Friday Fill Ins

1. I was laughing out loud last night when I heard Scout singing Bust a Move.
2. I was tired last night and I left my book tucked in my luggage.
3. Why do birds suddenly appear? Everytime you are near.
4. My May Day accident at age 5 that resulted in 70+ stitches was in my thoughts today.
5. One of my father's favorite sayings was wasn't that a dandy?
6. A bad hair day--I know that feeling!
7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to going to my parents cabin tomorrow my plans include beating my Dad at cribbage and catching up with Matt & Katie and Sunday, I want to survive the drive home with the girls by myself in one piece.

Woo Hoo Wednesday- Mini Album

It's that time of year- golf season. Every Wednesday evening Nick has golf league so the girls and I do something special and fun together.

In less than a week we'll begin Woo Hoo Wednesday's for 2010. I'd better brainstorm some ideas. I'll be interested to see how Ellie fits into the mix.

I just wrapped up the mini-album I made of Woo Hoo Wednesday's from last summer. I used a Cosmo Cricket album and made some additional pages out of chipboard. All of the paper is Scenic Route Garden Grove which I bought at their Going-Out-Of-Business Sale. (still bummed about that).

Wordless Wednesday- I'm Flying

Sweet Spring

I think it's safe to say that Spring has arrived in Central WI and is here to stay. Bennet and Scout would live outside if I let them. Last Friday then spent the better part of the day in the backyard picking dandelions, snow-on-the-mountain, and pine cones. I had 3 different vases full of their creations.

For the most part they play well together but there are always moments where both of them are wailing and it's mass chaos. Here is a glimpse into my life from last week.

I'm inside nursing Ellie while Bennet and Scout are playing in our fenced in backyard. I told them to behave since I could still hear them (and see the tops of their heads). Not too long after I get all settled that I head Scout grunting and huffing. Bennet is screaming, "Scoutie, stop it. You'll make blood. You're making blood!!"

I hoist myself out of the chair along with Ellie to go see the commotion. I see Scout on the steps pulling a rope with both her hands and all her might. The other end of the rope? Oh- it's wrapped around the back of Bennet's neck. Honestly? Matches and Gasoline I tell you.

As I have the door open Stoli scoots outside. I quickly pry Ellie away and set her on the floor
(where she immediately begins to sob) so I can get the rope away from my children AND chase the cat before she scoots through the fence. This is beyond multi-tasking even for me.

Did I mention that this all transpired before 11 a.m.?

As I took a deep breath I started humming the words to 'You're Gonna Miss This' by Trace Adkins

You're going to miss this
You're going to want this back
You're going to wish these days
Hadn't gone by so fast
These are some good times
So take a good look around
You may not know it now
But you're going to miss this

It's true what they say about the years being short but some days being long. I try to savor these moments, the nice tranquil all-to-frequent times as well as the more common crazy times. Because in all honesty- I am going to miss this.

National Tell a Story Day

Today is National Tell a Story Day. The main reason I scrapbook is to not only record the images of our lives but the stories behind them as well.

There was a challenge at ScrapFreak to scrap about a funky, fun holiday in the month of April. I have wanted to do a layout about the story behind our use of "Stay away from the bad guys" for awhile now and this was just the push I needed.

I was inspired by this ad. You know how I LOVE my circle punches.

Here is what I did with it. I used 3 different sized circle punches and added some handstitching.

1/4 of her first year gone

Ellie is 3 months old today. Shocking isn't it? You blink and BOOM- three months have passed. It's hard to believe that in one short month we'll start thinking about watching her roll over and adding cereal to the daily mix.

• Still hates napping in her crib during the day although we keep trying. She sleeps great at night so I'll take what I can get.
  


• She had what I consider her first official sleeping through the night last week. Slept from 8:30-6 a.m.



• Is in Size 3 diapers and 6-9 month clothes.



• Her 2 months stats were: 14 lbs. 4 oz. (97%) and 23 1/4 inches. She's a solid baby.



• Is a Mama's girl (and I love it!) She just lights up with a big smile when she hears my voice.



• She is an efficient nurser which makes life so much smoother. She usually has to battle Scout who likes to sit on my lap at the same time but we make it work.




• Her hair is still dark and the brown eyes are staying. She has a bad case of Baby Pattern Baldness in the back of her head in the shape of a rectangle.



• Still gets smothered by Scout on a daily basis.

Sunny Morning

A layout I created for my Book of Me.

TITLE: Sunny Morning
Journaling: My Sunday morning ritual. A cup of coffee with creamer, a comfy spot in the green chair and CBS Sunday Morning on TV. Perfect. Product: Bazzill Kraft, October Afternoon patterned paper and alpha, American Crafts alpha

Egg Hunt and Fill Ins

1. Where are my job offers?

2. If wishes were horses they'd have big teeth.

3. I'd like to see if Avatar lives up to the hype. We'll watch it on BluRay so that will be as close to 3D as we can get.
4. When I was a teen, I thought my 1979 AMC Pacer was da bomb!!

5. One of my mother's favorite sayings was 'Have I told you yet today?'

6. I'd have a hard time doing without my coffee in the morning. It's the taste not the caffeine.

7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to scrapping at my house with Kim & Jess, tomorrow my plans include my niece Mallory's 1st communion and Sunday, I want to get ready for the week ahead!

Here is a quick little layout I did as part of a challenge at Citrus Tree Studio. I am really into gray right now. And yellow. I took the October Afternoon paper and punched it to resemble a flower. I did some selective coloring on the black and white photo so that the yellow egg stood out. The alphabet is October Afternoon as well (Thanks to my brother-in-law Matt G for the perfect Christmas gift!)

TITLE: Egg Hunt

Journaling: Everytime you saw one of your eggs you would scream YELLOW and run to it. 4-4-10

Product: Treasures cardstock, October Afternoon patterned paper, alphabet and journaling spots, American Crafts buttons.

Creating Keepsakes Stand Out Reader

I was shocked to learn that I was listed as a Standout Reader in the May/June issue of Creating Keepsakes magazine. I don't even remember what layout I submitted. I don't submit that often so it was a nice surprise. I'm not going to lie- it's pretty darn cool to see even my name in print.

This is the second time I've been listed as having a layout that caught their eye. Perhaps the 3rd time will be the charm and they'll pick up my work for publication.

Wordless Wednesday- Inside my Freezer

20 minute layout

Since the arrival of Ellie I've had to learn to scrap in 20 minute increments. This layout took me 20 minutes from start to finish. It's very simple but I dig it.

My friend Jess is hosting a GD challenge at Citrus Tree Studio . The challenge is to look at packaging and use it as inspiration for a scrapbook layout.

I found this tin floating around the house and loved the colors as well as the design. I think one of Nick's wallets or watches came in it.

Wedding Album re-do

When I started scrapbooking I didn't think much about the actual albums I was putting layouts into. I would just pick up any post bound album that was on sale. I never really liked the traditional post bound albums. In my opinion they felt cheap and flimsy. They were a pain to organize. They only held so many pages before the binding started to slip or crack.

A couple of years ago I started converting my post-bound albums to American Craft D-Ring albums and never looked back. I cannot begin to tell you how much of a difference it has made. The ease of rearranging and adding pages is a breeze.

Back in 2004 I finished our wedding album and used a Creative Memories album. They make beautiful albums, but it just didn't serve my needs. I had 30 pages to put in the book. I used heavy, 3D embellishments throughout so it was a little bulky. The binding bent and cracked twice. Creative Memories replaced the binding with no questions asked. Still when flipping through the book I felt like the pages were slipping around. Because of this I rarely looked at the album.

A couple of weeks ago my brilliant friend Jess mentioned that I could convert this album over to a D-ring. WHAT? Tell me how NOW!

It's so simple. I grabbed Nick's wire cutter and snipped the metal hinges off the CM pages and slipped the page into American Craft page protectors. The total cost of the conversion was around $25. I want to do some more embellishing to the front of the album but I'm already loving the switch. The book is sturdy and easy to page through.

Friday Fill Ins

1. I'd like to teach the world to sing. Or at least this years American Idol contestants.
2. One of my most favorite romantic memories is how/when Nick proposed.
3. Last night, I had pork tenderloin, broccoli and a baked potato for dinner.
4. Sorry for the loud, active kids. That's just how we make them.
5. Can we stop wetting the bed at night? We're going commando with Bennet- wish us luck
6. One of my worst temptations is sweets; chocolate is hard to resist!
7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to hanging/surviving with the kids solo, tomorrow my plans include going to my friend Sarah's jewelry party and Sunday, I want to plant our pots!

Wordless Wednesday

October Afternoon = Happiness

A week or so ago I was featured in the Readers Spotlight on the October Afternoon blog. As a reward/prize they sent me a box of goodies including their 2 Winter CHA releases, Thrift Shop and Fly a Kite. I swooned and couldn't wait to put it to work on some layouts.

I first fell in love with OA because they have the BEST journaling stickers around. I think I have them in every line they've released. From there it just spiraled. I just love their product and the fact that the lines look great together.

TITLE: Warm my Heart

Journaling: My sweet Ellie. The more I know you the more head over heels I feel. Just look at your sweet, innocent face. Those soft, kissable cheeks. I am always stealing a smooch. I look into those big, dark eyes of yours and wonder who you will grow up to be. I know that as your Mom I am supposed to love you. But it is so much more than that. I am beyond smitten. You have captured your own special nook in my heart and warmed it. Oh how I adore you- my precious little girl. Some times there are simply not enough words to describe how much I utterly & completely love you- always.

Product: October Afternoon Thrift Shop, Cherry Hill, Farm Fresh & Fly a Kite papers, October Afternoon alphabet & journaling spot, American Crafts alphabet & buttons

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TITLE: Matches & Gasoline

Nick has given Bennet and Scout the nicknames 'Matches & Gasoline', for good reason. B is the instigator and Scout just adds fuel to the fire.

When I had my Thickers out for the layout posted above I noticed the giant ampersand and this layout just jumped into my head. Isn't that photo of Scout funny? She got into my makeup the other day.

Journaling: Your sweet faces don't fool me. There is a reason why Dad calls the two of you

Product: October Afternoon Thift Shop & Fly a Kite paper, October Afternoon journaling spots, My Minds Eye Rub Ons (red) and American Crafts

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TITLE: Biggest Sister

I didn't have the right color for 'Biggest' so I painted some felt Thickers.

Journaling: right from the start bennet wanted us know that she wasn't your big sister she was the biggest sister.

Product: October Afternoon Thift Shop & Fly a Kite paper and alphabet, American Crafts alpha

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TITLE: Fresh Farm Fun

Journaling: At our wkly. trip to the Frms. Mrkt a vendor gave you a cabbage flower. It even had a bee inside.

Product: Bazzill Swiss Dots, October Afternoon Farm Fresh, Cherry Hill, and Report Card paper, alphabet & journaling spots, American Crafts alpha

Carefree Weekend

Get ready for a random post with random photos.

I love those weekends where you really don't have any firm plans. You can wake up when you wake up. Go when you want to go. Stay if you want to stay. This past weekend was just like that.

I'm glad I kept some of my old shoes for the dress up bin. Both Scout and Bennet have been wearing 'loud shoes' around the house the last week or so and having so much fun.

Check out the 'barf bucket' complete with a Chewbacca and Dora sticker (sorry for the brutal honesty- that's what we called it growing up) Ever since Scout was sick a couple of weeks ago she has been asking to sleep with it. The view from our living room window into the backyard. Nick relaxing with his guitar, Bennet making a mess in the sandbox and Scout on the slide. This time last year the possibility of buying Fat Tire, one of my all time favorites, was not an option in Wausau. My taste buds are happy that I can now find it locally. I heard that Leinie's Summer Shandy is here too!!! Sunday afternoon Nick and I spent some time outside on the patio while the big girls napped. So refreshing. Ellie was there too in her makeshift car seat/tent.

You be the judge

People often ask us who we think Ellie looks like. You be the judge. Here are photos of Bennet amd Scout at 3 months and Ellie at 2 months. No denying that they're related. So- what's your verdict?

Friday Fill Ins

1. In 1992, I was finishing up my sophomore year of high school. Nick was graduating. (No- we didn't go to HS together)
2. Nothing makes a bad better than Ellie's laughter and smiles.
3. Do what you feel in your gut, with what you have to work with, where you feel at home.
4. On a little weekend getaway to NYC is where I'd like to be. (Jealous of my parents, Katie & Matt right now!)
5. The trees and flowers are telling me that it's allergy season. Or as Bennet calls them- kalergies.
6. The sex addiction (cough cough) stories just keep going on. Enough already.
7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to finishing a layout, tomorrow my plans include yard work if the weather cooperates and Sunday, I want to edit photos and get an order placed.

Blessed

Almost 5 years ago I found out I was pregnant with Bennet. Shortly after that I joined an online birth group on Baby Center. We called ourselves the BrrrBabies. Nearly 5 years later there are still 30-40 of us that communicate on a daily basis. I've had the opportunity to meet several in person.

I can honestly say that I'm better mother because I have these women in my life. They always have the answer I need even if it isn't the answer I want :)

Amy is a BrrrBaby and one of my dearest friends. I've never 'met' her. (boo)

Our lives seem to parallel on many levels. She married her husband, Matt, on the same day/year that I married Nick. Her son Jack was born the day before Bennet. Her daughter Charlotte was born a month before Scout. Her youngest, Cecily, was born this past September.

Amy is one of the most talented 'Martha's' I know. She cooks, she scraps, she crafts, she sews. There doesn't seem to be anything that she can't do. Except perhaps eat a black jelly bean or have a tall glass of milk. :) Add her blog to your reader- you won't be disappointed. Positively Splendid.

When a package arrived in the mail with a return address in Arkansas I knew that I was in for a treat. But when I opened the box and saw what was inside I literally gasped and put my hand to my heart. I fought back happy tears. It was a rare occasion- I was speechless. Just look at what she made. Wow right?

Of course this outfit will be preserved and added to Ellie's hope chest. I love that Ellie has something that was made just for her. Not a hand-me-down from her older sisters. I love that she looks absolutely adorable in it. I love that I found matching scrapbook paper :) But what I love most is the fact that I could feel the love Amy put into it as I put it on Ellie today.

Never underestimate the power or strength of online friendships. Or friendships in general for that matter. I hope to meet Amy in person someday and give her a hug for giving me more than she knows.