Bella Gypsy Designs Blog

It's been a "ruff" week...

2010-02-04T18:24:00.007-05:00

Pardon the pun, you'll really get it when you scroll down a bit LOL! So it really has been a rough week here. I have lots of valid excuses for not blogging. Given that I'm super proud that I managed to keep up with P365 and get my LO done for the week. I am a goddess or something LOL!

So we left off with a bunch of snow! Tim's birthday was Saturday. We got him a Transformers cupcake cake. He loved and it and it was oh-so-yummy! We didn't even have to call the fire deparment :p!

So Sunday we thought we'd go out and play in the snow before it all melted away. Julian did not approve of this activity. He had been out in snow one other time and didn't seem to like it but this truly confirmed it. The boy doesn't like snow.

Of course, by Monday, Gabriel was sick. Really, really sick. Poor little guy. As we would soon see he was only the first.

Now it was my turn to be sick. For the most part I dealt with the symptoms as best as I could I finally broke down and headed to the ER for really bad muscle pain. A shot of phenergan later they sent me home with a prescription.

Wednesday, of course Tristan wakes at 4 am sick. Lena brings us some get well goodies to cheer us up! She's so sweet!

That brings us to today! We are all still under the weather though things are slowly improving. Tristan actually smiled when I went to take his picture. He's watching Netflix onthe desktop. Feel better soon, baby boy!

new stuffs from ssd!

2010-01-30T12:05:00.007-05:00

here is my 365 photo...not super impressive or anything. I took this out the back window in our house. the snow finally made it's appearance. we have several inches this morning!

We are going to try heading out in it later, I think. Today is Tim's birthday and we need to pick up his cake. Hopefully we can make it out. Happy birthday to him, huh :p!

K, onto layout sharing. Yummy stuff in the shop this week!

Using Kitchsy Sweet by Scrapkitchen and Traci Reed

Using Mariposa by Julie Billinglsey and Paper Clips: Circle Templates 2.0 by Libby Weifenbach

Using Love of my Life by Julie Billinglsey

Close to the Edge by Shawna Clingerman

Emma Nicole by Melissa Bennett

Hanging in there...

2010-01-28T14:09:00.008-05:00

Okay, I'm still hanging in there with P365, I just SUCK at blogging *lol*! I just can't seem to remember to do it :p!

Okay, here is my proof! This is my layout for week 4! I am loving the way these are turning out! I can't wait to have a whole book full of them!

So here are the full pics and a bit about them since they are small and the journaling is unreadable on that lil thumbnail of my page LOL.

So this was taken Saturday. It was sorta kind nice outside! Not warm per se but not raining and not freezing! It was in the lower 50s. I was running around the yard like a crazy woman snapping photos of any child who would let me. Tristan copped a little emo attitude because I wasn't taking photos of only him. I took the opportunity to get a few shots b/c he's either smiling from ear to ear in every photo or acting like a 5 year old, over the top silly.

Sunday, Lena threw me a surprise thank you party! If you remember I had a mysterious invitation appear one day and this was what it was all about. She is the sweetest sister ever!

Gabriel lost his first tooth this week. I love his little toothless grin!

I started watching the first season of Supernatural this week. I'm not done with Charmed yet (2 seasons to go) but they were temporarily unavailable from Netflix so they sent this instead. I have to say I'm loving it so much I moved the rest of the season up in my queue. I'll pick Charmed back up after I'm done!

Tim stayed home from work and school today to fix the brakes on his car. It was super, super cold but Julian just had to go out for a few minutes to help his daddy! Too cute!

Today's photo is of some of Julian's fuzzy sleepers. It is really, really cold out there and I thought this nicely captured the idea as well as giving a glimpse of my sleeper obsession. These are the just ones that came out of the dryer! I have drawers and drawers full of them. They are so comfy and warm, he wears them day and night really *lol*.

I hopefully will be back to blog tomorrow with some sneak peak pages from my SSD designers and hopefully a p365 photo!

Some new pretties to look at....

2010-01-23T10:17:00.009-05:00

Week 3 layout! That is one more layout than I managed to complete last year! Woohoo! I'm awesome! LOL :p!

This day had a traumatic beginning. I woke up and internet was down. A call to our ISP estimated it would be down until 6 pm tonight. It's a bit of blur but I think I may have passed out. Of course, it was working again a few minutes later. I find myself braced for it to go down again. Not sure what the problem is but I hope it stays up!

I'm back with 365 photos and some new layouts to share! I'm really enjoying doing this project this year. I know it's still early in the game but I feel optimistic! about sticking with it!

This was taken after Gabriel got home from school Wednesday. It rained on and off all day but we caught a non rainy spot and the mildly warmish weather made it nice enough for us to hang out outside for a little while. I like it! Gabriel is also a very difficult subject to photograph so I was stoked to get a decent photo of him :)!
Early Thursday afternoon a mysterious invitation appeared on my doorstep. I wonder what Lena has up her sleeve. A note jotted on the back of the invitation instructed me not to bother asking questions b/c I wasn't getting anymore answers LOL. I guess we'll see!

Last night Tim and I went out on a DATE! Lena and I have a long standing arrangement of watching each others kids weekly so we can each have date nights but for one reason or another it just hasn't worked out for Tim and I to go out since before Thanksgiving. It was long overdue LOL! We went to a chinese buffet which was unusually yummy and then we went to the movies and saw The Book of Eli. It was fun and the movie was great!

Now, onto my pretties for the week! Using Clementine by Scrapkitchen

Using Lollipop by Melissa Bennett

Using Modern Stone Age Family by Libby Weifenbach

Using U and I by Shawna Clingerman

Still at it...

2010-01-20T10:48:00.011-05:00

Still keeping up with my P365. I'm proud of myself. I haven't struggled or been bored yet either. I rock :)!

This photo from last Friday really reveals a lot about Julian. 1) He loves stuffed animals, my only child to have any interest in them. 2) He's a wallower. He prefers to wallow on me or Tim in the floor but if we aren't available a pillow or stuffed animal will do. 3) The child can't stand tidy. Immediately upon waking from his nap he pulled down all the stuffed animals I had put up while he slept. He feels the same way about toys. He starts chucking them out of the toy box as soon as I get them put away. Little stinker.

Then on Saturday, out tv just up and died. I'm still traumatized about the sudden demise. We decided to temporarily rent this tv, probably a hasty decision but we do what we gotta do! We properly initiated the new tv into our home with Edward Cullen.

Sunday, was a laundry day, oh the joys! Julian enjoys sitting on the dryer and watching Blues Clues while I fold clothes and put them away.

Lena brought me a special treat on Monday. The chocolate-iest chocolate cupcake ever made from Gigi's. It was delish!
Yesterday, was the day Parker and Naomi went back to their mommy's house. It's a good thing they live so close so I can still see them lots and lots.
I haven't taken my photo for today yet. Waiting to see what the day brings. So far its been a lot of cleaning LOL! Before I depart I'll share some of my recent layouts!

This is for the blog bonus 3 challenge at SSD using Dani Mogstad's Monstrosity. I can't believe I had never scrapped these photos of Julian in his monster costume.

For the color challenge at SSD. I used Julie Billingsley and Lauren Grier's A Springy Kind of Fling. I think it is retired now. Such a cute kit. It was fun scrapping these pics from Tristan's babyhood.
Using Melissa Bennett's new kit Pop Rock. This one actually is not for any kind of challenge, just a page for fun!

This one was to hopefully get this song out of my head. If you watch Nick Jr you'll recognize this catchy Laurie Berkner song with no trouble. The kit is Imagination by Dani Mogstad.
I loved doing this page! I used Shauren's new kit Own it! You really must. Such a fun, versatile kit! I can see myself scrapping page after page with it.
Last but not least, a page about yours truly using Scrapkitchen's new kit, Autobiography.

Woohoo! Made it through week 2!

2010-01-14T11:56:00.002-05:00

I made it through week 2 of project 365! Here is my photo from today! Julian has been looking for his big brothers this morning. They went back to school today! I knew the snow days wouldn't forever but they sure were fun! They may not be completely over. We are still prone to having snow up until March realistically. It is however unusual to have such a long string of them together like we just had.
I've also been anxious to scrap them immediately. I really hate the idea of falling behind at all. I'm afraid if I do I'll quit the whole project again and I really want to succeed this year. I can't remember if I shared the first weeks page. These are inspired by Kayleigh's P365 layouts. You can look her up at MSA. Gorgeous stuff. I'm loving the way they are turning out. Last year I only made it to week 2 in terms of layouts and week 4 in photos.

The big difference is last year I was way overwhelmed. Lena and I were still getting the hang of designing again, making time and still scrapping etc. We were starting a new store (ES), I was trying to keep up with the highly demanding challenge system at SSD and it was just too much to handle all at once. I'm keeping it together better this year and the new challenges at SSD are FABULOUS!

Living the quiet life...

2010-01-13T16:05:00.006-05:00

Really though, they are all pretty quiet days here. Not that I am complaining. Not at all. I absolutely love it. Sometimes we have those weeks where I'm running from one doctors appointment to the next and it's crazy and tiresome. I love being at home everyday with the kids. This is my kind of life. We are having another snow day here. Had one yesterday too. Again, not that I'm complaining. I'm actually quite enjoying those too!

My photo yesterday was Tristan trying not to smile while I take his picture. He is of course playing a video game. As you'll see a bit later that's all he really wants to do. Of course, we don't let him sit and play all the time but if he had his way that is all he would do I'm sure!
Today's photo subjects are my adorable niece and nephew, Naomi and Parker. I've been watching them while Lena is recuperating from surgery. I only get to keep them a few more days. I'm going to miss them so much!
Which bring me to the next photo! Parker has taken to 'hiding' toys in his sleeper. I'm not sure why but at any given time you'll see him walking around with a bulge on his leg or his sleeper feet all strange looking LOL. I suspect it's a way of keeping the toys from the other kids but in any case it is funny :p!

I've been scrapping quiet a bit over the last few days. I'm sharing only two now because the others are CT pages for stuff that's coming out this Saturday :p. This first page is the scrap a hobby challenge at SSD. I could have scrapped about my scrapping but honestly I'm getting tired of scrapping about me so I picked Tristan's love of gaming. This is using a template from Collection 33 by Janet Phillips and Toys for Boys by Manda Beans and Zoe Pearn, retired I believe.
This is also a challenge page featuring Tristan. It's the Color Me Katie challenge where you scrap a series of photos that tell an event. I was stumped on this one at first until I randomly came across these photos of Tristan trying strawberry shortcake for the first time. As you can see, he was super excited but ended up not liking it. I've not given up hope though. He likes strawberries so maybe one day he'll like it :P. I used Dani Mogstad's Fruit Punch kit and a What A Week template by Colie's Corner. (see how good I'm doing on my use more templates resolutions LOL)!

Lost glasses....

2010-01-11T13:40:00.003-05:00

I spent the better part of my day looking for these glasses. It honestly doesn't makes sense. They were between the small space between the bed and wall. I sleep on the other side of the bed.

I think I give new meaning the words 'absent minded'. I can't keep up with anything. I am constantly losing my purse, keys, wallet, remote control, camera, and of course glasses. Thankfully I'm not totally blind or so I can see without them, I'm nearsighted. Tim is a savior at helping me keep up with stuff. When I come home he usually immediately confiscates my purse and keys so I can't 'lose them'. At night before bed, I hand him my glasses and he puts them up until morning. Isn't he sweet!

I'm bringing this blog post to you straight from another snow day at our house. I'm really kind of surprised but I guess I shouldn't be too surprised. I was commenting yesterday afternoon that I was suprised by this snow's staying power. Normally if we get snow, it'll snow in the morning or overnight and by the afternoon it's all melted. This snow has stuck around. It has also continued snowing on and off. I don't want to complain about our snow days though. Soon enough we will be back to a regular school schedule day in and day out until late May or early June, depending on exactly how many snow days we end up having this winter. I'm betting we will have school tomorrow for real though. I guess we'll see!

Hit the road, Jack

2010-01-10T20:11:00.003-05:00

So Tim drives to the gas station last night to get some candy bars. While he was there a trucker approached him and insisted (I'm told) that he take this dog. A cute lil pup, a Jack Russell (named Jack of course) wearing a little doggie coat. Tim is a big old softie for animals and has difficulty saying no so of course he takes the dog.

Now don't get me wrong, I love animals. I love dogs even. One day I want to own a dog but not right now. I have small children. Most days I'm overworked and overwhelmed by them alone. The thought of puppy training and all those destructive behaviors that puppies have. I just can't handle it.

So Tim brought him on home and he's so adorable my heart starts to melt a little and I start thinking well maybe I could do it. But after only a few hours of dealing with puppy reminds me why I'm just not ready to have a puppy in the house yet. So this morning we offered Jack the Jack Russell to Lena and she accepted him!

I kind of feel like a mean old puppy grinch or something but puppies are a lot of work and I already have a lot of work to do. One day when the kids are a little bit older we'll get a great family dog and I'll devote much time, love and attention to said doggie, until then we'll just have to visit Jack (who may be getting a new name LOL :P)

Busy with a side of busy....

2010-01-09T16:46:00.009-05:00

I haven't been able to get here in a few days. Despite having snow days, or maybe because of them, it's just been too busy to stop in here. I've been taking my photo and doing CT work and SSD challenges as I can :)!

Day 7 photo is Tristan playing the PS3 on the second snow day of the week!

Day 8 photo is the aftermath of the snow storm. That's a pretty good bit of snow for where we live!
Day 9 is of course today! I reactivated our Netflix subscription yesterday and got season 5 of Charmed in the mail today. Love it :)! Been working on some Bella Gypsy goodies this morning.
Pages galore!! This is with scoop between Melissa Bennett and Manda Bean, Winds of Change. Also featuring Frivolous White Alpha by Julie Billingsley and 525,600 minutes by Shawna Clingerman.

Kiss Me Kate by Scrapkitchen Designs.

Love Story by Libby Weifenbach.

Kickstart by Shawna Clingerman

Heart Whispers by Melissa Bennett.

Not enough hours in the day...

2010-01-06T16:44:00.003-05:00

I spent the day cleaning. Not that the house got clean or anything but I did clean all the same. I had a gigantic backlog of clean laundry to put away and some more to do and I decided to declutter and organize two very troublesome hotspots in my home. So it's not like I have nothing to show for it but it would be nice if the house actually looked tangibly cleaner right LOL.

Julian is a big helper and my perennial shadow. Anywhere I go he's one step behind so he helped me all day long. My photo for the day of is one to illustrate Julian's specific brand of help. I was putting sippy cups in the kitchen sink. So Julian finished off his cup and put it in his kitchen sink LOL! Very cute , huh?

I took a bunch of photos today for possible 365s but this was just too cute to pass up. I also made a bit of time to scrap while I was taking a break during Julian and Parker's nap. I gave Tristan and Naomi a snack and put Beethoven's Big Break on for them to watch so I could buy some quiet time for mommy.

I really, really love my page! It is also for the challenges at SSD, did you know Jan 15th is hat day? Neither did I *lol*! I used Safari Party by Melissa Bennett and Traci Reed and Sketchers 4 - Lucky 7's by Julie Billinglsey.

One of my resolutions this year was to use more templates. If I scrap sans template I've realized I basically scrap the same page over and over again. It's nice to use templates and make pretty things that I wouldn't have thought of otherwise. These templates by Julie are BRILLIANT! Not just for P365 layouts as you can see! I also kind of felt like I was cheating when I used a template but I've let that go. Some of my favorite pages were created using templates. Whether I keep everything just the same or switch them up a bit, templates are my friend and great scrapping tool!

Snow Day!

2010-01-05T14:45:00.003-05:00

The second school day of the new year and we already have a snow day! Honestly, yesterday should have probably been a snow day too, it was pretty nasty out there. It's fun to have them though :p.

My photo for the day is of Julian playing on the bed after I got him dressed. He added the hard hat to the ensemble himself. With the all the wackiness around here today he'll need it, I'm sure. The kids are FULL of pent up energy. I could take them out to play in the snow but honestly I don't know if I can handle the effort it would take to bundle FIVE kids up and take them outside for the few minutes it would last. I'm watching Parker and Naomi while Lena heals from surgery. Lots of healing vibes to her, I know she misses them as much as they miss her!

No pages to share today. I've spent all my creative time working on Bella Gypsy goodies for next week! I'm excited about all the cuteness :D! I really wanted to scrap yesterday but just couldn't squeeze it in anywhere. I'm not sure about today either. I've got a mountain of laundry to put away and later I get to go to the grocery store...again. I'm not sure if I mentioned it but I went to the store on New Years Day, two trips in 5 days. I'm so excited :/. The children eat like it's their job *lol*! Well Mt. Laundry awaits so I must go and do my duty. Wish me luck!

Doctor, Doctor give me the news....

2010-01-04T14:22:00.004-05:00

It seems we always start off the new year with a trip to the doctor, many trips usually. Tristan got to go back to school today. It was pretty white out there this morning and it's been snowing all day so I'm not sure if there will be school tomorrow or not :/. Instead of going to school, Gabriel got to go to the nephrologist.

We never go anywhere without ribbons for him to play with. That's my P365 today! We were waiting for Dr. Chishti to come and see us. I explained to the doctor that Gabriel just hadn't quite been himself since becoming so ill back in November. He felt that it was probably unlikely to be a kidney related issue so he wanted us to see our pediatrician after we done at his office. Luckily, our ped was right next door! So we had our blood work drawn and went to see Dr. Shaffer.

She suspected he may have mono but his bloodwork came back negative. She said it could be something a mono-like virus still. His throat was pretty red and his white blood cells were a bit elevated. His iron was low so he gets to start some iron supplements. I'm really excited about that :[. Another nasty med to add to his already full list of stuff he takes.

We've got another appt to head off to Friday, so we'll have that to dre...I mean look forward to. We have two actually. One in Cincinatti and one in Lexington :/. Not sure how that happened. I'll have to reschedule the one in Cincinatti since the appt in Lexington is more pressing.

Before I depart for the day, I'll share the page I did yesterday. It was for Digiscrap Rewind Challenge at SSD to rescrap a page you wanted to improve. This one is way better thankfully :p!

All good things must come to an end....sigh.

2010-01-03T14:56:00.004-05:00

Today is the last day of the kids Christmas break. I'm both glad and sad. I know Tristan is probably more than ready to get back to school. They had a super long break because of illness before the Christmas break began.

My P365 photo tried to capture the enjoyment of the last of Christmas Break. He's laying on the bed watching Little Bill with Naomi. I'll be sad to see him go back to school because I'll miss him! He can drive me up the wall sometimes but he's my boy so I love every second of it!

Gabriel has a doctors appointment tomorrow with the nephrologist. He got really sick just before Thanksgiving and he's actually still not quite himself. If he's well enough he'll return to school on Tuesday. I honestly have no idea if it will happen or not. He's fine one moment and not fine the next so we'll just have to see. Poor kid hasn't spent more than a few minutes in school since mid-November O_o!

I got a little more scrapping done yesterday! It felt really good to devote some time to a page! I'm really enjoying SSD's new challenge for mat! WTG, SSD staff!

This page is using a picture I've been needing to scrap for over a year now! It's from Christmas 2008. Julian bouncing in his cousin, Parker's, new bouncy horse thing. I used Melissa Bennett's new kit Buckaroo!

This page was so much fun to do. I used Julie Billingsley's Sketchers 3: Lucky 7's template. This was for the Baby Love Letters Challenge. I really enjoyed the entire creation process.

I wonder how long I can keep this 'blogging every day' thing up. It's been kind of fun!!

We are about to go down and have some cake with Lena and James for his birthday! I can't wait...cake..yuummmmy! See ya next time :)!

three in a row....

2010-01-02T16:58:00.003-05:00

Brace yourselves, 3 days in a row! It might be a record! I'm back with another P365 photo :)!
It's been a quiet day here. We've had snow flurries all day long with no significant accumulation. I snapped this shot of Tristan's wagon amidst the snow flurries this morning. In fact, it's still flurrying now. I'm interested to see if we'll amass any accumulation now that the sun is going down. I'll confess to tweaking the photo a bit but it truly has been kind of a grey, washed out kinda day.

The kids have been playing, got some cleaning done and watched some Charmed. I'm nearly finished with season 4 of Charmed. I put my netflix account on hold for a couple of weeks so I won't pick it back up until then. I've got regular tv to catch up on before the shows start coming back on primetime again.

I scrapped today :)! I was anxious to get back into the challenges at SSD! I started with the TOTM lift of Jaclyn Bernardo.

I cheated a bit and used an Ispired by Jaclyn template made by Darcy Baldwin. I love the way it turned out. I used an older kit called Imagine That by Robin Carlton and Misty Cato.

Well, must go make dinner!

New Year, New Me

2010-01-01T20:07:00.004-05:00

It may have taken me until 8 p.m but I actually made it back!

I started my day by taking my first P365 photo! For years, I have refused to make resolutions. I realized long ago that I don't actually keep them and it made me feel bad to fail so I stopped bothering. However, this year I feel like I'm full of resolutions LOL. One of which is actually complete P365. I made through January only last year. It wasn't so hard remembering to take photos but editing/uploading/scrapping and all the other stuff I was trying to juggle so I up and dropped it all. This year I'm hoping to be more methodical about it.

Another of my resolutions, which will fall nicely in with P365 is to get more photos of myself, alone and with the kids. Last year, you could literally count on one hand the number of photos I had of myself period. I'm overweight and shy and terrible self conscious about everything but I still need to get in front of the camera more often. So I'm hoping to get at least one photo of myself a month and one photo with the kids, either photos with individual kids or with all of them. Ideally, I'd like the photo to be with all 3 but that might be asking for a miracle or something.

I'm gearing up for a great 2010!

Blowing off the dust....

2009-12-31T14:26:00.003-05:00

Eek! I'm not sure my blog has ever been neglected this badly. Ya know how things go. Overwhelmed with various aspects of life and for me, at least, blogging is the first thing to get cut. It's been a super busy year for us here!

Lena and I have been out of retirement for a whole year now! We've really had a blast creating this year. I'm excited for the upcoming year too!

It seems like the last year of this decade just whirled by me. It's honestly been a pretty good year for me. I've had some pretty rough years since 2005 and it's about time I lived through one without an entirely life changing catastrophe. It makes me excited {and nervous} to see what lies ahead in 2010.

I'm still undecided with the "two thousand ten" "twenty ten" thing. Two thousand ten sounds the most natural to me right now but that could change depending on how the rest of the world decides to go with it :).

I'm going to try my hand at Project 365 again this year. I only made it through January this past year. I hope by giving myself guidelines and prompts I may actually be able to stick with it. I'm also anxious to see the new challenges unveiled at Sweet Shoppe. It was the challenges that originally drew me in over there in 2008. Then they changed their format in 2009 and I just couldn't juggle it all, the system was too demanding for me to keep up with.

I hope to try and blog regularly in 2010. I can't swear I'll do it every single day but I'll surely try to do it several times a week. Before I wrap up this post I'll share my most recent page with. My 2009 in review. It was actually the first one I've ever done really. It was pretty enjoyable and as you can see I used a zillion different kits/element packs. It was actually kind of fun to do that too. I've been such a "kit scrapper" for a good long time now it was fun to go searching for stuff in my dusty old stash :)! I could try and list all the credits here but it would take more energy than I have LOL. Let's just say 97% of this stuff can be found at Sweet Shoppe, including the template I used to scrap it with :)!

2009, I bid you...adieu.

did you know?

2009-02-26T08:01:00.001-05:00

The world's largest birthday cake was created in 1989 it weighed 128,238 pounds, 8 oz. and used 16,209 pounds of icing.

mmmmmmmmmmmmm

I wish I had been there :p

the meaning of it all...

2009-02-19T21:13:00.001-05:00

You Are an Altruist

You are a born idealist, with more pet causes than you can count.

You prefer be around others, both when working and while relaxing.

Generous and giving, you believe you can change the world one person at a time.

You're open minded and tolerant. People feel like they can tell you anything.

Your strength: Your go-with-the-flow flexibility

Your weakness: Your flair for the over dramatic

Your power color: Pine green

Your power symbol: Circle

Your power month: September

What Does Your Birth Date Mean?

all you need is love da da da da da....

2009-02-15T19:34:00.000-05:00

Your Word is "Love"

You see life as possibility to form deep connections with a few people.

Relationships are the center of your world, and you always take time to bond with those you love.

You are caring and giving. You enjoy helping those you love.

And when it comes to romantic love, you feel passionately ... even in a very long term relationship.

What's Your Word?

Anticipation...

2009-02-08T00:12:00.002-05:00

So it's SSD's 3rd birthday month so they are doing all this fun birthday stuff :)! This weeks From Our Blog To Yours is to blog about a birthday memory.

This was taken at Gabriel's 4th birthday party. It's Tristan excitedly hovering near as close to the birthday cupcakes as he can get. I could have taken this at any birthday party because Tristan does it at ALL OF THEM *lol*! It's really my favorite birthday memory because he's so cute about it! I'll cherish this long after he's all grown up and too cool to care about birthdays!

hmm....

2009-01-29T09:13:00.000-05:00

I think this quiz knows me a little too well LOL! I don't make resolutions but when I do I don't keep them well.

You Probably Won't Keep Your New Year's Resolution

Something isn't quite right with the resolution you've selected. Maybe it's time for a different one?

Will You Keep Your New Year's Resolution?

365, announcement and a freebie :)

2009-01-26T08:07:00.005-05:00

K, I've been trying really hard to keep up with my 365, despite not having posted in like 3 weeks I HAVE been faithfully taking photos everyday and scrapping weekly recaps. I'm proud of myself. This one was too cute not to share. Gabriel is a lover of baths. He just looked so cute getting out of the tub last night with his head all covered by that big old towel :).

Lena and I have big news to share! We debuted at Elemental Scraps today! We are especially proud of this kit, Pear Extraordinaire, since we are a pair ourselves LOL.

To celebrate our debut we would like to share with you this freebie that coordinates with our new kit (you can pick the whole kit up at ES for just 3.85 ALL WEEK, this week!)

Another Bite of Pear Extraordinaire

Don't forget it's DOLLAR DAY at Elemental Scraps! We've got two adorable valentine kits and two button date pack in dollar day! Don't miss them :)

birthday cupcakes :)

2009-01-22T09:52:00.002-05:00

My favorite kind cupcakes are the birthday kind ;)! I always do cupcake cakes for my boys birthdays! I'm thinking of doing this kind of birthday cake (minus the purple) for my Julian's first birthday next month. Of course, I couldn't do it without the help of my wonderful, magnificent, totally awesome, best sister in the whole world, Lena :). *batting eyelashes*

a discount shopper...

2009-01-15T07:54:00.000-05:00

You Are a Discount Shopper

You love to get things as cheaply as possible. You live for sales.

It's partially because you like to save money, but it's also because you like the thrill of finding a fabulous deal.

Of all the types, you tend to shop frequently but rarely by. You keep an eye on prices.

Brand names are not that important to you. You know how to have style without collecting designer tags.

What Kind of Shopper Are You?

It's right....

2009-01-08T07:32:00.002-05:00

Your Snow Test Says You're Agreeable

You feel like something good will happen to you eventually, but not soon.

You love to work, especially when work is physical. You do well in any job, as long as you're not stuck in an office.

You are a cooperative, agreeable person. You enjoy the company of others, and you enjoy compromising for the good of the group.

Your biggest worry in life is your family. You stay up at night thinking about them.

When it comes time to relax, you have no problem letting go. You are already pretty relaxed as is!

The Snow Test

Project 365 resolution!

2009-01-02T13:45:00.006-05:00

So it's a new year! It's always a little exciting and unnerving to start a new year. The unknown lies ahead! I decided to do project 365 this year. I hope I'm able to stay motivated to keep up with it! I don't normally do resolutions, it's just not my thing. However, since I would really love to keep up with this neat little project. I resolve to participate and take daily photos (shouldn't be too hard for a scrapbooker, right?)

Here are my photos from yesterday and today! We took down the tree yesterday! Its always a little sad for me to see it go but it's nice to have the living room back.

Today's photo centers around Tristan's recent obsession to play with playdough. I'm all for it but he's untrustworthy with playdough so it needs to be supervised and we've been busy cleaning all day. Finally have the house mostly under control so I step into the restroom. Moments later I hear a thunk and a Tristan runs into the bathroom to tell me that he didn't do it! Likely story LOL!

From Our Blog to Yours 10/16

2008-10-16T11:52:00.000-04:00

Halloween Candy Quiz

You are a Toffee Apple

Like the toffee apple you are sensible inside but mischevious on the outside

Find out which Halloween Candy you are at Quizopolis.com

From Our Blog to Yours 9/25

2008-10-01T09:26:00.002-04:00

65 words

Speedtest

I would just like to say I know I type faster than that. Probably not a lot faster but faster none the less. I hate typing on laptops LOL!

Long time, no blog I know! Life has been uber busy with sick kids and appointments and all that fun stuff. I'll come back for a proper update soon!

Miss Scrappy Pants

2008-09-04T08:54:00.005-04:00

So I'm sure you may have noticed that I have been in scrapping overdrive lately LOL. I've been digiscrapping since October 2005 but I had an icky HD crash in Feb 07 and lost tons of pictures and all my LOs. That was definitely a hard lesson to learn :(!

I'm dying to use my MPT coupon but I don't want to waste any of it so I'm trying to get at least 200 pages scrapped. At my last check yesterday, I'm only 15 pages away from my goal. Not too shabby. When I first went through and looked at what I had to be printed I had about 160ish pages so that left me with about 40 pages to get done before I sent my order. I do have more pages I could print in my folders but I don't want to print them. I don't want to get caught in an endless cycle of rescrapping stuff but I also don't want to look through my printed scrapbooks and be really displeased with my pages either. I know not every page can be a masterpiece and I'm sure down the road my taste will change and some of the pages I have already printed won't be "as good" to me but that's life. I like them now and now is when I'm going to get them printed LOL. I don't think I'll rescrap something after it's printed though. Gotta draw the line somewhere :P.

We've got a dr's appointment for Julian this afternoon with Genetics. He may have Neurofibromatosis like his father and we are waiting to see if they will give the diagnosis or not. Of course, I'm hoping and praying he won't have it but since he's already showing signs it seems likely that does.

Before I log off to do laundry I'll share my latest scraps with ya :)!

Kit is Boy-sterous by MandaBean

Kit is Wynken, Blynken and Nod by Katie Pertiet
Kit is Wonderful by Shabby Princess

Kit is Chatterbox by Sarah Jones

Kit is Wise Guy by Karen Lewis

Tuesday? Really?

2008-09-02T08:48:00.006-04:00

I hope everyone out there in blogland had a good Labor Day weekend! It's totally thrown me off my game. Yesterday I kept thinking it was Sunday, so of course it feels like Monday to me today LOL! I can't believe it's September already! You can definitely see the beginnings of Fall around here. The slight scattering of leaves, hints of autumn color starting to appear amongst the lush greenery.

This year is flying by! There is Halloween stuff in the stores :o! I should know, I bought Julian two Halloween onesies LOL. They are cuteness! He probably won't fit into the by Halloween anymore but I'm gonna squeeze him in LOL. Don't even ask about costumes, I am at a total loss this year!

Onto my new pages to share! I've been experimenting lately :). Trying to make myself use more than one photo and always journaling on my pages. Actually printing some pages have givem me a new perspective on scrapbooking!

Kit is Mr. Personality by Karah Fredericks

Kit is Mr. Curiousity by Karah Fredericks
Kit is A Fish Story by Traci Reed and Amanda Heimann

Kit is Punk Rock Prince by Heather Roselli

My PicTales review and LOs galore!!

2008-08-30T10:24:00.009-04:00

So YAY! My LOs arrived this morning from MyPicTales (MPT). First I must say they arrived very quickly! I placed my order last Sunday (a non-business day). I was notified that my order would be shipped on Thursday and then they arrived this morning!! Also, when I placed my order I chose First Class Mail (delivery est. 2-5 days) because it was the cheapest ($1.34 for 20 prints). However the order was sent Priority Mail instead! I'm not sure why but I certainly appreciate it very much!

I have to say I'm very pleased with my order all around! The prints look brilliant! They are printed on a nice heavy paper :). There was a teensy bit of cutoff on the journaling of one of my pages but I'm going to count that as user error. I sometimes journal perilously close the edge of my LOs and I shold have probably allowed more bleed for that page *oops*!

K, onto the LOs!

This is my little hoot, Gabriel! Kit is Falling for You by Julie Billingsley (SSD)

Let me tell you, Julian wasn't impressed with the veggies at all LOL! Kit is Happy Dance by Eva Kipler (SSD)

My lil baby love, Julian being a cute! Kit is Hootenanny by Libby Weifenbach and ChereKaye (SSD).

Julian and Gabriel....not enjoying each others company LOL! Bratty Brothers by Kristin Cronin Barrow and Meghan Mullens (SSD)

Tristan, doing what he does...being overly dramatic! Kit is Bratty Brothers by Kristin Cronin Barrow and Meghan Mullens (SSD).

I don't miss this *evil* flute at all! Kit is Sassy Sisters by Kristin Cronin Barrow and Meghan Mullens (SSD).

My shy niece, Naomi. Kit is Sassy Sisters by Kristin Cronin Barrow and Meghan Mullens (SSD).

TGIF again!

2008-08-29T14:50:00.003-04:00

Woohoo, it's Friday and a 3 day weekend to boot! I actually don't have anything planned this weekend. We'll just be chilling at home with the kiddos. Maybe we'll rent a movie this weekend. We *might* fill up the kids pool one last time and grill. Whatever we do should be fun!

I mourned the end of *my* summer but I'm happy to be settling into fall now. Fall is my favorite season by far. I love the cool weather and changing leaves and warm yummy scents. I'm burning a warm apple tart right now and the house feels so cozy!

I do have a couple LOs to share today! This first one is of Gabriel when he was a widdle guy! He's always been such a happy little fella! He was playing in his exersaucer and having a laugh with me. Kit is Retro Boy by Fee Jardine (SSD).

this one is of Julian playing in his jumperoo! Speaking of which he's been playing in it now for about 10 minutes (a record!) and he's having a blast! I'm so excited!! he's being so cute and laughing out loud! it's sooo adorable!
Kit is Chalking the Way by Eva Kipler (SSD).

over the hump....

2008-08-28T09:43:00.002-04:00

Thursday already! My weeks are going by so fast! Can you tell I am still adjusting to the boys being in school all day? Seriously, it's not an easy adjustment!

I've been fairly productive at home! My laundry is caught up which is a major feat for me LOL. I've been scrapping some too. Here are some of my recent creations!

Gabriel is rarely serious so this is a rare shot! Kit is Me-Robot by Robin Carlton.

My grumpy little guy LOL. We always find him in a bad mood and/or asleep at his birthdays! Kit is Alphabet Soup by Melissa Bennett.
!

I did get a bit of good news this morning :)! I received notification that my MyPicTales prints where going to be shipped today! From what I could tell they are shipping from Virginia so they should be here super quick! They were really fast with their processing so I'm impressed :). I can't wait to get my hands on them and see how they look. I'm still getting my big order together using the coupon they e-mailed me. I want to see how the first set printed out so I can see if I need to do anything different to the larger order. I'll be sure to blog about it when they arrive. I'm so excited!

dreary day....

2008-08-26T16:25:00.003-04:00

Ugh, it's a rainy, dreary tuesday here. It was icky getting Gabriel off the bus in the rain. I'm about to have to face the ickiness head on as I drag Gabriel and Julian out to pick up Tristan. I dread it terribly. I woke up trying to fight off a migraine so I started off this icky day quite ickily! Of course, Julian has been super fussy all day and Gabriel arrived home quite unhappy himself. Ugh. I hate this weather.

So to share more cheerful things. Here are a couple of recent layouts.

This uses Tomboy Princess by Libby Weifenbach (SSD)

This one mostly uses Riding on Buses by Karen Lewis (TDC).

Success!!

2008-08-24T22:12:00.005-04:00

I must say since my last blog post I really did a masterful job of getting our dinner/bath/bedtime routine down better. Things have mostly went off without any hitches every night since then. So....yay me!

Tristan is soooo much more pleasant in the mornings when he has plenty of sleep so it was absolutely necessary to get him on a strict schedule! We fly by the seat of our pants during the summer (and maybe a little on weekends *cringe*) but during the school year we must be more structured.

The boys are doing well in school, as far as I can tell anyway. I haven't heard anything negative from any teachers so far. It is beyond strange to be here most of the day with just Julian.

Julian as been quite a little beast the last couple of days. He's teething really heavily. The other day he arched backwards whilst screaming at the top of his lungs while in my arms and the place where his top two front teeth will be where SO WHITE I thought the teeth had already come through! Poor baby! He's also been a bit constipated and super gassy so he's been quite unpleasant altogether. I think I cured his constipation today with prunes though LOL!

I sent in order to MyPicTales this afternoon and I'm excited. I've been scrapping since October 2005 and NEVER had anything but brag book pages printed so this will be the first time I get to see my pages in a larger format. I decided to print at 8x8 even though the 12x12's were also amazingly affordable too. I have seen my sister's LOs printed in both sizes and I vastly prefered the 8x8's. Everyone seems to rave about their quality/affordability/speed in processing etc so I figured it was worth a shot with the deal they are running now! (Spend $10 on single page prints by 8/31 and they will give you a coupon worth $100 for more single page prints. If you print at 8x8 then that is 200 prints absolutely free! It is SO worth it! I'm still waiting for my coupon but I'm holding in good faith that it will arrive. I can't wait to see my pages printed!

I have a few new layouts to show you now :)!

This uses Fresh Squeezed by Kristin Cronin Barrow new this week at Sweet Shoppe!

Woohoo! Team Edward all the way :)! This uses Apple of My Eye by Julie Billingsley new this week at Sweet Shoppe!
The following two pages use Double Ups 3 by Bree Clarkson at Sweet Shoppe Designs!

I CAN NOT tell you how thrilled I was to find a paci that Julian likes. He is a clingy/fussy high needs litle guy so I need all the comforting help I can get!

Kit is Hello Chickee by Gina Cabrera (Digital Design Essentials)

These were taken of Gabriel on his first day of school! He truly is such a great kid. I'm such a lucky mama!

Kit is Squiggle It by Christy Lyle and Robin Carlton (Sweet Shoppe)

still under the weather...

2008-08-21T08:47:00.002-04:00

phew...

I don't know if it's allergies or a cold or something else entirely but I'm still sick. I'm feeling a little better but still not 100% yet. My sister got really sick yesterday too but her sickness seems different so hopefully whatever she has won't pass through the house. My Gabriel gets so ill when he catches something.

This last week has been SO hectic! It's been crazy having Tristan in school too. It's been so exhausting and I don't feel like I'm doing a good job handling all the changes. We've been getting dinner WAY too late and rushing around to get everyone fed, bathed and in bed. Something has got to give because I can't keep this mania up all year! It just doesn't help that I'm sick during all this.

I've got a couple pages to share but I can't post them yet! They are with new product being released this Saturday at the Sweet Shoppe. Look for some awesome new kits by Julie Billingsley and Kristin Cronin Barrow this weekend!

Well I'm off for now. I've got to see if I can pick up the house a bit before Julian starts demanding my full attention!

time for a change....

2008-08-19T22:52:00.005-04:00

As much as I'm not ready for it I had to take down my All Summer Long video. I know it's still technically and officially summer but it's really not for me anymore. As I mentioned last week Gabriel started Kindergarten. This week a very excited Tristan began his second year of preschool. So both kiddos off to school all day and summer really feels done to me. I figured out how to put up my playlist here so...yay :)! I have a few layouts to share with you. These first two use Eco Friendly , a perfect pairs by Kristin Cronin Barrow and Meghan Mullens.

This one use's a 2 Scoops with Julie Billingsley and Eva Kipler. I'm so proud of my little brother, Jeremy :)!!

We are still adjusting to life with school in session again and I'm under the weather so....ugh. TTYL!

TGIF?

2008-08-15T17:54:00.024-04:00

Whew! I'm not sure exactly why but I am. so. tired. right now! This week has really drained me! Gabriel started Kindergarten this week. It was really bittersweet for me. It's so strange having him gone all day long. Other than that, it's been relatively quiet here. My sister and her kiddos went on vacation so we've been hanging out at home by ourselves. I am just so drained.

We may take a trip to visit my dad and stepmom this weekend. The kids always love that! Anyways, just thought I'd drop by and share some recent layouts. Most are from the blast we've had this summer, a couple are of Gabriel starting school and a few are of my brand new niece, Makayla :)!

Using I Sea by Eva Kipler and Amanda Heimann (Sweet Shoppe Designs)

Using Tough Guy by Shawna Clingerman (SSD Quarterly Assortment)

Using Catch of the Day by Julie Billingsley (SSD)
Using Stop Jammer Time by Robin Carlton and Manda Bean (SSD)

Using Baby Brights by Misty Cato, Bad Sewing Machine by Traci Reed and Little Bits byDarcy Baldwin (SSD)

A Boy's Toys by Heather Roselli (SSD)

Little Peach by Kristin Cronin Barrow and 5x7 Templates#1 byBree Clarkson (SSD)

Using Delilah by Kristin Cronin Barrow (SSD)

Using Robo Boy by Lauren Grier (SSD) and Simply White Papers by Micheline Martin (Scrapartist)

Using Out of this World by Karen Lewis (The Digi Chick) and Collection 21 by Bree Clarkson (SSD)

Using Liberty and Justice by Manda Bean and Inspired by Amanda by Bree Clarkson (SSD)

Using Summer Sunset by Julie Billingsley (SSD)

Bookworm by Gina Cabrera (Digital Design Essentials) and Bad Sewing Machine by Traci Reed (SSD)

Using First Bell by Lauren Grier and Amanda Heimann (SSD)

Using Cold Espresso by Micheline Martin (Scrapartist)

Using A Girl Like You by Shawna Clingerman and Lauren Grier (SSD)

Using Little Miss Sunshine by Karen Lewis (Digital Freebies)

Using Hey, Hey Baby by Libby Weifenbach and Amanda Heimann (SSD)

Using Big Boy Now by Heather Roselli (SSD)

Endless summer, no more....

2008-07-31T17:29:00.010-04:00

Whew, so glad it's finally Friday here in Bella Gypsy Land. It's been a long week. I think mostly because I've been counting the minutes to the release of Breaking Dawn at midnight tonight. Otherwise, I don't mind our looong weeks. I'm severely dreading the start of school next week. I wish summer could go on forever. We've had such a blast this summer!

Here are some recent layouts to give you an idea of how much fun we've been having :)!

Using Melty Pops by Libby Weifenbach (Freebie on Sweet Shoppe blog)

Using He Said, She Said a retired Collab Kit from the Sweet Shoppe Designers

Using A Man Named Brady by Libby Weifenbach (Sweet Shoppe Designs)

Using Marco.... by Libby Weifenbach (Sweet Shoppe Designs)

Using Shebang by Julie Billingsley (Sweet Shoppe Designs)

Using Little C by Melissa Bennett (Sweet Shoppe Designs)

Using Simply Neutrals, Button Stash and Stamp alpha by Micheline Martin (Scrapartist)

a couple more LOs and a sick kiddo

2008-07-22T23:18:00.003-04:00

Two gorgeous new layouts to share today :)! I just love this photo of Julian. I snapped it a few weeks ago and still get a kick out of it every time I see it. I used Still One of the Gang by Micheline Martin, Shawna Clingerman and Lauren Grier. You can pick it up at Scrapartist and Sweet Shoppe.

Another adorable picture of Julian here too. My sister and I went up to Once Upon A Child to find some sleepers for Julian and this one was too irresistable to pass up! Sooo cute! You can find this darling kit by Karen Lewis at Digital Freebies!

Gabriel is under the weather AGAIN! He just got over an icky cold a few days ago and now he's sick again. This time it's a really nasty sore throat. He tested negative for strep but I don't kow how. Poor kiddo can't catch a break :(. Hopefully he will feel better soon.

good ole summertime

2008-07-20T22:01:00.024-04:00

It's been like a million years since I actually made a real blog post here! I figured I'd start things off again in style with a bunch of my recent layouts :)! We've had a lot of fun so far this summer! I am going to be so sad to see school start back next month. It starts back insanely early on August 7th! I'm not going to dwell on that though, I'm just going to keep on enjoying the wonderful summer days we still have ahead of us!

Using Chalking the Way by Eva Kipler (SSD)

Using Just Add Water by Julie Billingsley (SSD)

Using Grass Stains by Shawna Clingerman (SSD)

Using Deep Blue Sea by Dani Mogstad (SSD)

Beep Beep by Karen Lewis (The Digi Chick)

Gotta Getaway by Manda Bean and Kristin CB (SSD)

Outloud by Shawna Clingerman (SSD)

My Prince to the Rescue by Shawna Clingerman and Lauren Grier (SSD) Robo Buggy by Shawna Clingerman and Zoe Pearn

Chilling and Grilling by Penny Springmann and Misty Cato (SSD)

Sweet Baby Boy by Melissa Bennett

Doodle Pop by Micheline Martin and Penny Springmann

Using Beachy Keen by MelissaBennett and Micheline Martin (SSD)

Using Little Buddies by Dani Mogstad and Gina Miller (SSD)

Using Tubby Time by Melissa Bennett (SSD)

Using 2 Straws by Dani Mogstad, Shawna Clingerman and Traci Reed (SSD)

Using Chunky Monkey by Robin Carlton and Manda Bean (SSD)

Using Sweet Surprise by Karen Lewis (The Digi Chick)

Using Summer Pond by Heather Roselli (SSD)

Using Lights, Camera Action by Julie Billingsley (SSD)

Not a nerd but not hip either...

2008-06-05T12:40:00.000-04:00

Yep, that sounds about right...

mmmm latte....

2008-05-08T10:51:00.000-04:00

What Your Latte Says About You

You are easygoing and pretty simple to please. You don't put up a fuss... ever.

You are a very frivolous person. You don't take anything too seriously. Why should you?

You have a good deal of energy, but you pace yourself. You never burn out too fast.

You have a healthy relationship with caffeine. You're definitely not dependent on it.

You are a child at heart, and you don't ever miss the opportunity to do something playful.

You are deep and thoughtful, but you are never withdrawn.

What Does Your Latte Say About You?

that's me sort of....

2008-05-05T14:21:00.001-04:00

You Are An INFP

The Idealist

You are creative with a great imagination, living in your own inner world.
Open minded and accepting, you strive for harmony in your important relationships.
It takes a long time for people to get to know you. You are hesitant to let people get close.
But once you care for someone, you do everything you can to help them grow and develop.

In love, you tend to have high (and often unrealistic) standards.
You are very sensitive. You tend to have intense feelings.

At work, you need to do something that expresses your personal values.
You would make an excellent writer, psychologist, or artist.

How you see yourself: Unselfish, empathetic, and spiritual

When other people don't get you, they see you as: Unrealistic, naive, and weak

What's" Your Personality Type?

nuff said

2008-04-14T08:41:00.000-04:00

see more crazy cat pics

butter my butt and call me a biscuit!!

2008-04-10T13:32:00.003-04:00

OMGOSH! I posted this page I made last week of Tristan running in our yard. This page was inspired by the Scrap with the SugarBabes challenge over at SSD. I found out yesterday that it was highlight one not ONE but TWO blogs!! *woohoo* I got highlighted at the Hawt Mama's Blog (Traci Reed's CT blog) and the SSD blog. Talk about making a girl smile :)! So go ahead, butter my butt and call me a biscuit LOL.

I do have some new pages to share but no time to upload them today. Julian's nap is soon to be over and I've still got a few things to get done first! I do want to share this with you though. I always pop over to this site when I'm feeling frustrated or blue, it always makes me giggle!

see more crazy cat pics

Abstract and Random, that's me!

2008-04-04T11:31:00.002-04:00

Your Thinking is Abstract and Random

You are flexible, adaptable, and creative.

There's many ways that you can learn - and you're up for any of them.

You relate well to other people, and you do well working in groups.

You can help people communicate together and work with each other's strengths.

You don't work well with people who are competitive or adversarial.

You prefer to work toward a common goal... not toward conflicting goals.

What Kind of Thinker Are You?

From the SSD, From our Blog to Yours!

Did I mention that the kids are on spring break this week? It's been fun but I'll be happy to see them go back to school on Tuesday next week! If they are well, of course, we have been bombarded by sickness for the last couple months. Poor Gabriel and Julian are under the weather now :(. Hopefully they feel better ASAP!

a LO from easter...

2008-04-03T20:00:00.002-04:00

This is a scraplift of the SSD TOTM, Alohamama! I love how it came out. I'm so addicted to scraplifting. It's an impulse I've fought in the past but I won't anymore. It's nice to be inspired by someone else's creativity. It helps get my own creativity flowing :)!!

bunches of layouts....

2008-04-02T09:17:00.004-04:00

Nothing much going on here today! Gabriel has an occupational therapy appointment today so we'll be headed off to that. Just thought I'd share some of my recent layouts :)....

a new look all around...

2008-04-01T11:45:00.002-04:00

A new look for the blog and a new look for me too! I knew this kit, So Whatever by Micheline Martin and Melissa Bennett, was perfect for this layout! My hair has been extraordinarily long since high school. I've kept it at least waist length for years! With my new addition, Julian, I was finally ready to let go. My stepmom, Anne, cut off 18 inches to send to Locks of Love! I also got new glasses which I'm still getting used too but they are cute! I complete this layout as a part of a challenge over at SSD.

Speaking of SSD, here is something from their blog to mine:

Your Spelling is Perfect

You got 10/10 correct.

Your spelling is excellent. You also have a great memory and eye for detail.

How's Your Spelling?

Ha! I've always been an excellent speller. I must admit taking French in college threw me off a bit but overall i'm pretty good!

he's here!

2008-03-30T19:44:00.003-04:00

It's been ages but I finally decided to pop back on to ye olde blog here! Life has been majorly busy for me and my little family. Our newest addition, Julian Malachi arrived February 19th and life has been nonstop busy ever since. He has made a wonderful additon to our family. I'm so frazzled most of the time I'm not sure whether I'm coming or going. He's a very sweet little guy. Very cuddly and very demanding. He's definitely the boss for now anyway LOL.

It's the most wonderful time of the year...

2007-11-30T08:22:00.000-05:00

I love this time of year! Christmas is so magical! Tristan is understanding more of the Christmas hoopla this year too which is so much fun!

I hope you didn't think I had vanished forever! Life was just SUPER busy for me. I'm happy to say that thankfully things have slowed down a bit. I'm finally going to have a teensy bit more free time. I've got the itch to design something but I can't quite get anything started that I want to finish *lol*! I've been scrapping whenever I do have a few minutes which has resulted in me working on the same layout for days and days trying to find enough time to actually finish a LO.

I had a really nice visit at my dad's for his birthday and early Thanksgiving celebration. I got to see my sister and her family which was great. Tristan ADORES his cousin Nathan and followed him around all weekend. It was cute. Naomi is cute as a button! She's a tiny little doll!

Thanksgiving here was really nice too. It was just me and the boys and my brother and his girlfriend. We had a really lovely dinner. They helped me get the tree up a few days before that. I love having the tree up, it makes the house feel so cozy and Christmas-y!

I did a bit of Black Friday shopping for the first time in forever. We don't have a huge budget and this year I am only buying for my boys. I so wish I could buy gifts for everyone but it's just not feasible. So I'm just concentrating on giving my boys a nice little Christmas. I would say I'm about 75% done shopping for them. I think I'd like to get them each one more inexpensive toy an outfit and perhaps a pair of jammies. All the gifts have to hide in the trunk of my car until Christmas morning. Tristan gets WAY too excited when he sees even a wrapped present. It's cute but I know I won't be able to keep him away from the presents until Christmas if I tried to put them under the tree now. I think it will make Christmas morning all that more magical to him when he wakes up and sees presents under the tree!

In my absense from the blog I posted tons of layouts to my gallery so I can't share them all here. I will leave you with this one though :)! I used Parker by Micheline Martin! I still can't believe I'm going to have THREE boys! It's amazing! Now if I can just pick a name *lol*!

Just popping in....

2007-11-12T12:32:00.000-05:00

Hey, everyone in blogland!

I know I have been MIA from ye old blog here. Being sick took a lot out of me last week. Things are a bit hectic for me this week too. I've got a bunch of appointments and they are just throwing my whole daily routine off *lol* So I may not have much time to blog or anything computer related all week.

I'm heading off to see my Dad on Friday :). It's his birthday Friday and there is going to be a family Thanksgiving celebration the next day!! Looks like I'll be seeing Lena and her family too!

So if I don't pop in to blog for the rest of week I hope everyone has a good one and I'll hopefully "see" you next week! Happy blogging and scrapping!

things never go as planned...

2007-11-06T10:01:00.001-05:00

So much for my nice, quiet, extra long weekend!

So I tried to do my best on Saturday but I just didn't feel quite right. I just felt really tired and kind of blah but I managed to get through the day. Then at 3 am, I woke up in pain. I wasn't sure if they were really bad cramps or contractions but they were intense and painful. Soon thereafter I started throwing up. Whenever a really intense cramp would come I would get really hot and nauseated and start throwing up. By 7 am I had nothing left to throw up but bile. My munchkins were waking up and I had to call for help.

My Aunt Theresa came and took the kids and my brothers girlfriend, Susan, drove me to the hospital. I was taken directly up to labor and delivery. They did some checking to make sure I wasn't in pre-term labor. Thankfully, I wasn't. They still aren't sure what exactly caused it but they suspect I just caught a really nasty bug. I was really dehydrated so they had a terrible time getting an IV in me. After two bags of fluid, some IV Zantac, Phenergan and Zofran I finally stopped vomiting. My cramps had settled down enough that I was thankfully able to return home. Now my belly is just really sore from all the cramps and vomiting. I can't lift anything or bend over. Thankfully I feel fine now other than a sore belly. I have been really careful to eat very bland things (which get really boring and old really fast!) I'd rather eat bland than to ever experience another 12 hours like I did Sunday.

Hope you all had a much better weekend than I did!

a loooooooooooong weekend...

2007-11-02T08:27:00.000-04:00

Really, really long! The boys don't have preschool on Fridays and then there is no school on Monday and Tuesday for election day! So the kiddos will be home until next Wednesday! I am actually REALLY looking forward to it. Sometimes I am so sad to send them back to school on Monday. I love having them home with me.

Of course, we all know Digital Scrapbook Day is tomorrow!! There will be lots of sales and fun activities going on all over digiland. I'm running sales at both my stores! 50% off at ACOT from now until Monday and 30% off at SBB from now until Monday! Be sure to drop by SBB tomorrow. There will be several forum based challenges and chats from 6pm EST until midnight! They will be giving away a huge, gorgeous kit and lots of prizes throughout the day. The 6pm chat is being hosted by yours truly and Amy :)!

Thanks for all the get well vibes yesterday, I think they really helped. I did move a bit slower yesterday but I managed pretty well :). I'm feeling okay this morning thankfully! I still don't feel quite like myself but I'm not so under the weather that I can't function.

Look for Halloween pics and some snaps of the kids room coming soon! My brother came over and painted their bedroom floor yesterday and it looks great! I thinking it may not even need a second coat. I am actually hoping it doesn't because I'd like to put all the stuff back in their room. My house is too small to have all this stuff in the hallway *lol*!

Don't know when I'll have a chance to blog again but I wish you all a happy DSD!

23 weeks today and under the weather!

2007-11-01T07:35:00.000-04:00

I can't believe how fast this pregnancy is flying by! I glanced at my ticker this morning and my jaw just dropped. I have managed to get this far into the pregnancy without getting really sick amazingly. I think my luck may have just ran out! Late yesterday afternoon I was overcome by extreme tiredness. I was in the middle of making dinner (yummy Tuscan Rosemary Chicken) and suddenly felt as if every ounce of energy just left my body. It was a struggle to get through the rest of the evening until bedtime. I ended up putting the kids to bed a half an hour early because I just couldn't make it any longer. I chalked this up to waking up too early yesterday morning. However, I think it was a sign of getting sick. I'm not too ill this morning but I have a piercing headache, a stuffy nose and my throat is mildy sore. My lips also cracked last night which seems to only happen when I'm sick. I hope it doesn't get much worse. I also hope I don't pass it on to the kids. Gabriel just got over tonsilitis! Being ill is definitely going to put a cramp in my day! Thankfully, I've only got a small to do list. Any get well vibes you can spare would be greatly appreciated!

Happy Halloween!

2007-10-31T07:27:00.001-04:00

Ah, the aftermath of trick or treating *lol*! It was hectic, it was crazy, it was exhausting but it was worth it. For the most part, the boys had a great time and racked up a ton of candy (which is fun for one pregnant mommy too *lol*!)

I only managed to snap a couple of pics before heading out the door. As usual, I was running a bit late and everything was in a rush. I'm not too bummed because today is actually Halloween so I'll have my photo shoot when the boys come home this afternoon.

Halloween on Main was an experience for sure. I'm not sure what I expected but I certainly didn't expect the lines! That is pretty much what it was a MASSIVE line. Talk about no fun! I'm so glad my Aunt went with us because she's much more assertive than I am and after we had waited FOREVER in line she just started pushing through. Maybe that isn't the fairest way to do things but people were forgiving because we had Gabriel with us in his wheelchair and he was starting to get super cranky from all the waiting! We got lots of ooh and ahs at his wheelchair wheels. His back wheels light up when they roll so that was a big hit with the crowd. Unless they have something else worked out next year we'll be skipping Halloween on Main!

After main street we went on up to a local church that was having a Fall Festival and that was lots of fun! There were tons of games and candy. Next year I think we'll head straight for that :)! Overall I'm so glad we finally got to go!

I'm looking forward to a much less hectic day today. I have just a few things I need to get done so it should be a nice quiet day. I'm feeling great today and that makes things even better. Life is good!

Happy Halloween to all your ghouls and goblins!

On the eve of Halloween...

2007-10-30T08:34:00.000-04:00

BOO!

Did you think I had vanished again? Nope I'm here. Just no time to blog. Life has been busy with lots of small stuff that added up to no time for blogging *lol*! I also had a sick kiddo :(! Gabriel had tonsilitis for most of last week and all weekend. Thankfully he was finally well enough to go back to school today.

I did tons of bunches of layouts but there are really just too many to blog so you can scoot on over to my gallery if you are curious! DST Gallery :).

Tonight is the big night! We are finally going to go trick or treating! Over the years there have been various reasons but we have never been trick or treating. We had every intention of going last year but an exhausting pre-trick-or-treat party and the unwelcome intrusion of rain we had two grumpy kiddos and ended up not going after all. So cross your fingers for us. I think this year we may actually make it happen!

The next town over is doing "Halloween on Main." I guess the nowadays kids are discouraged from going to house to house like we used to do as kids. So they shut down main street for two hours and the businesses give out candy. There are supposed to be some other things going on but I honestly am not sure what they are. I think the boys will have a good time and I know Tristan will enjoy getting the candy *lol*!

I know house to house trick or treating is still going to happen but we are going to skip it. It's too complicated with a wheelchair. Most streets (especially the town I live in) aren't really wheelchair friendly. I'm actually not even sure how we are going to go through all of main street with Gabriel's chair. I guess we'll get it worked out!

If you peak in my gallery you'll see we have tried to have some pre-Halloween fun. We have had Jack-O-Lantern Grilled Cheese Sandwiches and Mini Mummy Pizza. Last night we made Halloween cookies which were a big hit *lol*!

We had to go buy Tristan some new shoes yesterday! Isn't it amazing how fast kids feet grow? I swear he just got new shoes in July or August but it was definitely time again. He started complaining about his feet and I checked his shoes yesterday and sure enough his little toes were right to the end of his shoes! We got some cute shoes from the Disney's Cars movie. That kid loves Cars! He was really excited about the shoes. The only disappointing thing is that they didn't light up like his old shoes though they supposedly glow in the dark. He was happy enough to trade off lights for Lightning McQeen though. However, next time I'm going to search extra hard to try and find some Cars shoes that light up too!

I'll be sure to snap lots of pics of my puppy dogs tonight! I can't wait to see how cute they'll be. The fun won't be over tonight though. They are going to have a "Fall" party at school tomorrow with some fun treats!

TGIF...

2007-10-19T15:48:00.000-04:00

This week has seemed forever long! I'm so glad the weekend is finally here. I don't have too much on my plate this weekend thankfully. A trip to the grocery store, a little designing, inevitable trips to the park and of course, church.

I do have a few quick, informal movie reviews for you. I never have time to watch movies but I have managed to actually watch a couple lately!

First, Evan Almighty! LOVED IT! A+ in my book. It was a fun and hilarious movie. It certainly kept me giggling throughout. I give it two thumbs up :)!!

Second, Knocked Up. Can't say I like this one as much. Given the title and some of the actors I kind of expected more of a comedy. I expected it to explore the humorous parts of pregnancy and the effects that it has on relationships. Instead it was a more serious flick about life and relationships and pregnancy. It had a few funny moments but overall a more serious movie than I expected. I have to give it a C-. Not neccesarily a bad movie but it fell short of my expectation fo sure.

Before I go let me share my latest creations with you! One of Tristan and one of me. The anxiety referred to in the layout was all about worrying if this baby was healthy or not. Thankfully all seems to be well with my little bun in the oven!

Credits available here.

boy oh boy oh boy....

2007-10-17T16:08:00.000-04:00

That's right! I had my big ultrasound today and I'm happy to announce I'm having a healthy baby boy! Three little boys! I was so relieved to see that everything was okay. I was such a bundle of nerves waiting for this ultrasound. I was so afraid after losing Katriel 2 years ago.

Short entry today. I've been trying post all day but blogger was having issues with me *lol*. Here are my latest two layouts.

Credits available here.

Monday, Monday

2007-10-15T16:40:00.000-04:00

I am so dragging today. I've been sooo tired all day. I guess I just have a case of the Monday blahs. It's been a major job to motivate myself to do the stuff I needed to today. I'm proud to say that I pushed through and everything got crossed off my list....just barely *lol*!

I'm sure I've complained about this before but man I wish Mother Nature would just make her mind up. It is so frustrating getting the kids ready for school everyday with this wonky weather. It is in the 40s when I put them on the bus in the morning and in the upper 70s to lower 80s when they come home. *ugh ugh ugh*.

This week has brought a new movie to our repetoire. For a little over a week Tristan wanted to watch "Fish" aka Finding Nemo constantly. One night out of desperation and on the brink of madness if I had to hear that movie one more second I put in Ice Age. Well, it worked. He LOVED it. He laughed his head off. Thus began the Ice Age *lol*. In a similar desperate moment I put on Cars yesterday hoping to at least watch something new for a little while. Now he's all about Cars. I even heard him quoting a line from the movie last night *lol*. That is really a big deal becuase he is speech delayed and while he has vastly improved he's still catching up and sometimes speaks in his own little language. He was playing with some of his trucks last night and said "hey you aren't Mack!" I was so proud of him!

I'm in the midst of making dinner now so I better get back to it. Nothing fancy, chicken strips, pasta salad and corn on the cob but oh so yummy!

Here are my latest two layouts! Credits available here.

well rested girl...

2007-10-13T09:29:00.000-04:00

I couldn't believe it when I opened my eyes this morning. It was actually morning. The sun was up. I must have worn them out shopping yesterday because they both slept through the whole entire night. That's not a huge thing for Tristan but its practically constitutes a national holiday for Gabriel *lol*!

Gabriel's appointments went well on Thursday and we don't need to follow up for a year *woohoo*! They are considering doing a surgery on his ears that isn't exactly medically necessary but it might help him feel better about his appearance as time goes on and it may help him keep his hearing aids in better. You can kind of see it one of the layouts I'll share today but his ears have an interesting shape to them. The Commission for Children with Special Healthcare Needs want to help make Gabriel's life as normal as it can be. Honestly, I'm still undecided about the surgery. Gabriel has multiple issues and with everything considered I'm not even sure how likely it is that other kids will notice his ears when he comes rolling through in a wheel chair. Of course, I'm not a kid anymore so I don't know. I've got a year to think about it so we'll see.

A funny little side note about our visit to the dr's office. Tristan is so obsessed with the movie Ice Age right now. We *just* came off a big run where he wanted to watch "fish" (Finding Nemo) everyday. So Tristan wants to watch Ice Age (Ice as he calls it) all the time. Imagine my surprise when we walked into the dr's office and what else would they be playing for the kids but ICE AGE *lol*. I *almost* wished Tristan was there with us.

We went shopping for Halloween costumes yesterday! That is very unlike me. I usually have the costumes chosen and purchased by mid-September *lol*! I hate waiting until the last minute because the selection for cute kids costumes becomes really sparse. I'm happy with the final selection though. They are going to be puppies!! Tristan is nearing the age where he is going to want to decide what he wants to be for Halloween so I figured this is my last chance to have cutesie matching costumes *lol*. For what it's worth I think he will like being a puppy because he already loves to pretend he's a dog! The puppy part of the costume is more of a little vest type thing. It's plump and furry and has a hood with ears and it has a tail *lol*. We got brown shirts and khaki pants to wear underneath them. I'm really tempted to paint their noses brown and maybe a brown circle around an eye but I'm really not sure how they will tolerate the face make up so I'm still undecided!

Before I rush off this morning I'll share my latest creations. This is a series of photos I have always loved of Gabriel. The photos aren't edited in anyway but his eyes look SO BLUE. I used Pamela Gibson My Favorite Winter Sweater Kit.

Credits

Another page using Pamela's goodies. My 14 week entry in my pregnancy album!
Credits

And my 15 week page using Karen Hunts Summer Skirt!

Credits

and we are off....

2007-10-11T07:32:00.000-04:00

Busy day ahead! Gabriel has an appointment at the craniofacial anomolies clinic in Lexington. I debated about sending him to school this morning because we need to leave here by 9:15. I had about decided not to send him but changed my mind at the last minute. I need a few quiet moments this morning and my living room is looking a bit rough around the edges. I also need to throw another load of laundry in.

Gabriel had a truly bizarre night last night. TMI alert ahead! I woke up at 2:45 am for one of my many pregnancy induced nightly trips to the ladies room and heard Gabriel awake. It's not unusual for him to wake between 2-4 am but it is unusual for him not to cry when he wakes. He was perfectly content and just clicking away. Clicking is a happy noise for him. So I headed toward his bedroom and was assaulted with the smell. I knew I was dealing with a massive poop situation. Holy crap! Who would have known such a little guy could even hold so much crap! So I get him up, have a quick bath, change the bed sheets and redress him for bed. He seemed content to go back to bed but he still didn't go to sleep. I could hear him clicking on and off for the next few hours. He fell asleep sometime around 5 am. Then his chipper little self popped up at 6:45 bright eyed and bushy tailed *lol*!

So that was my morning *lol*! Here are my latest couple of layouts for your viewing pleasure! I used tons of Micheline Martin yummies on this LO of Tristan in the bathtub!

Credits HERE.

This is a rare serious photo of my little Gabriel using Danielle Young's Lost Vegas Nights coming October 15 to Oscraps!
Credits here.

wednesday already...

2007-10-10T10:34:00.000-04:00

A fairly quiet Wednesday going on here. The boys had a field trip to Sigmund Farm today so that should be fun for them. There was a bit of confusion about the bus and Gabriel's wheelchair but the school assured me they would get it all worked out.

I need to make a quick trip to the store but I'm dragging. I think I'll just wait until Gabriel gets home and take him with me. I've also misplaced some paperwork I needed to drop off this morning and it's driving me up the wall trying to find it. Not sure if I'll have the chance to blog tomorrow, Gabriel has an appt so that should take up most of our morning.

Here is my latest LO of Tristan. I used Karen Hunt's Set of Wheels from her Gender Balance Collection.

Full Credits Here

laundry and a layout

2007-10-09T10:01:00.000-04:00

Is there ever and end to laundry? I didn't think so *lol*! I started my morning putting away a basket of freshly washed laundry and I'm getting ready to drop another lovely load in. How is it that kids go through so much clothing? Don't even get me started on socks. I swear there is a little elf that comes through and steals socks (and sippy cups) at night!

Hoping for a quiet day here today. I have to make a small trip to the store at some point but I'm hoping it will be quick and painless. All the way to daycare this morning Tristan was going on about pizza, so I'm thinking we'll make pizza for dinner tonight! As Tristan says "pete-zaaaaaah!" *lol*

I leave you with my latest creation using Pamela Gibson's Stanley Park. Full credits here.

Lots of layouts...

2007-10-08T06:19:00.000-04:00

I do have a gazillion layouts to share today *lol*! That is what I get for not blogging for almost a week! We have just been busy little bees in Bella Gypsy Land!

Gabriel's appointments on Friday went great! The weather was dreary but we made it up and back in one piece. His appointments were fairly quick once we got into see the doctors, they were just post operative checks to see how he is healing. My poor little guy had TWO surgeries this summer! We got an all clear from the general surgeon with no need to return *yay*! We go back to the plastic surgeon in January. They just want to make sure the skin graft is doing well. He had some webbing on his fingers and they seperated them using a small skin graft. So far the graft is doing wonderful!

We had a nice quiet weekend thankfully. We had two unsucessful attempts to go to the park this weekend. Saturday's trip was cancelled because Gabriel was entirely too grumpy after our grocery trip and I had oodles of things to do at home. So we decided to try again on Sunday after church, also a no-go -- this time because Tristan was just too tired. Little guy slept all the way home from church!

Speaking of church *lol*! Why is it that toddlers never speak when you want them to -- like when you are asking them a question? The same toddler will become a chatterbox just when you need them to be quiet -- like when you are in church and your kid is the only making any noise *lol*?

Well my munchkins are waking up so it's time for me to wrap up this post! No school today or tomorrow because of "Fall Break" hopefully we can find something fun to do today and maybe actually *make* it to the park!

Let me leave you with my latest creations! I just love this photo of Tristan! I've scrapped it several times trying to get the *perfect* layout. I think I got it this time! I used Paula Duncan's Mocha Autumn Papers and Alpha.

See full credits here!

A sweet page of Gabriel from this summer using Oscraps Jack-O-Lantern Collab kit and some goodies by Danielle Young!

Read full credits here!

This fun page is also showcasing my little Gabriel. He truly is always happy! I used Karen Hunt's Just for Fun kit, Plastic Fantastic Borders and Plastic Fantastic Alpha #3!

Read full credits here.

This is a retro Gabriel from Halloween 2004! He tuckered out well before Trick or Treat *lol*! I used Danielle Young's Handmade Costume Papers and Elements!

See full credits here.

Lastly a sweet retro Tristan! He still us cute as a button! Using Pamela Gibson's Chicken Pie papers and elements.

See full credits here!

heat wave....

2007-10-03T11:30:00.000-04:00

Okay, not really *lol*! It's quite comfortable actually. Fall is my most favorite season. Here in Kentucky fall weather can be a bit wonky in the transition stage. We are still having fairly nice days but it is getting more and more chilly at night. Unfortunately my Central Heating and Air died! Great timing, eh?! It's comfortable enough to not need the AC but a bit too chilly to go without heat.

Thank goodness the repair man is here fixing it now. He's been at it for quite a long time, I had no idea everything was so complicated. Of course, my unit had to totally conk out and the compressor needed to be replaced. I almost fainted when they told me how much it was going to cost. Not like I had much choice though! Gotta have heat!

I never did really get back to sleep yesterday morning so I felt like quite the zombie all day yesterday. I managed to sleep a little better last night and have a nice quiet morning. I'm super impressed because I've managed to be quite productive too *lol*!

I do have a couple of recent layouts of Tristan to share with you! While I'm at it...did I mention I just joined Danielle Young's creative team?! I don't think I did. She rocks hard! If you haven't checked her out drop by Oscraps today and drool over all the yummy goodness!

Here is a page using Danielle's Defunct Destiny kit! Tristan has become quite the yeller - cringe!

See full credits here

This LO was inspired by our trip to the park this weekend. Tristan totally fell in love with this little horse bouncy thingy *lol*! I used Micheline Martin's yummy Adventurous Paper Pack and a few other goodies from her shoppe!

See full credits here

I do have another bit of fun news that I can't share just yet but look for it soon!

Awake...

2007-10-02T05:38:00.000-04:00

That's me. I'm awake. Long before I need to be awake, but awake none the less *lol*. Not sure why but I just spontaneously woke up at 4:30 and it has become evident that I'm not going back to sleep any time soon!

I've got a pretty full week ahead of me so I'm not sure when I'll have time to blog again. Gabriel has several dr's appts this week. It seems like I'm always dragging my poor little guy to some dr. I think we are almost through this latest round. We usually have big waves of appointments every 5-6 months. So we've got 3 more this week and we just got a letter notifying us of another appointment next week. I thought the calender was looking a bit bare *lol*!

I'm starting to feel that oh-so-hopeful lull of possible sleepiness again so I'm going to jump on it and hope to catch a few more zzz's before my alarm bellows through the house. Before I head back to neverland here is my latest creation!

My little pumpkins using Pamela Gibsons On the Lighter Side: Halloween and Micheline Martin's Old and Forgotten alpha.

See full credits here

it finally went away....

2007-09-26T12:17:00.001-04:00

My headache that is! It had eased a bit by 7 but was still being persistent so I took a second dose and thankfully by 9 it had gone away. That was one tough tension headache. I'm hoping never to have anything like that again!

Nothing of true interest going on today! I need to make a quick outing to the store in a bit but I'm putting it off. Never do now what you can do later, eh *lol*?!

Gabriel has a endocrinologist appointment tomorrow so we'll be gone a bit part of the day! They will be checking to see that his calcium levels are doing well on his current medication doses and discussing what the future holds since his orchioectomy last week. He's a sweet little guy but he's also tough stuff. He weathers all of this amazingly well.

Before I depart I do have a couple of recent layouts to share :)! This is sweet little shot I captured of my Gabriel in our yard. I used Micheline Martin's Little Troublemaker, Used and Abused, Lucky 13 Alpha and Jumble Alpha.

See full credits HERE!

Here is my latest LO of Tristan. I caught this kooky series of snapshots and instantly knew they were scrap perfect! I used Pamela Gibson New England Autumn papers :)!

See full credits HERE.

Monday not a Funday!

2007-09-24T17:40:00.000-04:00

Pardon my cheesy title *lol*!

So we had a nice quiet little weekend! I swear you would never know Gabriel had surgery on Thursday. This child is an absolute dream! He has even slept better too. They did have to repair to small hernias during his surgery so maybe they had been bothering him. Poor little guy!

I developed a nasty little headache Sunday afternoon that just won't go away! Since I'm pregnant I've been trying to limit my caffeine intake to one caffeinated soda a day. I just figured I needed some caffeine so I drank a can of Pepsi and that didn't offer any relief. So I got a 20 oz bottle and still no relief. So I took a couple of Tylenol and drank a small cup of coffee. At bedtime the headache was still raging so I figured, if nothing else, a good nights sleep would knock it out. Unfortunately no such luck :(.

I woke up with the same headache only worse. It hurt more and I was also nauseated and dizzy. I had to get Tim to drive me around all morning. I finally called my OB who instructed me to come in. They looked me over and ruled it as a 'tension' headache. They have sent me home with a med called Fioricet. Sadly, I'm still getting no relief from it. I can take another dose at 7 pm and if nothing has improved I probably will. They said if I get no relief to go to the ER, so at 7 if it's still hurting I think I'll take another dose and head to the ER. I hardly ever get headaches and have never had one that wouldn't go away. It's been quite scary!

Before I depart I would like to share my latest creation with you :)! Pamela Gibson's Pocket Full of Boo Paper and Elements were just perfect for this 'not so spooky' LO of Tristan's first Halloween!

Check out the full credits HERE!

Surgery went well and some recent pages...

2007-09-21T08:53:00.000-04:00

Thanks to everyone who sent up prayers for my little Gabriel. His surgery went very well yesterday and we got to come home yesterday afternoon. Recovery has been better than I would have expected after surgery!

I realize I didn't elaborate on the surgery earlier. Gabriel's testicles had never descended so he had a diagnostic laparascopy to see if they were there and to see if they could be brought down where they belong. The dr was able to find them but they had never developed properly so they had to remove both of them :(. I feel bad for my little fella. It's not going to have an impact on him right now but when he gets older his endocrinologist will have to help him to go through puberty since it won't happen naturally. He will also be unable to have children but in Gabriel's condition that was never going to be an option.

Gabriel is such a little trooper! He did have a little bit of trouble after surgery yesterday from being intebated during surgery. He started making a very strange noise when breathing. The dr's assured me his lungs were just fine and that the noise was coming from up his upper airway. After a couple of hours that subsided and he has done remarkably well for someone who underwent surgery! We are just taking it easy and have no big plans for the weekend!

I'd like to share a few pages I did earlier this week! This uses Pamela Gibson's Twirly Whirly Boy!

Credits can be seen HERE!

This page features my little guys from Fall 2004! Oh how they've grown so fast! I used Pamela Gibson Autumn's Here!
Credits can be seen here!

This was for digi dare # 53 :)

Credits can be seen here!

Feeling fallish...

2007-09-18T08:32:00.000-04:00

It's definitely been ages since I've posted here. Life has been pretty chaotic around here and I just haven't had time to do anything computer related at all. I'm happy to say that things have settled quite a bit :)!

I actually released a couple of kits last week! Shocking, I know! Both are currently available at my Scrapbook-Bytes Store.

Drops of Jupiter

Falling

Both kits are available for $5 or you can get the paper or elements seperates for $2.50 each. I love fall. It's by far my favorite season. I love the chill in the air and warm scents and cozy sweaters. It's trying very hard to be fall here. It can't quite make up it's mind though. We had a few cooler days and then we had some really cold nights followed by warm, sunny days. Now we are back to cooler nights and warm days. It's kind of frustrating but that is the way of mother nature, I guess.

If you could say a little prayer for us, I would appreciate it. Gabriel is having surgery on Thursday and I'm nervous. I'm sure everything will be fine but surgery is always nerve wracking!

You may have noticed my little ticker up there. I am indeed pregnant! I'm 16 weeks along now, I'm due February 28! This pregnancy has been very smooth so far and everything is going beautifully!

Hope to check in again soon. I'm going to try to blog at least 2-3 times a week but it may be more often than that. Happy scrapping!

Long time, no blog!

2007-06-13T22:40:00.000-04:00

Hey scrappers in blogland. I DID NOT fall off the face of the earth...not really anyway. I am sort of back. I can't promise that I'll blog daily. I can't even promise that I'll blog weekly but I will blog when I can.

Life is busy. Very, very busy. I haven't had much time for anything scrap related. Really I haven't had much time for anything computer related at all. I have *tried* to check my e-mail daily and that is about it.

I have been making time to scrap lately. It felt so good to finally scrap after that long hiatus. I was nervous, kind of afraid I'd lost my skills but much to my relief they were intact. So I've been scrapping at every chance which hasn't been terribly often...but still there has been scrapping!

I also finally decided to design a little something. I don't have much just a few papers done. I have been imagining these papers for quite some time now but just haven't been able to find time to execute the idea. No idea when they might be done as I'm in absolutely no rush to finish them. It could be days, it could be weeks..even months...who knows?

I do have one bit of happy news to share with you all. I promised an age ago that I would tell you but never made it back to the blog. I'm ENGAGED! My sweet Tim popped the question and I accepted :)! I was going to try and save the announcement for a special layout but I keeping on deleting it. I can't get it perfect and I refuse to accept anything less than perfection.

Now, if you know me well enough, you may be thinking "Hey, isn't she still married?"

Well...the answer to that is yes. I am. Unfortunately. However, this seems to be something of a family tradition, become engaged before being divorced. Who am I to break family tradition?

Things may not be exactly perfect in my life but they are improving daily. God is guiding my family through this valley and I am humbled by his love and compassion. We will come through this tribulation with the strength and power of our Heavenly Father.

On hiatus...

2007-04-25T16:34:00.000-04:00

Hello out there! Just popping in to say I'm going to be taking a bit of a break from blogging and all things digital. I'm sure I won't be gone too long but I just need step back for now. I'm sure I'll be back intermittently to share updates with you. Maybe once a week or so if I feel up to it.

Things aren't perfect, things aren't even ideal. But I am not broken. I can not be broken. The faith I'm standing is stronger than anything in this world. God is with me and my family. Our light is shining bright.

Before I depart, I shall leave a message for someone I know reads this blog daily. I know what you did. I can't begin to understand the motives behind it but that doesn't matter. Just know that I love you, I forgive you and I am praying for you.

Recovering from the weekend...

2007-04-23T18:44:00.000-04:00

Short post today! We are sick today, all 3 of us! Great way to start out the week, eh? Tristan feel much better but he is still laying around a lot which is very unlike him so he's not quite 100% better yet.

We had a pretty good weekend! The kids, Tim and I spent the weekend with my Aunt and it was very relaxing :). Lots of great family time and fun together. We visited my Dad on Sunday which was also a lot of fun. Tristan finally got a much needed hair cut. He looks cute but I kind of miss his pretty locks!

We've got a pretty big day coming up tomorrow so prayers are much appreciated. I thank God for all the blessings he has bestowed upon us. My faith is unwaivering, I know God is watching over us.

Thank you for stopping by to visit with me today! Blessings to you and yours!

Kicking off the weekend with a bang!

2007-04-20T15:16:00.000-04:00

After going to bed early last night Tristan woke up SCREAMING inconsolably at 4 am. I couldn't seem to comfort him at all and I couldn't figure out what was wrong at all. He wouldn't eat or drink anything :(. Some children's motrin and a warm bath calmed him down some . I rubbed his belly until he finally drifted off to sleep around 6 am. Of course, Gabriel was just waking up so no rest for mommy!

Tristan finally woke up just before noon, again screaming his head off :(. He was also burning up with fever :o! So off to the ER we all went! Let me tell you, getting a sick, feverish, crying toddler and a little guy in a wheelchair into the ER solo is no easy task! Tim was stuck at work with no one to relieve him and my Aunt was MIA!

My poor little guy had a bad ear infection :(! We have been so lucky with ear infections, combined my boys have only had a handful of them in their lives. I was so sad for my little Tristan to get such a bad one :(. They gave him some more tylenol for the fever, some ear drop s for the pain and prescription for the earache. We had to wait for a bit to see if we could coax him to drink anything. Finally he took several sips of sprite so they let us come home. Sadly he puked as soon as we got home and I haven't been able to get anything else down him since. He is sleeping now so hopefully when he wakes up he'll drink some more for me or back the ER we go! Can't have my little guy gettin dehydrated on me!

We had planned to have a fun afternoon outside and then go to Trading Days, a street festival going on this weekend but it looks like those things will have to wait. Perhaps he'll feel better tomorrow! Say a prayer for my little guy will ya?

God is so gracious and loving! He has carried me through this difficult day with grace. In the face of the diffulties I have been experiencing he has blessed me wondrously. I feel his love all around my home and family. Our Lord is protecting us and guiding us through the hard times. I am so uplifted by his kindness and mercy and love. My heart sings his praises!

Look for my good news coming very soon ;)!

Pruning dead branches...

2007-04-19T14:37:00.000-04:00

This has been quite a week for me. It's been a bit of a rollercoaster of emotions. I was betrayed and had my trust violated by someone I considered a dear friend. Consequentially I left a message board I have been part of for years. I will always think fondly of the members of this message board and I have established a hopefully ongoing e-mail/IM relationship with some of them.

This came in the midst of terribly difficult situation in my life. After exhausting all avenues I could humanly possible I did the only thing I could do. I have put it in God's hands. My faith is unwaivering. I can move a mountain.

After deep reflection and prayer I broached a subject with someone in my life that had been festering for awhile. In the bible, John speaks of pruning dead branches that bear no fruit. It was time to prune that dead branch. Such a black and cruel heart deserves no place in my life and can only bring pain. I have blocked this person from contacting me and hope that this person never tries again. That book is closed forever. I pray that God delivers peace to this person.

I have some very happy news to share with you soon! I can't spill the beans just yet but I am absolutely elated! A true blessing has entered my life, praise God!

Monday, Monday...

2007-04-16T01:56:00.000-04:00

The weekend goes by too fast doesn't it? It was a quiet weekend here in Bella Gypsy Land! I just have one question for all you bloggers out there? Does the cleaning ever end? I don't think it does! If I let the cleaning slide for one day the house becomes a disaster area! Needless to say I spent a good deal of my Sunday afternoon trying to recover from the hysteria!

Tim spent a good deal of time with us this weekend. It's so nice to have him around. He is such a wonderful guy. The boys love him and he is so good. I feel so much better when he is around!

I've been struggling with some major depression this weekend. I hate living with depression. It seems like there are people out there who live to make things worse. I'm doing the best I can. It feels hard to breathe sometimes. At one of my lowest moments today when I was wondering what I was going to do....it just came to me. Through all of this I haven't really asked God for help. I'm not a deeply religious or spiritual person. I began to pray and the pain started to lift off my heart. It was a powerful moment for me. I am deeply thankful to God for easing my pain at that moment. I am filled with a renewed sense of hope that things will be okay. I need to lean on God and put my faith in him. I want my children to know the wondrous love of our Almighty Father in Heaven.

I finally got a new element pack in my store at Scrapbook-Bytes! I am totally in love with it and can't wait to get some of these pretties on my upcoming LOs! I am totally into funky, cool ribbons lately and have really been wanting some like these! Grab'em for $3!

Totally Twisted available at SBB!

So I also decided to participate in the Team GMD blog challenge! I have struggled for page inspiration lately. I mean I love my pages but sometimes I just need a bit of a push, ya know? I just love the way this came out. I can't believe my baby Tristan was ever so little! When I was finishing the page he came and crawled up into my lap and started pointing at the photo saying "bebe"! It was precious! I told him that was him as a baby and he said "bebe Ti-tah" which is what he calls himself *lol*!

Read full credits HERE!

time flies...

2007-04-13T00:12:00.000-04:00

It sure does! This week has been a blur. It's not even that I have been massively busy. I have had plenty to do alright but much of it has continuously been put off again and again. I know I have lamented it several times over but there just isn't enough time in the day for me. I constantly have a to-do list a mile long.

I did get a decent amount of cleaning done this week. I spent on whole day just cleaning practically. The house is a tad lived in at this moment but it's very clean! Before I crawl into bed I'll tidy up! I'm sure you've gathered by now I'm not a neat freak! Quite the opposite actually. Cleaning is way down there on my priority list *lol*! I do enjoy it when things are quite so chaotic though. It brings a nice piece of mind. If only it didn't get messy again so fast. It's truly amazing how destructive a toddler boy can be! It's really just Tristan too, Gabriel and I only contribute to a tiny amount of the mess. It just blows my mind how fast Tristan can make a mess out of a room! He is anxious to help though! When I start picking up he tries to help me and he vaccums along with me with his toy vaccum when I'm doing using the real vaccum. He's a helpful little guy.

We've also been quite under the weather this week. It's hard to explain. I mean we aren't suffering from fevers and vomiting or anything too bad. It's just a sense of general unwellness. Is that a word? It is now! It's made it a quite exhausting week in that sense.

I feel like I have gotten so behind. I really need to make one of those big schedules on a poster board, you know, like SuperNanny does? It seems like I can only do focus on one thing. If I focus on designing then the house becomes a disaster area. If focus on cleaning I don't get any designing done. I know there has to be a balance. I need a clone *lol*!

I've been watching Buffy the Vampire Slayer a lot this past week. I find I do that a lot when I clean. I'm not sure why but I find it helpful and it focuses me more than listening to music. I finished up the final season on dvd and promptly started back over! I know I don't have to watch them in order. The first two seasons are actually my least fave of all of them but I just like to watch them in order!

Before I depart I shall leave you with a new LO. I finally decided to try a digi-dare! I knew when I saw the prompt I had to scrap about being pregnant. I LOVE being pregnant! I really would be pregnant all the time if I could, I think *lol*!

Read the full credits HERE!

blog slacker...

2007-04-10T17:14:00.000-04:00

I have been so bad at blogging lately. I aspire to blog daily but just haven't been able to get it done. Having another go around with the "not enough time in the day" syndrome. It can get so disheartening. I'm struggling with depression pretty heavily too. The depression makes it so hard to accomplish anything at all. Life can be so overwhelming sometimes...

If you can spare them keep those prayers coming please. I'm struggling to keep my head above water.

Before I depart I shall leave you with a layout. My sweet sunshine boy, Tristan!

Read full credits HERE!

New look, debut sale, freebie!

2007-04-07T23:31:00.000-04:00

It was time for the blog to have a new look! Despite the fact that mother nature has a cruel sense of humor and it has turned cold here again. Despite the fact that it SNOWED the last two days, I'm ready for spring! I used my new Playdate kit available at Scrapbook-Bytes! Yep, I'm in the store now! Woohoo! I'm sooo happy to be in the store :)!

Today has been a really great day! First my sweet, sweet Tim brought me FLOWERS! I could have fallen over! I have only received flowers one other time in my life before this. Tim got a beautiful easter basket of flowers! My batteries are dead in the camera (currently recharging right now) so I couldn't take a pic yet but check back tomorrow. They are divine!

I got the house cleaned up. It's not clean per se but it's cleaner *lol*! I'm not done yet though, I'm gonna finish it up before bed time. Tim and I went to the grocery store with the kids. It was crazy mad busy but it was a very nice little outing!

So wanna know about my goodies at SBB? Let me start you off with a little freebie to wet your palette! I made these sweet little plush petals for you to have! They are available in my SBB store!

Click here for the store!

Okay girls! This is my Everyday Celebrations Collection. I decided not to release as a collection. If you want ALL 5 kits drop an e-mail at tabatha@tabathareed.com and I'll send you a special coupon to purchase the entire set for $18! The kits are $5 individually so you can save $7 by purchasing the entire set :)!!

Wait there is more! (I sound like an infomercial, eh?) Until Monday at midnight all 5 kits are on sale for $4, that's 20% off! I will still give you the $ 7 off, IF you contact me saying you want the entire set by Monday at midnight EST! So that is just $13 for all 5 kits! A total steal!

Click here for Sunday Brunch!

Click here for a Playdate!

Click here for Family Dinner!

Click here for Comfortable Silence!

Click here for Afternoon Naps!

April already...

2007-04-03T11:37:00.000-04:00

Isn't my new desktop wallpaper prettiful! Puts me in a good mood to see it :)! I can't believe April is already here. The older you get the quicker time passes, I swear! It's been several days since I've been able to muster the energy to blog. I'm going through a bad case of "not enough time in the day." Seriously, I feel like I'm running full throttle all day long and still end not getting half of what I need to do -done!

I need a moment of silence. I need to honor the passing of my favorite bra. I don't know how to explain what happened to it. It just sort of disentegrated in my hands! It was a weird thing to happen. I knew it had seen better days but it was my most comfortable bra and I loved it dearly. So here I sit in a much less comfy bra today. I must go get a new bra ASAP.

I'm a bit under the weather today. I'm not sure what is up. All 3 of us have it though. Sniffles, cough, scratchy throat. I also have a headache and slight dizziness. The headache/dizziness are the symptoms that are throwing me off. Hopefully, they won't slow me down too much I still have about a zillion things I need to accomplish. Please don't let it slow me down too much!

I did a very airheaded thing this morning. I can't even tell you what it is...yet. Maybe I'll spill in a day or two but I feel like such a dork for doing it. What's worse, it's not even the first time I have done it. You'll see and you'll laugh when I tell you!

Anyway, I shall leave you with this LO of Tristan when he was 8 months old!

Credits can be seen HERE

Busy, busy, busy

2007-03-30T08:06:00.000-04:00

This has been such a busy week for me. It seems like there has been an endless supply of stuff to do! I finally sucked it up and dived into some major spring cleaning projects. I'm happy to say the house is sparkling! It is nice to have a clean house. Send me motivation vibes girls, hopefully I can maintain it! I'm trying to work myself out a daily cleaning schedule so it will be easier. Between scrapping, CT's, designing and advertising sometimes I feel like I'm chained to the computer!

I'm hoping to pick up a new hard drive today! Wish me luck finding a good deal on one! Tim is going to go shopping with me for one. He is my expert computer hero! Not sure how big I'm going to go. Just looking for the best deal, I think!

I've got a few dreaded errands to run today. It's stuff I have been continually putting off. Unfortunately, I think I have reached the point of no return! Sometimes being a grown up sucks!

I'm trying to get stuff done for my debut at SBB! I'm still reeling from shock! I have some stuff ready and I've got some idea floating around for some more stuff. Hopefully the execution of said ideas will come easily. Especially since DST is supposed to be down tomorrow, one major distraction taken care of!

So girls, I don't really want to share the details but if you can spare any prayers, send'em my way, okay! I would really appreciate it!

Before I depart, I shall leave you with my latest creation! This is another photo from little outdoor photo shoot with Tristan a few days ago. I got some really great action shots. I couldn't wait to get this one scrapped!!

Read full credits HERE!

Someone pinch me....

2007-03-28T05:35:00.000-04:00

I still can't believe it. It feels like a dream. It literally IS a dream come true for me. I still keep checking my e-mail compulsively. I keep waiting for someone to say "Oops, we didn't mean you! Sorry, better luck next time!" It feels so surreal.

I just wanted to give a HUGE congratulations the other designers that have been announced so far: MissTiina, Michelle Bradley, Lawanna Desjardin and Amy Bleser! Announcements are still being made and I'm so excited and anxious to hear who else the lucky ladies are! If I feel this anxious with anticipation I can only imagine how the ladies still waiting to hear are feeling! You are all awesome and I'm pulling for you!!

This is a short entry today! I've been procastinating a ton of stuff that I really need to get done today! So I shall leave you with my latest creation! Another set of photos from my photo shoot the other day....

Read the full credits HERE!

It's the BEST day E-VER!!

2007-03-27T06:43:00.000-04:00

sung in my best Spongebob Squarepants impression...

I AM GOING TO BE A NEW DESIGNER AT SCRAPBOOK-BYTES!

I can't even tell you how much of a dream come true this is for me!! I started out at SBB when I first got into digiscrapping. I have long felt it was scrapbooking home! I used to attend EVERY chat they held! Every night I looked forward to the midnight chat! Of course, as life got busier I didn't have time for the chats anymore. I still miss them! SBB is home to my largest online gallery too. My very first pages are in that gallery.

Excited, elated, ecstatic, thrilled....none of it can describe how I feel. Over the moon, on cloud 9....doesn't even touch it! It's really my dream come true. It is the BEST day E-VER!!

I was feeling so great I decided to scrap a fun and silly page! An tribute to....ahem...my girls!

Read the credits HERE!

BTW, Drop by my stores at ACOT and ES for an impromptu sale that turned into my celebratory sale!

The spring of things...

2007-03-26T06:00:00.000-04:00

It seems like Spring is finally here. The weather can be so weird in Kentucky. I hate to get my hopes up. It has been so nice the last few days. In general, I'm a winter person, I love chilly weather and snow and curling up inside with hot cocoa. It's just so hard to play outside much during the winter. I mean we do but it's a concerted effort to do so. The fun of spring and summer is we can just run outside whenever we want!

I can't tell you how much it helps with our schedule too. Tristan is so full of energy, it seems endless! I love being able to take him outside for a couple of hours and just let him run himself ragged! I take some toys out with us and he covers every inch of our yard. I'm finally not hating the daylight savings thing so much either. We got to go out and play for a while last night around 7 pm! Still nice and daylight and warm. I got some great shots too, one of which you'll see momentarily!! I look forward to spending many afternoon/evenings like this, at least until it gets too hot to stand! I'm a creature of comfort, I don't "do" really hot weather!

I have to go grocery shopping today. Not one of my favorite things to do but no one is going to do it for me! Oh well, at least I'll get to do it by myself! Even though the kids are out of the house for a few hours a day, several days a week, I very often find myself needing to go the store when they are home so it becomes a major outing. At least, today I'll get to go out and take my time and get what I need without two kiddos demanding that I hurry up and get what they want! Hopefully, I'll have the energy to get everything done today! Wish me luck! I'll need it!

I shall leave you with my latest creation! This is one of the shots I got of Tristan running outside. The lighting is beautiful!! I knew that this new 2Scoops kit, Earthborn, from Paula Duncan and Zoe Pearn would be PERFECT!

Read the full credits HERE

under the weather...

2007-03-24T04:39:00.000-04:00

Ugh. I have felt so funky for the last few hours. I'm not exactly ill but not exactly well either. I just feel icky. I have zero energy. It sucks because I have SO much I need to be doing. I feel like I am chronically running behind on everything. When can a girl catch a break?

I'm up in the wee hours of the morning again. No good excuse, just can't sleep. I hate insomnia. Amazingly, my children are asleep and have been for hours. I have been asleep intermittently but I kept waking back up and finally gave up a couple of hours ago.

Do you have any idea how many sleep aid commercials they play in the middle of the night. I'm tempted to keep a running tally of just how many I have seen. In other news, I'm thinking of asking my doctor for some Lunesta or maybe Rozerem *lol*. I'm just kidding ;). Or maybe I'm not.

Since I couldn't sleep and my kids were sleeping I decided to make good use of my quiet time. I designed! I have all the papers for the 5th Everyday Collection kit done!! I am super happy with them. If I'm lucky you all will finally get to see this collection by next week!

Well, I'm drawing a complete blank about what to blog about next. Really, a very dull day. Oh well. Check back tomorrow for more interesting banter *lol*.

Before I depart let me leave you with a sweet LO I did. This is Gabriel when he was 15 months old. I use Melissa Bennett's Mud Tracks kit and her Itty Bitty Dotty Blooms. I also used some HAWT little goodies from Micheline Martin!! Be sure to stop by and grab her Bead'Em Up alpha collection. There are 34 sets of alpha beads, perfect for all your LOs! You'll be reaching for these babies over and over again! The cardboard is from her Cardboard Basics, you know you want'em!!

Read the full credits HERE!

and the song remains the same...

2007-03-23T03:36:00.000-04:00

Yep, back up in the middle of the night again. I guess it's not all that shocking. They both fell asleep majorly early. I just wish I had followed suit *lol*. I should have known better. Oh well. You live. You learn.

Thursday was a pretty uneventful day here in Bella Gypsy Land. I really need to be kicking butt on my collection but instead I scrapped. Sometimes you just need to follow your instincts, ya know? I'm also super paranoid about my computer. I hate to start working on something only to crash and lose it before I can get it backed up. The fear already has me backing up EVERYTHING like crazy! I have burned to more discs in the last two days. I'm afraid to turn the computer off becuase it wants to run checkdisk. Most of the time that wouldnt' scare me but I know the reason it wants to run it is becuase it saw those bad blocks on the HD.

I can get a new hard drive BUT I can't get it right at this precise moment. It will next Friday before I have the resources to fund a new drive. I AM getting a new drive. I am sufficiently freaked out that something will happen to this one. Tim is going to work some magic on it tomorrow I think -- well actually today, for those of you on normal schedules lol! My only solace is that IF I crash this time I won't lose anything.....

Of course, my paranoia is starting to set in and now I'm feeling really compelled to check all my backup discs *lol*! In fact, I'm pretty sure that is exactly what I'm going to do. A girl can never be too careful ;)! Ugh, I wish I could just get a whole new computer!

Before I depart, I shall leave you with a LO I did yesterday! I'm one hawt mama, eh? No really, I hate photos of myself. I'm just not photogenic. However, I'm really pleased with this one that Tim took of me. I used Traci Reed's Joyful kit!

Read full credits HERE

It is a conspiracy....

2007-03-22T05:16:00.000-04:00

It is. I am telling you. I am not crazy. I am being conspired against. My children have banded together to ensure that I never receive another decents night sleep again. I can't even begin to tell you how exhausted I am. I guess it's only really been 4-5 nights now but it seems like an eternity. Up and down, up and down, up and down, up and down. Finally ending up being UP at an insanely early hour. This sucks, big time!!

My computer decided to go crazy today. It was scary and frustrating! Everything got really slow and Norton freaked out. It said it encountered a fatal error and needed to be re-installed. Okay, simple enough. It refuses to re-install though. No matter what I try it won't uninstall. So I run Spybot which finds nothing major, just a few tracking cookies. I start an online virus scan and nada!

Thank God, my hero, Tim comes to my rescue. I swear I AM the luckiest woman on the planet. He manages to get Norton uninstalled and reinstalled. Norton didn't find anything wrong but it was weird, nonetheless. Also, it looks like my computer was finding "bad blocks" or "sectors" on my hard drive! SCARY STUFF. Everything seems okay now. Tim said it may have corrected the problem itself but I'm scared anyway. I did a big backup a few days ago, thank goodness. I went and backed up the few things I have purchased and photos I have taken in the last few days.

This hard drive has no right to die. It doesn't period. It's really not that old. I'm sufficiently freaked out about it though. Luckily, I can afford a new hard drive. Tim and I looked around for one and I can get a 500 GB Seagate (or was it Maxtor, can't remember) for about $145! I mean, I don't want to buy a new one but it's not out of my reach. Even if this hard drive IS okay, I think I will spring for a new one anyway, just to be on the safe side. It will be nice to have all that extra space anyway.

Before I depart, I shall leave with a couple of pages!! I just did this one this morning. It's jam packed with oodles of goodies! So arm your paypal!! I used Kathy Moore's Essential: Backpack No 1 kraft paper. I also used Micheline Martin's Love Notes clipboard template and her Split'ems! Those awesome Tin Roof Rusted Stars are by Melissa Bennett!

Read the full credits HERE!

Finally a page about my man, my sweet guy, Tim! Isn't he a handsome fella! I used Traci Reed's Mellow kit! This awesome kit is jam packed, don't miss it!!

bippity bloggedy boo

2007-03-20T21:57:00.000-04:00

I didn't feel up to blogging yesterday. I barely feel like it today, actually! Murphy's Law was in full throttle yesterday morning. A number of small catastrophes befell me yesterday morning all before 9:30! I honestly can't even begin to tell you about it. Some of it is too embarrassing to ever be uttered in a public setting..EVER. Just rest assured, be glad you weren't me yesterday!

The day wasn't ALL bad thankfully. I did get my tire replaced which I was in desperate need of. In fact, I didn't realize how desperately it needed to be replaced. It was pulling hard to left but I didn't realize that was a tire problem. Then the tire started having trouble keeping air so I had to get a new one. Imagine my surprise when that completely fixed the 'pulling to the left' problem.

I never did make it to the school with Gabriel's cupcakes. Part of my too embarrassing to speak in public trauma prevented me from being able to pick up the cupcakes in time to get them to the school! Tim ended up picking them for me that afternoon. What a sweetheart I have! He even refused to let me pay him back for them. I'm a lucky girl!

I also finally finished the fourth kit in the Everyday Celebrations Collection. I'm hoping to finish the whole collection up soon. I really love how they are coming out and I can't wait to share them with the world!!

Today has been strange. The cupcakes finally made it to school! I ran a couple of important errands. Then I came home and crashed. I mean crashed!! Tristan decided to wake up at 2 am and refuse to go back to bed, so I had been up a looooooong time.

Then Tim and I met at my aunts house to try and help with some computer troubles. After hours of trying he still wasn't able to resolve the problem :(. She has some nasty UBER virus. I guess Tim has to wipe her system and start anew. Thank goodness for Tim!!

Before I depart I shall leave you with an adorable LO I did of Gabriel in the wee hours of the morning. I just had to giggle at this photo. I used Rose Farver's Kaboodle kit!

Read the full credits HERE

shock and awe....

2007-03-19T05:57:00.000-04:00

At this very moment, four years ago today, I was still married to my husband Marshall. I was still pregnant with my first child, Gabriel. I wouldn't be pregnant much longer. I was in the hospital undergoing an induction. My contractions were very mild at that point but often and uncomfortable to prevent me from sleeping. I remember glaring at my sleeping husband all night long. To this day it still ticks me off.

My labor eventually ended in an emergency cesarean section. Moments after my water broke, the room filled with people. Gabriel's heartrate had plummetted. It was terrifying. All of these people doing all kinds of stuff to me and the machines and no one told me what was happening until a clipboard with for consent to the c-section was pushed into my face. I sobbed uncontrollably. I was told I would be put under general anesthesia and my husband could not be in the delivery room. My family, who had all been at the hopsital anxiously waiting with me, had went off to eat lunch at the dr's announcement that I would be in labor for many, many more hours.

When I got into the OR, the anesthesiologist offered me a spinal block instead of general anesthesia. I gladly accepted the thought of being out for hours was too much to bear. The anesthesiologist stayed right by me the entire time. He comforted me and assured me that everything was going just perfectly. Gabriel was born at 1:42 pm. I still remember the sound of his cry and the relief that swept over me. I only got to see a quick glance of him before they took him off to the nursery. It was love at first sight.

He was sooo tiny. He only weighed 5lbs 1/2 ounce. He was only 17 3/4 inches long. I was fairly out of it in the recovery room. My family and friends kept coming in to see me but I was very incoherent. Shortly after I left the recovery room the emotions hit me. I was a basket case. I couldn't stop crying. I couldn't see Gabriel b/c I had just had the c-section. They could not bring him to me because he was sooo tiny that he was unable to maintain his body temperature if he wasn't under the warming lights. My family was telling me he had webbed fingers and toes. I was shocked and it upset me so much. We had not been prepared for anything like that and the hormones and the traumatic birth and not being able to see my baby was just too much. The drugs from the c-section were so awful, my face wouldn't itching, I kept throwing up and I was so hot I couldn't stand it.

I finally got to see Gabriel that evening around 7 pm. I had a lot of trouble holding him because every time I sat up even a little bit I threw up and and became super dizzy. It was so frustrating. He looked so tiny and so perfect to me. I remember staring up at the television. The news said the U.S. had begun dropping bombs on Iraq. They were calling the campaign Shock and Awe. I can't really describe how I felt. I remember thinking the title seemed very appropriate. It described the experience of giving birth to my first child very well. It seemed so surreal that he was born on the very day we went to war. It's even more surreal to think he turns 4 today and we are still there.

The next weeks of my life were such a blur. I'm sure most mothers would agree that those first few weeks are a blur. I had never been so scared in all my life. Gabriel was this tiny little baby and I was so unexperienced. There were problems too. He wasn't perfectly healthy. We were told there were genetic problems but no clue as to what they were. He failed his hearing screens. He had something that seemed like reflux. It got scarier though. It was soon evident that it was more than reflux. He started having 'episodes'. They were later diagnosed as seizures. His body would seize up, he would stop breathing, he would LITERALLY turn blue, he would go completely limp and we had to resuscitate him so many times in those weeks. I can't even describe it.

After a 10 day stay in the NICU of our local Children's Hospital, Gabriel was diagnosed with hypoparathyroidism. His calcium levels were dangerously low and causing hypocalcemic seizures. We had so many different tests and doctors. In the following months he was diagnosed with a hearing loss, exotropia, a severe developmental delay and a rare chromosomal deletion. The deletion was so rare we had no idea what to expect.

We still really don't know what to expect. Things are more clear than 4 years ago but no clear picture of the long term effects. We do know Gabriel has mental retardation but the severity in uncertain. I have always thought Gabriel would walk but he was recently diagnosed with his achilles tendon being too tight. I'm sure there is something they can do about this but it is scary and disconcerting to hear.

One thing I can say for sure, Gabriel is the sweetest, happiest little boy you will ever meet. He is such a blessing to everyone he meets. He is ray of pure sunshine. I am the luckiest mom ever.

tired tired tired

2007-03-18T11:30:00.000-04:00

Oh. my. God. I am soooooo tired. I have been fighting with insomnia for about a week now. I managed to get to bed a little bit earlier last night BUT I had to get up earlier today. For some reason that is inexplicable Tristan woke up early. Maybe being forced to get up will help combat the insomnia. Tristan is so grumpy and whiny right now. Maybe a nap is in my future?

So how was your St. Pat's day? Mine was okay. We all slept really late yesterday. I mean really late *lol*. Tim and I had hoped to have a date yesterday. We sort of did but it was more of a family outing than a date *lol*. No one was available to watch the boys so we took them out with us. We went to this great little Mexican restaurant and then grocery shopping.

Tim did the sweeeeeetest thing ever! I fell in love with this big floppy white lamb and he bought it for me :)! Expect a LO coming soon ;)!

Not much planned for today. I'm sooo tired I would be suprised if I accomplish anything!

I shall leave you with a layout of Gabriel. This is my most favorite photo of Gabriel ever!! I used the fabulous Kathy Moore's Sunny Side Up kit!

Read full credits HERE

TGIF?

2007-03-17T04:31:00.000-04:00

Boy, I have had some creative titles this week, eh? Friday was a pretty lazy day here. I got up and started cleaning straightaway. I have found that cleaning before I hit the computer is smarter. I always have to check my e-mail though. First of all, I'm an e-mail junkie and second my inbox only holds so much!

I intended to do some designing this afternoon but it just didn't happen. I became overwhelmed with the urge to backup files. I have managed to recoup a lot of my stuff since my HD crash and I have zero desire to ever experience this again. So I finally sat down and did a backup of all the important stuff.

I also got in a nice nap, I was very surprised my boys were willing to take a nap this afternoon. It must have been the dreary weather. I mean it's nicer than it was yesterday but I miss Spring! The weather in Kentucky is so wonky and unpredictable. It will be late April before it ever gets predictably nice.

Tim came out this evening and we went to visit my aunt. We had actually planned to go out and see a movie but my aunt didn't feel up to watching the boys so we just decided to hang out for awhile. Tim tried to install her DSL for her but there was a problem with the phone lines. I think we may be on for a real date tomorrow though! Cross your fingers for us! We have been hanging out every day but it's so nice to go out!

Before I depart, I shall share with you a LO I've been forced to sit on!! The divalicious Kathy Moore debuted her new store at Scrapbook Graphics today!! I love love love this kit. It's so bright and fun and funky! You must have Hang Your Star today!!

Read the full credits HERE!

Dreary, dreary, dreary

2007-03-16T03:19:00.000-04:00

Thursday was unbearably dreary here. It was cold, overcast and rainy all day. I couldn't muster the energy to venture out at all. The day has also seemed unusually long to me. I'm still adjusting the to new daylight savings thing, I guess.

I got a bit done around the house today. I am really a terrible cleaner. I hate it. I'm sure the people that enjoy cleaning are few and far between but I really hate it. I know I have to clean but it just seems like such an extraordinary waste of time to me. I did get some stuff done though so I'm proud of myself :). I also got all my bed linens washed. I love sleeping on freshly washed linens, it is sooo comforting and welcoming. It's heaven!

I have great news!! I get to stay on Micheline Martin's CT!! We exchanged some e-mails back and forth today and she invited me to stay. I am SO giddy! It really made my whole week honestly!! I love her stuff so much and she is the absolute sweetest! Consider me on cloud 9! Stop by and check her out today!! Scrap Outside the Box and One of A Kind Scrapz!

I know I haven't been very chatty lately and I'm sorry. I have just been so tired and I'm struggling to remember my meds every day. Sadly, in the last week or two I have forgotten them much more than I have remembered them. That is sooo not good, I'm going to suffer the consequences if I'm not careful!

I'm back to work on the Everyday Celebrations Collection. Not sure when it will be done but I'm thinking no later than next week. I still haven't decided where it is going to go! Look for it somewhere soon though *lol*!

I shall leave you with my latest LO! I needed to scrap something deliciously springy today. When I came across this photo I knew this kit would be absolutely perfect!! Stop by The Digi Shoppe today and check out Rose Farver's A New Day!

See the full credits HERE!

My humps...

2007-03-15T03:06:00.000-04:00

Again, I couldn't resist!! I know it's wrong on so many levels but Tristan loves that song *lol* I'm sure it wont' be quite as cute when he's 14 and singing something even worse than that, but now I'm going to enjoy it!

I had a moderately productive day!! I got a little bit of light cleaning done around the house. Really more maintenance than anything. My major feat was getting these awesome ribbons done!!
I am sooo happy with the way these turned out. These were a true labor of love! They make an awesome addition to any page, especially all those hot freestylin' layouts rocking the galleries lately. You can find these in my ACOT and Elemental Scraps shoppes. They are 20% for 2 days only! Grab them for $2.40!!

I couldn't wait to try them on a page so I whipped this one up, featuring some of the amazing designers I have the honor of CT'ing for!! I used the Once Upon A Pond kit by Paula Duncan and Christy Lyle at Sweet Shoppe Designs. This layout also features hot Cardboard Flowers and Split'Em's by Micheline Martin!

Read the full credits HERE!

Tuesdays gone....

2007-03-14T02:56:00.000-04:00

...with the wind! Sorry, I couldn't resist. Have I ever mentioned that I sing ALL THE TIME. I do, ask anyone who has ever had the pleasure of my company. I am very likely to randomly burst into song *lol*. I think it's one of the more loveable things about me :P!

Tuesday has been a busy day here in Bella Gypsy Land. I had a bunch of errands to run and finally got the grocery shopping done. I'm so glad I finally got that behind me, I've been forced to eat out for days and as much as I enjoy it, boy does it get old!

I have some great happy news! I'm on Micheline Martin's guest CT! I love these guest gigs! I just hate the thought of giving them up *sniff sniff*! Micheline has some awesome awesome stuff!! You don't want to miss out on here. Check her out at Scrap Outside the Box and One of a Kind Scrapz!

I have another fabulously girly LO to share today!! This was taken at the same time the other photo was taken of my cousin and I. I'm such a cutie patootie aren't I? I used Traci Reed's Black Lace kit from the Natural Woman Collection!

Read the full credits HERE!

Monday, Monday...

2007-03-13T01:54:00.000-04:00

It's been a desperately quiet Monday here in Bella Gypsy Land! Again, I'm sad to say, my day went under accomplished! I did manage to get more done today than I did over the weekend but still left feeling frustrated with what didn't get done...ugh! There simply aren't enough hours in the day I'm having a rough time adjusting to our new Daylight Savings Time. Why did it move up 3 weeks again? *argh*

I did manage to get one big thing done that has been bugging me. I mopped my kitchen floor. I can't express to you enough how much i *H*A*T*E mopping! It is absolutely my least favorite thing to do. Give me dishes or laundry or anything else but don't make me mop! I'm glad that it is finally done but I would have rather taken a beating than to do it!

I spent a good part of my day trying to get my living room tidy. This room looks like a cyclone hit it most of the time. Probably because a cyclone did hit. A 3 foot tall cyclone named Tristan!! I never could have imagine that anyone or anything could be quite so destructive as Tristan is. He can lay waste to a perfectly tidy room in minutes. I feel like this rather large part of my day was ill spent because you literally CAN NOT tell that I did anything. It's a complete disaster area again. I can't even fathom what it would look like if I hadn't cleaned at all!!

Tomorrow should be a busy day here. I've got about 2.1 million things on my list and I'm sure more than half of them will get pushed until Wednesday!! How is a girl supposed to find time to design with all this stuff to do!!

Before I depart, I shall leave you with another LO I did. I'm so stoked I found this portrait of my cousin, Teia and I! We were about 7 when this was taken. It's a looooooong story but Teia and I are no longer in contact with each other. I wonder about her sometimes. As kids we were pratically insperable!! We were T-Squared!! I knew that Paula Duncan's Teeny Bopper kit was *perfect* match for this photo!!

Read Full Credits HERE

Boring Sunday and a Toot!!

2007-03-12T02:36:00.000-04:00

Hey bloggers! My Sunday wasn't vastly different from my Saturday *lol*. Kinda of boring *yawn*. Sadly, the day was once again unaccomplished. I felt better today but developed a case of the crampies late in the afternoon. No idea what that was all about!! Thankfully a little dose of Ibuprofen fixed me all up!

Mostly, I scrapped today. I had a ton of other stuff I needed to be doing but it just didn't get done. I completed like 4 pages though! I promise you'll get to see them over the next few days. I like to space them out for maximum CT exposure. I figure that is the least I can do for all the fabulous ladies I represent!

Speaking of CTs I have FABULOUS NEWS!! Make way for a MAJOR TOOT!! I was accepted to the fabulously talented Kathy Moore's guest CT!! I'm sooo excited! Kathy's stuff is just OUT OF THIS WORLD!! Look for her delicious designs at Scrapbook Graphics very soon. You don't want to miss out on Studio Kathy!!
Wanna drool a bit? Check out the yummy stuff coming your way here in the Inspiration Gallery. I wonder how much bribery it would take to get her to keep me *lol*!

I had get my scanner reinstalled today! Thank goodness I still had the software installation disk, I'm so scatterbrained it really is a miracle I had it! I had a few scrumptious CT kits to use that called for pics of a more feminine nature. I prowled through my photo albums and found some girly pics to scrap!

Thank goodness for my guy Tim! When I was ready to throw it out the window he walked me through the installation process and got it working. Then my sweetie brought me a yummy veggie pizza tonight. Am I a lucky girl or what?

Here is one of the layouts I did today featuring a freshly scanned in photo of my sister, Lena (Brandenburg). This was taken at my 19th birthday party!! Isn't she cute!! I knew Traci Reed's Strappy Sandals kit from the Natural Woman Collection would be perfect!

Full Credits can be seen HERE

blech...

2007-03-10T22:12:00.000-05:00

Blech. That pretty much sums up my Saturday. Another day, I feel like I accomplished nothing. I guess because I actually didn't accomplish anything. So frustrating!

I have felt icky today. Just plain old icky. One minute, I'm freezing so I put on my sweatshirt. A minute later, I'm burning up and the sweatshirt comes back off. It has made me feel so yucky today. I can't seem to get comfortable.

Thankfully, Gabriel has felt much better today and Tristan has been really well behaved (for a 2 year old *lol*). We even all took a nap this afternoon which was much needed. Despite sleeping late this morning I was overcome with tiredness and could barely keep my eyes open!

I hope I don't pay for my nap by not being able to sleep tonight! That would be just my luck. I am having a rough time with sleeping lately!

Well, I wish I had more exciting stuff to share but I've just had a super boring day!!

I did get an awesome LO done last night! I used Paula Duncan's Teen Rebel kit!