Well, on Sunday, after the disaterous gingerbread house, we proceeded to play with play-doh - another huge mess (and if you know me, the play-doh doesn't come out often for just that reason).

Then, we put the baby to bed and made some xmas tree ornaments. It went really well.

I hope decorating the tree turns out better:)

but the kids had fun!

Quick Update, No Pictures

Wow, life is crazy.

Work is really busy.

I am trying to get all the xmas shopping done - then I have to tackle the wrapping.

Got lots of gifts to finish making.

Finishing the basement - which I am so excited about - might even be done for Christmas.

Gotta get the kids haircuts, get a tree and decorate.

Wanna win the cubicle decorating contest at work.

And really want to take some time to scrap.

That's all I got.

The Longest Day

Well, not that anything particularly bad happened today, but it was one of the longest days of my life.

The kids are each at their own stages of rebellion, and it keeps me on my toes all day long. Eric is a young teen in the making, with attitude, language, strength and volume to compliment it all.

Emma has decided that listening is optional, and the angrier I get, the more she laughs.

Owen is terribly two - and when he misses his nap, as he did today, he's 2 x 2.

We went to see Jenny's cheer leading competition today, and everyone really enjoyed it. Near the end, everyone was a little restless, but grandma rose to the occasion (as she always does) and it worked out well.

However, on the way out, there was a snow hill, which Eric and Emma decided to climb. Then Eric ran down it and ran away, Emma fell down it and scrapped her knees, and Owen decided to take the opportunity to run out into the street. Needless to say, I wasn't pleased, and there was a lot of yelling. And the spectators who stood and watched, well, they could have been more help.

Then we came home and baked cookies, watched movies, snuggled, played Lego, all the while, putting out the miniature world wars that erupt from the kids.

Really, each of them are wonderful as long as they are alone. It's the dynamics between them all that make it difficult. They are never all happy, someone is always getting hurt, there's a lot of yelling at each other, hitting, etc. Sometimes, I try to stay out of it and let them work it out themselves, but it rarely works out for me.

Anyway, tomorrow is another day. And even though each day has times when it seems unbearable, whenever I am away from kids, they are all I can think about and I can't wait to be with them again.

Sharing My Love

So it's been ages since I have shared any of my scrapbooking with anyone. Not because I am being shy, but because I just haven't had the time to upload the images. So here are some of my most recent pages.

My current obsession is Sassafras Lass and Basic Grey.

I am tring to challenge myself to use stamps - but I am not very good at it, so it's been a difficult journey.

And a warning to some one my loved ones - these pages may make another appearance in your lives very soon. Sorry for the preview - but I just couldn't wait to share my work.

This first layout was a challenge because I just needed to use the new Basic Grey stamp - the rooster is simply to awesome!

This layout is a scraplift, but I can't for the life of me remember the source. I just love this layout.

This was a challenge from my best friend, Laurie, who purchased a stack of vintage bingo cards. It was a lot harder than I thought it would be to put that card to use!

This one was done at the LIITD crop in October? Seems like it was years ago, but I am pretty sure it's closer to weeks or months.



Another scraplift.

And, I am entirely positive that the person who this layout was created for knows who she is!!!!

Sassafras Lass and owls - Oh, I am in HEAVEN!

The fall pictures are so easy to scrap!

And Victoria Beach - a source of true happiness for the kids!

Owen, definitely a boy!

Bye for now.

My first post

Okay. So this is my first blog post. It's 9:00 at night and the kids are in bed - except for Emma - who has a "20 minute nap" at daycare today. Whenever she has this 20 minute nap, she's up until 10 or 11 at night - great for me:!

So, the purpose of this blog is many. I want my family to be able to keep up to date on what the family and I are doing, share my love for scraobooking, and create a "diary" of sorts for myself and the kids as they grow up.

I wish I could go back to the day Tom and I married and record the days and the feelings so that it can all be documented for the future. But since that isn't possible (because I simply can't recall all of that), I will start with today.

We are approaching Xmas, and as usual, my main goal is to make this Xmas as special for the kids as possible. After Xmas, we have a trip to Mexico, and then Emma's fourth birthday. The next couple of months are some crazy ones, but I am looking forward to all of it.

Most recently, we have had Tom's birthday, Owen's second birthday (and it still seems like he is a baby to me - maybe cause he's my last so I am holding onto it for as long as I can), and of course, Halloween.

Also, during the month of October, Softa Laura passed away. That made me realize a lot of things, which are very personal, but needless to say, things are not always as they seem. Laura's passing made me feel a lot of things, realize a lot of things, and value a lot of things.

So, I know this first post isn't much. I am not going to say a lot, and there is a lot of design work to be done, but it's a start!

Here are some recent pictures of the loved ones.