Happy Easter

We had a great weekend. Different than before, but we enjoyed it.
I always feel like my Mom should be in photos like this. I even see a space (between my head and Mindy's head) where her happy face belongs. I close my eyes, imagine her in that space and open them and I sort of really expect to see here there. In lots of my pictures it seems like I leave a space for her. I miss her.....  But, to move on, here are just a few of the 378 shots I took yesterday and today.


The yearly Rotary Egg Hunt (It lasts from 9 - 9:02 AM - if you are late, it is over)

My Dad's last couple months as the President of his Rotary Club.

The girls hunting for eggs. Our last year in Uncle Matt's awesome home. He sold it and closes on May 1.

Mindy and her family joined us for Lunch on Easter Saturday this year. It was fun.

My brother's block makes my heart ache to take photos...  lots of photos. I have tons of the kids. This is one of the MANY where I tried to get them all to jump. Tara Whitney makes this look WAYYYY easier than it really is. :)

This is just a typical shot at my brothers....  an egg hidden in a classy setting of high end booze. :)

Taken from my brother's loft.

All of us....  Matt's place not only is funky and TOTALLY cool. It has the best natural lighting for photos ever. I love portrait type shots there with no flash. They all come out great.

Anyway, I hope you all had a relaxing and blessed Easter weekend.

A new chapter...

I started teaching full day full time Kindergarten on accident back in November. It has been an interesting journey. I took over for a teacher on emergency bed rest....  well, she is coming back on Monday, so Thursday was my last day as the teacher. We had a Hawaiian Laua to learn about a totally different culture within our own country and to really have an excuse to have an all day party!! 

I have enjoyed the unique challenges of teaching. It was the hardest job I have had in years for the least amount of money I have made in 20 years....  but I loved it. I loved simply being a part of the educational journey of these 12 amazing little people. I loved it. It was never boring and I learned SO MUCH every single day.

And, in the end, we had a lot of fun.

I am a winner and BOTH fish lived 24 hours in my home....

Dominic came close to dying...  Neil found him swimming sadly and slowing on his side. So Neil changed out the water and added more of something and Dominic seems to have picked up speed a bit. I dread looking in that bowl in the morning!!!  I need to make the next one a Beta because you guys are telling me even my family will not kill a Beta!! 

And, I am SO EXCITED! I entered a contest on Jody Ferlaak's Blog late last night (right before they drew). I had not heard of this class before, but I fell in love once I read it and totally wanted to take it (it starts tomorrow). I really do not have the $25 (and we already just spent $20 this month on the darn dying fish) so I went to bed hoping that if it was time for me to start a book like this for my awesome Mom, maybe, just maybe, I would get picked. Now, I have never won anything (unlike Kaya who wins fish that die) so when I logged in this morning to see that I won, I was so excited, I actually got teary eyed! I feel INCREDIBLY BLESSED to get this push to create a simple, meaningful place to store memories of my Mom. I have started a tribute type album for my Mom where I sent out cards with different questions to our family after the funeral and I am putting them in this nice album...  but that was not the whole story. I wanted to do a little of her life, and what she taught me, and I was never sure how to do that. I also have ached to create a page about the accident because one day, I will not be here to tell the story, and I need to know my kids know how suddenly life can change...  this project will not only allow me to do that, it will show me the way. I am so excited. I even made a simple start to my title page tonight because I had a small story I needed to tell about my Mom. So, I feel blessed and cannot wait to share this journey with you.

Good Bye Abigail.... Hello Sophie

OK, the first 24 hours with the stupid fish did not go so well. I woke up to find only one fish...  I am not kidding. Turns out little Abigail got stuck under the rocks and did not make it back out. It was not the best start to our morning needless to say. The girls handled it quite well and went on a mission with daddy this afternoon to go get Abigail 2. Well, they came home with Sophie (not sure how the name got changed...  but it is much better that way because at this rate we would possibly be up to Abigail 6 by the end of the weekend). They also came home with a bigger bowl, a pathetic little bag of rocks (we actually need more rocks), a plastic plant, and a bigger fish. So now we are about $20 into the FREE fish. One dead. Two to go. Oh, and to buy the new Sophie to replace dead Abigail was only 19 cents. 19 cents!!!  Nothing costs only 19 cents. Not even a gumball. They get you on the accessories!

These girls love these stupid fish. Please Dominic and Sophie. Make it through the night. Please???

She won a fish....

Those of you who know me know I am NOT a fan of pets, plants, or messes....  we have made it this far pet-free and I have loved it. Well, we went to the elementary school Fun Fest on Friday and wouldn't you know it, Kaya won a fish. Ugh. It was sad, but as she played the toss the pingpong ball into the fish bowl I hoped beyond hope she missed. Neil and I knew she would not miss because she is that kind of kid. Yep, she won. BUT, happily, it was a coupon for a fish, not the real fish. I thought she would forget. I stalled the best I could. But both of them asked over and over when we were getting the free fish. Even me, being tight on funds, can you really tell your kids they cannot have a FREE fish? Ugh. So, they went to get it today with their dad.

And it is in an old vase, so it only cost the food so far. And, the guy at the store was trying to get the one they wanted and accidentally got two - one girl and one boy - so now we have two fish. Abigail and Dominic (they each named one of them). I am stunned and they are so excited. We had to carry them into Kal's room for family prayers,"Because you know they are part of the family now, right Mommy?" Oh, please, do not let these fish die tonight. I am not sure I can take that in the morning. :)

I think they both could have stayed up all night watching it. They even made me leave a light on for them so they did not get scared. Come on Abigail and Dominic. Please Do not die on me.

Blessed Beyond Measure kit in stock now - only 10 remain!!

Hi. I am not sure who is even still reading my little blog - but THANK YOU if you are checking in from time to time. I have been really off track this year and am WAY behind in getting people cut out numbers and stuff I owe them. That will happen this week because I have help at school and should get all my planning done during the day!! 

Anyway, I created this simple, cool, funky book for my family called "Blessed Beyond Measure". I love it. I love working in it, and it is in small bits and sections, full of ANY random photos I love...  so it is relaxing and easy to create. I also wanted to try some funky and fun techniques...  but I am not the type of person to do an art journal and I never want to try something different on a big page...  so I have used this format to explore some cool ideas I have read about in books and magazines. It makes me feel HAPPY, productive, and creative, too. Can you really ask for more?? 

So, I got a good deal on some killer Fancy Pants papers, punch outs and rub ons and I got just enough to make 12 kits. I accidentally sold 2 of them to a friend and neighbor. So, I have 10 left. It is totally first come, first served. Just email me klsb@comcast.net and let me know you want one, and which album you want (I have four of each of the three styles of album - BW flower, Chocolate Dot, and Rainbow Stripe). I will email you with how to pay me (I am working on expanding my PayPal account to accept payments). You can also get it from me in my ETSY store if you want to. I have just one listed there....  but I have 10 in stock. I am TOTALLY NEW to trying to do this on my own. I only did it because I LOVE this project and thought it could really jump start some people to getting back into making SOMETHING that just makes them happy.

Here is what the kit includes:
* One of three (your choice as long as they last) of a KI Memories photo album style album that holds 200 4 x 6 photos

* 10 (12 x 12) Sheets of awesome double sided Fancy Pants paper in cool designs (these are the same in all kits)

* One (12 x 12) sheet of cut apart quotes that really rock - they are awesome - (these are the same in all kits)
* One (12 x 12) sheet of punch outs (there are two different options of these...  it will vary which one you get)
* One sheet of very cool colored rub ons that rub on really well - these are fresh and funky with swirls and vines and some nice quotes. (There are two different options of these - it will coordinate with the punch out you receive)
* A selection of coordinating fabric strips to use to decorate the spine of your album
* A coordinating piece of trim or twill to use on your spine
* A button and flower to tie onto your album spine
* Kits will be packaged in a Cropper Hopper Pages-In-Progress - a neat item that opens to allow you full access to your paper in a 12.5 x 12.5 pocket and it also has a little pocket on the front for you to store and organize your small pieces of paper and your punchouts (once you punch them out). I love these and I think it will keep your paper nice and flat for shipping and you can just store your project in here while you work on it, too!! 
* A PDF file of FULL, DETAILED class instructions (with lots of photos) will be emailed to you upon receipt of your payment. These will include fun techniques that I never would have tried in a big project, but I sure enjoyed trying them here in this small format! I have NOT done the full instructions yet - I am working on them!!  You will get them by the time your kit arrives in the mail!

The cost of the kit is $38 US dollars.
If you need the kit shipped, I will figure out how much it costs to ship it you (I have never mailed out kits before and the darn 12 x 12 paper keeps it from fitting in the flat rate boxes I have here) and add that to your price.  I think it will be about $10 or so - it is NOT heavy, it is just big due to the paper. I will figure out the best way to mail it, and charge you what it costs me to mail it to you. I will mail US mail (I think).

You can also email me if you would just like a PDF of the instructions. Then, you can use all of your own supplies. The cost for just the instructions is $10 US dollars.

This is the FRONT side of the 10 awesome papers...  (you can get FOUR little sheets out of each one when you trim them to size)

This is the very cool, more sublte and totally fun BACK SIDE of the 10 papers.

Here is a look at the awesome mini quote squares - they are so great. My favorite has a quote from Winnie the Pooh that almost made me cry in the store when I read it, "If ever there is TOMORROW when we're not together... there is something you much ALWAYS remember, you are braver that you BELIEVE, stronger than you seem, and smarter than you think, but the most IMPORTANT thing is, even if we're apart, I'll always be with you." - Winnie the Pooh  I love that you just cut these apart and immediately you have a meaningful addition to your picture.

Here are a few more photos of some of my pages....  I really think a kit like this could get you back into creating little things once in a while...  no pressure, no order - just memories and photos in a book that reminds you just how blessed you really are.

You can fit 200 photos in this one happy place. This project is intended to be added to with your personal stash of cardstock, other printed papers you love, rub-ons, lettering stickers, etc. I used some cardstock, letter stickers, and older rub ons in some of the sample pages you see here. I also used some fun techniques I will share with you in the handout - handout will also include a resource list to some fresh and funky books I have read lately that make me feel really creative. I hope you are having a happy, joy-filled start to spring.

Remember - tell me which album you prefer (list a first and second choice if you can) in your email to me asking me to hold a kit for you. I will respond to them in a first come-first served basis. Once I let you know how to pay me (most likely I will email you a paypal invoice I think), I will hold your kit for 48 hours to wait for payment. I am sorry I do not know a better way to do this yet....  I hope this works for any of you who want to try this!

I am scrapbooking!

And it really, really makes me happy. If I only had one day left on earth, other than hug and love my family, I would truly want to spend it scrapbooking....  putting down memories that will last forever. It has been a long time since I made stuff just because I wanted to! And, these are my few days a year when Shannon (my best friend from Florida) and Sherrie (my awesome friend from Iowa) come to town to just make stuff!!  I LOVE IT!!  We are at my house this year so I did not have to move or pack a thing (TOTALLY ROCKS). It is just nice.

And, I got done one thing that has been hanging over my head for about 10 months....  I am a very laid back, non-chronilogical scrapbooker (because being behind made me feel like I was having a stroke), but I do these AWESOME Letters to my Dear Sweet Child boxes for the girls and I had not gotten Kalli's done for LAST year!  It just hung over my head, and now it is COMPLETE! I am just thrilled.

I also did Kaya's for THREE (she turned four only a week ago) and I have both of theirs prepped and ready for next year. YEAH!  I am just thrilled. Now I feel like I can create for the love of the memory and the story. It is going to be a fun few days.

And, if you are reading this, thanks.  I know I am slacker blog girl of the year....  but life is busy and most of all GOOD. I hope to post some projects soon and do a newsletter....  but with teaching and the girls, I am just doing the best I can! Hope you are having an incredible 2009 so far. Even in hard financial times, I know we can do little things to capture memories. And it will make your heart feel happy!

All right, these darn pages are posting all out of order, but you get the point....  just a small booklet (you get 21 of them in the Dear Sweet Child Letter Box) to capture some basic memories year by year - nothing earth shattering or award winning, but I cannot tell you what I would give to have found even just one of these in my Mom's belongings after she died.  I did NOT start at the beginning of their lives, I started when I found the books. Do even just one little things this year whether your kids are 3 or 30 and you will be grateful that you did.

 On the back cover of my booklets...  I put a couple photos about their birthday that year. So in one simple place I have photos from Kaya's 3rd birthday, some random photos of her at 3, and notes on the way she was at three. It also includes a letter from me. Short, sweet, and to the point. Man, I love this project. Have a great weekend.