I'm a Britt Girl!

I joined one more CT this week...

I love Brittney's designs and can't wait to start creating pages for her!

A Page for Miss Tiina Designs

A Page for Matahati Designs

credits:
Boys of Summer by The Seedlings at Scrap Orchard

Been Scrapping Up a Storm

Here are some recent LO's. The first two are for Miss Tiina Designs, and the second two are for challenges at the Shabby Pickle forum.






I just registered at the Shabby Pickle because you earn points toward gift certificates to the shop there for completing their challenges, and they have some fabulous designers! I still need to do three more challenges before I have enough points for my first gift certificate. Once I get it, I'll make sure to show off my purchase!

The Reason I...

...love the security of digital scrapping

A few days ago I felt like actually getting out some real paper and quilling. Notice the pink flower in the background that's out of focus?
Here's the same flower after I stepped out of the room for a few minutes and then returned:
I guess John thought it would look better with a few of the pieces missing. I can just imagine him standing there plucking off petals, "she loves me, she loves me not, she loves me, she won't be too happy with me, I'd better vamoose!" If that had been a paper scrapbook page, I would've been really upset!

...felt like it might be time to give Peter a haircut


...know I take too many photos

We gave James the first digital camera we bought that no longer works, and he loves to "take pictures" with it. After "snapping" one, he studies the back of the camera intently, then announces, "just one or two more."



...don't find early mornings quite as pleasant as I used to

All my boys wake up a bit disoriented and grumpy!

Another Layout

A LO made with a RAK from Line Designs of her Jardin d'Eden kit. This page was mentioned at the GSO yesterday.

A Couple of Layouts

I haven't created a layout all week... I just couldn't seem to get a page to come together right. But, this afternoon I finally found my creative mojo hiding under the couch, along with one of my flip flops, about a dozen matchbox cars, assorted boy toys, and an unbelievable number of dust bunnies (which are a protected species by the way). I was able to finish not one, but two, pages this afternoon. The first is with Matahati Design's new kit which will be available tomorrow at ScrapMatters. It is packed full of beautiful papers and elements, both natural and graphic styles are represented. I'm looking forward to playing with it some more.
For this second page I used Sugarplum Paperie's new Twitter Blossoms kit. I just love the colors and the fun, hand-drawn elements.

Anyone have the number for Terminex?

You all remember the spider incident, right? Well, check out what I found when I opened my cupboard this morning:

It's an infestation I tell you! Send help quick!!

More Conversations with James

Yesterday...
James: "hurry Mom, Johnny's bottom is very dirty. He needs a diaper change!"
Me: going to check, and yes indeed a diaper change was in order
James: "he's very dirty Mom"
Me: "uh-huh" while carrying him into the bedroom
James: following me into the bedroom talking the whole time
Me: changing John's diaper
James: climbing on to the bed to oversee the process
James: "hurry Mom, he's stinkin' up the whole house!"

About a month ago I was standing in the bathroom putting on some makeup one afternoon in preparation for my first trip out with just my hubby since two weeks before Peter was born (about four months prior.) It wasn't a big date, just a trip to drop off the van at the shop and grab a quick bite to eat, but still, I didn't want to look like a tired mother of three! James wandered in...
James: "what are you doing? are you curling your hair?"
Me: "no, I'm putting on some mascara"
James: "why are you doing that?"
Me: "I want to look nice for your daddy"
James: "more, you need more!!"
Me: look in the mirror and sigh, no amount of mascara was going to help! :)

A number of months ago now, when Peter was still up in the middle of the night and I was still finding it impossible to drag myself out of bed when I heard James yell "awake" in the morning, I ignored that very same cry. Then I felt a presence next to me and when I pried open one eyelid, there he was staring at me.
James: "you need to get up Mommy and make the boys breakfast" (he's gotten into the habit of refering to himself and John in the third person)
Me: trying to delay the inevitable, "why?"
James: "because the boys are hungry"
Me: "why don't you make breakfast?"
James: "because I don't know how"
Me: "how come I always have to make breakfast?"
James: "that's the way God made you to do!"
Me: groan and roll out of bed, outmaneuvered by a three year old

If One is Fun...

Two is Funner!



I joined my second Creative Team this week and am really enjoying working with Zakirah's wonderful designs! Here's my first LO as part of her team:

This beautiful photo of my mom and dad was taken while they were in Japan this spring. Unfortunately whoever took it had the camera at a strange angle, so rather than try to crop the picture so that it was straight, I decided to just scrap it as is. :)

You can just imagine...

my surprise when I stepped out of the back door this evening to check on the grill, and the first thing I saw was James with his shorts down, "watering" the lawn. Ah yes, one more item for my list of "Things I Regret Teaching My Children."

Take the Cake! (again)

Miss Tiina Designs is offering an incredible opportunity to purchase her entire store this month for only $25 personal use, or $50 commercial use. Click my new "Take the Cake" blinkie on the right for all the details. Here are a couple more pages I've made with her fabulous designs...

(As always, click on the layout for complete credits! )

Promised Pool Pics

ahhh... don't you just love alliteration?

Here's James. White and happy, and white. Gee whiz, where does he get that lack of color from? Must be from Simon, that's all I can figure. Excuse me while I go slather on some more tan-in-a-can...

Next up: John. See that look in his eyes? No driving for him anytime soon, maybe not ever. Actually, I think he's just gloating because he got to spend the most time in the race car float, which was of course the favorite float. "James, you're older. You need to show preference to your brother." Yes siree, firstborns always get the short end of the stick. I can totally empathize with him, but I figure it must be good for him. I mean, look at me? I turned out ok! Moving right along...

Simon and James. Lessons in trust. Painful, but oh so necessary. At some point every child has to learn that dad isn't going to drop him, or drown him. This is the only picture where he doesn't have a float on and yet is still smiling. In the others, he just looks terrified.

John again. White and happy, and huge. Where does he get that tummy... oh, never mind.

My First Creative Team

Time to spill the secret... I'm on Miss Tiina Designs CT! This is my first time and I was so excited when she contacted me asking if I'd be interested in joining! I'm having lots of fun. WAY more fun than I'd be having if the big secret was another pregnancy like my mom and sister were thinking it was!! In fact, if it were another baby, you'd find me in a straight jacket being carted away to a loony bin. (Not that I don't want any more children mind you; I just don't want any more right now!)

After winning my blog blinkie at DST, I decided I wanted to try my hand at making one of my own. I finally finished last night.
I've decided that the most important skill you need if you want to make blinkies is not creativity; it's patience! It took forever to finish!! But, I'm pretty happy with the result. I think the word "MY" is too small in most of it, and maybe I'll go back and fix it (but then again, maybe not! There's a lot of layers that would have to be redone.) It was fun though, so I think I will try making another sometime.

Here's my latest layout. The old picture is of my mom's parents on their wedding day (my grandfather passed away almost five years ago now, so this photo is very special), the middle photo is of my mom and dad when they were in Japan this summer (the love they have for each other is such a blessing to me!), and the last is of Simon and I (and Peter too! ) in Hawaii last summer. I extracted each of the boys from a different picture. (Don't you think Peter looks like he has bulldog jowls?)

Random News

My "little" brother left for Marine bootcamp about two and a half weeks ago. I miss him, not that I used to see him all the time, but I always looked forward to a smile and hug on Sunday mornings when we got to church. I really miss his funny stories. Simon always says that no one makes me laugh like Will, and it's so true. He's one of the funniest people I know. You can find the latest updates on how he's doing, plus snippets of letters we've gotten from him here. I highly recommend checking it out~the letters are pretty entertaining! We went up the Saturday we left for vacation to say goodbye to him since he was leaving while we were gone, and I took some pictures of him and my boys. Here's one of the best of the bunch:


On to one of John's latest misdeeds. Last Saturday morning I decided to make muffins for breakfast so I mixed up the batter, poured it in the tins, put it in the oven and set the timer (always important for me to do because every time I tell myself I can remember without a timer, I end up forgetting!) When the timer went off and I came back to check on them, this is what met my unbelieving eyes:
There's John, up to his elbows in flour which he had been happily dumping on the floor by the fistful. (And yes, I do buy flour and sugar in bulk.) Our scolding was met with this dirty look, after which he took off, leaving a trail of flour behind. Yes indeedy, we're going to have our hands full with that child!

Peter's personality is really starting to develop. Even now while I'm writing this, he's sitting in his car seat talking away to himself. I think he just likes to hear the sound of his own voice. Even James didn't talk this much as a baby. Considering how much he talks now, it's kind of scary to think that Peter might talk even more!


I started a Bible study last Wednesday. We're going through the book "Feminine Appeal" by Carolyn Mahaney. During the discussion time the subject of laundry somehow came up, and everyone in my group was amazed when my sister and I said we don't sort our laundry before throwing it in the washer. We've never had anything change colors on us, but no one could believe we don't sort. So I ask you... do you sort your laundry? Anyway, I signed up to bring snacks the next week (which would be tonight) so last night when we were at Costco I picked up some yummy looking cupcakes. After we got home and unloaded everything, Simon noticed that there was one cupcake missing.
I can't believe someone ate one of the cupcakes right in the store and we didn't even realize... What? You say there's chocolate crumbs on my face? Please excuse me for a minute while I brush them off...
...
...
...
...and we didn't even realize it when we bought them!

The boys are playing in room time right now. I'm pretending I can't hear them.

A number of weeks ago I dragged myself out of bed in the morning, and stumbled down the hall on my way to make some coffee, when I was confronted by the biggest spider ever seen in North America. My heart started pounding; I stood absolutely still trying to figure out what I was going to do. (I'll show you a picture of the spider, but you must promise to remember that it was early in the morning, it was dark, and I wasn't wearing my contacts! Here's what it looked like to me; click the image to see what someone who wasn't practically blind or totally exhausted would have seen:)
Scary, isn't it? After a minute or two, I finally figured out that what I was looking at was one of the boys' animals, but rather than pick it up, I just left it there, and all morning my heart jumped every time I saw it lying on the floor. Watch out, you never know when a huge spider will invade your house!

Be back later today with some pool pictures! :)

(Hey Laura, I changed the commenting options so that anyone can leave a comment, and I know you read this nonsense just to see pictures of your nephews, so next time you're here, leave me a comment!)