Here I am!

I disappeared, yet again. Things have just been crazy here. I don't know what's been going on in the health department with me, but since Christmas I've had a bad run... nothing major, just little piddly things. This week started with an ear infection that nearly made me crazy and ended with the chicken pox! Thankfully, I had a mild case as a child and the kids both had the vaccine so we had very minor cases (maybe a dozen spots between the three of us). Honestly though, they couldn't tell us for sure that we had it but they couldn't tell us that we didn't either. Regardless, it screwed up the surprise birthday party we were planning for Jeff when he got home from NYC since we didn't leave the house.

I'm trying to branch out with my photography again. I think I've become too dependent on my backdrops and great light in my living room. I need to work with different situations and get better shots of the kids in their natural habitats! LOL! I took some of Clara yesterday modeling her Belle dress for her recital....

I really think I want a new lens. I have my eye on the 85mm 1.8. A year ago after I bought my 70-200 2.8L lens I said that my wish list was complete and that I really didn't *need* anything else... I was perfectly content with the equipment I had. Well... somehow I now have quite a long wish list again. One of the major things on my wish list was PSCS2... which I bought over a month ago and still can't bring myself to install... what is wrong with me???

Other than coveting other people's photo equipment I've been working layouts. Went a little nuts today and did something way out of my norm....

I have more to post but I think I may be pushing my luck with as many pictures as I have in this entry... I've been having lots of problems uploading to various sites lately.

the layouts i promised the other day

Finally... I'm able to upload the layouts I mentioned in my last post....

I'm crabby

I was doing good this week too! But today it fell apart when I dropped my brand new super cute hot pink phone and shattered the camera in it! And so began the downward spiral of my mood. Just to get you up to speed... my husband took a new job April 1st. We knew that there would be more travel than before (and he did travel quite a bit in his old job)... but I never really expected him to be gone EVERY week Monday - Friday. Last week he did start a new Mon-Thurs schedule which is better even though he doesn't get home until after 11 pm. I love my kids and I love homeschooling but our current schedule is CRAZY! However, it does make the possibility of having a part-time nanny for the summer look really, really appealing. I love our sitter and the kids love her too... but having a "nanny" when I'm a SAHM just sounded too extravagant. But with Jeff's travel like it is.... I think I just might have to go for it. Would that be bad? Should I have guilt over this?? I do have guilt... but I guess I'll get over it.

Okay... now I'm amused that spell check wanted to change "crabby" to "carboy"... what does that mean???

The highlight of my day was FINALLY finding a copy of SS Digital 5 at Michael's today! I couldn't believe it. It was pretty amusing. The lady at the cash register looked at me funny and asked me if I realized that I had two copies of the same magazine. And I told her that I did because I had a layout in it. She asked what page... so we looked it up. That's when she went a bit nuts and started calling to the other employees. They ended up rounding up a camera and taking a picture of Alex holding the magazine open to the page with my layout with his picture in it standing in front of the magazine section of the store. They're supposed to email me a copy so I'll post it when I get it. Alex freaked out a little from all of the attention... but when I showed Clara the page (she was at preschool while we were at Michaels)... she carried that magazine around showing everyone she knew (and a few she didn't).

Finally... I did a layout today that I really, really love. It's one of a photo of my kids' favorite toys, all lined up in rows. They did that themselves the other day... the toys were waiting their turn in a game they were playing. I used it for inspiration for the challenge I'm hosting at the Digi Shoppe (http://www.thedigiboutique.com/cafe/viewtopic.php?t=881). The kit is Manda, Manda, Bo Banda by Robin Carlton at the Sweet Shoppe. Below that is another recent fave.... my girl and her kitty, Fluffy. This layout was inspired by a prompt in Katie the Scrapbook Lady's May issue of Amazing Month of Memories. It uses MandaBean's Robin, Robin, Bo Bobin kit at the Sweet Shoppe.

Crap... it's not letting me add pictures... I'll try to add them again later.

why, why, why can't I be a better blogger??

Okay, I know why... something comes up and I miss a day or two and then I feel like I need to say something really worthy and profound when I finally do update my blog again... but, alas, I never come up with anything so I just avoid my blog.

So... I have nothing profound to offer, I'm just trying to get the ball rolling again. Just a couple of pics of Clara... she is a force to be reckonned with...