Lisa's Blog

Tuesday, May 4, 2010

My Best Mom Tips!

This Sunday is my favorite day of the year. I truly get spoiled by my husband and kids--no dishes, no cooking, just taking it easy all day long. I always love church on Mother's Day and the women in our congregation always get homemade chocolates from our neighbor's mother. Afterwards I usually take a walk, look at all the beautiful flowers, take a much needed nap and have a yummy dinner with our families. It just puts a gigantic smile on my face!

I've been a mother for over 19 years now. There are a few things I've learned along the way:

1. The most important time of the day is right after school. Children love coming home to "mom" and I love giving them a snack, helping with homework and practicing the piano (okay--so I don't totally love the practicing part), and cuddling with Sage. We often read a book together while we're snuggling. I hate that my baby is growing up!

2. Some of my greatest adventures with my children have been right in our own backyard. The trampoline is one of our personal favorite places. We often go outside and jump with our entire family. It may look strange to a bystander--children of all ages with both parents jumping together on the tramp. But I absolutely love this time spent together. Pure and utter contentment.

3. I've learned it's okay to throw away over-ripe bananas. I put so much guilt on myself if I don't get them made into bread or muffins. Let me say it again--it's okay to throw away overly-ripe bananas.

4. Smoothies are great for breakfast. Fast, easy to make and packed with great ingredients. It always makes me feel so good knowing my kids have good nutrients in their stomachs at the start of their day. (Now the rest of the day is different. Sometimes it's cold cereal for dinner :) !)

4. Has anyone ever gotten really sick by not wearing a coat to school? I finally quit nagging Brecken half way through the year about not bundling up before she went outside. And guess what--not one cold or sign of the flu as of yet! Moral of the story--choose your battles. Wearing a coat is one I've let go of.

5. Heated canned spaghetti sauce over cooked noodles is a fine meal. The kids love it and nobody cares about the meat. Just throw parmesan cheese over the top.

6. I hate laundry. No--I really don't like it. But I've learned that doing a little bit every day is a whole lot easier than letting it pile up and doing it all at once.

7. I'm a list maker. I take a few minutes each morning to plan my day and write down things I need to do. This totally makes my life so much easier. Try it--you'll like it!

8. I carry a camera with me pretty much everywhere I go. Okay--so not this huge thing. Just my small point and shoot Cannon camera. I don't want to miss an opportunity to capture the moment.

9. My mother is a great example to all. She taught us growing up that faith and hope can get us through anything. I continually remember this throughout my day and remember that "mom knows best."

10. Do something fun for yourself. Buy cute shoes (and don't be afraid to get them a little dirty). Take a bubble bath. Eat caramel popcorn drizzled with dark chocolate. Take a nap. Listen to your favorite tunes.

Please leave a comment about your favorite mom tip. I'd love to hear because I'm always learning from you!

Happy Mother's Day!

Lisa

P.S. Only four more days until I speak to Kade! Can't wait! And thanks for the fun photos, Lizzy and Robin!

11:44

Comments

Monday, May 10, 2010

"Fast & Fresh Scrapbooks" Giveaway!

(If you left a comment, don't panic if you don't see it below. Blogger is very behind on publishing your comment but I can still see it!)

Before I get to the contest, I just want to thank each one of you who left a "mom" tip. I loved reading them and learned a lot!

I had a wonderful Mother's Day. Here we are on our favorite spot--the trampoline--at my sister-in-law's house. Check out my hand-painted necklace from Sage!!

After the photo, Collin about took each one of us out as he steamrollered over the top of us!

Also, had to share a few more of my favorite photos from this week. As we were weeding in our yard on Saturday, just check out what Collin and his friend discovered under a bush. Purely joyful. I'll for sure take pictures if they hatch!

We also went to a lovely wedding reception on Saturday night. This is our neighbor, Maile, and her new hubby, Michael. The Bearnson's have quite the history with Michael's family, but that's for a later time.

Sage was a flower girl and these gals were part of the wedding party.

I'm one of the camp directors for our congregation's girls camp this year. This is kinda an embarrassing photo but Marta and I did a skit where we acted like Hans and Franz and we were there to "pump the girls up" for girls camp. The theme for this year is iStrong and it turned out to be a lot of fun even if we did look really stupid! I've never seen Hans and Franz before and everyone said my accent was a little European, Scottish and Utah-English mixed!

Okay--now for the amazing contest. I just got the Creating Keepsakes "Fast & Fresh" special issue in my mailbox and it's simply amazing. Trust me--this 124-page book is filled with simply hot layouts and mini-albums ideas.

Let me share one of my favorites:

Gretchen McElveen cleverly makes this ringed tag book with memories from a recent Disney trip. She packed her entire trip into this album and also teaches how to make an album cover from a photo.

Her consistent page design makes this album a cinch.

So--three of you are going to win a copy of Fast & Fresh Scrapbooks. Simply tell me one happy thing about your Mother's Day and I'll randomly choose three winners on Thursday. Here's some more good news. You can get a 20% savings on Fast & Fresh Scrapbooks until May 31st when you go here and order the special issue. Make sure you use the promo code FAST-BLOG.

Thanks for playing!

Lisa

P.S. Our phone call from Kade, yesterday, was the best! He is happy, healthy and has definitely matured!

08:48

Comments

Tuesday, May 18, 2010

Ode to Collin! Plus, Winners of "Fast & Fresh Scrapbooks"

Sorry for the delayed message. The winners of the "Fast & Fresh Scrapbooks" are:

1. Andrea from NoVa

2. Catrina Tolman

3. Sara Padgett

Please leave me your snail mail address and I'll get your book promptly sent!

Okay--so last week I had a sleepless night where I couldn't shut my mind off. The wind was blowing really hard and I was worried the baby birds would not live through the storm. On top of it I had both Steve and the dog snoring in my room. Not just normal snoring--I mean really loud snoring.

I finally got up and tried to sleep for the rest of the night in Kade's vacant bed. Last year a girl answered Kade to a boy's choice dance by placing what seemed like hundreds of glow-in-the-dark stars all over his ceiling. Try sleeping with all those little things looking down at you! Then Collin's alarm went off at what I thought was 6:00 a.m. (he sleeps in the room next to Kade's and has a class at 6:30 a.m.). I stayed in bed worrying that he wasn't going to get up. I finally forced myself out of bed and went in his room to wake him. I noticed the clock said 5:10 a.m. I questioned him about the alarm going off early and he said he sets it that way every morning so he can "sleep in" for an extra hour. CRAZINESS!

I also noticed that he wasn't sleeping under his sheets. Just a quilt Grandma Downs made him was over the top. I questioned him on this. The answer? It's easier to make (or not make) his bed in the morning!

A couple of months ago Collin got up and drove to his early morning class (weights). He was a little ticked off when he got to the gym and noticed that nobody else was there--it was dark and no other cars were in the parking lot. He figured the coach had canceled it and hadn't let him know. On the way back home, he looked at the clock in his car and it said 1:30 a.m. What? He'd somehow thought it was morning! This is what he looked like for the rest of the night!

Collin is my kid that always has a ball in his hands. Football is his favorite but ...

Basketball is a close second.

Collin expresses himself with the funky shoes he wears.

He's our peacemaker and a friend to all. The night that Kade left on his mission, he lovingly placed a note on our bed that said: "Mom and Dad--I will make a big effort to fill in for Kade. It would be seemingly impossible for me to fill his place, but I can try to be an awesome substitute."

I love this photo where he and two neighbors are texting each other on our front porch!

Here's a little challenge--do what I just did and write the unique, wacky, funny and yes, sweet things that you love about each child. Share one with us!

Hope your week is going great!

Lisa

04:16

Comments

Tuesday, May 25, 2010

Spring is in the Air--NOT! Plus Another Contest!

This was my white board message yesterday.

I looked outside and saw this . . .

The weather was better today but still not really spring (or summer which is right around the corner). Why does the conversation always turn to the weather? It's because of days like this--they make me crazy! I just hope my flowers will make it!

Okay--so there are going to be two really great contests on my blog this week. One involves this super great new book from Creating Keepsakes. I've got my own copy and am LOVING all the new techniques for distressing paper, ideas for patterned paper, time-saving tips and so much more. Go here for more details.

Three of you will win a copy of this book. Simply leave me a happy spring comment (if you only knew how much I need one!) and I'll choose three winners on Thursday.

Also, stay tuned on Thursday for a really cool contest where you can win a BIG item!

Hope your week is warmer than mine!

Lisa

11:04

Comments

Thursday, May 27, 2010

Win a Silhouette Cutting Machine!

(Blogger is having problems again. If you can't see your comment, I promise I can see it! Also, the number of comments shown on the bottom is not being updated accurately. S0--don't panic if you don't see the number change or your comment isn't on the list. I can view it through other means!)

Before I get to the amazing contest, here are the three winners for the CK's new Tips & Tricks book:

1. Beth (12:57 p.m.)

2. Lori (7:25 a.m.)

3. Valerie (5:47 a.m.)

Just leave your snail mail address and I'll get your book promptly sent.

Okay--I'm SO excited to tell you about the coolest Memorial Day contest ever! On Monday night (Memorial Day), I'm going to choose a lucky person to win the coolest, most versatile cutting machine on the market. Yep--it's the Silhouette SD.

Before I tell you how to enter the contest, let me just tell you how much I love this machine! It is a digital craft cutter that connects right to your computer. No cartridges cards needed! You can use all your fonts to create titles. You can use dingbats for decorations. You can also download shapes from the Silhouette Online Store.

I LOVE using the Silhouette for titles, borders and embellishments on my pages. All you need are pictures and cardstock for great looking layouts. I created this page because Memorial Day is a personal favorite of mine. Every year our family visits the graves of our loved ones. We enjoy the peace and serenity felt at the cemetery as we decorate each grave with flowers and tell stories about each loved one.

I also LOVE the Silhouette for heat transfers. I'm the camp director for our church congregation's young women's camp. The event is next week and I wanted a flocked logo on each t-shirt (the girls dyed them). Our theme is iStrong meaning we can remain grounded and strong through all the trials of life. Silhouette made this job so easy and doable. Here's how the logo turned out:

I created logos for 150 shirts, bags, pillow cases and aprons in just a short amount of time.

I also used the Silhouette to cute a vinyl quote for my sports wall mural. I commissioned an artist to paint each member of our extended families in a football crowd on our wall. The vinyl quote is the perfect addition to the wall.

The sky's the limit with this cutting machine. I'm simply addicted.

S0, you want to win a Silhouette SD cutting machine and a roll of the brand new flocked heat transfer? Simply go to the Silhouette web site by clicking here and look at the links along the bottom that show different ways to use the Silhouette. Leave a comment telling me something you'd love to use the Silhouette for! Really, it's that easy.

Oh--and you can get 10% off any Silhouette purchase (excluding machines) between now and June 6th. Simply go here to see everything they offer. Use the code Lisab for the special discount.

Also, going on now until June 6th, you can purchase a Silhouette machine, two rolls of heat transfer, two rolls of vinyl and a roll of transfer tape all for $249.00. This is a killer deal! It's close to $100.00 savings. Once again use the code Lisab when ordering.

Last but not least, look who I saw at the Silhouette office today. The one and only Heidi Swapp. Her own original designs are available for purchase at the Silhouette Online Store.

Happy Memorial Day, Everyone. Hope I choose you to win this happy BIG contest!

Lisa B.

11:10

Comments

Monday, May 31, 2010

Winner of the Silhouette!

How was your Memorial Day weekend? Mine was part fantastic, part hard work. It was spent visiting several cemeteries, a pancake breakfast in the canyon, a BBQ with family, three games of Clue (Sage is addicted), getting girls camp gear together (we leave tomorrow), and pulling what felt like a million weeds. We are having a wedding in our yard in three weeks and we are a little stressed out making sure everything's in place.

This past weekend, Kade sent a camera card home in the mail. It was so fun to see so many photos! He is living in Raleigh right now and loves the area. If you see a boy that looks like this on a red bike, honk and wave! Better yet, stop and invite him over for a good ol' southern-cooked meal :) ! I'll thank you in the way of scrapbook supplies or maybe an autographed book :) !

This is a funny picture. Kade and his companion are in the children's (primary) room at the church. They must have been teaching the children and the leaders had them wear these cool ties. Check them out closely! How did they do that?

I thought this was a very creative shot! "Walking around" in missionary lingo is called "tracting." Here they are on two railroads and he called the picture "tracking." I love their badges in the foreground!

Okay--so I wanted a cool way to pick the winner of the Silhouette. With Kade on the brain after receiving these photos, I decided to involve him in the picking! Kade has been out 131 days! (I know that doesn't sound like a very long time when considering he still has 599 days left. But, it's 131 more days than I've ever been without him so I'm doing good!) So, the lucky person to win the Silhouette is the 131st person to post!

It's this cute girl (there was a photo on her profile):

Her name is sunflwrgrl412 and she's from Veedersburg, Indiana! (Be sure to leave your snail mail address, sunflwrgrl412.) Okay--so after choosing her name I read what she'd do with the Silhouette if she won. Here's her response:

"I'd really like to win this for my best friend. She leaves for New Zealand in 2 days to start her adventure being a missionary. I am sad to see her leave but I know it's God's plan. We have spent many hours scrapping together and I know she would love to have this. The ability to buy the images on line is key, and they are so affordable. Even for a missionary! Thanks for the wonderful opportunity. My fingers are crossed you pick me to pass on this wonderful product to her. I have one so I know first hand how super fantastic it is! :)"

Wow--how ironic that in a round-about way my missionary choose the winner and this gal is giving it her friend who will be a missionary in New Zealand!

Thanks for entering the contest. I promise to keep the freebies coming!

Well, I'd best get to bed. I have to get up at the crack of dawn for girls camp.

Have a great week and I'll tell you about my adventures when I get back!

Lisa

09:43

Comments