The good and the bad

I was lucky today, to have my friend Jane come spend the day with me, and her two girls to play with my boys. Hubby took a vacation day and did the yardwork, then he watched the kids while Jane and I had some crafty girl time.

I started watching more coverage on the heavy rains in Calgary, and learned that the city has flooded :( There are 25+ neighborhoods that have been evacuated, and even downtown is underwater. I am very grateful to my friends Sherry, Tammy and Ed's cousin Melanie for posting updates. I was able to check in with Thomas (my oldest) today, and he said he didn't know of all that, he just knew it rained a lot. Luckily he is in a part of town that is a bit higher so his home is dry. It makes me so sad to see these pictures, and I imagine what it would be like if we were living through this right now in Calgary. I can't even fathom all of the people who lost everything. There were over 100,000 people evacuated, to either friends' homes, hotels or shelters. Mother Nature is being very cruel to Calgary and surrounding areas today. Here are some pictures of areas that are covered:

Pinterest!!! Gotta love it!

... and my family is starting to enjoy the influence of it too! I saw a pic a while back of little individual pineapple upside down cakes made in oversize muffin tins, so that was my goal for today. It's gloomy and windy outside, and it just seemed like a good day to have this delicious smell coming from the kitchen. They are still cooling, but I know the boys (big and little) will love this treat. Can't wait to try them, they smell absolutely divine! Thank you Pinterest!

Now & Then Layout

I love how scrapping the Project Life way allows me to stay pretty much current. I never get more than 2-3 weeks behind, and within one-two days, I can always get caught up. This is a layout I did this afternoon, of my boys' last day of school (June 5th). I used a photo of each boy on the first day of classes, and the last, and wrote them a little (ok, a lot) about how I felt about their year. I love this layout, and my kids smile when they look at it. That's why I scrapbook.

Oh Christmas Tree!

It is the 3rd of February and we finally took off all the Christmas tree decorations and carefully put them away, then dragged the tree into the garage for safe keeping until November when it comes out again. At first I was a little sad, as we still were turning the lights on each night (honestly, it was our huge night light in the living room LOL.) I had a plan though - with the upstairs tree that has been up since Christmas 2011. It has not come down, the decorations were off, and it still had lights on it, but it was there. So...... I did what I had planned for it in spring of last year - I decorated it for the season! I had planned on Mardi Gras, Valentine's Day, then green goodies for St. Patty's day, then Easter, but who am I kidding? That's a little too ambitious! Maybe next year! For now, it is such beautiful weather outside, and soon we will be loving all the signs of spring, so spring it is!

Nothing says spring like pretty flowers and Easter eggs :) Yes, it is kind of girly, but in a house of all boys, we need a little girlying up!

I will have to think of what I want to use for Summer... but I have time :)

My all day crafty pay-it-forward card

At the beginning of January, there was this post on Facebook about 'the first 5 people to comment on my status will get a pay-it-forward from me'. It's been on my mind since I posted, and I quickly got 5 people to respond. This will be my first gift.

This is a Kraftin Kimmie stamp called Angie. It was a KK challenge that got me wanting to use this stamp (and not just horde it in my stamp closet, but to actually USE it!) I spent the entire day working on this card, it had to look just the right way. I made the flowers with a spellbinders die, and misted them with coffee glimmer mist. Part of the KK challenge was to include either actual metal or the color - the brads in the four corners are metal, even though I broke the prongs off, and the highlights in her hair are platinum :)

I love when people decorate the inside of their cards too, so I incorporated a little pocket in the center to accommodate a Starbucks card. Once I add a little note, I am going to purchase a media mailer, as it has more space inside and won't crush the flowers, then send it on it's way. *submitted to trio of embellishments and krafty guest spot, both with Kraftin' Kimmie Stamps.

to be true

Saw this on facebook this evening, it's so pretty, and so true, had to share :)

Who fell off the turnip truck?

Apparently, I did, for months! Wow! School has taken over, especially with both Nicholas and Benjamin now going. I've been at school SO much this past semester, to make sure Benjamin is fitting in to the routine with his diabetes, and to meet the boys for lunch, and my new favorite: helping out in the library! Yes, I have to say, I'm feeling a little more bookish these days, usually helping out 2-3 times per week. We've made it through all the holidays, and are very quickly approaching to Benjamin's 6th birthday, then right after, Nicholas' 9th birthday. Ed has been away for work, this last trip was to Alaska! Today he leaves for Calgary, sad for me, but also makes me happy as he will be able to see Thomas. I haven't been nearly as crafty as I'd like but am happy to be near the end of my December project life album (that will make an entire COMPLETE year, woohoo!!) I have started on January too, and am trying to stay up to date. My January Button Farm kit came in and I can't wait to get to that, it included an entire Snap album, yaay!! So, now, it's January, I'll try to be more consistent. Oh, yes, New Year's resolutions. Gotta love and hate em. Our family's resolution was to curb our eating out. Yes, we spend way too much on restaurants and fast food, so unless it is a special occasion such as a birthday, Valentine's Day or anniversary, it's eating at home for us. I'm sure it will save us a lot of money! If I can just stop the scrappy online shopping. Shhhhh!

This is Nicholas with Oliver, on the day we brought him home as a foster. I adopted him (secretly) on October 1st, and the kids 'received him' as a Christmas gift.

First day of school, Nicholas bug, ready for Grade 3.

Nicholas with Valentino, Benjamin with Oliver, stopping for a mommy pic on a chilly, windy day.

My sweet Benjamin Aidan, with Oliver, both loving being outside :) Even if it is darn chilly! (for Texas that is.)