Last weekend we participated in the "Walk for Thought" here in Sacramento. Thank you for the support we received. We didn't make our goal, but we did collect $785 for the Brain Injury Association of California. Thank you for your help! Sweet Brookie did a good amount of walking. She did great. Her best buddy, her older brother, walked almost all 3 miles at 4 years old!

We are having a much better day today. It is so nice to have my hubby with me on the weekends. He is such a support through the struggles we're going through. I love having a teammate to help break the fights up between the 4 kiddos. A bonus too. I can finally work on some of the 3d designs I've been wanting to do for Silhouette. This weekend, I finally got my craft room cleaned up enough that I can set up my Silhouette Cameo. I've missed it. Can I say, I LOVE my Cameo.
So I told you I'm working on a few 3D options for Silhouette. Did you know that you can cut, practice and create with regular type paper? Rather than go through my lovely scrapbook paper, when I am making prototypes I go through stacks of type paper. If you are ever trying something new, I encourage you to cut from type paper first! In one of the future posts, I'll try to show you a photo of both my prototypes out of type paper and the real thing out of the nice paper.
Now, to go do some more crafting on this warm, rainy day!! (Cause that is what you're supposed to do on rainy days, right?!)
-Kenzie

Exhausted Momma

Oh boy. It's one of those exhausting days. Brooklynn is doing so well talking and is so book smart. But when she is tired, she's a handful and has no sense of logic. Sadly, this is a result of the injury to the left side of her brain. 

When this whole ordeal happened, and we were sitting in ER, I for some reason just had this idea in the back of my mind that because we were at the hospital and because she had been coherent in the ambulance, that she would recover and only be in the hospital a few days. Okay, I'd never been in ER, so obviously I had know idea. It wasn't until the days kept dragging on and she just wasn't herself that I think I realized the severity of the situation. 

I knew she had fallen a long distance, but occurring a brain injury? It didn't even cross my mind. 

She has here good days and bad days. Today, unfortunately is on of the bad. I don't know if it's because I was with her in the hospital almost every night in February, or if it's just one of those strange side effects of TBI (traumatic brain injuries). But she only wants Mommy and doesn't want anyone (including her siblings) to have Mommy. I love the cuddling she finally does though. 

So her sense of logic. I used to be able to reason with her. No more. Especially when she's tired. It's her way or the highway. And when she doesn't get her way, she starts to get violent. Unfortunately, baby sis is starting to pick up on Brookie's kicking, biting, hitting and throwing stuff. (Sigh)

Today I'm just exhausted from the tantrums she's been throwing. It's supposed to be nap time. It's not happening. She's not sleeping. Oh boy. TGIF. The hubby comes home in a couple hours. Then maybe I can have a peaceful moment. 

-Kenzie

I need your help!

We're participating in the "Walk for Thought" this weekend and need help in reaching our fundraising goal! Donate $5 or more to our Brookie's team and I'll send you 10 designs of your choice. After donating, send me an email at modaley2@msn.com of which 10 designs you would like for free as your thank you gift. Just give me two weeks from the date you email me to go through my archives and gather up the 10 designs you've chosen. I'll email the files back to you.
Here's the link again to the donation page.

Brookie's Pink Piggies

Hurry! Saturday, March 24th is the last day. If we reach our goal, I may even email some bonus designs out to you!

Thank you!

-Kenzie

Turning over a new leaf (or page.)

I've decided that I love reading actual books so much more than my computer screen. My head starts to hurt after awhile of looking at that screen, but reading printed words on an actual paper page, no that's relaxing. Don't get me wrong, I love my computer. I take it everywhere with me. To McDonald's while the kids make friends in the "PlayPlace". It goes with me on every vacation. And most nights, it's sitting next to my bed on the nightstand. Kind of sad, but hey, it's the 21st century. Right?!

So, with my trusty trusty "Casper" computer downloading updates tonight, I finally settled down in a nice warm bath with a book. It was quite relaxing. I'm kind of a nerd, I always love to be learning and growing my knowledge. And so, I found a great book at B&N the other day that made me realize I've been worrying too much about blogging. I came across this book called "Blogging for Bliss" by Tara Frey.

I realized that I've been so worried about putting the right stuff and trying to have a creative blog that I end up not posting anything or only tutorials. Tutorials are great resource for you, but isn't blogging about expressing our ideas and feelings. It's supposed to be a way to release. Many nights I have trouble sleeping because I have so many ideas and thoughts crowding my poor little brain that I can't settle down. I need an outlet! So sorry to those who aren't interested in these kind of posts. Go ahead to the next blog you're following. I'll always be here, so I'd love to have you stop by again. I've decided that I've been trying to hard to impress (which really hasn't been working anyway) and not blogging for me.

I originally started this blog to express my joys, frustrations and expressions when I had 3 kids under 3. Once I started designing for Silhouette, it totally consumed me and my blog. I enjoy what I'm able to do and my contribution to Silhouette, but it's not all of who I am. It's time to get back to me as a whole. I'm a mother of 4 wonderful children and blessed to have them a part of my life. I'm wife to an amazing, fun man who tries to make me laugh even when I'm grumpy and tired. I'm a housewife that can't for the life of me, figure out how to keep the laundry from piling up, the kitchen floor from gathering crumbs and don't even bother to ask me about dusting. That's the last thing on my mind. I'm a designer that loves to make things that others might enjoy.  I'm an artist that loves modern and abstract.

In this crazy, hectic world of being a grownup, it's so easy to lose who I am. It feels good to put thoughts onto "paper" and remember the real me. My head already feels looser! Amazing how good it feels to write. I think I may be blogging more often in the future. I really want to share my story of our experience with Brooke's accident. That's one story that if put down in writing, I think would really help to clear my head. But it's late and I need my beauty rest! So a story for another night.

Walk for Thought

We have been blessed more than we deserve, but I am so grateful for it. Two weeks ago, Brookie was able to come home from the hospital. This week, she was able to have her neck brace removed. To everyone else, she is completely recovered and back to where she was. To us, we can see the changes. But I can live with those changes. We're just glad to have our baby girl alive. Hopefully in 6 months to a year, she will have a complete recovery. Time will tell.
Thank you for your kind words. It was the scariest moment in my life. I hope none of you ever have to go through it, and I feel for those who have gone through it or something similar.
In two weeks, we will be walking in the "Walk for Thought" event put on the Brain Injury Association. We hope to raise $2,000 for this great group. We were blessed to have a positive outcome from Brookie's accident, but many are not that lucky. This group is a non-profit group that helps those not as fortunate as our family deal with their outcome. They have helped us to understand partly what Brooklynn is going through and how best to help her when she acts the way she does, and also what actions are most likely the result of her traumatic brain injury.

(This photo was taken at Disneyland the week before the accident.)

We would love to have your help in reaching our goal of $2,000. If you live in or near the Sacramento, California area, we'd love to have you join our team. Our team is "Brooklynn's Pink Piggies" for her favorite animal and color. Please join us Sunday, March 25th at the capitol if you are able and walk for this great cause. Just be sure to register soon. The entrance fees go up next week.
If you are not able to walk with us, we'd appreciate any donation you can afford. Every little bit helps! I also have a gift to send as a thank you for any donations of $5 or more. Just email me at modaley2(at)msn(dot)com (substituting (at) for "@" and (dot) for ".") after making a donation, and I will email a pack of cut files back to you!

To donate to Brookie's Pink Piggies for the Brain Injury Association of California, click here.

To join our team click here.

Please spread the word to anyone you think might be willing to help us out.  Thank you!

Now, for a group of designs that are waiting in Silhouette's queue. These and more should be added to the store some time this week! For those who have or know a firefighter. Or for those photos of your kids dressed up as these great people: