Project 12 November

It almost didn't happen.

I don't remember what happened in November,

Where I went, fun things I did with the boys.

Nothing, Nada, Zilch, Zero.

I turned to Facebook this morning to try and jog my memory and decided that my status updates would have to be good enough as journalling for this month.

I may look back one day and giggle as I flip through my P12 pages.

You can find the sketch here.

I accidentally sent my scrap files to my external hard drive and I am too lazy tonight to go and plug it in...

Terrible.

And here is my take on it:



 I tried to keep it simple, mostly because I rushed through it.

The boys sleep has been erratic,

Finding Fabulous for Less has been chaotic.

I turned another year older

And a special angel was sent home.

I am still surprised that I am getting it in with about 20 minutes to spare.  ;)



Wishing you a peaceful evening.

x/o

J

Exactly what I am talking about....

The complete look of joy at something so small as getting to touch Christmas balls hanging from the lights.

Life should be like this always.

Christmas Mini

Bonjour!!!

Only 13 more sleeps and I feel more and more festive as each day passes.

Work: busy
Shopping: Almost done
Baking: Tomorrow and Saturday
Tummy:  Full from a wonderful dinner out with the Fam.


In scrappy related news, I finally finished a mini album for Tina last week. 

I don't normally do Mini albums but I have been really inspired by the December Daily concept, started by Ali Edwards and done by so many talented scrappers.

I'm pretty sure it won't happen here so I did a blank album to put my pictures of Christmas day in after with places to journal little memories.

And there you have it. 

Off to let my Dinner digest.

Nighty Night.

Conversations in the night.....

‎1:31am December 8th, 2010....


Michael: Mommmmeeeeeee.....what are you dooooooooooing??????

Me: Sleeping........

Michael: Merry Christmas Mommmmmmmmmmmeeeeeeeee.

Me: Smiling in my sleep.

Today,

I put up the tree.

It is slightly top heavy with all of my special ornaments.

Plastic, wood and fabric ornaments fill the bottom third.

Badness has been pretty good about it so far, but this is just the beginning.

M helped me decorate it.

He ran back and forth from my Christmas totes to the tree, resting ornaments on the branches.

At one point he even tried to sit on a branch and quickly learned that it would not hold his weight.

My heart was full as I took the time to watch M help me decorate and as I watched J as a toddler discover the tree, it's lights and all the pretty decorations.

I knew I had a smirk on my face.


Later in the evening we ran out to do an errand.

The snow was falling softly from the sky.

J was in silent awe, watching the sky and trying to catch the flakes.

I love this season.

Scout

Meet our new friend that will be hanging out in the D/H household throughout the holiday season.

Scout has been hanging around in funny places so far. 

He kindly reminded me that it is now December 2nd and I should be putting up a tree.

I kindly reminded him that Badness J, is going to destroy everything in sight, so I'm trying to hold out a little bit longer.

Every morning when I ask M if he has said Good Morning to Scout, he immediately looks to the last place he has seen him, never some where different.

This reaction highly amuses me.

When he finally finds him he exclaims " Der he is Mummy!!!"

Cute.

In other breaking news Badness J is 18 months. 

CRAZY!

25 pounds, 86 inches.

Today he was sipping his water happily and when he put it down he let out a big "AHHHHHHHHHHH"

I asked him if it was refreshing 'cause that was a pretty grown up response to some water sippin'.

He just smiled.

Cute kids.

Nighty Night.

It's the most wonderful time of the year!!!

I am feeling so grateful this year.

It seems  different this year.

It could be the sense of peace I am feeling about my life.

It could be the excitement that I feel to share this magical month with two little boys, who don't quite get it yet.

It could be that I am proud of myself for trying hard to share with my children the true meaning of Christmas.

It could be that I have *almost* learned to walk away from the everyday stress of work, especially this season and know I gave it my best.

And if for what ever reason, my best wasn't good enough that day I have excepted it and moved on.

It is too important a time of year to let anything ruin it for me and my family.

It is just too magical.

I'm pretty sure I have said that sentence to my team already 14000 times.

I *think* they think I'm a leeeetle loony.

(Insert shrug here)

I'm trying to find everyday magical moments that make me smile this month.

To look beyond the temper tantrums and hissy fits.

Trying to smile and nod, even when I know I am right and someone may be wrong.

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Tonight my kids went to bed late.

J was having trouble settling and M was wired from an afternoon nap that he rarely takes anymore.

I was in their bedroom, cuddling, soothing and rocking J.

In the dark I could see M rocking back and forth, mimicking my movements.

These moments.

They are precisely what I am talking about.

Special little moments that make me happy to be right where I am.

Don't get me wrong, I will most definitely have a tantrum or two of my own this month when the boys do something to frustrate me.

But my goal is to slow down, enjoy the little things, and try to watch this season through my children's eyes.

Join me won't you?

The boy is growing.

And at a rapid rate.

He is so funny now, looking for approval to his silliness.

Becoming better at sharing.

The three year old temper tantrums have slowed.

The jumping on the beds have increased.

Along with the crazy flips of the couch.

He is Daddy crazy,  Mommy crazy, and crazy in his own right.

He cuddles and cuddles now, showering me with hugs and kisses.

He likes playing with Daddy's "toys".

Currently in his hand is the "stud finder", but he also likes the Itouch and my camera.

He no longer naps, save for today when he passed out on the couch for a 1/2 hour.

He still tries to push his brother around and take things from him, But J is holding his own.

He is addicted to Thomas and still likes The Wonderpets.

He is starting to show empathy;  When J is crying, periodically he will say comforting words.

He ate a carrot the other day.  RAW.  It floored me.

Yep, Three and a half is fun.

I'm not kidding myself into thinking that there won't be some allot of  bumps along the way, but he truly is a joy to have around.

Our growing family.

No I am not pregnant, although lately I have had little yearnings.

Sadly we are done having babies. 

Some days it feels so final, so sad.

Other days I am okay with it.

I had some pictures of me pregnant sitting on my desk for quite sometime and more often than not I am about to start a scrapbook page, I begin with a story in mind and type my thoughts down for the journaling.

One of the reasons that Tina said she chose me for her design team was that I journaled on my pages. 

Those words are probably one of the biggest reasons why I have stuck with this hobby of mine.

I want my kids to know how I feel about them, to document milestones, traditions, everyday moments.

It is their stories that I want to share, and a little of their Dad's and mine.

Like Starbucks winter marketing suggests,

"Stories are gifts....Share"

Brilliant.


So with those pregnant pictures in mind I set about writing my feelings and creating a double sided page about being pregnant.

It wasn't all the gloom I made it out to be, and I wanted the boys to know that.

The Story...

It is no secret that I was not one of those women that embraced pregnancy, but looking at these pictures I feel the need to clarify and get my thoughts down….



I desperately wanted to be pregnant. For four years I wished for both of you. And month after month I was disappointed when I found out I wasn’t. And then came the day when I knew I was. The date was September 18th, 2006 and your Dad and I were driving to New Brunswick, the Nova Scotia for Aunty Karen’s wedding. I knew that day. I knew the next morning. I knew on September 23rd before I even took the pregnancy test. I knew our first baby was on the way.

From the start my body felt terrible. I was nauseous 24/7, for fifteen weeks with you Michael. And Jack, it lasted 13 weeks with you. I had sciatica for both of you. I had a low lying placenta for both of you, however Michael, yours took a turn for the worse 6 weeks before you were to be born. I had to be hospitalized on bed rest to make sure we could bake you longer. And Jack, well it eventually moved up and you were born at term.

I suffered from insomnia for both of you, right from the word pregnant. I think it was more from worrying about being your mom and doing a good job more than anything else. Many nights I slept on the couch when I was pregnant with you Michael, and many mornings I slept at the base of the basement stairs while I was pregnant with you Jack, while Michael played.


Jack I felt your pregnancy was harder than Michael's. I was so tired. I gained more weight. I could barely walk or play with your big brother. It wiped me out. But days after you were born I felt great.


Those were the down sides for me. What I verbalized about the most, which I realize now, is such a shame. What I didn’t talk about was how happy being pregnant actual made me feel.

I complained about the morning (read all day sickness) allot. Truth be told, I was happy. Happy because it meant that I had a growing baby inside me. I had read somewhere that sick mommy equaled healthy baby and I thought about that more than anything.


I subscribed to pregnant milestone updates and had great fun reporting to Daddy what fruit like size and weight you were, or body part was developing inside of me


The first time you both moved I remember so well. Michael I was in a hotel room in Kingston and I was 18 weeks. Jack I was at home in bed and it was 16 weeks. I remember thinking it felt nothing like the butterflies that I read about. It always made me smile to feel those small flutters, kicks and punches. Even as you grew and kicks grew harder and feet began to take up permanent residence in my rib cage, I was happy. I walked around with my right hand pushing down on my right rib all day trying to get you both to move your feet but, you never did. Secretly I liked the contact.

The hiccups were non stop. All day and all night. They always made me smile even though they made me nauseous. To me it meant you were growing.


The ultrasounds, every last one of them and there were a lot. I loved them, loved seeing you grow from peanuts to infants right in my belly. It amazed me. Made me smile and often brought me to tears.

The fear I felt the one time in the hospital when we thought we lost a heart beat. My feelings and fear confirmed that I was ready to be a mom. The tears I cried after both of your births, the overwhelming sense of responsibility that I felt to both of you to make sure I did everything in my power to be the best mom I could. I cherish those feelings of insecurity because I know they push me to be a better parent.


Pregnancy may not have suited me well, but I knew that it was temporary. The bottom line is this. Not only were we growing a family but we were taking on the biggest responsibility of our lives. That is what these pictures mean to me, and I am now wishing that I had more of them. They represent not only the love between Bruce and I but the love I felt for both of you while you grew inside of me. I will always, always cherish these pictures, no matter how I felt I looked or how fuzzy the quality. And I will always love you both.

Halloween Layouts.

Count them peeps.

Three Halloween-ish layouts.

All for Tina.

First up, my cute, not so spooky Halloween decorations.

Yep...I scrapped them!

Next was about our not so great Halloween experience this year.

I love how this one turned out.

I love how the story got told.  Makes me happy.

And lastly, our pumpkin decorating tradition.

At our home, one pumpkin is bought for each member to decorate or carve. 

The journaling includes some humorous tips from my first pumpkin carving session.

Again, I'm glad I have the memories.

It was so fun playing with these Pink Paislee and Doddle bug papers from Tina's Scrapbooking Creations.  I loved the canvas tags and I loved the sparkly AC cardstock.  Definitely the most  Halloween I have ever scrapped.

Thanks for stopping by!

Today I want to remember

I want to remember that I live in a free country, that cost men and women their lives.  I take this for granted far to often.

I want to remember that I am loved.  Loved by hubs who continually reaffirms this through words and gestures that are unexpected and so appreciated.

I want to remember this morning at 5:20am,  the 20 minute cuddle in the dark, on the couch, where J held onto me for dear life and I could see his smile in the darkness.

I want to remember tonight as I lay next to M,  how he called out for me to cuddle with him, and just when I thought he was asleep and I was about to leave the room,  that he snuggled even closer and wrapped an arm around me.

I want to remember this season, my most favorite time of year.  The crisp air, the blue skies, the crescent moon.  Nothing, not even grumpies will ever wreck this time of year for me.  It is too magical, too special.

Nighty Night.

Charming, lovable boy

My friend sent me a little care package in the mail a couple of weeks ago with Collage Press goodies in it.

My LSS doesn't carry Collage Press and to be quite honest I had never heard of it prior to her being on their design team.

The had some cute papers, perfect for my little munchkin, and I whipped up a quick LO, inspired by Ali Edwards. 

I love her over sized picture LO's, quick and easy, clean and simple.

Isn't he cute?

Off to make these for a not so great day tomorrow.

Nighty Night.

Climbing pumpkins

Clearly I am amazing at enforcing rules with my children....

Of course I had to make a LO for Tina about it.... 

Have an amazing weekend. 

I'm working straight through it. 

Jealous aren't you???

Grumpy Spirit

My Little construction worker was not into the tricks or the treats this year.

And the littlest?

Lets just say I'm dressing him up in his costume today to get some pictures.

Pictures that were never taken because of a massive mitten meltdown.

I have some Halloween scrappy stuff to hand in and no pictures.

Need to get creative.

Happy Thursday.

Awake

There are days on end where I could sleep at the drop of a hat.

Tonight apparently is not one of them.

I was lying in bed wishing for sleep with my eyes close but I was wide awake.

WIDE AWAKE.

Maybe it is the excitement of our first snow fall,

In which I celebrate (yes celebrate) by putting the kids in their new footed reindeer PJ's.

Maybe it is the excitement of Halloween tomorrow night.

(totally laughing at myself though for talking up two holidays in one day.

Maybe it is thinking too much about November and December scheduling and making time for everything and everyone.

Or maybe the cup of tea I had two hours ago.

Who knows...

Truth be told I like these quiet moments where no one is needing me.

This is my alone time.

The time when I rejuvenate my mind and spirit.

Time to get things of my chest,

My creative outlet fulfilled in some little way.

ahhhhh the silence...

I'll leave you with another LO I did of M.

I totally love this picture of him from this past summer.

The two of us were spending some alone time up by the river feeding the birds.

There is an old Mill there (Watson's Mill). 

We go there allot to feed the ducks and watch the water flow under the bridge.

The Mill is apparently haunted and it is beautiful there.

I always envision it filled with white lights and candles, round tables with perfectly pressed white table clothes, the perfect stage for a little intimate wedding reception.

I digress...

The building is old and made of stone, the perfect backdrop I think for a photo.

He looked so sweet sitting there on the bench....Makes my heart happy!

Happy weekend and Happy Halloween!!

October Project 12

I know, I know.

October still has two days left.

But ya know what.

Those two days will be filled with Halloween pictures,

that by their own right will need separate layouts.

Just call me organized this month.  :)

I have to say when I saw the sketch for this month I was nervous.

I don't do well with random pictures that are neither lined up or symmetrical.

As well, the circles, and stitching??

Beautiful but it didn't fit in with my crunched for time month.

If I had a sewing machine I would rethink,

however hand stitching wasn't in the cards this month.

I made do and in the end I was pretty happy.

The sketch:

And my take on it:

It's done, I'm happy!

Now to focus on Halloween.

So excited for this year.

We have been talking it up allot, so M is getting excited!

Can't wait to take pictures and show them to you!!

Have a great weekend!!!

x/o
J

ps the !!!! are intentional!

Buckle up!!

Just stopping in quickly to share my second layout for Tina.

I love that she gave me the Jillibean soup paper to work with.

Kraft, bright colors, boy themed...uuuhhh...heeelllooo!

Perfect for my little guys,

who BTW love the car.

Stay tuned for another car themed layout.

and on a side note, I started the pumpkin carving tonight.

In case you are new to my blog or need a good laugh, you may want to head to my October 2010 archives and read this and this.

I swear those posts will never get old.

Nighty night.

He was walking across the parking lot, just as I was pulling out.

I let my foot of the gas and let my car roll slowly so I could watch him for a couple of minutes.

He was wearing his ball cap and jean jacket that I have come to recognize,

and his hands were shoved far down  into his jeans pockets.

I couldn't see the expression on his face,

but I could almost feel the disappointment that he was going to feel when he figured out that his daughter had already left for the night.

He comes often to see her.

Sometimes walks her to work and shares a morning chat and a cigarette.

Sometimes at dinner, and sometimes to walk her home after the late shift.

We often exchange a smile, a hello, a few niceties about his daughter.

Seeing him tonight made  my heart hurt a little.

Had she not told me,  I would have figured it out on my own.

There is something far too familiar about him.

The way he carries himself maybe.

The loneliness that is implied by his frequent visits.

His eyes.

The eyes always give a person away.

He reminds me of my Dad.
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.
.
.

I drove away tonight thinking of him, thinking of mine.

Wondering about addictions, diseases.

Wondering about friendships, and faith.

Wondering what I could have done better or differently as his daughter.

Wondering what if...

Remembering the nights when I didn't want to go out with friend but was happy enough to go see Dad and play cards.

Remembering the nights where I was too busy to go say hi.

Remembering the calls when I need help, needed advice, needed my Dad.

Remembering that life is too short and you can loose someone before you have a chance to tell them that.
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I want to tell her these things.

Tell her to stick around sometimes because he may just want some company.

Tell her to spend time with him now, before its too late.

Tell her that she only has one Dad.

But she is young and has to figure these thing out.

Sort through her anger, her fear

He has let her down in a way that a parent shouldn't.

I want to tell him to take care of her.

I want to tell him that she is really hurting because of him.

I want to tell him that he can get through this, many people do.


He has to try.

For himself and for her.

But I'm not going to.

It's not my place.

I am here to lead and coach her.

To listen when she needs to talk.

Not share too much of  my infinite wisdom with her and not meddle in their business.

I will just be the silent observer in the parking lot, hoping that their ending is a happy one.

Because I am not her Mom,  nor his Daughter.

And it seems like the right thing to do.

Maybe.

Laughing at myself.

Did anyone notice that I misspelled the first in my title down below?

Ahhh I love it when I do crap like that.

I'm  keeping it there just for kicks 'cause I'm cool like that!

My First Assignment!

*insert me jumping up and down here*

I went up to Tina's to collect some goodies two Saturdays ago to get started on some design team work.

I left her store feeling really excited and slightly nervous to get started. 

One of the lines of paper she gave me to work with was the Imginisce Birthday Bash.

The colors are right up my alley.  The reds, browns, yellows and turquoise.....ahhhh they make me happy.

It is a rare occasion that any of my layouts don't contain those colors.

I'm pretty sure I wasn't even home and I knew what I wanted to do with them.

Unbelievably I hadn't scrapped M or J's first birthday.

I have scrapped updates but nothing to mark that special milestone.

And it had nothing to do with not having any pictures.  :)

So my first assignment was of M and his birthday cake,

which for the record, he did not like.

It is simple but I really like how it turned out.

I also made some Birthday Banner cards.

I won't mention any names, however someone took a shinning to one of these cards and was running around like a madman with it and it got destroyed.

I now have to make another.

That's it for now my friends. 

I had planned to do more by now, but I had my brother visiting from the great white north last week and the place where you find fabulous for less has been hectic.

More projects to come.

Happy Saturday!!!

September Project 12

When I sat down to do my journalling for September it was already Mid October.

Unbelievable how fast time seems to go by these day.

September was such a wonderful month.

Sunny and bright on the days I needed it to be.

And rainy on others, mostly days I was working.

Good for me, not good for Mom and the kids.

We had record rainfall amounts in September here.

Our lawn, which is the envy of all our neighbours, is so thick from the rain.

I digress.

So...yeah... Project 12 September sketch:

And my take on it:

Easy peasy lemon squeezy.

Another page for the books.

Glad to have these little reminders of what life is like.

Happy Tuesday readers, whoever you are! 

:)

A fun little game one of my favorite bloggers has going on.  Play along, won't you?


1. What is your favorite word? serendipity




2. What is your least favorite word? the "C' word



3. What turns you on? True love



4. What turns you off? morons


5. What is your favorite curse word? currently...GoatF*ck




6. What sound or noise do you love? My boys laughing



7. What sound or noise do you hate? Too many people talking at the same time.



8. What profession other than your own would you like to attempt? SAHM



9. What profession would you not like to try? Alaskan king crab fisherman



10. If Heaven exists, what would you like to hear God say when you arrive at the Pearly Gates? " I know you tried to do your best everyday.  Good job!"


Now you have a go.

Happy Scrappy News!

I found out about this last week.

I was instantly a huge fan of Tina's store from the get-go.

She is nice, kind, easy to talk to,

and it also doesn't hurt that she carries all of my favorite brands of scrappy goodness.

She even ordered something for me that she knew I wanted without even asking!

To say I am honoured to be part of this team is an understatement.

Thank you Tina for adding me to your team!!

Forty.

It is a milestone.

It is not everyday that someone I love turns the big four oh.

Especially on 10-10-10.

You and I have been together almost 15 years.

More than two thirds of your life.

We are self proclaimed soul mates.

We can read each others thoughts.

Appreciate each of our own humour.

We don't often fight but when we do, sometimes it takes a while to recover.

We usually end up stronger than we were to begin with.

You took some convincing that we were ready to have kids.

If I'm being honest I took the decision out of your hands.

Today you wonder why we waited so long.

I think we needed those ten years.

To grow.

To learn from our mistakes. 

To determine what we really wanted from ourselves and each other.

And we have grown.

Together.

. 

Happy Birthday B! 

Never doubt my love for you. 

It may not be perfect but it is real.

I can't wait to travel the path with you on the way to your next milestone.

Transition

I may have mentioned a little someone in my life is going through a phase.

An "I only want to do things with Mommy" stage.

A " lets wake mommy up 5 times a night" stage.

A "I want to hug Mommy when I feel some discipline coming on" stage.

A " Don't let the little brother play with anything" stage.

Some days it is cute the way he wants me all the time.

Other days I question the quality and quantity of time I actually spend with him.

I'm sure it's all  normal.

One of those "This is my first child and I have to analyze everything he does" stages.

I'm going to analyze less and enjoy more.

:)

Right now...

• I am listening to the gentle pitter patter of the rain and thinking "how could it be raining again?"
• I have the TV on and Intervention is on.  I don't watch allot of TV.  This show is bothering me in ways I cannot explain.
• I am wondering why M is so attached to me.  I love that he wants to be around me all the time but I can't help but wonder what is going on in his little head.
• I am contemplating change.  Fall/Autumn does that to me.
• I have a secret.  It is a good one.
• I am counting down the days till my little vacation, which will be a staycation.  No potty training will be involved but it is time for the Parents to reclaim their room, and for two brothers share one.
• I want to go get J from his crib and snuggle with him.  He is growing too fast and I feel I am missing out on some things, especially during M's attachment phase.
• I am eating a piece of coffee cake, slightly warmed with butter.

Randomness on this Wednesday evening.
Nighty Night.

somedays...

it is important to be the one to take the first step.

it is important to leave work 5 hours early and drive 40 minutes clear across town to tell someone you love them in person.

it is important to admit when you were wrong, even when you may still feel like you are right.

it is important to let someone see you cry, and know you are human and make mistakes.

it is important to wait to pick the kiddos on the off chance that you can have some much needed alone time, and then alone time with someone you love.

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.
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I needed to be that person, and do those things today.

Imagine my suprise....

When I sat down to do my nightly tour of the WWW and saw this:

as the featured project at Two Peas.

Sometimes after a rough week at work, little things like that make me smile.

All kinds of fun scrappy news this week. 

:)  :)  :)

Nighty Night

My 12 characters of fame...

(I'm counting the space as a character)

:) :) :) :)

I wonder what LO they liked?

Nighty Night.

He is...

Fearless.

I turn around for one second and he is standing on top of the dinning table doing a little dance.

Happy.

He always has a bounty of smiles to give anyone.

Proud.

He will try so hard to do everything his big Brother does, like WALK up the stairs and is so pleased with himself when he is given praise.



Mischievous.

He knows when he is not supposed to be near anything but does it anyways.

Talkative.

I am surprised by his "Ready, Set, GO!" and the other little sentences that come out of his 15 month old mouth.

Passionate.

His hugs and kisses are powerful and all encompassing. 

Tough.

He has allot of bumps and bruises but he keeps on trucking.

Photogenic.

This one loves the camera and knows how to smile.

Curious.

About food, lint, bugs.....

Impatient.

Heaven forbid I have to stop him to change his bum, or get him dressed.

Carefree.


He throws all caution to the wind and dives into everything face first.

Mine.

That makes me the most happy.

Have a wonderful weekend!

August Project 12, the layout that took forever to complete

I saw this recently while reading Jennifer Johner's Blog and knew that it would be cool to incorporate onto a page.

Incidentally the sketch for August Project 12 had a tree in it:

It took way longer to complete that I had thought it would.

WAAAAAAYYYY longer.

The tree is more of a focus than anything, so in the end I didn't add all the little stitching details and scallops that are usually part of the sketches.

And I didn't add as many pictures.

And I used flowery paper which I barely ever use.

I'm calling it good enough!!

Enjoy your day.

Mine is going to be spent buying a new car.

My nightly boomerang

After nearly four years of sleep deprivation I am happy to report that my littlest is edging towards uninterrupted slumber.

I have been waiting for this moment for... well for 4 years.

You see, when I became pregnant with my biggest I instantly couldn't sleep anymore.

I would be awake for hours on end in the night, only to start feeling sleepy when it was time to get up for work.

I was miserable.

My biggest bundle of joy didn't start sleeping through the night until he was 16 months old.

Ironically it was the exact date that I found out that I was pregnant with him.

I was already two weeks pregnant with baby J and had completely resigned myself that I was never to sleep again.

Gone were sacred Sundays spent on the couch, in PJ's, watching Nascar with hubs.

Gone were the days where I would wake from my nightly slumber, eat breakfast and go right back to bed.

Oh naps,  how I have missed you.

Now naps entail either sleeping with one of them or both of them. 

Nice but not quite the same as the pre kid nap.

Now one of them so much as sighs in their sleep,  and my spidey senses tingle and I shoot out of bed.

I'm pretty sure I haven't had REM sleep in years.

Which is why I am pretty darned happy about J reaching this milestone.

Or I was.

Until SOMEONE rained on my parade.

SOMEONE has decide that he now needs extra attention in the night, even though SOMEONE has been sleeping through the night for 2 years.

SOMEONE will not go to sleep at night anymore unless he has had a proper cuddle with Mommy and Daddy, In our bed, with all of his lovies, and his water cup.

SOMEONE has superior delay tactics that entail bathroom trips, whereby there is actual tinkle...hard to disregard that one since we just finished training.

SOMEONE 'S favorite tactic is running back and forth between his room and our room, laying in bed with us until he is tired, then makes his way back to where he started.

A boomerang if you will.

This boomerang child will go back and forth some 5 times.

Sometimes each interval lasts 20 minutes.

Sometimes he isn't getting to bed until 10pm...way too late.

Sometimes I want to lock him up in his room with the door knob thingies that I used to used but removed because I love a good cuddle.

IN.  THE.  MORNING.

I'm pooped.

I need my sleep.

He needs his sleep.

Never have I looked more forward to daylight savings to try and trick his internal clock into going to bed sooner.

That boomerang needs to find his way back into his bed...at 7:30.

Just like the good ole days.

So I can enjoy some ZZZZZZZZZ's

Nighty Night.

Run like the wind.

Every development should have a street under construction so every child can do this:

Built for speed indeed.

Happy Tuesday!

Favorite pic...

11 months ago I snapped these pictures of the boys.

Little did I know at that time that catching them together in a  picture would be a rarity.

I hope you are enjoying the last long weekend of the summer.

We are.

Nighty Night.

We interupt this silence...

To let you know that I am un-inspired as of late.

The place where you find fabulous for less has been busy,

What with all the people who prefer to throw things on the floor first and then buy said things.

Lots of overtime this time of year.

Lots of coming home for dinner,

giving the kids their baths, stories, puzzles.

Tucking them into to bed and heading back into work.

I have some favorite pictures sitting on my desk but I can't seem to muster any energy to get them scrapped.

I am itching to get out to my LSS and look at new goodies.

I hardly have any pictures taken for August project 12.

I am craving some time with my guy.

I really want to go for a nice long walk through the bike paths with my kids.

I would love a nice long, quiet bubbly soak in my tub.

Calmer days are ahead, I can feel it.

Just need to get through these next 9 day.

Night Night.

Lookey what I did in 7 hours....

I spent Sunday with my Sister and her CTMH friends scrapping.  I had so much fun.  Seriously!  I never, ever on my days off go out by myself for more than an hour or so, so this was a big treat.  We ate good food, talked, laughed, ate some more.  Best.  Day.  Ever. 

Okay so maybe not THE best day ever but good for my soul and a good reward for completing Project Big Boy Phase Three.

It's official, he is potty trained.  So proud of him, and he is so proud of himself.  We are on day three accident free!  Yay for cutting my diaper bill in half!

Off to bed.  Someone is teething again.  Worst. Teether.  Ever.

I may need a scrap day again soon.  ;)

Nighty Night.