the moments in between

again? seriously?

we had a fabulous long weekend. matthew and i snuck away for a night - we saw wicked and stayed in a cute old hotel downtown. we ran errands and got things done around the house. i worked on project life and some other scrap projects. the boys played and played and played outside. we went to a memorial day block party at a neighbor's house. and then sam was spinning around me and slipped and slammed his knee into the ground - and suddenly we were leaving the bigs w/ a neighbor and in the car headed for the children's er. again.

four stitches this time. and once again, he was a rockstar. stitching takes a lot longer than stapling, but he mostly kept his cool. some crying, but no fighting or squirming. brave, brave boy. they wrapped and padded the heck out of it in hopes of keeping it clean, dry & protected. on the upside? we can get the stitches + staples removed at the same ped visit. lucky us? to be honest, i'm focusing on the fact that he's a happy, healthy and active (though slightly banged up) little dude. 

(when i was your age mini // copyright twopeasinabucket.com - click here to see all of the pages and a supply list. this was made for the connecting with creativity series, you can see more about that here)

also lucky? little me. i grew up in an home where i had everything i needed, and most of what i wanted. i had choices. i got to have birthday parties and go to school and ride my bike around the block all summer. shimelle is doing something awesome to help girls that don't have that - she's donating 100% of class proceeds to the because i am a girl campaign today. her classes are awesome - this is a great way to do something fun for you AND help someone else. she's got all the info here - i hope you'll check it out.

happy tuesday, everyone. i think we're in for a quiet day here - sam's knee is stiff and he's not too happy about being up and moving around. we may be playing a lot of lego batman while he recuperates. 

PAPER MOON!

my new favorite kit EVER is live. yep. top spot, baby. bibliography held it for over two years, but it's time to move on. PAPER MOON is my new favorite and my best.

i got all four add-ons. when april showed us the kits, i didn't even stop to think, just ordered all of them. this kit  is so me, there was no way around it. i did a lot of mixing and matching with this kit, but ray gun was my favorite of the four, followed by space cowboy. of the stamps, the filmstrip in countdown was my favorite, but that ray gun is too cute, too!

here's what i made with this gorgeous kit : 

(summer reading // SPACE COWBOY + PAPER MOON + crate chipboard from the shop + mister huey's lemonade + mister huey's warm calico + tiny attacher)

as soon as i saw the crate book paper in space cowboy, i knew it was perfect for my book lovin' alex. the smash pocket will be perfect to hold notes about what he reads this summer. i masked / misted some stars with lemonade onto the sass starters background - one of my favorite ways to use mister huey!

(last day of school // PAPER MOON + COUNTDOWN + RAY GUN + bits from other addons + crate buttons from the shop + jbs fountain pen ink + foam adhesive + oyster divine twine)

this page started with the amy tangerine tag in the main and built from there. i love that the filmstrip stamp makes a good place for pics OR little bits and pieces. i stamped it onto the text paper and then cut it apart before adding it to my page. it made a great frame for an iphone pic! i used the GP brads to date the page - there are so many fun uses for these.

(all in a row // PAPER MOON + RAY GUN + SPACE COWBOY + epiphanie 14mm & 20mm button maker + crate chip from the shop + pewter zing + versamark pad + tiny attacher + oyster divine twine)

these pics have been waiting patiently for just the right time to be scrapped - and this kit was IT. i think the space diagram paper works with the lego pirates - they navigated by the stars, right? ;)

(super three // PAPER MOON + RAY GUN + bits from the other add-ons + crate chip & buttons from the shop + mister huey's orchard + mister huey's lemonade + jbs spice tin ink + tiny attacher + oyster divine twine)

i'm not going to lie - this may be my most favorite page that i've ever made. i love the pics, i love the sentiment, i love everything about it. LOVE. i adore that sass paper - i cut out a few of the rays and backed them with patterned paper. i also masked off a star that was slightly bigger than the chipboard star from the oa miscellany and misted the background with orchard and lemonade.

(the big drop // PAPER MOON + addons + crate chip & buttons from the shop + foam adhesive + oyster divine twine + tiny attacher)

this was my eeked in just before the deadline page - i reeeeeeeeeeeally wanted to get this event scrapped, and  it was a good way to use some of the pieces of the kits that i hadn't broken into yet! 

as always - if you have any ?s about what i used or how i made these, please ask away!

he's a rockstar

chocolate milkshakes make everything better. this is sam, about 45 minutes after having two staples put in the back of his head after bonking it on the playground and splitting it open. yep. what an end to the preschool picnic. so glad heather was still there to organize our boys into packing up my stuff and getting it to the car, because i was a little flustered. 

he was a little nervous when we got to the ER, but he was a rockstar. he cried a little when they cleaned it up. then they used gauze to hold numbing gel on the back of his head and left us alone to cuddle and talk. he half napped for a bit (it WAS naptime, poor kid), then perked up and wanted to play games on the ipad. when they came back to clean it again and staple him shut, he fussed while they worked but was up and fine afterwards. brave boy. he was running around as soon as he got home. 

in less dramatic news.. PAPER MOON goes live today! i'm also super excited about the smash goodies that will be in the shop. they'll be up at noon EST, under the embellishments section of the shop - and SC WILL be restocking them when they sell out. not before shipping, but they WILL be back. we needed a little stress relief around here last night so i broke out the black folio and made a title page, and helped each of the boys make an entry.

i'll be helping them add bits and pieces, but this book will be THEIR summer book. i think it will be fun to give them sheets from the journal pads to fill out from time to time - there are a lot of fun prompts in there!! i have a blue folio stashed away until i decide how **i** want to use it. 

(PAPER MOON + addons + crate chip & buttons from the shop + foam adhesive + oyster divine twine + tiny attacher)

 i've also got one more little peek for you.. and a few more over on the SC message board. ;) don't forget, the shop update and subscriber presale happen at noon EST, and the full reveal is at midnight EST. i won't make the chat tonight - matthew and i are escaping to see wicked. i'm scheduling a post w/ my gallery LOs - i LOVE what i made this month and can't wait to share them. don't forget, you can start ordering shop items like zing, ink, countryside and state fair NOW, and they'll ship free with your kit! 

2 more things.... SC is now on pinterest! super excited about this, as i'm an addict. ;) and how about a code for a discount on a chipboard alphabet??? 

happy friday! here's to a less dramatic day. ;)

 

it's a small world (or how i ended up in the paper)

omaha may not be a small town, but the area where we live is. matthew grew up here, and we are constantly running into people he knows. my cousins grew up about 2 blocks from where i now live, and i find a lot of people know them, too. my boys have friends whose grandparents live on our corner - matthew went to school with their mom. our old ball coach's son was best friends with my cousin. and alex's new neighbor buddy's mom dated my cousin and went to school with matthew. small world.

so, really, i shouldn't be surprised by who knows who anymore. a few weeks ago, a friend / neighbor of mine told me that a coworker had mentioned that the paper was doing an article on instagram, and she asked if i minded if she passed my name along because she knows i use it. the reporter called me a few days later, and as we chatted, i mentioned where my boys go to school. turns out the counseler there is one of her close friends. small, small world.

anyway - the article. i was interviewed on why i love the instagram app, and sent over a few pics. i have to confess that i don't read the paper, and didn't think it would be more than a sidebar sort of thing. so it was pretty cool to find my photos on the front page of the living section. you can read the text here. alex thought it was awesome that he was in the paper (that's his ear at the ballfield). sam was indifferent. ben was a little grumpy that HE wasn't in the paper until i reminded him that his ball team was front page in a south carolina paper last year. ;)

shortly after it ran, i was up at school for an event. a mom i know stopped me because she had seen the article and wanted to know if i knew the reporter. i explained how i got hooked up with the story, and she told me that her mom used to work w/ the school counseler and knew the reporter from that. like i said... small world.

happy thursday! we're off to sam's end of school picnic today - so glad the sun came out for the event!!

wordless wednesday : quintessentially sam

signs of spring

we're scattered this week. it's hard to find our summer groove when sam's still in preschool, so we're in limbo, and therefore all over the place. trying to embrace the crazy. or i'll GO crazy. ;)  we had a lot of fun yesterday at our picnic w/ school friends - it was a perfect day for it. today the bigs have friends over while sam + their little bro are at preschool. they played on the playground up at the elementary for a while and are now doing.... well, i'm not sure. i'm a little worried, it's too quiet for a house holding 4 boys aged 8-10. hm. i might need to look into that. ;)

(signs of spring // copyright twopeasinabucket.com : patterned paper - fancy pants it's the little things strips & spring fever, october afternoon schoolhouse pink eraser & 5&dime circus peanuts, collage press hometown summer green acres & summer fun, sassafras starters intro + embellishments - maya road star pin, jbs chipboard stars, collage press hometown summer punchouts, pink paislee tickets, mme stella and rose brads + alphabets - basic grey life of the party mini alpha, october afternoon campfire alpha)

i think i'm getting into a groove with 2 pagers. okay okay, that may be overstating things, but i'm not longer scared of them. i'm really liking the mismatched backgrounds - it makes it easier to design for me. i think it works especially well on this page since my photos are a little mismatched - one pretty, one grungey. 

happy tuesday! we're planning a library run after we pick up sam - it looks like it might be a wet afternoon and alex has "nooooooooooooooooooothing to reeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeead" ;) i'm hoping it doesn't get TOO wet, though - we have ball games tonight! 

paper moon sneaks

the more i use this kit, the more i love it. i've finished 4 layouts (and one's a two pager!) and am hoping to sneak in another before i turn in my work tonight. love. i stand by my claim that it's my new favorite, and has bumped bibliography (jan 09!) from my top spot.

(PAPER MOON + RAY GUN + bits from the other add-ons + crate chip & buttons from the shop + mister huey's orchard + mister huey's lemonade + jbs spice tin ink + tiny attacher + oyster divine twine)

(PAPER MOON + COUNTDOWN + RAY GUN + bits from other addons + crate buttons from the shop + jbs fountain pen ink + foam adhesive + oyster divine twine)

(PAPER MOON + RAY GUN + SPACE COWBOY + epiphanie 14mm & 20mm button maker + crate chip from the shop + pewter zing + versamark pad + tiny attacher + oyster divine twine)

(SPACE COWBOY + PAPER MOON + crate chipboard from the shop + mister huey's lemonade + mister huey's warm calico + tiny attacher)

reveal is may 27th - the shop update and subscriber presale happens at noon EST, and the full kit + gallery reveal is at midnight EST. hope to see you there!

happy monday! we're enjoying not rushing off to school, and looking forward to a kick off the summer picnic lunch with friends. not a bad start to the week. =)

last day - bring on summer!

it may be gray and wet and gloomy, but it's THE LAST DAY OF SCHOOL. well, for the bigs. ;) (sam goes tuesday of next week and then has a last day picnic on thursday).

lots of goodbyes today. alex's teacher of 2 years is pregnant with her third child and won't be coming back. we loved her and were hoping ben would get her for 3rd grade next year. we'll miss her! ben's teacher isn't going anywhere, but she won't be "ours" again until sam's in 2nd grade. which is a ways off. ;)

and so ends their 2nd grade and 4th grade years. and now my job of sorting through all the STUFF that's been coming home all week begins. i'm hoping to wrap it up before they go back to school. ;)

we went simple and heartfelt for end of year gifts. tulips + tags. and the boys each made their teacher a card and wrote a note.

to mrs c and mrs f - thanks for a great year. happy summer!!

the big drop

the annual egg drop event was held at our school yesterday. the 4th, 5th and 6th graders were all invited to design a contraption that would protect an egg from a 2 story drop. the entire school came out to watch the results.

each kid got a countdown from the audience -

and then tossed their container out the window. the teachers held off checking the eggs till each kid / team made their way outside - and then big cheers or "awwwwwwwwwwwwwws!" depending on the outcome.

(alex's team's egg survived, but i wasn't quick enough to get a pic of the celebration when they got down)

such a fun event. it was awesome to see how excited all the kids got about it, and how much support they were all showing for each other. it was also cool to see how many different ideas these kids had - the contraptions definitely got more sophisticated as the kids got older.\

in non egg news, i've got a misting tutorial up at studio calico. i used four colors of mist (pickle, clover, bluegrass and bonny blue) to create this funky border - the step by steps are here.

(in a tree //patterned paper - Countryside Betsy, Countryside Wildflower, Countryside County Line, State Fair Midway, Sassafras ; stickers - green Addy alphabet, Countryside labels ; veneer - buttons, butterflies ; tag - State Fair die cut tags ; mist - Mister Huey's Pickle, Clover, Bluegrass and Bonny Blue ; punch - Martha Stewart ; other - Hambly overlay and washi tape, Tiny Attacher)

happy thursday! i'm working and watching the weather outside - ben's field day is this morning, and i reeeeeeeeally hope they get to do it outside. alex's was moved from this afternoon to yesterday afternoon given the impending rain. it seems we fight this every year - so if you could think DRY thoughts, i know all the k-2nd kids at our school would appreciate it. ;)

wordless wednesday : puddles & suckers