just mendie

My Little American Gladiator

2015-02-02T10:34:00.003-05:00

We spent Saturday at a gymnastics invitation for my old high school. Even though we only saw the warmups (I was manning my Jamberry table) we got to see the girls stretch and prepare for their events. Grace thought it was the best thing ever!

When we got home, she immediatly went upstairs and got on her 'ga-nastics cloths' and said she had to practice.

It was so cute....and you can't help but be reminded of the old TV show American Gladiators, right? She is so silly, I love seeing her imagination at work!

Project Life - Week 8

2014-04-19T09:54:00.001-04:00

Wow...its been a while since I have been able to finish a weekly layout! Week 8 is finally finished....and this weekend wraps up week 16. So I'm about half way to being caught up. Oh well...the memories are being created and the photos and being snapped...the documenting can be caught up.

I used most pieces from Mommyish's Everyday Kit and there are a few others from Becky Higgins Project Life Just Add Color kit, some Ali Edwards wordart and Gennifer Bursett elements too.

Life has just been super busy these days, we've had a funeral to go to, family to visit with, I got a promotion at work this week so thats been a blessing and I'm just trying to stay focused on my family and living life as best as we can in the time we are given. Hope to get better at getting these updates out, but for now, enjoy this one and I'll see you next time!

Project Life - Week 7

2014-03-25T09:19:00.001-04:00

Valentines Day....crazy to think it was a month ago. I need to do better at posting these layouts don't I? Well at least they are getting done and I am really happy with the way this weeks layout turned out. Love the colors of the Just Jaimee February Storyteller kit, so I used a lot from that this month.

Other supplies used:
Traci Reed Plastic Stitched Grid Templates
Traci Reed 3x4 Collage Cards
Rhonna Desings app
Ali Edwards & Katie Pertiet wordart
Ali Pennington Glitter number/alpha
Tracy Larsen Happy Valentines Day Wordart
AC Digital For the Love Cards

Project Life -Week 6

2014-03-17T09:27:00.001-04:00

In some exciting news this week...I entered a contest that Becky Higgins was having on her FB/Instagram/Blogs for a chance to win the Strawberry Core kit before it was released. I have been checking every monday for this kit to be released digitally....and to find out that I had a chance to win it was soo exciting!

I got a text from my friend Jaime last Friday telling me to check my messages....that I was one of the chosen winners from the Digital Project Life Blog! I literally squealed in my seat! So exciting! So even though I am a month behind documenting my life....its been fun to catch up this week with the Strawberry Kit.

Love Love Love this kit! I can say that Emily Ley truely knocked it out of the park with her color palette. This may be one that I need to purchase and keep the whole core kit to myself....how cute of an album for Gracie to complete!

Credits listed on Flickr. Click on image for more details.

Disney on Ice - Princesses & Heroes

2014-03-13T08:16:00.000-04:00

Well its only a month late, but I finally got around to recapping our Disney on Ice trip! I bought Grace (and us) tickets for Christmas after they had already been on sale for several weeks. I managed to get pretty good seats so was excited to take her to her first production!

She insisted on wearing her Princess Ariel Necklace which I thought was perfect!

We drove up to Columbus, had bought a pass to a nearby parking garage and only had to walk a couple of blocks to Nationwide Arena. There were tons of kids dressed up like princesses , it was so cute and Grace was in awe of everything around her. We found the section we were sitting in and got ready for the show to start.

The show began and Tinkerbell skated out....and her eyes were huge! She was like a deer in headlights, staring and watching her skate all over and sprinkle fairy dust around the ice. It made me tear up. I realized what a special day it was and I was so overwhelmed that I finally had a daughter to get to enjoy things like this with. It will stay with me forever! All the major princesses stories were covered and we even got to see Mickey and Minnie and Goofy (my personal favorite)!

During intermission we went potty and then stopped and picked up a little souvenir. We ended up getting a glow wand outside the arena and saved $20. But believe me I would have shelled out the $20 if they would have had the fiber-optic wands like I had when I went to the Ice Capades decades ago.

It was such a fun time and she was wound up the entire night! We grabbed dinner on the way home and played with our toys from the show before getting a bath and putting on our Ariel jammies and hitting the sack. What a fun day it was! I hope she remembers it for a long time!

Project Life-week 5

2014-02-24T10:54:00.002-05:00

I finally finished the last week of January! Woohoo....one month is officially done!

This is the first week that I incorporated shadows to the elements and some of them really make the items pop! I think I am going to brush up and work on getting those fine tuned more. I am really happy with how this week turned out.

Grace has been loving play dough, and so far has only managed to "blend" a few pieces of colors together. Gonna see how long that lasts! Its such fun to watch her make pizzas and hot dogs. She is getting to that age where she is soaking up all these tidbits of information and will pull them out at the most random of times. Its amazing to see her little mind work!

Credits listed in Flickr, click on photos for more info.

Project Life-Week 4

2014-02-19T08:24:00.003-05:00

Still trying to catch up on January's layouts....slowly getting one done.
May just jump to the current week and then fill in when I can.
But without further ado....let's jump back a few weeks!

One thing I am messing around with is changing over to square templates versus the round style. Still not sure if I will do with a double mat to allow some patterned paper for variety....or stick with just the plan white background. Its a work in progress...so who knows how my book will turn out!

Supplies used:
Coral Project Life Core Kit
SplendidFiins-3x4calendar 2014 cards
Ali Edwards Hello Winter Brushes
365Unscripted: Stitched Grids by Traci Reed
Instaweather (Android App)
Rhonna Designs (Android App)

Linking up with:

It's hip to be square

2014-02-17T08:47:00.000-05:00

I started out doing all of my Project Life layouts using rounded templates. That is what most of the PL type cards come in and if you do a traditional paper album, they are like that in the Core kits.

But as I was blog hopping and looking at Pintrest (aka the devil) I found myself drawn to the squared templates....and decided to do week 4 with squared templates and see how they turned out.

I also redid my cover page...and I'm kind of digging the square templates! I think it looks crisp and clean, don't' you? Now just to decide what color mat I want to go with! I still plan on doing the layered mat to add some depth, but can't decide on the base mat to lay the stitching on.

What do you think looks better.....black or white?

I will be posting week 4's layout tonight hopefully!

Thankful Thursday

2014-02-13T08:21:00.001-05:00

Well the temps are slowly rising and today started off in the teens, much better then the -16 we had on Monday morning! Brrrr....ridiculously cold! However, I am so thankful for a warm house to stay safe and comfortable in and good car to get me back and forth to work, it makes me sad to see people who have to walk outside in this weather! And don't even get me started on the animals that are stuck outside. Its deadly cold outside!

Grace loves playing in the snow. Last year she didn't want anything to do with the snow and would just stand there and hold her arms out for us to pick her up. This year its the complete opposite....she loves running and throwing the snow in the air. It hasn't been sticky enough to make snowballs, so we have snow glitter that we throw. She doesn't care, she finds it hilarious whatever the form!

Linking up with Jaime for Thankful Thursdays. What are you thankful for?

Project Life-Week 3

2014-02-07T14:40:00.001-05:00

I'm half way caught up for the year. Yay! (I know I need to get better at this and soon....because I know there are so many stories I want to share, and by the time I get around to doing the weekly layout....they have slipped my mind!) Must start documenting more in the moment!

Supplies used: Honey, Clementine, Midnight and Dear Lizzie Neopolitan Project Life Kits, Digital Designer Essentials Hello Neon papers, September Blue weekly circle, Ali Edwards Pound Gratitude brushes, Ali Edwards Embracing the Everyday Brushes,365Unscripted: 4x6 Collage Cards by Traci Reed, Lori Whitlock Templates

Linking up with The Mom Creative for Project Life Tuesday.

Thankful Thursday

2014-02-06T14:11:00.000-05:00

We got hit Tuesday night and most of Wednesday early morning with about 8 inches of snow! We were put on a level 2 snow emergency almost as soon as it started snowing. There were car accidents everywhere....it was really a mess outside.

If that wasn't bad enough, when it stopped snowing yesterday morning, we then got almost a quarter to half an inch of freezing rain. That is the scary stuff...thankfully we never lost power but everything was so slick and glossy!

Thankfully, I have a great boss who understands that instances may arise that make it very difficult to make it into the office. Our department met on Tuesday and decided to take our laptops home just in case we got what they were calling for.

So instead of having a major anxiety attack at the thought of having to drive into work on Wednesday, I was able to work from home and get all my month-end responsibilities taken care of from the comfort of my couch and kitchen table. I don't like driving in bad weather at all and hate the thought of having to make my husband take Grace out in it just to take me into work.

So this week, I'm so very thankful for a boss that understands weather sucks sometimes and doesn't expect us to put our lives at risk to make it into the office if we are able to do what needs to be done remotely.

I mean who wouldn't be happy getting a play dough hot dog delivered to them while finishing some spreadsheets?

She was so thoughful. Grace had to make sure Emma was warm. Even if it meant using my dishtowel.

And she spent alot of time cuddling/tackling Ellie! Poor Ellie...she never complained.

I'm linking up with my friend Jaime. Go check out what she is thankful for this week!

Project Life-Week 2

2014-01-30T09:10:00.003-05:00

Well slowly getting caught up with January project life layouts. I'm working on the photos for week 3&4 that I am hoping to finish up soon and then I'll be just 1 week behind! The hardest part for me is trying to figure out which pictures I want to use!

Used some word art from Ali Edwards, Glitter Alpas from Ali Pennington and some cards and papers from PL Rain and Coral Kits. The templates are from Lori Whitlock.

The double mat layout that I am using was made my Heather Johnson and can be downloaded FREE on her Blog. Just click here to find the magic! I love the depth it gives my layouts...and I can play with my ever growing digi paper stash!

Linking up with The Mom Creative for Project Life Tuesday. You can find my week 1 update here.

Project Life-Week1

2014-01-21T09:24:00.000-05:00

Finally got finished with week 1 over the weekend and have week 2 started and hopefully will get it finished this week!

I love doing the weekly layouts, my problem is trying to figure out which photos and cards I am going to use. I have built quite a library of paid and free digi scrap items, and its tough to filter through those and pick what I want to use for the week.

I decided that this years album is going to be a hodge podge of styles instead of just using one kit. I like that idea better. I think it will be fun to have page themes based on the events of the week. Looking forward to sorting thru the pics to figure out what theme I am using for this week!

Here is a closer look at each page:

Project Life 2014

2014-01-13T08:17:00.002-05:00

I finally finished my 2014 Project Life cover page this weekend...and now hopefully I can catch up on the first couple of weeks and keep up with it this year!

Most cards are from Becky Higgins Just Add Color kit, with a few thrown in from the Honey and Midnight kits (all of which can be found here.) I recolored some of them and am so happy with how they turned out! I did add some elements from other digital kits, but don't have the references here with me, if you want to know, leave me a comment and I can check on them for you!

Day 002

2014-01-02T23:48:00.003-05:00

We started potty training this week and Grace has been doing really good.

So today after dinner and dishes....we did some fingerpainting as a treat for her having a great day in her big girl pants!!!

P.S. I love seeing the concentration in her face!

Day 001

2014-01-01T11:22:00.000-05:00

Happy New Year friends! Thought I would get back on track and attempt to blog more often.
I know daily probably won't happen but I am hoping to take a photo of day of my beautiful girl so I sold at least be able to able to share those with you!

Emma, our "first child" is no treally a fan of Grace.
I think she's afraid she's gonna fall or step on her at any given moment.
But they have been bonding more lately and had some quality time together this morning.

New Blog Design

2013-12-12T08:31:00.004-05:00

Hello friends....where has the time gone? I can't believe that 2013 is coming to an end...and I have yet to get started with any type of Project Life book for this year. Hoping to start 2014 right away and am not sure yet if I am going to go backwards thru 2013 so the most recent stuff is fresh in my memory or start at the beginning and just run the weeks parallel with 2014.

Either way, I know that it is important to start documenting my memories with Gracie now.
You never know what the future holds.
Our neighbor, who was under the age of 40 passed away this week and it hit me like a brick wall just how unprepared I am leaving my family in so many ways if something were to happen to me.

I hope to make it back around and get some of the December memories we are making posted. Including the Elf on the Shelf that arrived for the first time this year.
Her name is Jingle Belle.....and Miss Grace loves her! She is always looking when she wakes up to see where Jingle is going to be that day. I love seeing her so excited about it!

Hope you and your families are having a great December. Keep making those memories, even if they don't get documented until later!

30 Days of Thanks-Day 2

2013-11-02T10:22:00.000-04:00

I am thankful that Grace loves watching football and getting ready for Ohio State games on Saturdays.
Shes been buckeye since she was born...each year she learns a new football hand signal.

First was touchdown, then false start and this year she is doing "no good".
What a little fan she is turning into!

30 days of thanks-day 1

2013-11-01T11:07:00.000-04:00

I am so thankful for this little girl that makes me smile with her ever changing facial expressions!

Half way thru June already?

2013-06-20T08:01:00.001-04:00

Wow...its the middle of June already. This month has flown by. Grace turned 2 on the 8th, so I need to get a post up about her birthday festivities. She is growing up so fast since she has turned 2. Seems like everyday she is saying something new or coming up with new ideas in that little toddler head of hers. I love it!

I started doing the Visalus shakes this week, so far I have been drinking those inplace of breakfast and lunch, with a few snacks during the day to hold me over when I get hungry. Because my appetite was out of control so I had to do something besides just watching what I was eating. It helped that my SIL gave me a few cases of the shake mix so its not any cost out of my pocket to give it a shot. So far so good...I've made shakes with strawberry, banana, peanut butter and orange juice. I tried mixing peanut butter with the chocolate mix-in they offer...not a fan. it was too powdery tasting. This morning I had just a tb of reg peanut butter.....and it was delish! Best way is to blend it up with some ice.-delish!

Well just wanted to check in and say hello. I hope to get her birthday post up this weekend . But until then...here is a picture of us on the morning of her birthday before her party. I can not believe she is 2!

Alphabet Meme-Old School Blogging

2013-06-06T11:55:00.000-04:00

Hello friends! It's been a while since I posted...so I thought I'd use this as a little jumpstart to get back in the groove! Thanks to Jaime for tagging me. And Elaine for hosting this fun meme!

A. Attached or Single? Attached-married for 9 years this November!

B. Best Friend? see above. I also have a few friends that I have been close with for years that I hold close to my heart, even if we don't get to chat as much lately.

C. Cake or pie? for sure cake....with lots of frosting!

D. Day of choice? Saturday. Especially fall college football Saturdays! Let's Go Bucks!

E. Essential Item? lip gloss, I hate having dry lips.

F. Favorite color? I dig pinks and reds.

G. Gummy bears or worms? Gummy bears

H. Hometown? Nashport Ohio

I. Favorite Indulgence? ohhh...I'd have to go with a pedicure. I haven't had one i sa while but I always feel so happy when I do!

J. January or July? July. its my birthday month...so duh. Yeah July.

K. Kids? Yes. One beautiful little girl Grace Mae who will be 2 on Saturday!

L. Life isn’t complete without? family. I come from a large family and I can't imagine not having them around.

M. Marriage date? 11/20/04

N. Number of brothers/sisters? none

O. Oranges or Apples. apples of the honeycrisp variety

P. Phobias? mice....rats...any kind of tailed rodents creep me the eff out! yug!

Q. Quotes? "I believe every human has a finite number of heartbeats and I don't intend to waste any of mine" -Neil Armstrong.

R. Reasons to smile? my baby girl. she is truely my sunshine.

S. Season of choice? Summer...I love heat.

T. Tag 5 People. oh boy.....I'll skip this one since I'm sure no one will be reading this that hasn't already completed it.

U. Unknown fact about me? oh goodness...let's see. How about I once found a razor in the bathtub when I was little....and proceeded to cut my leg (just a little) but you would have thought it was the end of the world...I hobbled around using my baton as a cane for a few days. (so dramatic!)

V. Vegetable? sweet potatoes please!

W. Worst habit? Chewing my nails...and procrastinating. I've gotten pretty bad about that.

X. Xray or Ultrasound? I prefer neither thank you.

Y. Your favorite food? Pizza.....deluxe with banana peppers instead of green peppers.

Z. Zodiac sign? Cancer

Ahead of the Fathers Day game

2013-05-29T08:17:00.000-04:00

I just made Grace's fathers Day card for her daddy....I think he will love it!

5x7 Folded Card

View the entire collection of cards.

Her Smile

2012-10-26T10:51:00.000-04:00

I go home almost everyday for lunch to see this smile.

It makes the rest of the day much easier to deal with.

If I have to work outside the home, at least its only 10 minutes away!

Let's go to the Pumpkin Farm

2012-10-10T10:31:00.000-04:00

Saturday we took Grace to Pigeon Roost, a local Pumpkin Farm that is about half an hour from our house.

We have heard people talking about it and how much fun it is for kids...I was shocked at all the activities that were there! They had a huge fenced in activity center area that had a petting zoo, a huge fort, a corn maze, fun kids activities and tons of fall themed fun! Gracie was a little too young and small to enjoy it this year, so we just stayed up in the front where all the pumpkins were, but next year...we are so going to rock that activity center!

First stop....how tall are you this fall? 2 1/2 pumpkins....almost 31 inches!

Daddy helped to hold you up behind the ghost cutout...you thought it was the best thing!

Look at that dimple!

She wasn't a fan of bring held...but Mommy wanted a picture in front of the giant pumpkin tree!

So we then let Grace loose amongst the pumpkins to let her play and pick out the one that she wanted.

She had alot to choose from and was planning her attack wisely...

I think she was a bit excited don't you? She loves to be outside and able to run around.

Oh this little girl.....we are gonna be in trouble with those eyes!

It didn't take long before she caught interest in all the leaves that were on the ground. She started picking them up one by one and was "gifting" them to me. Of course I lovingly took each and every one. (Then tossed them back to the ground where they belong...lol)

We thought it would be cute to get her a little pumpkin that she could actually carry around, so we headed over to the baby bin. Baby pumpkins..not for actual babies. She took her time saying "hmmmm" and "punk punk" while touching almost everyone within her reach.

We then headed over to take a look out over the activity center. They had a fenced side of one of the barns that you could still see the animals...so we went to take a look.

There were turkeys and goats in the pin beneath us...so we took a few minutes to bend down and look at him. Grace kept waving and saying hi to it...how cute! When we left I told her to say bye to Mr. Goat...to which she puckered up and started to cry. She's not a fan of the goodbyes. Even if its to a random goat she just met.

The wind had started to blow a little and it was getting crisper. It was time to wrap things up. But before we headed out, we went back to the pumpkins and picked out the one we were going to take home.

We had a great time at the Farm and can't wait to take her back next year and let her wear herself out. She was so excited this year and fell asleep in the car, so I can't imagine the fun she will have next year! And I bet she will be close to 3 pumpkins tall by then!

Grace's first haircut

2012-10-02T21:00:00.000-04:00

Grace got her first haircut today!

We waited a while because while her hair has started thickening up a bit, its not that long. But its started to grow and get in her eyes and hang over her ears so that makes her constantly have to flick it away. It was time.

We were a bit nervous, because anyone who know Grace knows that she isn't one to sit still very long. She has grown a very independent bone and wants things to be done her way or there will be screaming and whining. So we armed ourselves with toys, snacks and fruit pouches and prepared to head to the salon.

We went to my aunts salon and my aunt propped up the little booster seat and we attempted to get her sit in the big girl chair. I thought well we will try....then I will probably have to sit down and have her sit on my lap.

So we sat her down and got the cape on her.

She was a little concerned but quickly diverted her interest to a comb my aunt gave her.

Look how big my baby looks sitting all up in the salon chair!

So my aunt started snipping away. My baby is getting a haircut!

She quickly she lost interest in the comb. So we switched to the fruit pouch.
Bam! We had a few extra minutes!

Turns out that it was a banana squash pouch and she wasn't a fan of it, so it didn't last too long. So onto the next distraction....hairclips! I'm so thankful my aunt is a stylist, I wouldn't have wanted anyone else to cut Gracie's first hairs!

Soon after, she discovered the mirror in front of her and kept looking and smiling at the woman sitting behind her getting her hair down.
I love watching her watch herself. She is so interested in seeing her reactions right now.
This one makes my heart melt.

So the fun continued and her little hairs were dropping to the floor. Great Grandma went with us and she loved watching Grace sit there like a good girl. I love having this picture of her smiling in the background. That little girl lights up her world like I can't even explain. I think is loving her for my mom and her both!

We did have a few minutes that were borderline throw a fit, but I gave her some cherrios and she was good to go for a few more minutes.

Cherrios make everything better...am I right Moms?

All in all it was a great experience! I was so proud of her for sititng in the chair by herself the whole time! We were almost done when my husband said, aren't you going to keep some of her hair? I almost forgot....I was so busy trying to keep her from freaking out that I didn't even think of catching her first locks! So my aunt quickly lifted up and trimmed a few more strands for us to keep. Now I have a momento for her baby box from her first haircut! I know its the first of many!

I am thinking about getting this one framed and putting it in her room.
Her feet were constantly going while she was getting her trim. Her little chucks are too cute!