Babies, Paper and Song

Drumroll, please...

...after much thought, I submitted the first two layouts. They seemed to garner the most votes! Thank you all for taking the time to give me your opinion! I was VERY close to sending D instead of B, but with any luck the AC people will like my submission enough to come and check out my blog. (Pretty please?) Then they will see all four layouts that I made just for them. :)

We had a great day hanging out with my mom, my sister, and my niece and nephew today. I haven't been going up as much since I started working, so it was fun. When we got home we all hung out on the porch for a bit before I had to leave for work. Lily was in the playpen and exhibited another new skill-- pulling herself up to standing. In the last few weeks she has really started stepping up the "big girl" traits-- two teeth, pulling herself to sitting then standing, and even her first word. No surprise there-- "Audrey". Okay, "Aud-a", but she's said it three times now, so I'm convinced she knows what she's saying.

As for Audrey, in this photo she is packing up for a trip to Africa. She will come back with a gift for Lily for her birthday:

Shortly after this photo, Audrey came in for dinner and got quite cranky:

Me: Audrey Quinn, that is enough of that behaviour. I am not interested in dealing with that.

Audrey: Well, I AM!!!

Help Me Choose My American Crafts DT Submission

Hi All! I am ready to submit my application to be on the American Crafts design team. I need to submit two layouts, a card and an altered project, using 75% American Crafts products. I've chosen the card and altered project, but I need to choose two out of the four layouts that I worked on last week. Can you help me choose? Leave a comment for which two layouts you think I should submit! I'll e-mail it to American Crafts tomorrow:

A)

B)

C)
 

D)

Thanks for your help!

By the way, you can see my altered project on the Scrapbook and Card Today blog. It's featured in today's posting!

My card is a very simple, but I think it's pretty:

Happy Monday, everyone! (It's my day off, so I like Mondays more than most!)

First Tooth...Teeth

Lily cut her first two teeth this morning-- two weeks shy of her first birthday. I haven't actually seen them yet, but there are definitely two little razored teeth poking through her gums. Good job, Lily!

Messing With Your Time Clock

For years I was a night owl-- always up until 2 or 3 in the morning, never up before 9am. I loved my sleep, and being a performer I didn't get home from work until 11pm, or even later. If you think about a normal 9-5 schedule, you don't just come home and go to bed, right? You unwind, eat, do things around the house, and then go to sleep. So, my schedule naturally shifted later as I worked more in theatre.

When we moved to Ottawa and I worked in retail, I had a more regular work schedule-- though still not 9-5 -- and I began to go to bed earlier. Then the girls came along and, well, there was no sleep, but who's counting?

Now, I'm back to a theatre schedule, only I have two kids and I can't sleep in until 9 every morning. In fact, just staying up through the end of the show and making it home on the streetcar is exhausting. I can't just come home an go to bed, though, or I just end up staring at the ceiling. Case in point-- it's almost 12:30 and I should be in bed, but I'm not. Go to bed!!! *sigh*

So, I am in a bit of sleep limbo. I'm still figuring out how to get the rest I need, while still spending extra time with the girls. I feel very lucky to have Q at home so that I can sleep in sometimes, or even have a nap if I need it. It's all adjusting to being back at work.

By the way, I get SO much scrapbooking done during the show! We have all these breaks and I just scrap! Usually, I get the bulk of a page done there and then I tart it up a bit at home. I am enjoying limiting myself to what I can find in my scrap tote, and I find myself using scraps galore! Here is an example:

Mom and Dad are coming to the show tomorrow night. (Don't forget, Mom!) I'm hoping to bring Audrey down to the theatre next week so she can see where I work. She is still adjusting to me leaving, but I think overall it's going pretty well.

Another Layout

It looks like I'll be getting a lot of scrapping done during the show at the theatre. There is a big gap for the ensemble ladies...actually, there are a few gaps. Over the weekend I started on a mini book and a layout for my American Crafts DT application. Although I finished them both off at home, I have enough space in the dressing room to work on the bulk of a layout. That is, if I am organized enough to plan in advance the products I want to use. The mini book will be on the Scrapbook and Cards Today blog next week, but here is the layout:

I'm pretty happy with it. The green half circle is made from the back of a card that was given to me for my opening night. I love it when I can re-use something in a layout!

In Performances

I started performances on Friday-- it's going well! It's an adjustment getting back to work-- staying up late, balancing the home life, etc., but overall I think it's going well. I feel really lucky to be a part of this production. Here are a few pics backstage from my opening night:

Happy Canada Day!

Busy as a Bee

Yesterday I was a busy little bee, completing three projects while the kids slept. One will appear on the Scrapbook and Cards Today blog next month, but the others I can share! First, I did a layout using photos I took of Audrey the other day. I am thinking of trying out for the American Crafts design team, and you have to do two layouts using mostly their products, so I had to use what I had on hand.  To be honest, I'm not sure that it's good enough to submit. I'll have to pop by my LSS to pick up some more product. I originally wanted the title to be "she bangs", like the Ricky Martin song, but I didn't have two s's, and of course, I didn't check first! lol! That's me all over. Anyway, even if I don't use it for the submission, it's another story told, right? I just LOVE Audrey's eyes in the big pic. It looks like I whitened them in photoshop, but I didn't. (I did brighten, saturate, and sharpen the image, though. Maybe I'll show the before and after later.)

The journaling reads, "Your bangs came in so slowly that it was hard to imagine ever having to trim them. So, this new fringe of yours is pretty exciting. I love the way it grazes your eyebrows and sweeps to the side. Precious."

Here is the straight out of the camera photo, and the photoshop version:

(I took Jessica Sprague's, "Good-to-Great Workflow" class, and it was worth every penny of the $50. The best part is, I have access to the whole class forever, so I can go back and refresh my skills, which I did recently when I upgraded to PSE 7. I totally recommend it.)

Second is an altered project.

Now that I’ve starting watching the show and tracking backstage (i.e. following random nuns around), I am at the theatre every day. I am sharing a dressing room with 13 other women, and it is tradition to personalize your  spot, or “station”, with personal effects. I had a few small clipboards floating around my house and decided to alter one for use at my station. Rather than overloading my limited space with lots of photos, I’ll replace this one every week, and then at end of the run I will have a mini album just begging to be put together! (Yes, I’m a geek. What was your first clue?) This project uses mostly Basic Grey Eva papers and stickers, as well as a Collage Press glitter border. It took about 20 minutes to put together. Easy-peasy!

These would great gifts for grandparents, especially those who live far away, and you could use them for different purposes, too. I'm thinking of making another to stick to the fridge to hold recipe cards while I'm cooking, or for the grocery list.

Heading to work this afternoon, and then the show tonight. There really isn't enough time to go home between shows, since I take public transit to the theatre. So, I'm going to have sushi for dinner. Ah, sushi and a magazine. Heaven!

Sometimes you wonder why you bother.

I want you to know that my photo shoots do not always turn out great. The girls do not always co-operate. My camera does not always co-operate. The weather does not always co-operate. Take today, for example. It was sunny out, yes, but too sunny. Shadows, shadows everywhere. So, I went over to our neighbours' house and plunked the two of them down on the grass. Then I tried to get them to pose together. Here are some examples:

"Give Your Sister a Cuddle"

"Smile at Mummy!"

"Don't Watch the Mailman!"

Sigh. I did get one nice one, though:

(This frame is from Paislee Press. I love her stuff!)

In other news, we had "The Great Avocado Battle" today. Audrey is becoming a bit of a picky eater, and I read somewhere about having a "one bite" rule. As long as you try one bite, that's fine. Half the time, Audrey says she doesn't like something she hasn't tried. I had to say that kiwi tastes kind of like strawberries to get her to try them, and now she loves kiwi. Ditto with mango. So, I wanted her to try one bite of avocado. Nothing doing. I reasoned, I cajoled, I put a trip to the toy store on the line... nada. So there was no avocado, and no trip to the toy store. They're both napping now, so I can spend this quality time with my blog.

As for the show, rehearsals are going great, and I start performing on Friday. I will be sure to get some photos of me as a nun. That should be entertaining! 

I have been scrapping lately, but all stuff that I can't share! :( Hopefully tomorrow, though.

Have a great one, everyone...

Lily is 11 Months Old

I can't believe my baby is verging on a year old! She is such a big girl, bum-scooting all over the place, playing with her sister and babbling away in baby talk. She still doesn't have any teeth, but that certainly doesn't stop her from eating everything in sight! She also isn't saying anything yet, although I've heard her say "mamama" and "dadada" on a few occasions. Whether or not she knows what they mean is debatable. Lily loves the bathtub and has recently discovered the joys of splashing (on purpose). She is sleeping through the night until 5:30 or so, which is a vast improvement in my book. Speaking of books, she loves to pore over picture books. She also loves to play with clothes, collecting them all up in her lap and then scooting away. She's a tad cranky and clingy at times, usually first thing in the morning until her early nap. Since I have started back to work she is drinking milk out of a sippy cup while I am gone, but still nursing a few times a day. She is very smiley and giggly. Whenever I take her out, people always say, "What a happy baby!" She is a happy baby. That's true.