:: Waiting for Daddy ::

In an attempt to find my creative mojo again I started looking through some old photos hoping I would find one that would inspire me.  That's when I came across this one of my Little Diva.  When the kids were little we live in Seattle and we had a long slender window by the front door.  Almost every day the kids would take turns watching and waiting at that window for Daddy to come home.  I would always know when he was home because I could hear their squeals and the little jumps of joys...my Hunky Hubby and I sure do miss those days!

I am a Soccer Mom

Can I just take a moment and share this video of my Soccer Stud from his middle school soccer game last night? He is hard to miss...he is the goal keeper and the one dressed in bright orange!  Even just watching the video leaves me with my heart in my throat...especially the last play that you see where he is sliding in the middle of all these players coming right at him...it might be a little hard to see in the video but he indeed comes away with the ball.

I am so incredibly proud of him. He makes some truly amazing plays and I find myself in awe of the fact that he is mine. He works so hard to get better with each game and his goal is to play soccer in college. I feel so blessed to be the mother of this amazing kid.


**NOTE:  You will most likely have to click on the video twice...the second time so that you can view it through YouTube.

Thanks for letting me share.

Valentine's Day isn't over...

Valentine's Day isn't over...at least not in our house.  SO, I am using that as my justification for just now getting around to sharing my Valentines decor.  I have been struggling to find my creative mojo and in all honesty, I was just going to skip putting out any decor at all this year but the Hunky Hubby convinced me otherwise.

I never really used to be a fan of Valentine's Day but when my kiddos were younger I wanted to try and make it special for them.  So a few years ago we decided that rather than just celebrating our love for each other and our little family on February 14th, we would make it a month long event.  I put out mailboxes for each of us along with a box of valentine cards and the rule is that everyone has to put a "love note" in each box at least once a week...this has been especially nice as the kids have gotten older and we will periodically hear that someone wishes the other hadn't been born ;)  For now our mailboxes are simple white photo boxes and I made flags for each one.  The banner is a free printable I came across (need to find the link to share).

I have already been gifted 2 chocolate bars, an I {heart} Mickey t-shirt, and lots of sweet notes.  My little Diva made me a book filled with reasons why she loves me -- not gonna lie, brought tears to my eyes.  My favorite valentine this year so far though was the one I saw Little Diva put in her brother's mailbox..."Even though you are mean and annoying sometimes, you are still the best brother in the world"  LMAO!  Awesome!

I do have some wooden mailboxes along with pretty scrapbook paper to decorate them...I just haven't gotten around to actually doing it yet.  Did I mention I have had said wooden mailboxes for 2 years now?  However the pretty scrapbook paper is something I just picked up a couple of weeks ago ;)

Something else I whipped up for our month of love was a little specimen art...

I found a package of felt heart stickers at Joann's and then matted some scrapbook paper...easy peasy!  The blocks I picked up from Target last year and the little subway heart is one of the many found in Blogland.  Of course I had to add a little touch of Disney too.

Will share some more of our decor tomorrow...picked up some magnetic paint today in order to make a few gifts for my Little Diva's friend.  Will share those soon too...hopefully it all turns out as good in real life as it all looks in my head! ;)

Hope you all had a wonderful Valentine's Day. xoxo

Happy Thanksgiving!

Am I the only one who wasn't up at the crack of dawn...or skipping sleep altogether in order to go out and brave the craziness called Black Friday?  My sister is one who enjoys going out every year but it is just not for me.  Good luck to all of you who were brave enough to go!

We have had a whirl wind few days around here.  My hubby surprised me Monday and called me at work to tell me we were heading out of town...that night!  I was a bit flustered and overwhelmed at first -- I had a whole list of projects planned out and I was so completely taken off guard...wasn't quite sure how we were going to pull it off.  In the end, we managed to get out the door and on the road and really had a great time enjoying some true fall weather at Stone Mountain.

We had a wonderful room at the Stone Mountain Inn complete with a patio and two rocking chairs...pure bliss!  The mountain is such a spectacular sight, the leaves were gorgeous and at night Stone Mountain was decked out in a most awesome display of Christmas lights.  Not even the monsoon of rain that came through could dampen our spirits (okay, if I am keeping it real I will admit that I was initially pouting thinking the rain had ruined out plans but in the end, it all worked out.)

We even caught Santa before he headed off for a hot cocoa break...

If you have never been to Stone Mountain, I highly recommend it.  I think the fall is the perfect time to go to enjoy all the beautiful fall color.  Playing in the leaves was definitely my favorite part!

I am so thankful to my Hunky Hubby for planning our last minute fall getaway.  We all agreed it was a great time and are hoping to go back again and stay even longer.  

We made it back home in time to spend a small, quiet Thanksgiving with my best friend, her hubby and her kiddos.

I hope you all had a very Happy and Blessed Thanksgiving!

Trying times

This isn't a crafty or creative post today...although I do have a few things to share in the next couple of days.  Today is more personal if anyone is reading you may feel free to just ignore me (although really, you are free to ignore me and my posts everyday!  LOL!)

I love being a mother. It is not an easy job sometimes but the rewards far outweigh the hard times. I have been blessed with two beautiful, smart, kind, loving and wonderfully healthy children…and a boy and a girl at that. As most any mother could attest…sometimes the love you feel for your kids is just indescribable – there are no words that really do it justice.

Last night though was, by far, the most challenging moment I have had as a mother so far. More so than all the sleepless nights and Terrible Two tantrums combined. I so desperately wanted to call in sick to work today because I am simply exhausted in every way possible…mentally, emotionally and even physically. My daughter really put me to the test last night and unfortunately I feel as though I failed miserably.

When it comes to kids testing their limits I tend to think of the younger years since that seems to be when most kiddos are seeing how far they can go. My Diva Darling is 10 years old right now and definitely seeing just how far she can push. Hunky Hubby is always telling me that the Diva and I butt heads because we are so much alike, and I guess I can see that.

I do my best to keep my cool and walk away when I need to. Last night though, she wouldn’t let me walk away. She kept pushing and pushing, and I finally lost my temper and really yelled at her. I said things that I just shouldn’t have said. Please don’t judge me too harshly as I am so ashamed to even admit that. I was finally able to get her to stop and just go to her room and I went to mine and we both bawled our eyes out. I felt like the worst mother in the world for losing my cool like that. It was such a terrible feeling and I am still in tears about it today.

When Hunky Hubby got home he was able to talk to both of us and he was very supportive of me reminding me that I am only human and that when someone continually pushes and pushes it is inevitable that you will break at some point…I just felt I should have been stronger. Once things finally calmed down, her and I both apologized to each other and this morning was hugs and kisses as usual when I dropped her off for school but I am struggling with the beginnings of a migraine and unbelievable feelings of guilt for yelling like I did.

I am not and never will be the best mom in the world but I sure as hell want to be the best mom I can be to both of my kids…but last night, I definitely was not. I have to give my own mom credit for not killing me now that I think back on some of the smart mouth things I said and some of the stupid things I did growing up. I am afraid of the teenage years right now….ugh, just thinking about it makes my migraine worse.

She did write me a very sweet letter promising to never behave like that again…however I tend to think of that as a pie crust promise, as Mary Poppins would say…easily made, easily broken. I am praying and holding out hope however that we will both learn from last night and that we will be able to work together and better handle things in the future. I am sure I am not the only one who has ever had a night like that as a parent…but right now, it sure feels like it.

In the words of Anne Shirley..."Today is a new day...with no mistakes in it."  So today I will "Just keep swimming..." and repeating those words in my head.

  

Please Slow Down...

Used 4 different manufacturers alphabet stickers on this layout.  I just love this picture of my kiddos although my first thought when I saw it was how grown up they look!  It is going so fast.  Totally cliche, I know, but oh so true.  I wish I could slow them down just a little.



ºoº ~ Magical Monday ~ ºoº

Happy Monday!  Hope you had a great weekend....I am still recovering from mine, all the while trying to get through my day at the office.  Hunky Hubby brought me lunch today -- of course he also wanted my truck, so we had to do a car swap ;)  Still, it was nice to sit together...with no kids fighting -- hey, since we weren't at home does that count as a date?

Our first born turned 12 yesterday.  I can't even believe it.  I swore once they got to 10 there would be no more parties until 13...but Hunky Hubby decided we should have one. SO, my whole weekend was about getting things ready for the party.  I didn't get much sleep and by last night I was in tears on the couch icing my ankle after a rousing game of kickball adults vs. kids....even though the adults outnumbered the kids they still kicked our butts...8-2.  I wish I could say we let them win, but, alas, that was not the case.

At least I had plenty of team spirit to go around...you see that pouty princess behind me...yep, that one...that's my Diva Princess -- don't ya just love the pout?  You would THINK they were losing...I am thinking maybe she is embarrassed by her mother's antics...but oh well...we were having a blast!

Thankfully my ankle is much better today...it is wrapped up and I am limping but that is major progress from last night!  And since my Allstar Son says he had a great birthday then it was all worth it. 

Us adults had so much fun we are planning another get together soon -- just so we can play kickball!  WOOT! WOOT!  Will just have to remember to tape up my ankles first ;)

Now, since it is Monday, I gotta get my week started off with some of the Disney magic...

 *sigh*  my happy place --

...so just a couple of Disney layouts to get that magic flowing...

These are pics from our 2003 visit to the Walt Disney World resort in Orlando...we were living in Seattle at the time...look how little my sweeties were!  And just so you know, I checked and double checked the spelling and it would seem that Disney and Cinderella spell carrousel with two r's -- although it has been renamed Prince Phillips' Carrousel now.

Pictures from January 2008 when we met up with some out of town friends...I was inspired by another layout I had seen...just love this layout...makes me happy! 

And so I leave you with that on this fine Monday!  Wishing you all a happy and ºoº Magical ºoº week!

:: Lily Bee Love ::

Lily Bee Designs is one of my favorite companies in the scrapbooking world and I recently did a layout for The House of Paper Blog using one of their newest lines, Picket Fence.  I just love the colors in the line and there is SO much versatility.  I came across some pictures of my kiddos from when we were living Seattle and Hunky Hubby had taken them out to Snoqualmie Falls...

Can't believe how little they are.  I know I am biased, but aren't they just the cutest?  I miss them being that little. *sigh* 
Anyway, I also had some KI Alphas in my stash so I used them for my title.  I am pretty happy with the result :)

Still loving the older Lily Bee lines as well...

My girl has always loved the characters at Disney and even now, at almost 10 she is still happy to have her picture taken with them...she is definitley MY daughter! ;)

*sigh*  Not only do these pics make me miss living in Seattle where we had 4 ACTUAL seasons but Fall is my favorite and it was always such a treat to make a trip out to the pumpkin farms...Florida just doesn't cut it for Fall!

Now these pics are a little more recent -- last summer to be exact when we took a mini trip out to Gatlinburg and The Smokey Mountains.  Hunky Hubby and my All Star Son go backpacking every summer...The Diva Princess and I are more of Day Hikers though ;)  They are actually gearing up for their next trip this June.

Look, I am still alive!

Today marks the first day that my Diva Princess has been to school since Friday, April 8th.  Literally, the day after we got home from our weekend away at Disney, she came down with the Flu and then that fed into a nasty sinus infection.  It was downright AWFUL!  She had a fever for 8 days straight.  By day 7 I was a complete mess and finally cried out of sheer frustration and worry.  Of course I managed to also catch a bit of it but was better able to fight it off and only missed one day of work.

SO, the project I wanted to post has yet to get posted. *eyes rolling* 
Story of my life I suppose.  I wasn't completely uncrafty though and did manage to get some scrapbooking in...just need to get the layouts scanned in.

For now, please feel free to check out The Roomie of the Month at The House of Paper.  Each month the Interior Designers, feature an active member of The House and scraplift one of her layouts.  It is always fun to learn a little more about The House Roomies... CHECK IT OUT HERE

Hopefully in the next day or two I will FINALLY get my mirror-turned-chalkboard project posted...keep your fingers crossed for me! ;)

Friday Frustration

Last night was Stevie’s first middle school soccer game. All week his coach has been praising him as goalie and even told him that he was going to be playing for the most of the game. Needless to say, Stevie was excited. Nervous, yes…but oh so excited.


The entire game goes by and the coach doesn’t put Stevie in until the last play of the game. My son is absolutely crushed and his dad and I are left wondering why. I asked if perhaps Stevie had misheard his coach at practice but my husband said no, that he had even heard the coach telling him he was going to play him for most of the game.

To see my son so crushed after his first middle school soccer game was heartbreaking to say the least. Once we got home and dad and Stevie talked, it would seem coach told Stevie at some point last night that he was not going to play him after all because he was afraid of him getting hurt….um…WHAT?!

Yes, Stevie is smaller than most of the kids on that field but Stevie made the decision to go out for the team knowing this AND the coach made the decision to put him on the team. Steve told him from the start that he was going to really have to prove himself and get the coach to see past Stevie’s size and really see his ability. Coach put him on the team and told him he is one of the top goalies on the team.

Now, I realize that he is in 6th grade playing ON a team and AGAINST teams with 6th, 7th and 8th graders on them and I also realize that a lot of time the 6th graders don’t get a lot of playing time…they learn about being a part of a team and the like. I totally get that and I don’t have a problem with it. I don’t have unrealistic expectations.

HOWEVER, I DO have a problem with a coach who tells my kid all week that he will be playing and then come game time tells him he’s not going to play after all…because he doesn’t want him to get hurt. If that was such a concern then why would he have put him on the team in the first place?! I feel like that coach hurt Stevie more last night than any broken bone ever could. Stevie is doubting himself when he never has before, wanted to back out of the team. This guy is the first one to ever make my son actually feel bad because of his size and I can’t even begin to express how angry that makes me. Stevie is a tremendous soccer player, despite being smaller than most of the kids his age and yes, I know I am his mother so I suppose I am a bit biased but I stand by what I say.

I confess, while Steve was talking with Stevie last night in his room, I was eavesdropping… and I have to say, I was so proud of my husband in that moment. He is such a good father and was really there for Stevie last night -- really saying all the right things. What really stood out to me though was when he told Stevie it was okay to be mad and upset for tonight but when he woke up in the morning, he needed to let it go and move forward. He told him not to let this one game define him or doubt himself. He needed to use the anger and frustration to just get even better and when he does get a chance to step out on the field and play he can show the coach what he was missing out on…AND to use it this weekend when his Spartan Soccer team plays their semi-final game.

I probably should have told my husband last night how great I thought he did in talking to Stevie…but I think part of me was a little jealous. Stevie needs me less and less as he gets older and quite honestly…it sucks. I know in my heart though that Steve was the better one to talk to Stevie last night rather than me because I am just so angry at that coach for crushing my son’s spirit last night…I do not take kindly to things like that…but then, I don’t guess any mother would.

Thanks for letting me vent.

I really am a soccer mom...

I tried to deny it for a long time...but I really am a Soccer Mom.  It seems to have such a negative connotation  but these days I am embracing the term with pride!  This past weekend my son and his soccer team played an impressive game and have ended their season undefeated!  They played against one of the best teams in their division and despite the fact that this other team plays a bit on the dirty side, our boys came out on top and won 4-1...it was A W E S O M E !  Stevie plays goalie and I am so proud to say that his half in the goal was a shut out for the other team.  He had some incredible stops...

See him...yep, the one in the orange and blue goalie jersey...he's mine!  He has come such a long way in playing soccer. He has been playing now for about 4 years.  Being the goalie and playing defense is what he loves to do and he has really gotten good at it. He actually just made the team for his middle school as a goalie and sweeper -- he is very excited about that.  He has gained great confidence and developed a NO FEAR attitude...although there are times when I wish he had just a little bit of fear in him...see THIS shot...

You KNOW my heart was in my chest watching my little guy (okay, so he's not necessarily a little guy any more at 11 years old and in 6th grade...) dive for that ball in amongst those players...especially with the opponent's foot coming right at his face! (thankfully he did not get hit in the face!) He made the stop and quite a few more like it throughout the game.  It was definitely his best game ever.  I am SO proud of him...please feel free to call me a Soccer Mom any time ;)

OH...and you see this guy...

the one there in the center...with the glasses and the black jacket...he's their coach...and my hunk <3

(Now if I could just find a way to instill some of that same confidence and No Fear attitude in my daughter we would be good to go...any suggestions?!)

She makes me CrAZy!

Do you see this girl?

She makes me CRAZY!

Don't get me wrong, I love her more than words can say but man how she can make me nuts....and break my heart :(

Last night she cried and cried for over an hour.  It wasn't any ONE thing, it seemed to be a LOT of things.  I guess even at 9 years old, us girls can still have a breakdown.  I have never felt more helpless than when I was listening and trying to console my little girl last night.

I am the first to admit though, that my girl has a flair for the dramatics...hence the reason I tend to call her my Diva Darling...although her Diva-ness only really shows itself at home.  At school she is quiet and shy...tends to be a follower rather than a leader.  I wish I could help her bring out the Diva when she is not home.  I wish I could help her not to give up so easily on herself or let others bring her down so quickly. 

She is emotional and tends to take things too much to heart and too personally.  She takes after her momma in that respect...yes, I can admit it.  Although at 37 years old I think I am finally growing out it...well, for the most part anyway! ;)  She thinks no one cares about her at school, that she is invisible, no one likes her, etc...drama queen, yes?  But at the same time I could see the hurt in her eyes last night...and it broke my heart.

If it is like this at 9 years old...WHAT will it be like when she hits 13?  or 16?  I worry that she will continually feel bad about herself and be miserable.  I can remember what it was like in school...feeling left out...not having the confidence in myself at that time to know that I was just fine the way I was.  I don't think any of us actually hear what our parents are trying to tell us until we are in adulthood and realize they really DID get it...well, at least SOME of the time ;)

I put a card in her lunchbox today telling her how much I love her and promised her some girl time...just her and I tonight while big brother and daddy do the soccer thing.  I am praying she will be feeling better when she gets home from school today and that knowing how much she is loved and cared about at home will make things seem a little brighter.

The Bridal Shower

Well, it is almost a week later and I am proud to say that I pulled off the bridal shower for my little sister.  She is getting married in just 5 weeks!  I can't even believe it. 

I was pretty happy with how the shower turned out despite the fact that half-way through the shower our well pump stopped working and so we were without water -- talk about a panic attack!  (Long story short, it was just the contacts and my hero hubby was able to get things back in working order when he arrived home - WHEW!)  Anyway, back to the shower...I must say that I could never had pulled it off without the help from my best friend Gina and my mom.  Gina really went above and beyond the call of duty on this one, seriously.  Aside from our littlest sister, I got no help from the other bridesmaids so Gina and my mom were only to happy to help make this shower happen.  In the end, it was probably just as well the others couldn't be bothered, as my mom, Gina and I had a blast getting things ready!  It was seriously a good time :)

Since my budget was extremely limited we made pretty much everything...from all the food to the decorations.  Dan, my future BIL proposed to Rachelle at the France Pavillion in Epcot so I thought it would be fitting to have a Paris theme to the shower.  I didn't want to go overboard with it and I think we did okay, but you will have to tell me what you think.  Of course, after the fact, I realize there are pictures that I wish I had taken but since I got so throw off track with that whole "no water" thing, well, you can see how I probably dropped the ball a little, right?  So...here we go...

My mom, BFF Gina and I just before the festivities begin...

When everyone came in I asked them to share their well wishes, blessings and words of advice with Rachelle on notes that one of my fabulous House of Paper friends, Linda,  helped me create.  (These are going to go in a scrapbook I have planned for my sister)

Then we took each guests picture with Rachelle at this little "Paris Cafe" I had set up (each picture will go with each guests' card in the scrapbook)...

Me and my sister, Rachelle

all 3 of us sisters

our mom and Rachelle

my sweet baby girl, the all-important flower girl ;)

Since the Groom dropped her off, we grabbed a shot of them together as well

There was plenty of good food...

We had a special chair just for our blushing bride to sit in, courtesy of our mom...

I made sure to have plenty of pics of the bride and groom all around.  My favorite though was this display I set up near the gifts.  I used some of their gorgeous engagement photos and made a banner that says "She Said Yes!"

Hey look...there's me! ;)

Her pile of gifts...I seriously didn't call everyone and tell them to make sure everything coordinated...but it certainly looks like it!  LOL!

She was blessed with some lovely gifts and in the first shot you can see some of the streamers I sewed and glued using my scrapbook paper and ribbon (close up in a sec)  I also made some hanging circles.

Couple more smaller picture displays of her and Dan over the years.

I made a yummy mimosa punch and of course forgot to take a picture of the bar set up but you can at least see the pretty punch here...this was just a table with flowers as everyone walked in.  I found a piece of scrapbook paper with the eiffel tower on it and Gina cut out a glittery R so we displayed it here.

To thank everyone for coming, Mom, Gina and I made chocolate eiffel towers in brown and lavendar chocolate...so yummy!

My mom with me, my baby girl and my youngest sister, Anna...although I call her Tink (yes, that would be short for Tinkerbell...I have called her that since she was little.)

My BFF Gina and I.  Hard to believe we have been friends now for over 30 years and she is such a blessing in my life.  My mom has joked that since Gina has been around longer than my brother and sisters that makes her family...works for me!

and of course...our "classic" look...

I call this one Four Sisters.  Tink, Rachelle, myself and Christine.  Our little brother is engaged to be married in 2011 and Christine is going to be our newest addition. 

Well, here's hoping everyone had a good time, most especially my sister.  Rachelle has waited a long time for her wedding day and I really wanted her to feel special and be able to shine during her bridal shower.  I couldn't be happier for you little sister.  Much love and happiness to you and Dan.  I love you.