THANK YOU!

It seems like forever since I've had the chance to sit down in my office at my computer. Everything seems so strange and distant. I'm trying to get back into the groove of things, but after spending a week looking at the same four sterile walls in a hospital, it isn't as easy as I imagined. My daughter is also making a comeback. I have to tell you that a three year old on steroids isn't a pretty picture. What a tough time. If anyone out there has had to watch their child suffer while being stuck in a hospital bed hooked up to IVs and monitors, then you know how much it takes out of you. You literally do not feel like the same person when it's all over.

I am so thankful for the doctors, the nurses, the respiratory therapists, the dietary staff, the supportive people my husband works with and, of course, friends and family. How could we have made it through without any of you? THANK YOU!!!

(the marks on Kenzie's face are from the tape they used to keep in the nasal cannula)

So this past week was spent making thank you cards and coaxing my daughter to take her NASTY medicine along with her breathing treatments. She had a follow-up visit with her primary care physician on Wednesday and was given a clean bill of health. Yea!!! We only have three more days of antibiotics and then it'll all be just a distant nightmare. One I certainly hope never to go through again.

Here are a few of the cards I've sent out :
The first card was sent to my husband's colleagues. They were so great and supportive during the week he missed of work. They also sent to the hospital a nice box full of goodies for Kenzie...coloring books, crayons, puzzles, cards, a stuffed Dr. bear, and so much more. A wonderful bunch of people.

This second card was for "Miss Regina" (another of my husband's colleagues). She was very kind to send Kenzie a special friend from the Build-A-Bear workshop. Kenzie hasn't put it down since she received it. I tried to get a picture of her holding the bear, but she was being a typical three year old (on steroids!) and wouldn't cooperate, so it's just a picture of the bear itself on the card.
Because of everything that was going on, I found that I didn't have the time nor the focus to continue in the Urban Anthology Design Star Challenge. I "resigned" with much trepidation and angst, but I knew it was the right thing to do. This layout was the last challenge I completed for UA. It was a "green" layout challenge...recycle, reuse and reinvent.

I started with K&Company paper, scraps of green paper from my stash and an old purple file folder as my background, and I went from there.

Up-cycled items:

OLD BUBBLE MAILER: used part of it as an embellishment and I also used the bubble side to stamp the folder.

MUFFIN CUPS: purchased them at the dollar store but they were too thin to bake with, so I used them on this layout as part of a flower and tucked behind one of the pictures for interest.

CLOTHING TAGS: I used some of my daughter's old clothing tags for embellishments because I loved their designs and they reminded me of them.

BUTTERFLY: The little blue butterfly came off one of my daughter's shirts

MEASURING TAPE/PAPERCLIPS: This little bit of tape was left-over from another project. I used it here with paperclips to show their ages at the time of the photos.

COTTON CLOTH/RIBBON: from an old pair of pajamas and the ribbon was from a shirt

WIRE TIE: I used a wire tie from a loaf of bread to highlight the "U" in my title...it was getting lost with the pink in the tag underneath.

I've also up-cycled a clip, buttons and and an old film strip.

I used Scenic Route rub-ons, Versa Magic chalk ink in Malted Mauve, Sage and Thatched Straw, Scenic Route Chipboard Alphabet that I inked and embossed with skyblue and antique linen. I'd have to say that 90% of this layout is "green".