Cyber Crop

Scrap That! is having a cyber crop this weekend so head on over for lots of great challenges, make n' takes and games! Lots of fun to be had and prizes to be won and tons of inspiration!! Have a fun, scrappy weekend!! 

I haven't had much opportunity to scrap between dealing with kids, scrapping and holding my first Stampin' Up open house (which went wonderfully, thanks to all!! ).  I'm so beat all the time! I'm hoping to catch up on some scrapping and cleaning this weekend and hopefully I'll get to relax a bit next week (or at least, as much as is possible with three kids).  I have some fun pictures of kids and lots of LOs to update here so I'll try to do that as soon as I can! 

Have a great weekend everyone! 

Riley's a preschool graduate and a new LO

Today was Riley's graduation from preschool.  Can you believe it? What a big boy! Kevin says that it isn't really a graduation because he didn't have to fulfill any requirements to graduate.  He says, Riley could have eaten paste all year and he still would have graduated.  Thankfully, that wasn't the case :) Riley has learned a lot at preschool and has enjoyed it so much.  Poor Kieran is just itching to go...I'm sure September can't come soon enough! 

Honestly, you would have thought that it was a high school graduation with all of the people.  The parents AND grandparents in that class are really involved so it was crowded and hot! And I had to park quite far away.  I was all set up to be early but then I remembered that I had forgotten to get the sprinkles for the sundae party (big surprise..me forgetting something!).  Well, a sundae ust isn't a sundae without sprinkles so I had to pack up the 3 kids and go get them. I stopped at a drug store first because it was closest, praying they would have some. Nope.  I sprinted back to the car and drove to the grocery store, sprinted in, headed for the bakery aisle...nothing.  I swear I was cursing right there in the aisle.  I asked an employee for help and, silly me, I hadn't looked at the end of the aisle two aisles down from where all the baking supplies are! What was I thinking?! Anyway, $11 worth of sprinkles later I'm sprinting back to the car and we head to the concert.  Thank goodness Grampie was there looking out for us to help get the kids in the building, especially since I had to park way down the road (yup, parking lot was full).

The ceremony was really cute...they did some songs and verses.  Riley even participated and did the actions which is more than I can say for last year when he and one of the other little girls were practically rolling around on the floor and playing with their shoes! The teachers made a really sweet DVD with all the pictures of the kids taken all year set to tear-jerking music and we all got a copy. They played it this morning but Kieran was a wee bit distracting to watch it.  The ice cream was a big hit, of course! They just loved getting to pick their own toppings :)

So...on to kindergarten :) Riley has a practice day on Friday...even gets to take his lunch! He's pretty excited.  

I finished another LO with my Scrap That! kit. I'm kind of liking the grey/orange combo. I took this picture of Riley awhile ago and I take it out every once in awhile to scrap and then put it away. Guess I was just waiting for the right papers :)

More exciting scrappy news!

It's been a good week :) On Wednesday I got a request from Canadian Scrapbooker to publish one of my LOs in their fall issue!! I'm so excited. Not sure if you would remember but the LO is titled Farm Boy. The colour scheme is kraft, green, yellow and I used corrugated cardboard on it. If you don't remember, you'll have to wait until fall to see it again :)

I also had my Cherishing You LO accepted into the Basic Grey gallery! Yay!!

Here's a couple of new LOs I've done.

Here's an older one of the boys for my 6x12 brothers album. I made this using the Scrap That! DT kit. The Bazzill In Stitch'z templates were fun to work with. I used them for the 'crazy' and the stitched arrow.

This LO was done for the Paws weekly sketch challenge. Thanks Joanne for the beautiful sketch!! I used Stampin' Up's Rocabilly papers for this one...they are just so fun!! Not sure if you can tell, but the papers are kind of glossy...glossy red cherries and black lines.

As for kid stuff, life is pretty good. Riley had his last official day of preschool left. Now they only have their little concert and ice cream party on Wednesday. Kind of sad...two years flew by so quickly. I can't believe that he is going to kindergarten next year. Kieran will also start preschool in the fall and I think that he can't wait after so long of watching Riley go!

Bridget still isn't walking but she's standing for longer periods on her own and she can bend down and stand up again without holding on to anything. She's so proud of herself for that and of course we always make a big deal out of it. So she does it over and over and over again! So cute. Still no steps though, but it's coming!

Kevin and I are going out of town for a wedding this weekend for two whole nights!! Grammie and Grampie will be looking after the kids. Thanks SO much, mom and dad! I'm really looking forward to the break even though I'm sure I'll miss the kids like crazy. Who knows, maybe I'll even catch up on some sleep! We've been making a big deal about their special weekend with Grammie and Grampie so I think they're pretty excited. They probably won't even notice we're gone, haha! I just hope that Bridget doesn't start walking while we're away. Who knew we'd be at this milestone time while we're gone. She's so close that I wouldn't be surprised. So, mom and dad, even if she does start walking, pretend that the first time that I see it is the first time!!! :)

That's it for today. I have a million things to do before we leave. Have a great long weekend everyone!!

Exciting Scrappy News

I am very happy to announce that I was selected to be part of the Treasured Scrapbooking Design Team!! I am super excited to start there and work with a great bunch of very talented girls! My term starts in June (what a great b-day gift :)) and will last for 6 months.  Make sure you pop on by and check out all the fun on their message board! The gallery is awesome too, always so much inspiration! Yes, can you tell I'm excited? LOL! When I found out I literally screamed and I NEVER do that when there is a chance of waking sleeping children, heehee! 

On a less fun note, I am now on an antibiotic for a pretty nasty sinus infection.  My whole head/neck area is totally throbbing! I hope it clears up soon...dealing with 3 kids in this much discomfort is not fun! So, that makes 2 Winchesters on antibiotics...hope the rest stay healthy! 

Hope you're having a great Monday!

Happy Mother's Day!

Happy Mother's day to all you mom's out there! Hope you have a relaxing day and are spoiled by everyone! I was awoken to handmade cards and Kevin cooking French toast. I also got a dandelion bouquet yesterday for Mother's Day I was told :) 

Unfortunately, I am sick with a sinus cold and poor Kieran has a sore throat and ear infection.  I had him at the clinic for 3 hours yesterday waiting and he was as good as gold.  I was so impressed! He's got some antibiotic in him now and seems to be doing better today.

I've had some medieval battles going on in my living room.  Kevin made the boys swords and shields out of cardboard and duct tape.  It is so cute (and yes, potentially injury causing, lol).  Must get some pictures to scrap before they get destroyed :)

"Bridget, what's a dog say?"

"woof, woof"

"What's a cow say?"

"woof, woof"

"What's a cat say?"

"woof, woof"

Too cute!! 

She's also still giving the cutest hugs and kisses.  Slightly less cute at 5am when I want her to go back to sleep, but still pretty cute! And she's *almost* taking steps.  She's getting really balance and standing on her own a lot.  Won't be long, but I'm not in a huge rush!

I finished a couple of LOs this week, yay! I got Kieran's "This Boy" LO done:

Journaling reads: Just turned three (yahoo!). Is my best napper.  Loves balls and is very sporty. Makes me laugh. Has a dimple that sometimes gets him out of trouble! Starts preschool in the fall. Loves Franklin stories. Gives great hugs. Is a "big boy". Is a very picky eater - loves pancakes for supper. Is loving, kind and polite. Frustrates me at times. Is sensitive. Sometimes cries to the point of driving me crazy! Is a sweetheart and my reason to be!

And I did this LO with this month's DT kit from Scrap That! I've had this LO brewing in my head for awhile and these fun papers were perfect for it!  

Journaling reads: May 5^th, 2009. I knew it was coming but wasn't sure that would be the day. The last day that I would nurse you, ever. For awhile I had been working on weaning you. Over a period of a month or so I started putting you down for naps without nursing. Then I stopped nursing you through the night when you would wake up. But, for a few weeks after that I still held on to that one last session of nursing you before bed in the evening. It was so hard to let go. You are my last baby after all. But, in a week and a half Daddy and I are going away for a couple of nights so I knew I would have to stop. On May 6^th, Daddy put you to bed. You did rebel a bit (but heck, so did I!), but you were pretty good. Only a few tears and Daddy stayed until you fell asleep. I'm still happy to get up with you at night and rock you to sleep if you need it, at least I can hold on to that as long as I want. And I will, for sure! I'll never be one of those moms that wishes she had held her babies more...I'm getting all the snuggles I can while you guys are little! As I look at you peeking out of this pirate ship, I can't help but think that it won't be long before you will look at me over your shoulder as you run off to school, as you graduate high school, as you leave home, as you walk down the aisle. It won't be long before you peek at me from around your own sleeping baby's head. I'm sure time will pass like the blink of an eye! So, can you blame me for hanging on to your babyhood? Please forgive me as I smother you with snuggles and kisses...you'll understand someday when you're a Mommy. And please, don't grow up too fast!!  

Can't wait to crank out a few more projects with this kit, but I might need to clean up my scraproom first so I can get in there!  Hope you all have a great day!! 

I'm three! Yahoo!

Kieran was very excited that today was his real birthday and that he was finally three! "It's my real birthday? I'm three? Yahoo!" So cute! I think he's kind of like his Mommy with his love of his birthday :) His party was yesterday and he had a great time playing, opening presents and eating cake. Luckily it was nice enough out that the kids could play and eat cake outside, thus limiting some mess inside my house! He got his '"t-ball thing" and his "boy race track" so all was good! He also got a lot of other fantastic gifts that he loves and that have kept him occupied through today (for which Mommy is thankful!). He was very polite and very thankful for all his gifts...so cute!  I don't even think he realized that he was going to get a present from everyone...he was just happy it was his day and he had a hockey cake, lol! That is...a hockey stick, a hockey puck and a hockey ball....he was very specific! I tried my best...not my most impressive cake, but he was happy :)  He even sang happy birthday to himself and beamed the whole time!  Bridget also sang happy birthday the rest of the day, or rather, "Ha Buh" in Bridget speak, heehee!  I can't believe he's three already! Time sure does fly by.  I'm a little sad to say goodbye to 2..I think it's such a cute year and 3 from all I've seen is crazy!  Hopefully, I'll deal better with it the second time around! 

The hockey stick, ball and puck.  Yes, the puck is just a round cake and looks nothing like a puck, but you can convince a three year old of anything :) And we actually do have an orange hockey ball so that's good.  The stick is a little sad, but if you saw what I had to deal with before it was frosted, this is a miracle.  Should have taken a before picture!

Kieran joining along in a rousing "Happy Birthday!!"

Bridget wondering where her cake is :)

Kieran's present opening stance, lol! He opened most of his gifts in this position :)

A few cute kid stories:

The other day Riley was playing pretend.  He had a hotel with a zoo in it and he was the zookeeper. I was a person coming to stay in the hotel and he asked me my name so I told him my name was Alice.  He said, "nice to meet you, my name is John," and he shook my hand (so cute, I know).  Kieran was there paying close attention so I asked him what his name was and he told me he was "different John", heehee! Maybe he'll have a better imagination now that he's three!

One night we were having supper with my parents and the salad had almonds in it. Riley picked up an almond and said that he was going to "make it a present for his mouth". LOL!

Bridget has her second top molar. She's also taken one step about three times now...just one :) She can stand for a long time by herself but is still hesitant to take those steps.  I'm not in any hurry, I'm busy enough!! Besides, she's my last baby...those are my last first steps so I'd kind of like to savour them too...maybe she knows that.

Oh, one more. The other night we had bbq'd hamburgers for supper.  Kieran now, amongst all his other picky habits, doesn't like anything barbecued because he doesn't like "black stuff" (and if you know how Kevin barbecues then there's very little avoiding that!).  So, he wanted his hamburger without the meat. I took it off and he had a bun, a cheese slice and ketchup.  Then he asked for a second hamburger, with no meat, lol!  We call it a Kieran burger!

I haven't had much of chance to scrap lately with all the cleaning, party planning, baking.  I'm hoping to get back into it this week!