Just Beautiful

 
My second digi layout...seems too easy to be true. Not sure I like not being able to touch my layout though. Will have to try getting one printed but that's another day. Stay tuned!!!!

I'm a Digi Girl in a Digi world....

Yes! It's official I'm a digital scrapbooker. I have had Photoshop for several years but never ventured much beyond some photo editing but thanks to my scrap buddie Nikki (who I think is the coolest chick in scrap land...just check out her blog link below) I made my first digital layout in Jessica Sprague's online class. Step by step walk through can't be any easier. Can't wait for the next three classes. Now I just have to find a way to print it out. Amanda I know your gonna want to do this...got ya covered girlfriend.

You go Kid!

 
This was Houston's best game ever. His team lost, he never made a goal and he's not the fastest player but we were so proud at how he hustled and was so "in the game". We always tell him it does not matter how good you are at something what matters most is how hard you try. You could see the confidence and pride that he had in himself after giving 110%. Go Green!!!

 

Let the games begin

This is Reece's first time playing a team sport and as you can tell by the pictures he had a blast. He enjoyed himself until his best buddie Drew got switched to the other team then he decided to hang out in the grass for a while. It was so much fun to watch the kids having such a good time. We enjoyed Houstons game as well and he will have his own post too.

Arts and crafts anyone!

Ok so what's up with the Art projects? My 5th grader Houston has been bombarded with "at home projects"...last weekend completed a longhouse use by the Iroquois, this weekend working on a 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea mobile and the following is a two foot high paper mache jaguar for the virtual rainforest exhibit...is this Ringling School of Art...hello teachers this mom would rather scrapbook. What happened to memorizing a few lines for the school play? Failed to get a pic of the longhouse so hope it makes it home in one piece. At least I delivered on the letter of the day for pre-k "R"... as I'm walking in the door this morning I remember so I convince Reece that he is "show and share" because he starts with the letter "R". Rolling eyes starts with "R" too. Here Reece is with some art work of his own Enjoy

Lisa, Me and SDV

 
 
 
 
Here are a few pics from Scrappers Dream Vacation. Lisa and I had a blast! We sat with a great group of girls and laughed till wee hours in the morning. Must do this again real soon. I will post more pics shortly

King of the Playground so just get over it

 
The boys are soooo excited. Houston is in 5th which makes him King of the Playground... because of his size it's a little joke around here...the rehearsed speech goes something like this "OK you snot nosed second graders it's time to bow down to the king of the play ground...as I stand here face to face with your knee caps I'm here to say I once walked in your shoes. It's not important that I can still wear them, it's what Ive done in them that counts...I have clawed my way to the top of the slide on more than one sunny afternoon and I'm here to tell you it's bloody hot, so take the stairs provided at the back. Strongly recommend reading Night of the Living Lunch Ladies before you step foot in the cafeteria. You can run and you can hide...for a measly 50 cents I will share with you the best spots PVS has to offer. One more thing the gum under the desk is not that bad. I will enjoy my reign until mom finds out then it's back to the bottom cause I know she'll make me go on to 6th grade. Long live Captain Underpants!"

The fun continues

Reece informs us this evening that Nicole and Sofia ( the "girls" from last year) and the boys all decided to like each other for this year. In his own words "we just got over it" guess we could all take advise from the pre-k 4 class.

Hope all of you are having great first day memories too!

Summer

I know it was here just the other day
the start of Summer was on the way

The beach, the park, the pool did you say
all fun things to fill a long summer day

Visiting friends, some travel not far away
we have so many hours to waste in a day

But today I awoke and much to my surprise
Summer was gone like a quick sunrise

Now it's the last minute crunch to get ready for school
backpacks, pencils and other colorful tools

Gone are the days of jammie's till noon
It's rise and shine have to be at school soon

It's hard to let go of the things left to do
guess that's why next year we get Summer too

Wait just a minute I thought of a reason
to smile again about this Summer season

It's Florida you see and that means just one thing
We enjoy Summer year round and that's a reason to sing

PS. better start Christmas shopping

Orlando

These are from our trip in July...some of the kids havng a great time and just being kids

Love Picasa

Here is my first Picasa collage and it's as easy as everyone says. These are a few shots from Key West and I will be posting more of the summer excitement as I play on Picasa. Have a great one...Go play! PS Just love how the one of me and the boys cuts out my face.

Home Again

Tag I'm it...thanks Nikki. Now if there were five fellow bloggers that have not been tagged yet I would be all set..so let me know if you want to get "tagged". OK, so I've been feeling some heat ...no pun intended...for not blogging lately. I have good reason...another trip to Orlando and not one visit with the Mouse...ooh I'm so lucky that my guys are not Disney junkies. Do get credit for going to Sea Bloody Hot World...thanks Amanda, without you there it would have been miserable suffering all alone...the things you do for love (no it's my kids I love but Amanda is a close second). Did get to spend a lot of time with my longtime friend Melody. We usually catch each other on the fly so it was nice to have more than a few hours together and the kids had a great time together too. I have so many pictures that need to be uploaded and ordered. So be on the prowl as they are on the way. I got side tracked by The Deathly Hallows and made record speed in finishing before anyone could ruin the ending for me...and since I'm sworn the the secrecy of the Order of the Phoenix you will not find any answers here...just like Harry you must find out his fate on your own.

OH! So excited that my sis in law and I are going to the ultimate scrap weekend in Orlando. This is the first time since we became in laws (13 years ago) that we are doing a girls only activity...it's going to be a blast and I'm excited for her to meet the rest of my scrap family as they are all a bunch of creative, goal setting, motivating, inspirational, did I mention fabulous & gorgeous scrap girlie's. It will be a blast. OK so I'm off to get some work done. Don't forget to leave a comment or you can email me to say hi. Go Play!!

One for a Pal

Ok so she's a great scrapbooker but lacks a little in the upload department :-) So this is for Amanda who completed two chalenges this week the first one was for Nikki's goal challenge to make a layout for the goals you have left in 07 and the other was an "ugly" challenge where Jessi gave out things that she did not want and had us make pages..nothing ugly about it now. Great job Amanda and it looks like I have some catching up to do.

Have a great evening everyone.

Gotta Love the Keys

Can't seem to slow down long enough to catch up now that we are back. I thought we would have a quiet Summer not much planned but opportunities keep popping up so why not enjoy. We had a wonderful time in the Keys. We rented a house on Summerland Key and the water was perfect the first few days. We spent most days on the boat with a few days in Key West on our bicycles sharing the sights with the boys. Had fun fishing thought the Mahi (Dolphin) were a little elusive. Rick landed a Goliath Grouper, they are protected so we got a few pictures then sent him back to the ocean. We caught another grouper that was legal along with 2 snapper that Houston landed himself. We did some Kayaking and found an entire Lagoon of upside down Jelly fish...Reece had his little net and in the excitement got some Jelly juice on his legs...he had a few welts but we washed him off good and within a few hours he was OK...little secret... urine does help...Reece had to pee so I told him to just go in his swim suit while sitting in the Kayak then I rubbed it on his legs...he was crying before then within 10 minutes he was not complaining any more...thanks Survivor Man. The boys also had a blast just fishing off the sea wall at the house. Those of you who scuba or snorkel know the excitement jumping in to explore clear calm water. I have been diving almost 20 years and I still get a rush when the visibility is great. It's so much fun watching my boys fall in love with the water. Reece is a little fish and took to the ocean like Nemo. Houston is learning how to slow down and look for all the things that inhabit the reef..it's amazing what you will find just looking in one spot for a while. One of the most memorable dives I have experienced was a macro dive at night under a pier in Bonaire. The sea life and colors were amazing I rented a camera and took some great shots. The most amazing thing was how little everything was. I played with a baby puffer fish that was smaller than a dime, found sea horses nestled in coral fans and fed coral heads...if you shine your light briefly plankton swim to the light then you watch the coral heads eat them sounds gory but it is very cool. I also learned how to feed a Tarpon by shining little fish in the dark some of the Tarpon were over 5 feet long. I do love night diving...I figure if something is going to eat me I would rather not see it coming so at night all your attention is on what your are shining right in front of you...it is very relaxing. Have lots of pictures to share but here are a few will post more later.

Island time

Heading to the Keys for a week with the boys. We always have a great time on the water and this year Reece can use a snorkle. One of our favorite places is Looe Key...it is where Rick proposed to me... underwater... so it's always a favorite. We will spend some time in Key West visiting our local hangouts and calling friends just to rub it in LOL they would do the same for us. Can't wait to take some great pictures to share. Hope everyone has a great week.
Be back soon.
Charlene

There's no place like home

Just returned from a week in Orlando. To say that Shamu and I are friends would be an understatement. There is nothing more exciting that having a killer whale stare you in the eye as he/she eases onto the landing at Shamu stadium. We all had on our rain ponchos and said "bring it on". The spalsh zone rocks!. It's fun to go relax close to home. Little drive time, you know all the short cuts and great places to eat and if your husband forgets to leave payroll for the employees he can just drive home. LOL. Had a nice visit with my Sis-n-law and nephew and the kids had fun. If you want to kill a few hours go tho Shell World (I think there is one in Venice too) the kids filled a little bag for 99 cents and picked a few shells each. Two hours and $12.00 later we were out of there. Lots to see and you can touch all the shells. As always it's great to be home.

Go Tri It

Along with the crazy week I've had I set aside time to participate in the K2 challenge. This week Nikki wanted us to create something other than a LO with our supplies. My friend Amanda has asked me to train for a Triathalon with her. We are keeping journals, goals, training tips and motivational items in a training binder. So here is my creation. I took the idea "Go" from the "one little word blog" and decided on "Go Tri It". I will train to see how the knee holds out and if I feel able I will do my first Triathalon. At the very least I will be stronger and healthier from the training. This was so much fun. I used stickers that I bought years ago when I thought I would try scrapbooking along with a few new techniques and here is my project. Can't wait to do a "Go Scrap It" binder full of fun ideas to try.
Thanks Nikki

My Baby is Four

Happy Birthday Reece!
We celebrated with a few friends on Sat night and today it was his day. Started off at Fundango, then headed to see the ski-a-rees show, got to see Dr.Jack Sullivan, who four years ago saved Reece's life, went to Crobbies for newnools translation (Carabba's for noodles)and ended the day at our favorite family place Books a Million. Great day indeed. Not sure where the last four years went but the best part of the day was once again thanking Jack for our wonderful miracle. I have some catching up to do with all the pics I've taken over the past few weeks. Can't wait! I love you little Man

Proud Parents

Wow! what a week....This was Houston's last week of school and to say that I had a few "mommy" obligations would be an understatement. Rick and I were invited to attended the Fourth grade awards ceremony on Tues morning. As we sat in the audience the Assistant Principal begins with "Our first Creativity Award goes to a student who extends his love of learning beyond the classroom walls. With his vivid imagination" (at this point my husband whispers it's Houston...I wave him off as the entire Fourth grade is eligible) "he is able to add his own unique "twist" to every classroom project!" ( Rick "It has to be Houston...Me dagger eye glaze for him to be quiet) "He enthusiastically and openly shares his creativity with others. I am proud to present this creativity award to Houston *****s from Mrs. Tucker's class". Then Rick, so loud that people turn to look..."I TOLD YOU IT WAS HIM"..me teary eyed jumps to my feet to give a standing ovation...you go son! He also went on to win awards in art and academic achievement as well as several class awards. Yes we are proud! We can only imagine what great things he will go on to accomplish but for this summer we will work on keeping his room tidy.

Another week has come to an end and a few more school days until Houston is out for summer. Reece finished his last day of Pre-K on thurs. Hard to believe he will be 4 in a week. May has been a month of celebration. Mothers day (which my husband forgot), anniversary, 13 years on the 21st (don't think he will forget this) and Reece bd on the 27th. It's all flying by but I'm trying to capture as much as I can in photos to remember the special moments we share . Got invited to my first Bunko game last night...can't remember that last time I was with a bunch of screaming women. Had fun and would go again. I was asked to go back to one of my old jobs doing Hippotherapy and so I volunteered today just to get some hands on and meet the kids who are currently riding on Sat morning. This was the first time I have been around any children with special needs since Reece was born and I have to say it was very emotional for me. I guess it takes having one of your own to see how deeply your life is changed and I so admire the parents of these children bc for some of these kids there life will always be altered by their needs and some are here only for a short time yet the parents have the same pride, dreams and aspirations for their kids as I do. The kids and their families are truly an inspiration and I'm gad they let me be a part of their journey. Hope I can rise up to the challenge.

Overlay Challenge

My scrap buddy Amanda and I worked on our challenge today. This has been a lot of fun and it's making me work outside of my normal comfort zone...love it! This challenge is from Jocie who manages to make weekly scrap-n-dash layouts forK2 as well as beautiful LO of her friends and family. I have had this overlay for a while but was not sure how to use it...I found out using overlays is quite simple once you work out your photo arrangement... so now I can add this to my toolbox of skills. Thanks Jocie

Get out of the box

Had a great time at my LSS for Natl Scrap Day. The time flies when your hanging out with friends doing something creative. Will do this again very soon. This weeks challenge is by Nikki and she wants us to think outside the box and get into circles. I did a lo on NSD but Amanda and I got together yesterday and did another challenge. I love this one more (thanks Amanda for the pointers) and I have to admit Amanda's looks amazing. This is fun and it's great to have someone give you the idea and then to see all the different takes. Love my circle cutter...could not have done this without it. Thanks Nikki for the great idea...I love everthing you do!

Paint something

Ok so after last weeks challenge when my Layout was picked I felt real inspired to try the next challenge...ok so I was picked by default..one entry was the owner of K2 the other was an incredible designer who makes notebook paper look great (Nikki) and the other was Jessi who posted the challenge but I figure somebody has to participate so I accept the credit and continue to play along. So here is my next submission...hope Kim likes it.

What I would give to be an Artist. This was my attempt to use paint on a scrapbook page. Of course I had the paint because K2 had a cute little sample pack that I had to have. So now I'm an artist...ok so a wannabe but what the heck I think it's looks pretty darn good for my first tree. I love the story of The Giving Tree and had these great shots of Reece from a trip to Gainesville... so this is my creation. Thanks Kim for unleashing my inner artist with your great idea. Ok Amanda where is yours?

Sometimes it takes a challenge

Ok...so I'm a slacker. It seems lately I have been doing a lot of stuff but nothing fun and for me. Thanks to my new friend Amanda I think there will be some new challenges ahead. She suggested we do the weekly challenge from our LSBS so here is my attempt....guess I should let her know I started. Thanks Jocie for the challenge this week.

"I miss myself"

While putting Reece to sleep a few night ago he was saying that he wished he could be bigger like me and daddy...I told him that I like him just the size he is now and that in fact I miss my little baby and he replied with "I miss myself too". I was amazed that a three year old could have such insight because there have been many instances when "I miss myself " too. Can you relate? Sometimes when we get busy or overwhelmed it seems we just want to reconnect to ourselves so we do things to get back in sync with friends, family and spouses. It's not that I don't love and appreciate what I am or have now it just it easy to forget about who we are and what our mission is. So the next time you are missing yourself take a few moments to rejuvenate and fine you again...I'll bet you smile.

Houston's 10 now

OK, so it's Monday again. Had a busy few weeks. Last weekend (3/10) we celebrated Houston's 10 th birthday...there was something about him turning 10. No more single digits for this guy. I shared with him the fact that I was sad to see him grow up but happy about the young man he is becoming he said "at least it's one with a zero (10) instead of nine with a zero (90)...so who get the smarty pants award?...love the way his brain works. Got lots of pics from the day and party so I will make him a special b-day album on Shutterfly when I get the chance. He loved the Jon boat Dad and I gave him so the idea of any Game boy was quickly forgotten. The best part was that he said it was the best gift ever. We had a few friends join in for a bonfire and cookout on Sat...it's so relaxing sitting around under the stars starring at the flames...reminds me so much of being a teenager with my friends. This weekend we took the boys to the fair...Reece as been seeing a carnival on his favorite show Dragon Tales so he was so excited about going. He loved all the rides and anything you could climb on. The fair brings back lots of memories too. I can remember saving my money for months just to have 10-15 dollars to spend at the fair. Then as I got older it was the highlight of the year. It was a guaranteed few days off school as I usually had some "official" duty with FFA or my animals. I was amazed when I would meet someone in high school that had never been to the fair..hello did they live on another planet or what? Guess it all in where you grow up...so glad I came from Fruitville.

Thursday...where has the week gone? Had a relaxing day enjoying my Valentine's facial and a few hours home alone. Got the Pics from the Vette photo shoot..not the best but the only one of us together with the car. The car is being published in Vette Magazine and we spent a few hours getting the car photographed...our own children have yet to be professionally photographed ...LOL

Had a busy fun day yesterday too. In the morning after I dropped Reece at school I went to see my friend Betsy. I got to take a few photo's of her adorable little Ryan and helped her plant some flowers..it was way better than the paper work that I had to do at home. On my way to pick up Reece at school my best friend Dawn called and we had lunch...what a great day! I love catching up with my girlfriends and sometimes impromptu meetings are more successful than planned ones. We ended the evening by taking the Boy's to Sarasota Circus... it was OK. Reece's take "I no like this Circus"..."where the animals" there were some horses and a dog show but otherwise it was acrobatic and aerial acts... oh well we tried.

He was very excited about school today because the Firetruck was coming ...he got a hat and a tour. Rick picked him up at school and said he talked about it all the way home. Houston and Rick should be on the way back from music lessons and we are having spagetti.

It's Tuesday and since Monday was a holiday I will be behind all week. My wonderful hubby hung some more shelves in my craft zone and I bought a few accessories to hang things up with and I'm sooooo loving it. I think I heard some humming from inside today....now just carve out some time to create and the music will start.

My two boy always come up with the funniest things to say so I thought I would post a few from the last few days so that I will remember them:

While talking about his height Houston (almost 10 yo) stated that "he hasn't reached his adolescent growth spurt yet

While working on homework
Houston: "Mom do you think there will be another Armageddon?"
Mom: "If you don't quit talking and finish your homework there will be an Armageddon on your butt

Reece who is 3 1/2 always has some great ones: although Christmas was almost two months ago Santa still seems to be heavy on his mind

Conversation started..."Mommy I wanna call Santa" Why? "cause I miss him" well I think he's working " I wish I was Santa so I could make some toys then turn back into a real boy again" a few seconds pass then "If I was a chocolate Santa I would get all the toys dirty"

Favorite saying : Oh pleeeeeaaaasseee Mommy, followed by batting eyelashes and a big grin

Told his Daddy I don't need your help right now but someday I will still love you

When he ask for toys and such I say "lets put it on the list" this worked at Christmas to defer any purchases and it worked. Today at Walmart he wanted some Floam and I said "let's put it on the list" he smiled and agreed then suddenly (as if a light went on) he turned around and said "we gonna need some paper and pencil wif us cause I never member to write em down when I can get home" LOL


On another note I saw a documentary about a little girl Juliana Wetmore from Jacksonville who was born with Treacher Collins syndrome and has had major surgeries to restore her face and make eating and talking a possibility for her. I was so moved by her story that I went on line to look her up. During the Documentary she was only 2 and now is almost 4. What an amazing story. I will not for get her and her family. I thank God for the blessing I have been given and Julianna's parents treasure their little girl just as much. As a Therapist I'm amazed by the parents who never complain or say "why me"...they just continue on with the gift they have. It makes you stop and think about all the little things that annoy or irritate you...in the big picture most are just trivial but we make them monstrous. Visit her site at JulianaWetmore.net and your world will look a whole lot brighter.

Saturday observations: I love Saturdays. No kids to get ready for school, stay in my jammies till noon if I want, spend time catching up at home. This is what's going on now: my boys are playing with Pirate figurines and ship (getting along very well), clothes in the washer and dryer, house being cleaned in between blogging and surfing, kitchen counters spotless (this is one of those things that last about 10 minutes around my house), its sunny but cold outside so that's why we are inside for now. gotta get back to cleaning.

This is definitely one of my passions. I would give anything to be able to draw or sketch but it's just not one of my talents. With my camera I can be as artistic and creative as I want. With creative editing I can be an "Artist". I would love to spend more time learning and creating with my camera. I have no interest in being paid for my work as that becomes a job and not a hobby. With a hobby there is no pressure...you can't make a mistake...it's just you and your ideas. I love taking close-ups. When I freeze a moment in time it brings such joy every time I look at it. Through scrap booking I can journal and preserve that moment so someday my children can enjoy the moment that I love.

Here we go! It's about time I started keeping track of this life I love...although sometimes I have to remind myself. It's so easy to get caught up in the chaos of life that we forget the basics...food, shelter and health. I have so much more than the basics and for that I'm eternally grateful. I was asked recently about a mission statement and I got to thinking "what is my mission"?. It use to be easy...get an education, find a job, enjoy my husband, spend time with friends and live happily ever after. I got the education, got the job, enjoy my husband, adored my friends but ever after has a lot of forks in the road....aka KIDS. Now I don't have the job and friends are distant memories of people who use to share my life (thank God for that husband). In short my mission has taken on a whole new meaning but I have yet to give it a solid foundation...I'm operating without a valid statement, one I truly believe in, one that makes my heart sing, one I look forward to everyday. So for me today begins a new journey to make a statement. I don't want to picket any cause or walk the beach in a thong...I just want to selfishly do this all for me. I'm looking forward to the journey.