mini-LOAD challenge

In my previous life, I used to be a scrapbooker. I LOVE scrapbooking! I started in college and just really enjoy the creative aspect of blending papers, photos, words, and other doodads into a beautiful snapshot of the important moments in our lives. But with the addition of 2 kids, working full-time, doing travel planning in the evenings, and just life in general, I have really gotten behind on my scrapping.

Enter Lain Ehmann. She's a blogger, Podcaster, and scrapbooker extraordinaire. I've been listening to her Podcasts since early this year, and she's slowly convinced me that I don't have to leave the house and book a 3 day weekend out of town to work on my albums. I CAN do it here. I have even - are you ready for this?- worked on my albums during the day. While BOTH children were here. {Admittedly the small one was sleeping, but still.} Emerson has even gotten to help me a bit, by creating a green title with spray mist and placing the stickers on a page. Awesome.

A couple of times a year, Lain has a Layout-A-Day challenge (LOAD), where scrappers commit to creating a page a day for one solid month. While this seems like a bit more than I can handle right now, I decided that a mini-LOAD challenge just might jumpstart me again. So I committed to do a page a day for a whole week. (Thanks to Melissa and Jennifer for getting me off to a good start!)









I can say that as of Thursday (when I'm planning to crop in the evening after the kiddos are locked away, er, in bed), I will be on track. And I wanted to share these LOs with you. Because I struggle, you may need to do yoga to see them oriented correctly. {Uncle Matt, how do I edit pix taken with an iPhone?!?!?!?!}

kind of a big deal

So as you may or may not know, I'm a travel planner who specializes in Disney Vacations. I'm also a HUGE Disney geek and get my weekly fix by listening to no fewer than 3 Podcasts as well as listening to streaming music from the Theme Parks. But this week marked a new Disney experience for me...I got to be a guest on the PassPorter Mom's Podcast!!! For those who don't know, PassPorter started as a set of guide books for Disney travelers, and now they include specifics on the Disney Cruise Line, Disney World, Disneyland, and lots of other topics for specific Disney travelers. And I've been listening to Jennifer and Sara for about 2 years now, ever since I began working with MEI & Mouse Fan Travel.



Last month, I submitted an article for their weekly newsletter, which circulates to over 55,000 people! And I was talking with Sara about other possible article topics when I came up with the idea to write about the countries I'd add to Epcot if I were an Imagineer. She then asked me to be on the Podcast, and the rest is history.



I'd love for you to check it out. It is episode 126- "Our World Showcase Wish List" from 6/12/12. The podcast is about 40 minutes long, and I come on about 7-8 minutes in, so don't think you have the wrong episode if I'm not there right away. I'd love your feedback!



Here's the link from their website.



And here's a link to the show in iTunes.

Enjoy!

messy arts/science day

When I was a girl {Oh man, is it gonna be one of those stories?}, I have a very clear, fond memory of getting ahold of a can of my dad’s shaving cream, standing by the kitchen sink, and squeezing a fluffy dollop out onto a baking sheet to create a unique canvas for art. And I also remember my mom putting the kibosh on it, telling me that she didn’t want me wasting the shaving cream and making a huge mess.

Fast forward to today. Em planned a play date with her good buddy, T. I tried to think of a few fun outside activities, and decided that a bit of shaving cream art was in order. My only direction to them was that they needed to use up the whole can! They very quickly moved away from the cookie sheets and started making it “snow” on the sidewalk. It was awesome to see them writing some words in their cream and reading each other’s writing. I’d say that this was $1.69 well spent.

They also traced their outlines (so cute to watch them giggle as they traced around ticklish parts), made “volcanoes” by dropping a combo of vinegar and food coloring into baking soda, and played with Ooblek (it’s an awesome substance that is simultaneously a liquid and a solid.) If you’ve never experienced Ooblek, you MUST promise to make it this summer. It’s simple to make- just 2 parts Cornstarch and one part water. You can add some food coloring to make it more fun.

 

a plethora of pictures

I know that I’ve been woefully neglectful here during the school year. But now that it’s summer (woo hoo!), I’m back in Mama mode, and that includes all things crafty. Here are a few shots from the last month or so.

Pete is as cheery (and as cheeky) as this photo suggests. He’s a riot, and it’s a good thing he’s so sweet because he’s a real stinker too!

We spent a weekend at the beach and were blessed with 90 degree temps in May! Perfect beach weather and great company too!

Speaking of the beach, check out these hot mamas!

Aaaannndd then there’s me looking not-so-hot. Too early on a Sunday morning with my early riser boy and no coffee. Fail.

But how could I be angry with this sweet face?

 

I’m one lucky girl!

dreams

See this?

It’s a jar. A plain, ordinary glass jar. No big whoop.

 

But see this?

This, my friends, is no ordinary jar. It’s a DREAM jar, and in it are {hopefully} many hours of fun and smiles and memories. Each little slip of paper says something like “Find a new park to play at,” or “ get a tasty treat at Jamba Juice,” or “bake cookies,” or “paint pottery.” You get the drift.

 

Throughout the school year, I found myself repeatedly telling the kids that “we’ll do X this summer.” But I can never remember all those fun X things when the time finally rolls around. So, I’ve been making a list. And now that school is done, I’ve written those fun ideas on little slips of paper, placed them in the Dream Jar, and we’ll pull one or two to be done each week.

 

I’m pretty pumped about this. 1. Because I think it’s a cute idea and for once, I did NOT find it on Pinterest…I made it up! And 2. it has generated some excitement around here, and that makes this Mama smile.

 

Happy summer, all!