Saturday, May 31, 2008
Rain, Tornado Warning and Airforce Show :(
Friday, May 30, 2008
Friday at Last!
Not much happening here. DH got home late Wednesday night and is home.
Over the weekend we are planning on attention a air show at Maguire Airforce. I know Liam will be thrilled to see the military airplanes, etc. Don't worry, I will try to take some photos for you to see, too.
Here are a few things I saw today:
Andrea has a cute template at her blog. And if you are interested in taking photoshop classes, she will be offering some in June.
KSharonK has a super cute sampler and her newsletter is available for download.
Shutterfly - Momtourage by WE ARE Storytellers
DSSA has a multi-photo template available HERE.
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Friday at Last!
Wednesday, May 28, 2008
Wednesday's Treats and a Tutorial
JillJacksScraps has a multi-photo template
Sheer Blooms (flowers by Kim) - Lovely!
Shuttefly Blog - Momtourage
NBK has some "vintage" papers
Thank you ladies, for sharing your creations with us!
Angelica has a tutorial over at her blog, which shows you how to make brushes with your photos.
That is certainly a very useful tutorial. Go check it out.
Thanks Angelica for taking the time to write this up and share it with us.
Wednesday's Treats and a Tutorial
Studio Maya is having a half price sale
Studio Maya is having a half price sale
Tuesday, May 27, 2008
Fly Away Little Dandelion / Natali Designs / Breeze
Breeze Page set by Natali Designs/SBG
http://www.scrapbookgraphics.com/xcart/product.php?productid=21094&cat=0&page=1
Font is FG Amelia
Bead alpha by Kimberly Giarruso/TheDigiChick
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Fly Away Little Dandelion / Natali Designs / Breeze
Spring Blossoms / Amy Pearson / Natali Design
Spring Blossoms / Amy Pearson / Natali Design
Statues at Veteran's Park
Scraplift Challenge at Scrapbook-Graphics
Tuesday Freebies
Traci Reed has a cute challenge template
ScrapMatters has a template
Frames by Shaui
Misty has a cute alpha on her blog, Check out her new release.
Jill and Jack has a template
Redju has some super cute botanical/acrylic frames...
ScrapNGal has some Celebreate Wordart at her blog
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Tuesday Freebies
Monday, May 26, 2008
Veteran Park, Part Deux
Click on image to enlarge. See first batch of photos here.
Here is the 2nd batch of pictures from our outing of Saturday. It has the usual fare, pictures of flowers, birds and the kids at play. They were taken with the stone statues and took a long time observing them. They loved the water fountain and rides. The mirror was the only way I was going to be able to appear on a photo, so here I am. The incredible shrinking LovelyMissKait. I look like I am 2 feet tall. Liam was having so much fun making fun of my stature. But he didn't realize that I was laughing at him because he is short he looked like he didn't have a head, all we were able to see were two sets of legs and a torso. One set of legs was up where the head is supposed to be. :)
There was this gigantic pine tree, that reminded me of Shel Silverstein's The Giving Tree story. There were benches all around the tree where we could sit and rest our tired feet. The kids looked so tiny under the pine...I just loved the blue sky and sheer size of the tree.
They played, ate icecream and then went to Checkers. Fun was had by all.
Veteran Park, Part Deux
Memorial Day Freebies
NBA Template - perfect for those basketball shots!
Amanda has a patriotic sampler on her blog. Do check her kits...they are wonderful!
Alpha by MissVivi
Melissa has a template up for grabs
Felt Alpha
Bohemian art has a cute sampler
Andrea has 2 templates at her blog. Do check her bragbook templates...they are so cute!
Fran has a paper pack - Ophrys
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Memorial Day Freebies
Veterans Park
Veterans Park
Saturday, May 24, 2008
Satuday Happenings
Kaylie and Liam at the Columbus overpass. I absolutely detest walking over bridges because I have a fear of heights. The fact that there are cars doing 75 miles an hour below does not help alleviate my apprehension. I force myself to walk across to face my fear. The kids have no idea that this scares me. They look so happy skipping along like it is the most normal thing in the world.
This little guy was very very busy sampling each and every flower on sight!
Every Saturday, DH takes the kids over to his mother's house, Abuela Esther. Once there, Abuela calls her daughter so she can bring her two daughters over to play with Kaylie and Liam. The oldest girl is 11 and the little one, Leila, is 4. Leila loves Kaylie and wants to play with her all the time, but dislikes Liam for some reason. Liam gets so mad and jealous that Leila never wants to play with him.
But I digress, since DH is not here this week, Kaylie was bemoaning the fact that she wouldn't get a chance to visit Abuela and play with the girls. I don't mind visiting for a couple of hours, but I don't like to stay 3 or 4 hours like DH does. So, I took the kids over to Abuela's house, but went earlier and only stayed for 2 1/2 hours. Thereafter, I went over to my Dad's house, where I spend another hour. As I was driving to my dad's house, I was pointing out to them the places that I used to hang out when I was younger. We also drove by the first house that I used to live in when we first arrived in the U.S. 219 South Clinton Ave., Trenton, N.J.
(I will finish the posting tomorrow. It is almost 12:00 and I am beat. Goodnight!)
Satuday Happenings
Friday, May 23, 2008
Field Day / Photo Intensive Post
I am so glad that I remembered to turn on the enhance sky filter on my camera (it ju7st makes the sky a it bluer). The sky looks fabulous. Wow, I can't believe that this shots of the kids up in the air in the swing is not blurred.
Aren't these gorgeous? They would be, if I didn't have the copyright blurb on top of it.
This little bee was happy to pose for me.
And he makes it back to home base and passes the hula hoop to the next participant.
The head band slipped down and is now covering his eyes. Hey buddy, can you see?
Field Day at last. Field day was supposed to be last week, but it was cancelled due to inclement weather. Today was a beautiful day, sunny with white clouds and blue sky. Except it was windy and a tad cold. Here is Liam, in his red Survivor shirt waiting to be called to the field to play.
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Field Day / Photo Intensive Post
Fantastic Friday
Let's get the freebies out of the way, shall we?
Andrea - template
MissVivi - Sampler
Dreamer Add on by Brittney
KSharonK - Rebecca's Art sampler
Scrap Shanty - templates (there's several of them/click on the previews)http://scrapshanty.com/blog/category/freebies/
Believe Stamps by Christina Renee
KimB has some really cute beaded string things.
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Fantastic Friday
Cool Picture!
Cool Picture!
Thursday, May 22, 2008
Big Top / Maya / Fun by the Sea
Big Top page set by Maya
http://www.scrapbookgraphics.com/xcart/product.php?productid=21123&cat=0&page=1
Maya's Personal Stash - The Ultimate Staple Collection
http://www.scrapbookgraphics.com/xcart/product.php?productid=19871&cat=0&page=1
Beaded alpha by Kimberly Giarruso/TheDigiChick
Template by Jen Caputo from Impressions of Motherhood Collection by the Studio Girls.
http://www.scrapbookgraphics.com/xcart/product.php?productid=20958&cat=284&page=1
Big Top / Maya / Fun by the Sea
Birthday Box / Baersgarten Grabbag / 6th Birthday
Alpha from Breeze elements by Natali Designs
Font: Century Gothic and AvantGarde
Sketch 231 by Andrea Gold
Journaling Highlights - Jackie Eckles
Month and date lines by me
Kit used: Birthday Box - Supersized by Baers Garten
(You can get this kit for $5.00 from May 21 to May 25. It will be $24.00 thereafter.
Birthday Box / Baersgarten Grabbag / 6th Birthday
Happiest in the Garden/A Trip Down Memory Lane
I just love this one. Look at those cheeks and that curly hair...
Happiest in the Garden/A Trip Down Memory Lane
Treats, Tricks and a Tutorial
I saw a tutorial for aging people digitally. Wouldn't it be fun to get someone's picture under the pretense of fixing it and do the opposite?
Tutorial:
I found another one for smoothing skin.
Treats:
Scrappin A Latte: Shape Templates
Lindsay Jane - Template
Krista - Spumoni kit
Shaui has some cute doodled stars
KimB has a cute template
WordArt by Val
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Treats, Tricks and a Tutorial
Wednesday, May 21, 2008
Liam and the Ducky Project
Liam and the Ducky Project
I've Been Tagged...
1) Link your tagger and list these rules on your blog.
2)Share 7 facts about yourself on your blog, some random, some weird.
3) Tag 7 people at the end of your post by leaving their names as well as links to their blogs.
4) Let them know they have been tagged by leaving a comment on their blog.
7 Random and/or weird facts:
1-I am NOT a morning person.
2-My favorite color is ORANGE; my least favorite color is PURPLE.
3-I have a CRUSH on Les Stroud, a/k/a SURVIVORMAN. (Pls. don't tell dh! :)
4-Weird fact #1: When sleeping, I don't like my knees to touch.
5-Weird fact #2: I like to drink steaming hot chocolate (Chocolate Cortez) and just when it is at its hottest, I place it in my cup along with a few pieces of GOUDA CHEESE. When the cheese warms up, it turns soft and stringy which I then scoop with a spoon. (I can just hear you saying: "eeeee, gross!") (I guess you can call it an acquired taste!)
6-I have an IRRATIONAL fear of bridges, heights and getting lost.
7-I love listening to music from all over the world even if I don't understand the language.
In an effort to get all my friends to update their blogs, I am tagging:
1. Becky, a/k/a Webchyck
http://webchyck.typepad.com/wandering_with_webchyck/
2. Donna, a/k/a KYGirl
http://donnabmiller.typepad.com/my_weblog/
3. Jenna, a/k/a Sweeets
http://thescrapspace.com/jenna/?p=66
Psst. - check out her contest...it is easy money!
4. Jen Vogel
http://sixfive.typepad.com/create/
5. Karen Bowers
http://karensdreamingbig.blogspot.com/
6. Michelle, a/k/a/ Plumtuckered
http://plumtuckered.wordpress.com/
7. Amy Pearson, a/k/a Fannie
http://www.thepearsonplace.com/
I've Been Tagged...
It's a Beautiful Day
It's a Beautiful Day
Tuesday, May 20, 2008
A Series of Unfortunate Events
CAUSE is something that makes something else happen. Out of two events, it is the event that happens first. To determine the cause, ask the question "Why Did it Happen?"
EFFECT is what happens as a result of the cause. Of two related events, it’s the one that happens second or last. To determine the effect, ask the question "What Happened?"
My dear husband left today for Puerto Rico, along with his sister, for his grandmother viewing and funeral. The whole thing just feels so bizarre to me.
Back in February, dh went to visit his father and relatives in Puerto Rico. His Grandmother, Mama Sabina, 93 years old, wanted to travel to Puerto Rico, too, to see her family and stay at her house. DH asked his Aunt to have Mama Sabina travel from Michigan to our house in New Jersey, for one day, before both of them traveled to Puerto Rico together. She was so very happy to see us and thanked God every day for the opportunity to come see us, especially Kaylie and Liam, her great-granchildren.
Off they went to Puerto Rico. On their return trip, Mama Sabina came to live with us for over a month and a half. Boy, were we in for an unexpected in-depth look into elderly care and Alzheimer!
Mama Sabina had a few things wrong with her, though you wouldn't know it if you saw her. For starters, she could only half see from one eye. She was hard of hearing (which was strange because at times she could hear fine, but others, even almost screaming she couldn't hear) and was imbalanced. She would get up from the couch, walk a few steps and all of a sudden get unbalanced. I had to be her shadow. I couldn't leave her out of my sight for a minute. She was very sweet, had a great disposition, and great appetite. She had good long term memory, but her short term memory left a lot to be desired. We didn't know she had Alzheimer or about her imbalance.
What made it worse was the fact that she couldn't remember that we had a bathroom in the first floor, so she always made a dash up the stairs to the 2nd floor. I was forever in fear that she would get one of her imbalance spells, fall down the steps and break her neck. Whenever I had to go to the bathroom or kitchen, I would have one of the kids keep an eye on her and tell me if she was making a run for the stairs.
WHILE she was staying with us, she did fall one time...in the bathtub. It happened while my sister was visiting my house, when my mom was in the hospital. I had left her alone for a few minutes, next thing I know she had fallen. Thank God that she didn't break anything! Ever since that day, I didn't let her do anything by herself. I realized that I couldnt' risk her getting hurt at my house.
DURING her stay at my house, I was her faithful companion. After a while, we found our rhythm and things were a little easier. I knew her routine, likes and dislikes. After a month at my house, she wanted to go back to her daughter's house in Michigan. DH tried to talk her into staying longer, but she was adamant about leaving. The day finally came...her daughter came to pick her up. Mama Sabina was drinking coffee (remember my coffee lover layout? :) and eating some crackers...her daughter snuck in and kneeled before her...when Mama Sabina looked up, she realized it was her daughter staring back at her. She exclaimed with delight "My daughter! You are finally here!" Boy, was Mama Sabina ever happy. I had never seen her so happy before. She said her goodbye and off to Michigan she went.
A few days later we got a call telling us that Mama Sabina was in the hospital because she couldn't breath properly. About a week and a half later, we get the call that she had fallen down the steps and broken her hip. She had to have hip replacement surgery. While recovering, she might have fallen again, and her plastic replacement broke thus necessitating a 2nd surgery to fix the hip again. During the 2nd surgery, her heart stopped 2 times and then her blood pressure dropped so much that they couldn't save her.
All I keep thinking is that I am ever so grateful that no harm came to her while under my care. I would be going crazy about now if she had had the accident here at my house. Oh, I know that this is nobody's fault, but still, I am the biggest worrywart that you would ever want to meet. I would never be able to forgive myself if she had died from surgery related to an accident at my house.
This is where cause and effect comes in. I wonder if she would still be alive today, had she stayed at my house longer, instead of going back to Michigan. I will never know.
She passed away on Friday, 5/16 at the ripe old age of 94. She turned 94 back in March. She led a long life. Later in her life, she got to do the things that she couldn't when she was younger. She traveled back and forth from Michigan to Puerto Rico to visit family and friends. She remembered them all always. Her long standing wish was that she be buried with her deceased son (died of a heart attack at age 36) in Puerto Rico. It was my husband's desire that her wish came true.
Since Friday, my husband has been in touch with family, distant relatives and friends regarding the the viewing and funeral arrangements. On Friday alone, he fielded about 40 calls. Mind you that he hadn't gotten much information from his aunt. He kept calling her and calling and calling her to get information, but she wasn't calling back. Whilst waiting for his aunt's call, he initiated the process of calling his uncle in Puerto Rico to have him make arrangements with a local funeral home to collect the body from the airport and embalming, all the while making sure that cementery plot where she was going to be buried was opened and cleaned up. Wouldn't you think that Mama Sabina's sons would take this responsibility upon themselves instead of my husband who is 3,ooo miles away? My husband does it gladly, but I still don't see her family, who resides in Puerto Rico, taking responsibility.
It was decided that there would not be a viewing in Michigan. There would be a very private gathering where people could say their goodbyes. Arrangments were made for her body to be sent to Puerto Rico. Her body was supposed to be shipped out yesterday, but late in the afternoon we get a call that the body was held up at the airport because they needed some kind of tracking numbers from the funeral home. In the meantime, her daughter missed her flight. When she finally boarded a later flight, they were trying to call her to tell her of the need for tracking numbers, but because she was in flight, the call wouldn't go through. The call landed on my husband's lap. DH had to call his aunt's exhusband to ask for the funeral home's name, so that I can look up the number on the internet to make the call and get the requested information. Unbelievable.
Anyway, dh came home last night; his voice was shot. He had been talking so much lately that it strained his vocal chords. That and the fact that the weather here in Jersey has been switching from cold to hot to cold. When that happens, we always get sick.
Now, add the kids to the mixture. They were so upset last night. They were crying up a storm at the thought of Daddy leaving again. He left at 5 in the morning and thank God that everything is working according to schedule for him. Can you believe that a ticket to Puerto Rico under such extreme circumstance is about 900 bucks? With the help of a family friend, he was able to get it for half of that. We are not even talking about a non-stop flight...he had to layover in Florida for a couple of hours. For goodness sake, it is only a 3 hour flight! I wonder if he feels like Gilligan on his 3 hour trip? :)
The body should arrive today, viewing will be tomorrow at the funeral home, and burial will be the next day. The viewing has been another issue, too. My husband's father wants the viewing held at his house. The funeral director would prefer that the viewing be held at the funeral home because of the heat. Puerto Rico is hot and bodies tend to decompose faster in hot weather. He thinks that because he lives on a hill where it is nice and cool, the effect will be less. We will see how this turns out... Are these events usually so complicated?
Got to go pick up the kids at school. It is freaking cold, dark and rainy.
DH just called. He got to Puerto Rico safe and sound. He is having trouble with car insurance. Yeah, we need this happening right now, too.
A Series of Unfortunate Events
Saturday, May 17, 2008
Amy Pearson / All Kinds of Hungry / Liam's Favorite Foods
Fonts: CK Cursive, Mariah, FG Matilda
All Kinds of Hungry Stock photos by Amy Pearson
Bg. Ppr. and green frames from Urban - XXL kit by Baers Garten
Alpha and staples from Breeze Element pack by Natali Designs
Labels from File It Under...Basics by Michelle Godin
Template from 365 Project: A Photo a Day by Amy Pearson
Amy Pearson / All Kinds of Hungry / Liam's Favorite Foods
Amy Pearson / Classic Thirst / Coffee Lover
Alpha, staple, ribbon, lace and brown ppr. from Breeze by Natali Designs/SBG
Photo from Classic Thirst by Amy Pearson
Sketch by Fei FeiBracket frame. sequins and crumpled pprs. from Freshness by Natali Designs
Amy Pearson / Classic Thirst / Coffee Lover
Friday, May 16, 2008
Rest In Peace, Mama Sabina
I am so glad that I got a chance to spend time with you, Mama Sabina.
P.S. Be sure to look up Abuelita. She is in heaven, too.
Rest In Peace, Mama Sabina
Freebielicious Friday
Wordart Frames by Sugarplum Paperie
Eve has a super cool template
Mandagirl has a multi-photo template
Shutterfly BlogMomtourage by KittyChen/Emily Powers {We Are Storytellers}
Note: If you missed the previous downloads, just scroll down for links.
I Believe Sampler by Kim B, et al.
Multi-photo Template
Sharon has a cute sampler
Touch of Light/Darkness action by MCP Actions.
Freebielicious Friday
Death Comes Knocking At Our Door...again
You know, I was complaining yesterday that nothing much was happening. I should have kept my mouth shut. Last night, at around dinnertime, we got a call that Mama Sabina was in critical condition. We were woken up at 2:15 in the morning to inform us of her demise. Arrangements are being made to have her funeral service in Puerto Rico, where she was born, and in accordance with her wishes.
So glad that I took some photos while she was at our house. Even more glad that the kids are old enough to remember her.
Rest in peace, Mama Sabina, rest in peace.
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Death Comes Knocking At Our Door...again
Thursday, May 15, 2008
POA - May 8th
Look who turned 6 years old today!
He has the creamiest skin...with a few freckles here and there. Soooo cute. I love his eyes, too. Ok, I am biased.
POA - May 8th
POA - May 7th
POA - May 6
Thursday at Last
2 days ago I got a note from Liam's school informing me that he has been recommended for the gifted and talented program. Testing is slated to begin next week through June 13. Though there is no guarantee that he will be accepted to the program, I hope so. He is super bright and needs to be challenged more so than he is now. I know he is in Kindergarten but he should be in 2nd grade level.
Last week I wanted to take him to the zoo, but couldn't. Speaking of Zoo, Little Dreamer has a challenge going and they are giving away a super cute zoo sampler.
I recently saw a super cute hybrid card over at Scrapmatters. Leslie was nice enough to share the template with all. Thanks!
I love wordart, but am not so good at creating it myself. I did see a cute wordart sampler over at the Hawt Mama Team Blog...want to see it?
Thursday at Last
Monday, May 12, 2008
Liam's Birthday and Mother's Day
Daddy comforting Liam. Liam went to him to complain that he hardly got any toys and candies from the Pinata...the other kids were way faster. :)
The kids scrambling around to pick up candies and toys....
Emanuel thought that he was going to have better luck because he is bigger. Was he wrong! He came out swinging hard. Ultimately, it was Catalina that whacked the bull the hardest that it came tumbling down. It didn't break, so dh broke it apart for them and tossed the candies.
Liam whacking the pinata. He thought it was going to be easy. But I covered his eyes and then spun him around...he was so mad that he couldn't hit the pinata. Daddy was lowering the pinata up and down to challenge the kids....
I love the bright colors of this pinata.
Isn't this a cute cake?
Doesn't Liam look cute here? And so sweet, too. :)
Liam's Birthday and Mother's Day