It has gotten quiet!

Edward, Cassis and the boys left for Louisiana today. With them gone, it has gotten pretty quiet around here. I must say that the boys are very sweet and energetic. I really enjoyed spending time with them. It was great to have the whole family here at the house. Hope you had a good holiday with your family!

Happy Holidays

Now that Christmas Day has come and gone, I am reminded of how lucky I am. I have a loving family, awesome job and great friends. I am grateful that my nephew and father-in-law are doing well with their respective health issues. I can't wait to go to Disney World with mom and Ashleigh. I am ready to train for running/jogging the Dallas Turkey Trot. I am excited about the coming year and look forward to completing my goals for the year. Happy Holidays!

More pics

Here are some more pictures of Ashleigh and the cats on that very cold day!

I should have known!

I washed Ashleigh's sleeping bag this past weekend. The cats, in a rare moment of togetherness, were caught sleeping on the bag. I can't be too angry with them considering it has been about 27 degrees all day. I just wish they could have slept on something that needed washing!

Christmas Card Shoot

After bribing, pleading and begging I finally coerced Ashleigh into taking pictures for our Christmas card. Here are a few of the outtakes.

Lost No 6

Well, no sooner than I post her snagletooth picture then she looses it in her sleep.

Girl Scouts Skating

We went to the Girl Scout sponsored roller skating party Sunday night. Ashleigh did good and by the time we left she was just about ready to hit the big rink. We had fun watching the girls skate, fall, skate, fall..... I have to give them kudos for getting up again and again until they got the hang of it. I remember all the fun activities I did in Girl Scouts and am so thankful Ashleigh is able to have the same.

Snagletooth

Ashleigh is steadily losing her baby teeth. We are holding at 5 since this front tooth does not seem to want to come out. We thought we would get a picture of her while her teeth are still growing and falling. She has lots of holes in there and I am amazed she can chew anything. My she sure is a cutie!

Coco sleeping

Well, Coco now weighs 14 pounds and has filled out her frame. In other words, the cat is a chunk. Here she is sleeping on the kitchen chair seat with her head burrowed into the seat. If you ever are looking for her, a good place to start would be on a kitchen chair.

Dazed and confused

Dazed and confused, that is what I was when David called to tell me Ashleigh got to ride in a limo today. Not only did she get to ride in a limo, she had lunch at Cici's pizza. Apparently during the throes of busy season I signed a permission slip for her to ride in the limo and have pizza. Unfortunately, I did not remember doing so until David let me know that was her prize for selling a lot of cookie dough. I then vaguely recall signing said slip and the astonishment of my action set in. I am the worst mom. Seriously. I can't remember something like that! All I can say is that I am terribly grateful to have my job at EFO where I am dazed and confused less weeks than if I was at KBA (what is my deal with acronym employers anyway?).

She had so much fun during her "limbo" ride and wants to travel that way from now on. Who wouldn't? I am glad she had such a wonderful time. She will treasure that memory for quite a while.

Ashleigh and Grace

I had no intention of using this paper. When I pulled out my page planner, the paper in the sleeve did not scream to me. I had the rub ons picked out already and when I overlaid them on the paper knew I had a winner. Sometimes thing happen so easily. I used the same bling paper as on Ashleigh's hairdo page. Since these pictures were taken around the same time I figured they would make a good two pager.



So I just rubbed my circle rub ons directly onto the patterned paper. For the swirls, I cut them into individual words so I could manipulate them. I had no rhyme or reason but think they turned out pretty good. I still need a title. I bought this make your own rub on stuff a while ago and think I will try it out. Now I just need to find it!



The rub ons say things like best friends, best buds, etc etc.

Ashleigh's new hairdo

Last July we chopped Ashleigh's hair off. I did this layout on Sunday. I really had no idea of what I wanted to do and it just evolved. I used a template to draw and cut out the arrows.

I like how the words on the arrow ended up adding to the title with the way it got laid out. I used bazzill bling paper in green and pink. Too cute.

I still need to do my journaling.

Playing outside layout

This is the first of 50! It felt good to create a layout. I know I should be working on the brag book of Andrew for mom (I promise I am going to get to it soon!) but since I don't have enough pictures I figured I would work on other things.

When Ashleigh and I went to Ruston for Cassie and Edward's wedding in February, we took the kids outside to play with the motorized Jeep. I got some good shots of Ashleigh and Alex having a good time.

I used old old bazzill buttons and distressed them to match the paper. I have had the journaling stamps for a while and thought this would be a good page for them. I used my handwriting which is uncommon for me.

I like how it turned out. Definitely not too girly.

This past weekend

Well, I managed to have a wonderful anniversary and birthday. I was able to get some scrapbooking done as well and spend a fantastic evening with my husband. Who could ask for more? Seriously, I am one of the luckiest 35 year old in the world. I have the best family and friends. I have a job I love. To top it all off, I only had to spend 15 minutes at the DMV getting my drivers license renewed!!

Blog of the Weaver clan

Cassie started a blog of the family. Check out the site!!

http://stuckinouterspace.blogspot.com/

I challenge my fellow scrappers!

I am going to give myself a challenge. I am going to scrap 50 pages before I buy another piece of paper, ribbon, embellishments.... Man o man, what a challenge. I think I can totally do it. I have so much paper it would be great to use it. Now that busy season is over, I have time to indulge myself in scrapping bliss. I will not only keep you posted, but I will share the fruits of my labor. I think I am going to go into my scrap area and get started!!!!!!!

Growing Up

I was taking a good look at Ashleigh the other night. She looks so grown up to me. Her face has thinned so she looks more like a typical school kid. With her losing teeth and growing her hair out, it just makes her look older. Even pictures from six months ago shock me since she looks so different. Granted, I would not change a thing. She will always and forever be my baby girl! I take joy and pride in how much she has learned (reading and writing) but sometimes, for a brief instant, wish I had my little baby.

Easy to entertain

So I am sitting on the couch, checking my email and smiling. Lately I have been pretty quick to laugh. It probably has a lot to do with me working hard to meet my 10/15 tax deadline. Today I am especially tired since I worked a solid 9 hours. So while I sit here typing away, my daughter is crawling under the lap quilts yelling for help and for the quilts to let her go. Who could not smile at such a scene. I find comfort in the fact that I am not the only person in this family who is easily entertained. My friends often tell me how she looks like David yet acts like me. I can live with that!

Aidan's Blog

As many of you know, I have a nephew who was born deaf. A lot has been happening in his little world this summer. Below is a link to a blog Cassie has set up to keep family and friends up to date on his progress. The site will give you more information about his condition.

http://aidanriley.blogspot.com/

Later
Scrapaddict

Gustav

Just wanted to let everyone know that both Mom and David's family did not have any damage from Gustav. Of course, we are keeping an eye on Ike. Luckily for me, I got to see Mom & John a couple of days while they were evacuated. Ashleigh was especially sad to see them and Gramie (Susie) go home. She wanted to skip school so she could play with them. When I mentioned she could spend a couple of weeks with them next summer, she was not so gung-ho.

Lost another tooth!

Ashleigh lost a top front tooth on Wednesday. It had been extremely loose and hanging on my just a bit. Of course it fell out at school and she did not even notice. We wrote a note to the tooth fairy letting her know what happened. She was sweet enough to bring Ashleigh a dollar! She was excited. Now she has one permanent in, one halfway there and a hole. Good thing school portraits were the day after the picture! lol

Random

I know it has been too long since I posted anything. I have been in a bit of a doldrums. I have found out recently that I have an under active thyroid (hypo) and it could be part of my energy level issues. I have been on medication for a month and it really seems to be helping. Work has gotten very busy but I still find it to be relaxed compared to public accounting. David and Ashleigh both started school this past week so we are getting out of our summer randomness into a schedule.

Speaking of school, I have been pondering over Ashleigh's Kindergarten first day pics. I want to do a layout with a school feel but softer since she was in this beautiful pink dress. I think I might cut out letters of various sizes and fonts in a soft red or blue. I think I will make a random border to give it the feel but not over the top. I might even just stamp the letters in white on a soft red cardstock. I probably should get started since I have this years first day of school to do now.

1st Grade

My little girl is growing up fast. Here she is the first day of 1st grade. She likes her teacher and is enjoying school. I am glad she is liking it and anticipate this to be a good year for her.

I have been thinking....

I have been thinking that I need to add more about me in the scrapbooks. For that matter, I need to add more about David as well. Little things Ashleigh's kids might like to know when they are older. Here is a list of tidbits about me.


Tidbits

1. I hate doing housework. Definitely.



2. I am addicted to Crystal Light.



3. I love cheese. Any kind anywhere



4. I hated my curly hair until I got out of high school. I always wanted straight long blond hair.



5. I have had more embarrassing incidents at work than any human should have to endure



6. I was a Girl Scout from 2nd grade through high school



7. My first car was a hand me down Honda Civic Hatchback - Red, which I backed into more objects than I can count on my hands



8. If couch lounging was an Olympic sport, I would win a Gold many times over



9. I love off the beaten path chick flicks. Heck, I love just about any chick flick.



10. I did not start to wear make-up until I was 18



11. I knew I wanted to study accounting as a junior in high school



12. I went through sorority rush on crutches having had knee surgery a month before



13. My vocabulary and spelling are atrocious because I missed several years of English during junior high to attend gifted student classes (SPARK). Thank heavens for spell check!



14. My mom would send me to spend two to three weeks with my grandmother in Belzoni, Mississippi during the summers when I was younger. Grandmother would take me to the cable office and I loved running the cash register.



15. I distinctly remember having dinner with my family (Mom, John & Edward)and laughing until my sides hurt. We sure did have fun picking on each other. Shoot, we still do it today!

Hope you learned somtething about me today!

Scrapbrat

Snuggle Buddies

David took this picture of Ashleigh and Coco last night. Had to share. Too cute!

We are a Brownie!

Sunday we finally got to bridge from a daisy girl scout to a brownie. I am so glad we got through the ceremony. Here are a few pics. The ones where she is prettying herself up are before. The one of her holding the doll is after.

Too cute

Okay, I actually think it is adorable but then again I am prejudiced since I made it. I was feeling the itch to make something and needed a card for Ariane's baby shower gift. Since David and Ashleigh were sleeping I got to work. I looked online at the QK gallery and did not find anything that said gotta make it. I then looked through my shapes and saw the monkey and it hit me "Wham". What you see is the result using Bazzill Places We Go paper, Quickutz Calvin font, nesting circles and the exclusive monkey die. I love the way it turned out and Ariane can pull the monkey off and use it as a page element. Love it!!!

Doing Good

An update for everyone, both Aidan and Bill are doing good after their surgeries. Aidan is back to his busy self after only 3 days. Bill is still in the hospital. However, the surgery went really well. Bill has his sense of humor so I feel confident he will come through with flying colors.

We are also doing better in our house. David and I are grateful for all the prayers and good thoughts. We are relieved the surgeries are done and everyone is okay.

Love ya
Scrap Addict

Heavy Heart

These past few days have been pretty tough. We found out Friday that Bill (David's dad) will have surgery to remove his voice box. Saturday morning while Ashleigh and I were at the water park, Bill called to talk to Ashleigh. He wanted to tell her he loved her one last time before he lost his voice. When David told me this, I almost started to cry. Truth be told, I have been crying when I think about it too much.

We had told Ashleigh that Grandad was sick. Now we needed to explain why he was going to lose his voice. We talked about how smoking caused his cancer. I am not sure she completely got it but she did understand that Grandad will not be talking in the same way anymore. It broke my heart to listen to Grandad talk to Ashleigh on the phone.

I know the next months will be pretty tough. I find that today I am feeling pretty down. I am hopeful that once they remove his voice box and lymph nodes we can move to the next phase. I know radiation and chemo will be extremely difficult for Bill. I am hoping for the best since I am not ready to lose Bill just yet.

Color

So I have been reading a Papercrafts magazine (from I don't know when) with the focus of color. They are showing all types of color combinations, etc. It got me to thinking, wouldn't it be cool to do a page of black squares which are embossed with various designs. The paper would be white core so I could sand the embossing and the white would show through. With as many embossing dies I have in Quickutz I would have many possibilities.

I also considered doing a monocramatic one in red or blue. I think it would be interesting to try.

The magazine has inspired me which I love. Now, to find the time to try it out and the pictures to use........

Funky Circles

I tend to be a scrapper who likes perfect circles. However, I think I am going to try and scrap outside the line by trying this layout. I like it and really love the one circle covered in buttons.

Coco & Tabbie Update

So Tabbie is still hissing and growling. However, it seems it is less frequent. Also, she does not seem to be biting as much. David and I can't figure out if Coco is following Tabbie around to play or be nice. Either way, it feels like deja vu from when we brought Tabbie home to Little Cat's displeasure. David and I are enjoying both cats and giving both lots of love.

New Old Layouts

Above are two layouts which I had talked about adding a little something to. I like the way they turned out! Two down, lots to go!

A couple of pictures from my vacation

Introducing Coco Chanel

I would like to introduce you to Coco Chanel. I would like to start off by saying I did not name this kitty. She was found my a friend's mom in Baton Rouge and they christened her Coco. She is an abyssinian cat who is mostly black with a touch of brown fur and gold eyes. She is a sweet, playful, loving, energetic kitty (who we guess is about six months old). After being in our house for approximately 5 hours, she had already made herself at home as evidenced by her lounging in my bed. She has quickly won our hearts and we are thankful we were able to get her. Everyone except Tabbie!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abyssinian_%28cat%29

A link with more information about the breed.

Vacation

Yeah, I am back from my vacation. I must say that it was one of the best. I drove down this past Saturday and spent the night with my mom. The next morning, we had Ashleigh's family birthday party. Ashleigh and I then went to mom's. We went to Lafayette on Monday to pick up our new family member, Coco. Tuesday was waterpark day. Wednesday was shopping in Lake Charles. I got to go to Woven Heart which is an awesome scrapbook store. Then Thursday was another burn adventure at the waterpark. Friday, Ashleigh, Coco and I came home. Whew! We did a lot of playing and plenty of resting. All in all, it was a lovely time in the Bayou State. I will have to say the first couple of days the humidity was almost unbearable, but either I got used to it or it got better. By the time we left, Ashleigh was ready to go home to her own bed. She kept asking me, "Are we in Lewisville yet?" during the drive home. It was nice seeing the Dallas skyline and being able to answer "almost baby."

Only my daughter

Only my daughter would lose her panties at school. I am on the phone last night when Ashleigh says, "Mom I have something to tell you that's true". She then proceeds to tell me she lost her panties at school. I automatically check to make sure she has some on imagining she went all day without any. She did have panties on since she used her spare ones in her backpack. Yhew! She apparently lost them while changing for swimming. Only my daughter.

Layouts - I got your layouts

So, I have been busy today. I have been working toward finishing all my journaling for unfinished pages so I can get pages done and in the book. Well, after working on it various Sundays for a month below is the result. Some of the pics are blurry and I am sorry. If you want to read journaling or see it better well you will just have to come to my house and check it out in the book. I was surprised how almost all of these are for 2006. A couple still need a little tweaking but for the most part are done. Enjoy!!!!

Family

Edward, Mom and Me. I just love the photo so much.