First Aid

There were two occasions in my married life- to date- that were very difficult for me to handle.

The first occurred on my wedding night. Kyle hadn't said anything to me all day long; finally, when we got to our honeymoon suite, he confessed that he had a huge boil, and it was killing him. When he showed it to me, I insisted that we head right on down to emerge and have it taken care of. He didn't want to ruin our wedding night. In my mind, remaining in discomfort for the rest of the night would ruin it for him, personally. But, I let him be. (That, and how funny would it have been to see a bride and groom, still in their get up, waltz into emerge at 2 in the morning??!)

Before the gift opening Sunday morning, we did head down to emerge. I went with him into emerge and held his hand while they froze the infected area, then lanced it and squeezed the heck out of it. I nearly passed out. I could not stomach the hideous fluid that was gushing out of the hole in his leg. MY.WORD. I sat down on a chair for a few minutes before I decided that I had better get out of there before I really did pass out- or vomit. Either were very likely to happen in a very short amount of time.

I promised husband that if anything like that ever happened again, I would not accompany him into emerge! I'd wait in the waiting room, but I would go no further. Oi.

Fast  forward three years.

He gets another one. And, this one is in a spot that is equally as uncomfortable as the first one. Probably even worse. It got nowhere near as big as the one on our wedding night, but it was obvious he was in pain. He went to see the doctor three times, and he wouldn't do anything for him. The first doctor told him to wait it out. (Until the centre turned white, like a pimple). That advice really ticked him off. Finally, the last time he saw the doctor, Lidocaine (topical or oral solution) was prescribed to him. I applied it once for him, and thankfully it ruptured shortly afterwards.

I promised husband that I would never be able to watch all that gross stuff drain out of his wound; this time there was no way around it. The most logical option was for me to clean and dress and stuff the wound until it stopped draining. Miraculously, I was able to help him without feeling nauseous or woozy. Thankfully, for the most part, I was able to look away as I pressed on the wound to make more (or as much as was willing to come when I applied pressure) fluid come out. I guess that's true love, hey?

Gross topic. Right?

I know.

Part of me is really fascinated by it, too. I've thought for a long time that maybe my life calling is to be a nurse. Maybe it is, and I'm stubbornly hanging on to the fact that I don't want to go to school for four years (or upgrade academically) before hitting the books. And, now that I have children, that option is very unlikely- for a while, at least.

His pain was also a great opportunity to scrapbook.

Obviously!

How...?

102* antibiotics
103* tv shows that I have a love/hate relationship with

Just how is it possible to hate a show, and yet love it so much at the same time? I don't get it! Grey's Anatomy used to be 'my show', but after the new class entered the scene, and all the characters that *made* the show started leaving, I developed a hate-on for it. Now, it doesn't matter to me if I do catch an episode or not. But, when I see a commercial on tv for an episode that looks like a gooder, I'm hooked. Or, if I just happen to start watching it (which doesn't usually happen, because I disappear from whichever room the tv happens to be on in before it even really starts)- then I'm hooked. Another i'm-so-easily-distracted-moment. For the most part.

Take tonight, for example. Has anyone caught it? OH.MY.WORD. I love hate cliff hanger episodes. Season finale cliff hanger episodes. If you didn't catch tonights episode, I would suggest you try and find it. Or, go out and buy whatever season of Grey's this is. (I've lost count, and because this tv show is still so important to me, you can see that its also important to keep up on how many seasons this show is/was in). And, if you're not going to, I'll indulge you. That's probably the easiest option, anyways.

The main-est (welcome to my very own well-developed vocabulary) of the main characters were in a plane crash. One dies of her injuries (Lexi), one's got a broken femur (Arizona), another had severe trauma to his chest (Sloane), causing bleeding in his pericardium (sorry, don't know the correct medical term for it--oh, which they repaired using things they could only find around them), the brain surgeon (McDreamy- and yes, his hair still looked perfect) is probably going to lose his hand, the pilot is paralyzed from his waist down, Christina lost her shoe (and found it), and Grey had shrapnel sticking out of her leg, which she pulled out and then tied a t-shirt around. I am not sure if I'm missing anybody. I don't think so. In a nutshell, that's what happened and who was involved.

The cliff hanger?

They're still out in the bush and haven't been found. Sloane is fighting for his life, and the rest are just waiting to be rescued. What's-his-name (my bad...the new medical chief) didn't find out about the crash until the end of the episode. Grey and the rest of the doctors were heading to another hospital, and they were growing worried because they hadn't heard from the team or seen them.

Duh. Duh. Duh.

Now I have to wait until the fall to find out what happens! How rude!!!

104* little "How about...this one"??'s
105* sweet little girls
106* iced tea
107* that little coca-cola glass

108* music

So, Miss Addison is learning how to do somersaults. She's pretty good at it, too! I have to admit, I'm fairly impressed! She stood on her head this afternoon, and pushed herself forward with her feet- but not far enough to actually roll over. So, instead, I helped her roll over. She thinks its the funnest thing in the universe! (That, and horsey rides and 'airplane rides'- as long as she doesn't fall off lol).

I just have to share the fun she was having learning to do this:

109* that she has to do everything with kiki in her hand
110* an upcoming long weekend

What are your plans for May long??

Colors

89* STAR air ambulance in places that need it!!

I've learned, through FB (though I rarely use it anymore), that our old home just got STARS service, and a helicopter, as well. What a blessing for them! The accidents that occur over the winter months make it possible to get patients to Regina, or further, quickly and efficiently. Yay for SE Saskatchewan!!

90* listening to the rain falling
91* naps when they're needed (and sincerely desired)
92* hot water
93* hot showers
94* lotion to repair dry and cracked skin (and it smells pretty, to boot!!)
95* bath and body works
96* costco (for some of the kids' clothes)
97* CARTERS department stores (for what I *can't* find at Costco for the kids!!)

(who else loves Carters' brand of children's' clothing???) eeeek! they've got to be my favourite store to shop at for the kids!


98* a break from the hot weather we've been having the last couple of days
99* knitted slippers (especially since they're either Oma's or grandma's)
100* encouragement- through word and/or deed

I just realized that the girls are both in 'their' colours in these pictures. LOL. When they were born, we put Addison in purple (winter coats, gave her purple sucky's, etc.) and Maren wore pink. (There's a good clue for you to figure out who is who!!!) Neato. Now we don't even think about who wears those colours anymore. Now its just natural to us, I guess!!

Don't you just love the goofy, *&%^$-eating grins that are on Miss Addisons' face??! It kills me, and I just want to pinch those adorable little cheeks of hers!!!

I'm so in love with some of these pics, I've got to scrap them!

Look at that, I've made it to 100! Woohoo! That one hundred went ridiculously quickly! Here's to the next 100!

I've mentioned it before, but failed in my attempt to do it, so I'm trying all over again. A dear friend of mine started it. I am not sure where she came across this, but I'm happy it inspired her to try it out herself. Its now inspired me to do it myself.

The goal is to record 1000 things you are thankful for.

She reached her goal, and has surpassed it! And, I love reading her posts, and about her life, and about what things in her life she's thankful for. I am way too often pessimistic and negative, so this is a fantastic way for me to try and break that habit. Maybe in the process, I'll become more optimistic and positive.

I also think incorporating my 'thankfuls' into my scrapbooking projects will help me stay on the creative side (and think-outside-of-the-boxiness) of compiling that list.

Who knows, maybe when I reach that goal, I'll continue on, like K has done!!

Maybe, next year, instead of doing project 365 as project 365, I'll make it project thankful, or some variation along those lines. Or, I'll stick with the 'pay it forward' idea I've been toying with.

And, to kick off the next one hundred, here's 101...

101* the great idea he had, that I hope he carries out! (Its helpful in more ways than one!!)

BIG Deal

Cleanliness and organization. I mentioned that yesterday at the tail end of my post.

I had been talking with some friends about the state of our scrap rooms and how neat and/or tidy they are (or remain). I try, but mine always ends up being on the catastrophic end of things. Until yesterday.

I could not, for the life of me, find the bills. They needed to be paid, and I knew they were in the office somewhere. Its pretty awful, but that's how terribly bad my craft space was. It is also the office, but it was so disorganized and cluttered and just plain messy, that virtually every disappears, and absolutely everything can- and does- get lost.

So, instead of playing, which usually is what happens when I enter this room, I sat down and overhauled the office and scrap room. I have no before pictures (I'm too ashamed to share them, actually...I'm pretty ashamed to admit this here, too, truthfully! But, on the other hand, its pretty satisfying. I'm pretty excited to share how good it feels to have a room that I'm proud of once again!) I mean really. The rest of the house gives me anxiety when it isn't tidy. Well...so does this room, but its easy to hide when you can just shut the door. The anxiety is still there, though. Just easier to ignore :)

Here's some of the after pictures. It isn't totally cleaned up. There's still a few odds and ends that need to be removed or just put away, but here it is at 99.2 % completed:

(don't judge me--we have no batteries in the house for the camera, so i've been using my iPhone for everything, and I abhor the quality of pictures it takes. please bear with me!!) 


Seriously. What a relief! The paint card in the first picture--I'm working on choosing another paint colour for the office, and I'm thinking of going with an orangey/peachey colour called autumn mist. It'll coordinate beautifully with the flowers I've got in the window! And, its going to brighten up this room immensely! (That's to come after I've got the hallway and stairwell to the basement painted).

I've been bitten by the bug again. I've been thinking about painting....

Hey! Guess what decided to come out and play the other day???

Isn't she pretty?! She's the first of the four or five tulips that are along this side of the house. I think they're all going to be red, but we'll see. There's another one that's sooo ready to bloom, but hasn't yet. I can see that it's red, too. Now to keep the kids and cat out of there!! I don't want any more bulbs dug up! The one that I did find and transplant--it isn't doing so well. Maybe next summer.

And, now for the news I just couldn't wait to share! Eek! Eeeeee (*hopping from one foot to the other*)

This is the layout I created as my first design team assignment for Miracles' Momma's Diva's. I'm pretty excited (though I think that's an understatement. I'm pretty elated about it, actually!!) about this opportunity, and challenged by it!! You can find the sketch for this particular project here. Head on over to Miracle's Momma's Blog, and see what the other Diva's have shared, too! You'll love them- Heathers' got an incredible group of talented ladies there!

The picture I was working on here is recording what my house looks like on a daily basis. Mess everywhere. All of the time. Multiple times throughout the day. And, I can't help but run {in}to their messes all the time. While I'm cooking supper, walking about the house, even while I'm moving about the yard. Its everywhere. And, if it isn't their toys, its them or the cat. I can't escape it!! LOL And, as soon as its picked up, it starts all over again. I'm sure all you mama's out there can relate!


I have a dear friends' comment ring through my ears constantly--and now it mirrors my own wish: having a house as clean as my own mothers'. (Because we have small children, our houses are never clean). I know that one day it will be in the shape I'd like it to be- but that won't be for many years to come, I think!!

I also had the song, 'Run to You' (Lady Antebellum) playing in my head while I made this layout. Those words in particular, kept replaying in my brain. I wonder why?! And, that's why I made it my title. Because its true. And, it explains the picture perfectly!!

You know what goes perfectly with warm, summer-like weather?

Pudding pops!!

(and baths!!)


Maren is still fairly clean in this picture (on the right)--you should have seen her after this picture was taken! Talk about messes! 


They sure did love their 'ice cream' though!!! (and I love the trail of chocolate right up Addisons' nose. Too cute!!)


85* pudding pops
86* new opportunities
87* new friends!
88* a space I can be proud of

Back Then...

How was your Mothers' Day?

Ours was great. The weather was beautiful, we had good visiting over at my parents place, and the food was fantastic!

The kids played outside all day long. Literally. No naps, not a lot of fussing, lots of laughs and giggling and squealing...and for mama, a quick solo trip to Michaels for some retail therapy. You know, the upside to Michaels selling off all their brand name stock is that its all massively marked down!!! I bagged a lot of goodies- including a really great sheet of rooster paper and a rooster stamp for an upcoming lo i'm doing about my other obsession: roosters! Unfortunately, a lot of goodies were still left behind. Hmm...I foresee another trip in the near future!!

My favourite picture of the day?...

...is this!!:

Isn't he cute???!


He asked mom if there was anything he could do to help her get supper ready, so she sent him to the barbecue to grill the delicious turkey burgers she'd made for us. Yum! She also dressed him up in Oma's {my Oma--the kids' great Oma} old apron. So, in a way, she was celebrating with us, too, though she wasn't there with us in person. And, on a side note, mom says she's doing good. She went to visit her the other day, and she was quite chipper and talkative- repeatedly mentioning something about flowers. Mom's not sure if she has a bunch of flowers in her room at Miller, or if she's in another place and time in her memories. She said she was sitting at the table in the dining room, which is really great news.

(And, for those that don't know, my Oma is going to be 93 on the 24th. She's suffering from dementia and lives in a long term care facility. Its actually the same place Grandma Murray lived- and on the same floor, even!!- before she passed away a couple of years ago).

And, its another painful reminder that I've got to get over to Miller and visit Oma...She's only seen the kids a couple of times. The last time we saw her, she asked me when I'd gotten so big. LOL. Apparently she remembers me as a little street urchin. And, she wondered who the little kids belonged to. Me, of course, but to her it didn't make sense :)

I have a lot more pictures to share- that my beloved sister took- but I don't have them to the computer yet. I'll get them up here sooner or later!! (The batteries to the camera died after a few pictures were taken, so the rest were taken with our iPhones, and the shots sister got were while I was gallivanting around Michaels').

It was a long day- but a good day!- and we got home about 10 o'clock last night. It was about 11:30 when the kids finally settled and fell asleep. Oi! Kyle and I were beat when we got home! We thought the kids would crash, because they'd gone nonstop all day long, but that wasn't the case. They still wanted to play outside- at 11 o'clock at night!! Maren kept saying while the sun set, 'mama, its dark!', and I kept telling her that it was getting to be mommy and daddy's bed time; when it gets dark like that everyone goes to sleep. She mustn't have believed me!

Hope you all had a fabulous Mothers Day, and I'd love to hear in which ways you got spoiled!

My own mama spoiled me with a beautiful hanging basket. I can hardly wait to get it hung up!!

78* solo anything
79* massive savings when shopping
80* good food
81* hot weather
82* memories


Ohhhhhh memories!

The picture I really wanted to use I can't find, so these will have to suffice. THese are from our move back to Alberta from Saskatchewan. The kids were still babies in these pictures! I can't believe how much growing and maturing they've done in the last year. It totally blows me away! The kids were 14 months old when we made the trek up here, and now they are just over two.

I couldn't help but reminisce while I was sitting in moms' back yard yesterday, thinking about when we had just moved here. Addison hadn't learned to crawl yet, she was still very clingy and sensitive. Maren had mastered crawling not long before we moved, and it wasn't long before she began walking on her own. They were just beginning to talk- at least Maren was. Addison was still fairly behind, and we were concerned about her development. Looking back now, I realize we had nothing to worry about. She just did things in her own time; when she was ready for it. Its amazing how quickly she's catching up to her sister!

Now, Addison is as talkative, busy, goofy, mobile, accident prone, stubborn, cuddly, sensitive and outgoing as her sister.

And Maren, well, when she discovered her legs, and she began kicking them, there was no stopping her. There's still no stopping her!

83* flowers
84* neatness and organization

...but, more on that later :)

Chuckle

74* how delicious the asian lily smells that Kyle gave me for Mothers' Day- I can smell it all over the house
75* days that aren't a fight to put the kids to bed
76* laughter

Kyle's new favourite thing to do these days is cruising YouTube. Do many of you sit and watch videos there, as a way of vegging out and relaxing? It isn't my cup of tea, but I do have a few things to share with you because they're just so darn cute and funny!

JUST.CRACKS.ME.UP!!!!!!!! I'm laughing just thinking about it!

Maru has got to be my most favourite cat- next to Gregory- ever!!!!! I'm also loving the music that's playing in the bg- very befitting of a cat!!! And, you'll have to bear through this entire video to get to the.best.part.EVER. Seriously. You'll laugh your pants off!! And, I don't mean to make this sound like its a lame-o video or boring. It isn't. Just, the best part occurs at the end of the video.

77* animals

Its a little hard to see in this pic (at this size), but I've stamped (in SU's old olive ink) the numbers 3 and 8 inside the green circles- which when you put them together makes 38. (And, as a matter of fact, all the patterned papers are SU, except for the beige strip separating the blue and green polka dots. I don't know what lines they are, except the green paper is actually Christmas themed).  They're to represent the amount of years my parents will have been married come May 18th- their wedding anniversary. I'm not sure if we'll be in Edmonton (or have any reason to go to Edmonton) before then, so I'm bringing their anniversary card with me tomorrow, when we *do* head into Edmonton. (And, while they are in church, and before we head over to their house, I'm hoping to hit Michaels for a little retail therapy! Eek!) Every little piece of paper here is scraps except the beige card stock base.

And, another card is looming large in the very near future, too. My cousin texted yesterday, letting me know about her twins' FIRST birthday party!!! (I can't hardly believe they're going to be one already!! It doesn't seem that long ago that she called me up, out of the blue, asking me a whole bunch of questions about 'what its like raising twins'. (She actually had my sister do some detective work for her before I got the phone call, so I assumed she was prego with twins, but I wasn't totally sure until she told me). That's the abridged version of that story. LOL. Anyways, it isn't until June 9th, but I've already started thinking about it! Yay O and P! Can't wait to celebrate with you!!!!

A few posts back, I shared a wonderful picture of a piece of cheese stuck to my patio door. It was such a great, goofy thing to happen, that I needed to scrap it. *I* never would have thought to stick my kraft cheese slice to the door. Would you? LOL

Anyways, here's the little nugget of goodness I made to lovingly remember my children's quirkiness by:

Every single piece of paper on this pretty charmer is scraps, except the sentiment sticker at the bottom. I'm love, love, LOVING the polka dotted patterned paper. I'm thinking I should go out and find me some more- in colours other than festive Christmas!!

I hope what I've posted has brightened your day a little - if not the scrapbooking crafts, then at least the video's I posted. They really are good for a little chuckle!

(And, on a side note, let me know if the video's even work for you when you read my blog post. If they don't, I'll add the links so you can go directly to the video on YouTube. When I read my own blog post after posting it, my computer tells me that I've got a missing plug in, so I can't view them. It just makes me wonder if you're even able to see them??)

For the Mama's

For all you BEAUTIFUL mama's out there, hope you have a wonderful MOTHER'S DAY!!


69* moms
70* a day to celebrate our moms and being mom, and all the other special women in our lives

Since the creation of this and this (which are mounted on 8.5x11 sheets of paper, then adhered to 12x12 page refills- and further elaborated on), I've began contemplating creating lo's in a size other than 12x12. I liked that they were so much easier to pull together and create. I liked that there wasn't such a large area to cover- things seemed to fall into place much more easily, and there wasn't so much 'dead space' between all the elements. I don't want to call it white space, because that wasn't the intention for all the space that's being unused- that could certainly be used; I feel like my projects are a lot more cohesive on the smaller scale.

So, needless to say, I have begun dabbling in 8.5x11 size lo's. I created my first one last night:

Until all my page refills are used up, the lo's will be mounted on 12x12 pages. Once they're gone, I'm shopping for an 8.5x11 album!

And, truth be told, this isn't my first 8.5x11. The scandal! Gasp!

I know...but...I have to keep my lips sealed on that for a little while longer, yet.

The suspense is killing me, though.

But, there you have it. I've got a secret.

Its simple, but I love every inch of this little layout. I've been wanting to create something with a sun on it, so I've got that checked off my scrappy bucket list. It actually works perfectly, since this is a page about poor Maren coming down with our latest cold. Daddy brought it home first, but she was the first of us girls to catch it.

The sun, by the way, was pieced together by yours truly. And, as my girls famously say, "TA DA!!! Thank you, thank you"


The clouds were cut with my cricut, and then I embossed them using my cuttlebug.

I love the visual interest my title work creates, too, using the different fonts and elements (circles, squares, stickers...)

And, other than the card stock background, every other element on here are SCRAPS!

The story behind this:

Maren is our little ray of sunshine. She's always been our happy girl. She's always laughing, giggling, bright, happy- and when she isn't, it usually means she's not feeling good. The other big clue she isn't feeling well is if she's happy to just sit and cuddle. Every other day, she doesn't have the time or inclination to do such a thing. There's too much to do and see and explore!

In the pictures in my layout, she's sitting on the couch with me, watching tv, but also trying to play her 'game' on my iPhone (a learning game all about animals). Just before that picture was shot, she was snuggled right up under my chin, watching tv. Even when she isn't feeling well, she's easily distracted.

Both girls get that from their mama. If it isn't something sparkly and pretty, its something that's caught their attention on tv. Bad mama!!

So, the title actually does double duty. First, it tells the entire story, all on its own, and secondly, its a way to describe my little girls' personality. 'Neaky, isn't it?? I love it!

71* creativity
72* variety
73* surprises that take me off guard- but that are happily and definitely welcome

Dear husband showed up at home last night with a few groceries that I'd asked him to pick up. I had made spaghetti for supper, and thought it would be a nice treat to have some garlic bread along with it. I also noticed that we were desperately low on milk and chocolate milk, so asked him to grab that for me, as well. I did get the grocery shopping done two days ago, but it didn't even occur to me that milk needed to be on that list! When I checked last (in my brain, that is) we still had lots of milk left. I don't know where it all went so quickly! I mean, the kids drink it by the gallon, but it usually doesn't go that fast!!!

I was still in the kitchen whipping up supper, but I could hear the kids squealing excitedly, 'present, present!!', but I just thought it was the groceries they were referring to.

When husband came into the kitchen, and I turned to greet him with a kiss, I learned that flowers were the present the kids were giddy about. My heart melted. Its been sooooo looonnngggggg since husband had enough time to think clearly and logically enough to actually be on time for anything, I could have burst into tears. My heart was definitely happy, though. He actually thought of me, and he actually went out and bought me something. My day couldn't have been any better, right in that moment.

And, those are the flowers you see at the top of this post :)

And, to add just a bit more humour, the kids were scrunching up their noses and sniffing at the air as I was unwrapping the flowers, saying they 'smelled'. I hope they meant it in a good way! LOL