Happy Father's Day!

I know I completely dropped the ball on Mother's Day, cardmaking-wise.  I had a very good excuse -- I had a party to prepare for!

But for Father's Day, I have no excuse -- I have some free time, and no parties to attend.  Also, I'm trying to accomplish my goals for the next six weeks. :)

I made a card (please don't faint ;p) for me to give to R with his gift.  The photos below were taken with my iPhone's camera.  I usually take photos with my Canon T3i, but I left the camera at my in-laws' house, so I'll have to make do until I get it back.

This is a quick and easy card, because I do not have all of my supplies within easy reach.  I am in the process of reorganizing my craft room, and most of my things are piled on top of each other while I "plan" my space.  I got lucky with the basketball stamp (it was from my stash).  R is into basketball (he's we're watching the NBA playoffs as I type this), and he is looking forward to shooting hoops with r when he's old enough (r is not even walking yet).

I also made it into a spinner card (the basketball "spins"/rolls around when he flips the card side to side), which I know he will love.

Thanks for looking, and have a great day!

P. S.

The card was made with the following Stampin' Up! supplies:
Tangerine Tango card stock
Marina Mist card stock
Whisper white card stock
Best Dad Ever stamp set
Jet Black StazOn ink
Marina Mist ink
1-1/4 inch circle punch

I don't think the basketball stamp was from Stampin' Up!; it was from my stash (and I can't remember where it was from).

Introducing -- My Family!

Okay.

I think it's time to name the members of my family in this blog.  I tried to just refer to my husband as "my husband" and to my son as "my son," but then "my son" is actually "our son."  "My husband" is still only MY husband (no one else's), although he threatens to divorce me if I make him carry boxes and boxes of craft stuff if we move.

Then I got to call them DS (for dear son) and DH (for dear hubby), like they do in the forums...but those don't seem to work for me.  I keep seeing a blur of D's when I read my posts.

So in the proud tradition of initials as nicknames, may I present R (my husband) and r (my son).

Relative Freedom

May was an odd month for my family.

After being sick for 3 weeks (sinus infection for me, ear infection for r, and horrible allergies for R) following r's first birthday party, we are happy to finally regain our senses of smell (and taste).

Also, since I have been buried in work-related activities up until the first week of June, my crafting had been pushed to the backseat.

And now, I have 6 -- SIX -- weeks of relative freedom.  Which means,  I can do a lot of the things I love, like hanging out with my family (it's surprising that r still calls me "Mamama" and R still remembers what I look like), craft, bake (hopefully), and just plain relax, until I need to get back to high gear with work.  I still go to work, but the pressure has let up a little bit, so I can act like a normal person, until the pressure kicks up again.  Aaaah...relative freedom.  Freedom in any shape or form is welcome. :)

In the next 6 weeks, I hope to accomplish the following:

1.  Make several handmade cards for different occasions, to replenish my supply.

2.  Finish my pregnancy scrapbook.

3.  Get started on r's baby book.

4.  Bake some goodies to share with family and friends, like I used to.

5.  Reorganize my craft room.

6.  Order some Stampin' Up products!!!

Of course, I'll share with you all what I can. :)

Thanks so much for sticking patiently with me!  Have a great day!

2,628,000

Another non-crafty post.

I just realized what most of you probably know already -- time is relevant.

On Friday, r will officially be a year old.  It will be 12 days, 365 days,  or 525,600 minutes since I gave birth.  Wow.  In all my nights of counting sheep, I could never have counted up to half a million.

And now it's here.

Today I got a phone call about a lab test I had done yesterday.  While poking and prodding me, the nurse explained that I will hear back from them by Friday, or Tuesday (because of the long weekend) at the earliest.

And now, less than 25 hours later, I play the message on my voicemail:

"Hi, this message is for C.  You came in for a blood draw yesterday...Can you please call XXX-XXXX and ask to speak to Abby?  We wanted to speak to you about some of your labs."

Gulp.

It did not help that I heard the message at 1:00pm.  Which meant, everyone (including Abby) but me, will be on lunch break.  I call anyway.

"Hi, this is C, returning a phone call from Abby... (hyperventilates).  Please call me back at XXX-XXXX.  Wow.  Oh, my goodness.  I'll be by the phone.  Thank you."

I pass out from anxiety.

Just kidding.  It was the longest 30 minutes of my life.  And believe me, I felt all 1,800 of those seconds tick by.

1:30pm.  I call again.  Abby answers.

"Hi, C!  I just wanted to let you know that there was a problem with---"

WHAAAATTT???  Oh, no...I don't have a will in place.  My life insurance will take care of R and r, though.

"--our lab.  We are unable to run one of our tests, and we would like for you to come back for another blood draw.  Can you come in at 3:30pm today?"

"Um, sure."  I stammer.  "I would LOVE to come in at 3:30pm today.  I really hate needles, but right now, I've never been so happy that you just needed more blood."

Abby:  "Oh, what were you thinking I was calling about?"

Me:  "The worst."

  

Abby:  "Oh, I'm sorry."

Me:  "Oh, please, don't be.  I'm really just glad it was just more blood."

And I could literally feel the years (that she scared out of me) drain out of me.  Yes, all 2,628,000 minutes of them.

If There's a Will...

(Warning:  This is a non-crafty post.)

... there is a way.

You know how some products are "something"-proof? Like how prescription bottles are child-proof, how packaged food is tamper-proof, how some smartphones are shock-proof?

Well, I've proven to myself that a car is not C-proof.

Several months ago, I managed to lock myself and my son out of our apartment, and then our car.  In a span of minutes.  That takes skill, people.

I had to explain how that happened on my frantic call to AAA, while DS's and my teeth (DS has 8 teeth) were chattering in the cold air:
1.  Every morning, my husband thoughtfully takes my large purse, laptop, and lunch bag to the car, so all I needed to carry with me are DS and DS's lunch.  DH locks the car with the spare, and drives off to work.
2.  The night before, I ran an errand (unusual for me) and while I usually stuff my keys into my coat pocket, for whatever reason, I absent-mindedly clipped my keys to my purse.
3.  Yes, the same large purse that my husband thoughtfully takes to the car the next morning, in addition to my laptop bag and lunch bag.
4.  Yes, my car keys and my apartment keys are in one key ring.
5.  DH was working 2 hours away that morning (and could not come to our rescue).

Sometimes, my brilliance astounds me.  I'm sure the representative on the other end of the line was equally astounded.

Thankfully, both my apartment and AAA offer exceptionally quick lockout service.

It's a Mickey Mouse Birthday Party!

Hi, everyone!  I know I've been gone a while, and rather than explain what I've been up to, I thought I would just show you.

March and April had been hectic -- we went to my niece's Christening, my husband's goddaughter's Christening, and my sister-in-law's sister-in-law's (not a typo, she is really my sister-in-law's sister-in-law) wedding.  And then, May crept in, and DS (dear son) is almost one year old!

That is what I've been up to -- the weeks leading up to his birthday party last Sunday, Mother's Day, were spent prepping and planning.

First, DH (dear hubby) and I had to decide on a theme.  Actually, DS decided on the theme for us.  While at Toys R Us, he grabbed a Mickey Mouse toy at the store and never let go.  We took it as a sign that he would like a Mickey Mouse party. :p  He also bops his head to the Mickey Mouse Clubhouse Hot Dog song (it's quite catchy -- you should take a listen) every time we play it for him.  So, a Mickey Mouse party it is!

After drafting the guest list -- DH and I come from big families, and extended families, and we knew we wanted all of them, and our friends, to join us in celebrating DS's first year -- we had to agree on the invitation.

Ahem.  After nights of brainstorming, this is what I came up with:

Front of invitation

Inside of the invitation.  It's hard to see well on the photo, but it's a pop-up invitation.

Mickey up close

Making ~40 of these invitations took me three weekends.  I could only work on them on weekends, because of my work schedule.

Then came decorations:  I we decided to stick to Mickey Mouse's colors for the decorations (black, red, yellow, and white).  By this time, I was on a roll.  My head was spinning with ideas, and I was bouncing them off DH one on top of each other.  He made the smart decision and decided to leave the decisions about decorations (and all things party-related) to me.  He took over baby-sitting and household chores (including laundry and dishes) while I was in my birthday party planning-possessed state.

We covered tables in red, white, and yellow table covers.  I made Mickey Mouse centerpieces for each of the tables, and attached three balloons (red, white, and yellow) to each of them.

(please ignore the bottle of pop on the table)

I also made a Mickey Mouse banner from black and white cardstock to hang over the dessert table.  The banner was attached to each other using red, white, and yellow ribbons.

(in case you were wondering, there was a "Y" in "Birthday;" it was just hiding behind the balloons)

For the birthday boy's seat, we brought with us a mini-high chair (the one that you strap into a chair) and decorated it.

He didn't really stay on the seat for too long.  There was too much going on around him, and he wanted to be part of the excitement.

For our young guests, I made goody bags out of paper bags. I filled them with toys and things (stickers, tattoos, scrapbook, markers, balls, etc.) that I picked out, based on each guest's age.  I printed labels with a Mickey Mouse clip art, and a message from the birthday boy.

I also made the two larger stand-up Mickeys.  Here is a photo of one of them (the one on the goody bag table):

I did not, however, make this Mickey:

He came from Party City. ;)

I also made most of the items on the sweets table (please see the photo with the Mickey Mouse banner above).  Among the treats I made were:  chocolate covered Oreos, chocolate-dipped Rice Krispies treats, chocolate cupcakes in baby food jars, and the candy tubes (sans toppers).

All in all, it was a great party.  We all had a great time.  However, between preparing for the party for days, hauling everything from our home to the place we rented for DS's party and back, setting up and cleaning up (our families helped us out -- aren't they awesome?), and taking care DS, DH and I were exhausted.  After weeks of breathing and living Mickey, I was over-Mickeyfied.  If I see another Mickey Mouse again, it will be too soon.

The next morning, I got a phone call from my sister-in-law (whose sister-in-law got married last month, remmeber?):  "Hey, C!  Guess what?  For A (my niece)'s birthday, we're having a Minnie Mouse party!!!"

Christening Card

Sometimes, creativity just escapes me.  And sometimes, it comes to me when I really need it.

Two weeks ago, we went to Canada for my niece's christening.  The night before we left, I finally finished packing (packing baby things for the weekend is no easy feat), and even while I was mentally patting myself in the back (for actually finishing all the packing the night before we left), I was also running through a list of what I could have possibly forgotten.  Diapers -- check.  Formula -- check.  Bottles -- check.  Gift for my niece -- check.  Card for my niece -- aaargghh!  Needless to say, at 11:00pm, I was rummaging through my supplies to make a card.

As I said, creativity had been kind to me that night and decided to give me an idea, and quickly, too.  In less than an hour, I had this card finished:

This is how the card looks, opened:

And this is how the bird looks, up close:

Whew! :)

Thanks for looking, and have a great day!