... story worth telling.

Christmas Photos

2012-01-04T12:58:00.000-05:00

Had a chance to take some photos of my little sis and her boyfriend last month - very fun, even though it was super cold outside, and Henry kept trying to get in the shots with them. They framed a bunch to give as Christmas presents.

Here's some of my faves:

Hey, how'd that kid get in there?

Santa is Skipping our House

2011-12-15T20:32:00.031-05:00

This is what Henry's getting for Christmas:

And that's it.

I thought it was a great idea: get the kid one big gift that he will love and play with every single day. His grandmas, aunts, and uncles will get him a ton of other stuff, and really, how much can one kid play with anyway?

But, guys, you would not believe the backlash I am getting for "only" buying my kid one present for Christmas.

Here are some responses, unedited, with what I *wish* I had responded in italics.

From a co-worker, "Oh, just one present from Mom + Dad, and then others from Santa?" Uh, no. Just one present. By the way, my kid's not even two years old. He doesn't have a clue who Santa is.

Same co-worker, "You might be able to get away with that now, but not when he gets older and wants more." Hi, newsflash, I'm the parent, I'll decide how much I'm going to spend on my kid and how many presents he receives. HE is not in charge of ME. Maybe that's how your house runs, but I'm trying to teach my kid that you don't get everything you want.

From a family member, "We only got one present each when we were little, but that's because we were POOR." (Emphasis his). Yes, I'm aware that we CAN buy more for our kid. But a) I'm not going to waste money on junk that will break or get donated in less than a year, and b) P + I are pretty responsible with our money, which is why we're as financially stable as we are. Not that you would really have any idea about my finances, because I NEVER talk about them, and you really don't know anything other than we make enough to pay our bills.

From pretty much every other person I talk to, "Really? Just ONE present? Are you sure?" Yeah, I'm pretty sure. It's not like it's a life or death situation, people. Had I known it would cause this much freaking conversation, I would never have opened my mouth in the first place.

All of these questions have made me wonder: why, exactly, are parents getting kids EVERYTHING they want anyway? I remember Christmases at our house growing up being a pretty big affair. I clearly remember my dad telling my mom, "They can only play with one thing at a time!" And I definitely remember quickly losing interest in eighty percent of those toys within about two months. Did I really need that extra Barbie? Of course not! And don't get me started on the board games! I love board games, but we must have had over a hundred. And we were WAY worse off than what P + I are right now. What in the world were my parents thinking?

And what are all these other parents thinking? Now, I'm not trying to be a total grinch about Christmas - I love Christmas. I will also love paying off my credit card bill in full come January, and I wonder how many of the "buy everything they ask for" parents can say that.

P + I did put a LITTLE thought into this decision. Here's our reasoning, not that I should need a G.D.* reason for how we spend our money:

We have a smallish house. It's certainly not an apartment, and I've totally lived in smaller, but for Pete's sake, toys take up a ridiculous amount of room. And of course he's not content to keep them in his room. There must be at least two toys in every single room of the house at any given time - I'm pretty sure he's OCD like that.

He certainly isn't deprived when it comes to toys. He's good, don't worry. We have plenty. In fact, we still have two boxes from Christmas LAST YEAR that we haven't even opened. He's not going to grow up and think his parents didn't love him because he didn't have 25 presents to open Christmas morning.

Toys cost money. Money I'd much rather put toward the mortgage so we can help him pay for college someday. Or buy a car for him.

His current favorite toy is a tie between wooden spoons and anything in the plastic containers drawer. (Hence the choice of a kitchen - I'm not as dumb as I look. What this kid needs is a distraction while Mama's cooking.) Blankets and socks are a close third and fourth.

He doesn't NEED more toys. He doesn't even really WANT more toys. It's called being RESPONSIBLE.

Bottom line, Santa can skip our house. Mama has it covered. And I probably won't have time to make cookies anyway, since I'll be too busy wrapping the kid's ONE GIFT.

*Phillip + I are trying to watch our language.

Image from here.

Christmas Tree Hunting

2011-12-12T20:38:00.032-05:00

For the last couple of years, Phillip's extended family has been tagging their trees in a big family event at a local tree farm. We haven't gone, partly because sometimes I like to do stuff on our own, and partly because I loved going up to a nursery in Smyrna to pick out our tree and see all the ornaments and lights. But after last year's disastrous tree hunting exercise (at a more local place that I won't name, but it was bad), we decided to give it a go.

And I'm so glad we did. We were the only ones on the farm, it was a gorgeous day, and Henry had a blast running through the trees and chasing the (surprisingly tame) rabbit. I got some great pictures of the kid, and we even took a not - quite - so - hot picture of the family. We so rarely get all three of us in a photo, so that was a super special moment for me.

Not to mention the tree we picked was amazing, and looks so fantastic in front of our windows. We went a bit smaller this year, just shy of 10 feet, but I really think we've found the perfect size.

Me and Phillip

Watching the rabbit with Daddy (who Henry calls Diddy, which I find hilarious)

Henry with his Uncle Chris

Running, AKA our Christmas card photo this year

The whole family in front of our tree

Do you do a real or artifical tree? Is yours a big one like ours?

**December Daily - I am doing it, I just haven't gotten around to printing the pictures or uploading to my blog recently. Plus, I just finished my very last scrapbook page for 2010, which means my album is full and I need a new one for 2011. I managed to fit '08, '09, and '10 in one big one. My plan for DD is just a 4x6 paper album that I bought on Etsy, plus a few things I had laying around, plus some not-so-daily pictures. I'm just doing "holiday" items this year. So a "tree hunting" pic will go in, even though we actually did this before Thanksgiving.

Halloween

2011-11-13T14:00:00.000-05:00

Just thought you should see the cutest little airplane on the block:

Always with the fruit snacks . . .

Drive-throughs for Everyone!

2011-11-11T23:11:00.001-05:00

Do you remember those writing prompts when you were in school? Things like, what do you want to be when you grow up? And, if you could have one superpower, what would it be?

Or, my favorite, what if you were mayor/governor/president for the day?

I'm taking the challenge. As official queen of my local 50-mile radius, I am hereby declaring that every place of business shall have a drive-through, or suffer the ridicule of me spray-painting a giant frowny face on the side of your building.

Here's why: I have a two-year old. Now I don't know if you have or have ever had a two-year old, but the worst part about a kid in a carseat is getting them IN and OUT of the carseat ALL THE FREAKING TIME.

It's completely obnoxious. I mean, what happened to the good ol' days when you could just leave your kids in the car when you ran in for a six-pack? (Joking! I'm sort of joking!)

Last Sunday, I was heading over to mom's for a quick visit/get the heck out of my house errand with Henry. I wanted to get a newspaper, just to check out the sales circulars, as we're shopping for a new dishwasher (which is an entirely different rant). I had to unbuckle Henry, carry all 27 pounds of him into the gas station, grab a paper, wait in line for the little [bad word] who cut in front of me, and finally pay my $1.50 for the Sunday paper.

[I'm trying to limit my language. For the kid.]
Oh, wait, then I had to bring him back to the car, throw him in, and re-buckle him for the 7 minute ride to Mom's house.

All of this hassle would have been saved if only the Royal Farms had a drive-through.

It's not so bad in summer, but on days like today, when I would be on the receiving end of major frowny faces if I didn't put a jacket on my kid, I have to put on his jacket before we get out of the car. And then take it off again when we get back in, because, like me, Henry will sweat his little tush off if he wears his jacket for the whole ride home.

And then there's the stroller situation. Getting a stroller in and out of the car is a major pain in the you-know-where, especially when you have MY kid, who is not exactly thrilled about being moved from one contraption that controls his movement to a DIFFERENT contraption that also limits his flailing about. Sure, WalMart + Target have shopping carts for me to put the kid in, but what about the pharmacy? And yes, I am aware that many pharmacies have kindly installed a drive-through in this day and age for the old people picking up their prescriptions - you know, the old geezers who shouldn't be driving anyway, for the love of pickles.
But that's only for prescriptions! What about when I really need some tissues? Or diet/crack pills? Or a PAPER? Or sudafed? I don't want to have to drag my poor little kid out in the cold because his mom is cranky and wants her sales circulars, for Pete's sake. I just want the convenience of never having to leave my car. Or put on a coat.

Or pants.

Just kidding about the pants!

Sort of. That would be sweet. I'd just cover up with a blanket so the pervs working the drivethrough wouldn't be able to see my mom panties (you know, not quite granny panties, but not exactly the type of underwear you imagined yourself wearing at age 26).

First order of queenhood accomplished, I would then set my sights on free daycare for everyone! Because, damn, childcare is expensive.

Blankets

2011-09-06T09:41:00.000-04:00

Do other kids wrap themselves up in blankets like this?

H seems to find it absolutely hysterical.

Week in the Life

2011-08-07T11:22:00.000-04:00

I followed along with Ali Edward's Week in the Life project again during the last week in July. It's the first time I've done the project during the summer, and I totally loved it. For one, my pictures were a lot better because we were able to spend so much time outside.

I just ordered my pics (seconds ago!) and I have a super solid plan of how my album is going to come together using some 8x8 and divided page protectors. To make the project faster, I didn't edit ANY of the pictures. Maybe when I look back at this week in 3 or 4 years, I'll see how much better my photography has gotten. Maybe.

Here's a few snapshots from our life, July 24-31, 2011:

As soon as my prints come in the mail, I'm going to be cutting and putting my album together! So excited. Anyone else?

Engagement Photos

2011-07-10T11:41:00.013-04:00

Last month, I took engagement photos for my sister. I was super excited to take pics of someone who wasn't Henry, and also a bit nervous. Worried that they wouldn't turn out very good.

But then I figured, hey, you get what you pay for. And she wasn't paying me at all. See ya, pressure.

We took pictures at the restaurant where they met and at a local pond. Here's a few of my faves:

Not too shabby for my first attempt at "real" photography. Plus, it really was fun. And now Rachel has some nice pictures to frame.

Also, I get to check off an item on my "30 before 30" list. As Henry would say, "Ahhhhh, yes."

May Monthly Recap

2011-07-08T06:30:00.001-04:00

I honestly can't believe I'm almost caught up on these updates. Seriously, I'm loving these projects so much that I might actually try to do some sort of 365 project next year.

Maybe. Probably not.

May was a busy month for us. Prepping for a bridal shower, Mothers' and Memorial Day celebrations, work conferences, and tons of playing outside.

Once again, I used a PageMaps sketch, but this one was found at Scrapbook & Cards Today, part of their "Project 12" series. I think I might use their June sketch as well. One of their examples actually used the little houses from the Life is Good/Echo Park collection, which I thought was super cute. Plus, when else am I going to use those little houses?

Love those little frame rub-ons (I got a huge pack of Studio Calico stuff on ebay).

And the mini - not my fave (that was definitely April) but decent! The Bo Bunny Olivia kit came with sheets of journaling-esque cards that I cut apart for my mini book. Also, I need to buy some more binding rings. I've gone through a ton of those things lately.

I really do like using journaling cards/spots for mini-books. These even were decorated as if they were layers of pages. Again, not my fave color scheme or motif, but I think the overall book works.

And this, ladies, is how I'm managing to stay "caught up" on my scrapping. Plus these little books are great places for all those photos that you like, but either don't fit on your regular pages, or are cute photos with no big story behind them.

April Monthly Recap

2011-07-06T11:36:00.000-04:00

How about a little recap of our April?

First, the layout. I've been pretty consistent about doing a double page 12x12 layout - and I'm normally getting some inspiration from the monthly PageMaps by Becky Fleck, which are pretty much my favorite sketches ever.

This one mainly uses the Bo Bunny Olivia collection, which I never would have picked out on my own, but it goes so well with the Life Documented kit and I'm so tickled that I got it before Coordinates Collections closed its virtual doors.

April's Monthly Mini is definitely my favorite so far. I used an old 7 Gypsies journal - it must have come in a kit at some point, because I can't remember buying it - but it has laid in my "minis" drawer for at least 3 years now. Why? Because it was boring manilla pages. Super boring.

So I fixed that. With mist. Oh, yeah. And used edge punches on all the pages for a little more visual interest.

My hands were blue for days.

And the inside pages:

This one was just so much fun to put together - I actually only used pictures from one day; the first day I got to take Henry to the playground. Very very fun.

March Monthly Recap

2011-07-02T15:04:00.001-04:00

First, I KNOW. Three posts in one week? It's cah-razy. Also, awesome.

My inspiration for this month's Monthly Mini were the great 4x6 journaling/title cards in the Simple Stories/Life Documented kit. I just printed out a bunch of pictures, adhered them back to back, added a couple of transparencies, punched holes, and BAM! Done.

Simple and cute. And perfect for the little basket on the sofa table.

I'm pretty sure I based this off a PageMaps sketch. Like 96% sure. Used 3x4 pictures (printed two each to a regular 4x6 print) and lots of little stickers from the kit.

When I uploaded this layout to Flickr (it was one of my May LOAD layouts), someone commented that "there was a lot going on, but it worked well together." And folks, that sentiment really sums up the month of March for my family.

Lots going on. But it all works well together.

February Monthly Recap Pages + Mini

2011-07-01T07:48:00.004-04:00

So glad February is over!

What? It's July? No effing way! Let's just pretend it's roughly March 10th, k? This will make a whole lot more sense that way.

Ha! Just kidding. If you're expecting this to make sense, then, Dude. You are in the wrong place.

(I find that I frequently use "Dude" in a sarcastic manner to express my utter disbelief in a situation. Also, P normally replies with an always hilarious and not overused AT ALL, "Dude, where's my car?" Seriously. He emailed it to me the other day.)

Bet you're glad I'm blogging again now! Woo to the HOO!

Sorry. February recap. (For January, and a quick explanation, see this post.)

First up, the Monthly Mini. This mini is actually made from 3 pages that I cut out of a Maya Road chipboard book with an exacto knife. I didn't need all 8 pages, and now I have 5 pages to use in another project. I painted the pages with some turquiose craft paint (the cheap-o stuff from Wally World) and punched holes with my crop-a-dile.

And yes, I totally had to spell-check "turquoise." Sort of tricky, that one.

I started my Monthly Mini with this cute little piece (life is sweet) from the Simple Stories Life Documented kit. Then (genius moment!) I traced that cute bracket shape four more times onto a piece of paper from the Echo Park Life is Good collection - the striped paper is the back of the pink paper shown below.

I used just four pictures from the same day for my February Monthly Mini - the first day that was warm enough for Henry to play outside for a bit. Also, the day I realized his shoes no longer fit his big feet. Grrr . . .

I just wrote my journaling around the pages, a few little lines to tell our story for the day. I think this is a good example of how flexible this project has been for me - if I wasn't doing the Monthly Mini, I probably would have just slapped these four pictures on a layout, which would have been totally fine, but not nearly as fun :)

I finished by painting a super thin layer of Modge Podge over the entire book, just to protect it a bit more, and because I HATED the feel of the paint. The glossy texture is so much nicer.

For my regular layout, I started with a bunch of 4x6 photos. I trimmed some of them just a bit, and created two 12x12 pages based on the same basic blocked design. Again, I used papers + embellishments from the Life Documented (Simple Stories) kit and Life is Good (Echo Park) paper pack, plus some light pink cardstock from my stash.

I didn't actually think we had done much in February, but as I went back through my Twitter + FaceBook posts I realized we really had. Lots of fun stuff in there.

I decided I'd use a 6x12 sheet from the Life Documented kit along with a 6x12 page protector. On one side, I wrote all of my journaling, and on the other, I included pictures from our wedding dress shopping trip for my sister.

So, really, I have a four-page layout for February.

I toyed with the idea of putting my "monthly" layouts in a separate album, but so far I'm just putting these layouts right into my regular 3-ring albums from American Crafts. So far, so good. I tend to keep my albums in "semi-chronological" order, i.e., they're sort of in order, but I'm not too worried about the specifics. January's page comes before February, but there's a bunch of stuff in the middle and I don't really care if those parts are in order.

Maybe in a couple days I'll update with March's pages and mini? They are DONE, just not POSTED.

And I'm working on April's mini right now. I LOVE IT.

Easter, AKA Trying to Take a Good Photo + Failing

2011-06-30T07:41:00.006-04:00

I'd like to know who gave H permission to move around ALL. THE. TIME. Seriously.

Case in point, this sequence of pictures from Easter (yes, in April. I know, I suck. Sorry). If you can't tell, I'm trying desperately to keep him out of the freshly mown grass before we go to church.

And then (finally!) a halfway decent shot. Although if I'm being perfectly honest, I kinda sorta like the ones where we're holding hands. Kinda. Lots.

Of course, we had to have Daddy join in the fun too.

Ah, here we go:

So handsome.

I'd love to share more, but apparently I haven't backed up my photos to flickr in two months. Guess what I'll be doing tonight? Oh, yeah.

Just a Tree

2011-04-12T10:54:00.002-04:00

cs_just_a_tree, originally uploaded by carabecca.

I love this layout. LOVE.

Journaling reads:

This is just a tree. Just an apple tree. Just the apple tree that Phillip was pruning when he asked me to marry him. And now it’s gone. Chopped down for wood to heat our home next year. And I’m not upset. Because all the love and commitment that this tree symbolized? I’ve got the real thing. I feel that love every day. I wake up + see that commitment. Our marriage is real + solid + tangible.

And this? This is just a tree.

January Monthly Recap

2011-04-11T15:44:00.000-04:00

I started playing along with Project Calendar Collections over at Coordinates Collections, and even though the site is closing, I'm going to continue with the monthly project. So far, it's really been a lot of fun.

Each month I'm doing a monthly recap in the form of a mini-book + a traditional layout to go in my 2011 album (this year I decided to do one album for the whole family, instead of a separate one for H).

My first Monthly Mini (yes, I've decided it will be capitalized) used supplies from the "Life Documented" kit by Memory Works and Echo Park's "Life is Good" collection. (You can get the Life Documented papers from a Memory Works consultant, but I've also found them at acherryontop.com.)

I used the papers to cover a 5x5 Maya Road book. I especially love the little calendar at the end - so cute.

More Echo Park + Life Documented for my album layout. I've noticed that whenever I put multiple photos on a page, I really like them to be very linear. I think I managed to sum up our month very nicely here!

So, why a layout and a mini-book? I love the idea of throwing all the minis into a basket on my living room hutch, but also really want the layouts in our family album. I have February done as well, and am working on getting pictures printed for March.

I'm Still Here.

2011-03-30T13:13:00.000-04:00

There are so many updates I need to share that I'm not really sure that this is going to make any sense at all.

First, Coordinates Collections is closing its doors after 5 years. I've been a subscriber for three years, a team member for over a year now, and on the Design Team for six months. It's been my home. I will miss it dreadfully. We're working on getting some sort of online group together to keep up the awesome camaraderie that exist on the boards + gallery right now. More on that later.

Second, I realize that's it's been quite a while since I shared anything scrap-related (or, you know, shared anything AT ALL) so here's my two favorite layouts I completed with the March kit for CC (sold out).

The little sister + P.

I had a hard time working with this kit at first. For Pete's sake, it's pink + purple! But I ended up getting projects out of it that I really like.

And another one. I'm kind of obsessed with 8.5x11 right now. Also totally obsessed with this picture (I got it put on a gallery canvas, too). And completely obsessed with this kid, who is running all over my house and constantly trying to climb into the bathtub.

Doesn't that just make your heart go pitter-patter? Me too :)

Last one. I actually blogged this conversation back when it happened, but it was just too good to NOT have in a scrapbook.

I'm going to try and share some of the layouts I did for LOAD soon. And yes, I completed it. And yes, by day 25 I was exhausted. But I'm totally signing up for May anyway. Because I'm crazy like that.

What else is new? I'm sick. Again. I feel like I've pretty much been sick all winter. Not since I had pneumonia at age 12 have I been this miserable this long. Maybe it's because it's supposed to be springtime right now, but it's still 35 degrees out.

What the hell, mother nature?

Also, I'm redoing my dining room and I bought my first actual piece of furniture last weekend. Everything is in the house was some sort of hand-me-down. I'm hoping to paint this weekend, but it depends how I feel. Right now, not looking too good.

I don't want you to think I'm a bad parent, but . . .

2011-03-09T09:26:00.000-05:00

Ever since H learned to walk, P + I are constantly stopping mid-sentence to say something like this:

Where's Henry? Where did he go? Aren't you watching him? I thought YOU were watching him?

That's right. We are the parents who can't keep track of our own kid. In our OWN HOUSE. He's too darn fast, I tell you.

Last night, he was carrying P's lunchbox - yes, my 28 year old husband carries a lunchbox to work EVERY. SINGLE. DAY. So H was carrying his daddy's lunchbox up and down the hall when suddenly, he wasn't.

Also, if you have a kid that is at that age that he/she should be walking, but isn't, just wait until they figure out they if they walk instead of crawl, they can CARRY STUFF WITH THEM. Oh, it's like the heavens just opened up the day H figured out that little gem. Now he's a big fan of the walking. With his hands full. Mostly of things that DO NOT BELONG TO HIM.

Also, I had to buy new mascara because H dropped mine in the toilet. Seriously.

So back to last night. H suddenly disappears. We find him (thanks to the dropped lunchbox) in the bathroom, because he's a boy, and the bathroom is, apparently, the best room in the whole house. Luckily, I wrangled him out of there before we lost anything else to the porcelain god.

I love my kid. It tickles me to death when I saw him toddling around the house. But I have to say, I am imagining all sorts of mischief. ALL SORTS.

In totally related news, we just bought a new lamp. Bet you can't guess who broke the old one, HENRY.

Red for Ryan

2011-02-25T11:30:00.001-05:00

Red for Ryan, originally uploaded by carabecca.

Earlier this week, one of the wonderful DT members at Coordinates Collections, Kim, lost her 7-year-old son to leukemia. His favorite color was red, and some of the members of the site are wearing red today in honor of him.

If you're the praying type, please consider a little prayer today for Kim and her family as they lay Ryan to rest.

Ten on Tuesday

2011-02-22T11:30:00.000-05:00

1. I'm 3/4ths of the way through LOAD 211. This has been the hardest one so far. The best thing about LOAD, in my opinion, is that I'm scrapping the "eh" photos. The ones that I know I want in my albums, but that aren't really as inspiring as other photos. Since I pretty much have 15-20 minutes every day to a layout, I can quickly get these on a page.

2. Henry cut his first molar, and Oh. My. God. Poor kid.

3. Henry is walking. Oh. My. God. Poor Mama. (The hardest thing right now is that he's not quite as good as he thinks he is, which is resulting in more bumps and bruises than my little heart can handle.)

4. The sneak peaks for April are up at Coordinates Collections. I am getting kit one + lots of extras. So excited for some blue!

5. Two weekends ago, we went wedding + bridesmaid gown shopping with my sister. Love her dress. Love our dresses. Very light and airy and pretty.

6. I had my first margherita in over 2 years. It was fabulous. I got halfway in and had to stop. Whoa.

7. Work kind of blows right now. Just super busy, to the point of being so overwhelmed that I can't even think straight.

8. Loving Pinterest. (I'm carabecca on there, too.) I have invites if anyone needs one. This is what I wanted Tumblr to be. Perfection so far.

9. Picked up a rotisserie chicken last night at the supermarket. I think we're going to start doing this once a week - so simple and only $4. Fed all three of us with meat to spare.

10. After a 70-degree day on Friday, I woke up this morning to 3 inches of snow. Seriously? SERIOUSLY?

LOAD11 - Silhouette

2011-02-14T15:38:00.001-05:00

LOAD11 - Silhouette, originally uploaded by carabecca.

Was I supposed to be updating this blog? Sorry, I've been busy with LOAD. Halfway through!

Also, my kid is walking now. Hello, trouble.

H + P on Father's Day 2010. Pieces from the July '10 kit at Coordinates Collections, plus a major amount of glimmer mist.

LOAD Day 3 - I Think Your Tractor's Sexy

2011-02-05T21:17:00.001-05:00

LOAD3 - I Think Your Tractor's Sexy, originally uploaded by carabecca.

My husband is a farmer. And I love that.

LOAD2 - Cutest Elephant Ever

2011-02-03T10:57:00.001-05:00

LOAD2 - Cutest Elephant Ever, originally uploaded by carabecca.

Today I was inspired by the cover of a book on ebay. Such a great, streamlined design. Feels very Cathy Zielske-ish.

And seriously. So cute.

LOAD Day 1 - Painted Toes

2011-02-03T10:55:00.001-05:00

LOAD1 - Painted Toes, originally uploaded by carabecca.

So, I'm participating in LOAD again. Because I'm crazy like that. Day 1!

My First Quarter-Century

2011-01-16T07:00:00.046-05:00

In honor of my 26th birthday tomorrow, I'm recording this list of of 25 things I've learned during my first 25 years here on earth.

1. When someone asks if you want to play strip poker, your answer should always, always be no.

2. When you're a teenager, everything seems like it's a crisis. Until there actually is a crisis. So chill out, but never take anything for granted.

3. My mom is way cooler now than she was when I was growing up. So are my sisters.

4. No matter how delicious those Long Island Iced Teas are, drinking four of them is a bad idea and you will regret it the next day.

5. It's okay to cry over a boy, but not for too long. There will always be another (better) boy.

6. It is okay to stop thinking about the future and just enjoy the present. Plans are great, but not if you're so busy planning that you miss living.

7. It's okay to let people go. If they're toxic to your life now, they're still going to be toxic to your life tomorrow, next month, and five years from now.

8. I look bad with bangs. You know, the straight across, chunky bangs? Yeah, not for me. Learned this the hard way. Repeatedly.

9. When it comes to friends, it's quality, not quantity.

10. Getting married is nice. BEING married is amazing.

11. It's better to buy one expensive item of clothing that will last for years than ten cheap items that fall apart the second time you wash them.

12. For Pete's sake, if shrimp make you sick EVERY SINGLE TIME you eat them, you're probably allergic. Stop eating them. Duh.

13. Four-inch stilletos are gorgeous. And you are never, never, never going to wear them. So save your money.

14. If you are an emotional drunk, it's not a good idea to drink when you're upset with your boyfriend. Tears will ensue.

15. Don't buy anything with cap sleeves. Seriously.

16. Your first job doesn't have to be THE job. But try to stay away from selling houses JUST AFTER the peak in the housing bubble. On 100% commission. Yikes.

17. Some secrets are meant to be told.

18. Working out does not give you the excuse to eat 4 slices of pizza. Your thighs will hate you for this later.

19. Be kind to everyone. If you can't be kind, lie.

20. If you think you can do something, you can do it. The reverse is also true.

21. A good first impression will only get you so far. Be prepared to back it up by taking action.

22. Snow is so much more awesome when you're a kid and don't have to drive anywhere.

23. For Pete's sake, buy some sensible black shoes already.

24. Never let any one thing become your whole world - leave room for new stuff all the time.

25. Age is just a number. You can act 8, 21, or 50 at any given time. All are fabulous.

Coordinates Collections Blog Hop

2011-01-15T13:58:00.001-05:00

The January Blog Hop at Coordinates Collections is all about CIRCLES. I actually scraplifted MYSELF with this layout, using a project I completed last October that I just loved.

The new layout uses December's Vintage Attic kit - love that woodgrain paper; I've totally been hoarding it. I've had a hard time scrapping our vacation photos, because I just have SO MUCH TO SAY. But I figured hey, I'll just jump right in :)

Make sure you check out the blog hop POST to see all the other participants. Entries are due the 20th for a random drawing.

Amish Quilt

2011-01-05T13:27:00.006-05:00

Just wanted to share a couple layouts I made using the Amish Quilt kit at Coordinates Collections. This first layout is just SO Henry right now. The boy LOVES getting into my kitchen drawers. This one is based off the January single page sketch. (And I'm just now realizing how incredible awful this picture is. Need to take a different one.)

And, oh. This just kills me. Look how sweet he is! I used mostly the Cosmo Cricket Circa 1934 line for this one.

December Daily '10 Wrap-Up

2011-01-03T16:19:00.000-05:00

I finished my album today (way ahead of my personal schedule, woo-hoo!).

To get the basic idea of what I was doing (and see my cover) check out this post. Most of the time, I covered the back of a roughly 4x6 photo with patterned paper and journaled on the back of that day's envelope.

Sometimes I used a journaling sheet.

Sometimes I used these fun address labels that came with the envelopes.

For this picture of our tree, I just flipped the picture over . . .

And journaled right on the back.

For three of the days, I wrote letters to Phillip, Henry, and to myself. Those were the days that I didn't have any pictures :( But to be fair, I did the letter thing last year and it was SO COOL reading the letter I wrote to Henry (then known as Tator Tot, aka the baby still in my belly).

I included this picture just because it's cute. Here's Henry, wearing his new hoodie (sort of) and unwrapping a present (sort of).

I've already decided that next year I'm doing a non-numbered version, more of a holiday book like Elise Blaha did this year. I want it to be completely non-stressful.

How is your December Daily coming? Post pics!

These are a Few of my Favorite Tweets . . .

2010-12-31T13:50:00.001-05:00

Wow, so this is what a year in tweets looks like! Trust me, there were MANY MANY more, but I narrowed it down to the top few for each month.

January

1/9 – Hey, acid reflux: you can suck it.

1/13 – I love the expression on people's faces when they ask when I'm due, and I say, "Today."

1/20 – And, I'm staying! Getting induced today. Tator Tot, I am so excited to meet you.

1/21 – Welcome to the world, Henry Jacob.

1/22 – I am so in love with this kid already. I honestly can't believe he's really all mine.

February

2/8 – I love that the two feet of snow we got this weekend forced Phillip to work from home. He has his laptop on his desk and Henry on his lap.

2/10 – Still in the midst of a blizzard. Or, as the meteorologist called it, Snowpacolypse 2010.

2/11 – This is the 5^th outfit I've put on Henry today. This boy could pee through iron.

2/25 – Hubby to me last night: I think Henry's wet. His level of anger just increased.

March

3/1 – H pooped on me yesterday. ON ME. As in, so much his diaper couldn't handle it and it ended up on my lap. Not cool, baby, not cool.

3/9 – Told mom I couldn't leave H with her while I shopped b/c I didn't have any nipples with me. Bottle nipples, but still, that sounded weird.

3/12 – Earlier today, when I should have been cleaning, I chose to hold Henry on my chest while he napped for 2 hours. Definitely the right choice.

3/17 – Is it crazy that I know EXACTLY what's on tv at 4 in the morning?

April

4/3 – H likes to bang his head into my head. Pretty sure one of us is going to end up with a broken nose. If it's me, I'm getting a nose job.

4/3 – Holy cow. Henry rolled over. Twice, just in case I thought the first time was a fluke.

4/12 – Last day of maternity leave is tomorrow. Excuse me while I cry.

4/14 – We made it. H and I are home, together, just like it should be.

4/20 – What am I going to do? Working all 5 days this week, and only 3 pairs of pants that fit.

4/28 – H and I had a difference of opinion on what constitutes morning. I think it's 5:45, he things it's 3. So exhausted.

May

5/6 – Just realized it was a year ago this past Tuesday that we found out we were pregnant. Can't believe it's been a year already! Love you, H.

5/30 – Phillip + I are at a wedding. Well, he's at a wedding. I'm sitting in the car pumping. First date night w/o Henry.

June

6/4 – H fell asleep by himself last night AND slept through the night for the third night in a row. AWESOME.

6/4 – Paying my sister to clean my house? $30. Coming home to a clean house? Priceless.

6/9 – H rolled the other day, then looked up at me, like, what? Aren't you going to applaud?

6/14 – Just as we were about to leave this morning, H spit up all over both of us. And then laughed in my face. Thanks, kiddo.

6/17 – I just saw a tow truck towing another tow truck.

6/21 – It makes sense that today is the longest day of the year, because it is turning into a LONG. FREAKING. DAY.

July

7/3 – Completed Week 1 Day 1 of the Couch to 5K. Good grief I am out of shape.

7/12 – I love that I have a supportive hubby. Just called to confirm that he would be home early to watch H so I could go running J

7/12 – And I'm using the term "running" pretty loosely here.

7/13 – H likes to grab my face with both hands when I lean in to kiss him. Love that.

7/19 – I'm going shopping for a bathing suit. Prayers are appreciated.

7/31 – You know what sucks? Stretch marks. Thanks, H.

August

8/4 – I must be batshit crazy to run in this weather. Somebody tweet me in 30 minutes to make sure I haven't died.

8/23 – Okay, can my customers SENSE that I'm getting ready to go on vacation? Have had over $3M in requests THIS MORNING. Normally great, but NOW?

8/23 – Co-worker's teenage daughter told me today that she "loved how pretty I was and how I always dressed so nice." Yes, I'm blushing.

8/24 – I will not cuss at clients. I will not cuss at clients. I will not cuss at clients. I will not cuss at clients. I will not cuss at clients.

8/25 – I definitely forgot makeup this morning. I *may* have forgotten deodorant. And I had a nail in my tire, which means my car is at the shop, which means I can't even drive somewhere to BUY deodorant.

8/29 – We are home from our beach vacation with a 7-month-old. And we are exhausted. Happy, but exhausted.

September

9/1 – Super productive today, which hopefully makes up for sucking at life yesterday.

9/3 – Have I mentioned we're throwing a labor day picnic for 50 people on Sunday? Yes, the weekend after our beach trip. Yes, I'm an idiot.

9/4 – Eating at Chick Fil A and THEN running is a bad idea. Ask me how I know.

9/10 – Who knew that one little nose could produce SO MUCH snot?

9/10 – So, H is COMPLETELY IRATE when I wipe the snot dripping down his face, but he is PERFECTLY FINE with wiping on my shirt. Awesome.

9/20 – I'm glad someone (Henry) finally appreciates my mad dance skills.

October

10/2 – And I'm done. First 5K. Complete.

10/5 – Is it weird that I brought scrapbooking supplies to work? They're sitting under my desk, just waiting for my lunch break.

10/9 – Oh, now H has learned to pull himself up. There will be no stopping him now.

10/15 – Running today for the first time in a week. Nothing to do w/ me being lazy + everything to do with this dirty little word: harvest.

10/26 – Have I mentioned that I'm not a fan of the treadmill. Not. A. Fan.

10/31 – I think I may have overdosed on chocolate. Please tell me I'm not alone.

November

11/12 – Ever gone to work and realized you shouldn't have worn a black bra with that shirt? I mean, it's never happened to me. Definitely not today.

11/14 – P: What are you eating? Me: cough drop. P: Oh, you smell like old people.

11/17 – H and I have a system. I fold a piece of clothing, he pulls it off the pile + throws it in the floor. Such a good helper!

11/19 – Not only did I trip + fall in front of my boss today, but I just missed my mouth + spilled soda all over myself.

11/20 – He just discovered the joy of pulling tissues out of the box one by one.

11/21 – H stood up on his own today for about 5 seconds. Then we all collapsed into giggles. It was wonderful.

11/30 – Sister in college: I need a job. I'm poor. Me: You think you're poor? Try having a mortgage. And a kid. And a husband who farms and hunts.

December

12/1 – Huh. My tights are too big, and they keep falling down. This is awkward.

12/1 – Does Spanx make leggings? I need a pair of those.

12/2 – Working from home in my recliner. Definitely not awful.

12/3 – Just a general reminder: whoever you are, whatever you want, you deserve it. You are awesome.

12/7 – I have spent all night in the recliner with H. Notice I didn't say "slept." 3^rd night of this. I'm a little grumpy.

12/9 – I scrapbook because I have a serious case of CRS.

12/11 – I've decided that I'm totally cool with my house not being clean for the next two years. That's the last stage of grief, right? Acceptance?

12/13 – I can finally breathe through my nose again. I'd forgotten how nice it feels.

12/18 – Shoppers, beware! I'm wearing my kick-ass boots today.

12/20 – P is interviewing RIGHT NOW for his dream job.

12/25 – P + I are about to throw a Christmas hissy fit re: toy assembly.

12/29 – I haven't worn heels in a LONG time. I'm pretty sure my feet are getting ready to cut themselves off so they can kick me in the head.

Happy New Year's Everyone!

Great Expectations?

2010-12-28T10:07:00.000-05:00

You know what's irritating? When someone doesn't update their blog. Really burns my britches.

Oh, wait. I don't update my blog. Ignore the previous comment.

I know this sounds ridiculous, but there is just SO MUCH GOING ON RIGHT NOW. I know, everyone has a lot going on in December. But honestly? I always imagined myself as this sweet little domestic goddess, working full time, taking care of H, decorating my house for Christmas, getting handmade cards sent out by December 1, etc.

Basically, I was totally delusional. For example, my "holiday" cards are currently sitting on my desk, in various states of doneness. And they are totally photo cards printed from Shutterfly. Also, notice how they are now "holiday" cards instead of "Christmas" cards? Yeah, that's because I'm hoping to have them out by New Year's. Or Epiphany. Or Valentine's Day. Whatever.

I actually drove H to daycare yesterday, on snowy roads, just so that I could drive back home and spend my vacation day doing "mama" stuff.

My resolution for the new year? Lower my expectations.

*Hope everyone had a wonderful December. Even though it was a tad bit stressful (and I'm secretly glad it's almost over), we really did love this year.

**Happy Birthday M + J Cabrera!

Coordinates Collections December Blog Hop

2010-12-20T09:24:00.000-05:00

The challenge for this month was the "make it sparkle."

Now, let's be honest. I'm not really all that sparkly. And I have a boy. Glitter doesn't get used too much around my house.

But - I pulled out some glittery alpha stickers + my Ranger mini-mister (with Perfect Pearls inside) and created a "shimmery" layout. Glitter ALWAYS goes with snow. And, man, did we have some snow last year!

Make sure you head over to the CC BLOG and check out all the other blog hop participants.

Love these pics.

2010-11-23T08:52:00.000-05:00

I'm so tickled with our first ever set of family photos. Our photographer (wonderful, by the way, if you're in the Delaware area) posted a few of them on her blog today. There are even more wonderful shots in the previews she sent us. Now we just have to decide which ones to use for our Christmas cards . . .

Family Portraits

(We're the 5th-10th pictures on this post!)

Pumpkin Patch

2010-11-22T08:24:00.000-05:00

I'm pretty sure this a required photo op once you have kids. The pumpkin patch.

First, you should know that it was pretty chilly. Also, we took Phillip's truck instead of my car. My car, where I leave Henry's jacket/gloves/hat at all times. Mama Fail.

So H is wrapped up in Phillip's down vest. Yes, he looks a little silly, but he was VERY warm. And I only felt a little bit guilty.

Doesn't it look like I'm holding a blanket with feet?

H was totally enthralled with the pumpkins. We took this one home.

And, seriously, do these two know how to pose for a picture, or what? My boys are awesome.

Coordinates Collections Blog Hop!

2010-11-19T08:51:00.000-05:00

It's time for another Blog Hop! This month's challenge was to use fabric or burlap to add texture to your page.

(Actually, it was to create a FALL-THEMED page with fabric or burlap. Clearly, my reading skills are not up to par. Oh, well. I made a page that I love, so I'm sharing anyway.)

I chose to use canvas as my fabric - these cute little rectangles are available in the CC Store. The package actually contains three pieces, but there are two sheets sewn together for each piece. I just ripped 'em apart.

I sprayed my canvas with Sunshine + Cosmos mist, and attached it to my page with Mod Podge. I'm not really sure how well that's going to hold up, but it's what I had on hand. We shall see.

I also used pieces from September's Preppy Boy kit and August's Cool by the Pool kit. I'm pretty sure the flower is from LAST YEAR'S December kit. I know. But hey, it's on the page now! The little letters are some old Making Memories alphas.

Make sure you check out the CC blog post to see all the other participants!

December Daily 2010

2010-11-15T20:59:00.000-05:00

I had such a great plan for my December Daily this year. I bought a little 4x6 album (actually, I bought 3) and I was planning on using Ali Edward's 25 Days of December Photo Overlays on top of a picture each day, sometimes with journaling right on the picture, sometimes with journaling on a separate 4x6 card on the opposite page.

It was a good, solid, simple plan. I liked it. I figured that I really didn't have time to put together a book and keep it up like I have the past two years (see '08 here and '09 here). Plus, I really liked the idea of a little tiny album. Seemed easy + fun.

But then my husband and I went out to eat Sunday night at the Olive Garden (delicious, thank you for asking). And I convinced him to run into A.C. Moore with me. I just wanted to look at the border punches! That's it, I swear.

Until I saw these bad boys. Basically an envelope kit from Making Memories' Noel line, which conveniently coordiates with the Making Memories line from last year. They are way prettier in person - very deep, vintage-y Christmas colors. I LOVED.

I decided that I'd make an entire book out of envelopes. Still seemed easy, but a little more creative. Problem? Only 20 envelopes included in the pack. I ripped one apart to use as a template, and created 5 more envelopes, with linings. (Yes, I was feeling pretty proud of myself.)

Pretty, right? I love them all stacked up like this. I created a quick cover from some chipboard pieces and more papers from the Noel line.

My plan for the envelopes is to just slide 4x6's right into them, like so:

I'll either journal right on the photo before printing, or I'll adhere cardstock to the back of the photo and journal on the back. I might even use some of the labels that came with the envelopes for journaling, like I used on the front cover.. I'm leaving my options pretty open at this point :)

So glad I found these envelopes. I am super excited for December now.

Mini-book - Just Us 3

2010-11-14T20:52:00.001-05:00

I am loving mini-books lately. Mostly because they are quick, and I feel like I actually accomplished something!

I made this one using the November Just Desserts kit at Coordinates Collections - very fun kit with lots of artsy papers from Pink Paislee/House of Three and My Mind's Eye.

I loved the scallops and the glitter on the diecut MME sheet, but cut it the wrong way when trying to make a layout. No biggie, inspired me to put together this quick mini instead.

I just rotated the pages so the scallops all lined up. And yes, in hindsight, it would have made more sense to have the scallops on the right and the TOP, instead of the right and the BOTTOM. Oh, well. Maybe next time.

I used a Japanese bookbinding to keep everything together. Very easy + looks super streamlined. You can find a ton of easy directions by Googling, but it's pretty much just as easy as it looks.

All of the pictures are of my sisters + me over the past two years. I just printed them out 3x4 on matte photo paper (no fingerprints!) and added extra pieces from the kit + some frames I cut with my cricut.

The only journaling I did was to add the dates. I know, I know! But to me, this book is just about the pictures. And the fun I had making it.

Tonight I'm working on my December Daily album. I was going to just do a 4x6 photo album, inserting pictures and journaling cards as I went, but I saw some Making Memories products at A C Moore tonight that made me go in a different direction. I think it's going to be pretty cool. And still simple. All I'm saying is, envelopes.

Coordinates Collections November kit

2010-11-06T17:17:00.006-04:00

The DT Gallery over at Coordinates Collections is up! I loved the kits this month :)

First, my assigned kit, Festive Feast. This included products from two companies I've never used, Lily Bee Designs and Imaginisce. Pretty happy with how all of these turned out.

Love all the hearts in the woodgrain paper on this one, just had to stitch on them:

Henry's first experience with "real" food. Computer journaling, which is very much out of my comfort zone, but I just had SO MUCH TO SAY.

A quick little mini-book - I'll share more about this at the end of the month:

I'm calling this my "leftovers" layout. Lots of bits and pieces remaining from other layouts:

Dude, this layout captures Henry's personality perfectly. The pictures that say, "Hi Mama! Look at me! OK, I'm bored with you. Back to checking out stuff on the couch."

And two quick little cards. Yes, I am a little obsessed with making paper flowers lately. Why do you ask?

A Letter to Me, at 15

2010-11-05T10:20:00.000-04:00

Dear Cara,

As the older, been-there-done-that version of you, I'd like to impart some words of wisdom.

Freshman year is hard. Not the school part, but the social part. Don't leave your old friends behind just because you think your new, older friends are cooler. If you already have, don't worry. Your old friends will be there when you need them.

Your first high school boyfriend is a douchebag. Do not waste your tears on him.

Your second high school boyfriend? Yeah, he's the one. Seriously. Hold on tight, though, it's going to be a bumpy ride.

You are way more beautiful than you think. And you are the perfect weight. Trust me, 8 weeks after you give birth you will remember wearing a size 3 and laugh hysterically at the pants you're wearing now.

You can lie to your parents all you want, but they find out more than you think, and way more than you would like them to know. Especially Mom. She is way smarter than you give her credit for being.

Spend more time with Dad. Make sure he knows what he'll be missing. He will screw up more than you thought possible.

Your sisters are less annoying than you think. They both turn out pretty cool, too. Actually, they're pretty amazing.

Don't be shy. You'll learn years later that people thought you were a snob because you didn't talk to them. Be friendly. It's okay. You judge yourself more than anyone else is judging you.

No one wants to be the girl who drinks too much. You cannot hold your liquor. Keep that in mind, especially in the next few years.

You will think your (our?) parents are the worst, most strict parents in the world. Although it pains me to say it, they REALLY DID have your best interests at heart. Those kids who were allowed to do anything? Potheads. Burnouts. Arrested. Yeah, really.

Most of all, I want you to know that I think you're pretty cool. You are fun, intelligent, and have a promising future ahead of you.

Basically, you rock. Try and remember that.

Love,

Older (but not too old!) Me

Halloween

2010-11-02T12:41:00.000-04:00

First, I'd like to point out that in the spirit of Halloween, I'm wearing my pumpkin shirt from last year, minus the Jack O'Lantern face.

Second, I dare you to tell me this isn't the cutest elephant you've ever seen in your life.

Seriously, awesome, right? The highlight of Halloween for me was the expression on H's face when I snapped that hat onto his head. You know, the expression that says, "Mama, you have got to be kidding me. What the hell are you making me wear?"

I'm pretty sure it's the same expression I gave my mom every time she dressed my sisters + me alike for Christmas. Yeah, we were that family.

November sneak peeks!

2010-11-01T09:51:00.000-04:00

Is anyone else in denial that it's November already? Yeah, me too.

The good thing is that the November kits are available for sale at Coordinates Collections. I ordered both kits this month, so how about a few sneak peaks before the DT gallery goes up on Friday?

This layout is using the Festive Feast kit - I think I may have about 6 smallish scraps of that kit left. Tore through it. Which is weird, because I was more excited about the other kit. But the fall colors were just gorgeous, and I found myself wanting more.

And then we have peaks of a layout I did with the Just Dessert kit. This kit had that cool Parisian Anthology paper in it, which I had a lot of fun playing with using mists + distress ink. Lots of bling, which I hardly ever use, but just loved this time.

It's not too late to get your kits!

**Halloween photos coming soon. Can we say ADORABLE?

Coordinates Collections Blog Hop

2010-10-20T11:42:00.000-04:00

Welcome to the 1st ever CC Blog Hop! DT Member Jolaine challenged everyone to do a layout with hidden journaling, something I had never actually done before. Most of my stories are just out there for everyone to read.

But I immediately knew there was one story that I would like to keep hidden, and I set off to make my first "hidden journaling" page.

The journaling is mainly how I feel about myself right now, and how I view myself verses how others see me. I'm at a point where I feel really good about myself, and I'm getting the confidence to share that with others, hence the title.

The photo is raised up on pop dots to allow the journaling spots to slip underneath.

See? Hidden.

And now, not so hidden. Yes, I just attached the journaling cards with a paperclip. It works well, and no one sees it anyway!

Make sure you check out all of the great projects, found on this post. And if you want to join in, you have until 11pm EST to post your project and link up to the CC Blog.

P.S. Tomorrow is a big day for me! H turns 9 months old, and P + I celebrate our 4 year anniversary. Holy cow.

P.P.S. Happy anniversary to my anniversary twin!

Mom of the Year Award

2010-10-14T08:57:00.000-04:00

This morning, as I'm sitting at the light, getting ready to cross the highway to go to work, I happen to look back in my rearview mirror. Guess what I saw?

Yep. Forgot to drop H off to daycare. I have NO IDEA what I was thinking. To be fair, I KNOW I wouldn't have left him in the car. I knew he was WITH me, but I guess I was just driving on autopilot and didn't realize we'd passed daycare 5 miles ago.

Mom of the Year, right here.

10 years - Still in Love

2010-10-13T12:49:00.002-04:00

Day 5 - 10 years - Still in Love, originally uploaded by carabecca.

ETA: I just realized that I already posted this layout. I'm going to blame that on H's teething/cold and my sleep deprivation/general stupidity. But I'm not taking it down, because I think the story is cute. Deal with it. Also, I really am totally in love with this layout, and for me, that justifies posting it twice.

Possibly my new favorite layout. I know I say that about every 3 months, but this time it's true!

Honestly? 10 years seems likes a really long time. THAT'S 40% OF MY LIFE. Crazy.

I don't know if I've ever shared this, but P asked me out on THE LAST DAY OF SCHOOL of my freshman (his junior) year. We were standing outside of our respective homerooms, waiting for the final bell, when he came up to me, asked me for my number, and asked me to go to the movies with him. Obviously, I said yes.

CONFESSION: I had NO IDEA who he was. My thought process at the time went a little something like this,"JUNIOR! HE'S A JUNIOR! JUNIOR! JUNIOR! HE CAN DRIVE!"

Shallow? Maybe, but I give myself a free pass because I WAS ONLY 15.

Long story short, it worked out :)

Also, the movie we saw? FREDDY GOT FINGERED. Yes. If you were unfortunate enough to see this movie, then you might remember that it was a) not funny, b) gross, c) possibly the worst date movie ever. P's just lucky I forgave him for his poor taste in flicks.

Yes, I was still using the Golden Rule kit from CC. Um, I may have made 8 layouts from that one kit. Not too shabby for $15.95! I just loved that Crate paper that I'm calling "pinwheel" but is actually called "geometry." I guess that makes sense, too.

Everything's Coming Up Golden . . .

2010-10-06T13:42:00.000-04:00

So excited to share the layouts I created with the October kit over at Coordinates Collections, "Golden Rule." Such a cute kit. Very fall-ish, old school colors.

You can see all the details in the DT Gallery. All those layouts, and I've still got kit pieces left. I have another layout almost complete on my desk, and a full sheet of cardstock left to make something else. I'm so glad I got to start with this kit - it is super awesome.

Coming soon - race report!

Sneak Peaks + LOAD 10/10

2010-10-04T09:20:00.000-04:00

I am loving working with the Golden Rule kit this month for Coordinates Collections. Just wanted to pop in with a sneak peak!

AND, I've also been scrapping for LOAD. Take a look at days 1-3:

All of the LOAD layouts use past kits from CC. The September kit (1st and 3rd layout) came with an entire 12x12 page of Sassafras border stickers. For a girl who doesn't really LOVE stickers, I have been using the heck out of those things. 4 stickers on the first layout and 5 on the last one. Hmm...

LOAD is here!

2010-10-01T08:42:00.000-04:00

I'm so pumped for LOAD this time around. I have a plan, I am loaded down with kits from CC, and I am pumped. I said I was pumped, right?

If you have NO IDEA what I'm talking about, LOAD is LayOut A Day, with Lain Ehmann. She hosts the challenge 3 times a year. I participated for the first time last February, and the whole experience was both difficult and totally freeing.

I actually finished + photographed my first layout this morning. Hey, when your kid is up, you're up! Unfortunately, it's been raining all morning (5 1/2 inches last night, holy smokes!) and therefore the light, is, uh, sucky.

But I love the layout. I've been playing around with the idea for a while, papers on my desk, papers pushed aside, journaling written in my notebook, and finally got everything together.

Everything is from the September Preppy Boy kit at Coordinates Collections. I mostly used stuff from the Sassafrass Lass Indie Girl Line for this one, with a few dangly things (what in the world are those called?) from Basic Grey.

Here's a close-up of the journaling:

I know there's a couple people here who are doing LOAD (ahem, Jess). Anyone else? I'd love to find you!

It's your world . . .

2010-09-30T09:18:00.000-04:00

Does anyone else still read the Sunday comics?

The Peanuts strip really caught my eye this past week. It's a reprint, obviously, originally printed in 1963. But, wow, what an awesome message. I love it.

Image from http://comics.com/peanuts/2010-09-26/

Super Fast + Easy

2010-09-23T16:11:00.000-04:00

And no, I'm not commenting on the Jersey Shore cast (ooh, burn!!).

I wanted to share two super quick weeknight meals that we've had recently. I'm not going to say I created them, but I will say that they are DARN GOOD when I make them.

Pork enchiladas - Slow-cook a pork tenderloin in just water all day long. Come home from work, shred the pork, mix with canned enchilada sauce + mexican cheese. Roll up in tortillas (6-8, depending on how much attention I'm paying to my portions of meat) and place in a 9x13 casserole dish. Pour more enchilada sauce on top and sprinkle with more cheese. Bake @ 350 for 25 minutes or until bubbly. SO GOOD. No, there aren't any measurements, because my version of cooking is, "Yeah, that looks right."

Barbecue burgers - Mix 1 pound of ground beef with about half a cup of barbecue sauce (please use Sweet Baby Ray's - you will not regret it!), half of cup of freshly shredded cheddar, and a couple teaspoons of ranch dip mix (the stuff that comes in the packet). Divide into four burgers + grill. Hello, deliciousness. And done in 15 minutes. Less if I actually remembered to thaw the meat the night before. Even less than that if Henry decides to stay put for more than 30 seconds at once.

Um, did you see the Coordinates Collections blog today? No? You should go check it out :)

Totally Random Wednesday

2010-09-22T07:09:00.062-04:00

1. I've become a runner. No, seriously. I'm not even sure what happened, but I blame the girl at work who has basically lost half a PERSON since she started running, and of course Cathy Zielske.

2. See that little widget on the side --> That's Daily Mile. And since I started running two months ago, I've tracked over 60 miles. Because if I've learned anything about myself in the past year, I NEED ACCOUNTABILITY.

3. I'm running a 5K in a week and a half. Not sure what I was thinking, but I've told several people I'm going to do it, so I'll basically look like a huge wuss if I back down now.

4. I'm an aunt! Sort of. My cousin had twins last week. I'm totally considering myself Aunt Cara. (They are both doing fairly well, by the way. One should be home today, and the other one might be able to come home Friday.) I'm pretty much in love with both of them already.

5. Speaking of babies, H is 8 months old today. EIGHT MONTHS OLD. I could be wrong, but I'm pretty sure I just had him a month ago, right? RIGHT?

6. H is crawling. Army crawling. He has decided that since he can very quickly get wherever he wants to go this way, there is simply no need to learn to ACTUALLY crawl. Stinker.

7. He's also eating "real" food. Bananas are the big favorite right now. Green beans are not.

8. I have officially lost all the baby weight. And I still look 4 months pregnant. Moms, is that little pouch EVER going to go away? (Feel free to lie and give me hope!)

9. I have BIG NEWS. But I can't share. Yet.

10. No, I am not pregnant. Even though that girl at the office thought maybe I was because I was hot and pale. Don't worry, I checked.

11. I'm signed up again for LOAD with Lain Ehmann. You can check it out HERE. I did this back in February when I was home with Henry, and loved it. Super excited to do it again, though I must have been high when I signed up because WHEN DID I THINK I WOULD HAVE TIME TO SCRAPBOOK EVERY DAY?

12. So here's the plan (you know how much I like a plan): I'm bring a Coordinates Collections kit and a few photos, along with scissors and adhesive, to work every day. And I'm going to scrap during my lunch break. Genius, right? I know.

13. Other fun stuff coming up in October? Our four-year anniversary. That's kind of a big deal. Yay us!

14. My husband applied for a life-changing job. As in, it's totally his dream job. The deadline isn't until the end of next week, so it will be a while before we hear if he got an interview, but our fingers + toes are crossed.

15. This is the first summer in I don't know how long that I actually managed to get a tan. But only on my arms. Because the only time I truly spend outside is when I'm running. Therefore, I have a perfect outline of a racer back running tank on my back. Beautiful.

16. I find I Tweet much more than I blog lately. Quick + easy.

17. I ordered a treadmill this morning - ya'll, it's going to get cold eventually. And once the time changes, it's going to be dark by the time I get home.

18. I also got a new credit card to pay for said treadmill. Decided that since I have super credit, one new credit card wouldn't make that much of a difference. It's interest-free for seven months, so I'm planning on paying payments on the treadmill. To be fair, it really is an investment.

19. And here's the problem with credit in this country. WAY TOO EASY. Within seconds, I was approved for a new credit card with a limit of roughly 15% of what I make in a year. Seriously? And we wonder why there is so much credit card debt? I'll never use that much, but that's because I'm tight. Some people would have that spent in two months.

20. I am PRAYING that the treadmill actually fits in our bedroom. Because I told P it would, and I'm not actually completely totally sure. His requirement was that he did not have to move much furniture. I'm thinking "much" might be in the eye of the beholder.

21. We're trying to get H into a good bedtime schedule, which quite honestly leaves me feeling as if I can't even breathe on my own at night. The good news is he's generally sleeping better at night.

22. The bad news is we are dealing with tears for about an hour every night. Totally blows.

23. I promise to be back later this week. Honestly.

Just keep swimming . . .

2010-09-14T10:54:00.000-04:00

I made these digital layouts about a month ago, but haven't shared them yet. Both use templates from the fabulous Cathy Zielske and a kit from Connie Prince.

I'm sorry, but that kid is ADORABLE. Just try to convince me otherwise.

Henry's Favorite Things

2010-09-03T17:53:00.001-04:00

Paper

Boxes

Plastic bowls

Cords

Curtains

Heating registers

Coffee tables

Electrical outlets

Spoons

Cardboard

Laundry (clean or dirty)

Bedsheets

Anything that has sharp edges

Anything that seems relatively dangerous/inappropriate

Notice that there aren't any toys on this list??

First Family Vacation

2010-09-02T12:22:00.000-04:00

First, thank you to Ali Edwards for introducing me to ohlife.com. I was "gently reminded" to write down my observations over our 4 day vacation to Kill Devil Hills in the Outer Banks, NC.

Here's a few highlights:

While driving through NC, we decided that the official state dessert must be fudge. Seriously, there are signs for fudge everywhere. Also, crabs are ridiculously cheap there.

H liked playing with his sand toys (on the sheet, not the sand. He eats EVERYTHING.) Did NOT like having his little toes dipped in the water. A little worried that this trip would be a total bust if he hated the beach.

After a pretty rough night of not sleeping, we decided to try "Stack 'Em High" for breakfast. Seriously, isn't that an awesome name for a pancake place? It looked like a little family-owned shop that had been there for 30 years, which is what I love. Tried to get H to eat his oatmeal here, but he was way too interested in everything around him.

Decided to try the pool since we know H likes that. Success! Had a lot of fun letting him "swim." Headed to the beach to try again while he was in a good mood. Woo to the hoo, he loved it! Not surprising, since it normally takes a few tries for him to really warm up to something. (Not people though, he's definitely a people person like his Daddy).

Out to the beach again. Phillip tried some boogie boarding while H and I played on the blanket. Even I got in the water up to my waist. Awesome. The water was so clear, and so warm. Nothing like the DE beaches. I think I could actually become a beach person if we keep going places like this. Back in the pool to rinse off, then time for another nap. P went fishing while H rested. No luck tonight!

Tried to go to a pizzeria for dinner, but someone (not that I'm pointing fingers, HENRY!) was pretty tired and cranky. Decided to get takeout and eat in the hotel. Kind of fun to just chill out and eat in bed. Only one day left!

Since H was still in a good mood, we headed down to the beach for a few pics down there as well. Hopefully they turned out good. Hopefully I don't look like a fat mom. If so, I'll just do what I always do: crop the heck out of the picture.

Time for a nap! I love that we are all taking a nap together during vacation. And good grief, we need it. H wears us out sometimes.

LOVE that our hotel door was right over the dune. And wow, was that dune difficult to climp up while holding H. Jeesh. Thank goodness I've been running, or I never would have made it.

We ate dinner at a place I picked, PigMan's Barbecue. SO GOOD. I totally kicked ass with the food choices for this trip. And with absolutely no research! I just knew I wanted to try some NC barbecue. And NC, you did not disappoint! Perfectly sweet and vinegar-y. Best pulled pork sandwich I've ever had.

Decided to head out to the beach one last time. Phillip wanted to do some fishing (and actually caught a fish!!), and H and + I just sat on the boogie board and watch the waves come in. Perfect ending to the vacation.

Internet Friends

2010-08-25T10:07:00.001-04:00

So, last night my husband and I were talking, and I said something along the lines of, "Well, so-and-so does this."

"Who?" he asks.

"You know, so-and-so. I've told you about her before."

"Wait, is that one of your INTERNET FRIENDS?"

Oh. My. God. Ya'll, he totally used air quotes. And the tone he used, well he might as well have been saying IMAGINARY FRIENDS.

He then proceeded to tease me (all in good fun, because that's the kind of relationship we have).

"Does she even exist? Have you ever seen a picture? Maybe she's actually a serial killer!"

He was totally relentless. And while we laughed about it (because at 9:30 at night, using only my blackberry, I actually COULDN'T find a picture of this chick), it led me to wonder.

Are internet friends really friends? I guess what I mean is, do you clarify between types of friends? When I say, my friend showed me this, should I have to specify that it was (gasp!) an internet friend?

(Also, who else thinks that the air quotes were totally unnecessary? Yeah, me too.)

P.S. How completely biased are these responses going to be, considering no one I know in *air quotes here* REAL LIFE *end air quotes* reads this blog?

New Layouts

2010-07-21T09:05:00.000-04:00

Recently I participated in the summer crop over at Coordinates Collections. If anyone wants some fun challenges, they've actually extended the crop until the end of the month for another prize drawing!

I completed three challenges, then did two more layouts since I was on a roll. I haven't done this much scrapbooking since February LOAD.

This one uses those cute photos I took of Henry back in May. Love these photos.

Another photoshoot pic. Man, this kid is too stinking cute. (By the way, he's six months old today! I can hardly believe it.)

We had a photographer come and take some pictures when I was about 7 months pregnant. I'm just getting to them now, but I love them so much!

Three month picture. I used some of the new Basics line by Basic Grey here (the kraft trims and labels). These are going to be SO useful.

Bathtime, Henry's favorite time of day. (Aside from eating. The boy really likes to eat.) I am really loving the mists.

Speaking of bathtime, H had his first experience in a real pool this past weekend. We've put him in the baby pool before, and he seemed to like it okay, but he LOVED the big pool. Phillip took him in on Sunday and I played with him Monday. So much fun. This kid loves the water.

Father's Day 2010

2010-07-06T12:39:00.000-04:00

So much fun. We (and I use that term VERY loosely) made Phillip his favorite dinner of fried chicken, which I haven't made in at least a year. After dinner I snapped a few quick shots of Daddy + Baby.

All completely unretouched, so please bear that in mind!

Love the expression on H's face here. Just so excited.

Neat picture. I'm thinking about darkening it as a silhouette-type print for H's room.

So serious!!

Pure joy. I know you can't see his face really well, but H is absolutely SQUEALING with delight right now. Daddy is pretty happy too.

And when they're both happy, so is Mama :)

See?

Testing . . .

2010-06-23T12:04:00.000-04:00

I wanted to share a few layouts I've done lately (and also test out my new Blogger layout).

First, this cutie. H was looking pretty adorable in that little hoodie, so I tried to snap some photos. Oh, he was not all about that. Which actually turned into a pretty cool idea for a page :)

Next, I was trying to be super artsy and take these shots of his teeny tiny feet. Love them. Although they're getting bigger now, they are still adorable.

I used kits from Coordinates Collections for both of these layouts - pieces from several kits, actually. January Champagne, April Showers, and May Fancy. The Glimmer Mist was actually included in the May kit, and I am in love. I have two more bottles ordered.

The Hot 17: What I Love Right Now

2010-06-17T12:46:00.000-04:00

1. Netflix. Awesome. TV pretty much sucks in the summer, but you can forget about pay-per-view when you have a 5-month old. There is no way I'm paying $4.99 for a movie when I know I'm going to miss half of it. So Phillip + I signed up for Netflix, and it's pretty much the best thing since sliced bread. Love it.

2. Flip-flops. Specifically, these. Or last year's version of these, anyway. I know, I know. The Crocs thing again. I take comfort in the fact that these are not ugly, and they are super comfy.

3. Diet root beer. OH. MY. GOODNESS. I would not be able to handle dieting with diet root beer.

4. WeightWatchers online. Very helpful. I've lost a total of 15 pounds since I started. Still have a little ways to go, but our planned beach vacation in August is looking MUCH less like a nightmare.

5. Fresh peas. We picked our first peas from the garden on Tuesday, and I will continue to eat fresh peas everyday until I can't stand it anymore. I cannot WAIT for my tomatoes to ripen. YUM.

6. Bathtime. For Henry. The boy is in love with his bath. He'll splash, then look up at me with an expression that clearly says, "What the hell was that? And how do I do it again? It was AWESOME!"

7. Our new truck. Phillip has needed a new vehicle for a LONG time. His poor Chevy was about two trips away from keeling over at the side of the road. So two weeks ago I forced (no, really!) Phillip into shopping for a truck. We were looking for a used one, but with the 0% financing GM was offering, it actually worked out better to buy brand new.

8. Our credit. See number 7. Since we had such good credit scores (815 each, thank you very much), it actually worked out better to take a low-interest loan from another bank and get cash-back from GM instead of the 0% financing. Suh-weet.

9. Fridays. Just in general. You'll notice that "work" or "my job" will not be on this list.

10. My cleaning lady. My little sister has decided to clean houses for the summer to earn extra money. For $30, I come home every Thursday to a sparkling house. It really sunk in last Saturday, on my way home from Wal-Mart, that I would NOT have to clean the house. Hoo-rah.

11. Pandora. Seriously, what has taken me so long to get hooked up with this? Plays through my BlackBerry. Love it. Especially since I drive from one state to another every day, and radio stations tend to be pretty spotty in my area around the state lines.

12. Pants that fit. Hallelujah! I only have about 3 pairs of dress pants that still don't fit, but they are getting there. Jeans? That's another story. The pair I wore before getting pregnant BUTTONS but doesn't FIT. Ya know? I figure I should be able to wear those by the end of July.

13. The one pair of jean that does fit. Because that pair fits FABULOUSLY. My behind looks ah-mazing. Everybody says so. (OK, it's just Phillip, but still. He counts!)

14. 4:40. This is the time I pick up Henry from daycare. And he LOVES to see me. Pretty much makes my whole day.

15. Anniversaries. Phillip + I celebrated our 10 year "dating" anniversary this past Saturday. We had a night out at a friend's house to play in a Texas Hold 'Em tournament. Lots of fun, and we lost all of our money. But still! 10 years! How cool is that?

16. Breastfeeding. Good for Henry, good for weight loss, good excuse for when I want to leave somewhere. "Oh, we need to leave; I have to breastfeed."

17. Lists. No, seriously. I have lists all over the house and my office. Because apparently, the forgetfulness that I associated with pregnancy is actually just, well, ME. And it's here to stay.

Just call me "Conqueress of the Raging River"

2010-06-01T16:26:00.001-04:00

This weekend was an adventure.

Sunday, Phillip and I had to drive 2 hours to a friend's wedding in northern Maryland. Oh, the drama on that trip.

First, it's the first time I've spent the night away from Henry. Which is pretty traumatic all by itself.

Second, I forgot my bc meds at home. Since we don't exactly want another little Henry running around QUITE so soon, we had to turn around. (Only 5 minutes out though, so no big deal!)

Third, we had to make a stop at my office because I'd left a pump part there. And I definitely needed that.

Here's where the story gets REAL interesting.

I set off the alarm at my office. Oh. My. God. I totally had a panic attack. Of course, I entered the code wrong. Thought I must have hit the wrong button. In a panic, I call my old boss, whose cell phone I actually have stored in my phone, and who happened to retire two days ago. Thank goodness she kept the emergency number in her purse, and thank goodness we're old family friends and she doesn't think I'm a total lunatic now.

Because, people, I was FREAKING OUT. Completely. I call the company, and they tell me they will cancel the alarm, no problem. Whew.

EXCEPT THE ALARM IS STILL RINGING! AND I CAN'T TURN IT OFF!

I call back, and the call center tells me that they don't have remote access, they can only cancel the alarm so that the police don't come. They transfer me to the "engineering" department, where I have to LEAVE A MESSAGE. Yeah. A message.

Since I now know the police aren't coming, I just grab my part and leave. My husband officially thinks I'm crazy, but we have just wasted 30 minutes, and I refuse to be late to this wedding.

My heart is pounding, my pulse is racing, and I have broken out in a sweat. Not so cute. Also, it's 1:00, we haven't eaten (planned to eat on the way), and we may have just lost our window of time to stop for lunch.

Good news: 15 minutes down the road, the alarm company calls me back to tell me that as long as the police call is canceled, the alarm will stop ringing in 15 minutes. Oh, thank goodness.

Fast forward just a bit. We decide that we have to stop at Mickey D's and get some lunch. Because neither of us are very pleasant on an empty stomach.

We pull off the highway just before the Bay Bridge and order. I then decide that we need to switch places, because Phillip is not driving nearly as fast as I would like him too. Also, I am better in traffic than he is. We pay, then decide we can just switch places in the drive-through. We play a quick game of Chinese fire drill, hop back in the opposite seats, grab our meals and hit the road. Our stop took a total of 3 minutes before we were back on the highway. (Thank you, Kent Island McDonald's!)

We are driving and eating, constantly talking about how neither of us can believe that I set off the alarm. Then we almost get hit by a Jeep.

Question: if someone starts to veer into your lane, and you realize they don't see you, what do you do? Do you honk? Yes? So do I. Apparently, Phillip thinks this is wrong, and honking serves no purpose. I should have just slammed on my brakes. Um, I did. And I also thought it would be a good idea to let the guy know I was still here. We constantly have issues with each other's driving. I think it's a general "being married" thing. Never any serious fights, and we can always laugh about it in a few minutes.

Phillip: You almost got us killed!

Cara: No, the Jeep almost got us killed. I saved us. You're welcome, by the way.

Later in the trip, just after getting of I-270.

Phillip: I think you missed the road.

Me: I didn't miss it. It's not there. I would have seen it.

Phillip: You must have missed it.

Me: Maybe YOU missed it. I'm trying to drive.

Me: Here it is. Stupid signs.

We travel down a very scary road for a few miles, then discover, in front of us, what's that?

A creek. Through the road. Yeah, seriously.

(I always thought I lived in the middle of nowhere, but I realize I was wrong. Oh, so, wrong.)

There is no way I'm going to drive my Camry, a COMPANY CAR, through a creek. No way.

We turn around (not easy, by the way). Then we happen to see an SUV go through the creek, no problem.

We both look at each other, both wanting to say it, but neither of us quite having the guts.

Then I go for it.

Me: Phillip, I am going through that creek.

Phillip: OK. You should be fine, I guess.

So I do it. I GO THROUGH THE CREEK. YES! AWESOME! I feel like I have just run a marathon. I am INVINCIBLE!!!

Phillip, with a look of admiration, and a little fear: I cannot believe you just drove through that creek.

Me: What?!? You told me you thought it was fine! Why would you say that?

Phillip: I do not know. But that was kind of awesome.

Me: Damn right it was! Also, when we tell this story later, I'd appreciate it if you described the creek as 'a gently flowing stream.'

Finally, we pull up to the wedding (15 minutes before it starts). Success! And thus ends another crazy adventure.

The real kicker? Here's what I realized this morning, at exactly 7:50 AM. The alarm code, which I KNEW I had entered correctly, was, well, not so correct. You see, my extension at work and our alarm code are VERY VERY SIMILAR, but they are NOT THE SAME.

Duh, Cara.

I will never tell anyone at work that part of the story.

But I am totally telling EVERYONE about the creek.

I mean stream. River. Waterfall.

Seriously, how cute is this kid?

2010-05-22T08:56:00.001-04:00

Henry was pretty cooperative and let me snap a few pictures yesterday, on his four-month birthday.

Four months! I know! We went to the doctor in the morning, he is doing great, thank you very much. Weighs 15 pound, 12 ounces. 25 1/2 inches long. So incredible to realize he is close to weighing TWICE what he weighed at birth.

He's totally developing a little personality too. My new favorite trick? He loves to talk on the phone. I'll put the conversation on speakerphone and he is just entranced. This morning we talked to Phillip/Daddy for a while (he's away on a business trip) and Henry just kept grabbing for the phone, trying to figure out why he could HEAR Daddy but couldn't SEE him.

The first two are my favorites. The cheeks just kill me. I'll have to find one of my baby pics and post it, because good grief, the kiddo has his Mama's fat cheeks.

(I used PW's Action Sets for PSE on all the photos. They are amazing.)

On another note, I am actually working on my Week in the Life album! I have all the daily title pages printed and in the album, plus all the small pics printed. Working on getting those adhered to cardstock and formatting my journaling. Hoping to be done before the end of the week. Fingers crossed!

Week in the Life - Tuesday + Wednesday

2010-04-22T13:21:00.002-04:00

Some quick journaling bites from Tuesday:

Woke up with H at 4, and wasn’t able to go back to sleep. Just laid there. Wide awake. Luckily, H did go right back to sleep and I finally had to wake him at 6:15 so he could eat before we left.

I wonder what my co-workers think when they hear me pumping. Especially considering they are all men. Do they wonder what the noise is, or do they just figure they don’t want to know?

So glad we have the radio on all day at the office. I need music to work.

Going to see Henry at lunch today. I miss him! I just think I need a quick Henry visit J Love that he’s right around the corner.

Bath night with Mama. I love this time with Henry. He loves his bath so much. Very giggly and splashing. I hate having water in my eyes, so I’m trying to condition him to not let it bother him by splashing him in the bath. He doesn’t seem to mind, which is great. I don’t want him to grow up with my weirdness J

Henry to bed at 9. Phillip fell asleep on the couch about 8:30. Finding I’m very tired as well. There really don’t seem to be enough hours in the day anymore.

Wednesday:

Henry slept through the night! HENRY SLEPT THROUGH THE NIGHT! Nine hours straight. Unbelievable. And unbelievable how full I was when I woke up. Happy 3 month birthday Henry! Looks like I got the present J

Prepping for a meeting tomorrow with a big customer interested in buying another farm. I hate being unprepared, and probably spend too much time preparing for meetings. It’s important to me, especially as a young female in this industry, to make sure I can answer any and all questions and appear completely knowledgeable. I had a little trouble when I started working here with older farmers who weren’t quite sure they wanted a 23 year old girl handling their loans. I could definitely understand their concerns, and have worked really hard to make sure my customers know I’m there for them.

There is now diet root beer in the drink cooler at work. HOO-ray. I love me some diet root beer.

At daycare: sitter’s son bit H today on the arm. Very upset (me, not him). I couldn’t find a mark on him, and realized that I was more upset that I couldn’t be with him than I was that he got bit. Her kid is just a year old, and obviously he’s still learning. Feeling better about it now. As a friend said, it was just a one-year-old being a one-year-old. Talked to Phillip about it, and he seemed fine with it. Told me that I couldn’t protect him from everything, and that next time H would just have to bite back J Not that I’m okay with that, but it did make me laugh a little. P always knows just what I need.

I’m realizing that my album is going to be more words than pictures this year, and I’m totally okay with that. I think that’s how I tell my story best, with the pictures being the supporting characters instead of playing the leads. Have finally come up with a game plan that includes 2 – 12x12 digital pages each day (open and close, mostly pics) with a 6x12 page protector in the middle for lots of journaling.

Week in the Life - Monday

2010-04-20T08:17:00.000-04:00

I’m doing Ali Edward’s Week in the Life project this week (love this project). It’s my third time recording a week, and each time my life has been SO different. In October 2008, it was just me + Phillip. In October 2009, I was pregnant. And now we have Henry. So cool to see how things have changed.

I didn’t have a chance to upload any pictures last night. (Although since I only took 12 all day, I don’t suppose it would have taken very long.) But here’s a few highlights from my stream of consciousness journaling during the day:

Henry in a great mood today; so smiley and happy in the mornings. I really enjoy getting up at the same time as Phillip now. It’s nice to have a few minutes to chat. I can also see why he likes to get up and slowly get ready, as opposed to my previous “wake up out the door” mentality. Much more relaxing. Discovering that I really like being a morning person; it’s just always been overshadowed by my love of sleep.

Snack – sugar free jello chocolate pudding. This has carried over from pregnancy as one of the snacks I absolutely love. And only 1 weight watchers point!

Reflecting on how different this project is than the last time I did it. Really seeing the importance of doing this yearly. Will I remember 5 years from now that my favorite part of the day is early morning, after H has eaten, when we just sit in the rocker and he smiles and giggles as Daddy tickles him? I hope so. But in case I don’t, I want that memory written down.

Realizing I made some stupid errors on some credit work last week. Apparently, it is possible to forget everything you’ve ever learned about a subject. Because I have definitely forgotten how to fill out loan paperwork.

Visited with P in the shop for a little while. He tried to get H excited about spark plugs and oil filters, but H was more interested in seeing how long he could make his strand of drool.

Very quick shower tonight, H very fussy. Typical for bedtime. It’s his way of letting us know he’s tired. Got up twice once we put him down. Very hungry tonight. I’ve noticed that he doesn’t really want to eat until he’s REALLY hungry.

Are you participating this week? I’d love to follow along!

Recap

2010-04-05T10:49:00.001-04:00

Oh, boy.

I'm neglecting my blog a little bit, huh?

For very good reason, though, I assure you.

Yeah, I know. Totally adorable, right? He's growing like a weed. I had always heard that expression, and thought it was, well, WEIRD, until I experienced it. He's now 13 pounds, 5 ounces, and 24 inches long. TWO FEET LONG! Crazy.

He can now roll over from his tummy to his back, can hold his head up really well, and likes to have us sit him up so he can look around the room.

Sleeping is still a challenge. Last night he slept from 9:30 to 4:30, but the night before he got up almost every hour. I'm not sure how productive I'm going to be at work next week when we have bad nights.

Yep, I go back to work next week. Expect lots of sad tweets. I'm still holding out hope that we'll win the lottery and I can stay at home, but I think we all know how likely that is to happen.

(Not likely at all. In case you were wondering.)

But enough about Henry. Let's talk about me.

Had my hair cut (for the first time in 5 months) and colored (for the first time in over a year). Decided that I would like to start spelling it "coloured" like I'm British.
Had a cavity filled without any anti-anxiety meds.
Discovered the joy of the Chik-Fil-A Chargrilled Chicken Wrap. Yum.
Had to buy a larger size of jeans (may be related to the chicken wrap. Possibly.)

Note: it's really depressing to have to buy larger clothes AFTER you give birth. I'm planning on continuing to wear maternity pants to work, but I really did need a pair of jeans. I am not pleased to say that at 11 weeks post-partum, I am nowhere near pre-pregnancy size. And I realize that people are going to tell me that it takes time, your body will bounce back, yadda yadda yadda. I DON'T CARE. I would like to be thin, say YESTERDAY. Not such a big deal at home, since I live in sweatpants, but only owning one pair of non-maternity pants to wear into the outside world is causing me to have to plan laundry days VERY carefully.

I'm sorry, I forgot what I was doing. Right, all about me.
Everytime I see a baby on TV, I well up with tears.
I mowed the lawn for the first time this year. Forgot how much that sucked. We have an acre of yard, and a push mower. Yeah. I've decided that we're either buying a new mower or hiring a lawn service.
The dogwood tree out front is in full bloom, and I love it.
I've taken more pictures since Henry was born than I have in my entire life.

Possibly an exaggeration, but not by much.

Let's end with a pic of Mama and Baby, shall we? Notice how I cropped out the entire lower half of my body. Nobody needs to see that.

Nursery projects

2010-03-27T17:16:00.000-04:00

Well, I did it! Completed the picture wall over Henry's changing table. He seems fascinated by it. I'm pretty tickled too.

Still decorating

2010-03-21T15:12:00.000-04:00

Yep, still working on Henry's nursery. Yes, that Henry. The one who is two months old today. Hoping to be finished with this wall of photos sometime this week.

Digi Files Challenge

2010-03-16T18:15:00.000-04:00

I love The Daily Digi, but this month is actually the first month that I've purchased the file, and I am so glad I did! I will definitely be purchasing in the future.

Every month they post a challenge using the current month's file, and I decided to play along.

Papers by Danielle Young, Heather Roselli, and Krystal Hartley. Brad by Meredith Fenwick. Frame by MScraps. Word art by One Little Bird. I also used an alpha included in the files (by MScraps).

More LOAD

2010-02-25T11:42:00.000-05:00

A few more layouts from LOAD - I'm still keeping up with the challenge, though some

days just barely.

Sketch from Cosmo Cricket blog, Coordinates Collections kit.

Coordinates Collections kit. This will be the first page in Henry's album.

Coordinates Collections kit.

Paislee Press template, Handwritten Alpha from Janelle Mayara Designs, papers from The Chubby Bird/Brandy Buffington.

Coordinates Collections kit.

Happy One Month Birthday Henry!

2010-02-24T11:46:00.000-05:00

He's such a cutie. I made this layout for him (today, 3 days late!) to remember his personality right now.

Kit + template from Jessica Sprague.

LOAD 10-12

2010-02-12T11:35:00.001-05:00

I am in love with LOAD. Feeling very creative lately.

Day 10: Exchanging gifts with the in-laws. Can you believe I'm almost completely finished scrapping my Christmas photos? I know, crazy, right?

Day 11: Just a quick pic of my sisters + I.

Day 12: LOVE this page. Probably my favorite page EVAH. Used an Ali Edwards template + word art, plus some papers from Paislee Press.

Journaling reads: I absolutely loved being pregnant. There really is nothing in the entire world that could have prepared me for the joy I felt when I first heard your heartbeat, or when I felt that first little nudge inside, reminding me that you were there. Even through the morning sickness, the aches + pains, the tiredness, I still loved every second. It truly is miraculous; realizing that we created this tiny little being, a little person who would surely change our lives for the better, forever. I don’t think I’ll ever be able to find the words to truly tell you how life-altering those nine months were. I do know that the only thing more rewarding and uplifting than holding you in my belly is holding you in my arms.

LOAD, Days 6-9

2010-02-09T15:44:00.001-05:00

Woo-hoo! I'm keeping up with the challenge!

I'm able to scrap a little while Henry sleeps, and I've found I can do digi work while holding him. Victory!

Day 6: Very quick page, used pieces from the Coordinates Collections Alphabet Soup kit (last August, maybe?)

Day 7: Digi page, template from SimpleScrapper.com

Day 8: Using up some Cosmo Cricket Oh Joy paper from 2008.

Day 9: Pieces from a few different CC kits that I've been collecting.

LOAD - Day 5

2010-02-05T15:47:00.001-05:00

How sweet are these pics?

I am so in love with both of the men in my life.

LOAD Challenge

2010-02-04T16:10:00.001-05:00

Unbelievably, I thought it would be a good idea to sign up for the LOAD challenge for the month of February.

With a newborn at home.

Clearly, I was crazy.

Also unbelievable? I've actually completed the first four days! Very exciting for me. Doing some pretty simple stuff, but the point of the challenge is to get things scrapped, not to try for perfection.

Day 1:

Christmas Aftermath at my Mom's house. Used a CC kit. (September 09, I think!)

Day 2:

Nicknames for our new little baby boy! (How cute is that face? I know, super cute.)

Used an Ali Edwards template and papers by Katie Pertiet. Very quick page.

Day 3:

My husband with his first attempt at butchering his own deer. I touched on this a little bit in my December Daily album, but I thought he deserved his own full page. Used another CC kit, December 09 South Pole.

Day 4:

My brand new camera! Love this thing so much, and so glad we got it before the baby came. Another bit of that September 09 CC kit. I love love love love that background paper and wish I had a zillion pieces. I think I'm on a numbers kick lately.

Henry update: He is doing fabulous, currently napping so Mama can take a little break. I just love him to pieces. We go back to the doctor on Monday, hopefully for a great check-up. The only concerns we had last time was a little bit of jaundice (looks great now, at least to my un-doctorish eye) and a loss of 10 ounces. The weight loss isn't a huge deal, as that is within 10% of his birth weight, but I'll feel better once I know he's gained it back. He should have, with the way he's been eating!

Here's a super cute pic of Henry + his Daddy:

Hello, Henry.

2010-01-28T01:18:00.000-05:00

8 pounds, 13.5 ounces, 22 inches long. Born January 21st at 2:13 am.

We are all settling in and learning how to function without sleep.

December Daily Wrap-Up, Days 20-25

2010-01-02T16:01:00.001-05:00

Whew! The end of 2009 was busy. I've packed away my 2009 December Daily album, but I wanted to share the last few photos.

December 20 - Pics of our tree + gifts all wrapped.

December 21: Just a quick shot of our house, all lit up for Christmas. You can still see the two feet of snow we got out front!

December 22: Sometimes I think we do too much at Christmas. Other times, I feel like there's so much more we're not enjoying. It's always our goal to make our holidays as relaxing + enjoyable as possible, even if we miss out on a few things. Here a few we didn't do this year: A Farmer's Christmas at the Agricultural Museum, Church Service, Sylvester Christmas (not real sure they even had one), Phillip's co-worker's party, and any and all open houses.

December 23: Journaling about Christmas with my Dad's family. A little less awkward + uncomfortable this year, finally.

December 24: Lot's of fun at [my mom's] family Christmas, as usual. I love watching all the kids open up their gifts. Such enthusiasm! I loved just sitting in the recliner and watching, knowing that next year there will be another little baby in the midst of all that wrapping paper.

(P.S. See that "twenty-four"? Yep, I cut that with my brand new Cricut! My mom surprised me on Christmas morning with one. I have never really been interested, because I didn't think I'd use it very much, but I totally love it so far.)

December 25: No journaling necessary. Lots of shots from throughout the day. My other super cool gift? Phillip got me a new camera! It's a Nikon P90, and I absolutely love it. The only thing you can't do is switch lenses, and I'm not sure I would ever do that anyway! You can expect my blog pics to get a LOT better now!

Ali Edwards template, Katie Pertiet papers.

Letters to Phillip + Tator Tot. I had originally planned on using these envelopes for extra pics, but after seeing a few different December Daily albums that included letters, I thought this would be a super cool way to go. I can't wait to read them again next year.

And one last shot to end the album! This was actually taken at a New Year's Eve party, the perfect end to our holiday season, and one of the few shots I have of the two of us together from this year.

Ali Edwards template, Katie Pertiet paper.

Goals for 09 Recap

2009-12-31T08:22:00.001-05:00

Way back on January 1, 2009, I promised to do a few things throughout the year. Goals. Resolutions. Whatever. I picked 5 things that I thought I could do, and told all of you that I would do them. Turns out I'm a bit of a liar. More like a fibber.

Let's recap, shall we?

On 1/1/09, I wrote: Blogging. I have found in the last 6 months that I love this blog. So much fun for me to share my life. I want to try and blog SOMETHING 5X a week. That's quite a bit of blogging, but I think I've already hit that for this week. I'm also going to try to post at the end of each month how I'm doing with all of these goals.

12/31/09: I definitely blogged MORE, but I certainly didn't hit 5 times a week every week. That's okay with me. I used the blog how I wanted to. Sometimes I went weeks without blogging, but that's the direction life took me. No big deal. I did post pretty frequently about my goals and how I was doing.

On 1/1/09, I wrote: Take more pictures. Both for scrapbooking and because I really like photos!

12/31/09: Success! I was totally a picture-taking fool. And now that I have a suh-weet camera, courtesy of my awesome husband, I will be taking even more in 2010. Also, I'm going to have an incredibly adorable kid to take pictures of. Any day now.

On 1/1/09, I wrote: More creativity. I already said I wanted to knit, so that's on my list first.

12/31/09: Not so much. I do feel like I've been more creative, and have definitely tried some cool new things as far as scrapbooking. I bought a book on how to crochet, and I started teaching myself. Need to work on this one next year.

On 1/1/09, I wrote: Get fit. I did pretty well last year. I'd really like to be at the weight listed on my driver's license (120. There I said it. Gives me something to work toward). My 16-year-old weight, because really, who changes that? I'm only 15 pounds away. This time last year, I was almost 40 pounds over, so I think I can do it. I'm already lighter than I have been in almost 6 years. I do want to lose weight, but I'd really love to be toned, because I've been thin, but I've never been toned. I'm going to keep going to Curves, mostly for the monthly check-in (again, I need accountability), but I want to do more. I started a Jillian Michaels workout yesterday, and I think it is going to be awesome. I could barely do it, and I am so sore today. But a good sore, you know?

12/31/09: HAHAHAHAHA. Epic fail. But I have a super excuse. It's called pregnancy. This goal will be recurring for 2010. Although right now, I'm only 15 pounds heavier than my previous "heaviest I've ever been" weight. And I didn't hit that weight again until I was into my third trimester. Not too shabby, eh? I got a Wii Fit for Christmas and will also be getting the Jillian Michaels workout our of storage once little Tator Tot comes along.

On 1/1/09, I wrote: Live my word. I've decided to go with "savor" for 2009. I really like the concept, explained here by Ali Edwards. I want to enjoy my life as it is right now, not focusing on things in the past, or worrying too much about the future. Live in the now. Hey, my now is pretty darn awesome.

12/31/09: I totally rocked this resolution. I have savored every single second of this pregnancy, even when I was complaining or vomiting avocados or subsisting completely on clementine oranges. I still loved it. Even though I am VERY ready to be finished, and welcome a new baby into our home, I think I'll kind of miss being pregnant. I'm working on choosing my new word right now. Lots of thoughts going through my head. I really want it to be perfect.

Did you have any goals for the year? How did you do? I want to know, especially if you failed, because misery loves company.

December Daily Album, Days 13-19

2009-12-24T10:05:00.001-05:00

Merry Christmas Eve!

December 13: Good day today. Phillip bought a new gun while I did some Christmas shopping, then lunch @ Friday's.

December 14: This is pretty cool. For the first time ever, Phillip butchered his own deer. It was actually much easier than we thought it would be, plus we got the cuts exactly how we wanted them, with no silverskin. I helped by seal-a-mealing all the individual pieces. It feels great to know the freezer is full of meat again.

December 15: I tried to do more of my shopping online this year, but there's always a few things I need to pick up.

December 16: (the day we got our pictures in the mail) Our portrait session turned out wonderfully. We're so excited to have prints in time for Christmas.

December 17: Yes, I'm still working on Christmas cards. The good news is, the last of the cards was put in the mail today. Finally. I'd like to say that I'll do better next year, but I probably won't. Maybe a digital photo card will be the better way to go.

December 18: Wrapping! Normally I <3 wrapping gifts, but this year it's a little more difficult. After about six gifts, I was completely exhausted.

December 19: Snow in December? 18 inches in Delaware? The last time we had this much snow, I think I was 10. Enjoyed spending a couple days home with Phillip.

December Daily, Days 8-12

2009-12-19T12:55:00.001-05:00

Today is a snow day! Phillip thinks we already have 6-8 inches, and it's supposed to continue snowing all day. I just wish this had happened during the week, so I could have a day off work!

December Daily updates:

8: A Collection of Gifts. "Joy" from my mom. The chest from Christ - contained presents last year. Pinecones, etc., from my stash of holiday garland. Put together, I created what I think is an adorable little holiday tableau.

9: I don't have very many Christmas decorations. After all, this is only the 4th Christmas we've had a place to decorate. I'm trying to buy a little bit at a time. I scored two of these fancy-schmancy trees last year at AC Moore's after Christmas sale. 75% off. Now that makes the holidays a little brighter!

10: Love getting a whole box of fruit from the high school FFA chapter. We bought a box of tangelos this year. I'm hoping they last through the new year. He just likes to make funny faces with them.

11: This is what a stack of 62 baby shower thank you cards looks like. Had to buy more stamps. Next up, Christmas cards. (Soon!)

12: Phillip's first deer of the season, a good-sized doe. He hasn't had very much time to hunt this year, but we are both glad to be putting some meat in the freezer.

That's it for right now, I have to take some more pictures.

Whoa, Belly!

2009-12-18T13:56:00.003-05:00

Ok, this belly of mine is getting outrageous. (Fun Fact: I've noticed that when I'm talking to Phillip, I refer to it as "the belly," not "my belly." As in, "Watch out for the belly when you lay down." It's seriously taken on a life of its own.

Let's recap, shall we?

At 15 weeks, I looked like this. Basically no change. Except that creepy smile. Sorry.

At 25 weeks, it was pretty obvious that I was pregnant, and hadn't just eaten too much. This was the last week of September.

Which brings us to today, at 36 1/2 weeks. That's right. Just 3 1/2 weeks away from the big day.

Wow. That thing is crazy.

December Daily Days 3-7

2009-12-14T21:43:00.001-05:00

A few more December Daily pages (trying to catch up with the blogging!)

Day 3: Teresa Collins Journaling Page + white cardstock. Journaling reads:

If there's anything I can really claim to be AWESOME at, it's chocolate chip cookies. I get rave reviews every year. My secret? Use the recipe n the back of the Nestle bag. Delicious perfection, every single time. My molasses cookies aren't too shabby either.

Day 4: White + craft cardstock, Cosmo Cricket papers, TC journaling card. Journaling reads:

(left) ...and there's more in the backseat. (right) Shopping for our holiday party this year exhausted me. I hit Sear's, Boscov's, Wal-Mart in Dover, Sam's Club, + Wal-Mart in Camden all in about 3 hours. My feet were killing me, but I got everything!

Day 5: Cardstock + a digital template from Ali Edwards. The inside of our party invitations, plus some pictures and a little journaling about this year's Shindig.

Day 5 + 6: Another Ali Edwards digital template, tweaked just a bit to fit my pictures to continue day 5. Making Memories papers for Day 6. Journaling reads:

The best cure for a long night is a delicious breakfast the next morning - maple sausage, eggs, fresh bread, + oj. A Sunday morning tradition.

Day 7: An 8x8 photo, kraft cardstock + a diecut journaling block. Journaling reads:

We saw some beautiful trees at the hospital last week, and I told Phillip that one year I wanted to decorate our tree entirely in blue + silver. I saw these fabulous glittery ornaments and got 4 boxes. They are sitting in punch bowls for now - festive!

Will hopefully get a few more days up soon.

Confession Time

2009-12-10T11:06:00.000-05:00

I have a secret.

I'm going to give birth in 4-5 weeks. (Obviously, that's not the secret.)

Here it is:

I'm terrified.

In about a month, I'm going to transition from "that pregnant chick who can't see her feet" to "that new mom who has no idea what she's doing."

Yeah, scary.

I think I've been pretty good about the whole pregnancy thing. I haven't freaked out about anything, and I have generally enjoyed every moment, minus the vomiting in the beginning. That pretty much sucked, no matter how you look at it.

But now? Now I'm freaking out. If you've been reading this blog for any length of time, you know that I like to have a plan. And the idea of giving up that control to someone who weighs 8 pounds is enough to make me have a small anxiety attack.

I know that it will be absolutely wonderful, and most of me can't wait for Tator Tot to get here.

But there is still that small part that is screaming, "Are you kidding me? A mom? You can barely get to work on time! You have no idea what you're doing! The last time you cared for a child for any length of time you were 15!"

I had the crazy thought that I should just keep the baby in my uterus. Because honestly? I think I'm pretty darn good at this pregnancy thing. I've managed to keep my baby safe and happy for 8 months now. And I see no reason why I should fix it if it ain't broke.

OK, I can think of a few reasons why that wouldn't work out very well. But still. I thought about it.

So Tator Tot, I love you, and I can't wait to meet you. But please be patient with me. I'm new at this, and I'm scared. If you could come out looking completely adorable (like I know you will) it would really help. Lots. And if you could cry when someone other than me holds you, I'd probably appreciate that too. (I realize that's ridiculously selfish, but I'm pretty much giving up all of my other selfish tendencies cold-turkey. Please let me have this one.)

Panic attack over. For now.

December Daily, Days 1 + 2

2009-12-07T17:00:00.001-05:00

I haven't updated in a while, but I promise I have been ridiculously busy. And super tired.

Thought I'd just jump right in with my December Daily, which I am keeping up with, even though I haven't posted anything. Days 1-7 are complete, which quite honestly is better than I did last year. (You can check out that book here.)

I went with a more simple red + white + black + kraft theme this year, which I'm hoping will help the book feel more uniform. I'm also doing a few digital pages this year.

Another change? I didn't include any numbers! I'm going to add them in as I go. Turns out that was an excellent idea, because I've already switched a few pages around to better fit that day's story.

(Please ignore all the blurry pictures. I don't have time for great pics this year. Use your imagination, and pretend that I have a better camera. It's on my Christmas list, don't worry.)

Cover of my 2009 album (American Crafts D-ring cloth album, 8x8). Very simple, just two thickers. And yes, that's an "O" not a "zero" because I ran out of zeros.

Next, the cover page. All digital, I used a Jessica Sprague template + papers from her Holidays in Hand class.

The back of that page is another digital page, using an Ali Edwards template. All about our annual trip to get our tree, and how Phillip gets to do the lights this year. Here's the blank version (Teresa Collins album page, bazzill cardstock):

And here's the left-hand (digital) side:

And the right-hand side:

Next up, December 2nd. Phillip doing outside lights.

Before (Teresa Collins journaling cards, Heidi Swapp overlay, October Afternoon black patterned paper):

Left side:

Right side:

More tomorrow! I'm going to catch up a few days at a time.

This Weekend . . .

2009-11-20T13:26:00.005-05:00

Our household has been kind of chaotic lately. Not Britney-Kevin chaotic, but still.

Here's a brief synopsis, starting with Thursday the 5th:

Thursday the 5th: Phillip called me at work to tell me his father died in the hospital - one day after his 52nd birthday. Complete liver failure (Please, if you're going to drink, don't do it to the extent that your liver can't keep up. It's an awful way to go, both for you and your family.) Phillip had to drive 4 hours home from Virginia that night. Very emotional.

Friday the 6th: Both of us home from work. Made a trip to the funeral home to plan for the next week. Spent a lot of time with family. My mom + grandma brought us lasagna. A ton of Phillip's friends came over to support him and just hang out. It was wonderful to see this close-knit group of guys, two of which have also lost their fathers in the past 3 years. A few of them helped to put our baby furniture together.

Saturday the 7th: Went to IHOP for breakfast and took Phillip + his brother for haircuts. More planning.

Monday the 9th: Viewing + funeral. Nice service by the minister who married Phillip + me. Good message about our sins being forgiven + effectively glossing over the past 3 years of his dad's life, which were honestly still at the front of everyone's mind, but not really the way we wanted to remember him.

Tuesday the 10th: Stayed at home with Phillip again. He's starting to get sick, probably from being completely run-down over the past few days.

Wednesday the 11th: I went back to work while Phillip stayed home. He + his brother met with a lawyer to work on the estate legalities. Mom went to labor class with me since Phillip was sick.

Thursday the 12th: Phillip went to the doctor. Antibiotics. He is miserable to be around when he's sick. Very whiney. I had a meeting with a new customer at work. Rainy all day long. Good news is that even though he was sick, Phillip was also very, very bored at home. I came home to a sparkling clean house!

Friday the 13th: Ominous, right? Still rainy. Phillip still sick. Breastfeeding class for me. I cried all the way home, something I hadn't really done at all throughout the last week. I was trying to be strong for my husband, but everything caught up to me all at once. Plus, I'm slightly emotional from the pregnancy.

Saturday the 14th: Surprise baby shower! This was definitely the highlight of the last few weeks. My family threw a wonderful shower for me + Tator Tot. We got a TON of stuff, ~~most~~ all of which is still sitting in the nursery in gift bags. I was completely exhausted afterwards, and pretty much crashed on the couch as soon as we got home.

Sunday the 15th: I'm drawing a blank. Told you I've been stressed/worn out.

Monday the 16th: Work, for both of us. First time Phillip's been to work in over a week. Found out that we were not registered for an infant care class like I thought we were. Freed up our night. Made, wrote, and sent out about 25 thank you cards for condolence notes we got.

Tuesday the 17th: Phillip traveling to Ocean City for Crop School. (Yes, you read that correctly. He had to renew his certification as a Certified Crop Advisor.) OB appointment in the morning. Doctor confirmed that I had a bruised rib and that there was basically nothing I could do for it but take Tylenol. Not helpful. Baby is still doing well, 140 heartbeat. My blood pressure is holding steady at 88/55. Normal for me.

Wednesday the 18th: Lots of driving for me today - visiting several customers to sign loan papers. Phillip drove back from OC to go to labor class with me. We had a tour of the hospital, which was fantastic. We're both really enjoying the classes. Talked a little bit about c-sections, which confirmed my thought that I want to go all natural, or as natural as humanly possible. Weird that the dentist freaks me out, but that I totally think I can manage labor. We shall see.

Thursday the 19th: Bad news. The job I applied + interviewed for over a month ago was offered to someone outside the company. So much for promoting + hiring from within. My consolation is that immediate boss seems pretty ticked about the decision too. Turns out she campaigned for me to get the position, which I certainly appreciate, even though it seems that it did little good. Oh, well. I do like my current job. I just thought I'd like that one better.

Friday the 20th: Right, that's today. All caught up.

Plans for the weekend: Finish invitations for our Holiday Shindig. Work on baby shower thank you cards. Christmas cards. Have Phillip pull down decorations from the attic so I can see what I want to get for this year. Make December Daily. Clean the house. Organize nursery/put stuff in the attic. Try not to stress myself out. Remember to relax.

Week in the Life 2009

2009-11-01T10:56:00.002-05:00

I went all digital this year (with the exception of a few stories I'm going to elaborate on in paper format). Here's my 2009 Week in the Life Album:

The opening page for each day were adapted from a template by Jennifer Wilson for simplescrapper.com (Tabitha). The picture pages were adapted from a template by StarXLR8 for simplescrapper.com.

I loved this project again this year. My pages are already being processed, and I'm just going to slip them in an album when they come.

Happy Halloween!

2009-10-31T10:32:00.002-04:00

From all 3 of us!

Hi My Name is . . .

2009-10-26T16:19:00.002-04:00

Phillip & I went to wedding yesterday, and the whole time, all I could think about was how I wished I had a name tag. Or pre-printed business cards. This is what they would have read:

Yes, I'm pregnant. Obviously.
Yes, I know I'm getting "so big." Thank you for noticing :P
No, we don't know what we're having.
January 13th.
Yes, it will be here before we know it.
I had a raging case of morning sickness throughout the first trimester.
I feel fine now.
Yes, we're excited.
Yes, Phillip is the father.

(I'm totally kidding about that last one. No one questioned that. But what a great conversation starter, eh?)

You're Sticking that WHERE?

2009-10-21T10:54:00.000-04:00

I had another odd experience at the hospital today. I have O-negative blood, which meant my doctor recommended I get the RhoGAM shot to protect little Tator Tot against any rH anti-bodies I might be producing. (Or to protect me. I forget.)

I got to the hospital at 7 am, which is, quite honestly, way too freaking early. I left my house when it was still dark out, for Pete’s sake. I waited maybe 30 minutes in the outpatient services center for paperwork, and then was escorted to the lab.

WHERE THEY DREW BLOOD. Funny how I thought I was just getting a shot. I had absolutely no idea I was going to have to give a vial of blood. Not exactly how I wanted to start the MORNING OF MY ANNIVERSARY.

I gave the technician my little intro about how I tend to faint, have tiny veins, and am generally a huge queasy baby when it comes to blood and needles. She was very understanding, which I certainly appreciate. I can’t imagine it’s too easy dealing with a 24-year-old pregnant woman who looks as if she might bolt for the door at any time.

She couldn’t find my vein in my left arm, but was able to find a tiny little vein in my right arm. As she went to go get the “baby needle” (her words, not mine!), I started to feel the queasiness set in. Fantastic.

Blood was drawn, and now I felt like crap. Overheated, dizzy, dry mouth, the whole shebang. The technician (and why, by the way, do I always have these little bitty technicians? When I say, “I’m likely to faint,” they should automatically bring in the chick who spends too much time lifting weights. I’m just sayin’.) Sorry, lost my train of thought. I’m on a whole different track now.

Anyway.

The technician and another girl in the lab escort me to a bed to lie down while I drink what was quite possibly the most disgusting cup of OJ I’ve ever experienced. After about ten minutes, I am feeling much better, thank you very much. And I didn’t even faint! Yay me!

I’m instructed to go up to Labor & Delivery, where they will administer the shot. (Oh, did you think this story was over? We’re just getting to the best part!) Waited for about 25 minutes. At this point, it’s 8:20, and I’m starting to get a little irritated at all the time I’ve spent in this hospital this morning. Especially as I ate breakfast at 6:30 and didn’t bring a snack with me. Or gum. All I can taste is that nasty OJ.

I finally get called back, take a seat, and get my blood pressure taken. (Still excellent, by the way.)

Then I begin to pull my arm out of my sleeve. Because that is what you do when you get a shot, right?

Wrong.

The tech gives me this sort-of “sorry I have to do this” smile, and says, “Actually, I’m going to need a butt cheek.”

Those are her EXACT WORDS. No joke.

I think I muttered, “Uh, what?”

“You can just lean over that table there. Since it’s such a large shot, we give it in the largest muscle possible.”

Seriously.

At this point, I erupt in nervous giggles. I just keep saying I’m sorry, and that this is so awkward, and a bunch of other random mutterings.

As if the embarrassment wasn’t enough, the shot HURT. Now I know why they don’t do it in the arm.

I do realize that in two and a half months, I’m going to be much more exposed in front of many more people as I give birth, but I am expecting that.

I was not expecting to have to drop my drawers for a shot. Interesting morning, to say the least.

(Reading this back to myself, I think I may be prone to exaggeration. Maybe.)

Us 3

2009-10-08T06:46:00.000-04:00

Word Art by Amanda Taylor, papers & elements from the Crazy Daisy kit by Cyndi Price.

Another digi page. I have to say, I'm really starting to get into this. My husband took this picture of my sisters and I (I'm the chick on the left) when we all went out to eat for my little sister's 18th birthday.

Can I still call her "little" now that she's legally an adult? I think I can. Fun fact: She's in college now at my alma mater, U of DE. She was one of those kids who said she couldn't wait to get out of the house, which I sympathize with, because I was too. The difference is that she calls my mom twice a day and has invited us all up to lunch whenever we want. If I didn't know better, I'd say she misses us. My mom says she talks to her more now than she did when they lived in the same house!

Christmas Again

2009-10-07T09:51:00.000-04:00

I would tell you that this will be the last holiday-related post in a while, but that would be a total lie. See, I'm starting Christmas cards next weekend. And I'm going to start shopping soon. Because I am going to be OVER 8 MONTHS PREGNANT at Christmas, and I'm thinking that shopping 3 days before the holiday is just a disaster waiting to happen.

That being said, here's another shot of last year's holiday celebrations. Please notice the general slimness of that girl on the left. Yeah, that will not be the case for 2009 photos.

I used up more of my BG Dasher paper pack (I cannot BELIEVE that I still have stuff left!). I have had these grungeboard alphas for, oh, probably a year now and had barely opened the package. The whole page took maybe 30 minutes to put together, including letting the paint dry. Gotta love that.

And now for something slightly different . . .

2009-10-06T07:19:00.000-04:00

Are you sick of the Christmas pages yet? How about something a little different?

Lots of fun embellishments, not really my typical style, but very fun. Highlights of my new scrap area, including the reasoning for moving to such a tiny space (to make room for Tator Tot, in case you were wondering.)

Really digging the ghost letters. I traced around them with my white Signo pen to make them pop, and them stapled them to the layout.

More Christmas

2009-10-05T08:54:00.000-04:00

I love Christmas. And I love scrapping about Christmas. There's never a shortage of photos, and it just puts me in a good mood.

These pics are from our annual Christmas morning breakfast at my mom's house. Pajamas mandatory, teddy bear pancakes optional. A big mish-mash of materials here: papers from the January 08 Tango kit at Coordinates Collections, ribbon by American Crafts, and I'm pretty sure the alpha stickers are K & Co.

Another pic from the same morning. My mother and grandmother decided to buy matching pajamas. I should tell you that my sisters and I all coordinated with plaid pj's from Target, and we even got Phillip and my sister's boyfriend to get it on the plaid goodness. But these snowflake pajamas really took the cake. I laughed so hard. Here's a 40-something and 60-something mother and daughter duo that can't resist a little fun. I guess my mom misses dressing up her three girls in matching outfits for Christmas (yep, until I was about 12 and finally decided I was way too cool to dress like a 5 year old).

This layout was another "budget scrapbooking" challenge over at CC. I had to use "found" materials. The background is the back sheet of a paper pack that I've been saving for who knows what reason, and the circles are actually stamped with acrylic paint using a toilet paper roll, a method inspired by a recent post (where else?) on Ali Edwards' blog.

I tried to mix some shimmery embossing powder with the paint before I filled in a few random circles, but it didn't really sparkle like I'd hoped. It did, however, leave a very cool textural pattern in the paint. Almost reminds me of spackling.

I also broke out my Tim Holtz alpha masks for the first time ever. Pretty cool, and very easy to work with. I was impressed. The page ended up very artsy, and I'm not sure it's really me, but it is a cool addition to my Christmas 2008 album. Definitely different.

Digi Pages

2009-10-04T10:11:00.000-04:00

My sister took this pic for us when we went out to eat for her 18th birthday in August. It was dark, and none of the pictures turned out really well. But I wanted to use it anyway, I just made it really small! I think it worked perfectly.

I love the simplicity of this page. Just a simple white background, one strip of paper, and a few pieces of word art. Really reflects how I feel about being pregnant. Most of the time, I'm simply happy.

Credits: Paislee press template, Ali Edwards word art.

Week in the Life

2009-10-03T10:24:00.000-04:00

I've decided to do it again. Starting Monday, October 19, the same week I did it last year.

I wasn't sure if I should or not (meaning do I really have time to do this right now?), but in the end I realized that I want to capture being busy. Being pregnant. Spending more and more time at the doctor's office. Getting the nursery ready. All the other little things that are going to change so drastically in January when Tator Tot arrives.

I read on Ali's blog this week that she's not doing it right now, but I still think this is the perfect time for me. I've already seen a couple of other blogs that are doing it, so I'm looking forward to following them.

Anyone else?

I think mine this year will be mostly digital (a HUGE change from this time last year!), mostly so I can complete it a little quicker. Not sure of size or any of those details yet.

I'm just going to go for it.

Budget Scrapbooking

2009-10-02T07:05:00.000-04:00

Coordinates Collections is doing a fun set of challenges throughout the fall season. The challenges are meant to help you save money by using what you already have on hand, scrap-wise. I'm really enjoying all of the challenges so far! Some are things that I do regularly anyway, but a few have forced me out of my comfort zone, which turned out pretty cool, too.

(You can also earn store discounts by participating, and it's not too late to join in! Check out all the challenges in the forum.)

For this challenge, I had to use one kit to make 4 layouts and a card. Done! I actually have a ton of papers & embellishments left over as well. This kit was the August Number Jumble kit, which is still available!

This is my favorite. It's inspired by a recent Ali Edwards layout in Creating Keepsakes. I think the stitching just pulls everything together.

Not my fave, but done! We gave my mom a surprise family portrait for Christmas last year. Notice anything familiar? Yep, that's the same arrow. I traced the outline of the Scenic Route arrow onto another piece of cardstock from the kit. Now THAT is budget scrapbooking.

Like it. The grid provides some structure, but the off-center placement mixes things up a bit. Lots of little bits and pieces here.

Not exactly traditional colors for Christmas layouts, I know. But I think they work.

Right Now

2009-10-01T09:40:00.003-04:00

All of a sudden, I'm 25 weeks pregnant. Feels like it really snuck up on me.

Things I Wish I Could Do

Wear yoga pants to work. Seriously. I've been living in a pair of pants from Wal-mart. So comfy. I can push them right below what is becoming a very large belly, according to my husband. As soon as I get home from work, I put on these pants and don't take them off until I go to bed. I also wear them all weekend long if I'm staying in the house. Love them. (Don't worry; I do make it a habit to wash them two or three times a week.)

Hire a wife. Or a maid. Whatever. All I know is, I'm keeping up with the laundry and the dishes, but that's about it. I'm becoming sort of attached to all the little dust bunnies.

Have a three-day weekend. Why can't we have Columbus Day off? I'm just saying, he was a pretty important guy, ya know?

Take a nap. Yep, it's 9:30 in the morning, and I'm ready for a nap.

See my husband. It's harvest time again, which means he leaves the house at 6 and (maybe) gets home around 9. At which point I'm too tired to even think straight, let alone ask him about his day.

Figure out how to get out of working on Saturday. I signed up to be at a marketing event from 10-2, over an hour away from my house. Good one, Cara.

Things I AM Doing

Scrapping. I know, right? I'll share a bunch over the next few days (even some digi! Go me!). I've been on a roll. Like butter. On another note, a buttered roll sounds delicious right now.

SLOWLY cleaning out the-room-that-will-be-Tator-Tot's. I always complain that my husband has too much stuff, but I'm beginning to realize that maybe I do too. Please don't tell him. I'll never hear the end of it.

Working. At my job. It's a slow time of the year for us, which means I have lots of time on my hands to think about what other stuff I could be doing if I were at home.

Eating. Pretty much all the time. And my scale shows it.

Drinking Cokes. I know, I'm pregnant, I should lay off the caffeine and the empty calories. But honestly? I gave up coffee. Give me a break. I'm doing really well with everything else. Last night I had turkey sausage while my husband had a ribeye. (In the interest of full disclosure, I don't like steak anyway. And I love turkey sausage. But that's not really the point, is it?)

What do you wish you were doing right now?

PTI Blog Hop!

2009-09-25T18:30:00.002-04:00

I struggled and struggled with how to recycle some PTI packaging, when it suddenly hit me.

I love my permanent markers, but I hate the packaging they came in. Sure, it looks pretty with the markers all lined up, but the packaging is huge and annoying. It doesn't fit into my otherwise neat little space.

The plastic boxes that PTI stamps come in are a perfect fit! I just made a quick belly band for the box and stuffed the markers inside. I'm tickled with how it turned out, and am looking for more miscellaneous items to find a home in PTI packaging.

I just randomly stamped "Life" on a strip of Vintage Cream cardstock with various PTI inks: Ocean Tides, Pure Poppy, Hibiscus Burst, New Leaf, Spring Rain, Plum Pudding, and SU Night of Navy. Simple, quick, and gets the job done.

Thanks for looking!

Everyone Can Write A Little

2009-09-06T10:09:00.000-04:00

Did anyone else take this class? Cathy Zielske offered a class based on Twitter, of all things, a few months ago at Big Picture Scrapbooking. I loved the class, just as much as I love Twitter.

The idea was to capture little snippets, and then put them into an easy-to-make 6X6 album.

I decided I wanted to incorporate my tweets into my regular album, so I added them to a 8 1/2 X 11 page. Here's two of my favorite tweets from that time period.

Coordinates Collections Tango kit, January '09.

Coordinates Collections Number Jumble kit, August '09.

The class also gave me the idea to capture my thoughts about my pregnancy via Twitter. It's been fun, and I'm starting to print out the little snippets for my own mini-album. Sweet idea, right? I'll share a few pages as I get them done.

Scraproom - Before & After

2009-09-04T18:46:00.001-04:00

We're turning our spare bedroom into a nursery, which means I'm moving my entire scraproom onto a table in our office. Here's the space & storage I had before:

And here's the space I'm moving into (I know, the deer heads are a little creepy. My husband has sworn that they will move out into his new shop eventually. Or I may set fire to them. Whatever.)

And that same space, after I moved all my junk:

I actually love having a smaller space, because everything is at my fingertips. It also puts me in the same room as the computer, which is very convenient. The tub underneath is actually filled with maternity clothes that a friend at work gave me, which are all way too big.

My stamp sets, lined up right in front of me.

Alphas, chipboard, and other stickers are super easy to flip through now that I have them in this little blue tote from Wal-Mart.

I painted and sealed the blue lunchbox, which has dividers for little embellishments. The cube holds packs of patterned paper, cardstock, and my CC kits.

I have to say, I worried a bit about moving everything to a small area, but I totally love it. In the past three days, I've made two cards and three layouts, and I'm getting ready to start putting together my "Pregnancy Thoughts" album, recorded on Twitter.

Miss me?

2009-08-31T11:41:00.004-04:00

Well, I've been busy. In the past two weeks, I have

Hung new curtains in my dining room and my living room (including new rods).
Had an ultrasound (healthy baby!)
Put china in the china closet (finally!)
Helped my husband put 10 years of hunting pictures + memorabilia into scrapbooks, which I covered with printed camoflauge paper and are now displayed in our living room. (He did such an awesome job with these, I'll share a few pics later.)
Unpacked a surprising amount of scrap/craft supplies from a dresser, a desk, and two sets of plastic bins in preparation to move into my husband's office.
Bought & picked up our crib.
Bought new rugs for the master bath.
Hung new shower curtains.
Cleaned my house top to bottom.
Moved my little sister into college.
Registered at Babies R Us + Target.

Oddly enough, it doesn't really look like that much when I write it in a little list, but trust me, I'm exhausted.

Somewhere in there, I managed to take photos of pages I scrapped at the very beginning of the month. Some of my very favorites, by the way.

Mostly using the Coordinates Collections Caribbean Breeze kit (still available!) and some extra letter stickers. My grandma. She's fun.

Everything except the arrows is from the Coordinates Collections Lakeside kit from July (still available!) Building our house, way back in 2006. I loved the little house journaling block that came with the kit, and decided to drag these photos off the computer.

Mostly Coordinates Collections Lemonade kit (sold out, sorry!). This is a page I've been wanting to do for a long time; my deep love for our state fair. Pictures are a combo from this year and 2008. Those are actually white letters that I inked.

So what have you been up to lately? I promise to share a few of my home improvement projects soon, as well as those in progress.

Conversations

2009-08-07T14:52:00.003-04:00

Some fun convos from yesterday:

During a meeting with a big customer:
Him: So, when are you due?
Me: January, I guess I'd forgotten that I told you.
Him: Oh, no I can just tell.
Me: (odd look on my face)
Him: It's the twinkle in your eye.
Huh, I thought it was probably the bulge around my waist. But he is an old-fashioned guy, and I loved the "twinkle in your eye" cover for basically telling me my stomach is getting huge.

With a friend's wife, as she reaches out to touch my belly:
Me, as a pull out of her reach: It really freaks me out when people try to touch my stomach.
Her: Oh, sorry! Why?
Me: Because it's weird.

As husband pokes my belly for the umteempth time:
Me: What exactly are you doing?
Him: I just like to poke around. It feels funny.
Me: Thanks.

Jessica Sprague

2009-07-29T11:51:00.001-04:00

Recently I took Jessica Sprague's free photo editing class, where I learned all sorts of cool stuff about using masks, frames, and layers. Check out some of my final edits:

Celebrate Love

2009-07-21T19:06:00.000-04:00

Quick card to share, I actually really like how this turned out! I've been making a lot of baby thank you cards lately, but I made this one for a recent wedding.

Growing . . .

2009-07-20T19:03:00.001-04:00

Was finally able to take a picture today where I look pregnant, not just like I've eaten one too many ice creams.

On another note, what the heck is up with my smile in this picture? Do I look possessed, or what?