Mum's brag book.

click on pics for larger image.

Hi
This is Mum's ( Nana Brag book), she loved it and now she can take it with her all year and show off her grandies, I had fun making it and found I had to stop myself from adding more and doing more, such a cute little keepsake for her. This is what the girls saw me making and then had to make one which I showed you yesterday. I had to hide the bag but as I was running out of time for them to stitch as well but I will help them make one in the holidays. I didn't put handles on it as Mum can slip it in her handbag to carry with her. I split apart a maya road heart album and put the circle clip in it, I like the flip albums.

We had drinks with Neighbours last night which was nice and relaxing, I came home about 9pm with the kidlets and left Tim to it, he arrived home at midnight, been shopping early this morning to beat the crowd and now we are just chillin which is about all we will be doing for the New Year too. We will have a BBQ tea just the 4 of us which seems so weird, Trin is bored without Rainee even though they have their share of squables but I am slowly each day getting caught up in the house and yesterday I did 2 layouts which I will have to share later, I still have 2 more christmas gift picss to show but will have to do that tomorrow, blogger only allows so much in one post.

Have a great New Year and stay safe if you are going out celebrating. Lets hope we all have a fantastic year in 2008.
Take care
Trace.

My proud Girls

Hi
Before Christmas while I worked on a heart book for Mum the Girls decided they would love to do one so I just gave them the instructions of each stage and for about 4 days they worked on their little albums and they are proud as punch of themselves. First they used my template to trace and cut the heart and then they painted it on the same day. Next day when the paint was dry they cut and glued their photos, next day they glued ribbon, buttons and other bits they found onto their albums and then the last day I punched holes and put the ring binder through and then we tied the ribbons, they used some other bits they had collected out of the bargain bin at spotlight about a month ago and then their books were finished. A great little non expensive project to do with your kidlets through the holidays, Trin being a little older did wonderful painting of faces and patterns for her inside pages whilst Rainee was happy to keep hers plain, it was so fun to see them really get into a project they loved from start to finish. Trin can't wait to take hers in for show and tell next year at school and what a wonderful way for her to show off her Brothers and Sister and Dog.

Tomorrow I will have some of my creations to share. I am going to scrap today while I have Tim home and Zay is being his shadow. Have a great day.
Trace.

Our Christmas Day.

What a Christmas Day it was, 10 kidlets and 10 Adults all in Mum and Dad's 3 by 1 unit and in stinking heat with a full roasted meal. The little air con battled to keep up with the heat and oven and 20 bodies but we all survived and had a pretty good day considering the kidlets had to stay inside for most of it. In the afternoon when cabin fever set in I sat outside with a little blue shell pool full of water and watched the kidlets while they cooled down having a paddle. They were really very good considering the lack of space and the heat. I think we have got far too big in size to try and have Christmas at Mum and Dad's but the sad part is Dad spent the weeks to Christmas building a great patio which would have given us plenty of room to eat outside and spread our wings but when the temps got to what they did we had no choice but to move it all inside.

Tim took the kidlets to the beach late Christmas eve for a swim and Mum, Dad and I went sick setting up things while they were gone, then we had another swim for 2 hours boxing day late arvo which really revived us and then again the next morning we went for another swim. The nights were uncomfortable trying to sleep and the kidlets had some bad nights due to the weather but we did survive and we are now home to cool sleeps which I have gladly welcomed.

Mum has Rainee and Keelan for a week so we have come home with Trin and Zay, we are now into all the cleaning up and unpacking, we feel pretty exhausted after all the build up, hype and heat but I am sure we will catch up on good sleeps and rest in the next few days. I just want time to slow down so the last 4 days of Tim home go slow for us. I am slowly getting around blogs catching up on people's Christmas, seems the other side of Australia had a cool one, lucky people. Tomorrow I will post pics of the Christmas presents I made for Mum and Dad and Aunty Carol. Well best be off and get more washing out on the line. Take care and enjoy the last days of the festive season it is certainly flying by.
Trace.

The first part of Christmas.

Hi
We are back home again, we had a great time away but boy oh boy the weather has certainly been very horrid to say the least.

First off is a collage of our Sunday luncheon with Tim's family seeing as we would not be spending Christmas day with them. We are missing Zaylan which is a shame as it would have been great to have him in the pics. But we had Amber instead so it was nearly 4 kids. LOL. Tim had his photo taken with his Sister but none with me which is a usual story when we are with his family, they all want me to click away. I did get in some but not with Tim as well, will have to study up about the timer. Don't you just love willing subjects to photograph, I just find I have to hold the button down and snap away just to get a few decent ones, they tend to think its me but they dont stop yabbering or moving and then FIL always thinks it funny to hold the fingers up over MIL's head, then the teen and pre teen just have faces of stone, all you ask for is 1 decent shot and to stay still 1 sec. Never mind this is the best of lots of them.

I will post again tomorrow with shots of our Christmas day.
Take care
Trace.

MERRY CHRISTMAS & HAPPY NEW YEAR.

Dear Readers,

I would like to take this opportunity to wish you and your Families a

MERRY CHRISTMAS AND ALL THE BEST FOR 2008.

Hope you all have a wonderful Christmas with your Family and Friends and stay safe.
Thankyou to the Girls who read this and take the time to leave me a comment, I so enjoy reading your comments.

Be back after Christmas with lots of pics and I am sure we will all feel very refreshed.
Take care
Trace.

Photo and Journal book.

Hi

This is a jounal I have completed for my SIL for her Birthday, it is a work in progress as I have gone as far as I could and now she will add all her own photos and final touches, she needs to journal and add her story to this about a year for her that has had a huge amount of changes in her life. I had fun doing this book and once the photos are on the painted and stamped pages they look really lovely. I used texture paste on the front and back and Jo Sonja paints and lots of dry brushing.

It was so fun to do and I hope when she gets it tomorrow she likes it.

Everything is nearly wrapped and packed for us to set off tomorrow, what a huge marathon that has been but thankfully I can see the light at the end of the tunnel.

Take care
Trace.

Creating, creating and more creating.

Hi,

We are getting through our week and all is now well in the house. I am finding out what sibling rivalry is all about having only a 6 and 5 year old girl in the house, they are great if we are out and great for most of the day but ask them to clean away everything they have played with which is left where they last played with it and a major meltdown erupts, they start at each other and then me and it usually ends up ugly. I think we are down to nothing left in the santa sacks at this point. LOL. Rainee is so much like Tim and she chats and chats till the cows come home and Trin is deep like me, she likes time to sort out her head through the day and just kick back in her own world with no one to bug her so she tolerates and enjoys the play for most of the day but it is so funny listening to them playing, it all starts off well and then suddenly T.V. draws Trin in (1 thing she does not have in common with me) and that is it Trin is transfixed into another world and Rainee is left asking her the same thing over and over again like a cracked record till Trin snaps back to reality as Rainee has got progressively louder and then off they go again with the little make believe play and then it starts again with Trin off on the T.V. planet.
LOL.

I have been doing lots of craft projects for gifts this week and really dont care much about the house work as everyday we have an early morning appt to go to and when we get home I just brush the surface on things and then spend any other time between things trying to get things finished for Christmas. Today we had 3 different appts to be out to so it was out, home, out, home, I got dizzy. Town is just madness with holiday goers already. You have to go early or it's bedlam. The Girls kept saying lets get out of here theres too many people. (country kidlets through and through).

I have made a mini album for Mum and Dad of their 10 Grandchildren and then a bag for it to go in so that has been fun. The girls come in each day dying to finish their little copy albums, they are doing such a great job, but they havent seen the felt bag for mine yet so I may be in trouble if they want to make 1 of them, may have to be an after Christmas project. I have made Family Christmas cards tonight for Christmas Day, I have 2 projects left which are not going to be as much work as the Grandkids album. With funds a bit tight this year it has made me get creative and I have really enjoyed it, I think I will have to be into this more.

Other exciting news this week is Kim Geling (sorry dont know how to do links) asked if I would be interested in becoming a Fiskars Demonstrator for the South West area so today I had a phone call from Lyn Dwyer and it is all a goer, I have my first demo at Spotlight Bunbury on the 21st Feb so that will be great to be out and meeting people and showing them the great Fiskars products.

Well better go and get some shut eye even though my head keeps coming up with all these projects for Christmas while I am trying to go to sleep. I am missing my Boys, so are the girls which explains the bickering, 3 more sleeps till we see the little one and 4 till I have my Big Boy back, woo hoo.
Take care and stay safe.
Trace.

My angels look after me!

Hi,
Things were happening at a steady pace until late Sunday night when I started to feel ill before bed time but thought nothing much of it until Trin who was having an unsettled night came and woke me for the 3rd time at about 2.30am and I felt that aching lurk in every muscle and bone, I ended up swapping beds with Trin as I realised that she had seen things on a DVD which she was having nightmares about. I woke about 7am and felt violently ill and prayed that seeing as it was raining that Tim's work was cancelled and he came home.

The girls were up by then so I went back to my bed a shivering, aching heap. About 7.30am I heard the most magical music to my ears, Tim's ute turned up home, he came in and said "get up sleepy head" but I could just mumble "I'm so ill" so for the 1st time in nearly my whole life I pretty much stayed in bed most of the day and slept off this miserable stomach viral bug that Rainee had shared with me and now I feel so bad she had to sit in the car with a bucket while we grabbed Christmas toy shopping on Saturday, I guess that was my punishment for not being very sympathetic to her. Thankfully the aches and shivers are gone today and only a grumbly tummy and lots of sweats when I was doing housework but other than that I think I am glad I did get to bed and deal with it yesterday. I just pray now that Trin and Tim don't get it as Christmas is getting closer and we are going to be around a lot of Family this time next week.

Trin had 3 fillings done today and she was a brave little trouper. She has 5 little ones left, I am horrified she had so many eruptions but the greatest thing is she is letting the dentist sort her teeth out but I found out today this dentist is going private practice next year so I guess if Trin will not trust the next one we will follow Alex to her new practice. So we came home and the girls coloured in their pictures the dentist gave them and I got stuck into some house work and then this afternoon I tried to finish off a present for Mum and Dad but then the girls decided they wanted to do a heart book so they traced and I cut out cardboard hearts and then they just started painting when Tim came home early again 3.30ish so we had a coffee together and then we went out the shed and went through all the boxes of toys that we had stashed out their from the farm and others we had taken out the house when they got too messy, I was so in the mood to chuck out, Tim said "you should get the stomach bug more often", he loves that our stuff is getting out of his shed, he so needs to get that sorted out and this house doesn't accomodate the stuff the farm house did and baby toys are no longer needed here. LOL.

After a good purge we had 4 big boxes of toys to take to the op shop so we had tea and when it got nearly dark, dropped them off and went and looked at Christmas lights, the girls were so tired but as we have had a busy day and tomorrow looks no better, I will so enjoy kicking back the week of Christmas we just have to get through the rest of the week, wrap presents, do some more appointments, pack, cook, finish off some projects, get some cards made and go to Christmas parties, onwards and upwards I guess.
Take care and stay safe
Trace.

Yummy Chicken Korma Curry.

Hi

I want to share this recipe that I tried out tonight and it was absolutely yummy, full of flavour and warming to the palate.

Chicken Korma Curry.
I used just over a kilo Chicken Breasts but you could use Chicken Thighs too if you like them.
1 large onion diced.
2 carrots diced
wedge of pumpkin, peeled and diced
big handful of snow peas
Hokkien noodles, large pack.
Jar of Pataks Korma curry paste.
tin of light coconut milk
dash of olive oil.
2 cups of water


First fry the onions and carrots in oil until onions soft, then add whole jar of Korma curry paste
add the Chicken and let the chicken simmer until it is sealed.

Add pumpkin and cups of water and put lid on and let simmer till the chicken is cooked through, then add snow peas.

Rinse the noodles under hot water and then add to pan with everything else, mix and simmer for a little longer until all the juice is taken up and then add the tin of coconut milk and stir until all heated through and the sauce has thickened. It is now ready to serve.

You can add any of your favourite vegies really. But be warned it is very easy to over indulge and feel really full after it is so yummy. Let me know if you try it what you think.

Tim went to work at 5.30am and appeared back home at 9am due to them not needing him at this other mine sight.
We managed to get toy shopping this morning even if we did have 2 girls with us and Rainee with a sick bucket, I was determined to do this shopping today as the way town has been it will soon be impossible to get anything. Rainee has some gastro bug, she has been flat all day so I hope it only lasts 24 hours, I have mopped the floor a few times due to her not getting to the toilet on time, she has now gone to bed with a bad headache so I really hope she is feeling better tomorrow. Praying no one else gets it either and glad now the boys are not here as I usually end up with them all catching it.

Well better go and watch a movie with D.H. he is calling me.
Take care
Trace.

Then there were 2.

Hi,
I have done our week in collage and what an array of things we have done, from graduations to Birthdays, Santa, sport, school windups everyday this week has been out out out and next week is looking like the same, every morning I have something on next week, accountant appt, dentist appt, Dr. appt, I have to do a Reflexology treatment thrown in their for my girlfriend who did my hair yesterday in exchange, nice when you can do swapsies, we had a laugh as when I have finished my 3 years of study she said we can do a swap hair do for a counselling session although I am sure she will find it hard to go past a Reflexology seeing as she is on her feet so much. LOL. Double click on pics for a better look and yes that is Santa coming down the slide and letting off a cracker, the kids just thought that was sensational. LOL. We had a young Santa and he was right into saddle club and so many things the kids just love. The look of delight on their faces was just gorgeous.

So I am down to 2 Girls for a week, I just can't believe how quiet it is well most of the time except for the occasional outburst of protest between them. I am finding this Pre Christmas season has been too busy and I will miss not having the time or energy to put into cooking some Christmas treats like I usually do, I may get a little time next Saturday but compared to last year I have just had far too much on to keep up with it all. I am looking forward to Christmas day and the week after when we can finally have some Family catch up time.

I am also looking forward to getting my Children all back under my wings again, I just miss them so much when they are not around, I seem to be more disorganised and floundering around not achieving much at home, lost without them, Zay is my daily crack up so I have not been getting my laughs, oh well, I guess Christmas will be even more special seeing them all again and this year we have Keelan so I always love every second christmas more. I hope you are all getting through your lists, I am truly glad Mum is having Christmas this year as I think if it was here I could not manage much more than a sausage sizzle. LOL.
Take care and stay safe on the roads.
Trace.

Ta Daaaaaaaaaaaaaaa

Hi
Well this is it, my Christmas tree project I have spoken about and will finally share with you, I didn't make Santa standing next to it but I thought he looks cute alongside it with his arm of presents too. I had fun making this and it is one of the few things I have imagined in my head and then put the exact thing together. I only wish I could have got hold of a wooden Merry Christmas or Joy or Peace to go up the top but they are not to be found around here so I got the next best thing. This was so much fun playing with paints and lots of other goodies, I like starting with cardboard and making something really pretty, it is really rewarding.

My glowing angel is very different but still cute I think. LOL.

Well the next hectic week is about to start and I must say that this time tomorrow night I will be relieved to have a busy day behind me. I have to go with 30 odd year 6's tomorrow to the park for their class celebration so that should be interesting and then get back to school in time for Rainee's Kindy Concert and graduation. Then so on the week will flow with each day full.

We had a great weekend in Perth. Keelan is just amazing with Tae Kwon Do, Tim took a video of it and I snapped away with my camera so we have all bases covered. We showed Mum, Dad, Brad, Kim and Family the video last night and it was so great for Keelan also to see himself on film. It was such a great grading, I am amazed at the skills of the black belts. I just hope Keelan will stay passionate about it. Tim is thinking of going back to it next year, I hope he does as that will inspire Keelan to put more into it also.

Last night and Today we had Birthday celebrations for my Dad, I think I gained another couple of kilos with Mum's cooking and baking that she did with Zay. It was sad leaving him today, he is so missed by this Family, everyone was so excited to see him on Friday that we were like a frenzied mob of Sharks trying to all get enough of him, he is certainly 1 very loved little Man. But it is so great for him to have time with Mum and Dad, he has had the least contact with them of all my Children and he really absolutely ADMIRES his Grandad, he is his mentor hands down.

Zay calls Keelan "My mate" so today when we were showing our Aunt and Uncle the video of Keelan sparring he heard me on the video saying "Go Keelan" next we hear him yell "go MY MATE" it was so funny, he must have felt like it was all happening right then. LOL.

Okay enough chat about My little man or I will need tissues, glad to be having some time with the bigger Children this week to get them finished school and then holidays will be about our Family. It was great to catch up with Brad, Kim and my gorgeous Nieces and Nephew last night they are adorable and really play well with each other, Marcus is just adorable, he is 1 totally kissable, snuggable, loveable little baby. Can't wait for more cuddles at Christmas and I hope I am not sooooo tired. ugh.
Take care and Happy Birthday for Today Dad.
Trace.

Our wreaths.

Hi
This is my wreath on our front door, they are easy peasy but I think they are really nice, I would have loved a Kaiser wooden Christmas word to hang off it decorated but well they just aren't around these parts unless I travel out of town.

This one is Rainee's effort, she did a wonderful job for a 5 year old, the girls loved making them as they don't take a long time and it gets them absorbed from start to finish.

This is Trin's effort so they are now hanging in our living room for all to enjoy.

It is not slowing up around here at all, I think by next weekend I will be in a melted heap on the floor, Mum came on Monday and everything was so fast paced, she can't believe how much indigestion you get when it is meal times here as so much is always going on, Welcome to my world Mum. LOL. Tuesday we had the kids school concert, OMG this year they did it in 2 parts and well I have one in Pre primary and Year 6 so we had to be there for the whole concert, it was lovely but we got there at 5.10pm and left at 9.40pm, Tim came and picked Rainee and Zay up at interval and Trin later found out she should have gone home also, the last 40 mins of the concert she was so over it. Trin did a great job and smiled from ear to ear while she had her 5 mins of glory on stage singing and Keelan's class did such a beautiful song, he was in a group of 4 who sang one of the verses and it was so moving I was in tears the whole song, they sang like angels, very gentle and so sweet. The thought then dawned on me that next year he is finishing primary school and then I needed the tissues as the mascara was running out at a rate of knots, why when a moving, sad song is on do you think of something sad to set yourself off even more!!

Trin had the dentist this morning so Mum took the other 2 to school then headed back home with Zay, he is staying with my folks for a while, I have Dr tomorrow, a sore throat for 3 weeks is giving me curry then waxing chamber tomorrow night ouch. Friday is pick up book lists from school then home and pack for Perth on weekend, Keelan has Tae kwon do grading which he is packing it about.

Next week is a right off with something for the kidlets at the school for Mon,Tues,Wed and then Thursday is another appt for me and Friday is getting Keelan ready and off to his Dad's for 10 days. It all seems like pure insanity the amount of stuff you have to fit in with school breaking up and sports events breaking up. Then Rainee brings home an invite for a Birthday in January today PLEASSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSE can we just stop this dam train right now. But I know that anyone reading this will have a diary that looks just like mine because that is just part of being a Mum in December.

Take care all and don't try jumping off the train while it is moving, stay safe in this madness.
Trace.

Mega scrapping

Hi
Tim worked Saturday for the day, so after a morning of squabling and arguing I had just about had enough so after lunch I put 2 to bed being Zay and Trin and Keelan went on his computer till 2pm when he had a mate arrive for a few hours to play and Rainee and I hit the scrap room and I power scrapped. Tim got home about 3.30pm and I finished off a couple more layouts and felt sane, happy, just plain human really after the mental morning I had and Trin and Zaylan woke up refreshed and happy and everything was back to normal. This flu we have all had just lurks and lurks and purely zaps the heck out of your energy so it was high time Trin gave her body a chance to replenish so the weekend improved from that point on.

The layout above of Zay was fun, just love that photo of him in his cool shades. Tim wanted me to scrap that one, I had scrapped another pic of him with his shades but this is Tim's favourite one, I have a big pic of this above my computer and just smirk everytime I look at it.

This layout I am really happy with, just love the colours so much, simple but effective and lets the pics tell the story, they are so cut these pics, I really wanted Rainee to stay out of the photo so I could capture Zaylan and Mikayla but she wanted to be in on the cuddle too.

This layout is missing 1 girl cousin unfortunately but I hope to get the 5th cousin with these girls at Christmas and Mikayla also has a dress the same, Nana and Grandad got the girls one each they are so cute.

Sorry about the flash on the pic and it is a cheeky pose, I don't think he was actually being cheeky when I took it he was actually talking to me but this is a face I see at least once a day ATM with some cheek being handed out to me. Toddlers, don't you love em.

So don't faint or get a shock to see so many layouts, LOL I actually can do it if I put my mind to it and I am inspired to continue to keep using this stash before I buy anything else. It is really hard to stop saving it all as my favourites any longer, it has to be used.

I have my Christmas decorations ready to go up on my next post so stay tuned. We put up our Christmas tree yesterday but I am so over this optic fibre tree, Tim's purchase a few years ago and it has been great with little ones up to now so they didn't fiddle with the ornaments but next year is definitely time for a real one and then I can get my ornaments back out, Rainee really wanted a real one this year but we are making lots of other decorations so that has to be alright for this year.

Take care
Trace.

missing pics from below.

Dont know if it is me or blogger but this is the 3rd attempt to get these on here. These are missing from the post below.

Trace. xx

Layout and funky fabric.

Hi
I created this layout above of Zay but the photo is not the best, the colours have come out dull as I took it in my scrap room last night but you get the idea. I used my cuttlebug for the first time to add little bits of features to this page, I love the embossed effect it gives for a journal box. I now have it on my scrap table so I use it more often.

Some other great news I purchased the Super Food Ideas bumper Christmas issue a few weeks ago and loved it from start to finish, I was so inspired and all the recipes just seem so yummy without huge amounts of time having to be put into them which is great as I want the kidlets to cook Christmas goodies with me this year. The girls already created their Star wreaths out of the book which I will get a pic of and share. Then I fell in love with the table setting with the funky christmas fabric that was used. I searched town for some of this fabric but the local store has only got in some Christmas fabric that they brought off the ark. It was just gross, so I came home very deflated after the mag had me inspired so much. I then sent an email to Super Food firstly thanking them for such a great issue and then asking then where I could get the fabric as I couldn't narrow it down from the stockists list. They emailed me back with all the details and I have since ordered and received this gorgeous fabric below, so now I just have to get sewing to create our Christmas decor.

I was so excited to receive this gorgeous bundle of fabric, isn't it yummy. But the best news of all, Today I get an email from Natalie at Super Food Ideas to say they had read my email again and decided to include it in Feb issue and asked for my address so they could send my prize. WOO HOO I don't know what is coming yet but how FABBO to take a little time out to Thank people for inspiration and be rewarded with a prize. That is just so rare for me to win something, I am over the moon.

On the not so fun front I have been sick for a fortnight with a chest cold and now my tonsils are infected and then my back went out on Monday so I have been walking like a bent crane for the week, I am just finding I can straighten up today. This mixed with a Prayer and morning tea with Keelan's class on Tuesday and a morning of events that threw everything at me to stop me going but I was going hell or high water and it has been a week I would rather get over and not have again. I just hate being sick and yesterday afternoon I just collapsed on the lounge and had to let Zay do his own thing which he did in fine form, the things I found later, torches left on around the house and then he cut his hair with Tim's clippers, came and gave me a cuddle and left ringlets on my shoulder, oh those beautiful curls. When I questioned him about it he said "Dad cut his hair Mum". Oh boy this child has all the answers. I am feeling the best today that I have felt all week, I just hope this is the end of feeling like utter mud for a long time. I just feel like I could sleep for a week though, the kidlets knowing I was feeling crappy took advantage of being total bickering pains, no nurturing for this Mum, they just pay out on me double time as they know the last thing I feel like doing is carrying out law and order. I am looking forward to a visit from Mum for a few days next week and then she is taking Zay home with her so I can get some Christmas shopping done and the rest of the school events finished without dragging Zay to them all.
Take care
Trace.

Weekends fly by.

Hi
It was nice having Tim home for a full weekend, not that much on the list got achieved like we hoped, we had a merry chase to find the poll booths, then had to go on a milk run to drop off things and pick things up so by the time we got home it was goodbye to Saturday morning. We had BBQ Friday, Saturday and Sunday night, kidlets loved it and apart from cooking it Friday night I got the other 2 nights off, gotta love that. Salads go down well in this house and fruit platters so that is easy peasy.

Sunday was Surf club and Trin had the best time again, she gets worn out but she just has so much fun, Keelan was with us this week and he is doing better each time, I am just happy they participate and enjoy it, I am not so hung up on them being the front runners. We stayed for the sausage sizzle then Keelan and my girlfriends kids went on the big slide for an hour so then Trin and Rainee went back down the beach and swam. Zay is not too keen on the water, I think the salt stings his legs, he has sensitive skin so this time he stuck close to me or Karina's Son, Rory no Forrest Gump issues this week.

We got home and then went crazy getting stuff done, got out in my garden for a bit in the late arvo while Tim was finishing off the car cleaning. The beauty about the kidlets getting older is that we can make the most of the longer summer nights by eating later and getting more things done, the kids love playing outside a lot longer so I make the most of that, last year Zay was needing tea at 6pm and bed at 7.30pm so we all had earlier days and then the girls couldnt get to sleep at 7.30pm so we are now eating an hour or so later and I bath them later also works out heaps better. Well that is about it really nothing too exciting happening which is nice for a change, next week will be a different story with all the school things going on so I will enjoy this little reprieve before it ends.
Take care
Trace.

Do kidlets always show the faultlines in your Family???

Hi
Yesterday I had Keelan home, feeling dizzy and unwell, so I took the girls to school and he looked after Zay for me, when I got home as they knew I was fairly frazzled and under the pump getting Trin motivated for school, they had done the dishes for me and cleaned up the kitchen, what sweeties they are. I then had time to jump on the treadmill and then got stuck into my bathrooms while Zay was being Keelan's little shadow, it was lovely to hear them talking and having Brother time without the sometimes pesky Sisters. I am sure Keelan probably would have been fine for school but sometimes a day home with Mum is just good for the soul, I know I loved pulling sickies and being with Mum.

I went to pick up the Girls in the arvo and Trin's teacher wanted a chat, I just had a sense that things with Trin at school were starting to falter and sure enough she is being a brat, testing her teacher for the wrong kind of attention, of course the question was asked "Is anything different going on at home with Trin ATM as she is acting up at school and for the last fortnight has been not herself". So I then go over everything in my head lately and how much trouble she has been in at home at times mainly for lack of motivation and being asked things 10 times before an answer and yes I am pretty tuckered out trying to get them to bed at all with daylight savings as they will still be having a party at 9pm if they aren't told to go to sleep 20,000 times a night. Hence I have little time and patience to feel I am touching base with her at night before bed, the longer cuddles and kisses and I love you's have become a quick peck, quick cuddle and night GO TO SLEEP. But they have still had their story most nights however it seems no little flinch in routine and lack of love is acceptable to Trin and she is my constant reminder that when important things are loosing priority that she will get it back on track even if it means I am marched to the teacher to be questioned about the monster emerging from Trin.

So this morning I was in no hurry to get any to school, Trin had coughed and dreamt and had a bad night so I had already thought to keep her home and try and get into her head and see what is going on but Keelan woke me with "are you getting up today it's 7.50am and I am going to school" so up I bolt and command orders at everyone and get this house cracking. Keelan made school on time and home we came and the girls packed up their usual goodies and headed outside but come mid morning the signs of the not so good Trin were appearing and she was sent to the naughty chair which she did not do and next thing I hear the stereo blasting and Rainee flies outside with her hands at her ears crying Trin is killing my ears. So I down the volume and look for the culprit who is hiding in her room, march her to the naughty chair and then I start trying to get to bottom of this stuff going on with her. For once the other 2 left me alone and I had the perfect opportunity to get it all sorted out with her and get this Kim her reason is she is missing her Zoe????? So I told her maybe in the Christmas holidays they may be able to see each other. But I know that it is a bucket load of other stuff, end of year tiredness, missing Tim, missing Nana and Grandad and having grumpy Mum as her main carer who is extremely busy, tired and not in a fun place herself ATM. So I guess she is the fault line in our Family and she just shows it all like it is and expresses it the only way she knows how. After our big talk and hug, I sat them all down at the table and got them drawing, Trin is great at drawing and it is a great creative outlet for her but lately she has not even been doing that, so I sharpened pencils and withdrew the urge to hang out washing and just gave my kidlets time and talk and love and reassurance and they are so much better for it all tonight and Trin has had a huge catch up with Nana and Grandad on the phone tonight as she truly loves and misses them and do you know this has been my wake up to get my head out of my rubbish and to start looking at the little people around me more and give them some time on the forefront, I always speak to Mum and the kidlets hardly do so for weeks she has pinned for her Nana and yet a simple phone call could make her feel that connection is still there so as of tonight, every Thursday in this house is Grandparents phone call night and it is purely for the 4 kidlets to speak to Nana and Grandad.

Wow this has been a long post, I really want this to remind me how on track I need to keep things for the Family though. Thanks for reading if you made it this far.
Take care
Trace.

Update on life on the home front.

Hi
The weekend flew by with Tim working on Saturday it really did not feel like much of a weekend to tell you the truth, the kidlets played with each other most of Saturday, they love getting in the backyard and builidng cubbies and boats out of the play kitchen and cubby and climbing equipment, the 3 little ones pretty much had fun most of the day with their little games so that was great. Tim got home late in the arvo and he and Zay went off to do a few things so the Girls made their star christmas wreaths, they turned out so lovely, simple but really nice. I am yet to get a pic of them with their creations and then I will show you. Then they saw my Christmas tree I was working on later and wanted to make one so I traced it and they cut and painted them. Zay also wanted to make one so I cut him out a little cardboard one and he painted it.

I got to finish my Christmas tree project late Saturday night and will share that at the start of December, for once it turned out just as I imagined I wanted it. That would be nearly a first for me. LOL.

This week has been hectic, Monday morning I had the Accountants appt, handing over our stuff to a new one and updating him on it all, Zay was great the whole time I was sorting that out. This morning I had to have Keelan and Trin to the school dentist at 9am, Keelan has a clean bill, Trin on the other hand needs at least 4 fillings, not such a good report with her, she has a bad habit of putting toothpaste on and then wiping it off, she hates the taste of it but in doing that she is not getting enough fluoride on her teeth to harden them up hence the eruptions. She was very compliant but so that is huge considering last year we had to get her knocked out nearly to get a filling done. She seems to be over her fear and more confident about it, so she is back to have whatever she will let them do in a fortnight.

Tomorrow I don't have anything but home booked in so I will be getting stuck into cleaning up and then hope to spend sometime scrapping later on. That is about it for now, busy but boring.
Take care and have a great hump day tomorrow.
Trace.

Beautiful heart.

Hi,
This gorgeous child has the most beautiful heart and soul, I have to share a story that really melted me inside and out. Last night while having tea with the kidlets, Keelan got onto the subject of how he doesn't really belong in our Family, it usually comes up lately when he is getting close to a weekend visit with his Father hence this weekend, anyway it usually starts with him stating he is not a full Brother to the other kidlets etc. No amount of me telling him how he is equal in our household etc works so last night I asked Trin out of the blue " Are these your Brothers or is one your Brother more than the other?" to which she replied "They are both my Brother's equally and I love them both the same and Keelan you should not say you are not my Brother like Zaylan as we don't talk like that in this house, you are both exactly the same to me". Keelan then said a bit taken back" but I am your Step Brother not your real Brother like Zaylan is." But Trin came straight back at him with her little waving the finger attitude " No Keelan stop that is not true we don't think you are any different to us and we love you just the same so don't say that to us, you are our Brother and always will be". Keelan just swelled with pride after that and I just thanked her for being such a gorgeous Sister. What a little Angel, normally it would have ended in tears with Keelan refusing to believe me but I think about it all now and realise that all he has ever needed is for Trinity to say this to him so he doesn't feel different, she spoke from her heart last night and he really took that on board.

Trinity just amazes me all the times you would not think she is paying attention but she is heart and soul, I think I will have to ask her for her opinion a lot more in future when Family discussions arise!!!

I have been busy creating a christmas decoration so when finished I will share, it will take a while as I have to allow each stage to dry. I hope to spend time tomorrow making some other christmas decorations with the kidlets. Tim is working so I will keep them busy creating with me. Sunday will be busy again with surf club and picking up Keelan in the afternoon and that will be our weekend pretty much over.
Take care
Trace.

YAY I scrapped.

Hi
Today I finally allowed myself some day time to scrap and it was great. I have felt really flat lately about giving so much time to everything else around here and not achieving anything for me so I am turning over a new leaf and giving me so time out of my day. I now load the dishwasher in the morning and clean the kitchen, get the kids to school and come home and spend 30 mins on my treadmill, it is really hard as something always happens to try and make me get off but I am fighting the demons and just getting that 30 mins in for me, I hope to increase it as the weeks go by and then I get off and jump into my housework while I am pumped and then hopefully on a good day I will get time to scrap. Today while I was on the treadmill Zay got the bar stool and headed off but I thought I am not getting off I will deal with it later, he got into my handbag and put my cards into his wallet, it could have been worse but while I was wild about knowing he was doing something wrong I pounded it out on the treadmill all that sweating has to be good for me right???

The layout above I did Sunday night, I do like the effect of cutting the photo around the people especially when the layout is about that subject.

This is the layout I completed today, I crocheted these ages ago and finally used them today, it was great to do something totally different and not use any P.P. I love how the lettering stamped up, I have ordered as many colours as I could get in the versafine stamp pads, I love the clear image that the ink gives you. My favourite stamping inks right now. Can't wait to get the other colours to play with more.

This is what Zay did while I scrapped, I gave him the wipes and told him to clean his cars and next time I looked they were all wrapped up like this. LOL. At least he was happy near me and I could scrap without that thought of what is he doing it is all quiet. I put FM on and he likes listening to the music and having a chat now and then. I am really trying to get him to spend quiet time with me as next year I will be studying so I need to have him patterned a little. If you get the right thing he will occupy himself for ages but it usually has to be something really different that captures him, like wrapping each car individually and concentrating on trying to cover them up completely.

So don't be shy, leave a comment about what you think of the layouts, I would love some comments good or bad. Hope you are having a happy Wednesday.
Take care
Trace.

Wow feelin this heat!!

Hi,
The weekend did improve after the skate on the floor, Sunday we took the kids to try out the local surf life saving club and see if they liked it, Rainee got cold feet so we left her out of it and Keelan tried to back out last minute until his mates came up and took him under their wing then he was off and into it. Trin had a wonderful time, she loves anything connected to water so she was in her element. We spent from 9am till 1.20pm at the beach, after surf lifesaving they have a sausage sizzle and drink and then we walked to the jetty with the kids and my girlfriend and her kids and let them have a good swim and we paddled and cooled off.

The sun was roaring hot by the time we went to leave and then we realised how hot it was when Tim put the temp on in the car. We came home and did some cleaning up then all sat back for a relax for a while. The kids just loved it and are so excited about going next week, it has a real family atmosphere with lots of parents helping and Tim and I enjoyed it as much as the kids, Rainee is planning on doing it this week so we will see, the great thing is they all have school friends there doing it also.

I have nicknamed Zay, he is now Forrest Gump, he was great most of Sunday while the kids were in their classes but as soon as it was winding up he went on a running frenzy trying to look for Keelan who he calls "My mate", I started off really confused about what he was doing as I could not understand his mumble in his panic but his little legs took off and next minute he is running out the big jetty and I thought OMG this whale is going to have to sprint after this child or he is gone out the end of the jetty but thankfully he stopped and looked over the side and then turned around and run back past me and started heading in the other direction, not stopping to tell me who he was looking for, so I was fast pacing it back the other way after him, trying to stop him again till I got close enough to yell his Dad was down at the water but then he mumbled something about ""my mates gone" so then I had to tell him he was still in class, he was freaking out that Keelan had left him. Now if I was an onlooker I would have been wetting my pants watching this toddler out run his very unfit Mother going from 1 direction to another before she knew what was happening. So Forrest pretty much kept up his little running business for the rest of the day. LOL.

I did create a LO last night, yippee will share tomorrow as I have promised Rainee some more scrap time tomorrow. Housework will have to wait.
Take care
Trace.

Rainee is out to get me!!!!!

Hi,
This week I have had a shocker, not the best Monday with a migraine on left side of head followed by waking on Tuesday early hours with migraine on right side of head. Hay fever is absolutely shocking so I have had a head that felt like it was a leaking tap. Came good for Wednesday so I went mad trying to catch up on house work and other things.

Thursday went shopping with Rainee and Zay and needed 2 trolleys as I have been trying to empty the cupboards before I re-stocked so I needed Rainee to push 1 of the trolley's, big ask I know but I was just not up for doing 2 shops and with Rainee hassling for the toilet and Zaylan wanting everything he laid his eyes on I was definitely not going back for round 2 so Rainee pushing the other trolley was the only option. All went well until she had meltdown as I gave her the 1 that wanted to steer all over the joint, so after tears and swapping trolley and the old boot camp speech "cmon girl, get it moving, you'll be right" kind of stuff she was back to pushing it. We stopped at the butchers and then it was out the door struggling with a toddler flying out the door and across the crosswalk and me commanding at him when all of a sudden I got the biggest smash into my ankle from Rainee and as I was just walking I skun the back of my heel up the front of her trolley, I reacted quick with "ouch" out loud but in my head I let out the unrepeatable but just had to keep trying to get Zaylan under control and then turned around to see Rainee crying and struggling to push the trolley. Poor thing but I really was in pain and just wanted to get to the car and collapse in a heap. I have a big bruise on my heel and it has been sore for days but I have just had to get on with things regardless as if I don't keep up with things here then no one does.

So Today I am going about the house work and Rainee was walking around earlier with a cup of water and I told her for the millionth time to stay at the bench with the water. I folded and sorted washing then went with arms fully loaded to take them to the girls room when slip and down I came washing and all. Straight down onto tiles and pounded my knee with my full weight into the tiles and hurt my ankle also. So I just sat and cryed and cryed and had major meltdown about how many times I repeat myself and no-one listens. Of course Rainee just watched which was just as well she stayed clear of me and Trin came to my rescue as my nurse giving her Sister what for about the whole scenario.

Tim came in from shopping about 15 mins later and took 1 look at me and asked what had happened. He got me ice and a cuppa so I rested for a while but I can walk thank goodness so I retaliated to my scrap room this arvo and everyone has left me alone pretty much, knowing I am not such a happy camper.

Don't you just wonder some days why you get out of bed??????????????????????????????
Anyway I hope for a better week this week and that the curse of hurting the Mother cat of this house is lifted!!! LOL. I am off to watch Knocked up now with Tim now if it was called knocked about I could totally relate to it. We are taking the kidlets to surf lifesaving tomorrow to see if they like it and if they do they can join. But I will be keeping a safe distance from any activity Rainee is involved in for fear she has not finished punishing her Mother yet. LOL. Hope you are having a great weekend. Hope to have some layouts created tomorrow arvo, it has been a long time between layouts!!
Take care
Trace.

Where does time go??

Hi
So much has been going on lately that I don't feel like my body is connected to my Head anymore. Some days I really need a part of me somewhere and the other somewhere else which is impossible but that is how it all feels.

Last week flew by with me catching up on stuff around here, nothing interesting just stuff as we all have "stuff" to do when a Mum!!

I am getting ace at cooking multiple things, you know the 2nd batch of muffins for school sports coming out the oven as tea is going in and then running off to bath the odd child in between. LOL.
Thursday I shopped and cooked for sports day and Friday morning early we headed off for school sports with 4 packed lunches and rug and pull ups and wipes in case of toilet training accident which there is every day so it is all not going to plan, anyway we get to school find a spot at the start line and get settled. Keelan came 2nd in his race but he was not A division but he ran his heart out and did well and he was so pleased to have us urge him on. Then Trin's class came out and did their events, she came 3rd but they just get a participation sticker for Pre primary but she had so much fun, running as fast as she could and not looking at anyone else. I have a great pic of her while she waited for her event, she was so excited.

I had a great morning and then had to leave at 12.20pm to come home and let my in laws in and get ready for stamp camp. I ended up getting there at about 5pm and unpacked and made my bed and then got stuck into a book I am making for my SIL for her Birthday in December. I pretty much worked on that all weekend in between classes and card making. It was a fun weekend, I had the best time and the company was fantastic, many laughs and great discussions and great to catch up with Melissa again although sitting so far apart meant we didn't get that much nattering in but we made up for it in creations that is for sure, not a lot of time for too much chatting. I came home feeling very refreshed and inspired.

We had a Kirby demo on Sunday 6pm and got the scrap room carpet cleaned, very impressed with that machine but just can't afford anything like that right now. I have a nice clean scrap room again now ready for it to be messed up with the next project. Pretty poor scrapping production happening ATM, I want to get this book finished and then I can get some layouts done.

I had Trin home yesterday as she had a bad night with sore throat but we had uniform trying on for her after school so we now have 2 uniforms for Year 1 next year. I really can't believe she is out in big school but she is looking forward to it and I think she will love learning at a different level. Rainee can't wait to be at school everyday. Zay on the other hand thinks he is lining up for it all too but he will be 1 sad child next year home alone with me full time. I have been accepted into College myself next year so I will start 3 years of study online which I am looking forward to but also scared in some ways, you kind of wonder how the brain will take having to study again. I am sure it will all be fun but I will have to have a time management plan.

The kidlets have been very messy of late with promises to clean up but they don't so I think on the weekend we will be going back to an even more basic toy choice as I don't have time to be forever cleaning up their next mess, I hope with only a few choices they will be not be able to make such a big mess in every room. I don't have any time with them these days for nagging and cleaning so I am sure it should make a difference. They have certainly paid out on me for going away these last few days so I hope tomorrow with just Zay and I home to get lots done but also to fit in some scrapping for me. Well I better get some sleep or I will be next to useless tomorrow.
Have a good hump day.
Trace.

Totally worn out ATM.

Hi

I am feeling my age ATM and probably beyond that. I am one worn out Mumma, my kidlets are paying out on me big time to the max, I think they have realised Dad is hardly home so lets tip this old girl over the edge, between a 3 year old with the attitude of a teenager and a 6 year old who thinks it fun to lie or stretch the truth so much it flicks back and hits her in the butt. An 11 year old who has his moments and thinks at times he is married to me the way he questions things I do and a 5 year old who looks all perfect on the surface until you blow some dust off to reveal the real persona underneath. Oh fun, oh joy.

Tim came home at the right time tonight, the second mishap Zay had in about 2 hours of trying to clean himself up after a number 2 accident but it manages to get wiped everywhere and I mean everywhere, of course 2 sisters running around pretending to throw up does wonders for him to make a show out of it all. The first time I cleaned him up and put him in the bath but of course Rainee would not bath with him even though I had cleaned him up. The second time he went to my ensuite and left a scene of destruction in there which I sent Tim in to deal with as I was in the middle of other things but I still got the cleaning job, it is just great cleaning up your house a million times over in a day.

How is Daylight saving going for everyone else??? They wont settle for a good hour after being put to bed, they just play barbies and yell out Mum and Dad every 5 mins. Then we are late for school as I can't get them moving in the morning, what fun it has been this week. I have decided that for my mental wellbeing I am going to stamp camp on the weekend and then I might just might make it through till the end of term!!! I have been so super organised on the home front in many other ways even cooking some of the best teas we have had for a long time but it is just getting the kidlets to help and stop working against me that I am finding the hardest to get a solution for.

I guess tomorrow is another day if anyone has any suggestions as to how I can make life easier with the kidlets please leave me a comment, I am fresh out of ideas at this stage other then giving a few away. LOL.
Well I better get to bed or I will not have the nice Mummy skills on my side tomorrow.
Take care
Trace.

I am in love..........

Hi,
Meet Marcus Michael, a little Angel sent from God, he is truly a gorgeous little Babe, 5 days old or should I say young and between Trin, Tim and I not too many got a look in on holding him, he has such a beautiful energy about him and he has made us both so clucky, just as well we have no say in going again or we could be in trouble. LOL. I wished I lived closer but I would wear out my welcome visiting this little fellow for snuggles.

Congrats again Brad and Kim on a divine new addition, we so wanted to bring him home. You have an amazing little family with all the different characters your Children have, Dakota sure is going to be an entertainer and hope you get rest Kim. (ha you are a Mother what is rest LOL.) But hope it all goes smooth now you are home.

Wow life is flying by at 110km an hour ATM and I dont think that will change anytime soon, it was great to have Tim around for 2 days but we have been flat out, we partied last night at friends for their Son's Birthday and I caught up with my Girlfriends Mum who I have not seen for years so that was great. We came home, put the kidlets to bed and then before we knew it we had to wake them this morning for our trip to Perth. We then had to be back to pick up Keelan around 5pm and we lost time as we forgot @#&**@# daylight savings so all of a sudden we realised 2.30pm was actually 3.30pm so mad scramble to the car and off we went. Talk about time warping, so we got home with grumpy, loud, screaming kids and Keelan having meltdown as he had a peaceful weekend with his Dad and then he comes home to madness and the last half hour home in the car was madness also.

Tonight they just wont settle to bed and that is not because it is light but I just think the body clocks are out of wack again. We have had a great day and a yummy lunch made by Mum and Dad, a couple of wines and time to chat and admire Marcus and bed will be heaven when this bod finally gets there as I am now catching up on washing and folding as you do when you have been in and out all weekend. Hope the week slows down a little as I need to catch a breathe before I go away next weekend, I have been umming and arring about going with Tim's job change but I think I will end up going to Stamp Camp, my last retreat for a very long time.

Have a great week
Take care
Trace.

Wonderful weekend creations.

Hi
This is a collage of all the wonderful work we did on the weekend. Getting it all out today I am just in awe with how much we learnt and how awesome they have all turned out, Maxine and Audrey have got talent beyond talent. I am so hooked and busting to create right now that I think it will have to be my priority today. LOL. It was great to make things from scratch to have your own unique creation at the end and guaranteed no ones turned out the same. Painting is such a fun thing to do and we really were pushed for time to achieve everything we did but now I have so many skills to apply to my layouts and other canvas ideas, these girls just make something amazing out of nothing really, they have shown me that a big scrap budget is not necessary and how to build a page using your own created embellishments. I now know how to get so much more use out of my cuttlebug and I think anyone without one will be getting one at the first opportunity after seeing just how amazing they really are.

I was not so happy with my SHE layout but that was because I rushed it and was so tired but I was determined to finish it before bed Saturday night or should I say Sunday morning but I was still pleased to finish it.

I love this canvas it will have pride of place in my house for a very long time.

This is a card I created with my leftovers from the layout. It was a competition to use your brilliance card saying and create a card but I did not finish mine on time but that's cool as I love the card. I only have to finish my techniques book now and then it is all done. I am needing to unpack my stuff now and then get creating again.

Mum and I stopped at Kareena's new shop in Margaret River, The Scrappy Cow on Friday and WOW she has a great shop there it was hard to stop spending as every time we turned around we spied another got to have item. If you are ever down this way call in it is worth a look, Kareena has some very inspirational work up also.

I am so exhausted this week I could sleep for a week, I sat down for a coffee this morning and was nodding off. OMG what's with that, I think everything is catching up with me, the Kidlets are missing Tim and not liking his long hours but Tim and I spoke about it last night and we will all adjust but we are all feeling a bit out of whack with it all. My days fly by without Tim around and having tea at night without him feels really alien to us all. The sacrifices we have to make for money hey, they are huge. I guess we will all treasure every second weekend when we have him home for the full weekend.

Well I best be off to do some more sorting out, if you get the chance do yourself a favour and do a workshop with Maxine and Audrey, you will not be disappointed they are just the most gorgeous pair of Ladies and they ooze talent.
Take care
Trace.