we had. Doesn't the snowman have a sweet face? He loved us SO much that he just finally melted into snowman heaven on Saturday.
Josh the friendly electrician just left. He added a plug in so that we can just hook the generator up right to our house if we lose power. I am VERY thankful for this. He has probably saved my neck from the bazillion extension cords we had to use in 2009 and previous ice storms. We haven't lost power since that storm (I type as I am BANGING on wood)
This was a layout I did about the ice storm in January of 2009. It was in the January 2010 issue of Creating Keepsakes.
This is the first version before I made changes to it. If you click on the photo on the second layout you can read the journaling. The layout on top was taken in a hurry for deadline so that lighting isn't the best and it's kinda blurry.
So I made the dreaded trip to Wal-Mart this morning. I should have taken a pic of the produce aisle. It was wiped out. Thankfully they had what I needed, though, and I got outta there. I was dreading it, but I got everything we need! If it ends up as bad as they predict it will, I will be feeding the boys three meals a day for a while. That's a lot of groceries!
I'm a tiny bit freaked because I'm not feeling too good. My body feels like it won't wake up and my throat hurts. So add not getting sick to my list of prayers. Okay I'm finished whining. :)
I guess by morning we will have some idea of how bad this storm will be. I keep thinking how very lucky we are to have weathermen to warn us. I can't imagine being back in the day when storms like this just showed up. Makes me think of reading all the Little House on the Prairie books!
Well have a great Monday!
LUV APRIL :)

I Need an Intervention...

2011-01-26T15:54:00.003-06:00

I'm addicted to French Onion Dip. It's so good. Every time I eat it I feel like I'm at a party or a baby shower. It's just so good. The very best brand is Braum's and Highland is a close second. Everything else is crap. Someone help me...
So I blame French Onion Dip for the diet I have to start next week. I need a food detox. I need a sugar detox.
Monday I made this to take to Bachelor night at Marcie's.

Yes it's good. This bread is wonderful. I got this recipe out of a Paula Deen magazine several years ago. The recipe calls for 6 very ripe bananas, but I only had 3 and it was perfect. I also had just under a cup of sour cream and it didn't matter. Everyone ate it up.
This is probably one of Eric's favorite things to eat. He says it's "like potato chips." Well it MIGHT be good dipped in French Onion Dip, but....just kidding! ;)
Here's the recipe, but don't blame me if you become addicted!

Chocolate Chip Banana Bread
6 medium very ripe bananas
2 tablespoons vanilla extract
2 cups firmly packed brown sugar
1½ cups vegetable oil
1 cup sour cream
4 large eggs
3½ cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup finely chopped pecans (optional-I use walnuts)
2 cups mini semisweet chocolate morsels

Preheat the oven to 350. Grease two 6x9 inch loaf pans.

In a small bowl mash bananas together with the vanilla.

In a large bowl combine brown sugar, oil, sour cream, and eggs. Stir until combined.

In a medium bowl combine flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Gradually add to sugar mixture, stirring until just combined.

Stir in banana mixture, ground pecans(optional), and chocolate morsels.

Pour into prepared pans and bake for 1 hour and 15 minutes, or until toothpick comes out clean.

Let cool in pans for 15 minutes. Remove from pans and cool totally on wire racks

HERE'S the link to the recipe on my Tastebook.
So...I'm not a celebrity and I wouldn't make it on Celebrity Rehab. Do you think French Onion Dip qualifies as a Strange Addiction?!? ;)
Happy Wednesday
LUV APRIL

Another Snow Day!

2011-01-20T15:34:00.004-06:00

Well I got the text from Mrs Tuck this morning at 5am telling us there would be no school today...enjoy! Brodey has definitely enjoyed it!
He has made many snow angels and tried to make a snowman, which didn't happen. While we got several inches of snow, it refuses to pack. It's just pretty fluffy snow. So there will be no snowmen guarding our house tonight.

The boys filled up the bird feeders and have "rescued" several stunned birds from the cat. The kamakazi birds have been smacking into the windows all day. Maybe they feel like I do and are sick of winter. Ha! ;)
Well this will be a short post. When both boys are home it keeps me pretty busy. The next time someone asks me if Brodey is "my only one" I'm going to say "no...I am married to the other one." Har har!
Stay warm!
LUV APRIL :)

Here We Go.....

2011-01-18T17:04:00.003-06:00

Girlfriends. Boyfriends. Love. I thought all that stuff started way later! I mean isn't Pre-K too young for that? Then I think back to when I was in Preschool....nope not too young! Hahaha!
I'm pretty sure I fell in love with Eric when he told me he "didn't play with GIRLS" at our parent's 10 year high school reunion at the park. Of course I had to shout back "well it looks like you are playing with a GIRL on the merry-go-round!!!" True story and it sounds just like us 26 years later.
So when I think back on that I shouldn't be too surprised at Brodey's girlfriend/boyfriend love talk.
It started with theJoe Has a Girlfriend talk. Then the other day someone told me a secret.
"Hey Brodey's mom! Come here I want to tell you a secret." Says Layne. A SUPER cute and sweet girl in Brodey's class. Eric actually works with her grandfather.
"Oh okay tell me a secret."
"I fell in love with Brodey...but don't tell!"
"Oh my goodness really!" I say as I try not to laugh.
"Oh yes. You can't tell anyone! Pinky promise!!"
"Okay pinky promise!"
"WHAT!?!?! Tell MEEEE!!!" Yells another little girl names Brooklynn.
"Well...okay you can tell the girls I guess. You just can't tell the boys."
"Got it!" Haha!
Brodey is witness to all of this and is VERY upset that I wouldn't tell him and Layne got a big kick out of that!
I can't lie and say I'm surprised by this. I did have a head's up by Layne's mom back before Christmas.
"Layne told me the other day that Brodey is her best friend." Her mom tells me.
"Aw! That's so sweet!"
"Yes she said that Brooklynn pushed her down and Brodey came and helped her up. So he's her best friend."
LOVE that! It totally made me smile. So I kind of knew he was on Layne's radar.
Then yesterday when we got home he pulled some stuff out of his pocket.
"Hey look mom! I almost forgot!"
"Oh what's that!?!" It was a little metal thing that looked like a washer and a big blue jewel.
"Oh...the GIRLS gave me these!"
"Haha! Wow! They did?"
"Yes. Layne gave me the jewel and Miley gave me the silver. They are my treasures I have to put them up now."
He took them and put them up with his marble collection. He was most proud of them and I thought well...here we go! At least it wasn't melted lipstick! ;)
Have a terrific Tuesday!
LUV APRIL :)

One Whole Hand...

2011-01-12T12:16:00.003-06:00

My boy is "one whole hand" today! I can't even believe it! It doesn't seem real.
He is the one that came up with "one whole hand." At some point someone asked him how old he was going to be and he said "5" and held up his hand. He looked at me and said "Oh my goodness mom! I'm gonna be one whole hand!" I though it was funny.
So since his bday falls on a school day we decided to bring cupcakes to school. I always loved it when my mom made me ice cream cone cupcakes so that's what we did.
We went into town yesterday and I got Funfetti cake mix, went to Braum's to get cones (I didn't want to take my chances on getting stale ones at the grocery store), and headed home. We baked them up and Brodey decorated them with sprinkles.
When I got up this morning I checked on them and the cones were soggy. Crap. So after I took Bro to school I went back into town and bought the stuff to remake them. I know that's ridiculous, but I couldn't take soggy cupcake cones to school!!! So now my house smells yummy and I discovered there are way more calories in the Funfetti mix than regular. Yikes!
I snapped that pic this morning after Mrs Tuck made him his bday crown! He looks a little pale, poor guy. He was up last night coughing his little head off and Eric gave him the GOOD cough medicine. This means he slept great, but didn't feel so great when he got up this morning. I think he had a little medicine head going on. He was a trooper, though, and was in a great mood once I sang him Happy Birthday a thousand times off key and gave him just as many kisses. ;)
I was just reading the blog post where he turned 1. It seems like it just happened!
Okay I'm going to stop before I ruin my makeup. It's just so sad how quickly time goes by.
Have a wonderful Wednesday and stay warm! Fingers and toes are good to have around!
LUV APRIL :)

Another Snow Day but You Can't Play...

2011-01-11T14:51:00.004-06:00

Well we are home again today! I'm sure the roads were pretty messy this morning.
I went to my friend Marcie's house last night with the girls to watch The Bachelor at 8. It was snowing chunks of snow and the roads were soaked. By the time I left to go back home at around 11 the grass was covered with snow again and the temp had severely dropped. Right now the wind chill is 15. NOT fun! So even though there is snow on the ground outside poor Bro can't play in it! He would FREEZE!
This handsome boy will be "one whole hand" tomorrow...as he puts it. I just ran in there and snapped this pic. He's watching Tom and Jerry. He's still in his PJ's but he has Peter Pan pants on. Looks like he's been in his Halloween costumes LOL.
I posted a new card on my Stampin Up blog. It's one of the cards we made at our Stamper's Night Out last week. Fun times!!
Well I'm going to go get dressed. Bro isn't the only one still in his PJ's! Hehe!
Stay warm and have a terrific Tuesday!
LUV APRIL :)

Snow Day...well sort of.

2011-01-10T11:58:00.004-06:00

We kind of had a snow day today. The snow is already gone, but Brodey had fun playing in what was left!
I'm sure the roads were bad this morning, but they seem to be fine now. I know last night they weren't! We went to Holdenville to celebrate Brodey's birthday (he turns 5 on Wednesday) and left to come back last night at 9. We didn't pull into the driveway until 11:50. It usually takes us just over an hour and a half. It was NOT fun.
Brodey actually had more snow to play with in Holdenville. We left the house without snow boots and gloves so we kind of had to improvise. Rene (Eric's mom) was VERY creative! ;)
She took plastic Wal-Mart bags and covered his tennis shoes and hands with them. Then she took socks and covered the bags with the socks. Haha! It looked hilarious, but it worked great!
He threw snowballs and dug in the snow and when he came in his hands were still warm! Fun times!
Well I'm off to make some stew! If you are a scrapbooker I posted a couple of new layouts on my paperscrafting blog HERE! If you are a cardmaker I posted a couple of new cards on my Stampin Up blog HERE!
Have a wonderful Monday!
LUV YA!
April :)

Sorry Bro

2011-01-07T18:29:00.003-06:00

Dear Bro,
I'm sorry that you were born in January. I know that you would love to have an outside party, but it isn't going to happen. It looks like it will be another indoor pool party this year. Thank goodness for indoor pools!
Love, Your Mother

Well I'm back from my self-imposed blog hiatus. The holidays got a wittle bit crazy. Everyone got sick at least once, I was sick twice and Enstrom's almond toffee took chocolate chip cookie's place as my sworn enemy.
I just have to say THANK YOU to everyone that sent us a Christmas card! That is one of my favorite things about Christmas. That's why it's so pathetic I never get mine sent out. So please don't feel like you were forgotten. ;)
Brodey had a great Christmas. Every year is more fun than the last. He asks more questions and "gets it" now. He even made it a habit to sing Happy Birhday to Jesus about every 5 minutes. So cute!
We didn't get to party for New Year's. Eric crashed out early and Brodey and I stayed up playing Kirby's Epic Yarn until midnight. Not sure he understood why we were celebrating, but I DID get a kiss!
Brodey's 5th birthday is Wednesday. Yes I said FIFTH. I got all sad about it today. Eric put it in perspective for me. "Your little boy is growing up, April. That's what happens once they start school. Next he will be going to college and we will be old." Gee thanks, Eric. You sure know how to lift my spirits.
So I guess it will be another indoor pool party unless I can come up with a better idea.
So I was sitting here and Bro comes in here and gets in my lap.
"Joe has a girlfriend. Hehehe"
"Oh really!"
"Yes he got her lipstick. Hehehe"
"Hahaha what!?!"
"Yes he took his sister's lipstick and he had it in his pocket at school. Hehehe"
"Oh my did it melt?"
"No! He gave it to his girlfriend when we were at PE."
"Haha who's his girlfriend?"
"Well I don't know! Some girl in Mrs Key's class!"
"Do YOU have a girlfriend?"
"Hehehe NO!"
"If you had a girlfriend what would you get her?"
"I wouldn't give her someone else's lipstick...I'd give her flowers!"
Oh geez!!! He starts college next week.
Have a fantastic Friday!
LUV APRIL ;)

The Countdown Begins...

2010-12-12T15:32:00.007-06:00

Well Christmas is right around the corner! It's hard for me to believe! We have the bulk of our gifts bought. There are only a couple that we need to figure out. That is REALLY good for us! I'm pretty surprised really! Usually we are last minute shoppers but it feels good to have most of it done a little early! ;)
If you know me you know that I LOVE magazines. I blame it on my grandpa who used to order me subscriptions while trying to win millions through Publisher's Clearinghouse. Do they still even do that? He used to get me kid magazines like Disney or when I got older Seventeen magazine. It was like Christmas every time one came in the mail!
Now I love Paula Deen, InStyle, People, Rachel Ray and a ton of others! One of the things I love about them is that they usually have little sections where they show cool gift ideas. I LOVE these! That's where I found several of the cool gifts below!

Wouldn't you LOVE to drink out of THAT!?!?! I love it! They have all of the states and they even have countries and holiday versions!
This one is a dish towel that I want! The holiday ones are SUPER cute! I saw these in Paula Deen and had to share! They even have t-shirts, totes, aprons, and pillows, but the pillows are a little too pricey for me! ;) The glasses and towels are reasonable, though! The site is Cat Studio. Visit it! It's pretty cool!

Okay so you all know I LOVE me some stamps! But come on! Who wouldn't love a personalized stamp!?!?!
The stamp above is from Modern Art Stamps. They have several cute faces to choose from. This one just happened to have my name under it! Haha! I'm going to order Brodey one after Christmas!

OR if you have someone to buy for that moved into a new house this year or got married Stampin Up sells super cute personalized address stamps! These are just a couple of designs. If you have a catalog they are on page 145. If you are interested let me know! You need to order ASAP to have them by Christmas!
So I'm pretty sure most peeps around here make the trek to War Eagle Mill every fall to their awesome crafts festival. I have only gone once (I didn't get to go this year boohoo) but I LOVED it. They make my all time favorite hot sauce and salad dressings, but they also make a TON of other stuff.
I actually order my hot sauce and salad dressing from them when I run out and their shipping is fantastic. Everything is packed up so well that the UPS man would have to run over it to damage it.
The gift above is their super cute Smidgen, Dash, and Pinch measuring set. It's only $3.00 so it would be perfect with the biscuit cutters below.
I really want these! They are true biscuit cutters! Supposedly your biscuits will rise better because of the clean edge these give. I'm ordering these for myself with my next order! ;)
It's so fun to go to War Eagle! You can go into the mill and actually see them milling the grains and they will tell you about everything. So much fun! I hope I get to go back next year!

Okay so it's kind of terrible that I show you this last one since it's too late to order for delivery by Christmas. BUT if you happen to get an iPhone for Christmas or need to treat yourself you have to check out this website. Heck you can probably even get someone a gift card to it!
I LOVE it. I could probably order one of just about everything on there. They have it all. It's called Monogram Lane and if you have a wedding or a birthday soon they have beautiful gifts.
Okay so that's all the fun gifts I'm sharing for today! Isn't Christmas fun!?! It's almost worth this nasty cold and windy weather!
Well I'm outta here! I'm off to figure out dinner!
I hope you had a wonderful weekend! Back to reality tomorrow!
LUV APRIL :)

Quick Update

2010-12-07T15:39:00.002-06:00

Hello. I'm not dead. Just in case you were wondering. ;)
I have strep. It isn't very fun! I haven't had it in years. I mean since my age was in the single digits. That's been a while!
So my post will be super quick today. I just wanted to let you know about my December Stamper's Night Out next week. I had so much fun at the last one that I had to get another one in before Christmas! The link is HERE! We will be using the Cute Christmas stamp set from Stampin Up! I love this stamp set. If you want your very own to use at the SNO let me know ASAP! I will ordering tomorrow so they will get here in time!
Also, if you would like to place a Stampin Up! order to arrive by Christmas you need to have your order in to me by December 14th. I am giving Brodey's teacher THIS set. I love it!
Okay folks! I'm headed back to the couch! I told you this would be a quick post!
Happy Tuesday!
LUV APRIL :)

Little Sick Boy

2010-12-02T13:10:00.003-06:00

Poor Bro. I'm pretty sure he has been sick more this school year than his entire 4 years of living. Monday he felt great. Monday night he woke me up because he was burning up. Poor guy had a fever. I gave him some Tylenol and once his fever broke I had to change his PJ's because he soaked them through! Poor guy!
"Does this mean I can't go to school tomorrow, Mom?"
"Yep Bro I'm afraid so."
"Oh man. But I have to practice my Christmas program and put up the tree!"
So sad!
He ran a fever off and on Tuesday and Wednesday. He felt okay. He stayed on the couch quite a bit, but he never threw up or complained of any aches or pains. Thank goodness. By Wednesday night he was back to his normal self. He was VERY happy to get back to school today!
Stamper's Night Out was Tuesday night! I had SO MUCH FUN! The girls that came were a blast and every one's tags looked awesome! I can't wait for the next one! :)
Well I just thought I would check in! I'm going to knock on wood and then sit on the couch for a little bit. I'm not feeling so hot. Head and throat feel funny. Eek!
Have a great Thursday!!
LUV APRIL :)

Routine

2010-11-29T17:03:00.003-06:00

Well it's back to routine! Last week went by so quickly! I can't believe it's been a week since I last posted! Sheesh!
Thanksgiving was wonderful. I LOVE to see my family and get to eat yummy food that I don't have to cook! ;) If I had to choose a last meal I would request my mom's turkey and dressing. No lie. It's amazing. I want some right now.
So I actually did go shopping on Black Friday. That AFTERNOON! Haha! My sister, Brodey, and I went to Shawnee. We were at Old Navy about 5 minutes and I looked at her and said "You know...I'm not really in the shopping mood."
"I'm not really either. Let's go."
And that was the end of our Black Friday shopping.
We DID meet Kerry, McKennah, Will, and Aunt Karen at the movies! We saw Tangled in 3D and it was SOOOO good!! I loved it! I could have watched it again! Brodey's review was "Ya that movie where the girl fights with her hair was really good. Mom didn't even cry that much!" Ha!
We didn't really do much other than that. It was a nice relaxing weekend, but it was also nice to get back home into our routine.
I would, though, like someone to tell me how in the world my house is a disaster when we haven't even been here!?! We did leave in kind of a hurry. Oh and Brodey was home all week. That's probably why. ;)
Happy Monday!
LUV YA!
April :)

A Good Show

2010-11-22T23:26:00.003-06:00

What a beautiful day here in Oklahome! It was a tad windy, but I can't complain about 80 degree weather in November!!
We had a fun night! We went and ate pizza at Sam and Ella's for dinner. It was awesome as always. Oh and I didn't have to clean it up! ;)
After dinner we went to see Megamind. It was so good. When we got to the car Brodey says "That Megamind was a real good show, Mom. Real good."
"I agree Bro! It was real good!"
Eric snapped the pic in the theater. His phone takes better pics than mine. Oh and it has a flash. Maybe I should run over my phone so I can get a 4G. Ha!
Thanksgiving is this week can you even believe it!?! I'm pretty excited. Turkey and dressing is my favorite food. Well specifically my Mom's. I could probably eat cornbread dressing for at least one meal a day every single day. Yes I love it that much.
Everyone is talking about Black Friday. I'm not a big Black Friday shopper. I don't like to get up at 4am and I especially don't want to get up at 4am and deal with crazy people. The most shopping I'll do is maybe go to the mall that afternoon.
I'm more interested in the online deals they offer this week. Gap and Old Navy usually have some good ones. Stampin Up is also offering some REALLY good deals. I'll be taking advantage of that as well as the Gap and Old Navy ones! (If you are interested in the Stampin Up deals go to my website HERE and click on ONLINE SPECTACULAR at the bottom.)
Well friends I'm headed to bed!
I hope you had a magnificent Monday!
LUV YA!
April :)

I Missed It...

2010-11-19T13:53:00.004-06:00

I'm a terrible Mom. I should be beaten. This morning was Brodey's school Thanksgiving lunch and I missed it. I DID make it in to the cafeteria and got to watch him DUMP his lunch into the trashcan. Does that count?
I had to run errands this morning and I thought I was good on time. Then I pull into the school and notice kids walking out with parents and the parking lot is full....hhhmmm. I'm thinking okay it's 10:35. SURELY they haven't eaten lunch. So I walk/run into the classroom and the lady tells me they are eating. WHAT!?!?! I RUN into the cafeteria and Brodey is dumping his tray. OH MAN!!! I am almost in tears!
"Brodey! I'm sorry I missed your lunch!"
"That's okay Mom because it was REALLY good!"
He could care less. I told Mrs Tuck and she was like "Well I asked him where you were and he said oh she'll be here some time." Haha! "Sorry, Mom, but he didn't really mind! Now I have other kids that would have been devastated, but he was just excited the food was good!" That's my boy! ;)
I snapped a quick pic of him in his super cute turkey hat they made! He was on the playground playing with friends so he didn't have time for anymore pics. ;)
He also made this thankful poster. Mrs Tuck asked them what they were thankful for and that was his answer. SO cute!
He's outside playing with the puppy. We are taking him to Deandra today because she knows someone that wants a puppy! Yeah! He's a good dog, but we already have two! Which are at the groomers right now and I'm headed to pick up!
I hope you have a fantastic weekend!
LUV YA!!!
April :)

Look What I Brought Home...

2010-11-17T15:59:00.003-06:00

"Hello"
"Hey so there's this poor little puppy at school and they said it's been here since Friday. It's supposed to be cold and rainy tonight. He's really skinny. I'm bringing him home."
"Hey! No! April!"
"Okay so I'll see you later! I love you bye!"
That's how the conversation went between me and Eric on Monday.

When I went to pick Brodey up from school we walked out of the building and there was this little black puppy sitting in the alley.
I said "Aw Bro look at that puppy! He looks hungry."
One of the other pre-k teachers walked by and said "Oh yes he's cute. He's been here since Friday."
"Well I'm taking him home."
We went to get him and he ran away like he was scared. Bro and I followed him behind the school and he hid up in the bushes. We were trying to get him out when another teacher came by. She also said he had been there since Friday. They all assumed he was someones so they left but he was still there Monday morning. Her son helped us get him out of the bushes and off we went!
We decided that since we found him at Woodall school he should be named Woodie. Cute right?
Brodey loved him, but I knew Eric wouldn't go for it. So I took him home anyway and we fed him and gave him one of the cat's beds. (She wasn't happy about that but she needs to learn to share) He ate a ton. The poor thing was so skinny and dehydrated he didn't pee OR poop until the next morning.
He's still on the back porch. Eric has been trying to find a home for him. He is really cute and clean. After he eats he will walk all the way off the back porch and into the yard to do his "business."
I don't think he is going to get very big. His paws are pretty small. He is very loving. At first he acted scared and he would start at loud noises. He has gotten used to us now and he just sits on the back porch and waits for Brodey to come home. Every once in a while he will wander around like he's looking for him.
He goes in the garage at night so the raccoons don't eat him for dinner. He will wine at the door when he needs to go potty outside.
He's a good little puppy! I'm not sure if Eric has found him a home yet.
If you know anyone that wants a puppy let me know! He is black with some white on his neck and at the end of his paws. :)
I posted a new card over on {Stamp} Paper Scissors! It's a digital hybrid card that I used some Stampin Up digital elements on! Fun!
I received my copy of Scrapbooking Everyday Memories special issue by Creating Keepsakes magazine today! I had two layouts published in it and I just have to say this is a great issue! The cover is beautiful and there are tons of tips and sketches in there! I'm on pages 23 and 34!
Well I'm outta here! If you get a chance check out my UTEE Fall Leaves video! It's the technique I taught at the Among Friends scrapbook retreat a few weekends ago!
Have a wonderful Wednesday!
LUV YA!
April :)

Bat Turkey!

2010-11-14T23:29:00.004-06:00

Don't you just love school projects? I do! I do! :)
Brodey brought home a printout of a turkey last week with a note that said we were to decorate the turkey as a family project. Well come on! This is my area of expertise!
The turkey was due Friday so of course I go to Hobby Lobby to get supplies on Thursday. Brodey and I had talked about what we were going to do and we had several ideas. He didn't really have an opinion so I went with the Batman theme.

I got feathers (which make one heck of a mess by the way), felt, pom poms, and foam board. The checkout lady looked at me funny until I told her what I was doing. Haha!
When Brodey got home from school we cut apart the printed turkey to use as a pattern. Yes I freecut the Bat symbol. I looked up a photo of Batman on my phone as a guide. Brodey glued on all the feathers, pom poms, and pieces. He also cut out the printed turkey and colored his face. I just basically cut out the felt pieces and adjusted the them to make sure they looked right!
I also wrote along the bottom and then Brodey copied what I wrote beneath mine. If you tilt your head you can see he did a pretty good job!
I think our turkey turned out great! Batman would be proud! ;)
!"All of the kids at school were very impressed! When I picked Brodey up Mrs Tuck had all of the turkeys hung up on her door. All the kids in the hall were amazed and knew right away it was Batman! They were like "Wow! That is SO cool! It's Bat Turkey!"
Brodey was like "Me and my mom made it!"
"That's really cool! It looks just like Batman!"
Mrs Tuck was like "Oh all the kids love it! They all want to touch it!"
I said "Oh let them! If anything falls off just let me know and I'll bring the glue! Haha!!"
You can view the video below to see the turkey! I just realized I filmed the video BEFORE we wrote on it. Aw well! The video was originally meant to be sent to Eric and my Dad, but I thought it was cute so I posted it here!
Yes I know (If you follow Inky Fingers) I posted this video and NOT the How To for the leaves. Well this video took about 30 seconds to upload and the How To video is pretty long so my Internet is not cooperating. I'm going to try again tomorrow. For some reason I have better Internet luck on Mondays.
My Stampin Up blog {Stamp} Paper Scissors is finally up and running! Wahoo! Check it out! They are running an awesome special soon!
Well I'm off to bed! I hope you had a fantastic weekend!
LUV YA!
April :)

Happy Veteran's Day!

2010-11-11T09:39:00.003-06:00

Happy Veteran's Day!
Brodey wore his flag shirt today! He was so excited! They have been talking about Veteran's Day at his school and he was excited a veteran was coming to visit today.
"Do you think they will let us shoot their gun?"
With a not so straight face I said "Um no Bro. I don't think they will let you shoot their gun." ;)
I told him that Doc was a veteran and that he was in World War II.
"Wow really mom? Do you think we can send him a picture of me in my American flag shirt?"
So that's where the pic came from. I took it before school this morning. I just love that little boy!
It's such a nice day here! It rained all night, but it won't rain again for a while. It's so nice I had to take off the white undershirt Brodey had on.
Tonight will be a fun night! I'm headed to Tulsa with some of my favorite girly girls! Wahoo!!!
I'm also excited about my Stamper's Night Out coming up! I'm going to start doing a Stamper's Night Out down the road from my house at the Scrappin Pad! I would like to do it at least every month and would love to do it more often if people would like! I hope to meet fellow papercrafters/stampers in my area! If you are interested in coming or know someone who would be interested please pass on the info to them! You can read all about it HERE! It's gonna be fun!
Well I'm headed to the grocery store! I officially have nothing left to cook. We had breakfast for dinner last night! Brodey loved it, but Eric isn't a fan! ;)
I hope you have a terrific Thursday!
LUV YA!
April :)

I'm BACK in the saddle again!!

2010-11-08T22:01:00.006-06:00

Haha! A little Aerosmith for ya tonight! ;)
I've been absent from the blogs and I miss them! I've been very busy, but will be back in the groove by tomorrow afternoon! (Brodey would be so proud of that rhyme!)
I had a blast teaching at the Among Friends scrapbook retreat this weekend! It was a short 15 minute drive from my house! They stayed in a cute house on Fort Gibson lake. I taught a fun layout class that I will be sharing on the Inky Fingers blog this week!
So since I was at the retreat all weekend the boys had to fend for themselves. Eric is a really, really good cook but I have to admit that I hadn't gone to the grocery store in over a week. Thank goodness he is also good at cooking something out of nothing!
Friday night he made some fish on the grill. He sent me a pic of it since he was so proud. Jen said it didn't look very good so I won't post it here. ;)
Saturday night he was very proud of the dish he cooked above. He was so proud he even provided a description with the photo.
"The entree is a classic bowtie in a gardenstyle sauce with angus beef." Haha! Silly boy! I forgot I had those noodles in the cabinet and it was really good! I had it the next day for lunch. When he has to he can fend for himself! He just likes it better when I cook.
Well this will be a short post so that I can go try to clean up this

That's what happens when you are at a retreat all weekend and you come back home, dump your stuff, and get to work on deadlines!
I have projects spinning in my mind that I need to get done to post on Inky Fingers, but I also want to play with this

UGH I KNOW! It's filled with all sorts of fun stuff! I can't wait to play mad scientist with it all! We had some fun this weekend with the Melting Pot, didn't we girls!?!
Okay seeing the pic of that box lit a fire! I'm outta here! Time to get some inky fingers! I'm loving that time change right about now!
Hope your Monday is magnificent!
LUV YA!
April :)

When all the leaves are falling from the treeeeessss

2010-11-04T20:07:00.005-05:00

Okay so I have that awesome song "A Girl for All Seasons" in my head from Grease 2. LOVE that movie and I'm surprised I haven't seen it on TV in the last month. ;) Oh no. "A Girl for All Seasons" has now been replaced with "Cool Rider." I need a C-O-O-L R-I-D-E-R!!!!
So this will be a short post. I have been very busy working on some cool scrappy pages for assignments and I haven't had time to post here or on Inky Fingers. I even have two videos waiting to be posted!
I snapped the pic up there with my phone when I was going down the road in front of my house. I thought it looked purdy.
Brodey had school pics today. He assured me he "smiled good." We practiced last night. I'm weird I know.
Well this weirdo is headed to bed. I hope your Thursday was great!
LUV YA!
April :)

Variety Show!

2010-11-03T08:51:00.003-05:00

It was a good day yesterday despite not feeling 100%! I meant to post this last night but I fell asleep on the couch with Brodey around 9.
Brodey's Variety Show at school was yesterday! It was sort of a talent show and it was so much fun!
Only at a smaller school can you see first graders doing a routine to "Old Time Rock n Roll" from Risky Business. They were all dressed in white button up t-shirts, sunglasses, and socks. Towards the end one of the kids slid across the stage on his knees playing a fake saxophone. It was awesome. If there had been a winner I would have chosen them. (That's also one of my favorite movies so I might be partial.)
The Risky Business routine was followed by various dances, some jokes, Taylor Swift and Miley Cyrus songs, some country songs and some religious songs, a ballerina (she did a fantastic job and Brodey was most impressed by her ability to do the splits and walk on her toes), and a cute little girl that did sign language to a song. She would have won second if I was a judge.
Those type of shoes always impress me. It takes a lot of courage to get in front of an auditorium filled full of parents and peers. I had a great time at our little Variety Show!
Brodey's pre-k did a 50's type song and dance called the Peppermint Twist. SO cute!! I took the pics at the top with my camera to send to my dad. I drew him some sideburns with a black pencil and tried to gel his hair to look like Elvis. It wasn't easy, but it turned out okay! I'm not sure what he was doing in the pics but I think he was trying to act tough. Haha! He's goofy.
He did a great job dancing on stage. I thought he might get shy once he got up there but he loved it! He said "Hey mom I liked doing that Peppermint Twist thing on stage. It was pretty fun!"
The first performance was at 12 and the second was at 6:30 last night. He did a good job of dancing at the first one, but by the second one he was a dancing fool! At least I don't have to worry about stage fright! ;)
If you are a scrapbooker, cardmaker, papercrafter, or just want to know how to tie a bow, head over to my Inky Fingers blog. I shared a great video yesterday!
Well I'm off to do some laundry. It's a pretty day outside even if it's a little chilly! Our heater came on for the first time this morning! That means it's pretty cold because we sleep in a refrigerator at night!
Have a wonderful Wednesday!
LUV YA!
April :)

Things I've Learned...

2010-11-01T22:11:00.004-05:00

Every night when Brodey gets out of the shower we sit on the couch and watch America's Funniest Home Videos. We love it. It's great family time and we all laugh so hard sometimes we cry. We have been doing this for a while now and I have learned a few things from watching the show.

1. If you are a male at a party with a pinata....wear a cup. Trust me.
2. When people get drunk they always have to get on the tables. They are usually old and it ALWAYS ends badly.
3. The fake lottery ticket is the crappiest joke EVER. I could never do that to someone and I will kick your butt if you ever do it to me!
4. People do really stupid things. A LOT.
5. My favorite videos are the wedding ones. If I had had a wedding with guests I would have WANTED something funny to happen.
6. The funniest videos NEVER win. Never.

So those are my keen observations of America's Funniest Home Videos. You should record it and watch it. It's pretty entertaining and my 4 year old gets a kick out of it!
I still haven't even looked at the Halloween pics. I need to do that because Brodey looked pretty funny as Luigi. All the trick or treaters kept saying "Hey it's Luigi!"
"Hey Luigi!"
"Oh hey Mario Brothers!"
It was pretty funny. Brodey would just wave and smile.
Today on the Inky Fingers blog I posted a short how to video! It's a fun ribbon technique!
I took the photo above on crazy hair day. Brodey is getting pretty good writing his letters. The reason I took the pic is that he actually spelled that on his own. He was messing around and said "Hey mom what does this say?"
Usually it's something like bopapa or getti but it was actually a word this time!
"Brodey oh my goodness it says BOO!"
"Oh you mean like boo I scared you!?!?!"
"Yes just like that! You just spelled your first word!" Even if it was on accident he still spelled an actual word! And a seasonal one at that! LOL I can still remember the first word I spelled on accident. It was HAM on my Speak and Read. I'm glad I grabbed my phone and snapped a pic of him. The expression is hilarious.
Well I'm headed to bed. Brodey has the Variety Show tomorrow at school. They are doing some 50's thing and he has to dress the part. I'm thinking about drawing sideburns with a black pencil. Haha! It will be fun!
Well good night all! Hope you had a great Monday!
LUV YA!
April :)

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!!!

2010-10-31T23:41:00.002-05:00

Just wanted to pop in and say Happy Halloween!!
I hope your weekend was spooktacular!
Brodey had a fantastic time! We just got back from Holdenville so I won't be posting pics tonight!
Today is Sketchy Sunday on the Inky Fingers blog! If you need a little scrappy inspiration check it out!
I'm headed to bed!
Nighty Night!
LUV APRIL :)

I am Iron Man

2010-10-29T17:40:00.003-05:00

Every time Brodey puts on his Iron Man costume I hear I AM IRON MAN by Ozzy. Haha!
He was pretty excited about wearing it today! We had to practice pulling it up and down so he could go to the bathroom. I didn't want a text from Mrs Tuck to bring pants and underwear to school!
At Woodall they have a little Fall Festival in the gym for all the kids. The older students put it on to raise money. Brodey got to play all sorts of games and win prizes. Actually you got a prize whether you won or not and it didn't really matter if the kids had tickets. They all got to play! They also had ice cream and popcorn! Yum!
Brodey had a blast! He ate candy, popcorn, cupcakes and cookies all day long. You are only a kid once, right!?
I took a ton of pics, but I'm not even going to edit them right now! This one was taken with my phone before he somehow got his costume filthy. Boys!
Since he wore Iron Man today I guess he will be Luigi tomorrow! I have to figure out some stuffing for a belly! He looks really funny as Luigi!
Well I'm going to make dinner! I hope everyone has a safe and FUN Halloween!
Eat lots of candy!
LUV YA!
April :)

Break Room

2010-10-28T23:59:00.004-05:00

I want a break room. I'm not talking about a room with a table, water cooler, and microwave. I want a cement room that has all sorts of breakable things in it so that when I get angry I can take a break, go to the break room, and BREAK everything. It would be very satisfying. I think it's a grand idea. I could have used it today!
I had trouble with this and that and to top it ALL off AT&T called me up to inform me that the DSL Internet I have been looking forward to isn't going to happen. The two other people I talked to were wrong. I cannot get it at my address. So instead of telling off Hughes Net I want to tell off AT&T. I am so beyond disappointed. I know that there are important problems in the world, but I can't tell you how excited I was to be getting REAL Internet. Ah well. My goal next week is to see if an actual person will come and make sure I can't get it. There was a little issue with my address showing up incorrectly and I won't leave it alone until a person tells me to my face that I cannot get it. So there.
I had to take Bro to the doctor today. He started wheezing last night again. The doc says he has seasonal asthma and it is to be taken seriously. He says if it isn't treated it can cause health problems on down the road. We came home with some new breathing treatment stuff and I hope that will help!
We acquired two new (allergy free) pets tonight. I will post more on that tomorrow.
Mrs Tuck sent me this pic of Bro at school gutting a pumpkin.
I said "Wow! I can't believe he is actually sticking his hand in there!"
She said "Oh he was totally grossed out!"
When I got to school I said "I was pretty surprised he stuck his hands in there! He's the kid that refused to tear up his first birthday cake!"
She said "Oh yes he said this is totally disgusting!" Hahaha! That is so him!
His hair was pretty crazy that day. He needs a haircut so it sort of looked like an older lady right out of the beauty shop! ;)
Today was spirit day so they had to wear their Woodall Wildcat gear. It's so fun to see all the kiddos walking into class with their orange on!
Tomorrow is the big class Halloween party! At Woodall they actually get to wear their costumes to school! So fun! He can't decide on whether to wear Iron Man or Luigi. I'm thinking he will choose Iron Man because that will be more fun to play on the playground! ;)
Too bad I don't have that break room built yet. I just spent forever editing a new video for Inky Fingers and the program locked up. Go figure. I'm giving up for tonight.
At least Real Housewives of Beverly Hills was on. Dishing about it with Keysha helped put me in a better mood!
I sure hope tomorrow is better! I'm probably being too optimistic to hope that when I come in here in the morning my video program will be working again. Ha!
Hope your Thursday was better than mine! If not I'll send you a personal invite to my Break Room when it's finished! ;)
LUV YA!
April

7 Days

2010-10-28T00:38:00.002-05:00

No I haven't been watching that stupid Naomi Watts movie, The Ring. Teehee. When my sister and I DID go to the movies and see it (it was NOT my idea) as the credits were rolling after it was done my cell phone rings. VERY loudly. It was my mom, thank goodness, and not the creepy voice saying "7 Days."
"MOM!?!!?!?! WHY are you calling me!?! GEEZ! You scared the crap out of me!"
She's like "Why would me calling scare you?"
"Oh nevermind." I look around and everyone is looking at me like OH you are SO next! I haven't watched a VHS tape since! ;)
Today was crazy hair day for Brodey at school. He looked cute and I would share with you but my internet is not cooperating. In 7 days I will have DSL. I am beyond happy. It is finally available at my house. That means I will be able to do things on the internet like normal people. Oh and I can tell HughesNet to....well I'll censor that.
Another reason I am super excited about this is that I have started my new blog Inky Fingers! Weird name, right? You get it if you have ever taken a papercrafting class of mine or been at a crop with me. When I do anything scrapbook related my fingers are stained with ink for a day or two! I always say "we aren't having fun if our fingers aren't inky!"
Ever since I moved from Edmond in 2008 people have been requesting some sort of online class. Well it's finally time! At Inky Fingers I will be sharing more How To's, sketches, videos, kit classes, and much more!
It doesn't matter if you are a beginner or an expert! This is for everyone! If you have always wanted to start papercrafting, but didn't know WHERE to start I have you in mind! I will be sharing basic beginner How To's just for you! So check it out if you are interested! Inky Fingers is also on Facebook!
I'm very excited about this and had to share!
I'll post Brodey's funny pics tomorrow!
Hope your Wednesday was extra fab!

PJ Day!

2010-10-26T23:18:00.006-05:00

It's Red Ribbon week at Woodall school! Don't ask me what that means because I'm not 100% sure. All I know is Monday was hat day and today was PJ day.
All of the photos are from my phone, so they aren't the bestest quality. Actually I didn't notice Brodey's eyes were half closed in the photo above until it was too late. We were in a hurry to get out the door this morning.
Brodey was VERY excited to wear his Halloween PJ's. I get him a pair every year, but he has never been able to wear them outside of the house! Haha! All the kiddos at school looked so cute in their PJ's! They were so proud!
They were even MORE proud of this "limb" they found! Haha! Mrs Tuck sent me this photo this morning. It looks more like a TREE to me, but okay! It must have blown down from the crazy wind yesterday.
In case you don't know I HATE wind. It freaks me out. I actually sleep with shotgun earplugs in on nights like last night. I know it's dumb to live on a hill when you hate the wind, but I had no idea it would be so much worse up here. I think we need one of those huge wind things that generate electricity. We could supply an entire city with electricity!

So I didn't have to cook dinner tonight! I love to cook but I HATE to clean up. Who does? We ate at Ted's. Brodey chose. As soon as he found out we were going to Tulsa he starts asking to "go to that one place with the chips and cheese sauce." He was so looking forward to it that I was afraid we would get there and we would have to wait. I'm not so patient when it comes to waiting to eat somewhere. I was very happy when we didn't have to wait!
The photo is at Ted's and it's with Eric's new phone. He got the new 4, 4G, whatever it is. He ran over his and that is what he gets. If I had ran over my iphone I would have another Razor! Oh well. At least he promised to get me the new one when I'm due for an upgrade. Secretly the only reason I want a new one is because of the new camera. It has one on each side so you can actually see yourself in the pic. That's Bro and I testing it out. Hehe!
Well I'm headed to bed! Thankfully it will be a quiet night! No earplugs! Wahoo!
Hope your Tuesday was terrific!
LUV APRIL :)

ETA: So my bud, Keysha, reminded me that Red Ribbon Week is drug free week! Thanks Keysha! How I forgot that I'm not sure, but JUST SAY NO kids! ;)

Just Beautiful

2010-10-23T18:42:00.003-05:00

I just had to share the beautiful view from my front porch.
I was frustrated because I can't get my blog header to center and I looked out my window to see that. I couldn't find my big camera so I had to grab my smaller one. I'm just glad I caught it. Sunsets change so quickly.
I'm still frustrated about my blog header, but I'm grateful to have enjoyed such a beautiful Oklahoma sunset!
I hope your weekend is going great!
LUV YA!
April :)

Persistence

2010-10-22T10:58:00.006-05:00

Ever wonder what an IPhone would look like if it got ran over? Me neither...but that's what it looks like.
Eric went to the gym last night and called around 7 to say he was headed home. Around 7:30 I got worried. At 7:35 I called his phone and it went straight to voicemail. I thought it must have gone dead because if he were on the phone it would have rang THEN gone to voicemail.
About 5 minutes later the home phone rings and it comes up on the caller ID as 4 Mile Stop. (That's a quick stop about 4 miles from my house.) I'm a little freaked out thinking great is he okay? Did he get into an accident? Nope.
"Hello"
"Hey um I'm at 4 Mile and I stopped to get gas at Kum and Go in Muskogee and I put my phone on the running board of the Jeep and I forgot about it and I drove off."
I'm not at all surprised. "Well okay did you go back and look for it?"
"Yes I think it fell off at the gas station and someone got it."
I'm like "Well that is hard to believe since I just tried to call you and it went straight to voicemail. I'll bet it fell off in the road and it got ran over."
"You think?!?! Well can you call and turn it off in case someone took it?"
So I let him go and I call and disable it. I also call Kum and Go and ask them to call if someone happens to return it.
He gets home and AT&T tells him they can't track it unless he has some app on it. Surprise! He doesn't have the app.
When he gets home he looks all in his car to make sure it isn't in there and we decide to go back and look for it. Bro falls asleep in about 5 minutes and Eric looks all around Kum and Go with a flashlight and it isn't there. They are doing construction on highway 62 towards our house and I drive until a car comes and then I pull over by the cones. Eric looks all around and doesn't see it.
I drive towards home and I am so focused on the road and trying to see it I've given myself a headache. Finally at 2 mile road (over 6 miles from the Kum and Go) I think I see something.
"Hey I just saw something. I'm gonna turn around."
"Really? There's no way! Do you really think it could have stayed on the running board that long?" Says the eternal pessimist.
"Well sure I don't know why not. I'm still going to turn around."
I go to the next turn around and it isn't far enough. I go BACK to the turn around again and when I drive passed it I'm like "Well I'm not sure if that's it, but it looks like it had a flap." His phone cover is a leather case that flaps open.
So I go back to the turn around and stop in the turning lane. Eric gets out and run across the highway. I see him pick something up and he runs back to the car and he's like "Wow I can't even believe you saw that."
It was his phone! Well an annialated phone.
"Don't mess with it!!! Just put it in this bag! MAYBE they can recover your SIM card!"
We still can't believe that it rode on the car for that long OR that I even saw it. Persistance paid off! The phone doesn't work but at least we know it wasn't taken!
I have to say that this is totally typical of Eric. This is the third time he has left a phone on his car and drove off. Once the phone was lost forever and the second time he realized it quickly and it was still there. Just Monday when we went to eat in Tulsa with his brother and sister he left his phone on the table at the restaurant and I had to go back and get it. Oh and he also left his car keys in his brother's truck and I had to take him to work the next morning. It's crazy.
Sadly enough this probably won't cure his forgetfullness. I think about how many times we have found other people's things and returned them. You just have to hope if it happens again someone will be honest enough that we will get it back!
Makes me think of this quote. I love it.

People are often unreasonable and self-centered. Forgive them anyway.
If you are kind, people may accuse you of ulterior motives. Be kind anyway.
If you are honest, people may cheat you. Be honest anyway.
If you find happiness, people may be jealous. Be happy anyway.
The good you do today may be forgotten tomorrow. Do good anyway.
Give the world the best you have and it may never be enough. Give your best anyway.
For you see, in the end, it is between you and God. It was never between you and them anyway. — Mother Teresa

Last weekend was WAY fun! We went to a fun wedding, had some great cake and had fun with friends. We then continued the fun at Max's in Muskogee. Here are a couple of pics from the wedding.
Me and the Mr.

Me and Kelly A.K.A. Aunt Georgia! Love you Kelly!
Those are the only pics I got. I didn't want to lug the big camera around so I just took the baby camera. I should have taken more, but I'm glad I got these two! The last few times Eric and I went somewhere together we didn't get pics together! Geez I know!
Well I'm not sure what the plans are for this weekend. If there are in fact plans I don't remember what they are. ;) I know it's going to rain here so I'm sure we won't be outside! We still need to take Bro to the pumpkin patch! I haven't decided where we will be going yet.

Happy Friday!
I love you all! Have a fab weekend!
April :)

Dessert: Butterfinger Cupcakes

2010-10-20T22:07:00.006-05:00

Oh yes. You read that right. If you are on a diet do not go any further. Just close this window and walk away. If you are not on a diet you HAVE to make these!
I LOVE to cook. LOVE it. I especially love to bake. The thing is, though, I get sick of what I bake. I want maybe one cupcake after I'm done baking it and I don't want to see them again for a while. I want to see OTHER people enjoy them. That's the fun part for me! That's why only two of these little gems are staying in my fridge tomorrow when Eric takes the rest to work!
So next weekend when your kid dumps his cute little plastic jack-o-lantern full of candy out on the floor grab about 6 fun size Butterfingers when he looks away! You won't be disappointed!

Butterfinger Cupcakes

You will need:
- 1 (18.25oz) Package Milk Chocolate Cake Mix
- 2 (2.1oz) Butterfinger Candy Bars OR 6 Fun Size Butterfinger Candy Bars, finely chopped
- 1 (14oz) Can Sweetened Condensed Milk
- 1 (12.25oz) Jar Caramel Ice Cream Topping
- 1 Container Cool Whip (I used the larger one. Not sure what the ounces are)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 13x9 inch baking pan with nonstick baking spray or line cupcake pan with cupcake liners.
Prepare cake mix following package directions. Add chopped Butterfinger to batter and stir well, reserving some Butterfinger for garnishing. Pour batter into pan and bake as directed on the package.
Let cake cool for 5 minutes. Using the handle of a wooden spoon, poke holes in cake in 1 inch intervals or into the center of the cupcakes, only poking halfway through the cake. (I also took toothpicks and poked holes around the outside of the cupcakes.)

Mix condensed milk and caramel topping. Pour mixture evenly over cake or pour onto cupcakes. (I had a ton of this mixture left with the cupcakes. When I make the cupcakes again I will only use half of the condensed milk and half of the caramel.)
If you are making cupcakes the topping tends to soak the cupcake liner. I just put an extra liner on each cupcake.
Spread Cool Whip on cake or cupcakes, sprinkle with crushed Butterfinger, and chill until served.

Well I hope you like them! I know Eric and Brodey did!
Let me know what you think or if you have any questions!
Hope you had a great Wednesday!
LUV YA!
April :)

One Proud Momma

2010-10-19T17:00:00.002-05:00

Brodey was recognized yesterday for Student of the Month! It was fun! They had an all school assembly and all of the Students of the Month for October were called up and received their certificate!
The pic on the right is with my phone for Eric. He didn't get to come because he was at work. Thank goodness Brodey was better by Monday! It would have been sadder than missing the zoo to miss that!
Sunday night I warned Bro that he would have to go in front of the school to receive his certificate.
"Will I have to say anything, Mom? I don't want to say anything. I will walk up there...I won't be shy but I don't want to talk."
I'm like "No you won't have to say anything, Bro." I'm thinking crap I better ask Mrs Tuck because he will never forgive me if he has to talk.
Thankfully he didn't. He is like his Daddy. Eric used to hate to speak in public. In fact he took Sign Language in college to avoid Speech. It took some time, but he's fine with it now.
That morning I confirmed with Mrs Tuck that he did NOT have to speak. I was so glad. I knew he could do it if he was expecting it, but not by surprise!
After the assembly they had all of the kiddos line up for a group pic. After they were done another teacher took Bro and Tessa back to the lunchroom. I was sort of spying on Bro (as I tend to do) and he went to run out of the gym with the other kids but stopped when he realized Tessa wasn't with him. He stopped and walked back to Tessa and walked with her. Every time he would get ahead he would stop, look back, and wait on her. SO SWEET! It didn't surprise me, though, because when their names were called he waited for her, grabbed her hand, and they walked up together to get their certificates. It was so cute! Yes I got a pic and YES it is so sweet. Makes me one proud Momma!
I took a ton of pics, but I'll be doing a layout about it so I can't post all of the pics! :) I took pics of Tessa because her parents couldn't be there and I also took pics of a couple of other kids whose parents I know.
Once I got home I edited the pics and wanted to print them and take them back to school with me to give to the kiddos. (If I didn't do it then I would totally forget to do it.)
So I get online to Walmart.com and I can't find the photo center link anywhere. I go do a Google search and find it. I go to log in and it will NOT let me log in! Come on I have been printing pics with them forever! It won't even recognize my email! I'm like what in the world! Maybe they changed up the site!
So I re-register, get all the pics uploaded, go to check out, and I have to choose a WalMart to pick them up at. The only problem was it wanted a PROVINCE. WHAT!?!?! A province? I'm like this is weird...until I realize it's CANADA WALMART! I didn't even know there were Walmarts in Canada! It takes forever to upload anything with my not so great internet so I was pretty frustrated and feeling pretty stupid. I still got everything printed, though, before school was out. The kids were very excited about the photos so it was all worth it!
It finally rained today! Yeah! I was very happy about it until I realized that it hasn't rained in over a month and today is the day I have to take the dogs to the vet. FUN! Wet dogs stink...in case you didn't know.
Well I'm off to start dinner! Chicken Enchiladas!
Have a wonderful Tuesday!
LUV YA!
April :)

Fading Away

2010-10-15T09:29:00.006-05:00

For some reason when I typed that title I got that song in my head "Sailing Away" from the 80's. Remember that song?

Anyway! Brodey's crazy bad Amoxicillan rash is finally starting to fade away! Thank goodness! You know as TERRIBLE as it looked he really did okay with it. There were times when he would get itchy, but for the most part baths and cream knocked it out.
He still has spots but they aren't the angry red ones from yesterday. They are just light pink now. I'm so glad I took pictures because there is no way you can explain to someone what that looked like! CRAZY!
I got to get out of the house last night and I was SO thankful! GNO(Girls Night Out) was last night! SO SO SO much FUN! We did Wiggin' Out and it was hilarious! Many photos were taken, but none by me. I forgot my camera in my mad dash to make it out of the house before the boys tied me up and made me stay home! ;) I'll be posting some pics soon!
I got my wigs from Wal-Mart. They had an entire Lady Gaga section which was hilarious! I would totally go as her if I had a party to go to! I only got one pair of Gaga glasses and Brodey thought they were hilarious this morning! Hahaha!
Real Housewives of Beverly Hills is on my DVR waiting on me to watch it. I had a dream last night that I was on the show. Ya right! I caught little tidbits last night while it was on at GNO and those ladies are beyond any other housewives. I cannot WAIT to watch it while I eat lunch today! Yippee!!!
Thanks everyone that posted about Brodey! I really appreciate your well wishes!!
Well I'm off to re-clean the house after the boys were left alone last night. Crazy how quickly they can destroy it.
Have a wonderful weekend!!!!
LUV APRIL :)

Poor Kid

2010-10-14T09:18:00.006-05:00

Wow. Brodey actually looks worse today. It's like the larger spots morphed together to form even larger spots. Now he looks more like what I do when I get my random rashes.
Eric's right. We pumped him full of the Amoxicillin for a week. Now it just has to get out.
I keep taking pics of him, but I can't quite capture what he really looks like. It's crazy.
As terrible as these photos look it's WAY worse in real life. His meds are kicking in again so he's feeling better.
Yesterday at Eric's office they had potluck lunch. I was supposed to make something, but I didn't know if Bro had Chicken Pox. I didn't think anyone wanted to eat anything coming out of the pox house so I didn't send anything. Once we found out it was just an allergic reaction I knew I wanted to make the Pumpkin Creme Pies that I linked on Facebook. OH MY GOSH.
These little gems are with Eric on his way to work as I type. They are SO good. I tried one last night after I made them and the cookies were good enough on their own. Then I whipped up the creme part and oh my goodness they were awesome. THEN I let them set in the fridge all night and when I tried one this morning I just about passed out! I told Eric no one would believe I made them. They are ridiculous. I'm glad they are out of my house! Haha!
Thank goodness Bunco/GNO is tonight! I can't wait!
Well I'm cleaning my house today. We should be at the zoo. It's a perfect day so I hope that Mrs Tucks Pre-K class has a wonderful time! Wish we could be there!!
Have a fantastic Thursday!
LUV YA!
APRIL :)

BAD Amoxicillan...BAD!!

2010-10-13T16:20:00.005-05:00

Well I was so thankful today when Dr Cole told me that he did NOT have the chicken pox that I cried. Literally.
All I could think was that these nasty red things all over my poor kid will not be turning into scabs and scars. SO thankful. I was really freaking out. He was itching in his ears, his eyes and his mouth. I was thinking good grief how are we going to do this for 7 to 10 days?!?!

Apparantly he has an allergy to Amoxicillan. He has taken it before and last night was his last dose, but the doc said it can happen to anyone any time they take a medication. Brodey asked "why am I itching so bad mom?"
I said "Well Bro your body just didn't like those antibiotics you were taking."
"Oh the bubble gum one? That's too bad because I liked that one!"
Stinks cause that's the one that tastes the best!
Eric is allergic to penicillan. I haven't found anything I'm allergic to. For a long time I thought I had a nut allergy. I would get crazy hives and the allergy specialist said it was stress or just in my head. Who knows. I haven't had them in a while...thank goodness...but I totally understand how Brodey feels. It's happened to me about 5 times.
He gave him a steroid and said to keep out of the sun and no school the rest of the week. Brodey has done okay with understanding why he can't go to the zoo. He's bummed, of course, but understands why.
So everyone is talking about the big earthquake around OKC. Does anyone else remember when this happened in 1998? I was actually taking Earthquakes and Volcanos at OU and we had an earthquake around Norman. It was crazy because I was home alone at my parents when it happened and ran outside. It freaked me out! I had no idea what it was! It must have been a big one (I can't remember exactly how big) because my parents live 80 miles from Norman!
Did it happen early this morning? I ask because Brodey woke up at 6 and we went to the couch. Around 8 or so the decor on top of my tv cabinet shook and I thought it was Eric walking around. (Our house has a crawl space and you can hear when people walk around) He was in the shower so it wasn't him. I thought it was the huge helicopters that fly over frequently but didn't see any when I looked outside. That would be crazy if it was from the earthquake. We are over 2 hours away from Norman!
Well I'm going to let Bro soak in the tub for a bit. That Aveeno Oatmeal Bath really helps!
Poor kid. Doesn't he look terrible! Makes me itch just looking at him!
Have a great Wednesday!
LUV APRIL

You have GOT to be kidding me!

2010-10-12T17:00:00.002-05:00

So today I drove around the state and back to get my hair done. SO worth it.
I also got flipped off by an elderly gentleman who thought I had cut him off. I'm pretty sure he had his bifocals on because I was nowhere near the poor man. I got a big laugh out of it, though, which I'm sure made him even more angry.
I also had a mild panic attack that started with Brodey coming into the office saying his leg was itching.
"Look mom. What's this on my leg. It really itches."
"Oh it looks like a few bites. Where in the world would you get bites?"
I pull off his pants.
"Oh well you have them all over your legs....and your butt."
Don't panic don't panic.
I raise up his shirt. "Oh gosh they are all over your belly." OH MY GOSH OH MY GOSH
I take off his shirt. "WHAT THE!?!?! Oh crap Bro! What in the world!?!? I think you have the chicken pox!!!"
Seriously!?! Didn't we just deal with pnuemonia. Which as while I'm panicking I'm of course I'm Googling it and something about pnuemonia and chicken pox and I'm having a mild PANIC ATTACK!
I'm thinking okay Eric has had them for sure....have I HAD THEM!?!?! AAAHHHH!!!!
I call my mom. "Um okay mom. So Bro has these red dots all over him...literally all over him...and they look like flea bites...so um...do you think that maybe just maybe it could be the chicken pox!?!"
She laughs.
"Mom this is serious I'm freaking out. I mean didn't he have this vaccine!?! Why does he have them!?! Did I HAVE THEM!?! Am I going to get them!?!"
She's like "Well remember you had them when Shan had them. Right? No wait that was Ally. DID you have them?"
"Oh my gosh mom!!! Are you serious!?!?! I have to go I have to call the doctor."
I call the doctor and they can get him in at 10 in the morning. Thank goodness. I'm like well what in the world do I do until then? They tell me to just give him Benadryl orally and the cream. Okay.
I call my mom back.
"So between me and Meme we figured out that you DID have them."
I'm like "Okay well I don't remember! Was it a mild case!?!"
"Well yes but you shouldn't get them again. Send me a photo of Brodey."
I send her one and she looks at it and LAUGHS again!
"Yep that's what it is."
GREAT! Just great! We are just getting over pnuemonia. The zoo trip is Thursday. The only thing I can think is thank goodness it's not Halloween yet!
After I calmed down I stuck him in the tub. He feels much better. He's VERY VERY good about not scratching. I explained to him about scarring and how they will be scabs.
Is it stupid to hope that when I take him to the doctor in the morning they tell me it's an allergic reaction or something?!?! I can hope, right?
Wow what a month. Poor kid. I feel for his poor little body. I hope that he will be okay since he has been sick! :(
Okay I'm off to apply more Benadryl cream.
I hope your Tuesday is better than mine!
LUV YA
APRIL

Back to School...Back to School...Mondays Are SO Not Cool

2010-10-11T16:35:00.004-05:00

Well the Bro man went back to school today! He was VERY excited! As soon as we walked in the door all of his little friends were like "Brodey! It's Brodey! Hi Brodey!" So cute! Needless to say he had a wonderful day despite having to sit out during PE.
I'm surprised we even made it out the door this morning. Geez. It was one of those mornings.
Last night I asked Eric twice if he gave Brodey all of his meds. He said yes. I asked him if he gave him his nose spray. He said yes. So I went to bed and didn't worry about it.
This morning I woke Bro up to get ready and he seemed fine but as soon as he took a sip of his chocolate milk he started coughing. I was like WHAT!?!?! He hasn't been coughing at all! I thought it had to be from drainage because the milk triggered it. I asked him if his nose was runny and he said yes.
"ERIC!!!"
"Ya."
"Did you give Brodey his nose spray last night?"
"No"
I'm like "WHAT!?!?! You told me you did!"
"No I gave him his other meds but I guess I didn't give him his nose spray."
I'm like fantastic! The morning he is to go back to school and he is coughing. Sheesh!
I give him his nose spray, breathing treatment, and antibiotic. The cough syrup he prescribed makes him way drowsy so I didn't want to give it to him. I thought since I'm literally three minutes from school Mrs Tuck can call me if he starts to feel bad. Right!?! Decisions like that make me crazy because I don't want to be the mom that sends he sick kid to school, right!?!
So since I don't want to be turned in to DHS it took me a while to decide to send him to school. Because of my indecisiveness we were running late and as we are walking out the door I think I should give him the Mucinex to break up the drainage! Perfect! That always helps!
Bro is already in the carseat so I run back into the house and pour some up. I run back out and hand it to him and he has some little Mario Brothers toys in his hands. He tries to grab the cough syrup while still holding the toys and, of course, he spills it all over his jeans and all over his carseat. Perfect. Happy Monday!
We go back in and he gets changed and off we go to school. Like I said he was thrilled to be back and his friends were glad to see him!
It was cool this morning so I wore a little sweatshirt jacket to take him to school. I stuck my carkeys in my jacket pocket and zipped it right up. As I'm walking back to the car I try to unzip the pocket and it's stuck. After the morning I had I laughed a little. Well until I realized it wasn't coming undone so easily. So there I am standing outside my car pulling and tugging on my jacket. Finally I had to take it off. By this time my fingers are red and swollen, it isn't so funny anymore and I'm thinking if I only had a knife. After about 5 minutes I finally get the stupid pocket unzipped and I get in my car and leave. I made it home without further incident and the rest of the day went fine. Well I better not jinx myself. It's only 5 o'clock.
So the moral of the story is make sure you give your kid all of their meds, don't give them cough syrup in their carseat, and by all means DO NOT put your car keys or any other important items in a zipper pocket!
I'm signing off now. I hope your Monday has been incident free!
LUV YA!
APRIL :)

Happy Friday to Ya!

2010-10-08T17:52:00.003-05:00

Well it's finally Friday! This week has gone by very slowly.
We had fallen into a routine and it got all messed up with Brodey home from school.
He is feeling much better. I think the meds are kicking the pneumonia's butt! The breathing treatments help a lot. I only had to give him cough meds once.
He hasn't been able to run around or go outside and that has been really hard on him. He is VERY active and it's funny because every time he starts to run I hear him say "no running no running" under his breath. LOL He is focused on getting better for the big zoo trip next week at school. The doc said he should be okay to go, but we go back to see him before then. He hates the nasal spray, but has been a champ about all the meds! About every five minutes he looks outside and says "I hate being sick." Poor boy! Don't we all!?!
Not much to report around here. I did see a lonely little hummingbird at the feeder today. It's the first one in about a week. I'm leaving a feeder up with fresh food for the little travelers stopping by! I think my hibiscus must look like little red beacons to them flying over. They are all bloomed out like it's spring or something!
Well I'm off to cook some dinner!
Have a wonderful weekend!! If you are in Oklahoma the weather will be beautiful!
LUV APRIL :)

How To: Basic Tools for Scrapbooking

2010-10-07T13:39:00.003-05:00

What tools do I need to start scrapbooking? What tools do you use? I get those questions quite a bit. That's why today I'm going to tell you about the basic tools I use and the ones you will need to begin scrapbooking!

Paper Trimmer:
I would not be able to function without my paper trimmer. I could cut my paper with scissors, but I wouldn't have a perfect edge every time. That's why it's important to find one that's right for you!
I have been using this Cutterpede since 2006. I have tried other trimmers and I always went back to this one. The replacement parts are inexpensive and I love the decorative blades you can buy separately. My favorite is the scalloped edge blade.
I use my trimmer to rip paper, measure, trim photos, trim paper, and add a decorative edge. If you are wondering how I use my paper trimmer to rip paper, I will be sharing that How To soon!

Scissors:
I have tried MANY different scissors. I have narrowed it down to three different pair that I switch back and forth from.
The ones in the photo are my Tim Holtz nonstick ones. LOVE them. You can use them whether you are right or left handed and the handle is comfortable rubber.
My other faves are the basic Fiskars scissors. I have the larger fabric ones and the smaller micro tip ones. I believe I bought both pair at Wal-Mart. They are super sharp and stay that way forever! That was my biggest pet peeve with other brands. I would have to buy a new pair every few months because I use mine so much they would dull quickly.

Adhesive:
This has been my go-to adhesive since 2006. I love it. I couldn't live without it.
Adhesive is like everything else in scrapbooking. Everyone will have their favorites. This is mine.
I have used this on everything from ribbon to chipboard to paper. You can use it on a narrow surface and then fold it back to hide it. It goes on sale at Hobby Lobby frequently. It's quick to use and my favorite thing about it is that isn't permanent but I can still remove things without damage. I tend to change my mind and want to move a photo or an embellishment. Or sometimes I will need to change something on a layout for publication.
Some people ask me why I use this instead of glue sticks or just regular liquid glue. Well those both have their place, but for basic paper and photo scrapbooking I prefer dry adhesive. Liquid glue tends to warp paper or photos as they dry. So does a glue stick, but above all else they are messy to me. I would have glue everywhere if I tried to use liquid glue!
The most important thing is to ALWAYS buy photo safe or acid free adhesive! If not your beautiful scrapbook pages will be brown and turn to dust in your grand children's fingers!
I do, however, use a glue stick when adhering chipboard letters or small chipboard shapes. I also use a glue stick when covering chipboard, but that's another How To for another day! ;)

Black Pen:
I have been using the ZIG writers by EK Success since 1996. It's inexpensive, lasts forever, and has two sizes on each pen. I love the way they write and their colors are beautiful. Everyone will have a different pen they love and use, but this is the one I use for journaling or dating on my layouts.

Cardstock:
You can use any cardstock you wish. There are tons of different textures and colors. Everyone has their preferences.
You can use plain paper, but it just doesn't look the same. Most plain paper is thin and you can see whatever is behind it.
You can get basic cardstock at Hobby Lobby or even Wal-Mart.
My favorites are Bazzill and Bo Bunny.
You use cardstock to mat photos, as your page background, for journaling, and just about anything else you can imagine!

Patterned Paper:
This is by far my favorite thing about scrapbooking. There are just so many different beautiful and fun patterns. There are so many things you can do with it. You can cut out designs from it to use as page elements or you can use it to make embellishments. The possibilities are endless!
My favorite paper companies are Basic Grey, Cosmo Cricket, We R Memory Keepers , Bo Bunny, Crate Paper and tons more!
You can buy some of these brands at Hobby Lobby. If you don't have a local scrapbook store you can buy them online at Scrapook.com or Twopeasinabucket.com !

Extras:

Stamps:
Stamps are awesome. I might have a slight addiction to stamps. They are reusable and just a lot of fun! My favorite stamp companies are Technique Tuesday, Hero Arts, Tim Holtz for Stampers Anonymous, Inkadinkadoo by EK Success and so many more!

Ink:
I have several ink How To's already up on the blog. Their links are on the right side under How To's.
I use ink for my stamps, to ink my pages, and to ink embellishments. Ink goes half off quite often at Hobby Lobby.

Paper Punches:
I have a ton of these and I use them on almost every layout. You can use them so many different ways. I also have several different die cutting systems, but punches are easier and quicker. Hole punches are invaluable. I have about five different sizes.

Crop A Dile:
This baby is the mother of all hole punches. It also sets eyelets. I have used mine to punch holes in acrylic, chipboard, metal, you name it! I have had mine for years and it has been to many, many classes and it will still punch a perfect hole! I love it!

Well those are all the basics you will need to begin scrapbooking!
You don't have to have the Extras, but it makes it much more fun!
I hope this has helped out the new scrapbookers!
If you have any questions or suggestions please post a comment or send me an e-mail!

Happy scrappin'!
April :)

Sneaky Sneaky

2010-10-06T12:25:00.003-05:00

Well pneumonia snuck up on us. It's pretty sneaky...that pneumonia.
This time of year Brodey's allergies flare up and when he runs around he gets wheezy. Usually the wheezy goes away after about an hour of rest and his previous doctors never seemed concerned about it. Well this time the wheezy went away but it came back after school on Monday.
When I picked him up Monday he seemed a little tired and he just sat on the couch for longer than normal. The cough he had had on and off got worse and by bedtime his chest didn't sound great. He barely slept the next night and his breathing seemed forced. I knew he would have to go to the doctor so I kept him home from school and that morning he told me his back and chest burned.
Yesterday afternoon we went to see Dr Cole and we were there from 2:30 until after 5:00. They did chest xrays (he was totally weirded out), told me he had pneumonia, told Bro he couldn't go to school the rest of the week, and sent me home with 50 prescriptions. He has breathing treatments, antibiotics, nasal spray, cough medicine, the works. I have to write it all down to keep it straight.
We have pretty much been on the couch all day playing Mario. He can't run around which if you have boys you know is VERY hard for them. But the meds seem to be working. The doc said he should be okay by the big zoo field trip next week.
By the looks of the pic at the top he is soooo sick! Hahaha! That's Brodey trying not to laugh. He did VERY well during our two and a half hour doctor visit. I was impressed.
Well I'm off to tie my kid to the couch and play another round of Mario.
Have a wonderful Wednesday! It's a beautiful day!
LUV APRIL :)

Lions and Tigers and SPIDERS Oh My!

2010-10-05T13:51:00.002-05:00

Don't you just love The Wizard of Oz? I do! I do! I used to think that if you went to Kansas everything was black and white. It isn't. I also think that movie is part of the reason I hate storms. I always thought that if a tornado came my parents would lock me out of the cellar. We didn't have a cellar and a tornado never came so I'm okay! ;)
SPIDERS! We have been invaded with spiders! I have told Eric a million times to call the bug guy to come and spray! He keeps forgetting...
This weekend we went to Holdenville. We were supposed to go to Dallas, but that didn't work out. Waaahhh!!! (We missed you Jason and Destiny!)
Sunday night we were at Eric's parent's about to leave and George (Eric's dad) come freaking out trying to get something off his neck. He finally grabs it and throws it off and it's a pretty good sized daddy long legs. If you know George, you know that he HATES spiders. I mean HATES them. If one were on him while he was driving a car he would probably kill us all.
So I'm laughing at him (of course) and I go to grab it.
He's like "Don't drop it now!! Watch out now, honey! Don't drop it!!!" I'm just cracking up. I finally got it outside without dropping it. I'm sure he sprayed down every inch of that house with insect spray as soon as we left. Don't worry they are still alive I talked to them yesterday.
We finally make it home and I go into our bathroom to take a shower and glance down at the bathtub. The photo at the top is what I saw. I had to laugh because Eric hates spiders about as much as his dad does, I thought he would probably make me get it out, and I grew up in the country and we NEVER had a tarantula in the house! We had our fair share of scorpions, huge spiders, but never a tarantula.
I grab the camera (of course), take some pics, and then scurry happily off to tell Eric to come here. THIS will make him remember to call the bug guy for sure!
I'm like "Hey Eric. Come here."
"What April..."
"Hey come in here real quick."
"What April....HOLY BLEEP BLEEP BLEEP BLEEP BLEEP!!!!"
I'm cracking up of course.
He's screaming "How in the world did THAT get in HERE!?!?! That thing is huge!"
I'm like "I know hahaha! We NEVER had a tarantula in the house! Hahaha!"
"Oh my gosh are you serious!?!?!" I think that fact freaked him out.
I'm like "Ya it's a pretty big one. Want me to get it out?"
"Well NO! I'll get it...what should I use?"
I go get him a pitcher and he grabs a shoebox lid and I'm still not convinced he is actually going to do it. But he gets right in the bathtub...
"Gosh watch out. Those things can JUMP!" Hahahaha!
Eric can move pretty quickly if he wants to! He grabbed it and out it went! Poor little guy! I hope he doesn't end up in my pool. Good thing Brodey was asleep. He would have nightmares for weeks!
But poor Brodey had to deal with another spider last night. I'm in the laundry room and Brodey walks in there.
"Mom. There's a spider in my toy basket. He's pretty big. And he's looking at me."
He's is so serious but I'm laughing.
I go in there and dig a round a bit and finally see it.
"Wow that IS is a pretty big one Bro!" It was just a garden spider but it was at least a few inches long. Luckily his toy basket in the living room is right under the window. I shook it outside and that was that.
It has been the week of the spider. I had to put a big praying mantis outside earlier. That warranted another text to Eric to call the bug spray man. Maybe I should get a fake one and put it on his pillow! Hahaha!
Hope your Tuesday is great and spider free!
LUV APRIL :)

How To: Matting a Photo

2010-09-30T11:19:00.013-05:00

I know that some of you are expert scrappers and already know how to mat a photo. BUT...not everyone that reads this blog is an expert and that's why I'm doing this how-to today!
There are a ton of ways to technically mat a photo and this is just how I happen to do it. This way works no matter what size your photo is and you will come out with a perfect mat every time.
Matting your photos will really change the way your layouts look! It will make them look more professional and it will really make your photos pop!
I'm going to show you how and then I will show you some matting options!

Supply List:

- Paper Trimmer
(I have used the Cutterpede paper trimmer for the last 5 years. The parts are replaceable and inexpensive and I just love how it measures and cuts. It also has decorative blades you can buy. I use these for a lot of my trim work.)

- Photos

- Cardstock or Patterned Paper

STEP 1:
Take the photo you want to mat and measure both sides. Write it down if you are forgetful like me! ;)
We are going to trim the cardstock 1/4 of an inch larger than the size of the photo.
For this How To we are going to use a 4x6 photo.

STEP 2:
Trim your cardstock to 1/4 of an inch wider than your photo width.
For 4x6 photos and this How To we will trim the width to 4 1/4.

STEP 3:
Now trim the other end of your cardstock to 1/4 of an inch wider than your photo length.
For 4x6 photos and this How To we will trim the length to 6 1/4.

STEP 4:
Adhere your photo to the center of your cardstock mat! That's it!
Above you can see how the 1/4 of an inch mat looks.

This is how the 1/2 of an inch mat looks. If you want a wider border just cut your mat to 1/2 an inch wider than your photo!
That's it! Super easy! There are so many different ways to use this!

For this layout I simply matted all of the photos with orange paper. Since there are so many photos on this small page it keeps them separate, but makes them stand out.

For this layout about Brodey's birthday I only matted the main photo. I did this by trimming one side of my blue patterned paper 1/2 of an inch larger and leaving the other side the length of my page. I even matted that piece of patterned paper with a striped piece!
A shortcut to matting a photo is to simply sand the edges of the photo. I did this in this layout. If you don't have sandpaper you can also use white acrylic paint and your finger or a paintbrush to lightly paint the edges of the photo. I like to use the white acrylic Paint Dabber by Ranger. It has a foam applicator similar to a Bingo dabber. It's super quick and easy!

I did this layout a couple of years ago about my sister. Not only did I sand the edges of the photos (like I talked about above), but I also matted my photos with patterned paper. I love doing this because I love patterned paper and I will jump at any opportunity to use it! You can even mat and stack different sizes of patterned papers mats!

This is a super easy way to make your photos really pop! If you haven't tried this I hope I have given you the courage to!
If you have any questions feel free to comment or send me an email!
If you have any suggestions for future How To's let me know!
Have a wonderful Thursday!

LUV APRIL :)

Student of the Month

2010-09-29T16:42:00.003-05:00

**WARNING: bragging straight ahead!**
Like most kids Brodey is excellent at school and a terror at home. I say terror, but he really isn't that bad. He has his moments of not listening and doing things just to get a reaction. At school he is an entirely different kid.
Every time Mrs Tuck or Mrs Delmetico(her part time assistant) tell me how "absolutely perfect" he is I have to say "well I'm glad he saves all the bad for when he gets home!"
This afternoon I got a text from Mrs Tuck that said "Our students of the month for October is...Brodey and Tessa! Woohoo!!!"
I was like wow but I wasn't sure if it was just random or actually earned. So I was like "Oh my gosh really!?! That's awesome! What did he do to deserve that?"
She said "He's just a great kid who listens and tries really hard for his teacher! I feel very fortunate to have him in my class. :) "
AW! It brought tears to my eyes! As a mom I can't help but worry about how he acts when he isn't with me. I also can't help but feel like a lot of how well he acts is due to Mrs Tuck and Mrs Delmetico. They are super awesome and I feel lucky to have them with Brodey during the day!
He is now playing in the living room singing "Student of the Month is cool. Student of the Month is cool." Hahaha!
He says he will "get Student of the Month" tomorrow so I guess we will have to see! I'll try to take some pics!
Well that's all to report today!
I must go finish laundry and start dinner! Hamburger steak for dinner with peppers, mushrooms, and onions! Yum! I told ya we eat healthy 'round here!
Goodnight and happy humpday!
LUV APRIL :)

Blank

2010-09-28T20:37:00.004-05:00

I sat down to write tonight and my mind went blank. I had some funny stuff to write about and it's gone now. I guess I need to start sending myself text messages. Sheesh! Sorry for the lame post!
Maybe I can do better tomorrow!
At least I posted a pic this time! Me and the Bro man with his new tie t-shirt on. Ain't he cute? ;)

Hope your Tuesday has been terrific! I couldn't resist!
Goodnight!
LUV APRIL

Oh Deer It's Monday

2010-09-27T17:25:00.003-05:00

It's Monday. Life gets back to normal.
I had a great weekend! Ate some good food. Finally got to see Easy A with my sister. Hit a deer. Well the hitting the deer part wasn't so great, but other than that it was a good weekend!
Here in Oklahoma I think everyone has hit at least one deer. This was a first for me. They are everywhere this time of year. I didn't actually hit it. Eric did so I can blame it on him. I'll spare you the details, but Eric had to be merciful. You can see very little damage to my SUV, but you can't open the passenger door. Yes it's fun getting in and out Dukes of Hazard style. ;)
This was the first day to dress Bro in pants and a long sleeved t-shirt. He was a little weirded out at first but then he thought it was cool. "I think I like this long shirt, Mom."
Sweet Mrs Tuck did Brodey's parent/teacher conference after school today so I wouldn't have to go back tonight. He is doing great! He can write his name, recognize several alphabets, and all that jazz. She said he is a rhyming superstar and that sometimes means they will have an easier time learning to read. That would be nice. I couldn't wait to read. Mine had to to with Independence, though, and not having to ask anyone anymore. I wanted to do it myself! Now I can't read enough. I'll read a label just to have something to read!
We still have a few hummingbirds! My hibiscus plants are all blooming like crazy and I know they have to be big red beacons to them flying passed in the sky.
Not too much going on besides that. I have been working on layouts all day again so I've been keeping myself busy!
I'm off to cook dinner tonight. The boys are excited for chicken fried pork chops. We are super healthy 'round here. ;)
Have a wonderful Monday night!
LUV APRIL

Movie Popcron Without the Movie

2010-09-25T12:23:00.003-05:00

Have you ever eaten your movie popcorn outside of the movies? I have! I have! But I'll get to that in a bit.

Friday was a GREAT day! My bestie Destiny (that sounds funny) came and stayed Thursday night and then we went to the mall in Tulsa on Friday! We got some shopping done (jeans at the Gap are 50% off by the way)and just had an awesome time hanging out!
After the mall we met Eric and Brodey for some sushi. It was SO good!
Brodey had been asking to go see The Guardians (that owl movie) so we were going to take him after dinner. Eric had to return some shoes at the mall so he dropped Brodey and I off and he headed there.
After Bro and I stood in line for our $23 tickets, stood in line for our popcorn and cherry Icee, we headed back to the movie. As we were almost to our screen 14 we walked past the screen 13 next door which was playing Devil. The doors were wide open and right as we walked by this horrible sound came out of there. FREAKED Brodey OUT.
"I DON'T WANT TO SEE THE MOVIE MOM!!!!" As tears are rolling down his face.
I'm like "Bro that's not the movie we are seeing. That's a movie for big people. It's not the same movie."
"I know, Mom, but I just want to leave now. Please. Please can we leave?"
I'm like well crap. How does this work? This has never happened to me before.
I find a girl that looks offical and I'm like "Okay so here's the deal. As we were walking to our theater, the theater next door to a kid's movie that is playing the DEVIL had it's doors wide open and the sounds coming out of there scared the crap out of my son. He is freaked out and doesn't want to stay to watch the movie. What do I do?"
"Oh I'm so sorry! That is no problem! Just go back to the box office and they will refund your tickets."
So we go back outside and stand in line again to refund our tickets. At this point Eric isn't back yet so Bro and I spent the next 25 minutes sitting outside of the movie theater eating movie popcorn and drinking a cherry Icee. The popcorn and Icee was pretty good. The people watching was even pretty good. The only problem is it was a little chilly but we survived.
So FYI to anyone that works at the movies theater...don't put scray movies next door to the kids movies. Oh and shut the doors for crap's sake! I don't even want to hear it!
Sometimes I wish my blog was anonymous so I could tell ALL of my funny stories. I would have you rolling about how I ate Cinnabon for the first time in years yesterday and how my stomach DID NOT like it and I had to stop at Target (where they were closing and trying to kick me out) and Reasor's where I was in the only stall with toilet paper. But I'll not tell you about THAT story! ;)
This weekend is my brother-in-law's birthday! It should be fun!
I think I'll be a good daughter tomorrow and help my mom paint. I kind of like to paint!
Well I'm off to pick up the house. It's amazing how quickly two boys can destroy a house that was clean yesterday.
Have a wonderful weekend!
LUV APRIL

Quotes and Songs

2010-09-22T23:25:00.003-05:00

Quotes. I like quotes. They are sort of like songs.
I'm not sure that everyone connects with quotes. Or songs.
I connect with both.
If I'm sad I want to hear a sad song and it somehow makes me feel better. If I'm in a great mood I want to hear an upbeat song and it makes me even happier!
There are some emotions, though, that songs can't help. I don't really have any songs on my iPod for anger, for example. If I did it would probably make me even angrier and that wouldn't be good.
To get past anger I have to rely on quotes. They don't have to be from a genius. They just have to make you go "hhmm...ok."
There are quotes that I have from my Meme. Just little things she had to have repeated a thousand times. These quotes remind me to "act pretty" even when I don't want to and that "pretty is as pretty does."
They remind me that even though at times it doesn't seem like God is paying attention...he is. No matter how "ugly" other people are acting that it's still best to remember "do unto others as you would have them do unto you." Even when the offending party obviously doesn't have a Meme as wise as mine. ;)
They remind me that karma is a comforting thought. For me anyway.

"Retribution is tricky...the insult isn't usually worth the risk of punishment. And eventually one learns that karma has a surprising way of taking care of these situations. All you have to do is sit back and watch.
- Candace Bushnell (One Fifth Avenue)

They remind me to be patient because good always overcomes evil.

"Fairy tales are more than true; not because they tell us that dragons exist, but because they tell us that dragons can be beaten."
— G.K. Chesterton

I think that one is the one I will keep in my head as a fall asleep tonight. It has a good ring to it...don't you think?

LUV APRIL ;)

How To: Basic Heat Embossing Chipboard

2010-09-22T17:26:00.004-05:00

Howdy folks! Since I shared how to heat emboss a stamped image last week I thought I would share another heat embossing how to this week!
Have you ever wanted glossy black title letters but didn't have any on hand? Or have you ever wanted pretty white chipboard letters but didn't want to run to the scrapbook store? Or have you ever wanted red glossy letters but you only have black? (Just yell YES!) Well I'm glad you want to know because I'm going to share with you how to use heat embossing to personalize your chipboard!

This layout was published in the June 2009 issue of Creating Keepsakes. It was actually in the Tips and Tricks column about covering chipboard. I did cover the chipboard flowers with patterned paper, but I also heat embossed the title letters in white. That's what I'll be showing you how to do today!

Supply List:

- Chipboard

- Embossing Powder
(I used THIS white embossing powder for this How To. You can use any powder you want to! I will be going over different powders in future posts!)

- Versamark or Embossing Ink
(I have tried many embossing inks and I like Versamark the best. It's tackier and dries slower but any embossing ink will work)

- Heat Tool
(any heat tool will work. I use THIS one from Hobby Lobby. Hair dryers will not usually work because they do not get hot enough and they blow air to hard.)

- Funnel Tray or Paper Plate
(this is what you will use to catch the embossing powder when you slide the excess off of your cardstock and pour it back into the container. You don't have to have either you can just use scrap paper.)

- Paper Piercer
(This is not a necessity unless you want burnt fingertips. LOL)

(To enlarge above photo just click on it)

Step 1
Take your chipboard and smush it into the embossing inkpad. You need to make sure the surface of the chipboard is thickly covered with the ink.

Step 2
Use your paper piercer and poke it into the side of the chipboard. This will keep you from burning your fingertips when you heat the chipboard and will also keep your surface smooth. (If you try to hold it or use tweezers your embossed surface will not be smooth)
While holding your chipboard over your funnel tray, pour your powder onto your chipboard.

Step 3
Dump off the excess powder. DO NOT TAP the chipboard.

Step 4
Begin heating the powder with your heat gun far away. Slowly bring the heat gun closer. (this will make sure you don't blow off all of the powder before it begins to melt)
Heat the powder until it begins to change. Do not overheat or you will burn the powder and it will be dull.
If you do happen to burn the powder, simply repeat the above steps to add a new layer over the burned layer.

Step 5
Allow the chipboard to cool! That's it!

You can stamp on top of the embossed layer with Stazon or another solvent ink. (I made a video about solvent inks HERE)
You can even add more than one color of powder! I made a video showing how to do that HERE!
The possibilities are endless!
If you have any questions please feel free to ask! Shoot me an email at massadmomma@yahoo.com!
Well have fun embossing some chipboard and have an awesome Wednesday!
LUV APRIL :)

Waiting...

2010-09-21T22:17:00.002-05:00

That's what I did today. I waited. I waited on a Directv repairman that never came. He actually wasn't supposed to come but I didn't figure that out until after I had waited for four hours. Yes I know. The sweet little Mississippi boy with a southern accent did not specify that it was NEXT Tuesday between the hours of 8 and 12 that the repairman was supposed to come. At least the house is clean. I tend to clean when I wait. Don't ask me why.
For the last couple of weeks my satellite will go out randomly. Sometimes Brodey will be watching Kick Buttowski and all of a sudden we will be watching the US Open on ESPN. I'm not kidding.
I sat down for lunch the other day with my little ham sandwich to watch Real Housewives of DC and when I pressed play it immediately came up "would you like to delete this recording." OH NO YOU DIDN'T! Time to dial Directv.
I was lucky enough to get a person on the phone I could actually understand. It was kind of fun because the sweet boy that answered had a sweet southern accent with a twinge of girliness. It was fab. I totally knew he would sympathize with my screwed up recording of Real Housewives and at the time I needed some sympathy!
"Okay so this little problem has been going on for almost two weeks now. The straw that broke the camel's back was the fact that my Real Housewives of DC didn't get recorded."
He exclaims "OH NO!"
I said "Oh YES."
He says "Well my my we will have to fix THAT!"
I KNEW he would understand! He was very sweet and helpful except for when he told me the repairman would be here Tuesday but did not specify NEXT Tuesday. I even wrote it down on my calendar when he told me. But you know what? All is forgiven because my house is clean and I just enjoyed talking to him. Being nice will almost get you anywhere in life! Just like my Meme always said "You catch more flies with honey than you do with vinegar!" Think on that! ;)
I'm sorry I've been absent the last couple of days! I have been busy...no not waiting on repairman that never show up! I've been working on layouts and we got to see Eric's mom and sister this weekend. It was good.
Well I'm going to go veg on the couch and watch World of Jenks with Eric. It's a really good show. You should record it and watch it if your satellite is working properly. Don't worry I already made sure it recorded!
I hope your Tuesday has been fab and I'm sorry this post is photoless. That annoys me but I'm too lazy tonight to dig for one that is relevant. Waiting makes me tired. ;)
LUV APRIL

Dessert: Pecan Pie Muffins

2010-09-18T22:58:00.004-05:00

*Photo borrowed from the Pioneer Woman's Tasty Kitchen Blog portion of her website. Check it out! It's pretty awesome!
That's where I got this SUPER easy and SUPER tasty muffin recipe!
I love muffins! I especially love muffins this time of year! This is seriously one of the easiest recipes I have ever used! Sometimes the simple things are the best!
If you like pecan pie you will LOVE this! They are pretty rich so they are even better warmed up with some ice cream! Woo! So good!
I got this recipe off of the Pioneer Woman's blog. She has a section on there for cooking and she even has a separate website called Tasty Kitchen. The public can post recipes on there and the really good ones she highlights on her blog. She will even post step-by-step instructions with photos. It's perfect for beginning chefs or if you just want to try out a new recipe!
This is the very first recipe I have tried from the site and it was a hit! You can join the site for free and they don't even send you annoying emails! It's pretty awesome!
The step-by-step link is HERE and I'm posting the simple recipe below!
You have to try these out! You probably already have what you need in the pantry! I used finer chopped pecans than she did and they turned out great!
If you try them out let me know! ;)

Pecan Pie Muffins

You will need:
•1 cup Packed Light Brown Sugar
•½ cups All-purpose Flour
•1 cup Chopped Pecans
•⅔ cups Softened Butter
•2 whole Eggs Beaten

Preheat oven 350 F.

Grease your muffin pan (whatever size) or use the silicone cups.

In a medium bowl, stir together brown sugar, flour and pecans. In a separate bowl, beat the butter and eggs together until smooth. Stir into the dry ingredients just until combined. Spoon the batter into the prepared muffin cups. Cups should be about 2/3 full. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes. Cool on wire racks when done.

Option: when you take them out of the oven, place a slice of butter on top and eat warm. You may also use walnuts instead of pecans.

And that's all folks!
Hope you like 'em!
LUV APRIL :)

Welcome Baby Callie and Happy GAVEbirthday to Erin!!

2010-09-17T15:25:00.003-05:00

Callie Tate Christenson
Born September 17, 2010 at 3:13pm
8lb 1oz and 20 inches

I am so happy right now! Life is beautiful!!! I can't help but wipe my eyes!
I just want to say welcome baby Callie! I'm sure you are beautiful! I can't wait to meet you and hold you! I couldn't be luckier to have your mommy as a bestie and you couldn't be luckier to have Erin as your mommy!
Erin, you will be the best mommy ever! You are one of the best people I know and have the most perfect personality to be a mommy! I'm sure Callie is a beautiful as you are!
I love you both!
April :)

I'm Not a Shoe Person

2010-09-17T12:00:00.002-05:00

I'm not a shoe person. I'm just not. My Meme is. She has more shoes than any one person should have. Oh and so does my sister. I think she gets it from Meme.
I'm more like my mom in the shoe department. I hate having to put more than 30 seconds of thought into what shoes I'm going to wear with an outfit. That's one of the reasons I love summer! In the summer all I have to think about is what color of flip flops to put on. I love that. All of the other seasons are too much trouble. In Oklahoma it could go from 30 degrees to 70 degrees in a matter of minutes. I'm not exaggerating. It takes too much thought and effort to figure out what shoes to wear.
I shop the same way. I have to try EVERYTHING on before I buy it, but it usually only takes a split second for me to make a decision on whether or not I am going to purchase something. That's why Eric never complains when I ask him to take me by the mall or Old Navy. I can be in and out of the mall in less than an hour if I'm alone. I usually have a pretty long list too. Now that we don't live a few miles from a mall I have to get everything I need when I can!
So yesterday was a pretty big day for me. I found...wait for it...THREE pair of shoes! Winter shoes! I know I couldn't believe it either! I MIGHT buy two pair of shoes each season so this is a big deal for me!
So I put up my summer clothes and got out winter clothes the other day and I realized how shoe poor I actually am. I tend to only buy shoes that I feel like I will wear a lot. They have to be basic and stylish. Well that leads to me wearing them over and over all season and by the end of that season they look like crap. Usually.
Yesterday I stopped in Old Navy and had to be in and out in less than 15 mintues. Yes I made the deadline, tried on clothes, AND bought for both me and Brodey. I told you I was fast. I bought a CUTE pair of short, flat cowboy boots and I love them. They are the ones in the photo at the top of this post. In fact I wore them last night to GNO(girls night out! Before I went, though, I left the house a little early and made a few pit stops at Ross and Rue 21.
A lot of people don't shop at those stores, but I love the treasure hunt. I LOVE me some Gap, but I am also an equal opputrtunity shopper. I have been known to wear things from Wal-Mart(they have super cute OU t-shirts right now) and I love TJ Max and Forever 21. If it's cute I'm going to buy it no matter where it's from. The great thing about that is most people won't shop where I'll shop! So most of the time I'm the only one that has it! Plus I think I dress cute! I won't wear it unless I love it! Hey Eric and I got Best Dressed in high school for goodness sake! ;)
Getting back on track. I didn't find any shoes at Rue 21 but I did find two pair at Ross! They are so cute! One pair are similar to some fake cowboy boots I have but they are black, distressed, and have some buckles on them. Fun! The other pair are short, flat, and can only be described as half Ugg crochet and half suede. Love them!
I am pretty excited about these shoes and I don't get excited about shoes! I (gasp) actually am excited for the cooler weather to set in so I can wear them! For someone who loves flip flops and summer as much as I do that's a big deal! Yeah for shoes!
I was hoping I would be able to title this post "Happy BIRTHday Callie!!!" but I'm not sure she's here yet! My bestie Erin went into labor this morning! Yippee! Wish I was there waiting on little Callie to make her big debut! Praying for an easy delivery and thinking about you Erin!!! Love you!! I have a surprise for Callie when I get to see her!
Tonight will be a fun night! I'm going out with some of the funnest girls in Muskogee! We will be celebrating my friend Kelly's birthday tonight in Tulsa! My mother-in-law will be headed up here later! Brodey is so excited! He loves his Mumu! I can't have Mumu coming to visit with a dirty house so I'm headed to clean!
I'm hoping to do another How-To soon but I'll have to see how this weekend goes!
I hope your's is wonderful!
LUV APRIL :)

There and Back

2010-09-16T15:18:00.003-05:00

Woo! I did some driving today! Four hours of driving! It was well worth it!
Not only did I get my hair did but I also got to see my parents! This is good even if it was only for about two hours! ;)
I left this morning for Shawnee right after I took Bro to school at 8. I headed back and pulled into his school just in time to pick him up! Just there and back. Kind of a bummer because I usually like to shop around a bit or sit down and eat with my parents! At least I got to see them though!
I never mind to drive. Eric is the one that has to fly to Dallas to avoid driving. I would drive us there and back if he would sit through it. I used to drive to OKC every weekend and back to Holdenville in the summer. Ever since I was 16. I have logged many hours driving my Aunt Karen through various states and am usually the designated night driver on trips with anyone. I prefer to drive at night. I can get anywhere with a paper map, but I can't promise I can get you back! ;) (backtracking is not my best skill)
I'm pretty sure the hours I have logged are why I have road rage. I say road rage but it isn't like I try to chase anyone down with a gun. I just get angry and frustrated when people can't drive. It isn't that difficult. Don't cut people off. Stay in the right lane if you aren't passing someone. Share the road with people who are yielding onto the highway. And cruise control is your friend. So are your blinkers. Can you tell I have many driving pet peeves?
I think it boils down to being courteous to other drivers and simply paying attention. People get in a hurry and don't think about anyone around them. That's why accidents happen. So pay attention and be courteous people out there on the road!!! (applause)
Okay I'm over it! :)
Brodey and Eric have to dine on leftovers tonight! Don't feel sorry for them! They have crockpot Italian chicken, noodle salad, mashed potatoes, and chocolate chip banana bread. Yes they are well fed! I want to share the chocolate chip banana bread recipe but that will have to wait until tomorrow! I have GNO (AKA Girls Night Out which was formerly Bunco) tonight! Wahoo! Can't wait! We always have fun!
Well I'm off to do what I would have done today if I hadn't been on I-40!
Have a wonderful Thursday! Tomorrow is Friday! Yeah!
LUV APRIL :)

P.S. No I didn't wear a swimsuit to get my hair done! Hehe! This photo is from this summer! Brodey is having so much fun in the back he needs to calm down! ;)

How To: Basic Heat Embossing a Stamped Image

2010-09-15T09:11:00.006-05:00

Happy Wednesday to ya! ;)
Today I thought I would post a little How To! I started to video this, but I remembered I already did this How To back for the Just 4 Keeps forum! So I'm going to post it here!
If you have never tried to heat emboss now is the time! There are SO many different ways to do this! I will be sharing more ways to come, but today I'm just going to show you the basic way to emboss a stamped image.
This is the first layout I had published in Creating Keepsakes about embossing. It's from the November 2007 issue. I stamped the swirl design onto the leaves I punched from patterned paper and then I heat embossed them with black ink. Can you believe how little Brodey was! AW!!!

This is the second layout I had in Creating Keepsakes with heat embossing stamped images. It is from the December 2007 issue. I stamped and embossed the little ornaments with white powder, cut them out, adhered them, and drew the little "strings" with my black pen. I also stamped and embossed the title letters. Wow I was not having a good hair day!
Those are just two easy ways to add heat embossing to your layouts and we are just getting started! :) I have so many techniques to show you! But today we will start with the basics!

Supply List:

- Stamps
(the stamp I used in this sample is an Autumn Leaves acrylic stamp)

- Cardstock
(any cardstock will work, but different textures will give you different effects)

- Cornstarch or an Embossing Buddy
(this stuff is KEY to keeping stray embossing powder from sticking and making your image messy)

- Versamark or Embossing Ink
(I have tried many embossing inks and I like Versmark the best. It's tackier and dries slower but any embossing ink will work)

- Heat Tool
(any heat tool will work. I use THIS one from Hobby Lobby. Hair dryers will not usually work because they do not get hot enough and they blow air to hard.)

- Funnel Tray or Paper Plate
(this is what you will use to catch the embossing powder when you slide the excess off of your cardstock and pour it back into the container. You don't have to have either you can just use scrap paper.)

- Embossing Powder
(I used THIS white embossing powder for this How To. You can use any powder you want to! I will be going over different powders in future posts!)

*You can click on this photo to view it larger.

STEP 1:
Cover your cardstock with the cornstarch. Don't worry it will not alter your stamped image OR your embossing powder.

STEP 2:
Stamp your image with your embossing ink.

STEP 3:
Cover your stamped image in embossing powder. Hold it over your tray so you don't make a mess or waste embossing powder.

STEP 4:
Pour off the excess powder. Very gently tap your carstock with your finger to take off excess powder. Do not tap your cardstock too hard or the powder will come off of the stamped image.

STEP 5:
Heat your image by starting underneath the cardstock. This will begin to melt the powder, but will not blow it off. Now heat the image from the top until the powder changes.
All you have to look for is the powder to change. If you continue to heat it you will burn the image.
The only exception to this is if you are using Ultra Thick Embossing Enamel or UTEE. If you are using this you will look for the powder to change into water droplets, the droplets will melt into each other, and then you will stop heating. We will do more with UTEE in future posts.

STEP 6:
Once your image cools you can take a paintbrush or your finger and wipe off the remaining cornstarch. You must wait until it cools because the heated powder does not set until it cools.

STEP 7:
That's it! I simply punched my image out with a scalloped circle punch! You can do so many things with your embossed images!

REMEMBER practice practice PRACTICE! Practice makes perfect!
Never try a technique on a project! Always try it out first on a scrap piece of cardstock! :)

This is one of my favorite basic techniques to teach in class! Immediately students start going "OH! What if I did this? What if I did that!" It's an open door to creativity! I love it!
If you have ANY questions just post a comment! If you don't want to post a comment send me an email at massadmomma@yahoo.com!
If you try this technique out and use it on a project link me up in my comments! I would love to see your work!
I'm off to do laundry! Aw the joys of housework! At least I'm not pulling lawn furniture out of the pool like yesterday! ;)
Have a wonderful Wednesday!
LUV APRIL

Lawn Chairs in Flight

2010-09-14T10:13:00.007-05:00

Brodey and I lucked out this morning. By the time we got to school the first wave of rain had made an appearance and it was just barely sprinkling.
We had the talk on the way to school about how it might be thundering and it would be loud, but he would be safe in the school. I told him he didn't have anything to worry about and if it was going to get bad I would be there to get him. I thought about turning around when I got home!
The clouds were looking pretty crazy and going this way and that way. I made it into the driveway when the wind started to pick up and on into the house when it started to get a little crazy.
If you don't know wind scares me just a little bit. You are probably thinking "well why do you live on a hill then...stupid." That would be a good questions! It is the very worst in February and March. So bad that shingles come off and I sleep with earplugs in. No lie.
So I made it into the house and I hear it start to get pretty windy. I mean windy as in the roof is creaking. I grab the phone and call my mom because I'm headed to the saferoom in the garage and I haven't even had time to turn the tv on to check the weather. When I open the door to the garage it slams against the wall and I'm thinking I forgot to close the garage door. Nope. It was just that strong. I go out there and it's blowing so hard that my garage doors sound like they are vibrating. I'm thinking oh man I hope Brodey isn't freaking.
My mom tells me no tornadoes they just said strong straightline winds. If you don't live in Oklahoma straightline winds are kind of like horizontal tornadoes. They can blow your roof off.
So eventually the wind dies down and I head back in the house. I look out the windows and notice all the plants are blown over. Then I notice the hummingbird feeders are blown down. Then I'm like oh crap. All the lounge chairs are in the pool and the large patio furniture is missing. I go to the edge of the back porch and there it is. One of the large chairs are against the fence and the large loveseat is in the pasture. Nice. Good thing I didn't see THAT fly through the air! I took the pics with my phone and you can see the loveseat is the little speck to the left of the pine tree and the chair is chillin' on the fence.
I call Eric and instead of wow that scary I'm glad you are alive (Hehe) he's like "Well you are just going to have to get into the pool and get them out!!! They are going to rip my liner! And if you leave that chair out there that fence will tear it up!"
"Gee Eric...no it's not pouring down rain. No there isn't cloud to ground lightening!! Are you serious!?! What's wrong with you?"
"Oh I didn't know it was still storming."
"Well look out the window! You are only like 15 miles from me!"
Nice to know he cares! ;)
Eventually I did go out and fish the chairs out of the pool. No I didn't get in. I pulled them out with the pool brush. I have no idea if the liner is ripped. I also went out and got the chair but I didn't venture out into the pasture yet. That will have to wait because it's pouring again and there is the occasional rumble of thunder. I did help a baby snake back into the pasture where he belongs.
I feel bad, though, because I sent my kid to school in shorts and a t-shirt and it's 64 degrees outside. I hope it warms up because I have nowhere to put a mother of the year trophy.
What a morning. At least I got to see my (imagined) best friend Tim Holtz on HSN this morning. That's us in that pic last year in Houston. I'm not sure I ever blogged that story. (Hush it Jen and Trish) It's pretty funny so I'll do that one day. He's the coolest of the cool. The storm actually knocked out the satellite for a while so I'm going to finish watching at 3 this afternoon...hopefully. It's going to storm again and I really hope it passes through before then! I hope the loveseat doesn't get blown further out. Geez.
Speaking of HSN did you know that it's my lifelong dream to be a hostess there or on QVC? I have always thought that would be the coolest job EVER! Just thinking about it gives me chills! I'm weird I know! Ha! I would love to be on there with the Quacker Factory lady! I would ROCK one of her headbands! ;)
Well the thunder is getting close so I should post this before I lose internet and satellite again.
Have a fantastic Tuesday!!
LUV APRIL :)

Dinnertime: Chicken and Mushrooms

2010-09-13T09:27:00.003-05:00

Happy Monday to ya! ;)
Chicken and Mushrooms is one of the very first dinners I started cooking and I still cook it. I cooked it last night for dinner!
In my house we LOVE mushrooms. I buy mushrooms just about every time I go to the grocery store. I can put them in many of the dishes I cook. I also slice them and put them in our salads so I usually have them on hand.
You don't have to put mushrooms in this dish if you dislike them. You can just put the onions and peppers in for flavor! I have made this when I only had onions and it turned out great! I used a red and yellow pepper in the one I photographed!
I usually pair this with mashed potatoes, Mac and Cheese(cause that's what my boys like), and some sort of vegetable like corn or squash.
This is a yummy dinner that you can add or take away whatever you want to make it your own! I have been cooking it for over 10 years and I'll be cooking it for many more to come! :)
I hope you love it too!
LUV APRIL

Chicken and Mushrooms

6 Boneless Skinless Chicken Breast Tenderloins(Thawed)
1 Green Bell Pepper
1 Package of Mushrooms
1 Onion
⅓ Cup Worchestshire Sauce
⅓ Cup Soy Sauce
⅓ Cup Water
Salt to taste
Pepper to taste
Garlic Seasonings to taste

Preheat the oven to 400 degress.

Put your thawed chicken breasts into a 9x13 inch pan. Pour in the sauces and water. Cut and wash your mushrooms and put them in the pan. Cut up the onions and pepper into larger pieces and put them in the pan.

Sprinkle the garlic seasoning, pepper, and salt over the chicken and vegatables. Be very light with the salt as the soy sauce will compensate.

If there isn’t enough juice in the pan, just add equal amounts of the sauces and water until it goes about halfway up the chicken tenderloins. During cooking, some of the juice will be soaked up by the chicken. If the juice runs too low during cooking, just add some more!

Cook chicken for about 20 minutes. Turn the chicken over and return to oven. It will take the chicken about 35-45 minutes to cook, depending on thickness. Check for doneness often during the last 10-15 minutes so the chicken doesn’t dry out.

Remove chicken and vegatables to platter and serve!

I Heart Cookbooks

2010-09-12T20:34:00.004-05:00

What a great weekend! No plans and nowhere to drive. It was good and it went way too quickly.
We just piddled around the house this weekend and we went to Tulsa late yesterday. Eric wanted to look at trucks and I wanted to run into Barnes and Noble. I was on a mission to get two cookbooks.
Ever since the Real Housewives of New Jersey episode where Teresa is canning the tomatos I wanted her cookbook. It's called Skinny Italian and it's SO good! There are a ton of recipes in there that I am dying to try! Plus it has lots of personal stories that are pretty funny!
The other cookbook I wanted was the new Trisha Yearwood one Home Cooking With Trisha Yearwood. I LOVED her first one, Georgia Cooking in an Oklahoma Kitchen, so much that as soon as I saw she had another one out I HAD to get it! It has some super yummy recipes in it as well and I can't wait to read through it tomorrow when I am all alone! ;) As a matter of fact the peach cobbler I made tonight for dessert is from her first cookbook. It's really hard to find a cookbook with good, basic recipes in it. I hate cookbooks that try to get all fancy and add crazy ingredients to regular dishes.
I have a ton of cookbooks and there are only a very small handful that I actually use. Another of my favorites is The Pioneer Woman Cooks. If you blog (are from Oklahoma or watch TV) you know who Ree Drummond AKA The Pioneer Woman is. If not you are truly missing out. She writes my all time favorite blog and is the funniest person ever. (Well of course she is! She's from Oklahoma! Haha!) She has a section on her blog of recipes and they are SO good! If you have never visited her site you have to NOW!
I love cookbooks because I cook every night that we are home. It's much quicker than driving into town and we have started to think what I cook is better than just about anywhere we can eat out. In our area the restaurants are limited. We do have a great pizza place in Tahlequah, but just about the only place we will eat in Muskogee is Rib Crib. So obviously I cook quite a bit!
To spice things up I've kind of made a little challenge for myself to try a new recipe at least every other week. You have to know that Eric is pretty picky so it's tricky for me to try new things. Brodey's motto is "you don't know you like it 'til you try it" so he's much more fun to cook for. He will try just about anything! Last night he was eating sushi with the little chopsticks the waitress put together with rubberbands! LOL
Tonight for dinner we had chicken and mushrooms. It's one of the first meals I ever started cooking. It's so easy and quick. I'm going to post that recipe either tonight or in the morning if you want to try it out yourself! I'll also post the peach cobbler recipe from Trisha Yearwood's cookbook soon! It's super yummy!
Well I hope you had a wonderful weekend!
Ready or not here comes Monday!
LUV APRIL :)

Oh P.S. The layout above is a layout I did about my Granny's mixing bowls. It was in the May/June 2010 issue of Creating Keepsakes! If you click on it you can view it larger!

How-To: Journaling Strips

2010-09-10T15:16:00.007-05:00

This is how I do journaling strips for my layouts. I'm sure everyone has their own way to do it, but I'm going to try to make it simple for you. If you have ever wanted to try them now is the time!
They are super easy. I posted about fonts and my Font Folder HERE. I use Wicrosoft Word to create my journaling. You can use any program where you can create text boxes in specific sizes. Some people use Photoshop, but it's easiest for me in MS Word.
You will need a printer to print your journaling. I use an Epson R1800 that I have had for four years now. It is a larger printer and will print on 12x12 but you don't have to have a large printer. You can just trim down your 12x12 paper to fit into your printer.
You will also need a ruler to measure and carstock to print your journling on. I keep scraps of cardstock to print my journaling onto. I just keep it in a drawer in my scrap room and pull out the size I need to print.
Journaling is the very last thing I do on my layout. Larger elements are more difficult to change last minute, but journaling can go just about anywhere.

1. First you need to measure the area where the first part of your journaling strips will go. You need to measure both the width and the height. I measure about 1/4 of an inch less because I don't want my strips to overlap any elements on my layout. Write your measurement down.
(If you click on the photos you can view them larger)

2. Now measure the second area where the last part of your journaling will be. (If you only have one area for journaling just skip this step.)
Measure both width and height and write it down just like in step 1.

3. (I know this pic isn't the greatest but I don't know how to do a screenshot LOL Oh and this isn't the journaling for this layout. I made this journaling up)
In MS Word open a new document and create two text boxes. Set both to the sizes of the areas you measured. You do this by going to FORMAT TEXT BOX > Click on the SIZE tab.

4. Type your journaling in the boxes and change the font/size to fit both boxes. Get rid of the black line around the boxes by going to FORMAT TEXT BOX > COLORS AND LINES > NO COLOR.

5. Change the amount of space between the lines of text so that you will have room to trim them into strips once you print them. You can do this by going to PARAGRAPH > SPACING > 1.5 LINES.

6. Print out your journaling and trim the lines into strips.

7. Arrange them onto your page and adhere them! That's it!

Now go try it on a layout! If you do be sure to comment and let me know! Also if you post to an online gallery link me up!
I hope this helped you if have never tried it before. Or maybe you did it a different way and you like this way better! If you have any tips yourself be sure and comment!
If you have any techniques you would like to learn leave me a comment and I'll do what I can to post a how-to or video!
Well I'm off to clean up dinner mess! I have been working on this post since oh about noon!
Have a great weekend! I'll be spending mine with my boys!
LUV APRIL :)

A Good Laugh

2010-09-10T11:56:00.005-05:00

(This pic is from 2008 and I still think it's hilarious.)
So I'm browsing the aisles of WalMart this morning while checking my email and I had to bust out laughing! Apparently I'm not the only one who has had a bad Supercuts experience. ;)
When I post on my blog it automatically feeds to my Facebook through Networked Blogs and for some reason it puts my post into a Note. Sometimes people will comment on my blog posts on Facebook but oh my gosh I was cracking up when I read the comments from last night's post. After reading those comments I promise to never take my poor child to Supercuts ever again. I'm sorry if you happen to work at Supercuts and if you do you should find another salon. People apparently don't like Supercuts.
I actually drive two hours to get my own hair cut. The same man has been cutting my hair since I was 10. That's a long time and I have never cheated. I walk in and sit down and he does his thing. I love him. So I guess it's pretty bad I take my kid to Supercuts.
Anyone who lives in my area know of a good barber shop? I really wish I could do it myself. That has never turned out well in the past. Eric and I tried once and it was hilarious. You can read about it HERE. I wish my internet was good enough that I could post the video on YouTube of that haircut incident. He looked ridiculous and went running around the yard and wouldn't let Eric finish. Good times. I would just buzz it off like we did then, but I don't think Bro looks so great with a buzz cut. Nothing against buzz cuts...it's just not for him. So I'm on the lookout for a new hair place! :)
I just got in the new tie shirts I ordered for Bro. He is just about to outgrow his and I just couldn't imagine life without a tie shirt. I got him a super cute brown one and a long sleeved one with a red tie. I'm going to use it for the Christmas pics I will take and never send out. ;) Every time he wears the tie shirt people ask me where I got it. The last time Brodey wore his to school he said everyone liked it...and I mean everyone. The Etsy store I get them at is called Super Sweet Creations and I have linked it over on the side tab of my blog under My Favorite Shops. She uses good quality materials and her shipping is quick.
I finished the Journaling Strip How To but I'm going to post it in another post so it's easier to find if you are searching it.
Well I'm off to put my clean sheets on the bed. Uh I LOVE me some clean sheets!!! It's the best!
We will be staying around here this weekend. We have to go to Tulsa and who knows what else we will do. It will be nice to not have to pack up and go anywhere!
Have a safe and wonderful weekend!!
LUV APRIL :)

Supercuts Drama

2010-09-09T20:09:00.004-05:00

Well I didn't get the journaling strip how-to done. I didn't get to go to the grocery store. I didn't get to cook dinner either. All because I had to take Bro to get a haircut.
It's been a long time coming. He has been a little mushroom head for about a week now. He really hates getting his hair cut. He used to love it because I would take him to Snip Its in OKC and those girls would whip that haircut out in under a minute! There is no Snip Its in Tahlequah OR Muskogee so I would take him to Supercuts and hope that the girl did a good job. Not today.
He didn't want to get a haircut but I had talked him into it and he just walked right in and got up in the chair. I thought okay this is going to be fine.
I always put a little gel in the front of his hair and spike it up. (I know it's time for a haircut when he starts to do the wave in front like Brandon Walsh from 90210) Well this morning it was pretty unruly so I had to gel it a little around the back. Well the haircut lady didn't even comb it out before she started in with the clippers. She goes up the back of his head and the clippers grab a clump of gel. His eyes got big and he just went "ouch."
I'm like "well we just came from school so we didn't have time to comb it out or wet it down...." HINT HINT
She didn't take the hint and goes for it again with the clippers. They grab another clump and he screams. I can tell he is getting pretty ticked off and he gives me the "I'm almost done with this crap" look.
I'm telling him "it's okay you will be fine" and third time's a charm. Her clippers grab another clump of hair and all hell breaks loose. I seriously had flashbacks from the shots at the health department (can't remember if I blogged about that one and if not I HAVE to).
He is screaming "I'm NOT DOING THIS ANYMORE" as he is literally ripping off the cape (which was an ADULT sized cape anyway). He jumps out of the chair and runs for the front door.
I'm trying to remain calm while I am thinking we can't leave with a 1/3 chilly bowl haircut and I wonder how she would react if I grabbed her icky ponytail and yanked it! She is actually acting surprised and not once does she apologize.
I finally pry him away from the front door and get him back over to the chair. I'm like "Okay I'm pretty sure at this point we need to comb it out...DON'T you think?"
So I get it combed out and realize I'm going to just have to sit and hold him while she finishes.
It was NOT fun. I have no idea how you guys do it. I had hair EVERYWHERE. I had hair in my bra. I had hair all over my face. I had hair stuck to the insides of my elbows. I'm not usually a spaz (no really I'm not!) but that hair had me on the edge of a mental breakdown. It was everywhere. My antibacterial wipes couldn't even get it off! We finally left with a haircut that Eric had to fix when he got home and I'm sure they were happy to see us go.
I had promised Bro we would trade in some games and pick out a new one at GameStop and I had to look funny in there waiting on him to pick one out. I wanted to get down on the carpeted floor and roll around like a dog that has found something dead. I had red splotches all over me and needless to say there was no way I was going to go to WalMart in that state. It was bad.
So no WalMart meant no cooked dinner because I cleaned out the pantry with last night's. The boys were more than happy to eat leftover spaghetti and I got to eat cereal for dinner! I was pretty excited!
Uh just typing about hair makes me get all itchy. Uh.
Well I'm off to bed. No storms tonight thank goodness and I'm hair free.
I can't believe it's already Friday! Wow!
Well have a good night!
LUV APRIL :)

Oh My Fonts

2010-09-07T15:39:00.005-05:00

Fonts are awesome. I love them. I probably have hundreds of them. I use them every time I do a scrapbook layout or pretty much any project. My handwriting is okay, but I can type and print journaling much quicker than I can write it.
I use Microsoft Word to print almost everything I do. Journaling is usually the very last thing I do on a layout. Printing and adding journaling strips to my layouts is super fast and easy. If you have always wanted to try it you should! I'm thinking about doing a how-to for journaling strips. I might do that tomorrow!
Today, though, I'm sharing how I made my super easy and super helpful Font Folder! I hope this helps someone out there who loves fonts as much as I do!
I used to just scroll through the font list in Word until I found the one I wanted to use, but when my list started to grow I realized I needed a better way to find the font that best fit my project. I came up with the perfect solution!

I went into Microsoft Word and I simply typed out the font's name in the font plus Brodey's name at the end. (adding his name just gives me more of a sample of the font plus his name is on almost every layout I do anyway)

I type everything out in 28 point unless it's difficult to read and I change it to 36 point. It has to be large enough for me to quickly scan over to find the font I want.

I then printed it out and put it in a presentation folder.

When I need to find a font I just flip through until I find the one I want to use! I don't bother to put them in alphabetical order because when I am searching for a font I am simply looking for a style I want to use.

Every time I download new fonts I just go back to my document, type the new fonts out, and add them to my binder. Once I have printed my new fonts I put the date at the bottom so that I know when I last added the new fonts. (This is just in case you forget to print out new fonts you have downloaded)

It's that simple! I use my font folder every time I use my fonts for a project. It saves so much time! You can do the same thing if you use dingbats!
The fonts I use most often are my Creating Keepsakes fonts. They are the ones with the CK in front. I used to get them all at Scrap N Fonts but they no longer sell the CK fonts. You can actually download the CK fonts for free if you are a Club CK member. When you pay for a subscription to CK Scrapbooking Tips and Tricks Magazine you become a Club member and you can go onto the website and download the fonts for free. That is an awesome magazine, not only because I contribute hehe, but because it is filled to the brim with awesome ideas for pages and tips to make your scrapping life easier.
I still purchase most of my fonts from Scrap N Fonts. They are actually having a $1 sale right now. They have great fonts plus lots of other fun digital goodies!
Well I hope I made your font life a little easier! ;) If you have any questions about my Font Folder just leave me a comment!
Check back in tomorrow for the journaling strips how-to!
Have a wonderful Wednesday!
LUV APRIL

A Little Chilly

2010-09-03T11:47:00.003-05:00

Woo it's a little chilly on this Friday in Oklahoma! Feels (and smells) like football weather! I love change, but I highly dislike winter so I'm a little torn. I think I summed it up in this post from last year. So I'm sorry fall, but I hate what comes after you! ;)
I wonder when the hummingbirds will decide to head south. I have to have at least 30 to 40 buzzing around my back porch. Eric didn't believe my when I tried to explain how many we had a few weeks ago. I have four feeders that I have to fill up every day. No joke. I keep an empty gallon milk carton full of nectar for them. It's insane how many we have. Eric didn't believe me until he saw it for himself. I wish there was a way to capture them all on video. I'm sure I'm not the only one with tons, but it's just so cool! I think they love all of the flowers I have back there. Their faves are the petunias and the hibiscus...if the vegetarian raccoons will leave them alone. ;)
I'll probably leave at least one or two feeders up all winter. I read this summer that there are sometimes poor little stragglers that are late in heading south. A feeder left out is the only way they will survive the journey! :( So sad and mine will definitely be left out!
Brodey is excited for the weekend. He didn't have school today. We are headed to the lake probably tomorrow. I'll be curious to see how heading back to school on Tuesday morning goes. Hopefully he is happy to go. Mrs Tuck told me yesterday that Brodey asked her "could he just spend the night because he LOVES school!" LOL Oh I'm sure she would love that! ;)
Well I'm going to finish up laundry!
Have a wonderful and safe holiday weekend!!
LUV APRIL

Maintain! MAINTAIN!

2010-08-31T15:26:00.005-05:00

(Fair warning! This post contains a story about puke. If puke bothers you skip ahead several paragraphs!) LOL ;)

Well it's official. My son has been sick twice in the whole two and a half weeks he has been in school. Yes that's once a week. I hope that doesn't turn into a trend.
Sunday night he fell asleep fine on the couch. He was tossing and turning and I had the Mommy gut voice in my head feeling that he was sick. I brushed it off since he hadn't complained of anything, but that little voice is pretty difficult to ignore. It has too good of a track record.
So Eric is in the living room watching Cramer and I'm in the computer room and all of a sudden he yells for me. I run into the kitchen and it's a disaster. There is vomit everywhere. ALL over Eric (who is shirtless), all over the sink, all down the cabinet doors, and all over the floor and counter top.
Eric is holding Brodey over the sink and I can tell just by looking at him he is about to lose it.
I'm like "It's okay. I'll clean it up. Just calm down."
One more look at him and I can see he doesn't think it's going to be okay, he doesn't care who's going to clean it up and he isn't calm at all.
Then I'm looking at him going "Maintain. MAINTAIN!" I so did NOT want to clean up both of their puke.
I take Brodey from him and Eric runs off into the bathroom. He never got sick...thank goodness. I had to give Brodey another shower and clean up the mess. Eric's like "Thank goodness that stuff doesn't bother you. I couldn't have cleaned that up."
I said "Um ok pretty sure you have to deal with blood and tooth parts all day but you can't handle some puke?" Hahaha! When Brodey was younger he puked all over my face and my hair one time. I'll take 4 year old puke over baby food puke ANY day!
Thank goodness he only ended up getting sick one more time and never ran a fever. I kept him home yesterday just in case he was contagious and went ahead and sent him today. Apparently he wasn't the only kiddo out with pukey sickness. Isn't that usually how it goes? ;) Kudos to teachers who have to deal with puke on at least a weekly basis. Thank you from the bottom of my heart! I could never stand the smell of that orange stuff the janitor likes to clean it up with.
So on to other topics. The deer are back. Yes here at my house, in northeastern Oklahoma, it seems that they disappear all summer and come back in the early fall. Where do they go? I'm not sure. I have asked Eric and he never has an answer. He seems to think they bed down because it's so hot but that's not a good enough answer for me. Does anyone know? I'm one of those crazy nosey people who have to know things like that. It's like where do coyotes go during the day? Who knows!
I DO know that Eric better get the corn feeder out ASAP! Last week I went out to water my plants out by the pool and I look down at one of my hibiscus plants and what was a beautiful green bush with beautiful red flowers is now mere twigs. AAAHHH!!!!!
I'm like "Um ERIC! Pretty sure your deer have been making dinner of my plants and that's no okay!!!"
He's like "Oh no no. It must be the raccoons..."
"Oh sure! So you are telling me we have vegetarian raccoons!!?! Whatever. Just please get the corn feeder out."
Well the other morning I was in the living room putting on my shoes when I look up out the window and I see glowing velvet antlers by the pool. I get up and GUESS WHAT?!?! It wasn't a RACOON! It was a buck munching away at my hibiscus plant!
"ERRIIICCC!!!!! That vegetarian raccoon is eating my plant!!!!!"
I hear Eric running down the hall and he open the door and the house alarm starts blaring! It scared the crap out of the deer and it took off. I laughed so hard!
All I had to say was "Corn feeder. STAT."
Ah living in the country. If the raccoons aren't swimming in my pool the deer are eating my plants. Joy.
Well enough rambling today. I was going to share a super quick recipe today, but I wasn't sure you would want to read about puke and food in the same post. I'll save it for tomorrow! ;)
Have a wonderful Tuesday nigt!
LUV APRIL

Warm Fuzzy

2010-08-26T11:06:00.003-05:00

Wednesday was a BIG day for Brodey. When I got to his classroom to pick him up from school he ran over to me and said "Oh MOM MOM!!! Look at my warm fuzzy!!" I was laughing out loud because it's funny to hear anyone of any age say "warm fuzzy."
I said "Oh wow! What in the world is it?"
He said "Coach Light gave it to me!" (Coach Light is his P.E. teacher)
His teacher's aide said to me "Oh well you know that is a very BIG deal. Coach Light only gives two out to the very best students in all of the pre-k! Brodey must have been very good!"
He said "Oh I was mom! I listened to her whistle and I got to be the leader!"
I was so proud! I think every mom is as surprised as I am when their kiddo is praised at school! I know I can't believe he acts so different there than at home! Now that we have our routine down, though, he is acting MUCH better! He loves routine.
The Warm Fuzzy is pretty cute. It's just a little squiggly eye and an orange fuzzy ball on a tiny clothes pin. To Brodey, though, it's the biggest trophy ever!
It makes me so happy when teachers pay attention to the little things! That's all that counts, right? ;)
Have a good Thursday!
LUV APRIL

My Lil' Chapstick Sniffer

2010-08-24T16:42:00.009-05:00

Yes you read that correctly. My son likes to sniff chapstick. He has always loved his chapstick. I even did a layout about it several years ago. There is a photo of the layout. If you click on it you can view it larger and read the journaling. He was only 10 months old in those photos. Up until about last year he called it "Chaplick." LOL Time flies.
Eric's mom came this weekend to stay with Brodey while we went to Dallas. She brought him some Chapstick (she has always given it to him) and I didn't know until he pulled it out of his pocket when we were all eating dinner Sunday night. He said "Mom smell this Chapstick. It smells sooo good!" I did and we had to have the talk about not sharing the Chapstick at school and blah blah blah. He's like "I KNOW mom! We don't want to share germs at school only toys." Smarty pants.
I forgot he had it until after school yesterday. We got home and he pulled it out of his pocket and put some on. Then after we ate dinner I was watching him while he was watching tv and as he is in full-on zombie tv mode he pulled it out of his pocket, waved it under his nose, said "aahhh", and stuck it back in his pocket! I laughed so hard! I couldn't believe he did that! I knew he liked the way it smelled but I didn't know he had it in his pocket to sniff every once in a while! When I dug out the chapstick layout I noticed a pic on there of him sniffing it.
Well at least it really does smell good! He is very particular about smells. Remember his assessment of his teacher, Mrs Tuck? "She is pretty and she smells good like Mrs Bethany." Hahaha! I'm in trouble if he ever gets a teacher that doesn't live up to his sniffy standards! ;)
Well I'm off to finish some scrapbook layouts! My room is a disaster. You can't even walk in there. I guess I'll be cleaning when I finish the layout!
Have a great Thursday!
LUV APRIL :)

Have you ever...

2010-08-23T15:38:00.002-05:00

Have you ever bought Mexican Jumping Beans? Did you know they really do jump? A lot. Don't put them in your bedroom because you can't sleep. At all. Did you also know that there is an actual worm in there? That's why they jump. We saw them in the airport and thought Brodey would like them. He thinks they are super cool. I walked into the kitchen this morning and froze for a second because I thought there was a mouse on the counter. It wasn't. It was just the jumping beans. So don't put them in the kitchen either. ;)
Have you ever washed something red and got pink laundry? I did this for the very first time last week. I have this super cute long red dress that I put in with the darks. Anything that had any sort of white on it is now pink. Oh and anything that was lighter in color. Awesome. Now just to get it out! I'm okay with pink, but I'm not sure Eric wants to go to work with pink scrubs.
Have you ever spied on your kiddo at school? You should. It's fun. Last Thursday I got to school a little early and Brodey was doing circles time. They do this at the end and they sit on the carpet and she reads them a book. I was outside the door eavesdropping and I heard her say
"Who bakes your bread?"
Brodey says loud and clear "My mom bakes my bread!"
She says again "Who bakes your bread?"
Brodey says louder "My MOM bakes my bread!"
She says "Which of THESE bakes your bread?"
Brodey says "MY MOM!!!"
She says "Okay but who ELSE bakes your bread?"
Brodey says "oh the baker bakes bread...but my mom does too."
Hahaha! I was LOL so hard! He was convinced he knew the answer! Now don't get any ideas here. I'm not slaving away kneading bread while my kid is at school. Eric really loves his carbs so I'll bake bread in my bread machine about once a week or so but I don't do anything complicated! I just thought that was so funny.
We had such a fun weekend! We went to Dallas to see our besties, Jason and Destiny! Yes I took my camera and no I didn't take any pictures. I know it's terrible. Someone took pics so if I get them I'll post!
Ok I'm off to finish laundry! It seems like I never left because this is exactly what I was doing before we went! The weekend goes by way to fast!
Hope your Monday is as fab as it can possibly be!
LUV APRIL :)

If I Loved Poems...

2010-08-19T12:03:00.005-05:00

If I loved poems I would write one about teachers. But I don't. Actually I really don't like poems. No offense to any poets out there! ;)
I've said it before and I'll say it again...I REALLY appreciate good teachers! Good, sweet, empathetic teachers that are stern but fair. If you are a poet feel free to write a poem for me about teachers! Haha!
Brodey had another rough day. Being out two days got him all messed up. He woke up crying that he didn't want to go. Eric thinks I'm crazy and mean. (maybe that's a good thing haha) Eric says "why don't you just let him go back to bed and stay home today? It's just pre-k."
I'm like "HELLO! I can't start that! Suck it up soldier! You will be fine once you get there!"
He cried the whole way there. Dried up a little once we started walking in. Then started again when we got into class. Mrs Tuck was totally sympathetic. She knew it was from being out a couple of days. Another kid had come back today from the same thing. She loved on him, picked him up, and made sure I had her cell number. As soon as he was distracted I snuck out.
I knew he would be okay since he did the same thing on Monday, but you still feel a little bad no matter how tough you act! Hey someone has to be tough cause we all know it isn't Eric! ;)
Once I got home I sent her a text so she would have my number if he happened to have a meltdown. She said he was "doing fine and he's a great kiddo." She also sent me this:

It totally brought tears to my eyes. I can't imagine how crazy busy she is with that many 4 year olds running around and she sent me that. It meant a lot to me. It's the little things in life and until you send a kid to school and realize you have to put total trust in someone else you can't imagine how much it meant to me. And that's why Mrs Tuck and all of the wonderful thoughtful teachers out there deserve a poem! :)
I'm headed to finish cleaning the house! My mother-in-law is coming this weekend to stay with Brodey! Eric and I flying to Dallas tomorrow morning to spend the weekend with my bestie Destiny! Fun times ahead!
While I have been cleaning I have had the TV on Bravo. The Real Housewives of New York is on. Every time a commercial for Real Hourewives of DC comes on I'm reminded how lame they are compared to all the others. I'm going to keep watching in hopes that they cut loose and quit worrying about what everyone thinks! They could learn a thing of two from the Bad Girls Club! Hahahaha!!!!
I spruced up the blog a bit with a new banner! I used THIS kit to make it. So fun! I just can't get it to center! Oh well!
Well I'm off to clean another toilet! Wahoo!
LUV APRIL

And on the fourth day...

2010-08-17T08:36:00.002-05:00

And on the fourth day he got sick. :(
Brodey started running a fever last night. Poor boy! He hates to miss school!
I'm not really suprised. Friday Mrs Tuck told him "well Brodey your friend Jayce is home sick today. He's running a fever." I thought it might be coming.
I was up with him all night and I know he didn't get much sleep. I foresee much couch time for today.
We had the germ talk and how that's why Mrs Tuck makes you wash your hands so much and don't put your hands in your mouth in school and don't put your hands around your eyes in school and blah blah blah. I'm pretty sure he gets it!
He understands that he can't go to school because he doesn't want to get his friends sick so I think he will be okay.
Most of Oklahoma will see rain today! It's much needed!
I'm off to take care of my sick boy. He's watching Avatar cartoon on the couch. LOVE that cartoon! :)
LUV APRIL

It's All Good

2010-08-16T15:40:00.003-05:00

Thank goodness Brodey was in an excellent mood when I picked him up from school! (This morning didn't go too well if you didn't read my previous post)
He was VERY proud of his sticker for doing so well. Something about hats in a shoe. LOL
I just love technology for allowing me to take pics and videos and send them to Eric or Nana or whomever!
Well this super relieved momma is going to fold MORE towels.
I hope tomorrow morning goes better! ;)
LUV APRIL

Rough Start...

2010-08-16T13:12:00.003-05:00

Well we had our first rough morning. Actually it wasn't too bad. No screaming or throwing up. Just a few tears. I have to admit a few were mine, but not until I made it home.
Brodey is like Eric. Many hours of sleep are required for nongrumpiness. (Not sure that's a word, but it works.) Brodey could go to sleep at 7pm and wake up the next morning at 10am. The boy loves to sleep. Usually if he gets at least 9 or 10 hours he is okay, but not when he has had a busy weekend. He woke up at 7 yesterday morning which is SO not like him. Then he played all morning at Mumu's and played all afternoon at the lake. He was one wiped out boy.
See...
That was him before we even ate dinner. (Don't panic and call DHS. I was not driving we were parked in my parent's driveway.) So obviously the boy was tired and the full 11 hours of sleep he got just didn't cut it. He woke up in an okay mood. He just kept saying he was tired.
I got him to school and he was fine. I was talking to his teacher and he walked away smiling like he was going to play. I should have made my exit right then but he turned around and saw me still standing there and his lip started to quiver.
I told him it would be fine that he would feel better once he ate breakfast but the crocodile tears came down. :(
Luckily he has THE best teacher EVER and she came and picked him up and said "I need some loving too today Brodey. My little boy is on an airplane to Germany right now." Oh man can you even imagine? Her 16 year old son is studying a semester in Germany so my little boy tearing up is nothing compared to what THAT must feel like! She told him that they would take an early nap today and she would rub his back. I LOVE Mrs Tuck. Love her.
So I made my exit and hid behind the door. She gave me the OK sign so I slid out the door. I got home and sat down and started thinking about it and I got all teary. Dumb of me. I should have made myself busy. He did that a few times at the preschool, but Mrs Bethany was awesome like Mrs Tuck and made it all better.
I'm sure he forgot about me in all of 5 seconds, but it's hard to leave them like that. I told Eric and he's like "OH MY GOSH YOU LEFT HIM!?!?!?!" I'm like "of course I did! I can't just take him home when he doesn't want to stay!"
When I told Eric's mom about it at lunch she said "Yes it doesn't surprise me that he said that. That's why Mady(his sister) never went to swim lessons. I had Eric take her and she cried so he never left her." Thank goodness HE doesn't take him to school. Wonder what he will do if...IF we ever have a girl and she cries! Haha!
I go get him in about an hour and I'm sure he will be fine. He's pretty easy to distract.
I have been cleaning since I dropped him off. How in the world does your house get messy when you aren't even here all weekend!? Maybe it was like that before I just didn't notice! ;)
Once this week calms down and my house is in order I can start thinking about the online scrapbook classes again. I would love to do it. I have tons of ideas swimming around in the head. I just have to grab them and put them together.
Well I'm off to fold towels. What fun.
LUV APRIL

Say Hello to My Lil' Friend

2010-08-12T13:12:00.004-05:00

If you know me you know that I get very excited when a product actually does what it promises. That's why I have a photo of Woolite on my blog. It does what it promises. It makes your darkers darker and keeps them from fading. It even turns faded shirts back to their original dark color. The best thing about it, though, is that there are refills. You don't have to keep buying the plastic bottle! It's awesome! No I'm not getting paid by Woolite. I just love it when something works and I wanted to share it! :)
My little man had a fantastic first day! I will find out about his second day in about an hour. Yesterday I was checking the clock every hour hoping it would be time to pick him up! Today I'm thinking the day is super short and what ABOUT that after school program? Just kidding! ;)

I WAS more nervous yesterday to pick him up than when I dropped him off. I was so afraid he would get in the car and start crying and tell me he hated it and didn't want to go back.
Instead when I asked him how his first day was he said "It was GREAT! When do I get to come back!?!?!" Success! He totally loved it and loved his teacher!
I asked him if he took a nap and he said "well I laid there but I didn't go to sleep because it was too loud." LOL
I just knew he would be totally wiped out when he got home but he never took a nap. He laid down on the couch with me for a little bit but he never went to sleep. I guess he can handle more than what I thought! My baby IS growing up! :(
Well I'm going to get the clothes out of the dryer and go get my baby! Can't wait to hear all about his second day!
LUV APRIL

Distraction...

2010-08-11T12:12:00.007-05:00

Yes I am blogging again today. Close your mouth. It's only to keep me from checking the clock and wondering what Brodey is doing. Hoping he isn't lost somewhere in that big school or dead. Erin assures me they have to notify me if that happens. Phew. Strange the things that go through your minds when your child is in a place you don't know top to bottom. Just breathe April.

He was such a big boy this morning. He looked super cute in his new shoes and backpack. He had to strap it on before we left so that I could unstrap it to get him in his carseat. Oh and yes we LOVE plaid. Haha! When I pulled up that pic I had to laugh. No his shorts aren't made out leftover material from his comforter. ;)
He always acts a little shy when I'm there but once I'm gone he comes out of his shell. I had to run to the office to make sure he was actually enrolled because his teacher didn't have an updated roster (yes that's where the fear of him being lost comes from) and when I got back they were headed to the bathroom. I had my camera, of course, so I whispered Brodey and this is what I got:

He just looked back at me, gave me a grin, and waved. Thank goodness! There were lots of crying kiddos and thankfully Brodey wasn't one of them! Poor kids. :(
Once they figured out where the bathroom was they headed out to eat breakfast. Yes they get to eat breakfast as a class. Isn't that great? Maybe he will actually EAT breakfast.

Brodey's in that crowd somewhere (I hope) and the pretty lady at the door is his teacher. We really like her and her ability to teach has nothing to do with my crazy mommy worries. I truly appreciate teachers. They really have a huge impact on our little kiddos. We are very lucky to have her as Brodey's teacher! (There Mrs Tuck if you ever read my blog that deserves brownie points!)
So it's 12:45 now. I have 2 hours left. Do you think I can do it? It's actually gone quickly. I can't wait to ask him all about it! I just hope he doesn't say he never wants to go back!
LUV APRIL

The time has come....

2010-08-10T17:30:00.005-05:00

My wittle baby starts all day big kid pre-k bright and early tomorrow morning!
Am I ready? Heck yes!
Is he ready? Heck yes! ;)
He just came in and asked me (at 5:39pm) if he could take a shower and go to bed now please? Yes I'm pretty sure he's ready.
We got to go last night and meet his teacher and check out the school. His classroom is so cute. He met a few of his classmates and they seem great. He was actually a little bigger than them which is surprising to me. (You have to know he weighed 4lb 4oz when he was born so he has always been a little small.) He must be growing finally! Before we went I put on a pair of 4t shorts that fit him just fine at the beginning of summer and they were a little snug! The boy doesn't eat anything so I have no idea how ge grows!
I am pretty excited that they get to eat breakfast at school there. Maybe he will actually eat breakfast. Usually he won't eat anything until about 11am so this will be great for him!
His teacher seems so nice! I am so glad because I really appreciate teachers! They are with our kids for more hours during the day than we are! Brodey's judgement of her was "she's pretty and she smells nice." Gotta love him.

It's been a chore trying to find school supplies. It took two Wal-Mart attempts to purchase all of the stuff he needs to go. It looks more like he's about to take off for summer camp! It was a treasure hunt trying to find glue and crayons at Wal-Mart! Nevermind just trying to get down the aisle! Insane!
I asked Brodey today what in the world I am supposed to do while he is at school all day!?!
He said "well you can run like you like to run, swim in the pool, sweep the house, and play da wii."
Hahahaha I said "well soon it will be too cold to swim in the pool. What do I do then?"
"I don't know sit here and wait for me."
Ha! I'm not sure about the running in 100 degree weather right now. I might swim in the pool. I will probably sweep and play the wii, but I have some other stuff up my sleeve too.
I'll probably update the blog more, clean more, and I'm thinking about teaching online scrapbook classes. I'm trying to figure that out. Let me know if you would be interested in taking them or have some suggestions! :)
Well I better go and cook some dinner! The chicken in the crockpot smells SO good! Maybe I'll share that recipe on the blog!
I think I'm gonna like this all day school thing! ;)
Have a good night!
LUV APRIL

Wowzers!

2010-07-27T10:16:00.007-05:00

It is Tuesday and I am still tired from this weekend! I wish I could drink those crazy energy drinks like Red Bull or NOS or coffee! I so need one right now!
This weekend was super busy but in a good way! I kicked off Friday by teaching at a retreat with all my favorite scrappy friends!! I always have so much fun teaching. I have so much fun that while I'm doing it I tend to forget to eat, drink, or go to the little girls room. Once I am done I have to have a little recovery time. Hahaha not this weekend!
As soon as I finished teaching I hopped in my car and headed to OKC for my cousin Danielle's rehearsal and dinner. We had a blast! We cried a little and laughed a lot!

Saturday morning it was up early to have some breakfast at IHop with all the bridesmaids and Danielle. So much fun laughing about IHop memories! Good times!
As soon as we got back the beautifying began! LOL! I mean all the girls are beautiful, but what's it hurt to be a little more beautiful!?! ;) We all had our hair done by the fab Donnie at Bella Strada salon in Edmond and our makeup done by Hallie at Danielle's house! LOVE that girl! So much fun to have fake eyelashes put on! I have always tried to do that myself and never succeeded! Girl did a FAB job!

Donnie also did an awesome job on all of our hair! She wanted it half up and I'm glad she did because everyone's looked beautiful! I had a bigger bump than I normally do, but it looked good in pictures and with my dress! Oh and NO it wasn't a Bumpit! LOL It was all my hair! He is a teasing expert!
I am always pretty nervous when someone else does my hair other than my normal hairdresser. I have had some not so fun experiences so I was very pleased with the outcome!!
I took a before and after pic of all of us, but I'm keeping it under wraps in case I make a scrapbook page out of it!

This is an after pic of us before lipstick. Hallie didn't do lipstick until we got to the church. Smart girl.
For those of you who do not know Danielle and Ryleigh they are my first cousins. Their dad and my mom and brother and sister. I started living with them in the summer and babysitting them when I was 17 and they were 7 and 9. I stayed with them for 6 summers and I wouldn't change a thing! I love them both like they were sisters so you can imagine how important this weekend was!
The wedding was beautiful! Aunt Karen snuck in before the ceremony and we took a group pic to send to Kerry since we knew she was dying to not be able to come! Little Lola is too small to make a trip so Ally messaged her the pic!

The reception was a BLAST!!! We all danced our booties off! My Meme was even shakin' it! It didn't occur to me that I would have to give a toast until the girls told me the night before. I had kind of an idea what I was going to say, but I just sort of went with what my heart wanted to say. I think it turned out great because there were lots of tears!! Oh and not just mine! ;)

All in all it was a success! Everyone left happy and I hope that Danielle and Jacob are having a fabulous time on their honeymooon! I love you guys!!
So here I am dead tired and STILL with only half a voice. I did get pretty excited, though, when I saw all the new paper lines from Basic Grey at CHA this weekend! Oh my goodness! I have to have them all! You can check them out HERE!
Oh and you HAVE to pick up a copy of this month's Creating Keepsakes Tips and Tricks! Not only is it an AWESOME issue, but I have lots of stuff in there! I might post about that later because Brodey and I are ready to eat lunch!
It was nice to blog! Maybe I'll make it a regular habit again! ;)
LUV APRIL

Five 4th's

2010-07-02T16:44:00.003-05:00

I can hardly believe that this will be Brodey's fifth 4th of July! Time truly flies!
I had a panic moment this year when I realized I hadn't bought his Old Navy flag shirt. It wasn't actually until his third fourth that I realized he had worn one every year. Now it's a tradition and even Brodey likes to look at all the past photos together!
Next year he will be five and even though I think he looks good in the navy I think I might go back with grey like his first one! Haha that little onesie was so cute!
Well I'm off to pack for the lake! Brodey is SO excited! He loves fireworks this year! So sad we didn't get to take him to the castle to buy in Muskogee. He would have freaked out!
Well goodnight and have a FUN and SAFE 4th!!!
LUV APRIL :)

San Antonio Weekender

2010-06-29T16:24:00.003-05:00

Hello! Yes it's actually me! ;) I have been a busy girl!
I'm currently busy doing laundry. Why does it feel like you have so much more dirty close from a short trip than you would have if you had just stayed home? It multiplies. Then you have to decide if the clothes you packed back up with the dirty clothes are technically clean? Usually the sniff test works, but it's one of those things that leaves me guessing.
Our anniversary was the 14th of this month. 8 years married and 17 and a half years together. That's a long time! Since the 9th grade! Geez!
Since Eric had a CE course in San Antonio this weekend we thought we would go and have a little trip to ourselves! I had been before, but Eric hadn't and I think he was pretty suprised at how much there is there to do!
We stayed at the Marriott Riverwalk. It was super nice. We were way up on the 29th floor with an extra long balcony. I took the pic up there. I thought it was funny. Hehe
We went to this cave called Natural Bridge that was outside the city. It was so much fun!! If you are ever in San Antonio you should go! It's beautiful and totally worth the short 20 minute drive!
I've been working on scrappy stuff the last couple of days for some assignment deadlines. Fun times! If you have the awesome July/August issue of Creating Keepsakes my besties and I are on page 46 in a fun layout about our Cozumel trip! Also Brodey's handsome mug is on page 100 in an ad for Tips and Tricks! Such a cutie!
Two movies come out this week that I have been dying to see! Eclipse is tomorrow and I'll be going with Cerissa, Michelle, and whoever else! Thursday The Last Airbender opens and Brodey is just about as excited as I am to see it! Hopefully we get to see that on Thursday! We still haven't seen Toy Story 3! I know I know! Bad mom!
Well this bad mom is going to finish up a layout and cook some dinner! Lasagna roll-ups, salad, corn on the cob, and berry cobbler for the boys tonight! Hope they are hungry!
Goodnight!
LUV APRIL :)

Games...

2010-04-27T14:53:00.003-05:00

I can't believe I haven't posted since February! Yikes! I think that Facebook ruined blogging for me. Why say over what I've already said on Facebook? Plus does anyone read blogs anymore? Or is it easier to just scroll through Facebook? Who knows! I guess I'll just do both! I miss blogging. I might cut back on Facebook some and come back to the blog!
School is finishing up for Brodey and summer is almost here! He is going to be so sad when he figures out he won't be seeing his friends anymore. Maybe the lake and pool will distract him.
I can't wait to get the pool open! It's not as pretty out there with the cover on. Maybe we will have to have a pool party this year! Fun!
Speaking of parties here in Muskogee we like to have game parties. Not Bunco (although we love that too) but actual games. Friends, food, and drinks are usually involved and it's always a good time. We play the regular games like Pictionary but the funnest games are the Simply Fun games.
I went to my first Simply Fun party when I first moved here and had a blast. They are sold like Arbonne or Uppercase Living at home parties. Once we buy what we want we have our own game parties! It's so much fun!
So much fun, in fact, that I decided to start selling the games myself! I have several of them already and Brodey LOVES to play them. Most of the games are geared towards kids and teachers, but the more adult games are totally unique and a blast. We have fun playing them at the lake. The guys even have fun playing them!
You can buy them online HERE or you can host a party. Of coures you get great benefits and free stuff when you host a party and it's always a good time!
If you are interested in hosting or you just want to buy some games let me know!
I'm off to finish up the laundry! Have a wonderful Tuesday!!
LUV APRIL :)

Ready for SPRING!!!

2010-02-16T11:21:00.003-06:00

Wahoo!!!! Spring is right around the corner! This means warmer weather, Easter, flowers, green grass and my birthday! YEAH! By the end of next month the grass should be turning green and I will start itching to buy new flowers to go on the back porch! Yippee!!! There is something about beautiful flowers on my back porch when I look outside that makes me so very happy! I even did a layout about it!

When spring comes around I also get the urge to CLEAN! I have a list and as soon as the weather begins to warm up I will get started! As a matter of fact I need to clean my scrapbook room right now! I can never start anything new until I am all orgainzed and back to normal. Speaking of organizing Creating Keepsakes has a new special issue out. I have a layout in there and I shared some tips of my own! ;) The layout is pretty cute and there are a ton of awesome tips in there!
Well it was nice to check in! I'm going to make my blog a little more spring-ish and clean up my scrap room!
Have a wonderful Tuesday!
LUV APRIL

Well Hello!

2009-11-30T09:49:00.004-06:00

Wow it's been a while since I blogged! Since Brodey started school we have a new routine and I guess blogging just got moved to the side! Also it's a little easier to just post what's going on from my phone to Facebook.
This week I have two goals. The first is to get my Christmas decorations up. To do that I have to first convince Eric to climb up our 1,000 foot attic ladder to get everything down. Ha! I better cook him an awesome dinner tonight! ;) That shouldn't be too difficult as long as it involved meat and potoatos! Hehe!
Brodey and I are so excited because we get lights this year! Eric is going to hire someone to come out and put up a ton of lights! Yeah! Eric hates to do it and he doesn't have a ladder tall enough so we get lights this year!!! Yippee!!
My second goal for this week is to edit pictures. So pathetic I haven't even done the Halloween pics yet! Well come to think of it I didn't even finish summer pics...It will probably take me all week.
The layout that I posted above is in the November issue of Creating Keepsakes. I love it. The photos are from Erin's surprise party back in February. FUN TIMES!!! I am so thankful for my friends!
Okay I'm going to go clean house in hopes that I get to start decorating tonight!
I hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving!
LUV APRIL

My Apology to Fall

2009-10-15T11:12:00.000-05:00

I love summer. I love the warm weather, I love going to the lake, I love the pool & I always get depressed when it ends. I get mad that summer is ending & winter is upon us. Winter in Oklahoma isn’t fun. We hardly get any snow & we get ice storms every year. But it isn’t fall’s fault that it comes at such a bad time. Summer has ended & it seems to rain forever. My allergies seem to kick into high gear & it just isn’t any fun!
Then Brodey & I walk outside & see all of the fall wildflowers & beautiful leaves & you realize it’s just a second spring (except summer isn’t coming after that haha). So really I don’t hate fall, I just hate what comes after it! So it looks like I owe an apology to fall. I'm sorry I was angry with you. I will promise to enjoy you until the last leaf has fallen! ;)
Speaking of fall...I will be teaching two classes at Just 4 Keeps on October 24th. at 10:30 that morning I will be teaching one of my Ink Techniques Classes. It will be so much fun! I will be teaching more than 10 techniques with ink using cool new products! FUN!
And at 1 that afternoon I will also be teaching a double page layout class called F is for Fall! It will be SO MUCH FUN!!!! We will be playing with ink to make the background paper and trees! You don't have to be an expert to take either class and you don't have to have all the supplies! I will bring enough for everyone to share, but you will WANT this stuff when you are done!!
If you are free on the 24th I hope to see you there!!
I'm off to eat some lunch! It was nice to blow the dust off the 'ole blog! ;)
Have a wonderful Thursday!
LUV APRIL

I have a child in school! Oh my!

2009-08-24T16:01:00.000-05:00

It's really weird to say that!! Brodey started school last week! It was a total surprise! One of the doctors that Eric works with told Eric that where his kid goes to school had one opening. So Eric called me last Tuesday and said CALL NOW! So I did and we started that next day!
When I got off the phone I said "well Bro you start school tomorrow!"
He said "But I don't know my ABCDEFG's!!!"
I laughed and told him not to worry! That was why you go to school!
So that night I freaked out a little bit. I'm glad I didn't have weeks or days to think about it! LOL That night I go into Bro's room and Eric has clothes all laid out for him! I was like no way! If I have to take him I get to pick out what he is wearing!
After we picked out clothes it took forever to get him to sleep. I was so worried he wouldn't get up. Brodey likes to sleep. It's really difficult to wake him up in the morning, but all I had to say to wake him was "are you ready to go to school?" He shot up out of bed at that!
He goes to a Methodist preschool in Tahlequah so it takes us about 15 minutes to get there. Once we did he put on his shy guy show. He held onto my leg and buried his face in until he saw Kale. (his daddy is the one that told us about it) He has played with Kale before so it was nice for him to know someone. Kale was actually born 6 days before Brodey! Weird!

So once he sat down at the table and found out he got to use scissors he was hooked! I snapped a quick pic before I left! He didn't even know! Yeah!!
When I came back to pick him up his teachers said he did awesome! I was worried because this was only his third time staying somewhere with people he didn't know. I was so relieved he did so well! He actually didn't want to leave! I had to convince him to get in the car!
He painted me a picture (which looks so cute framed in his room) and he made new friends! He had a blast and he talks about it all the time! It's only for 3 hours and only 2 days a week for now, but he loves it so I love it too!!
Well I'm going to go figure out whose little dogs are in my yard!
Have a good day!
LUV APRIL

Happy Birthday Dad!!!!

2009-08-13T23:18:00.000-05:00

I LOVE my Dad. Sometimes I think I am the luckiest daughter on Earth! I have the best Dad ever! I tell him that all the time, but I don't think he takes me seriously. Well Dad I am SERIOUS! You are the best Dad ever!!
I did a layout about him a couple of years ago. I love it. I think I might frame it and give it to him. If you click on it you can read the journaling. I just love all the old photos!!

My Dad was actually born on Friday the 13! LOL I think that's why that date never bothered me! ;)
I had a first today on my Dad's birthday! I just happened to go to the Creating Keepsakes website and scroll down and there is Brodey and I smiling back at me! I was like wow! That's cool! It's from my Faux Quilting Technique from the September issue. Fun!!
Okay I am wiped out. I survived an evening in Tulsa with Eric. It's so painful to shop with him. Making a decision about shoes for him is like choosing who you are going to marry. Okay so maybe he didn't have such a hard time with that decision...hehe! He did reward me with Ted's and an ice cold Modelo for my efforts. So I guess it was worth it!
I'm off to bed! Happy Birthday Dad! I LOVE ya!
Goodnight!
LUV APRIL

I have the best friends EVER!

2009-08-10T20:07:00.000-05:00

I really do! My group of besties (as we call ourselves) have been friends for a very long time. I have known Natalie my entire life. I went to preschool with Becky and Erin. I went to 1st grade with Destiny, 4th grade with Trisha, and Kari moved to Holdenville in the 8th grade. I love my girls!
As you know we all went to Mexico last month. Last weekend they all came and stayed at my house and we floated the Illinois river. It was a blast!!!

I had never been before and we live all of 20 minutes from there! I am so ready to go back! Lots of funny memories!! (can you tell from the photos that we went a little crazy in the hat section of the gift shop? LOL)
Friday the last of our group turned 30! Me, Kari, and Natalie went to Bricktown with Trisha to celebrate! It was fun! We always have fun together! It doesn't matter where we are! We will have a good time!

It's storming like crazy here. It's times like this that I hate living on a hill.
If you noticed my layout in the Tips and Tricks column of the September Creating Keepsakes you can click HERE
and see the visual step by steps for the quilting technique! It's so much fun!
Okay I'm getting off of here! I might just park my butt in the storm shelter for a while! ;)
Goodnight!
LUV APRIL

Thank you!

2009-07-24T10:03:00.000-05:00

A big THANK YOU goes out to everyone that bid on spots for the Just 4 Keeps SOS Sale Photo Shoot!
I can't tell you how much fun I have photographing everyone! Most of the kiddos that come I have been photographing at J4K since they were babies! It's so awesome to see them every time and I am so amazed at how much older they look each time!
These are a few of my faves. I'm mad because I took some CUTE pics of a family I have photographed twice before and it got transfered instead of copied. So I don't have those to post. :( Maybe I can just edit them again!
Jen brought up her little Girl Scout troop to take some quick pics after their trip to Sweet and Sassy. They were all dolled up and ready to cheese for the camera! SO CUTE and they all did an awesome job!
Ally here I have been photographing since she was a baby! She is so much fun and always comes dressed to impress! (Her grandma works at Baby Gap! Go figure!)

Abby and Maddy's mom, Jessica, works at Just 4 Keeps. Abby (in pink with her sisiter in white) used to say she was going to marry Brodey! Hehe! Hey he just might like older women! ;)
Okay I'll stop posting pics for now. I just love everyone I photograph and can't wait to do it again! I just wish I lived closer! ;) Maybe that will happen soon...
We are headed to the lake this weekend. Not too many weekends left of summer! Boo! I'm off to go clean house! I hate leaving with a messy house! Cleaning is no fun! I want to pout like Ally...

Hahahaha!!!!
Have an awesome weekend!!
LUV APRIL

I'm not a morning person RICO!!!!!

2009-07-09T09:56:00.000-05:00

Thunder woke me up at 6am this morning. When that happens I always get up and look at the radar. Call me paranoid, but here in Oklahoma where there are no tornado sirens you don't fool around. Once I figured out it was just some rain I went back to bed. About 10 minutes later I hear something.
"Hey Eric do you hear that?"
He's like "Ya it sounds like....like...a lawn mower."
I laugh "Not possible. It must be a helicopter." I try to go back to sleep.
A few minutes later it gets louder. I get up out of bed and notice on the security monitor that it IS the freaking lawn mower guys. What the crap!?!?!
"Well you were right. (giggle giggle) It IS the lawn mower guys. AND it's still pouring down raing. Oh and it's still lightening too."
Eric's like "NO WAY!" He didn't think it was funny.
I wouldn't have thought it was so funny if I hadn't already been up due to the storms. They would have thought the devil appeared on my front porch in a tshirt and pink panties if they had been the ones to wake me up! I am SO not a morning person. Neither are Eric or Brodey.
If I do have to get up early I do so with a smile on my face, but I don't choose to get up if I don't have to. Brodey is the same way. Most days he gets up right after Eric leaves or between 8 to 8:30. If he went swimming the day before and didn't take a nap he might sleep until 9. So you can see that the 6am wake up call from Rico and the boys was NOT welcome.
I decided since I was up to cook some breakfast while Eric took a shower. Brodey was still asleep at this point but the noise I was making woke him up. I went in there and kissed on him and he said "Don't you want to come back to sleep!?!" I just cracked up! I love that boy!
So I still have not edited my 4th pics. We had an awesome one despite all the rain. I have to say it was pretty fun to watch the fireworks at the lake while it rained the sky lit up with lightening behind them!
Well I'm off to water the front porch plants that didn't benefit from the rain!
Have a wonderful Thursday!
LUV APRIL