November Project 12

Well, well, well, here we are nearing the end of 2011, and I somehow managed to pull off the second last installment of Project 12 for the year.

Don't ask me how I accomplished this, because my scrappy mojo left me somewhere back in October.

Not Sure if it was the new fall routine that caught up with me, my disorganized scrap space,  the 2 month bout with insomnia, or maybe dealing with some challenges in my home life but I haven't felt like scrapping at all.

Not one bit.  I get home from work and it is all I can do to keep my eyes open enough to eat and give the kids baths.

There have been several nights that I have fallen asleep, clothes and all, in the boys room.

I digress....Project 12 November...The sketch:

I'm not going to lie to you, I balked and panicked when I saw this sketch.  Not only was my mojo gone, but any one who knows my style, knows that I am a line `em up nice and neat, add a few embellishments type of girl.

I don't do random, I usually stick with 4x6 prints, and I took so few pictures in November, which on a side note is totally not like me either.

But I'm a good sport and committed to seeing this project through to the end, So this is what I came up with:

No word of a lie, it took me two weeks.....GACK!  I replaced allot of the photos with patterned paper, and lined up my photos more like a grid.  There are a whole slew of scrappbookers that do random picture placement so well.  When I attempt it it looks weird, so I stuck with what I was comfortable with, and I think that's okay right?

I'm happy it is done, but looking back at the month and seeing so few pictures that I took of my kids saddened me a little. I had a few more of Michael, then of Jack and I don't like to have uneven amounts, another weird quirk of mine.  I know my head wasn't screwed on straight, but hopefully I'm over that hump.

In the end I was happy to get this completed this morning.  Work will settle down soon just after year end, and we will all be settling in to winter days spent indoors.

There is also an impending purchase so near in my future.  I`m torn between the Nikon 3100 or the Canon rebel 2Ti.  ( I welcome opinions)  I have waited so long to buy my first DSLR that I can hardly contain my self and I think this mama might go a little mamma-parrazzi on her kids with her new toy.

So on that note I am going to see if the flyer's have arrived and peruse the Internet whilst the kids bathe.

Happy, Happy weekend to you all.  If you are out ringing in the New Year this weekend, please be safe.

Nighty night.

Charity begins where you start it.

Today, one of our local radio stations held a food drive to collect cans for our food bank. 

The goal was 8099 cans.

I was one of many who dropped off some cans, one from each member of our household.

Nothing major, yet all day long I fretted over how little I had done.

I drive by that radio station everyday on my way to work, and on my way home today, if the truck was still there, I was going to  buy some more non perishables and drop them off. 

As I was driving by on my way home, I saw the food bank truck leaving the parking lot and happily assumed that the goal had been met.

A whopping 17533 cans were collected for needy families in my city.

Nothing short of amazing if you ask me.

A similar food drive took place at my grocery store last weekend. 

My eldest and I dropped off some non perishables  for the food drive, as well as some cookies for the volunteers, in lieu of him sitting in the drivers seat of a city bus.

He was elated, I was happy to have helped in some small way, shape or form.

I shared these stories with my team today and we talked about how we could help someone in need this holiday season.

Our holiday gathering has come and gone, and there are some funds in our holiday fund that could be put to good use.

A goat for a third world family?  Sponsoring a local families holiday meal?

Both great ideas, but if I am being honest there is a slight motive to my giving.

I don't want my boys to grow up needing.

I am fortunate enough to have a job that pays for their needs as well as their wants.

But I really don't want to forget what it is like to need and want and know you can't have.

Because when you forget you take for granted, and I never want to be that person.

I always want to be the girl who cherished the second hand bike that her mother stayed up late nights repainting.

The girl who displays her homemade clothespin dolls somewhere safe every holiday season as a gentle reminder of Christmases past.

This season is never going to be about presents for me, nor do I want it to be that way for my children.

My boys will have lots under the tree, because I can and because I always will want to do that for them.


But more importantly, I want it to be about life, giving, presence, and love.


I want them to know that charity doesn't begin at home, but learning about it does.

I dont need my charity to be recognized, and I'm not looking for props.

But maybe if you find the time and can spare it, a donation to someone in need this season would mean the world to a Mom or Dad trying to make this holiday special for their family.

That is all

Have you ever seen such cuteness??

Rachelle from Ashford Photography took some pictures of me and the boys a month ago.
To say that I love them is an understatement.
She was able to capture the essence of these two angels of mine.
Thank you Rachelle!

I'm not Rosemary's Granddaughter.
In fact, I have no idea who Rosemary even is.
I do know who I am, and today I was smacked in the face with gratitude for being me.

I have written posts before about my upbringing, I don't need to go there again.
But I do want to go to a darker place, just in case I need a reminder  on a less than stellar day.

I recently met someone who touched my soul in a way very few people do.
My very first impression of her wasn't great.  It wasn't bad but  I wasn't blown away or in awe or her like I am by some people I meet.  Her hand shake was limp, and her voice was soft.  To be honest, I often sum up  person my their hand shake.  Strike one for me.

For what ever reason; fate, karma, a lesson to be learned, this person was able to get past that first impression and on our third meeting confided something in me that wasn't necessarily  ordinary, and sadly more prevalent than one would think,  but I was surprised non the less.  I remember thinking that it was odd that she would tell me a secret when she hardly knew me, but when I meet someone I'm comfortable with I have been known to share.

Today she showed up into my life again with her child in her arms and her eyes full of tears.  Frustration that daycare wouldn't accept her son that day because he had a cold was the last thing she needed to worry about.

Imagine coming from a war torn country, living in a room no bigger than a storage room, living in fear every single day of your life.  Imagine trying to raise a baby in that sort of chaos, a husband that was not there and wouldn't be there for 12 years, only to make his way back into your life to take advantage of you.  Imagine not sending your son to school because you didn't have a decent lunch for him, living in a hotel that you didn't really know was trash but had no other place to stay because the house you just bought was being renovated and the contractor took you for a ride.  Imagine the worst crap that you could possibly imagine and then thank your lucky stars that you are not living that life.

I gave this women a ride today to that crappy hotel, with her little son, because she was going to take a cab and I didn't want her to.  Her Son needed to be in a car seat, not in a cab or waiting for a bus in subzero temperatures.  A teeny, tiny gesture.  One that was met with such gratitude that it made me thankful for all I have.

There are times in this life of mine where I am easily frustrated when things don't go as planned; kids not eating their fruits and veggies, not going to bed on time, daddy not helping me as much as I need or want him to, a perfectly furnished house, time to sleep, time to scrap, TIME.

I walked in my house today and was thankful to be there, thankful that my babies were mine and that they were loving little boys.  Yes we have our issues but they are mine and I love them.  I met Hubs at the door and told him I was thankful for this life.  He knew something happened to spark my announcement and asked me about it.  I was thankful for that and for the hugs that followed.   I held J tonight while he fell asleep, just because I could, just to be able to smell his hair and stroke his soft little cheeks.  Who the heck cares that Project Big Boy isn't progressing.  He is healthy and happy and that is all that matters.  I  was thankful to just sit on the couch and watch a movie with M.  He played a little longer, we cuddled a little longer, we giggled a little longer.  Who cares that he didn't get to bed on time and wouldn't stay in bed.  I was thankful for that extra bit of time.

I am absolutely certain that this woman is not looking for charity or pity.  I think she just needed to unload some emotional baggage today and I happened to be put on the path that she was on.  And while I am not overly religious,  I do believe that our paths are scripted.   Today I was meant to be there to help her in the tiniest way possibly.

I am far from perfect, but my life?  I'll take it each and ever day.

Early morning blogging

It has been weeks since i have had a decent night sleep.

It seems as though my body has this internal alarm clock that goes off after I have reached a four hour stretch of sleep. 

Can't say that it is keeping me very sane...

So in an effort to tire my eyes and lull my brain back to sleep I give you some scrappyness of the very scary Halloween variety:

(Designed for Tina's Scrapbook Creations)

Our Halloween this year was interesting.

I was worried that it wasn't going to go well, as M was hesitant to wear his costume to school that day.

He was just being his normal 4 year old self.

The night of, he was still reluctant until I told him we were going to see our neighbours to get some candy.

Well. he was off and running after that.

It was the first year that he figured out and understood the whole ring the doorbell, say "Trick or Treat"  and "Thank You" routine.

It was cool to see the look on his face.

My other sweet, sweet boy was also his normal 2 year old self just rearing to go.

He wanted to go into peoples houses, have a little visit, run through the streets, smash a pumpkin or two...

I took him home a little earlier than M just to save a little sanity.

The great thing about the age that they are at, is that we can do a spin around the block and we are done.

In one hour we were home and M was helping to hand out candy whilst J munched on a Smarty or ten.

I will admit that it was very difficult to get pictures of them this year...all of them were blurry.

I scrapped them anyways, doesn't bother me much as long as I have the story recorded of my little astronaut  and my little Pablo's excellent Halloween adventure.

And on that note, I hear the pitter patter of little feet looking for me in the night.

Must go see what they want.

Nighty Night.

Remember....

We have freedom because people gave their lives to give it to us.

Temper, temper

Mornings in which I lose my temper are always the best.

Yes that is a lie.

I am always filled with a big cloud of guilt that lingers and ruins the majority of my day.

And for what?

Because someone didn't want to put his coat on,

which inevitably leads to us being late, him upset with me, me upset with him.

My inability to explain to him so he understands why he needs to wear a coat is frustrating.

His inability to understand why he needs to wear a coat?

Frustrating.

Putting stickers on the dishwasher was so much more fun than putting a coat on, I get it.

But trying to teach your children boundaries, limits, manners, morals, values and why it is important to eat fruits and vegetables...that is what is hard.

Especially when they are not quite ready to understand their actions, reactions and consequences.

And that my friends, is what is on my mind this sunny Tuesday morning.

October Project 12

Whaaaattttt??

To project 12 layouts completed in as many weeks???

Not to mention I used some product from Tina's Scrapbooking Creations  for my DT assignment.

Killing two birds with one stone has been my mantra for the past  4 years weeks.

Where did I find the time?

No clue to be honest.

I rushed and because I did I am just mildly happy with my results.

But the funny little stories of my everyday life are told.


The picture of me and the boys....so my life.

One cooperating one not.

Here is Octobers sketch:

And my take on it:

I  was pretty literal with the interpretation.

Anyways...Off to enjoy some more of this unreal weather we are having....14 degrees on November 7th....can you believe it.

Happy Fall!

Septemeber project 12

REALLY late posting this one.

Life has been so hectic.

It seems that every week a different member of the family is sick.

I feel like my work schedule has been more demanding than usual.

No time to think, eat, play,

And this week doesn't look like it is going to get any better.

I'm taking an extra day off because I don't have child care on one of those days, yet making alternate arrangements for the kiddos off so I can go into work for a bit.

Anyhooooooooo I was able to fit 60 minutes of scrap time int my schedule today.

Go Me.

I worked on this sketch:

and what it took me 60 minutes to put together while sitting at the Thomas train table:

I think it is just OK.  Not what I had in mind but it is done.

Plus there are some pretty funny FB status updates in my journalling.

That being said, I think  I should be the poster child for this:

When in reality, it is more like this:

Happy Weekend my friends.

   

All before 10am

Jack, get down from the table, we sit on chairs.

Jack, please don't tear up the books, they are for reading.

Jack, eggs belong in your mouth, not your hair.

Jack, Get OFF the table.

Jack!  Don't slam your toys on the floor.

Jack...Don't dump the apricots on the floor...out of the cupboard now please.

Jaaaaaaack....Don't put that n your mouth.

OFF.  THE.  TABLE.

Jack.  Oh Jack..what did you do?  you are not supposed to pull apart your oven.

Jack, we don't use Vaseline to brush our teeth.

Jack..that is for sucking boogies out...Get it out of your mouth.

Jack...we don't stand on Tupperware.

Get off the table.  PLEASE!!!!!!

(Don't let the unseasonably warm weather and Mr. Cute fool you.  There is a definite storm moving in.)

This weekend...

• M got sick for the second weekend in a row since he started school.
• I realized how far away I have gotten from my weightloss journey
• Someone finally took out the AC in our bedroom.
• I made apple stuffed crescent rolls.
• I played and played with the boys.
• I did not take one single picture, nor did I scrapbook one.
• It took me 36 hours to get through one smallish magazine.`
• I fell asleep on the couch, twice.
• I let myself get irritated by other peoples opinions.
• I gathered ideas and Pinspiration to decorate for the Halloween. 
• bought me some new D&G glasses. 

That is my scintillating post for this evening.

Nighty Night

 

Not Strawberry

For the past two years I have baked my mom a cake for her birthday from scratch.

I don't often attempt this but she is special so I thought she deserved a special cake.

This year she requested a strawberry shortcake and all I could think was

"That's a crummy choice for a birthday cake!!!"

Apparently I vetoed her choice and baked up a butter cake with raspberry butter cream icing.

It was gooooooooood!

But It wasn't Strawberry anything.

Apparently it is I that has a "thing" for raspberries because that is what she got two years in a row.

Next year I will deliver what she wants.

(Designed for Tina's Scrapbooking Creations)

Goodnight friends.

Cool For School!

My little man is doing great at school.

He is responding  well to the routines of the class room and loves his teachers.

He will randomly inform me Mrs. Bergeron is at home with her children.

I think one of most amusing things he does is ask his friends what they are doing throughout the day, after he has left school.

For example he just asked Conner what he was doing, and yesterday he informed Jacob that it was not play time it was home time.

I'm interested to meet these little guys on a field trip to the pumpkin patch next week!

And I'm excited to see him interact in a school setting.

I often watch from afar and I have a million things that go through my mind.

"Someone please grab his hand and guide him into the yard..."


"why is he not talking to the other children??"

" Is he happy?"

I'm sure most worry about their babes but I have to admit I am taking my time at letting go.

And of course taking the time to document the memories.

I did both of these this past weekend at my 12 hour crop  for Tina.

I love, love, love that shinny Imaginsce paper and the cork Alpha's from CTMH.

I have to admit I have other BTS layouts brewing in my head.....all in due time.

Happy Thursday my friends, I'm off to get kiddos a snack!

HB 2U

I mentioned earlier that I went to a 12 hour crop in support of children's cancers right?

Well, top of my priority list was to get this little guys 2nd birthday LO done.

(click to enlarge)

Pretty much everything is CTMH.  I have a serious love on for the tags and cork alphas.

And the journalling was lifted for this post.

Super simple, super fast.

Have a great day!

August project 12

Since I was so negligent in getting my July project 12 done on time, I figured I had better get this one posted in a jiffy since I had no reason to not get it done as I attended a 12 hour crop for children's cancer yesterday.  (that was a very large run on sentence...)

That's right, twelve hours, no kids, eight completed layouts and a self imposed no talking rule.

Okay, I might be  joking about the no talking...

I digress.....

August was allot of fun.

We went out on two big excursions, one to my aunts where the boys swam all day, and one to Sandbanks where you guessed it, the boys swam all day.

That much family time is good for the soul and now makes it harder  to convince M that going to the mall is an adventure.

All right then, on to Project 12.

The sketch:

I was all over this sketch since it used 4x6 photos, but after going through my pictures, I had too many that I wanted to use.

Luckily for me,  my local photo developer was having a sale on  6x8s (50 for 5 bucks!)   I made some collages and had them printed out and trimmed them down.    That's like 100 4x6s, or in my case more like 75 4 x6s and 50 2x3s for 5 buckaroos.  SCORE!

My take:

(Click to enlarge)

Originally when I laid out my pictures I had 6  smaller 2x3 but I removed them as it looked a little crowded so my sister and I did not make the final cut.  I do love these pictures of my Mom, My Boys, as well as my niece and nephews from our trip to the Sandbanks.

 I also made use of my Hometown Summer paper pack one more time.    That wavey paper....perfect!  And as per usual, my facebook updates made up a good portion of my journalling.  How else would I remember that I sliced off a good portion of my thumb in August.  FYI it's still not healed and it really should have been stitched.


So that my friends was my August.  I hope yours was as wonderful as ours.


Thanks for stopping by..I'll be back tomorrow with some more layouts to share from my 12 hour scrap marathon.

Staggered tears take two

And just like that Tuesday came and M was spending his first full morning at school.

On our first meeting last week we had some homework to do...Decorate a hat


















M decorated his with Stars and Thomas stickers that he picked out himself.

He was/is to wear this hat on his first two mornings of school.

We pumped it up so much that I didn't really worry about dropping him off.

I knew he wanted to be there.

He did great.

He stood on the yellow line and waited for "friends" to get off the bus.

He held hands with the girl in the leggings in the picture and his teacher while he waited.

That girl made my morning watching her with him.

He walked in turn towards the play area all the while holding her hand.

He watched in awe at all the children, school buses and parents.

At times I thought he looked like a deer caught in headlights.

But there was not a single tear from him.  Not that I expected any from him.

I, on the other hand was a flowing river from the time he lined up until I got in the car to go home.

They were tears of joy and pride.  Not tears of fear.

Okay maybe a little fear but seeing him take to the teacher  assured me that his morning would be filled with fun.

I spent the morning with his brother, enjoying one on one time.

And when the time came, I went to get him at school.

I watch from a distance him play in the yard, interacting with the children, running and jumping.

I could tell he had a good morning.

When he saw me he smiled and said he had a great time.

We talked with the teacher for a few minutes as I had to fill out some forms and she said he had fun and  played well with the other children.

She showed me his artwork, which I'm pretty excited to have him bring home.

He makes me proud that boy of mine. 

And when it was time to leave he wanted to get on the bus, but we will be tackling that adventure next Tuesday.

Baby steps for this Momma.

If at first you don't succeed...

I have a friend , whom I adore.

I don't see her often, in fact hardly at all.

We send messages through FB, follow each others pinboards, and send emails to stay connected.

But if we happen to be in the same city we try to see each other.

She has been my scrapbook  cheerleader and inspiration for well over 5 years now.

She said some things to me when I was just starting out that have stuck with me all this time.

1.  If you don't put yourself out there, you won't know what you can achieve.  Rejection sucks but it happens.
2.  Scrap what you love.

So I put myself out there recently and applied to the Bella Blvd Design team.

I decided to apply because it is one of the paper companies that I love.  In fact I had been hoarding some of their paper for well over a year.

When the call when up I went to my stash and thought, "well I certainly don't have to buy anything to try out for this call."

And in staying true to me I put together 4 layouts that have been on my mind for some time. I look at them and they make me smile.  I love the paper, I love the photo's but most importantly I love the stories.  Here they are:

Life lessons...Things I've learned along the way...the hard way.

Tactor-tractor, J having fun on his uncles tractor during our Vacation.  I love  how he pronounces tractor.

Little brother, Thoughts on J being a little brother.






















 Pumpkin pulling determination, Mr Independent pulling at least 40 pounds of pumpkin.

There you have it folks, me putting myself out there.  I didn't make the team but I'm okay with it.   Maybe it had something to do with my blurry photo's  HA!!!!

Thanks Lisa for your friendship and inspiration!!

Staggered tears

My Biggest is off to Junior Kindergarten this year.

 3 hours away from home each morning,  to meet new friends and learn new skills.

Here in Ontario, JK has a staggered entry.  On Tuesday we went to meet his teacher and his resource teacher, both lovely ladies.

And if i were not concentrating so hard at keeping my composure I'm sure I would have enjoyed the process for my little man more.

We have been playing up school all summer long.  I have talked about it since I registered him for Kindergarten last February, where I cried amidst all the little ones saying their morning prayer and signing our National Anthem.

We have taken him to the playground at the school during the month of August to acclimate him to the environment, where I may or may not have had tears of joy and pride in my eyes when we peaked into the classroom and guessed at which class might be his.

I called the school last Monday to confess my Mommy fail for not attending the School bus safety training with him.  I may have choked back some tears when I was expressing some of my concerns to the resource teacher, who kindly suggested that I bring him in 5 days earlier than scheduled just so he can check things out.

And upon meeting the teacher and resource teacher, there were some moments when I knew I had to stop talking just because the words were going to come out in a blubbery mess.  Said teacher patted my arm and said I would be fine.

I will be fine and I know he will be fine.

It's just that he is my first to go off to school and as his mom,  I reserve the right to worry and shed tears of joy and sadness.

I have my reasons, we all do.

So next Tuesday is a big day for him.

His first day in the class for the entire three hours, with a few little friends.  I'm excited for him for that day.

And the following Tuesday will be his first week at school with the entire class.

The day after, he takes the bus for the first time.

Dear Lord, Please help me really enjoy those moments and help me get past the anxiety of the bus because I have worked so hard at getting him excited for this.  And please forgive my selfish tears.

I know he will be great.

And if there are some bumps along the way?  Par for the course..

He's going to make history that kid of mine.  I just know it.

Nighty night.

Better late than never

So July ripped through my life like a hurricane, as did the deadline in August to get my layout done for project 12.

If you can believe it for the first time in 18 months I didn't get it in on time.  

I still really love this project, mostly because it is about life.

Those special random moments that happen as you are living.

I also love that it is a double page layout that I can almost always fit in pictures that otherwise may have not been scrapped.

I got my act together this weekend and whipped out my layout.

Here is a reminder of the sketch:

 And my take on it:

I have to admit that July didn’t seem to be my best month on record for a few reasons.  I was missing some family members and I was working ALLOT!  I tried to do fun things with the boys but truthfully we just spent time in the backyard.  Mom was at Sam’s for a good chunk of the month and I found myself exhausted trying to do everything myself.  I hit a stop with my weight loss journey and I tried daily to find the good in everything but I found this month more difficult to do so.  I snapped out of it near the end and July seemed to brighten and lighten up.  Here is what Facebook had to say:

July 1 at 12:41pm In light of the holiday, I am taking a break from counting calories and making a yummy dinner and dessert. Not sure what yet but I certainly have enough to choose from! Have a happy and safe holiday! ♥ 

July 2 at 8:41pm watching Michael dance as Daddy jams. The boy has MOVES ♥

July 2 at 9:55pm Bruce is watching his favorite movie. Groundhog Day. He is denying that it is his favorite, but not convincingly. ♥

July 6 at 10:50pm At the risk of sounding dorky, I really miss the John Tesh radio show on my drive home. ♥

July 7 at 2:34pm The great thing about having boys is that they can "go" anywhere. :) ♥

July 11 at 3:11am 3:30am and sleep is eluding me. No huge surprises there. ♥

July 11 at 7:21pm My eyes are burning. This Momma is off to bed with the kiddos tonight! ♥

July 13 at 7:36 Nothing like a major corporate visit to help in ones weight loss journey! Small scale victory this morning! ♥

July 14 at 9:43pm All hell broke lose at bedtime tonight....odd. ♥

July 16 at 7:51am I gave my child a Popsicle for breakfast. In my defense it was homemade and only had berries yogurt and orange juice in it. ♥

July 17 at 7:46pm Two things that made me smile today...donating too big clothes and The Bigs playing in the pool in our living room sans water. LIG.  ♥ 

July 18 at 2:45am Too many things keep me awake at night. ♥

July 18 at 6:44pm my back is just not what it used to be...I'm creaking like an old lady over here! ♥

July 18 at 8:36pm Two things that made me smile today; Jack calling "Mickhoool" to come downstairs and play and the boys hugging each other at bedtime. ♥

July 19 at 6:18pm Thinking about you lots Kulapate. RIP. ♥

July 23 at 9:14pm Carey Hart...Hot. Corey, not so much. ♥

July 24 at 5:20am Happy Birthday to the best mom ever!! You are loved. ♥

July 26 at 7:57pmNew favorite thing that J says: "G'night Mummy." So sweet. ♥

July 26 at 8:00pm what if you woke up today with only the things you thanked God for yesterday? ♥

July 29 at 6:58am The great thing about being a parent is that you get to be puked on in the middle of the night...repeatedly. ♥

July 29 at 7:16pm Just cleaned my desk. And by cleaned I really mean hid things in storage containers in no particular order. I will be kicking myself when I go to find things. ♥

July 30 at 7:55pm Raise your glass if you are wrong in all the right ways.  ♥

July 31 at 1:37pm Can we talk about my child that keeps throwing up in the night? ♥

 And that my friends was July.

 In other breaking news, my baby starts JK tomorrow.  

 I verklempt when I was checking his bus schedule and nearly stopped breathing. 

 Okay that may be a slight exaggeration but still....

 Happy Labor Day Friends.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Excuse my absense.

I have been spending these last few weeks of summer with my boys.

Life is fleeting and I don't want to miss these moments.

Happy Last day of August!

Thank you for needing me

Both of my boys were stung by a wasp this morning, presumably the same one.

There were some tense moments when they arrived home crying from a nice morning walk with Grandma with fears of allergic reactions since J has a few food allergies. 

He seemed to be the trooper though, barely crying and carrying  on in his own carefree  way.

M on the other hand was making funny tongue movements, and his thumb swelled like it was a balloon.

I think what was more shocking to me than the fact that they got stung, was that M let me comfort him and hold him while he cried.

He even said " Mommy, kiss the bobo better."

I suppose you are wondering why this is surprising to me?

M doesn't let me comfort him when he gets hurt.

Ever.

Today was pretty much the first time in over two years that I felt I could do my job and try to heal a wound or wipe a tear.

The funny part was the whole time he was crying I was thinking , "wow, he is letting me help him; wow, he is letting me apply some ointment; wow, he wants me right now."

Thanks for needing me today honey.   Your Mama needed to be needed.

Honey

For the longest time J thought my name was Honey.

I would walk in the door from work and he would call out "HUUUUUNNNNEEEEEEY!"

It was and still is so stinkin' cute.

More and more as he is growing though, the special honey greeting is falling by the wayside.

It makes me a little sad because it made me feel special. 

He has replaced it though with another special name.

Mommy.

Love that kid.

Nighty Night.

Go your own way

I have been bookmarking images from the WWW to  Pinterest for quiet some time now.

Mostly home decor ideas, scrap ideas, recipes and kid crafty stuff.

I had yet to use an image as a jumping off point for a scrap page untill yesterday.

When I saw this image along with this image I knew I wanted to use it on a page but I had to stew on it for a bit to figure out the story I wanted to tell.

Yesterday I figured it out and came up with this:

I have to admit, it is one of my new favorites.  I love the map paper and I love the photo of M.  It is soooo hard to get a picture of him looking at me so when I do I really cherish it.  Especially in his Indiana  Jones hat.

I also had allot of thoughts and feelings that I wanted to get down on paper about an upcoming appointment he has and of course his foray into the academics in September.  I wanted to get on paper how much I love him now and always and where ever life takes him I will always be here for him.

I hid the journalling because I was feeling pretty emotional when I wrote it.  I also tucked it into a little envelope in the corner for him to read one day.

Any great Pinterest inspiration to share?  Link me up!  I'd love to see what inspires you!

I'll be back tomorrow with another new favorite of my littlest!

Happy Thursday!

Inspired by:

As a scrapper I am always looking for different inspirations, whether it be a personal style I admire or a technique that I am anxious to try out.

There are so many talented ladies out there who put pages together that make me run to my nearest LSS and purchase all the latest and greatest products as well as things I wouldn't normally purchase.

Case in point, this punch:

It is a punch anywhere punch.  No more constraints as to where you can punch on the page.

And while I thought it was cool, I'm closing in on about 50 punches so I probably don't really need another punch when I have one that does *almost* the same thing right?

RIGHT?????

Enter Davinie Fiero.

Everything this lady touches turns to gold. 

And after seeing  this layout, and this layout, and heck even this layout  I caved and bought both the square and circle punch.  I have used them both so far and there is a learning curve for sure until you get the hang of it. 

(please excuse the blurry old photos and my apparent lack of photography skills)

I did this one for Tina, using some more Bo Bunny.  I have been hoarding these pictures for years. The journaling is about my deep love and appreciation for the ocean.  Either one that brackets our beautiful country will do.

My layout doesn't look anywhere as cool as hers do, but it is nice to have amazing inspiration out there to get your creative juices flowing.

What is inspiring you to create these days?  Link me up.  I'd love to see what some of your favorites are.

Nighty Night


 

How about some baby...

Layouts that is!

Tina gave me some Imaginisce papers to work with, and lets face it,

I have no shortage of baby pictures right?????

I'm hitting the ground running this morning.

We are launching a new payroll system at work and guess who needs to be there on day one?!

It is also my Mom's birthday today...Happy Birthday Mom!

In the haze that has been my life for the last 4 weeks I totally forgot to book it off...UGH.

We will be celebrating tomorrow with tacos and cake.

Enjoy your weekend!

June Project 12

Well hello Blogger!

It has been sometime hasn't it?

Truth be told I have sat down many a time to write something only to erase it and log off.

I have thoughts brewing in my head but it seems for now the heat has muddled them up and they never come out the way I intend them to be.

Even scrapping my memories seem to have taken a back seat to everyday life.

June was busy for our family.

We took the boys on their very first road trip out east to see their Grammy and Aunty  K.

They did fabulous on the 10+ hour drive.

Mind you, we stopped allot and stayed overnight in a hotel at the half way point.

But still, props to The Bigs!

Facebook made me giggle as I looked back on it, and I'd like to share but I somehow deleted the file...UGH!

Annnnnyway...Junes sketch:

And my take on it:












(click to enlarge)

Tina gave me these bright and fun Bo Bunny papers to work with so I switched the sketch up a bit to show the variety of the papers.You would now it unless you looked really close but I used seven of the patterned papers.  Crazy.....

It's been a long hot, hazy and humid day here with record breaking temperatures so I am still not overly energetic to type.  Please forgive me if I don't have anything interesting to share over the next while.  I'll be reading just not contributing as much.

Night night.

Convo with the biggest

Me: Honey, do you know what Mommy's name is?
M: Mommy's name is monkey.
Me:  Nope, not Monkey.  What is mommy's name?
M: Mommy's name is Jennifer!
Me: That's Right!  What's Daddy's name?
M: Daddy's name is Jennifer!
Me:  Note quite.  What is Daddy's name?
M: Daddy's name is Monkey!
Me:  No honey, Daddy's name isn't monkey.  What is his name?
M:  Daddy's name is The Man!!!
Me:  How about Bruce...Do you think that is Daddy's name?
M: BRUCE!!!
Me:  And what about Grandma, what is Grandma's name?
M: Grandma's name is The Best!!!
Me:  *big smile*

March scrap madness

I did a little scrapping this past weekend amidst the sickness that has taken over my home. 

I have this scrappy quirk that I do a page each month about my boys.

It is not really a growth update or milestone page, just some photos and thoughts.

I caught up with March for M this weekend and did this one using a PageMap.

He looked so forlorn looking out the window at the snow we still had.

I did manage one of J but I didn't take a picture because it was a full on scraplift and I didn't file who it came from so I feel a little guilty posting...

That is all for tonight.

My 2 week vacation is over.  From start to finish it felt like there was always an illness to deal with.

The last few days have been longer than usual, sticking close to home because M was sick, sick, sick.

It turns out he has an infected porcupine in his throat that need some meds to clear it up.

I'm hoping he sleeps peacefully tonight.

Nighty Night.

My Journey, The scrappy edition.

Remember my rant?

I'm taking a cue from the wonderful Cathy Z and documenting my journey through this weight loss craziness.

A picture every month or so and some thoughts and stats jotted down for good measure.

Here is what I did from my original May 23rd picture and blog post:

Nothing like using up the pink papers in my stash to document yourself!

And in other news, it will be five weeks tomorrow since I started my weight loss journey.

I've lost 13 pounds!

4 inches from my waist, 1/2 inch from neck and hips.

I cant say that I have done anything really dramatic.

Okay that is a lie, I don't eat as much as I did before.

I'm not dieting per say but I am using My Fitness Pal to keep track of the amount of calories I eat each day and logging  my exercises, which consists of a 30 minute fast paced walk as often as I can squeeze it in.

I did some "research"  and figured out how many calories I would need to eat every day to maintain my weight, then deducted 500 per day.

Apparently for every 3500 calories extra you eat you gain a pound.  Who knew?

I still don't eat chocolate bars or baked goods, homemade or otherwise but I do allow room for treats, mainly ice cream.

Way more fruit, way more veggies.

And allot of dinners from this magazine which FYI are fantastic!
 
I try not to let myself feel guilty if I slip over my daily calorie intake, which I have done on more than one occasion during my vacation.

I talk about calories ALL THE TIME.  I'm sure my family is sick of hearing about it, but if I don't talk about it I won't stick with it.

And that is what I have done.

Soon I will replace my nightly walks with morning gym visits, and I am hoping that I will start to see some other changes in my body.  ( mainly from the butt/ thigh region)

Wish me luck...AGAIN!

May Project 12

Sweet sweet May, you are trucking along nicely towards the summer sunshine, but you may want to scale back on the amount of rain.

Please.

Lots of stuff going on in our home this past May.

My Biggest turned four, we had a federal election,My neighbourhood imposed a 3 month outdoor water ban,  the world was apparently going to end, I passed a huge Loss Prevention Audit at work and I started a weight loss journey.

Whew, I'm pooped just typing that.

I am happy to report I once again completed my layout for Project 12 in a timely manner despite all of this activity!

I quite enjoyed this month and unexpectedly whipped it out in no time at all.

I'm chalking it up to the product.

Hometown Summer is by far my most favorite release from CHA winter.

I visited 4 stores to try and track down some of the embellishments and I'm glad I did!  It made pulling this project together zippy!

I may just do the rest of my summer projects with this paper!

I do have to admit I let the Sassafrass labels go this month, but I stuck with my Facebook updates as the majority of my journalling.  It made me chuckle.  Here's what I was thinking last month:

• May 1^st at 9:40pm; Not a big surprise, but after conducting some Google research there is no such thing as a male fascinator. Shocking, I know.
• May 2^nd at 5:45pm; Vote!
• May 2 at 10:30pm; Regardless of your political beliefs, you have to be in awe of a man that can convert a province. History was made tonight. I'm interested in seeing how this will play out not only tonight but moving forward.
• May 2 at 10:30pm; Crazy the stats that elections Canada is reporting for the number of people who voted versus those who were registered.
• May 2 at 10:55pm; What will become of The Block????
• May 2 at 10:59pm; Majority Gvt. without the majority of Canadians support said leader of green party. Can't complain or have opinion if you didn’t vote peeps.
• May 2 at 11:15pm; Happy Birthday to my sweet, sweet Michael. YAY for leaving three and moving on to four!
• May 3 at 1:48pm; Waybulu?? 
• May 11 at 6:41a pm; I wish, I wish, I wish...But I need to do, do, do and that is the hard part.
• May 11 at 10:42 am; 10:42am and my brain is already fried.
• May 12 at 10:44am; I feel like I have a ton of things to say, but I am too tired to even speak.
• May 16 at 6:56pm; Hotel booked at the 1/2 way mark. Levis will never be the same!
• May 18 at 11:09am; Does micro-carbonated mean smaller bubbles?
• May 18 at 10:18pm; Our grass is so green it is almost fluorescent. I guess we can thank the rain for that.
• May 19 at 7:03am; Noon tomorrow....D-day.
• May 19 at 7:54pm; And if micro-carbonated means smaller bubbles, is a micro brewery small as well??? 
• May 19 at 8:03pm; I have no will power...really.
• May 20 at 10:20pm; You would think that after working 20hours in 2 days that I would be asleep by now. 
• May 20 10:20pm; See you on the flip side my dear friends. ☺ May 21 6:55am; Well the earth didn't end. 
• May 22 at 7:47pm; The great thing about white capris pants is that the chocolate ice cream from 4 year old hands shows up quite nicely on them.
• May 22 at 8:58pm; An ice cream truck just rolled down my street....For realzies.
• May 23 at 7:31pm; My journey starts tomorrow. Wish me luck.
• May 24 at 9:14pm; Day one done. I was climbing walls most of the day. This is harder than quitting smoking.
• May 26 at 7:11pm; Calories sneak themselves in the most unsuspecting places.
• May 26 at 9:36pm; No words can properly describe how sad and tragic that accident was. Thoughts and prayers to the family. Hug your children a little tighter tonight.
• May 28 at 2:06pm; Great Glebe Garage Sale, and A great lunch! Love Saturdays off! 
• May 28 at 9:23pm; Dear City of Ottawa, I understand that the riverside South outdoor water ban is imperative to prevent contamination of our drinking water. I would suggest however that you repair the fire hydrant that has been spewing moderate amounts of water for the last three days (that I have noticed) on Earl Armstrong. Sincerely, someone who would like to use water outdoors. 
• May 28 at 10:07pm; Stop the presses! I'm having a glass of wine!
• May 29 at 3:13pm; There be some crazy drivers on the streets of Ottawa on this activity filled Sunday!
• May 29 at 9:12pm; Dang Mosquitoes. Who knew they were attracted to the color black?! I now have eight bites, on my back that I accumulated on a one hour walk. And those frickers weren't so tiny! 
• May 31 at 8:54pm; My Baby turns two tomorrow. Happy Birthday to my sweet, sweet Jack!

 So now that I have either bored or amused you with my updates let's check out the sketch:

 

 

There you have it my Friends, May all wrapped up.

I hope yours was a month to remember.
Peace!