Back to School Woes

I am glad that after three children starting school over the past 17 years that I recognize the first week of school is no indication of how the year will be because if I believed that I would be feeling a little nervous. The oldest seems to be transitioning well. As a ninth grader in a school where that is the last year hosted in the school, it's old news to her. She is tired but happy to be back in school. But the third grader declared himself to be "over" school on the second day. Yesterday we had a complete meltdown that resulted in him heading for bed right after dinner. With his severe allergies, lack of sleep, and general difficulty in returning to school if I thought this was indicative of the rest of the school year I might throw my hands up in frustration. (Ok, I'm frustrated all right but not ready to give up yet.)

I do remember, however, that it takes a few weeks for the body to adjust to the rigors of early rising and heavy school demands. In the meantime, I'm trying to be extremely patient. I recognize it's hard for him as well.

Last night however, I watched a 25 year old on TV screeching at her Mom and thought, "we're curbing that kind of behavior here and now." I can't imagine a grown adult being that disrespectful to her mother. And her poor mother stood there sad and frightened. Zero tolerance for that around these parts. I don't have a problem with my kids feeling angry, sad, or disappointed; but it's how they handle those feelings that's important to me. I cannot stand them being disrespectful. We just don't treat each other that way. It's something we're always working on.

On a happier (and less chatty) note, I have one "Work It Out Wednesday" share for you today. This is from the Create blog. In this post, I share how to create the journaling banner block on this page. It's a great eye-catching piece and a fun way to switch up your journaling. Be sure to read the complete instruction list here:


Elle's Studio Guest Designer Sketch Post

I have one last project to share from my time serving as the Guest Designer for Elle's Studio. I was happy to play along with the sketch this week. As it is an 8 1/2 X 11" sketch, it spoke to my soul and this is what I created:

You can find more about this sketch, along with, the original designer's work here on the Elle's Studio Blog.

I want to thank them again for having me! Their products are beautiful and fun to work with, and I encourage you to check them out!
Stretch Your Sketch August Class

Please join me for the next installment of my "Stretch Your Sketch" August class hosted at www.twopeasinabucket.com. You can download a free pdf and watch a helpful video here on creating this layout using buttons:

(And someone pointed out that the sticker I used says "mountians" rather than "mountains" after I'd created the class. Ah well. Gives the page some character, right?)

One winner will be selected to receive a 2Peas Gift Certificate just for playing along. As this is a free class, there's no reason not to join in!
First Day of School Jitters

Ok, not so much for the kids but for me? Definitely. Please tell me I'm not the only one who has trouble concentrating and getting back into the groove of no kids at home on the first day of school. I wandered around a little lost yesterday. It did help that the kids came home extremely happy after seeing old friends and finding out how much they like their new teachers. That helps me relax a little. I'm hoping that today I can actually concentrate and get things done.

The boy wanted to walk to school but didn't want any photos. I told him that when he signed up in heaven to be my kid he agreed to unlimited kisses, hugs, and photos. He says that I signed up for unlimited video game time. I told him I must have missed that memo.


This one is going to kill her Daddy with all the growing up she's been doing. He definitely doesn't like her going to school looking this pretty:


Where has the time gone? My little raggamuffin daughter and my squish-bodied little boy have turned into full blown people. I hate it when time flies sometimes. But I am proud of their efforts to do well in school. I hope it's a great year for both of them!
Create Blog "WOW" Post Today!

I am pleasantly chilled this morning and thank goodness because I couldn't function in that extreme heat. I feel much more creative when I'm cool headed and my body temperature is cool.

I have one quick share with you today. Today I have a tutorial on the Create Blog about how you can wrap twine, floss, ribbon, etc. around a ribbon to create an entirely new embellishment. Be sure to read all the details here!


I have a lot to catch up on in the next few days before the kids head back to school. I want to take off some time on Friday so I can spend the day with them.
In the Heat of the Day

Where have I been? I'll tell you where I've been. I've sweltering because of this:


Yes. 88 degrees inside the house on the lower level of the house. So you can imagine how hot it is upstairs in my office with the computer equipment running. So hot in fact that my poor husband's computer overheated and froze so he resorted to working downstairs. Thankfully the A/C is now fixed and after three days of BLISTERING heat, I am so grateful to feel air movement and cooler temps (it's already 78 degrees in the house as of right now). I'm sorry, but electric fans and open windows just don't cut it.

One other note. I was so pleased to see a fabulous list of designers on the American Crafts Design Team which was recently posted. I decided not to try out again this year due to time contraints, but it was a really difficult decision because I LOVE American Crafts and working with them was an absolute dream. It's so hard to give up fun and rewarding things! I wish the new team all the best.

I wanted to share one project from one of my first ever assignments with them. I wanted to do a layout about all the foods my daughter would NOT be eating with her new braces so a few days before they went on we had a "food" party in which she partook of everything she loved but would be denied with them on.


Confession? We haven't been so great at denying her some of these foods. In fact her ortho didn't even tell her to avoid these foods. Hee, hee. Thank goodness because I think the child would die without popcorn. She LOVES the stuff.
Lost in My Own Little World

That's how I feel sometimes--keeping my head down pushing through things only to look up and realize that I've been traveling down some road for a while and can't quite remember where I was headed (oh, and I've done that literally sometimes too). I guess we all have busy lives, and that's ok.

My kids head back to school in less than two weeks. I haven't loved this summer as I feel like I haven't spent the time with them that I could/should. Is that mama guilt or real, deserved guilt? Who knows. But I'm promising myself that next summer we'll have a plan in place first so it doesn't escape me like it did this year. Still the kids have had lots of fun with friends, and camping, and cousins so it really isn't as bad as I've built it up to be inside my head. They always seem to know how to have a good time.

And speaking of having a good time, I have a layout that I wanted to share with you today that is featured on the Northridge Publishing "Create" blog. For today's "Work It Out Wednesday" I created a banner out of stamped people. I wanted to show that you can follow the hot banner trend but still make it your own. You can check out all the step-out photos and instructions here:


So when do your kids head back to school? I'm not alone in being sad about it am I?
Doing Some Digi!

Join me today on the Create Blog for a "Work It Out Wednesday" tutorial on grouping digital patterned paper with your everyday fonts. It's fairly quick and easy and allows you to make any font dressier.

Here's the complete project from today's tutorial:


You can find all the instructions, additional photos, and the complete supply list here!
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