Max & Lilly

I just noticed a few of you have asked about Lilly Belle. She's still here. (For those of you who don't know who Lilly Belle is, click HERE for her back posts.) I remember the day I brought her home. It really seems like not so long ago, but then again a year long deployment is practically a time warp. She stayed with my mom during my little trip to Afghanistan, but she's back home with me. She wasn't too fond of us bringing home Max, but she's warmed up to him quite a bit. They're always playing and snuggling these days.

Back to Work & GIVEAWAY!

 Okay, so I went back to work today. It was STRESSFUL to leave my little Ethan. We still haven't gotten into daycare, so Vince and I will have to be on the hunt this weekend most likely. My sweet neighbor, Amber, is going to watch him for us in the mean time. She doesn't know what a lifesaver she is!  I really do have trust issues I must say. I guess most new moms are. I just wanna wrap him up in bubble wrap and stick him back under my shirt. Then I might be able to relax a little bit. Anyway, about the GIVEAWAY... just to remind you one last time, I will randomly pick a winner who commented from each blog post from Sept 22nd through today. I will also pick one of my Google Readers for an extra bonus prize. If your name gets picked more than once for a prize that's okay too! I have lots of goodies to go around. Let me know what your favorite part about my blog is, what brought you here in the first place, and what would keep you coming back. I love to hear from you. It makes blogging so much more fun! Oh, and here's a card...

(Look for this card in the March 2011 issue of CARDS magazine!)

Mini Cards

Reminder: Tomorrow is the last day to enter for chances to win the GIVEAWAYS! Leave your comments on blog entries between the 22nd and 29th. I will pick a winner from each post. If you're not already a follower of my blog sign up over on the left for another chance to win! I'll select one reader for an additional bonus prize. The winners will be announced Thursday.

Smiles Across the Miles

(Look for this card in an upcoming issue of Scrap & Stamp Arts magazine!)

Thanks

Sugar & Spice

(Look for this card in the April 2011 issue of CARDS magazine!)

Reminder: There are still a couple days left to enter for chances to win the GIVEAWAYS! Leave your comments on blog entries between the 22nd and 29th. I will pick a winner from each post. If you're not already a follower of my blog sign up over on the left for another chance to win! I'll select one reader for an additional bonus prize. The eight winners will be announced Thursday.

You are my Sunshine

My biggest stress right now for going back to work is DAY CARE!  My husband and I are both Soldiers, so he was given ten days of paternity leave and I was given six weeks. After that Ethan has to go into day care. Luckily, we're told the military has a great system. We've looked at other day cares, but no one opens early enough for me to drop him off and get to work at the appointed 0600 hours.  We also never really know what time we're getting off work, so that's another issue with regular places. We put Ethan on the waiting list waaaaaay back in May when I was in my second trimester. I figured that would be more than enough time, but NO! As it turns out, you're not technically on the waiting list until your baby is six weeks old. Keep in mind, you have to go back to work at six weeks postpartum. How is that supposed to work? Oh, and Ethan was born on a Wednesday. They don't take in new babies on Wednesdays. They only admit newbies on Mondays! So that means he can't go to day care until the Monday following six weeks.  Who comes up with this? Does this seem logical to anyone?  Haven't you heard those horror stories about mom's who get arrested for going AWOL because they don't have child care?! Eeek! I really never anticipated that this would be my biggest issue following the birth of a child. Everything else is cake... sorta! :-)

(Look for this card in the March 2011 issue of CARDS magazine!)

PTI Dahlia

I can't even remember when I made this card, but I'm just realizing that it's the first STAMPED card that I've posted in over a year! I stamped another card earlier this week, but it was picked up for publication, so I can't share it with you just yet. I don't know why I don't pull my stamps out more often. I think I've just become a lazy scrapper although I'm really into the sewing machine right now as you might have seen in my other cards lately. I even change the thread color almost every time. I haven't used white thread yet. (Unless you count the bobbin thingy in the trap door under the sewing foot thingy.)  See? I really don't know what I'm doing! :-)

Don't forget to leave a comment for a chance to win a giveaway!

Home Sweet Home Card & BLOG CANDY!

Well, I've decided it's way past time to unload a bunch of my cards. I have three baskets and two drawers full of them. There are also all of the random ones tucked here and there around my scrap room. Before I unload all of these I figured I should at least post them on my blog. Some of them date a few years back, so don't critique my style too much. They're just "retro" now.  And.... since I have to go back to work in one week I figured I'd do another purge by unloading a bunch more of my unused supplies that I've been clearing out.  So, to win some BLOG CANDY leave your comments some time this week here on my blog.  You can post as many comments as you'd like. I will pick a winner for each day over the next week. Tell me what your favorite posts are, your favorite projects, or what you'd like to see more of.  You can even just tell me how your day went. I just wanna hear what you have to say, before returning to Uncle Sam and having to wear those combat boots again!

I like this...

Wonderful

(Look for this card in the May 2011 issue of CARDS magazine!)

Happy Birthday Card

I finally started loading cards on my Etsy site that I created FOREVER ago. It looks like my shop has been open forever, but I haven't sold a thing! Eeek! I really don't know much about Etsy, so if you have any tips or suggestions I'm certainly open to advice!

You Make Me Happy

My Love...

(Look for this card in the May 2011 issue of CARDS magazine!)

Feel Better Soon

One Month

At one month he...

lifts his head up briefly.

smiles and laughs spontaneously.

vocalizes lots of funny sounds.

sucks his thumb (when he can find it).

makes eye contact.

eats up to 4 ounces at one time.

makes tons of hilarious faces.

Eat Cake