Cancer...you can kiss my ass!

That 's really all I have to say about that! So many people in my life have been affected by this disease. Mr. Man lost his mother 4 years ago, his father has been battling it for years. I have two aunts with two different types of Cancer, both of whom have beaten it. And just this week a woman who is like a second mother to me has been diagnosed with Leukemia, and a cousin on Mr. Man's side of the family has been diagnosed with inoperable Cancer. WTF!?! So many good people are afflicted with this disease. It just doesn't seem fair. Please support Cancer research.

Catching Up

Here is the finished project that I did for my Mom's Birthday. BTW, she turned 51, not 50. Good thing I didn't go all out and do a special 50th card. Thankfully, my sister pointed out to me that she turned 50 last year. In all fairness, last year I had a new baby at home and I was a little sleep deprived. So sorry I missed a big milestone Mom! The picture on this layout is from my wedding day. My Mom walked me down the aisle. This project originally started on the paper that the buttons are on, but when I found the vellum quote, the layout didn't work...since, the buttons were already sewn on, I had to improvise. Believe it or not, becoming a Mom has changed the way that I scrapbook. I used to plan everything just so, play with it, arrange things, re-arrange things until I was finally happy with it and then glued everything down. These days I'm flying by the seat of my pants and just getting things done. Not worrying too much about things being so perfect. It is quite liberating.

On with the updates from previous posts...

Here are a couple of cards from my "Glitter, Sparkle and Shine" class. There are only two, because one is a Mother's Day card, the other is a Father's Day card (both being sent to my parents), and the third was just a really crappy photo that you couldn't see anyway. The first one is the glitter window...which, BTW, should have been reserved for a technique class, as it was very time consuming and confusing for beginners...and the second one uses the Crystal Effects...also not a very good thing to use in a class, as it takes quite awhile to dry and I'm sure most people went home with yucky, smudgy blobs on their cards. My original card actually ended up warping, because I used the Crystal Effects on the paper after I cut it instead of cutting it out after it was dry. All of these things that you learn when you first start teaching classes are part of the learning curve I'm sure, but I still feel bad. I'm going to try and simplify things for the next session. I think we're going to make only 5 cards instead of 10 and drop the price. We'll see...

Now done with the paper...how about some poop?

You may remember my discussing my sister's visit, and her impending visit with my parents. I kinda left it hanging as to what happened... Well, not much. Apparently, the visit with Nana and Grumpa went amazingly well. I can only imagine that my sister and BIL were on their very best behaviour and therefore my little nephew took cues from them. Throw Nana into the mix with her wise old ways and you have the recipe for a lovely visit. I have to admit that when my sister and BIL stopped again here on their way home that things went a little better. I do hope that my sister maybe learned some things on her trip. Seeing how some of the people that she visited interacted with their children, may have given her some food for thought. I'm still thinking I should get her the boxed set of Supernanny DVD's for Christmas if such a thing is available.

No, no, no...

I've recently read an article on discipline that had some great ideas for this first time Mom. Among other things it discusses the word "No," how and when it should be used. It explains that "No" is a powerful word and should be used when it is most needed. For example...when your child runs out into the street, or tries to touch the hot stove...these are times when "No" should be used. It should not be used lightly. If you use it for every little situation, it loses meaning. I've discovered that I had been using "No" too much. I was saying "No" to too many things and not being very creative. Our language has so many more words to use, and I'm trying to find other ways of telling Mr. Boy "No" without using the word. It has been interesting. I'm trying to teach with positive words, rather than negative. Sometimes it's hard. I understand that at this age children don't get something the first time you say it and then you're done, but sometimes the repetition is overwhelming. During the weeks that Mr. Man is at work, I deal with what I deal with and see my light at the end of the tunnel when Mr. Boy is in bed and I can have a nice soak in the tub. On his weeks off...well, sometimes I just need a break! Yesterday was a day that I had to call Mr. Man home from his man bonding for a break. *gasp* It was a lovely afternoon, spent by myself (and the rest of the Saturday shoppers...that's another post, that is!) shopping, and looking, and shopping. I miss this the most. When your toddler has started toddling and wants to get down out of the stroller and explore everything, shopping is not a fun thing to do. I did a little tour of the thrift stores in our area. Trash or Treasure? To each his own, right? I found a great skirt that is perfect for spring...when it's not raining (the soft colors probably wouldn't look so hot with my black/silver/turquoise polka dot gum boots)...for only $4. I tried unsuccessfully to only think of myself while I was out, and not the pressures of motherhood and my sweet little boy at home, but I found myself buying stuff for Mr. Boy anyway. I'm a sucker for books, so I picked up a few of those and I found a mini gardening set with a watering can, that will be great in the Easter basket, for only 75 cents. After gathering my wits and regaining my composure I headed home to find that Mr. Man had Mr. Boy down for a nap and dinner cooking on the stove. Thank you Mr. Man for the break...you done good!

Temper, temper...

Words on a computer screen cannot possibly give the same impression that is given when my mother speaks these words. Imagine them spoken in a sing-song, warning, taunting, "you're acting like a bit of an ass," tone of voice. Now, Mr. Boy is too young to possibly understand the meaning of the word temper, but nonetheless, I found myself using this phrase, with this tone, myself for the first time yesterday. It came barreling out of my childhood, and popped right out of my mouth before I even had a chance to process it. I've experienced my first temper tantrum. Mr. Boy has started to form likes and dislikes for himself and is learning ways to express himself. When he wanted to stay and play outside yesterday....well, he wanted to stay and play outside, dammit! I can see the terrible twos looming, and hope that Mr. Boy has more of Mr. Man's temperament than mine. If he's more like me, we're in trouble. If he's more like Mr. Man, who is a lover, not a fighter, than there is hope that I will not pull out all of my hair. Here's hoping I'm not going to have to start researching wigs online!

Sneak Peek

My mom is turning 50 next week! My crafty momma has always been an inspiration for me. I'm a paper crafter, plain and simple. She on the other hand is a crafter of many mediums. From knitting, cross-stitching, doodling, quilling...she does it all, and most of the things she creates are fantastic. There have been very few times that things have failed. Her hallowe'en treat bucket is a papier-mache cat head with FIMO teeth and marble eyes. It's fan-freakin-tastic, and the kids all get freaked out, but they stick their hands in there anyway to get the candy. She was big into quilling last year. This one one of three tree ornaments that she made for us for Christmas. The other two are presents with our initials on them. This year she did a third present ornament for Mr. Boy. Last year for Mother's Day I did a scrapbook page that I presented in a special 12 x 12 shadow box scrapbook frame. This year for her Birthday and upcoming Mother's Day I've decided to give her an album to store old layouts from the frame, and create some new ones for her wall. I came a across a layout in the February issue of Creating Keepsakes that used buttons and since my Mom is into buttons these days it was a perfect idea. So I did some searching at the thrift store and came up with some pretty good finds. A little sneak peek of the layout before it is done. It wouldn't be right to show it off to anyone before she's seen it (even though she doesn't have a computer and will probably never see this). I'll post the finished project after she's seen it.

Do I look like I can't wash my kids face?

It's eczema people! Poor Mr. Boy has an eczema-like rash all around his mouth. We're pretty sure it's from all the teething that he's been doing lately. I tried an elimination of dairy, when I thought he may have an allergy, but it's still there, and seems to get worse right before another tooth breaks the surface. Today at the grocery store someone commented..."Oh, sweety, what have you been eating? Was it yummy?" First of all, he's not able to answer back...he's only 13 months old, dumb ass. Second, do I look like someone who wouldn't wash their kids face after he ate something? I'm dressed nicely, Mr. Boy is dressed nicely, we're not slobs for chrissakes! Sure, we're shopping at StupidStore, uh... I mean Superstore, but when the world is facing a global recession you gotta try and save for a rainy day right? Frack, I absolutely despise that store. I tell ya! I could go on, and on about what I hate about Superstore, but I'll stop there...for now...maybe next time. Anyway, we've been lubing Mr. Boy up with the Vaseline, and that seems to help, but if anyone out there has any suggestions, I'd love to hear them. Well, that's my blah, blah for the day.

Paper in the Works...Blog Candy

100,000 hit celebration! Kim over at Paper in the Works is celebrating and giving away STAMPS! Check it out and spread the word. If you don't read her blog you should. She does wonderful layered projects that are just gorgeous!