Mother's Day: a celebration

Did you ever notice that "Mom" is "Wow" spelled upside down?...there is something even more special about a mom-a heartfelt bond that's difficult to explain and impossible to break.

--excerpt from Before You Leap, A frog's-eye view of life's greatest lessons

Supplies: Ali Edwards Mom Word Art, Andrea Victoria aurora digital paper,Cathy Zielske dotted and dashed, other papers unknown

On this particular Mother's Day, I want to share this video below. It pretty much embodies exactly how I feel. Not just about my daughter though. My son too. Both my children are such a precious gift in my life. Yes, they've put me into a complete tailspin, caused strife and chaos and made me question once or twice whether this is what I'm really meant to do. But more than that, they have given me a love I've never known. A fulfillment I could never have imagined. I think life would be so boring without them. What would I have to be excited about, if not for the simple words ma-ma or a single step? Who would make me laugh so hard every day if not for the things Mason blurts out? And what would give me so much pride if not for the ability to see tiny little ones growing, learning, and becoming who they are?

Thank you so much for giving me this precious gift of motherhood. You remind me every day that what I do really DOES matter.

HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY!

Baby Announcement

So I think it is safe to say that everyone has received their announcements so I can now post it here on my blog.

I really enjoyed making these, so much easier than the ones I made for Mason. Though both were pre-made ahead of time Sophie's is all digital. All I had to do was plop in the picture and stats and print them out at Costco. Gotta love planning ahead. There was much debate over the photo. I personally think it came out great. So if I didn't have your address to send you one. Here you go!

[Supplies: Fonts: Flourencesans and ChocolateBox; Digital Paper: Cherie Mask Pink October; Elements: MCO Journal Tag]

Baby Bump + Celebrating Mothers

I am officially 36 weeks today. This means I have 2 weeks and 5 days left till this child is FINALLY out of my stomach. That is exactly 19 days left and it can't get here fast enough. This little supposed miracle growing in my belly has been wreaking havoc on my body and I have had ENOUGH. I spend most days in pain, feeling like at any moment this kid will either burst out of my belly button or just drop out while shopping. I've tried but I don't think it is possible to convey how miserable the cramping, the back pain, and the inability to walk makes me on a daily basis. How frustrated it makes me feel to be unable to play with my son and spend the quality time with him that we both need. So much so that I find myself sobbing alone more often than not. I constantly wonder if it is possible to be in labor and not know it. This pregnancy has been anything but what I expected or anticipated. So different than the first time around. I know that mother nature plays this horrible trick on us by wiping away our memory of the completely horrible moments but I am still in awe that woman continue to get pregnant time after time. My whole experience this time around has lead me to the conclusion that not only do I not want to go through it again, but that my body probably couldn't even handle it one more time.

So as I sit here having a private pity party for myself, I am reminded that it is Mother's Day tomorrow. I think a lot of times Mom's, especially the ones who stay at home, feel unappreciated. I know I do. I feel almost invisible most days. Things I do on a daily basis get overlooked, until they don't get done. I wear many hats. I am the healer of boo-boos, wiper of tears, calmer of tantrums. The creator of meals, play-doh snakes and chalk circles. I am the master of laundry, groceries, and picking up toys. I am the ruler of the remote, the reader of books and singer of songs. I am the payer of bills, the keeper of appointments and important dates. I am all this and so much more. Yet day after day these tasks go unnoticed as Thank You's are rarely heard. If you ask me, we should tell those we love on a daily basis just how much we love them and how appreciative we are for all they do. Especially mothers. Thank you's should always be uttered no matter how simple the task. So in honor of our Mom's, this card I made is for you.



HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY!

Create

I was feeling creative over the weekend and decided to make a piece of artwork for the nursery with my scrapbooking supplies. I got the inspiration from Ali Edwards collage and thought I'd try it out for myself. I used various papers from my scrap stash of scrapbook paper and the Martha Stewart butterfly punch. I punched out the butterfly images and then placed them on white card stock that I cut in the shape of the frame. The frame, I had laying around in my scrap room and figured it would be a good match to this project. So here is my version.

It will hang somewhere in the nursery, not sure where yet. Then maybe in the guest bedroom.

I also wanted to share two awesome finds we got at a local frame store that was going out of business. They had wonderful pieces of art that were like 60% off. I happened upon these two movie posters and the guy said he'd give them to us for $20 each! Yes, they came framed so we jumped at the deal. The Cinderella poster hangs in the nursery and the Cars poster hangs in Mason's room.

Lovefool

It's such a cliche to have to have a special day to tell someone you love them.  Shouldn't we be telling them everyday?  Non the less, this philosophy doesn't stop me from celebrating or expecting something romantic on the 14th of February every year.  Chock it up to the simple fact that I am a woman and my logic is not only complicated but shouldn't even be tried to be understood by the male species.  Just go with the flow guys, makes life much easier.  Trust me.  

That said.  Last night Fred and I got our hair cut, this was Fred's first time to Holly, and when we arrived home there was a package at the door.  I naturally thought it was for Fred (he is always ordering things online, I'm not that comfortable doing online shopping frequently just yet) but when I got closer I noticed it had my name on it.  The box, from 1-800-flowers, had these beautiful roses (pictured above) in them.  Once again I assumed they were not from Fred (he has a hard time remembering things like this and pretty much never gets me flowers) and once again I was wrong.  (Every once in a while you'll find I can admit this).  The sentiment simply read, "To my one and only love, Happy Valentines Day."  Awwww, how sweet. I knew he could be romantic if he tried hard enough.  Incredibly shocked he actually remembered this Saturday was V-day,  I reveled in the moment.  Yes they arrived two days early but apparently shipping was cheaper.  Hey, in this economy you need to save a buck anywhere you can!  I'm just happy he remembered at all. Which if you think about it, because he does not do this often and usually forgets important days like my birthday, our anniversary, and valentines day, it makes those moments that he actually does even more special and meaningful.  Maybe this has been his plan all along.  

As for me, being the keeper of the calendar and always knowing when important dates are arriving, I had my card for Fred all planned out and ready to execute weeks ago.  Knowing that I wanted to take pictures of my ever growing belly and I being close to 24 weeks, figured this would be the perfect time to get the picture for my card.  I had seen this many times on scrapbook layouts and wished I had done something like this while pregnant with Mason, but hadn't thought of it at the time.  I dressed in the appropriate red and pink for V-day, set up my tripod and snapped away.

This is the card and I absolutely love the result!  All that is needed now is a happy, romantic day tomorrow.  

Here are the best of the bunch of belly shots from my 24 week photo shoot.  

 

Growing big and strong this little girl is constantly moving, kicking and god knows what else in there. Can't believe that I only have three months left as I begin to head into my third trimester soon.  The c-section has been confirmed for May 28th at 12:30 in the afternoon.   Only 104 more days to go! 

It's now starting to become real that I am actually having another baby.  Mason keeps asking for Baby Sophie to come to Mason house and I'm not sure he fully understands the meaning or what will happen when this new baby arrives but I tell him she will be here soon.  When I ask him where Baby Sophie is, he points to my belly and says she is in there and mentions my belly button.  Yesterday he tried to cuddle with her and it was so cute seeing him attempt to get close to my protruding belly enough to "cuddle" his baby sister.  I wonder everyday what their relationship will be like.  Will they get along, will they have a love/hate camaraderie, will they be close or not want to be around each other at all?  I hope for my children to have a sibling bond that is special and loving.  I do expect fights to happen, it's just human, but I hope they will protect and respect each other.  What Mother wouldn't?

As I play this waiting game I have been diligently working on Mason's baby book.  Only 27 months later and I am now finally finishing it.  I haven't had much time for scrapbooking, or rather I didn't make it a priority to fit into my schedule, until now.  This is where I have been hiding lately.  My scrapbook room.  I realize the need to get all these memories down and the importance of documenting his first year (well our lives in general).  I have just two layouts left and then some journaling to do on about 6 other layouts and it's complete.  A sense of accomplishment is hitting me and I love it.  I will finally have a completed scrapbook for myself.  Something I have not done since my Honeymoon almost 4 years ago.  Speaking of my Wedding, I still have that album in progress as well.  At least I have the video to look back on.  My next goal is to get Sophie's baby book done.  I bought Becky Higgins Sweet Baby Kit so it should be faster to assemble.  I plan to get the design and sketches completed so all I have to do is add the photos and journaling when each month/milestone arrives.  Again my word for 2009 is SIMPLIFY.   

I will post some layouts from Mason's album once I am completely finished.

Have a Happy Valentines Day Weekend!!!!