Stop to smell the flowers

I think Little Man has the right idea.







This Labor Day weekend, don't forget to take a moment to thank the men and women of our country who have and are serving for our freedom. And most importantly, capture those family moments.

Can you say obsessed?

A few weeks ago we went to the Prince William County Fair. We made sure to get there before the crowd started shuffling in and I know Little Man had a great time. How do I know this you ask? Well, let's just say he saw his fair share of tractors at the fair.



I'm pretty sure this constitutes an obsession.

I am so glad that Little Man is getting old enough to be able to enjoy more things and events. Especially with the fair, we didn't have him "locked" into a stroller. We let him run around - let him get his wiggles out before the end of the day. He saw farm animals, like a rooster who scared the poop out of him (would have been funny if he actually pooped) when he cock-a-doodle-dooed as Little Man was walking by. They had a puppet show, that was semi-interesting. Lots of trucks and tractors. And just before we left we were able to catch a glimpse of the motorcycles jumping a ramp. Oh don't forget about the best part of a fair...


The funnel cake!

We'll definitely be going again next year!

Scraps 2 Remember Temp Site

I know a few people have been asking about a website for my scrapbooking business. Unfortunately, it is not up but will be up and running very soon. I know, I've said that before, but I am officially bugging my brother as of right now.

In the mean time, I have put a temporary website together myself. The only thing missing are photos of my layouts. Included is the additional information that everyone always asks about... pricing. The prices listed are introductory prices that will change after the first of the year. So act now and get a great deal!

I know a few people have actually wandered over to the official site splash page via my slide show on the top left bar. Hopefully, what you see on the slideshow and what you have seen here on my blog will be enough to showcase my work.

So, here is the temporary website for Scraps 2 Remember hosted by freewebs.com. If you have any questions, feel free to ask me!

One for the road

Well, this one took me a little bit longer than I had wanted to. I had an idea in my head and it just didn't work out when it finally got to the paper. And I'm not sure why, but so far all my background paper has been white. Not that I think it really matters, but it's something to keep in mind for the next layout.

On with the show.



Let me know what you think.

On a role...

Here's another layout for Little Man's "Little Moments" album. I'm thinking I like these little layouts. The only thing that really took time with this layout was stamping the months across the page. Let me know what you think.

New Mantra

Today. Is not a good day so far.

It doesn't help that hubby and I were watching the Olympics until 12:30am as we cheered on Michael Phelps and the Women's Gymnastics team. Then it took me at least an hour to fall asleep. Every time I tried counting I would think of something else which would start a domino effect of thoughts. Our dog snoring and pacing in her bed didn't help either.

Neither did Little Man A help this morning by waking up at 6:30am and screaming to be freed from his prison crib (as Amy Bow likes to call it). I thought for sure taking him to the train station and then to Gymboree would help get his attitude straightened and more importantly, get his wiggles out before lunch time.

Yeah. No. Must be the full moon coming up this weekend, but every child in art class at Gymboree was in a "mood" today. One child was swatting at the other kids, one of them got sand in his eye (by his own fault when he was trying to show his mom the sand in his hands), and Little Man get paint and marker all over his beige shorts and his hands.

They have a radar for this type of stuff.

So, today I've come up with a new mantra. "It's just a phase. It will pass."

I chanted this while Little Man was trying to wiggle away from me in the middle of changing his diaper. He stopped and stared me in awe. Or like I was a total alien. Not sure which one. Probably more out of curiosity than anything, but at least he stopped. Temporarily.

So, to lighten the post and the rest of my day just a little bit, I'm posting a Cookie Monster video. Yes, cookie monster. Because everyone should stop what they are doing and enjoy a cookie. Because cookies make you smile. Unless of course they are diet cookies with no fat and no taste making them a waste of being called a cookie.

Hope this makes you smile. It makes Little Man smile.

Walking in daddy's shoes

Who ever said "You can't walk a mile in some else's shoes" obviously did not verify this statement with Little Man A. Granted I know the saying is more hypothetical, but work with me here. More and more every day, I think Little Man A wants to be just like daddy. And that's fine with me because he's a great father, husband, and man. Love you Dear!

First installment

A few weeks ago, I mentioned wanting to accomplish another scrapbook for Little Man. "Little Moments with Little Man A" Well, in approximately 20 minutes I made the first layout in the album. A quick 8x8 one page layout with handwriting and a few embellishments. Granted it wasn't the first in chronological order, but hey, I'm trying something new.

So, here it is. Let me know what you think!

A good word goes a long way

I've learned over the years, either at previous jobs or just in the real world, a little positive reinforcement goes a long way. A recent article in the August Parents magazine stated the same goes for children. Well, yeah. You mean I don't have to yell and scream at my child to get him to do things?? (side note: I don't do this to my child, just to my dog. Unfortunately, I think the child is catching on to this behavior as well.) The key: is the catch them being good and really praise them.

According to Alan E. Kazdin, Ph.D., president of the American Psychological Association, tough-love attitude that so many parents nowadays are taking, is really not all that great for our children. Granted we don't want our children walking all over us. I mean, we are suppose to be the ones calling the shots, not the child. According to this researcher, if you really want your child to behave, you actually need to praise them MORE enthusiastically -- and you can't rely on punishment to fix a discipline problem.

"More enthusiastically." Does that include a marching band and confetti??

"Studies have shown that recognizing good behavior is the only way to teach a child what you want her to do -- and to lock that behavior in." If you instead punish your child for bad behavior- yelling or sending them to "time-out", they might change the ways temporarily. But before you know it, they'll back to the bad behavior.

Recently, hubby and I have been really after Little Man for throwing his food. We've tried every approach. Ignoring. Grabbing his hand and saying "No throwing food." Tapping his hand (this totally back fired when he started slapping his own hand when we turned to look at him when he did throw food). Just plain taking the food away from him and ending the meal. Or any combination of the above mentioned strategies. I read this article and thought we needed to try this approach.

We started last week. We really made sure to watch for signs of him being all done. He's done a great job at telling us "all done", but if hubby and I are having a conversation that, God forbid does not include him, he's quick to start throwing something.

We made sure to start right at breakfast. Fresh day, fresh start. As soon as he said he was done, I made sure to ask him "You sure you all done?" He replied yes, I removed his tray, cleaned his hands and then showed him. "Little Man, look! You didn't throw any food on the floor! What a great job! Thank you so much for not throwing any food!" He looked at me, pointed to the floor, made his "uh oh" sound, and shook his head. "That's right, buddy! Thank you for not throwing your food!"

Again, I did the same things at snack time and at lunch. Yes, we had a little oops here and there, but for the most part, it really worked! By the end of this week, still making sure to praise him with "enthusiasm", he's not throwing his food. I think the biggest part was really paying attention to his cues about when he was done. The hard part though was deciphering when he was saying "I don't think I want to eat what you gave me" versus "I'm full and I'm done."

Let's see if this works. Here's to hoping it lasts more than a week... or a month... or maybe two months.

Great Offer!

I recently announced that we will not be moving this year. So, in hopes to get a little more business, and since my website is not up and running yet, I'm offering a special custom scrapbook deal. Hopefully, my website should be up and running by the end of the month.



Great Offer from Scraps 2 Remember!!


Buy 9 layouts and get 1 FREE!

OR

Buy 11 or More layouts and get 10% Off!

These are great offers! A custom scrapbook is the perfect gift for anyone!

Email me if you would like a copy of my brochure.
scraps2remember@yahoo.com

It's a hit!

Well, I know not very many people actually commented about my pics and review of the month of July, but I know for a fact that it was a hit. Looks like I'll be turning this blog entry into a habit. Not only does our family and friends get to catch up with the life of Little Man A, I also have a great entry for future scrapbooking layouts.

Speaking of which, I just received my order of prints that I picked out for my "Little Moments with Little Man A" album. So keep an eye out for those coming soon. Hopefully, if I can pry myself away from ebay long enough this month, I'll be able to finish that as well as Wenderina's wedding album (even if I don't have all of their journaling in hand).

Also on my list to accomplish this month, although it's not necessarily for me, is to have my brother finish my website. If you haven't noticed, I did put a slideshow together of my layouts if you are interested in checking them out. Most of them I've published here already, but I have included a few others I have not displayed. Hopefully, with the website up and running, Scraps 2 Remember will be up and running before the end of the year.

Oh, and one more thing. We're NOT moving before the end of the year! Hubby informed me that the board for his promotion packet will not happen until November. He will be notified if he has been selected 4-6 weeks from there, putting it around Christmas time that we will find out when and even where we will be going next. If he is selected, there are two schools that he needs to complete (total 12-14 weeks long) prior to checking in with his new unit. I'll be staying here since I have friends to keep me occupied here. Not to mention this will postpone our need to either rent or sell our house. Hopefully by then the market will have started to incline again.

Hope everyone has a great weekend!