Once upon a time there was a woman who signed up to do a scrapbook workshop. A few cutesie stickers (archival of course) and die cuts later she was hooked. She bought fancy scissors, stickers, die cuts, and fancy archival pens. Oh my Lord, the possibilities! She made one cool scrapbook documenting her Key West honeymoon with her hubby. And that was it. Let’s see, that was 10 years ago. Now her scrapbook supplies are collecting dust. The cult of scrap just didn’t take.

But then the woman got a digital camera. And then she had two babies. And then she started taking about 9 million pictures a year.

And then she started digital scrapbooking. No paper! No mess! No more stuff collecting dust!

Well, she still only scrapbooks occasionally.

Like maybe three times a year.

I found a great site via the BlogJolt group I belong to called Real Women Scrap. At first I thought, oh yes it’s yet another annoyingly perky scrapbooking site that will serve only to remind me of what a slacker I am for not documenting every day of my girls’ lives.

But I soon discovered that this blog is not just another pretty scrapbook site. (Read on …)

Holly’s Corner has an interesting post called Girl Games…the petty emotional games little girls play and the fact that this seems to start at a younger and younger age. Heck both of my girls were already wrapping themselves around my little finger FROM THE WOMB (at least I like to blame Caitlin for my unquenchable desire for McDonald’s breakfast the entire time I was pregnant with her). Unfortunately Caitlin has picked up on the “I’m not going to be your friend any more” phrase from daycare and wields it like an emotional sword if she doesn’t get her way. I jokingly call her our manipulatress when she does this, but it’s not something I want to take lightly. I don’t know why girls tend to play mind games, from the “I’ll be your friend if you do this” or the “I won’t be your friend if you do that” pettiness to the batting of eyelashes and the super pout, but I like what Holly has to say about teaching her daughter to not get caught up in all of it. I mean the manipulatress skills can be put to good use when Caitlin’s older, much older, like 50 years from now when she’s trying to convince the assisted living facility director to upgrade mama and daddy to the penthouse. Ahem. (Read on …)

Some days I wonder what it’s like to be a crafty Martha Stewart type mama, especially these lovely autumn days when lawns and porches are paying homage to autumn with elaborate displays of scarecrows, mums, and exotic varieties of gourds. Honestly just walking into a craft shop overwhelms me. I’ve never brandished a hot glue gun in my life. Last year I tried to decopauge a tin for Caitlin’s room and it ended up shamefully tossed in the trash. (Read on …)