Laura Vegas

been given the "ok" to share one of the new kids with you. meet haley:

she’s about 5 months now. such a cutie … and gorgeous eyes! and she’s official now … since i just finished my first layout of her! lol!

this was actually one of the first pictures i took of her. i was printing a copy to share with her mom and printed an extra one so i didn’t waste the rest of the paper. i don’t usually do one photo layouts … not sure why. i used some lil davis chipboard shapes (glitter flower and the shapes that i painted) and the large glitter flower (which i took the original button off and added a pink one instead) … some basic grey pattern papers … and making memories rubon and clip.

thanks for letting me share … and stayed tuned for the giveaway winners … and my rant about "melrose place"! lol!

i’ve been dying to finish up this layout and share it. it’s too cute not to share!

i know my original post a while back about the whole "booger snot" nickname had a different picture of ady. but she’s given me plenty more photos with this same pose. lol! so i just had to do a layout with them. love the way it turned out. took me forever to start it though … seriously dug through pattern paper for about 30 minutes before i found some i liked. i had the chipboard letters out from the beginning … so i kindof had a color starting point. love the fact that i have so much color going on … love color! the pattern paper is from ki memories (green) and american crafts (circles), chipboard letters and ribbon are from lil davis, flowers are heidi swapp, and rubons are doodlebug.

believe it or not … i actually put some work into this layout. lol! i’m not a huge "techniquey" person … love using products, but tend to use them as is. loved these chipboard letters but they were a little too big to fit on my layout … which is another 9×9 size. so i cut each letter down to more of a rectangle shape … sanded the edges down … drew a thin black line around the edges … and adhered some cardstock to back them. the flowers were clear so i painted on some pink paint to the back side of them … and then lightly sanded them down a little. that’s definately a lot for me!

and of course … a card made with some scraps. i had this extra blue star that i painted while doing another layout about a month ago … i had sqeezed out a little too much paint and didn’t want to waste it. lol! i never have birthday cards … and those are the ones i always need the most. now that i’m looking at this card … i think i may go back and round the corners of the actual card itself to match up with the corners on the pattern paper.

in other scrap/photo related stuff:

• remember that album i mentioned over on the making memories blog last week … the one for the new challenge? i loved that cover so much and knew i wanted to play along … but wanted the scalloped edged album to do it. took me forever to find … but i got it today in the mail. 9×9 size … love that size now! can’t wait to start my cover and see the next part of the challenge tomorrow!
• still struggling with figuring out a workflow for my digital pictures. but i do have one awesome find. i’ve been shooting in the "raw" format for a few months now and love the freedom it offers. the one drawback that i was having though … i couldn’t see my photos without opening up photoshop elements. i can’t open them up in regular photoshop either … just elements … but that’s an issue for another day. lol! i like to organize my pics in "my pictures" on my computer … just where i find it easiest. hard to organize when you can’t actually see the photo. i could see them after editing them and resaving them as jpegs … but that’s a pain. i managed to download something (and don’t even ask, because i couldn’t tell you what it was. lol!) … and now i can see all my pictures. it’s a glorious sight! and i can organize to my hearts content!
• got my goodie box yesterday with the april issue of paper trends … i had a card published in there. got some of the new scenic route grid papers … fun stuff. some other goodies too … just can’t remember what since i already put them away.

i have to interrupt this to tell you that it’s seriouly hailing right now! the weather has been so funky lately … really windy. today it kept sprinkling off and on … then the sun would hide and then come out. it was like it didn’t know what it wanted to do today. and all day we’ve been trying to figure out whether we have softball games tonight. i swear this is the most rain (in the last 10 minutes) that we’ve had all year. my computer desk sits right up by a window in the studio upstairs … and overlooks part of the slope of the roof. it’s coming down pretty hard. this could be declared an emergency for this area. lol! and i think it’s safe to say at this point that we do not have games tonight. the thunder just started too … kind of cool! although i’m sure the kids aren’t loving it! lol!

well … guess that’s it for now. i have a lot to say right now about my beloved "melrose place" … but i’ll save that for later! thanks for stopping by!

i have a layout that i was really wanting to share today … but i’ll have to wait. instead i’ll share these cards:

i did these for an inspirational challenge for the lil davis newsletter about a month ago. i don’t have the picture of the piece that was my inspiration … don’t think i saved it. but it was a paper-pieced elephant picture … and he had this great big red ball in his trunk. i wasn’t feelin the whole elephant thing … so i choose to use the colors from the piece and the circle shape from the ball.

that’s it for now. i have 2 super cute layouts that i just need to journal … so i’m planning on sharing those tomorrow.

i’m really tired tonight. still trying to recover from last night. the girls talked me into a sleepover … so we had ashlen and amanda over. i felt like i was working all night. lol! i watch these girls for a living … and they want to come hang out with me in my free time too?!?! totally kidding girls! we actually get together all the time anyways … they love doing things together.

but do they have to do things together until after 11:00pm? i told them bedtime was at 10:30 … but they were playing a game and i let them stay up even longer. part of me was ok with it because we were all hanging out upstairs … so i was actually scrapping and working on some projects. but then i realized how tired i was … and remembered that i had to get up early. lol! and i never got to watch any tv … which is my routine before going to bed. can’t believe how my shows piled up so quickly.

well … off to finish watching "american idol". i actually remembered to watch it tonight. lol! 

time for another giveaway! no special reason … just cleaning out a little bit of my stash. i have 2 giveaways this time:

• a box of pattern paper, some chipboard alphabets and accents, and a few other misc things tossed in.
• a collection of handmade cards … all different occasions. i tend to make a ton of cards with my scraps … but don’t always send that many out. lol!

so just leave me a comment and your name will be entered. easy, right? i think i’ll give you until friday … i’ll draw 2 names on friday morning. to be fair … the first name drawn will get the box of scrap goodies … and the second name will get the cards. okie-dokie!

and if anyone is local … i have some other stuff i’m trying to clean out. some 5-drawer containers, a huge white shelf, some random things that could be altered, a quickutz handtool, and a huge thing of pattern paper. don’t really want to mess with shipping on those … so local would be great. just send me an email if you want more details!

hope everyone had a great easter! we finally did our eggs this afternoon.

went over to my parents for easter dinner … along with my brother and his wife, my grandparents, and my aunt. lots of good food. yummy dessert. as soon as we were done eating the girls hit the pool for their first swim of the year. the pool was definatly ready at 83 degrees. and it was quite a nice day out … but still somewhat windy. here’s a few pics … including alyssa’s first jump in the pool for the year (sarah’s too fast getting in so i didn’t catch her. lol!).

and here’s what happened when they got out of the pool:

like i said … it was a pretty nice, sunny day out. but we sure had a wind going … which apparently makes it quite cold when you get out of a pool. lol! poor girls were all bundled up in their towels laying around on the patio.

but after they warmed up papa hid their eggs for them … pretty good too. took them forever to find 23 eggs. lol! then they decided to hide some for him to find. they wanted me to do it too … but i was too cold by then. but they got lots of candy and goodies now … should keep their candy buckets stocked for a while at least. lol!

come back tomorrow … i have a giveaway to do! two of them actually!

edited to add: i just showed this post to alyssa and sarah so they could see the pictures … they said i was "dorky" for using "lol" too much. lol! there … i did it again. lol! and again! what do you think? do i need a new catch-phrase to put when i’m being funny?!?!  ok … now they just read this and said i’m not funny! what the heck … i am the funniest mom in the world. lol! lol! lol! (as alyssa cringes beside me!)

i know you’ve missed all my random thoughts … havn’t you?!?! lol!

• have you seen this album created by the awesome christy? i absolutely love this … it’s the most adorable cover. i really feel like doing this one … along with whatever else they have in store the next few weeks. but first … i’m determined to find one of those scalloped edged albums. it won’t be the same if i don’t have the same album to use. lol! so far … no luck finding one. bummer.
• picked up this idea book today at michaels. i certainly don’t ever see myself doing digital layouts … i don’t have the patience for it. but there are tons of things that you can do digitally and then add to your paper layouts. and really … i already do all the photo editing, resizing, printing, journaling, etc. so even learning a few new things would be great. just think about me learning the photo collages the past few months … now i can’t scrap without making a collage, adding a border, and printing my own sizes. i feel like it’s totally changed the way i scrapbook.
• i picked up a 9×12 canvas today at michaels too. i’ve seen a few cute ideas using a canvas, some felt, buttons, and paint. i’m determined to make one to hang by the front door. first i must dig out my felt and see what colors i can use.
• didn’t buy any easter stuff until today. isn’t that terrible … to be there with the gobs of other people that have all waited until the last day … pushing and shoving to get the good candy. ok … it really wasn’t that bad. but it was busy. and of course … no plastic eggs. i should save them each year … but i hate saving things that really only cost me a dollar to replace. lol! just finished boiling eggs for dyeing … may wait until the morning to do those.
• went shopping today with dina and deneen. i never go out shopping unless i’m by myself. but i had so much fun getting out and browsing the stores. we hit victoria secret for girlie things, target for easter goodies, and michaels for craft stuff. even got a few small things for the girls to do before they go back to school … 2 weeks left.
• stopped at staples really quick to grab some ink for my photo printer. love that it has like 6 color cartridges … you just replace the colors that need it. funny thing was all my levels were totally full … then all of a sudden my yellow cartridge totally dropped down. replaced that a few days ago … and then my light pink went down. you’d think they’d slowly go down on their levels … but they seem to just suddenly be empty. lol! i’m pissed though since i brought in an empty cartridge … you’re supposed to get $3 bucks off a new one. but the chick didn’t give me my $3 credit. and of course i didn’t notice until i got home … and i’m not driving the 15 minutes to go back . lol!
• i’ve totally cut back on my chocolate intake the past week. i think it may have attributed to some of my "problems" i was having the past few weeks. caffiene and chocolate. i drink caffiene-free soda and drink tons of water … so it’s mainly the starbucks … doesn’t that suck. lol! and you all know i literally live off chocolate. so i have barely had any all week. but without chocolate … i crave "good & plenty" candy. you don’t even want to know how many boxes of it i’ve munched on this week. and just so you know … if you eat an entire box, you will feel sick (and as i type this i’m eating even more of them. lol!).

that’s about it for now. gotta go check on my eggs. i think i had 19 survivors out of 20 … not bad. although now i have an uneven amount. will have to remember to take one out so that the girls don’t fight. lol!

have a great easter!

will be back to my regular posting soon … but wanted to share a few recent pics to tide you over.

first up … amanda. almost every single picture i take of amanda, she has stray strands of hair in her face. hey … the girls got a ton of hair. at least this time it was a nicely placed chunk of stray hairs. lol!

next up … ariana. she’s the one who will never ever look at me when i have my camera out. i had to bribe her today with a promise of some candy … she was all over that one. although she still didn’t look at me. lol!

and how could i leave out adyson. now technically this it not a great picture. but look at the poor girl. you’d think i had done something terrible to her. honestly … this is not something adyson does often. at least, not with me. and i love the look … she’s pissed and letting me know it … but she’s still got one eye on me. lol! the story? she likes to chuck her sippy cup across the room when she’s done drinking. so i took it away and stuck it on top of the fridge. i guess that was kind of cruel. lol!

actually … i think that was pretty much a post. lol! i could have just added the pictures … but i gave some commentary to them too. i guess you can consider me back to my bloggin!

here’s just a hint of what a $5.00 bribe will get you . . .

first i have to show you some pics of the girls that i’ve been spending my days with:

these are my "main 5" … i also have ariana one or two days a week, ayana stops by from time to time, and our 2 new daycare kiddos (which i need to get some pics of … and get permission to share them). but these 5 girls have been together for years. well … ady for just a year, since she’s only a year old. lol! the 4 older ones are all off school this month … so it’s been busy and loud around here.

which i think is part of the reason i’m feeling a little break coming on. just a small break from blogging .. maybe a week or two. i know i was just missing for a few days … so what’s a week, really?!?! lol! but just telling you that i’m taking a break feels like a relieve … i won’t have that nagging feeling of "oh, need to update the blog".

i’m just feeling overwhelmed by life these days. not sure why. just everything piled together i think. i was reading another blog today and this gal was talking about having a lack of focus. that’s me. i’m having a hard time being productive … don’t seem to get much done. but i have plenty of things i need to do … ideas i want to work on. just can’t seem to focus on anything long enough to accomplish anything. my mind just goes and goes … and yet that’s as far as i get.

so what is overwhelming me? could be any of these things:

• girls off track … need i say more?
• daycare kids a good majority of my day … wanting things, needing things, demanding things. lol!
• sarah’s softball and joe’s umpiring … not really all that bad, but still a lot of scheduling
• alyssa’s soccer … which i just found out is going to be EVERY weekend, instead of the once a month i thought we signed up for
• i have a ton of photos that i need to go through, organize, edit, and print … i thought i had a system down, but it’s gone all to heck
• i have a house that really needs some deep cleaning … especially my blinds that have about an inch of dust on them
• i have laundry piled up again … i thought i just got done with the loads from last week
• i feel so couped (spl?) up in this house … nothing like being stuck at home to make you feel like you need to get out
• constant fighting with sarah … we butt heads to easily that any small task turns into a fight
• i’m behind on my shows … with the girls off school they go to bed a little later, which cuts into what little tv time i have
• havn’t been feeling all that great lately … same aches and pains i’ve had for the last 9 months … think it’s just getting old now. although i don’t complain much … doesn’t really do me any good.
• need to scrapbook … actually more like want to scrapbook. i finished up my assignments for march … so i really have to obligations until the end of april.

i’m sure there’s more. and really it’s just normal stuff. everyday things just overwhelm me lately. i’ve always been the kind to do 73 things at a time … i would multi-task like nobody’s business. but not anymore. i’ve got so much stuff going on in my head … but i can’t focus on anything. i swear i have ADD … seriously. lol! and lately i actually get to the point where i feel like i’m barely hanging on. like i can’t breathe. my days seem so long … like they’re never going to end.

i actually hate even writing that. it sounds so silly really. i don’t want to worry anyone. it’s not that serious. just not feeling like "me" … whoever that is. feel like i need to make some changes … but not sure what they are. i also have a doctors appointment scheduled next week. i really havn’t been to the doctors since my big diagnosis last year … so maybe there are other things going on, or something that needs adjusting. we just switched insurance carriers … so i feel like i have to start over with all this stuff.

anyways … see how random those thoughts were?!?! lol! i won’t even tell you how long that took me to type up … in between checking on sarah, making dinner, dishes, and picking up alyssa from soccer. each time i get up i lose my train of thought. lol!

point to all this is that i’m taking a small break from the blog. maybe i’ll post a few pictures. maybe i won’t. and trust me … i’ll be back. one week … two weeks tops. i have to have somewhere to post all these random thoughts … and my blog is where they usually end up. lol! hopefully i’ll come back refreshed and focused! wish me luck!

remember those crazy pics of alyssa i had a while back? when she called me "ya paparazzi mom":

now i hesitated a little on this layout … on the title and the journaling. i wasn’t sure to go with the actual spelling of "paparazzi" … or to type it the way alyssa wrote it which was "papparatzi". i actually had to look for the correct spelling online. lol! anyways … used some of the lil davis rockstar collection on this … the foil chipboard letters and the pattern paper … and the chipboard stars which i painted black.

just wanted to share this really quick. not enough time to stop and write much more at this point … kids need tending, toys need picking up, baby needs a bottle, and so much more! lol!