I survived the heat wave!!

I am so glad that the weather has returned to a very comfortable temperature! it was the first time last night that the ceiling fan wasnt on while we were asleep in over 2 weeks, and I was awoken by the sound of quietness! I woke up around midnight and it was dead quiet!! I had got so used to the humming of the ceiling fan that I forgot just how quiet it does get at night - until Ella woke! my nights lately are so broken with her waking, it is becoming so tiresome.

Here are some more layouts, they are of the girls, I seem to be scrapping Ella more than anyone else, she features in all my layouts here, I love the photo in 'Lean on me' Bethany (the older one) is leaning on Ella, I know I have said this before but I just love watching them play together they are the best of friends!!

Well it is a quick update tonight its 11pm - way past bedtime, one day till the Easter break and from tomorrow night my hubby and I will be on opposite sides again! lol! footy is back!!! my team plays tomorrow in a rematch of last year grand final, and as like any other Port fan I do not want to relive that awful moment!


I will leave with a message for my Mum, it is so nice to have you home again, I did miss you when you went on your long holiday! (and it wasnt because I needed a babysitter!) I love you Mum!!!!

back again-

with some more of my creations, first up is one of Jacob titled Be of good character Jacob, I used Romans 5 v1-5 for the journalling and used the gorgeous Basic Grey two scoops paper,

next is Silly but Sweet, I was preparing tea when I turned around and found Jacob had sat himself and Bethany up on the kitchen bench - I had 2 options - tell him of or scrap it! lol!

next, you & me is of Mark and I, photo was taken last year sometime, I cut out the flowers from an American Crafts paper after I bought it at Spotlight, as I didnt need any more paper I bought it on the condition I would use it straight away! hence a real easy layout!

Found You is a layout of Bethany, I took the photo of her while she was trying to hide in one of the trees out the back,

last one Vision of Beauty is another one of Bethany, she posed for this beautiful photo, she was pretending to be asleep while she was sitting on the back step - it is one of the most gorgeous photos of her!

I still have heaps more finished layouts, Im amazed at how much I have been scrapping lately - I think I have found my groove!

I am settling in to the gym, I absolutely love it! I love hopping on the treadmill with my new ipod that Mark kindly bought me, I love the time out and the freedom to just exercise, I am having a couple of sessions with a personal trainer so I can do some weights and build and reclaim my toned body! LOL!!!!!

Its the start of a long weekend here and we are in a heatwave at the moment, we are starting to lose quite a few established plants now due to the water restrictions and the fact we have had no rain for months, our front lawn is gone and out the back I have lost a few rose bushes, sob sob. so over this heat!!

Nothing much else to add, I went to the Clipsal a couple of weeks ago with Mark, poor man, he usually goes with his work mates in a corporate box but this year because I asked he took me, and as he said to me when we left before it had ended (because it was a bit boring) he said 'now you know what this is like, next year I can go back with my mates!' and I said 'thats fine dear!'

I have finally updated!!

I have been meaning to update my blog over the past couple of weeks but I don't need to convince anyone just how quickly the days seem to go by!

I fell into a bit of a slump with my scrapping - just after I had written how well I was going with it! I seem to be using a lot of 'fresh' coloured paper (if that makes sense!) must be the change in seasons!

The first one 'Who do I love - You' is of Mark and I taken on our wedding day,I did this one a while ago now, I used Love Elsie paper and the matted photo lifts up to reveal hidden journaling, I have also used burgundy ribbon and Heidi Swapp ribbon.
The 'dad' one I used a sketch from Creating Keepsakes - not entirely happy with it but I love the photo of Mark and Ella.
Another dad one! lol! 'my daddy' is of Ella and Mark again - another simple one for me again! pretty sure I used Sassafrass lass paper for that one and a Heidi Swapp ghost shape (the love heart)

'two' is of Bethany, I love this photo of her, I have scrapped this a few times now and it was actually taken when she was about 18 months old, the layout is all about who she is at 2 and what she likes and says etc. I did this one a while ago now, I think I used Creative Imaginations and Collage Press paper.

The last one 'garden girl' is of Bethany I caught her playing in one of the bushes out the back, so I quickly grabbed the camera and snapped away! the photo is a bit blurry and it doesnt show the brightness of the layout, I used Scenic Route paper and a really nice pink linen cardstock, well thats the scrap talk out the way lol!
Ella is now walking just about everywhere! just over the past week or 2 she has really taken of! Bethany seems to have a lot more fun with her now, she likes to go into her room and call Ella and once Ella makes it in the room Bethany closes the door and they are both content to play in there for a little while! usually they pull out all the books and sit there and read them!

I love this time of year with only 7 weeks till Christmas, school holidays, Marks birthday then mine and summer just around the corner, I can't believe how fast this year has gone!

Well I promise I will update very soon - still have more layouts to share, I'll make sure I wont leave it a month next time! lol!

Not happy!!

What started yesterday as a day of excitement and hope for my footy team ended in total disaster and humiliation! we lost by a record loss ever in a grand final, by the end of the game all I wanted to do was to go and hide in a very dark place! and watching the game with Mark in the room I began to feel rather small! as hes a Crows man there was probably no greater game that Crows supporters could've watched with absolute glee!!! I just had to recently apologise to him for my behaviour, so thankfully footy season is over for us all now!

Heres another layout I have recently finished titled 'In his arms' I took this photo of Mark asleep on the lounge with Bethany.

The next one titled 'beautiful, lovely' is of Bethany looking at herself in the mirror (which she often does!) I used a gorgeous Delish Design paper with this which has very delicate lovely designs on it in shades of pink and soft green (you cant tell with this photo) I glued beads for the title and I played around with photoshop to get the picture like that (not sure I could do it again though!) the poem reads 'when in the mirror of his love I look at my reflection, I accept myself for who I am with all my imperfection.' When I was a little girl I had a poster on my wall with that poem and the picture was of a girl looking at herself in the mirror, so I thought that would be the perfect photo for that!

Well thats all for today - I've done well over the past week with all my posts!!!

feeling excited!!!

Heres another layout I finished a while ago now of baby Ella taken just after she was born, I matted the photo on swatches of material and folded the flowers to make them stand out a bit.
The layout titled 'happy' is of Ella again, the photo was taken about a month or 2 ago and the layout was done not that long after - very simple one that one!
and the other one is of Ella again - 'lil blue eyes', this is a recent photo and layout and its about her blue eyes! I love this photo! and another quick layout!!

Well I better get some sleep before the big day tomorrow Ill leave with another GO POWER!!!!

layouts

Thought I would begin to update with some layouts, this one of Ella titled 'oops' is about her throwing herself all over the flip out sofa!, a couple of weeks ago when she began to be more confident on her feet she started climbing and throwing herself over this sofa and I would just find her like this just in her own little world - so cute! the rub on qoute I used is 'enthusiasm is a divine possession'

The other one titled 'sisterly love' is of Bethany and Ella, I used some gorgeous papers from Rita Marie and also used it to cover the chipboard letters, the border around the border is bits of pastel netted ribbon ties
I couldnt resist adding this lovely photo -yeah Port Adelaide made it into the grand final!!! unfortunately I wont be making the trip to Melbourne this time - too expensive, so my cousin is taking my spot and going up with my Mum and sister , will have to make do with watching it at home!

Still have more layouts to add over the next few days - so stay tuned! Emily leave me a message so at least I know someone is reading about my exciting life! lol!

Been a while (again!)

Well its been a little while since I last posted, I have been waiting to post up my latest layouts but for the life of me I can not figure out how to re size them through photoshop, there is only a few days left on the trial so I will wait till then as I have been on a good roll with scrapping lately!

Have been so excited this week with all the excitement leading to tomorrow, with Port Adelaide just one win away from playing in the grand final, I am of to the game tomorrow and have spent all week (actually 2 as we had last week of) counting down the days - I just hope we win!!!!!

Less than a week till my baby turns 1, both her and Bethany are just beautiful together! they play so well together and they bring me so much joy and bring many smiles to my face each day, I have managed to put up this photo which was taken a week or 2 ago - Bethany is so affectionate towards her little sister!

One more photo to share, a layout of Jacob which didnt go through photoshop so I was able to re size it, I want to do more boy and manly ones as have been doing lots of girl ones lately,

Anyway its after 11pm - way past my bedtime, a big day for me tomorrow, must get my beauty sleep!! Go the Power!!!

Layouts

Heres a few more layouts I have managed to whip up over the past week, this one is of Ella, I gave her some nappy free time and her just sitting there like that was just to cute to forget about!
The Sweet Dreams one is of Bethany who refuses to nap in her cot during the day but quite often find her fast asleep anywhere in the house!
The other one -Your blooming smile is of Ella, I took the photo a month or so ago, just after she begun to pull herself up and she started playing peek a bo with me outside in the cubby house!

Not a lot going on at the moment, we are at the end of footy season, getting a bit nervous with both my team and hubbies team in the finals - and am really hoping we dont end up playing in the grand final together - which hopefully is highly unlikely as Port is just to good for the Crows! lol!

I have had to stop myself from checking out ebay on a daily basis as it was getting a bit expensive - in just under 2 weeks I have picked up some bargains!! 3 billabong jeans a top and a brand new Rusty jacket! I am getting a bit embaresed when the delivery man shows up combined with my scrapbooking parcels he comes here quite often now! lol!

Allergies, sleepless nights, ebay and yay John Butler!!

With spring just around the corner and this gorgeous weather which has began I have been taking the kids outside alot to play - which they love to do, but on the down side Bethany's allergies have sprout again, just as we thought she may have outgrown them, she is scratching herself so much lately and at night has been waking up squirming from being so itchy, so sleepless nights have started up again and tiredness and exhaustion has been my friend again! plus my hayfever has started as well!

my goodness ebay! what a mistake that has been for me to delve in to! in a week I have bought a Billabong top and 2 pairs of Billabong jeans! yes I love the surf wear brands! although Im beginning to wonder if Im getting a bit to old for these brands now! and how frustrated did I feel when I was outbidded on another pair of jeans - frustrated enough to bid and win another pair! lol! better stop talking about this for fear of incriminating myself!

We had a busy weekend, with Phils birthday on Saturday, Mark at footy on Saturday night, Church then my footy on Sunday then Emily took me to see Josh Pyke and John Butler Trio, John Butler is just amazing to see live, I have seen him perform at one of the Big Day Outs a few years ago but his performance was just stunning on Sunday night, I took some photos on my NEW! fuji, but I left my memory card at home and I cant figure out how to transfer photos from just the camera

Ill come back later with some photos, we are trialling photoshop and I cant figure out how to resize photos through that, poor Jacob has to have a tooth pulled out today, I never got around to changing the appointment as I didnt realise mum is at work today so I have to take the girls in with me! - that will serve me right, I did make this appointment 3 weeks ago so I have had plenty of time to change it!

been a while!

I have been a bit slack with my blog lately - sorry Em!
We have all recovered from the flu and its taken me all week to catch up on all the housework and shopping!

Mark and I went out to tea last night with his company, it was a nice night and it was great to get out of the house and enjoy some yummy food, it was a banquet style meal which was finally served up at 9pm - I was STARVING by then, after having bacon and eggs for breakfast and skipping lunch knowing we were in for a big tea I saved my hunger for tea but gee it was a long wait!!! I wasn't brave to use the toilets as one lot was a unisex one and the toilet doors were clear glass until you locked the door then changed to a frosted look, another lot of toilets had fish in the cistern so when the toilet was flushed the water for the fish would disapear then rise up again! it was a big place - even had a driving range for golf players, there were 16 of us and the bill was in excess of $900, its good that his company does things like this for them, after tea we went to the bar for some drinks and finally got home at 2am, my poor mum was looking after the kids so thanks mum!!

Well not a lot else to rant about, I signed up on ebay yesterday and am hunting down a camera, what a huge world it is in ebay lol! I wasted a good couple of hours yesterday on it just looking! - probably not a good idea to join! lol!

I better get some housework done before I sit down and watch Port play, then of to mums tonight for tea while Mark goes to his footy, more yummy food for tea tonight!

the chop

well today I finally got my hair cut! not all of it but practically half my hair is gone, I still have the length at the back but it is layered all over - it feels so much better and so much lighter, both Melissa and Wendy were so excited when I walked in to the hairdresser, my hair was at least half way down my back and really thick which created a huge pile of hair! I was at the hairdresser for just under 3 hours (I had a colour as well)!!!! but well worth it - I feel like a new woman! it is a bit hard to see in this photo how much I had cut of, but it was A LOT!!
If it wasn't so late and if I wasn't so tired I would upload some layouts but I will do that later, the girls woke a fair bit during the night last night for some reason, so I need some sleep!

lost - yes I am!

I have just finished watching the last episode of Lost, which I have stuck by and watched after the last few years, but tonight is the first time I have had to check up on the web site to figure out what on earth was going on!!! and when I did and proudly told dh he replied 'you didnt figure that out yourself?' - apparently he did! so now I know what is going on I will eagerly await the next season! lol!

The last few days have had a touch of spring in them, the weather has just been gorgeous, so much so that I have walked to school to pick Jacob up, 30mins each way, add an extra 10mins with Jacob and all the 'why did we have to walk home' and 'I hate walking', so I think I'll leave the walks without a tired school boy! lol! I have spent most of the last few days outside with the kids, they all love playing outside and its been nice just pottering around in the garden,

Ella finally began to crawl properly today and she likes to head straight for Bethany and grabs whatever she is playing with - its so cute! I don't think I'll be thinking that in a few weeks though! shes also trying to stand up and she does if shes got something to help pull her up, shes 10 months old tomorrow - shes growing so quick.

well my brains a bit sore from all the Lost theories so I better head of to bed!

cutting back

I have really cut back my computer time over the past week, I was getting to the point of leaving it on for most of the day and simply wasting time on it, so this week I challenged myself to only turn it on at night after the kids were in bed, there have even been a few days where all I've done is checked the e-mails, I have been missing what has been going on in forums and blogs though, but it was something I had to take a step back from for a little while, so hopefully when Jake goes back to school next week I can begin to manage a 'disciplined' computer time!

the computer has also been playing up again and I have been unable to access photos and loading up images etc. which is a real pain, Mark has tried a few things but to no avail so it will still be a while before that will be fixed - I need photos for scrapping!!

Jacob has hardly been home over the last week with sleepovers at both his Nanas and tonight at his dads house and gee I miss how helpful he is with his little sisters! Bethany is missing him now when hes not at home, she calls him 'Doe Doe' and she calls herself 'C C' which we have all began to call her now! lol!

We have passed the halfway mark of winter and I am dreaming of the gorgeous spring days which will be back soon, I have had the heater on during the days lately and my hands are constantly cold.

Well I think its time I head of to bed for a decent sleep actually Mark just got some lollies out so time to snuggle and eat his lollies!

Happy Birthday Bethany!

our gorgeous little baby has suddenly (lol) turned 2! where the time has gone I'm not to sure! she was oblivious to what was going on, we gave her a few presents before Mark left for work, then Emily came over followed by Daniel and mum for lunch, I think Bethany was getting a bit overwhelmed that whenever someone came over she was given new toys! I think mum was a bit shocked that I had put a dress on her! lol! she looked so cute, mum caught her staring at herself in front of the mirror with her dress on while I was out!
for tea we had some party food and sang Happy Birthday which freaked her out a bit! then she opened up the rest of the presents which I bought today - I know I am very slack! then just before bed Sam came and dropped his present off, so by the time she went to bed her and Ella were both so tired.

I am spending way to much time on the computer lately and not accomplishing a lot else (in my spare time - I'm not on here all day lol) instead of scrapping I waste it on here, mainly with myspace lately, I have a few more friends now (blush) and commenting back and forth gets a bit addictive!

well I got to go to bed, one worn out mother here! how fast has this week gone! one week of school holidays left, its so nice not to be so rushed in the mornings!

more stuff

The dreaded cold season has hit our household, Jake has been fighting it over the past week, and now Ella and Bethany are showing signs of it, Ella's poor nose has been running non - stop today.

I took this picture of Bethany after she was fascinated at the rain drops on the leaves of the plants, typical that the only decent photo I managed to take half her face was covered by the plant! lol! and her shirt reads My dad is a hunk (rofl) well I think hes a hunk!!

I still have trouble posting photos on here, the other photo is Bethany playing (pretend) the Xbox with Jacob and yes I know hes sitting to close to the tv!

Well we are on the countdown now till Carmens wedding (my cousin) and today I cut out around 90 hearts for her bon boneire(spell), my arm just about fell off during the process! another week to go, I have to find something to wear this week for it, right in the middle of winter to, so praying the weather will be ok for it.

Well better trod of to bed, a great day topped of with my beloved Port winning, hopefully dh wont be as happy tomorrow when he watches his team! lol! I know I'm a bit mean!

finally some sleep!!

I am trying not to be too excited here but Ella has begun to sleep through the night! over the past 7 nights now she has had 3 nights of full sleep I'm talking from7ish till 7-8am, its not every night yet but a huge improvement from what she has been doing, I have still had a couple of nights where I have had to just let her have a cry then she settles down and sleeps! as pleased as I am about her sleeping through I am realizing that as she is our last baby, its a stage of my life (the sleepless baby stage) that I will no longer experience, she is growing so fast! I feel so blessed that I have been given the gift of raising 3 beautiful babies.

It has been so cold here that I am soo looking forward to spring - we aren't even halfway through winter yet! I'm just not a winter person - unless its raining (but then theres the dirty floors to clean from wet muddy shoes)

I had my first big shopping trip yesterday on my own, I had Carmens kitchen tea in the arvo but before that I was able to go to Westlakes on my own, Mark took the kids to his mums for lunch so I didnt have to worry about coming home to feed a baby, I was gone for 2.5 hours!! I even found a pair of roxy jeans to buy which I promised myself after Bethany was born and they were on special! so all in all a great day!

Just stuff

wow I cant believe how fast the year is going! the last few days have felt like winter, it has been rather chilly and wet,

we lost one of our big shady trees the other day- well it wasn't ours it did grow on the footpath, but it was the tree I parked under in summer, the roots had broken one of the water pipes, not very interesting I know but it was a big tree and I'm pretty sure some birds lived in it!

yay we are going on a little family holiday in less than 2 weeks, we are staying just out of Victor Harbor in a little cottage called Frangipanni Cottage, at first dh said he is not staying in a place with that name but I think the spa won him out lol, it looks really nice and lonely (theres no other houses near by) and its only a few mins drive from Victor and Im sure there is a scrapbook shop there that I havn't been to before!

I am getting alot more sleep lately, although Ella is teething and it seems to be waking her, she has her 2 bottom teeth but one of her top side teeth is about to break through which seems a bit unusual, she is so cute, she sits now all on her own and she has just started to stick one arm out to me if she wants me to pick her up, she loves Bethany, it is just beautiful watching them sometimes, a couple of times in the car I have noticed them holding hands!

Bethany is into Jacobs old Hi5 videos mainly the Animal Adventures one which would have to be about 5 years old now- as Nathan has all his hair lol! and everyday I have the songs playing over and over in my head, and I cant get them out!

well I think it must be time for bed, busy day tomorrow- arnt they all when your a mum!

sisterly love!

I was in the girls room yesterday when I heard Bethany calling out to me and when I came to see what she wanted she was putting her arms around Ella and giving her a kiss!! of course I had to capture a picture of that - after a few more kisses to get the perfect shot she had had enough!

Ella is now sitting all on her own - she is growing way to quickly! she is also sleeping a whole lot better- whew!!!!

I finally started a bit of a fitness routine - a lost love of mine, jogging well sort of, I did 10 laps of the backyard, I had to stop as Ella wasn't to sure what I was doing and started to cry in her bouncer and Bethany was trying to chase me, if any of the neighbours were around we looked a bit funny! it took all of 3minutes I think! not much but a start! lol!

I had to go back to Coles yesterday as they are clearing blocks of Lindt chocolate for $1 so over the last couple of days I have bought 4 blocks of chocolate and a box of Roses for $2.50! which I bought for dh, so he would stop rolling his eyes at my vast amounts of chocolates that I have, not to mention I still have a few Easter eggs! I think I better increase my backyard laps to 20 tomorrow.

Bit of a bust weekend coming up, I get to get out of the house tomorrow albeit with dh and the kids in tow, but its Westlakes mall so I cant complain, I will just cover my ears when I hear all the grizzles about all the shops I want to go to!

Have a good weekend!

my weekend

Another weekend over and back to school tomorrow, which means getting up and ready on time- what fun!
have had a pretty busy weekend for my not so busy life (outside my home that is), Friday night was spent at the footy in the pouring rain- we got so wet! at least Port won!
Saturday night I met up with some girls from Scrapbook Station, I found it a bit intimidating to try and scrap alongside of Nic Wood, Kathie Link, Kate Mason and Samantha Dorn- girls whose work I have admired since I began scrapping! all week I swore I would be prepared so I would have an idea of a page I could just whip up- but no I wasnt really prepared and had left half my supplies at home! lol!
It has been raining everyday since Thursday now, its so nice to have all this rain and to see our lawn green again,
well I had hoped to scrap tonight, I bought more supplies last night- on top of my Tarisota package that arrived the day before so I am itching to use all these gorgeous papers but my brain is just tooo tired to create tonight, oh well Theres always tomorrow!!

not doing much.......

but so much to do, maybe a blog isnt such a good idea lol! I dont need to waste anymore precious time on this computer but I do need to sit down for a few minutes!
Finally we have been receiving decent rain since yesterday- as much as I love summer its nice when those cold wet days are around the corner, just hoping we dont get to wet at the footy tonight! - go Power!!
I better go and do something now, probably start with changing a stinky nappy from a little toddler!
my tarisota package finally arrived today so my brain has been filling with inspiration to scrap, probably should finish using up the papers from the last package first, so much to do and so little time- rephrase that - must use my time more productively, and learn to spell correctly so my sister Emily (who is a teacher) wont tell me off!!