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.