On Being the Mother of Teenagers

I'm taking Ali Edwards' "Yesterday and Today" class at BPS. Last week our assignment was a layout about a challenge in our life. I chose not to get into anything huge or traumatic but just to journal about my feelings about being a mother of teenagers. I didn't finish the layout because I didn't have photos to go with it. This week the assignment was a layout without photos! Perfect! Now these thoughts are out documented and someday when they have teens, I'll let them read this!

P.S. If you click on the layout in my blog, it opens up big enough to read the journaling.

No Longer M.I.A.

I've been MIA for nearly two months. I'm sure my blog feels like the neglected middle child, but everytime I stopped by to post something and saw that photo from Labor Day weekend staring at me... well, the prospect of bringing my blog up to date just seemed so daunting that I logged out and moved on to something else. How pathetic is that? My posting malaise seems to have started when I could no longer keep up with my J.S. "Beautiful Evidence" class. It got sidetracked for the previously blogged yard project (our grass is coming along quite nicely, thank you). Then it got further sidetracked when we took on this project:

painting the former living room/dining room (now to be the craft room/office). We begain by covering everything so Jay could paint the ceilings. Jay paints in a very specific order, so despite not giving a rat's patootie about the ceiling, I went along so we could get the project underway.
Painting the ceiling began on September 6th.

Step two: move everything to the center of the room so Jay can paint the trim, and then the walls. That killed two more weekends. In the meantime, none of my scrapbooking stuff was accessible. But it's all part of the process right?

Once we had the walls and trim painted, we decided that the 22 year old mauve carpeting just wasn't cutting it for us. So off to the carpet store and after debating between carpet and hardwood, and then mulling over carpet colors (carpet won for now just because of cost), we finally made a decision and scheduled the carpet install. That meant moving EVERYTHING out of those two rooms!

So my scrapbooking supplies and office stuff ended up in the hallway...

and the sunroom...

and the garage. I've been parking in the driveway for a month now. And I keep reminding myself that it is all part of the process.

So here is my blank slate. And it is really hard to see the colors when shooting toward the windows, but this shot lets you see that we do get some natural light in this room.

The paint is all Benjamin Moore - "subtle" for the ceilings, "truffle" for the walls and white for the trim. The new carpeting is "Smart Strand" from Mohawk (made from corn products - no petroleum! - so it is environmentally friendly) and stains are supposed to wipe right up with just water. Let's hope that claim is true, because this is the lightest color carpet I've ever installed and it is kind of intimidating!

We are now slowly moving stuff back into these two rooms. The difference here is that I've put my foot down and am not allowing these rooms to become "storage" (which is what they've been for the past two years since the kitchen/sunroom remodel). So only items that are staying and need a permanent home are moving back in. Which is a slow process. I've taken two van loads of stuff to Goodwill and sold some no-longer-needed scrapbooking supplies on Craigslist. And so it goes... I'll post more photos when the rooms are really back together!

While all of this was going on, we had Farm & Home Oil out for our annual heater maintenance. And our furnace got red-tagged. Cracked heat exchanger. Ever have this happen to you? It's not fun.

Well, the timing sucked. Right in time for a string of unseasonably cold days and nights. But one week and eight thousand dollars later (thank goodness they have payment plans!) we are the proud owners of a new Thermopride furnace with Riello burner and an Amana air conditioning unit - both of which have lifetime warranties on the major components.

And that, in a nutshell, has been my life for the last two months. No scrapbooking has been done. But the room is getting closer to finished and I feel the creative muse rising... stay tuned!

This Was My Day...

I went to the gym in the morning and did a full strength training/cardio workout. Little did I know...We had 8 yards of dirt delivered. That is TWO truckloads people! This pile represents about 1 - 2 yards left of the second load - so something less than 1/4 of the total amount.

And yes, that is me shoveling dirt. Ugh. Not my best side either.

And there is Jay hauling the full wheelbarrow from the driveway to the backyard...

And making his little molehills of dirt everywhere. Why you might ask? Well, you can somewhat see from this photo that we have a steeply sloping backyard. (This is facing the side neighbor's yard - that bank of ivy is not ours). And over time, erosion has done a nasty number on our lawn. So we are bringing in topsoil and planting new seed... trying once again to grow a yard.
Here's one with the dirt all spread out nice and pretty. This faces the neighbor to the back - our property ends right at the fence. We got started on this project around 11:00 this morning. It is now 8 p.m. and Jay is still outside spreading seed. Me, I got my shower and I'm blogging... it's bug time and NOTHING is important enough to keep me outside at bug time!

I don't usually journal on my layouts

- in fact, I have a bunch of "unfinished" layouts still waiting for some journaling. But here I am taking the class "Telling Stories Deeply" over at Big Picture Scrapbooking (yes, at the same time as "Beautiful Evidence" over at Jessica Sprague, and yes, I am insane!) and being encouraged to tell the stories that only I can tell. Last week I got down some important memories of Sarah's birth. This week I went even a little further back in my history and got down the story of how Jay & I met. {supplies: Pencillines Template 146, JS Kraft Paper, CAZ Denim & Brown Kit at deco-pages.com, VT Remington font}

It is so interesting to me to look back at that moment in time and think that if we hadn't both just lost our jobs, if we hadn't chosen the same employment agency, if our interview times had been off by even fifteen minutes, if one of us had been late, if I hadn't surreptitiously copied down his phone number... then we might never have met, gotten married, had three beautiful children. It's kind of staggering to contemplate.

Journaling reads:

January 24, 1984. I had just been fired. The first and only time in my life. I was going to an interview at Prime Spot Employment Agency in Jenkintown, dressed in a pale grey wool skirt and blazer and jade green blouse. Professional, yet feminine. I was determined that it was going to be a good day.

I stepped into the elevator and there HE was - so handsome in a navy blue pin stripe suit, shirt and tie. I think my heart skipped a beat. A fortuitous meeting with a stranger.
The elevator came to a stop and I was once again all business. I strode down the hall, checked in, and took a seat. A moment later, HE walked in. And sat down next to me.

I don’t remember who spoke first. I don’t remember much of the conversation except that I told him that I was new to the area and didn’t know many people, and gave him my phone number. Then HE was called for his interview and was gone.

Our chance meeting might never have made it beyond that office but for another fortuitous turn of events. HE had left a folder on the table. A folder with his resume in it. A resume with his phone number on it. In an unusually bold move, I copied down his information.

Some time later HE called. At a bad time. I had a guest, I explained. He said he would call later. I was sure he thought I was blowing him off.

As soon as I was free, I called him. So bold. So not me. So out of my comfort zone. And apparently, so unexpected. He had thought I was blowing him off. He probably wouldn’t have called again. He wondered how I got his phone number. He had just been fired too. The first and only time in his life.

And he asked me out.

Catching Up on Beautiful Evidence

p 9. "The Cast" - this page introduces the characters for the "US" chapter. I'm planning to add duplicates of the "Me" page for each family member.

p. 8 - opening of Chapter 2 "Us". JS had names & ages listed on this page. Since I'm using an old photo, I opted for this great Erma Bombeck quote instead.

p. 7 "May I Have" - this one may get some reworking. I'm seeing such inspiring pages in the gallery that makes me want to make this page a little more personal.

p. 6 "Influences" This page came together pretty easy for me. Although I have many different influences in my life, what really guides me from day to day are the values my Mom instilled in me growing up, my love for and commitment to my family, and my love of learning.

More Beautiful Evidence

Two more pages from Beautiful Evidence. I'm watching this album grown and loving it! It's going to be so beautiful!

the Day you were Born

Remember how I mentioned that I've gone and overextended myself with online classes? Here's proof - this two page layout is the Week 1 assignment from Telling Stories Deeply over at Big Picture Scrapbooking. The Week 2 assignment was posted yesterday. I'm a little bit behind.

The journaling reads:

I was supposed to be in court. But you chose to make your debut into this world a day early. I didn't mind. Really. It had been an easy pregnancy, but I was ready. Ready to meet you. Ready to have my body back. Ready to begin this new chapter of my life as a mother.
I had been unable to fall asleep. Just after midnight, labor started. I woke Jay at 3:30 a.m. In those pre-dawn hours, we timed contractions. We showered and dressed. At 6:00 a.m. we drove to the hospital. Eager. Excited. Energized, despite lack of sleep.
I was hooked up to monitors, examined, and going through normal admitting procedures when suddenly there was a flurry of activity around me. I felt the sharp sting of an IV needle inserted into my arm. I saw the look of panic and concern on Jay's face. I heard the nurse telling me to breathe normally as she put an oxygen mask over my nose and mouth. Time stood still. What was happening? And then, almost as abruptly as it began, it was over. Hospital staff visibly relaxed. As it turns out, your heart rate had dropped from a normal of 130 all the way down to 60 and the staff was worried that you were in distress.
After that little scare, things progressed normally. At 3:30, it was time to push. By then I had been awake for 33 hours and hadn't eaten in over 21 hours. I was exhausted. Everything about your actual entry into the world is fuzzy. I vaguely recall yelling at the nurses, telling them they had no idea how much it hurt, and them assuring me that they DID know. I screamed so loud my throat hurt when they actually got you out. 6:00 p.m. You were here. And you were whisked away to be cleaned, weighed, measured, and evaluated.
What I remember most of all is feeling so elated that you were a girl - my little girl - my daughter. And we were so happy to meet you. Then your Daddy held you for the first time, tears of joy on his face. You had him wrapped around your little finger from the first moment.