my own version of a smashbook

i've seen lots of fun looking displays of smashbooks at various stores - even walmart and target.  they look like they'd be pretty simple to put together, like for a vacation or some specific thing you'd want to journal about.... just maybe not for this project because, by the time i cram smash a whole pile of junk into one - i know it would take several books and that they wouldn't even come close to closing nicely.  so, i decided to try something a little different:

basically, i cut some pieces of chipboard to the size i wanted and covered it front and back with paper, little notes, stickers, ticket stubs - all the stuff i'd have been putting in the smashbook.  i used one for a front cover, a few in the middle here and there (just for stability), and then one for the back cover.  the rest of the pages are letters and cards that the boy and i have exchanged during our time together.  a few punched holes here and there - and, it started to look like an album.

here's the finished product, held together with 3 rings that i've seen at lots of scrapbook shops.  i think all three of them cost around a buck, so this ended up being way cheaper than a smashbook too.  not saying i wouldn't ever make a real smashbook, because they look so fun - i just need to find the right event for one.

this project took me an evening plus a few hours, so i'd consider it a pretty quick and easy one!  i got to start on it at a scrapbook store with a friend (woohoo!), and finished it up over the next few days at home.  oh yeah, and sorry about the blurry cover in the pictures.  i know you wouldn't want to read anything personal.  ;)

building a monster truck

thing 1 is pretty much in love with trains, monster trucks, and backhoes.  when i saw the free clinic advertised for building a wooden monster truck at lowe's, i figured it was worth a shot. 

turns out, the whole family had a fun morning! 

check here to see what's going on in your area.  #ilovelowesbuttheydontevenknowme

oh yeah, the best part is that even though it's not cool to wear the safety glasses/apron to actually do the project, it is cool to wear them 24/7 for the next week... :)

thing 2's first year - a finished project!

i started on this way back here, but now thing 2's 1st year of pictures are all now in an album - woohoo! 

 

 

during a few days of brother being at school, we decided to ignore the laundry and house to scrapbook.  i've found quite the lil scrapbooking buddy, and even though it took a lot longer to finish one of my pages while helping her - it was soooo fun!  i know soon enough she'll be making masterpieces all on her own and won't need my help, so i'm soaking this up while i can.  :) 

we actually had a snow day!

or rather, a day with snow... as school was still in session.  but, we enjoyed it nonetheless! 

mama and lil sis spent the morning grocery shopping and watching the crazy drivers while brother was at school - specifically one crazy driver who appeared to have 4 wheel drive but continued to get stuck in the ditch sideways (yes, blocking the road...) after being pulled out twice.  the third time she got stuck, the man trying to help her kindly let the rest of us go on by.  thing 1 insisted we drive in 4 wheel drive because "it is fun," and we actually did have to a little bit.  i guess when it only snows a couple times a year, they just don't bother to plow - and, the snow was too deep to just drive through in some spots.  it was a bigger mess than we were used to seeing back home, that's for sure!

 

after school was out, there was a lil bitty nap for both (#meanmomaward) and a loooong afternoon of playing outside (#okshesnotsoooobad).  i had to keep checking on the snow during the hour they slept, because it was too warm for the snow to last long! 

 

thing 1 spent his time rolling snowballs as big as he possibly could, and eventually he made a snowman.  thing 2 ran and ran and ran in circles, scooped and threw snow, and made lots of snow angels.

 

 

we (aka thing 1 and whoever he could convince) had to keep checking on our snow people... we knew they'd melt, but we wanted to just see how they were doing each time we went by the windows.  a couple days later, dad helped him add a face and arms to the snowman in the backyard before he melted too:

 

weekend in illinois

sweet smiles from baby c

 

someone adores her little cousin, and pulled up a chair just so she could sit and play/watch/mother as needed.  soooo cute!

 

learning how to play the ds...

 

typical mealtime hilariousness  :)

 

i'm gonna quit telling you all how much each visit makes us miss everyone, since it's not really changing anything...  #itsahardtripbackwest