Puppy Update #2

On Thursday I received some very sad news. Little "Eddie" wasn't doing well because the fatso brother and sisters weren't letting him nurse. His human mom, AKA grandma, went and got him puppy formula to feed him, but came home to find that he had not made it. Poor mama Maggie knew something was wrong, but those other six just wouldn't let her dwell on her sorrow.

I waited until last night to tell my girls, and there was much gnashing of teeth, rending of clothes, and general wailing. It was a sad, sad time at our house, and I can only imagine the reaction over at Eddie's home. That sweet pup will be missed. Hopefully my girls can find the strength to go on today and complete their chores. Eddie will not be forgotten.

Quote of the Week

Perhaps imagination is only intelligence having fun.

~George Scialabra

DD wanted to take her American Girl doll, Nellie, on a bike ride. Putting her in the dance bag (the smallest back pack we have) didn't work out too well, so she came up with the idea of tying Nellie to the bike. With a little help from me, we got Nellie hooked up, and both girls had a great time.

Happy Friday! Enjoy your weekend!!!!!!!!

It's Your Day!

Here's yet another card with the August stamp of the month, It's Your Day! Have I told you how much I love this set? If you'd like to get your own, please let me know. I'd also love it if you could join me this Sunday at 2:00 for a Birthday Bash, CTMH-style! We're going to have a blast making a variety of birthday cards, including a very special interactive card that you will love. We're also going to make a gift bag and top off the afternoon with birthday cake and ice cream!

This 3"x3" top-fold card follows the Wishes "Stage Right" sketch. I used the Emporium paper pack and Twilight and Cocoa ink, plus a Twilight brad. I wish the scissor distressing on the sentiment showed up better in the scan, but hopefully you get the idea.

In our personal lives, the girls and I are doing well at school. I am looking forward to the weekend, though, because I am sooo tired! Last night's massage at the Tech School (student practitioners) sure helped a bunch though. Thanks, Dad, for calling to let me know that appointments were available. DH and I both go next Tuesday. Ahhhhhh....

Delight in the Everyday

Celebrate National Stamping Month early with the Everyday Celebration card kit, available 8/18-9/30/09! This kit has everything you need (except blocks) to create 16 beautiful cards! Click on the photo to read the full details. If it's not big enough, LMK or check my CTMH website. Be sure to delight in something each and every day!

Puppy Update #1

I figure that I'd better number the puppy posts since there will probably be more than one of them!

We got to go see and hold the puppies today! Maggie didn't like us taking them, but we found that she really can't count to 7. If we snuck one and it was quiet, she didn't know. One has markings on its neck almost identical to Shadow's. It turns out there are 5 girls and 2 boys.

Don't you love how that one is totally laid out?

Here's my youngest holding one of them.

Someone had asked, and yes, they're purebred beagles.

Shadow's a Daddy!

Shadow, our beagle, is the proud papa of SEVEN puppies!!! Here's the beautiful (& tired) mama, Maggie, with her litter.

Our friend "Chunkygal" has two gorgeous female beagles and thought that our male was a suitable suitor.

I got the phone call yesterday afternoon that Maggie had delivered three puppies, and while I was on the phone with her "aunt," another puppy was born. Several phone calls later, we got the final tally of SEVEN bundles of joy. We can't wait to go see them today and get to watch them grow over the next few weeks! Does this make me a grandma?

Watch Her Go

She did it!

(I had to wait until I had pictures to post the good news.)

Macey was determined to learn to ride her bike without training wheels this summer. She practiced diligently but wasn't quite getting the hang of it. Daddy even had to put the training wheels back on, though they were bent so far up they really didn't work. I think that was all she needed for her confidence!

Last Thursday (the day before school started), Aunt Amy kept the girls and asked them to bring their bikes. She has the perfect flat place to ride, and all it took was a little practice. She did it! Now there's no stopping her!

Okay, don't flame me for no helmet- we all survived, didn't we? And besides, look how grassy it is.

I Get by with a Little Help from my Friends!

As you know, we've already started back to school. I am so blessed to work with a great group of fifth grade teachers! They are all dedicated to their students and work so hard. They truly go the extra mile, and I can really count on them. (I'm grade chair this year so I need their help a lot!)

As a little welcome-back-to-school gift, I made each of them a key chain. (Gotta love the Target dollar spot!) We all have these lovely identical black computer bags for our laptops, so if they don't want to use them as a key chain, they will make a cute bag tag. (Or at least I think they're cute! ;) They seemed to appreciate them too.)

So, Peg, Kelly, Addlyn, Jeanne, Tammy, Traci, Judy, Calley, and Gwen, thank you from the bottom of my heart. (I tried to personalize each one for each teacher.) I love you, gals!

I stamped "Blessings" on the back of each key chain as a reminder to remember our blessings and because each of them are a blessing to me and their students.

All materials Close To My Heart (various paper packs, alphabet stamps, and ribbon) except for the purple and black ribbon- source unknown.

Blog Candy!

Steph over at Where'd All My Money Go? has an incredibly generous "blog candy" post going on right now through 8/28. She is giving away a $150 gift card or gift certificate to the place of your choice!!! Go enter her contest! No, wait, don't go enter so that I have a better chance of winning! LOL Check out her artwork while you're there too. It's no wonder she doesn't have any $$ left.

So if you could have a $150 gift card to anywhere, where would it be? Leave me a comment and let us know your favorite shopping spot. I am still trying to decide...

Another August Stamp of the Month Card

One of my downline ("Chunkygal") made this fun card using the August stamp of the month (It's Your Day) and the Whoops-a-Daisy paper pack. She used her Pazzle to cut out the cool card shape. Don't you just love it?

More August Stamp of the Month Art

Each month, a talented group of CTMH consultants and I participate in a "virtual" swap. It is similar to the blog hops you've been seeing, only we compile all the artwork together. This month we used the Tinkerin' paper pack/palette (Clover Meadow, Twilight, Sunflower, and Sunny Yellow- with a pop of Holiday Red) for our creations. Doesn't the August stamp of the month, It's Your Day, make you want to have a birthday party? Or you can be like the Mad Hatter and have a very merry un-birthday!

Here is Katy's cool creation. She cut apart the birthday image (after stamping it) to create the letter tiles and cut out the circle on the front to make a window to "party" on the back.

(Editor's note: I forgot to add that she made the present by stamping one of the cake slices several times in a row and on top of each other, then cutting out a square piece. The ribbon hides the seams where the cake slices meet.)

Latisha made a darling 3"x3" card. I LOVE those little cards to include w/gifts!

Misty is so creative! She used the present image as a cake.



I love Laura's "party" background!

Last but not least for this post is Debra's cheery card.

Thanks for looking!

First Day of School Recap

Photos from when we were leaving for the first day of school today...

I am happy to report that two of us had a great first day. Middle school was not "all that" (especially since she went to the wrong Connections class- band- instead of PE today). At her age, that was the end of the world! She'll learn, all the way around. It wasn't a bad day, just not as great as she was hoping.