Non- Traditional

The past few weeks has been in a state of familial chaos the last few weeks with Kyle working such crazy hours. When spring break is finally here, I see him sleeping for a couple days solid to get his body back into a normal routine! Last night, he got up at 1 to head into work. He's got to go back tonight- but this time, he's got to be getting ready at midnight. He'll be heading to Valleyview, which is a good 4 hours form here. Oh, the life of an oilfield worker! (And their families!)

So, other than Thursday night, I've spent a considerable amount of time in my craft room. My mojo must have found me, because I churned out three entire layouts last night. Can you believe that?! I'm slightly flabbergasted! I wonder what tonight will bring?!

Our Easter plans are slightly on hold for the moment; I do plan on baking a cake today- with the girls' help, of course- but otherwise its going to be a normal, quiet weekend for us here. We are hoping to make next weekend our 'Easter' weekend; my parents will be back home (they are currently on vacation right now) and Kyle should be done work. If he isn't, at least it'll be his regular weekend off. He's going to need a break by then!

While I'm on the topic of Easter, as I was heading to bed last night, I wandered into the kitchen to grab a little shot of juice to whet the whistle, and two of my fridge magnets caught my eye. They struck a chord deep within me, but I couldn't say why exactly it was so profound to me. They are two birds- doves (I think. But, I affectionately call them chicks)- and they're facing each other. One is yellow, the other is white. The word "Easter" jumped out at me when I saw them.

Just one of those 'hmm' moments, I guess.

Kyle is big into drag racing. He has his own race truck, that he enjoys tinkering on and plans on (slowly) improving, as finances and time allows. We haven't raced much since moving back to Alberta, but we did occasionally attend the race track in Estevan when we lived in Saskatchewan. Some of you may know that already. He's joked, time and again, that his girls are going to grow up to be funny car race drivers. Yeah.Right. Not if I can help it! I don't mind if they drag race, and start out racing rails, but they are--WILL NOT--race funny cars. They're too fast and too dangerous. He also jokes that I should take up drag racing. I've got a better reaction time than he does (heh heh). It could possibly be on my bucket list.

The first layout I finished last night is a perfect example, in Kyle's defence, of why the kids should learn to drag race. They love speed, they love playing racing games on their daddy's iPhone, and they love pretending to 'race' around the house in a cardboard box. That's what Addison was doing in my 'Race Car' layout. Kyle would push the box up with his toes and make car sounds, pretending to race the kids around the world.

Up until the very last minute, the title for this layout was going to be 'Pretending'. Then, after I got the journalling done, I realized that the title didn't really explain what this layout is all about. Instead, it would have been confusing, and the whole point would have gotten lost in the shuffle. So, I gently peeled off the alphas, and edited the title to read 'Race Car'.

You're probably wondering where the journalling is. Its there, but its hidden! I'm on a flip book craze lately, and this layout is no exception. The layout I scrap lifted this one from (which means copied, basically) didn't include room for journalling, so I had to be creative and make room for it. I made the flip book to 1) save paper- so I wasn't throwing out any paper that could easily have been used up; and 2) I wanted lots of space to write in, since my writing is so big and fluffy. There. Killed two birds with one stone!

The main color scheme I wanted to follow on this layout was kraft (brown), red and blue. The yellow makes a terrific accent color, and actually steals the show. The blue and brown are so muted, while the red and yellow are so intense and dramatic, I love the contrast between them. They also provide a great contrast between Addisons' personality (which is quiet and laid back), while the bright, vivid colors helps highlight the intensity of race car driving.

Also, one last little note: the blue floral paper in the background was created using a Creative Memories paper tearing tool. Remember how I mentioned in a previous post that my paper trimmer is incredibly dull and tends to tear thin paper? Yeah- that's what happened with this patterned paper. To camouflage the torn edges, I embellished with the paper tearing tool. I love the look here!

One of the best things about having girls is that I can have make overs with them! I'm a girly girl. I like having my hair all pretty, some make up on, and pretty clothes. I like to feel good about myself, and getting dolled up and painting my nails (once in a while) helps me achieve that. The girls really enjoy it, too. So, one day, during play time, we sat down to have a little make over. They were all.over.it like a pig in mud. (And, I can hear the girls saying to me 'but, I don't want to be a pig'). We have yet to understand what that phrase means! Heh heh.

I scrap lifted a layout I had seen on the Jillibean Soup blog for this particular project. It works perfectly to frame and highlight the star of my layout: the picture of Addison. This picture is a personal favorite of mine! I'm in love with it! It isn't the best- her one eye is covered, but that's what makes it so great. My blush brush is perfect to highlight the theme of my layout. MAKE UP!!!! (That, and her sweetly, toddler-done smudged lipstick).

The last layout I created was using the newest sketch to be posted to the LCOM (Lets Capture Our Memories) blog. If you want to play along, you can find the sketch here. I'm pretty sure I'm going to submit this layout to their challenge. When I saw that my friend Melissa had posted it, I knew instantly that it would be perfect for this layout.

I am not a big fan of halloween decorations. I'm more of a harvest type of gal. That's what I'd rather decorate my house with, because I love the warm, inviting, deep colours this time of year boasts. Not that I have anything against halloween decorations, or anyone out there that enjoys decorating for the holiday. I just don't like the dark connotations of it. Does that make sense? Anyways, it just boils down to personal preference. So, when it came to creating this years' halloween layout, it wasn't about using traditional halloween colours; it was all about coordinating with the girls' costumes!

The girls dressed up as fairies for halloween. At first, we were going with butterflies (that's what they'd asked for), but since the weather was incredibly cold that weekend, I ran to the dollar store, found tiara's to wear over their toques, and little wands, and VOILA! they were fairies. Later on (after the pictures in the layout were taken), I put the girls in snow pants. It slowed them down quite a bit, but at least they were warmer!

I had a lot of fun creating the title cluster on the bottom left portion of my layout. I love the mixture of alphas and sticker phrases, journalling spot, buttons and tags. Its very eclectic and personally a lot of fun! IMHO. To help draw the eye around the page, I included the date in the upper right corner of my layout. A goal to always keep in mind when you're creating is to follow an invisible grid in your mind; divide your layout into threes and try to embellish where those lines interect, to create a design 'sweet spot'. Its effective, but a technique I sometimes find hard to do.

What do I love the most about this layout? The non traditional color scheme! The colors I used are everything opposite to halloween and fall, and I think its fantastic!!

Lifestyle Photos

Good afternoon! How is your Thursday going? Its another beautiful day here- we're above 10 degrees again this afternoon. The windows are cracked a bit again today, letting some of that wonderful fresh air into the house to freshen things up again. I love it!! We waited until nearly noon for Kyle to come home--he was gone for a good 16 hours last night! Yikes. He says there's a possibility he could be going out again tonight; if not, he's got a rig move going on tomorrow. In a way, I hope he doesn't have to work until tomorrow. He's going to need the rest. Switching from day to nights to days again is going to wreak havoc on his internal clock. I don't envy him at this time of year at all!

To keep myself busy last night, I created another layout, and the finished product came about by chance. Sort of. I desperately need a new blade for my paper trimmer, but Walmart doesn't carry the replacement blades (yet they carry the paper trimmer, itself. Go figure). Grrr. (On a tangent, its like training pants. They have potty training underwear for the littles, but don't carry the plastic liners that a toddler wears over top of them. S.M.R.T. If you ask me.)

Cutting regular weight patterned paper is taking chance into your own hands- the cut could be crisp and clean, but more likely, its going to be ripped and torn and plain messy looking. Which, it was. So, I decided to roll with it. I broke out a piece of sand paper (which I haven't used in a coons age), and distressed the edges of all the paper in this layout, including the pictures. I was going for a shabby chic sort of look. I don't think I mastered it at all, but I do like the distressed look. Actually, I love the distressed look. I need to do it a little more often. I love the personality and character it adds.

I began with a plain piece of white card stock, and used a tooth brush (of all things) to paint on the background. I like the dry brushing look it lends. I tried the splattering technique first, but haven't quite gotten the hang of it. I scrapped that idea and just painted the old fashioned way (except for the tooth brush part). I cut the squares of patterned paper to the same size as the pictures, which is 2x3--which I find works incredibly well for an 8.5x11 size layout, if you want multiple photos--then embellished them a bit using stickers, a photo corner and what was left of the patterned paper I used behind the white card stock.

Lastly, the numbers of the date didn't match my color scheme (which I pulled inspiration from Pinterest for), so I painted them up, too. I used a small paint brush to add color, then took a dry paint brush and dry stroked them to help some of the color pop through, but not too much. It also adds a bit more texture to the layout, too. IRL it almost looks like wood grain.

The inspiration for my layout came from Pinterest (it originally came from the JBS blog, I do believe), but there was no way I was going to be able to stretch my title work across the top of the page. I split it up- part of it along the top of the spread, and the last half along the bottom of my spread. It helps carry your eye right to the bottom of the layout. I think, though, if I were to tweak it a little more, I'd add some more deep brown accents to my layout, as another way to help draw a persons eye around the page. I can't help but feel the eye gets stuck on the date.

Meh, oh well. Work place hazard :) I'm still in love with my layout!!

I may or may not attempt scrapping again tonight. It all depends on what my husband wants to do and how he feels. If he needs more sleep, I'll be back in here crafting up a storm. But, if he feels lively enough, I'm going to chillax with him, instead. I've missed him these last two days!

Fulfilling Project

I am finally nearing the end of our boudoir/lifestyle photo session scrapbook pages. In a way, I'm kind of sad that I'm at the end (I have only one layout left in this series), but in a way, I'm incredibly satisfied. Not only did I scrapbook these pictures for the girls to look back on, and see what fun their mama and auntie A had, but I also got a special mini album and layout done for my best friend. That's about as fulfilling as scrapbooking can get. And, nothing is more rewarding!

I'm now contemplating making a layout of our day just for myself, to hang on one of the walls in our house. I just might have to do that!

The layout I completed last night, the one you'll find here, finally deals with the whole point of our day: our photos! As part of my package, I got to have a few lifestyle photos done, so those are in plain view on this layout. I wasn't comfortable sharing my boudoir photos with the world wide web, so I got creative with the sketch I used, and the layout I created.

This is my favorite part! In the sketch, a tag with journalling was added to the right side of both pictures. Since this layout didn't require any journalling, I switched it up and made this cute little flip book, which is tied closed with lace ribbon. I used the lace ribbon to mimic the outfit I was wearing in my boudoir photos, which is partly white lace. If anyone wants to see the hidden pictures, all they need to do is untie the ribbon, and flip through the book. For a little bit of a teaser, I made each succeeding page a tad bit longer (also so the pages are a bit easier to flip). I also switched the placement of the journalling tag- rather than the right side, I put my flip book on the left side of the layout.

The outfit I wore for my boudoir photos is black and white, so I wanted to stick with a color scheme that highlighted those two colors. I found a color scheme (on Pinterest) that added yellow as an accent color, so used varying shades and tones of yellow and light brown/ to accent this layout. Once again, I carried the lace theme throughout the layout, using a lace doily in the background.

When it was time to add the title work, I began wondering what type of alpha would be best to use. I wanted to add a bit of a glamorous air, since both A and I felt pretty glamorous all dolled up, so pulled out my dollar store glitter alphas. There wasn't a second 'O' in black, so I cut a part a lower case 'd', to make the letter 'O', and consequently a letter 'I', since I wasn't able to find that in black, either. Once in a while, it helps to think outside the box!

Its a very simple design, but that's the way I like it!

Whole Lotta Sharing

Hello peeps! Its our weekend, FINALLY!! Its been an incredibly long week for us- Kyle's been on the road between 4 and 6 every morning, and has come home after 8 pm every single night since Monday. Tonight, he was home shortly after 6. He deserves a break!

The kids are heading to their grandma's (with Taco) for a couple of days, and we're planning to get a few minor things done around the house, and take it easy. We differentiate between grandma's because there's three sets of grandparents- two of which have pets in the house. We're all pretty excited about it.

Having said that, I'm taking Saturday to scrap. For as long as I want. Would anyone be interested in joining me for a simple, laid back online crop? Ha. The virtual type. I'd love to have some company, since I don't know of anybody near me that likes the same hobby I do!

So, I want to share those two layouts I forgot about last night, and two more that I made today. I want to share the cards I made too, but the computer isn't cooperating right now. They won't upload. So, I'll aim for sharing them with you tomorrow or Saturday. Whenever I get back to the computer :)

The first layout is about a bookshelf that's been passed down to Kyle. His paternal grandfather made it, and it means a lot to him. He has fond memories of his paternal grandfather; it sounds like he was quite the character. The bookshelf is starting to show its age- its cracked nearly half way up one side, and there's dings and dents all over. I like the bookshelf too, but I wanted to spiff it up a little bit.

So, one day in September, while the weather was still warm (and while the kids were out visiting their grandma with Taco), I got to work. I sanded the entire thing down, mixed half and half paint with water, then got to work. I wanted to give it a vintage look, so used steel wool after it had dried to give it a worn look. I love how it turned out. We did the same thing with our bed. It looks phenomenal! I almost want to give all our furniture the same treatment!!

I used February's sketch from the sketchy challenge over at Canadian Scrapbooker for my layout entitled Heirloom. Even though the month is over, I'm not sure if I can add it to the gallery over there. I would like to. At the very least, I submitted it for publication. I'd love it if it were published! But, we shall see.

The sketch includes a half circle, which I incorporated into my layout too, but I went one step further and added another half circle ring. I cut a doily in half and used both portions of the doily to create two rings. To make the top ring stand out a bit more, I slipped a brightly colored piece of scrap patterned paper between the doilies. I love the way it looks! In fact, except for the doilies, this entire layout is made from scraps. Oh, minus the kraft card stock base.

I tried a new technique on my second layout, Home work. The sketch came from SBE. All the patterned papers on this layout are Carta Bella (True Friends collection); the card stock is plain grey, that I punched to add some visual weight and interest. LOVE this color combination!!! I need to remember this one!

I took my wooden alphas that I found at Walmart, and gave them an Island Blue base coat using acrylic paint. Once it dried, I found a patterned stamp (which, in this case, was foliage themed, which I thought worked well, considering my layout is about yard work and maintenance), and stamped each letter in antique white ink. It isn't the clearest and crispest (...), but I still love the way it looks. I'm definitely going to try this technique again. I didn't have the letter 'O' in wooden alphas, but I did in glittery white, so I used that instead. I also took a Jillibean Soup label and added (in Bean alphas- Country Pumpkin Chowder collection) the word 'work'.

Voila, there's my title work!

In the bottom right corner, I added the date, and journalling is in the upper right corner of the layout. You'll find the layout that inspired me here.

My next sketch was found on Pinterest. Again. It inspired my Curiosity Killed the Cat layout.

We are still babysitting Neruda, my sisters' cat, and unfortunately, by the end of the month, she'll be back at home with her mommy. I'm going to miss her immensely. That cat is one of a kind. She makes me laugh on a daily basis. She's my little pal. She hangs out with me all the time- our place is my scrap haven. We trade spots continually while I'm playing.

Late one night, Kyle and I were talking in the kitchen, and he quietly redirects my attention from our conversation to the hallway, which is directly across from the kitchen. Here we see Neruda trying to figure out the humidifier. It was the funniest thing I had seen in a long time, and I HAD to get pictures of her trying to make sense of it.

The title? Totally describes Neruda. She's incredibly curious and inquisitive. Its kind of fascinating watching her, actually. She finds so many things fascinating. Especially the outdoors, but I'll save that story for another post.

The brightly colored papers in the background are perfect to her nature, too. She's one lively, talkative, neurotic animal. That's what I like about her so much. Even her own shadow makes her growl and hiss.

Lastly, the journalling spots were meant for another project, but it just didn't feel right. I had cut them in half, but I didn't like them on that particular project. They work perfectly here. I also added Neruda's name in Jillibean alphas (Country Pumpkin Chowder) to draw a little more attention to the journalling.

My last layout tonight is a total prize. To me. I love it. Probably because I love the subjects in the picture so much. Maybe because I love the collection I used so much. Maybe because of a mixture of things. Ha. I used all Jillibean in this layout. I wanted to keep it masculine, because it is all about my husband. The only papers that aren't Jillibean, are the blue and brown card stocks. Also, part of the title work is Carta Bella.

A layout I found at Scrapbook.com inspired this one. Hmm...I think I may have to frame it. I'm in absolute love.

Enjoy your weekend, everyone! I'll catch up with you again as soon as possible.

~a

China Dolls

I couldn't resist scrapping a layout dedicated to the beautiful, perfect, tiny little girls I gave birth to. I wasn't sure I had made a layout documenting exactly how tiny they were, so that's how this layout came to be! It was also the result if flipping back through all the older pictures, hunting down shots of the house we owned in Manor.

I can happily report that my next layout WILL be of the house in Manor. Watch for it!

The layout of my preemie babies is pretty busy. It's a bit busier than I wanted it, but I think that the main focus still remains the photos. And, that's the most important to me!

A piece of scrap paper with multiple hearts punched from it, that was lying on my scrap table, inspired the row of punched hearts at the top of the photo mat. I used some of those hearts for the banner along the bottom portion, alongside the journaling spot. For a little extra something-something, I cut a small piece of green patterned paper and layered it behind one of the hearts. I also punched a circle from that paper, and created a date tag, at the top right of the page.

I wanted to add more detail to my layout, without making it too heavy, so I pulled out the cuttlebug and embossed away. I really need to buy some more of them! It felt a little boring and flat without any patterned paper, so I added a larger piece of (SU) patterned paper. Add some punched borders, as the sketch that I lifted shows, and you've got the layout I created!

I hope you enjoy, and thanks for dropping by!

~a

Valentines

I have a fun little project to share tonight.

How many of you are racking your brains, trying to figure out what to do for your special someone/significant other for Valentines?

I was, until a couple days ago. My thoughts spanned the Spectrum- what could I buy, do for or make for my husband? Then it hit me. I'm not sure how the idea surfaced. I like to think I thought up of it all on my own, but I may have had some inspiration from an outside source. *Ahem pinterest*. Maybe.

I'm just going to stick with thinking up of it all in my own :D

Valentines coupons! I made valentines coupons for Kyle. Ten of them, to be exact, and they range from sweet little compliments whenever he wants them, to an hours massage (by a professional, of course). They'll never expire, so he has all the time he needs to redeem them.

I needed a little help thinking up of coupon ideas, so I googled it. There's quite a few options! There are a lot of downloadable templates out there. Not so many for creative romantic activities. But, there were enough to make 10 romantic coupons for my dear husband.

And, I'm so proud of it! I can hardly wait to give it to him.

Are you hand making/crafting gifts for your special peeps? How about your kids? There's a ton of ideas for the littles out there, but I'm just going to stick to the store bought route. The kids spied really cute stuffed animals at Wally World, so I'm thinking I just may buy them one each of those.

Till next time...

~a

Hide and Seek

Long time no see!

You should drop by my online gallery- I've got a new layout up. You can find it here.

This layout was done for the latest sketch (#160) over at LCTS, which you can find here.

And, once again, this layout (and sketch) has been added to my favorites list. It was so simple and quick to put together! The ideas started flowing as soon as I sat down to get to work. When that happens, beauty is hard to resist!

Addison, the moment we got to Shining Bank (where our annual family reunion was held), began to play hide and seek. She hid behind a tree and began counting. This picture is one of my absolute favorites, as well. I'm incredibly happy I caught this moment on film- now I can share the beauty with you!!

Our family reunion happens every August long weekend, and that weekend was no exception. In the next layout, which will be posted in the next few days, you'll see some of the wild weather we experienced this past summer- from flooding to tornadoes (which isn't common for areas this far north).

But, that's all I can share about that for now!

Take care and thanks for dropping by. I appreciate it!

~a

Baby C's

Hello from chilly, wintery central Alberta! My goodness we've been getting a lot of snow over the last week. I can deal with it as long as we don't have any more freezing rain. Its made life pretty interesting when you're attempting to travel from place to place. I highly DON'T recommend it!

When the girls first began learning songs and singing, one of the first I shared with them was the ABC's. They still don't have every single letter down pat, but they have the majority of it. They are also starting to sing along to the theme songs of some of their favourite tv shows- especially miss Maren. I love listening, and I love that she's trying to sing along. It makes my heart happy. They are learning so much and growing so incredibly fast!

Anywho, Addison affectionately sang the 'Baby C's', at the beginning, because that's what it sounded like to her. Now she knows that the song is actually ABC, but I thought it was so stinking cute! I never want to forget some of the sweet things they said and did. I'm so thankful for this hobby of mine.

Why do I say that? I scrapped about it. Naturally!

Reveal day at Lets Capture Our Memories is today, which means I have another layout to share with you.

I'm not sure that Addison was actually singing the ABC's to her Oma in this picture, but she could definitely be doing it- the toy that's in the middle of the bottom part of the picture, is a leap frog fridge magnet that sings the ABC's (including magnetic letters- all 26 of them- from the alphabet). That's what they sing along to now. This picture was taken the morning of our outing to the air show this past summer.

Its incredibly hard to see (I should have stamped it in a darker shade of ink, but I was afraid to try it over again, for fear of it looking bad), but I stamped 'I love you' in SU's Close to Cocoa along the upper right hand side of the picture. The scalloped circles were first stamped using SU's Always Artichoke ink, then cut out with a pair of ridiculously sharp scissors. The journalling spot was also stamped, using SU's Chocolate Chip ink.

The lady bugs and flower are all from the Susan Winget collection of K&Co.

The patterned papers are all fab scraps. Yay!

The sketch? Can be found at the LCTS blog. As always, please let me know if you played along with the sketch challenge this week, and don't forget to post your finished masterpiece to the website, using the link tool there. I'd love to see how this sketch inspires you!

~a

Spoiled Rotten

My birthday this year was probably the best one I've ever had. Seriously. I was spoiled.rotten. by the bestest husband in the universe!

On Friday night, we had dinner at Jubilations, a dinner theatre at West Edmonton Mall. To sum it up in one word: fun!! Dinner was delicious, and the show was superb. (We saw the musical version of NCIS, for those that are interested).

Saturday, husband let me shop: I needed new clothes and bras and undies, so I hit up Old Navy for some new clothes, and La Senza for the rest. For dinner Saturday night, we went to the Melting Pot. For those that live in the Edmonton area, and want to have a romantic, out of this world FONDUE meal, go to the Melting Pot. I have a few pictures from our romantic meal:

First up came the cheese fondue

I didn't get a picture of the salad, which came before the entree, which was an oil fondue

the flowers Kyle bought for me (apparently you can have them arrange flowers for you, and placed at your table before you get there).

Your picture is also taken during your meal, too, and they give you a copy of it, placed in a nice photo folder. Here's the picture they snapped for us, just before dessert.

Oops- what's left of our dessert. I highly recommend the brownies with milk chocolate fondue. In my humble opinion- and please excuse me- but its better than sex. No word of a lie. I had three plates of it. All complimentary, by the way.

This last picture was taken just tonight- the girls sang me happy birthday. We put candles in each of our cheese cakes (that was my birthday cake) so that the girls could blow out their candles, too. It was actually kind of funny watching them try to blow it out. Addison somehow blew hers out, but poor Maren (in the purple jammies) couldn't blow hers out. (The cheesecake was delicious, by the way). Hit up Costco for one of those...

In other news, Friday happened to be reveal day over at Lets Capture These Sketches. You can find sketch #156 there.

Here is my take on this awesome sketch:

I had a lot of fun working with this beautiful sketch. I think its one of my favourites! For a little added interest, I stamped the white card stock in the background- I felt that it was too white. I used SU ink in Summer Sun. The hearts are also stamped using the same ink.

My new favourite colour combo (after making this layout) is red and teal- what a gorgeous combination! Yummy! THe one piece of teal card stock is stamped using SU Not Quite Navy ink. Looking back at it now, I kind of think I should have stamped the other teal piece of card stock with the same stamp and ink, but at the time, I like the contrast.

When we took the kids to the air show in town this past summer, one of them fell to sleep in daddy's arms. I think it was Maren, but my memory has become a bit rusty. Anyways, I love this picture and just needed to scrap it! The journalling reads, 'we love to snuggle with you!' The chipboard 'favourite things' helped to reinforce our love of snuggling with the girls, as did the hearts.

Some of you may be wondering how things for me have been going in the recent past. I thought I'd share a bit of an update with you.

At the beginning of September, Kyle and I began seeing a marriage counsellor, to help us break the communication barriers, and improve our relationship. Its helped us out immensely! During the course of our counselling, it became apparent that I've been suffering from Post Partum Depression. I knew that I had it- my ob/gyn told me I was displaying symptoms already when I was pregnant. We let it go, because I couldn't take anything while I was pregnant, and the symptoms worsened after the kids were born. Mind you, Addisons' colic and terrible constipation for their first year didn't help matters, either. Every doctor I talked with after the kids were  born wouldn't listen. They kept telling me I was just stressed out, anxious, and they didn't necessarily think it was PPD. Not until my counsellor asked me about it. She encouraged me to see my family doctor again (which I did- and brought along the depression scale questionnaire I filled out at the beginning of counselling as proof that I did indeed have depression- which she says is severe).

I've been on medication now since the beginning of October, and honestly began to notice a difference immediately. I've progressed to the point where I'm doing things again that I haven't since before the kids were born. I feel like myself again; human again.

I am also researching different discipline/raising methods in regards to the kids. I've began to implement  1-2-3 Magic- which is working beautifully with the kids, and I seriously want to read Raising A Spirited Child. (Though I'd like to read 1-2-3 Magic, too). Any other material/child rearing methods are definitely welcome!

Lastly, we received news today that Kyle is diabetic. Things went south again after I got straightened out. It seemed like we switched roles. As soon as I lost the grizzly bear persona, my husband picked it up. I strongly encouraged him to talk with his doctor again, and have blood work done, and this is the final result. His fasting glucose levels are slightly above what the doctor would like to see, but no matter how high or slightly high it is, its still diabetes.

Life is about to change drastically for us! But, in a good way! Its unfortunate Kyle has diabetes (its hereditary), but now that we've had this wake up call, it'll do us all some good, I think. Once I"m done this post, I'm going to print out some diabetic friendly dinner recipes. Even though it'll be a few weeks till we meet with the dietician, there's no reason why we can't start making lifestyle changes now!

Sorry for the novel!

~a

Trick or Treat

Happy Halloween everyone! Did you little ghosts and goblins score a lot of loot tonight? Mine sure did! We filled an entire Walmart reusable shopping bag- to the brim- with goodies! My word- they still have goodies left over from last year! All this sweet goodness will last us the next couple of years, I think. Did you stay warm while your little gaffers ran from door to door? We nearly froze- the wind is bitter!! We've all got wind burnt cheeks! I'll have pictures up here one of these days. It'll probably (most likely) have to wait until next week.

As promised, here is one of two DT assignments that were due recently. The other will be posted in the next day or so. Hopefully it'll be posted before the weekend, which is shaping up to be another whirlwind adventure for this gal. Only this time, it'll be solely for dear husband and I. Its my birthday, and he's treating me to a weekend for ourselves. I'm so happy that he heard what I said when I would love- just once- to have a birthday that wasn't all about hunting. I have the best man in the universe!

Don't you just love the simplicity of this design?! I sure do- it came together so quickly and effortlessly- Heather did a remarkable job on the sketch behind this layout. She's such a talented lady! You can find the sketch by going to her blog, Miracles Momma Designs. But, you won't find it there tonight. Check back in a few days, and you'll certainly find it there! I'm getting this up early because I'm certain I won't have the time until next week to jump back onto the computer. There's no better time like the present!

Re-Connect

I did some of my own scrapping last night! Woohoo! No sketches, dt assignments on this one, just my regular old brain power. And, I have to say I'm quite proud of the finished product!

I mentioned in my last post, that I had printed out a couple of pictures for my last dt assignment, but at the last minute, two others screamed at me to be used. This is one of the pictures that was originally going to be scrapped. The other isn't very clear, so I opted not to use it at all (at this time).

In the picture, Maren is playing in her tunnel- they love it when mommy and daddy drape a blanket between the couches in the living room, and they can crawl in and out of it at will. Up until everything was secured to the white card stock, that was the direction this layout was going to take. Then, I got to thinking about my relationship with Maren, and the recent re-'connection' we've made- and how relieved and incredibly happy I am that positive changes are occurring between us.

All the paper on this layout is scraps (none of which I remember where they came from- its been so long), though the little strawberry came off a barrette that the girls got as babies. One of them tore it apart, and I've been hanging on to it for quite some time- for the very purpose of being used on a layout, somewhere, some time.

Coffee with your BFF

I have to apologize for the long absences between my posts as of late. In the grand scale of things, and the way things should be prioritized, this has fallen way down the list- but its constantly on my mind. I enjoy blogging, and I hope that in the future it will pick up again (to the once daily, if not nearly daily) status. For now, working on strengthening my relationship with Kyle is priority; and improving my relationship with my kids is a close second.

We have been attending marriage counselling for a couple of weeks, and its helped us overcome our pride and (on my part) fear of letting him get close to me. We still have a long ways to go, and I have a significant amount of 'baggage' that still needs to be dealt with, but we both feel confident we are 'coming along'. Certain concepts are totally new to me (such as an apparent fear of abandonment), and others are finally being seriously looked at and treated (such as post partum depression/depression). That, in itself, is an incredibly long story. In short, we're keeping an eye on my hormones (especially cortisol, testosterone, etc. because in the recent past, my testosterone levels have been low. It may account for my depression, anxiety and everything I've been feeling and experiencing towards/with the kids). To help things out, I'm on an anti depressant. Phew!

I am happy to report, in addition to working things out (satisfactorily, so far) with Kyle, I also feel like I've made a better connection with Maren. I am trying some different disciplinary methods, and they seem to be working. There's less stress in the house, less anger, and more happiness, and the change is welcome and positive. Things can only keep getting better from here!!

I just wanted to give y'all a little update and let you know how things are going, and where I'm at in my (our) life right now. I miss you and will check in as often as time allows!

In other news, I have a new layout to share!

This layout was completed for Miracles' Momma's Design Diva's. I followed Heather's sketch fairly closely this time. I wanted to pick up the colours the girls' cups are in the photo, so I used a lot of pink and blue. I thought coral worked so well with the pink striped paper, I had to throw that in, as well, and the green was such a nice complimentary colour. That explains my paper choices!

I began thinking of how I could incorporate the girls' new favourite thing into this layout- having 'coffee'. We call it coffee, but really its whatever they're drinking. When I'm pouring it, I pretend like its coffee. Then, they get a spoon to stir it with, and sometimes a snack- because when you're sitting and visiting with your BFF over a cup of joe, you need to have a snack! To tie that idea into this layout, I used the tea pot and tea cup stickers.

And, there you have it. When the kids go to bed, they get 'fresh ice', as we call it- just plain old ice water. Sometimes at supper time or throughout the day they'll drink it, but not often. And, when they do, it NEEDS ice in it. They're like their mommy- won't touch water unless its frozen.

I hope you're all enjoying the beautiful, cooler days! I'm so glad fall has rolled around- I love this time of year! Its got me to thinking that I need to hang my fall-y wreath on the front door. Do you decorate for fall? Any season, or all the seasons?

~a

MOnster Jam

I have another layout to share with you tonight! Apparently I forgot to post this one!

As you may recall, we went to the Monster Jam truck show over at Castrol Raceway this past summer. Kyle had to be in absolute heaven--his idol, Grave Digger, was at the show. Unfortunately, his real idol, Mr. Dennis Anderson, wasn't in attendance. He wasn't driving the Grave Digger truck.

Boo.

We still had a good time, though. My BIL and Kyle's friend (and swamper) tagged along with us.

This layout was made using sketch 24 over at Miracle's Momma's Designs. It is a two page sketch, but I whittled mine down to just one. I had enough pictures, but they weren't the best quality, so that's my excuse for making it only one page! LOL

There was a baby boy sitting in front of us with his older brother, mama and daddy-I couldn't resist taking a picture of him and include him on this layout. He was such a happy little thing- and when his ear muffs were put on- he really went to town. He sure liked the sound of his own voice, that's for sure! (My guesstimate, when Kyle asked me, was 6-8 months old. His mommy confirmed ((she overheard us talking about him)) and informed us that he was 7.5 months old). Sure stinking cute!!!

I also couldn't resist including the pictures of the girls sleeping on our way into the city that weekend. Even though they weren't there in person with us, I know they were there in spirit! (I especially love Addison clutching her Manny toy while she slept. So cute!)

Dr. Addison is in the House

Daddy took us all out for lunch today, and while we were out, Addison began to give her 'Germy' a medical check up- checking his ears and throat ('say aaahhh'). The funniest part: when she told him "good girl". LOL

The last few sketches that have come from Lets Capture Our Memories have been so fun to work with- and this one is no exception. There were two reasons I wanted to {finally} use hexagons on this layout: first, because I haven't used them yet (and they are on my scrappy bucket list), and because you'll find them in that pillow right behind Maren's head.

To see what the rest of the design team did with sketch #149, head on over to LCOM

If you decide to use this sketch on one of your own layouts, let me know- I'd love to see what you do with it! I know I had a lot of fun working with it- I hope you do, too!

Long Time

Hey!! Remember me?! LOL. Its been a while, I know, but its been crazy busy around here!

Last week, the kids were away visiting with their grandparents and cousin (who was also visiting because her mommy had surgery the week before last), and while they were gone, Kyle and I buckled down and got some 'home-work' projects done. Our goal this summer was to get the deck and fence repainted, and last week we finally got it done! Wow, a fresh coat (times 2) of paint has made a dramatic difference. We've also learned that what seemed like a dark stain for the fence is actually fairly light, and doesn't make as much of an aesthetic punch as we would like. It does, however, coordinate nicely with our house!

The other major goal while the kids were gone, was to clean out my flower bed so that I can start fresh next spring with what I would like in there. There was a hot, tangled mess of ferns, bleeding hearts and ivy (I think) growing in there, and just looked hideous. I didn't like it at all. So, now my plan is to start fresh! I've been using Pinterest to research plants I might like to plant there; now I just need to head down to the nurseries and gardens in our area, and pick green thumb brains for what likes to grow best in our kind of soil, and in mostly shaded areas that get late afternoon sun. They must.be.perennials. No annuals for this girl!!

Now that they've come home, they're both really sick with colds. Poor Maren is so sick, she sounds like a little old lady with severe emphysema. She hardly has a voice! They both have congested coughs, and have had such violent coughing fits, its made them throw up. Not very fun. We went to the doctor yesterday, and got amoxycillan for Maren, and prednisone for both the kids. Our sleep last night wasn't perfect, but it was MUCH better than Monday nights' sleep. I was up all.night. with Maren. No sleep at all for this mama, and barely a nap the next day for all three of us girls. I'm glad the meds have kicked in and we're starting to climb out of this hole! (If only it would cure the fussiness that comes along with it LOL).

And now, for what I'm sure has been utter suspense for all of you- the surprise that I've been sitting on for a couple of weeks. Truth be told, I'd like to keep it a secret a little longer, because the final touches aren't done yet, but it'll be a month when everything is finally said and done. And, I don't have the patience to wait that long.

So, as many of you know, Kyle and I lived in the trailer for the first few years of our relationship- dating and married. Then, we lived in it again when we moved back to Alberta, before we bought our house. I've mentioned before, that Addison referred to it as her 'first home' when we cleaned it out for the last time and tried to sell it.

We've been trying for a few years to rid ourselves of the thing. It served its purpose, especially for Kyle. But, we kind of out grew it. In many ways, it out grew us, too. Kyle's pick up wasn't beefy enough to haul it around, and with a family of four (and newborns), we weren't doing much camping in it. It became a burden and a huge waste of our money.

For a long time, I tried convincing Kyle to just bring it to a consigner and have them sell it on our behalf. We weren't having any luck AT ALL on our own, selling it privately. Anywhere. We tried everything. Finally, Kyle came to the conclusion that he needed to do something with it, so he brought it to the consigner, hoping that maybe we could trade it in on something that was more useful for us. No go. He did leave it there, and the consigner promised us it would be sold within the month. That was near the end of- or the beginning of- July and August.

He was true to his word. The trailer DID sell. Hallelujah!!

In the mean time, Kyle's been driving an absolute LEMON around for the last few years. The diesel, after we moved it to Saskatchewan, wouldn't heat up for him over the winter, and by the time we came back here, it began dying on a daily basis- even over the summer, when it should work with no problem. Nearly every day, he either jump-started it or took the Yukon to work (if he was particularly irked with it). Funny thing was, most days it was gone, I never even noticed. Even if I went outside to take the garbage out. Shows you how observant I can be!

He's put a lot of money into the diesel to keep it running, and finally got to the point where it just wasn't worth putting money into anymore.

We concluded that we would be able to afford a new vehicle AS LONG AS the trailer sold. He deserved a new vehicle- he's never had a new one (new- used).

During this ENTIRE time, I was trying to convince Kyle that we couldn't afford the Yukon. We never should have bought it, in the first place. A good chunk of his pay check, every month, was going to paying for it- both for our loan and for insurance. Not to mention fuel. All the negatives aside, it also served its purpose. Winters in Saskatchewan are incredibly harsh, and we needed a solid, reliable vehicle to keep the kids and I safe- not to mention a vehicle big enough to accommodate a family of four, with a dog that rode around everywhere with us, a dual stroller that was ginormous, and all the groceries I would need to bring home with me when we ventured out to Estevan (one hour away). We.needed.it.

When we decided that Kyle needed a new vehicle, it became apparent that we wouldn't be able to afford two new vehicles (a new one for him, and our Yukon). I told Kyle we should trade in the Yukon and we could both get what we wanted- for probably the same amount of money. He didn't think that would fly, for what was still left owing on the Yukon. I told him he would never know unless he looked into it.

Bless his heart, he finally did, and happily it worked in our favour. To make a long story short, we were able to buy two new vehicles because the trailer sold. If it hadn't sold, it wouldn't have worked out. We are indeed a blessed family!!

One last picture of the Yukon. Its actually on the sales lot in Edmonton in this picture, and they'd already detailed it by the time I got this picture of it (sadly, the few small changes they made to Yukie make it look so.much.better!!) They put a bug deflector on the front of the truck, and swapped out the stock black door handles for chrome ones. It looks fierce!!

SO, this is how the story went down. On our last trip into Edmonton, we had a wedding to go to, and I had a hair appointment Friday afternoon. After my appointment, Kyle asked me what we should do until my parents were off from work (we were meeting at their place for supper). I told him it wouldn't hurt to waste time and just go and check out this one particular dealership (I suggested City Ford to him because it always seems like they've got such great deals and sales on. Those living in Edmonton know how annoying the commercials can be LOL. If we didn't find anything there, I was going to suggest Wetaskiwin). It isn't all that far from my parents place, either.

We drove through the used car lot, and suffered immense anxiety by all the vultures, I mean sales men, standing around in the parking lot. He decided to call them up and complain about it, and the man that manages the place, hooked us up with his son (who must be like the assistant manager). When we told him we had our kids with us, he told us to stop in anyways- they've got a park indoors for the kids to play while their parents shop.

While I sat inside with the kids, Kyle browsed and came in after a short period of time. Either time had gotten away from me, or there was nothing that caught his attention (which wouldn't have been bad). In fact, it was the opposite. His truck, which is pictured above, is a Ford Lariat, which is like the top of the line before you get into the luxury type trucks- your Denali's, Navigators, Lincolns, etc. It was everything and more he could have dreamed about having in his next vehicle. For a reasonable amount of money. His was an easy sell.

Me, on the other hand, I hummed and hawed over my car for a while. I knew what I wanted, and I wasn't going to take no for an answer. Unfortunately, it didn't go the way I planned. I had my heart set on a Focus or Fiesta- in that pretty metallic green- or, in this powder blue (metallic, I think) colour (I had seen it on their website a few days prior). By the time we got there, it had sold. Boo. Our salesman suggested the Fusion to me, and I wasn't interested. Until it became apparent that Kyle wouldn't be able to fit into either vehicle. They are too small, and he's too big. LOL. Darn! Although, I asked him if that would really be a big deal. It isn't like we'll be taking my car on any road trips we might take. That'll be for the pick up. (But, now that we know how fuel efficient my car is, that's not quite right).

So, alright, I took a Fusion for a test drive. I really liked the way it drove, but I wasn't sold on the colour. I could choose from either silver or grey. By that time, we needed to meet up with my parents, so we told the salesman we would be back later that evening. (To finalize the deal on Kyle's truck). At this point, I was still really on the fence, and actually leaning more towards NO, I don't want it.

When we came back, I took it for another spin (the silver one), and kept humming and hawing over it. But, instead of pining over what I wanted, I began thinking I wasn't sure I liked the colour. I've always liked charcoal (grey- it was one of our wedding colours, after all, and is now the permanent colour of our bedroom- has been for as long as we've been married), so I inquired about the grey one they had on the lot.

R, our salesman, thought it had sold while we were out having supper.

Bummer. 

But, oh well. All that meant was that I would keep looking for something that I would be happy with.

He (R) ran inside to double check, and came back with wonderful news. No, it wasn't sold, and it was a step above the car I had test-driven. Basically, all that meant was a different wheel package and a sun roof. I took it for a drive, and I was sold. LOVE. IT. What I love about it: KYLE.FITS.IN.IT!!!! And, he's COMFORTABLE in it, and he says he DOESN'T MIND RIDING IN IT!!!! (And, and...this is purely aesthetic and superficial, but the cup-holder between the front seats lights up. You can choose between 6 different colours). Its a pretty pimped out little car.

Bonus! He hated riding in my little Cavalier. (Pre-wedding and twinlets). I always told him that he shouldn't write cars off, because they've changed so much since I had that little Cavalier. I hate to be one of those 'I told you so' types of people, but I told you so. About a few things. {Insert grin here}

How can we afford two brand new vehicles, you're asking?

That's the best part of this whole deal. The whole thing would have been off if we had to pay more (or too much more) than we were already paying on the Yukon. (Kyle paid cash for the diesel). We are paying only $14 more TOTAL than what we were on the Yukon. That was about $1000/month on just one vehicle. Can you say SCORE??!

Fueling up for me, now, is only $40 (and it'll last forever, because the kids and I don't go out much), and the rest of what I paid in fuel (for the Yukon) is going to Kyle's pick up (which is about $100). I know. It was sucking us dry. So, even though we aren't saving money, I think its being put to better use now. And, I feel MUCH.BETTER about that.

So, are you wondering about the 'final touches' I alluded to at the top of my post?

I was only going to buy this car if they installed a remote starter for me (which they did- and free of charge), and a rear spoiler. Even though we'll pay for the rear spoiler, they are installing it for me, though that won't happen until we are in Edmonton next, which will be at the end of the month (the 21st). It should have been done when the remote starter was installed, but it wasn't.

Because men are sometimes dunces.

Basically.

(By the way, you can see the diesel in the picture above of my car).

What has everyone else been up two the last two weeks?

Small Gestures

Did you hear? I'm having a giveaway! For more details, scroll down, or click on this link to head straight over there, and click here to see what's included in the RAK!

One of the things that I've wanted to cross off my scrappy bucket list is painting/chalking/inking (and for those of you that have mists- misting) using a template of some kind. Since I have none of those things in my arsenal as of yet, I used what I had on hand. While it may not look as nice as spray inks and proper templates do, I still really like the effect this created.

I used what I had on hand- being Stampin' Up ink, and a paper (dollar store) doily. Then, I took a sponge dauber and inked away! Once that was done, I layered on the elements and called it done.

Before that, though, I altered a few other items. The bird within the frame is a K& Co chipboard frame, and it was fairly blah being an off-white with barely there script scrolling across it. If you were going for a monochromatic colour scheme, it would be beautiful. I wanted more colour, so I used Summer Sun ink (SU) to fill in the scalloped edge, then Cameo Coral for the flowers, and lastly Old Olive for the leaves. For the bird, I used Martha Stewart glitter in Peridot. (I used Always Artichoke ink for blending in the shape of the doily).

The butterflies are vellum, and they're also K&Co. We all know what vellum looks like, and they seemed to be a little lost on the layout- blending in with the white background. Once again, perfect if you're going for a monochromatic colour scheme. With my sponge dauber, I painted them in using Cameo Coral and Ruby Red.

To ground my picture, I threw on a piece of scrap patterned paper (from K&Co's Itsy Bitsy 6x6 paper pad), and then flipped over a smaller piece of the same patterned paper for the sentiment, which is a rub-on and I'm not sure where it came from anymore.

I think the girls sat outside one evening with their daddy while he had his 'yucky smoke', and when they came back in, they were holding some flowers that had come from the flowerbed underneath my living room window. Never mind they came from my own garden- they're still beautiful, and I loved the gesture!

Somebody...

Did you hear? I'm having a giveaway! For more details, scroll down, or click on this link to head straight over there, and click here to see what's included in the RAK!

I wanted to find a layout with room for lots of journalling on this one (and, as it turns out, there still wasn't enough room, lol). There is a small piece of orange card stock thats peeking out from behind all the other layers of patterned paper, at the top of the page. That little piece of paper looks as though its part of the layering, but it isn't! Its actually more journalling. I figured it would work, since the title work is also in the same colour.

Oi. Where do I start on this one? I've alluded to personal struggles in my blog before. I am not sure if I've alluded to the marital problems we are also facing. The bottom line is our communication sucks, and in a few short days, we'll be seeing someone that hopefully will be able to help us straighten things out and get us (eventually) back to where we started- or even better- beyond where we started.

The personal struggles- all stem back to feeling overwhelmed raising the twins on my own. At least, that's the way it feels. When Kyle is busy with work, he's rarely around. When he is around, he offers very little help around the house and with raising the kids. My plate is full and its wearing me down- and out. I can't help but feel incredibly jealous of the freedom he has in coming and going- as he pleases and when he pleases. I don't get that luxury anymore. In fact, all the 'luxuries' that I took for granted when we were dating, married (and when I was single) have all been stripped from me. My whole world day, night and otherwise, is KIDS- dirty diapers, fighting toddlers, wiping up messes, trying to stay on top of my own messes and HIS to boot, keeping everyone happy (though miserably failing in that department) and somehow, in between everything else, magically finding time for myself.

The luxury of friends, the freedom to 'pick up and go' as I please, being alone, doing what I want and what I like- all of that takes the back seat because I have to ensure everyone else is cared for first. So much so, that I don't even remember who I was, what I was like, what I liked to do (other than scrapbooking, naturally). Now all I know is constant anger, frustration, and unhappiness.

When everything is stripped away- the frustration, the exhaustion, the depression, the loneliness--I LOVE what I have- a husband and two beautiful children. I still want more.

But, what I need is for my husband to realize that I need help, and I need to carve out some time for myself- alone- and time with him, as a couple. There are several key areas in our relationship that's been lacking for a number of years, and no matter how often I bring up the subject, and tell him what I need, nothing ever changes. I don't know how to get through and how to open his eyes to the reality of what things are. The thing is, I want his help with some things before I go to someone else for help. This is his family, not somebody else's. When he takes responsibility for his kids too, one hurdle will be overcome. All that means is I want him to offer to bath the kids every once in a while, change dirty diapers every once in a while, bring the dishes to the sink for me and rinse them off (or better yet, if I'm not feeling good, or if I've run out of time and need to do something else, jump in and get the dishes/vacuuming/ tidying up, etc. done without me even having to ask!) clean up his own messes instead of waiting for me to do it for him, and realize that I need to get out (and getting a job isn't my idea of 'free time' and 'personal time') and give me the freedom to do that without feeling pressure to get home as soon as possible, or guilt for even wanting some time for myself.

While it sounds like he's massively lazy, he does do a few things to help me out (such as mowing the lawn and every once in a while, cooking supper, and taking the garbage to the curb), there isn't much else that he willingly does around the house. I mentioned above that I want him/need him to take responsibility for his family. He also needs to take responsibility for himself. The only thing (in my opinion) he prides himself on is his job. He devotes all of his time to his job, and has little- if anything at all- left for anything else after he comes home. Its to the point where I need to figure out how I would be able to get the lawn mowed myself, with the kids hanging around, or how I'm going to get weeding done (in the front yard) with the kids around, or even how I could wash my own vehicle in the driveway without worrying about them running away. Some things just aren't possible for me to do right now, and because of his lack of enthusiasm/motivation/dedication, I have to figure out how to do even that on my own. Everything just keeps piling on top of everything else.

And, I'm drowning in it.

Well, in a pretty bit nutshell, that's what this layout is about. Though, the journalling in my layout is the abridged version of what I've written here. Truthfully, I could write a whole lot more- nasty, hurtful, vengeful- all types of words, but I won't. I don't need to. The day is coming where I can get everything off my chest- in a controlled, and safe environment. And, that's not to say I'll be rude and mean (intentionally) about it. I can't say where our relationship will be after all is said and done, but hopefully we can work through it all!

Recipe for Goodness

For those of you that know of my recent breakfast smoothie/fruit and veggie smoothie addiction, I've got a new concoction for you: blend together a couple florets of broccoli, a small handful of (frozen) spinach, frozen blueberries (I freeze all most of my store-bought fruit and veggies), bananas, and watermelon, 1/3 -1/2 cup plain yogurt, and 1/4-1/3 cup milk. (The milk was added to thin it out a little bit- its quite thick! Instead of milk, you could also add more yogurt and some ice if you prefer). This will yield just enough for a small glass for you and two full (or four half cups, taking more than one child into account) toddler cups for your littles (if its just you, I would guess it would yield about 1 large glass full, or two-3 medium sized glasses).

YUM!

Try it out. The broccoli makes it a bit gritty- sort of like oranges do when you leave too much of the skin on, but otherwise it's delish!!

Here are some more pictures from Fathers Day. Maren gave me a huge hug and told me she loves me in the first pic, and in the second, she's playing with my necklace. You know, kids are so amazing- they're quick to point out to you when something is out of the ordinary. When we went to pick up the kids from their grandma's a few weeks back, I had taken off my locket because of the massage I'd been to earlier that day. I hadn't put it back on. Maren kept telling me over and over that it was 'gone'. Then, the other day, we were loading up to head out somewhere, and I put the girls in the wrong seats- on the wrong side of the truck, and Maren informed me, when I was putting Addison into her seat, that the seat that she was occupying was actually hers.  Oops! Maren always sits on the drivers' side, and Addison always sits on the passenger side. I rectified the problem after we'd finished shopping at our first destination that day. But, how funny!

Back on topic now. This layout was completed for the monthly sketch challenge over at scrapbook.com. This was the week 4 sketch, based on a sketch from Pagemaps July 2009. You can find the sketch here, along with some other gorgeous sketches, too. I'm going to have to remember that website!!

I stamped the entire title- first one some left over packaging, and then underneath the second photo. I've had the stamps for quite a while, and don't know where I got them. Probably at Michaels. The black polka dot paper in the background is Recollections, and the brown patterned paper is K&Co. I used white card stock for the journalling spot, and I blended in the brackets (which have also been in my stash for so long that I don't know where they came from) with basic black ink (SU). Originally, they were patterned, but I didn't feel the pattern on it worked with my design. It was too loud and busy.

Enjoy your Tuesday evening, everyone.

~a

Heinz 57

LIttle cousin C

Addison- this was taken Friday afternoon, just after we got to the lake. Grandma and Grandpa were the only ones there- it was a nice, quiet visit before everyone else arrived. The first thing Addison did was begin playing hide and seek. She counts, '1, 2...6, 7, 8, 9, 10!'

Addison played like this all weekend. She's always happy to sit on her own and 'make'.

Maren was playing a game with Grandma when we first got to the campsite.

Addison enjoying riding in their dinghy. Thanks to B for snapping some pictures for me.

Maren *really* enjoying the dinghy ride. She almost fell to sleep!

Maren pulling her boat around all on her own. She was pretty brave with that life jacket on- she'd go out fairly deep- at least chest height- before she'd start losing her balance. Daddy rescued her a time or two before she went face first into the water. They (both girls) certainly enjoyed the lake, though. We were down there for a good solid couple of hours on Saturday afternoon.

Maren 'driving' grandpa's motorboat.

Addison 'driving' grandpa's motorboat.

One of S's wedding shower gifts- an apron that all of the family signed. I thought it would be cute to let Addison and Maren 'sign' her apron, then I 'translated' what they wrote.

Better view of the apron.

We've decided that the kids are going to accompany grandma and grandpa on another camping trip- one by themselves- in a few weeks' time (the end of August). And, its got me stupidly excited.

Why?

I'm in 'home improvement' mode again. Yup. I'm gonna paint. I'm a go-getter- lets see if I've bitten off more than I can chew- I'm going to paint the half bath and the hallway upstairs. I'm going to DIY a bookshelf. I'm also going to sort through the kids' toys and donate a lot of it. I've been on the net, researching colours to paint the girls' bathroom (make it kidsy, but also classy enough to be used as an adult bathroom), and also came across a new colour to try out in the hallway. Kyle doesn't really want to use the same yellow in the hallway that I did in the kitchen, but I do for continuity's sake. I also think it will brighten up the hallway, because it feels really dark and murky. I looked at other colours, anyways, and I think I've come up with a compromise: I told him that if the hallway is going to be painted something other than what I want, then its going to stay somewhere in the same family that its currently painted (which is beige). I came across two colours (Behr brand): winter garden and/or willow herb. They sound pretty, right? Serene and calming- which I like. Both colours are beige, but are heavy on the green- so it will coordinate with both my living room (which is a beautiful olive kind of green) and kitchen, which is yellow, but heavy on the green. (Its seaweed something or rather). I'm stoked. Now I need an excuse to head into Edmonton while the kids are gone to pick up the paint.

Eek! I love home improvements!!

I suppose I have a little of everything tonight. I whipped this card up in mere minutes on Saturday morning for S, our niece. She'll be getting married on September 1, but her wedding shower was at the camping trip this weekend. I had already made one for her from myself and Kyle, but I made one for my MIL to give her. I also picked up her shower gift for the both of us and then slid theirs in along with the card I made for MIL to give to S. (Long winded and confusing? Yeah, sometimes- that's how I roll).

It was very simple and easy to make.  (It would have to be if I got it done in 20 minutes or less!) I used Whisper White Ink (SU) and my large polka dot stamp to stamp the bottom half of the card stock base. The green card stock strip 3/4 of the way up is scraps (Autumn Leaves brand), and the white tag is Martha Stewart. The blue and green one thats inset is unknown. The wedding bells- Sandy Lion (Dollar Store), and I also used the mini phrases from SU for the 'celebrate' sentiment. I stamped that with Old Olive Ink (SU). Lastly, so that the white of the MS tag wasn't so stark and austere, I inked it with a sponge dauber and Old Olive Ink, so that it would blend in a bit better!

Tune in tomorrow for more goodies!

~a

Sometimes, Incredibly Nasty

We had an incredibly fun day today! Most of the family didn't show up until just when we were leaving, but we sort of assumed that. Its fine- we'll get to see them the rest of the weekend. They probably still had to work today, because the holiday really isn't until Monday. Personally, I'm pretty excited for the kids, because 1) they'll enjoy this years' camping trip much more than last years (they Maren was just beginning to walk last summer, and Addison was still crawling); 2) they'll get to go swimming this time around, too, and we all know how much they abhor love the water; and 3) their other little cousin, who is 6 months older than the girls, will be there for the first time ever. I am most excited about that. Maren gets along really well with C, so it should be a fairly interesting weekend!

We also got to see some of the devastation all the water and flooding has been causing around these parts this summer. When the weekend is over, I'll have some pictures to share. A few points along the highway has been somewhat washed out by the water. Mother nature is sometimes incredibly nasty!

In the morning, we'll be hitting up Walmart quick for a few necessities that were forgotten/overseen, then heading back to the campground to enjoy our day. Poor Maren lost Kiki out there, so she went to bed with twin stand ins- we've got two brown ones that were given us by a friend- and she surprisingly (thankfully) went down fairly easily and quickly! Phew! I promised her that grandma and grandpa were taking good care of Kiki, and we would find him again tomorrow when we go 'camping'. Hopefully its around somewhere- I have no clue how it made its way out of the truck after I'd already put it in there a few times because she constantly dropped him on the ground and left him there. Hopefully he's not lost!

ANother reveal day has finally come around again over at Lets Capture THese Sketches. You can find the sketch and the beautiful layouts the girls have made here.  Seriously, what an incredibly talented group of ladies! Here's my interpretation of Sketch #143. I've finally made it through Father's day weekend! In honour of the men in my life, I made a layout especially for them. 

I absolutely loved working with this sketch. Simple, clean lines, and straight to the point. Just how I like it! My favourite element is the black photo frames I put around the pictures of my dad and Kyle. Really eye catching! I also like the contrast the white frame provides around the 4x6 picture of Kyle in the middle, and I felt the neutral colours worked well for a masculine page- especially since both guys are 'mens men' lol. You'll probably see more variations of this sketch in the future, so keep your eyes peeled!

Well, I'm off to play for a little bit before turning in for the night. Have a safe and happy weekend!

~a