Scrapbook Sunday (on Monday)

I mentioned a while back an album I'm making for Emma. It's still in progress. (In fact, I'll be adding pages to it until she turns 4.) The pages will be about things Emma likes, activities she does and things that make her happy. They're very simple pages. I'll be using themed embellishments (need to get a ballerina for her ballet page then I can post that page) and paper when possible. Very little journaling, just the who/what/where/when/why when it applies. And I'm using my handwriting. Amazing, I know!

This is an album Emma can look through whenever she wants. She can play with it. Carry it around with her. My hope is for her to love looking through it, to remember each activity/memory when she sees the page and to identify with the characters/themed embellishments when she sees them.

These pages are all about her in more ways than one. I'm not trying to use my favorite products, but what product that will make her smile. I'm not trying to get a perfect design, just something basic that will appeal to her. It's been fun. Really fun. Knowing that she loves it and can't wait to see a new page. Knowing that no matter what I do she will love it. Knowing that 20 years from now she will love looking at these and seeing herself as a three-year-old and what she liked and did. I love it.

I almost forgot, the actual album - I had a Cinderella album I got in a goody box from Scrapbook Trends a couple years ago. It's been sitting collecting dust since then because I didn't know what to do with it. Then I realized it's be perfect for this, since she's into princesses these days. She got excited when she saw it. Of course, she first asked why is wasn't Snow White since that's her favorite, but that was to be expected. :)

Thanks for taking a peek!

Need a laugh?

Then head over to Write. Click. Scrapbook. and check out some of the team's first scrapbook pages. We'll be posting them all weekend.

But be prepared, they're not all pretty. Especially mine. ;)

Ten on Tuesday

1. We have groundhogs living under our shed. The mama groundhog has been here since we moved in 3 1/2 years ago. And last month, we noticed the babies. Three of them.

2. My friend Lisa and I made plans to take our girls swimming yesterday since the pool is open now. Sunday night they said it would be 80. Monday morning the forecast was 73 - 78. At 11 am when the pool opens? It was 63. And it rained. And stormed. Definitely not a day for swimming.

3. Emma had her first dentist appointment last week. It went pretty well. Not that you can tell from her face in this picture.


4. Pretty sure her favorite part was getting the purple toothbrush and a bouncy ball.


5. Mackenzie is now jumping off the couch. And climbing up on the kitchen table. I had to put all my chairs on top of it the other day to keep her off.

6. She's also decided it's a good idea to throw her plate/bowl/random pieces of food on the floor when she's done eating. Or, sometimes, when she's still eating just for the heck of it. Just the other day I bent down to pick up watermelon that she's thrown when she threw the one piece still on the table right at me. She's so awesome.

7. Good thing she's so cute.

8. I got my veggie plants last week. Starting off small with two different zucchinis and one squash. Hoping I don't kill them.

9. Emma and I went to a baby shower with Grandma Sweeney yesterday. Emma enjoyed it, mainly because she got to wear a dress, eat 5 mini-cupcakes and 3 brownies, and play with cousins. She was a bit confused as to why it was a baby shower with presents for a baby yet there was no baby to be seen. Yep. Saving that one for later.

10. And just in case you somehow missed my last two posts about it, don't forget to check out
Write. Click. Scrapbook. :)

Write. Click. Scrapbook.

June 1st is finally here which means Write. Click. Scrapbook. is live. Go check it out!


PS, I'd love to know what you think about our new site!

Scrapbook Sunday

I was thinking that if I make Sunday the day to post layouts, it might motivate me to scrapbook more than two pages in a month. Hopefully it works, because I haven't been scrapbooking nearly as much as I'd like to. Lots of ideas, just haven't been turning said ideas into completed layouts. :)


(KI Memories papers; American Crafts Thickers and ribbon; Heidi Swapp bling.)


(Basic Grey papers; American Crafts ribbon, Thickers, journaling spot, pen; Fiskars Upper Crust punch.)


One more thing, don't forget to check back tomorrow -

A little sneek peak for my scrapbooking friends...

Check back June 1st to find out what we've been up to!

Ten on Tuesday

1. This is Mackenzie blowing a kiss. Apparently, she doesn't quite know where her mouth is.


2. Saturday was carnival number one for the weekend, this one in Chagrin Falls. Michael puts together an alumni baseball game so we went to that, then walked down to Blossom. Met up with Maggie while we ate lunch then took the girls on some rides. Okay, so Mackenzie rode one, the merry-go-round. Although for the record, neither of them would get on a horse, so all four of us were on one bench. Emma loves all rides. She's going to grow up and ride all the roller coasters and spinning rides with her mama at Cedar Point.



3. This is what kept Mackenzie happy the whole afternoon - a giant cup of lemonade. There wasn't a lot left in it by the time she got it, but she didn't mind.


4. Both girls got balloons. Emma lost hers within minutes because she wouldn't let us tie it on her wrist. We hadn't even moved away from the booth, so they gave her another one. We didn't' give Mackenzie a choice, we tied it on her wrist so she kept hers...for a while.

She wanted it taken off at the playground. And within a few minutes, it was gone. There was a guy right by her when she let go and he jumped up to grab it and missed it by an inch. It was so close.


5. I'd like to point out two things about this picture. 1, she's pushing both a lawn mower and a stroller. The girl is always pushing something around. 2, the toy golf flags in her hand. She's also always carrying something around. Usually toothbrushes (seriously, the girl has a thing for them. She's constantly getting in the child-proofed drawers and getting out all available toothbrushes then freaks out when we take them away.) but she's also partial to the flags. And yes, I'm aware of the "poke an eye out" danger. She doesn't get to hold them for long.


6. Michael's parents got the girls a picnic table. They love it. Sunday they ate all three meals out there, including dinner with their cousins Malachi and Claire.


7. We got them a water table (our deck is quite full) and it's a hit. Which we knew it would be. I love it because I can put the gate up on the deck and they can't escape. Then I can either work in the kitchen or sit on the deck and relax, worry free.


8. We went to my mom's Memorial Day for the parade, a cookout and the carnival. The girls loved the parade. I'm pretty sure it was one of the greatest things ever for Emma, mainly because of the large amount of candy that came her way. There was no one around us, and we were at the start of the parade route so they were getting a ton of candy thrown at them. We kept yelling, "get the candy, get the candy!" but she was so overwhelmed she just stood there at first. But she quickly got the hand of it.



(See, holding things again.)


(showing off their flags)


(waving to a fire truck)


(watching the raising of the flags)

9. We headed down to the carnival after lunch. Mackenzie totally cried when we put her on here but we didn't take her off (I know, mean) but the second it started she stopped crying. And by the end she was actually smiling. Really, she was. Maybe not quite as big as Emma is here, but she was.


10. Emma has her first dentist appointment tomorrow. Hopefully the lure of a new toothbrush will keep her in the dentist's chair.

Blowing kisses

I got a sweet surprise when I looked closely at these pictures - Emma blowing me a kiss. :)

Ten on Tuesday

1. Emma's been sick since Friday. Just a virus, with a fever ranging from 99 - 104. Thankfully, she didn't get these:

2. Hives. Mackenzie's giant hives which she got the week before when she was sick with a virus and fever. Huge, aren't they? I think this one looks like Mickey Mouse.


3. I've now caught up and watched the Bones, Lost and Grey's Anatomy season finales. Looking forward to Without a Trace tonight, plus NCIS and Criminal Minds.

4. Speaking of Bones - did you like it? SPOILER: One one hand, I liked it a lot. I enjoyed seeing the characters in different roles, thought it was funny. On the other, the mystery was stupid, made no sense and was a waste of time. Still my favorite show, though.

5. I had a gallon of whole milk and a gallon of skim milk in the fridge in the garage today. Went out to get the whole milk and it was frozen solid. But the skim wasn't. Strangest thing. It's slowly thawing out.

6. I recently finished Iris Johansen's Deadlock and Debbie Macomber's Summer on Blossom Street. I'm currently reading Nora Robert's new book. Tonight I picked up Loitering with Intent by Stuart Woods and Mr. and Miss Anonymous by Fern Michaels. And there's only a few people ahead of me in line for Charlaine Harris' new Sookie book. Lots of reading to do.

7. I want to plant a container garden. Except that I know nothing about gardening. So I got two books at the library tonight. Hopefully I can figure it out. And it's not already too late to get started. If it is, I'll be well prepared for next year.

8. Speaking of gardens, when I was growing up we had two gardens in our backyard. My dad grew corn, cucumbers, broccoli, carrots, zucchini, peppers and plenty of other things I just can't remember. They were good-sized for our little backyard. I didn't think much of it then, although when I was little I liked to help. But now looking back I'm impressed. It's pretty cool that so much of our food came from our backyard.

9. Ring Around The Rosy.



10. Emma and Maya.

She wanted me to take her picture.

Really. We were at Michael's last home game of the season and Emma actually asked me to take a picture of her and Mackenzie standing on Grandpa's seat cushion. Mackenzie even cooperated and said cheese...just didn't look at the camera.


With Daddy after the win.


Hanging out in the dugout.


And Mackenzie. I've really got to work on getting rid of the binky.

I just want to point out I'm wearing a big sweatshirt here and not pregnant. :)

It's wedding week over at the American Crafts blog. I've got a couple

invitations up. After seeing what others have done, it's really obvious I have no graphic design skills. :)

Supervision required at all times.

While I was cleaning out the fridge this afternoon, Emma was doing this:




She even managed to color her back, inside her belly button and the bottom of her feet. Crayola washable markers really are washable, as it all came off in the shower. Apparently, she'd forgotton that markers only go on paper. :)

Cast your vote

First, if you're a follower of the recently departed Simple Scrapbooks magazine, you may be familiar with Karen Glenn. Karen's daughter Amelia has Dravet syndrome. Right now, BetOnline.com is having a contest where the winning charity gets $20,000!

If you're on Facebook, please go here: BetOnline Everest Challenge and vote for IDEA League. It's super easy to do. First become a fan, then just write IDEA League on their wall. Easy as that! The charity with the most votes by May 15th wins $20,000!

For more information on IDEA League and Dravet syndrome, go to www.idea-league.org.


Secondly, my friend Missy's daughter's picture is one of 5 finalists for Scrapbook Etc.'s cover photo contest. Go here: Scrapbooks Etc. and vote for Maya! Her photo is titled First Day. You can vote once a day until June 16th.

18 months

I never did get around to posting Mackenzie's 15-month update. So I was determined not to skip the 18-month one. Granted, I'm about 10 days late, but that's close enough. And if I don't get this stuff down, I'll forget it. Plus, one of these days I'll do an 18-month layout, and I'll definitely need the info. (Some of these things actually date back to the 15-month update, but I'm lumping them all in together.)

Mackenzie loves being outside. As in throws a fit, lays on the floor, kicks and screams and cries when we have to come in. It's not pretty. When we're outside, always runs away, many times heads straight for the road. Likes to play with the toy lawnmower, chalk, ride-on toys.


She's still a light sleeper. There's no going in and checking on her unless you're okay with her being up for a while.

She's still taking a 3 hour afternoon nap. So thankful for that.

Loves shoes. Especially Emma's orange Crocs. So we got her her own pair. And she likes them. But not quite as much as Emma's.

Mac's finally talking! At her 15-month appt., she wasn't really saying anything other than Mama. And even then that wasn't because she necessarily was calling for me, she just said it a lot at random times. So the doctor said if she wasn't saying anything by 18 months, we'd see about a speech therapist. Now, I know not all kids are speaking at this point, but she was behind in general with fine motor skill types of things - she babbled late, waved late, etc. Of course, she was ahead of the game when it comes to walking/running/jumping/climbing. And I know that a lot of times children focus on one thing (walking) and the other (talking) lags behind. I wasn't super concerned, just a bit. Anyway - at her 18 month appt. she was saying mama, dada, yeah, uh oh on a regular basis and had said once or twice Emma, up and hot. In the last week, she's added more, out, book, read and no. Yay!



She gives five, blows kisses, gives hugs.

She knows her head, feet, toes, eyes, belly, mouth.

She's pigeon-toed. Enough that it causes her to trip and fall. Her right foot turns in quite a bit. But anymore, doctors don't really do anything about it. Kids usually grow out of it and unless it's severe, it is left alone. If she's still tripping and falling at her 2-year appt., her ped. said we'll do something about it, but for now we're just watching.

She's a dare devil. Fearless. Climbs everything. Including the rock wall at the playground. Likes to jump from a chair to the couch, or off the fireplace onto the bean bag.

Monkey see, monkey do. Whatever Emma does, Mackenzie does, too.

Loves her monkey. It was ugly last month when we lost it for two days. We know have two back-ups. Still using her binky. Really need to try to wean her off it. I could do it cold turkey like Emma, but she really really really likes it. I think I'd feel bad.

Loves Dora. And Diego and the Backyardigans, too. Gets super excited when Dora comes on. Starts pointing and dancing and squealing.


Suffering from a bit of separation anxiety at the church nursery and kid park (fitness center), although I think the kid park is more of her wanting to go in the big room with Emma and not in the small room with the babies/under two toddlers.

Is a hand holder. Loves to hold hands all the time.

Fights getting in her car seat 90% of the time. It's fun. Also hates getting her diaper changed and shirts pulled over her head. Honestly, would prefer to be naked/in just a diaper all the time.

Is sneaky. And a rotten little thing. But oh so cute.

Likes books, blocks, piggy bank, crayons, balls and any toy Emma might have at the time.

Went through a strange anti-bath phase of about 3 weeks @ 16/17 months old. She would be excited to get in the bath, then within 2 minutes of getting in, would start to cry and try to get out. Thankfully that's over.

I'm growing out her bangs. Which means she has to wear a barrette everyday. Usually she leaves them alone, although today I caught her eating it.

Is a great eater. Will eat almost everything. Doesn't like broccoli, or jelly sandwiches. Also doesn't want her food cut up. Wouldn't eat bananas until I started giving them to her whole. Her favorites: grilled cheese sandwich, yogurt, cheese, grapes, bananas, vanilla wafers, carrots, corn, green beans, mac and cheese. When she's done, she takes off her bib and stands up in her high chair.

Currently has four teeth coming in.

Recently had her first bout of hives. They were crazy big. Seriously. I took pictures. As big as my palm on her thigh. It was nuts. Turns out that you can get hives with a virus/fever. Never knew that.

Is still a tiny little thing @ 31 inches and 22 pounds.

(All pictures taken at the park 5/2/09, one day after turning 18-months-old)

Love you, munchkin!!!