Life's funny directions

I have so much to write about today. First off, we are at a crossroads in our family. It's looking more and more like David will not get into the only law school he applied to, BYU. We have had a real roller coaster since he applied. We were looking for an apartment just about the time acceptance letters were going out, and we found out that on-campus married housing was available. So, we told the admissions office to let the housing office know the second we were accepted so that we could move it. A few days later, we got an email from the housing office. Great! We were in. We started moving and getting settled. Well, about a week goes by, no acceptance letter. David calls the admissions office and his application is still in review. A goof-up by the housing office and we are already in the apartment. We were living with my parents in two bedrooms for nearly a year and there was no way I was going back. So we continued to live here in the hopes that he would get accepted.

Well, David was put on the waiting list. Then he was put on the very short waiting list. About a week ago, he went to talk to the Dean of Admissions. He was told that they just weren't having as many people go as they normally do and that the chances were not good for this year. He talked to them again, and they are just not having openings. We cannot stay here if we are not students. It's been a really hard few days. David is going to apply next year and to more schools this time (he only applied to BYU). The sad part is that if he had applied last year, he would have easily got in. I know it can change from year to year, but it's frustrating. BYU is such an amazing deal for law school. It's hard to think about paying $14,000 more a semester (or is it a year? Whichever, that's a lot of moola). Anyway, we are looking at our options. I am a major planner, so it's hard for me to just have our plans go astray and so quickly. I also love where we are living right now. I've just gotten settled and started to make friends, which is not always the easiest for me.

On the good news side, I found out today that I made the Paper Posies design team! I'm nearly bursting with excitement! I really wanted this and I knew that the competition was so stiff. I was sure I wouldn't get it. I just love Anna's kits and there's no way I could afford to buy them every month, but that's just one perk. I'm so excited to be working with such great people and to have so many wonderful oppertunities. I am truly blessed. I cannot wait to get started with this.

On a related note, I've been looking at my work, and I think I'm really starting to be satisfied with it. I think I've been trying too hard lately. My favorite layouts are from a year to six months ago, and that's just when it started to seem more like work and less like a hobby. I also have the very bad habit of comparing myself to everyone I see and wishing my style was like that person, instead of like my own. That's just crazy, and it doesn't help one bit. I'm ready to embrace who I am as a scrapbooker and let my self-critism go. I don't know why I'm so hard on myself when I've been so successfull, more successful than I could have dreamed 18 months ago.

And in the spirit of more self-examination (boy, I have an addiction here), I realized as we were looking at apartments today that I'm more willing to put myself out there. Ever since my online fiasco, I've started to care less about what people think of me. I guess I was so careful and was still misjudged and misunderstood, and that was about the worst that could have happened to me and there was no way I could have really prevented it. It was actually freeing I think. I'm still not great at talking to new people or asking them questions to get them talking, but I feel more able to freely be myself.

And I still haven't found my EZ Mount. Grrrrr.

I've started a new blog: Come follow my crafting adventures on my new blog. Find me at: creativeirony.com.

Digital layouts

I'm so excited! I just submitted a bunch of my digital layouts a few weeks ago, and today I got two emails for publication! One for Scrapbook Trends October issue and one for Correspondence Art's Fall issue. That is such a good feeling! I'm doubley excited that I just started digital scrapbooking a month ago and already have stuff being picked up for publication.

I just got another email from Scrapbook Trends. They are also going to publish a layout I just did about a week ago of my brother Jake! I don't think I've ever had a layout published with him on it, so I think he'll be pretty excited to see himself in a magazine.

I've started a new blog: Come follow my crafting adventures on my new blog. Find me at: creativeirony.com.

ACK!!

I'm going to scream. I got some new stamps last night and I KNOW I have one sheet of EZMount somewhere, but I've torn my scrap stuff apart and I CAN'T FIND IT! I want to use these suckers!

I've started a new blog: Come follow my crafting adventures on my new blog. Find me at: creativeirony.com.

Grocery shopping and angels

I have so many thoughts running through my head tonight. I can't keep them all straight. The boys have had diarrhea all day. My morning started out with Maxton having poop up to the collar of his shirt. Yay, fun. But really it wasn't too bad and he had so much fun playing in the tub without an older brother in there to pester (he starts most of the fights) that it was almost worth it. Xander had a touch of it too, but it seems like Maxton gets all sicknesses worse. Xander also ended up with a solo bath this morning. I’m out of quarters for the laundry mat, so I rinsed their poopy clothes in the toilet and put them in a plastic tupperware container. My bathroom is disgusting, but I have no other choice at the moment.

We had to go grocery shopping. David was at work all day and then he had to go move pianos this evening (he was only home for an hour, but it’s his last day! Hurray! Still don’t know what we’re going to do for $, but oh well) and we had no milk. The only things left in the fridge were eggs and tortillas, and I don’t like breakfast burritos. We were even all out of milk. They were pretty good at the store. They usually are. I took one of the carts with the two seats in the front and Maxton was buckled in. If Xander is good about following me, he’s allowed to walk. Anyway, I was trying to get them involved by letting them put things in the car. It’s a good thing Maxton has a good throwing arm. He was chucking boxes of Mac and Cheese, yogurt, and all sorts of other unbreakable foodstuffs into the cart from his buckled-in position. We got lots of smiles from people watching. The bread was tucked up under the seat to prevent any smashing (actually, I think bread is in more danger from the checkout clerks than from the boys. The last two times I went, the person ringing me up actually grabbed the bread in the middle. And smooshed it. And it was two different stores. Maybe they’re in a bread-mushing club for checkout clerks, who knows).

Getting home was the worst. I got Xander out of the van, and he was on his way up to the apartment. With Maxton, I made the mistake of letting out of his car seat but not out of the van. I gathered the bags on my arms, grabbed the milk (luckily there was only one gallon, not our usually 6), and tried to convince him out of the driver’s seat. He started to throw a fit and fell off the seat into the space between the driver’s seat and the passenger’s seat. Just then, an angel of mercy rescued me (there was no way I could get Maxton out with all the groceries I was carrying). A very nice girl stopped, laid her mail on the grass and asked if I needed help. She picked up Maxton and set him down on the sidewalk. I told her we were alright from there, but when Maxton saw that I wasn’t able to carry him, he went over to the girl and very solemnly took her finger. It was one of the sweetest, most trusting things I’ve seen in a while. She helped us up the two flights of stairs. I really think I might have lost it if not for her. I’m crying thinking about it right now. I love that people will see a need and offer to help.

I've started a new blog: Come follow my crafting adventures on my new blog. Find me at: creativeirony.com.

My own morning musings

These past few days, I've been thinking more and more about my scrapbooking. I think I've come to terms with myself. I know I will never be a Rebecca Sower or Ali Edwards, but I can have my own little spot in the scrapbooking world. I think I'm finially ready to do it again just for the joy of doing it, and for no other reason. I'm also going to focus more on my style. It's linear, it's colorful, but it's not overly graphic (mostly anyway). It's fun, but it has a more serious side too. I love to stamp and stitch and experiement. I do not like white space. I'm through trying to copy the things I love about other people's layouts and ready to love my own for what they are. I'm not ready to stop trying to stretch myself, but I think it won't be so frantic in the future. I hope that my love for the hobby will come back in full force!

I've also been thinking a lot lately about my family. I think they have suffered a little bit because I am so obsessed. I'm going to try to only scrap when the kiddos are asleep and when David is not wanting to spend time with me. I've also been thinking about how I want to have a clean house. The other day I wanted to make cookies with Xander, but I didn't, because my kitchen was piled with dishes that hadn't been washed. I don't want my lack of housekeeping skills to keep me from spending time with my family. So, I think I'm ready to really focus on flylady's method. (You can check her out at flylady.net). I did this when I was pregnant with Maxton and it made such a difference in our home. I'm not a naturally organized person, although I have aspirations. We really have de-cluttered a lot of our junk, but I think I'm ready to do even more.

Here's another Madolin layout. I love working with flowers!
http://twopeasinabucket.com/pg.asp?cmd=display&layout_id=587529

I've started a new blog: Come follow my crafting adventures on my new blog. Find me at: creativeirony.com.

Smiley face

I wanted to share this Xander funny before I forgot. This kid totally cracks me up everyday. We were sitting in church yesterday, and I was trying to keep Xander quiet. I was giving him a very nice little smile, but keeping eye contact. He looks at me for a while, then asks, "Mommy, are you making smiley face?" It was all I could do not to laugh. "Yes, Xander, I'm making a smiley face."

I've started a new blog: Come follow my crafting adventures on my new blog. Find me at: creativeirony.com.

Broke my resolution

Well, my resolution to give up scrapbooking for a while has failed. I did three CG layouts today. I think I just can't help myself. Still no desire to paper scrapbook, but I'm trusting that will come back in time. I know I'm going to have to do some design team stuff soon. Here are some links if you want to see.

Friends (June 17) http://twopeasinabucket.com/pg.asp?cmd=display&layout_id=586571
My Dad (June 19) http://twopeasinabucket.com/mb.asp?cmd=display&thread_id=1246506

And this one, which is my FAVORITE! I love that I got to use PINK and FLOWERS! Not something that happens to me very often. This was scraplifted from Kate Teague.

I've started a new blog: Come follow my crafting adventures on my new blog. Find me at: creativeirony.com.

Photo funny

Have to post another Xander funny. I took some pictures tonight because Xander had a friend over, and he wanted to take some photos too. So I was helping him, and he was clicking away, photographing his little friend Sierra. She wanted to come see the photos though, so I was trying to help her look, and Xander was still taking photos. After looking at the LCD screen and seeing a picture of an empty chair, he looks up at me and says, "Ooops, I missed."

I've started a new blog: Come follow my crafting adventures on my new blog. Find me at: creativeirony.com.

Another Xander funny

This will be my photo of the day for today, but I figured I'd write it down before I forgot. We needed to drop off David at his second job, soon after he got home from his regular job. The boys were both pretty sad to see him go. Xander and I had this conversation:

Mom "Daddy has to go to work, so he can earn money. . ."
Xander "MONEY?? Allll-right!"

Silly munchkin. I don't think he really knows what money is, but he knows he likes it!

Layout can now be seen here:
http://twopeasinabucket.com/pg.asp?gallery=1&cmd=display&layout_id=584108

I've started a new blog: Come follow my crafting adventures on my new blog. Find me at: creativeirony.com.

Some new layouts

I'm having a really hard time with my scrapping. I just can't seem to feel okay about it. I almost always like what I do, but at the same time, I'm never satisfied it's good enough. I think I've just been doing it everyday for so long that I'm sick of it, however much I love to do it. I'm going to take a self-inflicted break. I'm so afraid I'll end up hating this hobby, and that's the last thing I want to happen. Of course, I still want to keep up my Photo a Day in June album, because it would be silly to quit half-way through.

Anyway, some more layouts.
"Stuck (June 11)" http://twopeasinabucket.com/pg.asp?cmd=display&layout_id=580538
"Talks (June 12)" http://twopeasinabucket.com/pg.asp?cmd=display&layout_id=582307
"Summer Haircuts (June 13)" http://twopeasinabucket.com/pg.asp?cmd=display&layout_id=582308
"Kisses (June 14)" http://twopeasinabucket.com/pg.asp?cmd=display&layout_id=582861

I've started a new blog: Come follow my crafting adventures on my new blog. Find me at: creativeirony.com.

We're speaking in church today

And it's stressing me out a little. I didn't used to mind public speaking, but as I've gotten older, I've gotten less daring. I think it will be fine though.

We've had a crazy week. We went to Madagascar on Tuesday with the grandparents Henry and Erick and Camille and their girls. Then we went to a park and had pizza and played. Xander just about wore himself out. Then on Wednesday, Francie and Mike came over and played with the boys. And on Friday, we went to the zoo, which was a blast for the boys.

I've gone scrapbook crazy lately. Here are some links to my latest.

http://twopeasinabucket.com/pg.asp?cmd=display&layout_id=580017
http://twopeasinabucket.com/pg.asp?cmd=display&layout_id=580203
http://twopeasinabucket.com/mb.asp?cmd=display&thread_id=1234326
http://twopeasinabucket.com/mb.asp?cmd=display&thread_id=1234294
http://twopeasinabucket.com/mb.asp?cmd=display&thread_id=1234427
http://twopeasinabucket.com/pg.asp?cmd=display&layout_id=578720
http://twopeasinabucket.com/mb.asp?cmd=display&thread_id=1231698
http://twopeasinabucket.com/mb.asp?cmd=display&thread_id=1231133

And a layout about the movies on Tuesday.
http://twopeasinabucket.com/pg.asp?cmd=display&layout_id=583767

I've started a new blog: Come follow my crafting adventures on my new blog. Find me at: creativeirony.com.

We are just having a busy busy month!

We got to see Mom and Dad Henry on Sunday. At first the boys were shy, but they warmed up pretty quickly. Xander even gave out hugs when it was time to go.

The big news from yesterday is that we bought a minivan. I'm pretty surprised! We've been thinking of selling our Jeep. It had 133,000 miles on it and little things were starting to go wrong and we still owed quite a bit on it (although not more than it was worth). So, we were getting anxious to get rid of it, plus with 3 kids, there just wasn't going to be enough room. Soooo, we were going to go see a movie yesterday, and dropped the kids off at Grandma's. Then we decided to just hang out together. On the way to Barnes and Noble, we decided to stop and look at mini-vans. Well, one thing led to another of course, and now we have a new van! We got a great deal on it and it's an '05 Grand Caravan with less than 30,000 miles on it. It's soooo pretty. I will miss the jeep, but at the same time, it's a huge weight off my mind. The payments will be about $100 more a month, but with what we save on gas and insurance, we'll almost make that up.

Here's the new van and the June 6 layout!

I've started a new blog: Come follow my crafting adventures on my new blog. Find me at: creativeirony.com.

Is it bad?

I've got two little boys running around naked after taking a bath. They were so much trouble in the tub that I'm exhausted. Or maybe it was because I was trying to read the last few chapters of "Gone with the Wind" while sitting next to the tub and they wouldn't stop splashing each other, and therefore, me?

My in-laws are coming into Utah today, although I'm not sure if we'll see them today or not, but hopefully tomorrow if we can work out the church thing. I'm so excited to see them! It's been nearly a year. I know the boys will have a blast with them.

Edited to add:
Here's the layout I did for June 4 in my Photo a Day Album.

I've started a new blog: Come follow my crafting adventures on my new blog. Find me at: creativeirony.com.

Xander just cracks me up!

David and I went over to Melissa and Jay's for a potluck (sort of) dinner. On the way home, we were talking about putting the boys in bed. From the back of the car, I hear Xander say, "What you talking about?" I turned and told him, laughing, that we were going to put him in bed. He scowled and said, "That not nice." What a sassy little boy!

I've started a new blog: Come follow my crafting adventures on my new blog. Find me at: creativeirony.com.

New Toys

Today was a pretty routine day, but since I'm doing this photo a day in June thing, I thought I'd have fun and post the layouts as I finish them.

I've started a new blog: Come follow my crafting adventures on my new blog. Find me at: creativeirony.com.

It's a boy!

I'm hugely surprised, but we are having a third little boy. I'm doing an album with a page for everyday in June, so of course, the ultrasound was June 1st's page. Here it is, if you want to check it out.

I've started a new blog: Come follow my crafting adventures on my new blog. Find me at: creativeirony.com.

My first ever digital layout

I really liked this one until I started looking at other people's digital layouts. Oh well, at least the photos are done, right?

I've started a new blog: Come follow my crafting adventures on my new blog. Find me at: creativeirony.com.