Laura Vegas

i don’t think i’ll have time to post for a day or so … so i thought i’d at least give you something to look at while you wait.

just a fun layout i did for a wedding call. lucky for you, it didn’t get picked. lol! i should say lucky for me … because at least i have something to share with you until i can actually find time to scrap!

will be back this weekend sometime to post about all sorts of different things.  my new responsibility of being the "neighborhood protector" … a funny/scary story that happened late tonight. a new haircut that i’m trying to decide if i like. the end of the soccer season tomorrow … but still undecided if i’m going to spend a ton of my time doing a dvd for the team. a little boy that we are really going to miss around here … but with a good reason for moving on. a rumor that the holidays are coming up … and i’m worried they’re going to pass me right by without me even knowing it.

and i’m sure their’s plenty more i can add to that list! so stay tuned!

just wanted to remind you to go check out week 3 of my month-long challenge on the MM blog! this week is all about friends. here's a peek:

hope you check it out … and i hope a few of you are even playing along! please share if you are!

first i have to share this layout finished up last night. i can honestly say this one layout is the extend of what i’ve scrapped the past week or so. so many things going on these days … i want to scrap, just no time.

used some more of the dude designs products on this. and yes, it’s bright! actually the orange on here looks a little "off" … must be the way i took the picture. just a fun layout about michaela. this was a photo of her i took at a soccer game one day. that girl cracks me up! we have the bestest talks … and yes, i mean "bestest". lol!

and shaunte was kind enough to tag me last night … she swears this is the last time she’s doing this … and i have to say i’m with her on that. because i was thinking about it … and i realized i just did this tag about 3 weeks ago. lol! these things just keep coming back around. maybe it’s because last time i didn’t actually tag anyone specific … that’s gotta be the reason.

anyways … here’s the rules which must be posted on your blog if you are tagged. link to your tagger and post these rules. share 7 facts about yourself (some random, some weird). tag 7 people at the end of your post and list their names (linking to them). let them know they’ve been tagged by leaving a comment at their blogs.

1. i secretly wish our 2 goldfish would die. we’ve had them a year and a half in a tiny bowl on the kitchen counter. every time i go to clean their bowl … i wait for one to "accidently" fall out of the strainer. lol! i’m tired of them and they do nothing for me!
2. i can sing any theme song word for word … from any given kids show at any given time. i’m totally" SEER-WEE-US". lol! did you get what show that was from? that’s one of my favorites! so yeah … any disney channel or nickelodeon show. name it … and i can sing it!
3. if i was ever rich beyond belief … i would wear a brand new pair of socks right out of the package every single day. one reason being i love brand spankin new socks … they just feel so good on my tootsies. second reason is that i hate washing sock more than anything … the whole sorting and pairing of socks is a waste of my time.  but i will never be so lucky … because i will never be rich in any sense of the word. lol!
4. i only listen to the radio in the car if other people are with me. if i’m by myself in the car … you can bet i’m talking to myself. i discuss with myself all the things i need and want to get done … i hash out and try to make sense of things going on in my life … and on and on.
5. i never watch tv during the day. i will turn it on for the kids for a bit in the morning. but even though i’m home all day long … i never watch tv. in the evening … joe is watching his stuff and the girls are watching their stuff. so it isn’t until the girls go to bed and joe goes to work … then i get to watch my stuff!
6. i’m extremely rude to telemarketers … on the phone and at my door. i have had someone call the last 3 nights about doing some food shopping survey … and each time i have told them to "leave me alone!". i cut them short, tell them to stop calling me, and then hang up without giving them a chance to say anything. i hate it when joe answers … he’ll actually sit there and hear them out before telling them a polite "thank you". and i was in the middle of taking photos last week out in the frond yard … and some dude comes by asking me if he can talk to me for a bit. what the heck? do i not look busy?!?! told him to leave me alone too!
7. typing up this post just took me almost an hour. what the heck? i was super motivated once i sat down … ready to get some stuff done while the girls are at kids night at the church. but now i’m just feeling lazy and tired. lol!

i know i’m a totally random person … but when it comes to these i can never think of anything. lol! i even started a list this morning so that i could jot things down when i thought of them. so now i have to tag 7 people. do i even know 7 people that blog?!?! i’m tagging erika, kori, wendy (who i just noticed did this tag yesterday … so she’s already done!), stefanie, laura, katy, and sara. 

just wanted to share a layout real quick. i had created this for a call over at BHG last week. there were original layouts to choose from … and then you picked one and used it as inspiration for your own layout. i loved the photo placement on one in particular … so this is my lift of it.

if you go HERE, you can scroll down and see the original … it’s #1. i pretty much kept the design the same … just different papers and products. lots of fun stuff on there. i had another layout i did inspired by #4 … but that got picked for publication! so you’ll have to wait to see that one. and i also had a few picked up by scrapbook trends last week too. good to have a few to look forward too.

not much else right now. we had an awards assembly for both alyssa and sarah this morning … so we had 2 entire assembly’s to sit through. took me about a half hour to pack up 4 daycare kids and all their "stuff" … snacks, drinks, bottles, a few toys, wipes. then we walked over and sat semi-quietly for an hour and a half. then we made our way back home. changed the babies and put them down for naps. and now it’ll take me another half hour to unpack the stroller. lol! 

and after an entire week of the girls having half-days at school … and then having them off yesterday … i’m so ready for a quiet afternoon. may all the kids nap like angels for me!!!

edited to add: i give the kids credit today! i have 3 that have been napping for about an hour. haley is awake and busy playing … but only because she’s on a different nap schedule. she did take a good one this morning though. so "thank you" kids!

you might remember the bitle chicks from last year … i took some photos of them last year for their christmas cards. and i was thrilled to do some again yesterday. the girls are getting so big … funny to think way back to almost 6 years ago when we first met them and how tiny they were. alison is 8 yrs old now … and michaela is almost 6 yrs old. such gorgeous girls … and amazing eyes!

michaela cracks me up sometimes. on saturday at the soccer field i was asking her what she was going to wear for her pictures. she started talking about a fancy dress … and some pearls! lol! this coming from a girl who is always covered head to toe in dirt when i see her … and gatorade-blue teeth. lol! i loved their outfits they picked out though … so cute. i was thinking that we should have gone down the street for some full-body shots … they had the cutest boots on. but we were in the backyard … and it just isn’t the spot for full-body shooting. i’m sure i can arrange some more though!

and then just for fun we threw a couple of hats on! i’m just loving how they can add so much to a photo. i tried to tell them to give me some "serious" looks. turned out these next 2 were a couple of my favorites … just because they show their personalities so much. alison’s sassy attitude (just like alyssa) … and michaela’s spunky attitude (just like sarah)!

 

and how about one of all the "bitle chicks" together! just to show you where they get their gorgeous looks from!

after my last post … i feel like i should share some sappy comments about their mom. lol! barbara is one of my closest friends … she’s my "dude" friend i wrote about a few weeks ago. lol! our personalities are so much alike … it’s crazy. and it’s truely inspiring to see how much she does with her life … always putting her girls first. we’re both the kind that don’t like to ask for help, have a hard time saying "no", don’t like to let people see us down, and try and do more than we should. she has raised 2 awesome girls … and they make such a great family. i don’t consider barbara or myself to be very sappy or emotional girls. lol! she knows i love her … i’ll leave it at that!

you can check out the entire album here … i’m adding to it as i go. thanks chicks … for trusting me to capture you in print!

i offered up a free photo shoot to my friend sierra yesterday … one of my previous daycare moms. she took me up on it within minutes … and i love that she was over-the-moon estactic for the chance! we’re doing the boys next week … but today she brought by her new little girl, miranda. how absolutely adorable is she?!?!

this is the other knitted hat that shirley sent me. i told sierra about it … and she dug out any pink, brown, or orange clothes she could find. i just love how cute it looks on miranda. she’s about 6 1/2 months and just the cutest thing … those eyes are so big and bright!

 

i was getting a little worried before they got here since the sun was starting to go down and we were losing light … still trying to figure out how this time change effects my "good lighting" times of day. but we ended up with about 10-15 good minutes before it started getting too dark. then it dawned on me that she couldn’t really sit up yet. lol! i admit to not knowing what to do with babies … they just kind of lay there. i’m not super creative … probably because i just havn’t tried much. but we propped her on the grass with mom holding on just a little … and she actually sat up for a few minutes just fine.

and you know babies need something to distract them, right? how about some good leaves to chew on a little?

and where does she get her cute looks … from her gorgeous mom of course! i watched sierra’s middle son for about 2 years i think … from about 10 months up until he was about 3 yrs old. he left me for preschool about 2 years ago and i love that we still keep in touch. one thing that i always loved about sierra was that she was just the most incredible mom to her kids. i have always had good parents. but she always stood out to me because of the way she was with her kids. from the minute she would get here to pick up her son, she would just shower him with love and kisses. even when i see them out somewhere (like when we saw them at soccer picture day) … you can just tell how proud she is to be their mom and how much she adores them. and she tells them that every minute she can. i can’t even begin to tell you how much it shows. and i think it’s amazing! and while i know things havn’t been easy for her in the past …  but she is so happy these past couple of years. she has a great life and a great family … and i know she doesn’t take anything for granted. love that!

i can’t wait to see the boys next week! i don’t think i can put these cute hats on them. lol! so we’ll have to think of something fun for them! and the only sad thing about these photos? sierra has no computer at home … so i can’t send her a sneek peek at what i’ve done so far!!! i may have to invite her over tomorrow … because i’m dying to show her!

edited to add: you can check out the entire album to see them … and i’ll be adding more as i finish them.

week 2 of my month-long challenge is up on the MM BLOG! we're talking "family" today … so please go and check it out! here's a little sneak peek:

about a month ago i saw THIS photo on my good friend and amazing photographer shirley’s blog … her gorgeous daughter abby, modeling one of the adorable hats she knitted. i knew i had to have one. she was kind enough to make me 2 hats … one for the big kids and one for the little kids. actually this hat came right off abby’s head … she decided she didn’t want it. she’s such a cutie! both my girls think it’s amazing that these came all the way from australia!

i managed to get the girls to wear the hat for some pictures this afternoon. they do love the hat and think it’s so cute … but they weren’t too sure about actually wearing it for me! lol! i told alyssa to trust my photography talent … and that it would really look fun! and then she gave me the typical "i’m 11 years old and my mom is embarrasing me once again" look!

and sarah is feeling a little under the weather now too. but she gave me a few good smiles … even if they’re a little more forced looking. lol!

so thank you shirley … i love them and they’re perfect! can’t wait to try the smaller hat on the little ones! in other random stuff:

• i would actually show you a few more pictures. but i kid you not … those 4 photos up there took me over an hour and a half to do from start to finish. they would normally take me about 4-5 minutes for each photo. my computer is so slow right now … not even funny.
• which made me think of something i said earlier today. i’ve been catching some chats over at scrap-a-faire this week. and i mentioned that i had thought about taking one of the online digital scrapbook classes they’re offering … but that i thought it would be over my head. i actually do think i could catch on to some stuff. but then again … you didn’t see how frustrated i got at my slow computer doing these photos. lol! i can’t imagine trying to scrap on the computer too!
• i am finally feeling better. my head is more clear, my nose is totally dried up, i have a bit more energy, i’m not as achy, and i’m not quite as cold all the time. it only took 4 days! i have to say … you would not believe how much vitamin C i loaded into my body these past few days. plenty of "coldbuster" jamba juice. i’m surprised my body isn’t in shock with all that good stuff in it. lol! and funny how i consider jamba juice to be the healthiest thing there is! seriously … it has like 3-4 servings of fruit … and you know i HATE fruit.
• did i mention the kids are on conference week at school? home at 12:15 each day? actually they’ve been pretty good and not too noisy … so i shouldn’t complain. and i had the girls conferences yesterday. they are both doing so good. alyssa is one of the top 2 students in her class. her teacher said she can’t even improve in things … because she’s getting almost 100% on everything. and sarah is at the top of her class too … which i still am amazed at. i think she really looks up to her big sister … and that pushes her to do well in school. so proud of them.
• remember about a week and a half ago when i mentioned i had 3 episode of "brothers & sisters" to watch? i now have 4 episodes on my dvr to watch. lol! i’m really trying to catch up on all my shows. i think because i have so many of that show that i’m trying to get everything else out of the way … and then i can knock all 4 out in 2 nights. sad that i’m that far behind on a show that i think is amazing!
• i’m giving the whole photography thing some more serious thought. i’ve given it some serious thought before … months ago in fact i had a plan. but i got side-tracked with life and stuff. but i’ve had this great idea in my head for months … a way to get some practice and some exposure. just a matter of getting it worked out on paper and ready to put into action. then again … you’ve never seen the way i boss my girls around when i take their pics. lol! not sure kids that don’t know me would "get me" right off the bat!
• i have some layouts that i’m dying to share. just love the way a few of them turned out. but i’m waiting. i don’t want to jinx myself … so i’m waiting on these until the magazines make their calls. in all honesty … i hope i won’t be able to share with you. that would mean the magazine liked them! lol!
• my 2nd week in the month-long challenge on the MM blog goes up tomorrow! are any of you playing along? please share with me if you are!

i also want to thank everyone for their thoughtful and encouraging comments on my last post. i have read every single one of them over and over. and it means the world to me that each of you have taken the time to give me a little boost. i think i owe everyone an email still (busy day here) … and you will all get one … i promise!

so that big change that happened last week? the one that i felt like discussing … and yet wasn't sure if i should? i feel like i need to put a few thoughts out there … and then i can start letting it go. i started this layout before last week … before the change. funny how it totally changed the direction of what i did with it.

on a scrapbooking note … this is another layout i did using some of the fun products from dude designs. the pattern papers, the journaling block, and the little heart sticker. so cute! i also added a heidi swapp heart. and then everything else is making memories … the letters, the paint, the glitter paint, the grommets, the chipboard button, the felt ribbon, the clip. love all their stuff!

so anyways. i had 2 of my daycare girlies leave me last week. 2 girlies that have been here for 3 years. totally out of nowhere. at least to me … i had no clue. now, i've had plenty of kids leave me over the past 6 years … for lots of different reasons. moving, advancing, going to preschool, change of parent's situations, etc. but i'll admit that this one doesn't sit well with me. it doesn't add up. and it makes me sad.

in the end, after a talk and a few emails … i was told that my blog basically brought this change on. that my blog posts from the past month or so started this whole thing. that my blog posts have been "unprofessional" and "alone warrant our action". let's see. this is my personal blog … not my professional blog. funny how when i'm posting all those cute pics i take of the kids … and sharing all the layouts i do with those pics with all the touching journaling … and writing good things about them … it's all good.

but when i choose to vent about my job from time to time … now it's a problem? i like to vent quite honestly. anyone who knows me should know that. not everyone loves their job all the time. and i've always made a point to say how i love the kids to death. but the job is the job … and it's not all flowers and sunshine. i know that anytime i do vent, or complain, about my job … it's very general. i don't sit here and name names … or single anyone out … or name any certain situations. i think my complaints are just general stuff that i deal with all the time. ask anyone who does daycare (or teachers too). it's a hard, tiring, thankless, annoying job for the most part. but the kids make it worth it in the long run … otherwise i don't think we'd still be doing these jobs. but that certainly doesn't mean i don't have gripes. and putting my gripes down in a nice little vent session usually makes me feel a little better.

i got a really nice email last week. this person had just found my blog and was reading it for the first time. she took the time to email me though. she said that she could appreciate that i was a "tell it like it is person". which i had to laugh a little … because i'm only like that in writing and never face to face. lol! but she said that even though i have plenty in my life to complain about (with all the health stuff mainly) … that i do it with humor and in a light-hearted way. and i love that she "got me" … just from what little of my blog she read that day. i'm a very sarcastic person. and i love to complain. but when i do … i don't think it's ever meant to be taken too seriously.

i would like to think that most of my friends "get me". that they understand how i am. that i would never intentionally try and hurt someone's feelings by something i posted. i would like to think that those that have known me for years wouldn't necessarily hold a few weeks against me. i would think that my friends would know that no matter what i'm venting about … that i'm still the same person i've always been. i am still the same "laura" to these kids that i've always been … that is one thing that i can swear has never changed. even on my most stressful, feel awful days … i'm still great with these kids. and if someone can't see that … than too bad for them.

so i am truly sorry if anything i ever posted at any time on this blog has ever offended someone or hurt someone. but i'm not going to stop. i'm not going to censor my life and only talk about all the happy-go-lucky days that i have. i will continue to post about whatever is on my mind. because believe me … i spend an entire evening last week reading through months and months of my blog posts. and i really didn't see anything that would cause such great concern. i've been blogging now for 2 1/2 years. and i can say that for any "venting post" that you may find … you will find about 10 "happy, loving" posts about this job and my life too.

the sad part of all this is the girlies. we will miss them. more than i can even say. i'm so sorry it had to come down to something like this. my guess is that there is more to this. there has to be something else. but i'll never know. so things changed … and we'll deal with it. i may not understand it … but i'll deal with it. as much as i would do anything for the girls … i'm letting it go. there are some things that aren't worth fighting … and this drama is one of those things.

edited to add (because you know i always re-read my posts about 30 times and eventually feel the need to add something. lol!):  i want to make it clear that i do respect the decision that was made. parents have to do what they feel is right for their family. and needing to be comfortable with where their kids spend their time is extremely important. so i respect that. i don't, however, understand it … because nothing here has changed. and i think it's only natural to want to understand things that effect our lives and those around us. 

this is day 3 … and i’m still sick. in fact … i feel worst today than i felt yesterday. it’s that "congested, runny nose, sneezing, coughing, achy all over" kind of cold. i havn’t taken any medicine since yesterday because it was really making me feel all woozy. i ended up with a day off today … because nikolas went home sick too and he was the only one on my schedule (mondays are always less busy). just today i’ve had 2 super bad nosebleeds, 3 naps, a power sized "coldbuster" jamba juice full of vitamin C and other good stuff, and gone through a box of kleenex. i spend my day bundled up in long sleeves and a blanket … even though it was 74 degrees out.

so i’ve done a whole lot of nothing for 3 days. i did manage a few loads of laundry. i did complete 2 new layouts. i wrote up the instructions for a project, boxed it up, and mailed it off. and yesterday i went and picked up fundraiser stuff for sarah’s whole team. stupid fundraiser. what happened to the days of giving each kid on the team a box of candy? no, instead i had 20 big boxes of cookie dough, pizzas, cheesecakes, popcorn, sausauge, and other random foods to pick up and carry to my van. feeling woozy from the cold medicine the entire time. and i’m still stuck with 4 kids orders … all unpacked and shoved into every corner of our freezer in the garage.

i did manage to make dinner last night and tonight … only because no one else was doing anything about it. lol! i’ve really gotten away from cooking lately. but with the time change, we’re pretty much done with soccer practice (although alyssa’s coach seems to think they can still practice until 6:00 even though it’s pitch black. lol!). so we need to get back to dinners. last night we had london broil (in a ginger root/tamari/lime marinade that i love to use), smashed red potatoes in a garlic butter sauce, green beans, and fresh rolls. tonight i made beef stroganoff … something i’ve never made. alyssa loves stroganoff … her dad makes it for her. i think i bought a packet once that i was going to try for it. but i caught a rachael ray episode a while back that had her version of stroganoff and i knew i had to try it. and can you believe it only took 10 minutes to make it from scratch (no packet for me)? seriously … you can’t get much easier than that. although maybe that’s how long it takes to normally make it … i have no idea. lol!

ok … i’m off to the couch. i hate being sick. hopefully i’ll be better tomorrow. and hopefully the rest of these kids won’t get it! because the only thing worst than being sick … is seeing your kids sick.