Visitors

Isaac and I had the loveliest visitors today - Kathie and Jamie came to play! We had a great chat and the boys had a great time playing, once Isaac got over wanting to grab Jamie and kiss him like he does his teddy bear!

Jamie is such a clever little thing at posting, and loved Isaacs rocket shape sorter - he was very good at it too. Its always so cute to see how alike they are in what they doing, and also see the differences as well. I kept telling Isaac to watch and learn. He is quite happy to push the shape in once you sit it there (because thats what his brothers do for him) but he hasnt yet seen the need to do it all himself!
They were so cute to watch. Always checking out what the other one had. Just like Isaac, Jamie didnt take long to find one of the 'big boy' toys. He was fascinated by spiderman. What is it with stuff like this? Isaac has baskets full of toys, but if they are around he will always pick up one of his brothers toys in preference to his own!

I got some yummy muffins from the bakery this morning, and got one each for the boys for after school. I decided to give one to Isaac as well - it was his first muffin and he loved it. He is developing a very sweet tooth for such a little boy! I couldnt believe how fast he gobbled it down!

another first

It was haircut day today, and although I absolutely adored those gorgeous whispy baby hair bits on Isaac, I decided that it was time for his first haircut. It was starting to annoy him and get in his eyes all the time..but it did look so cute, and I was scared of him loosing that baby look. I didnt want much off, and Im really happy with it, just a trim (with some of the precious blonde curls bagged up for me to keep) I dont think he looks too grown up - Ive still got my baby for a bit longer LOL

Fabric Paper

I created this LO almost entirely from fabric. Originally the photo corner was going to be for the Scrapboxx DT competetion - the brief was one product three ways - my product was going to be fabric. But for various reasons I made the descision to withdraw from the competition. I was having such fun playing with the fabric that I turned it into a LO, and wrote an article about the technique for Scrapbook Stations fancy schmancy new newsletter.
You can view the first edition here.



Congrats to the girls that made it through the next round of the SBX comp. I saw the entries this morning and they are all awesome. LOL Michelle, even though you didnt use your boys on your entry I picked yours out straight away - gorgeous. (As are the others whos entries I instantly recognised !) Good luck in the next round.

digi scrapping

Well I didnt get a chance to get any scrapping done! The boys decided to stay home and play cricket instead of fishing. I have however just completed the second lesson in a digi scrapping course being run online by Tracy Watson. As you know Ive been struggling a little (understatement!) with photoshop so I thought this would be the perfect opportunity to learn the finer points. Dont think Ill become a convert (although you never know!) but it will be great for designing my christmas cards and invitations etc. This first LO was just a simple graphic one - learning a few bits about layers etc. I knew most of this, but it was good practice. Next lesson is designing our own PP - I cant wait!

Also thought Id share the invites Ive designed for Isaacs birthday party. They took me such a long time!!!!! So wish Id done this little bit of the course before I attempted them - oh well I got there in the end LOL. I uploaded them and ordered the prints tonight. Should arrive on my doorstep sometime this week.

Lastly I wanted to send the biggest thank you to my friend Kathie. Today I printed out my blog entries of the monthly letters that Ive written to Isaac. I started writing them after reading several of Kathies letters to Jamie on her LOs. With the exception of the first couple of months Ive actually written regularly. It was wonderful to sit down and read through the progress of my little man. The big milestones, and the little moments that may otherwise have been forgotten. So thanks for the inspiration gorgeous - I will be forever grateful! I even sat down and journalled the whole birth experience. I know I did it not long after the actual birth, but it got lost in cyberspace some where I think. I still had the times etc that things happened written down so it was suprisingly easy to fill in the rest. I didnt realise it was still so vividly etched in my mind after 11 months LOL.

Well 'thats all folks' I think two entries in one day is enough for anyone

great weekend

so far we have been having a lovely relaxing weekend. I went and spent soemtime with my little sister and her gorgeous girl georgia yesterday, then took the boys to see some model cars racing near her house. They loved them, but thought it was too loud to stay very long - Isaac was the only one not at all bothered by the noise. I didnt feel like cooking tea last night so we gave my mum & dad a ring and headed to the local pub for tea with them.

Today after dramas with the computer this morning (we thought the kids has managed to wreck the cordless mouse while they were playing games online - GRRR we were so cross with them. After a phone call or two to a computer friend ti turns out that the batteries were flat in the mouse - I didnt even know it had batteries!!!! Had to apologise to the kids and tell them it wasnt their fault lol) We went for a drive to whispering wall, and then to the big rocking horse. Had a lovely couple of family hours. I think Craig and the boys are heading off fishing ata local dam a bit later as well. I still havnt managed to get Isaac to sleep, so I might be sitting here while they go fishing and he sleeps - mmmm wonder what I could do to fill in some time ;)

I did this LO Friday. There was an online challenge (on Scrapboxx I think?) to scrap a LO with out a photo. It inspired me to do this. I found this quote a couple of weeks ago and loved it. Its framed (love having a cheap shop close by!) and sitting on my desk. Now all I have to do is tidy and redo the rest of the room. Maybe this will be the catylist for a whole room makeover! maybe not too!

Hope you are all haivng a lovely weekend too.

11 months

My poor little poppet....
You spend a great deal of this month absolutely miserable. You picked up a virus which really knocked you around. You had a temperature for a week, which was helped only a little by panadol drops. You hardly ate a thing, and I really had to work hard to even get enough fluids into you. All you wanted was to be cuddled. You cried every time you were put down, and I don’t think we saw your precious smile, or heard your sweet laughter for nearly a week. It has taken two and a half weeks for you to get back to your normal self. It was heartbreaking to see you so miserable and be able to do so little to comfort you. You would start crying and clamp your mouth shut as soon as you saw the panadol syringe – you were so sick of taking medicine.

Thankfully the last few days you have been back to your cheeky little self. Laughing at everything and nothing, playing peek-a-boo under the table, continuing your ongoing discovery expedition of each and every room of our home. Even though you have free run of the family area, your bedroom and the playroom, we have to remember to shut the doors to the toilets, bedrooms and office or you find your way in and the exploring begins! You have even worked out that sometimes the boys bedroom door doesn’t latch properly, so even when it looks closed you still crawl over and give it a push just to check. If it swings open you take that as an open invitation. Your brothers are pretty good at keeping little stuff off their floor, but you love to be right there with them as they play, which sometimes becomes quite frustrating for them. They pick you up and take you out to your toy corner, but you manage to find them again in no time at all. If the door is closed you sit there calling to them. During the past two weks of school holidays we have been putting the safety gate in the door of their room. At this stage that is keeping everyone happy. You can see them, they can see and talk to you, continue their play, and have their personal space respected as well.

Your understanding of the world around you is expanding beyond belief. I think I had forgotten what a steep learning curve little babies go through in their first couple of years.
You love to play a little game where I hold your hands and say up…down…up…down… when I say up you stand up tall, and when I say down you squat down. Its too cute.
You just melted my heart yesterday. I was laying on the lounge,watching you crawling around the room when our eyes met, you gave me the biggest smile. I said come and give mum mum a kiss, I didnt really expect any reaction from you, it was just part of the daily chatter that we share. Your eyes lit up, and you crawled straight over to me, pulled yourself to stand at the chair and landed the biggest sloppiest kisses right on my lips. I picked you up and hugged you so hard sweetie. I love you so much. I must, cause you dont care if your face is dirty or your nose is running, when you want a kiss there is no stopping you. Mouth wide open, dribble going everywhere. And you insist on planting it straight on my lips. Its probably a kiss only a mummy could appreciate! You even think that me wiping all the dribble off and saying eewwww is hilarious....so you give me another one.

We have started to hear dad dad dad occasionally too – much to Daddys delight. You are so excited when Daddy gets home from work nowadays. You are becoming a lot more social, and are getting to be quite a little daddys boy, when he is around. You love the silly songs he sings, and the funny noises he makes. You love sitting in his arms and getting to look at the tin animals way up high on top of the meatsafe. You love tickles and peek-a-boo, giddy up horsey and hanging upside down. You love just spending time hanging out with your daddy.

You have nearly mastered the art of waving goodbye, although this skill seems to come and go at your whim. We are also working on clapping hands. You have managed to do it a couple of times, but I suspect the meeting of your hands was more of a fluke than good planning! Surely after the amount of times we have sung ‘if your happy and you know it clap your hands’ to you, you will want to master this really soon just to stop all of us singing and clapping. You do love us to sing to you though. Your favourite songs are ‘twinkle little star’, if your happy and you know it shout horray’, ‘hey diddle diddle’ & ‘hush little baby’. I wouldnt be surprised though, if the first words you sing are “I wish I was a punk rocker with flowers in my hair” this song is so stuck in mummies head that I walk around singing it all day…even your brothers know the words and sing along with me now.

We have also moved on to the excitement of finger foods. Mummy is not good at the whole messy eating thing, but in an attempt to get you eating something (anything) during your recovery I tried lots of things. You took to finger foods like a duck to water. Ravioli, steamed vegetable fingers, wholemeal crumpets, bread, pears, bananas you devour it all. Today you even managed to eat dried apple rings – how you manage that with only eight front teeth I will never know. One thing you havn’t had much successs with is your sipper cup. Slowly you seem to be getting the idea but its taking a while for you to work out you have to tip it up to get anything out. Too many willing little helpers to do it for you I think!

You had your first real accident last week. You were having a wondeful time in the little clam shell pool under the pergola. I was sitting right next to you paddling my toes (also very funny apparently) when you decided to stand up and topple head first onto the pavers. You banged your head, and skun your nose and lip. With a runny nose its taken a while to heal as well. I think that the little pool might need to go on the grass from now on - although with water restrictions tightening we wont be filling it very often. { This past year has been one of the warmest and driest in a long long time. I sometimes worry what the world will be like as you grow up. I fear some of the things we take for granted today will become much harder to come by. We live in such a lucky country, but unless we learn to respect and conserve our natural resources it is going to be alot harsher and cruler than I have ever known}


AND… the last week and a half you have been sleeping through the night!!! Im not sure if it’s the after effects of the virus, but Im loving it, and I hope we have finally turned a corner in regards to your sleeping.

I cant wait, in four more weeks we will be celebrating your first birthday. There are invitations to make & presents to choose. It will be such fun to plan a special day just for you.

I Love you forever my sweet little angel.

Mummy xxx

Birthday Brunch & SAM retreat - one year on

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MUM! To celebrate we had a birthday brunch at our place. Its become a bit of a tradition over the past few years. It all began when we decided that brunch on Easter Sunday was a great excuse to all catch up as a family, and now it happens more and more. Its a pretty simple affair, everyone brings along something and we have a big cook up outside on the BBQ. Eggs, bacon, sausages, piles of fresh toast, juice & coffee. We usually eat at about 10.30am and then sit around catching up for hours after. Its 2.30pm and the last ones just left.

I actually remembered to grab everyone soon after they arrived for a group photo. Ive been meaning to get one for ages, but you know what its like (especially with lots of kids ) there is always someone asleep, or hungry, or someone has to leave early or had to work and couldnt make it. LOL
So this is my family...Mum & Dad: Jodi, her DH Col and their three kids Jessica,Lucas & Riley; my youngest sister Vicki her DH Mike & baby Georgia and the five of us. Some strange faces there, but its near on impossible to get everyone to look and smile at the same time!

Yesterday was one of those days I just felt all inspired to scrap. Craig was at golf, the boys were all content and amused so I did one LO in the morning (cant share yet) and last night I still felt that urge (haha no not THAT urge!) so I scrapped another whole LO. Ive been wanting to scrap this photo since the retreat last year, but Im still waiting to get it on disc (!!!! subtle I know) so I went blog surfing and snatched all thepics I needed from your blogs. This photo has been scrapped a million times, and I will probably use it again when I actually get around to scrapping a LO or two about all the fun we had at the retreat. This LO was actually inspired the gorgeous photos of these little bubs who were all in the making at the retreat (even if some of their Mummies didnt realise it yet!!!!) It was fun, and really good to scrap about a slightly different topic for a change.

















Its also hard to believe thats its been a year since Mel and I jetted off to the other side of the country to spend a weekend with the most gorgeous and fun group of girls you could hope to meet - who we had never even met before. Its awesome when people you have never met before offer to pick you up, have you stay at their house and drive you around for the weekend - and to top it all off they turn out to be one of the most genuine and gorgeous girls ever - thanks Rozzie! I think our family and friends thought we were a bit batty going all that way for a scrapping retreat. But it was SO worth it. My only regret is that I wasnt able to enjoy it to the full (read stay up all night drinking and scrapping) as I was 36 weeks pregnant at the time, and had to be a little gentle to my poor old body. I couldnt even manage the walk up & down heartbreak hill most of the time, just as well I was able to borrow a car from some lovely chicky!

Craig & Pete have gone off to the 4 wheel drive show this afternoon, and when they return Sabine and I are off to see the dixie chicks at the entertainment centre tonight, Should be a good show. Tommorrow is the last day of holidays for the boys, so we better get all organised for Tuesday - Im definately not looking forward to getting back into the school routine again! Ive been enjoying my sleep ins too much.

nearly better

after a long week of a miserable little bubba, I think he has finally turned the corner and is on the mend. Today was the first day since last Saturday that he actually ate a reasonable amount, so things are looking up. He was laughing and playing again today - he has just been whinging and clingy while he was unwell. He still has a yukky cough, but that seems to be improving as well. AND ....wait for it..... he slept all night last night!!!

Yesterday was Nathans birthday, so he had a party at home with 5 of his mates from school. It was a pretty hectic three hours, but they all had lots of fun. Nathan wanted a sports theme, so I made the cake into a football, and we had sporty type games. Handball competition, egg & spoon race using golf balls instead of eggs, throwing a tennisball into a basket, donuts on a string, musical statues, a pinata type thingo and Naths favourite pass the parcel. He got some really cool pressies. We gave him a crows gurnsey, money tin with lollies in it, guitar stand & a how to draw(allsorts of things) book. He also got a couple of games, a bike computer, vouchers from a bike shop to buy a new helmet, magnetic sticks and balls, captain underpants book, sketch pad and pencils, over the hedge DVD, Lego, and i think there were a couple of other bits and pieces that cant think of right now. Here are a couple of pics ..the cake...


















donut on a string eating competition....















and lastly the all important blowing out of the candles....























It was also fantastic to have Craig home for the day to help out as well. I think he has nearly as much fun as the boys organising some of the games!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MATE!!!!!


On the scrapping front Ive completed another LO for my EDM album. So far so good. Ive done the 3 Family LOs, 3 (+) snapshots LOs, 0 (!) celebrations LOs (still thinking on this one), 1 Home LO. I picked up a few things online that I had been trying to get hold of (MMM fabric paper, CC Rubons, SEI iron alphas) but do you know how hard Im finding it to get hold of some Strano ribbon. Might have to sneak into anyones house that admits to having any and steal scraps out of your bins LOL.
[ Seriously though, if anyone has any un-needed off cuts (in boy colours) I would be happy to pay postage and send you something in return if you can spare any (yeh OK Im getting desperate but its the one sponsor that I have absolutely none of)]

half way

I cant believe that we are half way through the first week of the school holidays already.

We had a great weekend. went to Sabine & Petes for a bonfire Friday night, and ended up back there for a leg of lamb cooked in the camp oven in the coals again Saturday night - yummo as usual.
Isaac felt really hot when we were leaving at about 11am, he had seemed fine at 6.30pm when I put him down to bed. He ended up having a really restless night, and despite a couple of doses of panadol still had a high temp and was really lethargic Sunday, so off to the doctor we went. We are really lucky here, there is always a doctor on call in the local area - thankfully it was our own GP on Sunday. Its a non specific virus, but its really knocked him around.
We had Craigs family for lunch, so there was plenty of willing arms for my poor little bubba to lay in while he was awake. All he has wanted is to be held, he is so restless while he is sleeping even, and his little mouth clamps shut and he shakes his head as soon as he sees the panadol syringe!

He has been off his food since Saturday night, and Im really having to ensure he keeps up his fluids, as he isnt really all that interested. Needless to say its been a long few nights and days. He has of course lost weight cause he isnt eating - not that you can really tell LOL, but I noticed tonight when I put a pair of trackies on him they fitted well - I was ready to put them in the too small box last week as they were far too tight around his belly.

This morning Nath woke up feeling like crap so off to the doc with them both - same viral thing, although its not knocking him nearly as much!

Isaac seemed to be picking up on Monday, so as it was a long weekend we headed off to the wetlands for a couple of hours with Sabine & Pete, as they had promised to take the boys bike riding. Craig and I went walking with Isaac while they rode. It was such a beautiful day, and a great way to spend it.

I have a couple of LOs to share finally. They have been done for a few challenges/comps etc and a couple have been picked up by SM.

This first one is of my neice Georgia. She looks so serious in the photo! but I love it anyway. All the embellishing is done with those temporary kids tattoos. Im really not good with using circles on my LOs, but Im thrilled with the way this turned out.


















Next is a double of Isaac - youve already seen some of these photos on my blog before.















Isaac again, using some photos from his 10 month photo shoot I did last week (or was it the week before??) - and yes I managed to squeeze another (little) circle onto this one LOL


















And last but not least a LO from the latest Scrapbook Station DT brief - decorative edges. Isaacs baby book is going to be bulging at the seems LOL



















I do still scrap Caleb & Nath, Im nearly finished one of C on my desk now - its just so much more of a challenge lately, it takes a while to do something Im happy with. Im finding the little boy LOs so much easier!

As you can see Im lovin' the whole white background thing atm too! And being on the very limited budget that I am right now, Ive just been using the inserts from my page protectors! I can remember a year or so ago that thought would have horrified me, in fact using anything but bazzill would have horrified me. Thankfully Ive gotten over my cardstock snobbery and I figure it does the same job so why not!!! More to spend on other yummy stuff this way....speaking of which, I dont think I shared my yummy little stash from my birthday money shopping spree, so here 'tis...Lots for my EDM album, and a few other bits and pieces.

10 months

What a difference eight weeks can make. The past couple of months have seen some major milestones reached in your little life.













Your elusive toothy pegs have been popping through quite regulary, to date you have cut seven, with the eruption of another looking imminent. I suspect this discomfort may have something to do with the interupted nights sleep we are still getting on a regular basis. So sweet one, once this next tooth has cut, sleeping all night every night it will be! It is such a treat when you actually sleep all night with out waking. Your day time sleeps are now usually for a couple of hours in the morning and the same in the afternoon.

You have mastered the art of crawling. No longer do your movements look awkward or unco-ordinated, but rather you move quickly and with purpose. Your poor red knees are testiment to your method of movement, and you can often be seen scurrying on your hands and feet (rather than hands and knees) to give them a well deserved break. You pull yourself up to stand on anything with in reach, and have just begun, ever so tentitively, to 'cruise' the furniture. Nothing with in reach is safe from your inquisitive grasp.

The warmth of the spring sunshine has allowed us to spend alot more time outside. You explore every nook and cranny, everything that moves or catches your attention is examined thoroughly. The tiny ants are a constant source of fascination. Your chubby little fingers try again and again to touch them as they scurry across the pavers, but they are usually to quick for you. The blades of grass, the rustling leaves, the sandpit and tonka trucks all have you in a state of wide eyed wonder as you methodically try to make sense of our ever changing environment. Mummies peg basket is a firm favourite. Filled with all those brightly coloured pegs, ready to picked up, dropped, chewed on and rattled around. You still adore being in your swing under the pergola. You giggle and kick your legs wildly in anticipation as I hold your feet and pull you towards me, ready to let you go and let you swing back and forth and back and forth.

Sadly at nine months you promptly decided to wean yourself from your last remaining breastfeed. There was no warning. One morning as we snuggled into my bed for your feed, as we had done so many times before, you refused me. No amount of caoxing would convince you otherwise. You now have three bottles of cows milk a day. One in the early hours of the morning, one before your afternoon sleep, and one at bedtime. You LOVE your food, and recently decided that mashed vegies were not suitable food anymore. You like pasta or rice with diced vegies and minced beef , tuna, chicken or turkey. You love fruit, and yoghurt, milk arrowroot biscuits, cheese, weetbix, porridge, hot chips (from the boys plates when we go out) and even pieces of mummies toasted sandwich and are you are surprisingly efficient at chewing up lumps.

You have definately found your voice. Mum mum mum mum was your first word, although Im not to sure it actually refered specifically to me. Nether the less it was your first definate word. You make so many noises. Snorting and squeeky little noises as you suck air back in. You squeal with delight or frustration. You can turn the tears on in a flash when you get put down or when you get growled at. This comes complete with the cutest poutiest little lip dropping face you have ever seen. Its very effective though, it just melts the heart of anyone you pull it on. You also screw up your nose, purse your lips and snort in and out when we tell you to ssshhhhh - you can be so loud. Your comprehension of what Im saying to you is expanding rapidly. When you touch something you know you shouldnt, you sometimes look at me and screw that little nose up before Ive said a word. You stop, momentarily, when we say no. Your legs kick and jiggle around excitedly when you hear the word botbot (your bottle) . When I smell that tell tale aroma and say whos got a poopy bottom, as I scoop you up to change you, you always give me that sly little grin. When I get you up in the afternoon and say lets go and pick up the boys from school, the biggest smile lights up your whole face. Im sure you understand much more than we sometimes give you credit for.

We went away to Kangaroo Island for a couple of days recently. You travel so well, and are so good when we are away. Your routine is totally disrupted, and you manage on very little of your normal amount of day time sleeps. This time we had a backpack for Daddy to carry you in. You just loved being so close to him. You looked so safe and secure sitting there on his back. When Daddy isnt around you look to me to have all your needs met, but when Daddy is around, more and more you are starting to seek him out. You love his company. You love that he takes you around and shows you things and tells you all about them. I love seeing the special bond that is developing between the two of you.

You are growing so fast.
Time seems to be passing us by so quickly.
You are well on the way to becoming a toddler.
I feel blessed that you are such a delightful little baby.
I love you little one.

Mummy xxx

{ I just adore these photos of Isaac. I am going to have a series of them printed to frame on his wall. (I have already scrapped them, and I only took them yesterday!) The little cane chair is actually my Nannas. I have fond memories of sitting in it at her house as child. I like the photos better in colour, but photoshop has me beat tonight - every time I drag them over to the blank canvas layer they change to b/w !!??????

he's got personality!!!

Just lately Isaac has decided that the best way to communicate is through pulling the funniest faces you have ever seen. These two have become quite standard reactions.

No 1. The don't tell me to sshhhhh face, which is pulled on demand anytime someone says ssshhhh.






















No 2. The dont tell me NO, drop the lip, pouty face - pulled this time after being growled at for standing up in the bath (again!)

rain, wind, sun, wind and more wind!

What a whirl wind of a trip. We left home at 6.15am Friday morning and headed off to cape Jervis to catch the ferry across to KI. The ferry trip over was aweful!!! It was really windy. the waves were crashing over the window of the boat (well nearly) and there were people vomiting - mmmm what a great start to the holiday. We ended up sitting outside up the back of the boat in the fresh air and were all fine, even Nathan was OK once we were outside. ( Nathan usually gets car sick anyway, so after two hours in the car, then this ferry trip he was looking as white as!) Dont think he would have been if we stayed inside with that smell though! Thank goodness the ferry only took about an hour.

Once we got to KI we headed off to American River to catch up with my sister and her family. We were originally going to crash with them, but due to unforseen circumstances but they had arranged another place just down the road for us instead. It was a big three bedroom holiday house, and much to the kids delight had ausstar on the TV! We went out driving for the afternoon and saw the honey farm and the sheep cheese dairy. Got to try some yummy sheeps cheese & yoghurt. We loved the haloumi, and feta, but the kids favourite was the kefalotiri - so thats the one we bought home with us. Tasted a few different honeys as well, and the kids decided on getting some cup gum honey - its sweet and mild and very yummy. Bizzarr weather today, one minute its pouring the next there is sunshine and not a cloud in the sky.

Saturday was a huge day. Seal bay,


















Flinders Chase national park, Admirals Arch,


















Remarkable rocks & Kelly Hill caves.


















Lots of guided tours = lots of entrance fees. The kids were really good, especially considering how long we were in the car, and that we were gone all day, and only got 'home' about 6.30pm. It helped that the older four car swapped all the time - having your cousin in the car instead of your brother or sister sure made for some peaceful driving time in both cars LOL. We were really lucky with the weather too. It was pretty windy, but still comfortably warm. Lasagne for tea for most of us. Craig LOVES oysters so he bought 2 doz down at the warf and had them!

Sunday we woke up to STRONG winds and pouring rain, the winds and intermittant downpours stuck around till early afternoon, and had us quite concerned about the ferry trip home. We went and checked out Kingscote and had lunch there (I had my favourite - lamb shanks yummo!) before heading back to pack the car. By the time we boarded the ferry at 5.15pm the winds had eased quite a bit, and the trip home was actually really enjoyable. It wasnt that cold outside, so we went between inside and outside, and the 45min trip was over before we knew it. By the time we got back home it was about 8.30pm. We had packed salad rolls and ate them in the car, and then the kids slept most of the way home.

It was a great family weekend. Would have been nice if it were a few days longer, but you cant have everything LOL

***Isaac cut another top front tooth on Thursday night, and one of the bottom side ones this morning....I didnt even realise this one was close! We are upto 7 teeth now.

so much for...

blogging regularly! Its becoming a bit of a weekly update thing now LOL I spend to much time reading everyone elses blog to update mine more often - everyone elses lives are far more inrteresting anyway! Ive started popping back into the forums a bit too so htere is another chunk of time taken up on the 'puter.

Since last time....Happy Birthday to Mel & Katie - hope you both had great days and got spoilt rotten!

........Sunday night we were offered corporate box tickets from friends to go and see the countdown concert - it was awesome! Lots of oldies but goodies like Brian Mannix (I used to think he was so hot! what was I thinking????) the Chantoozies, Sherbet, Hush, John Paul Young, Leo Sayer (he is SO short and its probably daggy but I quite like his music!), James Reyne (very cool), Mondo Rock, Jon English, Cheetah, Joe Dolce, Choirboys (Run to Paradise - love that song!), Jo Jo Zep, Swanee, Renee Geyer and Paul Norton, Alex Smith( from Moving Pictures), Shane Howard (from Goanna), Scott Carne (from Kids In The Kitchen), James Freud & Sean Kelly (from the Models), Brian Canham (from Pseudo Echo - Yippee he sang funky town), Dave Sterry (from Real Life), Grace Knight and Bernie Lynch (from the Eurogliders), Wendy Stapleton (from Wendy & The Rocketts), Frankie J Holden & Wilbur Wilde (from Ol’ 55), Stephen Cummings (from The Sports) and Billy Miller (from The Ferrets).

Now I gotta admit there were some songs, and some of that list of 'stars' that I had never heard in my entire life - apparently according to Pete - the music guru! - I must have been hiding under a rock for half my life (mmm quite possible) I think it might be Im not as old as some LOL.

Wasnt that keen on sherbert - never have been into them though, and Renee Gayer OMG!!! I think she should have just stayed home (just my opinion, in case there are any die hard RG fans reading)

The rest of the week consisited of running around getting Nath ready for his first 'real' school camp, shopping, cleaning, school canteen etc etc!!!

Friday Sabine and I hit Harbour town as a bit of a birthday treat for us both, AND we did it with NO kids. It has been so long since we had a chance to just hang out for that long with out any of the kids (or husbands!), no pushers, no stopping to feed and change them etc etc. It was fantastic, and way over due. We ran out of time to get into all the shops, so we will have to go again now. Thanks for an awesome day - your the best 'old' (nearly!) girl!

I spent some birthday money and got two denim skirts (OMG, for those that know me Im so NOT a skirt or dress girl, give me jeans or 3/4 pants anyday - but I actually really like both of them) and a pair of 3/4 cargo pants from Rivers, two T shirts and a beaded bracelet from Table 8 and a gorgeous knittted jacket from Colarado. More clothes than I usually but in a whole year!
Oh yeh there is a pumpkin patch outlet down there too - say no more except Isaac did equally well out of the day!

And check out my new hat - I love it!!! Im also not into hats either, so the fact that Ive actually bought one is amazing in its self. Now to see if I actually wear it - if not it will look really funky on my hat rack!!! (and the colours and pattern have my mind ticking over for a LO)

My plans for the next week -

Monday - Scrap shopping at Scrapbook station (so I can finally see Janine again- its been too long - you better have the kettle on!) and catching up with Kathie and Jamie. (and anyone else who wants to come buying yummy stuff, we will be there about 10am)

Tuesday - HAPPY BIRTHDAY Sabine!!!!! Who is officially older than me once again!

Wednesday - Calebs senior primary school concert/musical.

We are heading away for a couple of days, so I have to get packed and organised for that. Id also like to fit some scrapping with all my new goodies in there somewhere as well. I have to do a two month update (since I never got around to last months) on my little man who will be 10 mnths on Tuesday. Speaking of Isaac, we finally had his fourth tooth break the gum this morning - still two more that are really close. When they are all cut through he is going to start sleeping ALL night with out waking up (ROTFLMAO - I wish!)

Bye till next time!

***EDIT*** do you like my new blogger template? I felt like a change and I did it about a week ago but it wouldnt change....... until just then GGRRR. In doing this Ive managed to loose all my links etc double GGRRR, so lets add find and add back all my links to everyone and everything to my list of things to do this week.

birthday thanks

Big thanks to all you lovely girls who sent emails, text messages & posted birthday messages on my blog yesterday. You sure know how to make a girl feel spesh!

I had a pretty good birthday. The show was actually better than I had expected and the kids were really good for most of the time we were there. We gave them some money each, and they could spend it on what ever they choose, but when it was gone that was it. They got a couple of showbags each, a bead necklace in their favorite footy colours, a ride on the ghost train and a turn on one of those trampolines where they hook you into a harness attatched to bungy cords (really cool!) ,


















some fairy floss and a turn on one of the side shows.


















They had a great time! We checked out the animals (I didnt know sheep, geese or roosters could grow that big or be that loud!), and watched the horses, wood chopping and sheaf tossing (wierd!) for a while. Isaac loved the animals and the model train displays, and was wide eyed most of the day. He didnt know which way to look, there was so much to see. Needless to say he is doing quite a bit of sleeping today!

Caleb got a one piece (apparently its a TV show!) showbag, and was running around home looking like this last night...it actually came with a T-shirt as well, which he decided to take off for some reason. I think this will look fantastic blown up to life size at his 21st lol!!!
























We had mum & dad and Sabine, Pete & Monice around fore a few quiet drinks last night which was great. I got some cash and the latest SM from my boys, cash from mum & Dad (look out SS here I come!!!) and some gorgeous white serving platters and dishes from S, P & M. I even got a bunch of flowers from Craig when he went to the shops last night!

Lastly I want to wish Mel D a fantastic birthday for tomorrow - have a great day, hope you get spoilt by your gorgeous girls and Darren ;) You never know you might get breakfast in bed, the house cleaned for you, everyone might pick up after you all day, and cook your favourite meals, bring you drinks, and you might not have to move a muscle all day...except your the mum, and its the mum who does all those things for everyone elses birthday lol (tell her shes dreamin')...have a great one anyway lovely!

Kathie I will do that tag soon!

slacker!

Yeh I know Ive been really slack at updating here, commenting in forums and returning emails (Im still getting to it Michelle!!!) Ive just had one of those I cant be bothered weeks. Ive just felt a bit flat - probably hormonal I would say LOL.

Everything is fine though, and Ive still been lurking around, checking out all of your blogs, and the forums and galleries etc - just couldnt be bothered commenting much - sorry I know that sounds aweful, but Im back now!

I havnt scrapped for about a week either - so many ideas running around in my head, and so little motivation to bring them to reality. I did do half a LO tonight though, and it felt great to get back into again.

Ive been taking heaps of photos, mainly of Isaac (suprise, suprise) - he isnt quite old enough to protest, YET...although its getting much harder to get him to sit still. I keep getting lots of shots like this!!!!


















....and this.........





















I think he is trying to find out exactly what it is Im always looking inside that little box!!!

The weather here has been absolutley divine the last few days, beautiful warm spring sunshine, and we have been making the most of it and getting outside. My little man just loves crawling around chasing ants, playing with the grass, and exploring the back yard.



















Its so cool to watch the absolute wonder on his face as he discovers things for the first time. The sandpit andthe trucks (typical boy, he flipped it straight over and played with the wheels! He was fascinated by the way they spun round and round as he flipped his chubby little fingers on them)




















My peg basket full of those colourful pegs was another instant favourite too.



















He is just growing up too fast though.

We had a lovely lunch with my Nanna & mum yesterday. I also organised for both my sisters and their bubs to be there too. Got a few pics of Nanna with them all - just a shame that Caleb. Nath & Jess were at school. My sisiter took this one of Nanna, Mum, Isssac & I - not real happy with the actual photo (someone couldnt find the zoom button hey Vic! and on the little 3.2m camera there isnt much cance of croppping to this size and retaining much clarity - and I didnt realise that sun was streaming in quite that badly either - oh well at least I have something to remember the day by!)























I have to admit that I havnt been making the effort to visit either of my Nannas much lately. Life just seems so busy. I really am going to try and see them at least once a month now though. They just adore seeing the kids, especially the bubs, and at 85 & 90 they are not going to be around forever. I really want my boys to have some fond memories that they can cherish forever.

I will upload some pics of baby Tanner soon. Ive only got ones of him with his Mum, and I keep forgetting to ask if she minds me putting them on here.

Its a.........

BOY! at 11.16am today my good friend Toni gave birth to her third precious baby boy - Tanner James. He weighed 4.1kg (just over 9lbs) and is 53cm long. They are both doing well, and I cant wait to go and have a great big cuddle !
CONGRATS guys! and welcome to the world baby Tanner. (aawww she just text me a pic! now Im feeling really clucky, he is just beautiful!)

Ok Ive also got a couple of LO to share. The first is from a while ago - one of the pics from on the houseboat - Ive been meaning to add some journalling strips in the blank space, but its been sitting here so long like this, its started to grow on me just like it is!


















The next one is for Isaacs baby book. I had fun with the little ribbon star - it was a challenge idea from the scrap to the max newsletter that I tried out. I used a few new things I picked up on Friday. We were supposed to head out to Scrapbook station for a big shopping spree, but ran out of time. (to much time at TTP & freedom!) Craig offered to take me to another store on the way into town instead. Unfortunately their range was quite limited though. They have downsized since I was there last and I couldnt really find much that I wanted at all [sad I know!!!] It really made me appreciate how lucky we are to have a store like Scrapbook station here in Adelaide, their range just rocks, and there is always heaps of new stuff arriving - I did get a couple of bits of paper, some wild asparagus sticker strips and tags, and my first ever sheet of kraft cardstock LOL. I love the scalloped edge on the sticker strip, Ive actually trimmed along so the whole LO has the scalloped edge. (sorry about the crooked pic!)

quality time

I geuss thats what Ive been upto over the last few days. Friday Craig had the day off and arranged for us to meet up with my best friend Sabine and her DH (and no kids!!!) in town for lunch. We havnt done that for sooooooo long - it was fantastic!

Saturday was spent home with the family and then we ended up for dinner at Sabines place - a yummy steamboat - gee that girl can cook. Im so blessed to have such a wonderful person in my life who loves and supports me and puts up with me unconditionally!

We had a couple of drinks with some other friends on Sunday. Pretty layed back weekend in all!!

Toni still hasnt had the baby! She is booked on tonight for an induction, so by this time tomorrow I should have all the details.

Been checking out a heap of blogs today and it sounds like all the girls that went off to Kiwi scraps on the weekend had the best time. Adelaide is just so far away from all these things!!! You should all jump on a plane and come down here for Creative Edge in January!!!

*baby stuff for my records* Isaac got his third tooth on Sunday. He has had a temp for the last couple of days and has been really restless, day and night. So unlike him. He seems a little better today, so hopefully he is managing to fight off what ever it is. THe other day ws his final feed from me :( tried again to no avail and decided to just go with the flow and d]keep on with the bottles in the morning. Only good thing is I didnt have to wake up when he did on the weekend!!!

I wish I knew yesterday...

..morning as Isaac cuddled up warm and snug in my bed for a feed, that it might have been the last time that I gave my sweet little boy a breastfeed. He flat out refused me this morning! I thought maybe he just didnt want anything, but when I offered him a bottle about half and hour later he guzzled it all down. I knew it wasnt going to last forever, but Im just a bit sad that I didnt even get to savour our final feed, I think its worse that I didnt even know that it might be the last one. I guess I will just have to get used to cuddles in bed in the morning (although he would much rather be out with his brothers :( once he hears they are up)
My baby is just growing up SO fast. Perhaps I could have another!?! Maybe if I didnt remember how horrific actually being pregnant was last time I might seriously consider it, although I would have bucklies and none of talking Caig around to another one...he is quite content with our little family just the way it is.

The boys and I were mucking around with the camera this afternoon and I managed to capture this self portrait of me and my boys. Isaac has gorgeous blue eyes like Caleb, and the cutest little turned up nose and olivy skin like Nathan, BUT I have no idea where the blonde hair has come from. He is getting blonder and blonder - my little blue eyed, blonde bombshell LOL


I was thinking today about the fact that even though Im an avid scrapbooker, and love taking millions of pohotos, there are already things in Isaacs life that I cant believe I missed the opportunity of photographing. I dont have a photo of him in the car seat as a newborn when it was facing backwards (yet I remembered to take pics the second I turned it around), I dont have photos of Isaac in my favourite little 0000, 000, & 00 outfits, I dont have a pic of him laying in his little donut pillow on the lounge chair where he spent so much time as a newborn, and I dont have a pic of that delightful fat & full (or milk drunk) state that newborns get after a feed.

I am determined to try and document more of these everyday types of moments on film and in my albums now. So I have a question for you all... what photos do you really wish that you had taken? Id love everyones feedback, and maybe hearing what others missed out on might help us all to remember to document all the little things in our lives a bit more often.

I did it !!!

well with a little help from my friends! Thanks Kathie, you finally solved it for me - and for future reference load pics as as large and left. Now you should be able to click on any of the pics on this page and have an up close and personal look at them LOL

Since Im here (yet again today) I will share the rest of my masters entry. My double, my monogram, and my 'innovative' (NOT) technique, which was decorative machine stitching.

..but wait there's more

sorry for bombarding you with photos of my little man today, but Im determined to get this sorted out and work out how to master blogger!

I snapped this shot of Isaac the other day. Before he was crawling, when I put him to bed he would just stay in the one spot - he would kick his rugs of or turn his head to the side, but not move around much. Now days I never know what position I will find him in LOL this couldnt have been comfortable, but he slept for about another half an hour like this!

Here goes...

OK I will try loading a pic at the large size and see if that works. Its Isaacs 8mnth shots that I took a couple of weeks ago.

how do I ...?

Thanks for all your comments everyone, you sure know how to lift a girls spirits!!!

A few of you have commented about enlarging the thumbnails on my blog. Can some one give me directions as to how I go about loading them so you can click on them and bring them up bigger please.

We had the kids footy carnival yesterday - what a big day. We left home at 9am and got back about 4.30pm. Caleb and Nathans games were at oppisite ends of the earth (well it sure felt like it) and in between where I had to trapse back and forth was heaps of sand that had been dumped there. Im not talking about a sprinkling, it was really deep sand - at least 30cm! What fun it was trying to get the pusher back and forth over that to go and watch Naths games. Of course I had to do it myself because Craig coaches Calebs team, so between each game he had to organise the next team etc etc. He was a little dissapointed that he didnt get to see much of Nath playing though. Most of the kids in his team are first year players, and I think they reached their peak yesterday LOL they played so well, I was so proud of them. Calebs team have a lot more experience, and they played most of their games really well to. Even they have inproved a lot over the year. Isaac was a little angel, he only slept for about 10min all day though! When we were nearly finished packing up, Craig strapped him in the baby seat so we could put the pusher in the boot. He was asleep before we even got back in the car to leave!
AND what was the one thing i forgot - my camera!!!! GGGGGGGRRRRRRRRR. thankfully Sabine was coming up for a while, so I rang her and she bought hers up. Which is probably better anyway as its a heaps better camera and she has a huge zoom lens as well. Cant wait to see the photos she took. Although she isnt a scrapper herself, she is a great photographer and loves to take LOTS of photos - gotta love her!!!!!

I took Katies advice this morning and set the timer for 1 hour to get housework done. Wow I got so much done, dishes, everything wiped down, floors swept & vacuumed, beds made, and I even got the kids rooms cleaned up (usually their job - which doesnt get done -but I was on a roll) got a pot of soup on, and some veggies roasting for Isaacs lunch and to go with tea.
The sad thing is I found it hard to stop when my hour was up - LOL - but I did ;)

OK im off to watch Dr Phil now - hopefully there is something good on today, its been pretty crap lately. Maybe ive just been home and able to watch it for to long!!!!!

tagged

Thanks for the tag Nic - havnt done one in a while.
Here goes -
1. How old are you? nearly 36 (eek that sounds old!)
2. How many kids do you have if any? 3 - Caleb, Nathan & Isaac
3. Are you married, single, divorced, widow? Married since 1995
4. What is your occupation? at the moment SAHM and lovin' it
5. What are your passions? Family, Friends, Photography, Scrapping
6. Are you a dreamer or a dream seeker? Definately a dreamer, I dont have the guts to take things to the next level and follow my dreams - too many what ifs
7. Are you happy with the way your life has turned out? Yep
8. Are you a scrapper and if so how many hours a week do you scrap ? about 10
9. What do you want to do before you die? watch my kids grow up and become parents themselves
10. What is your favorite food? (s) Laksa, chicken, mangoes, chocolate covered licorice
11. What is the food you hate the most? oysters, olives and anchovies YUK
12. What is the most embarrassing thing that has ever happened to you? cant think of anything atm
13. What is the happiest day of your life thus far? the days my boys were born
14. Are you a neat freak? Or a dirty house cleaner? My house is pretty much always clean, its often messy, but its still clean.
3 People I tag, Mel (so she has to update her blog again!!!) Janine, Katie

Well today is the 11th of August, and the day that I officially admit defeat with the SM masters comp :( I so wanted to just make the top 100, but it wasnt to be! Oh well life goes on!
I may as well share my LOs now though. Here is my single and beyond the page.


At least I can get these coat hooks up on the wall in Isaacs room and start using them now.

Nursery Photos

Well a long time ago I started re decorating Isaacs room. I still havnt finished, but today I finally hung a covered canvas on the wall, and tidied up enough to take some photos to share with those of you who asked to see them. I still want to do the knobs on his drawers, but apart from that its basically finished.

What a day

What a beautiful day it is here - real spring weather. We spent a couple of hours this morning doing a big clean up - vacumming, washing floors, picking up any thing that isnt suitable to be put into the mouth of a very inquisitive and now on the move 8 1/2 month old.

Had lunch out in the warm sun, and laughed at Isaacs antics as he discovered ants and grass for the first time. His chubby little fingers didnt know what to poke or try to pick up first.

Poor Toni had contractions 3 min apart till 2am this morning when everything decided to stop! She is home today trying to get some rest and start the waiting game all over again. Her little bub obviously just isnt ready for us to meet him yet!

I just got my DT LO finished too. The kids were building lego (as you do when its such a beautiful day!!!) so I went down there with them, and had it finished in half an hour! Decided to kill two birds with one stone and went for the black and white theme as thats the current 'dare' atm.

Make sure you take notice of the 'brush' work in the bottom left of the photo -I DID THAT!!! I worked out how to do brushes in photoshop - yeh for me. Its pretty basic, but I did it!!!

OK my little man has just woken, so we are off for a walk in the beautiful sunshine while Craig puts a leg of lamb on the webber for tea. He is definatley getting good husband points this weekend LOL.

mum

His first word is mum!!!!!! Isaac is the first of my boys not to say dad as their first word, he has been saying mum mum mum mum mum over and over for the last couple of days, so Im saying this is officially it. Not sure he has put the word mum and me being mum quite together yet, but who cares, he can say mum mum mum mum!!!

The crawling is getting better and better, and he is so chuffed with himself. He is doing the rounds of the lounge checking out all the stuff he has only been able to look longingly at his whole life. Like all babies in this house, he has found the coconut fibre in the pot plant, and just loves it!!!

I saw little Jamie on Kathies blog in his Jolly Jumper and it reminded me I needed some more photos of Isaac in his. He is calling out Hi to Jamie!!! :)

Went shopping today and bought new towels etc for our ensuite - they look fabulous. They are gorgeous coffee coloured country road towels. we went the whole hof and got matching bath mat, hand towel and face washers as well! The best bit was that DH offered to pay for them with some gift vouchers he got for his birthday - gotta love him! (also gotta hope I dont end up with a whipper snipper or something in a couple of months for my birthday lol)

On the scrapping front, its really bizzar, our DT breif is baby LOs, and do you think I can put one together???? Thats all Ive been scrapping for the last 8 months, but when thats what I have to do, its just not happenning. Ive got three LOs started on my desk, but just cant seem to work out those finishing touches for any of them. I hope I can get at least one finished tommorrow (sorry its late Janine!)

Last thing for tonight - we're expecting another baby - well when I say we, I mean we in our street lol! My good friend and neighbour Toni is at the hospital as we speak having her third child. She left at about 6pm with contractions about 5 min apart. Her other labours have been reasonably short so I hoping for the good news before I go to bed.

crawling - well sort of

My little boy is sort of crawling today. Its so cute to watch, his arms and legs seem to do all the right movements but he doesnt really get too far :)



With a bit of encouragement he is getting better each try though - by the end of the week Im guessing there will be no stopping him. Not sure everyone will be so excited about the whole thing when he is under their feet, grabbing their toys, destroying the TV book that always gets left etc etc etc.

I wanted to send a big congratulations to Kathie for getting the call from SM saying she made it into the top 100 - not that I ever doubted she would. ( Awesome work babe! Hope little Jamie is on the mend too.) A big congrats to any one else out there that 'made it' that I dont know about.

After deciding to do the FK EM album I was a little hesitant when I saw this months onsert. Id never used iron ons before...WOW they are fantastic though. They were actually suprisingly easy to apply, and I just love the texture they add to the page. Yet another thing to add to my wish list ;) I managed to get 2 singles and a double done for last months theme, and Ive completed my first one for this month already. I really need a few more supplies to mix in though so it doesnt look quite so dated (Ive been using up stuff in my stash that I already had)

Ive finally done it - unlimited braodband!!! Lets see how much more time I waste on this darn computer now though.

Thanks for all your comments on my last LO too. Im still thinking its right out there (which was the whole point I guess!) but thanks for laughing with me anyway!!!
Ive actually been back to Teeshas site for another look, and read about how she does her art journals. It was really interesting that she doesnt just do one page at a time, but rather about 10 and just lets them evolve as she feels the inspiration.