Justin's Last Day Of Pre-K

I've known since August that May 22nd would be Justin's last day of school. I have known for several months that Justin loves his teacher and that she has helped him immensely. I have known for just as long that we wanted to make something special as a thank you gift for her. I've known for a few weeks that I wanted to make a scrapbook then a garland for her out of K&Co's Kazoo Kids Scrap Pad To Go. Could I find it anywhere??? NO!!! In desperation I trounced around the local stores and found this lovely
paper at Hobby Lobby of all places. It is Daisy D's and it's probably even more perfect than the K&Co that I was obsessed with. I of course didn't find it until Monday afternoon when his last day was Tuesday so I worked late into the night and then in the wee hours of the morning to get it done. I have to say I was a little teary in the class room. My baby will be going to big boy school next fall.. .ALL day EVERY day. It's also scary putting him in the hands of a teacher I don't know. I was lucky enough to know Bambi (Mrs. Brunkow) through scrapbooking so was comfortable leaving my then 4 year old in her (and lovely Mrs Ford's) care. I am also so happy for Bambi. She suffered the tragedy of losing her husband that I cannot, nor want to even try to comprehend but I have noticed on our last few visits that she was sparkling and seemed lighter than I'd seen her in a long time. She confided in me that she had found someone new and that she was getting MARRIED!!! I am so excited for her! She showed me her invitations yesterday (she is making them herself and they are AWESOME!) ...and her honey is quite the CUTIE! He is a very lucky man. My wish for them is many happy years and many ornery kids together! Believe me, after a year with Justin and his classmates she is definitely prepared!

June Tools of the Trade Class

Here is my sample for the June Tools of the Trade class titled "My Hero". It's a masculine layout using the Curvy Cutter, Star Pop Up Punch and the Basic Grey File set.

Sutton's Birthday Party

Saturday was spent at the roller ring celebrating Sutton's birthday. This was only the second time the boys had been roller skating so there were lots of crashes to start out with but I was amazed at how fast they improved. They kept asking me why I wasn't skating ..."don't you know how?"... Little do they know I was quite the skater in my time. My problem is I injure myself falling on nice soft carpet...I don't have a prayer on a hard wooden skating rink. The boys had a ball. Hope Kara appreciates the skateboard Justin got for Sutton ... HA HA HA!

Cub Scout Crossover - Wolf to Bear

Last night was a big night for the Bergmans. Grant crossed over from being a Wolf to a Bear. The ceremony includes eating some "Bear Meat" as a rite of passage. You can see what Grant (who doesn't eat meat on a good day) thought of that!

Also...do you like our outfits? They're new. Kyle and I have gotten pretty involved in the pack so decided to make it official with the lovely uniforms.

Justin's Mother's Day Gift

Justin painted this flower pot and planted this marigold for me in his Turtle Class. He brought it home on the bus Friday but made me wait until Sunday (because Sunday was REALLY Mother's Day) to open it. By Sunday the lovely marigold was a goner. It broke my heart to see him so proud when he handed me the sack and then see his face turn to tears at the sight of the shriveled up flower. Me...I almost like the dried flower better. It shows me that Justin has grown up enough to be able to keep secrets and has developed a concept of time. (Mother's Day isn't until SUNDAY after all...I hope this concept carries over to his Birthday and Christmas. Both in December but every day I still here "When it's my Birthday...")

Grant's Mother's Day Gift

This one is definitely frame worthy!

Epiphany

I have witnessed a miracle. My miracle came in the form of shoes. I have suffered from Plantar Fasciitis for about 2 1/2 years. For those of you who don't know what I'm talking about...you are very lucky and I want to be you. It is extreme heel pain that is caused by a tear in your plantar fascia (the muscle that runs from your achilles tendon to your toes. It feels like you are stepping on a hot spike every time you put weight on your heel. I've been through physical therapy and all sorts of other remedies including shots in the heel which actually made it worse so I've just learned to live with it.

My problem got even worse as I developed sever knee pain in my right knee (left foot hurts now right knee hurts too!) I thought the pain was from falling down my stairs.

I went to an orthopedic surgeon about the knee pain. He examined me and said that I had more than likely torn my miniscus and he could repair that that surgically but I'd need an MRI to make sure that was all that was wrong. The results from the MRI were not good. I had not torn my miniscus but actually had worn a HOLE in it that could not be fixed surgically. The doctor said the only thing I could do was rest the knee so it could grow back. I try to "rest" my knee as much as possible but...get real ...my life does not allow me to lay in bed with my knee elevated all day. I asked him how long this would take (I'd already been 7 weeks in constant pain that didn't even allow me to sleep at night...every time I'd move the pain would wake me up) ...I was getting about as ugly as when the boys had collic for the first three months of their lives. He said...get this...5-6 MONTHS! I started to tear up. He was very compassionate but told me that maybe next time I hurt myself I could do something that he could actually fix! (he couldn't help me with a fractured elbow 5 years ago either)
He gave me some mild pain meds to help me sleep and I was off.

Last week was particularly bad so I did more research on the internet. It turns out that my plantar fasciitis and the hole in my knee could be related. It turns out that by limping to relieve the pain in my right foot I have probably worn a hole in my left knee...go figure!

I know this is a long story but my husband is skeptical of my internet diagnosis. When I told him about my revelation he said...hmm... I guess if I put something on the internet that says something other than expensive shoes and insoles you'll believe that too. OK...I'm beating him to the punch so since my theory is out there first then it's got to be true so I am obviously going to feel better.

OK...then to the shoe shopping. I have a very wide foot which makes it nearly impossible to find shoes that fit. I'd made two trips to Comfort Plus Shoes. The first time I tried on several shoes and found one pair of Brooks that I thought might work. The problem was that my feet were so sore from trying all of the shoes on I wasn't absolutely sure so decided to come back later just to make sure. On my second trip the salesman had me try these absurd looking shoes called MBT's. I'm a shoe fanatic so the fact that these look so crazy and that I actually bought them and wear them CONSTANTLY attests to what miracles they are.

They are designed so your arch bears your weight instead of the heal and ball of your foot. They also rock back and forth so you are forced to stand straight up. As soon as I put them on I felt better. I have not been able to stand without pain for 2 1/2 years. Instantly my heel and knee felt better when I was just standing. When I walk I have no pain in my heel and just a little in my knee. The only thing that is a little bit of a downer is that in these shoes I am now close to 6 feet tall because the soles are so thick. I've always been self conscience of my height but Kyle says he can still see my roots (nice) so he's still taller than me which is really all that matters.

I wore them to the Pack Meeting last night and was amazed that when I stood up after sitting for about an hour...NO PAIN! Pain free for the first time in 2 1/2 years! This morning when I got up the pain was back. I hate wearing shoes. I want to be bare foot all of the time...but I put the shoes on shortly after I got out of bed and the pain is gone. Definitely going to have to get the sandal version...no matter how ugly they are!

Star Spangled Banner Class

OK...went a long time after starting the blog to actually adding a new post but now I'm on a roll so watch out!

I've been working on my June classes and finally got the "Star Spangled Banner" Workshop sample done. After spending a day and a half literally covered in glitter I can actually say I'm happy with it. Glitter is my favorite thing plus it's got some fun and unexpected things tucked in. I love altered art because there is so much to look at. I love items where you can find something new even if you've looked at it several times before.


The class is Sunday June 10th from 1pm-5pm at 2 Scrappy Sisters in KCK and is $35. You get everything you see on the sample except for the lovely photos of my family...but I guess those could be included too for a small fee...ha ha ha! Oh yah...and there are also 4X6 flags sticking out of each end of the banner that I added after I took this photo. If you can't make it or live out of the area you can always call the store and we can send you a kit.

Purge

Hi All,

I've been trapped in the non-blogging world and was finally able to escape. Life this time of year is so crazy with all of the boys' activities, doing stuff for the store and EK as well as my biggest project...I'm moving my "studio" from the dining room (we have an open floor plan house so my "disaster area" can be seen by all...not good) to our lovely pit of a basement!!!

This was no easy task as our basement is literally a PIT! I actually have to go through the garage to get to the basement. We have been in this house for ten years...bought it before we got married so have added three wedding showers worth of gifts as well as 8 years worth of boy stuff. It was pretty much floor to ceiling stuff with a path from the door to the washer and dryer.

First of all I know that overcoming an addiction begins with admitting you have a problem. OK...here it is...I'm a hoarder! I come by it honestly:

My grandmother was a hoarder. When we moved her into a nursing home we found over 2oo margarine containers in her crawl space. Her excuse was that she lived through the depression so she saved everything. OK.

My mother is a hoarder. She is also a crafter. Every couple of years she picks up a new hobby and goes wild. She gets EVERYTHING she can find to support that hobby. Now the old ranch house is busting at the seams with everything from wood to stamps (major obsession) to scrapbooking to a small yarn retail outlet...not a boutique...an OUTLET! She says it's because her MOM lived through the depression and would never let her throw anything away....hmmm....I see a pattern developing.

Luckily I have the support of a non-hoarding friend who is helping me to break the cycle. For every voice in my head saying "you can't throw that scrap away...you might need it SOMEDAY" I have Kara shouting at me to get rid of it..."It's only weighing you down!" She's right. I do not need to keep all of the clothes that I'll never fit into again just because there is a memory attached. I have photos and what do you know...MEMORIES... for that. Don't need that leather mini skirt from the 80's!

The hardest part was getting rid of ANY of the boy's clothes...not the toys...the clothes! I look at those tiny things and remember when their little bottoms used to fit in the palm of one hand. They are both two handers now! Again...I have the photos AND the memories...and the bottoms only in a larger size! I am also lucky enough to have a family in Grant's Cub Scout den who have a younger brother that fits into a lot of the toddler thing so I get to have visits with my sentimental little clothes every week or two. Getting rid of the toys was not as hard because I am so tired of picking them up and stepping on them...plus the boys are SO NOT into Pooh or Thomas any more. It's all Transformers and Legos (which I might add hurt much worse than the squishy Pooh's under my bare feet)

I'll post the before and after photos once I have everything in place so check back later.

In the beginning...

Hello all -

At the nagging of my buddy Kara I have finally put together my own blog. I am still baffled as to what I'm going to put on here but at least it's out here for when I am so motivated.

For those of you who don't know me...here's my story and the main reasons why a blog about myself seems silly.

1. I have been a full time Mom of Grant - 8 and Justin - 5 since Grant was born....so no great office stories or gossip about co-workers. OK except for the crazy things our dalmatian Hailey Bop and cats Stubarella (unfortunate tail amputation), Maestro (get it?) and Melody do (or drag in from outside).

2. I have just started working for 2 Scrappy Sisters in KCK. I'm sure you think "Great...lots to talk about for your blog!" - not really. I am the one who does their website and most of their email blasts so it's already out there at www.scrappysisterskc.com.

3. Probably my most exciting claim to fame (if you can call it that) is that I have recently become a "Creative Alliance" for the scrapbooking manufacturer "EK Success". This should be it, right? The motherlode of blog fodder. BUT NO! The biggest portion of my job with them is TOP SECRET! I can't tell nobody nothing! My first product is finally on the market though so I can tell you about that. They are called "CutterBee Piercing Bugs". I invented the little spikey wheel in the middle that pierces the holes. If you see them in a store right now you will not see my name. The packaging is supposed to say "Designed by Susanne Bergman for EK Success"...but OOPS!...went to press without that on there. It should be there on future runs but we'll see. I was joking with my husband that I should sneak a pen into stores and sign all of the packaging. He suggested getting a stamp made - more efficient. That would make the ones that were not signed a more valuable collector's item...ha ha ha. All of my other stuff is in limbo until Martha Stewart's line is out. (EK is the manufacturer for Martha Stewart Crafts too...who'd have thunk I'd ever have anything in common with Martha???!!!) Her stuff is supposed to be in Michael's in May so if you could send subliminal messages to the powers that be at EK and the factories in Asia to do my stuff next...that would be AWESOME! LOL

Anyhoooo...I've got to get back to my "real" job. (Husband should get a kick out of the term "real" as because all of my jobs revolve around scrapbooking I doubt he'll ever consider any of them "real") I'm teaching "A Year In The Life" book at 2 Scrappy Sisters on Sunday. Paper to cut, stuff to print, embellishments to package....on....and....on...and...on.

Happy Thursday!