Right Now

Right Now:

They are:

Laughing together a lot over little boy secrets and jokes

Getting excited about football and basketball season

Playing together constantly

Arguing and hurting feelings occasionally

Playing ball in the yard with Dad

Helping with chores in the house and earning and allowance

Wanting baby Jude to arrive faster than he is supposed too

Loving to see all the baby clothes and supplies being put up in Jude’s room

Asking lots of questions about baby Jude and about themselves as babies

Watching and feeling baby Jude move

Smelling like wet dog all the time!!!

He is:

Working hard in third grade

Working on thinking first, then acting

Trying to make good decisions even when he is tired and grouchy

Reading the Diary of a Wimpy Kid series, along with nonfiction sports and a few Magic Tree House books

Wearing athletic shorts and t-shirts (especially Under Armor…his current favorite)

Loving the Boston Red Sox

He is:

Loving first grade

Reading lots of different picture books to us

Sneaking in lots of DS and Wii play when he thinks we aren’t looking

Wearing athletic clothes like big brother, but preferring nice shorts and polo shirts

Asking lots of questions about baby Jude and probably worrying a bit about losing his baby of the family status, though he hasn’t mentioned it outright


He is:

 

Growing everyday even though it is not obvious to most

Kicking a lot anytime I am resting

Sitting on my bladder and causing me to have to make constant trips to the bathroom

Sitting much lower than either of his older brothers were at this point, which is an odd feeling

Very, very loved already and we are all eager to see who he is going to be

He is:

Preparing for basketball season which starts in November

Getting excited about all the college coaches who are interested in his players

Reading the Arkansas Democrat Gazette daily

Making deer and beef jerky nearly every night

Doing lots more around the house and trying to make things easier on me

Trying to get home earlier in the evening because he knows that when ball season starts and Jude arrives that things will be very busy and crazy

Spending more time grading papers and making lesson plans for his American History classes
Really, really needing a new cell phone...Geez

She is

Realizing that she will always be the only female in this household and wondering if that is a good or bad thing

Trying to get lots done before Jude arrives

Feeling a lot more tired because of the pregnancy and the anemia

Wanting all the house repairs to be completed, so tired of having to have things fixed

Smelling many things more strongly (especially sweaty, stinky boys) due to this pregnancy

Feeling Jude kick and reminding myself to remember this feeling since this is probably our last pregnancy

Creating more and wanting to get lots more memories recorded before Jude arrives, especially layouts about Carter and Ethan when they were little

Wanting/planning to complete a Week In the Life project before Jude arrives in December so that I can record our life as a family of four

Wanting to decorate for fall

Hoping cooler weather arrives soon

Wearing some of my regular clothes mixed with my maternity clothes, preferring my maternity nightgowns and proud that 6 ½ months into this pregnancy I have only gained 13 pounds

Going to bed earlier and trying to read Adult Fiction books as I relax, but falling asleep while reading quite a bit

Feeling anxious and a bit worried about the arrival of Jude and making plans so that the boys won’t feel left out or feel like everything has changed now that he has arrived

Wordless Wednesday

13 weeks ago...on the beach in South Texas...with my whole family.

In about 13 weeks we will add another family member and probably the last grand baby to this family.

Reminds me how time flies...& how much I love this family!

Wordless Wednesday (Almost)

Me- circa 1979.
Not being camera shy at all. Really
Can't wait to post the layout I created...
Love, love, love finding old pictures

One Little Word Layout

My friend, Ronda has brought back her One Little Word challenge on a smaller scale and I have chosen to take part in its reintroduction. I hope to keep up with each new word she posts.

This month's word is UNLOCK. This word really spoke to me this month because it has been a difficult month for Carter. He is only 9, but he has not ever experienced the disappointment of not being able to do something he truly wanted to do until now. Last year he was nominated for the Gifted and Talented program at school and we found out a couple of weeks ago that he did not make it for this current school year. He was so very upset and as a parent it was difficult to watch him doubt himself and his intelligence. This past week he tried out for the 3rd and 4th grade select choir and did not make it either. Again I had to watch him doubt his abilities and himself. It was so painful to see him so hurt and so difficult to find the right words to encourage and lift his spirits.

For someone who thrives on competition not only athletically, but also academically, it is especially hard for him to feel like he has failed. I know that there are many disappointments that he will face in the future, but I sure hope we don't have to face any in the near future... It is so hard, this parenting thing. All I can do is try to support, encourage, and love him. At such a young age it is hard to explain to him that your self-worth comes from inside and not from what group you are part of. Hard, hard stuff for him and for us, too.

So I used that as my jumping off point for my layout. I also chose to combine Ronda's OLW challenge with Cocoa Daisy's September Sketch Challenge and here is my resulting layout entitled: Unlock Your Potential.

Thanks for stopping by! 

Almost... Wordless Wednesday

Picture from our South Texas Vacation- June 2012

Makes me realize two things:
     1) We will only be a family of four for a few more months. Jude arrives mid- December!!
     2) I need to edit and print vacation photos... LOL

For the Love of CHA- Post # 2

Good Morning! Today I ordered about 75 prints from Wal-Mart and picked them up as I flew through town on the way to the boys swimming lessons. The pictures I printed are from October of last year and include our trip to a corn maze, pumpkin carving, and costume photos. I don't scrap chronologically so it really doesn't bother me that I am just now putting together my Halloween mini in July. If anything it makes me dream of cooler temperatures, which is a very good thing in the middle of July in the South! :)

Of all the pictures I had printed this one is my absolute favorite.

I am not sure how I will top this year's costumes.The boys loved them, they were relatively easy to make, and looked so good on them. I rarely sew, except at Halloween. There is just something special to me about hand making the boys costumes each year. 

Besides a Halloween mini for each year (the past few years I have bought a Halloween mini kit from Cocoa Daisy, here is last years that I am working on now), I also keep a Halloween through the years mini that has an individual picture of each boy in costume and then one of them together. I then make additional, very simple, mini's for both sets of grandparents. 

Besides Halloween, the only other holiday I buy scrapbook products specifically for is Christmas. I would love to say I have accomplished a December Daily in prior years, but it has yet to happen. I do manage to hand make Christmas cards each year and I have a huge stash of Christmas supplies waiting to be used. 

So today because I am feeling the holiday spirit, I thought I would share the products I have spotted in this years CHA debuts. I do tend to be a traditionalist when it comes to the holiday lines I pick up. I like the reds and greens of Christmas and the greens, oranges, and blacks of Halloween. So that is what you will see here as well. 

Let's get started!

Let's talk Halloween first. There are two companies that I think do an amazing job with traditional Halloween lines each year. First is My Mind's Eye. This year's line is a continuation of their Lost and Found line. There is nothing about this collection that I do not like. I think I will end up with lots of these pieces. Here is a picture of the entire line.

The other company is Echo Park. Their Halloween line is called Chillingsworth Manor. 

This is the Collection Pack. All the papers are wonderful, both the a & b sides have very nice designs.

The following two papers really caught my eye. 

I can see myself using these two pages in a variety of different ways. I like the versatility they offer to projects, cards, even some home decor banners. I will have to own them both!

Ok, let's move right onto Christmas. 

The first line that really caught my eye was Simple Stories. Since I have already bought a few of their Mix and Match 6x8 Albums, I was interested to see what their Christmas line would look like this year, in hopes of putting together a December Daily. I do like Handmade Holiday line a lot. Lots of things I can definitely use to document the upcoming holiday season and possibly help me catch up on years past. 

The Collection Kit has a number of great papers in it along with sticker sheets. I tend to buy Simple Stories lines as kits because I end up loving everything in the whole kit. 

These are the pages for the 6x8 Album. These would make great foundations for a December Daily

Love these pockets. These would be great on layouts, cards, Project Life, or in a December Daily.

I also spotted these 4x6 cards. These would be great journaling spots for layouts, PL, or DD, as well as recipe cards for a Christmas recipe album.

Another Christmas line I spotted was from Fancy Pants. It is called Home for Christmas.  Here again it is a nice traditional red and green with some kraft thrown in to give it a vintage-y feel. 

Here are the paper/sticker elements available in the line. I need to look more closely at the papers to determine which ones I really want to purchase. The tape stickers look interesting to me as well. 

These are more embellishments that go along with the line. I particularly like the Mixed Buttons and Mingled Brads. 

The final collection is not as traditional as I like (too much blue in my opinion), but because of the "b" sides of the paper I was pretty excited about the whole line. This line is Lily Bee's Christmas Cheer. I kept looking through the papers trying to determine which one's I could live without, especially because of the blue, but the "b" sides kept jumping out at me. 

I see lots of blue here, but I am telling you the "b" sides on each paper are nice and traditional. I especially love the numbered patterned paper, the dots, and the chevrons. 

These index cards are nice as well. I see lots of different uses for these.

These are some of my absolute favorite alpha stickers ever. I own almost every set since they began making these and I reach for them often. 

I am a stamp junkie, but a very picky stamp junkie. These show a lot of possibilities even after the holidays are over. I really like the vertical list of numbers and the vertical row of dots. 

So it is about 90 degrees Fahrenheit today, which is not completely unbearable, but I think I will wait just a bit longer before tackling some of the outdoor chores around here. I think I will spend the heat of the day working downstairs on some wonderful holiday scrappiness until it cools off outside

Hope you find time to scrap as well! :)

Olivia 

For the love of CHA- Post #1

This is the time of year that all scrapbookers look forward to. The time of year when visions of adding new products to their every growing stash of scrappy-ness is overwhelming...the companies, the products, the loads and loads of new inspiration and ideas that the designers share. It is a budget conscience husbands nightmare. :) It is in fact time for the CHA Summer 2012. A time when companies debut their upcoming scrapbook lines for fall and winter.

I always love to look at all the wonderful things that scrapbook companies are putting out. It not only gives me great ideas for my own layouts and projects, but it also shows what up and coming trends are. I don't buy heavily into trends, but it always interesting to see what is coming and many times you see the trends in scrapbooking also reflected in home decor and fashion.

I always end up with an incredible list of "wants/needs", but I always seem to be able to cut it down significantly before I place orders at Two Peas that would make my dear hubby's head spin. I am also quite lucky that many of the things I like end up as part of the monthly kits that I receive from Cocoa Daisy. Christine does an amazing job of putting together beautiful kits.

I tend to gravitate towards particular companies, rather than lines of scrapbook products. For me it seems that the companies I like put out good products each and every year and that excites me. My post today focuses one company that I have really come to like Studio Calico.  They too have a monthly kit, but since I am already part of a kit company I love and can't afford the time or money to join another, I stick pretty much to their retail lines. Their lines for fall/winter 2012 did not disappoint. Here are the things I am loving:

Yearbook Paper Collection

Classic Calico Vol. 3 Collection

I doubt that I would buy both Collection packs, but I do love the colors and designs of both these lines. I need more time to pick through these papers and decide which ones I need.



I am also digging these embellishments/products from the SC Yearbook Collection.

These pockets could be easily used on a layout, card or within Project Life. I can also see it as a separate piece added to a mini album that has different size pages and pockets.

Love the idea of layering these frames over pictures or as parts of a mini album or layout.

The first washi tape really lends itself to journaling & titles. I will definitely have to have this.

These paper clips would be really cute used on a birthday layouts or with a mini album that is made up of  a list (ie. Top five summer favorites).

These fabric mistables would be a really great way to add more texture to a project without adding tons of buckle. The fact that I can mist/paint/ink them my needs is a huge plus. I will have to have some of these to!

I like the looks of these stickers, but I am not completely sold because it is a whole lot of the same size/same shape stickers. How many projects would I really use these on? This is one of those cases that if I bought them I would end up cutting them apart and sharing with a favorite scrappy friend, so that they would not sit in my stash go to waste. I already have enough products doing that right now!

I also liked these pieces from the Wonderland collection.

I love a good mask. This one is small enough to cover the front of a card or used in sections along a layout or mini album page. It doesn't just scream Christmas either, it looks to have many versatile uses, especially for a mama of little boys who are super stars in her eyes. ;) 

I like the idea of these frames for Instagram pictures as part of December Daily, Project Life, or just layouts.

These journaling cards would be great for Project Life, December Daily, or as part of layouts. I'm always looking for an interesting journaling spot!

Love these wood veneers. Here again, like the fabric mistables, I can add whatever color paint/ink/mist to them and they won't add tons of buckle to my project.

 Finally,

Out of the all the Studio Calico Summer 2012 products this rolling stamp is my absolute favorite piece they have come out with. There are so many possibilities for this stamp. It is going to definitely be part of my stamp collection! I always make sure to add a date to all my layouts and this will be a well used tool.

I was also very intrigued by the Handbook that Studio Calico is putting out, but I just picked up quite a few pieces from the Simple Stories Mix and Match Album System which is very similar in my opinion. I really don't need another mini album to put together considering that I have two bins full of them downstairs waiting to be used. I may pick up a few pieces here and there to add to the Simple Stories albums I am using, but I need to think on it a bit more. I will say that Lisa Truesdell puts together an amazing summer album using the SC Handbook.

I will be back tomorrow with a few more pictures of products that I am excited about from this Summer 2012 CHA debuts. I am also still working on a post about how I store my Cocoa Daisy stamps. I have decided to include how I store all my stamps so I am now in the process of taking more pictures and running my blog post through my head to get it all the lined out.

Later! Happy Scrapping!!

Olivia