Little Pink Flowers

Christie Christie Quite Contrary....

how does your garden grow?

Some of you have been asking for pics of my garden (after all the ones in the spring) to see if anything has actually grown - LOL.  Well, despite the fact that we have not really had very nice summer weather, those little babies have made a bit of progress.  Hopefully I'll have more blooms to show you in August some time.

These are the beans that the boys planted with the cucumber plants that I started from seed in front of them.   I do think we are actually going to get a bit of produce off of them!!  Probably not enough for a whole meal (especially the way my boys eat) but maybe enough to nibble on!

Here are my tomatoe plants ( a little later than my friend Hope's - who I'm sure has been enjoying her bounty already).  Nevertheless, they do have blooms so I can't wait to taste that juicy goodness!

These flowers were inspired by Hope as well.  She sent me a pic of these in her yard and I just had to have them!  They are phlox and they remind me of little hydrangeas.  They are the creamiest, richest white ever and the smell soooooo prettie!

These are my lilies.  I have a ton of these.  They are so hardy.  This year, earlier in the summer I dug them up and seperated the bulbs - by seperated I mean pulled them apart - poor things.  I can't believe they are still blooming this well.  There are probably about 12 plants and each of them has at least 3 blooms.  I'm sure I'll be able to seperate them agan next spring!

Okay, so this is where my gardening inexperience starts to show.  These are some flowers I have planted in containers in the front of our house.  I forget what they are called though.  The pink ones are so dense and gorgeous!

This probably doesn't look like much to you but to me - VICTORY!!!  These are the very first buds on my baby hydrangea bushes!!!  I can't wait 'til they are in full bloom so I can show you again!

...bluebells and cockle shells all in a row.

Again, no clue what these are called but they are really prettie, dense little blooms.

Snap dragons on steroids!!  Holy smokes, I have never seen snapdragons this big!  These things are almost up to my waist.  My Grandma always had them when I was growing up but they were just the smaller ones (which are planted in front of these big one but are not blooming right now).

Remember those pathetic rose bushes I was trying to bring back to life?  Look at this!!  The two big bushes are on either side and the little ones are fillng in the middle.

   These are my containers that I planted earlier as well.  The 2 on the left are full of pansies (I love those little faces) and the one on the right is snapdragons and a very prettie white trailing flower.

Well, thanks for visiting my garden!  Take time to smell some flowers of your own today!

I'm Catching Up

Here is my trash to treasure challenge that Jules issued us a couple of weeks ago.  I have to say that this challenge totally kicked my butt - LOL!

I'm with Charmaine when she says that nothing that is "trash" usually sticks around here too long - I try to toss everything possible as soon as possible otherwise things are totally out of control with 4 boys racing around the house!

I did mange to use 2 everyday household items but not so much trash.  This is a little card I'll be sending out to Joni!

The two household items are shown in the inside: 

I used staples (plain old silver staples) and tea!  I hope Joni takes some time to sit down and enjoy a cup of tea and put her feet up!

I used the Look Who's Perky set which is currently out of stock but will be back in stock very soon!  The background was stamped with the steam swirl and then I used the tiny flower from Power Flowers to stamp the flowers on the teapot.

DEETS:  C/S:  PTI aqua, SU Not Quite Navy, whisper white, Bazzill Lizard; DP:  K& Co. Baily Mat Pad; Stamps:  Pape Pretties: Look Who's Perky; Acces:  Prima flower, May Arts mint velvet rick rack, fiskar's cloud paper edgers, staples; Ink:  Brilliance Graphite Black, PTI aqua mist, SU Not quite navy, copic markers - BG10 Cool Frost, YG91 Putty, 0 colorless blender, Nestle tea bag.

Thanks for looking and take time to put your feet up today!

Can You Believe It?

I finally have a card ready for Prettie Monday!  I thought this little watering can needed a bit of love so here it is?

Deets:  C/S:  ivory and whisper white SU, piglet, java Bazzill; DP:  K& Co Baily Mat Stack; Acc:  swarovski crystals, ivory picot ribbon, scalloped edge scissors, paper piercer; Stamps: Paper Pretties Simply Special; Ink:  Palette Burnt Umber, Copic sketch markers.

Thanks for visiting me!  I'll be back later with some pics of my garden!

BIG Event - HUGE!

Okay, maybe not such a big deal to all of you but for those of us in the Ortman household - today was monumental.  Please excuse me while I gush - I don't do this very often so I hope you'll bear with me. We were outside most of the day today since the weather was B E A Utiful!!!   I did some weeding in my garden (those pics will be coming up tomorrow) and the boys watered the flowers, the lawn and each other!  It was a great day (except that Andy wasn't here - insert very very sad Christie face and then one followed by a tempertantrum Christie).

Okay, so later in the afternoon, Jacob decided he'd do a little bike riding.  He discovered quickly that one of his training wheels had come loose and was pointing up in the air, which led into a very intense conversation regarding the appropriate age of which a young boy should reach before he is "big" enough to ride with no training wheels.  After much encouagement and affirmation that age 5 was indeed "big" enough, Jacob dug out Daddy's tools and began dismantling the training wheel assembly on his bike.

Here he is proudly showing off his now, unmounted training wheels.

This is him wanting to ensure Daddy that he did, indeed, keep the nuts and bolts to reattach the training wheels if need be (notice that there are only 2 and they are not the same, hmmmm)

So, being the little trooper he is, he decided to give it a whirl.  With Mom holding the back of the seat, he pushed off and.......

fell - crashing to the ground.  (Luckily, we were on the grass!)  There were no tears, but no amount of coaxing in the world could assure him that indeed "5" was "big" enough to ride with no training wheels.  Now, to really appreciate the whole event you have to understand that while Jacob and I are having this very indepth conversation about the age appropriateness of training wheels, my Benjamin (3 years old) - some of you may know him as Cooper - wink - is jumping up and down behind me saying, "I big nough, I twy Mommy, I can do it, I twy Mommy, my toon Mommy!!!"  You have to understand this child has NO fear!  He will jump into any depth of water without a second thought and goes down the grown up slide at the pool with no hesitation.  He does not understand that the street is meant for vehicles to drive on not for little boys to drive their trikes or dump trucks on.  He will wander into the neighbor's yards and "borrow" whatever he thinks looks like fun and has been known to actually be right inside our next door neighbor's house entertaining their two border collies while no one is at home.  He can do a front flip in the air - NO HANDS on the trampoline, and last week while I was on the phone with the mortgage broker I found him standing on the roof of our van - OIY!!!  Anyway, I did give him a chance but the seat was just too high for his little legs!

Here comes the monumental part.  Eli who is also 5- the younger of the twins is kind of like my cowardly lion - bless his little heart - now you know where this is going....

Dawned with his helmet and a look of determination never seen on any little boys face before - he gently walks up and says, "I can twy Mommy?"  So of course, I let him, knowing full well that he wouldn't be able to do it and preparing my "its okay honey, you can try again tomorrow" speech. 

He confidently climbed on that bike which's (- is that a word?) - seat was way too high for him as well. 

I hung onto the back of the seat and he took off like a shot with Mommy standing behind him yelling "go Eli, keep peddling, you're doing it - yay Eli".  This was followed by laughter and tears and much loud applause from Mom - I'm a mush I know!

I was just so proud of my little "Peeper"!!!  He can ride with no training wheels - BEFORE his big brother Jacob who generally does everything first!!

 

Here he is showing off just a little (he he)

Good for you Eli! I'm so proud of you!  We have given him the official title of "No Training Wheel Ortman Champion of the World" - LOL

I bet you thought I was done huh - nope just a couple more!  This big event was followed by a rousing game of freeze tag:

Which then led into a very rowdy game of football - yes, the real deal!

This Jacob hutting the ball to Isaiah while my little line backer stood guarding the line.  (Yes, he is wearing little boxer briefs - LOL).  Benjamin proceeded to sack the quarterback (Isaiah - 16 - who plays so well with his little brothers).  LOL!

Needless to say everyone is tired out and ready for bed tonight.

If you're still with me, thanks for listening (reading) to my gushing about my boys!

Now go learn to ride with no training wheels!!

Go Riders, Go Riders

Our football team in Saskatchewan is called the Roughriders (Riders for short).  Saskatchewan has a long history of having the most loyal fans EVER and the Riders have a long history of not winning very much BUT.... last year, the year before and now this year they have shown amazing improvement which has made the fans even more CRAZY!!!  These are the kind of things you are likely to see at any game the riders are playing:

   Notice the very attactive bras, as well as the matching head gear in the backgound!

The siren here adds to the overall spirit of the game when a touchdown is scored and this thing lets off the most amazing light show and horrendous sound all at the same time!

You can only guess that dressing up in tights just helped these guys feel more apart of the team!!

You seriously don't want to mess with these fans - they are VERY loya!!!

Some may even call them "out of this world".

Like the US Dallas Cowboy cheerleaders, the Sasktachewan Rougriders cheerleaders (the Dream Team) have  been known to sport sassy little cowgirl uniforms from time to time which is what inspired the glitter on sweet Sophia's cowboy boots, belt buckle and hat!

I AM catching up by the way (has anyone noticed?)  This card was for the challenge I issued the Prettie Girls a few weeks ago.  In case you didn't get a chance to see their great creations, make sure you stop by and take a look!  This is Howdy Girlfriend - Paper Pretties' August Stamp of the Month - if you join before July 31st, you'll be one of the very first to receive her!

This card will be going off in the mail to Joni!!!

So, for all you guys who put in the time in practice and on the playing field, doing what you love and making us Rider fans proud, this card is for you!

GO RIDERS!!!

   

Deets:  c/s:  Bazzill lizard; su olive, white; dp:  Memory box; stamps:  Howdy Cowgirl - Paper Pretties Stamp of the Month for August; access:  WRMK harware (pewter), Prima flowers, PTI - 5/8" green grosgrain.

Happy Birthday Redo

Okay, so what I didn't tell you when I posted my birthday card for Charmaine was that I made that card at 1:00 am after suffering with a really severe migraine for most of the day and entertaining guests from out of town.  Enough said.  I was horrified with the card but felt I needed to post something for Charmaine's birthday party, I didn't want to let everyone down so I quickly made that realllllly bad card and posted it.  Anyhow, I never had any intention of sending it so I finally got a chance to redo my birthday card for my dear stamping friend and fellow Prettie Girl Charlie ( I can't wait to meet you!!!)  Happy Birthday again Charlie - I hope it was wonderful!

Deets:  c/s:  bazzill white, su whisper white, regal rose; dp:  dcwv nana's nursery girl collection, stamps:  Paper Pretties Bunny Slippers (July Stamp of the Month club), Soaking up the Sun (sentiment); ink:  Brilliance graphite black, copic markers; accessories:  white grosgrain, pink bella baubles, oval punch.

Better Late Than Never...

I do have something for you for Prettie Wednesday but it's not the green and white challenge from last week.  Its the circle challenge from a few weeks ago.  I am bound and determined that I'm going to catch up with these challenges! Danielle challenged us to use circles on a card.  I immediately thought of these cute cards that I've seen so many other people do and I just had to try one so here it is:

I'll be sendig this off to Danielle so I hope she likes what I've done with her challenge!

As always, make sure you check out the other Prettie Girls' blogs to see what they're up to and their Prettie Wednesday card for you.

We're having a sale right now in the Pretties Boutique so make sure you stop by and check out Julies' ribbon slide tutorial and review and then pick up your own ribbon slides to play with!

Also, don't forget to participate in Danielle's weekly challenge!  This week is a color challenge - FUN!!

Lastly, if you're loving this little cowgirl as much as we are make sure you stop by and sign up for the Stamp of the Month Club and you'll be one of the very first to receive her!

Deets:  c/s:  bazzill piglet, apricot, SU whisper white and celery; dp:  DCWV - nana's nursery girl, chatterbox; Stamps:  Howdy Girlfriend - Paper Pretties; Ribbon:  Crate baby bee ribbon, linen thread, copper brads, hole punches, SU chipboard

Weekend Fun

I didn't get to do any stamping this weekend so I don't have a card to show you today.  We had some very good friends from our home town visiting us this weekend and got to enjoy their company.

Here are some pics of the kids at the pool on Saturday:

Its a Surprise Party....

for Charmiane.  Charmaine is such a sweet addition to our team that we wanted to make sure we celebrated her birthday in true Prettie Style!!!  Today Charmaine turns 22 *wink*!  Jana organized our party and my job was to bring the streamers!!!

Here's the deal and we want you to play along.  Go to each of the Prettie Girls', guest Prettie Girls' blogs (as well as Michelle and Laurie from Stamper's Dream - we're THRILLED to have her joining us).  We'll all be posting a pic of something we're bringing to the party to provide you some inspiration and then we'll show you the card we've made to send to Charmaine for her birthday!  You can send your cards to her too!  Even if you can't make a card, make sure you pop over to Oodabug Alley and wish Charmaine a Happy, Happy Birthday!

So, I was looking high and low for my streamers, had to unpack my birthday box to find just the right ones and here is the first one I found:

While I know that all of us Prettie Girls would love to play with these streamers :0) - it didn't make very good color inspiration for the card, soooo, I decided on this one instead:

Here is the card I came up with:

To my dear friend - Have an absolutely wonderful birthday - enjoy your family and your vacation!  Hugs!

Now, don't forget to stop by and see all of these other birthday treats:

Carolina

Jana

Colleen

Danielle

Donna

Jackie R

Jackie P

Jessie

Jodi

Julie

Michelle

Laurie Schmidlin

Happy Birthday to Meeeee....

Okay, so my birthday was like 2 months ago - LOL.  I did recieve this very pretty card a while ago and have just now got around to posting it!  Thanks Jules so much for this very beautiful card!!