It's the Little Things

It is SO hard to get back in the groove of things when you haven't done them in forever. I was scrapping 3-6 days a week before pregnancy, but morning sickness made it so I didn't even want to LOOK at a screen without puking. It was not fun. I thought, man, as soon as I have this baby, I'll be back in it easy. Since my sweet Abraham's debut, I have scrapped a total of  7 pages, one of which was for a client. Want to see them!? Oh good, because here goes!

Everyday {Marie H Designs}

Family Ties {Marie H Designs}

Template: Temptations 24 {Wendy Tunison Designs}

Kit: Fall-ing Day

Template: This Life {Timber Scraps}

Kit: Always Remember {Triple J Designs}

Template: Temptations 18 {Wendy Tunison Designs}

Kit: Making Spirits Bright {Ponytails Designs}

and, my pride and joy of all my pages- this one even one Layout of the MONTH at Scraps N Pieces, which is like, the hugest honor ever!

Template: Pick Pocket Vol 2 {Ponytails Designs}

Kit: Everyday Moments {Ponytails Designs}

Twas the Night Before Christmas kit

http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-JXK6von6SaU/VH_ordTJycI/AAAAAAAAECI/SzQA185VSSE/s1600/New%2BRelease%2BAd.jpg

" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;">http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-JXK6von6SaU/VH_ordTJycI/AAAAAAAAECI/SzQA185VSSE/s1600/New%2BRelease%2BAd.jpg

" height="640" width="640" />

Here it is! I am kind of in love with it! I love the fun colors! I love the fun characters, and I must admit, those mice make me so happy! I love their cheerful, fun personalities! And I kind of love the flowers in the kit, as well! I hope you enjoy it all, especially while it is at 35% off! Click on the preview below to go directly to this kit in my store! 

http://www.scraps-n-pieces.com/store/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=66_218&products_id=7638#.VH_w4tLF_ng

 

" target="_blank">http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-kci8YB8GdTo/VH_oilE97HI/AAAAAAAAECA/HP-Ytb66PNE/s1600/TS_TTNBC_KitPreview.jpg

" height="640" width="640" />

CT Layouts

(I think they did the most beautiful job! Don't you agree? Look at what you can do with this fun kit!)

Kim and Terri

http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-vSlBQhTQukM/VH_oU1Gx8mI/AAAAAAAAEB4/pHrJcsAlJ8s/s1600/Kim%2Band%2BTerri.jpg

" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;">http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-vSlBQhTQukM/VH_oU1Gx8mI/AAAAAAAAEB4/pHrJcsAlJ8s/s1600/Kim%2Band%2BTerri.jpg

" height="640" width="640" />

Heather and Robyn L. 

http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-uwkosW6rCqA/VH_m2rdFCsI/AAAAAAAAEBs/kmGsigheHww/s1600/Heather%2Band%2BRobynL.jpg

" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;">http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-uwkosW6rCqA/VH_m2rdFCsI/AAAAAAAAEBs/kmGsigheHww/s1600/Heather%2Band%2BRobynL.jpg

" height="640" width="640" />

 Tasanee

http://scrapingarizonagirl.blogspot.com/

 

" target="_blank">http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-7yndWnW6hSM/VH_q25VLEQI/AAAAAAAAECU/ldu6QUrnYyI/s1600/Tasanee%2Bplus%2Bfreebie.jpg

" height="640" width="640" />http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-aS_krBsILlc/VH_wa_IWW2I/AAAAAAAAECs/CjjS4oShaNk/s1600/Happy%2B%2BScrapping.png

" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;">

http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-aS_krBsILlc/VH_wa_IWW2I/AAAAAAAAECs/CjjS4oShaNk/s1600/Happy%2B%2BScrapping.png

" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;">http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-aS_krBsILlc/VH_wa_IWW2I/AAAAAAAAECs/CjjS4oShaNk/s1600/Happy%2B%2BScrapping.png

" height="99" width="320" />

Reality

A friend was talking on Facebook yesterday about how tired she was of the perfect bloggers- makeup, clean house, well behaved children, life put together. Now, nobody has EVER accused me of those things, but just because I can, I want to share some things I've learned in my measley decade of being a mom. But, before you read them and fall off your chair because they aren't what experts would call ideal, please realize that every family is different. Different dynamics, different personalities, different needs. Every kid, every couple, every person. I turned 30 this year and had to decide how I felt about things. I realized that it's time to be happy with ME! We'll talk after I post a few FABULOUS cell phone pics that I took today. I may be a photographer by trade, but 99% of my real life is captured in my cell phone.

This is me, nursing Abraham. He's not very happy with it at the moment because I keep squirting the back of his mouth with my heavy duty stream. My hair is greasy because I screwed up my shampoo schedule- and while I LOVE dry shampoo, it only looks dry for a few hours each use on me. Oh yeah, and yesterday's makeup is still on.

I also homeschool 2 kids and send one to public school. Then the two little ones who aren't school age yet. Today for school, we're watching Monumental- getting ready for Thanksgiving. Little do my older kids know that when we finish it on Monday, they'll have a writing assignment about what they learned. We do most of our homeschooling right here, on my bed. These are my girls, playing with the names I had entered for the K'Nex giveaway. My bed is a mess. It usually is, though I have been making a SERIOUS effort to clear it off daily and keep it decent. See that cars pillow? That's because last night, Vaughn was scared and didn't want to sleep alone. I'll talk more about that in a minute.

Alright, those are the only pictures I have for today.

I'm going to talk about me!

(Speaking of, I love this video:
http://youtu.be/HxUuDPNbkJk )

I am a little bit crunchy, But mostly because I'm lazy.

I didn't finish this post.

BEST SURPRISE EVER!!! *GIVEAWAY*

***Winner Winner!!! Congrats, Kendra!!!!!***

I admit, I neglect my e-mail sometimes. So, when a giant box showed up on my porch, I was a little confused. Then I opened it. I was SO excited to see TWO K'Nex products inside!! Of course, my kids were even MORE excited!! I decided to actually READ the email I had been sent by K'Nex and guess what, they told me exactly what they were sending! I signed up a few years ago to be a tester for them, but had forgotten all about it. We were completely THRILLED!!!

 I let my older two kids (ages 10 and 9) play with the chest of regular, open ended K'Nex first. (Pick up the green treasure chest HERE)

within an hour they had built SO many things!!

I made them wait until Vaughn, their 6 year old brother got home to break out the Mario Layer Cake set (Pick it up HERE!) Now, it says ages 8+ on the box. And for good reason. Vaughn tried for a while to put it together and got easily frustrated. Xander (10), however, had NO problems following the instructions and getting it all put together.

And THEN my kids did something they don't do very often. They all played together!!! And they ALL got along!!

Now, enough about my observations, here's what the KIDS said about it:

Vaughn, age 6. "My favorite one is the one we used to parts from the Mario set to make Waddlewings ship! I got to be Waddlewings!"

Xander, age 10. "My favorite was the Mario set. The reason I like it best is becasue of all the new pieces. Most of those pieces I've never had before. Also, because of how many different K'nex parts that were only made from Mario. The best part was the flag system for when Mario goes in and can get launched. With the other set, I really liked it because you could choose ANYthing. ANd you can use the instructions and make modifications." (Yes, he really used the word modifications)

Juliana, age 9. "My favorite was the big K'Nex chest. I liked it because you could build cars, hot air balloons, horses, LOTS of things- like ANYthing. I did like the Mario because there were characters and there were actually ground boards. You could build it anyway you want. I like to play with them a lot because you can be creative. Sometimes I just don't feel like playing with the Mario set, so I play with the other one. You can choose what to do. You can do anything."

These have brought my kids HOURS of fun. And they have brought me PLENTY of helping hands because you can't go play with the K'Nex until your chores and such are done!! :D

Pretty sure K'Nex Plants Vs Zombies are on  our Santa Wish List!! THIS one, to be exact.

NOW.... want a free K'Nex set for YOUR kids?! Comment here and tell me what toy your friend had growing up that you wish you  had. I'll pick one lucky reader, contact you (so make sure you leave a way to do that) and get your address to send to the K'Nex people! *one entry per day until Friday 11/21/14 **be sure your comment sent before leaving the blog


Thanks, K'Nex!

Abraham Tiberius

When skies are dark
And hope seems fled –
With only tears of sorrow shed
When His love is hard to find
In the chaos of my mind
In the darkest of the night
Yet the world is full of light
I see the Love 
of God’s own Lamb
In newborn baby Abraham.

~Jenny Cahoon


My sweet friend, Jenny wrote that, only knowing half of the struggles I had with this pregnancy and not knowing any details about my Sweet Abraham's birth. I probably won't give most of the pregnancy details here because that's not what you came for. You came to read about the birth!!

Alright, we're going to start at our appointment on Monday, Oct 5th. I had my regularly scheduled Dr's appointment. Dr Barney asked if I wanted to be induced this coming Monday (the 13th). I explained that I had originally planned on going into labor on my own, which he completely respected, but reminded me that he was going out of town. I decided I was done being pregnant, so I agreed. Unfortunately- well, no- FORTUNATELY, the hospital was BOOKED solid on that Monday with inductions. Barney suggested coming in on Sunday instead. We agreed and made sure both doulas and my parents were ok with that.

All week, I had LOTS of contractions. I tried everything I could think of (except canola oil, ew) to start labor during the week. I even jumped on a trampoline. However, nothing worked. It made for a very long and boring Saturday.

Eventually, however, Sunday, October 12th came!!! We were told to be at the hospital at 11:00 AM, so we were. Dani, my sweet friend who is deciding whether or not to be a doula, came right away and stayed with us. (READ HER ACCOUNT OF THE BIRTH HERE:  http://dreambirthblog.wordpress.com/2014/10/14/beautiful-chaotic-birth/) We had decided that I wanted to do as much as possible of this birth as naturally as possible. That meant not using pitocin unless we felt we really needed.

Ok, here is where our story gets interesting (already, right?!). Roger recognized our nurse, Michelle, as the same nurse who had helped us with Vaughn's birth. At that birth, she and I had NOT clicked, at all, and I was a bit apprehensive. I decided to see how things would go this time, and I'm SO glad I did. This lady was one of the best L&D nurses I've had ever. You know, maybe THE best. But anyway, back to our story.

We started the antibiotics for Strep B and waited for word from the Dr. We were told he probably wouldn't be there til around 2:30. Roger and I watched part of Star Trek while we waited. Dani left for a while to go to church since we knew that things wouldn't be happening for a bit. Kristy, my main doula, got there about 2:00 and we were so excited to see her. I love this lady so much and it means the world to me that she has been there for so many of my babies entrances into this world!! At 2:30, Dr Barney had another Dr come in and break my water. We were chuckling a little bit because it was NOT breaking easily. Finally, however, it did.

Now, up until this baby, the longest I had EVER  gone between water break and giving birth was 1 hour 10 minutes. So, me being me, assumed this would be the same. Yeah, not so. Now, the beauty of not having pitocin is that you don't have to be stuck in bed hooked to monitors. I was allowed to go potty, get on the birthing ball, whatever. I took advantage of that and it helped pass the time. At 3:45, over an HOUR since my water had broken, Michelle checked me and I was only dilated to a 6. I was pretty disheartened.
  
Kristy had Roger put music on- a very inspired decision I think. We put the Mormon Tabernacle Choir channel on Pandora and it really did calm me. The contractions started to be long, hard and miserable. I tried every position- leaning on the back of the bed, standing next to the bed, sitting on the birthing ball, laying down and having the doulas do leg counter pressures... I finally got up and went potty, then came and sat on the birthing ball. Roger was such a great support letting me squeeze his hands when I felt things were getting overwhelming. Kristy talked me through my breathing while massaging my back. I was to the point where I was just done. I decided to ask for an epidural. I felt like such a failure, but I just couldn't handle the pain of those contractions anymore. Kristy suggested that I have Michelle check me first, but one- I didn't know if I could get onto the bed to BE checked and two- I didn't want to wait ANY more.

Michelle went to ask the anesthesiologist to come in, then ran an errant for another patient. We were notified that the anesthesiologist had just gone into another room to help another patient. Something happened while she was gone, though. I had a particularly hard contraction and just couldn't sit anymore, so I stood up, but I hurt too badly to just sand there, so I crawled up onto the bed with every intention of laying down, but before I could, I just felt like I was going to completely explode, so I yelled really loudly and guess what happened?!?! There was Abraham's head. Kristy was supporting it and directing Roger and Dani to go get the nurses. One more yell/push and I had a brand new baby boy. Apparently we like to create chaos on the delivery floor. :D Abraham was born at 4:14 PM. I went from being dilated to a 6 to baby in 30 minutes. It was insane.

This was also the first time I was aware of delivering the placenta. I had to push more times for that than the baby. This was also the first time that I got to SEE the placenta. Very interesting, but that sucker was HUGE.

They whisked Abe away because he was not turning as pink as fast they wanted him to. There was fluid in his lungs. Kristy told me that actually, the umbilical cord was wrapped around his neck once, but it was very loose and not a big deal.

Once they got him breathing ok, and after my strong boy kicked part of the rolling crib off, they announced that he weighed 8 lbs 15.7oz (and we had permission to call it 9 lbs). At 19.5" long, he's a BIG kid!!! They finally brought him to me and we got to do some skin to skin. The kid latched on like a champion. We are so grateful he is here and that he is safe and healthy.

Radio Silence

Things have been pretty quiet here, but not because I've abandoned my blog. No, no. Turns out, I'm having a baby! And this baby has a serious list of no-no's for mommy.

Things that currently make me puke:
Smelling a pot heat up to boiling
PHOTOSHOP!!!!!
Laundry
Talking about Laundry
Thinking about laundry
Changing my clothes
Did I mention Photoshop? Can I tell you how big of a dent this puts in my digiplans?
Seeing template packs
The smell of food in the car
Saltine Crackers


I am 9 weeks along, so hopefully, in the next 3 weeks, some of these (photoshop) will stop making me sick because this is ridiculous!!

Good things about this pregnancy-
I crave fruit
I want veggies
I'm having a baby!
I'm realizing HOW helpful my older kids are!!

Super Saturday and Dough Much Fun

We have selected two fun kits for our Super Saturday Sale. Carving Pumpkins and Cowboy Up, you can get either the kit or the Quick Pages set for only $2.00 each. Images are linked to our SNP store.

 also

 Scraps N Pieces is super excited about this fun new kit they have this week! What child doesn't love play dough? Use this kit to document your little artist's doughy creations. The colors are bright and the elements are fun and a bit crazy, just like play-dough! This kit is so great, you'll want to let the kids make a mess just so you can scrap it! The kit will be 1/2 off at both Scraps N Pieces and My Memories the first week. If you purchase at Scraps N Pieces, it will include an additional solid creased paper pack FREE WITH DOWNLOAD. After the first week, the extra pack will only be available separately. Take a look at how super fun this is.

 Here is the additional paper pack you get FREE the first week.

 In addition, Memories by Digital Design made a couple coordinating cluster packs that go so well with this kit. They will be on sale this week as well, so be sure to grab them. Their CT had a lot of fun with this kit as well. Take a look at these super cute layouts!

 and a freebie from Sheri plus a freebie from Lindsay

        

March 1st!!

Even though the calendar says March, it still feels like winter in so many places right now.  When will we ever start to feel some warm spring air?  Around Scraps N Pieces, we have been keeping ourselves warm by designing some amazing products for you, our awesome members and customers.

Are you a fan of the art journaling style of scrapping?  If you are, then you are going to LOVE the store's March collab kit.  It's called Express Yourself, and it is awesome!

.

*****

Do you know the definition of earworm?  It's defined as, "a catchy song or tune that runs continually through a person's mind."  And I think the music-themed Bits N Pieces for March will be running through your mind all month until you snatch them all up.  The pieces are just $1 each the first week, and then will regular price and possibly bundled up into full kits.  And don't forget our Bit N Pieces month-long challenge; snag some great kits at a low price and earn forum points in the process.

*****

Our members mean so very much to us.  The 3-year old son of one our members was just recently diagnosed with Neuroblastoma Cancer last week. This is something they would have never thought would happen to their family.  It is Stage 4, as this type of cancer is often not symptomatic until that time. He will have to go through some aggressive chemo, then surgery to remove his tumor, then more chemo. There is a 40-50% survival rate, but his doctors are very optimistic. This family has 3 other small children and a new baby on the way. Together, the Scraps N Pieces designers developed an amazing kit called Little Warrior, to help raise funds that will cover some of their costs at this time. This kit is a beautiful children’s hospital themed collab that chronicles the journey that this little warrior is facing. All proceeds from the sale of this kit will go to this little family to help with expenses.

*****

Be sure to add the March speed scraps to your calendar, or better yet, go to the forum calendar and set a reminder.

Here are some closer up parts of the BNP!

Is your favorite part of the football game, the marching band? Or maybe your daughter is in her high school's color guard or your son plays in the drum line. This kit could even be used for those concert band or orchestra photos you have. It is fun, but elegant with doodled instruments and flags and the gold and silver give it a hint of sparkle. Scraps N Pieces has an element pack, paper pack, cardstock pack, and Glitter pack all for just $1 each this week. Plus there are several other designers that have coordinating packs that you can grab. Go take a look at them all HERE   Amy Fullmer made these adorable clusters to go with this kit and make your layouts easier. Here is a look at our CT's layouts with this kit.