This LO was meant to be down the bottom, but somehow I deleted it and then when I re-uploaded, I can't drag and drop it so here it is!! It is one that I did after the Man Gotta Have Steak LO last night. Plain and simple, love it though, it's of Mia and her little friend Bella yesterday swimming! They are my little fishies!!!

Playing around with Lexi's hair yesterday and got the whole lot up!!! Talk about a laugh!! Once she rolled around on the floor for a bit, a fair bit of it was wispy around the edges, but was kept our of her eyes, I think it will be up most days from now on! Very cute!! Love her!

Alot of firsts for our bubba around here. She has decided that 'baby' food is not really cutting it anymore, so have had to put the thinking cap on... In the last 72 hours, she has tried for the first time and feeding herself, cucumber sticks, vegemite sandwiches, banana (after I saw Tatum's bubba Jasmine loving her banana last Wed night), and as you will see in photos just below, pasta, zucchini, tomato and mushroom in a creamy sauce! All foods that she can eat herself and will only be able to take small bites from and not choke. It is a great fear of mine, that she will choke on food, but she is really wanting to feed herself! And she loves it. When she had finished her pasta and veg, she just threw the bowl on the floor! Gotta love her style!! So, have been reading up on Annabel Karmel books to get ideas, and have a fair few bits and pieces now that I can give to her to have a chew on. She has also been sitting in her little rocking chair and using her stomach muscles to get into a sitting upright position so that she is almost flipping out the front of her chair! So, she is growing up... I just love watching her grow. I am sad that she is no longer a little tiny bubba, but that time is so short. I was carting her around with me tonight before I popped her to bed and noticed that she even seemed much heavier!! Beautiful Bub!!

My big beautiful girl in the pool yesterday, she thinks that she doesn't need floaties and wants to learn how to really swim! She had a friend over for a sleepover on Friday night who is 2 years older than her, and such a little fish in the water, I think Mia has gotten a bit more confident. She is settling down into school, but really needs quiet time and a good feed after she gets home. Tues night last week was hectic and she didn't eat much after school, so around 6 o'clock, things were really pear shaped around here, I couldn't wait for bedtime!! I have started playing some Medwyn Goodall music for her to go to sleep to, nice and relaxing... Have you listened to any of his music??? Nice and chilled.... Anyway, when Mia is tired it is hard to get any sense out of her,but on the whole she is just beautiful!!

Tea time tonight for Bubba Weena, pasta and veg!! So cute, I could just eat her up!!

Love this face!!

Concentration to the max!! Bless her!!

Above is a LO I did a few weeks ago, Lumpy has always been a fave of Mia's, I have HEAPS of photos of her sleeping with him... He got washed a little while ago, he was on the nose!! I love to watch Mia sleep, she is so peaceful! She gets lots of kissed while she is sleeping!! And some while she is awake too!! lol!!

Last Wednesday night I went to Tatum's for a catchup session from the workshop I did ages ago. I missed the 2nd workshop as it was held the day after Brenton's party. I love going along and learning new things. This is a special photo of Lexi after she had been woken up from her operation. Tatum and I were working it out, we said it was the Friday or Sat but it was really the Sunday so no wonder she looks so alert! Still not 2 weeks old yet, but looks so wise!! Sometimes I think I am so dumb when it comes to scrapping. I just don't really have much of a creative bone in my body. I guess I just don't think outside the square. I am happy with what I do, I just sometimes go 'DUH, why didn't I think of that?' Eg: the leaves on the flowers I just wouldn't have thought of how to do it! Just fold the paper and cut an arc!! Silly me!! I'm laughing as I type this... I crack me up!

Last night for tea, I just couldn't be bothered with making anything so Brenton had a fry-up! SO, I took photos and printed them out and scrapped them right away! He was chuffed! Steak, egg and chips, an old favourite of his! Great for the arteries... Anyway, it's basically a scraplife from the last Creating Keepsakes, page 62! Not quite the same, but similar! So thanks Ali Edwards, you enabled me to chuck this one out in about half an hour!! LOL!! I just love Creating Keepsakes, lots of great ideas, great LO's, think I'll be lifting more!!


Anyway, thanks for popping in, most of this post is for me, just to preserve memories somewhere, it's all happening around here!!
xxx

Well here is me and one of my best friends in the whole wide world! (I do have a few 'special' ones) Tracey has been in my life for 20 (eeep) years. I went out with her brother when I was 14 and used to go to their place ALOT as a teen, their Mum was always feeding me!! So, the best thing to come out of a failed teenage romance is Trace!! LOL! I haven't seen her her since we were in Adelaide in Jan. Was lovely to go to her house in the Adelaide Hills, drink Rose' and she made us a lovely curry! I love how things between us don't change, we can be ourselves and it is great. I miss her so much, as we lived in each others pockets, even after I married and had Mia.. It's hard to be away from the people I love the most. (but I DO have a few here that I love lotsa too xxx)

My gorgeous two in the car on the way to Adelaide! The girls go quite well in the car. We left here so much later than we like as Mia was unwell so we saw the Dr before we left. It put us about 2 and a half hours behind, but she was really not well with a sore ear. I was in the back with them for a fair while of the journey! Mia took my sunnies off of my head, and wore them. Very cute! And Lexi, looking cute in her car seat.

Well, the trip bought news we really didn't want. Lexi has an obstucted artery. We sort of knew that it wouldn't be good news. She is fine for the moment, but this needs to be sorted and as far as I'm concerned, the sooner the better. Early November, Brenton and I will take Lexi to Adelaide for a diagnostic catheter, which will go in her groin and up into her heart to work out what exactly is going on and then they will confer with those in Melbourne to work out a time frame for procedure/operation that will need to be done. I know she will be fine, but am very sad that she has to have surgery again. Even the thought of handing her over in Adelaide for her catheter is not something I'm thinking of yet. She wriggled that much while she was having her echo in Adelaide, her cardiologist said that they didn't get the best pictures but could tell that it had deteriorated. My heart dropped. I think about her surgery every single day, but didn't really think that it would be a possibilty once more. Reality comes around to slap you in the face.
Luckily we have had Brenton's birthday party as I don't think I could face something like that now. I am going to embrace my friends, accept support, keep calm and educate myself about what might be coming. And love love love my kids and squeeze the hell out of them everyday with love. I do that anyway, but theres always room for more, right!

xxx

My beautiful big girl started school on Monday. She loves it but it is tiring her out. She has woken Sun, Mon and Tues night, with last night being particularly not nice, she had some kind of night terror which must have been very vivid as she thought it was real. Anyway, kids get very tired as they start school so this is what i'm putting it down to at this stage!
Just a few photos of her on Monday! Her Pop helped her put her socks on and pulled them waaaay up high, but she like it like that so that's how they stayed!!

Does my dress twirl Mum??

Friday we have a checkup for Lexi at the Women's and Childrens in Adelaide. I am a teensy bit worried about it, as she still has an issue, but hopefully it won't be too much of an issue. I have been putting at the back of my mind and all of a sudden here it is!

Anyway please keep her in your thoughts on Friday, and I'll be back to let you know how she went. She really is a little bundle of joy and appears to be a picture of health, let's hope that it's all good on the inside!

xx

This has been our view for 5 maybe 6 times in the last few weeks, to be honest I have lost count now, but it is disgusting!! The dust comes inside, I have swept up that much red dirt inside lately, I really am very much right over it!!! The house has been an eerie orange colour inside, and I would much prefer the 40 degree + days to these ones... Hoping with fingers crossed that there is no more. Have been here for 4 years and NEVER seen it like this, although the weather patterns all over the place are very strange!! Anyway, while I feel for those on the East Coast... I think we win!! LOL!!

My beautiful big girl all ready for her 1st day of transition to school, naughty me hadn't picked up her school uniform yet, so this is what she wore for her first day. Mia seems to like school so far, but think she might have problems grasping that she is there ALL day, as she has said to me about coming home after lunch and then going back, but I told her she is there all day. She kind of looked at me quizzically (sp) but am hoping that she will be fine. The teacher is a beautiful lady who has reassured us that if they are upset that she will call us straight away. I am not a over protective Mum by any means, but it IS reassuring to know that if she really is sad and needs to come home she can! I can't really believe that she is 5 and off to school. I have mixed feelings, I guess. Mainly disbelief that it feels like it happened so fast!!!! Mia is just so beautiful, she seems to have really calmed down in her behaivour, not that she was ever a terrible child, but we are communicating so well... I have tried to improve my parenting skills, there is a lot to be said for patience!! She is a caring friend, loves to play with her Barbies, loves to help me cook, and i try to involve her in that, even if it is just stirring the veggies in the pot before I put them on the stove. Things take longer in the kitchen, but I would love for her to love cooking! She is away at the moment with her grandparents, it will have been a week tommorow (5.10.09) To say it has been peaceful is an understatement, but I am really missing her, and I think Lexi is too. But it is good for her to have one on one attention from her Grandparents... And apparently she has been a very good girl... LOVE HER!!! 3 sleeps and she's home!! Can't wait!!

3 weeks ago we had a really nice Saturday, and Brenton had the pool all ready so he and Mia went in, Mia said it wasn't so cold, but I wasn't about to find out! I love it that Mia and Brenton have thier time together in the pool. Lots of squeeling, splashing, jumping in and just all round good fun! So, swimming season has officially been opened at our house..

Mia and Lexi a few weeks ago, I just love Lexi's face here, she pulls it when Mia is too close or holding her too tight etc etc... VERY FUNNY!!

Another one of a few weeks ago, Lexi fell asleep like this in her cot... Mia and I quietly watched and giggled at her, her legs look quite chumpy in this photo... I took the photos, as you do, and then moved her, luckily she stayed asleep. Lexi NEVER stays under the covers anymore, I have a sleeping bag suit thingy for her which I have been putting on every night as she gets too cold otherwise... her hands are still freezing when she wakes up in the morning... bless her, she is a wriggle pot in bed!

I don't often pop the girls in the bath together, Probably as Mia gets so absolutely dirty in our backyard! I usually put Lexi in the laundry trough for a quick wash, but lately have popped Lexi in with Mia a couple of times, they both love it!! Lou Lou looks so different with her hair slicked down!

Last weekend we had a party for Brenton's 40th!! We had a dress up party which he wasn't too keen about to start with, it was My friend Kylie and I's idea. Let's make it memorable, was the thought! In the end it turned out fabulous, almost everyone dressed up! I loved dressing up in my costume, I am such a dag in my everyday life, but I just loved dressing up!! I played up for the camera at EVERY opportunity! My Dad was/is a professional photographer and took lots of fab photos for us! I gave the peace sign and a pout in almost every photo I was in! I was bought up in front of the camera, so I don't mind posing! I just loved the fact that I just was so not like my normal self! We made yummo Illusion type cocktails, and I made my own pineapple sorbet to put in them! I had a ball. Stayed up the latest I had for soooo long. 3am!! The birthday boy was in bed about 1, think all the drinkies had caught up with him! I laughed and laughed this night, and yes, it is memorable!!

Lexi eating her 1st Ginger Snap biscuit, what a hit! I love these photos... Dirty little fingers... YUM!

Lexi loves the Jolly Jumper! Love the hair flapping as she's jumping!

A couple of weeks ago I recieved this lovely canvas from the lovely Kate Mason, it's for Lexi but I am thinking that we can share!! LOL!! It is exquisite and also is one of the 1st that she made. A special gift from an ultra special person to me! I have it sitting on top of my scrap shelf, so I can see it all the time... Don't think it will be making it to Lexi's room any time soon!
As well as the canvas, we were gifted two of her gorgeous prints that she did to raise money for Heartkids S.A. I went to purhcase one for Lexi only to be told that I couldn't as other people had wanted to buy us one! Just knowing that made my day, BUT when the canvas arrived, so did TWO of Kate's gorgeous prints, one for Lexi and one for Mia! I was so surprised, so thankyou Lucy from the bottom of my heart!!! You have shown us so much kindness and generosity and it astounds me. I know we *know* each other on line but I long for the day when I can give you a hug in person to thankyou for all you have done! You are always on my mind, I am a slacker with the communication but I know you come here, so thankyou!! xxxxxx

Finally catching up with CJ's, this one isn't late, or so I thought, I didn't feel like i had it that long, but was given the hurry up!! LOL!!! Time goes by so quickly!! It is Skye's CJ and the theme is 'words that changed your life' And these words did that's for sure!

Sweet lil bubba yawn is inspired by Melissa Corbet, saw a LO with rounded corners on her blof and thought, haven't done that for a while! I was going to scraplift it totally but whenever I think I am going to scraplift it never looks the same, so anyway, thaks Melis for the inspiration!

And then I thought I'd have a play with paint, and not really in love with this LO, just did not turn out the way I thought it would. They never do for me. I wish I could get it together a bit more with my scrapping! Anyway, like I have said time and time before, it is how it is!!

And finally a CJ entry, for Christine's CJ, I threw it together as you can tell, but it's me! The topic was procrastination, a topic I am more than familiar with!! I put off everything!! Not to scrap, or do something that I really want to do, just because I just always think, I'll do it tommorow!! Hence, why my bathrooms need a mop right now, and there is washing in the tub to be folded and put away and why there is a pile of papers etc... on both my dining table AND the kitchen bench!!! Oh well, there's always tommorow!! LOL!!!!!!

Thanks for popping in if you do, and leave me a msg if you do... not in the need for loving but it's nice to know if I have any visitors anymore! I write for me, but would love to know if YOU read my absolute dribble!!

And that's enough dribbling!!

xxxxxxx

And yet another month has gone by without a post! Sorry to anyone interested in my world! Above is a photo of Mia helping her Daddy get some squid ready for tea, it was delicious too by the way! Mia still loves helping in the kitchen, my next LO that I have planned is about her in the kitchen! I'm back into scrapping but more about that later!

Sweet sisters, love this pic!!

On Thursday 27th of Aug I held a Heartkids Cuppa for a Cause morning tea at my house. Thank goodness Mum and Dad were here and for my fab friends Tatum and Danni for all of their help, it was so appreciated and we raised about $580 on the day and then with Lucy's generous donation and a donation from my cousin in Adelaide we ended up with just under $700. I was so pleased... I made a poster of Lexi's journey in life, with photos and a brief description of each pic. I had it laminated so will keep it always! I also had photos of Lexi and her heartkid boyfriend George in frames on the table for people to see! I met a few new faces, and really hope that everyone liked thier coffee, cakes, and other yummo delicacies! I felt emotional all morning, not sure why, I just was!! I wrote a piece for one of the local papers, although they edited it to shreds, I am still grateful they put it in for me... I am the Heartkids S.A. contact for here, so wanted to raise awareness, if God Forbid anyone find themselves in our situation they hopefully may remember me and I can be of some support to them, as Kate was to me... Without her to vent to I really don't know how I would have gotten through. I would have but she was a HUGE crutch for me... Love you always Kate, always a special person to me!

Tatum (L), Justine and I!

Tired Mumma and Bubba after it was over!

It was also Mia's 5ht birthday on the 28th of August, my photos are a bit muddled up here, but here is Lexi and her Daddy having a little relax time in the afternoon of Mia's party which was on the 29th!

Silly Mumma posing on Mia's birthday, trying to encourage her to pose for my Dad in her beautiful new dress that a friend of our family made especially for her, but she wouldn't come to the party on that one, although don't mind this pic of me!! LOL!!

Mia and her Birthday present stash, she was totally spoilt! By the time there are presents from Granparents, Aunties and Uncles, and Great Aunties and friends of the family aswell! And yet, tdoay she is still bored. I can't wait for school to start, she won't be bored once she starts school, or maybe she will!

Mia in the beautiful dress custom made for her by a friend of the family! This was the best of the photos, she was NOT keen for photos, and was being silly for her Poppy for some reason!

Mia had a party with 4 other little girlies, but I won't put any of thier photos up, don't think I should really! But they had a ball, here is Mia at the food table. The girls were very excited about the party food and basically sat down straight away for a big feast!!
And they put it away too!! LOL!!!!!

My Dad, (Poppy) took this photo of Mia and I've put it up as I just love it!!

And finally, I have been getting back into scrapping again, which I'm happy about. I had no motivation at all, but am feeling really inspired after doing Tatum's Workshop last Saturday, I had never done a class/workshop before, and for me, I have a lot to learn about new things, and ways to use things so it was a real treat! This is a LO I finished last night, and I really don't mind it!

A few weeks ago on a Friday night I went to Tatum's for a little scrap session, it has been a long time since we had gotten together to scrap, and I started this one. Mainly I talked and drank wine, but it was great to watch Tatum in action, loved it! And the conversation too!! I think I finished this one about 2 weeks after I started!!

This was the 2nd LO in the workshop, it was great to try different things, like doodling which I NEVER have done and to see how you put things altogether!
I love the finished result!

And because I am a bit back to front with things the 'you are our little star' was the first LO we started, and I love how it turned out too! Again, it made me think about where things can go and to maybe step outside my little square of how I scrap!

And then, this one I did the other night. I used the 3D Kindyglitz that we got in out kits at Tatum's and the line around the cloud was not meant to be smudged AT ALL, but me being me, it was impossible to not smudge it, so once I had, I went smudging all around the clouds! FUN!

Well, I hope this hasn't been too long winded for you if you happen to visit!!! Now that I'm all inspired about scrapping again and feel like hitting the dining table every night with my scrap stash, there might be more to see!!!
xxxx

!

So I've been AWOL from my blog for a while, I've still been checking out cyber land but haven't been joining in... I want to get back into CCG and the challenges on Embellished! I need a weekly diary to keep up with whats happening and when it's happening... The weeks just are flying by for me! I have scrapped a pitiful amount of LO's this year (12, I just counted) and I can't believe it! I have the will but most nights by the time I get the kids settled I just want to go to bed. I'm not much of a night owl so that doesn't help either! Anyway, I've scrapped three lately, the above one is of my little nephew Ethan, he is 13 days younger than Lexi and just such a little cutie!

This LO called Such Sweet Sisters is a scraplift of Celeste Vermeend's LO, Mama's Little Model which was in SC Vol11 No6, page78. I just loved her LO and I wanted to have a range of photos from a little photo session I had with the girls last week. I had a brainwave last week that I would just start scraplifting LO's that I like, but have since realised that while I might look to other people's work for inspiration, I don't think it's the way I want to go. I am a simple scrapper and I just have to accept that. I have no aspirations to be published, not at all interested in that, but I DO want to have great albums for my girls. I think too much about it all, just have to sit and scrap at night and get into it! I do like the way this one turned out though...

This LO was a quick one I did last night, I had printed out this big photo and wanted something to convey how I feel about these two. I am always striving as a Mum and just want to be the best for them that I can be. I'm not perfect and know I'm never going to be... but I love these two little cherubs so much!!

And now for some random photos of our lives! Above is Lexi and her boyfriend George, LOL!! He was born on the same day as Lexi and had the same heart conditions as her which is pretty rare, so we've been told. They had thier operations a day apart and went through recovery together in Melbourne and shared a room back in Adelaide, where we all really got quite close. They family live in W.A. but his Aunty lives here in the same town as us so we got to see them a few weeks back. It's so special to have this family in our lives, we share a bond now that can't be explained. I just love his Mum, we keep in contact every few weeks, and can relate to each other on so many levels... We couldn't wait to get them together for a photo shoot! We took some of them together on thier discharge day and boy, they have changed alot since then. George is my special little boy!!! And always will be. Maybe our next trip away we will have to go to W.A. to see them!!

Mia last Sunday at the playground near our house. (which means it has taken me a week to get back to finish this post) Her hair is a tangled mess, it took me sooooo long to comb out after she had her shower... A few tears from her having it all combed out. I was a slacko on the weekend and hardly combed it besides the fact she needs a trim pretty badly.

Miss Lexi Loo last Sunday aswell, she is plumping right up now since starting on solids, which she loves... she loves Mummas home made vegies and concoctions out of the Annabel Karmel books that I have inherited/bought. I love the feeling of feeding her what I've made, and knowing what I have put in there. She rarely turns food down, eating 3 meals a day plus a yoghurt if she is seeming to want more. Mia is my problem child, she won't eat a proper breakfast, doesn't help that she won't drink milk, I have taken to telling her that our bodies are like cars, we have to feed our bodies with the right fuel to help us grow well. And that if she wants to be healthy she needs to put healthy food in to make her body work well. Anyway..... she is growing but I can tell sometimes by the way she behaves that she needs some vitals in her....

THe girlies and I last Sunday too, not loving the angle of my nose, but it was the best of a bad bunch! I made it B&W to hopefully make me look abit better!! LOL!!

Did you ever have paper dolls as a child, the next door neighbours little girl had some so that was all Mia could talk about! $4.95 for a little book at the newsagent with two dolls and a heap of clothes. It kept her amused for days, I think she got her moneys worth!

These biscuits we made out of the old Green and Gold cookbook, I have my Mum's that her precious Aunty gave to her in 1962. We used the Egg Biscuit recipe, and they were yum! We decorated with egg white icing so it would set hard, Mia still loves her cooking with her Mumma, this week we made sausage rolls, they were yummo and she gets to help me which she loves. And she actually eats them. I put heaps of veg in as it makes me think that she is getting some kind of nutrients!

Lexi in a cute little hat that my sweet Aunty made for her. I just love it!!! She has also crochered a flower that matches. My cousin had a little girl 6 weeks before us, and I saw her in a ultra cute hat in some photos and loved it so Aunty made us one! Special!


Well, I am about to lie down on my couch and have a veg and read some old issues of Creating Keepsakes. Brenton is off to a bucks show tonight so am cooking myself a BIG FAT chicken stirfry, going to watch THE BEST on the cooking channel and then scrap once my little chickens are in snoozy land! Lexi slept from 8 last night until 6.30 this morning, I didn't know myself this morning, not woken in the night! Hope it's a sign of things to come, but I seriously doubt it!

Thanks for visiting if you do!!