make me happy

Hey everyone!  It has been crazy busy here in the Ghahary household this last week between birthdays (we've celebrated 3 in the last week between Darian and my two sister in laws), actual birth days (my newest nephew Kian was born on August 23rd), and all of the celebrating that goes with each.  I'd love to say that things appear to be calming down in the near future, but the first day of school is next Tuesday and I am in full "run around like a madwoman/get everything done before school starts" mode right about now.  The only thing keeping me going is caffeine (lots and lots of it), a constant sugar high (thanks to the pounds of candy corn I have ingested since my last trip to the grocery store), and the glimmer of hope that things actually WILL calm down.  Eventually.

In the meantime how about a little Pebbles love?  Today marks the first "official" day of the 2010 - 2011 Pebbles Design Team term and I am thrilled to be on board again for another year as DT Coordinator and Blog Hostess.  I have a new project posted on the Pebbles blog today and hold onto your hats ladies cuz it's a double pager!  (p.s. feel free to click on the image for a larger view)  

I've been on a little double page layout kick lately which is kinda funny considering I had an immense fear of double page layouts up until ... oh I don't know ... about a month ago!  LOL  Seriously though.  It's not that I dislike the look of two page layouts.  In fact, I love them.  But I was honestly scared of them because it seemed as if there was just so much space to fill and I wasn't quite sure how to go about it.  I've come to realize that the key for me is keeping things a bit more simple - using a basic block design as the basis of my layout helps tremendously.  I also try to carry elements from one page to the next (as I did with the stitched hearts on my layout) to help unify both pages and create cohesiveness.  That last one is big for me as I really want to make sure that may layout looks like one project and not two separate pages stuck together.

Adding a zig zag stitch down the center of punched patterned paper hearts is one of my favorite techniques and you've seen me do it often.  I love the dimension it adds along with the fun little detail of the stitching.  And I'll keep doing it until someone tells me not to.  Oh who am I kidding ... even then I'll keep on doing it.  Just because I can!  LOL 

So if you ever wanted to know a little bit more about me I encourage you to hop on over to the Pebbles blog and read my answers to some fun little questions I asked our new design team members.  I can tell you now that some of my answers have to do with feet, my watch, and toilet bowls.  And they may or may not be related to one another.  ;)

My boy is 6 today!

It was about this time on August 24, 2004 that I called Salar at work and said "Honey, I think today may be the day.  Don't be surprised if I give you a call later."  And sure enough it was.  I had been having contractions for awhile with my pregnancy but on this particular morning I woke up feeling way more than usual and lots of back cramps to boot.  I started timing them and they were coming pretty regularly so I called my doctor's office and they told me to come to the hospital but not to rush.  I think we made it there by noon. 

When my doctor came to check me I was only 2cm dilated but my contractions were pretty regular.  He decided to break my water and then things went from 0 to 60 in no time at all.  Thank goodness they had called for the epidural because no sooner was the needle in place I was 10 cm and ready to push.  It took all of 20 minutes and my beautiful sweet baby boy entered this world and stole my heart. 

Through the years Darian has taught me so many things.  He has taught me to be patient.  And to be kind.  And to be silly.  And to be sensitive.  And to be proud.  And to be humble.  And to be nurturing.  And to take chances.  And to have faith.  And to experience a joy I could only have imagined but never dreamed could ever be true.

To watch my heart walk around outside of my body has been the most rewarding as well as the hardest thing I've ever had to do and I thank God every day that he choose me to raise this wonderful boy. 

Happy Birthday Darian!  Love you always and forever!  xoxo, Mama

I'm still here ...

... although you might have thought that I disappeared from the looks of my blog lately.  August tends to be our busiest month of the summer.  Lots of birthdays to celebrate (Darian will be 6 on the 24th) which means lots of party planning and preparation.  Combine that with back to school shopping, summer camp, oh and a nasty stomach bug that took me out of commission for 48 hours last week and, well, you get a neglected blog.  ;)

But I'm back and I have a new layout to share with you today.  And it's a ... wait for it ... double pager.  Now if you know me you know I don't really do double page layouts that often but I just felt like giving it a try and truth be told I love the way it turned out.  I used the fabulous Oliver collection from Basic Grey.  If you have boys you NEED this collection.  It's just perfect! 

I have been wanting to scrapbook some pictures from Darian's first season playing t-ball and finally decided to just sit down and do it.  I used my Cricut Expression and the Plantin Schoolbook cartridge to cut the grass for the bottom of my layout - just a little playful element to go with the idea of a baseball field.

I'm obsessed with Basic Grey's Micro Mono Stickers and Mini Mono Stickers.  Seriously.  Obsessed.  They are perfect for longer titles or titles in smaller spaces.  I also love the Pieces embellishments and it is one of the first things I put in my cart when I'm loading up on Basic Grey goodies.

Just another detail image of one of the Basic Grey Pieces and stars.  Lots and lots of stars both punched and stickers.  I typed in some stats and Darian's team name.  We were sponsored by Dairy Queen and I came up with the team name of the Blizzards.  Cute eh?  LOL

That's about it for me today.  Speaking of playing ball my hubby and I are going to see the Jets play against the Giants tonight in the new stadium.  I can't wait as we are BIG football fans in this house and even BIGGER Jets fans.  :)