whole blogging thing. Oh well. I haven't even had time to answer emails lately so I'm just going with it.

We've been busy with the house the last couple of months. C got the tile put down in the kitchen finally-it looks awesome! And we are getting new carpet next week. should be getting some new furniture in the next week or so as well. We looked at some sofas and stuff today and are just getting an idea of what exactly we want to get, i.e. sofa and loveseat, sofa and 2 chairs, a sectional and a chair, etc. Our living room is such a wierd layout that it is hard to arrange furniture in a way that is functional and stylish. We'll get it worked out though.

We've also been trying to get the baby's room finished. there is still a ton of stuff in there that needs to come out and we have to put the crib up. It seems that the screws for the crib have been lost in the move so we have to go buy some more. I'm hoping we can get that done this week sometime. I actually took some pics of my huge belly. Can't believe I did that! There was NO WAY I would have done that with T, but I am not nearly as big this time so I caved on it. ( I still can't figure out how to get my photos down into the body of the blog-it annoys me to no end!)

This time around has been so different than with T. I was way more nauseaus and sick this time, but I'm not as big (cause I haven't gained as much weight!). I think that has allowed me to enjoy it more this time around. Not that I really enjoy all the wierd and uncomfortable "side effects" of being pregnant, I am just beginning to get really uncomfortable and worn out. But, only 10 weeks left! Actually, just over 9 because the doctor will schedule the cs for the week before my due date. the holidays should make the time fly by and she will be here before we know it! We still haven't decided on a name and I have no hopes of that until January. I'll be surprised if we can agree on one before then.

Well, that's all I have time for today. maybe it won't take me so long next time.

It's a girl! We found out last week when I had my ultrasound. I totally wasn't going to find out, but decided while I was lying there that I needed to get over any disappointments BEFORE I held that sweet baby in my arms. I had to take a deep breath and stop myself from crying when she told me. I'm okay with having a girl (now-LOL). I just know there will be some challenges that comes with having a girl. I know this because I am a girl and KNOW what kind of drama it entails! So, I had to go shopping that evening to try and cheer myself up and it almost backfired on me. Too much PINK!!! I hate pink. Actually, I don't hate all pink colors, just girly, baby pink. And everything for little baby girls is that awful color pink. Thankfully, Target knows that not everyone wants that awful color on their baby girls and I found the sweetest outfit to bring her home in. It is pink, but NOT that awful baby girl pink. And it has flowers and butterflies embroidered on it. So, it's a girl and we are (getting) excited about it. lol
I'm loving the doctor that I've seen. I have been able to see her every time I've gone for an appt. That is a major miracle since the military hospital always wants you to see every doctor available. But she has scheduled all of my appts before I left and I am seeing her again this month. Hopefully, she won't leave before the baby comes!
In non-baby news, dh is re-doing our kitchen floor. Finally! I hated that white vinyl floor fromt he beginning and we have finally gotten rid of it! He is putting in tile. This weekend he is installing the underlayment. It will probably be next weekend before he gets the tile installed because the underlayment has to sit for a couple of days before he starts. And he will be out of town next week (of course). So, that's our life right now. Not so exciting.

I really am pregnant! lol I had my first doctor visit today and got to see the baby! Probably the best part of being pregnant (besided the fact that you get a baby in the end!) is seeing those little pictures, hearing the heartbeat every time, and feeling those little movements. T was fascinated by the pics of the baby, but a bit concerned too. He asked me, "Did the doctor have to cut you to see the baby?" So sweet and innocent. I hope he understood about the special camera that can see through your skin. He knows what an x-ray is so I tried to compare it to that. Anyway, the official due date is Feb. 9. The debate is still out as to whether or not I will have to have another c-section. The doctor said my success rate is only 25-50% because I had actually labored and had an "unsuccessful" vaginal delivery. And on top of that, she found a fibroid that is right in between my cervix and the baby, which could also decrease my chances of having a successful VBAC. She did say that she would not know for sure until she sees my records from the 1st c-section and they do my 20 week ultrasound to look at the fibroid more closely. She has put in for the ultrasound to include scans and pics of the fibroid area so they can try to determine if it will be problematic or not. She said that MOST women with them do not have problems during their pregnancies, but that the problems that have been associated with them are pre-term labor and restricted growth in the baby. Both of those are pretty biggies so they will just monitor the size and growth of both the baby and fibroid (they grow during pregnancy due to the hormones, etc). Hopefully, that will not be a problem.
So, lots to think about and do over the next several months! I am hoping to start feeling better in the next couple of weeks and get back to scrapping, among other things! I haven't done anything scrappy related in several weeks. Actually, I did do some recipe pages and birthday cards for some swaps I'm in. Nothing too exciting there. I did not even take pics because they are pretty plain.

I am taking a new class over at 2ScrappyChixDesigns. I can't wait to get started! It should be a blast. I love the idea of being able to finish an album quickly!

Only 3 more days until I leave for the crop! Woohoo!! I am packing my scrappy stuff today! I know C is going to have a fit when he has to help me load it all into the truck Thursday evening! Oh well. He'll get over it. I think he and T are going to try to go camping this weekend. If he can find a spot that isn't too bad. Glad I'm getting out of that one! Problem is that I know T will want to go again and its only getting hotter! Oh well, its usually pretty fun to take him camping so I guess it won't be so bad if I have to go later.

Well, back to packing!

Yep, that would be positive for a new baby! Woohoo! T keeps saying that he is getting a little brother AND a little sister. Not that that would be bad, but it could be more than I'm ready for! LOL! I won't find out for several more weeks-couldn't get into the doctor until July 10. That's the military for ya-no rush on anything.

I'm getting so excited about the crop next weekend! I got my tablemate gifts together today. It's not much, but pretty cute packaging, at least. Now, I just need to try and pack so that I am not carting everything to F'burg with me! It will be so nice just to be away from the house by myself! And of course I get to scrap with all the CHIX who are coming too! It should be a fabulous time!

I actually have the house all to MYSELF tonight and all day tomorrow! Ds is visiting grandparents in SC and dh is in DC for meetings. Dh should get home tomorrow evening sometime and we go pick up ds on Saturday. It's been a great week! I've been able to complete at least one layout every day this week! I finished my project for the crop over at 2 ScrappyChixDesigns this weekend. I know the crop will be lots of fun, as it always is! I wish I could be there for the whole weekend, but we have to get our child sometime. I talked to my mom yesterday afternoon while she was watching ds and she told me she had gone in and told her co-worker that she didn't think she was cut out to be a grandma because he never shuts up! I just laughed at her and asked how she thought I felt all the time. I love the little guy to peices, but he never shuts up! LOL! Always asking questions too so I can't even tune him out when I want/need to! Oh well, he's learning lots of things right now so I guess its not all bad!
I got my ATG gun today! Woohoo! I have already completed a layout with it! So far, so good with it. There was a little bit of a learning curve, but not too bad. I just have to call the company tomorrow because they did not send me as many refills as I had ordered. At least they didn't charge me for them, but I don't want to pay shipping to re-order them either! I'll let tomorrows problems worry about themselves, I guess. Right now, I'm going to scrap some more!!

I have the chance to be a guest design team member over at 2SCD this month! It is a great little kit that I have to work with. You can see it here: http://2scrappychixdesigns.com/zencart/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=50&products_id=1360 I don't normally work with black and white that much so it was a little intimadating at first, but I have done a couple of layout so far. the top 2 layouts are fromt he June kit and the bottom on is for the monthly challenge over there. The pp on the last one is Daisy Bucket-so cute! I have several papers from them and LOVE it all!

again! OH well, life

happens. C got home last month and we went down to SC to get his truck, visit family, etc. We managed to sneak off for some alone time while we were there. That was nice. We had not gone anywhere by ourselves in a long time.

Here are some of my favortie creations from this past week. Not sure why they are on here funky like that. I may try and figure out the whole slide show thing and add that, but that will have to wait until later this evening.

T is done with school next week. Not sure that I'm ready for the summer, but what can I do about it? My goal for the summer is to get the house organized. Maybe now that I said it, I will make it happen. LOL

I love being a mom. Watching T grow is so exciting and heartwarming. It can also be hilarious with some of his antics and the things that come out of his mouth. We went to one of his little friends' b-day party yesteday up in King George and he had such a great time. Its hard to imagine that kids that young can have a best friend, but he does. He and C used to play together all the time and then we moved and don't get to see them that often. when we do see them, its like they haven't missed a day of seeing each other. I guess that's what being friends is about, picking up right where you left off.
I have received this email about moms a couple of times now and just thought I would put it here. It's so cute! I always laugh when I read it.

Why God made Moms. . .Answers given by 2nd grade school children to the following questions:
Why did God make mothers?
1. She's the only one who knows where the scotch tape is.
2. Mostly to clean the house.
3. To help us out of there when we were getting born.

How did God make mothers?
1. He used dirt, just like for the rest of us.
2. Magic plus super powers and a lot of stirring.
3. God made my Mom just the same like he made me. He just used bigger parts.

What ingredients are mothers made of ?
1. God makes mothers out of clouds and angel hair and everything nice in the world and one dab of mean.
2. They had to get their start from men's bones. Then they mostly use string, I think.

Why did God give you Your mother and not some other mom?
1. We're related.
2. God knew she likes me a lot more than other people's moms like me.

What kind of little girl was your mom?
1. My Mom has always been my Mom and none of that other stuff.
2. I don't know because I wasn't there, but my guess would be pretty bossy.
3. They say she used to be nice.

What did Mom need to know about dad before she married him?
1. His last name.
2. She had to know his background. Like is he a crook? Does he get drunk on beer?
3. Does he make at least $800 a year? Did he say NO to drugs and YES to chores?

Why did your Mom marry your dad?
1. My dad makes the best spaghetti in the world. And my Mom eats a lot.
2. She got too old to do anything else with him.
3. My grandma says that Mom didn't have her thinking cap on.

Who's the boss at your house?
1. Mom doesn't want to be boss, but she has to because dad's such a goof ball.
2. Mom. You can tell by room inspection. She sees the stuff under the bed.
3. I guess Mom is, but only because she has a lot more to do than dad.

What's the difference between Moms and Dads?
1 . Moms work at work and work at home & dads just go to work at work.
2. Moms know how to talk to teachers without scaring them.
3. Dads are taller & stronger, but Moms have all the real power 'cause that's who you got to ask if you want to sleep over at your friend's.
4. Moms have magic, they make you feel better without medicine.

What does your Mom do in her spare time?
1. Mothers don't do spare time.
2. To hear her tell it, she pays bills all day long.

What would it take to make your Mom Perfect?
1. On the inside she's already perfect. Outside, I think some kind of plastic surgery.
2. Diet. You know, her hair. I'd diet, maybe blue.

If you could change one thing about your Mom, what would it be?
1. She has this weird thing about me keeping my room clean. I'd get rid of that.
2. I'd make my Mom smarter. Then she would know it was my sister who did it and not me.
3. I would like for her to get rid of those invisible eyes on the back of her head.

A lot of little things make me happy. Like receiving snail mail, especially scrappy goodies, listening to T play, phone calls from C, emails from C, tulips in the spring, this new layout of T, the new CherryArte paper line, snuggling with C, watching a favorite movie, an ice cold glass of sweet tea, the smell of freshly mowed grass in the summer, a few moments of quiet time. And the list could go on and on and on...

This is one of my newest fave layouts of T. It was so easy to put together, but I just love the colors and how vibrant it is. It matches T-man perfectly!

We should be on the countdown for C to come home now. He still does not have an exact date, but it's getting closer for sure now! Woo hoo! Hopefully, he will find out soon so we can plan our little weekend getaway. Can't wait for that! We haven't really been anywhere without T for a long time, and we need it! It'll be fun and I am very excited about it!

Yeah! I love it when the days start to get longer and it gradually starts to warm up. Spring is on its way! And the great part is that Daylight Savings Time starts early this year! Woohoo! I'm sure T will give me grief about going to bed when it's still light out though. That's okay 'cause he will have to go to bed anyway. haha-It's great to the mommy!

I spent the day scrappin' since I had to keep T home from school yesterday and from MOPS today. He had an upset stomach so I couldn't take him anywhere. He is definately feeling better now though. he's just about drove me nuts this afternoon! Here is what I did today. I also made a card for a swap I am in.

Other than that, there's not a lot going on around here. Trying to make the time go by until C gets back. I am thankful there is nothing going on because that would totally stress me out! Well, I'm going to find something else to work on tonight!

this past weekend.

1. Being able to leave Teddy with someone while I got my hair cut.
2. Watching Teddy play with his grandparents.
3. Caleb's phone call.
4. Spending time with my cousin and his family.
5. Teddy and his trains

We had a great time visiting our family in SC this past weekend. It was a quick trip! That was the whole point though-to make some days go by faster! I always love going home and going to Hobby Lobby, where I find all kinds of cool things that I just have to have for my SB stash! Like a bunch of clear stamps (at 50% off-who doesn't need them?!?), a huge paper punch (also 50%off), some cute rub ons, and other assorted stuff. Love that place!

I am so excited that I have been able to "fix" some of my wedding photos with Photoshop Elements. I've even done 2 layouts for our wedding album! I'll post those later. I'm off to bed here shortly.

at our house. Busy, as usual. But that is a good thing because the time goes by faster. And soon, Caleb will be home! Yippee! Tomorrow is MOPS (Mothers of Preschoolers) and then I am meeting with some gals to chat about starting a group meal swap. I think it will be neat and will definately be a time saver for all of those involved. Hopefully, we can get the details worked out tomorrow and get started on it by the beginning of next month.

Anyway, I finished T's mini album yesterday. Here's the rest of the pics. I am so glad I did it for him. I think he will like it. And maybe I'll get to hear his "WOW! Thank you Mommy!" one more time. In the last week, he has started calling me mama instead of mommy and that makes me sad. He still says mommy about half the time, but it is still a bittersweet time. My little boy is growing up so fast. Literally. Just in the last couple of weeks, he has outgrown most of his clothes! I had to go buy all new stuff for him last week!

Well, that's all for now. I need to get some reading done tonight.

That's what I did today! Had tons of fun at the 2SCD online crop today. I decided, yesterday, that I should make Teddy a mini album for Valentine's Day so I worked on that during the crop. It is so cute! Totally glad I did it! Here are a couple of the pics. Can you tell he is totally into transportation things, especially his trains? We went to see Thomas the Tank Engine last summer and he had a blast. I'm thinking about taking him again this year. Just have to see how Caleb's schedule is for the summer first. I'll post the rest of the pics as I get them done.

Thanks for the comments about the scraproom, ladies! I am totally lovin' it! So much so that I haven't even changed anything yet-which if you know me, says a lot about how well it works. I constantly change things around, just ask Caleb! haha

I still have not attempted our taxes. I have always done them online through the IRS linked sites (free, of course-gotta love the military!) when I have done them, but I'm not sure if we will get to file for free this year. We may be right at the cutoff for the AGI, but I'm not sure. Guess I'll find out when I start them! Maybe I'll do that this coming week.

I'm thinking about going to SC for a long weekend this Thursday. I'm hoping it will make the time go by a little faster. We are almost halfway through this deployment, but it is dragging along ever so slowly. That's the one thing about post-Christmas deployments-they drag because there is nothing going on really. Which reminds me, I need to take a pic of our kisses jar. It's about half empty! Well, I'm off to bed now! Hopefully, it won't be so long next time!

I have been so busy lately! Running around after Teddy, working on Mary's circle journal, getting stuff for other swaps together, doing some layouts, stuff at church. the list just goes on and on and on! I really need to sit down and do our taxes soon too. That's going to be a nightmare, I'm sure! I hate doing them! But I'm too cheap to pay someone else to do them so I gotta just buckle down and do it.
I haven't really done anything else to my new scraproom. Actually, I did buy a big cutting mat to go on the desk. I love it! It beats dragging out a small one every time I need to cut something! I am loving the new set up too! I can get to everything I need easily and quickly. I think it's just about perfect! That's all for now! I still have stuff to do before bedtime tonight!

I'm just about done with my reorganization project. I have all of the big pieces in place and almost everything loaded back into the room. I just have a few things that I don't use very often, but are still a necessity, left to bring in. I may have to do a slight tweak on where everything is placed, but I like it so far! I have another pic, but I could not find it so I'll post that later.

I am almost done with my circle journal too! I have the cover and my layouts complete. Now, I just need to do the title page and sign in pages and will put it in the mail next week! This should be fun!

We had some snow flurries yesterday afternoon, but nothing stuck to the ground. It only snowed for about 5-10 minutes. Just long enough for Teddy to catch some snow flakes on his tongue and then be upset when it stopped. After it had stopped, he came to me and told me he "had a probwem" because "it's not snowing anymore". So cute! He was so dissappointed that it did not snow any more. Maybe next time...

I had to start rearranging my scrap room tonight! I went to Lowe's and got them to cut a sheet of plywood for me to the size I needed. When I got home, I put T in the bath and got busy moving stuff out of the way. I've been busy trying to get everything back where it needs to go tonight. I've the "furniture" part in place, now I just need to get all of the stuff loaded back into the room. I'm so excited about it! I'll have to post pics tomorrow when I get it done.
Anyway, I got the album that I am using for my circle journal today. So needed to work on that BEFORE I started rearranging everything. Oh well. I did pull the papers and pics that I want to use with it so that should help. That will be my first project on my new scrappy desk! Yippee! Ok, it's late and I'm tired so I'm going to bed now!

Especially when they are from my deployed hubby ! The only problem is(was) that T wanted to talk the whole time! I only got to talk for a few precious minutes, while T just babbled on and on. That's ok though. I know he is missing his daddy a lot. I miss him too.

Instead of making another emergency info book for my MOPS prize, I just altered this little notebook. I found a pack of them at Book-A-Million a couple of weeks ago and they are just so cute! I got busy getting ready for our creative activity that I ran out of time to work on the emergency info book. We are making picture frames. I found some unfinished wooden frames at Michaels for $1 so I got those and I primed them this afternoon while T was in school. They should be ready to go for painting and decorating.

I am signed up for this circle journal on 2SCD and it's my first one. I'm excited about it and nervous too! I don't use all of the embellishments and jazz up my layouts as much as some of these ladies do so I hope they still like what I do for them. It will be an awesome journal when I get mine back, I'm sure!

but that's ok. I've been busy, or so it seems. At least I feel like I've been busy, but I don't know with what. Oh well. Tomorrow's another day...

It's been raining here all afternoon. It was sleeting earlier, but changed to rain. I just took the trash out and there was a thin sheet of ice covering the gate lock and top of the gate. Hope things don't get too nasty tonight. T was very disappointed that it was not snowing like he wanted it to. He even made up a song "ice go back, please snow come down, please ice melt away!" It was so cute.

I haven't been doing much in the way of scrappy stuff lately. I did finish a couple of card swaps I'm in on 2SCD, but that's all I've done lately. That and the emergency information mini album I made for my purse. It's pretty cute. That's what the pic is up top. I think I will make another one for a MOPS prize on Tuesday. I better get busy on it!

Woo hoo! I got some prizes in the mail today from the online crop at 2SCD and they were so awesome! For the posting prize, I received some KF big time brads and some combo pocket journals. Totally cool! For winning the special edition bingo game, I received an alterable calendar, MM rob-ons for the calendar, white mounts, small watch faces, AND the MME Everyday Moments die cuts. WOW! What great prizes! I can't wait to play with them all! I have the pressing issue of getting my scrap room organized and spruced up first though.

Anywho, here's a layout from T's costume parade at school. It was too funny. When the kids started to sing, I realized I have THAT KID-the one who doesn't sing and even looks mad that he has to stand there. yep, that's my kid. But I gotta love him 'cause he is just too darn cute!
We had our photos taken at the church today for the directory. He was so cute. I could tell he gets lots of practice smiling for the camera! He can cheese it up with the best of them.
I've been working on some swap stuff today-cards, embellies, etc. I figure if I can get it all done, then I'll have that much more time to organize, right? yeah, right. I keep coming up with one project after another to put it off! I did find the cutest little tin to alter. It looks just like a band aid tin, only bigger. It is the perfect size to hold hand made cards! I just have to decide how I'm going to alter it... I'll post a pic when I'm done.

since C left and T is driving me nuts! He misses his daddy so much and I hate to see him so sad. It just breaks my heart. But he has managed to push every "button"-at least twice-today that just sets me off. I'm not sure if he is just doing that because he can or if that's somehow how he is dealing with daddy not being here. I don't know, but I do know that I am exhausted today, mentally, physically, and emotionally. He's in bed and I am about to head there myself.
Anywho, progress on my scrap mess is slow. I'm having a guilty conscience (don't know if that's spelled right?) about painting the room. C did not want me to really. I think that is because he would rather see me throw it all out the door and keep a "neater" house. that's a whole other post right there though. I'm not sure about the color anyway. I would love to paint it orange-to inspire creativity-but we do have to sell the house in a couple of years so I have to take that into account too. I already have stripes in 2 other rooms so a bright color may not be such a good idea. My sis gave me 2 movie posters that I want to put up in here somewhere. she is an assisstant manager at the local movie theater where I grew up so she has all kinds of posters. I just think they are cool. I may have to think on it a bit more before making the plunge with color! I have decided that I need some other sort of work surface. I am currently using a folding card table, but I don't like it because it is too wide. I can't reach some of my shelves so I want something about the size of a kitchen counter. I gotta think on that one some more too to make sure it works for me! I would post a pic, but my computer doesn't seem to want to so maybe tomorrow.

So, it's been a while. I knew that would happen at some point! Oh well. It's all good. T and I went to Chuck E Cheese for lunch today. It was the first time I've taken him. He actually went with Nannie last summer and they had to leave because he got scared. He wanted to leave today, but I made him sit it out since we had ordered pizza. So, we sat there and FINALLY got our pizza and he actually ate 2 slices of it. That was a first! After we ate, he decided that he wanted to look around again. We found some games he could play and he rode in the cars. He actually won some tickets-45 to be exact. So he was able to redeem those for a prize. He chose 2 tootsie rolls and a little toy. He thought that was great! I did not have the camera with me because it was a last minute decision to go there. We had our sketch drawn and I will put that in the family album.

Anyway, I was able to finish my Christmas album during the 2SCD online crop this past weekend. the crop was so much fun! There are always some good projects and challenges during them. These are 2 of the layouts I completed during the crop. I was so happy that I managed to use a flower on a boy page!

Here is my scrap mess room. Stuff everywhere! Things have finally settled down so that I can start to re do my room. I haven't gotten very far. I did manage to get everything non scrap related out of the room, except for a couple of things I use for phone numbers, etc. There is an online crop at 2 Scrappy Chix Designs this weekend so I want to leave my scrap stuff up and functional for that. So the real fun will begin next week when I get everything taken out and stored in the other bedroom and begin to take the wallpaper border off the walls.

While sitting in church yesterday morning, Pastor Tom made to statement "Love requires action." This stuck out to me because so often, I get caught up in the day to day business of life and forget to show those that I love how much I do love them. Not only does it apply in the spiritual sense, as he was talking about, but it our other relationships as well. So, I chose LOVE as my word for the year (Ali E's challenge) to remind myself to DO the things that show my love. So, I made a layout for it. And, of course, I used some tips from Ali E's book on scrapbooking with patterened paper. (I just got that last week-needed it a long time ago!) I am pleased with how it turned out. I posted it on 2 ScrappyChix Designs for the Elsie's challenge that is going on there. I enjoyed creating this layout!
T's birthday party was great. He had a blast and the other kids did too. they played Musical Islands, Walk the Plank, and X marks the spot (pin the x on the map). Then we had a little snack and cake and ice cream. the cake was totally cool. They all loved the treasures inside the cake. After the cake and ice cream, we had a treasure hunt for their treasures (goodie bags) and that was a great time. It was a fun party. I'm glad T had such a good time. The weather was fabulous-over 70 degrees! I don't know when he will get such great weather for his birthday again!

Here's the birthday cake for T's party. I have made the cake for all of his parties and this is probably my favorite one. It was so simple, but looks so cute. He is so excited this morning. We have some friends coming in from out of town for his party and he can't wait to see them. the little boy was his best buddy before we moved and this will be the first time they've seen each other since March. I'm looking forward to catching up with them too.

I haven't been able to scrap in about 3 days now and it's driving me nuts. I have a layout started on my table, but just haven't had a chance to work on it. I am almost finished with T's 2006 album and am itching to get it done. I have some cute ideas for the 2007 album, which I think I will turn into the family album instead of just T. Ok, I still have some stuff to do this morning before the party.

I am so tired! We had to drop C off late last night so he could fly out and then T was up before 7. I have to finish cleaning the house for his b-day party tomorrow afternoon and do a couple of last minute things for it. Too much to do and so little time to do it in! After the party though, I will have all the time in the world, or so it will feel like with C gone. I hope to get some scrapping done this weekend so I can start tearing apart my scraproom next week. I'm pulling everything out so that I can paint and reorganize everything. It's not terribly messy, but it's not in the order that I want it in. I could do better in here.
I finally got Ali Edwards book yesterday, A Designers Eye for Scrapbooking with Patterened Paper. Have only gotten through the first chapter, but so far I am loving it! I can't wait to use the knowledge and some patterened paper! I also get her AEzine and this week she talked about choosing a word to focus on throughout the year. I'm having a hard time deciding just one word. I'll have to think about it more and post this weekend.

Whenever C deploys for a long time, we have a jar of kisses for T. Every day, he gets one kiss from Daddy. When the kisses are all gone, that's when Daddy is coming home to give us real kisses. I try to keep extra on hand because some days, he needs more kisses from Daddy and some days, he knows I need a kiss from Daddy too. We only needed a quart size jar (as opposed to last years half gallon jar), but it still seems like such a long time when the jar is so full.
Last night, I was thinking of how I was going to include this deployment in our scrapbooks, besides the pics of everyday life without Daddy around, and I decided to use the jar of kisses. It holds so much for us-kisses from Daddy, time, hope, excitment, love, and chocolate (!). So I thought this would be the perfect way to include his time away from us.

Oh my gosh, I started this and then I think I dreamed about it the rest of the night! How crazy is that!

Anywho, I got the new SS magazine last night and read it all, of course. There was one article/layout ideas that grabbed my attention in there. It was about writing from the heart. One way to become a better writer is to spend more time listening to those around you and those you love. After reading the journaling on the different layouts, I thought that I should do that with T, especially since C is leaving tomorrow and will be gone for so long (3 months). I understand and comprehend why he has to go, but I never know/knew what T understands and doesn't understand. All he knew last year when C was gone to Afghanistan was that he was gone and that he called us sometime. When he was in the Middle East in November, he did not totally understand where daddy was and why he could not come home or why we could not call him. I didn't really listen to how he may have felt about it though. I could see that he was sad and didn't quite understand, but that was all I processed. This time, I think I will listen more and make a page for him so that he will know and understand later about his daddy's deployments.

I have no idea why I think I need to blog, or even where this will take me, but I started one so we shall see....

T turned 4 today and I can hardly believe it has been 4 years since I cuddled him in my arms for the first time. We have been discussing his birthday party since September, when I found a magazine with party themes in it. He told me right off the bat that he wanted a FARM PARTY and has been insisting on that ever since then. At least until the day we went shopping for party supplies, which was also the day that I had mailed the party invitations to his friends. I made the cute little invitations "please come to my farm party", complete with a stamped cow on it. We get into the store and he sees the pirate party stuff so he HAD to have a pirate party. Now I have to let the kids parents know the change in adventure. But he is and always will be my sweet baby. This is a favorite layout of him.