CREDITS:

Digital scrap items in the header, layouts and sidebar are by Miss Mint at PeppermintCreative.com or Jen Wilson at JenWilsonDesigns.com

Saturday, December 8, 2007

This is why men never get sick

God took pity on us women by giving men superior immune systems I believe. Brian rarely gets sick, but when he does it's enough to make me crazy. He suddenly turns into a stuffy, miserable little boy who doesn't like any of my ideas (or even hearing my voice for that matter) and who loathes every question I ask. I must endure his whiny pleas for attention in between his general moodiness, all without loosing my patience because he isn't feeling well. If you don't know what I am talking about because you have forgotten what it was like the last time your hubby was sick just wait, the bugs this cold season are exceptionally nasty. Your turn is coming.

I think it's the way Brian turns into a bratty little boy when he's ill that gets me the most. For example, after reading my last blog post on Friday about fingerprints on the back door glass, he came home that evening, scooped Aiden up in his arms and took him directly to the back door for a little saliva finger painting. I am refusing to clean it off this weekend for fear Brian, with this cold that makes him do impulsive, mischevious things, will just have Aiden smear the gleaming glass up all over again. I wish I could tell him NO! and lay him down for a nap all weekend....I did buy the bulk double-pack of Nyquil (you know, the original, full-strength alcohol-laden green stuff) hoping that would do the trick but I've had no such luck. I could just KILL the doctor who saw him on Wednesday and didn't write a perscription. For the love, write him a perscription for something that would knock him unconscious until Sunday at least! RRRRR!

I have retreated to the office, stocked the house with snacks & cookies and am praying this same cold that has plagued Aiden for over a week will hurry up & run its course on Brian so I can have my normal, rational, even-tempered hubby back. (I'd also like my cute, giggling baby back sometime soon but that will take getting over his cold AND that second top tooth breaking through and for tonight, it seems too much to ask for.) Thank goodness I didn't ask him to put up Christmas lights this year.....it's worth having an unlight house to avoid that mess!

Enough blogging, let's see if I can get something scrapped!

Thursday, December 6, 2007

Funny What Makes You Happy

After having two sick boys at home these last two days I have to say that for our family, it is best for Bri to go to work while I stay home with the baby. I have much more patience with Aiden when I am home with him and much less patience with Brian when he is at home with me. I never realized how much I enjoyed my alone time with the kiddo during the day. It was nice to have an extra pair of hands around and someone to entertain Aiden but at the same time, it was hard having Brian around to watch my every move on a "regular" day at home. (You know it's true ladies, they want to know what we do all day. And a lot of times they wonder why we don't get more done.)

We had a discussion today about how my life at home is a slow pace but it's also a nearly-unrelenting 24-hour job with little to no "after work down time". I get the evenings after Aiden goes to bed and nap times to do my little hobbies, the projects that need to be done and whatever else is on my to-do list. The rest of it I do with Aiden in tow or screaming as he crawls behind me while I go about my chores...

The funny thing is how happy being at home makes me. Sure, it's repetitive. Feed the baby three meals, two snacks, change six to eight diapers, nurse, unload the dishwasher, vacuum, wipe the tiny finger prints off the glass on the back door for the tenth time this week....but I love it. I have never been happier or more fulfilled. Maybe it's because I can easily squeeze my quiet jewelry & scrapping hobbies in during nap times. Or that we have so many friends close by if I need out of the house for a day. Whatever the reason, I'm really, really happy. Even if I'm just putting away the laundry and cleaning Cheerios off the high chair, same as yesterday. It's a nice feeling and I hope Aiden knows that I love being his mom.


Midnight Madness at Peppermint Creative

Miss Mint is posting the JUMBO Winter Sparkle freebie right now, along with all the brand new goodies. The store upload will be complete around midnight our time and maybe a little sooner. Then tomorrow (Friday) begins the December 20% off sale! Scrap some cute pages and post them on your blog or in the gallery for all to adore!

Here's my winter sparkle LO:


Kelsey (KelseyCallPhotography.com) took the photo during the shoot on Tuesday. LOVE this picture! Now that we're allowed to post our Jinglebell Rock pages, I'll be putting some of those up soon.
Happy Scrapping!

Tuesday, December 4, 2007

Guess What I Did Today

Aiden & I had a photo shoot! I am beyond thrilled with how the pictures turned out, even though he was being a handful. We did get one breathtaking shot of Aiden's face that is being printed for my house and the grandmas. Probably will see it on Kelsey's website soon, she liked how she captured every fleck of blue in his eyes. I think the one of he and I reflects the exact moment it was taken. I was so happy to be in front of the camera with him, instead of behind it, and Aiden just wanted to crawl off and play!



After several pictures we put Aiden down for a nap and Kelsey did some shots of just me. I was stunned. I am not photogenic - never really have been - and just about every picture she took I think I look great in. Honestly, I haven't had pictures this trendy and cute since my senior year of high school. Here are two of my favorites:




And this is before I have even played with them! I fully intend on doing a magazine-type print with a few of them applying some of my roughed-up photo techniques to others. I didn't post it but there's also a very striking black & white head shot. Too many to choose from! (Notice the bold mix of colors? It really pops in pictures so skip the blah and dress in brights! I wish I had done the whole shoot in fashion combos.) Kelsey, thanks for all the fun this afternoon. You've proven me wrong, I can look good in pictures. But apparently only if you take them!

Monday, December 3, 2007

Full Size Kits for FREE

Did you know Miss Mint gives away one of her full price kits for free to someone who posts a pretty layout in the gallery? Here's the info, copied from PC:

Post your PC creations in our gallery and win a free kit. Each month, one fabulous layout will be selected. If it's yours, you win! Plus your winning layout will be featured in our newsletter!

RULES: Eligible layouts must be created using PC products only. Layouts created using freebies are not eligible. Judging will take place on the last day of each month. Winners will be announced online and in our monthly newsletter the following day and will be personally notified by email and sent their prize.


Very few people actually submit layouts that adhere to the rules, meaning your odds of winning are very high if you submit a darling page and have only used peppermint creative stuff. I want some of my friends to get in on this! Here are some hints if you want to win yourself a free kit at the end of this month:

1. Scrap your page using the newest kit. Pages made with the newest products attract all the attention. Stuff from the current month & previous month are a good bet. Be sure you're only using peppermint creative kits & elements. Just one outside element disqualifies you. (This is why the competition is so thin.)

2. Do NOT use the current freebie or any $2 kits. Freebie kits disqualify you. $2 kits were given away as freebies at one time and often look like you're scrapping with a freebie, which means your layout might be skipped when qualifying layouts are pulled for judging. The bulk of your layout - the background paper especially - needs to be from one of the big kits. (Of course, little items like staples, stars, buttons & bows from PURCHASED $2 kits in the LO are perfectly acceptable!) Bonus if your picture frames are an add-on element, like Miss Mint's Ultimate Frames or Mintage Frames. Throwing in one of the newest elements, like these butterflies are another great way to really stand out. Keep in mind the winning layout is published in the monthly newsletter to inspire other scrappers. New stuff is definately the way to go!

3. Stretch yourself - do something really creative! It has to catch Miss Mint's eye. A beautiful photo with a great clustering of elements always seems to come out on top. For those of you with babies, cute photos of the kids doing something out-of-the-ordinary, like diving into a birthday cake or covered head-to-toe in mud are great. Humor and charm can help you win!

4. Actually upload your layout to the gallery! You can't win if your page isn't there! When you are done scrapping and have saved your work in Photoshop, go to Layer>Flatten Image. Then go to Image>Image Size and size the image to 500 x 500 pixels by entering "500" in the first two white boxes and making sure the word "pixel" is selected from the drop down menu beside it. Click ok. Photoshop will resize. Now save this image using a different name, like My Layout_Gallery.jpg

5. Credit EVERYTHING - list out the items and actually type that every element is from Peppermint Creative. Miss Mint recognizes her own stuff but if you have recolored a background paper from navy blue to hot pink, it may not look like a PC product under all the pictures & embellishments. Better safe than sorry. Credit everything down to the staples and paperclips! There is space to list these items when you upload your layout.


Have fun scrapping - see if you can get a page done AND win something new and yummy! Don't be shy. This last month there were about 4 layouts that would have qualified. You only have to out-scrap a teensy number of people! I want to see my friends listed as winners and their pages next to mine in the newsletter!

Mondays...

Dear Credit Card Companies and Junk Mailers:

Thank you for your constant stream of litter-ature that I find every afternoon in my mail box. Your perserverance will likely not earn you my business, but the waste of paper does occasionally provide me a moment of peace so that I can make my toast and eat my yogurt in three minutes of blissful silence, knowing the offers I don't want are being thoroughly drenched and shredded.



Aiden loves junk mail & print ads. He goes slightly stiff and his movements become a bit jerky with excitement and anticipation when I approach him with papers that are glossy and gorgeously colored. As soon as he can get his anxious little hands on the pages, they go straight to his mouth and after a good soak, are either chewed (for mom to find bits of) or ripped, to hear that glorious noise. I don't think you can blame a mother for just wanting a few minutes to eat breakfast without an eight-month-old sticking his fingers in her food.

In other news, Aiden has started to pull up on things. I set him down in his crib this morning - the only safe place I can leave my little cord chewer these days - and I came back to find that he had pulled up to a kneeling position. Time to lower the mattress! He is working at pulling up on the couch but the tile is slippery and since he's very cautious by nature, he hasn't started cruising yet. We'll see. These things happen so quickly. It was just last week that he pulled up on a window sill at Kelsey's and now he does it all the time. So funny how things just seem to change over night!

Oh, and he's temporarily stopped eating baby food as well as before. I don't know if it's because he is sick or if it is because he's suddenly gotten very good at feeding himself Gerber Fruit Puffs & Cheerios and only wants to eat what he can put in his mouth himself. Not worth fighting over, I just let him eat what he wants. A little wasted baby food is no big deal. I bought him some new freeze dried fruits & veggies so he can have more fun practicing and hopefully get some of the nutrients Cheerios may be lacking...

Sunday, December 2, 2007

Scrap-a-holic

Just finished my layout's for the Jinglebell Rock kit due out at the shop this Wednesday. There are several new Christmas stamps and a new alpha coming, along with pre-made Christmas cards. The cards are nice, almost as good as having something custom made. At least your card won't look the same as everyone ordering from Snapfish or Shutterfly! Or, God forbid, Wal-Mart...

Aiden is still sick and Brian has caught his same rough cough. That's one of the reasons I didn't get any scrapping done or any blog posts up until this evening. I've been taking care of my boys! I also had to teach the lesson at church today. It went really well. The subject I was given had the potential to be fairly boring but we got a bit off topic and I ended up enjoying how the discussions went.

Well, Aiden woke up and is in the mood to play. I can hear him babbling "Mama" in the living room. Gonna go have some fun with him before he has to go back to sleep! (We're all such kids around here.) Really excited about the cold front tomorrow, too.

I'll post the new layouts as soon as we're allowed!