Latest project...

Here is the album I made for my friend Nikki who had a baby girl a month ago. The scan doesn't do the papers justice. All the green, pink, blue and peach colored papers are shimmery. You can click the images to see them larger.

This last page is an envelope I made to keep memorabilia in. I ended up making the envelope because I couldn't find anything like this at the LSS to put in the album!

Morgan took Owen ice skating this morning. Owen doesn't have skates. Morgan skates and pulls Owen in the sled or Owen plays in the snow and hits the hockey puck around with his stick or whatever he finds to do. He was all excited to go until he ran into the coffee table. Then I got up (I was still in bed while they were getting ready) to see what happened and he got all whimpery and didn't want to go. I talked him into going and trying to have fun. Hopefully they are having a good time. They haven't come back yet!

The weather is decent today. Finally. The temp is already 30˚ with a high of 35 or so forecasted. The sun is also out! Doesn't happen very often! Tonight Owen is spending the night at Mimi's house while Morgan and I go to his work holiday party.

Ah Friday...

Here is the picture of the week from our house! Owen LOVES chocolate pudding. Morgan makes some REALLY good homemade stuff. However, this week it turned out a little thin. But Owen loved it anyway. He had the leftovers for breakfast on Monday and it was quite the mess. This is the less messy of the pictures!

It was another busy week around here. Not as busy as last week but close. We had a dinner meeting at church on Tuesday. Toddler class began on Wednesday. Hooray! Owen and I were both pretty excited about this. I worked two days, and it's been pretty busy there too. Lots of refinances for the lower mortgage rates. Yesterday morning we went to Lisa's to do some playing and creating. Then Naunee picked Owen up so I could finish getting ready for the baby shower. Lori, Maggie and I threw Nikki a baby shower yesterday evening. It was a good time. Her daughter is doing very well. Gaining weight and just progressing like a little rock star. Hopefully she will be able to come home soon.

Here are the onesies I made for her.

I also made a first year scrapbook for her. She just need to put pictures in each month and record milestones. I have pictures of that too but need to do some resizing before I post them.

This weekend is Morgan's work holiday party. It's a game show theme. Should be interesting. And Sunday we are being new memebered at church. I don't know what the correct term is. Confirmed as members I guess. We've been attending this church for a couple of years and finally decided to make it official. It doesn't really change anything, just puts us on the record I guess.

Other random things to share...

Right now there is a beautiful cardinal sitting in the lilac bush outside the study window. I love to watch him in the winter. He's been sitting there for quite a while chirping away. We could put out some food for him but the darn squirrels would find it before the cardinal would!

The weather is supposed to warm up today and into the weekend. I'm so tired of wearing a coat. I know it's only January but I really prefer to wear a fleece or sweatshirt and a vest. So that's what I've been doing. It drives me crazy to have all that bulkiness on my arms and in my arm pits!!

I've been working on some fun t-shirts for my friends Lisa and Dawn. I'm also knitting a blanket for Nik's daughter. It was supposed to be done for the shower yesterday but I'm a slow knitter. So I'll just keep plugging along and give it to her when it's done!

I've been a little aggitated this week. I don't know if it's because of having the shower yesterday and getting ready for that or just it being January. Or being busy at work with a lot of files. It helps me to be able to spend some time creating each day and I haven't been able to really do that consistently this week or last so I think doing that will help. And getting so exercise, which I'm working on.

Yesterday morning I took apart the bathroom sink drain and tackled the clog. It's been a slow drain for quite sometime but this last week and a half it's gotten terrible. To the point where it wasn't draining at all. So it was either call a drain cleaner guy or do it myself. I decided to go it on my own. I took the trap off and cleaned that and that didn't do it. So I got the pipe snake thingy and started jamming that around in the pipe. Eventually I got it all cleared out and it's draining perfectly!! Saved myself $100 by getting down and dirty! I don't know what was in the pipe but it was gross! Thank goodness for rubber gloves!

Happy Friday everyone! I hope you are all staying warm!

Busy bees...

We've been busy, busy, busy around here this week. Monday Morgan was home with us. I worked for part of the day while Morgan and Owen did boy stuff. Then my mom and sis came for dinner. Morgan made a turkey and some fixings. It was a fun way to spend MLK day. Tuesday we went to my friend Lisa's house for the day. Lisa and I scrapped and watched inaugural stuff while the kids played. Another great day! I got a ton done on a project I'm working on. Can't share because it's a gift. But I will share after I give it away. Wednesday Owen played at open gym with a neighbor friend while I went to the doctor. Just a check-up and discussion of working on what I already know I need to work on! Then we had lunch with Mimi. And in the evening I had dinner with Dawn and Lisa. Which was super fun with the exception of the totally inappropriate PDA displayed by the over 45 couple seated by our table. (And I believe the man was married and NOT to this particular woman!) Today we went swimming with Lisa and her twins and another friend and her twins. Had lunch and then played at the indoor maze! More fun for Owen! He LOVES to play with friends!!

Other thoughts to share...

My sister is great. First, she babysits Owen and loves him tons. She also fixed my knitting project that I screwed up! Thanks sissy!!

Noelia joined FB and I'm super thrilled about that!

I walked on the treadmill two times this week!

We are throwing Nikki a baby shower next week. Should be fun! He little one is doing fabulously as a preemie. We are so happy for all of them!

The temperature is dipping again here. Not going to be as cold as before but still below zero. Tomorrow may be a movie and popcorn day!

Oh, and I'm reading a great book right now recommended by Liz and Lisa (two great moms!) titled NO! Why kids of all ages need to hear it and ways parents can say it by David Allen Walsh Phd. I find that I do things with Owen or for Owen that I would prefer not to. Like give in. Especially to avoid a fit or tantrum. And this needs to stop. So I'm reading this book. I also have another one about changing behavior in 5 days that I'm reading. By Kevin Lehman. I'm not far enough into that one yet but he's one of my favorite parenthood authors. He wrote a great book titled First Time Mom. It was one of the best books I read while I was pregnant and I often go back to advice in it.

Happy Friday everyone!

More tales from toddlerhood aka mommy is nuts...

Owen has been sleeping on the floor for a week now. Yes, that one night of us sleeping on the floor turned into a new habit. I'm fine with it. He's happy. He mostly sleeps through the night better than he had been. Maybe it's because he's getting over his cold or maybe it's the change of perspective. Who knows. He's sleeping. Once he GOES to sleep that is. Some nights he will NOT fall asleep without one of us in there. More often than not it has to be me. I love to be loved. Really, I do. But I'd prefer he show it in a less needy and whiney way. Less throw-himself-on-the-floor-screaming and more kiss-hug-kiss-I-love-you-mommy. You know what I mean?

His language skills are also developing at quite a pace right now. It's fascinating. He's learning new words and stringing them together to make all kinds of wonderful sentences. Why just yesterday he yelled "OH NO! OH NO!", from the dining room where he was playing with things he shouldn't have been while I was ignoring his playing with this he shouldn't have been. I thought maybe if I stopped telling him to stop it he would just get bored and find something else to scratch the table with. I went in to find out what the "OH NO" was about. He told me "dat fell on the floor!" Dat turned out to be a basket, which was okay to play with, so I told him to get down and pick it up. To which he replied "NO! You pick it up!" Now I'd like to tell you that it didn't sound the way it appears to have sounded. That he just forgot to say please. But it really did sound exactly like it appears that it did. So I left the room. When I was teaching I told my students I didn't argue with 8 year olds and that when I said no, I rarely changed my mind. And I rarely did. I was good at not arguing with them. I'm working hard at not arguing with my 2 year old too. He just doesn't understand when I tell him I don't change my mind! As I've mentioned before, I got 8 year olds. I don't get 2 year olds.

Amongst his language development he's also developed this sound he makes when he thinks something is absurb or when he's disgusted. It's one of those throaty sounds that I can't describe with a word. Think teenage girl being told she can't drive all her friends around in the car after midnight. Are you hearing it?? Well, Owen's been making that sound when we tell him no, or he can't do something or have something or when he's basically not getting his way. I've mentioned before that noises bother me, right? Well, this one is bothering me. I'm trying to ignore it with the hopes that it will go away. But it still gets on my nerves. I've been wondering where he'd pick up such a sound too. He doesn't watch anything bad on TV. Annoying, but not bad. Until the other day when Morgan said something that I thought was ridiculous and I made the same sound! And then I knew. It was from me!! Like the damn it he had been saying a month ago. So if you ever wonder what your annoying or bad habits are just hang around a toddler for a couple of years and the bad habits will present themselves in your child! The damn it did go away by the way. It's now "OH NO!" And he says it ALL THE TIME!

Lastly, Owen loves the phone. LOVES IT! And has for awhile. He has quite a few of his own phones too. They make all manner of noises. Ringing, talking, farm animal sounds. Mimi even has old cell phones at her house for him to play with. Naunee lets him play with her real phone. (Which he called 911 on one day!) Despite having all these phones at his disposal he still wants to play with the real deal. And he's even getting good at talking on it when there are people on the other end. But what has been really amusing is the conversations he has when there is no one there! And his favorite person to call is Maggie. He LOVES to talk to Maggie on the phone. Mostly when she's not really on the phone. But when she is he will say some stuff too. But today he called her several times. One time was a pretty long conversation. He told her about why puppy's bed was in the hall way. How I had been vacuuming. How he pooped in his diaper and now mommy had to change it. And a bunch of other stuff I didn't quite get but he knew exactly what he was saying. Later in the evening he called her from downstairs to tell her a few more things. I wasn't down there but Morgan told me he was calling Maggie again.

I really do love all the things he's doing right now. Well, most all of them. I can live without a few. And I'd like him to start doing a few other things too. Like using the toilet. When I suggest he do this he says, "No, O fine." But he wants to wear underpants. Maybe next week I'll get up the energy to put some on him and see what happens. Maybe Lisa's daughter can come over for the week and train him.

And now I must go to bed so I can be ready for what tomorrow brings. We are having the neighbor boy over for a few hours. Could be interesting. But I'm hoping it's not!

Gnomes for Wordless Wednesday!

1. The Gnome in Somebody's Front Yard, 2. Gnome, 3. Gnomes, 4. gnome through the viewfinder, 5. Snow Gnome, 6. Another Gnome (my favorite), 7. The creepy $3.00 Gnome, 8. gnome alone, 9. Stately Gnome, 10. Lil Gnome, 11. Gnome 365~ Day #3~ 01/03/08~ Blue Skies and Cold Wind at the park., 12. Itty bitty 'shrooms and a gnome popped up!, 13. Gnomes, 14. Nameless gnome, 15. My Lawn Gnome is Home!

One more...

"Welcome pansies. Please feel free to bask in my glow!" - the lemur king.

That kid!

Is STILL asleep! It's 8:30am and he's still asleep! I of course had a crappy nights sleep! That good ol' crappy sleep karma. I couldn't fall asleep and then after I did I woke up to find Morgan's face 3" inches from my ear with his mouth open BREATHING! Yes, I know breathing is a good thing. I'm glad he does it. I just wish it wasn't so close to my ear! I like it DARK and QUIET when I'm trying to go to sleep. And he's so not helpful in the quiet department. Especially when's he sick and he's got the mister thing gurgling next to him.

So I got up at 8 and decided to make sure Owen was still alive because this whole sleeping through the night thing rarely happens. I peeked in only to find his bed EMPTY! Yes, no kid. Next to the bed is a pile of blankets. With him in them. It appears he rolled out of bed onto the floor but somehow managed to land softly enough to not wake me or disturb him enough to cry about it. Now if I were a sadistic parent (like he is a sadistic toddler) I would go in there and get close to his ear and yell "WAKE UP!!!" and then start yanking him around and yell "Mommy hungry!" until he gets up and gets me some cereal. At the moment I'm contemplating chocolate chip cookies or cereal for breakfast. I'd like to have the cereal but I don't know if there is enough for both of us and if I eat it I'm sure it's exactly what he will want when he finally decides to wake from his peaceful slumber.

After I verified his state of aliveness (I'm sure there's a better word for this but my mushy mom brain can't think of what it would be) I decided I would take a shower. Yes, in the MORNING! It was great even if it wasn't very long. I feel clean and ready for the day! And just to be a rebel I'm going to drink some water today AND take a vitamin!

And to share a little funny...

Good morning!...

wait, no, it's 10pm. I missed the morning. Actually, that's not true at all. I was painfully aware of the morning because I slept on Owen's floor for most of it. I was having a good nights sleep when he woke me up at 12:45am with his crying and coughing. I think his boogery nose was bothering him. He blows/wipes it on his sleeve but only when he's upset and crying. I try to explain to him that he will feel better if he blows it in a tissue, regularly, when he's not pissed. This logic just doesn't sink in. He was also hungry. Lately, he's ALWAYS hungry! Perhaps he's growing. He also likes to pull the "Owen hungry" thing when it's time for bed or a nap. Tonight I nipped that in the bud. He had a bath, which usually helps clean his nose out. Then he had a snack of pretzels and milk. Then we brushed teeth (so I don't worry about them rotting while he sleeps) and then two stories that he chose and George and Elmo are sleeping with him. It was also after 9 when he went to bed. He had a good day of playing and a decent nap. It should be a good night for sleeping. Which generally means that I will not be able to fall asleep! I would like to know what I've done to the universe to get such crappy sleep karma. Oh, and if I'm tired enough to fall asleep Morgan will probably be sawing logs loud enough to deafen the neighbors.

I wrote a great blog post last night too. In my head. It was good. I'd love to tell you all about it but when I woke up all I could remember was that it was a good post. I write a lot in my head when I can't sleep. And it's generally gone in the morning. Not unlike so many of my other great thoughts.

So I'll just share some more random crap, I mean stuff, from our day. Owen and I wore our John Deere visor antler things today. We got them at the state fair. He found them in his closet and we both had to wear them. He looks darn cute with them on too. Me not so much. Especially since I didn't have a shower today. Yucky hair. But he looked good. We also had to wear them for our nap. After he fell asleep I took mine off. But he looked pretty cute sound asleep with his green foam antler visor on. I would have taken a picture but I didn't for the same reason I let him sleep with his antlers on. Once that kid is asleep I do not wake him up! I was a bit worried that he would strangle himself with it on but I decided to take the chance and leave him be. Turns out it worked itself up his head rather than down and they ended up on the floor. I live dangerously.

I am going to create a new snack for kids called "Sompin Else". It will be a mixture of a whole crap-ton (I love that word too Jill!) of things so when you get to the end of the snack stash and still have not found what the kid wants you can give him or her "Sompin Else". Which is what Owen always wants lately. Last night it was finally yogurt. I ask him what he would like. But he can't stop crying long enough to tell me that part. Just long enough to say "O hungry!" Yes, I've got that. LOUD AND CLEAR! NOW WHAT THE HELL DO YOU WANT SO I CAN GET IT, SHOVE IT IN YOUR MOUTH, AND GO BACK TO BED!?!?!? These are not the words I used. I try to stay calm. Which involves a lot of eyerolling and sighing on my part. Oh, and teeth clenching. (I think I may grind my teeth at night too.) It's always "Sompin Else". He can't tell me. I just keep suggesting things until I finally get to whatever "Sompin Else" is. And it's NEVER the same! Maggie asked me today why I just don't tell him no. Like when he wakes up in the middle of the night and such. Because he throws up. That's why. If he didn't throw up I'd put my head under my pillow and let him yell until he fell back to sleep or the cops came banging at the door. But he chokes and coughs until he throws up. I wish I could do that. I think it would come in handy sometimes. I also told her I pick my battles. And it seems like lately I pick fewer and fewer. And I don't know if he's workin' us or not. But I think he might be. When he's 8 I'll finally have the upper hand. Until then, I'm screwed. 8 year olds I know. 2 year olds, not so much. He has too much in common with the Screaming Banshee somedays! Oh, and my mom asked me why I don't just offer him two things and let him choose. Well, it's the middle of the freakin' night and he's not listening to me anyway and he generally says "no" to whatever I offer. Which obviously isn't one of the choices but try explaining that to a hysterical 2 year old who is starving! Daily I'm amazed at the number of people who have more than one child. Maybe other people just like more thrill and excitement than I do. Or they think they better have at least more than one option for care in their elder years. Don't put all your eggs in one basket. You could end up in a crappy old folks home.

And lastly, because I really should go to bed, I bought the movie Madagascar at Target today. It was on sale. We needed a new movie to watch obsessively, so I thought it would be a good change. Morgan isn't feeling well and I'd played enough today so we had a movie night. If you've not seen it, you should. It's funny! Super funny. And I will leave you with my favorite line from it.

"If you have poo, fling it now!" - The Monkeys with an English accent. The accent makes it.

So excited!!!

Remember my Deck of Me cards??? If not you can check them out on the sidebar. But it was a fun little challenge that Emily Falconbridge did in 2007. A fun little weekly project. One of my favorite things to work on in 2007. Last year there was not challenge. And I missed that. But this year Emily is back with a weekly challenge called 52Q. If you need a little creativity in your life each week stop over there and see what it's about!

Random thoughts for...what the heck day is it???

Tuesday, it's Tuesday. Got it. All day it's Tuesday. Today's post is about some random stuff. Because I'm in a random mood. Or my head is in a random place.

First, we are currently in the stating the obvious stage of toddlerhood. When the phone rings Owen yells, "Mommy! Phone!! MOOOMMMY PHOOONE!!!" Really?? Is the phone ringing??? When the timer goes off on the oven he yells, "TIMER!! TIMER!!!" Yes sir, that is the timer. Unless the timer is signaling bedtime or naptime. Then he yells, "NO!! NO!! NO!!" and throws himself on the floor. When he hears the mailman drop the mail through the slot he yells, "MAIL! Owen get it!!" When it gets dark he tells us it's dark out. My favorite though, and it doesn't fall in the obvious category, well maybe, is "Owen hungry". This is his response to lots of things. Particulary when told it will be time for bed soon. He and Morgan were at Target yesterday and Morgan told him they were going to go home and then read some stories Owen's response was "O hungry!" It never fails. Someone mentions bedtime and he's hungry. I think I'm going to get him on a 3 snacks 3 meals routine so he can't use this "O hungry" thing anymore.

Second, I'm a junkie. I'm not sure if I've mentioned it before but I am. I have a problem with sugar. And Little Debbie is my best friend. It would be nice if there were a lovely detox facility for us sugar junkies but there isn't. It would be easier if I were a drug addict (not really). Then I would be a thin addict and I could go to a nice expensive treatment facility to get clean. Instead I'm stuck trying to help myself. Which doesn't work. I'm the reason I'm a junkie in the first place so to try and help myself is kind of a contradiction. To help with my little problem I made chocolate chip cookies today! The problem isn't that I don't know what's good for me or what I need to do. The problem is that I'm not in place (mentally) where I can get myself to do anything about it. Somedays I don't eat a single bite of fruit or vegetables. Or drink much water. I know this needs to change. I know it. And I want to be a good example for Owen and his eating habits but I'm just stubborn and lazy about it.

Third, the winter grays are getting to me. When the temperature is bearable the sun isn't out. When the sun is out it's freakin' cold. I don't mind the snow. I just want to see some sun!

Okay, self-pity party is over! Have a great day! Don't forget to leave a comment below for a cute little calendar!!

Watch out... I carry a big stick!

On New Year's Day Morgan and I went ice skating at the park by our house. It's fun to be able to skate outside and not have it cost us anything!

When I see pictures of myself skating I always have two thoughts. 1.) Wow! I'm short. 2.) That's a BIG stick!

I love my ice skates. They are a sturdier boot than a figure skate with some padding and insulation but they have a figure blade on them. I wish they had made such a thing when I was a kid! My feet were always cold in figure skates. I couldn't wear figure skates now either because I just don't have the strength in my ankles anymore. But these skates are great and I only need to wear one pair of socks with them and my feet are always warm!

I had a little video I wanted to post to show my great skating skills but it won't upload. So maybe another time!

Also, I've decided that since I posted my giveaway on kind of a bad day for blogging and had a pretty short deadline, I'd give away two more calendars! If you would like to enter to win please leave a comment on this post and tell me why you need a calendar! (Same eligibility rule applies as last time.) Deadline for comments will be 10pm Wednesday!

The prespective of a toddler...

Owen loves to take pictures with our point and shoot camera. He's gotten quite good at operating it and with the exception of putting his finger on the lens, he is pretty careful when he uses it. Because of this it is not uncommon for me to find a crap-ton of photos on the camera when I upload them. When iPhoto uploads pictures it will tell you how many there are to upload before it begins. I always find myself wondering what the heck I took so many pictures of. And then I remember that Owen had it and I know I'm in for a few surprises when the pictures are done uploading. So I thought I'd share a few of the surprises. The first one made me chuckle.

After Owen took this one he said, "Owen's family there!".

Stay tuned for tomorrows installment... my mad ice skating skills!!

Found photos...

While I was looking through photos in iPhoto today I came across these that I took months ago of some daisies I had. I never did anything with them, I must have gotten busy with other things, but still liked how they turned out so I thought I'd share a little sunshine in the winter!

So the winners of my little calendars are Jen and Emily! Because they are the only two people (besides Lee!) who posted! I couldn't sell my little calendars and now I can't hardly give them away! Makes me a little sad...

Anyway, Jen and Emily, please send me your address @ morganandheather@mac.com and I will get your calendar in the mail!

A wonderful thing happened this week, although rather early, my friend Nikki had a baby girl (3lbs 16") on New Year's Eve morning. She was 9 weeks early but both of them are doing well. Please keep them in your prayers for continued good health and growth. We are going to see them tomorrow! The 31st is also Nikki's wedding anniversary! So it was quite the anniversary gift!

Maureen posed this challenge for today over at 2P's:

Sit quietly for a minute. Then ask yourself what needs to be expressed thorough your writing today. Begin there.

Well, first of all, I have a hard time sitting quietly unless I'm in the car. But I think what I want to express in my writing today is gratitude. For all the wonderful surprises that come into our lives each day. I want to spend more time this year paying attention to those little surprises in my life and appreciating them.

Also, check out the fun giveaway at the blog Organized Doodles! You have until Jan. 4th to enter to win!

Happy 2009!

Hooray for a new year! I'm going to have to remember to write 2009 on my checks now. Good thing I don't write too many checks. I don't think our church will care if I mess it up every now and again!

Owen spent the night at Mimi's house last night while Morgan and I went to a party thrown by one of his coworkers. It was an interesting mix of people with good food and lots of laughs. We had a nice time and were home by 11:45pm. Mostly to avoid any driving issues. I talked to Mimi and Owen this morning. Besides a lot of coughing he did fine with his first over night. I wasn't terribly worried but one never knows how things will go. When I talked to him he said "Hello Mommy." I asked him what he'd been doing at Mimi's to which he respond with a few things I could and could not understand and then he said "Okay, bye-bye" and gave the phone back to my sister! I guess he didn't ask about me at all! My mom says he probably misses me but just doesn't know how to express it and he's having a good time so he's not feeling insecure at all. All good things, I just felt a little... not needed!

Morgan's baking bread today. We are going to go for a skate before picking Owen up. Not much else on the agenda. Maybe a little shopping!

Janet posted a wonderful post today about the value of time and being more thoughtful of how we spend it. If you have moment please check it out.

As I was reading a few blogs today I was thinking about some of the technology that we have at our finger tips. Specifically blogs and facebook and digital photography. All part of my daily routine and things that I would be lost without. I so enjoy the friends that I've made via blogging and the internet. People I don't know in person but have connected with through shared life experiences. Alli wrote that she took 121 pictures at the park today. I had to giggle about that. With a film camera it would be ridiculous to have taken that many pictures of our children playing at the park but with digital it's totally doable! I love that. And then of course there's facebook. I love FB. Such a fun way to keep in touch and vent my inner thoughts quickly and without repercussion. Often with a little commenting from my friends. And then there is the aggrivating Scavenger Hunt. I've one item left to find on it. The elusive Santa Claus! Speaking of spending time thoughtfully!

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year!!!

To celebrate the arrival of 2009 I'm giving away two of the little calendars I designed complete with cute little easel. The calendar measures about 4.25x5.5 and is designed to sit on a desk or small space. Each month has a different color and design but in the same format as what you see above. They are printed on an ivory/white sparkly paper.

If you would like to enter to win please leave a comment about what you are looking forward to in the New Year.

Unfortunately, I will not be sending international so if you aren't in the US, you aren't eligible to win. Not because I don't love you but because it requires a trip to the Post Office and I hardly ever go there so it would be ages before I mailed it out and since it's a calendar it's time sensitive. I know, silly, but it's just the truth!!

I will draw a name after 10pm tomorrow night.

Reorganizing...

Since Owen has not been feeling well lately I've been trying to occupy my time, and some of his, with some work in my craft room. The holidays are always a busy time in the craftroom and things tend not to get put away and Owen helps with the mess as much as he can! It was time to get things put back in order.

Today I sorted and reorganized all of my paper. I have drawers for all of my pattern paper sorted by circle, stripe, floral, text, and geometric. This is loosely based on Ali Edwards' pattern paper book. I do run into a bit of trouble with the double sided stuff but I let that go and put it in the drawer with the side up that I will most likely be looking for. Oh, and this reorganization of the paper was spurred by the 40% off sale my LSS had on pattern paper this week! I stocked up on papers I could use on layouts for O. Before Owen was born I had accumulated a lot of "girly" papers and every time I would go through my drawers when I was planning a layout for him I noted my lack of "boyish" papers. I thought it was a good time to get some new stuff! And I also needed to go through my CTMH papers and either purge them or incorporate them into my stash. Hence the organizing project.

I also went through all my scraps and reorganized those. I had been keeping them in a drawer for the colored stuff and a box for the netural stuff. This was not a good way to use the scraps. So I repurposed the drawers that had previously held some wood stamps (that have been purged) and put the cardstock scraps in them by color. Red/Yellow/Orange, Green, Blue, Purple/Pink/Mauve, Brown, Grey/Black. Now they are much more useful. I had been keeping a small box with scraps of pattern paper in them too. These scraps I put into some clear page protectors and put them into the pattern paper drawers.

Finally, I sorted all my 12x12 cardstock into my expandable file thing. I have two of these. One held just CTMH cardstock and then I had a drawer for other 12x12 cardstock. The LSS had a sale on discontinued CS recently, which I stocked up on, so my CS drawer was full. I relabled the slots in the expandable file by color and combined all the 12x12 CS into it. Now I can just take the whole thing when I go scrapping. There is also enough room in the back of it for larger scrap sheets. I have a file cabinet that holds all my 8 1/2 x 11 CS and that has been well organized for a long time.

Now I feel like I have a better idea of what I have and where it is and it's more accessible thus easier to use. I also don't think I'll be needing any paper for awhile!! Now I just need to get caught up on printing photos so I can get back to a regular routine of scrapping them. I fell behind on my monthly printing in September. I also need to purge iPhoto of crappy photos, burn some to disks, and move the rest to the external HD.

On another note, I've been having difficulty unwinding at the end of the night. After Owen goes to bed, which is around 9pm lately, I get busy doing things I want to finish up or haven't gotten to during the day (like my blog!) and then I get a second wind. Before I know it, it's midnight and I should be in bed. I also don't think my medication is helping me sleep like my dr. was hoping it would. I think it causes me to dream more which I find disruptive to my sleep. I also find Owen's night waking and Ludwig's late night potty breaks distruptive too! Oh, and Morgan's loud breathing and snoring! Sometimes it's easier to stay up than it is to try to go to bed!

We had a bit more snow today and a big temperature drop. Right now it's -2˚ (-18 for my Celsius friends)! Yesterday it started out at about 35˚ and dropped steadily throughout the day. I don't know what the average is supposed to be, it's been so eratic this winter.

Well, I'd better try to get to bed. I'm sure tomorrow will come all to soon and bring all kinds of excitement!

Heading into the New Year...

I am a person who likes beginnings and endings. I like a sense of accomplishment and having something be finished. I don't do as well with perpetually ongoing projects. However, I seem to be able to break up even the most mundane things so there is a beginning and an end.

I always like the beginning of a new year. It's like a fresh start. Last year I tried to make a list of resolutions, only to cast them aside not long into the new year. I didn't lose weight, I didn't start running again, and I didn't give up candy. What a surprise! Yesterday I was reading Jill's blog and she shared her intentions for 2008 and a few new ones for 2009. Did you see that word INTENTIONS?? What a great idea! So much better than resolutions. It just feels like a better word to me. Not resolving but intending. With purpose. With thought and purpose and intent. Doing things I love and enjoy and perhaps that are better for me than what I'm currently doing. It's another step away from my all or nothing thought process to a more gentle way of living and a kinder way of treating myself.

I think this year I'm also going to give up numbers. At least in relation to my age and my weight. I am not unhappy with BEING 35, I just don't like the number. I also don't like the fast pace of adulthood. Childhood was so much slower and leisurely. When I was a child it was ages, years upon years before I would be a grown-up. And now the years march past with a brisk and breathless speed. I want to be leisurely but I also want to accomplish things. In the middle is where I need to place myself.

The house is quiet. The boys are in bed. All our visiting family has left or is leaving tomorrow. We had a very enjoyable Christmas celebrating with both our families. Owen had a great time with his "primos" or cousins. He was unhappy when I told him today that they had gone home and we wouldn't see them for awhile. However, my SIL got a new iMac recently so if all works well we will be able to iChat with the primos! My youngest nephew wanted to stay at our house for awhile. That would be fine except that Kansas is 8 hours away! I made the mistake of teasing him that his mom and dad were going to leave him at our house and he'd have to sleep on the couch. He thought that was a great idea! Silly me. I forget that to a 4 year old everything is literal!

We had a nice dinner with Morgan's parents and then they attended church with us this evening. I love the evening service we attend. It's pretty contemporary but also very inspiring and uplifting. I always feel good going and enjoy being there.

We also attended a very nice service at my BIL's church on Christmas eve. It was a family service that had good music and some creative interpretation of scripture with the message from the pastors broken up into parts rather than one long 25 minute segment.

In years past I've felt a sort of let down after Christmas is over. I think that's mostly attributed to outside forces. The Christmas music on the radio stops. The stores change their seasonal stock to the next holiday and the world marches on to the next thing. I've decided to keep listening to Christmas music, leave the tree up for awhile, and keep lighting the candles of the advent wreath. The SEASON of Christmas has just begun and I intend to keep celebrating. After all CHRISTmas isn't just about one day but the beginning of something, someone spectacular and amazing. Merry Christmas!

A quiet little Saturday...

Today is a quiet day around the house. Mostly because Owen and Morgan went to the pool! I took Ludwig for a nice walk around the neighborhood in the snow. To be honest, I'm loving all the snow we've been getting. I know my mom is NOT going to like that statement. She's a Minnesotan who should have been born somewhere a bit warmer! It's been like a real December to me. The kind I remember from my childhood. Enough snow to actually play in. It's not blizzard conditions like some places are getting but it's some nice snow. Enough for Morgan to ski. Enough to make it look like winter. Enough to make it feel like Christmas. Which is still funny to me since the first Christmas did not have snow!

I'm also happy because yesterday I finished our Christmas shopping. Owen and I met my friend Lisa and her children at the mall for lunch and some playtime and after they left for school Owen and I finished up our shopping. Now I can wrap it all up and have it be done before all of Morgan's family arrives.

I've got cookies to bake for Morgan's dad. Ornaments to put on the tree. And some other decorating to do. I've also been working on a Daily December/Christmas journal. I think next year I will either not do this kind of project or it won't be a daily thing. I'm not good with these daily kinds of projects. I like events or instances better than recording things daily. It's a little too regimented for me. Which is contrary to my personality! I usually like regimented and orderly. I guess in my own way!

Are you ready????

Six days till Christmas!!! It's 13˚ here today with a forecasted high of 20˚. Warmer than it's been in quite a few days! But rest assured we will be dipping back down into the arctic temps again!

Morgan had yesterday and today off of work. Burning vacation time at the end of the year. Yesterday we took Owen to the Macy's display in downtown Minneapolis. We met some friends from ECFE class there. The boys had a great time seeing how a day in the life of an elf would be! Then we enjoyed lunch together and ran around the skyway system for a bit. Here are a few pictures from the display.

Today on my agenda I'm planning to finish up the Christmas shopping. We don't have an extensive list, which is nice, but I want to get it finished up. Morgan's family all arrives next Tuesday and I need to spend some time getting the house in order this weekend too. After the shopping I am off to work!