A First?

OK, so I do have a bit of a paper addiction when it comes to my scrappy stuff - just ask my family!  And lately, I've been so busy with class stuff that I haven't done much of my own.  So, today I decided I wanted to play a little and there on my table was some of the new Imaginisce Birthday Bash line that I just got.  I was very good and only got a few sheets even though I LOVE it!

So, the "first" is that before putting it away, I actualy played with something new that I got!  This is also the first time I've used the punch and love that too!  The best part of this is that the red and white cardstock I used for this were also scraps!  How did it all come together and so quickly you ask?  I have resources!  lol 

I was poking around the Imaginisce blog and found a card by Kim Holmes and simply lifted it.  As I tell people in class, sometimes when you don't have a lot of time and simply want to play, don't worry about reinventing the wheel!  It came together quickly and I have everything out to make one more like this as well!  Might as well make 2 if I have everything out!

Now, on a completely different note...  The kids decided today that they were going to get busy and when I went in the living room, I was welcomed to "the rainforest"!  Who knew you could have a rainforest in your living room?!  Amazing where their minds go!

And here's just a little something from a couple of days ago that I thought I'd post since there aren't enough of these pictures of the boys and I!  I really don't like seeing myself in pictures, but I do know that they don't really care how I look and that as they get older, they're going to want these pictures.  I'm lucky enough to have them, so I just need to suck it up and get out from behind the camera sometimes as well!  They're getting so big...  Where does the time go?

Have a wonderful Thursday evening!  I'll be hanging out with my boys and then watching a little guilty pleasure that they call Big Brother!  If you're watching, who's your fav?

Cheers,

Summer Fun!

OK, so this is going to be a little bit of randomness today...

I know the summer is whizzing by, but there are still some things I'm hoping to do and looking forward to...

I'm hoping to pick this up again and actually finish it this time.  Ever since having the boys, I haven't done very well with my reading and I do miss it.  I pick up books and keep trying, but never quite seem to finish.  I saw the trailers for the movie and want to see that as well, so I'm promising myself I'll finish the book first!

Also looking forward to doing some camping!  May only be the odd day here and there, but looking forward to it!  We didn't do much last year and really missed it.  Need to get on it though!

Yes, OK, I'm sucked in again this summer!  Having fun watching the houseguests and following all the craziness on Big Brother 12.  The good thing now is that I can PVR it and watch it without all the commericals and can zip through the boring bits!  Who are you cheering for?

Bought a ticket for this for tomorrow night and thinking about how we could spend that $50 million...  It's endless...  Any ideas?!  lol 

We've already done some fun summer things too like the fireworks, water park, the boys had a sleepover at Nana and Grandpa's, and just getting out and playing together.  George is working on teaching Kyle to ride his bike still since he's so tentative, but I think he's gaining in confidence.  Hoping to still get Kyle registered for karate here as well!

I know there's so much more I was thinking about when I started this, but it'll have to do for now... 
Cheers,

Happy Anniversary Tracy and Brian!

Just wanted to wish my sister, Tracy, and my brother-in-law, Brian, a very Happy 5th Anniversary! This is the quickie card I whipped up this afternoon and I hope they like it!

It was quite the morning around here with Nathan having a couple of full-on meltdowns which isn't like him! Think he was tired and maybe on the edge of a bug or something since he's a little sniffly though not bad. My plan this morning was to go to the park, but I passed on that after Nathan was so miserable. It was so bad at point that I gave Kyle permission for the first time to go in his room to play Lego and lock the door to his room! Nathan just thought that meant it was time to kick the door. Oh well, he napped and all seems to be well again!

I'll be watching Big Brother tonight to see who gets booted and more importantly, who ends up HOH this week! The funny thing is that it'll be someone who hasn't been in that postition yet! Who do you think will go? Who are your favs to win now?

I need to get some work done on some upcoming classes as well, so let's hope inspiration hits tonight! Lots of Christmas cards coming!

Cheers,

Scrapperie's Latest Kit

I was lucky enough to be one of the people up for design work this month with the fabulous Farmer's Market kit from Scrapperie. Sandi actually designed two kits for the first time this morning , so you should go and take a look at the other, Fruit Salad, as well! Here was the work that was part of the reveal yesterday...

I had a lot of fun with this and will have some more up soon with any luck! There don't seem to be enough hours in a day these days, but I'd like to do some more scrapbooking for myself. I'm teaching 8 classes next month though as well, so that's going to keep me busy for sure! I'll post some more on that later as well!

I'm off to work again here a little later this morning. Just relaxing with Kyle and having my coffee. Nathan is shockingly still asleep and George is, of course, sleeping in today!

We had a fun day yesterday after I got home from teaching in the morning. I had my Get 'Em Scrapped class in the morning, which Tracy came to as well the wonderful women who regularly take that class, so that was fun. I puttered around work with some other class stuff for a while, including an order of Jenni Bowlin that I'm very excited about, and then managed to get myself home in time for us to go back out! I wolfed down a sandwich when I got home and we were off out the door again to the airport!

Because George works for the city, we were able to get a ride on the new Canada Line Skytrain out to the airport before it officially opens Monday! They had all kinds of things going on as well - a Lego version of a Skytrain station, a food bank donation area (which we even remembered some things for!), a free teddy bear for the kids and ice cream for everyone as well as the Skytrain ride! It was fun and it really is amazing how much of it is underground. It'll be interesting to see how much it gets used by regular riders once it's open. We had a fun time and then headed back home with a stop at Denny's since kids eat free on Tuesdays and Saturdays!

So, I managed to get a little work done in the morning and still had a fun day with George and the boys! Today will be a full day at work though and hopefully a relaxing evening. I've been reading some of the Big Brother blogs (yes, I'm watching again! lol) and it sounds like the house has blown up emotionally since the last show and one girl even got booted, so we'll see what they actually show tonight!

Have a fabulous Sunday everyone!
Cheers,

A Few Cards

OK, so I've been working on a few cards lately and using up some leftovers to do it! The first one is the leftovers of my Scenic Route Appleton papers and chipboard. Love Love Love this paper!

This next one was the only one of the 3 that wasn't done with leftovers! I used the new Basic Grey Ambrosia mini paper pack that I got. This was inspired by an ad for an ad challenge for the Inspiration crop at Scrapdango!

This was for a friend's little guy who had his 3rd birthday yesterday and I used some Basic Grey Cupcake paper leftover from a layout I did!

It's a bit of a funny day weather-wise around here, but we did manage to at least get out in the backyard and play for a while. Sophia is here and she and Nathan are both down for a nap now and Kyle's just hanging out - well, he wants to eat as usual actually! I sure know he's better now that he's back to eating us out of house and home. Think he's making up for not eating for a week or so after his surgery there!

I'm hoping to get a little scrapping done this evening since it looks like Kyle wants to help if I do anything this afternoon and that just never goes well! hee hee I also want to watch Big Brother tonight and see what actually happened after reading about the explosive POV competition!

Have a great day everyone!
Cheers,

366 Days

OK, so it hasn't been 366 days since I posted though it feels like it! That is the name of one of the layouts I did this week though. This was for a challenge at Scrapdango where we had to create a sketch and then found out we needed to create a layout for it as well. These pictures of Nathan were taken a year apart on Canada Day (July 1st) were perfect for this! I did the border using KI lace cardstock as a mask.

Supplies: Kraft Cardstock is Scenic Route. Cardstock is Bazzill. Star border background was done with KI Memories lace cardstock used as a mask with Memento Tangleo ink. Patterned paper is MME Magnolia. Metal rim and brads are Making Memories. Chipboard for title is American Crafts Thickers and DCWV. Stickers are from Provocraft, Me and My Big Ideas, and Wordsworth. Font for the journaling is Moderne. Ink for distressing is Palette Burnt Umber.

Journaling on the layout:
366 days of love, kisses, learning, playing, jumping, and that unmistakable smile and those dimples!!

Wow! It's amazing what happens in a year! I love these pictures of you - both taken on Canada Day a year apart.

While I love these pictures, it makes me both happy and sad to see how much you've changed. Of course, it's wonderful to see you growing, changing and learning, but you seem to be growing so quickly! I love that you're learning your ABCs, shapes and colours, but it also makes me a little sad that I have to steal cuddles from you sometimes. I have to say that you love giving kisses though and that always makes me smile!

My baby is no longer and I now have a little boy. Oh to think about the fun and changes to come in the next 365 days...

Well, George is back at work now and it's taken me a while to get back into the swing of things. I've been scrapping a little more and enjoying it. Sophia is still here 4 days a week for the time being, but Tracy is due next Wednesday! I know she wants that baby to come early, but I have a sneaking suspicion, we might have to wait a little longer...

I did take a day off though last week on Wednesday and took George to work so I could have the car. I dropped the kids at George's parents (thankfully!) and went and had lunch with 2 of my old bosses (now friends), Grant and Carolyn, downtown. We went to this place I'd never been to before called the Rocky Mountain Flatbread Company and I had a pizza with tomato, fresh basil and boccocini on it - awesome! They have a very eco-friendly premise too where they try to use local and organic products amongst other things! We had a great chat and it was just nice to get out and see them again.

OK, I have a ton of stuff to catch up on here on my blog, so I'll try to be better about getting some more stuff on here. I also just need to send a HUGE shout-out to my friend Julie in Australia because I know she checks my blog all the time and I've been horrible with my e-mail lately!! Miss ya!

Have a great night everyone. I'm hoping to do a little scrapping, some chatting at LeClub, and watch Big Brother 10! Yes, I'm addicted! lol Enjoy...

Cheers,

A sick little boy!

Well, we went from a busy day full of energy yesterday to sitting on the sofa with a temperature today. He sure doesn't sound very good and I'm a little worried he has croup with the nasty cough he has. I guess tonight will be the real test. I've got a humidifier in his room and hoping that helps a little. His termperature responds to the Tylenol and then goes up again as the medicine wears off. He just got up hot again, so he got another dose since he was overdue and I keep taking his temp and marking it down since we had a bad go last year around this time and when I took him to the dr, I couldn't answer all the questions he asked. This time, I hope we don't have to go to the doctor and it's extra info for me!

I said I was going to do the Photo a Day thing and I haven't been doing well though it is in the back of my mind and I'm taking some pics I wouldn't necessarily have taken as a result. This is one I took this morning in the kitchen of the glass flowers I have as the sun (what's that?!) came through the window. The sun didn't last too long, but it was nice while it did.

And what was with Big Brother being on again tonight?! I thought it was on tomorrow or Friday since it was just on last night. happened to be flicking channels and found it half way through. I missed why the one couple got booted!

OK, get this! So I had to rush off from online Scrapperie bingo tonight to pick up pictures at Sears because they make an "appt" for you to do that. Mine was between 5-8 tonight. Made a special trip (almost 30 minutes one way by car) and NO ONE WAS THERE! That department was closed and no one else could help me, so they suggested I come back tomorrow! I have the paper with the appt time and, let me tell you, they're going to get a piece of my mind!

Guess I'd better get to bed in case it's a long night with a sick little man. With any luck he'll get some sleep (as well as the 3 hour nap he had this afternoon!) and feel better in the morning!

Hope you have a very Happy Valentine's Day!
Cheers,
Colleen

Hard to Believe!

Wow! It really is hard to believe, but today was the day I had to register Kyle for Kindergarten. I really couldn't have imagined this day coming and for some reason, I was the one that was nervous!

I figured it might not be that much fun only because I needed to take the 3 kids with me. I put Nathan and Sophia in the stroller and packed snacks and off we went. By the time we got there, some people were already registering and I thought we'd be about the first people there. We all filed down to the school library and picked up a package of stuff to fill out. Of course, I ran into some other mums of kids going to preschool with Kyle and who'll be in the same school though not necessarily in the same class.

We had a long form to fill out and then had to stand in line. I was trying to keep the little ones in the stroller, but I eventually gave up and let Nathan out to play with the Lego they had in there for the kids. Sophia wanted "uppy", so I hung onto her. We waited and got up to the front and I had to apologize as she was asking me questions about things I'd forgotten to fill out on the form. The reality was I was so distracted trying to keep all the kids happy and get out of there as quickly as possible that I just plain missed some questions! After her checking the form and the documentation for our proof of residence (to show we're in that catchment area), we had to get in another line to see the Public Health nurse and for her to check immunizations. All was good though Kyle needs a booster shot before starting school in September.

The kids really weren't happy by the time we left and Nathan and Sophia were both crying. Of course, to make matter worse, I had to put them in the stroller to get everyone out of there in a decent amount of time. We went out to the playground at the school to play and run around for a while anyway and that was good until we had to go home for lunch!

I had taken the camera with me to the school and wanted to take pictures, but there was so much going on that I didn't get even one! I took a couple after Kyle got home from preschool so that at least we have some pictures from this momentous day. Kyle was being his usual silly self though and we have the funny grin in the first picture and then the grumpy face in the second. He makes me laugh!

Well, better think about getting to bed here I'd say as it's been a busy one. I did manage to watch the first episode of Big Brother tonight and it looks like it's going to be a good season!

Cheers,
Colleen