MMMMmmmm Lovin' From the Oven!

These are my annual welcome back to the first day of school cookies that I make for the rest of our teaching/support staff. I had so much fun putting these together. Especially making the little tags because I got to use my new toy. It is a die cut machine called the cuttlebug. It works fabulously, a million times better than my big red sizzix!

Wild Card Wednesday

Whumph!!! Thats the sound of me hitting the floor when i saw these....

Mr. Iamderby bought me flowers....for no apparent reason! Flowers for no reason! Now this might be the normal way of things at your place. Maybe your Mr. writes you sappy notes, brings you flowers, buys jewelery. If that describes your Mr. than you are a lucky girl and I hope you are counting your blessings. My Mr. has not a romantic bone in his body. He deems jewelery and flowers a waste of money. Why did I marry him you ask? (Aside from the fact I was in LUUUUUVVV) Well he reeled me in with jewelry and flowers (Kinda like I lured him in with promises of homecooked meals and clean house) Yah none of those things continued on after the wedding vows were said.
Anyhow.... I came home from work and there they were, flowers for no reason at all. After I got over looking at him like he had grown another head, I thanked him profusely and moved those flowers to a prominent postition, where I plan to gaze at them until they are dried up little stalks, because who knows when I might get more!

September??? How did it get to be September???

So here we are, September! Time for me to go back to work and enjoy another year educating our nations' youth! I love my job, I love teaching. I just hate getting up for work everyday! Gone are the days of hard indecision...such as should I go to the gym now or after lunch? Should I take the children to the pool or just turn on the hose? Oh well, all good things must end sometime.

I leave you with some pictures from my pretty new calendar. This is the calendar I hang in my classroom. Its fairly small, 6x12. I love making these things!

Score at the Big Lots!

Are you all aquainted with Big Lots? This is a fabulous place...like a giant treasure hunt! Everytime you find something new, and its so cheap you simply must have it! I usually go there in search of scrapbook supplies. Currently I was looking for american crafts ribbon that was rumored to be there. (I hear these rumors at the Creating Keepsakes Message Board (CKMB) where I spend entirely too much time.) So anyway I had been to my local Big Lots where there was no ribbon to be had. I was sad! I kept thinking of the ribbon. It was so cheap! At the scrapbook store 10.75!!! But at Big Lots... 2 bucks!! So today on my way home from my work meeting I decide to stop off at the other Big Lots, this one in a rather scary part of town, but I am brave and of course I was on a mission! When I pulled up I ignored the cop car (engine running...pulled up on the sidewalk) I quickly walked the store looking for the craft supplies. I had gone through most of the store, getting more and more depressed. Then just when I was about to give up.... light shone down, angels begin to sing.... well not really but my heart did start to beat fast because there it was!! The object of my affection (ok, ok obsession!) I bought 6 rolls....because really people I am SAVING money here! I saved nearly 50 dollars by my calculations! Oh and as a bonus they had these little tins of felt flowers...regular about 6 bucks...big lots price: 3 dollars! So I had to get one of those as well. As I was paying the cops in the back of the store started shouting and it appeared some kind of arrest was about to go down, so I hurried to the car and drove off with my prizes!

Big Fun

The California State Fair! We imposed a no ride rule on the kids this year. This earned me a sulk worthy of any teenager from my seven year old. However once we got out of the ride area the kids had a lot of fun, and Mr. Iamderby and I had a much more enjoyable time. This year we had time to look at all the animals, hit the freebie kid stuff, do the jungle walk and see all of the exhibts. The girl enjoyed seeing a baby quail hatch. Well lets face it I enjoyed that too! It was amazing seeing that little bird peck its way into the world. The boy enjoyed sucking down a huge icee and eating an enormous corn dog. He also enjoyed petting the goats, sheep, and especially the chicken. The Mr. enjoyed parting with all his money... well maybe enjoyed isnt the word, but part with it he did. Someone is getting rich and it sure isnt us! The California State Fair runs through Labor Day, if you're in the area you should go!

First Day of School

My babies on their first day of school. Baby girl is headed to second grade. Baby boy is on his second year of preschool.

TAG...I am it!

I have been tagged by Erika a very nice, scrapbook obsessed, Journey Fan.

What were you doing 10 years ago? I was a fairly new teacher, teaching first grade. I was married with no kids.
What were you doing 1 year ago? Getting ready to go back to school. Pretty much what I do every August.
Five snacks you enjoy: Chocolate, ice cream, chocolate, watermelon, chocolate (I see no pattern)
Five songs you know all the lyrics to: Know to the point where I could sit down and write them out sans music? Happy Birthday, Wheels on the Bus, Its Still Rock and Roll (Billy Joel), 5 Little Pumpkins, ummmmm yeah music is not my strength.
5 Things you would do if you were a milionaire: New House, College Fund for kids, Donate to my elementary school, new car, try to get my brother going in some kind of business.
5 Bad Habits: that I actually have? leave crap all over, procrastinate, forget to wash dishes, bite my nails
5 Things You Like To Do: computer, scrapbook, read, play with my kids, paint
5 Things You Will Never Wear Again: mini skirts, legwarmers, teal mascara, aqua eyeshadow, granny boots
5 Favorite Toys: MacBook laptop, video camera, interwrite board (at school), craft supplies
Where will you be in 10 years: I am hoping for a bigger house, probably teaching somewhere else, hopefully parenting two lovely teenagers.

Wild Card Wednesday.....S is for shoes

My current favorite pair, under my barstool where I frequently leave them.

Must wear these to the gym every day. Hate the gym, not real fond of the shoes..but they are a must. sigh. I like to leave them by the chair.

The bottom of my closet...which is obviously a disaster. I dont care, I hate housekeeping and my husband wont let me get a maid. Closet is the last thing on my list. Most of the shoes here are summer wear.

These are my neglected shoes, thats why they are still on the shelf. some of these have not been worn in a long time...notice the dust on the black heels...yeah I dont get out much. The others are work shoes and since I teach I havent been to work in about 3 months.

There you have it, my shoes, sad and pathetic I know.

My first "tag" ever...I feel like one of the cool kids now

Here are the rules:
1. You have to post these rules before you give the facts.
2. Players, you must list one fact that is somehow relevant to your life for each letter of their middle name. If you don’t have a middle name, use the middle name you would have liked to have had. ***IF you have already done your middle name than do the State that you live in with new adjectives!*****
3. When you are tagged you need to write your own blog-post containing your own middle name game facts. ***Or state if you have already been tagged before!***
4. At the end of your blog-post, you need to choose one person for each letter of your middle name to tag.
5. Don’t forget to leave them a comment telling them they’re tagged, and to read your blog.Here is mine:

Lea (pronounced Lee)

L: Lice- I had some as a kid.... No kidding (well I did have lice but jeez it was the 3rd grade!) Loud- sometimes, ok many times, I am way too loud!
E: Energetic (most days anyway)
A: Artistic (I wanted to be an artist... I ended up a school teacher. I probably would have made better money as an artist! LOL

Now comes the part where I tag someone but I have no idea who to tag so hey if you wanna play, consider yourself tagged and let me know so I can come visit!

Scrappin' My Chicago Trip

This is the first page of an album I made for my friend of our trip to Chicago. I am addicted to Heidi Swapp bling! (For you nonscrappers that would be the sparkly circle).

This page shows us at the John Deere museum. My friend, AJ, had to take me there because I stupidly said I thought corn was picked by hand. Yes, apparently there is a large expensive machine for that. Then she laughed even harder when I asked her if the machine bruised up the corn. Apparently this corn is not for eating, its hard and yucky and used for corn syrup, corn oil, and ethanol. Now before you think I am just a dumb city girl.... I come from an ag town. I grew up surrounded by fields of lettuce, onions, strawberries, spinach, etc. and all of it was picked by hand! How was I suppose to know super hard corn can be thumped down by a machine??

This page is all about Wicked! Oh it was excellent! If you get a chance to see it go!!! I was very impressed.

Lets Talk Toll Roads

This is an "oasis" on some toll road (sorry no clue which one) in Illinois. The whole concept of the oasis being (if I understood it correctly) that you could get a bite to eat and not exit the road and thus not pay any money. Ok, paying money to drive on the road. I so do NOT get this concept! Here in beautiful Northern California (I cannot speak for Southeren California as I rarely go there and its like a whole different place) we do not pay to drive on the freeway...ever. You want to go somewhere you hop on the freeway and you go... provided you have gas you are good to go. There is no tossing in change every other mile, there is no handing over 1.90 everytime you get on or off. And whats up with that? 1.90? Why the hell dont they just charge the two bucks and be done with it? Are they trying to irritate people?

We do have tolls on bridges but ya know I can hang with that (especially since they are all in the Bay area and I never need to use them). What I cannot imagine is having a full ashtray full of change just so you can drive down the freeway, excuse me I mean, interstate.

My Baby is 7!

My baby girl, my first born, is 7 today. Where does the time go? It seems like just yesterday I was in the hospital enduring the labor from hell, having her! She has grown into such a sweet and caring little soul. (And no I am not the least bit biased!)

No WCW today.... instead I give you a lil sumthin for your listening pleasure

Cat Gives Massage to Local Dolls

This is my cat Tiger. He appeared in my house one day, he wont leave. He has made the children love him, so now we have no chance of removing his shedding, clawing self somewhere else. I should show you the damage he did to my new pottery barn slip covers. Sure I got them on clearance...but STILL! Anyway, Tiger is great for comic relief. Today we found him on my daughter's bed, massaging her doll. Or maybe he was clawing the doll to death... I am not really sure. Sometimes I find him attacking stuffed animals in the night... he's a bizarre cat.

Scrapbook stuff

This is my first paperbag book. So easy to make and fun too! I love how they have little pockets...very cool. It also comes out quite sturdy. If you want to make one, basically you are folding paper lunch sacks in half and then rotating the order and binding it together. I bound mine with ribbon.

I made it for two little boys who lost their brother to a stroke recently. Poor baby was only 2 years old. As my daughter said, "Mom 2 year olds should NOT die!" Cant say I disagree with that. Anyway their parents had sent up balloons with little cards that said something to the effect of, "we want to know how far our brother has reached from heaven, send us a card with your location." I didnt actually find the card a friend of mine who knows the family sent it via the net. So anyway I was thinking what kind of card should I send when I got the idea of scrap mini book. I included extra paper, stickers, and alpha stickers so they can do it up however they want.

Why You Dont Put Pictures of Exes on Your Blog....

Because then you have to look at them (especially if you are like me and check on your own blog!). So instead of an ex boyfriend I give you my two goofy children. I had no idea they even took these pictures until I went looking for something else.

Wild Card Wednesday.... R is for Retro....

This weeks Wild Card Wednesday is brought to you by the very talented TKW and the letter R. Ok I dont know how old something has to be to be retro. This picture was taken when I was 18. I am 29+5 now so you do the math. In anycase if its not Retro my exboyfriend in the picture is named Rick, so I still score bonus points! I would like to point out that while I am wearing pink leggings and a ginormous white sweatshirt, my hair is not standing on end, nor does it have a spiral perm so I do believe I wasnt a total fashion disaster...just a partial one!

Oh and is it wrong to post pictures of ex boyfriends, whom you havent spoken to in 16 years? I have no clue what happened to this guy once he moved out of my house, who knows where he is, for all I know he could live around the corner!

Back from my trip to Chicago

I had so much fun in Chicago. But I must say that now I know what hell will feel like!! What the hell is up with that humidity?? We do not have that here in California, thank you very much! I have never ever experienced weather like that. My midwestern friend was laughing at me, to be sure!

We saw lots of really cool things. The park down by Lake Michigan (Grant Park or maybe Millenium Park) was amazing. The fountains there were so cool! It was great to get out and travel. TKW, I totally thought of you when I saw the freeway sign for Wisconsin!

Wild Card Wednesday (or wow maybe now someone will come visit my very lonely blog)

Wild Card Wednesday featuring the letter W is brought to you by the very lovely TKW. Today I present you with Water. I would like my bonus points now please.

My son on his "boat" ride with his dad. They are in the wet water! (Double bonus points, please) My husband reports that it is very hard to row with a 40 pound kid in front of you. He also reports that boat rides are much like car rides... "go faster daddy!" "are we there yet?" "how much longer, row faster!"

My daughter filling the pool outside the cabin. We had to connect the hose to the faucet in the kitchen to get the water! My sister in law was very creative in devising the connector. It only took 2 hours to fill the pool. And the whining (oooh another w... more useless points, please!) sounded much like the boat ride... "is it done yet?" "how much longer?" "i want to go in, make it go faster!"

I am training someone's future husband....

And I am doing this job right! My boy will be able to cook and clean with the best of them. No need for the wife to do all that crap herself.

Happy Birthday, Dear Brother of Mine

Happy 31st birthday little brother! Hard to believe we are this old! I hope this year is good to you!

My New Toy

I scored at Mike's (Michaels for you non crafters) tonight! Yay...got me this cool file tab punch and some neat little mike's dollar acrylic stamps... I had been looking for those for months! Now I just have to find some time to use them. The file tab punch is huge. That sucker is heavy too. Where in my teeny tiny scrap area am I going to store this monster?

Santa Cruz

Just got back from a 3 day trip to Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk with my kids, mom, aunt, uncle, niece, and mom's husband. Much fun was had by my children. Can I just say that amusement parks rock when you are the kid, but not nearly so much when you are the mom. Even if we put aside my neurotic constant worrying (that something will happen to my babies) there is so much stuff that just bites when you are the parent. Lets start with cost. Holy Hell this crap costs alot... I didnt even have to pay for tickets (the benefit of traveling with mom) but the drinks, the lunches, the dinners, the games, the souvieners, the ice cream... I swear all this stuff is going at a 99% percent profit margin! Then there is the whining, the I am so tireds on the way the home, the dirt (my kids were so FILTHY), the cranky sugar crash after the wild sugar high. But honestly, all my bitching aside, the kids had a wonderful time. They came home very, very happy.

My sweet girl and her toothless grin

My dd, niece, and ds riding the carousel

My niece, ds, and dd riding "baby doubleshot". My niece and dd rode the "real" doubleshot later and my heart was in my throat the entire time!

My Hobby

When I have free time (read next to never) and I am not wasting it on the computer (read which is nearly always) I scrapbook. I love anything to do with art. Once upon a time, before my spawn came along, I took art classes. I drew, I painted, I designed. I at one point was planning on being a graphic artist. In highschool I had hoped to become an animator. HAHAHA, so NOT how I turned out. I am neither a graphic designer nor an animator, the closest I get to art work is when I cut out construction paper letters for my bulletin board. (I am an elementary school science teacher at the moment.) So I get my art fix from scrapbooking, which I adore. I love paper. I could buy paper for days. I probably have enough paper to scrap a thousand books. But I always find a reason to buy more, mostly because it goes on sale, and who can resist an opportunity to SAVE money!

So that was the long introduction to why you will suddenly be seeing pictures of my scrapbook pages...especially now that the scanner is in good working order. So without further adieu, here is my latest project, a friend wordbloom book (you can purchase blank books here: Scrapbook Corner ) This book is all about my very special internet buddies that I made when I was pregnant with baby girl.

Optimus Prime

Optimus Prime? Yeah, he has taken over my house. Currently he has been bossing me around...saying things like, "Mommy I will no longer eat my vegetables.... Mommy... you must listen to Optimus Prime" That kid cracks me up.

Who Doesnt Love a Party??

Me and the boy

My daughter and friends

The boy celebrated his fourth birthday with his friends today. I love that picture of me and him even if it is blurry. I am going to scrapbook it for sure. The kids had a grand time destroying my house, pigging out, and scattering toys from here to eternity. It was total chaos for awhile! But the boy said it was his best birthday EVER... hows that for praise?

Wild Card Wednesday!

I give you my boy and his Water loving friend, the River Otter

Excuse me while I get teary....

My baby is turning four tommorrow. I never thought I would have a son. For some reason I imagined myself with two or three girls. No boys, not ever. While I was pregnant with my boy I swore he was a girl. I have ultrasound after ultrasound saying the opposite but I swore he was a girl.

Now my girl (my first born) I love her dearly but she was not an easy baby. She cried nearly all the time. She nursed, she cried, she nursed and then cried some more. There were times when I thought I would go insane. So when we decided to have number two I prepared myself for the nonstop crying. Imagine my surprise when this little guy was born and he did not cry. Not only that but he slept in his crib, he liked the swing, he would sit in a bouncy chair. He did not need to be hooked to my body 24/7! His babyhood was a joy!

He makes me smile daily. He has the sweetest smile and the funniest sense of humor. He loves to dress up, he loves weapons, he loves to pet the cat until the cat runs and hides. He is the sweetest thing.

Thanks for indulging me as I prattle on about my kid. I leave you with some pictures of the boy.




My guy is the one in the orange

I'm Leavin on a Jet Plane....

Whoohooo! I am going to Chicago. (in a few weeks) I have never been there before. I havent been much of anywhere in the last 12 years. So I am going to Chicago to meet up with some of my internet friends. I have known these friends for quite a long while, about 7 years to be exact. We met on a pregnancy board for moms due in August of 2000. Now I know everyone giggles a bit about internet friends but these ladies... they are friends in every sense of the word. We have an email loop that is active daily where we share just about everything. I heart them so much, I wished they all lived just down the street. The closest one lives about 2 hours from me, so I got lucky there. The ones I am meeting in Chicago are from New York and Iowa. I have met two of them "IRL" before and the third, well finally we will both be in the right place at the right time. I absolutely cannot wait for this trip!

My Summer Vacation (or how my children managed to completely cover every surface of every belonging in dirt and provide me endless laundry)

This is my darling boy in his ill fitting lifejacket. Oh why is he wearing a too small life jacket you ask? Oh that would be because my husband decided to not listen when he asked, "Which life jackets should we take? " I told him which jackets we should take but he decided to choose the exact opposite of what I said. sigh. Anyhow the boy was a joy to have on the beach, what with all the whining, crying and carrying on about how the jacket was poking him. I finally let him take it off as long as he didnt go past his knees. Bad mother I am... I know, but my ears could take no more.



These are my children squashing my mother in law as she gives them "a ride" around the lake. Better her than me, I say. I sat my fat butt on the beach and read my trashy novels. Nothing better than lots of sun and trashy novels....well unless it was lots of sun, trashy novels, no kids and a beach in mexico.

I have a ton more pictures but for some reason my mac is hating my camera. I did manage to download my pics to my old pc and then transfer them to a jump drive. Next I will try to move them to the mac....but gawdddd what a PITA! I think this means I need to go buy a new digital camera. Any recommendations? I need something small, I do not want to back some big BAMF (like my favorite photographer, Kami) I need something small that can go in my purse but still take awesome pics... yes I want it all

I am Outta Here!

Off for a week at the lake with the family. Hopefully we all come back in one piece and without burns! My sun is like a little vampire, instantly fried by sunlight. I have packed a ton of good books, magazines, and thinkin on bringing some scrapbookin stuff. I am really hoping for some R&R!

4th of July

We went to my mom's. Thats my brother showing the kids how to set off those little popper things you can get at Target. Lots of fun had by all!