Miracles Momma Designs

Meeting Myself Coming And Going: End Of The Year Fun

2013-05-19T00:41:00.000-05:00

We have been running like mad this week. Miss Jordan got sick Sunday night, so she missed three days of school. She technically didn't need to miss Wednesday but the doctor couldn't get her in earlier. She didn't get to go on a field trip to Liuzza Land due to the scheduling conflict, so I brought her with me to check out the Covington farmer's market. It was a beautifully sunny day!

She had just really started eating again the night before, so of course she was starving. She talked me into buying chicken tacos for her and they came with some very strange looking pickled vegetables. She ate it! I was shocked. She must've been really hungry because she said she liked it too.

We went to watch Alexis play the West African drums at Pineview on Wednesday night! Her school had some drums that were donated, and they've been playing them in music class. Alexis' class did the best job with them, so they were invited to play in a musical showcase. (She's the tiny one, third from the left.)

We were very proud of her and we went out to dinner afterward to celebrate! I definitely have some musical kids. Speaking of music, Jordan had a choir performance after her therapy appointment on Thursday. I got there very early so I could help the choir director dress all of the kids. Miss J had a duet with another girl and if the video is shaky, you'll have to forgive me. I was trying really hard not to cry!

Friday found me back at the school again for Brandon's kindergarten graduation. His class sang "My Mother Is A Baker" and he got to be the train conductor in the song. He was one happy dude. (Except for the part where he got tickled!)

My mother-in-law and Ronnie came with me to see him sing and I took a photo of them in the classroom after the performance. You can definitely see where Brandon gets his pretty brown eyes!

We couldn't resist Brandon when he asked us to check him out, so we did! Ronnie's Mom went back home, and we took Brandon to lunch. He just seems so grown up now. I don't know if it's that he's getting taller every second, or if it's just that he's gotten so mature over the last year. Either way, it's killing me. I'd desperately love a rewind button.

We made a quick stop at Kohl's for new tennis shoes for me. Mine were getting old and there's even a hole where my big toe rubs on each shoe. I hate shopping but it was time to go. Ronnie was holding Brandon's hand in the parking lot, but Brandon wanted a hug so he carried him the rest of the way into the store. Brandon might look like an 9-10 year old due to his height, but he's still only 6 years old and he'll always be my baby. (Hush it, Nancy!)

Saturday morning we all got up at the crack of dawn. Last week's tee ball game had been rescheduled because of really bad weather. They moved it to this weekend, but I'd scheduled Jordan's hippotherapy session because I thought tee ball would be over. We decided that therapy trumped tee ball, so we split up. I took Jordan and Alexis to New Heights with me, and Ronnie took Brandon to the tee ball game.

I was amazed at how well Jordan did because she hasn't been riding for over a year. It stunned me to see how poised she was and how grown up she looked. Her posture has improved so much and she didn't need the sidewalkers at all. She was so worried that she wouldn't get her favorite horse that she's ridden since she was two years old. Mrs. Catherine was nice enough to remember that Jordan is very attached to Kit Kat. Jordan was thrilled!

After she finished, we drove back to Covington. I hoped to get back in time for the trophy ceremony at the end of the tee ball game, but we missed it. Ronnie and his family met us at the gate. Brandon gave Jordan her trophy and she was thrilled with it! They both did an amazing job this season.

Brandon and Jordan got pizza from the CRD so we sat with them while they ate it. Alexis asked for a snowball and I snapped this picture of her eating it because her blue lips cracked me up. My in-laws ended up coming back to the house to give the kids their graduation presents. All in all, it was a nice but busy day.

Tomorrow I plan to do as little as possible. I am really tired and everything starts again on Monday. I need to fit a day of rest in there somewhere. I haven't scrapbooked in quite a while, and I'm beginning to feel cranky from a lack of creativity!

My Sassy Smile

2013-05-18T09:00:00.000-05:00

Remember the photo I posted a while back of Miss J in her new glasses? I decided to scrapbook it! I haven't made a digital layout in forever, so I used my latest free digital template for inspiration. I created this page with a neat kit from the Scrapbook Bytes iNSBD blog hop. It's called Picnic, and I loved the happy color scheme.

Disney Scrapbook Page: Small World Ride

2013-05-17T17:01:00.001-05:00

One of the first rides we went on during our Disney trip was the Small World ride. It's my father-in-law's favorite ride and he wanted to go with the kids for the first time. The entire trip was magical, but this particular ride was really special.

There are a lot of small details that tie into the theme on my page. I used a wave punch, dolls, and a piece of ephemera from the trip. (A stroller rental pass.) It couldn't have been more perfect if I'd have planned it! You can click on the image for a closer view.

I also used a Pagemaps sketch by Becky Fleck to create this layout. I've mentioned before that I struggle with two page layouts. Disney layouts are usually the only time I HAVE to make two pagers to fit all of the photos I take. Most of my supplies came from an older Scraptastic Club kit called "Alphabet Soup For Girls".

Project Life Card: SVG Freebie

2013-05-16T23:00:00.000-05:00

Here's the next SVG freebie in my attitude series. It's a Project Life sized card and frame that says YOLO. (The abbreviation for "You only live once.") Most people have a love/hate relationship with the saying, but my pre-teen girls have picked it up and I have plans to use it for a future layout. Jordan told me YOLO to get me to ride the Expedition Everest ride when we were in Disney World.

You can download the free Project Life card SVG file HERE. Please don't forget to respect my terms of use. Thank you!

Free Sketch & Digital Template 37

2013-05-15T00:18:00.000-05:00

Hi everyone! I'm back to share my latest sketch and free digital template. Feel free to pin the sketch to Pinterest or save it to your computer for later use. I'd also love to see anything you create with it.

It sounds hard to believe, but I actually dreamed this layout. I dreamed about the Instagram photos on my desk and I had the idea for the sunglasses die cut. Then the sunglasses tied into the title I wanted to use. When I finally got time to scrap, this layout came together really quickly.

I am in love with the new gold trend in scrapping. I used gold washi tape, mist, and chunky glitter all on one project. My supplies came from the May 2013 scrapbook kit from The Sampler.

As always, my MMD Divas did an incredible job making example projects to share with everyone. I'm lucky to have such talented women on my team.

Layout by: Mitra Pratt

Sharon Fritchman says: The photo on my layout was taken at Arrowhead Lake when Anne and I visited my friend's cabin in April of this year. I loved the serenity that I felt there and wanted to reproduce that feeling on my layout. Heather's sketch was a great way to enhance my photo! As always, I found her sketch to be very versatile and fun! I replaced the start on the sketch with rosette flowers.

Lesley Walker says: I loved the photo so much I tried to interpret all the shades in it, in my layout by way of either paper or embellishments. I used a Cheery Lynne die for the fancy circle, MS punch for the outer edge, and a mask with ink to interpret the water she had just poured all over herself, hope you enjoy it, I loved doing this page.

Marlene Murphy says: I wanted to scrap these ultrasound pictures and don't think they make much sense separately, so I used the versatility of this sketch and added a picture. The striped background was made by using Tim Holtz Distress Paint in Spun Sugar. I love this product, but you need to allow time for it to dry, it takes longer than the inks or stains. The original color (in this case white) will show through the paint so you get some depth which suits my scrap style. I usually don't add much bling or sparkles, yet the occasion begs for bling! Look out for some girlie pages from me, I am going to be a gramma to a little girl!

Sandi Pressley says: My granddaughter was all tuckered out after her birthday party and fell asleep in mid-sentence!

Thank you so much for the inspiration ladies! I appreciate each one of you very much.

If you're a digital scrapbooker, you can click HERE to download the layered digital template that I made in Photoshop Elements. Please respect my terms of use when using my freebies. Thanks!

'Ohana Breakfast: A Polynesian Scrapbook Page

2013-05-13T20:57:00.000-05:00

I'm still furiously working through Disney photos. The problem is that I take a ton of photos in Disney World, and I always end up liking a bunch of them. I don't usually make two page layouts, but I had SIX photos that I wanted to include and one very special focal photo. I also had a really long story to tell. It took me a while to get everything to work, but I think I managed. For a closer view, click on the image and it'll open in a new window.

We ate breakfast at 'Ohana on our first full Disney day. Brandon had a minor freak out over meeting Lilo that had me scared for future character greetings. Luckily, it all worked out in the end.

Thanks go out to the fabulous Nancy Keslin for sending me this Euphoria paper pack a while back. I have a serious purple shortage in my stash, and of course both of the girls were wearing purple in the photos. Nancy saved the day! The blingy Mickey head came from the awesome Hydrangea Hippo Etsy store.

Summer 2010 Mini Album

2013-05-12T22:49:00.000-05:00

Happy Mother's Day to all of the Moms who visit my blog! I hope you all had an amazing day filled with love, family, and peace. I got lots of goodies that the kids made at school, the kids played in the pool while I read a magazine, and we all took a nice walk together before dinner. Lots of family time!

I bought a Life Journal kit a few weeks ago from the Hydrangea Hippo Etsy store. It featured all kinds of cool products from Bo Bunny and I started working on it right after I opened the box. It was so awesome that I just couldn't resist. I was able to scrap an entire Summer of photos in one book and that's definitely saying something because we stay VERY busy during the Summer months.

It was a bit difficult to get photos of the book due to the page protectors. I did the best that I could! Please feel free to click on any image for a larger view.

Page One

Page Two

Page Three

Page Four

Page Five

Page Six

Page Seven

Page Eight

Page Nine

Page Ten

Page Eleven (My Favorite)

Page Twelve

Page Thirteen

If you'd like to hear me talk about the kit and album in more detail, you can watch this video that I made while I flipped through the book. If nothing else, you'll get to hear my accent. I swear, I get comments about that all the time. Southern Louisiana girls rock!

iPhoneography: A Peek Into Our Week

2013-05-10T09:44:00.000-05:00

It's Friday!!! Pardon me while I jump up and down would you? This is the first day in a week that I haven't had to leave the house or have company. I can be quite an introvert at times and I really enjoy my down days. Especially after a crazy busy week like this one. I did manage to create teacher gifts on Tuesday after I took Brandon to the pediatrician for his well child check up.

When I found out that this week was teacher appreciation week, I freaked out a bit. I knew I didn't have much time to come up with something they'd love. I used a fabulous printable from Jen Gallacher to make things much easier. I had the kids sign them and I framed them in a shadow box frame. The kids and I also made flower pens. They're super simple and the teachers all adored them.

I also picked up the girls' new glasses on Tuesday. Alexis picked these glasses because they weren't the ones I liked. I kid you not. She said, "Well, which ones do you like?" I pointed to the pair I liked and said, "I like those." She didn't hesitate a single second. She said, "Good. I'll take the other ones." Lucky for me... Both of the frames were cute. I just liked the other pair better. I may have to start doing the whole reverse psychology thing. I swear, she's 11 going on 17.

Miss Jordan has always chosen metal frames, so it surprised me when she said she wanted plastic glasses. I asked her why, and she said it's because she wants to be stylish. She also wants to "look older". I haven't figured out the reasoning on that yet. Who knows?!

Jordan and I went to lunch together yesterday because she didn't like what was on the menu at school. I decided to stop before I dropped her off after her therapy appointment. She loves Chinese food a lot. I couldn't believe that she ate an entire plate of food and a huge plate of desserts. She doesn't eat much usually so we have to beg her to eat.

We got our fortune cookies with the bill and Jordan couldn't wait to open them. She gets so excited to see what they say.

Jordan's fortune couldn't have been more perfect! She said, "Mom, It's like they knew I am special needs." "I have to remember this."

Last but definitely not least, I finally got my hands on the January 2013 issue of Scrapbook Trends. Check it out! I can't believe it! Brandon said, "I'm famous Mom!" He sure is. Jordan was disappointed that it wasn't her photo in the magazine. She doesn't know, but I have another layout being published later this year that does have pictures of her on it.

Lucky You: Disney's Polynesian Scrapbook Layout

2013-05-09T00:00:00.000-05:00

Do you all remember how my in laws whisked us away to Disney in February? I decided to scrap a page for my Disney album from the kids' perspective. The journaling is about how lucky they are to have stayed at such a beautiful resort in Disney. The photos were all taken in and around the Polynesian resort. It is a lovely place!

The die cut title came from the fabulously talented Ashley Horton's blog! Thanks so much Ashley. It was perfect for my layout. I created a shadow layer and ran it through the Cuttlebug for more texture. I used Stickles to highlight the edges of the top layer. Disney projects are supposed to be bright and sparkly!

Many of my supplies came from an older Scraptastic Club kit called "Alphabet Soup For Girls". It features a lot of My Mind's Eye paper and embellishments. It really feels good to go through and do some serious stash busting. Oh! Can you find the hidden Mickey?

Blog Redesign

2013-05-08T17:28:00.002-05:00

Thank you all for being patient with the blog today. I've finished the remodel after puttering with it most of the afternoon. It's sunny, happy, and Summery! Let me know what you think?

Free Awesome .SVG File

2013-05-08T00:00:00.000-05:00

This is the first SVG in a series of freebies that I'm calling "Attitude". Let me know how you like it and if you'd be interested in more free word art .svg files in the future. I make quite a few for my pages, but I'm never sure if anyone else actually uses them when I post here.

You can click HERE to download a .jpg preview and free .svg file. Please respect my terms of use.

Go Riding: Horse Themed Layout

2013-05-07T00:00:00.000-05:00

There's a new kit up at The Sampler! Check out May's release called "Thrift Shop".

When I saw the horse patterned paper, I just knew what I had to scrap! A horse of course... This particular set of photos was taken in 2011 during a hippotherapy session. Jordan has been on a break from therapy because she has had two surgeries over the last year and a half. She is so excited to start riding again in a few weeks. I thought I'd better scrap some older photos to make room for some new ones.

I love the way the glitter turned out on the title. It's a good thing I liked the glitter too... I keep finding it everywhere! I always knew I was extra sparkly. Now I can prove it.

Where On Earth Did The Sun Go?

2013-05-06T00:00:00.000-05:00

You know, it looks like I spoke too soon about Mother Nature figuring everything out. We had a really awful storm rolls roll through this past week, and this weekend the kids were freezing for tee ball. We're talking 60 degree temperatures here people... in May! Ugh.

Jordan spent three days last week working on an essay after she finished her homework. It's for an award at the school and I swear, when she read the finished product to me I teared up. If she actually ends up winning and reading it at the third grade graduation, I promise you I will bawl my eyes out. Somebody better bring some Kleenex!

I forgot my camera on the way to the tee ball game on Saturday, so I snapped some photos with my iPhone. Look at the way the kids are all huddled up on Ronnie for warmth. Coach Daddy is very cuddly.

The kids managed to defrost enough to actually play. Brandon got an amazing FOUR people out while playing second. I'm still trying to remember what I fed him for breakfast Saturday morning because... Jeez!

He looks pretty proud of himself doesn't he? Well, who could blame him? He's just growing up so fast that it amazes me. He's come out of his little shy shell so much. I love the way he jokes and clowns around now. He's so expressive and he's really growing into quite a little personality.

Global Wildlife: Zebra Scrapbook Layout

2013-05-05T19:33:00.000-05:00

I didn't get to scrapbook yesterday on National Scrapbook Day. I popped online for a little while to see what everyone was doing, but I had a tee ball game in the morning. I also had to teach the kids' class in church on Saturday night. I don't know if I've mentioned it before, but I volunteer in the special needs class at Church of the King. Jordan loves that I teach her class, and I find it fun to spend extra time with her.

Today was very low key. We slept in, then I cut Ronnie's hair while the kids played outside. When we came in, I decided to rearrange some furniture because I'm still trying to get things ready for homeschool in the Fall. I went through our books and made some room on our bookshelf for new stuff.

Once I had all of that finished, I sat down to scrapbook while the kids played with their Playdoh. I knew I'd pay for it later with little chunks of Playdoh all over the floor, but the quiet was completely worth it. I managed to finish this page about a visit we made to Global Wildlife.

My Mom and my niece, Alexis came over to visit while Ronnie and my Lexie went to see a NASCAR race in Talladega, Alabama. The littler kids were sad that they couldn't go too, so we took them to Global Wildlife to make it all up to them. It was our first time there and the animals were hilarious. One of the deer yanked Alexis' cup out of her hand and ate all of the food. Poor peanut!

I used a sketch by Becky Fleck from PageMaps to create this page. I flipped the sketch horizontally and changed the photo size since I don't have many tiny photos. I need to remember to zoom out with my camera every now and then. Most of my supplies came from an older Scraptastic Club kit called "Alphabet Soup for Boys". The only additions that I made to the kit are some Studio Calico printables that they offered as a free download yesterday on iNSBD.

Here's a view of another cluster. I swear, these embellishments couldn't be more adorable. I love my Mind's Eye chipboard. It's so easy to work with and the adhesive is really high quality. I never have to add extra!

I hope your weekend went well. Tell me, what did you do for iNSBD?

4th Of July: Scrapbook Page

2013-05-02T00:00:00.000-05:00

Brandon's favorite 4th of July activity is playing with sparklers. It's always been mine too, so these photos really make me smile. I'm still working my way through some older stash goodies. This line from Bo Bunny was just perfect. I loved the idea of pairing older product with recent photos.

I ended up entering this layout into a Bo Bunny themed challenge because I liked the way it turned out.

Goodbye To Google Reader

2013-05-01T00:00:00.000-05:00

So... I'm sure you've all heard by now that Google Reader is closing in June. I am not happy about this, but there's no way around it. All the research I've done has led me to using Blog Lovin' as my new reader. I wanted to make sure I didn't lose anyone when the switch occurs so if you'd like to follow me on Blog Lovin' please click on the image below.

Scrapbook Sketch & Free Template #36

2013-04-30T15:51:00.002-05:00

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Hi everyone! I'm back to share another sketch and free digital template with you. This is sketch #36. Please feel free to save it to your computer or pin it for later use.

The sketch is inspired by a page that I made a few weeks ago. Jordan has always been very musically inclined. She loves instruments and frequently asks for them as Christmas presents. This particular year she asked for a guitar and a singing game. I just had to document her love of music.

My MMD Divas have done an amazing job creating inspirational projects to share with you!

Ali K. says: Ohh, I thought the new Well Travelled collection kit worked so well with the pictures I used. At the time, I was babysitting the kitty in the picture, and it suits her to a tee! Being a stray kitty that found her way into my sisters' truck when she worked for UPS, she was adopted into her family, then made her way to my house, while my sister and brother in law were moving from one place to another. Neruda IS a well-travelled girl, and the view from inside my recycling bins must have provided her with quite the view of my kitchen- if not a limited one!!

The brown card stock is Recollections, and the green polka dot patterned paper is Stampin' Up. Everything else is Carta Bella.

Sharon Fritchman says: I used photos that were taken this past weekend at Citizen's Bank Stadium! Katie wanted to go to a Phillies' baseball game to celebrate her 19th birthday, and Heather's sketch was perfect for these photos!

Lesley Walker says: Here is my take on Heather's latest sketch. Stuck pretty much to it this time except for a small change due to orientation of photo's. Shows brave little Henry at his first visit to the dentist. All straight cutting this time with the exception of the scallop edged circle which was done using a Spellbinder die.

Layout by: Mitra Pratt

Layout by: Nancy Keslin

Thank you for the help ladies! I appreciate each one of you very much.

Please click HERE to download the free digital template that I made in Photoshop Elements. I'd love to see what you create with it. Don't forget to respect my terms of use!

Earrings, Tee Ball, + Dog Sitting

2013-04-29T00:00:00.000-05:00

It should never, ever be said that there's a dull moment in my life. This past week was a blur of appointments and school issues. Just lots of stuff going on! Jordan and Alexis had eye appointments that went well. Their vision is unchanged. It's time for new glasses as Jordan's old ones are bent, and Alexis' old glasses are broken because she snapped them in a fit of rage. I think we asked her to clean her room. Argh!

Jordan had therapy on Thursday and she worked so hard that she was exhausted. Since she had a school excuse, and school hasn't been the most wonderful place for her lately... I let her stay home. She ran errands with me and I decided to surprise her with something she's wanted to do for a while now. I brought her to get her ears pierced! Here's the before photo.

And the after! She picked tiny little gold cross earrings because she wanted "her ears to remember Jesus". She threw an absolute fit after the first ear was done. I warned her that it was going to hurt but I don't think she expected it to be as painful as it was. Poor bitsy thing. She made it through the second ear and we bought extra earrings to celebrate! She won't be able to wear them for another six weeks, but knowing they're there is awesome.

In other news, Mother Nature has finally gotten the news that it's Spring. We've been having some warmer weather and thunderstorms. The sky was a pretty purple and pink when the sun set on Friday night. I was outside walking the dog when I noticed the gorgeous colors.

The dog I mentioned is not mine. We're dog sitting for a good friend. Her name is Patches and she has seriously attached to me. Wherever I am, she is! She's going home later this morning and we're all going to miss her. Not enough to get another dog though. Ronnie won't even consider it!

Patches was really sad on Saturday morning when we had to leave her in the kennel to go play tee ball. We got up at the crack of dawn to get everyone dressed and ready for the game. Brandon played first base for a while. You've just gotta love the knee high socks!

Jordan was in the outfield for most of the game. We worry that if the ball comes right at her, she won't be able to react in time to move out of the way. She actually has quite an arm, so she does a great job throwing the ball in. During this game, she didn't do well on a particular play so she threw her glove down on the field. She took off running to me in the dugout. Poor peanut. I was able to convince her to go out for the next play.

When the Giants came into the dugout to line up in our batting order, Brandon put his arms around Jordan and gave her a pep talk. He said, "Jordan, You did good and I'm always very proud of you." "Everybody makes mistakes." She quit crying and everything was all better. He's the best brother!

Magic Kingdom Layout: Disney Bliss

2013-04-28T14:08:00.000-05:00

I've been working through scrapping my Disney photos again! All of my Disney layouts go into the same album and I try to keep them in order. This photo is from our first day together at the Magic Kingdom. We always go to the Magic Kingdom first because it's our favorite park.

I used my April 2013 kit from The Sampler to create this page. Even though the color scheme doesn't make you think of Disney right away, I still think it works well due to the colors we were wearing in the photo. I wanted the layout to feel whimsical so I added the looped twine across the bottom of the page. I'm actually planning to go back and add hidden Mickey icons to all of my pages once they're finished. I'm going to try to figure out how to make them all tie in together. Wish me luck on that!

You're A Birthday Star At Chuck E Cheese

2013-04-27T00:00:00.000-05:00

We celebrated Brandon and Jordan's birthday last Saturday. Brandon turned 6 on March 2nd and Jordan turned 9 on April 18th. Why did we wait so long to celebrate Brandon's birthday?

He didn't want to have his birthday party without Jordan! They are like two peas in a pod. It's so amazing how much they love each other. During the party, Brandon threw his arm around Jordan and grinned like crazy. They both had a wonderful time and I'd like to think everyone else did too. Chuck E Cheese isn't my favorite place, but it surely made them happy!

Here's a fun photo of Chuck E Cheese trying to put the birthday crown on Brandon's head. They had to change the size, but obviously Chuck E Cheese couldn't figure that out with everything else going on. Luckily, our party host got it all sorted out.

We had more grown ups than kids at our party. Ronnie's parents, my Mom, my cousin, Brandon and Jordan's friends' parents... They all look really, really entertained by the Chuck E Cheese show.

Jordan begged me to take a photo of her with Chuck E Cheese when he was walking around. I don't know what they see in this place, but honestly... Her smile couldn't possibly be any bigger. Her dimples need their own area code!

Last but not least, we had twelve kids! They ran around, danced, played games, and got cool goodie bags. What more could any kid ask for?

Jordan and Brandon would like to thank everyone that came out to the party for their time and the gifts. They felt very loved and completely happy. They're still talking about the party days later!

My New Firmoo Glasses

2013-04-26T00:00:00.000-05:00

I wanted to share a super cool website that I found! I was tired of my old glasses so I started searching for online stores with reasonable prices. I came across a neat offer from Firmoo.com! They have a ton of glasses to choose from and new customers get their first pair of glasses for free. All you have to do is pay shipping.

I love my new glasses so much! I got computer glasses. They are anti-radiation and anti-fatigue glasses. I've found that I get a lot less headaches while working on the computer now. They work so well that I could just kiss the person who invented computer glasses! I'll never go back to wearing my old ones.

The customer service representatives even helped me figure out my eye prescription when I had trouble entering it. (My eye doctor has super messy handwriting.) The glasses came nicely packaged in bubble wrap, a soft bag, and a hard case. The kicker? There was also a lime green cleaning cloth. So cute!

I am not getting paid for this post. I just thought the service was so excellent that I couldn't resist reviewing it. What are you waiting for? Head over there to get your free glasses right now!

Tee Ball Game: Giants VS. Rangers

2013-04-25T00:00:00.000-05:00

Brandon and Jordan are playing tee ball again this Spring! This past weekend was the third game that they played this season. They played against the Rangers and thank goodness that they weren't keeping score because the other team was crazy good. At some points I was worried that they would get hit with the ball because they didn't react very quickly. Yikes!

Miss Jordan got to play on the tee ball team because of her disability. I have to say that she's been rockin' it out. She runs around the bases, she can catch quite well, and she throws the ball like nobody's business. Every now and then she gets tired and Coach Daddy (Ronnie) helps her around the bases. I am SO stinkin' proud of this kid!

I'm also really proud of Ronnie. He is quite shy but he volunteered to help the kids' tee ball team. He's an associate coach! He gets on the field in front of everyone and really gets involved. It's awesome to see him interact with the kids. He's such a great Dad to step out of his comfort zone to make his kids happy.

Jordan played in the outfield during this game and she actually stopped three different hits. Go girlie! She loves being paired up with my friends' daughter, Emma. They are adorable together.

People applauded after Jordan caught the ball, so she waved at everyone when she was done throwing it. I had to laugh. She's such a diva and she loves her adoring fans!

Ronnie's responsible for setting everyone up to bat. He's been hit by the bat several times but he keeps going back. He's definitely braver than I am for sure!

My little slugger! Speaking of being less shy and opening up more... Brandon has grown so much since last year. He's really playing a lot better and I think he's amazing. (Not that I'm biased or anything. Right? Hehe)

I caught the ball! I caught the ball! Wait. Where do I throw it again?

What do you do when you make it to first base? You draw in the dirt of course! At least that's what Brandon does. There's no ballet in the outfield this year though.

We also celebrated Brandon and Jordan's birthday party this past Saturday but those pictures aren't ready to share yet. I'm still working on editing them. Can I just say that the lighting in Chuck E Cheese stinks? It definitely does. I'll be back to share those soon.

Beautiful Bows

2013-04-24T00:00:00.000-05:00

***If you're looking for the Hydrangea Hippo blog hop, please scroll down to the post below this one. Thank you!***

My girls are completely obsessed with cute hair accessories. Sometimes I like to feed that obsession with my arts and crafts supplies! I'm sure you won't be surprised to learn that I made bows out of a huge pile of jewel tone felt that I found for a great price at the Hydrangea Hippo Etsy store. I thought I'd share the final product here on my blog.

My pom pom flower bow was inspired by this tutorial. I changed the dimension and thickness of the cuts so I'd have a flower that was larger and suitable for a bigger kid. My girls have already requested this one in more colors and I have to confess that it's my favorite too.

I also made a larger purple felt bow. I usually pin these in the girls' hair with bobby pins, but my bobby pins have all disappeared. I'm sure that they are somewhere in a VERY fashionable baby doll's hair. I'll just have to track them down and pull them out.

Do you make bows? If you have a favorite bow that you've made or a neat tutorial to share, I'd love it if you posted a comment.

100 Proof Press & Hydrangea Hippo Hop

2013-04-23T02:00:00.000-05:00

Welcome to the next stop on the blog hop featuring Hydrangea Hippo and 100 Proof Pres s goodies! I'm so excited to participate and I can't wait to show you what I made.

I decided to create a scrapbook page about our road trip to Disney World in February. I used Instagram photos that I printed on Polar Pearl Metallic paper from Red River Paper. I stamped with a lovely stamp from 100 Proof Press called "Circle Of Stars". All of the other supplies came from a fabulous Hydrangea Hippo kit called Rockin' Dude.

Here's a closer look at the stamping! I used one of the American Crafts Chap journaling stickers to ground the epoxy car. I figured it would work really well with the theme of my page. I finished the cluster by placing a metallic button on a pop dot in the center of my stamped image.

I also cut an arrow shape out of patterned paper to accent my layout. I love that it adds a bit of color to the page and I think it ties everything together nicely. Speaking of tying... I fed a length of twine through a straw that came in the kit and I tied it in a bow to finish my project.

Don't forget to hop along to the rest of the blogs. I'm including the entire list in case you just found the hop here on my blog.

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hydrangeahippo.com/blog Jennifer (START HERE)

http://craftaddicts-tracyevans.blogspot.co.uk/ Tracy

homesclscrapper.blogspot.com Nancy

http://heartnsoul-amy.blogspot.com/ Amy

http://thetamarisk.blogspot.com/ Teresa

miraclesmommadesigns.blogspot.com Heather (YOU ARE HERE!)

http://cbee-cards-and-more.blogspot.com Caro

http://www.scrapbookingtechnique.blogspot.com/ Christine

http://truedivinehand.blogspot.com Candice

http://iritshalom.blogspot.co.il/ Irit

Zemphira.blogspot.com Sara

http://experiencelifewisely.blogspot.com/ Holly

http://www.100proofpress.com/_blog/Blog 100 Proof Press

hydrangeahippo.com/blog Jennifer

Unfinished Scrapbook Kits: School Themed Layout

2013-04-21T23:36:00.000-05:00

I can't be the only one that has a humongous stash of unfinished kits. If you don't... let's pretend you do so I don't feel as bad, okay? I'm not going to admit how MANY unfinished kits I have. (Ahem. Over 30.)

Now that I've backed off a bit as far as design team work, I'm going to have more time to use older supplies. This layout was made with a kit that's a true blast from the past. I used my Scraptastic Club "School Daze" kit from 2010 to create this page. That's a three year old kit! Sheesh. I've been slacking.

The beautiful stitched star applique is the only newer thing on this page. It's from the wonderful Hydrangea Hippo Etsy store. I got it in a kit called "Rockin' Dude" but I couldn't pass on using it for a school themed page. Mostly because I was such a good child that I ALWAYS got gold stars in school. (Yeah, right!)

How about you all? Have you used any older supplies lately? What's lurking in the bottom of your scrap drawer? Do tell!