It's the Small Things

This little one...

Is so much fun, right now. He's already 20-months. I can't believe how fast the time went! I'm so proud of myself for getting this shot! See that catchlight (how I got caught the light reflecting in his eyes)? I've officially taken my camera off auto. I shoot only in manual now. I'm learning. The only way to learn is to take 10,000 really bad ones and get one just like this one. I'm having fun with it, which I think is the most important part.

*He's wakes up everyday asking for Dylan and Daddy. That's only after he's screamed for me to hurry up and get him.
*He love "purses". Really, anything he can put things in and then carry around, especially if it has to do with rocks.
*He calls his milk "juice".
*He no longer likes bananas.
*He can parrot almost any word.
*He cracks himself up all the time.
*He's into trains "chooch" and "cars" of the matchbox type.
*He pretty much wants to do anything his big brother does, especially if it involves climbing.
*He is obsessed with brooms.
*He gives the best hugs ever!

More Creative Therapy

These are the last two Creative Therapy catalysts I did. This one is for Catalyst #12, If you could make a big impact on the world, what would it be?

Naturally, I went for a more touch-y feel-y perspective. I asked my husband how he would answer and he immediately said he'd figure out once and for all how to make a stable fusion reactor to solve all the world's energy needs. I love that, too! Funny how I think the world can be impacted by changing peoples perspectives and my hubby thinks all the world needs is a little scientific revolution. Hey, I think we're both right. ;)

Journaling Reads:
If I could do anything to make a big impact on our world, it would be to somehow inspire compassion in everyone. This may sound simple and not nearly enough, but it would make a huge start to changing oppression, tyranny, hunger, hatred, and all the things that bring pain and suffering to our world. Compassion is not only one’s ability to understand another’s emotional state, it’s, also, a desire to alleviate suffering. If every person in our world could look past their own pain and understand another’s, then act to change it, I believe we would begin to see a different world. I believe in the power of one and I believe it begins with compassion.

This next one is for this week's Catalyst #14, What's the one lesson you'd want to teach your children (if you had them).

My Note:
It's so hard to raise children. You want the very best for them. If I could leave them with one very important lesson it would be to value themselves. Life is so full of "pretty and things". I'd like them to know that happiness isn't about "pretty and things". It's about being true to oneself and valuing and appreciated all the little things day by day.

Journaling:
The one lesson I wish to teach, is to teach you to value. Value yourselves, value others, value life and all it's simple pleasures, value love in all it's forms. Value. Life isn't about owning things and pleasing others. Life is about appreciating and valuing those things that cannot be bought.

Proud Mommy...

In gathering information about whether or not Dylan is ready for Kindergarten, I began to understand somewhat about him; he can't focus. Seriously, the kid's only four, but I decided to start working on it, anyhow. One of the activities that was recommended is karate. Well, this brought raised eye brows and visions of Dylan "HIGH YA'ING" his little brother across the room, so I was, needless to say, not too into it. I was assured they teach them that kicking, punching or otherwise pretending to be karate super heros outside of the studio was utterly inappropriate. That's all good, but my son can't FOCUS! Right?! Doesn't that mean, that while they tell them these things, they have to pay attention long enough to get it? Anyway, somehow I decided to take Dylan in for a private trial with the instructors. Not only was he loving every single second of that twenty minutes, he broke a board with his fist, learned about commitment and was grinning ear to ear! I signed up. Yep. That's all it took. The guys who own the studio are exactly the kind of guys you want your son to become when he's in his twenties. They are incredibly patient, talented and just, overall, really good guys. I love our Little Dragons classes because of the message they teach the kids. I love that they use positive messages to get the kids to do what they should do. I love that they teach them about their bodies and their minds. We've only been going about two months and last Tuesday was promotion day. Dylan was tested to go from his white belt (the novice belt) to his yellow belt. I think they pretty much automatically get their promotions if they are invited, but Dylan didn't know that. And, even though he didn't earn it the traditional way, it gave him an incredible amount of self confidence. He came home and did not want to take that new yellow belt off. He loves going and I think he is starting to understand what it means to work toward a goal. He wants to be promoted the next time, too, so he's now practicing with me. He is really doing a great job of listening in class. He still has his moments, but he is really trying and it makes me feel so proud! This is my sweet boy with one of his instructors right after he got his yellow belt! Oh, and this time, he broke the board with his foot!

Creative Therapy Catalyst #10

Becky Fleck is our guest artist this week. She made a sketch for us to use for this catalyst if we wanted. I used it. I love her sketches. All of the work this week is so wonderful. I had tears reading most of the journaling. I knew I was going to do my layout about my Aunt who passed away from an aggressive cancer almost five years ago. The cancer just came on really fast and then she was gone. One minute she was sitting with me asking me about my pregnancy and my life and the next she was just gone. I never took her illness seriously. I know that sounds horrible, but so many people get better and go into remission. I just expected she would, too. It just never entered my mind she might die and so soon. I have so many regrets and I still harbor so much guilt. I wish I had spent more time with her. I still really miss her.

Journaling reads:
It’s hasn’t been easy with you gone. I have never really gotten over losing you to cancer so quickly. I didn’t believe it would take your life, and as a result I didn’t spend enough time with you. I miss you. We all miss you. I know I shouldn’t feel guilty, but I do. The family is slowly bouncing back and I know how happy that would make you. I hope you know how much you are loved.

Creative Therapy Catalyst #9

It's another amazing week over at Creative Therapy. This week the catalyst was "something you feel pessimistic about". I struggled with this week. It's hard to force yourself to think about things you feel negative toward. I'm working really hard to focus on the positive. My first thought was to talk about the state of our country, you know, economics and politics, but then I decided that would not make me feel better, so I went a different route instead and I do feel better. I have made myself accountable to more than just me and I like that. This layout is all digital. My printer busted, right as I was trying to print out this photo. My lovely Epson 2200 is officially gone. It's hasn't been very consistent lately, so I'm looking at it as a blessing. I get to purchase a nice, new printer. I need to do some serious research first. And, hey, if you have a recommendation, I'd love to here it.

Here's my take on this week's catalyst.

Journaling Reads:
I’m pessimistic about pessimistic people. I once heard a speaker declare she was going on a “negativity fast” and it inspired me so much I decided to join her. The idea is to keep only the positive in your life. It’s not easy to do, but it’s worth it in the end. I’ve been doing as much as I can to grow in that direction. I tend to be negative and I know that attracts negative to me, so to keep myself focused on the positive I spend at least 30 minutes each day reading or listening to self-help literature. It’s important to me that my children grow up in a positive household; one where “I can” and “I believe in me” are the common phrases. I have already made a big difference in myself. I have lot more to do, but I look forward to achieving my goal.

Lots of craziness

Things have been really busy. I've been working really hard on the Homegrown Scrapbooks Spring Survival kit. I'll post some of the layouts I've done in a bit.

I really want to be a better blogger and post more often, but it doesn't seem to be much of a priority these days. I'm pretty chicken to post things about my life or my kids. It's not that I care if people get to know me from the blog, it's more that I worry about putting out information about my kids and our life on the public internet. So, I kind of turned my blog into a scrappy blog rather than a personal blog a while back. Lately though, I've been thinking that I'd like to switch it back to a both thing. I'm really inspired by Karen Russell. Her blog is such a fun read. She puts it all out there. What inspires me about that, is that she has this wonderful record of her life. My favorite thing that she does is to put a photo up of one of her children, then write a list of what they are doing/saying/like at that moment. I just think that's brilliant! Also, I imagine my family would dig coming to my blog and reading more about us and what the kiddos are up to, than seeing just what's inspiring me in the scrappy world, especially since I'm the only one I know in my family who scraps. :) There is this super cool place that will turn your blog in to a book. I love that! It's called Blurb. So, for all you lurkers, I've made myself a personal vow to increase the amount of posting I do each week. I don't have any photos of my kids edited for this post, so I'll leave you with some of the layouts I've done for the Survival kit. Enjoy!

The Ribbon Ring

After I posted my organizational system, the owner of the Ribbon Ring contacted me and asked me to review her product. I responded that I really like my system how it is and if she still wanted me to review her product, I would. Well, she did want me to and sent me a product sample. Thank you, Melissa.

It doesn't look like much when you get it. It's a binder ring, some tiny orange dots and some acrylic tags. But, when you actually start to use it, it's exactly what you need and very cool. Each tag can hold more than one standard size ribbon, which is really nice. I like that my really wide ribbons fit on one tag, too. Once you get the hang of putting your ribbon on the tag, it goes really quickly. I really haven't been using much ribbon lately and seeing my yellow ribbon staring at me is making me want to use it. I really like that I can see what I have quickly.

What I love about this product:

1. I can hang these so I see all of my ribbon.
2. My ribbon does not get bent, like it does on the cards I currently use.
3. I can hang my small leftovers, which were too small to wind around cards.
4. I can still sort by color; one ring per color
5. I have more room in my color totes without the second box for ribbon
6. Those nifty tiny orange dots. If you have a ton of one kind of ribbon, you can hang a yard on your tag and then put an orange dot on the tag to let you know that you have more when you run out. For example, if you have ribbon on spools, you can cut off a yard and put it on your ring and keep the rest stored on the spool as you do now. This way you'll see everything you have on your ring in one place. I think that's very cool.
7. It's easy to thread the ribbon on and just as easy to take it off.
8. The tags are substantial in weight. I don't feel like I can rip or ruin them. I, also, love that the holes where you thread the ribbon are cut nice and smooth, so my ribbons don't catch on the edges.

What I don't love about the product:

1. I can't put it in my color tote, but I do like seeing them out.
2. They seem a bit pricey. If you buy 90 tags for $24.95 it breaks down to $0.28 a piece. On the other hand, what can you buy for $0.28 these days? I think quality of the tags make it worth the price.

I was positive I wouldn't want to use this product, but after using it. I highly recommend it. I'm going to be converting over to it.

Terri Conrad

The fabulous Terri Conrad, designer of the gorgeous Webster's Pages paper, is giving away a set of her new line! It's gorgeous, as you can see! If you want a chance to win, then visit her blog.

Creative Therapy Catalyst #5

It's up and it's another amazing week on the Creative Therapy blog. This week's catalyst is on what you like best about yourself. I always think this is the hardest thing to do. It's easy to list the physical stuff, but all the rest is tough. I did my layout as a list in the third person trying to answer the question as I would about a friend, ie "I think she's...", etc.

It's really exciting when a friend has a vision and is able to make it come to life and grow in popularity so fast. I'm so proud of her. She had a vision and she ACTED on it. And, the rewards have been incredible. When Karen approached me about her blog idea and if I'd be interested, I didn't hesitate. I LOVED the vision, create art as therapy, and I knew the catalysts would help me grow and stretch myself. These last three layouts I've done are very different from my norm. I love them and finally feel like I've found my little niche. I love the blog, the team, and the people who have participated and commented. I've been brought to tears and I've laughed and I love it all. It's been one month. I can't to see what the next few bring.

ScrapScene and Creative Therapy

Hello to everyone new who's dropped by from ScrapScene. It was a huge surprise to find my quiet little blog on ScrapScene and I just wanted to say welcome and thanks for stopping by!

Creative Therapy's 3rd Catalyst is up! It's such a fantastic week. We have Linda Woods who wrote The Visual Chronicles and The Journal Revolution as our guest designer this week. She's amazing. I highly recommend both of her books. If you want to participate in the challenge, you may even win one!

Here is my take on the catalyst; The Best Part of Today

All of the product used on the layout is Creative Cafe. YumO!

Journaling:
I was having a pretty bad day and was attempting to wallow alone, when my 4-year-old walked in. “Mommy, look what I made!” Sigh. I was not in the mood for show and tell, but what’s a Mom to do? So, I answered, “Wow, Dylan. That’s fantastic.” It was pretty cool, after all, to see a glitter glue drawing on a paper towel! But, I’m still in a rotten mood! “Do you know what it is?” Ugh! Not fifty questions! Not now! “A fish?” “No silly, it’s a Rhinoceros bone!” “Ah, of course it is!” Grrr! He made me smile; slightly. I’m supposed to be in a bad mood! ” Yes, and see the red?” “Um hum.” “That’s the blood in the bone”. Ok, he got me! What could I do, but laugh and leave my bad mood behind? My day is filled with these little moments of pure innocence and imagination. I could have snapped at my son and asked him to leave me alone, but even when I’m in a bad mood, I know better. The best part of today is being old enough to embrace the fact that the best things in life are small and freely given and that family really is everything.

My Note:
I decided to scrap “Rhinoceros Bone” because it is the perfect example of my life, today. I want to flip through my Book of Me and see this page and be reminded that I can laugh when I’m in a bad mood and that I am loved. Though I decided to do this for me, it’s turned out to be a huge deal for Dylan. I’ve made him feel so special. He can’t wait to see HIS page up on the internet! Again, the best things are small and freely given.