Have a safe and Happy New Year.

Hi

Not keeping my blog very updated ATM, I am in lazy holiday mode well and truly, even having a little nana nap in the arvo on some days, which is not usually me, as of next week I would like some of my energy to return if possible or I may be forced to stay this way. lol. how terrible that would be!!! Above are some photos of D.H. and myself at the Bootleg brewery in Margaret River on Thursday, we decided to get the kids out of the house and spend some time out and about but really they just dont want to be away from home ATM, santa gave them a huge round trampoline and they spend most days in and out jumping on that and riding their new bikes so they just complain when we try to go out, so we will save a tha money and stay home!! We had lunch at the brewery which was packed and then went to the Chocolate factory which was also packed and then to Yahava coffee for some fresh beans and a takeaway coffee as it was not worth the whinge to get the kids out of the car again. It as a warm day though and I don't really blame them. I was glad to get home. The other photo is Zay having a cheers and Rainee.

I went to the shops this morning and it is insane, I think I will just stay home till the kids go back to school, honestly I dont think I could handle big City life as the influx of holiday makers into our town is more than enough for me to cope with. The girl at the checkout said it is busier now than Christmas, she said the checkouts had them waiting 8 deep yesterday, shesh!!

Anyway we are having a quiet New Years tonight, just a barbie with us and the kids. Tim is busy doing more work on his bar, hopefully this week he will get the mini orb on. I am going on a major diet after New Year and before the kids go back to school. I think my energy might return then. I have completed 4 layouts in the last couple of days will share later.

Hope you all have a great New Year's celebration and all the best for 2007.
Take care
Trace.

A quiet Christmas

Hi,
Hope you all had a lovely Christmas and santa delivered everything you had on your list. lol. We had a lovely morning with the Kids opening their santa sacks and going ape over their goodies, we really spoilt them this year as they only had our gifts and Tim's folks gift on Christmas Day as my Family had given them Christmas for the 2 weeks prior to Christmas. Anyway we took our time letting them have time with their pressies and then had a bit of toast and cuppa and got ready to go to in laws. Arrived at about 11.40am to huh thought you weren't coming. Hmm maybe we will go!! So on with the Day, the kids were starving by 1.30pm when we had lunch and they had 1 present to open, just small items and no nibblies as FIL said it would spoil their lunch and so we had lunch and MIL was nearly ripping the pork out of Tim's hand as he carved, "That will be enough!" she said and whisked it away. So we had a hot lunch light on if ever I have had a Christmas lunch and then some pudding, poor Trin got fed by FIL and he gave her Cauliflower which she dry reached on and spat out to be called a PIG by FIL, poor chick it was my fault for not telling them to leave it off her plate. So then the kids wouldnt eat the bland lumpy custard and plum pudding so that went down a storm. I got the goodie platter out and the kids came running only to be told by MIL they had to wait and that they couldn't have too much, I have photos to share later of Zay being really cheeky and stealing handfuls of choccies.
So for tea we had cold meat and salad which I could bearly get some meat on my plate as it was so light on again. I found it really depressing to be so controlled on Christmas day and my kids behaved so well, played all day inside quietly until after tea and then they got rowdy I think they just had to let off steam so that will be my last Christmas with Tim's family, I will find every excuse under the sun to never have to go to another one.
I have decided to make New Years Day our Christmas feast for my little family and we can enjoy the day together. Must say but it would have to be the first Christmas day I have felt hungry!!!!

Onto brighter things Keelan came home today and had his presents to open, he has had a lovely Christmas thank goodness and is happy to be home and even Tim is happy he is home, we are off tomorrow for a drive to a brewery for lunch and to the Yahava coffee place to get some beans and just have a bit of scenic therapy. Have created a l.o. tonight will share later.
Must go and get some sleep, hope to get some great photos tomorrow of us all out and about.
Take care
Trace.

Merry Christmas

Hi
Today has been very very busy with my little beavers in this household!! Firstly above left is Keelan sporting his new do!! He got tipped yesterday for summer holidays, blond bombshell with a little sticker from his sis on his forehead. Rainee is so happy that she finally has someone in the family with hair like her, all she keeps doing is showing us how Keelan is like her now, she has a complex poor child about being so blond, when we are all different. So she is rockin in happiness now, bless her cotton socks. lol. Now on with Today's mammoth exercise: "Roll up and wash your hands kidlets its cooking for Christmas time" off they all run with excitement, "now let me smell them, okay back you go Trini and step right up Rainee, Keelan and Zaylan" and so began the day long adventure of Christmas cooking with Mum, girls cutting marshmallows and snakes, trying to keep Zay from eating the red ones as I had managed to score a large packet of snakes with wait for it 6 lousy red ones hmmm. Anyway we got there, Keelan was smashing milk arrowroots with disgruntled moans and sighs till I told him to vent his anger into the smashing and then holy cow my new bench nearly cracked up with the force, all good though he let off some steam we had a laugh and it was back to getting the rocky road sorted. So we got the rocky road done, then Keelan and Rainee rolled choc balls and Trin did the coconut and Zay well he was eating any ingredient not tied down at this point!! So that finished we moved onto a sleep break for Zay and Rainee and I bolted for the shops for more supplies, came home had lunch and back into the cooking next up was chocolate chip cookies which I burnt so all in the car and off to get more plain flour, you just run out at the darnest times dont you, so back home it was double mix of cookies and I didnt take my eyes off them and then white christmas. Just cleaned up kitchen and kids off outside to let off steam and hubby home and time to cook tea. Shoot want that like a hole in the head. Never mind I managed to keep my cool till late afternoon, kidlets had a hoot, I loved it too and we have some lovely homemade wares to give for gifts and for chrissy day, gotta love that and tomorrow well they are in daycare and I aint steppin foot in the kitchen lol. So the pics above are of the plates we made up tonight, 1 for a girlfriends family, 2 for daycare girls tomorrow, Zays carers and the Girls carers and the other for Keelan to give his Dad for Christmas, poor kid coped it from his Dad last Saturday for forgetting his Birthday, no consideration taken for Tae kwon Do grading or heat etc. had him in tears so now he is really worried his present wont be good enought, I told him what matters is Today you made all this with me with Love and that if it was my present from him I would think it was the best present I ever received!! Plus he made the card at craft for him!!!

Will leave it at this mammoth post and would just like to say Merry Christmas and my darling friends who are still waiting for cards, I am onto it but so sorry they will be after Christmas but hey they should make it before New Year. lol. Take care and stay safe and love those little ones with all your heart and soul, and note to all, don't try and eat lunch with Dr Phil, oh boy I proved today you can eat and cry at the same time, dont recommend it though, gets too hard trying to work out if the lump in your throat is food or choking up, rofl, he had Christmas for the kids and families from hurricane Katrina, boy it was so wonderful to see the kids faces with all the suprises they got!!! On that note I'm away.
Take care
Trace.

Back again

Hi
It has been a while, my computer has not been able to connect to the internet since Thursday last week so I have been in the real world for a while. Lots going on as with most of us this time of year. We had another weekend in Perth and Keelan did his Tae kwon do grading on Saturday, it was stinking hot and it was in a big shed with only ceiling fans on low, poor things not only did they have stress and nerves of grading the stinking heat had them dropping like flies. No matter how much water they had they still fainted and 1 boy was so sick he had to go to hospital by ambulance! He has a heart condition but has worked so hard with Tim's group to get his black belt but he was sick with tonsilitis and then the heat and his heart all got too much, the pain on his face as he tried to grade was just awful to watch. Brave young man with a huge desire to not let his heart hold him back but unfortunately his heart had the last say. Hope he is going along alright. Keelan passed and is now an orange belt, he is doing well and was so pleasing to watch him remember and do his pattern with confidence. They are on a break now, much needed so the new Year will see him hopefully replenished and ready to get back into it. He made it through to the end and then he nearly fainted, we got him to the car and stripped his shirt off and got the air con on him and stopped at the nearest deli and I got him a powerade and icy pole and some lunch and within 15 mins he was back talking and bright so I really think they finished just in time before he also went downhill. The car temp said it was 41 degrees outside and it sure felt like it. OMG!! We had our little Christmas with Mum, Dad, Brad, Kim and Girls on Sat night and then we were well and truly ready for home by Sunday morn. 2 weekends in a row in the City is more than enough for me, getting old I think as the comforts of home call me every time!! So the house is back to noisy noisy with my DD's home and we are all trying to settle back in with each other again. I took them all shopping early this morn and my Baby decided to be a toddler and do some tantrums at the shopping centre, I dont know but this time of year poor Mums have so much stress, trying to do the shopping with a budget and look after the Kidlets with them as well as rude people that seem to want to push past you with hands full and your wings stretched to max to keep your brood tucked in under them and tell me what is so interesting about staring at a child doing a tantrum on the floor of the shopping centre, it seems heaps, I should put the hat around next time and charge for the entertainment honestly gobbsmacked that they find it so interesting to watch!! And I love how they just wait in anticipation to see how you are going to react to the situation. Truly they should get a life. Right subject change feel the old rant starting to kick in.
Anyways the old puter guy is trying to get more money out of me by trying to get this set up better, will see what he comes up with.
I have been flat out today with 6 Kidlets here for half a day and the computer man calling me for diff things and the phone ringing red hot with Friends wanting to catch up before Christmas, it just makes me wonder why we have to do it all in the last week, I have got Keelan having a sleepover tonight and back tomorrow and he wants his hair cut and blonded tomorrow arvo and then Thursday to do some cooking and Friday to get Keelan off to his Dad's so I wont see him for Christmas boo hooo, hate that!!! Then Tim's Mum ringing to make sure I have it sorted on what to bring bless her if she only knew what I have to do before I can think of that!! Shopping today cost way too much and I still dont have it all for the Christmas period. Oh I would love to be going to a Restaurant I think in the long run it would be cheaper!! Anyway it will work out destress destress destress, ahhhhhh ahhhh. Better go and get some sleep. Hope to create, have got some l.o.'s to do for The scrapbook getaway so I have to get onto that, Tracey gave me 3 packs on Friday so I would like to get some time to do them, had a clean up in scrap room yesterday so looks ready for some creations to happen. Well enjoy your Christmas preparations, dont stress, I'm doing enough for us all, lol, and stay well and healthy.
Take care
Trace.

Hi,
A couple of l.o. I have done in the last couple of Days, the cricket 1 of Zay I did today, I always seem to take so many photos when we have family play time so I decided to cut these down and make them all be about what was happening and fit them all on, this l.o. does look better IRL and the colours look so nice IRL the cosmo cricket letters are fun to work with also especially for a cricket l.o. ha ha ha. The heart l.o. is Rainee and I journalled a lovely saying from a book I got from my Bro and SIL as an early Christmas pressie, it reads heading" U are my sweet spring," saying is" Rainee, Thankyou for making the bumps along my lifes path a little less rocky. You smooth over the rough edges of my day with your love, support and laughter." This is a gorgeous little saying pretty much apropriate for a lot of people in our lives but for Rainee lately this is very fitting.

I am very miserable today with busted blisters from sunburn on my back so I have been trying to scrap and do some things to take my mind off it. The worst most heartbreaking thing is I can't have hugs with my little Man, he hugged me this arvo and rubbed right over the dressing the nurses put on this morning and I nearly cried with pain. ouch, I so sympathise with burn victims the pain must be out of this world. I think our sun has certainly got dinkum now with the ozone so damaged, I will have a lot more care and respect in future and especially for the Kidlets too, hats are going to posted near the door and every morning the slip slop slap will be happening and a girlfriend just told me about optimum sunscreen from chemists, she has had melanoma and her Dr told her it has immunity protection in it also as new studies have shown that melanoma and immunity are connected. So I will be off to get some for this family!!! It is time for me to go and get tea sorted so bye for now.
Take care
Trace.

non pro photo shoot

Hi
This is one of the best photos I managed to get out of about 25, I basically sat and clicked my head off just to hopefully get 1 that they all looked half decent, this is my Mum and Dad's 9 grandchildren, 4 of them are mine but they all did well to sit and try for that amount of time and it must have been a laugh for them as the adults behind the 2 trying to take photos did everything in their power to get them to look and smile probably why some of the kidlets have puzzled looks on their faces wondering what the hell was wrong with adults acting fools. lol. anyway we have finally got them altogether and they did remarkably well, no sookie la la's.
At the moment I am nursing a very blistered shoulder area, the worst I have been burnt, I did not realise my top was so low cut at the back and therefore our lovely couple of hours at the beach was Tracey on a spit cooking away so quietly and now I have monster blisters ouch.. I think our sun has got a lot more sting these days from when I was growing up, thank goodness the kidlets were slip slop slapped. I want olive skin in my next life, bugger the fair white skin!!! I did a little more Christmas shopping today, cross another off my list, getting their but I want to be finished by Friday. Tim will be unemployed again by Christmas so he will be back to looking for work, hopefully something decent with good hours, tonight he didnt get home until 7.15pm and he left a 7am this morn. Shame we arent like birds really we could survive without the supermarket and all live in trees. lol. Better go I am starting to waffle will put another l.o. up tomorrow.
Take care
Trace.

Lovely weekend

Hi
It has been a lovely weekend, exhausting but lovely, my Dad's Birthday was on Saturday so we celebrated that with him and I also got some catch up with Mum in the afternoon as Zay was asleep and we kept the girls quiet doing activities. We went to Chinese with Mum and Dad and Bro, Kim and their 2 ruggies on Saturday night and the Kids were well behaved so we all had an enjoyable evening, then my other Bro dropped 2 of his kiddies off so last night we had 6 kids to look after. This morning Mum cooked Bacon and Eggs and I dressed them all in their bathers and down the beach we went for a couple of hours, they had so much fun, the tide was out so they had heaps of beach with little water, just great considering 1 was aged 10 and the other 5 are under 5 but they played amazingly well together for kidlets that dont get to see much of each other and they had so much fun. Then we walked back home to Mum and Dads and had a BBQ with the other 3 cousins so Mum and Dad had their 9 grandchildren altogether for a change and they were in heaven, we set them up for photos and I think I took about 30 just clicked the shutter non stop. So hopefully I have a few nice shots. So we are home again minus the 2 girls who are going to have a week with Mum and Dad so the house should be quiet this week but I will get plenty done and finish the chrissy shopping. Have a great week and must say it is beginning to feel a lot like Christmas!!!
Take Care
Trace.

Pics from Wed and Thurs.

The photo above is Trinity receiving her Kindy certificate yesterday from Sister Kathleen. Right hand bottom is Zaylan and I getting our hair blown everywhere at the park this a.m. it was rather windy but a really lovely morning and Tim had this a.m. off work so that worked out great a bit of help with Zay, he wandered around with him and I got some time to talk to some of the Mums. Top left pic is Santa with Rainee and Trinity getting their book presents and some lollies off Santa. I didn't give presents for Rainee and Zaylan to be included as I wasnt sure what they would think of Santa and then I noticed Trins teacher kept putting Trins present further down the pile and giving the others out before her and then finally she turned and asked if Rainee had 1 in there as she had sat with Trin the whole time engrossed in it all and I was feeling so bad to have not included her, it didn't worry Zay he was with us or off running around but Mrs Howell said go and ask 1 of the other Mums who had a spare and I then snuck it in to Mrs Howell so they finally got theirs, I have kicked and belted myself up since to have left Rainee out but far out with Kidlets you just dont know which is the right way, but I know when it happens next year for Rainee I will pack 1 for Zay as by next year he will know more of what it is about!!! Other than that it was a lovely morning. The top right hand photo is D.H. with Zaylan. I have finally got photos of us up here, the rest have all been the kids.

While I had a moment at the park of 5 mins to ponder I came to the conclusion that I beat myself up far too much, always jumping to conclusions about how I read situations to be or getting up myself for not doing something a different way, boy I need a chill pill, I have to be more supportive of myself and less critical and just allow things to happen and people to say things without reading my opinion into it, I have found today that I have judged a couple of people the wrong way and have withdrawn myself from being around them when today I had a light bulb moment and thought I really am the only one doing it to me as I keep reading too much into things, just let everyone have bad days and rise above it and just leave it at that. But do you know what, realising all this wisdom is the easy part, actually putting it into practice is the hard part, but I know that it is really going to get a little easier on me from now on as this year has been a monster and the girls are just starting to get to be their own little people and hold their own when we are out, all the constant supervision and teaching on my behalf in the last 5 years has finally sunk in to them and I feel I can take them places more now by myself and it will be enjoyable not hard. 3 Kids in 3 years is huge and it has taken me this long to finally realise that it is not about me being unable to cope or anything that is my fault it is just that I put a huge situation on my shoulders and I have struggled through the best way I could in the midst of all that I had to help manage and do paperwork for our farm and support my Husband with all that so I think I should finally cut myself some slack and start enjoying life not just exist for every other soul I am responsible for.

Wow I really needed to say that and I need to be able to look back at this when I start beating myself up again and take this on board again. Sorry if this doesnt make sense to anyone else but I just had to type what I felt today. I love my Family more than anything and have loved everything about raising these Kidlets but hey I am not hiding anymore that it is so bloody hard at times, because as 1 Lady said today who is my age and has 6 kids her youngest is 4 that she has spaced her kids and enjoyed everyone of them but she said doing what I did in 3 years boy was I insane, just made me realise all the above when she said that!! lol. So on that note I will away and get them all in the car and go and pick up Keelan and then get him organised to go to kids kraft at 3.45pm. Enjoy your day and keep smiling.
Take care
Trace.

Full on but nearly over YAY.

Hi
It has been full on here and with daylight saving thr0wn into this week well it just makes it even harder!! I would like to know if any Eastern staters read this blog if they could help me with some answers pleasssse. 1st how do you get little children to bed at 7.30pm when they can sit and read with the lights off and still think its day time??? Do I have to purchase some dark curtains?? Or do they eventually get that tired they adjust?? I have just sat with the girls for 40 mins till they wound down enough to drop off and they can hear people out and around still being loud and noisy as if it was 3pm. But come morning and they are sound asleep at 7am when they have been getting up at 6am. I am finding that there is going to be a lot less time for me to do all the things I used to as they were in bed and asleep by 7.30pm and I dont even want to go there when Zaylan can work out how to open his door, because at the moment he lays in bed and plays but doesnt get out once his door is shut. So if anyone has any tips please share them with me!!

Now onto why I have been so busy. Keelan had his school concert last night and lucky Tim and the other kidlets stayed home as 3 hours later it finished and they had strict instructions out to all parents that the kids had to be quiet. I dont know but I have found the concerts at our old school a lot more family friendly and enjoyable. The poor kids from year 2 to 7 spent their time out in the next room and had to watch it from a poor quality screen for 3 hours!!! I hope things improve next year as I dont think I could stand year after year of it, Keelan got to sing 1 song with his class and then he was at the back and I could not see him so for my 3 mins of what should have been heart swelling proudness I was extremely let down. But so was Keelan which was sad also.

Now today has been on a tight schedule but we made it, so proud of myself as I am usually so late and last minute about things but today I pulled my finger out and got back to a routine day and it has been all good. I went shopping this a.m. with Rainee and Zaylan and we belted around and spent $415 on groceries in 1 and a half hours. You know how the experts say stay on the outside of the (inside) of the shop and do all fresh produce yeh well that is what I did and it is still extremely bloody expensive. I tell you it costs more to eat fresh and healthy by a long mile. I am sick of the kids being in the pantry all the time for snacks so I am making them stick to the fruit so I bought no chips, lollies or junk but seedless grapes well try $22 for the bunch I bought and 2 bags of bananas $15. How bloody outrageous does it have to get but you know what I will pay those prices as my kids health is the ultimate to me, I wish our government would stop bragging about how much profit it made and give some of it back to us with fresh produce being subsidised by them so we could by all the healthy meats, vegies, eggs and milk, bread all at moderate prices and maybe then kids would be a lot healthier and active because I am sure a lot of parents could not afford to buy super healthy trolley loads each week but hey a big bag of chips comes on special for $1.99 so that makes a cheap snack therefore the bags of bananas for $7.99 still stay in the shop. Well that is my rant over gee sometimes just having a rant makes it feel so much better. Anyway back on track for my day, after the shop ( dont get me started again) lol. I flew home unpacked it all, started stamping cards for Trins class mates and attached them to candy canes and wrapped teachers pressies and did their cards, missed having the time for Trin to sign them. Had lunch then it was time to get ready and Designer Rainee was helping me, put on blue linen shirt, "no Mummy that doesnt look good" off with blue shirt, put on pink shirt "no Mummy you can't wear that, I am wearing my pretty dress" put on aqua shirt " oh Mummy don't you have anything nice" off with that and complete change of everything, "Well Rainee what do you think", "Yes Mummy that looks very lovely you can wear that" "Great Rainee now we are not running so early so get yourself dressed and lets get going"!!! I dont know what I am going to go through when she is 15 if this is what I am going through now at 4!!! I think next time I will take her shopping or better still I think I will do a wardrobe cleanse in the holidays and she can sit on the bed and say yes or no!! lol.

Now we arrived at Trin's graduation with 15 mins to spare, woke little bloke up he didnt know where he had landed for the first 15 mins poor little tike and then stuck him in the pram and headed for Trins class and after last nights let down, I was welcomed into the class and they had the best little concert for us, just awesome so now my gorgeous girl has graduated Kindy certificate and all and a lovely portfolio and an awesome CD of pics from the year with lots of her on it. I have changed my mind about her teacher and the strictness, I think she has done an awesome job for an extremely spirited bunch of kiddies. She also greeted Rainee and seems excited to be having her next year. So all good!!! Tomorrow is off to the park with the kindy group for Santa visit. Then I have to get Keelan organised for his last day of school and he is so ill at the moment, I have never seen him so run down from a school year, his poor little body is just not letting him get through the end of the week, he just feels sick but nothing is becoming of it, he is weak and tired and I dont think he really knows himself what he actually feels other than he needs major veg and recoup yesterday. He is going for tae kwon do grading next week in Perth but he couldnt even go tonight he just feels so awful, we have a huge weekend ahead so I hope he picks up big time.

Wow I better leave it here, I was going to be humerous in this post tonight but it is another serious one and a biggy, sorry to have so much wind. lol. I better get back to some scrapping soon, I will post some pics tomorrow.
Take care
Trace.

Migraine Monday

Hi

Started this morning with a migraine, stumbled out of bed and found the anagraine took 2 and went back to bed but couldn't even lay as the top of my head was lifting off so I had a shower and then waited for the pills to work, by then the Kids had started to arise so I started getting breakfast and organising them as it started to subside, 4 more days of getting organised for school, thank goodness, I can't wait to get rid of this morning ritual till next year. Anyway the day has continued with all the sheets changing and so on and so forth, no rest for the wicked even the wicked who get migraines so it would seem!! lol.

I have changed my set up for comments as a few of you have had trouble posting your comments so I hope now it might be easier. Please let me know if it isn't. Other than that not much else exciting happening so will leave it at that.
Take care
Trace.

Mighty fine Sunday

Hi, above are some photos of a l.o. I did for my big boy, painting and sanding paisley chipboard.
We have had a much better day today, the dark mood was lifted from the house at midnight last night and we have all had a pretty good day lol. Keelan's friend has gone home, Trin has come home very very tired and grumpy from having breakfast by the beachfront and a swim this a.m. but the worst part is she is like a beetroot, glowing with sunburn and she is really upset with it, we are plastering the aloe gel on her and I have just given her Panadol, apparently the family she was with put it on their Children and left her without it NICE!! grrrhh I dont know but I seem to work the other way, I would put it 1st on the kids in my care and then my own!! Oh well her 1st experience away from home has made her appreciate home and she doesn't want in on any more sleepovers. See home is not so bad after all, no one does things like your Mum hey!! The kids have had fun this arvo IN THE SHADE and with cream on playing with the sprinkler, little pool and the little slide, even the 10 y.o. has been into it, well he was the ring leader and they finished off the day with a spa with their much happier Dad. I have been creating this arvo playing with a kit I got ages ago and have finally put that together. D.H. has got himself some DVD's to watch tonight so I will create some more. We watched you, me and Dupree last night and that was not a bad movie, light and funny in places but not gut roaring funny, those movies seem hard to find these days. I have looked back on posts and seen how much I start with WELL so now I am on a mission to start with anything but that!! On that note I will depart for today and be back tomorrow.
Take care
Trace.

Yucky Sucky Saturday

Hi,
Well today is not the best day. D.H. got out of bed the wrong side and is in the worst weirdest mood, like he would like us all to drop off the face of the earth today kind of mood. Trin had a Birthday party to go to this a.m. and they asked her to have a sleep over so we picked her up and bought her home for a rest and D.H. has just gone to drop her off, she has asked every 10 mins when it is time to go to Lily's pool and Keelan has a friend over for a sleep over so 5 kids has now become 4 again!!! I have had the rants due to D.H. niggling me till I keep exploding so now Keelan's mate keeps looking at me sideways like I am the she devil!! I would love to just curl up in a ball and go to sleep and maybe tomorrow we might wake under a different cloud!! Even Zay is a grump bum from his arvo sleep so I think this mood must be going through everyone!! Lucky Trin, Rainee and I might go and have a sleep over somewhere if the males keep this mood up!! I went in the bedroom to take 5 this arvo after grumpy male made horrid comment and Rainee came in a laid next to me and said "Dont worry Mummy, Daddy is just yucky isnt hey" and then he came in and she told him to "Get out, your yucky, Mum and I want some Peace" out of the mouth of a 4 year old. lol. But she soon had us laughing big time as she got on a role for about 15 mins, trying to push him off the bed and saying the funniest of things. She is a Darl then we sat and read books for 5 mins and then she was ready to move on. Love you Rains you are such a little honey!!! Had a bit more of a clean up in scrap room as it was a horrid mess, so it looks much better till another parcel arrives at the door and I have to find room for more!!! Anyway better go and do something else, don't know what but Father grumps will be back any minute so I better look busy!! Oh men can't live with them can't live without them, tomorrow better be better!!!!!!
Take care
Trace.

Hi these are the l.o.'s I completed in the last 2 nights 1 0f Rainee and the other of Trinity. Today has been like Christmas here for me I got a lovely big box on the doorstep this morning from the lovely girls at Scrapbook Designs and they must have known I would use all my Chipboard Plain Janes flowers on Trins l.o. as they sent me some more yahoo. Also if you would like to drop by their blog for lots of lovely looking creations and great info it is http://scrapbookdesigns.wordpress.com/ they have just got new stock in and are so helpful even over the phone, I dont think I have ever asked about something they did not already know about. Well I guess you can tell these girls are my favs as I have spoken about them again today.
On the home front all is good, D.H. is off earning another dollar today and I am finding it quite nice around here just the kids and I, it has been great having him home but he is getting a bit past it and needs his space, he finds it really hard doing stuff with the kids hanging around trying to help him, go figure?? Now he knows what I go through but I think Mum's have a lot more patience, I think the neighbours would be welcoming the quiet too as his patience has been on zero tolerance for a while, poor kids!!! At the moment the girls are painting toenails a lovely blue, which was Trins present for getting her filling done, boy that was a drama but Praise the Lord it is now done and we hopefully dont have to go down that road anytime soon, so back to the toenails, they are looking just lush I can tell you and now the little stickers are being added on top, you have to love them I will take a pic when they have finished. Zay is zoned out in little red tractor land, he would just watch him all day however I think this 1 DVD is worn out, will have to hunt out some diff ones. Did anyone see Morning show with Kerrie Ann (hope thats how she spells it) this a.m. I was busy getting a morning Cappo when Trin yelled "quick Mum look at this" they had the Christmas pressies for kids review and wow what fantastic stuff they had. The little cars and bikes for toddlers up all motorised I would love to have some of them for Christmas morning, Zay was just in awe with his wows and ohs they had a little motorised lightning Maclean and wiggles soft bouncy car and motorbikes and monopoly with credit cards wow wish I was a kid again. Anyways better go and get some lunch happening and little tike to bed or he wont be up for getting Keelan from school. Have a good one.
Take care
Trace.

mojo back

Hi,

Well I can honestly say that my mojo has come home!!! Thank goodness I was getting rather worried about the stuff I was producing and the lack of L.O. ideas running through my head, I scrapped up a storm to put L.O's in The Scrapbook Getaway, Tracey and Michelle's new store in town and was pleased with them all but I have to say that what I have done recently bar a couple have all disappointed me but last night the great power of creative inspiration swept back over me and today and tonight I have done 2 L.O.'s that I actually feel happy with so that is exciting stuff for me!!! Okay I know small things amuse small minds but hey sometimes you have to make good of the small stuff. lol. I really think these girls that are on multiple design teams and running the home front with Family and then creating up heavenly stuff all the time on their blogs are just so amazing, they are really talented girls as are my Girls at Scrapbook Designs, they never fail to produce top class work and are thinking 10 steps ahead of everyone all the time to keep everyone just coming at them for more. How exhausting it is thinking about it but truly you girls are just so awesome, take a bow!!!

Now onto the mundane home front, Hubby working the next few days I think so it is all back in my lap, up early with the kids, waking Zay up to go and pick up Keelan poor little man so hates that, today he was snuggling back in and shutting his eyes every time I woke him with "Zay come on babe we have to go pick up the kids", he let me carry him to the car and I dont think he came to till we got home again. He loves his beddy that boy, can't say I blame him. Something about my Boys, they have really lovely energies in their rooms and bed, I used to snuggle in Keelan's bed when he was away with his Dad for the weekend and I was missing him or had the saddies just to feel at peace and connected to him. I find now I will get the urge to go to Zay's room when I want some quiet time and I always feel heaps better for doing it, they have great energy!!!

I think as of Monday next week we will take the tent and camp at school till it finishes as we have to be there every Day for Kindy Graduation and school concert and Graduation mass and the list goes on and on not to mention Santa at the park on Thursday so they are certainly finishing up full on.

Well that is it for now.

Take care
Trace.

Rain again

Well it is raining again!! This weather has some issues with us at the moment, it is going crazy all around Australia. On the homefront not a lot, accomplished a large pile of ironing today, most of it mine so I cant complain, D.H. has gone to work for a couple of days putting up patios in the glorious rain, he will come home drenched in his shorts and tee, poor darl and I only just put the solar hart on so it better heat up quick!! Had to take 3 kidlets in my little car again today to pick up Keelan, have not had that job for ages and my ears and head were ringing by the time we got home, Keelan was bashing it out to me in the front about a cricket match at school and the 3 in the back were pulling hair and screaming and laughing and it was raining mixed in with that, so I blew my stack and they shut it real quick, no wonder my poor old nerves are frayed, was not looking forward to going back to these trips, hoped Hubby could be home till the end of school year but not so for the next couple of days. Bummer!!! I think we should build a house with a lock down room for me when the kids start the noisy times, my scrap room does not have a door so it flows in here just as much as if I was near them!!!

Keelan is getting tired and low on energy he told me today and he really is ready for the long Christmas break, even a day off yesterday has not recharged him!! Mind you I think 2 weeks at a deserted island wouldnt even replenish me at the moment!!lol. It sure has been some kind of year.

A quick note to my Bro Brad, hope you get better soon, I know you could also do with a huge holiday and pampering!!! And also to my darling kindred spirit Jen, hope you bounce onwards and upwards soon my gorgeous Friend, wish I was around the corner for some bubbly uplift together!!! I know if I come visit with the tribe wouldn't that lift your spirits???? Don't panic, I wouldnt do that to you!!

Well that is it for today, must go and get more cleaning up done before D.H. comes in the door and has heart failure!!

Take care
Trace.

Here are the rest of the cards we made at the stamp camp and a little magnet for Christmas I made. And my master cuteness himself Zaylan with his mop of mop of curls. I have got the brain box ticking over for a great scrap page for this photo.

So that is it for the pics today.

Take care

Trace.

pics!!

These layouts did not post quite the way I wanted, they are double layouts and sorry the pic quality is so poor. The tin we did at the retreat and they came up "fabulous darlings" everyone had such personal touches added they all looked so different. I will try and add some more pics too the old blog is looking a bit dull, if anyone knows how to get a blog list added to my sidebar could they please tell me and also how to get a link to put photos of my work into I would love some help, struggling with some things on the blog side!! I need to pretty it up a tad!! I have used some of my older stash products in these so they dont look so up beat and modern but they were still fun to do and I have so many photos I do need to be getting plenty done. Well must go and achieve something.

Take care
Trace.

Well Done Damien!!!

Hi,

Well that was a great result in Idol, I so love Damien and his voice well I think it is magic, will be purchasing anything he has on offer with his music!! Jess was gorgeous as well but she is still young and I dont think that is the last we have seen of her.

So the day has been not to exciting on the home front, bit of a lazy Sunday, I did manage to work some more on some layouts so I will post them tomorrow so you can see. Zaylan is just coming to the interesting toddler stage where the personality is starting to bust out, he can say "dont know" now and he knows all the animal sounds, he has us in fits of laughter at the dinner table, I just went and covered him up and it is the face of an angel snuggled up in bed, just love them when they are asleep they look so angelic. He is a little dot snuggled up in his new race car bed, I just want him to slow down, he was a baby 1 minute and now he is turning into a little boy. Every Mother's ache I think to see her baby of the family growing up way too fast.

I started work on a canvas today, I am keen to get some photos of our family up on the wall and then I have to start a couple of Christmas presents, I just have to get myself organised which for me is not easy sometimes. However with Christmas tapping on the door, that should be all the motivation I need. Also need to do some travel ATC's for Scrapbook Designs swap due by 18th Dec. more creativity needed in this house this week.

Oh well that is it for tonight, will get some more pics happening tomorrow, brighten the old blog up again.

Take care
Trace.

Hi

Hello
Well yesterday was huge but mission accomplished so very proud of the sparkling house, in time for a visit from the In laws today for (lunch), nibblies, wine, BBQ and way too much food but it was all yum and all good till Zay decided to choke and loose all the contents of his stomach with it, poor MIL was sitting next to him but hey gotta love her she merrily kept eating while Tim caught the contents in a cup while I ran around like a nit in a fit trying to find something quick but you know the score when you hurry you really dont achieve it any faster!!! So I ran a bath and Tim got the mop and the clean up mission began all the while MIL was still trying to finish her lunch, lol, got to love her nothing fazes her!!!

Apart from the Girls having giggle fits and wrestles while us 4 adults shouted over them it was all pretty much the norm!! I asked MIL if her kids behaved like my kids when she was trying to talk to people all those year ago (secretly doubting that shock our generation would behave so bad) and she blew my belief out of the water with" PLEASE of course he did, they are just being Children, let them go they are fine, they have to let off steam sometime". Well pick my jaw up off the floor, how wonderful to come across someone her age who does not get annoyed with the Children being themselves, you see I have come across a lot of the older generation who seem to be so critical about how our Children behave so I get uptight with the kids when they are not on best behaviour, I can see we will have the best Christmas with In laws this year as they are so relaxed around the Children and nothing fazes them. So it was a perfect day really. I did a double layout last night but will post it tomorrow.
Well hope you are having a good weekend and if you are reading this Thankyou for stopping by.

Take care
Trace.

Mums and vomit!!!

Well today has been eventful as usual, had an early hair appointment and enjoyed every minute of being pampered and having a cappo in the process and then shopping and home, unpack it, have lunch and then Rainee and I went ripping around town trying to find things I used on the stamp/scrap weekend but no you wont find it in this town boy I may as well be speaking another language so I have walked the old legs off to no avail, that is 2 towns in the South West I have tried now, how bloody hard is it to get a jar of mixed gold leaf shavings????? I will have to wait till I hit Perth obviously and then I might not seem to be such an alien!! lol.
The Girls had late hair appointments for a trim and in the midst of running around Rainee got a belly ache and got unwell, we picked Keelan up flew into town finished off the last of my "milk run " and then dropped him at scrapping and came home to get Trin and Rainee seemed ok so back in the car and into town and made the appointment by a minute over, so all is going well getting their hair done at the same time by different girls, Rainee had my hairdresser and she is standing there getting the back cut and then the side and then she got asked to turn around and next minute she is in my lap and would not budge or say a thing what was wrong UNTILLLLL burp and spew up it came in my handbag over the cape and that was the only thing I could hold it in as Taryn ran to get a bucket but came back with towels and it was still all coming up I think everyone in the hairdresser just froze in time and looked on in disbelief and the smell well dont go there so Taryn said quick lift her up to the basin so as I take the cape off I pour spew onto my foot and shoe oh it just got worse, the girls really didnt know what to do, the young juniors have obviously never seen spew before and all stared dumbfounded, apparently that was a 1st for the salon and it had to be my child anyway she felt better after getting rid of it all and I mopped and cleaned up the salon and I hope the smell has gone, I think next time I need to book her in they will be booked out. Poor chick she managed to get her hair finished and we had to duck into the grocery store before I came home and no-one stood close to us for long I can assure you!!! Then she wanted an icecream before we left the shopping centre she bounced back quick but I think my pride will be gone for a while before I go back there!!! Kids you gotta love em.

Tomorrow for me is Hard core cleaning in this house:
I am going to expose and scrub every crack,
suck up every loose fibre,
dust all the hard wood,
polish all the knobs,
bare every germ and kill him,
get everything clean and naked
and have this house looking clean and pristine while the kidlets are at day care!! Believe me it needs it, I just need to feel it bare of bugs and clean as a whistle. Well that is my bit of wit to leave you with. Have a good one tomorrow.

Take care
Trace.

Busy Busy

Well today has been hectic, we had a time frame to stay in all day just to get everything done and now I feel really exhausted lol. We dropped the 2 big kids at school and then dropped the 2 little ones to Grandma and Grandpa and then shopped flat out, getting Christmas presents for our kids and Nieces and Nephews and the Grandparents, I hoped to have it all finished but we ran out of steam and time but it is nearly all done!!! The expense this time of the year is huge but I will have to go back to the way I used to do it and shop for Christmas through the year, we did get some good bargains but for our Kids, Big W started a toy sale at 2pm and we went through the checkout on the knocker!! Some days you just get lucky hey!!

Rainee had a great time with Grandma and Grandpa, Zay on the other hand would not let our legs go and just wanted major cuddles so I guess he was ready for home!! Rainee loves older people, she would spend weeks with them be it my Parents or Tim's or my Dad's sister, she just loves how they have so much time for her!! I wish I had more time for her but it just gets so hectic sometimes, with a rush to be here and there and appointments and food shopping, I can see why she cherishes the time with them though, I can remember being the same and they spoil you, just make you feel so special. It is funny though how jelly can taste so different when your Nana makes it for you!! So my Kids are hanging for the school holidays just to go and stay with Nana, they are fighting over who is going with who and when, oh my head hurts trying to deal with it all, lol, thank goodness Zay does not understand what all that is about just yet or poor Mum and Dad would have all 4 bickering over them although Zay is very connected to Grandad, he just wont let him go and I am sure if I took his bag packed and he was guaranteed a week of just Grandad with a bit of Nana thrown in, he would not knock it back. Oh far out I feel like I am rambling, just flowing along with this dribble.lol.
Well will leave it there.

Take care
Trace.

I created a Slide Show! Check it out!

Some creations.

I have finally got some pics to show of 3 l.o.'s I created on the weekend, still not happy with the quality of the photos to get them posted here but for now it will have to do!! The first is 2 cards I made, the 1st was a workshop one and the second I created with my stampin up stuff, they turned out really nice, much better than the pic shows. The next l.o. is Rainee and I made the background paper also with the stampin up stamps, did not want to put too much on as I really like the background paper. The next 2 are Mikayla Marie, my gorgeous neice, she is the hardest kidlet to get a pic of so I named it camera shy as my brother had to hold her still so I could capture her, love this little chicklet to bits, don't see enough of her, she loves spending time with my girls and they love being with her also, even Zaylan says moo moo, (nickname) when he sees her pic. Last but not least is Cheeky boy, Zay. I journalled about how he is also hard to get a pic as when he sees the camera he runs at you saying "CHEEEEESSSE"
and you end up with lots of blurry photos before you get some good ones.

I have some more cards which I will get on here soon, I need to pull my finger out with getting some photos on paper but as the pile is not getting any smaller, some ladies on the weekend made some 6x6 albums up in no time so I may have to do some of them but I also just got some 8x8 albums so I am really keen to do more that size. I am finding lately I dont like to put a lot on the pages so to make them smaller would be better, will have to get some opinions when I give them a go.

A big Thankyou to you girls who drop by and leave a comment, it is lovely to have your input, I do really enjoy reading what you have to say and value it. With so many talented ladies out there I am just a little fish recording moments for my Family so I hope no one thinks I am doing this to brag about what I do, I love having a blog as it records things for me and I am able to share it with those who care to drop by.

Apart from that the girls have had a day of turning the games room upside down and laughing and playing too loud until someone got hurt, just the norm really, Zaylan went out the gate this a.m. after the dog and was found wandering around next door by the Police Sarge who lives next to them, the girls as well had gone to get the dog so he bought them back oopppps, Tim has now got a combination lock for the gate so now the dog and kids can not get out the gate!!!! Mind you it is Zay who lets her out but they have been warned about going out the front!!! Lucky we dont live on a highway but the Sarge was worried Zay may have gone down the end of the street and through the bushes onto the main road. So if they get out now there will be hell to pay!!!! I think I will be going to beach with them every morning in the holidays to burn off some steam just to get a bit of peace in the P.M. otherwise they are going to drive me insane, lol
they just have days like today where they dont let up on each other and making a mess and mischief all day and by this time of day it is certainly getting under my skin!!!

Anyway I must go and do some domestics, get tea and all that joy will be starting soon.

Take care
Trace.

Great weekend

Hello, I am exhausted but I have had the greatest weekend. I have learnt lots, achieved lots and met some really lovely Ladies, the food was lovely healthy and wholesome and the projects we did were out of this world. I will post some pics tomorrow. Tim did a wonderful job with the Kids on the weekend, cooking and looking after them and then cooked tea for us last night so that was really lovely. He is the best Hubby I could ever ask for!! The kids just could not get enough of me when I got home so I spent plenty of time with them hearing about their weekend and having hundreds of hugs.

Had a wonderful time with Mum, Melissa and Ellen, such wonderful ladies to be inspired with. We covered a tin and made plenty of cards with some techniques I have never used before and Mum well she blew me away doing lots she has never done before, she got right into it and made some lovely things. We have all come home exhausted and after a busy day today I am really feeling tired tonight. Kaye did the best camp and she is such a relaxed lady which made us all feel really at ease.
I would also like to congratulate Richelle and Mark who are expecting number 4 in June 07, how exciting guys but after having our last 2 born around the same time I will not be joining you on this one, we are not extending this family anymore, I can enjoy other babies and hand them back. Zay has gone into his bed last week, no more cot in this household so that is the end of the baby era here. He is doing great with his bed and even his day sleeps are still happening, he does perform a bit, but once I shut his door he knows its sleep time, hope he keeps up the sleeps for a while longer otherwise he will get too tired and ratty.

Well thats it from me, will get some pics up tomorrow.

Take care
Trace.

Busy packing

Hello,
Been busy packing today getting all my stuff organised for STAMP CAMP tomorrow, last sleep YAY, can't wait to go away for a weekend of fun and creating and meeting new Ladies!! Had to create a card tonight in the middle of my mess, what to take and what not to take and you know I get the beautiful making memories totes for my Birthday but they just don't hold much stuff, I don't know what would be the best way to be organised for these retreats??? I thought I had the ultimate but NO it is all too small and what embellishments do you take?? Ribbons?? Sure as eggs the ones I need will be here at home waiting for me!!! Anyway I will have to make do, I have stamps and every colour stampin up pad so I am sure I could improvise if I really tried. lol. The fun part will be the clothes tomorrow, what fits seeing as since DH has been home and having AM and PM tea and the cakes or slices the old hips and waist have gone outwards again, oh darn back on the salads and water, I really dont need to be getting any larger!!!

So I will be reporting back in Sunday night hopefully if I manage to get some sleep on camp otherwise Monday I guess. Have a great weekend all and Thanks to you great Girls who have left me lovely comments, I really appreciate that!!

Take care
Trace.

quick toddlers

Today as I was doing the lovely housework (not) my Darling toddler came back from taking his Bro and Sis to school and needed his nappy changed. I had just set up the ironing board and put the clothes all on his change table when Tim and Zay came into the room to change him. While we tryed to clear the ironing pile off the change table, Zay decided to check out the iron and ssssssssizzle went his fingers, Oh boy he was very upset as you would be with a burn, but it happened so quick and we did not see him actually do it so it took a while to understand why he was so upset. He finally made it clear to us it was his fingers so as the dirty exposed I grabbed a cold flannel and tryed to comfort him. It took him a couple of hours and some panadol to settle down and lots of loving from Mum. Poor little darling has a blister on his finger now. Boy they are quick!!!! Anyhow he was fine this afternoon and now he really does understand what burnies means.

I have been creating, the layout about the flowers turned out to be crap, I am too ashamed to post it, had a bad creation I cant believe it. Never mind build a bridge and get over it as the lovely Mel would say. Since then I have done some ATC's for stamp camp and a card and thankfully they have turned out fine, I was nearly ready to sell all this scrap stuff after the last layout as I think my talent is in my boots, especially when I look at the stuff these other talented girls can create one after the other, if only I had a sparkle of that talent!!!! I WISH. At least what I do create is liked by the Family so I guess seeing as it is about them I have to accept that. I just hope before I die I can find what is it that I rock at, do you know what I mean?? I dont think I have shone in anything I have done so far in life, just Mrs Average plodding along trying to milk the brain cells of all they have!!!(unfortunately it is not enough) lol.

Well on that note better fly and get something else done.

Take care
Trace.

Blown away

Today has been great!!! I have been busy with a lot of Monday's jobs today seeing as I had a huge washing pile yesterday but I have achieved heaps, I have got the old cooking bug back and made Apple and Sultana Muffins and good old fav Family Chocolate Cake, it's such a goodie and makes a small baking tin size cake so you can freeze half if the Kids don't eat it 1st and we are having Roast Lamb for tea and cauli cheese yum oh. But amid all my domestic duties my darling Daughters did the most wonderful thing which they usually do once a week but Today it really made me stop and notice, I walked into the kitchen with my beautiful clean sparkling bench and there on top was the flowers in the photo above, at first I was ready to carry on about the drips of water left everywhere as by now the kids had dispersed to other rooms, but I stopped and looked and wondered why they did this every week and thought they are showing they Love me. So I went and found Trinity and asked her why did she bring the flowers in and who did she pick them for? Her answer "I picked them for you Mummy" why did you pick them for me Trini? "To show you I love you Mummy" WOW BLOWN AWAY. So all the Day I spend cooking them cakes because I Love them and clean the house for them because I love them, they are doing something for me because they love me!!! Sometimes the most simple things just have the biggest impact. I am proud of these Girls, they rock!!! So I had to go and take a photo of them in the sandpit so I can of course scrap a page about this little token of love. They have made my DAY!! So apart from that not a lot else happening, will get to create tonight, tummy is feeling much better, got over throwing a sad, whatever it was sad about I do not know but it better stay away. Bring on the love and throw the sads away, lol. Well better go and grab D.H. for a coffee and try out this choc cake, the Kids are fanging for it.

Take care
Trace.

I created a Slide Show! Check it out!

Weekend away

Well it has been a rather full on weekend but so lovely to get away. We stayed in Perth Friday night at Mum and Dad's and then on Saturday morning packed up again and drove to Three Springs. We had a picnic lunch at the park in Moora and let the Kids have a car break etc. The flies but far out, the little black bushy flies are in heaven there at the moment. You had to watch you only ate your roll as they tried to enter your mouth with it!! Oh the fun of the bush!! Can say I don't really miss living in remote places and being out on the land. Then we finished the rest of the trip, we stayed in Carnamah at the caravan park in a chalet which was nice. We got unpacked and had a cuppa and then it was flat out time to get ready for the 5pm Christening and as usual we turn up last!! Time just gets away with us, 6 of us getting ready to go somewhere and suddenly we are in the car racing to make it on time. hmmm. Anyway it was a lovely Christening and the Children were well behaved as at that time of night they are usually going mad. We went back to my Bro and SIL's house for a lovely tea and then Jamie showed us their shop before we left, they have the local IGA up there and have done heaps of work cleaning and fixing it all up, they have made it something it looks great. It has been over a year since my Mum and Dad and Brothers and Families and us have been together and we have planned a Family BBQ in December in Perth so the Kids can see each other again and we can get lots of photos of us all.
Sunday was a huge drive home, I drove half way home and then handed it over to Tim, and then I thought I might get some shut eye but no the Kids had other ideas, by then they were so over the car trip, over 6 hours in the car, I spent the rest of the trip trying to get Rainee and Zaylan to sleep and Trinity and Keelan to be quiet. We picked the Dog up at Eaton and had a break and then finally got home at around 5pm. So the washing machine has not stopped since. Tim has gone on a School excursion today with Keelan, such a good Dad he is and I am glad it is him and not me as my stomach has been upset since we got home yesterday and feels so sore today, don't know what my intestines are up to at the moment. I just would like to have a week that I stayed well, must be time for me to get a check up done on this old body and see what it is up to. So miss seeing our Homeopath in Denmark she rocked!!!!

I am counting down the sleeps till Stamp Camp this Weekend, can't wait to spend time with gorgeous Melissa and Mum and have some creating time in some wonderful company instead of the radio in the background, it feels like so long ago when we had Art shack retreat with Scrapbook Designs which was awesome, I have been busting to be spoilt and have some Me time since.

This week I will have to get busy getting some ATC's for camp ready and see if I can create 2 cards to take to share with the other Ladies, will see how time goes. Well sorry for the long boring post, Thankyou for taking the time to stop by.

Take care
Tracey.

Calm Day today

Hi all, Today has been a much better day on the home front which is great for Tim and I. 2 at school today and 2 home and no 4 year old tantrums today, divine!! I have created these 2 layouts the last 2 nights, I am usually not a frog person but I cut the frogs out of pp and they are cute. And Zaylan well he is a Darling, such an easy Baby and still really no trouble, some days touches of the Terrible two's are present but on the whole he is my Angel. Still sleeps 2-3 hours a Day and gets up so happy and cuddly, Love him to pieces. Then tonight I have done this layout of Rainee, just had this layout in my head all day and it was so quick and easy, the idea is the hardest to come up with but once it is there you can go with it, just wonder why the layouts look so much better in the head then when I get them on paper!! And I had to go with a little glitter, just couldn't do a Girlie layout without the glam. This ballerina costume drew out another side of Rainee, I have never seen her so out there and she owned her Birthday from start to finish, it was her party and no-one was going to muck up her day, she made fun out of not much at all, bless her. The great thing about Rainee is that the last 2 Birthday's I have asked her what was the best thing about her special day and she has replied both times "blowing out my candles", she just thinks that is so amazing. How wonderful to hear that response and it is not about the presents to her. She just loves us all to be there for her on her special day and sing Happy Birthday so she can blow out her candles. I think we forget sometimes with Children it is the simple things that mean the world to them and Family and Love. Well on that note I will finish and go and get some shut eye, off to the torture chamber tomorrow (waxing), oh the pain and punishment we suffer to have smooth legs!!! Have a great day!


Take care

Trace.

Hate Humidity

I do really hate humid Days and today has been a real energy sapping one. I think the Kids must sense when the Parents are low on energy and they decide to have an absolute shocker of a Day. The Girls started today at each others throats so I took Rainee shopping and Tim had the other 2. Funny thing when you take Kids shopping what ends up in your trolley. The little sweet tooth in Rainee was out in full force today and she was starving looking at the food. She demolished 2 muesli bars just in the car park while I unloaded the trolley. I can not work out how she is so a skinny mini, she loves chowing down lately. But you should have seen my trolley, it needed hungry boards, 1 old Man asked if I needed a motor on the trolley. lol. Others stopped just to see how my milk was hanging on right at the front of my trolley, these days I leave shopping till the last minute, I have never been like that, I was a once a week shopper but now pleaaaase do I have to shop at all. Anyway I stocked up so hopefully I will get by for a while.

This arvo I called into The Scrapbook Getaway and as usual new stock just begged me to buy it, a few things for a layout I want to do on Zaylan. So I printed this gorgeous photo out of him and looked closer and what is that from his nose SNOT, far out I need to erase it, pretty much has been the gastro or colds week about for my Kids this year. I don't know if it was the move from a Farm and fresh air to a coastal place but I hope the immunity steps up soon. So back to snot photo, I have had to find some others. bummer, not able to do all the digital cleanup yet. May have to make that my next learning adventure.

Anyway better go create while the Darlings are in bed and time is precious.
Thanks for stopping by.

Take care
Trace.

Rainees layout.

Yay it finally downloaded for me, this is the layout I did last night of my little ballerina on the day she turned 4, all Day she wore this and danced and sang and had an absolute ball. I have used Kindy Glitz (yay love it could eat it) and buttons and flowers and brads and doodled, I love doodling always have while I have been on the phone or day dreaming, I doodle. That is the brighter news now who just watched idol booooooo boooo hooooo Chris Murphy gone, what is this world coming to, so sad, I think he is awesome. I hope he gets to go to bigger things. Don't want to believe that is the last we have seen of him!!!
Okay I am going to go and create. Have a good night.
Take care
Trace.

Monday mayhem

Monday is the most full on Day around here, doing all the bed changing and usual major house cleaning stuff however it is great to get to the end of it and look at a clean house for 5 minutes. The house is pretty quiet with Zaylan and Rainee here for the Day but the peace explodes when Trinity and Keelan get home after school, it is pretty much full on eating and telling about the Day. I even gave the Pup her bath today and wore most of it and then flea treated her and wormed her so she should be in heaven with herself at the moment, of course she tried to bust outside and find the dirt to roll in but with 4 Kids to chase her and hold her she did not have much success on that front.

Our neighbour came over this evening and warned us about the not so nice visitors being around as they had money stolen from inside their house last Thursday night and the car was ransacked, funny because our security light has been coming on at odd times lately and I have had weird feelings about being watched and seeing a horrible face when I have been trying to go to sleep, trust your senses, they tell us something is not right. The mongrel @@#$%$@$ that are doing this better get caught soon. Tim is getting his Tae kwon do moves all sorted ready for them. And as for the dog well she would kill them with kisses or absolutely poop herself and run inside so there is no comfort in having her around. I did another layout last night but after several tries to post it I have given up, will try again tomorrow. Well off to watch idol, sorry for the boring post.

Take care
Trace.

Raining in Busselton

This is a page I worked on last night of my Eldest Daughter Trinity. She is so into nature, from collecting bugs and frogs to picking flowers and anything connected to the garden and outside really. She is a real sweetie. The colours look so much better IRL as I am still having trouble getting the photo to show the real colours of the page.

Today it is raining in our beautiful coastal town of Busselton, whats is up with this weather?? Due to the rain the Kids are stuck inside and they are not being on their best behaviour today let me tell you. Rainee has had 4 y.o. screaming matches this morning and Trinity shut the bedroom door which had Zaylan's head connected to it so he is sporting a nice swollen eyebrow, pretty much a normal day here really, the Girls have been told numerous times to get dressed, clean teeth, make and clean up their room but no they have to stress Mum and Dad out and muck up till someone gets hurt. So we have moved through that drama and now they are into eating up a storm and won't stay out of the fridge or pantry. I see why we
Scrapbook as it makes us dwell on the positives of the Children and find really nice things to say about them even when they have nearly sent us mental all day. Divine little inventions sent to send Mum and Dad mental!!! Anyway thankfully every day is not a rainy day and that these dreaded colds the Kids get at Daycare and bring home to Mum are not around for tooooooo long. Kids you gotta love em!!! Apart from that I am going to clean my Scrap room today, it is in such disorder that I really can't talk to the kids about their room when they see what I am creating in. HMmmmm my Mum would be having kittens herself. So I will go and get on with more cleaning, I thought Sunday was the day of rest, well never in this household.

Take care
Trace.

pictures

Rainee who recently turned 4 and spent the day as a ballerina, she had a blast.
My big boy Keelan who is 10. He has grown into the most gorgeous person. We find him a great mate, he helps with the younger siblings and is a constant help to Tim and myself. He has the most beautiful nature, I hope he never changes. The other is of my Neice Dakota Mae who is just gorgeous. Hope you enjoy these, the layouts look better IRL with all the doodling and kindy glitz, I am loving playing with the kindy glitz and pens at the moment. Hope my photo posting gets better, feel free to add any tips to help me.

Thanks for looking
Trace.

My first post

Today is my first post, I have wanted a blog for so long and today as I am sick, I am allowing myself this time to get it set up. I will have to learn about getting my Scrapbooking pages onto here but in time that will come. I am on a design team for Scrapbook Getaway which is a new shop, the opening was last Friday and now my work is up in the shop with 4 Kids I have plenty to scrapbook and usually too little time to do it, but my Hubby is great, he is used to me sitting up till Midnight scrapping or making ATC's or cards.

I will keep this post short as I need to now spend more time working out how to get some work posted here and make this a little more exciting.

Take care
Trace.