It has come to this + layouts...

First off, please understand that I'm living as a single parent right now and is out of my wits sometimes when it comes to pushing my kids to do things I want them to do. Hence my story, so please no haters, just sympathizers.

So tonight for dinner, I baked some breaded chicken breast and made macaroni and cheese with some peas in it. I do this so we can add veggies in our meals without too much hassle. And it was no surprise when both kids frowned at the meal "lovingly" prepared for them and flat out told me that they don't want to eat their peas.

(stock photo)

And because I didn't have the ounce of energy to fight with them, I tried to be creative. As creative as I can be! I told them that for every pea that they eat, they get a penny.

(stock photo)

Maddie was up for the challenge, downing 21 peas and all of her mac and cheese without anymore arguments. She's my smart one *wink*

and of course Marcus grumbled and ate everything in his plate before submitting to the challenge. Because I knew he wasn't going to eat much of it from the very beginning, I only gave him a small serving of the mac and cheese and peas combo. Therefore he only ate 12 peas.

After both of them were done, Maddie upped the ante and asked for four more making her grand total to 25 cents! She was so happy because she knows that her quarter can get her a nice, juicy gum ball at the store. I'm telling you she's the smart one.

Well Marcus is smart too but he has become my rebel. Lately he always wants to do the opposite of what I say. And when you ask him why, he doesn't really know. He just does it just to get to me. Oh kids!

So there you have it. This mom accomplished her goal of getting her kids to eat their veggies, even if it cost me 37 cents!

Oh and to wrap up this funny story, why not share two Fall themed pages....

Picking the perfect one

I used only 4x6 pictures for this double page layout. I love how fast I can finish pages just by using one sized photos.


the stitching on top of the letter stickers were both for design and gluing purposes. The stickers weren't adhering enough to the page so I resolved to sew them down.


this scallop corner started by me snipping a piece from the scallop bordered punch I used on the bottom of the page.

Carving them to life

so after picking our pumpkins, we brought them home and made them into jack-o-lanterns. Fun stuff, as always.


I like transferring my letter rubons onto paper first before adhering them to the page. It gives me freedom of placement plus if transferred on coordinating cardstock, it makes the letters pop out more against the background.

So that's it. Till next time,
Grace