Go, Diego, Go!

"Deep inside the jungle where nature's runnin' wild, coming to the rescue there's a very special child. Talking to the animals and swinging from a vine, this rough & tough adventurer is working all the time."

We have a HUGE Diego fan at our house. On any given night you could be asked to be a baby macaw, monkey or even a baby chinchilla...and you're in TROUBLE! But never fear, Diego and Rescue Pack will save the day!

No surprise here when Nolan said he wanted to be Diego for Halloween. So, I naturally started looking for a costume. Tough task! There aren't any. What would momma do? Make one. Really all I needed to make was Rescue Pack and a khaki vest - into the felt stash I go :) Lots left from last Halloween....

Here's what we came up with:
The Rescue Watch is a MUST! This is how you talk to Alicia and get messages as to which animal you have to save. I found this printable one on the Nick Jr. website and laminated it, along with the different options for animals. Each one has velcro on the back so they can be changed out.
For NOT having a pattern I think these turned out pretty good. The vest is just that...a simple vest with the same patch on it that Diego's has. Rescue Pack is worn by Diego with just one strap so that's what we did. I didn't even have to make a trip to the fabric store, thanks to extra orange felt from the goodie bags we made last Halloween :)

Last night Nolan wore these until the very moment I put him into his bed! I don't care that it's not very fancy, he loves them and that makes me feel great. Can't wait to see him as Diego for Trick or Treating!

Gimmee a {BREAK}

Life has a way of taking the reins right out of your hands, bringing things faster than what seems possible to handle. But we always seem to find a way to work through it, right?!? What doesn't kill you, makes you stronger.....or so I've been told.

Until, that is, your body sends up the flag and says "HEY! Wait a minute!" Unfortunately that is what has happened to me. A little too much burning the candle from both ends has landed me with a terribly painful stomach ULCER. Now, I will admittedly be the first to tell you I work best under pressure and tend to take on more than I should. In some weird way, I feel more effective when my plate is full. Maybe I just need to balance out the food groups on said plate from now on.

Business has been outragously great over at Rue 39 Design and that has captured nearly all of my work attention. So, no pictures here...no exciting news...no grandiose things to report. (Check out Rue 39 Design to see what I've been working on!) Just laying off the blogging, facebook and most extracurricular activities. But I will be back soon with some great things, hopefully refreshed and refocused on those things that are important at the core (again think food groups): family, health and happiness.

{My Office}

For my birthday, I had asked to move my office up to the loft in the upstairs of the house. It currently holds Nolan's toys and an obnoxiously massive TV on which the kids play Wii. Switching these rooms made so much sense to me, mainly because when the kids play Wii they get loud and it's right above the main living room. This way they could go to the back of the house, shut the door and be as rowdy as they want!

So after hauling all the toys downstairs, unhooking the TV & components and moving part of my office items upstairs, I realized I was making a HUGE assumption that the TV would fit. I then got my trusty tape measure and much to my dismay, it would NOT make it through the door. The doors to the OTHER downstairs bedrooms are 28" wide (which works) but THIS room only has a 27" doorway - TOO NARROW!

Needless to say I was uber disappointed. Back upstairs with the toys and back down with tons of my stuff! Bummed doesn't describe how I felt. To make it a little better I decided to re-arrange my current space. And I gotta say, it turned out better than I thought.

It feels like I now have more legroom and it's a better use of the space. Moving the desk out from having my back to the window gets rid of the glare on the laptop and now I have a view out to the backyard. Plus I got to add this on the wall behind the desk:





So, while I didn't get that gorgeous view of the Salt Lake Valley, I'm pleased with the outcome. For now, anyway. Plus everything got cleaned, dusted & vacuumed and back in tip top order, which always feels good.

Goodnight

In my bedroom there's this wall. Well, there's more than one actually but one inparticular has been especially bare. I've looked and searched for something to put on it, but never found a thing. Until now...

I found this wonderful saying to serve as a gentle reminder of how sometimes we forget that a certain someone has such a great presence in our life. Want your own? Check out one of our local businesses, DCWV!

Under Construction

Coming soon to a blog near YOU: Rue 39 Design!
http://rue39design.blogspot.com/

As somewhat of an offshoot to my passion for scrapbooking, I will be launching Rue 39 Design. We're shooting for July 1st to be fully functional with the web presence, however we are in business NOW.

Rue 39 design is your source for fine details that will help make your event one to remember. We are a custom design studio that works closely with each client to ensure that the invitations and accompanying products reflect their style and theme of the event.

Rue 39 Design currently offers save-the dates, engagement and wedding announcements, wedding invitations, place cards, menus, programs, thank yous, wedding and baby shower invites, baby announcements, birthday or any occasion party invitations, moving announcements, business and calling cards and MORE. We welcome other ideas not listed here.

In addition to the stationary listed above we can also personalize favors, goodie bags, candies, water bottles, labels, books, etc., We love to provide those little extras to bring together the theme of your event. Please inquire for special details and pricing. Corporate packages also available.

We are already working on projects and samples for the gallery. So keep an eye out for the new site and BIG premiere VERY SOON!

Happy Mother's Day!

Today is Mother's Day.....a day that, while rumored to have been created by Hallmark to sell more cards, I'm glad for. Mothers do SO much, give so much, feel so much. There's always those select few who never should've become mothers to begin with, but for the gist of MY post, those are NOT the ones I'm referring to!

I'm talking about the ones like MY mom! The amazing ones who you simply couldn't live without. The ones who love you far more than you could EVER imagine, are there for you NO-matter-what, who are tireless, ageless and manage to accomplish more in a day that anyone else would need a week to come close. And I'm in no way exaggerating :) She's the BEST.

I spent the day with said "Wonderwoman" and gave her this:

She's only been asking me to make her a tote bag for, oh, like a year now. She found the fabric and I ordered it "about" that long ago. Good intentions...ya, ya, ya. SO, in the spirit of the day (and 2 sewing machine needles later) I put plenty of tears, sweat and swear words into this lovely handbag.


The inside lining is pieced using all the colors from the outer fabric, which is laminated for easy cleaning. Lots of pockets for the cell phone, planner, lunch, etc. It's been a LOOOONG time coming so hopefully she'll gets lots of use out of it.

All in all a great day spent with my family. Got to watch the kids plays at Grandma & Papa's house..

.(Nolan on his Quad)

and watched my guys wrestle...

took in lots of good eats and great conversation. The best Mother's day I could have wished for. Thanks to my family AND my mom for everything.

Happy Anniversary

Five years ago today, I married my best friend. In some ways it seems like it FLEW by, yet at the same time it seems like FOR.EV.ER! Mainly because so much has happened in our lives, so much has changed, we as individuals and as a couple have changed. Experiences shape us and how we look at things.

Most couples get married, maybe get a pet while they get to know each other....buy a home, have children, etc. You know, EASE into things. We hit the ground running as I had my girls and Travis had his...Lexxi the Yellow Lab(she truly is one of the children!). For the girls & I we moved to a new state, new home, new family and for Travis he was invaded by females after living alone for 15 years.

Now that we've all learned from our experiences and added 2 NEW family members, I wouldn't trade it for anything! I'd do it all again. We definitely have our ups & downs like any family but this is right where I want to be.

This was one of the things I gave to Travis in commemoration of our day. Kind of like Letterman's top 10 but in my scrappy sort of way!

Top Ten Things I love about you

1. You take pride in ownership

2. Everyday is a new day & a fresh start

3. How you like to paint our nails with designs & bling

4. You totally get unto the Science Channel and believe in aliens

5. That you enjoy grocery shopping with me to see how much we save with coupons

6. When you are patient with my fickle nature

7. How you still ask me out on dates

8. That after 7 years you still blame your farts on the dogs

9. When you daydream about all the "family" things we can do together

10. You are dedicated to everything you undertake

Thank you, Travis for a jam-packed, full of love & adventure 5 years of marriage. Love You!