Baby Girl

Here's a layout that I did yesterday at Scrap Club. I didn't want to clutter up the front with a date, but the pictures are of Ava at 5 weeks.

WITL Day#1

Alarm clock went off at 5am - I hit snooze twice...bad, bad, bad

Took shower and got dressed

Woke the boys up to get dressed

Got the boys stuff ready for the day - sippy cups, vitamins, cough medicine for Jameson and backpacks

Found out that in a matter of 10 minutes, they were able to trash their room before leaving for school

Out the door by 6:45am

Dropped boys off at school and left for work

It wasn't a very good traffic day so I was excited to finally see my exit

Settled into my office with a bottle of Diet Coke to get me motivated

Chick-fil-A Ice Dream with strawberries for lunch

Spent the afternoon working on SOP's in preparation for maternity leave - boring!

Left work at 4pm and headed to Royal Learners to pick up the boys

Got home and made dinner - Divine Casserole

Mimi joined us so the boys got some extra snuggles and attention.

Daddy decided we needed chocolate ice cream with sprinkles for dessert...ice cream twice in one day. Works for me!

After their bath, it was almost time for bed so the boys snuggled in for some down time.

Lights out at 7:30pm - mommy fell asleep too!

Click here for more Day#1 photos!!

One more post for today

I don't like walking away sounding upset, depressed or miserable. I am non of those things. I sure hope no one got that impression from my last post. It's just that Brenda's story could happen to anyone if we're not careful and slow down every once in a while. My life is super crazy and hectic but I wouldn't trade it for the world.

It's been a while since I've really felt any creative juices flowing through my veins. I take pictures out of necessity rather than for the joy and I haven't touched my scrap supplies in almost 5 weeks. I'm very excited about my Connecticut trip next week though. I get a tingle every time I think about all of the bonding time I'll have with my Nikon D40 while I'm there! All these tingles sort of make me want to dive into a project. Something that combines photography with lots of journaling and minimal scrapping to keep everything clean and simple.

Do any of you keep up with Ali Edward's blog? Besides family and friends, I've been sort of avoiding the blogging world for the past 3-4 months but I've been getting back into it lately. Right now Ali is working on a "week in the life" project. She's taking lots of pictures of her daily routine, work stuff and family stuff. Every day she documents her family's activities for the day. After the week is over, she'll be putting everything into a mini book. She's done this before and I love the concept.

We have a lot going on in our family right now. Both Ayden and Jameson are going through some new phases, daddy is struggling to balance work/home with the Tyler Perry projects coming to a close and we're working on some of our own small projects at home. And then there's me...trying to be a good mom, wife, career woman and homemaker all while cooking baby #3 in my tummy. Lots going on = lots to document! Even if you think your life is boring and nothing changes day to day, Ali makes a point by saying that your emotions may be different so you'll view routine things in new ways. One day you could concentrate more on what's going on at work and less about the family. I truly believe that we all live interesting lives and they're worth sharing.

I'm really liking the idea of just keeping the book itself simple and concentrating more on the photos + words! I'd love to start the week after my trip. It'll be a busy week for all of us so there will be a ton to document. Let me know if you want to play along with me!

Are you ready for some pictures?

Originally I thought I'd go back and edit/post all my pictures from the past month...ummmm...two months. Then that seemed too overwhelming. Why not just start with the pictures that I take this weekend and go forward? Well, a lot has happened in the past couple of months. The Scrap Etc. Event, the Keith/Carrie concert, finding out we're going to have another baby, a trip to a beautiful Atlanta cemetery to practice my photography skills, our first trip to Callaway Gardens and oh so much more.

So please be patient while I take a trip down memory lane, starting with the Scrap Etc. Event that my mom, Chere, Judy and I attended April 17th - 20th. It was such a good time. I thought all the Diet Pepsi that I was drinking was causing me to be dizzy and sick to my stomach...little did I know that I was actually pregnant! And how else to you finish up a long day of scrapping with celebrities? With a few beers of course!

And the funniest moment was when Chere decided to...oh, I'll just let the photos explain!

Who could possibly be cleaning the bathroom?

Mom peaks over her bathroom stall to do a little investigating.

Oh, it's just Miss Priss acting goofy again!

Click here for a slideshow of the rest of the photos I took during the Event. The Gaylord hotel was absolutely beautiful and I had such a wonderful time with the Divas!

Scripts

OMG! I am sooooo in love with this kit club and I haven't even gotten a kit yet. Scripts is a new kit club that is done by Scrap Etc. They are the store that puts on the Scrap Etc. Event each year...the one that I attended in April with my fellow Divas. If their kit is as well put together as their event, I'm going to be in heaven. So I already signed up. As of right now, they're giving anyone who attended their event (all 600 of us) the opportunity to sign up before the general public. Since there is no way I can afford 3 kit clubs I'm going to drop Label Tulip. Their kits are a bit more earth-toned with a vintage feel. I'm more into the cheerful, bright stuff so Scarlet Lime and Scripts are both perfect for me.

Go check it out!

Clip It Up!

I just love my Clip It Up. Mom just bought it for me as a Christmas gift and it's already filled. I need to figure out how/where I can fit another one into my scrap area. I think I need one just for Thickers!

I'm getting antsy for our next scrap club meeting...was the last one really only 2 weeks ago??? I need to figure out some way to fit in some scrap time at home. It's just really hard with the boys. I can't do anything while they're awake because they'd both be all in my stuff. I can't scrap during their nap because that's when I can actually get some things done around the house. All that i DO know is that one Sunday a month is just NOT enough scrap time for me.

Next Friday I took the day off to hang with mom since it's a paid holiday for her. After checking out another private school for Ayden, we plan on getting the rest of our Scrap Etc homework together and then spending the rest of the day scrapping and practicing our photography skills. Peter has a dinner at his CEO's house that night so isn't flying home until Saturday. I've convinced Jason to stay home with the boys so I can spend the night at my mom's as well. If I don't find a way to fit some scrapping in during those 24 hours, then I'm simply pathetic!

I plan on taking tons of pictures this weekend so there will definitely be another weekend recap on Monday:)

Calling All Scrappers!

I seriously feel so blessed to be exposed to such a wide variety of talent in the scrapping industry. I'm sure most of you know that I'm a serious blog stalker and get most of my inspiration from visiting other scrapping blogs. I have to say that the one who inspires me the most is Ali Edwards. I love her! She makes you think outside of the box...go where no other scrapper has gone before. I read her blog daily and feel like a sponge, soaking it all in.

As much as I love all of her blog posts, I definitely think today's is my absolute favorite! We all look at other layouts that people have created but usually don't see the final outcome...a finished book (I have YET to finish a book). Her latest post shows us Simon's entire 2007 book. I could've peed my pants! I recently switched to 3-ring albums like Ali did (actually the same brand she uses) and love them. I love the different sized page protectors that she uses...the variety makes it so much more interesting to me!

I could probaby gush on and on about this all day so I'll let you go. Go check out her blog, that is!

BTW - Totally had a blast last night trying out the new camera. I'll dowload and edit some photos to share. Thanks Mima for the new memory card!! Now I have a wishlist of accessories (lenses, filter, batteries, wireless remote and tripod) that are absolutely necessary to the future progress of my photography skills:)

Tootles!

Create

This is a preview of a little something I'm whipping up for my mom's new scrap studio. I may find myself more motivated to complete this gift if a certain someone would drop another clue about a certain birthday gift.

What do you say mom???

One More For Thursday

I was going to wait until I actually get the kit, but I can't wait. Y'all know how much I love the Label Tulip kits, and now I've found another kit club to admire...sniff...fondle...create with.

Introducing........

I'm on the wait list for The Scarlet Lime's March kit. I want it...I need it...I CRAVE it! I have to get my hot little hands all over it! Boy, I sure bet Jason wishes I was talking about him:)

So for all you scrappers, go check it out! I guarantee you'll fall in love immediately!!

Layouts

Here are a few recent layouts that I've done during the Scrap Diva meetings...

These are pictures of Jameson from last spring that I'm finally getting around to.

This is a great picture that my mom took of me and Ayden at Starr's Mill this past fall.

Another picture of Ayden at Starr's Mill...love how he's peaking around the tree with that cute little smile.

This photo was taken at Stone Mountain Christmas.

Journaling reads: Ayden, at 3 years old you're no longer our little baby. We blinked and you've become our little man.

Thank You Mr. UPS Man

There is nothing better than pulling in my driveway to see a box sitting on my front porch. Since I received January's Label Tulip kit last week, I knew this had to be from Two Peas! Two Peas had a sale on all 7Gypsies products last week so I just HAD to make a little purchase.

I've been wanting one of their Artist Trading Card Holders for a couple of months now. I can't wait to get creative with it. I think may do "A Year of The Paynes". I'll have a few cards for each month with some of my favorite pictures/memories. What a fun way to look back on 2008!

To see what Ali Edwards did with her's for a Christmas project, go to: http://aliedwards.typepad.com/photos/holiday_projects_2006/spinner_front.html

I also really liked these clear stamps. What a fabulous way to fit in some journaling about family vacations, celebrations and traditions. I can't wait to use them!

Last but not least, I ADORE these journaling cards. I love the variety of subjects and journaling cards make it so easy to document the story of your layout in such a simple format.

I'll be sure to post some of my "creations" from this weekend's diva meeting. Besides Chere, Judy, Deb and myself, I'm proud to announce that we also have a diva-in-training, Pam. Pam comes to us from Newnan, Ga and works at Porex with my mom. She's new to scrapping but has already caught the embellishment bug. Welcome to the group Pam!

My Newfound Love

I think this is the 4th month of my Lable Tulip kit subscription. For all of you scrappers, this is a fabulous way to get some of he most popular supplies delivered to your door for the bargain price of $35 per month. I love the kits, I love the add-ons...I can't get enough. The variety of product they send is too much fun. The design team comes up with some of the coolest layouts/projects.

If you're interested, you have to check out their website... http://www.labeltulip.com/

When they say the kit is available for sale at 10am, they mean it. You'd better be onlin at 10am ready to buy. The good thing is that once you're a subscriber, they just automatically deduct the cost of the kit from your checking account every month. No muss, no fuss. They normally send it out around the 21st and I have it within a couple of days. When I see that box of goodies sitting on my front porch my heart goes pitter patter.

Seriously...check it out!