The Countdown Begins...

Well Christmas is right around the corner! It's hard for me to believe! We have the bulk of our gifts bought. There are only a couple that we need to figure out. That is REALLY good for us! I'm pretty surprised really! Usually we are last minute shoppers but it feels good to have most of it done a little early! ;)
If you know me you know that I LOVE magazines. I blame it on my grandpa who used to order me subscriptions while trying to win millions through Publisher's Clearinghouse. Do they still even do that? He used to get me kid magazines like Disney or when I got older Seventeen magazine. It was like Christmas every time one came in the mail!
Now I love Paula Deen, InStyle, People, Rachel Ray and a ton of others! One of the things I love about them is that they usually have little sections where they show cool gift ideas. I LOVE these! That's where I found several of the cool gifts below!

Wouldn't you LOVE to drink out of THAT!?!?! I love it! They have all of the states and they even have countries and holiday versions!
This one is a dish towel that I want! The holiday ones are SUPER cute! I saw these in Paula Deen and had to share! They even have t-shirts, totes, aprons, and pillows, but the pillows are a little too pricey for me! ;) The glasses and towels are reasonable, though! The site is Cat Studio. Visit it! It's pretty cool!

Okay so you all know I LOVE me some stamps! But come on! Who wouldn't love a personalized stamp!?!?!
The stamp above is from Modern Art Stamps. They have several cute faces to choose from. This one just happened to have my name under it! Haha! I'm going to order Brodey one after Christmas!

OR if you have someone to buy for that moved into a new house this year or got married Stampin Up sells super cute personalized address stamps! These are just a couple of designs. If you have a catalog they are on page 145. If you are interested let me know! You need to order ASAP to have them by Christmas!
So I'm pretty sure most peeps around here make the trek to War Eagle Mill every fall to their awesome crafts festival. I have only gone once (I didn't get to go this year boohoo) but I LOVED it. They make my all time favorite hot sauce and salad dressings, but they also make a TON of other stuff.
I actually order my hot sauce and salad dressing from them when I run out and their shipping is fantastic. Everything is packed up so well that the UPS man would have to run over it to damage it.
The gift above is their super cute Smidgen, Dash, and Pinch measuring set. It's only $3.00 so it would be perfect with the biscuit cutters below.
I really want these! They are true biscuit cutters! Supposedly your biscuits will rise better because of the clean edge these give. I'm ordering these for myself with my next order! ;)
It's so fun to go to War Eagle! You can go into the mill and actually see them milling the grains and they will tell you about everything. So much fun! I hope I get to go back next year!

Okay so it's kind of terrible that I show you this last one since it's too late to order for delivery by Christmas. BUT if you happen to get an iPhone for Christmas or need to treat yourself you have to check out this website. Heck you can probably even get someone a gift card to it!
I LOVE it. I could probably order one of just about everything on there. They have it all. It's called Monogram Lane and if you have a wedding or a birthday soon they have beautiful gifts.
Okay so that's all the fun gifts I'm sharing for today! Isn't Christmas fun!?! It's almost worth this nasty cold and windy weather!
Well I'm outta here! I'm off to figure out dinner!
I hope you had a wonderful weekend! Back to reality tomorrow!
LUV APRIL :)

Quick Update

Hello. I'm not dead. Just in case you were wondering. ;)
I have strep. It isn't very fun! I haven't had it in years. I mean since my age was in the single digits. That's been a while!
So my post will be super quick today. I just wanted to let you know about my December Stamper's Night Out next week. I had so much fun at the last one that I had to get another one in before Christmas! The link is HERE! We will be using the Cute Christmas stamp set from Stampin Up! I love this stamp set. If you want your very own to use at the SNO let me know ASAP! I will ordering tomorrow so they will get here in time!
Also, if you would like to place a Stampin Up! order to arrive by Christmas you need to have your order in to me by December 14th. I am giving Brodey's teacher THIS set. I love it!
Okay folks! I'm headed back to the couch! I told you this would be a quick post!
Happy Tuesday!
LUV APRIL :)

Little Sick Boy

Poor Bro. I'm pretty sure he has been sick more this school year than his entire 4 years of living. Monday he felt great. Monday night he woke me up because he was burning up. Poor guy had a fever. I gave him some Tylenol and once his fever broke I had to change his PJ's because he soaked them through! Poor guy!
"Does this mean I can't go to school tomorrow, Mom?"
"Yep Bro I'm afraid so."
"Oh man. But I have to practice my Christmas program and put up the tree!"
So sad!
He ran a fever off and on Tuesday and Wednesday. He felt okay. He stayed on the couch quite a bit, but he never threw up or complained of any aches or pains. Thank goodness. By Wednesday night he was back to his normal self. He was VERY happy to get back to school today!
Stamper's Night Out was Tuesday night! I had SO MUCH FUN! The girls that came were a blast and every one's tags looked awesome! I can't wait for the next one! :)
Well I just thought I would check in! I'm going to knock on wood and then sit on the couch for a little bit. I'm not feeling so hot. Head and throat feel funny. Eek!
Have a great Thursday!!
LUV APRIL :)

Routine

Well it's back to routine! Last week went by so quickly! I can't believe it's been a week since I last posted! Sheesh!
Thanksgiving was wonderful. I LOVE to see my family and get to eat yummy food that I don't have to cook! ;) If I had to choose a last meal I would request my mom's turkey and dressing. No lie. It's amazing. I want some right now.
So I actually did go shopping on Black Friday. That AFTERNOON! Haha! My sister, Brodey, and I went to Shawnee. We were at Old Navy about 5 minutes and I looked at her and said "You know...I'm not really in the shopping mood."
"I'm not really either. Let's go."
And that was the end of our Black Friday shopping.
We DID meet Kerry, McKennah, Will, and Aunt Karen at the movies! We saw Tangled in 3D and it was SOOOO good!! I loved it! I could have watched it again! Brodey's review was "Ya that movie where the girl fights with her hair was really good. Mom didn't even cry that much!" Ha!
We didn't really do much other than that. It was a nice relaxing weekend, but it was also nice to get back home into our routine.
I would, though, like someone to tell me how in the world my house is a disaster when we haven't even been here!?! We did leave in kind of a hurry. Oh and Brodey was home all week. That's probably why. ;)
Happy Monday!
LUV YA!
April :)

A Good Show

What a beautiful day here in Oklahome! It was a tad windy, but I can't complain about 80 degree weather in November!!
We had a fun night! We went and ate pizza at Sam and Ella's for dinner. It was awesome as always. Oh and I didn't have to clean it up! ;)
After dinner we went to see Megamind. It was so good. When we got to the car Brodey says "That Megamind was a real good show, Mom. Real good."
"I agree Bro! It was real good!"
Eric snapped the pic in the theater. His phone takes better pics than mine. Oh and it has a flash. Maybe I should run over my phone so I can get a 4G. Ha!
Thanksgiving is this week can you even believe it!?! I'm pretty excited. Turkey and dressing is my favorite food. Well specifically my Mom's. I could probably eat cornbread dressing for at least one meal a day every single day. Yes I love it that much.
Everyone is talking about Black Friday. I'm not a big Black Friday shopper. I don't like to get up at 4am and I especially don't want to get up at 4am and deal with crazy people. The most shopping I'll do is maybe go to the mall that afternoon.
I'm more interested in the online deals they offer this week. Gap and Old Navy usually have some good ones. Stampin Up is also offering some REALLY good deals. I'll be taking advantage of that as well as the Gap and Old Navy ones! (If you are interested in the Stampin Up deals go to my website HERE and click on ONLINE SPECTACULAR at the bottom.)
Well friends I'm headed to bed!
I hope you had a magnificent Monday!
LUV YA!
April :)

I Missed It...

I'm a terrible Mom. I should be beaten. This morning was Brodey's school Thanksgiving lunch and I missed it. I DID make it in to the cafeteria and got to watch him DUMP his lunch into the trashcan. Does that count?
I had to run errands this morning and I thought I was good on time. Then I pull into the school and notice kids walking out with parents and the parking lot is full....hhhmmm. I'm thinking okay it's 10:35. SURELY they haven't eaten lunch. So I walk/run into the classroom and the lady tells me they are eating. WHAT!?!?! I RUN into the cafeteria and Brodey is dumping his tray. OH MAN!!! I am almost in tears!
"Brodey! I'm sorry I missed your lunch!"
"That's okay Mom because it was REALLY good!"
He could care less. I told Mrs Tuck and she was like "Well I asked him where you were and he said oh she'll be here some time." Haha! "Sorry, Mom, but he didn't really mind! Now I have other kids that would have been devastated, but he was just excited the food was good!" That's my boy! ;)
I snapped a quick pic of him in his super cute turkey hat they made! He was on the playground playing with friends so he didn't have time for anymore pics. ;)
He also made this thankful poster. Mrs Tuck asked them what they were thankful for and that was his answer. SO cute!
He's outside playing with the puppy. We are taking him to Deandra today because she knows someone that wants a puppy! Yeah! He's a good dog, but we already have two! Which are at the groomers right now and I'm headed to pick up!
I hope you have a fantastic weekend!
LUV YA!!!
April :)

Look What I Brought Home...

"Hello"
"Hey so there's this poor little puppy at school and they said it's been here since Friday. It's supposed to be cold and rainy tonight. He's really skinny. I'm bringing him home."
"Hey! No! April!"
"Okay so I'll see you later! I love you bye!"
That's how the conversation went between me and Eric on Monday.

When I went to pick Brodey up from school we walked out of the building and there was this little black puppy sitting in the alley.
I said "Aw Bro look at that puppy! He looks hungry."
One of the other pre-k teachers walked by and said "Oh yes he's cute. He's been here since Friday."
"Well I'm taking him home."
We went to get him and he ran away like he was scared. Bro and I followed him behind the school and he hid up in the bushes. We were trying to get him out when another teacher came by. She also said he had been there since Friday. They all assumed he was someones so they left but he was still there Monday morning. Her son helped us get him out of the bushes and off we went!
We decided that since we found him at Woodall school he should be named Woodie. Cute right?
Brodey loved him, but I knew Eric wouldn't go for it. So I took him home anyway and we fed him and gave him one of the cat's beds. (She wasn't happy about that but she needs to learn to share) He ate a ton. The poor thing was so skinny and dehydrated he didn't pee OR poop until the next morning.
He's still on the back porch. Eric has been trying to find a home for him. He is really cute and clean. After he eats he will walk all the way off the back porch and into the yard to do his "business."
I don't think he is going to get very big. His paws are pretty small. He is very loving. At first he acted scared and he would start at loud noises. He has gotten used to us now and he just sits on the back porch and waits for Brodey to come home. Every once in a while he will wander around like he's looking for him.
He goes in the garage at night so the raccoons don't eat him for dinner. He will wine at the door when he needs to go potty outside.
He's a good little puppy! I'm not sure if Eric has found him a home yet.
If you know anyone that wants a puppy let me know! He is black with some white on his neck and at the end of his paws. :)
I posted a new card over on {Stamp} Paper Scissors! It's a digital hybrid card that I used some Stampin Up digital elements on! Fun!
I received my copy of Scrapbooking Everyday Memories special issue by Creating Keepsakes magazine today! I had two layouts published in it and I just have to say this is a great issue! The cover is beautiful and there are tons of tips and sketches in there! I'm on pages 23 and 34!
Well I'm outta here! If you get a chance check out my UTEE Fall Leaves video! It's the technique I taught at the Among Friends scrapbook retreat a few weekends ago!
Have a wonderful Wednesday!
LUV YA!
April :)

Bat Turkey!

Don't you just love school projects? I do! I do! :)
Brodey brought home a printout of a turkey last week with a note that said we were to decorate the turkey as a family project. Well come on! This is my area of expertise!
The turkey was due Friday so of course I go to Hobby Lobby to get supplies on Thursday. Brodey and I had talked about what we were going to do and we had several ideas. He didn't really have an opinion so I went with the Batman theme.

I got feathers (which make one heck of a mess by the way), felt, pom poms, and foam board. The checkout lady looked at me funny until I told her what I was doing. Haha!
When Brodey got home from school we cut apart the printed turkey to use as a pattern. Yes I freecut the Bat symbol. I looked up a photo of Batman on my phone as a guide. Brodey glued on all the feathers, pom poms, and pieces. He also cut out the printed turkey and colored his face. I just basically cut out the felt pieces and adjusted the them to make sure they looked right!
I also wrote along the bottom and then Brodey copied what I wrote beneath mine. If you tilt your head you can see he did a pretty good job!
I think our turkey turned out great! Batman would be proud! ;)
!"All of the kids at school were very impressed! When I picked Brodey up Mrs Tuck had all of the turkeys hung up on her door. All the kids in the hall were amazed and knew right away it was Batman! They were like "Wow! That is SO cool! It's Bat Turkey!"
Brodey was like "Me and my mom made it!"
"That's really cool! It looks just like Batman!"
Mrs Tuck was like "Oh all the kids love it! They all want to touch it!"
I said "Oh let them! If anything falls off just let me know and I'll bring the glue! Haha!!"
You can view the video below to see the turkey! I just realized I filmed the video BEFORE we wrote on it. Aw well! The video was originally meant to be sent to Eric and my Dad, but I thought it was cute so I posted it here!
Yes I know (If you follow Inky Fingers) I posted this video and NOT the How To for the leaves. Well this video took about 30 seconds to upload and the How To video is pretty long so my Internet is not cooperating. I'm going to try again tomorrow. For some reason I have better Internet luck on Mondays.
My Stampin Up blog {Stamp} Paper Scissors is finally up and running! Wahoo! Check it out! They are running an awesome special soon!
Well I'm off to bed! I hope you had a fantastic weekend!
LUV YA!
April :)

Happy Veteran's Day!

Happy Veteran's Day!
Brodey wore his flag shirt today! He was so excited! They have been talking about Veteran's Day at his school and he was excited a veteran was coming to visit today.
"Do you think they will let us shoot their gun?"
With a not so straight face I said "Um no Bro. I don't think they will let you shoot their gun." ;)
I told him that Doc was a veteran and that he was in World War II.
"Wow really mom? Do you think we can send him a picture of me in my American flag shirt?"
So that's where the pic came from. I took it before school this morning. I just love that little boy!
It's such a nice day here! It rained all night, but it won't rain again for a while. It's so nice I had to take off the white undershirt Brodey had on.
Tonight will be a fun night! I'm headed to Tulsa with some of my favorite girly girls! Wahoo!!!
I'm also excited about my Stamper's Night Out coming up! I'm going to start doing a Stamper's Night Out down the road from my house at the Scrappin Pad! I would like to do it at least every month and would love to do it more often if people would like! I hope to meet fellow papercrafters/stampers in my area! If you are interested in coming or know someone who would be interested please pass on the info to them! You can read all about it HERE! It's gonna be fun!
Well I'm headed to the grocery store! I officially have nothing left to cook. We had breakfast for dinner last night! Brodey loved it, but Eric isn't a fan! ;)
I hope you have a terrific Thursday!
LUV YA!
April :)

I'm BACK in the saddle again!!

Haha! A little Aerosmith for ya tonight! ;)
I've been absent from the blogs and I miss them! I've been very busy, but will be back in the groove by tomorrow afternoon! (Brodey would be so proud of that rhyme!)
I had a blast teaching at the Among Friends scrapbook retreat this weekend! It was a short 15 minute drive from my house! They stayed in a cute house on Fort Gibson lake. I taught a fun layout class that I will be sharing on the Inky Fingers blog this week!
So since I was at the retreat all weekend the boys had to fend for themselves. Eric is a really, really good cook but I have to admit that I hadn't gone to the grocery store in over a week. Thank goodness he is also good at cooking something out of nothing!
Friday night he made some fish on the grill. He sent me a pic of it since he was so proud. Jen said it didn't look very good so I won't post it here. ;)
Saturday night he was very proud of the dish he cooked above. He was so proud he even provided a description with the photo.
"The entree is a classic bowtie in a gardenstyle sauce with angus beef." Haha! Silly boy! I forgot I had those noodles in the cabinet and it was really good! I had it the next day for lunch. When he has to he can fend for himself! He just likes it better when I cook.
Well this will be a short post so that I can go try to clean up this

That's what happens when you are at a retreat all weekend and you come back home, dump your stuff, and get to work on deadlines!
I have projects spinning in my mind that I need to get done to post on Inky Fingers, but I also want to play with this

UGH I KNOW! It's filled with all sorts of fun stuff! I can't wait to play mad scientist with it all! We had some fun this weekend with the Melting Pot, didn't we girls!?!
Okay seeing the pic of that box lit a fire! I'm outta here! Time to get some inky fingers! I'm loving that time change right about now!
Hope your Monday is magnificent!
LUV YA!
April :)

When all the leaves are falling from the treeeeessss

Okay so I have that awesome song "A Girl for All Seasons" in my head from Grease 2. LOVE that movie and I'm surprised I haven't seen it on TV in the last month. ;) Oh no. "A Girl for All Seasons" has now been replaced with "Cool Rider." I need a C-O-O-L R-I-D-E-R!!!!
So this will be a short post. I have been very busy working on some cool scrappy pages for assignments and I haven't had time to post here or on Inky Fingers. I even have two videos waiting to be posted!
I snapped the pic up there with my phone when I was going down the road in front of my house. I thought it looked purdy.
Brodey had school pics today. He assured me he "smiled good." We practiced last night. I'm weird I know.
Well this weirdo is headed to bed. I hope your Thursday was great!
LUV YA!
April :)

Variety Show!

It was a good day yesterday despite not feeling 100%! I meant to post this last night but I fell asleep on the couch with Brodey around 9.
Brodey's Variety Show at school was yesterday! It was sort of a talent show and it was so much fun!
Only at a smaller school can you see first graders doing a routine to "Old Time Rock n Roll" from Risky Business. They were all dressed in white button up t-shirts, sunglasses, and socks. Towards the end one of the kids slid across the stage on his knees playing a fake saxophone. It was awesome. If there had been a winner I would have chosen them. (That's also one of my favorite movies so I might be partial.)
The Risky Business routine was followed by various dances, some jokes, Taylor Swift and Miley Cyrus songs, some country songs and some religious songs, a ballerina (she did a fantastic job and Brodey was most impressed by her ability to do the splits and walk on her toes), and a cute little girl that did sign language to a song. She would have won second if I was a judge.
Those type of shoes always impress me. It takes a lot of courage to get in front of an auditorium filled full of parents and peers. I had a great time at our little Variety Show!
Brodey's pre-k did a 50's type song and dance called the Peppermint Twist. SO cute!! I took the pics at the top with my camera to send to my dad. I drew him some sideburns with a black pencil and tried to gel his hair to look like Elvis. It wasn't easy, but it turned out okay! I'm not sure what he was doing in the pics but I think he was trying to act tough. Haha! He's goofy.
He did a great job dancing on stage. I thought he might get shy once he got up there but he loved it! He said "Hey mom I liked doing that Peppermint Twist thing on stage. It was pretty fun!"
The first performance was at 12 and the second was at 6:30 last night. He did a good job of dancing at the first one, but by the second one he was a dancing fool! At least I don't have to worry about stage fright! ;)
If you are a scrapbooker, cardmaker, papercrafter, or just want to know how to tie a bow, head over to my Inky Fingers blog. I shared a great video yesterday!
Well I'm off to do some laundry. It's a pretty day outside even if it's a little chilly! Our heater came on for the first time this morning! That means it's pretty cold because we sleep in a refrigerator at night!
Have a wonderful Wednesday!
LUV YA!
April :)

Things I've Learned...

Every night when Brodey gets out of the shower we sit on the couch and watch America's Funniest Home Videos. We love it. It's great family time and we all laugh so hard sometimes we cry. We have been doing this for a while now and I have learned a few things from watching the show.

1. If you are a male at a party with a pinata....wear a cup. Trust me.
2. When people get drunk they always have to get on the tables. They are usually old and it ALWAYS ends badly.
3. The fake lottery ticket is the crappiest joke EVER. I could never do that to someone and I will kick your butt if you ever do it to me!
4. People do really stupid things. A LOT.
5. My favorite videos are the wedding ones. If I had had a wedding with guests I would have WANTED something funny to happen.
6. The funniest videos NEVER win. Never.

So those are my keen observations of America's Funniest Home Videos. You should record it and watch it. It's pretty entertaining and my 4 year old gets a kick out of it!
I still haven't even looked at the Halloween pics. I need to do that because Brodey looked pretty funny as Luigi. All the trick or treaters kept saying "Hey it's Luigi!"
"Hey Luigi!"
"Oh hey Mario Brothers!"
It was pretty funny. Brodey would just wave and smile.
Today on the Inky Fingers blog I posted a short how to video! It's a fun ribbon technique!
I took the photo above on crazy hair day. Brodey is getting pretty good writing his letters. The reason I took the pic is that he actually spelled that on his own. He was messing around and said "Hey mom what does this say?"
Usually it's something like bopapa or getti but it was actually a word this time!
"Brodey oh my goodness it says BOO!"
"Oh you mean like boo I scared you!?!?!"
"Yes just like that! You just spelled your first word!" Even if it was on accident he still spelled an actual word! And a seasonal one at that! LOL I can still remember the first word I spelled on accident. It was HAM on my Speak and Read. I'm glad I grabbed my phone and snapped a pic of him. The expression is hilarious.
Well I'm headed to bed. Brodey has the Variety Show tomorrow at school. They are doing some 50's thing and he has to dress the part. I'm thinking about drawing sideburns with a black pencil. Haha! It will be fun!
Well good night all! Hope you had a great Monday!
LUV YA!
April :)

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!!!

Just wanted to pop in and say Happy Halloween!!
I hope your weekend was spooktacular!
Brodey had a fantastic time! We just got back from Holdenville so I won't be posting pics tonight!
Today is Sketchy Sunday on the Inky Fingers blog! If you need a little scrappy inspiration check it out!
I'm headed to bed!
Nighty Night!
LUV APRIL :)

I am Iron Man

Every time Brodey puts on his Iron Man costume I hear I AM IRON MAN by Ozzy. Haha!
He was pretty excited about wearing it today! We had to practice pulling it up and down so he could go to the bathroom. I didn't want a text from Mrs Tuck to bring pants and underwear to school!
At Woodall they have a little Fall Festival in the gym for all the kids. The older students put it on to raise money. Brodey got to play all sorts of games and win prizes. Actually you got a prize whether you won or not and it didn't really matter if the kids had tickets. They all got to play! They also had ice cream and popcorn! Yum!
Brodey had a blast! He ate candy, popcorn, cupcakes and cookies all day long. You are only a kid once, right!?
I took a ton of pics, but I'm not even going to edit them right now! This one was taken with my phone before he somehow got his costume filthy. Boys!
Since he wore Iron Man today I guess he will be Luigi tomorrow! I have to figure out some stuffing for a belly! He looks really funny as Luigi!
Well I'm going to make dinner! I hope everyone has a safe and FUN Halloween!
Eat lots of candy!
LUV YA!
April :)

Break Room

I want a break room. I'm not talking about a room with a table, water cooler, and microwave. I want a cement room that has all sorts of breakable things in it so that when I get angry I can take a break, go to the break room, and BREAK everything. It would be very satisfying. I think it's a grand idea. I could have used it today!
I had trouble with this and that and to top it ALL off AT&T called me up to inform me that the DSL Internet I have been looking forward to isn't going to happen. The two other people I talked to were wrong. I cannot get it at my address. So instead of telling off Hughes Net I want to tell off AT&T. I am so beyond disappointed. I know that there are important problems in the world, but I can't tell you how excited I was to be getting REAL Internet. Ah well. My goal next week is to see if an actual person will come and make sure I can't get it. There was a little issue with my address showing up incorrectly and I won't leave it alone until a person tells me to my face that I cannot get it. So there.
I had to take Bro to the doctor today. He started wheezing last night again. The doc says he has seasonal asthma and it is to be taken seriously. He says if it isn't treated it can cause health problems on down the road. We came home with some new breathing treatment stuff and I hope that will help!
We acquired two new (allergy free) pets tonight. I will post more on that tomorrow.
Mrs Tuck sent me this pic of Bro at school gutting a pumpkin.
I said "Wow! I can't believe he is actually sticking his hand in there!"
She said "Oh he was totally grossed out!"
When I got to school I said "I was pretty surprised he stuck his hands in there! He's the kid that refused to tear up his first birthday cake!"
She said "Oh yes he said this is totally disgusting!" Hahaha! That is so him!
His hair was pretty crazy that day. He needs a haircut so it sort of looked like an older lady right out of the beauty shop! ;)
Today was spirit day so they had to wear their Woodall Wildcat gear. It's so fun to see all the kiddos walking into class with their orange on!
Tomorrow is the big class Halloween party! At Woodall they actually get to wear their costumes to school! So fun! He can't decide on whether to wear Iron Man or Luigi. I'm thinking he will choose Iron Man because that will be more fun to play on the playground! ;)
Too bad I don't have that break room built yet. I just spent forever editing a new video for Inky Fingers and the program locked up. Go figure. I'm giving up for tonight.
At least Real Housewives of Beverly Hills was on. Dishing about it with Keysha helped put me in a better mood!
I sure hope tomorrow is better! I'm probably being too optimistic to hope that when I come in here in the morning my video program will be working again. Ha!
Hope your Thursday was better than mine! If not I'll send you a personal invite to my Break Room when it's finished! ;)
LUV YA!
April

7 Days

No I haven't been watching that stupid Naomi Watts movie, The Ring. Teehee. When my sister and I DID go to the movies and see it (it was NOT my idea) as the credits were rolling after it was done my cell phone rings. VERY loudly. It was my mom, thank goodness, and not the creepy voice saying "7 Days."
"MOM!?!!?!?! WHY are you calling me!?! GEEZ! You scared the crap out of me!"
She's like "Why would me calling scare you?"
"Oh nevermind." I look around and everyone is looking at me like OH you are SO next! I haven't watched a VHS tape since! ;)
Today was crazy hair day for Brodey at school. He looked cute and I would share with you but my internet is not cooperating. In 7 days I will have DSL. I am beyond happy. It is finally available at my house. That means I will be able to do things on the internet like normal people. Oh and I can tell HughesNet to....well I'll censor that.
Another reason I am super excited about this is that I have started my new blog Inky Fingers! Weird name, right? You get it if you have ever taken a papercrafting class of mine or been at a crop with me. When I do anything scrapbook related my fingers are stained with ink for a day or two! I always say "we aren't having fun if our fingers aren't inky!"
Ever since I moved from Edmond in 2008 people have been requesting some sort of online class. Well it's finally time! At Inky Fingers I will be sharing more How To's, sketches, videos, kit classes, and much more!
It doesn't matter if you are a beginner or an expert! This is for everyone! If you have always wanted to start papercrafting, but didn't know WHERE to start I have you in mind! I will be sharing basic beginner How To's just for you! So check it out if you are interested! Inky Fingers is also on Facebook!
I'm very excited about this and had to share!
I'll post Brodey's funny pics tomorrow!
Hope your Wednesday was extra fab!

PJ Day!

It's Red Ribbon week at Woodall school! Don't ask me what that means because I'm not 100% sure. All I know is Monday was hat day and today was PJ day.
All of the photos are from my phone, so they aren't the bestest quality. Actually I didn't notice Brodey's eyes were half closed in the photo above until it was too late. We were in a hurry to get out the door this morning.
Brodey was VERY excited to wear his Halloween PJ's. I get him a pair every year, but he has never been able to wear them outside of the house! Haha! All the kiddos at school looked so cute in their PJ's! They were so proud!
They were even MORE proud of this "limb" they found! Haha! Mrs Tuck sent me this photo this morning. It looks more like a TREE to me, but okay! It must have blown down from the crazy wind yesterday.
In case you don't know I HATE wind. It freaks me out. I actually sleep with shotgun earplugs in on nights like last night. I know it's dumb to live on a hill when you hate the wind, but I had no idea it would be so much worse up here. I think we need one of those huge wind things that generate electricity. We could supply an entire city with electricity!

So I didn't have to cook dinner tonight! I love to cook but I HATE to clean up. Who does? We ate at Ted's. Brodey chose. As soon as he found out we were going to Tulsa he starts asking to "go to that one place with the chips and cheese sauce." He was so looking forward to it that I was afraid we would get there and we would have to wait. I'm not so patient when it comes to waiting to eat somewhere. I was very happy when we didn't have to wait!
The photo is at Ted's and it's with Eric's new phone. He got the new 4, 4G, whatever it is. He ran over his and that is what he gets. If I had ran over my iphone I would have another Razor! Oh well. At least he promised to get me the new one when I'm due for an upgrade. Secretly the only reason I want a new one is because of the new camera. It has one on each side so you can actually see yourself in the pic. That's Bro and I testing it out. Hehe!
Well I'm headed to bed! Thankfully it will be a quiet night! No earplugs! Wahoo!
Hope your Tuesday was terrific!
LUV APRIL :)

ETA: So my bud, Keysha, reminded me that Red Ribbon Week is drug free week! Thanks Keysha! How I forgot that I'm not sure, but JUST SAY NO kids! ;)

Just Beautiful

I just had to share the beautiful view from my front porch.
I was frustrated because I can't get my blog header to center and I looked out my window to see that. I couldn't find my big camera so I had to grab my smaller one. I'm just glad I caught it. Sunsets change so quickly.
I'm still frustrated about my blog header, but I'm grateful to have enjoyed such a beautiful Oklahoma sunset!
I hope your weekend is going great!
LUV YA!
April :)

Persistence

Ever wonder what an IPhone would look like if it got ran over? Me neither...but that's what it looks like.
Eric went to the gym last night and called around 7 to say he was headed home. Around 7:30 I got worried. At 7:35 I called his phone and it went straight to voicemail. I thought it must have gone dead because if he were on the phone it would have rang THEN gone to voicemail.
About 5 minutes later the home phone rings and it comes up on the caller ID as 4 Mile Stop. (That's a quick stop about 4 miles from my house.) I'm a little freaked out thinking great is he okay? Did he get into an accident? Nope.
"Hello"
"Hey um I'm at 4 Mile and I stopped to get gas at Kum and Go in Muskogee and I put my phone on the running board of the Jeep and I forgot about it and I drove off."
I'm not at all surprised. "Well okay did you go back and look for it?"
"Yes I think it fell off at the gas station and someone got it."
I'm like "Well that is hard to believe since I just tried to call you and it went straight to voicemail. I'll bet it fell off in the road and it got ran over."
"You think?!?! Well can you call and turn it off in case someone took it?"
So I let him go and I call and disable it. I also call Kum and Go and ask them to call if someone happens to return it.
He gets home and AT&T tells him they can't track it unless he has some app on it. Surprise! He doesn't have the app.
When he gets home he looks all in his car to make sure it isn't in there and we decide to go back and look for it. Bro falls asleep in about 5 minutes and Eric looks all around Kum and Go with a flashlight and it isn't there. They are doing construction on highway 62 towards our house and I drive until a car comes and then I pull over by the cones. Eric looks all around and doesn't see it.
I drive towards home and I am so focused on the road and trying to see it I've given myself a headache. Finally at 2 mile road (over 6 miles from the Kum and Go) I think I see something.
"Hey I just saw something. I'm gonna turn around."
"Really? There's no way! Do you really think it could have stayed on the running board that long?" Says the eternal pessimist.
"Well sure I don't know why not. I'm still going to turn around."
I go to the next turn around and it isn't far enough. I go BACK to the turn around again and when I drive passed it I'm like "Well I'm not sure if that's it, but it looks like it had a flap." His phone cover is a leather case that flaps open.
So I go back to the turn around and stop in the turning lane. Eric gets out and run across the highway. I see him pick something up and he runs back to the car and he's like "Wow I can't even believe you saw that."
It was his phone! Well an annialated phone.
"Don't mess with it!!! Just put it in this bag! MAYBE they can recover your SIM card!"
We still can't believe that it rode on the car for that long OR that I even saw it. Persistance paid off! The phone doesn't work but at least we know it wasn't taken!
I have to say that this is totally typical of Eric. This is the third time he has left a phone on his car and drove off. Once the phone was lost forever and the second time he realized it quickly and it was still there. Just Monday when we went to eat in Tulsa with his brother and sister he left his phone on the table at the restaurant and I had to go back and get it. Oh and he also left his car keys in his brother's truck and I had to take him to work the next morning. It's crazy.
Sadly enough this probably won't cure his forgetfullness. I think about how many times we have found other people's things and returned them. You just have to hope if it happens again someone will be honest enough that we will get it back!
Makes me think of this quote. I love it.

People are often unreasonable and self-centered. Forgive them anyway.
If you are kind, people may accuse you of ulterior motives. Be kind anyway.
If you are honest, people may cheat you. Be honest anyway.
If you find happiness, people may be jealous. Be happy anyway.
The good you do today may be forgotten tomorrow. Do good anyway.
Give the world the best you have and it may never be enough. Give your best anyway.
For you see, in the end, it is between you and God. It was never between you and them anyway. — Mother Teresa

Last weekend was WAY fun! We went to a fun wedding, had some great cake and had fun with friends. We then continued the fun at Max's in Muskogee. Here are a couple of pics from the wedding.
Me and the Mr.

Me and Kelly A.K.A. Aunt Georgia! Love you Kelly!
Those are the only pics I got. I didn't want to lug the big camera around so I just took the baby camera. I should have taken more, but I'm glad I got these two! The last few times Eric and I went somewhere together we didn't get pics together! Geez I know!
Well I'm not sure what the plans are for this weekend. If there are in fact plans I don't remember what they are. ;) I know it's going to rain here so I'm sure we won't be outside! We still need to take Bro to the pumpkin patch! I haven't decided where we will be going yet.


Happy Friday!
I love you all! Have a fab weekend!
April :)

Dessert: Butterfinger Cupcakes

Oh yes. You read that right. If you are on a diet do not go any further. Just close this window and walk away. If you are not on a diet you HAVE to make these!
I LOVE to cook. LOVE it. I especially love to bake. The thing is, though, I get sick of what I bake. I want maybe one cupcake after I'm done baking it and I don't want to see them again for a while. I want to see OTHER people enjoy them. That's the fun part for me! That's why only two of these little gems are staying in my fridge tomorrow when Eric takes the rest to work!
So next weekend when your kid dumps his cute little plastic jack-o-lantern full of candy out on the floor grab about 6 fun size Butterfingers when he looks away! You won't be disappointed!

Butterfinger Cupcakes

You will need:
- 1 (18.25oz) Package Milk Chocolate Cake Mix
- 2 (2.1oz) Butterfinger Candy Bars OR 6 Fun Size Butterfinger Candy Bars, finely chopped
- 1 (14oz) Can Sweetened Condensed Milk
- 1 (12.25oz) Jar Caramel Ice Cream Topping
- 1 Container Cool Whip (I used the larger one. Not sure what the ounces are)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 13x9 inch baking pan with nonstick baking spray or line cupcake pan with cupcake liners.
Prepare cake mix following package directions. Add chopped Butterfinger to batter and stir well, reserving some Butterfinger for garnishing. Pour batter into pan and bake as directed on the package.
Let cake cool for 5 minutes. Using the handle of a wooden spoon, poke holes in cake in 1 inch intervals or into the center of the cupcakes, only poking halfway through the cake. (I also took toothpicks and poked holes around the outside of the cupcakes.)

Mix condensed milk and caramel topping. Pour mixture evenly over cake or pour onto cupcakes. (I had a ton of this mixture left with the cupcakes. When I make the cupcakes again I will only use half of the condensed milk and half of the caramel.)
If you are making cupcakes the topping tends to soak the cupcake liner. I just put an extra liner on each cupcake.
Spread Cool Whip on cake or cupcakes, sprinkle with crushed Butterfinger, and chill until served.

Well I hope you like them! I know Eric and Brodey did!
Let me know what you think or if you have any questions!
Hope you had a great Wednesday!
LUV YA!
April :)

One Proud Momma

Brodey was recognized yesterday for Student of the Month! It was fun! They had an all school assembly and all of the Students of the Month for October were called up and received their certificate!
The pic on the right is with my phone for Eric. He didn't get to come because he was at work. Thank goodness Brodey was better by Monday! It would have been sadder than missing the zoo to miss that!
Sunday night I warned Bro that he would have to go in front of the school to receive his certificate.
"Will I have to say anything, Mom? I don't want to say anything. I will walk up there...I won't be shy but I don't want to talk."
I'm like "No you won't have to say anything, Bro." I'm thinking crap I better ask Mrs Tuck because he will never forgive me if he has to talk.
Thankfully he didn't. He is like his Daddy. Eric used to hate to speak in public. In fact he took Sign Language in college to avoid Speech. It took some time, but he's fine with it now.
That morning I confirmed with Mrs Tuck that he did NOT have to speak. I was so glad. I knew he could do it if he was expecting it, but not by surprise!
After the assembly they had all of the kiddos line up for a group pic. After they were done another teacher took Bro and Tessa back to the lunchroom. I was sort of spying on Bro (as I tend to do) and he went to run out of the gym with the other kids but stopped when he realized Tessa wasn't with him. He stopped and walked back to Tessa and walked with her. Every time he would get ahead he would stop, look back, and wait on her. SO SWEET! It didn't surprise me, though, because when their names were called he waited for her, grabbed her hand, and they walked up together to get their certificates. It was so cute! Yes I got a pic and YES it is so sweet. Makes me one proud Momma!
I took a ton of pics, but I'll be doing a layout about it so I can't post all of the pics! :) I took pics of Tessa because her parents couldn't be there and I also took pics of a couple of other kids whose parents I know.
Once I got home I edited the pics and wanted to print them and take them back to school with me to give to the kiddos. (If I didn't do it then I would totally forget to do it.)
So I get online to Walmart.com and I can't find the photo center link anywhere. I go do a Google search and find it. I go to log in and it will NOT let me log in! Come on I have been printing pics with them forever! It won't even recognize my email! I'm like what in the world! Maybe they changed up the site!
So I re-register, get all the pics uploaded, go to check out, and I have to choose a WalMart to pick them up at. The only problem was it wanted a PROVINCE. WHAT!?!?! A province? I'm like this is weird...until I realize it's CANADA WALMART! I didn't even know there were Walmarts in Canada! It takes forever to upload anything with my not so great internet so I was pretty frustrated and feeling pretty stupid. I still got everything printed, though, before school was out. The kids were very excited about the photos so it was all worth it!
It finally rained today! Yeah! I was very happy about it until I realized that it hasn't rained in over a month and today is the day I have to take the dogs to the vet. FUN! Wet dogs stink...in case you didn't know.
Well I'm off to start dinner! Chicken Enchiladas!
Have a wonderful Tuesday!
LUV YA!
April :)

Fading Away

For some reason when I typed that title I got that song in my head "Sailing Away" from the 80's. Remember that song?

Anyway! Brodey's crazy bad Amoxicillan rash is finally starting to fade away! Thank goodness! You know as TERRIBLE as it looked he really did okay with it. There were times when he would get itchy, but for the most part baths and cream knocked it out.
He still has spots but they aren't the angry red ones from yesterday. They are just light pink now. I'm so glad I took pictures because there is no way you can explain to someone what that looked like! CRAZY!
I got to get out of the house last night and I was SO thankful! GNO(Girls Night Out) was last night! SO SO SO much FUN! We did Wiggin' Out and it was hilarious! Many photos were taken, but none by me. I forgot my camera in my mad dash to make it out of the house before the boys tied me up and made me stay home! ;) I'll be posting some pics soon!
I got my wigs from Wal-Mart. They had an entire Lady Gaga section which was hilarious! I would totally go as her if I had a party to go to! I only got one pair of Gaga glasses and Brodey thought they were hilarious this morning! Hahaha!
Real Housewives of Beverly Hills is on my DVR waiting on me to watch it. I had a dream last night that I was on the show. Ya right! I caught little tidbits last night while it was on at GNO and those ladies are beyond any other housewives. I cannot WAIT to watch it while I eat lunch today! Yippee!!!
Thanks everyone that posted about Brodey! I really appreciate your well wishes!!
Well I'm off to re-clean the house after the boys were left alone last night. Crazy how quickly they can destroy it.
Have a wonderful weekend!!!!
LUV APRIL :)

Poor Kid

Wow. Brodey actually looks worse today. It's like the larger spots morphed together to form even larger spots. Now he looks more like what I do when I get my random rashes.
Eric's right. We pumped him full of the Amoxicillin for a week. Now it just has to get out.
I keep taking pics of him, but I can't quite capture what he really looks like. It's crazy.
As terrible as these photos look it's WAY worse in real life. His meds are kicking in again so he's feeling better.
Yesterday at Eric's office they had potluck lunch. I was supposed to make something, but I didn't know if Bro had Chicken Pox. I didn't think anyone wanted to eat anything coming out of the pox house so I didn't send anything. Once we found out it was just an allergic reaction I knew I wanted to make the Pumpkin Creme Pies that I linked on Facebook. OH MY GOSH.
These little gems are with Eric on his way to work as I type. They are SO good. I tried one last night after I made them and the cookies were good enough on their own. Then I whipped up the creme part and oh my goodness they were awesome. THEN I let them set in the fridge all night and when I tried one this morning I just about passed out! I told Eric no one would believe I made them. They are ridiculous. I'm glad they are out of my house! Haha!
Thank goodness Bunco/GNO is tonight! I can't wait!
Well I'm cleaning my house today. We should be at the zoo. It's a perfect day so I hope that Mrs Tucks Pre-K class has a wonderful time! Wish we could be there!!
Have a fantastic Thursday!
LUV YA!
APRIL :)

BAD Amoxicillan...BAD!!

Well I was so thankful today when Dr Cole told me that he did NOT have the chicken pox that I cried. Literally.
All I could think was that these nasty red things all over my poor kid will not be turning into scabs and scars. SO thankful. I was really freaking out. He was itching in his ears, his eyes and his mouth. I was thinking good grief how are we going to do this for 7 to 10 days?!?!

Apparantly he has an allergy to Amoxicillan. He has taken it before and last night was his last dose, but the doc said it can happen to anyone any time they take a medication. Brodey asked "why am I itching so bad mom?"
I said "Well Bro your body just didn't like those antibiotics you were taking."
"Oh the bubble gum one? That's too bad because I liked that one!"
Stinks cause that's the one that tastes the best!
Eric is allergic to penicillan. I haven't found anything I'm allergic to. For a long time I thought I had a nut allergy. I would get crazy hives and the allergy specialist said it was stress or just in my head. Who knows. I haven't had them in a while...thank goodness...but I totally understand how Brodey feels. It's happened to me about 5 times.
He gave him a steroid and said to keep out of the sun and no school the rest of the week. Brodey has done okay with understanding why he can't go to the zoo. He's bummed, of course, but understands why.
So everyone is talking about the big earthquake around OKC. Does anyone else remember when this happened in 1998? I was actually taking Earthquakes and Volcanos at OU and we had an earthquake around Norman. It was crazy because I was home alone at my parents when it happened and ran outside. It freaked me out! I had no idea what it was! It must have been a big one (I can't remember exactly how big) because my parents live 80 miles from Norman!
Did it happen early this morning? I ask because Brodey woke up at 6 and we went to the couch. Around 8 or so the decor on top of my tv cabinet shook and I thought it was Eric walking around. (Our house has a crawl space and you can hear when people walk around) He was in the shower so it wasn't him. I thought it was the huge helicopters that fly over frequently but didn't see any when I looked outside. That would be crazy if it was from the earthquake. We are over 2 hours away from Norman!
Well I'm going to let Bro soak in the tub for a bit. That Aveeno Oatmeal Bath really helps!
Poor kid. Doesn't he look terrible! Makes me itch just looking at him!
Have a great Wednesday!
LUV APRIL

You have GOT to be kidding me!

So today I drove around the state and back to get my hair done. SO worth it.
I also got flipped off by an elderly gentleman who thought I had cut him off. I'm pretty sure he had his bifocals on because I was nowhere near the poor man. I got a big laugh out of it, though, which I'm sure made him even more angry.
I also had a mild panic attack that started with Brodey coming into the office saying his leg was itching.
"Look mom. What's this on my leg. It really itches."
"Oh it looks like a few bites. Where in the world would you get bites?"
I pull off his pants.
"Oh well you have them all over your legs....and your butt."
Don't panic don't panic.
I raise up his shirt. "Oh gosh they are all over your belly." OH MY GOSH OH MY GOSH
I take off his shirt. "WHAT THE!?!?! Oh crap Bro! What in the world!?!? I think you have the chicken pox!!!"
Seriously!?! Didn't we just deal with pnuemonia. Which as while I'm panicking I'm of course I'm Googling it and something about pnuemonia and chicken pox and I'm having a mild PANIC ATTACK!
I'm thinking okay Eric has had them for sure....have I HAD THEM!?!?! AAAHHHH!!!!
I call my mom. "Um okay mom. So Bro has these red dots all over him...literally all over him...and they look like flea bites...so um...do you think that maybe just maybe it could be the chicken pox!?!"
She laughs.
"Mom this is serious I'm freaking out. I mean didn't he have this vaccine!?! Why does he have them!?! Did I HAVE THEM!?! Am I going to get them!?!"
She's like "Well remember you had them when Shan had them. Right? No wait that was Ally. DID you have them?"
"Oh my gosh mom!!! Are you serious!?!?! I have to go I have to call the doctor."
I call the doctor and they can get him in at 10 in the morning. Thank goodness. I'm like well what in the world do I do until then? They tell me to just give him Benadryl orally and the cream. Okay.
I call my mom back.
"So between me and Meme we figured out that you DID have them."
I'm like "Okay well I don't remember! Was it a mild case!?!"
"Well yes but you shouldn't get them again. Send me a photo of Brodey."
I send her one and she looks at it and LAUGHS again!
"Yep that's what it is."
GREAT! Just great! We are just getting over pnuemonia. The zoo trip is Thursday. The only thing I can think is thank goodness it's not Halloween yet!
After I calmed down I stuck him in the tub. He feels much better. He's VERY VERY good about not scratching. I explained to him about scarring and how they will be scabs.
Is it stupid to hope that when I take him to the doctor in the morning they tell me it's an allergic reaction or something?!?! I can hope, right?
Wow what a month. Poor kid. I feel for his poor little body. I hope that he will be okay since he has been sick! :(
Okay I'm off to apply more Benadryl cream.
I hope your Tuesday is better than mine!
LUV YA
APRIL

Back to School...Back to School...Mondays Are SO Not Cool

Well the Bro man went back to school today! He was VERY excited! As soon as we walked in the door all of his little friends were like "Brodey! It's Brodey! Hi Brodey!" So cute! Needless to say he had a wonderful day despite having to sit out during PE.
I'm surprised we even made it out the door this morning. Geez. It was one of those mornings.
Last night I asked Eric twice if he gave Brodey all of his meds. He said yes. I asked him if he gave him his nose spray. He said yes. So I went to bed and didn't worry about it.
This morning I woke Bro up to get ready and he seemed fine but as soon as he took a sip of his chocolate milk he started coughing. I was like WHAT!?!?! He hasn't been coughing at all! I thought it had to be from drainage because the milk triggered it. I asked him if his nose was runny and he said yes.
"ERIC!!!"
"Ya."
"Did you give Brodey his nose spray last night?"
"No"
I'm like "WHAT!?!?! You told me you did!"
"No I gave him his other meds but I guess I didn't give him his nose spray."
I'm like fantastic! The morning he is to go back to school and he is coughing. Sheesh!
I give him his nose spray, breathing treatment, and antibiotic. The cough syrup he prescribed makes him way drowsy so I didn't want to give it to him. I thought since I'm literally three minutes from school Mrs Tuck can call me if he starts to feel bad. Right!?! Decisions like that make me crazy because I don't want to be the mom that sends he sick kid to school, right!?!
So since I don't want to be turned in to DHS it took me a while to decide to send him to school. Because of my indecisiveness we were running late and as we are walking out the door I think I should give him the Mucinex to break up the drainage! Perfect! That always helps!
Bro is already in the carseat so I run back into the house and pour some up. I run back out and hand it to him and he has some little Mario Brothers toys in his hands. He tries to grab the cough syrup while still holding the toys and, of course, he spills it all over his jeans and all over his carseat. Perfect. Happy Monday!
We go back in and he gets changed and off we go to school. Like I said he was thrilled to be back and his friends were glad to see him!
It was cool this morning so I wore a little sweatshirt jacket to take him to school. I stuck my carkeys in my jacket pocket and zipped it right up. As I'm walking back to the car I try to unzip the pocket and it's stuck. After the morning I had I laughed a little. Well until I realized it wasn't coming undone so easily. So there I am standing outside my car pulling and tugging on my jacket. Finally I had to take it off. By this time my fingers are red and swollen, it isn't so funny anymore and I'm thinking if I only had a knife. After about 5 minutes I finally get the stupid pocket unzipped and I get in my car and leave. I made it home without further incident and the rest of the day went fine. Well I better not jinx myself. It's only 5 o'clock.
So the moral of the story is make sure you give your kid all of their meds, don't give them cough syrup in their carseat, and by all means DO NOT put your car keys or any other important items in a zipper pocket!
I'm signing off now. I hope your Monday has been incident free!
LUV YA!
APRIL :)

Happy Friday to Ya!

Well it's finally Friday! This week has gone by very slowly.
We had fallen into a routine and it got all messed up with Brodey home from school.
He is feeling much better. I think the meds are kicking the pneumonia's butt! The breathing treatments help a lot. I only had to give him cough meds once.
He hasn't been able to run around or go outside and that has been really hard on him. He is VERY active and it's funny because every time he starts to run I hear him say "no running no running" under his breath. LOL He is focused on getting better for the big zoo trip next week at school. The doc said he should be okay to go, but we go back to see him before then. He hates the nasal spray, but has been a champ about all the meds! About every five minutes he looks outside and says "I hate being sick." Poor boy! Don't we all!?!
Not much to report around here. I did see a lonely little hummingbird at the feeder today. It's the first one in about a week. I'm leaving a feeder up with fresh food for the little travelers stopping by! I think my hibiscus must look like little red beacons to them flying over. They are all bloomed out like it's spring or something!
Well I'm off to cook some dinner!
Have a wonderful weekend!! If you are in Oklahoma the weather will be beautiful!
LUV APRIL :)

How To: Basic Tools for Scrapbooking

What tools do I need to start scrapbooking? What tools do you use? I get those questions quite a bit. That's why today I'm going to tell you about the basic tools I use and the ones you will need to begin scrapbooking!



Paper Trimmer:
I would not be able to function without my paper trimmer. I could cut my paper with scissors, but I wouldn't have a perfect edge every time. That's why it's important to find one that's right for you!
I have been using this Cutterpede since 2006. I have tried other trimmers and I always went back to this one. The replacement parts are inexpensive and I love the decorative blades you can buy separately. My favorite is the scalloped edge blade.
I use my trimmer to rip paper, measure, trim photos, trim paper, and add a decorative edge. If you are wondering how I use my paper trimmer to rip paper, I will be sharing that How To soon!

Scissors:
I have tried MANY different scissors. I have narrowed it down to three different pair that I switch back and forth from.
The ones in the photo are my Tim Holtz nonstick ones. LOVE them. You can use them whether you are right or left handed and the handle is comfortable rubber.
My other faves are the basic Fiskars scissors. I have the larger fabric ones and the smaller micro tip ones. I believe I bought both pair at Wal-Mart. They are super sharp and stay that way forever! That was my biggest pet peeve with other brands. I would have to buy a new pair every few months because I use mine so much they would dull quickly.

Adhesive:
This has been my go-to adhesive since 2006. I love it. I couldn't live without it.
Adhesive is like everything else in scrapbooking. Everyone will have their favorites. This is mine.
I have used this on everything from ribbon to chipboard to paper. You can use it on a narrow surface and then fold it back to hide it. It goes on sale at Hobby Lobby frequently. It's quick to use and my favorite thing about it is that isn't permanent but I can still remove things without damage. I tend to change my mind and want to move a photo or an embellishment. Or sometimes I will need to change something on a layout for publication.
Some people ask me why I use this instead of glue sticks or just regular liquid glue. Well those both have their place, but for basic paper and photo scrapbooking I prefer dry adhesive. Liquid glue tends to warp paper or photos as they dry. So does a glue stick, but above all else they are messy to me. I would have glue everywhere if I tried to use liquid glue!
The most important thing is to ALWAYS buy photo safe or acid free adhesive! If not your beautiful scrapbook pages will be brown and turn to dust in your grand children's fingers!
I do, however, use a glue stick when adhering chipboard letters or small chipboard shapes. I also use a glue stick when covering chipboard, but that's another How To for another day! ;)

Black Pen:
I have been using the ZIG writers by EK Success since 1996. It's inexpensive, lasts forever, and has two sizes on each pen. I love the way they write and their colors are beautiful. Everyone will have a different pen they love and use, but this is the one I use for journaling or dating on my layouts.

Cardstock:
You can use any cardstock you wish. There are tons of different textures and colors. Everyone has their preferences.
You can use plain paper, but it just doesn't look the same. Most plain paper is thin and you can see whatever is behind it.
You can get basic cardstock at Hobby Lobby or even Wal-Mart.
My favorites are Bazzill and Bo Bunny.
You use cardstock to mat photos, as your page background, for journaling, and just about anything else you can imagine!

Patterned Paper:
This is by far my favorite thing about scrapbooking. There are just so many different beautiful and fun patterns. There are so many things you can do with it. You can cut out designs from it to use as page elements or you can use it to make embellishments. The possibilities are endless!
My favorite paper companies are Basic Grey, Cosmo Cricket, We R Memory Keepers , Bo Bunny, Crate Paper and tons more!
You can buy some of these brands at Hobby Lobby. If you don't have a local scrapbook store you can buy them online at Scrapook.com or Twopeasinabucket.com !

Extras:

Stamps:
Stamps are awesome. I might have a slight addiction to stamps. They are reusable and just a lot of fun! My favorite stamp companies are Technique Tuesday, Hero Arts, Tim Holtz for Stampers Anonymous, Inkadinkadoo by EK Success and so many more!

Ink:
I have several ink How To's already up on the blog. Their links are on the right side under How To's.
I use ink for my stamps, to ink my pages, and to ink embellishments. Ink goes half off quite often at Hobby Lobby.

Paper Punches:
I have a ton of these and I use them on almost every layout. You can use them so many different ways. I also have several different die cutting systems, but punches are easier and quicker. Hole punches are invaluable. I have about five different sizes.

Crop A Dile:
This baby is the mother of all hole punches. It also sets eyelets. I have used mine to punch holes in acrylic, chipboard, metal, you name it! I have had mine for years and it has been to many, many classes and it will still punch a perfect hole! I love it!



Well those are all the basics you will need to begin scrapbooking!
You don't have to have the Extras, but it makes it much more fun!
I hope this has helped out the new scrapbookers!
If you have any questions or suggestions please post a comment or send me an e-mail!

Happy scrappin'!
April :)