as promised…   October 13, 2008

here’s some photos to share:

these are from suzy’s blog:

these were some of my favorites from disney world and animal kingdom. historically, i’m not very good on roller coasters, typically, i get too nauseated to enjoy it, thus a fear has developed over the years. and starting on this trip, i tested myself, knowing how much emi loves the thrills of the ups and downs. so, i did it, started fresh, and got on them ALL. and i had so much fun! thanks suzy!!! we had a wonderful two days of P L A Y in between working for MLS at the collins group show.

here’s my garage girl assignments! tried some new things, but layered nonetheless. surprise? LOL. the first one features new goodies from sassafrass lass. LOVE Them!
this one features fun glossy paper with sweets and cherries:)
this one features fun chipboard sayings, from colorbok.

and here’s what i’ve been working on for MLS assignments this month! i got to play with the orange marmalade line, LOVE it! i’m in the middle of working on another project, and will share that asap:)

and finally, here’s some shares from our family day out at one of our favorite pumpkin patches!

we had so much fun! we enjoyed the music, esp mari, who kept dancing her lil heart out! it was quite a site, to see all the pumpkins arrive that were being entered into the biggest pumpkin contest! we enjoyed a bootsie the bee corn maze tour, a train ride, and an awesome hayride, that led us into the butterfly gardens. the girls’ were so tired, mari took a 3+ hour nap. gotta love those days:)
happy columbus day!
emi doesn’t have school today, so after speech, we met friends at the park, and then enjoyed lunch together, playing many rounds of 10 questions - a grader version of 20 questions, riddles, and knock knock jokes!

what are you up to?

it’s been a while.   October 12, 2008

hello blog world!
well, my life has been turned upside down, ever since my ER episode. after many tests, xrays, blood work, and an abdominal ultrasound, they’ve discovered i have gall stones and need surgery. that pretty much says what i’ve been consumed with, besides getting settled in at home, after returning from florida with suzy, at the collins group show, representing MLS.
i love my family.
i love my girls.
i love my sweet, amazing dh.
i love my girlfriends.
i love my life.
i love having quality time with my family, above all else.
i love that they forgive me even when i’m distracted, stressed, or in a funk due to this pending surgery.
i love scrapbooking.
i want it to just be fun again.
i did create my gg assignments, in 3 hours last night:) it only took me 1 week to sit down and actually want to try something different. hope you like the results. they will appear here soon. again, you know i’m distracted if it takes that long for me to scrap!
miss emi has been doing very well so far in 1st grade. we have parent teacher conferences coming up soon, so we’ll know more details about areas she can improve on, etc. she is LOVING her basketball time. she started in the same league that her daddy grew up in, so you know he is having a ball out there with her! once mari moves her naps or is no longer napping [dare i say that?], we can all enjoy that time as a family.
miss mari is almost two. and that terrifies me, and thrills me all the same. ever since she was 18 months, since she was doing so much more than emi was at that age, she has almost already seemed two to me. and now, that we’re in her planning stages for her birthday party… [ among other things- getting ready for another fun baby shower, getting ready for halloween, and in the midst of planning and organizing daisy events], it has really hit me. she so isn’t MY BABY anymore. waaahhhhhh! seriously, i am wallowing for just a moment. ok, over it:)
i’ll have pictures, stories, and some creations to share shortly.
back to my MLS assignments…

see you soon!
blessings,
erin

fundraiser.   September 29, 2008

if you are in the reno area, please…
consider donating for my dear friend’s son, tanner.

LIVE AUCTION FUNDRAISER for LOCAL RENO
3-YEAR-OLD TANNER BERTAUCHE to be held on
Sat. November 8, 2008 at 100 VINO WINE SHOP IN RENO.

Tanner began his long hospitalization on July 7th at
RENOWN Regional Medical Center.

TANNER’S CASE IS THE ONLY 1 LIKE IT IN THE WORLD.

The very rare Juvenile Xanthogranuloma (JXG) disease affects his airway preventing him from eating or breathing without intervention and has taken his happy voice. After a tracheotomy, a port in his chest, a gastrointestinal feeding tube, & chemotherapy with complications, Tanner and his family are still facing 1-3 years of hospital stays, treatments and medical procedures.

Please join us in contributing to a wonderful cause for this Reno family Saturday Nov. 8 from 3 – 6 pm in which 100 VINO will donate 10% of any purchases to the Tanner Bertauche Medical Fund.

Come early to show your support & review auction items, sample wine, shop the store, or even just make a donation. Auction will be held at approx. 5:00pm.

100% of all monetary donations go directly to Tanner & his family to help with their continuous medical costs.

Contributions can also be made to the: TANNER BERTAUCHE MEDICAL FUND at any Wells Fargo Bank, or mailed to P.O. Box 1208, Shingle Springs CA, 95682-1208

happy hump day!   September 24, 2008

after a great night’s sleep, since i got to work out for 1 1/2 hours tues evening, our day started out great!
we got to school early:) got the laundry going and vaccuuming done, and even got to work on better brushing habits, before we headed out to our mommy and me class!

here she is in one of her new outfits, that we picked out yesterday, after finding out some good results from the dr. she has very few clothes that weren’t hand me downs, and since they were 50% off, i couldn’t refuse!

these were my faves out of the 100 or so taken during the first half of our class:)
had so much fun this month with the new SUGAR HIGH line from MLS.

2 layouts that i created during suzy’s anni crop:)

and a fun mini book, titled *just for you*


this afternoon, was filled with chores, homework, and a trip to the store, to help teach emi about being responsible with her monies. she chose to buy a paw print stamp, over candies or gum, since too much sugar isn’t good for you [those were her exact words] and spotty would enjoy using the stamp with her! mari found a dime and had a ball throwing it and spinning it wherever she could!

and i just returned from a mom’s night out with fellow school mom’s. this was so much fun! can’t wait for the next one, thanks again, k! and thanks dh for taking care of our girls 2 nights in a row:) mommy needed to get her exercise in, and tonight was just pure fun!

how is your week going?

tuesday update.   September 23, 2008

thank you again for all of your sweet emails and vmails!!! that means alot to me.
i LOVE MY DOC! he phoned before noon today with my lab results. he had sent them in asap, but didn’t think i would hear anything until thurs or fri, before he leaves for 3-4 weeks. yikes!
thankfully-
no diabetes.
no pancreatitis.
no diverticulitis.
no [one other itis, cannot for the life of me recall in this moment]
ultrasound is scheduled in 2 weeks, to examine my gall bladder.
am on a new medicine to help the pain. so far so good.
HAVE to lose weight. HAVE to. for me. for my GIRLS. for my family.
dropped off and picked up my grader today!
ran lots of overdue errands with my sassy mari this morning! and once we had gotten the good news, we headed back out and i started looking at workout clothes and walking shoes. figure, once i’ve lost 10 lbs, those will be sweet rewards!
vaccuumed.
cleaned the kitchen.
did laundry.
made a phone calls list for this week.
had a lovely playdate afterschool here. the girls played so nicely together:) and mari fell in love with emi’s friends’ mom. super cute!
after the playdate, i hit the gym! during the 1 1/2 hours i was there, i did 1/2 hr on the treadmill and an awesome aerobics class, called zumba! totally thought it was just dancing- didn’t even expect to sweat like i did. and had so much fun! met a new friend maria, it was her first time, too. we’ll be back doing the zumba weekly, except on bible study nights.
miss emi wanted me to give her her bath. finished up homework, read and put her to bed.
paid bills.
caught up on emails.
added a few more playdates for miss mari.
off to finish up assignments, and then i’ll have some shares!!!

happy tuesday! again, thank you for all of your emails and vmails! i was truly touched, esp those from out of the country:)

love you girls!

random tuesday stuff   September 16, 2008

hope you all had a nice weekend! ours was full and so much fun:)
saturday, we re-organized most of the girls’ toys from the family/dining room after having the carpets cleaned friday. looks so much better, and now there’s much more room for them to run around in:) pictures to come soon. after lunch, we had a playdate at the jungle, and the baby got worn out even! that night, i finished last minute things for angel’s shower, while dh continued working. he has taken on a consulting job. he also worked friday night, while i cropped:) suzy and i created a book she’ll be teaching in florida next month at the sue gilman show!
sunday, after church, emi and i headed up to my mom’s for angel’s shower. my sweet dad picked up the cake for us, and all the fixings for my fruit salad, how awesome is that? my mom didn’t want me to have to make another stop. they are just amazing! she had already put almost everything together and had decorated so nicely, so there wasn’t much left to do. a big thanks to rocio and nicole, we threw a really fun and funny shower as i’ve been told! and angel and tristan were given lots of love:) just the way it should be.
in scrappy news, rocio’s awesome MLS calendar and acrylic sierra projects were shown on scrapbook memories last thursday am.
and one of my layouts is featured on the front page of scrapvillage this month.
happy tuesday!

whats happening tuesday!   September 9, 2008

our day started off on time, can you believe it? very exciting for us three lil monkeys! the grader has her to do list down in the mornings now, not nearly the struggles with clothes, shoes, etc as last year in kinder. just that much more confidence, etc. and since she mastered tying her own shoes in early summer, she is good to go!
mari and i ran some errands and then were all set to go on our playdate! somewhat excited, given how fatigued i still am from my aqua fit class last night. well, after driving for 40 minutes, i couldn’t find the place! i forgot to bring the phone number of the contact i had with the play group, so we headed out to run more errands and get all the decor and favor stuff for miss angel’s baby shower this weekend!
mari fell asleep on the way to a few party stores, i think going to the park after school yesterday totally helps her get her wiggles out and she slept all the better, too!
had a few great convos with some gfs, some lunch, and now mari is off to nappy time! i’m going to start on the favors, if i can find the other pieces. my mom might already have them, though. that’s what i get for trying to be organized…
in other news, i stumbled on this fun site, all about what year you belong in:

You Belong in 1975

Bold and brash, you take life by the horns. Whether you’re partying or protesting, you give it your all!

haha this just cracks me up! click here if you want to see for yourself and where you belong!

happy tuesday!!!

assignments are in!   September 8, 2008

here’s my first project completed this month:
i had so much fun with this round of garage girl assignments!!! tfl.
this layout and card featured MLS chipboard buttons. so so stinkin cute, love them!

some favorite photos from our maui vaca. this layout featured MLS‘ foam letters!
my absolute fave of mari and me in maui:) love the new bazzil pom poms!!!
thanks suzy for choosing such fun stuff, and tfl! there’s some other stuff i’ve got in the mix, and will share as soon as i can!

happy scrappin!
blessings,
erin

prayers for tanner   

i’ve shared about my friend’s son, tanner during the summer. what i didn’t do was divulge his last name. it isn’t bartonico, it isn’t angel’s son. it is my friend since kindergartens son, tanner. he is 3 years old, and can use all the prayers he can get. daily.
thank you.

sunday shares…   

how did i leave out these two from lake tahoe? we are quite a blended extended family! gotta love that! i miss the ease of summer already:)
today, after early service and bible study/sunday school sessions, we took a break and came home. we all pitched in, to get the laundry folded and put away [mari's contribution came in the form of playing by herself in her playard], had some light snacks, and then headed back to church for a fun bbq! the food was just delicious, and we sat with some of the founding members of our church. we are blessed to have such a diverse community there.

miss mari and i got naps in this afternoon! thanks daddy and emi for letting us catch up on some rest! i think the sun really got to me, after our pool and bbq time saturday.

after dinner, i worked on my september projects! some i can share once the scans are finished…some others will have to wait.

in bible study, today, the focus was on adiophora. it is until it isn’t was the message. and it totally makes sense, from all perspectives. after my dh got into discussions surrounding 1st and 2nd service, he comes over to watch me create. and during our convo, he says, *you don’t do like yearbook type things. you don’t do 2008 albums. you do what matters to you in telling our family stories.* i was working on some layouts about my bil’s wedding. and he says, *your layouts aren’t about him getting married and all of their details. your layouts are about what we as a family did at his wedding.* he SOOOOOOOO gets why i do what i do and i just LOVE him even more for getting that, w/o me having to explain it! i asked him if he thinks our girls will ever want like a complete book of an event the traditional way, and he quickly said NO! they are happy with whatever you are happy with! LOVE you dh.

i’ll share once the scans are in:)

happy sunday!