Change.  Normally you would think that is a four-letter word around this house.  Recently, however, there’s been lots of it.  Good changes.  Change is good.

Johnathan…

What’s new with Johnathan?  Well, my little 6 year old man decided that it was time he tried tomatoes again (something he has hated for the last few years) only to find out… “they’re good.”  He has also been making a conscious effort to eliminate his fussing and he finally started swimming without his snorkel mask.  The biggest and greatest change that has taken place for him, however, was when he told Pastor Tom on Tuesday that he had asked Jesus to be in his heart and life and proclaimed his desire to be baptized!!!!  I’m afraid my lack of words on the matter give false record to just how excited for him I am.  I simply can not put it into words.  I did scrap a page about it when he went in front of the church on Sunday… and hopefully that gives you more insight to my feelings.

Kaleb…

Kaleb’s biggest accomplishment was putting his face in the water at the pool on Saturday.  Not only did the little boy do that but once he did he was off swimming like he had been doing it for a month!  Granted, he was wearing a snorkel mask… but I didn’t care.  Whatever it took to get him over this fear of putting his face in was OK with me!  Just look at him…

I’m so proud of both of my boys!!!

I suppose I owe you a lot of P365 photos… so here ya go….

Day 174

I guess he’s figured that since he has mastered the English language he should take up a second one…

Day 175… Mom’s watermelon sherbet to celebrate her birthday

day 176

day 177… hey when you’ve got an itch… ya gotta scratch, right?  LOL

day 178

day 179… this was taken the same day as the one above… but I just love it so much I had to use it!

day 180… the boys playing “horsie”

Scraps…

All caught up now!

**Vacation Bible School

**Two house showings

**Mom’s Birthday

**Family Portraits

**Pool

**Yardwork

**new Transformers movie!!!!

Whew!  On top of all that… I some how still find the time to scrap.  I have to.  It’s my relaxation… it’s my other world.

Here’s what I’ve done (that I can show you anyway) since I last blogged….

I made this page for my best friend’s sister.  She (the sister) just got some adorable pictures taken of her new baby girl, Brecken.  I couldn’t resist scrapping this particular picture!

credits can be seen when clicking on the images.

I have “page 2″ of Kaleb’s super hero pages that I’m doing for his (new) room….

the above is not in my gallery yet… not sure if I’m gonna post it or not but I wanted to show you anyway.

The next one was done with the “Earth” kit by K Studio.  It’s not a new kit but I still love working with it…

As a surprise to Adam for Father’s Day, I picked the hottest day of the year (last Saturday) to spruce up the front yard/ flower beds.  I trimmed the bushes in front of the house, cut back all the dead azaleas (my Dad came and dug them up), raked all the leaves out of the wooded area, and put down 14 bags of mulch.  I was beyond nasty and gross by the time I was done… but it looks so good now.  I haven’t gotten to the actual flower beds yet.  I had to go back to the store for an additional 11 bags of mulch.  I plan on getting it finished up this week.    Check out the before, during, and after pics of just the front area…

ugh!

getting there…

TADA!!!!!

The boys picked out a yummy ice cream cake for Adam as a Father’s Day present.  It happens to be one of the P365 photos so let’s move onto those….

day 170…

day 171… (again)

day 172… the ice cream cake

day 173… precious!

I’ve gotta run…. but please keep your fingers crossed for us that one of the house showings ends up working out for us!

I’m not feeling all that well so I’m just gonna get straight to the point of today’s post…. NEW KITS!  Oh my gosh!!!  There are some amazing new kits hitting the stores today and tomorrow.  I am so happy I had a chance to work with some of them first.  I’m very pleased with the LO’s I created and can’t wait to show them to you.

cre@-Bisontine has “Pop Art” at A5D today (she’s the guest designer for June).  The page I made is actually for my sister, Danielle, who is getting married soon.

Kristen (K Studio) has her new kit “Subtlety” at A5D today as well.  I did two different pages with that kit…

and

ON Designs will have “Hey Boy” at Scrapbookgraphics tomorrow so be sure to check it out.

Last, but certainly not least, is the new “Sweet Sounds of Music” (mini) kit by MK Designs.  You’ll be able to find this one at Shabby Pickle on Friday!

Project 365

day 167… BATMAN!

day 168… Hulk hands

day 169…

Yep.  That’s all.

Our first official day of Summer vacation started out rainy.  Boooo!  Even though it cleared up around noon… it had already set the tone for the day….. laaaaaazzzy.  Today is no different.  LOL!  I guess at some point I’ll get up and take the boys bowling.

T Ball

Our t-ball season ended Friday night with a win!  A 100% undefeated season!!!!  Go bee’s!!!  The boys got their “big” trophies that they had worked so hard for.  They finalized and closed out their season with a team pool party.  We had an awesome team this year… not just the kids… but the parents too.  Here are some photos from the last game (after they won)…

Project 365

day 164…. team huddle…. Bee’s!

day 165… I really love the natural lighting and color of the sky in this!

day 166… messing around with the camera again…. really like this!

Scrapping….

Remember the LO that I showed you of the Super Hero page by Misc_Ainsenberg?  Well, I told you I was going to lift it… and I did!  With Kaleb’s OBSESSION for Super Heroes it was a must!  Here is my version…

I’m going to create another page in similar fashion as an Incredible Hulk page… since I have a million pictures.  I’m hoping to print them both out, frame them, and put them in his “new” room that he will be getting for his birthday.

I have a couple of other pages that I’m quite happy with that I’ve done this week but you’ll have to wait until Wednesday or Thursday to get a peek.

That’s about all I’ve got for you today.

Ciao.

Ungrateful.  That’s my Johnathan.  I understand that he is getting “older” and doesn’t want to be treated like a little kid or kissed by his mom in front of anybody but today he really hurt my feelings.  I planned all along to go to his awards assembly.  Before he left the house this morning I asked him if he wanted me to go.  “Sure,” was what I got.  Well, he could have cared less that I was there.  All the children waved to their parents as they spotted them on their way to their seats.  Johnathan?  Well he looked dead in my face…. expressionless.  He sat 2 rows ahead of me with his class and when I went to take his picture I could barely get him to look my way.  When he got his promotion certificate and was standing with his class… he had to be the one wiggling around, dropping his paper, and totally oblivious to his mother standing there trying to get one picture to record this moment.  Later, when the assembly was over, I asked him if he could please hold up his certificate and let me take a picture.  With virtually no enthusiam whatsoever, he half way held it up and continued to look at me expressionless.  At that time I just gave up, told him nevermind, and walked away.  Everyone else seemed so excited to have their parents there.  What a brat!  My heart really did break as I blinked back a the tears.

Due to my presence being totally unappreciated, I have decided to just stay away.  I will not sign up to go on field trips, I will not volunteer in his classroom, I will not bring him cupcakes to school on his birthday, I will not take pictures of him on field day, I will sit in the back where he can not see me or know that I am at any of his school performances.  I will not attend his soccer games this fall either until he realizes he misses me being at these things and genuinly asks for me to be there.  It’s sad… it really is.  He’s never played soccer before and he’s totally excited about it.  I really want to be there… but he’s got to learn.  I will, however, be at Kaleb’s games…. and I think that will be enough to make him want to ask me to come to his.  ~At least I hope anyway.

I had a talk with him when he got home from school.  I told him how I felt and how I saw the other children acting and treating their parents.  I won’t go into the word by word conversation that we had but I will tell you… I think it was effective.  As hurt as I was, I still took the little booger out for a Transformer Slurpee at good ol’ 7-11.  Once we got back home I (in all my stubborness) told Johnathan he was going to hold up for his certificate so I could take a nice picture. This is also my P365 photo for today…

day 163

LOL!  It dawned on me when I was picking him up off the bus that I think he was wearing the same shirt for his first day of school.  I came home to check…. and yep!  Hahaha!  I think that’s funny.  So now my 1st day and last day of school photos for Johnathan look the same LOL!  Check it out…

first day                                                                                               last day

Alright…. that’s it for today.  No scraps.  Thanks for sticking around for by boo-hoo’ing.

Just the other day I was feeling a little down about my scrapping talent (or lack thereof, rather) and then BOOM!!! ~it all came flooding to me.  Oh… and thank you so much, Crystal, for your sweet words!  I’m so excited to show you the pages that I’ve just done in the last couple of days.  It’s funny how now that I’m so attracted to the simple and paper-like layouts, I am suddenly able to scrap the style that I was so drawn to before but couldn’t quite seem to master.  My galleries seem to be quite eclectic these days.  As I am attracted to many different things, so my gallery shows it.  LOL!

with the new collab Message In A Bottle by cre@-Bisontine and Kitty Designs coming to SPD tomorrow…

here is another page that will be in the Shabby Pickle gallery tomorrow with the new Little Pirates kit by MK Designs…

and finally with the new ***Amaranthine*** kit by K Studio and A5D…

so watch… now that I’ve opened my mouth I’ll probably fall back into a creative slump. LOL.

Here are the Project 365 photos since I last blogged…

day 161… look how pretty she is now that she’s all groomed!

and day 162… this was taken last night as the kids and I enjoyed a little ice cream at Brusters

Tonight is, what I hope to be, Johnathan’s last t-ball game this season.  So far, just as in the regular season, our boys (and girls) are undefeated in the playoffs.  If they win tonight’s game that will be the end… and our boys will be named the playoff champs!

Tomorrow also marks the end of something special…. Johnathan’s last day of his first year in elementary school.  You know how hard it was on me to watch my baby go off to school?  Well it’s just as hard knowing that that whole school year has passed and he will no longer be the “little” kid in school.  It’s yet another slap in the face that my baby is not a baby anymore.

I don’t know if it was just too much for my site to handle or what but I couldn’t get this part of my entry to fit so I’m breaking it up a little.  Once you have finished looking over this entry with all the P365 photos be sure to continue down to the other post I wrote today called “Oh So Inspired!”

I owe you a lot of P365 photos.  I’ve been reading up on some online photography tutorials and been trying to mess around with the settings on my camera… mainly in maual mode.  Recently I’ve been noticing a lot of photos where the background is sooooo blurred that the subject of the photo REALLY pops.  I know some of this is from being enhanced in various programs but I also know that quite a good bit of it comes from knowing what to do with your camera and having the right lens.  I started achieving that effect in some of my photos towards the bottom of the page.  Warning… some of the photos are of “everyday” items (maybe they’ll be photos for scrapping those “everyday” moments) and not very exciting or meaningful.  The subjects were chosen for their photobility (is that a word?) so I could practice using my camera in different ways.  On to the photos….

day 155…

day 156… (this was the response I got when I yelled “Kaleb are you even listening to me… can you hear me?”  “Yes, Mom… see, I can hear you.”  I burst out laughing and told him to freeze so I could grab my camera)

day 157… just messing around with the camera (focusing, speed, ect) ~Let’s try NOT to focus on how dirty the spicket (spigot) is LOL!

day 158…finally figuring out the whole Aperture thing (though I believe I am limited by my lens)

day 159… good lighting + good dog + good camera = good picture ♥ (btw… that shaggy lil’ mess is going to the groomer today!!!)

day 160 (today) ~it’s not the best photo. I really wish the kid in blue had of been in focus a bit more but I was working in the manual mode while shooting a t-ball game… and I’m just a wee beginner LOL.  Anyway… the blurry orange matter in the back of the photo is Johnathan as he tagged home plate last night.  You can see by his body language how excited he was!

I really liked how Johnathan was blurry in the background yet you totally knew what was going on in the photo… that’s why I chose that picture for day 160.  However, there are two more pictures that I just love from last night that I’m going to show you just for the heck of it…

and check out the kids in the photo below… that one kid is pretty big LOL!  That’s John… father of the twins, Ethan and Elias (who also happened to attend North Run Pre-K).  With Adam being out of town so much these last three weeks I’m glad Kaleb had the chance to goof off with another male role model. (.. .though there’s no real substitute for Dad ♥)

OK…. don’t leave yet…

There have been quite a few scrap pages in the galleries that have caught my eye recently!  After saving them to “my favorites” I will call on them often as a source of inspiration for whatever it was that originally landed them in “my faves” to begin with.  For whatever reason, my pages never come out with the same feeling that I get from these other artist.  It’s really becoming a bummer for me and has decreased my desire to scrap.  I’m drawn to “paper” pages with clean lines and simple designs.  However, I’m so use to layering everything on that when I try this “simple” style I can’t ever seem to stop adding stuff on…. and then it’s no longer clean and simple.  Ugh!  Let me show you some of the pages that have really put me in awe….

by mrshobbes…

I totally love the crop on the photo… the soft blending, color scheme, and especially where she chose to journal!  The title work is simple yet so effective and the minimal elements are perfect!  Well done, Alexis!

by rebecca h…

here we have what comes naturally to me… layering… but Rebecca has done it in a way that I just can’t seem to get.  Though she has lots of beautiful brushwork, doodles, and a variety of elements… she has managed to keep it clean and simple. I absolutely adore this!

by Aline Charpinel…

Ok… so this one is not the least bit “simple” but it has that “paper” feel!  The shadow work is amazing which makes me feel like I could just touch my screen and feel all the different pieces.  I love the composition and how the page is packed with embellisments yet it is still beautifully organized.  This is a stunner!

by Gabs…

What a perfect way to scrap those Project 365 photos.  I totally love that “week” date stamp at the top.  The whole page just looks so crafty… and I think that’s a big part of what is appealing to me these days.

by sascedar…

I would have never thought to scrap a load of laundry… yet it’s a part of my everyday life.  This LO made me realize that not only can I scrap “simple” but I can scrap the simple things.  It doesn’t always have to be about a special moment, birthday, or holiday.  I want to scrap the “everyday.”

by neonglow…

A perfect example of how a page does not need to be loaded up with embellishments.  Look how powerful her page is simply because of her selection of papers and her photo arrangement.  I think part of my problem with never knowing when to quit adding stuff to my page is because I feel the need to represent as much of a (CT) kit as possible.

This last page is my absolute favorite!  Seriously… my favorite page I’ve ever seen in digiland.  I think it’s because it really calls to me personally… as I have my super hero.  The fact that it’s just plain ol’ FABULOUS is a reason too. ;0)

by Misc_Ainsenberg…

I don’t know what to say…. I just love it, love it, love it.  She found the perfect elements, perfect paper, perfect everything…. and then put it together…. perfectly!  I’m definately lifting this one!  In fact, this page resulted in a digi shopping spree for me.  After all… if I’m going to lift such a perfect page… I need the those perfect elements too…  So look what I picked up….

I can’t wait to do my own Superhero page!!!

Here are my latest pieces of creativity (though creativity levels are dowwwwwn)…

this is the one did last week with the kit “Truth From Falsehood” that cre@-Bisontine put out at A5D as their guest designer this month.  The kit is awesome… I’m just not sure about my page… (I’m not a very good “altered art” kind of scrapper)

this one was made with the Clarity kit by K Studio at A5D… (second page I made with this kit)  I haven’t posted it to the galleries yet… but I will ;0)

the following page was done with Kristen’s (K Studio) Earth kit that was previously at TDC while she was a guest there last month.  If you missed it…. no fear… it’s due to be released at A5D this week!!!

You’ll see (hopefully) in the next layout, my attempt to keep things simple yet powerful. This one is not in the galleries either but it will be soon…

credits: Damask Dream paper pack by Diane Rigdon, ribbon from Sakura kit by PTM, Scruffy and Stripey alpha by Kate Hadfield at TLP, wordart by K Studio, Stitches 2 by K Studio

last but not least is one of my new faves (for myself).  I had been eyeing this kit for so long and finally picked it up on National Scrapbooking Day.  It took me this long to have a chance to sit down and scrap just for me… not for a CT (though I ♥ my CT’s)…

The kit I used is called Engines Ready and is by Vinnie Pearce…. found at Catscrap.  For some reason the gallery over at My Scrapbook Art is not working but if you click on the above LO you’ll can go to Catscrap and leave a little love (if ya wanna ;0p )

I’ll be back tomorrow or Thursday to show you what’s been cookin’ at K Studio for this week!  Be sure to check back!

There’s sooo many new kits coming out.  With school being out I finally got a chance to scrap a little.  I’ve also got some LO’s that I did a couple of weeks ago to show you.  They are actually featured in this month’s issue of The Daily Scrapper… which is why I couldnt show you until now.

First up… new kits

with new Deep Water kit by MK Designs coming to Shabby Pickle tomorrow…

with Dreamland by Cinnamon Designs coming to A5D tomorrow…

cre@-Bisontine has an awesome new kit too but due to her new guest spot at a certain store, I can’t show you the page until tomorrow.  Sorry.

Good news for me!!!

I got to rejoin K Studios as a guest again this month!!!  Whoo hoo!!  I love it on that team!  She was a guest at TDC where she had a Grab Bag.  Well… tomorrow at A5D she will reveal that Grab Bag along with some other goodies.  I have a page with some of those things!…

Holly, of Holly Designs at Shabby Pickle, has this kit in the shop already.  It was placed in there last Friday but I wasn’t able to scrap with it until this week… take a little look…. ( I just love this pic of Johnathan)

The Daily Scrapper

So as most of you know… I was a guest LO artist for The Daily Scrapper for the month of May.  I was the “featured artist” in the last issue which I was super excited about.  They invited me to stay on the team but I just didn’t feel like I could make the committment knowing that summertime meant a lot of time away from my computer.

In this issue, The Daily Scrapper celebrated their birthday and with that highlighted several birthday kits and such.  What great timing since during the time that I had to get the LO’s done, it was my birthday as well.  Here are the 3 LO’s that I have in this month’s (now a monthly publication) edition….

Here’s one more that I did with a kit that Holly Designs came out with a few weeks ago… called I Dream of the Ocean…

so yay!!!!  I’ve been able to scrap again!!!

T-Ball

Johnathan’s team, the Bee’s, were awarded trophies Monday night in honor of them finishing the regular season as undefeated season champions!  We are now in play off season with our first game being tomorrow evening!  Go Bee’s!  The team coach had agreed, at the beginning of the season, to shave his head if the boys (and girls) had an undefeated season.  Well, Tuesday night… at practice, he kept his promise… and each player got a turn to take a little off the top!

That brings me to the P365 photos for days 152 and 153

152…

day 153…

On a totally unrelated note… Kaleb has been having issues with potty training.  I don’t understand it what-so-ever!  Kaleb has been potty trained since he was 2 years old.  He will be 4 at the end of July!  Why is he doing this?  At first I fussed and was upset.  I would take computer, tv, or DS away.  After thinking about it I realized that wasn’t the route I needed to go.  Instead, I went to the Dollar Store and stocked up on goodies as a reward system.  For every day that he stayed dry he would get to pick a surprise out of the bag.  He went 4 days without an accident and then it happened… wet!  We started over.  Again, went 4 days and then yesterday he had an accident.  It’s so fustrating and I just don’t understand it!

Despite my disappointment in the situation, my photo for day 154’s entry of the Project 365 is of Kaleb enjoying one of his surprises that he got.  It was a “dirt” egg that he had to dig the dinosaur bones out of.  He really enjoyed doing it!

day 154…

look at this sweet little face… so satisfied with his accomplishment…

Thank goodness it’s Thursday!!!  My husband comes back home tonight.  He was out of town all last week and again all this week.  He will return late this evening and then he’ll be back out Monday and Tuesday.  June is shaping up to be a lonely month.

Off to get started with my day.  Hope you have a good one!

Since a picture is worth a thousand words I thought I’d let my photos do the talking about this weekend…

Saturday…

my photo of the day for P365 (day 150)…

Oh, btw… here is my photo for day 149 since I didn’t blog on Friday… (look at how big his eyes are here)

Sunday…

…and finally here is the photo of the day for Sunday… day 151… guess who??

So that was my weekend.  Adam returned home late Friday night and is headed back out of town tomorrow.  Once again he’ll be gone until Thursday so I’ll be up to my eyeballs in toddler talk.  For those who live close by… please feel free to come keep me company.

♥