Oops! sorry about the double post last time!!!!!!!!!!!!

Okay...look at this sneaky peaky from Serendipity Scrapbooks! Ah...a Maya Road alterable and lots of 2Daisies! wahoo!


Let's see..i had to take a break from writing a treatment plan. Sometimes you just need to take a step back. I just hurt for these kids sometimes...so much abuse and neglect, it is so scary. I know brian and i talked about this, that when this baby and owen are older that we are definitely opening our home to an older child, one that needs a healthy and happy home.



So ANYWAY! There is a fun crop going on over at Scrapperie this weekend that i might engage in...sounds like fun! i haven't participated in one, just helped run them, so i think it will be fun!!!

So....since we all know the baby is a boy....any boy names you really like? We have a few that we really like but i love to hear some suggestions!

A couple of you guys have asked for some belly shots and i am shy that way...LOL plus getting brian and i together so i can actually get him behind the camera is another story as well....

oh yeah..cans someone tell my WHY the HAVE to make prego shorts with big fat pockets on the butt? like it isn't getting big enough on its own..

here is a shot on our way to the grocery store...oh and one more thing...my ultrasound went well...so far, until they analyze it a bit more...i went early at 19 weeks versus 21 when they like to do it and i might get called back b/c some of things were hard to see...so still praying all is well...AND I COULDN'T STAND IT...i needed to know...it's a BOY!

the story is quite funny...there was an envelope involved...lots of lauhing {including Mike, my new found friend, who did the ultrasound} scribbling on the envelope so no one {me} would cheat. Brian and i were laughing so hard in the waiting room fighting over who kept the envelope that we had the entire place laughing "with" us...too funny! Mike actually had to stop part of the ultrasound b/c i was laughing so hard...i have been giddy the last few days and, lemme tell ya, it feels good!

anyone ready for some serendipity love? here are some more dt projects from serendipity scrapbooks...Kristen really knows how to combine product. Love these Luxe and Stemma pp's...two Manufacturers I never really dabbled with before! So glad I got the chance to. Hope everyone is having a safe and happy holiday weekend!

we had another "incident" with owen's toe...he is losing his toenail from the infection he had a month or so ago and it got caught on something and practically ripped completely off. There was blood everywhere! argh! after his busted lip last week, that is enough blood for me. anyway, his foot is pretty nasty so we didn't go swimming yesterday so summer is officially over for me!

time to get out the pumpkins!

how cool are these photos? one of my kids and i went to this old church and checked them out...he is so smart and so open to things...it makes me sad to see him so lost...and the fact

that his own parents don't do much with him...but that is what i do now...try to make the world a better place for these kids...no scratch that...i teach them the tools to help them handle their world...one very different than i have ever known

Here are some goodies from HSS for upload day yesterday. Got to work on this Love mini album over the weekend while i was croppin' at my sisters! so fun...love the hemp flower on the front!

You will love it over there...come for a visit! http://www.happyscrappinscrapbooking.com/!

the XO layout...i used the mini paper pack from Jenni Bowlin and sewed them together to make my own patterned paper! just LOVE her stuff!

so i know i just posted but i am off for a long weekend to my sister's in maryland to get together with the girls and scrap a bit! i have no idea how my mom and i are going to fit all {my} our stuff in the car!!!!

i wanted to post some pics from the zoo last weekend in DC...so fun...and it is free! {you only pay to park} and it is a gorgeous zoo...just like a park. you can't beat that. and owen, the cutie pie, from his birthday....HOW CUTE IS THAT SMILE??????????? I don't know why my camera went all panda butt on me for that fuzzy photo but oh well...that pic is just too fun...he was scratchin' his but right at me!

i don't think i have any new scrappiness to share with you right now....just other pics but wait til my weekend is over!

i will have LOTS of goodies to share!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

so guess who has the flue again? nice, huh? second time in a few months, it stinks...up for awhile last night and just squeaked out of bed....blah! the thing that really stinks is i have to double up my day tomorrow AND drive to Maryland tomorrow night.

BUT i do get to scrap with my girls so that is fun for me! oh no...that means i have to pack...argh.

so we signed owen up for pre-K...had is orientation yesterday and he loved it. I mentioned something about the bus this morning and he started screaming he didn't want to go to that school, LOL! the 28th is going to be a fun one...

ok...let's see..since my sister didn't send me my pics from the zoo this weekend ...i will post a digi lo from the FAB Verna over at Dragonflaire and a hybrid card from Maggie's Tropical kit at Dragonflaire too! how fun are those surfboards????

oh and i have been tagged by the lovely GINA!!!!!! i will do the tag but everyone i know has been tagged already!!!! guess i need to go meet a few more friends!

1} i love dogs...if i could have kennel i would in a heart beat...or breed labs or boxers...i def would

2} i desperately want to move back to the city or close to philly again...looks like it ain't happening for us for awhile

3} i worry all the time about owen, almost obsessively, well okay! obsessively

4} i always wanted a big brother

5}fall is my FAV season and i can't wait to get out my pumpkins!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

6} i am dying for a glass of wine so badly, i am counting down the days til number 2 is here!

7}i use to drive a forklift at one of my jobs in college

8}i want to go back to school and get another master's degree or possibly my doctorate

so Stampington emailed me about picking up some of my stuff which is pretty fun! Love their Take Ten issue....it is a pretty big issue that comes out quarterly.

Beck Fleck also emailed me about contributing to her next newsletter which is fun too. I have never done it before andhave been wanting to email her forever and of course her stuff just rocks.

Owen's bday is sunday but we went over to john and diane's this weekend to celebrate since we are going to Maryland to see Amber~yeah~this weekend. Here are a few shots! what a cutie!

he got a new bike and a remote control boat for the pool! lucky kid!

this weekend was nuts! august is going to be a tough one for sure...so glad i am not feeling so tired anymore {well just a little}. i do get a paycheck this week! yeah! it will only be a little one since i only worked 8 hours but it will help. i feel bad for brian since he has been taking the bill burden on his own.

my tummy is finally popping out which is fun! makes you feel a bit better when i starts to do that....i don't know why i am so anxious this time around but i am...

look at this little treasure Joan sent me from HSS...is that the cutest????

don't forget the chat tomorrow night at Dragonflairestudios.com and then there is another at http://www.serendipityscrapbooks.com/ with Kim Moreno August 20th...she is co-owner of pageframes, DT coordinator of Dream Street, Busy Bee and a hundred other things! LOL..she rocks.

ok...off to shower and get to work to see one of my kids...have a good one!

DARN! there were a bunch of calls i wanted to do last night and totally forgot. Total bummer...i guess that goes to show that i have toooooo much going on. i really wanted the one though, guess i will have to just stalk the site! LOL!

but the good news is my term is officially starting for HSS! how fun!

we are off to atlantic city today to for a few days! can't wait! mama needs some cute maternity clothes!

well owen and i are off to the recycling center...here he is when i took his photo the last time with my camera LOL.

"be the change you wish to see in the world" ghandi.

soooooooooooo well....i didn't get my lo pubbed in Canadian Scrapbooker for the summer ScrapJam at Srapbooking Fanatics....but the winning lo was actually my favorite one in the contest by the super talented Michele {twisted soda} so i cannot complain...also i did some of my FAV lo's with that contest so i am pumped!

we are painting this weekend which is tough b/c i have to wear a mask the whole time and my face is a raging hormone field right now and the sweatiness, i am sure, is not helping!

the 'rents came to watch owen while we get work done so that is a huge help...i will post pics of the dining room b/c, well i must say, the stripe work i did is lovely! LOL

ok...off to work...here is a lo from the scrapfan contest...the challenge was to scrap a childhood memory so i did this lo of my fav book...i bought this immediately when i found out i was pregnant with owen b/c it was my favorite book...just a few months ago when the 'rents moved my mom gave me a box and books and guess what was in it! THAT VERY BOOK {just a tad yellow and stinky but oh well}. i even did the journaling in crayon! LOL

wow! so much going on...i cannot believe i forgot to post about the Vicki Boutin chat over at serendipity scrapbooks last night! it was awesome...she is so down to earth and greta hammond stopped by...could you imagine being the BHG team? yeah, right ellen! LMBO!

so some more updates....8-9 there will be a chat over at http://www.dragonflairestudios.com/ with July A Shahin with Scrapbook Dimensions~the hybrid magazine. Great mag by the way...if you are looking for something to subscribe too. Then Chrisy Tomlinson will be there on 8-10 so please stop by...some great prizes are always given away! Maggie is super generous! Also there is a cool contest going on right now for an altered tray given by the fabulous Sally Keller!!!!

Also some more good news on the personal front. I am just finishing up my first trimester w/ our second child! Can you believe it? crazy stuff...i have so much to be thankful for right now. Now if we could just find out if we are moving or not?!?!?!?!?!?!?

MORE GOOD NEWS! How good is life right now?????

I made the Serendipity Scrapbooks DT! so exciting...it was the first online community that i ever joined and really felt like I belonged last December or maybe this January. I think that is what makes it so special.

I looked through my gallery the other day... at some of the first things i posted and what a long way i have come! LOL

thanks for letting me share...here is one of my entries (with my new addictions...buttons and big primas and my tuskineko glue pad)

OMG!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! FINALLY i am back on track with my computer. It has been over a month until this got under control and I so happy. Obviously, my blog has been neglected! LOL...

so i have tons of good news! I get to use that blinkie! how cool is that?

AND I got asked to be on Serendipity Scrapbooks DT as well! Yeah...i need to not have a computer more often, LOL!

The layout above is a little bit of what I have been working on too...one of my entries for the ScrapJam over at Scrapping Fanatics!

so....some sneak peaks for the Summer ScrapJam Contest over at http://www.scrapbookingfanatics.com/ ! i cannot post any of my layouts due to the rules ...the winning layout will get posted in Canadian Scrapbooker. We are getting tons of goodies to play with too! This week a box of goodies from Upsy Daisy! YESSSSSS!

you know me and my techniques...i used some BG rubons on the naked chipboard and then on the parenthesis, i gobbed rubber cement on it and then painted it with MM copper glaze. When it was dry, i rubbed it with my finger until it began to rub off and then inked it...gave it a cool distressed look. I also coved the bazzill flower with pp and sanded it and then did the mirrored letters in photoshop.

I got tagged again by Nicole and Kelly! Let me see if I can muster up so more quirky stuff about me.

Let's see.....
1. I am not a fan of nicknames, we have a friend who is naming their kid two special names (first and middle) to call the kid a completely different name? why not just name them the name you want to call them? ah, hello?

2. We are 99% sure we are moving to the Reading area, probably closer to Philly, my fav city!

3. i love the beach but hate the sand.

4. i love when people touch my feet!

5. i have my MBA and probably going back to get my master's or my phd hopefuly by 35.

okay, i don't have anyone left to tag! so those facts are on me!

I wanted to share with you my hybrid projects i have been working on for Maggie over at Dragonflaire. Her designs are just AWESOME! This is one is for Sundy's Linen Kit...GORGEOUS purples...just love them...they match my new bathroom!

okay can we talk about my One heart...One mind gift from Amy Teets! holy crap! tons of stuff just look at all those rubons and pp!!!! thank you soooo much!!! and also Kristen from Serendipity Scrapbooks for the hybrid contest! i am so pumped i won first prize!

i am also anxiously awaiting my goodie bag for the Summer Scrapjam over at Scrapping Fanatics! a whole box of Upsy Daisy Designs!!!!!!! Imight be the one they pick to get pubbed in Canadian Scrapbooker! wahoo!

okay, i am not sure why it has been a week since my last post? we have been busy but come on, ellen! don't be a slacker, LOL!!!

so this weekend i took a Kristina Contes class and got to meet a friend online, Nicole! who is the cutest by the way. i only took one class and had to jet....had a friend in need in NJ...new house just broke up with her bf so there was lots to talk and drink!

so here is my minibook i made, can i tell you i am obsessed with making minis with the 4x6 pages pasted together like this???? LOVE IT! also my mom worked with hambly!!! and finger painted!!! 63 and going strong...WTG BARB and she bought me the Toby line...YEAH!

it is all about right now in my life....here are a few more...

okay can you say FLU FLU FLU? more like ARGH ARGH ARGH!

i am feeling okay today but barely. had to catch up on a few things and my scanner is acting wacky too...ah....just wanted to post a fun card i made for the CPS card contest...along with the 115 other people! LOL

isn't this zingboom deer stampt the cutest? i call this "miss you deerly".