J's Big Day.

Yesterday J was finally Baptized.

He will be 20 months old tomorrow, and surprisingly he was the youngest yesterday to make this sacrament.

When I was contemplating baptism, I really struggled with the decision. 

I am not a cradle Catholic.

In fact I was only Baptised when I was 12 years old.

Because of that, I really struggle with religion.

It is not that I don't believe in God, because I do whole heartily.

I just sometimes find it to be too institutionalized.

I also have a hard time with the fact that the Roman Catholic Church is one of the most lucrative institutions in the world.

But more and more I am going to Mass on Sundays, with my children and really trying to listen with my ears and my heart to what the priest is saying.

My initial reasoning to have them Baptised was not a very good one.

I wanted them to go to a Catholic school as I felt and still feel that the experience with religion, faith, community will be good for them.  Their school will be able to teach them things that I feel inept at.

And in the end, if the boys decide that this religion stuff is not for them, at least they have something to base their decision on, rather than no experience or knowledge at all.

I try to take my role seriously.  The operative word being try.

I take them to church and I am teaching M to say a night time prayer. 

It is hard, because Hubs is not Religious.  He has faith but doesn't feel that he needs to be inside  a building to prove/profess it.

To each their own....

Any whoooooooooo, Yesterday J was baptized.

He wore the same outfit that M did for his baptism.

It was a pretty big day for him and the Mass and Ceremony was smack dab in the middle of his nap time.  I had a very tired babe on my hands.

Not sure if you can see the smiles on our faces here but J decide to let out a toot just as Father finished pouring holy water on his head.  Totally inappropriate, but I was suppressing so much laughter I actually had tears streaming down my cheeks.

And Auntie, who is also Godmother to both my children did a good job helping out with the boys.

My favorite picture from the ceremony; we all look so involved in what the Priest was saying.

We then went back to my house to have lunch.  J didn't survive the drive home and was out within minutes.  I woke him up two hours later so he could enjoy this: (YEP..I made it from scratch!)

 

Afterwards he was all smiles and I snapped my favorite picture of the day.

Isn't he a little angel?

Nighty Night.

A Tasty Snack

On my last trip up to see Tina she gave me some Doddle Bug goodies to play with.

I was and still am in love with this Bon Appetit Line. 

The little oven mitts make me happy.

I had visions of using this paper and embellies  to do a page about my Christmas baking but pictures where not taken so that idea was scrapped...(HA!)

I pulled out the papers on Monday and after looking through my pictures I knew what I would do.

M has a funny new little request that he uses several times a day.

"Can I have a tasty snack????"

It cracks me up every time.

I find myself saying out load when I am in search of a snack.

This particular day he was wanting a croissant, and proceed to devour not one, but two.

I happened to get this picture, which is far from perfect but was perfect for the memory that I wanted to preserve.

I know I have said it before and at the risk of sounding like a broken record, these moments are why I scrapbook.

Sure I could journal them or blog about them but I love to look through my albums and read the funny little stories that I wrote about and look at the pictures that I paired with them.   It makes me smile.

And because I don't like to waste my scraps of paper, I whipped out two little cards.

Simple, but I like simple.

Off to bed.

Today kicks off my 17 day vacation.

SO excited and Soooooo in need of a break.

Nighty Night.

Almost 18 months

A quick double page layout for J's baby book about all the things he is almost doing.

He is such a lovable little boy!!!

Enjoy your day!

I cried...

Last week when I heard the radio commercial informing me that this would be the week.

I cried when I told my Boss that  I was feeling a little sad about it.

I cried when I went to sign him up this morning.

He will be 4 in 3 more months.

He is JK bound in 7 months.

I know I will have a steady stream of tears those first few days.

He stills seems like a baby to me.

Me.

It is not often that I scrapbook about myself.

Rare really.

When I started out that was all I did.

Then the kiddos came along and they are far more interesting for me to look at in an album.

That being said *maybe* one of them, or their wives, or their children might like to know what I was groovin' on this particular cold, bleary January day.

10 things I love:

1. B and his everyday humor that keeps me laughing.  He is able to turn a bad day into a better one and a great day into a fabulous one.  He is my soul mate.  I know this.

2. My Boys.Everyday is an adventure.  I never really knew what unconditional love meant until they came around.

3.  My Mom.  She helps me everyday with the boys.  I'm not too sure what I would do without her.

4.  Sam.  She is my best friend.  I can tell her *almost * anything.  I love that we can laugh at ourselves.

5. Our home.  It is simple and modest.  It won't be our home forever but it was our first that we owned and allot of love was experienced here.

6. Scrapbooking.  It is the only craft that I have ever stuck with.  It is my therapy and my ME time.

7.  Shopping.  Not really for me anymore unless it is scrapbook supplies.  I like to buy for my babes.

8. Flyers.  I anticipate them every week.  I love to see what is on sale and drool over someday buying a new camera.

9. Singing at the top of my lungs in the car.  It helps me relax after a not so great day at work.

10.  Blogs.  I read hundreds in my Google Reader account.  And by read I mean skim through the pages for inspiration with life and scrapbooking.  Another way I spend my ME time.

Funny thing about this list.  I really haven't changed all that much in the last few years.  My needs and wants are pretty simple. 

Okay my wants are not simple but know I don't need them to be happy.

With the small exception that I want a haircut, and I do need it to be happy.

I'm starting to feel like a hippy!

And that Want/need is part of balancing my needs with that of the families.

Surely they won't miss those long hippy locks???

Have Tuesday peeps.

Growing up...

M:  uhhhh Mum......
Me: ????????
M:  uhhhhh Mum????
Me:  Yes sweetheart??
M:  Uhhh Mum, can iiiiiiii play with dis????
Me:  Yes you may, but could you go back to calling me Mummy please?
M:  Okay Mum.

It shouldn't really come as a suprise....

...that when I have been at work more than home for a stretch that it upsets The Bigs.

What I find especially  pleasing (and by pleasing I really mean it makes me want to poke my own eyeballs out) is when M feels the need to bully his brother in order to monopolize my attention.

Fun.  Times.

He knows when he is doing it, and can he ever turn on the charm or puppy dog eyes when he knows he has done something really unsavoury, like biting his brothers fingers and breaking the skin.....

Today he looked up at me and whispered "I love you too, Mummy" right after a particular event in the kitchen pantry.

Yep, I love you too kiddo. 

Love you to the moon.

But please, please, please stop with the bitting, hitting, kicking and general roughhousing of any living thing.

.
.
.

And just because I want to remember his charm, (like I would forget it)  A little LO I did today using one of Becky Fleck's sketches from her PageMap2 book.

Enjoy your week!!

December Project 12

I did it!

I completed every single one of the sketches from the SACT Project 12 challenge.

Yay me!

So December...oh how I love December.

I dubbed it stress free month and working in the industry that I work in it takes great strength to live by that mantra for the entire month.

It wasn't perfect by any means but it was perfect for me.

I didn't let  finding fabulous for less get under my skin, 

I let the kids tear apart gently look at all the ornaments on the Christmas Tree.

B and I bonded.

Grammy came for a visit.

I watched the excitement and anticipation of the big day through the eyes of my children and really tried to teach them the real meaning of Christmas.

They are still too young but I still felt good about it.

I hope your holidays were as magical as you wanted them to be.

Sooo now the sketch:

And my take on it:

(Click to enlarge)

Happy it is done.

Happy to have a ton of pictures with B in them this month.  And by a ton I mean I had more than a dozen to choose from .

Happy to have a nice pic of my two Moms.

Happy enough with this project that I am going to do it all over again!

As always thanks for stopping by.

Nighty Night.

hi!

It is one of his favorite words.

He says it with such passion, you can't help but smile.

Love this kid.

One Little Word

Balance.

At home,

At work,

With my partner,

With my children,

With myself.




That is my word for 2011.

You can read about it here, here, here , here and here.

Hello...

2011.

I can already tell you are going to be amazing.

I am not going to put too much presure on you,

But I can just feel that you are going to go my way.

Thank you 2010 for showing me the way.