FABulous Scrappin

The Artist

Little Pea got this fun easel for her b-day this year.  It got me thinking...  What hobbies will she enjoy when she is older?  (As you can see from her Master Piece above, she already has an artistic side.)

My sister has her fingers crossed that she will take up quilting.  I, of course, have dreams of sitting next to her and scrapbooking our days away.  My husband would like to have a little golfing buddy.  (I just hope he doesn't make her caddy the entire time.)  

We all know that we don't get to decide.  

Little Pea has had an independent personality from day one.  She will have her own interests.  She will make her own way.  I feel so lucky to get to watch her grow into her own.  Each day makes me smile when I see what life has in store for her.

Get up and go

 The past few weeks Little and I haven't had our usual Mommy and Me classes to go to.  Things ended for the summer and that left us a little out of sorts.  I was determined to step things up this week and may have over done it...

• The Hubs was off of work on Monday (recovering from that bachelor party he went to.  We aren't 21 anymore.  Hee!)  
• Tuesday, Little and I met some new friends at a park for her first real play date. 
• Wednesday, we went to Mommy and Me Yoga for the first time.  (This was awesome!  I highly recommend it to anyone with kids any age.  Little loved it and even wanted to practice at home after.)
• Today, (Thursday) we went to a new toddler ballet class I found in Laguna Beach.  
• And tomorrow, (Friday) we are off to the Microsoft Store to try out Interactive Story Time.

Let's just say, I am tired, but very happy and Little has been a very happy baby.  We love to get up and go.  The only problem with this schedule is, well, I haven't had any time for errands.  But seriously, who really needs to go grocery shopping or pick up the dry cleaner, right?

I packed a picnic lunch for us today and after ballet class we took it over to the beach.  I got some great shots of little and she loved people watching.  

Hope your week has been a fun as ours.  And let me know if you want to do our grocery shopping for us.  :)

Mommy Moment Monday - 7/19/10 Busted by the Baby

 I was in the car with my hubby and baby girl.  We drove into our local shopping center which has a grocery store, gas station, dentist, cleaners, and a Burger King.  Right as we drove into the parking lot my little one starts pointing out the window and saying, "Fry...fry?"  

My husband just looked at me and said, "Be honest...  How many times a week do you go to Burger King?"  

The baby totally sold me out!  

Needless to say, I think I need to cut back her french fry intake and maybe mine too.

Happy Monday!  I hope everyone had a FABulous weekend.  :)

Mommy Moment Monday - 5/17/10 and Loud Parishioner

 I thought this little story would be fun to share as my Mommy Moment.  It's in the layout below.  I call it, Loud Parishioner.

 Journalling Reads:  Yesterday, at church, the priest walked up to the alter, raised his hands and said, "Let us Pray".  The church fell silent and then you screamed, "YYYAAA!"  Oh my gosh!  I couldn't believe it.  The entire church started to laugh.  I'm sure I turned red, but Daddy held up nicely.  You are definitely more vocal these days and we love it!

I was inspired by a layout in the Studio Calico gallery by member, lizbonj.  When I saw her squares I was instantly draw to the idea.  

I recently printed some of my favorite photos and I love this one of my daughter.

I don't have a great story to tell about the photo.  I took it one day back in January right after I bought this little bikini for her.  I thought the suit was cute, so I just started snapping shots.  Despite this boring story, I really wanted to use this picture in my layout, so I cut it down to 3 inches square and sanded the edges with a nail file to distress it a bit.  

I then grabbed my journalling notebook I keep for my daughter.  This is my daughter's Book of Firsts.  Well, the notebook started that way anyhow.  Now I use it to record special moments she has, what she is doing, funny things she does...  I try to write in it once a week and I always date my entries.  Anyway, I took the above photo on Jan 20th, so I looked back in my notebook for entries around this time.  When I found this funny story of us at church I just started to smile.  And low and behold "Loud Parishioner" was born.  

This is the first time I have created a layout in this manner and I really like how it turned out.  Usually I am writing directly about the exact picture on my page or I at least have the story in mind before I start my page.  

It's fun to watch my scrap style change.  There are no rules to scrapping.  It's whatever makes you happy.  :)

Have a FABulous Monday!

Letter to Your Children

 

Well, Mother's Day is over and with it another letter is written.

Every year, since I was pregnant, I write my daughter a letter around Mother's Day.  I write about what is going on in our lives, what she is doing, how big she is, what our vacations are for the year, what it is like to be her Mommy...  I really just right whatever pops into my head at the time.  

I plan to save these letters and give them to her when she is an adult.  (Not exactly sure when, but I'm sure I'll know the right time when it comes.)  

The first year I wrote this letter, I didn't even know my daughter's name. (I was only 5 months pregnant.)  My letter consisted mostly of comments about my pregnancy, morning sickness and wanting to meet her.  This year's letter is so different.  I wrote about loving being her Stay At Home Mom and all of the fun Mommy and Me classes we take.  It's amazing how different our lives are in just two short years.  (I write on a card or stationary, but never seal the envelopes.  This way I can go back and read my letters whenever I want.)

So I encourage all of you to write a letter to your kid/kids sometime this month.  You don't have to have fancy paper, just grab a piece of computer paper and give it a go.  Mother's Day is all about you right, so give a little back.  Tell them what life is like for them and you right now.  Think of how much they will love reading these letters in 20 years.  

If you don't have kids... yet, don't let that stop you.  Write a letter to yourself about what you love in you day today, or your hopes and dreams for tomorrow.  If your kids are already adults, great!  Write a letter and mail it to them now.  You're lucky and don't have to wait to give it to them.  :)  

I love technology and am addicted to e-mail, but there is something to be said about snail mail.  I can't remember the last time I got a real letter in the mail...

Mommy Moment Monday

 

You know you are a Stay At Home Mom when, your idea of working out your biceps is 20 minutes of rocking your 22 pound baby to sleep for her nap.   (You should see my guns.  Hee!  Hee!)

Have a great Monday!

Catherine Wheel Scarf

It is a beautiful day today.  I mean one of those just perfect days.  The weather is unbelievable.  It's a, sit outside with a glass of iced tea and just enjoy, kind of a day.  I love it!  Not too hot and not to cold.  I guess this is spring in CA.

I just got my beautiful angel baby down for a nap.  I use the term "angel" loosely today, as she has a new tooth coming in and it's been a nightmare for both her and I.  I usually just toss her down for her nap, but I felt so bad for her today I ended up rocking her for 20 minutes.  Although, my arms are tired, I really love letting her fall asleep on me.  Isn't it the most wonderful feeling when it's quiet in the house and you have this warm tiny body clinging to you?  I adore how she rests her head on my shoulder and plays with my hair as she slowly relaxes.  And the best part is when you feel their body get heavier and their breathing start to slow.  That's when you know, you just know, they are asleep in the safest place in the world, your arms.  Obviously, this added to my beautiful day.  :)

Okay, enough gooshy Mommy stuff!  On to the crafty part of my post.  I haven't been scrappin much lately.  Boo!  I miss it so.  I need to get to the store and print some of my favorite photos to scrap, so paper crafts are on hold for now.

However, I have been working on this Catherine Wheel scarf.

 

I'm crocheting!  (Of course, my oh so talented sister, put me up to this.)  And it's been really fun so far.  It's nice to have a project I can take along anywhere I go.  It's very portable.  

I feel pretty cool because this pattern calls for two different colors of yarn.  I've never done that before!  Go me!  And really it's been a long time since I've even crocheted.  

If you look closely at the photo below you'll see rows in a blue yarn and then in my red yarn.  I love how parts of them really blend together and look so uniform.

 

My sis completed this pattern scarf and it looks amazing!  Check it out here.

Hope everyone is having a great week!  Enjoy your beautiful day.  I'm sure whatever the weather is like for you, that there is some beauty in there.  Look close.  :) 

 
 

You know you are a Stay At Home Mom When...

 

There are so many funny little things that happen to us Mama's in life and really, you just have to laugh at them.  What else can you do?

I read this article that asked women to complete the sentence, "You know you are a Stay At Home Mom when..."  Some of the answers were soo funny and I could totally relate.  Really all Moms can relate not just the SAHM.  Here are a couple of my favorites.

... you consider a solo trip to the grocery store quality "me" time.

—Guest Kara

you have a bun on the top of your head...and no make-up on.....and jammies are your daily attire...

—Guest mandi

You are forced to use the toilet while holding your baby on your lap and with your whining 2 year old watching you and asking constantly when you are finished.

—Guest Sarah

You stop carrying pictures of your kids in your purse because they're always with you.

—Guest Maria

You can check them all out here at stayathomemoms.about.com.

I'm going to share a funny Mommy or SAHM moment of my past week every Monday in honor of this fun article.

Here's mine from last week:

I take my daughter to music class on Tuesdays and she loves it!  She dances around, plays all sorts of different musical instruments.  She's always very good in the class, but last week she ran off to the corner.  She does this every now and then, so I thought nothing of it until I heard her grunting.  I wasn't the only one who heard her...  The poor little thing was turning all red and grunting very loudly, while the entire music classed watched.  She was even holding onto this bar at the wall for support.  I was mortified!  

I quickly grabbed her and rushed her outside for her to finished her, um, business in private.  

When  came back into the class, after applying a fresh diaper, well, let's just say we all had a good laugh.  ;)  

That's my Mommy Moment.  What doesn't kill us (of embarrassment) makes us stronger, right?

Princess Ballet

We started a new Mommy and Me class last week.  

Mommy and Me time is my favorite part of being a Stay At Home Mom.  I love the quality time I get with my little one on a daily basis.

We've been taking a music class and a swim class for a while, but now that she is 18 months we found a new class, Mommy and Me Princess Ballet.

Isn't that leotard too cute?  Thank you Target!

The class is for girls 18 mths to 3 years, so my little dear is the youngest.  She wasn't so much participating in the class as just watching and trying to absorb it all this first few times.

I think it is so important to get her out of the house and interacting with other kids.  She loves to learn from watching others.  It's also been great for me to meet other moms who are home too.  I've made some great new friends.    

And here she is in her princess skirt trying to walk on her tip toes and in a straight line.  That's a lot to take in at her age, but I think she did pretty good.  :)  You go girl!

 
 

30 Minutes

Let's just say your husband takes the baby with him to his parent's house for dinner and you have 30 minutes alone (except for the dog) before you have to be someplace...  What do you do?

I mean, 30 minutes by yourself... that's unheard of.  Do you sit down with a glass of wine, maybe watch some TV?  What about reading a book or working on some scrapbook pages?  

I decided to... wait for it... clean my toilets!  Crazy right!?  I figured, I have three bathrooms and 30 mins, that's 10 mins a bathroom. I grabbed the toilet brush, some clorox spray, paper towels and was off.  It's amazing how much you can get done in that short amount of time when you put your mind to it.  I loved cleaning without my little one home.  I hate having her near those horrible smells.  Yes, I was exhausted by the time I was finished, but my bathrooms got a much needed quick clean and I feel better for it.  :)

What would you do with 30 minutes to yourself?  (I hope it's more exciting than my 30 mins.)

And now for a sneak peak.

I've completed my first ever mini album.  I haven't photographed the entire thing yet, but will share more with you later.  It was so much fun and I love how it turned out!