Reactive Attachment Disorder

Happy Memorial Day everyone! Mine hasn’t been so very happy. I brought Alexis to her therapy appointment and it’s official… the therapist says that she has severe Reactive Attachment Disorder. This isn’t something that can be treated with medication and it won’t ever go away. I’ve requested a bunch of RAD parenting books from the library to see if learning anything new will help. I’m always looking for new solutions and information. The diagnosis really explains a lot of her behavior.

I shouldn’t spend much time blogging today because everyone is off. I think we may head to the park, but before I go I have a few layouts to share!

1: I Am A Mommarazzi

I used the last scraps of my Classic Girl kit from Scraptastic Club to create this page. I added tons of stuff from my stash as well. The flowers are from my stash. One is cut on my Cricut. The black star pin is from a past Scraptastic Club kit. I added the Dymo Labels and the Jillibean Sprouts. I printed the vintage camera on some Red River textured paper and cut it out. It's from a digital brush set called "Vintage Cameras". I also used random letters from my stash and some Twinery twine that my friend Nancy got me. I was going for a simple look here but I think it ended up rather busy in the end. Oh well!

2: I Love Water

I created this page about my son's love of water with the June Scraptastic Club kit called "Surf's Up". I also used the add-on pack. The colors in the Fancy Pants papers really worked well with my son's bathing suit. I used Tim Holtz Distress stain on parts of the kraft cardstock.

Everything is from the kit and add on except for the kraft background and the few iRock stones I added. I used sketch 119 by Liz Chidester as the inspiration for this page.

3: Make A Splash

Journaling: This was your first time on a slip 'n slide. You never did slide on your belly. You walked on it and suffered in the heat! 6/2009

This page is based on a sketch I created. It'll be available on the Ideas For Scrapbookers blog later in June. I used my “Surf’s Up” Scraptastic Club kit and add on again. I added iRock gems from my stash. I used the blue ink in the kit to ink some of the edges of my papers.

Kit Peek

Hi everyone! I just wanted to drop in for a bit to share the previews of the awesome June kits from Scraptastic Club.

1: Birthday Wishes

Birthday Wishes features awesome papers from Basic Grey and embellishments from Karen Foster and Bo Bunny. It’s absolutely adorable! Don’t miss taking a peek at the add on too.

2: Surf’s Up

Surf’s Up features really cool papers from Fancy Pants. I love the chipboard banners included in this kit. The die cuts are perfect too! There’s also an add on to this kit that includes some amazing transparencies. Don’t miss checking it out!

I got the Surf’s Up kit in today and let me tell you… it’s absolutely darling! A perfect beach/Summer kit. I can’t wait to share the projects I make with you all.

Did you know Scraptastic Club has a blog where all of the design team members post their layouts? We also have challenges starting in the month of June! Head over there and become a follower so you can keep track of the new stuff we’re doing!

I do have one layout to share today before I go! I made it with last month’s Scraptastic Club kit called “Classic Girl” and the “Classic Girl” add on.

Journaling: 4/2010 We went to the New Orleans Aquarium for Jordan's 6th birthday. On the way there we saw a street car, a paddle boat on the river, and a lovely fountain. The kids had fun being tourists. We loved seeing the sights in downtown New Orleans, La.

I also a PageMaps sketch by Becky Fleck for inspiration. The swirls and flowers were cut on my Cricut using the Cindy Loo cartridge.

Peace & Quiet

Yesterday I spent the afternoon with Alexis in the emergency room. She was having some tummy troubles and I couldn’t get her in to see her pediatrician so we went to the ER instead. We spent three hours there while they resolved her tummy issues. She’s feeling a lot better now. I think the balloon helped!

My mother in law and father in law came to get the kids for a few hours today. I was all alone here and it was amazingly quiet. Almost too quiet! As much as I complain about the chaos… I miss them when they’re gone.

They took the kids to lunch at Olive Garden and then they went shoe shopping. The kids all got Sketchers and the girls’ shoes light up. Brandon got Crocs that have “Cars” characters on them. He is beyond thrilled with them.

They also brought the kids souvenirs from their Disney trip. The girls got gorgeous Rapunzel costumes. They were so pretty that I wished I could have one! I didn’t get any good photos of them in the costumes but you can bet that I will soon. Brandon got a huge Mack truck filled with “Cars” characters. Hmmm… I’m beginning to see a pattern here.

I got to scrapbook while the kids were out. It was nice to have a few minutes where no one needed their behind wiped! I can’t share the two layouts I finished today yet, but I have a few from the last week or so to show you.

1: Remember When…

I created this page for my guest design team spot at the Flamingo Scraps blog. Click HERE to go check out the post. I used Cosmo Cricket’s “Salt Air” collection to make this layout.

2: Some Kind Of Wonderful

I also made this page as part of my guest design team spot at Flamingo Scraps. We were all given the same four  products to work with. The design team and guest design team all came up with different projects. It’s a super fun feature. Click HERE to see that post so you can check out all of the projects!

*It’s Wednesday so it’s time for a journaling/blogging question. Feel free to answer the question in my comments section or on your own blog. Just be sure to link me back to your blog when you post so I can leave you a comment.

If you could have a superpower what would it be? Why?

I definitely wouldn’t want to fly because I am really afraid of heights. I wouldn’t want to be invisible because I wouldn’t want my toes to be stepped on. I wish that I could be super fast so I could finish everything I need to get done in a day. (Like that boy on “The Incredibles”.) I wonder how many scrapbook pages I could finish then!? If I can’t have that, I need to figure out a way to clone myself. If anyone has made progress on that… let me know. Another Heather would be mighty handy around here!

Resisting An Education

Summer vacation has been pretty interesting so far. On Friday, the two little kids decided that they were going to teach our dog how to read. Lady was not interested! She rolled over and covered her eyes with her paw. I just happened to snap the photo at the right time. It was too funny!

Ronnie brought Jordan to ride her horse on Saturday. I spent the day cleaning the house and playing with the kids. Alexis is still having a rough time.  A lot of my energy is spent redirecting her and making sure she’s not doing something she isn’t supposed to be doing.

We went swimming at a friend’s house on Sunday. He has an amazing salt water pool and we always have a blast over there. I love it for taking photos too! The scrapbooker in me smiles when I get photos like these.

My kids “borrowed” Chuck’s rafts too. They had so many floaties on that they couldn’t sink if they would’ve wanted to. Yes, I am very paranoid but I’m also proud to say that they all survived. It’s a trade off! Plus, floaties cover more skin which equals less skin that can sunburn. Did I mention I put SPF 70+ on them? If I could wrap my babies in bubble wrap I would.

I also have a few layouts to share today. Lately I’ve been doing more digital scrapbooking because things have been hectic and I haven’t had much time to pull out my paper goodies.

1: Family

I'm rarely in photos with my kids so I had to scrap this one right away. Journaling: We may not have it all together, but together we have it all. Bay St. Louis, MS. Me & My Kids (2011)

Supplies:
Togetherness Paper Pack
Togetherness Candy Candy
very krafty-mixed bag
Crystal's {Doodley-Doo} Journaling Brushes
Crystal's {Tons of Scallops} Template Kit
Needs + Wants: Eyelets Galore 02
Fonts are Typewriter and Tracey.

2: Summer Days

This is a redo on a lesson from Jessica Sprague's Up & Running class. I used the template she created, but I didn't follow her instructions on what paper and embellies to use. I did my own thing!

Crystal's {Doodley-Doo} 12x12 Borders
Summer Days Paper Pack
Summer Days Elements #1
Summer Days Elements #2
Summer Days Alphabet
Fonts: Lobster & Typewriter
Template from Jessica Sprague's "Up & Running" class.

3: Week 20 (Project 365 from 2011)

Another week in my Project 365 series. I loved this template with all of the squares. It made it super easy to scrap the things that happened this week!

Supplies: Creativity By Crystal's Rounded Corner Template, Audrey Neal's The Write Stuff Kit, Carina Gardner's Design 365 "A Year Of Rub Ons", and the font is called "Typewriter".

Last but not least, I want to remind you that the 7 Days In May Challenge starts today! Click on the image above to go to the forum at JessicaSprague.com so you can participate in all of the fun activities. Liv has an amazing free template available for download today!

tHE gRADUATE

Ronnie took the day off of work yesterday to go to Alexis’ 3rd grade graduation in the afternoon. He also was lucky enough to go with me to Brandon and Jordan’s therapy appointment. It was Brandon’s first speech session and he was really nervous. After the testing was complete, I was surprised to find out that he is a year behind where he should be with his speech. I knew that he was having issues, but not that it was that severe. He will be going to therapy sessions once a week at the same time Jordan does.

I was not thrilled to find out that our insurance doesn’t cover much of the speech therapy sessions at all. They want us to meet a $1000.00 co-pay up front, and then after that each appointment would be $75.00. I asked if there were any other options and they told me that if I pay out of pocket it would only be $50.00 a week. That’s still $200.00 a month, but it’s WAY better than the insurance option. It’s ridiculous because we pay a fortune to have insurance coverage. I had a tantrum about it in the car on the way out and Ronnie looked at me like I’d lost my mind. (Maybe I have!?)

After the appointment we brought Jordan to school. We took Brandon out to lunch to kill time until we needed to go back to the school for Alexis’ graduation. I’m not going to lie, when I heard they painted the gym where all of the events are held I was super excited. It was a cruddy blue color that my camera could never adjust to. Even when I edited and played with white balance and exposure the photos always looked off. Well… the new paint job isn’t any better. LOL

Now it’s all yellow! Plus, they have a ton of light coming in one side, and none coming in the other. Sigh. This was one of the best photos I got. Thankfully, I fared a little bit better when it came to video. In this one she steps forward and shows off her super cool certificate.

At the end of the ceremony they sang “The Climb” by Miley Cyrus. I’ll admit it, I cried. She just looked so grown up and it makes me wonder what happened to my little chubby cheeked girl.

Can you believe she’ll be in middle school next year? I certainly can’t! We found out that she passed 3rd grade. We were worried about it for a bit but her teacher said everyone in the class passed! Her teacher also made a super sweet DVD for the parents that included all of the photos from the entire year. Another tearjerker! Argh. I’m going to put books on her head so she’ll quit growing. That’s enough of this mess!

Today was the kids’ first day of Summer vacation. The girls had vision therapy and we ran a few errands. So far so good as far as everyone getting alog. All three kids even took a nap! I laid down on the couch and enjoyed the quiet while I could. Naps at two o’clock sounds like a good Summer vacation idea to me!

Walking On Sunshine Template/sketch

Hi everyone! I'm here to post my newest sketch/template. I created this sketch based on a layout that I completed on International Scrapbook Day. If the sketch looks a bit busy, keep scrolling down. When you see the layout it will make more sense!

As you can see, I tried to mimic the embellishments that I used on my paper scrapbook page. I created this layout with my Scraptastic Club May kit called "In The Hood". It included papers and embellishments from Crate Paper's Neighborhood line.

I also had enough time to create a digital example using the layered template that I made in Photoshop Elements. I used Cosmo Cricket's Lil' Man papers and embellishments from JessicaSprague.com.

Here is the download link if you would like to save the layered digital template that I created. If you make a layout with the sketch or template be sure to email it to Pammy so we can feature it here on the Ideas For Scrapbookers blog!

http://www.4shared.com/file/C7gBGNrV/HL_MayTemp1_2011_.html

A Lazy Day

We went out to Hammond for Lexie’s therapy on Monday. The therapist keeps reiterating that Alexis needs to practice her anger management meditation strategies. The issue with that is that when Alexis is angry, she refuses to do the techniques. She huffs, puffs, and makes ridiculous spitting noises; instead of taking deep breaths like she should. It doesn’t matter how many times I make her redo it! At times, I’ll admit I get frustrated and just send her to her room. If she won’t cooperate I can’t force her to do it.

I wasn’t able to bring Alexis to school after the appointment because she missed lunch and we had a few a few errands to run. We picked up her new medicine with the higher dosage and then we ran to the library to drop off some things that were due. She enjoyed spending the day at home. Thank goodness, she also had a really good day behavior wise!

Yesterday, I spent the entire day at school with Jordan. She had her end of the year celebration at Lyon. She had an absolute blast! I took a ton of photos and a video to share.

Jordan is absolutely fearless. The school rented two huge water slides and I was concerned that she wouldn’t be able to climb up. She just climbed on and did it. I am really careful not to let her know how much I worry that she won’t be able to do things. I want her to try EVERYTHING. She won’t figure out what she’s capable of doing if I hold her back.



The teacher and I kept track of 20+ students and it was mass chaos! We were incredibly relieved to take our lunch break so we could rest for a few minutes. When we sat down I slipped my shoes off because my feet were killing me! I sat next to my shoes on Jordan’s towel and when I looked over I saw this…



I’m claiming that it’s because I have so much going on in my mind all the time! Albert Einstein couldn’t tie his own shoes and apparently I can’t match mine. (Not that I’m claiming to be THAT smart. LOL)

I took this next series of photos while holding my breath. You’ll see why as you scroll down.



At first, she’s contemplating the steep ladder. She was smiling and excited. I had my fingers and toes crossed hoping she would make it up to the top. She didn’t want help. “No, Mommy.” “I want to do it myself just like the other kids.”



Then she did it! Not once, but four or five times. Every single time she smiled from ear to ear. We were both beaming with pride. She’s come such a long way and I’m amazed by her every single day!

The school also called the fire department and had them bring a fire truck to water day. Jordan went over and introduced herself to the firemen before they started spraying everyone. She’s such a social little sweetheart!



I think she liked it. Even though the water was freezing cold and she was shivering at the end, she was still grinning like crazy!



Here’s the video I took. If you want to see some serious chaos click play!

I'm having a lazy day today to recuperate from all of the "fun" yesterday. I'm catching up on email, blogs, and housework. Before I forget, I also have a layout to share! It’s called “Just Add Water”.



I created it as part of my guest design team spot over at Flamingo Scraps for the month of May. I am featuring different sketch blogs for inspiration on every post. This time around I used a sketch from The Scrappiest.

http://flamingoscraps.blogspot.com/2011/05/guest-dt-heather-landry-just-add-water.html

Journaling: Maw Maw Chicken knows how to keep the grandkids entertained. You just add water. It keeps them busy! 6/2009

Supplies: I used the Cosmo Cricket Salt Air paper, doilies, chipboard, and stickers that I purchased at Flamingo Scraps to make this page. I used the Seafoam Green Maya Mist to lightly mist the background. I also used Prima E-Line Gems and Flowers.

As I worked on my page, I came up with a quick tip for altering Thickers on layouts with a water theme. I placed these yellow Thickers on my page for my title, but I thought they were too plain. To dress them up a bit, I added diamond glaze on top of the letters. Even when the letters are dry, they still have a wet look that works really well with the photos!

*Speaking of inspiration, it’s Wednesday again! That means it’s time for another journaling/blogging question. Feel free to answer the question in my comments section or link me back to your blog post!

Do you exercise? What is your favorite way to work out?

I get a good bit of exercise playing outside with the kids. I am always puttering around because I can’t sit still for too long. I need to get back into a scheduled exercise program though. I was doing really well keeping up with a daily workout on the Wii. Unfortunately, when I got sick and was put on bed rest I couldn’t continue. I’ve been trying to come up with something I can do all Summer with the kids because the Wii gets a bit boring after a while. Does anyone have any good ideas?

Spring Love

Happy Monday everyone! I’m popping in to share a few layouts before we head out to Alexis’ therapist appointment at 11:00 AM.

1: Happy Spring

I've re-photographed this layout a bunch of times but I just can't get the journaling to show up as well as it does in real life. This page is based on a sketch by Sara Zenger that will be available on a future Ideas For Scrapbooker's blog post. I was lucky enough to get to work with it early!

I used my Scraptastic Club May kit called "In The Hood" featuring Crate Paper's "Neighborhood" collection.

I added a yellow flower and some chipboard letters from my stash. I altered the chipboard letters to make them look like suede so I could participate in a challenge on the Bella Creations blog.

2: Playtime

Brandon got a bigger basketball goal for his birthday and now he really has to stretch to get the ball in if he wants to dunk it. The journaling is about how much he loves being outside.

Supplies:
Lil' Man Candy Candy
Lil' Man Paper Pack
Points of View Vol. 2 - Bold & Pencil-Thin Arrows
The Boyfriend Candy Candy
Everyday Striped Journaling Circles
border punches -set two
Fabric Covered Buttons Kit

3: Wild Time Card

When I saw Carina's new Lilac Baby Safari papers I knew they would make an adorable hybrid card!

The card reads: You'll have a wild time...
Inside: but it will be SO worth it! Congrats on your new baby!

Supplies:

Lilac Baby Safari Paper Pack
Baby Mine Full Kit
Splendid Fiins' Very Krafty "Softly Now" Paper Pack (Coming Soon!)
Font: Waterfalls
Card Couture vol. 4 - Rounded Rectangles
Hybrid Supplies: iRock Tool, iRock Pearls, Prima Flowers, Unknown Brad.

Before I go I wanted to remind you all about an upcoming event at JessicaSprague.com! This will be the third year that Liv and Linda have hosted this event and it is awesome! They do a challenge everyday for 7 days and they create some great freebies to share as well. I will definitely be there! Will you?

I’ll be back on Wednesday to check in! I hope everyone is getting ready for Summer vacation. My girls get out of school this Friday!

My Poor Kidnapped Husband

We have been running around like crazy over here! Jordan had therapy on Thursday as usual. While we were there I filled out all of the paperwork to get Brandon set up for speech therapy. He will start therapy next Thursday with the same therapist that saw Jordan for dysphasia when she was younger. He’s really excited to get started.

Brandon and I went to Jordan’s school on Friday morning for her author’s tea. She wrote and illustrated her own book. She had to read it in front of all of the parents and class. She did an amazing job! She even asked if everyone could see the photos when she turned the book around. It was too cute. She and Brandon ate cookies and crackers with juice boxes. I wanted to know where the actual tea was. Or even better, coffee?

After the tea, I took Brandon to the bigger library in our community. We usually go to a tiny one in Abita Springs because we love the personnel there. (Shout out to Lana!) We stopped in at the big one because we had to kill time between appointments in the area. I only planned to grab one or two books but that never happens. I ended up with a pile and so did Brandon. He also enjoyed playing with all of the wooden puzzles they had.

We headed over to Head Start for our appointment around one. The Child Search evaluator we spoke to a few weeks ago recommended that we get Brandon in to preschool to help him with his speech. I don’t know what I’m going to do at home alone next year but I’m sure I’ll figure something out! We are making the rounds filling out applications because he’s not guaranteed admission to any preschool. According to the state, we make too much money for free preschool. I don’t want him in private preschool because he won’t get the speech therapy he needs there so sending him would be pointless! We’re keeping our fingers crossed that he gets in at Lyon where Jordan goes.

Yesterday was an awesome day! It started out with grocery shopping. That part wasn’t so awesome because the kids didn’t behave, but it had to be done! After we got home and put the groceries away Ronnie took a nap. I had been dreaming about going to the beach for days so I woke him up after an hour and demanded that he take us to the lakefront. I couldn’t help it. The weather was so perfect and I needed to escape! He one upped me and drove us out to the beach in Bay St. Louis, Mississippi.

He was a little cranky at first, but the sand and sun got to him and pretty soon he was smiling with the rest of us. Alexis took this photo for me. We don’t have many at all of Ronnie and I together!



This trip was second time the kids weren’t able to swim due to massive amounts of jellyfish. I don’t know what the deal is but it was a total bummer! (Since I’ve been stung by a jellyfish before and know how much it hurts there’s no way they were even dipping a toe in.)



Brandon is always too busy to have his photo taken. I called his name and said, “Smile!” This is what I got. He looks very cool  in his Lightning McQueen sunglasses.



This child was much more cooperative when I asked for a smile. I think the reflection in her sunglasses is so cool. You can see my feet as well as Alexis and Brandon in there! Jordan loves her new bathing suit and so do I. It’s reversible!



My prime poser! She is always ready and willing with a sassy pose and a smirk. I think she looks really awesome in her new bathing suit too. Why do these kids keep growing so fast? Also, why don’t they make purple polka dot sunglasses in my size?



I think it’s a record… There are TWO photos of me in one post. LOL I handed Ronnie the camera and requested that he get a photo of me and the heathens. Messy hair and all because that’s how I roll. (Stupid wind!)



I spent the day today cleaning and cooking to make up for all of the fun yesterday. I must’ve washed, dried, and folded ten loads of clothes at least! Ronnie’s sister came over to visit with the kids and we put a puzzle together and played dress up. Check out the purple eye shadow. They are gorgeous! 

I took a photo that will live on forever in the blackmail hall of fame. Brandon is in a cheerleader uniform and the facial expression Alexis is making… I giggle like mad every time I see it!



Jordan is looking at her like “What on Earth are you doing?!” Just another couple of days in the wild life of the Landry’s. I’ll be back early tomorrow morning with some new scrapbook projects to share. Until then…

I Wanna Talk About Me!

I can’t believe it’s only Wednesday! This week is taking too long to get over and done with. I have a few things to share and catch you all up on so here goes.

After Lexie’s therapy appointment on Monday we ran to Hobby Lobby and grabbed a few things. I dropped her off at school and picked up the paperwork from her teacher that we need for her psychological testing. Reading through a few of the things the teacher said was enough to make me really sad. I didn’t know as much about her behavior as I thought I did and some of the things she said were just heartbreaking.

We spent yesterday at home. I finished a mini album for another challenge at Scrapbook.com after I cleaned up around the house and played with Brandon.

1: I Wanna Talk About Me Mini Album

This is the cover to my mini album! I used Crate Paper's "Neighborhood" collection throughout the album. I got almost all of the goodies I used in my Scraptastic Club May kit called “In The Hood”.

I chose to scrap and journal about My Life over the past 31 years. From age 3 up until today... I journaled little highlights like where I lived and what was happening.

Here is the back of the album! I didn’t just want to say “The End” when it wasn’t really.

2: Splash

I did this page for a guest design team spot over at the Flamingo Scraps blog. I used Cosmo Cricket's Salt Air paper, doilies, chipboard, and stickers. I used Salmon Maya Mist to change the color of the Prima flower. It used to be white. The white was too bright and clashed with my page so I sprayed it. I really love how the glitter still shows through! The background was also misted with Maya Mist in Seafoam Green. It adds a watery look that I thought went perfectly with the layout's subject matter. I used old Prima packaging on this page too! It works really well as a mat for my large photo. I made the clear packaging stand out by inking the edges with more mist. I sprayed the mist into a paper towel and then rubbed carefully around the edge. I also embellished the layout using a Prima e-line flower and some Prima gems.

This layout is based on a sketch by Sketch Support. As part of my guest design spot, I'm gathering links to tons of sketch blogs and posting them all in my posts  at Flamingo Scraps for inspiration! Be sure to head over to Flamingo Scraps to check out my future posts.

Since it’s Wednesday and I can’t figure out where the entire day went, today’s journaling/blogging question is about time management. Feel free to answer in the comment field or on your own blog! Be sure to link me to your post.

How do you manage your time? Is there a tip or trick that you have that lets you accomplish more than you used to? If so, please share!

I am a chronic list maker. I have a planner full of stuff to do on a day to day basis. I keep all of my family’s appointments in there as well as my design commitment due dates. It also includes birthday and anniversaries. Basically everything! I’m sure that if I ever lost it I would cry. My life is in there. I try to break big projects down into smaller, more manageable tasks because I get a huge feeling of accomplishment when I cross something off of my list and it encourages me to keep going!

Having said all of that, I can still say that there are never enough hours in the day. If I could clone myself I totally would. Maybe with two of me I would be able to get all of the things I want to do finished!? For now I’ll just content myself with telling my poor husband, “I’m sorry the house isn’t clean.” “I had design team stuff due!” A girl’s gotta have priorities you know.

Now it’s time to go clean the bathtubs because I can only take excuses so far!