One week on

It's been one week of a world without Reg, and as he would have wanted, things are slowly but surely getting back to normal. The kids are fighting with each other again, with intermittent moments of clinging to each other for emotional support. Work, school, housework (well, if the truth be told, not too much housework - as I said, things are getting back to normal! lol).

It's been a pretty productive week at work, considering I missed 2 days of it. I've organised an excursion at the last minute to take my Advanced English class to a Bells Shakespeare performance at another school. I ran a lesson this afternoon with the head teacher, deputy principal and principal as special guests - my year 7 class put on a meal of freeze dried survival style camping food, and had a great time testing out all the food, and inflicting the strawberry icecream dessert onto the guests. It was a lot of fun, but man, I'm exhausted! lol

This weekend is a long weekend here ... I'll be catching up on some of the aforementioned housework (never fear - we won't get to display home tidy, I'm just aiming for non-post-psychlone tidy. I can live in hope!) I have reports to write. Eeeep! I have books to mark. And, at some point this weekend, I would like to get some scrapping done.

There is a CC on this weekend at ScrapTherapy - it's BLING month, and the challenges are all up now, all sparkly and pretty, so hop on over to the forums and check it out! This is my sample layout for my sketch challenge ... omg, you really need to go and check out my sketch, it's the funniest thing you've ever seen. Well, ok, maybe not as funny as 5 second films on YouTube (which you REALLY need to check out if you haven't seen them!) but it tickled my fancy this afternoon and had me in stitches. Hmmm.

Ok, that's about it from me ... have a great weekend, especially those of you who get to have an extra day off!

RIP Reg

Well, the day that we were dreading came. On Friday 30th May, just before 2am, Reginald McDiarmid, the truest gentleman I know, left this world. My mum rang us at about 1.30am to let us know that he was failing, and she was on her way down the coast to see him, and then rang us again just after she got there ... Nan didn't want to call her while she was driving to let her know, so she waited until Mum arrived to give her the heart breaking news.

We woke the kids to tell them, and they were understandably devestated. Kieran looked up to Pa so much, and it's going to take him a while to fully deal with it I think - as will the rest of us! Kelsey is being a total trooper - yes, she's upset, and she loved her Pa very much, but she's the kind of person who just wants to protect people around her, so she's being a little legend, trying to cheer Tayla up and keep her mind off it. Tayla ...well, she's only 5, and she has lost her best mate. She knows that she won't see him again, and that she won't ever have another big Pa hug, but every so often over the past few days she just breaks down in tears, saying "I want my Pa!" They were really best mates - the rest of us felt a little bit left out sometimes, I think, as they shared their special moments! Ok, not really left out - but I'm eternally grateful that she has so many wonderful memories to cherish of her relationship with the best man I know.

I don't want to sugar coat it - Pa wasn't all peaches and cream. He's coped with so much in the past couple of decades, it's really a miracle that he'd lasted this long. His personality had changed somewhat, as a result of a brain tumour a while ago, and that meant that there were times when he was grumpy, obnoxious, and a general pain in the butt. Mostly, though, he was a legend. Last year, Nan had to have surgery to repair a macular hole in her eye, and I was Pa's taxi for the day. We got to wander around the city for a while, as we waited for Nan to come out of surgery. Pa is the kind of man, even at 79 and frail, who would gently take my elbow and steer me to the inside of the footpath, so that he was between me and the road, just in case he needed to fend off any stray cars to protect me. Half the time, I didn't even realise he was doing it, till all of a sudden I was on the other side of him, wondering how I got there!

He was a man who knew the value of a good joke.... and thought that a suitably bad joke was priceless. Some of his jokes and stories are forever a part of our family legacy, and I'm so grateful that after the funeral yesterday, we got a chance to reminisce about some of those. There was a lot of laughter, and that's just the way Reggie would have wanted it.

I'll never be able to look at my knees again without thinking of my Pa - he had this habit of creating a rhyme for all his grandkids, and mine was "Tamara Louise with the knobbly knees". We all will cherish that, as much as we used to complain when he called us by our extended names when we were growing up.

I've only been to a few funerals in my lifetime, and only 4 of people that were very close to me. This one was the hardest that I've experienced, but at the same time the most beautiful. Nan and Pa's next door neighbours have 2 sons who were pretty much family. We'd hang out when we were on holidays, and I know that the Clancy's regard Nan and Pa as part of their extended family. It was a total honour, then, that Steven conducted the service with the celebrant at the crematorium. It was so moving that someone who knew Reg was speaking about his impact on those around him. Thanks, Steven, you made a very difficult time much more bearable.

My uncle spoke on behalf of Nan, my mum and my Aunty, and I was so choked up. Uncle Pete is a genuine nice bloke, and I haven't seen a lot of him in recent years, but I haven't ever seen a tear in his eye before yesterday, let alone heard him struggling to speak through his sorrow. My sister and I were speaking on behalf of the grandkids, and had to follow Uncle Pete ... that was a difficult task. We had decided we wanted to really focus on what a great guy he was - all our memories about Pa revolve around the tricks, and the jokes, and the funny times, so we spoke a lot about those things - the memories of our Pa that we will cherish for a lifetime and beyond. It was hard, but we got through it with our heads held high, and by the end there were a lot of smiles and chuckles in honour of a man who loved to make people laugh. I hope I made you proud, Pa!

My kids wanted to contribute something to our speech, and that was probably the hardest thing for me. Lorraine and I read a paragraph each, and the way it worked out was that I got to read Kieran's paragraph, which was the first of the great grandkids' comments. I almost lost it then - mostly because I saw his eyes fill up with renewed tears when he heard me say his name. Here is what my kids wrote about their Pa...

Kieran says:
I love Pa. every time I shook his hand he wouldn't let go. He would keep shaking for about 90 seconds. Sometimes my hand would go numb! So, every time someone shakes my hand I'll think of Pa shaking my hand till it was about to fall off, and all the good times we had together. Although he is not here, he will never let go of me.

Kelsey says:
I love my Pa so much. I will always remember him. He would always try to tell me that there was something on my top, and when I would look, he would tap me on the nose. Every time I would say "there's nothing there", and he would say "there is this time, go on, look, just there!" I would know that there was nothing there but I would still look, and he'd get my nose every time. Every time anyone touches my nose, I'll think of Pa trying to get me again.

Tayla says:
Pa is my best buddy. He always plays tricks on me. He would get me to start saying the alphabet, and said "A". I'd say "B", and he would say "I hope he stings you before me!" He would give me the best hugs and kisses, and tickled me all the time. He liked to make me laugh. He is living in my heart now, and every time I laugh, that's my Pa being glad that I'm happy.

Little legends, aren't they?

The final paragraph of our eulogy was written thanks to some inspiring words from Allison, an online friend from LSBS. I closed by saying this:

Pa was a one in a million – they broke the mould when he came along, and the world could do with more men like him. It comforts me to know that he’s probably up there right now, not just rebuilding that mould, but finding a way to make it better – if anyone could, it’s our Pa. We all have many fond memories of our Pa, and they’ll be with us for the rest of our lives. He is a very special person who will always have a special place in our hearts.

Thanks Allison, it was really a perfect thought for my Pa.

I went for a viewing yesterday morning before the funeral, and anyone who has done this will understand when I say that it was one of the most harrowing experiences of my life. I was expecting... well, actually I don't know what I was expecting. But I'm glad I did it. Wasn't expecting Pa's hands to be so cold, and afterwards I realised how stupid that was - I don't know why I was shocked when I touched them. Somehow, it was him, but it wasn't, if that makes sense ... I'm still trying to process it in my head, but at least I wasn't focusing on what was in that big brown box at the front when I was speaking, so that was a blessing. This picture is how I prefer to remember Pa ... with Tay sitting on his lap, where she invariably was when he was around!

His coffin had a gorgeous photo of him sitting on it - not in a suit, which seemed a little wrong, but in a flanalette shirt and jumper, laughing at someone off camera. His beloved Tigers jersey was draped over the top, and his other favourite posessions, a "Best Buddies" beanie bear Tay gave him for christmas, and a necklace Kieran gave him for luck in the hospital, were also on there. We had brought some roses, and at the end of the service the celebrant gave us a moment to lay a flower on the coffin if we wanted to. My kids were the first ones up - Tayla kissed her hand and touched Pa's footy jumper, which was such a sweet thing to do. It made me really proud of them, and fairly certain that they are going to be ok - they are all handling it ok, although very differently to each other.

How am I handling it? That's a great question. Ok, I think. I'm looking forward to some "alone" time to just cry for a while, but it's hard because whenever Tayla sees me upset, she loses it again, and I don't know if that's really helping her. So I'm being strong while I need to, and hanging out for Dennis to have a few days off work - he's working every day for the next three weeks, as his Assistant Manager is on holidays, so it took a lot of shuffling for him to get yesterday off work for the funeral. My sister is going to look after the kids on Sunday, and I'm catching up with some girlfriends to see Sex and the City ... it's kind of obligatory to see that with a group of girlfriends, isn't it?

So, back to work tomorrow, and I've got a massive pile of paperwork to catch up on, plus reports to write for both year 7 and 8. Life goes on, huh? Today, Kieran headed off to Canberra for a GAT excursion, and I drove Kelsey to Springwood to catch up with her class - she was supposed to go on her very first camp yesterday, for 3 days, so she missed the first day, but was excited to get there this morning. It's been pouring down rain though, so fingers crossed it's not too miserable for her. Tayla and I, after all the running around this morning, have been just veging out in front of the TV. I've been scrapping a little bit -getting a sample layout for a this weekend's cybercrop at ScrapTherapy ready. It's all about the bling this month, so if you are interested in a great weekend of scrapping, pop over to the forums and say hi!

Well, that's about it for today ... I just really wanted to get some of that down while it was fresh in my head. Thanks heaps to everyone who has been popping by and leaving comments of support, or emailing me or posting on forums. I appreciate it more than you know.

Life is what happens when your busy making other plans.

That's totally how I'm feeling right now. Seriously, who would schedule a time like this in their lives? Who would decide that you were going to experience so much pain? I tell people that my grandfather is in hospital, probably dying, and I get the whole "oh, how old is he? well, he's had a good life" ... and I swear, if one more person tells me that I'll choke them till they are a pretty shade of purple. It's a much nicer colour than blue! Yes, I'm aware he is old! Yes, his body has suffered through more than any one person should be able to survive. But he is my Pa. He was there when I didn't have a dad around. Even though he isn't outwardly affectionate, I've always known that I've been totally unconditionally loved by him. I've always known that I've made him proud. And I can't even get my head around a world without Reg ... but at the same time, I can't bear to see him suffering the way he is. So how do I feel? On and off ok. Mostly the most conflicted and miserable I've been in a long time. Even when we were going through everything with Kieran last year, I felt like that in that there was something I could do ... but now, I'm helpless. And seeing Pa laying in hospital, too tired to even tell a joke, makes me feel even more helpless.
It's been 2 weeks. I've been down to see him 3 times. Last time was the best and worst. On Wednesday, he was telling me jokes, fighting with me, and going off at me for not attending the rally for the teacher's strike. All TOTALLY my Pa - he tells the worst jokes I've ever heard, he's a staunch unionist, and he loves to argue. The next day, he could hardly keep his eyes opened, and was struggling to breath, let alone talk. And when I lay down at night, I have those two men in my head ... both of them him, but neither of them quite right. It's breaking my heart.
The other broken hearts around here belong to my kids, and all for slightly different reasons. Tayla and Pa are best mates. To try and prepare a 5 year old for the fact that the biggest man in her life outside her daddy might not be here for long - that's just too hard. But it's too cruel to not even let her know that he's really sick, and she's not silly - she saw it in his eyes when we took them down last weekend to see him. Kieran, well he's just a mess, and I don't blame him! He gave Pa his necklace, and that brought Pa to tears - noone in our family can remember that happening very much (well, not since Kieran offered him a lung if he needed it when his lungs collapsed last year!) And Kelsey is just being Kelsey - holding it in, being strong for everyone. I guess maybe I'm more worried about her than anyone.
So where to from here? He survived surgery the other day, which was more than we expected. He's still in ICU, and making ever so tiny improvements, but mostly he is just hanging on. It could be days, it could be weeks or months. I don't know how much more I can take. And I read that, and I feel so guilty, because this shouldn't be about me - he's going through so much more! So I'm praying when I can, but I don't know what to pray for. Lost. So totally lost, and I don't know what do feel or think about it anymore.

It hasn't all been so grim ... the weekend provided us with a few moments of joy. Kieran had a cadets duty, for the opening of Blacktown Festival, and there was a military display thing at Nurragingy Reserve, so we took the kids down. It was a lot of fun, and even though tanks and jeeps aren't really my thing, it was great to get the kids out of the house, watch them ooh and aah over the parachutists and ponys, and run around in excitement over the waterfall and the icecream truck.
Sunday was the beautiful Bella-Rai's naming day, and my sister and her partner did a fantastic job ... I was using their camera, so as soon as I get the pictures I'll share some. Kieran is Bella's godfather, and Kelsey and Tayla are her "Guardian Angels" - they love that idea, and it was such a sweet gesture. They all got lovely cross necklaces, and Tayla in particular took her role very seriously - she was considering before she said "yes" when asked if she would be the guardian angel and take on that responsibility during the service. Too cute!

Hmmm ... that' s about all I can write now. I have a shocking headache, and should probably go to bed, but I think I just needed a bit of an emotional purge tonight! Thanks for persevering, if you made it this far. And go and give the special people in your life big hugs, or ring them and tell them you love them. Life is too short to assume that you'll have time to do it later.

A monday share ...

http://wendi-aarons.blogspot.com/
Love it. Love it, love it, love it. Thanks Kerryn for sharing this with me! Love it.
That's it for today, really - just another reminder to myself to check this out regularly. Did you hear that Tamara? Go off and check that out again! And a reminder (read the hangover post!) that you are NOT 21 anymore ... you aren't even 16 ... and square poles are designed to hold up patios. That's it. Nuff said.

Oh yeah - Miss Holly has a blog! Thanks to her lovely mummy, Miss Shelee, she's joined the world wide web. Welcome, gorgeous!
http://missholly-shelee.blogspot.com/

A Mother's Day Reflection

I just posted this over at ScrapTherapy - it started off as a "Happy Mother's Day" post, but I had a very close friend firmly in my mind as I was writing it, and it got deep and meaningful. I thought I'd post it here too.

To all the mothers of children, present and absent.
To all those who nurture children who they didn't birth, but they love all the same.
To all those who are aunties, sisters, friends and neighbours, who offer a maternal ear, or shoulder, or hand when needed.
To all those who long to hold a baby but have not been blessed.
To all those who have not given birth, and have no desire to.
To all those who nurture their fur-babies.
Who love unconditionally.
Who make the world a better place through their presence.

My life has been nurtured and enriched by so many women.
I have been touched by a biological mother.
By a mother of a close friend, who saved my life on more than one occasion.
By a woman whose womb had never produced an offspring but nonetheless impacted on the world around her deeply - both as a teacher, and a lifelong friend.
By a grandmother, and more aunts that I can number.
By a sister who, by choice, wasn't able to have children in the conventional way, but has this year realised her dream of motherhood, and celebrates her first mother's day this year.
And by friends, both mothers and not, who make the world a better place through their compassion.
Their humour.
Their ability to make rainbows out of the darkest storms.
Their persistence and perserverance.
And their deep and abiding love.

Thankyou to all those women in my life.
And thankyou to those women in yours.
Have a wonderful day today, you beautiful women, no matter what your circumstances and experiences.
You hold a truly honoured place in this world, and I am honoured to be counted amongst you.

What a week!

Man, I've only been back at work for 4 days, but I'm already in need of a holiday. It's program review week at work ... so what does that mean? Well, basically a lot of trees have given their lives this week, my friends. Piles of paper, all attempting to justify our pedagogical decisions. We've been collecting books, organising outcomes markbooks, and documenting every breath we have taken this term. Fun, huh? I'm sure there was something else I was supposed to be doing in my chosen career... ah yes, teaching! Maybe I'll get to that when we get through all the paperwork.

A quick text update - thanks for all the comments and advice on my 1984 dilemma. I've ended up changing my text choices for this term, and am doing a close study on Othello instead (LOVE Iago, what a legend!!) so I can give myself a bit more time to prepare a more interesting (and less snooze-inducing) comparative study program for next term. I'm feeling much better about it, so that's good. Hopefully my yr11 class enjoy Iago as much as me. One of the girls in my class told me about a Bollywood film version of Othello - anyone know any good places in Australia to pick up Indian films? I'd love to get a hold of it - as long as it's subtitled in English!

Scrapping wise, I'm looking forward to a big weekend! ScrapTherapy have their first retreat on this weekend, and I'm not going (boo hoo), but I get to stay home and run the cybercrop which is running this weekend with Julie (woo hoo!!) There is going to be a Blind Scrapping challenge tomorrow night, too, run by Scrapping4Kaytie ... I can't wait, I'm loving blind scrapping. Too much fun!

The other super exciting thing (well for me anyway) is that my kit for my first OTP class at Scrap Therapy has gone on sale - it's going to be great. The class is on May 17th, and you'll get to make a gorgeous mini album using a Kaiser crown album, and some beautiful Daisy Bucket papers. Check out the info in the forum HERE, and take a look at my cool kit - it's really good value!

Ok, I have an Othello program to finish writing by tomorrow, so I'd better go and get cracking.
Take care!
Tamara

NOTE TO SELF:

Check this out regularly.
http://lovelife.typepad.com/kalbarteski/
Especially Tiny Art 35. "I am bulletproof because I have to be".
And Tiny Art 31. I'm going to try to embrace my wobbly bits (metaphorically speaking of course).
Thanks Alison Shearer for sharing the link to this blog - love the art, it's just so inspiring!

So ... an intellectual rant. I hate 1984. Sorry, Aldous Huxley, you've utterly failed to grab me. And the rantings of your army of zealots, proclaiming your genius and wisdom, and insisting that it is a work of genius, have failed to sway me. I'm supposed to teach this to a class? Heaven help me. I seriously need to reconsider my options. What I REALLY need is a time machine to return me to a point in the not too distant past when the Board of Studies was meeting to set the new NSW HSC Text Prescriptions, and stop them from adding Brave New World into the Extension course ... then I'd be free to teach it this year to my year 11 class. What do you think my chances are of that happening before school goes back in 8 days time ... slim?? Ah well ... it's either 1984 or Animal Farm. Or, if anyone has any brilliant ideas of a novel to teach in a comparative unit with AI (Speilberg film) or in fact, with any film in a comparative unit, I'd be only too pleased to hear about it. I'm desperate!! I can't convince myself that the interminably boring passages of Winston reading "The Book" are worth ploughing through - how do I even attempt to convince a group of cynical smart 16 and 17 year olds that they should? Oh, the pain! Oh, the drama!

K, I'm going to bed now to dream of an agonizing and painful world ... of Big Brother and lack of freedom, and being 8 days away from excruciating drudgery. Oh wait, that's not a dream - that's going back to work and having to teach 1984. Can you believe Big Brother is about to come back on, by the way? The first housemate was revealed during dance tonight ... ugggh is all I have to say about that. Ugggh.

What a month

Well, holidays are almost halfway over - it's not fair! I haven't had a chance to do even 10% of the things that I wanted to catch up on, either at home, or the massive pile of work I have to do before school goes back. Arrgggh!

So, a quick catch up - I got to demo for Matisse at the Royal Easter Show at Homebush last month, with the totally gorgeous and amazingly talented Lisa Pate. She even came for a sleepover - and was SOOOO patient after being driven all over the countryside while I ran around after my son, who is apparently incapable of knowing that he needs to take his cadets boots on a cadets camp - go figure! Love ya Lisa, it was so much fun. (And yes - I was only that cool calm and collected because you were in the car - if I was by myself I would have been swearing and cursing about it!)

Kelsey turned 8 on Monday - and seriously, who knew that 8 was so much more grown up and mature than 7? It's just wrong! She seems to be so much taller than she was a few weeks ago. She has a school camp coming up in a couple of months, and she'll be away for 3 days - all these things are combining to make me feel very sad that my little girl is not so little any more. She's not too big for cuddles with mummy, though. Happy birthday sweetypie, I love you heaps! She got so spoilt - new DS games, new clothes, and her special present - her membership to the Swarovski Crystal Society was renewed, so that for the next 3 years she'll get special members' only pieces of crystal, as well as special mail. This is something my mum got both girls on their 5th birthday, and it lasts for 3 years, so every third year she does the renewal for them, and they just love it.

We have a new Stampin' Up! Idea Book and Catalogue, and it's sooooo nice!! I also earned a free stamp set from a promo that was running in February, and that arrived on Monday - I just LOVE it, it's soooo me! A whole heap of definition stamps - one for every letter of the alphabet. It's an expensive set, but well worth it - I know I'm going to use it heaps! If you are interested in a hard copy of the new Idea Book and Catalogue, email me or leave a comment - they are normally $12.95 PLUS postage, but as a special offer for special people (that's you!) I'll mail it free for you. So what's so special about the new catty? Textured cardstock. Beautiful new papers. Gorgeous ribbons. Stamps, stamps, and more stamps! New In-Color inks and cardstocks. Beautiful new papers. (Can you tell I love the new papers?) It's way too nice for words! You can check out the online catty through the links on the side of the blog.

A few Public holiday Monday reads

I just wanted to share a few links - mainly so I can come back and find them again later! This is what has been helping me procrastinate today.

In Praise of the Elephant Girls ... yep, that's me in a nutshell, so much so that I had to take a few minutes to ponder the all-round significance of it. Still kind of in shock actually.
Post Secret I revist this every so often, and there never fails to be a secret which speaks to my soul. Love it.
Journal Revolution - it's a top read, but I was totally sold by the "2008- the year of wanting to do less" pic ... OMG! So in my head. lol

K, off to do less now!

A bit of Stampin' Up! News, and a bit of a layout share!

Hi all,

well the time is drawing near for a new SU catty ... and omg, it's just divine. A few teething problems, but it doesn't make me love it any less! If you are interested in having one mailed out to you, for $12 including postage, with a special voucher included, email me at tamara_rodgers@hotmail.com! Otherwise, keep an eye out on April 1 for the link to the beautiful new Idea Book And Catalogue, so you can drool over all the new stuff ... very very pretty!

If you are in mourning for anything that is retiring, get in quick to place an order! As a special offer until the end of this month ONLY, I'm giving a 15% discount on all SU orders - but they need to get to me ASAP, and payment must be received before March 31st so I can put the orders through in time! Contact me if you aren't sure if the products you are interested in are retiring. Don't forget, the links to both the Idea Book And Catalogue, and the Summer Mini catalogue, are in the sidebar of my blog, and the Summer Mini is ending too - a lot from there hasn't made it into our new catty, so don't miss out!

Ok, so that's the advertising section of the post over and done with. Man, it's been busy around here! The girls had their easter hat/crazy hair parade on Thursday, and we had so much fun getting them organised. Tayla's hat has a whole heap of chickens around the outside, all doing different activities - there is even a chicken named after her kindy teacher! Kelsey's hair is plaited with a wire coat hanger through it, so it sticks WAY up in the air - a little hard to tell in the angle of this photo, but it was way cool. I've just noticed this is a belly button shot - that's all for you, Helen, cause I just know how much you love them! ROFL

I've been so busy with work, that it's been such a relief to have 4 days off to catch up on some scrapping, and just spend some time with family and friends. LOVING it!! Tayla was funny this morning - she woke up sulking because the Easter Bunny brought chocolate (which she doesn't really like) and was only appeased when she discovered she had new Dora pj's as well. Thank goodness for a last minute dash to Target.

My Mother in law is staying here with us this weekend, and the kids are loving it - and my grandparents are staying at my mum's house, so the kids are getting spoilt rotten this weekend! On top of that, we have the beautiful new addition to the family, Bella-Rai, just being too adorable for words ... I could so eat her up, with her cute chubby cheeks! All in all, it's been a pretty awesome easter weekend, and we still have another day to go before we have to go back to work - TOPS!!

So here is some of the scrapping - these first two were done using Sassafras Lass gorgeous papers. Sassafras Lass is the Manufacturer of the Month at ScrapTherapy, so pop on over and check out the wonderful stuff Nat has in stock, and share you Sassafras Lass creations with us!

This last one is a layout I did of my ?"$#@!!#$ 13 year old son (can you tell what kind of day I'm having with him?) This was for the Survivor comp at Chookscraps - I'm really happy with it. Still need to fill in some of those spots on the crossword though, but maybe not today ... who knows what it would end up saying?? LOL

K, I guess I should go and be hospitable ... enjoy the rest of your long weekend, everyone, and give the people you love must a big warm squishy hug, either in person, or by email. It's about time you told them how much they mean to you!

Cheers,
Tamara

Raindrops keep falling on my head

You know what I love about rain? The more you get, the more chance you have of seeing a rainbow. Today, I'm thanking God for all the rainbows in my life - they make the rain bearable!

So what have we been up to? The usual ... working, working, working, running around after the kids, working a bit more. We have a new car - well, new to us, and hopefully a decent enough P.O.S. that it'll hold together until we are a bit more financially back on our feet, and can buy something more new new!

The girls BOTH came home with special awards from school today - their school picks one person per class each week to receive a special award for living up to the rule of the week, nd both Kelsey and Tayla came rushing out of class this afternoon holding a big gold award. Too cool!

Kieran got to meet some of the dancers from So You Think You Can Dance today, on an excursion into the city ... that's not what the excursion was for, it was just a cool side-event. He got some autographs, but no photos, so here's hoping we can get some copies of the ones that his friends took.

Anything else? Hmmm ... not really! I'm so looking forward to the long weekend next weekend. I really need a break! I've been scrapping a bit, and getting ready to scrap a bit more. I did this layout recently for ChookScraps Survivor - I had been kicked off the island, but I'm back this week as an intruder!! woo hoo! I've no doubt I'll be back on Castaway Island soon, but it's a bit of fun.

If you're interested in some cool savings, Nat has a 40% OFF sale over at Scrap Therapy - way too tempting for words, really! I'm only telling you now because I stocked up on some of my fave 2scoops papers, so I don't need to race you there - lol.

Oh yes, one more exciting thing!! This saturday, I'm playing in our softball grand final! We've had such a disrupted season, with heaps of games being called off due to rain. The past couple of games have been so much fun, and we've played heaps better than we had before, so we're going in to Saturday's game ready for some fun, and not expecting anything else.

K, that's it for me - off to get ready for work tomorrow, and to try and get an early night ... I'm so sick of not sleeping properly, I'm hoping that sheer exhaustion will put me over the edge tonight!

Take care, and I wish you all lots of rainbows in your life!

A little bit of news, and a whole lot of stuff!!

Wow, it's been a busy month! The first exciting thing to happen since my last post was that Tayla, who has been hanging to start school for a year now, actually got to go. Woo hoo! No tears (not even from me!) she was just in such a rush to go that we had to force her to stop and give us a kiss before she bolted up the steps! She's super excited, too, as she's in a K-1 composite class, and has the same teacher that Kelsey had in Kindy. She's doing so well - not that we are surprised! Here she is pushing past everyone to get up the stairs - just a little bit heart breaking actually.

So what else has been happening? Hmmm ... lots! Dennis was offered not one job, but two! That was pretty cool ... so he picked one, and on Sunday he's flying to Melbourne for training, before he returns home to take over as store manager of his very own store. It's a big step up for him, and he's soooo ready for it - I'm really proud of him, and very excited for him!! Love you, babe!

It's been exciting for me on the scrapping front - lots of scrapping going on, lots of great layouts that I totally LOVE, and some super-exciting news. First, a layout share though. This first one is from the LSBS cybercrop, and was done using one of Cath's totally awesome sketches - I've been doing a lot of bright stuff lately, and I just love this! MME paper. Noice!!

The next couple are Scrap Therapy layouts - the first for the cybercrop, and the second for Scrapping with the Stars, which has just wrapped up over there. Congrats to everyone managed to complete all ten rounds, you rock!

The other cool news from Therapy is .... oh yes. I'm doing a cool series of technique step-by-steps using chalks! Check them out in the forums HERE if you want to see how totally talented I am! (Man, I really need to work on this self-esteem issue I have, don't I?? lol) I'm sure there was something else. What was it?????? Ah, that's right. I'm now the newest member of the Scrap Therapy DT - I'm a Design Therapist! How awesome is that? I'm so excited, and really grateful to Nat for the opportunity to work with some super-cool DT people over there. I'll be teaching a class on Friday 29th, to kick off a weekend of awesome step-by-steps, so make sure you check them out!

Ok, that's it for me ... I'm off to clean up my table so I can get some scrapping done. Have a great weekend everyone!

Nooooooooooooo!!!!!!!!!!

School holidays have less than one week to go ... which means that I only have one more week before I'm back at work! Have I accomplished everything I had planned for these holidays? Absolutely not. Have I had a great time? You bet your nelly I have! (yeah, I know ... I don't know where that came from either. Nelly? I don't think I even have one to bet!)

So New Year's Resolutions? Didn't make any. I have made some life decisions though, and the big one is to NOT have any expectations of my holidays! lol I've also decided to become more of a Pollyanna this year. Last year was our "annus horribilus", and it really got me down, and this year actually started with some pretty potentially awful news as well, but you know what? This year, I'm not going to let it get me down. This year, when life hands me difficult situations, I'm going to take the opportunities that they present me with, and run with them. This year, I'm going to focus on all the amazing gifts I have in my life and rejoice in them.


So that's what we did when Dennis lost his job! The company closed his store, and offered him a position at Port Kembla. Are you serious? We see him little enough as it is! So, rather than get depressed over the lack of job, we took this as an awesome oportunity for Dennis to find a much better job, that has better hours, is closer to home, and will provide him with more job satisfaction. He's been in contact with a few places, and there is a potential job that is sounding totally perfect for us, so if you're the praying type, pray away!!


I've also been focussing on me a lot more ... I've been saying for ages I wanted my hair cut, and my hair has been really annoying me (it was very very long, very very thick, and very very split!) So, one day while we were at Colo, I drove home to go with my sis to her dr's appt, and booked in for a hair cut. I'm totally loving myself sick at the moment! It's just below my shoulders, really layered, and I can't stop playing with it - two weeks later, I'm still in love with it! I've also scrapped myself a lot since we got home, which I NEVER do, and in fact I've been scrapping up a bit of a storm. Wanna see? (if you don't, why are you reading this, hmmm? You know I always share something if I can!! lol)


This one was inspired by the totally awesome Lusi's new blog ... she has this song playing, and it's kind of her theme, so check it out! This was for a CC challenge at Chooks.


This one was for a CC challenge at LSBS - and I won! Woo hoo! How could I not, though, with such a totally hot-looking picture??
This uses the new MME Out and about paper, and a sketch from Little Book Of Sketches ... there are some new sketches up at the moment, so if you need some inspiration, check it out! The more I look at this, the more I think it needs a few more flowers, but I'll see how I go ... I'll probably add some though!

This one was for a colour challenge at ScrapTherapy, who are having a month-long CC to celebrate their birthday ... thanks for having us Relsi!

And this card was for Therapy too ... cute, huh? This is using the SU Pretty Princess set, which is too cute for words ... and if you are interested, I'm having a special till the end of the month, with 20% off all SU products you purchase through me! Leave me a comment, or email me if you are interested.



OK ... I've been meaning to do this for a while! Last year sometime, I received a totally gorgeous charm bracelet from Michelle, as part of a Pay-it-forward RAK. SO now it's my turn! I haven't decided what my RAK is going to be, but anyone who leaves a comment here between now and the end of the month will go into the draw, and I'll do a PIF RAK to three lucky people! So just leave a comment to tell me how totally stunning I'm looking right now (or just to say hi, if you must!!) and I'll pop your name in the draw.

Ok, off to enjoy another blissful day of holidays ... take care!!

A quick update ...

Basically, I want to remind myself to breathe, and this is a good way! lol

So last weekend - (if you are wondering why I need to breathe, by the way, check out the schedule in my last post ... "fully hektik, as my yr10 class would say!!) It was totally awesome. Kelsey was a total star at her dancing concert on Friday night. She looked like she enjoyed ballet, but Jazz was really her thing. She wiggled, she grooved, she shimmied and shook. She totally beamed on stage, and I was so proud of her! She was so overjoyed at the flowers that Tayla had picked out for her as well, and Tay was pretty excited about that!

Up early on Saturday morning to take Kieran to cadets - he had to be there at 7am to prepare for his graduation parade. He had a fantastic time, by all accounts - I couldn't make it, as the girls had a physi comp, so we did the "split parent" thing - me and Nanna to dancing, Dad and Poppy to cadets. Kieran was one of very very few cadets to not make a mistake - what a legend!

The girls did really well at physi - you could tell Kelsey was tired from dancing the two nights beforehand, but she did her best. Tayla came first in her age group, AND won the dance award - the little groover!

Saturday night was Kieran's cadets grad dinner - he took his new girlfriend, which was a TOTAL spin out for me ... and really disappointing, too, as I wasn't there to get to see him head off for his night. The girls and I had tickets to see The Nutcracker at the Opera House, performed by the Australian Ballet, and it was totally exquisite! Tayla fell asleep halfway through the second act, but that was from sheer exhaustion, poor baby - she totally loved the ballet, as did Kelsey. We met up with some of Kelsey's ballet friends, as we'd organised tickets together as a celebration for the girls. I would so go again - totally wonderful!! The next day was my sisters baby shower - really tired, but a great day, and despite the full-on weekend, the kids managed to spend almost all day swimming in the pool. Man, I wish I had some of their energy!

So, since then - I've had a week of preparation for orientation day at work, which went really well. I've had a weekend of relaxing a little bit -not much, but just a little. And I've had another run-in with our red car. Dennis was on the way home on sunday, and it just died. After dramas getting it pushed out of the no-stopping zone it stopped in (can't it read road signs????) and trying to get it started - no luck! - we got it towed to our mechanic yesterday. Today came the bad news - it's the cam shaft, whatever that is. It's snapped. So we need a new engine. Great. Fantastic! Now where did I leave my magic wand? I'm sure I had it around here somewhere! I'm so over always being behind the 8-ball. Surely next year has to get better! Although, I'm kind of getting used to life sucking ... so, if things don't get better, at least I'm good at dealing with all this crap!

Ok, I think I've gotten some oxygen back in my lungs. Here's a layout I did last night - well, actually I started it a couple of months ago, but finished it last night! And the second one is one I did a couple of weeks ago, in about 15 minutes while waiting for Kieran to get ready for cadets - too cool!

Take care of yourselves, and take some time to breathe in this lead up to the silly season!

Bring on the holidays!

Three weeks and three days of work left to go. Three million and three things left to do before then. Arrrrgggghhhh!!

Ok, here's a quick update of where I've been, where I'm going to be over the next few weeks, and what I've been up to ... my poor neglected blog!! lol

Kelsey has been healing up really well after the dog bite -she's a trooper! She had to see an orthodontist recently too, as she has a difficult dodgy out of place tooth ... grrr. She's been doing really well, though, and I'm so proud of her. She's in the middle of scrapping a mini-album about why she loves ART - she'd probably be finished if Mummy hadn't cut her Love Elsie fabric paper the wrong way! I'll share that as soon as it's finished - it's looking pretty funky!

Kieran has been on a bivouac for Army Cadets to Somersby - he came home with feet covered with blisters, and has a throat infection, so we had to squeeze in a trip to the dr's this afternoon, on top of everything else we have to do. Bliss!

Tayla had orientation day for kindergarten last thursday, and has her second session this week - she's so excited, and coped so well! Apparently the kindy teachers are fighting over who gets to have her next year ... lol.

Dennis and I went out to dinner on saturday night ... it was my sister's work christmas party, and we had a great night. We even got a really nice picture of both of us, so that's a bonus!

So what's on for the next couple of weeks? My goodness, I'm exhausted just thinking about it!
Wednesday - Kieran's GAT presentation afternoon at school, and Kelsey's final ballet class before her concert
Thursday - Tay's gymnastics class, and Kelsey's first concert; orthodontist appt for Kelsey, and orientation session for Tayla
Friday - Second concert - we're all going to watch this one!
Saturday - Physi competition, and Kieran's cadets passing out parade - both at 11am
I'm taking the girls to see the Nutcracker ballet at the Opera House on sat. night, and Kieran has his graduation dinner as well (he's taking a GIRL ... ewwww! Tayla is most disgusted at the thought that they might kiss. lol)
Sunday - my sister's baby shower
Monday - Work, work, and more work - hopefully I'll have a chance to get some stuff organised for the upcoming thursday, which is the yr7 orientation session at work (which I'm running!!) Last cadets meeting for the year.
Tuesday - Physi disco and presentation night
Wednesday - hmmm ... actually I think it's just the usual work routine that day!
Thursday - Orientation day. I've got some "sitting and breathing" time scheduled for some point that afternoon too, hopefully.
Over the next 2 weeks leading up to christmas, we then have gymnastics presentation nights, daycare graduations and christmas parties, and lots and lots of other stuff to do, both for work and home. I'm thinking that ad where people are bidding on some time isn't looking too bad right about now!

Somehow amongst all this, though, I've been finding some time to scrap for the Scrap Therapy Scrapping with the Stars competition, and I'm totally loving the layouts I've done so far!

This one was for the latest round - the star was Charm (Charmaine Koch), and we had to use 2 pp from different manufacturers, felt or fabric, and the date and some journalling.










This one was from the Rhonna Farrer challenge - to scrap our dreams. I really like this one!










And finally, the really emotional one. This was the layout I did for the challenge set by the gorgeous Lusi Austin. I don't even really remember what the criteria was, but I know that I've never been so proud of a layout as I am of this one. There are two "flaps" to this - opening on either side of the layout to reveal a heap of journalling about my feelings and thoughts on Kelsey's time in hospital after being bitten by a dog. I really love this - every time I look at it I just get a really awesome feeling - a real sense of pride in something I've done. It's nice!





Ok, so that's as much procrastination time as I can justify tonight - off to do some work. If you haven't checked out Scrap Therapy's scrapping with the stars yet, take a look - and you can vote for me if you feel so inclined! lol
Also, if you aren't as mentally busy as me on the weekend, Little Scrapbook Shop has a cybercrop on this weekend, and it's going to be great ... check it out!
Ok, off to do some work ... take care of yourselves as this silly season kicks into gear!

Blue days

Well, it's been a while ... but I've just not had a lot of great stuff to blog about, and frankly I'm getting a little tired of all my news being miserable and depressing! But in the interests of not having the most un-updated blog on the web (yep, I'm an English teacher, can you tell???) I thought I'd pop in here and give my sadly neglected ponderings a dust off.

So what's been happening? A lot of little things, I guess, that have just compounded over the past few months into this insurmountable mess that has become my life! Man, that sounds worse than it really is - can you tell I'm in a melancholic mood?
My totally gorgeous, and totally brave, daughter Kelsey was bitten by a dog at a birthday party. She was bitten on the top lip, and had to be taken to Westmead Children's Hospital by ambulance, for an overnight stay and surgery. The poor little munchkin was so totally brave, I'm so proud of her. It was totally heartbreaking! It was the day before school went back after holidays, too, which just made it worse for her, as she was so looking forward to getting back to see her friends and her teacher. She's recovering well, and thanks to the totally awesome team at Westmead Children's, is likely to have a very minimal scar on her face, which will hopefully diminish as she gets older.
Hmmm ... a car crash with some whiplash for Dennis, a stressed out Tayla from witnessing so much drama with her siblings, a sprained wrist for me, and not enough sleep for, I don't know, it feels like a year! Total crapola, is all I have to say.

Ok, maybe not TOTAL ... there have been some bright moments. Tayla got through to the semi-finals at the Physi champion girl comp, which was even more impressive considering that they don't have her age group so she had to compete up an age! Kelsey's physi team came third, and she did so well, I'm so proud of her effort. Tay started Levels gymnastics - she had her first class yesterday, and itw as a bit scary - for me, more than her I think! She's with much older girls, and it's a two hour long class, so we are letting her try it out this term, and we'll see how she goes for next year. She was a little overwhelmed, I think, as it's a huge step up from what she was doing last term, but she really loved it once she got settled. I sat there with my heart in my throat for most of the time.

K, I think it's bed time for me ... we have a huge weekend, with a lot of stuff to get done, and I'm really just about ready to crash, so it's probably a good time to head off huh? Next time I update (which will hopefully be soon!) I'll add some pictures of some stuff I've been working on lately ... lots of cards, and lots of OTP stuff. I really need to get some new photos printed, I'm running out of stuff to scrap! lol Oh, if you're in the mood for a cool scrapping comp, check out ScrapTherapy - SCRAPPING WITH THE STARS has started, and it's very cool! I'm hoping that things settle down enough soon that I'll be able to scrap some stuff for this!
Yep, going to bed now - LOL. Bye all!

Sensational September has arrived ...

Gee, it's nice to have some good news! (Some sad news scattered somewhere, but it's ok, I'll get over it ... LOL) My grandfather and MIL are both out of hospital, and doing pretty well, considering. I've been scrapping, catching up with some friends, and starting to feel like I'm in a bit more control of my life, which is a nice change to being battered along by the storms of circumstance!



Sunday was the best day I've had in ages ... I got to spend the whole day at home, by myself, no kids around, Dennis at work ... it was just divine. I scrapped, I watched Season 6 of the West Wing, I stayed in my pj's all day. I also got a couple of gorgeous visitors - Cath and Ali, who were hooning around on their new motorbikes. Totally sexy!



The slightly sad news ... I've been in a DT comp at Scrap Therapy, and didn't make it past the second round. I don't know why things like this upset me so much, but they just do ... so I think I just need to not apply for DT's any more! I think it's because I only apply for them when I really want to be a part of the site, and it's disappointing to miss out on that opportunity. Ah well ... congrats to the talented chickies who are in to the next round, I can't wait to see what you come up with!



Ok, I'm going to go and do some more scrapping - I'm on a roll since sunday! So here are some of the layouts I've done over the past week.
This one was done using a single photo layout sketch from Little Book of Sketches - I've used a mirror image of the single page sketch to do the second page of the layout. Love these pics!

This one was from the LSBS retreat ... and it took me almost no time. Some Fancy pants rubons, a couple of strips of paper, and a cute pic - done!

This was the layout I did for the Scrap Therapy DT comp ... didn't get through, but I love the layout anyway.

Why does it always rain on me?

Wow, time has passed since my last update, huh? It's been a pretty horrific few weeks in the Rodgers household ... please don't feel obligated to read this, it's pretty sad and depressing. I'm really just posting it as a bit of an emotional purge for myself!!

A few weeks ago, Dennis got a phone call from Kieran's school ... he'd been hit in the head, was sitting up and talking ok, but they'd called an ambulance just as a precaution. At least, that's what we were told. He rang me at work, said "I'm on my way there, but it's no big deal". I just had a really sick feeling in my stomach, so went and spoke to the Deputy Principal, who let me go home early. I was on my way along the highway, heading towards his school, when Dennis rang me again - it was NOT quite as inane as it was first described to him. Dennis and Tayla had walked in to the quad, to find the paramedics putting a neck collar on Kieran, who was lying in a pool of his own blood. Another kid had gone nuts, king hit him from behind, and then kicked him in the head and back a number of times until he was unconscious, and only stopped kicking when a teacher got there. I beat the ambulance to the hospital, and saw my baby looking scared, immobilised and bloody, lying on the stretcher in the emergency room. Amazingly, he's fine physically - he ended up with some deep tissue bruising, but it's a miracle that there were no broken bones, no lasting head trauma ... thank God for that!! He's been back at school for a couple of weeks now - it's been really stressful for him, and he's getting a hard time off some total w&nkers at school, but he's coping a whole lot better than I would be! Thank goodness for the school counsellor, is all I can say - and petition your local member for more funding for counselling staff in schools!! There aren't enough of them. It's really been up and down though - some good days, some bad ... he keeps reliving the moment before he blacked out, when he thought he was going to die, and it's one of those times when I just wish I could bundle him up, run away from everything, and protect him. It sucks when life doesn't end up being what you planned, isn't it? Who expects this kind of thing when you spend so much time choosing a school for your kids??

Anyway ... yes, the school has suspended the attacker, and there are ongoing investigations ... he's been charged, and Kieran decided to apply for an AVO against him. I tell you, my boy was a total trooper at the Police Station filing his report - I thought I was going to lose it! We are still going through a lot of follow up stuff in regards to the school, and where we go from here.

The light in all of this? Kieran has wanted to go to Army Cadets for ages ... he would have prefered Air Force cadets, but it's a bit too far to travel to. So my mum offered to pay his fees for his birthday present. I took him along to check it out the monday after the attack - and it was EXACTLY what he needed. He started on Monday night this week, and he's totally in his element. It was so good to see him smile, and hear him talk about something with excitement in his voice ... I breathed a little easier that night. As much as the protective mother in me would like to see him take up a career that's a little safer (dentistry maybe??) the overwhelming joy he shows when talking about all things military is really exciting to see ... how spunky does he look in his greens??

If only that was the only tragedy in our lives ... my grandfather is in ICU as I type this. His lungs have collapsed a few times now, and he's not a good candidate for surgery, so we are basically playing a waiting game. I'm really not ready to say goodbye to him, you know? He's my rock ... when I had no father figure around, he's always been the stable man in my life. I can't envisage a world in which I won't be hearing one of Pa's infamously bad jokes any more. Yes, he's a fighter, and yes, he's beaten the odds many times before, but there can only be so many times that your body can fight through something like this before it just can't do it anymore, can't there? So, if you are the praying type, prayers for Reg would be much appreciated right now - I'd like him and Tayla, best mates that they are, to have some more time together.

What else? My mother in law is in hospital - thankfully, not as serious, and she should be home, touch wood, on Sunday. But she gave us all a scare! My sister has gone through some tests - she's pregnant, and her ultrasound and blood tests put her in a high risk group, so we are praying that they come back on Monday showing no problems. I really feel like I'm just holding it together ... and not very well, really!! Thank goodness for the LSBS weekend retreat last weekend - it helped me hold on to the last vestiges of my sanity!

On to the retreat - my shining beacon, my saving grace. I tell you, I didn't realise how totally awesome my best friends are - even those I hadn't met in person before!! These girls are the sweetest, funniest, craziest, most genuine people I've ever had the good fortune to meet, and I thank God for them. Cath, Nic, Tracey, , Michelle, Lisa, Helen, Sharon... love you all to bits! I'm waiting for some pics from everyone (I didn't take my camera, as Dennis needed it for a soccer gala day) so I'll share them later, but you can see some on Relsi's blog. I also got to meet up with some new friends - Amanda, Bon, Celeste, and the totally divine Narelle, who I just adore. I can't wait to catch up with her again - hopefully in a couple of months, if I get to Paperific in Melbourne to see her and Bon again! I can't wait.

Classes? TOTALLY worth it! The totally awesome, her royal marvellousness, Alison Shearer, taught along side the Divine Miss Lisa - 2 classes, 2 groups, 1 timeslot! They handled it so well, and had some great OTP projects for us to do!! Sunday was a cool class with Rebekka Erickson. As soon as I get any of the projects finished (they are in various states at the moment) I'll share them with you.

The highlight was definitely the PJ fashion parade - Relsi has a group shot on her blog (OMG check out my cleavage!!! lol) It was too funny - I don't remember the last time I laughed so much, which was EXACTLY what I needed. That was just after the most relaxing massage from Tracy, who'd joined us for the day to give us all some much needed stress relief - thanks Trace! I got about 3 hours sleep each night - I wasn't one of the brave few who managed to stay up all hours, but it was definitely the best sleep I've had in weeks and weeks. So BIG thanks to Cath for the best weekend I've had in a long time ... can't wait till next year!

Well, this weekend is either going to be great, or awful ... we are going to see how Pa is going tomorrow night, before I make a decision as to whether we take the kids for a drive down on Sunday to see him. I'd hate for them to miss out on the opportunity to get to see him again, just in case ... so again, big prayers for Reg!! We don't have soccer any more, so we all get a sleep in tomorrow morning - woo hoo! Oh, I forgot to mention - Dennis got a new job! He's assistant manager at a sporting goods and shoe store ... which is where his car broke down last week, and ended up costing us $500 to get fixed. Hmmmm. See? Told you it'd been a crappy month!!

Ok, I'm going to go and chase these kids off to bed, then get stuck into some scrapping. If you are still reading this, go and get yourself a drink and some chocolate - you deserve it!!

Hmmm ... pics aren't uploading - I'll come back later and add them. Trust me, they are worth waiting for!!

Back in the Land of the Living

What a busy couple of weeks! Just a quick update of what's been going on ... I'm too tired to write much at the moment.

Kieran turned 13 - I'm SOOO not in the head-space to have a teenage son, so I don't know who let that happen, but they'd better turn the clock back quickly! We decided to get him an electric guitar, and Target had an awesome one in their toy sale catalogue. I rang around the stores near us, the day before the sale started, and only Penrith had any in stock - and they only had 12. So, silly mum decided to head over to Penrith at midnight for the opening ... man, having faced that, Pamplona would be a piece of cake! I got knocked over by some psycho chick, who then ran over me with her trolley ... I kid you not, this is not some bizarre urban legend, this was my reality at 12.01am. Can you believe it?? What some people will do for the prospect of a slightly cheaper trolley full of toys that their kids will break in a day or so! I ended up getting the guitar, and headed back to the car, where I sat for about 10 minutes - I think if I had driven off, and seen the psycho walking across the street, I would have been seriously tempted to show her exactly how it felt to be run over!
Yes, Kieran loved the guitar - totally blown away, he was. So it was worth it. He got some great presents, and had a wonderful day.
The next weekend was the big one - dinner on friday night with some relatives from my side of the family, who were here from all over the country. Saturday morning soccer, which was our biggest game - Tay's team scored 2 goals!! WOO HOO!! Saturday afternoon and well into the night was an engagement party for Dennis' neice, and it was great to catch up with everyone, as exhausting as it was. It was at Tahmoor, which is just a lovely place!
Sunday morning brought the birthday party - and a trek into Milsons Point to Luna Park. We met a few of Kieran's mates at the railway station, only to discover that there was weekend trackwork, and we had to catch buses part of the way. Tayla was very excited, but also a bit nervous - it was her first train trip.
We arrived at Milsons Point, and OMG the wind was bitterly cold as we walked down the hill. It was fine for the rest of the day, but it was a scary start! Lots of rides, lots of laughter, and lots of fun was had. Kelsey, our shy quiet little girl, went mental - going on all the rides she could by herself, including the Wild Mouse and the Spider! Tayla, on the other hand, was a bit more reserved - it took her ages to build up the courage to go on the Ferris Wheel, but when she did she loved it! She also went on the Spider - screaming all the time "This bit is scary, and this bit is scary, and this bit is scary - the whole thing is scary mummy!" while she had the biggest smile on her face. I don't know how the girls were able to walk on the way back to the train - up the stairs for the slides at Coney Island about a million times. Man, you should all be very VERY scared when these girls get their licence too -you should have seen them on the dodgems! Kelsey was a little speed demon, darting in and out of traffic, chucking laps around everyone!

The special guest appearance for the day was Mr Chucky. Kieran has a love/hate relationship with fast big rides ... loves to go on them, hates what they do to his stomach!! lol The notable absence?? The digital camera, which was safely locked up in the car back at the railway station. Thanks to the lovely people at the gift shop, we now have 27 photos on a disposable camera to commemorate the day - I hope some of them turn out.

Then to the trip home. I don't know if you heard about his accident ...

This is just around the corner from us. The train/bus we were supposed to be on would have meant that we were getting home (or just here) at the time of the accident. We didn't know it at the time we were cursing the overcrowded all-stations bus we got pushed onto, but it saved us from either being here when this happened, or coming more directly upon the wreckage. As it was, we drove down the highway to a massive amount of flashing lights, and had to be redirected. It made me feel sick to the pit of my stomach. Someone was looking out for us!

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows ... how good was it? I'll leave my rant and rave post for another day (I had a totally crappy shopping experience when I headed off bright and early to get my copy of the book too!!) but I totally loved the end of the series, and had a number of gasp out loud, teary moments. Thanks for the wonderful moments, Harry and Co!

Ok, I need to go to bed - totally exhausted here, I have a bit of hay fever I think. Night all, take care, I'll try to update again soon with some pics!

Hmmm ... blogger isn't letting me put in a title for some reason, but if I was to be able to, it would be .....

SCHOOL HOLIDAYS ROCK!!



Yep, I'm having a great thing -staying up late, scrapping, spending time with the kids, catching up with some friends. Totally loving it! So, I thought I'd pop in to share some layouts that I've done over the past week or so - very bright for me, but I'm really loving them.

Love Elsie stuff ... wasn't in love with it when I first saw it, but it's easy to do this kind of funky, whimsical layout with the products. Tayla loves them!Reminisce range - too cute! I couldn't resist scrapping this pic of Kieran in his Mickey jumper with these papers.

Yes, I know, this isn't a new one - but I love it! So I thought I'd share it again. My princess, and my favourite paper range. Love it!

So some of you have been hassling me about my big secret from a few weeks ago, and today I can reveal that ... I'm going to be an Aunty! My little sis has been trying through IVF to fall pregnant, and she fell ... woo hoo! She had her scan today, and there's only one little bun in the oven (my kids were hoping for multiples so that they could share), and all is going well. I'm so happy for them both, it's too exciting for words!

K, I'm going to go and think about heading off to bed now - I'd love to stay up and scrap, but Kelsey fell off her bunk bed as she was trying to come down the ladder forwards, and grazed her whole side, so she's sleeping in the lounge room ...grrr. What am I going to do?? Take care everyone, I'll catch you later!