I love getting packages! It feels like Christmas year round when my MIB (Man in Brown) a.k.a. the UPS Truck comes to my door and drops off packages. Being a Close To My Heart consultant this past year has increased my number of packages- fun! Of course I’ve been an Amazon.com and Ebay shopper over the years, but my CTMH goodies arrive regularly. This time I got packages from my two favorite stores, Lakeshore (fun scarves to dance around with in my preschool, and cool book boxes, or perhaps scrapbook paper holders- haven’t decided yet.) AND a CTMH box which had the brand new 2006 CTMH calendar kit. Only consultants can order these right now… the rest of you will have to wait to buy or earn one after Dec. 15th. I stayed up late on Nov. 14th, waited till 12:01 Utah time (here 11:01PM) and boom! I placed my order, and here 6 days later, my package has arrived. I wanted to be the first to see this company special. Pretty cute stuff. I am hoping to offer a 12×12 calendar workshop using this in some way. I love my scrapbook calendar from last year… I write down memories throughout the month about our family and the kid’s activities. Every month I have 2 completed layouts to put into my album, and I did all the work for it last January.
Back to the MIB, I am still working on my Christmas list shopping, so I am expecting more packages in the coming weeks. Bring ‘em on!
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posted by bezina at 1:10 am
How we love Fridays. It used to be my favorite day of the week, with anticipation of the weekend when I was teaching full time. Now, Fridays are a day that the kids look forward to. Daddy brings home lollipops, and they LOVE that. I have a busy weekend coming up, with a CTMH party and two clubs on Saturday and Sunday. I’ve got to spend my day getting our projects ready, and also come up with a Sunday school plan for church.
I was pleasantly surprised by Annalise this morning… she actually told me she had to go potty this morning, TWICE, which is big for her, and she went on the toilet both times and kept her Pull up dry. Woohoo! I was so excited. She usually comes up with some excuse about why she can’t- usually, it is “I am not a big girl yet.” Yesterday, we went to Costco because we were almost out of pull ups. Annalise decided that she wanted Buzz Lightyear pull ups instead of her usual pink princess ones. I examined the packaging closely, and no where could I find that they had extra padding or anything specifically for boys… they have the same color-changing pictures for when it is wet, attractive Toy Story / Buzz Light Year pictures, and Annalise was thrilled. So, if having Buzz Light Year underwear is going to do it for Annalise, get her successful in potty training, I am all for it!
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posted by bezina at 7:51 pm
I’m taking a break before I go finish my preparation for preschool in the morning. For those of you who might not know about this, I am teaching a weekly “transitional” preschool in my home for 2 and 3 year olds. We will be having class from October to May. Annalise loves having her little friends over, and she is REALLY excited about tomorrow. We are going to read the classic story called Stone Soup. I took the kids out in the yard this morning, each with a paper bag, and the instructions to go find a rock for our soup. They enjoyed taking a look at the rocks in our front ditch and finally each settled on some of the biggest rocks they could find. I found a smaller one, and then we put them in a pot to boil for a couple hours to get them clean. We prepped by chopping up a variety of veggies and making some chicken broth. I think it will be a fun time! We will also be making turkey headbands and turkey prints with paint. Lots of messy fun!
Back to work…
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posted by bezina at 5:29 am
The weather has been ugly today- rain, rain, rain, and of course the kids have been suffering from cabin fever. I think we should have donned our rain gear and went out to splash in some puddles. But now that naps are over, it is already dark. So, the kiddos are coloring at the table, Jack with crayons, and Annalise with markers. Of course there is always some argument because Jack wants EVERYTHING that Anna has, and markers are no exception. However… Jack is on probation with markers. He loves to color… on walls, floors, everything but paper. And unfortunately Annalise’s cheap dollar store are not like my nice Crayola washables… they DON’T come off hands, tables, etc. I had to scrub with lots of bleach to get the walls clean, all 4 places he colored without me knowing. For those who know me well, cleaning is not my forte.
I have been able to accomplish a bit today… I have a swap or two due in the next coming weeks for a consultant swap with cute little 6×6 album pages about why I love being a Close To My Heart consultant, and another for holiday card ideas. I also put together some 3×3 card kits, leftovers from a class I taught a few weeks ago. I sold them on my consultant website. You can see some of the ideas at my business site, http://www.scrapbees.com
I’m off to fix dinner (thanks to my mom, who loves to try out new recipes on us!) It is just heat and eat, a pizza casserole. Maybe now that I have this little online journal, I will post some of my favorite quick and easy recipes for those who like me don’t want to spend much time cooking in the kitchen. The crockpot is truly one of my very best friends! That will be another day’s entry…
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posted by bezina at 12:41 am
the goose is getting fat! I am getting excited all of a sudden about Christmas! I started my shopping earlier in the week, and now can hardly wait to have the kids open up some of their gifts. It is my favorite time of year, all the yummy foods, the shopping, the planning, my birthday. Yeah! Today I did a CTMH workshop and Karyn and I put together some hand-stamped Christmas cards, so that too helped with my holiday spirit.
I’ve been going through my stash of stamp stuff and putting up a few items for sale on my CTMH bulletin board. I want to be able to afford to buy some of the new stuff coming out in the Spring 2006 catalog. We as consultants get our copy after Dec. 1st, so I am just counting down the days. I have a gathering to prepare for this weekend and next, and some brand new snowflake and gingerbread display boards to share. Pretty cute stuff!
Tomorrow we are looking forward to a visit from Grammy. We are also going to try out a dance class at a new performing arts studio in Duvall. Annalise LOVES her current dancing class and teacher Peggy. She practices her dance moves all over the house, especially “I’m a Little Teapot” and the Chickadee song.
I’m off to dream about sugarplums…
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posted by bezina at 5:35 am
Last weekend was the best time I’ve had in awhile! First, I got to spend ALL day Friday at the annual Scrapbook Expo in Meydenbauer Center, Bellevue. For those of you who know me, I LOVE to collect scrapbook supplies. So much, in fact I decided to start my own business venture as a Close To My Heart scrapbook and stamping consultant. I am approaching my one year anniversary, and I am still loving it! I am constantly amazed about how many fabulous products that CTMH develops. And even more exciting to me is the Heart of the Winter campaign that was just announced, a GORGEOUS calendar set that customers can buy, or earn depending on their purchase amount. I want it all!
My wonderful weekend continued as my parents took the kids for a sleepover and husband Brian went to help out the church. I had the whole day to myself, something that rarely occurs. I spent the entire morning in my pjs SCRAPBOOKING! I got 6 pages done of our trip to Puerto Vallarta. A big mess I made, but worth it. That Saturday night Brian and I went to two Halloween parties, one at my dear friend Stacy’s, and another that was put on by Brian’s boss. We had a great time at both, eating yummy food, hanging out with friends, and having a close encounter with Sir Mix-alot.
A late night it was, and then we had to get up super early for church the next morning… we may have been tempted to sleep in this particular morning, but duty calls. I had Sunday school to teach (I am with the 5/6 year old class) and Brian had ushering duties. 8AM Mass! I believe we took a LONG nap after that morning. We met my parents to pick up the kids at McDonald’s that night in Covington, and the kiddos were so happy to see us. Jack yelled, Mama! and ran into my arms- what a great feeling!
I am looking to more weekends like this in the future. Thanks, Grandparents!!! (in advance) 
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posted by bezina at 6:39 am
Welcome to my new Bizzy Mom site. Look here for tidbits about scrapbooking, family, and teaching. I look forward to posting often!
Carrie
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posted by bezina at 5:58 am