hello neglected blog

I asked the readers at my CK blog awhile ago if they wanted to come along to CHA? not everyone gets to go to these big exciting trade shows and I thought I'd share some of the fun. So when I got a lot of yes's, we set it all up! The thing is, I have been so busy posting a tour of CHA complete with videos, my hybrid make-and-take download, an upcoming draw...etc. that I have not put in much time over here! please come and read about what has been up in our life ( a little get away, my childhood 80's shorts, a new sport for Tiara...) and join in the fun. everyone who participates in the make'n'take gets entered in the draw! I will come and post some new pics and life chatter here soon. sending out some happy hugs :)

Tiara's smile

I Love to see Tiara soooo happy. she was having such a tough time for awhile, I was really missing her big laughs and her joyful spirit. But look at his girl of mine right now! So much happier these days, we have really been working to find ways to deal with all of her sensory issues. She still has tough days and there are things that will always be a challenge for her but the improvement is pretty great. I am really thankful for that.

good weekend

How was your weekend? We enjoyed lots of good fresh outdoor time together! The girls were on a ladybug hunt gathering them from the leaf piles that daddy raked up and trying to give them a safer place to live...so we made ladybug houses together, it was so nice to be outdoors with the kids doing something creative. you can just see their little minds working as they are choosing the right ribbons and buttons and throwing in their little suggestions of how we should put things all together. I Love it! I posted the steps to make them with pictures here.

We had a nice breakfast with Cam's parents too which is always such a treat ( both the good eats and the good company!) Our little family is so on-the-go all week that I am finding weekends just make me breathe a little deeper. They refresh me to go for it all over again

oh and today is the last day to check this out:

Deann and Shanah are a blast they are so funny and they spotlighted my blog challenges on their "dishin the digi coast 2 coast" radio show ( near the end). New ones air every Tuesday. I got a kick out of listening to them and was totally thankful for some of the cool products that they pointed out as well. It is worth a listen for sure!

I am looking forward to seeing what this week will hold, have a happy Monday!

creaeeeeemy!

My crazy baby is at it again! this girl is gonna be quite the crafter I tell you. she is loving to get her hands dirty these days. And she is so fast!!! I have no hope of catching her before she finds herself a new medium to create with LOL! Today she was "painting" her little stool with toothpaste, her hands were coated and she was delighted with her creation. This past weekend she went up to Emy's room with her and while Emy was looking away to set up a little checker game Bella thought she could use some of Emilea's cream! ( see photos!) not just a dab though, she dug in and felt extremely beautiful becoming "creaeeemy" I LOVE this kid. We all get such a laugh from her little antics. What fun it must be to dig in and discover all of these textures for the first time. I would just love to be 2 for a day!!!

Here is a layout I did last month about her getting into Emy's lipstick ( my blog challenge was to centre the focal point and add a photo story)

sharing

sharing happiness. I love to do it. No matter what is going on in your world, when you take the bit of extra time to care, to smile, to make a difference in someones day it bounces right back to you and fills your heart every time. My mom used to always tell me "what you put out comes back your way". It sure does. Smart lady that mom of mine :) You know, we are all just too busy these days, really. And it is far too easy to just be busy being busy. stopping just long enough to share some happiness blesses me a hundred times more than the person I stopped for every time guaranteed!!! So Lovely.

I was busy myself tonight, I have worked all night on some fun things for CK and Cam will start his work day later tomorrow so I can get some sleep , just one of the ways we are making things work for our family. In the quiet of the wee hours I always get thinking so these these are my 4 am thoughts and some purple flowers from our trip to Niagara Falls! forget scrapping challenges for this post, my challenge to you today is a different one...stop and share some happy with someone in your world.

DVD filming week

As promised here is a little tour of my filming week in Minneapolis

The set!....so pretty

We filmed at a local store called Artsy Tartsy. Julia, The owner stopped by and we got a photo. She was really nice

getting ready for the next segment. organizing projects , reading over my notes etc.

Lovely PAs Robin and Sarah. They have been totally amazing to work with! I even got to join Robin out for soup one night with her huband and baby girl

and these are my camera peoples, Bob and Dave. really nice guys

The whole thing was a lot of fun, I can't wait to see how it comes together! come on over here to see my little behind the scenes video. I know, I am silly, but the kids loved the "tour"

ETA: just for you miss Amanda Dykan; my hair is au natural LOL!!!

gallery updating

I haven't added layouts to my galleries since before Christmas! yikes, guess it's about time hey?! here is a few from some of my past CK blog challenges

this challenge was to scrap "just for fun" , I just had to have fun with this photo of Emilea slipping backwards off of her sled, she was SO surprised! lol! a sneak-peek at a couple of my CK fonts coming soon, there on the photo.

this was a challenge to " dress up your stash" I had these slide mounts sitting here forever and just didn't know what to do with them...a little dressing up and they made the perfect little frames for my photos and jounaling.

side note: wow I can't believe how Tiara had changed since last summer!


and this challenge was to let a special photo speak to you. hidden journaling is here
I can't get enough of these Kraft papers from making memories! Love em

I'll keep adding more pages as I have some time :)

happy Thursday

and...

I almost forgot to share the featured layout by Amy Martin for our last challenge to scrap asymmetrical! I love her example of good off-centred scrapping, her cute cute daughter, the cluster of goodies around the photos and awesome white space on the left! this page just makes me happy!!! way to go Amy :)

like to sew?

we're talking about stitches this week on my CK blog challenge. both digi and real...a bit of a hybrid challenge. I've put up some links to my favorite digi stitches and a new layout. come and play!!!

funny baby

Kaiella is 2 1/2 and I am happy to report she has a well in tact sense of self worth LOL! this little conversation we have been having makes me giggle...takes me by surprise each time

me: "You are such a special girl!"

Bella: "yes I am!" ...."and wonderful!!!!" said in her little sing song toddler voice like there is nothing she could be more sure of in the world

how great for this little girl to feel so very sure that she is totally special and wonderful! Got to just keep building that up and storing it in her little heart for all of the years where it will really make a difference to feel important and loved :)

note: the red bump on her head was fresh from walking into the kitchen wall LOL! self esteem is fine, now we just have to work on coordination!!!

Happy Easter!

Just sharing a few happy little Easter faces!

Sending out our wishes for an Easter weekend filled with blessings and good times with people you care about doing what makes you happy :)

We had a nice dinner with Cam's family on Friday, and supper with my family today. Our girls all enjoyed the hunt for goodies on Sunday morning and even Bear got an extra long walk with the whole family! It was good. Pretty low key this year, we all needed that, and so it was just perfect.

I got back on Thursday night from a week of filming in Minneapolis. It was so nice to have all those little " mommmy!!!!!" voices all greeting me at the airport. I sure love those warm squishy little girl hugs. I'll have to load my photos from the trip and write about that too ( I did have a wee bit of adventure along with the fun, but that is another post)

it's good to be back, good to be loved, good to be feeling thankful for such great friends and family :)

a guiding hand

We have had a nice spring break week. The girls have really enjoyed being all together. This has got to be one of my favorite sister moments though. We went for a really great visit with our little friends Ella and Ben and the kids spent some time getting totally drenched splashing in puddles, I looked up to see, as I often do, Emilea being such a loving and sweet big sister to little Kaiella; guiding her through the puddle after Bella had fallen and gotten soaked. What a good feeling it must be for little Bella to have this wonderful older girl who loves her so dearly right there to be her guide and be her friend. It is these moments as a mom that are so rewarding.