a bag of chips

K.I.S.S.

Keep It Simple Sweetie.  (I actually learned this as Keep It Simple Stupid but Sweetie is, well, sweeter.  Donchya think?)  My style has always been simple.  I try new things and buy new things with good intentions and I always go back to my simple ways.  I prefer to keep the focus on the photo and I think I just about always manage to do that.

Thanks for looking!

Double Happiness.

I had the pleasure this long weekend of photographing identical twin girls.  They are 11 months old and have the most beautiful eyes I think I have ever seen.  While I didn't get as many of them together as I would have liked, I'm happy with what I did get.  I sure hope their parents are happy with the results.

Cheers!

(Click on photos to view larger.)

Buried, behind, bewildered.

I feel so behind on so many things.  In reality that's probably not the case, but I feel overwhelmed right now.  Things are in transition once again and I'm stuck between relishing and resenting change.  There are so many things still up in the air for us right now, and I constantly feel a few months behind the rest of the world.  I'm usually a go-with-the-flow kinda girl, generally unflustered under pressure.  But I have my moments of weakness and worry when I don't feel capable of digging myself out of my hole and seeing daylight or desktop.  I feel like I can see the back of my own head, far off in the heaving, bustling crowd and the rest of me is running, pushing to catch up, out of breath and weary.

Hey.  It's a pity party and I've invited all of you.

But there is one sure thing that picks me up and reminds me how worthwhile it all is - my family.  My wonderful, supportive husband and my beautiful, sweet kids, and my selfless, awesome, beautiful mother.  A thousand-watt smile from my girl brings me out of my funk and back into the light, and my son's sticky kisses are like honey, sweet and soothing.  And there's nothing like a husband's or a mother's embrace to make you feel like everything's gonna be alright. 

I hope my girl's smile brightens your day, too.

An Officer and a Baby.

I spent the weekend in Minnesota.  My younger sister (half-sister, actually) graduated from the University of Minnesota (lovely, clean, HUGE campus) and last Friday was commissioned as an officer in the US Army.  I'm so proud of that girl.  I took photos of the commissioning ceremony and I'll post those in a few days.

I saw the Mall of America and went to the Archiver's store there.  Oh.  My.  God.  'Nuff said.

Saw my dad who is buried at Ft. Snelling National Cemetery.  Said hello, sat for a while, cried.  'Nuff said.

This was my third trip to Minnesota and I must say that I really like what I've seen.  Not that I think we're in any way going to move there or anything, but it's lovely.  Green.  Water.  Cheaper gas.  Basements.  Diversity.  Culture.  Way cool, doncha know.  And I love the way they talk.  I wanted to giggle every time I talked to a local and then I realized, as I was boarding my plane home, that I'd picked up the accent for myself as a souvenir. 

I bunked at my sister's apartment along with some of her high-school friends.  Had a good time and generally behaved myself.  But I missed my hubby and kids to the point of heartache and I'm ever so glad to be home.

I also took the following photos of the most adorable little boy, Austin.  Austin is the eight-month-old grandson of one of my dad's closest friends and I'm so glad we arranged for a little impromptu photo shoot.  Isn't he a doll?

A whole lotta scrappin' goin' on.

Come on over baby, a whole lotta scrappin' goin' on.  Everybody now!!!

Okay.  Well.

Here are some more recent layouts.  The first three are this month's KMA Designer Girl submissions.   I still need to do my card and I'm running WAY behind schedule.  Between NSD (National Scrapbook Day) and some other stuff I've been falling behind.  But I love KMA.  I love being on their design team and I love their online store.  They are efficient and friendly with competitive or better prices and they get new products in every day.  I'm like a kid in a candy store!  And just about everything on most of my layouts can be purchased there.  Shameless plug for KMA???  You bet!

Thanks for looking!

Enjoy!

Click on photos to view larger.

Happy Mother's Day!

A shout out to all you moms out there.  The four of us wish you a very happy and special day.

And a very, very, very special Mother's Day blessing to all the birth mothers out there in the world.  Mere words could never convey the love and appreciation we have for you in our hearts.

WOW!!! Check this out!

I got my new issue of Creating Keepsakes magazine and look what's inside:

See that yellow star down there?  The one BY MY NAME???  One of my many, many layouts that I've submitted to CK got noticed by the editor. Even though it wasn't published, to get my name in the magazine in a text box next to some other AWESOME scrappers is a huge thing for me.

YAY!

(PS  The previous posts featured lunatic rants by a sleep-deprived woman under the influence of PMS.  I now return you to our regular scheduled programming.)

Irony. It's what's for breakfast.

There is some ironic cosmic force behind what happens every single time when I'm running late.  I will hit every red light, detour and construction zone, and I'll get stuck behind every bus, every lost driver, every rattle-trap ancient pick-up with an equally ancient driver, and every souped-up, lowered, modified THING with a teenybopper on a cell phone who slows down for every pothole or bump in the road. 

I swear there is some bugging device in my house which alerts this whole team of people that I've left and that I'm running late.  Then they all hop into action and move into place, impeding my every move.  And the worst part about this whole thing is that I've got my kids in the car and I can't yell any obscenities or make any rude gestures.  Oh the irony and the agony.

Motherhood.

My husband comes home tomorrow night.  He's been gone for almost two weeks.  It just dawned on me that these past few weeks of single parenthood precede Mother's Day.  Great timing! 

I've had two weeks of doing everything by myself.  And when my mom was down here the other day to give me just a *small* break, I asked her in wonder how she did it. How did she raise two kids, eighteen months apart, into relative adulthood BY HERSELF?  Not just a few weeks, but over 20 years of single parenthood.  Over 20 years of frustration, worry, heartache and dead-tiredness.  And my brother and I were the reason the term "sibling rivalry" was invented.  It's a wonder my mother is a (mostly) sane and functioning member of society.

These past few weeks have been tough, no doubt.  I miss my husband and all the perks that come with him.  I have made myself take time out to just be on the floor and play with the kids.  In fact, the other day Aidan kicked my a-double-squiggle at Dora Candy Land.  And Makena is quite the puzzle-putter-togetherer.  We've been reading books or snuggling in my big bed for a quick movie before night-night.  I've managed to brush their teeth every morning and night and I've not forgotten to bring their lunches to school.  Since daddy's been away I've stopped giving Makena bottles, a big change she's taken in stride, and I think I've finally gotten her to stop calling me Tina (I'm "mommy," dammit). 

But the stress of the past few weeks has taken its toll.  I'm short on patience and big on attitude.  I'm tempted to remove every training potty in the house and set them on fire in the backyard.  I'll add to the fire every toy and book I've stepped on, along with all the piles of laundry.  I want to stand in a sound-proofed room and scream my head off...or maybe I'll just have a glass of wine in there and then take a long, quiet nap.  I want to scratch the shit out of every Dora and Thomas DVD we own and I want to...I want to...(breathe).  I actually feel much better now that I've actually said the things I've gleefully daydreamed of doing. 

Anyway, this chaotic post is about how much I miss my husband and how damn happy I am that he comes home tomorrow, and about how much I appreciate my mother.   If I am half the mother to my kids that my mother is to me and my brother, I'd still be a great mom.  I've been saying that for years, even before becoming a mom myself, and it's even more true now than ever before.

Happy Mother's Day to all you amazing women out there, especially you, mom.  Peace be with all of you.

Miss Katie.

The incredibly adorable and delightful Miss Katie: