love

There's nothing better than a beautiful daddy-daughter moment, is there?

I got this photo by chance one afternoon & used it in my Project Life album. I also printed another (without the date) for me to scrap.

I was inspired by this layout on the October Afternoon blog. Obviously I only used one photo, but I did get to use a fun card from the Go Fly A Kite Line instead. Everything on this layout is from the Green Tangerine's May kit.

Originally I wanted my title on the lower right of the page, like the original layout. I even put it there (thank goodness for thickers that come up easily!) but didn't like it. So I put the thickers on the card instead & I think it worked much better.

These buttons came in the kit too. I usually just adhere them with glue dots, but I thought I'd spice it up by actually stitching them on for a change. I really like how it looks.

just ride

Last fall our neighbors across the street gave us their old bikes, which was so awesome! We didn't really want to buy the kids bikes for Christmas since they probably wouldn't be able to ride them much during the winter. Although these were a bit on the small side, they were perfect until their birthdays.

I used the August kit from Green Tangerines on this layout. I've been waiting to use the Hambly Screen bike transparency for a while...I just hadn't quite figured out how I wanted my overall layout to look until recently. The layout is based on a sketch by Alison Davis, in her sketch book #5.

I used up the last of the diagonal stripe paper from my kit. I barely had enough left! I had planned on using red glitter thickers on this title tag. I have two sheets of it; one from the kit & one I had purchased last Fourth of July. Of those two packages, I didn't have any T, R, or E. So...plan B! Fortunately I *love* how it looks with the blue (also purchased last Fourth of July). And even though I wanted red on the tag, I think the font of the blue letters works better overall.

flashback friday...may 2005

It's time to get nostalgic...

My little boy just "graduated" from preschool yesterday. He'll start kindergarten in August. Kindergarten! Where does the time go? College doesn't really seem like that long ago, and now I have a little boy only months from kindergarten.

But he wasn't always so big...

Here he is in May 2005. When he was two months old and still fit in the infant carseat!

a new twist to Tuesday

Usually I reserve Tuesdays for my Project Life updates. However, I haven't taken the time to go thru my photos from this last week yet. So instead...

A very Bakugan birthday...Brandon's fifth birthday in February.

I had fun using a bunch of stuff from my Green Tangerine's September kit. I got the layout from Allison Davis' blog.

Olivia's 4th birthday

We celebrated Olivia's fourth birthday one month ago, and I finished this layout last weekend. I had so much fun using a bunch of goodies from My Mind's Eye Quite Contrary Collection. I ordered all this a few weeks ago, along with Basic Grey's Kioshi and some other stuff to fill in my stash, from Two Peas in a Bucket.

I used another great sketch from Allison Davis. This one was from her sketch book volume 5. Originally the left side of the page was supposed to be a circle, and I had full intentions to make it a circle. But then when I got my paper & I saw how cute the die cut paper was...well, I decided to use that in its original state instead!

These flowers were originally white. I dyed them "rose red" with a reinker from Stampin' Up. I don't recommend this...I think I got more ink on my hands (which were stained for a few days!) than on the flower. They weren't drying, so I decided against using them for Mothers' Day cards. Fortunately I didn't throw them away, and a week later they were perfect for this layout!

Allison's orignal layout had journaling strips here, which I love. But I really love this journaling tag so I used it instead! It even has strawberries on it, which were "featured" at Olivia's party.

Flashback Friday...forever friends

This Friday we go WAY back...

I did this layout sometime in 2003-ish. At that time I was taking apart all three (or four?) photo albums I had from my years in Alpha Phi. They were all in the old magnetic albums, and since they were "pre-digital" I had included EVERY photo.

This layout celebrates my friend Lori. We were pledge sisters in Spring '97 at Alpha Phi, Beta Psi (SJSU). And we share a birthday (though she's older!). So naturally we were best friends. We're not as tight as we were then, but I still have VERY fond memories of that time in my life.

Some of  you reading this blog might recognize some other things in those photos: Disney Days during Fall Rush, Alex's "Guns & Lace" sign (that I neatly decorated with beer labels...yeah, I was cool like that), and our lovely black dresses that we used to wear knee-high stockings with. Yes, just like old ladies because it was too dang hot to wear pantyhose (and you had to wear hosiery). Oooh, we were such rebels.

Good times...

something to be thankful for!

It's been a while since I've posted a layout :)

Between my non-stop photo madness during the week in my life and life in general, scrapbooking sometimes gets put on the back burner. Fortunately, last Sunday I had some free moments, thanks to Beauty & the Beast :)  It just took a few days to share...I was being lazy & didn't feel like changing lenses on my camera so I used my point & shoot. Which is a GREAT camera, but I couldn't get enough light without the flash. At least I got a photo finally!

I completed this layout of Easter using a sketch from Allison Davis' sketch book #4. The paper & woolies are from Basic Grey's Kioshi line. I think it's a very soft & springy line. I got a few extra sheets to cover some paper mache' letters at some point too.

I love how there's just a touch of bling in the woolie dragonfly. I used some thickers I had in my stash from the December GT kit.

I wasn't sure what I wanted to do for my journaling. The sketch does show strips of paper here, but I couldn't figure out what color to do. Then I remembered how Kristen has done a lot with tone on tone journaling strips, & it always looks great!

Something that just keeps eating at me...

Thirteen years ago I turned 21. I also started dating someone. At the time I thought he was pretty special & the feeling was mutual. We had a great time together, and of course, one thing led to another.

About a year & a half into our relationship, I got “the flu”. As any grown woman knows, grown women don’t get “the flu” unexpectedly for a few weeks unless it isn’t really “the flu”. Yes, I got pregnant.

I was on the pill & I thought we were being careful, but you know, nothing is 100% effective. I never told anyone at the time, not even my boyfriend, though I'm not sure why. I never had to share because I miscarried. I remember being so relieved at the time.

Honestly, I never thought about it much over the years. I mean, this happened over 11 years ago. We broke up a few months later, and although we stayed friends for a while, I met my current husband shortly thereafter.

Every once in a while it crosses my mind, never for very long. Sometimes I think about it more than others. I wonder if I had been more careful & not been in denial & not been drinking so much if I wouldn’t have lost the baby.

Lately I’ve been thinking about it a lot. Like there’s a piece of me missing. I’ve talked to my husband about it a few times, and how different my life would be. I would have had a newborn right when we met, so that wouldn’t have happened. I wouldn’t have my three wonderful children whom I desperately love.

But I would have an 11 year old child right now, and I’d probably be married to someone else. Would my life be better? I don’t know. It would be different. I wouldn’t have gone to grad school because I would’ve been having a baby.

A friend of mine recently miscarried. She shared a blog post from a previous miscarriage too, and how if “that” hadn’t happened, she wouldn’t have “the child she had after the miscarriage”.

Sometimes, I just have to keep reminding myself of that. And sometimes, I just need to share what I’m going through too.

Project LIFE, 5/9 - 5/15

Happy Mothers' Day! David took the three kids to Petroglyph to make this awesome platter for me...exactly what I wanted :)

David got me this Mr. Coffee iced tea maker for Christmas. I *love* it! So much easier than boiling on the store, especially in the hot summer when I'm drinking at least a pot a day!

Brandon's preschool had a park day carnival on Wednesday instead of school. David was the lucky one to take all three kids...and they had a blast!

I love my washing machine & dryer!

Nothing says "happy" like a child blowing bubbles.

We went over to Green Acres nursery after baseball today & picked up a bunch of veggies for our garden: 8 tomatoes, 2 zucchini, 2 cucumbers, 1 eggplant, 1 watermelon, and 1 pumpkin. I can't wait until it all starts growing!

Project LIFE, 4/25 - 5/8

Since I posted my Week in the Life pages last week, I thought I'd share my POTDs for two weeks today. Make sense? I hope!

My Ikea Expedit shelves in the office. I plan on covering a few of the openings with 12x12 frames from Michaels. I'll frame some scrapbook pages & hook them up with the magnets used to keep cupboards closed. I got that idea from a message board at Two Peas in a Bucket. That way I can see some of my layouts more often & cover up the clutter! Woo-hoo!

Morning commute to preschool.

Watching TV at my parents' house.

The kids helped me take a TON of photos this week for our "Week in the Life" album. I snapped this one of Olivia in action.

And Olivia got this picture of me too.

Abbie insisted on carrying the Macy's bag with my mom's shoes in it. I think the bag weighed more than she does!

Like her shirt? Some of you may recognize it as last year's Breakaway shirt. It is Abbie's new favorite shirt (good thing we have three!). She seems to like it because it has a "T" on it, just like Daddy's "A's" shirt (that also has a "T" on it, according to her). Hey, at least she's recognizing it's a letter; I mean, she's only 21 months old.

New month, new look. I got these cool photo frame brushes from Ali Edwards at Designer Digitals. I thought I'd change things up for May.

After Brandon's baseball game Olivia announced that she wants to play baseball next year. She said she didn't even care what color shirt they wore, she just wants to play. She also informed us that she'll hit better, catch better, throw better, & run faster than her brother. I think that pretty much sums up her personality. She's definitely our little Annie Oakley...and she even has the right hair color!

Sunday morning doughnuts.

Our dog Toby.

Out for a walk around the neighborhood after dinner. Brandon & Olivia holding hands. Life is good.

Yum! Cinco de Mayo dinner :)

Chicken Tacos with Mango Avocado Salsa in Organic Blue Corn Taco Shells from Whole Foods. Served with Tanya's Cilantro Lime Rice from the 2009 Bayside MOPS cookbook. Delish.

LOL!

Make-up brush washing day.

So besides that it's Saturday & Brandon has a baseball game, I love how this is so "him" right now. So "mom, really, do you have to take a picture? the sun is in my eyes & I'm five now so I'm too cool for this." So Brandon.

the best mothers' day ever!

Last Monday, my husband told me to leave the house (to go to work) because he had to take the kids somewhere. According to the kids, they were going to the mall to buy me a gift. Okay. Except my mom had to go along too. So they could buy me a gift? Okay, whatever. It's that time of year (my birthday is also in May).

When I got home from work, I was told by my kids (who were supposed to be keeping a secret) that they bought me something at the mall. Okay...please don't tell me!

I really didn't think too much of it, except that I did wonder a little bit why mom had to go with them to pick out a top or a pair of earrings. By Wednesday, I had an idea. A hopeful thought.

So Saturday night, as I tucked Olivia into bed, she leaned up & said, "Mommy, I have a special secret." This is a normal part of our routine. My husband said, as he was leaving the room, "Don't tell her." But Olivia didn't listen.

"Mommy, my secret is, are you going to wear your special Mothers' Day shirt tomorrow? I'm going to wear my special Mothers' Day shirt."

I replied, "Yes, of course," and smiled.

When I woke up Sunday morning, I threw on an old tank top while I was getting ready. I figured I'd be opening my gift soon and I knew I had to wear my special Mothers' Day shirt today.

Imagine my surprise when I opened this:

I squealed with joy! My kids all made me this awesome platter from Petroglyph (which is why my mom had to go & help "at the mall"). Not only does it have all three of their handprints, but they kept the secret all week. And Olivia even stuck to their cover story so well that I was convinced that I was getting a shirt. How awesome is that!

Flashback Friday...brandon may 2006

I'm waiting for my photos to arrive from scrapbookpictures.com so that I can get my Week in the Life album put together.

Until then...

From May 2006, when Brandon was about 14 months old. I don't think he was walking yet here (and Olivia was a newborn!). Look at that hair!

a week in our life...photo collages

Yesterday I shared my "title" page for each day of our week, Monday thru Saturday. (I didn't include Sunday because I was sharing my Project Life week.) So here is Sunday, the last day of our week:

I chose to start our week on a Monday for two reasons: 1) I liked the idea of keeping the weekend "together" as we could've (and did) have an event that occured over the weekend,  and 2) Although my calendar says the week starts with Sunday, I tend to structure my life with a new week starting Monday morning. So it made sense for me. Some people started with Sunday. I'm sure other people are starting on a different day.

I shared my digital title pages. They are part of a kit I purchased at Designer Digitals. I like the overal design of the pages in the kit for the album, and I can reuse the collage pages for any other layout. Plus, since each page is a layered template, I can (and did) selectively print each layer so that I can scrap the layout in a traditional (paper) manner as well. (Once I get my photos printed I will share that process.)

Here are the collage pages that I just mentioned. I did one of these for each day. Again, the yellow strip will be replaced with paper after I print these. They are all 8 1/2 x 11.

Monday

Tuesday

Wednesday

Thursday

Friday

Saturday

Sunday

I added some digital brushes (stamps) to the pages as well. Everything I used came from Designer Digitals. For the most part, I tried to make these collages a mix of us and things in our lives. I didn't really have any certain reason for picking these photos other than they "worked" here; either they were the right size/orientation, or I just liked the photo. I have plenty of other photos for each day that I've cropped to 2 1/2 x 3 1/2 to fit in a baseball card page protector.