generosity & good causes

I have found the scrapbooking community to be so generous, and they rally like no other group when one of them is in need. I have seen many donations made to Make A Wish, Autism organizations, cancer organizations--all just so worthy. And today on Jessica Sprague's blog I saw this....a new digital website that will feature a new digital kit each month and all proceeds will go to that month's charitable organization. It is called Songbird Avenue. Wow, that is cool. So it might be the awesome digi kits that motivate you, or it might be that a particular cause has more meaning to you...either way, everybody wins.
As for scrapbooking, I am working on what I hope to be my Memory Makers Masters entry. I need 4 never before seen layouts, and then another new layout with the theme of "I wish". I have entered before (I care not to admit how many times) and received no accolades but I just cannot seem to let it go! I need everything to be complete and to their office by July 31. The hard part for me is not sharing online, I just love instant gratification! Right now, I have 10 lifetimes worth of photos and stories to go along with them, but I just cannot wait to get my hands on some of my vacation photos. I tend to be most motivated by what is new: newest pics, newest supplies, newest techniques!!
Have a great weekend. Only 5.5 days until Olivia's 6th Birthday!! That would be Olivia, who is currently gracing the pages of Simple Scrapbooks magazine. Just so you know... Pin It

cute t's

A mom at Olivia's old pre-school began making these two years ago. I got one for Olivia back then, but since, I saw that her business has really boomed. I just ordered these 3 shirts for my friends' children who all have June Birthdays and they were adorable. Simple and cute.

Her business is called La-las. If you are looking for a unique gift, I recommend them. In fact, I think I may just need a "t" shirt for myself!

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some days, being a mom is tough

If you are faint of heart, have a queasy stomach or just plain don't like poop talk, do NOT read on.

So, we are about 50/50 today on the cold turkey no more diapers-only undies experiment. By that I mean, we have had 3 successful tinkles in the potty, 4 tinkles that landed elsewhere. Defining elsewhere as: the dining room floor, and 3 times outside by the pool. Those, were easy. And honestly, I was losing hope until she asked to get out of the pool, and then promptly stood there and peed. I felt like it was a breakthrough, afterall, she could have tinkled from the comfy confines of her innertube.

FF to one hour ago. I left her downstairs with strict instructions not to poop in her pants. Heck, it was worth a try! When she called me, she said: "mom, I tinkled." I was on my way, but asked where, to which she said: "the floor". Only, it was not wet on the floor b/c it was poop, a lump, in her pants. I am out of practice on tackling this so I put a towel on the floor and laid her on that and tried to daintily pry down the undies. Well, it was not dainty and "it" ended up on the towel. I nearly bare-handed knocked the thing into a bag and began cleaning her up. You just know you are a MOM, a great one, if you pick up poop barehanded. I was feeling good at taking care of business, and in an effort to boost confidence, I even thanked her for telling me she pooped. Folks, had she sat in it, it would have been worse.

I go on about my business, outside, talking when I notice something brown on my forearm. Yep. It was "it".

Tomorrow will be better, right?! Pin It

dolphin cruise

Here is a little collage made with Picasa. I took way too many photos during this 1.5 hour cruise, but I thought I would share a good laugh with the actual dolphin shots. As you can see, the parts and pieces of the dolphins are like tiny specks in the sea...and this is with a decent camera, that is fast. I was snapping away like there was no tomorrow. Hopefully a little cropping will make them more scrapbook worthy. As for the people shots, I love those. We had a great time on the Vagabond, and I highly recommend this if you visit Harbour Town in Hilton Head. I loved HH as a whole. The beach was nice, except for the one day of severe crab invasion surrounding our rented chairs and umbrella, the restaruants were many and the food delicious, and the shopping was great too. Island Girl was my favorite. I got some adorable Eliza B flip flops, and 3 Lilly Collection bracelets, one for me, my mom and my sister. I got us the palm tree pattern, but I cannot find that online.

Today was back to reality, and mounds of laundry and general house cleaning. Tomorrow, I have vowed to begin potty training Shelby. The plan is to go cold turkey, and wear only undies. Heaven help us.

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Hilton Head Island

What a great place! I got a few snapshots, yesterday, Sunday. Today, the beach was loaded with shells but with that came alot of other debris, along with something brown that momentarily attached itself to my toe. I am not a nature lover, so to pull it off, and look anything close to normal instead of the panicked ass I really felt like, was a feat! The girls are LOVING the beach. So far it has been just great. Tonight we hope to head to Sea Pines for a waterfront dinner, and maybe a bit of shopping.

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