happily random

It's out! It's here!!

After months of work and months of waiting, it's finally here: The Scrapbooker's Essential Guide to Scrapbooking Color. Our 2005 Masters book! I got a box of 10 books delivered to my doorstep by UPS today. It's so thrilling to see all of our hard work in print.

Music to soothe the savage mommy...

I am LOVIN' my iPod. The kids get whiney and I just stick in my headphones and soak up some sounds. I have found myself in a much better mood this last week. I am a musician at heart, and since having the kids I have gotten away from listening to "my" music, instead letting them commandeer the cd player. So it's definitely been good for my mental health to have this iPod. It's a great side effect. I even bought a cheerful iSkin to protect it from my clumsiness. This iPod was a "sound" investment.... HAR-HAR. 

Wow, a layout to post!

I hardly ever get to post layouts, mostly because all the scrapbooking I've had time for lately have been assignments. Those of course have to be kept under wraps till after they're published. Too many kids and not enough free time. That's my lot. Anyhow, here it is! Tyler last Halloween. Ain't he a sweetie? Even chewing on one of his "legs."

It's been hot here in North Idaho. We've had a sudden heat wave and it's been in the 90s for the last 3 days. Ugh. It's one thing when the temperature gradually climbs, but it's hard when one day it's in the 60s and the next it's in the 90s. Hard to adapt that fast. I'm cookin'! At least I'm not pregnant this summer. But it's supposed to be down in the 60s again this weekend. Gotta love it. :)

Mother's Day was good. Joel let me sleep in till I woke up! This is the first time in 6 months I've slept till I woke up. Usually Samantha needs feeding around 8, so I can sleep till then on the weekend. But Sunday I got up at 9:30 feeling refreshed. Joel carried her around in the backpack and kept her entertained. Good man! My kids gave me things they made at school. Rebekah made 3 placemats and Lucas made a wooden heart frame with a picture of him. Treasures. :) And then at church all the moms got free latte coupons (our church has a coffee bar at services) and a 5 minute massage in the lobby. Awesome.

Oh, and my big surprise of the weekend was something I've been wanting for months and months: an iPod. I finally got one! It's a 30G iPod Video. I'm already love it! Great for tuning out whiny kids. Music to soothe the savage mommy, I say. :)

It worked - sort of

Joel covered up the skylight last night and this morning the boys slept till 6:15. Actually, I think Tyler would have slept longer if Lucas would stop making such a racket when he wakes up. As for me though, I was awakened at 5:30 with Samantha kicking me. With this many kids, I just can't win. :) I think I just need to start going to bed at 7 with the kids.

That is, instead of the 11 p.m. that I did get in bed. I start scrapbooking and it just sucks me in and I don't want to stop. Boy, do I pay for it in the morning. I was updating my resume at Scrapbook Resumes. I made a header for the top (which isn't up just yet) and reorganize my info. I need to get it ready to apply for a position that I was asked to apply for (shhh, it's a secret!), so I want to "look" my best.

Speaking of looking my best, I'm getting a haircut today! Yeah!!! I haven't had one since before Samantha was born... in 6 months. I so need it. My hair is driving me nuts so it's mostly been clipped up all the time. Looking forward to having a style again instead of looking like a frumpy mom. :)

The Days are getting LOOOOONGER...

And I don't just mean the sun, although the sun has a lot to do with it. My boys are getting up TOOOO early. Being so far north, the sun rises at 4:30-5 a.m. So do my sons. The sun is up, so it's time to get up, right? WRONG!!! I am soooo not a morning person. On an average day I would like to be up around 7:30-8 a.m., not this crack of dawn business. Why else would I be blogging at 6:15 a.m.?

My sons have blackout shades in their room, on the windows and the skylight. But unfortunately light leaks in on the sides. Not that much, but just enough that it wakes them up (I say, "Just throw a pillow over your head!"). We've tried shutting their door before going to bed, but Lucas is afraid of the dark, so that's a no go. He really freaks out if he wakes up and the door is shut.

There is a skylight in the hall too, which might be the culprit, and this evening Joel is going to climb up on the roof and cover it. Maybe that'll help. Otherwise, Mommy is going to be a zombie throughout the summer. I have 4 children, and one of them is a baby and still gets up at night. I NEEEED my sleep. Go to sleep boys!

Productive Day!

Don't you just love days that you look back on and see all you accomplished. Well, today was one of them. I cleaned the kitchen, swept the floors & shined my sink, cleaned & vacuum my living room, had Beka pick up her room, AND did all the laundry. The last load just went in the dryer and the rest of the clothes are put away. Ahhh... and it's only 4 o'clock!

I decided that the chaos in my house is driving me batty. All these children make a lot of messes!!! LOL. My friend Shannon told me about Flylady and I am going to give that a shot. Anything to help get control of these messes. Ugh! I'll let ya know how it goes.

National Scrapbook Day was loads of fun. I finished 2 layouts. Not too bad since I had to keep stopping to feed Samantha. Joel ended up bringing her to me to feed at one. Then I drove home at four & 7:30 to feed her. It was ideal, but I did get some fun time without kids, so it was definitely worth it.

Oh, and I thought I'd mention, I'm hosting a Pampered Chef Party next week. So if ya wanna order some stuff just go to my consultant's website and you can place an order for my party. :) I just love Pampered Chef stuff. My faves are the cooking stones and the chopper. Oh, and the spatulas!

Happy National Scrapbook Day!

And to celebrate, I'm off to a crop in 2 hours. Yeah!!! :)

Spring has definitely come to North Idaho. Rebekah came to me yesterday asking if we could clip some tulips to bring in the house. So we went on a little tulip-trimming adventure. Beka picked out a tulip of every color: yellow, pink, purple, red & red/yellow. They are very cheerful here in my kitchen, bringing a little Spring indoors. :)