A Little Bit Of Melanie...

A Sweet Little Girl Turns One

2012-01-26T07:05:00.001-08:00

My friend has an adorable little, curly haired princess who just had her first birthday. It really was a group effort, all of us PTO moms pitched in and the result was an amazing party - my contribution was the cakes - full of roses. I wish I could take credit for the awesome cookies but that was all Katie and the inspiration came straight from the birthday girls mom, Amanda. It was a sweet, pink, afternoon.

Hmmmm

2012-01-18T16:03:00.001-08:00

So I can't really place text in between my images from the phone...o well, going with it.

A Wednesday in January

2012-01-18T16:02:00.001-08:00

First real snow of the season today! The kids are hoping for enough to guarantee them a snow day tomorrow. I had some school stuff to take care of so I did venture out and made a stop at the thrift store - totally scores with some random finds that will be repurposed in my craft area. Off to dinner with my girls tonight for some much needed laughs and hanging out then I'll get back to work on my newest venture...knitting.

OMG

2012-01-17T17:20:00.001-08:00

A Blogger app for my iPhone? Why didn't I know this earlier? Seriously...we are back in business ladies and gentlemen...back.in.business.

12 Days of Baking!!

2011-12-15T08:56:00.000-08:00

Hoping to find a little Christmas spirit in daily baking this year. It may be the last year my youngest 'believes' and I am struggling to make sure the magic is in our home. So far it has been a lot of fun, I'm baking with my girlfriend so we get to see each other for 12 days straight!

That's Right.. V-Day 2011 & I'm Back!

2011-02-14T14:06:00.000-08:00

No time for explanations, let's just say I'm a busy girl (I'm holdin' on to calling myself a girl until I'm at least 50+, don't judge me!). So, anyway, it's Februray 2011 and I'm getting back on the blog bandwagon... how in the world will I ever make my blog book if I skip out for months at a time and let it disappear?! It's very possible I will do a huge re-cap post. It's very possible I will not. It is unclear as of yet.

I thought in honor of one of my fave days I'll do a list of things I heart....

I ♥ my man... Justin. There are not enough words to explain why... I just do with all my heart.

I ♥ my kiddos. They are awesome. Funny, adorable, witty, loving, sweet usually but feisty as well. I don't know how we did it but they are pretty great kids.

I ♥ my Cricut... so far it is used for school projects almost exclusively but I look forward to a day where I will actually use it for something around my house.

I ♥ my ipod full of crazy, eclectic music. Where else could you hear back to back old N

ew Kids, Eminem, Social D, The Rent Soundtrack and Johnny Cash?! Nowhere but my iPod I tell ya!

I ♥ my cell phone for giving me the freedom to go where-ever, when-ever and always be able to check my email, facebook as well as get all my calls and texts.

I ♥ DVR... O, it is sent down from heaven to save me from my chains to the television. It doesn't even matter that I have the entire season of Grey's Anatomy and Private Practice sitting on it and haven't watched one. The point is that when I am ready... they are there.

I ♥ Netflix and it's instant watch capability. How would I ever watch all the HBO and Showtime shows with out it?!

I ♥ brownie batter... even more than the brownies themselves. Baking is great... but the batter is the whole reason I'm there.

I ♥ my girlfriends. From the PTO moms to friends left behind in AZ to my girls I hang out with every day to long lost friends I chat with on facebook. What would I do with out this amazing network of friends who care and are funny and will always be down for a quiet night gossiping or night on the town!

I ♥ my long list of podcasts that I listen to literally every day. This American Life (Ira Glass can do no wrong!), Savage Love, NPR Fresh Air, The Adam Carolla Show, Stuff You Missed In History and a ton more but seriously love me some podcasts.

I ♥ making dinner for friends and family on a Sunday evening. I can't think of many things that are as relaxing and fun as this.

There are so many more things but if I'm making a best of list this is it for sure. Now to share Riley's AWESOME valentine cards this year...

Little boxes of sweethearts in a iPhone looking wrapper. Adorable-ness. You should see Riley pretending to flip through the apps!

The Owl Birthday Party

2010-11-04T07:18:00.001-07:00

Wow, I really didn't post pics of Kloe's awesome OWL birthday party??? How in the world did I forget - I remembered putting up the sign in my Cricut post so I guess I thought I had elaborated. Anyways - you gotta see this cuteness!

This party was a full-on collaboration of minds! Everyone pitched in to make it amazing.

More cricut goodness with the 'it's owl about you' tag on the pictured frame!

The gum paste owls and leaves were made days ahead of time by Carol, all I had to do was add them to the cake after I baked it!

The perfect sugar cookies, how could Nichole not pick these up? All the Owl themed stuff was perfect to work off of!

We covered a 'K' for Kloe and put together a tootsie pop topiary... get it... how many licks does it take???

Mini tissue paper pom-pom banner.

The branches with the owls?? C.U.T.E.

Don't even start me off on the OWL mini cake!! Our friend Katie, made this... like with her hands!! It was Kloe's personal cake to dig right into!

An owl pinata - LOVE it!

The little princess on her special day :)

Birthday Mom!

Birthday Sisters :)

Trick or Treat... Treats!

2010-11-01T18:53:00.000-07:00

Well at least class party treats! Just as I planned... Oreo Cookie Mummies!

Riley loved them and was so happy to pass them out at his party!

Voila, Trays in Use!

2010-10-21T07:51:00.000-07:00

How cute do those trays look in action?! This spread was for our teacher treat day - I made a few goodies and about 5 other PTO moms made some awesome treats too. We had fun setting up a cute little tablescape for the teachers & staff. They were so appreciative too.

Some Fancy Serving Trays

2010-09-28T19:47:00.000-07:00

In case you haven't seen these all over blog-land - this is my try at dollar store trays! I am working on a fun, cute teacher treat day for the school and thought it was the perfect excuse to make the trays I've seen on about a million blogs.

Start with a visit to the Dollar Tree and pick up an array of trays and candlesticks. Then pick up some spray paint primer and cute colors.

Primer first - hopefully this will help the color stick!

Then I went color crazy, I'm going for bright and cheerful. I also sprayed clear coat to help protect from scratches.

Then I stacked and re-stacked until I found the combination that I was looking for.

Voila! An awesome collection of co-ordinating trays for my treat day! I'm using them tomorrow so I'll snap pics of them in action ;) Now go make some for yourself!

Halloween Treats Anyone?

2010-09-28T06:57:00.000-07:00

Is it too early to start thinking about yummy Halloween goodies? I think not! My friend Diana agrees, and suggested I share some ideas here :)

Right off the bat, this year's top runner for classroom treats in my book:

Love this idea from How Does She? It's just oreo cookies covered in melts! I think it's a good follow up to last year's bats.

What about taking a page from Harry Potter and making some butter beer?

My Harry Potter fans will love this surprise after school one day! Find the recipe HERE.

How about some Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Spice Bars? Can we say YUM?

This recipe looks awesome!

I'm having a hard time getting into the 'season' this year. Usually I've already dug out my ton of fall decorations and have them all over the house by now.... just not on the ball this year. I considered doing only a mini decorating this year but that still requires digging out the decorations so once they are out shouldn't I just go for it? The topic is still up for discussion so we will see what I end up doing. Whenever I'm looking for a little holiday inspiration I usually hit the Family Fun website. Browsing through all the Halloween ideas might give me the kick in the butt I need. I'm doing lots of baking for the school this week so I will add another goodie post later!

Guess Who Got A Cricut?

2010-09-07T07:12:00.000-07:00

THIS GIRL!

O, how in the world have I lived without this? My awesome friends & family pitched in and got me a Cricut Expression for my *ugh* 34th Birthday last month. Two of my girls have one already and we used them for our big PTO door decorating project at the end of school last year. That's when I realized that yes, I probably needed one. Of course I just keep talking about it though! So their awesome idea has made me so happy and here is project #1:

A happy birthday sign for Ms. Kloe who turned 1 yesterday! O, the fun that we had making stuff for this owl themed party. So, let's see.... big owl, some letters, little owls, cute saying - perfect!

Wait! Gotta add a cute border!

O, of course I must stickle like crazy. (Seriously, like crazy, my hand was sore for days)

The glittery goodness of a birthday sign!!

In all it's glory at the party...paired up with my little felt owls that I made like 2 years ago, wow was I planning ahead or what?!!

Some PTO Projects

2010-09-07T06:50:00.000-07:00

So, I'm very involved with PTO at Riley's school... not news, I know. This summer we decided to remodel the teacher's lounge as a 'welcome back' gift for our hardworking teachers. I will do a full post on that soon, when all of our finishing touches are done and I get pics. But for now I wanted to share the canvas I made for the lounge.

We wanted to do a nice quote to hang on the entry wall, but on a small budget. I picked the quote: "Learning is a treasure that will follow it's owner everywhere." Don't you just love it? It makes me tear up :) So, I took a big canvas that was laying around my house waiting for inspiration and painted it a dark red color (This is the main wall color in the lounge). I could of cut out some vinyl letters but wanted something more swirly, I had a specific font in mind. It was a little trial and error but what I finally came up with is this:

1. Print your saying out in the size you want it on cheap, thin printer paper.

2. Cut up your words and get your placement right.

3. Now trace the words on the back of the paper with chalk.

4. Place the words back on the canvas and trace each letter on the front of the paper.

5. Voila! When you lift the paper you will see a pretty clear chalk outline of your quote in the specific font you've chosen!

6. I then painted my quote with one of the trim colors we used in the room so it would be all matchy-matchy.

This project only took about 2 hours start to finish (including dry time for the 1st coat). Pretty quick if you ask me! We have plans for 2 more canvases that I will tackle this week.

Also for PTO, I'm in charge of the teacher treats this year (can you think of a better position for me?!!) I made this huge bag of tiny Chinese takeout boxes to distribute. They say 'we are fortunate to have you as a teacher' and they are filled with fortune cookies.

We have about 90 teachers and staff that we like to pass out treats to and this project was perfect - quick and fun. I got the inspiration for the tag online but can't find the blog again! I'll look some more and post as soon as I find it.

It's That Time Of Year..

2010-08-09T18:50:00.000-07:00

Back to ....

Can you believe that the summer is almost over?! It has flown by. We didn't get to do half the stuff I was hoping this summer. My kids don't go to school for a few weeks but we are already in full swing of shopping.

...for supplies...and clothes...and all the other items a Sophomore and 2nd Grader need.

I've also been spending way too much time trying to come up with lunch ideas for the pickiest 7 year old ever - ugh! My PTO duties have already started. We've spent days at the school doing top secret projects and I have several little cute-sies made up for gifts. So, once school actually starts I can share!

A Cool Treat for Hot Days

2010-08-04T19:22:00.000-07:00

This is the quickest, easiest little treat and the kids love it... even the teenager kids!

Just get some vanilla ice cream and divide it up like above. Letting it get a little melty is good.

Get a helper to add some food coloring to the ice cream. If you have a super strong helper they can stir for you too - it might be more of an adult job though.

Assemble some containers to freeze ice cream in and some sticks.

Layer the ice cream colors in the cups and place in the freezer.

Voila! Rainbow ice cream pops :)

This was a fun activity for Riley and I to put together. Kolbi didn't want to help make them but she was sure willing to help eat them!

The Longest Post Ever

2010-07-18T19:24:00.000-07:00

That's because it has been forever since I've updated! What can I say, it's summer and I'm a busy lady. Lots of stuff to re-cap. Since pics uploaded in reverse I am explaining in revers too. One of my favorite little girls just had a birthday and I helped a little for her party. Like this super cute-sy banner. She is all about peace signs so the peace shape on my Slice machine was perfect! I also made itty, bitty peace signs to put on the cupcakes. So cute!

I also made birthday buttons with my Imaginisce I-top tool, they just came out with a button backer so I can do more than just custom brads - I gotta say, this thing R.O.C.K.S. How fun to make my own buttons?! Way cheaper than buying a button machine.

And here are two of my favorite girlies posing at Tori's party. (Tori on the right)

I've been making some hair clips too. They are so fun to put together and even more fun to shop for the pieces! I probably have a million things in my craft room that I can use but I just love to go looking for something new and inspiring.

A set all ready to give :)

Some bobby pin versions

Super cute button clips - these when to my Fogle girls, waiting for pics of them in action ;)

I just had to post this pic of me & my crazy friends. We decided that we couldn't let our hubbies think that Twilight's Edward and Jacob were the only boys in our hearts. We unveiled these on UFC fight night, the boys were like...um, what are you girls doing?!

And going back to the 4th of July...

Kolbi spent the 4th in California with her friend Savanna so it was a weird, family shot of 3 for us this holiday. We had a blast at the parade downtown and then an awesome BBQ hosted by friends.

Here's the kids posing on Justin's hot rod for the 4th :)

There's no way this post would be complete without a few shots of our Eclipse premier preparations! Yeah, that's the button maker in action again...

Since Team Edward is the only way to be in my opinion, the only other option I gave was Team Jakeward (for those who can't choose).

We made bottle cap necklaces with Edward's sparkling face. Also, dangled little Fimo apples and a silver leaf from the red velvet ribbon. I'm pretty sure our necklaces were the best in the theater!

Finally, 'you brought a snack?' care packages for the flick!

Now, what about Father's day??? We made a little 'our Dad is a Hero' care package for Justin with all his favorite snacks in it.

Then spent the weekend at car shows cause that's one of Justin's favorite things to do.

Not just looking at cars this year, the Hot Rod was IN the show!

My brother came to visit from Phoenix and we went rafting. This was my 3rd time out with Cascade Raft & Kayak, seriously, this is the fun-nest thing to do. I don't even like water that much but the river is just beautiful and it is a blast.

Here's our group shot after we got off the river.

And here is me & my long, lost brother in front of the McCall lake. He stayed with us for a week and it was awesome getting to know him :)

Check out Kolbi's blue hair! Nichole snapped this pic and it turned out awesome! Her hair is already back to blond because as cute as the blue was it did not hold it's bright-ness for long.

The LEGO Birthday Party

2010-06-21T06:45:00.001-07:00

I have to say that this might have been my favorite birthday party to prepare for. The LEGO theme is just so fun - primary, bright colors, fun crafts and a built in project - a recipe for success. The party turned out awesome. This first pic is just the set up (before anything got messed up! ha ha)

I did a ballon wreath that was so fun and turned out awesome. I got the directions from here.

My wreath was complimented by a welcome to the LEGO party sign that has the tiny-est banner hanging one it! I just love the little banner, it's a Maya Road set if anyone is interested. I am so lucky because my friend, Angel, sent me a huge box of LEGO party stuff to use and the contest sign came out of that box. So did the big LEGO Pinata - that was a hit and held a ton of candy. Riley's grandma, Carol, made the cake for us - the little LEGO guys are 'building' a 7. We had a make your own LEGO ring station, that was a hit! I ordered the ring bases from Artchix Studio and then ordered the little flat red pieces to glue to the top from Lego.com. Then we had a 'guess how many LEGO's' game, the answer was 377 ;). The most popular guess was 50 but the winning little girl, Tori, guessed 300 - good job Tori! I set up the table with mini water bottles covered with strips of LEGO paper that I bought from my work, collectedmemories.com. I also used that paper to make the little LEGO guy thank you's. Months ago, I let Riley 'design' a lego guy and we ordered enough pieces to make 30 of them. I turned these into the party favors. We ordered all the little guy parts from the pick-a-brick section of the Lego website. I put my cool old suitcase to use holding the favors. I ordered paper straws from etsy and built a little LEGO holder for them. Finally I put together a Happy Birthday Riley banner with the lego paper and some crepe paper. I also made some super easy LEGO banners that you can only see in some of the photo's below - just some squares, circles and a little ink on the edges - voila!

We had a great turn out for it being almost a month after school was out. The LEGO contest table was the most popular spot. I had the kids build creations and then gave out little certificates for what was most unique about each one. The boys & girls hung out at this table just building and building and building. The rings were a hit too - at one point Preston had a ring on every finger of both hands! It was so cute and I can't believe we didn't take a picture of it :( So it was just an awesome day - my Riley had a great 7th birthday and I'm so happy!

I have lots to post about, including an Oscar Mayer sponsored BBQ from this past weekend. But I do have a busy schedule the next few weeks. My brother is coming in to town this week so hopefully I get my other posts up first otherwise it will be a while!!

Take A Guess...

2010-06-08T17:23:00.000-07:00

...at what I'm up to...

It requires lots of cutting of squares and rectangles and punching out circles. It might look like a rainbow but if you look closely, it is pretty much just the primary colors.

This should give it away! Preparations for Riley's LEGO birthday party. The big day is this Saturday so I'm winding down all the crafting and getting in the mood to do actual decorating.

I 're-did' this old suitcase to match the theme...best $2 I ever spent!! (I don't really have to count the money I paid for fabric or ribbon, right?)

Now, this is a sneak peak for a little later...

I've got some plans for these ladies. Those plans include some of the favorite little girlies in my life :)

They Just Keep Growing Up

2010-05-27T21:05:00.000-07:00

It was the last day of school today. Riley will start the 2nd grade next year and Kolbi goes on to her Sophomore year. Wow. I have been so active in Riley's school this year and it was really sad to see it end. I was there pretty much all day today with treats, parties and a teacher luncheon. It was totally an emotional day - it caught me off guard because I've been counting down the days 'till summer! I think it was emotional for Riley too. This morning Riley told me he just wished he could see his librarian one more time because he will miss her and wants to give her another good bye hug. It got me all choked up. Then he told his teacher that he wished she could teach him 2nd grade next year. He's so dang sweet!

I was in the class delivering these, Lego cupcakes

and I was able to snap a pic of the last lesson.. :(

Here's the candy bouquet that we put together for Mrs. Tomlinson. All year I thought she didn't eat sugar because Riley TOLD me that she didn't eat sugar. Then I find out that she totally eats sugar. So we made up for not sending candy all year with this.

We went ahead and passed out Riley's birthday invitations today. His party isn't until June 12th but I figured this was a good chance to invite all of his friends from school. Angel sent me these invitations all printed up and ready to go - can we say AWESOME-EST FRIEND EVER?!

Last week we went to Boise for a Kolbi photo shoot. She is anti-school pictures so I found that I had a ton of Riley pics and none of Kolbi to send out to family and friends. We just went out and took our own. They came out so cute too!

It's hard to pick a favorite - these are my top 3. She took a ton of really great shots though and it was a fun day.

We also took several candids:

Riley thought he was in National Treasure - had us walking around, searching for 'clues'.

I even convinced them to take a pic....TOGETHER!

...and the cutest pic of Kolbi and Savanna :)

I Love This Stitching Project

2010-05-18T20:01:00.001-07:00

I am having so much fun stitching. I am by no means an expert, but I just figure it out as I go. I've gotten lots of inspiration from the other ladies who are doing this project too, over at the Counting My Blessings blog. I took these pics about 2 days ago and I already have 3 more squares done :) Kolbi decided not to do one, she said maybe next time. For now, she will just watch me.

This last one was not complete when I took pics but now it is! I'll update with more squares soon.

O, and check out the cool new cup I got at Starbucks! I love this thing - it's a re-useable cup that looks like their throw away cups! The littlest things make me soooo happy!

Appreciate A Teacher

2010-05-04T14:59:00.000-07:00

Do you know it's teacher appreciation week? I do :) We are keeping busy at my house with all the preparations for teacher thank you's.

We made signs for all the teacher's doors for first thing Monday morning. My PTO group is awesome, we are a small group but no project is too big for us! We have so much fun hanging out at coming up with crazy ideas together.

We gave all the teachers and staff a flower.

We rounded up a small army of teeny, tiny donkeys...

...and attached an invitation to the teacher fiesta lunch we are throwing tomorrow!

So fun!! We have more ideas for the rest of the week too :)

I Can't Even Find My To Do List...

2010-05-01T07:17:00.000-07:00

I just can't keep up with the days lately! It must be that end of the school year hurricane approaching. I have a million little projects that I was hoping to get done before school is out but that is not looking too probable right now. I've just got to get the list down somewhere so that I know it will be waiting for me when I am ready.

What I have been working on is lots of top secret Teacher Appreciation Week projects. I can share the one below because it is for a teacher in the next town over and chances are good that no one will see it who might squeal.

I probably shouldn't admit it but we put A.L.O.T. of thought in to that 3D cupcake. Tried several different ideas and ended up loving simple tissue paper (Betsy, you are a genious).

I've been working on helping out at the school too - cotton candy pictured above. I'm like a cotton candy expert now. It takes hours and hours to make hundreds of bags of this stuff and when you are done you are covered in sugar. This is how we are sending the kids at Riley's school on field trips this year though so a little sugar coating is worth it.

Alright, so back to my list:

Freezer paper stencils - have you seen this? I have plans for this one and it will be AWESOME!

Flower pins/headbands - 1st step is find that adorable blog that inspired me to do these...

Get to stitching - I'm already feeling behind but will get at least one square done this weekend!

Open that soldering kit I got for *Christmas* - seriously, how can I ask for something and then not touch it for months?!

Make a little, tiny, scrappy thing to go in this empty jar...

*I started putting my albums into my apothecary jars and I don't have anything small enough to fit through the little hole on this one :( *

Order some awesome stuff (maybe for Riley's Bday party) from Garnish - this could be my new favorite store.

Print some freakin' photos - I am so behind it is not even funny, we are talking hundreds and hundreds of photos.

Decorate my camera strap - Like these here. Maybe I just ask for one for Mother's Day?

Plant Magic Jelly Beans - this is just the cutest idea ever.

Make Bakerella's marcaron pops

I'm sure there is more swimming around in my head. I'm happy to start with these first.

Stitch-A-Long

2010-04-25T19:07:00.000-07:00

I'm gettin' my groove back. I read this blog all the time, I just love her style. A while back she started this stitching project and I followed along with it on this blog. I just love her stitch sampler - so adorable and I wished the whole time that I had done it too. Then I read that she's starting a new one! Oooooh I'm so psyched! I rounded up my supplies - had to run to Hobby Lobby to get a hoop - and got a jump start on the project! I've already stitched out my grid, each little square is going to represent one of my blessings. I've got lots of ideas, i'm going to keep it bright and colorful. Hopefully when it is done I will love it enough to frame and hang up. The best part is that Kolbi was watching me and wants to do one of her own right along with me. So it is now a mother & daughter project *yay*!

The Pancake Pen

2010-04-20T06:11:00.000-07:00

During some pre-Easter shopping I decided to get myself this pancake pen to add to my basket.

Everyone was like 'oh a pancake pen...' *yawn* But let me just tell you this thing is AWESOME!

I fit an entire batch of batter in the pen at 1 time. You can re-load it from the bottom so if I had made more I could have refilled with no mess. Then on Easter morning, I made adorable heart shaped pancakes in a snap.

I even busted out all of my artistic talent to create the pancakes below....

behold...Spongebob and Patrick! Riley was psyched :)

This Blog Has Been Interrupted...

2010-03-16T05:53:00.000-07:00

... by the school carnival. That's what all my focus has been on for weeks. Now that it is over I can take a breath and get caught up with everything else! A ton of stuff has gone on,

I made Riley's class some cupcakes for Dr. Seuss week - candy melt hats!

Then Riley had his first basketball game. I like this sport way better than football. I hope this is the one that sticks.

Preston had a birthday - he is 4! Can you believe it???

I got together with the PTO girls and we made hundreds of cupcakes for the Seuss week winners at the school. We used some awesome sugar crystal sprinkles that I know I will use on everything now!

We passed out books & characters to those winners too.
Riley played his second basketball game - it was more fun than the first!

And in the middle of all this mess we got a new puppy.

After much debate his name is Gilbert. At first Riley & I called him Bolt and Justin & Kolbi called him Millhouse. I had to put my foot down and insist we come up with a name we would all call him because it was getting confusing! I'm not sure how we came up with Gilbert but it was the one that stuck. The school carnival turned out awesome and I will be sure to post those pics soon!

It's Dr. Seuss Week!

2010-02-28T17:46:00.000-08:00

I just love Dr. Seuss and all things Seussian - so this is my fave time! Kolbi is kinda out growing it but at least Seuss Week is still a big deal at Riley's school. One of my PTO duties is to decorate a bulletin board. I've been kind of lax on it but thought I'd spiffy it up with some Seuss week decor. So I've been printing, cutting and drawing all weekend for my board re-do. Since I had all the stuff I decided to decorate our window tonight as a kick off to Seuss week.

Riley pitched in and rounded up all his Dr. Seuss books to decorate the ledge. Then we decided to make a Seuss dinner! I went for green spaghetti since I had promised Kolbi we would have spaghetti, her favorite, for dinner tonight.

How crazy is that?

Make no mistake, Riley would NOT eat anything green. He had a plain 'ol hotdog but he did look at our green spaghetti dinner and appreciate it.

A Little This...A Little That

2010-02-27T07:01:00.000-08:00

I decided it was time for my Valentine wreath to come down and my front door looked very lonely. So I made this burlap wreath that everyone in blog-land has been making. I got my idea from this blog but I've seen them on a ton of blogs so the inspiration is out there. I made a burlap banner too (so cute - thanks Tatertots & Jello) but I think I'm going to add a few more pieces to it before posting the pics.

Last weekend we were at the mall and I let Riley talk me into getting him one of those Zhu Zhu pets that are everywhere! I was buying jewelry for Kolbi at Claires and he was so bummed that there was nothing for him there until he saw those little hamsters. He did insist for about 10 minutes that they were guinea pigs until I pointed out where it said hamster on the box. Anyway, I have to admit they are kinda cute - and fake, so no pet mess!

Also last week, Justin took Kolbi to get her ears stretched. She actually didn't even have to go thru any pain since she wears big 'ol dang-ly earrings and her ears holes were already big. They just popped the bigger size in. She has been wanting this for a while though and was so excited!

Last but so not least, I shot this pic when I got back from CHA. They are showing off the chef hats and suckers that I brought back for them - but more importantly - they are hugging!

Happy Valentine's Day

2010-02-15T18:52:00.001-08:00

I hope everyone had a great Valentine day. It seemed like it lasted for two weeks at my house!

I made cupcakes and cookies and joined Riley's class for their party on Thursday. Then the kids had a 4 day weekend - whew!

Then Kolbi rounded up a bunch of her friends and they went to see Valentine's Day at the movies. That was Sunday so, I spent a large part of my day picking up and dropping off kids. I made them all pose for a pic outside of the theater.

I made these yummy brownie ice cream sandwiches for our special dessert and let me just say that they ARE yummy! I seriously could eat 10!

Finally, here's a few shots of Nichole, Chris, Justin & I on Saturday night. We went bowling and then out for ice cream after (I'm sensing an ice cream addiction here).

Several Weeks Later...

2010-02-15T18:51:00.001-08:00

Well, in case you thought I'd been abducted - I did come back from Anaheim! As usual, I take way too many pictures at CHA and come back wishing I could just lock myself in a room and scrapbook for days. But of course, no luck on that - it was back to the real world. I made a heart collage of my favorite CHA pictures below.

and it wouldn't be a trade show without getting my picture with TIM! :)

It's On...

2010-01-23T20:20:00.000-08:00

...the countdown to CHA that is! It's been a busy few weeks leading up to CHA trip. I leave Monday morning and still have a million things to do before then. I can't wait to visit with friends, see all the newest and most inspiring collections and buy some of it! I'm charging the camera extra long because I know it will get a work out this week.

Now, last week, I actually fit in a little crafting...

I made this cupcake wrapper wreath that I saw on Tatertots & Jello {one of my new favorite blogs}! Mine is not as full now that I look at hers better - maybe I'll add another package of cupcake wrappers!

I'll be doing a craft show in February {one that I am so not prepared for yet} and these little 'gift card holders' are the first things I put together for it. When I get back from CHA the craft show prep will be top priority because all I have made is these and one 'love' banner!

The most exciting thing that happened at my house this week was...

Riley lost his first tooth! I was wondering when it would finally happen. It had been loose for awhile and the other night he noticed that it was super loose. He asked me to cut up an apple so that he could eat it in hopes of making his tooth come out...and it did!

The tooth fairy left him one dollar!

Kolbi and Savanna had to make a scrapbook for an english assignment so I gave them free reign of a bunch of my stuff. Then I couldn't help my self, I had to snap a pic of them scrapbooking at the kitchen table..*sniff*sniff* that's my girl!

This is random but a couple of weeks ago I decorated up this cheesecake from Costco for a friend's husband. I made it look like his police patch. I'm posting it because it was such a quick, easy and pretty impressive cake idea. I used whipped cream icing so it just made the cheescake even more delicious!

And finally...

Happy 2010!

I know it's almost the end of January and I am barely putting up these New Year's Eve pics but hey, better late than never!

A Forgotten Post?!

2010-01-14T08:07:00.001-08:00

How in the world did I never post about Lilly's birthday party?! I have a post where I talk about it but never did I put up pics - bad, bad, aunt.

{technically great aunt *gasp* but we will go with aunt}

Here is Miss Lilly, sister to Miss Lexi from the Twilight party. Her party was in October and as you can see it was carnival themed.

I seriously have over 300 pictures from this party. The colors and kids were just perfect. I probably should of done that thing I do where I collage a bunch in Photoshop but, I am just too lazy for that today! I think these get the point across pretty well though. How cute is Lilly?

The Long Awaited Twilight Party

2010-01-10T09:08:00.001-08:00

Finally - I got to do a Twilight party! Miss Lexi is just in LoOoOoVE with Edward Cullen {I have no idea where she gets it from}! So for her 7th B-day her mom & I went all out with this Twilight B-day. I really got into this theme, of course, and did lots of cute little extras that made a big splash. Here's the progression in photos...

It starts with an idea and a little computer work.

Next thing ya know there are some invitations!

I made a quick trip to Target & Michaels to get some great Christmas clearance items for decorating!

Then the goodie cones... so cute with tinsel handles :)

The easiest cake I've ever made...

I got an edible image from the bakery and just added it to my own cake!

Of course, the guests of honor!

A wide shot of the fancy dinner party. Since this party was for mostly 7 year olds I went with a fancy dinner theme and left out some more 'vampire-ish' things that you might do for an older girl.

tissue paper pom-poms

I think Sandra Lee would be proud of my table-scape.

Lexi's face says it all...

a group shot with the 'stars'

there I am, serving the girls :)

At last, the cake, it was red velvet...of course!

Christmas Re-Cap

2010-01-03T09:54:00.000-08:00

I wish it was still December 20th and the whole Christmas break was ahead of me! Unfortunately time won't stop for me :( The kids go back to school tomorrow and my goal today is to get ready for that. We had such a great holiday with friends and family. We have spent lots of time just hanging out, playing video games and watching movies - my favorite way to spend a break. As usual, I took about a million pictures over the last two weeks. I thought I'd group them up to reminisce about the recent past. First we've got the pics of what our Elf was up to.

He arrived on the 15th and made a little mischief every night. On

e of my favorites was when he wrapped up stuff from our pantry and Riley had to unwrap them and realize the packages were our things not gifts! Followed by the tower of chairs and stools in the living room so that he could hang paper snowflakes from our ceiling fan. Riley's favorite was when he gift wrapped the front door {I thought for sure he was going to pick the game night with his build-a-bears}.

On Christmas Eve out little tradition has become having the Fogle's over so that the kids can open their one gift together. This year they all got pajamas - what a surprise! *wink*wink*

Moving on to the big day. Riley was up at 5am ready to get at those gifts! My rule is usually no waking up earlier than 5 so he was lucky. In the past, Kolbi has tried to wake up as early as 2am! This year Riley was first up and ran around waking everyone else. After the mess, we had a visit with the Johnston's and started getting dinner going. Around 3 the Floyd's and Fogle's showed up for dinner, visiting, playing {the Fogle's brought their new Wii!} and some more gifts.

Christmas Projects Update!

2009-12-27T15:54:00.000-08:00

Everything has been delivered and opened - now I can post the pics of all the gifts I made this year!

1 - little, tiny cupcake ornaments

2 - a cape for Preston, here it is in action

and this is what the back looks like (Super P!)

3 - an embellished cardigan for Kloe

with my attempt at matching socks (they looked better in my head)

4 & 5 - little plushy pals for Lexi & Lilly

with a little hand embroidery...

and buttons on yo-yos!

6 & 7 - a mom & daughter apron set for Betsy & Tori

Tori is modeling hers here - and I left in Dave's crazy face on purpose!

8 - an appliqued onesie for Elliot

9 - an awesome banner for Shelby!

it has LOTS of glitter!

and 10 - homemade sugar scrub :)

Holiday Baking

2009-12-24T09:37:00.000-08:00

I love to bake - especially this time of year. I will take any excuse to pass out goodies!

Nichole, Carol & I baked all day Tuesday so that we could put together boxes and plates for neighbors and friends.

We ended up with more than enough goodies to go around.

I made these chocolate chip, peanut butter cookies for Riley's class party. We put them together with some chocolate dipped pretzels and marshmallows then tied up the bag and added a Christmas pencil!

This is a stack of about 80 boxes that the PTO put together for teachers and staff at the school. Each box is filled with baked goods! We had lots of goodie donations so at least we didn't have to do all that baking alone!

And finally, my best purchase this month! I bought this from Amy Powers over at Opensky. It's something like 3600 yards of red & white bakery string. I LOVE it! I have already used it for a million different things. We tied our goodie boxes with it and I'm using it on all the gifts! I love, love, love this string!

I Just Can't Stand It

2009-12-21T19:34:00.000-08:00

I've been a busy little elf. Baking, sewing, crafting & so much more. But I just can't handle it anymore! I want to show what I've been up to!! Most of my goodies are going to blog readers so I haven't been sharing. So I decided that I can post just little tiny peeks at the goods. It will tide me over for now.

Christmas Time = Sugar, Sugar, Sugar

2009-12-21T06:30:00.001-08:00

O it just wouldn't be Christmas without a gingerbread house. Grandma & Riley tackled that earlier this month. He always wants to go candy heavy and she wants to make it look nice. They made a good compromise!

Then, Kolbi & her friend Matt wanted to try too. I offered no help - they were on their own.

They totally gave up & decided to eat it!

I thought i'd add some pictures of my tree getting decorated. We did this at the very beginning of the month. I love the tree this year, it's in a new place in the house and for the first time since we've been here it is right in front of the window. I just love that. Also, Kolbi & Riley were excellent tree decorators this year. They worked together and got all the ornaments placed very well & didn't fight!

Lewis, the helper.

The Train, An Elf & Some Treats

2009-12-16T20:29:00.000-08:00

The North Pole Express was fun. I thought it could of been a little fancier but the kids had an absolute blast and that's all that matters. We went to the 'North Pole' and Santa was pretty awesome - he even rode the train back with us so the kids got a little one on one with him. I had camera battery issues and only got a few pics but luckily, Nichole was there to save the day. These are the shots that I did get (and yes, I've already ordered a rechargeable battery for my new camera)!

The 'Elves' and carolers on the train were absolutely wonderful! Stories and songs and tons of fun.

Kolbi & I baked all evening yesterday. She was making goodies to pass out to her friends at school today - I just love that. We made caramel chocolate chip cookies and chocolate cupcakes with almond glaze.

I absolutely can't forget to mention... Minty arrived last night. As is his style, he brought books on his arrival. Wonder what kind of mischief he'll get into tonight?!

O It's Almost Time For Our Elf!

2009-12-12T15:09:00.000-08:00

This package arrived on the 1st!

It's from our Elf, Minty Tinsel Toes, you remember him from last year right?! Riley almost jumped out of his pants when he figured out who it was from. It was a set of advent calendars for Kolbi & Riley to count down the days until Minty arrives. Looks like we are in for some elf mischief starting on the 15th!

{check out her knowing smirk}

And the holiday festivities have totally begun. The night light parade has come and gone. It is full on snowing here and it feels like Christmas! I feel like the month is just slipping through my fingers but I'm trying hard not to let it. We are headed off to do the North Pole Express tonight and Riley will get to meet Santa at the North Pole! We've never been on a train ride so it should be exciting. Kolbi decided not to go -party pooper- so she is going to hang out with Grandma (after she gets off work). Ok, so finishing this post up with some shots from the parade :)

My camera battery died and Riley wouldn't pose for pics so I'm low on kid shots :(

A Milestone

2009-12-03T14:15:00.000-08:00

Kolbi is.... 15..... can you believe it???!!! I'm so sad, happy, worried, relieved, proud. It's too much, do you think it will be easier when Riley turns 15? I wonder, maybe it will be harder - o the horror, harder! I can't even think about it!

On to happier topics! We had an mini birthday party - mini decorations, mini hats, mini plates, mini cups, mini pizzas, mini marshmallows to dip in the {not mini} chocolate fountain. It was ADORABLE - if I do say so myself. The teens got a little out of control and made quite the mess but I think it's because Kolbi exudes a free spirit vibe and they think anything is a go, even chocolate all over the kitchen floor. It was messier than Lilly's 5 year old party! By the next day I had mopped my kitchen floor 3 times and it was finally starting to look better.

The Thankful Jar

2009-12-03T08:13:00.000-08:00

We got some great 'thankfulls' from our jar project at Thanksgiving....

Among many others, these are my favorites:

I am thankful for Kolbi's sense of humor - Melanie

I am thankful for having two of my brothers here to spend Thanksgiving with - Nichole

I am thankful for the New Moon CD - Robby

I am thankful for my patient wife - Justin

We are thankful that we could come to Idaho and visit family - Rhett, Charlotte & Bryce

I am thankful for everything - Lexi

I am thankful for Rhett - Riley

I am thankful for my dad - Preston

I am thankful for black Friday - Nichole (I second that!)

I am thankful for chicken mcnuggets - Kolbi

I am thankful for Melanie & Nichole always taking pictures - Charlotte (I am glad someone is!)

I am thankful for Kolbi & Riley - Lilly

I am thankful that Chris is always here to entertain us - Melanie

I am so glad that we did this project this year. I have hung the garland up in my kitchen and will bring it out year after year. We thought of funny ones and touching ones and this might be my favorite decoration :)

Tradition

2009-12-03T07:38:00.000-08:00

Thanksgiving with family. We were so lucky this year to have a full house for Thanksgiving. Rhett, Charlotte & Bryce came from North Dakota to visit. Add the Fogles' (of course) and that equals a fun and maybe a little rambunctious day! I got lots of candid shots of crazy faces and laughs - I love it.

Bryce - checking out the food

Lexi & Riley coloring on the placemats

Rhett & I being goofy

Even Kloe is making crazy faces!

Chris & Rhett - fighting over who gets the first piece of pie?!

Kolbi & Justin - father, daughter moment.

Kolbi & Robby - smiling for the camera!

It's never a problem to get Kolbi & Lexi to pose.

This is Riley's dinner - soo picky.

A shot of me working on the food.

Awww - Kloe & Kolbi

Some rough housing on the trampoline!

Kolbi's fancy dinner.

The best group shot I got!

Steve is wearing a bow tie for the occasion.

Thanksgiving Prep

2009-11-22T20:46:00.000-08:00

I got one thing accomplished in preparation for Thanksgiving...

The thankful jar. We've never done this so I am so excited to start the tradition this year. We will have a nice group over to our house on Thanksgiving and I plan on having all our most thankful for items written down on the little pieces of paper in the jar. THEN, after Thanksgiving is over I'm going to make them a paper chain for my tree!! :)

Updated to add: I finally figured out what blog I got this idea from! I had to search thru my bookmarks but found it on Little Birdie Secrets. It's an awesome blog, you should check it out.

"You Are My Life Now"

2009-11-22T20:29:00.000-08:00

...words from Twilight - feels like it after this weekend! In case you don't know, New Moon came out this weekend. Long awaited and the release consumed most of my weekend (ok, maybe even most of my week). Nichole and I were one of the crazies that went to the Thursday midnight opening. We went with a huge group of fellow Edward lovers - there was about 30 of us. It was a crazy, fun night and I got more than a few embarrassing shots!

Then I babysat for the Fogle kids while the Fogle parents had a date night (to see what else, New Moon, of course). Lexi is totally in love with Edward so I brought my copy of Twilight and some New Moon crowns from Burger King. I was definitely a favorite that night. After we watched the movie she drew pics of Edward and Bella all night long!

Some Wise Words

2009-11-17T13:06:00.000-08:00

Time Flies

2009-11-13T14:21:00.000-08:00

It's getting to be that crazy busy time of year. I'm taking a moment to figure out where November has gone.

I spent an afternoon hanging out with my friend Betsy making pinwheels - fun times.

We went to a roller skating Birthday party. Savanna helped Riley do his skating and Kolbi helped Savanna's sister, Kaitlyn skate!

Last weekend Riley decided he wanted to organize his legos. Holy cow, what a job that was! By the end of the day (and lots of help from Dad, Kolbi & Savanna) they were all organized by color in separate boxes!

We had parent teacher conferences and since Riley is doing well I picked him up a new book at the school book fair. Here he is reading on the trampoline...

and reading while feeding baby Kloe!

And here are the other Fogles keeping busy with a craft.

Then randomly the other day Riley wanted his mohawk put up in spikes - so cute!

My list of things to do gets longer everyday, Kolbi's birthday will be soon but before that we have to tackle Black Friday and Thanksgiving. Nichole's birthday land's on BF this year - we are so looking forward to that. Then Christmas and then Lexi's birthday, which we just decided should be Twilight themed. O that reminds me - NEW MOON on the 20th *YAY* Nichole and I have already bought our tickets! So I predict lots of party posts and pictures, as always.

We Survived Halloween - LOOONG Post

2009-11-02T05:33:00.000-08:00

Well, I sure am glad that week is over! I do love Halloween and school treats and getting the kids dressed up but it was such a busy week. There has been no time to re-cap so here goes. On Saturday we headed out to Linder Farms which is our favorite pumpkin patch.

Then Tuesday we held our annual pumpkin carving night. It was a little thrown together but the turn out was great and I think the pumpkins came out awesome!

Right into the party rush - baking and crafting and voila!

Now, we did host a birthday party for Lilly at our house on SaturDAY but this post is about Halloween only so right on to Saturday NIGHT - lots of trick or treating and candy! Kolbi went with her friends only this year so I didn't get very many pictures of her :( I'm making a note for next year to follow the teenagers around with a camera.

Kolbi is a rockstar and Riley is Snake Eyes from GI Joe

My little trick or treater, always sure to be at the front of the pack.

The group of us, Fogles, Johnstons, Bakes & Farrells!

The candy haul.

Some Picture Taking

2009-10-28T20:36:00.000-07:00

Last Saturday I met a friend a the college to take some family photos for her. Kolbi had her first photography class assignment so she came too. The college campus is a beautiful place for pictures, Nichole met us there with Kloe since I had the camera out! You should of seen us, we were like Kloe's own paparazzi. I do think I got some good shots though, especially if I photoshop them a little and make some black and white. Here are just a few...

All Things Fall

2009-10-28T16:46:00.001-07:00

I just love this time of year. I love the decorations, the chill in the air and the baking. Not much makes me as happy as pulling out the Halloween and Fall decorations. I look forward to carving pumpkins for weeks. Everyday I have a new idea of some sort of fall baking that should be done. I just look around the house at all the spooky decor and a smile spreads across my face. These things really do make me happy.

We ♥ The 80's

2009-10-25T21:21:00.000-07:00

Kolbi's friend just had an 80's themed birthday party - super fun! The girls were so cute all decked out in neon and mall hair. I helped out by making the huge chocolate chip cookie. They wanted it to look like a record and it made me think. I remembered seeing those bowls that people made from records. So of course, it was all I needed to run to the thrift store and pick up some records. I gave it a try and it was so fun! We created a record cake plate and a ton of bowls.

The tools are simple... records, an oven, some bowls and a cookie sheet.

Put it in the oven just like this at about 200 degrees for 10 - 20 mins.

Then you can do all sorts of crazy things to it! I just formed some simple bowls out of most of them but also used a cake pan to make the cake plates.

The table looked so festive...

and so did the girls!

They played Twister, Rubix Cube challenge and M A S H. Then they all watched Sixteen Candles. Finishing of with some 80's Singstar. Oh to be young again!!

What We've Been Making...

2009-10-25T20:52:00.000-07:00

An itsy, bitsy cemetery...

This is my only new decoration for Halloween this year. I definitely have enough decor up but I just couldn't help myself when it came to making a tiny cemetery scene on this cool gothic cake plate that my sister gave me for my birthday.

Riley and I finally made his homework station. I saw this in a Family Fun magazine a few months back and we've had it on our list to make since then.

I collected all the stuff for it, like pencil bags and calculators when the stores were clearing out the school supplies so I got some great deals. Then we took a display board and added an extra crease to each side so that when it folds up it will accommodate all the extra things hanging from it. Riley chose the teal color and helped paint it then all that was left was putting it together which was the easiest part.

Most of the items velcro on and off so that they are easy to access. We also added some clothes pins to hold his class folder.

He sets it up everyday to do his homework and it helps keep his focus!

CHS Homecoming

2009-10-19T21:52:00.000-07:00

Homecoming is a big deal here, even the elementary schools get excited about the high school game. This is the first time we've experienced the excitement... we were emersed in it actually. With Kolbi being a freshman this year and Riley in 1st grade and really excited about any parade! The high school parade route goes through town and by all the little kids so that they can join the fun. A few pics at the parade...

Check out Riley holding up his cougar paw (all the way on the left)! So cute!!

And then, the homecoming dance... duh duh duh! Kolbi's 1st high school dance... WOW

We called in Nichole for some hair and makeup reinforcements.

She looks just like a princess.

The girls all done up and ready to go :)

2009-10-19T21:33:00.000-07:00

Grandma Barnes passed away earlier this month. We drove to Phoenix for her funeral and visited with the Barnes side of the family and Grandpa. Merry was my husband's Grandma on his Mother's side, she and Grandpa were married for 64 years. It was very touching to hear Grandpa tell the story of how they met in the military and eventually married and started their family. I have been married for 13 years and most everyone I know considers that a long time, it touches my heart to hear how much Grandpa loved Grandma even after all those years. Love really does just grow stronger sometimes and they are a good example of that. We will miss Grandma Barnes.

It has been hard for me to get to this post. I kept putting it off and today I realized that, yes, it is hard to write about losing someone but still, it needs to be done. I feel better now since there has been so many things I've wanted to blog about but just couldn't because I knew that this post had to come first.

Tied Tutu Tutorial

2009-10-01T20:48:00.001-07:00

By request - here is how you make a tied tutu. Perfect for your favorite little girl.

Get some tulle and elastic. For 6 year old little girls 12 yards is perfect (we did 6 purple and 6 black for Lexi's halloween costume). I know from experience that 14 year old little girls need about 18 yards.

A rotary cutter and mat are not necessary but sure are helpful. I have cut the strips with scissors only and it's not the end of the world but if you can get your hands on these tools it is worth it.

Cut the tule into 5 inch thick strips. You will need to decide on the length. For longer tutu's just cut strips don't cut the width of the fabric down.

The only sewing is to attach the elastic to itself.

Now just tie your tulle strips to the band. Alternate the colors or just use one color. This takes about 2 hours and is very static-y. I suggest having a few dryer sheets on hand to tame the static.

The finished product. A supper fluffy tutu.

Here's Tori modeling hers! I forgot to snap of pic of Lexi's on her but this is the same process just done a day later :)

Hope it was explained well enough - feel free to ask questions!

Filling Time with Cupcakes, Crafts and Visitors

2009-09-26T15:45:00.000-07:00

Things are starting to settle around here. My sister and niece form North Dakota came to visit and see new baby Kloe. Then my nephew's wife, Charlotte and not-so-baby Bryce came in too. It was a busy two weeks and I'm so sad that I didn't take more pictures.

Shelby, Charlotte and Kloe

Here's Bryce exploring my kitchen floor! We hadn't seen him since he was so little and can't believe how much he's grown already.

I made some 'race track' cupcakes for my friend Aimee and they turned out so cute. Anyone planning a hot wheels party??!!

I volunteered to be the PTO vice president for Riley's school - my first job? Decorate the bulletin board, right up my ally! *Welcome banner totally just a version of the one I made for Kloe's baby shower!

Another PTO project! Treats to pass out at the parent night.

So *whew* there's a lot on my plate. Work, kids, PTO, cleaning, cooking, husband, friends oh, and I wanted to work on getting my recent pictures scrapbooked! I'll be sure to share how on earth I'm going to do it all :)

I HAVE To Start Watching Glee

2009-09-25T13:12:00.000-07:00

This is pretty much awesome, admit it, you danced a little.

We Are All About Football

2009-09-21T16:12:00.000-07:00

No one has ever heard that come out of my mouth before. We are turning over a new leaf... on Tuesday we watch football, on Thursday we watch football and on Saturday we cheer on our favorite team at a football game. Ok, so it's Riley and his flag football team. We haven't gone completely sporty over here! This is our first sport since Kolbi tried out Soccer when she was little so it has been a while since I've sat at practices and attended Saturday games. But my game face is on and I am working on remembering the 'football terms' that are so foreign to me.

Lexi & Riley are on the same team - she is the only girl!

We are so glad Chris is assistant coaching!

I love this shot - I think Lexi is saying 'you think you can take me?!'

Here's a collage of some game shots. They tied their first game and we were so surprised at how they all picked up the game so fast! The teams are all 1st and 2nd graders so for most of the kids this is their first year in football. I'm sure I'll have many more photos to share!

I've Been Put In My Place

2009-09-21T15:33:00.001-07:00

pics taken 8/30/09

See this picture? Of this cute and sweet little boy? So proud of his GI Joe shirt that matches his GI Joe backpack that he even posed for a photo?! That is how the morning this picture was taken started. It was great - he was happy, I was happy - everyone happy. Well, 4:00 rolls around and I'm waiting to see his bus pull up so I can walk out to meet him. Now, I am not waiting at the bus stop like I did last year because I know that he told me I don't need to do that anymore. But as I see him walking I start walking to meet him...I say hi...I say how was your day...he says nothing. Finally I go dude - what is wrong? Riley's reply:

'Stay in the house. I am a big kid now and you don't need to meet me at the bus. I can walk home all by myself. You need to just stay in the house.'

Now I just watch him head home from inside.

How I Spent My Saturday

2009-09-06T20:36:00.001-07:00

Finishing a long overdue project. That's how it began anyway...

I started this blanket a few months ago in hopes of giving it to Nichole at her baby shower. That didn't happen though. It sat, literally, half finished for about two months. Saturday morning I decided I'd finish it.

I just love this chenille fabric, it so soft and perfect for a baby girl.

And I finished it! *Whew*

About ten minutes after I finished the blanket and toy I got a text from Nichole...

Was

Time!!!

I rounded up Kolbi and headed to their house. I decided to wait to be sure that they were admitted before running in with my camera in hand. A few hours later they were in and I was on my way!

Eventually, we welcomed....

Baby Kloe, born at 1:21am (so technically Sunday but whatever) weighing in at 7lbs 10oz and 100% ADORABLE.

Happy mom & dad :)

And happy me because I was there and got to soak up some of that new baby goodness.

Riley's First Day of School

2009-09-03T07:21:00.001-07:00

Riley started 1st grade this year which means... ALL. DAY. SCHOOL. I am torn, on one had, what in the world will I do with all this extra alone time?!! (I love me some alone time) On the other hand is he really ready to be in school all day long? What if he needs something and there is no one following him around asking him if he needs something?!!! (it's only kind of a joke)

So anyway - this is the beginning of 1st grade...

Waffles to start the day, it's one of his favorite breakfasts.

Once again, he insisted on taking the bus on the first day so here we are waiting for the bus.

So excited to see his driver from last year.

So then I drove to the school to take more pics. I had a freak out moment because he wasn't on the playgroud anywhere and the kids were all lined up already. I started walking around and finally found him heading towards his classroom coming from the opposite school entrance. That is why I drove to the school even though he took the bus in!

Already asking his teacher a question.

His own locker!

Getting ready to start his day.

Here he is on the way home, a little tired but happy.

Showing off his super cool hat he colored.

Totally exhausted and ready to watch some cartoons. He said it was fun but wanted to take a break and watch his shows now.

Kolbi's First Day Of School

2009-09-03T07:11:00.001-07:00

Let me start out with - Kolbi is 14 now and not too excited to pose for first day of school pictures. This year she started High School... wow. Anyway I'm splitting the post for first day so that the difference between a freshman and a first grader is even more painfully obvious.

I say - your outfit is so cute, stand here so I can get a picture! She says - no, it's way too early for pictures. And so I get a grumpy face pic.

I try again - do a pose or something so I can get a better picture. She says - whatever.

cut to after school - can't get those shoes off quick enough

and... right onto the computer - welcome to the life of a teenager.

The Baby Shower Post

2009-09-02T15:27:00.000-07:00

I put a lot of work into the shower for Baby Kloe. There was some major worrying about Kloe getting here BEFORE the party, but *whew* that did not happen. I learned my lesson about planning a shower at least 1 FULL month before the due date! Anyway, I made some great decorations that I will for sure make at future parties. Here's the party in pictures...

mama of the day - Nichole

the banner (that will hang in the baby's room)

the spread

of course, pink, fuzzy punch

paper cupcakes

a little pre-party visit from the dad (he's totally stealing a croissant!)

He was there because I forgot to print one of the games & he came to the rescue with my laptop (pink to match the party of course - lol)

these tissue paper balls made the party & were easy to make

pinwheel favors for the guests.

I just love an excuse for a pink party - too bad we don't have another expectant mom in our group! Most of my decorations were made with Cosmo Cricket Scrapbook Paper and I found the templates and tutorials for almost everything online.

Like the pinwheels here and baby shoes here

I'm A Year Older

2009-08-24T16:53:00.000-07:00

We celebrated my Birthday (29, of course) last night. It was a fun day of being lazy and playing video games followed by a yummy dinner with family & friends.

I was spoiled by the good company and good food. I feel like a lucky girl.

A Sneak Peek

2009-08-24T16:38:00.000-07:00

I'm planning a baby shower.

*squeeeeel*

It's for Nichole and the soon to join us baby Kloe - yep, it's a girl baby shower!

*squeeeeel*

This is what has been keeping me away from the computer. I spend my evenings and free time fiddling with paper in preparation for the shower. Here are a few sneak peek shots of the shenanigans I'm up to...

The party is this Saturday so better pics will be here soon!

Cupcakes & Cars

2009-08-24T16:10:00.000-07:00

Huge, rainbow colored cupcakes that is. Last week was Kolbi's friends birthday and we put together this super sized cupcake cake for her. Of course, it was rainbow with some sugar sprinkles on top - turned out cute! Not sure how it tasted though because they didn't save me a piece!

And on the Hot Rod front...

Check it out, it's like a real vehicle now. I tried to find a before pic to post but we've had the Hot Rod for so long that the coming home pics are not on this computer! I will see what I can dig up for a full Hot Rod story at some point. Anyway, it drives now. Even has a license plate! Here is Kolbi & her friend trying to look cool in the back.

And here is Riley trying to push it up the driveway. There was a little 'accident' that involved running out of gas and it had to be pushed home. All I did was snap a few pics - no pushing cars for me!

F This I'm Outta Here!

2009-08-08T07:45:00.000-07:00

...followed by flipping a table full of glassware over and me storming out of the house. Ha Ha Ha Ha - it's from an old Saturday Night Live skit - does anyone but me remember it? It's one of my favorites and in any situation I'm probably thinking of doing that in my head and cracking myself up. So anyway, I am outta here just not in a mad way. I'm headed to LA for a scrapbook show.

I'm frantically trying to pack and make sure I don't forget anything. Don't worry I plan on visiting lost of scrapbook stores (totally work related, right?!) and of course,

Johnny Cupcakes.

I was totally looking forward to going to the Flower Market but turns out it is not open on Sundays :( Oh well, I'll save that for another time. I've been busy working and sneaking in some grocery deals with Nichole - my coupon mentor. We hit Albertson's the other day and I just have to show off the crazy amount of stuff I got for $47.

(ya - that's totally 36 jars of Ragu, 15 boxes of cereal, 19 Rice Sides, 4 packs of IBC, 3 Skippy, 12 boxes of Qtips, 4 1/2 gallons of Breyers,

2 boxes of Klondikes - we ate 1 before the pic, 2 jugs of ALL and 1 gallon of milk)

Ok - so I am OUTTA HERE!

Gettin' My Rock On

2009-07-28T18:34:00.001-07:00

The other thing that's been taking up a lot of time at our house...

We are totally addicted to Rock Band. Justin played it at his friends house a few months ago and promised us we would love it. We've had it for a few weeks now and yeah, we kinda rock it. I'm always the one grabbing the camera and snapping pics so there is none of me jammin' on the guitar to share. This is so the way we like to spend our evenings now!!

Gettin' My Scrap On

2009-07-28T18:24:00.000-07:00

So, Aimee, at Scrapadoodles has requested a one page layout about me for her design wall. I've been putting it off for weeks but she finally made me get it going. I was inspired by the paper flower tutorial on the Cosmo Cricket blog. You might have to scroll down a bit but it's there, in a two part series and it's awesome! I watched the video last week and have been making paper flowers in my head for days. Since the layout Aimee needed would not be in a book I was able to make it super 3D! Anyway, enough blah blah blah.. check it out:

and a close up on the flowers...

They got even cuter when I added my favorite diamond stickles to them!

The Coolest Wedding Video Ever

2009-07-24T10:34:00.000-07:00

Busy Days

2009-07-19T17:25:00.000-07:00

Ever since the Fogles came back from North Dakota it's been busy around here. Riley did some catching up with Lexi (see above) and we did some catching up with the whole crew because we sure missed them! We checked out the fountain down town and let the kids get soaked, played at the park, shopping in Boise, lunches and visiting our the house - whew! It's been a thousand miles a minute. I think we might be getting back to our normal schedules now though - I even got some sewing done today (can't tell you what though because it's a gift). So normal schedules mean time for posting so I won't be a stranger! Oh - in case you haven't yet, check out my latest completed scrap project that I posted on my work blog.

Moving On Now

2009-07-09T18:54:00.001-07:00

I made one last effort to get that video uploaded and still no luck so that's it, I'm done.

We had a great 4th of July this year...

It started off with the parade - the kids had a blast and we drank some pink lemonade from Kolbi's friend.

Then on our way to Jump Creek...

I'm sparing you the pics of us all bathing suited out.

Then back to our house for some festivities...

Cupcakes, cracker jacks and singstar - perfect!

Can't forget the fireworks! For this we moved our party next door.

This is the final shot before we all climbed on the neighbor's roof to watch some fireworks. (All but Kolbi & Carol that is!)

:(

2009-07-06T11:21:00.000-07:00

I don't blog anymore...

I just log onto Blogger and try to upload this one video I have of Riley dancing to Michael Jackson's BAD. It is a great video and I really want to get it on here. I've been trying for a week now and still it will not upload. I've made it smaller, taller, backwards and upside down. NOTHING is working :( All my other posts and pics have been put on hold because I just don't know why this video won't upload!!! If anyone has any input I would appreciate it. Otherwise I'm sure eventually I will have to move on... but I don't want to.

I Am Lucky

2009-07-01T18:20:00.000-07:00

I just finished reading this book...

I don't think that the main idea of this movie is a secret. The daughter is sick, very sick. This book was amazing. I picked it up and couldn't put it down, I laughed, I cried and was taken aback by the ending. I also can't help but put myself in the shoes of a mom who has a sick child. I know that I can't actually know what it's like but I can have a small idea and this is what makes me realize that I am so lucky. Whatever issues or troubles we may have day to day, my children are healthy. They are here and I can laugh with them, talk to them and go places with them. Nothing is better than that.

I love those faces.

Retail Therapy

2009-06-24T18:09:00.000-07:00

Just a little retail therapy, I promise. These are my goods from a little scrap shop tour I took last week. I am inspired by the paper in the top right corner, I took some pics of Riley gardening with Grandma the other day that will look so cute on those papers. Of course I couldn't leave a store without a piece of cupcake paper that I don't have already! In the bottom right corner is a little treat I bought with Nichole in mind. It's a little wax seal that says 'baby' - maybe for announcements or baby shower invites! Yay, yay, scrapbook stuff!

Happy Father's Day

2009-06-21T08:12:00.000-07:00

We made these for Justin's Father's Day surprise! We gave them to him yesterday because we didn't want him to eat them for breakfast! ha ha. The minute Justin walked in the door riley was like 'look dad - they are not real hamburgers'. I got this plan from one of my FAVORITE blogs - Bakerella. It was super easy and anyone can make these! Betsy & I decided we should make them for all occasions, Happy Birthday, BBQ and Riley's suggestion: Happy Tuesday.

It's That Time Again

2009-06-18T13:36:00.000-07:00

Cherry season!!!! I wait for this time...stalk the produce section...drive by the fruit stands, all hoping for the day when I can load up on fresh cherries! So run to your stores or farmer's markets and buy a couple of pounds of cherries. You can freeze them, can them or just eat them all right now! (That's probably what I'll do)

One More

2009-06-18T13:13:00.000-07:00

This is the last post about Riley's birthday! I'm glad his 3 week birthday is over now. Although, next up is Father's Day and Justin's birthday so the festivities are not over yet. Check out Riley's home-made wolverine tattoo's on his arm. I bought these print your own temporary tattoo sheets and I just ran them through the printer. They are not quite the same though, so be warned. They end up being more like a super thin clear sticker. Also, good idea Angel, of the claws coming out of the cake, u rock!

My Birthday Boy

2009-06-12T20:28:00.000-07:00

Riley is 6 today. We have his party planned for tomorrow but I can't just let his special day pass without any fun. So we spent the day at the mall. He invited his buddy (and neighbor) to come along and do some Build-A-Bear, Disney Store, Toys R Us and candy shopping. It was a fun day but now I am exhausted! I'm baking a cake tonight and then off to bed so I can wake up early and get ready for a party.

the frog named Tadpole

taking a break at the mall with their new friends

Early Birthday

2009-06-06T15:02:00.000-07:00

Riley's birthday is not until the 12th but since the Fogle's were headed out of town he lucked out with some early gifts. They came over and we had some cupcakes and home-made ice cream - yum. The kids played on the trampoline and then Riley tore opened his gifts.

Thanks Fogles!

Photo Booth Friday

2009-06-05T14:28:00.000-07:00

Just What I Need

2009-06-01T18:20:00.000-07:00

Like I don't have enough to do right now. The kids are home and need lots of entertaining, work is always calling my name and there are a million summer projects to be done around the house. All I can do though, is look at my newest obsession...

miniatures

...like dollhouses, tiny food, ensy flowers, little bitty bath robes and so much more. I've been combing Etsy and Ebay and Google-ing all sorts of mini related phrases. I've got grand plans and schemes forming. I stumbled across this pic on Ebay...

and instantly decided that I could create a mini world for mini Edward! Who's with me on this one? I've got some cool gothic style scrapbook paper that would make some fancy walls for Edward's bedroom. Hmmm, wonder what Edward thinks...

Ok, back to the real world. For now I'll settle with a folder full of mini ideas on my laptop.

Growing Up

2009-05-27T18:42:00.000-07:00

It's that time of year, the end of school. Today was Riley's Kindergarten graduation and tomorrow is Kolbi's last day of 8th grade.

We have a little boy who is so proud of himself today. When he started kindergarten last year he was a little afraid, unsure if he would like it. He's grown up so much now. There was a great ceremony at the school. The kids sang songs and did dances it was so sweet. Next year he starts first grade and can't wait. In a few weeks we will have his 6th birthday and he is convinced he is a big kid now. No more little boy :(

Now here is my Kolbi. Going on to HIGH SCHOOL next year! All of my readers that have been around since she was little, can you believe it?! Check out her blue hair - after her last day at school tomorrow she wants to dye the whole thing blue. How is it that both of my kids are growing up and I just have to watch it? It's not very fair.

Here is the cake and cupcakes that I made for the kindergarten graduation party we had today. We had a great get together with the Fogles, Johnstons & Bakes because we all had little graduates today. We ate pizza in the backyard and the kids had a blast with two slip n slides.

And finally, happy birthday to Chris. We focused on the kids today but I did put together a UFC cake for Chris' birthday, he & Nichole celebrated with a movie while Kolbi babysat.

As exciting as the week was I am glad that it is over. It has been a busy two weeks for me. Lots of work stuff going on to keep me busy and then the graduation complete with the baking and decorating of 2 cakes and 18 cupcakes. Looking forward to a plain old work day tomorrow.

Scrapalicous

2009-05-21T18:05:00.000-07:00

Finally - this is what I did on my retreat. I had put these layouts back in sheet protectors so it took me a while to get them out and snap pics of them. I learned my lesson though - next time pics will be taken BEFORE I put the pages in protectors. Anyway, most of these were layout kits I had bought from Scrapadoodles and never completed so they went together quickly. Some were my own though ;)

I ♥ Cupcakes

2009-05-18T08:53:00.000-07:00

Hello my name is Melanie...

and I've got a problem...

I can't stop making these little cupcakes!

The total is up to about 30 now - the possibilities are endless. Rainbow sprinkles, silver sprinkles, twist, vanilla, strawberry...

All the little girls I know are getting these:

coming soon:

Why Oh Why

2009-05-15T22:08:00.000-07:00

Isn't Michaels open 24 hours?!! I have all these little tiny cupcakes and just need some red Fimo so I can make little tiny cherries for the tops! Now I will have to wait until tomorrow :( But in the mean time check them out...

Riley had to get in on it and help me a little.

One day I'm going to have a really nice camera that takes really great close up shots and then what will you do?!

Here they are, my army of cherry-less cupcakes. As you can see I improvised on a few by adding a pink bead to the top but I'm pretty traditional and want most of them to sport red cherries.

Ready, Set, Go!

2009-05-15T19:23:00.000-07:00

This is a seriously cute alert... like get your hands ready to put up to your cheeks and go OOOOH!

Go to your Google page and type in FIMO CUPCAKES. Now press the Images link. O. M. G. can you even stand it??? I've had several packages of Fimo laying around for about two months now that are destined to be cupcakes. I thought tonight might be the night so I did this Google search to get me in the mood.

Totally did the trick - I'm off to cupcake lane!

Drum Roll Please

2009-05-13T18:24:00.001-07:00

If I could figure out how to type a drum roll sound I would do it right here...

We finally got good family photos. Justin set it up for my Mother's Day gift. He had Betsy (our neighbor), who is quite the photographer all lined up to take our pics. He even had stern discussions with the kids about behaving and smiling. Notice that even HE smiled! Holy crap! I couldn't be happier with how they turned out, what do you think?

On Saturday We...

2009-05-11T16:42:00.001-07:00

Raced for the Cure...ok, we walked. We did the 5k Susan G. Komen race on Saturday and it was great. I've never done one and am so glad that my neighbor invited me to join her for this. It was really amazing and emotional. The sunglasses were a must because I teared up several times. Boise had 15,000 people show up to say F cancer and it was fun. I'm marking my calendar for next year already.

Coming soon... Family Photos!

Happy Mother's Day

2009-05-10T15:37:00.000-07:00

It's Lookin' Like a Super Colorful Week

2009-05-07T17:37:00.001-07:00

Do you know that it's Teacher Appreciation Week? Well, I forgot until yesterday! So in my typical last minute fashion I whipped together little paint can treat buckets for Riley's teachers (he has 3!). Of course I had to buy some of the new Basic Grey Lime Rickey paper to inspire me ;). This is how they came out, a little ink, cute paper, ribbon and sparkly flowers - I'll fill them with some yummy chocolates and they will be ready for Riley to pass out tomorrow. I asked Kolbi if she wanted me to throw something together for her teachers but that must not be cool at 14 because she said no.

they say U R Tweet - lol

It was a little rainy yesterday evening and when it stopped there was a beautiful rainbow! Kolbi ran out to take a pic with her cell phone and I sent Riley after her with the real camera. These are pics that he shot of the rainbow. He did a pretty good job!

My Little Piece Of Scrapbook Paradise

2009-05-05T19:14:00.000-07:00

Well we started the weekend off by loading up way too much stuff in my van! This is what it takes to support 3 women and their habit for 4 days.

It was only an hour and a half away so we got there pretty quick.

So surprised by how beautiful it is up in the mountains. We rented this cabin and it had a great little basement totally perfect for all of our scrapping!

It was a little rainy so there were no problems with staying in our pj's and scrapping all day! We did make it out for a walk and even saw an elk.

There was a little craziness going on!

Some lounging...

and a lot of creating! I still have all my stuff in a pile in the scrap room so I'll have to post my pics on that later. It was great, we had a blast and I wish I could do it every weekend :)

This One's For Sandy...

2009-04-30T07:09:00.000-07:00

This is a go to dinner for us. Carol will bake up the focaccia and then usually cook a pork loin to slice up and make yummy sandwiches. We had it last night and I thought I'd share. I especially know that my sister will make it for her catering and it will be a hit!

Carol's Yummy Focaccia Bread

1 t. white sugar

1 pkg. active dry yeast

1/3 C. warm water (110 degrees)

2 C. all-purpose flour

2 T. olive oil

1/2 t. salt

In a small bowl, dissolve sugar and yeast in warm water. Let stand until creamy, about 10 min.

In a large bowl, combine the yeast mixture with flour & stir well to combine. Stir in additional water one tablespoon at a time until all the flour is absorbed. When the dough has pulled together, turn it out onto a lightly floured surface and knead briefly for about 1 min.

Lightly oil a large bowl, place the dough in the bowl and turn to coat with oil. Cover with a damp cloth and let rise in a warm place until doubled in volume (about 30 min.).

Preheat over to 475 degrees.

Deflate the dough and turn it out onto a lightly floured surface. Knead briefly, pat or roll the dough into a sheet and place on a lightly greased baking sheet. Brush the dough with oil and sprinkle with salt.

Bake focaccia in preheated oven for 10-20 minutes, depending on desired crispness.

**Carol adds yummy cheese crumbles & seasonings to the dough before she bakes it. Then sprinkle the top with some powdered ranch dressing (or other flavor) - delicious!

On My Way

2009-04-29T20:47:00.001-07:00

Tomorrow I'm off. I'll be busy creating all weekend. Maybe sneak in a little nature walk or something. I will be in the beautiful mountains of Idaho :) I'll be back on Monday with hopefully a kick in my butt. I've been out of my scrappin' mojo for a bit and hope that this will force it into me. I'll let ya know how it worked!

Mmmm - Cream Puffs

2009-04-26T17:24:00.000-07:00

yum. yum. yum.

Have you ever made cream puffs? You gotta do it! It is surprisingly easy and they are delicious! I just used the recipe from my trusty Better Homes & Gardens Cookbook. I bought the bavarian cream filling at Cash & Carry (also known as Smart & Final) but you could use their recipe too. I put on a fudgy chocolate topping (like on doughnuts) but you could use anything! The downside however, is that you want to eat them all! I'm glad it only makes a batch of 12 - after sharing them with our neighbors we weren't able to over do it!

I'm off to a scrapbook girls trip this weekend in Garden Valley, ID. I'm tearing the scrap room apart trying to get all my kits together and be on top of things. I will have a full 64 hours at least do with what I please. If I don't sleep I could get some major scrapping done. I will for sure get some major fun done!

It's Earth Day & Random Stuff

2009-04-22T20:47:00.000-07:00

Did you check out the Google image today? It rocks. I have a little obsession with these random different Google images - I totally save them. The one on Dr. Seuss' Birthday rocked too. So I'll share...

today's Earth Day one

Dr. Seuss

St. Patrick's Day

Also, while going thru my blogs and previous downloads I came across this pic... it's funny and makes me smile - must whip up some team Edward/team Jacob cupcakes.

And finally, this is my new scrapbook. I love, love , love this bird fabric and can't wait to organize some scrapbook pages in it. (I should admit that I did pick this fabric for my work so I am a little partial to it.)

you can have one too.. go to the collected memories website

Where Does Time Go?

2009-04-21T21:41:00.000-07:00

I'm pretty sure Easter was just yesterday right? I don't know what has happened to several days (possibly lost in a Twilight haze). Let's just pretend that this is the Monday after Easter and here is my recap in photos.

Coloring Some Eggs

2009-04-11T20:43:00.000-07:00

We colored eggs today. Check it out...

...and wha-la! They are done and super cool :)

Now, just because this photo matches the eggs! Check out Kolbi in her fancy shades. I love this pic - showing off some of her new duds from our shopping trip last weekend & looking so cute!

Butterfinger Cake

2009-04-11T20:31:00.000-07:00

I was in the kitchen all day today making yummies for tomorrow. Thought I'd share the Butterfinger cake recipe -mmmmm!

Start the day before. You will need to have these three things (above).

1. - Bake a yellow cake and let cool. Mix up that cake mix to crumbs.

2. - Take 6 Butterfingers and chop them up.

3. - Make one box of instant vanilla pudding. To that pudding add: 1 package of cream cheese, 3/4c powdered sugar and 1 tub of cool whip.

Now... get a large, deep pan (I used two pie dishes today).

Layer the cake followed by the pudding mix and then the butterfingers. Repeat as many times as you can - at least two. Then refrigerate for 6 hours or overnight.

It is always a hit, even if you don't like Butterfingers.

Pics From Boston

2009-04-11T19:58:00.001-07:00

I was thinking about my trip to Boston today and remembering how amazing it was. We got to see so much history there. I love old cemeteries and we walked through several and visited the graves of many important historical figures (Samuel Adams, Paul Revere). We toured the USS Constitution and I felt like we were on a real pirate ship! We walked a large portion of the Freedom Trail, visited some cool local stores (Johnny Cupcakes rocks!), saw the Quincy Market and tasted it's yummy foods, walked through Boston Common, stared at millions of beautiful old buildings, drove lots of back-roads so I could drool over houses and even made it to Salem to visit the Witch Trials Memorial. We really did squeeze in a lot of stuff and had so much fun.

Just To Look Like I'm Busy

2009-04-11T09:51:00.001-07:00

I did something (it was a few days ago but oh well). Here's a pic of it. There is way too much for me to do lately and I feel guilty that I haven't posted so this is kind of a filler.

Once again, I wish I had a better camera! The actual book is way brighter and glittery-er. I've still got to print my Easter pics from last year to fill this book. Those little flowers in the top right corner are possibly my new favorite thing in the world. They are sooooo sparkly and from Petaloo - just in from CHA, I had to use them. I used my Slice on this and will add lots of Slice cut swirls throughout. Ok - blog is crossed off my list now I'm off to work on Easter day food.