new layouts

Yesterday Laci came over, the dads and kids hung out at her house, and we got to scrapbook!! It was a well-orchestrated plan, if I do day so myself :)  The guys and kids came here in time for pizza (and wine - for the adults of course!!).  It really was a great day! Here's what I made:

'Meet the teacher' - about when we went to Bennett's room the day before school started... oddly enough, I don't have any pictures of the teacher... oh well!! This is made with the October Afternoon line and uses one of the Sketches from the Got Sketch 102 class.  Also, see that cool scalloped blue paper over there on the left??  Yeah, it didn't come that way... I used my new fiskars scallop punch!! Love it!!

The 2 page layout is about the first day of school. I decided not to go the whole 'I-cried-for-the-whole-day-you-were-gone' route and decided to highlight how great Bennett did and how much he loved it :)  The product here is Scenic Route and uses another of the Got Sketch  102 layouts. They are so much fun!

Ok, so now it's time for Desperate Housewives and Brothers & Sisters... can't wait!! Did you see The Office??  Oh man - it was SO funny! I'm gonna go back and re-watch it... over and over and over.  And over. 

You might want to avoid calls from our house...

Yesterday I was lucky enough to go to the elementary school for a kick-off celebration for the Boosterthon, which is the school's new fundraiser. This is the only fundraiser that they'll do this year, and it is going to be FABULOUS!  They got those kids so excited and pumped up - it was amazing. I know it sounds sappy, but I had tears in my eyes as I watched Bennett in there with all of those kids, learning about the fun run that they'll have next Thursday, the process of asking for sponsors, and the prizes that they can earn.  They were all so happy.  The coolest thing about it is that everyone, regardless of whether or not they bring any pledges in, gets to run in the fun run AND they get a t-shirt. So cool.

So, we got home and he told me all about it. He showed me his pledge form and told me what he was going to do. A little while later, Nana came over and Bennett worked his magic on her, securing his first pledge.  We made a list of who he could ask and he was ready to call. Everyone. Right then. I decided to let him try Gigi first - at least she wouldn't get all confused and wonder who was calling like some of our elderly relatives :)

So, the conversation was going well. He did a great job explaining what he was going to do and he asked her if she would sponsor him as he ran. She asked him how many laps he was going to do, and then replied that she thought that she could sponsor him for $1 per lap.  He paused and said 'Well, can you do $2?' HA!  Maybe he's going to be a salesman - and a very insistent one :) He's been on the phone again tonight and has gotten up to, like $15 a lap or something!! 

So, you might want to avoid any calls from our house for the next week or so... unless you are really good at turning away a really cute and persistent 5-year-old!!!

Since you waited so nicely.

I finally got some mojo going this morning... mostly because I thought the Creative Cafe was today, and when I got there I had it wrong!!! Tomorrow is my turn at the Cafe.  Oh well. At least I was dressed and ready to get creative... so here is what I made... Both are done with Scenic Route for the DT at Scrap Etc.

This is a layout that I made from the first sketch from the Got Sketch 2 class on line... It's all about Bennett and his Nana. They have a really close relationship - and although I joke about it being because she spoils the you-know-what out of him, that really isn't the reason.  The title says 'There's No Love Like My Nana's'.  

This little can is something that I also made from the Scenic Route line - with Heidi Swapp chipboard letters. It says 'Scrappy Goodness' and I plan to put all those little odds and ends that I save for that future layout...

One of the requirements for the DT each month is that we have to make 3 layouts (no problem!!) and one project or 2 cards. The project and cards are not so easy for me. I really just scrapbook to scrapbook my pictures. The other little projects are not usually on my radar screen.  I have to admit, though, that it is fun to get out of my little box sometimes :)

I pity the fool

who doesn't come and do these 2 cool things with me at Scrap Etc. :) I saw an advertisement for something the Mr. T was selling this morning while I was at the gym and I was inspired by his motto...

The first cool thing is a Creative Cafe Happy Hour that I am hosting tomorrow morning (Wednesday) at 11 AM at the store. For only $2 you can come and make this cute little layout with me.

For $2 you really can't beat it! Please come and hang out with me! I'm going early so I can do some shopping...

The second cool thing is Wrapper's Delight in November. You can find out more about it here. It is going to be so much fun - cropping for hours on end, prizes, goodies, food... just all-around fun!! 

I really have been missing scrapbooking recently. I started a layout this weekend and I hope that I'll get it finished today. I guess I've just been so busy with other things that I've let my scrapbooking fall to the side. No more, I tell you!! No more. I'll post what I make here by tomorrow... setting a timeline will make me prioritize! Hold me to it, ok?

Life goes on...

So, I have finally finished Breaking Dawn...

I am not exaggerating when I say that the 4 books of this series have overtaken my life for the past 2 weeks.  Seriously. I have done nothing but think about these books and their characters - Bella, Edward, Jacob, Charlie, Carlisle, the whole gang. I even had to lock the book in my car last Thursday so that I could get some things done around the house :)  I brought the books with me wherever I went (yes, even to the gym. on the machines. in the car. at stoplights. in carpool (did I ignore your call? I was probably reading!!!)

Anyway, now I am finding my way back into my real life. I have time, once again, to scrapbook. To watch TV. To clean the house. To have a conversation... Yes, I know that you think that I am crazy. Unless you have read the books. Then I think you might understand!!

Now I just get to look forward to the movie coming out in November. Of course, I will be there. But, I am prepared to be disappointed. I'm not sure anything can come close to the books.

So, since my life has continued to move along, I am happy to report that Bennett's soccer game was great this weekend. I was there to watch, so I didn't have the mommy-guilt that was a result of the consignment sale last weekend. He played great, but began crying about various things after the half-time break, so we were all at our wit's end by the end of the game. I'm still not sure why he was crying - but Chick-fil-a seemed to make it all better (for me and for him!).

Tonight I led the kindergarten choir (for the 2nd time ever) and we seemed to do ok. The kids seem to be getting the songs really quickly, which is good! I have to admit that I am having a really good time with them - I wasn't sure that I was cut out to lead a children's choir, but so far no one has gotten hurt or yelled at, so I'm counting that as a success!! 

I had my 3rd session with my personal trainer on Friday. She told my work-out partner and I that we needed to work out more. We aren't supposed to take the whole weekend off, as we have been doing. I thought I was doing well by getting up there 4 days a week. That's better than none right? It's even better than 3, which was my old goal. I bet she wouldn't like all of the chocolate oatmeal chipper cookies that I ate tonight. Or the DQ we had on Friday night :) That's a whole other post, though, isn't it?

I'm praying tonight. I'm praying for a good week. I'm praying for a renewed spirit. I'm praying for patience. I'm praying for a sense of purpose and direction. I'm praying for strength. I'm also praying with thanksgiving for all that He has given me. It's really more than I could have imagined and certainly more than I deserve. Would it be wrong to pray for another Bella and Edward book? Probably not :)

This is what being a parent is all about.

Tonight while I was fixing dinner (which consisted of ham, cheese, cheese chips and party dip - partay-up-in-heee-uh! Can you tell that Brad was not home for dinner? Nope - he is dining at Highland's tonight. Makes my ham and cheese sandwich kinda sad... but I digress!!) Anyway, while I was fixing that gourmet meal, Bennett asked me what animals were the first on the earth.  His little mind is crazy-busy these days with questions and figuring things out.

I paused and all of those science classes flashed before my eyes (I love science!!) and I thought about how best to answer that question. The answer came, though, and I told him that I could read him all about the beginning of the earth from the Bible. 'Okay!' he said so I handed him his dinner and opened the Bible to Genesis and the creation story in my Bible. He listened so carefully as I told him the story. Verse by verse. Day by day. Creation by creation. The earth, the sky, the lights, the water, the land, the fish, the birds, the animals. Adam. Eve. 'That's neat' he said. I explained that God wrote everything that we need to know in the Bible and that we can read it any time. He said that was really neat.

He thought for a minute and then he said 'Can you read me the story about the star?' After a little discussion I realized he was talking about the little star that we read about last night - the star that landed on top of the manger and led the way on Christmas. I told him that the story of the star was in the Bible, but that it was a little different. I told him that Jesus' birth was told by 4 different people in the Bible - Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. He said 'Let's hear Matthew first.' So, that's what we did. We read the Christmas story from all 4 books. While we ate our gourmet dinner. 

And I was overcome with thankfulness for the privilege of that very moment. The first time that I really read the Bible with Bennett. Not little children's stories about the stories in the Bible (which of course, are wonderful!), but the exact words of God. And this ordinary day became extraordinary. I am thankful.

Coming up for air

Wow! Long time, no blog, huh?  I'm finally able to think straight - and I can't really think of much to say :) That's kinda strange for me, isn't it?

I'll start with a re-cap of the past week... Giggles and Grace (the consignment sale at my church) was a HUGE success! We sold over $65,000 worth of merchandise, which means nearly $17,000 for our Children's Ministry!!!  Yea!!! I was at the sale whenever the doors were open (no, not to shop - although I did get some goodies). I was working the cash registers and trying to keep things moving smoothly. I think for the most part, everything went really well.  I got to work with some super-fab ladies and I do truly have an appreciation for what the Lord did in our church in just those few days. All those ladies, coming together to shop and sell, and no one got hurt or mad (at least not really mad)!!  It was great.

Of course, in the midst of the sale, I totally had to ignore Brad and Bennett. That was stressful for me, although I think that neither one of them seemed to be bothered by my absence!!  Gone are those days when I thought I was the only one that could take care of Bennett and make him happy!! (thank goodness - for everyone's sake!!)  Bennett played his first 2 soccer games last weekend (with Brad coaching) and Brad said that he did great! He made a goal and seemed to have a great time. Bennett told me that he played his hardest because he was thinking of me :)  So sweet, yet somewhat like a dagger to my heart, you know?  I promised not to miss another game!!

Sunday Bennett started complaining about being cold and having a tummy ache - and he took a 2 hour nap. Since he never ever ever naps, I knew that something was truly wrong. When he woke up he had a fever and was still complaining about his stomach.  He made a quick recovery - never did get sick - and the fever was gone by that evening.  He did stay home on Monday due to the 24-hour-fever-free rule, so my day was totally rearranged!! Nothing like a forced day at home, though. We stayed in our jammies all day and just hung out. I think we both needed it!! 

Yesterday Bennett went back to school and I worked in the library.  Then, Brad and I had lunch with Bennett in the lunch room. He was so excited - I couldn't help but eat the steak nuggets and french fries :)  He showed us the ropes of the line and then where to sit. He even showed us where to put our garbage and how to bang our trays on the bar so all the sticky stuff came off :)  I can't wait to go back again...

I've finally completed all of my room mother duties (for now) and I have just a few housekeeping details to take care of from the consignment sale. I will be so glad to get all of that taken care of so that we can write the checks and get them out.  And I'll be getting a nice little check for the items I sold too (minus the $40 that Bennett 'earned' from selling his toys... at least it got him to clean out the playroom, right??) I thought that I didn't have anything to bring up there this time, but I was able to find quite a bit!! What should I spend it on? Oh who am I kidding - I know I'm heading up to Scrap Etc.!!!

On top of all of this craziness, I'm still totally OBSESSED with the Twilight series. I'm on the last book - and I had to LOCK IT IN MY CAR today so that I could actually get something done here at the house!! That is sad, isn't it? But it is so good!! Yes, I know that it is written for teenaged girls. Yes, I know it is a vampire love story. Yes, I know that I could be reading something much more 'enlightening'. But I can promise you that this is the only time in my life that I have read 4 books in less than, like, 2 weeks!!! Now that has to count for something - just ask Angie how fast I used to read. S-L-O-W.  At least I'm working on my speed :)

Ok, now I'm off to pick Bennett up from school. Tonight we are going to church for dinner and a G&G wrap up meeting. Church nights are always great - but also super stress-producing due to the craziness that ensues while we wait in the hall to pay and get our food. Something about that line and that hall makes the kids act like they are wild animals in the zoo. I'll try to take my chill pill on the way in :)

Oh, did I say that couldn't think of anything to say? Yeah, right! :)

We're making progress.

Bennett got his first progress report yesterday - and he got a smiley face!! We were so proud ;)

We were also excited today because Bennett got picked to Franklin (the turtle) home until Friday. He comes in a backpack with a journal and we will write down everything we do with him - we've already taken him to watch Bennett get his haircut and then to church for dinner and Bible Blitz. I think he's having fun with us... we even made him his own bed in a box with Bennett's favorite rosebud baby blanket :)

I am super busy this weekend with the consignment sale - I can't wait to see how much money we make for the Children's Ministry!! I'm sure I'll be beat by the time Saturday afternoon rolls around, but it is always exciting to see what the Lord can do in just a few short days!! 

We all survived!

Things are good here at our house - Brad made it back from Key West (late, but still made it back!!). We are so glad to have him back, although he is on call tonight, so that's a bummer. Tomorrow he should be home, though, which we are all looking forward to!

Bennett's tournament was ok. I got excited for a minute when there were only 3 kids there, but alas, 2 more came, so the competition was on :) He did his absolute best - I mean, he nailed his routine. As I expected, though, he just wasn't up to competition standards with a few of the bigger kids. He got 4th place, I think, and he got his t-shirt, which was good. He got a little upset when we got in the car, but my mom and I just kept telling him how proud we were of him; how he did his best, and that was so great.  He said 'I know. I'm proud of myself too!' :) He wore his uniform for the rest of the day, so I think he handled it just fine!

Thanks to everyone who asked me about it - Everyone has told me that it is good for kids to compete and learn about failure. I totally agree, it's just that my irrational-mommy-ness kicked in for a while (it tends to do that a lot!!) and I freaked. All better now :) until next time...

This week is crazy busy for me - Bible Study started today and it is going to be great! We have over 20 ladies and we are going to study Priscilla Shirer's 'Can We Talk?'.  I am really looking forward to the accountability and fellowship that this group offers. I'm so thankful to have them!

Tomorrow night is bookclub and it is going to be great! Angie is hosting and we are going to discuss 'My Sister's Keeper' by Jodi Picoult. Should be some great discussion!! (and really good food!!)

The consignment sale starts on Friday, with presale shopping on Thursday. I have all of Bennett's clothes tagged and ready to go - now I just have to buckle down and get the toys done. That big toy clean-out we did in July awaits me. That is on the docket for tomorrow. Along with a Room Mother meeting and my first PTO Board meeting... I even got my own 'real' nametag!! Do you think I'm a sucker?? :)

So, I'll be working at the consignment sale Thursday night, most of the day on Friday, and Saturday morning at the cash registers. Want to check out the sale? It is called Giggles and Grace and it's at Asbury UMC (at 119 and 280). It is going to be so great!! I'm excited (and ready for it to be over :) Part of me enjoys the busy-ness of this week, and part of me is feeling a bit overwhelmed.  I'll let you know how it goes (and in the midst of all of this, I have to fit in time to read 'New Moon'!!)

Time to take Bennett to Tae Kwon Do - just a class today, so I don't have to get too anxious :)  And, more time to read!! 

Sometimes being a mom is tough.

There are times, as a mom, when you don't want to have to deal with what is coming at you.  You can see it coming, you can imagine the outcome, and you try to brace yourself. Sometimes it turns out just as you thought, sometimes better, and sometimes even worse... Do you know what I mean?

Here's the thing - Bennett's Tae Kwon Do school is having a tournament this Saturday and when he heard about it from his teacher, Bennett immediately wanted to sign up. Brad and I had our reservations - Bennett is an intermediate belt, but he is by far one of the youngest (if not the youngest... it's hard to tell b/c he is so big :) in the class.  There are things in TKD that are just rote memorization and practice, but there are things that require maturity and dexterity to master.  Bennett does a great job in class. He is enthusiastic. He is a hard worker. But, he's five. And, I hate to say it, but I think he has inherited a bit of my lack-of-athletic ability.

I can't imagine that Bennett has a chance in this tournament, but he wants to do it. We signed him up, and he'll compete at 10 on Saturday. I've tried to prepare him - I've told him that I will be proud as long as he does his best. I've tried to 'help' him practice (that was a disaster - we both just ended up frustrated and in need of a break). We've talked about the trophies - and that even if you don't get a trophy, at least you will get a t-shirt. 

He wondered why everyone wanted a trophy. He likes them too, he said. He said that he would just be going to get the t-shirt. He said he would try his best. 

He said that he loved me the most, next to God (He's at the tip-top of the list, he said). God is always at the top, he said, because God is the one who put us together.

I never want to set him up for failure, but I am prepared to watch on Saturday. I am prepared to cheer him on and give him the thumbs up (that's the corny thing that we do :) when he gets done.  But I also know that while he's competing, I'll be breathless, on the verge of tears, praying that he does ok. I'll be praying that he won't be disappointed. I'll be hoping that by some miracle, he gets that first place trophy. Maybe there will only be 3 kids there - a sure thing for a trophy :)  I'll be prepared to tell him how cool that t-shirt is - and how it is a special t-shirt that only a few special people have. I'll be ready to tell him that he did his very best, and when you do your very best, that's all you can do.  I'll tell him that he'll do better next time. I'll help him practice. 

And, I'll always love him - at the top of the list. Next to God, of course, because He's the whole reason I have any of this! I am SO thankful.

So much to do

 and so little time left to procrastinate!!!

One week from today is our church's consignment sale!!! It's called Giggles and Grace and it is (in my opinion) the best sale in this area!! We have over 300 consignors - that is double what we had last fall! At the past 2 sales I have hauled in some major cash - makes sense since I had never given away one stitch of Bennett's wardrobe or one piece of baby furniture or gear!!  This sale will not be quite as big for me - but I still have a car load of things to bring down there... that is if I actually get around to tagging it! Yikes! 

I will also be working the cash registers for the whole sale- so be sure to come through my line if you are there! It really is so much fun!

I also have a crop at the church this weekend... do I have anything planned to bring with me? Nope. Do I want to haul my whole scrapbook room down there? Nope again. Better get busy, huh? I think I'm going to bring my new sketched from Got Sketch 102 to work on - that will be a good starting place, right?

You know what I really want to do? Read Twilight... At least I'm reading and not watching TV, right? That's a good thing, I'm sure. Is it against the law to read at stop lights?

Now Bennett and I are off to Tae Kwon Do and then to church for dinner. We have SO missed our Wednesday night dinners! I should have a quick meeting for our Capital Campaign, then we'll be home and ready for bed (and more reading for mommy? scrapbooking? tagging? hmmmm).

What was that feeling that I had when Bennett started school that I would have so much time that I would be bored out of my mind? Silly me :) I'm so thankful!!

it kinda makes me sad...

I'm not sure what I was expecting, but I was hoping that the 'new' 90210 was going to be good. That I would be able to re-live the glory days of Dylan, Brenda, Kelly, Brandon - you know, the gang! They were the same age as me. We graduated from high school together! We had the same humongous cell-phones (no text messages!!) and the same mile-high bangs... I guess now I am more suited for Gray's Anatomy and Desperate Housewives :)

That's ok, though, because you know what is going to come on in just 3 weeks and 2 days??  

That's right... THE OFFICE!!!! I can hardly wait! And, I saw that Season 4 is out on DVD... maybe I'll get it for Christmas?? (hint, hint Ang!!)

Brad and RT are in Key West for a scuba vacation and we are hoping that the weather cooperates. I'm a single mom for the next 5 days - I should be really productive but I just got a copy of this book:

I was told to be prepared to ignore my family :) I've heard so much about it - I'm going to get busy reading!

Oh, and next week when I tell you that the new 90210 is my new favorite show, don't make fun of me, ok? :)