Saying Goodbye...

It's never easy to say goodbye to someone you have loved, someone that has been your friend and companion. Our sweet family pet "Stripe" died today. He was the best little guinea pig, my kids adored him! He will surely be missed.

He died in my arms this afternoon, as I stroked his soft fur and talked sweetly to him, he was surrounded by the boys that cared for him, raised him, just loved him.

God Bless our sweet little tiny boy.
Good bye Stripey.
We loved you.

Being Creative!

Happy Spring, Flowers are popping up everywhere and the sun is shining once again. I love this time of year. It just makes me happy, so I'm in the mood to create a Springy looking LO this morning!

My Mom, my Sister, and I recently had a chance to get together for shopping, lunch and girl time. My Sister took this photo of my Mom and Me just before they left my house. It's blurry and imperfect, but gosh I love the huge smiles on our faces and remembering how much fun we had that day. Mom had bought me some potted plants; geraniums and columbine....how I loved the flowers and being with her. I will relive this day in my head 1,000 times...especially how Sis was constantly cracking us up!
Good memories, I love my Mom.


.....my latest attempt at a 12x12....see lots of space on this one...still not sure how to handle the extra space, but I'm enjoying scrapping more than ever! and that means more to me than having the perfect LO anyway.

The scalloped boarder is made w/ reinforcements. I'm fixated w/ reinforcements, have been since 7th grade when i got my first denim covered, 3 ring binder...I used to tear out the binder paper, just so I could use these little guys...they used to be gummy and you had to lick them, but I loved the box they came in. ....wish I could still find them in a little box. ;) office products junkie at heart!

Have a wonderful "creative" weekend :)
reen

Spongebob B-day Party - Mini Book

A special thank you to Lisa W. for the fun paper kit she sent me. I really enjoyed using it for this little project :)

Thanks for visiting me.

reen

April '08 Layouts for 8 on the 8th challenge

I had this vision that I would use the new fence as a background for a little "photo gallery" of some of my favorite April photos. In keeping with the challenge, I used 8 photos in total on these 2 pages. The largest photos used for the background are 8x10's that I cut down to my album size, which is an 8x8. A very busy month for us, but birthdays seem to dominate all else that we do in April. It's one of my favorite months of the year!

Thank you to Mo for the wonderful little album you sent me. My challenge layouts have a beautiful home now :) and the album matches so perfectly w/ the Providence line that I'm using for this project!!! So fun, thank you so much!!!

Have a wonderful week!
reenie

Zachary turns 8 Today!

Here are some pictures of the combo party that we had yesterday for Zak and Matthew. Fun times!







The birthday activites included:
Pizza Lunch and Kool-Aid
bubble time
ball toss game
limbo!
scavenger hunt for Spongebob's Sunken Treasure chest (this was full of goodie bags)
Goodie bag treats and prizes to play with
Opening presents
Setting up the Rock Band
ROCK TIME!
Cake
Bowling Game
Pin Wheels
Pin the Jelly Fish in Spongebob's net game
ROCKIN' TIME!
Thank yous

How fun to be turning 8 and 10! I sure enjoy these little boys that God blessed me with...so thankful for what they bring to my life! just a buncha joy!!

Have a wonderful Sunday!

Anticipation......preparation.......excitement!

Little tiny boys in my house are turning 8 and 10 this month and becoming medium sized people :) I think it's almost time for a little celebration!

Just a few pics for Elise

Here's the '87 Toyota pickup that my friend Glen is selling. He just put in a new clutch ($587) and a new radiator and a new battery. It looks a little rough on the outside, but it's 4x4 4wheel drive and gets great gas mileage. It actually looks better than my first car! Anyway, I know you'll be graduating soon and it's just something to think about. He's asking $1800 bucks, but that's what he paid for it and I know I can talk him down from that if you're interested. If you want to keep looking then that's perfectly fine, my feelings aren't hurt at all, just let me know and I'll keep my eyes open for you on other used cars ok.

Hugs, Auntie Irene

Say Thank you to my Sis for all the help w/ Zak's oral surgery issues to.

Love you both.

It's Bobble head Season!

I mean Little League Baseball season! I love those big giant helmets they wear when they are up at bat. They just make me giggle inside. I love my little bobble heads.

Batter Up!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Recipe for our own "Baseball Smoothie"
These are delish after the game! Two thumbs up from my boys, they are good for you and taste just like a chocolate shake:

1/2 cup of crushed ice
1 banana
3 fresh strawberries
1/2 cup yogurt
a big squeeze of Hersey's chocolate syrup
2 cups of Vanilla Silk Soy Milk

Put all the ingredients into your blender and blend into a creamy, smoothie consistency. Top with whip cream and sprinkles!

Yum! a great after game treat for the boys!

Mountain View

Here's an early morning view from our deck at the cabin. We've not been there much this Spring, since Rich has been restoring his Camaro. I miss it! Thankfully, the last part is getting installed in the car today and we may get some time in the mountains again soon.

a new album in progress....

2008 Captured in 8 little photos a month. The paper line used is Providence by Scenic Route. Thanks for looking!

Spring Layout - and the Classic Car detail Girl

A fun layout that I created as a "practice page". I haven't scrapped in a few weeks so I thought it would be fun to create a layout with some pictures that I wasn't afraid to alter. The nature photo was taken by Matthew (9) and I used it to make my tree. The trunk was cut from chipboard. The photo of Zak and Stripe had a distracting background, so I just them out of the picture. This was so much fun to make! I love making my own handcut embellishments like the big tree.

A bit overcast in Calif. today so my photo is dark....so much brighter in real life. I sure hope our sunshine returns soon.


Earlier today, I spent some time working on some detail pieces for the '68 Camaro. Ssssh, don't tell Richie that I do enjoy getting to help with the detail work. His interior restoration is almost complete. This is a photo of me cutting some wood grain contact paper for the console pieces.

Easter

An Easter Bouquet from my little boys:

Happy Easter!

(photo by my friend Leah at Magic Moments in Clovis)

From my Family (including Leah's rabbits: Gizmo and Thumper)
to your Family........ Many Happy Easter Blessings!!

Love,
reen

Wise One!

I just adore owls, I think they are gorgeous! I used to be afraid of them, but now I'm kind of facinated with their beauty and that they somehow represent wisdom. I just truly love them, such remarkable creatures. Here's my favorite photo of "Scott" from yesterday's visit to the zoo. Isn't he just handsome?

whoooooo whooooo!

Playdate/Easter Egg Hunt

Nothing could be more fun than organizing a day of play and an Easter Egg Hunt for 15 energetic little ones! We're having an awesome Spring Break! Just wanted to share a few pictures.

Happy March, Happy Spring!

Open House

Sharing with you what the kids have been up to.
From Second Grader - Zak

The Pond Study


"I have a Dream" project - scrap paper pieceings art





From 4th Grader - Matthew
The California Mission Project
Team Building Project








Ansel Adams inspired photography - Flower

The boys are having a great school year! I love the ages they are right now, if they could just stay 7 and 9 for a little bit longer :)

Thanks for visiting me.
reen

Conversation with a 7 year old

I love picking my kids up after school. I would hate to miss those little moments when they reconnect with me with thier little converstaions. Like the one we had today, just me and my Zak.


Zak: Mom, do know Mother Necessity?

Me: Oh, yeah..... ;)

Zak: Well her kids invented a lot of things

Me: Really? ;)

Zak: She had a lot of kids.....they invented the airplane and the light bulb and a whole buncha things.

Hmmmmmmmmm so this means that "Necessity really is the Mother of Invention"?

hahahaha!! The things kids say!

:)

Signs of Spring!

Strawberries, one of the earliest signs of spring! The first strawberry crop of the season has arrived! Fresh from Driscoll in Watsonville, Calif. These are so delightful and sweet, the best in the world! So wonderful!! A sweet little Spring pleasure that just makes me happy!

The Easter bunny has been busy at my house. Little surprises hidden away for Easter Sunday. Another little Spring pleasure that makes me giddy!

Spread a little sunshine today, smile :) and make someone happy!

Borders Challenge

Becoming a new Mom of two little boys, I always had a story to tell. I used to share cute little things that my boys would say and do. My friends and mother-in-law, used to say "you should write it down". I took a little offense to that advice at first. I thought they were just saying that so that I would just stop gushing and sharing my "new Mom" type stories. For whatever reason they gave me that advice, I did it! I found myself over the years grabbing an envelope, post-it note, or scratch pad to write down the little stories. I'm so glad I did!

I kept all those little notes that I had written over the years. I thought maybe someday I would type them all out into a journal and make them look all published and pretty. Well, I finally realized that "real Moms" don't have time for that!

This week, I compiled all my little stories and notes into a simple album. All the little scribbles that a frantic, happy Mom would write down are in this book. The emotional memories I saved and whispered and wrote to myself in the wee hours of the morning are archived here.

Why wouldn't a Mother keep a note that said, "Mommy are we going to take that baby back to the hospital"? I'm sentimental, I couldn't bear to toss out a little handwritten quote from a 4 year old boy that said, "a miracle is like a flower". So I put them in here in their original form, with coffee spills still in tact. I love this book! It's personal, it's my own journal, my own diary of my precious days as a stay-at-home-mother. It reminds me of some of the happiest times in my life. This is a memory book of those special days I spent with my babies at home and the sweet little conversations we shared.

So special thanks to Ramona for all the challenges this month. I think this one was my favorite out of all of them, just because I ended up with a precious treasure.

Have a happy day!

reen

Weekend Creative and Bold Challenges

I do love it when there is time in the weekend for a little scrapping :)

A new layout that I call "Sweetheart of a son". This was inspired by Ali's weekend challenge to use tone on tone or to layer an open pattern the same color. In layering white on white....I thought "blah"! but then I started to appreciate the mood that the technique created....something kind of sweet, innocent about using white on white, clean and simple. I kind of like the white space.


Honestly, That was a little too clean for me! I much prefer the bold and grungy look of this "Rock Stars" layout. I used an old iron on patch to make the heart. Added a few strips of color and a blingy skull. What a fun challenge. These pictures are my boys on a typical Saturday morning, playing "cops & robbers" and also rockin' my house down to the 80's music from Guitar Hero.

Love this layout, it just captures them doing what they love at this age. I would love it if my boys stayed this age forever! They just wanna have fun!




Thanks for visiting. Happy Sunday!
reen

Quote of the week....

Photo by Matthew:



Today, on a "nature walk" with Matthew....we snapped several photos. I love this one of him walking next to the path of trees in bloom. The blooms are gorgeous right now!
What a great Mother/Son time we both shared. We had time to talk, just hang out together. I love that.


When we got back from our walk, we had lunch and I started to scrap and organize. I found this little treasure!! It's a note from Jess and Jill. They sent it to me when they celebrated their first year anniversary at DML. and how ironic that the photo is so similar to the one I had taken of Matthew earlier in the day. I'm so glad that I saved it, because I LOVE the quote on the front cover. Something so beautiful!

"what lies behind us and what lies before us are tiny matters compared to what lies within us".



Hope you're having a wonderful weekend!
reen