::ANNA::

Resurfacing...

...from that lull after Christmas.  It still amazes me that in the States we have that 3 month long preparation period.  It's literally a sprint all the way to the finish line and then the victory is short and sweet before we're literally kicked back into "business as usual" mode.

Christmas didn't exactly go as planned for us, but we got through it.

So backtracking a little.....

On the 18th we had Ella's Kindergarten Carol concert.  We'd been practising at home and she's been looking forward to doing her show for us, but on the night of, she came off the bus in tears...full of how she didn't know the words and had obviously misunderstood something her teacher had said as she was under the impression that Ms. Pope was not going to help her.  I was in quandry.  Do I force her to do it or don't I?  After a tearful phone call with Daddy, we made the decision to jsut go and play it by ear....Eric was able to get off work early and she did it no problems.  I would argue she was the star of the show ;)  It;s those little transitions.

On the 19th, I came down with Pink Eye which meant I could not go into school as planned and help Ella's class make Christmas wreaths.  Instead I sent Ella in with the camera as a sort of "peace offering" as she was desperately disappointed and she came back with the above.

Now on antibiotics for his conjunctivitis, Luke is finally on the mend.

On the 21st we were supposed to be flying up to the North Pole for the weekend to visit Santa and Mrs. Claus, returning on the Sunday via scenic Alaska Rail.  These plans all fell apart on Friday morning after an x-ray showed I had pneumonia.  Not what I or E & L wanted to hear, but I just wasn't well enough to travel and consequently spent the following 3 days in bed.

By Sunday I'm feeling a little better.  E & L have been couped up most of the weekend as Eric also has been under the weather.  We get out the paints and finish up Ella's gingerbreadhouse.

Monday, Christmas Eve, I'm beginning to feel human again.....Just in time for Christmas.  We head out to the mall to soak up some of the Christmas spirit.  Eric got me the iphone (wooohooooooo!) for Christmas, and we also came home with Comet and Prancer, 2 hermit crabs, which are a bit useless really except they're proving to help with Lukes recent night terrors, afterall they are mean monster munchers....Didn't you know that?

We made cookies for Santa, ate pizza, watched Ella and Luke do a little impromtu show, tracked Santa on Norad, scattered Magic reindeer food in the yard, hung a key on the door, played this, opened new jammies and the presents Ella bought at her school shop.

Christmas Day was hectic....Luke let us sleep in but had us up at 7.30pm.  He totally missed the stocking Santa had left on his bed.  Meanwhile Ella is fast asleep.

 

She doesn't need a whole lot of persuasion to get up and we all end up in our room.

Next it was downstairs.

Some big presents for Luke, including this submarine expedition set from Auntie Sarah.  So big he took took out his Daddy with it.

Meanwhile, Ella worked diligently on her stash.  She is particularly fond of her new Heeleys and Ninento DS

Eric spent the remainder of the morning building "stuff" and I took over in the kitchen.  We headed out at lunchtime to spend some time with the Litterers and then onto the Baruts, where we ate again with more of our friends.

Did I mention it snowed.....all day long?

Thinking of my sister who is freezing with no heat in Afghanistan this Chistmas.

Looking forward to seeing you next month :)

Wishes

It's late morning here meaning you're all proabably settling down for Christmas Eve...I've just resurfaced from 3 days in bed recovering from pneumonia. We missed our trip to the North Pole but looks like I'm going to be able to enjoy today and tomorrow.

I'm excited. It's going to be quiet and festive.

Wishing you ALL a Happy Christmas to you and yours wherever you are and whatever you are doing!

Surprisingly Calm...

...considering I have Luke home with some sort of eye infection and he's MISERABLE, I've got to bake a dozen sweet treats for Ella's Christmas performance tonight and we all know cooking is not my thing, then of course I have to get both of them to the performance, on time....and Eric is working...  Fun times!

Something is having to give and and that is the computer this week.  I resigned myself to the fact that not a whole lot of work is going to get done the week before Christmas, nor the two weeks following with Ella and Luke at home.  I've decided to focus the time on them, hopefully catch up with some friends, and just do what I can when I can.

The main event of the weekend was our Pre-Christmas Christmas dinner which was fun.  Ate some good food, played games and just had the opportunity to spend some time together.  It's been a while since we were all together like that.

New products for last week are here.  Might just get a few new products uploaded for this coming Sunday which include an 8 X 8 Simple MultiPhoto album I have been working on.

I managed to catch up with my advent pages last night.  The last few days have been eventful to say the last.  Our friend Melissa had her baby yesterday which brought back quite a few memories...

Jolly Ho Ho Page Set, Old Time Christmas Kit, Winter Definitions, Magic Sparkle Corners No. 1

Festive Song Solids, Jolly Ho Ho Page Set

Square Decorative Frames BrushSet, Festive Song Solids

Christmas Letter Box Kit

Join me for a chat over at DD today at 5pm EST.  I'm going to be chatting...

Quiet

Around here today. 

Working a little. 

Scrapping a little.

Been printing out my Advent album pages

Looking good so far.

Latest pages:

and a cover page:

 

Sick of being Sick

Rolling into the 4th week of being sick and there may be a glimpse of the light of the tunnel but I'm not getting too excited just yet.  Just thankful to be feeling human again for the first time in a LONG time.  My tan is fading faster than I am getting better....What is up with that?

Talk of the town around here is the small snowfall we had yesterday, barely enough to cover the grass, but hey...it's snow right?  And I AM NOT complaining.  I couldn't care less if we don't see snow all season.  No snow means no break-up and I am all about that.  Besides I hate trading my cute shoes in for snow boots each year.  It's all about the shoes.

Feeling not so inspired this week.  A lull in my creativity so just standing back a bit and trying not to force it.  It probably has a lot to do with the fact that I am sick.  So I've been wrapping all my Christmas gifts and mailed all our cards yesterday.  Took spaghetti into school and ate lunch with Ella yesterday.  Of course she liked that so much that she now wants me to do it every day.  Today I have the girls coming over for some scrapbooking which will be great.

Did I also tell you we're having some friends over this weekend for a Pre-Christmas Christmas...It's never too early to celebrate, right?

   

Monday Morning

Eric worked nights all weekend and came through the door at 8.30am.  Such weekends are tough but we survived.

I kept things pretty low key to keep it simple and so the weekend consisted of some baking, playing games, practicing Ella's Christmas songs for her "stage" appearance as she is calling it, watching a movie, thanks to which I now have two Jack Frost terrified children who are begging me NOT to take them to the North Pole in 2 weeks, and a little scrapbooking for good measure.  I'm 2 weeks shy of being caught up with my weekly pages.

 

 

We also celebrated Luke's birthday formally on Saturday with a joint party at the bowling alley for him and Kayla.  He had fun and it certainly took his mind off his nasty cold for which I was thankful.

Catching up with Advent pages this morning:

Festive Song Solids Paperie, 12 X 12 Edge Overlay, Vintage Flashcard Holiday MegaPack, Classic Christmas Collector Cards

Paper and Snowflakes Brush from Jolly Ho Ho PageSet, Christmas Postage Stamps, Christmas Holiday Postmarks

New ART

Now available at DD

 

 

 

I'm Back

We're on the mend all be it slow.  Luke has been a little difficult the past few days, I'm sure because he's burdened by this "cough 'n' cold" crud thing that we're all battling like crazy with little headway.  Already this morning he's pee'd on my couch and told me the breakfast I made for him is "yucky".  Charming. 

The peeing thing has been a bit of a problem lately.  Not sure what is causing the regression as he's been potty trained for 6 months now.  I'm determined to find out.  However, my patience on this front is fast running thin.

A few deadlines this week which is typical when my week has already been turned up-side-down.  I did manage to unwind a little yesterday with the last of my Christmas shopping.  We've added a few new traditions this Christmas and one of those is the "new jammies on Christmas Eve" which meant yesterday I was searching for jammies.  E & L were easy but 3 malls and a total of 5 trips into GAP was what it took to find some for Eric and myself.  I also nipped into Best Buy and bought Polar Express and Home Alone just to get us in the mood not that we're need much convincing.

The past few nights we've been visiting the itunes store and adding to our collection of Christmas music.  I'm really loving this one by Michael Bublé.  My Grandma Davies would have totally loved Michael Bublé.  There are a few glitches in this one but I like the home movie.  Looks like the England I remember.

  So here are my Advent pages so far.  I ended up finding a cute 8 X 8 album at Michaels yesterday and ended up resizing all my pages.  Like I said...The beauty of digital.

 

Paper from Jolly Ho Ho PageSet and Flocking Red Christmas ElementSet, Katie Pertiet's Crystallized Edgers, Classic Christmas Cards, Vintage Flashcard Words Holiday MegaPack

Papers from Jolly Ho Ho PageSet

Festive Song Patterned Paperie (coming to DD this Sunday), Katie's Snow Flake Flourishes (Also coming soon!),  Classic Christmas Cards

Paper from Jolly Ho Ho PageSet, Evergreen Plumes No. 1, Katie's Vintage Flashcard Words Holiday MegaPack

Festive Song Solids & Patterns Paperies (coming to DD this Sunday), Katie's Snap Frame Flourished Square BrushSet, Old Time Christmas Papers, Katie's Vintage Flashcard Words Holiday MegaPack, Iced Delights Striped Alpha 

A little busy

Luke's got Croup

Eric's on mid shift this week

Trying to create a little

Too much on my plate to blog.

Be back soon.

The Week "End"

I say it like this because for the last few years a week's end has not really existed in my life.  I would say for the last 3 years (at least) I haven't had one.  I just pressed on like it were any other day.  By August this year I enjoyed my first real weekend off, and it felt GOOD!  E & L enjoyed it, Eric was happy and more important, so was I.  So I have implemented a few changes over the past few months.  I've learned not to spread myself too thin, to say "no" even though it's tempting not to, that the work will still be there on Monday regardless whether I push through the weekend or not, and most importantly, that my children will not be small forever and they need a little more of my time now.

It was a quiet weekend with little work and some rest and recuperation for all.  I was up all night on Thursday night with Ella and finally called Eric home from work at 4am to take her into the ER.  She had a double ear infection and a "cloudy" lung so it's been no school for her, until this morning.  We had the usual meltdown with Ella which is usually a result of any sort of change to what she has become accustomed to.  She has her play therapy appointment tonight and so I am planning on bringing it up with her counselor to see why she continues to have problems at school and separation anxiety from me.  She has never been this way before.  It was always Luke who was the baby I couldn't put down.

Friday night I did manage to get to a Baby Shower over at Ronalyn's which was fun.  I seems like yesterday that Melissa told us she was pregnant and here she is with just a week or so ago.  Living proof that time flies and I spend entirely too much time on the computer and not enough time living life.  It was good to catch up with the Brits, Lori who has just come back from her radiation treatment and Ronalyn, who I really haven't "seen" since I got back from Paris.  We've vowed to spend a bit more time over the Christmas season.

Saturday I worked on my Paris album, and enjoyed the beauty of digital scrapbooking in creating just one album but having it printed twice at Shutterfly so that there is a copy for my Mum as well as for me.  This one just covers   I used a selection of Rhonna Farrer's Art that was inspired by a trip to Paris a year ago.  I figured, why re-invent the wheel?

Saturday night, Ella and I made Christmas cards.  I'm so excited about Christmas this year.  Ella and Luke are at a great age for it.  I've done all my shopping and most of my wrapping and am now focusing on some new traditions this year.  We've all seen Ali Edward's blog right?  This is the post I have been particularly interested in, and there are some really great ideas.  I printed off a list for Eric to look over and I'll let you know later this week what we settle on.

In the meantime, I have also decided to do a December Daily Album.  A digital album of course.  I downloaded Jessica Sprague's template, adapted it to a 12 X 12 size, as I always take a lot more than one photo.  I will use the same template each day to add some photos and some Christmas cheer.  Here are the first two.  Snap frames are by Katie Pertiet and the rest of from my new PageSet "Jolly Ho Ho".

Sunday, we crashed (with invite of course) Ronalyn's Holiday Photography Shoot.  I'm excited to see how the photos turned out.

Today is not going as planned.  Got Ella to school but Luke is home with a fever.  We're just rolling with the punches.

Happy Monday!