For Tracy

So this video was initially just me trying to get Caleb on tape talking. He was saying his ABC's, 123's and colors until I started taping and then he was talking so low the video didn't pick it up. Anyway, he then said "SUN" and left the room and came back with the Elmo "SUN" book we got from you today. So I thought "hmmmm, I'll share this with Tracy and also show her the album while I'm at it!!!".
So, here it is. You can fast forward through the Caleb sitting on the floor part. Enjoy! It'll be back in the mail SOON!! :)

Another Handmade Ornament

I saw one of these on 2Peas last week and loved it so I thought I'd give it a try. I think I probably should have used something other than floss but that was all I had and, my circles are 2", not 3" like Nichol's. I really like it and think I'm going to make a few more :)

And here's my little guy tonight by our C'mas tree :)

Hmmm, To sprinkle or not to sprinkle..

That is the question!

I love this picture of Caleb taken today while crafting with Mama. His expression is priceless.. It's a cross between Popeye and Charlie Brown. Too cute!
We made Christmas sugar cookies with frosting, sprinkles and M&M's. YUMM-O! :)
But Caleb isn't really big on cookies so he just snuck some M&M's.. He loves those. Perfect tool to help me with potty training too, I think :)

Cute Ad

I found this on the blog of a LSS I'm going to visit when we go see my SIL in KC the end of this month. So cute!

WOW!

Well, thank you so much for your prayers, they are definitely working!!
I'm in SHOCK right now as Caleb just came up to me and said "I bed tired" (sounds like "I bed tie-o").
With exception of "I Poo" and "Daddy-O" (which means I pooped and Daddy Home), this is the first time he's said more than one word at once!!!!
I'm estatic! :)

Well, I better get this little guy down for a nap.. He has a drs. appointment today in a few hours. Have a great Friday, everyone!

It's 4am and I am up...

Caleb woke me up whimpering a little bit so now that I'm awake I thought I'd do a little blog hopping. I found this little poem and thought it was too cute not to share.
Enjoy!

Twas the night before Christmas, I'm glued to the tree.
I'm wondering what Santa brought just for me.
Could it be cardstock or chipboard or lace?
Or a Cricut, I said, with a smile on my face.
And that's when I heard him,
"Hi Santa, " I said
"You know....good little girls
should be in their beds."
"I know I should Santa,
and now I've got caught.
But I was just so excited
To see what you brought."
"Well, let's take a look
in this room where you work.
He shook his head quickly,
And left with a jerk.
I heard him exclaim
as he put it in gear.
"You've got enough crap,
I'll see you next year!"

Do ya ever have one of those moments...

when you just cry and feel sorry for yourself?
I'm like that this afternoon. I don't know if it's the new medication I'm on for weight loss that is making me all moody or TOM or that Doug's been working late every night this week or what but I was shooting this video of Caleb a little while ago and played it back and it dawned on me - Caleb still isn't talking near as much as he should for a child his age (he's almost 2.5).
Granted, today he's sick. And he's rarely sick so when he gets sick, it's a nightmare.. He doesn't eat, he doesn't do much of anything but be clingy. I'm holding him right now as I write this.
Regardless, even on his BEST day, Caleb says maybe 2-3 new words and 5-10 others that he knows. And those days are few and far between. Yesterday was a good day. He said "School" and "Tent" for the first time.
But he's still not putting words together and I still don't feel like the words he does say are said at the appropriate times.. or that he even knows what they mean. KWIM? And half the time he won't say a word when you ask him to. His therapist will ask him to say a word in order to get a toy or cookie and instead of doing it he tries to yank the item out of her hand and when that doesn't work, he throws a fit or moves on to something else, like he doesn't care.
You'll see in this video, I can't even get him to say his ABC's or 123's which is one of the things he normally does quite consistently.

Around the age of two I finally accepted that he wasn't talking much but still had hope that because my husband was a late talker, it would be okay. Well, my husband was talking in sentences by 2.5 and here we are two weeks from Caleb being 2.5 and he's still the same. So now I'm very worried and not "okay" with it anymore.
Then this morning I got news that the State sponsored Preschool program we had hopes of putting him in was only offered in my area at the same location the "at risk" high school kids attend. Well, Doug and I both agree we will absolutely NOT take him there. There is way too high a risk that something bad could happen while he is there. I won't go into details but that is just not a good place for him to be for any length of time.
So once Caleb turns three he is done with that program unless he continues on and goes to that Preschool. Meaning, no more speech therapy.
So we either have to take him there or he's out of the program. He can later rejoin if we change our minds or move to another area, etc but it would be very hard to get services started again because kids that are already in the program get first priority. Caleb had already been in the program almost a year before we could even get a Speech Therapist for him because of a shortage.

Anyway, I know this is supposed to be a SCRAPBOOKING blog but I just had to get this off my chest. I know most of my friends that read this blog are Christians and if you are the praying type, please pray for Caleb. It may not be a big deal to you but it's a huge thing to my husband and I that he still isn't talking. We're worried about him.
(and I just finished reading The Rescue by Nicolas Sparks which just stirred up even more worry in me.. thanks alot JB! LOL, just kidding, girl)

And now, here is that short video I took of Caleb... You'll see why I'm a little frustrated. He's darn cute in it but he won't say a word...

My clock below won DT Pick of the Day ...

over at M2R!
YAY!!!!! Thanks girls!!

Caleb is sick, I won't be on much today.. He's clingy. I'm really hoping to get him in to the Dr. tomorrow.
All day he's been saying DOCTOR, DOCTOR!! LOL
And yesterday I asked him if he wants to go to school next Fall and he ran around the house saying SCHOOL all day. It was too cute!
:)

Altered Clock for my Dad

Phew, I am DONE buying/making Christmas presents. PTL!! Here's the last of them.. An altered Kaiser Craft clock for my Dad. This will be a gift from Caleb, hence why it reads "No 1 Grand Dad" :)

Supplies Used:
Two different MME papers
Rubons from Daisy D's (swirl line on left), Fontwerks (number 1), Basic Grey (tag) and American Crafts (all other swirls)
Metal tag from MM
Edges inked with white Staz On ink
Unknown ribbon and fiber
And one picture of a really cute little boy (tee hee)

I also used Beacon Liquid Laminate that I won on Leah Fung's site last week. Love it! It's WAY better than Mod Podge! It leaves NO sticky residue, brush lines or glossiness like MP does. Thanks again Leah!

And thanks for all the responses about my Christmas card exchange. I can't wait to get cards from you talented ladies!!

Anyone want to do a card exchange?

I just exchanged Christmas cards with Sarah and loved it...
I was thinking maybe some others might want to do it?
After sending out all my cards this weekend I have 12 left.. Anyone want to do an exchange?
This would be person to person. I send you a handmade card, you send me one.
Email me or comment and we'll exchange info :)
I *love* handmade cards but really don't have many scrappy friends that "do" cards.. LOL

Santa arrived at the Brannies household today..

In the form of a cute UPS man ;)

Caleb got THREE packages. One was so huge I could barely get it in the house but it was raining and the box was getting wet so, I had to get it in. That sucker was heavy!
Inside was a rocking horse from Caleb's Mimi Marsha (Doug's Mom that lives in TX).
How cute is this!! He is going to LOVE this thing and Mama and Daddy are going to have fun putting it together (NOT!, LOL)

He also got a ball pit hut and this "Learning DJ", both from his Aunt Erin in Kansas City. He is going to love this thing as he loves microphones and music.

Santa also brought Daddy a package from Amazon.com but that's a secret.. Shhhhhh ;)

No scrapping lately. My body has been trying to get used to the Phentermine again. It's made me super jittery and then I crash.. I went to bed last night at 11pm and for those of you that know me, that is VERY unusual as my bedtime is usually 2-3am, LOL.
Hopefully I'll get used to it and be back to a more normal routine soon.. I really really need to finish a clock I am making for my Dad for Christmas and scrap some Christmas layouts from *2006*!!

And hey, remember that free photo book Oprah advertised through Snapfish? Well, I *still* don't have mine and I made it over three weeks ago! Crazy!! Anyone else not received theirs yet?

Well, I'm off to make dinner. Have a great night everyone and smooches to Jenn who's recovering from surgery ;)

If you haven't seen this movie..

Please rent it (or catch it on HBO this week).

Doug and I watched it tonight and WOW! It's a definite must see. (and Leo has a pretty hot accent in it, LOL).
No seriously, it's really something everyone needs to watch to see how great we have it here in the U.S.

Here's some info on it.

Off to bed.. Night everyone :)

Another Simple Christmas Card

Here's another simple Christmas card using the November M2R kit. I've gotten SO much use out of that kit!

And check out the doily border action.. Doug bought me a new Martha Stewart punch tonight at Walmart - Love it!!!

And here are pics of our poor little Christmas tree.
Poor little guy, he's so sad. We ran out of lights.. He needs more ball lights and a few more ornaments and then he'll be prettier.
Caleb is doing pretty good with it so far. Every once in a while he'll take an ornament off and then Doug puts it up higher.. Which is why the bottom branches look so bare, tee hee.

It's finished!!

Click to see detail. Not the best pics, sorry.

Supplies used:
An old wooden tray that I painted white. Small metal washers from Menards (hardware store here in the Midwest), magnet strips, anything Christmas-y I could find to make embellishments. I used foam, felt, tons of letter and alpha stickers, brads and several chipboard pieces.. Both pre-made and ones that I made myself. I even cut up an old Christmas card to make some cute pieces :)
To hold everything in place, I used this glue. It holds magnets, metal, paper, foam, ribbon! Love it!!

Go here for some awesome Blog Candy!!

My friend Melissa is giving away one of her awesome wish boxes. Please go check out her blog for your chance to win :)

Here's what I've been working on today :)

You've seen the Christmas countdowns or "25 days til Christmas" countdowns scrappers are making using baking pans? Well, I didn't have an extra baking pan but I found this old tray that I painted white and I'm in the process of making Cay Cay his very own countdown calendar. I'm using washers bought from Menards and magnet strips that are glued on the back of embellishments I am making myself.
So far, I love it! I think it's so adorable.
But only ten down, fifteen more to go.
This is hard as I don't have many Christmas embellies or paper.. It's starting to get challenging to make little doo-dads for it, LOL.
Anyway, I'll post the finished project when I'm done. Hopefully SOON :)

My Blog Candy winner is....

CHAR!! POST #18! CONGRATS!!!

Char, please email me with your mailing address and I hope you love your RAOK.

Thanks everyone for all your nice comments and check back each day.. I will be giving more away soon :)

And check this out.. This is COOL! This is who all has been on my blog today.. Love it! Definitely not a high traffic day but several people have been on my blog SEVERAL times today. Thanks ;)

Last day to comment for Blog Candy :)

Just a reminder. I'll be using the random # generator tonight (by midnight EST) to draw a winner so leave your comments here.

AND.. I wanted to let you all know that I will be doing another Blog Candy post within the next month. I have recently acquired some free stuff that I already had and who needs doubles? Why not share the wealth, LOL. So, keep your eyes peeled.

Here are a few of the items that will be included:
Inkadinkado You Lucky Duck clear stamp set



WRMK White Out Flocked Lace - Blue Bird. This stuff is SO cute!!


Have a GREAT day, everyone :)

OH MY GOD!!! I just won something AWESOME!!!

Tonight I did some blog hopping.. First I went to the Fiskateers site, then to Donna Salazar's blog (from Prima). From there I went to watch a video on Leah Fung's blog.. They were making a GORGEOUS altered tray. So I commented.. Never thinking much of it.
Then I watched about 6 more videos and laughed my butt off because those girls are so hilarious and cute together :)
I learned that the Paper Gator can be used for SCALLOPING EDGES!!! and lots more cool stuff!
Well, I just happened to be skimming the blog getting ready to log off and go to bed when I saw MY NAME and had to do a double take. Oh my God girls, I won something. Something BIG!! Something AWESOME!!! It's two o'clock in the morning and I'm doing a happy dance! tee hee
LQQK at what I won!!!!!
It's SOOOO gorgeous! I'm so excited to have something "girly". With two boys around here and a two year old that likes to break things, I don't have many girly things anymore so I'm very excited to win this and be able to display something girly in my home.

YAY!!!!
Thank you Leah!! You ROCK!!!

TIM ROCKS!! And... 2 POTD's!

Check out his AWESOME "12 Tags of Christmas"!
He shows you step by step how to make them AND, you can win a prize each day if you comment!
Here was Tuesday's tag.. Absolutely breathtaking!!
I wish I had this guys' talent. He does absolutely gorgeous work!
****************************************************************

ETA: I got Design Team Pick of the Day over at M2R for this album. Thanks girls!!


Oh WOW.. I guess that was for YESTERDAY but I got POTD today TOO!!!
For this snowman card that took me over an hour to make (it has tons of Crystal Lacquer on it). WHOO HOO! Thanks girls!!

A little birdy dropped a cute new blog banner into my email box tonight. Thanks sweet pink birdy.. I love love LOVE it!!! ;)


And here are the ornaments Caleb and I made today with a little bit of tweaking, LOL.
I'm lovin' all but the Santa.
And I can't for the life of me figure out how to show the glitter.. these are all very glittery. Pretty cute IRL.. especially the "JOY" one.
They aren't bad considering they were completely boring white before and I've never painted/done anything to resin before... I don't think my Mom ever did arts and crafts with me as a kid. I don't know how the heck I ended up crafty, LOL.

Anyway, I think Caleb did a pretty good job, don't you think? ;)
Well, both my boys are asleep so I'm off to catch up on my TV shows. Law & Order is calling my name. Night everyone!

Wednesday Ramblings.. Also, don't forget to comment for blog candy :)

Hey girls/guys.. Two more days left for my blog candy giveaway. Please go here and leave a comment for your chance to win some goodies :)

Also, I'm a very HAPPY GIRL today .. Even without one single drop of caffeine (yes, I shock even myself that I've gone all day without a Frap or Pepsi).
I got some HAPPY MAIL from this sweetheart of a girl on one of my message boards. She was my December SECRET SISTER :)
THANK YOU SOOOOO MUCH, CARRIE!!! YOU ROCK!!!
I LOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOVE everything you sent. OMG, you read my mind!! And I'm pretty sure it's all from my wishlist. Great great stuff. You rock!!!
I got a whole flippin' paper PAD of Basic Grey GRANOLA.. I'm SO excited as I've only been able to get my paws on one sheet of it so far. And, I took pics of the other stuff but deleted them accidentally and now my camera battery is charging....I also got a WHITE opaque Staz On ink pad. WHOO HOO... Love love LOVE it! Been wanting white Staz On FOREVER and Hobby Lobby never has it. YAY!!!!!! I will use this a TON this Winter on snow layouts and Ghost letters.
I also got a Cuttlebug star die (I am SOOO excited to use this.. I don't have anything like it), a large bottle of my #1 favorite glue, Scotch Quick-Dry Adhesive, some awesome black swirl rubons (not sure how she knew I wanted this but I love black rubons on acrylic.. very cool and much needed!) and some gorgeous FELT butterflies from K&Co's Urban Rhapsody line. I have this paper and really wanted some embellies for it. Love them! Loooove felt!! And she made me the coolest card made out of fabric. Thank you SO much, Carrie!! Again, you rock! My heart and mouth have been smiling since I opened my package an hour ago! WHOO HOO!!!


Now for what I've been doing the past few hours: I've decided that Wednesdays are Mommy & Caleb craft day so Daddy went out and bought some Crayola washable paint last night and Mommy & Caleb painted and glittered some cheap resin ornaments I found at Joann's last year.
He had so much fun but truth but told, I think he liked SAYING his colors and stacking the paint bottles more than actually painting, LOL.
And also notice in this picture that he put some green paint IN HIS MOUTH and soooo did not like the taste (good thing there, LOL). Typical two year old, I guess.
He wanted to paint everything YELLOW.. He kept saying it over and over again. But, I told him no, we need to paint with Red and Green and he said "Opay". tee hee


So I let him go to town with the paints on some paper (using LOTS of yellow - mixed with other colors, tee hee).
He made a picture for Daddy:
It's been a good day. I love crafting with him :)

Homemade Christmas Ornaments

I made four of these tonight for my tree .. They are simple but I really love them. I got the idea from Heidi's blog. Her LSS in Texas had some similar on their store tree.

I used chipboard birds from Maya Road (I ran out.. Need more. I want to make some more of these birdies, tee hee) pp from Fancy Pants (from the November M2R kit), Offray ribbon, bling for the eyes and I used Mod Podge to "seal" them (but I used a very LIGHT coat so they wouldn't be glossy looking).

TFL!!

Pure Cuteness :)

Thank you, Heidi!!

You Texans sure are sweet! Thanks so much for telling me about scrap blog... I made my own banner! You rock!!

Another RAOK (Random Act of Kindness) aka Blog Candy

I loooove giving away stuff so leave a comment here for a chance to win some cool scrappy goodies. I'll leave this open til Friday the 5th.

Included in this blog candy giveaway are a cute 4x4 black velvet album from ATB, 2 boyish AC ribbon spools, a K&Co 6x6 album kit with paper and embellies, 2 sets of clear stamp sets (borders and journaling boxes), a Cloud 9 acrylic frame, some Amy Butler paper tags made by ME, some great hatpins and a few other random things. Everything is brand new, still in packaging (except the handmade tags, of course).

And can anyone tell me, where do I get a FREE (or super cheap) cool banner for the top of my blog? I've seen some really cute ones and I'd love one :) You don't need to tell me in order to be eligible for the blog candy.. Just tell me if you have some info that could help me. Thanks!

More pictures...

Kissing his cousin Gracie (9). He loves her to death. I think he senses her gentle spirit cause she's the only one in my family is he totally comfortable with.

This is what Caleb had to think about Thanksgiving... (he looks SO much like me as a kid here, it's scary).

This is what kept him from crying more than he did. Signing Time on Poppy's huge TV.

More Signing Time. He loves it so much that Poppy gave us money to buy him some Signing Time dvd's for his Christmas present.

Trying to "help" with the Christmas Tree lights.

More "helping", LOL.

Wish this would have turned out. I love this picture.

August Rush

Have you seen the movie August Rush?
It ROCKS!
Doug and I watched it tonight.. FABULOUS!! If you love music and feel good movies, please please rent it. It's awesome and you won't be disappointed!!

Here's some info on it.

More C'mas cards and pics of Caleb