Life as a Mommy

It's not always easy! My mom made it look like being a stay at home mom was the simplest job that any woman could have! She was one of those women who prompted men and working women to say "Yeah, but she doesn't work." She never seemed to get flustered, her house was always clean, and dinner was always on time - and we ate at the table instead of in front of the television. I'm still struggling with how in the world to get anything done in the run of the day other than maintaining my sanity, and sometimes even that's a chore!

I love my boys, but sometimes staying at home with them all day long is almost more than I can take! Having been on the other side of the fence as well, sometimes I long for the days of paid employment. It sure had it's perks. For example, taking a sick day meant that you didn't have to do your job for that day. As a stay at home mom, it means doing everything you normally do while trying not to faint from sinus pain and with a tissue tucked in your bra. It was also a great bonus to be able to have a normal conversation with someone whose favorite phrase was not "I got a cool car!", unless you got stuck in the lunchroom with Phil the Pimp who thought his Camaro was the hottest thing to ever hit the pavement.

Sometimes I think it would be a treat to go back to work. Shorter hours, adult conversation and a paycheck. Imagine! Getting paid for busting your butt all day!

This is a thankless job, but when I have moments like this one...The King calling from his grandma's house because he wants to know what everyone is doing (aka what he's missing), Angel sleeping peacefully in his bassinette and Poptart yelling answers at "Dora the Explorer"...I'm glad I chose to be a stay at home mom. They are little for such a short time and I wouldn't want to miss a moment of this precious time.

Another Layout, Courtesy of Tink...

Here's a layout I did of Boo, Tami's oldest son. I'm not sure I'm totally happy with it. I might end up redoing it. It's so hard to do masculine pages that don't look like something's missing...

I Need a Maid..and Other Complaints

Okay, so I didn't do another update last night. So sue me. I never leave the house, so my life isn't interesting enough to warrant two posts in one day. LOL. I should probably post a warning on this post.

WARNING: If you don't want to hear me ramble and whine for ages and ages, don't read this post! Just scan to the bottom and leave me a comment. :)

Remember a couple days back when I talked about my cleaning frenzy? Yeah, it's time for another one already. Why can't things just stay clean? Is that so hard? I am so tired of cleaning. I want a maid. I think that if someone would come in here and give every room a real good cleaning, I could keep it clean, but my trouble is that I get one room clean and by the time I'm finished cleaning the next one, the first one is a mess again! It's just not fair! Am I the only person who can put things away?!

Another thing that bugs me is that Poptart will not leave Angel alone when he's sleeping! It seems that as soon as Angel finally drifts off, Poptart (who has been ignoring Angel up to this point) will go over to the bassinette and either try to "play" with Angel (which consists of poking him and saying "Bubba's baby! Bubba's baby!"), toss a toy in there with him or yell next to the bassinette. Why can't he come over and try to "play" with him when he's crying and needs entertainment? It's so frustrating!!!

I never leave this house. Last time I went out was to the mall to pick up necessities like diapers, milk, and rum. I was limited to 2 hours and stressed the entire time I was gone that I was going to go over my time limit. I wish I could have just one whole day for "me".

I need a vacation...I wish I could afford one. I told Pan I needed a vacation. Guess what he said? "Go to your mother's."

Well, there's a bead of brilliance on the necklace of life. Let me see. I can leave the apartment where there are two children for the moment, pack up all their stuff and take them to someone else's house where there is another of my children, so I can listen to my mother complain about noise and mess because there are three children in her house. Sounds like fun!

I need a real vacation. One that includes no children, a tropical location, a hunky cabana boy and a sandy beach. Oh yeah, and rum. Don't forget the rum.

Guess What I Did Last Night...

No, not that! Tsk, tsk, get your minds out of the gutter! I'm not going to post that here! I don't kiss and tell...or do I? ;)

Actually, I spent some time scrapbooking! That's right, I settled down in my little scrapping corner and set to work. Here's one of the layouts I completed.


I used one of the page maps from Becky Fleck's January 2007 collection. I don't scrap about myself very often so I decided to scrap about the "odd" parts of my personality instead of the everyday. It was a great excuse to use pink too! LOL

I'll probably update again tonight. Hope everyone enjoyed the "Passions" video by Jyoti. We Passions fans got the official news that our show has been cancelled and so I've been watching Passions videos by the boatload. If you want to do me a BIG favor, could you please go sign the Save Passions Petition and help me save my show??? PLEASE??? I don't watch much TV and Passions may not be the greatest soap with its storylines that drag on forever and it's mediocre writing, but those of us who are fans love it so much, despite all it's faults.

Okay, this has been long for someone who is planning to post again tonight...

Remembering Love

I'm a sap...Ethan and Theresa...Aw heck...

Finally!!!

I have a scrap space!!! It's not a fancy scrap room or scrap studio, like some people have, but it's all mine and I love it! When we bought our new computer desk, we made the bold decision to move our computer into the living room and so the old desk and it's surrounding area became my scrap space.

I'd call it a scrap "corner", really, but it has an ancient smooshy armchair, the desk I've had since I was six years old, and plenty of storage for my supplies. Best of all, if I am in the middle of a project when Poptart gets up from his nap, I can just leave it all laying around and come out and close the door. No more excuses to not scrap when I get a few minutes!

I'll try to post pictures of it soon. I didn't get any scrapping done last night because by the time I was finished cleaning my space, I started a layout and was too tired to finish it! I'm going to try to get it done tonight, but Eva's coming in tonight and wants me to go out with her, so I might do that instead...

I'll post more tonight!

What's New, Pussycat?

Okay, so since this is a scrappy blog I guess I should post one of my layouts. So without furthur adieu, Here is the first page of my 8X8 song titles album: "What's New, Pussycat?" This is Poptart with my sister's cat, PJ. PJ loves Poptart, even though you'd think he'd be afraid of him. Weird.

This day really was full of a whole lotta nothing. I got up, spent the day with Pan and the Lost Boys, and played World of Warcraft.

See, I have this thing...I love World of Warcraft. Tami will tell you that I have an addiction and need an intervention, but I have been doing much better lately. I have been spending much less time there. I'm enjoying it way too much because unlike the real world...it's not real. You can run around for hours and not get tired. You get to explore new places and see new things. No diaper changes, heating bottles, time-outs, or washing dishes. It's all fun.

When I was a kid, I swear the grown-ups could do whatever they wanted all the time. What happened to those grown-ups? I want to be one of those! Even just for a day, I would like to be able to do whatever I want. Sleep in, eat whatever I want, scrap, nap, etc. And with no interruptions!!! Yeah, I know, I'm dreaming.

Maybe I'll post another layout tomorrow...We'll see...

The Natural Disaster that is My Life...

Okay, this day has been kind of like cleaning up after a natural disaster, I think. I slept late because for some reason I just could not open my eyes this morning. When I got up, I decided to put together all of the baby bottles that I had washed and set aside. While doing that, I discovered that someone (I'm not going to mention Pan's name here, just in case it was Poptart, but I'm pretty sure I know the guilty one...) had thrown an unwashed bottle ring and nipple among all the ones I'd cleaned and sterilized already. What did I do? Of course, I had to rewash and resterilize everything that I'd already had cleaned up.

While in the process of doing this, I moved the container that I was sterilizing the bottles in and noticed that something had been spilled on the counter and that someone (again, not going to accuse Pan here) had not cleaned it up. It had run underneath the glass cutting board that I keep on my counter and it smelled bad. So I started to clean that as well, but it had run underneath my bread box too! Off the counter came the bread box and both box and board got thoroughly cleaned and sprayed with Lysol, as did the counter.

Since I was at it, and I was cleaning bottles, I decided to clean out the cupboard I keep the bottles in and weed out the ones we don't use anymore. This is the cupboard over the sink, and I had to get on a chair to do that. So after the cupboard was washed out and sprayed with Lysol, I realized that since I was up there, I might as well do the spice cupboard next to it! Out came all the spices and I threw away all the ones that I wasn't using/looked old. Well, I also discovered that Pan had stored my coffeemaker and blender in that cupboard and since the bottle cupboard was so much bigger than the spice one, I switched them.

When that was done, I started on dinner and made a fantastic stir fry full of everything good. (and some things that only one or the other of us like.) Even Poptart chowed down on it. It was great to see him eating vegetables! Who would have thought that a two year old would enjoy red peppers and snow peas?!

Now I'm taking a break and waiting to be sure that Poptart and Angel are both sound asleep before finishing my disaster relief. Who knows? I might get brave and whip up a batch of cookies too...Stranger things have happened today...

Friends I Miss and Other Thoughts

Boy, I miss Deanne. She's been one of my very best friends for years, and we rarely get to see each other. I was talking to her online today and it felt so good to have some form of contact with her. We used to spend every day together and it's so very hard to not get to see her at all. I can't wait to see her again.

I also miss Gina. We used to work together and we had so much fun that our manager stopped scheduling us together on purpose, we think, just to be mean. We always were able to have a great time.

There are tons more friends like this too!

It's just seems so unfair sometimes that people come into our lives and we get so attached to them, only for time and distance to separate them from us. But when I think about it more, it's better than if they had never come in our lives at all. I am so glad to know Deanne and Gina, as well as all the others I didn't mention by name. My life has been enriched by them in some way, and I thank them all for that.

I'm also thankful for the friends who stay in our lives and we get to talk to and see often. These people keep me sane.

Thank you to everyone who has ever been my friend. Never-Neverland would not be the same without you...and neither would I.

Four Things...

Got this from that same blog I got the other one...

Four things about me, things you may or may not have known about me in no particular order.

A) Four jobs I have had in my young life:
1. babysitter
2. bookstore clerk
3. hairstylist
4. waitress

B) Four movies I watch over and over again:
1. Kingdom of Heaven
2. Elizabethtown
3. Pirates of the Caribbean (both of them)
4. Lord of the Rings Trilogy

Notice a THEME???

C) Four places I have lived:
1. Grand Falls-Windsor, NL
2. St. John's, NL
3. Pilley's Island, NL
4. Calgary, AB

D) Four TV television shows I watch
1. CSI
2. House
3. Passions
4. Criminal Minds

I don't watch very often. Maybe once a month?

E) Four places I have been on vacation:
1. Ontario
2. Alberta
3. St. Pierre et Miquelon
4. New York

F) Four Websites I visit daily
1. Croppin Frenzy
2. What's Scrappening?
3. Tami's blog
4. TwoP Passions forum (yes, I know...)

G) Four Places I would rather be right now
1. hanging out with Benny
2. shopping
3. at Tami's house
4. somewhere tropical

H) Four foods that I can--and do--live without
1. Green Peppers
2. Kraft Dinner
3. Coconut
4. Butterscotch

I) Four people you think will respond to this.
I don't know but you are all tagged now!!!

More Pixie Dust for Today

I realized that when I posted yesterday I forgot a couple of people who share Never-Neverland with me. I don't know how I could ever forget to mention my Tink Jr. That's my 16 year old niece Beckie. She's just like me, so she's my Jr. She looks like me, and the attitude is about the same too. She's probably going to figure pretty largely in this blog, since I have a million and one Beckie stories.

Another key player is my pal Eva. She rocks, I tell you, ROCKS! We burn out together and have such a good time. "Not right now, hunny, Mummy's BAKING!", right Eva? LOL! We're planning our own line of t-shirts and hoodies, so keep an eye out for a link to that.

Then there's my best guy friend, Benny. Benny is one of the funniest people I know. I swear he knows every Monty Python movie by heart. I miss you Benny and love you tons! You know that!

Okay, so this night has been wiled away in MSN chat. I have to play some World of Warcraft tonight because I won't get the chance to tomorrow. It's going down for maintenance. I wonder how late I'll be up tonight...

Keep an eye out for some layouts to be added soon to this blog as well as some slideshows of my cutie pies! Now to play WoW before Pan gets home and wants to hijack my computer!

A Blog Challenge...kind of interesting...

Found this on another scrapper's blog and thought I'd give it a go.


1. I've come to realize that my life is... slipping by more quickly than I had thought.

2. I am listening to... the noises my baby makes while he eats.

3. I talk... more than I should.

4. I love... my family.

5. My best friend... is chatting to me on MSN right now.

6. Love is... to learn the song in someone's heart and sing it to them when they have forgotten.

7. Somewhere, someone is thinking... maybe I should get some help with my World of Warcraft addiction...NAH!

8. I'll always ... laugh

9. The last time I cried was because... I was so mad at someone.

10. My cell phone... is almost dead.

11. Before I go to bed... I look at my babies and marvel at how quickly they are growing.

12. Right now I am thinking about... how incredibly tired I feel.

13. Today I... got my eyes tested and went shopping.

14. Tonight I will... chat to Tami and Mary and possibly play Warcraft.

15. Tomorrow I will be... busy, busy, busy!

Welcome to MY Never-Neverland

Okay, so I'm not a good blogger, just to warn you. I'm a bit of a rambler and my thoughts rarely run into one another. I'm also bad at keeping a blog up to date, but my bestest friend Tami is going to hold me accountable for this one and make me blog at least twice a week. At least, she had better! You can get to Tami's site through my links, as well as a few of my other favorite sites. You can also view my photography gallery and my husband Johnny's photography gallery from here. My stuff is okay, but his is the real art.

I'm Tink, or at least that's what all my friends call me. What the people who aren't my friends call me should not be posted here for innocent eyes to see. ;) This blog is my Never-Neverland where everything is happy and I never have to grow up. I am 26 years old, and a stay at home mom for the moment. My favorite pasttimes are scrapbooking, talking to my friends on MSN, and playing World of Warcraft - the game that eats your soul. Scrapbooking is a big part of my life, as you will be able to tell from this blog. It's my creative outlet and lets me showcase mine and Johnny's photography in real style.

I guess since this is my first post, I should introduce you to the people you will be hearing the most about here. First I should introduce you to my Peter Pan, my wonderful sexy husband, Johnny. We met in a church foyer, and it was love at first sight. He had a long black ponytail, wore baggy clothes, and had so many piercings I couldn't begin to count them. He was the hottest thing I'd ever seen. Now he has his head shaved bald, wears the most awesome trendy clothes and has a few less piercings and a couple more tattoos, but he's still the hottest thing I've ever seen. We got married on January 3, 2004 and are incredibly happily married.

Next are my "Lost Boys". James is our oldest son, and is usually referred to as "King James" or "His Majesty". The King is currently 4 1/2 years old and is very firmly established as the ruler of the roost. He's funny and smart and he loves the great outdoors. His favorite color at the moment is blue, his favorite television shows are "Curious George" and "Go, Diego, Go!", and his favorite toy is his LeapsterTV system. He can say his alphabet and count to 100, and he can even spell some simple words, but he's convinced that you spell "water" H2O!

Second in line is 2-year-old Hayden, who is known as "Poptart". This was a title given to him by his Auntie Tami, who is also his godmother, and it's stuck. He's our strong-willed child and marches to a different drummer. Unlike his brother, he hates nature and refuses to touch grass, leaves, flowers or anything that grows outside. His favorite shows are "Go, Diego, Go!" and "The Backyardigans" and his favorite movie is Disney/Pixar's "Cars". His favorite toys are his collection of Lightning McQueen cars and he has 4 of various sizes. He also collects model Hummers.

Last, but certainly not least, is 1 month old Silas, aka "The Angel". For all the noise and commotion that his brothers cause, he is the angel of the bunch. He rarely fusses, and can sleep through anything. He is truly heaven-sent.

Also in my Never-Neverland is my bestest friend Tami. She and I met online and became fast friends. We now can't go a day without talking, whether on the net or the phone. I have never bonded with someone so fast before, and she is like a sister to me now. She lives down south with her sexy biker hubby Mo and their three boys, my sweet "nephews", Chris, Kyle and my boy Devin. She also lives with her mischievous little doxie, Gaby, who I want to steal! Looking forward to July when I get to go spend a week with her down there!

Then there's Dustanne, who rounds out the three Scrapateers. She, Tami and I are currently in the process of setting up a new scrapbooking message board that we call "The Runaway Scrappers" or lately, "The RUMAWAYS". Dusty lives on the west coast of Canada with her hubby Kelly and her three gorgeous children, Sean, Ariana and Teryn. You will often find Tami, Dusty and I on MSN late into the night and sometimes even the wee hours of the morning.

Another important person in my life is my friend Mary. I have known Mary for 8 years now, and even though we have had differences of opinion, our friendship has never suffered for it. We respect each other's differences and have so much fun together! She's an awesome gal!

Those are the main people in my world right now. I'm sure you will get to know other key players as time goes on...Keep checking in and I'll try to keep you entertained!