Summer vacation

CHECK

 

We just got back from a week long vacation in Palm Springs...it was hot, like 105' degrees HOT but lucky for us there were pools in every corner of the resort or should I say lucky for my kids.

 

 

 

We were busy pretty much everyday but still had lots of down time, mostly at night.

 

My hubby needed a great break from work and he came home rested - thank you Jesus.

 

We took a trek/hike at the Indian Canyons springs...it was so hot and humid but once inside the springs it was nice and cool but barely any water - just enough to keep us cool...

 

 

Now to get back into the groove of getting things done around here.

 

In fact my little dude is starting school in 3 weeks. So the rest of the summer will be just me and the girls (pictured above) should be fun, and QUIET!!!!

 

Hope your summer is running smoothly and that you are keeping cool.

 

xo

tina

My little Boy

(This is a long post - grab a drink--)

There are a few things that I am truly proud of one of them is being a mom. I do fall short a lot of times but for the most part I think I am damn good at being a mom and a cool mom at that.

 

My little guy as cute as he is

 

He can be quite the handful. Its maddening most days but he respects me and listens to me and ONLY me...which is nice. We celebrated his birthday today - he turned 7! I mean really where did the time go?

 

We are close and to be honest it worries me sometimes that he is too much a mama's boy...don't get me wrong...I love all the extra hugs and kisses but sometimes it seems excessive. I know in a few years he wont want to be even near me let alone giving me hugs in public so I should take it all when its available...

 

I do treasure it all, I just think maybe he should be less into me and more into his dad...I don't know I am just going with the flow

 

If you know my son then you know he has an evolving case of Obsessive Compulsive Disorder...(that's my personal diagnosis) so when he was 3 he took on a serious obsession with Michael Jackson. It was all MJ all the time, the clothes, the music, the videos, the you tube searches all day long and that lasted for 2 1/2 years

 

 

then about a year ago he started obsessing over SpongeBob - like videos and music and bedroom make-overs and clothing - ALL over again...he shared that lime light with Roller Coasters - he would look up the coasters online and talk about them constantly!

 

 

 

So he we are; he is 7 and his NEWEST obsession is SUPER MARIO BROS....

He's addicted to the Wii game, he watched people on you tube playing Mario, he had me draw him a shirt with all the characters and now he's collecting the plush dolls & sleeping with them.

 

I am always helping feed his current addiction and yes I will continue to throughout his life because as his mom I want him to be happy and find joy in his life so I will continue to listen to him talk incessantly about his newest obsession, I will watch his kooky videos, and buying him things to represent his new "thing"

Because he is currently into Super Mario Bros here is the Birthday card I created for him...

It's my first attempt at punch art-not exactly how I envisioned it but it looks cool - I think and he liked it.

 

 

 

Here's is to my crazy family and all our silly quirks.

 

We had a beautiful weekend celebrating him...

 

Hope you all had a great weekend and are enjoying your families.

 

I am linking this up to the following challenges:

 

stamped blessings - texture

cas on sunday - birthday

crafting when we can - green, blue, red

scribble & scraps - anything goes

 

 

xo

tina

 

 

 

Baby Girl

I am feeling extremely sentimental today - tomorrow my first born baby girl will graduate from 8th grade and our summer will be spent preparing for HIGH SCHOOL. I mean really - 9th grade with big kids - who are much more savvy & experienced then she is. It's a scary thought but I know how excited she is....which reminds me to put my fears aside and not get her anxious but rather pray that I have shared enough and taught her enough to prepare for such a big transition....

 

This past weekend we had a graduation party for her and she had a blast...my daughter is the one on the left - the blondie....although I look like I could be the mother of the other 3 more so. {wink}

 

She was thrilled with her little party and it was fun to see her being silly - almost little girlish with her friends. Yup she wanted a jumper for her and her friends to use at her party (love)

 

to commemorate her growing up I made 2 scrapbook layouts to WELCOME a new BABY GIRL...

Because afterall this is the path that all mothers and daughters go thru no matter the color, ethnicity or country - we mothers birth our girls, care for them and teach them the ways of the world and prepare them for every stage of their lives...

 

Here is to more beautiful baby girls being born into this crazy world of ours. Congratulations....

 

I am linking this up to the parties above..

 

Have a beautiful weekend.

tina

Back to School

Just as quick as SUMMER arrived swoosh SCHOOL is back in session today. I have a brand new first grader and a 6th grader...both very big steps. One is just starting their elementary education and the other is finishing up & preparing for junior high. SCARY....

My little girl is so young (in her heart and brain) and personally I would like to keep it like that but I know this year she will learn some things - some I don't want her to learn and some things SHE shouldn't learn-just yet.

My little guy, we don't call him TORNADO for nothing. I hope he can stay calm and listen while he learns. He is charming and sweet but boy can he talk. I am anxious to see how his first day goes.

Since yesterday was our LAST official day of summer around here I decided to make some BACK-2-SCHOOL cupcakes...but then I got a little creative and used one frosting to create 3 different 
cupcakes...check it out.

Here are the ingredients...chocolate cupcakes (boxed) white icing, red food coloring, pretzels & some green sour patch kids...

ice your cupcakes with the red icing add the STEM (pretzel) then cut the sour patch kids into leaf shapes (triangle) and add to the side of the stem - then leave it as is or perhaps print out a cute little phrase on  your printer and stick it to a toothpick and insert into the cupcakes...

Cute right? then again if you want your cupcake to appear a bit more "HEALTHY" (isn't that an oxy moron statement) - then why not try adding some fruit and because the icing is red - it just looks good when you use some yummy red fruit like RASPBERRY'S

Or why not try a delicious CHERRY...yummers.

I love playing around with different toppings...the possibilities are endless really. I hope you had a special first day planned for your little ones or are prepping for one --- have a crafty week

I am linking this up to the following parties:

MONDAY FUN DAY LINK UP

MARKET YOURSELF MONDAY

GIVE ME THE GOODS MONDAY

CRAFT O MANIAC

MADE WITH LOVE MONDAY

CRAFTASTIC MONDAY

MAKE IT PRETTY MONDAY 

& the links up in the top of my blog

XO

TINA

Road trip Rita

Seeing as this is a road trip and I have lots of time I between stops - I thought I would put together a doll that could help make my photos look a bit more interesting 😀

Best part about the "history" of this doll is I bought the fabric for it in the coolest town Bozeman, Montana & the buttons & felt in Missoula Montana - so it's truly a road trip souvenir a since I finished her off in Missoula - I will use her in this leg if our trip --- keep in mind this was all done by hand & looks it😜 

I think it's cuter then what I was using before!!! 

Here's to finding things to do on your down time!!! Rita leaving Billings Montana!

Safe travels from road trip Rita & me!

Road trip 2013

We are on day 6 of our trip & already we spent 2 days in Vegas 2 days in Utah & 2 nights in Yellowstone --- 

Realized that camping really isn't my thing. But give myself props for surviving 2 nights & 1 full day there. It was cold, raining the first night (all nite) & there was no Internet... Lots of down time which is hard for me to get used to. The kids had fun we saw some amazing sites!!!! Like old faithful - & tons of other geysers plus 

the kids got fish... Notes were spent all huddled up under the covers...

And now we are on our way to Montana to stay at the hot springs...look g forward to taking a shower & changing clothes...

Also wanted to share a fun little idea I had / which I will change up in the next few days to make it more personal!!! Here's a hint: 

Hope you are having a fabulous summer

Tina

Happy Mother's Day

Wishing all you mommy's out there the sweetest day ever with your littles...

Let's Scrap

One of my goals this year is to scrapbook more - and more meaningful layouts - not playing catch-up on years past but on the NOW...after all everyone should be living in the NOW.



 

Here is my first scrapbook layout for 2013

 

 

I used 12 x 12 sheet of paper - by Sassafrass Lass

made my own embellishments

 

Here is a total shot of my layout.

 

I used some plain card stock and added my title and then my journaling along with some star stamped images and some of my homemade punched embellishments.

 

Here is another view of the whole page.

 

I used some fun banner stickers to add a small detail in the top corner. My journaling is about us visiting the BEACH the day after Thanksgiving and while the sun felt hot the weather was breezy and the water was cold and my three kids played in the water for a few hours without complaining.

 

I swear that after buying those boogie boards in October and going to the beach a few times since then - they will NOT get out of the water - all they NEEDED was those dang boogie boards...note to self the more play toys they have the MORE they play - duh,...

 

Here's wishing you are getting a good start on your New Years GOALS

 

xo

tina

 

 

 

Merry Christmas

(photo taken at the show SANTA CONQUERS THE MARTIANS at the Fllerton maverick playhouse)

 

Merry Christmas to you and your family ---

from our family and a few Martians !

Because sometimes on this crazy planet we call earth we get a little bit crazy, things spin out of control and time creeps up so fast we forget to take a breath and enjoy the spirit of the holiday season.

Today that's what I plan on doing ---

 

See you in 2013

tina

12/12/12

today is a BIG day - for several reasons - 1st: it is my daughters 12th birthday...

she is 12 on 12 - 12 - 12 -

2nd: we will never see a date like this for another 100 years --- spectacular right?

 

Here is my sweet girl

 

taken today! 

 

We had a wonderful day celebrating with her!

 

also wanted to share our Christmas cards for this year.

I found a cool card in the nov/dec paper crafts magazine and cased it.

A bit different but similar. I love me some simple and easy to make cards.

I had everything in my stash already - so no cost.

 

I used some fun holiday ribbon used a stamp I got in the dollar bin of Joanne's and a MS holly leaf punch. Those red berries are actually clear bling dots that I colored with my red copic marker. I am also including a photo of my kids in our kids this year.

 

Nice, complete and - look there - they match or coordinate - pretty cool!

 

Here's wishing your card making and sending is going smoothly.

 

I am linking up my cards to the following challenges:

 

abc Christmas challenge- xmas/punch

sweet stampin Christmas-- anything Christmas

crafting for all seasons - green, red, glitter, sparkle

the perfect sentiment - must have sentiment on front/ xmas

anything goes challenge - traditional Christmas colors

clear it out - Christmas or red & green

deep ocean challenge - Christmas

top tip Tuesday - Christmas

 

xo

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Happy Thanksgiving

Boy am I stuft! I woke up early to put the turkey in the oven and get the side dishes started
and set our table - of which I sewed up last night.

WHat do you think?

 

I used some burlap and made some ruffles for the edges of the table runner

 

I cut out some leaf shapes from felt and then used my sewing machine to add some accents stems and decoration to each leaf...

 

Because I wanted this to be versatile I didn't sew on the leaves just laid them on the runner.

 

 

Then I just added my other decorations to the top of the runner some handmade fabric pumpkins and some smaller stuft leaves...

 

It was a great addition to our table but I would have added some more length to the runner because the edges just ended at the end of the table so when you sit down to eat you have to lift up the table runner so that the plate doesn't wobble over the ruffle.

 

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving lunch and I hope you did too...

 

the kids table!!

 

Happy Thanksgiving

 

xo

tina