My latest Creations

Hi everyone.

Well it has been same old, same old around here. Brodie has a bit of a flu but he seems to be improving..

Connor is reading very well now and I am happy to say has been very good at school.

Meanwhile I am now getting the same comments from Declan's Kindy teachers as I used to get for Connor.. He's very smart but he loves to push the boundaries..Here we go again!! lol.. I don't know if I can go through all that again.. They must take after their father..lol

Greg is flat out studying and working as usual and I am as busy as ever with Playgroup etc..

Dad is coming down to see us over Easter and the school holidays.. He is not doing real well. He can no longer drive and has now moved in with my brother. His memory is going and I really don't know what to expect when I see him.. even though it has only been a month or so. It might be time we explain to the boys that Poppy is very sick. That is a conversation I am so not looking forward to.

Anyway.. I have finally got myself organised to upload the layouts etc I have done recently.. so here goes.

This is the tag I made for the retreat.. we had to make over 50 of them to hand to everyone.. If it hadn't been for my lovely friend Tanya I don't think I would've got them all done in time.. I am so lucky to have such great friends up here.

We had to make a name tag as well.. and this is what I came up with.. I love my little owl he is soo cute.

On retreat they gave us a few bits and pieces and set us challenges.. this is one that I did. I am really happy with all the challenges I did considering I didn't have photos so had to add them later. Love this pic of my little niece Sienna.. It suits perfectly.

This one we were given the front sheet of a pack of paper.. hence all the different patterns.. And we were given a number.. I converted my 0 to a bracket. Thanks Kathleen for that idea..lol. I love it. And I love this pic Rach took of my two Nieces at Christmas.

I also did another challenge lo.. but I haven't added the pic yet.. so will have to upload that one soon.

I also did two of the gorgeous Mardi's classes while I was on retreat..


Completely different to my usual style.. but I love the ideas she gave us.. So gonna try and use more material on my lo's. This pic was taken when Declan first met Marnie... Greg's Mum..


I love these pic's of Pa.. Greg's Dad.. on the tramp with the boys.. and they love playing with him. We did this layout as well in Mardi's first class.. She is such a talented lady.


In Mardi's second class we used shrinky dinks..yep.. remember the plastic pics you used to get in cereal packets.. then nag your mum to let you put them in the oven.. So they would shrink and thicken.. well it back..lol.. You can't see them very well but I had great fun making flowers and buttons. So much fun I had to do the actual layouts at home.. I spent all class playing..lol..

These pics are some of the few of me and the boys. Taken at Rydges Resort in Yeppoon when we went for Greg's Xmas party in 2007.


This was the second layout we did in that class.. I used photos I had taken of Greg and the boys when Connor needed some at Prep.. Took about 40 photos and there is a funny face in all of them.. that's my boys!!

I just wanted to say again a huge thanks to Mardi for sharing her talent with us. She is such a sweet, lovely lady.. and I am so glad I finally got the chance to meet her.

Ok .. I have made a couple of Birthday cards for some friends.. they are very simple..

Over the last 6 weeks I have also been doing a course with Sheree in the Boxx. I only have one lo left to do but here are the rest.. I do love them.. Again.. another very gorgeous talented lady I met at Retreat!



These were pics we took when a heap of us Boxx girls met up in Brissie at Southbank.. And got to spend time with my crazy Boxx friend DG.. Leeann is an absolute laugh with a heart of Gold.. And yep that is me at the top of the tree..lol..


Here is Poppy and Declan.. such a cute pic.. and a very special memory.

I did this lo to tell Connor how proud of him I was. Donating his pocket money at his own suggestion to the Vic Bushfire victims. The Journalling is attached to the d! and it pulls out from under the pic.

I love this pic of Greg and the boys I took at Tannum Sands.. It looks a bit dark on here.. but the look on Greg and Brodes faces is just gorgeous. And the boys love Daddy walking them through the water on his feet.

And last but not least of Sheree's classes.. This Declan's first go in the Jolly Jumper. The arrow at the top slides across and the journalling is attached to the red spotted paper at the bottom.

This is a double page spread I did for Tanya for her Birthday. I organised a few of our friends to do layouts for her. It was great fun going through all the photos, picking through all the memories of our friendship so far.

Last Saturday I went to Scrap 'nScrap to do one of Nicole's classes.. I do absolutely love the way this turned out. I may be repeating myself but I am soo lucky to have such talented, beautiful ladies to learn off. I intend to put this one upon my scrap room wall.. A once in lifetime photo..

Thank you again Nicole for giving me the perfect home for it.

Ok.. so have I bored you enough yet...

That's all for now.. hopefully I will get time to do some more scrappin soon.. but right now I have to go and remove 40 odd marshmallow bunnies I made for the boys to take to school etc tomorrow.. and need to make some more too..lol..

Hope you are all well.. and if I don't talk to you before then have a very safe and happy Easter.. and please be careful on the roads!.

Donna xxxx

The last couple of weeks..

Ok.. it has been a very hectic couple of weeks.. as usual..lol. I got back from retreat late Monday ( thanks to my flight being delayed!!) and I think I could've slept for a week!! lol.. Had the usual Playgroup, chasing kids and catching up on the housework to do..

But heaps had happened while I was gone too.. My gorgeous friends Tanya and Belinda had both had their birthdays.. so on Friday we had a girlies lunch to celebrate..

Jodie and Ella, Zoe, Tanya, Belinda and Amanda at the front. We went to the Gracemere Tavern and it was really nice..

Then on Saturday we had to go to Connor's Soccer game.. Now he had had his first game while I was away.. so disappointed I missed it. And of course I had the camera so we didn't get any decent photos.. Greg said that Connor played really well and really enjoyed it. They lost 6-3 I believe but they also scored three of the other teams goals...lol..

Anyway so of course I took heaps of pics this weekend. Connor is enjoying it so much more than Football. None of that painful tackling! lol..

Then we had Joe, Zoe and the boys over for a sleepover.. I was so tired on Sunday that Greg took Connor to a birthday party for one of his schoolmates while Zoe and I had a bit of a slack morning..

Every time I think I am catching up on sleep I have a bad night and am back to square one again.. Brodie has been waking up nearly every night and climbing into our bed.. Not sure if it is habit or this nasty cough that has been sticking around.. but We are so tired at the moment we don't even wake up an more to take him back to his own bed. But you really don't seem to get as good a night sleep with a munchkin kicking you in the back.. fancy that..lol..

This week has also been a maaaad week.. On Monday I did my usual reading with the kids at school.. Tuesday I spent the day at Declan's Kindy. It was great fun seeing how he interacts with his teachers and the other kids.. and seeing how fantastic his teachers are. I am really pleased we sent him there.. Mind you I am getting the 'he's a very bright kid.. and he certainly knows how to push the boundaries' comment just as I used to get with Connor.. oh help me!!

Wednesday we had 'Playgroup in the Park' for playgroup week. I didn't have any kids with me which was quite fun actually.. lol.. Once I got it all set up I could relax a bit and have a chat. Mind you I was still exhausted when I got home!

Normal playgroup on Thursday.. More new mums and a busy morning as usual. Soccer Training and then shopping for playgroup and Kindy afterwards..

Friday they had Grandparents day at school.. I must admit I stayed home.. I was too tired to go out with Declan and Brodie again.. So I babysat Jamie so it was easier for Zoe to go.. I think Connor understood. It can be so difficult to take a 2 year old to church.

This morning I went to Scrap'nScrap and did one of the gorgeous Nicole's classes. I was so lucky that Jodie and Zoe took my boys after soccer so I could. And Connor scored his first goal.. he was soo proud of himself! Greg is in Mackay helping Dad to clear his house and move in with my brother Shane.. He has finally realised that he can no longer live alone. He gets so tired etc so quickly.. and I feel so much better he is not driving half an hour to get to town any more. Anyway I loove my lo. It just beautiful.. she is one talented chickie.. I will upload it when I do all the others soon.

Well that has been my news.. Greg's is not so good.

He was heading out to Emerald on Wed to work when an unmarked police car decided to do a u-turn across the highway near Dingo.. straight in front of him. Luckily both he and George were not hurt.. and the cop in the passenger side only had minor injuries.. It could've been soo much worse. The funny thing was the guy the cops had just finished giving a ticket to raced back to give Greg his card in case he needed help proving it wasn't his fault. lol.. But the Driver took the blame so there is no worries there.. And my Brother wasn't too impressed either.. He is in traffic in Mackay and the unmarked car was due to be sent up to them in a week or two.. oops..lol..

But my poor Pajero.. In 2 months... she was going to be mine.. We were going to pay out the lease and Greg would get a work vehicle and I was finally going to have more room for the kids.. 2 months.. Now .. we are not so sure.. Look at the poor baby!

He hit the other car with his front right side.

This is the left hand side..

I am soo glad it wasn't worse.. as in no one was injured.. but my poor Paj!! As one of Greg's employees said to him.. with the amount of time he spends on the road it was prob not a matter of if he had an accident but when.. So glad we g0t out of it so lightly. I hate that he is on the road so much. Have always dreaded that phone call!

Anyway.. I have finally updated the blog.. and I think I am now going to collapse in bed and finish the last of the Twilight series with a cup of tea. Brodie is already asleep in my bed..lol.. Don't have the energy to kick him out. Besides might save him waking me up later.

Tomorrow I intend to have a cruisey day with the kids.. after I clean up the pigsty that is my house..lol.. and Hopefully take pics of all the lo's etc I have done so I can upload them.

Hope you are all having a wonderful weekend.. and be safe on the roads.. Watch out for those unmarked cop cars chucking uies..lol..

xxx

Mark and Amanda's 30th Birthday Party

Well last night we went to Mark and Amanda's 30th Birthday party and we all had to dress up as a star.. The boys were so excited .. Declan went as Speed Racer.. Brodie as Captain Feathersword and Connor as Jack Sparrow.. I could not believe that Brodie kept his hat on all night.

I decided to go as Cleopatra if she had lived long enough to get old and fat..pmsl.. and as Greg hates dressing up I managed to convince him to go as Agent K from Men in Black.. Was a bit peeved when I found that the costume shop had given me the wrong wig.. it was more of a go go wig than Cleopatra.. Oh well..

Mark and Amanda were Shrek and Princess Fiona.. Amanda decided not to go the ogre as whenever Patric looked at Mark in his costume he screamed..lol.. Nichlas was Spiderman and little Patrick came as Harry Potter as a baby..scar and all..lol.. unfortunately I didn't get a pic of him.

Joe and Zoe were Batman and Bat Girl..Ella was a fairy, Lachlan was superman and Jamie was Spiderman. Joe looked very spunky in his costume especially with the thongs on his feet..lol.. But gotta love Zoe's boots.. Nearly knee high with about a 4 inch heel.. I tried em on.. pity my calves are not quite made for them..lol..

Tanya came as Dr Cuddy and Paul as Dr House.. Tanya made these gorgeous outfits for the boys so they could come as patients.. they looked soo cute!!!

Rach came as a Movie Star going to the Oscars, Adrian was another Men in Black.. Tom came as a Vampire and Bonnie as a Princess..

Doesn't everyone look fab.. There were a heap of other great costumes there too.. We all had a great time.. except I managed to fall over on a step when I first got there.. no I hadn't had a drink yet..lol.. and i now have a twisted ankle.. So hoping it stops hurting soon.. Luckily it is not too bad.

The kids had a great time riding bikes around and pulling each other around in a big red cart.. The twins were so cute trying to follow everyone when they started dancing the Nutbush.. old aren't we..lol..

And of course Lachlan, Connor and Declan had a great time tryin to pull Batman's Pants down..lol.. Typical..pmsl..

I so hope Mark and Amanda had as much fun as we did..

There is a cyclone heading down the coast at the moment so it has been getting a bit windy and we have got a little bit of rain. Mackay got a heap of rain today so hopefully there will be no flooding up there.. So hope it doesn't cross the coast..

And I am off on Wednesday.. Can you believe it!! It is finally time for me to head to Perth on Retreat.. I am getting soooooo excited.. Sure I will have heaps of pics to bore you with when I get back..

Anyway it is late.. Think I will crash.. Still have to figure out what photos to take to retreat to scrap but might have to do that tomorrow.

cya all soon!!! x

Update..

Ok.. so what has been happening up to today..I so cannot believe I am finally up to date..lol..

Playgroup has been busy.. We are now up to about 60 odd members.. with new ones starting every week at the moment.. It is getting very hectic trying to keep up with it all. but we are getting there..lol..

Zoe and the kids stayed over last weekend as Joe was away.. and we also had Annette's baby shower. I organised a few games for it.. Just a hint ladies.. If you have pregnant mum's coming to a baby shower.. It is not necessarily a good idea to do the melted choc in the nappy game..lol.. I made some of them feel rather nauseous.. pmsl..

Greg has been away a few nights over the last couple of weeks.. I hate it when he has to travel around for work. He is also studying and was very pleased with himself getting 83% on his first assignment.. His first exam is coming up next week so lets hope he does as well on that.

I do have a couple of lo's I have done this year to put up but I will do that soon.. Annette and Gil are due to arrive for a bbq so I had better get going.. Hope you are all having a great weekend..And thanks to the girls who have given me a blog award.. I am soo sorry I just haven't had time to do anything with them. I am very glad that not only do people actually read my ramblings but some of you even enjoy it...lol..

Ok.. don't forget to leave me some blog love. I really enjoy hearing from you! Donna xx

December...

Well here is just some really cute piccies I took before Christmas..

Look who has been watching his big brothers on the sings.. lol..

Greg has always loved playing with the boys on our bed in the morning when he has time.. unfortunately with everything going on.. it hasn't happened as much as we would like lately.. so I had to take some piccies when he did.. He lifts them up and they reckon they are Super.... and then they crash into the bed.. typical boyish rough housing.. and they love to jump all over him!!

Just before Christmas Greg and Poppy took Brodie out in the boat one afternoon to put in some crab pots.. and then took the bigger boys in the morning to check them and go fishing.. well the fishing wasn't so successful but the boys were very impressed with the one legal crab they got to bring home..

Ok.... well my eyes are hanging out of my head and Greg is back at work tomorrow... So I think I will call it a night.. I will try and get the Xmas photos organised to put up tomorrow.. Nite!!

Sooo tired!

Well remember how I said I was glad the school hols were here...I may just have to rethink that..lol.. I love that I don't have to get up and rush around every morning.. but if these boys don't stop trying to kill each other and driving Poppy and I mad I may just run away..pmsl

Anyway so what have we been up to.. Well Poppy has done a lot of shopping.. in other words he escapes to the shopping centre nearly every day as his patience with the boys is kinda wearing thin..lol.. Mind you I wish I could join him!!

The boys have been playing with friends, trashing the house and generally being themselves..lol.. We went and saw the Christmas lights around Rocky last night. I must say I miss the gorgeous displays of Toowoomba. There are a couple of nice ones here.. and a lovely street.. but nothing compared to what we would go and see in Highfields and Toowoomba.. Oh well the boys enjoy it. And ours are getting bigger each year...lol..

We had a Street Christmas Party last Friday night.. It actually turned out to be a good night.. First time we had most of our neighbours in nearly 2 years. Hopefully it might be the start of me feeling a bit more like I belong here. temporarily..pmsl..

I have finally finished Rachel's Website. For those that don't know Rach is a friend of mine up here who is getting back into her photography after having had the kids.. and so I have spent a 'little' while setting up a website for her. Check it out and let me know what you think.. all suggestions gratefully accepted..lol..

I also think I have finally finished my Christmas cards and shopping.. just got all the wrapping and posting to do now. Have decided though that next year I will be sending most of my cards out by email..looking at the amount of resources I use I think I need to do the environment a favour..lol..

Anyway.. the kids are starting to get narky at each other so I had better go and feed them..

Chat soon..