A Scrap of Life

Rissa is doing better. No idea whether she actually broke it or not. Since it's not displaced and she can breathe out of both nostrils they didn't do an x-ray. There is nothing they can do if it's broken so they're just letting her be. The swelling and bruising got pretty bad through. Here's her one day after the accident, right before we left for camp. Brian sent me a picture 2 days into camp, one he'd taken on the crappy camera in his digital phone. I could not believe how much worse the swelling and bruising got. She was bruised all around her eyes and her cheeks and with the swelling she looked pretty bad. The good news is that she is doing better now. Still some bruising that hasn't gone away but she's breathing well and it's not hurting anymore. Now hopefully she's learned her lesson and will be riding with her eyes OPEN from now on.

Just when we're recovering from our run-in with the deer Carissa is hit, yet again, with an unseen accident. She was riding her bike and didn't see it coming. Literally. She didn't see it coming because SHE WAS RIDING WITH HER EYES SHUT. I fail to see the reasoning for this. I fail to see the use of discretion here. Then again, she's 6 and ultimately short on discretion. Thus she finds herself riding with her eyes shut and slamming, full-force, into the back of a parked car. Brian and I heard her yells immediately. As soon as I got to her I saw that her nose was already swelling. We took her in the house and applied ice then called the advice nurse, who explained in detail all that we should do - stop the bleeding, ice it, give ibuprofen, prop her up to sleep. They want to see her tomorrow, after the swelling has gone down, to check to see if it's broken. I'm hoping that it's not. I'm hoping that it's just badly bruised and swollen. But I have a feel...

... and thank goodness for it. It's been a busy month. Start off first with the good news - Violet is back. She was missing for 8 days and one morning she just showed up here at home. The kids were all thrilled. A week after she came back we spent 1 night away from home and she left again. This time she was only gone 3 days though. Maybe she's finally realizing that we will return. So, what have I been up to? Camp, camp and more camp. I went with Tristan to Cub World for 3 days worth of Jedi cheesiness. Did I just say that? I hate to say that about a scout camp, but the whole Jedi theme was just so over the top and cheesy. Maybe the kids thought it was great but after 3 days of it I was SOOOO ready to come home. Add in the overwhelming stink of KYBO (like outhouses but worse ... absolutely rancid when it's 85 out) and I was DONE. I did however manage to secure yet another year of camp (4 years in all) without visiting the KYBO. It's worth the hike to the one and only fl...

This happens every time summer comes around. I think about how much free time I'll have, how much less volunteering, how much less time running kids to and from their activities. Yet here we are 3 weeks into summer and I have yet to make a dent in anything. We've kept plenty busy with all of our activities. Here's a rundown of some of the highlights (and lowlights) of summer so far. THEATER AND GYMNASTICS CAMPS The kids all took part in a camp the week after school got out. For Carissa there was gymnastics camp, where she had fun each day playing on the gymnastics equipment, doing crafts and listening to stories. The boys did their most anticipated event of the summer - theater camp. This was Chase's 3rd year and Tristan's 2nd year (next year Carissa will be old enough too!). They had a GREAT time. The play was "The Secret Garden" put on by River City Childrens Theater. Another awesome performance. Chase was a gardener and was so thoroughly into his chara...

I've had such a rotten morning. It was just not good. Kids were slow moving and I had to get them to theater and gymastics camps today. Brian took the van so I could take the car and save on gas but we forgot Carissa's booster seat. I've been grumpy. Tristan and I got into it when he wouldn't get his rear end moving. It was just one thing after another this morning. So I drop the kids off and go for a walk. I come back from the walk feeling a little better. Then I see the package on my doorstep from my good friend Linda. Some yummy scrapbook goodies that I absolutely can't wait to use. YEAH! Then I check email and see a page request from Scrapbooks Etc. Double YEAH!! Not 15 minutes later I get three more pages requested, this time from Scrapbook Trends. Triple YEAH!!! So though things have started quite rough this morning, the day is looking up ...

I can't believe that his 16 weeks has finally come to an end. It seemed so long and in many ways it was. There were a lot of things he missed while away. There were a lot of things we missed about him too. But now, 16 weeks later, we're looking forward to having Brian back home. Graduation was Friday. We went up Thursday night for a family celebration with the other 38 graduates and some of their family members. There was a bit of a delay in starting the festivities, as the class was late getting out. They were participating in the memorial for a Deputy killed in the line of duty. This wall outside of the Academy was surrounded by flowers and was a somber reminder of the danger inherant in their job. I am always struck by the number of names on both the front and back of this memorial wall. But when I look it all I do is hope never to see Brian's name up on this wall. Anyways, graduation was Saturday. We all dressed up and showed up early so we could get good seats. We snag...

OK, so this is momentus for me. It's something I haven't done in forever -- since last June to be exact. One year and not a single haircut. It's one of those Mommy things in me. I don't spend the money on myself. I just don't. But when my Mom gave me money for my birthday I knew that's what I wanted to spend it on. So last Wed. I went to see Keeli, who came highly recommended by some of my friends. She was so nice and spent over and hour cutting my hair, talking with me about what I wanted and how I wanted it then styling it for me. She did have to cut off more than I would have liked - about 3 1/2 inches - but it was in so many different lengths because of how long it had been since I'd had it cut before. After washing, adding a moisurizer and cutting my hair she styled it for me. I'd never straightened my hair before and I like the change from my normal wavy hair. So I walk away from there on Wed. happy with the results and excited about showing Brian,...

You see, my friend and fellow ScrapAddict designer Monica tagged me. I've been wracking my brain for a list of 7 random facts about me and I haven't come up with anything great. But I've procrastinated long enough so I'm just going to fly with it and do my best. These are the rules.... each player starts with 7 random facts about themselves on their Blog. People who are tagged need to blog 7 facts about themselves and post the rules as well. At the end of their blog list 7 people you are tagging. Let them know that they are tagged by leaving them a comment. So, time for my 7 random facts: 1. I love chocolate anything except cake. The only way I'll eat chocolate cake is if it is chocolate cupcakes baked with lots of raisins in them. 2. I'm a clothes-hanging organizer. It's one of those little quirky things. All clothes in this house have to be hung up in the proper way. First pants - jeans first than other pants. Next short sleeve shirts in order by color - w...

Baseball is officially over. Tristan and Carissa have played their last game and each walked away with a new trophy. And I've walked away with a greater respect for parents who do this on their own year after year. Wow, it was a handful. And I couldn't have done it without the help and support of all the Grandparents, who each came and helped out when I needed it. THANK YOU! My preschool class had their last day yesterday. Oooooohhhhhhh. We still have a party on Tuesday so we haven't had to say the real goodbyes yet. But it was bittersweet watching them walk out of the classroom for the last time. I've only been with this group since February, but they've sort of grown on me. And I've seen how they've all grown so much in the short time I've known them. Already I can see how fulfilling teaching is. 4 more days of school for the kids. I can't believe the year is almost over and that soon I will have a 1st, 3rd and 5th grader. Wow. But I...

Our time with Jimmy, Virginia and Randal has come and gone. It was great to see them all and to cuddle my new nephew. And it's great to see Jimmy and Virginia starting a family of their own ... they're great parents, as I always knew they would be. Baby Randal is such a sweet thing. I particularly enjoyed holding him and it reminded me how long it's been since one of my kids was that tiny. He was such a good baby. Very quiet but with an adorable smile and little cooing noises all his own. The kids, of course, thought Randal was just a gem. They kept walking up to him and touching his hand and talking to him. And they all took their turns holding him. Brian and I took our turns with Randal too ... And of course, who can forget my little brother and his son. It was so nice to see him interact with Randal and I just can't get over the little things he would say. My favorite was when Randal was starting to get fussy and Jimmy would say "Oh no, not Mr. Grumpy...

Someone posted this on ScrapAddict.com and I immediately fell in love with it... it's exactly what I wish for my kids. Thought I'd pass it along. Enjoy. i wish you so much. but most of all i wish you to be your own true self. to take all the gifts that you were born with and make of them marvels of beauty and ingenuity and astonishment. -pam brown

As previously mentioned, Chase is playing the role of Wilbur in "Charlotte's Web". Time sure snuck up on us and all of the sudden his costume was due. Despite my diligence, I was unable to find a pig costume in his size. I mean, how many 10 year old boys chose "pig" as their Halloween costume? Seriously. So when Chase came home last week and announced that his costume was due on Tuesday I knew that meant that I had to make it. So off we go to find all the supplies needed for the costume. Keep in mind that my Mom had taught us to sew when we were kids but I haven't really sewed anything in a while ... anything besides scrapbook pages that is. So I'm about as rusty as can be at this. But I find a pattern that will work with a few small changes (no lions mane or bunny tail) and go in search of a suitable fabric. I found tons of things but none of them were right. The cottons were just too thin, they didn't have the right color of fleece (fuschia was NOT...

It's 1am and I've been up nearly every 20 minutes with Carissa who is suffering her first agonizing bout with growing pains. It seems just a few short years ago when Chase got his first growing pains, then Tristan got his first. And now Carissa is having them too. It serves as yet another reminder of how quickly the kids are growing. This school year is almost over and I'm staring at the reality of the fall, when all my children are gone from the house all day for school. I've been enjoying this last year with Carissa still home with me half the day. Next year that all changes. Motherhood has been such a quick-rolling ride ... always moving, always changing. I wish it weren't so. I wish it could stand still for a few more minutes. Because I know 15 years from now I'll be looking back at this moment and wistfully remember living through these growing pains.

so I thought I'd share some recent LO's of the kids with you. In case you're interested in seeing more of my layouts you can see them here at ScrapAddict .

Chase continues to amaze me. Last week he was offered a scholarship for Oregon Childrens Theater. His teacher has been so impressed with his work as Wilbur in Charlotte's Web that she suggested him for this scholarship. He probably won't be going, as it only covers half the tuition and driving to Portland every day for 2 weeks just isn't feasible with gas prices as they are. But it was such an honor for him to be suggested for it. Way to go Chase! Tristan is starting to blossom! He had such a hard time with pitching machine at the beginning of the year. Now he's finally got in the rhythm and is doing great. He's starting to hit regularly and beginning to get some power behind it. It makes him feel so great when he does that and it's great to see that happiness on his face. :) Carissa has really picked up the reading this year. Coming into Kindergarten she knew her letters and phonics and could read short works (cat, dog, man, etc.) but couldn't rea...

I'm still somewhat stunned by the days events. It's the day before mothers day, so we went into nearby St. Helens to shop for Mothers Day gifts. We didn't find anything there so grabbed some lunch for the kids at Taco Bell and then headed down the road to see what we could find at Fred Meyers. We were headed down the highway at 60mph when we it happened ... a deer broadsided us. Seriously. We didn't hit the deer, it hit us. I saw it in slow motion ... the realization that a deer had crossed 4 lanes of a busy highway and was right alongside our van. And the realization that, no matter what Brian did, it was going to hit us. When it hit the far rear window on the drivers side - right next to Carissa - the impact was monumental. I didn't realize that something so small in comparison to our van could make that much of an impact. The sounds of the deer thumping into our van and the window glass shattering were deafening. Then came wailing from Carissa and screams from th...

9 1/2 weeks down, 6 1/2 still left to go. It's been a long road and I'm ready for it to be over with. Everything here seems to keep me hopping. My new neighbor and I were talking last week and she said when she first moved in she thought I was just stuck up and never said hi to her, but it took her a few weeks to realize that I was focused solely on rushing to the next event and that I didn't even notice her waving to me. Yep, that pretty much sums up my life. Rushing from here to there and back again. Work, volunteering, scouts, parents organizations, baseball, more work, more volunteering, more baseball... you get the picture. It has all come to a screeching halt this week though, as Carissa got the flu. Poor girl. She's been home for 2 days already but I'm hoping she's better by tomorrow. Of course, she's enjoying the unlimited TV/game time (we limit our kids to 1 hour per day but give them a break when they're sick). She's watching yet another Ba...

After much procrastination, Chase (age 10) finally completed his homework for tonight. He had to write a paragraph telling why his Mom is the greatest. Here's what he wrote: "My Mom's the greatest because she does lots of things for us, such as: bringing things to school even if it makes her late for work, she lets us have our own pets, she takes us to the movies, she lets us sleep over at friend's houses and most importantly she loves and cares for us. That's why I think she's the greatest Mom."

This is my favorite phrase of today. Brian said that to me and we both looked up at the beautiful blue sky and smiled. It is a good day to be alive. It's a good day to spend with Brian and the kids and his parents. It's a good day to enjoy the warmth of the spring sunshine. It's a good day to BBQ. It's a good day to relax. It's a good day to just be .

1. We're all going to see Brian this evening. We're meeting at Red Robin where I'll get one of my favorite foods - Whisky River BBQ Chicken Wrap... YUM and raspberry lemonade. And we'll get to spend several hours together just chatting and hanging out. 2. The discount book fair at the kids school today. I spent $34.00 (hope Brian isn't reading this! LOL). For that I got 20 good books, 2 Leapster games, one computer game and a robotic t-rex you assemble. Awesome deals! 3. Scrapbooking. I know, I've been avoiding the schoolwork that I should be doing right now, but I'm having fun playing with all the new kits at ScrapAddict. Here's a little sneaky of my favorite layout from an upcoming kit. 4. Money. It's payday. Nuff said. 5. Meet the Robinsons. I'm still happy after that movie. It's one of the few animated flicks that I've truly, truly enjoyed. And the "Little Wonders" song by Rob Thomas from the movie makes me happy too. 6. Bab...