Day Zero

I have been wanting to join the day zero project for years.  literally.  I have known a couple of people who have started it.

It is where you set 101 goals to do in 1001 days.  Well we started on the 1st of this year.  Trevor and I are doing it together.  Most of the goals we are doing together, some are just me some are just him.  That might be cheating but....  shhhhh

Here is the link to our list
http://dayzeroproject.com/user/smithmumma

Here goes it.

This is big because up until recently I have had a strict no goal setting policy.  Sounds ridiculous but it worked for me.

Merry Christmas

http://sendables.jibjab.com/view/tNuV1N3F9lEIIeNP

We are ready for Christmas here.  Baking is finished and delivered. Presents are bought and wrapped.  I'm feeling pretty good about it all.

Giveaway Results.

Sorry I spaced it on the drawing part.  I'm a bad person.  I used Random.org and the winner was #2 my Mumma! Hooray for Mumma.

My Memories Suite GIVEAWAY!!!

Kay I really like the my Memories product.  If I only I could figure out how to upload the pages that I have done onto the blog:(

I'm a little computer retarded.

I had looked into digital scrapbooks before.  But I am kind of a purest.  I like the paper, laying it all out cutting etc etc.  But I now see the beauty of both.

Downloading the software was a breeze, and if I can figure it out then you know you can.  The keep a whole profile of what you have downloaded and purchased so that if you ever get a new computer, or loose everything you don't have to worry about the lost software.  We have been through so many computers in the last few years that is a real comfort for me.  As well we use a mac now and it is easy to install onto either product, you just click the one you want.

Using the software is pretty easy too.  My pages are really basic, but I was able to figure out how to add text, graphic text and pictures.  Truth be known I struggled with the picture adding.  but I sent off an email to their customer support and the next day they replied.  Apparently all I had to do was drag and drop the pictures into the program (kmn).  Why I couldn't figure out something so easy I will never know, but after that thing were so easy, drag and drop, drag and drop.

  They have a whole bunch of really nice layouts for easy use.  They are completely blank but you can find one with as many picture slots as you want then add you pictures, change a background and add a name an wallah.  Done and done.  I was able to do a whole bunch all at once without the hassle of having to get everything out.

I think that is what drew me in the most.  The ability to upload the pictures off my camera and just get them done.  I am so far behind in my book, like Sam hasn't even been born and he is almost 4 now (WHAT???)
But I did about 4 pages in about 2 hours.  Normally I take so much longer than that.  They have all sorts of packages you can purchase off their website.  Pages that all you have to do is add a picture and your own text and they look a-maz-ing.  Of course if you are a cheapie like me they have tons of free stuff as well that you can just download.  I haven't figured all that out yet but I have it downloaded.

Want to do some pages for Christmas, done and done.  Not nearly the time consuming event it would have been.  Now you can have scrapbooks on your computer AND ADD MOVIES.  Have you ever taken a really cute movie and wished you can scrapbook it.  there it is.

If you want to learn more info about the program and products here is a link to their youtube channel ( because I love youtube)  http://www.youtube.com/user/MyMemoriesSuite.  

Here is the exciting part.  I get to do a giveaway.  eeeeeeeeeee  I am giving away one free copy of the
 MY MEMORIES SUITE

1~ Go to The My Memories website and choose your favorite paper package, or add ons.
2~ Leave a comment with the name of your favourite product.
3~ If you blog about it let me know and I will give you an extra entry.


If you aren't my lucky winner then I have my very own Share the Memories code that provides a $10 discount off the purchase of the My Memories Suite Scrapbook software and a $10 coupon for the MyMemories.com store - $20 value!


My coupon code is STMMMS82395  Enter that at checkout and you will get the discount.  


I figure I will leave this up for a few days.  I vote midnight on Thursday sounds the best.  


There it is. 

Stay Tuned

Isn't my Sam cute?  

Next week I will be doing a giveaway.  Hooray very first.  I was contacted by the people at My Memories, they are a digital scrapbooking company.  They asked me to try out their software and then give one away on my blog.  As well give a discount to anyone who wants to purchase it.  Then we got sick sick sick (really a two week long cold?  give me strength).  So I finally got around to using it and I kind of love it.  I have discovered that I am not nearly as creative as I would like to become with it but I am giving it a really good go.  So once I have a few more things put together on it I will be giving my report and giving one away.  Go take a look at their stuff though it is really cute and easy to use.  And make sure you check back so that you can enter.  

Sam-aram

This is an older picture, from maybe a month ago.  Sam got home from school as spiderman.  It is one of the things that I love about his school.  They do so many fun things for the kids that I wouldn't expect.  When Lizzy went to school I really wanted her to learn her alphabet and to learn to count.  She was in the 4/5 age range though.  Sam because of his birthday is in the 3/4 age range so he will do 2 years of preschool.  This year I really don't care if he learns his alphabet.  I want him to have fun and learn to enjoy school.... and the whole speech thing but he is improving so much that really I am not concerned.  Next year we will worry about other things, for now I am just happy he can be spiderman.  

Family Pics

So I have always been so proud of the fact that every year I have had them done.

This year it didn't happen :(

My Mumma was kind enough to take some fore us though over Thanksgiving.  We went to go hike the Red Rock Canyon area of Waterton for the day and the colours were so nice so we decided to give it a go.  Now a for warning.  No outfits were planned.  And I am not wearing any makeup because seriously who gets dressed up to go hiking?  I do like them though.

And some cute ones of the kids with my parents.

Now if only we could all get over what ever bug we have.  Bring out the saline spray, oranges and cranberry juice... and chuck all the candy.

Un-private

I have decided to go to a not private blog.  Is that weird?  I have been thinking of it for awhile.  Seeing how I initially went private when Trevor was working out of town.  That was 2 years ago.  I don't know it has been something I have wanted to do.   Anyways.  There it is.

Hallooooooooooween

We had a lot of fun with halloween this year.  We had lots of opportunities to wear our costumes, which makes spending the money on them that much better.  

Lizzy was a mermaid.  Sam was a fireman and Abbi was a witch.  

Weren't they so cute!!!

We had a big group halloween party at the church.  Amanda and I invited a whole bunch of families and then had the kids trick or treat from door to door down the hallway. 

The kids also got to wear their costumes to school on halloween day.  To a family halloween party at Sam's school, which included crafts, treats, a haunted house and obstacle course.  Then of course we got to wear them trick or treating

16 lbs of candy.  Should last for awhile.  

First day of school pictures

I know it is late but my computer decided to delete all of my pictures a couple of times.  I think I have it fixed now though.  (finger crossed so tightly)

Here are the kiddies on the first day of school

Elizabeth in Kindergarten.  

Is it bad that I don't remember way I have posted and what I haven't.  Sorry if this is a repeat.  We ended up  switching her school on the first day.  The one she was going to go ended up being more of a hassle than it was worth.  It was farther to her bus stop than it is to her new school.  Also she now goes to school with a whole bunch of member kids that use to be in our ward until they re did the boundaries.  She really likes her teach (Mrs. Smith).  She has decided that she is now shy though?  dang I rubbed off on her.  Hopefully she will get more confident as time goes by.  I think the switch is what did it to her.  

Samuel in Preschool

Samuel got into Renfrew.  Let me tell you that school is a dream.  His speech is really improving.  Not perfect yet but strangers can now understand him.  He is so funny about school.  He secretly loves it.  He always has fun while he is there, and his teachers always have good things to say about him, but he whines about going all of the time.  He doesn't want to take the bus.  But if I drive him he cries when I leave.  It reminds me of him going to nursery.  He cried for 1.5 years about going.  Because of when his birthday is I  am going to hold him back a year and do 2 years of preschool.  I think it will be easier for him.  

Abigail prisoner at home

Abbi doesn't like the fact that she has to stay home.  It causes her great sadness.  And how dare I make her have a nap.  I am so mean.  little does she know she has 2.5 more years before she gets to go to kindergarten. 

Happy Birthday?

To me?

I got a happy birthday text from my phone carrier today. Might as well celebrate. Boston Pizza here I come

Hey I will take any excuse not to make dinner. Otherwise right about now I would be calling Amanda or my Mom for an idea.

So happy fake birthday to me and whoever else feels like celebrating and needs an excuse. :)

As of late

Things have been busy lately.  I had one week where my mom was kind enough to babysit for me everyday.

I have been canning.  I have done salsa and apple butter.  I have a couple more batches and then I want to freeze some pies too.

Sam has been diagnosed with asthma.  I think it is a good thing.  Now he can get the drugs that will keep him healthy so he isn't sick all winter again.

We spent Thanksgiving with my grandmother.  It was really nice to spend the weekend down there.  We hiked red rock and attended the temple.

We are forever hoping that Trevor will get his own agency.  I figure that is an old story on here now.  I am planning Christmas already.  What to make, what to buy.  I am hoping that if I do it all now then I won't be stressed at Christmas.  I think it would be fun to do a cookie dough exchange. I also want to dip chocolates this year.


Does anyone have insider knowledge on chocolates?  How far in advance can you start, can you freeze them?  What is the best order, batch by batch or all the insides and then dip them all?

Dear

Vacume store girl,

I just thought I would write to tell you that I didn't appreciate you holding me up 20 minutes yesterday, however I could have dealt with it, if I hadn't spent the 20 minutes watching a guy look right down your shirt.  It was nice of you to fix his vacuum right there (even though it made your store smell like cat pee).  But really the shirt you were wearing even I could see your belly button through the neck of your shirt and I was trying not to look.  You should have seen the grin on the guys face "ohhhhh that's how you change the belt"  perv.

Sincerely please burn my eyes out.

Yeh she's two

So I realized when I did that last post that I never showed Abbi's birthday. All of her actual birthday pictures are trapped on my camera.  sadness.   

My two year old is odd...and wonderful

So We have been potty training...again.  I hate potty training.  But I just want to get it over with.  If it takes 6-8 months then lets just be done next spring.

Hence the title she is odd but in an awesome way.  She went naked all day yesterday.  She will never ever tell me that she has to go, never ever ever ever.  She just goes by herself.  yeh.  We have one of those practice potties.  She will go on the potty all by herself and then carries the little bowl full of ....  down to me and shows me.  Then I clean it out and bleach it and she gets a treat.  We call Grandma and Daddy and sometimes ever dora.  She only had one accident yesterday and it was when she was in her highchair and was eating supper.  Now she still has a diaper when she is asleep.  But I can deal with that.  I figure we will go buy some panties today.  Fingers crossed I'm not ranting about how much I hate this next week.  or month.  or heaven forbid next year.

So would all this make her wonderfully odd or oddly wonderful>

EEEEEEEEEEEEEE So EXCITED!!!!!

Trevor agreed to go see cirque this year!!!!  It was a trade.  He gets to gold on Saturday with my Dad and I got to buy tickets. 

Inhale  Exhale Inhale. 

I haven't been since the first year they came to Calgary when I lucked out and got to go with a friends family.  And I am pretty dang sure I have asked every single year since then to go.  (probably 8 or so years ago). 

Here is the link to OVO. 

Anyways.  My inlaws are coming to visit next week. and I have two crates of peaches coming to bottle.  School starts in two weeks today. (mild panic). 

Sam will be in school more than Elizabeth will.  Sam will go 5 days a week and Lizzy usually will only go 4.  Hopefully this will get him talking. 

Thank heaven

For little girls!

Love

I love this little man. He crashed hard on the way home from cardston.

Wedding

Trevors cousin Melissa was kind enough to take some pictures of my kids from Stephens wedding. In fact they kind of adopted my kids and took care of them for me while I helped in the kitchen. I thought I would shre a few.

Abbi was with Trevor. We have been going to the splash park to play in the water. My older two love it. Abbi makes me laugh. She will not o in the water (she doesn't at the lake either). She deems it "sit on the blanket and eat for a couple hours time.

Sleeper

Who doesn't love a sleeping baby? If I can get Abbi to nap (which is difficult since we moved her into a bed) she is out. She is the only one of my children that transfers. She will take a 3 hour nap. And is so out she can sleep in a room with the door open and I can still do whatever I need to in that room... Like take pictures of her sleeping.

Love her.