My first post

I have been thinking about starting a blog for a while. I really admire the bloggers that I follow on a regular basis, especially their commitment and dedication to their blogs. I would like to think that I will post on a regular basis. For now, I'm going to commit to posting two times per week. And I have decided to make a firm commitment not to talk about work. I can't really talk about my job without compromising my students' privacy, so there isn't much to say on that front. Besides, I don't want my blog to turn into a rant about anything work-related anyway because I know that will only add to my stress.

I have been scrapbooking for a while, and I recently created what I consider my best layout to date. I'm so impressed with it because when I started working on my son's scrapbook over a year ago, I was pretty lost. I look back at some of my early pages and cringe a bit. But something about this one really came together nicely.

This photo is really special to me for a lot of reasons. This was the last time I ever swaddled my son. It was early morning, and I was trying to get ready for work. Usually I was able to feed Ben when he woke up around 5 am, and then I would lay him back down for a nap before we left for daycare. Then I was free to get ready for work. On this particular morning, Ben was very fussy and wouldn't give his mommy a break. I decided to try swaddling him, and I put him back on his play gym with his kitty. He drifted off right away. He looked so sweet lying there with kitty that I had to grab my phone and capture the shot.

I used the Martha Stewart Kids line of papers and embellishments. And I have Donna Jannuzzi from Write.Click.Scrapbook to thank for the inspiration. This was inspired by her blog post on patterned papers and her page titled "Sometimes It's Hard." Thanks, Donna! I love all of your beautiful pages and your adorable pictures of your children.