Oh, Baby, the Places You'll Go!

I just finished reading a book to Sharon, twice. My uncle sent it to me when I was pregnant with Sharon because it is a book meant to be read in utero.It's called Oh, Baby, the Places You'll Go! I never had a chance to read the whole book to her when I was pregnant because she decided to come a bit early, if you didn't already know. The first time I read it to her today we were both laying on the floor of her room and she just lay and listened as I read it to her. When I finished reading, she crawled over and tried to climb up onto my stomach to find the book. When I showed it to her she tried to grab it (probably to sample the edible quality of the pages), so I read it to her again. She stayed where she was, half-way up on my stomach, with her feet on the ground, as I read the entire book again. She loved it! When I was done, she just crawled out into the living room. Now she's happily snuggled in an afghan on the floor sucking her thumb. This is such a cute book, because it takes bits and pieces of all the other Doctor Seuss books and gives kind of an introduction to the wonderful world of Seuss for baby. I love it! And Sharon loves it, too! If you are expecting, or know someone who is expecting, get this book! It's so cute, and I'm sure you'll see a similar response that I did. She just loved to hear my voice, even if I didn't get to read it to her in utero. Maybe with the next baby (no, I'm not).

Sharon's 10-month page

A Preview of Hoggan Family Reunion 2010

Sharon Crawling

Last of the FR08 Pages

Cleaning Mirrors

My wonderful husband cleaned our bathroom yesterday (oh how I hate that chore!) and I finished it up by cleaning the mirrors today. As I was cleaning, I wondered how many of you don't know about this wonderful cleaning solution. I use my regular window/mirror cleaner (a cheap off brand of windex), but instead of using paper towels (which leave lint all over) or a rag or towel (which also leave lint all over), I use a crumpled up piece of newspaper. I learned this trick from my mom & always cleaned windows & mirrors with newspaper growing up.  All you do is take a sheet of newspaper, crumple it up, & wipe up the window cleaner. For some reason it doesn't leave lint, plus it is absorbent enough to clean the mirrors. I love it! Plus, I don't have to pay for it (I just use the free paper that comes every once in awhile). If your piece gets too soggy, just throw it away & grab another one. It's great! How many of you already knew about this, or have I totally enlightened you?

More FR08 Pages

My Jean Quilt

I really wanted to have a jean quilt to take to our upcoming family reunion, so I made one this last week. I love it! It's so huge & heavy, but it will be great for picnics, watching fireworks, & hanging out on the beach!

A Quick Tutorial on Etching Glass

I ordered some Armour Etching cream last week & it arrived the other day. I finally had a chance to try it out & thought I would share the process of etching my pyrex glassware with our last name. I think this is a great idea so that you don't lose your glassware when lending it or taking it to potlucks. I also think this would be a wonderful gift for newlyweds, their last name etched into their dishes. So, I used my Silhouette SD to cut a vinyl template of our last name. Make sure your glassware is clean by using some spray glass cleaner. You also want to make sure you don't have any fingerprints in the area to be etched.

Then, get your Etching cream & a paint brush ready. I did start out trying just a regular paint brush but wasn't getting the kind of coverage I wanted, so I switched to a foam sponge brush.

Apply a coat of cream over the empty letter spaces. Don't skimp, you want to have enough cream to etch the glass completely, not just in patches. The bottle said to leave the cream on for 5 minutes, so that's what I did.

After the 5 minutes are up, wash the cream off. Be sure not to wipe it with your hands, this is an acid based cream we are dealing with. It will cause chemical burns. Be safe. So, wash it all off, then clean your dish again with the glass cleaner & wipe dry. Here is what one of mine looks like. I've actually done about 4 with the same template. Don't look too closely, or you'll see all the lovely fingerprints. It took me a few tries to get a good picture, so I had to keep readjusting my hands. I love this stuff! I'm also excited because I have another use for my Silhouette & my vinyl! (By the way, theSilhouette SD is an amazing machine! You just hook it up to your computer & it will cut any of the fonts that you have. You can also create your own custom images for it to cut onto paper, vinyl, heat transfer, etc.)

 Happy etching!

Rock Climbing pages

A Family Reunion Page

A cute photo

I just love this picture of Ammon & Sharon! For some reason it didn't make it onto the scrapbook page, but I thought you all might want to see it! I know I love it! Even though Sharon isn't smiling, I did get Ammon!

Family Reunion Pages

We have our family reunion coming up in July, so I am working on finishing the scrapbook page from the last family reunion so that I can have them to show people while we are there. Here are the first 4 pages that I've completed.

To-do board

I love this idea for a to-do list from eighteen-25. I love all the papers that she used from her digital kit! I think this would be fun to have on the wall all year round, not just in the summer! She has a tutorial on her site, just click on the link!

Bouncing

I did this page a few days ago but forgot to post it. So here you go!

Sharon's 9-month Pages

9-Month pictures sneak peek

I don't have time right now to post all of the pictures I'd like, but we did take some fun pictures of Sharon yesterday for her 9-month shots. She wasn't very happy. We introduced her to grass for the first time & she definitely is not a fan! Here's a fun picture & sneak peek! I'll try to post the rest later today, but we have to leave for Sharon's doctor's appt in a few minutes. Our littlest dork. =)