Well I set off Friday morning to Hyden, dragging my sorry behind, I still hadn't shaken my cold, once I got there though it was back into that comfortable welcoming environment.

I also managed to get 5 layouts done while I was there inbetween my classes.




I'm so proud of the girls, we did two layouts, one a double below and then a quick page formula, by the time I left this morning some of the girls had done three quick pages using different variations of it. This was the first class I did using buzz and bloom chipboard they did custom packs for me and the girls loved them.

And here are 1/2 my girls that did the class, everyone else still had too many falling off bits, you were a pleasure to teach girls, I hope you had a great time!



and you know the best thing of all, when I came home the floors were cleaned and vaccumed and clean sheets on the bed and dinner organised.. I didn't have to do a thing but have lots of cuddles with my boys.

So my friend Ali didn't jump out from behind a chair and yell SURPRISE!! I'm coming with you to Hyden, so I have to assume she doesn't want to come and wasn't actually wanting to just make me think she wasn't coming because she wanted to surprise me because she actually isn't coming. So I have now braced myself for driving alone to Hyden, wish you were coming Lis.. I'll miss you.

I think Alec will be fine while I'm away this time, when Lis and I went to Sydney for kiwi scraps in 2006 I got a tearful phone call just after we landed saying I had to stop scrapcooking right away and come home, I felt like the worst mum in the world that day. He is all prepared this time and I will only be gone two nights, that seems to be about his limit.

I seem to have all my scrapping stuff packed and I threw some clothes in the washing machine but I still have that I have a head cold and am slightly not with it kind of feeling going on, might go and throw myself in front of the tv for an hour or so and get some rest.

have a great weekend.

All of a sudden my trip to Hyden has arrived and I feel unprepared, well happily I can say my classes are 100% prepared and I can't wait to do them, but I am baffled by what clothes to take, what do I want to scrap, will I scrap anything or wander aimlessly as I usually do between my classes. Then there is what shall I put everything in. I have no totes or any modular travelling type stuff, my clothes are going in one of those big blue ikea bags and my scrap stuff will go in an assortment of containers. I'm feeling a bit muddled.

Hopefully by friday morning my sore throat is gone and I am all ready to hit the road. Michael is going to go and be parent helper at kindy with Riley, I just know Riley will love that.

I took the boys to the park this morning, it sure does get windy up here but it was a nice temperature and we all got lots of fresh air and the boys had a great run around. It is another one of those things I should do more frequently with the boys.

Okay well I am off to hunt up some containers and pack my scrap stuff for Hyden!

frame - french laundry from http://www.twopeasinabucket.com
swirl - rhonna farrer from http://www.twopeasinabucket.com
date - double dates from http://www.designerdigitals.com/

Labels: 365 days

The idea of enhanced photos appeals to me, at this time I am all for simplifying the process, I have about 5 layouts I want to do and I am picking a single design and I am just going to alter it slightly for each layout.

We are off to the park for fish and chips with friends, hope you have had a good Easter break.

Well the Easter Bunny has been, he collected a couple of very sad looking old dummies and left a big chocolate chicken in its place then covered our front lawn with all kinds of eggs.

The boys had fun, Alec faded very quickly though and Riley was the main collector, it has been 6 hours since the EB has been and I haven't been asked for the dummies once, just nagged silly over when he can have his next chocolate. I don't think Alec has had any chocolate at all today.

As you can see by 7:53 am it was all over and Riley started demolishing his stash. We have enough eggs for the next 6 months worth of chocolate consumption in this house. We have all settled into a nice quiet day of tv watching and book reading, hope you day has been peaceful and happy.

So regardless of our various maladies Michael and I are going to tackle the front yard this afternoon, because I mean you can't have a scruffy looking front yard in your easter egg hunt photos. We may both be feeling lousy but we are doing it, ok I am making us do it, I could throw my arms in the air and give in but I have had so few decent photos lately I really NEED THIS

Last night I took Alec to the after hours clinic, his temperature had hit 40.5 (104.9 F) the doctor gave him a good looking over but just said keep up the fluids, we just needed reassurance he was going to be ok, he just seemed so limp and pale and taking medicine was such an effort for him he was getting so distressed, it is so hard to explain illness to a little one. Ad to that he was up during the night with an awful croupy cough that made him feel like he was going to vomit, but after some time in a steamy bathroom and some medicine he fell back to sleep. Michael and I woke up wondering if we had been hit by the same bus.

Here is hoping we are all on the mend tomorrow and we can enjoy our easter egg hunt. keep well and take lots of photos!!

and thank you all for you kind thoughts.

Labels: easter, illness

well Happy Good Friday everyone!

We are on our way out to mum and dads for lunch, we are all like walking zombies, most of us are functioning in one way or another. Poor Alec has been hit the hardest, a high temperature and vomiting, he fell asleep in my bed around 5pm then came into room to camp on the floor around 2am then was sick again poor thing. After everything was cleaned up we all managed to sleep until 7am and the first thing he said was.. do you think someone could get my breakfast I'm a bit hungry. He still has a temperature but has been playing and chatting away unlike the limp silent child Michael and I hovered over for several hours.

So enjoy your Easter how ever you celebrate and keep safe.

bad news all around here today, Alec woke with a temperature a cough and a runny nose, Riley has a temp and so do I, Michael went off to work even though he has a temperature too.

Alec was so upset when I told him he couldn't go to school.. but I will let all my buddies down, they will miss me. How gorgeous is that. He was meant to be man on side of road waving palm frond in the passion play at school this morning. I was so tempted to let him go just for that but he really is too sick and we would all just spread it around. Look how pale the poor little thing is.


And to add insult to injury I so so wish I had done the kitchen before I went to bed last night because now I have to tackle this while I feel lousy.

A few more 365 day photos, I've had a few questions about the frames I use, I picked up a set called French Laundry from twopeas.com and some of my others come from designerdigitals.com

We had a rough weekend and I don't really feel like reliving it so I am going to show you my last Buzz and Bloom assignments. The live out loud page is being done as a double at the Wave Rock retreat next week, I think this is the layout that has made me happiest for ages, I just love it.



And I have some other pages up on the Buzz and Bloom site - HERE

Labels: layouts, scrapbooking

It has been one of those weeks with Alec, lots of angry voices, lots of confusion as he tries to cope with situations. We have the school situation pretty much worked out now, he can go to his quiet time place, sit in his bean bag and read a book. When he feels better he takes himself back to class.

This morning we woke to a very distressed child, he was acting out, very dramatic and cross at all of us. You see we had a birthday party to go to this morning and he was just too worried about the noise and not being able to find any of his friends. The place we were going is like a rabbit warren and has pokey dark little party rooms and he just can't cope with it, so ad in the noise and he just can't do it.

Once I realised what it was that had set him off I laid out our plans for the day and he was fine, we played a few hands of UNO and now he is going to have some computer time, he is a different child now.

I don't want this for him, but all I can do is help him to understand and give him coping strategies, it must be so confusing being six and not being able to communicate what you feel. Birthday parties are great social events for kids, but his wellbeing is far more important to me.

Labels: autism

I love shopping and I love bargains and right now I am on a pretty tight do not buy anything type budget. Well I had 15 minutes to waste while I waited for Michaels train so I dropped by the Salvos store. I thought I would go in and see if they had by chance a wire cake stands like the ones I saw at Target.. well would you look what a found!! A stand with baskets and this cool little wire basket for $8, I could justify that to myself, I did put the 3 baskets back I picked up, I adore baskets but I have no more room for them and Michael would have been forced to make a too many baskets comment.And here they are, one is full of my mounted stamps and the other has my 7G stamps and my provo craft alphabet stamps, they fit perfectly. It was a good purchase because it has also made me do a little reorganising.
The rest of the day is going to be taken up with washing as no one in my house likes going commando, well except for Riley who will happily go without underwear.

When I arrived at school this morning I struggled from the car with 2 plates of cupcakes a container of popcorn packs a bean bag and two kids. It is grade ones turn to make things for the cake stall at recess. Riley was so excited, his first cake stall, he decided he would buy some popcorn. The bean bag is for a quiet time spot for Alec, when it gets too loud for him he can go and sit in the bean bag and read a book and chill a bit.

Then I came home and finished this for Lis, it is her birthday on Friday and we are off for lunch today.. wow my first lunch date while the boys are at school, a pretty novel concept.

Alec has had a little trouble communicating the last few days, we have been beset with hurt feelings, misunderstandings and many meltdowns. Last night Michael had to fall back on an oldy but goody and after Alec being upset for 1/2 an hour he asked him if he would like to water the garden. Water can always calm him, he doesn't have to get in the water, just be able to run his hands through it.

I took him to school this morning but after speaking to his teacher we decided he could probably do with a quiet day at home so that is what we are doing.

I wouldn't change Alec for anything but I do get sad when I see him so distressed, I would do anything for any hurt to just bounce right off him, but it doesn't and offhand remarks from other little boys seem to hurt the most, anything said is taken so literally and taken to mean not just..I don't need you this minutes but I don't need you ever again. We hope with age he can comprehend these types of social encounters better.

Autism is always throwing you curve balls, just when you think you have it worked out it all changes again. The photo is of Alec on Sunday morning having his coffee.

Labels: autism

I'm not doing too badly with these, every day that I take photos I do one for the album. I'm going to use one of the linen WeR Memory Keepers ring albums and the page protectors for 6x4 photos.

I'm really hoping someone in Australia starts stocking them soon as once I have a 100 days done I would like to have them printed. If I keep going at this rate I should have around 250 out of the 365 days done at the end of the year and that isn't too bad. I'm so glad I didn't decide to do the 365 days of self portraits! 365 days of me and my bad hair days would be too much to handle

Alec came running in after school with a little plastic bag in his hand.. with a tooth in it!!!

We have been waiting for this tooth to come out since it first started wobbling back in October of last year. He took it really well, it fell out during play time at school. I finally found a tooth image and made a little box to put his tooth in for the tooth fairy. Saturday morning he comes running out.. my wish came true, the tooth fairy came and left me gold coins.

Sometimes it happens, you get a day and it is filled to the brim. Yesterday was one of those days.

Our first stop was the Beach House play gym in Osborne Park, the Autism Assoc Early Intervention centre put on a get together for grade ones, it was so good to see them and Alec was able to catch up with his little friend Bryn. Alec wanted to go and play as he never ever eats at party type arrangements, but Bryn told him the rules, first you have something to eat, then you can play, Alec said oh ok and sat down and had something to eat, then they ran around and played themselves ragged.

Michael and I then dropped the boys at mums so we could have some us time. Mum had a new cat/kitten and then boys just love her. They always have such a good time at mums I think she spoils them a bit.

Michael and I went and grabbed some lunch before we went to a coffee tasting at Urabistar In Northbridge put on by our friends at Fiori coffee, then we picked up the boys and Joined Kam and Louise for noodles.
It was a big day but the weather was pretty mild and we got to all do fun things. Today I am scrapping a lost tooth and a play day, oh and doing a bit of washing! What else are Sundays for.

Laugh
I went back through my pack of wall text and found more words, I played with the idea of opening the second pack so I could grab another 's' so I could put be inspired up but it wasn't doing it for me, it wasn't my word, I couldn't find the meaning for me behind it but I could with laugh. You see I need to laugh more, have more fun (which was another candidate for the wall)

I suppose the next thing I have to do is work out how to laugh more, there wont be any today though, I am off to bed to try and sleep away this migraine I so happily woke up with. Oh well rather today than tomorrow when we have a full day planned.

I'm trying to think of another phrase to go under sometimes now!

So much for doing nothing today, I had to move all the furniture around and decided to clean the table top while I was at it.

These are making memories wall letters, I grabbed the level, some string and some blutac so everything was level.

no scrapping today, no funny quips or stories I'm afraid. We have 93% humidity outside today, I am hiding inside. Going to go read some catalogues and catch up on ABC kids with Riley.

One thing we did do was throw away one of Riley's dummies, 1 down, 2 to go!

from page 68 of simple scrapbook magazine (except I couldn't be bothered looking for any embellishments or thinking up my own title).
This leaves two, make that one!! more layouts to do from my photo challenge, I was rather sure I would still be talking about this in a months time so I am happily surprised. I went and did this one too.

Somewhere during the afternoon after spending some time alone with myself I lost all drive and enthusiasm. I'm going to blame it on my cold for now, not my dark thoughts. You know the rhyme, it talks about eating worms. I know it isn't true but we all need to wallow in self pity every now and then.

Here is another instalment of my challenge, I'm pretty happy with myself right now. These aren't arty,very little thought has gone into the design, I just want the story recorded. This one took 30 minutes including writing and printing the journaling, the journaling is down below.

Life can all be a bit too serious and as adults I really think we do on occasion forget what real fun is.

While we were on holiday in Busselton one of the little girls had a birthday party and her parents kindly spent two hours filling up water balloons. Michael decided he just needed to throw a water balloon at me, being the loving wife I am I had to reciprocate and throw one back. It was on for young and old then, not only were the kids throwing water balloons so were the adults.

I'm not sure how long it took us to throw all the balloons, it probably wasn't very long at all but the deep down belly laughs and squeals made it feel as though it would go on forever, I don't know if I have ever had so much fun before in my life. It was an opportunity to just let loose, because it was only water after all and the fun of throwing them, the splat of the balloons as they burst and other peoples laughter made it a wonderful experience. The best thing of all was it wasn't a planned activity, we just all joined in, shared some fun and got a bit wet.

Here is another quickie, last year I had to make a giraffe costume for Alec, they were asked what they were when the dreamt, Alec's slip of paper said..

When I dream, I am a giraffe playing with my giraffe friends

and so that is what my wonderful friend Ali helped me make. I've come up against a little problem though, I can't find the photos, so I don't know the date. Last year before I bought the external hard drive I had to delete photos as I burnt them to disc, now they have gone astray. I don't have a very good disc filing system I'm afraid.

So I posted off grandma's photos and her apple cutter from Ikea and by my calculations I have photos for another 4 layouts so 6 finished layouts out of my table top photos isn't going to be too bad.

Well.

I amazed myself and actually got started on my challenge. The first things I did was organise, what will I actually scrap, what was for the bin and what could I send off to the grandparents. Around 1/2 turned out to have been scrapped already and were repeats, some were just filler photos with no one in them and then there was the scrapable ones.

The prioritise was a little harder because none of it jumped out and said scrap me!!. The photos I chose to do first were from a day when Alec performed at the Brighton celebration day, I have no idea what I was thinking when I printed these photos, probably not one double spread that's for sure. All I can say is it is done, I regret not doing it closer to the event and printing smaller pictures, I did print off the little ones on the bottom right as I felt it needed more of Alec on stage and I would have liked more journaling but it was too far removed from the event so it is just the details, the most important one being how proud we were of Alec and how much fun Riley had even though it was 41 degrees (106F) and we were melting.

I have this bad habit! I print too many photos with every intention of scrapping them, then when I get some scrapping time I have forgotten what layout I had in mind for aforesaid photos, so they quietly get slipped to the bottom of the pile and I sneak off and print some I WANT to scrap, more get added to the cast off pile, my scrappers guilt grows along with my pile until it totally overwhelms me and rather than leave them where I can see them I slide them ever so quietly into a storage box.

Well THIS lot aren't getting hidden away, I am challenging myself to scrap these photos! I just want to get down my story and my photos in the quickest and easiest way, I'm going to give myself two weeks to clear my desk.

but I've put word verification on the comments, too many ads and rubbish is turning up in the comments and it detracts from the thrill of seeing what you all have to say :)

It's been a busy weekend so far, we trained it in to the city yesterday to Tiger Tiger for a coffee roasting demo and tasting by our friends from Fiori coffee, Kam and Louise and the lovely Kim Young dropped by and we managed 6 months of catching up. See you in six weeks Kim!

Off to Lissy's today to dodge the dugites LOL