Cohen's Nine Month Layout

(double-click to enlarge)
I was super organized last weekend and had pictures to try and match paper and embellishments to. Ususally I just go out and buy pretty paper, get it home, and never use it again. But this time.......

Anyhoo, I bought this Making Memories paper that had a travel theme, and the stickers to match. It was perfect for Cohen's suitcase pictures. The colors matched everything in the pictures, so of course I bought it. However, in keeping with Haley's "use old stuff" goal, the majority of the embellishing is old stuff. The shipping tags have been in my tower for ages, the Chatterbox stickers on the tags are soooo old, the ribbon is old SU! stuff that I had, and of course, buttons.

I love how it turned out.

Decisions Decisions

I can't decide what to do:
Enroll Avery in tap or ballet for next year
Eat a wrap or cookies for lunch
Dust or vaccuum
Scrapbook or make cards

Any suggestions??

I would really like to scrapbook, but it seems a shame to spend such a beautiful day inside. The hard thing is I can't really let Avery out to play alone anymore, at least not until someone kills that coyote... so that means that while Cohen sleeps, we need to be inside. Maybe we can both scrapbook, and then chill on the new gravity lounger I bought today...

Ew...

So I went to feed the dog this morning, and wouldn't you know it. There was a mouse in the trap. I would LOVE to say that I was cool, calm and collected, and dealt with it in an adult fashion. But I didn't. Instead, I freaked out, called Grant and started to rant and rave about how gross it was to have a house "infested" with mice. I don't do mice.
It never fails. As soon as he leaves for work, you know what hits the fan. The last time he left, the water pipes froze and we had no water. And they froze bad. No amount of heat tape, or insulation, or anything else I tried worked. My MIL and I finally sawed the pipe off of the house.
Mice have been a problem before. I have had to call neighbors over to save me from them. I did that again today. How embarrassing. But how gross. I HATE that I can't handle dealing with mice; dead or alive. I would love to be that independent, strong farm wife, but alas, I am a high maintenance, easily flustered girl, who freaks out at the smallest thing.

Oh, and don't get me started about the coyote that was in our yard this morning.

Super Sub!!!!

I subbed today. It felt really good to be back, but I know that I don't have to mark the tests that I administered today. And I don't have to spend my evenings plannings lessons for tomorrow. I miss teaching the kids, and I got to do that today. And I also got to teach kids I wouldn't normally have in my class, so that was fun too. I am really going to like being a substitute teacher...maybe more than being a "real" teacher.

I am also glad that I don't have to play the school politicy game where there is tension between the staff, and some people are way too cocky for my liking. Don't miss that at all........And I get to leave when the bell rings! How great is that?? I picked up my kids before the busses had pulled out.

My New Favorite Layout

I would like to take all the credit for this layout, but props have to go to Haley and Tara. They were full of ideas yesterday, and I thank them both so much.

I wanted to go with the CSI idea, but I never imagined that it would turn out like this. Police tape gives it just the right touch, don't you think?

Avery snuck into her birthday cake on the morning of her birthday. Did she do this to the sample cake I made? OOOOHHHH Nooooooo. Just the one that people would see. Anyhoo, she smushed her fingers into Lightning's tailfin, and got a good sampling of icing. I was a little angry at first, but I would never have made a layout like this otherwise so....

And in keeping with Haley's "use old stuff" goal - the chipboard was old, and the file folders were to be recycled, post-its, and police tape... The only new stuff is the background paper.

Finally, the picture is a little dark, but the sun had set, and I couldn't wait until tomorrow to take it, so there. (I mean that in the nicest way possible.)

Our Very Own Play Park

We have hmmmmed and haaahed for a long time over what type of swing set to get for our kids. Avery LOVES going to the park, but I find that it is a production to get there. I have to time it between meals, and naps and find time to drive to town to go. So our own just made sense. We have had a ton of rain lately and this meant that Grant couldn't do the yard work that so desperately needs to be done, but he could build a playground. We went to Calgary on Wednesday, and Grant spent numerous hours in the shop putting the thing together. While I was at "work" yesterday, he moved it into the yard. Avery called me at work to tell me all the different ways she went down the slide, how she climbed the "rocky wall", looked out the telescope, and drove the steering wheel. Mark was here today and Grant roped him into helping him finish putting the swing and monkey bars up. Avery is in complete heaven, and I can watch it all from my kitchen window...

A New approach...

So while I was doing my hair this morning...(I am sensing a theme here), I got to thinking what Avery and Cohen probably want to see in my albums when they are older. I know that I wish that there were more pictures and stories of my parents and grandparents when they were growing up, and had kids, and at work. So I have decided to redirect my approach to scrapbooking. Call me Stacy Julian, but I think that Avery will want to know the story of how I fell in love with her dad. I think Cohen will benefit from seeing how important farming is to his dad. I don't think that I will regret scrapbooking the everyday stories of our life, and including a little more of Grant and I in my albums, and maybe a little less of the "normal" kid pages.
That said, the first layout that I am going to do for this new approach is one about how I fell in love with Grant, and why. And why things that were important at 20 aren't as important anymore, but that I found exactly what I was looking for without even realizing it.

Good hair day

I am having one. Or I was having one until I had to leave the house and go out into the rain. It's funny how anal I am about my hair. I know that no one notices how good or bad it is. To them it probably looks the same every day. But I know. I know as soon as I start blow drying it what kind of hair day it will be. Some days it won't lay as flat as I want it to, and others it will stick out too far sideways, but today... today is, I mean was a good hair day.

Enjoy the Silence

So for the first time in a very long time I was sitting in a very quiet house. It was about 11 o'clock last night when I realized that the clock in my dining room ticks. I had never heard it tick before and the house was so quiet that I could hear it. What I should have done at that moment was take my butt to bed, but instead, I sat in the dining room and listened to the silence of my house. I'm glad I did, because about seven minutes later, Cohen started fussing in his sleep.

I would really like to get organized this weekend...

okay. All I want to do after looking at Christy's blog is re-organize my scrapbook room. I usually keep it pretty neat and tidy, but I am finding that the actual space that I have for creating is getting smaller and smaller. Now all I have to do is convince Grant to take both kids for a few hours. hmmmm.

on the move

it is official. Cohen has finally graduated from exclusively bum scooting, to crawling. The weird thing was he started to crawl up the stairs before he actually crawled anywhere on the floor. Whatever. It is time for baby gates and all that other baby proofing crap. I mean stuff.

Denied...

...yep. I was denied. I sent in a layout to Canadian Scrapbooker and it was rejected. I won't be discouraged though. Haley said it isn't because it is a crappy layout, but it just might not be what they are looking for. So I won't be discouraged. In fact, I think I will go and do something else and send it...maybe.

Guilty pleasures

I was at "work" yesterday at SRSC and the new Canadian Scrapbooker and Scrapbook Trends are in. I honestly devoured them last night. There are sooooo many layouts in Trends that I will likely rip out over half of them for my inspiration book. I really need to get scrapping!

Terriers Are My Favorite Favorite Breed...

cute and cuddly, easy dogs to feed...
Grant and I are going to Kids In The Hall tomorrow night and I am so excited. I loved these guys so much when I was in high school and I know that I will probably laugh so hard that I might pee in my pants a little.
I'll let you know. ;)

The Office

I just finished watching the season finale of The Office. Soooo good. I loved it. But I really think I have figured out the spinoff. I think Jim will get promoted to Ryan's job and he and Pam will move. I am sooo smart.

thursday, thursday...thursday, thursday, thursday

If you ever listen to Alt Nation you will know that Thursday is Madison's favorite day. It is hers because she go to go to Rotten Ronnie's for supper. It is mine because of The Office, Grey's and Miami Ink!

It is the season finale of The Office tonight and I am bummed because I feel like it just came back and now it is leaving...

But I think I have figured out the spinoff that Haley was talking about. I think Pam will leave for New York to pursue her graphic design, and Jim will have to follow her there to work for DMI... we'll see.

going green

well... sort of. I planted my containers today. I know that it is a little early, but I am a gal who can't resist pretty flowers... I hope they survive. I haven't had containers for a few years so I hope I can manage the upkeep with them this year.

as for the going green part... I am doing that too. One of my 14 New Year's Resolutions was to do something GREEN each month. This month is to do something with all of Cohen's baby food jars.

Latest Layouts

I was inspired by my friend Haley to use some of my old stash and to therefore try to eliminate some of the clutter in my scrapbook room.

I did that with the "Bummer" layout. Everything was "old". The paper was for another project that I had in mind, and of course bought something else. The chipboard letters were from another layout. The buttons, brads, safety pin, and ribbon are all things I have had for over a year. And the ribbon charm thing came as a freebie from a workshop thingy I went to.

Avery's Third Birthday...

I have to admit that NOTHING on this layout is from my old stash. Could I love Basic Grey anymore?

This is the cupcake line, which is of course, perfect for a birthday party layout. Avery desperately wanted a Lightning McQueen birthday and it just so happens that the colors from the pictures work perfectly with the paper!

I love it when that happens...

Rites of Passage

we all go through them... first communion, driver's license, first kiss, first haircut (that you gave yourself.....)

I trimmed Avery's bangs last night. They were hanging in her eyes. I had finished my handiwork and (this is where the fatal error took place) asked her to take the scissors back to my scrapbook room. It wasn't long before I heard that distinct "snip, snip, snip" sound that cutterbee scissors make.

I went into my scrapbook room and told Avery to put the scissors down because they were very sharp and something bad could happen. She turned to me and said, "I think something bad happened..."

She had chopped the top of her hair, and added a little texture to the back. I think I can hide it with a barrette...

My Mother's Day

So my third official Mother's day was great. It actually started on Saturday night. Grant was worried that he would be working a lot on Sunday and so he decided that Avery and Cohen should give me my gift early. I LOVED it. It is a pendant that represents our family of four. Super cute.
The funny thing is that I had a dream that I got this for mother's day, except that there were seven people on the pendant, not four...

she says the funniest things...

so the other day Avery started T-ball. She mostly made piles of dirt, but she did run the bases, and hit the ball a few times. When we got home that night I asked if she remembered the names of the bases. She replied. "Yes. First base, next base, last base..." I guess so...