Back from Sea World and Finally a Freebie!!!

Sorry I haven't been posting much lately. I am really starting to rethink my priorities and I want to become a better wife and mom.

We got back from San Antonio yesterday from our first real family vacation. It did not really go quite how I thought it should go but we did have a blast and Eric my dh and I really learned some key lessons about our ds: 1 - load him up with sugar and you will have a good time while the sugar is in his system but watch out for the let down. He was a bear. 2 - don't forget to bring a stroller (or rent  one) to carry all your stuff. Andrew enjoyed the visit to sea world more when we didn't make him walk everywhere (he is only 4 years old). 3 - Don't set your expectations too high because they will just get wiped out and everyone will be disappointed. Seriously though, I don't understand why children now days are constantly asking for you to buy them things like popcorn, cotton candy, this thing or that thing. They become like a broken record. One time I even told Andrew not to bother asking as I saw a cart with popcorn  and pickles go by. Knowing that he would ask for popcorn he said to me, "I wasn't going to ask but I sure would like a pickle." A Pickle. The one thing he had not been bothering us to buy him and BOOM he has to have a pickle. Well, thankfully we distracted him from that and kept moving right along.

I just love the shows at Sea World. My favorites were Believe with Shamu and the other Orcas (obviously) and Viva with the Beluga Whales and Dolphins. They both just brought tears to my eyes and goose bumps to my body. LOVE THEM!

But enough about out trip, I have put together a freebie sampler from the collab kit I just finished with my friend Lisa at OScrapMomO's Place. The kit is called All Better and fits great with all those bumps, scraps and boo-boo's our children so often get. The sampler includes 2 papers, one frame and one ribbon. My part of the full kit has a total of 24 papers, 10 rounded square frames, 1 round frame with matte, 6 ribbons, 1 hammer and 1 tongue depressor. You can purchase it all for just $1 at Scrap Debris as of Wednesday. If you happen to see more than one of my kits that you like send me an email with which kits you would like to buy and I will send you an invoice to purchase however many of them together. That will save you time instead of purchasing them separately.

Here is a preview of the All Better Kit:

And here is a preview of the freebie sampler for you.

Download All Better Sampler

Don't forget to get your freebie from Lisa too and check out Scrap Debris as of Wednesday for the main part of this fantastic kit. I pray you all have a great day!

Stephany

Been a long time...

I feel like it has been forever since I last posted to my blog. Things have just been a little crazy here for me. I had to plan a party for my son's 4th birthday, celebrate Mother's Day, celebrate my dh's birthday and plan for our vacation to San Antonio to see Shamu. We leave tomorrow for that, yay! On top of that we just switched internet services to save some money and service has been sketchy for about a month with that.

But with all that has gone on I did manage to get a little freebie made for you. I will be back on Monday to share that with you. Right now I am trying to get it all loaded to 4shared.

Well, I have now realized that having my son's birthday party the weekend of Mother's day was a mistake (not to be repeated). His actual birthday fell on a Wednesday so we could go either way to celebrate on the weekend. Then my husband's birthday was yesterday which is only 6 days after our son's. Need I say more on the craziness here??? We did like having family and others here to celebrate with us though.

I have one more load of laundry before I start to pack today. I think I am looking more forward to this vacation than anything else right now. DH and I went once before ds was born to Sea World and fell in love with Shamu. Now we can't wait to introduce our ds to him. He has seen pictures and seems to be as excited as we are. When we get back I will share the goodie with you.

Have a great day,

Stephany

Designer Call

My friend Lisa is looking for more Designers to come and join us for some laid back Digital Scrapbook selling. If you are interested in something like this email Lisa. She doesn't expect anything from us and it is so fun to work with her.

Have a blessed day,

Stephany

Testing Windows Live Media

I am trying out Windows Live Writer so this is just a test.  Lisa raves about this and says it is so wonderful. Please forgive the test.

I got tagged...again!

I seriously don't know many people in the blogging community on a personal basis but I will give this a try.

I've been tagged by Shawna!!!

ALL are invited to join in the Links fun!

PLEASE just follow the rules! Just copy paste THIS and everything below up until my Five links:

I thought it would be cool to have a meme where we post links. We can post up to five. Then we tell five more people to share their links. If we all share who tagged us, our links are sure to be seen!

They can be business links, favorite sites, affiliate links, whatever you want…

There are Five Rules:

1. MUST be clean. No R rated sites.

2. Only FIVE links.

3. MUST tell 5 people.

4. A link back to the person who tagged you

5. Lara’s Place is the meme originator. (an active link is appreciated)


My 5 links are:

1. The Anniston Museum - You can get a membership here for I think $25 to $30 for your family and be able to go to just about any museum in the United States (as long as it is part of the ASTC - click here to see if your museum or science center is a participant) and it good for a year. That reminds me I think it is time to renew mine!

2. The Gardner's Network - I am not a big gardener but this site really helps me keep the things I am gardening alive and kicking. I got a mini rose bush from some friends as a house warming gift when we bought our new house. I usually kill it after the first roses died off it but not this one. I replanted it in a bigger pot and voila it continued to bloom new roses for me and all I had to do was prune it every now and then.

3. Mrs. Claus' Cookbook - This site has so many baking and goody recipes that I get a sugar rush just perusing.

4. The Houston SAHM Lesson Plans - These provide things to do for your little kiddos and you if you want lesson plans.

5. Mapsco Travel Directions - I love this site because I can put in any address and it gives me very accurate directions.

I am tagging:

Lisa

Penny

Tina

Michelle

Bethany

Please nobody kill me for tagging you. I know you guys all have really good taste and look forward to seeing your favorite websites.

Have a blessed day,
Stephany

Guess what we got to buy tonight...

A new Washer! That's right, I went to change out the very last load of laundry into the dryer and found it full of water. I tried starting it on final spin and it didn't do anything but make a humming sound. I called dh in to see if he might get it to do something more than I did and still nothing happened. But alas, dh had been planning on our washer going out sometime soon so he had been looking at washers for a couple of months. We loaded up and set off for Home Depot because they were having a 10% off sale on all appliances and on top of that had a mail in rebate on the delivery. Woo-hoo! Not only am I getting a new washer but I don't have to worry about finding a home for the old washer because they will be taking it a burying it for me, lol. It is a front loading Amana, more energy efficient and Eco friendly. I must say that God's timing is always perfect even if our washer's is not. God will provide the money somehow. He always provides for our needs.

My family and I just had one of the best weekends in a long time. My sister Sandy and her family came to spend the weekend with us. At first I was a little worried how the sleeping arrangements would go but it worked out. I sure hope they had as good a time as we did. Saturday morning my dh took my bil, Chris and nephew, Dymitri to our church to help with the playground wood chips. My sister and I took the rest of the boys (her youngest two, Dylan and Deryk and my one, Andrew) to Sams Club and then went to see if any more help was needed at the church. We got there just as the last 2 or 3 wheel barrel loads of wood chips were being taken into the playground. After we all finished there we ate lunch and got ready to go see Horton Hears A Who. We loaded up with lots of goodies for the boys because 3 of them are 3 years old and younger and we didn't know if they would sit through the movie. My nephew Deryk towards the end got a little antsy so my sister took him out of the theater. That night we gave the boys baths and then my sister and I went to target for some shopping and sister bonding time. We bought the 3 youngest matching outfits to wear to church the next day (yea, I know, we're cheesy). When we got home the dh's were playing Wii with Dymitri so we joined in on some of that fun. Sunday rolled around and my bil was very kind to make us pancakes for breakfast. We all headed out to church after that and very much enjoyed the sermon. We came home for lunch and nap time only I think I was the only one who really got a nap. My sister came in to wake me up about 4:45 and tells me that all the boys are coming back from the park and they are hungry. So we head out to dinner at Panda which we found out was a total bomb. We came home and went to the backyard to play a little. DH got out the soccer ball for the boys. They weren't very interested in it so dh and I played against my sister and bil. My sister took me down. Man, I haven't played soccer in so long but I think that was my favorite part of this weekend. We went inside when it got dark and gave the boys a bath. Then we gave them ice cream because they'd been pretty well behaved and then sent them to bed. Dh and I stayed up with my sister and bil and played Hearts, which for once I got my behind thoroughly spanked. You win some and lose some. After that we played Disney Pictionary on DVD. The first round my sister and bil won but the next 2 rounds dh and I won. On Monday morning my sister and bil start checking to see what we are wearing to see if they get to pinch us for St. Patrick's day. Thank goodness my pj's had green leaf's on them. DH wasn't so lucky. My sister went so far as to plan for the holiday. She even bought her dh a green shirt so he wouldn't get pinched. All her boys had on green and she did as well. When everyone was showered and ready to go (wearing green of course) we went to lunch and pigged out on pizza. I think I have finally reached saturation for pizza. I think I could go a while without it. We then came home and let all the boys play outside in the backyard while my sister and bil loaded up their van to head home.
What a wonderful time we had with them and can't wait to see them again.

BTW, Chris, if you are reading this, "HI". Don't want to leave out a quick hi to my bil who I found out reads my blog and has an incredible memory about things I say on here.

Have a blessed day,
Stephany

I've been tagged... Whoa

I've never been tagged before so I am a little awed that Lisa thinks so highly of me. Thanks girly! No really, Thanks!

Okay, here we go:
1. What time did you get up this morning? Too early since it is my 30th Birthday. I was woke up at 3:30am by a little guy afraid of his watch.
2. Diamonds or pearls? I would have to say diamonds.
3. What was the last film you saw at the movies? The Spiderwick Chronicles.
4. What is your favorite TV show? Don't really have a favorite, I guess "Numbers"!
5. What do you eat for breakfast? I love Great Value RF Cinnamon rolls.
6. What is your middle name? Leigh
7. What food do you dislike? BBQ
8. What is your favorite CD at the moment? Toby Mac "Portable Sounds".
9. What kind of car do you drive? Tahoe
10. Favorite sandwich? Egg Salad
11. I didn't see #11
12. Person dead or alive that you would like to have a conversation with? Jesus...works for me...I would love to see Him face to face.
13. If you could go anywhere in the world for a vacation, where would you go? Disneyworld or Seaworld.
14. What color is your bathroom? Brown (don't get me started...It was this color when we bought the house and we want to change it as soon as we can. We don't need the reminder on the walls what should stay in the ca mode).
18. Favorite Sport to watch? College Football
20. Who do you expect to follow through on the tag? Am I supposed to tag someone else. I don't know anyone else closely in the digiscrap world.
21. Person you expect to complete it first? Clueless
22. Favorite saying? 50-11 (Lisa you know what I'm talking about)
24. Are you a morning person or a night person? Midday
25. What is your shoe size? 8.5
26. Favorite food for Dinner? Sour Cream Chicken
27. What did you want to be when you were little? A Police Officer
28. What are you doing today? Fed ds, toke shower, got dressed, got ds dressed, headed out to spend some money (I needed a new journal, a picture frame, and some fake flowers for pen caps), ate lunch, came home and played on the computer, played with son after his nap, ate dinner with DH and DS, went for a walk with ds, checked a friends house who went OOT, then came home and gave ds a bath, found I was tagged so now I am trying to do this for Lisa. Whew, what a long day when you think about it. I forgot, we went to the Library to drop off books and movies.
29. What is your favorite candy? Anything chocolate with caramel filling (Treasures or Giradelli (need spelling), yum).
30. What is your favorite flower? Hydrangea.
31. What day are you looking forward to most on your calendar? Don't really have one special day.
32. What are you listening to right now? My ds trying to go to sleep.
33. What was the last thing you ate ? Garlic Herb Chicken, Steamed potatoes and Steamed Broccoli from Applebee's.
34. Do you wish on stars? Not anymore. Don't have to!
35. Do you believe in Angels? Yes
36. If you were a crayon, what color would you be? Pink
37. What is your pet peeve?...I don't really want to think about that on my birthday. I am trying to have a good day. Okay, politics and gas prices. You got me!
38. Last person you spoke to on the phone? Sister Sherri and niece Elora called to wish me a happy birthday. My niece sang to me in her sweet high pitch voice. So cute. (My nephews and son sang to me earlier too and it was just as special.
39. Do you like the person who tagged you? You betcha. She is one of the neatest people I know. She keeps it popping for me and also trys to relieve me of my OCD tendencies.
40. Favorite soft drink? Not really a soda drinker.
41. Favorite restaurant? Texas Roadhouse (their Prime Rib is to die for, I hd that Tuesday for my official birthday dinner)
42. Siblings? 3 sisters, Sarah, Sherri, and Sandy
43. Favorite day of the year? December 25 because it is a perfect reminder of my Lord's birth. I seem to get side tracked way too often.
44. Favorite day of the Week? Saturday because I usually get to spend it with my dh and ds.
45. Spring or Fall: That's a toughie, Spring
46. Hugs or kisses? Hugs
47. Chocolate or vanilla? Depends on my mood, mostly chocolate.
48. Do you want your friends to tag you back? Do I really have to tag others? I don't really know anyone else besides Lisa and she doesn't want to do it again, understandably!
49. What is under your bed? Dust Bunnies
50. Who is the friend you’ve had longest? My sister Sandy.
51. What did you do last night? Went to choir practice at church.
52. Favorite smell? Spring
53. What are you afraid of? Being in the wrong place at the wrong time.
54. How many keys on your key ring? too many (at least 8)
55. How many years at your current job? 3 years as a SAHM
56. Favorite city to visit? I'm with Lisa here (I'm so jealous she is going to Disney)....Orlando
57. How many towns have you lived in? Let me take a stab and say 9.
58. Do you make friends easily? More so now than before. I have matured a lot and don't have such high expectations that even I can't meet.

Wow, what a lot to learn about someone. If you would like to share about yourself too than consider yourself tagged. I don't really think I have that big of a blog following though so hope those of you that actually read this enjoyed getting to know me better.

Have a blessed day,
Stephany