Flarp + Hair = BIG Mess

Flarp is that gooey substance in a plastic container that makes farting noises when you push your fingers into it. My mom had bought some for the kids as they have had a blast with it in the past. Peyton and his two cousins were playing with some. Peyton got the not so bright idea to put it in his hair! Yep, that's my boy! haha! My mom and I pulled out as much as we could and went back to getting dinner ready. It wasn't but a couple minutes later they were back and it was all over his shirt and neck! So into the bath he went. It must have looked fun cause his two cousins jumped in with him! I was sure we would have to call my friend Teri who cuts his hair to come over and buzz it all off. Luckily with a comb and LOTS of pulling it all came out!

Past Due

I am behind in my blogging! I have been spending most of my days hanging out with my cousin in town! I have some great photos to post, just need to get them onto my computer!

Maddy turned 5 months on the 26th! I didn't even realize it til Chris mentioned something after I had put her to bed! I'll have to upload a picture of her and do a special post for her.

Paper Popsicles is having a fun Blog Candy give-away. You can check it out on their blog here. If you haven't checked out the site yet, you should. http://www.paperpopsicles.com/. The store has great deals in it and offers free shipping after a certain amount spent. The message board is fun too!

More Creations

One of my cousins will be here tomorrow for a few days with her two girls. I am so excited to be able to spend some time with her, I can't wait til she gets here. I probably won't be posting much in the next week or so as I'll be visiting with my cousin and watching the kids play.

Here is a layout I did last week. The papers are from My Minds Eye. I usually don't say this about my work, but I really like how it came out. Chris and I developed quite a little routine when visiting and feeding Maddy while she was in the NICU. I think the nurses loved us as we were there all the time and did everything so they could spend more time with babies that were in worse condition! This is another one using the fun Twitterpated line from Imaginisce. Thank you to Nicole for mailing me some of the goodies and to Julia for the big ole RAK I won on her blog. Peyton was so sweet when visiting Maddy in the NICU. He always blew her kisses goodbye.

Card

Lately I have been trying to make more cards. I struggle with them so love it when I come across card sketches. Paper Popsicles blog has a weekly card challenge and this week was a sketch. Here is the sketch:

Here is my take on the sketch!

Some of my finds over the weekend!

I found a few good deals this weekend! I was really disappointed as there was a big town-wide garage sale on Saturday, but neither of the kids were cooperating so I didn't end up stopping at that many sales.

I made out like a bandit on this one! I actually snuck out to this garage sale Friday night as she was setting up! She had Thickers and rub-ons! Yep, two of my favorite products at the moment. I even got me a package of Slick Writers!
Then I found this great little bike for only $5 and it came with training wheels! Thanks Julie...I think I got the best end of that deal!

I remember these nickel boards from Junior High. When I took woods I ended up making a nightstand instead of this game. I bought it more for memories than anything, but Peyton has really enjoyed playing with it today. You flick a nickel back and forth, taking turns, with the goal of making your nickel into your opponents hole.

Check back tomorrow, I have a few more layouts to share!

Random things...

I am having a hard time deciding which pictures to scrap of Maddy. I didn't realize how many I took while she was in the NICU. Here is one of my parents and Maddy.

This one is of my in-laws and Maddy and the journaling is for both layouts. Chris and I are so blessed to have both sets of parents close. They were incredibly helpful during the hospital stays. They both shared in watching Peyton and bringing him to visit Chris, Maddy and I. I don't know what we would have done without their help.

My mom made this adorable purse for me for my birthday! I just LOVE it and get compliments on it everywhere I go! I just love the fabrics using my favorite colors at the moment, blues, green and browns.

Here are a couple photos of the kids. This picture of Peyton just cracks me up. I took it last weekend at a wedding reception that we went too.

I am not sure why this one turned sideways on me, but it did.

More layouts!

Ever have those layouts you look at on-screen and go, I should have moved this up a little or this down a little? Yeah, this is one of those, I wish the pink felt branch and goodies would have been a tad bit higher. Oh well I guess!
Another layout using the FABULOUS Kaiser Craft line! We joked that Maddy was tanning when she was under the biliruben lights. The nurses stuck little pieces of velcro to her head and put these little sunglasses on her. She kept ripping them off though so they ended up putting a tube around the sunglasses.

I scraplifted this one, but can't remember whose site I got the idea from at the moment. I know I have it written down somewhere!

I found some great deals while garage saling this weekend. I'll have to get pictures and share! Anyone else garage sale? Find any great deals?

More projects!

Here are a couple layouts I created for challenges at Citrus Tree Studio. The first layout was for a technique challenge use your stamps. I used a journaling stamp I have.

This next layout was a challenge to scraplift a layout from the gallery. I chose a layout by Tammydee and this was my take on it:

Chris's shirt was so darn bold that I had a hard time finding paper that looked okay. I need to up my orange paper collection as I seem to use often because we all wear orange often.

Crop

Scrap 4 Life had a crop this past weekend and I was able to get a few layouts done.

This was my take on a sketch.

This was my take on an Ad. I didn't realize the word on the bottom right was shopping, I thought it was hopping, which would fit the pictures. I'm going to have to fix that somehow. My Aunt and Uncle were visiting and I hadn't seen them in quite a while. Peyton had a hay-day playing with her. Peyton and Jazzy had pulled the couch cushions off and my aunt was showing them how to jump from one to another. So much fun!

THANK YOU JULIA!

Today was a happy mail day! I recieved my RAK I won on the Pursuit of Craftyness blog. If you haven't checked out this blog you should! Here is a peek at what I won! I can't wait to play with it, its the Imaginisce Twitterpated line.

Julia was so sweet and included a few extras for me and an adorable pendant (which I happen to collect) that is just as cute as can be. Make sure to visit her Etsy Shop and take a peek at her fabulous pendants. I came across Julia on the Bo Bunny Blog (another great blog) which led me to Julia's Bits of Me blog. If you haven't seen Julia's work, make sure to stop by her blog, its full of fantastic ispiration!

Thank you Julia!

I am working on a couple things to create a gift basket I hope to donate to the Relay For Life silent auction coming up in July. They coordinate with this star mini album I made not to long ago. I saw a couple great tutorials on-line and figured I give them a try. I think the card holder was a lot of fun. The sticky not holder was a really quick project. I'm thinking I will try to alter a clipboard also and possibly some sort of photo holder whether it be a frame, large wood clothespin or something along those lines.

New layouts

Here are a couple of layouts I did this week for a couple different challenges. First off is a layout I did for Angie's Sketch Challenge at Citrus Tree. I just love this site. You can't see it very well in the picture, but I doodled from the ribbon up just outside of the green paper. BUT, my white doodling turned into pink. How that happened, I'm not quite sure but guessing it seeped into or seeped in out of the pink paper somehow. Still not sure if I should try to go over it again or not.


This next layout is for a sketch challenge at Scrapbook Dreamer. The sketch was made by the ever so talented Tammy (aka Tammydee). The cute elephant was a card that was given to us. I thought it would be adorable on a layout.

So anyone find any great deals at any garage sales this morning? My mom and I went out and I found a really cool table with benches is one piece that folds up really small for camping! I was so excited!

Kaiser Craft Layout & Stink Ball Instructions

I just LOVE this Kaiser Craft line. I may just have to go back and buy more of it! Its really overcast and icky today so the pictures didn't come out all that well, but its supposed to be this way for the rest of the week so I figured I'd go ahead and get pictures of this layout. Maddy was a tad bit jaundiced so they wanted to nip it in the butt since she was a preemie and had her spend two days under the biliruben lights. They put little pieces of velcro on each side of her head to hold the cute little sunglasses in the layout on her head. But Maddy kept ripping them off, so they ended up putting a tube over the sunglasses to help keep them on. I am so proud of myself. I had these little strips of paper left that I just couldn't throw away as they were too pretty. So I made a quick card.

Here are the instructions to the Stink Ball, which I guess according to the instruction sheet is really called a Farmer's Dirt Baby.

Materials Required for one Dirt Baby:

• 1 knee high stocking hose
• 1 TBS of seed (annual ryegrass or other seed)
• 2 (8) oz cups of potting soil
• decorations of felt or pipe cleaners and wiggle eyes
• scissors and hot glue gun

Directions:

• Open the knee-high hose and roll it down
• Put the seed in the toe of the hose (which is the head)
• Put the potting soil on top of the seed and pack the soil by shaking down the hose (you will have a ball now) and then tie a knot close to the ball of the hose. Leave 6-7 inches of your hose for the wick, and cut off the rest of the hose. Now decorate your baby.

Care of the Dirt Baby: You need to put the baby in a clear container or glass that is small enough at the mouth of the container so the base of the baby's head can sit upon the rim. Fill the container with water just to the base of the baby's head. Keep the container full of water to feed the baby. In 3-7 days the baby will sprout hair. In two weeks the baby will have lots of hair, and may need its first hair cut. As long as the baby is fed plenty of water it will keep growing if the hair is trimmed. Enjoy your dirt baby, and remember that all babies need a name by the time they have hair.

Stink Ball & Truck

A couple weeks ago we went to a community event at our local park for the ribbon cutting of the new amphitheater. They had a kids craft and Peyton made this 'thing' and called it Stink Ball. Yep, he came up with that name all himself! Such a proud moment for Papa and Mommy. Haha! Its so ugly its cute! This is a great activity to do with kids! It is pretty much nylons with dirt and grass seed in it. Leave a comment if you want more info and I'll post the instructions to it. Here is a picture of Stink Ball:

For those of you that know Chris, it would not be a surprise at all to find out that we once again have sold a vehicle and bought another one. I think buying and selling used vehicles is a hobby to him. He had an older Ford, but thought it would be nice to have an extended cab since we now have 2 kids. So he sold his standard cab Ford for an extended cab one (well, sort of, in a round about way). Well, he then decided he'd like an older crew cab Chevy instead of the Ford. So he posted his extended cab Ford on Craigslist. If you can believe it, a guy from Pennsylvania called him on it and bought it! Yep, hired a company to come and haul it across the US. Crazy, huh? So this big old car hauling semi pulls up in front of our house this evening! I can just imagine what our neighbors were thinking! Bye bye ford....

Hello Chevy...or as Peyton would say, hello Papas Monster Truck! lol...

Its pretty sad when I found myself content for a half hour or more sitting in the front bay window watching them load maneuver the cars around so that the truck would fit on the back!

Completely changing gears once again, I have been asked quite a bit lately how Peyton likes Maddy. Well, here is a picture that explains it well. He just LOVES to give her hugs and kisses and quite often I find him curled up next to her or giving her loving like this.

Mini Album & Ronald McDonald House

I completed this mini album last night. I think I am going to make a few other items from the same line of paper and create a little basket of goodies to donate to our local Relay For Life Auction.

Thursday night we were invited to attend a Luau Auction & Dinner Fundraiser for the Ronald McDonald House in Bend. Of course we jumped at the opportunity. Upon arrival we checked in and were given a little booklet full of info about Ronald McDonald House, the dinner, the auction items, sponsors, etc. It automatically flipped open to the center and low and behold there was our story! Now I can say I have a center fold family! haha...I'm having issues with my scanned image, but here is the story:

In January 2009 my wife and I were faced with a situation that we never thought we would ever be in. My wife’s water broke and went into labor 6 weeks before her due date. When our baby girl “Madeline” was born, the doctors and nursing staff of St. Charles Hospital informed us that Madeline would have to spend time in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit. They told us to prepare for up to 6 weeks with out being able to take Madeline home as they would have to hook her up to machines, run tests, and monitor her closely to ensure that she develops well and can survive on her own with out the help of special machines.

The news that our baby girl could stay in the hospital for six weeks had an emotional affect that was made less burdensome by the staff of the Bend Ronald McDonald House. The overall experience that we had with the Ronald McDonald house was amazing. All of the staff was very courteous and took the time to get to know us and show a true deep concern for the situation that we were in. Because we lived over an hour away and the hospital encouraged us to visit Madeline every 3 hours, the Ronald McDonald House filled a need that we were faced with by being so close and providing for a safe and comfortable environment for us to relax and reside for the short time that we were there.

Madeline was able to progress quickly and showed strength that allowed for us to return home after 1 week. During our week the Ronald McDonald House provided us with activities for our 2 year old to part take in such as toys, games, and passes to local kid centers. We did not have to worry about food and drinks as local groups and individuals provided meals, groceries and other staples for the residents of the house to enjoy. The house was amazingly clean and had the appeal of an upscale neighborhood home.

Our experience with the Ronald McDonald house would be rated a 10+ on a scale of 1 to 10 with 10 being the highest satisfaction level. We are forever in the debt of the Ronald McDonald House Charities and will promote and speak of the charity with the highest regards.

Thank you Ronald McDonald House Charities!

Heck of a storm!

Man did we have one heck of a storm blow through yesterday! Chris called up and told me about how bad it was in Prineville. Well, it didn't take long for it to hit in Madras. He had hail coming down so hard that I was afraid a window would break. Our bbq and propane tank that were up against the house started to blow away. I grabbed the propane bottle first...how scary would that be to see a propane bottle come rolling towards you? Our swingset took a nasty twist and blew over too. I was so drenched from grabbing the propane bottle and pushing the bbq in the flower bed that I had to change my pants. And no...it wasn't cause I got

scared and wet them...lol...it is because it was all out raining like mad!

This is the view out our front door. The hail looked like it was dancing down the road. I have never seen our downspouts spray water like they were.

Here is a view of all the hail that built up on the backside of the house.

Chris was able to tip the swingset back up and thought it was okay...I'm not going to be the first one to test it though. Other than a downed juniper tree branch that was the worst of it for us. Some neighbors had worse damage (nice horse fence down, shed collapse, etc).

I don't have any new projects to show just yet. I am working on a fun star album that I am going to donate for our local Relay For Life silent auction. I'm not going to be able to make it this year to support them so thought I would try to make something. I may end up making something else in addition or in placement of the star album, we'll see.

I'll be back tomorrow to post about our fun evening out we had last night!

A little of everything...

When I first heard of Thrifty Decour Chicks Goodwill Party, I instantly thought of this project. I found this really neat white eraser/magnet board at a garage sale two weekends ago for a buck! They said it came from Pottery Bar. I originally tried to decoupage my favorite paper onto the frame, but that didn't work to well. So I settled for some rub-ons along the top and covering the magnets with flowers. I'll put this up above my scrap table and put special pictures, items of inspiration and my list of challenges I want to do.

Here is a pretty simple layout. I wanted to document my pregnancy with Maddy well. Since it wasn't a simple pregnancy I have A LOT of journaling. The pictures were to show what I did most of the time...thank goodness for my laptop which allowed me to keep others updated and helped me pass the time quickly and keep my mind off of things. Sticker books also came in quite handy with Peyton. Ever try to keep a almost 3 year old quite and occupied in a hospital room?

Sedona was going crazy outside around 6am so I figured I'd get up and check what it was. Yep, we had a couple bulls and calfs in our back yard! Where was our weeny dog? Standing on the patio looking at them. lol... Ya just never know around here, we've had horses, deer and big horned sheep, so why not bulls.

How darn cute is this picture? I love it that Maddy is starting to smile so much. Chris had just walked in and started talking to her when I snapped the picture.

What a chunk!

This morning was Maddy's 4 month check up. She weighed in at 15 lbs 8 oz!

I finished up this layout yesterday. It started out being for a challenge at Citrus Tree (distressing challenge) and ended up working for a contest at Scrapbook Dreamer. I love this line from Kaiser Craft. Purple and green and right up my alley! I bought it at All Moments Remembered in Prineville, she also has an Etsy Store.

Goodwill Party

I came across this wonderful blog Thrifty Decor Chick. She is having a Goodwill Party! Make sure to check out her blog for fabulous ideas on thrifty decorating! She has some fabulous things that she found at Goodwill and redid!


Here are some things I have found at garage sales and yes, even along side a road that I redid to fit my needs!


I found a couple of these cool blue glass pieces at a garage sale for a dime each! A little paper, flowers and brads and tada! A votive burner.

I was headed down the road not to far from my house and saw this hutch on the side of the road with a "Take me, I'm Yours" sign on it! Luckily I drive a truck and pulled right over and loaded it into the bed. I knew if I painted it black it would look great on top of an entertainment center we already had. Here is a horrible picture of it before and one after I painted both pieces and patched them together.