i do scrap.

i scrapped with my friend erin today (YAY!!) and realized that i never shared the layouts from the last time i scrapped. which was also with erin, over a month ago im sure.

the age of the kids in the pics will tell you just how far behind i am in my scrapping :) i did get 6 more pages done today, and with any luck i'll post those within a month or so.

i do love scrapping!!

my style is very simple, but i am ok with that.

remember... MP is closing soon!!

I'm working working working on my new embroidery store! In all those little free moments that I have. Which means from about 8-10 at night, and/or in between any shows that I am watching from 8-10pm :)

MP giveaway!

One last giveaway over at Mandarin Pixie!

See The MP Blog for more details...

And here are some pics, since that it the reason you really read this blog :)

love to the Widgens.

By the Republic the Widgens stand.

Classic :)

wind storm

so wouldn't you know, the second i post about all of our lovely fruit, we have a horrible wind storm.

60-75 MPH winds for two hours straight.

which in turns knocks pretty much all the apples off the trees. can you see all of them out there on the ground??we were able to save a bunch of them!

we lost electricity at about 4:30 sunday afternoon.
just as i had put a chicken recipe in the oven. which dave then put on the grill to cook.

in the meantime we folded laundry by dave's headlight.


played rummy and war to candle and lantern light.

busted out my dinky mp3 player and hooked it up to my mini computer speakers.

we cooked everything on the grill...
including little italian subs, cookies, apple cobbler, pita chips, and california pizza kitchen pizzas.
some of that was for the 'grill what you got' cookout in our driveway with a few neighbors.


speaking of neighbors, one lost her tree to the storm :(

the kids were fine.

they go to bed before the sun is completely set, so we didn't have to worry about that. they did enjoy bathtime lit by lantern though :) they do wake up when the moon is still out, so the one morning was a bit different for us.

during the day... they got out a new special toy which kept them occupied for quite some time.

lilly even made a list of all the things she/we couldn't use without electricity :)

i actually quite enjoyed having a few days out of the ordinary :)

fruit.

we have fruit.
TONS of fruit.
growing in our very own backyard :)

we have 2 apple trees, and a pear tree...
and this year they have decided to grow wild & free.


the neighbor behind us has a peach tree.
we traded fruit a few weekends ago.

i made this peach cobbler.
(a recipe from the blog recipe cookbook i put together.)


it is THE BEST cobbler that i have EVER had.
let alone made. (thanks christy for sharing!!)

i will never (well never is a strong word, but i would say probably not ever) make a bisquick/jiffy cobbler again.

i think ive made about 5 so far... 2 peach, 1 pear (not my favorite in a cobbler), 2 apple. mmmm.

dave and cohen just went out to check the trees and check out this huge pear they brought in... now, yes, cohen is little, but that pear is the size of his head! and his head is in the 90th percential! (unlike his 5% weight and 50% height...)


Any of you who are local and would like to come by our 'apple and pear farm' let me know, and we will set up a time. For real! You can bring your bag/basket and get some yummy home grown, pesticide/chemical-free juicy fruit :)

I'd love for the fruit to go to happy homes rather than rot and collect a gigantic swarm of bees under the tree, or fuit flies in our house (which we had last week...)

Dave does want me to warn you that the apples aren't as pretty as the ones in the store... or the pears for that matter, but they do taste good and they are great for baking.

Have a great week!!

the kids

just a few pics of the kids i took last weekend.



and a reminder that i will be drawing for FREE stamps tomorrow morning! (as long as i am not curled up in bed.)

the bug that went from lilly, to cohen, to dave has now found me.
just in time for the weeknd.
boo.

starting school... (and a garage sale goody)

Lilly has been in preschool for a couple weeks already, so i suppose i better share some of those 1st day photos before christmas is here :)


Don't you love her shoes??
Saucony. Adorable.
$1.00 at a garage sale!!

Speaking of garage sales...
I haven't been so great with sharing all our good finds this summer. But here is a fun one...

Remember THESE?!?!

We found 3 sets... this one, another Holly Hobbie, and The Peanuts gang. 50 cents each :)

SO much fun!

lilly got a kick out of playing with something that mommy used to play with :)

Have a good one :)

MP giveaway

As most of you know, I have decided to close down Mandarin Pixie so that I can focus on embroidery. I am trying my darndest to find happy homes for the rest of my MP stamps.

Can you help me out??

I'm having a giveaway on The MP Blog.... check it out for more details!!

fun things to make and do!

just a few fun, easy, free things to do with the kids.


what we call a 'treasure ice block'

what you do is freeze things in layers... in a plastic container.
this was the 1st block i made, and i used just used plastic toys from around the house.

This kept Daddy and Lilly busy for at least half an hour :)

SO much fun on a hot summer day!!

giving old stubby crayons new life!!



( I want to say I melted them for about 7 minutes at 350 degrees. Then I let them cool/harden before popping them out.)




i believe i got both of these ideas through this blog... The Crafty Crow.

a WONDERFUL blog constantly being updated with wonderful ideas for moms, teachers... and really anyone who loves to find great ideas for fun things to do!!

arrhhh matey.

so, i'm loving the pirate thing right now :)
i'm about to make myself a skull purse.
or something.

enjoy the littlest pirates.




Hope you are having a good week!!

Introducing...

My newest little embroidery model.

Bryce.

He even got his hair highlighted just for the photos :)
Can you BELIEVE that hair??? SO cute!

Seriously though... this is the newest addition to 'my group of kids'.

Dave, the kids and I went over to their front yard for a little photo shoot. Here are some of our favorite shots... all courtesy of Dave.

And here is the announcement that I made up for them :)

(I actually made a handful of similar ones, because you know I can't be satisfied with making anything simple on myself... but this one was the keeper!)

When picking up the pics at the photo shop they asked for copyright information. Now that's a nice compliment :)

And of course, I have to share a few little things I made for the handsome boy.

His mom loves the burps so much, that she ordered 3 more!

(They really are nice... and a lot of moms claim that my burps are their favorites!)

Check out my new designs too!! The skull and the beach car... so fun!! I had been waiting for a reason to get that skull, and I'd been eyeing that beach car too!

And one last picture... Bryce was eager for a picture with his Wildcats onesie :)

So... there you have it.

The photo shoot.
The announcement.
The embroidery.

The new little man.