Whatta Boy.

If you would have asked me a week ago whether or not I was sane, you probably would have received a different answer. Today I am good -- things are rolling along smoothly, but the last week has been absolute H**L. Not kidding.

See, my darling 6 year old baby boy -- who has always been extraordinary -- has found every button I have and pushed them. Hard. He's always been extra-demanding and opinionated and independent, but this last week has been The Most Difficult Of All. (Notice the capitals? Yeah -- that says it in a nutshell.) I finally put my foot down. No more arguing. You do what I tell you the first time. No more talking back. No more whining. Guess what? Big surprise, that didn't go over so well. We've spent the last week in turmoil.

After about 5 days of absolute, head-to-head, "mom-won't-back-down-and-neither-will-the-boy" combat, I headed to McNally Robinson. (Have I ever said how much I love that store?) I found this:

This book just saved my sanity. I read 200 pages the first night, and began to understand why he is the way he is. I started to learn what strategies would work with him, without letting go of my parental authority. WOW! Our house is calm again, happy again, and I am so grateful that I found this book.

And so, I can get back to whatever sense of normalcy I used to have! Which includes blogging -- I found this on Leica's blog and it's a really neat exercise to do. Why don't you try it?

100 Things:
(The ones in light blue I've done :) )

1. Started your own blog
2. Slept under the stars
3. Played in a band ....at school
4. Visited Hawaii
5. Watched a meteor shower
6. Given more than you can afford to charity
7. Been to Disneyland /world
8. Climbed a mountain
9. Held a praying mantis
10. Sang a solo
11. Bungee jumped
12. Visited Paris
13. Watched a lightning storm at sea
14. Taught yourself an art from scratch
15. Adopted a child (We have an "adopted child" in Tanzania)
16. Had food poisoning
17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty
18. Grown your own vegetables
19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France
20. Slept on an overnight train
21. Had a pillow fight
22. Hitch hiked
23. Taken a sick day when you're not ill
24. Built a snow fort
25. Held a lamb
26. Gone skinny dipping
27. Run a Marathon (a charity run, yes, but it was a marathon to me!)
28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice
29. Seen a total eclipse (lunar!)
30. Watched a sunrise or sunset
31. Hit a home run
32. Been on a cruise
33. Seen Niagara Falls in person
34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors
35. Seen an Amish community
36. Taught yourself a new language (Braille counts, right?)
37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied (I do now)
38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person
39. Gone rock climbing
40. Seen Michelangelos David
41. Sung karaoke (on a table in a bar -- don't ask)
42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt
43. Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant
44. Visited Africa
45. Walked on a beach by moonlight
46. Been transported in an ambulance
47. Had your portrait painted
48. Gone deep sea fishing
49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person
50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris
51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling
52. Kissed in the rain
53. Played in the mud
54. Gone to a drive-in theater
55. Been in a movie (a project in school, anyway!)
56. Visited the Great Wall of China
57. Started a business
58. Taken a martial arts class
59. Visited Russia
60. Served at a soup kitchen
61. Sold Girl Scout Cookies
62. Gone whale watching
63. Got flowers for no reason
64. Donated blood, platelets or plasma
65. Gone sky diving
66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp
67. Bounced a check
68. Flown in a helicopter
69. Saved a favorite childhood toy
70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial
71. Eaten Caviar
72. Pieced a quilt
73. stood in Times Square
74. Toured the Everglades
75. Been fired from a job
76. seen the changing of the guards in London
77. Broken a bone
78. Been on a speeding motorcycle
79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person
80. Published a book
81. Visited the Vatican
82. Bought a brand new car
83. Walked in Jerusalem
84. Had your picture in the newspaper
85. Read the entire Bible
86.had a tour of the White House
87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating (is fish an animal?)
88. Had chickenpox
89. Saved someone's life
90. Sat on a jury
91. Met someone famous
92. Joined a book club
93. Lost a loved one
94. Had a baby
95. Seen the Alamo in person
96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake
97. Been involved in a law suit
98. Owned a cell phone
99. Been stung by a bee (I'm allergic -- it sucks!)
100. Read an entire book in one day

Recipe 4 Me :)

I found this little gem on my friend Sue's blog this morning, so I made my own:

The Recipe For Amanda Lepage

3 parts Poise 2 parts Moxie 1 part Ingenuity Splash of Nonconformity Chug!

What's the Recipe for Your Personality?

I'm not so sure about the "Poise" part, but the Moxie is true sometimes. :)

Here's another one I found...my new slogan:

Your Slogan Should Be

Amanda. Champagne for the Brain.

The Slogan Generator

I like that one! Here's another:

You Are Scissors

Sharp and brilliant, you can solve almost any problem with that big brain of yours. People fear your cutting comments - and your wit is famous for being both funny and cruel. Deep down, you tend to be in the middle of an emotional storm. Your own complexity disturbs you. You are too smart for your own good. Slow down a little - or you're likely to hurt yourself. You can cut a paper person down to pieces. The only person who can ruin you is a rock person. When you fight: You find your enemy's weak point and exploit it. If someone makes you mad: You'll do everything you can to destroy their life

Are You Rock, Paper, or Scissors?

That one's a bit harsh...but interesting!

You Are Dr. Bunsen Honeydew

You take the title "mad scientist" to the extreme - with very scary things coming out of your lab. And you've invented some pretty cool things, from a banana sharpener to a robot politician. But while you're busy turning gold into cottage cheese, you need to watch out for poor little Beaker! "Oh, that's very naughty, Beaker! Now you eat these paper clips this minute."

The Muppet Personality Test

LOL! And, finally, this one is for the day I finish my scraproom:

You Should Paint Your Room Yellow

Bright and bold, yellow is truly the color of inspiration. Your yellow room will drive you to think clearly, develop new ideas, and be organized. Yellow is also energizing and very powerful. So don't expect to rest in there!

What Color Should You Paint Your Room?

OK, I should get back to work now. Slacking off was not on the schedule today!

Another Monday

My email inbox surprised me this morning with this little tidbit, a new product from Zutter. Coveralls look like craft-coloured covers with pockets inside. They come with little plastic sleeves that you bind to your project, and the sleeves fit inside the cover's pockets so that your Bind-It-All projects can now have a covered spine. How cool is that! I'd like to try some of these -- I have a feeling they'll be a hot little item!Our Just Cre8 reveal for the December 2008 kit was on Saturday! The Cre8ive Crew designs were just awesome -- and Sue is now using a different way to display the kit on the home page, so you can see the kit in much more detail! Here are a couple of my designs from December's reveal:


There are some amazing designs in the gallery -- I am just so inspired by these ladies!

That's it, that's all for Monday. I fell off the FLYlady wagon, so my house needs some major attention today. It always feels so good when my house is in order -- gotta go get it there!

Happy Monday!

A First For Curty

Last night was Curtis' first hockey game! I am so excited for him because he's wanted to play for two years already. I (in the silly, overprotective way that I am occasionally) always thought he was too little. This year, we bit the bullet and registered him for hockey.

Now, just FYI, there weren't enough kids for his age group so they moved all the initiation-age kids up to the Novice team. He's only 6, but he's playing with the 7 and 8 year olds. Let me tell you, they are so much bigger than he is!

Here are some of my favorite pics of the game!

My little hockey man:

Curty is jersey number 6:

The team getting ready to play:

Is that a smile on his face? Or is it just the mouth protector? LOL

I worry a lot, because he is playing up a level, and because it is his very first year. He doesn't know the positions very well (we don't have ice in our rink yet to practice on but the other teams do) and he's not a very strong skater yet. I worry that he'll get discouraged because most of the other players are so much faster and better than him. But I was so proud because he worked so hard last night, doing his best the whole time.

You know what he said after the game? He said:

"Mom! That was so much fun! I even got to touch the puck with my stick a few times!"

It didn't matter that he didn't score any goals. It didn't matter that the other team won by a ton of points. It didn't matter that he lagged behind the rest of the team because he couldn't skate fast enough. It mattered that he touched the puck and he got to play a real hockey game with his Team.

I am so proud of him AND his attitude. It was a great game.

Who needs it?

Drama.

Who needs it? If there is one thing I've learned in the last 10 years is that people need to TELL others what they are feeling before it builds up and starts eating you up inside. The silent treatment does. not. work. Period.

There! I've vented! And that's the last I am going to say on that subject!

The reveal is tomorrow at Just Cre8 -- and I'm excited! With this kit I've already done 4 layouts, a home decor project, and I have one more project to finish up. Yay! Be sure to check in tomorrow in the gallery -- this is a kit you don't want to miss. Especially the STAMPS! I just love them, and I am sure you will too!

I have a layout or two to share. They are both older layouts, but I don't think I've shared them in any gallery yet. I have a lot of layouts like that. I tend to get in a scrapping fever and then tuck them away in a book and never upload them anywhere. Bad habit, right?

This was a quick little LO that used a bunch of leftover pics. I was feeling a tad sentimental at the time because Curty is growing up so fast:

Here's another one...a reeeeally old one. I created it when I decided to enter the first CK Scrapbooker of the Year contest. I didn't ever hear back from CK, but I ended up with a bunch of layouts I really loved. So that was a good thing! The scan on this one doesn't look so great, but just FYI, this LO has a torn edge and the large V is distressed with a crackle stamp, chalk, and all sorts of ink. It looks really cool IRL!

Looking at these old layouts of DS makes me smile, because (after his colic was over!) he was such a sweet baby. He is such a great kid -- very special. Of course, every mom thinks that!

However, I wasn't so pleased with him this week. This sweet little boy, six years old, snuck a pair of safety scissors down to his room and cut holes in his bedsheets. Holes! While they were on his bed! I asked him why he did it and he opened his pretty blue eyes and batted his eyelashes at me and told me he forgot why. The whole "let's charm mom" thing didn't work, so now he's saving up allowance to buy himself new sheets. That didn't go over so well.

"But Moooooooom! Allowance is for LEGO and NOT for sheets!"

Yeah, well, suck it up and keep your scissors on the paper next time, little buddy.

I just don't understand him at all!

Late -- but not forgotten!

Remember my blog contest? Well -- I apologize profusely, ladies -- here are the results!

I asked you to comment on my blog and share your favorite thing. Comments came from (in order):

Kristen, Anita, Corinne, April, Sheryl, Jojo, Gaspegirl, Josephine, Tania, Sandi, Carla, Jacqueline, Isabelle

And the winner is:

#5 -- Sheryl!

Congrats, girl!

Email me with the address you want to use, and I will send you a $10 gift certificate at Just Cre8.

I had such fun this weekend! Mom and I flew to Ontario to spend the weekend with Sue and Lori, fabulous designer girls from Just Cre8. We visited and scrapbooked -- and, let me tell you, with these girls, 4 AM sneaks up on you very quickly!

I picked up a new scrapbooking toy! And I am crazy about it already. It's the new Making Memories Slice by Tinnus Technology.

It's totally portable, cuts like a dream. The only wish that I have would be that it would cut larger than 4". But then it wouldn't be so portable, would it?

It's extremely lightweight, so much that I was surprised when I picked it up by the handle.

I love the reusable glass mat. You just apply whatever temporary liquid adhesive (it comes with some already), let it dry, cut, and then wash the mat afterward in the sink. You can cut with the same application of adhesive several times too, which is nice!

The design cards are actually on SD cards, very small, very easy to store. I have some, but can't wait to see what they come out with at CHA this year.

This is a cutter I will be using a lot! If you haven't tried it yet, find a demo or even a friend who has it and try it out. You might just find that you love it too!

I'd love to share what I did with it, but all the layouts I made so far with it are for the reveal of the Just Cre8 December kit. It'll be happening at the Just Cre8 Gallery on November 15th -- don't miss it!

Speaking of layouts, I want to share with you a couple that I created for the Just Cre8 November kit:

This one was very sentimental:

The papers in the kit matched this photo perfectly:

And I was inspired to create this layout by the Skribblz:

And what am I working on now? Besides driving my son to hockey this week, I am scrapbooking a lot!

I have one more project I want to finish for the Just Cre8 reveal (it's sooooo cute!!) and I am preparing my version of Ali's December Daily album that Lori Mancini challenged us to do on the forum. Lot's of people are working on it -- I have 10 more pages to finish embellishing and then I am good to go! I think this is a brilliant idea. You create an album (simple or sophisticated -- it's up to you!) and then each day in December, you take a photo and journal about what you did that day to prepare for Christmas. I'm starting mine at November 30, the first Sunday of Advent. Check out this forum post at Just Cre8 if you want to join in!

I also have at least a dozen layouts floating around in my head right now. I would love to spend the afternoon in my office, creating with enthusiasm and gusto! But right now, my kids are home from school and it sounds like there is a party going on in my livingroom. So I'd better go see what they are up to and divert their attention to something a little more productive and safe. LOL Besides, after the day we had yesterday at the airport I think I may need a nap this afternoon!

Happy Scrapping!