a bag of chips

A Simple Cover.

This is the cover of the March/April issue of Simple Scrapbooks.  And guess what?  The photo and the layout are mine. CAN YOU FREAKIN' BELIEVE IT?  Well, I can't.  (But don't pinch me, because if I've dreamed the whole thing I'd like it to stay real for a bit longer.)  The photo is one I took of my good friend Kelly givin' some lovin' to her gorgeous baby girl. Is she cute or is she cute?

And I wrote some photography tips in the Focus on Photos article on page 54 of this issue.  On this page you can also see a layout I did of Miss Nadia using a photo I took of her in the hospital just 12 hours after her birth. 

Anyway, I'm not usually one to toot my own horn but I couldn't not share such exciting news. 

I've got one more day at CHA with Miss Nadia and then I'm back home.  I got the chance to meet so many other Simple folks yesterday and that was awesome (still not looking for any pinches) and helped Simple Scrapbooks celebrate their fifth anniversary at the show (look for photos of the cake and the fun in my next post).  I'm seeing some really cool new stuff from some of my favorite manufacturers and I'm pretty sure I'm going to be adding a few new manufacturers to my favorites list.

Now I'm off to bed!  G'night!

Random acts of cuteness and an update.

 

Miss Makena turns three on Sunday.  THREE!  Holy moly but where does the time go.  She is blossoming into such an amazing little lady.  She's almost totally potty trained and she's very proud of herself.  In fact, her bathroom activities are a popular topic of conversation for her.  She says she wants to be a doctor when she grows up (and I can be her nurse) but I bet she's either going to be a star athelete or a talk show host.  She can talk as fast as she can run.  The photo of her is from her early birthday party a few weekends ago.  We have a neighbor who has a jumper business and we get a killer rate.  Jumpers are a MUST HAVE for kid parties.  That and a candy-free goodie bags.

Miss Nadia  had her four-month check-up today.  She's 15 pounds and 25.75 inches tall and getting cuter by the second.  She giggles and squaks and talks and loves munching on her fingers.  She's gotta know where I am at every moment and will fuss the second I am out of her range.  And she's still got so much hair that I've taken to calling her my little Chia pet.  I hope to get some more photos of her again very, very soon, perhaps one or two with me in them.

And my darling boy Aidan is every bit his four-year-old self these days.  With him, two years old was a breeze, three was difficult and so far four is even more so.  So funny how some folks focus on the terrible twos and forget about what's still to come.  Be prepared is what I say.  Thankfully there are many moments of sheer sweetness and light that it (almost) makes the moments of disobedience and rudeness tolerable. I've been reading "Parenting with Love and Logic" and have decided to put this up there on my list of must-have parenting books.  The Love and Logic website is worth a visit, too.

As for me, now that my mother-in-law has returned to Trinidad a new routine is slowly taking shape.  She was such a help for the three months she was here that now that she's gone I feel like I'm having to relearn how to juggle three kids by myself again.  And Chris traveled this week and it. was. hard.  I actually had to call on a good friend to come lend a hand Wednesday night (love you, Casey).  My house is mess, I'm running out of clean underwear and I need to do the dishes because there's no room left in the sink or on the counter.  Yikes.  I sound more like a pathetic bachelor than a stay-at-home mom. 

I head up to Anaheim for CHA on Sunday and I'll be there Monday and Wednesday as well.  I'll have the babe with me on Sunday and Wednesday because it's never too early to get a girl into scrapbooking. 

A few of my favorite things.

Well, besides "The Sound of Music", here are a few things I almost nearly can't live without:

Cetaphil Cream.  With three black kids and one with eczema plus living in a moderately dry climate, this stuff is a must-have.  Keeps the ashiness away and seriously keeps our skin moist throughout the day.  We slather it on before dressing in the morning and before jammies at night, and always just after the bath.  I even use it on my face now and then.  I buy this stuff at Costco for about $10.00 a tub.  The ocassional Costco coupons make this an extra-good buy.

Nutella.  Chocolate and hazelnut spread.  Delicious on toast or by the spoonful right out of the jar.  I especially like it on sourdough toast.  Mmmmmmm.  I have broken diets for this stuff. 

Costco and Target.  If I had yet to get married, I might be one of those crazy people who get married in a store.  In Costco it would be in the meat or clothing aisles.  In Target, I'd exchange vows in the Dollar Spot.  Either way, it would feel like I'm marrying my man AND my favorite store.  Together for life. 

Craigslist.  We recently converted Makena's crib to a big-girl bed.  A full size bed.  But we needed a mattress set.  Not wanting to pay $500 for something new but kinda grossed out at the prospect of a used bed (eeeew), I took a chance and went looking on Craigslist.  Third down from the top of the first page was an ad for a full size mattress set.  The next day we went and saw it and it was stain- and ick-free, hardly used.  $100, thankyouverymuch.  Another time I picked up a nearly new activity center for Miss Nadia for $30, the exact same thing I saw at a BIG BABY STORE for almost $90.  Sweet!

Big CD cases, like this one.  We have all of our DVDs in these things which makes it easy to find a movie (no leaning towers of DVD boxes) and easy to go between the car and the house.  Nifty!

My Joovy Caboose stroller.  The bigs can take turns walking, sitting or standing, and Miss Nadia rides along in her car seat.  And when the baby is in the sling, the bigs can both be in the stroller.  It's easy to push and maneuver even with all 90 lbs of my bigs in it.  It's relatively light-weight and folds up and out easily.  It's small enough so that when it's just be and the babe I don't feel like I'm pushing an 18-wheeler through the mall.  My only gripe about this thing is the lack of storage space - the basket is tiny and tough to get to. 

And my Odyssey.  Love it, love it, love it.  If you're in the market for a minivan, this is the only one worth the money.  Seriously.  My Ford Windstar was a piece of crap.  The Odyssey is a slice of heaven.

So, my dear friends, care to share any of your favorite things?  Hmmmmmm?

Got my camera back!

Geez that was fast.  One week ago I dropped it off at the Canon office in Irvine and today it was delivered by my beloved brown truck.  Good to have my baby back and in fine working order.  Still looking forward to a new 5D sometime this year, but my 20D still rocks the socks off my first Canon DRebel. 

And just in time, too.  Tomorrow my mom, my MIL and Miss Nadia head up to LA to visit my great uncle who is in town visiting my grandparents.  I plan on taking some photos of my grandparents in their natural habitat before the rest of the family gets there.  It's going to be a LONG day but it'll be worth it to see my family.

Below are a few more recent layouts and a recent photo of my chunky baby.  (Please forgive the crooked scans and the dirty scanner.  I'm lucky if I get cleaned every day.)

Enjoy!

Scrapbooking!

Here are a few of the layouts I've done recently.  Some others can be found here.

The last one was my last design team layout for KMA.  I loved being on the 2006 design team at KMA and it was my first ever design team experience.  It seemed like things started really happening for me in the world of scrapbooking right after I became a Designer Girl.  I can't help but believe that it was something about KMA that lit the fire under the Scrapping Gods.  And I'm not the only 2006 KMA Designer Girl for whom 2006 was an awesome year.  Even good things not remotely related to scrapbooking happened for some of us.  And I think even some of the bad that happened to my DT mates still had its divine purpose.  All in all, I feel like I owe KMA and Liz Rosenbaum a huge THANK YOU for believing in me and choosing to be part of the team, and thank you to the other Designer Girls for your friendship and support.  YOU GALS ROCK!  I'm sad to see my tenure end but I'm excited for the new 2007 Designer Girls to begin.  It is my plan to remain an active part of the KMA online community.  Peace out.

Happy New Year!

Well, it's taken me two whole days to come to grips with the fact that another year has come to an end and another whole new year is just beginning.  I'm not the sappy retrospective type, but it's been quite amazing to think about all that the last year has brought to our family.  The addition of Nadia and getting to know her birth mother is totally at the top of My List of Amazing Things That Happened in Our Lives in 2006.  Becoming a Simple Gal for 2007 is way near the top, too.

I/We had an especially crazy December with last-minute photo sessions and deadlines, plus three sick kids, Christmas shopping, doctor visits, decorating and being sick myself.  I found myself enjoying the Holidays much less than I wanted to and now that it's over it's just a big blur.  The trick now is to get the Holiday decorations down sometime before Valentine's Day. And some wisdom to bring forward includes taking more time off from other things to enjoy the 2007 Holiday season.  More exercise and getting and staying organized are some other goals I'd like to acheive this year (my broken record of resolutions).

Makena, Miss Sassy Drama Queen (her official title), is turning three on the 28th.  Holy crap. When did she stop being the baby and start being the boss of everyone?  She is in the throes of threedom and can segue from sweet and snuggly to whiny and pissy faster than her sleep-deprived PMSing mother.  She's developing her own style, too.  The other day she had on her new princess gown, her "pearls", her princess heels and Aidan's Bob The Builder goggles.  It's a pathetic shame I didn't get a picture.

Oh.  And Miss Chubs?  Little tiny baby Nadia who turned three months old on Friday?  She weighed 14 lbs 1 oz a week ago at the doctor's office.  She more than doubled her birthweight in just under three months.  She's a tank.  But it's adorable.  The only time in a woman's life when it's cute to have rolls and chubby thighs.

And, speaking of pictures, my 20D, my baby, is in for repairs.  Sometime during the Holiday photo frenzy some spots started appearing on my photos and one of my focus points wouldn't work.  For the most part these things made little difference to my clients, but they made editing a bit more cumbersome for me.  I took the camera today to the Canon office in Irvine and I should have it back in a week or two.  Back to my old 300D until then.  Should be fun.  All the more reason to get the ball rolling toward that 5D purchase, eh?

And, now, to all my 2006 photography clients, thank you, thank you, thank you.  It has been my pleasure getting to know you all and I look forward to perhaps seeing you again this year.  I have learned so much from you!  And to all my readers and fellow photography and scrapbooking enthusiasts, thank you for your kind words and support.  I love reading your comments and getting your emails.  So keep them coming!

I'm getting sleepy so it's off to bed for me, but I'll leave you with this photo of Miss Sassy Drama Queen.  Love that girl.