Welcome to the Scrapbook Generation set.

We spent Saturday night building our set for the DVD. Stacey and I, as always, thought it would be easy. I guess if you want to call nine hours of set building easy, than that's what we'll call it. It probably wouldn't have been that bad but, because we had a million other things to work on and we had to wait until the store closed at 5:00 p.m., we didn't start building until 7:00 p.m.

Just like cooking shows filmed on kitchen sets, we wanted our set to look like a scrapbook room. I think my favorite touch were the cute flower pots with rolls of patterned paper in them. Mom had made those for decoration in the store and we thought they were too cute to pass up for using.

The great thing is that the set is now become a permanent addition to our store. We all liked it so much that we couldn't take it down! It's the perfect spot to display pages and albums and if we do another DVD we've already got the set ready to go.

We are still doing pre-orders for the DVD at Scrapbook Generation. If you are thinking about getting it, now is the time. The DVD's will sell for $24.99 but for our first release you can get it for $19.99.

That's $19.99 for:
• 9 instructional layouts - Each chapter (there are three) has one sketch and then three variations using that sketch. A simple, enhanced and extreme variation to show you how to get the most out of sketches, products, and techniques.

• 25 printable sketches that you can print out and use over and over.

• Over 70 layouts in our layout gallery based off the printable sketches.

So basically it's a class, a sketch book and an idea book all rolled into one!

I see it now.

Sometimes when we lose, we gain at the same time. Sometimes it takes a big change to open your eyes to something in someone you might not have noticed before. Sometimes you find a new relationship with someone you've known your whole life.

"I will never say that anything good came out of my dad's death. Ever. Because I can't bring myself to utter those words. Because I would so much rather have him here. Because I miss him. I will however say that I can't believe how much of Dad, I see in my Grandpa. The goofy personality, the way he is with Drew and Jackson, the light in his eyes when he's around family, the way he tries to take care of us. I almost feel like I'd been asleep for years and finally woke up to see this wonderful person for what he really is. A person that I am lucky to have in my life. I feel horrible that for so long I accepted a relationship that consisted of holiday dinners and mini-visits. That quickly changed. I love hearing Drew giggle at his silly "Grandpa Arnall dollar to finger trick." I love that he reminds me so much of my dad. I love that we have a closer relationship. I'm so glad that I see it now."

A little peek...

The DVD/idea book is chugging along at full force. On Wednesday we do our first "dry run" to see how smoothly things go and to catch any flaws we might run into. On Friday we are having a photo shoot for the cover and then on Saturday night we start filming it all. Stacey and I are taking full advantage of the situation and requesting a new clothes and manicure budget.

We are still taking pre-orders for the DVD at Scrapbook Generation and have been pleasantly surprised with the rush of orders we've already had.

I'll probably be posting a lot of inside, sneak peek, E! True Hollywood Story type things for the next few weeks. You'll get to meet our producer (he's got some pretty stellar credits in his back pocket!), the story of how this all came about, pictures from our cover photo shoot and of course pictures from the set. I can't wait for it all to unfold! :)

Introducing a new idea book that isn't a book. Sketches that won't give you a paper cut. Classes that you can wear your pajamas to.

We at Scrapbook Generation are very excited to announce our newest adventure. A DVD! But this isn't just any DVD. It's an idea book, a sketch book and a class all rolled into one. The DVD will include:

- Instructional "class" (featuring me and my sis) focusing on how to get the most out of sketches and how to step up the difficulty level of your scrapbooking. We'll show you how to use a sketch over and over and how to alter it to fit your style with simple variations. Plus we'll show you fun and different ways to use your supplies.

- 25 new printable sketches. You'll be able to print out any of the sketches to take with you anywhere you go.

- A full-color, high definition layout gallery with over 70 layouts. All of the layouts will be based off of the printable sketches on the DVD.

We start filming on December 5th and hope to have it on the shelves and online by late December. I'll be posting more information as I have it. Right now I've wrapped up the instructional layouts (there are nine!) and then next I'm starting on the gallery layouts. It's a lot of work but something that I'm beyond excited about.

The DVD will sell for $24.99 but for our first release we are doing a special offer of $19.99. Not too bad for an idea book, sketch book, and class! We are also going to start pre-orders at the store and on our website, www.scrapbookgeneration.com.

Be sure to check back this evening to hear about my newest project. It's a big one!

Happy Monday! :)

Pumpkin Patch Pout

Last year at the pumpkin patch was interesting due to Drew's difficult attitude. I'm not 100% positive but I think it had something to do with the presence of his new baby brother. Whatever the reason, I still love the pictures. Sure he was mad and grumpy in the majority of the pictures but they make me smile. The pictures still tell a story, even if it's a pouty one. :)

As far as how Drew is doing since we've been home from the hospital...


I'll let the picture tell that story!

• Be on the look out for a fun new project I'm working on right now. I'll be giving more details later on. It's by far the biggest thing I've ever tackled and I'm beyond excited to share it. :)

I'm hoping this never happens again!

Super early on Monday morning Drew crawled up in bed with Mike and I. He wasn't feeling good and was making it very clear with his loud sniffles. By the time we got up he was so tired and weak that he planted his butt on the couch and wouldn't move. I called our doctor and we set up an appointment for later that day. 

When I came home from work to take Drew to his appointment I was shocked to see that he was eating lunch and acting quite chipper. I was so happy that he seemed to be feeling a million times better. I was thinking we really didn't need to see the doctor but figured it couldn't hurt. At the doctor's office he was still in a good mood, very talkative and energetic. The doctor listened to his lungs and decided that he had the early stages of pneumonia. So early, in fact, that he didn't even want to call it that. He prescribed some medicine and we went home relieved that he was okay. We figured some rest and little pampering would be the trick to recovery. 

Fast forward to one hour after we got home. Drew was really not feeling well and complained of his stomach hurting. He threw up and when I was giving him a bath I noticed his breathing was off. Way off. Every time he would take a breath his skin would suck in between his ribs and when he talked he couldn't even get a full word out without taking a breath. I told Mike that I wanted to take him to the ER but Mike thought he was fine. (I swear, men don't get the worry gene!) I decided to run out to the store to get some juice and prime pampering material (books, crayons, movies, etc.) When I got home only 30 minutes later, Drew was even worse. So worse that he was completely out of it and looked horrible. I mean scary, horrible. Mike was convinced and we took off for Urgent Care. 

When we got there they immediately took him back in the room and started breathing treatments. He had chest x-rays, blood tests, and shots. After the first round of breathing treatments he was much, much better and we even thought it might be possible that we would get to go home. Just as the doctor was about to let us go she decided that it might be best to check his blood pulse oxygen level, just to be sure. She checked it and it was such a low number that she thought maybe it was wrong so she checked it on another finger. Three fingers later and she was convinced that we would be admitted to the hospital.

We rode to the hospital via ambulance. I think Drew was stuck between scared and excited. He didn't know what to think. I was terrified. This process wasn't something new to us, we went through the exact same thing two years ago. But still, it was so scary to know that he had to be on oxygen to breathe. 

Drew ended up staying in the hospital for two nights. Two nights of what I consider torture. Drew very much remembers having to have an IV the last time and was terrified to go through that again. It didn't go well. Sleep was impossible because they had to do breathing treatments every two hours the first night and every four the next. Plus they were giving medicine, checking his vitals, and every time he would roll over in bed the oxygen tubes would fall out and the alarm would go off. It was exhausting. One night a nurse came in at 5 a.m. to weigh him. I gave her a look like, "are you kidding me!" Let the poor kid sleep!

For the first day and half we had to basically be on lock down. They thought it was possible that he had H1N1 and so they had to be super careful. Every time someone came in the room they had to wear a yellow protective suit and a mask and we had to wear one if we were sitting at least three feet away from him. Thank goodness, the tests for the flu came back negative.

So, what happened was he had pneumonia and it caused his usually very mild asthma to go crazy. We had thought that we were somewhat in the clear with his asthma but I guess we are going to have to be super careful when flu and cold season rolls around. I was a little nervous to take him back home since we don't have an alarm that goes off every time his blood oxygen level falls. Scary stuff.

Thank you so much for all of the messages, prayers and thoughts. It really means a lot to us. I've come to the conclusion that Facebook is the most genius thing on the planet. Mom, Stacey and I were able to keep everyone updated on Drew with a few clicks on the keyboard. :) 

Halloween Recap

Let's see...

We carved pumpkins. Drew was so happy that he had graduated from goo scooper to pattern poker. I still maintained the responsibility of carving queen. (Yes, I used scrapbooking adhesives to attach the pattern. I couldn't find the regular tape. Mike suggested running out to get some. I laughed and said, "Are you kidding me!?!")

Drew really did a great job and was so proud of his work. I was too!

After we tag teamed the first one I then made the mistake of telling Drew that he could pick out whatever pattern he wanted me to carve from the book. Of course he went straight to the super difficult section.

The next day we made ghost cookies for Drew's daycare friends. These were easy enough that Drew could make them all by himself. He mostly stuck to the eyes which were mini-chocolate chips. About every 10 seconds I heard, "Uh oh! This one melted. I better eat it."

When it came to costumes we knew long ago what Drew wanted to be. He scored a pair of Buzz Lightyear pajamas that he went crazy over. We took it as a sign that since he refused to take the pajamas off for three days that Buzz would be the costume of choice this year. 

Drew was a little disappointed that he had to wear tennis shoes instead of official Buzz Lightyear boots. He finally accepted them when I said they were magic shoes. I love that kids will believe pretty much anything we tell them.

Since one character of Toy Story was already covered...

Meet Woody. Well, the slightly shorter and chubby version anyway. So chubby, in fact, that the middle set of buttons on Jackson's costume refused to stay buttoned. It was hilarious.

First up on the trick or treating map, Scrapbook Generation.  

The men were, obviously, excited about that.

Then we were off to hit the town with Drew's best bud. Usually we would take the boys to our hometowns and visit family but Drew insisted that we go with his girl. I'm glad we did because they had a blast!

Jackson mostly enjoyed the trick or treating festivities from his stroller. This always-on-the-go little guy has turned his stroller into a leash with wheels. He refused to sit and enjoy the ride and instead walks as we push. (We get a lot of laughs from strangers.) 

To sum up a super long post, we had a great Halloween! (and hope you did too!)

P.S. The number one lesson I learned over the Halloween weekend...don't watch Ghost Hunters alone. 

:)