This is just fabulous! and it could be yours!

I'm one of the hostesses over at Creative Victorian Designs (cvd) and all I do is host it, Lonetta (the owner and elite designer) makes these fabulous kits to give away for doing the challenges! I like the challenges, because they are easy! I am doing a font challenge, quote challenge and a sketch challenge (kinda like a template, but more basic). There are 4 other challenges and for each one you do, you get a piece of this kit free:I love the brightness of the kit! I am going to play with it tomorrow and see it up close and personnal! Please click on the link to bring you to CVD, and start making some layouts and get this kit! You can use any kits, it does NOT have to be from her store! Having fun is the most important part!

I have been busy making some layouts also:I love this one, because it is my view coming into Yuba City after 4 days on the road across country from New Mexico. The sign and the Penske truck that has all my earthly goods in it. My hubby is driving, and I spent the whole time behind him...what a good woman!
The kit is from the scrapbook graphics ladies collab for September-Impressions of Change!

I have been doing page clusters and stacked pages for Netta over at CVD, but hadn't sat and done a layout with her awesome kits...but this kit Dino Wild-Revamped grabbed me, because I hadn't scrapped this old picture from 2002! We were on the way home via I-10 and pulled off in Sierra Vista, Arizona and in front of Mc Donalds, a huge dinosaur! Perfect for this kit!

I'm beat~my brain feels squishy!

1.We leave in one week for an intense mini-conference in Alamogordo, New Mexico. My home church which is full of my closest and dearest friends. I will be packing for 6. Not vacation packing, but vacation and church packing! Did I say we leave next Thursday!?!
2. I am in my 3rd week of home schooling 4 children. My brain sometimes feels like it is being pulled out thru the pores of my skin!
3. My girls turn 10 this Saturday. We have this deal in our home, big parties (friends over, games and woo hoo time) at age 5, 10 and 15. I have twin girls and duh moment, they hit 10 together! I don't do well with squealing girls! I mean, this is over the top painful to me!
4. Soccer for all 4 on Thursdays and Tuesdays, 3 different teams in 3 different places! Strentching to the limit!
5. Payday tomorrow, grocery shop, gift find for girls and game prizes! Plus park day for home school lest my children turn into anti-social misfits! bha ha ha
6. Church Sunday~sunday school (which is actually done!)
7. Scrap things to do (my favorite and I want to do)
8. Balance checkbook
9. Finish book to bring to Alamo


I put those together, and it totally overwhelms me with what has to be done! I feel a bit tired, but you know, I still have this silly grin on my face, either God is changing and helping me or I am totally insane!

SnT is closing.....but.....................

I am not at liberty to say anymore...but gosh it's exciting, and I get to be a part of it...sorta like the ol' barnacles that cling to the race boat! ha ha...
Carolyn Kite has been so delightful to create for and with. (eek, I think I just ended with a double preposition). Every one of her kits surprises me and pushes me to try and do something a bit more original or different for me! She is still pumping out kits even with her store closing! Her latest kit; Rock Star! (this is a collab withEdeline Marta) I searched and searched for some old pics of my hubby the bass player...or Alamama's wild and crazy hubby in our old SKA band(I'll have you know, this blogger was in that band on the congas). But I kept coming back to one of my oldest at his first debut playing guitar at our little beginnings of a bible study. I'm thinking this is a Rock Star kit....but I am so happy how it turned out, I hope you enjoy it.I did recolor a bit!

Lyndsay Ritchie has presents for you!!!

I have been on Lyndsay Ritches CT for a little over a month and what a blast.
She and her team! I love how versatile her designs are and the fun colors! Lyndsay just turned 33, and in celebration her team all made templates from one of their layouts...I'm not the best template maker, but I gave it a whirl, so one of mine is in there too! Pop over to Lyndsay's Blog or click on the template flyer to download the gift!
She also is celebrating to let you save money...to bad she isn't 60! ha ha ha..but 33% is a good deal.
She has a cool new kit out today, called Playful. It is just fun, fun, fun.
I opened it and knew right off one of the pictures from our adventures in baseball this summer was going to be done with this kit! I love the concentration on his face! the mask is part of the kit too!!

Putting God first~his provisions!

I talked with a lady for a long whilHe about the provision of God. Why we don't get food stamps. Now we have a big family, and the eligibility is very high. I mean we have to make alot of money not to qualify. Not that we are making a lot of money, but the income we have, God has put it thru his bank (that is not in any kind of recession) and it has been amazing to see how it all works out.
One of the questions she asked, well, what do you buy? What do you cook? How do you feed them all...(said while staring at my kids in action of putting away some grub)?
Here is the menu for the week:
I made over a 100 blueberry pancakes Saturday morning. They toast up or microwave up superbly. But 3 of 4 kids love tea and toast for breakfast, one will eat the pancakes and a bowl of cereal.
Lunches: burritos of whatever is in the fridge...I did splurge on those nasty pizza rolls for 90 of them, good sale! lol sandwiches or the also like raw top raman!
Dinners:
Monday-Speghetti (two kinds- one for blah tastebuds made with Prego...no Ray not Ragu...ugh!)
the other made from stewed toms and tom paste with lots of seasons..fresh basil, onions, garlic...the way it should be!
Homemade italian french bread made into garlic bread!
Tues-Carnitas...stay tuned...pics tomorrow...it is fried (for an hour in lard) pork shoulder/butt
3 pounds makes 4 meals!! $6 for all of it! Served on flour tortillas! With spanish rice and beans!
Wed-lasagna made with good sgetti sauce...blah kids get blah left over speghetti with big salad
Thursday-taquitos made with pork meat and corn tortillas, left over rice and beans and left over salad fixin's and guacamole!
Friday-chicken marinade BBQ breast...on homemade rolls with french fries
Saturday-green chile stew with end of pork and diced pots/onions.
Sunday-pull it all out and first come first serve to eat what is left over....clear out fridge for grocery shoppin' on Monday!
We do popsicles in a mad way...found this huge bag of them creamy fudgesicles, fruitcreams and tropical ones...40 for like $3...we go thru them...it is hot here!!

We are blessed with neighbors and our landlord; peaches, oranges, tomatos and zuchinini! We had neighbors down the street give us elk..that oh my was fabulous!
But I'm constantly amazed how far the food goes each week. I make the first step, putting God first in all, including our finances, pray and plan! God has NEVER let us starve...lol, well don't look at Gman, he looks like a cadaver, but that is his normal look, the boy devours food!

Weekend Gallery Stand Out at DST!!

h my goodness! I finished a rather fun scrap page of my rugrats in an everyday kinda picture (personally, these are my favorite moments to scrap). Carolyn Kite at Scrap N Tag, has this new, I mean totally new, fun and funky kit; My Summer Diary. One of the things about Carolyn, she loves to try something new...this is so different from her regular awesome kits....but it is just as wonderful:
So, as usual, I open the kit, and put the elements on slide show and make lunch, while looking at the elements go by on the screen. I threw about 10 elements on the page...and then some more, delete and move...and this is what dear Billa at DST put in the Gallery Stand Out! I was awed really! So cool to be recognized by your peers!This is the picture we took after releasing the before scrapped frogs! ha ha...it was just a Saturday in August, they were all up on this huge rock, I had my camera and snap...just a day!
Hope you are all enjoying the week! Must run, school today...our second week of home schooling!

French Toast!?

I felt like I hadn't scrapped in ages! Lorilei has this beautiful kit: Fresh over at her studio; Rosey Posey Studio
I fought my internet for a few days and could not get it downloaded!! I had the pictures...knew the colors and them, so kinda floated it around in my head...last night the internet cooperated and I quickly downloaded and oh it is even a better kit when you open it!!
I had taken some fun pics of a morning of French Toast of the kids enjoying themselves...and so wanted to scrap it!I was wondering how scrapping would work with homeschooling, it is perfect! The puter is off the school room aka dining room. I actually finished this right before dinner! You can click on the images to see them larger!

okay, I'm official!

I think I feel more like Mary Poppins than a home schooling mom! We officially started Monday, and it worked! ha ha ha ha ha ...it did, I mean it ran smooth, the kids didn't fight me at all, they laughed and seemed to be having a good time. I think I am getting the grammar....this is the important part! Grammar, well, I HATE IT! there, outloud and proud! but....
it is important for the children to have something to hate in school, so climb on board the bus! ha ha
We are really only on 1/2 days until our full curriculum gets here...when? who knows...but I'm cool cause I didn't pay for it!
Our day is like this:
7am...alarms start ringing...which in our house is old cell phones with music! Some are eating, some are showering. They all have 15 minutes for prayer/reading bible. Quick morning chores and 8am...mom is actually showered and prayed up (woo hoo) and not in her robe! (this is the hardest, as I love to wear my robe).
We start with the pledge, and we don't have a flag, but our neighbor does, so we stand towards his house...really, stop laughing, we do!
Then we are reading John, each does 5 scriptures outloud and one of the kids opens in prayer for the day.
Eric is our official lunch maker right now, for 3 months or so...(this is a new thing), he takes lunch orders from allowable list! We then have the drawing of the writing prompt of the day. For example, todays was; What if kids ruled the world? yeah, it was hilarious!
Everyone then breaks to what is on schedule....yeah, my Obsessive Compulsive runs rabid here...but they have their little cubbies, I am a cubby kinda mom! Eric puts on his headphones and does his Algebra, Gman begins his creative writing journal and the girls and I conquer subjects, predicates, and direct objects! I have learned alot!
We are doing American History right now with the boys, and the girls are delving into the Pony Express. I have the girls in the middle of an evaluation of their math and Gman is waiting for his math, but working thru a grade walmart special and freebies from the web!
Once the curriculum arrives, we 1/2 the grammar and add spelling. Then will do writing prompts 2 times a week and add different genres of writing. Spanish on M/w/F and typing on Tues/Thursdays. We will go til about 2pm, I'm thinking....
I like it, and the kids seem to also! yeah! I took some pics will try and get them up tomorrow!

More homeschool stuff!

Amazingly, there are so many resources for the family deciding to home school. I am lucky that Christine did it first and pointed out Homeschool Lounge to me...
They have an open house going right now and a special prize even:

So click the links and you might win...or maybe I will lol!

My favorite part of the lounge is the live chat with other HSers! I was freakin' over the grammar and I got some great advice to go with Easy GrammaR!
Our school starts this coming Monday, with just Math, a bit of History and a whole lotta persuasive essays! ha ha

This is my choice of prizes to win! I have the huge catalog and this is one of the funnest catalogs and most needed for anyone who homeschools!

1

Rainbow Resource Center has donated a $50 Gift Certificate good for any item in their online store! Rainbow Resource Center carries over 40,000 quality educational products in all subject areas, for grades PK-12 and beyond!

My second choice of a prize!

2

CurrClick - Curriculum in a click! Your one-stop shop for electronic lapbooks, affordable curriculum, and homeschooling resources. Currclick is giving away a $50 Gift Certificate to one of our winning participants!

Thank you and Happy Open House Home School Lounge!

my buddy in real life is an official designer!

I have written and rewrote this so many times in my head, because this is a special moment in scrap!
Some 13 years ago, a dear lady very pregnant with her daughter whose ultra sound made me smile...I'm not kidding, the kid had mohawk! Anyway, thru prayer, tears and side by side in the foxholes in the ARMY for Jesus Christ, dear Christine, Alamama has become one of my nearest and dearest true friends. You know the one, you can yell, scream, laugh, giggle, bawl, blow boogers, has seen you at your worst, your best and still prays and really cares about you! This would be my friend.
Both my husband and I have seen her extreme talent in creativity, from backdrops in plays to these gorgeous pressed flower creations with quotes that were downright stunning! good.
A few Christmases back, I sat with Christine and taught her what I knew about photoshop and scrapping! Her first creation, a beautiful family Christmas card photo! I knew that day, she was gonna be so good!
My mind can rearrange others designs, but Christine's mind is full of designs waiting to come out!
So finally, after a grueling competition at Scrap Matters, and some very kind and patient designers helping her along, my friend, known as Alamama of Pressed Petals is officially selling her work!
This is her first kit:


This kit is soft and elegant, and is such an expression of my dear friend. I hope you will go to Scrap Matters, buy it, you know what, buy two!
I am so delighted to be on her Creative Team, as it is like being right next door to her all over again...(she and I used to spend many hours talking thru a chain link fence while watering our lawns as next door neighbors, but now I am 1300 miles away)
Here is a little layout I did with the kit:
Thank you my friend, I am so proud of you! You are in my prayers and thoughts! See you in 26 days!!!

The love of baseball!

I love baseball~have for years...and there was a summer league, free in the paper. So I got all the kids in the car, sans birth certificates and headed for the park. After driving around for a bit, we found it! It is free, one month of games only...free shirt, hat and gloves! The kids can also all be on the same team! Did I mention there were NO practices...the games were to teach the basics of baseball.
I am beyond happy...then he says, we do need coaches...ugh...I have 4 kids on one team? I said, I'll give it a try, but I can't throw or catch, but I know the game...he matched me with Rick, a father of 4 boys who KNOW the game, because they play soccer, football and baseball...if there is a sport Rick coaches and his kids play it! He is funny and encouraging to the kids. Tony came out the first night and he got rigged into being a coach too! hee hee!
Gabriel got a solid hit the first night! He was so in to it! I kinda tripped out, one of the things the coach does is switch the kids around to the other bases and outfield each inning...Gman caught and he already acts like David Q. so seeing him in catching gear...was like going back in time to see little Q in action!
The hitting team has the coach feed a pitching machine for the batter...it was a bit intimidating at first. Abby was a bit bummed to strike out the first few times she hit, but I am happy to report she got a hit last night and was able to be brought home. Touching all the bases was a joy...
Eric totally surprised me! He is really good, I mean really good! He has a real strong arm and loved catching...I know it isn't a catchers mitt...we didn't have a left catchers mitt! Eric hits every time...he is strong!

Anna, hmm, well she hit the ball, and she ran. She talks the whole time, tells how happy she is and her thoughts so the "fans" in the stands are laughing hysterically! I am usually yelling at her to throw the ball...as she will hold it and yell, Where? til the same "fans" are chanting THROW IT! She seems to enjoy it, and likes drinking water from the jug and using the bathroom numerous times in a game!
This is a reminder why I don't wear baseball hats! Egads that looks horrible! I really am glad we did this, but it has reawakened a sleeping giant of time sucking that we don't have the time for! I so understand how people give their lives to sports for their kids...watching my children excitement and their improvement is enough to make a mom beam.

Friday...you don't want to miss this....

I will come back on Friday...and tell you all! I hope it is done by then...but I am excited, my husband said, well, it's about time! My kids said...yes! I am so beyond happy about this...can't wait to tell you!

promise kept! yeah...hand slap!

Can you see it!?!?!? My first tomato! It is so beyond cute! I think this is pretty much life size! We have 6 plants and last count 6 tomatoes...ha ha...but they are beautiful plants! Luckily our neighbors have the touch and have been keeping us stocked up with tomatoes, zucchini, cucumbers and assorted things!
Speaking of the wild, last week, we had a Park Day with the home school group. My desert raised children found frogs, big ones, little ones and ones that were hidden under rocks! I had to explain to the California parents that were looking at my children like un-socialized home school children (something frowned upon..ha ha...little HS humor) that in the desert they don't have frogs...horny toads yes, but cute little frogs and toads; nope!My kids came to me with that look...can we keep them? aaaaaaaaaaaaaaw, of course I said yes! Find some bugs to feed the reptiles and we will figure this out. Plus I didn't have my camera and this of course was a scrapbooking moment, as my dear hubby likes to say!
The frogs were bundled up and brought home, to be tormented by my children..no, no, I mean taken out of box and allowed to jump, be squeezed and dropped and then put back in the box! The kids found some rolly pollies..but the newly acquired frogs were not eatting....this is not good. We looked up on the internet, care for frogs...
DO NOT KEEP FROGS FOUND IN THE WILD...THEY WILL DIE!
Sadness, but the frogs had to go back! One last frolic with the children and bundled back up and brought back to the original place of capture:click on the picture and look close under the rock, you will see one toad and one little frog..this is where they were first found...they just jumped right back under...extremely happy I am sure!

After the release to the wild, camera in hand...pictures must be taken! My awesome kids...
tomorrow see Coach Anne in action and some baseball shots!

I promise pictures tomorroW

okay, I got a book on organizing...no managing my home...it is beyond spectacular...okay, I know you guys think I am over the top all ready in my obsessive compulsiveness and passing this down to my unsuspecting children...but this is so way different!
Really...
and I did a schedule (with the kids Sunday afternoon)
BLINKER...BLINKER subject change but just a quick lane change:
I laughed right out loud, it is 85 degrees a lovely delta breeze blowing and my kids are all huddled at the dining room table with me, going over chore charts and LOVING it...are we weird or what!??! I now return you to your regular scheduled subject:
This schedule is in 30 minute blocks...for a woman whose life used to be in 15 minute increments...I was beyond excited to have small amounts of time to fill in!
We did our trial run today, and since we were looking for chores we had forgotten, we threw in the Saturday BIG chores! Three hours to do chores! and they were so excited...my van was vacumned AND steam cleaned! Both bathrooms were scrubbed, I mean pumice stone on toilets, hands and knees on tubs and showers and a scrubbing mop, and, my kitchen counters were sterilized and the stove taken apart, scrubbed and reassembled....all by my magnificent children...I was supervising...and will do so for a while...they have the chores for 3 month increments...it was fun and they loved it! Tomorrow, we do just the regular day chores....no HUGE ones...
so tomorrow..pictures of my kids playing baseball...this is hilarious! I got roped into coaching, as 4 of the team are mine! None of my kids have ever played the game I love! I mean I could so get into this...but i'm cool!...our main coach Rick, his dad went into the hospital and he had to fly to Nebraska, so this week we have 3 games and I was on my own...my AWESOME hubby who usually has to go to bed at 8pm due to his early morning work schedule committed to help me...
and committed is what I should be...this man is so beyond awesome...wait to you see the book case/bakers rack I got out of the garbage, well I found it...and Tony got it! Tomorrow I promise!!!!

well, no turning back, I'm goin' all the way!

We sing this song in church, No turning back, I'm going all the way..........for the Lord! I've made up my mind.............I'm going all the way for the Lord!
That is how I finally feel about homeschooling! I can't turn back now! I don't want to put a spiritual spin on everything, but my children are beyond precious to me, and this has been a real inner struggle in my soul, heart and selfish little brain for a while!
I am astounded how God has blessed us with the resources to do this and a support group, both from Christine (with the organized closet) to the home school Meet-up group here in Yuba City!
Thursday evening, I had been going thru trying to find an English book, program, something that would work for me and the kids. I would watch one of the sales videos, and I actually cried in one. I wasn't the worlds best grammar student, and whatever I did learn must have been the brain cells that fried out or jumped out of my brain. One of the videos the lady was talking about prepositional phases...and I didn't have a clue what one was!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh! I put a panic thread at a forum on HomeSchool Lounge...and got a few responses.
I finally told Tony, I need to go and touch these books, I can't order them from the internet...so a trip to Sacramento (east side) to the home school store!
I had gone before and didn't even know the language to ask for the right things. I spent almost 2 hours in there with one of the owners and touched every english, literature, grammar, spelling, vocabulary book in there!
I read the synopsis, and Tony even agreed on the final yahoo! Easy Grammar! I am going to learn this right side by side with my kids! I loved it...how it was written out, the worksheets, the teachers edition is like a hand holding mine! yeah
So I got that, Spelling WorkOuts for each level, with the promise kept, Gman does not have to do cursive! lol
I got some historical maps and charts for the American Revolution, constitution, bill of rights and lewis and clark!
Writing is big for me and the state of California, and I am using the standards rather tightly to keep me on a path.
I picked up Genres of Literature, Writing with the 5 Paragraph Model(which I think I am going to scrap a poster for the kids or something to stick in their journal) This is a big part of the final testing, writing a persuasive essay (5 paragraphs) so I want to give them a good foundation. I also picked up Traight writtings, and a Literacy Centers little folder. I make the folders and they pick the one they want to do...16 of them...should be a fun for all and mom!
We are reading Roll of Thunder, Hear my Cry right now, so I got a teaching guide for it also!
perhaps I have too much, but I looked at them, it is like 15 minutes tops work for most, and much less for others.
My panic quilled and I really feel prepared! I have the math, it should be in my home by next week! Spanish, Social Studies and Science will take another 2 weeks, but we will start math August 1oth and get a grove down with reading journals, p.e. chores and life at home....
I'm goin' all the way............for the Lord!



I

Claudi is leaving ONE store!

I have this wonderful gig, I make QP's, page clusters and I get to me a help to Claudi of Claudi Designs. I kind of stumbled into this whole thing due to my obsessive compulsive organization skills. Yeah! I am a very organized person, and have actually had to become less so, in order to have a happy home and family! I used to schedule my day in 15 minute increments....my hubby said, "uhm, babe, that is not happening!" lol
Soooooo, I organized Claudi's team of talented QP artists, and we got a ball rolling and now Claudi has more time to design. She is wanting to concentrate on a few stores, so the shop at Inspiration Lane is closing for Claudi, but she does have a great leaving sale!!!
Claudi also has a brand new kit; Hot Summer! I don't know about all you, but here on the west coast of America we are cooking! It has been a summer of popsicles, bein' in the water and search for shade! This kit has it all! I played with it, and amazingly, this whole layout has only 8 elements, the rest is papers blended with a fun picture of my girls devouring cold fried chicken at the beach! You can even see the seagull in the H of beach! I love when that happens totally in the picture but not planned in the layout! Those waves are off Claudi's papers...so cool! It is available right now at Inspiration Lane....

coming up on 20 years! wowza

okay, we will be married 20 years in February...but Lorilei Murphy had this kit, it is all black and white with greenery that is so fresh and crisp! The kit is called Pristine and it is available only at Rosey Posey Studios...and it is! I mean you can do heritage wedding pics, any color wedding with it, because the elegance of the monochromatic...so I dug this picture out(a scan actually) and played with a scraplift challenge from DSO, (dear LouCEE's) the scraplift was from Hutch...wow, what a cast of characters for one layout eh?
I wanted to try something complete different, with the alpha in the kit (of which there are two different ones), so I played with the transparency and desaturation...it is a bit different, and missing something...but I am glad I stepped out of my box! The picture if you can't see is our hands with our rings on the bible, with my little bouquet of flowers. That was one budget wedding!