Dreaded Bugs...

Oh bummer we all have bugs, well half of us do anyway. Aaron started complaining of ear ache last night. Just what we need, he has had problems with his ears since he was 14 months old, three lots of gromets inserted with the last ones having to be surgically removed, because they wouldn't come out on their own, go figure!!! He has that many ear infections over the years that I have lost count. Anyway, he went to the ear specialist about three months ago and we were told, don't come back, everything looks good, yeeha....however, here we are three months later with another ear infection, what a pain. Off to the doctor tonight, $50 bucks up front for the consultation and another $30 for the script, gee you just can't afford to get sick these days. Fingers crossed this will fix it up. So that's Aaron...

and then there's me. Was feeling quite fine this morning, very normal morning, kids were even better than normal, should have known with that that something was going to turn sour! LOL. Head off to work, and then about 9.30am start dripping from the nose, what the? I mean where does all that yuck come from and for it to come on so quickly like that.....so at the moment I am sitting here with a bright red nose from blowing, itchy eyes, dry throat and all the other things that come with a darn head cold. I just don't want to be sick this weekend, with Renee's birthday and all. She is having a couple of girl friends over, and we are going to do face packs and foot therapy will be quite girly....no time for sickness that is for sure.

With me feeling a bit crappy though and having to take Aaron to the doctor's after work today, Renee said that she would make tea, God love her. She made sausage casserole with mashed potato and she didn't do a bad job either. Carrots and potatoes needed a little longer but overall it was yummo and her poor sick mum really enjoyed it. She even cleaned up afterward, gees they do come in handy don't they kids LOL.

So after dinner I finished off this layout that I had started a couple of nights ago. The colours are a little off in the picture, but you get the idea. This is our boy at about 4 weeks, wasn't he a cutie..

Hmm it's official I have taken over...

Just as the title suggests I have officially taken over my kids games room...well half of it anyway. Now I just need to get a big table and .......and......hehe only joking, oh the mind boggles with what I else I could get to put in here, but I dont think that Aaron would be too happy with that, the playstation lives in this room LOL. I had this urge last night to move the sewing cabinet into this room. Given that I use the machine on some of my layouts, thought it would be good to have it with me, rather than trekking out to the front of the house every time I want to use it. It is so good there....I even did some mending...you would be so proud of me mum!!! Given that the last lot of mending that had been hidden in that cabinet mum took and mended for me, only to find that the kids had out grown half of the clothes in the pile waiting to be fixed...it took that long LOL .


The photo shows my sewing cabinet in the front left hand corner, with my scrapping area in the other corner. I couldn't take a pic of the other side of the room, that has a little bit of sorting out to do LOL, although nothing interesting over there anyway.



Leanne
xxx

Diaper Cakes

How cool are these....I had never heard of such of thing, until mum came over today. Mum had been looking for embroidery patterns for her whiz bang embroidary machine, which she has just bought and she stumbled across these....."Diaper Cakes".

I just had to check them out on the net, they are amazing and what a really cool gift. For all those crafty people out there, I think they would be relatively easy to make as well. You wouldn't be limited to the theme either. You could do a "Kitchen Tea" one for the new bride, or "House warming", you are only limited by your imagination - instead of using diapers, use hand towels or tea towels, oh God I am giving myself a head ache, I'm having imagination overload LOL.

Here are a couple of pictures I found. These were borrowed from an American site, but there are lots of Australian sites, where you can order them if you don't have the crafty minded brain to make one yourself.

Oh and if you did want to have a go at making one yourself, there are lots of sites that offer instructions for how to do it yourself for free. I think they are neat.

A Footy Carnival and a Party....

Aaron had Winter Carnival at School on Friday, he was so excited , it was all he was talking about for the last week! He was playing footy for the school with his mates and he thought that was going to be just "totally sick" . Mind you, he needed a little bit of a refresher from his dad on Thursday night asking him where the forward pocket was, god love him..he had me a little worried that he wasnt going to know what to do when he got out there. Anyway he did fine he played all day, 5 games in total and lost every one of them. He didn't care though, coming home and saying "I had fun mum, and that's all that matters". He did managed to kick 1 goal 1 point, so he was stoked with his effort. He got rough handled though, coming home with mud all over him and nice rip in his shirt, he couldn't wait to show the rip, for him it was like a trophy for playing hard LOL.

Renee and I went shopping yesterday, it was so nice, just the two of us. It's her Birthday in a week - 14 years, WOW, so I thought I would take her out for a bit girl therapy. We had such fun, we even managed to stay out for a few hours, which is pretty good going for us. Normally she gets stroppy with me and we all go home, cause it turns into disaster...we did have a couple of moments but it wasn't too bad...argh teenagers.

We bought some really nice things, a couple of tops, a pair of shoes and gorgeous green jumper - the green looks so nice on her and a Adidas tracksuit which will be kept for her birthday, I just need to figure out what to add now for the surprise factor! She is stoked with the tracksuit though, it's her first brand name tracksuit that has been bought new for her, I never could see the value in spending all that money on something that kids would grow out of in 6 months, at least now with her growing nearly done, it doesnt seem so worthless.

She had Lauren's party to go (which is her friend from birth, her mum and I met during antenatel classes and have been friends ever since, the girls are born 5 days apart, Lauren being the eldest) they share such a special bond and friendship.

So I got some photos of her getting ready. Mind you would think I had asked her for a hundred because the first attempt at getting some nice shots ended up in an arguement. I obviously took one photo too many, god forbid I only took five! Well, we finally get over that little hormone rush and then managed to actually have some fun getting some pics.

I like to call this series of pics "the Makings of a Beautiful Girl....

And finally today, I managed to get this layout finished, it took me days of fiddling around with it, but got there in the end...so funny though, cause when you look at it, it looks like a couple of hours work, hehehe

This one is called "Our Sweet Little Lady" Renee was about 18 months old

You.....

My mum sent this to me, thanks mum I love it and now I want to share with all my other friends.

You...

....have a GREAT Day!!!

Life is short! Break the rules! Forgive quickly!

Kiss slowly!
Love truly, Laugh uncontrollably..
And never regret anything that made you smile.

Oh wow my girl is growing up....

Hmmmm I'm not so sure I am ready to be a mother of a teenager...Renee stayed over her girlfriend's place last night and then rings me today to ask if she can catch the bus to the local shopping centre with her friend as she had money to burn. I carefully say "yes" with the proviso of her ringing me when she gets there so as I know that she has arrived safe...

It's so hard doing that whole letting go thing, when do you know the right time to allow your kids to start doing these independant things...she is nearly 14 and is very responsible...but wow it freaks me out, this whole "I want to experience this stuff on my own, mum".

Anyway as it turned out, her friend's dad dropped them off at the shops, where they proceeded to happily spend their money. After about 4 hours she is ready to come home....LOL - hmmm she never wants to shop that long when she is with me! Renee tells me over the phone what she has bought with her money and I say something to effect of "that sounds great, love". I get to the shops to collect them where she is dressed in her new gear, carrying all her bags with big smiles...how happy does she look in the photos. I'm not so sure about the outfit, but it's her taste and she likes it and it was her money spent, so that's all that matters, right? LOL

Renee is on the left...

Oh and on another note, check out my birthday present and Mothers Day present, a little late, but that is cool. How lucky am I.....hubby made it for me.

It's my new cupboard for my scrapbooking paper, I so love it...gee I'm listening to myself saying this in my head, and thinking I gotta get a life, being so excited about such a thing but it really is cool. It's not quite finished yet, the top four shelves for the paper don't fit, so therefore need a little adjusting. Also needs a shelf for the albums half way up...but it's a great start and I am a very happy mummy and wife LOL. For those of you that are crafty minded I know that you get where I am coming from LOL.

Oh and Tanya and Ali, if you do find my blog, A BIG HOWDY DO TO YOU, and I will see you tomorrow.

Leanne

xxxx

My latest layout...Smile and the whole world Smiles with You

I love this pic....Renee relaxing waiting for Carols by Candlelight to start last year...

Boys will be Boys....

Well you just gotta love em don't ya, when you look through your camera and find a shot like this LOL, priceless!!!!

Aaron was obviously bored this afternoon!!!!!

God I love that kid!

Happy "Me Day" to me....

You know how it is, every now and again you need to have a day just for yourself....well today is my day. I went to work yesterday and asked the boss if I could have the day off and here I am!!!!

I had money burning a hole in my pocket, from my birthday, thanks to mum and my two dads', and I had the urge to go and spend....now for those of you that aren't crafty minded - like Celina and Donna - you may find this totally boring...but for me...it's fun and exciting, and oh so relaxing - I find spending money on paper and ribbons and pretty scrapbooking things so much more fun than buying clothes...hehehe, as everyone in the family recently found out, with Donna's wedding having just past, I spent hours looking for a blouse and couldn't find anything I liked or the right size...so in the end Mum and I made something. Nothing like leaving that sort of the thing to last minute given that it was still being finished two day befores the wedding!!! Geez I hate clothes shopping. Renee has vowed never to come with me again after that little excercise. Even Celina, got in on the act with that one, having brought some outfits down from Waikerie from her local shop for me to try on...but I didn't like them either and the one I did like didn't fit....hmmm how frustrating.

Shopping for clothes totally boring, but shopping for my craft, well that is fun. See how many pretty things I brought today. I always end up with far too much pink paper, but oh well, I just can't help myself I am so drawn to it LOL. I still have money left over, so may buy myself a new handbag with that, and even though I have just finished whinging about my dislike for clothes shopping, I just may have to concede that some winter clothes are required and may have to drag myself out to the change rooms, god I hate that part, and see what I can find.

It's so nice to have a quiet day to yourself like this. Renee and Aaron tried it on with me this morning, wanting to stay home with me. Now that would have been fun, wouldn't it, taking them to the craft shop with me NOT.

The weather is supposed to be a little lame this weekend, oh how sad, may have to get creative...
I will keep you posted on how that pans out

Leanne
xxx

Something to think about

Celina sent this to me today...something to think about

Celina and I

Tequila and Salt

This should probably be taped to your bathroom mirror where one could
read it everyday. You may not realize it, but it's 100% true.

1. There are at least two people in this world that you would die for.

2. At least 15 people in this world love you in some way.

3. The only reason anyone would ever hate you is because they want to be
just like you.

4. A smile from you can bring happiness to anyone, even if they don't
like you.

5. Every night, SOMEONE thinks about you before they go to sleep.

6. You mean the world to someone.

7. You are special and unique.

8. Someone that you don't even know exists loves you.

9. When you make the biggest mistake ever, something good comes from it.

10. When you think the world has turned its back on you take another
look.

11. Always remember the compliments you received. Forget about the rude
remarks.

So...........If you are a loving friend, send this to everyone,
including the one that sent it to you. If you get it back, then they
really do love you.

And always remember....when life hands you lemons, ask for tequila and
salt, and call me over!

Good friends are like stars........You don't always see them, but you
know they are always there.

"Whenever God Closes One Door He Always Opens Another, Even Though
Sometimes, It's Hell in the Hallway"

I would rather have one rose and a kind word from a friend while I'm
here than a whole truck load when I'm gone.

Happy Birthday to me....

37 today, it doesn't feel so bad LOL. I got more chocolates today YUMMY, still waiting on my cupboard, but sure it will come in time LOL. I also got spoilt with some cash from my parents, which is always lots of fun, so will probably be doing some online shopping in the near future! Such good therapy. I got a lovely Teddy, that my mum handmade made for me...I forgot to mention that in my original post, so I thought that I had better come back and add that, have also added a picture - isn't mum clever . I got a beautiful birthday card from sister, Celina, was so lovely, and a phone call from Donna, she came back from her honeymoon today and she had
an absolute hoot of time.

Renee came up to this morning whilst getting ready for work and asked how old I was (she already new but was joking with me) I told her 21 (figure I am old enough now to say that) LOL. She says "yeah right mum, that would have made you about 8 when you had me" so I then told her she was adopted, explaining to her that I didnt want to have tell her quite so directly but she so did ask for that! LOL. She isn't really but I guess you had to be there to get the funny side of it.

All in all it was a good day, fairly standard - getting kids to school, went to work, picked kids up from school, did tea, then had words with Renee and Aaron. They both put on a whinge about having to go to Taeqwondo, really kicked up about it. I tell you it really stinks having your Birthday so close to Mothers Day, it is just too much for my kids to be good for two days straight!

Anyway, time for bed....cya

BTW its not really 7.02 in the morning, not sure what the deal is with time on this thing, another thing I will have to work out, it is actually 10.48pm at the time of posting this

Happy Mothers Day

Happy Mothers day to all the mums out there in blog world.

Happy Mothers Day to all the mum's in my family. I love you MUM. Also to you Celina, have a great day!

I am the luckiest daughter and sister in the world to have these beautiful women surrounding me in my life....Enjoy your day.

Love Leanne

Donna, Mum, Me and Celina

I have had a wonderful relaxing day with my family, quiet but very nice. Started with breakfast in bed and then being totally spoilt with lots of chocolates and cards and a gorgeous little teddy that Aaron bought with his own money, must upload a photo later. He was so proud of himself he had been going on all week about his purchase and how he couldn't wait to give it to me. They make these best gifts, the little things like that, so much love and thought go into them buying these special little things for you. I absolutely treasure them.

My pressies, totally spoiled, I also got a BIG box of Ferrero's my absolute favourite, but wasn't worth taking a photo of the box, 'cause it was pretty much empty. We have been eating them all day today, YUMMY!!!

Mum and Dad (Kevin) came over for lunch, we had Chicken lasagna, I have the best recipe for this totally yummy and is good for you being a Weight Watcher one...just let me know if anyone wants the receipe, I can post this if you would like it.

This afternoon have been blogging, very relaxing, have finished all my entries for our exchange students. Tomorrow is my birthday so get spoilt all over again, although am still waiting on my present. I have requested a cupboard to be made for my scrap paper, hubby is just getting quotes and stuff to get it made up for me. I can't wait, oh to be organised properly in my craft room the way that I like it LOL

Still here

Oh wow this is so addictive, I didn't realise I had so much waffle in my head to share! Was playing around on here until 1.00am this morning. I discovered that I could move the elements down the side of the page, by clicking and dragging, perhaps if I read instructions better I may have worked this out earlier. LOL.
I have added a link to my gallery at the Scrap Heap, I so love that idea, and have added links to other talented scrappers who inspire me, I think their work is amazing...I like to call them online friends, even though they dont know me from bar of soap...it's funny though when you look at peoples layouts and read their jounalling you learn so much about their family and just want to keep up with what is going on in their lives...a strange concept, for someone who is new to blogging, kinda feel like a nosy neighbour LOL.
For those of you that stumble by me please drop in say Hi.
Cya

Meet the rest of my family

I was listening to the radio the other day, they had a competition where they were asking for photos of your family doing something together, a nice moment a together moment. Anyway it got me thinking how hard it is to get all of our family together all at the same time, there is always someone working or one of the kids will be away on camp or at friends.

We don't have a large family. I have two sisters, both of which are married now. Celina, who is the one under me has two children...I have two children and Donna as yet has none....and all our husbands are still on the scene! We have 3 parents, mum and dad having divorced when we were young and mum has now remarried. So I went looking through some photos and came across this one...this is actually all of us together, all at the same time, no one missing HOW AMAZING!!! But check it out, all of us together for the first time in years and years and we get a photo like this LOL. The photo was taken at a place called the Night Train here in Adelaide and we were there for my nephews birthday.

Back row from left to right

Kevin (stepdad), John (Celina's husband), Dad, Ben (Donna's husband), Rod (my husband)middle row - the outside charachters are not part of the family, from the Night Train act LOL

left to right again

Mum, Me, Celina and Donna

Bottom row from left to right again starts with a Night Train charachter

Renée (our daughter,) Phillip (Celina's son), Aaron (our son) and Jarrod (Celina's son)

And we truly did wait years for that photo, thankfully with Donna just recently married the opportunity came up again and we have been fortunate enough to get the whole family again, actually looking quite dapper! I will see if I can attach that pic now LOL, still learning about attaching images to this....

Ah, there you go, not too bad eh?

Anyways thats it for me today, still trying to work out my slide show thingy, hopefully will get that sussed soon enough...

Discoverying more about blogging!

Ok I am back today, just trying to work out my slide show thingy and how to add pics to my daily chat/diary. I think I could be on to something have just found the add image button...lets give it a go....

Oh yay it worked, look at me go, this could be fun...this is our gorgeous daughter, with my sister (the bride LOL). Donna was married 3 weeks ago and is currently honeymooning in the Maldives...hmm some people have it tough dont they. She sure did look gorgeous....This is one of my favourite photos of the day.

My first ever blog

Well hiya everyone, this is my first time blogging, not sure what it will be like, but I love reading everyone else's gossip. I'm not sure my life is as interesting, but I will give it ago.