{Be Bold!}

We (and by "we" I mean hubby) are now the proud owners of this:



I have to give him credit for holding out this long. It was a fun night in our house last night! The kids all got to help daddy set it up while I went to the grocery store (a lovely quiet hour alone with my iPod). I won't be using the new toy much until Final Fantasy XIII comes out (early next year, I hope)! That, and Guitar Hero are my only gaming weaknesses.

I treated myself to a rare trip to my local scrapbook store last week and found these goodies:



then used them along with lots of Prima to make this:



Isn't my nephew just gorgeous? Luckily, he takes after his mom instead of my bro ;)

The weather has been real nice lately, FINALLY! We've been spending lots of time outside. We got Alex a bat, glove, and some balls, and have been practicing with him in the back yard. He's a natural! I, who knows nothing about baseball or sports in general, took him out the other day, and he knew exactly how to hold the bat. He even turned sideways and did the "batter's wiggle"! I thought for sure his Daddy had taught him that, but it seems he just KNEW. I wish this photo had video, so you could see him shake his booty!



Unfortunately, you can't win 'em all!



I just have to brag a bit. My dear friend Emmer sent me this:



She is so talented! A handmade tie for Alex (I flipped over the one she made her son), and some hairbows for the girls! Aren't online buddies the best? And she has the best taste in fabric.

Speaking of fabric, I've been so inspired by bold fabrics lately! I wish I knew how (and had time) to sew! I do curtains, but that's about it. All straight-line stitching for me! So, instead, I created this kit:



Fun, funky, and BOLD! And on sale through the 28th ;)



Here's to being bold! Cheers!

{love birds}

Now available at {we are}storytellers! On sale 33% for this month:



I have a mini-album add-on to the kit that is made with something everyone has on hand: INDEX CARDS!









Here's to love! Cheers!

{adult drink}

I'm at the kitchen island making a vodka tonic (it's after 7pm here!).
my son comes running in from outside.

him: "whatcha doin, mommy?"
me: "i'm making a drink."
him: "me too!" (meaning, i want one)

then he looks up at me.

him: "oh. nevermind. you're making an adult drink."

wee but wise!

cheers!

{tying and tagging}

Kids grow up way too fast. I know everyone says it, but it's perfectly true. The amount of time they actually spend in the baby years is so short and fleeting. The wee one is now putting on his own shoes. Probably not a huge feat for a 3-year-old, but just another one of those things that he's now doing that he wasn't doing before.



After a week of rain, the sun finally made an appearance yesterday. Now all I want to do is go outside. I think Alex and I will take a walk today. We have to take advantage of the nice weather before it gets too hot!

Amy has tagged me, so I get to answer these fun questions:

Four Jobs I've Held:

MOM

Barnes & Noble Bookseller

manager

bowling ally attendant (my first, and most fun job)

Four Movies I Could Watch Over and Over:
(this could get embarrassing)

Dirty Dancing

Moulin Rouge

Ever After

The American President

Four Places I've Lived:

Memphis, TN

Cleveland, MS

Lakeland, FL

Pullman, WA

Four TV shows I like:

Sex in the City

House

American Idol

Friends (yes, still!)

Four People Who Email Me Regularly:

Ed

Dad

Helen

my choir director

Four Favorite Foods:

fish tacos

tuscan chicken Pizza at Old Venice

taquitos at our favorite Mexican joint

home-grilled turkey/sirloin burgers

Four Places I'd Rather Be:

the beach

the beach

the beach

the beach

Four People I'm Tagging:

Rita Weiss

Annie Manning

Emily Powers

Emily Merritt

{latest layouts}

I did this one at a fun online crop we had at Storytellers:



This one is done with the latest Lilypad BYOC:



Here's to slowing down! Cheers!

{friday shortlist}

• I am just loving this right now! For all you Mac enthusiasts, you will appreciate the nostalgia.



• Podcasts. Brilliant! My favorite, and only real regular one is PotterCast. Fun stuff!



• I had to explain to Alex yesterday why boys don't wear bras. He wanted to wear my new pink one.



• I really want some of these for my front yard.



• How cute is all this pink? I wonder if my girls would let me put this in their room?

Have a great weekend! Cheers!

{cutie patootie}

We finally got the chance to go visit family this weekend. Both our parents and brothers live in the same city, about 2 hours south of us, so it makes it easy to see everyone at once :) It's nice to be able to leave the kids with grandparents and go spend some time with old friends. We don't get to do that very often. The weather was nice enough that we got to gather around the fire pit at my brother's house Friday night:



His little boy is getting so big! He is only a little over 1 year old, but he is nearly as big as Alex! I can't figure out if it's because he is large for his age, or if Alex is small. I think it's a bit of both! Isn't he adorable, though? He has my brother's eyes, but his mom's cute little nose:





Speaking of friends, I want to do a couple shout-outs to some wonderful people I have had the pleasure of meeting. First, my dear friend Rita, who posted the nicest things about me on her blog! Unfortunately, that post got eaten by her computer, but I had the pleasure of reading it before it did. Rita is unbelievably talented! She makes the most beautiful, dimensional layouts. I was lucky enough to be on the Scrapologie team with her, and we are now together at Prima. She is as lovely a person as she is a scrapper, and without her, I know I wouldn't be doing as much paper as I am these days! Thanks, Rita! It's such a joy to know you! This is one of my favorite Rita layouts:



Secondly, Annie, who is just as sweet in real life as you would guess! She and I have so much in common, and I really got to know her well during our collaboration project. She is a great designer, a wonderful friend, and a truly talented scrapper (and fellow Mac user!):



Secondly, Christine, also on the Prima team, was so sweet to mention me on her blog the other day! I don't know her as well, but what I do know, I greatly admire. She is such a strong person, and insanely talented. Just look at this!



I'm so honored to call these women my friends!

{latest layout}

I know I just scrapped these photos, but I HAD to do a digi layout too! ;)



Here's to true friends! Cheers!

{rockin}

Ok, I have to admit that having a boy is way more fun than I ever would have thought. Since I had only had girls, I had no idea what I would do with a boy. They don't wear pretty little frilly dresses. You can't fix their hair with curls and bows. They get dirty, and play sports, which I know nothing about.

Turns out they are just as cute in a tie. They are adorable with a new short haircut. And they get dirty!! Turns out I like that about them! The best part? CONSTANT entertainment.



Check out the Prima Blog today for an awesome sketch challenge. Our very own Janine L. created the fabulous sketch I used for this layout:



Here's to little boys! Cheers!