blackflipflops

Photography Tips #1- Using Brushes in Photoshop

2008-05-21T08:10:00.012-05:00

Today is going to be a really simple little lesson on how to use brushes in photoshop. It will probably look overwhelming, but I promise you- it's super easy. I use photoshop CS, and I don't really know anything about the other programs, but I imagine that these steps are probably similar in any version of PS.

Just a note: click on any of the photos below to view them at a bigger size. Also, next week I'll do screenshots instead of taking pics with my camera, like a big ol' doofus. ;)

Also, when following tutorials online, I've found it helpful to keep the tutorial open and photoshop open at the same time and just do one step at a time, by toggling back and forth.

To begin with, you'll need to download some brushes. You can find free ones here:
Photoshop Brushes
Brusheezy

The ones I'm using in this tutorial are:
Old Frame
Swirls

You'll need to download them somewhere easily accessible (I usually just download them to my desktop). Extract them if they are in a zip folder.

Then open photoshop.

The first thing you're going to do is open a photo. I do this by clicking on File>Open.

Then you're going to click on your brush tool. It looks like a little paintbrush.
A new little toolbar will come up on the top. Click the down arrow. We'll need to "load" the brushes you downloaded earlier, so this is how we start that process.
This window will show up. As you can see, I already have some brushes loaded. It can get a little addicting. hehe
Click on the arrow on the top right side of the box. I like to go ahead and set the viewing size of all my loaded brushes to "large thumbnails" so that I can easily see which ones I'm looking for.

Click on "load brushes". A new window will open, and you'll need to go find your brushes that you downloaded and extracted earlier. I keep mine on my desktop. Your new brushes will come up in your thumbnail gallery of brushes. I'm going to use a couple of brushes on this photo, so I'm going to begin with a vintage photo frame brush. I select the one I want (usually I look at a few of them to see which one I like the best):
If you move your mouse over on top of your picture, the brush will show up. You can see mine below is way too small. Sometimes it's way too big and it won't even show up. Whatever shall we do?!

It's as easy as pushing that slider back and forth to get it to the appropriate size. :)

That looks about right. Sometimes this takes a little playing around with. Place your brush over your photo wherever you would like it. At this point, I remembered I had my opacity set lower yesterday for something else I was working with, so I slid it up to 100% at the top of the screen.

To set the color of the brush, click over on the top of these two little squares:A new window will come up. This is your color spectrum. I'm going to pick black for my brush, so I just click on the bottom right corner of this window. If you wanted to pick another color, like pink for example, just click on those colors on the right to bring up those options.
Click your brush over your photo. Basically, you just "stamped" an image on top of your photo.
I want to get rid of the extra space around this photo (the excess part of the photo), so I'm going to crop it out. Click on the marquee tool on the top left part of the toolbar.Trace the dotty-square (technical term, y'all!) around the part of the image you want to keep.
Click Image>Crop
Ta da!
Now, this image looks fine, but I want to add a little something more.

And since I'm addicted to flourishes right now, it sounds like a good idea to add one.

Click on your brush tool again.

Select which brush you want to add. I like this little corner flourish thing.
Change the size of the brush again.
Move it to where you want it on the photo.
Click it to "stamp" it onto your photo and voila! You're done! Just save your photo now! :)
If you have any questions or better ways to do this, please leave 'em in the comments and I'll answer them on my next post. :)

What would you like a tutorial on for next week?

Woohoo...

2008-05-20T08:15:00.002-05:00

for my sexy man & layout!

I think it's pretty fitting that I found out this news today, because it was a layout honoring my favorite dude in the whole world... and as of approximately 2pm today, we will have been married for 8 years.

I gotta say, dang it that men age better than women!!! I think he looks even better these days than he did 8 years ago. :) Either way- he's one hottie. And looking at these pics... my lands, we were younguns!

Eight things I love about my Shaun:

1. He thinks I'm the corniest girl on earth, but he will still laugh (albeit it sarcastically) at my jokes
2. He loves to read young adult fiction and talk about Harry Potter theories with me
3. He grabs my butt (although it annoys me most of the time- at least I know he still thinks I'm attractive to him!) ;)
4. He randomly brings home surprises for me and the kids
5. He totally supports and "gets" my scrapbooking, and even knows who Heidi Swapp and Elsie Flannigan are
6. He gtalks with me all day long
7. He makes considers every aspect of big decisions carefully
8. He approaches his faith very realistically and at the same time, takes it seriously. It's a very genuine and real part of his life.

I love him, respect him, miss him when we're apart, laugh with him, support him, and look forward to sharing so much more with him.

Happy anniversary, baby... I've got you on my mind. ;)

Crop Addict June Kit Layouts!

2008-05-18T14:00:00.000-05:00

I got an idea for this little envelope "mini album" of sorts one night... each insert/page inside is a place for journaling about my Top 5 Life Defining moments (Becoming a believer in Jesus Christ, meeting Shaun, the birth of our children, and two private ones). I just wanted to keep it simple, and provide a private place for journaling about these things, to remind me where I stand in life when I get a little shaky.

Note: I cut out the envelope with an AccuCut die cutting machine, but you could easily reproduce it by taking apart a large envelope and using it as a template.

(note the little scribbles- Em's "thoughts" on the playdate. Heh.)

Check it out here!

Hair Deal

2008-05-17T10:38:00.003-05:00

From time to time, I get asked who my hairstylist is... well, it is the most fabulous cutie, Kari Ann.

She has cut Katie M's hair, cut & highlighted Ginger's hair, and cut Tracy (from Scrap Etc.)'s hair... and they all have LOVED it. She's truly an artist when it comes to scissors.

They are running a deal at her salon right now, so I thought I'd share with you all. :) Make sure to tell her I sent ya!

Congrats & Twelve Fridays Stuff

2008-05-16T09:36:00.002-05:00

First off, here's the winner of my little RAK for leaving comments on my photography tips post! Begin looking for my mini-tutorials on Wednesdays. :)

Send me your snail mail addy, Linh, and I'll send you a little altered notebook!

Here are some of my layouts from the May Twelve Fridays Kit. You can check out the rest of the designers' work here.

There is NOTHING

2008-05-15T18:54:00.002-05:00

sexier than a daddy.

Ye Olde Weight Watchers

2008-05-15T11:39:00.004-05:00

So, I decided to finally bite the bullet and sign up for Weight Watchers.

I did it before, many many many years ago, and had a lot of success with it.

I like that it's not a diet, but a lifestyle change.
I like that I still feel in control of what I'm eating.
I like that I feel like I get support.
I like their website with all the resources on there.

But most importantly, I like that I actually set a goal and reach it.

Anyways, please please please feel free to leave me any comments on any tips or favorite foods you do with WW. I'm not much of a cook, so simple = fabulous with me!

Here's what I've had so far today, and I've only had 8 points (out of my daily allotment of 22 points):

-Yummy granola bar for b'fast (3 points)

-Quesadilla of sorts (Mission Wheat Tortilla, Southwest Corn & Black Bean Salsa, Weight Watchers Mexican Cheese blend, Fat Free Sour Cream): 4 points

-And these yummy snack cakes (you get THREE in a little package!) for 1 point!

I'll probably have a Smart Ones meal for dinner... I'm trying to keep things really simple at the moment. I am really motivated to lose all this baby weight...especially after seeing some horribly unflattering photos of myself recently.

P.S. I'll be doing my little drawing this evening from the post about photography for all you sweeties that left a comment! Make sure to check back later!

Discover Your Scrapbooking Style Class

2008-05-12T16:41:00.003-05:00

Have you ever wondered why it is that some scrapbookers' layouts are identifiable a mile away? Have you ever though, "I wish I could figure out what my scrapbooking style is?" If you can answer yes to either of those questions, this class is for you.

Meet with me on either Saturday, May 17th (6:30pm) or Saturday, May 24th (6:30pm) for a workshop style class. This is going to be an interactive class, so I'm keep the class size down to 6 people. We'll be discussing what factors can go into helping you discover your scrapping style, key things to look at in that process, and some practical steps for pinpointing those things.

Please bring with you:
-two pieces of cardstock in your favorite colors
-several pieces of your favorite patterned papers
-an embellishment or two that you bought for no reason except that you just love it
-anything that you tend to reach for time and time again on your layouts
-some favorite photos (either you like the way they look, or they stir a strong emotion in you)
-basic tools (trimmer, adhesive, pens, scissors)
-clippings from magazines, both scrapbooking related and not; these need to be things that strike your eye for some reason or another

You will go home with a Design Workbook that you will be able to refer to as you continue to grow more comfortable in your scrapbooking style.

Cost: $20
Instructor: Virginia Tillery
Call Scrap Etc. at 985-9323 to sign up!
(please email me at 2blackflipflops@gmail.com if you have any questions!)

Celebrity Morph by MyHeritage

2008-05-12T08:52:00.002-05:00

MyHeritage: Celebrity Morph - Family history software - Free family history

http://www.myheritage.com/collage

Blessed

2008-05-11T13:50:00.003-05:00

I can't tell you how many time I've been out with the kiddos and had people tell me that I've got my hands full.

They are absolutely right.

I've got my hands full of joy and happiness and blessings. Sometimes poop and boogers too, but all in all- I live a pretty awesome life, because of these sweet little faces.

Project Friday

2008-05-09T17:07:00.002-05:00

I'm so excited- this was my turn at doing the Project Friday on the Twelve Friday's blog. Go check it out!

Oh, and I don't think I've announced some very exciting news here... I can't remember where I say things and where I don't, so forgive me for that... anyways- go check this out:

Twelve Friday Weekend Celebration

Woooooooooooooooohoooooooooooooooooooo!

Kurt Halsey

2008-05-08T14:23:00.004-05:00

I found this awesome artist via Sarah Jane

(who has a pretty cool and artistic blog herself)

His artwork reminds me a little of my brother's style.

I must get my brother to draw me some artwork like this for my house.

Camera Tidbits

2008-05-07T17:57:00.003-05:00

I clearly am all about my new camera... love it, love it, love it.

I wanted to share with y'all some of the helpful things I've found on the internets in my search for good info & tips on all things photography related.

To begin with, my husband pointed out this site to me, and it's been super helpful. I especially like his sections on How to Make Great Photos
and Recommended Cameras, (which, coincidentally, was one of the factors in why I got the Nikon D40 and a speedlight. Also, because I love my old Nikon SLR. Sorry, Adrienne, I'm a Nikon girl. Heheh)

Speaking of cameras, my husband also pointed out this nifty feature on Canon Point & Shoots today... basically, you can hack into your camera's software and make it a much better camera than it already is (such as shutter speed and exposure time). Check out his blurb on it here, and further info on it here. (via Shaun. There, are you happy? heh)

Photo editing tidbits:

I like the Big Huge Lab's photo mosaic maker, if you haven't heard of it by now.

Also a big fan of Shutterfly Studio. It's how I made my header on here. It's free, fast, and nifty.

This has always been my "go to" tutorial for scanning in a layout and then stitching it together in photoshop.

One of my all-time-faves, How to make digi photos look like Lomo photography. It's been posted on here multiple times, but I figure there might be *one* person out there who hasn't seen it yet. Heheh

Here's a similar one, but a wee bit different, for a more vintage effect.

The Top Best 55 Photoshop Tutorials... I haven't actually looked at this yet, but it's on my list of "to do" things for photography. You know, in all that free time I have.

9 Digital Camera Settings for every photographer to know (again, ditto above)

DIY Macro Photo studio (for less than $10)... this is like a little place to set up photo shoots for small stuff, like a card, or piece of jewelry, or whatev.

How to make a blinkie in Photoshop CS
(MUCH easier than I thought it would be!)

Some great brushes here and here. (Thanks, Katie!)

Some cool eye candy. (via Elsie)

So, here's what you need to do:

-leave me a link with some of your fave photography website or eye candy

-let me know if you'd be interested in a little "tips & tricks- ghetto style" to photoshop/photography/other photo related miscellany once a week

And I'll draw from the comments and send you a little somethin'-somethin'!

Twilight Teaser!

2008-05-07T09:28:00.000-05:00

Twilight in HD

Mom's Day Out...

2008-05-07T07:53:00.006-05:00

was one of the best things ever conceived of for moms. :)

The kidlets are officially signed up and went for their first day of "school" yesterday. Oh man, it was so nice to not be called "Mommy!" for 6 hours! And bonus- I got to spend a good portion of time yesterday playing with scrappy stuff. Good times, good times.

In other news...

we recently changed churches.

Dude, this was a hard, hard, hard, difficult decision. It had nothing to do with the church we were going to... we absolutely love that church (and still plan to go visit as frequently as possible). It was more to do with the fact that we really felt like God was leading us somewhere different.

Now, people use that Christian jargon all the time... to the point that it feels like it's almost an excuse to cover up what you're really thinking sometimes. In this case, though, it is 100% truth. We had to make a choice between two really good things for our family, and to see where God would take us in the next few years as far as ministry and being a part of our community was concerned.

So anyways, it's been on my mind (obviously) a lot lately.... just a big change in our life. A good change.

Here are some pics from going to Community Group last Sunday night...

Seriously, what in the heck?!

Atticus decided to literally pour Root Beer all over himself. I turned around to see him holding over his shirt and then looking at me and saying "Uh Oh."

We had to use an extra shirt that Em had in her bag.

Yeah, my kids are pretty much going to hate me for some of these pics when they're older.

Hehehe

Two Years in the Making

2008-05-05T19:39:00.004-05:00

May 4, 2006

The world is changed forever when this charming little dude arrived.

Happy Birthday to my (second) favorite Tillery man.

12 Fridays

2008-05-03T08:16:00.004-05:00

I just realized I never posted my layouts from 12 Fridays... I sent the pics off to Heather & Heidi the day before I left for the Event, and that erased all further thought from my head. ;)

I'm working on my Project Friday stuff tonight... woohoo. I can't wait to share with you all!

Crop Addict May Kit & Mfr. Kit Layouts

2008-05-01T02:10:00.009-05:00

Here's the lovely Crop Addict May Kit and Manufacturer Kit (Crate Paper). I can't believe I was able to scrap this much this month!

You might notice some fun little doodles on the pages... I have been so excited this month to be able to draw some exclusive little doodles for the Crop Addict May kit! I'm no artist, but they are fun to make. It's been really cool seeing them show up on the other designer's pages. What a thrill! Be watching for more in future kits! ;)

Crop Addict May Kit:

(No, you're not seeing things- that's my friend Morgan's little boy. We did a photo swap this month!)

Crate Paper was enormously generous to us this month. Thank you, Crate Paper, for allowing us to create with your gorgeous new products! I have always loved the texture of the CP papers, and their new chipboard letters & buttons add an extra dimension that I just love.

Crate Paper Katlin Line:

Crate Paper Static Line:

Merry Taxmas!

2008-04-30T17:47:00.004-05:00

We planned to use part of our income tax refund on this:

my new toy

Can I tell you HOW incredibly thrilled I am to have it? The picture quality is insane. I love it.

I've been playing with it today... finally putting into practice things that I've been reading about.

And seriously? This is priceless. Hehehe

Katie's Play Banner

2008-04-30T16:56:00.003-05:00

Hey y'all, just wanted to update you with one of the classes at Scrap Etc. this weekend for National Scrapbook Day:

Katie B's class is a Play Banner!

It will cost $15 at 2:00pm on Saturday, May 3rd.

It is so cute, using lots of Accucut Dies and Hambly! . She used the word PLAY and has several pictures of her two kids on it.

You will be able to use any 4 letter word........well, not any! Let's keep it clean!

You can see that most of the shapes are using the Accucut machine. The papers are Fancy Pants, Hambly and Prism cardstock.

It would be so fun hanging in your kid's room or over the mantle for a little spruce up for Summer!

Spiritual Poop or Devotions from Tots

2008-04-30T13:13:00.003-05:00

Parenthood (and other relationships) never fails to amaze me about what it can teach me about God's relationship with me.

Sometimes, I probably take it a little too far... I mean, you can't read into EVERYTHING and make it about your relationship with God. However, I think in certain moments, His Spirit has softened my heart to notice something that I do every day and remind me about how God treats me, His daughter.

Case in point...

Em is calling me into the bathroom today, to wipe her after pooping. (Oh yes, good times.)

I started cleaning her up, and she started trying to help.

I told her, "No Em, don't touch. I don't want you to get messy. Let me clean up your poop for you."

Now, I'm not going to oversimplify the gospel- but seriously- in a lot of ways, that IS God's grace. He sent His Son in my place so that He could "clean up my poop" so I didn't "get messy," so to speak.

(Granted, that's not to say that sin doesn't have consequences that we sometimes have to clean up, but Jesus did provide grace and mercy for us for the ultimate price that we would have to pay.)

All that said... Thank you, Jesus, for being willing to clean up my poop.

National Scrapbook Day

2008-04-25T18:22:00.005-05:00

(I can just hear some of my friends totally cracking up at the fact that there is a National Scrapbook Day. So those of you cackling right now: no need to read further. This will be a full-on nerd post.)

So next week, on May 3rd, scrapbookers everywhere (well, I guess just in America because it's only *national* scrapbooking day, not international... or maybe not. Who knows.) will be celebrating this fun hobby.

Scrap Etc. is holding a weekend long scrap bonanza.... read below for more details (and to see the layout I created for it!):

National Scrapbook Day

May 1-3

Sales, Sales and more Sales! We are going to be giving you GREAT discounts on select merchandise. Be watching on the Blog for more information. I will try to send another email to give you more scoop on the BIG sale!!!! We are going to have Escape Night Crops at the store on Friday and Saturday. Come and crop with Tracy and Molly from 6pm-Midnight both nights! Cost is $5. There will be room for 8-10 people and lots of giveaways!

Vanessa's class on Thursday night at 6:00pm. is using a clear album we have created on the Accucut Machine. You will be using Heidi Swapp Runway papers and chandelier charms. Cost for this class is $20.00 Please call the store to sign up ahead of time.

Tracy has created this adorable photo album. It is the perfect size to fit in your bag to use as a brag book! It would also make the perfect Mother's Day gift for mom's and grandmother's! Come in early on Saturday (8am) and Tracy will show you how to make this adorable album. Cost $5.00. Please call the store to sign up in advance.

Katie will be teaching a Summer Banner class using Hambly, AccuCut, Fancy Pants, and My Mind's Eye. I saw it today- it is SUPER cute!

I created this layout with the Heidi Swapp World Traveler papers. If you came to the event you got to do Heidi's version. Come and use the same stuff to get a whole new layout! If you didn't get to come to the event......now's your chance to get a hold of the awesome products we used! Cost FREE!!!
I won't be there to teach this layout because of a prior engagement, but I'm getting my amazing scrapbooking friend Gretchen McElveen to teach it for me. (Thanks, Gretch!) She'll be teaching it on Saturday, May 3rd at 11:30 am.

Don't forget about the Sale. There are going to be some AWESOME deals!!!!

So....

are you ready to scrapboooooooooooooooooooooooook?!!!

(That was for you, Donnie. heheh)

Tomorrow

2008-04-24T14:05:00.002-05:00

Get Ready

Photograph fact sheet

(even if you're not a scrapbooker, you should check this out. How cool will this be to look back on??)

Introducing....

2008-04-24T11:48:00.003-05:00

my husband's blog.

He likes weird stuff.

I suppose that's why he married me.

But I digress.

Topics this week include:

Indian Toilet Instructions

Weekend at Bernie's- real life style

A priest who is floating with balloons

Koolaid as a gateway drug

and many other interesting and often strange bits of news he's stumbled upon during his countless hours surfing the net.

One of today's posts talks about a search engine that brings up results via images (screenshots of the actual website) instead of text. It's pretty cool, especially if you're really visual like I am. Check it out!

Seems like that could be pretty handy to a scrapbooker... ;)

packing peanuts and lipstick messages

2008-04-23T11:46:00.007-05:00

-packing peanuts that were scattered all over the living room floor are cleaned up. Yipee.

-so LoViNg the amazing job my sweet husband did with laying a new floor in our dining room. I keep telling him it looks like a magazine picture to me.
-still need to bleach out the bathroom and clean up this mess that my little artiste did with lipstick:(think this means "Welcome Home Mommy" in toddler speak?)

-am LOVING this candle that my secret sis (Tina Cloer) got me. Oh my, yum yum. I'm burning it so quickly that I can see I'm going to have to make a run for a new one soon!
-I started the Couch to 5k running program today at the encouragement of my friend Kim. I'm actually quite proud of myself as I am NOT a runner or active person in the least. I really want to change that. Plus, after seeing pics of myself this weekend, I'm seeing that I really need to lose this post-baby belly (and extras lbs.) I've got hanging around.

-I've got some big plans in the works for the Little Bellwether Fashionista blog... I'll let you know when they go into effect! (Hopefully next Monday, but I'm not making any promises.)

-Still working on getting my scrap area organized. I already have a HUGE BAG full of stuff that I've cleaned out (and will post on here later this week).

This is my version of the clip-it-up. Gotta keep it up high to prevent little hands from getting into it.
-This pic is TOTALLY cracking me up.

-Love the snuggles from this boy. I missed them.
-Em & I have been butting heads a lot this week. It's been a bit of a struggle. I am constantly amazed at how grown up she is (and she thinks she is!).

However, these moments make it all worth it.

At least, that's what I keep telling myself. ;)

Heads up- some shopping for you!

2008-04-21T17:56:00.002-05:00

I'm about to attack my scrap area tonight, and clean out a ton of stuff.

I'm going to post it here on my blog in lots or mini-kits to sell, within the next week or so.

I'll be using a paypal widget to process any funds so that everything is on the up-&-up.

I'll also be using the flat-rate priority boxes from the USPS (unless you live locally and want to arrange a pick-up/drop-off. And you're not a serial killer).

Oh yes.

2008-04-20T19:19:00.002-05:00

So very, very tired.

Must unpack.

Here's some photos. More coming soon once some peeps email me theirs. Forgive the lack of quality in them... sometimes it's all about just trying to capture the moments. :)

See ya later, crocodile.

2008-04-14T09:21:00.001-05:00

A quick little hanging sign

2008-04-09T12:28:00.003-05:00

For those of you just here for the scrappy stuff, here's a little project I did the other night. (sorry for the not-so-great pic, I took it in a hurry!).
I used a page out of a Maya Road chipboard album as the base and painted it. Added American Crafts papers and Chipboard Thickers, Jenni Bowlin Paper, Creative Imaginations Paper Lace, and Heidi Swapp crystals and bling
.
The verse in the middle is a great verse, one I discovered recently. It says, "When she speaks, she has something worthwhile to say, and she always says it kindly." (Proverbs 31:25, MSG) WOW! That is so convicting to me... I really struggle with my
tongue and the things that come out of my mouth.

Officer Brother Reporting for Duty

2008-04-09T10:34:00.009-05:00

Yesterday, my little brother graduated from police academy.

It's crazy to think that the same little guy that used to pretend that sticks are guns, wore a knight's helmet around, and had a favorite GI Joe named "Crazy Legs" is now deputy sheriff!

I'm so proud of him. He won an award for the most improvement in his physical training. He takes his duties very seriously.

And I even think he likes donuts. ;)

Donovan at lunch before the graduation. He's such a cutie. I'm sure he loves me saying about him, too.

Me embarrassing him in front of his fellow officers. Actually, now that I look at it, I think I'm just embarrassing myself. ;)
Love that he's really smiling in this pic. See how our eyes disappear when we smile? heh

My bro with our grandpa

Strike a pose, dude!

Donovan and Grams
Donovan had just said one of his trademark one-liners.

Donovan, Mom, and Dad
Once we went into the graduation ceremony, I got the kids settled quietly with coloring books and markers. "Good," I think. "They seem to be entertained."

And yet, Atticus can never, ever, ever stop talking. Constant monologue with that boy. You hear the absolute quiet in the room? That's because around 150 people were all sitting there quietly at the beginning of the ceremony as they bring in the graduates and the flags.

So yeah... me and the kiddos ended up going outside for a bit. LOL

Atticus and my little sis Mallory

What a poser.I am jealous of her hair.

Finally, this pic is exceedingly precious to me.

Later dudes! Need to go work on some Event stuff!

Pics and fashion

2008-04-06T23:08:00.004-05:00

Okey dokie, artichokies...

I did a photo shoot with my friend Kari Ann, her sister Leslie, and her mom & dad. They were SO much fun to hang out with and to watch interact.

And, I might add, super photogenic!
HELLO! Are they not the cutest?!

I have more pics (um, yeah, shot 200 pics!) that I need to edit, but here's what I got so far because I know Kari is anxious to see them:

And here is my latest project that I've been wanting to share.

As many of you may know, Emerson is a bit addicted to clothes and fashion. She is constantly changing clothes.

She even makes "suggestions" to the rest of the family.

My friend Christa had an idea that I start a fashion blog for her, in the vein of "What I Wore Today" and
other such
daily fashion blogs

So without further adieu, Em's new blog:

The Little Bellwether Fashionista

(And thanks to my little sis Mallory for teaching me that new word!) ;)

Yipee!

2008-04-05T23:31:00.002-05:00

(Yipee seems to be my new "woohoo." I don't know why, but I've started saying it a lot lately.

Anyways.)

Just wanted to give y'all a heads up... in case you've given up ever being able to chat again on the Scrap Etc. Forums, the slow-as-molasses issue that they were having is gone away! YAY! Yipee!

It's fast as lightening... so fun. So glad I can chat with my friends on there again!

Oh, and p.s. Linda- you were asking if you had missed an email about a swap for the Event- it's not an "Event" thing, per se... it's something I joined up with some other girls on the message board. Just something extra for "fun" (aka Why in the heck do I add extra stuff to my plate??!!) ;)

Addendum

2008-04-04T14:25:00.000-05:00

One more:

Why do the weather guys make it sound like it's a good thing to have tornados?

"The conditions are favorable..."

"You really need warm air all the way to the ground if you really want a tornado to touch down."

What the ??

Back into our safe place. :P

Rhetorical

2008-04-03T12:50:00.004-05:00

Why does stuff make me "happy"?

Why can't I seem to use my time more wisely?

Why did I wait so long to pay my $22 library fine?

Why is my scrapbooking desk an enormous mess?

Why can't there be an invisible shield around my front porch to keep all of the pollen off?

Why can't it be much, much easier to leave the house with three kids?

Why is our library so freaking cool about having three little kids running around in it (well, minus Sabriel, she can't really run around. Yet.) ?

Why do kind people get taken advantage of?

Why haven't I finished making my rolodex cards for the swap at the Event?

Why do the Hills have to move to Mississippi?

Why can marriage be so hard sometimes?

Why do the little rolly pirate skulls from the Happy Meals make me laugh?

Why does my husband put up with my shenanigans?

And why does he continue to laugh at my "Wachovia" joke? Oh wait. He doesn't. That's me that still laughs at it. hehe

Why did I have to tell Atticus FIVE TIMES THIS MORNING, "Stop asking me to put on your tiara!!"?

And why does this make me wonder exactly how secure he is in his masculinity? ;)

Hey Shorty, It's Your Birthday...

2008-04-02T20:30:00.006-05:00

Three years in the making.

Happy birthday, my sweet Em!

We had a simple little family party tonight... just us 5. We are having a "friends & family" b'day party later this spring and doing a joint party for Em & Atticus. This was just a little something special today to mark the occasion. :)

Manufacturer Challenge

2008-04-02T09:19:00.003-05:00

Every month at Crop Addict, we have a manufacturer sponsor and challenge.

This month, it was the awesome and much beloved American Crafts. :)

Here's what I came up with:

You can see more here:

AC Gallery

And play along with our challenge and sketch from Tessa Ann to win a cool prize!

Verse for the day

2008-04-02T08:48:00.000-05:00

My help and glory are in God
—granite-strength and safe-harbor-God—
So trust him absolutely, people;
lay your lives on the line for him.
God is a safe place to be.

Make sure you get tested

2008-03-31T17:10:00.002-05:00

Haaaaaaa!! Love it!

Monday, Monday

2008-03-31T14:47:00.007-05:00

Man, I can't tell you how much I hate Mondays...

back to housework, cleaning up after the weekend, trying to get back to our normal routine, etc. etc. etc.

Here are a few things that are making me happy today, since I need some of those reminders at the moment:

-Kari Ann came over to visit today
-Got a lot of creative ideas spinning around in my head
-I just won this
-My May Crop Addict kit is on its way to me
-Heard a really great sermon yesterday and it's still rolling around in my head (a huge feat for someone who has a chronic case of mommy brain)
-My brother graduates from police academy next week (dude, does anyone else automatically think of the Police Academy movies and the guy that can make all those cool sound affects when they read that?)
-Em turns three on Wednesday
-Only 16 days until the Event!
-I got some really cute & flattering jeans this weekend at Kohls.

Alright, gotta run... I need to take a shower... clean up the house some... you know, since it's 3pm and all. ;)

I'll leave y'all with another layout I made for Scrap Etc... this one is using new Heidi Swapp, some Jenni Bowlin, and Making Memories.

Later dudes!

Sisters and Ghosties

2008-03-30T17:54:00.006-05:00

Sisters make good coloring buddies.

Have I mentioned I think our house is haunted?

See the evidence below. ;)

Pretty darn spooky.
Oh, whew!

Of Dolls and Dinos new Fancy Pants

2008-03-30T17:14:00.002-05:00

Here's some design team work for Scrap Etc. using the new Fancy Pants Clear Albums, Papers, and Felt.

I love these little albums so much. So incredibly fun to use!

Check out that awesome little Heidi Swapp chandelier crystal- oh my goodness, expect to see me using these a lot because I am addicted!

Crop Addict April Kit

2008-03-27T19:24:00.006-05:00

Love it love it love it.

What more can I say? :)

Easter Weekend

2008-03-24T17:42:00.004-05:00

Whew, what a weekend! It was beautiful and relaxing and full.

Friday the Hubs was off, so he got to spend some time with the fam and with Quinn playing disc golf. It was a nice surprise, as I didn't expect him home that day! :)

Saturday was full of playing outside in the pretty weather and preparing for the next day. We cooked out that evening and had Ginge & Donnie over for a much belated birthday dinner. I recently "spiffed" up our screened in front porch so we can eat out there, so we all sat out there and really had a relaxing evening.

Sunday was Easter, and we are working on trying to make it special and meaningful for our family. Shaun and I have done a variety of fasting for Lent in previous years (that's a whole 'nother post for another time) and would like to eventually incorporate it to be a family thing... so we want to start making a tradition of Easter being that special day when we celebrate Christ's resurrection and the breaking of our fast. Anyways, all that said, we did decide to do Easter baskets as part of that tradition, to signify the celebration and the gift of grace.

The actual gifts were not so "spiritual." ;) We gave Atticus a lion bubble maker and Em a Strawberry Shortcake computer game, along with loads of chocolate candy for the both of them. I love this pic because if you look closely, you'll notice the respective gifts did not go to who we planned them for. Hee!

I didn't get a good pic of the three kiddos in their Sunday best, so I'm planning on hitting the Botanical Gardens next weekend and doing pretty spring pics.

Here's some remaining pics from our weekend! The kids LOVED the bubble maker- thanks to the Dollar General for that one!

Happy Easter

2008-03-23T22:46:00.004-05:00

Early in the morning on the first day of the week, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene came to the tomb and saw that the stone was moved away from the entrance.

She ran at once to Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one Jesus loved, breathlessly panting, "They took the Master from the tomb. We don't know where they've put him."

Peter and the other disciple left immediately for the tomb.

They ran, neck and neck. The other disciple got to the tomb first, outrunning Peter.

Stooping to look in, he saw the pieces of linen cloth lying there, but he didn't go in. Simon Peter arrived after him, entered the tomb, observed the linen cloths lying there, and the kerchief used to cover his head not lying with the linen cloths but separate, neatly folded by itself. Then the other disciple, the one who had gotten there first, went into the tomb, took one look at the evidence, and believed. No one yet knew from the Scripture that he had to rise from the dead. The disciples then went back home.

But Mary stood outside the tomb weeping.

As she wept, she knelt to look into the tomb and saw two angels sitting there, dressed in white, one at the head, the other at the foot of where Jesus' body had been laid. They said to her, "Woman, why do you weep?" ...she turned away and saw Jesus standing there. But she didn't recognize him. Jesus spoke to her, "Woman, why do you weep? Who are you looking for?" She, thinking that he was the gardener, said, "Mister, if you took him, tell me where you put him so I can care for him."

Jesus said, "Mary." Turning to face him, she said in Hebrew, "Rabboni!" meaning "Teacher!" ...

Eight days later, his disciples were again in the room. This time Thomas was with them. Jesus came through the locked doors, stood among them, and said, "Peace to you."

Then he focused his attention on Thomas. "Take your finger and examine my hands. Take your hand and stick it in my side. Don't be unbelieving. Believe."

Thomas said, "My Master! My God!"

Jesus said, "So, you believe because you've seen with your own eyes. Even better blessings are in store for those who believe without seeing." ....

These are written down so you will believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and in the act of believing, have real and eternal life in the way he personally revealed it.

(Excerpts from John 20, the Message translation)

A few shots from our Easter weekend... check back tomorrow for some more! :)

Today

2008-03-19T19:23:00.002-05:00

This week has been a bit of a *test* for me... I've had three different social activities thus far, which was pretty normal for us PS (Pre-Sabriel), but since then has been a bit of a challenge for me.

I wanted to see how it would go to start doing more stuff during the week.

On top of the adding-of-more-social-activities, I took a small (and when I say small, I mean miniscule- like a couple of hours a week) job doing occasional data entry for the Hubs' work. It's definitely taken up more time, but it'll also be fun to have that extra cash for all this new CHA stuff coming in. ;)

It's all been great. Really good for my soul.

BUT... my house has suffered a wee bit.

Exhibit A: My house at 4pm today. (Note especially the kids' room and the piles of laundry).

Ya know what, though- it's okay. We survive.

Plus, it wasn't as bad as it looked.

Exhibit B: Today at 7pm (Note especially the piles of laundry. Oh well. LOL)

Heads up

2008-03-19T16:14:00.001-05:00

For those of you who I've been telling about the Making Memories 12" Precision Trimmer and how much I love it, I just wanted to let you know that it's on sale this week at Hobby Lobby for $34.99. Not a bad deal! :)

Scrapdragons Challenge

2008-03-18T14:29:00.004-05:00

My friend Laura is one of the girls that runs the challenge blog, Scrapdragons. I've been wanting to do some of their challenges, but haven't gotten it together until this month.

Their current challenge is to do a layout inspired by an album cover, whether it be the colors or design or title... whatever.

I've been wanting to scrap the pics from the Over the Rhine show we went to last month, and this challenge totally inspired me to do it! Like a doofus, I had forgotten my camera battery that night, but the nice couple sitting next to our friends Jeremy & Christa sent them some pics of the night, along with my friend Kim's pictures... so I was still able to document this amazing concert.

I was inspired by the Trumpet Child album that Over the Rhine just released (and this was the tour they are on, so I thought it was fitting). I did a similar background to their cd by stamping with turquoise acrylic paint and a Heidi Swapp damask stamp on top of a pale blue Bazzill cardstock. I also used a Basic Grey floral rubon from a Crop Addict kit to make the "trumpet" like on the album cover. I put it on blue cardstock and then added black pen lines around it. It's made more dimensional by using a pop dot beneath it.

Other stuff on here:
our manufacturer challenge for next month at Crop Addict gave us these, so I had to get some more because I love them so much!
Jenni Bowlin
Making Memories
Creative Cafe
Heidi Swapp

Visit to Great Grandma T's

2008-03-17T17:49:00.001-05:00

Here ya go! (This is mostly for the fam to check out, but there ARE some adorable pics of my kiddos in there, for those interested). ;)

Twelve Fridays March Projects

2008-03-15T10:34:00.002-05:00

Okay, the Twelve Fridays March kit was a *must have* for me. It is overflowing with my favorite colors. Good thing I'm on the design team! ;)

Here's what I made out of it so far:
This is made out of the packaging for the Heidi Swapp jumbo photo corners. The photo and paper are inside of it, and everything else is adhered to the outside.

The butterfly wings are out of jumbo photo corners and the Twelve Fridays paper.

And this is what I still have left! Craziness! I'm saving it for a cute project that I know Heather is going to be doing later this month for our project Friday. :)

A quick link festival

2008-03-14T12:19:00.002-05:00

Getting ready to go see Shaun's grandma, but wanted to leave y'all with some things that I have found interesting on the good ol' internets lately.

A good article on perfectionism (as linked by Mandy)

Hilarious (and I do mean hilarious) webisodes about motherhood

Passive Aggressive Notes

The Blog of Unnecessary Quotation Marks

Home Shopping Network Blooper (not safe for work/kids, but pretty darn funny)

Money Saving Mom

Peep & the Big Wide World (great stuff here for kids, new webisodes every day)

Moms for Modesty

Letters to (an)other young mom

The Paper Pixie

Fun Tattoo that I think I need

Emma's Paperie

Scrapdragons

Colorstory challenges

*Can you tell I spend way too much time on the internet?

I must get off of here now. NEed to pack.

Later dudes!

[Croc]

{not so} Little Bri

2008-03-12T11:50:00.005-05:00

Some photos of the baby love... she is absolutely the sweetest little thing.

Her waking up this morning....

So.. some of y'all may remember Shaun doing this to Atticus when he was a wee one (scroll down to see the pic)... for some reason, he seems to think they need to ride around the house when they are this little. LOL

Oops!

2008-03-11T22:47:00.005-05:00

Um, so I think I may have jumped the gun a little bit today by posting my Twelve Fridays projects a wee bit early. *blush* I realized- um... duh! Today is not Friday!

So those of you who got a sneak peek of them today, consider yourself lucky! ;) The rest of you will have to come back this weekend to get a gander at them.

Until then, here's a few pics of our weekend and the simplicity of a few chalk drawings on our driveway....

(The dude saying "Cheese!" For what it's worth, I don't know where my kids learned this because I never tell them to say "Cheese." Also, they seem to think you have to close your eyes when you do it.)

Cool.

2008-03-08T11:12:00.001-06:00

Got this from the Hubs. Really like its simplicity.

(from Friar Peter)

Bless to me, O God,
My soul and my body;
Bless to me, O God,
My belief and my condition;

Bless to me, O God,
My heart and my speech,
And bless to me, O God,
The handling of my hand;

Strength and busyness of morning,
Habit and temper of modesty,
Force and wisdom of thought,
And Thine own path, O God of virtues,
Till I go to sleep this night;

Thine own path, O God of Virtues,
Till I go to sleep

Got nothin' to do to tomorrow morning?

2008-03-07T17:30:00.003-06:00

(other than play in snow, that is?)

We've still got a few spots left in my "One Fine Day" class at Scrap Etc.

Time: 9:30am (depending on the weather, I may bump it up a little later in the morning- you can call the store before you come to check)
Cost: $25

You will complete a 6x6" SEI album with 20 pages, get to play a little with the AccuCut machine, and learn new techniques, along with receiving Heidi Swapp butterfly masks, alphabet stickers, and Fontwerks labels to go home with.

Bring adhesive, glue dots, and 20 4x6" or smaller photos (and if you don't have the pics gathered, come on anyways and you can put together the album and add the pics later).

If you would like to take this class, just come on down to the Scrap Etc. store in the morning and you can pay for the class when you arrive.

If you are interested in this class, but can't come in the morning, email me at 2blackflipflops@gmail.com and I can set you up with a kit & full color instructions for each page.

doing a little renovating..

2008-03-06T13:22:00.000-06:00

excuse the bloggy mess!

Layout-pa-looza

2008-03-06T09:22:00.005-06:00

Here are some layouts I did for Scrap Etc:

**click on any image to see it larger**

This one is using brand new SEI papers. I loved these little birdies! Too cute! Got some Blossoms and Buttons from Making Memories on here too, along with some of their fabulous little notebook paper from the 5th Avenue collection.

Basic Grey's new Archaic line is SO adorable! I figured you'd probably be seeing a lot of little boy layouts with this product, so I figured I'd give it a little bit of a different spin. Em is decently into dinosaurs these days, and when she first started recognizing them, she called them "dino-roars." So cute!

I did this one with new SEI papers as well, along with a few other things. I created this for a challenge for the Crop Addict online crop last weekend. My challenge was to use the new Pantone Spring 2008 color predictions as your color scheme. Kind of broke me out of my old faithful "turquoise and green" rut. ;)

Finally, another one with the Basic Grey Archaic line. Kim at Crop Addict did a challenge to use hidden journaling on your layout, and that gave me the push to finally make this layout that has been bumping around in my head for a while. The journaling is about my thoughts around the time that I found out about Rick Burgess' son's death. It really has affected some of the way I view Atticus, for at least this season in our life. I know that I absolutely love all my children, and I cannot imagine the horror and grief that would overcome me if I lost one of them, but for the reason that I was pregnant with Atticus at the same time Sherri was pregnant with Bronner, I seem to transfer some of those feelings onto him. I have thought and prayed a lot about Sherri in the last month or so, imagining all of the things she must be feeling and going through... so some of those thoughts ended up in the journaling on this page.

Sorry for that sad note at the end of this post... just something that has been on my heart lately.

That's the end of my marathon of posts today! Thanks for stopping by to read my ramblings... I don't say it enough, but I truly appreciate the little bit of joy I get in my inbox each time I see a new comment has been posted here. :)

Our Daily Schedule

2008-03-06T09:14:00.003-06:00

Here's our daily schedule for those who are interested:

8am: Breakfast & Bible Verse

8:15am: Get dressed, brush teeth, morning chores

8:45am: Cartoons

9:15am: Computer games

9:45am: Activity Time (Crafts, Sorting, Lacing Cards, Tracing, Etc.)

10:15am: Story Time

10:30am: Outside Play or organized physical activity

11:15am: Lunch & Bible verse

11:30am: music

12:00noon Free Play in room

12:30pm: Craft

1:00pm: Atticus nap/Em “Peep & the Big Wide World”

1:20pm: Em nap

--After nap—

Play stations (not video games- stations as in "pretend kitchen" or "blocks" or "trucks") or Outside play until 4:15pm

4:15pm: evening chores

4:30pm: Cartoons or Art time

5:00pm: dinner & Bible verse

-evening routine

Bath, cartoons/computer game, story, bedtime

We actually haven't had a day yet when we've followed it exactly. There's a lot of things in there that I just adapted from our normal routines, so it hasn't necessarily been a drastic change (such as naptimes). It seems like just getting the kids off on the right foot and doing a few structured activities each day has set the tone for the rest of the day and enabled them to do a lot more "productive" (read here as: not destroying everything in sight) play. Good stuff.

A little analyzing and a lot of rambling

2008-03-06T08:41:00.009-06:00

I feel like I've been under a rock during this last week... been busy implementing a new schedule with the kids, keeping up with scrapbooking deadlines (which is fun, not stressful, for anyone who may be curious!), visiting with friends, and tying up loose ends with some spreadsheets for the Scrap Etc. Event.

I saw this on Adrienne's blog and thought I'd try it out. It's pretty darn close to me in a lot of the areas, although there are a few that I think it's not close to me on (I've never been told I have a Type A personality, but I could be delusional on that self- perception...anyone want to clue me in?)

What Virginia Means

You are very hyper. You never slow down, even when it's killing you.

You're the type of person who can be a workaholic during the day... and still have the energy to party all night.

Your energy is definitely a magnet for those around you. People are addicted to your vibe.
You tend to be pretty tightly wound. It's easy to get you excited... which can be a good or bad thing.

You have a lot of enthusiasm, but it fades rather quickly. You don't stick with any one thing for very long.

You have the drive to accomplish a lot in a short amount of time. Your biggest problem is making sure you finish the projects you start.

You are wild, crazy, and a huge rebel. You're always up to something.

You have a ton of energy, and most people can't handle you. You're very intense.

You definitely are a handful, and you're likely to get in trouble. But your kind of trouble is a lot of fun.

You are deeply philosophical and thoughtful. You tend to analyze every aspect of your life.

You are intuitive, brilliant, and quite introverted. You value your time alone.

Often times, you are grumpy with other people. (HAH! Yes! Love this one. Hehe) You don't appreciate them trying to interfere in your affairs.

You are very intuitive and wise. You understand the world better than most people.

You also have a very active imagination. You often get carried away with your thoughts.

You are prone to a little paranoia and jealousy. You sometimes go overboard in interpreting signals. (Oh so true, little blogger quiz.)

You are usually the best at everything ... you strive for perfection.

You are confident, authoritative, and aggressive.

You have the classic "Type A" personality.

What's Your Name's Hidden Meaning?

Here's my question about that quiz... I've heard things before talking about how your name can shape how people view you and respond to you, which would lead me to think would help shape your personality. Don't really think I totally buy that, but I wonder how much that affects these little online quizzes and how they select which descriptive paragraphs go to which names.

Here are some pics from our week...

(She's such a fatty-boom-batty!)

Shaun called this his "Abercrombie poses." Heheh You know I'm totally doing a layout with these!

2008-02-27T10:49:00.002-06:00

I don't know if you've ever done an online crop. It might even sound kind of weird to you. But it's really the best of all worlds.

You get awesome challenges, inspiration, chatting with other scrapbookers, and all in the comfort of your own home! You can even be wearing your pjs and never have to brush your teeth (although, I must say- gross!). ;)

The best part of it is- if you come to an online crop at Crop Addict, you have Debbie as the prize-giver-awayer. (That's a technical term, for those who don't know. Hee!) She is so generous... seriously. She gives away the best prizes!

So come on over to CropAddict this weekend. It's gonna be a blast! Oh, and I'll be there on Saturday doing my challenges and games and playing along... come join me! :)

So that was scary.

2008-02-26T09:13:00.002-06:00

Woke up at 3:30am to tornado sirens.

Pull up the internet.

Tornado warnings. Can't find out exactly what's going on, though.

Electricity goes out.

It looks like a strobe light is outside. It's really loud. Hail. Intense wind.

I'm scared.

I wake up Shaun, get the baby. Sit there and listen.

It's so loud.

Then it was gone.

Am finding out this morning that there was a fatality in Leeds, lots of damage, and they are researching the possibility that a small tornado touched down here.

Scary stuff. It has definitely shaken me up

But we are okay.

One Fine Day Sneaks

2008-02-25T19:48:00.005-06:00

(click on photo for better viewing pleasure!)

Small blessings....

2008-02-22T22:59:00.006-06:00

definitely not a comprehensive list by any means, but a few things that have brightened my week:

-someone cluing me into the grocery game and scoring a Jane lip gloss, a Jane lip gloss palette/compact, a Jane eyeshadow tub, a Jane eyeshadow palatte/compact, a Jane mascara, and a Jane blush... for a total of $8.
-Friends that bring you hot chips & fresh salsa from Superior Grille
-people that create free and easy tutorials on how to create blinkies
-friends that bring you Godiva hot chocolate, pretzels, cutie pj pants for your little girl, snowmen bags for your kiddos, and diapers for your baby
-having enough time during the kids' nap today to get Sabriel's room straightened and clothing reorganized
-my sweet friends that keep me company (and sane!) all day long
-a lovely new scalloped circle punch
-Friends that bring you yummy chicken salad on a croissant from Panera Bread
-new sassy shoes (green & black plaid heels! strappy black sandals!) from my sis-in-law
-the opportunity to teach again at Scrap Etc.
-hubby taking the kids to church last Sunday and letting me enjoy some quiet in the house
-Friends that give you 6 new pairs of really cute pants that you really, seriously needed
-a desk full of new scrappin' stuff!
-the time to scrap with the March Crop Addict Kit (see more here!)

Coming soon...

2008-02-21T18:09:00.003-06:00

to Scrap Etc...

"One Fine Day"
-an event album-
(help remember life's happy moments and celebrations... documenting a special day in your life)

March 8
9:30am
Scrap Etc. (Patton Creek, Hoover, AL)
Instructor: Me (hehe)
Cost: $25

**Products... Fontwerks, Daisy D's, AccuCut, Heidi Swapp, and several more!**

You'll also go home with any remaining items that we don't use up in class, including Fontwerks labels, Heidi Swapp Alpha stickers, and a Heidi Swapp mask.

More peeks of the insides coming soon!
Sign up at (205) 985-9323

Cause & Effect

2008-02-19T08:36:00.004-06:00

Cause: I stay home from church on Sunday morning to do some unpacking from the trip to the grandparents' and a little cleaning around the house. Nice, quiet, rainy morning. I get to mop my floors for the first time in 2 1/2 months.

Effect: Two kids pee on my floors three times on Monday.

Twelve Fridays March Kit Preview

2008-02-18T15:24:00.001-06:00

They've opened up the member's only blog for a few days for Twelve Fridays because our gallery isn't up on the site yet... you should go check it out. You can see the Feb. kit designer gallery AND the peeks at the March kit. Oh man... I can't wait for it to show up on my doorstep. Truly my favorite colors ever. I can't wait to play with it!

Quick pics and quotes

2008-02-15T09:22:00.003-06:00

Two months!!

*** me: "Atticus, let's not give the baby high five, okay?"***

***Em, while making cookies and holding the egg next to her ear, "I hear a baby bird in there!"***

Later dudes! Off to see the grandparents this weekend. :) Need to pack and finish cleaning the house before we head out.

Hope you had a most excellent Valentine's Day- I did!

Children require supervision??!!

2008-02-12T12:09:00.000-06:00

So I'm beginning to realize that just letting my kids play all day is not really working for us.

Now, I know that sounds crazy- of course my littles need to play... it's part of what being a kid is all about.

Here's the thing: it seems like unstructured play all day is leading to them being grouchy (=me being grouchy) and LOTS of mischief going on. Yesterday they pulled out all the books from the bookcase and made a track around the living room.

I could list all of the bazillions of things they have gotten into lately, but that's not really the point of this post.

The point, you ask?

Mainly, that I'm asking for your help.

I used to teach preschoolers, but never younger than 3 years old, and there's a vast difference in what a 2 year old can do and what a 3 year old can do. There's a lot of things that I think Em is capable of, but Atticus not so much. So I'm trying to figure out activities that they can mostly do together.

I'm planning on setting up a schedule for them. We are home nearly all of the time right now (because it makes me shake in my boots to think about trying to drag out all three kids and their various bags on a consistent basis) and I think a daily/weekly schedule would be really good for all of us. Everyone would know what to expect from the day, which is really important for my sanity and for the kids' growth and happiness.

Shaun helped me search for some websites with suggested activities for little ones, but I would definitely appreciate any suggestions here.

Here's the websites I have:

Activity Sites
YoungChildren

I'm thinking of doing, on a daily basis:

story time
sorting time
coloring/craft time
outside play time (weather permitting)
exercise time (playing simon says or follow the leader)

The thing is , most of these things can only last for about 15 minutes because of short attention spans... and although I don't feel like I need to fill the entire day up with a strict schedule, I'd like a few more things to do with them.

I'm also thinking about setting up a theme for each week... it may help me in my planning. For example, weather week, Valentine's week, flowers week, shapes week, etc.

Okay, so I'm going to stop rambling now and hope that you guys can give me some suggestions!

(And because I can't post without a picture, here's one of Atticus talking to Sabriel)

Scrappy news

2008-02-11T17:21:00.000-06:00

I remembered what else I wanted to tell y'all...(those who are scrapbooking news inclined)

This week is CHA-W (Craft & Hobby Association Winter show). For those of you who don't know, this is a BiG dEaL in the scrapping world, because all the new lines from the manufacturers are released.

Those of us who are stuck at home have to stalk the various scrapping websites and blogs to find peeks into the showroom floor.

I wanted to direct ya, in case you didn't know, to these prime spots:

Scrap Etc. CHA W 08 special website

and here's links to the previews so far:

Creative Cafe
Heidi Swapp
Jenni Bowlin Studio
Sassafrass (whoa! How cool is that paper?!)

And if you're bored, come over to the Crop Addict forums... we're playing some games, posting some pics, and getting the inside scoop from some of our DT girls that are there.

Oh, and I'm in the designer spotlight this month, so make sure to play along with my challenges and win some prizes!

Monthly challenge
Weekly challenges

alive but busy

2008-02-11T12:53:00.000-06:00

I'm sorry I haven't been good at posting much this month, life has been super busy lately. Here's some recaps!

-the Over the Rhine concert was INCREDIBLE. I can't even listen to the cds the same way again; the live versions were so full of life, that listening to it on a cd just sounds weird to me. Not that it's stopping me much. ;) Karin's voice pierces my soul. This way one of my all time favorite shows to ever go to. Sultry and passionate and soil piercing and jaunty (yes, I just said jaunty) and full of life.

Thank you, hubs, for taking me. I loved it.

(Thanks to Kim for the photos... I'm a complete doofus and I left my battery in my charger at home!)

-Sabriel started smiling this week. She doesn't do it a whole lot, but she's still trying to coordinate those muscles I think.

-I spent a few days at my Grams' house last week. It was good timing for all of us... while I was there, she found out that her brother had passed away, so I think it helped having the little kids around to cheer her up. As a matter of fact, Sabriel gave her first real smile to Grams.

-I enjoyed getting to spend time with my fam... it was fun and relaxing.

-My Grams has a Quickutz Silhouette. Man, I love playing with that.

-I've been doing a lot of scrapbooking lately. Here's a few of the layouts I've done recently.

This one is a lift of Jen's from Crop Addict. Man, she rocks.

-I'm trying to work on a class for Scrap Etc. I need to get my butt in gear on that. I have the products and an idea, I just need to put it all together. Here's a peek at the products I'm using:

-The kids enjoyed playing in the woods at my Grams' house. It's weird- the woods seemed so much bigger when we were kids. I had fun joking around with my cousins, Shawn and Andrew, about some of our old memories of the woods and popcorn picnics. :)

-Gotta do my taxes soon. Bleh. But you know- the return and all is nice.

-I think there's more, but Em's asking to watch Peep and the Big Wide World. Gotta run!

I have the best husband

2008-02-04T12:12:00.000-06:00

in the world.

This morning he surprised me with tickets to go see them

(listen here)

AND lined up babysitters to watch all three children.

WOOOOOOOOOOOOHOOOOOOOOOOO!

A real grown up night with my husband, good music, and friends. Wowza.

I cannot wait.

I love you, babe. (And not just because you did this, but you know... bonus.) ;)

Groundhog Day

2008-02-01T17:08:00.000-06:00

Man, my life feels like Groundhog Day (the movie) lately. Just kind of doing the same things every day. Or, as my husband puts it, "life getting in the way of living."

Breakfast, cartoons, snuggling, feeding baby, changing diapers, washing dishes, doing laundry, lunch, naps, scrapbooking, dinner, baths, cartoons, bedtime, feeding baby, watching Buffy.

Not much excitement going on around here.

So, since I don't really have tons to blog about, I'll just show you some pics...

My awesome package from my AWESOME secret sis (coughcoughTinacoughcough):

Layouts for Twelve Fridays:
A snuggly little girl:
A silly dude that needs not one, but TWO blankies (and he's sitting there in his towel after bathtime. Hee!)
My ridiculous 2 3/4 year old daughter who has squeezed herself into a 0-3 months onesie and pants.
Little dude helping me make pizza:
Little helpers for making sugar cookies:

Completely and utterly random

2008-01-26T19:33:00.001-06:00

1. 2 out of 3 kids in this house currently have a fever (not the baby, so far). Atticus is not pictured here because he has been running around like a maniac, unlike Emerson, who has lay in bed pretty much all day,

2. All weekend fun plans got canceled due to item #1

3. Lots of snuggling going on.

4. Emerson thinks dinosaurs are outside of our house at night. She's very concerned about it. But she also says that "Daddy will take care of it." :) Sweet how she knows already that Daddy is her protector.

5. I decided to leave the Christmas lights around our window in the living room because the white lights looked so pretty behind the curtains. All of the other lights and decorations have been taken down. However, I'm still afraid this makes me a wee bit redneck. Or like a college student.

6. Made this little frame for Valentine's Day. Used the new My Mind's Eye Valentine's papers, Fancy Pants felt, an assortment of flowers, some bling, some lace, and a Creative Cafe` button. Fonts are here and here.

I used this technique for the flowers, and I really like the look that it came out with.

It says:

Love never gives up.
Love cares more for others than for self.
Love doesn't want what it doesn't have.
Love doesn't strut,
Doesn't have a swelled head,
Doesn't force itself on others,
Isn't always "me first,"
Doesn't fly off the handle,
Doesn't keep score of the sins of others,
Doesn't revel when others grovel,
Takes pleasure in the flowering of truth,
Puts up with anything,
Trusts God always,
Always looks for the best,
Never looks back,
But keeps going to the end.

(1 Cor. 13:4-7, MSG version)

7. Atticus is really cute. He's also a complete handful. He likes to sing "Go Diego Go."

(This is more for his adoring fans rather than for cinematography awards. Sorry for the darkness... but his voice is pretty cute.)

And this is just silly:

8. This should be cool:

...[the] We {heart} Journaling article mentions that every day in February, there will be a journaling exercise...on shimelle.com. Yep, every single day! (I’ve even learned how to load everything up early so, fingers crossed, it should work even without internet in our house every day!) So if you want to follow along, you’ll have 29 pieces of writing by the end of the month…that you might like to turn into 29 layouts or art journal entries or blog posts or pages in a diary. The artsy part is totally up to you. But every day there will be something to focus your pen on making it easy to write something that sounds polished. To find your voice. Which makes me all giddy, just thinking about it. I hope some of you will join in. After all, it’s a great excuse to go buy or make a pretty notebook. And I know how you like pretty notebooks.

You can check it out here: shimelle.com

Scrappiness

2008-01-25T19:16:00.001-06:00

Got a few little projects to share that I've been working on...

This is a little mailbox from the Target $1 spot that I decorated, using the February Crop Addict kit:

Here's a layout I did for Scrap Etc. using the new Valentine's line of papers from My Mind's Eye, plus a little of the lace paper from KI Memories, and an assortment of labels from Daisy D's, Fontwerks, and Heidi Swapp. There's also some rubons and chipboard from American Crafts, Heidi Swapp bling and a flower from Creative Cafe.

I got this about a month ago from Scrap Etc.'s Creative Cafe` section... it sat on my desk, waiting to be used for something special.

I noticed there were 12 tabs on the side of the album, and inspiration struck- a mini journal/album recording our activities each month.

I'm keeping it pretty simple and just trying to record a sentence or two each day; I just want to be able to preserve some of this time when I have three little ones... all the funny things they do, the sweetness they bring into our lives, and the everyday chaos.

I want to add in a stamped section each month of "What God is Teaching Us" and "Places We Went," but I haven't sat down to do those yet... hopefully tonight!

This is the next project I want to tackle... I made this album at the end of November to record our December and the joy of the season and all that stuff, but alas, I did not. The insides are already decorated with coordinating paper to the cover (Fontwerks), so I just need to add my photos and journaling. Fortunately I've got my blog and my calendar to refer to with all our activities last month, and my photos are organized in folders on my computer into months, so I can just go into that folder to print off everything I need.

And since today is FRIDAY, make sure to check out TwelveFridays :)

they are running this special:

"We are going to have a special that runs Feb. 1st and it goes as follows:

If you join and get a friend to join with you we will give you your shipping free! And you can get as many friends to join and that will extend your free shipping. So if you get 6 friends to join you get 6 months of free shipping! Yah! :) And your friend can choose between free shipping or a surprise goodie pack with their kit. The only catch is you have to email us at twelvefridays@gmail.com and tell us who referred you so we will be able to keep track of it all for you. And if you are already a kit club member this works for you too...you just have to get a friend to tell us you referred them after they signed up and you will get your shipping for free. "

Here's a full view of the first kit

Happy Friday everyone! :)

How Do Dinosaurs Go To the Bathroom?

2008-01-22T13:18:00.001-06:00

(With a friend.)

[I found this when I went to the bathroom the other day. I couldn't resist taking pics of it. Hee hee)

New Hair!

2008-01-22T12:09:00.000-06:00

Yesterday I got to get a little "pick-me-up" and have a day to get my hair cut & colored. :) I put my hair into the hands of the marvelous Kari Ann and told her to do something with it. I trust the girl- and I don't trust many with my hair. (Isn't she the cutest?)

She decided to do a PM (Paul Mitchell) Shine treatment on my hair, and did some dark brown with red/violet hints. I LOVE it. The color is so rich and shiny, and when the light hits it, you can see all the marvelous red. Super cute. The bonus is I don't have to go back to get roots touched up or anything because it will eventually fade out in a few months.

Her plans got changed a little bit with what she wanted to do with my hair, but as the artist she is, she still made this mommy feel funky and cute and fresh. I looooove it. It's got a lot of versatility to it, too- I can do it sleek or flipped out or all "big" and punky.

So- if you are in the greater Birmingham area, give Kari Ann a call to do your hair. She styles at the Shine Salon (it's a Paul Mitchell Focus salon) in Trussville. The prices are very reasonable ($35 for a wash/cut/style, I believe; $35 for the shine treatment; other color stuff starts at $85). The number there is 661-3331.

Snow Day

2008-01-19T15:31:00.000-06:00

The Hubs was chastising me for not updating in so long, but unfortunately, I don't have tons to say. Not in an overwhelmed sort of not having anything to say- just that life is its normal, chaotic, but routine, self...

We made two doctor's visits this week, one for Em to get Dermabond (instead of stitches) because she bumped her noggin. The girl seems like she's got my grace and coordination, poor thing. The other visit was for Sabriel's one month (!!!!!) check-up and Atticus' 18 month check-up, even though he's 20 months. They are both super healthy. Yay!

Today we played in our mini snow-storm. Emerson kept asking where Santa Claus was. She also was very surprised every time we walked to another part of our yard and there was MORE snow. Hee hee

Atticus HATED getting his hands wet and cold, so the second that happened (after about 10 minutes outside), he melted down (hehe) and went back inside.

Mainly, I'm just glad for the photo opportunity because heaven knows I don't get enough cute pics of my kids as it is. (tongue in cheek, y'all!)

Here are my layouts for the February Kit at Crop Addict. You must check it out! There is SO much stinkin' stuff in these kits. I've done 5 layouts and 2 projects (I still have to take pics of those) and I still have loads of stuff leftover. I loved that this month's kit had such a variety of colors that I could do some really girly ayouts for Sabriel and Em, but also be able to do some more "manly" stuff (hehe) for Atticus. Here are a couple of other layouts that I did- one for Scrap Etc. and one just for the heck of it!
Okay, well, I'm done with the computer for the day... time to curl up with the babies and do some snuggling. :) Stay warm, folks!

Twelvefridays info

2008-01-11T15:22:00.000-06:00

For those of you who asked, here's a little bit more info about Twelvefridays Kit Club...

Twelvefridays is a new kit club owned by Heather and Heidi of A2Z Essentials (although this is not a part of that company). It includes exclusive paper designs that you will ONLY be able to get through this kit club (the papers will not be available anywhere else). There will be two kit options- one that is just the papers, and one that is paper and coordinating embellishments.

(For those of you unfamiliar with scrapbooking kit clubs, this is a way to purchase pre-coordinated and exclusive products that come shipped straight to your door. You get the benefits of a design team that do different layouts and projects with the same kit so that you can get inspiration for your own creations from the kit. Plus, it's just plain fun to get a box full of scrappy goodies!)

You can see sneak peeks of some of the papers here:
twelvefridays blog

And the new website has a post today that has photos of the papers:
twelvefridays website

I'm especially excited about this journaling paper- how cool is that?!!

The full kit reveal will be up on Monday, so make sure you go check it out!

Hey....

2008-01-09T19:58:00.000-06:00

Would ya look at that....

TwelveFridays' Design Team...

A Wee Photo Shoot

2008-01-08T22:31:00.000-06:00

(Atticus is not seen in these pics because... well, he didn't want his picture taken. hehe Well, except for his toes.)

Adrienne- these baby feet are for you. :)

Can a girl get a freakin' break around here?!

2008-01-07T07:57:00.000-06:00

1. Give birth
2. Get stomach virus
3. Get really gross cold that leaves you hacking and coughing to the point of getting headaches.

Bleh.

I'll be back soon when I can gather a few more coherent thoughts together.

a few pics

2007-12-31T12:27:00.001-06:00

January Crop Addict Projects

2007-12-29T15:48:00.000-06:00

Every month I tell Debbie at Crop Addict, "THIS month is my favorite kit!" I'm sure she doesn't believe me anymore. ;)

Well, I have to tell you- the January Kit really has been my favorite kit to work with so far... man, the colors were so awesome, and I loved the glitterinesss (yes, that's a word) of everything.

Here's the projects I came up with from this month's kit... and just in case you were wondering, I did all of this before Sabriel was born. I'm not superwoman, ya know. Hee hee

I didn't get to post this one to the gallery yet, but this was a gift for my mom. She's really into studying the Jewish culture and had wanted a journal made with these themes.

I also made a few cards:

And then these were for a manufacturer challenge (for Piggy Tales' "Ba, Ba, Black Sheep" collection):

These are not related to any design team work, but I was afraid to post them before the recipients saw them. I helped a girl at our church make these for her friends- the clock is a Heidi Swapp clock with a quote from "Wicked" on it and photos of her and her best friend (they've been friends since they were infants- they were born 2 days apart!). The second is a frame for her friend who attends school at the University of Alabama. I thought the little elephant turned out pretty darn cute. :)

(Sorry the pics are so discolored- I took them at night and that was the only chance I had to take them.)

I forgot to take pics of some of my other handmade gifts, and I'm kicking myself for it. Oh well. Poopy!

The details...

2007-12-26T09:36:00.000-06:00

I've been a major slacker in the internet department lately... but I suppose y'all will let me slide a bit on that, right? ;)

I wanted to do a quick update just to let all those who were curious know about the details of labor and delivery (especially since I'd been whining non-stop about waiting for her to arrive!).

Monday afternoon I had an appointment with my doctor, and although I had to wait for a bazillion years, wrapped up in one of those lovely paper blankets while he helped another patient deliver her baby, it was worth it.

He told me that the earliest they could schedule an induction would be Friday (the 21st), but he ended up doing something to get labor started (I won't go into the gross details here), and said that no matter the degree of discomfort I had that afternoon, I could go ahead and call him and come in that evening. (I was already dilated to 3 cm. too- woohoo.) I could go ahead and be induced if I was having any contractions at all; and he said that he would expect to hear from me before 8pm.

I dig my doc. Hehe

So - as soon as I got in the car I started having contractions. I went and picked up the kiddos and my babysitter from the mall and started making phone calls to make arrangements for the kids. It kind of took us all off guard (as you can imagine!). By the time we got home I was having regular contractions, but none of them were particularly painful- just a bit uncomfortable.

Shaun got home and we finished up some stuff around the house, loaded up our luggage, and waited for my grams, my sis, and my cousin Shawn (who came through in a major pinch to help with the driving- rock on, little cuz!). :) My Shaun was getting antsy to leave for the hospital, but I told him I needed to wait and call the doc to make sure it was okay for me to come in. I started to time my contractions about 10 minutes before my grams arrived... and they were surprisingly already 3-5 minutes apart!

I called labor and delivery and the nurse said, "Um, you need to come in - now." About that time, Grams rolls up in the driveway and we literally follow them out of the neighborhood... they head off to her home and we head to the hospital. It was around 5 pm on Monday evening.

I prayed the whole way to the hospital that we wouldn't run into any traffic- I was scared that even though I wasn't feeling the contractions too much at this point, that once we got to the hospital I'd be freaking out in pain. We hit absolutely NO traffic, even though we were on all the major interstates and roadways in Birmingham at rush hour, the week before Christmas. :)

I got settled in by 6pm in a bed, got the ol' epidural by around 6:45, and a little pitocin to get things moving along. Sabriel did not like the contractions, so I kept having to be adjusted to my side and had to wear an oxygen mask, which was a little awkward. I also had a small prob with my epidural (it got pushed into a blood vessel for a little bit- scared the crap out of me! It was all okay, though- the people there at the hospital totally were on their game).

Once I was fully ready to push, I pushed 3 times and the nurse was calling for my doctor to get in there right away. She was holding Sabriel's head in... once the doc was in there and ready, she moved her hand and Sabriel pushed herself out. It was the most amazing and easy delivery. She was born at 9:32pm.

She has been the easiest baby ever... she sleeps all the time, doesn't fuss hardly at all (I've only heard her REALLY cry a couple of times), and eats really well. It's been great because, as you can imagine, learning to juggle three kids is definitely a challenge. I've been so thankful to Shaun and my little sis for all the help they are giving. I'm scared for when Shaun goes back to work and I'm left alone with the natives.

Big sis really digs her; big bro is kind of ignoring her for the most part- I have some cute videos of the sibling's reactions that I'll upload soon.

So that's the big story... :) I'll be back soon with some projects for the January Crop Addict kit and some of my handmade Christmas gifts.

Merry Christmas!

For unto us a child is born...

2007-12-19T16:45:00.000-06:00

Introducing our sweet and
long-awaited baby girl, Sabriel
(pronounced like Gabrielle, but with an "S")

Born Monday, December 17th, 2007 at 9:32 pm,
after a very quick labor & delivery.

6 lbs., 11 oz.

19 inches long

Labor and other details will be included in a future post... Mommy & Daddy are just glad to be home and able to enjoy a little peace & quiet. We spent a couple of days in the hospital just kind of hiding out from the world and snuggling our new little one. We'll be back in touch with everyone soon!

Just in case...

2007-12-15T21:33:00.000-06:00

anyone was wondering, no, I'm not in labor yet.

Just been super busy with Christmas prep and the normal busy-ness of life.

I'll keep y'all posted... about to snuggle down with the hubs and zone out on some mindless entertainment. :)

p.s. I'm having a hard time keeping up with emails and returning phone calls, so if I still owe you one, I promise I'll get to it soon... it's just building up on me at the moment.

Later, dudes.

Nothin' at all, nothin' at all.

2007-12-12T17:26:00.000-06:00

Thus far, that is all I can say about the labor progressions. I have the occasional painful contraction, but nothing regular.

I feel like in the last week or so, my body is very, very worn out. I get tired doing very simple tasks. Today was my most productive day in a long time- I did a load of laundry, re-hung a strand of Christmas lights in the living room (the other ones conveniently had blown out after they had been hung), and hung a set of curtains in the dining room.

Oh, and I bathed. That's always a bonus.

I feel like a turtle, in so many ways: slow, can't roll over if I get set on my back, sometimes look a bit green...

----

In other news, for too long a time to even write down, we have not had a light in our dining room. It's one of the joys of owning an older home... weird wiring and all that. So for this period of a *long time*, we've been using a floor lamp in there as lighting.

However, due to the ever extraordinary super-powers of Miscellaneous Man (who is secretly my friend Jeremy) and the logical skills of my own personal super hero (my husband), we now have a working light fixture in our dining room.

Just in time for our first Christmas dinner at home.

I am SO excited.

(Em is thrilled too- she said this morning, "Daddy Jeremy niiiice turn on light!" hehe)

----

Speaking of Miscellaneous Man, he also came over the last two days and helped me (read here as "did all the work") clean the house. Now my floors that have not been mopped in several months are all sparkly, the dust bunnies have been shooed away, and my whole house smells nice and clean.

Friends. They're a good thing.

----

Gotta go get the munchkins in pjs and settle down for a nice winter's nap.

XOXO.

Quick update.

2007-12-10T19:29:00.000-06:00

Doc says I'm not dilated any further than last week (1.5 cm). :(

"Hang in there!" he says. (*insert eyes rolling here* What else am I supposed to do?!)

I will be induced a week prior to my due date if I don't deliver Sabriel before then.

The nurses all gave me hugs today and said, "We probably won't see you for six weeks! This looks like your last appointment!" One also looked very shocked at how low I was and said, "Girl, you have DROPPED!"

Let's hope the nurses are right and I don't have to "hang in there" much longer.

Later, dudes.

Christmas Cookie Exchange & Baby Shower

2007-12-09T16:34:00.000-06:00

(Yes, I'm still around and very much pregnant. I have a doctor's appointment tomorrow morning and will have some sort of update *hopefully* afterwards.)

This weekend brought more preparations for Sabriel.

First, I think my kiddos sense a change coming, because they pulled out this baby doll and have been fighting over her all weekend.
I think it's kind of cute, until they start carrying her around by her head or poking her eyeballs. Maybe I should invest in some goggles for Sabriel.

I finished making a few "orders" from people, so that's all taken care of now. :)
(Sorry for the poor lighting on these, I took them at night.) Em and I made cookies for a cookie exchange. She was a great help.

Here's her rendition of the Reindeer cookies. I think they may be from outer space.

When I got to the cookie exchange, I was surprised with a baby shower! The ladies at my church and a few of my friends got together to give me a fun little night, in the midst of all this holiday craziness. It was so sweet!
(Could my eyes BE any squintier??!!)
We had a blast with the cookie part of the party too. ;) Now I have a big ol' box of cookies I've been nibbling on. You think they'll stick around until after Sabriel's birth?

I'll leave you with a video of my weirdos. I mean, kids.

Simplicity.

2007-12-08T08:39:00.000-06:00

(Pregnancy update- all bags are fully packed and waiting to go. Carseat cover has been washed and is waiting to be loaded into the car. All the little extra things needed to be done are pretty much done. I feel like maybe she's dropped- lots and lots of pressure; but no consistent contractions yet.)
------

Sometimes, well, to be honest, I'm pretty sure most of the time, I over-complicate things. I try to analyze or look harder at things than they need to be... I tend to add chaos to things.

It amazes me over and over again, even though it seems like children complicate our lives in a lot of little ways (the many sippy cups and diapers and other accoutrements it takes to just leave the house), they also have that way of bringing things down to the base, simplest facts.

Last week was the first week of Advent. At our church, we celebrate this by lighting the Advent candles and learning about what each week symbolizes.

Our pastor taught about the perspective of Israel before Jesus was born. The coming Messiah; coming to bring Hope at a time of despair for them. They needed a Deliverer...as we all do.

It kind of set the tone for the week for me. I kept thinking about hope vs. despair. Without going into lengthy detail, there have been a lot of reminders of despair surrounding me lately. In some cases, it seems like we have had hope snuffed out recently. Hope for a change, hope for better things...

Hope and despair are most definitely things I can relate to at the moment.

So, Em and I were driving home the other evening, around twilight. We're usually not out at this time of day, so when I heard her make a small noise in the backseat, I looked back to see a very worried little face.

I asked her what was wrong, and she said, "Oh no, mommy! It's dark!" (She, as a lot of little kids are, is afraid of the dark.)

I started to reassure her that everything was okay, and then to distract her from her worries, told her, "Let's look for Christmas lights!"

I have been trying to be conscious of any little moment I can to teach the kids about spiritual things and our faith; to make it real to them... as a part of everyday life.

So as I thought about that, I started to explain to Em about Christmas lights... in simple, 2 year old terms. And it was like- a total lightbulb moment for me.

I told her, "Let's look for Christmas lights. They will help you to not be scared. We have Christmas lights to remind us of Jesus. He came to the world to bring us Light in the darkness... to help us to not be scared in the Dark."

At the same time, I was listening to "Maybe This Christmas", a collection of "hip" Christmas tunes. This song came on... it seemed pretty appropriate.

What a year for a new year
We need it like we needed life I guess
Last one left us lying in a mess
What a year for a new year

What a night for a sunrise
And we thought the dark would never end
Reaching out to try to find a friend
What a night for a sunrise
Sunrise

What a day for new day
And our star shines like a miracle
And our world is almost beautiful again
What a day for a new day
New day

What a year for a new year

What a night for a sunrise
And we thought the dark would never end
Reaching out to try to find a friend
What a night for a sunrise
Sunrise

Soon we’ll be lying in our beds
And new dreams will fill our heads
And the old ones will be ended
Hope we’ll forget about this place
Let it go without a trace
Wipe the teardrops from our faces
Oh! What a year for a new year!

Listen here...

So all that said... I am so glad we have hope. The hope of a new year, a new day, a new life in Christ. I'm glad that I can hope in Him, because eventually, all those other things and people I put hope in, are going to fail me.

Hope we’ll forget about this place
Let it go without a trace
Wipe the teardrops from our faces
Oh! What a year for a new year!

Em's Christmas Crafts

2007-12-07T09:52:00.000-06:00

Just a silly little video of Em yesterday, doing her crafts. Transcript below (for those of you who don't speak 2 year old. hehe)

*gibberish... or rather, Em language*

"Mama takin' a picture of the butts. [buttons]"

"Did it! *more language I don't understand* Iiiiii did it!"

Mine & the kids' bags are packed, except for a couple of little things I need to pick up at Walmart. Maybe this little girl will make her way here soon! :) Woohoo!

It's off! :)

2007-12-06T21:52:00.001-06:00

Em's cast, that is.

Everything is nicely healed. Woohoo!

Beforehand, while we were waiting the long afternoon away until the doctor's appt., Atticus took a nap and Em & I made one of those button trees.

She was surprisingly good with it, considering it was a craft that included straight pins and buttons. (Those who are panicking when they read that- she was extremely closely supervised.) I think it turned out pretty cute.

She was really pleased with it as well.

I must go pack my hospital bags. I'm continuing to procrastinate this task. I think it's because that I think, deep down, that once they are packed, Sabriel can go ahead and be born...
and that scares me.
It's out of my control.
I have WAY more things I want to do before she's born.
Like, a bunch of different Christmas things.
Finish prepping for her (just tiny little tasks, here and there, that still need to be done.)

Have I mentioned I've been having contractions all evening?

Now it's just a waiting game.

Weird pregnancy quirks and Christmas Countdown Calendar

2007-12-05T18:49:00.000-06:00

Those who have been around me recently may have noticed my obsessive compulsive tendencies about smell. It's not the usual, beginning of pregnancy thing where everything smells disgusting (although I have most definitely experienced that).

This is one where everything smells SO good. Like, good enough to eat.

I've noticed that it's started to invade my life a little bit.

For example, I'm now OCD about using this:
ALL the time. Now, it's got good side affects, such as it seems to have helped me stay fairly healthy, but it also leaves my hands pretty dry. (I pulled out some old Mary Kay hand cream that I have last night and it seems to be doing the trick... so multiple times a day I'm compulsively squirting hand sanitizer on my hands and then rubbing Mary Kay hand cream on them. And then smelling my hands.)

Along the whole hand cleansing thing (which is purely about the smell of things, it's not really at all related to keeping clean, which is strange to me), I've been LOVING this:I love it so much that I went ahead and bought the dishwashing soap in the same scent. I figure- heck, I don't have a dishwasher. Might as well enjoy the task, eh? (I'm usually a cheapskate when it comes to cleaning products.)

While I'm in the cleaning mode, I love to squirt this stuff all over my house:

I put some in a squirting bottle and diluted it with water, and every morning I "swish and swipe" my bathroom (you old Flylady veterans might be familiar with that term) with it. It honestly is a "clean" thing with this particular product. With only one bathroom and a potty trained two year old, my ol' pregnant nose is particularly sensitive to the gross smells that can emanate from that room. The Clorox Floor & Surface cleaner smells sooooo good. Nice and clean. I wish I could drink it.

I use it in my kitchen, dining room, and non-wood floors. :) It makes my nose happy. I highly recommend it.

I've been using a Glade Plug-in, in the Clean Linen scent, which rocks my world. My husband is very sick of it, I think. So I try to mix things up by using this candle:
And also this one, which is a Christmas tradition in my house now since Monique introduced it to me about 2 years ago. So there you have it, folks. You know now that I am:

-extremely neurotic about smells
-wish I could eat some of them (but I don't)
-probably making everyone who comes into my house gag at the strong aromas
-and am a little bit photo happy today

And since I'm in the photo happy mode, check out my Christmas Countdown Calendar that I made out of a cookie sheet from the Dollar Tree (Mandy, it's my favorite place too). Only 21 days to go! Gulp!

(Click to see larger images. Also, "Click! Take a pic!" ... we've been watching a lot of "Dora" and "Diego" lately...)

Bebe` update, random pics, and links.

2007-12-04T08:34:00.000-06:00

I went to the doctor yesterday for my ever-so-looked-forward to (tongue in cheek!) OB check up which included the dreaded strep test. Blech. But it's gotta be done... all for the safety of mama and baby.

When the doc checked me, he said I was already 1.5 centimeters dilated, which is a woohoo! However, I'm not getting my hopes up because I was 3 centimeters dilated for a week or two with both Em & Atticus, and I was induced with both of them, so - whatever...

I do plan to finally pack my hospital bag today. Must make a run to Walmart at some point to bring along our traditional bag of Combos. For some reason, this is the snack of choice that Shaun & I always want while we're chilling out in the hospital, watching Food Network. (Maybe it's the juxtaposition between pure junk food while watching culinary delights...)

I would love for her to arrive before Christmas, because the anticipation of a baby is just about killing me, but we'll see what happens. :)

Here's a few pics from yesterday (we went to Books-a-million for a little treat).

This is me getting onto my kids in the car. My sis took it. The reason why I am sharing it is so you can see some cool jewelry my secret sis got me a while back. I also like the "don't you mess with me" expression on my face. I love it (the jewelry, not necessarily the expression). :)

Here's some links, just for fun:

What I Wore Today
This is just a sample of a subculture in the blogosphere that posts their fashion choices for the day. I really like Kasmira's blog, 1) because she's funny and 2) because I love how she mixes and matches pieces of clothing and colors.

Home-Ec 101
Every day you get a few posts regarding household cleaning tips, management, q&a sessions, recipes, etc. Lots of good, practical info on there.

Toddled Dredge
I really, really enjoy reading her blog daily. She's an intellectual, stay at home mom, who is also pretty good at articulating her faith in a reasonable way... and she's got a pretty good perspective on things. Plus she's got three kids who are itty-bitty, so I can totally relate. ;)

Inside a Black Apple
Cool, artsy designs from a "well-known" etsy shoppe.

House Wren Studio
Oh man. Her vintage style makes me drool.

Here's a few pics from a quick "photo session" I did with the kids after church on Sunday. It is REALLY hard to get toddlers to stay still for those couple of seconds you need for a good pic.

Thank you

2007-11-30T15:56:00.000-06:00

for your kind words, for your support, for making me feel like I am not alone. :)

I think I must need to write about the crazy stuff more often, because as a result of it I now had a few hours to myself today and a scheduled day with a break in it in the near future.

I appreciate it, guys. More than you know. Thank you so much for all the kind offers and emails and sweet words. It helps me cope.

And one of my best friends in the whole world sent this to me to make me giggle. The humor is weird, but right up my alley, and totally made me laugh this morning.

So on that note, the kids are napping, and I'm going to enjoy the quiet. Spaghett!

Do you ever feel like...

2007-11-29T18:56:00.000-06:00

You are a complete failure as a parent?

I feel like such a jerk at the moment.

I am really, really tired; a combination of my kids literally waking up nearly every hour from midnight to 6am every night in the past few weeks (I seriously can't remember the last time I went to sleep and then woke up in the morning), and if one of them hasn't woken up that hour, I'm woken up by Sabriel either kicking the heck out of me, contractions, or major leg cramps.

I'm running on low.

I'm tired of hearing "mommy, mommy, mommy" and feeling like I"m being ordered around all the time.

I'm tired of picking up crap that has been pulled out all over the house. How many freaking times do I have to say, "No!"

I'm tired of none of my clothes (maternity included) fitting normal.

I'm tired of my kids not following directions.

I'm tired of being stuck in the house with them, especially since we haven't really been able to go do fun stuff because of being sick, or a broken arm, or pink eye...

And what do I do? I take it out on my sweet child who is scared of having her hair washed in the sink.

I yelled and I screamed and I felt so ashamed when my husband took over, because I was losing it.

:(

I hate being trapped in this sinful body, I hate letting my brokeness control me.

So now, now that I've apologized to my two year old for yelling at her and freaking out on her because I am burnt out, I'm going to snuggle with my kids and watch their "dragon movie" and feel horrible and pray that tomorrow is a day full of grace. I know it will be shown to me; I just pray that I can show grace too.

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