Miscellaneous Ramblings

Well, not much going on here in the Mooney household.  Matty was sick again which is three separate incidents of vomiting/diarrhea with days in between of being fine.  Very weird but the doctor doesn't suspect anything and just wants us to watch her milk intake at night (all of the incidents she had a big bowl of cereal before she went to bed.)  Maybe she is becoming a little lactose intolerant?  Anyone know anything about that?  

So a little Bikram update...I have done 35 classes now and gained 2 pounds back!  Blah!  I swear my body likes this weight...but I don't... so I have to stop eating chocolate.  If I can have the willpower to go to the torture chamber 35 times now...I can stop putting chocolate in my mouth right?  But man oh man is chocolate good!!!  I have had one success I am happy about though which means I am getting more limber...around class number 30 I was finally able to do the camel posture!  Before this I could not reach my feet so I just kept my hands on my hips!  So I must be getting more limber because I can now do this:

Woohoo!

When we first moved here my brother introduced us to some old friends of his and they were nice enough to invite us to a birthday party for their daughter PK at the beach.  The girls had a ball, but I was not very prepared and didn't have any of my supplies so I did not have a gift made for her.  We had a playdate with them last week and we finally got to give her a name frame for her room.....here it is and I apologize for not having the copyright info on it..my new computer doesn't have the right photo editing software yet, so as you all know....all images are copyright Stampin Up 1990-2009!

and here is the matching card I made her which is exactly like the football card I made for Eliza, just different colors and different stamps..I love this sketch!  It is perfect and you can use any image!

So I guess that is all for me today..I have to get to work making some new stuff or I am going to run out of things to show you...that's a good excuse to get back to the stamp room, right??? 

Ciao for now!  Deidre

Not the bestest mama!

Hey everyone...sorry it has been a while since my last post. Joel had surgery again on his ankle this week and I have been single parenting it. He is doing much better, the first few days he had quite a bit of vomiting due to the anesthesia, so I had my hands full. The few days before Joel's surgery Matty had a stomach virus...so needless to say I have been seeing way too much stuff I would prefer to black out over the past week!

So, the girls really play together well for the most part, but everyday they have their share of tiffs and spats. When this happens, and they are really fighting about something, it is usually followed by the ultimate putdown, cut down phrase, "you're not my bestest sissy anymore!" That is the one phrase that makes the other one go beserk crazy! It is the worst thing that can be said to each other, and is usually followed by a timeout from Mom. I try to talk with them about hurting the other's feelings, blah blah, blah, and how would that make you feel, etc., but this usually falls upon deaf ears when they are so worked up. Usually after the timeout is over though and we have all hugged and made up, they are off to play together again.

So it really shouldn't be any surprise to me that after denying my daughter more cookies the other day and getting barraged with tears and screams; that I finally got the ultimate insult..."you're not my bestest Mama!" Ouch! Dagger to my heart! My comment back to her.."well kid, I am your only Mama and I said no more cookies." So, I don't think I had quite the reaction that she was looking for. Another typical day living with a 4 year old!

So on to a little stamping! A friend of mine recently had a baby and I made her little one a name frame and card that I am hoping to get in the mail this weekend...don't look Jodi, if you want to be surprised! Little E has a cute cowboy themed room, in pretty blues and browns, so here is his name frame....I just love doing these! Click on the pictures if you want to see them larger!

Here is the card to match:

and the inside of the card, since it is so trendy these days to decorate the inside as well!

Can't forget the matching envelope:

I just love these colors together! Blue Bayou and Chocolate Chip... I mainly used the stamp set Nursery Necessities and Wanted, along with the large and small star punch, top note die and polka dot embossing folders. If you want more details on what I used you can always email me...I hope she likes it!!!

Ciao for now! Deidre

Window Lickers!

Maybe it is a 4 year old phenomenon?  I really don't know what to make of it, but my kids lick everything!  Despite constant talks about germs and cleanliness they just don't get it.  Now I will say that this house has way more glass, mirrors and windows then we have ever had before.  In fact, I was a little shocked when I came out here to house hunt last May and noticed all the mirrored closet doors.  I had always thought they were kind of seventies, bow chicka bow bow, if you know what I mean. I remember asking the realtor about them and she said in California those were very desirable and an "upgrade."  I guess people really like to see themselves here in SoCal, but I am more of a traditionalist and give me a 6 panel door anytime, not to mention cleaning them..Ugggghh!  Not my favorite thing for sure!  So here is what I find on a daily basis:

  

and this:

I have gone through more Windex since I moved here than I did in 4 years of living in Georgia!  Still everyday I walk in to one of them licking or smooching a window...I just don't get it.  But wait.... it gets worse...we went to Yogurt World the other day which is our favorite place here....you can choose between 20 different soft serve yogurts and about 50 toppings and you pay by the ounce...my favorite is the green coconut!  Yum!  So we go to the bathroom before we leave and I am helping Matilda wash her hands, I turn around to check on Matteson who is sitting on the toilet and see that SHE IS LICKING THE HANDICAP RAIL NEXT TO THE TOILET!   Yep you read that right...... UUUGGGHHHH! Matteson also spent last night and this morning vomiting...huh..I wonder if there is a connection??? Can anyone please, please explain this behavior to me???  I just don't get it.  I live with window lickers....please God let this be a phase. 

So on to something a little more pleasant..another of the Christmas gifts that I made this year was a monthly planner for my goddaughter, Samantha.  I make her one every year and they are very easy and fun to do.  I buy the planners at the dollar store, they usually show up in November or December and I cover the front with paper and add an initial and some embellishments and ribbon of course....here is the one I made to match her stationary box:

 

This uses that yummy Always paper and the matching Always Stamp set.  I hope she gets good use out of it this year!  Here are the cards that I made to match her stationary box:

and here are the ones that I made to go in her Mom's box:

If you want the ingredients for any of these just email me and I will get them to you.....I used liquid applique to make the puffy frosting on the cupcakes and balloons.  Hope you guys like them!

Ciao for now!  Deidre

Egg juice?

So funny story from the girls preschool....they were discussing during lunch bunch where apple juice comes from, orange juice etc., and the teacher threw in hot dogs to be funny and all the kids laughed...then she said how about eggs and they all laughed but my child.....of course, MattyMoo says...."you can get egg nog from eggs".....and the teacher was impressed and said, "that's right Matty, you can make egg nog from eggs...and you know what, I like to put egg nog in my coffee", to which Matty replies, "well my daddy likes to put egg nog in his adult beverage"! So now the preschool knows that we imbibe here in the Mooney household! Oh well, I don't see how anyone could survive parenting without drinking some! The teacher said she actually thought to herself, well so do I, but I am not about to admit that here!!!

Speaking of funny......I found a hilarious blog the other day called Looky Daddy, http://www.lookydaddy.com/. You should watch his video of the first day of his twins preschool...I was cracking up..especially from the aspect of a stay at home Dad. He has a 3 martini playgroup that I would love to join, and check out the state of that van...and Joel thinks I am a mess, he doesn't even know how bad it could be!!! Hey I figured out how to add this video. Push pause on the music box at the bottom of my blog, so the music won't conflict!
The First Day of Preschool from Brian Sargent on Vimeo.

So many of you might remember this project from the past few years:

or this one:

I make these for the girls teachers every Valentines day and usually try to do a class with them....I have looked all over creation to find these mailboxes from the Target Dollar Spot and I just want you to know they are in the stores NOW!!!! This year in addition to red, pink and white they also have silver and pink metallic. You have to be diligent though, as they sell out fast...make sure and ask someone to check the stock status, as they usually have them in the back room or can tell you which stores have them...stay tuned for this years version coming soon using that cute heart punch from the love you much bundle! (Still on sale for 20% off through January 18!!

So all my Christmas gifts are officially mailed and I can share them with you now.....the only thing I have left to do is get out my Christmas cards and since postage is going up on the 18th I am going to start those today! Yikes! I swear in 2009, this will be done on time!!! Oh well, I guess I should cut myself some slack..I did move across the country for goodness sakes!

So here are some stationary boxes I made for some special ladies:

and here are the front of two of the boxes:

You can find out how to make these here:

http://jackietopa.typepad.com/Stationary.pdf

and here is a video of how to do it:

Cool..not sure how that happened but I loaded a video on my blog...my technical ineptitude astounds me sometime!

The boxes hold 4 regular size cards, 4 tags and 4 3x3 notes...as well as an address book, a place for stamps and a pen...how cute are they?

I will share the cards for each box tomorrow...hubby is out of town, so I have been stamping in my PJ's every night after the girls go to sleep...I am in heaven and getting so much done....

Ciao for now........Deidre

Football anyone?

Okay so I enjoy watching a football game now and again but other than knowing that OU lost..heh heh heh and OSU lost..:( ........and the Chargers lost...another :(.. I don't really have much to do with it!  But this past month we have been invited to two Football birthday parties!  One for baby Ben who turned 1 and the other for Eliza who turned 5.  So, we had some presents to make and wrap as well as a few cards.  Now I really try and do a nice job stamping when it comes to gifts like this because you never know when a Mom there might want to start stamping with me!!!!  So one of the things I do, is I buy plain brown wrapping paper from the dollar store and have the girls stamp all over it with whatever the theme is.  This gives them a project and shows how anyone can do some stamping!  Sometimes I can't find the plain brown so I buy one with stars or whatever and stamp on it too!!!  Then I make a card and tag to match.  Since everything is acid free, they could use the card on one side of a scrapbook page and the tag on the other and have a layout for the party!  I also made cutie pie Ben a banner with the SU exclusive pennant dies which are so cool!  I didn't put many embellishments on it so that his Mom could reuse it in the future.  So here are the pics:

Riding Hood Red decorator paper, Night of navy paper, and summer sun....easy peasy!

Here is the card I made:

and here is the tag for the gift:

I used a retired set from SU called Sporting Goods, the sentiment is from a retired saleabration set called Birthday Whimsy, the name from the retired rough edges Alphabet set and my wonderful White gel pen....as well as red riding hood, night of navy and choc chip inks...very easy and cool!!!

And now this one is even better..here is Eliza's card, since she is a girl how about some pink footballs????

Simple cute cards and you can do them for any theme!!!

I also used the polka dot background stamp on this and mainly regal rose cardstock with some rose red and pink pirouhette thrown in there. 

So we spent yesterday at the beach..it was a gorgeous day and Joel got to try out his new wetsuit.  The water was freezing but that didn't stop the girls from running in and out of it!  We had a picnic there and the girls slept like logs last night!  You can't beat the beach for a good night's sleep!

Ciao for now.....Deidre

Funniest Christmas Memory

So we had a lot of fun with Mom here over the holiday.  We went to see the popular Del Mar Light Festival at the Del Mar Fairgrounds on Christmas Eve.  We had the girls all in their footie pajamas so we could get them to bed faster when we got back.  The lights were nice, and you got to drive around the racetrack which was interesting, but even though they are supposed to be the largest light show on the west coast, it has nothing on Callaway Gardens in Georgia!  You don't appreciate what you have in your backyard until it is gone that is for sure! 

So here we are driving around the track looking at the lights and Matilda had asked to get out of her carseat and of course we wouldn't let her, so what does she start saying..."I have to go potty!"  Even though we had just went potty before we left!  We carry around an Elmo Potty seat for emergencies, and she knows it, so she starts saying, "I really have to go!"  I knew she was full of it, but when you have Daddy (totally wrapped) and Nana (completely wrapped) as well, I was fighting a losing battle.  I knew she just wanted out of the car seat but they were all "if she has to go, she has to go!"  So I get the potty from behind the backseat, set it up between Mom and me and get Matilda out of her carseat and completely naked..footie pajamas remember!..and there we are riding around looking at the Christmas lights with Matilda naked "going potty"!  Did she go??  Of course not!!!  We finally had to make her get back in her carseat, so we could go home!  Joel and Josh tried to get a picture, but cell phones don't have flashes on the camera so we couldn't get one....but what a memory!!!

So for all my stamping ladies..some exciting news was announced today at the SU leadership conference...SU is getting into digital scrapbooking!  Sometime over the next year we will be selling a product called My Digital Studio.   It's user friendly - for PC  and MAC users both, the program is similar to MS Word, you can use drop menus or click and drag.  Has SU custom colors, punches, accessories, stamps, DSP.  Has preset layouts, or you can create your own.  You'll be able to print from your own printer, or send to one of SU's printers (so you'll get TRUE SU colors). 

I don't know anything about digital scrapbooking but it sure sounds like fun!! 

So here are the Christmas Gifts I made for my downline..(Marci and Kathy..yours are in the mail!!!)  I totally copied from Rebecca at Bella Carta, it was such a great idea.  Here's hers:

http://bellacarta.typepad.com/rebecca/2008/11/christmas-decor.html

I got my small shadow frames from the dollar store, opened them and covered up the gaudy saying with the paper, glue gunned them back together, painted them and had to add the yummy striped ribbon from SU's winter Mini catalog.  I love that stuff!  Here's mine:

 

So this uses the smallest decor element "jingle all the way", Riding Hood Red Decorator paper, cream acrylic paint and some jingle bells!  I think I am going to make some of these for craft shows in the fall..what do you guys think?  Would you buy this for $10?  It sure is cute! 

Ciao for now....Deidre 

Took a little break!

Sorry it has been so long since I posted! A belated Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to you all! I took some time to bake, clean, wrap presents and do a little sightseeing while my Mom was here and enjoy the holidays! And unfortunately, I am still making Christmas gifts! Yikes! Poor planning on my part combined with not much stamping time will get ya! But be prepared to see some neat stuff over the next week as I finish them and get them out the door. Then I will consider this holiday season officially over..after I do my Christmas cards, I mean New Years Cards!!! Okay, so obviously that is my New Year's Resolution for '09...get projects started before they are due..not wait until the last minute and actually send out some of these cards that I make....then I will be a success!!! Ha! We shall see if it actually happens....

So a little Bikram yoga update....I am at way over 20 classes now and was able to wear a pair of jeans that a month ago I could not even squeeze into lying down....Total success. I still suck at it, but I can really see the changes and it feels so good afterwards that I really feel like I have found something that works for me...Yeah!

Christmas was great for the Mooney family..Joel got a wet suit and clothes for work, the girls got Barbie bikes with streamers on the handlebars from Santa..aka Nana....and have learned to ride them very quickly! So funny to see them race around on them, little legs pumping. They squealed when they came down the stairs at 6:50 Christmas morning...Santa came...Santa came...we did make the nice list! Not that they haven't given the naughty list a run for the money!!! It was close! So my great Christmas present was actually a two-fer. I got a new laptop! The keys on my old one were so worn that there weren't letters on them anymore! Plus, we were able to set my old one up for the girls to have their own computer station to play their Dora games and more so everyone got a great gift!! But also because of that, I have a lot of work to do to set up my new computer so I actually had to go back to my old one to start blogging again. I don't have the capabilities yet to put text on my images so....I had to go back to what I know! I will figure it all out soon enough though I hope!!

I wanted to share with you my favorite Christmas cookie recipe this season....man does Ree Drummond know how to cook! Check them out of you are looking for a great crunchy, yummy cookie! Perfect to dip in milk!

http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/2008/12/spicy-molasses-cookies-seriously-delicious/

So I wanted to share all the fabulous handmade cards I received this Christmas season..they were all beautiful and gorgeous and I hope one of these days I will get my own out!!! Check out this slide show of them and welcome to 2009!

Ciao for now!!! Deidre