Living my dream

The twin connection

Yesterday morning Sarah woke up earlier than Matt. She got up and together we got Dan up and we all jumped back into bed with Andy. Dan got wriggly so he and Sarah got back up and started playing in the lounge. Dan must've got frustrated about something cause he did his typical scream to say 'hey give it back' (or similar) and Sarah rushed back to her bedroom, talking as she went.....'its ok Matt, Dan's just screaming'. Matt was awake. My question is how did she know that from the living room? She couldn't see Matt (he was still in bed). She couldn't hear him (we were right next door and hadn't even heard him move!). So how did she know that he was now awake and might be frightened by the noise?

I still say that they have that 'twin connection' thing happening. Or more she does for him. You've probably heard this before, but giving birth, he was in serious trouble, yet she was the one who told us. We had the c-sec due to her, yet she was perfectly ok. He was not.

Several other times during their lives, shes told us she's in pain when Matt has just had a knock or accident. Yet she is physically fine.

I always wondered if this could happen as they are not identical (although now she's got short hair no one would know otherwise), but I have to believe it. Too many times things like this have happened. Its freaky, but kinda exciting too. I love that they have such a strong connection to each other. And I just hope they will stay as good friends as they are today for the rest of their lives.

Ok, things that have made me feel (literally) sick the last couple of days:

• Boxing day sales. After spending all that money on Xmas, we are then tempted with sales. Good sales. 20-50% off everything sales. I think its cruel and we haven't been near the shops. Many people can't afford many things let alone Xmas, yet if they waited and had Xmas one day later, they would be much better off. I know its a marketing ploy, but to me it is a sad inditement of the world where consumerism is everything and I hated sitting there on Xmas eve seeing ad after ad from the 'whos who of NZ retail', advertising their sales two days later. Shame on you!
• The assasignation of Benazir Bhutto. I don't know the whole history surrounding her, but have read a little and believe there is alot of controversy. What I did see was a woman who wanted democracy in her country and was killed for it. It made me very sad. I feel for her family.

And things that have made me happy:

My boys and I playing in the mud at the bottom of our property.

This is why we brought this house. To give them a childhood that is filled with adventure. Things that are bigger than themselves (like the mangroves they can play between). Things they can hunt for and make believe in, creating huge imaginations. The last few days we've been playing down here when the tide is low, and they have been little mice, mermaids, and fishermen. Our decision to buy this property has been more than confirmed. And I feel blessed.

When we first moved in, M&S were real city kids. They were too scared to even walk down the path to the water. It had sticks and leaves and they would slip over. Now just one year later, they are still city kids ;) but Matt is wandering up and down without any shoes on, they are both totally absorbed with the plants and flowers they see. They play in the mud and watch their Dad and I work together on planting more trees mowing the bank, trimming trees, etc. I could not have wished for more.

These were taken just a couple of days ago. Tidying up. Planting....we brought some feijoa bushes which we planted in the holes Dan is playing in. We got three. So are hoping that will keep the kids amused as they get older.

Cute kid stuff:

A comment from Sarah yesterday "I might look at my emails on my computer". hmmmm, wonder where she gets that from ;)

Matt created a beautiful book for Granny a couple of days before Xmas. It was done all in green crayon. And we even put staples in as a spine. When showing Andy he said...This is my book for Granny. Its called 'Live in greenland'. Here he was with a plan all along, and I just thought it was a green mess. LOL! Just goes to show how much I know! LOL!

The other day Matt was getting told off and started to cry. Sarah leans over to him and quietly whispers "I love you".

Enough rambling from me....enjoy the weekend. Looks like we might be blessed with some more nice weather? Cross fingers hey?

Have a good one.

PS: Heres this weeks sketch.....

 

Xmas Day

Last time I blogged I was just off to meet Santa ;) and help him with his chores. LOL! Well, he did a great job and the kids were just beside themselves in the morning.

Don't you just love the reactions? Too cool. The pink teddy was soon declared a hippo, but she was more than happy with that and carted it around with her all day. Whew. Got away with that one!

The computers (just toys), were also a huge hit, but we're still to sit down with them and work them out properly. I think that'll have to be Andy's job as I never understand these things. LOL!

The bikes were fantastic. They were a little nervous on them to start and to a degree still are whenever they start to ride them, but mostly its all good. Andy took them up to the local school on boxing day and they soon got the jist of how to ride.

In hindsight they still had way too many presents even after me deliberately not buying as much (after last years huge delivery!), so next year will be even less again.

Matts favourite present of the day was Hungry hippos (the travel version). It is tiny and totally self contained. Gotta get this one! Way cool. But funnily enough it was actually Sarahs toy from Santa. She has been totally good and pretty much given it to Matt and he plays it every single spare minute he gets. He is really good at it too and beats anyone who plays it with him. Including us adults!

Dans favourite toys are the plastic lawnmower that Sarah gave him, the wheelbarrow that Granny and Grandad gave him and a stacker thing that goes around.

 

Sarah, as usual, doesn't have one particular favourite, but loves to play with them all.

We had a fairly laid back sort of day. My Mum popped in before lunch and the kids loved seeing her and giving her something. Dan's bubble blower was a huge hit and they ran around chasing bubbles for a long time.

In the afternoon we saw Dad and Pene and all my sisters and their families. We got home late and the kids were shattered but it was well worth it. I had tried making some gingerbread men but somehow got it all wrong (LOL) and we ended up with a gingerbread cake so we took that as our contribution for desert. I decorated it with white icing and red and green dots with silver sprinkles all over it so it looked really festive and actually tasted really nice. I'm gonna have to make it again one day! LOL!

Actually poor M&S have been complaining they're tired lately and its no wonder with all the late nights. They really don't do 'late' (as in after 7pm) very well and I think an early one will have to be in order soon.

We've had some great days the last couple, and I've been trying to go computer free. There is some stuff I need to attend to, but trying to keep it to a minimum. So must go now. More photos to add from the last couple of days, but will do in another post.

Happy birthday to my buddy Erica J in Aussie. I hope you had a great day! Was thinking of you!

Later.

And the winner is.....

Roo! I used a random number generator found on the internet. I put in how many numbers I had as comments and it came back with one number. Number 9. Roo (for simplicity sake, I counted double up numbers as one). Congrats Roo, can you please send me your addy and once Xmas is over I'll send you out some lovely stuff.  Merry Xmas!

Xmas eve is finally here and we had the best day. We went to Andy's family Xmas. Being one of 6 its a nightmare getting everyone together on Xmas day so we always get together on Xmas Eve. Makes for a longer Xmas which is great and so much fun for the kids.

Granny got a new keyboard from Grandad and the kids managed to find it and have a go. They just loved it. This is Tyla with Sarah. She is Sarahs cousin (Sam) daughter. They hang out and are great friends. Today they were playing Mummy's and babies. With Sarah being the Mummy and Tyla in Granny's spare bed. Too cute!

They seemed to eat all day so we didn't have much for dinner. And they were quite happy to go to bed, but only after the checklist had been ticked off.....

• Santa sacks out
• Refreshments for Santa out (pink wafer biscuits and a beer)
• Reindeer food sprinkled......

Yep, we were given from friends at daycare some beautifully packaged reindeer food to scatter around the lawn so Santa could find out house easier. It was made up of oats, glitter and xmas tree sequins. Absolutely brilliant idea that the kids really got into. We've had it sitting on our mantlepiece all week just waiting to use it. Awesome.

Just check out the new 'Xmas jammies'.

This morning we did our normal Xmas outing. We went to The Warehouse and brought a present each, plus some food and took it to the Auckland City Mission. We had a big chat first about how we are luckier than some people (hopefully in terms they could understand) and how Xmas is not just about receiving gifts but giving them too. I felt so proud of them as we pulled away from the Warehouse with bags of goodies that they had picked.

The sad news from yesterday..... Junkitz has closed. A company I have long admired, and been priviledged enough to work with recently is no longer running. I know their beautiful designs and amazing colours will be missed by many. Especially myself. I feel extremely priviledged to have been part of their team this last year and will look forward to seeing what Stacey and Kenny do at Inque Boutique. Good luck guys!

Ok, so its Xmas eve and I'm off to sort out some things ;)

Wishing you the very best Xmas blessings, with lots of smiles, not many tears and of course safe traveling should you be doing that. My family and I have a fairly simple day seeing my Mum in the morning and my Dad and sisters in the afternoon/evening. We're all looking forward to it.

Thanks for coming by my blog and being part of my world. I love hearing your comments and developing friendships with you.

Big smiles at ya!

MERRY XMAS!

T

Something good happened

about a month ago which has changed my life. I don't really want to go into it here, but it was something I was afraid to do. In the end I realised I needed to do this thing and the consequences since have been incredible. I read the book "Feel the fear and do it anyway" years ago and love the philosophy, but sometimes the fear is just too great, and we miss out. I'm glad that this time I didn't miss out. I guess where I'm going with this is its ok, good in fact to take calculated risks. To do something that frightens you, to do something spontaneously. I think I've mentioned in a post a while back how many times in the last few years I've been close to dying. Its made me realise that the saying "Life is too short" is just sooooo true. So I have a wee challenge here for you. With the new year upon us and resolutions starting to be formed. I'd love for you to do something that you've wanted to for a while, but have just been a little bit nervous about. It might be something small like sending an email to someone whose LO you like. Or it might be something bigger like submitting a LO to a mag or maybe even (heaven forbid) something totally not related to scrapping (as mine was). If you give this a go, can you do me a favour? Send me an email. My addy is in the sidebar. You don't have to tell me what you did. Just that you did it. I'd love to hear.

Just because....here is a pic I sneaked yesterday just before Andy put Dan to bed. Love their relationship. Right now Dan is a Daddy's boy. He can't say too many words but his word for Dad is Da. 90% of the time I get him up in the mornings. And he gives me a big cuddle, then the first thing he does is scream out Daaaaaa. When I take him to Andy he almost lunges off me to get to his Dad. Its a beautiful thing.

Yesterday we took the kids into the city. Yep the big wide Auckland city which has a big tower (called the sky tower) and a building with a toilet seat on top! Must find out the real name. LOL! We had decided the kids should this year buy each other a Xmas present and since Smith and Caughey have their windows decked out with wonderful Xmas puppets we thought maybe we'd try there. It was beautiful. Little elves, and mice doing Xmasy things. Santa had fallen asleep and the elves were being naughty cutting his hair off. The kids thought it was wonderful.

Afterwards we came back across to the Shore as we still needed to shop. We stopped for a special treat morning tea at a cafe in Shore City. The kids were being so good. And they were so excited. They could look down on Santa and watch the other children getting photos taken. They had a milkshake. They had brought presents. It was all just wonderful. We had a lady sitting next to us. And as the tables are quite close I expect she would have heard alot of our conversation about Santa, presents, kid stuff. And when she got up to leave, she put her arm around me, gave me a big smile and said "your children are so well behaved". Then she walked away. I sat there with a goopy grin on my face, then the tears started to well up in my eyes. As a Mum we don't get recognition like you do in a job. Theres no pay packet at the end of the week and no review system to see where you're going right and wrong. So to have a stranger say something like that to me out of the blue was overwhelming and soooooo satisfying. I watched her walk away and just wanted to run after her and say you have no idea what you've just done for me. How much that flippant comment from you has made my day. But she was gone before I could. So to that woman wherever you are. May you have a merry Xmas and be blessed with a present like you gave to me.

Ok, now I promise to stop being so deep and meaningful! LOL.

Last night we took the kids to see the lights on Franklin Road. The aim was to put them to bed at the normal time, get them up, dress them in their dressing gowns and go. But Sarah had different ideas. She didn't get a wink of sleep and was so tired by the time we finished. Matt did get some sleep and lasted a bit better. Either way we were so glad we did it. What a magical and wonderful experience for young children to see. And a real treat. Apart from the time we had to take Matt to the emergency doctor at night I don't think they've ever been out when its dark? So it was something special alright!

It was too hard to try and get photos of all the houses - too many people but I did get one of Matt in front of this snowman.

Unfortunately the consequences for us today have been quite yuk. They are all so tired and very moody. But hey, last night was well worth it!

Scrapbook news.....

Did you sign up for the SBO newsletter? Did you get it this weekend? Did you see all the wonderful, exciting, new things that are happening? Did you see the ezine we created for you? Wow, what a heap of inspiration in there! The ezine will be coming out once every two months so if you missed out this time round, make sure you sign up for the next one!

Here was my contribution using the Dec Kit:

There is also something else which I'm really sad about which I'll tell you once I get the go ahead.

Ok I've gotta go. Just fitting things in while the kids are having their rest time.

Don't forget to check the post below and leave a comment there if you wanna win some gorgeous Fiskars product!

Xmas Rak....and other stuff

hehehe, did that get your attention? You'll have to wait until the bottom to see what it is....

Today we went to M&S Xmas production for daycare. Last year they didn't take part. So we weren't holding our breath for this year. Even when they came home and 'practised' together. Man was it cute! Just in case, we invited Nanny (and their 3 cousins), Granny, Linn & her sister Jan, Abby plus of course Andy, myself and Daniel. In total, they had 11 people there to watch them! Jeepers. Its no wonder their birthday parties are so big when their concerts have that many! LOL! And it went off without a hitch.

When we first got there they were their normal shy selves and wouldn't get the rosy cheeks painted on (they were elves), but they knew that once the performance was on, they had their parts to play and they got up there and gave it their all. I was so proud I felt like jumping up and screaming with joy when they had finished. Both Andy and I were/are sooooo proud of them its not funny!

You could tell Sarah was very nervous. She kept looking for Matt and would gravitate towards him whenever they were seperated, but thats ok! What a bonus to have that added security in your twin brother. Matt on the other hand kept playing with his buddy Charlie. We thought there was going to be biffo at one point, but it was all good. They are lovely friends.

So I can't put any photos up of the actual performance as there are lots of other kids in the photos, but here is one of me and my beautiful (and grown up children) before the big event.....

Thanks to Granny for the photo.

Talking of Xmas, I wanted to let you in on a little story that happened the other day.

In this photo you can see a pretty big pressie. Its actually Andy's. But its so big it doesn't fit under the tree. More alongside it. IN FRONT of the fireplace. So I asked the kids what would happen when Santa came? How would he come down the chimney. Sarah looked at me as if I was daft and answered immediately with: "Well he'd push the magic button". Of course! Duh! LOL! So upon more investigation and feigning knowledge, I discovered that the magic button is a button that Santa pushes to allow him to get out of the chimney when things are in the way. The magic button moves the presents in the way! Man how cool is that?! I love these kids.

Hey did you see the news last night? Gisborne had a massive earthquake! Andy's brother and sister in law own a motel down there so we got on the blower straight away to make sure they were ok. Luckily they were. Not toooooo much damage, although they lost most of the water from the pool and the walls were like cardboard. Thankfully they and their guests were fine! Thinking of you guys down there!

Ok, the rak.....yep I've got some gorgeous stuff here (and I'm talking gorgeous!) and being Xmas I thought it would be fun to play Santa. Leave me a comment and you could be the proud owner of some lovely FISKARS product. I'm talking some gorgeous new ranges that might not make it to NZ, but are too cute not to use. I have papers, embellishments (including alphas) and maybe even a tool or two? So come out of lurkdom, leave me a comment and you just never know, you might be the lucky winner! (winner drawn Xmas eve).

PS: Heres my sketch for this week.   

When does scrapbooking take over your life?

This question came to mind when I found the following at the bottom of our bed while I was making it. Yep, the good ole Henzo photo split blue tab.

Memories of giggling at my friend Nic's stories of the little blue tabs from Henzo photo splits being found all around her house instantly came to mind, and I laughed again, cause now it was happening to me.

And of course I had to take a photo. Hmmmm,  maybe that's when scrapping really takes over?! LOL.

Last night Andy and I went Xmas shopping. We had a list of things we needed to get and actually did quite well. We got a few tricky ones and more importantly I can relax. I don't know about you guys, but my kids have only asked for 2 things. Sarah would like a pink computer and a pink teddy bear, and Matt has asked for a grey computer and a white teddy bear (just like Daniels). So the computers were relatively easy. I knew which ones we wanted and ordered them from Toyplanet. But finding the teddy bears was actually a lot harder! I looked and looked and looked. I couldn't find any white or pink ones. I could see lots of brown and grey ones. A few blue and purple ones, even an orange one! Yeah, that one was out there! But no white or pink ones. Then I saw a couple of white ones, but the problem was it has to be like Daniels (do you remember the white bear we used for his 12 month photos?). Finally last night we found one. Ok, it has a hat and scarf, but they can be taken off. So I think I'll do that and give them as something extra. The pink one came much later last night when I was really starting to panic. And its not really a teddy bear. Its quite unusual. Like a pig, with a big nose, but like the teddy bear body?!? The best part is that its pink. I think it'll work. It has to, its all we can find.

Andy keeps telling me not to worry, that Xmas for kids shouldn't be about getting everything you want. And I do agree! But when you only ask for two things, well, it only seems right they could get those, then anything else is a bonus. 

So today I'm off to do some more shopping. Catch up with Jo for lunch. Yay! I might even do some scrapping this afternoon! Yeha! I've had a LO in the process of being made sitting there for two days now. I do a little bit, wait for it to dry, then do a bit more. Its quite a simple LO, but lots of glue! That's all I can tell you for now, but I think its gonna look quite cool once its finished.

Just one more sleep til the kids have their daycare Xmas performance. Can't wait! They have to dress up as Elves. I thought that would be quite tricky until we found whole elf costume at Ikes for $13 each! So cute! I just need to sew a bell onto the top of the hat and we're done. M&S are beside themselves with excitement. They even gave me a sneak peek performance yesterday afternoon. Too cute! I just really hope this year they actually get up and take part! I have a good feeling about it, but you never know? It would be amazing if they could feel confident enough to do this!

Ok, must dash, things to do, places to go. Have a great day.

T

 

Things that make me happy/giggle

• My son announcing that he is in love with Stella and he is going to marry her.
• Seeing someone I haven't seen for a long time.
• Going out with the girls.
• Rubbing noses with Daniel.
• Playing 'donk' with Daniel (we donk our heads together very gently).
• Sarahs dancing.
• Bouncing on the tramp.
• Clean washing off the line.
• Xmas cards.
• Scrapping.

Just a few things that make me happy......why did I make this list? Because its a new day. That means that yesterday is gone. We have a clean slate ahead of us. We can do anything we want to. We can choose to be happy or grumpy, pissed off or forgiving. We can reach for the stars.

And no I didn't have a bad day yesterday. I had a great day. I got *most* of my Xmas shopping done. Yippee. Can't believe it! *Most* of it was done in 1.5 hours! Yep, you heard right!

BUT, its that time of year when things get stressful, when things go wrong, when the traffic means it'll take you an hour to get somewhere instead of 10 mins. Sooooo I just wanted to remind myself that life is short, and good. And that even if yesterday was horrid. Today is new. Its up to us to decide how to play it out.

So go for it. Enjoy today. Put on that smiley face and smile at someone you don't know. Sing songs to the kids when you're in the traffic and give your hubby a kiss 'just cause'.

Have a great day!

Thank you

to everyone who has emailed me with ideas for Andy. I've actually used one of them and possibly will use another. And have pretty much completed his shopping. That is a first. He is the hardest person in the world to buy for. Seriously. And to have him done and dusted before I've even started anyone else is a miracle. LOL! YAHOOOOOO! Can you see me grinning from there?!

So today the kids and I hung out. We went for a coffee with a Donna and Lyn. Which was lovely. I just love this craft where you get to meet people you never would have met before, or you can hook up with old friends. I don't know anywhere else stuff like this happens. It was great. Unfortunately due to other commitments my coffee with Donna, Andrea, and Jo on Wed has had to be put on hold. Bother.

Anyway, after that we did the lunch/sleep thing and then we went shopping this afternoon. We got some photos printed for me, some of my Xmas cards posted. At least its a start (and much better than last year!) and we even shopped for pressies. I so love this time of year. Its warm, and everyone is in a good mood. Sigh. Wish it could be Xmas all year. LOL.

Hey, I forgot to show you my kids santa photo. Now don't laugh. I thought it was soooooo good. But looking at it now, its well, you get to judge....right. LOL! But hey, considering it is only the second one we've had of the twins and first of Dan, I'm pretty stoked! Its a record.

So whats happening RIGHT NOW in your world? As I speak, I can see Andy picking lettuce from our garden for our salad, I've got a glass of wine to my left and the telly is on. I'm thinking about this post, Fiskars, my next LO and what I can do to finish my last LO. I'm also thinking about SBO and whats coming up very soon. I can't wait to see it and your reactions. Andy's come inside and offered me some chicken cooked in a new way. We're having chicken pita pockets.  Yummo. 

I'm also thinking about the Xmas cards I sent today and how I've got so many more to do. How I forgot to buy more (as I've given up thinking I might be able to make them! LOL), I'm thinking about gifts. What we're getting the kids, how I'm going to go about shopping tomorrow with the kids in daycare. What is most important and how will I do it.

I remember the latest FK that I brought today and can't wait to look at and wonder when the Xmas edition of SM will come out? I've got a LO in there. I can't wait to see it.

Isn't it incredible what we do each day, what we think about, how we work through things. Are you amazed like I am about how life works. About the millions of thoughts that go through my mind and how on earth I remember the important stuff. LOL!

Ok, enough deep and meaningful. I'm off to enjoy dinner now, then sort out my next LO. Have a good one.

You know its Xmas in NZ when.....

Your children wake up and come out to the lounge in their snow hats, gloves and woolen jumpers.......

Hang on a second, isn't it summer here? Hmmmm, then what were my children doing in their winter woolies you ask? Yeah, me too. LOL! At 6.45am they came out singing "its snowing, its snowing" and proudly showed us their outfits. What a delight these 4 year olds are turning out to be!

Today we did a heap of work on our land. Thanks to my sis Vonny and Aer who came down! Vonny and I kept the kids entertained while Andy and Aer worked. I wonder who had the hardest job? LOL! So anyway, at the end of the day I went down to see what had been done and saw this next picture. What you really see when its Xmas time in NZ......

A Pohutakawa tree. These are traditionally called NZ's Xmas trees cause they flower at Xmas time. There is an old wives tale that says the earlier they start flowering, the longer and hotter summer will be. Well, they started to flower just before the beginning of October this year so remind me at the end of summer and we'll see if that's true.

And going back to our activities today. What fun the kids had. 6 children 6 years old or under, all playing together. No fighting. No splitting off and playing in little groups. Just all hanging out, jumping on the tramp, playing in the paddling pool, pretending they were Santa. You know cool kid stuff. Gotta love these years when life is so carefree and they feel totally safe with people who they like.

Hey, the other day I talked about a Xmas CD that the kids were dancing too. Yes, that was on again today, but why I'm talking about it again is to give the name and details. A couple of you asked. It is published by Ladybird and is called "Christmas Songs". My Dads wife Pene brought it, not sure where, but it was in a red box with a book of the same name. Hope thats helpful.

Hope you had a great weekend. I'm off to finish scrapping a page I started a couple of days ago. Sigh. LOL!

This weeks sketch

Here it is....

A nice easy one this week, leaving alot of white space for you to keep as is or fill with different layers of PP.

I'm also deliberately leaving off information about where to put journaling, or what size the photos are. These are aimed at a mojo boost. To get you started. So have fun with it, change it up a bit or go with it as is.

Would love to see your LO if you use it! Send me an email or link.

Dans got some new words.... shoe and bye. 'Shoe' sounds toooo cute coming from this little mouth all pukered up. He kinda does a big long 'oooe' bit at the end. I must see if I can try and record it.

'Bye' is very new. Only said once and thankfully Linn was here to hear it too or I would've thought I was dreaming. But he's doing it! I think after all these months of walking and moving hes finally starting to try out the other side of things. Talking. Yeah!

Have to tell you about last night. I'd fed the kids, Andy had got home and there were still a few minutes before we were ready to get onto the baths and stuff. It was hot inside and everyone was starting to get a bit ratty. So I suddenly shouted "lets all get on the tramp". Well, there were screams of joy from everybody (including Andy and Dan!) and literally a stampede for the door. We all ran and got on the tramp and jumped and played for about 20 mins. It was soooooo cool. The kids love to have us play as a family and especially when its unexpected and spontaneous like that. Little did they know that I had an ulterior motive to try and tire them out a bit more before bedtime. LOL!

Well I can't believe its Sat already and another week gone. Whats the date? How many sleeps until Xmas? Is the Xmas cheer upon you or the Xmas stress?

I'm somewhere in the middle. I love Xmas. I love all the build up. I love what it really stands for. I love shopping with lots of other people (I know call me crazy! LOL). I love choosing and putting up our Xmas tree. Now starting to dig up decorations that have meaning...like the funny little shells they kids made at daycare last year, or the decorations we've brought them each year.

Its starting to have more meaning again.

But with only 3 presents brought so far, I have a long way to go to finishing. But I figure its a bit like exams. The time is going to pass, they/it will be here. I just have to do my homework and I'll be fine! LOL!

So this morning I'm taking all three kids shopping while Andy goes and does stock take at the toy library. We're aiming to buy the cousins presents and maybe even something for Andy. My goodness, what do you buy the man that has everything and can buy most of it in China way cheaper?! LOL! Any ideas would be gratefully accepted. We'll be shopping for a week or so, so bring em on!

Alrighty, must go. I haven't actually sat down and scrapbooked in a week (except for one card) and its driving me crazy. I just need to go pick some papers and start! So that's what I'm gonna do. I've still got half an hour before the kids are up, should be plenty of time. LOL! Yeah right! LOL!

Have a good one!

Beware of the scammers

Yep, the ole Nigerian scam is doing the rounds again. Poor Debbie (one of our Fiskars demonstrators) has had her email hacked into and emails sent off in her name. Not much fun for her.

So if you get an email from someone relating to asking for help due to a friend being in jail/hospital in some foreign country, don't do anything. Delete the email. If you have to check, ring your friend. Don't email back! They might get your email account details.

So things going on in this house today....

We had the Mums and kids from Connect Cafe over for a Xmas get together this morning. The last offical time was last week where we shared the Xmas story with everyone, then today was more of a chill out. Bounce on the tramp, sit in the sun. It was lovely. I created these cupcakes for the Mums and we did the 'decorate your own cupcake' for the kids. It was a huge success again. And for me, so quick and easy. I got the idea for the Mum's cupcakes from Chrissy in Oz. She is the queen of cupcakes and does the most amazing ones. Thanks chickee!

I got to share an album with my friends and it was really nice. They knew I scrapbooked, but I don't think they understood what it was, or the work I do for DT's/Fiskars etc. It was nice to see their reactions and to share a little of me with them.

Here's a conversation I had with Matt this morning:

Me: cutting frozen butter with a huge knife.

Matt: In all black clothes said "when I'm an All Black I'll be able to cut butter as easily as you aye Mum?"

Me: Yep Matt.

Matt: And I'll be on tv. **Big smile**.

Matt: And I'll fly to France and we'll win!

Isn't it amazing that a month later he's still thinking about the All Blacks and the world cup?! Gotta love the attitude! My little all black!

I'm still to start my Xmas shopping for real. I've got 3 presents. Eeeeeek! I really really need to do something about this!

Apparently the weather is meant to be nice this weekend, so enjoy!

Exciting news for Fiskars NZ

With all of the exciting new changes in Fiskars I have been working hard at finalising our ambassador team for NZ.

I'm very proud to introduce you to 7 new and extremely talented ambassadors who will be working with me in NZ.

They are:

Andrea Senn

Beverley Warwick

Donna Meuli

Evana Willis

Jo Burney

Lesley Cooper

Lianne Gray

I'm really excited to be working with such a fun bunch of women who love scrapping as much (if not more) than myself! Welcome aboard ladies!

Have you signed up for the SBO newsletter yet? Better go do it now before you forget. You'll kick yourself if you don't! Something big is coming to your inbox soon!

So home news...eating hasn't been going too well. I had a shocking week after the twins birthday. You see there were leftovers. And I just couldn't bring myself to throw all those lollies and chips out, so I ate them, until I realised I'd eaten junk food for a whole week. Silly girl! So at that point I threw the remaining items in the rubbish bin. Whew. Felt much better. Until I found Matt eating lollies out of the rubbish bin. You've just gotta laugh right?!

Worse still I decided I'd do something nice for a friend and make her some fudge for her birthday. Hmmmmm, well it didn't make it past 7pm the night before her birthday. The most embarrasing part was the next morning when the kids asked where the fudge was that I was taking to Puke and I had to tell them I ate it all. Just as well Ruth wasn't there. I would've felt really guilty! Ruth promise to make you some more one day!

One of the things that has made my week so good this week? My children dancing to Xmas songs. They got a wonderful book with CD of Xmas songs for their birthday. And they are slightly jazzed up for kids. Well they absolutely adore them, helps that they are learning them at daycare too, but we have spent the last couple of afternoons boogying around the lounge. Way cool!

Tell me, whats up with the weather? Its horrible and windy, cloudy and generally doesn't feel very nice, but is so stinkin humid and hot that its unbearable. Someone bring out the sunshine, please!

Ok, I've gotta go get some sleep. Tired wee lassie.

Xmas has hit the McClune house

Our tradition is always to get our tree the weekend after the twins birthday. So with the party last weekend, that made it this weekend. Yippee. Only problem was I was out all day Sat (nice and sunny) and so we had to get it yesterday (wet and windy!). Nevermind. We went out to the field, chopped it down and got it home on the roof of the car. Then we got it home, put it up in the carport and let it dry a bit before decorating it inside. This year it is totally a kids tree. They chose where each decoration went and if they couldn't reach we would do it for them. Anyway, I really love it. It might not be the prettiest tree out there, but it is ours and its beautiful.

I took some photos this morning but my goodness, what a nightmare. This is the best one....

Actually I bribed the kids with morning tea out if we could get a good photo at home, and then with Santa. LOL! And funny thing is that we actually did get a Santa photo. This is the first one 3 years! So so so pleased. Ok, so this year Dan was the one that wasn't too happy about it. But Sarah was amazing. She saw the chocolate and went straight up to Santa and started talking to him and sat next to him. Matt continued to hide behind the buggy, even when I gave Santa the picture Matt had drawn him. Then when he saw the chocolate, he edged a bit closer, and then the best thing happened. I had called Matt by his name and Santa called him by his name. I made the most of that and said wow Matt he knows your name, how on earth did he know that? And then he realised it was really Santa and was happy as. Fantastic. I can't get the CD thing to work on my computer. Maybe on Andy's laptop tonight?

Have you checked out the Fiskars blog lately? There's another two competitions up from the Fiskarscraft website. To see them, please check them out here.

A couple of new LO's

Thought I'd share my latest LOs with you....

This LO was created using the SBO Dec kit. I wanted to show that while the kit is aimed at Xmas type products, you could still create non Xmas LO's.

The only thing not from the kit is the thread for the stitching.

It was a bit of a tricky LO to create as the circles are actually from the back of the base paper, so I had to ensure when I cut them out the photo and red paper would cover any holes I made.

Also the little blue circles in the middle of the large circles are from the holes in the scalloped bazill paper. I just poked them out and used them here. It just goes to show that even things we think won't be used, can be.

This LO is done for No 8 Wired's new dare. The dare is to scrap a LO about your families sayings, or a nickname.

Its been made mostly from Heidi Grace product. Yummo.

Talking of Heidi Grace, reminds me of Fiskars and the challenge we've got going on our Australian/NZ blog for December. Its not hard and you're probably doing it anyway, so why not enter the challenge? Check it out here.

Over at SBO we've started a new sketch challenge. Its to help you when you're stuck. The DT are going to be creating sketches and uploading them each week for you to have a play with. Its just for fun. This week I created the first sketch and here it is:

  I've been wanting to create a sketch link in my blog for all my sketches to help myself and others out when we loose our scrapping mojo for soooooo long, so this is a good start. Check out the new link in my sidebar for more sketches.

Oh, and on a personal note. Happy birthday to Ruth for yesterday! Missed you at the crop. But hope you had a wonderful day! As an aside have you seen the banner on Ruths blog? Very very cool!

Alrighty, must go. Its Sunday and kids need pancakes. Have a good one.

Where has this week gone?

Seriously?! What has happened to this week? Every day I've said ok, today I'll update my blog and each day has gone past with nothing done. Eeeeek. You can tell Xmas isn't far away huh?! And I've only just started to do my Xmas shopping! Eeeek!

So what has this week brought to the McClunes? Starting off with the party last weekend. Wow, what a huge success that was! And thank goodness for good weather. With all those kids and parents being here we were very lucky. They would not have fitted in our little house! We got a bouncy castle, had the new tramp plus a plastic see-saw, some pop up houses and the kids were totally occupied. Throw in a great game of pass the parcel, a treasure hunt, decorating your own cupcakes and glorious party food and it couldn't have gone better. Ok, ok, so I'm blowing my own trumpet a bit here, but it was just fun. You know? I was also extremely proud of the cakes I made this year. Silly me forgot to take photos and at the last minute clicked off a couple so they're not the greatest, but they were recorded! So here's a few shots of the day.....

So after the party I took the bouncy castle back and carried on to Puke where I got to hang out with Nic, Lucy and E for the afternoon. What a way to relax. Just crusing with the girls. Thanks for a great afternoon ladies!

Sunday Andy was at golf, so I had the kids to myself. We hung out at home. Bounced on the tramp and generally caused chaos in our backyard. Gotta love 4 year olds!

Monday I was exhausted. Anyone that knows me, knows how much of a night owl I am. I don't usually go to bed before about 11.30-12midnight. But Monday I was literally falling asleep in my dinner and was in bed by 8pm. Something was wrong. I thought I might have been getting Daniels cold but no. I woke up at 1am (due to Daniels said cold waking him), then proceeded to be 'wide awake' until 3am before falling asleep again. However, seems I must've got a decent nights sleep cause I woke up feeling so much better the next day.

Took Dan to the doctor and sure enough he had an ear infection. She said the way he was sick, then got better, before relapsing is a typical symptom for ear infections so I had done the right thing in getting him to her. Yay! So hes now on antibiotics, but today for the first time in a week he hasn't clung to me like glue. Poor wee tyke. At least he's feeling better now!

Other big news for our twins was by them turning 4, they graduated at daycare to now have 'homework books'. OMG! They were soooooo excited to have homework books and we duly did the first nights homework with such excitement. Its not a complusory thing, just if they want to, but try stopping these two! LOL. They've since done another 3 nights homework! LOL.

Check out their first efforts:

Check out their writing! So proud of my little ones!

This weekend we're getting our Xmas tree. Always the same tradition since the twins were born. We get it the weekend AFTER the kids party. Its just too much to expect to do it all the same weekend. So Sunday is the day. Can't wait!

And yes, it has to wait until Sun cause I'm off to Puke again tomorrow for the years last crop. Can't wait! Although I really should be working out what I'm taking instead of being here. LOL!

Ok, big news in the scrapping world.....Prima are having a DT call. And this year they are allowing internationals. So if any of you are addicted to Prima product as much as I am, check out their blog and give it a go. You just never know.

  Also Fiskars have announced the appointment of 3 new Lead ambassadors in Australia. Yippee. Congrats girls! You guys rock and I can't wait to work more closely with you. They are: Paula Clark, Dawn Stan and Lyn Dwyer. But go check out the Fiskars blog for a wee game where you could win a wonderful tool pack as part of their welcome.

Fiskars NZ also has some big news coming out shortly regarding ambassadors, so keep an eye out here or on the Fiskars blog to see what that is.

SBO has some big news coming out this week. So go sign up for the newsletter to make sure you don't miss it. You definitely don't want to miss this. Its so cool!

And don't forget its time for a new dare at No 8 Wired! Donna has got a great challenge for you that will span the generations and provide entertainment for our grandchildren and great grandchildren and on. I haven't done my LO yet, but have the right idea. Just need to find my photo. Can't wait to see your take on it!

Alrighty, must go. Nearly midnight. Again. LOL! Hmmmm, might have to wait until morning to sort out my crop stuff. Have a great weekend!

T