My Favourite April Fool!

April Fool's Day is a very special day in out house, and not because of practical jokes.

This is my guy. He's a super Dad, a hard worker and fantastic provider, a handy man, a loving husband and an all around great guy! He might be an April Fool's baby, but he's no Fool!



Happy Birthday to my Favourite grown-up guy! You're my hero, and I love you forever!

Help Me, I Think I'm Falling...

Our sweet little daughter has recently discovered the phrase falling in love, likely from her cousins' recent fascination with - and our repeated viewing of Disney's High School Musical!

I broke into my new BG Scarlet's Letter for this one, and actually managed to use my K&Co Twinkle Type alphas without getting too thick a layer of red glitter all over my kitchen!

I think she's totally sweet, but I may be a teensy bit biased! And I've been falling in love with her since the day she was born! As for this post's title, you're singing the song now, aren't you? I've been singing it all day, so you're in good company! Tee hee!

A Birthday Shout Out...

Happy Birthday wishes today go out to my gal pal, Heidi. Up until about two years ago, Heidi and I worked together, and would have had a chance to go out for lunch on her birthday to celebrate!

Now that we don't work together anymore, we don't see each other very often, and a birthday lunch is much harder to do. I miss Heidi. Not only is she one of the sweetest people alive, but she's also trustworthy and honest, funny and smart, she has a great fashion sense, she likes to chat, she's a good influence on anyone trying to eat healthy, and she's adorable too!

So enjoy your day, Heidi. And set aside some time in your calendar, because while it might not happen on your birthday, there definitely has to be a lunch date in our future!

On the Topic of Birthdays...

Well, I know it's late but I promised my family from out of town that I would post photos of the girls' birthday, so here they are. The girls had a fantastic time! We were lucky enough to have my Mom here for the party, and my Mom's cousin Zandra, together with her daughter Alyson & dh Anthony and sweet kids made it for the party too.

Indra and Zandra met for the first time and had a wonderful time chatting with my Mom. Don't they look like they're having fun?

We went back to the house afterward, and the girls had a fantastic time playing with Alex and oogling over Andrew. He has grown like crazy and is absolutely adorable.

Mom thoroughly enjoyed the day, maybe even more than the girls, if that's possible!

A Little Hawaiian Warmth!

The girls have been studying Hawaii at school, and recently had a little Hawaiian festival in their classroom. It was adorable.

The kids all dressed up in grass skirts, played Hawaiian music and performed a hula dance.

The classroom was decorated with pictures the students coloured of birds, fish, volcanoes, landscapes and various things local to Hawaii.

They told the story of the Wiki Tiki, and then fed us all pineapple.

It was a ton of fun. They're here with Indra in their Hawaiian garb. Sweet or what? Aloha!

More Memorial Layouts

Well, I have now completed all of the finishing touches on the memorial LOs I created for Stephen's grandparents' memorial service. Together with these final four, I also altered a large photo frame with six family photos in it. On the entrance table at the service we displayed a beautiful, large needlepoint work of art that Nan created and - quite unplanned - the colours in it were a fantastic match to the Cosmo Cricket Wanted collection that I used.



Stephen's Nan and Gramps celebrated their 40th wedding anniversary just a few months before Gramps died in 1986. The photo in the 40 years LO was taken at their 40th anniversary celebration.

While I was waiting for additional Cosmo Cricket pp to arrive, I did use a little bit of MME Signature collection, which I think worked well with the Cosmo Cricket Wanted.


We wanted to display Gramps' military service medals on the LO with the photo of him from his military days. It took a bit of research to determine the correct way to mount and display the medals, so they are displayed on the LO in their official and correct order.

The empty space below the photo on the lower left side of the LO actually holds Gramps' military identification card, however I took it out for privacy reasons before posting the LO on the web.

Stephen's Nan was always impeccably dressed, and even in her last years, was always conscious of ensuring that her purse and shoes matched her outfit, and didn't like to go out without jewellery. I wanted this lovely photo of her to be displayed in a bit of a glamorous fashion. I had a great time with the various blossoms on this LO, all by Prima, and I used beautiful filigree Imaginisce charms as well as a non-scrap button from a Sunny Choi suit (black jeweled button in the centre of large brown Prima).

This was the last LO I did for the memorial, and I actually put it together the night before the service using a sketch of a LO I saw on 2Peas. I cannot locate the details now, but I do want to acknowledge my appreciation for creativity of the original designer.

All of the LOs are in matching black shadow box frames, and will be hanging soon in Stephen's Mom's home, along the wall leading to Nan's bedroom. I was flattered and honoured to be given the opportunity to memorialize Nan and Gramps with these layouts. I trust that they are smiling down as they look at them now, together.

When Did This Happen?

Why does it seem like just yesterday I was a brand new Mom? Now I'm a seasoned hockey Mom! Our dude played the last game of his first regular season this morning. He played goalie today, and had a spectacular save with 33 seconds left in the game.

I remember taking him to his first skating party and holding him up the entire time. Now he can skate backwards and can stop better than I can!

Just when did this all happen?

Let it Snow...?

Well, we had some snow on Friday night this past weekend. It was really only enough snow to cover the driveway and sidewalk with a wet layer of snow, but it was still there when the kids got up the next morning. Since we've barely had snow here this winter, and a snowfall on a weekend day was been a rare thing, the kids woke up and looked out the window with great excitement - "Hooray! We get to shovel today!"

Well, by the time we had breakfast, I went to the gym and came back, and we dressed and went outside, the majority of the snow was already melted. Did that hinder the troops? Not at all!! We had a wonderful time all afternoon, taking the little bit of snow from the front door and stairs and dumping it onto the grass. Then it was inside for a bit of hot chocolate.

Funnily enough, it is supposed to hit 18 degrees celsius tomorrow, so hopefully that means spring is here to stay. It may not make the kids happy, but it will suit me just fine!

Piano Man

Our little dude had his first ever piano recital a little bit ago. He had to play in the music school auditorium, in front of us and all of the family of the other kids playing the same day, so he was a bit nervous leading up to the big event.

Fortunately for us (and him), the bulk of the recital dates were while we were away in Mexico, so we had to sign up for the very first recital day. This must have been an unpopular choice, as there were only 5 children performing that night, and it made him so much more at ease to have a small audience.

On his playlist for the night - a classical rendition of Old MacDonald had a Farm!

We're so proud of our tot!

Things Kids Say...

Alicia: "Mama, would it be OK if I fell in love?"
Me: "Well, who do you think you are falling in love with?"
Alicia: "I think I am falling in love with you!"

I feel a scrapbook page coming on!

Stephen's Grandparents' Memorial Layouts

Well, I didn't manage to get all of the memorial LOs uploaded and re-sized this weekend, but here are the ones I managed to do. The remainder are photographed, though, so I should be able to post them soon.

The first LO, She is Loved, was the LO I created while Nan was still in the hospital. I used the Cosmo Cricket Wanted line that came in the Scraptivity September 2006 kit for this LO. The journaling tells of all of her roles throughout her life.
Once Stephen's Mom asked me to prepare more LOs for the memorial service, I decided to use the same paper collection for all of the LOs. Special thanks to Wendy and Rebecca at S! for tracking down enough of the colletion for me to finish all of the LOs.

Since Stephen's grandfather had passed away almost 20 years earlier, we were able to hold Nan's memorial service on the 20th anniversary of Gramps' passing, and it became a memorial for both of them.
The Family LO includes a photo taken in our back yard on Nan's 85th birthday, and it includes all of her descendants and pretty close to all of her extended family. The M prominent in many of the LOs highlights their last name.

I like that I was able to incorporate both of their first names, Olga and Karl into the O and K in the word "Look" in the title of their Wedding LO, The Look of Love. Journaling at the bottom of the LO details their weding date and location.

There will be more to come later in the week. There are 7 LOs all together, as well as a large altered photo frame.

Scrapalicious Icing Crew Gallery Now Online!

Scrapalicious has added an online gallery to the Icing Crew page of their website. Check it out!

Scrapalicious Icing Crew Online Gallery

Memorial Tribute

I've been working feverishly on finally finishing the LOs I began for Stephen's grandmother (Nan)'s memorial back in November. Because I was pressured for time to have the LOs ready in time for the service, they were displayed back then without some of the journaling and finishing touches.

Well, they are finished, 7 of them in total! I have photographed most of them, and should be able to finish tomorrow (I ran out of daylight!)

They will all be going into shadow box frames and will then be displayed in Stephen's Mom's home.

Here is a peek. More will be coming soon - hopefully later in the weekend....

Where on Earth is Scrapbooks etc.?

For those of you non-scrappers out there, Where on Earth is Scrapbooks Etc.? is a regular feature in the popular Better Homes and Gardens magazine called - you guessed it - Scrapbooks Etc. In this particular case, Scrapbooks Etc. was at the ruins of Chitchen Itza in Mexico, with me, on our recent trip to Mexico.

Since magazines often are particular in wanting the images they publish to be "unseen", I have posted a similar photo here to the one I submitted, not the exact image. I submitted the best of the lot. Perhaps you'll be seeing me in a future issue of Scrapbooks Etc.!

While we were on our trip, I was relaxing by the pool reading the same magazine in the photo, when another guest tapped me on the shoulder. She was a fellow scrapbooker, and not only did she recognize the mag I was reading, but she had it in her hand as well! We both had taken a similar photo with the mag in it, and she was also planning on submitting hers, so if I don't make the cut, perhaps she will.

The weather was beautiful on our vacation. I wish it was as warm here now! Hurry up spring!

All in the Family!

It can definitely be said that scrapbooking is a way of life in our house. While I usually scrap after the kids are in bed, I do occasionally drag my supplies down to the kitchen table while they're awake. When I do that, I am typically met with "Can we scrapbook too, Mom?"

Evan already has his own stash of my leftover/cast-off supplies - lots of stickers and old patterned paper - and can function quite independently, other than the occasional request for help with sewing on buttons. He is a layout kind of guy, and rarely has an interest in making cards.

One of the LOs I made with my Scrapalicious March kit featured him as Captain Sharp Eye from last Halloween, so he decided to scrap Halloween also. Remember that old Karen Foster pp? Do you like his LO?

The girls, on the other hand, are card-making fiends! I'm not sure where they get it from, seeing as I am very much a LO scrapper myself! But that's OK! Maybe it means that I eventually won't have to buy cards anymore after all!

Stephen was away on a business trip the end of last week, and the girls decided to make cards to welcome him home. Notice Alicia's card? She has such a little mind of her own. She told me she wanted to make a "nice card" for Daddy. When I asked her what she wanted the caption on her "nice card" to say, she responded with "Mommy, it's a nice card. It needs to say "Nice Card". Take a peek.

Stephen loved both of the cards when he got home, and Evan's Halloween LO is on display in our front hall, until his next creation.

A Wonderful Visit

Well, Grannie is safely home and unpacking after her short visit with us. The kids still knocked on the door to the spare bedroom this morning to wake her up, forgetting that she had already left.

While it was a short visit, we crammed a lot in. The girls' birthday party was, of course, one of the highlights of the visit. We also enjoyed visiting with Zandra, Alyson and Tara and their kids, Carol and Ray, Harry and Gloria, Danny and Sarah, and - of course - spending time with Indra and the kids playing, reading, and going out for lunches! Grannie had an opportunity to see the girls do gymnastics, Evan play the piano, and she even attended (and shivered through) one of Evan's hockey practices.

The photo here is from the last afternoon before Grannie's flight home. It's not easy getting everyone in one spot and looking at a camera, as you can see, but I did the best I could. Some photos of the other events mentioned above will be coming soon...

Grannie had uneventful flights both ways, no lost bags or luggage, and no visits to the doctor or hospital during her trip, so that makes for a fantastic vacation. We're hoping she will be back in the summer to make the annual trek to Montreal with us again.

spe ~ no ordinary folk

Today is the two year anniversary of one of the more recent major decisions in my life. On March 11th 2005 I worked my last day in the Strategic Planning and Execution (SPE) group at TELUS Mobility. After almost 8 years, I left the telecom world behind to join Stephen as a Project Manager in our screen business.

I can't believe how quickly the time has flown by. It's been a hectic couple of years for us, both at work and at home, and I can't believe that it has passed so quickly. While it's been wonderfully busy, succesful and happy, I certainly didn't seem to gain back 3 hours in my day from the loss of the more than 100 km daily commute. Also, I haven't done a fantastic job of keeping in touch with my TELUS family. There are so many people who had a tremendous influence on my life - both personal and professional - and I wish I spoke with each of them more often.

Both Laura Lea and Candace are on maternity leave now with new baby boys! And I have gifts for them in my closet, which I hope to get off to them before their kids are in college! I miss them both a lot, and would love to see their little boys. We need to book something soon!

Then there's Heidi. I talk on the phone and exchange e-mails with her once in a while, but I truly can't believe that we haven't had lunch together in two years now. Heidi always has a sympathetic ear and good advice at the ready, and can always make me smile. Heidi was the first person I met on my very first day at Consilium, was always there for me, was pregnant with Harrow at the same time I was pregnant with Evan, and shared so much of my time at ClearNET/TELUS - both good and challenging! I miss her so much!

There are too many more to mention, and I don't want to leave anyone out, but I will add a few names. Lisa B, David K, Jane F, Michele C, Michelle D, Robin, Anissa, Michael G, Tami, and others, made my time at TELUS fun, challenging and rewarding. Then there are also so many in other cities, other groups and many who left before I did. You all were a big part of my time in SPE and TM overall, some for a very short time and some for a long time, but you all touched and influenced me in ways you may not even know! I really miss you all!

P.S. - the title of this post - SPE - no ordinary folk, is - of course - a take on the Mike ad (Mike - no ordinary phone), and the title of a scrapbook layout I plan to one day create with this photo!

Jump for Joy - my first Scrapalicious DT LOs

Well, here they are - my first four LOs from my March scrapalicious.ca DT kit. I had a great time putting these LOs together, and am still hoping to squeeze in one more if time permits.


Jump for Joy - Bazzill and Prism cs, pp and die cuts from Tinkering Ink Westminster line, chipboard "Joy" from Making Memories and splash chipboard from Fancy Pants, Autumn Leaves journaling stamps, BG sticker letters and ribbon.



Boys Rule - Bazzill cs, pp and die cuts from Tinkering Ink Westminster line, Fancy Pants biggest board chipboard for crown and arrow, chipboard alphas by BG, WRMK and Heidi Swapp, Autumn Leaves stamp, BG sticker letters, WRMK and misc ribbon.






Hey Dude... - Bazzill cs, pp and die cuts from Tinkering Ink Westminster line, chipboard alphas by WRMK and Pressed Petals, BG sticker letters, Making Memories Heidi rub-ons, brad and ribbon from DT kit.




Aye Aye, Captain - Bazzill cs, pp from Tinkering Ink Westminster line and WRMK, Fancy Pants chipboard star, WRMK chipboard alphas, BG sticker letters, ribbon from DT kit.

Want a sneak peek?

My DT LOs from my scrapalicious.ca March kit are almost ready. I was lucky enough to be working with the brand new Westminster line from Tinkering Ink, wonderful 12 x 12 big board chipboard from Fancy Pants Designs, and more. Yummy stuff!

Here is a peek - more will be coming later tonight...

OK, so I gave in to the pressure...

I can't believe it, but I am starting a blog. Do I really have time for this? I guess we will find out. It should be a natural extension for me - I love to write, my family is spread out all over the world and I love to keep in touch, I love photos, and with my love of scrapbooking, a blog is a great place for me to journal, display photos and post my scrapbooking creations.

The primary push for this blogs creation came from my friends at scrapalicious.ca. I was lucky enough to be selected as a member of their new Icing Crew Design Team - and I was absolutely thrilled. But it now turns out that I am the only team member without a blog. So how could I resist starting one?

I am working on my first creations with my DT kit, but since I don't have those ready to post yet, I thought I would break in my blog with a favourite LO. Thanks for peeking at my inaugural post. See you next time!