Crazy thing called life ...

well i will be honest here , life has been pretty crazy! We have had dance competitions, end of quarter at school, i returned to work, the upcoming vacation, household projects, and upcoming visitors. No time to do anything creative !
Just thought i would share some dance competiton photos. These are from this weekends Southeast Dance Power, Smithfield North Carolina!



Alyssa's Dance team performed to Rescue me, the recieved a gold.





Aryn performed to Shake your tailfeather , with her duet partner Allyson. They recieved a high gold and 2nd place overall.

Busy dance week

Last weekend was Aryns first Dance competition. She performed her Duet w/ Allsyon to 'Shake your tailfeather" They were adorable. They got 2nd place overall duet in their age division and got a gold metal.

This weekend Aryns clogging company performed on Saturday. They got an Elite Gold, they performed to "Butterbean" super cute routine. They did a great job! Sunday Aryn and Alli performed (at 7 am , yikes!) and they got a gold medal and a special award for "beautiful bright smiles" which is a huge honor. (the girls are both 1st year competition dancers and they were competing against girls who have been dancing for a long time.

Alyssa got her first taste of dance competition this weekend as well.Her dance troop performed to "rescue me" It was a jazz routine and they earned a gold medal as well. The girls are really enjoying dance and are looking foward to all the possibilities for next season!

on stage at starquest last weekend


Girls w/ Miss brenda, the choreographer and instructor. (love her!)


Aryn w/ her gold medal!



That famous smile!



the dynamic duo



Aryn getting ready to perform "Butterbean"


Girls ready for Sunday's performances


My girls w/ Ms. Kim the director of the studio


Alyssa , striking a "jazzy pose"


Alyssa, ready to perform

Scrapping fun!

Gosh, can't believe the month is almost over. Crazy! Well, the competition dance season is about to begin. Aryn has her first duet performance next weekend. She is so stoked! Alyssa's company and Aryns company are performing for the first time March 7th. The next few weeks are going to be crazy!

In household news. We have decided to paint the bonus room and move my scrapbook room upstairs. We are going to finally have a dining room ! Can't wait. It is going to be a real pain in the bottom . There is alot of stuff in the bonus room that will need to be moved out(and thrown out) and alot of stuff in the scraproom that will be the same.

Lastly, just found out that my sister Nicole is expecting. This will be her 3rd. She has a 3 year old and a 1 year old.(plus she is a full time nurse) She is going to be busy! (not that i am being biased but her kids are adorable and i think she should have a ton more !)

I did get to do some scrapbooking this week. I am participating in an online crop at Scrap attack .There are a ton of inspirational challenges, games, a great gallery and an awesome online store.Take a peak when you have a chance, you won't regret it!



The girls love helping in the kitchen.Now, if i could just teach them how to fold the laundry or do the dishes i would be set!

From the 80's dance at the girls school. They brought their friends Abby and Rachel.



When we returned to Illinois we had a big birthday party. My mom and all the grandkids have 'summer"birthdays.


alyssa' valentine party. The challenge was to use up some old stuff!

Today was the Fairy Tale Ball for the Second graders. The kids dressed up(or dressed as their favorite fairy tale characters).Aryn went as Jasmine from Aladdain. Why ? "BECAUSE I AIN'T WEARIN' NO DRESS!" Gotta love that! Anyway they had a Royal Parade through the hallways, a Royal Ball in the gym(where they waltzed, did the chicken dance and the locomotion), and a royal feast. My princess was pooped so she came home with me and took a 2 hour nap. I just dont think she has completly gotten over her stomach issues from last week .

Enjoy the photos :D

Happy Belated Valentines Day ...

Friday night we went to the first Family 80's night. It was a ton of fun, even Andrew had a good time. The girls brought their best friends Abby and Rachel. They danced non stop! (and let me tell you these girls can dance!)




Happy belated Valentines Day to everyone. The kids each got a box of Butterfinger hearts. The girls each got a new Webkinz(because they really needed those) and Andrew got a Playstation 2 game. Kevin recieved a pair of Steel toe boots( i know pretty romantic ) and a box of chocolates. I recieved a dozen roses and a George Foreman grill, i guess he gets bonus points for it being "heart healthy'






In closing the kids have had an insane amount of "projects" with school, dance, sunday school etc.. we pretty much spend all day Saturdays catching up. If you are feeling like we have neglected you please dont' we just have way more going on than most people can imagine. And on that note, off to make French Toast Casserole for Aryns Fairy Tale Ball tommorrow.

Not to shabby .... today was Andrews "Math Counts" competition. He placed 13Th overall! Yeah! He has always loved math and it seemed like the right choice for him to be on the team. He is also on the "Science Olympiad" the competition for that is not till next month.

Tonight Andrew has hockey "try outs" , not so much a "try out" but a placement... but they try to be serious and call it one.


I have not been to incredible creative/crafty lately but have gotten 2 layouts done .
They were both for challenges on THE SCRAPPING POST. It is a new board that i am participating on. It is owned by a friend Keisha and her hubby.They are just starting up and the site has some great potential


The first layout is of photos taken from Alyssa's ballet promotion ceremony. She has worked so hard this year and it was a total suprise to her that she was getting "bumped up". I

When we went to Chicago last summer Andrew wanted to visit the Millenium Park Bean. We were only headed downtown 1 time, which happened to include a trip to American girl. He wasnt to thrilled about hanging out with 6 girls all day, but he forgave us when we finally got to the bean!

Monday, Monday ... lalala

Anyway... enough of my really bad off key singing (believe me when i say that!)

These are some fun embellishments that i made , i am probably going to sell them on etsy. I made these from a vintage hymnal.. pretty cool huh?


1 scrapbook page

Thought i would share some photos of Andrew hockey tournament last Thursday night. He plays on two teams (1 lost, 1 won) yeah , Andrew! I would like to make a comment about the CSU shirt. That is a Chicago State shirt that was given to Andrew by his Uncle AL. Al had recieved the shirt a long time ago from a cousin who had played at Chicago State. Andrew wears it all the time !

scrap attack mystery boxes

Back by popular demand, we just put the finishing touches on a fresh new variety of Scrap Attack {Mystery Boxes!} Once again we've taken all your comments and suggestions and made this batch of {mystery boxes} off the charts. I have to admit, putting these together are very fun for me - I love finding those hidden treasures that sometimes get overlooked. For this batch we handpicked a few of my favorite manufacturers and packed these mystery boxes with so many fun things! So not only will you receive papers but other fun things like chipboard, buttons, stickers, alphabets, rub-ons and more! So almost like a mini kit (well actually, a bunch of mini kits!) These turned out great, I think you will be pleasantly surprised with what we have put together! There are 3 types to pick from - each are packed with gorgeous scrapbook products from various manufacturers! And did we mention you would also receive coordinating embellishments?? {wink!}

--->>> Holiday Themed Mystery Box - packed with a variety of common holidays like Birthday, Christmas, Halloween, Winter, 4th of July, Valentines & Easter just to name a few. While supplies last - only $45! (retails for over $150!!)

--->>> Girly Girl Themed Mystery Box - packed with a large variety of lines from numerous manufacturers and is designed specifically for girls. There are lots of girly lines in this Mystery Box and it is suitable for a wide range of girls. While supplies last - only $35! (retails for over $100!)

--->>> Bad Boy Themed Mystery Box - Well, not really a "bad boy" mystery box but this is packed with a variety of lines from numerous manufacturers and is specifically intended for those boys in your life. While supplies last - only $35! (retails for over $100!)

FINE PRINT: Quantities are limited on these mystery boxes and are only available while supplies last. Since these are already deeply discounted, no additional discounts or coupons can be used on these mystery boxes. If you purchase 2 of them we will reduce your shipping and handling to just $5.00! If you are interested in 3 of them, we will ship these to you FREE of charge!* Discounted & free shipping and handling on the Scrap Attack Mystery Boxes will be for domestic orders only and the adjustments will be made when you order is shipped.

These have been added to the store and are available immediately. To get yours now, click on the SHOP NOW link! I know you will not be disappointed in these new and improved mystery boxes!

Just want to show you a few creative projects.(although i am not feeling all the creative anymore)

Yesterday the kids returned to school. After an unplanned week off!( monday was MLK holiday, Tuesday and Wednesday were snow days, and Thursday and Friday were teacher work days. I was amazed at what i was able to complete yesterday.(although it was just a small amount of what i need to do to catch up from having them home for over a month) Well I am off to get a perm, yes i know so 80's but i have some real hair issues and i would cut it all off it not for the wonder of some magic curl :D

Just thought i would share some valentines love

Ok, so cupcakes are really hot right now, fashion, scrapbooking and bakeries. I was on ETSY tonight when i saw these Adorable cupcake soapsare they not the most yummy thing you have ever seen ! I think i will need to pick some of these up!

Tomorrow Aryns clogging troop is performing at the Meredeth College Childrens Dance Festival. We have to be there bright and early and it is going to be a very long day. The performance starts at 3 - if you are in the area stop by and watch, there is a very diverse and interesting line up!

Snow day

Hard to believe 24 hours ago , i was in Myrtle Beach. The sun was out .. it was cold (upper 50's but still sunny today ... I wake up to this ..... Snow day ! Kids went out for about 20 minutes. Aryn was the first in which didn't surprise me ... she was hysterically crying(she can't deal with the snow) You know i need to add that Andrew attempted to sneak in and change his wet clothes and i ran him back out ! It is still snowing right now, and i guess they won't have school tomorrow either ( good news, Thursday it is going to be 59 degrees) too funny!The picture above is of our cat Lucky. He prefers to be outside, but i think he changed his mind this morning. It has been 4 years since we have had a measurable snow , i guess the ole' boy just didn't remember what it was like.

This is Kevin pulling Andrew in a laundry basket. Yes, a laundry basket. We live in the south , they dont sell sleds here ! We have to improvise


This is Andrew pulling Aryn on his boogie board. Like i said above... have to make due with what we have.(2 thumbs up for their creativity!)


Moms favorite little snowman.


Alyssa always has a smile on her face, which is why it is now frozen on !



WHen i woke up this morning Aryn was sitting by the back door admiring the snow and the 2 deer under her swing set!