A little bit of.....

scrappy goodness today.

Since Sweet Pea Scraps stopped making new kits, I haven't been creating as much lately. It's a good thing really, as I'm now working again since school started, and I have less time to be creative anyways. But, as promised a few posts ago, I'll share what I have been doing!

I bought this stamp at my LSS a few weeks ago, but since we don't really make a big deal out of Hallowe'en in our house, I thought I'd experiment and try to make a fall tree! So, I pulled out my eyeshadow foam brushes (yep the cheap ones from the dollar store. I use them for getting into small spaces that my inks won't reach) and tried my hand at blending 4 different colours. I liked the first one I tried on a scrap piece of paper, so I created these three :

a little "plaque" with a really great quote for fall :

a fall "Joy" card

and a little thank - you card.

Also, I made this page for a new mom in my congregation. It's meant to be a shower gift, so I framed it, and she can add her favorite picture of her little guy. I used sketch #14 from 52 Weeks...52 Sketches for it.

Otherwise, things here never slow down; really it's starting to become normal! I'm more than halfway through Echo in the Bone, and I'm hoping there will be a #8 in the series!!! It's very good.

That's it for now - have a great day!

So, this guy and I.....

are celebrating 12 years of marriage today.

This is us exactly 1 year ago.

My fave photographer, Stacy, snapped this at Ricky & Alissa's wedding for us.

And we haven't changed much.

And our marriage gets better and better every year that goes by.

And yes, we still argue. But we're better at making up now.

Still so very happy to be married to each other.

Celebrating.....

today!! My wonderful sister sent me a handmade card earlier this week & my hubby surprised me with a card (*gasp* that he picked out himself!!) left for me in the bathroom this morning at 6:30am. Then Renee gave me one of her prized fairy cards as a gift! Another surprise followed with a card & candle from 3 of the kids on my bus (whose mom knew it was my Bday) and a then gift of zucchini relish (yum, yum - my favorite kind), honey and a book from another girlfriend. I'm so very blessed with so many good friends. It's been a great day. I hope you have a good one too!

Happy Birthday.....

to me!!! But not really until tomorrow. Then I'll be 34 - but I don't feel like it, really. I still feel 18 in my mind!!! So, because I was over at the mall this morning, I bought myself this nice little gift today :

Newly released as of last week, I've been waiting 3 years for it to come out! And, so, today I'm going to spend the whole day reading it instead of cleaning the bathroom like I should.

Have a great day!

More Inspiration.....

from the 52 Sketches....52 Weeks blog :


Love the sketches over there!

I'm feeling better this week - but still sad for my Mom.

Otherwise, we're slowly getting into school days routines again - but sometimes 6:30 am stinks. My bus route has changed again too, and with the addition of 13 more kids, I think I'm going to implement a seating plan this afternoon, just to save my sanity.

So, today I'm going to spend a quiet day at home and try my hand at card making and stamping. If it goes well, I might share it here!

Have a good day!

Yesterday.....

was a sad day for my family.

My Beppe passed away rather suddenly.
She lived in Holland & I didn't know her very well. I regret that now. She was my Mom's mother, so my Mom and Dad are flying there this afternoon to be with her brothers. I am very sad for my Mom.

My next post will be happier, I promise.

Heading.....

here tomorrow with the kids. They've been so good these last couple of weeks while I've been working to get the school ready for the first day. This will be our last summer Hurrah! together before they go back.

Today I picked up all the info for my bus route - right now I'm looking forward to getting back to work. In a couple of weeks, it'll be a different tune!! =D

I found a new place to go play this week - this site has great sketches & an online community as well. My LSS runs a sketch contest every month and last month the sketch was from there. Here's a couple of pages I've made using inspiration gathered from there:



Have a great night!

It's the most.....

wonderful time of the year!!!

It's back to school shopping today - and yes, I actually am looking forward to it!! It's Ericas first time going. Although she really doesn't need much - just indoor shoes and a lunch pail - I think she'll have fun. All three ladies are getting haircuts today too, as we are in desperate need of them! Ethan just needs a little trim around his ears, but I can do that at home.

Jack the dog and the Wii should be going home sometime this weekend as well. Thank goodness about Jack - I'm not sure I like having a larger dog here when we live in the city. Maybe it's just because of the shedding. I'm not so happy about the Wii going back to my MIL's though, I've rather enjoyed doing yoga on the Wii Fit. Maybe we will have to save up to get our own system.

I've been working at the school everyday this week so far. I'm sore and tired, but the good news is that 4 more classrooms are done! Whew, just one more to go!! Then it's on to bathrooms and the gym. I can see the light at the end of the tunnel! It's very faint, but it's there.....

I'll leave you with a LO. This is my brother and my mother dancing at his wedding last May :


Have a great day!

We're Done.....

with all the kids sporting activities for the summer!!!!! Renee's last soccer game was this morning. She played net & was VERY good if I do say so myself. The field was soaked, but she had a great time & her whole team did really well.

Also tonight we saw this concert at one of our local high schools. My kids though it was FAN-FREAKIN-TASTIC!!! And so did I! They were funny and they had high energy songs with a little bit of dancing and a good solid message about God & Jesus. I'm so glad we went!!!

It's been an interesting week here in our neck of the woods, with several tornadoes rolling thorough - pretty unusual for us in Southern Ontario. One came pretty close to my hometown - way too close for comfort really. They say they were F2's but after seeing the damage caused and several videos online, I cannot imagine what it would be like to have a stronger one!!

Have a great weekend!

Changing up.....

the blog for a different look - what do you think?

Well, we have a dog again. Not really our own, but we sent Jack to live at the in-laws several years ago - he's a country dog at heart - and now we have him back for about 10 days while they are out West. The kids think it's great. I'm not looking forward to cleaning up the hair. He sheds. Alot. Good times. Really. I'm smiling on the inside.

Not much else is new - we're enjoying the last few days of summer. It's finally been a bit hot - the kids and my niece and nephew were in the pool ALL DAY yesterday; literally. I think they only got out to eat and pee. This time we even remembered the sun screen. Last time this happened, everyone was as red as a lobster by the end of the day.

Maybe I'll go and scrap.
Have a great day!

Enjoying.....

a few minutes of peace and quiet. This week is VBS week, but at a different church (not our own) and in the evening! They are feeding my kids supper (at 5pm) and doing the program (until 7:30 pm) after that. Unique eh? I'm loving it! This is usually what I like to call the "witching hour" where everyone is starting to get hungry, cranky and tired, but it's not supper or bedtime yet....you know what I mean.

I say thank goodness for VBS - it's saving my sanity!!!

Also, it's Happy Birthday to my buddy boy Ethan today - he's now big number 9!! Only one year to go until he's in double digits too!! Time just keeps flying along, sigh.

We went to the (outdoor) wedding on Saturday and had a blast in spite of the constant rain!! But here's my guilty secret : I (the scrapbooker) did NOT take my camera (forgot it, really) and I did NOT take one picture. And I LIKED it!!!!! It was fun to go to a wedding and just go! I flirted with my hubby, danced a few dances and slept in with no little feet thumping to wake me up!! We need to do that again sometime soon!!

Have a great night!

August SPS Projects.....

Ok, so I'm late posting these. I'm going to claim busyness, but that's not the real reason, I'm just feeling lazy about blogging lately.

Anyways, here's a pic of the August Sweet Pea Scraps kit :

Isn't it lovely? And here's my projects:

Otherwise, things around here are good, but still pretty busy. Hubby and I have a wedding to go to this weekend, and next weekend is my family reunion - really looking forward to both events!! Swimming lessons finish up this week too - I'm SO glad that summer activities are starting to wrap up! I'm ready for school to start again.

If you get a minute, pop by the August gallery - lots of great projects to help inspire again this month - have I ever said how much the Sweet Pea Girls rock?

Have a great weekend, all!

Ok, so this is getting......

ridiculous. I just can't seem to keep up with it all.

Yesterday we had a TON of people over for coffee and lunch after church, the three days before that were spent cleaning up after 4 days of camping and cleaning my house to get ready for said get together, and we went to the Science Centre in Toronto during that time too. It's been raining for 5 days and I can't get good pictures of my August SPS kit projects because the light is low. Swimming lessons start this week and in 2 weeks it's a week of VBS mornings, PLUS today I'm going to rewrite my driver's test to renew my licence - essential if I'm going to drive school bus in the fall again. Sigh. This sucks. I thought it was supposed to be summer vacation!!! I think I need to go back to work to go on vacation from vacation.

I'll be back soon with a happier post, I promise! ;)
Have a great day!

3 days to go.....

until our annual camping trip with the Cloutiers! I guess I should start getting ready for that eh? But, I'm not. As per usual, I'm leaving it to the last minute, although I have most of it planned in my head & one very quick list jotted down that even I can't make sense of anymore; although at the time, it seemed pretty good. I'm trying to get the house cleaned up before we go, so that I don't come home to a mess. There's nothing worse than coming home from a vacation to find even more work waiting for you there. Man, I hope the weather is good this year!

The sneak peek is up for August. I love this kit & already have a few layouts planned in my head. Last month I didn't do any heritage LOs, so keep your eyes open for at least one next month! Also, Renee took some great pictures for me in June, so I'm using them as well.

Today my parents are leaving for their semi-annual trip to The Netherlands. I say semi annual, because they try to get back every other year, as my Mom's whole family lives there still. They have an evening flight, so by the time they get there it will be early morning! With the time change, they'll spend about 12 hours in the plane, although in reality, it's only a six hour flight.

It's library day here again, thank goodness! The kids have been arguing and pesting each other this week something awful & I've had my fill of the nonsense. Once a week the library has an hour long free program for my older two, and then Erica and I hang out in the kids wing picking books, playing on the computers and in the toy yard while we wait. You HAVE to be quiet in the library - HOORAY!

Have a great day all!

I'm Baaaa-ck..... (picture heavy post)

so sorry that I've been gone! I can't believe that it's been so long since I've posted - AGAIN!!! The kids and I have been enjoying summer stuff together and they've been visiting with grandparents while I've been summer cleaning at the school.

As promised, here's some of my Peggy's Cove pictures - my sister and I both really loved this place.

And, here's my July SPS projects - I loved the bright, summery colours in this kit!! But first, here's a picture of the kit :

And, here's my projects. I was so inspired by my Peggy's Cove pictures and the colours of the kit fit them so well, that I made these right away as soon as I got home. The journaling on the picture is a quote from Max Lucado and is actually a Daisy D's rubon that I found in Halifax at one of the LSS's there. I felt it fit the mood of the page, even though the sea isn't mentioned :

And, because my brother's wedding colours just happened to be blue, I made this one. The little file folder at the bottom opens up to reveal more pictures. I like it so much that I think I'm going to keep it for myself!! I'll make another one for them later ;), sorry guys :

It was super windy and Erica had so much fun being her silly self at the beach while camping last summer :

And another page for my Family Reunion album - snowball fights in August. Huh. Who'da thought it??

And, because I had so much of the kit left over, I thought I'd make up a few more cards for my ever growing card stash!

I spent a lovely afternoon with my best friend from high school last weekend. It was my high school's 40th reunion, and while I didn't end up going to many reunion things, it was really nice to see her again. I hope we'll get together again soon.

I guess that's it for now, have a great night!

I'm here.....

but I've been really busy finishing up my July SPS projects and cleaning up after my family. I just KNEW there was going to be a downside to my going on vacation alone!!!

But, I digress. =D

Next time I post I'll share some of my Peggy's Cove pictures.

Have a great day!

One More Day.....

here in Halifax. My sister and I are planning a day of sightseeing if the weather is good and shopping at one of the LSSs.

Yesterday it poured, but we were at Pier 21 which is all indoor. What an amazing place!! They have photocopies of all the passenger lists from all the boats that brought immigrants to Pier 21 over from Europe over a 40 year period. My Dad stopped in at the research centre and found our family's names on one of the lists, so he signed his name next to it. I've really been into learning more about my family and our history, so yesterday was one of the highlights of the trip for me.


I'm starting to look forward to going home. I miss my hubby and kids and am sad that they're not here to share all of this with me. On the other hand, it's been fun to be by myself and not have to worry about the kids. It's been an experience that I'll never forget! Stay tuned for many, many pages about these last 5 days. =D

Have a great day!

In Halifax.....

Well, I'm here and it's beautiful!!

I've already taken 130 pictures and eaten a lobster. My sister and I both think it tastes like buttered corn on the cob. Weird, I know, but it's sweet and salty and yummy!

Today is the wedding day so I'm sure by the end of the day I'll have 130 more pictures.

Sunday we're heading to Pier 21; that's where my Dad landed when he immigrated to Canada. Can't wait for that!

I'll leave you with a picture.
Have a great day!

I'm Not Ready Yet.....

for this trip to Halifax. I leave on Thursday morning - yep that's right, Thursday. That's less than 2 days away. The suitcase is open on my bedroom floor, but nothing's in it yet. I guess I should decide what I'm taking eh? In spite of what you may be thinking, I really am looking forward to the trip, this is just how I roll. Leave it to the last minute as much as I can!! =D

I got my July kit in the mail on Tuesday, and it's fab!!! I have one single page LO and one double page LO almost done. But. I have run out of the one essential thing for scrapbooking - adhesive!!!! Duh. I really don't know how I managed that one! Anyways, it'll have to wait until I get back now.

I'll "see" you all on Wednesday!

Just a quick check in.....

to share my newest LO :

This is my best friends SO and their new little one - such an awesome pic of the two of them, eh? It totally inspired this whole LO which is also for Colour Combo #124. I'm planning on giving them this one too. The photo jotter is from Jenn's Etsy shop and will be for them to fill out later.

It's going to be a busy week this week, with extra bus driving almost every day. My mother nicely took my YDD home with her yesterday after church because today was my sons class trip. She'll come home tomorrow sometime. It's been different not having her here. Not bad, just different. On Thursday I'm driving my ODD and her class to here. I'm really looking forward to having the day to spend together, just her and I.

Only 10 days to go until my Halifax trip - I'm really getting excited now!

Have a great night!