hello february!

Hello February! I was not expecting to see you so soon. But now that you're here, make yourself comfortable and please stay as long as you'd like...

ha...ha..

Seriously, what happened to January? And all my plans, mostly unwritten, starting last year to be a more active blogger? Ugh. Not doing so good, but I have some friends out there who are inspiring me to be better. Once life settles down a bit, fingers are crossed that there will be more time to devote to recording my (our) lives and sharing more here on my blog.  

January was a whirlwind. In a nutshell... we got some snow which resulted in the boys having quite a few snow days, I've had a bout of the winter blues, basketball season started for one of the boys, and we started doing a lot of work on the house which has been the largest source of chaos the during the last month. HUGE deterrent to me being able to play around with my computer. But we are slowly getting closer to being done with all the major projects (paint, floors, and such), slowly things are being put back in place, and soon it will only be a matter of needing to attend to finishing touches and decorating. That, my friends, will be a slow process for sure.

The beginning of the year also brought back my desire to attempt to participate in the 365 Project again. We shall see if I can actually keep up with it this time around. I made it through the whole month of January - one month down, eleven to go! I'm not gonna stress out about uploading them anywhere on a daily basis, but so far I've been (kind of!) good about adding them to Facebook as I get around to it. Here's a peek at some of them...



Even though the wind is howling outside right now, and tomorrow is sure to be chilly, it seems as though the worst of winter may be behind us. *fingers crossed* Soooo looking forward to spring!

I do love February though. Two of my boys, Jared and Jace, have birthdays in February (plus several other family member's birthdays), and then there's Valentine's day, a.k.a. - the day every other woman in the world is showered with chocolates, given roses and cards that make me want to gag myself with a spoon, taken out to dinner, and so on... I, on the other hand, have to settle for whatever candy I can steal ask the kids nicely for AND the only (very sweet I should add) cards I will receive will be from my two younger boys, who fortunately still realize just how amazing of a person I am. Ha! Even though my husband and I had our first phone conversation on Valentine's Day of 1992 (which is worth a day of celebration in itself, huh?!) he still does not take the opportunity to exercise his romantic side. But, I digress... Like I said, I LOVE February! I'm looking forward to the boys' birthdays most of all. We aren't planning any extravagant parties or anything like that, keeping it low key as usual, but birthdays are exciting! My soon to be 9 year old, Jace, has been reminding me about his birthday every. single. day. since. Christmas. Let's get this over with already! ;)  

OK, so here's to a fabulous month of February!!! It's already past midnight here and although I could probably write a few more paragraphs I need some sleep.
Goodnight world!

love them

We are just about at the mid point of the boys' 2 week fall break. They are keeping me active (think I've lost 5 lbs! for real!), busy, frustrated, entertained, happy, irritable, down in the dungeon that is in the laundry room... and so on. I've lost my cool a couple times. The 17 yr old is moody and grumpy and thinks he's in charge. My 13 yr old and 8 yr old are constantly bickering, fighting, wrestling. My 7 yr old thinks no one likes him, wants to play with him, or ever pays him any attention. Ugh. To top it off, Mama (that's me!) has been a hormonal mess the past week so writing all this just makes me want to cry.

Through it all, through all the ups and downs, the good times and bad times, one of my biggest wishes has always been that my boys know how much I love them. Because I love them a whole freakin' lot!!! Even when they're not getting their way, and even when I refuse to buy them that one thing that they really, really, REALLY want...  "if you love me, you'll buy me this". Even when I take the keys, or the phone... I love them. I am "mean" because I love them and need them to learn something. Hopefully when they're grown they'll remember all the books I've read, all the hugs & kisses I've given, the walks we've taken together, singing together in the car, all the long talks we've had, homework I've helped get them through, and on and on.

So anyway, when one of the Frameworthy challenges came up, and the challenge was to use some hearts (I have tons!), I browsed through the inspiration we were given, and with all of the above on my mind, this was what I came up with one sweet and quiet night after my rowdy bunch were in bed...

And yesterday, I was so delighted to see that it was pointed to on the Gallery Standouts Blog. What an wonderful surprise! I needed that ego boost for sure!

=======
The two posts in one day was not intentional. LOL, I forgot to set a publish date for the last post. But when I realized that and came in to double check everything and proof read one last time, I realized I even forgot to zip, upload, and link the file. Ugh. Out of practice much? LOL

Thanks for reading and I hope everyone has a wonderful weekend. We are hoping to head out to a pumpkin patch and enjoy some kind of fall fun this afternoon.

success! i did it!

I scrapped just one layout, closed Photoshop (even though I wanted to keep scrapping), and didn't put off uploading until after I'd scrapped even more. Just to prove to myself that I could. Haha. And my other challenge to blog more than once this week? Doin' that, too!

I came across these random photos of my two youngest sons (Jace and Joey) last night and needed to scrap them. I wish I had journaled more back then. I have my memories, I just wish they were more vivid in my mind. How did I feel in those moments of holding my two precious babies in my lap, with their heads on my chest, and rocking them to sleep for their nap every day? Raising babies and toddlers isn't easy (not that it's rocket science either, but I know most moms can relate, huh?). I was stressed out more often than not, but those rocking-babes-to-sleep-moments... are what kept me going everyday. I miss it, and wish I could remember more of my thoughts and feelings at the time.

 
(credits here)

[journaling: My oh my, how I miss these days! Having two babies (19 months apart) at home all day and two boys in school was the highlight of my “career”
as a stay-at-home-mom. Sometimes it was tough, and I often wished to never have to change another diaper again - but at the same time I loved every minute of it! My days were full of slobbery kisses, sweet little hugs, and what seemed like hours of rocking and cuddling. Of course, there was a lot of playing, too. I wouldn’t trade any of that for the world! Six years later, there are no more diapers to change (thankfully), no chins to wipe, no peek-a-boo games, but I am still fortunate to consider myself mostly a SAHM. All four boys are in school these days, but I am able to be with them after school, during their vacations, and when they are sick. I am so proud and happy to be Mama to so many gorgeous boys. My only wish is that they would stop growing up so fast! I miss the times that have gone by, but there’s still so much to look forward to as they grow into young men and adults. I will cherish every minute of it, forever & always!]

Journaling is honestly NOT my favorite part of scrapbooking. I feel awkward in my storytelling, always have. But I need to journal more, so I'm trying to loosen up a little bit. Who cares if my grammar stinks, I put too many commas out of place, or if I make typo after typo? NOT the people I'm preserving memories for, right? Right. So the next thing on my list of self challenges is to journal more frequently (even if I am doing it in the form of a blog post), while the memories are still fresh. Because after weeks, months, or years I will have forgotten the little details.

Update on the cell phone: Jason came home from work the other night and thought my phone in a container of rice trick was baloney! The next day I hooked the phone up to the charger, turned it on, and it worked. Unfortunately though, some of the buttons are still sticking, so he's going to need a new phone. Jason knows someone who knows someone who works at Verizon so with that connection we will be able to get Jared a replacement for free. Good news! I don't feel like such a bad mom for not realizing it was in his pocket now.

Update on Josh's driving test: He passed and is now an officially licensed driver. Oi. He doesn't have a car yet. Nor a job, but he is looking for one, so maybe he'll have his own ride soon. I'm not looking forward to the first time he pulls out of our driveway to go somewhere on his own. Already when he leaves with his friends, I get choked up inside. Now that he's older and less tolerant of my overprotective ways, I have to hide my nervousness. He's always saying, "I'll be OK, Mama. Promise." And I know he means it, he is a good kid with a huge heart and good intentions, but teenagers are scary! So,  seriously... every time he walks out the door, a huge chunk of my heart goes with him. Gotta let them flap their wings every once in a while, but it's hard for this Mama to let go.

I don't know if I'm coming down with a cold or if all the pollen and crap in the air has finally caught up to me, but I'm feeling horribly ill today. Sore itchy eyes, scratchy throat, drainage, cough, lightheadedness. Really just feeling gross. I don't like taking medicine at all, but I can't stand this! Hoping to find something at the drugstore that'll help. Jace has a game tonight and Joey has one tomorrow and I really want to go without being miserable.

Thrilled that it's the weekend! I'm off...

impossible to scrap just one

I'm beginning to believe that it is impossible for me to create just one scrapbook page at a time. Just one page and then stop, close Photoshop, and move on. Seems like an easy enough concept, but my creative juices get to flowing and it seems silly to stop while I'm in the zone. This pretty much sums up everything I do though. Once I get started on something I don't like to stop until I feel like I have accomplished something BIG. It's always all or none with me and I feel pretty frustrated when I can't finish something, so I never start or I put it off until there's more time. Unfortunately, there'll never be more than 24 hrs in one day though. I would probably be more productive in life, as a whole, if I could learn to control this "bad habit" and just do a little here and a little there of everything. That's the same thing as learning how to balance it all, right? Funny how even when I know what is wrong, it's so hard for me to put a fix on it. Ahhhh, I'm rambling on about the same ol' stuff again.

So back to scrapbooking. I have three new pages to share.

First, another page for my Stinky Inky Poo. And this time I controlled the urge to use her name in extra large letters as the title. Hehe. This was her first bath in the big tub. We found out that she already knows how to swim. She starts to doggy paddle as soon as you hold her over the tub. It's hilarious! 

Since our main bathroom is the ugliest Pepto Bismol pink you will ever see, I changed the pictures to B&W. Black and white works great for Inky photos because she is... well, black and white. Dianne Rigdon's Homey papers and elements seemed to be the perfect pop of color that I needed to finish the layout off. Gotta love scrapping for my doggie because it gives me a chance to use girlie stuff that I can't get away with using on layouts for the boys.

(credits here)
 


And below is a two page layout that I created for all of my "Mule Day" parade photos. I feel inspired to create more two page layouts with tons of photos more often. It's a nice feeling to have almost every picture I took that day scrapped and accounted for.

(credits for left page here, and credits for right side page here)

 

What else is going on in my world? 

The Boys:
Jace and Joey are still going strong in baseball/T-ball. Baseball has taken over our lives! Have I mentioned that lately? LOL They are loving it and having a great time though so I can't complain. As far as Jared is concerned, I had a very bad Mama moment last night! He left his phone in his jeans pocket, and you guessed it... I washed his phone. So it's currently buried in a bowl of rice in the hopes that all the moisture will be absorbed. He just got his own phone for his 13th birthday in February, had it taken up at school (and they kept it for almost three weeks) the first week he had it, and now this. Someone needs to be a little more responsible. Eeek. And I need to remember to check pockets! You'd think after killing 3 ipods I'd know by now. Sigh. Last but not least, Josh, our 16 yr old, is getting his license today. Well, I am taking him to take the road test at least. We always said he wasn't going to get his license until he was 18, but I think it's time. He needs to find a job by this summer (not to mention buy a car), and while I wouldn't mind taking him back and forth to work, him being able to drive will certainly come in handy.

365 Project:
I've all but fallen off and been run over by the 365 Project bandwagon, but I'm trying really hard to catch up and jump back on and get back into the habit of taking a photo every day. Since May is my birthday month, perhaps I will put extra effort into it. I'm not giving up just yet!

Cooking:
I burnt my hand THREE TIMES on the oven rack last week. Twice on my middle finger and once on my thumb, which caused a pretty nice blister. News flash: ovens are hot!!! Another sigh. I still plan to share some of my dinner creations here. One day, one day...

That's it for today.
I'm going to challenge myself to blog at least one more time by the week's end, even if I gotta do it from my phone again darn it!

springtime-funkity-funk-funk-funk

You know, there's nothing like four boys being on Spring Break (for TWO WEEKS) to turn your world upside down, just when your brain was needing a little more peace, tranquility, and order. Ugghhh. I'm in a bit of a funk. A rut. A bad place. But I think I'm on my way out. Fortunately, I found a little time (and mojo) over the past few days to create some layouts. That was good therapy. :) And this morning, those four kiddos went back to school (YAY!) and while I should have used every second of the day that they're out of the house to try and catch up on laundry and other housework ... instead I have spent the past hour and a half uploading my latest layouts to galleries, dropping some comments here (not enough though sorry!)and there, etc..., etc... What bothers me is how much time it takes me to do this sort of stuff (although, considering how easily distracted I am, I shouldn't be surprised). Is it just me? How much time do you allocate each day or week for layout galleries?

OK, on to the layouts...

Here's one for my oldest, Josh (credits here):



And one for my little girl, Inky (credits here):



Truth be told, I am really missing my boys. I can't say I miss all the bickering, fighting, and mess-making, but I miss there always being someone around who thinks I'm awesome and reminds me of that often. Most often it has to do with whatever I have just made them to eat, and it usually goes something like this: "Mama, you make the best peanut butter and jelly sandwiches EVER! Man! You ROCK!" *wink* LOL I am kinda, sorta kidding about the PB&J part. Actually Jason recently replaced my oven control panel last week, so after more than a year of not being able to use my oven, I'm just getting back into baking... not so much desserts, because the only thing that keeps me from eating an entire pie or tray of cookies a day is not allowing pie or cookies to enter my house except on very special occasions. I have absolutely no will power when it comes to sweets. None. But when it comes to meals, I am having lots of fun trying out some new recipes and revisiting some old favorites. Cooking dinner is fun again! Boy was I getting sick of cooking only on the stove-top or in the crock pot! Perhaps I will share some of my favorites here soon. Or at the very least, photos.

Speaking of food, it is time for me to get my grocery list (not to mention myself) ready to go do a little shopping! Then back home to hopefully do the previously mentioned laundry/housework that I would love to get done before school is out.

let's review monday!

What happened to my Monday?! Normally, my absolute least favorite day of the week, but it wasn't so bad overall... it just went by way too fast and I wasn't able to get around to everything on my To Do list.

So, in no particular order, here's my Monday in a nutshell:


=====the boys=====

Jace has been riding on two wheels for several months now, but he is.... was... still rusty when it came time to put on the brakes, getting around obstacles and what not. And Joey always complained about his training wheels being "all messed up", so we took the training wheels off his bike on Sunday and more or less told him that it was time to make the leap to two wheeling. That it was now or never. It took a LOT of help and encouragement at first, and then I spent a good part of today watching them both practice in the driveway and up, down, and around the backyard. But by the end of the day they had progressed to begging me to let them take a ride around the block. I caved (secretly, on the inside I was in total panic)...


I'm a bad scrapbooker! I haven't taken pictures myself yet, but I managed to snag one off of hubby's phone. There will definitely be more bicycle pics and/or layouts to come!

(mini layout credit: Ready 2 Go by Tania Shaw Design)


=====my creative team=====

Six of my creative team members are competing in the Battle of the Creative Teams at Digi Scrap Addicts! Check out their amazing layouts for round one and please help me cheer them on!!

Tania, Kim, Kimberly, Robin, and Melinda are designing for me via Team Jessie's Girls, in the designer category. You can see all of their amazing layouts HERE. And Jenn is designing layouts for the Studio Crew, in the store category. See Jenn's and the rest of the Studio Crew's layouts HERE.

Find links to vote for your favorite team HERE.


=====my computer=====

It sucks. My internet sucks even more. Enough said.

No seriously. I am considering purchasing a new EHD, dumping all my stuff in it, and reformatting my hard drive. I've never done had to endure a reformat before, and I'm not sure if it will help with the issues I'm having, but right now multi-tasking is out of the question and it's very frustrating trying to do just about anything that involves running more than one program at a time. As much as I'd love to toss this laptop out the window, I can't afford to splurge on a new one right now. What to do, what to do???

=====around the house=====

Since my computer isn't playing nice, it is easier to avoid the stress and focus on something else. So my focus has been on housework the past few days. There has been lots of de-cluttering and flinging and making time for those once-every-couple-of-months chores like cleaning the ceiling fans, vacuuming the mini-blinds (OK, I honestly do not clean the mini-blinds more than twice a year), dusting off the tops of doorframes and windows, etc... and then of course the neverending pile of laundry and trying to keep dishes clean (by hand even, my dishwasher also isn't working the way it should! grrrr!). It's almost to the point of resorting to FlyLady techniques, but for now I am holding out hope that the mundane things, like housework, will flow a little more smoothly once the boys are all back in school and we have a little structure added back into our daily lives. Just a few more weeks!


=====designs=====

Needless to say, there has not been an opportunity for me to create new designs so my focus has simply been on redoing previews of my older (although most favorite) stuff and getting those things added to my FPD shop. Like everything else involving my computer, that seemed to be easier said than done when it came time to upload the zips. Grrr! More frustration! But I did make the deadline with my half of Whatever Mama!, a gorgeous collab Tania and I worked on together good while back.


More favorites to be added (and possibly...hopefully more blogging!) in a few days on Lost & Found Thursday!