I have a 5 year old!!!

Yesterday Megan turned 5. She wanted a Strawberry Shortcake birthday, and a Strawberry Shortcake dress, and white cupcakes with strawberry frosting on them. So that is what she got. I searched EBay and Etsy for days looking for a Strawberry Shortcake dress. I got this one for a steal! She loves it, we had so many compliments on it, and Lauren wants a Strawberry Shortcake birthday next year so that she can wear it.
Megan milked being the "birthday girl" all day. It was "the birthday girls wants Burger King for dinner" (so we got Burger King), "the Birthday girl gets to pick out the movie" (Strawberry Shortcake of course) etc. They pretty much get to do what they want on their birthday, within reason. Bedtime was still 8pm, she still could not eat dinner in the living room while watching TV, and she still had to share with her sister. But the rest of it was all Megan.

This morning in the car I put on my lip gloss (we were still in the driveway) and Lauren asked what it was. I told her that it was lip gloss. She replied: "When I am a grown up I am going to be a Mommy and wear lip gloss." She is such a cutie!

Organization: Embossing folders

While browsing my blog list a couple of weeks ago I saw this great idea for organizing and referencing embossing folders. I do not have anywhere near as many embossing folders as Karli has, but it is still a great idea and easy to maintain as my collection grows. So here is my version. This did not cost me anything!

 

First I embossed a piece of CS with each embossing folder. I liked the little tags that Karli used, but wanted to see the entire pattern so I used larger sheets. Then I numbered the embossing folders with a sharpie, and numbered the coordinating CS "sample". The sample sheet fits easily inside the front of the storage box. Now all I need to do is add a label to the box!

 

Stampin Up

My little sister is a new Stampin' Up demonstrator! Check out her blog Krafting Kreations for a link to her SU site.

Menu Plan Monday- 8/24/09

We have been pretty good about sticking to the menu's that I come up with on Menu Plan Monday. Here is this week's planned dinner entrees.

Mon: Ground Turkey and Hominy
Tue: Spaghetti and Meatballs (Megan's choice for her birthday)
Wed: Ham and Bean Soup (homemade... we will see how this turns out)
Thur: Baked Potato and Salad
Fri: Breakfast (Fritattas with leftover Ham probably)
Sat: BBQ for Megan's family birthday party
Sun: Leftovers

Fall Helpers

Supplies: MME PP, Bazzill CS, MM Journaling page, Martha Stewart glitter,
Heidi Swapp journaling spots, misc brads

Another new layout! When I was finished with the layout I decided that it needed something else, and I wanted to add brads to the scallops. I could not find the right color brads though. I remembered a tutorial I saw online somewhere to change the color of brads with embossing powders, so I decided to give it a try!

 

 

I used my heat gun to heat up the brad, and then dipped it in the embossing powder. After heating the embossing powder I dipped the brad into the glitter. Another blast of the heat gun and the glitter was set! I added some more glitter to the PP for a final touch and then called it done!

Playroom Clean-up

Operation Organization continues! I do not have a before picture of the playroom (I forgot to take one before I started cleaning) but I am sure that it will not take long for it to get back to its state of chaos. Here is the after picture though!

 

I still need to vacuum, but it is a LOT better! Next up is either the linen closet or the master bedroom... The linen closet would be easier, but I am tired of the mess in our bedroom. Wish me luck!

Kindergarten

Megan's first day of Kindergarten was yesterday. The night before, she told me that she was excited, but a little nervous. I admit, I was nervous for her! When I was putting her to bed, I gave her a kiss and said "Goodnight my Kindergartner", she replied with "Goodnight my done with school Mommy".

We gave her the choice to ride to school on the Kindercare bus, or have me drive her. She wanted to ride with her friends on the Kindercare bus. Jami (The Kindercare director) was great and took pics and emailed them to me yesterday. I have pictures from before she left the house, but I forgot my camera today and need to upload them.

So, here she is. Our Kindergartner on her first day of school!

 

 

Megan said that she had a good day, but was sad because they did not get to go outside and play (It rained all day yesterday). She was still excited for school today though. She has 2 kids in her class that she went to Kindercare with, and a couple others that ride the Kindercare bus with her, so I think that helps her nervousness.  I hope that she continues to enjoy school.

Trouble

These pictures of my nephew were taken on the same day as the Backyard Summer Fun pictures, but they were so good I thought that he needed his own layout! The layout is inspired by one in the Page Maps book.

 

I am learning to accept imperfections. I was done with the layout, but thought that it needed something else so I added the hand-drawn line around the PP. It turned out messy, and uneven. In the past I would have redone the entire layout because it was not perfect. This time I set it down, cleaned up my mess, and when I looked at it again I decided that it was fine. It was handmade and there will be imperfections, and there is nothing wrong with that.

Supplies:
Pink Paislee PP, Bazzill CS, Heidi Swapp Alpha, Tim Holz Distress Ink, CM Corner Rounder, Maya Road Ribbon, PTI Buttons, Sharpie Pen, Misc staples and thread.

Operation Organization Week 3

This week was not as successful as last week, at least on the organization front. On one hand the counter that I cleaned and organized last week is still clean! However, I did NOT complete my mission for this week: the messy bakers rack. I was initially going to extend that mission to week 3, but the girl's playroom really needs some attention so I think that the bakers rack will have to be put off for a while. I do not have a picture of the playroom handy, but I promise to take a before picture... before I start cleaning it.

The girls have way too many toys in the playroom, many of them have not been played with in a long time. The room is too small for all of the clutter so we will be donating quite a few toys this weekend. We really need to pull up the carpet since that room gets some water in it when we have really bad storms. So far the sheetrock does not look like it has any mold, but I am sure that the carpet does. We will not be replacing the carpet until we fix the problem though, so the kids will be playing on concrete. I really need to find an area rug!

Backyard Summer Fun

I actually completed a scrapbook layout today!

I need to take a better picture of it.. but I wanted to post it!
The background is some kraft CS from my stash that I randomly stamped polka dot circles on with PTI's Vintage Cream ink. I wanted a neutral kraft background, but thought that it was too plain once I had most of the elements on. Yep, I added the polka dots AFTER most of the layout was done. I used a scrap sheet of paper to mask off the photos, and actually peeled up one of the letters to stamp behind it. Luckily I used a glue stick for the letters so they came up pretty easily.

I played with April's Cricut and cut out the title (Summer and 2009)
The "backyard" is actually Thickers, but the green was not the right color. So I just tapped my PTI New Leaf inkpad on the Thickers and they turned out perfect! I do not have a detail picture of the "fun" in the title, but I used the small polka dots in PTIs Polka Dot Basics stamp set to fill in behind the "fun" letters for a little more detail.

 

 

Supplies used:

Ink: PTI Vintage Cream & New Leaf
PP: Scenic Route
CS: PTI VIntage Cream & Misc Kraft
Stamps: PTI Borders and Corners Cirlces & Polka Dot Basics
Alphas: Scenic Route, Thickers, Cricut (Plantin SChoolbook)
Other: MM Brad (green), MM journaling page, misc brad/flower/tag

Menu Plan Monday #3

Menu plan Monday has been working out for us pretty well the past few weeks. We had only 1 change this week since we were invited over to my parent's house for dinner on Tue. 

Monday: Stuffed Peppers
Tuesday: BLT (I have fresh tomatoes from a co-worker's garden!)
Wednesday: Soup and Salad
Thursday: Venison Tacos
Friday: Breakfast
Saturday: Venison Kabobs (We have a lot of Venison in the freezer)
Sunday: Leftover night!

High heels

Everyone who knows me knows that I love high heels. And like most little girls, mine love to wear my heels and pretend to be grown up. The other day Megan comes out of my bedroom wearing heels and says "Hi, I'm Kelly". Lauren walks out behind her and says "and I'm April!"

Operation Organization Week 2

I completed week one of Operation Organization! 

Here are the before pictures of our clutter counter. This is the counter that everything gets thrown on. Mail, receipts, broken toys, pet supplies etc. It is also the counter that my laptop lives on when I bring it home from work, and the location of the only working phone in the house (good thing the house is small).

Before:

 

After:

 

I completely cleared off the counter and wiped it down. The basket has mail and bills in it, but only until my Fridge File gets here. I saw the fridge file on the Organizing Junkie blog, and here is her review.
The BH&G recipe box (that has been in my "alter" drawer in my craft room for at least a year) holds my power cable and mouse for my laptop. I usually only bring my laptop home from work on the weekends, so for the rest of the week the cords will be contained here. The Moose Munch box from Harry and David has all of the pet stuff in it.
A lot of the papers that were on the counter got filed away in a portable file box that is now next to the wine rack in the kitchen (it was in my bedroom). I would love to have a kitchen with a built in desk someday, but until then this is what I have. I plan on getting a wall mounted phone, and a prettier container for all of the pet stuff. I also plan on staging this counter with seasonal clutter decor now that I can actually see the counter!

And, because I am keeping it real. Right after I took the above picture the light fell down again. I need to find some strong adhesive to keep it on the cabinet above!

The goal for week two continues the kitchen organization... with the bakers rack! I do not have a before picture yet.. so I will save that for next Friday's post. For now, picture an overgrown plant, way too many cookbooks, a blender and food processor, some phone books and miscellaneous other junk all thrown on a bakers rack in our eat-in kitchen. The only time this area looks attractive is at Christmas when I hide all of the cookbooks and set up my snowmen.

Nestie Storage

I could have sworn that I already wrote this post...but I can not find it so here it goes again.

Amanda and I made these frames for our Nestability storage. Well, the frame was her idea, but the wrapping paper to cover the magnet sheets was mine! She has a great description already written up here, so I will not repeat it all. 

Here is my Nestie storage! I will need to make a bigger one soon!

 

Mommy and Megan time - School supply shopping!

Yesterday afternoon I took off from work after lunch (with the girls) and picked up Megan from Kindercare to go school supply shopping! I could have just purchased the supply pack from the school, but I loved shopping for supplies when I was a kid, and I wanted Megan to have that experience as well. So off we went to Wal-Mart to grab her supplies. She had a blast picking everything out. I made sure that she understood that the teacher is going to put everything in a cabinet and all of the students are going to share, so that she does not get upset when she does not get the yellow notebook that she picked out.

 

 

 

She really wanted the Princess lunch box, but she is getting hot lunches and did not need a lunch box.

 

After we were done at Wal-Mart we went for ice-cream at Dairy Queen!

 

 

She is always so dramatic! It was a nice afternoon though, just Mommy and Megan.

Operation Organization - Week 1

I have decided to join Operation Organization: The Battle for Order. The intent of Operation Organization is to choose an area of our homes to reorganize, and post this area (with before pictures) to our blogs. The following Friday we will post after pictures.. and the next area we are going o organize. At the end of the 8 week challenge we will have eight reorganized areas in our homes! I was supposed to start this on the 31st.. but did not find it until yesterday, but I am here!

The first area that I plan to organize is the kitchen counter. This is the counter that my computer sits on when I bring it home, where all of the mail goes, the dog stuff (treats, collar, brush etc) and many other miscellaneous items. Cell phones and cameras get charges here, drinks get made here (due to the location of the alcohol directly above the counter),  and the grocery list is buried somewhere under that mess. The drawers directly beneath the counter are nice and organized (due to Tackle it Tuesday).

So, here it is. My organizational challenge for week 1. I already have ideas for the remaining weeks. My closet, the linen closet, the kids playroom, my bedroom, the entertainment center, the cabinet with the tupperware and baking pans, and the bakers rack. Wish me luck!

I decided to follow Ashley's lead and use these questions from I'm An Organizing Junkie.

1. What do I want the purpose of my room or area to be?
    Telephone, and computer station. Drink mixing, food prep

2. What do I need in or near the room to serve that purpose?
    Access to phone and power jacks

3. What can I remove from the room?
    Almost everything.

4. What problems do I see with the room?
    Almost everything

5. What organizational tools might solve those problems?
    File folders (in another location) to store papers in. Charging/ docking station for         cell and camera charging. Decorative box or basket for dog items.

6. What habits need to change to solve the organizational problems?
    We need to stop dumping everything on the counter.

7. What kind of a budget do I have to create the organized room of my dreams?
    $0 (if I can find the file basket that I bought a few years ago)

8. What kind of a time-line is necessary to organize the room?
    An uninterrupted hour

9. What is my plan of action?
    Take EVERYTHING off of the counter and clean thoroughly. Only put back those         items that belong on the counter. Find a new home for everything else.
10. Who can I ask to help me with this?
    Eric

Summer pictures... from a childs point of view

Megan has discovered a love for photography... or a love for my new camera. Either way, we have been letting her use the camera and here are a few of her pictures (unedited):

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

There were a LOT more pictures... and many of them way too blurry. But these turned ot pretty good!

Christmas in July

Ok, I know that it is August.. but I made this in July! I have just been slacking on the blog and did not upload the pictures until now.

I loved Ali Edwards' December Daily mini album last year. Unfortunately I saw it too late to start. This year I followed her lead and set up my December Daily album in July! It is all ready for pictures and journaling... and a little embellishing of course!

Most of the supplies are from a limited edition Chatterbox Christmas kit that was sold in Sams Clubs last year. Our Sams Club did not have them, so I found someone on a message board who bought me one at their Sams Club. Unfortunately when I got it I did not really like the papers. Or the color scheme. When I was going through my Christmas tub (yep, I have a whole plastic tub full of Christmas stuff) I saw the box and decided that I was going to use it. I also cut up some acrylic, and a PTI stamp box to make the clear pages. There are also a couple of page protectors (Zutter?) scattered through the book. I used my Bind-it-all to put it all together.