Merry Christmas!

Hey folks...just stopping by to wish you merry Christmas and leaving a card and a little present for you! Sorry for such a few-liner, we've been taking turns in being sick for the past 3 weeks!

I've been having quite some issues with my store at Divine Digitals. They had changed categories and templates and a BUNCH of my stuff is NOT showing in the store...I've emailed them so many times and it's not fixed yet. Anyway, if you feel like shopping, go ahead - I'm giving out a $5 coupon for everybody. Just use the code merryxmass08 at checkout :) (expires Dec 27th). I'm going to be uploading a new product (a kit that was part of the last Grab Bag) this afternoon...:)

So...MERRY CHRISTMAS to all! (image is clicable for journaling&credits)


PS I'll have a surprise for you after New Year's! (PSSSSSSST....)

GRAB BAG SALE!!!

Woooohooooo, I've finally MADE IT!!!! I've finally received my FTP access so I'm up for this weekend's GRAB BAG SALE at Divine Digital!!! Yay!!! The sale starts today at 12.01 PM and ends on Sunday 23.59 PM EST. Come over to MY STORE and snatch this baggy full of yumminessssss for $2 only!!!

Sorry for such a brief post but don't have time for more ATM!:) Gonna copy&paste my email to friends for you...just so you know how we're doing now:
wanna know our ordinary day? 8.00 get up&ready for school (=breakfast, washing, dressing, brushing hair - reserve half an hour just for that in Amaia's case), feed the little one in the meantime, 9.00 drop Amaia off at the school bus, back home, finally have coffee, get laundry from the washer to the dryer and load the washer, DON'T forget to actually press the buttons!!!! survive Eneko's tantrum, feed Julen...10.00 drop Eneko off at the nursery, go for a walk (= grocery shopping) with Julen, 11.00 get home. Feed the baby. Start cooking lunch. 12.00-12.30 free time (hahaha), 12.45 pick Eneko from school, 13.15 lunch, 13.45 put him down for a nap (takes about 15 minutes). Feed the baby, put the dishwasher (PRESS THE F.....G BUTTON!!!), prepare dinner (if it requires proper cooking not just frying). free time until Eneko wakes up (around 15.00) - that's what, about 20 minutes? haha...Eneko wakes up - snack time, feed the baby. 16.00 pick up Amaia from the bus stop, give her snack. If she has a music class (twice a week) we go straight there, it starts at 16.45. Usually stay around as it only takes 35 min. If she doesn't we either stay outside (if it doesn' rain, which is about once a week)....and if it does (most of the days) we either a) go home (my wish!) or b) go to my SIL's house so they play with the cousins (the kids win), c) go to my MIL's house so they can bug the grandparents (about the same chance as 'b'). Feed the baby. Get home around 19.00...bath, have dinner, get ready for bed. Oh and FEED the baby! 20.00 story time (usually too tired for reading so it's up to the DVD:-)) Baby falls asleep somewhere in the meantime (thank you, angel!)...20.30 Eneko goes to bed. Some protesting and sobbing. 21.00 Amaia goes to bed. Baby's been asleep for awhile now. Yay FREEEEE TIMEEEE!
22.00 WE go to bed:-)

And in case you want to see some photos, here is SEPTEMBER and here OCTOBER.

TAKE CARE!!! XXX

No access yet...

...sorry guys, I haven't received my FTP access yet so I haven't been able to upload the kit yet...:-(((

Finally some new stuff!

Happy Friday, guys! Haven't been here for 2 months...uhhh...but I HAVE been working, LOL! During August we've been getting used to be five:-) and now kids are at school and we have a bit more free time. Eneko only goes 2 hours in the morning but it DOES help. No. 3 keeps being INCREDIBLY good, he hardly cries, sleeps very well and eats like maniac! He's just turned 2 monts and he's 60 cm long (almost 24") and a bit over 6 kg (13,2 lb)! He's so good that we dared going camping for a few days in the end of August. We went to southern France, only about a 3 hour drive. We had a blast! HERE are some photos if you feel like taking a look.
And HERE you can see family pics from this summer:-)

I've only done 2 layouts since Julen was born and I have hundreds of pictures...I'll catch up when I'm old, lol! Done these (click the images for credits):


Buuuuut....I have finished a new kit, yay!!! I had most of it ready before Julen was born but couldn't get myself to finish....so as soon as I get my new ftp access from the store, I'm uploading! And I decided to do an 'introduction' of this beauty so you can grab it for $2,90 only during this weekend!!! It's also a grab bag weekend over at Divine Digitals so you can get great stuff for as little as $2! I'm hoping to upload tonight (I'm GMT+1 so it's gonna be morning for most of you) so then you have until Sunday midnight (EST) to snag it:-) Here's the preview, tadaaaaa:


Yeah, I know, I suck at making previews (and I hate it!), any volunteers....?LOL But it's LOADED with some great and unique stuff, not everyting is shown! Let's go shopping!!!

Gotta run, the little one woke up and is hungry!:-) Have a great weekend!

Happy Birthday!

Well, belated happy birthday to...ME and to my son who was born on my 33rd birthday, July 30th, 2008! There's no scrapbooking in this post, no freebies, no layouts (haven't had time yet, LOL). THIS post is all about Julen and his way to this world. It was by far the best delivery out of the three, I must say. Started veeeeery slow but in the end we almost didn't make it to the delivery room! So....here's the story (not only for you, Aly:-))

On July 29th I went to hospital and they said they'd induce me the next day. It looked like the baby was coming a little biggie for my tiny shell. I didn't protest, he was already well overdue and the last thing I wanted was for him to get to big to pass. I was scheduled for the next morning at 8. I had been 2 cm dilated for 2 weeks but the cervix was not ripe yet, only 20% effaced. They gave me prostaglandines, connected me to CTG and sent me to bed. After 4 long hours of not much of a progress (2-3 cm&20-30% effaced) they suggested a pitocin drip first but in the end we agreed on breaking waters and see what would happen. They connected an IV with some kind of liquid (to keep you hydrated and with energy since you can't eat or drink) and I got up and started bouncing on a gym ball to help the dilatation. The ball was quite small for me though so I ended up on my feet, with my MP3 plugged in my ears and...dancing! There was not much room to walk because of the IV and cables of the CTG so dancing was the only thing I could do. The midwifes seemed to be quite entertained, LOL! Anyway, after breaking the waters I was having nice, strong, regular contractions but...at 4 pm I was still at the same. So we agreed on including a bit of pitocin in the show. At 6 pm, after another 2 hours of nonstop dancing (twist, salsa, merengue....:-)) there was finally some progress - 4 cm and 50% effaced. The shift had changed and the new midwife, Belen, was quite happy with it. She had said before that once I have effaced completely it would be VERY fast. And she was sooo right....my neigbor in the room had been stuck at 5 cm forever and since the baby was buttocks down they told her they'd give her last chance and if she didn't progress they'd do a C-section. They came to check on us again at 7.15pm and while the other girl was indeed sent to have a CS I marked another little progress - 6 cm and 70% effaced!!! About time after all the dancing...I got up to my feet again after the check, Belen (the MW) doubled the pitocin dosis at that moment and went to prepare things for the CS of the other girl. When she came back after about 10 minutes I was not dancing anymore but resting against the wall and in the middle of the preparations I told her I was feeling the head of the baby coming down! She ordered me to jump to bed and checked, the head was there! She laughed and said we'd not make it to the delivery room! But then she told me to push a bit with the next contraction and then said we still had a bit of time to make it. In the delivery room they gave me the option to choose the position to give birth (very surprising considering local conditions!). I didn't have to think twice and positioned myself almost seated. With the first push the tip of the head came out but I couldn't see it. So Belen grabbed one of the metal trays that was there and gave it to hubby to hold it in front of me as a mirror. It was ABSOLUTELY AMAZING to see it!!! I almost forgot to push! LOL Well, the contractions got somehow weaker and it took me about 10 minutes to get the head out, with the help of Belen massaging and stretching the perineum. No wonder, the head circumference was 37,5 cm! Once the head was out she unwrapped the umbilical cord that was around Julen's neck and caught the rest of the body that came like nothing, at exactly 8.08 pm. She put him on my chest immediately, covered him with blankets and checked him. He only gave a short cry so we could see he was fine (and haven't cried more until today, actually!!!). And then it was over....oh man, I could just live those moments again and again and again...someone got a replay button for those? LOL Sooo....we're both just fine, Julen was 3870 g and 52 cm (ca. 8.6 lb and 20.5 in), quite a big boy! I have some stitching inside (luckily no episiotomy needed) but I'm recovering very quickly, belly's almost flat again and I'm gaining strength, mainly due to the fact that the little one is extremely good, he doesn't cry, he sleeps well so far and eats like a maniac:-) He had his first feed shortly after birth, latched very well and has been gaining weight since. He didn't even lose any of his birth weight!:-) Anyway, it's getting late, hope you liked the birth story:-) I must say it was the BESTEST:-) b-day present I could have got!!!:-) And to finish, some photos:

Update and freebie

Hi there! I'll be brief today, for change. LOL #3 hasn't made it yet, today I'm 2 days overdue (well, postdate:-)), having a whole lot of BH but very little progress. I was checked on Monday and was 3 cm dilated. So we'll see:-) I'm trying to keep myself busy in the meantime and I finished the freebie I mentioned in my previous post:-)

But first I wanted to share a couple more LOs done with Summer Escapades. This one by Lenka (aka celenka) - images are clicable for credits and leaving some love:-)


And this one by ErikaT.:


Aren't they gorgeous?!? Okay and now the freebie (told you I was gonna be brief!). It's a set of vintage postcards. Perfect for layering or some of them just stand alone. I added a sand ovelay (see bottom of the preview) and one really YUMMY bonus that is a surprise:-)


If you like it, you can download it HERE. Enjoy!

Will keep you posted on the baby too, hugs!

Still pregnant:-)

Hello! Yes, I'm still in one piece:-) My due date is 5 days away now, nothing extraordinary happened. I've been experiencing a lot of false contractions, sometimes very regular 1-1,5 hrs every 8 minutes first and then every 6 minutes. Then they went away...well, I've been overdue with both my children (12 days with Amaia and 5 days with Eneko) so I guess I'm just too comfy and they don't want to get out!LOL To tell the truth, I've had a few bad days, feeling really low, thinking I'm gonna be pregnant forever...especially hearing news of babies being born 1-2 weeks before due dates...it'll come soon now!

I've been also busy with a new kit (which is not finished yet but will be soon, hopefully) and the 'one-kit CT call'. Belated thanks to all who applied, I got in touch with everybody before 8th which was a challenge because, to my surprise, I got quite a huge response to that call! I was sooooo happy!!! Most of the gals have already made their page and I just want to show off their great work - and I'm linking them so you can leave some love:-) Here's the first batch - pages of Amber, Britt, Andrea and Doti (all of them will be listed clockwise from top left):


Second batch from Jarka, Misa, Kjersti and Lilja :


And third one from Micha, Melissa, Lara and Joselle:


Ladies, thank you so much, you've done a great job!!! I'll post the rest once I put them together!:-)

I've also made a layout for my pregny album - the LAST one!!! (believe me, even if I'm overdue, I'm NOT making Week 41, LOL!):

Credits and journaling here.

I've also been working on a freebie for you, of course:-) But it's not finished yet, sorry...it'll be my priority now, want to have it done before I deliver! Actually, off to work on it now!

See you soon!

Hi there! Sorry for getting back to you so late today but we've had a really busy day! Haven't stopped all day! Had a doctor check and CTG in the morning and then we went to get presents for the kiddos (the new baby will bring them for them:-)) and we went to choose and get a new coffee machine and also a chest of drawers/changing table. After arriving home I had another pleasant surprise with the arrival of the baby carrier I ordered last weekend. I've already tested it (with a baby-sized doll:-)) and I'm quite happy about it. I mean, nothing beats the sling but it needs some practice to wrap it well...so for short carrying at home and also for my hubby it is quite easier to put on the carrier:-) It's one of those new generation ergonomic carriers (the baby's hip are in the position that is correct for her development) - a German product called Manduca. It looks like this:

I'm really looking forward to carrying the baby already, Eneko used to love it (until he discovered crawling and then walking:-)) Amaia was lazier and still liked to be carried it sometimes when she was already 2,5 years. The fantastic thing about it is that you have your baby close and your hands are free! And they always calm down and fall asleep there! This is a photo of Eneko when he was about 2 weeks old:


So all in all it has been a very successful day:-) And after posting this I'm heading for bed straight away!

Back to business then...WOW!!! So many great names you suggested!!! I must say it has been VERY hard to choose!!! There were 2 names in the 'final' and I just couldn't decide which one to choose! LOL So I asked DH to help but he liked both as well...in the end I asked a few friends and the winner is ....SUMMER ESCAPADES!!! And the prize goes to Ken&Vicky in Japan! Congratulations, Ken&Vicky!!! One important thing - I'm missing your email address, tried to track you back to your blog but there's no addy either. So Ken&Vicky - please, when you read it, send me an email and I'll send you your prize immediately!!!

And all the rest - thank you SO much for helping me out! I have sent you the link to the flower pack already! Well, to most of you - have the same problem as above with a few other people - so - Jenny, Stacy , Wanda, Julie and one anonymous that suggested ' Seaside Elegance' - please let me know your email address ASAP!!! Thank you!

Now...since you've all been so fantastic, I'd like to offer you another chance to get this kit for free:-) .......You might have noticed that I do NOT have any CT yet. I've been postponing it because I didn't feel it'd work, that I'd find time to communicate properly with my team....And now, especially with the arrival of another baby I don't want to get into a lot of 'work' that I simply wouldn't manage. Wouldn't be too fair...So I thought of sort of a one-time thing, you know - like a CT for one kit! Just to help me to promote it a little. So...if you'd like to work with it please send me an email with a link to your gallery....what I want from you, in exchange for the free kit, is to create a page (yes, only 1 page!:-)) using this kit...well, let's say about 80% of the layout would be from this kit...and post it in 3 galleries. One of them would be DST, another one Scrapartist and third of your choice. Feel like it?:-) Then I'll be looking forward to your emails!:-) The deadline is July6th and I'll let you know by July 8th (I have another doctor check on the 7th:-))

Okay guys, I'm seriously dead today, it's almost 11 pm and I'm going to bed. Good night!

Happy Friday to everyone! Guess what, I've been a busy bee these past weeks! Yep, scrapping addict is slowly coming back, hehehe....Thank you all for your great comments:-) I still have a couple of people left that I want to reply to (including you, Brooke, and Magdalena! - just want to write a proper email and not just a one-liner...:-) And yes, I do have the greatest hubby on Earth (of course, LOL!)

So what have I been up to, you may be asking? Well, I had this kit I had been working on a bit by bit, it was taking me for ever and now I really wanted to get done with it because who know if I'm gonna have the time AND energy after the little one is born...Apart from that I've managed to catch up on my pregny album, have done 2 pages (Week 34 and Week 36):

Credits here.

Credits here.

And I tried to prepare a layout in advance for Julen when he's born...using Eneko's newborn photo instead. In the end I really liked how it came out with his picture so I left it like that:

Credits here.

Now I'm gonna have to make another one for Julen!:-)

But enough bragging about my family...:-) Here's the deal - this is the preview of my newest kit:


There's something wrong, right? Of course, it's missing a name! And it's exactly what I need your help with. So let's have a little 'contest'!:-) You have until Monday, June 30th, 12:00 GMT to leave a comment here with a name for this kit. Then I'll choose the one I like the best and I'll announce the winner on Tuesday (the only excuse would be if I'm delivering, LOL). The prize for the winner will be nothing less than this kit:-) But none of the participants will come short - all who leave a comment suggesting a name will get this pack of beautiful flowers:


Just don't forget to leave your email so I can send you the link later. If, for some reason, you prefer not to leave your email address in the comment section, send it by email to lemonaid.lucy@gmail.com. So...what do you say? Will you help me?:-)

Looking forward to your entries! Have a great (and creative) weekend! Hugs!

Hi and a great day to all of you! It seems that I'm back on track and that is all due to my fantastic hubby!:-) I thank you all from the bottom of my heart for your truly wonderful comments and words of compassion and support. It means a world to me!!! I couldn't believe how many people have to deal with depressions though! Not that I thought I was the only one in the world, no:-), but still it was surprising to see how many of you have been in a similar situation. Now I also know well how it feels and admire all of you who have dealt with it and left it behind. And I send my love and positive thoughts to those who haven't managed to superate it yet {HUGS, HUGS, HUGS} To explain finally what was wrong...I'll try to be brief:-) The main problem that caused my depression was LONELINESS. See, I have been on maternity leave for a few years and never had a problem, always had friends to catch up with, go to playgroups, swimming, music and dancing classes with Amaia. Even in Holland (not so much there though) and Scotland we managed to find new friends and meet up with other mums with kids. Unfortunately here, as I already mentioned in one my previous posts, most babies start nursery in early months (if not weeks) of their lives and so 99% of the babies of Eneko's age are scholarized already. We didn't have anybody to hang out with! I used to meet a few grandparents strolling on the streets with buggies but nobody ever went to playgrounds (they're scarce here anyway:-(...) Grandparents usually go out to have a morning coffee in a bar and do some grocery shopping in the mornings and then straight home to prepare lunch. So...since most of the babies are at nurseries (or grocery shopping with grannies:-)) there are no activities for mums with babies at all!!! No playgroups, no music, no swimming...and there's also nowhere to go when it rains (and it has rained a whole lot since last summer). Put it all together plus due to my broken ribs first and then pregnancy I couldn't go horseback riding (which was keeping me 'alive' before)...and there you are...It got really bad and I saw I couldn't handle it alone so I went to a psychologist in the end. I lost all the interest in scrapping, friends and outside world in general. Didn't even check my email for months...We were thinking of moving to Prague to be close to my family at least for a few years but we're staying in the end. My husband quit working and has been at home with me since February and that was what helped me get out of it in the first place. I have my best friend by my side every day and it makes a HUGE difference, I can tell you! And he could also see for himself it's no fun when there're not only no other parents with kids but also very few chances to get friends with someone...and told me he was not surprised I got like that when he himself experienced it. Actually, he said he was surprised I was holding on for so long:-) But it's over now!:-)

Sooo...I hope I'll get here more often now and also to your blogs! Well, at least until the little one is born! LOL I've been doing some shopping lately and also working a little, done a few new LO's, mainly for my pregny diary. And changed the blog too, right:-) Still don't feel too much like scrapping or designing (although I have a lot of material) and I want to create only when I feel like it and not because I 'have to' so I resigned from all my CT's and I'm taking it very easy:-)

The pregnancy is going very well, I haven't had any problems. Lately I'm getting a lot of Braxton-Hicks contractions but that's normal at this stage. It's unbelievable but I'm now 34 weeks, only 6 weeks left. My due date is July 21st and I think it'd be pretty funny if Julen (read 'yulen' for English speaking peeps) decides to come out a little earlier because both Amaia and Eneko are born on the 20th (Sept and Oct respectively)!!! Still seems an eternity until we get to know our youngest one. According to the ultrasounds it's all fine with the little one, seems to be a little bigger than he should be so I hope he won't get too huge in the next 6 weeks!

And I thought it'd be a shame if you got all the way here with me and see no proof of progress:-))) My DD has been painting and I've been cutting. And it's all yours if you want it! Hope you like it...Enjoy:-) Here's the preview:


And you can download here.

And to finish, here are my latest LO's:

Credits here.


Credits here.

Credits here.

Credits here.

I guess that's more than enough for today!:-) Hope you'll have a great weekend and thank you all again for your friendship!:-) See you soon!

Hello....anybody still there....?:) I'm slowly getting back to normal life, step by step...have to explain you a lot of things though But I won't do it today...only in short - nothing deadly serious, no...I've just been in a very bad shape...mentally...the psychologist called it a 'deep depression':) That's it. Other than that we're all fine, the kids are growing (too fast, especially the little man - Brooke!:)) And, actually, they're gonna get a little brother soon:) I'm glad I finally got the courage to post here, really! That's a big step forward for me. So I'll tell you the details some other day, ok? And I'm really sorry that I've left you without a note of any kind, I completely closed myself out of the digiworld, have not even come to this blog for months...let alone my email....but I'm getting better, as you can see:) Hope you forgive me...love you all!