Chat With Me, Amy!

...this was one of the layouts I did this weekend in which I didn't beg, borrow, and steal design elements. I wanted the layout to look as playful as what was going on in the pictures, which was the most difficult part of the layout.

...Journaling reads: Amy always tried to make taking care of you fun. this day, she sat you up in your isolette & moved your mouth like you were talking to her. I think we wore you out this day, but this is the type of thing that gave us some much-welcomed laughter. 19 Mar. '03

...Nuts and bolts: red cardstock: DieCuts with a View; pattern paper: Provocraft
s Slab IV; orange and green cardstock: Leaving Prints; purple cardstock: Bazzill; Sizzix Alphabet: Doodleblock; can't remember where the buttons came from.

Pages completed....

....so I've done a few pages today. They're more NICU photos. And I do have to say that I'm very tired of doing these photos. I know that I shouldn't worry about it and that I should just skip to the next phase in the twins' lives. Not so easy to accomplish. *sigh* I really want these pages to be *finished*. So I can finally close up that awful chapter of their lives and move on to the next one. Does anyone else do this to themselves? Why I feel like I need to eat my peas before my pudding is beyond me.

....I have ordered and received pictures of their third birthday, their first board game, and the adoption of the guineas to scrapbook, and have still not let myself get involved in them. What a fucking saddo I am sometimes. I truly must be into self-torture....as if anyone who reads my daily blog doesn't already know that, right?

Nurse Amy...

...are you getting tired of NICU layouts yet? I'm feeling the drain that these pictures can cause. Many people shudder and gasp when they see these pictures, and I can't say that I blame them. At the time, I thought they were looking so much better that they had to be the most beautiful children on the planet. And only now, three years and hundreds of tantrums later, can I say that these are some scary-ass pics.

I'm pretty well stuck in the rut with the striped paper. The good thing is that I've scrapped them out of order, so they will not appear so closely in the album.... Die Cuts With A View Retro Block paper, plain ol' brown cardstock, MM "angel" rubon, and My yucky handwriting! ;)

Safe, for a Child, is his Father's hand, holding him tight...

So this layout is totally scraplifted (aside from the papers used) from a Donna Downey layout in the May/June issue of Simple Scrapbooks. The papers are from Top=Line Creations (aside from the cream and kraft cardstocks), and the eyelets are Making Memories. This was such a fun and rather easy layout to do! Thanks, Donna!

Lost & Found

This is the first page where I poured my complete heart out about the twins' early birth. The poem is one which goes around in the Preemie Parenting community, and I believe only a mother could really comprehend what it means. Even my husband looked at me and said "I don't get it." He's a preemie father, but I believe that only a mother could fully understand the grief and guilt associated with delivering a baby so early. Anywho, without further ado....

the tag on the inside of the envelope (made so quickly with the templates I bought on my Archiver's excursion) reads:
A basket of flowers is in the place of a baby, and a fake smile is plastered on my face. The paragraph on this page is totally representative of having a baby so very premature. There will always be the guilty feeling that I somehow failed you both by not being able to carry you to term. The "what-ifs" are too much to bear. My heart was so guarded as I left the hospital--my mind tricked into thinking that this wasn't that bad and that you were going to be fine. The NICU taught me that there are no guarantees of anything in this life and that we have been so incredibly blessed to be able to bring you home. I hope that your terrifying entrance into this world is the hardest thing for you in life and that the rest is smooth sailing. I love you both so very much! Love, Mom 4-15-06

OK, nuts and bolts. Patterned Paper: Die Cuts With a View; Cardstock: Leaving Prints and the kind you get in bulk at Michael's (haha); Envelope template: Westrim Crafts

finished....looks a little better....

full of joy....

.... my version of the sketch i posted yesterday.... cardstock is DCWV, EK success daisy punch, Sizzix flower diecuts, MM snaps, brads, and "full of joy" rub-on...OH, and Leaving Prints gingham paper and solid cardstock used for journaling....

...now that you know all that...what can i do to make it appear "finished"?

....Things to Come....

.... THIS. I have three pictures just waiting for it..... Hopefully I can do this while the others nap..... *cross fingers*

The Weekend's Work.....

these are identical layouts, save the pictures, since different people were holding the respective kids. the silver charm on the bottom right says "faith" and the inside journaling reads: "My dear Erin and Griffin, your Great-Grandma Rayls and Grandpa Rayls are some of the most faithful people I have ever met. When you were born so very early and so very sick, they got on the phone and told everyone they knew to pray for your both. They have worked so hard to pass their faith on to their family. They have been so happy and proud of the progress that you both have made in your development. The three hour drive makes it very difficult for them to see you as much as they would like. When you were in the hospital, they didn't get to see you very often. This was the only visit that Great-Grandma was able to make the time you were in the hospital. She was so very happy to see you. A funny thing that happened when she was there was when she went to try and calm another baby down, as they were crying so hard. She seemed very miffed and confused when I told her that people weren't allowed to touch other babies. It was a rule, even if it was hard to explain to her!"




This layout was centered around the stolen pacifier picture and the sticker that reads "Sibling Rivalry". It's very much out of my comfort zone to work with these colors! And it's very limiting to me to start with a sticker and pictures and build a layout around it! The only way I was able to do it was because I have so much freaking stash. Otherwise, it would have been much more difficult. I tried to do a trick I learned in CK, which was to take paper and make "rick-rack" out of it with deco-scissors. It's not perfect, by any means, but it sort of looks like rick-rack! Journaling reads: "When Erin hit four pounds, she joined you into an open-air crib. The rule was 4lbs. and the ability to hold a normal temperature. We'd told them from the start that we wanted to co-bed you guys, so they put you both in a big crib. Erin loved being by you, and would snuggle right up to you. You acted like you didn't want to be bothered! Perhaps that is why you would steal her pacifier!"

last page!

this is the last page in the book!  it was really fun to make, and the encouragement i got from Kari about my scrapbooking has been wonderful!  :) 

now i'm off to put extender posts in the book so that i can mail it to her soon!  ;)  yay!

The Rest, Except for the Final page of Olivia's Album

Again, this one's got a laundry list of ingredients so long that you'll just have to ask if you are curious about something here! lol
Thanks for looking, you guys, and any constructive criticism (espeically by Kari!) is appreciated!