Love My Boys

Love My Boys, originally uploaded by Lukasmummy.

Credits: Layered template (Page Turn, Template 1) by Gabriella Hägglund (Ella Designs) and Dark & Chic by Jolly Kids Creations by Marie. Font is Caitlin.
Journalling reads: If anyone had told me, how much fun it would be, to have two little monkeys who just belong to me, I would have laughed and told them that it was not for me, because I never had any plans to be anyone’s mummy. I never planned for the craziness, for noise and toys galore, yet when that’s what I do have I can’t help wish for more, even when one’s missing and causing my heart pain, the other two complete me in ways I can’t explain, I love them with a passion with all my soul and heart I love to be around them and hate when we’re apart, I love every single inch of them from head down to their toes, even when that means a poopy bum and a runny nose, I love them when loving, i love them day and night, i love them when there poorly and even when they fight, I love to watch them playing and watching kids tv, I love it when they climb up and just cuddle close with me, I love to hear one chatting, telling me about his day, I love to watch the other one learn new words to say, I love to watch them sleeping and hear it when there snoring, one thing is for sure my life is never boring, each and every day they make my life such fun and I just feel so lucky that I get to be there mum, I wouldn’t change a single thing, except reduce the noise because one thing I know for certain I really truly love my boys.

The Sleepy Shepherd

The Sleepy Shepherd, originally uploaded by Lukasmummy.

Credits: Layered template (Templaoodle, Template 2) by Gabriella Hägglund (Ella Designs) and Merry and Bright Mega kit contributions by Kerry Ticknor (Kerry's Scraps), Jolly Kids Creations by Marie, Bonnie Blou Designs, Janet Bracewell (JanetB Designs), Joelle Lester (Daphadilly Art), Jewel Goodwin (Mad Genius Designs) and Jaime Rhinehart (Cjoy2Day Designs). Font is Architects Daughter by Kimberly Geswein.
Journalling reads: Every year the school has done an alternative to the traditional Nativity. In reception they chose to do a play called the Sleepy Shepherd by Niki Davies, described as the story of “a lovable shepherd who just can't keep awake. Will he miss out on the big adventure?”. Lukas had a part as one of the shepherds, we were asked to provide a costume of a dressing gown and a tea towel He was so excited about being in the play and looking forward to singing. When we turned up to se his performance, I was already fed up because we were late and got stuck in seats right at the back, I had been hoping to get some really cute photos of Lukas’s first school play. I got even more fed up when I saw Lukas wasn’t wearing his dressing gown and he had on a bright yellow tea towel that wasn’t his. My annoyance soon turned to embarrassment, when over the sound of 30 kids singing everyone in the room was able to hear the teacher ask Lukas if he was going to sing and he answered with a very resounding NO! It only got worse when he glanced over at me and saw I was trying not to laugh and he got a fit of the giggles. Before deciding that he had heard enough singing and put his hands over his ears. It was definitely a memorable first school play for us.

Grouchy Day

Grouchy Day, originally uploaded by Lukasmummy.

Credits: Layered template (Page Turn, Template 4B) by Gabriella Hägglund (Ella Designs), Comfy Cottage Papers and Comfy Cottage Elements by Jaime Rhinehart (Cjoy2Day) and The Grumpy Cranky Grouchy Freebie Lena Bradenburg/Gardner and Tabatha Reed (Bella Gypsy). Font is DJB Constance Beauregard by darcy Baldwin.
Journalling reads: School Christmas choir concert @ St Francis Church 16/12/2010.

Lukas and Josh

Lukas and Josh, originally uploaded by Lukasmummy.

Credits: Layered template (Templaoodle, Template 3) by Gabriella Hägglund (Ella Designs), December The Works by Jolly Kids Creations by Marie, Retail Therapy Glitters by Jewel Goodwin (Mad Genius Designs) and Wordart by Bethany Harty (Elegant Wordart).

Santa Babies

Santa Babies, originally uploaded by Lukasmummy.

Credits: Layered template (Cindy's layered templates, Half pack 4, template 1) by Cindy Schneider and Dotty Christmas by Jolly Kids Creations by Marie. Font is Cindy Lou Who by Allie Hoopes.
Journalling reads: This year I decided that it would be really cute to dress the both of in Santa suits, for the Christmas photos this year. I have been really sick so I kept putting off making the effort to get you both dressed and take the photos, I just didn’t have the energy to deal with the tantrums from either of you not wanting to have your photograph taken. But we were running out of time to time to get the photographs taken and posted with the Christmas card, so I decided to just do it. As always the two of you were full of surprises, Lukas just needed a little persuasion to look at me and stand still, and Logan drove me crazy ripping his hat off, but the photos are cute!

Boxing Day 06

Boxing Day 06, originally uploaded by Lukasmummy.

Credits: Layered template (Drifting, Template A) by Gabriella Hägglund (Ella Designs), Merry Christmas and 10x10 Scallop Page Mats by Laura White (C.W Picket & Company and Stunningly Silver Alpha by Jane Shaver (Little Red Scraps). Font is Architects Daughter by Kimberly Geswein.
Journalling reads: There are lots of things that I wish I had the chance to do over again. Some of the time it’s because I feel like I didn’t do a great job the first time around, some are because I have learnt new things since then and some are because it was something that you can’t repeat again. These photos are just some of the ones that fall into all three of those categories. They were taken at the Boxing Day Christmas party in 2006. I had been looking forward to taking you, watching you have fun and of course taking lots of photos. The only problem is that back when I took these I knew almost nothing about using my digital camera. I took the approach that the only way to capture the memory was to take lots and lots of photos. I’m sure that the rapid shot function has it’s uses, but doing a decent job of capturing the two of you, when you are racing around a hall like maniacs is not one of them. The camera didn’t have time to focus so every single photo is blurry, some of them are so bad I can’t even see you or Ella. and that’s without considering the bad lighting and awful colours. I didn’t know about white balance then either. This ended up being the last Boxing Day Christmas Party they held at the Conservative Club where Nana worked, they decided that it was just more hassle and effort than it was worth to organise and host each year. Ever since you were born it had become a bit of a family tradition for us to go to the party as a family. This was the first year Nannie Donna and Grampy Karl had decided not to go with all the kids. It was just going to be us three, Nan and Lisa, Gary, Conor and Ella. I’ll be honest with you, I don’t have great memories of any of these parties. Me and Daddy always seemed to end up arguing about something, but I tried to pretend we were having fun for you.r sake. You and Ella always really looked forward to it. You both loved the disco and the party games. You had the chance to see Santa to get a gift which was almost as much fun as you had running around in that huge hall. It kind of makes me sad that I don’t have any nice photos to help you to remember how much fun you used to have.

Top 10 Kids Shows

Top 10 Kids Shows, originally uploaded by Lukasmummy.

Credits: Layered template (October 10x12 Template) by Jennifer S. Wilson (Simple Scrapper) and Train Time by Jen C Designs. Images from Google. Font is Pea Angedawn by Amanda Bottoms (Fonts For Peas).
Journalling reads: I hate to admit that the television is a big part of our life, but I also love that I can get a few minutes peace and quiet to do things, while you both sit and watch tv. I do try to limit your tv time and pick only shows, that have some educational value to make myself feel better. You both seem to prefer shows that are have lots of music in them. Special Agent OSO was the first show you watched together. Handy Manny appears to be Logan’s current favourite. While Mickey Mouse Clubhouse appears to be Lukas’s favourite of the shows that I approve of. Phineas and Ferb is the only show that’s loved by everyone including us!

Photos Of You, January 2010

Photos Of You, January 2010, originally uploaded by Lukasmummy.

Credits: Layered template (January 10x12 Template) by Jennifer S. Wilson (Simple Scrapper), 2010 Wordart by Bethany Harty (Elegant Wordart) and All About Me Volume 2 by Laura White (C.W Picket & Company). Fonts are DJB Tia Print by Darcy Baldwin and FO Textura by Fontologie.
Journalling reads: It’s often difficult to get decent photographs of the two of you together. So when I was browsing through them I was pleasantly surprised to see I had more than I thought. These are my top ten from January.

Top 10 Songs

Top 10 Songs, originally uploaded by Lukasmummy.

Credits: Layered templates (All Stacked Up, May 2010 by Rachel Jefferies (Captivated Visions) and Box Me In, Template 2 by Denise Tilley (DigiDesigns By Denise) and Night Music Bundle by Jewel Goodwin (Mad Genius Designs). Font is Architects Daughter by Kimberly Geswein.
Journalling reads: I used to be really into music, when I was a kid, I knew every single song that was in the top 40 each week. I knew most of the lyrics too. I still love to listen to music while I scrap or can’t sleep but I prefer to put on my older music that I have ripped to Itunes, instead of new albums. Singing along to familiar lyrics makes me happy. These were the top plays on my itunes playlist this year. Some of the artists have more than one song because the number of plays was the same. Ironically only 3 of these albums (the top 3) were released in 2010.

Christmas Letter 1

Christmas Letter 1, originally uploaded by Lukasmummy.

Credits: Layered template (Christmas Newsletter Templates, Template 3) by Elizabeth Albers (Scrapping With Liz) and Merry Christmas by C.W Picket & Company. Font is Architects Daughter by Kimberly Geswein.

Snow

Snow, originally uploaded by Lukasmummy.

Credits: Layered template (IDSD Blogtrain Freebie, November 2010) by Sabrina's Creations and Merry Christmas and Not The Doctor Chrome Alpha by Laura White (C.W Picket & Company). Font is Architects Daughter by Kimberly Geswein.
Journalling reads: When I was a kid, we used to always hope that it would snow at Christmas but it never did. I can only remember a handful of times when it snowed at all. We all used to think it would be so cool and magical, to wake up to snow outside on Christmas Day. I guess the reality is not as fun as we imagined that it would be as kids. It’s not quite Christmas yet, but the view from our windows, reminds me of one of those old Christmas card scenes. I admit it is beautiful to look at, but personally I am not feeling very festive. There isn’t enough snow to do fun things like building snowmen, but there is enough to be a big inconvenience, like having to wear winter boots so I don’t slip on the ice instead of my comfy Crocs. I am also really sick of being freezing!

I'll Love You

I'll Love You, originally uploaded by Lukasmummy.

Credits: Layered template (Template 9, 2010 slightly altered) by Jellebelleke, I'll Love You Wordart by Bethany Harty (Elegant Wordart by Bethany) and My Heart Shines and Heart Genius Volume 1 by Jewel Goodwin (Mad Genius Designs).

Happy 2 Grumpy

Happy 2 Grampy, originally uploaded by Lukasmummy.

Credits: Layered template (Tuesday Template, 23rd November 2010) by Connie Prince, Modern Christmas by Jaime Rhinehart (Cjoy2Day Designs) and Jewel Goodwin (Mad Genius Designs), Retail Therapy contributions (alpha, scatter and glitter) by Mad Genius Designs and Melissa Robinson (Melly Scraps) and Ribbon Mix by Miss Tiina. Font is DJB Lisa S Print by Darcy Baldwin.
Journalling reads: At first when we put you into your Santa suit, you were all smiles. You liked the texture under your fingers and sitting in my chair. I was taking photos of you looking adorable and everything was perfectly fine. Then I decided to put the toy reindeer next to you, thinking it would be cute. You completely flipped out and started screaming. You ripped the hat off your head and threw it on the floor. You quickly went back to smiles again, just as soon as the Santa suit was removed!

Wow 6 years

If you came for the layouts or the blog train, you need to scroll down, this post is only going to be about one thing, today is Leo's anniversary. It's 6 years today since my world changed forever, and my heart shattered into millions of tiny little pieces. Every year his anniversary is hard, I sink deeper and deeper into depression from August 24th (his birthday) until at least today, although to be fair the dark cloud always hangs around through Christmas and the New Year, neither passes without tears. Every year it's different, I never quite know what I am going to get as far as emotions go. There is always sadness and lots and lots of tears. There have been years where I have spent the whole day in bed alternating between crying and sleeping from the exhaustion of crying so much. Last year was unique, we had a new baby and I was so confused and messed up. I needed to escape the house filled with dark memories and sorrow, I booked a hotel room and we ran away from it all. This year is kind of unique to, we have a new house somewhere he hasn't ever really been except in our hearts, even his ashes are still at Nan's. He's too precious to put just anywhere and we don't have any shelves or anything up yet. This year I am struggling, the fog of grief isn't quite so dense when I am not being faced with memories of him everywhere I look. But the problem with that is that when the hurt comes back, and it always comes back, it hurts worse. It's like being punched in the chest with emotion. Before I was sad all the time, I missed him all the time, I remembered all the time. Now there are moments however brief when I forget, or other thoughts take up centre stage in my head. When you don't really remember what it felt like before the grief and the sadness, you get used to feeling like that and become a little desensitized to how much pain is actually there. But when you are reminded it's like the first time all over again only multiplied by infinity. I don't need to retreat from anyone here, because there's no-one to retreat from. But there is someone to hide from, Logan is too little to know about Leo, but he's not too little to understand when Mummy's sad. If he sees me crying, he rushes over and throws his arms around me. It's incredibly difficult to separate my desire to be sad about Leo and my desire to not make Logan sad. I have to admit that before Logan was born it was very simple to just drown in sorrow. I justified it to myself by saying that Lukas understood why I was so sad, he often started crying about Leo out of nowhere too. But Logan, he just sees the tears. His only understanding is that the photo by the tv in the teddy bear frame, makes mummy cry and it's not too be touched or played with. He picks it up and brings it to me, he's gentle and sweet with it. I sit him on my lap and I show him other photos on the computer of the big brother he doesn't get to play with. I haven't stopped loving Leo, I don't love Logan more but sometimes it's too hard for words to keep the divides from blurring together, it makes my whole life a balancing act between missing him too much and not missing him enough. I feel guilty that I don't miss him more, feel guilty that I miss him enough for Logan to notice. It's confusing. Sometimes I feel like I have to punish myself for getting on with my life without him, I caught myself smiling at something Logan did earlier and felt like I was betraying Leo by not being devastated all the time, today of all days. Logan's asleep now and I can let the tears flow freely, only I don't feel like crying right now. I used to think if I had a time machine I would go back, do things differently to try and avoid the pain, but now I wonder if I had got to keep Leo would I even have Logan. Sometimes he feels a bit like my reward for enduring all the pain of losing Leo, he was exactly what I needed even though I didn't know it. He's like a constant ray of sunshine kicking all the shadows and dark thoughts in the corner and forcing them to stay there. It's impossible to stay miserable when you are around him, he's so cheeky and full of fun. The love I had for Leo was so different, in ways a lot more intense but the love came with pain. The only one thing I know for sure is that it takes all 3 of my boys to make me complete. It takes all of them to make me the person I was, the person I am and even the person I am going to be in the future. Tonight I am going to light a candle for Leo, just like we always do only we don't need to walk to a park tonight, we can just use our garden. We will stand outside and probably freeze our butts off so we can sing Twinkle Twinkle Little Star to him. Maybe I will allow myself a few minutes to grieve and play one of his songs or scrap a page for him, today is not really the kind of day to make plans for. It's too hard to know how I am going to feel from one moment to the next. The one thing I know for sure, tomorrow I will be exhausted from the rollercoaster of emotions, and I will still miss him. I will miss him everyday until I get to be with him again, and when I do I will probably hurt just as bad missing the other two. I love you Leo, always.

Baby Boy

Baby Boy, originally uploaded by Lukasmummy.

Credits: Layered template (Template 2) by jellebelleke, More Than Words Family by Darcy Baldwin and Jenny Hutson and 10x10 Page Mats Scallops and Afternoon Hush (slightly recoloured) both by C.W Picket & Company.

Choo Choo Blog Train coming through

I know it seems like I only ever post layouts, so today I am doing something a little bit different. I am taking part in a blog train and giving you a freebie. Some of the designers and CT at DSDI got together to make a collection of quick pages using this month’s FOTM kit, Retail Therapy. It’s Thanksgiving in the USA today I think and Black Friday tomorrow, but don’t quote me on that I am from the UK lol. Whether you are shopping for Black Friday, Christmas, The January Sales or even just a fun shopping trip with friends these quick pages will be perfect to scrap the experience. Personally I prefer to shop online and then sit back and wait for my stuff to be delivered lol. Since I am kind of getting off the point and I really need to get Logan ready so we can get Lukas from school I am going to get on with giving you your freebie.

Inside the download you will find a coupon that will allow you to pick up Retail Therapy for 75% off, this is valid until 31st December. Please click here or on the preview for your download link.

You can find all of the other stops here

Digi Scraps Drive-In
Giggly Polkadots
Lukasmummy
Kerry's Scraps
Gail's Moment in Time
The Cute Gets Cuter
Jen C Designs
Daphadilly Art
Mad Genius Designs
Amy!Scraps

Just two last things before I go, you still have time to take advantage of Laura’s (C.W Picket & Company) spend $5 get $5 sale until the 30th November and Jewel (Mad Genius Designs) is having a Black Friday sale, 40% off everything, minimum order of $3.50.

Nan and Malcolm

Nan and Malcolm, originally uploaded by Lukasmummy.

Credits: Layered template (Drifting, Template F, Slightly Altered) by Gabriella Hägglund (Ella Designs) and Afternoon Hush by Laura White (C.W Picket & Company). Font is DJB Pato by Darcy Baldwin).
Journalling reads: Nan and Malcolm, with me at the airport, circa 1985.

Presents From Santa

Presents From Santa, originally uploaded by Lukasmummy.

Credits: Modern Christmas by Jaime Rhinehart (Cjoy2Day Designs) and Jewel Goodwin (Mad Genius Designs) and 10x10 Page Mats Scallops by Laura White (C.W Picket & Company). Font is DJB My Dear Marsha by Darcy Baldwin.

Lukas and Logan

Lukas and Logan, originally uploaded by Lukasmummy.

Credits: Layered template (Heritage Book maker, Title Page Template), Ribbon Templates and P365 Roy G Biv Fall all by C.W Picket & Company, Gratitude JFK Wordart by Melanie's Digital Creations and CoffeeShop Golden Vintage Photo Action.

Lukas and Nan

Lukas and Nan, originally uploaded by Lukasmummy.

Credits: Layered template (Template 858 Square) by Andrea Gold and The Works Soda Shoppe Color Pop by Janet Bracewell (JanetB Designs). Font is DJB Mandy by Darcy Baldwin.
Journalling reads: As a scrapper I often take a lot of photos in my attempt to get one good one. But sometimes it’s not about trying to get a great shot, it’s simply about capturing a moment in time. Like these photos of Nan and Lukas. I took them on my mobile phone because I thought it was so cute how he was cuddling with her. The colour is bad, the quality is awful and they are super tiny, but these 3 photos mean more to me than a lot of the other more “perfect” shots.

Cake

Cake, originally uploaded by Lukasmummy.

Credits: Layered template (Everyday Templates, Template 4) by Laura White (C.W Picket & Company), Alphaset Templates Circle by Miss Tiina and Brrr Glitters, Brrr Patterns. Brrr Craft Styles, Brrr Solids and Brrr Elements all by Jewel Goodwin (Mad Genius Designs). Font is 101! StaR StuDDeD.

I Miss You

I Miss You, originally uploaded by Lukasmummy.

Credits: Layered template (Everyday Templates, Template 3 rotated 180 degrees clockwise) by Laura White (C.W Picket & Company) and In Your Eyes Love (slightly recoloured) and In Your Eyes Love Cardstock by Jewel Goodwin (Mad Genius Designs). Fonts are Staccato222 BT and Candara.
Text is lyrics to I Miss You by Darren Hayes.

Love My Family

Love My Family, originally uploaded by Lukasmummy.

Credits: Layered template (Easy As Pie Template Challenge 5), by Beckie (Shabby Princess CT), Strung Along Frames by Rochelle Hall (Man In The Moon Designs), All Together Blog Train WordArt (altered) by Kathy Winters, Family Memories by Ivonne Ivett (Craft-tastrophic Designs) and My Heart Shines and Heart Genius Volume 1 by Jewel Goodwin (Mad Genius Designs). Font is DJB TracyL by Darcy Baldwin.
Journalling reads: Sometimes when I am sitting by myself. Those quiet moments when not with no one else. I'm mesmerized by all the many good things in my life. Lyrics from My Lovely Family by Yo Gabba Gabba and The Roots.

Desktop 4 Laptop

Desktop 4 Laptop, originally uploaded by Lukasmummy.

Credits: Layered template (Desktop 4, 1440x900) by Lukasmummy (me), 4x12 Paper Cutters 1 and 4x12 Paper Cutters 2 by Chrissy W, Brrr Solids, Brrr Craft Styles, Brrr Patterns and Brrr Glitter Styles all by Jewel Goodwin (Mad Genius Designs).

Playing In The Leaves

Playing In The Leaves, originally uploaded by Lukasmummy.

Credits: Layered template (Sketchology Autumnatopoeia, Template 4) by Lena Brandenburg/Gardner and Tabatha Reed (Bella Gypsy Designs) and Playing In The Leaves by Jolly Kids Creations By Marie. Fonts are Echo and DJB Play Misty For Me by Darcy Baldwin.

Jump In Leaves Together

Jump In Leaves Together, originally uploaded by Lukasmummy.

Credits: Playing In The Leaves by Jolly Kids Creations By Marie and Autumn Medley by Katie Pertiet. Font is DJB Coffeeshoppe Espresso by Darcy Baldwin.

Bouncy Horse

Bouncy Horse, originally uploaded by Lukasmummy.

Credits: Layered template (November 2010, Made In The Shade Template Challenge) by Gail, P365 Roy G Biv Fall, P365 Roy G Biv Summer, P365 Roy G Biv Solids and Dots Papers and Toolbox Alpha (recoloured) all by Laura White C.W Picket & Company. Font is Pea Picky Panda by Amanda Bottoms (Fonts For Peas).
Journalling reads: At the school fete one of the events, that seems to be there every year is the bouncy horse races. This time around there was no-one for you to race but you still wanted a turn. It was hilarious watching you try and stay on the bouncy horse because you were laughing so much every time you fell off. The horse’s “clothes” kept on falling off which made you giggle even more. It took a while but you eventually made it across the finish line. All of us including the teacer running the race were really proud of your persistance to finish, but no-one was as proud as you were of yourself for doing it!

Kick It!

Kick It!, originally uploaded by Lukasmummy.

Credits: Layered template (Everyday Templates, Template 1), My Soccer Star and My Soccer Star Wordart all by Laura White (C.W Picket & Company). Font is MS Sans Serif.
Journalling reads: For most people seeing their little boy kick a ball is no big deal. But to me this was huge. You have always had some issues with coordination and balance. You found it so hard to concentrate and focus. But you have never given up on anything that you want to do. You dive right in and have a go, it doesn’t matter that you know the ball will never end up in the goal (or you might miss it altogether). You still try, that makes me so proud of you Lukas.

Thankful

Thankful, originally uploaded by Lukasmummy.

Credits: Layered template (September 2010, Template Challenge) by Aimee Harrison (Girlboheme Studio), Bracketed Sentiments by Katie Pertiet and January Love by Jewel Goodwin (Mad Genius Designs). Font is Segoe Print.
Journalling reads: Having two premature babies before Logan gave us a different perception of what a “normal” birth experience was. We were prepared for him to be born early, to be tiny and to be rushed straight to special care. Then he surprised us all he wasn’t anywhere near as small as we had expected he seemed to have nothing wrong with him and for the first time, our baby was handed to us for cuddles, not only in the ambulance on the way to hospital but once we got there too. He was even allowed to stay with me and come up onto the ward. Lukas got to come and visit with Nan, Lisa and Ella and to be honest it seemed a little bit too good to be true. None of us realised how thankful we would end up being for these photos, when our “normal” again got ripped out from under us. Logan went to special care for a blood test and ended up being admitted. It seems stupid but this was our hardest special care stay, he didn’t look sick like Lukas and Leo had. He didn’t need help breathing or staying warm. Special care’s rules meant that Lukas wasn’t allowed to visit and it was so difficult balancing the desire to be with Logan and the need to care for Lukas especially since we had no help. It was 13 long days before we were finally able to start being a real family, and bring Logan home.

Mark and Logan

Mark and Logan, originally uploaded by Lukasmummy.

Credits: Layered template (Freebie 52) by Chrissy W and January Love by Jewel Goodwin (Mad Genius Designs). Font is Staccato222 BT.
Quote reads: I love men in bed when they are sleeping. But then they have to go and wake up. Daphne Zuniga.

Dia De Los Muertos

Dia De Los Muertos, originally uploaded by Lukasmummy.

Credits: Layered template (Temp Blends Volume 6, Template 2) by Jenn Lindsey and Dia De Los Muertos by Bean Bunny Designs. Font is Popstar Autograph.
Journalling reads: We always celebrated your birth on your birthday and mourned your loss on your anniversary. With the two dates being just 3 months and 4 days apart it was hard for us to ever find the chance to celebrate your life. Words can never begin to describe how grateful we are that we had you in our life even for the short while that we did. One day we were sitting together on the bed watching an episode of Handy Manny, they were talking about a day called Dia De Los Muertos, something I had never even heard of. A quick google search and look at Wikipaedia and I found what I was looking for "In most regions of Mexico, 1st November honors children and infants, dead adults are honored on November 2. This is indicated by generally referring to November 1 as DIa de Los Inocentes (Day of the Innocents) but also as Dia de Los Angelitos ("Day of the Little Angels"). Last year (2009) we decided that we were going to celebrate all three of our angel babies on 1st November. We stayed in a hotel, I bought a gift for each of the boys from our angels and we took a trip on the London Eye, so it felt like we were a little bit closer to them for a while.

Logan's First Christmas

Logan's First Christmas, originally uploaded by Lukasmummy.

Credits: Layered template (October 11th 2010, Template Freebie from Eva Kipler's Blog) by HeatherKS and Retail Therapy Mega kit contributions by Jaime Rhinehart (Cjoy2Day Designs), Joelle Lester (Daphadilly Art), Janet Bracewell (JanetB Designs), Melissa Robinson (Melly Scraps), Charm City Scraps, Bonnie Blou and Jewel Goodwin (Mad Genius Designs). Fonts are SA Inkspot by Shellie in co and Promised Freedom by Kimberly Geswein.
Journalling reads: We parked your swing seat in the centre of the presents, so you could see what was going on. You weren't really sure what was going on but you loved it!

Out With My Daddy

Out With My Daddy, originally uploaded by Lukasmummy.

Credits: Layered template (Cindy's Templates Set 22, Template 3) by Cindy Schneider, Mister Bundle by Jewel Goodwin (Mad Genius Designs) and Amanda Krueger (Nibbles Skribbles) and CU I See Through You Style by Elizabeth Blust (Pillowgirl). Fonts are Stencil Std and Tekton Pro.
Journalling reads: You and Daddy wanted to go out together without me. I wasn’t really sure what you wanted to do, so I handed you the camera and told you both to have a good time. I thought maybe you would both go to the park, perhaps you would feed the ducks and I would end up getting some cute photos of you playing. But what did the two of you bring me photos of? Well there were some photos of you sitting on the bus, a construction site that you had seen out of the window and these photos of you enjoying a happy meal in Mcdonalds. I can't believe that the best thing you could think of to do without me was go for a happy meal!

I'm Tired

I'm Tired, originally uploaded by Lukasmummy.

Credits: Layered template (Cindy's Templates Set 22, Template 3) by Cindy Schneider, Mister Bundle by Jewel Goodwin (Mad Genius Designs) and Amanda Krueger (Nibbles Skribbles) and Greatest Expectations Glitter Styles by Jewel Goodwin (Mad Genius Designs). Font is Xtreme Chrome.
Journalling reads: Do you remember when Mummy took this photo, because Mummy does. It was during yet another one of those truly horrible school mornings, where I was trying to fight you out of your bed after you had refused to go to sleep the night before. There were a lot of these mornings where tempers were quick to lose and tears just as quick to flow. I remember taking these photos with the intention of being able to show you that this was not the way things were meant to be every single day. It was not a nice time for anyone, I'm so glad that things have changed and for the most part you now go to bed when I tell you!

Memories

Memories, originally uploaded by Lukasmummy.

Credits: Layered template (June 7th, Template Challenge with Berrygirl) by Angie Kovacs, Courage Cardstock P365 Basics Simple Borders Wordart and Star Genius Overlays Volume 1 by Jewel Goodwin (Mad Genius Designs) and Courage Mega kit contributions by Amanda Krueger (Nibbles Skribbles), Jewel Goodwin (Mad Genius Designs), Jaime Rhinehart (Cjoy2Day Designs), Jen C Designs, Joelle Lester (Daphadilly Art) and Melissa Robinson (Melly Scraps). Font is Pea Nancy by Amanda Bottoms (Fonts For Peas).
Journalling reads: I took this photograph of Mark's mum at Tim and Sam's wedding. She was feeling so unwell that she almost didn't end up going. She ended up having a great time, even though she didn't stay very long. It was nice to see her more like her old self, all dressed up and fussing about whether she looked ok. It's seems kind of crazy to think that just over a year later she was gone, her battle with breast cancer finally over. It seems even crazier to think that less than 4 years later Tim was gone as well!

Cheeky Little Monster

Cheeky Little Monster, originally uploaded by Lukasmummy.

Credits: Layered template (Courage Template) by Jaime Rhinehart (Cjoy2Day Designs) and Monster Madness by Charm City Scraps. Font is Pea Missy with a Marker by Amanda Bottoms (Fonts For Peas).
Journalling reads: Logan wanted to take a ride in the tiny toy pushchair, so he walked up to it and tipped the doll sitting in it on the floor, then he climbed in the pushchair seat and tried to fasten up the straps, All that he was waiting for was someone to make it go. He loved being pushed around in the living room, such a cheeky little monster!

Jump aboard and ride our Scrapathon Blog Train

I actually did have good intentions to have this posted a lot earlier but the previous post kind of didn’t get finished last night like I intended and today it just seemed to take forever, but anyway no more excuses I know that’s not what you are here for. Before I share the link to my brag book pages I just wanted to clear two things up, the first is why you have 2 brag book pages lol. I have two blogs, both contain mostly the same content. My wordpress blog does have something that my blogger one doesn’t though, the ability to password protect certain posts, sometimes I need that function. It’s not because I want to hide anything though rather that there are some things I want to keep separate from my scrapping. So rather than make you go to both blogs separately I thought that I would just post the same post in both places and bundle the two pages together. So whichever one of my blogs you follow will allow you to jump onboard the blog train and collect 2 more brag book pages. October is Breast Cancer Awareness month, just in case the pink everywhere didn’t give it away lol. Breast cancer is something very close to my heart as it’s what Mark’s mum died from, as well as a few family friends. I love my scrapbooking and I love DSDI so being able to join in with something fun at my favourite site and have the chance to raise awareness and funds for cancer seems perfect. We have a whole forum filled with challenges and chatter here, you can find the full rules here and the prizes here. But here’s the basic idea.

The Charity Scrapathon at DSDI runs from October 21 to 24. Anyone is free to join in and scrap along, but to be eligible for the prizes, you need to have purchased this beautiful charity collab kit - Courage. The more challenges you complete the better the prizes you will earn. If you complete all 12 of them your name will be entered in a draw to win either C.W Picket & Company or Jen C Designs entire store. There’s also other ways to earn special gifts with the Leaving Love and Spread The Word challenges.



When you purchase this kit, your $6 goes entirely to Breast Cancer research (after PayPal fees). It’s a win – win for everyone involved. You get a gorgeous new collab kit, We get to raise awareness about Breast Cancer, You get to help us raise money for more research, we get to inspire you with fun challenges, you get to scrap some beautiful pages and we all get to have a great time while we do it. There is no better way to spread the word about an event that by offering a special freebie, So we’re kicking off the Scrapathon with a Brag Book Blog Train. The train will start on the DSDI Blog and ends in the DSDI forums. Some of our team members live in other time zones, so be patient if all the contributions aren't posted yet - they will be. So do you want to see mine?



You can download that here and then carry on riding the train until you have collected all of the pages.

And here is the list of all the participating blogs:
Digi Scraps Drive-in
Nibbles Skribbles
C.W. Picket and Company
Kerry’s Scraps
Amy Scraps
Gail’s Moments In Time
Mad Genius Designs
The Cute Gets Cuter
Daphadilly Art
Lukasmummy YOU ARE HERE
Bonnie Blue Designs
A Damsel With A Dulcimer
Tricia's Treasures
AnitaW
Giggly Polkadots
Jen C Designs
Melly Scraps
Drive-By Freebie Forum

Oh wow

even I am having trouble believing that I failed after just one day. I mean I know that I am a pretty bad blogger but I thought I might have at least managed a week before I failed lol. Anyway I am going to have to pick that up another time right now I have lots to share. Since the last time I wrote a proper blog post (not counting the day 1 post), I have been busy, mostly because all the designers I get to CT for keep making awesome products lol. I kind of feel a bit guilty that I am very absent minded when it comes to promoting them so today I thought I would just give you a quick update about what’s going on with them and show you the latest releases. Be warned this is going to be a very image heavy post, but I have tried to keep them small so they are not too overwhelming, the images aren’t linked but the names are.

Let’s start with Jewel aka Mad Genius Designs, she’s a whole bundle of fun to work with. During the first birthday celebration at Digi Scraps Drive In she released a grab bag, the grab bag is no longer available but you can pick up the contents separately in her store by purchasing the Night Music Bundle and the CU Music Genius Brushes and Scatter Brushes Set. She also released a brand new set of CU overlays, Scatter Brushes and Glitters in the Star Genius Bundle. The next release was previously a participation prize for the P365 challenge at DSDI, P365 Basics Simple Borders Bundle. There were some other participation prizes added as well but I can’t remember if I have showed you them before but here’s a quick recap, P365 Basics Beaten Up Alpha White, P365 Basics Beaten Up Basics, P365 Basics Beaten Up Kraft Dates, P365 Basics Month and Week UPC Tags and P365 Basics Month Overlays as well as a few previous freebies. The July Daily Download was a collab between Jewel and Snickerdoodle Designs By Karen, Jewel has released her contribution In The Kitchen and the coordinating In The Kitchen Cardstock and Home To All. After that came a super cute Halloween kit called Trick Or Treat, it’s an updated re-release of last years Halloween kit available alone or bundled together with the brand new coordinating CU Glitter Styles and Cardstocks in the Trick Or Treat Bundle. Which brings us right up to her latest release, Celebrate This which will blow you away. All of the prizes and gifts Jewel made for the birthday celebration at DSDI have now been bundled up for sale, so if you missed out on getting them as prizes and are only missing a few you can go for the smaller bundles which cost $1.99 each, Birthday Things, Bright and Fun Alpha Set, Cool and Funky Alpha Set, Soft and Pretty Alpha Set, Hold Me Down, Ribbons and Strings, Pattern Papers, Gradient Papers, Solid Papers, Cardstock and Glitters. If you just want all of the alphas, the elements or the papers there is the Alphas Bundle, Papers Bundle or the Elements Bundle (which are all currently on sale for 37% off). Lastly there is the Bigger Bundle which is all the papers and elements together (currently on sale for 43% off) or the Biggest Bundle which is the best value and contains everything all together (currently on sale for 50% off).

                              

Then there’s Laura aka C.W Picket & Company, she’s been busy too. I think the last kit release before I kind of stopped blogging was Flea Market Finds (there’s a qp freebie using that here)since then there have been quite a few releases. First up was grab bag of previously retired mini kits. It’s not available as a grab bag anymore but the almost all of the contents is available separately – All About Me Tab Alpha, Distressed Calendar Strips, Newsprint Alpha, Summer Day Mini and Walk In The Park Mini.  (You can also still download a free qp made with Walk In The Park here). Then came a super cute mini kit called Teen Beatz, that I never got around to working with, it was released while all the craziness with moving was going on. (There’s a free cluster and qp for that one here). After that came a football (soccer if you prefer) themed bundle called My Soccer Star, containing the football/soccer basics and mini kits in 9 different colours. (Free coordinating wordart available here). It had matching addon available for American Football called My Football Star, that was a free with a $5 purchase last month at DSDI but now it’s just $2.99. Then there was a CU Item called Office Supplies and a huge Roy G Biv Grab Bag released for the birthday celebration at DSDI, it has been fully revealed so it’s a no risk purchase and luckily for you Laura still hasn’t split that one up so you can snag it for just $4.99, but I am not sure how much longer you will be able to grab it for at that much of a steal! (There’s a freebie set of flowers that go with that here and a qp here). There were two journal sets that coordinate with the grab bag and P365 items in the store, they were previously offered as gifts for challenges during the DSDI Birthday Bash, P365 Roy G Biv Labels and P365 Roy G Biv Arrows. Before this years Halloween kit, Happy Halloween and matching CU Halloween Shapes were released. Then at the beginning of October Laura started a guest spot at Scrapable, including an exclusive kit called Camp Out (there’s a free qp available here) and a month long 35% off sale. Her last release at DSDI was an awesome set of Everyday Templates.

               

As for DSDI well there is always something going on over there. I wouldn’t know where to begin in showing you products and all the fun events but I will show you the mega kits. The last mega kit I blogged about what Splendid Summer there have been quite a few since then, Scrap To School was released for the Scrap To School event, Hit The Road Jack was the August Collab and Cubicle Madness was the September Collab. This month they went for something a little bit different by having a kind of grab bag in the October Mystery Collab and finally there is Courage for the Breast Cancer Awareness Scrapathon. You will truly not want to miss that it’s going to be a lot of fun, we’re kicking off with a brag book blog train (which I am taking part in) starting tomorrow (actually today since I took so long writing this blog post lol), and holding a series of challenges between the 21st and 24th October. You have the chance to win Laura (C.W Picket & Company) or Jen C’s entire store and all of the proceeds (minus paypal fees) from the sale of courage will be donated to breast cancer research. That’s in addition to all of the regular challenges at the site. I have the Altered Art and Get With It challenges, as usual but if you want a quick recap check out Kerry’s post on the blog. I’ll post the blog train in a minute.