Living my dream

Disney on ice

Sarah was asked to go to Disney on Ice with Pene so off she went this afternoon, with Pene, and all her cousins.....

 

All of them dressed up as various Princesses. Just gorgeous.

While she was off doing that, Poppa took the boys to the model expo happening in Henderson. It was a huge hit. As were the ice creams he brought them. LOL.

And after not being able to get past that LO from yesterday, I managed to start and finish this one.

Admittedly, not alot to it. Just some gorgeous K&Co paper - which I don't feel I've done justice to, but its more photos done and dusted....

 

Have a good Queens birthday.

T

Aging

Those who read my blog on a regular basis will know that getting older has been on my brain a little bit lately.

Funnily enough a friend sent through the following. I thought it was soooo funny (and accurate) I just had to share....

George Carlin's Views on Ageing

Do you realise that the only time in our lives when we like to get old is when we're kids? If you're less than 10 years old, you're so excited about ageing that you think in fractions. 
 
'How old are you?' 'I'm four and a half!' You're never thirty-six and a half. You're four and a half, going on five! That's the key 
 
You get into your teens, now they can't hold you back. You jump to the next number, or even a few ahead. 
 
'How old are you?' 'I'm gonna be 16!' You could be 13, but hey, you're gonna be 16! And then the greatest day of your life .... . You become 21. Even the words sound like a ceremony. YOU BECOME 21. YESSSS!!!

But then you turn 30. Oooohh, what happened there? Makes you sound like bad milk! He TURNED; we had to throw him out. There's no fun now, you're Just a sour-dumpling. What's wrong? What's changed? 
 
You BECOME 21, you TURN 30, then you're PUSHING 40. Whoa! Put on the brakes, it's all slipping away. Before you know it, you REACH 50 and your dreams are gone.

But wait!!! You MAKE it to 60. You didn't think you would! 
 
So you BECOME 21, TURN 30, PUSH 40, REACH 50 and MAKE it to 60.
 
You've built up so much speed that you HIT 70! After that it's a day-by-day thing; you HIT Wednesday! 
 
You get into your 80's and every day is a complete cycle; you HIT lunch; you TURN 4:30 ; you REACH bedtime. And it doesn't end there Into the 90s, you start going backwards; 'I Was JUST 92.'
 
Then a strange thing happens. If you make it over 100, you become a little kid again. 'I'm 100 and a half!'

Finally my LO is finished

This LO has been sitting on my desk for a week. It is a very special and personal one (thus the blanked out journaling). Its about my Nana and her Mum (Nana Fox). The photo is of Nana Fox with my Mum and another girl - not sure who? But its not so much the photo that's important, as the journaling.

Anyway, it was one of those LO's where you just want it to be perfect. What it says is so important that for me, I had to make it 'just right' and all week I've been too nervous to work on it. Its been sitting there mocking me. LOL.

So this morning I woke up and thought "stuff this", I've just got to do it. Its more important to have it done and in an album than sitting there half done. LOL!

And this is what I finally came up with.

 

And here's a couple of close up's.... Its really 3 dimensional!

 

 

There are a couple of cool things I wanna show you on this LO. First, the main piece of PP I've used is a Prima stitchable's paper. BUT, I've used the back side. I loved the more muted colours it had on the back. And I'm pleased with the end result. Then I stitched some dotted netting across the page, before finally adhering all those gorgeous Prima flowers (and a few others too).

The other thing that I've used on this LO which was new to me, and I've gotta say thanks to Scrapbook Studio cause that's where I found it, is the metal flowers and leaves along the left hand side. They are by ASA(?) and I've cut up one to slot it into hidy holes around the other flowers.

On the back of the LO is an email from my Aunty Lorraine which gave me a little more information about the topic. It was so interesting to read and I've enjoyed the contact with her again.

This has been a therapeutic LO for me and reminded me again why I do this wonderful craft. Its all about history. Telling the story and making sure the little (and big things aren't forgotten).

Yay!

Saturday sketch day

A fun little sketch for a tiny photo (2x3"), maybe one of those old vintage black and white ones, or a cute little one from yesterday.

Make some room for journaling or be totally arty and create a LO just for the sake of it.

Enjoy!

PS: Thank goodness its Saturday. Andy's arrived home from Canada! Yay! Thats two trips in 3 weeks. This wife is glad to see her hubby home!

Today

Dan and I made the most of the beautiful weather and went to Cornwall park. That and One Tree Hill are my favourite spots in Auckland. It was nice to share it with Dan. We managed to quickly find some sheep and cows. Dan is loving his little bike at the moment, so we took that along too.

 

 

I haven't been scrapping much lately. I'd really love to, but just don't have the motivation to get off the couch and sit at the table. Slack huh?! LOL! Maybe I'll have something to show soooooon.

Innovations issue 2

Oh man! Have you seen this? I caught a glimpse of this last night and just had to share....

 

Who are those gorgeous kids? LOL. Can't wait to see the whole mag. Lots more gorgeous LO's I'm sure!

Oh and hey, thanks to all the winners of this very mag for getting their address details to me. I'm just waiting on one more. Nancy, are you out there? Can you please send me your address so a free copy of Innovations issue two can be sent out, plus a little rak from me. TA.

Later.

Having kids is the most rewarding and heartbreaking job ever

Its 2.55pm, the bell has just rung and my two blessings walk slowly out the door towards me. Sarah, leans into me for a cuddle, and when I look down she is crying. She is so beautiful,

 but she has great big round tears rolling down her cheeks. I bend down and ask what's wrong, and get told I snuggled her too hard (Ahhhhhhh). Upon, closer inquisition, I find out that some girls were mean to her and another friend and her feelings are hurt.

Just then Matt asks if he can go to another friends house, I say if the mother says its ok. Its not. It turns out that boy is going home with another boy and their other friend. He comes running back to me in tears.

I try to explain to him that his friend missed out last week, and he got to go instead, but it doesn't sink in. All he feels is the dispair of not being invited with his friends to go and play.

As we all walk to the car I get to catch up with another mother whose daughter was at daycare with the twins. We mouth over the top of the kids heads whats been going on and she tells me about similar situations with her daughter.

I'd been dreading this day. The day when they grow up and face the real world. When they start to realise that things don't always go their way. The day when their friends hurt their feelings (without meaning to) and they have to learn to deal with it. That day when life becomes that little bit more real and they grow up right in front of your eyes.

But it ended with on a good note.

Sarah got to go to a friends house. A lovely friend who started the same day she did and who both twins think is just cool. They got to play Mummy's and babies and be little girls again. Sigh.

Matt got to hang out with me and Dan. We tried to feed the ducks who weren't there. We played with our new water pump, we collected the eggs and we picked veges for dinner.

Then as we sat on the couch after reading Matts school reader, he leaned over and gave me a huge cuddle and told me how much he loved me and that he'd had a really good afternoon. Ahhhhhh my soul was restored.

So I'm heading into new territory with my gorgeous kids and I'm hoping I'm up for the task. By the looks of the end of today, I scraped through. Lets hope it goes as well the next time it happens.

T

This year's birthday is the big 4 0....

....and while its still a LONG way away, its having an effect on me. Which I'm finding quite Weird, actually. Birthdays have always been a bit of a let down (until I met Andy) and I usually try and have a good day, but don't have any expectations further than that. This includes not worrying about getting older.

But somehow 40 seems different and with the normal ole things that are going on in my life and my friends lives, I'm realising how quickly life goes by and that I really don't want to look back when I'm 60 and think.... I wish.

Its made me think about new goals or ideas that I'd like to achieve in the next part of my life.

I've realised recently that having children has changed the way we do things (uh, yeah! LOL). We no longer go mountain biking, or do races like Coast to Coast or Ironman. That's ok. I love the children and the new lifestyle that it's opened up to us. But I'm starting to realise that as they get older, we can start involving them in the things we used to do that we loved.

An example was fishing yesterday. We all had such a great time. Plus on top of that, it got us out into the fresh air and hopefully will teach them about one hobby they might like to pursue when they get older and grow up.

So anyway, I know some of this stuff might seem obvious, but for me it was a bit of a revelation, or another insight into something I may have forgotten. And from here, well who knows?

Hopefully we can do something 'worthwhile' each day. Even if that is just to tell our kids that we love them.

Today, the worthwhile thingS were spending some much needed time with Andy and then spending the afternoon at the pools as a family.

 

 

 

We lead a blessed and charmed life.

I am thankful.

And I look forward to hitting that 4 0 with some new goals, new ideas, and new attitudes to get me through the next part of my life.

How bout you?

T

Saturday Sketch day plus rugby and fishing tales

Here is this weeks sketch. Taken off the LO I showed yesterday.

 

Very simple, but with lots of room for journaling. Can you tell I'm into 'telling the story'?!

This morning, being a Saturday we were up early and at the rugby grounds ready for the kids game. Thankfully it was a beautiful day, albeit a little chilly! Gulp! But the kids are such a joy to watch playing. How they learn to play as a team, giving each other turns with the ball, encouraging each other (Matt standing behind his team mate yelling "go, go, go"!), and having so much fun.

Matt seems to be a real star this year. He scored 3 tries this morning and ran down some amazing rips. He is the only one that played last year and I think its made a difference in the way he plays. He just has that little bit more confidence than his team mates.

I mean seriously would you want to be running straight into a team of other people the same size as you? No! Me either!

After rugby, we decided since it was such a nice day that we'd go for a quick blat on the boat and do a bit of a fish. It was stunning. No waves. No clouds. Oh, and no fish. LOL!

We got two TINY ones (Matt caught the first one, then Sarah), and they both went back.

 

 

And even though they were only tiny, and even though we threw them back. The kids felt like they'd achieved their goal. And they felt like they were great fishermen! And that was the best part!

Oh, and here's my photo for today....

 

Gosh, it really is a beautiful day.

Have a good one.

T

Big week

I've been doing lots around the house this week. Cleaning out the linen cupboard, the kids play room, the kids draws - out goes summer, in goes winter, cleaning up the sleepout, and a bit of the outside. And boy does it feel good.

And hey, I got this LO finished....

 

Very basic. No title. But it tells the story. And I love the photo. Check out Dan's smile! LOL.

And a couple of close ups....

 

That tree on there is GORGEOUS. I brought it from Blue Bazaar. Its made by Collections. But I know it was also in the last Tarisota collection.

Oh and hey, I had my hearing test. It was pretty ok. I have a little bit of loss in the higher frequencies in my left ear (still mostly in the normal range), and something that is normal for age.

But my right ear had a little 'blip' in it. Both ears are meant to be the same. Mine isn't. For whatever reason, at one frequency, I lost a bit of hearing. It again was in the 'normal' range, but its a little unusual so I need to talk to my GP once she's seen the results to see if it needs further investigation.

At least it explains why I'm not hearing the kids as well as I used to. All good!

Cute things talked about this morning

Lying in bed waking up, we hear Dan start to cry. Andy (bless him) goes in to see whats up. He notices Matt stir, and hears from him "I think he's crying because he wants to go to school". Ahhhhhhhh.

Talking later this morning, all in our bed. The kids moaning about how its not big enough anymore. Matt announces that when he gets married he'll only have one. I ask one what? He says "one child, cause three are too much work". Eeeeek. I think I have to rethink how I say things. Thankfully it was said with a smile on his face. And interesting that he's thinking he'll get married.

Sarah annouces seconds later "I'm not getting married! I'm going to stay with you forever!".

So today I'm off to get some more flannel sheets. With Dan in his big boy bed, we're a couple short. I know this because I pulled everything (and I mean EVERYTHING) out of our linen cupboard yesterday and redid it all. Ahhhh, so much better!

I'm also off to have my hearing tested. Wonder how they do that? I am finding it more difficult to hear the kids, especially when more than one are talking at once. Some would say that's not a bad thing. LOL. They are also hurting when there are sudden or loud noises, like a door closing. Either way, I just wanna find out what's going on.

Wish me luck.

You know its winter

When:

• You have your fire on from early in the morning.
• It rains....a lot.

• You change the sheets on your bed to flannel.

• All your washing gets dried in the dryer.

• You start planning your tropical holiday.

• You go outside to get your dinner veges and its either dark already, or there aren't any cause its cold and the summer veges are all gone. Sigh.

Technology free Tuesday

Well for the kids anyway.

Usually each night as I cook dinner, I let the kids watch 30-60 mins of telly. It seems to work for us at that time of night.

But last week, I can't remember why, I didn't let them put on the telly and we all made dinner together. It was fun. It was time consuming. But we all loved it.

I decided right then and there, that we wouldn't have any technology on Tuesdays (it sounds good! LOL).

So no ipods after they've gotten ready in the morning and no telly in the afternoon.

All through dinner last night they kept saying that they were changing today into Wed or something. They didn't want Tues to happen. But this morning we were in a rush and they didn't have time for the ipods anyway, and this afternoon after their friend left, we all made dinner together, again.

We had spaghetti cakes with salad/veges. Matt was in charge of picking the lettuce, Dan was in charge of getting a pepper, and Sarah the peas.

They all came back with a great collection to be used. Except Sarah, who said that she was so hungry she ate her peas on the way back and there were no more. ROFL!

So we made it through our first Tues without technology and it was great. We all enjoyed ourselves and no one missed the telly.

Anyway, thought I'd share a photo I took in Sydney on Sunday. Boy was it a nice day...

 

So that's about it for now. Hope you've had a great Tues.

T

Sydney

Here I am at another airport. Waiting for my flight. Pondering on my day and how lucky I am.

I came over to visit a friend. My oldest, closest, best friend and we just had the best day.

And its days like this that you realise how lucky you are to have met people like this in your life. 

We hung out at Bondi markets. We had brunch at the coolest little cafe near Rose Bay, then we wandered along the waterfront, had a pastry and chatted. The weather was beautiful. Sunny. Not a cloud in the sky. Warm. T-Shirt weather. Way different to home. 

The decision to come was only made the other day, but its one of those ones you know will affect the rest of your life. That sounds silly. But in this instance true. 

Thanks for such a great day Jane. Miss ya already. So wished we lived in the same country.

Home soon. Love ya Andy. Miss'd you and the kids. Can't wait to see you all soon.

T

Saturday Sketch Day

Here is this weeks sketch.

Use a few small photos or one larger one.

Then use the white space on the right for some journaling.