Cloud9 December Blog Hop

Good morning! I can't believe it's already time for the Cloud9 blog hop! This  month's inspiration photos are both beautiful and I hard time deciding what to create. I really like the gray walls with pops of red from the first photo, and I used that as my jumping off point for my card.

 I stamped the background with Wplus9's Background Builders Knit in Soft Stone ink from Papertrey in. The snowflakes are from Folk Art Flurries, and the sentiment is from Pretty Patches: Tree. The only non-Wplus9 stamp that I used the red stripe stamp, which is Papertrey Ink's Super Stripe. 

I used tweezers to apply gems to the center of each of the big snowflakes. The buttons were threaded with red and white twine by Stampin' Up!.

The boys cannot wait for Christmas... Jack asks me every day if we can open up our presents. He is very excited! Mark pulled out the tree last night & we spent the evening sorting ornaments & getting the tree decorated. 

White I was looking through Pinterest a few weeks ago I saw a photo that I wanted to replicate & I thought I had pinned it, but of course I couldn't find it last night. But I played around with my camera settings and this is what I came up with:

 

I wish I had put Jack in a darker shirt instead of white, but I really like how it turned out. My dad called it "artsy", and I agree. And I know when they are both 6 feet tall, I can look back at this picture of them so little, holding hands, and remember how cute they were. :-) And ten seconds after this photo was taken, Jack looked at me and said "are we done yet?" and Evan took off running into his bedroom. At least they were still, quiet, and happy for a few minutes!

Have a great week!

4th of July

We had a wonderful 4th of July with some good friends of ours... Dion, the Cate's and the Waldo's. The boys played in the pool, ran around the house, ate too much cake, and loved watching the fireworks after dinner. We had sparklers (that as an adult, scare the crap out of me), but the kids l-o-v-e-d them; Evan especially.

Jack and Nick played legos together and were so cute together... they have become good friends over the past few months. 

And this cutie is getting bigger by the minute! I love to snuggle him and make him laugh. He is a great baby and so easy to entertain. 

I love, love, love this photo. My little family... surrounded by palm trees and oh-so-happy. Well, most of us. Jack was not happy that I was making him pose for a photo. He wanted to play! 

Family + Dion. We are so happy he was able to join us for the 4th this year. And the kids were happy he brought his iPad. :-)

Liz made this amazing patriotic cake for us to enjoy. Isn't it fantastic? Her baking skills constantly impress me... I am jealous of her talent! And of course it was yummy, too.  

One more of Nathan. He is five months old and loves to stand. And look at those blue eyes... he is so cute! 

I also wanted to mention that I've opened an Etsy Shop to sell my handmade greeting cards. You can find my shop here.

And PaperCrafts Stamp It! Cards special issue hit news stands last week... and I have two cards in this issue. It is a fantastic issue, packed with beautiful cards and inspiration. 

With only 4 weeks of summer vacation left we are trying to cram everything into these precious days before Evan goes back to school on the 8th. This week I'm hoping to take the boys to the park, the water area of our local zoo, and work on a couple of our Kiwi Crate boxes. And of course spend time with Rocket and Miss Lilly. The more pets we add the more I feel like I'm in the movie "We Bought a Zoo". :-)

Have a great week!

Welcome, Lilly

I have a new family member to introduce today. Say hello to Lilly. She is a rescue kitty from the Brevard Animal Shelter. We have been discussing purchasing a kitten for awhile now, and I am smitten with this little one. She is 8 weeks old and loves to snuggle, meow, and play with her mice. 

Rocket is having a hard time adjusting to this intrusion, but he is coming around. She is not afraid of him at all, but he is acting like an only child who just welcomed a sibling into the mix. For now we keep them separated except for supervised visits... until Lilly gets a little bit older (and bigger).

The boys are in love with her, especially Evan. He took a 2.5 hour nap with her on Thursday, which is totally out of character for him. They snuggled up and fell fast asleep. Lilly does have a kitty cold and is on her way to the shelter right now for a check up and some medication. Technically we are fostering her until she is fixed on the 16th, then we will officially adopt her.

 

 

I hope everyone had a wonderful 4th of July. We were lucky enough to have one of Mark's college friends, Dion, fly in for a visit & another family invited us over for a BBQ and fireworks. After the kids went to sleep we all learned out to play Craps! Add a couple of strawberry daiquiris and chicken kabobs and it was a wonderful day.

Have a great weekend!

Happy Easter!

Happy Easter! I hope everyone had a wonderful weekend. I'm exhausted so today's blog post is in bullet form:

* This picture was not taken today... my Easter pictures are still on my camera and I am too tired to export them onto my external hard drive. Maybe tomorrow! But it's a cute picture, isn't it? Evan's new basketball hoop is getting a lot of use & Mark even taught Evan how to play HORSE.

* Jack refers to my office as mommy's "worker room". Apparently Rocket took his hippo into my office and Jack was very upset. He called to me from his crib "Mommy! Hippo is in your worker room!".

* Easter morning was crazy. Completely crazy. Evan woke up super early to play the Easter Bunny in our living room, then he and Mark scattered the rest of the eggs outside. We got Jack up and the two boys ran around collecting eggs. We haven't told Ev or Jack about the Easter Bunny being real (or Santa Clause for that matter), so Evan took over that role. He *really* got into it! And Jack was a maniac, running around stuffing eggs into his basket as fast as he could.

* By 10:30am the boys were so hopped up on sugar they were running around the living room shouting "I LOVE YOU GRANDMA AND GRANDPA" while Mark and I each talked to our parents. They. Were. CRAZY! Too much sugar and too much energy = wild and crazy boys.

* By 1:00pm Jack was having a full on meltdown and Evan was pouting. Their sugar high turned into a sugar crash, and they were both cranky.

* I know I've said it before, but I am so grateful for the friends we have made here. We had company over last night and again tonight, and it reminded me of our revolving door of friends & neighbors in Pullman. So much laughter. And cupcakes. :-)

* Jack had his first swim lesson of the new session on Tuesday. This month he is swimming in the pre-school class and not in the mommy and me class. I want him to get used to taking directions from another adult, and interact with other kids his age. He loves swim & is really enjoying his twice-per-week class. His instructor made the comment "wow, he sure talks a lot!". Yes, yes he does.

* Evan has been working on mastering the first grade reading list recently. When I tested him on those words in December, he knew all but 24 of the words (the list has about 160 words on it). When I re-tested him last week he knew all but 3 words. When I told him that I am so proud of his improvement he shrugged his shoulders and said "Now I get to learn the 2nd grade word list!". The kid is a sponge! He loves to learn and is doing exceptionally well in school.

That's it for me tonight. Have a great week!

Merry Christmas!

I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday. We had a wonderful low-key day, which was exactly what I wanted this year. On Christmas Eve Evan asked me how early he was allowed to get up Christmas morning, and I told him 7am. He was in our room at 7:14am then next morning, ready to open presents! Santa was really good to the kids this year and brought them each a tablet (one LeapPad & one Innotab), plus an adorable wheelbarrow for Jack & a gears set for Evan.

Mark and I purchased a dress-up box for Jack this year. The only disappointment is when he has to take his costume off for nap time. Jack-Jack has mastered the Pouty Face. :-)

Evan received quite a few board games this year, including Zingo, Twister, a Hopscotch mat, I Spy Quest, I Spy Flipster, and Operation.

We have played many, many rounds of Twister so far. Evan is pretty flexible and does a great job following directions, but half the fun for him is getting twisted up on the mat and purposely falling over.

And I had to post this picture of Rocket. I was working in my office when Mark took this picture, and it cracks me up. I'm not even sure how Rocket got in this position, let alone stayed there.

My three boys. This is my favorite picture of the week... all (mostly) smiling, happy, and thrilled to be spending some time together.

Jack and I spent most of the day in and out of doctor's offices, so I'm exhausted. Have a wonderful weekend!

Merry Christmas Eve!

I hope everyone has a wonderful & relaxing Christmas Eve. We are getting ready to Skype with my parents and sister so they can watch the boys open their Christmas presents. We did this last year, and while it was chaotic, we enjoyed feeling connected to our family... from 3,000 miles away.

I pulled out my iPod today and took a few pictures of our Christmas decorations, baking projects, and our tree.

(left to right, top to bottom)

1. At the beginning of the month I created a December calendar on our chalkboard in our kitchen. Everyday Evan crosses off the day and tells me how many more days until Christmas. He took great joy in telling me today: "Only ONE MORE DAY!!". And I love the notes Evan has written at the bottom of the calender.

2. Mint drop cookies. Yum. My mom made these cookies every year when I was a kid, and I have continued the tradition. They have become a favorite of Mark and Evan's, too.

3. Our tree! I love how it turned out this year. It's sparkly & festive, and we have a great selection of ornaments. One of Mark's co-workers, Scott, helped us decorate this year & we had a great time. Jack was so super helpful & tried to put every icicle ornament on one branch.

4. My cute little snowman salt & pepper shakers. I purchased snowman dishes from Target almost 8 years ago, but we've only used them once (the first year). They have been packed up since them... but not this year! We will be using them tonight & tomorrow.

5. My mom sent me this beautiful Lenox Santa in our Christmas box, and I have it sitting on our side table in the living room. Jack likes to touch the tree Santa is holding and shriek: "I touched Santa's tree! No touching!". That kid is going to be the death of me!

6. Nativity scene, also from my mom. She found it after Christmas last year & it has been stored in our closet since then. I placed an Ikea star behind it and I love it. :-)

7. Poinsettias and a very silly snowman. I really wanted to have poinsettias in the house this year, because they are so festive, but I was concerned I would kill them. I am proud to say that after 4 weeks they are still looking good & haven't dropped any petals. Go me! I can't remember the story behind Mark's snowman, but he loves it so I proudly display it... this year on our bookshelf in the living room next to one of my poinsettias. The red and white doilies under my poinsettia are made from Papertrey Ink's Persian Lace die.

8. A few years ago, for Christmas, my Uncle gave me a set of three crystal candle holders. They, too, have been sitting in our closet, waiting for the perfect place to put them. I purchased 3 green candles from Michaels and I am displaying them next to the other poinsettia in our living room. So far Jack hasn't tried to touch (or break) them, so I plan to keep them out year-round.

Have a very Merry Christmas!

Erin.

Happy Halloween!

Evan decided a few weeks ago he wanted to be a robot, and I asked Mark to create an awesome robot costume for him. I would say Mark was successful. He received a ton of compliments & Evan loved it. The red LED lights were great, too!

Evan picked out the color for Mark to paint his robot:

How cute is that?!? We already had the silver basketball shorts & a gray t-shirt. Evan slipped the robot over his head and stuck his arms out the side. He was a bit of a hazard because he couldn't see where he was walking, but I helped guide him down the sidewalk.

My little monkey, Jack, thought Ev's costume was "very silly". Evan is sitting inside the robot... he could fit his whole body in there!

I love this picture b/c all that is visible of Evan is his left hand:

Before trick or treating around our neighborhood, we did a little trick or treating at Publix. I was expecting there to be a lot of kids, but we were the only ones.

The LED lights on Evan's costume were really bright at night. I still can't believe mark put this costume together... I am so proud of him! It looked awesome, and more than one parent said they would love to be able to create such an amazing costume.

I need to hide the candy before the kids find it in the morning... they both ate a ton of it tonight! Jack kept asking Daddy for "another treat?" and "another treat?". He is a big fan of Halloween!

Have a wonderful week!

Familiarity

Last week Karla Dudley released an adorable new kit named Familiarity. When I read the name of the kit and saw all the beautiful papers and brushes I knew I wanted to use the photo of Mark, the kids, and our friends to create a layout. When Roy, Jessica, and Dion were visiting, I made the comment that the seven of us are so familiar with each other that it was easy to fall back into our old routines. Despite the thousands of miles between us & how infrequently we get to visit each other, we reconnected and it was like we see each other every day.

(Supplies - Navy cardstock: Cardstock Essentials No. 1. Patterned paper: Familiarity. Hinges: Familiarity. Stitched twill: Relax. Flower brush: Relax. Summer clear word: Summer Freebie. Frame: Familiarity. Clear butterfly: Clear Essentials No. 1. Crystal brad: Clear Essentials No. 1. "So Loving It Here" sticker: Home Matters 1. House brush: Home Matters 1. Clear pocket: Familiarity. Journaling spot: Familiarity. Large flower brush: Familiarity. Staples: Clear Essentials No. 1. Notebook paper: Familiarity . "welcome" brush: Welcome Spring '10. "good" journaling strip: Familiarity. Font: Georgia.)

Mark and I have been keeping a secret from Evan for the past two months... his friend, Jayden, and Jayden's grandmother surprised him by flying into Orlando this afternoon. He was so happy to see Jayden and this should be a very fun week for all of us. The next big surprise: taking them to Magic Kingdom on Thursday. I can't wait!

Mother's Day Tea

Evan's pre-school celebrated Mother's Day with a lovely Mother's Day Tea last week. Mark took the morning off from work to stay home with Jack, and I got to enjoy my time with Evan at his school.

The kids had a selection of songs to sing to the moms, followed by lemonade, powdered donuts, and animal crackers. Evan walked me around his classroom and showed me his art projects, the dramatic play center, and where he has circle time every morning. He was thrilled to give me a handmade place mat and a flower pin that I'm wearing in the photo. He was so sweet and loving... he kept smiling and giving me great big hugs. It was a wonderful morning together & one I will never forget.

Happy Mother's Day!

Happy Valentine's Day!

We are keeping things casual this year & spending time as a family. Mark and I are having a special dinner tonight after the kids go to bed, followed by strawberry shortcake and an episode of Castle. I'm looking forward to it :-)





(I saw these adorable cards on a website a few weeks ago, and I decided to create my own in Photoshop. Now I can't find the website so I can give credit for the idea. If you know which website I am talking about, please leave a link in the comments. Thanks!)

Making Progress.

I finally have a few minutes to myself (Ev is at school; Jack and Rocket are napping), and my Christmas pictures are sorted and edited. When I looked through the photos I took Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, I was not surprised that I only had a few good photos. I usually don't take that many photos at Christmas because I'm so busy helping the boys, cooking, cleaning up wrapping paper, etc. I think I took a whopping 26 pics this year on Christmas Day, and none Christmas Eve. Oh well. We had a lovely Christmas and I'm grateful for the photos I did take.


I love this picture of Jack and me. I love that he is holding his new Woody doll & still in his camo pajamas.


The kids each received several things from LeapFrog this year. Jack's new Tag Jr. was a big hit, and his favorite book is Curious George.


One of the first gifts Jack opened was a Playmobil 1-2-3 parking garage. The people included are his favorite part.

So, those are the Christmas photos. At least I'm in a couple of them :-)

And the rest of these are for my family. It's been almost 6 months since my parents and sister have seen Ev and Jack, and I know they need regular photo updates.




I love the faces this little guy makes. In the first photo he is surprised because Mark just walked in the door. In the second photo, Mark made a silly face and Jack thought it was funny.


"What?! I can't come in the kitchen while the oven door is open? I won't touch it, I promise!' I am such a mean, mean mommy.


He sure knows how to turn on the charm :-)


My favorite photo of the bunch.


You will notice I haven't posted many photos of Evan today. He has been growling or saying "no thank you" when I pull out the camera lately, so I don't have many pics of him. I hate that my 4 year old has an opinion!


My Uncle gave the kids an easel for Christmas and it fits perfectly in the kitchen.





Mark and Evan spent two days frosting and decorating their gingerbread house. It was truly a team effort, and it is still sitting on our kitchen table.









I love this photo of Rocket and me. He loves to chew on the string of my sweatshirts or Evan's sweatpants.


A little Cougar pride in Ohio. During one of the WSU games I was watching I had Evan shout "Go Cougs!" whenever we scored. Pretty soon Jack chimed in and was also shouting "Go Cougs!" I love my little brainwashed Cougar fans :-)

Have a wonderful weekend!

xoxo,
Erin.