A Funny Thing Happened...

Last night I was sitting with my boys (watching a Power Rangers DinoThunder marathon), wondering what in the world I was going to blog about today.  I usually save Mondays for my rambling (or ranting) but I didn't have anything exciting or blog-worthy.  And then life happened.

I've been toying with the idea of going back to work in the Fall since two of my three will be in school full-time.  But I have no idea what I want to be when I grow up!!! So I was searching Monster.com to see what kind of opportunities there are for a girl like me; just so I could start mentally preparing myself.  And what happened? My dream job, one where all of my talents could be fully utilized, appeared on the computer screen - and it had just been posted.  It was a sign.  I printed it off and jumped into discussion with the hubby.  That was followed by a feverish attempt at updating an 11 year old resume!  We'll see what happens but, if nothing else, at least it got me to update my resume :)

The next amazing thing that life threw at me is that I recieved word that I will be a guest blogger on one of my favorite blogs!  That is all I'm saying about that for now - but stay tuned for more info on January 20th!

And stop by my blog tomorrow for a new layout and sketch!

A Challenge of Gratitude

My first challenge for myself, and any of you who want to join me, is to be more grateful for all of the wonderful things and people in my life.  I plan on doing 4 projects this month (one each Saturday) to help me focus on gratitude. 

I found some fantastic inspiration for my first project on pinterest, and then to the original blog:  A Day In My Life: This Much Card

I thought this would be a perfect way to get my boys involved in saying thanks to family for the wonderful holiday celebrations!  So I took the idea and modified it so we could have one card for all 3 boys to send together.  Here is where I normally would insert a photo of my finished project, but the cards are still unassembled due to an unexpected bloody lip (and that's a story for another day).  So here is my work in progress:

I can't wait to finish these with the boys & send them out!  They also make a great Valentine idea :)  Go ahead and try it yourself and post a link in the comments below - I'd love to see what you create.

A Rose by Any Other Name...

...would NOT smell as sweet.  I stand firm in my belief that names matter.  They may not change who you are inside, but they definitely change the way the world reacts to you.  Would you stick your nose in a flower called a "Stinky Diaper" - I wouldn't. 

Why in the world am I talking about this?  I could be ready to rant about the insane list of names people force upon their unsuspecting newborns, but not today.  Today I am leading up to the explanation of the naming of my blog.  The name was heavily influenced by my boys, and rightly so since I will be blogging about them often. 

How many of you are familiar with the Knock-knock, Banana joke?  Have you heard it recently?  I get to hear it every day.
"Knock-knock"
             "Who's there?"
"Banana"
             "Banana who?
"Knock-knock"
             "Who's there?"
"Banana"
             "Banana who?
"Knock-knock"
             "Who's there?"
"Banana"
             "Banana who?
"Knock-knock"
             "Who's there?"
"Orange"
             "Orange who?
"Orange you glad I didn't say Banana!"

So "Orange You Glad" is my release from all the stuff that builds up over and over again until I'm ready to explode.  It is my way of focusing on things that make me feel a little relaxed, happy, and loved.

One of the things I love to do to relax is CHALLENGES!  So check out my blog tomorrow for my first challenge of the new year :)

Just Another "Un" Day

Ever have one of those completely uninspired kind of days?  Well I am having one right now.  In fact the only thing I am really inspired to do is to curl up in the recliner and veg-out to Nick Jr with my 4 year old. 

What do you do when inspiration has left the building?  How do you jump start your creativity?

Here is a photo of my "Inspiration" wall in my craft room at home. 

I attached 4 squares of cork board to the wall with double sided foam sticky squares.  My method is to tack items up there as soon as they catch my eye.  I don't ask questions or over-think why I like any of these things, I just stick them up there because they inspire something inside me.

And because it is the new year and tons of people are organizing their scrap-spaces:

Here is a current photo of my scrap room - I am a little embarrased to post this because it is still in the process of being cleaned up & out.  But hey, nobody's perfect! 

I'd love to hear about what inspires you!  Post a comment below about your inspiration or a link to your scrap-space.

Pop-up Snowman

Did you know it was winter?  Looking out the window, I'd never even guess it.  There has been a serious lack of snow around here, so I had to come up with my own way for the kids to play in the snow!  If I don't keep my boys busy, they end up driving me crazy.  That is why I am constantly throwing things together for them to do.  Here is a finished Pop-up Snowman Scene that we created.

 And a quick & easy tutorial if you want to try this with your kids!

1.  fold a rectangle shaped piece of blue paper in half (hamburger style, not hot dog) - we used 9x12 construction paper

2.  make two cuts about 3/4 inch apart in the middle of the fold (I had the boys make cuts on either side of their thumb while holding the paper by the fold & this seemed to work without measuring)

3.  unfold your paper and push the cut-out forward so it pops away from the rest of the paper - IMORTANT: this is where you will attach your snowman!

Now it is time to decorate your scene! 

4.  to make the snowman: we punched two circles (1" and 2"), used black and orange crayons to draw his face, and glued the head to the body by slightly over-lapping the circles.  You can even cut out a paper hat for your snowman or tie ribbon round his neck for a scarf - let your kid's imagination go wild!

5.  for the background: we cut different sized triangles for the trees and stamped & punched out snowflakes to put in the sky.  You can use anything you have at home (ie glitter, cotton, confetti) but just make sure it is not too heavy or the paper won't be able to stay upright

6.  and finally we used old packing peanuts for the snow on the ground. 

I hope you try this with your little ones.  Be sure to post a link in the comments - I'd love to see what you create!

Tuesday Ta-Da!

Every Tuesday I will be posting a new scrapbook layout that I have created.  Here is my first page for my blog, celebrating my husband's 34th birthday.

These pictures are full of love and joy, but this is truly a bittersweet memory for me.  This was just before we all moved out of our first family home last summer (see the moving box in the background).  But it also reminds me that we will always have each other, and that's what is important.

I wish I was better at inventory - I have no idea what papers I used, what stamps or stickers I used for the word bubbles, or where I got my photos printed.  I can tell you that there is a 90% chance that I bought these supplies from Michaels (since that is where I do most of my craft shopping).  I am still searching for a local scrapbooking store that I can become a regular at. 

I was going to post the sketch of the layout so you could take a stab at it, but I am having some upload issues right now.  But I'd still love to see what you create!  Paste a link to your layout in the comments section.

As you can see from the layout, I have 3 crazy little boys in my life.  That means I do a lot of kids crafts too.  Stop by tomorrow to check out what craft we tackled this week!

Back into Routine

I am a list-maker, a planner, a write-it-down-and-check-it-done type of girl.  The problem is that I always over-estimate the amount I am capable of completing each day.  Always.  So this year I have decided to simplify my many lists into one routine that can be followed no matter what the day throws my way; because, let's face it, life happens to the best of us. 

So my 2012 Resolution (and I shudder as I write this) is to get back into routine.  No longer will I sit around in my pajama pants all day just because I don't want to fold the laundry in order to find clean pants.  No longer will I feed my children canned ravioli because I forgot to defrost the roast for dinner in time.  No longer will I keep piles on my kitchen counter of things to read, do, mail, pay at a later date.  No longer will I waste valuable time making lists instead of checking things off my one routine life list.

One of the things on that Routine that I hope to follow is this very blog.  And tomorrow, because it is Tuesday, I will be posting a new scrapbook creation.  I can't wait to start my journey!