Guest gig layouts...

I have two fabulous guest gigs this month- Ziggle Designs and Amanda Heimann Designs- both at Scrap Orchard. So I thought I'd add some of my layouts here too. You can find all of the products used in these layouts at Scrap Orchard. Hop over now for the BOGO sale too! :)

Project 365 - Layouts

March? Already???

Well, I can hardly believe that it's March already! I've very busy- between home, work and trying to scrap- so I'm going to make this quick!

We've been busy with school and having a blast. I am so thankful that I get to work at such a wonderful campus and that my kids are not only learning, but enjoying school too. Jaxon is keeping up with swim and will be playing flag football this spring. We plan on starting Marley in swim soon too and hopefully dance as well. We'd REALLY like to find something musically inclined for the kids and are keeping an eye out for that. Brian is golfing again too and has joined the golf club with his dad, so he'll have more opportunities to play now too. :)


As for the scrap stuff- I'm currently working on my project 365 digitally (the physical album is collecting dust) AND I'm all caught up! I've already got 22 pages and that's just through February, so I think I may print the book quarterly afterall.

Also, I wanted to announce how excited I am to have 2 guest gigs this month! I'll be guesting for Ziggle Scraps and Amanda Heimann Designs- both at Scrap Orchard. Be on the lookout for some new layouts with their amazing products soon! :)

Gotta run!

Project 365...

I'm so excited about this new project I'm working on. It's based on the photo-a-day idea from photojojo. Someone on one of my forums was talking about the CK kit of the month coming out- I don't paper scrap, but I thought I'd check it out. I went to read about it from Becky Higgins here and here to read all about her actual product and thought it was a great idea. Apparently they didn't make NEARLY enough of them, but I was one of the lucky ones who was finally able to get through the busy server to order mine (lots of people didn't, and some were even really ugly about it on the KOTM blog, so I felt like I had the goose who laid a golden egg or something!) It's not REALLY scrapping as the items are pre-cut, but you can arrange them in multiple ways and add elements to it.

I really am enjoying taking daily pictures and trying to improve on my photography as well... you'd think I could convince my husband (who minored in photography) to take pictures for me (hint, hint)... and maybe I'll try to have him take some pics, but I really want to get better with my camera too, so we'll see. I thought my family would like to have something like this too, but how? So I decided to make digital pages for my Project 365 too. Of course, the photos and journaling will be the same as my "physical album" which will actually make it easier for me, but the digital kit I'm using has endless possibilities. I got Gina Marie Huff's Life 365 from Weeds and Wildflowers. I also had Darcy Baldwin at Sweet Shoppe Designs make me a custom font- DJB Stephanie S script- so that journaling is really my handwriting. It's a little thing, but makes the project feel even more like me. :)

I hope to keep updating slides each month (of course, my family will then get a "sneak peek" of their end of the year photo book) but I HAVE to share because I really like the idea... I'm up to date with pictures, and printing out week 2 now for my album, but only have the first week done digitally. Look for the monthly slide which I'll probably have to post up top!

So it's been a month since I updated this blog...

I know, I'm bad... but we've been SO busy! Here's a quick run down of our month:

We've all been busy with school- Marley absolutely loves her class and his constantly "playing teacher" at home, singing the national anthem and the pledge, giving "choices" to her baby dolls... she is having a blast and I couldn't be happier about it! They tell me often she's so smart (she's mine so I'm sure I'm biased) but her memory constantly amazes us. Now if we can just be sure she uses her amazing memory for good rather than evil (like repeating that bad word daddy uttered during the football game)... ha ha! :)

Jaxon is also loving school and is constantly wandering into his teacher's room after school to do "jobs" for her like stacking chairs, sharpening pencils, etc. Thankfully, she's a real sweetheart and doesn't seem to mind him hanging around, but you could definitely say he's a teacher's pet. He's doing very well in school and was very excited to be the narrator in The Gingerbread Man (his class play). I'm still totally loving my new class and new school. I'm also beginning to investigate masters programs in speech pathology (that is if I ever have the energy to go back for that while working full time and with 2 little ones!) Brian is still with his company and doing well, but still gets a little tired of the office life... thankfully no layoffs have come through his division. We have been competing in a few fantasy football leagues again this year and doing pretty well, but more importantly having fun. Brian will soon go into mourning as the football season winds to an end... the man is a full-fledged NFL addict... so here's hoping we find something else to keep him busy! :)

I almost forgot to tell you how Christmas was almost ruined! First, I was late getting calendars done so they still aren't here- guess they'll be New Year's gifts and one less gift for family at Christmas. Then I hadn't made Christmas cards until the last minute (they were quickly made, sent to the photo lab and sent out) but I didn't have enough made, so only a few folks got them (sorry!) Oh yeah, and they were in pajamas in the picture because we STILL haven't had our portraits taken. We had an appointment, but then Marley pulled a stocking at grandma Schock's house and it came crashing down on her face. No pictures with a fat lip!

Then we had another photo appointment, but Marley who had been coughing for a few days, suddenly got a fever. Cedar has hit here and since she has some seasonal allergies and didn't seem to bothered by the cough, I figured it was her allergies acting up. So, I take her to the doctor, and they say "She looks like she feels fine" as she was her usual silly, flirty self. They see she still has a fever "but she isn't acting like she has a fever"... I'm sure they thought I was just a mom over-reacting to a cold or allergies. The doctor comes in, checks for strep (which she didn't have thankfully), talks and listens to Marley and then proceeds to tell me Marley has pneumonia!!! My kids never complain and so the only way I know something is wrong is when they get a fever. With the holidays just 2 days away, she didn't bother ordering an xray, just got her a prescription to treat it. How terrible is that??? Going to the ER on Christmas would have ruined Christmas for sure! We're going to take her in tomorrow to double check that it's gone (since Marley never acted like she was sick in the first place, I want to be sure). Brian and I also got a REALLY BAD stomach bug- like a passage out of King's Dreamcatchers bad... it only lasted about 2 days and miraculously the kids didn't get it (whew!) Merry Christmas huh?

Anyway, as Christmas approached, the kids both made little lists for Santa and Jaxon even got to see him at our school's pancake breakfast. Marley was scared and clung to me like a little monkey hanging on for dear life and says "Santa's nice, but I don't want to see him!" They both made out like bandits of course, but they seem to appreciate all they have and in addition to picking out new toys to give to Brown Santa, they are now helping us sort through old toys to give to kids who didn't get any at Christmas. :) We had a great Christmas with both sets of families getting together at our house on Christmas day. We're on our way to the Alamo Bowl tomorrow and to spend some time at my parents house too. We'll FINALLY have those portraits made Jan.2nd barring any other catastrophe. Looking forward to a great new year (and be on the lookout for a new blog design soon too.. I hope to find time before January so the Christmas digi-stuff gets put away too!)

My biggest headache I saved for last- so if your not into the techie nerd stuff, feel free to skip this part! As most of you know, I'm addicted to digital scrapbooking (thus my fabulous looking blog, right?) Well, apparently my external hard drive (EHD) which holds ALL of my scrap stuff and lots of digital photos had died (actually it reformatted to RAW which is unreadable). So fast forward, I've got $60 software which recovers TOO much data (corrupt files making my 250 GB look like it's got 100GB of data on it). So for about 3 weeks, my computer has been on, searching for files and trying to weed out corrupt files (you can't "see" the files, only their names- most of which were replaced with numbers like this [478367492] so it is a HUGE pain). Well tonight it's FINALLY down to 400GB which I'm saving and then will weed through in my editing software where I can find duplicates and actually see file contents. Thankfully, Brian has not thrown my computer out the window (which I thought may cross his mind as I've been staring at the screen full of numbered files for weeks and trying to save them). Fingers crossed my good stuff is saved and this process is OVER. Go backup your important data right now at Mozy.com or on another EHD.

Wow... are you still reading this??? Go on... I'm done rambling for now... :)

Yes... I'm giving into to marketing...

Or so it seems as I've already changed my blog to a Christmas theme. :) It seems to get earlier and earlier every year that we start seeing Christmas items going up in the stores... I can usually avoid those temptations as I rarely shop (Brian's lucky in that respect). But ALREADY, the Christmas commercials are on tv, and since we DO watch tv at our house, we can't escape!!!

We're gearing up for Thanksgiving with a long 5 days weekend and already have Christmas on the brain. I'm having the kids circle things they want in catalogs to get ideas, but I've already got some ideas. Marley is desperately wanting a new bed (as she rolls around so much that the toddler bed is not cutting it)! So she may get an early gift. Not sure about Jaxon yet... and since he can (and often does) read over my shoulder I couldn't write about it anyway. :)

We are FINALLY getting a family portrait taken as well, so I know our moms will be very happy with that! :) Anyway, it's a cool, rainy day and we're just hanging around the house- I'm on here updating stuff, Brian is watching football next to me, Marley is napping and Jaxon wants me to come play a game with him so I'd better run. I'll post again soon!

So I'm bad at updating my blog apparently...

I've been busy and feeling kind of crummy overall lately so I've not been updating or scrapping or doing much of anything I guess! You know when you get so busy that when you have some downtime, you just want to hang out with your family and veg? I'm there!

Jaxon and Marley both had their first field trips this week and they had a great time. Jaxon went to the Austin Children's Museum and Marley's class teamed up with mine to go to the DinoLand exhibit at Zilker Botanical Gardens. They both had fun and at long last, got to ride the school bus which they were very excited about.

I hope to be back to update soon!

Halloween, tee ball and... oh yeah... DSD!

I guess it's been busy around here because I've not posted in a month and a half! Here's a quick review: PEAR is going great- we're having fun and the kids are making tremendous progress. Jaxon is enjoying school and got the "Spotlight Stallion" last week (school recognizes one child in each class for doing a great job, showing school expectations, etc.) Marley is having a blast in her class too and is now trying to sign as she speaks. Unfortunately she talks as much, as well, and as fast as mom so the signing will take some time to catch up! :) Brian and I went to a party for Lindsay's birthday and had a good time, we've been enjoying attending all of the UT home games, and the kids enjoyed going to a "pumpkin patch" at Red Barn Gardens.

Now for the end of this month:
First we had Halloween- Jaxon was Peter Pan (which he picked because Marley was going to be Tinkerbell) but oddly it didn't come with a hat so I was stitching one the night before- the green felt doesn't match his outfit, but it had a red feather so it was ok with Jaxon. Marley ended up with 3 costumes: Tink, Sleeping Beauty, and Alice in Wonderland. She decided on the latter and if I do say so, she IS Alice and was adorable. We met up with our new neighbor and a few more neighbors down the street for trick or treating and had a blast. We went around for almost an hour, so there are lots of treats to be had at our house!

The next morning was Jaxon's semi-final tee ball tournament. 9am the morning after Halloween- talk about rough. Our team played pretty well, but lost. Of course, had they played fair it may have been different. Hang in there while I step onto my soapbox for a moment... the other team has to rotate players, but they just barely squeaked by that rule by rotating their best 3 players between pitcher, first and home. Those kids could catch hits, throw like big kids, etc. I KNOW that when they get older, you play the position you are best at, but 4 and 5 year olds? How will the other kids learn if they aren't allowed to play all of the different positions? I'd rather lose and have my kid learn all the positions... and as it turns out that is what happened. I think we ended up 3rd in the league, but Jaxon had fun and really is learning the game, so we're very happy. They got a trophy, which is his first one, and he's so proud! :) Ok, off the soapbox...

We had planned on meeting my parents out at Sweetberry Farms in Marble Falls, but when I came home from the game, I had a TERRIBLE headache and felt kind of sick, so we're going to reschedule. Anyway, I came home and turned on the computer to check e-mail and realized it was DSD (Digital Scrapbooking Day)! I knew it was coming, but I guess with everything else going I'd forgotten about it. I rarely shop anymore (for anything really), but couldn't pass up some of the deals going on... so be on the lookout for more layouts coming soon. :)

Marley began asking to watch Santa movies this morning (even though he terrifies her) so I think we'll be more than ready for Christmas this year. :) I'll try to be better about posting updates too!

Busy, busy...

I've been VERY busy so here's a quick recap of the month... more will come later! We're three weeks into school and we're loving our new PEAR program. It has been everything I hoped it would be. I had more families attend open house for the new program than ever before- it is so exciting to have such supportive families.

Jaxon and Marley are both enjoying school, though Jaxon is disappointed about the new playground. Apparently, it isn't as fun as his old one because it doesn't have a curly slide or balance beam. :) They both really like their teachers and are doing well.

Brian and I have season tickets for University of Texas football and we're thrilled to find out we have GREAT seats. Talk about a nice surprise! Of course, this weekend's game vs. Arkansas has been rescheduled for the 27th thanks to hurricane Ike.

Jaxon started t-ball this week. We had one practice this week- and amazingly all of the kids were having fun and learning for the whole practice. It lasted from 5:30 to 7:00, so I expected him to wear out and get whiny, but he loved every minute. Of course, chances are good that Saturday's game is going to get rained out, but if not, be on the lookout for our first game update. :)

I'll also be updating my blog with a new look (you may have already seen an update on my scrap blog). Got to run, but I'll be back soon!

Back to school!

For me at least! I started back to school for staff development this week and I've got to say, things are looking good. Usually staff development is a bit of a drag, but it's been good. Everyone I've met is excited to be opening up the new school and all have been very friendly. We're coming together from about 6 different campuses so there are lots of new faces, but we're all getting to know each other. Last night was the ribbon cutting ceremony for my school and it was a really cool experience too.

I'm excited to get started! But I do have "a problem"... I have SO MUCH room that I almost can't believe it! I have laid out my room and moved furniture back and forth AT LEAST 8 times by now. I think I FINALLY have it the way I want it now, but it was tough to figure it out. I still have lots to move in, planning to do, curtains to find, make, or find someone to make... but we're getting there!

Marley is going to have so much fun in her new class. She already talks about her "friends" and her teacher ("My teacher is Ms.____ and she likes me!") I really like the kindergarten team and I'm sure Jaxon will do great with any one of them. He's excited too, but I think at first it may be tough as he's used to being with me. It will be very good for him though and I know after a day or two, he'll LOVE kindergarten too.

More updates to come (especially now that I know a few of y'all actually read this thing)! :)

Summer keeps on flying by...

We've been so busy that the summer seems to be flying by. Jaxon is loving swim lessons and doing quite well. Marley is enjoying the kinder-dance camp we have her in and it makes me even more excited for her to start school- she's so ready to be part of a group.

I have lots of exciting changes coming up this school year and I'm actually ready to be back to work. I'm moving from PPCD at my school to a brand new elementary school to pilot a new cluster class called PEAR (Preschool Expressive and Receptive) Language. It will be an intensive program for language-delayed 3 to 5 year olds within the PPCD continuum of services. I am very excited, but of course, I'm also very sad to leave my old school and class too.

I'm used to dealing with students with varying disabilities- delays in language, social skills, self-help, fine and gross motor skills- and having to fit them all into the day. So now my focus will be primarily intense work on language skills. There is only one piece of "bad news"... and actually I'm not sure it's bad, I'm just selfish. Jaxon had been a peer model in my class for the past 2 years, which was great because he was in class learning, but still with me everyday. I was looking forward to seeing Marley at school too. But now, she'll be in the PPCD class as a model instead of mine. I think she'll do better in someone else's class, and she can still come for a 2 hour block into my room, I guess I'm just selfish! I'll miss seeing her with the other kiddos! Anyway, I need to be cleaning, so I'd better run. I'll try to update again soon. :) S

A little peek at our trip...

Enjoy!

Make a Smilebox scrapbook

Back from a FABULOUS vacation...

We drove 11 hours (my kids first long road trip) to Ruidoso, New Mexico late last week and met my parents and my mother-in-law at a big cabin in the mountains for 7 days (it was supposed to be 10 days but we came home a bit early to recover). So it doesn't sounds like TONS of fun from that first line, but it was great!

The scenery was unreal and we had a gorgeous view of the mountains from the deck. It was dry (unlike the humid conditions I live in) and only got into the upper 80s (where it was record breaking heat for weeks at home). We went shopping, sightseeing, hung out in the hot tub, took the kids to the Smokey Bear Museum and FunTrackers (race cars, bumper boats, etc.), went golfing, gambled at Inn of the Mountain Gods, hiked (but only around the cabin as Lincoln National Forest was closed to due extreme fire risk) and just enjoyed some much needed R&R. I've got literally hundreds of photos to scrap from the vacation so be on the lookout! I'm still working off the rigged-to-work laptop, so all of those photos I mentioned are on my son's laptop. I'll get it from him while he sleeps! :)

I have joined a new CT, but since its not been posted yet, I can't say who yet! :) More to come...

Jaxon starts swim tomorrow and tennis soon- and Marley will take her first class ever: Kindertots dance! Expect LOTS of pics from that! :) S

We're having fun already and a week of "firsts"

We have had a good time this summer and its just started. We have been playing in the yard with the sprinklers for a couple of days which is about all you can do in the Texas heat. It's been a record month for high temps here so water-related activities are good!
Brian and I wanted to take Jaxon to see Kung Fu Panda, but when we started talking about it, Marley kept piping up "I want to go too with my Jaxon!" So even though she's a bit young, we decided to take her along to her first movie. Jaxon was COMPLETED engrossed in the movie and devoured an entire bag of popcorn single-handedly! He later said "That was AWESOME!" Marley was... well... at her first movie. She attempted to sit in the seat but then when it started to pop up a bit, she said "Ahh! It's going to rock me!" like a rocking chair I guess, and that was the end of sitting in her own seat. She went from Daddy's lap to my lap and back again probably 20 times. She kept asking "What his name?" not referring to the movie but to the man in front of us. She was much more interested in the theater experience than the movie, but that's to be expected.

Today we went to get Marley's first haircut. Jaxon always had such a hard time with them and since she's a girl, I'm growing her hair out anyway, but it was WAY overdue. She did great and they both look cute! Check it out below.

Make a Smilebox photobook

4 more days of school!

So, maybe I did fall of the face of the Earth, but I've been busy! The last month of school is ALWAYS hectic and this year is no exception. I'm up to my ears in paperwork and have even brought some home in the hopes of getting it all done without having to work after school is out. I really need to get my room in order so I plan on weeding through things as well if I have the time. If you're not a teacher, you may not know that in addition to all of our other end of the year stuff, we have to completely take down the room. Nothing is left out unless its boxed up or shut away the cabinets so it takes some time.

We are getting ready for "potty training" boot camp style around here. We have 2 weeks after school is out before we leave for Ruidoso, and I'm hoping to get her trained by then. She's an all or nothing kind of girl apparently, so I'm going to have to go cold turkey on diapers and go straight into undies to get her trained. She'll tell me as she's going, instead of beforehand, and is definitely ready, just stubborn (I blame daddy for that trait! Ha ha)! She's already learning how to push her brother's buttons, but for the most part, she follows him around like a puppy dog. Anytime she gets something, she says "And one for my Jaxon..." or if we go somewhere, "Jaxon is coming too..." She just adores him.

My laptop had an accident and the screen cracked inside. :( Another reason I've been away. I tried using Jaxon's laptop, but it's slow and frankly, he wants to use it! I figured out how to hook up my old flat panel monitor to the laptop and that's what I'm using now. It's not pretty, but it works.

Jaxon is still blowing us away with his reading and I can't even rate what level he's on now because my materials don't go past second gade. He's a smart one (and I'm not just saying that because I'm mom). He is still big into his games, but not to the point of obsession like he was before (mainly because we don't let him). One day, he was playing one of his favorite PS games "The Incredibles 2: Rise of the Underminer" and I walk in to the credits rolling. I ask what happened and he says "I finished it." I thought maybe he he exited the game on accident and pull up the menu to find he had completed the game. He says "Mom, I already told you I finished it." Well of course you did. That's 3 games now that he's completed- he is quite the gamer. We are working on sports in the hopes of improving his muscle tone as he's a skinny string bean right now and he can't wait to get started!

Well, I need to get around- I'll post again soon (and hopefully it won't be a month away)!

I did not fall off the face of the earth...

It just looks that way on the blog! :) So here's the month in review.
My surgery went well. I'm 15 days post-op and other than a little soreness, I'm fine. I feel much better than I expected I would. Brian was wonderful and took over for me completely so I could recover. He laughs and says "What did you expect me to do?" But really... taking over in every aspect of the child-rearing and running the house takes work! I only missed 3 days of work, but even after I went back, Brian took care of business around here. He is simply wonderful.
I had my birthday this month. The big 3-0. We kept it simple, just dinner and a movie, so I wouldn't go into shock or have a midlife crisis. Ha ha! Jaxon assured me that "30 is a lot" but that I'm "not old". :) I still don't feel like a grown up, let alone like a mom in my 30's (sheesh)! Ok... I need to stop now before I DO start to feel old.
We have had tons of birthday parties for Jaxon's friends (who are also students in my class) and the kids have had fun. Jaxon has started to think about his birthday since he'll "finally be 5". Last year, we went to a big place full of bounce houses and obstacle courses, but not sure what he'll want this time.
Summer is quickly approaching and I'm excited. Jaxon is going to be in tennis, swim and maybe flag football, but we'll have to wait until fall for t-ball. We are also going to Ruidoso, New Mexico with the family for a week and can't wait. The cabin we're staying in is gorgeous- I think cabin and think a little place, but it's huge. It's nearby the casino, horseback riding, hiking and the lake. I can't wait for that trip... of course, it'll be the kids first LONG road trip so it may be an adventure! I guess I'll dust off the DVD player in the roof of my van for this trip.
Well, it's already late and I need to head to bed, but more to come soon! :) S

Spring Carnival (as retold w/ Smilebox)

If you've not discovered smilebox yet, check it out! I am a self-admitted digital scrapbooking junkie and love to make layouts, but this is SO easy- just drag and drop- so even those of you who do not share my passion, can share your pictures in layouts. Be sure to click the "zoom in" to read the journaling and "zoom out" to turn the page. This is one of the Spring Carnival... enjoy!

Make a scrapbook - it's easy!

World Autism Awareness Day

Please spread the word! As many of you know, most of my students have autism, and it is rising at near epidemic rates, yet there are still many who know very little about it. Check out available resources, research and community support at Autism Speaks.

The busiest month is almost here

...which is both exciting AND stressful! Let's see... I'm getting blond highlights back (the old reliable) so my mom will be very happy. My sister and I were referred to as "Brownie" and "Blondie" respectively as children and apparently we need to remain that way. ;)

I have tons of meetings coming up too for my kiddos headed to kindergarten and end of the year stuff. I am also presenting a few trainings for staff and parents with my teammates which is giving me gray hair (now you see that my reason for the blond highlighting is NOT to make mom happy)!

Next week I have surgery which I'm only moderately nervous about, but I'll be sore and out of whack for a bit, and that has me more worried than the process itself. It's tough to tell the kiddos to go easy on mama or the teacher for that matter- I think my title should include "child wrangler" and "human jungle gym"! That week is also when Jaxon has kindergarten round-up and kinder buddy day which I'm excited about. I can't wait to see what he thinks about the whole thing.

The last but not least of the stresses... I turn 30 this month. Yes folks, it's all downhill from here. ;) I wasn't all that concerned about it until my friends kept reminding me about it... and now I'm thinking I'll make 30 fun. Maybe it'll be my year to lose those last 10 pounds I want to rid myself of, and get more organized, and I WILL do more for myself this year. So, if I'm not around much this month, you'll know why. Anyway, keep your fingers crossed that all goes well. I guess I should finish up my taxes... :)

Happy Easter!

Well this month has just flown by. Do I write that every month? It sure feels like it! :) We had our neighborhood Easter egg hunt today and will have everyone over to our house tomorrow as well. With Easter coming early this year, it snuck up on me so I've got eggs to color with the kids, laundry to do, need to get ALL of these toys put away, and make some pecan pie. Thankfully our moms are bringing almost all of the food so at least I don't have a lot of cooking to do.

And the next day is the 24th- our anniversary. We've been married for 7 years. It seems silly now, but when we were in college, I had it in my mind that I was not going to get married before I graduated. So we lived together instead all through college... don't ask why I was ok with that but not getting married, because it was basically just a test drive for marriage, but oh well! All in all, its been 11 years.

Wow do I feel old now! The big 30 hits next month, so I guess THAT is when I'll officially be "old". Argh... I STILL don't feel like a grown-up!

Anyway, I hope everyone has a great Easter and enjoys time with their families.