And here I thought he was doing so well....

Okay, so the potty training just got to the frustrating point. It was frustrating in the beginning because he was learning what he was supposed to do. Now it is frustrating because he knows and is not feeling well and acting out. Punk. Back to cleaning up messes and bribing to go potty. ::sigh:: I knew it was too easy! But I am persevering!!! He WILL be trained! Mama needs a weekend off! No one wants to take a potty training kid on over the weekend....I can say that this afternoon has gone much better. Not nearly as many accidents as he has been having. He has voluntarily gone in the potty a few times. He even earned some ice cream! Home made strawberry...mmmm....

On a good note, while Noah watched Sesame Street this morning, I was able to crank out this excellent sketch from Card Makin Mamas. The actual sketch is by...I believe Patter Cross. I could be mistaken. Its hard to read the name. Anyway, I was mucho inspired! This is some of my favorite paper, and I LOVE anything Bella, so this card was meant to be! This particular bella I received in a splitcoaststampers swap. She is called "Ohsoprettybella". I used my Studio G $1 glitter glue as well as some prima flowers. Hope youe like it as much as I do!

Lastly, Noah, besides having potty troubles, has just been grumpy all the way around the last two days. So, when he wanted to "hep" earlier while I cleaned the litter box, so I figured he could fill the cat food dish. It was a pretty harmless task. He had all kinds of fun, and it really kept him busy! YAY He also loves dishes and laundry! I am so blessed with my little "hepper"! Speaking of chores....see ya later!

Just a "few" things.

Hey! Well? It was quite the busy weekend. Yesterday, it showed! Poor Noah! He has such a hard time sitting still anyway. We went with Kelly and Ethan to a story hour at our local Barnes and Noble....YIKES! Noah was a monstor. Not in that tantrum kind of way, just in that....super hyper...not getting enough sleep or attention kind of way. Poor guy. Ethan was an angel, as usual...I got some...less than friendly looks from the other ladies over Noah's antics. (just for the record, not from Kelly. She knows and loves us!) I know I am doing something wrong for him to act that way...I just have not quite figured it out yet. He sits still for the most part in Sabbath School...but at the book store? Its heaven...he loves books, and ALL of the characters on them....so, its kinda worse than a kid in a candy store! Better luck in a few months...or years, I suppose, LOL
(Noah reading the second book while the lady was reading the first book to the audience)
It has been about 3 weeks here without rain, give or take a few days. So yesterday when I got up and saw it raining, my first thought was....YAY! Rainboot photoshoot! The problem was...Noah never napped and was grumpy...and by the time we got outside...the puddles were gone, lol SOO we comprimised. Noah loves my umbrella. Its kinda sad that its purple, but eh, its all good, lol! Hes just a kid! I like this picture. Not what I envisioned, but still a great capture of childhood. (and some snazzy boots) Today, he was all about going out and playing in the rain and the wet grass again. He is so cute!


This morning, Noah went down for a later nap than usual, but once he got down, he was DOWN! So, completley uninspired, I sat down to crank out a few cards. The results were better than I had hoped! This first card is made with a Veggiebella (I believe, I need to double check that) that I got in a swap over on Cafe Mom. I love it! What a neat image! I got the flower bling yesteray at Joanns for a dollar. I got a couple extra packs to share, so one or two lucky ladies will be suprised in a week or so! The paper is K and Company that I got with my 40% off coupon at Joanns yesterday. This is my FAVORITE brand of embellishments, and just moved up to my fave paper in front of Makin Memories, which held first for quite sometime!

This little card I was not so sure about until I found this awesome polkadot paper. It made the image just leap off the page in my opinion! I got the flourishes in a swap, also on Cafe Mom AGES ago and when I layed them on the paper, I knew I had found the perfect addition! The flowers are, you guessed it, K and Company! I got them on clearance at Target last week. The image is from the House Mouse Halloween Accrylic set. Heather sent them to me last week. The glitter is glitter glue that I got for 1 dollar at Joanns. I consider them fake stickles. They are not as precise as I was hoping, but with a paint brush and some phenagling, it worked great!
OH! Okay, I have to share a Noah funny with you. Noah is always "hepping?" (helping). I left him to play in his room while I made his lunch, came back, he ate then played....then we decided to go outside. With the rain, it has cooled off nicely so I went to his dresser to get out his pants, and low and behold...his drawer was EMPTY! Everything was GONE and there was NOTHING on the floor....so, I checked and sure enough, everything from the drawer was in the hamper. I just looked and him and said, Noah, were you "helping" again? He just smiled and said, "outside?" Silly little man.

All in all, a good week, so far! I am eagerly awaiting the arrival of another BFF, this time from Texas. She is flying in on Friday to see me! She will be here until Monday afternoon. So short a time, but I am blessed to see her regardless of how short of a time! So there you have it! Hope you enjoyed this really long blog! LOL!

What a nice day

Ahhh, rest and relaxation. My day did not start off very well. Not terrible, just one of those days where you just can't seem to get organized? I have a reall problem with being scatter-brained and not knowing where things are and not being able to get my life under control.

So, I got up with Noah and started to get ready for church. I thought I had it all planned out, but could not find my slip, or my bra, and the outfit I had chosen just didn't look right today. Noah was cranky and ALL over the place. DH was a big help, but I had just had enough when it was time to go and I still had no makeup on, couldn't get my hair to cooperate, and Noah was still in his PJs and messy from breakfast, and I still had not eaten or gotten his bag ready....you get the point.

SO, we stayed home from church today, something I kind of regret only because I want Noah to go as often as possible, and he loves it so much! I feel like a bad mother when we don't go.

So, at home Noah spent a lot of time hanging out with Daddy today, something he does not get to do very often. Daddy works so hard that he does not get to see him very long each day during the week. Daddy read to him, gave piggy back rides, and played blocks with him. Noah ate up the attention!

Yesterday Kelly, Ethan, Noah and I went to a consignment sale and I hit the jackpot on this ADORABLE dragon costume! Noah loves to dress up, and he loves this outfit! I am so glad! Last year he was so NOT into the Lion costume I found him, plus it was too small. This year, MUCH better luck! Isn't he adorable?

When Noah went down for his nap, I drug out the craft supplies and made this humble Bella card. I believe that this is called scissor bella, but don't quote me on it. I received this image in a Bella swap over on Splitcoaststampers. It is for my BFF who did such a wonderful job on my hair!

Later on, we all packed up and went to the park. Noah LOVES the park! Its soo nice to have 3 nice parks in the area! It was hot and sticky, but we made the best of it and had a blast. Noah and Daddy fed the duckies, and then we played on the playground, which, thankfully, is just about right for him! Some of the others have a few too many over his age range things, but this one is great!

So overall, everything worked out for the best today. I still wish I had taken Noah to church, but I know in my heart that one week is not going to make or break it. Well? I might be back later with another card or two. Noah is bushed and its only 7:15 which means I might get to play. YAY!

FINALLY! YAY!

Finally! A place for us moms to take our tots and NOT say NO when they climb on everything! I am SO EXCITED! My friend Kelly discovered a mom group in the area that goes to a place called My Gym once in awhile, so we checked it out. AWESOME! EXACTLY what my lil man needed! (Not to mention, mom!) For 8 bucks, you go in and let your kids go nuts for an entire hour with no NO! Or, DON'T CLIMB ON THAT! Or, YOU'RE GOING TO GET HURT! Other than a few issues with manners, it ROCKED for us! Noah had a blast and was the happiest boy in the world. Not only was his best friend Ethan there, he was free to run around and be a kid! WOOHOO!!!!! I am in LOVE with this concept and plan to go back. I might even enroll him in classes for next year! Who knows! The only hesitation is the pricing. It is a little high for those of us on a budget, but it might make a great birthday or christmas gift. =0)

Tuesdays and Sketches!

Ahh! Creative spark, how I have missed thee! I have been in THE most creative funk the last week or so...just barely scraping by. I am not officially back, but I am pretty darn close!

Noah reFUSED to take a nap this morning, so after running some Birthday errands for DH, I decided to attack a sketch that I found over on 2 sketches 4 you (which I found through Heather). I discovered them yesterday and am in LOVE with their work! So, I decided to try my hand. I didn't do her card justice, but I am happy with what I came up with. Very out of the box for me. Whatcha think? I started trying to do her design because I LOVE black and white. VERY classy! But I noticed that one of the papers on her background looked like notebook paper, something that Heather had done recently as well. So I decided to go with that....doodle, school book, grungy look.

Alright, alright! I have gotten 2 blog awards recently by two WONDERFUL ladies and I suppose that it is time to take care of some business! Both are the same award, so I am going to only choose 7 ladies. I received this award from Heather and Lisa. (Lisa, I love your blog too, but only could choose 7~) THANKS LADIES!!!

RULES:
I have to pick 7 of my favorite blogs and…
1. The winner can put the logo on their blog
2. Link the person you received your award from
3. Nominate at least 7 other blogs
4. Put links of those blogs on yours.

5. Leave a message on the blogs of the girls or boys you’ve nominated.

Here they are in random order!

Krista!

MamaLizzie

Heather (Starfish)

Shemaine

Heather

Elli

Jen

Lastly, but certainly not least, my waterlovin, crazy, runnin, grinnin lil man! I swear, all day for 2 solid days all he has done is talk about "sim? Sim?" Bless his heart. His swim lessons didn't go well, but he SURE LOVES the wading pool! My blessing, the love of my life, my lil Noah! Hope you had a WONDERFUL day!

Monday, Monday...

MAN, was I lazy today! LOL! That about sums it up! And it was the perfect day for that. I HATE going anywhere on Monday due to the after weekend traffic places like the post office, so I use Tuesday for my shopping and errands.

So, this morning, Noah woke up in the best mood EVER and went down into a GREAT nap! So I was able to work on a card I started Saturday afternoon. Yikes! Was it really 2 days later that I finally got a moment to myself again? Its called a "popup accordian card" and I found the tutorial over on splitcoaststampers. Hope you like it! I used a cupcake set that I got from Kristapista as a RAK a long time ago! It was perfect for this card! Thanks, Kristapista!!!

I am pretty unhappy with the inside. I liked the concept, but I made the circles 1/2 inch too small, I think. I didn't understand the instructions, and then I messed up the background on the top and bottom each in one place. Otherwise, I think its a card I could see myself doing again! The first and last images are the same cupcakes as are on the front, and the middle image says, "Sweet Stuff".

When Noah got up, the first thing he wanted to do was put on this hat. He is so silly! I love the way toddlers insist on making certain decisions. I am kicking myself. The other night, he fell asleep in his snow boots. He INSISTED on wearing them! So there he was, pjs, and Piphard (clifford) snow boots, sound asleep on his back, and I didn't take a picture. ::sigh:: I love this phase of toddlerhood, though...other than the tantrums, but they come and go, so its easy to deal with.

This evening, Daddy got home early and we all went back outside. I count it as a blessing that my husband and my son like the outdoors. So many families now days are glued to the telivision (not that we don't have our moments) or the play station, or whatever game console you might have....I am blessed that my family likes fresh air and sunshine, and I can't wait to get back to walking, and eventually hiking again! Anyway, off subject slightly, Daddy was watering what is left of our plants, and Noah decided he wanted to help. It was sooo sweet! Hope you all had a wonderful Monday!

Just a weekend!

Hey ladies! Not too much to report here, but just thought I would update you anyway!

Potty training is going SOOO WELL! I can't begin to tell you how blessed I am! My son is SO SMART! I only hope and pray that I can direct that intelligance where it really counts and not be a slacker mom! Noah is so silly when it comes to going #2 in the potty. He yells BYE BYE! and practically pushes me out of the bathroom and pulls the door shut and makes sure it actually latches! LOL! He SO needs his privacy! But he has never once gone in his pants since the second or third day! YAY!

Noah had a blast at Sabbath School this week! All of the lessons finally clicked! Its so sweet to watch him pretend to "open his Bible carefully" as the song says, or wait patiently for his turn to "ride on a boat today" (shown to the left).

He is such a sweet boy and I am so proud of everything that he has learned! He likes to talk to Jesus. Last week we were in the middle of Ross and he said, "Jesus?" And folded his hands. I told him he could talk to Jesus too, so he started jabbering away talking about Daddy and Mommy and Aunt Sarah....I almost cried. I have always struggled with my personal spiritual life and to see my son so interested in learning about him may just change me yet! I really think that we have children to teach us how we should be. Christ did say to come to him as a child...

I will leave you with this final picture of Noah being pulled (by me) in his wagon. I love this shot. It just seems like...I dunno. Not to be cliche, but just like a moment frozen in time. Noah is growing and learning SO RAPIDLY but in the middle of all of that, he is still a fragile, innocent lil man that needs his mama. Who has not been exposed to the bad things the world can offer.

Anyway. Have a great week! I will have cards this week! Promise!

Yay! Cards and hair cuts!

YAY! Okay, so my BFF Sarah who was here for 3 wonderful, too short days, cut my hair yesterday for me. It has been so long since it was this short! I like it, but I feel like a boy! LOL! I don't know what to do with it! I am going to look for some headbands tomorrow. Some cute ones. =0) What do you think? Tips for styling?

This morning, Noah went down without a fight for his nap so I had tome to myself for the first time in about a week to make some cards. Problem was, I am not motivated, or inspired. I do like what I came up with, but eh...I was hoping for a lightning bolt of inspiration, I guess. =0)

Well, I know this is short, but wanted to update you all! Noah is up, so back to training! Hope to get to the park this afternoon!

Good Company, Busy Days

Wow. WHAT a week. OKay...well, I guess I will start with Sunday and work my way down, lol!

Sunday was filled with business beyond belief in preparation for my best friend, Sarah who is currently living in Lincoln, NE to come and visit for 3 days. Cleaning, cleaning, cleaning...and PMS...and a child who would NOT take a nap. It was...to say the least, NOT the most fun day....but it ended well with Sarah coming!!

Monday, Noah slept in...YAY! I mean, we didn't even get up until 8:30, and that NEVER happens! It was a really great day filled with goofy non napping Noah, and good talks that were long overdue with a much missed friend. We went shopping for a few things. We happened on a children's consignment sale, which was a huge blessing! Noah needed clothes for fall and winter. Got him a COAT for 6 bucks. Looked like it had NEVER been worn! It is so cute! I also ended up with a pair of goloshes and snow boots for 2 bucks each. Noah LOVES them, lol!

Yesterday was just a blast! Not only is Noah almost completely potty trained (knock on wood) he took a LONG nap and my other best friend came up to visit. Us chics had a BLAST catching up and teasing and watching the olympics. Once Noah got up , we went to Sonic and to the park. I think the girls had as much fun as Noah did.

On the way home, though...I got a ticket. Honestly, I had no idea why I had been pulled over. Apparently cutting through a parking lot to miss a LONG line of traffic at a stop sign during rush hour is illegal....MY BAD...the official charge was "cutting through private property". What kinda foolishness? I have never ONCE gotten pulled over OR gotten a ticket....If I was going to get one I would have hoped it would have been for something REALLY bad...not something so stupid. People cut me off, don't use blinkers, don't stop at stop signs...ALL THE TIME when I am driving and I always have to be on the look-out for them...but no...I get the ticket. Oh, well. Such as it goes sometimes. So, in place of pictures of my son, and his artwork...is my shameful ticket.

And the training begins!

Well? Today is day two of potty training. Yesterday it started off well. Noah was excited to wear "eo" (elmo). As some of you know, I am SO not into Elmo, but those are the undies Noah wanted, so in the interest of keeping the training light and fun, we bought 7 pairs of elmo undies. Before we got out of the store, Noah already had them out of the package. Silly man.

(I dearly hope this image does not offend anyone. I have not and will not post pics of him on the potty or naked. I just thought this was a fun moment to document)

In addition to undies, I got a bunch of treats and toys and pull ups for sleeping. I figure, lets not go broke on washing stuff, right? I can at least hand wash undies, but not so much the sheets and blankies.

By the end of the day, Noah was over the training. OH the fight to get him to the potty, and I, remembering that forcing and fighting is NOT the way to go, finally gave him a bath and put him in a pull up before 7. We did have 2 successes yesterday afternoon, though. Not bad for the first day! I praised him, and we called Gammie and he said, "I po-y" to her on the phone. He was so proud!

This morning, I went into his room to find him bottomless and saying EWWW! Oddly enough, the bed was dry! YAY NOAH! It took him a few minutes to remember to pee in the potty. He went on the floor in front of the potty, so I had to give him props for trying, right?

Today, I have changed gears a bit. I have given him a reason to WANT to sit on the potty. He gets a bite sized cookie for sitting on the potty, and when he pees or poos, he gets a BIG cookie! It has worked SO WELL!

He stayed dry through breakfast and then had an accident in the corner. When I asked him to sit on the potty he got so mad! Out came the cookie, on the potty he went. Then, he POOPED! Later, he peed in the potty too! I was SOO PROUD! I hope this afternoon goes as well! I have to admit, though..I am getting a little bit of cabin fever after just a day. Oh, well! At least this weekend I will have help!

Okay, enough potty mouth! Before I began training Noah yesterday, I did have time to make a card. I really have been wanting to try the shadowbox card. I love it. I have to say, something is totally missing on this card. It just looks slapped together to me. I dunno. I hope you enjoy!

BIG NEWS!

Okay, for me. NO, I am not pregnant (I don't think) and NO nothing HUGE really happened...just in my opinion!

This evening, I had Noah in the bath and almost as soon as he got in the tub he wanted right back out to go and sit on the potty. We have had it out for a few months now and he likes to sit on it and pretend. His little friend Elizabeth was potty training quite successfully while her Mommy, Brandy watched Noah, so he was used to seeing what goes on, I guess.

Anyway, off track. So finally, he just tried to climb out of the tub, so since I had already scrubbed him, I was like, fine, whatever. He sat on the potty and as I turned to get a towel I hear, psssssss....and I am like, UH, UH!!! No WAY! When he was finished and got up and I looked, and he had REALLY GONE PEE! Like, BIG TIME! So I guess even though my friends are coming into town this week and then a couple of weeks from now, I need to get started training! Too bad I JUST bought a huge thing of diapers!

In other news, I made another sweet little card today. I love this image. If I could, I would buy this Happy Hopper stamp. I am not even sure I remember who sent it to me...Hmmm....Oh, well! Enjoy! Its simple, but it pops!

Finally, this evening I leave you with a heartwarming bedtime story read by none other than the precious, priceless, Noah.

Translation: Llama, Llama, Red Pajama, reads a story with his mama. Mama kisses baby's hair. Mama llama goes downstairs.

Fun in the sun!

Well, today was another day. I actually should be cooking supper right now. I am waiting for my water to boil (not in the microwave....that ones for Julie and Elli, he, he, he...)

Anywho! Today was a pretty nice day, so I thought I would share. This morning, instead of working on my floors, I wanted to see if I could turn out another card being inspired by yesterdays card. Something a little different. I like it okay. I wish I had put dimensionals behind the sentiment. That would have made it pop the way I wanted, but once its on, its on, LOL~I got the House Mouse image (Helping Hand) from a friend on Card Makin Mamas, and the sent from a swap on in the Image Swappers group. I think that the sent is from Stampin Up. Somthing about...life? I dunno. Anyway, enjoy!

After Noah took his nap, which....well, I had to seriously wear him out before he would take (NOT wearing out like our mamas used to do....exercise...) we had a nummy lunch and then went to see our friends EEETTTHHHHAAAAANNNN and Ms. Kelly. Noah is so funny. He saw Kelly's car when we got to their house and he yelled, ETHAN! He was so excited! The boys got in the pool to cool off cause it was SOOO hot today! This picture made me smile because it kind of reminds me of the pics of Charlie Brown and Lucy sittin in their bean bags. You remember that?

And Elli, this picture is for you! I will never know how in the world you got that great shot of your girl's foot print at the pool, but WOW! Noah was EVERYWHERE and his prints dried FAST! Here was the best one that I got. I think it is so precious. Shots like this remind me of how small and fragile he is still.

Hope you all have a wonderful evening!

And it feels SO GOOD!

So yesterday, I could not keep myself away from my closet of goodies. It was SO great to be at home and have an hour to myself! Recently, I have been in a kind of card making funk. All of my brain power was being put to other uses...work, Noah, hubby...you know how it goes. So I didn't create much the last month.

The other day, I got my latest issue of Card Maker Magazine and there was a card that really got my creative juices flowing! I just HAD to make something with it! Here is what I came up with:

The paper is from Makin Memories...the bella is from...um, either Heather, or another lady over on CM that shared some with me. Probably Heather, though. =0)

I really liked this card. It was different for me, and more detailed. Lately, when I make a card it hits me later (sometimes days later) that I could have done this or that and really have made my card pop. So, I hope this is a new step in the direction I would like to take my cardmaking.

Before I go, I whipped up and actual sketch from the card in the magazine (my first one, so don't make fun) just in case you like! Enjoy!

The design is by Carolyn King and it was featured in the September issue of Card Maker Magazine.

Just a bit of this and that.

Well, this weekend turned out to be nice, and productive. A nice combonation, I should think!
Saturday morning after we went to church, Noah was down for his nap and I got to crafting! Its about time, right! Is just not a blog without some cards to share! For my short time to myself I chose to work on the Card Makin Mamas challenge (first one in I think 3 or 4 weeks! YIKES!) We used another of Dawns techniques. A gift card holder turned suspension.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NTS0DZvfAjg It was fun! I was not as creative with it as I wanted, but due to the shortness of time, I thought it looked okay.

I also took a stab at a card I saw over on Lisa Ms blog (here http://lisabeesponderings.blogspot.com/). This technique is called the Joy Technique. http://www.splitcoaststampers.com/resources/tutorials/joy_fold_card I used an image that I got from a lady on Cafe Mom. Charlie Horse! He is so cute! I might be in love!

Yesterday Noah was crazy! LOL Its amazing what a toddler considers "helping" to be. Hope you enjoy!

This afternoon, despite the mosquitos, long grass (stinkin landlord) and the heat, we decided to hang out in the backyard for awhile. Noah was antsy, and makin mommy cranky, so...yeah. We needed to get out of the house, LOL!

I am thinkin Noah thought he was getting a drink...not sure, LOL!

I love this shot! He is soooo precious! (when he is not teething and bored). Noah loves to "sing" as he calls it.

I know, a lot of pics tonight. Its been awhile since I have felt like shooting!
To end, this evening, I would like to tell you a short story about my amazing little man, whom I love to distraction. Every evening I try to pray with Noah before he goes "nie nie". I say, " do you want to talk to Jesus?" and he folds his little hands and looks at me with those precious eyes and just waits.

Today, Noah was acting out terribly. I am attributing it to the canines he is cutting at the moment. It could just be the "terrible twos" but whatever. Not the point. I had had enough. So after, "SEEPY GUY" I decided, fine. Its an hour early, but I am over it and want to get on the internet! So I layed him down and said night night.

On my way down the stairs I felt the slightest bit guilty, but thought, eh. He won't notice this once. Well, he laid up there asking for milk so I made it and took it to him. He put the milk aside, untouched, folded his hands and said, "Jesus?"

I felt like SUCH a bad mommy! But then I think, I must have done something right or he would not ask, right? So we, of course, prayed and he went about his milk business and is not quiet as a mouse.

I hope that warmed your heart and makes you think as it did me! Have a great week everyone!