Happy Halloween, from our family to yours!
Another challenge. We had to try to scraplift this layout for page 1, and this layout for page 2.
I just got home from the dentist. It was as bad as I had feared. I feel like I've just been mugged. But he got all four teeth, and seemed to genuinely feel bad about making me scream and cry. Yes, really.
There was some infection behind one of the teeth, so I'm on a week-long course of antibiotics. I'm also changing gauze pads about every 10 minutes or so, and have all kinds of weird rules like "don't use straws for 48 hours." I hurt and I'm miserable and I can't talk and I can barely even open my mouth enough to get the gauze in and out and I just want to die. Or cry. Or both.
Tummybug didn't much care for the experience, either. What with the adrenaline shot and Mommy's constant clenching and yelping and whimpering, he/she was wiggling up a storm, reminding me to breathe. Labor breathing helped some, but not much. Dental pain is just a whole other level of hurt.
On the plus side, once it was all over with and I was heading back out to the van with the rest of the family, I found a big, fluffy, soft, cuddly puppy dog waiting just for ME. Mike said they all picked it out for me. I haven't let it out of my sight since. :)
I'm going to go have a bath now, and put a cold washcloth on my face. And moan. A lot.
While I was doing more painting in Kayla's room, Adam wandered in and pronounced: "See? The thing on each bear's tummy gives it its name. For example, the cloud and hearts on Grumpy Bear's belly stand for the power of love and grumpiness."
To the girls who turned in my lost wallet - thank you for bringing it to the Les Schwab, so they could track me down and return it to me. Please consider the cash you stole from it as your finder's reward.
We had another checkup today. Everything's maddeningly normal - weight up a pound this month, blood pressure's (I think) 124/72. We had another ultrasound, and Tummybug kept his/her knees FIRMLY CLAMPED TOGETHER. Dammit. This kid's gonna make me gray. But it is still wiggling quite a lot, and Mike got to feel a kick for the first time, while I was stretched out on the ultrasound table waiting to get gooed-up. I go back in five weeks for my next OB visit, which will include the glucose tolerance test. Followed by another ultrasound. I expect we'll only see a blur. ;)
(Editor Note: I wrote this two days ago, then promptly forgot to upload it. YET ANOTHER instance of baby brain, about which I will do another post ... well, whenever I fucking remember it, which will probably be after I've forgotten what I was going to say. Don't get me started.)
The weekly challenge from one of my lists was to use stripes. Not a very tall order, considering the papers that are out now. :) The pictures are from Thomas' first birthday, this past June. And no, I'm not that caught up - I skip around when I scrapbook. :)
I haven't said much here, because there hasn't been much to say. Work, painting, sleep. Work, painting, sleep. I'm going this weekend to get the carpet for Kayla's room whether the painting's done or not, so I'm trying to get as much of it finished as possible. I just know that if I don't get the carpet down soon I won't be able to get it down at all until after the baby comes.
Thursday's going to be the day from hell, because we'll be cleaning all morning at preschool (and I'm in charge of the cleanfest - go figure!), followed by doctor's appointments for both me and Mike, followed by our usual chores. I'm looking forward to the visit (though I do have a couple of things to discuss with my doctor for a change), but BOY, HOWDY are we gonna be pooped when that day's over!
I've done probably about 70% of the painting in Kayla's room. I figured out much too late that I should've stuck to using my older acrylics, even if they were a bit "clotted." They are higher quality than the cheap crap I bought at Joann's, but I can get by with only one or at most two coats, instead of the three I had been doing. Saves a helluva lot of time, and right now time is worth way more to me than money. Anywho, I'm really hoping to finish the painting either tomorrow or Friday, so that I can shop for carpet on Saturday with a clear conscience. :) I will, of course, take and post pictures when it's all done.
I haven't scrapbooked much at ALL, due to lack of time. Still, somehow, life manages to march on. ;)
Sgt. Hook is back to blogging again! I've missed his writing, and his candid look into military life, and am so grateful to have him back in the saddle again, so to speak. Big thanks to Margi for pointing out to us that he had returned to the land of the living. :)
"Your email is like a kidney stone." - Mike
These Four Walls
by Sara Evans
Wasn't that long ago
I was skipping to school with a lunchbox
Pigtails in my hair.
Where did the time go?
One minute I'm playing in the sandbox.
How'd I get to here from there?
Making lunches and folding clothes
Is not the most glamorous life I know
But I've got so much more than most.
[Chorus]
I'm not famous but my kids think I'm a star.
I'm not rich but I've made a million memories so far.
I may not be a model
But my man thinks I could be.
I may not be royalty
But in these four walls
I'm a queen.
I had it all planned:
First I'd make it big in Nashville
Then take Hollywood by storm.
But it was in God's hands
There were three little lives that would need me
To one day be their mom.
I wouldn't trade it for anything;
Those movie stars don't have everything.
I know I'm right where I wanna be.
[Repeat Chorus]
I had to let it go, but I have no regrets -
I would have never known this kind of happiness
[Repeat Chorus]
The server that runs Scrap-Poodle and Larkware (among other sites) blew up yesterday. Mike had to drive to and from Kennewick - 5 hours of driving, round-trip - to pick up the carcass. Then he spent this morning playing Dr. Frankenstein to build a replacement machine from spare parts, and this afternoon and evening taking the new creature BACK to Kennewick, with Adam in tow. In his absence, I was single mom to 2 (today) and 3 (yesterday) kids.
Needless to say, this has put an unbelievable dent in our working schedules, which were already crazy and over-filled. We are utterly, totally, irrevocably buried in deadlines, tasks, email, challenges, requirements, and expectations. I'm feeling QUITE overwhelmed by it all, but there isn't much to be done except to muddle through.
Basically, if I owe you something in the next week or so, expect it to be later than promised. Ugh.
These pictures were from my in-laws' 50th anniversary party in May. They are of my brother-in-law David and his girlfriend Jacqueline. I made this layout as a challenge from one of my scrapbooking lists to scraplift this layout. I really liked the way it came out!
On one of my scrapbooking lists, we were challenged to do a sports-themed layout. This one was tough, since we're not a very "sporty" family, but I made the best of it and used some fair pictures. I rather liked it when it was done!
My sister told me two days ago that my nephew wants to enter the Army after he graduates next year. I am absolutely stunned by this. Don? Isn't Don still, like, seven? In my head, I think he always will be. And now he's talking about going into Special Forces? How can that be? Doesn't he still need someone to tie his shoes? Does he know all his colors? Even ones like "beige"? When did he grow up? Was I not looking?
If he does go in - and so far, he sounds pretty resolute - odds are good he'll get deployed. I'll actually be sending care packages to someone I know. With pictures included of people HE knows. And I'll be praying to get letters back, so I still know he's ok. I'm so scared. Proud, too. But scared.
"I'd like to believe in the healing hand of time, but the truth is I really can't say if I'm getting better or just used to the pain." - Tracy Lawrence
This is my last layout for today (making 8 pages for the day - woohoo!). I almost never do a plain white background, but I wasn't feeling at all inspired. Oh, well; they're in the album, and out of the photo box now. That's what really matters. :)
I neglected to upload pictures from Adam's party this year in August, though, of course, he did have one. I scrapped those pictures today, so I'll just upload the layouts instead. Yeah, layoutS, plural - I took a lot of pictures. :)
Things are moving right along! I've done the priming and basecoat painting in Kayla's room. The walls are now Sunny Day Yellow and the ceiling is Clear Blue Sky. Kayla is thrilled, and is now demanding white clouds. Tomorrow, while we're in town for preschool and other errands, we'll make a stop at the craft store and get some acrylic paints. I had a stash of these from years ago, but they've gotten all yucky and clotted, and at the price of acrylic paint, it's not worth it.
So next is the mural. That's going to be a pretty painstaking job, but I hope it isn't as backbreaking as edging the ceiling was. Ouch! My goal is to finish the room within the next two weeks, so that I can then concentrate on the Mall Crawl, holidays, and baby-growing.
Speaking of Tummybug, he/she is still doing just fine. Wiggling and squirming all over the place, and there is no more magical feeling. A week or so ago, I started being able to feel some of the more vigorous movements with my hands. We're *past* the alleged halfway mark now. I'm getting ready to meet this little person, and watch how he/she fits into our family.
This layout went together super-quickly, and was a scraplift of this page.
