private

Due to Ella’s recent diagnosis... and the fact that I am super paranoid about Ella going to Kindergarten this year, we have decided to make our blog private. Ella’s condition includes vulnerability, which makes my paranoia even stronger. I doubt any of my readers are going to stalk my blog, follow Ella, and offer her dinosaurs as a way to kidnap her on her way home from school. But for my peace of mind, on April 11th our blog will be private. If you would like to be invited to continue reading my blog, please email me here: holly @ holly brooke jones . com (n o s p a c e s). Or leave your email in a comment below.
Be sure you include your Google email or the email address you use to log onto blogger with. I'm really fine with anyone reading my blog, as long you promise you won't kidnap my kids (for too long anyhow... if you want to kidnap them for a few hours while I take a nap, I suppose that might be okay.)

pancakes

Ella: Mom, you are a really bad cook
Me: Ella, you shouldn't say things like that even if they are true, because it makes people feel bad.
Ella: But mom, I still love you, even though you make really yucky pancakes.

Scrapbook Expo

We are exhausted from the planning, we are way behind on our regular orders. We hope to break even on the cost of our booth & new business equipment for the show... But it has all been worth it because of the response we have had from customers as well as a few people who have visited our booth and have expressed great interest in our products, including the producer of Good Things Utah TV show, the Buyer for Provo Craft, and one other CEO of a major scrapbooking company (which I'm not sure I'm allowed to mention.) We're back at the expo again for another exciting yet exhausting day!

Working

This week has been so crazy. Not only has it been one of our busiest weeks for our Vinyl company, but on top of that, we have been busy packaging stamps and getting ready for the Scrapbook Expo this weekend. Luckily we have 2 cute little girls willing to help. Ella and Lily peeled the backing off of all our clear blocks. Yes, Lily helped too, I think she peeled 30 blocks herself. Thanks girls!

Winner

I put everyone in the contest who posted a comment or who commented in Facebook. The winner is Susannah. I will be mailing her my “Celebrate Today” stamp set (unless you want a different one, just let me know!)

Messy Meals

I’m glad Lily is self sufficient and insists on feeding herself... but it can get pretty messy.

Leprechauns have sharp dolphin teeth

Many of you know that Ella has difficulties in large groups. She cried almost the entire 2 hours of her birthday party last year. In an effort to get Ella used to larger groups (hopefully in time for Kindergarten.) I’ve decided to have a series of “Mini-Parties” for her. The parties will only last 1 hour, and we will invite a limited number of kids each time. Yesterday we had our first Mini-Party. Ella invited her preschool class over to go on a Leprechaun treasure hunt. We read a St. Patrick’s Day book, colored some pictures, ate green snacks, then it was time to look for the clues. Unfortunately the little guy was way too fast for us to catch him, but he did leave the kids a treasure before he ran off. I think the kids all had a great time. Searching for clues was the highlight of the party. The kids were also excited to share their knowledge of Leprechauns, for example, did you know that they have sharp dolphin teeth? I’m happy to say that Ella did very well at this party, and is getting ready to invite her cousins to an Easter Egg hunt next month.

Win a stamp set on this blog too!

My post below is kind of confusing. (Sometimes I don’t make much sense) I blame it on my lack of sleep. I meant to say that you can visit my other blog to try and win a stamp set, but seeing that I already have over 160 commenter’s on that post trying to win those stamps, and another 2 days to go, I’ll host another contest on this blog for friends, family, & etc. To win, just visit my website: http://www.mycutestamps.com look at my stamps, and leave a comment below to let me know which your favorite set is. (You can leave a comment on this post, or the post below this one). The contest will end this Sunday at Midnight. I’ll pick a winner randomly (probably from a jar) on Monday morning... but I may not post the winner until Tuesday. I will mail the winner a stamp set of their choice. Isn’t the card above cute? My sister Emily made it using my new “Eeek! A Monster” stamp set. Oh, and be sure to let your stamping friends know about my stamps!

Win

I'm giving away a free stamp set to a random commenter on my other blog. Enter if you'd like!

Boring Toys

Scenario: Ella, Lily, & I waiting in the car for Tyler while he runs into the bank to deposit a check.
Ella: Why is dad taking so long? He’s been in there forever!
(a minute later.)
Ella: I bet him [he] stopped to play with the toys.
Me: You think he is in there playing with toys?
Ella: Yep, I played with them one time. They were boring, but I still played with them.
(as Tyler is walking out the door towards the car.)
Ella: Yep, I can tell he’s been playing with the toys. He looks all bored.

Tasty Kitchen Trail Mix

Tasty Kitchen Trail Mix
from the kitchen of Lily Jones

Using a clean kitchen floor,
mix or drop 1/2 cup of everything from breakfast.
Throughout the day, add several snacks including cereal, dried fruits, & raisins. Moisten each Cheerio in your mouth before adding to mix.
When your finished eating your spagettios or ravioli for lunch, throw the remnants directly onto the floor.
Add splashes of juice & milk (for taste).
Let dry for several hours.
Make sure to scoot your mix into the middle of any walking areas so that everything gets mashed together real good.

Enjoy this easily accessible snack anytime of the day. Mix is especially yummy when mom sweeps it up, and leaves it in a dustpan while taking important phone calls.

Vote for Lily Noel

Our local newspaper is having a baby contest. Vote for Lily here. If you have a baby too, you can enter for next months contest, and I'll vote for your baby in return. You can vote once a day. Thanks for all your votes!