Dare #44 and 11 Years Today

Finished this layout earlier in the week. It's Dare #44 on the Dare blog. I've been in kind of a scrapbooking "funk" for the last month. I entered into two contests one for Memory Makers Magazine and another for the "Effers" on their Dare blog. I didn't do well in either and I think it kinda bummed me out more than I care to admit. I didn't expect to win either contest but, with Memory Makers Magazine last year I at least got one layout in. I did some layouts this year for them that I thought were really stellar but, I haven't heard a peep from them. I haven't shown these to anyone because I thought they might get picked up somewhere but, it seems that the other magazines/books that I have submitted to doesn't want them either. So, I'll probably uploading them in a few weeks. I have to really commit to getting published but honestly there isn't enough time to make new layouts and submit plus keep the house in a working order. I really admire some moms who can do this. You may laugh at me when I say that the Scrapbooking world is a very competitive one. It seems everyone is scrambling to get themselves published and if you don't keep up with the latest trends or techniques, you fall behind. I have 3 subscriptions to different magazines and I haven't even really looked at them because half the time I feel inadequate (why didn't I think of this) and the other half I'm just getting sick of seeing the same people's kids over and over again. Anyway, I like this layout of Henry that I just finished and that's the important thing.

It doesn't help that I've been very very busy with the kids' school. I'm even going into Sam's school this weekend to work on the pre-school library. I'm the librarian for the pre-school. The library is basically a very very very packed closet that I'm going to need to organize enough to start checking books out to the pre-schoolers' parents. If I go missing after this post, please make sure someone checks under the pile of library books at the school!

Oh and if you've been paying attention (it's all about my life here) today is Matt and my 11 year anniversary!! We're such and old couple that we haven't even exchanged cards today. We'll probably go out tomorrow night for dinner or something to celebrate. He saw The Departed while he was in New York a few weeks ago and he liked it enough to want to go see it again so we may go see that, who knows. Later gator...

Boo!

   October has come like a ghost!! The stores are packed with Halloween stuff already. If you go to Micheals (which I do more than I care to admit) you can see the holiday triad approaching - Halloween, Thanksgiving, and Christmas all in one shot! Blamo.

Mum and Dad were here for nearly three weeks in September. They visited the fair with us and we got to celebrate Dad's (cough) 69 (cough) birthday! Matt and I purposely didn't tell them about the house remodel till they arrived. I got a great picture of his mom's face as she opened the door. I was laughing too hard to take a picture of his mom hitting him for lying to her all the weeks before they got here! We are really pleased with the downstairs.

Matt was in New York for a week. He was there when that terrible accident happened in Manhattan killing that Yankees pitcher and his flight instructor. Thankfully, Matt wasn't up town when it happened. He arrived home safe and sound last Friday.

School is in full swing for Henry. He's is gone from 8:30 to 2:45 Monday through Thursday. He is out at Noon every Friday. He's having a great time in school. Some old issues regarding friends have come up again - which make me more crazy than anything but, Henry seeems to be coping well. I know I should just let it go because it is the nature of these things. But, I just feel like Henry's being punished because he reached out to the new kid in class. His "old" friend seemed to have trouble with this and said he was taking Henry "off" his friends list. Can you believe that? They in 1rst grade! I'm holding my tounge but, you can think of all the mean little things I want to say. Henry's such a nice, considerate kid. It's not fair to him. We are so lucky to have him.

Sam also started pre-school. He goes twice a week. I can't begin to tell you how much he loves it there. He is so good too! He sits in circle and sings and is generally happy. He loves his teacher, teacher Claire. He's growing up to be such a social kid. Matt and I are so lucky to have him too!

School has kept me busy as well. I have 3 meetings a month that I have to go to for the kids. Not to mention the numerous school related jobs and fundraisers I have to take part in. Henry's school just got done selling wrapping paper. He made some good money off of Matt's co-workers. Next month we will be selling cookie dough for Sam's school. Yum!

That's it for now. I will try and upadate again soon.

School approaching

I can't believe it's almost September already. It was like Summer happened in a matter of days! At first we were swimming along. Literally. Henry and Sam spent most of each day in the water. Henry can pretty much swim now. He has to gain more coordination in his arms and legs but, it's strictly a developmental thing. He can pretty much paddle across the pool without any help. He can stand and sit dive like the rest of him. "All Pro" is what one of the instructors called him! It's amazing how quickly these kids grow before your eyes.

Sam started doing "water adaptive" this summer. This is basically one on one play with the instructor. The instructor introduces the child to playing in the water and helps them get over the fear of water. At first Sam was scared and wouldn't let go of the person as if his life depended on it. And when he did start liking it, he didn't realize that it was bad to drink the water and he ended up throwing up in the pool a couple of times, which made class end abruptly. But, he was learning! By the second session, Andy, his instructor was whipping him around and dunking him in and out of the pool without any trouble. At any given time you could look in the pool and he would be smiling this big smile. When he came out of the pool, his lips would literally be blue from the cold but, he would be smiling nontheless.

Of course Summer wouldn't be Summer if we didn't do our usual. Of course, for Sam's birthday we went to Roaring Camp and saw Thomas. This time, we went early in the day and it was perfect. We rode the train in the morning, ate an overpriced barbeque lunch, and then did all Thomas related activities till the afternoon. After that, Cindy and Mary opened up their house to us and we had burgers, cake and broke open the Thomas pinata. Oh, and Henry the Magician performed for the first time! He got this Magic Kit from Bobo and Casey for his birthday and he loved it. He practiced all the week before for his audience and his act was pretty flawless (except when Mom, the useless assistant, accidently gave away the trick to a trick!)

We also did our usual of going to the Strawberry Festival. This year it was held in Ramsey Parkrather than downtown Watsonville. We parked next to Target and walked down to the festival. We found the tastiest Strawberry Funnel cake in the world!! Seriously. I could talk about this funnel cake for days. It was crispy and covered with powdered sugar and topped with icecream, strawberries, whip cream and chocolate sauce. We devoured it! The kids colored strawberries and Henry rode the rides and even participated in a show with Ronald McDonald. We got the chance to use our neighbors, Liam and Callum's slip and side. We also spent plenty of time in the Park. We even got to go to Bonfonte Gardens and the San Francisco Zoo. Sam is so not a baby anymore. He has become increasingly active and engaged in everything. The Zoo was the best because he loved looking at all the animals.

A parental highlight was being able to see our friend Amy Jo a few weeks ago. She was visiting Santa Cruz for the weekend and we all got together to have brunch at this place in Felton and then hang out at Mark and Marla's new home there. Mila and Chas and Amy's friend Camille were there too. We didn't think to get a reservation for 10 people so we had to wait for a bit but, the food was yummy. Sam was real upset for me for not getting him a doggy bag for his pancakes!

Speaking of doggy bag, we also got to meet M&M's doggy "Maynard". He was such a sweet and huge puppy! He's part Boxer and from the size it looks like part Great Dane as well! Mark and Marla literally saved him when they found him at the animal shelter. Henry had a grand time taking pictures of the pooch. I'm seriously thinking about entering some of his pictures into the fair next year!

Speaking of which the fair is definately a sign that Summer is closing and fall is coming. We managed to go to the Monterey County Fair this year. Unfortunately, it wasn't "all that." The venue was small and cramped. Parking was on a golf course and the inept idiot who directed us to parking (after I paid 8 bucks to park) made me park my car right on top of a yellow jacket nest!! Henry was stung right on the face! Luckily I was able to swat the bee away and pull the stinger out of Henry's face before a lot of the poison got in. I then took the icy water bottle I had for the trip and told him to put it on his face. He didn't have a huge bite but, poor kid, was so upset. I was so angry! The guy who told me to park there promptly told me to move to another space but, I was so angry I almost couldn't speak. The rest of the fair was sort of boring after that. They try to cram so much into such a small space and the kiddie rides were tucked away on the whole other side from the adult rides. The food was good though and the important thing is the kids had mostly a good time but, I like our fair better by far. I've entered a few things this year and I'm glad to say this is the first year Henry has entered something too! He did a collage/mixed media about (what else) games!! It turned out really good and he was so proud of it.

Well, that's it. By the time I post this, school will have already started. I can't wait.

Camping (the lowdown)

O.k. I'm going to be short because I think part of my problem is I ramble on and on and I never manage to finish my blog entries in a timely manner. So here's the short version of us camping.

We stayed at Sugar Pine Point in Lake Tahoe. Absolutely beautiful place. We were a two minute ride from Meeks Bay. When it was sunny it was lovely. Meeks Bay was gorgeous. The water was cold but clear. The kids all played together well. I got to reconnect with some people from my past. (I'll explain later - Watsonville is truly a small town). Henry enjoyed being able to just pee in the woods (as long as he pee-ed away from the tent). And there's nothing like a smore before bedtime. We all sat around the fire and sang silly songs. This is stuff made for fond childhood memories.

However, there were a few snags in the trip (what's a vacation without a few snags.) First, the mosquitos had a smorgesborg. Our air mattress had an irrepairable leak in it. There was a bear threat the whole weekend (which forced me to be neater than I have ever been in my entire life!) So I had to hide the food and clean up our site every day. (There was a sighting the night before we got there but, none after) It rained the day and night before we left, really rained. Sam and Henry looked like ghosts in their ponchos. Sam's poncho (as everything else) was too big and kept slipping! And last but not least, our little Sam had an ear infection! We went to Urgent Care in So. Lake Tahoe, got turned away (they were "full" - Matt was infuriated), and ended up waiting 3 hours at the Emergency room. And the ride back was long and ardous with Sam's ear bugging him the entire time.

Other than that, we had a great time and vowed to do more camping. We came away with 4 lessons learnt. 1. We need a bigger tent 2. There was an Urgent care a lot closer to Sugarpine Point that we missed. 3. I need to make sure to cover Matt completely with Sunscreen. and 4. We either need a trailer or a bigger car... And that my friends leads us to the next entry!...

Promise. Cross my heart hope to d-i-e...

O.k. public apology time!! Big big big SORRY to all of you (yeah, all 5 of you) who read my blog. I haven't updated in a while because things have been so busy. It's July already and we've gone on a camping trip, gave up an old car (the bright yellow Mazda) and bought a new car, gone on trips and more stuff and lit fireworks and... my dear readers (all 5 of you) haven't heard hide nor hair of it. Anyway, I'm SORRY! I'll try to be better soon. I'll give you an updated by either tonight or tomorrow morning. PROMISE...

The Hummingbirds Fly...

Boy what an exciting last couple of weeks it's been. I am needing this week to fully recover. Last Friday was Henry's last day of school and his graduation from Kindergarten. Before that, we had 3 school events to keep us busy! First, we had the "Piggy Opera" performance. The kinders basically did an Opera version of The Three Little Pigs. Henry was the Pig with the Straw House. He was so cute! The whole thing was wonderful. The only thing is, right in the middle of the performance, there was a brief pause as the kids were getting arranged and Sam yelled out "What the heck is going on!!" Leave it to our Sam!

After that, they had Olympic Day at school where all the kids participated in various Olympic events like the Obstacle Course and Relay. Henry did pretty well. He had the best time in the Soccer event. He made a goal in less than 30 seconds.

Then we had Beach Day at Rio Del Mar Beach in Aptos. We walked out the Metal Ship and watch the fishermen. We saw seals in the water. Odile let the kids go into the water, only up to their knees. The adults stood in a line facing the kids so that they didn't go past us in the water. The kids had a great time.

And then all of a sudden, it was the last day of school. The kids were told to come to school with their swimsuits. After the graduation or "Fly Away Ceremony" the hose would be turned on and they would be able to slide down the wet slide. It was a potluck too and we all signed up to bring food.

As class photographer, I gave all the parents albums to fill with pictures for their kids. Then we gave our albums to Odile and Odile wrote something for each kid and gave each kid a small gift at the "Fly Away" ceremony. It was so sweet. She'd call out their name and then give them their album, report card, and gift and she'd hug each of them and say "Fly Away little Hummingbird, fly away..." She gave Henry a small book of mazes. As class photog, I was also in charge of making the teacher a an album. Well, as you know making albums is right up my alley. I had each parent do a page for their child and then I put together a few more scrap pages with some of our events and quotes about teaching. I also made a collage with a picture of each child in her class and put it in a frame, which all the kids signed. She was so happy, she was crying. (Though, I'm sure it was also because of the gift we all got her - a trip to the spa and a housecleaning!) Holly, Sydney's mom, also brought one of those water snake things that shoot water out in all sorts of directions. Kevin, Ashlee's dad, was in charge of the water hose. He's a fireman, so he had no trouble dousing the kids with water. They were all soaked and happy by the time the bell rang.

Wednesday was also my 34th birthday. Because things were so busy, I really didn't do anything special. I had already got my birthday present from Matt a month earlier. It was my new Digital Rebel camera!! Or my "baby" as I call it. So, it was a low key birthday. If I can manage it, I'll take a picture of my loot and a picture of my cards. I'm part of a birthday group on Two Peas where we make cards or tags for each other on our birthday. I also got some cards from the sistas at Scrapbooker Online where I'm guest designing for until the end of the month. I got some really gorgeous tags and cards. It's kinda humbling how much talent there is out there...

Henry's birthday is next Tuesday. But because I wanted to catch his schoolmates before they flew off to vacation, we decided to have his party last Sunday the 11th of June.
We had it at Anna Jean Cummings Park. Unfortunately the weather was kina crappy. It was overcast and windy. We didn't get as many kids as expected (about 10) but, we still had more than Henry's ever had in the past. We had a bouncy house too which was a huge hit with the kids. Sammy was actually kind of scared of the Jumpy House at first but, after the first hour he got in and wouldn't get out. I actually liked the boucy house because it was easy to keep an eye on everyone. That park is so big that sometimes I wory when Henry and Sam go out there. Luckily no limbs were lost during the bounce time. The theme this year was Star Wars and we had a chocholate Darth Vader cake with chocolate mousse filling. Henry was in heaven. He got some great presents. Lilly gave him this huge Hot Wheelz track. All in all it was a great party. I just wish the weather had been more cooperative!

The important thing is Henry had a great time.

Scrollin..scrollin...scrollin...

So totally happy that one of my layouts got chosen as a fave by these lovely and talented ladies!! If you scroll down to May 17 or their faves for Dare #27 "Dare to be Different" - you'll see that one of them picked my layout . The Dares totally rock. They make me think "outta the box." (There is a link at the top of this entry or you can click HERE.) (Yes, "Effers" is what you think it is - they are so bold I love it!! )Anyway, here's a closer look at the layout they chose to spotlight..

The dare was to use regular items not just scrapbooking items. There were a lot of layouts using something Starbucks - from the sleeve to the comment card! I guess scrapbookers are well caffinated!! Anyway, I felt so proud when they picked it. I worked hard on this layout - gathering bits and pieces of the boys to put on it. These ladies are so darn talented and artistic- I was so excited to be acknowledged by my peers. It's like the cool girls wanted me to sit at their table for a day. Me. With my flat nose, double chin, glasses and hippo hips...

Designing Woman

It's funny because, I spend so much time scrapbooking but, I very rarely post any of what I've done on the blog. I just recently got chosen to be a guest designer for the next 3 months on www.scrapbookeronline.com. I get a super cool design team kit that I use to design at least one page once a week. These two here are my favorite designs from the kit. Both of them display the new trend in scrapbooking: "Free Style". There's a new book about this technique that I'm dying to get my hands on. I have "issues" with my handwriting and my drawing abilities in general. I am in awe of people who can see something and then translate it into an art form. I envy people who can see one thing and translate what they see into a bunch of different things. I am in constant struggle with the right and left side of my brain. I want to design a layout that looks balanced and pleasing but, at the same time artsy and emotional. I want to record the memory but, make it look awesome at the same time.

Can you tell I am obsessed with this? I know some people may think this is just a hobby. But, I find myself totally enchanted by this craft. I wonder if people who love to cook or garden feel like this. You can be amazed at how some people treat this very seriously. I find that I'm sort of straddling the fence. I want to be acknowledged and published but, I also don't want to lose sight of why I am doing this. When my mom died, I had very little to remember her by. I know she loved me with all her heart and she worked hard until the day she died to give me the best life she could. She didn't have the time or the luxury to sit down and write something down. Because Matt works, I have that luxury and I am so grateful to him for it. I don't know how long this is going to last. So, I spend as much spare time as I can trying to record these things so that Henry and Sam will have something to remember our family at this time. Now. Anything else I get publications, honorable mentions, design teams are all just cake.

Anyway, aside from my duties as a designer on Scrapbookeronline I've been busy doing "Dares". There is this awesome group of women on another blog at The Dares who each week give you a starting point for a layout. These women are amazingly talented and I'm a little intimidated by their creativity. A few weeks ago, I found the courage to finally dare. The theme was "Real Women." It was fun doing a layout about myself for a change. At the end of the week they pick their favorites and post them on the blog. Now, totally contradicting myself from what I said earlier - I'm terrible but, I so want to be chosen! I've been scrapping my little heart out trying to get "picked". It's ridiculous. At least I have been able to do some really great layouts - at least in my opinion.

April Showers

Hard to believe it's April already! I was reminded the other day, that Spring Break is fast approaching and before we know it, it will be Summer again! Although, looking outside, you wouldn't believe this. Actually, I lie. It was quite nice yesterday, cloudy but, not a drop of rain in sight. Which was good because our roof was being worked on all day. I was surprised to find that there are 3 different teams involved in replacing a roof. First, there is the team that takes the roof apart. Second, there is the team that puts installs the roof. And lastly, there is the team that cleans up. The final team is yet to come. Right now, I have a bit of garbage on my roof. Tomorrow is Saturday, so I'm not sure if they will come to remove that stuff until Monday. Jorge, the guy from the second team, assured me that the stuff wouldn't fall off my roof in wet chunks (it's partially hidden by the chimney). I hope he's right.

It was funny because literally 5 minutes after Jorge left, it started to rain pretty heavily. So far so good. No leaks. Keep your fingers crossed!

Henry's t-ball practice was naturally cancelled again. They've had a total of 4 practices since the season started! Henry still forgets to drop the bat after he hits the ball and takes off running! He's supposed to have his second game tomorrow. The first game was Monday and it was pouring! He is so cute in his uniform. I hope I actually get to see him play in it! He's team name is the Texas Rangers (yes, I know that's GW's old team...) and they are the cutest bunch. We even have one girl on our team! They took team pictures last weekend at Landmark school.

I forgot to mention that a few weeks ago we went on a field trip. The kids made some pottery at school and one of the parents is an artist who generously opened up her studio to the kids. She had this enourmous play structure and a trampoline so the kids basically played until they had to do something art related: either watch the pottery come out of the kiln or glaze their pieces. It's a special form of pottery called Raku. It involves removing the pieces of pottery while it's still glowing hot and putting them to cool at a lower temperature. Henry's teacher and Elaine, the artist/parent, would take these glowing pieces of pottery with this long tongs and put them into a pile of newspaper in a big metal garbage can filled with newspaper. Because of they way they cooled, the glaze would take on some awesome colors. Sadly this was like the only nice day in practically the whole month.

Sam's obsession with Thomas and all things train continues. He has "train-dar". It doesn't matter what store we go to, Target, Micheals, Paper Vision, he will spot Thomas a mile away. I found this Thomas battery powered track in Gilroy at the outlets about a month ago. It's quite fun. Percy picks up some small boulders and then Terence and Thomas load them. Problem is, Sam loves taking this apart and then has a fit when it doesn't work properly. I must've put that thing together a million times now. It's great to watch him play with all his trains though. He gives Percy and Thomas such personality.

That's it for now. I really hope the rain stops soon.

Rain Rain go away...seriously GO AWAY!!

I'm soooo tired of the rain. Henry's first t-ball game just got cancelled because of it. I have two buckets near my doorway because of it. (Roofers should call today, if not tomorrow...) The kids are going batty because of it. I'm tired of the rain. Seriously.

Matt leaves for Vegas this afternoon. He's got a conference again (cell phone technology or something) and he won't be back till Saturday! Plus, it's supposedly raining in Vegas too!

Seriously. I'm so tired of the rain.

The weekend went by so fast. And it was daylight savings so we lost a whole hour. It was so darn dark this morning when I got up. I don't know if it's true for you but, it's really hard for me to get up when it's still dark. I'm trying to get over a cold I caught last week. Henry started coughing this morning so I'm pretty sure he's got it too..

Time to start another week. I hope the rain lets up somehow. I'm sooo over it.

You take the good You take the bad...

The Bad:

We still have that stinkin' leak!! The roofers have been here 3 times already and it's still leaking! The only option is to replace the part of the roof that's leaking. This is not going to be cheap. We are really frustrated with this.

What's funny is our lawyer (we're currently in litigation over the shoddy workmanship of this house) has to bring the "defense" on the 28th. I mean, this mess speaks for itself. Cabinet doors falling apart, roof leaking, bad plumbing in our bathroom downstairs... These are just unnatural things for a house that's only a few weeks older than my first born son!! The good thing about getting the roof replaced is there is a 10 year warranty and Shelton Roofing had been around a while now. I'm tired of this, but, I suppose it could be worse.

I can't believe we are in March already with all this rain. It wouldn't be so bad if it weren't so darn cold!! It was actually snowing so badly on Hwy 17 that they had to close it down for the first time in 30 years! Last weekend we actually saw snow off Hwy 1 near Aptos! Not a whole lot, but, enough to cover the sides of the freeway! Enough for people to be getting out of their cars and sliding down the sides of the hills off Buena Vista! Amazing!

Matt and I attended "Open House" on Tuesday. We had to listen to two presentations and we have decide by the end of the month which First Grade class we want Henry to go into. There are two and they are as different as night and day. Seriously. We have our work cut out for us.

The Heart Room is the straight First Grade Class. It's taught by a teacher named Sue. It's basically very structured and planned. She focuses on curriculum and standards, uses the workbooks and drills. They still have fun, though. They get a field trip once a month and they do lots of art projects incorporating what they have to learn throughout the year.

The Rainbow Room is a multi-age class. This not to be confused with a Combo-class. Combos are made when there are too many kids in a grade and the district doesn't have the budget to add a new teacher. Sierra teaches this multi-age class. It's for first, second and third grade. She's got a bigger than normal room. She starts class every morning with stretches outside (weather permitting) and a circle inside with active disscussion from all the students. She doesn't give homework as often. She doesn't work from the basic workbooks. She's got a real new-age approach about teaching. She believes in a childs self-motivation. If Henry were to go to her, he'd be in her class for 3 years.

Matt and I have basically have to go and observe each class and figure out where Henry will thrive more. It's a big decision. Either way, though, Linscott is a great school and I am so happy that he is going there.

The Good News

Go to your local crafts/magazine store and check out this issue because I'm in it!!! This is my first ever published layout!!! If you remember, last Fall I sent in some scrapbook layouts for this yearly contest. They actually picked one of mine for this special issue. My layout is on page 78.

Funny thing is, it's one of the few layouts without the kids in it. The great thing is, if you have been in any part of my life till now, you are in it! The layout includes a picture of all my journals since I was twelve and it's about how I have taken comfort in my words and the journaling I have done over the years. I love the fact that that picture encompasses the journals with all the events (happy and sad) in my life and that you and everyone I love is a part of it. It's so cool. I was so excited picking up the issue at one of the scrapbook stores. It's wonderful seeing my name in print. I'm glad to share it with everyone. I'm so excited to be finally published.

The other thing is, Henry got a new computer yesterday! Matt bought him an iMac. It has video messaginging capability. This is great because when Matt is out on trips, we could video message each other no matter where he's at. Henry and Matt spent last night bonding and putting it together.

In the end, life isn't all that bad. Matt's work is going well. Henry and Sam are pretty happy. And we all have our health. Till later.

Marching...

What? You said today is the first day of March? I can't believe it. Granted February is a short month, but, please. Better get on with the update, before it's April!

February was all about seeing old friends. Henry Sam and I got to go to the Monterey Bay Aquarium with Beverly, Wes, (their adorable new baby Marley), Molly, Jolie, Kelly and her cutie patootie baby Jack. We had a grand time. The kids love the aquarium. It was busy, wall to wall people, but, they didn't mind. Sometimes I wish I still had that kind of wonder for sure!

Last Friday, Mark, Marla, Mila and Chas came over for dinner. I find that I really enjoy making dinner for friends. It was so nice to have them over to talk. The boys pretty much behaved themselves too! I have to admit I was a little disappointed when everyone left so early-- around 10:30. Back when we were in our 20s we used to stay up so damn late! I used to be able to stay up all night, if I wanted to. Oh well. They all live kinda far away in Felton so I understand. I am just so glad they came over.

On Saturday, Matt and I attended Brian and Lisa's wedding. We weren't allowed to bring Henry and Sam. Apparently, a no-kids-allowed nuptial is a "trend" lately. Needless to say, I was kinda taken aback about this. I love what Mark said when we told him and the rest of the dinner party. He said, "That would never fly at a Mexican wedding. Noone would come!" Ha! Even though, I knew in my heart that my kids would have been great, Henry's been known to really "cut a rug" on the dance floor , we still had a good time anyway. Brian is part of Matt's circle of friends -- it was him, Brian, Josh, and Dirk who used to go see The San Jose Earthquakes pretty regularly. They had this ritual. They would go to Cluck-U Chicken burn their mouths on some super hot chicken wings, douse the fire with beer and then watch the soccer match. How manly! They all worked at Aladdin together. Dirk moved away a few years ago and Josh is now at Apple. Both Dirk and Josh were in the wedding party. We got to meet Josh's wife Kayzuko (sorry if I butchered the spelling). She is so sweet. She works at Apple too. Josh adores her. It was nice for Matt to see his chums again and Brian and Lisa were very happy.

Right now Matt is in Kansas. He's been in Florida for a few days. I'm busy working on some scrapbooking layouts and carting the kids around. I'm trying to get into this "design team" for an online scrap site. If I get in, I get free "kits" each month to create layouts plus a nice discount on the online store. Wish me luck.

Catching up

Here is a little something I made yesterday.

The journaling reads: "Attention everyone! Miss Lilly is officially 4. Thank you. That is all." I love how Lilly has her hand on her hip in this picture. She's such a little miss cutie! I love her to bits!

I haven't been able to do a lot of scrapbooking for fun lately. I've been busy making cards and tags for birthdays and a mini book for a baby shower. I wish I had the chance to take a picture of the book I made for Bev's new baby girl, Marley. (Think lots of pink and orange and ribbon - it was cute, really!) But, alas I whipped that sucker out a day or two before the shower and I was just too busy. Bev's baby is just too precious by the way. And she's gonna be a fashion plate with all the clothes she got at the shower last Saturday. It was nice to see Bev and Molly again. We took a picture with our kids (Sam came with me). I hope I get a copy of it. Molly daughter Jolie is so much like her. Super smart and sassy. We're going to try and get together this month. I hope it happens. It's so easy to lose track of friends when you're busy with family stuff.

The whole concept of "catching up" is a riot to me. I've realized there is no such thing. Especially in scrapbooking. I doubt I'll ever be "caught up". Henry will be in college by the time I finish scrapbooking his Kindergarden class pictures!! Right now the big CHA Craft and Hobby Association Convention is happening in Las Vegas. It's like Mecca for Scrapbookers and cardmakers. Everyday, I see bits and pieces of new papers and stuff coming out. It's amazing.

It's also very frustrating because I want the new stuff but, I've got so much to work with all ready. I used to be so bad that I purposely scrapped with the cheaper stuff/materials. But, now I know that if I don't use a certain pattern paper or embellishment it's going to be outdated. In some ways the scrapbooking industry (at least the competitive side of it) is like the fashion industry. I'm dressing up a picture for my scrapbook much like the contestants on my favorite reality show Project Runway are dressing up their models for the runway.

The important thing is I'm still having fun. There was a time when I was trying so hard to get published that my style was everywhere. I think my style is more defined now. I'm still learning. I love this hobby and I plan to stick to it.

Holding Patterns

Sorry I haven't had the chance to update everyone lately. I'm obviously a bad blogger. I have no idea how some people are able to update once a week even every day! It's been very busy since the start of the year. Matt was at two convention/conferences last month. It's not easy when he's away. Thankfully, my sisters are always here to help but, it's still hectic without him. He's going to Florida this month but, it's only for a week.

I had to deal with the ceiling/roof problem on my own most of that time. We had 4 different guys from 3 different companies looking at the roof. Thankfully, for now, the roof seems to be holding up. The last roofing company that did some patch work up there seems to think that the roof is "o.k." now. What we really need is a big rainstorm again to see if it will leak again. For now, the rain has been pretty light and sporadic. We've been holding off getting a painter/plaster guy to fix the ceiling until we know the roof is really fixed. Does anyone know a good raindance??

Also, Matt's grandma had a pretty bad fall at the residential home where she was staying at.. She's been in the hospital recovering for a few weeks now. The poor dear cracked some ribs and crushed some vertabrae. Mum has been dilligently visiting and trying to help whenever she can. We are also almost at the year anniversary since grandad passed. We all really miss him but, I'm sure grandma misses him the most.

Henry has been busy busy at school. He's had several playdates and birthday parties with different kids from his class. My boy is a regular social butterfly. The school is doing a Dance Performance next week. I got to see them rehearse today. They are all over the place, but, darnit if they aren't the cutest! Odile, Henry's teacher, is apparently changing the class curriculum all of a sudden. I guess she's been having problem with parent participation this year. Parent's have been slacking on their duties. Not me. And I have to admit I'm a little disappointed. But, what can you do? At least Henry is still getting a good education. But, am I bad for thinking that maybe some parents should have just taken their kids to a regular public school. I just hope Henry doesn't miss out on anything because of this change is all.

And Sam is all about the declarations lately. It's all "This is great!" and "This is good". He's also taken to acting like he's in mortal danger when something happens that he doesn't like. Like if I pick him up to leave somewhere and he doesn't want to go, he'll start screaming "Help! Help me!!" like some survivor from Lost ! He's a two year old going onto 13!

That's it for now. Sorry again about being so late with this. Till next time.

The New Year Blister

A few nights ago, we had a "heavy-for-California" rainstorm. The wind was loud and I could not sleep. I'm from here, where mild is the state's middle name, so honestly, I'm not used to loud rain and wind. I felt anxious. When we got up, I knew there was a real reason I do not like wet windy weather.

On New Years Eve, as I was walking down the steps with the boys when we noticed two noticable gashes on our ceiling! These horrible paint scars are right next to our downstairs bathroom a little above the front doorway, in front of our stairs. Matt went outside to look at the roof, got a ladder and bravely went up to touch the odd gashes that have now scarred our ceiling and he didn't feel any wet. We surmised that the wind, which was heavy must have beat especially hard on the front of the house. These things were dry, so we thought we could just leave things until Matt got back from his upcoming series of business trips.

We stayed up for New Years. M & I drank Mimosas while Henry (who was so happy to be staying up sooo past his bedtime), drank orange juice. Sam was already asleep. We watched the ball drop, Matt and I played a few hands of poker (I beat him - yeah!), and went to bed.

New Years day was pretty low key. Henry and Sam continued to play with their treasure trove of new toys from Christmas, my sisters came over and we cooked Lumpia, Matt did laundry and watched football...pretty mellow New Years Day. Then in the afternoon it started to rain again. At around 9 p.m. Charlotte started to go up the stairs, for a potty break before she and Joselynn were to head back to their home in Prundale. When Charlotte yelped . She got dinged in the head by a small wet torpedo raindrop. Drip. Drip. We grabbed a bucket. Drip Drip. Ugh. Matt grabbed the camping tarp from the garage and the bucket. He placed everything under the drip. I'm still in a shock. Our house is only five years old! Ugh...