Highly Entertaining....

one year ago today...

... these little peanuts were born.

 

Mister Connor John and Miss Avery Maria.

I was lucky enough to be able to visit them the morning after their birth. They were SO tiny then, so pink and perfect and beautiful. Miss Avery had her little pixie nose, and Connor his serious old-man expression. I was instantly in love.

These babes were born right after I had exprienced my second miscarriage, the one not everyone knew about. I was SO nervous about seeing them for the first time. I was afraid I wouldn't be able to love them.

There were a few tears, but I was completely overwhelmed by the total sense of immediate love I felt for these two tiny pink bundles sleeping side by side in their bassinette. My best friend and her super husband made two amazingly beautiful babes, and I was going to get to be a part of their lives.

These little babes didn't stay little for long.

 

Before I've even had time to take a breath, these babes are GINORMOUS. They are super tall and have plenty of leg-chub that BEGS to be squeezed :) They love books. They have teethand love their *puffs*. They want what the other child is playing with. They are moving independently. Avery has mastered the nursing-home-shuffle. You know, where the little old lady in her walker tries to make a break for it before anyone in charge can notice she's gone? This is pretty much the same deal, except it's a 12 month old girl and her pink plastic walking toy trying to get across the room before you even blink an eye ;) Connor just beams at you when you walk in the door, inviting you with his huge blue eyes to come and play.

I'm still in love :)

Today is a BIG day for these little dudes. I'm sure their mama has shed a tear (or two, or three) already today, reflecting on how much has grown and changed over the past 12 months. I'm fortunate to have been able to have shared some of those moments with them.

And here I am, Auntie M, sitting at my computer, blogging about my favorite babes, feeling my own little bean moving and shaking her groove thing as I type. It's been a long year in so many ways, but it also seems like time has slipped right through my fingers.

Today I will have to make some time to get over to the Oliver home and squeeze the babes as they begin their second year of life. I tell their mama that I need my babe-fix... gotta rub myself all over their happy healthy little bodies and steal their good vibes while I can ;)

Happy Birthday, Connor John.

Happy Birthday, Avery Maria.

Thanks for putting up with your Auntie M and her random playdates, her tickles and bounces and snuggles. You are the best around, and I can't imagine my life without you :)

its a wet, wet spring indeed

Really, with the New England rain already!!!

Every year at this time I ALWAYS think of this song... KP, do you remember this, too??

sunday morning

(skip ahead to 1:30 to see what I mean)

Happy Sunday!!!!

summertime kick-off

Ok, so summer doesn't technically begin for another month, but here on the Cape Memorial Day weekend has always signaled the start of the busy season. Here comes the traffic, the lines, the waiting, the humidity... ;)

I'm looking forward to a day off today, then working Sunday and Monday at Colorful Creations. No big celebrations for the fam this weekend. It looks like the warmest weather has passed us by for the week, and that today will be a tad on the spring-y side (meaning RAIN!!). Oh well... at least it's a day I get to spend with my family!

In preparation for the sum-sum-summertime, I have a *hot* little mini book class planend for June 17th at the store... check it out!

 

 

 

Super beach-y, super summer-y, supper cute for documenting your vacation... or just lazy days spent here at home (isn't it nice some of us are able to say that!!??).

Seats are EXTREMELY limited for this class as I only had a certain amount of product to work with. Make sure you sign up ASAP to reserve your spot! 508-790-7676

So Griff and I are headed out to a ginormous yard sale this morning, and Bobio is on a mission to find a replacement skimmer for the pool (so it doesn't look like swamp thing is about to emerge from it). The afternoon looks like it's going to be a rainy mess, so I'm thinking I might get my craft on today.

Happy Memorial Day Weekend... I hope you are all able to share some time with family and loved ones!!

spring has sprung

BIG TIME!!

I can't believe I have to go to work AGAIN today!!!!! Will somebody please tell the weather fairy that she needs to make Saturday be as fantastical as the weather reports say today is going to be? Thanks ;)

I finished up a layout the other day that I shared a sneak peak of yesterday... I think today is a great day to share the whole thing.

 

All the pictures were taken here at my house... the Lilacs are already on their way out (so sad!), and the flowery-trees are losing their blossoms as well. The Buttercups have since been mowed away. The Lily of the Valley, however, are just in the early stages of blooming and will continue to make me smile for a few more weeks (I hope!)

 

Check out the cutie-pie flower embellishments :) All you need is a little bit of core'dinations cardstock, some foam tape, and some stickles... voila!

 

Fancy-schmancy title work, you say? Yeah, it kinda is ;) You see, I wanted a pretty title that reflected the vibe of the page, but I had nuthin'. Soooooooo whats a girl to do? How about print a title from the computer, stick it to your cardstock and hand cut it?? I know, all the girls who take my scrapping classes are ready to impale me with their cutterbee's right now, DARING me to make you do the same thing ;) No worries, ladies. We'll work something out.

I have a core'dinations class planned for the July/August schedule at the store, but the time/date isn't set yet. It's sure to be an amazingly enlightening class, so make sure to sign up right away when the schedule goes live (don't worry, I'll keep you posted). I do have some other classes upcoming at Colorful Creations that I will try to post for your viewing enjoyment within the next few days.

I hope you're all able to enjoy the fantastical weather today while I'm stuck inside, putting away adhesive and labeling cardstock trays. Stop in and say hi if you're in the Hy-town area today or tomorrow! DON'T FORGET that all this weekend (FRIDAY through MONDAY) we are giving you double punches on your FBC cards in celebration of our 10th Birthday!! ANDDDDDD there will be burgers and hot dogs on Saturday from 11-2... how sweet is that??

back-to-work-wednesday

blah. work.

Really, I love my job. But you see, the sun is shining and my mind/body is telling me it wants to lounge around on the deck all day long reading a good book. I bet yours is, too. *sigh*

Yesterday I finished a bit o' scrapping. I'm just going to post a peek :)

I also spent part of the afternoon with this little cutie and her mama...

 

Hi, Ella!!

It was so funny having her in the house. I have been wondering how Miss Buttons will fare with the baby's arrival. She was curious about Ella, but then jumped up on the bow window to bask in the sunshine (away  from little hands and shrieks). She was really all set with having a 10-month-old in the house. We'll see how it is all going to play out with a newborn soon enough ;)

I'm headed off to the store early this morning to prep for the Doodling class I'm teaching tonight. Can't forget to bring the woodgrain stamp I need for teaching.... (maybe if I blog it, I will remember it!)

Oh, and I'd like to give a shout out to last night at the BBC. It was the LAST B-O-G-O pizza night until the freaking fall. Of course it had to be completely ridiculous and filled with tables like the five teenagers who ordered SIX large pizzas and were totally obnoctious the whole time. At the end of their "meal", one of the kids said to me "you must really hate when we come in here". I replied that it's not so much the servers that have a hard time, but the fact that your SIX PIZZAS back up the entire pizza oven so it's the rest of the freaking restaurant who have to wait an hour for their pizza that hates you (have-a-nice-night). I also heard my fair share of "well, you won't be seeing US again until October!!" when I informed my guests that this was the end of BOGO for the season. I'm going to miss you all. Really. No, reallyyyyyyyyy. (do I sound convincing??)

Happy Wednesday, yo!

half way there, baby :)

 

Sunday brought with it the "official" 20-week mark in my pregnancy... we've half-baked our little bean ;)

I spent the early morning with my Bobio, quietly, watching a little bit of tv. Mom picked me up mid-morning for a day trip to visit KP and Natasha in Boston. MUCHO shopping ensued. Lets just say that Mom is in full-on "Nana needs to buy pink baby clothes" mode. We scored some of the cutest little girly things, something I am not at all accustomed to.

We were pleasantly surprised to find Christening gowns at TJ Maxx... totally not a thought at the forefront of my brain, but a MAJOR score indeed. The gown we brought home is loooooong and oh-so-satiny and lacy, and my mother-in-law will LOVE every inch of it ;)

It was so nice to be able to hang out, chat over delicious lunch, and catch up from weeks of not seeing each other. Right now I'm in a major phase of needing to be surrounded by my family. At the same time, I'm craving quiet moments alone to quell the overwhelming sense of having SO much to do in the next months.

On my plate for today is a little bit of scrapping, possibly hanging out with erin-i'm-too-lame-to-blog-horgan, a few errands, and pajamas as early in the evening as possible. Life is good.

reminder!!

Get your crafty assets (!) down to Colorful Creations this weekend to score some MAJOR loot at the yardsale! If you're hemmin' and hawin' over whether or not you should bother to make the trip, quit the blah-blah-blah'ing  and come see me tomorrow :)

Really. Erin and I set out the plethora of goods onto the studio tables this afternoon, and they are absolutely HEAPING with great buys... paper, tools, STAMPS!!, idea books, albums, tons of storage...

You're gonna be bummed out when your friends all come home with amazing bargains and you sat at home all weekend watching reruns of the Golden Girls (which, if you are planning on spending your Saturday doing, you should go chill over at my house. Bobio is a huge fan).

So, what are you waiting for???

Saturday 10-6... prices as marked

Sunday 12-5... 20% off all yardsale merchandise

Monday 10-3... 40% off all yardsale merchandise!!

scrappin' pink

Through all the *stuff* I managed to do (or not do, as there is currently a load of laundry in the washer AND one in the dryer...) yesterday, I even scrapped a little!

 

This is the design I created for the current ATC swap at the store. The theme is "A WORD", and mine is "waiting". I seem to be doing a lot of that lately ;) If you're interested in joining an ATC swap with the Colorful Creations girls, sign up for the email newsletter to be alerted of swap themes and due dates!

To create the ATC I used some forgotten-about-until-I-dug-through-my-stash-for-yardsale-items clear stamps that I had received in Studio Calico and Label Tulip kits forever ago. Of course I also had to use the oh-so-elusive (AND discontinued) Jessie Lowercase alpha stamps (sorry Erin and eR). The whole card is mounted to some core'dinations whitewashed cardstock that I sanded along the edges for a distressed look. Viola! ATC cards are officially checked off the to-do list.

 

... and a layout! I found the patterned paper while digging through my stash for more yardsale items. It was funny to see how *little* pink I have in my collection... that is sure to be changing in the future ;) I pulled out some vintage lace and used some of the pretty ribbon from my fantastic package Breanne sent yesterday as well. Add a little *bling*, a butterfly punch, my sewing machine, THICKERS!!, MM tiny alphas, and you're all set.

Of course there is also lots of core'dinations cardstock used for this little number. I used a piece of whitewashed as the base of the layout and sanded the edges, although it's a little tough to tell from the picture. There is some more sanding action on the pink mat that the photo is mounted to as well as some paper-trimmer-embossing and tearing action. As for the journaling, I simply cut strips of paper from the chocolate box collection just wide enough to fit through my DYMO labler, punched the letters and gave the strip a light sanding to reveal the colored core of the cardstock. I have to give credit to Sarah, the DT core'dinator for refreshing this little gem of an idea from the cobwebs at the back of my brain.

 

Of course, as soon as I was finished with all my scrapping, the UPS man is trudging up the driveway, carrying a huge (and heavy looking) box. Surprise, surprise! It was a 29-pound box of cardstock from Mindy at Core'dinations. Oh, geez... this is gonna be one fun experience as I get to play with all the fun cardstocks she sent!

I still have more goodies to go through in preparation for the store yardsale this weekend... don't forget about it! The sale starts on Saturday, all yardsale items are then 20% off on Sunday and 40% off on Monday!! If you are in the area, or even if you have to make a special trip, it's SO worth your time to swing by and scoop up some *sweet* deals.

(thanks for dealing with my pink-ness these days!)

really.

(two posts in one day?? yeah, i'm that good.)

So I'm officially spoiled rotten (if you ask my parents, they would confirm this fact dating back to my birth 30 years ago).

My sweet sweet *happy mail* friend, Breanne, has been anxiously awaiting the announcement of the boy/girl babe-in-my-belly thing. She gave birth to a beautiful babe about a month ago, and I've been itching to meet miss Madelyn in person for even longer than that.

So, today, the mail lady pulls into the driveway with a GINORMOUS box. I was anticipating this box because Breanne has been IM'ing and texting me for three days about it... hoping it wasn't lost in Rhode Island somewhere. Well, now it is safe and sound in the East Side, so you can all relax ;)

I lug the box downstairs, because, conveniently, I am currently IM'ing with said friend. As I unwrap the contents, I can't help but squeal with delight and am overcome with the thoughtful generosity of a friend I have only met in person twice.

 

See the tutu? Breanne made that. She also sent babylegs, hairbows, cutie onesies and outfits (with ruffly pants!), gum (Griff will be psyched!)... and she made her delicious chocolate-marshmallow-fudge cookies for me.

Really. I'm one lucky friend indeed.

Thank you, my far-away-friend, for your constant thoughtfulness and caring and generosity. You are amazing.