kellicrowe

you must pay the rent

this little skit
my mom
and my sister
and i
will break into
at
any moment
with a staw
asparagus
a napkin
a pencil
it really doesn't matter
and the words are optional
all you have to do is make the moustache with the item
and we start laughing

mom and sara were here for a few days
sara is studying graphic design
she did the banner
showed me some stuff

i
doubt
i
retained
any
of
the
information

so
where is this little vaudville-esc act from??
anyone?
i tried googling the words
not a lot of help
tons of random references came up
some mentioned in blogs, etc.
stupid blogs...making it harder to find things
oh
and don't just put in
you must pay the rent
bad stuff came up for that
b-a-d

and
yes
we are sisters
even though we look nothing alike

happy Thurs
the very highlighted kellicrowe

he is coming home today:)

business trips
blech
unless we all go
and then
business trips
woohoo!
like a business trip to ca
is how we got to got
to legoland
and to see tara whitney
and get this picture:)
but in general
i blech at the idea of business trips
so
hubby comes home today
he has been gone for 6 days
now
he was in the army for 6 years....
so 6 days is no biggie
except
i am older now
set in my ways
and honestly
i like having the guy here
all the time
unless i want to watch tv in the middle of the day
not that i do that, hon
ahem
i'm like
can't you retire and hang out with me all day?
something about money
blah
blah
blah
so i am some what, kinda ok when he is gone
but i function like i am in a poorly lit room
i can get around
do what needs to be done
but i don't wanna
and our phone conversations when he is gone are not good
i am not nice
what is with me?
i finally told him this time
it is because i miss him
and i am ticked he isn't here
and so
my not niceness
is really
a compliment
of how forlorn i am
like the snappier i am
well, that is just how much i miss you
he bought it
or accepted it
that is because he is the nice one
it isn't a fair situation
but it is ours
and he comes home today:)
happy tueSday!
kellicrowe

ps - dude
i have to start hanging up the phones in the basement. as i typed this, the phone rang. ring 1
hey..is that the phone? ring 2 why yes, it is. sprint from sitting position out of the craft room, up the stairs, hurdle the cooler i left sitting in the hall and grab phone...but overshoot and can't seem to stop running as i look at the caller id...better homes and gardens....then stump my toes...3 at once...on the door trim and trying to sound cool and awesome and like i was just scrapbookig something amazing, casually say...Hello? it was better homes and gardens painting company. they are coming out today to finish staining the deck. and yet...i didn't put the phone back on the hook. dude.

cupcake

cup
cake

i like saying it

cup
cake

last weekend
we had a
robot party for david
a green party for max
(he is SO political)
and a cookout for our friends that we just always
plan to get together with...but don't

we had all these
together

cook out for 60
giant jumpie slide rented
zip line rides
gold coins in the sandbox
sillie string fight
water balloon fight
a robot cake
30 cupcakes with KI paper flags
2 pinatas
(one for bigs and one for littles)

and
it
was
so
fun

however
i am not use to entertaining like that
i love love love
to plan it all out
but the actually doing it
it exhausts me

fortunately
when we entertain
john david takes care of all food

i forget
i talk to people
i get the events going
i forget about food

it was fun
we should entertain more

i'm just not a natural hostess
but in my head i am
i'm very june cleaver meets kate spade

OH
the links
AL's the ME book has a blog!
there is a link over under get inspired
and
the heidi & donna links don't work.....
humph

happy monday!
kellicrowe

OK!

the blog links are back up
you
all
can
stop
e-mailing
me
now
:)

ya know
i am always in the middle of something
like yest
i was in the middle of updating the blog links
some were old links and didn't work any more
i had misspelled
*(shock and awe)*
a few names

[did you know shanon m's last name is MONTEZ and not MONETZ?
oh...you did?
she will always be shannie monetz in my head]

the potty training
no
success
yet

max told me yest that
he thought he was allergic to underwear

i told him that if he tee-tee'd in the potty he got a star burst
he said
just 1 star burst?

saucy kids

also over heard at our house
lego sponge bob says to lego patrick
"i think this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship"
(david....when did he see casablanca?)

the picture
alex
who didn't have a birthday this week
and me
on the trampoline
and i had a good reason for wearing my prom dress
not on the trampoline
but for wearing it

as i looked a this picture
i thought

my
kids
have
no
chance
of
growing up
normally

and that is ok
because normal seems so
attainable
so
easy these days

interesting

now
to grow up to be interesting
or interested
or content
or well adjusted
or grouded

now that would be something

off to launder a load of wet little boy under roos
:) kellicrowe

OK - yes, I need help re-sizing the banner.....it just isn't long enough....
what
is
up
with
that?
what does it need to be in photoshop?

Happy Birthday Maxwell:)

hey
mommy....
come
here

i
won't
shoot
you

right
dude

so maxwell is 4 today
my baby is 4

i will never have a 3 year old again

this kid is still asleep right now
he was born at 10:52 am
he was the only kid we had after JD left the army
so we paid full price for him
no military discounts
3rd c-section
i could feel too much
dr. asked if i wanted to go to sleep for the proceedure
i was like
i can?!
dude
take a nap
wake up
and there is your baby
sign
me
up

the easiest pregnancy
the only time i had friends around me when i was pregnant
no bed rest
or steriods

and this kid
i knew was my last
and
he
is
a
bit
spoiled

he has been afraid of the potty for the past year
now, i always potty trained my kids late
david and alex - i sat them down and just explained they were wearing underwear
and don't wet it
and really
that was it
max.....
he has elaborate stories about how he will go down the potty
so for months we have said
when you turn 4
you don't wear diapers anymore

that is today
so if you need me
i will be in the non carpeted areas of the house today
with the birthday boy

happy maxwell's birthday!
kellicrowe
ps...shannon m - when you posted those pics of franklin on the potty....i mean...isn't he like 2.5 years younger than max?! they kicked my tail.....until i saw that, my plan had been to just use the line:
"now max, if you want to borrow the car tonight, you have to start using the potty."
i think i read that in the how to potty train you child in one day or something like that.....

scrappy friends

A few weeks ago was Renee Coffey day at my house.

See
our meeting went a little something like this....
I scrapbooked for years....poorly
picked up a CK mag 2 years ago
saw that they had a web site
thought
hmmm, there is stuff on line about scrapbooking?
{DUH}
read Rhonna's interview about winning HOF on CK's site
she mentioned 2 peas in a bucket
thought
that sounds wierd
i like wierd
went there
(cue the music)
really started scrapbooking
found stacey kingman in a secret pals group
she told me about suziebeezie
who has a friend Elizabeth Dillow
excuse me
HOF Elizabeth Dillow
who e-mailed me and said
Renee Coffey is moving to Atlanta
you
have
to
meet
her.
I met her at CHA
in Vegas
and then at the Scrap Etc. event
in Birmingham
and we had plans to meet again on the top of the Empire State Building on New Years....but instead
since we live less than an hour apart
we got together at my house
with the kiddos
and
it
was
so
fun
Ever heard of Mod?
Yep
that was her creation
Ever heard of KI?
yep
that is who she designs for now
and she is delightful
and fun
and Max loves her
Only SHE could push him on the swing
OK
And you know the rule about meeting a scrapbooker...
you become fast friends and start posing for pictures together
right
away
and
after you have known each other for 32.6 seconds
you make silly faces in the pictures
the one that is just Renee
I'm doubled over laughing
so
really
I'm in it
and
no
I
did
NOT
touch up the color on her eyes
They are really that blue
Anyway
this is my new friend Renee
whether she wants to be or not
thanks Elizabeth
I mean
HOF Elizabeth Dillow for the introduction
and thanks
as always
to Kevin Bacon
for getting me into this crazy hobby.

Happy Thurs!
kellicrowe

happy birthday david

my kid is 9

9 is half way to 18

dude.

so here are a few pics of David.
my scanner died this morning...we think...
so i photographed a page from his 1 year old album.
now remember...this page was
scrapped over 8 years ago....
try not to laugh and point
i zoomed in on one picture..
so you can see what a 4.5 lb baby looks like
a very cute 4.5 lb baby:)

oh
and i took my traditional
7:47 am photo of david

he was an emergency c-section
and i didn't see him when he was born at 7:47 am
in fact
they told me i would have to walk down to see him
i said
take a picture
'cause i can NOT get out of this bed
yep
i was not in any shape to move
i saw him for the first time when he was about 12 hours old
he was in the nursery
under lights
my first thought
was

he
looks
just
like
me

now
don't feel bad for me on not seeing him
it is ok
i have had 3 c-sections
i was only awake for one of them
natural childbirth to me means no makeup

we spent 4 hours in a voluntary evaluation of david yest.
it was for a research thing the county is doing
i sat there and re-accounted it

the bed rest
the steriod injections
his birth
4.5lbs
his crying for the first 6 months
his walking and drawing early
his doing everything else so late
the not talking
the never fitting in at preschool
the speech therapy
the occupational therapy
the aqua therapy
the different dr.s
the different tests
the zoning out
the autism diagnosis
the no more dairy
the change to PPD diagnosis
the more therapy
the tubes in the ears..twice
the adnoids out
the starting to talk
the finding the right dr.
the change to aspberger's syndrom diagnosis
the taking him out of school
the transition to home schooling
him reading his first words to me
and
now
here
the happy
well adjusted
chatty
has plenty of friends
little boy
who if you met him today
you would have no idea
of any of this

thank
you
GOD
for this kid
and this journey.

the psycologist him yest: do you ever get lonely doing school at home?
he said - no, i have my brothers.

she asked: do you ever get bored?
he said: no

she said if you did get bored, what would you do?
he said: draw something, build something or do something.

she asked what do you think would be the hardest thing about being married?
he said without hesitation: i think having to look inside a woman when she is having a baby would be pretty gross.

ok
so i didn't breath for a minute as he answered the last one.
he got that from learning about babies in homeschool.

but
whew

whew
on the answers about homeschooling
whew
on the answers about friends and family and marriage
whew
on the way he did in the evaluation

but
man
9
half way
to
18

i better get crackin'
happy david's birthday
kellicrowe

freEstyle challenge day

The winners are listed at the bottom of the post:)

Ok
this was harder to do than i thought.
thanks to everyone who participted!!
i was so inspired by all the ideas!
loved the b-day parties, the dating relationships, the vacations, the day in the life of...etc.
i am going to put all these in an album to keep up here for a while.

i am going to list the names of all who sent me scans via e-mail.
those are the ones i can post to here.
the names who sent me links are listed at the bottom - still totally in the running for the prize.
just being non-computerie and all....i can't capture the image from a link...only my e-mail account.
hubby...who has no knowledge of any of this will be given the # of people in the list and asked to pick a number. that name wins.
see.
easy
right?
the scans are all below...in order of the names.
wouldn't it be convient to have the names appear with the scans?
yes typepad...it would.
typepad and i have had a few discussions on ways to make my life easier this morning.

tiffani & misty...love your lo's
the images will not play nicely with iphoto or typepad
i tried working on them a bit this morning....but i couldn't get them to post:(

1 . rachel
2. ronee
3. kimber-leigh
4. ingunn
5. tracy s
6. chelle
7. susan
8. annie
9. veronica
10. minda
11. trish
12. heather
13. tiffani
14. misty
15. hanni
16. kellidarr
17. amanda
18. kristy

JD picked #s
7 to win the book - SUSAN
and
14 to win a button selection from foofala and mod - MISTY

you two need to e-mail me your addresses
everyone else can be mad at JD
he picked the numbers
however
be gentle
he really is a god guy:)

thanks for playing along!!
happy Monday
kellicrowe

sleep deprivation+scrapbooking=

this is sue

need sleep
happy thursday
wait...it is thursaday...right?
kellicrowe

repell

really
he
said
he
wanted
to
repell
but
once
he
started
not
so
much

yes
summer is here
and it is a time
when a young boy's
fancy turns to....

dangerous backyard sports

repelling from the trees in the backyard

bugs must be smashes
body sounds must be made
and tall things must be jumped from

we hold these truths to be self evident
that all my boys are created =
with certain questionable inclinations
that among these are
risking life
taking liberty
and the pursuit of adrenaline

sigh

ok
had a few questions about the challenge
you do not have to slice up your pics
i have had a few folks not actually cut them and participate
(the are not like you and me....but maybe one day
because i'd like to teach the world to slice up their pictures in perfect harmony.....)

i went to far
didn't i
the thrid literaty/cultural illusion just pushed it)

so no - you do not have to slice
make whatever the cover inspires you to make
whatever you will be happy with in the end:)

happy Tuesday!
kellicrowe

freestyle challenge!

this
is
a
total
lift
of
chris ford's book design
and
tia bennett's illustrations
and
tracy kyle's direction

dude
i love this cover

ok
freestyle blog challenge this week
my turn
slice up your photos

don't panic
you can do this

i am all about scrapbookin the moments
but there are times
that i have a stack of photos of a theme park
or a birthday
and i really want to remember it all
and
baby
this is one way to get a lot of pics on a page

so ask yourself
what do you have a stack of photos of?
birthday party
theme park
Christmas
halloween
summer
misc. pics from 2005

what else do you have?
kids art
samples of handwriting
kid's homework
grocery list
mail
patterned paper
magazine clippings
recipies
doodles
fabric
maps

you can slice up all of these items to make your own
mosaic of memories

i used some pics from the first warm spring weekend
it was a great weekend
everything that happened
we did it all together
my favorite kind of weekend

so
here are two thingies to know about this challenge.
1. freestyle blog info:
if you create a lo this week and post it in a gallery (like at 2 peas)
and then leave a link to that in the comments on the freestyle blog - you are elligable for winning the weekly prize give away over there.

2. if you create a lo and then send me a copy of it in an e-mail, i will post it here next monday
and my hubby will draw a name out of a hat for one of ya to win a dw type book.

so
as long as more than 2 people do this
i am am stoked
i wonder if i can count myself in on that....hey
we only need one more!

happy early monday!
kellicrowe

2007:)

what is this?

a) torn up paper
b) something altered
c) something i made
d) something from the DW 2007 Cal
e) something you can see in full view on the Freestyle blog?
(link on the left)
f) all of the above

hint
pick
f

so a few days ago Melinda e-mailed to ask if i participated in the dw cal for 2007
if you go to autumn leave's site
look thru thier cataloge on line
click on the dw cal 2007 page
enlarge the photo
and look for my name
you can see it
i think that is what she did
which cracks me up
i mean
it is something
i
would
do
melinda is currently on the trail of jimmy hoffa

there is a preview of the cal on the freestyle blog

OH
and i get to do the freestyle challenge for MONDAY!
ya wanna know it first?
here?
now?

ok - we are going to scraplift the cover of freestyle!
you can do a straight lift or vary the idea

i know
cutting up your pics is hard to do...
the first cut is the worst

think in terms of collecting pics you printed out by accident, extras
a birthday party where you took 500 pictures and want to remember all of it
theme park trips
also think in terms of slices of the grocery list
kid art that you don't want to throw away - but hey...we can't keep it all
you kids's handwriting
scraps of wallpaper you are currently using
the newspaper

this weekend
just collect some ephemerialia of your life
and get ready to slice it up:)
and
on monday
i will tell you how i am giving away 1 copy of dw type:)

now
here is my lo for this past week's challenge. ashley's challenge was: use a product you love and something that isn't a scrapbook supply
i used vellum (of course) and the blue plastic baggie that the newspaper comes in
it is cheesie and bright...but so are theme parks and that is what it is about:)
happy Friday
yes...today is friday.....i was just planning ahead with the last post:)
kellicrowe

little red hen

sure
anyone can bake bread
but can you make
over
all
bread?
i think this
is the new wave
of
bread making

they are
so
gonna
kick me
out
of
the
homeschooler's
cult

abbie &
my pal kristin
are teaching me:)

waffles = good
zucchini bread = good
reg bread = good

just the shape we need to tweak

happy friday
kellicrowe
ps.yeeeeeees - i did that in photoshop
resizing a picture and using the tiny eraser are all i can do so far
woo
hoo

ceiling tiles

ceiling tiles

i say that because i care

here are some poorly lit pictures of my craft room
see that dinky bullitin board?
yeah
i thought i needed something bigger
more
gravitous
red, even

but what to use?
ceiling tiles
they come in 4X2 feet rectagles
cost 28 bucks for a pack of 8
i used 4 of them
staple gun the fabric around them
and
you
are
in
business

well,
a backsplash bullitin board business
not like a dry cleaning business
or pet grooming..
or...

back at the ranch, kellikins

abbie's dad was the one who gave us the ceiling tile idea
i believe in having handy, talented people around me
it
really
cuts
down
on
how
much
i
have
to
think

i wanted to do this for a while
but ya know what made me finally get moving on it?
someone was coming over
yep
i needed that external motivation
i know
i should keep things clean and pretty just for my family
not for the occassion where company comes over
yeah
right

anyway
mom is visiting
as soon as john david goes to work we are gong to spruce up his office here at the house
shhhhhh

oh
and one more picture
of the board once i had already junked it up with my pictures and stuffs:)
red makes me happy

happy thurs
kellicrowe

elsie

elsie and me in Birmingham
at the Scrap Etc. event in april

dude
that event was awesome!

now
i don't actually know elsie
but unless you live under a rock
or
don't scrapbook
(gasp)
we all "know" elsie

i mean
i don't remember a time when there was talk
like who is this elsie girl?
it was
for me
never heard of elsie
and then
*bam*
in a scloud of paint and doodles and buttons
elsie is everywhere

which works great for me
because i totally am refreshed by her work

anyway
i took 2 of her classes
it
was
so
fun

if you can
totally take a class from her
i really enjoyed the way she taught
it was a project
but still lotsa extra info and things to see thru out the class
perfect for keeping the ever fading attention span of mine

jolly ranchers for your brain
creative writing for your eyes
recharge your batteries

that is what her class was like for me

i posted the be inspired album i did in her class over to the left
in the albums
the pictures are mine
but i did it to look pretty much like her sample
nice photo of the SPINE over there
duh
not sure why they didn't post in order

oh
and here is the best part
elsie came up to me and introduced herself
yep
said nice things about me
i was befuddled
ya know
like when you see someone out of context
and your brain scrambles to figure out why this person you only know from church is now at the fabric store and you know them but for some reason you are going thru files in your brain like a mad woman
trying to find references to HOW exactly you know them...while smiling and trying hard not to need their name

i was befuddled like that
thrown
see
those were my lines

hi
you are so cool
love your work

but, um
since my lines were already taken
i
said

wow, you look like 12

absorb that for a moment

i hear
love your work
i say
wow, you look like 12

why is it i develope a case od terretts when i meet someone i am excited to meet?

kelli darr was there
it was a total cringer of a moment:)

elsie
being cool
acted like i didn't say anything bizzarre

and like i was saying
totally take her classes

she is super:)
AND
does look 12...
i just don't suggest opening the conversation with that!

tell me what ya love about elsie:)

happy Monday
off to the eye doctor
because my eyes
are
so
not
12

kellicrowe

skillz

don't let those stick like
arms fool you
dude
this girl has some
mad skillz

dude
i was just printing out some pics for a circle journal

and saw this on my iphoto

and whenever i talk about myself a lot
which
happens
a
lot

i feel the need to post a picture like this

i mean
this
is
not
flattering

there is a picture of me in a fetal postion
which i fell into
right after this was taken
because
apparently
i don't bend this way

but my family is super
i interrupted whatever important thing my husband was doing to take some pictures of me

he looks at me
"assignment?"

Oh
no
thought his would be a super shot for your office, babe:)

happy sunday!
kellicrowe

perfect tion ism

I can't clean my craft room
even though it is a huge mess
until i make a new bulletin board for my counter
which i am working on today
but there is something in me
that won't let me put anything else away
until i do this one thing
to make the space look more visually pleasing
i see how that sounds wierd
like
wouldn't cleaning it up make it look better?
yes
but i have this idea in my head
where all my ideas look splendid
and now i need to get it out
and that means putting all else on hold
to get this taken care of
it is a wierdo form of perfectionism
yes
i am a perfectionist
but just not so you would know it

this lo is for the freestyle challenge this week - use your mismatched sticker letters

dude
i gots lotsa sticker letters
and yes
i did just do a lo with vellum
but it was right there
still on the counter
ya know
because i can't clean up the space
until i get the bullitin board done

the cycle
in which i live
is a wierd weird place
colorful
lots of vellum lying around
but wierd

off to the post office:)
happy FriDay
kellicrowe

dw TYpE

Lookie here:)

What a lovely way to have started off my yest.
A box of these arrived.

I
even
forgot
to just
look
at
my
own
stuff
the
first
time
I
looked
thru it
.
Ya know

The
initial
fly thru it
and just
look for
ME.

Kinda the way
I look for
MYSELF
in any group
picture

first.

(i get my
own
shallowness
'kay?)

thing is
i forgot to
do that
when looking
thru the book.
and for
me
to forget
about
me
is huge.

anyway
it has
computerie stuff
doodelie stuff
and stuffs in between

OH
and you have itunes right?
like i just think everyone has
itunes and tivo now.
a great kids song is on
A World of Happiness
it is called the Jiggles
by Bradley Whitford (West Wing)
and Jane Kaczmerick (Malcom in the Middle)
they are married
and they sing this funny song together
the married part has nothing to do with it
that was info just for free

funny song
i listen to it even when the kids aren't around
ya got any good songs like that?

happy Thurs
kellI croWe