It’s Official!

I have definitely been taking out of the running for Mom of the year. Thwarted by my own forgetfulness, I tell you. Yesterday, I was talking about Michael Jackson passing away. (Although I really don’t give a fig about him per se, I did love Jackson 5 back in the day though…I was much more saddened to hear that Farrah had lost her battle with cancer.. what a fighter she was!) I was trying to explain who Michael was, to my lovely girls, they have seen the thriller “dance” a number of times when people have done it at gymnastics performances and such, so what do I do? Pull up the ole thriller video on utube. Now remember, this was from 24-25 years ago right? So my memory, well she ain’t what she used to be, ok? I just remembered all the ghouls dancing…completely forgot the beginning of the damn video was Michael Jackson turning into a seriously scary, crazy werewolf! Yikes!

I thought to myself holy crap, I can’t let them watch this… and I am trying to explain how it is all fake and then we are still morbidly watching the thing, hoping that the dancing would save me and be fun and then trying to explain what a zombie is to a 4 year old and why they had oil pouring out of their mouths and yep, I couldn’t hang with it and turned it off, all the while trying to act like it was nothing and just costumes and acting and such. Holy Moly! Then I am trying to do some damage control by showing them the Jackson 5, singing ABC, anything light and airy and non zombieish. YIKES and DOUBLE YIKES!

So I am praying and hoping that their little minds will not remember what they have seen and we are reading Dr. Suess and nice happy rhyming books before bed. I get them all tucked in and it starts… “Mom, I am scared of the werewolf, Mom I can’t sleep…” Here’s me thinking to myself, "okay, you totally deserve this for showing them that crap!" So I wind up sleeping on the floor in between their two beds holding each one’s little hand. And you know what, my hands going numb and all the pain of sleeping on the floor was totally worth it; if I took away an ounce of the fear, I had unfortunately given them! Yep, I am officially out of the running for Mom of the year!

Guess what though? This morning when they woke up they wanted to watch it again...they wanted to cover their eyes in the scary parts…uh, NO FREAKING WAY! God forgive me but Mommy learned a VALUABLE lesson in childrearing last night…always screen what your kids are watching!!!

Here’s a little eye candy for you today, this was the gift I sent to my hostess last month..Miss Joyce. Hope she enjoyed her goodies. I made a little set with the beautiful Parisian Breeze Paper…that is some gorgeous paper I tell you!

I was especially proud of my little pull for the nugget matchbox…so cute! Here is a closeup of the box:

If you need any details on the pieces above let me know but they are pretty straightforward…..the book is a scrapbook I picked up at the dollar spot as is the picture frame, and I just altered them all to match. Cute huh?

Ciao for now….Deidre

Back to normal…sort of!

So why does it seem like you are just wiped out after a vacation? I still feel like I need more sleep. I think it has to do more with my hormones than vacation, but you never know right? Of course, the fact that the girls have been waking up every night doesn’t help. The definitely go through cycles…sometimes they sleep like logs all night, then they will go through a few weeks of waking up due to nightmares, wetting the bed, earaches, leg aches you name it. All I know is, praise Jesus for coffee.

I don’t have much to share story wise, so I just thought I would share some of my latest cards. I have been trying to figure out what cards to make for the SU convention in August. I have to plan well because we are going to be in Oklahoma for a month. So I have to bring everything with me that I need. So far, I am involved in 3 swaps. One, I have to make 2 sets of 18 cardfronts. So here is one of the cards I think I am going to make for it, I love the bright colors (Bermuda Bay, Melon Mambo, Rich Razzleberry and Crushed Curry) , although I will have to find a sentiment that is not retired to stay within the rules.

Here is another one I made while playing around…I have to say I am loving this circle circus set and these three colors together are so perfect for fall…dusty durango, crushed curry and soft suede!

These both use the emboss resist technique, although I did not use glossy paper, just regular old whisper white. I stamped the images in versamark and embossed with clear powder. Then I rubbed different new incolors on the circles and then after that was all done, took the darker color (dusty durango) and sponged over it all, blending everything. Creates a cool tie die look.

Yesterday I finished up some birthday invitations for a friend. I have one more set for her and then have to make the girls upcoming tea party invitations for their birthday in August. Lots to do before I leave. I will share as I get them done and photographed! Hope you are all well!!

Ciao for now! Deidre

Happy Father’s Day!

Hey everyone…Hope you guys are enjoying a great Father’s Day weekend. We are enjoying a nice relaxing one and plan on making Joel breakfast in bed tomorrow and the girls can’t wait.

One of the places we love to eat at when we are in the mood for a hamburger is the fantastic In and Out Burger here in CA. We ate there twice during vacation..once on the drive up and once on the way back..the reason I mention it is I have to tell you Matty’s name for it because it cracks me up…are you ready? Inside Out Booger! Ha Ha…really makes you want a hamburger now doesn’t it?

I would just like to wish my Dad a wonderful Father’s Day. He is the smartest guy I know and I am so proud to be his daughter! I love seeing some of my father’s traits in my children and I love even more watching him interact with them! It’s always fun to see what they do with Grandpa. Here’s to you Dad and I hope your day is as great as you are!

My husband also deserves a lot of kudos as well on Father’s day. He always amazes me at his selflessness. Yesterday, he came in starving because he hadn’t eaten lunch and I had made some barbeque pork in the crockpot. He made a sandwich and put the last few bbq potato chips on his plate, (there wasn’t even a handful.) Matty made a comment about how she wanted a chip and Joel put all the chips back in the bag without eating any, so she could have them when she ate her sandwich..that’s just the kind of stuff he he does for them and me everyday and I really love him for it! We always come first with him and we are really lucky! Happy Father’s day baby...you are the best!

So in honor of the two great men in my life, I made up a card for them both….it uses my all time favorite stamp set lovely as a tree….

It is in the mail as we speak to my Dad and Joel will get his tomorrow! I hope they both like it…Dad loves trees and it reminds me of our vacation to Yosemite, so I think Joel will like it too!

Hope you get to spend time today with all the men in your life!

Ciao for now! Deidre

We’re Home!

So we are back from a wild and crazy two weeks! Our friends from Alabama came in two weeks ago and we have done it up California style! I feel like I need a vacation from my vacation! The first week was filled with the local sights….Sea World, the San Diego Zoo, the Wild Animal Park, La Jolla with the seals, and of course my favorite place..the Bernardo Winery! We really enjoyed hanging out with our friends and you always see something new at these places so it never gets boring. Then we all loaded up in the vans and headed North to Yosemite! Let me tell you, I was dreading it! I honestly pictured being in a cabin for 5 days and trying to entertain the children unsuccessfully. I was so wrong! What a phenomenal place. It truly is a national treasure. Let me show you what I mean:

and here is Joel taking in the view from Glacier Point:

and the waterfalls…let me show you:

and another:

and one more for good measure, I think we saw at least 6 different ones:

The first day we hiked in the giant sequoias, which was an experience to say the least. The girls did okay for the first two miles (uphill), the last two, not so great. Let’s just say that cold and rainy does not make for happy 4 year olds! Here is a picture of the giant trees:

and just to give you an idea of how large they really are:

and here is the bottom of one that fell:

The second day was a tad bit easier, as we took a small hike to a waterfall and explored the Yosemite valley floor. The third day we took a bus to Glacier Point (elevation 8000 ft) and got to see a live black bear wandering through a meadow (although it was golden brown..only 9% of black bears are actually black…a little known fact that the bus driver informed us of!) We then hiked (straight downhill!) for 5 miles; which will cause any parent to have a few heart stopping moments as their kids get too close to the edge! We had a good hold of their hands though!!! That was a rough hike and my calves were screaming by the end. I carried Matilda down the last half in a backpack on my back. Matty walked most of it, but needed some help from Daddy’s shoulders about the last mile.

The following day, we took it easy, considering Joel and I could barely walk downstairs in the cabin we were so sore! We walked 15 minutes from the cabin to another waterfall, and then followed the stream down until we found a place where the kids could play in the water and on the rocks. Our 6 year old friend Ben put it best after that: “ This was a good day!” Needless to say water and rocks equals very happy and tired kids!

The last day our friend Stephanie stayed home and watched the kids and we went on an adult hike on the “Mist Trail.” Translation = get soaked and walk up tons of slippery steps. But the view from the top was well worth it…see if you agree:

And it was actually really good for the legs to get this strenuous hike in, as it really helped stretch everything back out!!

All in all it was a blast and a few days after we got home I got another treat..my new Stampin Up catty arrived! I got a chance to play briefly this morning with some of my new stamps and new incolors and let me tell you…I am liking them!! Here is my quick card from this morning:

This uses all the new incolors and two new sets, the More the Merrier for the sentiment and Circle Circus for the images. I am loving all the matching polka dotted ribbon! I raised a couple of images on dimensionals for more texture! Hope you are all doing well and enjoyed your visit to Yosemite via pictures. I can’t do it justice though..you have to go see it for yourself sometime!

Ciao for now! Deidre

Drama Queen

How can someone only 4 years old be so dramatic?  Two days ago Matty was on the phone with my mom (NANA) and fell off the couch while she was talking.  She said goodbye to Nana, told her she loved her, passed the phone to Matilda and then went into a bloodcurdling scream….  “ I FELL OFF THE COUCH!”  Uh yeah..that was over a minute ago while you calmly said goodbye to Nana.  DRAMA QUEEN, I tell ya!  I don’t even want to think about the teen years, maybe if I am heavily medicated I won’t notice them…what do you think, do I stand a chance?

You guys aren’t going to believe this either…I got my teachers gifts done on time!  Actually, they were two weeks early! Since we won’t be there except for maybe a picnic on the last day I decided to go ahead and get them done and given out today.  The girls always enjoy handing out gifts to the teachers and getting lots of hugs in return.  Hopefully they all liked them.  Here’s what I made, and let’s just pretend my ribbon is straight shall we?

 

There are 4 pencils, 4 thank you cards with envelopes, 4 chocolate crunch sticks and a small notebook. 

Here is a close up of a couple of the items:

The template is called “from the desk of” and is by the enormously talented Lauren Meader.  Here is what I saw of hers that I just loved:

http://laurenm.blogs.splitcoaststampers.com/2009/04/11/2nd-new-release-template-peek/

and here is two of them, put together back to back, to make an even cooler box:

http://laurenm.blogs.splitcoaststampers.com/2009/04/11/2nd-new-release-template-peek/

Here’s where you can purchase the template for $5.  I see much potential with this template….hence the purchase!

http://www.papertreyink.com/timeless_templates_download_here.html

I wish I could say that the letters are an original thought but alas, they are not…I just took the alphabet I had (define your life) and ran with it.  I would totally make some of these cubes though if I could find some for cheap!  Such a great idea! 

http://canyousayaddictedtostamps.blogspot.com/2009/04/there-she-goes-day-twoan-alphabet-set.html 

Hope everyone has a great weekend.  I may not be posting for a while.  Company is due in on Saturday!  Good times!

Ciao for now!  Deidre

From plain to shabby chic!

Not much going on here in Mooney world which is a good thing, as we will be crazy busy the next two weeks!  I am hosting a girls night stamping party tomorrow night since hubby is away.  While the cat is away and all…..We will have some pizza and brownies and work on craft projects.  I have so many things to get done…I have to make invitations for the girls birthday party (we are having a tea party and Joel has agreed to wear his tux and be prince charming and serve all the little girls...how fun is that?); invitations for my friend Shawn’s kids birthdays…one is going to be a sock monkey party, the other a penguin pool party so those are going to be fun to design and some thank you cards for her business, although I think I have those kind of done.   Let’s see what else?  Hostess gifts for my club members (hi guys!) , a grad card, June’s technique cards for my club, June’s swap cards for my Columbus friends, and oh yeah..that little thing called convention...I am doing a 3d swap, a 2 card front swap and need to make gifts for all the roomies..shout out to our group!!! Yep, I can say I have plenty to keep me busy over the next month! 

The girls have had a virus this week so I lost out on a day of school (insert sad face here).  On an up note though I did get some stamping done while they were sleeping….you will see the teacher’s gifts I made on the next post.  So today is our last day of school and I plan to use it wisely…pedicure and grocery shopping without children and hopefully get the van cleaned…keep your fingers crossed that I get it all done!

So as soon as I got in the “kind thoughts” stencil I knew I wanted to use it on one of my scrapbooks.  This poor scrapbook has just been calling out for the longest time to become something more than it’s plain old self.  So here you can see what a little bit of acrylic paint and ribbon and punches can do to a plain ole linen scrapbook…we will call it my “Susan Boyle transformation”  for those of you who have seen her on Britain’s Got Talent.  Here it is:

So  I started with cream paint on the stencil then red, then a light brown, and finally a chocolate brown.  The colors got  a little more muddled than I would have liked, but I am ok with the overall result.  A nice shabby chic don’t you think?

Ciao for now…..Deidre

Happy Memorial Day

Hey folks! We have had a nice relaxing weekend here in San Diego. We went to the pool one day, and went to the vineyard on Sunday afternoon for jazz with some friends. We just love that place! We have also been getting the house ready for our company (Hey Ficos!) that will be arriving next Saturday and for Joel to be out of town for a few nights this week as he goes to Chicago for a meeting. This will be our last week of school, since we will be busy with company next week and then in Yosemite for the week after that. Good times coming up! Joel says I can’t bring my laptop but you can bet I am smuggling it in my suitcase. Let’s hope for some WIFI in our national parks!

I came home from yoga tonight to see Matilda singing “Creep” by Radiohead and Matty banging away on the drums and they were really doing great! I am not quite sure I approve of Joel teaching our 4.5 year old to sing “what the hell am I doing here?? I’m a creep, I’m a weirdo.” But I have to say I was impressed about how well they were rocking it out. Joel was so proud! They have really enjoyed having Daddy around for 4 days straight to play monster and jump on the trampoline with them. Joel definitely has enjoyed having a few days off. Last year his big vacation was 3 days of driving the van, with a Uhaul trailer, from Oklahoma to California with the dogs in tow, not exactly a relaxing time. He is really looking forward to our time in Yosemite and doing not much of anything. I see a lot of hiking and smores and board games in our near future.

Here is a card I made for my recent stamp a stack…I love all the purse cards floating around the internet and thought I would make one of my own using my favorite decorator paper sweet always…here you go:

I used the big shot texture plates to make the dry embossed backgrounds and although the top card is made from different punches…designer label, and the keyhole one I really prefer the one on the bottom using the round tab punch for all the purses. Very fun and easy to make for all your girlfriends..one of the ladies even used it for an “it’s a girl!” card which I thought was great!

Hope you are all well and enjoyed your holiday weekend…..Thanks to all you great folks who have served our country and even more…..those who gave the ultimate sacrifice for our freedom. We are so blessed to live in this country and enjoy those freedoms. Happy Memorial Day!

Ciao for now….Deidre