So, I had a pretty rough few days this past week. Friday was definitely the worst of them. Chris is usually pretty good of talking me through things and being the "voice of reason" when I get all stressed out. Last night, he came home from work with two "pick-me-up" gifts...
...green mixing bowls and pretty flowers. Does he know me or what? <3
Caleb started t-ball practice today. We actually just got home and are enjoying some hamburgers and retro cartoons on Boomerang. He did really great at practice and, of course, he is once again the tallest kid out there. On the way, he said something super cute and I want to make sure I remember it....
C: "Mom, will you cheer for me at practice? Really loud?"
Me: "Sure, Caleb. I like to cheer for you."
C: "Yeah, when you cheer, it makes me really strong and fast."
(silence...mostly me reveling in my super-human powers)
C: "Actually, it doesn't. I just like it when people cheer for me."
I knew my cheer leading would pay off some day...
So, you may already know that. However, I got an email from Sarah today mentioning that she and Steve have started a blog. It's in it's early stages, but here's the link for it: www.stevensarahrains.wordpress.com Feel free to read and poke fun at Sarah's online abuse of smiley faces. :)
Some people might be ashamed to admit this, but I'm not. I feel proud - boastful even. Just minutes ago, I finally finished Caleb's first year scrapbook(s). The first 365 days of his life spanned 3 (bulging at the seams) books, 96 pages and 3.5 years of my life. I don't even want to think of the amount of adhesive, paper and embellishments that includes.
I know. Some of you are wondering what took me so long. Well, let me start by saying that I began behind. I didn't start scrapping until summer of 2005 - for those of you that are mathemeticians, that's 2.5 years after Caleb was born. In that time, I've also made my wedding album, a few mini-books for myself, tons of cards and "altered art", and countless albums for other people. (Give me a while, I can count that up...) My approach to my own "life-art" is very different. When I scrap for others, I have a methodical attack - planning and sketching each page, coordinating papers/embellishments, title, and picture placement out. I can whip out a full-size 20 page album in a week if I need to. (I guess payment is a good motivator.) When making my own stuff...I'm all over the place...just grabbing pictures that inspire me at the moment and digging through my stash of paper and goodies until I find what I like. I might be scrapping pictures from 2009 right after I've done something from 2004. You get the idea.
Anyway, Caleb's first year books are a mish-mash. Looking back over the pages, my style has definitely changed. I'm proud of that. Some, I even cringe when I look at the stickers or plain cardstock. I don't care. It's done and I'm leaving it. And you know what? I guess that is kind-of a chronicle of a lot of things...on the surface, a change in my scrapping style, but moreover, it's an analogy of how much my life changed that year...
