Last week we did a lot of this....

by we I mean I did the make-up and the hair and Gracie did the rest. She had seven performances in a 5 day time span. She was sad when they were all over, but never fear the National dance competition isn't far away! Mommy needs some rest before that happens.
And here is a layout featuring some of her regional competition photos! I'm really happy with the way it turned out!

What I Know For Sure-End of School edition

Coffee is a must with a teething baby.

Olivia is a Poser....already at 8 months old

Q's preschool teacher Mrs Gail is one of the sweetest people I have ever met.


Making your own shirt for the Taylor Swift concert is "the thing" to do


For as petite as she is she sure has strong arm muscles


They love each other.....very very much. So whoever said that siblings of the opposite sex cant be close was WAY wrong!

Melissa's purse themed bridal shower was super cute and they did a great job on the cake!

Blog post turned layout

A while back I blogged about Q being able to eat gum at 4. So now, I finally turned that concept into a layout. I took pictures of each step of the gum chewing process and then inside the envelope is the final picture of him celebrating his gum at age 4.
Here is the journaling for you to read.
On another note Gracie and I went to her very first concert-Taylor Swift. It was such a great time and a very well done show.

A Layout To Share

I worked on this layout in one of my recent late night scrap- a-thons. I am in love with mists and sprays as well as my stamps to add a subtle background to my recent layouts. Thank goodness I finally found a use for all those stamps Ive been collecting for years. I was beginning to think I would never find a way to justify all those purchases. :)

Guess What!!!!!!!!

I was featured on the Echo Park Blog!!!! I was doing my normal blog reading while the kids happily play together. When lo and behold this layout of mine was spotted in my reading! Here is the actual post and the layout for you to view. Thank you Echo Park for making my day! :) I love your paper.
I also used the same sketch from Sketch Support but turned it on its side this time around. Gotta love the versatility of sketches.

Using a Sketch

I have just started getting more into scrapbooking with sketches these days. It really gets my creative juices flowing when I think I just may have lost the mojo for a while, or maybe it has more to do with the fact that the only time I scrapbook is after 9:30 at night. But I usually hit a huge creative rush when I use a sketch and am able to even complete more then one layout in a night! One of my favorite sites to use sketches from is Sketch Support.

Oh and I'm really into navy blue these days on my layouts. Not sure why but its a fun alternative to black or grey.

Another addition of What I Know For Sure.

The smaller the Crocs the cuter they are!!! (Olivia's first pair :)

When you ask a four year old boy to take his picture, you NEVER know what you are gonna get.

I am now not the only purse fanatic in the family....welcome to the club Kayla. ( She brought this Disney Dooney home from her Disney Internship)

This little lady has one amazing voice! She had her first voice recital this weekend and did an awesome job!

Kayla is a smarty-pants
I never thought this would be something I know for sure but as they say you learn something new every day! This hypoallergenic Formula has made my little baby so much happier. After breastfeeding for 8 months and not knowing what it was that she was allergic to we decided it was time to give it a try and in 24 hours she was super happy and sleeping through the night again!

Have a happy day and don't forget to find out what you know for sure!

Inspired By-take 5

I've been scrapbooking late at night these days after all three kiddos are in bed. Doug and I usually watch a movie or a sports game while I scrapbook. I love it!

I was inspired by Olivia's new warm-up that I purchased for her at the Disney Outlet.

More specifically this one....
Using an add-on sketch from my new favorite sketch site Sketch Support I made my very own Minnie and Mickey Cupcakes. I love them!!! I cant wait to think of more characters that I can turn into a paper version of my favorite sweet treat!

Happy Birthday Gracie!

Miss Grace turned 9 on Monday so here are 9 cool facts about my wonderful little lady intertwined with 9 Scrapbook pages that feature her cute little self!


1-She is a fantastic big sister who helps out whenever Mommy asks.

2-She surprised Doug and I the other day by cleaning our room for us while we were out on a date. What a thoughtful little girl!
3-Shes funny.....very funny!

4-She writes her own music and its very good! (Watch out Taylor Swift)

5-Within the last 6 months she has really gained a lot of independence and forming her own sense of style. ( I think I created a monster in the Handbag department...she loves them!)
6-She Scrapbooks....and her pages are great! I should showcase some of her work on here sometime

7-Her nickname at school is "Sunshine" because she is always happy

8-She is a very talented dancer.

9- When her little brother was in the hospital she took money out of her own piggy bank to bring him a present. What a sweetie.

What I Know for Sure

Kids think hotels are the greatest thing EVER!


If you are four taking the neighbor girl on a "date" to your table in the backyard while eating candy-canes is very cool


Falling asleep on daddy is very comfy



Grace has some mad photography skills!!!!



If you wear this outfit people will look at you crazy....yes even in Chicago.

Inspired by- take 4

Everyday inspiration.....flowers sent by Doug. (Thanks Honey) I love how the flowers have an explosion of color going in all directions.



So instead of the obvious explosion of flowers on a page I made a ticket explosion....

Hope your enjoying my inspiration series as much as I am enjoying creating it!

Inspired-take 3

After a long couple of weeks with very sick kiddos I am ready to share what I have been inspired by this time around. As a Disney fanatic I am constantly inspired by Disney products, places and music. In fact, I could probably do an entire Inspired By-Disney series. None the less I was inspired by the cover of Movie we have in our home.

And here is the layout....I made a door just like the picture. I used my trusty white pen on some black cardstock. Gotta love that white pen.

And inside my door...a special little "Monster"

As a bonus for this edition of inspired by I created another layout. I was inspired by the same movie but this time by the dialog in the movie. "23-19" is a line from the movie that we repeat around this house a lot. So what better then to title the layout "23-19"