Peanut

We went to the doctor today and had our first ultrasound. I am 8 weeks and 4 days along. My due date is now officially October 5, 2011; which is a month before Quinn's 2nd birthday.

Crop

This weekend (Feb. 25-27) is the ACOT February 2011 Crop. I really need to get some scrapbooking done since this month my Tuesday night scrapbooking has fallen by the wayside in lieu of early bedtimes and lying around of fatigue and nausea. Pregnancy has taken a lot of energy and motivation out of me :(

So, here is hoping that I feel up to it and can finally work on the layouts that have just been sitting around waiting on me these past few weeks.

Scrappy Haiku

I was bored and feeling kinda creative today.

(1)
Colorful paper
Surrounding my memories
Embellishing life

(2)
Distressed and faded
Beauty in each tear and crease
We craft history

(3)
Inspired design
Endless possibility
Open heart's window

Creative Admiration

Today, I'm offering up a special post in honor of ScrapGoo (aka Jess). She is member of the ACOT Creative Team and a new member of the Design Team at Right at Home Scrapbooking. When asked where I get most of my scrapbooking inspiration from, my first thought was...ScrapGoo! In the category of "creative talent", she is probably the person that I most admire.

Her layouts are always so inspiring to me and I love her titling work. I always check out her blog and reveals and strive to be more creative in my own designs. I have no idea how she comes up with such great stuff time after time!

Here is one of her latest works:


So, ScrapGoo, please keep up the great work :)

Check out her blog here: The Examined Life

Valentines Day

For valentines day this year, I really embraced the homemade cards. I'm still new to card-making; but, getting a little better with each attempt. Here is a card I made for my husband, who is the guinea pig for all my craft and cooking projects.

I love you honey! Oh, and thanks for the Cricut Create-A-Critter that you didn't know I bought for you to give me this Valentines Day. I can't wait to use it!

Due Dates and Murmurs

We got our due date from the nurse last Thursday. Our new bundle of joy is currently due on September 20, 2011. This could change after looking at my ultrasound; but, right now, it's a good aim date.

We took Quinn to the pediatrician today for his 15 month check-up and he is in the 50th percentile on height & weight. The only issue is that he has a heart murmur. Apparently, heart murmurs are very commonly found in children. I've read that they are mostly innocent; but, we will take him to the Children's Hospital to see the pediatric cardiologist anyway just to make sure.

Some Kind of Wonderful

He's amazingly adorable and growing big each day.

My son, Quinn, is some kind of wonderful that I just can't describe. He's the smartest and most precious little boy that any mother could ever ask for. So, this blog post is dedicated to my muse...

Quinn (15 months)

Pregnancy

I forgot how much being pregnant sucks until this week. It wasn't until this past week that I remembered all the lows of pregnancy as they all attacked me at full force. My nausea, nose bleeds, exhaustion and hunger have hit me full force. I can't wait for the second trimester just for a reprieve from the "symptoms" of pregnancy.

I feel like I have no energy to play with my son or spend time with my husband, much less scrapbook or blog.

RAWR

When I first saw the new Dawson line by 3 Bugs in a Rug, I was very excited. This super adorable, dinosaur-themed scrapbooking collection is that perfect mesh of "Rawr" and whimsy that I have been looking for to document my son's first trip to the Smithsonian's Natural History Museum in Washington, DC. After all, what little boy doesn't love dinosaurs and what little boy's mommy doesn't love taking hundreds of photos and scrapbooking them all of him enjoying his dinosaur friends?

Doily-ing It Up

For years, I have had these old crocheted doilies sitting in a box gathering dust. I couldn't imagine in what universe there would be a use for such a traditional, old-fashioned item to ever be used. I prefer the minimalistic and clean lines of contemporary style. To me doilies always went down the rustic country kitchen road, which is not my cup of tea.

When, a couple of months ago, ACOT had a trends/techniques challenge to use a doily in a Layout I was surprised. "I have one of those!" was my first thought. My supplies are limited as I have only been scrapbooking seriously for a couple of years and have yet to accumulate all of the many embellishments and tools everyone else seems to have.

I thought about using it; but, was never inspired to actually use it for that challenge.

Now, many months later, I have embraced my doily and given it a chance in my scrapbooking world! Here is the result:


Overall, I was impressed with the look and feel of it and think that I will definitely try doily-ing it up again in the future. Now, though, it has got me thinking...what other long forgotten "useless" stuff do I have tucked away in my house just waiting to be used on my layouts?

Like A Quinn in a Candy Store

In January, I took too many photos with my iPhone and not nearly enough with my digital camera. As a result, I got a bunch of instant gratification; but, very little quality. Sadly, I won't have much to scrapbook later for his 14th month as a result of short-sighted planning. This month I will have to do better.

My favorite picture from last month (January) was taken at the Westfield Annapolis Shopping Mall. We took our son Quinn to the food court and afterward we let him do some of what I like to call "contained exploring"; which basically involves letting him walk around an area close to me (he's not old enough to run away from me - even playfully - in a very public space...yet).

So, here he is, exploring the variety of candy machines that the mall offers. He loved looking at all the bright colors and shiny silver doors and knobs more that he wanted the actually candy inside (which is good, because he didn't get any).