…has gotten away from me.
I promise to be back next week.
Today May 21, 2009
- Love this post by Ali Edwards. I love her style and scrapbooking philosophy.
- Started taking a new medication for my lupus today called cellcept. It’s actually an anti-rejection drug for transplant patients but it’s supposed to help me as I continue tapering off of prednisone. As of today I’m down to 10mg (from the 60mg I started at) and doing well.
- Ava is pooping again. We had been struggling the past 3-4 weeks with bowel movements and now that she’s having prunes every morning for breakfast, she’s pooping at least once a day.
- Ayden got his glasses back on Monday and is so happy to see again. He lost a lens at school and was without glasses for 12 days while they made a replacement.
- Jameson no longer has a temper tantrum when I leave him at school in the morning. He sits down to eat breakfast, gives me a hug and kiss and says “Bye mommy!”. I’m so proud of the many accomplishments my goober has made during the past 7 months.
- I am beyond excited about J, Nikki and Ryan’s visit this weekend. I’m so happy that Ava’s godparents (Ryan and Nikki) will be here for her baptism.
- I really adore my husband. He annoys the heck out of me at times, but I’d be lost without him. After a busy day at work and with the kids, I’m trying to remember that he needs kisses, hugs and snuggles too.
- I’ve reunited with a long lost friend…Corona Light with a wedge of lime.
- I’m so glad I took tomorrow off from work so I can clean and get ready for our guests. No kids…just me, the music turned up loud, a bottle of Pledge and the vacuum cleaner. Yeah!
I sure hope everyone has a wonderful Memorial Day weekend!
Sprinkler Fun May 20, 2009
Jameson got a new sprinkler for his birthday.
He loves aiming the hoses at his brother.
Ayden tried to get even by squirting his brother in the head.
Dueling hoses!
Jameson makes a quick recovery and chases Ayden off again.
Ayden doesn't give up though. He's finally able to get control of the sprinkler!
A popsicle on the deck finished off the evening.
Hmmmmm...good stuff!
Jameson just wanted to know when they could play in the sprinkler again.
Telling Stories
Ava loves it when you tell her stories.
Especially when they make her bust out laughing!
Did you hear that mom? It was a funny one!
Root Beer Float Cake May 19, 2009
Goodness! Doesn’t that sound yummy??
To celebrate Ava’s baptism, I thought I’d make something chocolaty, gooey and oh so yummy. What’s better than a cake that actually tastes like a root beer float?
Click here for the link to Root Beer Float Cake with Chocolate Root Beer Frosting. Enjoy!
The Celebration – Part 2 May 14, 2009
My little goober now thingks that birthdays are celebrated for a week, not just a day. Goodness!
We started Saturday off with haircuts for the boys. Jameson will not sit still unless he gets his sucker first.
Jameson just got busted for trying to open his presents without permission.
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle swim goggles and flippers!
His very own Light Saber! Now instead of listening to the boys fight over Ayden's, we can listen to them bash eachother over the head...yeah!
Ava was comparing her growning belly to Bumpa's. Bumpa won.
Mima, Papa and Jameson. The kids have loved all of the extra attention this week!
Jameson had to point out all three of his candles.
Blowing out his candles...happy birthday sweet baby boy!
Where it all began…
This post is dedicated to my very dear friend, Wendy, who emailed me exactly two months ago with a very simple request.
“I think before I start scrapping I better get myself some inspiration from a magazine or cruise on the internet for some interesting ideas. Any info would be helpful for this novice scrapper.”
PLEASE NOTE: I am not and never have been an overly artistic person. I am more of an admirer of people with artistic talents. If anything, I guess I have the ability to recognize the effort and work it takes to create something beautiful. So developing a love for paper, embellishments and adhesive was not something I sought out. I much prefer to place all the blame credit on my mother for introducing me to all of my current vises.
I will never forget that it all began with a specific visit to Georgia where my mom brought me upstairs to one of her guest rooms, opened a closet door and showed me her latest hobby. Inside were plastic drawers filled with rubber stamps, inks, papers and a thingermabob called Sizzix. We took out a folding table and proceeded to make that year’s Christmas cards. I was so proud when I put those cards in the mail…I had made them…with my very own two hands. But even after experiencing the thrill of “creating” something, I would never have guessed that it would turn into such a rewarding and fullfilling addiction hobby.
It was probably a year after those very first cards were made, that I found out I was pregnant with Ayden. Memories of the many photo albums my mom had to document my childhood came to mind. How could I not do the same thing for my own baby? I knew that I had to preserve everything…every smile, his first tooth, his first step, his first taste of real food. It all could have easily been accomplished by simply taking pictures and putting them in photo albums but by this time my mom was in a total frenzy to buy all the latest scrapbooking products that would come out on the market and she was sucking me in with her. My visits to Georgia were filled with late night crops with just me and mom in the newly finished “hobby room”. I felt like a child in a candy store!
Once Jason and I decided to move to Georgia, I knew I was going to be in big trouble. I started taking classes with my mom so we could learn all of the latest trends, techniques and products available. I started subscribing to a few scrapbook magazines and then I began wandering the internet, knowing that there had to be others out there like me who truly felt pain when they sliced into a particularly beautiful sheet of patterned paper. Once my online adventures began, I realized that scrapping wasn’t just about cutting some paper and slapping down some stickers. It was an art form and I had barely even begun to understand it’s complexities.
During the past four years I like to think that I have found my place in the great big world of scrapping. There are certain manufacutures that I prefer over others, product lines that I will never tire of, techniques that I will use over and over again, designers that I will continue to admire and follow and sources of inspiration that I will always fall back on.
Manufacturers
There are so many manufacturers out there now. It’s almost hard to choose which products are my absolute favorite but when I really think about it there are definitely a few that I keep going back to over and over and over again. Another thing that I LOVE is being part of a kit club. We don’t have a lot of LSSs (local scrapbook stores) around anymore and driving up to Archivers is only an every other month thing. So I rely on kit clubs to send me the latest and greatest. I’ve listed a few of my favs.
Favorites:
Making Memories
American Crafts
Basic Grey
My Minds Eye
Sassafras Lass
Teresa Collins
Bo Bunny
Scarlet Lime
Label Tulip
Studio Calico
Inspiration
It’s everywhere! It’s in scrapbook magazines, scrapping websites, blogs, advertisements, TV commercials, the radio…everywhere! Every day I see/hear at least one thing that gives me an “ah ha moment”. I have more inspiration than I know what to do with and I’m constantly on the look for more. Another great source of inspiration is a manufacturer’s website. They normally have some sort of design team in place with a gallery to showcase their work. Most manufacturers also have blogs where they show off their latest products, techniques and tips.
Favorites:
Blogs:
Making Memories
Bo Bunny
Maya Road
Prima
Sassafras
Magazines/Books:
Creating Keepsakes
Memory Makers
Scrapbooks Etc
Scrapbook Trends
Designers
I’m a blog stalker. I lurk around on my favorite designer’s blogs and drool over their creativity. It’s amazing how lost you can get in the blogging world.
Favorites:
Ali
Kelli
Martha
Keisha
Valerie
Elizabeth
Teresa
One last recommendation that truly covers all areas…
With this website, you can cruise through designer’s galleries, member’s galleries, shop, take online classes and learn about new techniques/products. This is the website that first inspired me and I’m sure it’ll do the same for you. Do yourself a favor and create a free online membership with Two Peas. As you find layouts or projects that appeal to your eye, you can bookmark them for later reference.
Hope this all helps!
One more post today…it’s just too funny not to share! May 11, 2009
So I was reading one of my favorite blogs and this woman is talking about how her husband is putting in a new fence in the backyard. This was his comment to her when he finally decided to knock off for the day….
“Those fence posts kicked my arse today. Bet I inhaled enough cement dust that I’ll probably poop a curb.”
Lord have mercy! I can’t remember the last time I laughed so hard!!!
Busy But Happy
Jason’s parents are here visiting for 10 days (they head back home on the 18th). They kids are all loving the extra attention and snuggles. It was so nice having Debbie here for our Mother’s Day celebration yesterday!
Ava is cutting her first tooth…at 5 1/2 months. The boys didn’t get their first tooth until around 9 months. Oy!
I just spent 5 days on 60 mgs of Prednisone and now I’m down to 40 mgs. I’ve been getting tons done around the house with all the extra energy but I’m looking forward to tapering off even more.
This is our last week of soccer. I can’t believe it’s over already! Luckily, when Ayden plays in the fall it’ll be a regular season. I love watching him play♥
Our BFFs (J & Nikki) and Jason’s brother Ryan are all flying down from Wisconsin on the 23rd for Ava’s baptism. We’re super excited to have them all here and plan on spending quality time at my parents pool.
Ayden has 3 weeks left of school before his big Pre-K graduation. Can’t wait to see him in his little cap and gown!
Check out the recipes section of Our Crazy Life for 4 new updates!
Working on a post about lupus. Since I’m smack dab in the middle of a flare, I’ve been getting a few questions about it lately. A lot of people have heard of lupus but don’t understand what it truly is.
Look for another post about where I find my inspiration to scrap. This topic was triggered by an email from my very dear friend, Wendy. Believe it or not, this was not easy to put together…there’s just so much out there that inspires me every day!
Last but not least, I’ll be posting The Story of Us – Part 5 later this week as well. It’s been fun remembering this part of my relationship with Jason. These days we’re so consumed with raising our children and working, that we tend to forget that there was ever a “simpler” time.
Hope all the moms out there had a wonderful Mother’s Day!
The Celebration – Part 1 May 8, 2009
Last night we met Mimi at Wings & Things for Jameson’s birthday celebration dinner. After eating a turkey sandwich and tater tots, Jameson and Ayden both dug into a big bowl of vanilla ice cream. Jason’s parents just arrived today for a week long visit so we’ll have cake and icecream (and maybe a few presents!) on Sunday.
Yummy lemonade!
Ayden waited patiently for his turkey sandwich and tots.
Baby girl was rockin' in her shades.
I don't think it's all going to fit!
Jameson wanted to share his ice cream with Mimi.
Who are you lookin' at?
We are so lucky to have three totally amazing children!
Our Crazy Life 