Tuesday, December 29, 2009

Scrapping Bekah

The last two layouts I have done have been of sweet Bekah J. She is such a fun subject, too. She's at that fun age where I feel like I need to document every little thing.

This first layout is my favorite layout right now. I captured her and her funny faces one night during dinner and I just love how the layout came together. She cracks me up!!




This next layout is of her playing peek-a-boo. Or "puh-tuh" as she calls it :) I added a hidden journal feature behind the pictures because I couldn't figure out where on the layout to write the story!!




Soon I'll upload some of our pictures from Christmas and all our festivities. Things have just been crazy for me with getting all the projects done, that I just needed a little break. But-pictures, soon, I promise!!

Sunday, December 13, 2009

Last weekend...

Last weekend, Erin and I were able to have some quality time together at a friend's wedding. The wedding was absolutely gorgeous and we had a really good time. We were sad to have to leave right as the party was starting at the reception, but we had our Mommy and Daddy lives to return to.

I did make a wedding gift for the bride and groom, though. And I really didn't want to have to give it up!! It turned out so wonderful, especially since I just guessed on their wedding colors and I got them right! Woohoo!

Anyway, I decorated a plain, black photo album and made a card to match. I used lots of glitter and paint :) I had fun putting it together and was pleased with the ending result. And the best part is, the bride and groom loved it!







Sunday, I was able to have some "me" time with the girls. I was invited to a crop/Scrappy Chics party at Jacqueline's house for the afternoon. Let me tell you, her house is BEAUTIFUL!! So spacious and homey...and her and her husband built it themselves! Wow!

We all had a great time at the crop, we even had a visit from Santa Claus!! (It was actually Jacqueline's AWESOME husband.) He even brought presents!! How cool is that?
I really enjoyed my time away from it all, but it was nice to come home to my family. Even though I don't get much "me" time, I am always looking forward to when I get to return to my hubby and kids.





Oh, and if you are wondering about the "ugly" attire everyone is wearing...there was a contest for the "ugliest Christmas sweater." It was a riot seeing what everyone wore. Of course, Melinda won hands down! I would post a solo picture, BUT I don't want to embarrass her...but if you look in the group shot, she is the second one from the right ;) She did look quite cute, though!!

Tuesday, December 1, 2009

This Moment

This is my favorite layout right now. I have had this picture for over 4 years now, and I finally was able to get my vision onto paper! Yay! I'm really happy with how it turned out.
This picture was taken by myself, at the hospital after Gavin was born. I believe he was a day old in this picture. And now he is 4 1/2! Wow, time sure does fly!!




Monday, November 30, 2009

Eskimo kisses Blessings album

I just finished this cute mini album with Eskimo Kisses by Basic Grey! I am so happy with how it turned out. I will be teaching a class on how to put this together at The Craft Garden, in Wasilla, on December 19 at 11:30. I hope you'll join me!!

This album has a lot of cute extras like journaling pullouts and extra places for pictures. It will hold 2X3 and 3X4 pictures.

Hope to see you there!







Sunday, November 29, 2009

Recent projects

I just realized that it's been awhile since I last posted any of my projects on here. With the holiday season upon us, I've been extra busy with Christmas gifts, cards and projects for the Craft Garden.
Here are just a few of my most recent designs.










The mini album of Bekah is one of my absolute favorites! I used lots of girly stuff and Pink Paislee paper. The funny thing about this album is that all these pictures were taken within 30 minutes of each other. I have one moody little girl!!

Thanks for looking!!

Friday, November 27, 2009

Silverback Gorilla

Just the other night, my mother-in-law came over and was playing with the kids. All of a sudden I heard this dreadful sound. It was the sound of my mother-in-law dry heaving. And not just a normal dry heaving sound. It was a from-the-tip-of-your-toes-dry-heaving-that-sounds-like-the-mating-call-of-a-silverback-gorilla-sound.

Seriously.

What was the cause of this obnoxious sound, you ask?

My four year old was chasing her around with a booger on his finger.

I think that the expression on my face when this happened was probably priceless. I remember I was staring at her with an "Are you kidding me?" look on my face. At first I thought she was kidding! But after I realized that she was REALLY dry heaving, I kept thinking, "If she pukes on my carpet, she's cleaning it up!!"

She didn't puke.

But I sure did have the best laugh that I've had in ages.

And Erin and I had fun that night in bed doing the dry heaving impersonations!!

(Sorry, Amber :) You know we love you...but darn it, this was such a good story!!)

Friday, November 20, 2009

Neglected

Yes, I know I've neglected my poor, little blog. I did not mean to go so long without updating. It seems that every time I would get ready to write about something, I would be summoned away from the computer.
Well, the kids are both asleep and the hubby is watching the tv, so I think now is my chance!

-Life has been busy. Very busy. After spending the majority of October with a bunch of sickies, November has crept up on me with all its glory. Christmas is next month and I am so behind in getting all the good stuff done!!

-I am (not so) patiently waiting to go see New Moon on Monday. My mom watched it today and said that it was great. I really can't wait to get my Edward fix...

-Would somebody please tell Gavin that 5:30 in the morning is not an acceptable time to start the day? Every morning for the past week he has been getting up at that obscene time. Not sure why either.

-I really can't wait for Christmas this year. I've already started putting up the decorations (actually started last week!) but I still need to put up the tree. I love all the festive decorations!

-I am having a really hard time with this post. It feels unnatural. Hmmm...I think I just need to go catch up on my sleep.

I guess I'll just have to blog more later. I really am having a hard time keeping my eyes open. zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

Monday, October 12, 2009

LOST: My Mojo

I've noticed that the longer I stay away from posting a blog entry the harder it is to actually get motivated to do it. And I'm still not really motivated :)
So here are some pictures to look at until my mojo comes back. Which will hopefully be in a couple days :)






Friday, September 25, 2009

Another thing to worry about...

Today Gavin had open house and parent orientation at Headstart. I was really looking forward to going. Looking forward to watching the "presentation" the kids were going to do and to have Gavin show us around his school.

I wasn't prepared for the disappointment and frustration that I felt upon leaving. I wasn't prepared for the sadness that overcame me and that is still hovering over me.
Needless to say, it was the most unorganized event that I have ever been to. Now don't get me wrong, I totally understand the chaos that comes with having tons of 3 and 4 year olds running around. But for an organization that has been doing this for years, I expected a bit more.

When Erin, Bekah and myself first arrived, we were told to go to another room for the parent orientation. This, I thought, would be informative, giving us an idea of what to expect from the school year. What I didn't expect was an hour, yes an hour, of them "selling" the idea of volunteering at the school. I do understand that they need the help and I have previously agreed to help out this year, but I did not expect to be lectured for an hour about this subject. Especially not with a 15 month old who cannot sit still during a boring lecture.

Anyway, after that was all over with, I learned about how Gavin spends every day there. And I am not a very happy mom.

Because Gavin also goes to Swanson at 1pm, he has to do things a bit differently towards the end of the day. Headstart typically gets out at 1pm, but Gavin has to take a bus over to Swanson. This bus comes to get him at 12:15. So, while the kids are outside playing during recess, Gavin has to come inside 15 minutes early and eat his lunch. In the hallway. With a staff member sitting next to him trying to force him to eat whatever nasty meal they are serving for the day. Okay, so maybe I might be overreacting, but today's lunch was yucky. And now that I think about things, I just realized something. Today was an inservice day for public schools. Apparently the staff there at Headstart all forgot about that, so they had Gavin go through with the agenda that he normally does. Which is fine. Things happen, people forget. But what upsets me, is that today they also had a big picnic for the open house. Burgers, hotdogs, veggies, fruit, etc. Gavin's lunch today consisted of 1/4 roll, a spoonful of baked beans with cut up hot dogs in it, 2 baby carrots, a piece of a pear and a glass of milk. Where is the kid friendly food? Gavin wouldn't eat any of it except for his milk and roll. If whomever dished out his food would have given him a hamburger or some mixed fruit, I bet he would've eaten it. Ugh. Poor guy, no wonder he is starving when he comes home from school each day. Now, I'm all for trying new foods and such, but his little plate did not look appealing at all. And I am not pleased knowing that someone is trying to force him to eat stuff he doesn't like.

Anyway, after lunch, the kids went back into their classrooms to sing a song. It was really sweet because Gavin was sitting on the teacher's lap. She is a really nice lady :)
After the song all the kids got up and started doing their own thing. Everyone had moved away from the circle that they were just in. Everyone except for Gavin. Gavin was sitting on the floor all by himself playing with some toys. And he looked sad. And that just totally broke my heart. It makes me wonder, does he have friends in his class? Does anyone talk to him? Do they treat him differently because he wears hearing aids?

Writing about this is really hard and I feel like I'm not getting everything that I want to say out. All I know is that I have a wonderful, caring, outgoing, smart, helpful little boy and he shouldn't have been sitting all by himself today. Nobody wants their child to be the one left out. But what happens when your child is that one? I want so much for my little guy. At four years old do kids really have the "cool" groups and the "uncool" groups? My heart hurts.

So, Erin and I have decided that I will start picking Gavin up from Headstart and taking him to Swanson. That way he can have a bit more time there and maybe not feel like an odd one out because he has to leave 45 minutes early. Monday we have a home conference with his teacher so we'll be able to go over some things and I will have a clearer picture about how his days go.

Maybe I'm reading too much into this. But, hey, I'm a mom and he's my little man. I just want whats best for him. Why does parenting have to be so darn hard?

Monday, September 14, 2009

He's growing up.



I am sad.
Tomorrow my little guy will be going to school, all day long. The bus will pick him up at 8:29 am and he won't be home until 3:25 pm. He will be gone four days of the week. What in the world am I going to do?
Sure there are many days when I am exasperated with him and need a break, but there are good days, too. He is such a good little man, helping me take care of "Bebah J" (what he calls her) and helping me around the house (more like destroying it...). Lately he has been asking Bekah to play with him. I've noticed that she is completely lost without her big brother around. It is really sweet the way those two play with each other.
Enrolling him into a second preschool was a really hard decision for me. For one, he'd be gone for so long. Would it be too much for him? Or am I just making excuses for myself? Second, he's got the next 13 years to be in school. He's only four years old. Why put so much onto such little shoulders?
But then I realized that he is still behind in his speech and next year he won't have the one on one that he does right now. With the recommendation of his teacher at Swanson, I decided that it would be best if he is enrolled into Headstart, also. I don't want him to have to struggle next year when he goes to kindergarten. I have to keep telling myself that I am doing the right thing. It's just hard.
I feel like I'm losing my baby boy.
*Sob*
I know that he'll do fine. I know that he'll make a lot of new friends. I know that he'll have so much fun learning and exploring at school.
I guess it's just me I'm worried about.

I better suck it up.

Sunday, September 6, 2009

Bekah and her baby doll




Just wanted to share my latest layout of Bekah J. She loves her baby doll. I mean, really loves her. But she has to be naked. No clothes. Nothing. I have tried several times to put clothes on that poor naked baby, only to have Bekah furious with me and refuse to have anything to do with baby doll. Maybe because Bekah is happiest when she is naked, she feels baby doll is happy naked, too. Anyway, it's just one of those little quirks that I want to remember about my Bekah J and tell her about when she gets older.

Monday, August 10, 2009

A prelude to the birds and the bees?

Good grief, I hope not!

Gavin and I had an interesting conversation the other morning while I was changing Bekah's diaper.

G: Mommy, where is "Bebah's" pee-pee?

(I knew EXACTLY what he was talking about, but tried to divert his attention elsewhere.)

M: Her pee-pee is in the diaper. She went potty in her diaper.

G: Nooo, her PEE-PEE, mommy. (says this while patting HIS pee-pee)

M: Oh, well, she doesn't have a pee-pee like you, Gavin. Only boys have pee-pees like that. Bekah has a girl pee-pee.

G: OH-kay.

Whew! That conversation could have been a lot worse than that! Glad he was happy with just that explanation. I've been wondering when he was going to notice that they weren't the same. I'm surprised that it's taken this long, considering he always watches me change her diaper and that they take baths together.

I think next time Daddy will have to give the details, though. I'll just have to make sure I'm around to hear what HE has to say! :)

Friday, August 7, 2009

A Yo Gabba Gabba Party!

Wow, where did the week go? I know I promised that I would update my blog while the hubby was home, and now he's on his second night back to work! I don't know what happened!! I guess I was just either too busy or too tired (imagine that!). So, anyway, back to the update...

Gavin's party was a success. We did a Yo Gabba Gabba theme this year and I have to say that everything turned out just as I was hoping it would!! From the invitations to the birthday banner to the party hats to the cake topper...everything was handmade. I was really surprised at how easy everything was to put together. So much easier than Bekah's party. Maybe I was stressing out over her party or something. (DUH!) Anyway, Gavin loved all of it, so that is what matters the most.

He sure did make out like a bandit, though. Lots of cool gifts, this little guy did receive. (Channeling my inner Yoda) He also had TONS of fun with the kids in the sandbox that Daddy had put together last minute. (He'll have to put together a bigger one next year!) Gavin was sure one happy camper!!

On a sentimental note, I really can't believe that my little guy is FOUR YEARS OLD. He is getting so big and growing up to be such a wonderful little man. (We do still have THOSE days, but we get through them!) It makes me sad to think that things will not always be this way, and it really makes me treasure all these little moments with him (and Bekah) that I have. I hope he always know just how much his Mommy loves him.









Monday, July 27, 2009

Stay tuned...

I've been meaning to post an entry on here for quite some time now...it's amazing how fast time flies by. I didn't realize that it's been almost 3 weeks since my last post. Jeesh! Between entertaining a four year old with endless energy and a clingy 13 month old who is teething, AND ttying to keep a house clean (ya right), AND planning Gavin's big birthday party (plus just finishing up on having two "little" parties for him), I just haven't had the motivation to blog.
I do have tons of pictures to share, though. But right now I am too lazy to get up and get my card loaded up into the computer. Figures :)
Just wanted to let everyone know that I have not abandoned my blog and to stay tuned for a bigger and better update this week. I'll definately have some new pictures up this week while the hubby is home. :)

Tuesday, July 7, 2009

Conversation

As I was sitting on the toilet (lid closed) this morning taking my nail polish off before my shower, Gavin and I had a nice little conversation...

G: Are you going to take a shower?

M: Yep, in a few minutes.

G: In a few minutes?...What are you doing?

M: I'm taking off my nail polish.

G: Taking off nail polish?

M: Yep. Then I'm gonna take a shower.

G: Oh. My. Gawd. (with emphasis on the "d")


That resulted in some major hysterics from me...I laughed and laughed. And since he knew what I was laughing at, he kept saying it over and over.
So now I'm trying to get him to say Oh my goodness!! but I don't think it's working ;)

Friday, July 3, 2009

Lately...

...I haven't really been in the mood to blog, but decided I better since it HAS been a while.

...I have just been soooo exhausted. Sleep! I need sleep!!

...I have been really sad over the death of Michael Jackson. I could write a whole blog entry on stuff...I remember being in the third grade and having a sticker album devoted to him. I even told people that I had his glove. LOL. He lived a tragic life and was an absolutely amazing and talented artist. May he now find the peace he deserves.

...I have been preparing for Gavin's fourth birthday. That's right. Four years old. We're thinking a Yo Gabba Gabba theme. There's a party in my tummy.... :0)

...I just started reading Twilight again. For the third time. I am obsessed. ;)

...I have been thinking about getting some scrappy items done for some Christmas bazaars. Any ideas on things worth making to sell?

...I have been noshing on strawberry cottage cheese salad. YUM! Nobody in my house likes to eat it, so I get to have a whole batch to myself! I absolutely hate plain cottage cheese, but throw in strawberries, cool whip, and a packet of strawberry jello mix and you're good to go!

...I have been enjoying the sunshine. Especially since I have no clothes dryer and hang my clothes up outside on a line. I've just about gotten completely caught up on the laundry! Yahoo!

Friday, June 12, 2009

my big boy





Where did my little boy go? I took these pictures on Gavin's second day of summer preschool and I can't believe how grown up he looks!!

He is riding the bus now, and he absolutely loves it!! I was a bit skeptical at first, Finger Lake is quite a long way from here, but he has been doing great! All he does is talk about the school bus and how fun it is. The only problem is that he has been falling asleep on the way home and has been extremely cranky when he comes home. Plus, he "knows" that he is a big boy now and wants to do EVERYTHING himself. That makes things just a tad difficult sometimes. That boy sure does have a temper!!

But he can be sweet, too. Even though he is growing up, he has been showing me that he still loves his momma. He has been really into the "I love you, mommy" and when I hear his sweet little voice tell me that, it totally melts my heart. I know I need to savor it while it lasts!! It won't be long before he'll be "too big" to say I love you. *Sob*

Slow down, sweetie...mommy isn't ready for you to grow up.

Wednesday, June 10, 2009

A birthday wish for you...






On this day a year ago, I met you for the first time. You were more beautiful than I had ever dreamed you would be, with your dark hair that had blond wisps, your full lips, your perfect little fingers and toes. I was so blessed to be able to bond with you in the hospital. So blessed to be able to have you all to myself. I remember thinking that in a year from now I would not be wistful on your first birthday because I would make sure to treasure and truly appreciate your first twelve months.

Today is your very first birthday and I broke my promise to myself. I am wistful. I am sad. I am wishing that you would slow down and let me enjoy your baby ways. I am in awe of your beauty and your zest for life. You are so happy, always smiling and giving me kisses. Always letting me know just how much you love me. I want to savor this forever.

I wish you could stay little forever. I wish that I could always protect you from all the dangers and scary things in life. I know that I can't always do that, I know that someday I'll have to let you go. I pray that God will always look over you and keep you safe. I pray that someday you will find a love like I have found in your Daddy. I pray that you will grow up to be healthy, happy and successful.

So, Happy Birthday, my little Bekah J...this is my birthday wish for you...

I love you :)

Tuesday, June 9, 2009

Miss Bekah's first birthday party















We couldn't have asked for a more beautiful day for Bekah's party. I was really worried that it was going to be cloudy because of the gloomy weather we had on Friday and Saturday. Sunday was gorgeous. In fact, I think it was a bit too hot :)

We had the party in our back yard and I was quite happy with how it all turned out. The kids had fun in the pool and Bekah had a good time opening her gifts and of course, eating her first cake.

The little princess made out like a bandit with all the pretty little outfits she received. I can't wait to try them all on her!

Thank you to everyone who was able to share her special day with us!

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