On my Christmas list...

Keep Calm And Carry on Poster

Turquoise Blue by sfgirlbybay

via www.etsy.com

Thanksgiving and a Birthday.

I FORGOT my camera on Thanksgiving Day. I have NO pictures. I am really bummed about it but am going to let it go and remember that I was present and in the moment without it. I enjoyed myself and didn't worry about trying to get great pictures :)

Yeah, that's my story.

*******************************************************************************************

This is my Great Nephew. Great as in he is great and great as in he is my niece's son.

Friday was his 1st birthday. He was born on Thanksgiving day last year and we are all very thankful for him!

 

He thought his birthday cake was pretty cool...

His big sister did too...

And his cousin...

It was a great weekend spent with my great family. I am so very thankful for them.

 

Gratitude is not only the greatest of virtues, but the parent of all the others.

-  Cicero

 

Oh my...I am in LOVE.

via donnadowney.typepad.com

I saw these ADORABLE handmade ornaments on Donna Downey's blog this morning. I am completely IN LOVE with this idea! I love fabric but am deathly afraid of it because it is not something I have really ever used. I love words and quotes and the idea of having our Christmas tree covered with meaningful words and quotes just makes me smile! I bet I could even get the kids involved in doing some stamping on these!

  
  

Randomness.

My sweet friend Carrie gave me a blog award! I have never had a blog award so I am totally stoked! Thanks Carrie!

I am supposed to list 5 random facts about me. This was really tough to come up with but hopefully you will find them interesting or at least somewhat amusing LOL! 

1. When I was 27 I left the fortune 50 company I had been working for since college to move across the country to San Francisco and start a completely new career in consulting. I told myself that if it didn't work out I would just live in the city, work at a coffee house, and be a starving artist. For a degreed accountant this was a BOLD move!


2. If I could start my adulthood over I would go to college to study Marine Biology and work with dolphins, preferably training them for Sea World.


3. In high school I actually went out on a date dressed like Madonna from Desperately Seeking Susan, layered tank tops, mini skirt, bows in my hair, and heels with ruffled socks. My parents STILL tell the story at every family gathering and laugh about it hysterically.


4. My first son was born 9 months and 2 days after my wedding. I had some explaining to do on that one...it was Maui!


5. When I was 2 our family took a Griswold Family vacation from Michigan to California in a wood paneled station wagon. It was my parents, my 18 yr old sister, 16 yr old brother, and my Grandmother. On the entire trip I pretended I was Cinderella. My Dad was Prince Charming and my Grandmother was the Evil Step-Mother (she was not amused). I ate nothing but Shrimp Cocktail and Chocolate Milk. I have no memory of the trip EXCEPT for seeing the ocean while driving the Pacific Coast Highway. I think that is what always fueled my passion to move to California. When I moved there and would drive the PCH I always had a feeling of coming home. Weird, huh?

And in turn I need to nominate 5 people as well! Problem is, most of my good friends and regualr readers have already been nominated LOL!. So, instead I am going to nominate anyone that leaves me a comment :) 

Go ahead, leave me a comment, I dare ya!

 

Monday.

On this Monday...

it is chilly (47 degrees) and drizzly.

the children are out of school for Thanksgiving holidays.

i am listening to i heart radio app on my iphone.

work is really going to be slow this week.

T. has an appointment with Dr. W. to check on his meds.

J. is still having issues with anger, depression, and hurting himself; will be talking to Dr. W. about that today as well.

C. & A. are with us. A. is super excited about her new school, C. is not too sure.

pleased to see this blog post from our wonderful pediatrician Dr. R.

i am thankful for the wonderful doctors in my children's lives, to have my family together, and looking forward to the holidays with everyone.

have a great Monday!

World Blog Hop!

Welcome to the World Blog Hop put together by students from Shimelle's Blogging for Scrapbookers class! Thank you so much for taking the time to visit my blog. Please leave a comment and let me know where you are from and a link back to your blog if you have one!

We wanted to put together this blog hop to share some amazing blogs from all around the world and to show everyone a small glimpse outside of our window right now...

This picture is the last little bit of fall left here in Atlanta, GA. Most of the leaves are off of the trees. I caught the sun shining directly on the tree and the leaves lit up like gold! What an amazing shot!

From here please continue on your journey to "blog around the world" by visiting April's blog. April is currently taking Ali Edwards' Yesterday and Today class and has some lovely thoughts on family memories and photos!

Enjoy your trip!

I love ETSY!

I find myself surfing through the site more often then surfing digiscrap sites lately!

In My Favorite Things you will find photos and links to some of my current favorites.

Hope you enjoy!

(note: graphics are direct links to the items on Etsy)

from Studio Mela

 

from Lucky Bluebird Art

 

from Love Sugar Design

from Everything Lovely

Christmas Creatures by mibostudio on Etsy

How adorable are these guys? I am totally going to make these to display on the mantle or even add some string and hang them from the tree!

click on the graphic to go directly to Mibo Etsy shop :)

via www.etsy.com

Starbucks Red Holiday To-Go Mug at StarbucksStore.com

via www.starbucksstore.com

I saw this on Heather Melzer's blog this morning and had to go order it!

Thanks Heather,you are such a great enabler :)

backpedaling...

OK, I have to retract the last statement on my earlier post here.

    I couldn't sleep at night if I wasn't honest.

She redeemed herself last night and made a selfless decision.

When my husband divorced, their agreement was that C. & A. would split their time 50/50 with their parents and would go to school based off of her address. This was fine before he and I got married. But, when we married he moved into my house and my house is in a different county. So, for the past 2 years, every other week we have had to drive C. & A. to school in another county. Now, it really has not been an issue because we work about 20 minutes from their school. It did add to the "hectic-ness" in the mornings and did mean we had 2 children in 1 school and 2 children in another school, in another county. 

Last night D. and his ex talked about the situation, specifically about how C. needed some help controlling his behavior. We all feel that he is not getting the extra support he needs at his current school. In addition, D. feels like C. needs more structure, consistency, and discipline...all things that they do not get when they are at their mother's (not being ugly, she admits this). 

    She agreed that it was in C.'s best interest to change schools to our county. 

However, she feels like she is "giving up" her child (understandably so but really it is just re-arranging the time) and said she could not possibly let both of the children make the switch. She wanted A. to stay with her and go to school in her {new} county (she moved 2 counties away for work about 2 weeks ago). 

Now, I don't think anyone would agree that breaking up siblings is a good idea so D. was very upset about this. C. & A. are REALLY close to each other and it would be unbearable for them to be apart from each other. After much discussion, including {her} asking A. how she would feel, it was decided that they would both change schools to our county. 

Wow!

For us this is huge.

For us we now have (4) elementary school children full time (minus every other weekend)! 

For us we can offer C. & A. an education from the best schools in GA.

For us our family is complete much more of the time.

However, being a mother, I realize the sacrifice she made and I am impressed at the selflessness that it took for her to do that. 

It is not something that I would ever want to have to do. 

T & J Gem Mining

1 day of school missed.

1 trip to North Carolina with Grandma & Poppi.

1 new adventure of Gem Mining.

2 happy brothers.

 

The Exercise Ball.

Events like the following really make me question the sanity of people.

Our son C. is a VERY active 8 year old. I would even venture to call him hyperactive. He is constantly in trouble at school for fidgeting, touching, disrupting, etc. 

We (hubby & I) had a conference with his teacher a few weeks ago and discussed what is going on at school. He is a stellar student academically but his behavior is hindering his progress. We discussed some interventions we could try at school.

Last Friday his teacher got an exercise ball for him to sit on. This is a proven therapeutic technique for ADHD kids. It is used to satisfy their need to move around because they HAVE to move on the ball to stay balanced.

All day Friday he did well with the exercise ball. His behavior was very calm and quiet. Monday started out the same until the teacher had to step out of the room for 2 minutes. During these 2 minutes C. decided it would be fun to stab his pencil into the exercise ball.

The exercise ball popped.

The teacher emailed me yesterday about the situation and advised me that we would need to pay for the exercise ball. This seemed reasonable to us...our child maliciously damaged school property, right?

Last night hubby's ex-wife called him...she was MAD! The kids are with her this week so she received the note about paying for the exercise ball. Hubby and the ex discussed the situation, what happened, why, and what could be done to control his behavior. The results of THAT conversation though need to be devoted to their own blog post.

Anyhow, apparently their discussion did not calm her anger over having to pay for the exercise ball so she decided to send a note to the teacher relaying her feelings.

The note went something like this:

Ms. S.,

You are stupid. The whole damn school system is stupid. It was a stupid idea to have C. sit on an exercise ball. You should have called me for permission first. I would have told you "NO, that is a stupid idea". As far as the money goes, GOOD LUCK!

M.

Can you believe that?

Who calls their child's teacher stupid? Or, the entire school system? 

I am continually astounded at the childishness of this woman.

This or That quiz

I am notoriously late so it is no surprise that I just joined the 12 Days: a copy & paste Christmas. I am really only like a week or so late, that isn't so bad is it? Yeah, I know, it is.

They posted this fun little quiz (before the class started) and being a perfectionist I wanted needed to play along! 

My answers are in italics.

This OR That?

THAT

fabric OR paper

paper

ink OR paint

ink

grungy OR clean

clean

cut with scissors OR tear with bare hands

cut - it just makes sense with the above choice.

measure OR just guess

measure - ditto.

careful OR haphazard

careful - getting redundant.

hoarder OR minimalist

hoarder

Christmas OR Summer holidays

Christmas

music OR talk radio

music

drive OR walk

drive

gym OR beach

beach

cook a meal OR buy take-away

take-away

fruit OR cake

cake

ironing OR crafting

crafting

ironing OR vacuuming

crafting neither

my friends OR my own company

my own company

talk OR listen

listen

you OR them

them

always OR never

always

half-full OR half-empty

half-ful

yes OR no

yes

Fun Family Friday.

Most Friday nights we try to do something "fun" together as a family whether it be out to dinner and a movie or delivery pizza and a rental.

Tonight's fun though seems to be all about shopping for MOM! Yay me!

To bribe the kids we are starting out at Cici's Pizza. Definitely not a gourmet meal but the kids love it, they eat until they are stuffed, they can play games, and it costs under $30 for a family of 6! Can't beat that with a baseball bat!

From there we are off to Best Buy to get me some electronical goodness! Yes, I am a total geek!

I currently have 3 small external hard drives with photos, digi scrap stuff and whatever scattered all over the place. Tonight I will be the proud owner of this baby and all of my digital goodness with be organized and easily accessible. Can you say WOOT!

Since taking Karen Russell's "The Photographer's Workshop" my compact flash card has been giving me trouble - little brat! So tonight I am going to show it who's boss and replace it with one of these lovelies! Maybe I will even get 2. Oh yeah!.

The next stop is Barnes and Noble. They are currently holding just for me, a brand new copy of this! I can't wait to read it's deliciousness! <------ Did you notice that play on words? 

That should about wrap up both the available funds and kids patience so the next stop will be home. I know it isn't the most glamorous or exciting stuff in the world but it is for me and that is a rare thing LOL!

Have a great Friday!!

a dream.

Last night I dreamt that I was leaving {the next day} for a trip somewhere exotic. In my dream I was doing last minute stuff for the trip and was then going to pack. When I got to the packing part of my dream I decided to try on the new clothes I had bought specifically for the trip. To my horror none of the clothes fit me AT ALL. They were so tight I couldn't even pull shorts all the way up my legs. 

I was mortified in my dream.

From there I proceeded to head to any store that I could find to try to buy new clothes but every store was out of summer clothes, of course, because it is November. 

As I was driving from store to store in my dream I started to notice that it was getting harder and harder to drive the car because I was getting bigger and bigger in my dream. I began to have difficulty turning the steering wheel because my arms were so big. I couldn't move my foot from the gas to the brake because my legs were so big. Finally it just became difficult to get into or out of the car because all of me was so huge.

I have struggled with my weight all of my life. At times I can accept that my body is what it is and at times I can't. Right now I am really struggling with my body image and self-esteem. I realize that I need to do something about the situation but for some reason I don't have the motivation to actually do it.

I need to find the motivation.

Eye Candy

I am working on several posts for the blog but my mind is just not into it right now...I am worried about J. We have an appointment tomorrow with our developmental pediatrician and will hopefully get some answers. Once my mind is calmer I have lots to share!

For now, please enjoy some of my flickr faves.

1. Time to sigh..., 2. Untitled, 3. sfgirlbybay, 4. Untitled, 5. Belinda Graham, 6. *

Note: this post was inspired by Kirsty Neale

Loving this idea...

Do you have one of these in your home?

Check out the FREE DIY project by Paislee Press at oscraps.com!

Paislee Press: wall art (diy project no. 1)

via paisleepress.blogspot.com

I love everything she designs lately! The few times I have scrapbooked this year (here) and (here) have been with Paislee Press designs. I think what I like most about her designs is that they are so elegant and classic.

I have several areas in my home that are empty and need something fun to jazz the place up! I am definitely going to try this! 

My Favorite Things.

I am totally crazy over Letterpress lately. I love the clean, sharp lines that letterpress creates in a piece. To me if feels elegant and classy, even if the design is playful. I think it is an amazing artform and would love to learn how to do it. Unfortunately, there is only one place (that I can find) in the Atlanta area the teaches letterpress.

These are some of my favorite holiday letterpress items that I have found on Etsy, thought I would share :)

Happy Holidays Holly Letterpress Card @ byvikINK's Etsy shop

Merry Christmas Letterpress tags @ RubyVictoria's Etsy shop

Peace, Love, & Jot Letterpress Card @ PaperMonkeyPress's Etsy shop

Happy Holidays Letterpress Card @ PaperMonkeyPress's Etsy shop

Noel Letterpress Tags @ Duetletterpress's Etsy shop

Peace, Love, & Hope Letterpress Tags @ Bluecole's Etsy shop

Joy, Peace, Noel Letterpress Tags @ DingbatPress's Etsy shop

Scarlet Noel Holiday Card @ Rubypress's Etsy Shop

I hope you enjoyed!

j.

Worried.

There are some things going on with J. lately that have me really worried. 

He has some impulse control issues that we are working on with his developmental ped. but lately things seem to be getting worse. Not so much in terms of impulse control but in terms of anger, aggression and truthfulness. 

If he is questioned about something that happened he immediately becomes defensive and angry.

If he does something he is not supposed to do he will not take responsibility for it AT ALL.

When he has done something he is not supposed to do and is "caught" he becomes harmful to himself.

    This is the issue that has me the most worried.

I am trying to stay positive about it and trust that between us, his teacher and his wonderful doctor we will get this under control quickly, but it is hard.

    He is my baby and I worry about him.

2 Years.

Today is our second wedding anniversary.

To say is has been a wonderful 2 years would be a gross understatement. It has unquestionably been the BEST 2 years of my life.

In all the world, there is no heart for me like yours.

In all the world, there is no love for you like mine.

                 - Maya Angelou

I love you babe and I am looking so forward to growing old with you!

secret message of the day

secret message of the day
Originally uploaded by keri

Today is the start of Shimelle's Blogging for Scrapbookers class. 

I have been thinking seriously about blogging for months now. Not so much to do with scrapbooking proper, but more to do with recording my thoughts, feelings, ideas, and life. The daily life stuff. The stuff that is so quickly and easily forgotten but if remembered becomes the cherished stuff.

I am going to go easy on myself with this blogging endeavor. I have a tendency to want to do things {perfectly} according to that picture of perfection that lives in my head. I am slowly realizing that my picture and my reality don't always mesh and I am too hard on myself when I don't meet the {perfection} expectation. That tends to lead to failure and self-doubt, both things that I am working hard to accept and overcome.

So, perfect is NOT my goal with this blog.

My goal is to do it when I do it. No rules, no expectations, no opportunity for failure.

And, I just dig this motto "You really can do whatever you want."

Here's to blogging...

He just won't go away...

I have been divorced now for a
little over 6 years.

I have not seen my ex in almost 6
years.

He has not seen his boys in almost 6
years.

He has not spoken to his boys in
over 5 years.

His parental rights were terminated
about 4 years ago.

6 months ago he called me, wanted to
know about the boys & to tell me he had another son.

           
I told him to go to hell.

I know to a lot of people this might
sound terrible but, the bottom line is he walked out on his children, of his
own volition, and because of that he does not get to know about them anymore.

           
He made his bed…

In the years since the divorce, the
abandonment, the termination, and the hurt, my boys have finally begun to heal.
I have finally begun to let go of some of my anger and resentment at this man
who helped create these amazing people and then walked away from them. We have
moved on and are in a “good” place in all of our lives now.

2 weeks ago the mother of his new
son sent me a message through Facebook.

Now my wounds are opened up again.
We have had brief message correspondence through Facebook and I have learned
things I don’t want to know.

• He drove
  halfway across the country, with a stolen gun, to come shoot me after the
  termination was finalized.


• He lied to many me during our marriage.


• He has
  committed and been convicted of domestic violence crimes.

She wants my help to keep him away
from their son. She wants to know if he was abusive to me or the children. She
wants to know of other marriages and children.

I have info that I can share with
her. It may help her out. But I don’t know if I want to be involved. I don’t
know if I should be involved.

It might be better to close the door
and lock it really tight.

But then I think of her little boy.
I don’t know him, but I know mine. I remember that I would have done whatever
it took to make sure that he could hurt them.

I would hate to know that he was
able to hurt another innocent child.