Friday, September 16, 2011

I wish you the joy of loving

Today my son Neill turns 8 years old. He's been such a perfect addition to my life, the missing piece I didn't know I was missing until he arrived. Thank you, son.

For your birthday, I wish you patience. I wish you perseverance. And I wish you the joy of living. The joy of loving. I love you with all my heart!!!

I was going through my gallery thinking I'll just repost one of my old layouts, probably one showing him as a baby, to go with the short Happy Birthday message. Instead, I found this one that I consider one of my most favorite scrapbooking layouts ever. And it turned out that I haven't even shared this one on this blog yet! What's wrong with me? Duh???

The page is really special to me. You'll understand it once you read it.


Journaling reads:

"Starting Over"
Neill was not breastfed as a baby.


Back then, who knows how much I could have pocketed if I got a penny 
everytime somebody gave me a you're-not-trying-hard-enough look. 

My breast milk didn't come when Neill was born and for the whole first week 
we pretty much starved him because I was so determined to breastfeed. 
We really didn't have anything else prepared in case I couldn't do it. 
I had read so much about the advantages of breastfeeding 
and wouldn't give my son anything but the best. 

Well, turned out I couldn't give him that. 
I extended the hospital stay but in the end even the doctors and nurses gave up 
(without really saying so) and suggested that he should be given full-on formula. 
I couldn't even describe how much it hurt.

I know it's nobody's fault and it couldn't be helped. But sometimes I want to scream, 
'Enough with the look and don't try to make me feel less of a mother because of it!'

I would have given anything though, to go back and start over with all the breastfeeding struggles. 
But it just can't be done. That day when I gave Neill his first full bottle, I felt defeated. 
Then I realised that I was holding on to my ego instead of his needs. 

That day, we started over together. 
I learned that being a mother doesn't only mean pushing for the best, but also accepting the truth. 
And I hope Neill learned that eventhough it might not always work out in the end, 
I'd fight tooth and nail to give him the best I possibly can every single time.


The layout's journaling is inspired by this blog post by Trish (MommaTrish - she writes the best sarcastic parenting blog in my opinion.) I read her story and just had to tell my story as well. Thanks for the motivation, Trish!!!

The product used in the layout is "Anew" kit (retired) by my friend Rachelle. She used to be known as Studio Doodelle but now on hiatus from scrapbook design. You can still follow her insightful and fun personal blog.


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Just a little advertisement before I say goodbye for the day... :)



  • Val is hosting a challenge! You have a whole month to complete it. :) Oh, and did I tell you there's a free mini something for grabs at the challenge thread?

  • Anita is releasing this new beautiful kit: The Best Things in Life. I'm so sad I was so busy I didn't make a layout with it yet. But I will soon! For now, you can visit Anita's blog to take a closer look at the kit and a new set of templates too!



Bye for now! :)

Sunday, September 11, 2011

It's my party and I'll fly if I want to...

The title came to me out of the blue and I really quite like it. You'll find out soon enough what it's about. :)

Yesterday was my birthday (don't ask) and I had such a great time I decided I had to update the blog immediately to give you some gift and maybe brighten up someone's day a wee bit as well. Obviously "immediately" turns into 24 hours afterwards but you know that's not too bad considering my blog-updating history. LOL

First a few recent layouts to share!

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I just LOVE those word arts in Val C. Designs' new kit - Fly High. (You can choose to purchase the bundle or WA, papers, and elements separately.) They are so inspiring and make you wanna start scrapping the moment you laid eyes on them. Well, that's what I did!

It was so much fun layering  and blending all the masks, word arts, stamps, textures, etc., on the page and came up with just an easy-looking one accentuating Neill's mesmerizing eyes. I think I'll be using the design as the cover page of our family 2012 calendar. 


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These following layouts are from Dunia Designs' templates and kits. For the first one I used one of her latest template set Embrace Simplicity vol. 3 with the Three Little Birds kit. It's a RAK for my close friend PaMam. The sweet and tender photos are from a Thai Mother's Day event at her son Sinat's school.



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Now for this one below. The journaling says it all. ;)


May 5, 2011: This friendly (?) game of foosball was the perfect ending
to Neill's first sleepover at Auntie Dana's house in Beirut.
Knowing that he sometimes sleepwalks, 
Sasha generously let Neill take the bottom bunk. 
He had a great time playing with her, enjoyed Baka's food immensely, 
and also behaved perfectly the whole time. 
Tears were shed when they had to say goodbye
and, of course, Neill couldn't wait to do it all again!





Edited: Great, great news for Dunia's fans!!! From September 15 - 20, ALL her products  - old or new releases - are 30% off!!! Don't miss this chance. Visit her MScraps or DigiScrappersBrasil stores today!



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Thanks for sticking with me till the end! I've modified an old layout and turned it into a template for you. Hope you like it!
Edited to add: Just noticed that the layout that I based this template on was posted in galleries exactly one year ago! It also got a GSO at DigiShopTalk forum. I didn't post it at first because it doesn't really look a lot like the template anymore after the modification. But then I thought maybe it would show you an alternative way of using the template. So here it is!





Please click on the preview below to download. Enjoy!!! :)






Sunday, August 28, 2011

Today I'm grateful for...

So many things! I woke up feeling it's gonna be a good day, and it is so far. :) Outside the air is heavy and the grey sky threatens rain while I'm enjoying my cup of latte in an air-conditioned mall with free wi-fi waiting for my kiddo to finish his singing class. Yes. All is well.

Just about an hour ago I learned that my most recent scrapbook page made it to the Gallery Standouts blog again today!

It's always an honor to be among such amazing talents there but today it's very special because the page is also very special to me. Well, to be fair, all my scrapbook pages are special to me. But you know, like that bad joke, "All men are created equal but some are just more equal than others."

This page happened quite spontaneously. I didn't set out to create a photo-less layout but it just turned out this way. It became a page waiting for myself to fill one day with photos taken from my dream destinations. Would you keep your fingers crossed for me please...



Do you like my list? Anyone share the same dream destinations as mine? :)


The page is crated with Val C. Designs' amazing For the Record kit.



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Now I hope I can make you happy too. :) There's this little template I made from my own layout. I kept it simple but of course there's a lot of space for you to fill out with as many elements, photos, and texts, as you want to. I made a word art to go with the template and it also works separately. So, enjoy!

The template and word art are okay for PU, S4H, and S4O. Please click on the preview to download.