Showing posts with label dear husband. Show all posts
Showing posts with label dear husband. Show all posts
Sunday, March 31, 2013
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!!
Thursday, March 28, 2013
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!
Wednesday, March 27, 2013
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!
Thursday, March 7, 2013
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
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
Wednesday, March 6, 2013
Changing Gears
Good evening! If you haven't already heard, there's a few giveaways happening at a few different places. If you're interested in getting in on the goods, head on over to my Facebook page. You'll find all the deets there! Also, I've got a link up at my FB that gets you the chance to (possibly) have your scrap room featured on Canadian Scrapbookers blog. You should check it out!
I've got two layouts to share tonight, and two cards. I am feeling as though I'm running out of steam (a tiny little) on the layouts, so wanted to give the old attic a bit of a rest and create something different tonight. A very dear friend just got engaged, so I whipped up a card for her, and a family member recently gave birth to her first child. So, there you have my two cards! You'll be able to find them here and here.
The first layout I want to share is entitled My Big Girls. And boy, they are BIG girls! From the day they were born, they put on weight and never looked back. They are a full foot taller than all their playmates (the same age), and have always been at the top of the growth charts. My mom says they look like they could be at least 6 years old. Well...maybe four or five. They most.definitely. take after their parents. I grew like a weed until school resumed after summer break in grade 8. Grade 9--I was in the middle of the pack. I don't think Kyle ever stopped growing. He's a big guy! At 6'3 or 6'4, I'm curious to see how tall the girls grow. J, his sister, is also tall. We shall see!
This past September, we converted their cribs to beds. It was a bit bumpy (literally) at first, but it didn't take long for the girls to get accustomed to sleeping in a bed. Now, they love it. Now, we are looking for bigger beds for them- and actual bed sets! Not that they're too big for their beds. Yet. Just like pull- ups, it won't be long before they're grown out of them. Then what will we do?! We're trying to get prepared.
Some of the patterened papers I chose are actually baby themed, but I liked that the circular pattern mimicked the circular pattern that is found in the bed sheets on the girls' beds. The color scheme that I went with when the girls were newborns was pink, green and brown, and those colors are reflected in my design as well. There's also a touch of orange in their fitted sheets, which is how the orange ties into the design.
I found this sketch over at Scrapbook.com (the one I used to make my Big Girls layout); in Gentlewood Farms' gallery. She's got some fabulous sketches posted there. You should check them out if you're looking for inspiration. And, its a fave. Its also on my Fave board over at Pinterest.
The heart embellishment? Martha Stewarts layered embellies. At Michaels. Love. them!!
The second layout, The Proper Way to Eat an Oreo, was inspired by a layout I found over at Scrapbook.com. I thought I'd change it up a bit and scrap lift a layout that inspired me. I had a lot of fun coming up with the title for this layout. The girls are eating double stuffed oreo cookies, and I showed them how to take them apart and eat them (without dunking them in their juice. If they had been sipping milk, I would have dunked it for them). Maybe next time.
There's a mixture of Jillibean Soup and Carta Bella on this layout. Most of the title work was made with Jillibean alphas (from the Country Pumpkin collection), and the punched and layered strips are Carta Bella (the True Friends collection). Love both these collections! I'm in love with the turquoise and yellow and grey color combo. Yummy!!
Oh!! I'm getting ahead of myself! There's a couple other layouts I need to share with you. I suppose they'll be shared tomorrow. My bad.
Lastly, the two cards. Both cards were made with one sheet of 12x12 Carta Bella paper (Alphabet Junction collection). For the one card, I left the colourful dear little dots paper showing, and in the other, the blue dear little dots is showing. Seriously, they are so cute. Go and check them out. You won't be disappointed!
See y'all again tomorrow!
~a
I've got two layouts to share tonight, and two cards. I am feeling as though I'm running out of steam (a tiny little) on the layouts, so wanted to give the old attic a bit of a rest and create something different tonight. A very dear friend just got engaged, so I whipped up a card for her, and a family member recently gave birth to her first child. So, there you have my two cards! You'll be able to find them here and here.
The first layout I want to share is entitled My Big Girls. And boy, they are BIG girls! From the day they were born, they put on weight and never looked back. They are a full foot taller than all their playmates (the same age), and have always been at the top of the growth charts. My mom says they look like they could be at least 6 years old. Well...maybe four or five. They most.definitely. take after their parents. I grew like a weed until school resumed after summer break in grade 8. Grade 9--I was in the middle of the pack. I don't think Kyle ever stopped growing. He's a big guy! At 6'3 or 6'4, I'm curious to see how tall the girls grow. J, his sister, is also tall. We shall see!
This past September, we converted their cribs to beds. It was a bit bumpy (literally) at first, but it didn't take long for the girls to get accustomed to sleeping in a bed. Now, they love it. Now, we are looking for bigger beds for them- and actual bed sets! Not that they're too big for their beds. Yet. Just like pull- ups, it won't be long before they're grown out of them. Then what will we do?! We're trying to get prepared.
Some of the patterened papers I chose are actually baby themed, but I liked that the circular pattern mimicked the circular pattern that is found in the bed sheets on the girls' beds. The color scheme that I went with when the girls were newborns was pink, green and brown, and those colors are reflected in my design as well. There's also a touch of orange in their fitted sheets, which is how the orange ties into the design.
I found this sketch over at Scrapbook.com (the one I used to make my Big Girls layout); in Gentlewood Farms' gallery. She's got some fabulous sketches posted there. You should check them out if you're looking for inspiration. And, its a fave. Its also on my Fave board over at Pinterest.
The heart embellishment? Martha Stewarts layered embellies. At Michaels. Love. them!!
The second layout, The Proper Way to Eat an Oreo, was inspired by a layout I found over at Scrapbook.com. I thought I'd change it up a bit and scrap lift a layout that inspired me. I had a lot of fun coming up with the title for this layout. The girls are eating double stuffed oreo cookies, and I showed them how to take them apart and eat them (without dunking them in their juice. If they had been sipping milk, I would have dunked it for them). Maybe next time.
There's a mixture of Jillibean Soup and Carta Bella on this layout. Most of the title work was made with Jillibean alphas (from the Country Pumpkin collection), and the punched and layered strips are Carta Bella (the True Friends collection). Love both these collections! I'm in love with the turquoise and yellow and grey color combo. Yummy!!
Oh!! I'm getting ahead of myself! There's a couple other layouts I need to share with you. I suppose they'll be shared tomorrow. My bad.
Lastly, the two cards. Both cards were made with one sheet of 12x12 Carta Bella paper (Alphabet Junction collection). For the one card, I left the colourful dear little dots paper showing, and in the other, the blue dear little dots is showing. Seriously, they are so cute. Go and check them out. You won't be disappointed!
See y'all again tomorrow!
~a
Lastly!
I'm just going to take a quick detour this morning, and share with you my latest design team assignment for Miracle's Momma's Designs.
Sketch #33 was seriously fabulous. I absolutely loved it! My most favorite aspect of it was the layered scallops. I think it marked the beginning of my love affair (just recently) with a lot of punch work and layering. Looks great, right?!
I had to pare down all the elements in my layout because I felt it would wind up too cluttered and busy otherwise, so stuck with a fairly simple, linear design. True to my nature, of course.
Lastly, I added just a bit of room for journalling, because there was a bit of a story behind the photos in my layout. Kyle was sick for a couple of days over the summer, and upon emerging from his sick room to visit with us for a bit, Addison wrapped him with a blanket and gave him a gold medal to try and make him feel better. He has such a big, tender heart, he teared up immediately afterwards (you can kind of see it in the first picture on the left). Both my girls have huge hearts, too. They must have inherited that from both of their parents. Its what makes them so incredibly sweet!
And back to our regular programming.
The last two layouts that I created around our nieces wedding are finally up. You can find them here or here.
In my Eye Spy layout, both girls caught sight of a play park just outside the doors of the community hall where the wedding reception was held. I think both of us would have taken the girls out for a little while, except that it was raining cats and dogs that night! I caught Addison standing in the doorway, wistfully looking out at the playground. My heart breaks for her every time I see these pictures. Its just so sweet.
I absolutely love the sketch that inspired this layout. It's now located in my Fave Sketches board over at Pinterest. I love the linear, clean lines (yet again), and I love the playfulness the banner adds to the design. As for my take on the sketch, I LOVE the papers I chose (which are K&Co) and the color scheme. White, blue, yellow and green just seems to be such warm and calming colors to me. I mostly wanted to pick up the colors in Addisons' dress, which is why I chose blue and white papers. To compliment them, I added bits of green and yellow, and just a touch of pink. (I had to work the pink into it, because even though its faint, there's pink in the title alphas).
Finally, the last layout, Winners, is just to document who won the silly hat contest, and what the prize was that each recipient won for their silly hats. Kyle was one of the winners, and we now have our bottle of wine (the prize) displayed in the entertainment unit in our upstairs living room. Its too pretty to hide away and never look at!
This layout is incredibly simple. Maybe I was a little less inspired than I was in other layouts; maybe I just wanted to keep it this simple. To bling it up a tiny bit, I added clusters of rhinestones in various places throughout the page. To help the focal photo stand out a tiny bit more, I matted it with a 4x6 sheet of journalling paper that I've had in my stash for ages.
And, that sums it up! I do have two more layouts to share; I'm not sure if I'll be around again today to share them; it may have to wait until tomorrow. One of the girls has already scribbled all over one of my new layouts- I'm debating whether I should print out new pictures to cover the scribbled on ones, or just leave it. One day I'll look back on it and treasure the age they were at, but right now, I'm incredibly distraught over it. And, now the girls are fighting...
Signing off for now...
~a
Sketch #33 was seriously fabulous. I absolutely loved it! My most favorite aspect of it was the layered scallops. I think it marked the beginning of my love affair (just recently) with a lot of punch work and layering. Looks great, right?!
I had to pare down all the elements in my layout because I felt it would wind up too cluttered and busy otherwise, so stuck with a fairly simple, linear design. True to my nature, of course.
Lastly, I added just a bit of room for journalling, because there was a bit of a story behind the photos in my layout. Kyle was sick for a couple of days over the summer, and upon emerging from his sick room to visit with us for a bit, Addison wrapped him with a blanket and gave him a gold medal to try and make him feel better. He has such a big, tender heart, he teared up immediately afterwards (you can kind of see it in the first picture on the left). Both my girls have huge hearts, too. They must have inherited that from both of their parents. Its what makes them so incredibly sweet!
And back to our regular programming.
The last two layouts that I created around our nieces wedding are finally up. You can find them here or here.
In my Eye Spy layout, both girls caught sight of a play park just outside the doors of the community hall where the wedding reception was held. I think both of us would have taken the girls out for a little while, except that it was raining cats and dogs that night! I caught Addison standing in the doorway, wistfully looking out at the playground. My heart breaks for her every time I see these pictures. Its just so sweet.
I absolutely love the sketch that inspired this layout. It's now located in my Fave Sketches board over at Pinterest. I love the linear, clean lines (yet again), and I love the playfulness the banner adds to the design. As for my take on the sketch, I LOVE the papers I chose (which are K&Co) and the color scheme. White, blue, yellow and green just seems to be such warm and calming colors to me. I mostly wanted to pick up the colors in Addisons' dress, which is why I chose blue and white papers. To compliment them, I added bits of green and yellow, and just a touch of pink. (I had to work the pink into it, because even though its faint, there's pink in the title alphas).
Finally, the last layout, Winners, is just to document who won the silly hat contest, and what the prize was that each recipient won for their silly hats. Kyle was one of the winners, and we now have our bottle of wine (the prize) displayed in the entertainment unit in our upstairs living room. Its too pretty to hide away and never look at!
This layout is incredibly simple. Maybe I was a little less inspired than I was in other layouts; maybe I just wanted to keep it this simple. To bling it up a tiny bit, I added clusters of rhinestones in various places throughout the page. To help the focal photo stand out a tiny bit more, I matted it with a 4x6 sheet of journalling paper that I've had in my stash for ages.
And, that sums it up! I do have two more layouts to share; I'm not sure if I'll be around again today to share them; it may have to wait until tomorrow. One of the girls has already scribbled all over one of my new layouts- I'm debating whether I should print out new pictures to cover the scribbled on ones, or just leave it. One day I'll look back on it and treasure the age they were at, but right now, I'm incredibly distraught over it. And, now the girls are fighting...
Signing off for now...
~a
Monday, February 25, 2013
Birthdays
Good evening! Did y'all get snow today, too? It was warm, but we still got a couple centimetres of the white stuff. I didn't want to go out and shovel it- I didn't even want to brush it off my car! I guess other things around the house were more important.
Last weekend, and the weekend before, were fabulous. The girls thoroughly enjoyed their grandpa M's 70th birthday, and they enjoyed even more their own birthday, which was the following Friday. We spent the day at home, just by ourselves, and spoiled the girls rotten. They got their most favourite foods at every meal on Friday, they got to open their presents, and their mama made them each a birthday cake (one cake mix, but two round cake pans) with the color of icing of their own choice. It was a really good day.
Saturday was an absolute blast. We threw a party for them, and invited the rest of the family (grandparents, aunties and uncle, and some new friends- to the girls). We had quite a few guests grace our house (and spoil my children rotten), but it was a really great time of visiting, catching up with old friends (and making new friends in the process! Our children had never met, and they're only a week apart!!), eating fabulous food (and no, I'm not trying to toot my own horn! LOL), and beating a pinata senseless. It was just very simple affair- a fruit platter, veggie platter, grilled cheese for lunch, some finger foods, and the best.idea.ever. for a birthday cake.
Dairy Queen blizzard cupcakes.
Ever heard of them?? Ever had one??
I think that was the biggest hit. The kids loved it, and I'm pretty sure the adults enjoyed them, too. There's still a few left over, and one of them is calling my name. Unfortunately, its too late at night to enjoy them!! Maybe tomorrow night...
Now that I've caught you up on the events in our lives this past week, I can share with you a new layout that I made.
Not that long ago, I decided to go out and buy acrylic paint from the Dollar Store. I wasn't sure how much use I would get out of it, so I only stuck to purchasing a couple bottles. (I wound up having to buy another one, because one of my girls got a hold of it, and emptied the entire bottle on herself and the love seat in the living room. It was the end.of.the.world.) No word of a lie. There's still some faint blue stains in the carpet (leading to the bathroom), but every ounce of the blue stuff came out of the love seat. Phew!! I know that both can be replaced, but I'm not as concerned about the carpet as I am the love seat. I don't want to replace the love seat any time soon; one of these days I would love to replace the carpeting in the living room with hardwood or something else. One of these days, we do plan on tearing out the carpet on the main level of our home. Having said that, though, I'm elated that most of the blue paint came out of the carpet, too. We need it to last until we CAN replace it!
Anyways...
On the last few layouts (two of which aren't being posted because they are not cooperating), I've been using my acrylic paint. I've been using my acrylic paint to paint wood veneers that I've been finding down at Walmart recently. In the scrap candy aisle. They're only a $1.00 each, and there's maybe 6-7 pieces in each little packet. I've got everything from leaves to crowns to helicopters and wedding dresses. I urge you to go and pick some up if you haven't already! They make great accents to any project!
So, on this project, I found a crown and painted it Island Blue (DecoArt brand). Its such a pretty colour! I had done part of the title in blue alphas, so I wanted to pick up more of the blue throughout, which is why I chose to paint the crown blue. To bling it up a little, I added some Recollections pearl rhinestones, and a clear rhinestone.
The centre part of the layout originally was dedicated to journalling (on the sketch that I used that inspired this layout), but as I was trying to figure out how I was going to make the journalling portion pretty, I came up with the idea of layering a few strips of scallop punched paper, on an angle, for some interest. I liked the way it looked so much, I decided not to cover it up (after adhering journalling strips and not liking that it was covering up the prettiness). Instead, the smaller blue half circle that's beside the larger circle (matting the crown) is actually a pull tab for hidden journalling. It also includes the date of the event we attended.
You're probably wondering what the deal is with the hats. Our niece got married on the first of September (2012), and silly hats were encouraged at the ceremony. The guests that came up with the most unique/goofiest hats would win prizes (which wound up being a bottle of wine. Pretty nice prize, actually!) There's a story behind Kyle's tacky piggy hat, but that'll be shared in a future layout. The girls, and their cousin Chloe, all got hats from the Dollar Store, so they could participate, too. Not that the hats lasted long.
I'm also trying to use up some of my older paper lately. The patterned papers I used on this project came from K&Co's Best Of Collection. There's 360 sheets of paper in it, and its great, but my only issue with it is its thin. Not always very functional if you want to...say...die cut something with your Cricut. Grr. Minor pet peeve. Sometimes even my paper trimmer messes up the paper. Anyways, there's a lot of gorgeous patterned paper in there, and I wanted to find something that would work well with red card stock, since red is the color of love, and since the major theme of this particular layout (though maybe understated) is a wedding.
You may or may not see more of it in future layouts. We'll have to see!
You WILL see more paint in the future- and in more colors than the three I currently own (blue, green, and antique white). Eek! I feel a Dollar Store shopping spree coming on!
See you next time,
~a
Last weekend, and the weekend before, were fabulous. The girls thoroughly enjoyed their grandpa M's 70th birthday, and they enjoyed even more their own birthday, which was the following Friday. We spent the day at home, just by ourselves, and spoiled the girls rotten. They got their most favourite foods at every meal on Friday, they got to open their presents, and their mama made them each a birthday cake (one cake mix, but two round cake pans) with the color of icing of their own choice. It was a really good day.
Saturday was an absolute blast. We threw a party for them, and invited the rest of the family (grandparents, aunties and uncle, and some new friends- to the girls). We had quite a few guests grace our house (and spoil my children rotten), but it was a really great time of visiting, catching up with old friends (and making new friends in the process! Our children had never met, and they're only a week apart!!), eating fabulous food (and no, I'm not trying to toot my own horn! LOL), and beating a pinata senseless. It was just very simple affair- a fruit platter, veggie platter, grilled cheese for lunch, some finger foods, and the best.idea.ever. for a birthday cake.
Dairy Queen blizzard cupcakes.
Ever heard of them?? Ever had one??
I think that was the biggest hit. The kids loved it, and I'm pretty sure the adults enjoyed them, too. There's still a few left over, and one of them is calling my name. Unfortunately, its too late at night to enjoy them!! Maybe tomorrow night...
Now that I've caught you up on the events in our lives this past week, I can share with you a new layout that I made.
Not that long ago, I decided to go out and buy acrylic paint from the Dollar Store. I wasn't sure how much use I would get out of it, so I only stuck to purchasing a couple bottles. (I wound up having to buy another one, because one of my girls got a hold of it, and emptied the entire bottle on herself and the love seat in the living room. It was the end.of.the.world.) No word of a lie. There's still some faint blue stains in the carpet (leading to the bathroom), but every ounce of the blue stuff came out of the love seat. Phew!! I know that both can be replaced, but I'm not as concerned about the carpet as I am the love seat. I don't want to replace the love seat any time soon; one of these days I would love to replace the carpeting in the living room with hardwood or something else. One of these days, we do plan on tearing out the carpet on the main level of our home. Having said that, though, I'm elated that most of the blue paint came out of the carpet, too. We need it to last until we CAN replace it!
Anyways...
On the last few layouts (two of which aren't being posted because they are not cooperating), I've been using my acrylic paint. I've been using my acrylic paint to paint wood veneers that I've been finding down at Walmart recently. In the scrap candy aisle. They're only a $1.00 each, and there's maybe 6-7 pieces in each little packet. I've got everything from leaves to crowns to helicopters and wedding dresses. I urge you to go and pick some up if you haven't already! They make great accents to any project!
So, on this project, I found a crown and painted it Island Blue (DecoArt brand). Its such a pretty colour! I had done part of the title in blue alphas, so I wanted to pick up more of the blue throughout, which is why I chose to paint the crown blue. To bling it up a little, I added some Recollections pearl rhinestones, and a clear rhinestone.
The centre part of the layout originally was dedicated to journalling (on the sketch that I used that inspired this layout), but as I was trying to figure out how I was going to make the journalling portion pretty, I came up with the idea of layering a few strips of scallop punched paper, on an angle, for some interest. I liked the way it looked so much, I decided not to cover it up (after adhering journalling strips and not liking that it was covering up the prettiness). Instead, the smaller blue half circle that's beside the larger circle (matting the crown) is actually a pull tab for hidden journalling. It also includes the date of the event we attended.
You're probably wondering what the deal is with the hats. Our niece got married on the first of September (2012), and silly hats were encouraged at the ceremony. The guests that came up with the most unique/goofiest hats would win prizes (which wound up being a bottle of wine. Pretty nice prize, actually!) There's a story behind Kyle's tacky piggy hat, but that'll be shared in a future layout. The girls, and their cousin Chloe, all got hats from the Dollar Store, so they could participate, too. Not that the hats lasted long.
I'm also trying to use up some of my older paper lately. The patterned papers I used on this project came from K&Co's Best Of Collection. There's 360 sheets of paper in it, and its great, but my only issue with it is its thin. Not always very functional if you want to...say...die cut something with your Cricut. Grr. Minor pet peeve. Sometimes even my paper trimmer messes up the paper. Anyways, there's a lot of gorgeous patterned paper in there, and I wanted to find something that would work well with red card stock, since red is the color of love, and since the major theme of this particular layout (though maybe understated) is a wedding.
You may or may not see more of it in future layouts. We'll have to see!
You WILL see more paint in the future- and in more colors than the three I currently own (blue, green, and antique white). Eek! I feel a Dollar Store shopping spree coming on!
See you next time,
~a
Thursday, February 7, 2013
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
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
Tuesday, November 27, 2012
DIlemma
Hey peeps, I have a dilemma, and I would love your help (or advice- or both!!)
I attempted to write a post previous to this one, and found out (unfortunately), that I have no more space to add photos to this blog. Unless, that is, I buy more storage. I am not up for that. I found out because I have some exciting news to share, and a picture is necessary to the news I want to share. I will tell you what the news is, because I just can't keep it to myself anymore, but there won't be a picture to accompany it. I don't want to wade through the mounds of posts I've made in the last year trying to locate the photographic item I want to share.
On the other hand, you'll just have to go out and purchase what I am about to share with you. Ha!
I bet I've got you wondering now, LOL.
I got published!
One of my layouts will appear in the next issue (which is out on new stands on the first) of Canadian Scrapbooker magazine. GO out and buy it and look for me! I'd love that!
And, since I have no more photo storage, I am unable to show you my most recent layout, which is sketch #159 over at LCTS. However, you can find it at my online gallery.
Maren (and now Addison) are in this phase where everything is 'theirs'. Maren's 'my' phase has expanded to include the word 'friend' now, so everything and everyone is 'her friend_______...' Its pretty darn cute! I love it especially when she asks about 'her friend daddy'. It warms my heart knowing she thinks that way of her daddy. I just hope she feels the same about her mama!
Till next time,
xo
~a
I attempted to write a post previous to this one, and found out (unfortunately), that I have no more space to add photos to this blog. Unless, that is, I buy more storage. I am not up for that. I found out because I have some exciting news to share, and a picture is necessary to the news I want to share. I will tell you what the news is, because I just can't keep it to myself anymore, but there won't be a picture to accompany it. I don't want to wade through the mounds of posts I've made in the last year trying to locate the photographic item I want to share.
On the other hand, you'll just have to go out and purchase what I am about to share with you. Ha!
I bet I've got you wondering now, LOL.
I got published!
One of my layouts will appear in the next issue (which is out on new stands on the first) of Canadian Scrapbooker magazine. GO out and buy it and look for me! I'd love that!
And, since I have no more photo storage, I am unable to show you my most recent layout, which is sketch #159 over at LCTS. However, you can find it at my online gallery.
Maren (and now Addison) are in this phase where everything is 'theirs'. Maren's 'my' phase has expanded to include the word 'friend' now, so everything and everyone is 'her friend_______...' Its pretty darn cute! I love it especially when she asks about 'her friend daddy'. It warms my heart knowing she thinks that way of her daddy. I just hope she feels the same about her mama!
Till next time,
xo
~a
Thursday, November 15, 2012
Seriously Nuts
What the...??
What a nut!!
Sketch #28 is up over at Miracle's Momma's Designs- you should check it out! What a fun sketch to play with.
Since I didn't actually have a layout of the actual air show, that's the subject this layout covers. None of the pictures I took really turned out all that well- except for the vintage planes, the others move just too stinking fast to get a good picture of! Luckily, the F-18 fighter showed us what those planes look like flying half speed- its still ridiculously fast, but slow enough to get a picture of!
And, the highlight of the show, the Snow Birds, didn't perform for us because a thunder storm blew in as they took off. Luckily I got a picture of one before the show started.
So, I know the scan didn't come out the greatest here. Its just way too bright, and the papers and colours are severely washed out. I guess it makes for a cool effect, but I think it looks much nicer IRL.
I didn't leave any space for journalling, but to remedy that, I used the picture with a ton of white space in it. (And, because I can just see people in the future asking what plane that is in the picture, I wrote it up in the top right hand corner of the picture). LOL
To highlight our Canadian roots, I found a stamp that looks fairly similar to a Maple Leaf. For some interest, I stamped it a few times, then used some pop dots to show case the one that's cut from card stock.
Taking these pictures at night still doesn't do my layout any justice, but at least this time you can see that the one banner is actually a water droplet design. I thought that worked quite well, since it was a very wet and soggy day.
The 'adventure ahead' badge is K&Co.
And lastly, just to show the dimension- both pictures and the circle badge are pop dotted as well.
Hope you enjoyed! Seriously, check out Heather's newest sketch, and let me know what you think! If you play along, I'd love to see how her sketch inspired you!
Monday, November 5, 2012
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
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
Wednesday, October 31, 2012
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!
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!
Friday, October 26, 2012
Lipstick
Phew! I just checked Lets' Capture These Sketches' blog to make sure the reveal post was up, and thankfully it WAS! I was worried that I'd be posting this layout a little too early. The girls and I are heading into Edmonton for another whirlwind weekend adventure- I have a hair appointment today, and then a {tasteful} boudoir photo shoot as part of Kyle's Christmas present tomorrow. The bad/devilish side of me has wanted to do one of these for eons, and I've finally worked up the courage to go and do it! Thankfully, they don't have to be super risqué or x-rated. They are actually fairly...tame, for a lack of a better word. They are as sexy as you want them to be. I'm pretty stoked about it!
After my photo shoot, my girlfriend and I are hitting up the town, since we're both going to be dolled up for our photo shoots (she's having lifestyle photos done). Its going to be a blast!
So, back to sketch #155. I had so.much.fun. working with this sketch! You can find the sketch over at the LCTS blog site here. I twisted and turned the sketch to fit my layout and the amount of pictures I had. And...about those pictures. To begin with, I didn't have any more pictures than the one of my lipstick (which has sentimental value, by the way--its the lipstick my make up artist gave me while she got me ready on my wedding day!!) I wanted to include a couple pictures of my girls with their lipstick on to help illustrate the story better. Since I'm fairly certain I had nothing with them wearing my actual lipstick, I chose a couple of pictures just of each of them- for all I know, they could have been wearing lipstick in those pictures! (The pics were taken the same day, I think).
The banner along the bottom of my focal photo is actually supposed to be stacked pictures (in the sketch), but once again, I didn't have enough pictures to support that. So, I improvised, turning the photo cluster into a banner, and turning the centre square into an embellishment. To resemble thread or string that the banner is adhered to, I used pearl rhinestones instead of actual ribbon, and I love how it looks! Really kind of girly, flirty and flattering.
I used a few bits of scraps on my layout- the blue polka dotted paper is scraps, and the title work and silver circle peeking out from the side of the picture are also from scraps. The half circle is a pull tab for my hidden journalling. The rest of the paper is Recollections and basic card stock (in kraft and black). The green patterned paper is K&Co. Lastly, the brown banner at the bottom, sporting the 'bribery can be flattering' sentiment is MS.
As always, if you use the sketch, I'd love to know, so I can drop by your blog or website and have a little look see!
Till next time,
~a
Wednesday, October 24, 2012
Blow
Hello! How is everyone doing? Life seems to have picked up once again, and I haven't had the chance to sit down in the scrap room to get any playing done in a while. Tonight is the first night in a week (or longer, maybe!!) since I've been in here! The kids are all snuggled up in bed, and I'm unwinding with some much missed scrappy time. Kyle's got to be up early again in the morning, so he's gearing up to hit the sack, too.
After much deliberation, we decided to bring Neruda in to the vet to have her de-clawed. My kids were typically her favourite targets, though every once in a while, she'd try and take a swipe at Kyle, too. We've also been noticing that some of the carpet on the stairs has been pulled away from the wall, and we suspect it was her that did it.
I brought kitty to the vet yesterday, and picked her up today, and in the meantime, Gregory got his vaccinations, too. Its a good thing we brought her- turns out Neruda had ear mites (eew!!), which was taken care of when they updated her vaccinations. I don't think its been shared with Gregory- kitty and Gregory don't have much to do with each other. She hates him with a passion.
Neruda's been pretty mellow today- not venturing too far from her pet carrier for too long. She did cuddle with me on the couch for a solid half an hour this afternoon, but once I moved, she went straight back to her pet carrier.
In other news, I have my (late) newest DT assignment for LCTS. This is for sketch #154, but I changed it up some. Instead of having strips of paper laying horizontally underneath the photo (which, there should also be two photos), I turned them vertically. I like how it looks so much better on my 8.5x11 layout. The circle embellishments were cut from scrap patterned paper I had kicking around (which, I find helps reinforce the 'blow' theme), and the title work was coloured with chalk ink (I used wooden letters from Walmart). I think I've used the 'o' elsewhere, so I used another circle from the patterned paper I previously mentioned for that particular letter.
Its fairly simple, but I love it.
The story behind the pic: Addison was the trend setter here, and made it a cool thing to blow your nose. It wasn't long before Maren jumped on that band wagon too, and before I knew it, they were asking for kleenex all the time. Or, if I didn't catch them soon enough, they'd have wads of it pulled out of the box, and strewn all over the floor. LOL In the picture, I had stuffed a wad of it back into the box.
The cool thing is- when Addison asks to blow her nose, she *really* blows her nose! I don't know many kids that catch on to the whole nose blowing thing that quickly!
Well...now that I've procrastinated some...its time to start the next DT assignment!
Have a great night, everyone!
~a
Friday, October 19, 2012
Skip
So, I completely missed a LCTS sketch a few weeks back. My bad!
Here is my take on sketch #152. As per my current 'kick', all the papers used are scraps. The chipboard Joy sentiment is K&Co, and I've had it in my stash for eons. It's pretty Christmas-y, but I like that its versatile enough to use on a layout that's far from Christmas! The netting is from packaging.
The girls always throw a fit when their daddy leaves the house- whether its for a 'yucky smoke' as we call it, or to run out to the garage for something, or to run an errand, mow the lawn...the list is ever-expanding. I will often tell them to go look in the window, because they'll be able to see their daddy if he's doing something outside. In this case, they were able to watch him for a while, as he was mowing the front lawn for us. It made their afternoon!
Here is my take on sketch #152. As per my current 'kick', all the papers used are scraps. The chipboard Joy sentiment is K&Co, and I've had it in my stash for eons. It's pretty Christmas-y, but I like that its versatile enough to use on a layout that's far from Christmas! The netting is from packaging.
The girls always throw a fit when their daddy leaves the house- whether its for a 'yucky smoke' as we call it, or to run out to the garage for something, or to run an errand, mow the lawn...the list is ever-expanding. I will often tell them to go look in the window, because they'll be able to see their daddy if he's doing something outside. In this case, they were able to watch him for a while, as he was mowing the front lawn for us. It made their afternoon!
Monday, October 15, 2012
Great Shots
I got so many good shots of the kids the day we hung out in the garage cleaning up over the summer! Here, Maren is helping her daddy sweep the floor. I love that little tongue hanging out of her mouth!
The latest sketch (#26) is up over at Heathers blog; you should go and check it out! Seriously, the design team is fantabulous! The designs they come up with are incredibly creative, and Heather's sketches are beyond amazing! They are a lot of fun to work with.
As always, if you decide to use Heather's sketch, please let me know. I'd love to see how it inspires you!
And, once again, all the papers here are scraps (and incredibly ancient), except for the green card stock base. The ribbon isn't a scrap either- it came from a bargain basket over at DeSerres. Seriously, I love that store! I could definitely go crazy there...
Another layout will be coming up in the next few days...until then, take care!
~a
Saturday, October 13, 2012
Fascinate{d}
I love this shot of Addison. It was kind of a fluke, really, but a happy fluke. I get all giddy inside when stuff like this happens!
We were out in the garage helping Kyle clean up and sort through the loads of junk and garbage we've got kicking around, and after a while, the kids discovered daddy had some of his old toys kicking around the garage. They also discovered there were some neato things in there- such as sand paper- which is what Addison is holding in this photo.
Everything on this layout is from scraps- in one way or another. The orange and gold flower sticker is actually a 12 inch border strip (K&Co) that I cut into four strips (all varying lengths), to get more mileage from. The white netting is packaging from toys that I bought from Walmart for the kids' prizes (for their weekly chore charts). You'll see it popping up on a few different projects in the near future!
The flower I am especially fond of. It came from a cheapo flower arrangement that my MIL bought the kids for their bedroom when they were first born. Truthfully, I was never keen on them (there were three), but now they seem to have grown on me a little. Now that the kids (aka Addison) tore them all to shreds (except for one). I kept some of the flowers from one of them, and plan to incorporate them into my layouts. Here, you can see one of them- I used a black rhinestone for the centre of the flower.
For the title work, I threw together some sticker letters (I don't know where they came from- my sister gave them to me!), but the green banner is MS. The phrase sticker in the top right corner is K&Co.
All this was done for sketch #153 over at Lets Capture These Sketches. If you get the chance, head over there, and see what the design team has come up with. If you choose to use the sketch, let me know- I'd love to see how it inspires you!
~a
Thursday, October 11, 2012
Pumpkin Lanterns
Hi everyone!
As usual, life has been pretty busy around here. Last weekend was Thanksgiving, and I had the privilege of cooking my first ever Thanksgiving dinners (times two!!) It was a success! Kyle and I both tackled the turkey together; it was delicious! I also tried out a few new recipes- homemade dinner rolls (which will also be served at Christmas when the family-entire step family and my entire immediate family- comes out) and a yummy way to cook carrots. Both are new family favourites!
The carrots were so amazing, I just have to share the recipe:
Balsamic Glazed Carrots
10 carrots peeled, quartered lengthwise
1/4 cup Balsamic Vinaigrette Dressing
3 Tbsp. brown sugar
1 Tbsp. butter (though I prefer margarine)
1 Tbsp. finely chopped fresh parsley
1) cook carrots in boiling water in large saucepan on medium heat 4 to 6 minutes or until crisp-tender. Meanwhile, cook dressing, sugar and butter in small saucepan on low heat 3 to 5 minutes or until thickened, stirring occasionally.
2) drain carrots; return to saucepan. Add sauce, stir. Cook 2 to 3 minutes or until carrots are heated through and evenly coated with sauce.
3) sprinkle with parsley
Thanks to Kraft Canada for that delicious recipe! When looking for delicious, simple, new recipes to try out, Kraft Canada is my go-to source. What's yours?
Anyways, it was Sooo (yes--with a capital S--it was that great!!) incredibly delicious!!
There are also a lot of pictures to share over the last little while- Thanksgiving, our first snowfall (and the kids excitement over it- Addison kept saying that the sky was dripping--how cute is that??!), pumpkins (and things affectionately known as pumpkin lanterns--LOL), northern lights and a few other highlights of our humble days. That'll be coming in another post!!
In the meantime, I have another layout to share with everyone. This one is another that I did on my own- without the help of sketches and DT assignments! Ahh I love that my brain is starting to clear up enough that I can churn out some of my own designs, rather than relying on someone else's ideas. Though, don't get me wrong, I LOVE using sketches, too! I love that they take the guesswork (or most of it) out of making up your design.
Way back in July, we spent one afternoon in the garage with Kyle, just hanging out and {kind of} helping him try and organize his 'man cave' a little better. That is, until the kids got distracted with the toys he played with during his childhood. I think he's pretty proud- his girls like trucks. I think they like anything that moves and looks interesting. One day they'll turn into girly girls; at least, one of them is bound to be- their mama is, so one of them has to be, too. I said so.
Speaking of I said you so's, the girls were pretty excited about going to play outside in the snow yesterday. They were even more excited about the hot chocolate I promised I'd make them once they came inside. All I heard the entire time I mixed it and heated it in the microwave was 'you're amazing, mommy!'
So...I have it on good authority that I'm pretty amazing!
That makes a mommy feel pretty good- even if it was over something as simple as a cup of hot chocolate!
~a
As usual, life has been pretty busy around here. Last weekend was Thanksgiving, and I had the privilege of cooking my first ever Thanksgiving dinners (times two!!) It was a success! Kyle and I both tackled the turkey together; it was delicious! I also tried out a few new recipes- homemade dinner rolls (which will also be served at Christmas when the family-entire step family and my entire immediate family- comes out) and a yummy way to cook carrots. Both are new family favourites!
The carrots were so amazing, I just have to share the recipe:
Balsamic Glazed Carrots
10 carrots peeled, quartered lengthwise
1/4 cup Balsamic Vinaigrette Dressing
3 Tbsp. brown sugar
1 Tbsp. butter (though I prefer margarine)
1 Tbsp. finely chopped fresh parsley
1) cook carrots in boiling water in large saucepan on medium heat 4 to 6 minutes or until crisp-tender. Meanwhile, cook dressing, sugar and butter in small saucepan on low heat 3 to 5 minutes or until thickened, stirring occasionally.
2) drain carrots; return to saucepan. Add sauce, stir. Cook 2 to 3 minutes or until carrots are heated through and evenly coated with sauce.
3) sprinkle with parsley
Thanks to Kraft Canada for that delicious recipe! When looking for delicious, simple, new recipes to try out, Kraft Canada is my go-to source. What's yours?
Anyways, it was Sooo (yes--with a capital S--it was that great!!) incredibly delicious!!
There are also a lot of pictures to share over the last little while- Thanksgiving, our first snowfall (and the kids excitement over it- Addison kept saying that the sky was dripping--how cute is that??!), pumpkins (and things affectionately known as pumpkin lanterns--LOL), northern lights and a few other highlights of our humble days. That'll be coming in another post!!
In the meantime, I have another layout to share with everyone. This one is another that I did on my own- without the help of sketches and DT assignments! Ahh I love that my brain is starting to clear up enough that I can churn out some of my own designs, rather than relying on someone else's ideas. Though, don't get me wrong, I LOVE using sketches, too! I love that they take the guesswork (or most of it) out of making up your design.
Way back in July, we spent one afternoon in the garage with Kyle, just hanging out and {kind of} helping him try and organize his 'man cave' a little better. That is, until the kids got distracted with the toys he played with during his childhood. I think he's pretty proud- his girls like trucks. I think they like anything that moves and looks interesting. One day they'll turn into girly girls; at least, one of them is bound to be- their mama is, so one of them has to be, too. I said so.
Speaking of I said you so's, the girls were pretty excited about going to play outside in the snow yesterday. They were even more excited about the hot chocolate I promised I'd make them once they came inside. All I heard the entire time I mixed it and heated it in the microwave was 'you're amazing, mommy!'
So...I have it on good authority that I'm pretty amazing!
That makes a mommy feel pretty good- even if it was over something as simple as a cup of hot chocolate!
~a
Sunday, September 30, 2012
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
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
Tuesday, September 25, 2012
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!)
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!)
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