Anyone seen my Rose colored glasses?

Trying to remember today to keep the faith. 

There are a lot of things that could really get you down if you let them. The economy, the swine flu, the housing market, the fact that my toddler threw an epic fit (from out of nowhere, he's been so good for almost a month now) in the middle of the food store. He wanted to get down and I said no. Then a few seconds later he dropped his lollipop and it shattered on the floor and that sent him into hysterics. It was so crowded in the food store, I couldn't get him out of the cart without bumping the people in front, the side or behind me. So I just hugged him, and he threw his little spaghetti arms around me and pressed his little face into my chest, or lack thereof. Let's not get bogged down in the specifics shall we? And I whispered, "It's ok, everything's ok, J's ok." I stayed like that throughout most of the food store, even though it was difficult for me to pick up boxes or cans. And I repeated that over and over. Towards the end of our trip J lifted his little head and said, "J's ok." That's when I realized I think I was actually trying to comfort myself.

I stocked up on food yesterday so that we don't have to eat out for about 2 weeks. I'm fairly certain that if the flu virus isn't here already, it's on it's way. This is a major city with a very transient population. I'm feeling slightly paranoid about going to the Mall or to Target or Walmart, anywhere that large crowds of people hang out. Yeah, I'm a little OCD about germs, it comes with the education I think. I was inspired by my blog for this one:

Just Play Layout

Supplies: Cosmo Cricket Snorkel Patterned paper: Beach Towel; Cosmo Cricket Snorkel Ready, set, chipboard; Cosmo Cricket Snorkel Rub-ons; Cosmo Cricket Lil Man Ready, set, Chipboard; plus white and black bazzil cardstock.

Instructions: You can either draw a square shape with cut-out via photoshop or draw square shape tracing something square on your white cardstock. I added my text via the computer, and also my title. But you could easily use rub-ons or letter stickers depending on your preference. Then I added patterned paper and chipboard accents, and added the Cosmo "Smile" rub-on". And Matted the whole thing on black cardstock. Very simple.

The "Just play" is actually for me. Because life doesn't go quite how you plan it. Trying to let go of all the things I'm holding onto so tightly that really don't matter. 

On a different note, I had the strangest dream last night. It was like I was walking around like an ant in the sneak peek photos we see of different kits and stuff. Everything was so big and bright, the embellishments were huge! Maybe it was a sign, too much caffeine for me. Happy Thursday! (Is the weekend ever going to get here?! Come on already!) Until tomorrow.

ETA: A Kiss on the Chic kits go on sale tonight 7:00 pm pacific time, on Laura's blog. You don't want to miss all that October afternoon goodness!

Between a rock and . . .

Is it really only Wednesday? It seems like it should be much later in the week to me. 

I'm so busy, every time I open my email there are 3 more emails of houses to look at from our realtor. It's a lot to sift though, so if you are waiting for an email from me, email me again. It's quite possible it's buried under tons of houses. 

A lot of these houses are bank owned and trashed. The problem is, the bank can't sell them for much less and once we would pay that price, there would be no money left to fix them. Another strange dilemma here? Normally if you bought a new house, you would pay more then for an existing (used) house. Normally. Not here. The old (used) houses are much more expensive because they are in coveted commute locations and in established/good school districts. But the houses are seriously from the 1960s, no joke. And very few have been remodeled or updated in anyway. Why would they? By doing nothing to them whatsoever, they are still worth 1/2 million dollars. 

The new homes, in contrast, are much less expensive, new, updated, in questionable or untested school districts with miserable commutes. And we got a wonderful little piece of info from the realtor that there is to be an influx of 25,000 people in 2011 to the area, so any commute now might go up by 15-30 mins anyway. If you live an hour away, that's a lot. This is why we are ready to throw in the towel. We just can't seem to win. Our only option is to stay here, eat Ramen noodles and send J to private school. It's such a waste when we live so close to some of the best school districts in the county. Sob, enough of that.

Here is a peek at the Garden A Kiss on the Chic kit for May:

Hey, I used that Maya road leaf pin. And I only stabbed myself twice! Happy Wednesday to you! Until tomorrow. PS Please don't worry, I won't shave my head. It was a reference to the rehab queen Brittany Spears' infamous meltdown. Although, pounding my vehicle with an umbrella sounds like pretty good stress relief to me right now. :)

Really

I don't think this rehab thing is working out for me. Guess it's time to get some red bull and shave my head. :)

If you see me today, I'll be the lady laughing at inside jokes with her toddler and pushing a dolly full of soda.

The No Phase

Supplies: Cosmo Cricket Lil Man Patterned paper: Mischievous Max; Jumping Jack and Handsome Henry; Cosmo Cricket Lil Man Ready, set Chipboard; Cosmo Cricket Lil Man Rub-ons; Cosmo Cricket Just your type Nursery; plus black and white bazzil cardstock, Basic grey Marrakech buttons, 7Gypsies sticker "2", Martha stewart heart punch and Staples paperclip. (Studio Calico Add-on for April)

Instructions: Print journaling and part of title on white cardstock. Add patterned paper. Adhere photo. Mount sticker with black cardstock, paperclip to paper with rest of embellishments as seen. Apply rub-ons. Adhere chipboard sticker and add buttons. Punch heart out of patterned paper.

Thank you all for your kind thoughts on my housing dilemma. It's not going very well, and I appreciate the fact that you all are hoping for the best. I think we are at an impasse and we started to talk about just staying put seriously for the first time last night. There is at least one very serious drawback to every option we have, including staying put. Praying the answer will somehow reveal itself through my caffeine induced haze. Happy Tuesday to you all! Hope you have a good one!

Rehab sucks

I feel like all I do is detox from soda and white cardstock.

This weekend I fell off the wagon again.  But it wasn't my fault (just like an addict to shirk responsibility.) We were driving around looking at neighborhoods and I felt sick to my stomach, car sickness probably. I sent dh to get the doctor (Dr. Pepper). My arch nemesis because the sugar and bubbly is so amazingly irresistible. But it was for medicinal purposes right? (Is anyone buying this?) Does that even count?

As for the white cardstock, I already have the shakes. Case in point:

You and Me Layout

Supplies: Cosmo Cricket Everafter patterned paper: Something old, Something true ; Cosmo Cricket Everafter Elements and Border strips; plus Black bazzil cardstock, American crafts patchwork thickers, Sassafrass lass flower and Jenni Bowlin Pearl flowers.

Instructions: Cut large piece of yellow paper into a rectangle, cut smaller piece of blue paper into a smaller rectangle. Cut apart Elements, and Border paper. Layer as shown. Journaling via computer. I used a light to know where to position my journaling card so that the journaling was on the lines. Adhere embellishments last.

It sure is a Monday. I'm already jonesing for both. But the sun is shining. Hope you have a great one! Until tomorrow.

House Hunters

Or, maybe it's like a bad episode of house hunters. LOL. One where all the choices have significant drawbacks. We are like weekend warriors in the respect that we spend our weekends checking out neighborhoods and towns and houses. 

We try to check all the boxes--good school district, realistic commute for dh, and a nice house for not a lot of money. We almost always come up short in one area, but which one of those things do you compromise on? Dh drove Thursday from work to where they are building the new homes at a discount (in the great school district) and it took him 1.5 hours to get there. That's 3 hours a day, 15 hours a week in traffic, that's a lot. Granite counter tops can't fix that, so we threw the brochures away. 

This weekend we were following another lead, again, subject to weekday rush hour traffic, and we are still researching the schools. Sometimes it's like playing tetris where none of the pieces fit right no matter what you try. But, we aren't giving up. Thank you for all your prayers and well wishes in this area, I feel we need all the help we can get here in La La land, where a 1960's rambler is $650,000. Don't adjust your screen, that's the actual price. But "for that bargain basement price your get a wet bar in every room" (that's an actual quote from the real estate agent. See I told you, La La Land.) 

And they don't build anything but McMansions. Some of them are castles I swear. I just want a normal house, but that's like mission impossible. I wonder with the movement to go green and conserve energy if houses will shrink a little. I can't even imagine the astronomical energy bills to heat and cool 13 foot ceilings. So you see, 1960's rambler with a short commute and huge price tag or castle with hours and hours for a commute with an outrageous price (but better than the rambler.) It's maddening. 

So, while we pour over the brochures from today, my hope is that this isn't how we will continue to spend our weekends, driving around like nomads. Sorry for the picture-less post. My space is in various states of disarray, kits everywhere, layouts in progress, photos in need of editing and uploading. And I'm still trying to finish my mom's birthday present. And my sister saw my heart project and now she wants one. Steller. Have a great weekend! Until tomorrow.

Eye Candy

A peek at the new A Kiss on the Chic kits for May, how cute is this stuff? I think I love looking at scrap supplies as much as I love scrapping with them! I've been stalking Laura's blog for the last couple of days, so excited to see the kits! Please see Laura's blog for more details, pricing, etc.!

1. Home Kit-Those colored AC shapes are so pretty.

2. Garden Kit-Maya Road pins, love those!

3. A Uniquely Chic Project Kit-has an album, fabric, chipboard, felt, acrylic, transparencies, vinyl, crochet, thread and more! Very cool!

Please click on the photo to see it in it's entirety, what's up with blogger acting bizarrely lately? Thank you all for your comments on the box below, and you've got some grisly stories of your own!  I didn't finish my layout last night. It just needs journaling, I hope to post it tomorrow. I watched Grey's instead, big mistake. I cried my eyes out at the little girl storyline. I don't like to cry, and Grey's seems to keep pursuing that angle. Hmm. Have a great weekend! Until tomorrow.

Welcome to the jungle

This morning I was awoken by the sensation that someone was in my room. When my groggy eyes adjusted and focused on the sippy cup I knew who it was. J was standing there, staring at me. When I met his eyes he shouted, "J eat! J eat!" Half way down the steps, holding his hand he was still yelling it "J eat!" And I turned to him and said, "I get it. You're hungry, don't hurt yourself." A good morning was had by all.

On a more grisly note, a body was found yesterday in the park where we play. It's right next to our row of houses. There are flowers by a tree. That's all I know, I don't know any of the specifics. But moving 30 mins or more away is looking better and better. Because I don't think this is a suitable limit for my toddler-"Don't throw mulch, don't touch the memorial. . ." Gallows humor, it has gotten me through many a tough day in medicine. :)

And here is a peek at a project that was published in Papercrafts last month:

Supplies: Cosmo Cricket Honey Pie Patterned Paper: Megan; Cosmo Cricket Fleuriste Rub-ons; plus Making memories white paint and flowers, and KI La Di Dah buttons, and various rhinestones from Michaels and Studio Calico.

Have a great Thursday everyone! Until tomorrow.

Things that go

Any guesses as to who I was listening to when I made this? The band's initials are DM. It got me thinking about what J dreams about, which I suspect is the same thing he talks about all day--planes, trains, cars, trucks, and boats. This is the only sleeping toddler pic I have of him. Kind of a symbolic layout, every symbol on it means something to me.

Dreams Layout

Supplies: Cosmo Cricket Lil man patterned paper: Dapper Dan; Cosmo Cricket Lil man Ready, set, chipboard; Cosmo Cricket Lil man Rub-ons; plus white and Kraft bazzil cardstock, Maya road chipboard heart, and American craft thickers-typo and patchwork.

Instructions: I basically just played around in photoshop with the lines tool, moving them around until I liked it. I printed that out on white cardstock, added my photo. Then I adhered the chipboard, embellishments and the rub-ons. I love those little man rub-ons!

It started raining yesterday afternoon, so I didn't bring the camera even though we were outside for just a little while. A plane flew overhead and that kicked off this conversation:

Me: A plane (pointing upward)

J: A rock(et) (pointing upward)

Me: No a plane!

J: No, no a rock(et)!

Repeat 500 times over the next 5 mins. Followed by intense defense by me ("We don't live near Cape Canaveral, We couldn't be this close to a rocket launch.) Finally a little while later:

Me: A plane!

J: A meen?

Me: Yes a plane!

J: No, a rock(et)!

Me: whatever

So dh is totally getting my hopes up about the new house thing. He is going to drive out there one day from work this week to see how insane the drive/traffic is. It doesn't help that he ran into someone who lives out there at work, and loves it. Just to up the stakes, the builder we looked at this weekend is having a $100,000 off sale until the weekend. No pressure right? Game on I say! Still trying not to wrap my brain around it, still pointing out the one huge problem (traffic, the drive) over and over to dh. Still trying very hard to forget the all the "design centers' waiting to make our dreams come true. (Insert string of curse words here.) Am I the only one who does that? String them all together?

Happy Wednesday to you! Until tomorrow. 

Answer: Dave Matthews Band song Crash

Tuesday's child is full of grace. . .

Just a quick post today, we got in from the food store a little bit ago and had lunch. Here is a layout of J's love, firetrucks.  I hope you can tell how much I love Lil man, my favorite Cosmo line since Get Happy! I can't believe I've never done a firetruck layout before now.

Supplies: Cosmo Cricket Lil Man patterned paper: Silly Sam; Cosmo Cricket Lil Man Ready, set Chipboard; plus black and white bazzil cardstock and Jenni Bowlin letter stickers.

Well, thanks for checking out my backside yesterday. :) I'm sure taken literally that wouldn't be a pleasant experience for anyone! I have absolutely no idea what we are going to do today except we will probably go outside after J's nap and I will finish a layout on my desk and walk the dog during his nap. We got J's hair cut this past weekend, and he looks so different, so cute! I can't wait to take some new pictures, and I'm kind of feeling overwhelmed by all the Easter photos I took and haven't scrapped. The best of intentions. . .

We checked out a housing development this past weekend that has both dh and I in a state of rapture. For much less than an old, small and dated house here, we could get a brand new, custom built house, in a great school district. Sounds too good to be true? It is. The commute for dh would be 30 mins to an hour on a good day, on a bad day it would be hours. The new house would be only 23 miles away from where we live now, but in the urban jungle that makes all the difference. The best part to me is that we could get the ball rolling now. They would build the house now, and it would be ready in 6 months. I've got to forget about this, it's not going to happen. Putting it out of my mind, out of my mind. . . oh but the granite counter tops and best schools in the country! (insert curse word of choice here)

Moving on. Happy Tuesday everyone! Until tomorrow.

GDT for Webster's Pages

About a month ago I was asked by Terri Hayes of Webster's pages to participate in a challenge. The challenge is called, "Show us your backside!" How cute is that? Is that right up my ally or what?

Along with 4 other guest designers (Christine Drumheller, Dawn Hagewood, Vivian Masket, and Michelle St.Clair) I was asked to create two layouts using the backsides (less ornate sides) of the Webster's pages papers they sent us. They also sent us these brand new letter stickers, I love these so much because they are already outlined for you! Here are my pages for the challenge:

I hope if you have some Webster's pages papers you will consider playing along here. I'd love to see what you come up with. Well, it's time to get on with the very rainy, dreary day. (sticking tongue out at the window) We might have to go to Target just to get out of the house. Happy Monday! Until tomorrow.

Lead me not into temptation. . .

I already know the road all too well. Lead me not into temptation, I can find it all by myself. -Lori White

I totally apologize for not updating with my card yesterday. I had unexpected company last night, and I spent the morning cleaning. Then J and I went outside before lunch. At this point I'm still thinking I could get on the blog at nap time. After I walked the dog and took a shower I fell asleep. My parents dropped in on the way to a last minute out of town wedding. We went out to dinner, they spent the night and left early this morning to go to the wedding extravaganza. That's how they roll.

But my parents gave me this for Easter, etc. OMG, these are so good. I have no affiliation whatsoever with Harry & David other than a satisfied customer (although I don't think I could ever have enough):

The lemon was so good, the raspberry amazing, the milk chocolate heaven! And I couldn't tell you about the dark chocolate, dh ate them all.

J has a new obsession at the moment, he is into all things medicine. The dog has lots of medicine, so we have to talk about that. He still points to his Advil high up on the shelf in his room even though his cold has been gone for nearly two weeks. Every night before he goes to bed he points to the shelf and starts "mengee". All d's are g's. Doggie is gee. Dad is Ga. Window is wingee. Anyway, still talking about the advil. So, now all I can think about is whether I should sample this Advil and see what they put in it that makes him crave it day and night. But then I suspect that it probably tastes like skittles and that will only ignite my fire for the rest of the Easter candy. Is it just me or is there a lot of sugar in this post?

Just finished up two layouts for the GDT, hope to share them Monday barring any bizarre happenings around here. I got Breaking Dawn from Amazon yesterday, it's calling my name. I've hide it from myself until the end of the month, I have lots I want to do until then. Here is my Mom's birthday card (and it is just so her too.):

Birthday Card

Supplies: Cosmo Cricket Girl Friday Patterned paper: Saturday; Cosmo Cricket Girl Friday Rub-ons; plus white bazzil cardstock and black pilot pen.

Instructions: Print text via computer. Apply Girl Friday rub-ons. Draw in bee path with black pilot pen and add the bottom of the "y". Trace edges of paper. Add patterned paper as shown. Simple. 

Have a great weekend! Until tomorrow.

Driving- by, hi!

On our way out the door, here is one of the cards I thought about for my mom's birthday. The thing is, my mom is more effervescent, lively. I still like this card though and will give it to a friend instead.

Supplies: Cosmo Cricket Lil Man Patterned paper: Dapper Dan, Silly Sam and Cheerful Charlie, Cosmo Cricket Chemistry Patterned paper: Forget Me Not; plus white bazzil cardstock, basic grey button, CM corner rounder and pink paislee alphas.

Instructions: I went to a site that had an ice cream template by googling it. I printed out the template at 50% for my card. I cut out one template with a craft knife and used it to trace on the backs of the little man patterned paper. Then I cut a triangle out of the chemistry patterned paper and rounded the bottom with a corner rounder. I assembled the ice cream and cone, adhered, then added alphas and button.

I'll show you the card I decided on tomorrow. The sun is out, and J and I are so excited we can hardly stand it. I know someday the time will come when we both have more pressing things to do then spend the day outside, and I will miss that. Thank you all for your comments on my project, I did not expect the overwhelmingly positive response I got. Thank you. Happy Thursday!

Surprise and a project

Wow, another overcast rainy day. Fighting to keep my own spirits up in light of the many days of rain we have had. Tomorrow is supposed to be better.  Here is an altered project for me (including instructions):

I've always loved those plaques that had the Est. by  date for a family, but they seemed expensive to me. So I decided to make my own. This was my second idea. I saw a butterfly painting in pottery barn kits that I wanted to replicate in boy colors for J. Well, let's just say that was a lot harder than I thought it was going to be. It just looked like blobs of color, maybe the patterned paper was too much. So then I thought of this, and was able to use all the same supplies I had out anyway.

You will need one piece of white cardstock, and you can either print the title with the computer, use rub-ons, or stamp it. I used the computer. This is a scrap piece of paper for demonstration.

Then I used Cosmo Cricket's Flirt album as a template for the heart:

I traced around it with a pilot black pen.

Then I filled in the heart with circle punched patterned paper of Lil man and Basic Grey buttons. I did the outline first, then filled in the middle.

Supplies: Cosmo Cricket Lil Man Patterned Paper: Entire Paper Crafting kit; plus white bazzil cardstock, circle punch, pilot black pen and Basic grey Marrakech buttons.

And the surprise!! Think you have enough Cosmo? Enough is never enough! Check out the Cosmo blog for a sneak peek at the new line Early Bird, coming in May!

Seems like . . .

A long time since I blogged. Our weekend was so busy and fun! Saturday we cleaned up for company and dyed eggs. I have lots of pics of that. Sunday my parents came and we went out for Easter brunch. They brought J two Easter baskets! My dad won one of the them. And then we grilled out Sunday night. My Dad stayed through Monday night, he had to catch a flight for work. He took J and I out for lunch. J ate so much, I think he ate his weight in chicken fingers. So we have been really busy.

And when I did have a moment, I was making some stuff. I finally made a birthday card I was happy with for my mom. I made an altered project for me. It's really overcast today but I'm hoping to get pictures and instructions for tomorrow. And this is my first birthday layout ever, now I'm only 1 year/birthday behind!

1st Birthday Layout

Supplies: Cosmo cricket Lil Man Patterned paper: Dapper Dan and Handsome Henry; Cosmo Cricket Lil Man Ready, set, Chipboard; Cosmo Cricket Lil Man Rub-ons; plus white bazzil cardstock, Basic Grey Granola Navy Blue paper, and American crafts Typo thickers.

Until tomorrow! Hope you are having a spring-y day!

No, no, no!

It's the soundtrack to my days lately. May you get everything you wish for right? I wanted him to speak, and now I'm looking for the mute button. Examples:

Me: Do you want to eat breakfast?

J: E? No, no.

Me: Would you like waffles or eggs?

J: No.

Me: Do you want to go outside today?

J: No, no.

Me: How about a snack?

J: No.

Me: I think it's time for lunch.

J: No, no.

Me: It's definitely nap time.

J: No, no, no, no!

(later in the day)

J playing with his toys in the living room while I clean the lunch dishes: No, no, no.

Me: Are you fighting with your own self?

J: No, no.

Me: (Sigh) Of course not.

It's maddening, as you can tell. But I'll take contrary over hitting any day of the week I guess. And sometimes it's really funny, because he says no like he's really thought about it. I bite my tongue a lot to keep from laughing and making him really upset. Strangers hear us in the food store with the soundtrack of me asking him questions and his constant negativity and my sarcastic comments and laugh. What else are you going to do?

The cold is improving. J is still snotty, but improving. I cleaned up the living room/kitchen for company, my parents this weekend. Went to watch Grey's last night and it was a re-run and got suckered into watching House Hunters. It was kind of painful to watch other people get their dream house, definitely not a good use of my time.  Sorry about the picture less post but this is getting kind of long. Without further ado:

The RAK goes to:  

True Random Number Service

Random Integer Generator

Here are your random numbers:

4 

Timestamp: 2009-04-10 17:43:35 UTC

So lucky number 4, Susan Beth! That's my lucky number too. Please send me an email with your address via either SC or peas and I'll get this out next week. I've filled the box! LOL Seriously, I wish I could have filled several boxes, there were many comments that I had my fingers crossed for. Have a great Easter weekend, still hoping to do something crafty. I'll post if I do. Happy Easter!

Random and RAK

The cold lingers on. I guess I'm delirious, because this isn't a birthday card.

So in Love Card

Supplies: Cosmo Cricket Everafter Patterned paper: Something new; Cosmo Cricket Everafter Elements; Cosmo Cricket Everafter Ready, set, chipboard; Cosmo Cricket Everafter Rub-ons; plus white bazzil cardstock.

Instructions: Cut rectangle out of gray cardstock, add element card on top. Apply rub-ons. Then cut chipboard shape with guillotine cutter and apply as shown. Cutting the chipboard really is the hardest part.

Still working on that. Still walking around my room, throwing things into this box: 

But, I'll have it ready by the end of the day. So we can start the RAK now. There is quite a bit of blue Amy Butler paper in there too, it's towards the bottom. It's all current paper, some of it brand new releases from CHA, new release felt from prima and queen and company, about 5-6 stamps, embellishments, etc. The making memories die cut papers, I don't know why I bought them, tough to make boy pages out of that. :) So please leave me a comment, tell me about your favorite items that you have seen in person now from CHA. It could be your favorite paper, embellishments, anything. I am always surprised by how different things look in person when I see them on the net, so I'm sure that there is lots of stuff I've passed over because the image didn't do it justice. Point out something good, and I'll use the random number generator to pick a winner. I originally wanted to give this stuff to a LSS for a crop, they could advertise free paper/etc, I thought. But I don't have a LSS, so if you have one and you want to win to donate it to your LSS, I'm fine with that too.

Happy Thursday!

Pardon me while I burst into flames

Unfortunately today the phrase, "for the love of paper" refers to Kleenex. I fell asleep in my son's room last night at 7:30pm and dh came to get me at 10pm. I almost never do that, unless of course I'm really sick. J seems to be better, his nose is dried up at least. I'm hoping this is the last day of illness for me too. Ick. 

Cleaned up the upstairs today, including the scraproom. I have my paper separated into two piles-one for the RAK (current stuff) and the other one (not current stuff). I have no idea what to do with the second box. I'll figure that out later. I have to get the embellishments and separate those too. So almost there. I wanted to alert you that The Scrap Review is giving away some A kiss on the Chic kits.

I really needed to make my mom a birthday card last night. It seems like her birthday always sneaks up on me. I don't have an Easter basket for J either, but I did get this super cute egg dying kit at Giant (while I was in there to get diapers, Kleenex and children's Tylenol):

I just love the faces. I can't believe Easter is this weekend. . .

Do you ever feel like you just can't go fast enough? Sometimes I feel like I am in a dream sequence and I just can't go fast enough with everything--cleaning, cooking, etc. I keep telling myself to cherish the doing a little more and the getting-it done a little less. The title of the post is a song I heard yesterday on the radio, and for some reason, that's exactly how I felt, irritated probably from the fever, but also frustrated with myself that I just can't do more. More for my family, my dog, my friends, my community, my house, more for myself even. Do you ever feel that way? 

And I thought this was funny. J gets very excited when boxes are delivered to the house, and goes and points to the scissors in the drawer and wants them opened immediately.  So one was delivered yesterday and dh said to J trying to talk him out of opening it, "It's for mommy, it's nothing good, just paper and stickers probably." I yelled from the kitchen that I begged to differ. I mean, what's better than that? Happy Wednesday to you!

Driving-by

One more with the baby boy kit from A Kiss on the Chic:

This kit had the Prima, say it with pearls in it. And I really wanted to use those for my pages this month, however, J swiped them and I can't find them anywhere. I know they will turn up when I least expect it though. I've check all his usual hiding places, weird. Thinking of putting a RAK together with the best stuff from this mountain of paper and embellishments I am getting rid of. There is so much it doesn't even fit in a Studio Calico box, yikes! But, I can't keep all this stuff, my room isn't that big so.  Until tomorrow.

Completely unable

To get my act together. J and I are both sick, and last night I called it a night very early to rest. 

I think dh escaped because he was too busy putting together his new grill, a weber genesis.  He got this book from amazon and has been following me around sharing recipes until I finally caved and said he could get the grill. Well, it was after Wednesday night, when he whispered some recipes in my ear as I was falling asleep on his shoulder. I had a dream I was being chased by raw meat and kabob vegs. Thursday I caved. I think the food was good this weekend, even though I'm so sick I can't taste anything. 

And I paid the pug penalty tax, again. In case you are counting, this makes 3 major infections for my dog this year because of his allergies. I had a Come-to-Jesus meeting with the vet, and said give me some options. She agreed and once I clean up the infection I have a new, and uber expensive allergy prescription for my dog to try. I have so many pills to give him that I have a chart (that I made) to help me. Dh laughed at me, said I didn't need to design the dog's medication chart, but I doesn't bother me. I clicked my pill cutter at him. I think the dog's problem is he is allergic to himself, but I keep these things to myself. Thank you Uncle sam for footing the bill for the weekend, couldn't have done it without the tax refund. I absolutely could have done without the illness. Hopefully on the mend, until tomorrow.

The truth shall set you free. . .

There's a lot on my mind today. I feel like I'm going to fumble it a little bit, so bear with me.

We learned a lot from J's therapist's visit. She was very nice, but more than that I could tell that she was very competent. She started throwing around things like sensory diet, and deep muscle stimulation. These raised a red flag to me. We weren't aware that J had any medical diagnosis, and yet clearly they were treating him for something. So I asked her outright what they were treating him for, and she said that they didn't make diagnoses, that they weren't doctors. But I should read the book The Out of Sync Child. 

After she left I started googling as fast as my fingers would type. I'd heard sensory diet in conjunction with Autism, but I knew he was not autistic nor did he have ADD, even though his behavior even now could be defined as hyperactive. But he'd always been like that, he has a need to move, has had that since being in utero. He is able to focus on tasks (of his choosing) for long periods of time. Since his growth spurt, he hasn't hit another anyone for almost 2 weeks and he now has 100 words. I stopped counting after that, it's double what a 2 year old should have so I don't think that's an issue any more. It appears that they think he has Sensory Integration disorder. And he really does have every symptom of a subcategory addressing the constant need to move (and crash into things). All the occupational therapy tips that she gave me are working really well with him. Finding out second hand like this, without a doctor or someone to answer our questions is hard. And I'm hesitant to go back to our pediatrician, as she seems clueless and thought he was just a discipline problem. So, now I'm doing my own research and finding that I think I need a new pediatrician and possibly a real occupational therapist, since the prognosis for these kids is excellent if given therapy early on. 

And here is where things get really weird. In the past two weeks I have had people throw out the word gifted several times. Now that he is less angry and frustrated, it's clear that he gets bored quickly with toys, with people, with situations, everything. An example: All the kids in his class yesterday were given a small tennis racket (I know, oh good gracious) and they all sat quietly and put the racket on their heads and stood on it when the teacher asked. My spirited child? He was in the back of the room with the racket, crawled into the tub of balls, pulled one out that was about the size of a tennis ball and started "playing" tennis with me. He was fully engaged in the activity, but you could tell he took it to the nth level above and beyond what was going on in the class. The teacher walked over to me and said, "Do you play tennis with him?" And I said, never. He must have seen people playing when we were at the park. He misses nothing. Since it was the last class, the teacher pulled me aside and said, "I know he is a handful, he never stops moving. But he is the smartest child I have seen in a long time. I wonder if he will be a genius when he grows up." Her words made me cringe. I've heard this before about J.

I don't want that/this for my child. I know what that is like, it's a lot of pressure to have adults think that of you, expect that of you. It's hard to be happy, it took me 2.5 decades of my life for my nervous system to calm down enough that my foot didn't shake involuntarily. And the statistic I read about Sensory Integration disorder hit me like a ton of bricks-1/3 of gifted children have that. I suspect I had that, and that must have been why I drove my own parents insane, being hyper verbal, unable to sleep or calm down. But who better to understand him, to understand this? I know exactly what it feels like, how hard it is. Such a double edge sword, you get the amazing memory and perceptiveness, but your nervous system is so amped that feel like you could crawl right out of your skin sometimes.

And now that I'm certain I've shared way too much information about J and me, I'll kind of change the subject. Another layout with Baby boy A Kiss on the Chic kit:

Happy Friday everyone!

You asked. . .

I'm on my way out the door again. This is the last class for J, and I have to admit I am relieved. We are going to try something a little bit different for our next round of classes, I think that will be good for both of us.

I wanted to answer some questions left in the comments section for me. I'll go with the most recent first. Deb (sparkling scrapbooks) asked about publication tips:

1. The secret to getting published is. . . nothing. If there is a secret, I don't know it. Sorry. But the following is my reasoning, my process, I've been published 20 times, so take it for what it's worth (not much, ha!).

2. I don't create pages for page calls. I think that is a sure fire way to get burned out. I create the pages that I want to create for me and my family and then submit them if a call comes up that the pages would fit for. If I make a page that I think has potential, and there is no call, I submit to general submissions. The editors know where their holes are in the magazine and will snag your layout out of general submissions if it fits what they are looking for. Case in point, this layout picked up by Memory Makers:

I submitted it in general submissions, but they wanted it for their calendar page call. I would have never thought to submit this to the calendar call, it just wasn't what I was thinking I guess.

3. Submit often. I pick a nap time each week to look over calls and submit. If it doesn't get done during that nap time, there is always next week, or I miss the call. Whatever. That leads me to the next point. . .

4. Submit and then get amnesia. Seriously, I think checking to see if the calls are over and if they "didn't pick you," that's the second great way to get burned out. You can't change it or influence it in anyway. So I submit and forget unless I get the email telling me to send in my work. I don't really want to know how many times my work is "rejected." Who does? I'm sure it's been rejected more than it's been accepted. But there are things beyond having a great page at work here. You can have the best orange page ever, but if they are dead set on publishing a purple page with a brand new must try technique, it's not going to happen.

5. Being different helps. If you have a different colors on  layout than the traditional red/green for Christmas or orange/black for Halloween I think that helps. Multiphoto layouts are still popular. Having a title, journaling, pictures and embellishments are the essential elements I think. I know there have been pages picked up without that formula, but it's rare.

6. Do what you say you will. If they need your page by a certain date, you have to do that. If you need to send paperwork or pictures of a technique or whatever you agreed to do, you need to do that. People notice if you don't, and I feel like they have plenty of work to choose from now and in the future. So be a person of your word. Some great advice I received from a garden girl once was this: "great work gets you in the door, being responsible keeps you in the door."

If you have a question, please ask. I'll answer I promise. Happy Thursday!

Driving by

This is a drive by, I have less than 15 mins before J's therapist shows up. Here is another page I did for A Kiss on the Chic, the kits are going to be available today:

This one done with the baby boy kit as well. ETA: Laura is doing some give-aways on the blog today too. Have a great day!