nichol magouirk

Crazy Week

Wow.

This past week was absolutely crazy with stuff to do (and next week isn't looking any less crazy!). However, as long as I don't have people here fixing things around the house I should be good to go! ha. 

Our formal dining room has been sitting empty for awhile now. When we purchased and remodeled our home we had removed a partial wall in the formal living/dining area and made one grand room which we really, really love but we didn't really have furniture for that room. We got a sofa and some chairs for the "living" part but the dining area has been serving as the gymnastics area. It's seen more cartwheels than actual dining. ha. Well, I had picked some furniture out and had it ordered and yesterday the nice guys from our favorite local furniture store delivered it. :) Not all the chairs came in just yet. We're missing the two arm chairs that go on each end and one of the side chairs came damaged so they are getting us a new one but this is just exactly what I imagined for that room. So happy.

Here's almost the whole room, looking in from the entry of our home. The table is long and will extend to 116" to accommodate lots of guests. I only put one leaf in for now (that's the long black thing laying on the floor that needs to find a nice, safe home). And Ethan left a sippy cup on the coffee table. Lovely.

The new table and chairs. Buffet table I had already. ;) I still haven't taken the tags off the chairs or the plastic off the upholstery seats. Nice. The doorway there goes into my kitchen.

And the china cabinet that I love. Love. Lots of storage underneath and lovely display up top. I couldn't resist putting a few of my Autumn/Halloween things in with my Wilton pieces. Love the black/orange/silver. :)

Before I get started on the three classes I need to work on this weekend (yes, that's not a typo THREE new classes coming to 2peas soon!) I thought I'd share a few more Silhouette shares.

I don't think I've shared this one yet...more butterflies on this wave-edge card base. The dot border is part of the card. I just cut and adhered a piece of yellow cardstock behind it to make it stand out.

I used this Silhouette design:

card_wave_2126

Other Supplies:

Smary Pants Stamp Set by Stampin' Up 
Flight of the Butterfly Stamp Set by Stampin' Up 
Hope Happens Stamp Set by Stampin' Up 
Soft Pool Shadow Ink by Hero Arts 
Soft Suede, Kiwi Kiss, Baja Breeze & Crushed Curry Inks by Stampin' Up
Clouds Design Block Stamp by Hero Arts 
Butterfly Punch by Stampin' Up
Silhouette SD Digital Craft Cutter

A fun Christmas card using another card base: I embossed the greeting part with white embossing powder and created a snowy scene for the stamped and embossed trees. :)

I used this Silhouette design:

card_christmas_2118

Other supplies:

Holiday Trees Small Wood Mounted Stamps by Hero Arts 
Stunning Snowflakes Design Block Stamp by Hero Arts 
Zing Rouge Opaque Embossing Powder by American Crafts 
Zing Leaf Opaque Embossing Powder by American Crafts 
Zing Cricket Opaque Embossing Powder by American Crafts 
Zing White Opaque Embossing Powder by American Crafts 
Star Gems by KI Memories 
Smooth Clear Gemstones by Hero Arts
Silhouette SD Digital Craft Cutter

And a love card with yet another fun card base: I used Versamark on the "greeting" portion of the cut out again and embossed with silver embossing powder for a nice contrast. The lace die cut was layered right on top of the card base, white on white. Subtle but effective. I stamped on each of the punched hearts and embossed with different embossing powders.

I used these Silhouette designs:

card_loveyou_2113

lace_1444

Other Supplies:

White 12x12 AC Cardstock by American Crafts 
Houndstooth Woodmounted Stamp by Hero Arts 
Artistic Windows Special Edition Stamp Set by Hero Arts 
Raindrop Background Design Block Stamp by Hero Arts 
Forever in my Heart Stamp Set by Stampin' Up
Zing Clear Embossing Powder by American Crafts 
Zing Silver Glitter Embossing Powder by American Crafts 
XLG My Funny Valentine Squeeze Punch by Fiskars 
Silhouette SD Digital Craft Cutter
Zing White Opaque Embossing Powder by American Crafts 
Clear Button, String and Brads

I hope everyone is enjoying their weekend!

happy St. Patty's Day!

I hope everyone had a wonderful St. Patrick's Day. :)

We spent a very relaxing and wonderful Spring Break day here. 

• We all dressed up in our greens.
• We all got adjusted at the chiropractors. :) 
• Took some photos outside (the weather was absolutely amazing!).
• Played in the yard.
• Starting cleaning up some flower pots.
• Completely cleaned out the garage.
• Arranged for Good Will to come pick up some things.
• Made shamrock shaped sugar cookies.
• Chad and Jarret (our 19 year old roommate) started putting together the trampoline that Santa brought the kids for Christmas.
• I cooked one of our favorite suppers (a chicken and pasta dish).  
• Cleaned the kitchen. Finished up some laundry. Bathed the children.

Whew! What a day. 

Payton informed me that it was one of the best days ever. I thought that was sort of funny since we mostly cleaned all day but oh well. ;) 

Here are just a few quick shots I took of the kids this morning:

By the way, isn't that photo of Ethan just lovely? The little stinker does not like having his photo taken and he is not a good sport...at all. ha!

Have a wonderful evening!

this week.

here's what I've got to share this coming week...

Monday (Jan. 5th): New (free!) online class starts at Two Peas In A Bucket. Scrapbook your seasonal photos monthly with me!

Tuesday (Jan. 6th): Giveaway time! I haven't done one in forever. It's about time don't you think?

Wednesday (Jan. 7th): Journal Your Christmas is officially over (as of the 6th) and I will be sharing all my newest completed journal pages. :)

Thursday (Jan. 8th): Video showing how I decorate my clear stamp storage binders! :)

Friday (Jan. 9th): Time for some card shares, don't ya think?!!?

Okay, I've written it down. I'm committed to it now. :)

Project 365: 

how's everyone doing with your picture taking? I admit I had to cheat a bit. I didn't exactly take photos every day. I started on the 28th of December as Becky suggested on her blog but didn't take pic's on a couple days in December. It's all good, though. ;)

Here's today's photo, my Guitar Hero addicts.

   

randomness.

Hello everyone!

Sorry for the absence over the last few days...I really don't know what happened but my husband informed me that it's been a few days since my last post. He sure is observant. ha ha

I need to finish up and scan/photograph my JYC entries and will try to do that for tomorrow.

Here are a couple of fun things that I am excited about:

Creating Keepsakes, January Kit of the Month: Project 365. Yep, I am going to participate in this fabulous concept in 2009. So very excited about this idea. You can read all about the concept and learn about it on Becky's Blog HERE.

Jennifer is giving away the EK Success 3" scallop punch on her blog HERE. Check it out...this punch is fabulous!

I am in love with THIS set that Tia did for 2Peas 36 days of... (Is it not phenomenal?) so WOW.

I spent the weekend purging all three kids' rooms. We fondly refer to this as "oh oh oh". It's what you do before "Ho Ho Ho". I always like cleaning out and purging the old before all the new of Christmas. Payton really was so good and chose lots of older toys she's outgrown to give away at local shelters, etc. I'm so proud of her. :) And now their rooms look SO good. I really should take photos to prove that they really are so nice and tidy and clean. ha!

Finally, the last few years I have picked up this kit at my local discount store:

In the past I've picked up ONE kit and they had to share and make it together (nothing wrong with learning to share) but this year I did pick up two kits (Ethan is still too young to do his own and really his only interest was in stealing as much of the candy as his brother and sister would allow, lol) so that both Brenden and Payton could create their own Gingerbread House and they were thrilled. It was also very interesting to watch them work and see their decorating style. So fun. And so worth the $9/each for an afternoon of fun. :)

The best thing about the kit? It comes with all the supplies needed to create the house. :)

All I did was construct the house with the included frosting, then I let the kids loose to create. 

Brenden's Gingerbread House:

Payton's Gingerbread House:

Have a wonderful Monday!

my baby is three today...

...and he keeps me laughing all day long. this evening he was modeling swim goggles and sunglasses. who knows what goes on in that funny little mind of his. :)

More tomorrow. Night!

Vacation Recap.

Just thought I'd take a break from packing our belonging in preparation for tomorrow's travels home to share some photos from our last week. My husband does such a great job planning vacations for our family. Not only does he get twelve people from place to place with ease but he manages to keep everyone happy too. He really is the best. :)

It's been a great week but this homebody is ready for her own nice comfy bed. lol

Here's a recap of our last week: what we did, where we went and the fun we had.

We always start our vacation with a Character Breakfast at Ohana's:

Ethan's funny face:

Chad, Brenden and I's favorite ride is always Splash Mountain. Payton hates getting wet.

Payton loves Space Mountain.

Ethan got the chance to enjoy a few rides for the first time. :)

Payton and I's favorite ride at Hollywood Studios: Aerosmith's Rock N Roll Roller Coaster

Brenden's favorite ride: Tower of Terror

We thought Ethan would love the Cars (Mator & Lightening McQueen...he did NOT. Too big I guess!)

The new Toy Story Ride was pretty fun but man that line is long.

Tuesday we started the day with a Character Breakfast at Magic Kingdom and rode a few rides before heading over to Epcot:

Both Brenden and Payton loved Mission Space. (Chad and I rode it once a few years ago and both of us said "never again!".)

Ethan loved the Nemo ride (even if he doesn't look like it here!).

For some reason I didn't take very many photos today. :(

The Mummy is Chad, Brenden, Payton and I's favorite. Fun.

Men in Black is another family fav. :)

We rode Jurassic Park lots.

Tried to ride Dueling Dragons but the dang ride was having difficulties. Apparrently there was a problem with bees and they were trying to get rid of them. Crazy!

I rode the Hulk for the first time. Loved it. Brenden was my riding buddy. :)

Ethan liked the rides in Suess Land. This picture is blurry but I loved it all the same.

Is it sad that I am totally pumped about this?

Um, yeah. I suspect another family trip will be planned after this opens up!

Well, that's the condensed version. ;)

More later from home. Night!

Trick or Treat (Halloween Photos).

Thought I'd pop in and share Halloween photos for friends & family that didn't get to see the kids in their costumes this year. We had a beautiful butterfly and two not-so-happy pirates. Brenden wasn't too thrilled to be dressing up at all. I gave him the option of not dressing up and he said that he would. I bet this is the last year of dressing up. Next it will scary costumes trying to scare the neighbor kids. ha! And Ethan, well Ethan doesn't like dressing up. At all. He is the pits. But he's still pretty cute.

More soon. Night!

pumpkin patch field trip.

This morning Ethan and I accompanied Payton on her class field trip to the pumpkin patch. It was cool, overcast and windy but the kids didn't seem to mind. The pumpkin patch was about an hour west of where we live, out in the middle of nowhere but they had busses and busses of kids arriving after us so it seems they get a lot of business. :)

The rule for getting a pumpkin was it couldn't be bigger than you could carry. That suited Payton just fine...she always loves the little pumpkins. Ethan was thrilled that he got to participate on his sissy's field trip and got to "pick a pumpkin" too!

The kids' favorite thing was the catapult, I think. Nothing like watching a pumpkin going sailing through the air and landing with a big splat. Ethan could hardly contain his excitement through that demonstration. He kept jumping up and down saying, "Did you see that, Mommy? Did you see THAT?!!!"

The corn maze was muddy though, so Ethan and I had to throw all our clothes in the wash as soon as we got home and I had to rinse off our shoes...yuck. Poor Payton had to wear hers the rest of the afternoon. I'm sure her shoes will need a good rinse too when she gets home from school. :)

I have had lots of questions concerning the die-cutting machines I own and I promise I will post about that tomorrow as well as a couple of other questions I've received lately. I am a bit behind on my emails again.

Ethan is napping so I better get some work done. :)

a new toy.

On Loni's recommendation I bought this little jewel. :)

Can you say happiness?!!!

For the last 4-5 months I have hardly taken any photos. I keep meaning to but I have been in a phase where I just don't feel like lugging my big 'ol camera around all the time. And of course that means I miss numerous photo taking opportunities. :(

I have been playing with my new little toy over the last few days and I just love it.
Compact.
Always in my purse.
Fits right in my pocket when I'm not taking a photo and playing outside with the kids.
A great addition to my camera supplies.
It won't replace my Canon 30D by any means but just check out some of the cute shots I got while we played outside yesterday evening. :)

And did I mention it is brown & silver?!!!! YUM.

Notice that I am having to hold Ethan and his trike in place with my foot. Yes, my friends, he does not like to have his photo taken when he's busy. Which is always. Luckily he wasn't yelling and making a face at me. :) Looks like I could have done a better job wiping the mac n cheese off his face. Oh well.

This is also the only picture I'll share of him from my photo taking session last night. He was too busy moving in all the other shots. :)

And Payton is always so proud of her tests. This girl likes to get all A's and especially A+'s. Just like her Momma. :)

And she also wanted to show off her new bike. Grandpa Magouirk bought the grandkids new bikes (and bought himself one too) so they could all go bike riding together. Payton just got hers last weekend and she loves it. This girl could ride her bike every single day. It is a pretty stinkin' cool bike.

No photos of Brenden this time. He was at karate while we played outside. Hopefully next time. He's starting to be at an age where he doesn't always want me to take his picture. Stinker.

Well, I'm off to the dentist. I chipped one of my front teeth yesterday doing something I knew I shouldn't. 

Note to self: Teeth are not pliers.

At least they could see me today and fix me up. :)

back to school.

Just wanted to pop in here and share a couple of back to school photos. The kids started school today...I really can't believe summer is OVER!). Neither of them were really ready to go back but after open house last night and finding out who their teachers were they seemed a bit more eager. They both had really great first days...so glad! I even had fresh-from-the-oven chocolate chip cookies for them to eat after school. :)

Sorry it's been so long between posts. I have been walking/running 3-4 miles a day for the last several weeks and it's been cutting into my scrapping time a bit. :) I really will try to share some more tomorrow...I am exhausted tonight!