She's a Crafty Pumpkin

Brilliantly beautiful ~ 2.1.12

2012-02-01T10:53:00.000-05:00

This is not the post you're probably expecting to see from me on this 1st of February, but it's the one you're going to get!
Yesterday was a brilliantly beautiful day in the 'Burgh and we took advantage by going to a local park.
A little fresh air and lots of open space is the perfect antidote for the winter doldrums. That said, this winter has been extremely mild and friendly to us and I cannot complain AT ALL about it. Still, to have 60 degree temps in January is a sweet gift!

So we are embracing life and enjoying our new location.
Some may know that we moved nearly 3 weeks ago- and we are settling in nicely to our new digs. Thanks to my voracious unpacking team of Mom-to-Crafty + Crafty... the kitchen was the first place to get set up and unpacked.
I'm enjoying the spaciousness more and more each day. I love having a big island to work on and bake around and yes, I did make my first cookies at the new house this past weekend!
I realize you may like to see pictures of this island and it's surroundings, right?
well, there's a reason you haven't yet.

Well, on January 1st of this year, my camera stopped working.
We took pictures of the "first turkey I ever cooked" and then it went dead. Just wouldn't turn on or anything. It was only 2 yrs old and I was NOT AT ALL PLEASED.
Apparently I feel that I cannot blog without a camera, because here I am blogging again after a long hiatus and with a new camera. They go together for me.
Anywho- I have yet to take pictures of the new place with the new camera. I'll get on it, promise.

Ah yes, you may wonder what I'm looking like these days.... well, here I am in a very unflattering outfit- maternity panel showing and all. (gosh, I loathe maternity pants and the way they're always falling DOWN)

BUT.... I'll have you know that I'm proud I can zip that fleece jacket up over my 39 week pregnant belly!

It's the little things, right?

Ah, much better, no belly in that last one.
My kids were so excited to see me with a camera yesterday that they SMILED every time I asked them to do so! Isn't that sweet? yes. yes it is.
So yes, I'm 39 weeks now and due date is fast approaching....as in 2 days from today.

That said, I'm not feeling like "it's time" yet and I would love to get to next week.
I am tired of the "big belly" that to some is "not that big" and all, but still, I have some things to still get done and I only recently was able to switch gears from "pack-your-entire-house-up-and-move-it" to "we're-about-to-have-a-new-baby" gear.
The latter is so much more enjoyable.

The kids are getting VERY excited (most of them, that is- more on that in a minute) to welcome the new baby.
Max asks me everyday what day it is and when is Friday and will the baby come on Friday and I hope it's a girl.

{sigh}

that last request may prove to be more difficult than he realizes!

I'm in full "nesting mode" and feeling the need to get things ready for the rare case of my labor starting naturally. It has never happened.... yet.
But I still have high hopes that it could!

In the meantime, I'm spending some quality time with my 4 boys and trying to be patient and understanding with a lack of sleep (already... it's going to get worse before it gets better!).

I continue to reassure this little guy down here that he does NOT have to share a bed with the baby and that seems to help him a bit. But he has been my most "squggly" (read: snuggly, but that's how he says it) of all the boys lately. Giving me tons of hugs and kisses and all that jazz....

I'll take it!

So what questions do you have from the absent Crafty? Let me hear them and maybe I'll get a new post up before #5 arrives!

Need a little rainbow? ~ 1.9.12

2012-01-09T06:02:00.000-05:00

"For Christians, the beginning of the day should not be burdened and haunted by various kinds of concerns that they face during the day. The Lord stands above the new day, for God has made it. All restlessness, all impurity, all worry and anxiety flee before him. Therefore, in the early morning hours of the day, may our many thoughts and our many idle words be silent and may the first word and the first thought belong to the one to whom our whole life belongs " ~Dietrich Bonhoeffer

-found this quote back some ways on my blog and thought it was so appropriate for my week.

We are moving this week.
We are saying good-bye to a dear uncle, Jim, today.
I have too many baby appointments to fit in around all the other things in my week.
Three out of four of my kids have been sick.... with the stomach bug.... so that leaves just one left.

but through all of that God is still God and I must carry on through each of the zillions of tasks before me with grace and patience and charity.

So, be encouraged as I am encouraged on this Monday morning in January.

Now laugh at this funny picture of Mr. Crafty and I and our first/last turkey... first turkey I've ever cooked and last turkey in this place we've called home for 9 years. (also one of the last pictures my silly Canon point and shoot will ever take... grrr)

Happy Anniversary to Us ~ 12.30.11

2011-12-30T07:12:00.001-05:00

"I shall never tire of repeating that marriage is a great and marvelous divine path. Like everything divine in us, it calls for response to grace, generosity, dedication and service."

~St. Josemaria Escriva

our love story is here

in case you've never heard it and want to read a short love story that will make you believe in love at first site

Today is our wedding anniversary- truly the week between Christmas and New Year's is a crazy time to get married, however, my parents' anniversary is the 27th and I thought it would be awesome.

And it was.

The church was already decorated and we were getting married in the Jubillee year, the year 2000, and we were praying for some amazing Jubilee year graces.

In these past 11 years, God has truly graced our marriage in many ways. First and foremost, with the gift of each other. Marriage is certainly not always a walk in the park- and God knows that! He's made a way for us to receive abundant graces for this journey through the sacramental bond we undertook on December 30, 2000! And continues to grace us each time we share in the Eucharist on Sundays and at daily mass. We are truly blessed beyond measure!

And he has graced us with opportunities beyond our wildest imagination to grow in love, patienece, kindness, joy, long-suffering, etc, etc. He gave us 4 children so far (and the next one's arrival is imminent!) and they have shared God's love with us and taught us what it means to love unconditionally. We are truly blessed beyond measure.

So on this, our 11th anniversary of the day we married one another- I'll share this meditation from an amazing Saint whom I've mentioned countless times before, on my blog... St. Josemaria Escriva.

“The value God places on marriage”

In the middle of the rejoicing at the feast in Cana, only Mary notices that they are short of wine. A soul will notice even the smallest details of service if, like her, it is alive with a passion for helping its neighbour, for God. (Furrow, 631)

The pure and noble love of husband and wife is a sacred thing. As a priest, I bless it with all my heart. Christian tradition has often seen in Christ’s presence at the wedding feast in Cana a proof of the value God places on marriage. “Our Saviour went to the wedding feast,” writes St Cyril of Alexandria, “to make holy the origins of human life” [1].

Marriage is a sacrament that makes one flesh of two bodies. Theology expresses this fact in a striking way when it teaches us that the matter of the sacrament is the bodies of husband and wife. Our Lord sanctifies and blesses the mutual love of husband and wife. He foresees, not only a union of souls, but a union of bodies as well. No Christian, whether or not he is called to the married state, has a right to underestimate the value of marriage.

We have been created by God and endowed with an intelligence which is like a spark of the divine intellect. Together with our free will, another gift of God, it allows us to know and to love. And God has also placed in our body the power to generate, which is a participation in his own creative power. He has wanted to use love to bring new human beings into the world and to increase the body of the Church. Thus, sex is not a shameful thing; it is a divine gift, ordained to life, to love, to fruitfulness.(Christ is passing by, 24)

Let us pray together for one another....

May St. Joseph—“a just man,” a tireless worker, the upright guardian of those entrusted to his care—always guard, protect, and enlighten families.

May the Virgin Mary, who is the Mother of the Church, also be the Mother of “the Church of the home.” Thanks to her motherly aid, may each Christian family really become a “little church” in which the mystery of the Church of Christ is mirrored and given new life.

May Christ the Lord, the Universal King, the King of Families, be present in every Christian home as he was at Cana, bestowing light, joy, serenity, and strength.

We entrust (our) family to Jesus, Mary and Joseph.

-JPII, Familiaris Consortio

Put on then, as God's chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassion, kindness, lowliness, meekness, and patience, forbearing one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive. And above all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony. And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in the one body. And be thankful. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teach and admonish one another in all wisdom, and sing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs with thankfulness in your hearts to God. And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him.

Colossians 3:12-17

On the 3rd day of Christmas ~ 12.27.11

2011-12-27T17:32:00.000-05:00

I just love listening to this group.
Have you heard them?
All Sons and Daughters.... beautiful and perfect music for this Christmas week.

I hope you're having a beautiful week and truly relishing in the wonder of Christmas!

This Christmas 2011 ~ 12.26.11

2011-12-26T07:17:00.000-05:00

I may have mentioned that life is a bit crazy over here. We move in 3 weeks. The fact and reality of this just hit me a few days ago. I refused to let the move affect my Christmas too much. After all, it was to be our LAST Christmas in this wonderful little home of ours!

I relied heavily upon whatever the kids brought home or what arrived in my mailbox to decorate. I pulled out a few of my favorite ornaments (on Christmas Eve) to put on the tree that was already decorated heavily in handmade ornaments (yay for me and letting the kids decorate the tree!). I only made two essential Christmas cookies and tried one new recipe!

what cookies are essential here? chocolate chip and my almond biscotti!

The Friday before Christmas the kids were off of school and I decided it was a stay home, make a list and check off as much as I possibily could- kinda day.

Happy to say that the majority of those items were checked off by Saturday morning! We did not get to the nutter butter Santas this year.... maybe next Christmas.

I hired a team of helpers and got to work on what we absolutely needed to do...

unwrapping Rolos for Reindeer noses....

crumbling cake to make cake bites.... (yes, essential, b/c the twins had a cookie exchange at school. meaning, make 6 doz of something edible! cake bites it was!)

distract children, while I tend to my list, with their Christmas ornaments... they lined them up for battle, of course (and broke a few in the process...)

vacuum! everyone needs to get that done and it wasn't even on my list!

With the list taken care of, we were all set to celebrate Christmas....

Christmas morning frenzy began after the first gift of Christmas arrived.... baby Jesus was laid in his manger!

enjoying their new beanbag chairs and 3DS's (finally, Santa brought them a ds! LOL)

Christmas brunch with the Sunderman's....

Daddy setting up shop and taking all those tools out of the box for the littles...

A little Christmas day mindbender- playing Kanoodle!

Nonna got in on the action and enjoyed this little game, too!

Nonno loved his Root Deer and grandkids!

It was a splendid Christmas Day spent with many we love. We are indeed blessed to have each other and all those that love and support us. 2012 is bringing many exciting things along with it, but for now, I'll live in the present and enjoy each moment as it comes and try to not get too overwhelmed with packing craziness!

Merry Christmas from our house to yours... we'll be celebrating for the next 2 weeks! Christmas has JUST BEGUN! It is not over.... it begins on Christmas day and continues until January 8th. So keep Christmas and enjoy your celebrating.

The 7 pictures of Advent ~ 12.18.11

2011-12-18T08:04:00.001-05:00

Advent has been upon us now for 22 days. It began the last Sunday of November. I've been preoccupied, to say the least, but have made a point to still celebrate our many liturgical feasts in the most simple way that I can...
Beginning with St. Nicholas!This year we watched The Boy Who Became Santa and our Veggie Tale DVD and had Gingerbread pop tarts and hot cocoa!
The boys understood a little better that it is someone who else who places these little gifts in their shoes as saints are in heaven and cannot just appear down here...

they were still quite thankful to get chocolates in their shoes and a group gift (see first photo)!

That same week we celebrated the feast of the Immaculate Conception. At the children's Mass, I was overjoyed to hear Gabriel answer Fr's question about who this great feast was really about... he said it was Mary who was conceived in her mother, free from the sin (well, he said it in his words). {sigh} They were listening as we spoke about it the night before (and every year prior)!!
Max and I had a special date that night to see A Musical Christmas Carol in downtown Pittsburgh. It was lovely- so well done- but a very late night for Max!

Our tree trek this year involved 2 tree stops- the first being a farm not too far from us at all and their selection was very, very sad. Our boys were not very cooperative and Mum and Dad left that place with a great deal of angst at trying to "create this special memory" and having them run amuck and not listen to their parents. {sigh again}
Daddy redeemed the day with a trip to Simmons Farm, where we found just the right tree from NC hanging in the greenhouse ;)

It was truly a Gaudete Sunday (Joyful Sunday) for us as I was eagerly anticipating the arrival of the tree in our living room- there have been very few decorations placed around our home as of yet and the tree usually jump starts the decorating process!

keep trimming... our tree stand is quite unique!

Speaking of decorations....I haven't been able to get to those decorations due to my round state and have been waiting, eagerly, to send Mr. Crafty to the storage unit to procure them for me! They have now arrived in our garage and today, Sunday, the 18th, is the day the tree will don it's merry lights! Hooray!

My Dad even got roped into helping this year. I forgot I couldn't carry the tree up from the garage, so he helped Mr. Crafty get it JUST RIGHT!

So now we are in crunch time.... time for wrapping, singing Christmas Carols, making cookies and readying our hearts for Christmas- it is ONE GLORIOUS WEEK AWAY!

Max is in that picture- right behind the boy in front who has the red sweater on... see him?

I sure hope I can snap many more pictures this week- 7 total for December is an all time low for me! But I know that I've been present to the moments at hand and there is quite a bit on my plate (pregnancy, moving, holidays, regular everyday life)- so I'm taking it all in stride and cutting myself a break.

I pray that you're having a blessed Advent and that if you've not really been present or readied your heart- all is not lost! Now is the time! Let us prepare to welcome Our King Jesus on Christmas morn!

"The Holy Spirit will come upon you,
and the power of the Most High will overshadow you.
Therefore the child to be born
will be called holy, the Son of God.
And behold, Elizabeth, your relative,
has also conceived a son in her old age,
and this is the sixth month for her who was called barren;
for nothing will be impossible for God."
Mary said, "Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord.
May it be done to me according to your word."
Then the angel departed from her. - Luke 1

Movin' On ~ 12.3.11

2011-12-03T07:28:00.000-05:00

It seems I missed a whole lot in November this year. I had high hopes, too... for posting and all.
But alas, sickness got the best of me and I was down for the count for weeks!
Still trying to recoup and now it seems pregnancy is getting the best of me.
I have much to be thankful for though.

I haven't talked much about the fact that we are indeed trying to move.

It seems that we can't just look forward to the joy of having a new addition to our family (and btw, I realize I haven't spoken much about this pregnancy on here as well! goodness me!), but need to add another stress (a baby is a bit of a stress but more joy, you know) to our lives.... we are indeed MOVING!

So in September, we took the plunge, got ourselves an amazing realtor and put our home on the market.
We've been quite content the past 9 years or so in our 3 bedroom townhome, but it does have it's drawbacks.
I love to have family gatherings and well, it's just not conducive to this- just not enough rooms to spread the people around and all.
The bedrooms were the perfect size but now, adding one more to this 3 bedroom would be pushing it. See, I say all this lightly because I know the homes that my parents, aunts and uncles raised children in were not much bigger!! So, I sort of feel the need to apologize for my wanting more space (and a yard and a little separation from our neighbors, etc).

I knew that we'd eventually have to move and I've been talking about it for YEARS- so much so that family just stopped asking when it would happen, thankfully.

We have just been content and so comfortable in our home and moving is SUCH a process.

Anyhoo, all things in the perfect time, yes? YES!

So after the decision was made to put the sign in the yard, I called my cousin, Gina. She has her own home staging business in a suburb of Pittsburgh called Lifestyle Stagers- and we got to work!

I really need to do a whole post just on THAT process because Gina was a LIFE SAVER to me. She took me from overwhelmed mom of 4 (plus one on the way) who was wading through clutter and trying to figure out where to begin.... to a completely staged home in a day. That's not the norm, mind you. I had done my homework and had been working on my home from the top-down. Closets were under control on every floor and extras had already been boxed in all the bedrooms.

Still, she made some changes to our place and that, coupled with a great amount of prayer and an amazing agent is what sold our house in about 10-12 weeks during a difficult time to sell (note to self: spring/summer is usually the best time my dear).
Once we were sold, I was determined to find our house in a week or less.
When you're moving, timing is of the essence, right?
We scheduled our marathon day of home tours and when I woke up that morning, I said, "today I will find us our home!"
And we did.

Through the rainy and the early darkness of that November day, our house was found and eventually our offer accepted.
So now we wait to get our move on...

which will be here before we know it!
We're starting 2012 off with a bang and moving mid-January. Then we'll be all settled (ha-ha) and ready to welcome our new little guy or girl ;) come early February.

Amidst all of this excitement and anticipation... Thanksgiving came and went and we were truly made aware of all that we have to be thankful for this year. We attended the Holiday parade in downtown Pittsburgh and enjoyed some time off together. Advent arrived just as it does each year and now we're trying to savor these days and prepare for the feast of Christmas.

Praise the LORD, for he is good;
sing praise to our God, for he is gracious Psalm 147: 1

A happy birthday to you! ~ 11.15.11

2011-11-16T10:13:00.000-05:00

So I'm a bit late with the birthday posting, but I wanted to document the fact that Max did indeed turn 7 last week.

SeVeN!

not possible, I say that he can be seven already. :(

So here's my birthday boy with his 7 birthday balloons. I was rather proud of myself buying these at the grocery store. I'm kinda known as "the mom who never gets the free balloon for her kids" when I shop there.

They annoy me. The balloons, that is. They're a driving hazard and a choking hazard and a sibling hazard (once we are home).

So, on their birthdays my kids GET BALLOONS and they love it! More special that way than 3 times a week whenever we're running in and out the grocery store, right? yes. that's right.

For school, Max wanted to take in brownies. No problem there. I whipped up a batch of my go-to brownies. Only problem, I cannot smell. I've been sick for over a week now and have no taste buds and cannot smell a THING. I was assured by everyone I met later that day, at school, that they were WONDERFUL. Thank God for timers and on the box cooking time approximations, huh. And am I the only one who sprinkles powdered sugar on brownies after they're done cooking? For real? How else does one gussy up a plate of brownies? Powdered sugar is THE way to go!

Max chose corn dogs for dinner and I added his favorite zucchini coins and some Annie's Mac n Cheese to round out this kid-friendly party meal. It was a quick birthday dinner and cake cutting, though. We had parent conferences at the school that night!

Speaking of cake.... oh wow. I had just picked up America's Best Lost recipes at Half Price books and happened upon the recipe for Chocolate Blackout Cake. It did not disappoint. Three layers of chocolately goodness held to by a creamy layer and frosting of chocolate pudding. Then topped with a crumbled layer of chocolate cake. WOW and YUM! Thank you, Cook's Country, again, for a great recipe and for making my 7 yr old VERY Happy!

Around here, Max is well known for his silly expressions and character like antics. He did not disappoint us on his birthday and showed us a few funny faces/reactions to his gifts. Speaking of gifts, he received Pictureka, the new Shel Silverstein book- Everything On It, Mario pj's, tickets to A Musical Christmas Carol (special date night with mommy!), Phineas and Ferb Wii game and a new Highlights magazine. We've also begun his new puzzle from his Godparents, a 550 pc Spiderman puzzle!

Max is one special guy and we're very blessed to have him in our lives. A very happy birthday to our Maximilian Kolbe!

monday moment ~ 11.7.11

2011-11-07T15:32:00.002-05:00

I long to accomplish a great and noble task;

but it is my chief duty to accomplish small tasks as if they were great and noble.

Helen Keller

Our friends, the saints ~ 11.5.11

2011-11-05T23:42:00.000-04:00

"Bless the Lord, O you his angels, you mighty ones who do his word, hearkening to the voice of his word! Bless the Lord, all his hosts, his ministers that do his will!" (Ps. 103:20–21)

I started writing this on the Eve of Halloween. A holiday I love to hate. It seems it gets all the emphasis when it's really a pre-cursor to the ever more important feasts that follow... All Saint's Day and All Soul's Day. And since I've spent all week mulling over the feasts I've just mentioned, here I am on the eve of a new week still writing this post and hoping that we will all take a few minutes this month to be thankful for the great cloud of witnesses (Hebrews 12:1) that accompany us each and every day on our journey of faith.

When we think of the saints, many of us think of those saints who are named by the church or ones that are in the Bible. In reality, we are all "saints" in training. I'm working on being a saint every day of my life! I want my husband and children to be saints, too! When we get done to the brass tacks, a saint is someone who was just like us: striving to live a holy life, after God's own heart- a sinner who kept on trying and never gave up. Someone who fought the good fight and finished the race!

I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Henceforth there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, will award to me on that Day, and not only to me but also to all who have loved his appearing. 2Tim 4:7-8

And yes, there are MANY saints' stories that we may read where amazingly heroic deeds were done and sacrifices were made- but while that person was alive, weren't they simply doing what I just described above? Seeking God's heart, living a holy life through prayer and sacrifice, loving their neighbor through simple acts of love? They, too, sinned. There's something we don't think about often enough, right? But they certainly weren't perfect and yet, they became SAINTS!

So, this past Monday, on All Hallow's Eve, the kids, my mom and I took a "field trip" to the cemetery where the majority of our family is laid to rest. It's not far from where we live now and it was a beautiful way to commemorate the souls of our family's faithful departed. The field trip was met with mixed emotions- the kids were surprised to see that most of the gravestones where not what they've seen in Scooby Doo cartoons or other cartoon representations. And it was a beautiful day- no mist rising from the ground or owls hooting as we walked the grounds. I snapped a quick picture of the kids and mom reading the grave markers where are family rests- it's not the best, but in my eyes, it's a beautiful image of all us gathered together again for a brief moment. For I hope and pray that one day, we will all gather together around the throne of God, in heaven, as saints!

Remember your leaders, those who spoke to you the word of God; consider the outcome of their life, and imitate their faith (Heb. 13:7)

We'll spend the rest of the month looking at photos and telling stories of deceased family members.While we certainly will be living each day in the present moment, amidst our hustle and bustle and preparations for the holidays that will soon be arriving, we'll take a pause or two to recall those family members who played a special role in our lives. The kids were too young to remember some of them, when they died and we don't want them to be forgotten. We'll pray for their souls and for the family members who still miss them.

And we'll look at some of the more well known saints- the ones that appear on our calendar and we comemmorate with special feast days. These are wonderful witnesses to our children of lives lived for God! There are so many to discover from so many different countries, ages, walks of life! I always get a kick out of the reactions the boys make when we pray at night- we have our own little "litany" of saints that we end each prayer with and ask for their prayers for us. Sometimes I'll add a "new" one to the list and get a funny face from the boys as if to say, "Who's that!?!?"- yes, there are so many friends of God, boys!

If you've never really considered All Saint's Day as a day to celebrate or even to remember, I thought Relevant did a really great job at convincing all Christians to think again about this special day that shows up every November. It will certainly leave you with some food for thought and something to look forward to celebrating next year!

"Who are these people all dressed in white? And where have they come from?" –Revelation 7:13

St. Vincent, pray for us
St. Christina, pray for us
St. Gabriel, pray for us
St. Maximilian Kolbe, pray for us
St. Dominic, pray for us
St. Zachary, pray for us

October wrap-up ~10.31.11

2011-10-31T21:45:00.000-04:00

Whew- How can I be wrapping up October already? I feel like it just started getting chilly and already I need to dust off my holiday planner and start buying Christmas presents!?!?

I guess so- according to my calendar.

October for us is typically a fast month and usually, a month riddled with coughing, sneezing, etc. BUT WE WERE ALL HEALTHY!!! The whole month! HOORAY! HOORAY!

Octboer is the month of this guy- he turned 9 a week or so ago and I suprised my children by taking them to the place "where a kid can be a kid".

My secret for sanity was taking them DURING the day! YAY, that they had a half day and I could pull that off. They were completely in SHOCK that mom would take them to the place she describes as "the place closest to H-E-double hockey sticks"- you know what I mean? And I smiled and took pictures and enjoyed the day with them having tons of fun! And Mr. Cheese even came out to play a few games with them!

For Gabriel's birthday, he got to have ice cream for breakfast! And I sent in these adorable little cake bites for him to share with his class. Cupcakes are messy and I figured, a bite or two of cake was all they needed, right? (still cupcakes are rather fun and I LOVE 'em)

Okay, so the pumpkins were not so adorable, but rather, very "homemade" looking. Turns out that almond bark doesn't like to be changed into colors and I had to ADD so much food coloring paste that it just changed the whole consistency of them altogether. But gosh, am I happy that I bought that edible marking pen. It's come in very handy!

But every kid needs a birthday cake and I've been wanting to make this one for a long time. Chocolate cake with whipped cream and fresh strawberries! Auntie Leila just so happened to post a chocolate cake recipe from scratch that I used and I was inspired by Mad Hungry's Lucinda Scala-Quinn to make the cake this way. It was DELISH and SOOOO beautiful, don't you think? You can find the recipe over at Crafty's cafe, too.

See that- happy boy! My kids were so excited to see strawberries on their cake in October! And fresh whipped cream is THE.WAY.TO.GO- don't skimp. It's easy to do...see here for how.

He was thrilled to FINALLY get Lego Star Wars III for wii. Also, so I don't forget--- he got new Green Lantern pj's, twistable colored pencils, a Harry Potter wand and glasses, Bop It Extreme and the Lego Harry Potter big book. His grandparents gave him a new Ulimatrix (some Ben 10 wrist thing) and the new Hot Wheels RC stealth rider. We had 2 fun days of celebration!

Speaking of celebrations- the day before G's b-day is my Godson, Jack's birthday! I love making cakes and CANNOT BELIEVE I never documented this jack-o-lantern cake that I made him 2 years ago. He requested it and I was only MORE than happy to oblige!

{2009}

And this year's cake...

{2011}

It's great to be FIVE!

And the big news of the month was that after MUCH deliberation, these two finicky boys landed on the SAME costumes and were gently persuaded into that costume by it's uber coolness, Thanks TRU.

A rainy, soggy, cool Halloween. Thanks to lots 'o layers, and a few umbrellas, we endured and ended up with LOADS of candy! And the 2 best parts of the evening: duct taped helmets to beanie caps keeping the twins' heads warm AND all of the above boys in bed BEFORE 8pm. {giving self a pat on the back for that accomplishment}.

Here's to a wonderful NOVEMBER!

Making the blog a bit better~ 10.26.11

2011-10-26T23:20:00.000-04:00

One thing that's always bothered me about blogging is the lack of interaction I have if you comment on a post.

So, you comment and I want to say- "hey, thanks for stopping by and commenting and yeah, here's the answer to what you asked" or whatever.

But I can't do that because most of us have blocked that ability to comment back on a blog. AND then I discovered some great little tips of late....

On House of Smiths, she tells us HOW to fix this silly little interaction problema... in a few clicks.

ah, much better.

Now we can talk to one another.

YOU can comment and I can reply!

HOORAY!

Now, the next step I took to make things easier on us all, was to disable word verification.

{GASP}

I did it.

And.... I'm okay.

You'll be okay, too.

Just take it off your blog.

no one likes it.

She told me to do it.

SO, I did.

All I need to do now is post more often and you'll have a much better reason to come on back and read about what's happening in our little crafty part of the world! ;)

totally random pic of a twin with his preschool creation of the day

Coming up.... CAKES! Birthdays! and Army men! oh yeah...

pretty, happy, funny, real ~ the 10.13.11 edition

2011-10-13T23:39:00.000-04:00

~ Capturing the context of contentment in everyday life ~

Every Thursday at Like Mother, Like Daughter

{pretty}

pumpkin spice granola

And here is a space that has barely looked this clean and tidy for months, upon months. I love using my basement door now to enter the house and smile every time I see that silly little orange bag hanging there. Now, I just need to find a pretty fabric to recover that chair with and I'll be even happier walking into my house this way!

{happy}

A few days ago, Gabriel and I had the chance to have lunch together after we went to confession. He was so happy to get whatever he wanted off the menu- a chicken club toaster and lime creamslush at Sonic. It was fun to just have the two of us together and hopefully we can make it a once-a-month lunch date.
Doesn't he just look so squeaky clean. Confession will do that for ya ;)

{funny}

this is how my kids eat oranges.
maybe you're thinking, "That is so WASTEFUL!", who would have taught them to eat oranges like that?
well, I did.
I don't like the pulpy part, but I love sucking out all the juice from the orange!
Anywho... it looks like a lot of waste, doesn't it?
not if you're crafty.....

take those orange peels and throw them in one of THREE places:
a freezer bag...because you can use them to make potpourri on the stove or throw them in your disposal right while you're doing dishes (they'll defrost quickly) and then run the disposal for a lovely clean scent!

a pot with some water and cinnamon sticks and a couple of cloves, if you have them (instant room freshener!)

or your garbage disposal... I wasn't going to take a photo of that! half eaten oranges are funny/gross enough, don't you think?

{real}

To me, this photo is not only REAL, but really funny. two things that just happen to be in my pantry at the same time AND couldn't be more opposite.

Bob's Red Mill ORGANIC waffle mix (which happened to be at Big Lots- yay!)
and
Pop-tarts Spookylicious Halloween pop-tarts

So, this is "REAL" becuase I LOVE these two products right now. (seriously, those pop-tarts are ridiculously tasty)
I don't think I've ever bought pop-tarts before and when my kids saw them they kinda freaked out... in a good way. Oh, but I assured them that regardless of what they've "seen on tv" or at the school cafeteria (DON'T even get me started on that!)--
these are NOT breakfast food. They're dessert.
For heaven's sake, they're practically little pies!

So, we eat pop-tarts for treats (only one b/c that's the serving size) and for dessert. These kind are much better than the pumpkin pie variety. not a fan. Thankfully, I found them both at Aldi ;)

And that Bob's Red Mill mix, isn't that a handy dandy thing to have in my pantry. I love it and I actually whipped up some scrambled eggs and pancakes for my pregnant self the other day. Good for me! Finally, I wasn't starving all morning!!

for more {PHFR} posts, click over to Like Mother, Like Daughter

In the past 5 days... ~ 10.11.11

2011-10-11T23:10:00.000-04:00

A bit of randomness from the Queen of all things Random:

In the past five days I've...

1. Scrapbooked?!??!!!! And a recent photo to boot?!?!

2. Knew what was for dinner every single night: (HOORAY!)
Friday- homemade pizzas- one Hawaiian and one sauteed mushrooms and onions!
Saturday-Homemade stovetop Mac 'n Cheese with peas (the kids requested peas! and did not use ketchup!)
Sunday- French Dip sandwiches, onion rings (see photo below... mmmm....)
Monday- Honey Lime enchiladas
Tuesday- Ravioli with TJ's sauce, breadsticks, salad and coconut shrimp

3. Have had 3 house showings - one of which was EXTREMELY last minute and I was not a fan of that approach! But, my house is clean!

4. Made my first big batch of Applesauce--- still have 9lbs of apples left and might need to make a pie or two with those.

5. I've been to the grocery store(s) far too many times than I care to admit b/c I either forgot something or realized I had just run out of something that day.... like Saturday morning, when I had no idea it was Max's turn for snack at soccer and I had just been to the store the night before!!

so there, five days, 5 things, I guess I'm just a fan of the number five! ;)
Speaking of which... I'm 5 mos already! Where did that time go? I should show you a belly pic, hmmm...maybe, maybe not.

Red Door ~ 9.25.11

2011-09-25T22:32:00.001-04:00

Psalm 100:

Shout joyfully to the LORD, all you lands;

serve the LORD with gladness;

come before him with joyful song.

Know that the LORD is God,

he made us, we belong to him,

we are his people, the flock he shepherds.

Enter his gates with thanksgiving,

his courts with praise.

Give thanks to him, bless his name;

good indeed is the LORD,

His mercy endures forever,

his faithfulness lasts through every generation.

busy busy over here. I painted our front door a lovely SW Crabby Apple red last week and I just LOVE coming home to see it! So fresh and bold and welcoming. I've since nixed the pot of herbs and replaced them with MUMS.

I've never been a big MUMS fan, but this year, I'm embracing the mum as they add such a nice touch of color to our house on the outside.

Be on the lookout this week for a few of my before and afters... some befores I SOOOOO wish I had as they were quite remarkable (as in my overly cluttered and chaotic basement).

Lately, I'm just trying to keep afloat in the midst of daily life and maintaining "the staged home" look. It's been rather easy going this week and quite manageable, thankfully. I've also learned a lot of little tips to beautifying my surroundings that I can't wait to share! So simple and inexpensive with really GREAT results.

For now, I need to catch some zzzz's. I'm definitely attempting to make up for lost time from the past week and need to get to bed at a reasonable hour.

Have a lovely first full week of fall!

Littles go to Pre-K ~ 9.11.11

2011-09-11T22:45:00.000-04:00

It finally arrived.

The "First" day of Pre-K for our babies!!

okay, the twins. Some people around here still call them the babies, but it is quite obvious that they are no longer babies anymore. They are BIG BOYS!

So here they are ready to go on their first day together but second day for Dom. ;)

Poor Zach! He was quite under the weather on his first day of school. So we just relaxed a bit at home and mommy made chicken soup and burned apples in her "le crueset" type pot while making applesauce for him. sweet.

Dom was not so pleased about taking pics on his first day.

First he made this face...

And then he just wouldn't acknowledge me at all... right to work on his favorite: puzzles! (just like MAX!)

So Crafty got creative on the 2nd day of school and bribed them with a quarter if they'd just smile for me each time I took a picture.

SCORE #1!

Almost a smile for #2! Good effort there, Dom!

On Zach's first day, he was more than happy to oblige me with his famous Z-smile...

once,

twice,

And then he went straight to the legos....

This will be their first FULL week with school everyday! I'm looking forward to making a little progress on my projects at hand (more to come on that sometime soon) while they're at school.

Loving getting back into the routine of the school year and watching my littles go off to Pre-K! Should be an exciting year for us all!

{pretty, happy, funny, real} ~ 9.2.11

2011-09-02T21:42:00.001-04:00

~ Capturing the context of contentment in everyday life ~

Every Thursday at Like Mother, Like Daughter

{pretty}

my first peach pie straight from the oven- see, the juices are still settling! I wish I could share the recipe, but it's a secret.
No, I'm kidding.
However, I kinda just made it up and followed my mom's lead with her famous apple pie.
This was so amazingly delicious and I really, really want to make another. Hoping to nab some farm fresh peaches this week!

{happy}

I have this lovely artwork taped over a spot I need to patch in my kitchen (Real!) and it just makes me so very happy. My boys are not always eager to participate in Crafty's crafting ideas. So, when they come home with art like this, I am so very thankful AND happy!

another happy photo.

I bought the twins a bag of army guys and tanks last Saturday at our church's flea market (which I arrived to VERY early in the am to go sans kids) and THESE were my favorite find. I was so hoping they'd love them and get right to lining them up and having battles.

They did!

{funny}

Have you seen pics like this? I wanted to duplicate the one I saw on Pinterest and well, I started out well, but then the kids were adding pics to it so, maybe I missed the mark, but it's still pretty funny to me.

same kid. and this makes me LOL. cereal = check; juice= check; marvel heroes comic book= check! breakfast is ready!

{real}

truly living up to my fridge motto that reads: Fix it up, Wear it out, make do, do without!

I could NOT find any book sox by the time we FINALLY received our school supply lists. ugh! So, off to Trader Joe's I went to stock up on yogurt and brown bags. I added some cool camo duct tape to one to make it stand out amongst the others.

Well now, do we have enough toys? YES, yes we do.

The twins have been very much into imaginative play and decided to take ALL the toys out of the toybox to make a SPY hideout. I really, really need to sort through these and put stuff away that we truly are not playing with right now. De-cluttering is priority numero UNO!

courtesy of Leila's "I hacked my Cuisinart" post, I hacked MINE as well, with a piece of cork. If you're still confused, this is my food processor and while it works with just the blade down on the bottom, it will not work if you add the shredder/slicer/or that other blade with the HUGE lid on top. It's cracked in one place and to buy a replacement piece is just crazy pricey, I've heard. So, I happened to be reading LMLD one day and saw Leila's brilliant hack of her own cracked cuisinart and voila! It worked for me, too!!
Homemade hummus and shredded zucchini are in my very near future!!

and lastly, another real moment...

when I couldn't find a candy bar wrapper BIG enough for the candy bars I bought as a gift for the kid's teachers- I just took those leftover brown paper bag scraps and made my OWN! And used a cute printable I found via...

wait for it....

PINTEREST! (my new love)
to gussy them up a bit.
A little, "Thanks for a great first week of school" for the teachers.

Click here for more {PHFR}

{pretty, happy, funny, real}

2011-08-06T22:29:00.001-04:00

~ Capturing the context of contentment in everyday life ~

{pretty}

A jar of homemade biscotti as a thank you gift... just add ribbon. Once I find ribbon ;)

{happy}

just a simple picture of Max at the park today. He found this toad (look closely....) and he was so patient and sweet with that little animal. He took it around to all the little kids at the park and showed it to them and asked them if they wanted to hold it, too. {sigh} It was so sweet, it nearly took my breath away -how patient he was and all. He desperately wanted to take it home and "study" it (his words), but I said, "It would be like taking it all the way to Russia! It would miss it's home and family!" So, no toad in the car... but it's so hard to deny that sweet smile.

{funny?}

Lately, Gabriel has been very much into making these "Funny" faces... actually, they're a bit scary sometimes. He made me grab the camera for the one below, but the one above, I found on my camera. Silly boy in this house.

{real}

So, decluttering. It's an ongoing process. One that I often put off because I have more important things to do with my summer (have you seen how many books I've read?!? geesh). But, it's a necessary step in trying to weed out the unwanted and unnecessary stuff so that I can move with ease into the next abode. Here is all the contents of the bottom drawer. I don't need 2 pizza cutters- one is fine! I certainly don't want that pineapple corer slicer thingy. I don't eat that many pineapples and I find great joy and satisfaction in using a knife! But my spider strainers- LOVE them and that circluar silver thingy to the right of the dough hook attachement = circle cutter for sandwiches- LOVE that, too! Regardless, this is quite a snapshot of what my life looks like right now. Clutter abounding but progress being made none the less.

maybe next week, I'll get this in on the actual posting date.... Thursday!

in the meantime, I'll be enjoying the days as they come

More {pfhr}!

Costain Crew Update ~ July 31, 2011

2011-07-31T23:59:00.004-04:00

Well it just makes sense to me that I post on the first day and the last day of this month. I promise that I filled all the days in between with many, many things. One week of bliss is pictured above- VBS. Golly was that a God-send. I relished all of those 15 hours of "me-time". Because my days are full of lots of one on one time with each of these guys! We've visited parks, friends, movie theaters, fountains, baseball games, libraries, stores, hospitals (ok, just one and with just one child), grandparents, pools and an amusepark, too!

We've been busy. But not too crazy busy. Just the perfect amount for us.

I began the summer trying eagerly to adjust the sleep times of these four monkeys, to no avail. I don't get it. Really. I give up. I would put them to bed after a day of here, there and everywhere and still--- they'd wake up between 6:30 and 7:30--- EVERY. SINGLE. DAY. goodness me. I realize I will eventually be pushing them out of bed with a crowbar because they'll be teenagers, but until that time, I just wish they'd figure out the BEAUTY of sleeping in on a summer morning.

So we'll start with Gabriel and work our way down the line.

Here he is at the blueberry patch. Every activity we do is usually met with one of his pat responses: "this is boring", "this is not going to be fun", "so lame". Seriously. I mean, when did the teenager appear in my 8 yr old? Ironically, he usually declares that whatever lame activity he just did with us was the best and he LOVED it. SO, we just ignore the initial comments. He said the same about going to VBS and then declared at the end of it that, that was "the best week ever", "can we do it next year?" Um, yes!

Gabe got to spend a three day vacation at his "aunt and uncle's" house with his bud/pseudo cousin, Travis. He stayed up really late, almost saw the Harry Potter movie (that would have been uber bad- he frightens easily and is not allowed past book 4, at the current time), learned (quite forcibly) to take showers (it was my summer goal for him) and spent LOTS of time in the pool that they go to. I'm so glad he had the chance to do that.

shortly after I snapped this, Max hopped off- came to his senses for the Free Fall.

In between this and that, he's been doing a lot of fighting with him brothers and parents (he rocks at this, if you want to look at it that way), reading a ton of books, watching movies and playing with the neighborhood kids. I really cannot believe he will be 9 soon. That's craziness. He's so photogenic and super sweet on the inside, just has this hard outer shell that takes a bit of time to crack through, you know. And he's really excited to start 3rd grade in just a few short weeks (I'm excited for him, too!)

And here is his bested buddy in the whole world you just wouldn't know it by the way he treats him....

I just love this picture of him. Doesn't he look all vintage and old school on a worn quilt reading a book?
here's another version....

ah summertime.

So anyway, I just passed out my new Summer thing (not Summer bingo), but Mom's Summer Reading Club. With books listed for them to read and each section of books assigned a point value (I got the idea on Pinterest- {love}). He's taken off with the list and this is one of the books. The older boys have gotten themselves into a reading rut of late. Too much Caption Underpants and Wimpy Kid books. Harry Potter, too. I threw some classics and some new series at them and we'll see what happens. I kept those other books on their reading lists b/c I know they love them, but sneaky Crafty Mama here assigned them very LOW point values! HA! We'll see what happens.

Max has been to one or two birthday parties and we've taken in Cars2, Mr. Popper's Penguins, and some oldies at the $1 movie theater. Max loves going to the neighbor boys house and playing Wii or jumping on the trampoline. I love that they've finally found a neighbor boy. I didn't think they existed for the first 5 years of our life in our neighborhood.
He's also been journaling everyday. Love that, too. Still a voracious reader at heart, he's also my gamer. We've been playing loads of Blokus and Bug Trails. He's also really good at my Kindle games- where you have to find as any words as you can in the mixed up letters- Every Word, it's called. He'll be super ready for 1st grade in a few weeks.

at Del Grosso's Amusement Park, just last week- with niece, Caterina

Moving onto Dominic. My sneaky little curly headed shadow.

The twins recently got their hair cut. It was a sad day for me. I loved those curls, but really, it was unruly!

See! Crazy hair and crazy face!

So, when I got their hair cut, I just kept his a little longer and those curls are still there, just not as CRAZY!

Dominic wishes he could go to the BIG library just about everyday and get Mighty Machines or LOTS and LOTS of jets or whatever. He loves all those car/truck shows. He has spent many hours outside riding his bike (with training wheels) or driving around in his Escalade. LOL

He knows that school is starting soon and well, we're still working on the alphabet. They know the letters, to a certain degree, well, he knows "his" letter ("D"). His favorite color, as of today, is green. And he loves CANDY- he'll ask for it anytime of day and all day.

Then there's this guy... Mr. Quirky.

As far as personalities go, his is LOUD and quite definitive about certain things. Such as attire. See him in that photo... that "Frosty" shirt is his favorite (it's nearly too small, but he doesn't care) and it's labeled one of 5 "awesome/cool" shirts that he owns. He wants to be able to get dressed just as soon as he rolls out of bed in the morning, too. That said, camo is a necessary and normal part of his everyday attire.

The kid keeps us in stitches with his facial expressions and commentary of events. Lately, he's all about his birthday party which will apparently take place on the north pole. I've been commissioned to make apple pie, his fave (news to me!) and he wants Cotton candy there, too. He'd like a freeze ray for his gift. Actually, five of them, b/c he'll be five. Incidentally, the word "actually" is a word he loves to say. He, too, adores all things candy and lives for Chocolate Cereal day in our house (only Saturdays). He'll ask every night if I will go to the store and buy him some chocolate cereal.

Needless to say, these four keep us in stitches.

And pretty darn busy.

We're in the process of readying our house for moving...
Really.
Truly.
I mean it this time.

We'll need more room for this one...

coming February 2012!

Just recently....

2011-07-01T11:03:00.000-04:00

Recently, in the Crafty house:

I made my first blueberry pie. Oh Joy. It was good. Looking forward to picking in a few weeks and making another! (thanks to Annie for the recipe!) I made it for Father's Day b/c my dad and my husband a big fans of berry pies. This one's a winner.

We were leaving the Children's Musuem when my boys decided to explore the area right in front of the car. Couldn't pass up a photo op.

See this bag of pretzels? They're my favorite book reading snack and well, they're incredibly hard to find! Herr's, why are Whole Grain pretzel sticks with flaxseed and honey so difficult to come by? You make me buy every store out (which happens to be only 3 bags per store, when I DO find them b/c that's all that's ever on the shelf)! Please distribute these to more stores and readers.... let me know if you find them. Target and Wal-mart seem to be my only hope lately. Thanks!

Max finally took in his first Pirate game. Don't ask how it happened that he hasn't been to one. We're just slow sometimes. Anyway, the boys (2 bigs and Mr. Crafty) wen to the Red Sox game and had AMAZING seats. Came home with two baseballs and had a good time with just daddy.

While they were gone... I painted the living room with the lovely Jen from Just a Glimpse. Man, does that girl know how to "cut in"! I'm forever grateful to her for getting my butt in gear and helping me paint that enormous space. It was exhausting but I'm glad it's done. Moving onto other rooms (?!?!?), we'll see about that. We also discussed our recent read, One for the Money by Janet Evanovich. I've been told to read these popular books for eons and they seemed like the perfect induction into summer. I'm three books in already. In fact, I have read a total of FIVE books during the month of JUNE. Hello! That's a seriously amazing feat for a mom of 4 boys. Blog has suffered though because of it. oh well, can't do it all, can I?
Check out my growing list of books I've read in 2011. What's on your summer reading list? What's a book I absolutely cannot get through the summer without reading?? Don't worry about suggesting something that you think everyone on the planet has read. Chances are... I have not. LOL

Our Week in Pictures ~ 6.18.11

2011-06-18T16:32:00.000-04:00

The end of Cricket soccer for awhile... twins will not be playing yet, until fall 2012.

Vinnie's graduation.... Dom's Godfather. Don't those boys look like summer already?

We attended our library's dedication ceremony this week, too. This is a section the littles are very familiar with...

Cutting the ribbon!

Flag Day ceremonies in downtown Bridgeville....

Enjoying refreshments after the ceremony....

Fresh peas from the B-ville Farmer's Market. I had to take a picture of these 4 peas in a pod....

Someone may have had to write this a few times. Do you ever issue a punishment and go, that was pointless? I should have had him write the usual.... a Bible verse about what virtue we're aspiring towards. This is so 1950's of me.... it's all good. Penmanship could use some improvement. Love that he drew lines.

Boys constantly in motion.... the story of my life!

This is where you'll find them if it's too quiet and you're not sure where they are... digging in the dirt. My older two NEVER did this!

About that Silly Bunny ~ 6.10.11

2011-06-10T16:06:00.000-04:00

{there is something wrong with my bunny.... will i figure it out before I gift it? answer: no!}

Many moons ago, I happened up emilie's blog and found this lovely tutorial on making your very own Knuffle Bunny. (BTW, some people say ka-nuffle and others go with nuffle, I'm a ka-nuffle kinda gal) I filed it away in the "oh that would be fun to make for someone someday" file. And then the perfect occasion presented itself- a first birthday for our Godchild who just so happens to be a girl! OH JOY! A girl would enjoy this sweet book and a handmade bunny!

So I went rooting around in my bin 'o fabric and lo and behold, would you believe I had the perfect shade of Knuffle Bunny bluish green? You would believe that, wouldn't you. Well, I did which made this project even more perfect. All I needed to buy to make this bunny was black embroidery thread and white felt. I even had the stuffing!

I didn't really take into consideration the fact that I've never made a stuffie before. I just saw this as a fun little sewing challenge- mind you, I sew straight lines. That's about it. I sew on scrapbook pages and I made the occasional baby's first tag blanket. But stuffies or clothing? Never even tried that before.

Crafty likes a challenge.

So, while it was still a bit frosty and cold outside, I got to sewing. I got pretty far with my "antique-ish" sewing machine, but it was no match for those thick layers of felt and stuffing after awhile. So I headed to my friend, Melanie's house. She has a sewing machine that could sew all by itself! It was a beaut! I ran out of time though and figured I could tackle attaching the head, eyes and nose at a later time.

Three months later---mind you, the Godchild's birthday was in Feb and here I was in May getting my act together- we were headed for a family gathering where we'd get a chance {finally} to see sweet little Godchild and give her, her presents.

It was May. It was my layout a day challenge. It was the end of the school year. It was a holiday weekend. AND it was apparently, stop your dag-on procrastinating with the move thing and get decluttering month, too.

good grief.

Needless to say, I did not finish LOAD in May but I did make this silly little bunny!

So we're on our way up to the family gathering and I'm half way there.... eyes attached, nose attached... head half attached. The head part was particularly tricky. I didn't quite get the instructions and I really wanted to make sure the HEAD STAYED ON the bunny!!!

Of course, I finished it because as anyone who knows me can attest, I work well under pressure. The directions said to use a black sharpie to draw along the edges of the eyes and paws, but I felt embroidery thread would be a more long-lasting idea. Emilie's tutorial was great and got me on the right path to making my own knuffle softie.

When I handed it to my cousin, Godchild's mom, she took one look at it and said "where are the eyes?" oh goodness me! I forgot to stitch in the little black dots for the eyes!!!! So, down by the creek I went with my quilter's thimble, thread and needle to make some eyeballs for that bunny!

Now he can see!

And Sweet little Godchild took the bunny and did what any smart little girl would do... she hugged him. awwww and tasted him!

{minus the eyeballs....}

Layout a Day Blog Hop~ 6.9.11

2011-06-09T07:46:00.003-04:00

{this adorable character is the reason i didn't "complete" my LOAD in May... check back soon for that story!}

Don't be shocked that I'm posting twice in the same week! I had some fuel to get another post up because I'm participating in a Layout A Day blog hop today!

Most of my regular readers already know how much I LOVE the LOAD challenges that Lain Ehmann hosts 3 times a year. They're my most productive scrapbooking time and with 6 layout a day challenges under my belt... I have lots of memories captured and full albums to show for it!

If I had to choose a few of my favorite pages from this past LOAD challenge, it would have to be my "Mama Loves" page. I love how I finally figured out how to utilize a bold print of PP and combined a recent pic of myself with my boys, too. The journaling idea just came to me while we were eating my favorite pizza on Mother's Day- list style journaling is a quick and easy way to add memories to your pages!! The whole page reminds me of this wonderful day filled with sweet memories with the family I just adore.

But I know myself well.... I couldn't just land on ONE page that I considered a favorite. This page was born out of an event that happened one May morning. I was ready with my camera to snap pictures of this wily little crew of sneaksters and knew exactly what my page for the day was going to be about. As usual, for me, the hardest part is choosing between the hundreds of alpha letter stickers I own. LOL Usually, I'm short one very important letter! This time, I guess you could say... I got lucky!

While creating a month's worth of pages is certainly one of the perks of participating in LOAD, it is absolutely not the ONLY reason I have done this SIX times already. It is the community of supportive scrapbookers, the amazing prompts that Lain provides us, the feedback on your layouts and so much more. If it wasn't for LOAD, I'd probably just be a paper and sticker collector, but thanks to these monthly challenges (and boy, was MAY a challenge) I have pages completed with my collection of doodads, stickers and amazing paper!

LOAD has taught me that I love the style of the grid and clean design. I love to tell the story, but might not get in on the page in just one day.... it has to percolate a bit. LOAD reminded me how important my blog is in my scrapbooking and how I really should post more memories here b/c chances are, I'll come here looking for stories to go with some of my older pictures! But most importantly, LOAD teaches me how much I love scrapbooking- more or less, how much I need scrapbooking as my creative outlet. I appreciate the little details of my life more. I savor the gift of 2 rambunctious little twinks getting into a tray full of cookies and ordinariness of a family dinner filled with conversation about the things I love.

To see all 27 (I only got through 27 days of this LOAD, first time I didn't get to complete one!) of my pages, visit my scrapbook tab at the top!

So if you didn't know it before, you certainly know it now. I'm a HUGE fan of Lain and her LOAD challenges. And to further prove my point, check out these amazing LOAD ladies and their reasons they loved LOAD (and why we all miss the comraderie of the daily prompts so much!).

Thanks for hopping by and don't forget to leave comments on everyone's posts!

Danielle - ecoscrapbook

Jennifer - at the blue barn -
Katrina - Capture your 365
Abbie - Happie by Abbie
Trista - The Little Things
Lisa - Gettin' Creative

Christina - She's a Crafty Pumpkin YOU ARE HERE!

Caroline - Pouring Over Pictures HOP on OVER here next!

Kathleen - Taking Pictures, Enjoying Life

Want to get in on the LOAD action? Visit Lain's blog Scrap Happy!

Max is a Kdg graduate! ~ 6.8.11

2011-06-08T10:46:00.000-04:00

First day of Kindergarten....

And last day of Kindergarten!

I really think you DO think you look taller and more grown up!

Here's to a great year, Maximilian! You've grown leaps and bounds!

The new sofa.... in pictures ~ 6.7.11

2011-06-07T11:47:00.000-04:00

We've been enjoying the new sofa now for a few weeks. It arrived just a few days before Gabriel's first Communion, so I guess that makes it ONE MONTH old today!

It's extremely soft and cozy.... and all our pillow pets love hanging out on it! Two tired twins with one of our 5 penguin pillow pets (that's right... five... b/c Mommy needed one, too ;)

Gabriel has claimed his spot... he's often right here... reading, all nestled in a blanket. On this sweet occasion, he was reading a book to Zachary.

We've even had a friend or two stop by to enjoy the lounge..... (see, more pillow pets!- maybe I should get some decorative type pillows???)

Gabriel must have been at school on this day... I love finding the kids all lounged out and comfortable like this. Our old couch was lightyears away from this kind of comfort! So we are thoroughly happy to have this new sectional in its stead.

That said.... we are still waiting one more piece that was ordered incorrectly. hmmph. Quite unbelievable if you ask me that after all that time, one piece was wrong, but honestly, if you look at it, you'd have no idea we were missing a piece of the section. THankfully, it's the "extra" piece we ordered for when we move to a larger living room!

If you missed out on the original post and need a good laugh at our expense, read right here