30 Days of Lists - Day #1 - Here we go!

So, I stumbled upon this cool idea of "listing"... and am participating in a personal challenge of writing a quick list every day during the month of September. Hard to believe it is already September!! Bring on the non-100 degree days! I'm off and running - here is list #1:

It's been a creative crochet summer!

I've gotten a little lost from the blog again. Not for lack of inspiration, but for lack of time. Our friends had a baby boy on July 17th, and we have been very busy spending time with them and their little 13 month old. Beautiful babies, both of them!

I haven't been scrapbooking much over the summer, but I have been crocheting a lot. I made a blanket for the new baby, and one for his brother, one for each of my boys, and one for my friend's daughter (with a matching dollie blanket.) Finally, I am working on a big one for my husband. Funny how when the weather is 100+ degrees outside, I crochet more. Must be because we have the air conditioning up so high LOL!

Mason's was done as broomstick lace, really love how this turned out.

This is Benjamin's colorful zigzag, he loves it.

Grayson's is shades of blue with cream.

Reese specifically requested these shades of pink and purple. I will surprise her with the matching dollie blanket, I know it will make her happy :)

This is the dollie blanket. It's too bad, but the photos really don't do them justice, the blankets are all really pretty, and I'm very proud to be able to give them. Nicholas' was a HUGE granny square quilt, but I need to take it from him to take a photo. LOL!! My husband gets the next one, then I think I will be doing a pink and green one for my girlfriend. And maybe try to scrapbook a little too :) We have only one last week of summer vacation, then school begins. Wow! I am looking forward to the return to routine, and some cooler weather, it has been a very hot summer!

This is why moms like having boys...

...because the boys like to wash the toys LOL!! Beautiful weather to be outside (early, before it gets too hot) and a nice surprise for me - a clean car :) Gotta love Sunday surprises!

Pampered Pooch

It's funny how the dogs seem to obey me the best out of everyone in the house. Likely cause I was their first 'person' in our house, because I brought each of them home, or because I feed them, but the dogs certainly do respect me. Valentino though, is a Daddy's boy - the moment my husband either vacates a chair or gets up in the morning, there is a furry replacement, just ready to tuck in. I can't say how many times during the day I wonder where to find my doggy, and it's a very safe bet that this is where he is to be found, on his dad's side of the bed. Not spoiled, no, not at all :)

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.