goodies

some more goodies for the show May 11th and 12th...

i wanna play baseball

little m had his first tball game a few days ago.  the beginning of a long road ahead of organized sports.  it made me happy and sad.  he was so excited and loves that his daddy helps out with the team.  m tells d that they need to "go hit the tee some" almost every night.  love that they have that time together especially since d is so busy.  q even gets to go out and walk around since he got over his fear of the grass.  (secretly i wish he still had that fear.  it was much easier going places and him staying a blanket instead of being all over all the time!)  m got to bring snacks, too.  he picked out smarshmallows (or marshmallows as most people call them), gold & black m&ms (team colors) and an oatmeal creme pie.  i made little baseballs to put on the front of the bag and m wrote his name on them all.  "is that an excellent m, mom?"  "yes, maxx, it is perfect."  "is that an excellent a, mom?"...love that kid.

his first hit running to his daddy on first base.

baby q looking not so baby anymore.

"i wanna take our picture, mama."

all of m's faves.

seasons at westminster is approaching quickly!  we put an ad in the women's magazine the newspaper puts out so i hope that we get some exposure that way and that A LOT of people show up.  i am so thankful and happy that my mom joined in on this adventure.  we will get to spend two long, very long days together without kids or husbands.  heaven.  and so thankful to my stepdad (who is more like a dad) who loves my kids as if they were his own flesh and blood and will watch the boys when d can't be there.  he is amazing.

May 11th 9-7 and May 12th 9-3

my mind can't stop thinking about four days from now in which it will mark the 11th anniversary of one of my high school best friend's death.  i still remember the day my dad called to tell me, where i was, who i was with.  i wanted to go see her but he said that they weren't allowing people in to see her because it was getting her worked up.  don't know if he was trying to protect me or if that was really true, but i was going to go down in a day or two and hopefully she would be awake by then.  the next call i got was that she was gone.  april 30, 2001.  my heart broke.  and it still breaks now after all this time.  may 5, 2001 we said goodbye to her.  they played amazing grace.  it couldn't have been more perfect for our friendship.  we used to sing that song together all the time.  we jokingly called ourselves the judds.  how silly it seems now, but i would love to have one second of that time back.  my cousin trent came with me and my boyfriend at the time.  we were seated in the row in front of my ex-boyfriend who had kept me from her and i wanted to strangle him and then myself for allowing it to happen.  i hope you dance was played as we were leaving.  she was wearing a ball cap.  i lost it.  outside i saw a lot of people from the past and i felt like a stranger amongst them all yet we were all there to show our love.  i remember talking to manda and asking her about her child, etc like we had just met up at the grocery store or something.  just like an on/off switch.  i'm afraid if i was totally present 100% of the time i wouldn't have been standing.  i had/have mixed emotions about what happened and the other people involved in the accident that claimed her life.  i wonder what they were feeling, if they were thankful they weren't driving or sitting in the front seat, if there was anything they could have done at the scene to help, if they wish they would have taken the keys away, if they would have not drank that night...and i can't help but wonder if amy would have wished for all those things to and the what ifs.  reality is that two people died.  ryan and amy.  ryan instantly.  amy a few days later.  and everyone hurts.  i'm sorry that their parents have to live through this and that they others involved have to live through it and the effects from it and for everyone else who has an empty spot in their hearts.  like me for her.  she was funny.  she had my sense of humor.  we got each other.  she was the sister i never had.  i miss her.  immensely.  goodness it hurts.



layout from 2007.  it's all i have left of her.

challenge 08

ash gave me this challenge because of the comment i made on her fab layout.   i should have known she'd throw something at me like this!  i knew right away that i would HAVE to use the unity alphabet stamps that i bought from her months ago.  (i know you're proud, ash.)  i love stamps, but almost never use them because i can't make them grown upish.  i love them on other layouts, but they always seem little kidish on mine.  this one is no exceptional although i kept trying to make it not.  maybe i should have been a little creative with the title.  i will say that i LOVE the stamps that i did use from unity AND i even used a little circle background stamp from studio calico.  yep-two sets of stamps for this girl!!  so while it's not my fave layout, the challenge is completed and i am happy to have used those alpha stamps.  finally.  :)  thanks, ash.

i was happy that q took a lonnnnnnnnng afternoon nap so that i could craft today.  especially since reality strikes back in full force come monday.  ugh.  guess i can be thankful that i only work 2 days and then have three off for a quick adult trip to catch some baseball!  (why does the word adult make that sound so wrong?!)  anyway, thank you redbirds for the trip.  i posted the things i made today here, but i must post m's paintings here as well...

he liked to mix the colors to make new colors (thanks to the bubble guppies).  now i don't feel so bad for him knowing every. single. show on nick jr.  he does learn things.  and can do elementary math i might add (thank you team omizoomi).  that's his fave along with peppa pig.  not sure that that one has anything to really learn from it though.  might help if i could sit through more than 30 seconds of it without wanted to poke my eyeballs out. 

d and i are in the process of making some hopefully postitive changes that will make a better life for us and the boys.  getting through these next couple of months will be difficult, but i see a light WE see a light.  happy that he is by my side.

seasons at westminster if quickly approaching and i have my "to do" list complete.  postcards, banner, blog-all check.  i even posted over there tonight.  pretty impressive i know.  now i just need to get on it and get all of this stuff in my head made.  i have a few letters and i need to make a few lamps.  oh and i need to make custom order forms up.  guess i'll start another "to do" list.  you must stop by if you are in town.  heck, make a special trip in town just for it.  (make sure you are someone i want to see though.  no crazy, stalker b's.  thanks.)  the first show is on may 11th & 12th.  you can meet the other ladies who have also been working hard on the show here.  click on the pictures on the left to go to their personal blogs or etsy store.  and tell all your friends.  that would make us happy.  and yes, you will hear more of this show.  don't say i didn't warn you.

aam challenge

i have a few girls that i met online at tallyscrapper.com waaaaaaay back in 2005.  the site has changed in many, many ways and people have come and gone including us.  but thanks to this site, i met two really great girls that i have gotten to meet in real life and scrap with.  we have watched each other move, break up, love again, move, become a grandma, hurt, appreciate, divorce, have children, adopt doggies...i could go on and on.  when i left the site, my scrapping left with it.  *enter the reason for all this background info* SO...ashley, minda, shannon and myself are now scrapping together again in our own little corner of the world and it feels good.  kind of like home again. 

here's our latest group challenge at "all about me."   it's all about scrapping what is right now.  i was sitting at the table with ALL of this stuff on it which is my right now.  some i enjoy and others i'd rather not be a part of any of my nows.

in everything, love.

Studio Calico-Weekly Challenge 4-3-12