Sweet Little Princess

I haven't blogged in a little bit...not that I haven't thought about it...because I HAVE!  Things have just been a little crazy and I haven't had the chance.  Last week my husband and son set out on their annual backpacking trip and so my Diva Princess and I set out for Walt Disney World with my mom in order to keep distracted so I wouldn't worry too much about the boys...plus our passes expire soon so we figured we should go.  I had to take some time off of work but it was worth it ;)

I will post more and share pics of that soon.  For today I just thought I would share a layout I just recently finished up.  I have been scrapping more and more older pics of my kiddos...a little bitter sweet actually.  As part of the Design Team for The House of Paper we were highlighting a Roomie from the Message Boards and so we all lifted one of her layouts...you can read more about that HERE.

This is my version of her layout...my sweet little Princess with her Princess Bunny.  Hard to believe she was really that little.

And how cute is her Snow White dress?!  My mom made that for her when she was 3 and she wore that thing until it was well above her knees!

ºoº ~ Magical Monday ~ ºoº

Happy Monday!  Hope you had a great weekend....I am still recovering from mine, all the while trying to get through my day at the office.  Hunky Hubby brought me lunch today -- of course he also wanted my truck, so we had to do a car swap ;)  Still, it was nice to sit together...with no kids fighting -- hey, since we weren't at home does that count as a date?

Our first born turned 12 yesterday.  I can't even believe it.  I swore once they got to 10 there would be no more parties until 13...but Hunky Hubby decided we should have one. SO, my whole weekend was about getting things ready for the party.  I didn't get much sleep and by last night I was in tears on the couch icing my ankle after a rousing game of kickball adults vs. kids....even though the adults outnumbered the kids they still kicked our butts...8-2.  I wish I could say we let them win, but, alas, that was not the case.

At least I had plenty of team spirit to go around...you see that pouty princess behind me...yep, that one...that's my Diva Princess -- don't ya just love the pout?  You would THINK they were losing...I am thinking maybe she is embarrassed by her mother's antics...but oh well...we were having a blast!

Thankfully my ankle is much better today...it is wrapped up and I am limping but that is major progress from last night!  And since my Allstar Son says he had a great birthday then it was all worth it. 

Us adults had so much fun we are planning another get together soon -- just so we can play kickball!  WOOT! WOOT!  Will just have to remember to tape up my ankles first ;)

Now, since it is Monday, I gotta get my week started off with some of the Disney magic...

 *sigh*  my happy place --

...so just a couple of Disney layouts to get that magic flowing...

These are pics from our 2003 visit to the Walt Disney World resort in Orlando...we were living in Seattle at the time...look how little my sweeties were!  And just so you know, I checked and double checked the spelling and it would seem that Disney and Cinderella spell carrousel with two r's -- although it has been renamed Prince Phillips' Carrousel now.

Pictures from January 2008 when we met up with some out of town friends...I was inspired by another layout I had seen...just love this layout...makes me happy! 

And so I leave you with that on this fine Monday!  Wishing you all a happy and ºoº Magical ºoº week!

Things To Do Dry Erase Frame

I am a list maker.  I am on a never ending quest to be better organized.  One of my favorite blogs, Eighteen25 posted this great To Do Frame and included a free printable.  I decided to print it out on a clear transparency so that I can change the backing whenever I feel like it.

I used a frame that I had spray painted black back when I hosted my sister's bridal shower along with some Melody Ross Soul Food patterned paper and chipboard stickers, ribbon, flowers and Stickles to make my own version of the To Do Frame and ended up with this...

Pretty, right?  I love that the chipboard sticker even says Do It Today...perfection, I tell ya!

Now I can just write out my To Do List with a dry erase marker and have it out in plain sight....no more losing or misplacing the sticky notes.  And even if I don't end up better organized it will at least look pretty sitting on my desk....as sooooooooon as I get it cleaned off...and organized ;)

I am linking up here:



Getting my groove back

I have really been out of it for awhile.  I could tip toe around it but in all honesty I have just been in a state of depression.  Took me awhile to really see that that was the problem.  And know that I have figured it out I am working on coming out of it.  I expect it will be slow going but I am ready for the challenge.

I had a really busy weekend but it was totally worth it.  Saturday we spent with friends at Adventure Island and Sunday my Diva Princess and I headed up to Disney's Hollywood Studios to meet some out of town friends and their new baby girl they have been blessed with.  Will share more about all of that on another post.

Yesterday was a nice and somewhat quiet day that we spent at home doing nothing in particular.  I was able to take some time to be creative and got most of the laundry done.  Felt good to get some creativity going again.  This week's theme at House of Paper was to do a project and fill in the blank on the sentence "I am..."  My initial thought process was pretty negative -- not surprising given my "down in the dumps" disposition as of late...but with all the fun paper collections Chiara has been bringing into the store it was hard not to do something a little more fun.

One night last week Hunky Hubs decided we should go out to Dairy Queen after dinner for a little treat.  I almost never go anywhere without my camera and the kids were having fun while I snapped away.



I am a Dairy Queen

They just crack me up!  My Diva Princess especially has a sweet tooth -- much like her daddy.  The Summer Days line from Echo Park was just too perfect with these pics :)  Added a little Stickles for a touch of bling as well.  WHY have I not done this sooner?!

Speaking of my Diva Princess, she just turned 10 on the 20th.  SERIOUSLY?!  I confess, I shed a few tears on my way to work that morning.  It just goes way too fast.  I would so love to have another baby but Hunky Hubs and the two offspring keep saying NO :(   Here is my baby girl on the morning of her 10th birthday...we filled her room with balloons before she woke up...




I am 10


The Pink Paislee Soiree is so fun and colorful and I was able to use some of the elements from Echo Park's Dots & Stripes Collection as well.  My sweet girl loved this layout when I showed it to her.  She is very proud of the fact that she is 10 years old now...especially since she was able to save up enough money to get an Ipod Touch...she feels officially grown up now.

You can see what some of the other Interior Designers did with "I am.." HERE in the House Gallery.

If you are a scrapper we would love to have you visit over at The House of Paper.  Sign up for the newsletter and you will be notified when the new products come in and every so often Chiara throws in a discount code...This week the newsletter discount is $5 off your order of $20 or more ENTER COUPON CODE 5off.  The message boards are always a great place to find fun, friendship and inspiration!


You can also "LIKE" House of Paper on Facebook and have access to giveaways and even more discounts...hope to see you there!  If you head over that way, be sure and tell her that Heather sent you :)

Happy Scrapping!

Orange Blossom Shop: GIVEAWAY!!!!

These frames are just so dang caUUUUUUUte!  I totally want one!

Who WOULDN'T want one?!  Lucky for us, they are actually hosting a giveaway on their blog...go check it out...

Orange Blossom Shop: GIVEAWAY!!!!: "We are giving away an 8x8 'Cooper' Circular frame. Colors to choose from: white, black, pink and blue."

ºoº ~ Magical Monday ~ ºoº and NSD

National Scrapbooking Day was this past Saturday...did you get to scrap?  I had big plans to...but alas, it didn't turn out.  Nor did I get that relaxing Mother's Day I was hoping for.  Oh well.  *sigh*

I did get one layout uploaded in honor of National Scrapbooking Day though...better one than none I suppose.  I was able to use some of the Echo Park Christmas with pictures of the life sized gingerbread house at Disney's Grand Floridian Hotel we took this past December.

Kind of gives me a craving for some Christmas cookies now ;)

Teacher Appreciation

Most of you know it is Teacher Appreciation Week...
if you don't, it's totally cool because now that I've told you...you know ;)

I must confess, that I haven't done a whole lot in years past for either of my kids' teachers...once they got past Kindergarten there just wasn't any teacher that really inspired me or my kids, for lack of a better term.  This year however, my daughter's 4th grade teacher is A.MAZING.  And ironically enough, I found out she is friends with my most favorite and inspirational teacher that I had growing up...it really is a small world.

Mrs. Anderson has made school fun again for my Diva Princess and she enjoys going...despite all the ridiculousness that seems to ensue in our county.  She has been so helpful and nurturing to my sweet girl and I have seen such growth and I know it is because of Mrs. Anderson...and Alyson even says so herself.  So, with that being said, I knew that was going to plan more than just one gift for Teacher Appreciation Week...and seriously, there is so much inspiration out there, I could probably send something in to school everyday from now until the end of the year and never run out of ideas!

Over the weekend I put together the first gift of the week using an OH SO CUTE Subway Art Printable from Eighteen25....seriously cute! (not to mention they have so many other cute printables and ideas!)

See...cute, right?!

I also picked up a nice frame from Walmart that was on clearance for $5.  I loved that it is 11x14 with a mat and the frame itself was so nice I knew I wouldn't need to paint it or anything...LOVE IT!  Once I started putting it together though I knew the mat was going to need something else because the off white with the white of the subway art was NOT working for me.

Now, I have to be honest, I had been so busy over the weekend that I wasn't finally putting this together until late Sunday night so I didn't have a whole lot of time to make this work.  Initially I thought I would use some pretty scrapbooking paper around the mat but as I was standing in my scrap space pondering my choices, I looked up and saw my little collection of Tattered Angels Glimmer Mist Sprays.  It was like I could hear the angels sing...

aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh...

(okay, so maybe I exaggerate a little)...

BUT I knew what I was going to do...

Please forgive the not so great pics...like I said, I was doing this late Sunday night ;)

I took the mat out of the frame and spritzed it several times over to dress it up.  I was so loving it when it was finished!  I don't think you can really see it in the pics but it had a great shimmer to it and a few splatter dots and it just gave it an overall awesome look (if I do say so myself!)



I let it dry overnight and then put everything together lickety-split in the morning.  My little Diva Princess loved it and as it turns out so did the Awesome Mrs. Anderson...

You'll have to forgive my sweet girl's sleepy-eyed smile...
she hadn't brushed her teeth yet so she didn't want to show them!  LOL!

It's not too late to get your Free Teacher Subway Art and send one in to your favorite teacher!

I didn't take a picture of today's gift but I sent in a collection of books for Mrs. A's classroom library along with some labels I had made through Vistaprint...it cost me a total of about $3 and they looked something like this...(obviously with Mrs. Anderson's name on them)

(I got the idea for these from MomsByHeart.net ...another super cute idea!) 

Still trying to decide what I am sending in tomorrow...but I have more than a few ideas to choose from.  Have you sent anything in to your favorite teachers this week?

All about the music

This week at the House of Paper our projects were all about music.  I love music and could easily give up TV...but never music!  Right now,  my favorite song is P!NK's Perfect.  I have always been a fan of hers, both her voice and her lyrics inspire me.  So many of her songs have really great messages and this one in particular makes me think of my kids every time I hear it and I periodically like to remind them that they ARE indeed perfect TO ME!  I think my daughter especially needs this constant reminder and we both love singing this song at the top of our lungs together!

Needless to say, my first project was inspired by this song and I had some pictures I just took of my kiddos on Easter that I thought would be great for the layout...

My next layout features pictures of my kiddos last summer when they had their piano and voice recital...my All Star Son played piano while my Diva Princess sang.  I always get a little teary-eyed whenever I see my kiddos front and center ;)

The House is gearing up for National Scrapbooking Day and Chiara has actually posted a PRE-NSD Challenge...to do your own layout about music.  We would love to have you come over and play!

:: Wedding Wishes ::

I confess, I have not really be IN to all the Royal Wedding Hype.  I have not been following the news in regards to all the upcoming festivities and the guest list.  I was not up bright and early to watch the cermony -- I can barely get up to go work!  LOL!

I did however check out the videos online and I must say that Kate looked absolutely stunning in her dress which I thought was so beautiful and elegant -- much the way she seems to come across as well.  Prince William and Prince Harry both looked dashing in their uniforms.

The thing that struck me the most though as I was watching was the absence of Princess Diana.  She loved her boys SO much and I can only imagine how proud she would be of both her sons and especially Prince William on his wedding day.  I would imagine it was quite tough for Prince William not having her there and my heart truly goes out to him.  I very much remember the day of Princess Diana's wedding.

Even though I am not into all the hype, I do, VERY MUCH, wish both Prince William and now Princess Kate ALL THE VERY BEST in the world.  I pray they will have the fairy tale Happily Ever After that Princess Diana never had.

Happy Wedding Day William and Kate :)

And can I just add how much I love the little attendent there in the left corner of the picture with her hands over her ears!  LOL!

:: Lily Bee Love ::

Lily Bee Designs is one of my favorite companies in the scrapbooking world and I recently did a layout for The House of Paper Blog using one of their newest lines, Picket Fence.  I just love the colors in the line and there is SO much versatility.  I came across some pictures of my kiddos from when we were living Seattle and Hunky Hubby had taken them out to Snoqualmie Falls...

Can't believe how little they are.  I know I am biased, but aren't they just the cutest?  I miss them being that little. *sigh* 
Anyway, I also had some KI Alphas in my stash so I used them for my title.  I am pretty happy with the result :)

Still loving the older Lily Bee lines as well...

My girl has always loved the characters at Disney and even now, at almost 10 she is still happy to have her picture taken with them...she is definitley MY daughter! ;)

*sigh*  Not only do these pics make me miss living in Seattle where we had 4 ACTUAL seasons but Fall is my favorite and it was always such a treat to make a trip out to the pumpkin farms...Florida just doesn't cut it for Fall!

Now these pics are a little more recent -- last summer to be exact when we took a mini trip out to Gatlinburg and The Smokey Mountains.  Hunky Hubby and my All Star Son go backpacking every summer...The Diva Princess and I are more of Day Hikers though ;)  They are actually gearing up for their next trip this June.

My new favorite blog right now...

You know how there are just mean and spiteful people out there...the ones who have nothing better to do apparently but try and tear other people down in order to make themselves feel better...the ones who most of the time are so cowardly they opt to post their comments and opinions "anonymously"...you know who I mean, right? 

Well, now there is a blog out there were all those "mean comments go to die"  LOL!  I LOVE IT! Ya gotta check it out...

Look, I am still alive!

Today marks the first day that my Diva Princess has been to school since Friday, April 8th.  Literally, the day after we got home from our weekend away at Disney, she came down with the Flu and then that fed into a nasty sinus infection.  It was downright AWFUL!  She had a fever for 8 days straight.  By day 7 I was a complete mess and finally cried out of sheer frustration and worry.  Of course I managed to also catch a bit of it but was better able to fight it off and only missed one day of work.

SO, the project I wanted to post has yet to get posted. *eyes rolling* 
Story of my life I suppose.  I wasn't completely uncrafty though and did manage to get some scrapbooking in...just need to get the layouts scanned in.

For now, please feel free to check out The Roomie of the Month at The House of Paper.  Each month the Interior Designers, feature an active member of The House and scraplift one of her layouts.  It is always fun to learn a little more about The House Roomies... CHECK IT OUT HERE

Hopefully in the next day or two I will FINALLY get my mirror-turned-chalkboard project posted...keep your fingers crossed for me! ;)

ºoº ~ Magical Monday ~ ºoº

Have I ever mentioned how much I hate Mondays? 
Well, I hate them even MORE when they come right after I have spent a most wonderful weekend away at My Happy Place ºoº with my little family and my BFF. 
Hate them even MORE when my Princess wakes up with a fever on the first day of a week of testing.
Hate them even MORE when I get to work only to find a mess!

UGH!  I hate Mondays!

So, let's focus instead on the magic of my birthday weekend...shall we?  And even better, it is the perfect excuse to share my most recent April Best Foot Forward pictures...

4/8 - What better way to start of a magical weekend than with a horse drawn carriage ride through our resort.  The Port Orleans Riverside was so beautiful.  I felt like I was on a plantation in the deep south...so peaceful and gorgeous.  I have always wanted to go on a carriage ride so Hunky Hubby and the kiddos treated me to one shortly after we checked in.

4/9 - We were on safari today...at Disney's Animal Kingdom.  My little Princess asked if we could sit in the front row so we had a great shot of all the animals that were out an about.  Alyson was so proud of the fact that SHE got us in the first row...and I was quite proud of her for asking.  She seems to be asserting herself a little more these days which I think is just fantastic.

4/10 - Does this picture really need any explanation?  LOL!  This is my most favorite pictures so far, hands down!  I am sure Mickey and Minnie were wondering why on earth this cRaZy lady wanted to take a picture of their feet but they were happy enough to oblige...maybe it was the Happy Birthday button I was wearing ;)  Whatever the reason...this picture just makes me happy!

Wishing you all a ºoº ~ Magical Monday ~ ºoº

My sister ROCKS!

In honor of my birthday today, my sister decided to hijack the Best Foot Forward project I am doing this month and posted this picture on Facebook to celebrate...I am just LOVING it!

Thank you Rachelle!  LOVE YOU TOO!

04/05 Best Foot Forward

Holy cow!  Two nights in a row, being treated to a dinner OUT!  I am getting spoiled...but OH how I LOVE it!  I spent time with my sister Rachelle tonight.  It was WONDERFUL.  We talked for 4 hours.  There is an 11 year age difference between us and I am just so proud of the beautiful woman she has become and thoroughly enjoyed connecting and talking with her.  And how can you NOT love someone who will sit outside a restaurant on a bench holding her feet up in the air for a picture?!  LOL!

04/04 - Best Foot Forward

I am celebrating a birthday this week -- of which I have very mixed feelings.  I was able to meet up with a couple of friends for dinner in honor of my birthday though, so I guess it's not ALL bad getting another year older.  Now that I work full-time out of the house I don't get to spend as much time with some of my mommy friends since the busy-ness in our lives takes us in different directions.  It was nice to try and connect for a brief couple of hours.

04/03 - Best Foot Forward

Tonight my feet lead the way to a soccer game.  USF vs The Tampa Bay Rowdies.  We are a soccer loving family these days and taking the kids to see the local college soccer games has proven to be a lot of fun...and an in expensive family outing as well.

ºoº ~ Magical Monday ~ ºoº

Most people don't really look forward to Mondays...and I am definitely one of those people -- unless I happen to have the day off of work ;) 

I decided to start something new and make each of my Mondays a
                 ºoº ~ Magical Monday ~ ºoº

Today actually IS a Magical Monday for me though.  I was able to do online check-in for my arrival to The House of Mouse this Friday!  This week is my birthday and the only thing I asked for from the Hunky Hubby and our babes is a weekend at Walt Disney World...and no whining, crying, picking, fighting, annoying or complaining ;)

One of the things I love most about living in Florida is being so close to The House of Mouse. 

Walt Disney World is My Happy Place.

I am like a kid in a candy store and I never get tired of being there. This year they came out with the monthly payment plan for Florida Residents Annual Passes and we have been able to take advantage of that....SO much easier on the wallet for sure! 

So in just 4 short days, I will be picking the kiddos up from school and making our way to My Happy Place for my birthday -- complete with dinner in Italy ;)  La Dolcie Vita!