Santa was here!

When I first saw how little was under the tree I was like OMG poor Ty is getting nothing this Christmas.

Then I realized a few things. He didn't have a huge list, he has been spoil all month by family members and his birthday is a month away. Oh yeah and he has a room filled with toys.

I have to remind myself that we didn't add to out debt this Christmas since we paid cash for everything we bought this year and that Christmas isn't all about how you got but about giving to others and being there for others.

The best part was he loved everything he got and didn't feel at all like he was missing out!

As for me I finally got a KINDLE!!! I am so happy with it! Plus I got a surprise gift the Ty picked out. He picked out jammies and a hat, mittens, scarf set!

Matt got a new controller thingy for his fleet of r/c helicopters and Ty picked him out a Camo Snuggie and the Clapper...yes the Clapper!

Hope everyone had a great Christmas!

Christmas Ornamants

I made a few Christmas ornaments for the tree this year.

Nothing fancy just rolled paper and some ribbon. They made a great addition in the tree and they are light weight so they don't pull down on the branches of the tree.






I had a lot of fun making these and even my son got to help!

Frilly Tree

My super creative friend Chez(blog on the side...must check it out)made these SUPER cute frilly trees for Crate Paper project. So once I saw them I had to make them. So off to the craft store I go.

I picked up a cute topiary tree to make my frilly tree!

I used My Minds Eye pattern paper, K&Co chipboard embellishments and diamond dust around the inside of the "pot" of the tree. I wish I could have found some fringe scissors....it would have made the cutting the pattern paper much easier.

So here is my vision of the Chez frilly trees!






Thanks for looking!

Time is Flying

I can't believe it is the 8th of December already!

This past weekend was the Christmas gathering with my cousins from my mom's side of the family. It had been a while since we have all been together because of every one's schedules. It was great seeing everyone and getting to reconnect! They also spoiled my son with lots of Christmas presents. He was in heaven!

I can't wait to see how some of the pictures came out and will post when I get them uploaded.

As far as Christmas goes I only have one more present to buy and that one is for the hubby. Otherwise all presents are bought and in gift bags. I normal wrap but this year I am going the gift bag route.

All I have left to do is some baking for this weekends Christmas gathering for Matt's family and taking out Christmas picture, making the card and sending those out. Thank goodness for digital scrapbooking and Send Out Cards!

Thanks for reading!

Taking a break

I was hoping to get another crafty project up today but I am having a problem with my computer.

I may have to retake the pictures and upload then to the hubby's so I can share some more projects!

Since I am had some time today in between meeting with several people on dad's care giving team. I uploaded a new background for the Christmas season!

Alright I have to work on a few things for my jewelry business before I pick up Ty from school.

Check back tomorrow for a crafty project!

Day 3 Christmas Crafts

I had so much fun rolling the pattern paper and hot glueing the wreath I decided to make a few smaller ones. They can be hung as wreaths or hung on a tree as a big ornament.





I have been having so much fun making these that I am thinking I may have to get some more paper and make a few more as gifts for some of my friends!

Thanks for checking out my Blog and thank you paperissues.blogspot.com for this challenge!

Day 2 of Christmas Crafts

So I fell in love with a Wreath my friend Jenny Chesnick(link to her blog is on the right) made a few months ago. She was even teaching a how to make this yummy wreath class about an hour away but the weekends she was teaching the class fell on weekends that did not work with our schedule here in the over scheduled Chamberlain household.

So I got inspired this weekend to make on my own. It is no where near as awesome as Jenn's but I am still pretty pleased with the out come!

So here it is!




Thanks for the inspiration Chez!

Getting Crafty for Christmas

Over the next few days I will be posting some Christmas projects I have been working on over the past few days.

Today's project I am posting is some altered star ornaments.

I bought these star ornaments a few years ago at an after Christmas sale. That year I had cover other stars with pattern paper but for this year I wanted to do something a bit different.

So I painted 2 of the 3 stars I had....let them dry and then I cut out some snow flake circles with my scalloped scissors from My Mind's Eye Sweet Dreams Holiday Avenue.

I am going to giving one of these stars to my mail carrier, one I will be taking part in my extended families ornament exchange and one will be going on our tree.





I enjoyed making these fun ornaments! Thanks for check them out!

PS If you are looking for an awesome blog for inspration or a challenge...Check out this Blog Paper Issues http://paperissues.blogspot.com/2010/11/holiday-hook-up.html

Being Thankful!

So it is 3 days before Thanksgiving and I have decided it was time to make a list of all the things that I am thankful for in my life. Sometimes I have so much going on that I forget to reflect on all the great things I have in my life and push the negative aside because the good always out weighs the bad.

I am thankful for.....

my loving and wonderful hubby! He deals with all my madness! He is also a wonderful father!

my amazing son! He is becoming a wonderful kid! He never stops surprising me!

another year with my dad! It is not easy taking care of him day in and out but I wouldn't change it!

my brother getting his life on track! He is going to school working a degree and has met a wonderful young lady!

my friends!I have been be blessed with a great friends since moving to DE and ones I have had for years!

I have a roof over my head! We have a beautiful home and we love it!

I have great in laws! They love taking Ty for a few days so Matt and I can have a break!

It has been a rough year but looking at this list makes me smile!

Thanks for reading and have a great Thanksgiving!

Getting in the Spirit

So things have been a bit crazy around here the past month and a half. I will get into that with a later blog post. This blog post is about getting into the Christmas Spirit.

I haven't been in much of the lets celebrate mood. I didn't even get anything up for Halloween and I doubt I am going to get anything up for Thanksgiving. But I caught the Christmas creating bug while shopping at the craft store yesterday.

Here is a wreath I created.

I cut out circle and square shapes and on some of the shapes I used my scalloped paper shapers to make a scalloped edge. I glued those shapes together and used an eyelet at the top for the ribbon to thread through. I added ribbon, bow and some holly to complete the look.

Here are a few picture's of the finished project.






Thanks for visiting!

Coming up for air

WOW it is the middle of September already!

Things have been a little crazy with summer ending, school starting and dad coming home.

We had a great summer with lots of fun trips and great memories.

School started on time for Ty and he seems to really like the new school and teachers!

Dad came home Sept 8th and it is great having him home! I think he missed Matt and I but I think he missed Ty more.

With all the adjusting over I am in full swing Jewelry Party mode for the fall! I am looking forward to a good sales quarter! I have a ton of motivation for a Seminar I went to at the end of August and I am LOVING the coaching I am getting!

Most of all I am starting to feel a balance between being a stay at home mom/caregiver, business owner and most of I have put crafting back into my life. Creating really helps me let of the maddness and focus on making something beautiful. That had been missing for almost two years but the creative MOJO is back!

Thanks for reading!

Don't fall over......

But I have another layout to share this week!

I had so much fun using the Crate Paper layout for the Scrap Gal Fall Haul Blog Hop that I had to do another!

Here is layout #2 using that AWESOME paper line!




I am sure I will have another one done by end of the week.

I also have some other projects to share but I will save those for another post!

Thanks for stopping by!

Welcome!

Welcome to my blog! If you're here for the Scrap Gal Fall Haul Blog Hop you're in the right place! But if you just found us hop on over to the Gal Blog www.thegalblog.blogspot.com to get started.

This layout is of my son's first day of Pre-K. He was so happy to be going to school at his new school. I used Crate Paper for the pattern paper and chipboard embellies and American Crafts Thickers.

You should have arrived at my blog from Judy's www.justbeingjudy.blogspot.com

and you are going toRita's www.letsembellish.blogspot.com .

I will be holding a drawing for some RAK for those leaving a comment. I will announce the winner on Monday!

Be sure to finish at the Gal Blog for a prize!

For more fun, games, challenges and prizes be sure to join us this weekend at the Scrap Gal Fall Haul Crop! Crop Forum www.scrapgal.com/scraptalk/viewforum.php?f=43 I look forward to seeing you there.

ScrapGal Blog Hop TOMORROW!

Losing my mind!

Here is the story of how I am going to lose my mind(this week).

My son was tested in July for early child intervention for speech and motor skills. So he tested with delays about a year behind his age for motor and a bigger speech delay. They think his motor delay will get better once the speech is corrected. So with these delays he qualifies for early intervention services. Meaning free preschool through the school district. I was told some would call me to register him for school and he will going 5 half day days in the afternoon at his feeder school(the one right around the corner). So I heard nothing and I started calling around to see why I haven't heard anything and with school starting in less then 2 weeks I am starting to freak out. Especially since I canceled his registration at the preschool I was going to send him too. So I finally talked with someone and they said they have NO record of him needing these services.

I AM GOING TO LOSE IT ON SOMEONE IF THIS DOESN'T GET FIGURED OUT SOON!!!!!!

Ok I feel better!

Jimmy Buffett

Last Tuesday a few friends and I heading to Camden, NJ to spend the day in a parking lot with lots of food and of course booze!

We had a great day dispite the heat!

We saw lots interesting people and many laughs!

The concert was great and even started planning for next's tailgate and concert!

They say its my BIRTHDAY

So today I turn 30!

This morning I woke up feeling really blessed to have my life. It may not be an easy one but I wouldn't trade it!

I am lucky to have a wonderful hubby!

I have a great kid who makes me laugh everyday!

I have great family!

I have great friends!

SO here is to my next 30+years!

Summer wrap up

Wow what a summer!

We have been very busy this summer!

June

We spent 10 great days in Ireland touring around and visiting my family! I was great to reconnect with family I haven't seen in over 18 yrs. It was also great to see dad with his brothers!

July

We took a trip to Western Pennsylvania for Matt's moms family reunion. We also took a few days to tour around out there. We drove over 1,000 miles in 5 days. But we saw all kind of fun things like Horseshoe Curve, Altoona Train Museum, a ton of small towns and the town went to college in. We also had a great time connecting with Matt's moms family and some even drove from Texas to join us!

August

Well the month isn't over yet but I will tell you what we have planned. We had a dinner with some of Matt's dads family and a beach day. We are heading to tailgate and see Jimmy Buffett in Concert tomorrow. Wednesday a beach day with a friend I haven't seen in a while. My 30th Birthday is on the 15th and I we are planning on making a trip to Hershey Park before school starts on the 31st.

I really can't believe that school starts in less then 3 weeks!

Thanks for reading!

Hello August

Wow August already!

School starts in 3 weeks for Ty. He will be going to half day preschool at the local elementary school this coming year. He is not to happy about the school change but it is going to be a good one for him. This will be the school he will be going to until the 5 grade and he will be able to make some local friends.

So I am going through clothes and making lists of what we will need to be school ready! We are also trying to get every bit of of the summer we have left! This week is concert with friends and then a beach day!

I have also been busy booking my fall calendar with lots of shows!

I am thinking my next blog will be a summer recap!

But until then I am leaving you this yummy recipe my mother-in-law gave me.

1 large Zucchini
1 jar of salsa
1 green pepper
1 pound sausage
1 cup shredded Cheddar cheese

Preheat over to 350

Cut the zucchini in half and part boil 5-10mins. Remove from water and hollow out seeds. Place in baking dish.
Brown sausage and add pepper add sausage mixture to hollowed out zucchini
spread the jar of salsa over the zucchinis
then sprinkle cheese and bake for 30-40mins

Instead of sausage try turkey sausage, ground beef or turkey.

We are having this for lunch today! Yum!

Hello Mid-July

Is this summer flying by or what?!?!?!

So I am on the quest to find balance in my life.

I feel like I always being pulled in all kinds of directions and never in the direction I need to be going.

I am taking a year long course with Steve Wiltshire with Lifeline Coaches. I am hoping this course will help me be a better Jewelry Rep, Wife, Mother and Friend.

I have also started using a timer to limit my time on the Internet/computer and I am also using it so I can get through tasks I don't like....like cleaning the bathroom, putting laundry away....stuff like that.

I also thought I needed a redo on my office set up. So I can be more productive in my space. So I spent the day rearranging. The pictures are at the top of the post.

Thanks for reading!

The end June your here already

So the summer feels like it is just flying by!

I can't believe it is Wednesday June 30th already!

So I had a productive first half of the week. I started a facebook page for one of my direct sales business and I booked a show in September for the same business! I had taken a break from this business for a few months so I can get my health on track. Which I have plan for my health and it is in play. So I am getting back into having show/parties for my jewelry business!!! I have missed doing this so much. I love giving the gift of free jewelry and a fun night out to women!!!I am hoping to get about 3-4 shows/parties a month. I have been busy making a list of who to call and of events coming up in the area where I can meet new people and potential hostesses.

This rebirth of my jewelry business also comes at the perfect time. The first day of the new fiscal year is tomorrow and I want to set and keep my goal for this sales year. Tomorrow I will sit down and make my goals for quarter one. I feel that breaking the year down in quarters will help me stay focused and not feel overwhelmed by the bigger picture.

I am also excited that the company I sell greeting cards for has launched a new product and once I get money saved up I am going to get the new product and I am going to be able to sell cards retail for $2.99(postage included). I am looking forward to learning all about this new product and I hope people will see what an awesome company and product they have!

Well I am going to spend the last half of this week at beach! We like to get in and out of the beach area before the crowds start to race in for the big holiday weekend!

Thanks for reading and have a great 4th of July weekend!

Social Anxiety

This week I signed Ty up for VBS(vacation bible school) at one of the local Churches. I have big plans to paint, work out and plan my Sterling Vault sale coming(as soon as I plan it).

Ty did great the first two days walked right in and came out those days talking about how much fun he had.

Well today he was a little teary when I was dropping him off. I told him I would be back at noon and that after I picked him we were going to go swimming. He said okay mommy. I leave head to the gym. I get on the bike for 15 mins and then headed for Body Pump. So as I setting for BP my cell phone rings and it the VBS. Ty wants to talk to me. He says he misses me and whats me to get him. I put my stuff away and go and get him. He was fine when I got there so I think I am going to try again tomorrow.

I have been trying to get him out of his social anxiety. When he first started going to preschool he would cry and cry. Then he started getting sick when we walked into the classroom. This whole thing stresses me out because I want him to have fun and enjoy the fun he can having at school or at VBS. I also have a lot of work planned to get done during these weeks of camp. Like setting up extra help for me with dad when he gets back. Working on getting a better grip on working my two businesses and the balance of keeping up the house.

SO I am going to try again tomorrow and I am going to send to the other camps I have planned for him this summer and pray it helps him get over this social anxiety.

Another month has gone by

Wow I can't believe another month has gone by and I have been a bad blogger.

So what has been going on the last month.

I was busy the last part of May packing up the whole family for our first international trip. That's right the whole family. We took dad over to Ireland to spend the summer with his brother.

So lots of calls to airline to make sure things were set up my dad. Since he can't walk we had to make special arrangements to get him on and off the plane. It was much easier then I thought it would be and we had tons of help getting on and off the plane and getting around the airport and customs.

Once on the ground in Dublin and got all our bags(just under 10 bags; carry ons included) we met my uncle and cousin at the airport and started our 4 hour drive to Killybegs(the town my dad is from). We stopped had lunch at the halfway point and then piled back in the car for the last leg of our journey.

Finally we arrived at my uncles and greeting the rest of his family. I went and took a nap after being up over 30+ hours this mama needed to see the back of her eyelids. The nap was refreshing and then we started to settle in for our 8 days visit.

There was a revolving door of family coming and going to visit with us and dad. We also took some day trips to different tourist sites around the area. All and all it was great spending some time with the family those 8 days.

Then we were off to Dublin for 2 days. We tour Dublin by city bus and stopped at the Zoo and Guinness for a drink for mom and dad!

We are looking forward to our next trip to Ireland!

Time Flies

Wow I can't believe that we are in mid-May already!

So I have been busy jump starting my Jewelry business. I took some time off to work on getting healthy after I was dignosed with Diabetes this past November.

I am slowly workingmy way back to booking shows and getting out to vendor events. I feel like if I take this one step at a time it will help come up with the best plan to balance everything going on in my life. Slow and steady wins the race right?

I particated in a vendor event this past weekend. I think it went well. I had one potental party coming of the day and I sold some retired pieces. So all and all a good day!

I am currently working on a putting together a summer kick off party/retirement sale for the pieces in my kit that have retired. The list came out last Friday and I have about 60 pieces. I am so looking forward to the new pieces coming out this July! I know it is going to be so hard picking what pieces to buy and not go over budget.

Tomorrow I am hoping to spend some time sending cards to past clients just to say!

Thanks for reading!

So I am Starting a Blog

I decided the other day that I am going start a blog all about my life as a SAHM/WAHM(stay at home mom/work at home mom).

Here is a little background on me. I am an Independent Rep for a Direct Sales company specializing in BEAUTIFUL Sterling Silver Jewelry. I am also a Independent Distributor for a cool card company.

I am also wife to a wonderful man named Matt that works very hard for our family so I get to stay at home with our son and sell my jewelry and cards. I am mom to Ty who turn 4 this past January. He is full of energy and he keeps me on my toes all day long. He is a strong welled child and I am strong willed mom so it gets interesting in our house! I am also the primary caregiver to my dad who suffered and massive heartache and stroke in June of 2006(6 months after the birth of my son). So I am part of that Sandwich Generation but I an exception to the rule since I am only 29. I am also tackling my weight issues. I am trying to loss weight so we can have a second child.

I also have a few hobbies I LOVE. Those include but not limited too scrap booking, photography, knitting, reading, hiking and my new love taking classes at the gym.

So why am I starting this blog you ask. I needed to find away to keep my accountable with my businesses and I wanted to share my story with others so they are not alone in this crazy world if they are juggling 45 balls at once and some days it feels like they are all going to come crash down at once.

I can't promise I will blog every day or every week or that my spelling and grammar with be at its best but I am going to try and blog as often as I can and remember to proofread and use spell checker! But my one hope it to keep it entertaining!

Thanks for reading!