December Daily

I am doing December Daily, I have tried to do it in the past - but couldn't follow through with it.  In the past, I even bought the kit.  I have no idea where it is at.  I have made excuses like - I don't have young children at home, I am too busy, my life doesn't look other people, she makes it look better than mine, I will be gone a lot. 

This year, is different - I have 8 grandbabies to share with

 I bought the kit

  I am going to make my album reflect me and what is important

  I am going to make memories with whoever is with me that day - school or home

I am going to make it simple

I bought the Studio Calico kit, signed up for Maggie Holmes' class, bought Ali Edwards' overlays.

Then, my brain froze - I had no idea what to do.  I planned the cover for 4 days, yup 4 days.  I ended up making the most simple cover, ever.  But, I love it and it is mine.

I painted the cover white, using Martha Stewarts' paint.  It took about 4 coats.  I used some red glitter Stickle paints, that I had from a few years ago.  There are a total of 12 stars on the front cover - one for each of my four boys and eight grandkids.  I added some of the gold glitter tape and the 2013 sticky thing from the kit.  I saw a lot of beautiful covers on the Studio Calico gallery page.  A lot of them had a bunch of very nice elements that were sticking up.  I knew that I wanted this album to be handled by my grandkids, so that wasn't an option for me.  It needed to be simple, I didn't want to be worried about things falling off the cover.

Then, I spent a lot of days figuring out the inside pages.  I couldn't decide if I wanted one page or two pages for each day.  This process was really hard for me.  I wanted it to be just right.  I tend to overthink things.

So, I made a rough calendar of the events that I knew would be going on this month.

I decided if I wanted those particular days to be a full page, 1/3 or half pages.  The process became easier for me.

I printed out all 3 sizes of Ali Edwards' templates.  Then, I started putting them in the protectors based on my calendar planning.  It dawned on me, that I could move the pages around - if I needed to.  I didn't have to preplan everything out.  I saved all the printed templates that I didn't use, so I could use them in my bigger Project Life album for December for journaling.

This was an important step for me.

I liked the way Ali had cut a protector in half for her title page.  I might have flinched a little, when I cut it - but it felt good that I could change something that didn't work for me.  I put some little tree confetti in the top pocket, I got it at Michaels and added the calendar 3 x 4 card from the kit.  I sealed the top and the bottom with the gold polka dot tape, found in the kit.

On the back side, I used another 3 x 4 card from the kit.  The right side of the page is Ali Edwards' template, 6 x 8.  I knew we would be at Disneyland on the first day and I wanted a picture of one of the trees to be added.

I will add the pictures and journaling this weekend.  It is too hard for me to do it during the week since December is so busy with Kinder babes.  I, already know what pictures I am using for this first week - so it should be easy - I hope - to put it together.

As long as I don't overthink it again.

Baby Dedication

The twins were dedicated at church on Sunday, it was a very special day.  After, we had a luncheon.  I am so blessed to have an amazing daughter-in-law, her family is equally special.  They, always, make us feel welcome at their house.  I took a bunch of family photos for her side of the family - her sisters' families and her mom with the grandkids.  I was, also, able to get this photo of my mom with 3 of her great granddaughters.

This is very special to me.  I love how my mom wore the same colors as the girls.  I think, this is the only picture I have of my mom with any of my grandkids.  I will probably make it larger and give it to her for her birthday.

Note to self: Don't forget to take pictures like this.

Mr. K's Birthday

We celebrated my grandson's first birthday a couple of weeks ago and I finally got the pictures finished.  Hubby and I did all the cooking - my sister made the most adorable, yummy monster cupcakes for the party.  My mom made Mr. K's Hawaiian shirt, this will be a keeper.

My sister made 5 different cupcakes.  The purple guy had a big gumball to hold the head up.

They ordered the cake with the Hawaiian monsters on it.  It was really cute, but the cupcakes tasted better.

His smash cake - which he enjoyed.  We had our Hawaiian friends sing "Happy Birthday" in English and Hawaiian to him.  It was very special. 

 This was every one's favorite cupcake.

The shirt that my mom made for him.  I bought the material on a recent trip to Hawaii.

The smash cake - love this picture.  I feel he is saying "back away from my cake and no one gets hurt".

It was a lot of work, but so much fun.  The party started at 1 and the last people left at midnight.  I was smart enough to volunteer to take the baby home, so I could sleep.

I am linking up for Saturday Snapshots go check out all the goodies.

Christmas

I am getting so excited for Christmas.  This year, there will be 4 little babes in the house for Christmas.  My planning has started.  I bought Disney passes for my kids and older grandkids - so that just leaves me with my parents and the littlest grandkids for presents, plus co-workers.

My mind is spinning with decorating the house, which I haven't been able to do for the last few years because of visiting hubby in Hawaii during the Holidays.  But, he is home now and I want to start decorating.

I bought 3 ornaments at Disneyland, yesterday.  Adorable.  They have resin ears and shoes of the different characters.  I should have counted how many they had but I wanted them all, so maybe it is not a good idea to have a number in my head.

Isn't Tink's shoe the cutest, yes it came home with me.

I love this tree - want them all.

These cups always scream Christmas to me.  In fact, I might have let out a little scream when I saw them.  Don't judge me - it is the little things in life that make me happy.

Fall

I am loving this cool weather this morning.  I wanted to stay in bed and just snuggle with the blanket.  Instead, I got up, enjoyed a cup of hot tea and worked on my Project Life Disney page from Sunday.  I am really liking how it is coming together.  The hard part will be to stop adding to it.  Tonight, after work, I will add the journaling.  Hopefully, I will get it finished before I take more pictures on Friday.  I am taking Miss S on Friday night for a grandma/granddaughter evening at Disney.  This is one of the best parts about being a grandma.

October Crazy

This month is crazy, like out of control busy.  I got back from Hawaii at the end of September because I needed to go back to work.  It was really hard leaving Hawaii and my hubby this time.  But, I missed the grand kids a lot, too.  I got back on a Wednesday, spent two days catching up and running errands.  I set up my classroom on Saturday, then we headed to Disneyland for the evening.  I bought the kids and

grand kids passes.  We have been to Disney - 3 times in a week.  I love that magical place.

This is why my month is crazy - Back to school/work, 1 baby shower for a son, 1 wedding for another son, 2 grand kids birthday parties (that I am in charge of), hubby and mother in law are coming for the birthday parties.  One of the parties is a slumber party, at my house.  The other party is a big first birthday, luckily at my mom's house.  Then, I have parent/teacher conferences, a pumpkin patch field trip and a fall party at school.  Whew, I am going to be tired - but I will add some more Disney trips to the mix.

On Sunday, we got there when the park opened and stayed until noon.  I was home by 12:45 and in bed for a nap by 12:50.  I love taking naps on Sunday afternoons.  Here are a few pics.

This little guy wasn't too sure about the characters.  We hadn't planned to look for characters, this trip.  But, there was a wait for breakfast - so it worked out perfect.

I love the decorations at Disney, during October.  I am going next Sunday, just to take pics of the decorations.  I need to get some scrapbooking done.  I haven't done anything in such a long time.  My poor grandson will be one at the end of the month and he doesn't have a scrapbook - at all, nothing. So sad.

This month is going to be crazy busy, but I wouldn't change it.  The best part, besides all of the memories happening - hubby is coming home for good.  Yup, when he comes home for the party - he will be home.  He has been living in Hawaii for 3 years and now, he will be all mine.  The grand daughters are super excited that he is coming home.  I love that guy.

Paradise

I have been enjoying sunrises like these each morning.

I have been sewing and quilting the grand babes Christmas stockings - finished quilting two of them.

But, the most important thing is I have been spending time with my mother in law and hubby.  We have been walking most mornings and just hanging out together.  It will be hard to leave him next week.

Morning Coffee

I get up at 3:30, most mornings - a habit that I can't break.  My hubby would go to work at 4:15, so I would get up before he did - to make his coffee, get his breakfast/lunch together and kiss him goodbye.  Then, I would study for school while the boys were still asleep.  Now, he is retired - living in another state, boys are grown up and I still teach. 

But, I still get up early...

My time for a cup of coffee, time to do school work or just be creative.

I gave up coffee for three months and morning just weren't the same.  So I am back to drinking a cup each morning when the house is quiet.

Sometimes, working on a new scarf in a yummy color.

Summer Love

I am a knitter, quilter, photographer and crafter.  I need to do something creative to fill my soul.  Every summer, my favorite yarn dyer Dani has a Summer Love Photo Contest.  We post some of our favorite pictures of summer, she picks about 5 pictures and dyes yarn to match the colors of the picture.

A couple of years ago, she picked one of my pictures - I was super excited.  A couple of days ago, she sent out a email blast, that she was doing it again this year.  My picture from a couple of years ago was featured in the post. 

It made my day to see my picture, all over again. The excitement level was definitely high on Monday.  I took the picture of the orchid when I was in Hawaii.  Of course, I bought a few skeins of the yummy yarn. I knitted a shawl with the yarn, I probably should take a picture.  Plus, I made a scarf for my mom for Christmas that year.  I posted a few pictures, this year and I should know by next Tuesday, if she picked another one of my pictures for inspiration.  If she did, I know which yarn I will be taking with me to Hawaii for a project.

Howling at the Moon

I want to remember this amazing moon shot that I took last night.  It brings me comfort that my hubby was looking at the same moon in Hawaii.

Hawaiian Stockings

I was so excited to see the Hawaiian quilts on Polka Dot Chair from her vacation that I decided to pull out my stockings that I started last November.  I haven't worked on them at all.  I am making them for my grand babies and now, I need to add two more.  One for a great niece and another grand daughter coming in November. 

I bought a huge fat quarter pack, so they all coordinate.  I only need to use half of a fat quarter to make the actual design.  Each pattern was picked for each child's name or birth order.  I, now, have the problem of having two babies with the same middle name and two with the same middle and first name.  Of course, those two were the two hardest patterns to find.  Lucky for me, my friends in Hawaii are searching for double patterns and I will be there in a couple of weeks.

The stocking order (also birth order) from left to right is:

Siouxsie, Kayleigh, Morrigan, Caleb, Keahi,

Remie, Bowie, Elizabeth and Lily

Pattern is Lily - picked this pattern because that is her middle name.

Pattern is Plumeria - picked because this is my favorite Hawaiian flower and this grand child is named after me.

Pattern is Hibiscus - this grand child loves to pull the flowers off my plant every time she comes over.

Pattern is Kahili - picked this pattern because there is a joke about his dad being the Japanese prince, so that would make him one too.

Pattern is Maile - maile is a vine that grows in Hawaii that smells wonderful.  This grand child's middle name is Ivy.

The other patterns I picked and need to applique are:

Breadfruit - for my first born grand son, it is a traditional pattern

Rose - for the grandchild and great niece with the middle name of Rose

Lily - for my last born grandchild coming in November, it will be her first name

I can't wait to get them finished, so excited.  I was able to work on quilting the Kahili, a little today.

Finally...

I, finally, got internet back so I am able to blog the right way, woo hoo.  The last 6 weeks have been so busy, especially since I started teaching my new grade level.  The hardest part was not having a month off in July, like I normally do - but September is 3 weeks a way.  The thought of not seeing my hubby for 5 months was killing me, but he came to me for 4 weeks.  Insert happy dance.  The grandbabies were really excited to see him.

We flew to Colorado for a quick weekend trip to meet our new great niece. 

 She has the biggest eyes and round face, just like her mommy did.  I don't like being so far away from her.  I need to get some bows made for her.

This has been a very busy year for us.  It started with a new grandson in October, twin grand daughters in April, grand niece in July and a new grand daughter due in November.  Every baby was due on my old school schedule, meaning I had those months off - it was crazy.  I wonder if they planned it that way.  Haha, I have enjoyed every minute of it. 

This is a picture of the twins at two weeks old - they are now 4 months.  I, really, should start their photo albums, giggle.  I took some pictures this weekend, hope to get them finished up soon.

I need to get some serious crafting done, but with the new position - I am putting in a lot of hours making curriculum.  I did make this cute composition cover, which holds every to do item and things I need to check out.  I call it my brain.

I have made three other covers this weekend, because I think I am going to break down the books for different things.  One for my school, one for my to do list, one for blogging and one for craft ideas.  I have 5 books with notes and they are all jumbled, then I can't find what I am looking for.

Three more weeks, then I will be in Hawaii with my hubby - spending the day quilting and doing feathers with some amazing friends.  I need to finish the babes' Christmas stockings.  It is a good thing that I bought enough material to make extra ones - didn't plan on the great niece or the baby due in November.

Changes

It has been a long time since I have blogged - life has been busy. I still can't access the Internet from my laptop, making it hard to blog   So I decided to try it with my iPad. I am hoping that it works out

There are a lot of changes in my life right now that involve my job and me personally. At the beginning of May, I decided to get healthy - for me. I have a low self-esteem and needed to do something for me. I felt very selfish but I needed to take care of me. I suffer from fibromyalgia and this time of the year I crash. But, right now I am doing pretty good. 

I started walking every morning, early. I just walked around the block.  Now, I am up to a mile or two every morning, depending  on time. 

This is a picture I took from my walk a couple of days ago.

I started eating healthier giving up red meat and eating more fruits and veggies. I gave up Starbucks except for once a week -it was easier than I thought. In the process of this. I have lost 16 pounds and one dress size. I feel so much better and have tons of energy. This week has been tough since I am winding down my school year. But, with these changes I will make it and it is for me.

Today is the day

Today is the day for the planned Csection, we are all excited to meet these two darlings. My daughter in law made it to 38 weeks with twins, she is amazing. I have so many emotions, at the moment. I am excited, scared, nervous and anxious. I can't wait to hold them. To count their fingers and toes. To shower them with kisses. To hug my son.

Today is the day.

Decision

The decision has been made, now we need to see if the pieces of the puzzle will fit together.  I hope so, because I need this change.  My heart and soul needs this change.  But, more importantly my body needs this change.  We should know by mid-May,  please say a little prayer for me.

Head Spinning

My head is spinning with trying to work out the details of retirement.  I, really, want to retire this year, but I am scared about the loss of the money.  The economy is not in great shape.  I was able to stay home with the kids when they were growing up and sell my crafts.  But it scares me about doing that again.  I have no regrets about going to school and getting my degrees. 

I love teaching, but it is changing and that scares me.  I am worried that they are not looking at the child, but looking at tests scores.  This year, I had 5 more kids in my class.  It is hard to take care of all of their individual needs.  I want to so badly, but there isn't enough time.  I feel guilty.  I started teaching because I didn't want a child to fall through the cracks.  I don't feel like I can meet the needs of 29 kids, but I want to - I am making myself sick trying too.

I am sick more and I am having more issues with my fibro.  I have a co-worker that thinks differently than most people, that makes it hard.  I am excited to see my kids and then as soon as I get to school, there are issues with her. 

We took a big cut when hubby retired to go back to Hawaii to take care of his mom.  It has taken, almost 2 years for me to figure it out.  I will be taking the exact same pay cut he did, but his retirement is more than mine - since I haven't been teaching as long.  My boys, really, want me to retire.  One of them has had to put me in bed some nights because I can't walk up the stairs - I hurt so much.  They want me around for my grand kids.

I am on break this month and I have meal planned every week - even cooked.  I was shocked at the amount that we have been spending at the grocery store, but I know it is less that I would have spent eating out every night, because I was too tired too cook or didn't have anything in the house to cook.

I think I am just scared, because once I make this decision - I can't go back.

The Twins are Coming

I am linking up with Sugar Bee for her Take-a-Look Tuesday, make sure to check out the other blogs this week.  This is my first time linking up, so excited.

I am so excited, the twins should be here any day.  The doctor estimated Miss B to be 5 lbs 7 oz and Miss R to be 5 lbs 12 oz and healthy.  My daughter in law is already dilated to 1.5.  The doctor thinks that they will be here by next Monday, which would be great because my hubby leaves to go back to Hawaii on Wednesday.  He really wants to meet his grand daughters before he leaves.  Her csection is scheduled for April 8th, but doctor says that they are ready.

Isn't she so cute, she is all baby.  She is only 5 feet and maybe a size 2, love her.  They asked me to make quilts for the girls.  They picked out the main owl fabric.  I bought the polka dots in Hawaii. 

 

I finished the first top for Miss B.

Miss R's quilt fabric.  I need to sew on the borders, hopefully will finish it tomorrow.  I won the solid charm pack on the quilt hop in Hawaii, it worked out perfectly.

Quilting makes my heart sing.

Beach

We went to the beach last week, it was so relaxing.  The weather at our house was hot, but at the beach it was overcast and cool - still loved it.  We had breakfast at our favorite place across from the beach.  They make the best breakfast burritos, they are huge.  After breakfast, we went walking along the beach and found a bunch of shells,  I love looking for shells.  Everytime, we go we find a bunch of the same kind of shell - not a variety - just the same kind.  I haven't collected these before. 

This was the first time, Keahi had been to the beach.  Oh my gosh, he just kept looking at the waves.  We had the little guy all bundled up because of the cold.  I hope he is a surfer like his daddy and grandpa - that would be so cool.

I need to get some sewing done today for the twins, but they have a doctor's appointment and I get to go - I'm so excited.  We should find out how big they are today.  I can't believe that they will be here in 2 weeks, maybe sooner.

Long Time

It has been a long time, since I paid attention to this blog.  My teaching blog seems to be getting most of the attention these days - which is strange because  my heart is really with this blog and my grand kids' blog.

I have been thinking about the decision that needs to be made with career/life.  Huby and I have been doing a lot of talking, since he came home a couple days ago.  We are working towards the goal of me retiring by next year.  It would be wonderful if it would work out for this year - I could spend more time with him in Hawaii.  We have a common goal to save money or not spend without thinking about it first.

For example, we went to Panera Bread for lunch yesterday - a birthday treat for me.  The bill was $22.00 for 2 lunches - are you kidding me.  It is one of our favorite places to eat - we eat there a lot.  But, I never really looked at the final bill.  We ordered, paid for it, ate it and enjoyed it.  Hubby and I looked at what we had to eat - nothing that we couldn't recreate at home, for a whole lot less.  The most important part, was the time that we spent together, just hanging out and talking.  That part was priceless.

At home, we hurry to make a meal, eat it quickly, clean up and plop somewhere because we are tired.  When we eat out, there is more time to actually enjoy the meal together.  That is what we need to look at - the meal enjoyment part.  So, now, we are on a journey to make meals more enjoyable and spend less time and money doing it.  The best of both worlds.

As I type this - hubby and youngest son have spent the afternoon cooking in the kitchen together.  Hubby showing son a family recipe.  I will clean up after them.  I love hearing their voices, together while I was knitting one of the baby blankets.  That is a great meal together.  One that can be enjoyed all day.

I am looking forward to this new quest and hopefully, retirement soon.