anyone still out there?

 hello to anyone still out there....my last post was september 2012!! yes, it's been THAT long. and after tonight, i remembered why i hate blogging. or blogger in general. pictures takes SO LONG to upload. anyone else have that issue? maybe i upload too many??? 75% of the pictures i uploaded actually ended up here....the other 25%---- who knows! but you know what? i loved not blogging. let's catch up, shall we?
i've been enjoying the boys. right before the school year, i stopped working. but i'm not sure if anyone calls my 2 days of working previously, work. i made that choice because brybry started kindergarten in september 2012. he goes from 8-11:23am. then brandon goes from 8:15-2:29. not much time in between. i also wanted to be there for the boys for homework and other activities. i took on being the room mom for bryan's class. it's been fun planning their class parties and adding crafts in the mix :)
brandon's a big 3rd grader now!

 the boys also played soccer in the fall. the picture below is bryan in action. he really improved from last year. we got lucky and had the same great coach from last season. he has a great family. i stepped up and was co-soccer mom.

 he played hard annnnnnd, sometimes....played rock, paper, scissors with his team mate DURING the game! LOL

 here is brandon. he played well this season also. he mostly enjoyed socializing out there.

 bryan getting an award during the 1st award ceremony of the school year.

 luckily, the boys wanted to wear the same exact costume as the year before so it's a win-win for me. no need to shop for new ones and saved some money! brandon (as ash from pokemon) with his 3rd grade teacher (she was a zebra).

 bryan was pikachu (from pokemon). they aren't allowed to wear masks so it just looks like he's wearing a yellow suit.

 we were lucky to get the same kinder teacher that brandon had. bryan adores her.

 a picture from their fall feast. bryan in his pilgrim wear.

 and brandon at his fall feast.

 so brandon told me he was "too old" to take pictures with santa this past year. i was sad to hear this but i didn't force him. bryan happily said he still wanted to take pictures with santa.

we had our 1st annual holiday boutique at school. i sold some of my cards and handmade gifts. after giving 10% back to the school, i ended up making a little over $200 and had a few custom orders too. it was fun. i shared a table with a mom friend. she handmakes jewelry. we had a good time hanging out most of the day at school.

here are pictures i took of some of the cards. i was working right down to the wire and failed to get pictures of the clipboards. those puppies did real well! i didn't sell everything but most everything :)

thanks so much for letting me share old pictures from last year! i will try to blog a little more crafty pics soon! and i have to say thank you for checking in on me ;)

santa

took the boys to go visit santa on tuesday. wasn't too crazy. i used my own camera...3 shots for $8. luckily, the boys cooperated and i got nice pictures on those 3 shots! i actually got 6 shots but more on that another day ;)

the boys are getting excited about christmas!

been busy making card sets still for brandon's teachers. i stuck with the same layout as the previous set. it works for fast & easy, clean & simple cards. this one is an orange and green combo.

this set is yellow & green

just changed out the sentiments
TFL!

card sets

this time of year is when i start thinking of gifts for brandon's teachers and school staff. i always resort to something hand made. card sets are always useful, right?
i like how these holiday card set came out that i might just keep these for myself!

i love how this set below came out and the color combo. i have so many other combos in my head that i want to make....now if i can only find the time.

been dealing with the sickies in our house, holiday decorating and gift buying. eddie put up lights this weekend and we also bought our christmas tree. the lights are on the tree and now, i have the fun task of decorating with the boys.

2nd grade homework takes up a lot of time too! 3 digit math (the subtraction is killing me! i really don't remember as a 7 year old doing the kind of math brandon is doing!). the spelling words are tough too! 20 words a week they have to learn in 4 days!

bryan has been keeping my patience at bay too! he has become a very stubborn 4 year old (wasn't the terrible 3's supposed to gone by now?). i cannot wait til bryan turns 5!! on my days off while brandon is in school, we "play" school at home. we have a schedule---we come home after walking big bro to school, we have breakfast and then we do our writing ABC's and 123's. we've recently started doing our own spelling tests too with basic everyday words. he has a book log that he writes in his own notebook of the books he reads daily. he'll have his quiet playtime (building legos, action figures). and then i'll let him watch 30 minutes of tv. he's a pretty good boy for the most part but there are those days..................

ok, onto the cards. :)

thanks for looking!

teacher appreciation card sets

teacher appreciation week was....2 weeks ago? here are some card sets i made for brandon's teacher, principal, and front office staff. kept it very simple and just colored with colored pencils.

another set i made just for brandon's teacher. hopefully, she'll find these handy for quick notes. i made 3 of each for a set of 12.

thanks for looking. it's raining here off and on today. just lightly. how are things in your neck of the woods?

cranking out the cards II

we had a few days of high 80* temps so we headed to the beach late sunday afternoon. yes, the beach in december. the boys enjoyed collecting seashells. i just sat back & relaxed!speaking of winter, another wintery card. i changed up the colors a little bit from the cards in the previous post.

i dunno why i do this to myself year after year but i am in a mad dash to get card sets done for teacher gifts.

sorry the picture collage cuts off the whole card but you get the idea. the very last picture is a covered pocket calendar. you can buy those ugly ones at target for $1 or at michael's for 50cents. this set is a bit more crazy in the color scheme. i did no stamping on these cards. coordinating paper & die cut packs helped with piecing the cards faster.

i have more card sets to show you soon. TFL!

[and don't be jealous of our sunny, hot weather.....we are about to get 5 days of rain]