It's almost that time!

I'm getting excited about getting back into our homeschooling routine. Josh really needs it, and I am chomping at the bit to get started. I still haven't decided exactly when I am going to start either. It will be sometime in August, but I want to wait until after Jacob and Josh see the endocrinologist on the 1st for the growth hormone problem. After we know what they are going to do, how much testing they are going to do, etc, then I will be able to better judge when to start. There are still some things we need, and things I need to finish preparing a bit, and I am trying to also declutter this house of mine. We have way too much stuff for our little 900-something square foot home.

Speaking of Jacob's growth, he has suddenly shot up! He is now 45 3/4 inches! Yay, Jacob! What is different? I have no idea. Maybe his body just decided it is going to follow its own growth pattern. Who knows? Anyway, it puts him just above the 10% as opposed to the 2-3% on the chart, so he is growing. Joshua, on the other hand, has not grown a bit since November. But, maybe he will follow the same path as Jacob seeing as they are brothers? No idea.

I took Cassidy to the new main library in town. We had never been to the new one, and there was a book I was really wanting to get (I'll tell you about that one in a minute). That place is HUGE! I couldn't believe how large and nice this place is. We parked on the conference level, and walked up some stairs to the main floor. I couldn't find a map, so we headed upstairs...yes, actually up the stairs. Cassidy was hillarious! She wanted to walk up the steps. There is a series of steps, a platform, and then another series of steps. We would get halfway up a set of steps and she would start saying, "We're almost there. Almost. Not much more. We're THERE!" LOL We'd search the floor a bit and then head up to the next level. The children's section is actually on the 2nd floor (our third set of steps) so she was tuckered out by the time we got there. And I think the sheer number of books there was completely overwhelming to her. She found a My Little Pony book and was ready to leave. LOL

There were tons of maps in the children's section, so we grabbed one and found the elevator. We headed to find the one book I went after: "Homeschooling the Child With Asperger Syndrome: Real Help for Parents Anywhere and on Any Budget". I haven't had time to fully dive into it yet, but so far it is wonderful! It is so nice to read what other people have done and what curriculums have worked with their child. It also has some instructions on making our own therapy items, a list of social skills that many Asperger kids have trouble with and idioms commonly used. I can't wait to really sit down and read this one. Though Joshua was diagnosed with High-Functioning Autism, at the time we received the diagnosis, we were also told that the only reason he didn't qualify as having Asperger Syndrome is because of his speech delay. So, I'm hoping this book will be a fountain of info.

Dropped

Yep! Apparently my bloodwork was too good to continue on the clinical study I was participating in. Hmmm. Good news for me, not so good for them. ;)

My triglycerides went down below 150 to 134, so they can't use me. My good cholesterol went up to 50-something (writing from memory here), and something else went up which wasn't so good...either the total or the bad cholesterol, but I can't rememebr which. Anyway, Lisa (the coordinator) headed over to talk to my doc. He reminded her of how bad my numbers were in April and how by diet I totally turned everything around by June. He is not choosing to medicate me at this time. Instead he wants me to keep on doing what I was doing and go back in a month to see if I qualify for anything else. Even my fasting glucose level was good last week at 83. Woohoo!


I made a few layouts since my last post. I was even chosen as Layout of the Day at Gotta Pixel again! Twice in five days time! Talk about exciting to see! The layout chosen this time is "Loose Tooth Questions". Jacob wanted me to take a picture of his mouth with all of his baby teeth still in "in case he forgets what his mouth looked like with all of them in". LOL He cracks me up! So I figured, what better way to use that pic and write down all of the questions that have been on his mind the past few days. I used Melany Violette's Color Me Happy kit. I had to tweak the journaling strips a bit, but it wasn't hard to do once I dove into playing with it. Fonts are Occidental and First Grader.

I also got to play with one of Tennessa Allen's kits this week. I was so excited, because I have been eyeling her stuff for the past week. I LOVE her Purple Pajamas kit. I am a sucker for anything butterflies, and this kit has several. And I love the colors! SO pretty and feminine! My favorite is the layout on the right. This kit was perfect for the photo I took of Cassidy in her Easter dress in 2005. Those butterflies and hearts are just perfect for my little girly-girl. Check out the rest of Tennessa's stuff. She has a small line of pajama kits, and they are all so cute!

First loose tooth

Well, it has finally happened. Jacob finally has a wiggly tooth. He was eating lunch and told me that his tooth was hurting a little bit. So I took a peek and checked to see if there was wiggling, and sure enough there was! I told him that he had his first loose tooth and he was really growing up. The look on his face was so cute. It was panic and joy all in one. He even had watery eyes. LOL I asked him if he was scared, and he told me no. How is it that at only 7 years old, males have already learned to not tell when they are scared? Boggles my mind.

So, my little overanalyzer has been asking me tons of questions in the past hour since his discovery. Will it hurt? Will I swallow it? How will I not swallow it? What if I do swallow it? Has anyone ever swallowed a tooth before? What will I do with the tooth if it comes out during the day? Will I put the tooth under my pillow right away or wait until bedtime? Will it have blood? Why? I'm sure there were more, but you get the picture.

I took a picture of his mouth today, full of his baby teeth. lol He seemed relieved to know we have pictures now. LOL I'm going to have to scrap it soon. :)

Speaking of scrapping, I just got my first assignment for the Scrappin' Secrets CT. I'm using one of Tenessa Allen's kits. So exciting!

I also made a couple of pages:

The first is one I made for a friend of mine. I call it Amanda's Garden. It's not my usual style, but I thought Melany Violette's Garden Girl kit was too cute not to use.







I also made the letter B page for the kids' ABC album. I used Melany Violette's Color Me Happy kit.

A scrapping toot and convention to boot

One of the requirements for the Scrappin' Secrets creative team is that I have 3 galleries off of a particular list. Two of my galleries were already on the list, but I needed one more. Our team leader suggested I go to Gotta Pixel. I always feel so weird jumping into new boards, but I did it. Oh my goodness, the people there are so friendly and supportive. And talk about challenges galore! I love it there so far. I made my first post the day before yesterday and have been slowly adding some of my layouts.

When I got home from the homeschooling convention (which I will talk about in a bit), I checked through the gallery to see if anyone left a somment or two. I like seeing what other people think about my layouts. As I'm looking at the number of comments, I notice that most have anywhere from 1-5 or 6. All of a sudden I see one that has 14. What in the world made that one pop out for everyone, I am wondering. So, I start reading the comments, and lo and behold, My "Simple Pleasures" layout was chosen as the site's "Layout of the Day"! I could not believe it! I was so excited!!! Check it out! http://www.gottapixel.net/blog/

So, that was my big thrill of the weekend. :) I have to say, I was feeling pretty bad about my abilities after being rejected from a few teams, but my confidence is starting to build up once again when it comes to my little hobby. :)

Let's see...I attended a homeschooling convention yesterday and today. Some of the workshops were fantastic! My favorite was on the temperments and how to teach a child with each type. What a great tool for me to have! All of my children are completely different, so it is nice to know exactly what will likely work with them. I also attended one on organization and homeschooling which was neat, but most of which I pretty much had already figured on trying. And then another on teaching multiple ages at the same time was high on my favorites list. So, a very informative weekend.

Yay!

Woohoo! I got an email today telling me I have been chosen as a member of Scrappin' Secrets new Creative Team! I am so excited and I can not wait for my first assignment. :)

I also realized last night that I forgot to post one of my layouts. This one is for Elena's book. This is a page I have been wanting to put together for a while, but I could never really find a kit I really wanted to use with the pics, until I picked up Ginger Thibodeau's Softly Shining Kit. The lace and papers were perfect, and with a little color tweaking on the pic, I was very happy with the results. I can still remember the moment we told Meemaw we gave Elena her middle name in honor of her. She was so excited. Meemaw had Alzheimer's and though many times she couldn't remember our names, she never once slipped in calling Elena "Frances". :) Don't forget to click the photo to see it better. ;)

Busy week

We have been enjoying our summer break so far, with this week having all sorts of fun things. It started on Friday night when Silas and I went out. We intended to see Pirates, but they were completely sold out until the 10:45 pm show. WOW! So, we headed to Chili's for dinner and went home. I think we were homw by 8:45. LOL On Saturday my best friend, April, and I went to the local dinner theater for a Mommy's Day Out. We saw Beauty and the Beast, the Musical. It was great! I had never been to this theater, so it was such a neat experience. And it was wonderful haivng time out with another adult and NO KIDS! I love my children, but a break from them every now and then is certainly necessary for my sanity. ;)

Yesterday Jacob had his first fishing trip. He was so excited. One of his birthday gifts was a fishing pole, and he has been chomping at the bit to go fishing with Gramps (my grandfather). One of the local parks has a pond and it is specifically for seniors and children to fish at. In addition to the pond, there is a playground for the kids, so the others were somewhat occupied for a bit. My mother came and she sat with Jacob and Gramps while I brought the other kids to the playground. We had barely gotten them going and my cell phone rang. Mom was ont he other end telling me she was going to switch with me so I could see the fish Jacob helped to reel in.

Now, flash forward a minute/minute and a half and I walk up to a very excited Jacob and Gramps telling me they caught a 12 inch catfish. "Where is it", I ask with my camera ready to click some pics. Gramps replies, "Oh, we threw it back. He was just a little fish anyway". They threw it back before I got up there. I was so disappointed.

I did help Jacob toss a few lines out. We were using hot dogs as bait and some turtles decided to come up and check things out. Jacob got a little concerned that the turtle was going to eat the meat. I told him that I didn't think he needed to worry about it since they hadn't been going for it so far and I thought that turtles don't eat meat. I barely got these words out of my mouth, and what happens? You guessed it! Mr. Turtle decides to take a little dive and get caught on Jacob's line and can't get loose. So Gramps tells me to reel him up and he'll take him off the line. I tried my best, but that sucker was heavy! We got him halfway up and the line broke. That turtle took off. Poor guy.

Naturally, I had to make a scrap page of Jacob's first trip. You can click it to see a large and clear version. ;) I used V. Kim Smith's Woodland Meadows 2 Kit. The fonts are Pea Karynsig and First Grader.











There is a new scrapping site I have been frequenting called Scrappin' Secrets. Everyone seems so friendly and I really enjoy being somewhere new. I have done a couple of challenges there. The first one was the ad challenge. Those are always fun. :) I used photos that were taken at the nursing home garden last year. I have always liked that pic of Cassidy peeking from around one of the columns. I used Zaunwinde Kit by leacindy at RAKScraps. The font is Pea Stacy. I am loving the Pea fonts, in case you couldn't tell. LOL Click the pic for a better look.





The other challenge from SS that I am really excited about is the ABC challenge. I have been wanting to do one of these albums for ages, and I finally have the motivation to get one done. My "A is for Apple" page features a photo Silas took about 2 years ago of Jacob with his cousin, Lark. Silas entitled the pic "Adam and Eve". LOL I think it is too cute! I used the A Lot of Love Challenge Add-on kits by Jenn Patrick and Vicky Shaw. Fonts are ITC Garamond and Kayleigh (another well used favorite of mine, btw).




My last show and tell piece for the night is something I put together for my buddy, Lisa. She sent me three pics of her kids and asked me to put something together for her baby board signature. I decided to use the Tropical kit one of our friends, Lyndsay, put together. I also added some arrows from Amy Wolff's RAKScraps May'06 Mega Kit contribution. I did recolor one of them myself to fit the layout. Love those arrows! Aren't these kids adorable? It made this layout so easy to put together. :)




BTW, you can download Lyndsay's Diva Kit on her blog HERE.

This weekend I am attending a homeschooling convention. I'm excited. It really gets me motivated and ready for the school year. :) I also will probably take part of the lunch break on Friday to pick up the forms to register Joshua. Wow! I can't believe how fast the summer is flying by!

Hope everyone is having a fantastic week!

Oh how cool!

Well, I happened upon Ginger Thibodeau's blog, R U Square?, about a week or two ago. She does rectangular scrapping, which I do occasionally. She has some great sketches, and I used one of them for my Cassidy layout for Silas to print for work. I happened to be sharing the link with my buddy Lynds today and was reading the latest updates. I scrolled down and found out I won something for my Cassidy photo. :) How cool is that?

We went to my parent's house for 4th of July. They had a cookout and then headed out to the fireworks. I wasn't thinking Josh would be able to handle the noise since the movie theater is a bit too loud for him, but he did surprisingly well. Elena was so tired by that point that she was ready to go once they started. I hope everyone had a great Independence Day!

I also did a layout today for Jacob. We bought him a camera for his birthday last year, and he loves using it. Some of the photos he takes are pretty funny, and some even come out really good. I decided to do a layout of some photos he took this weekend. :)


Journaling says:
"You got a camera for your 6th birthday. You love taking pictures with it and it is always fun to see things from your perspective. These are photos you took while waiting for the Space Shuttle Discovery to launch. Unfortunately, the launch was scrubbed, but you had fun regardless. You even got to see the brand new GoodYear blimp. I can't wait to see your next batch of photos."

On the photo of the blimp, I added, "Yes, you turned the camera upside down for this one."

LOL Silly Jacob. I used Melany Violette's Unique Boy kit. Fonts used are Rhumba Script, Agent Orange, Pea Amy, Pea Grethchie Print.

Warning! Scrap Heavy Post Ahead!

I'm going to attempt to use Bloggers little image adding feature today in the hopes that I can start posting small photos you can click to see larger. I tried it once before and it would not work for me. We'll see what happens. :) I realized this morning that I didn't post my final layouts from the CT call or any of my newer stuff. I was too worried about getting my blog template corrected. LOL

When we received our final kit for the CT call, we were asked to do a double page layout. I don't usually do DPs, but I did do some when I was doing paper scrapping long ago. The kit she gave us to use is so neat! The papers look like water, dirt, grass, etc. Here's what I came up with:I used Heather Roselli's "Boys Love Critters" kit and add-on stickers, both available at thedigichick.com.

RAKScraps just happened to have a sketch challenge that I joined in and decided to use some other papers from the same kit on. I have always loved this photo of Jacob from about two years ago, and the BLC kit seemed so perfect for it.

Soon after, UKScrappers had a sketch challenge in their growing digital forum and I participated. I loved this sketch! I took the photo of Elena the week she turned one. Seems like ages ago in a way. I used Sarah Senior's "Simply Girls" Kit. I think it turned out pretty cute. :)


And my latest project was given to me by my husband. Apparently the most recent photos he had of the kids were from before Elena was even walking. Yikes! So I told him I would throw something together for him to stick in his frames. Here are the results:

Credits: Susan Godfrey's Green With Envy kit, since it is Jacob's favorite color. Font: Cheri

Credits: LizzieGrace's Urban Monkey kit. Font: Knuckle Down

Credits: Ribbit Kisses Kit by Rebecca Gold, Lauren Grier, and Amanda Rockwell Font - Pea Leigh-Leigh Sketch by Ginger Thibodeau

Credits: Kimberly Geswin's Fresh as a Daisy Font: Pea Alesa

My favorite out of the group is the one of Joshua. LOL I love the monkey stamp next to his cute little smile. All of them printed out great at 4x6 and Silas happily has new photos for the office. :)