Quick Tidbit Just Had to Share!

So much giggly goodness!!!

Reflections on a (yet another) Rainy Day

So it's raining...again.  The house is actually quiet (hopefully I didn't just jinx it!).  C1 is at school, C2 is hanging with my parents and C3 is sleeping in her playpen...although I do hear her stirring.  My home is definately not the tidiest house around.  As I look around I see TONNES of school paperwork piled up at the edge of the kitchen table and on top of the counter: kindergarten crafts, first grade crafts, homework sheets, newsletters, drawings made on napkins or restaurant paper table covers.  Most of which could probably be thrown out, some of which I just  cant bare to part with.  C2 is in JK and has been very much into drawing sweet little pictures of our family or pictures of just her holding a flower or surrounded by hearts.  Little pictures she then give to me or her daddy as "presents".  How can I possibly throw these away?...but wow is it ever piling up!  There's clean laundry waiting for me in the laundry room.  There is no problem getting laundry clean around here...it is however, a problem getting it put away.  It usually just sits in a pile on the counter and I find myself fishing through it to get what I need.  Not the most efficient system but I find myself going to scrapbook or play with my kids before folding and putting away laundry come filtering up my priority list.  I'll apologize for the messy house...but I won't apologize for my priorities!  (I read that on a FB page and it is soooo true!) It really does however, make me yearn for a "stop time" button.  I can't believe my littlest one is already 3 months old (as of yesterday!).  Sometimes I can't even fathom how my mommy must feel when she looks at her little girl (me) with her own 3 little girls.  Mother's day is approaching.  My oldest told me that she can't wait until Mother's Day becuase she gets to make stuff for me!  Love that she loves that! *sigh*.  Makes me feel totally blessed to be surrounded by all this wonderfully lovey-family-mushy-gooeyness.  Here are some layouts I made to support this!

Rain Rain Go Away...

One thing I've discovered about having a baby in the middle of winter is that there is some SERIOUS cabin fever that develops.  You can't go for walks outside.  Just getting baby bundled up and yourself bundled up to get in the car and drive to a mall for a change of scenery almost isn't worth it with all the people sick with colds and all the winter gear you need to take off inside the mall and find a place to hold it all on the stroller....which BTW doesn't quite make it's way in the snow from car to the mall doors so well (we have 2 strollers, one that is basically the 4x4 SUV of strollers and but not so good maneuvering in small mall places and one that is definitely not snow worthy but perfect for getting around in the mall...just can't win).  Anyway, now that the snow is melted and the temperature is warmer...it just won't stop raining!  AAAARGH!  At least I get time to scrapbook...but it really doesn't help with this post baby chubbs I've been carting around.  Yikes...I'm not the whiney type...this gloomy weather must be wearing on me!  Here are some layouts and a card or two that may bring some sunshine. :)

C1's First season of soccer.  Typical reaction-not much running or kicking...a whole lot of dancing and flower smelling.

My C2 lovin' her Grandma's sushi.

Here are couple of cards I made.  The first one I submitted to another Simon Says Stamp challenge http://simonsaysstampschallenge.blogspot.com/2011/04/elizabeth-rossi-email-entry.html.  I actually didn't even realize this was posted on their blog until literally last night.  Pretty cool!

This card is a thank you card for a friend who sent an awesome care package to my home to help with the new baby, keeping the bigger girls occupied while we were all sick and hubby was away on business.  Thanks again Barker Family!

Blog Candy-Check it out at Shelley's Craft Room

Hey All,
Want some cool free scrapbooking stuff?  (Who doesn't?!?)  Check out the blog candy over at Shelley's place! http://shelleyscraftroom.blogspot.com/
Good Luck!

More Cards...and a Baby Shower

I'm off to a baby shower today for a friend of mine at work.  It's a weird feeling hanging around at the office when you're away on mat leave.  It's a luncheon baby shower with food being catered by this Italian place nearby called Santinos that makes the best Penne Rose (amoung other things...YUMMMM!).  I made a card for the mother-to-be.  I challenged myself to only use stuff from my scraps drawer (except the base of the card).  I think it turned out okay.  The top is the front of the card, the bottom is the inside of the card.

Here is one more card I made for my best friend's wedding anniversary. 

Easter Monday...No school...Hubby working...3 kids to entertain...

So unfortunately the weatherman wasn't wrong today and the trip downtown and the playdate with a friend was inevitably postponed.  I'm not used to having Easter Monday off.  I am currently on maternity leave and thus it was both a blessing and a curse to share this day off with all 3 of my little precocious sweeties.  In light of the inability to enlist my sister or friends for some play fun help, instead we spent the day crafting, colouring and dancing (Just as much fun...but more demanding on my part!) Here's a glimpse of our crafting endeavors. This is our house with Daddy, Mommy, the 3 girls and Auntie in the front yard. The dog was put there because that was the only way our family would ever have a dog. :P

It can't possibly rain today...can it?

I woke up this morning to a 6 year old who had discovered the huge headphones my hubby left on the dresser and had put them on, connected them to the iPod nano I had on my wrist (it has the watch attachment thingy...pretty cool) and was singing the theme song to Gummi Bears practically at the top of her lungs.  It was about 8am...not as early as her cutomary 7am wake up call so I won't complain.  Luckily my 3 month old asleep in the bassinet beside my bed didn't seem to notice or else there would've been some serious complaining!  Anyway, the sun is outside shining bright as can be and the sky looks a beautiful blue.  Only the odd fluffy white cotton ball floating in the sky.  The small whispy kind and not the tall, dense, white fluffy sort that signal imminent sogginess.  I was so excited to see this!  Maybe a trip downtown to see my sister and hang with her for the day would be possible (as last night there was rain forcasted all week long!).  I checked the weather channel and it still says there is a 40% chance of rain today...and even more later in the afternoon!  What the...!  Oh well.  I guess I'll try and head out now for some sunshine before the skies open up...hopefully the weather man is wrong.  Here are a couple of layouts I worked on last night.  I don't tend to scrapbook chronologically, so a couple of the layouts are from pics from a while back.  The last one with the butterflies I scraplifted from a blog I was perusing a couple months back but now I can't figure out where that blog is.  I apologize for not giving the proper kudos.  I used Tattered Angels Glimmer Mist to make the flower background on the 2nd "Sweet Cheeks" layout.  It was the first time I used ever used it.  I have 4 colours I bought at a scrapbook store closing sale a while ago.  I was quite disappointed that the sprayer on the one I used didn't work.  I ended up switching it with a small water sprayer top I had on hand.  Luckily the sprayer fit!  Yikes, I see the clouds rolling in now!  Gotta get outside quick!  Later! :)

Another card I made

Hey all,

Here's another card I made for a friend of mine's son.  It was his birthday yesterday.  I made it from scratch.  The picture is a stamp made by The Greeting Farm which I coloured in using Copic markers.  It's so cathartic colouring with cool blendable markers and cutsey little pictures.  Brings me back to my childhood (substituting the Copics with Crayolas, of course!)...which I guess I never really left...you're only as old as you feel they say.  I hope everyone had a wonderful Easter.  I had a weekend of sheer food (gluttony amounts!), family and fun!  What more can anyone ask for?  The weather has been quite co-operative too so really no complaints here.  What a great weekend!

Happy Easter!

So the girls did their annual Easter egg hunt this year.  The Easter Bunny left a little note for them at the front door (as usual) and asked them to try and be better behaved girls if they wanted more treats next year!...(and if they wanted Santa to consider their wishes later this year!)- Apparently the Easter Bunny and Santa are in cahoots.  Sweet!  Gotta get this re-inforced anyway I can....it's been a challenging few weeks!    A handful of chocolate and an Easter dress each were scored in the hunt.  I hope everyone had a wonderful Easter! 

Hugs!

New to Blogging

So I yesterday submitted via email a card I made to the Simon Says Stamp Blog in hopes to win a $50 voucher to their online store (which is absolutely AWESOME I must add!!).  I received an email response back saying they received my submission and suggested I start a blog.  So here I am.  I'm not sure what I want to say just yet but I hope to share some stories and some paper crafts that I am addicted to creating.  I started scrapbooking since I got married but haven't really turned up the heat on this hobby until my first daughter was born in 2004.  I have always been a shutter bug and kept photo albums rather up to date since I was in highschool (where I was helping with the yearbook and in university where I was yearbook editor for my residence).  Preserving memories has always been a passion of mine but scrapbooking as I create it today is way different.  It's about the art of the layout almost as much as the memory itself.  It's my key to immortality!
Anyway...back to my Simon Says Stamp submission.  I was quite surprised to see my card (and my name!) posted on their blog..in big bold letters...for all to see. Check it out at http://simonsaysstampschallenge.blogspot.com/2011/04/elizabeth-rossi-email-entry-for.html.   I was totally taken aback.  Wow!  At this point the $50 voucher is secondary to seeing my creation featured on their blog...although I would absolutely LOVE the voucher!!!  Here's keeping my fingers crossed.
Here's another picture of the card featured: