This is My life

Lots of new products!

It seems like FOREVER since I have put anything new in the store!  Other than the grab bags, I don't think I have put anything new in since MAY!  Can you believe it??  But last night I loaded up my shop with SEVEN new template packs!  It was fun to get it all put together.  And now I can't wait to scrap with them!  I have done two pages but there are soooo many more I want to use!  Here we go...

And today and tomorrow everything in my shop is 45% off...so stock up and get scrapping!

And then come back on Friday when my grab bags will go up!

Here are the two pages I have done so far...

Credits: MERRY LITTLE CHRISTMAS kit by Michelle Coleman at Little Dreamer Designs.  Template from my OH CHRISTMAS TREE pack.

Credits: Papers and felt circles by Shabby Princess from her HOLIDAY JOY kit. Alpha by Gina Cabrera from her MERRY AND BRIGHT kit.  Template by me from my SEEING STARS pack.  Stitches by Kate Hadfield.

Hope you have a wonderful Wednesday and a Happy Halloween!

On the up and up...

EDITED FOR PERSONAL REASONS

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I am really excited about the next few days.  I love having things to look forward to.  My mind operates in a funny way -- always has.  My mind only is always looking to the next thing.  I love what I am doing and where I am but I am always a tad more excited for whatever is NEXT.  I don't have a long attention span so when the "next thing" is coming fast, it keeps life exciting.  It is probably why I enjoy this kind of work so much...no two days are ever alike.  Something new happens every day.  New activities to look forward to.  New problems to be overcome.  New relationships to be made.

So, back to my week. Lots of little things to look forward to...today is a work day for me, which I am really excited about.  Soooo many creative ideas spinning in my head (though Alaina is begging me to go to Disney today, so we'll see what happens :)  Tomorrow evening is the Harvest Party at our church.  We have never really done the Halloween or Harvest thing, so we are all pretty excited.  Alaina is going as Tinkerbell and is BEYOND giddy! I don't think the boys will actually keep on a costume so I think I will just get them a fun hat or a t-shirt.  The church is having a huge party with blow-up toys, candy, a band, etc.  We are taking our dorm boys with us, too, so that should be fun.  I love being with them outside of normal structure and routine -- showing them how to have fun without getting into trouble.

Thursday is our family day so we are heading out to a hotel for the evening.  We all really need some concentrated family time without the distractions of cleaning, computers, the TV, life.

Anyway...it feels good to be excited about things again.  So good.

Before I go, a few things...

First, a LO! Look closely at those pictures!  LOL!

Credits: Vibrant Fall kit by Meredith Fenwick (including that fun hand-drawn alpha!) Stitching by Shabby Princess

and.....

Have a great day!

Thanks, Caleb

Well...I had a nice lengthy post started.  My computer was starting to act up a bit and that always signals that my laptop will shut down sometime in the near future.  It was early into the problem (can you tell I really need to let the Geek Squad get to this machine?) so I knew I had time.  I saved my entry as a draft and while it was saving, "POOF!" gone it went.  I went to go check to see if it saved but I then realized I had no internet whatsoever.  That's odd...until I hear Caleb at the DVD player. I had set him up at the other computer since Levi was sleeping in our room where the TV is (the reason for Levi in our room was the subject of the vanished entry and since I don't feel like retyping it all...suffice it to say he did NOT have a good night's sleep and therefore, neither did I :)  So if Caleb has moved his DVD to the TV then he must of, oh no Cabe, not again...yep.  He turned off the main power switch to the power strip that holds not only our desktop computer, but the modem as well.  Ugh.  Thanks, Cabe.

I am afraid my computer is on the brink of disaster again, so I am going to make this short and sweet...

The weekend was good.  Saturday was pretty stressful...sometimes the fact that I have three kids (age four and under!), am pregnant, work a 55-60 work week, run my own online business, and also try to have some sort of life just gets to me and I feel the stress of it all.  Most days I really thrive on the busyness and the fullness of my life.  But some days, like  Saturday, I feel overwhelmed and really want to turn in the wonderwoman cape I seem to put on most days.

Sunday was much better and I felt like I got so much accomplished. I finished up all the baby shower invitations on Saturday (including a bunch of handmade envelopes!) so I felt like a huge weight had been lifted.  I LOVE doing stuff like that, but it takes time and makes a mess.

Yesterday I got the house cleaned up a bit, stayed on top of the dish pile-up, and even cooked dinner for the family (we usually go out on Sunday nights because we only have about 2 hours off). I also scrapped!  I think my creative energy and desire is finally coming back and it felt good to just scrap for the fun of it.

First, I finished my digi dare LO.  I had started early but didn't end up finishing in time, but I really wanted to do this dare. I love being on the digi dares because I get LO's done that I might not otherwise ever do.  This weeks dare, which you can see HERE, is to scrap a mostly unknown fact about yourself.  Here's mine

I also got my digi dare LO for this week done, but you'll have to wait until Friday for that one :)

Here are two other pages I did this weekend:

Credits: Fall Color kit by Lori Barnhurst and Michelle Coleman at LDD

Credits: HARVEST SPICE kit by Shabby Princess (at shabbyprincess.com)

Alrighty -- this post has taken long enough!  It has gone through one Caleb power outage, one computer crash, a staff meeting, diaper changes, and lots of other stuff.  Ah...life :)

Productive Day...

I didn't get all that I had hoped to get done, but I realize I DID accomplish a lot yesterday.  I didn't get a nap in (long story involving strange men in my house) but it felt good to be productive.  I got a few LO's done for various teams, started my digi dare LO (usually it is a late night Thursday thing!), did a paper LO for a CK assignment (okay, THAT took forever, I am so scared of paper! LOL!), made and put together 25 (so far) baby shower invitations, went grocery shopping, made a dessert for a different baby shower, and started a mini album that I am making for a gift.  Phew!

Today should be nice...Alaina and I have a shower to go to this morning and then we are off until tomorrow afternoon.  No big plans, which sounds perfect to me!

Sorry to be so brief, but I have little paper scrapping/invitation making messes to clean up all over the house! LOL!  I'll leave you with a LO I did a while back...

BTW, in case you are wondering, "Beav" is what we call Levi.  It just kind of evolved...

Levi...
Levi Bevi...
Bevi...
Beav

Happy Thursday!

I'm ready for Christmas...

Forget fall.  Apparently Florida has.  Temperatures are still reaching 90, the leaves are all green, and there is not a stalk of corn in sight.  So, since fall apparently got lost on the way to central Florida, let's just skip it and move right on to Christmas.

I LOVE Christmas.  I don't necessarily care for the loads of gifts and the materialism of it all, and I DO understand the deeper meaning of the season, but I have to say I LOVE the "feeling" of Christmas.  I love the lights, the music, the dreams of snow, the family, the candles, the wonder of it all.  Why else would I choose to get married one week before Christmas?  I had an evening candlelit ceremony and had my favorite song, "Oh Holy Night," play as the wedding party walked down the aisle.  I just love the magical feeling of the time of year. Christmas is definitely one thing I really missed when I was overseas.  India basically did nothing for Christmas and Malaysia, while they try, you couldn't quite escape noticing that although things looked Christmasesque, they were usually just Chinese New Years decorations in disguise.

I know I won't get snow in Orlando.  I know I won't feel like a nice hot cup of cocoa or feel like warming my toes by the fire. BUT... I am pretty sure I am going to soak up all the Christmasness that the area has to offer.  Take Disney for example.  I was cruising the website yesterday and was downright giddy at all the holiday events they have going on!

Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party at the Magic Kingdom (complete with snow on main street!)

Holiday's Around the World at Epcot Center (with a candlelight processional and tree lighting every night!)

The Osborne Family Spectacle of Dancing Lights at MGM Studios (with falling snow and millions of lights!)

Festival of the Seasons in Downtown Disney (where Santa plans to hang out!)

and

Mickey's Jingle Jungle Parade at Animal Kingdom

And the best thing is, all of this is going on from the day after Thanksgiving until Christmas!!  Can you tell I am going to get my money's worth out of these tickets?  LOL! I am ready!  If I can't have fall, I'll take LOTS and LOTS of Christmas!

Okay...Christmas longings are over (for the time being!)

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Speaking of Disney...here are a few pictures from the parade the other night.  It is REALLY hard to get photos of the moving parade and the fireworks, especially with thousands of people milling about, but a few turned out okay.

*****

One of the effects of this pregnancy is that I have taken very few pictures (compared to what I usually do!) Normally my camera is out every day and I can basically chronicle every moment of our lives.  I have found that I have gone weeks at a time without downloading new pictures and I have missed so much. I am not worried about it, I still have a lot more pictures than many people have, but I do miss the photos.  So last night I convinced Alaina to come outside with me and let me take some photos.  She was her normal cheesy self so I didn't get too many amazing ones, but I got a few that speak to me.  Levi tagged along so I got some of his cute self too!  Enjoy!

And here is a LO I did at 4:30 this morning when I couldn't sleep...

Credits: paper (combined and altered) by Michelle Coleman and Shabby Princess. I also used papers by Michelle Coleman from her Haunted Fall kit to make the little paper pumpkin. Distressed alpha font and hand stamped alpha brushes also by Michelle.  Staples by Shabby Princess. Frame by Nancy Comelab.  Font is Mom's Typewriter.

Journaling: okay...so, fall hasn’t really come to florida. people keep telling me it will, but at the end of october with the temperatures still reaching 9O, i am seriously having some doubts. there are no changing leaves, no cool crisp air, no hot apple cider, and no where to go pick pumpkins. in january i am sure i will be thankful for the warm temps, but right now, i just want fall! but you know what? i look at these pictures and I really have to ask myself...who needs pumpkins when I have you?

Hope everyone has a great Wednesday. I have a lot planned today so Jason is taking the kids out so I can get some work done.

Four hours later...

Yep.  You read that right.  FOUR hours after I entered the doctor's office I got to leave.  F-O-U-R hours.  Insane, to say the least.  And the thing is, they didn't really DO anything.  Almost all of that time was spent waiting.  Waiting for one doctor to do the work of two (one didn't show up that day).  Waiting for the one doctor who WAS there to stop his incessant chatter with every patient.  Waiting for this incompetent man to stop talking to me about unrelated stuff and just let me GO HOME.  Seriously, how this man ever passed med school is BEYOND me.  I asked him about a couple of things regarding me being sick and other than writing me a prescription, he did no more than tell me, "well, if it gets bad again go to the ER and talk to someone smarter than me."  WHAT?  Are you KIDDING me?  You call yourself a professional and you say stuff like that to your patients?  Even the nurses were BEYOND annoyed.  The office is supposed to close at 5 and yet there I was, at 7, and they were calling home telling their spouses they wouldn't be home. 

And to top it all off, he says that since I had an ultrasound at 15 weeks he doesn't want to schedule another one until 28 weeks! (I am 21 now).

Soooo...needless to say I am finding a new doctor.  I knew I probably would anyway since our insurance situation changes November 1.  But, WOW.  I will start looking into things today and then hopefully get an appointment for after the 1st with someone who didn't get his medical degree off the back of a cereal box.

****

Other than the fateful trip to the doctor, yesterday was pretty mundane.  I got in my normal nap (one of those times I LOVE that Jason is home all day with me -- I don't know how I would survive without a nap) and I even did a little scrapping in the morning. I am so out of my groove when it comes to scrapping.  I used to do most of my scrapping at night after the kids went to bed. I would often stay up until midnight scrapping away, enjoying the quiet.  But pregnancy makes me feel like 9:00 is LATE and the most I can do once we put our dorm boys in bed at 8:30 is sit and watch something with Jason. So my scrapping time has been seriously cut.  I need to remedy that! It has helped to actually use my own templates.  They really do make my scrapping faster! Funny that I rarely think to use them!

Credits: Smell My Feet kit by Shabby Princess, cardboard overlay by Linda GB, date stamp by Amber Clegg, page template and arrow template by me. Font is Mom's Typewriter.

Credits: DELIGHTFUL kit by Michelle Coleman. Stitched border and Distresses Alpha font also by Michelle.  Template by me.

Hope your Tuesday is fantastic!

Not Much to Say...

I really don't have much to report this morning.  We had a really nice and relaxing weekend.  The parade and fireworks at Disney on Friday were fantastic.  It was SUPER crowded, so that wasn't fun, the the show was really amazing.  Disney does so much to make sure everything is just *perfect*.  I love that!

On Saturday we slept in a bit and then Jason, Alaina, and Caleb decided to head back to Disney while Levi and I stayed home.  I did a LOT of relaxing and watching videos and basically just winding down after a busy few weeks. Sunday was church and more relaxing.  Throw in some yummy home-cooked meals, a little cleaning, a few projects, and lots of laughs and cuddles and you have our weekend! It was nice!

Today I see the doctor and hopefully he can shed some light on why I have gotten so sick lately.  It would be one thing if I had been this sick the whole pregnancy, but to have a MAJOR change in how I am feeling at 17 weeks and then for it continue for 3+ weeks makes me wonder if something else is wrong with me. It does appear to be somewhat stress/activity related but somehow I don't think that is going to change.  Thankfully, the baby is moving more.  I never said anything because I didn't want to worry people, but the baby wasn't really moving at all.  Levi was bouncing around by 15 weeks so when this one was barely noticeable (as in, "I think that was the baby but I am not sure and now it stopped") I was a bit worried.  But over the last week the baby has made its presence known and that at least makes me feel better. It also makes me ENJOY everything more. I love the feeling of baby moving inside of me.  Anyway, hopefully the doctor can tell me something more than that I should avoid stress and activity :)

And just so I don't leave you image-less...Here is a LO I did over the summer.  It was actually one of my SOY LO's.  I don't have the credits on hand right now but I know it is mostly a kit by Jessica Bolton at SBG.

Have a great day!

The Half-way point...

I am officially half-way done with this pregnancy.  However, my last ultrasound had me measuring about 5 days further along and since we were moving back in June I am not *totally* positive about my dates, so I could be a bit farther along than I thought.  In any case, 20 weeks are done.  Seems a little unfair to still be throwing up, but as I was telling one of the other pregnant moms on campus, the end is soooo worth it.  I am still hoping and praying that the sickness lightens up but I am starting to resign myself to the fact that I may just have to put up with it for about four and half months.  In the great scheme of things, it's not that big of a deal. Four and half months of my life.  And then, (Lord willing), I will NEVER have to feel this way again.  That thought makes even the toughest days tolerable :)

Yesterday was good -- we only had one boy home for the day (most of the kids here got to go to a water park for the day) so we just hung out at home and at the pool.  I was telling Jason that it is kind of crazy that I am the tannest I have been since I was a lifeguard in high school and it is the end of OCTOBER! But, the 90 degree weather keep sticking around and if you can't beat it, you might as well enjoy it. Right?

Now we just have to get through today with the boys home all day and then tonight they go home for the weekend!  I am really excited to have a weekend with my family...it has been since LABOR DAY since I have had a whole weekend with my family!  Alaina is really excited...we are going to go to the Magic Kingdom for the evening parade and fireworks.  I will probably regret it since it mean having the kids up WAY past bedtime, but we have been promising Alaina. Now I just need to do a little research on camera settings for fireworks.

After putting the kids in bed last night I actually scrapped!  I hadn't done the digi dare for the past few weeks and as I soaked in a hot bath last night an idea came to me and the page came together quickly.  This weeks dare (which should be up soon) is to scrap about PHASES we go through.  We had to use PHASE in the title. I had the perfect page in mind...

Journaling: It’s been going on ten years now...this “phase” that I am in. I remember coming back from India the first time and telling my dad I could see myself living there. He told me it was a phase. Three years and a new husband later, I made India home. Again, he told me it was just a phase. Two more years in Malaysia... When we came home, he told me he was glad I was “back.” Well, here I am, my body in America but my heart in Asia. It’s not a phase. It is the pulse my heart beats to. It is the dark eyes I dream of. It is the place I want to raise my kids. Nope, not a phase.

Credits: Background paper: Catrine at Catscrap (Silent Night kit)
Patterned Paper: Meredith Fenwick at SBG (Urban Jungle kit)
Cardboard Overlay: LindaGB at Scrapartist
Friendship Pin: Meredith Fenwick (Urban Jungle kit)
Vintage Frame: Nancy Comelab
Staples: Shabby Princess (Smell My Feet Kit)
Paper Tear: Steph Krush
Stitches and stitching holes: Syrin at Catscrap
Label: Birgit at Catscrap
Date Stamp: Amber Clegg at Scrapartist
Font: Mom's typewriter

****

Yesterday we did our toy rotation -- putting away a bunch of the kids toys and taking out another big tub of toys they haven't seen in a few months.  I LOVE doing this. I can't believe how much the kids love seeing their "new" toys....they have all been playing contently in their room together since yesterday afternoon.  It keeps the clutter out of the house and makes the kids feel like they are getting new stuff.  So fun!

Enjoy your Friday...and your weekend.  "See" you Monday!

It's Thursday...

...and normally that would mean it was our family day.  However, the boys don't have school today or tomorrow so they are home ALL DAY for the next two days!  They go home tomorrow night for the weekend, so at least we will have some family time then.  On Sunday night they come back, along with a new boy we are getting.  Should be interesting...

Anyway, since they are home I don't have much time to post today.  Not much to say, anyway.  Just the normal stuff -- school with Alaina, time with the boys, housecleaning, etc. I am also hoping to get caught up on emails...I am waaaayyy behind and I don't like that feeling. Maybe, just maybe, I will even have time to scrap.  I so rarely get to do it anymore.  Well, in actuality, I so rarely FEEL like it.  I remember this happening when I was pregnant with Levi, so I am hoping the lack of creativity lifts soon. I have one assignment for CK to do that HAS to be done, so maybe it will get the juices flowing.  We'll see.

Anyway, thought I would leave you with a few pictures of my cuties. These are actually from a few weeks ago but I am just getting around to downloading and sorting now :)

Caleb's masterpiece -- He has a thing for just mixing up ALL the colors on the palette and on his page. LOL!

And the littlest Van Gogh...he is at the point where he doesn't want to be left out of anything! 

Have a happy day!

New Every Morning...

I've really been thinking on this lately...the fact that God's mercies are new EVERY morning.  We can have a really bad day (or week, or month...) and be convinced that nothing will ever get better.  And yet, God is full of love and faithfulness that He gives us freely EACH day.  You never know when a new, fresh breath of God's love is waiting for you.  It is encouraging in the hard times and refreshing in the good times.  I am so thankful. And I am definitely feeling it right now as I think I am finally rid of whatever bug was making me so, so sick.  It was much more than morning sickness and am so glad it is gone.  I love feeling the renewed strength (and appetite!) and knowing that He strengthens the weak.

In school Alaina and I are studying the sun (and the letter S).  We have talked about the things that the sun does for us -- it gives us light so that we can see the way to go. We have done fun activities like have Alaina walk around with a blindfold to understand how hard it is to walk in the dark. I give her instructions on where to walk and although she is convinced she has it right, she finds herself in a totally different room than she thought.  It has been fun to parallel these lessons with the Bible teaching that Jesus is the light of the world and just like light (or the sun) He shows us which way to go.  Without Him, it is hard to walk.  We THINK we know where we are going but when the light finally shines we realized we are NOT where we meant to be.  Such good lessons -- for her AND for me :)

This morning we decided to have a sunrise breakfast so she can see the world slowly come to life. It was beautiful and quiet.  I forget what it is like to see the first rays peek through, the hear the birds singing their song, to see the slow ripples on the water.  So serene!

And here is a little something for you, if you want to snag it.  Sometimes a visual reminder is important!

You can download a full-size jpeg file HERE.  Enjoy.

****

So, since I was feeling better and because the forecast is calling for rain all weekend, we thought we would head out to Disney yesterday as a family. We normally just spend a few hours there but I was feeling so good that we stayed all the way until we HAD to leave to be back to work at 4. It was great!  We went back to Animal Kingdom and saw a lot more of the park.  I really love it there.  The people who did the design definitely did their research.  The Asia section is SO well done.  The little details are amazing.  If you haven't been to Asia (or India in particular) you might miss a lot of the little subtleties...the Bollywood video posters peeling away off the concrete walls...the way the cement walls and barriers are built...the beautiful Indian wood carvings...the tea shops.  So fun!  And yet, my desire to be back in Asia is so very strong these days that in some ways it just makes my heart ache to even see a reenactment of Asia!  Nonetheless, we all had fun and rode some fun rides! The first ride was Everest -- a really fun roller coaster ride.

Next we headed to the Kali River Rapids.  I didn't want to go since I despise getting wet, but after the kids rode with Jason they wanted to go again.  Thankfully, I didn't get TOO wet and they ran off the ride again yelling, "One more time!" So Jason went with them again and after Caleb came back soaked, he declared, "I ALL DONE!" 

Poor Levi is too small to ride so he just watched with this envious eye on the water!

Today is a TO-DO day at home.  The boys don't have school tomorrow or Friday so today is the last day for us to get a bunch of stuff done.

Have a great day!