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.

Almost Famous?

Anyone who knows me knows that scrapbooking is my first crafty love.  I began scrapbooking when I became a SAHM...we lived in downtown Chicago and I needed something to help me keep my sanity.  I don't get as much time to be creative now that I am back in the working world but still, being creative is definitely my sanity saver! 

I am a big fan of using sketches and PageMaps to jump start my scrapbooking and so I was thrilled when Becky Fleck from PageMaps contacted me to do a LO for the January 2011 PageMaps.  I was lucky enough to be asked in 2010 as well...I am so honored and flattered!  I admit, I feel a little giddy exchanging emails with her since she is one of my scrap heroes! (Yes, I AM a dork.) 

Anyway, just thought I would share my LO submission for the January 2011 sketch she asked me to use...

I love the pictures of with my not so little babies.  Sandra Yu did them.  I just LOVE the photos she took of my family this past November.  I recently had them made into a book from Snapfish.  I was able to get an 8.5x11 photo book with 20 pages for just the cost of shipping ($6.99)  It came in the mail yesterday and it was so fabulous!  I will definitley be ordering from them again.

Sandra also took my sister's engagement pictures and wedding pictures...can not wait to see those wedding pics!  Never have I seen my little sister look so stunning.  I will be sure and post a few when we get to see them.

A not so great start...

So, here's hoping your New Year is starting out better than mine. 

Not only did I have to go back to work on Monday but then yesterday I woke up with a yucky stomach bug -- and that's putting it nicely! ;)  I started feeling better late in the afternoon and figured I could putz around and slowly put the Christmas stuff away and then I wouldn't feel like my whole day was wasted.  I have to say, I made pretty darn good progress and was feeling pretty good about it...and then as I was walking in the garage, carrying a big rubbermaid bin to put on the shelf, I sliced my finger.  AAH!  I felt it happen but actually figured it was just a scrape since it didn't hurt initially....then I saw the blood...and left a trail from the garage to the kitchen sink.  Of course it was just me and my Diva Darling home since Daddy and Stevie were out at soccer practice.  God bless my baby girl though, she didn't even flinch...came to check on me then grabbed the windex and paper towels to clean up the blood and then got me the first aid kit.  As much as she can make me crazy, she really comes through for her mommy <3 

Needless to say, once the initial shock wore off, the pain set in.  GOOD GRACIOUS!  It is pretty deep and right on my knuckle...of my index finger...of my right hand...and yep, I am right-handed.  FANtastic!  (Thankfully, I think I can get away without having stitches!) It is all bruised and swollen and I can hardly bend it which has made writing at the office today quite tricky...it is my "mouse-clicking" finger though and  I couldn't even use it when I pulled the hairspray out this morning!  It is amazing how difficult little things we take for granted can be when you lose the simple mobility of one finger...there's a couple other things I could tell you about but that might end up being a little TMI! ;)

Not sure how my scrapbooking and creating is going to go know that I am slightly handicapped -- or would it be fingercapped?!  Crossing my fingers (don't worry, I am crossing the ones on my left hand!) that it will heal quickly and not hamper too many things.  My Diva Darling finished her science project last night so I am free to get back to creating!  Anxious to get my Gratitude Journal put together :)

And speaking of creating...if you are a scrapbooker with a lot of stash (seriously, if you are a scrapbooker without a huge stash, I would love to know your secret!) come on over to The House of Paper for the January Use Your Stash Challenge...who wouldn't love to win a gift certificate to The House of Paper Store so you can add MORE to your stash?!

New Year Resolutions?

You know, I am not really all that big on making resolutions every New Year.  It just sets myself up for failure because it typically doesn't take long for life to get in the way and my focus shifts.  So, my resolution is really NOT to make a resolution, I suppose.

When I came across a THIS blog post from I Love It All though...I decided maybe...just maybe, I might make a small resolution for myself. 

How adorable is this little mini book?  I love that she used scraps and such from her stash and what a great way to focus on the positives throughout the year.  I am tempted to make one for each of my kids in addition to myself since I have spent a lot of time reminding them to be thankful and grateful for what they have rather than focusing on what they don't.

And the timing is perfect.  Beginning January 1st, over at the House of Paper we are having a Use Your Stash Challenge in The Playroom...I am thinking I will be challenging my fellow roomies to whip up one of these babies!

I need to dig through my barricade (as my hubby calls it) around my scrap space and then get to work on this adorable project.

JYC - December 4th & 5th

I am just a TAD behind in getting my entries posted but things have been SO crazy with my little sister's upcoming wedding.  Tonight is the big night though...so maybe tomorrow I will be able to relax and get things somewhat caught up and back to normal ;)

These are my entries for the 4th and 5th...you can click on the pic to see it better and read the journaling.

JYC - December 3rd

(click on picture to read journaling...)

JYC - December 2nd

(click on the picture to read the journaling...)

JYC - December 1st

Journaling my Christmas...December 1st
(click on the picture to read the journaling...)

Happy December!

I am so excited that December is here.  I haven't felt this happy about December is years...well, 5 years to be exact.  This year is going to be different though...I just know it.  I am embracing the holiday spirit and the joy in the gift of every day...sounds cheesy, I know but I am okay with that.

Living in Florida we don't get much in the way of winter and the last time we saw any real "white stuff" was in about 1977 or 1978 I think.  I laugh because my mom and I had just moved to Florida that year from Pennsylvania.  She wanted to get away from all the snow.  Then it snowed in Florida!  LOL!  Of course it was just a light dusting and was gone by about 1 o'clock but it was plenty to make a little snowman with :)

Today it was 42 degrees when I stepped outside.  LOVING IT!  It was the perfect excuse to put on my favorite boots.  Sure, Floridians are known to wear them all year long but when it is actually cold outside we tend to look a little less silly ;)  I had to laugh as I looked at my kiddos this morning -- Alyson dressed for school in jeans, longsleeve shirt, jacket and then bundled up even more with her hat, scarf and gloves. Stevie on the other hand, donned his usual khaki shorts, polo shirt and then a sweatshirt – he is so much like his daddy! It is funny to see how differently we all embrace the cooler weather.

I admit I do miss the real winters we had when we were living in Seattle.  We lived in this fantastic little neighborhood down a bit of a hill.  Where we were at, we didn't typically get a lot of snow so when it did come most people were unprepared.  My neighbor across the street and I would come out onto our front porches wrapped in our bathrobes and holding our piping hot coffee as we cheered our fellow neighbors in their repeated attempts to drive up the snowy hill.  Most had cars not really equipped for the job.  I always felt bad for the ones who would get so close you were SURE they would make it only to have the car start slipping backwards.  Man, do I miss those guys.

Wishing you all a very Happy December!

xoxo.

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.

I am not above bribery.

I used to think I was...but, as it turns out, I am not above bribery when it comes to parenting.  My little drama queen has been wanting to quit dance recently, specifically tap which she is trying out for the first time.  In general, she has been one to easily give up when things get too tough and most of the time these days she just looks so crabby and has a constant pout on her face because, according to her, things just are NOT turning out the way she would like in her life.  (Reminding her that she is only 9 and SURELY things are not THAT bad, doesn't help, btw)

Yesterday when I picked her up from tap I spoke with her teacher and it would seem there were 4-5 girls in the class that were pretty advanced and shouldn't have been in that class in the first place but they are now in another class more suited for their level.  So, Alyson's class is now down to 5 girls who are all beginners.  I also asked her teacher if she would show me some of the specific things they were working on in the class so that I could practice with Alyson at home -- yep, back in the day, I did some dancing myself...still have my tap shoes from when I was doing classes before Stevie was born (I may or may not be willing to share pictures at a later date.)  So, anyway, her teacher is going to write things down for me.  I figured Alyson would be happy with the change in class and with the fact that I would be spending time with her and helping her practice.

Instead of the "That is great Mom, can't wait to practice with you!" I was hoping for, her whole body just went limp and she slid down the car seat like a piece of jello.  (Isn't it amazing how their bodies can do that?!  My son was one who REALLY perfected that move!)  SO we had to have a little talk about bad attitudes, etc.  Didn't really get anywhere.

Then a few minutes later she asked if she could roller blade when we got home -- this after she had gone ON and ON about ALLLLL this homework she had (another reason to quit dance) -- and after telling her I didn't see how she could possibly have the time for roller blading with all that homework I learned just how exagerated her thinking was (not really surprised.)  Then she wanted me to actually go roller blading WITH her.  (OH CRAP!)

I have not roller bladed since before my car accident with left me with a metal plate and 5 screws in my right wrist (3 years ago)...and even before the accident I wasn't all that great at it after an unfortunate incident in the mid 90's that left me walking funny for a month.  Needless to say she was disappointed that I wasn't jumping at the idea of putting my roller blades on.  (Finally getting to the bribery part here...)  So, I told her if I put roller blades on and went around the neighborhood with her, she had to promise to change her attitude and be willing to go to dance and work at home with me and be positive about it rather than pouting and turning into a limp noodle.  She readily agreed and was all smiles.

I followed through with my part of the bargain and made sure that Alyson had plenty of instruction on how to call daddy, a neighbor and even 911 if necessary should mommy fall and break something.  I was feeling pretty good too...for awhile.  THEN it happened.

I didn't see the acorn in the road and I hit it head on which of course stopped my roller blading in it's tracks and I feel forward.  Thankfully the only thing I broke was a nail but I did manage to scrape up my knee even through my jeans and have a beautiful blue bruise to show for it this morning.  (Thank goodness for my wrist guards though -- whew!!)  My ever loving and supportive daughter took after her daddy in that brief moment when I fell and told me to "get up Mom, you're fine"  followed with a "I'll bet that hurt!" and a "good thing no one saw!"

Yep, it hurt...and I AM thankful there was no one around to see it!  LOL!

So now that I have kept up with my part of the bargain...crossing my fingers and nursing my bruised knee (and ego) that she will keep up with her part.  And for the record, I am way better at tap dancing than roller blading!

It's a LOVE/HATE thing.

I have been blog hopping a lot lately...fills in the empty minutes at work because unfortunately things have gotten slow.  So slow in fact that the already small office I work in has been made even smaller with some recent layoffs...my little brother being one of those layoffs unfortunately.  I do so miss seeing him everyday :(

So in the empty minutes, I blog hop.  It started when I was looking for ideas of the Witch's Ball my BFF and I throw in honor of Halloween and then because I am also looking for ideas for the bridal shower I am throwing in a few weeks for one of my sisters -- with no help from her other bridesmaids I might add (and no, I am NOT the maid of honor...but whatever!)  So, yes, back to the blog hopping...it is so completely addicting and before I know it a WHOLE LOT of minutes have gone by!  A person can really get lost out in Blog Land!

It is becoming a Love/Hate thing for me lately.  I just love all the amazing and wonderful ideas out there...but I hate that I don't have the time and energy to actually do most of them...kind of makes me feel like a bit of a failure in the creativitiy and homemaker department...hence another reason for the HATE side of the relationship!  I also hate that while I am inspired to do things to my own home I keep falling back on the "why bother" attitude since chances are high we won't be in our home much longer.  I know, I know, totally the wrong attitude to have and I AM working on it...I swear!  I did actually rearrange my daughter's bedroom and actually picked up some paint samples to potentially paint both of my kiddos rooms so they can enjoy it for the time left we have in our house...that's a pretty good start, I think.

I suppose I should actually get back to work.  I am crossing my fingers for a somewhat productive weekend....here's hoping!

A Little Lady

Alyson has been bugging me for quite some time to get her hair cut short.  I finally realized I was not going to be able to put her off anymore.  We went yesterday and after the hairdresser asked her several times if she was sure....

She went from this...

 to this...

The hairdresser had to hand me a box of tissues because I was crying from the first snip.  Alyson however was grinning from ear to ear and hasn't stopped since.  She has informed me that she feels like a whole new person with her new look.  She is growing up so fast!



Fresh Start Friday

I need a fresh start.  So today, I am giving myself one.  For too long lately I have just been "out of it".  I have felt so unhappy, unmotivated and like my life is just on PAUSE because of all the uncertainty that has been surrounding me.  I have been so paralyzed by it all that I just have not been able to move forward...or even sideways for that matter -- just haven't been able to do much of anything.  Even the things that normally cheer me up just haven't been cutting it lately.

I have been telling myself that I could do this or I should not do that because, well, we don't even know where we are going to be in the not so distant future.  Our dream house has turned into a nightmare because of the financial woes overtaking our country and then you factor in the sinkhole issue we have...bleck!  We are just stuck in PAUSE...not really sure how much longer or even IF we can stay in our house.  Wondering how much longer I will have a job just piles on the worry.  I have a 9 year old drama queen in my house too...I think my 11 year old son is the most stable out of us all...I suppose my husband could run a close second in that department...depending on the day ;)

There are two weddings coming up in my family too...one of my little sisters is getting married - this December 17th, in fact, and then my little brother is planning to tie the knot next May.  Wonderful reasons to celebrate...but stressful and expensive (yep, just throw that into the worry-cart too)

I tried taking a break from some of the things in my life but unfortunately, the only thing that has succeeded in doing is causing my friends to worry.

Last night though, I was talking to a friend, and while we are not in exactly the same situation in our lives there are some similarities and she made a few comments during our conversation that just really helped change the direction of my way of thinking.  Really simple things but finally, something that made sense to me and that could maybe even help me move forward instead of just being stuck on PAUSE.  It will take some time I am sure but I am determined to climb out of this black hole I have found myself in. 

So, I am giving myself permission to start over today.  I am making a fresh start.  I don't expect I have much of a following on my blog but at least by just putting it out there I am accountable to someone -- even if it is just Blogger! ;)

My first step is just to focus on the here and now and what I can do within and about that.  Seems simple enough, right?  Right.  Right?  Maybe not? 

I am a worry-wart by nature.  I think I may even be a bit of a control freak.  I like to have a plan and a list to go with that plan...I tend to be lost without those things.  And when things are so uncertain it is just that much harder to plan and make my list...and I just worry some more.

NOPE!  I can do this.  My first goal is just to enjoy my weekend...not going to stress about the house being a mess or the laundry or if the cat threw up again...nope, just going to enjoy my healthy family and the fact that we have a roof over our heads. 

I got this.

BOO!

Did I scare you? ;)  We cleaned out the garage this past weekend and so I brought out all the Halloween decorations.  Since I was in the spirit I made a little something to display in my foyer.  I am really happy with how it turned out.  The House of Paper got in the Girls Paperie Toil and Trouble line so it was perfect to dress up these $1 wooden frames from Michaels

kind of cute, right?

HOW do people do it?!

Sometimes I really hate reading peoples blogs, tweets and Facebook statuses...they end up leaving me feeling like such a failure.  I can never seem to find enough time to get to everything that I need to or that I want to.  HOW do they do it?  I find myself frustrated  more times than not because I can start something but then have the hardest time actually finishing something.  Is there a secret to balancing things that I just haven't figured out yet?!

Am I a glutton for punishment?

I love scrapbooking.  I love being creative.  I have a zillion ideas floating around in my (yep, I counted.).  I am great when it comes to COLLECTING all the items I need for any given idea.  I totally rock when it comes to STARTING any given idea.  However, when it comes to actually FINISHING a particular project that stemmed from one of these zillions of ideas...I just plain suck.  It's not that I don't WANT to finish  my projects...I just don't seem to have enough hours in the day to get to everything that needs to be done.

So, what do I do about this?  Well, I signed up for MORE ideas, of course!

Big Picture Scrapbooking is hosting a FREE Big Idea Festival...they had me at FREE!  Over the course of 13 days I am going to be subjected to 39 different project and layout ideas...so I guess that will give me a zillion and 39 swimming around in my head.  It would seem I am a firm believer in the fact that you just can't have too many ideas!

In honor of this class, and since I am now down to a 4 day work week, I am absolutely determined to finish at least 3 of my growing number of unfinished projects before my kids return to school again at the end of August.  Can I do it?

Who knows....?!
I am thinking there is a good chance this idea could end up becoming just another one of the zillions of ideas already in my head!
Ya think?

Trying something new this summer...

Got some bad news this week...seems the company I work for is struggling and so all employees have had to take a pay cut and go to a 4 day work week.  The 4 day work week is not so bad, I have to be honest...but that pay cut...well, that's a bitch!  We have had to rethink our plans for the summer and canceled a few things.  We have also committed to not eating anymore.  Hoping and praying that this will only be temporary.  At least I still have a job, right?

We are going to have to get a little creative when it comes to fun things to do, especially when Daddy works from home and is pretty much glued to his computer until 4pm.  At least with the 4 day work week I can have an entire day to spend with the kids and take advantage of some of the fun passes we, thankfully, already have and we can find some fun things to do together at home.

I just signed us up for a class over at Big Picture Scrapbooking:



We have decided to do this a family and I am rather looking forward to it.  Especially after I emailed the instructor asking if the class would be good for us moms who work full time and when she responded, she referred to me as a "supermom"...as the saying goes, "you had me at hello."  LOL!  I am excited to do this with the kids and do some scrapbooking WITH them rather than just ABOUT them.  Things should be interesting as well ;)