Bed Rest Is OVER!

The Little Mister was finally born at 5am on
Tuesday, March 22nd 2011
8lbs 14oz 20in

I say finally but, just like his big brothers, he did mamma a favor and came 2 weeks early, sparing me additional bed rest. I didn't have to be induced, yea! I avoided an epidural, I didn't want this to be my first, but I did go a new road and opted for some IV drug to take off the edge. And thank goodness for that, Little Mister was in the "Sunnyside Up" position (facing up instead of down-the easier way) making him a doozy to birth, even with the drugs. And again, just like his brothers, he was very considerate and was born swiftly. Even with trying to arrive extra early, not waiting for 5 min contractions, we were only in the hospital about 3 hours before his arrival. What a wonderful date to be born. As my good friend pointed out the numbers are 32211, super cool! And it's my maternal grandfather's birthday, making it a day with extra special meaning.

Final bed rest count: 3 weeks to the day. Thanks to my mom-in-law I survived with sanity mostly in tact and a clean and fully stocked house waiting for us when we returned from the hospital. If only those three weeks of rest could be stowed away and used during these first few exhausting months of newbornhood. Unfortunately the body does not stock pile rest and I'm blissfully exhausted.

On "Vacation" (aka. Bed Rest)

Well, our unborn little one is proving to be quite the bugger even before he's officially entered the world. We are 4 weeks from our due date and I've been on bed rest for the past week and will continue to be on bed rest until our Little Mister arrives. Because of this I've had to put my Papercut Kitchen shop on vacation mode. I hope to be reopening in a few months when we'll have our household all settled in and I'll be back on my crafty feet (this isn't just wishful thinking right?!). Until then I hope I will still be blogging about crafts and I will certainly be writing about life on my other blog, Notes From My Fridge.

Autumn Gift

My little Jackson is the sweetest little thing I've ever known. He's always giving me little gifts of flowers and leaves and is generous with hugs and cuddles. When he gave me this beauty he was very diligent to let me know whenever it fell out of my button hole and suggested many wonderful ways I might be able to make it stay, like tape, and my favorite, just slowing down. I think I'll try to do that. As this gorgeous autumn season gives way to holiday chaos I'm going to do my best to just slow down.

Split Personalitites

I'm becoming more and more aware of the fact that I've ceased being a story teller and started being almost exclusively a show and teller...boring! Part of it is that I cut down my computer time for Lent, decided it was good for me to find a healthier balance and so, haven't fully come back to blogging. Another part of it is splitting into two blogs which has me often not know where to post and even more often just not posting unless it is decidedly crafty news or decidedly personal news, namely the boys, leaving stuff about me and story telling totally out.

I'm working on coming back but I'm also a shy person and am feeling a tad self conscious knowing that if I post semi-personal stories about myself here I now have only a handful of people to read it as apposed to the 80+ at the old location which gave me a lost in a crowd feeling. Anywho, I'm not sure what I'm trying to say. I'm feeling thrown back to my first days as a blogger; self conscious, awkward, and like I'm talking foolishly to myself. I suppose I'm just feeling the need to get it off my chest so I can move on to what I hope is better bloggin' days ahead.

Snow? Ohh! Scrapbook Layout

Promised you new layouts featuring my bitty's first year yesterday and already delivering! You may want to duck, it's been a long time since I've been so on top of something and it's bound to lead to mass chaos!

I'm going simple with my personal page layouts these days and relying heavily on printed papers to do the work for me. I'm just so poor, in time and money, that this is all I can handle...that way I can splurge for my Papercut Kitchen goodies!

Three Years Late And Fifty Dollars Short

Peek-a-boo! Yep, that would be six packs of photos. Whew, I have my work cut out for me!

I am so incredibly behind on scrapping my own pictures. My four year old's first year isn't even scrapped. This weekend I decided it was time to change that. Well, actually, last weekend I decided to change that but when I took my picture CDs into Walgreens all pumped to have an entire weekend of scrapbooking ahead of me it quickly became a comedy of errors. It's been a very long time since I've had pictures printed. When I had completely filled two sizable photo storage boxes of unscrapped prints I decided it was time to pause on the printing until I was caught up.

Now all I have to say is what happened to the good 'ole days when you didn't have to mess with kiosks and online uploads?! When I failed at my attempt to load at the kiosk and the man behind the counter told me he can't take my media I spent 4 tedious hours uploading to the website. Woe is me! I miss my local print shop where I just handed them my stuff, told them what I wanted and they gave me gorgeous prints by the end of the day. I must say though that Walgreens had a good price and their standard shipping was free so, though I had to put my creative itch on hold for an entire week, my bank account was happier.

Stay tuned for all the new layouts featuring my little man that I'm sure I'll be show-and-telling soon!

As Promised...

...I posted to my new blog! A little later than expected but not so bad. So head over to Notes From My Fridge to read all about my boy's first day of school.

Blogging Fool: I Have A Second Blog!

So I've decided to try and go all business legit and separate my blogs into two, this blog will turn into all crafting/scrapping/business all the time and my new one is all about the mundane details of my life. If mundane is your thing be sure to follow me over at Notes From My Fridge on blogspot (click here) to read all about my mamma moments, my gorgeous babies, my super hero husband, Mr. Cash Pugface and all of the other craziness that makes up my life. And no, this is not chronicles of dieting as my husband inquired when I told him the name of my new blog, hmmm didn't earn him brownie points! I named it that after the thought that the fridge is where you post all your kids achievements, artwork, and every silly little thing you want to show off to anyone who steps foot in your house. Yep, covering my fridge with crap: another one of those pre-kid things I said I'd never do. Head on over, I hope to be posting later today about a big milestone, Mr. Golden Curls had his very first ever day of school yesterday! P.S. I'm really happy about the way the banner turned out for my new blog, yea me! *off to work on being humble*

It's Official, I'm on Vacation

NOTE: My shop The Beehive is now Papercut Kitchen! Please visit my shop Papercut Kitchen by clicking here.

I just put my shop on vacation mode and am now doing the running man in my living room *shhh*. We'll be on vacation until August 17th and thank goodness for that, I'm nearing burn out...ok I've passed the point of burnout. I need some time away from the house, from the kids, some time with adults particularly my elusive husband. Youth Directors suffer the unfortunate side effect of spending most of their summers at youth camps, strange I know. But now he's back and we're blowing this popsicle stand! If you're interested in stalking me for my shop's reopening you can sign up for email notification here and for added stalkability I don't get to see who signs up for that notification, your secrets safe with Etsy. Bon Voyage!

Taming The Rebel Pug In Style

The face of a satisfied customer

I didn't think I'd gone into Pug ownership unawares. I had done my research and read that they were notoriously difficult to housebreak. I decided that being home all the time I was up to the challenge. But for anyone who's contemplating a Pug, wherever you see "can be difficult to housebreak" read instead "probably will never be 100% housebroken!" About a month ago I was at wits end with Mr. Cash Pugface and his naughty pottying ways. So much so that I was on the edge of finding him a new home. I posted my exasperation at the fantastic Pug Village Forums and was greeted with wonderful ideas that might save my rescue puggie yet another relocation (and myself and the boys some big time heartbreak). I was told about belly bands. I jumped on Etsy and found a great seller, Do-Daa Doggie Apparel, who makes them in your choice of fabric so I ordered right away, you can also get matching bandannas! I just got them in the mail yesterday and am thrilled. I'm saying a little prayer that this does the trick (along with some other things I'm trying). When I first put one on Mr. Cash he ran around like his hind end was on fire but he's already warmed up to them and already thinks nothing of it being on.

Belly Band and Bandanna by Do-Daa Doggie Apparel on Etsy (click here for your own!)

Belly Bands by Do-Daa Doggie Apparel on Etsy (click here for your own!)

Blogging Blues

Ugh, my blog writing skills are atrophying with disuse. And since I wasn't overflowing with skills to begin with I'm in trouble! When I was blogging nearly every day my mind was whirring all the time with ideas of what and how to write. Now I sit down every week or so and try to drum up ways to talk about stuff. It's not that there's a lack of stuff, it's just hard to get started! When Mr. Golden Curls starts school next month I'm hoping to move the personal stuff to a new blog and revamp this blog to be all crafting all the time. I'm waiting until then because I don't want to miss out on this last little bit, starting Kindergarten is such a fantastically huge milestone that would be a perfect opener for the new blog, and because then I'll have all of this fantastic free time in which to play to my hearts content. (comments to the contrary are completely unwelcome, I hope to continue with my delusion at least a few weeks into the school year.)

Sneak Peak Sunday

NOTE: My shop The Beehive is now Papercut Kitchen! Please visit my shop Papercut Kitchen by clicking here.

I've gone from paper famine to yummy paper feast. Not only did a paper order finally come in but my mom surprised me with a ton of fantastic papers, a few of which have already become something fantastic for my shop, The Beehive! I hope to add those to the shop this week. Others are calling my name from my craft room but I've been too exhausted the past few weeks to heed the crafting call. Stay tuned this week when I will hopefully become a little more prolific in my blogging again with lots of life and craft show-and-tell.

I know I've been sparse in the blogging these days. Even though I now have decent use of my husband's laptop and he even made me a computer from the parts of other dead computers (my hero!) I am still trying to tone down my internet use a bit. In about a month my oldest is starting kindergarten and I want to make sure I spend a good amount of that time with him, not my computer or even my crafts. Those will be there, and so will more time in which to do them...well, I suppose that part remains to be seen.

Happy Crafting!

Pat On The Back Junkie

One major thing I've learned since opening my Etsy shop is that I'm one hardcore pat-on-the-back junkie. I get so excited when someone compliments my work, I'm in a treasury or I make a sale but a few days in a row with no acknowledgment and I'm jonesin' for my next fix. I don't think that's a good thing, not at all, so I'm going to try and put myself in rehab. Wish me luck!

Upsetting The Delicate Balance

Mr. Golden Curls and Mr. Cash all tuckered out.

NOTE: My shop The Beehive is now Papercut Kitchen! Please visit my shop Papercut Kitchen by clicking here.

Just letting you know we're still alive. My computer died, again. This time it looks as though it is not to rise from the dead and through this I'm realizing what a big online addict I really am. And how much I hate to have my routine upset. On the upside, my house is starting to look a lot cleaner! I am managing to get some things done in the mornings and evenings on my husband's laptop so be sure to check out the latest to my shop!

Proudly Serving My Corporate Masters

I love my coffee mugs and my newest is no exception. Ah, funny. Extra funny because I don't at all serve a corporate master. I did at one time work as a graphic designer and had a cubicle, but it was the prettiest cubicle I've ever seen and I certainly never felt like a slave, I actually liked my job. Now I'm a full-time mom and a craft nerd. My youth director husband, also not serving a corporate master. Our lives are pretty sweet!

All Coming Together

Things are slowly coming together. The paper order that was MIA and then arrived only in part is hopefully being fixed and then some. Hard to make paper crafts without paper! I am getting some paper bead bracelets whipped up, perfect Earth Day craft! And keeping busy with some other little crafty things. Today I'll be getting ready for the family invasion happening this weekend, I'm so excited to see everyone! Saturday Mr. Golden Curls has a party in celebration of his 5th birthday! So I'm doing the cleaning. Not just the normal, keeping the house from total chaos cleaning but the oh my goodness family, friends, and new neighbors we barely know will be in our house kind of cleaning. Huge difference!

Damsel In Tech Distress

A lot has been going on the past week. The stinky part being my computer decided to go on vacation while my resident geek (aka my husband) was on a spring break mission trip with his youth group. I tried everything I knew to try. I pushed on plugs, unplugged, replugged, push buttons, swore under my breath...yea, I'm a technomoron! Thankfully my husband knows more and when he got home he tore that bad boy right open and discovered the problem. My hard drive is fine, whew, which should be my lesson #1: backup your stuff!!!

We did have fun last week. We went to visit my parents, the boys got the royal grandparent spoiling, I got some adult conversation and food that wasn't cooked by me. As a cherry on top I made a big 'ole sale at the beehive which means I get to go supply shopping this weekend! And all was right with the world.

NOTE: My shop The Beehive is now Papercut Kitchen! Please visit my shop Papercut Kitchen by clicking here.

Smiling All Over

While blog surfing the other day I saw someone had been tagged to post a certain number image from a certain number folder on their computer. Just out of curiosity I wanted to see what picture that would be for me and this is it. It was too perfect to keep to myself and in the spirit of impending spring I thought I'd share. I love this picture, those beautiful curls, the gorgeous smile and the perfect spring flowers. That's my Mr. Golden Curls nearly two years ago!

Vicious Cycles Of The Housekeeping Variety

1. Turn around one day and realize the house looks like a nasty tornado from White Trash Trailer Park USA swept through it, that you can't take a step without being stopped by a pile, and that every surface of the house is covered in stuff.
2. Spend the week obsessively cleaning it because it's been so long you feel like it needs every nook and cranny scrubbed right now!
3. Get so exhausted by the end of the week because all you've done is clean clean clean to the complete neglect of anything creative so you take a day off.
4. Do a pretty good job the next week maintaining the clean and therefore add back all the other responsibilities in life all at once, with a sprinkling of brand new things you've been wanting to add to your life, because you now feel you've got life handled. Feel pretty good for a week or two and swear to never go back.
   
5. Get increasingly frustrated as time goes on because you worked so hard to reach perfect house status but that takes too much work to do daily and you realize logically it's an unreasonable expectation to place on yourself anyway.
6. Enter the next week with hands thrown up in exasperated surrender unable to believe that no one else in your household holds the same unreasonably high standards.
7. Stop keeping house altogether, it's not worth it if it can't be done to perfection.
8. Rinse and repeat.

I'm currently I'm at step 1 and am trying very hard to break the cycle since it tends to appear in other areas of my life and I'm tired. Just clean like a normal person is the mantra running through my head, pace yourself, slow and steady wins the race... So far so good!

Identity Crisis

That was then...

...this is now.

Every once in awhile I go through this little artistic identity crisis. I look at myself and think that I must have split personalities, I wonder where the old me is lurking, I long for it, then I wonder if I even care to resurrect it. Around Christmas time this was all drudged back up when the boys got a ton of art supplies. One thing they got was a giant art tackle box and it reminded me of my supply box in college, only cheerier, and without all the stickered sarcasm.



Then I dug out some jars for the boys to use while painting and as I sat there watching Lil' Spitfire clean his brush in one of the jars I realized just how long that jar had been with me. Since before my beautiful children and my incredible husband. Well, before we were married anyway, not much has been around since before him! It still had my paint sludge in the bottom. It was one of the silly jars I used while making my giant, brooding, moody paintings and my other random mixed media work. Including the thing I did with a bloody abandoned baby discarded in a trashcan lit from the inside with a strobe light. Needless to say having a flashback that included that image and then looking up to see my own baby's tiny hand in the same jar was a little bizarre. Probably not as bizarre as making a bloody baby though, just guessing.


That was then...

...this is now.


Now here I am, a wife, a mamma, a scrapbooker? Seriously, scrapbooking?! But I used to laugh at those people with their silly coordinating sticker obsessions and enough ribbon to hang several convicts! I also swore I'd never be a graphic designer so how's that for never say never? Speaking of graphic design here was another funny past life vs. new life occurrence, Lil' Spitfire got a Fisher-Price digital art studio with a pen tablet for his birthday! Man I fought the Wacom back in the day, I used it like I was holding it with my toes for about a week. Then mmmm, pen tablet love!



I'll have to show off some more of my past life art sometime soon. Hopefully I can dig up some clearer pictures than the first one in this post!