Update

Hey folks.
Really busy lately.. crazy busy. Hubby is only home two days a week right now and Caleb is a handful. I try to keep him busy so he's not missing Daddy too much so not much scrappy time for me.

However, hubby was home this past Friday so I went to Archivers for their make 'n take weekend. I made a Christmas card and a Christmas pail. OMG, the pails are SO cute!
So I bought three more and am going to make some as Christmas gifts (which is what I've been working on tonight - YAY!).
I'll post pics later. I don't want the recipients to see.. I don't think they read my blog but I'm not sure. LOL
But they are C.U.T.E.
Lots of Jillibean Soup paper and some cool techniques. I also used paper from this stack >
which is new at Joann's.
Speaking of Joann's, I got five paper stacks for $5.99 a piece last weekend. Can you freakin' believe that!
Um, let's see...
The Midnight Spell stack, the cardstock that matches it, The Amber Autumn Premium stack, and the cardstock that matches it. And then the Summer Dream stack (this one doesn't really THRILL me like the others do).

I see that a few of them are still on sale online so, go go. Go forth and buy ;)

Til next time...
I'm off to bed. Night.

Just wanted to share Caleb's recent Pre-K picture.
Isn't he just the cutest? :)

I'll be back next week.
I have a new Cricut Create machine coming any day now (don't get me started on what happened to my Expression.. GRRRRRR!) and I plan on making some cute layouts with it this weekend :)
Til then.. have an AWESOME week!

Update

Hey all!

Well, I really haven't scrapped much in about a month.
You see, Mother Nature has decided we're going to go from Summer to Winter this year and skip Fall altogether.
I think yesterday it was in the high 80's??
So that means when my little guy isn't at school, he's outside playing which means Mama is downstairs watching him. Which means, yep, no scrappy time for Mama. Boo hoo.

BUT, I did take a class last night at Archivers!
The Tim Holtz inspired "Vintage Holiday Card workshop".
I'll admit, I didn't like this one nearly as much as the mini card workshop. Maybe because I was sweating to death?? LOL
I heard some of the ladies around me talking about how they must be having hot flashes because they were menopausal and I told them no, it REALLY is hot in here, LOL.

Anyway, I'll take pics of my cards later but here is what they were supposed to look like.


Of course, I always do my own thing which included taking that God awful Grungeboard "sword" off the snowman card and adding snowflakes instead (tee hee).

The big Santa card is definitely my favorite.
I'm not a big Tim Holtz fan (I don't coo over him like most women do) BUT, I really like that stamp set and am contemplating buying it. With my 30% off coupon, of course.

Anyway, I hope everyone is doing well. I really miss scrapbooking.
I sure hope Fall arrives soon so I can use the awesome scraproom my hubby put together for me. I guess I should be praying for some cold air and rain. Lord knows we really need the rain around here.

Til next time,

Finally Scrapped!!

Here's the first layout I've done since March.
Not my favorite, by any means but, I'm okay w/it.
The story behind it is what's important to me.
Journaling reads: "Daddy lost his job a month before but we found a way to make this C'mas one of the best! Mimi Marsha came from Houston and Aunt Erin loaded you up with presents. We were very blessed!"


Sorry for the crappy picture. It is cloudy today and I just couldn't get a good one. It's much brighter IRL.

Patterned paper, Alpha stickers and "Christmas" embellie: Echo Park "Everybody Loves Christmas"
Chipboard embellies: Fancy Pants Designs
Bling: i-Rock by Imaginisce
***All product except i-Rock bling purchased at www.cropchocolate.com

Thanks for looking.. I'm going to try and scrap some more this weekend :)

Pre-K

The kiddo is now in Pre-K in our local school system. While this is his second year of Preschool, this year is different. He's actually going to an elementary school now instead of a private preschool and there are only seven kids in his class, two teachers and a speech therapist. So he's going to get lots of hands on this year and hopefully by the end of the school year, he'll be okay to go to Kindergarten.
Right now our concerns are conversing.. he doesn't do that like a normal four year old. Hopefully we can get that worked on and the potty thing (oh my God.. potty training an Autistic child is worse than child birth!) and he'll be fine.

Here are some pics from school last week. Some are from my cell phone. While I love the Droid X.. I do NOT recommend it if you want a cell with a good camera. Cause it SUCKS, Lol.






His teacher, Ms. Heather.



This was day 3, I think. He BEGS to go to school now. He LOVES it!



The too big backpack we had to buy just so his required binder would fit. OMG, it's almost as big as him! LOL
Made me sad to have to buy him a big boy backpack. I miss his little Elmo backpack. LOL
Ah well.. he is growing up. I just need to get over it. LOL


And I got a good portion of my scraproom done over the weekend. Hubby put up my desks and yesterday Caleb and I used my Cricut to make an All About Me collage for his cubby at school.
YAY! I think I might see scrapping sometime in the near future. We'll see. Hubby is going to be home 11 days this month. Yep, not fun. Cause usually when he is home, we are trying to spend quality time together and scrapping is my thing.. I try to do that when he's busy with Caleb or something.

Maybe I'll get to scrap in October....
:sigh:

YAY!

We are going to IKEA tomorrow to buy two of these...



And then once those are installed and a few things are moved around and stored, I should be able to scrap my heart out. Can't wait!! :)

Pink Paislee Warehouse Sale goodies :)

So okay, I haven't exactly been scrapping (much). But that doesn't mean I can't collect (read: BUY) scrap crap, right?! Ha!

A friend told me about Pink Paislee's warehouse sale over the weekend and I jumped on it. I missed my chance last year when they had one and moped around for a while about it so I knew I had to get in on it this year. And OMG, it did not disappoint!!
I got my big box today and here's what I got:
(pics from cell phone.. sorry)

6x6 paper pads and flip notes from 365 Degrees, Queen Bee & Bayberry Cottage:


Two canvas/chipboard Artisan albums. Love them!


7 packages of alphas.. cardstock and mini


3 packages of glittered chipboard alphas. Just like Thickers.. LOVE them!


365 Degrees & Queen Bee Borderlines
Queen Bee & Bayberry Cottage Punchouts


Twenty sheets of patterned paper from Queen Bee, 365 Degrees, Twilight, Amber Road, Mistletoe & Co.
Includes two sheets from the brand new Sweetness and Parisian Anthology collections :)


Two Pixee Stix, Artisan Tape and Queen Bee Bella brads (these will look yummy in the center of some Prima's!)


Queen Bee Press Ons and Cork Buttons, Artisan alphas (I have wanted these forever!) and Ribbon Pleats (something else I've wanted a while!)


How yummy is all of that!? It's over $125 worth of product for $40! WOW!!!
Thank you, Pink Paislee! Love your product! :)


Let's see.. What else have I been doing?
Well I took a mini card class at Archiver's last week. I had a blast. I got to make nine cute little cards and then afterwards, I scrapped with a few local Indy friends. Love Archivers!
And I looooove living so darn close to one now!

We got Caleb registered for his second year of Pre-K. We all met his teacher, saw his classroom, etc. and I think he's going to be just fine there. (he didn't want to leave, LOL)
He starts on Monday!

Here's what he's been up to lately. He pretty much hangs outside all day. Literally HANGS. lol


Isn't he just the cutest. I know I'm biased but seriously.
People tell me all the time that he is adorable. Strangers in the store, pretty much anyone that sees him and he says "Hi" to, LOL (which he does ALOT of).
How my own family cannot love him is beyond me. Please pray for them, they really need it.
- but Caleb is not without people that love him.. Doug's family fawns all over him. But they live in other states :(

And he is getting better with his communication skills each and every day. I pray that he is cured from Autism. But if not, then we'll deal with it. Because he is one special kid and so so SMART.. oh my God! I couldn't ask for a better son.


Well, that's all I have for now. Hopefully I'll be scrapping next week (fingers crossed).
Byeeeee,

Hello

Okay folks.
So I'll be honest. Because I am always very honest. Sometimes TOO honest, ha ha.

I haven't done squat in my scraproom all week. My hubby was out of town last week and this week for 8 days total and well, I've been too busy watching this little boy



play on this


and just hanging outside in general, enjoying the Summer.

I love playing with my son.
Kids are only little once so I want to spend as much time with him as I can and right now, I feel it's pretty important.
He starts his second year of preschool in two weeks and then maybe I'll have some time to devote to scrapping :)

Until then, see you and have a great end of Summer!!
Love,

Almost...

TWO MORE BOXES AND MY SCRAPROOM IS UNPACKED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

We drove down to Cinci last weekend and bought another Expedit at IKEA (along with some really cool wicker baskets that fit in the cubbies) and my scraproom is finally coming together. I will (hopefully) get the other boxes unloaded this week and be operational by the weekend. WHOO HOO!!! I can't wait to scrap again!


So... Yesterday was my Birthday! 36. WOW. I remember when my Mom was 36 and I thought she was SO old. WOW. Crazy that I am that old. I don't feel it, for sure.

So my awesome husband.. Let me repeat. MY AWESOME HUSBAND!.. went to Archiver's and bought me pretty much the entire Basic Grey OLIVER line (and some really pretty blue Prima flowers!) for my Birthday.



How freakin' awesome is he? I mean, really. How many of your husbands would go buy you scrap stuff? My guy is one of a kind. I love him SO much. He really made my day :)

Well, it's time for bed. I have such a busy rest of the week.
I hope you all have a great week and send me some positive vibes so I can get this scraproom complete this week.
Byeeee :)

My Review of Sierra Playset

Originally submitted at Toys R Us

The Sierra Playset has all the features of many more expensive playsets and is a great value. There's a raised fort with wood roof, end gables and even a chimney! A raised sun porch is the perfect platform for checking out the yard from above and launching down the super safe speedy slide. Two ...

Sierra Playset

So far, so good.

By Jenny B in Indy from Fishers, IN on 7/26/2010

 

5out of 5

Pros: Fun, Easy Assembly, Sturdy

Describe Yourself: Novice

We bought this same set (two weeks ago) at another dept store on clearance for four hundred dollars less than the original price on here.

My husband and his friend started putting it together Friday night. They worked 3-3.5 hours each Fri, Sat and Sun night and then my husband did a bit by himself on Sunday.. labeling and putting together the ladder and rock wall.
So far my son can swing, glide and slide. The rock wall and ladder are up. All that's left is the roof (which will take some time), picnic table, monkey bars and toy box. So, should be done in about 4-6 hours when they get to it this next weekend. Maybe less?

My husband said so far there has been no splitting wood, no missing pieces/hardware and the instructions are great.

So overall, we are having a great experience with this.
I will update once it's COMPLETELY done.

(legalese)

It's SLOWLY getting there...

We still have a garage FULL of stuff. But here's what's been done so far in the Living Room:



Dining Room:


Scraproom (I love love LOVE the color of my walls!):




Hubby is going to IKEA in Detroit next week to get me another Expedit (smaller 4x4 this time) and the table that goes with that line. Hopefully once I have that I can get the rest of those boxes unpacked. I need to SOON.. I have some DT work I need to start on.

Well, back to more unpacking.
Have a great weekend!

Oh My Good God!

I think it might just take WEEKS to get this new scraproom unpacked!!
We started moving 9 days ago and I JUST NOW got my computer hooked up! Yikes!



Stay with me.. I promise, I'll be back and hopefully with some cute projects :)

For now, here are some NON SCRAPPY things that have been going on (other than the big move):

Caleb turned four on June 27th.
We took him to Monkey Joe's to bounce and had pizza, his favorite. It was just us three and it was probably his best birthday yet. I'm glad I didn't go all out again this year and do a party. I loved the intimacy of it just being us three.




On June 30th he was diagnosed with PDD-NOS, aka Pervasive Developmental Disorder.
The way it was explained to us is that he has some signs of being on the very LOW end of the Autism spectrum and with help, he can actually grow out of them because he is lucky in that his only problems are with communication and he keeps saying new things day after day (with less Echolalia).
SO glad to have some answers.. finally :)

Then my Mother in Law (aka Mimi Marsha) flew in from Houston to help us move. She was a huge help. She helped me clean the new house from top to bottom and Caleb was just in love with her. Here they are playing out in the new backyard.



And then just a random shot of him in the new backyard. He is out there at least half the day and just loves it. Thank God for fences and big yards! :)




"See" you all later, I have some Facebook catch up to do :)

Two Weeks...

My scraproom is 3/4 of the way packed and in two weeks, we are moving.
New city, new (and old) friends, new scraproom, new everything. Can't wait!! :)

Stick around... I'll be back ;)