Well here is the much promised Smilebox of Amber singing the Apple Poem she learned in Pre-school! After we went apple picking she sang it the whole ride home in the car. I knew I had to find a way to share it with everyone.

Truly a MOM moment.

Im not afraid to be one of those parents who GUSH over their kids! Dont we ALL think our kids are the cutest on the planet? So here I am saying it-she is adorable and would make the cutest commercial EVER! LOL!

Hope you like it. I know this is one of those moment that will be so precious when she is all grown up. You have to love the little kid voices they have.

If she stays this cute Im in BIG trouble.

Click to play | Make your own Smilebox

Thanks for lookin!

Well since you all LOVED the “movie” of Alexa and Amber I did a movie/photo clip of Alexa getting her Surprise Princess Party Dress! You all have followed Alexa’s story and agonizing journey I thought you may enjoy this.

Wait till her party! Now that will be a great video. All the details leading to this video can be read below. Not a reader-no problem-watch the video!

BTW-I hate my valley girl voice, and I am originally from Massachusetts hence the probable accent.

Here it is!

Click to play | Make your own Smilebox

Her actual birthday is the 29th! I got ONE RSVP to her party today, and am anxiously awaiting more! Alexa is so excited for her Princess Costume Party-its insane!

I bought her a really pretty purple Princess Costume dress. In NO WAY CHINCY. You could easily wear it as clothing. She loved it,  but when she put it on said “Oh but its not a Cinderella Dress.”

I was quick to ask her if she wanted Cinderella instead of the purple and she basically spared my feelings by saying “Well this one is pretty too! Its OK Ill wear this one to my party” I thought OH GREAT! She’s secretly disappointed. Now THAT is the type of thing you NEVER forget. I can see it now-20 years from now…………………………..

” Mom, remember my cool princess party. Its was really great. I really wanted that Cinderella dress. That would have been perfect. Remember X (insert girls name) She came in the dress that I wanted. She got to be Cinderella for my party.”

Well you know I couldn’t let that happen! The girl wanted a Cinderella dress ,well then she was gonna get a Cinderella dress. You only turn 8 once ya know!

So my online hunt began! For a mere $60-$80 I could get one online! GULP! Explain that to a DAD! Guys do NOT understand nor do they care about the NEEDS of an 8 year old girl, who NEEDS a Cinderella dress! Let alone one at the cost of $80 then shipping!

My dear, sweet, very pregnant-like due literally today-PSF friend Tracey said Hey Im going to go to the Disney store and try to find a dress for you! She knew there was not one close to me, and the kids have been sick! So she and her very preggers self, along with cutie pie daughter Shannon not only went there to find the PERFECT Cinderella dress but they found the matching GLASS LIGHT UP SLIPPERS! HELLO!!!

The dress was on SALE! $25! Unless she lied to me and in that case I would NOT be happy! And its beautiful!

Thank you so much girls for helping me find the perfect dress for Alexa’s party! I wish Shannon could go!

Paulette-if you are reading this I would love for Ally to come but was unsure if it was “too young” for her. If not, let me know. She is just at that ‘age” when you arent sure what is too young for her KWIM??

So anyway-that is the whole dress story! Imagine when the girls get married! Good Grief!

I did get an amazing compliment about the invite and party festivities! Cant Wait!

Well I better TRY to go stamp something! Havent done that at all today.

Tomorrow I’ll share my Blogger’s Challenge! (Oh yeah now I really need to get inking), and a Smilebox of our Apple Picking adventure. Wait till you see Amber sing a song! OMG! WAY cute!

I want to personally congratulate all the new member’s of the ATS Design Team! I look forward to getting to know these women better. Please know any of you can contact me anytime 😀 As can my readers!

Let the fun begin!

Here are the newest members, and their blog links.

Cathy Indelicato – her blog: Crafty Thoughts 

Christina Fischer – her blog: Flowers and Ink

Jenn Diercks – her blog: Stamp Your Heart Out

Jennifer Ofiana – her blog: Jen’s Stampin’ Spot

Julie Buhler – her blog: Paper Pleasing Ideas

Michele Boyer – her blog: Paper Cuts

Sophia Landry – her blog: Moonlight Inker

Valerie Stangle – her blog: {stampin’ gal Val} creating paper sunshine

AmyR had such a hard position of choosing these new members. I did NOT envy her position! I listened to her agonize over it, and I was fortunate enough to not have to make any decision’s! Not always fun being at the top! 😀 There were so many amazingly talented women.

I never realized how hard it must be to pick a team when so many people are truly deserving! It made me realize that we really cannot take the rejection personally. I KNOW everyone keeps saying that but it really is true.

So if you applied, and did not get picked, dont forget they will have another call in a few months!

In the meantime keep stamping, and perfecting your style, and photos!

Well Im so happy you all like seeing my Smilebox creations! They are so fun! And they even inspire some card ideas too! Maybe even a scrapbook page-OK maybe not-I think I’ll stick with the cute, interactive, and fast version instead! LOL!

The reaction to the video of Alexa and Amber was so heartwarming! I will definitely have a video one of Alex’a birthday! I just bought her Princess dress today, after going to the dentist for my first cleaning after 10 years!

OMG! I should have done a Smilebox video for that! LOL! Too funny. I had a death grip on the chair!

For those who have NOT gone to the dentist in a while I can tell you it wasn that bad! They numbed my gums before the cleaning-that was NEW! So its wasnt totally awful! I have another step 2 cleaning in 2 weeks where they will fill one big cavity! YIKES!

They do some water thing instead of scrapping-they did scrap after alittle but it wasn that bad.

OK here is a Smilebox of Amber making cupcakes for her class! Speaking of cavities, and dentists!!!

She made these for her Pre-School class! They turned out super yummy!

She did it ALL by herself! Even the frosting! I just measured everything out-then put it on the counter.

 I admit it was hard to give up control! LOL! But she was so proud and did so good.

I chose black and white cause it matched the bkgd better! LOL! Plus my lighting was not too fabulous!

PAY NOT ATTENTION TO THE HAPPY BIRTHDAY!  I will talk to Smilebox about having some things so showcase kids and cooking without a specific sentiment!

I really hope you try one! If you do send it to me-Id love to see it! Or if you have suggestions for some you dont see but would like to in the future!

Thats part of the fun of what I get to do! Test products, and give my input on future stuff. Its  really cool!

Click to play | Make your own Smilebox

One of my regular readers here did a post on her about Alexa’s Stamp set! Her samples are adorable.

More so than that was the message!

Please click —>HERE to read it! Its so sweet. I love also seeing/hearing what other people out there do to use stamping to make a difference!

Thanks so much MJ! There are so many people who will be touched by your contribution!

Before you watch this you need some background info!

Jason is the coach of Noah’s team. There are 6 kids. All ages 4-5. it was a very hot day too!

This was their very first game, and it was against an older team! They only had 3 practices!

I was so proud of the team. Noah LOVES soccer, and I was so happy to see him do something he truly enjoyed. He likes to run-alot on and off the field! LOL! He did so well. He even scored 3 goals! Too bad it was in the other teams net!

He didnt even care he was jumping up and down waving his arms saying “YEAH! I SCORED! I WON! I’M AWESOME!” That was precious!

I dont care if he’s the star player-just that he work as a team and participate. Just seeing him truly enjoy himself and count day the days till the next practice is so great for me as a parent. Isnt that all we want? Just for our children to be happy. Seeing this first time playing team kick butt was great. The ending score was 6 to eight-we lost! But Noah did score 3 of their goals!~

I’m also proud of my husband for being such an involved father, and seeing his patience with the kids-that is a virtue I do NOT possess! They did pretty good following his directions and aside from going the wrong way a few times did awesome.

The first clip is a video. Its of Noah’s kickoff-watch the kids try to follow directions! HILARIOUS! The boy who is suppose to stand over the ball kicks it, and in the end tackles it! Its like he decided to play football instead! Very precious!

 Here is Noah’s first game! Sorry some of the stuff is a bit fuzzy! I was far away.

WARNING if you get motion sick-dont watch my video I took using our camera! OH BOY!

Click to play | Make your own Smilebox

What’s that noise? Did you hear that?

NOPE, I don’t hear anything?

The only sound I hear is my own thoughts!

Imagine that?

My house hasn’t been this quiet since September 28, 1999. How do I know the exact date of when the last time it was that quiet?

Well my first child was born September 29, 1999! LOL!

Seriously-this is nice. I feel a tiny pange of guilt saying that, but that quickly melts away as I sip my coffee in silence. No screaming, running, yelling “SHE hit ME!” ” I’m hungy”, Wipe my butt” “Can I go do this or Can I have -INSERT RANDOM WANT OF MANY KINDS? “No I dont want to”

From 6 am to 8pm this banter is non stop. Dont believe me-call my house in between those times, and you will hear it. Somedays my voice get hoarse from all the “NO! Dont do this!” ” Hey Get in Time out!” “What did I just say?” No!No!No!.

Its really awful when you type it out, but I KNOW I’m not alone. I didnt want to be my mother but somehow it just happened. Overnight really. Once my second became a toddler-I was done for. The ONE kid I could handle NO problem. No one to share with, fight with, take from-EASY!

Dont get me wrong I LOVE my children. I would give my very own life for them, but for now I’m going to enjoy my time of just ME. MAYBE I’ll actually excercise! Maybe I’ll run errands, or clean the house. Maybe I’ll stamp and eat my twizzlers instead! LOL! Ok maybe do that AFTER I exercise.

Here is scrapbook of Noah’s First day-and all 3 kids going off to school! YAHOOOOOO!

Click to play | Make your own Smilebox

Now here is Alexa’s! I did a few photos from the other years. Keeping in mind she missed the last 1 1/2 years due to her Chemo treatments. She was so silly her first day back I couldnt get a decent photo! Oh well! We also dont have photos from her 2005 cause Jason and I were in Hawaii and had the camera! So we have Kodak photos that we still ahvent developed! YIKES! What bad parents!

Anyway-it was heart wrenching for me to view all these photos of her.

Cancer SUCKS! Im really feelin it today. She has Chemo tomorrow. This round is rough on her cause she will ahve her Spinal Chemo, and bone marrow aspiration. Keep her in prayer PLEASE! All the germs at school! Her immune system is so fragile after these treatments. We have had some scary bumpy roads, and I really can’t handle much more of that this year!

Anyway-she is loving school, and is doing so good. God has been good to us. I meet too many parent who aren’t as fortunate as we have been. I still have my baby. Some dont win that battle. I cant even imagine, nor do I want to even fathom the thought.

OK Happy note-here it is.

Click to play | Make your own Smilebox

Here is a clip from Amber’s first day at pre- school. She LOVES school!

Click to play | Make your own Smilebox

Aren’t these so cute! You should try making your own. Its free-unless you upgrade or decide to send it or print it. You can even blog them-obviously! LOL! They only took a few minute each! I really love these programs cause I am SO not computer savvy, and they make it all super easy.

If you install one let me know!! I’d love to see it.

OK I promise to come back and show you some STAMPING stuff. I just wanted to share these! Now Im off to stamp land!

PEACE AND QUIET!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Happy Friday!!! Dont’ miss your chance at MYTIME MAIL!!! Click ——->HERE

I have tona to babble about, as I feel like Im on the phone sharing with a girlfriend. If you aren’t into the BLAH BLAH BLAH-scroll down to the cool Lauren’s Loot Bag.

I JUST got back from the dentist. I havent been in 10 years! HATE that place and would rather give birth again than go to the dentist-seriously! Id even take a PAP Smear over it.

After x-rays and whatnot I now remember WHY I hate the dentist-I have 11 cavities! HOLY CRAP! How many teeth are in our head? 32-and 11 of mine of ruined! After being told I have that many cavities I was then complimented that I have beautiful teeth, lots of protective enamel blah blah blah then told had I actually had my twice yearly cleaning Id be fabulous. Slapped on the wrist told to fix my cavities and keep up with cleaning and I will keep the pearly coffee yellows my whole life! LOL!

I was also asked how on earth I am even eatting due to one major cavity on my left side. Guess when you have given birth to 3 children and your daughter has Cancer some things just take a back seat and pain has a whole new meaning! OK sorry I have to make light that this 10 year avoidance is going to cost me over $2,000, as I also learned our dental cover more than ___________(insert whatever word you wish).

Let me say that I have enjoyed reading all your comments. Looks like alot of you NEED more stamp time 😀 AND you all need to post your creations MORE, and dont be afraid to participate in challenges. Its alot of fun and helps you grow as a stamper!

I am also happy to read I’m not the only hoarder of my stamped little treasures of art. I did feel more alone in the fact that Im not a good person and sends lots of RAK’s and just because cards. Its not that I dont have “peep’s” who would love it! I just never do it.

Upon reading the comments I found the site Cards For Cancer. I decided to take my Hoarded treasures and help a cause! I am sending them there! I have to go through my box- (make sure they are appropriate ones) but will post the photo of all the goodies I send there this weekend orsometime next week. We will see what our family Labor Day weekend has planned as to my free MYTIME.

Have any of you considered doing that?

Let me clarify that my intent for the questions was not to guilt you into purging. I just love hearing about my readers, and then this link popped up and there I was PMing someone about what they do!

Obviously I love to help in whatever avenue my stamping can make a difference-donating cards for cause, Alexa’s stamp set, Make A Wish set, YOU NAME IT. Last Christmas I donated a bunch of cards (over 1,000)  to Davids House for families of sick children. Anyway-wanted to share that with you.

NOW BACK TO THE GOODS

Well I thought it would be fun to share this idea I had while attempting a card that went WRONG! Its cool how a bad thing can be turned so good.

I decided it would be come a bag holder, due to the flap style. Since the idea was for Halloween treat bags I like to call it Lauren’s Loot 😀 With the help of my Scor-Pal, it was really easy to whip up. Love the crisp and profession score I get.

These came out cute, and were really fast and easy to make. I’m thinking this is the Halloween Lott bags my kids classes are going to receive.

 Spooky Delight

This is the front view. The Ghost image by C.C. Designs (Halloween set releasing tomorrow) was actually stamped on white glitter paper by DCWV. The “moon” is a piece of banana cardstock punched with a 1 1/4 circle, and does have a Sakura glitter pen run along the edges. Sorry for the blurry photo.

The stars paper was a perfect cover for my bag front. Its the Rock Star stack also by DCWV.

Click the thumbnails to view images larger.

 View from side so you can see its a bag cover

 Other side, flap open. The image is adhered to the flap portion so it open. THe image on the flap weighs it down so it stays closed.

DIRECTIONS

1)Take a white lunch sack or other bag, can cut down top to size.

     In this case my bag is 3 1/2 wide by 4 inches high.

2) Cut base from cardstock or patterned cardstock. It should be a bit wider all around the bag.

      My example measures 4 1/4 x 6 1/2.

3) Score at 1 1/2 inches for the flap.

4) Use redline tape and adhere bag to base. Cover front of bag with piece of coordinating cardstock

DONE!!

Here is a supah cute sample for a shower Lauren’s Loot bag. This could be baby or bridal shower. Endless possibilities!

 Shower Time

This one is cool cause the flap slided under the ribbon-so you can fit ALOT of goodies in there!

 Side view    other side view bag full   Bag open

Well I hope you liked this idea, and if you attempt it please share a link to it for us! Very easy to do, especially for mass producing.

I’d love to hear what you think of my samples.

TOMORROW I announce the MYTIME MAIL winner, and have my Sketch Challenge. So for those who haven’t done any now is a great time to start!

Whip out your wallets ladies!

All That Scraps is having a sale THIS weekend ONLY!

Check it out HERE!

While you are there dont miss the NEW items! Im off to fill my cart. I cant turn down a sale 😀

Click to play | Make your own Smilebox

You may be able to tell that I drag holidays and special occassions on as long as possible! LOL!

I think celebrating happy times is important. Our Wedding/Honeymoon was one of the happiest times of my life.

My Mom always made a big deal of Birthdays and other holidays so I think thats where it comes from. They are milestones in which we mark the changes in our life. The good and the bad.

I am extatic because I really do have an amazing husband and father for my children. We have such a great relationship. One that I would be jealous of if I weren’t in it! LOL!

I hope my children find in a partner what Jason and I have together.

Jason has really supported and respected my aspirations as a wife, mother, friend and stamper.

We have been through alot together. And I think the key is we have leaned on each other through it all.

I’m just so happy to have been able to document our special day using this Smilebox. It only took maybe 20 minutes. Picking my photos was the LONG part.

So far we both look pretty much the same. I hope to say the same in 10 more years!

HISTORY-We eloped to Hawaii to get married. We decided to spend money on ourselves as oppose to a huge Wedding that feeds 100 people for 6 hours of fun. We had a videographer-so we have  video of our ceremony (my kids love to watch it), and a photographer.

It felt like we were the only 2 people on the face of the earth.

We got married on a private beach, and after our ceremony we went to a Tradional Hawaiian Luau. At the Luau we were treated like ROYATLY! Still in our Wedding Attire. We got special seating, a first wedding dance in front of everyone, traditional Hawaiian Wedding cake-not as good as our wedding cake! LOL! We also  got a private canoe ride through the Polynesian Cultural Center.  We saw traditional Hula dancers, and flame throwers. Its was an amazing expierience-far better than a reception would have been.

We then spent 2 weeks following our ceremony traveling a crusieship and island hopping around Hawaii. Its was the most magical, and amazing time.

My favorite part of our wedding ceremony was Jason being SO STRESSED about having the rings! He kept checking and checking. He was paranoid about it.

When we arrived the Priest told us “Whatever you do, don’t drop the Wedding Rings.” “This sand is like quicksand, and if you drop it you will never find it”

We began our cereomy……………

During our vows, it came to the rings. Jason quickly realized forgot to bring them down to the archway! He left them in their box up on the beach. Once the camera cut, so he could retrieve them, he came back to restart our vows.

Vows begin again……………..

Jason got the ring from his pocket, then dropped it in the sand! It was HILARIOUS!

When we got our wedding video I thought for sure there was no way of patching it up, but the guy did, seamlessly. I almost wished he left that part in, as it was so funny. Poor Jason.

I’d love to hear a wedding story from you! It can be yours or anyone else you know. Whatever you want to share.

Thanks for watching my SmileBox creation. I hope you get to try one. Its alot of fun.