Like It or Lump It

I now have my fave music on my blog..yay! I think it's a lot of fun but if you don't like it..turn the volume down ;)
Well we went bed shopping with the twins today, found some awesome bunk beds etc but the trouble was they didn't seperate into single beds, so at this stage we have nothing but are open to several ideas and the thought that it may just be a case of 2 single beds for the forseeable future.
The twins were absolutely perfectly behaved despite it being a lot of running about. Scarlett really enjoyed it and everytime we got in the car again would ask "More beds?" and get excited when we agreed to look for some in another store.
Abbey stayed the morning at Mum's and just after lunch we had run out of shops to look in and dropped back to see her, we then left the twins there to play while G and I zipped to the local shopping centre for a few bits and pieces, including ordering some flowers for Nana's funeral. We had some lunch, and then looked about for something decent for Scar to wear to the funeral but came home fairly empty handed on that front. I was exhausted by the time we got home again at 4.30pm so dozed on the couch while the twins played around us and was very grateful we had left over lasagne for dinner.
Looking forward to seeing my brother tomorrow as he is flying in for the funeral and staying a couple of days. We aren't really close at all, but we don't not get along either so am looking forward to seeing him.

History In The Making....

..but for all the wrong reasons. As a keen genealogist I used to think it was fabulous when I found new dates to add to my family tree but now I am not so sure.
Yesterday morning, around 8am my Nana passed away.

I am not sure how I feel about it all at the moment, so many thoughts in my head, so much anger towards my mother who will just milk this for all it's worth in her usual selfish way, so much relief that my Nana is no longer suffering and so much sadness that Nana had been suffering dementia and Alzheimers for so many years that she never got the chance to know and recognise her great-grandchildren.

From an amazing and vibrant young woman, to a frail and forgetful old lady, it just doesn't seem fair.

Rest peacefully Nana.

Coming or Going?

Well my Nana is still with us, that's the good news, she even woke up from her morphiene induced sleep after just under 24 hours. She was able to open her eyes and look about, and later in the morning had a cup of milky tea, and a few spoons of runny custard. Her nursing staff was astounded as they hadn't really expected her to open her eyes again, let alone try to ingest anything! We are still just playing a waiting game to see what happens, I don't expect there to be a miraculous recovery but there again I wouldn't put anything past my Nana! My bet is she is holding out until September for her 90th birthday just so she can have cake.
Gareth thinks she is just like my mother and can't seem to make her mind up one way or the other!

Anyhow for something completely different and less depressing I feel I just have to share this link The Black Doves it's my cousins band and I think they are going to do amazing things on the live music scene both here and interstate!

How Quickly Life Can Change

I don't even know how to start writing this post. This morning I woke up and was soooo excited as G and I had planned to take the twins shopping for their big kid beds, such a big milestone going from cots to beds. Shortly after 8.30am the phone rang, it was my Mum to tell me my Nana had taken a turn for the worse. After much dithering on my Mum's part I got us ready, picked my Mum and Abbey up (Ab was due to spend 4 nights at my Mum's house) and headed for the nursing home. We arrived around 11.40am. Nan was in immense pain and I decide it best for the kids not to see her but Ab insisted she wanted to so I took her in for literally about 2 minutes but it upset Abbey so much she couldn't speak. I got Gareth to take the kids home and wait for my updates. Our GP arrived about an hour later, but there is nothing we can do for her, her heart is failing and nothing will fix it. It may take up to 48 hours for her to pass away, and it's horrible as all we can do is sit and wait. The morphiene made her so much more peaceful and she eventually fell into a more restful sleep and remained thay way until I left at 5.20pm.
When G picked me up the kids came in to see Nana, and I think it made Abbey feel better to see her resting quietly, and I felt glad the twins had been able to come in even if Nan wasn't aware.
We spent a strange afternoon at her bedside, my mother, myself, my Aunt and Uncle and my two cousins popped in also. It was good to be together, sharing stories, teasing each other and remembering what an amazing life she has led during her 89.5 years of life.
She was born in Madras, India, she served in the Army, rode elephants, hunted tigers, her father was a naturopath and they led a very privileged life in India. She married my grandfather, who was in the British Army and they moved to the UK to Romsey. When my grandfather died in 1982 she moved to Australia, she went riding in a hot air balloon in her 70's and also made a trip back to India to see her sister. She has 5 grandchildren and 8 great-grandchildren..so in all she has led an amazing life.
Now that I am home I am feeling quite dazed by everything, I seem to not be able to concentrate on anything and hence I guess while I am getting all this out now on my blog so that hopefully I can sleep tonight instead of being driven mad by thoughts whirling through my head all night. Forgive me if it takes a few days to update here but I feel we may have a rough week ahead.

Completely Distressed!

It's been a strange day today. It started off with my cat being taken to the Vet this morning. She's been pulling at her mouth for a couple of days (according to my Mum whose house is where my cat lives) and it seemed best to get it checked out.
She's an elderly cat I guess at 15 years old, but I don't think of her as old, maybe because if I did then I would have to admit I have owned her since I was 17..and that would say a lot about my age!
It turns out that she is in very good health, and the mouth issue was down to a rotten tooth that had split...my poor fluffball! All her other teeth are fine though so this hsould be a bit of a one off event at least for the forseeable future. I've been on tenterhooks all day, as despite the fact she and I haven't lived together since 1998 I still consider her my baby and I haven't been abl eto stop thinking of her..was very glad when the Vet rang and said all had gone well!

Most distressing part of today was my fab mate Chris and I were chatting, and she talked me through distressing some of my digital papers..a look I have been trying to achieve for months!! I haven't been able to stop playing about with it all day and distressing,sanding and generally grunging up everything! I am sure I have loads of learning still with it but I can do it now ..and it actually looks shabby instead of crappy! THANKS CHRIS!!

Not much else to say now, looking forward to curling up in front of the TV to watch Survivor and ER tonight..it's very cold and wet here so a night in front of the telly suits me fine!

The Day After The Night Before

I feel like I am in recovery mode. It's been a terribly lazy day here today and I am loving it! In fact it is pouring down with rain, the twins are asleep and G has taken Abbey to the cinemas to see Ice Age 2, so i am sitting here stuffing my face with Hazelnut chocolate and scrapping (well trying to!)

Last night's Curry Night was a huge success. Everyone had a great time, there was heaps of food to go around, many bottles of wine were consumed and I don't think I have laughed so much in a long time. The kids behaved beautifully, and the twins even decided to nibble on some curry here and there whilst sitting on various people's laps. They went to bed pretty well considering that where we entertain is right near their bedroom door. Abbey eventually put herself to bed at 9.45pm so it was quite a late night for her as she is usually in bed around 8pm each night regardless of school holidays/weekend etc

Of course yesterday was also Easter Sunday, and the kids were completely inundated with chocolate. I kid you not they will still be eating it in August! Abbey is not one to sit and gorge on chocolate, she eats it bit by bit over a long long time and is also fab at sharing it out with everyone. Given the chance I think the twins would have scoffed chocolate until it came out their ears if we had let them! My Mum of course just had to buy the kids bunny ears and they haven't stopped hopping around the house since, everywhere I turn is a little bunny bouncing along!






Am looking forward to a quieter few days ahead now and getting rid of this head cold fully and resting a bit more, and maybe even regaining my scrapping Mojo! My kit I started the other week is in desperate need of "something" and I don't know what..am starting to wonder if I like it at all or whether I just need to think outside the square a bit more with it. I think it's the elements that are bothering me as I quite like the papers.
On the plus side while I am stuck with that kit I have been busy working on a few tidy up type jobs and re-naming bits and pieces etc. I should really take the time to sort through my scrap folder but it's such a huge job it scares me. It would really streamline my scrapping though (and clear some space on the PC) to do it even bit by bit would be something right??

Anyone Miss Me?

It's been ages since I blogged, not because I had nothing to say but more that I didn't have the energy to do so. Now that I have the energy I don't recall what I was going to blog about anyway.
I've been up and down all week with a head cold, not the worse cold I have ever had but enough to kill off my scrapping mojo and make me feel fairly blurgh. I did manage one LO earlier in the week....

Font used: Curlz MT

All papers made by me

Brushes made by me using Lisa Wells' Flower and Swirl Doodles.

This picture was taken in the same set of pictures from my Miss Attitude LO I did of Scarlett the other week.

That's pretty much all the scrapping I did this week. In between feeling crap I have been trying to get the house straight as we are having a big curry night here tomorrow night and I needed to get some extra stuff done for that. It was G's birthday on Thursday..the big 33! We went out to dinner at our fave Mexican restaurant, Zapata's on Melbourne Street. My cold was playing up big time but the food was still awesome, and the company was even better. We ate rather too much but hey, we don't get to go there too much lately and it's worth feeling over full.

Today we are off to finish off the Easter shopping while Mum watches the kids. Have certainly been spoiled this week with time off from the kids, still it's school holidays here now so just as well I had a break before they started. Ab is going to stay at Mum's next weekend so will just be me, G and the twins which will be nice, and Ab will get some extra attention and treats etc from her Nanny so she will be thrilled. I'm hoping to go bed hunting for the twins as I am feeling it's getting to that time now.

Last night they went without their night time bottles for the first time! Went quite well considering, Scarlett didn't fuss at all and Joe sulked for a while before finally drinking his milk from his sippy cup. I am so glad to be getting rid of bottles completely! They stopped having daytime bottles when they turned 2, but we just couldn't quite kick the night time bottles. Even until recently Scar wouldn't drink milk from a sippy cup, only water but just in the last couple of weeks she has started asking for and actually drinking milk from her cup. As you can imagine over 2 years with twins we have washed a LOT of bottles and I am not sorry to see them go. Only single beds and toilet training to go and we'll be out of that baby stage well and truly in no time :)

Now that Ab is on school holidays I am thinking of giving toilet training a go with the twins to see what happens, if they completely reject the idea then I will not push it but I did buy some Dora undies for Scarlett and some Wiggles jocks for Joe to help encourage them along.

Ab's done quite well with her school report this term. Unfortunately she was away when they did the maths assessment so I have no clue how she is doing with maths. She is awesome at literacy based subjects but I don't know how she goes with Maths. I have an interview set up with her teacher next term and will discuss it then in more detail as it's just not something I know how she is going with. I love that she can read well etc..but can she do basic maths?? We bought her a new Beanie Kid to show her how proud we are of her efforts over the term, both at school and at swimming. Last week in her swimming lesson (which I didn't go to) she jumped off the diving blocks into the deep end of the big pool! Not bad for a girl who only a few months ago cried her heart out at the thought of even having to go in the shallow end of the big pool!

Anyhow I am out of time, must get kids dressed and myself ready to go out before my Mum gets here..will try to be a better blogger this week!

Innocence Lost

Last night I had a life changing experience. The kind of experience that makes you glad you shared it with someone you love so completely and deeply that you will always feel safe as long as they are by your side. I admit at first I was very nervous, but G put me at ease right away. He's done this kind of thing before, but this time he was taking me with him and I was feeling waaaay out of my league. This was no minor league event, this was the real deal and I knew it was going to be something big, even now some 12 hours later my mind is still whizzing around with thoughts of it all and some moments are just completely lost in the haze of my head.
I have officially now passed the test and it will only get easier from here (or so G assures me) I am now a certified Rock Chick!
Yep we went and saw The Darkness play at Thebarton Theatre last night and it absolutely went off! Now bearing in mind my last concert I went to back in Dec was Hillary Duff, and my previous concerts over the years include the likes of Kasey Chambers, Keith Urban, Take That, Janet Jackson and Kylie..you kinda see where I am going with this huh? It was a HUGE change of scene for me. In some senses it was like a whole new planet and it was LOUD. It took me more than half an hour to hear properly again and my ears are still ringing just a little.
It was a great show, though I think they did all their best songs in the first 30 minutes! Justin the lead singer I must say is a great showman, he knows how to entertain a crowd unlike so many of the performers out there these days and the rest of the band seems just as comfortable up there and interacting with the crowd, and yes it was a crowd..in fact it was a sell-out..which only added to the atmosphere.
All up a great night, and the first night G and I have had out in months and months. The kids all behaved really well for my Mum and went down to bed beautifully which is encouraging to know she was able to handle the 3 of them.

So here it is Sunday morning, and I woke up with black panda eyes, scruffy hair and the satisfaction of no longer being a Rock Virgin.

Time Really Does Fly!

Seriously I cannot believe it is the weekend again already, I guess I have been so busy with designing the last couple of days that it seems like suddenly the weekend is just here again!
It's a good thing actually as the kids are driving me a bit crazy with their fighting so far today so G has taken Abbey to do the grocery shopping just to split them up a bit. Her Tamagotchi needs a new battery so it was pretty easy to get her out the door to the shops. The bad part was it took ages to settle the twins down again as they hated that they got left behind. They stood at the baby gate with tears streaming down their faces, holding up their shoes and trying to get G to take them with him.
I eventually settled them with "Finding Nemo" on DVD. Of course G just rang which is when they realised I had crept away to put some more washing on and then they wouldn't let me out of sight again...until I gave them some mini cheezels in a bowl to nibble on.
Scar seems to be on a major learning spurt with her speech again. Over the last couple of days her speech has become much clearer, longer sentences and she is now counting to 5 all by herself! She is naming the colours red,blue,green,yellow, orange,purple,pink and black with about 90% accuracy.
Yesterday when they were supposed to be eating their lunch I went to check on them and she came running over with her hand patting her butt shouting "Mummy I done a poo again" I was pleased for so many reasons, she was communicating with me which means I don't have to guess what she wants and maybe tantrums are nearing the end (to some degree anyhow), she's aware of what she did (maybe toilet training is in sight??) and she is expressing herself so clearly. I was so proud of her. Today she told Nanny on the phone "Joey fell and banged head on drawers" She's definitely a story-teller! She's always the first one to dob on her siblings and her shouting "Joey spitting/pushing/hit etc" or "Abbey is a meanie" is almost a constant sound in our house, oh and let's not forget the other favourite " I do it" *sigh* I don't think there is any easy to teach a 2 year old to tie their own laces but gee she sure tries!

Designing my new kit is going well, almost too well..I have to whittle down 26 papers to at least 15 or less! Next week I shall start with the elements and see where they lead me. I also have some previews to re-do, files to zip and name etc etc. It's such amazing fun and I am learning so much all the time, I love that my brain gets to function on more than just household or motherhood duties.

Speaking of household duties, sounds like the washing machine has finished...time for the next load to go on!

Here I Go Again!

I have been trying to update this blog the past couple of nights but it keeps crashing on me so will try now while I have a few minutes between refereeing the twins arguments.
First of all I managed to scrap a page of Scarlett the other day. She was actually not in a bad mood at all but I just happened to catch one of "those" looks in this shot.

Background paper and black brad from Melany Violette's "Simply Clean" minikit

Font used is Rubberstamp

Ribbons and flowers by JoMadeThis!

I have also started work on a new kit. Well at least I thought I had up until this morning when it started getting me too annoyed! The first paper went together soooo easily yesterday, then I had to stop and have dinner, watch some TV etc and I came back to it this morning. I know this will be a kit..it may just be harder to put together than I thought, mostly I guess due to the images I am trying to use. I am sure it will get there eventually.

Looking ahead to for this week the weather is due to be cold, wet and generally yuck! Lucky we have some great things to look forward to. This weekend G and I are heading out to see The Darkness play. I am generally more of a pop chick than a rock chick so am not really sure what to expect, part of me is pretty excited and it should be fun..the other half of me is just nervous! These guys are pretty full on but seem loads of fun too so it will be an interesting night, even if I lose my hearing!

High As A Kite!



Well I had a fab day today, the kind of day I would love to have more often. After Abbey's swimming lesson today we made the 25 minute drive down to Sempahore to see the big Kite Festival they have down there. It was a gorgeous day, clear blue skies (well to start off with) a slight breeze so still had to pop the kids in long sleeves but just perfect. We walked along the foreshore, and up the jetty a bit to get a good view of the kites that were being flown. It was very crowded but the kids loved it. The kites were amazing, from the simple diamond shaped kites, butterfly kites, acrobatic kites and then the huge killer whale, a couple of mer-people, a pair of legs (!) and even an octopus kite!
The foreshore area was packed with people enjoying the rides, food, displays etc. At lunchtime I decided it would be best to head up the main street to find somewhere quieter for the twins to eat, and eventually we found a cafe that wasn't too busy and would do a simple vegemite sandwich for the kids. I must say I haven't eaten out with the twins without them being in their pram before. It's been ages since we braved a cafe with them and they were then at least strapped in a pram but they did us proud today and didn't once get out of their chairs! They looked so proud sitting at the table with us and happily munched on their sandwich while G, Abbey and I indulged in what could possibly be the best hot dogs I have ever eaten. We are definitely going back there again! I actually was out eating lunch with my little family and felt relaxed, happy and calm. I can't even describe how good that felt.
Many times during the twins first year or two it's seemed that we would never be able to just do things like a normal family, the hassles of trying to find cafes that would cater for a double pram without having to re-arrange the entire area of tables just seemed like it would never happen, and today..IT DID! We didn't even take the stroller in the car and it didn't matter the twins just walked everywhere.
After lunch we went back down to the foreshore but the wind had died down a bit so not many kites were flying. G and Abbey had a ride on the dodgem cars together which Joe and Scar found hilarious, shortly after Joe started acting tired so we headed back to the car and came home.
Considering they skipped their naps today and walked a lot they did really well to not get too cranky tonight..we didn't have too much of a bedtime battle either.

Pyjama Party!

A good start to the weekend. We took the kids shopping and for once I actually got some things I was needing for the kids!
Getting out the door this morning was somewhat difficult due to Joe's apparent growth spurt during the week which meant that one of his few pairs of clean long pants now don't fit! Eventually we found clothing for him (after several outfit changes as we realised just how many things he had outgrown) We bought him a couple of pairs of pants while we were out and he was thrilled to bits to pick out a top that G and I let him have. He does have good taste in clothes it seems, and not expensive either. We also bought him his first pack of undies, very cute, and even more exciting as they have the Wiggles on them.
We finally managed to find a pair of pyjamas for Abbey that she would agree to. Who knew a 7 year old could be so damn fussy about what she wears to bed? I am sure she was passing up most of the gorgeous PJ's we saw purely because G and I had suggested them.
I also managed to get Ab's haircut, which I have been trying to get about to doing for weeks. I can't begin to tell you how much it annoys me to pay so much for them to just trim an inch off her hair and they have the audacity to charge $16.50..and if I wanted her hair blowdried it would have cost an extra $14..how outrageous!
Tomorrow Ab has swimming, and then afterwards if the weather stays nice we are hoping to get down to Semaphore where there's a kite festival on which we think the kids would love, plus it's a great chance to go down near the beach and see what the twins think of the sea. They haven't been impressed at all in the past!
Well to finish up tonight's ramblings here's a pic of my tribe all excited in their brand new PJ's. Well technically Scar's are second hand but they are new to her so she was just as excited as the other two!