Life With Kids

A fellow consultant writes a blog post often with the subject of "Monday Listicles". Wendy Coffman's blog posts are always highly entertaining, and I totally relate, considering we have children near the same ages and apparently quite similar personalities. 

This week's topic over at Monday Listicles is "ten photos about life with kids". I thought I'd give it a try for fun. Certainly, it will be entertaining for me to look back on later. I already miss the days of newborn and toddler-hood.

10 Photos about Life With Kids

1. Izzy doesn't look at a bracelet or headband the way other children do. She is totally gypsy-spirited.

2. Jack took this candid picture of Izzy and I together. A bit blurry, but totally gives you an idea of Izzy's personality.

3. This is Izzy's first-ever picture-taking experience. Awesome, right?!

4. My life would be nothing without these 3 people in it. Love them so much.

5. Um, do you think you should be doing that, Izzy?

6. Jack and his cousin Micah. They are 7 months apart in age, but so alike they could be twins.

7. I can always count on a silly pose/face from Jack. He has photo-bombed many pic's. Just sayin'.

8. Is there anything cuter than a sleepy child?

9. Jack has to sleep under his pillow with the fan on Mach 3 speed.

10. This kid can hear a wrapper being opened 3 rooms away & smell chocolate outside the house. LOL

So there you have it. Everyday life with my kids. There are the moments where a camera is the last thing I'm thinking of...they do know how to push mommy's buttons. But all I have to do is look at these pictures, and my heart melts. Oh, and speaking of chocolate: I can't keep it hid. She's 5 and knows all of my hiding spots, and probably future ones I haven't yet thought of...like a mouse, really. And my little boy? He said to me just last night, "Mama, I like it when daddy smiles. He has the nicest smile." Seriously? At 7, he can be so sensitive and sweet, but let's be honest, "can be"...as in, when he's not terrorizing his sister in a totally gleeful way, as she does the whole "King Kong" dramatic screaming. Yeah, it's like that.

Have a great day!

Casandra

Later Sk8r Workshop

Good morning. This is a quick post to share my Later Sk8r pages that we made at my workshop on Sunday.

Recipe:
Paper: Later Sk8r (retired), Outdoor Denim CS, Slate CS, White Daisy CS, Black CS, Lagoon CS, Pear CS (CTMH)
Stamps: In Gear, Fast & Furious, Boys At Play (retired), Roar (retired), Love Life, Pinwheel (retired), Trinity Alphabet, Varsity Alphabet (CTMH)
Inks: Lagoon, Slate, Outdoor Denim, Pear, Black, Black Distressing Ink (CTMH)
Tools: Cricut Artbooking, Cricut Artiste, Paper-Piercer, Micro-Tip Scissors, Sponge (CTMH), Hexagon Punch (Fiskars), Scallop Border Punch (SU!)
Other: Later Sk8r Stickease, Blue/Green Epoxy Bubbles, White Daisy Bitty Brads (CTMH), Foam Tape, Glue Dots, Embroidery Floss

This was definitely a favorite kit of mine. It is now retired, but if you love it as much as I do, there are still ways to create with it. Have you ever tried digital scrapbooking? Close To My Heart offers several templates where you can upload your photos, change up some colors, such as adding sunset orange (for instance) to this fabulous kit, and in Studio J, the papers never retire. If you would like to learn more, please visit my website.

Happy crafting!

Casandra

My Busy Life

Hello to my friends in blog land.

I have been busier than usual, this Summer. I wanted to share a bit of what I've been doing, for the past few weeks.

During 4th of July weekend, I began reading a book called "The Five Love Languages" by Gary Chapman. If you have never read this book, I highly recommend it. It's great for all of the relationships in your life, not just with your spouse or significant other.

This year, we decided to grow a garden for the second time. The last time was in 2007! So, needless to say, it seems like a learning curve all over again. I've been busy pulling weeds everywhere! I should have taken a picture to show you the section I actually got weeded. LOL 

Close To My Heart held their annual convention at the end of June, and I've been busy checking out all the new goodies and making creative plans. My lovely upline, and good friend, was kind enough to have a team meeting a week ago. I was even able to put together a cute card that I forgot to take a picture of, but it looks similar to this.

As part of my "path" to healing and self-discovery, I have sort of been reinventing myself. I've lost a few pounds, and am finding myself with a little more energy than I've had in the past few years. I have returned to attending church services as of the past two Sundays. It feels like coming home. We've even started up an old family tradition we had ten years ago before my cousin/sister-in-law passed away from cancer. The past 3 Sundays have found us having dinner with my in-laws, mostly cook-out style. It's been so nice. Sometimes, we just have to stop and reflect on what is missing in our lives, and what changes we can make to better ourselves. My children love all the extra time spent with grandparents.

In keeping with the whole gardening thing, we started making our own home-made jams, too. So on Saturday, I spent two hours picking at a local raspberry farm and came away with 8 quarts of fresh raspberries that are completely free of pesticides. Boy, do they make some fine jam! I even found a yummy recipe for raspberry cobbler that I'd like to share with you. Please click this link for the recipe.

Saturday evening, hubby and I were in the kitchen making up 4 batches of home-made jam that included 2 of raspberry, 1 triple berry (my favorite!) and 1 blueberry jam.

And last but not least, on Sunday, I finally had my first workshop in 3 months, featuring Later Sk8r. It is now retired...and I sure wish I'd bought another paper pack just for me (okay, shh, I have one extra hidden away). It was definitely my favorite paper pack in years. 

We made the above layout with some alterations, plus 7 other pages. I will be sharing them soon...gotta get my pictures taken just so and watermarked. 

Next month promises to be even busier with a birthday and an anniversary, plus a camping trip for the Bennett gang down to Traverse City...the Cherry Capital of the world. We're pretty stoked about it. I will also be hosting my next workshop with the Tommy kit on August 18th. 

If you took the time to read all this, I thank you for catching up with me. I wish you all a safe and happy Summer. Try to get some face-time in front of the camera, too, when recording your family memories. Your kids won't care if you look perfect with make-up in place and hair all done up like a model. They will treasure pictures of you forever. 

*Hugs*

Casandra