ok, so...

...the potty training really isn't going THAT badly...I'm very surprised! First off, I just wanted to say a big thank-you to all those who posted and shared advice. I've used a little bit of everything over the past couple days and have figured out what works for Payton. So, thank you so much! You can see we made a chart. I actually did this back in November, too, but we never kept up with it...so I decided to try again. Payton is all about stickers, so this has been awesome. And you can see by the stickers....that is a lot of successes she's had...I didn't realise how much one little kid could pee! haha! So anyways, I bought her a little princess potty and we just have it in the family room where she plays and watches her shows and stuff and I found that this was the BEST way to do it. Running up to the bathroom was just way too much of a hassle...this way, whenever she needs to go, the potty's right there. I'm actually surprised how FEW accidents she's had...so I'm happy. We make a major big deal when she pees on the potty...singing, dancing, a sticker on the chart...so she thinks it's great. I am understanding though, that at least for Payton, the hard part wasn't getting her to actually go on the potty...it's me as a parent keeping up with it and being consistent and keeping that pull-up OFF...so there's no turning back now! Of course she wears her pull-up when she sleeps and when we go out right now, but we're definately on our way. Whew!! It has been a busy few days! If I would give anyone advice about potty-training I would pass on what my friend Chelsey shared with me...just let them run around bottomless! It makes things totally easy and fast when the time comes that they need to go to the bathroom...and it's pretty cute, too!

So my mom has the girls today...I'm having my friends over tonight for a major scrapbooking night...so I've been busy cleaning and getting ready for that. So excited!! I still don't know what I'll work on....hmmm...I better get thinkin'! My house feels soooo quiet right now...it's always a shock when I am on my own...Gray even took the dog with him to work today, so the house is feeling very empty. Kinda nice for a few hours!

Like I said, the past few days really were just centered around the potty so I didn't do too much else. I talked to my sister-in-law, Maurita, on the phone yesterday, and it was awesome to chat and catch up. We were on the phone for an hour and a half!! Haha!! We get talkin' and can't stop...we covered everything from our kids to scrapbooking to babies to pregnancy to who knows what else. It was so fun! Maurita just had her third baby...Forrest Tim. We are so happy for Mo and her family and Forrest is definately a little cutie. Congrats, Maurita!!

So everyone, have an awesome weekend, hopefully I'll have some more scrap-stuff to share after tonight!

been scrappin'...

So over the past few weeks I've actually got a lot of scrapbooking done...some of my favorite pages ever!! I just had a hard time sharing with Gray being away and stuff. So here is one of my favorite layouts. It's another 9x9 page, I really am addicted to this size! It's fast and easy and totally not overwhelming...I love it! Check out some more pages here...I think I have like 7 or 8 new layouts to look at!!

It's been great having Gray home...it's amazing how quickly I've slipped back into depending on him to help me out...so pathetic, I know. When I was on my own for that week with the girls I somehow managed to do everything...and now that he's back I just seem to need his help. Oh, well, that's what Daddy's are for, right?

So, it's time to crack down and get Payton potty-trained...we've been using the potty with her since the beginning of November so she totally knows what it's all about...it's just time to enforce it for real. I just haven't been able to commit which means we've had good weeks and bad with "going on the potty"...but it is time. She is such a little girl now, definately too much of a person to be walking around with a daiper. And I'm sick of changing 'em! And daipers for 2 are expensive! So....we have the Dora panties on today, I figure, no daipers or pull-ups while we're at home...how else will she learn? So PLEASE.....if anyone has ANY suggestions or advice for potty-training, I would LOVE to hear them. Honestly! This is no time to read this and not make a comment if you have something to share...hehe! I really just have no idea what I'm doing...I'd love to hear feedback from mommies who have already done this. Wish me luck!!

baby bling!

Okay, so even babies need a little bling sometimes! Hehe! I saw some blinged-out soothers at my hair salon a couple weeks ago and I couldn't resist...so I went home and made one...and seriously, how cute??? I love it! (And just a note...I big time glued the jewels on with a glue-gun...they are not moving! But...we never leave Gabby alone with this soother, it's just for fun when we go out!)


This has been a super busy week...Gray just got back today from dirt-biking in Vegas for a full week. He had lots of fun and I was happy he could go, but it's always nice to have daddy come home!! I love that our family is complete again...and that maybe I'll be getting a little more sleep at night. (hint, hint!) The girls and I did have a fun week, though. I couldn't have done it without my family! Seriously, I am so lucky to have my daughters grandma's and grandpa's and aunts and cousins living close by...Payton had a couple sleep-over's with my parents and everyone just helped me out in general. Taking care of 2 kids is a lot of work when one of them is Payton...hehe! She is hillairious...just sooooo busy and talky and busy....definately the epitomy of a 2 year old....love her so much. Here are some cute pics of the girls before we went out for luch for my mom's birthday on Wednesday. (Happy Birthday, Mom!!)





Like I said we had a busy week....a trip to Walmart on Monday....scrapbooking with Kim (soooooo much fun and so needed!) and playing with Grandma on Tuesday...out for lunch on Wednesday...then Kim and Ryker came over on Thursday....Kim and I had this "great idea" that we'd just hang out with our kids on Thursday, but holy cow was it a gong-show! Seriously, it was totally laughable. Ryker was so tired and desperately needed to go to sleep but refused to and Payton was just wound up beyond belief...if the attention wasn't completely on her she fell apart (like I said, the epitomy of a 2 year old!). So after a couple hours of us trying to hang out, we called it quits. But the thing about good friends is that we can just laugh at it and try again another time!


So now things are winding down and I'm just excited to curl up with my hubby on the couch and watch some TV. That is what I missed while Gray was gone. Hope everyone has a great weekend...let's wish for warm weather! (and here's one last picture of Gabby's ponytail!)

gratitude...

I have so many things to be grateful for in my life. Where do I even begin? In the "Year to Remember" class this week, Heidi encouraged all of us to make a list of all those things we are grateful for...from the small and mundane, to the really big things. How sad that I needed to be reminded to really look at my life, to slow down, and to see all of the things I have been blessed with. As Heidi said to us this week, it is hard to stay in a bad mood when you see ALL of things you have to be thankful for. So here are some things I am grateful for TODAY:


my husband
my daughters
the temple
my home
the Gospel
my Savior
parents who live close by
my sisters and brothers
having 2 cars
online shopping
scrapbooking
my computer
my straightening iron
yummy food
soothers
good music
my talents
good friends
my big, extended family
laughter
prayer
email
my camera
the scriptures
my scrapbook room/stuff
dora the explorer
good books
my bed
my husband's work
hugs
my testimony
magazines
gabby's exer-saucer
mine and my family's health
the opportunity i have to be a mother


The list could go on...take a moment to "be grateful" today!!

a new favorite...

...need I say more? I adore this picture...her face just says it all! hehe!



So, I also wanted to answer a few questions that people have been asking me on my blog over the past month. I'm so sorry I haven't answered them immediately, I'll try to be better at that! So if you ever have any questions about a project that I've shared or whatever, then please, continue to ask away!!


On January 10th regarding these photos, Ashley asked for tips on how I edit pictures in Photoshop:
Okay, this isn't an easy one for me to answer. The main thing I can say is learning how to use photoshop is definately a process. I've had lots of help from my husband...between the 2 of us we've managed to figure things out here and there. I know Kim uses a new version Photoshop Elements and loves it, so if you're new to photoshop, that might be the way to go. Photoshop Elements has "recipes" that help you edit your photos...like changing them to black and white, or sepia or whatever...it kind of does it for you and takes you step by step. Ask Kim about photoshop elements if you're interested in that!
Also, on Elsie's blog a while back, she answered a bunch of photo-editing questions that people had...you can read all those here, she has some awesome step by step tips! (I'm just not the person to ask when it comes to in-depth explanations about photoshop...it can be kinda complex!)
I will share, though, some of my favorite things to do when editing photos just to lighten and brighten them up a bit:
1. Once you've opened your photo in photoshop, go to Image>Adjustments>Levels. This will open up a box where you can adjust the levels of the picture to make it brighter or darker. I always move the arrow on the left towards the center till I'm happy with the color.
2. Another thing I like to do is adjust the brightness and contrast of a photo...this works well with color photos. Go to Image>Adjustements>Brightness/Contrast and play with the little arrows in there till you're happy with the results. Another quick fix! (tip: try adjusting the levels AS WELL AS the brightness and contrast of your picture to get results that you like!)
3. The simplest way to change a photo to black and white: Go to Image>Mode>Grayscale. I almost always play with the levels and brightness after I convert a picture to black and white to make it a little lighter!
I hope this helps you get started with editing your photos...like I said, it is a learning process and can take some time!

On January 17th regarding Gabby's baby album, Starr Mercer asked what the "scripty" font is that I used:
the font is called Scriptina!

On January 17th regarding this chipboard album of Payton, Jenay asked how I cover the entire album:
With a coiled album like this (mine is 7gypsies), you can just take the whole thing apart to cover all the pages! It's really easy and the best way to do it. Just gently pull the coils apart and remove all of the chipboard pages. Then from there, just cover the chipboard using whatever patterned paper or cardstock you want. A glue stick works great to adhere the paper to the chipboard. I like to sand the edges after the paper is attatched...it just looks more finished off that way (to me, anyways!). I just used an exacto knife to cut out the the little holes that the coils go thru...this doesn't have to be perfect, once the whole album is put back together you won't notice if these holes were cut perfectly or not!

On January 22nd regarding these pictures of Payton, Diane asked for some tips on photoshop:
Same answer as above!

On February 14th regarding my little "love" bags, Jessica asked if the word "love" were Heidi Swapp rubons:
Close...they are Heidi Swapp clear acrylic stamps and I looooove them! I have other words, too...forever, family, cherish. They are the best! (and only like $4/stamp approx)


So I hope this helps you guys out a little bit! Like I said, if you ever have any other questions, please ask, and I'll try to answer them sooner. Hope everyone is having a good Saturday...mine has been great so far. Gray and I took the girls out and made a few stops (one of them being the scrapbook store...got some really cute new paper that I'm excited to use) and then we just finished cleaniing the house. It was nice to work as a team...got things done a little faster than usual! Now it's time to just chill out as a family...the couch is looking very tempting right now!

Catch ya later! Tal

some V-day *Love*...

Just wanted to share some fun stuff from today...

We're keeping it pretty low-key today...just hanging out, nothing too exciting. Looking forward to Lost and American Idol tonight.

Hope everyone has an awesome day!

xxoooxoxoXoOOOxooxooXX!


UPDATED: Okay, I feel like I'm being *teased* for my "low-key" valentine's day...let me defend myself!!! My mom is out of town visiting my sister and niece and left these little V-day goodie-bags for my girls...totally not my doing. Hehe! It looks a lot more exciting than it was, trust me! And yes, I made some little bags and valentine's for the ladies I visit-teach...but it was too much fun, I had to share! (wink!) As for Gray and I...like I said, our night really did consist only of watching tv and eating. Very romantic! haha!!

just wanted to share...

...my February layout for my "Year to Remember" class. This was so fun to do, but took a LONG time to finish...look at how many pictures are on this thing!! So fun...all the people I love on one page! You can see more of my page here.

We're not doing too much today...it's cold outside, so I'm keeping the girls in. Maybe we'll have a nap together or something exciting like that! I had a good weekend, but it always goes by too fast...before I know it, it'll be Friday again I'm sure.

Happy Monday everyone!!

guess who's 27...

.....ME!! Hehe!




Yesterday was my 27th birthday, and let me tell you, my husband made it an awesome one. Where do I begin? Gray surprised me with a trip to the spa to get a manicure and pedicure...it was so fun! I've never even had a manicure before (mostly because I'm a nail biter) so this was a treat. It was so nice to go out and get pampered while gray stayed home with the girls...and I think they were more than happy to have daddy home with them! After I was done I went to my LSS and bout some scrap stuff....it was my birthday, of course scrapbooking had to make it in there somewhere! When I got home Gray and payton greeted me at the door with this cake:

....as if this isn't the cutest thing ever. They wanted to decorate my birthday cake "like a scrapbook page"....how sweet is that? I honestly have the cutest family...made me so happy. Payton was so excited, she was jumping up and down saying, "look, mommy! Cake! Cake!" I spent the afternoon reading birthday emails and getting lots of birthday phone calls...honestly, i was kind of overwhelmed with all of the people that thought of me yesterday...it was so sweet. Thank you so much to everyone who called, emailed and left me a message...totally made my day and meant so much. Made me realise how many amazing people I have in my life!


When Gray got home from work he brought me flowers (my favorite--gerbera daisies) and had a made a reservation for us for dinner...I told you, he didn't forget anything yesterday! So before we headed out to drop my kids off at my sisters we took a few WAY LESS THAN PERFECT photos...but at least we got some. I love the one of Payton and Gabby looking at eachother.






Dinner was so awesome....we ate waaaaaay too much and it was so nice to just sit and chat and eat with my hubby. When we were all done the waiter asked if we wanted dessert and Gray was quickly like, "no thanks"....but of course the waiter showed up a few minutes later with this ridiculously huge dessert...just another thing that Gray had planned before hand. Can he be any sweeter???




So like I said, it was an awesome day...but it doesn't end there! This morning Gray sent me BACK to the spa for a coconut scrub, a mud bath AND a massage!! AAAahhh! So I am feeling VERY relaxed, pampered, spoiled, lucky and loved. Thanks, babe for an amazing birthday. Love you!! Now I'm just chillin' with my girlies and then I'm going out with Kim and A tonight....we always do the traditional birthday dinner together. I can't wait. It's been an awesome couple days!!! And you know what? I may be closer to 30 than I am to 20 but OH, WELL...life is good. And I still feel like I'm 21!

i'm feelin' the LOVE...

So I've been in a "valentine-y" mood the last couple days. I don't really have any V-day decorations so I thought I'd make something cute, and I am so excited about my Valentine's Photo Garland. It was really easy to do...I made the shapes using Elsie's font "2PsLovebug" and then just decorated away...so fun. You can see more images of my garland here.




Then I also made these valentine's this week (let's hope I manage to send them out!!) as well. For my Year to Remember class we're focusing on people we love this month so that's why I made these. And yes, to anyone who is taking the class...I totally copied Heidi's valentine's, but I couldn't help myself!! They were just TOO CUTE not to copy them. Hehe!




And here is my February calendar that hangs on my fridge...I didn't get around to buying a calendar this year for the kitchen where we write EVERYTHING down, so I made my own...and it's way more fun than a store bought one! Like I said, I've been in the V-day mood...been playing with lots of pink, red and hearts! I told you...I'm feelin' the love!

my baby ballerina

Okay, so I am a picture takin', photo-editing maniac lately! My sister took Payton out for lunch yesterday and I took the chance I had to get some pictures of Gabby on her *6 month* birthday!! It was so fun...but hard to take pics of this little munchkin! She's pretty squirmy and just kept rolling all over the place, but I managed to get some ones that I love. Oh how I love my little girls!! And Gabby got to celebrate her half-birthday yesterday with some yummy, baby food apples for supper....she was very cute trying to eat them, but totally enjoyed it. I can't believe she's already 6 months old! Crazy.

It's been another busy week since I blogged last...my closet was driving me crazy, so last Thursday I totally cleaned it out and got rid of 4 GARBAGE BAGS of clothes!! It was so liberating and so nice to get rid of so much stuff...I'm all about keepin' it simple lately. I challenge anyone who's reading this to get rid of those clothes that you just don't wear anymore...chances are, if you haven't worn something in the past 6 months, you won't be missin' it when it's gone. And the funny thing is, I still have a closet FULL of clothes...only now it's just full of stuff that I actually wear.

Today has been a funny day...I'm embarrassed to admit that I took a 3 hour nap this afternoon while Gabby was sleeping. My mom took Payton to her house to play (all Payton says to me latley is "I want play Nana's house") and when gabby went to sleep I totally crashed. It was heaven...I don't think I've had a nap that long since I was pregnant with Gabby. It was lovely.

I've done some scrapping this week and I worked on my "Year to Remember" calendar. I love escaping down to my room to play...and Gray is so great about giving me the time to do that. Check out some of my new layouts here and my calendar here.

Did I mention how much I love these pictures of Gabby???

beautiful girl...

I took these pictures of Payton on Saturday and once again...I am in love. My beautiful little girl. This was so much fun...she was totally happy and smiling and willing for me to take pictures...don't ask me how that happened! But since then I've been on the computer playing around with editing them...wanting to scrap some of them but scared I can't do them justice...she's just too cute! Hehe! (remember, I'm her mama, I'm allowed to gush!) These pictures were inspired by Rebecca Cooper, an amazing photographer and scrapbooker.

Just wanted to share these before I head off to bed!

baby shower stuff!

I just thought I'd share some pictures from Kim's baby shower last night. I took these just before the shower started and then I totally forgot to take pictures DURING the shower! Aaahh! Can you believe I didn't get one picture of Ryker...so silly. Oh, well. We had fun and lots of people came. It's always nice to connect with people that you don't see on a regular basis...lots of girls that Kim and I grew up with and now we have tons of kids running around! So crazy how things change.

So these pictures aren't the best (I had to use the flash which I hate to do!) but I wanted to share some of the stuff i did...some "Ryker" water bottles (I got this idea from Heidi's blog over a year ago...I've been waiting to use it!!), a centerpiece using Kim's baby announcement, a diaper cake, a little jar of baby advice. We played one little game and I was going to do another one, but I didn't want to get all "Monica" on everyone...if everyone's happy, why bother them with a lame game, right? hehe! (I'm referring to Monica on "Friends"...she always cracks me up!)

Anyways, just a quick post...can you believe it's the weekend already???

believe it or not...

...I still scrapbook!

I just haven't had much time to do anything lately due to Christmas, kids and just LIFE in general. So I just wanted to share the few things that I HAVE been working on. The first is Gabby's baby album. I did the same thing for Payton...a 2page spread for every month of her life and then special occasions and stuff. I love this album...I put it ALL together before Gabby was even born, so all I have to do is add the photos and journalling every month. I just wanted to make it as simple as possible to guarantee that it would actually get done. It's been working so far...I still manage to get a little bit behind, but as long as I stay on top of the journalling, I don't mind if I get a bit behind on adding the photos.




Another little album I just finished is this one of Payton. I included a picture of her for every month in 2006...I can't believe how much she has chnaged in just a year!! This was a fun one to do, and again, really simple. Check out the rest of the album here.









So this is a page that I did for an online class that I'm taking called " A Year to Remember". It's taught by one of my all-time favorite scrapbookers, Heidi Swapp, and I am soooooo excited about this class! It's a year long and we'll be completing a calendar (a layout for every month) but it goes beyond just scrapbooking....every week we get a new assignment and an audio message from Heidi. Our first assignment was to set a goal that we want to achieve this year, and a completion date for that goal. My goal....to dance onstage again. Some people may think that this isn't a very big deal considering dancing was my life up until I got married...but since i've had my kids I haven't danced at all...and I miss it. And the thought of being onstage totally scares me. But it's something I want to do, and just a little piece of me that I want to get back. So now that I've put it out there, I guess I better do it, right? Hehe! So if any of you are interested in taking scrapbooking classes from the comfort of your own home, go an check out Big Picture Scrapbooking...there's some really cool stuff over there.

(Oh, and ps....Kim took these pictures for me last week...it was fun. I thought it would be alot easier to pose and move around...not so much. I soooo have to work on balance, control, flexibility, everything...this definately will not be an easy goal!!)

This has been another busy week...Payton keeps me on my toes. She hasn't been wanting to nap and it's always funny to watch her emerge from her room. Today she came out of the room with her Dora blankie over her head so I "couldn't see her"....seriously, I totally cracked up. She was just standing there totally still...I'm sure she thought she had tricked me. Another funny thing she does that Gray and I have noticed lately is every time she comes out of her room, she HAS to close ALL the doors in the upstairs hallway. I have no idea why, but she does. Again, it totally cracks us up to watch her in action.

I'm having a baby shower for Kim tomorrow, I'll be sure take pictures and share...can't wait!!

Tal:)