Happy 1st Birthday

Just over one year ago, J and I went to the movies and saw Dick and Jane (I think that's what it was called) with Jim Carey in it and I can't remember the girl's name. Not a particularly great movie but I will always remember it as it was the night before we went in to have baby number 3. On Wednesday, H turned 1! Hip Hip Hooray!! It was a fun day. We had a small birthday party for him with his Nonna and Pop that night and then yesterday morning he had his big party.

I love making a fuss of the children's birthdays and always have fun doing something special for them. Here are some pics from the party.

This was his cake (picked by Chloe) and surprisingly easy to make! Yeah!

The table had these really cute boxes that I put the food into instead of having plates for the kids. Don't know if you can tell but the weights for the balloons were bags of popcorn which each child got to take home with them.

Hayden enjoyed a chocolate crackle and everyone who cuddled him got some too! LOL!

He was so focused on the candle and the sparkler on his cake.

The kids played lots of games and went swimming. It was lots of fun. C was a little grumpy, probably wanted it to be her party, but you get that.

We then had drinks and dinner with friends in the afternoon/evening so it was a huge day for everyone. Today is going to be a very quiet one! See Ya! xoxo

Back to Reality

Everyone is back to reality this week. We got back from the coast on Sunday. We had such a cool time. Mooloolaba is such a lovely spot. The kids want us to sell B'Downs and move up there. I wish! It wasn't all fun and games though. We got to spend an evening at Nambour Hospital as Chloe managed to split the back of her head so they had to glue it. Took a photo of it but won't post it as it's not the nicest photo. Got to have proof though! She was very brave and I was so proud of her. She decided that she couldn't sleep on her side or tummy so she spent the first night sleeping on my tum. Needless to say I didn't get much sleep.

The kids tried out their new boogie boards and had so much fun, it was great to see the big smiles on their faces and the excitement of catching a wave. N has decided when he gets a bit bigger he could stand up on it. Can't wait for that.

Have finally got around to doing some scrapbooking. Yeah!! Such a fun photo of C doing what she does best.

Still working on some canvases for C's room. So will hopefully get some done this week although with H's Birthday tomorrow I don't like my chances. See Ya! xoxo

Merry Christmas, Happy New Year

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to everyone. Wow, how fantastic is this time of year. We have had such a ball. Where do I start. Christmas was great fun, catching up with family and friends is always wonderful. We headed up to the coast on Boxing Day to a couple of days of wet weather but then it was absolutely perfect. We came home for New Year's Eve which was so much fun. We were supposed to go to a party but the host got sick so it was cancelled. We ended up "gate crashing" another party which was just hilarious. After the children had had their countdown at 9pm the adults got to party. We belted out song after song on Sing Star. It was soooo bad - I can say that, I was the only one who was sober. To everyone else it sounded great. This is how bad it was - Justin actually reckons he "nailed" Whitney Houston. LOL!!! It was the funniest New Year's Eve Party- just great friends, great food, great night.

We had another party last night with the neighbours, which was fun also but we are a little partied out at the moment. The kids have been fantastic though and enjoying every second of it!

Hayden had his first chocolate over the Christmas break. He definately takes after his father - love of chocolate not the messy eating thing.

I am taking the children back up to the coast for another week tomorrow while Justin has to work - sorry hon! Justin and I are going to the movies tonight though so I hope that makes up for it.

Anyway, heaps to do! xoxo

Xmas is fun

Have been busy but having fun. Being organised with presents this year has meant more time for doing fun things with the kids. We iced some Christmas biscuits - the kids did the ones on the right!! and then I think they were eaten as quickly as they were made.

I've posted a picture of a corkboard that I did for Grandma (check it out Scott) for Christmas. I'm really happy with it. I'm going to put it above her bed in the nursing home and I think she will love it. I've had lots of fun making things this year for Xmas. Next year I might try starting a little earlier though. Last night we had a girl's catch up and gave presents that we had made to each other. It was really fun! It was interesting to see everyone's creative side! As one of my friends said - it feels like Xmas now.

I had to post a photo of C and how she went to the shops yesterday. She woke up and said she wanted to be Rudolph today - as you do. The dress she had on only just covered her undies and she probably should've had some shorts on underneath but that's not what Rudolph wears apparently. LOL! She is just so funny.xoxo

Digging a Hole

Here are some pics of the whole family pitching in to dig the hole for the water tank. The kids were a real big help! Everyone was exhausted by the end of the day and had an early night. Mental note: must get kids digging more holes....LOL!

Gingerbread House 2006

Things have been pretty quiet around here this week with the children being sick. Better to have it this week and not next. We made our gingerbread house yesterday. Much better than last year. I bought a kit this time so the gingerbread was already precut. I think my measurements must have been out last year! LOL! The children had a ball and were so proud of it we had to drive it around to the grandparents house to show them. It only lasted a day though, the children had some this morning. So much fun!

Our tank arrived yesterday (only took 3 months) so now J is in the process of digging a hole for it to go into. All we need now is some decent rain to fill it.

Went to Vareki (Cirque du Solei) on Wednesday night and thoroughly enjoyed it. Haven't been before so didn't know what to expect and was totally blown away by their talents and strength. It was just amazing. Still have some Christmas cards to do so must go. xoxo

what a great office

Here I am, sitting by the pool watching the 2 big kids swimming while posting on my blog. You can keep your big city office views, I'll have mine any day! The past 4 days have been wonderful. Our weekend was great. Fun times with friends and family. I love catching up with people and the children were so great.

I have been pretty busy getting ready for Christmas recently, so today became a bit of a kids day especially as H is sick and wants to be cuddled all day. N and C got out the dress ups and make up and had a ball. I will have to bring some of these photos out for the 21st birthdays! LOL!

J has been so amazing lately and busy as always but has made building in our stairwell so we can attach a gate a priority for stopping H climbing! I will have to post some photos later. He totally amazes me that man, smart and practical!! Gotta love that! Long overdue on the scrapping side of things but always having ideas! Hopefully get into again soon. Christmas cards No. 1 priority. xoxo

swimming championships

Just have enough time to do a really quick post. J rang and said he got free tickets to the swimming championships tonight so I have had to madly cook a picnic dinner, get the kids ready etc. so we can go. But i really wanted to post some pics. I forgot to mention that I made my Christmas cake yesterday - it takes a day to cool! So we unwrapped it this morning and I took some pics of it. Yum! Also posted a few photos of the tree post two falls and in it's new pot. LOL!

Anyway, gotta keep moving. xoxo

What a Weekend

Life is just so busy. Have been so busy this weekend. Put the christmas tree up on Friday night which was great fun as we let the children decorate it anyway they wanted to (too tired to post photos!) and then we changed it after they went to bed. They had such a ball. Unfortunately, on Saturday, little H got into the tree and pulled it down on top of himself. H was okay as was all the decorations! We redecorated it today and it fell down again. The "trunk" must have been weakened when it fell so we had to put it into a big terracota pot and fill it with bricks. Then we redecorated the tree again! We will have to buy a new one before next year. Must of been the week-end for things to break as our hot water system died as well. Great timing - although it could have been in the middle of winter without hot water!
Took C to a Birthday party at Newmarket swimming pool on Sat afternoon then to a friends dance concert sat night. I then raced Chloe home and went to a farewell Brisbane party for my Dad and his partner as they are moving up the coast. Way too much!
Today was spent putting Christmas lights up on the house outside - very exciting and then the church had a Christmas festival. We actually had a storm just as the children were getting ready to sing so it was moved into the hall. My friend and I were selling glowsticks most of the night which was terrible as there were so many dud ones that kids kept coming back wanting to exchange them. We got a good laugh out of it though!
Am really tired so need to get some sleep. xoxo

Too Busy

A great friend said to me today- are you enjoying the moment? I thought well I would if I wasn't so busy.LOL! My new rule for the rest of the year is to kickback, de-stress and "enjoy the moment"! We can get so caught up in things at this time of year sometimes you just need to sit back and realise that you don't have to go to every function you get invited too, the party will go on whether you are there or not. That's my deep and meaningful for tonight.
I took the children to see Santa yesterday which was fun. N is such a little man and had no fear what so ever, C was a little scared but brave enough to tell him her name. We've always told the children that Santa brings them 1 present so when they told Santa what they wanted and they only mentioned 1 thing, Santa said "Maybe we can work on some more things for Santa to bring you" and he looked at me. I wasn't sure if he was thinking stingee parents or that he was trying to help me by getting them to say some other things they might want. H wasn't scared but wasn't too sure either. I might try and get a photo with Santa next time and see if H will sit there!
Want to go for a run tomorrow morning so off to bed I go. xoxo

One of a Kind

This post is dedicated to my beautiful and fascinating daughter. She truly is one of a kind. Last week she was busy pretending to be an angel for baby Jesus, dressing up and dancing and singing her way through every room in the house. This week it's Thomas the Tank Engine. Our dining room table was transformed into a train track while Chloe spent the entire day picking up passengers, fixing broken trains and singing all the old train songs. She has an amazing imagination. I never know if she is going to be "Scruffy" the puppy dog, "Rusty" the pussy cat, "Kayla" her imaginary friend who can do anything or Chloe who only likes "good food mummy". There is never a dull moment with her. I will miss her when she starts heading off to school. Kids have such a fabulous take on life! Really tired and really need to get to bed, when to a stampin'up party last night which was fascinating and really got me thinking so much so I didn't sleep well so I need to play catch up in the sleep department. xoxo

Craft Day

Having one of those stay at home weeks this week. Life can get so busy that it's nice to just stop and enjoy the moment every once and awhile. So today, we got busy creating. N & C got seriously into making these necklaces. Was fun trying to round up all sorts of different things for them to use. Had the standard pasta of course although most of it got eaten thanks to a wonderful habit introduced to them by J. LOL!

Off to have a swim. It has been wonderfully hot here so the pool has been getting a great workout. H even went for his first swim yesterday and loved it. Cried when I took him out even though his teeth were chattering. Couldn't take any photos though as I had to hold him no easy feat when he was so keen to get in and put his head under on his tummy and his back. Might have a water baby on our hands here. Summer is going to be so much fun!xoxo

Family Night Out

I usually love Sunday nights when you can sit back and relax after the kids have gone to bed and look back over the weekend and think of all the fun we've had. Well, it's only Sunday afternoon, the kids are all asleep and already I can look back and see all the fun we've had. Most of the weekend has been about Chloe. With her first ballet concert coming up there have been rehearsals to go to, trips to the shops to buy make up, lessons in how to do her hair and the list goes on. It is pretty full on but Chloe is very excited which is fantastic.
We went out as a family last night to the Qld Roar soccer game at Suncorp Stadium. We were given free tickets so decided to take the kids to the game. It was so much fun to see their faces light up when we got there. They got their faces painted and I asked the lady who did them to take a photo of us all. It was a late night, hence the kids sleeping now, but lots of fun. I will have to scrap the night!
Finished this layout on Friday night! Keeping to my usual record of one page a month!LOL! Was really happy with it though.
Gotto go, kids are waking! Have to take Chloe for her Pre-prep interview now. Once again, it's all about Chloe!!xoxo

Can't believe how long it's been since I posted. Have been incredibly busy. Thought we'd go camping on the weekend as we don't have many free ones left before the end of the year. It actually rained here. We are in a drought and the one weekend we decide to go camping, it rains. I'm not going to complain as we need it desperately. We still had fun as we spent the night at my Dad's unit at the Coast.
Have been out and about so much lately I feel like I'm back in Uni days. Party hard all night and sleep all day - I wish! We bought N a clock/radio the other day and now that he knows his numbers we have told him he has to stay in his bed until the clock says 6.00. It's working pretty well.
Went to U2 on Tuesday Night. Awesome!!! It was fantastic! The whole night was fun as we had a really cool group of friends that went so we had so many laughs!
Bought a new hat today. My friend kept telling me about her cowboy hat she had bought so I found one and bought it for a bit of a laugh. Tried to take a photo of it on me on my own. LOL! Anyway, time to get back to the washing. xoxo

Santa's House

Another week gone by. Not much fun when the kids are sick. Nathan's turn this week. Here is his Christmas canvas. He did such a fantastic job. The kids had so much fun doing these. Must be my turn next.

Had a great afternoon. Justin and I had a chance to get out together and go for a ride. Huge headwind which made it difficult for me but great to get out there. Justin was so good to ride with. He has done so much riding I felt a bit bad as I am just getting into it but he was just happy to get out together. Time to put the kids to bed. xoxo

singing in the rain

Bringing back the memories. N has been sick so to cheer him up and to give him something new to watch I went and got the singing in the rain dvd and we sat down together and watched it. The kids were glued to it and watched it over and over again. It brought back so many memories of my mum. On weekends we would sit together and watch the old musicals like singing in the rain, seven brides for seven brothers, showboat etc. It just feels so great to be able to share these times with my own children. I hope in twenty/ thirty years time they will look back at the times we shared and have fond memories.
C has been so excited about Christmas, especially now that all the decorations are in the shops. She wanted to do a special xmas canvas. Here is her finished product. She was so proud of it.

Grey's Night In

Another great episode of greys tonight. I so love that show. We had apple crumble for our Grey's dessert which was just perfect especially as it was a little cooler here in Brisssssie today.
Really tired tonight though so might have to hit the sack despite wanting to stay up and catch up on some stuff. I seem to be getting deeper and deeper into the fun of blogs! Once you start, it's hard to stop. xoxo

Weekends go too fast

Another Sunday evening and the week end is coming to a close. They just go way too fast. Had a fun weekend despite C still being sick. Finally she woke this morning feeling well!

J took the kids to the beach today so I could have some time to get some things done. Have fallen behind with the housework with having C sick for the past four days. So much fun trying to play catch up when the kids are at home so J went to my Dad's place at the beach. I was able to do a quick page this morning and I mean quick. Really cute photo of H!

Went to the craft fair on Sat and had a great time. Met some really clever people and came home with so many great ideas. All I need now is the fulltime nanny,cleaner and ironing lady so I can do all these great things and everything will be sweet! Ha! Ha!

Time for dinner!xoxo

finally

Hooray!! I finally got some scrapping done. What spurred me on? Nathan did his first page yesterday so I decided I couldn't let him get the better of me. Nothing like a competitive streak to get you motivated.

Even if it is with a 5 year old. Nathan had a ball and didn't do too badly for his first attempt. The page I did of Nathan is one I have been trying to do for months. Not too sure about it but I am putting it in the album and considering it done.

Have had a crazy 24 hours. H woke around 2am and decided it was party time, got him back to sleep around 3am then C woke up with temps. and a pain in the tummy. Got her back to sleep around 4 and then the alarm went off at 5. I forgot I had set it to go for a run this morning so as I was awake I went. I've got dancing tonight so I will be exhausted by the time I hit the sack.

Didn't get to the craft fair today as C stayed home from Kindy, hopefully will get there on Saturday. xoxo

back to normal

Have had so much fun over the past few days. The wedding on Saturday was a lot of fun.
Here a couple of pics of the groom - my cousin and one of J & I all dressed up. It's so nice to be able to get all dolled up. Don't do it enough. My bro. and his wife came up from Adelaide and stayed with us for a few days, which was great. I don't get to see them enough and the kids really love spending time with them. The time went too quickly though. We hung around by the pool, went shopping, out for dinner and visited my Grandma. Just great fun! Am feeling a bit tired today. Have heaps of cleaning to do so will spend the day catching up on the jobs! May even get a chance to scrap! xoxo