Leaves Are Falling

My youngest loves to collect leaves. On his travels, if he sees a leaf that he likes, he will give it to me to bring home. I remember as a young girl I would put a leaf between wax paper and place it within the pages of a heavy encyclopedia. With time, the moisture would evaporate from the leaf and the leaf would become somewhat skeletal. It was really neat.

Leaves are pretty cool with their different shapes, sizes and colors. Living on the west coast, they don't really make a dramatic display of color change like they do on the east coast. But nonetheless, leaves are pretty and the falling of the leaves indicate that Fall is in full swing and that Winter will soon be here.

One day, I used my iPhone camera to to take a few pictures of some leaves that I found while on a walk.

I also had to take a pictures of a couple of flowers (even if one of them was a weed), saying, "Hey, we're not ready to hibernate yet, it's still summer time!" :)

Yah, I wish that we could go from Fall into Spring and bypass Winter altogether. Although, my kids are hoping for some snow this year (it is kinda fun making a snowman). But me, well, I wish I lived in Southern California or maybe Arizona.

Where Does the Time Go?

Seriously, where does the time go? Summer was a blur. The kids have been back to school for a month. It's already October. And it's 2 1/2 months until Christmas. I really do think that the older you get, the faster the time goes by. Seriously!

I was really sad for school to begin this year. My youngest started Kindergarten. All.Day.Kindergarten. My baby is growing up. It was SO hard the first couple of weeks when he was at school. I was so used to having him beside me as my "little sidekick". He was literally right by my side and loved to help me garden, water my plants, wash the car, and cook and bake. He also loved going shopping, building Lego together, sitting on the couch reading books, and giving me endless hugs and kisses. ♥ I am and will miss our alone time together.

But he was ready to go. He's been wanting to go. When I dropped him off for his first full day of school my heart broke and I was in tears. But slowly, through the weeks, I have adjusted. He is loving Kindergarten and has already made a best friend. That makes my Mama heart SO happy.

Lately, I have been filling my days with my Etsy shop. I am creating new wall prints and a line of Printables where a digital file is emailed for you to print at home or at a photo lab. A great way to add a little affordable art to you decor.

And of course, doing lots of laundry (there's always endless piles) and cleaning (the bathrooms are done faithfully every week now, there is nothing like the feeling of taking a shower in a sparkling clean bathroom) are always on the agenda.

I also plan and create more elaborate homemade meals. For the last couple of months, our family has adopted a healthier eating habit of no processed food. The husband and I have not had any refined sugar...the only sweetener that I have had is a few drops of liquid stevia in my smoothie or honey/maple syrup in the paleo granola that I make. And it has been good. Really good. But I will write about more on that in a future post. :)

I am also planning on blogging a lot more. I have really missed it.

And a post isn't complete without a picture. I could never get tired of this view.

Month In Photos - March 2012

This is my month in photos collage for March.



To create your own photo collage and join in the fun, you can download the template the I use for my month in photos at simple as that.

Ninjago Birthday Cupcakes

For my son's birthday, I made some chocolate cupcakes with chocolate frosting for him to give to his classmates and teacher.




I created some Ninjago cupcake toppers to adorn each cupcake and cut out some cardstock to wrap the bottom. They turned out so cute! And the reason for Ninjago? My son LOVES Lego Ninjago! :)




I bought these Ninjago images to create the toppers used to decorate the tops of the cupcakes.




I then punched the images, some 'Happy Birthday' signs I created in Photoshop, and some black cardstock (which served as a backing to the images and a background for the 'Happy Birthday' signs) with my trusty circle punch.




Cupcake liners ready to be filled with chocolate batter.




Chocolate batter ready to fill the cupcake liners. :)




Yummy chocolate frosting waiting for the cupcakes to be baked and cooled.




The frosted cupcakes ready to be adorned with some Ninjago goodness. :)




And here we are, some chocolatey birthday treats for the class to enjoy!

Month In Photos - February 2012

This is my month in photos collage for February.



To create your own photo collage and join in the fun, you can download the template the I use for my month in photos at simple as that.

Birthday Wishes

Happy Birthday to this little boy who is growing up too fast!

Seven years ago you came into my world, and my life has never been the same. I love you my sweet boy. So much!




And this is what Mateo got for his birthday. A Ninjago Lego set. He can't wait to build it! :)

Month in Photos - January 2012

I'm so excited to be participating in this year's Month in Photos. Rebecca of simple as that has created a wonderful new template for 2012. You can download it here.

Month in Photos is a fabulous way to record your photo memories each month and at the end of 2012, you will have a year's worth of memories to reflect upon. My kids and I love looking at the scrapbook from last year.

Here is my collage for January.



The template is 12x12, but I haven't decided if I will keep it at 12x12 or size it down to 8x8. But what I do plan to do is have a blank white sheet of cardstock on the opposite page of the collage and add my journaling.

Then at the end of each month, I am going to print out the collage and journaling and slip them into the page protectors of a scrapbook album.

You could also replace one of the photo squares and add journaling in place of that spot each month. I contemplated doing that, but I usually have lots to say, so I opted to add journaling on a separate blank page.

Here is an example of what I mean about replacing a photo with journaling -



I think it looks great with the journaling replacing a photo in the template too. I may have to do that for some of the months when I don't have as much to say...but that will probably be a rare occasion when it comes to scrapbooking!

Or for a month that I have lots of photos, I can use a mirror image of the template to add a second page of photos and replace some of the photo spots with journaling.

Thanks so much Rebecca for making such a fantastic and versatile template!

2012 Health Show

This past weekend my sister and I went to the 2012 Health Show. This was our third year going and I have to say that it is one of the best shows ever! The health show provides a wealth of information on practical diet, supplement, exercise and lifestyle tips that promote healthier living.

There were tons of booths with over 100 exhibitors. We got to sample lots of tasty food and beverages and learn about innovative health products, services and fitness techniques. And there were tons of free samples to take away. There were also opportunities to shop at most of the boths with special event pricing. Just fabulous!

Here are a few of the samples and information booklets that I got to bring home.









I even got to meet Sam Graci, creator of Greens+ and one of North America's leading experts on nutrition. I also got a free autographed copy of his book, The Path to Phenomenal Health. My sister got one of his other books, The Bone-Building Solution. So when I am finished reading mine and she is finished hers, we can switch. Cool! :)



One booth that I was particulary intrigued with was the Laundry Ball by SmartKlean. A Laundry Ball replaces traditional soaps and detergents to wash your clothes. It also replaces fabric softeners and dryer sheets while conserving water and energy.

The active components inside the Laundry Ball are derived from Earth minerals and are formulated to leave zero residues behind. And since there is no residue, I can skip the rinse cycle on the washing machine and go directly to the spin cycle, thus saving water! Yay!

All this information and the testimonials they had, sold me and I purchased one. I'm really excited to try it, but I'll have to wait a bit because I just opened a big bottle of Ecos Laundry Detergent a couple of weeks ago. So I will have to use that up before I use my Laundry Ball. I'll do a follow up post when I use it and provide a review for any curious minds out there! :)

And introducing my new Laundry Ball...



I loved this health show and will definitely be going again next year!

Snow Day!

Yesterday it had snowed quite a bit overnight, so in the morning, to my kids delight, it was declared a 'no school day' due to the snow.

Mateo, especially, was very excited because he had been praying for quite some time that it would snow. So when the snow finally came he was more than ready to go outside to play.

It only snows here maybe twice a year in the Winter, (if that)! And usually the snow comes and then is gone as quickly as it came. So when it does snow, we have to take advantage of it while it's here.

When we went out in the morning it was really, really cold. It wasn't from the low temperature, but from the chilling wind. The kids played in the front yard while I shoveled the driveway. :) We didn't stay out too long because the wind was really numbing.

We went out again in the afternoon, but played in the backyard this time. The wind, for some reason, in the back was not nearly as chilly as it had been in the front so we stayed out for quite some time.




Mateo loved throwing the snow up in the air and having it fall all over him.







What better thing than playing with trucks in the snow?




Mateo was pretending he was a snow plow and making paths all throughout the ground.



Mateo thought it would be fun to bury the trucks.




And this is one of the five glittery snowflakes that I have hanging from our pergola. I haven't taken them down yet from Christmas. I just may leave them up for a little while longer. I think they look kinda pretty. :)

Where Are the New Wall Prints?

I just haven't had as much time as I would like to design new wall prints for my Etsy shop. There are just not enough hours in the day (even though I really need more sleep!).

I am slowly getting back into creating wall prints because I REALLY miss it. I have so many ideas for new prints written down in my notebook and am itching to get back at it!

I absolutely love the process of creating a wall print from start to finish, tweaking it along the way until I am completely happy with how it looks and want it hanging on my wall! Some wall prints look exactly how I envisioned it, while others look completely different then how I thought it would look.

Last night I listed a new print called Be Mine. Here is to one of many new wall prints! :)

Sugar Cookie Fun

Just before Christmas, the kids and I made some sugar cookies complete with frosting and sprinkles. We had so much fun.




Mateo and Tobias clowning around with the cookie cutters before the actual cutting started.




Mateo's favorite to cut out were the gingerbread, snowman, present, and tree shapes.




Tobias didn't really have a preference, he was just happy to be using the cookie cutters. :)




Big brother directing little brother what to do and where to cut. :)




Now the real fun starts with the decorating...a frosting and sprinkle mess! But all is GOOD! :)




Tobias had fun decorating at first, but then he decided he wanted to stop and EAT a cookie instead. :) So Mateo and I finished decorating them.


This is the recipe that I used to make the cookies -

The Best Rolled Sugar Cookies

Ingredients
1 1/2 cups butter, softened
2 cups white sugar
4 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
5 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt

Directions
1. In a large bowl, cream together butter and sugar until smooth. Beat in eggs and vanilla. Stir in the flour, baking powder, and salt. Cover, and chill dough for at least one hour (or overnight).

2. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Roll out dough on floured surface 1/4 to 1/2 inch thick. Cut into shapes with any cookie cutter. Place cookies 1 inch apart on ungreased cookie sheets.

3. Bake 6 to 8 minutes in preheated oven. Cool completely.