mj {i'm lovin' it}

mj
a dream street paper line
by lara ellingson

so this is my newest line. i'm very excited about it!!! we also got to do rub-ons this time! YEAH! {those are all the sayings underneath the paper}. like the rest of my lines, i named this after a special person in my life: matthew john = mj. i felt it fit him with his patriotism and recent joining of the military. i threw a heart paper in there too entitled: i {heart} you. i do love him more than i can even say. he is my best friend and favorite person in the world. i look forward to hearing him walk through the door at night because i love to be with him. i truly feel that he was made for me. i love you sweetheart. thanks for letting me pursue my dreams and for giving me wings to fly.

i took into consideration all the ideas that i received from fellow bloggers, coworkers, family, and friends. this is what i came up with: something to use for boys, girls, summertime, 4th of july, valentine's...or whatever floats your boat! i've been creating all day in order to get ready for cha {craft and hobby association}, a tradeshow in CA next week. this paper has been really easy to use.

go check out all the other fabulous lines from dream street here.

great for my active children...

cherries: a perfect match for G's swimming suit! {i know i spelled "eerie" wrong, i put up the wrong picture...i already changed it to "erie". i'm a horrible speller. when i taught kindergarten, we only had to spell words like "cat" and "mom". our hardest word was "the".}

perfect for "miss pouty face", just add a little black, and... voila!

J's 5-year-old pics. this line works great for boys or girls. i love these pics of my sweet J.

oooh, these stars were too fun! this paper works great for 4th of July too! here's a link for directions if you want to make your own too, with MJ paper of course!

a kissing ball for valentine's day...here's the link if you want to make this one too. i'm telling you, this paper is very versatile!

a candy bar treat for that special someone! this paper is much cuter than the original "symphony bar" wrapper!

a super easy valentine's card! don't you love the hearts??!!

my favorite part...

this year i just didn't have it in me to do a snazzy tree (i really do miss the smell of pine in my house, but then again...it might make me sick! who knows these days) ...so i let the kids go to town on our little fake tree that usually goes on the front steps. they totally had more fun this year b/c they got to do whatever they wanted without me saying, "oh, but those are too close together." and somehow my favorite part was the clump of all the ornaments "too close together". we got those snowmen last year at Kmart. they change color...the kids LOVE them. well, our christmas is a bit different this year (without any other decorations up), but it's good. i'm sure from now on we'll have to have a tree they can do with no stipulations.

i wish...

i took this picture of my friend's cute baby

{the good ole' mister stork brought babies to us}
because this whole pregnancy thing is REALLY hard
we have a baby on the way and due to arrive June 19, 2009
it's gonna be a LONG winter,
but it will be worth it!

things i remember about being pregnant:
*the nausea! YUCK! (all day EVERY day!)
*i want nothing to do with chicken
*cereal always tastes good
*i'm in bed by 8pm or the next day is bad news
*every task seems daunting
*i can't wear perfume or scented lotion or i'll never wear it again
*getting up in the middle of the night to use the bathroom
*i'm ALWAYS "thinkin' Arby's!"
*i pretty much want to die from 3pm until i fall asleep around 8:30pm
*i kind of want to die the other times of the day
*my stove is the only thing in my house that is clean (i don't use it!)
*i have to say "no" to lots of things, when i'm always a "yes" girl
*i cry a lot
*i pray a lot

things i forgot or didn't know:
*i'd show a lot sooner with my 3rd baby (i look way more pregnant than my friend who is 10 weeks further along than me)
*crocheting can help me muscle past the urge to vomit
*a 3-year-old and 5-year-old can do many things they claim they can't do when forced upon them
*i miss my moms! (i wasn't embarrassed to have my mom come help me clean or come help me with J, and just give me moral support...it's not the same over the phone)
*i have wonderful people in my life here that are like sisters. it's been amazing and it makes me feel so good that i have friends who call, email, take my kids, and even bring me dinner. it is SOOOO hard for me to accept service, but i really appreciate it! thanks for being my ohio family.
*it's amazing how messy a house can get only after one day of not picking up after the kids

all in all, i'll take all the bad with the good. when i look at my two little ones now, and on wednesday when i saw the heartbeat of my little-one-to-be, i'll suffer all that i have to for a healthy, beautiful baby. just the fact that our Heavenly Father entrusts the lives of these little ones to me is humbling and it gives me faith and strength to do hard things...and pregnancy is a REALLY hard thing for me.

so, no i haven't fallen off the face of the earth...i'm just growing a baby!

how we told our families

{we sent our immediate families this postcard}
the other side of the postcard said:

Trick or Treat,
Trick or Treat!
Our 8 foot family
Is growing 2 feet!
We're so excited
We could scream!
Our baby will be
Here on June 19!

3 ingredients to goodness...

{1 - 15oz jar of pumpkin}

{1 box spice cake mix}

{1 cup of mini chocolate chips}

{3 dozen yummy pumpkin chocolate chip cookies}

no joke! that's all folks...i like to call this kind of recipe a "fake it" recipe...like you are faking that you are exactly like a perfect, martha stewart, homemaker.
here's how you "fake it":
blend cake mix and pumpkin until cake mix is all mixed in.
add the chocolate chips.
spoon onto a greased cookie sheet.
bake at 350 for 15 min.
voila....perfection!
{and they are super low-fat! so you can eat 5 instead of only 1! and believe me, you'll want to!} thanks steph for the recipe!

i love pumpkins

did i mention how much i LOVE the fall??? i love it so much! i love to go to the store and buy the cinnamon scented pine cones. i love that the kids can go to the park and collect acorns and buckeyes. i love that the sun is shining and that the air has such a clean, crisp feel. i love the smell of wood-burning fire in the air. i love roasting marshmallows in our backyard. i love making hot chocolate and sitting by our fire in the evening when daddy comes home. i love making holiday crafts. i love sweaters. i love cute boots. i love making treats with pumpkin in them. i love making caramel dipped apples. i love making halloween costumes. i love going to clam bakes {something that ohio-ans like to do}. I LOVE IT ALL!

so i found these super cute pumpkins on holly's blog, and had to make some myself. since this is the first time i have had a mantle, i love to decorate it!!! we've got the pumpkins, acorns {thanks to J & G}, buckeyes, cinnamon scented pine cones, and some cute beaded garland. i can honestly say that i feel giddy.

oh dear, is it really that time again??

{don't worry! you didn't miss it!}

just simply click here
and go to 'pictures with santa' for AZ or OH.
PICTURES WILL BE IN OHIO ON SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 22
ARIZONA ON TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 25
due to time crunches, i only have one day in each location open this year, so sign up quick!

{be sure to sign up so santa will know EVERYTHING on your list}

***for my OHIO friends...i will be taking pictures with this santa this year for the first time! i'm very excited about it!!!