Dane is on the move....

Oh and he is into everything! Once he's down, he is on the go. He likes to find the tiny pieces of remnants on the floor, Elliott's play food, Legos (of course), and he likes to pull out everything from under the TV! He is getting quick, too. It didn't take long to go from slightly moving to completely mobile! And if he knows you are trying to get the item he's after, he tries to get to it quicker. It is so funny to watch. He is not crawling yet on his knees, he scoots across the floor with his elbows and knees. I will post a video soon!

Elliott's morning routine

Elliott has her own routine! Every morning she looks forward to fixing her hair, getting dressed, and even applying make up! I know she is way to young for make up, however, she is not to young to learn the importance of 'making yourself pretty.' So, I put together her own make up bag (which for now is just in a ziploc bag, maybe Santa will bring her her own make up bag)! She has a translucent face powder and translucent eye shadow. She gets the joy of putting make up on, and I get the joy of knowing it isn't bright pink or blue or some other odd color! And you'd never know she is wearing make up! It is a win win for all of us! Oh, and of course she has to use hair products (mousse, hairspray, and so on) and likes to put in her own clips! She is getting better at putting the clips in and having them stay! And then it is off to her closet to attempt to find something to wear! It would sure be nice if she wasn't so darn picky - no tags, so seams that itch, and no socks! It sure is a good thing we have extra time each morning to allow for this freedom to get ready! I couln't imagin having to get Elliott and myself ready in a timely manner!

Birch Run, Michigan Scrapbook Convention

Wow, what a weekend it was this past weekend... a few dear friends (thank you very much Vicki and Gina) and I headed up to Birch Run, MI to be vendors at a scrapbook convention! And, this was a first for all of us. Gina came along for moral support and happily manned the make n takes for us through the weekend. Vicki provided endless energy,awesome kits, and so much more! We ventured up north on Thursday, it was about a five hour drive, pretty easy driving thanks to my father's Suburban! You would have never known we had hundreds of pounds of paper and racks and more! We check into our hotel late, and then up early Friday morning to set up. None of us knew what the expect.... we were definitely anxious, nervous, excited and oh and maybe even a tad overwhelmed. However, once we got there, were were able to unload in a matter of minutes since we drove right up to our booth space! Set up took a few hours, putting together grids, hanging up kits, and setting up or spot! Then the shopper started coming and coming and coming! By the end of the night were were exhausted, and ready to sleep! We weren't thrilled with Friday's sales, so we regrouped and headed back Saturday! And much to our surprise, within one hour we had already reached Friday's sales, so we felt great about our day and enjoyed meeting new scrapbookers, conversing with croppers and enjoying the event! We offered several make n takes (cards, decorative jars, recipe books, layouts)! After Saturday's end, we decidced to head across the street to the big outlet mall and shop a little bit.... next time we will bring a car top carrier for all Gina's purchases! Ha, I hope you are reading this, Gina! Sunday brought us another day of shoppers and more scrapbooking fun. Overall it was a good show! A lot of work, but it was great to get away and experience the 'convention' atmosphere! Oh, and I must say, we had the suburban packed and ready to go in 1 hr, talk about hustling to 'get r done.' I can't wait to attend another show, Vicki and I chatted all the way home about all the things we could do next time, and Gina threw out some great ideas, too. I did, however, miss my baby and family! It was great to come home and see everyone again! Even though you'd think being baby-less, I would have slept through the night, no such luck! I did, however, get to eat warm meals without holding anyone!

Elliott's Birthday Party

Better late than never... okay, so the actual birthday party was November 1st and here it is days later... Elliott turned 5 on the 1st and invited a preschool friend and some neighbors over for a dress up tea party! And what fun it was. I got out my old tea set (given to me by my Grandma when I was a young girl) and set out a tray with lovely finger foods (which happened to be on some of my grandma's stitched napkins) and the girls in their fancy dresses and big hats had a tea party! Oh, was too cute! And then of course the girls were all over the house, upstairs, downstairs, inside, outside, and the it was Barbies and babies and oh my goodness, this was my fourth party in four days (refer to previous posts in regards to party overload), and I was exhausted at the end! Seeing Elliott joy and excitement was well worth the exhaustion.

Calendar Kit

Okay, this is a good one... I must say, I plan to actually use the sample for Dane's baby book! It will be so much fun to put pictures from each month and see how he's grown through the year! However, the kit is meant to go onto a calendar! The kit comes with all the supplies to create the 12 single page layouts (titles, too)! It is not posted online, however, if you are interested in a kit, do let me know (send me an email to kristyataylor@yahoo.com)! The cost is $45.00 (that is less than $4 a page!) for just the kit. You may also order an additional calendar (in which you can add the pages, too) for $10. I have posted a few pictures!

Also, Vicki Harper and I have teamed up again to head up north to Michigan for a scrapbook convention! This is a first time for both of us, wow, not sure what to expect, let's hope good things! Will update you on the events!

What would we do without parents?

And I speak about my parents! Last week my computer wouldn't power up leaving me pretty much stuck in a rut as for getting things done that I need done for preparing for my upcoming convention (this time next week Vicki and I will be packed and on our way to Michigan to set up a booth at a scrapbook convention, oh and of course my dear friend Gina is coming along to help!) and getting things in line for my new sketch book coming out very soon! I tried contacting the warranty department for my computer, and of course they can't find me, just my luck. And this means I know have to hunt for an original receipt (which I purchased the computer from a friend, so I must have her help). Needless to say, I am stuck between a rock and a hard place. One light at the end of the tunnel, Best Buy offers hard drive back up for dirt cheap - $150 and I get an external hard drive, so I hopefully won't be in this position again). I had to do this because, of course, I didn't have everything backed up! Anway, it could be weeks before I get a computer, and running a business, typing on my blog, checking emails, online banking, and all the other life necessities (shopping for the season's best toys or trying to sell old ones to make money for new ones!) just couldn't happen without a computer! So, my father is acutally the one who suggested a proposal... He said he planned on getting my mother a laptop for Christmas, and I could simply borrow it until mine gets back. Such a dear. And my mother, being the nice, patient woman she is, has agreed to let me user her laptop while waiting for mine to get fixed! What would we do without parents! Of course, going out and buying a new one for myself is not in my budget at the moment... so my parents to the rescue... Mom/Dad if you are reading this, thank you very much and I love you both very much!

Enjoy this little clip of Elliott saying ' I pledge allegiance.'

Party Central

Okay, so four days straight of parties has sure worn me out.... the madness began on Thursday with Elliott's preschool Halloween Party. The kids were so cute in their dress up costumes!



Friday brought on Myles 2nd grade party. I must say I am truly impressed with the parent support for the party. I did send home 'handmade' invitations consisting of a print out with the party specifics tied to a piece of orange con strction paper (I'll upload a pic, soon). It was super simple, however, I try to make it stand out in their folder of stuff that gets sent home. And I got several bags of candy, and even a parent to donate the cupcakes! This was great! I provided a make your own pumpkin by covering a roll of toilet paper with tissue paper, and the kids seemed to love this. And we played pass the pumpkin! I had a some down time and started (on a whim) an add along story where I started a trick or treat story and each kid added a part (we went along with abc order). It was fun to hear what the kids came up with! And I was actually impressed with this 'on a whim' activity!



Now it's on to the Taylor Halloween Open house.... where I invited neighbors and some of the kids friends over for some Halloween Fun! The kids sure enjoyed themselves, and hopefully the adults enjoyed the goodies. Thanks to my friend Gina, I got some great Tastefully Simple Dips, and I cooked a Carmel Apple Crisp, Chocolate Chip Cheescake bars, ghoulish punch and more! I did manage to capture a few photos! And the best part about the party.... my husband did a deep clean. He said we can't have the neighbors over with our house looking like it did! We WERE head to toe with toes, but now we have a loft with lots of room to play and is clutter free! So excited about this! Of course, I don't have any photos of the yummy food, what was I thinking! And then trick or treating was great, a bit chilly, but fun. Thankfully Grandma and





Grandpa Mathews stuck around to watch baby Dane, so the rest of us could venture out! Myles was a skeleton and Elliott a 'wicked' witch! She loved hackling like a which! After a few streets Myles was done, and Elliott wanted MORE houses. I'm surprised Elliott wasn't tired since she ran from house to house!



(My husband was attempting to be Helio Castronevas, of course minus the correct racing shirt and knack for dancing! He did capture the look rather well).