01.08.07

Well, this past week or so has absolutely flown! I am trying to remember the details but I think between sick kids, Harry Potter, cleaning and a new idea/computer program, I can't recall all the details!

So, yes, my poor babies have been sick with flues and it hasnt been fun. Kate even had to have her ear flushed. Quite icky really. But they are on the mend, which is great!

I finished Harry Potter on saturday. I know heaps of people just loved this book, but honestly, I felt a little, well, disappointed. I don't know if it is because it is the alst book in the series and I felt alot was left unexplained, or if it was the ending, or if it was some characters that died I think they should have lived. Not sure really. But my overall impression at the end of the book was disappointment. Oh well. I am going to start from book 1 again as I am sure I have missed lots of vital information though.

So I have been wanting for a while to dabble in hybrid scrapbooking. I mean like really hybrid scrapbooking. So I have been playing around in Illustrator and wow, that is one cool program! You can do some really cool stuff in it! I have been thinking I might start with making some digi papers firstly, some boy papers and some wedding ones as I think there are more girls papers than anything! If I like them, I might sell my soul and peddle my wares but I have to see what I come up with first! I have no idea how to make elements yet or anything, but I am sure I can find some tutes on the net, afterall, you can find almost anything on the net! LOL!

So on saturday we decided to head out to Toys R Us and buy us some kites. Lucky we ended up buying the $3.00 Bratz one for Kate as the expensive on we picked up had a piece missing. Grrr. *note to self - exchange kite* The kids enjoyed it and so did we, to be honest. But we couldn't stay out long as Kate started coughing in the crisp air so we cam home again. Hopefully it will be windy this weekend so we can go and play with the kites again.

So we have a family room in our house. It is furnitureless as we never had a family room before so we didnt have enough furniture. On the weekend we decided to go shopping and we got a new leather lounge, tv unit and coffee table. Very exciting stuff and even better that it gets delivered this friday! We have decided to put the old stuff in the family room so the new stuff doesnt get wrecked! As well, painting on the baby's room is going well. I am happy that I ended up getting a lighter pink because even still it sure is bright! It will tone done once the furniture goes in though probably. It still needs another coat but then it is done. Quite exciting! I am still getting there on the curtains, just have to hem them now but I was too tired yesterday to finish them off and had a nap instead.

I was very excited to find my name pulled out of a draw for one of Mel's pin cushions! How exciting! I can't wait to get it! The funny thing was, I was looking at them on her blog and I thought, you know, I should make myself something like that! And now, I dont have to! Very cool! Thanks Mel and Bella!!! :)

I have been trying to scrap but I am just not liking the results. Grrrrr. I am undecided if I will enter the FK Awards of Excellence, we shall see. I loved my Masters entry, but I cant pull anything else together that I love. Oh well. I still have this month to do 5 layouts which shouldnt be too hard *cough*.

Anyway, I am procrastinating here, I really have to get to the shop to buy some dinner, I might head over to Spotlight and maybe even go and see my sister and baby Sarah. Dunno. I could stay and clean, but nahhh that doesn't interest me in the slightest. I really dont feel 100% though, I woke up with a headache and felt pretty crappy at work last night, just burning eyes and dull headache, but I am sure it is just all tiredness. Ok, must go, got stuff to do. Not that I can be bothered.

Hmmm, not an overly exciting post, but thanks for dropping by!!! And if you do drop by and get this far, leave me a wave as I would love to know who drops in from time to time! Thanks! :)

22.07.07

We have a new baby in the family! No, not mine! :P My sister had a little baby girl, Sarah Jacqueline, on thursday 19.07.07. She is so tiny! She was born at 18.16 weighing 2.7kgs and was 48cm long. She is so cute and my sister seems to be going well, she had to have an emergency c-section. Instead of flowers I made some muslin wraps and tied some helium balloons to them, I also did a birth announcement for the Daily Telegraph.

Well, I am 26 weeks now. It is going quite fast. I am feeling heavy though. The baby is lying low in my uterus and so it often hurts. It's all good, as I would rather that than having little feet in my ribs. All in good time I guess as the baby is still not head down.

So I got the new Harry Potter book yesterday. I have started reading it but I am a little tired so I haven't really gotten into it much. Besides, today we did some yard work and did a trip to the tip. The previous owners just left so much junk lying around the yard! If we ever buy another house, I am going to stipulate that nothing be left behind! Talk about a pain in the butt! We have found all sorts of unusual things that had just been thrown under overgrown shrubs. And also, grass clippings do NOT break down if they are left in your yard! Grrr! But, it is a work in progress.

Speaking of work, we got some paint the other day to paint the babys room. Pink, of course! LOL! Steve had to fill a few holes and dents but it is ready to be painted now. It is very exciting, purely because we can paint! With no one's permission! Exciting stuff.

I scrapped the other day too! I started this layout before I stopped scrapping, so back in january. It's nothing special, but I just loved these photos of Luke. It's about how he just doesn't stay still, even if I ask him nicely! But, this is him, all the time, not just when I want to take photos!

I am feeling much better now, I am still blowing my nose like nothing else, but I feel better and that is great. Luke is sick now and Steve thinks he may be getting sick again. Once again, Kate has escaped it. I am sure she is the one bringing the bugs home!

Well, nothing much else is happening here. I have to go to the shop to do some shopping now. Boring stuff, but it does need to get done. So, thanks for dropping by and take care! :)

17.07.07

Monsters In The Closet Challenge!

Ok, so this is the next challenge over at Memory Bugs!

The details:

At one stage or another we have been frightened by something. Whether it be a phobia, or a childhood phobia (like monsters) or something that has just freaked us out (I get freaked out by maggots!). This weeks challenge is to get that memory down! This layout doesn't have to be about you though, maybe you have a funny memory of your sister jumping on a chair because she saw a mouse, or maybe your child gets scared every night from the dark. Whatever the scare, get it down on a layout! It might be funny to look back on in 10 years time and have a good laugh!

Now, I do have a childhood fear. I used to hate flushing the toilet at night or if I was home alone. I would always think that it gave my location away if someone was to jump out and grab me. I would bolt from the bathroom to the loungeroom where I was deemed 'safe'. I am not sure if anyone in my family noticed that I did this. LOL! Funny thing is, not that I find it particularly funny - I still do it!

So have a crack at this challenge and post it over at Memory Bugs to be in the running for a $10 gift voucher! :D

So, what gives? I am posting at night? Well, I am unwell so I am having the night off work. It would seem that Steve was a sharing caring kinda guy and gave me his cold. Of course it is a virus, so there is no fighting it, but darn I wish it would go away! I think Luke is also coming down with it. I heard him sneezing earlier. I hope not. I feel terrible. I wouldn't wish this on anyone!

Last thursday I decided it would be nice to buy some hot chips and take them to the park and have a picnic. The kids really enjoyed laying at the park, even if there were some young girls there who hadn't had their brain food that morning. You see, they had taken their dog, a poodle, to the park and it was getting frightened by the kids and they had the nerve to ask some kids parent not to play near the dog as it was frightened. Umm hello?! I just said, if the dog is frightened it shouldnt be there. Not long after that they went home. Oops, I hope it wasn't anything I said! LOL! Anyway, this happy snap was taken with more ass than class as the kids were actually spinning around and around on this thing when I took this photo. It was making me dizzy just watching them! But, kids being kids, they love this ride out of all the equipment there.

So, I did the sadest thing ever on sunday - I went to the movies - by myself! LOL! I quite enjoyed going by myself actually (even if I did feel a bit looserish! LOL!) I went and saw Harry Potter. I have to say, this movie was by far better than Goblet of Fire. I am so looking forward to getting my hands on that book on saturday! It will be sad to see the end of Harry, but something else will come by and fill the void I guess. Hopefully anyway.

I did end up taking the kids to Lollipops on monday and we were there for like 3 1/2 hours! The kids really enjoyed themselves, even if our mini hot dogs had no bun, just 4 cocktail franks, seriously, whats the go with that?! LOL! But it was fun and even though I wasn't feeling well, I tried to make it fun for the kids by going on the teacup ride and pushing them on the flying fox and throwing balls at them in the ball pit. Fun stuff.

And today - the beginning of term 3 for Kate. And we had a fight after school which involved me buying Luke a MilkyWay while Kate missed out. I don't know what it is with her attitude at the moment but I gave to like 4 chances to say she would a MilkyWay but she refused as she wanted something else. I thought, I am too sick to be fighting but there is no way I am giving in. So I didn't. Too bad, so sad. And Kate went without. Maybe next time she will be grateful for what she is offered.

And with that, I am going to go to bed and hope this virus goes away.

Take care! :)

12.07.07

I really didn't mean to leave it a week between posts. I really have to be more vigilant and update more often as I tend to forget the things I did 7 days ago! LOL! No it is not pregnancy brain, it is just normal Beth brain!

I went and picked Kate up sunday from my Grandma and Pops, so Kate's great-grandparents. They loved having her, I think it keeps them young at heart when they visit or are visted by their great-grandkids! ;) Although Grandma told me she did have one run-in with Kate. Over food. Nothing new there. Kate apparently was going to 'tell my mummy on you' so Grandma said, there's the phone, but surprisingly, I didn't get a phonecall! LOL! ;) I told Grandma she did the right thing. You see, I am such a horrible mum, I absolutely refuse to make different meals for the kids. If they are hungry later on they can have a piece of bread. Kate has a habit of not liking everything thats put on her plate. I know darn well she eats it, but she likes to tell me she doesn't like it. Drives me crazy!

So anyway, I picked up Kate and I asked her to tell me a few things she liked or did and this is the answers I got:

1. I liked drawing

2. I like playing with my toys

3. It was good

4. I liked it

5. I talked to Grandma

6. I sat next to Grandma when I had breakfast and lunch and dinner

7. I liked buying stuff (she only had $5!!! LOL!!)

So I have my sisters baby shower on this weekend. I tried shopping twice in the last couple of weeks for it, and all I ended up buying was stuff for my baby! I came home on the weekend with a cot quilt, 2 sheet sets, a little shirt and a couple of Wondersuits. I also laybyed a few things like a baby bath and some other little things. Then I had to go out again and buy something for Fliss. I did eventually. I am hopeless. All those little pink things are just too cute!!!

I finished my Masters entry and it went postal on tuesday! I am actually really pleased with my projects this year. Last year I was a little ho-hum on my layouts, but this year, I think they are the strong point of my entry. Now that I am 'back in the groove' my house has gone to ruins! LOL! It is going to take me all day to clean it top to bottom! Having Kate home does not help either. She likes to spread things from a*hole to breakfast time.

<----It was Steve's birthday yesterday. 31 years old. Here he is opening his present. He got an in flatable life jacket and a Quicksilver jacket. I spent way too much money on him, but I have a slight tendancy to forget about his birthday and it always a last minute rush. I even baked him a cake and he got to have whatever he wanted for dinner - he chose his Grandma's omlette recepie. They are yummy, but kind of like a cross between a pancake and an omlette. LOL! He loves them though!

So yesterday we promised the kids we would take them to Lollipops Playland. No worries. We get there at midday. I struggle to find a car park and end up parking illegally. We walk inside and I am greeted by the loudest room ever, worse than the Nickelback concert I swear! Anyway, I look at the equipment and fair dinkum, the kids are almost at a standstill! There are that many kids in there it is not funny! There is no way I am letting my kids go in there! If there was an emergency and we had to be evacutaed, they would be trampled to death or lost! It wasn't worth it. So I made a deal with Kate and Luke, we will go back on monday as it is a pupil free day and we will go to McDonalds instead and then shopping for daddy's present. They accepted. Afterall, they did get to have McDonalds midweek! LOL!

So on the way home we went to the cheap shop and bought some craft supplies. The kids have been kept busy ever since! There is nothing quite like some coloured paper and glue! ;) LOL!

Well, I better get going, I have promised Kate I will watch her 'Cat Circus' which in other words is just me watching her play with the cat! LOL! But it has kept her amused and occupied while she has been practicing her routine, and I have been able to write this post!

Thanks for stopping by and take care! :)

05.07.07

Run, don't walk, over to Memory Bugs and check out my new challenge section. Woohoo! LOL! I was so excited to be asked to set these fortnightly challenges as I love setting challenges! These are not your normal challenges though. I find challenges that restrict what product and colours you use hard to do. So, I went in a different direction. If you upload the layouts to the gallery you can be in the running to win a $10 voucher. I will also post the challenges here because I think they are fantastic! (if I do say so myself! LOL!)

The Not Quite Perfect Photo Challenge!

Yep, we all have these! LOTS of these! The blurry ones, the ones where not everyone is looking the same direction, the ones where the composition is just off balance. But these are some of our most favourite photos because of the people in them, or the story they tell. Scrapbooking doesn't
have to have perfect photos all the time. So go on, scrap that photo. You've got nothing to lose, except the precious memory behind it! Any topic.

So, for some strange reason I woke up on monday and decided that I just had to enter Masters. I know. I have spoken about this alot. I thought the due date was July 31st. No. It is the 13th. So I have set myself a challenge to get this done! I have almost finished my mini album. About to start on my storage idea which is expanding on my original BTP idea. I have my layouts in my head so hopefully they wont take long. So, well, I am scrapping. Wow. I even set up my scrapping table yesterday as I need it to take photos of my storage idea. DH came home and just shook his head! LOL! The house is going to shambles though and I am resisting the urge to go and clean it! LOL!

So we went out on the boat the other day. Steve bought this boat just before we moved and this was the first time we went out on it. He has spent many an hour doing modifications to it. You see, he bought the hull new which mean it was just that, the hull. No lights, no nothing. So he has put in a couple of little floors to make it easier for him to fish off. He has connected all his lights up and wired it all up. He has carpeted the seats, which I tell you, make for a much more comfortable ride! LOL! He really has put his little heart and soul into this thing for the last 6 weeks. It looks really well done too. It better as he is not getting another boat for a very long time.

<----Luke came with us. He likes the boat although he doesnt like the sound of the motor, but he like going fast. Speaking of Luke, we have had a really nice week so far. I do miss Kate terribly as she is at Grandma and Pops, but it has been nice with just me and Luke and not having to do the 9am and 3pm school rush! We have been doing stuff. Nothing much really. Just stuff. Painting, playdoh. Stuff. Although I wish I didn't get up in the morning with him watching Saving Private Ryan. That movie has now been confiscated. He is really into guns but he is 3 and does not need to be watching these things. Hmmm. Right now I am looking at him and he is using his leg as a gun trying to shoot me. Sigh. Butter wouldn't melt in that mouth now, would it?

Well, I am off work tonight as Steve has gone away for work. I like work. But I also really like having a night off every now and then. Especially since I have scrapping to do! ;)

Well, the weather is wild here today. I am not planning on going out in it at all! I am not even hanging out the washing for fear it will be blown off the line! Such wild, wild weather lately.

Ok, I better go, my kitchen table is calling my name to go and scrap and I will con Luke into painting with me! Thanks for stopping by! :)

02.07.07

Wow, another week has passed us by and I feel like I have got nothing done! This year is zooming past and unfortunately there is nothing I can do about it. I feel a bit sad in a way. You see, after Luke we had decided that we weren't going to have anymore children, so when I fell pregnant I thought to myself that I will really savour these moments. You know, really enjoy what my body is going through and what it is creating. Well, the first 3 months was a washout with tiredness and morning sickness. Then the house move. Now, settling in (yes I still have boxes to unpack LOL). I feel like it has flown by and I haven't had a spare moment to stop and really take it all in. Sure, I lie in bed feeling the baby (who I have dubbed Amy because that is the frontrunner in names!) move and kick, and even Steve feels it, but I haven;t actually sat down and thought about it much.


Here goes I guess...


I am really scared about having a baby around the house. There will be almost 4 years between the new bubs and Luke. I am going back to work quite early after I have the baby (night work luxury, also so I can keep this house! LOL!) and I worry Steve wont get all the sleep he needs but I guess we will both be suffering from lack of sleep so I can feel comforted by that.


I am scared about the impending labour. The baby has to come out sooner or later in one way or another. But I really dont feel like going through pain again. Kate was posterior so I have experienced a very long and painful labour with the assistance of pethidine and with Luke, he was pretty quick with gas for only a couple of the worst contractions. So as far as I am concerned, I have had my fair share of pain and I really dont want to go through it all again.


But it is like that incontenance pad ad, isn't it?


Yes I've paid the price but look how much I've gained.


*Note to self - continue regular keegal exercises*


I guess it is normal to get scared. I do have another 4 months of pondering the scary side of things.


I also have 4 months left to look at the positive side of things. I cannot wait to meet my new little angel. I wonder if she will look the same as the other two, who looked really alike at birth, and still do! I wonder if she will be a great little sleeper like the other two. I wonder if she will be a happy and contented baby like Kate and Luke both were. I guess I am just wondering if she will be another perfect little addition to our family.


I am excited. But I just feel overwhelmed by it all every now and then.


Other baby news - I have picked out a colour for the baby's room. I have bought some material to make some curtains aswell. Also so muslin to make some wraps. I might do the wraps today actually. Also today, I have to go to Bunnings to pick out a colour to paint Kate's room. I have already got Luke's colour picked. Hopefully I will get the paint sometime this week so I can get started on that.


Speaking of painting, I have decided afterall to pull my finger out of my behind and enter Scrapbooking Memories Masters again this year. SO I have already started some of my projects and well, I am quite taken by paint at the moment so I am sure it will feature heavily in my projects. Now just to get some nice photos of the family!


Kate has gone away to my grandparents house for the week. She loves going there as she loves being doted on! They live in the Blue Mountains so they might even get some snow. While I am sure it is pretty and all, I think it is all just a little too cold for me! LOL!


<--- And here is a picture of my lovely two taken the other night while I was at work. So this is what they get up to while I am not here! LOL! Gosh they are dags, aren't they?!


Steve and I have been together for 9 years tomorrow. Wow, that sounds like such a long time, but it has gone so fast! We have a good relationship, we barely fight and we usually end up agreeing to the same things. We take each other for granted alot of the time, but at the end of the day, we are there for each other. I don't think I showed him my layout I did of him at Kiwiscraps, it was soppy and made me want to cry (but of course I will blame the pregnancy hormones LOL!) and it said, if I die and I don't make it into heaven, thats ok, as I have already experienced heaven on earth. I really believe that. Ok. Enough soppy stuff. LOL!


Well, I better go, as I have to bo and buy some fruit and vegies and buy a birthday present for Steve's brother and a baby shower present for my sister who is due 12 weeks before me!


Thanks for stopping by!!!!! :)