Working on Making Old Friends

Happy 7th Birthday, Zach!

Here is my layout with "Hypno News." The font is "My Old Remington" downloaded from the internet.

Feel free to save these files to your own machine by right clicking on the image and choosing "save as..." They are 12x12 documents at 300 dpi.

If you have a chance to use the kit on your own creations, please e-mail me at krischristiansen@comcast.net so I can feature your layout!

Digital Freebie--HYPNO NEWS

I have been happily creating and I want to share...it is the scrapbooking way! Here's the preview and the images will follow shortly!

Nothin' is Somethin', Punkin

It was was of those Minnesota Fall weekends. I was tickled that we had "nothin'" going on. (Was I deluded?) Saturday was crisp and sunny and generally wonderful. We raked, Mark worked on winterizing the boat, etc. Then it was time for the annual trip to Sweet Corn and More for pumpkins. There are some adorable pictures of the kids and the 400 pound pumpkin, but I was most excited that there's a picture of US! SO, there will be scrapbook pages of the cute kids having fall fun, but today, I'm just pleased with this lone shot of this happy couple.

Yippee Ya-HOOOO

Every single person in my household is healthy today.
All three children will be at school (at the same time!) for 2 1/2 glorious hours this afternoon.


Enough said.

If You're Keeping Track...

Mark is holding on by severely limiting his eating...portions, fat, and spice.
Katie is at school.
Owen is on day 2 at home...add throwing up to his repertoire.
Abby is also on day 2, but she's fairly spunky.
Me. Who cares? I'm just the mom.

Halloween Costumes

Do you know me? I hate Halloween...it hasn't been my thing since about fifth grade. Dressing up made me super self-conscious. Of course, my children adore it...well, sorta.

Katie chose a basic beautiful pink princess-y ballgown.

Abby Hollywood is actually Fancy Nancy.

They like and wear their costumes.

Owen wanted to be Mario. Well, how 'bout that. Sounds like work for mom. So I shopped and snipped and glued and stitched and primed and painted. When it came time to dress, he griped and fussed and tugged and smeared. It is so rewarding to be a parent.

This is the kids dressed for party #1. We couldn't wake Katie up to go to party #2 and Owen refused to wear his overalls and nose. Can't wait until the school celebration to see what drama ensues.

Happy Birthday Laura, Klaus & Kevin

Two thirty-nines and a forty...

My long-time girlfriend, a high school classmate I haven't seen in 20 years and an old boyfriend all share today as a birthday. Man, are we getting old =)

Wacky Wednesday

Katie has "FUN FRIDAYS" in Gym class, so we started talking about names for the other days of the week...Moronic Mondays, Terminal Tuesdays...well, Dr. Seuss already had Wednesday covered. Wacky Wednesday it is!


I sit at the computer to check in everywhere on the internet that I like to start my online day and I wonder, do I need "wacky?" Not today, please. K is finally back at school after missing three full days with a fever. Just in time for one day back and then a long weekend! Poor Mark is feeling miserable and had to go into work anyways. There are two Halloween parties, a rescheduled piano lesson, two swimming lessons and Mark's birthday in the next few days.


We are too busy.

Alone Time, Where Art Thou?

Introvert/Extrovert....

Have you ever deone the Myers/Briggs Inventory? I took it during college when I was an R.A. and we were doing some team-building. Mostly, it told me what I already knew, but on the I-E spectrum, I was surprised. I landed pretty much on the line between introvert and extrovert. I thought that, given my inclinations towards public speaking and drama that I was a clear extrovert. Hum??


Years went by and I got married. That first year was hard for me. I didn't control everything in my world (Myers Briggs should add a Control-Roll Over spectrum.) And I didn't want company all the time and I really didn't even want to be with my husband all the time. I just wanted to be alone sometimes. Well, having three children in five years was not the answer to that problem, I tell you! Now, I'm up to my ears in parenthood and I sooooo understand why Myers-Briggs thought I could be an introvert. It turns out that introvert/extrovert is more about where you get your energy than how talkative you are. I clearly do NOT get my energy from other people. I like them just fine, I just need to have a quiet brain to refuel when I'm tired or to relax when I'm stressed.


It's right about now that I am longing for a little retreat. Far, far away. In the woods or by the lake. Alone.


Such a sweet, sweet word.

Live to Create

Someone asked me today how I knew "so much about computers" (her words, not mine!) All I could tell her was that I just love technology and I learn so I can do...

There's something new that I want to be able to do...
I've been working to create some of my own digital scrapbooking supplies and a few things are cool enough that I'd like to share them. I need to learn how to link people up with them using the blog. (Other people make it look so easy...how do I zip this up, store it somewhere and give you a link????)

This is a preview of some sequined elements that I think are very cool and could be useful to someone! The real thing is a .png with 12" borders and a few other embellishments. I've already used them on a layout and I want to develop some more winter- and Christmas-themed embellishments. They remind me of those sequined Christmas bulbs with straight pins...

Sneaky Halloween

Holidays always sneak up on me. It's like Halloween doesn't always come on the 31st of October and I'm suddenly surprised that I have to get costumes and candy. I have a helpful reminder this year, though, because Owen was invited to co-host a party with his friend and we need to be ready 2 weeks early! O will go as Mario of Nintendo fame, Katie is going to be...uh, a beautiful lady in a long pink gown/unspecified princess, Abby will be Fancy Nancy. The girls are pretty easy, but we will be crafting much of Owen's costume. Wish me luck! You can bet you'll see pictures here when we have achieved our "look."

Better?

Gone is the black and red...I think this is better. Of course, if you are just looking at this now, you have no idea what I am talking about, but you didn't miss much!

Gone Goth

I didn't mean for this to look so dark!
I'll work on it!

Anyone who ever needs cheering up really should attend a dance class of three year-olds. It leaves me in stitches each time I watch!


Today I saw how little it takes to mold the thinking of a few little people. Three weeks ago when we started dance, it was pure chaos. No one knew where to stand. Today, each child dutifully went to her tape mark on the floor. The first week, my Abby didn't understand how to make her little body recline on her elbows so that she could free her feet to pedal in the air. Today...a pro.


These kids are so trusting and malleable at this age. They soak up every tiny bit of information. I'm used to watching that in a more academic sense, but it was neat to observe that in a physical way. Their brains and their bodies are so eager.

A few years ago, LeAnn Womack and Sons of the Desert had a huge crossover hit with "I Hope You'll Dance." It echoes in my ears today...

"When you have the choice
to sit it out or dance,
I hope you'll dance..."

Literally and figuratively, I hope my kids always choose to dance.

Thank you, Scott!

I was just visiting a friend's family blog for the first time and he had these cool slideshows. I simply had to figure out how to make that happen here. Turns out, it is very simple...Picasa is super easy and the uploads are quick. Wow! And I'm not easy to impress.


Unfortunately, it also prompted me to while away an hour "redecorating" my blog.

The final product!

Here's my beautiful, generous, made-over girl =)

Locks of Love

One day last spring, Katie came home and told me she wanted to, '"I don't know, it sounds like 'dominate'," her hair! I cracked up. So we let it grow and grow. Thankfully it was fairly long when she got the idea because her hair doesn't grow that fast. Every fight over hair-brushing that we have had while she got ready for school was just another little bit of the gift!

Today is the big day! We researched the requirements...at least ten inches in a ponytail...and off we go! I cut the ponytail at home and now we will go to the salon for her finishing cut. She'll have a neat little stacked bob when the day is done. This girl is generous to the core!

The End of An Era

Yesterday afternoon, my 12 year-old black lab, Chance, crawled under the deck, layed down and breathed his last. He was born on June 1, 1996 at my folks' house in Int'l Falls. At first, I spoke for Maki...the little female runt. She came to live with me when I got settled in my house in July.(I was still living in Chicago when they were born.) She was sweet and cute, but at thirteen weeks she had an episode that brought us into the vet immediately and she didn't get to go home with me. She had had a congenital defect and her little body had poisoned her blood. Jeesh. It had been a short time since I had put down my sick kitten, Garibaldi. I was so bummed out that I really struggled over getting another dog ...or... not putting myself through that again! After a bit of time spent with the remaining two puppies of the litter, I decided to try again. The family had been calling the pup "Remington," but I called him "Chance." My second chance. My last chance!



For twelve years, he was a faithful, guileless, lovey, rock-headed, half-blind friend. Back when I was dating, he helped me pick up guys. I don't think Mark would have had me if I hadn't been a "dog person." Then we ruined his life by getting Cobe, who immediately stepped up as the alpha male and bossed Chance around. Mind you, this started when Cobe weighed 10 pounds and Chance weighed 85. But they were brothers...playing and fighting, just like you would expect. Eventually, Cobe got them banished when he went bonkers on Katie. To the basement! They split their time between the back yard band their room for quite a few years. It wasn't a great quality of life, but Chance always stayed his dumb, happy self. Last winter, Chance started struggling with the stairs. A big old dog was bound to have trouble with his hips... Once it became a concern whether or not I could get him upstais in time to go to the bathroom, he came upstairs again and rejoined the family, so to speak. Owen had been very frightened of the dogs and he started to warm up to Chance. It was so cute. Katie had always been awesome with him and Abby was a real natural handler, too. All through the winter, spring and summer, Chance had his run of the house, lots of pets and cuddles and even a love affair with our bunny, Padme. It was a sweet time with lots of great photo ops! Those months reminded us of all the reasons you have a dog!


In July, he got sick...diarrhea and eventually not eating. I thought that was it for him. We talked at length with the kids about what might happen and just put off what we thought the inevitable decision would be until after Katie's birthday. Lo and behold, he perked up and got back to "full strength." Yeah, he had slowed down a lot and had dropped enough weight for it to be noticeable, but he was o.k. Life went on. Last week, he and Cobe went to the vet for their rabies and booster shots because I needed to get new city licenses for them. Doc was concered about Chance's weight loss, but there were no other signs of problems (to her obvious surprise.) On Wednesday night, Katie called to me and complained that Chance was making weird noises. She thought he had thrown up, but there was no mess. The next morning, he kind of did it again while we were eating breakfast (gross) so I let him outside in case he was going to be sick. It was a gorgeous fall day, so I left him out to enjoy it. At 5:00 or so, I put down his dish full of dinner and expected him to come prancing like always. He didn't. I called to him and he didn't answer. I checked the girls'room to make sure he wasn't shut in there, but there was no sign of him. I went out to the back yard and looked more thoroughly and that's when I spotten him. He just found a depression in the black dirt that kept him cool on hot days and called it quits.


Even in dying, my pooch was a sweet man. I had dreaded having to decide to have him euthanized and fully expected that the day would come. He made it as easy for us as he possibly could. He will be bittersweetly missed.

Chance (Remington) Bradseth Christiansen

June 1, 1996-October 2, 2008