Some days Jenny drives me absolutely bananas!

She has completely embraced being two and all the “terribleness” that it entails, only there’s one little problem with that…she’s not two yet!

Even though by the end of some days…okay, MOST days, I am at my wits end, I love her so much.

It only takes one sweet look from this precious girl to completely melt my heart and make me wonder what I was so upset about.

I have to admit…I am bananas about my sweet Jenny!

This page was created using the Lucky Monkey bundle by Charlize Creations…it was just perfect to express my sentiments about Jenny and this picture of her.

Today is {inter}National Scrapbooking Day…yay!!! This is one of the biggest events in the scrapbooking world and this year is actually the first time I’ve been able to participate.

My biggest goal for this weekend was to be able to get some scrapping done. Because, after all, that is the point, isn’t it??

So far, I’ve completed three pages this weekend. I may not get much more than that done because I have a long list of to-do’s for today. But, that’s okay, I’m completely satisfied with three layouts in one weekend.

Here are the layouts I’ve done so far…

Yay!

Digi-scrap products used:

One Smart Cookie

Digi-scrap products used:

Happily Ever After

For this one I used the facebook freebie kit from Penny Springman, Family Time.

If you’re interested in checking out some of the best digi-scrap happenings for this weekend, here are some links to my favorite places!

Me So Scrappy – for iNSD they are offering a 40% off store-wide sale and a huge selection of $1 Bargain Brew products. They also have five new designers and two guest designers making their debut this weekend!

You can also get this kit free with any $5 purchase. There is a coordinating paper pack free on the MSS Facebook page.

Sweet Shoppe – They are having a store-wide 30% off sale during iNSD. They also have three free with purchase offers.

Spend $10 and you get Darcy Baldwin’s featured designer template and font pack. I LOVE her fonts!!!

Spend $15 and you get Darcy’s templates along with a new Sweet Shoppe collab.

Spend $20 and you get Darcy’s templates, the Sweet Shoppe collab, and a quick page album.

The iNSD forum at Sweet Shoppe is packed full of games, giveaways, challenges and other fun stuff from the designers.

The Lilypad – For iNSD they have a 30% off store-side sale and their new May BYOC products. They also have huge giveaways, chats, speed scraps, challenges, and more in their forum. It looks like a lot of fun! They are also offering a free with purchase kit.

Digi Shop Talk – They have diamond memberships (lifetime monthly kit subscription) available for a limited time. There’s lots going on in their forum today. Check out their Sales and Activities Forum, Games and Giveaways Forum, and iNSD chatter Forum. They are also have a template giveaway with 25 layered templates for newsletter subscribers.

Wow…that’s a lot of scrapping activity for one weekend!

Do you have plans to do some scrapping this weekend?

I love being a mom so much more than I ever dreamed that I would.

My best moments of motherhood are those when I truly enjoy being with my children, when I let myself go and have fun with them.

Those are the moments when I can be called a funky mom…I can be found laughing, dancing, singing reading with funny voices and just being silly with my little ones.

As I become a more seasoned mom, year after year, I am realizing that there’s so much more to life than following all the rules…live is meant to be lived to it’s fullest.

So…that’s what I’m going to do. I’m going to be a silly, funky mom to my four children and their memories of me will be filled with fun, laughter, and lots of love.

I was such a rule follow as a first time mom. Thankfully, I have learned to relax a little over the years. Relaxing and having fun has allowed me to enjoy my children so much more.

Yes, discipline has to occur, but life doesn’t have to be so stiff and rigid. That’s a lesson I’m constantly learning!

This layout was made using the new kit by Charlize Creations, Funky Mom and her I Am Blessed schemes.

Have you relaxed a bit over the years as a mom?

We had another busy week ending with a really fun weekend!

Sunday – I sat down and had a fun time playing with Jenny before bed Sunday night. I need to remember to do this much more often.

Monday – Jenny begged for sweets all morning long. Each time I answered her with a firm “no”. And then before I knew it, she hunted down and snatched a lollipop that was hidden in the diaper bag. As soon as our eyes locked, she began screaming and crying, she was so sure that I was going to take it from her. So, we compromised…I let her keep it in exchange for some cute pics!

Also on Monday – The kids found a caterpillar when they were playing outside. We made it a home in a plastic contained with holes punched in the top. It’s really sad how excited they were over this little caterpillar because it was the closest thing they’ve had to a pet! We let it back out into the wild before dinner.

Tuesday – We stopped by Sonic for a treat since they were having all day Happy Hour!

Friday – We finished up our school day early so we could join my husband at Williamsburg. He had been there leading a singles retreat for the Army. We had a fun time just walking around the beautiful town. I took these pictures playing around with the manual mode on my camera when we stopped for drinks at William & Mary.

This was my best shot at a group picture. I’m pretty pleased with half of my children actually looking at the camera.

Saturday – Our church had a 5k Run/2k Walk on Saturday. My husband ran in it and the kids and I cheered him on to the finish line.

I love that I was able to get a picture of him waving as he ran by at the start of the race.

He came in 3rd place in his age division and brought home a metal…yay!!

On Saturday afternoon the kids played outside. There’s a small grouping of trees in our backyard and the kids have started calling this area their “hang out”. They spent quite a while “hanging out” together there!

We grilled burgers for dinner and I cut up cantaloupe to go with them. I was looking forward to this treat. I turned my back on Jenny who was playing at the kitchen counter for a few minutes and then I heard her say, “I done!”. My grand plans for having fresh cantaloupe went down the drain when I discovered that she dumped a can of black pepper on it.

Week 16 Layouts

I was so excited to be reminded of Mari Koegelenberg’s contribution to the DigiFiles when I read The Daily Digi’s spotlight of her on their blog yesterday. I love her design style and it was just perfect for this week’s project life layouts.

left side

right side

side by side

Products Used

I hope you had a fun week and are finding ways to preserve the memories you make every day!

Do you ever look at your children as they are daydreaming or deep in thought and just wonder what’s going on in their minds?

That’s exactly what this layout is about.

The windows in our dining room are the perfect height for my little ones, even Jenny, to look out of.

I took this picture when I got a glimpse of Jenny doing just that…the was staring out the window at the rain coming down one morning in the fall.

I had to wonder what it was that she was seeing and thinking as she looked out the window.

As soon as I saw the new kit from Amy Wolff, Hazy Morning, this photo popped in my mind. I knew this is what I had to scrap…this memory of my daughter, only one years old looking out the window and my wondering what was going on in her mind as she did.

Here’s the beautiful kit from Amy, currently available at the LilyPad for 20% off.

I also used the Whip It Up Fast v. 5 template set from Amy Martin on this layout.

As you can probably tell from most of my scrapbook posts, I love utilizing templates for quick scrapping!

Do you ever stop and wonder what is going on in the minds of your children as I do?

Jenny’s smile lights up my everyday!

She is pretty much always happy.

No matter what’s going on in this crazy house, all I have to do is look over and see the bright smile of hers and my days is instantly so much brighter!

I created this layout using the new kit by Charlize Creations, The Misty Trail. I love how bright and colorful everything in it is…just like Jenny’s smile!

I also used one of the Very Vintage templates by Jac at Me So Scrappy.

Also, if anyone reading is a digi-scrapper looking for an awesome creative team to be a part of…here’s a heads up that Charlize Creations is having her first ever CT call right now.

Check out this thread at DigiShop talk for more information: http://www.digishoptalk.com/boards/showthread.php?p=3165197#post3165197.