I've started using My Plate at Live Strong to track my eating and I LOVE it. It makes it so easy to keep track of everything, especially since there's an app for it so I can use my iPod to record what I eat when I'm not at my computer. :)
Hi, My Name Is Ellie…
It seems like so long since I last posted anything but new products and freebies, that I think maybe people have forgotten me. :lol: I’ve been busy with real life (who hasn’t been?!) and let myself fall into the routine of just posting when there’s something new in the shop. So I thought I’d talk about myself for a bit and what’s been going on (try to contain your excitement). LOL
We have been caught in the awful economy with my husband losing his job and not being able to find another – not just another in his field, but another at all. 2010 was a very rough year. We’re hoping that 2011 will be better and he’ll be able to find something soon. But life hasn’t been all bad! Early last year we moved into a new house and that has been wonderful. We’ve lived in apartments most of our married lives and having a house with a yard for the boys to play in has been better than awesome!
The boys also moved to a new school, which I was apprehensive about since I LOVED their old school, but I shouldn’t have worried. Their new school is just as wonderful and I adore their teacher and therapists! The boys turned four in September, but they have some developmental delays so they go to a special preschool and they love it. Luke has just been diagnosed as being autistic. I had been thinking this for a couple of years now, but no one would diagnose him. The doctors just kept telling me that the boys were simply a little delayed and they would catch up. So we finally have a diagnosis for Luke and are working on a diagnosis for Adam. I don’t believe he’s autistic, but he might be. He does have sensory issues and is just barely starting to speak real words with real intent. Anyway, Luke was just transferred to a new school with a program better equipped for his needs, so he and Adam are split up for the first time in their lives but they are both coping with it great! With the boys settled I am feeling much more settled, too. The only thing I really don’t like is that they catch every little cold or cough that comes around at school and bring it home. They are sick so much! Is that normal? They aren’t normally sickly kids (they weren’t sick at all through the summer break), but for some reason they seem to be sick a lot since starting school.
I’ve been trying to scrap more this year and with that in mind I signed up for a journaling class called Tell Me More by Chelle of Chelle’s Creations at ScrapMatters. So far, so good! I like to scrap, but I never journal enough, so this should be a great class for me. Speaking of scrapping, here are a couple of layouts I’ve done in the last little while. (And while I do use my own designs to scrap with sometimes, by the time I’m done designing them I need a break from them, so I scrap a lot with other designers, too! You’ll notice that I’m a big fan of Flergs.)
And I think that Luke might be taking after me and getting into doodling! Check out his artwork on the living room wall (sorry about the lighting!):
He loves to draw these little happy people! I know, I know, we DO try to keep the Sharpies away from him, but the kid is a houdini and can get into/on top of/through anything! You can’t tell from the photo, but this little beauty is about four feet tall. :lol: There are five more of them in his bedroom and I really need to paint over them, but they are so cute that I find myself procrastinating. Of course, he did get a scolding for this, but I can’t help feeling a little proud of him, too.
Alrighty, I’ve got sick kids and they’re waking up so I need to run, but I’m going to try to post just regular stuff about life on my blog at least once a week, so I’ll be back to bore you with more later! LOL
Have a great week!
I Scrapped!
The boys are back in school and I actually have a few hours to myself four days a week. Yay! So after I spent the first few days napping, cleaning, and running errands I decided it was time to scrap. 
I eased myself back into it with a template from the Shabby Princess and a couple of kits from Flergs (Tuesday’s Child, Shenanigans and In Bloom). I usually like lighter colored layouts, but the dark browns looked too good to resist.
Thanks for looking!
New Kits at Scrapable!
Before I get into the new stuff, I have to tell you what my husband brought me today. First, let me say that I’ve stopped drinking soda and am all about water these days, but then my husband came home from the store with this…
The last time I had Pineapple Crush, which was by far my favorite soda when I was a kid, was when I was about 8 years old. My first sip had me closing my eyes and I could swear I was back in Hawaii, riding in the back of my dad’s VW Beetle in a towel and wet swimsuit with sand on my feet and a cold can of Pineapple Crush in my hand, straight from the coldcase in the IGA in Haleiwa! What awesome, awesome memories! *sigh*
What is it for you that takes you back to those good times in your childhood? I know that it can happen with any number of things – scents, sounds, sights! – one single moment and you’re transported back. Have you had an experience like that recently?
Well, back to real life now. lol
I have two new kits out at Scrapable this week. The first is a boy kit called Snips & Snails, great for little guys! And, of course, it’s 30% off this weekend!
And I have a girl kit (which I used on my blog here) called Sugar & Spice. It’s filled with everything nice! Okay, maybe not everything, but quite a few things anyway. lol Also 30% off this weekend…
And here are some layouts by my CT (and me)!
In other news, Sunshine Studio will be closing for a couple of weeks for remodeling! When we come back we’ll be celebrating our 2nd birthday with fun stuff like chats, challenges, speed scraps, prizes, and grab bags! Fun stuff! In the meantime we’ll be having a daily blog train (starts May 16th, I believe), so don’t forget to check back for that!
Have an amazing weekend!
Happy Mother’s Day
Happy Mother’s Day to all of you wonderful moms and future-moms out there! I hope your families spoil you rotten today!
And to my own mother, who I am so very, very grateful for…
I’m Going On A Date
It’s been a long time.. no, a REALLY long time since my husband and I have been out on a date. I almost don’t remember what it’s like to go out, just the two of us. But my birthday is coming up and my in-laws have volunteered to take the kids for a while so Chris and I can go out. We’re going out tonight, since the timing works for everyone. I am VERY excited! We’re just going to dinner and a movie, but we’re going alone! I get to drop the “mom hat” for a while and just be Ellie. You know I love my kids more than life itself, of course, but it’s been a while since I’ve been Just Ellie and I kind of miss her.
Oh, and I’m having a birthday sale this weekend (I’ll send out a newsletter as a reminder later in the week) and I have three new things coming out. I can’t wait to show you!
I’m off to enjoy my day – I hope you enjoy yours, too! 
Cinnamon Rolls and Weight Loss
My post title makes it sound like I know a way to eat cinnamon rolls and lose weight. I don’t, unfortunately. lol Those are just the things that are on my mind right now.
So yesterday I decided I wanted to cook a few things from The Pioneer Woman’s site and I finally decided on her Mac & Cheese, BBQ Meatballs, and Cinnamon Rolls. They all turned out SOOO yummy! Although I wasn’t paying attention when I started the cinnamon rolls and I ended up accidentally doubling the recipe!!! (That’s what happens when you have 2 three year olds buzzing around the kitchen and getting into everything while you’re trying to cook three things at once!) When I told my husband he was all, “YES!!!” He loves cinnamon rolls. Needless to say, there was no way we could eat 14 pans of them! lol So I put half of the dough in the fridge for later and made the other half. My father-in-law came over and was more than happy to take half of them, so now we just have 3 pans sitting in the kitchen. I’ve been good, though. I only had one last night and one this morning! Could have been worse! lol
Speaking of being good, I’ve decided to really buckle down and try to lose some weight (now that I’ve gotten the cinnamon rolls out of my system). I think the only time I’ve been a normal weight was when I was a kid and when I first started college. Otherwise I’ve been everything from slightly chubby to seriously obese and back and forth. The last few years I was just too tired to care about my weight at all, but now that I can’t claim baby weight and I actually do have some free time while the boys are in school for part of the day I have no excuse not to get myself into shape. My problem is not knowledge, I know what I need to do. I have meals and exercise all planned out, I just need to follow them. (I’m a huge fan of Body for Life!!! It helped me have the best body of my life several years ago.) My problem is motivation. How do you get (and stay) motivated? Some days I’m all ready to face the world and others I’m just like, Blah, who cares? It’s those Blah days I need to get past. What do you do to keep yourself motivated?
Out to Lunch
Or maybe “Out to Moving”? We are moving at the end of the week and I am in a mad rush to get everything packed up and ready to go. You’d think that with all of the times I’ve done this that I would be more organized about it by now, but apparently not. So I’m forcing myself off of the computer and packing it up so that I can get stuff done. I am way behind on my emails, so if you’ve emailed me I promise to get back to you as soon as I get my computer back up, but it may be a week or two. If it’s an emergency (like you bought something and can’t get it to download) put “IMPORTANT” in the subject of your email and I’ll have my husband take care of it.
Things will be slower at Sugar Frog Fonts, too, so if you’ve sent us a handwriting sample in the last couple of days it may take a bit longer to get your font back to you.
See you soon!
Happy New Year!
Happy New Year! I hope you all had a wonderful holiday season! Are you ready to get back to regular life yet? Yeah, me neither. :( My parents were here visiting for the holidays and we have been having a WONDERFUL time. They’re leaving on Monday and I am SO sad. They live so far away. I guess I’m lucky that I get to see them once or twice a year, but it would be even nicer if they lived right down the street. They did buy a new house while they were here and my dad will be retiring in a year or so. so eventually they will end up right down the street! In the meantime we will be living in their house. I can’t tell you how happy I am to be moving out of our apartment. 2009 was such a rough year for us with my DH losing his job and everything, but things are getting back on track now. Thank goodness!
Normally I don’t do New Year’s Resolutions, but this year I decided to make a little list:
- Work on improving my health
- Do more service, be more giving, focus on others
- Go back to church (I’ve been inactive for a looooong time and I’m ready to go back, not just for spiritual reasons, but because I really miss having friends and there are always lots of new friends to make at church)
- Spend more time interacting with my children, not just watching them play, but playing with them!
- Make more “Us Time” with my husband. The boys are three years old, it’s time for us to start dating again. lol
- Find things to like about myself and let go of the negative feelings I have about myself.
- Be more positive
It’s an incomplete list, but I think it will keep me busy! lol What about you? Do you have any resolutions for the new year?
Visual Legacies (& a Freebie)
Hi everyone! I normally don’t post much about my children, but I wanted to show some photos that I received today. About a year or so ago I met a wonderful lady online named Larissa. She’s a photographer and recently we got together and she took some photos of my boys. She was so awesome with them and she got some really great photos! Here are a few of my favorites…
Didn’t they turn out great?! If you’re in or around Mesa, AZ and want to have some photos done, I would totally recommend Larissa! Check out her site: Visual Legacies
I also have some holiday gift tags for you!
Thanks for stopping by!
To those of you who celebrate it, have a wonderful Thanksgiving. To those who don’t, have a super weekend!
Multiple Moms – A Question!
Quick personal post here!
Do you dress your kids alike for picture day at school? My twins are in preschool and they are having picture day this week. Normally I don’t dress them alike (I have nothing against it, but they wear different size clothing and their personalities are SO different so they don’t like the same things – cars and trucks versus aliens and dinosaurs, you know! lol). But I was thinking that I might so they’d coordinate. We are having them taken together, as well as individually, so I thought it might be cute to match them up, since it’s not something we usually do with them.
Good idea or cheesy?
