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Thursday, June 25, 2009

Quote for the Day

"If you're not failing every now and again, it's a sign you're not doing anything very innovative."
-- Woody Allen

Sunday, June 21, 2009

Happy Father's Day

"By the time a man realizes that maybe his father was right, he usually has a son who thinks he's wrong."
~~ Charles Wadsworth

Saturday, June 20, 2009

Super Cute Uncle Sam Card!



Check out this SUPER cute Uncle Sam card from SplitCoast Stamper. Shanna Banana posted this cutie.

http://www.splitcoaststampers.com/gallery/photo/968683?si=shanna%20banana

Here is another example of Uncle Sam, posted by LorriHeiling

http://www.splitcoaststampers.com/gallery/photo/1387293

Enjoy!!

Saturday, June 13, 2009

Kids think of the Darnest Things!

My 8 year old daughter got these fake finger nails as part of a gift bag from a birthday party. She was so excited about wearing them, but I didn't want to get the glue or nail polish out to adhere them to her fingers. SO, she came up with the idea of taping them to her nails. She was so excited about having them on her hands. We even went to the grocery store later that day and she HAD to wear them to show everyone!

Too cute, here is a view upclose. Enjoy! Thanks for taking a peek.


Friday, June 12, 2009

Little Giggle for Today

Doctor Doctor I swallowed a bone.
Are you choking?
No, I really did!

tee hee hee

Wednesday, June 10, 2009

Quote for the Day

"It is books that are the key to the wide world; if you can't do anything else, read all that you can."
~~ Jane Hamilton

Tuesday, June 9, 2009

Almost forgot about this Frame


This is an older frame that I added some sweet bling to!! This must have been my inspiration for the one with small hearts. It turned out pretty cute, cut some of the words on the candies got blurry from the Mod Podge. (If there is a next time)I'll spray the candies with a sealer first then adhere them to the frame.


This was tucked away in a corner of a cabinet so there weren't any pictures added or anything. Guess I'll have to dig one up. Thanks for looking.

Monday, June 8, 2009

Quote for the Day

"Three things that never come back: the spent arrow; the spoken word; the lost opportunity."
~~ Willam George Plunkett

Thursday, June 4, 2009

Funny Ebay Auction

I came across this Ebay auction for Pokemon cards (no really this is an Ebay auction) that was written a while ago from Dawn Meehan. She is the funniest person, I love her stories about her kids. The first time I read it, I couldn't stop laughing/crying, it is so true. I only have 2 kids and run into the same problems at the store with them. I know it seems a little long, but the story is so funny!!! She even wrote a book because someone read this and they loved her (at least that I how I understand it, there must be more details involved!!) Enjoy.


I'm selling a bunch of Pokemon cards. Why? Because my kids sneaked them into my shopping cart while at the grocery store and I ended up buying them because I didn't notice they were there until we got home. How could I have possibly not noticed they were in my cart, you ask? Let me explain.

You haven’t lived until you’ve gone grocery shopping with six kids in tow. I would rather swim, covered in bait, through the English Channel, be a contestant on Fear Factor when they’re having pig brains for lunch, or do fourth grade math than to take my six kids to the grocery store. Because I absolutely detest grocery shopping, I tend to put it off as long as possible. There comes a time, however, when you’re peering into your fridge and thinking, ‘Hmmm, what can I make with ketchup, Italian dressing, and half an onion,’ that you decide you cannot avoid going to the grocery store any longer. Before beginning this most treacherous mission, I gather all the kids together and give them “The Lecture“.

“The Lecture“ goes like this…
MOM: “We have to go to the grocery store.
”KIDS: “Whine whine whine whine whine.
“MOM: “Hey, I don’t want to go either, but it’s either that or we’re eating cream of onion-ketchup soup and drinking Italian dressing for dinner tonight.
”KIDS: “Whine whine whine whine whine.
“MOM: “Now here are the rules: do not ask me for anything, do not poke the packages of meat in the butcher section, do not test the laws of physics and try to take out the bottom can in the pyramid shaped display, do not play baseball with oranges in the produce section, and most importantly, do not try to leave your brother at the store. Again.

”OK, the kids have been briefed. Time to go.

Once at the store, we grab not one, but two shopping carts. I wear the baby in a sling and the two little children sit in the carts while I push one cart and my oldest son pushes the other one. My oldest daughter is not allowed to push a cart. Ever. Why? Because the last time I let her push the cart, she smashed into my ankles so many times, my feet had to be amputated by the end of our shopping trip. This is not a good thing. You try running after a toddler with no feet sometime.

At this point, a woman looks at our two carts and asks me, “Are they all yours?”
I answer good naturedly, “Yep!
“Oh my, you have your hands full.”
“Yes, I do, but it‘s fun!” I say smiling. I’ve heard all this before. In fact, I hear it every time I go anywhere with my brood.

We begin in the produce section where all these wonderfully, artistically arranged pyramids of fruit stand. There is something so irresistibly appealing about the apple on the bottom of the pile, that a child cannot help but try to touch it. Much like a bug to a zapper, the child is drawn to this piece of fruit. I turn around to the sounds of apples cascading down the display and onto the floor. Like Indiana Jones, there stands my son holding the all-consuming treasure that he just HAD to get and gazing at me with this dumbfounded look as if to say, “Did you see that??? Wow! I never thought that would happen!

”I give the offending child an exasperated sigh and say, “Didn’t I tell you, before we left, that I didn’t want you taking stuff from the bottom of the pile???”

“No. You said that you didn’t want us to take a can from the bottom of the pile. You didn’t say anything about apples.”

With superhuman effort, I resist the urge to send my child to the moon and instead focus on the positive - my child actually listened to me and remembered what I said!!! I make a mental note to be a little more specific the next time I give the kids The Grocery Store Lecture.

A little old man looks at all of us and says, “Are all of those your kids?”

Thinking about the apple incident, I reply, “Nope. They just started following me. I’ve never seen them before in my life.”

OK, now onto the bakery section where everything smells so good, I’m tempted to fill my cart with cookies and call it a day. Being on a perpetual diet, I try to hurry past the assortment of pies, cakes, breads, and pastries that have my children drooling. At this point the chorus of “Can we gets” begins.

“Can we get donuts?”
“No.”
“Can we get cupcakes?”
“No.”
“Can we get muffins?”
“No.”
“Can we get pie?”
“No.”
You’d think they’d catch on by this point, but no, they’re just getting started.

In the bakery, they’re giving away free samples of coffee cake and of course, my kids all take one. The toddler decides he doesn’t like it and proceeds to spit it out in my hand. (That’s what moms do. We put our hands in front of our children’s mouths so they can spit stuff into them. We’d rather carry around a handful of chewed up coffee cake, than to have the child spit it out onto the floor. I’m not sure why this is, but ask any mom and she’ll tell you the same.) Of course, there’s no garbage can around, so I continue shopping one-handed while searching for someplace to dispose of the regurgitated mess in my hand.

In the meat department, a mother with one small baby asks me, “Wow! Are all six yours?”I answer her, “Yes, but I’m thinking of selling a couple of them.”

(Still searching for a garbage can at this point.)

Ok, after the meat department, my kids’ attention spans are spent. They’re done shopping at this point, but we aren’t even halfway through the store. This is about the time they like to start having shopping cart races. And who may I thank for teaching them this fun pastime? My seventh “child”, also known as my husband. While I’m picking out loaves of bread, the kids are running down the aisle behind the carts in an effort to get us kicked out of the store. I put to stop to that just as my son is about to crash head on into a giant cardboard cut-out of a Keebler elf stacked with packages of cookies.

Ah! Yes! I find a small trash can by the coffee machine in the cereal aisle and finally dump out the squishy contents of my hand. After standing in the cereal aisle for an hour and a half while the kids perused the various cereals, comparing the marshmallow and cheap, plastic toy content of each box, I broke down and let them each pick out a box. At any given time, we have twenty open boxes of cereal in my house.

As this is going on, my toddler is playing Houdini and maneuvering his little body out of the seat belt in an attempt to stand up in the cart. I’m amazed the kid made it to his second birthday without suffering a brain damaging head injury. In between trying to flip himself out of the cart, he sucks on the metal bars of the shopping cart. Mmmm, can you say “influenza”?

The shopping trip continues much like this. I break up fights between the kids now and then and stoop down to pick up items that the toddler has flung out of the cart. I desperately try to get everything on my list without adding too many other goodies to the carts.

Somehow I manage to complete my shopping in under four hours and head for the check-outs where my kids start in on a chorus of, “Can we have candy?” What evil minded person decided it would be a good idea to put a display of candy in the check-out lanes, right at a child’s eye level? Obviously someone who has never been shopping with children.

As I unload the carts, I notice many extra items that my kids have sneaked in the carts unbeknownst to me. I remove a box of Twinkies, a package of cupcakes, a bag of candy, and a can of cat food (we don’t even have a cat!). I somehow missed the box of Pokemon cards however and ended up purchasing them unbeknownst to me. As I pay for my purchases, the clerk looks at me, indicates my kids, and asks, “Are they all yours?”

Frustrated, exhausted from my trip, sick to my stomach from writing out a check for $289.53, dreading unloading all the groceries and putting them away and tired of hearing that question, I look at the clerk and answer her in my most sarcastic voice, “No. They’re not mine. I just go around the neighborhood gathering up kids to take to the grocery store because it’s so much more fun that way.”

So, up for auction is an opened (they ripped open the box on the way home from the store) package of Pokemon cards. There are 44 cards total. They're in perfect condition, as I took them away from the kiddos as soon as we got home from the store. Many of them say "Energy". I tried carrying them around with me, but they didn't work. I definitely didn't have any more energy than usual. One of them is shiny. There are a few creature-like things on many of them. One is called Pupitar. Hee hee hee Pupitar! (Oh no! My kids' sense of humor is rubbing off on me!) Anyway, I don't think there's anything special about any of these cards, but I'm very much not an authority on Pokemon cards. I just know that I'm not letting my kids keep these as a reward for their sneakiness.

Shipping is FREE on this item. Insurance is optional, but once I drop the package at the post office, it is no longer my responsibility. For example, if my son decides to pour a bottle of glue into the envelope, or my daughter spills a glass of juice on the package, that’s my responsibility and I will fully refund your money. If, however, I take the envelope to the post office and a disgruntled mail carrier sets fire to it, a pack of wild dogs rip into it, or a mail sorting machine shreds it, it’s out of my hands, so you may want to add insurance. I will leave feedback for you as soon as I’ve received your payment. I will be happy to combine shipping on multiple items won within three days. This comes from a smoke-free, pet-free, child-filled home. Please ask me any questions before placing your bid. Happy bidding! :)

Wednesday, June 3, 2009

Father's Day Photo Album

This is a photo album I created for my husband using his favorite HOKIE colors (he graduated from Virginia Tech!). The front is pretty basic, but he loved the colors. The letters are stickers.


I used my SIZZIX letters to cut out the DADDY part, and adhered it to each page of the album. I know there are tons of much nicer albums out there with the same idea, but this was made with my kids and myself with tons of love!

To make the pages I used 5 pieces of card stock that measured 6 inches by 11 inches. Then I staggered the pages out and folded them to make the pages. I hope I'm making sense here, it is hard to describe. Don't have a picture of this step, but I'll have to go back to my "drawing board" to see if I can recreate it. Sorry about missing that step with the camera!!





Here is a shot of the back of the letters. I used a second piece of the shadow part of the letters to make it look nice from the back.

Thanks for looking!

Quote for the Day

"Age does not diminish the extreme disappointment of having a scoop of ice cream fall from the cone."
-- Jim Fiebig

Tuesday, June 2, 2009

Altered Valentine's Day Frame

This is a frame I created for my husband for Valentine's Day this year. I bought a container of the sprinkles from the Target $1.00 section, it had hearts and red/white/pink sprinkles included. They were very cute and I knew if I bought it I would think of something to do with it. Never did I think it would be so time consuming! The frame was from Ikea, it was about $1.00 or $1.50 something like that. I think it was just an unfinished wood frame so had to spray paint it red to match the VDay theme! Then I had to pick out just the little hearts and separate from all the other tiny little pieces in the jar. Used Mod Podge to adhere to the frame. My kids started out helping but got bored with the project quickly!! Bummer, cheap help is so hard to find!! LOL This actually took me longer than I thought because I ran out of hearts and had to run back to Target and pray that they had more of the cake decorations! Thankfully they did. The total project took about 2 full days of work, which included drying time, to finish. Lots of work with little pieces, not my best work - my eyes are not as good as they used to be!



I think it turned out pretty nice, but as you can see I haven't put a picture in it yet! He has seen the final picture, but is still waiting for me to add a picture. Maybe by Valentine's Day 2010. Below is a close up of the tiny hearts. Thanks for looking!



Thanks for taking a peek!

Monday, June 1, 2009

Little Giggle for Today

A mother brings her five year old son to the doctor's office. He has a cucumber up his nose, a carrot in his left ear and a banana in his right ear. "So Doctor, what do you think is the matter with my little boy?" she asks. The doctor replies, "He's just not eating properly."