happy valentines

i love valentine's day. i think that i love it because my birthday is the day after. i feel that february is the month of love. so give love away...it always comes back.

fishies - a staple?

it's funny how little things in life change when you have kids. on my counter are jars of "staples" in my kitchen. wheat, flour, powdered sugar, sugar, oats, wheat thins, and fishie crackers. (the wheat thins are for me to eat on the run, and the fishies are for jack and gracie.) they eat fishies just about every day. it's handy to have them on the counter for the kids to reach. now that i have my kiddos, it is hard to remember/imagine life any different. although frustrating, tiring, and difficult at times, life with children creates an abundance of joy. each child brings different moments of joy to our life too. jack is such a lover (like his daddy). he is always telling me how much he loves me, giving me hugs, and planting wet smooches on my lips. the other day at football practice jack called out from the field, "mom, are you watching? i sure love you." the other parents chuckled while i held back the tears. hearing i love you from my children is the best. also, the other day i was making cookies and jack said, "sweetheart, can you bring me a cookie." i laughed for a long time. sometimes i will just be driving or walking somewhere, and i'll remember and laugh at his comment. (he has a good daddy as a role model.) one time i picked him up from nursery and jack said, "hey, pretty mama." he is a character. i love him. gracie is my little princess. from the time she was born, i can't go anywhere without at least one person stopping me and commenting on her beauty. several people have told me i should get her into modeling. (too bad she has a stubborn streak, or maybe i'd do it to save her money for college.) i'm a bit partial, but i think she is beautiful too. before she was born (actually, when i was pregnant with jack) i had recurring dreams about a little girl with dark curly hair and bright blue eyes. she would reach out her hands and say, "mama". when we found out that jack was a boy - i didn't understand why i had those dreams when i had felt so strongly that the baby in my dreams would someday be mine. when i was expecting for the second time, i hoped this baby would be the baby in my dreams. when we found out i was carrying a girl, we didn't pick a name right away. in my dreams, i had called my baby girl "gracie". if the baby i delivered looked like the baby in my dreams - we would name her grace. well, as soon as my baby girl was delivered and put on my chest for me to hold...i instantly knew this was the baby in my dreams. she was beautiful with dark curly hair and bright blue eyes. sometimes when she was first born i would look at her and cry. i thought that why would a baby this beautiful be sent to me. later matt and i were talking and wondering why i had dreamed about her when i was pregnant with jack. we both joked that jack stepped in front of her to come first so that he could protect her. (and boy does he). now that gracie is growing, she has such a precious little way about her. her name, "grace", fits her perfectly. every night i thank Heavenly Father for sending me these to little ones. they are far more perfect than me. may matt and i have the guidance from above to help these two find their rightful places in this life.

cha - scrapbook convention

i went to aneheim, california for the scrapbook convention to sell my paper (and everyone else's)! this is our booth... tara, the owner built it herself. everyone kept saying how fabulous our booth was. i didn't realize the hard work that goes into these conventions. i'm pooped! we were on our feet all day selling our papers and helping the customers. It was a huge show...30,000 people were there. it was a bit overwhelming walking onto the floor and seeing so much going on. our papers and company is a bit unique because there are 9 designers and we all have our own style. we also get to put our name on our papers. most other companies do not put the designer's name on the paper, and their paper is all very similar. each line of our paper is very different from the others. people would come into our booth and say things like, "there is something for everyone," or "this is a one stop shop". also, our booth was busy all the time. it was exciting to see lots of retailers getting excited about our papers (and buying them!). tara said that we tripled her expectations and that we would probably have to go to reprint! it is so amazing to be a part of this company and team of women. we are all different, but got along so well. we didn't get a picture with everyone (kind of sad), but here is a picture with some of the women. also, i have a picture with my roommate, alicia. she was a great roommate to have, and such a sweetheart. she lives 60 miles from cleveland (where we are moving in 5 months) - so we will have to get together with her and her family. i loved meeting all the girls. each one is unique and fun in her own way. i feel so privileged to be a part of the dream street team. we are already talking about summer cha in chicago! thanks to everyone for accepting the new girl and for a fabulous show. i'm excited for the new chapter this company and opportunity creates in my life.

vintage, chic, and fabulous

these are just a few layouts that i created with my paper! i didn't think that scrapbooking could get any better...but it did. creating layouts with my own paper is the best! dream street papers - the company i design for - teamed up with petal loo - a company that designs flowers and the wonderful little purse shown here. the purse says everything i wanted my paper to say: vintage, chic, and fabulous! the purse was just a white color, but i decided to sew my paper on it. inside has pictures of gracie's family in it (jack, mom and dad, nana and papa, mimi and papa...) she loves carrying it around...and so do i!!

sometimes you have to look past the pee pee

last night i was staying up late because i went to pick up my paper, and of course i was too excited to work with it and sleep wasn't an option...let's face it - i would have laid awake for two hours and thought about what i should do anyway. iv'e learned a couple things about myself - and shutting my brain down to sleep when it's on a creative roll is not an option is one of them. it's almost like the creativeness in me surges adrenaline through my veins and keeps me up to finish my thoughts through a project...it kills me every time when i look up and realize it's 2 am and i have realized that my eyes burn and my arms are heavy (it's bizarre that my eyes never registered to my brain how much they burned)...is that just me or does this happen to anyone else? anyway, back to the reason for the title of my entry...at 1 am i hear jack crying; my gut feeling is that he threw up b/c matt had the stomach flu on monday night and i am just waiting for that friendly bug to visit the rest of us...i go in his room and notice that he had peed the bed.(not just a little pee either, but a 2 foot in diameter pee spot). my first reaction is to be mad at matt b/c jack usually doesn't pee the bed if he goes right before bed. however, my sweetheart reassured me that jack "took 2 huge pees" right before bed. anyway, jack is crying so i let him come lay in our bed for a bit while i am changing his sheets. when i come back into my room there was another huge pee spot on my bed. ( i was starting to get a little ticked b/c my bed doesn't have a plastic liner to protect the mattress like his bed does, and my eyes were really burning from sleep deprivation). so i have to wake matt, change jack, change the sheets, calm him down, etc, etc, etc. well my sweet hubby changed the sheets for me and said, "it's all right sweetheart, we are a team" - i love him - and i went and rocked my 3 and a half year old. i have not rocked him for so long, and last night the realization hit me that i might not get many more chances to do that. although i was tired, i relished in the moment of holding my firstborn while he fell asleep on my chest. i remembered how i used to rock him as a baby and truly felt like it was just yesterday (a saying i thought only old people said), and realized it was 3 years of yesterdays gone by. with 2 small children it is good for me to have occasional moments like this because it puts life into perspective for me, and helps me to enjoy every moment of their little lives...when they are 30 i know i will think - where did the time go? i loved holding him and feeling needed. i need moments like that in the quiet of the night or morning to remember to love each moment as it comes- even the pee pee.

announcing...nancy

it feels like a new baby was born...i am so excited to show my first line of scrapbook paper to be published!!! it worked out well that my first line to be printed is the line i named after my mom, nancy salmon. she instilled a love for pink and green in me (just visit her house and see her living room)...and visit her mother's house and see her living room. perhaps gracie too will love the fabulous color combo. her room is also pink and green (we get 'em while they are young). i decided that every line of paper i do will be named after someone who has influenced my life for good. i'm happy that my first line to be picked up was named after the first person who influenced me for good - my mom. she loves victorian houses too - so each the papers individual names are: wrap around porch, the parlor, the gardens, powder room, the loft, and cloak room. kind of fun, huh?...well this is just about one of the most exciting things to happen for me in my life. i was telling matt that i love photography - and i will always do that - but designing is something totally unique and girly. i get to show my personality on paper and be as creative as my little heart desires. i also get to go to scrapbook conventions and socialize with other women who are just like me. call me conceited, but i love seeing my name printed under the paper (like i'm the author)! i hope this is the first of many exciting designing moments to come. thanks to my sweetheart for letting me sit in front of the computer and for getting excited for all of my creative little whims, thanks to my mother for giving me the creative genes and for encouraging me to be crafty, thanks to my dad who always led me to believe that i could do anything i put my mind to, and to my Heavenly Father for blessing me with talents, the gospel, and people in my life who care.

addicted/cleaning soapbox

so i totally love this blogging stuff. however, it's just one more thing to take me away from my housework....cleaning is overrated anyway. i think there is a difference between dirty and messy. i take care of the "dirty" part once a week - clean with cleaner, vaccum, dust, etc - the messy part however (all the toys, clothes, dog bones, etc) - we are lucky if that happens once a day. i try really hard to do a once over right before matt comes home. i know i should make my house meticulous during nap time... but that's when i have lara time. also, while the kids are awake - i'd rather play with them. my mom-in-law once told me that she loves the saying "the cobwebs can wait, but your children will grow up". well, that's that. my house is generally in pretty good shape. anyway...i love this brown hat on grace! she loves hats too. this pink and brown paper is totally in right now and perfect for these pictures. too bad grace never smiles. last night we had pictures with my parents and siblings - and little miss gracie wanted nothing to do with smiling - or being in the picture for that matter. she just kept screaming NO NO. my mom made the comment that how could something this cute be so naughty! she was my angel baby until she hit 18 months...now she has decided it's her turn to be heard. we love you my little stoic, strong-willed princess.