On the road again...

I just got back from Chicago it seems and now I'm off to Atlanta for CKU. Traveling takes everything out of me these days. I want a day to dedicate to my kids...to hold them, play with them, kiss them 'til there are no more kisses left. I really just need one of those days...

But no...I have to pack instead....and clean the house...and make dinner...and finish up some stuff on the website... Wow, I sound very depressing....sorry about that!

I had a great time in Chicago but missed seeing about half of the people I wanted to see. Everything was so rushed and I failed to go with a list and a concrete plan. I have no excuse whatsoever. I even had 8 hours of uninterrupted time in Tulsa OK that I could have used...but I did some other work instead.

I did find some great stuff to add to www.polkadotpotato.com. We finally figured out some crucial e-commerce stuff so we'll be shipping worldwide before you know it! I can't wait for Christmas time. I have so many fun gift ideas to add to the site. It's going to be a blast!

Every so often I get hit upside the head with the panic bug. I know there is a reason that I'm changing business directions from Magic Scraps to Polka Dot Potato and I'm constantly giving it all up to God b/c it's only with His help that I'm going to get through this. I know that all the pieces of the puzzle will come together. I thank new friends like Des that give me encouragement at just the right time.

Here's some fun pics from Chicago! It was so awesome meeting up with Lynda and walking the show with her - she's my Studio D friend and will be doing the chat tonight about Photoshop Elements. I can't wait. I have lots of questions of my own! Also, being with Pam was just like old times...LOVE HER!! And Jen and Brandy were a blast, too! All in all, it was the most fun I've had at CHA in years!! I loved not having to exhibit and being able to just take it all in!

My beautiful kids were featured on the Noritsu booth signage. It was easy for Emily to tell people what I had been up to that way :)

By the way, if anyone hasn't seen Emily's makeover, you must take a look: www.emilyhadams.blogspot.com
People had a hard time recognizing her at the show!

Here's Lynda, Elvis and me...thank you very much.

Me & Pam at a tapas bar...not a topless bar :)

What do you do when...

Question: What do you do with the squirt toys that were in the bathtub when your baby girl takes the biggest BM of her life?

My daughters were taking a bath together when all of a sudden, Ella, my 2.5 year old, jumps out screaming at the top of her lungs. Gracie, oblivious to what the hubbub was all about, was happily splashing the now brown tinted water. Of course they had every toy know to mankind in the bathtub with them. So I guess I need to go bathtub toy shopping soon...

I've been a little MIA lately, mostly b/c I've dedicated every waking hour to work of some sort. If it's not Magic Scraps, it's Polka Dot Potato. But God is doing something fun in our lives and we remain faithful that this hard work will pay off.

We had an unbelievable vacation. It was so great that I cried when we drove away. I love the Texas coast. The bay breeze, the palm trees...everything. It rained a lot but it didn't bring us down in the least bit. It was great just hanging out. Here are some of my favorite pics from the trip:

The beautiful sunset from the cottage pier

a self-take of me and Nolen hanging out together on the pier...the only picture of me from the whole trip. :)

We were met with some rain...okay, a LOT of rain...during the dolphin show at the Texas State Aquarium in Corpus Christi.

Here are my cutie girls, Gracie & Ella

Now it's off to Chicago for CHA Summer. I'll be doing some Spud Club buying and if you want to know what the Spud Club is, then stay tuned to the Potato to learn more.

Out for now.

Life and times of a workaholic

Are You - or Someone You Know - a Workaholic?
by Randall S. Hansen, Ph.D.

Does this scenario sound familiar to you? You love your work and are responsible for multiple projects and tasks that continue to be assigned to you or your group. You actually thrive on the multiple deadline pressures. Or perhaps you hold multiple jobs or own your own business. Your work hours are long, your at-home hours short, and your sleep hours few. Vacations and social visits with friends are a distant memory. Your only hobby is your job.

_________________

I admit it...this is me. I can't help it! I try oh so hard but I just get too dang passionate about stuff! The summer has been wilder than the school year...hard to believe, but true. I've been a terrible blogger most because I've been trying to keep up with TWO blogs - check out my new PDP blog. But luckily I have friends that do a great job with their blogs so I can easily tell my stories through them.

After the wildly successful garage sale two weeks ago, I went to my friend Lisa's house for a Jr. High / High School get-together with old friends. Read all about the "Good Times: here: Jen's Blog

Last week, Emily and I were off the CKU San Jose. We had a fabulous time!! Even got a pedicure! Emily's recap is here: Emily's Blog.

While I am back into my workaholic mode, I have had the fun of bringing the kids up to the office a lot more. Either Nolen or Ella come up and hang with me every day. Yesterday I had all THREE here together...that was a little much... I'm just so thrilled that they want to come up here. They actually beg to, and if I sneak out of the house without one of them I inevitably get a phone call that asks that I drive back to get them.

I remember going with my dad to work as a child. Those are really some of my best memories and no doubt the beginnings of my workaholic tendencies. My dad supported our very middle class family of 4 kids with a "roach coach"...one of those silver catering trucks that feed offices and construction sites. Needless to say, we were the most popular house on the street. Every childs dream come true...a silver truck with chips, cokes, candy and crap! I had to get up at about 5 am to go with my dad to work. We loaded the truck at a central place where all the catering trucks loaded up. It was still dark outside and I'll never forget all the hurried people running around, getting ready for the day. I loved eating a fresh warm glazed donut and drinking hot chocolate while waiting in the truck cab for my dad to finish. Then off to the first stop. My dad would blare his horn to the theme of the lone ranger and out came scads of people. I would accesorize with my very own changer on my waist. I desperately wanted to be involved in selling so I would make a sign: "Pay me for cigarettes". The cigs were kept on a large tray on the passenger side of the truck, so I would just open the door and stand there and try to get customers to pay me as they chose from Marlboro Lights or Kool 100s Menthol. Oh, those were the days...8 years old, hawking cigarrettes. Seriously though, I loved every second of it.

Nolen has spent a considerable time up here packaging things for the next garage sale on July 8th. He fully intends to have his own booth and tells me he'll split the money he makes with me. So generous considering it's all my stuff anyway:)

I'm off to a short family vacation in Rockport, TX ...not a place most would consider their first choice as a vacation spot but for me and my family it's perfect! A little sun, fishing, and relaxing is just what this workaholic needs.

I hope every one has a fantastic 4th of July. GOD BLESS AMERICA!!

Scrapbookers DREAM Garage Sale!!

Oh my goodness, have we accumulated some stuff!!! We're having a garage sale on Saturday, 9 - 5 at the Magic Scraps office. COME - you will NOT be disappointed!! As many of you know, I'm pretty much a digital gal now so I've got some really awesome stuff I'm selling for cheap, cheap, cheap! LOTS of 4/$1.00 stuff. Plus Emily and Virginia are digging out lots more goodies from their homes. Teachers, crafters, scrapbookers, kids...all should come b/c there's something for everyone! Don't worry, if you can't come tomorrow, we're going to do it again on the 8th of July - different stuff!

Check here if you need a map: www.magicscraps.com/garagesale

We look forward to seeing you there!

PS - Cash only so hit the ATM on the way here:)

It's True!

Yes, the news is real...Magic Scraps is coming to an end...but not for a few more months so STOCK UP! Everything is truly a collectors item now :)

It's sad news but when one door closes, another always opens. I have no regrets and am really looking forward to the road ahead.

A few months ago, I caught the digital bug. This is not to say that I don't still love paper scrapping - I really do! But my #1 concern is documenting my family's history and since I have not yet discovered how to live without sleep, going digital was my only option. Once I was hooked, I knew I needed to spread the word and that's exactly what I hope to with Polka Dot Potato. We've started www.polkadotpotato.com as a starting place for a far reaching idea. We are interested in teaching hands-on digital classes so in the DFW area so if you are local, please e-mail me. (ashley@polkadotpotato.com)

If you haven't heard the news, here's the press release:

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Advantus Corporation
Phone: 904.482.0091
Fax: 904.482.0099
http://www.advantus.com/

Advantus to discontinue Magic Scraps

Jacksonville, Florida, June 12, 2006 – Advantus Corporation and Ashley Smith have announced that they will be discontinuing the Magic Scraps line of products beginning January 1, 2007. This was a mutual decision by both Ashley Smith, founder of Magic Scraps, and Kevin Carpenter, President of Advantus Corp.

Advantus will continue to sell Magic Scraps Scrappy Glue and Scrappy Tape on a go forward basis. The remaining Magic Scraps inventory will be available for sale while supplies last.

When asked about the decision to discontinue the Magic Scraps line of products, Kevin Carpenter said, “Advantus is committed to our craft and hobby division. At this time we find it necessary to focus our resources on the Cropper Hopper and Heidi Swapp brands. With the pending addition of two new major brands to be revealed at CHA Winter 2007, we made the difficult decision to discontinue Magic Scraps.”

Ashley Smith added, “I’m thankful for the experience that Advantus has given me, but I’m an entrepreneur at heart and happiest when I’m running my own business.”

Ashley and her husband Ben will be launching a new venture in digital scrapbooking, Polka Dot Potato (http://www.polkadotpotato.com/).

Adorn Magazine

Today was a GOOD day...one of the days where life just makes sense. I worked from home today. The kids behaved. I got a great workout in. Ben got a problem solved on the website. It seemed like every time the phone rang it was someone giving us good news.

I stopped by the office tonight to pick up some things, went through the mail and found a copy of the coolest new mag. It's called Adorn and it's basically a hip chick's craft magazine. It's full of really fun and usable ideas. This is the premiere issue and it doesn't hit the stands until the 13th so be on the lookout. The first thing I noticed about the magazine is it's totally cute size. It's petite and fun to hold and flip through. It just feels cool.

I love what the editor writes in the front: "What does it mean to be crafty?...mostly, I think it's an attitude, a willingness to try something new and improvise when need be. Finally, it's about trusting that there's no "right" way to do things...just what's right for you." Amen, sista!

There were several projects that really stuck out to me. One was this clock made from a record album. SO very cool. I want to do a bunch and line them up with a sign under each: New York, London, Tokyo, Sidney, etc. Wouldn't that be cute? They would be perfect in my kitchen.

Another project that I thought was rockin' was the frosted coasters. These would make awesome gifts for people. And the Heidi Swapp masks would be perfect for this. Another must do soon.

I also loved the Fiesta Mexicana article - the painted paper lanterns are fun. I LOVE paper lanterns. I decorated a paper lantern with silk flowers and use it as a decoration over my baby Gracie's bed. She has a vintage Hawiian theme going on in her room so the lantern seemed right (and cheap.) It's totally gaudy and I totally love it that way. I must give credit to my friend Virginia - she gave me the idea. I used Magic Scraps' gemstone fasteners to secure the flowers to the lantern. Ella's room is painted irridescent pearl, has a chandelier and black and pink accents. At Target's after Halloween sale I snagged some black paper lanterns to make her one full of pink flowers for over her bed...have yet to do it but I think this magazine might have inspired me to get to work on that project. Finally, there's a great article about cool vintage shops in Austin and since I just reconnected today with a childhood friend who lives in Austin, I think a roadtrip might be in my near future.

I love to see the cool side of crafting. I noticed that the publisher is SoHo Publishing - the same publisher of Scrap City where yours truly has a layout about my house. It's a well put together book. I gave a copy to my mom for Mother's Day b/c the journaling on my layout is about how much my mom influenced my love for decorating.

The magazine is a real winner, so if you see it, BUY IT!

Blog Overdue

Happy belated Memorial Day! The long weekend went by way too fast. It was fun-filled but not too crazy.

Friday night, Nolen had an impromptu sleepover with two friends - Garrett & John. Ben took all of the boys and Ella to see Over the Hedge. We'd had some free movie coupons on the fridge for ages so it turned out to be a pretty affordable night. After Ella went to bed, the 3 boys played the soundtrack to High School Musical, a disney channel original movie, and danced around the living room. I'm not sure Nolen was real keen about the dancing around but his friends were very entertained.

Side note - remember Kids Incorporated - 1984? What a great show that was:)

On Saturday we (*gasp*) got a babysitter and went to a party. My friend Jen celebrated her 34th birthday and the passing of her comps - the test she needed to pass to go forward with her Doctorate in Psychology. Several high school friends were there which made it really cool.

I find high school so completely amusing. After the party, I drove the babysitter home and boy did she have some drama going on in her life to share... and she's just 14! She hadn't even been born yet when we all graduated from high school. I think it's funny how everything seemed so monumental back then. Why was that? Hormones? Boredom? Just plain immaturity? Whatever it was, I'm so glad those days are behind me. It's fun to get to know people you knew in high school that you didn't really know at all.

Sunday & Monday we mostly just worked. We're still fine tuning our new website: www.polkadotpotato.com There's so much I want to add but I'm really pleased about how it's coming along.

Mohawks are fun!

Aren't mohawks a blast? Today was the closing ceremony at Nolen's school. So much fun! Our awesome principals had a little bet with the 5th graders - they promised to get mohawks if 100% of the kids passed the science TAKS test (the TX standardized test for 3rd - 11th grades). Well, they got so close - 97% passed which was enough for the principals to make good on their bet...so they had their wives come to the ceremony and give them mohawks in front of the kids. It was great! I don't think this was Mr. Gibbins first mohawk. His wife appeared highly skilled. Mr. Forsyth, on the other hand, ended up with a fauxhawk. And he came very prepared with his own smock.

Included in the festivities were some musical acts: Root Canal sung "Sweet Home MST" and Ms. Patterson belted "We are Family".



We've had such a wonderful year. Every teacher Nolen has had at MST has been fantastic! Nolen's teacher this year, Mrs. Yeager, is wonderful - exactly what Nolen needed - that perfect balance between patience and firmness. She was dancing to the music today. She looks about 12 in this picture I snapped. She's so fun and cute.

Tomorrow is the last day of school. I'm sure I'll cry. I get way emotional about these things.

Tiffany Tillman, Provo update and the Potato

Well, it's 4 am in Provo, UT and I can't sleep to save my life. I had some crazy dream about trying to teach with roaches and rats running around our feet and now I can't seem to get those visions out of my head. Just lovely. Perfect time to update the blog...

On Tuesday, I had the most awesome visit with Tiffany Tillman, a new 2006 CK Hall of Fame winner. We're totally kindred spirits. We swapped fun ideas and visions for the future. Our daughters are just 4 days apart, too. How cute are these girls together? And Lita is the sweetest thing ever.

I left for Provo on Wednesday and have had a really enjoyable trip. 8 years in the scrapbooking industry and this is my first time to Utah. Crazy! The mountains are gorgeous, the air is clean, it's just amazing.

Emily is on fire! She feels great and is rockin' the house as usual.

We had several hours to hang out so we went to the mall which sounds really lame but when you rarely get to shop without kids running around, this is a real treat. Ella is now the proud owner of SIX pair of flip flops! I also bought these cute matching t-shirts for my little monkeys. Can't wait to do a photo shoot.

Our newest project is [say a little prayer] just hours from going live. We had one little glitch to get past last night...not sure if it was resolved yet...but it should be... So take a look when you get a chance - www.polkadotpotato.com - and be sure to sign up for the newsletter so you can find out about the grand opening and all the fun things we're doing.

Better try to get more zzzzzz's. 8 am is right around the corner.

Living in the present

Life in general is pretty darn good. I'm excited about the future but having a good time in the present. One of my favorite quotes is by Charles Dickens - "Live in the past, the present & the future." It even resides as a magnet on my fridge. For me, it's easiest to live in the future...I'm always thinking about what's next. Living in the past isn't hard for me. I learn from past mistakes and try not to dwell on things I can't change. Living in the present is the toughest for me but I'm getting better every day.

Those that know me well, know that my scrapbooking is pretty personal to me. I put so much of myself into my craft that I feel vulnerable when I share it. I've sent pages in to be published twice in my life and was lucky enough to see them in print... A Kaleidoscope page in Memory Makers in 2000 and the Scrap City book that was just published. I'm very proud of both creations and honored to have been published but I don't think I get the rush that others do from having their pages in print. For me, it's so scary. But in an attempt to grow as a person and a scrapbooker, I've decided to put myself out there a little more... It's so weird, because I'm really a risk taker at heart. But I like to take risks that have some control over. I don't like to jump out of planes or anything...I guess I can't control other people's tastes or opinions and that's my hangup. A few weeks ago I signed up for the Ultimate Digi Scrapper contest from DigiScrappin.biz. I just completed my week 2 assignment. I'm actually very pleased with the outcome and win or lose, I'm happy with my work. I know it's out there and others may think I'm weird but this is me on paper and I like it. And really that's all that counts because I scrapbook for me.

So, here's the page: Spirit of a Girl

I'll find out on Sunday if it's good enough to go to the next round. But even if it's not, it was great doing the challenge. This was the very first page I've done about myself.

Sunday is also Mother's Day. Gracie is going to be dedicated at church which I'm super excited about. After the service we're going to my mom's house to celebrate the day. Hopefully my siblings and I will all get along for the 2 hours or so that we'll be together. That one {unlikely} event would be the best present my mom could have for Mother's Day.

Here's the pic we took of Gracie that will show up on the screen during the dedication. I think it turned out cute.

It's Greek to me

Okay, I should have known better, but nonetheless...

This evening I decided to be domestic. Ben wanted a vegetarian dinner so I decided to be ambitious and make a Greek salad. I didn't have a recipe but I have eaten my fair share of Greek salads in the past so I felt equipped enough.

I took Ella with me to SuperTarget which always makes for an interesting trip. She took her Barbie cell phone with her. She's amazingly popular for a 2 year old. We had to stop several times while shopping so she could take a "call". I couldn't really understand the conversation but I'm sure it was work-related :) I had to "talk her down" a few times - mostly about chocolate chip cookies and some multi-colored soybeans that she insisted were yummy candy. I always have such a different experience when I take Grace v. Ella to the store. When I take Grace, people just smile and say how cute she is. With Ella, if people smile at me it's one of those "you poor thing" smiles. I get more eye-rolling and obvious fleeing than anything else. Therefore, I've just stopped making eye-contact with people when I'm with Ella. Don't get me wrong about my Ella...she's an amazing child...she just has an opinion about EVERYTHING! I would be frustrated if I wasn't so personally responsible, genetically speaking.

I spent about $20 on the ingredients for the salad - 2 kinds of olives, feta cheese, romaine lettuce, tomatoes, cucumbers, etc. etc. Got home, spent about 25 minutes peeling, chopping, tossing and voila...as my husband put it...it was a valiant effort. It sucked, tasted gross and no one would eat it including myself. So if anyone has a good recipe for a Greek Salad I could certainly use it.

Cool looks

Yesterday I came across a couple of designs that I thought were cool.

Random design no. 1: The Container Store's "Glorious Gift Wrap" brochure was mailed to my house and I think this wrapping paper is truly glorious. I love the mostly white look with the spots of color thrown in and the use of black...just stunning. It makes me want to go get one of those crazy design coloring books from Michael's, just color in some of the design and hang them all over my refrigerator.

Random design no. 2: The girls watch Noggin in the morning which turns into The N later in the day...a pre-teen station that is pretty much wrong. Regardless, there is a show starting in a few days called Summerland which Nolen will under no circumstances be allowed to watch...but the logo is really cool so I took a pic.

Do you think I can write off my Tivo since I have to have it in order to take random pictures like these?

Enough of the randomness. I have a lunch date at Saltgrass...yum!

Catching Up...

Catching up on life. This pretty much sums up what I've been doing this month. It's really been a good thing.

Sleep:
Ben and I have been working hard on getting to bed say before 2 am, which is huge for us. It's amazing what 8 hours of sleep can do for a person! We did okay except for Thursday night when we fell off the bandwagon big time by staying up until 4 am... but it was all for a good "cause" which brings me to the next place where I've caught up...

Friends:
Wow, I have them! I don't mean this like "oh, I've got so many friends". It's more of a statement of amazement because I don't really deserve any of them. Sometimes I feel like the world's worst friend...not intentionally...but because I let life get in the ways of those important relationships. But over the last few months I've realized that there's no such thing as being too busy for friends. We've started having a lot more friends over just to hang out and we've worked hard to juggle our schedules to be sure we're at those important birthday parties and gatherings that we're invited to. I have some unbelievable people surrounding me that have really invested time and energy in my life. I'm completely undeserving! They're such a blessing and I want to make sure I'm there for them when they need me.

Church:
We go to Richland Bible Fellowship Church. We love it! It's great for the kids and it's great for us. We've been going to this church for about 2 1/2 years and have finally started to get involved. Ben and I recently started to volunteer our time in the learning center. We definitely wanted to give back to that which has done so much for our kids, but we also wanted to make a serious commitment to get ourselves to church every Sunday no matter what. It's been fun and we've really enjoyed the kids. I also love getting to know the other parents in the church. Catching up with God has been the most rewarding catching up I've done!

Scrapbooking:
A few months ago, I succumbed to digital scrapbooking. I dragged my feet because it's a bit blasphemous for a paper scrapbook designer to scrapbook digitally...and it's not that I've given up on paper scrapbooking...I still love every second of it...but it's time I catch up my memories and the only way I can do it is by going digi. I think I'm the slowest paper scrapbooker in the whole world - that could definitely be part of the problem. Regardless, I've embraced digital and am loving it. One of my dearest friends, Virginia, didn't think she was capable of digital scrapbooking. Just to prove her wrong, I coerced her into taking the Big Picture Scrapbooking class "Doing it Digi" with me. Mind you, Virginia works on a $100,000+ piece of sonogram equipment everyday and is amazing at her job but she's scared to death of doing something wrong on the computer. I think she's getting over the fear. She did great on her first page and I'm totally impressed that she's putting up with me right now...at least she hasn't started ignoring my phone calls as of yet. She might after this post. But anyway, here is the first page I completed for the class.
This brings me to the next area of my life where I'm playing catch up...

My Kids:
Recently, my son (who is brutally honest) told me that he thinks he and is dad have a "better" relationship because I'm always at work. Ouch! That hurt! But it's important for me to hear it no matter how painful. It made me realize that I better do one of two things: start saving for his therapy fund or shape up. I decided on the latter. I've made some very simple commitments that are helping me invest more of myself in my kids. For example, I've started taking Nolen to his piano lesson every Tuesday. It's perfect because I can still get wireless internet while I'm sitting in the car and I actually can get a lot of work done in that 30 minutes...but the conversation in the car on the way to and from the lesson is priceless. One day Ella, Gracie & I walked up to Target to exchange some clothes. We walked because this gave us time to have idle conversation...and I got some exercise and we still got an errand done. These little changes will matter in the long run. I just have to be creative and look for the opportunities to connect. My kids are the most important thing in my life and I can't take a second of their childhood for granted.

Easter Sunday

The Office:
For the last year and a half I have successfully ignored the tremendous amount of clutter at the office. There's simply so much stuff it's hard to know where on earth to start...but we we've been making some progress and just maybe...pretty soon...we'll get to hold some amazing crops! I know we're going to have a huge scrapbook supply garage sale that Virginia is heading up this summer! I hate cleaning but I love the results!

PTA:
I'm the Historian for the MST PTA. This is my third time to do the job and I admittedly failed miserably the last time I did it. I was pregnant with Ella, completely exhausted and totally shirked my responsibility. Shame on me. Luckily, I didn't make the same mistake this year. I did however realize on Monday that it was due on Friday, but thanks to the miracles of digital scrapbooking, it was a breeze to complete on time. My son goes to the most amazing school. It's the Math/Science/Technology Magnet in Richardson, TX. The population of the school is incredibly diverse but the kids all get along great and completely thrive in their differences. I love it that my son gets to have this experience. It's really a beautiful thing. It's a total "I have a dream" school. Anyway, the principals are wonderful! They're funny and cool and completely connect with the kids. They even dress up as rockers and sing an MST spirit song to Guns & Roses music. Here are some of the layouts from the album:


This was made using the Space Boy kit from The Shabby Shoppe.
You can buy it here.


This layout was made using the piece-of-cake page from the Shabby Princess' free kit, Moody Blues. You can download it here.

More catching up to do:
There are still areas of my life in total disarray. The laundry in our house for example is a mess! We have no problem washing our clothes but putting them up is somehow beyond our capabilities. It's totally out of control. Ben and I could definitely use some kid-free time together. I still need to finish painting my hall. I need to workout. etc., etc...Slowly but surely, we're getting all caught up. Of course, the trick is staying that way. One day at a time...

Now that my blog is caught up I'm off to teach my son how to create an animated .gif and how to put a slide show on his blog. He's so dang smart!

Classes, Crops, Crocs and Caribou

Less than 18 hours left in Chicago…but we had an AWESOME time! Kate & I are here for CKU and while we totally over-booked ourselves, we still made time for some fun. Tonight was a total highlight for me. We visited this really awesome concept store called Studio D – tons of cool electronics, i-pods, trendy office stuff supplies, albums, journals and a digital classroom where they teach digital scrapbooking! It was so much fun!!!! Kate and I digi-cropped our time here in Chicago.

I was amazingly lucky tonight – I won Photoshop Elements 4.0! I was really wanting it but knew there was no way I could justify the $100 expense. I’m just thrilled and can’t wait to get home and play. I met Lynda tonight who is a total kindred spirit. She’s super cool and I can’t wait to get to know her better. Another completely fun thing about tonight is that 2 of the other girls in the class are from Dallas too! What are the odds???

We are now in love with Crocs and Caribou coffee which you can read about more here: Kate’s Blog

Potty Talk

I know I've been an awful blogger for the last 19 days. I promise to stay a little more up to date. I've been spending an unprecedented amount of time with friends lately. It's really been wonderful to catch up with a lot of old friends and spend some quality time with new ones.

Well, Ben and I finally tackled something we'd been dreading for a long time...potty training Ella. She's been ready since she was probably about 18 months old, but as parents, we were still suffering from flash backs of potty training our son who is now 9. That whole multi-year episode nearly put us into family counseling.

Friday night we got the wild hair to train her. I went to Big Lots and bought some presents, wrapped them up and made a lovely display to bribe...I mean 'encourage'...her to go potty. She had no success Friday night but it didn't help that we had friends over and weren't really paying attention. On Saturday I went to Target on my scooter because it was the most beautiful day ever and bought Ella an arsenal of potty training paraphernalia - Pull-Ups, pretty little underwear, new sippy cups for the constant juice drinking she needed to do...still no success.

Underwear does not excite me in the least but I must admit I was really taken by these with Hello Kitty on a scooter. Those simply had to come home with me.

On Sunday night I had just given up. I told Ella we were going back to diapers...no big deal...we'd try again in a month or so...but she insisted on keeping her Kitty Cat pants on so I gave her one more chance. Well hallelujah! It was like the flood gates opened and she became a peeing on the potty fool! Ben and I were high-fiving each other like we actually had something to do with it.

Here's a little commentary about a product I picked up last week (with a coupon I might add, because I really wouldn't have bought this item otherwise.) It's Kids Toilet Paper from Cottonelle. Here's how it works: little paws lead to a doggy where the child is supposed to tear. This is to teach children how much toilet paper to use. Yeah, right. Ella's one and only objective on the toilet was to find the next doggy on the roll. I'm sure this is exactly what the genius who thought of this product was hoping for.

One final potty story and I promise I'm done. My friend Laura e-mailed me this great link to a very entertaining song. Ella actually sings the chorus and we found it to be a very effective potty training tool. Most normal families might find it quite inappropriate to teach to their 2 year old...but we're not most families and we're certainly not normal, so here it is: Poop Goes in the Potty

And the survey says...

Okay, so I went a little overboard on the prize package...oh well. It was fun! Thanks to the 700+ people that responded to the scrapbooking survey on my blog. Here are the highlights:

• Most scrabookers have been scrapbooking over 6 years! (48.4%) 30.2% have been scrapbooking b/w 3 & 6 years.
• Scrapbookers buy most of their supplies from their LSS (39%) followed closely by the online scrapbook store (32.5%)
• Message boards are the major source for new products - 60%! Magazine ads account for 25%.
• Style and Price are the most important factors in choosing scrapbook product.
• Most scrapbookers buy scrapbook supplies once every 2 weeks but scrapbook several times a week.
• 79% of those responding use a computer in their scrapbooking.
• 56.6% only use a digital camera and 35% use both film and digital. Only 8% only have a film camera.

Now the fun part...AND THE WINNER IS..Lacey Buchorn of Florida. Congratulations!! Your package is on the way!

Thanks to everyone who participated. That was a really neat!!

New Pajamas

What is it about new pajamas that makes you feel so good? Tonight I came across these PJs for the girls at Old Navy and couldn't help but buy them. I'm so glad I did because I did a little photo shoot tonight and got the best pics ever of Ella and Gracie together.

 

Back in the game...

the grocery game, that is. After a 3 month hiatus from shopping with coupons I'm back in the game! I subscribe to this phenomenal list that gives me weekly updates of what to buy where at all the area grocery stores. (www.grocerygame.com) Unfortunately I have not been getting the Sunday paper which leaves me completely couponless. No coupons...this makes coupon shopping very difficult. Tracy to the rescue! Tracy and I have been friends since the summer after 3rd grade. We've done plenty of crazy things together - mostly during our teens - like the time we dressed her up like a 30 year old and sent her into the liquor store to buy beer. Unfortunately we didn't figure out what year a 30 year old should have been born in and she accidentally told the attendant she was 12. Oh well...we just went home and sipped Dr. Pepper. Anyway, this time it was her idea, I swear it! She recently discovered a wealth of coupons available in the paper recycling bin at our kids' school. So yes, we did the unthinkable Monday night...with a lone flashlight in hand, we did some dumpster diving for coupons. My biggest fear was getting caught by the principal. Can you imagine?! Two respectable PTA moms caught in the dumpster sifting through people's old papers for coupons? We were found out by the janitor but oddly enough, she didn't seem phased.

The end result was great - tons of coupons from Jan & Feb and I saved over $70 dollars tonight at Tom Thumb! Thanks Tracy!!

At least we're not in Baghdad

When I was a little girl, my mom used to tell me she was going to send me to Terrell. This was her way of saying that I needed to go to the funny farm. You see, the state mental hospital was located in Terrell, TX…it’s not there anymore but she still says it. Sometimes I think it would have been a good thing to have been institutionalized years ago.

I have a saying of my own. When Nolen is complaining because he has to do homework or crying because I’m not buying him that $50 Star Wars X Wing fighter, I just tell him “At least you’re not in Baghdad”. This is how I teach him to put his life in perspective…it can always be worse. And when you think it can’t get any worse, God comes along to remind you of who’s really in control.

My life feels like chaos in slow motion. It doesn’t make sense right now. But this is when I have to sit back and just live. And know that whatever happens, at least I’m not in Baghdad. I’m in the good ol’ U.S. of A. where it would be hard to starve even if I tried.

Thanks to Kate and her wealth of American Airline upgrade points, we traveled to and from Jacksonville in first class. Wow. What fun! I have a perplexing question…what exactly is the deal with the warm towel? It’s just weird if you ask me. Do you wipe your face and then your hands? Just your hands? Your hands, then face? Gross. I just don’t get it. I do however fully and completely grasp the free alcohol.

On another completely different note, look at the super cool find in the Target dollar spot! They have all these great big letter magnets. I found every letter I needed to spell SMITH on my refrigerator. I just love it!

Another Date Night

Nolen was very jealous when I took Ella out last Friday night. I didn't dare pass on the chance for a few hours alone with him so we had our own date night last night. I took him to see 8 Below and go to 1/2 Price Books. The movie was sweet...he LOVED it! It always shocks me how much food is at the theatre. 2 hot dogs, 1 drink, 1 very small popcorn and some Reeses Pieces - over $20! I seriously contemplated smuggling food in but didn't think it I would be setting the best example. One time my dad smuggled microwave popcorn into the theatre. I'm so sure that no one noticed the popcorn smell or steam coming from the inside of his winter jacket...so embarrassing...so I coughed up the money so my son wouldn't feel like we were cheating or anything. He was already so stressed that I was taking pictures of us in the seats before the moving started b/c one of the screens they show before the previews said no video or still cameras allowed during the movie. One thing about Nolen, he's very unlikely to be a hell-raiser in his teenage years. He's so much like my husband...by the book. He freaks out if we start pulling out of a parking lot before he has his seatbelt on because he's afraid he'll get in trouble with the law. At 1/2 Price, he found just the book he was looking for - a huge DK book about animals. He has been enthralled since the moment he opened it.

I have so much to do this weekend. I have a load of PTA work, regular work stuff to do and I'm off to Jacksonville on Tuesday, so I guess I need to unpack from Vegas. I desperately need to take Nolen to get his hair cut today. This is the first time in his life he doesn't have super short hair and I really don't know what to do with it. It's just sticking out everywhere!