getting ready

I can't believe the holiday is only 10 days away! The boys are so excited for Santa this year. We have been busy getting the house ready and going to some special events in preparation of Christmas. Emmitt has his first holiday program at school on Monday and is so proud that his family is coming to watch. Max has his holiday band concert on Thursday. The 8th Grade band dresses formal for the event. Cooper doesn't have a concert this year in 1st grade. He is looking forward to Friday, the last day before Winter Break. Our family gets to "babysit" Squeakers the class guinea pig. He wants another pet and has been begging for a hamster. (no way. period.) Hopefully watching Squeakers will buy me some time.
The boys made this Gingerbread House from a kit purchased at Costco. The house was already assembled. Just frost and decorate! Easy and fun.

The lovely tree in our empty living room - the only safe room away from Frank.

Lime green and purple were my holiday theme colors this year.

Our trip to Country Lights at Lake Farmpark.

The boys made wood toys at the workshop. Cooper a tank and Emmitt a pirate ship.

They loved their first trip on the Polar Express too. They actually believed they were on their way to the North Pole.

I can't wait to make pages for all of these great family moments.

Laina

i made it

working through Black Friday and the rest of the weekend at the mall. it was pretty crazy but at least we don't have doorbusters (literally) at our store.

thanksgiving was nice blur as always. dinner at my mom and dad's. she's the cook - not me. steve and i are feeling very thankful this holiday season. 95 people in the IT department at AmTrust were laid off yesterday, luckily not Steve. times are bad if you work for a bank.

here are my WorkInProgress layouts for December. Once again, Trish takes me out of my comfort zone in pattern paper and I totally enjoy the results.

Historic Cleveland

Looking for the perfect gift for that hard to shop for person? (Like my father in law!) Then check out this beautiful new book from Turner Publishing. The book is filled with hundreds of images of historic Cleveland. The book begins with some of the first known photos of Cleveland and spans through the post World War II era. Looking through the book gives you glimpses of some familiar downtown sites that are still standing today. I would definitely recommend this to anyone on your list who has an appreciation for the history and architecture of Cleveland.

cropping

This past weekend, I finally got the chance to get away for a girls weekend with my mom, Becci and Carla. Mom had never been to an overnight crop before. It was fun to spend so much time together without the boys or husbands. We got a lot done, but not as much as Becci and Carla the scrapbooking machines. They finished a gazillion pages. Carla ran out of picture by Sunday morning.

The Bertram Inn was beautiful and the food was great. Trish was so organized and even had gifts for us at check in. I got to scrap with so many new and old friends. It was fun to see

so many different people come together and craft. Trish - plan another one soon! I'll be back for sure.

I'm so behind posting my work, I literally have 40 layouts scanned. I am pretty much caught up with all my summer and fall pictures. Just in time for the Holiday season.

as i was saying

it's official. the Lamb household has cooties. steve went to the doc today with a high fever. he has a respitory infection and strep throat. everyone in this house has been to the doctor but me. mom the dishwashing, laundry folding warrior. thank goodness for antibiotics because this mommy is jumping ship 4pm Friday for a all weekend crop with her mom, friends, Trish and a bunch of gals from Work In Progress at the Bertram Inn. the guys have no choice but to be well.

no fun

please excuse this break in blogging. max had pneumonia in october. poor little emmitt has it for november. he is pretty pathetic. cute but pathetic.
i'm sure coop will have it too since illness usually works it way in threes.
-the tired mom

yes we can.

Today is a new day. So happy for this country - and my Dad. It was worth all those hours he spent door to door campaigning. So very proud Dad that you were a part of changing history.

Work In Progress November

I'm really glad Halloween is over. My nutty kids love Halloween so much I feel like it has turned into a second holiday season. Pumpkin Patch Rides, Haunted Forests, Apple Picking, Boo Parades, School Parties and Trick or Treating. I'm wiped out. Thankfully - Thanksgiving is an easier one to go through. Between all of that fun I was able to make 5 pages with my November Work In Progress kits. Each month I fall more and more in love with Trish's kits. I NEVER buy Basic Grey paper and yet the pages I made with BG are some of my favorties.Journaling Reads:
approaching 40 and still feeling like 30
figuring out what to do with my career
wanting a baby, knowing it’s impossible
realizing my oldest is changing too fast
getting control of my 2 wild monkeys
never having enough time for me
worried about loosing boopsie
celebrating 8 years of marriage
dreaming of our vacation
loving fall, hating winter
trying to smile a lot
being me

Journaling Reads:

the things i love about you...

our kiss and hug before bed

the songs you sing from school

you follow me around the house

sneaking into my bed to cuddle

finding pictures you made for me

but most of all..your big blue eyes.

Journaling Reads:

Cooper you are such a dynamic little dude. I love you to pieces, but some days you really know how to cop a serious attitude. I took these photos of you at the Homecoming Parade. You did not want your picture taken, no matter what I bribed you with. You were way too busy getting ready to catch candy. 9/08

sick

i'm sick. i never get sick. hardly ever. and now i got the worst cold i think i've had in 10 years. the kind where your nose hurts so bad you don't want to blow anymore. i keep thinking...one more day. just one more day and it will be gone.

i've been scrapping like crazy. just simple little pages for my books, not for sharing or posting. pages for my kids school and sports albums. the ones with the bad lighting and blurry pics. the ones that capture their everyday lives.

in the meantime here are 2 layouts from awhile ago i don't think i ever posted.

i goota go to bed. i was even too tired tonight to watch the finale of Project Runway. thank god for dvr.

kickin my butt

ok. i can admit when i'm wrong. i do like brown. i thought i didn't. but after working with Trish's fantastic October WorkInProgress kit, I have found that I do indeed like brown and College Press papers.

here is what i made:

PSS

Make that 2 layouts for CK Feb 09 and 1 for Scrapbooks Etc!

ps TOOT

I forgot to say that some of my work has been removed from this blog because it will be in Scrapbooks, Etc. Feb. 09 and Creating Keepsakes Feb. 09! wo-hoo!

now I'm done. :)

alive and kickin

whoa. two weeks gone. don't know how that happened. we finally got our power back after 5 days. the lamb family is definitely not a roughin it type of family. it seems like all i have been doing since i got back is work and laundry.

the little guys are over the top for Halloween as usual no thanks to their over indulging Grandmother. she has taken them to every halloween/costume shop in the county including pat catan's, michaels and joanns. we even had to check out the flower factory for the first time. the only place they haven't been to yet is hobby lobby. i never knew there could be so many halloween usa stores in one area. the boys convinced their dad to put up all the spooky stuff last night. so even though we have over a month to go, my house is covered in rats and bats.

i'm done with my WIP October DT projects and can't wait to post them. i think they are some of my best yet.

here's a little bit of crazy for you

We went to the Browns game Sunday night to watch the Steelers cream us. (boo) In the middle of the game Hurricane Ike decided to hit Ohio. (OHIO!?!) We came home to no power, no phone. Trees down everywhere. It seriously looked like we were in the south not the great lakes!
We went to bed thinking no biggie, they'll have it fixed by morning like they always do. Wrong! The damage was so extensive it may be the weekend before we gain power. The kids were thrilled-No School!
Monday night we packed the freezer, the kids and headed for my mom's house. I had to leave today for St. Louis to help a few other stores and won't be back until late Wednesday. To top it off today is Steve and I's 8th anniversary. He got to eat meatloaf at my mom's house with the kids. This will go down in the Lamb Family History as one wacky week.

(written from the Comfort Inn Fairview Heights, IL)

WIP September and fun news

Good news...Two of my entries for Memories Makers Master were chosen to be pblsihed in Kimber McGray and Summer Fullerton's new book titled "A Scrapbooker's Year."

Once again, a fun fabulous kit put together by Trish at Work In Progress. The last page is a negative storage sheet with 2x2 photos. What a way to do a fast collage! Don't forget to see what the other DT girls did with this kit at well!

a little goodbye

September was my last month designing for the Scrapping Spot. I enjoyed the past 6 months working with Jill and Cathy and appreciate the experience given to me. This month's kit was filled with Pink Paislee's Vintage Moon.






















We had a nice quiet weekend around the house. Max got to go o the Tribe game and see Cliff Lee win #20. I actually got caught up with all of my house work, which means little more time to scrap this week. I'm smiling just thinking about it.

random cool things..

1. Friday was my turn post at the Work In Progress Blog. I got to talk about my tried and true favorite little tools.

2. Scrapbook Trends picked up one of my pages for their January 09 issue. Wo-hoo!

3. I know it's August but...I couldn't resist getting the new American Crafts Christmas paper and embellishments. I am going to have to enter a Thicker Addiction Rehab soon.


4. I get to go to St. Louis this month for work to help train some other Event Coordinators. Can't wait to see the other stores.

5. Going to my neighbors to drink Captain Morgan and Diet Coke tonight. I love Holiday Weekends.

back home - again.

the last two weekends have been fun but busy. the weekend bfore last, i had to go to Elmore, Ohio for a bridal shower. my mom and i left early and decided to sneak in a trip to Hobby Lobby in Bowling Green before the shower. i found a few things i *needed*, as usual. on our way out of BG, i saw an old Ben Franklin store on the Main Street. i convinced my mom to stop even though we were cutting it close to shower time.

it was like a step back in time. there was an old candy counter and fountain. millions of wind up toys and junk galore. my kids would have LOVED it. the scrapbooking aisle was horrendous. my mom found a bright orange christmas tree marked half off. (it is now her "halloween tree" - more on this goofy matter in another post.) just as i was being told we had to go because we would be late for the shower, i found the "trims" section. there were two aisles of old ribbon and lace that had been sitting there for 20 years or more. most of it was .5 per yard. yes, a nickel! i grabbed a few that spools of punchinella and lace that i loved. if i would have had more than 30 seconds to pick, i'm sure i would have left with more. i got the thread for 1.50 and the stickers for .99. score!
now i'm on a hunt for old ben franklin stores to see if they are all the same. there's one in oberlin that's calling my name.

last night we got back from a weekend in chicago. steve's brother ran in the accenture triathalon and raised over $6000 for Parkinson's research. steve's mother has the disease so the entire family went to cheer him on.

i love chicago. friday we shopped. Lego store for Coop, Niketown for Max. Emmitt played on the playground behind Water Tower Place. we wore the little kids out on Saturday and hit the Shedd Aquarium, Millenium Park and the Lincoln Park Zoo all in one day. max opted out and went to see the Cubbies play instead. it was a family weekend but I still managed to sneak in Uncle Fun and Paper Boy. Didn't get to go to Windy City Scrapbooking even though it was less than a mile from our hotel. Sunday we were at the race all day, had late lunch at McGee's and headed home since the kiddos had their first day of school on Monday.

i'm a star

a scrapstar actually!

I love the girls that run this challenge blog and decided to try out for their latest DT call. Lucky me got picked to join the 7 other talented ladies!

Our first challenge?!?

HOT FOR TEACHER
in honor of going back to school and all the fond memories that go along with it, our challenge this month revolves around special teachers in our lives. maybe you had a teacher that did something that shaped who you are, or took your education experience to another level. maybe you had a crush on a teacher in school (it’s time to admit it!) or maybe there is a special teacher in your life right now that deserves a place in your scrappy memories! your challenge is to create a layout based on that person and tell why they have had a significant impact on your life.

I jumped right in and used some of my new KI Memories Back to School Products! I decided to dedicate my page to Mr. Redman my 5th grade teach at Central Middle School in Amherst, OH.

Thanks for stopping by! Next post will be about my AMAZING trip to Ben Franklin in Bowling Green, Ohio. No joke!