Thankful for Sweeney's

On the eve of Thanksgiving I am thankful to have married into such a wonderful family. They are boisterous and funny, generous and thoughtful.

Last Friday we were truly blessed that all of us could be together to celebrate Great Grandma Sweeney's 90th birthday. All 10 (going on 11) grandkids ranging from 2 yrs to 20.

30 weeks & Bennetisms

Well- I'm 30 weeks pregnant today. Time is really starting to clip along at a fast pace.

Here are a couple more layouts I created for my pregnancy album. Bennet is your typical 3 3/4 year old which means she says some of the funniest things. When I was pregnant with Scout she was too little to really understand what was going on. This time she has lots of questions and lots of comments. I've been writing them down so I wouldn't forget.

She likes to pretend that she's having a baby too. Oh boy!

I did a 'Week at a Glance' for Scout's pregnancy album so I figured I should do the same thing for Thermos's book. This 2pager captures my 24th week.

Friday Fill Ins and a layout

1. We need to repair and paint the wall at the end of the hallway.

2. Seeing the girls genuine excitement when Nick came home last night made me smile.
3. If you want to find me this afternoon I'm watching New Moon.
4. I'm excited because we now own a MiniVan. A car that will fit our soon-to-be family of 5.
5. Massachusetts has a proposed 5% sales tax on elective cosmetic surgery; I think that sounds fair.

6. Traditions that I look forward to every year makes for a happy holiday.
7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to Great Grandma Sweeney's 90th birthday party, tomorrow my plans include celebrating my 34th birthday with family and cake and Sunday, I want to start making lists/packing for our Thanksgiving holiday.

And now a layout. I love this photo of Scout and wanted it to really stand out on the layout. I kept it very simple. Just a couple patterned circles, some stitching and painted chipboard alpha for the title.

Memories on Paper

I had a wonderful weekend at Tall Oaks Retreat. It was just the get-away I needed to feel re-energizd. I was welcomed home by two girls who missed me and a husband who was ready to have the 2nd set of hands back. Bennet was so excited she ran outside in her underwear to give me a hug. Hilarious!!

Here are a couple of layouts I completed.

The following two layouts were created with Feeling Scrappy sketches.

Friday Fill Ins

1. The last band I saw live was I can't even remember.
2. What I look forward to most on Thanksgiving is spending lots of time with my family in MN.
3. My Christmas/holiday shopping is about 50% done
4. Thoughts of Baby Thermos fill my head.
5. I wish I could wear pants with a zipper.
6. Bagpipes are really cool. Especially after some good, dark pub ales.
7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to getting settled at Tall Oaks Retreat tomorrow my plans include scrapping!!! and Sunday, I want to come home to a family that missed me!

For Sale: 2002 Lexus RX300

Nick and I keep having babies which means we need a car that fits 3 car seats. Unfortunately our Lexus is not quite wide enough. It has been such a great car that I hate to sell it, but. . .

Here is our Craigslist listing:

2002 LEXUS RX300 AWD $14500 OBO

Awesome Car - but the wife is making us (me) get a mini-van. This drives great!!! Fantastic in the snow! All the bells and whistles - fully loaded and well maintained!

* 84,000 Miles
* V6 Automatic
* Leather
* Traction Control
* Low-Mileage tires
* Anti-Lock Brakes
* Air Conditioning
* Premium Chrome Wheels
* Cruise Control
* AM/FM Radio
* Tape/Cassette
* 6 disc CD Player
* GPS Navigation System
* Power/Heated Leather Seats
* Remote/Power Door Locks
* Power/Heated Mirrors
* Power Windows
* Power Sunroof/Moonroof
* Roof Rack
* Towing Package

Call Today 715-845-5409

http://www.bigfatdesigns.com/lexus

If you or anyone you know is interested in a great used car please pass this onto them. We're anxious to sell!!

Thank you Veterans

Thank you to all the Veterans, living and not, that fought the noble battles to make and to keep the peace and freedoms that I enjoy. Those freedoms that I hope my children come to truly understand and cherish as I do. It is easy to get caught up in the business of day-to-day life without taking the time to appreciate what we have. Today I'm taking a minute to reflect on all that is good and thank those people who helped ensure that.

My grandfather, Franklin 'Bud' Kline served in World War II as a SeaBee. He will be 94 this December. Each May he participates in the Memorial Day service. 2009 marked 64 consecutive years.

My Dad, Mike Trunnell served in the Army during the Vietnam War at the tender age of 22. I love this photo of him. Standing in a typical pose with a full head of hair. On the back of the photo he wrote "Me on a big ass rock". That is so classic Dad!
My father-in-law, Roger Sweeney, is a proud member of the U.S. Naval Academy Class of 1964. Here he is aboard the USS Tecumseh. I hope I'm not breaking any trade secrets or impairing National Security with this photo. :) Thanks again to all the veterans!

Feeling Scrappy Sketchapolooza

I had the opportunity to participate in Feeling Scrappy's Sketchapolooza 5 class and I'm loving it. We are in week 3 with one more to go. 20 sketches total. It's a great class if you're looking for motivation to get alot of pages done in a short period of time.

I know I keep going on and on about using the supplies I have on hand but it feels so good to actually use them up. I earned a $100+ gift certificate at my local scrapbook shop's Trash to Treasure sale a couple of weeks ago so I get treated to some new goodies too.

MarketFest
This layout is based off a Stacey Lokovic sketch. I rarely do 2-page layouts anymore. This event had so many photos that it worked perfectly for a 2pager. I love that 8 people were represented in 11 photos. Makes me want a corn dog from the fair!
Right side

Left Side

Count Your Blessings

This photo was taken at my sister Katie's baby shower last Feb. Her little girl is 7 months already. I've had this photo printed and sitting in my stack for months. The sketch by Jayne Jones was perfect for it!

Friday Fill Ins

1. Plans and schedules are necessary to keep things running smoothly.

2. I'm happy when things are cheaper than expected.

3. The last thing I drank was glucola for my gestational diabetes test.

4. One of the most valuable things in my life is (besides my family) my daisy pendant from Tiffany's that Nick gave me on 9/10/01 .

5. I like ham and pineapple on my pizza.

6. Dear November, you are the best month. Birthday and Thanksgiving!

7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to going to bed early. I feel funky today, tomorrow my plans include working around the house and Sunday, I want to sneak some scrap time in!

Nursery Tour

Nick and I painted this mural in the fall of 2005 when I was pregnant with Bennet. Nick is a huge Chuck Jones fan. He is responsible for all the best Looney Tunes cartoons we remember from our childhood.







We wanted something gender neutral so this was it. It took a LONG time. Many an evening were spent in this room. For 2 1/2 months we spent every night after work painting. Our fridge was filled with containers of custom colors. Nick took digital still images from the dvd cartoon itself to mirror the exact colors/etc. We used a data projector to put the image on the wall and Nick hand drew from there.



It's a small room so it's hard to get good photos. We painted the bottom and installed the chair rail as well. Now to get the crib re-installed.

Some close ups of my favorite parts of the room.
I just love this funky tree coming out of the corner.

6 months

Well, I'm 27 weeks today. My last week of the 2nd trimester. Can you believe it? I never know if I'm 6 months or 7 months with the whole "your pregnant for 10 months" thing. I'm due on Groundhog's Day: 2/2/10 so I just go back from there. 27 weeks or 6 months. 3 months to due date.

Baby Thermos is doing great. Moving like crazy at nighttime which is always a blessing and a curse :) We have our Gestational Diabetes test on Friday. Bring on the glucola!

Layout was inspired by a Stacey Lokovic sketch.

Scout Shines

Three layouts featuring Scout.

I am trying my darndest to use product I have on hand. I've had this Cosmo Cricket paper for over a year. It feels so good to put it to use!

Layout based off of a sketch at ScrapFreak.

JOURNALING: Ever since you were little you've been a growler. Smushing your face like this. We call you our. . . I totally, 100% lifted this layout from my friend Amy Bell. My friend Amy Fethke snapped this photo of Scout & me at the cabin.

JOURNALING: it is the simple things in life that make us know life is good June 2009

The blue border is handstitched.

A quick little layout based on the 10/29 Sketchy Thursday sketch. I think it took me 30 minutes from beginning to end. I love when that happens.

Happy Halloween

Happy Halloween!! It was a typical Wisconsin Halloween yesterday with temperatures between 35-39 degrees. It was in the 70's last year so Bennet was a bit miffed at the normal temps. "Mom- it can't snow, it's Halloween" Oh sweety- it can and usually will.

Scout was supposed to dress up like Granny. We had the wig, hat, and glasses all set. When she woke up from her nap she wanted nothing to do with it. All she wanted was her kitty boot and pumpkin sweater. We modified her costume and I think she's the cutest Pumpkin Kitty Boots on the block. :)

She was a bit confused about the whole Trick-or-Treating thing. She just kept following Bennet from door to door and repeating, "Candy, pumpkin, candy, pumpkin" Oh, and dogs. Any house with a dog became an instant hit.

Bennet went as Little Red Riding Hood. I made the cape/hood and apron. Add a little checked dish cloth to a wicker basket and she was ready to go. Like any typical 3 year old she talked about Halloween and Trick-or-Treating for days leading up to the big event. It did not disappoint. I mean what's better than going up to a strangers house and getting free candy?

My favorite Bennetisms of the night:

"Mom, what is this?"

Me- "It's a pixy stick"

"Oh- I love these"

____________

"Mom- when we get to Grandma's I'm going to eat some of this delicious candy."

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"Mom- it's raining salt. That's crazy!"