de christmasing

well ive just de christmased come on the new year

lilly was a little sad to see the christmas spirit leave the house but she will live.!

christmas morning saw us up at 6:30 which i didnt think was to bad and there was nothing slow about the present opening in this house it was all in for the santa gifts it slowed a little when things came out from under the tree, we were then off to my family for the day. But it was odd weather this year in brisbane and only the kids got in the pool,my family isnt really big into the gift thing which is ok the kids got a wooden cubby house a few days before so they were stoked with nanny and pa and some togs from nana and paulie...so they were very spoilt when it came down to it all. i spent the last 2 weeks nursing a stomach bug thing that just wont leave so even my waste line enjoyed the cheer cause i didnt parttake to much .

boxing day saw us at the sales even thou i said i wouldnt go, but only to our local target and shops. I got a few things on sale and a nice dress and shoes for a wedding in a few short weeks.

heres a layout of my girls christmas santa photo...we went on christmas eve....slack i know, but i knew it was going to be hard for emily....she only just made the photo poor pet

and some photos christmas morning before going to my dad and step mothers for a yummy lunch.

ooer and i almost forgot that my scrap supplies are the proud new owner of a clip it up...its fantastic! its all so neat and tidy now, wanting to top teir of it now too, but that will have to wait it isnt a cheap storage solution but way worth it!

well on to the new year, im not one for resolutions, but i have decided that in 2008 im go ing to keep a photo journal and take at least one photo of something each and every day, i will then put it all together in mini albums for each month i think! lol time will tell if it happens but i think it will be interesting to record our family's daily life including the growth of my kidlets in this way, i will share on my blog too

happy new year all

oh ps check out stamping and papercraft this month....ive got a card on the COVER...i was way excited to see it there...its a card called hello there and the cards use the lovely kate masons napkin mod podge technique, which has been explain by me in the mag with permission from kate and its only there to aid people in completeing my cards... :)

Masters 2007

Congrates to the girls that got the top title.. :) the work on the cover looks fantastic and i cant wait to go get my copy of the mag to see it all

the site has some of the hm stuff up gave the link yesterday and its all fab work...including my own storage item which was a buzz to see up there with some great names!

heres the rest of my entry....i loved it even if the judges didnt, its some of the better work i have produced this year i would have to say. Heres my mini book entry

its a book of envelopes that open in each one is a page of the book.

single entry

and my double...has opening tabs and stuff...about feeding emily

and finally my hm winning tool tote

some news and christmas

no paper trends yet to show off my work...but im told it looks great...im dieing to see it but

then my friend chris pointed this out to me

http://www.scrapbookingmemories.com.au/current_issue.php

im happy to have gotten something for my efforts...its nice, looking forward to seeing this mag the work on the site looks fantastic

and congrats goes to all the other winners both masters and HM's

here i go again i will be sucked in now for next year...bugger lol

im nearly ready for christmas some last minute things to organise tomorrow hoping the shops will be quiet seeing as its sunday...crossing fingers anyway

paper trends magazine

ive known about this for an age it seems and my project has been in the states for about as long

but this morning when i got a sale email from them i nearly died when there showing just partly on the front cover was my project...my first american publishing too

so my project is in the top line second last square...how cool is that i cant wait to get this magazine an aussies on the cover woohoo for me thats made my day

scrapping retreat

my first one in 15 months....long time! but i wanted to wait until emily was a good age to leave for the weekend with the whole feeding her thing

had a great time

spent most of my weekend working on this A4 book i made with my binditall its all about emilys first birthday, i had that many photos of it it was silly so now they r all in one spot...i actually enjoyed scrapping like this with them all in a book about the theme instead of in my albums...i dont know why maybe its the easy to put out for people to look at (my kids mainly)

i also achieved some pages i cant show and this double...which is good cause it just felt like i ate and ate all weekend
im loving making memories noteworth at the moment

this is the hail we had just a few short weeks ago...my eldest thought that i made it hail for her entertianment....too cute!

home from work today

with a sick kid

she is in a very quiet mood

so i cheered her up with some christmas craft

thanks to ali edwards that shared her button trees making me see that lilly (4) would be able to do it herself, its fast becoming my fav blog to go and visit...and to tia bennett whom had the orginial idea up on twopeas this week

lilly has been a treasure working on her project and its so very cute

this one is lillys...didnt she do an ace job...so very cute she is of course now so tired and cranky and worn out but she wont have a sleep!

and yes i know im very into the non traditional colour atm and its only november but i didnt have the heart to put it away after miss 4 did such a good job she is so proud of it lol.. :)

heres my scrapjacked entry for this month

and apart from that im SICK of waiting to be told that masters is actually over and the calls have been made....string it out much! i dont care tha ti didnt get the call as if i expected it but it would be nice to know its all over!

more cards

again

i couldnt be more pleased to see my cards in stamping and papercraft. its fast becoming my fav place to be published

just look at how they display and photograph the work its so lovely

these are my christmas cards.. :) they r very easy esp for mass production and take very few products which i like for mass produced cards makes them that little bit cheaper

i think they r cute..: )

its prompting me to pack some christmas supplies for my small scrapbooking weekend away this weekend...a chance to work on some christmas cards and things for the low times when i dont feel like scrapbooking

there r some really cute projects in the stamping and papercraft mag out for christmas

For Keeps ET

As per usual i got all my entry back

no winning layout in there not even a layout kept for publishing which was a little sucky

here they r

im very disappointed that they didnt keep this first one just for publishing

This is emily i dont know WTF for keeps are looking for anymore used to have a bit of success with them but NOTHING for a good 12 months or more ...this is a fav of my entry all the journaling spots are about why my emily is beautiful and its all that heartfelt stuff about her personality etc..: ) and i just love that photo of her

i was also very happy with this one of lilly just before she turned 4 and again journalling all about her at this age.

went for a bit of variety with this one..moving away from just scrapping children to show a different style i guess. I like it its not a fav but.This last one i was really really happy with. I quite like it and again its that little bit different to the others even thou its about my girls
and the last layout isnt scaned and im not happy with it so im not going to bother it let my entry down and i didnt have time to deal with the problem having said that i didnt expect to win...who really would expect it but i would of hoped that at least some of the above layouts would of been published but apparently they are no good in the eyes of for keeps...WHATEVER! i think they make my album look great so in the words of bart simpson...EAT MY SHORTS! hehehe

to blog

havent posted in a while

ive been wondering about blogging and if it really has a place in my life or my familys life.

it seems to open us up to people talking about your life, your untidy or tidy house and how many hours u actually spend scrapbooking or on the computer and not with your kids. it seems to let people think that they know u just because i shared some small part of our life and my scrapbooking. I am for the first time ever gratful to not be a known name in scrapbooking. And that prompted me to thinking about things and that i want...for the longest time i wanted the recognition (not the celeb title - im so not into any of that shit) i wanted to be published, wanted a spot on a mag dt team or to be a master. BUT WHY! it just seemed to be one of my goals maybe it will forever be one. I have read over the last week a distructive little blog u all know the one that has ripped apart people, their scrapbooking and then more seriously their lives. I have to say i dont want to be on a list of people that has been ripped apart by this blog just because their work seems to appear in mags a little more often than the rest of us, it has for me allowed me to evaluate what any of the above want means to me...while i would still love to win a comp that i have put my heart and soul into it wouldnt really mean anything to my life and what is important in my life that stuff wouldnt change so this blog while i find it depressive and creative sucking hole of despair put things into prespective for me.

im feeling for anyone that has had their life put onto this blog or anyone that had their work attacked, i for one would be sad to log onto my fav blogs and sites and not see the work of people because they were worried about reaction. I love all different styles and all different works even if its not how i scrapbook, i sometimes evny people and how they scrapbook because its so different to mine...sarah van wjick for one i love her work but its so not how i scrapbook and i think thats why i like it....roz james love her work too....love erica glovers journalling it inspires me to journal on my layouts about more than just what happened and the date i thank her for that and then the flip to all the people i just mentioned...i like the arty stuff too jen hall, emily falconbridge u know the stuff i couldnt scrap like that if my life depended on it but i love looking at it.

my work at times could be described as product vomit im sure...what can i say i like a well structured page with lots of product...im a lumpy bumpy girl...i like journalling that means something to my family...i like distressed items on my page and making my own embellishments or trying to find that way to make the product i can afford go just a little bit further. I generally like my finished work...i have struggled with my style this last little while as i see things i would like to change about it...but cant so i have decided to embrace me...this is how i scrapbook and im proud of it, i love sharing it with people because i like to see the work they have shared so with those feelings in mind heres some of the things i have been working on and doing over the last 8 weeks or so since i last posted.

did this today....it has been inspired by ali russel (she has the most beautiful circle layout on her blog atm i LOVE IT) and a layout i saw on 2 peas by one of the gg cant remember which one and u would probably have a hard time spotting the layout as in the end this layout didnt look anything like the one that got me working.

i have to say half way through i almost pulled it apart but i like it now lol....emily hitting the trantrum stage so funny...she watches and then looks finds a spot and throws herself down on the floor and cries lol of course i step over her and keep doing whatever it was that i was doing before while i have a giggle at her....she is oh so cute

obviously my dh is home today lol a whole layout started and finished in one day and uploaded that doesnt happen

one from the weekend friday, sat and sun nights worth of work...my friend julie inspired and then challenged me to scrap over the weekend to get me out of my scrapping low point..thanks julie...again looks nothing like the layout she sent me to inspire me lol

My final piece for scrapbook stuido in new zealand...cant believe that i have been on that team for a year and my time was up...thankyou to lisa i loved working with you and your store. I will still be around in the gallery. The plastic album that lisa sent me with lovely paper and things to play with was so much fun and it looks really different to your traditional album.

Ive been quite into mini books just recently. I wasnt a fan for the longest time...why i thought when i had my albums...but as lilly gets older she wants to look and as 4 years do she isnt always careful. So i made her a few mini albums that we have out in our house in a basket (thanks to ali edwards for that idea) and she loves them and i dont mind if they get read to death and fall apart because my layouts are safely put away about the same events for when she is old enough to understand you cant be rough. So here is lillys birthday mini book. Oh i got a bind it all...LOVE IT

seems blogger has had enough photos for today. Enjoy

cards

well we have been very quiet here over the weekend after our hospital visit and eventhing that happened last week, im over it all hehe...its amazing what finally getting to retreat into my scrapbook world can do for your mental well being hehe...not that i can share my work just yet

heres something i can share

my first set of published cards, i love how this mag set them up to be photographed each set is different and they all look fantastic.

so this is stamping and papercraft mag check it out.

heads work and more

well there is nothing like having a year off work to make something go fast is there!!
when i left work to have emily i was very lucky to have ALOT of long service leave and 12 weeks of maternity up my sleeve...all of which i was then allowed to double by taking half payments each fortnight giving me just over a year at home with my beautiful girls
this week it all came to an end.! I do enjoy my job...im a primary school teacher, its challenging and im not a paper work kind of girl so i would of sucked in a office somehwere i can tell u I do enjoy watching children learn and knowing that i was responsible for leading them down the path to learning and take my job very seriously and try to make sure its down to the best possible what i find difficult is the politics of school life i think i can safely say that this week i recieved NO SUPPORT from my colleagues....zip none nothing ! they have spent their time this week bitching about how the person that had my class while i was on leave didnt get to keep the job....u know im sad for her to she did work really hard while i wasnt there and myself and my friend that i share my job with thanked her for all her hard work, but lets just say people are making my return to work harder than it need be...as if it wasnt hard enough to go to work with the guilt i feel about having my kids in day care while im at work, as if it wasnt hard enough to walk into a class that has had another teacher for the whole year and attempt to fit in with that class and their parents and put a positive spin on everything all the other shit that has hopped on the train is making everything so much more difficult
i wish it didnt worry me but it does, i wish i was the type of person that would say hey, get over it im here to do my job so just leave me be but im not, im the type that will take it to heart and end up really hurt by what they r doing to say im sick of having it blamed on me would be an understatement (and ive only been there for 2 days this week...next week will be great with 3 wont it)
and to make everything worse
emily didnt sleep last night after spending a full day in care she was so clingy last night we couldnt put her down. I missed my kids like crazy yesterday and today and i know they missed me but being awake all night and then going to work is not fun
then today miss lilly split her head open !...just as i arrived to pick her up from daycare so i spent the afternoon and first part of the night in the emergency where they thankfully glued the problem up
sorry for unloading
i so wanted to retreat back into my little scrapbook world tonight but i am so buggered mainly emotional that i think i will be going to bed very soon!

all about miss lil

its all about lilly today

as she turns 4



I will never for as long as i live forget the moment that i found out I was pregnant with you. It had been a strange time in my life as we walked the road of infertility between natural and medical assistance and the complete range of HIGH and extremely low emotions that go with it. I never for the life of me expected that test to come up with two lines that night...BUT IT DID.

We had been on holidays with my mum and her husband paul on the gold coast, we were resting and not thinking about being pregnant finally deciding a break from it all was what we needed. I was ill for quite alot of that holiday and couldnt stomach things like drink and breakfast (i know i should of known then and there...but i didnt...i knew i was pregnant with emily straight away cause of the same feelings...but not with lilly)

we came home still having no idea that our miss lilly was on her way finally turning us into a real family, it was a week after this that i was still complaining about not really feeling all that well and that i was extremely tired that my mum had said what if your pregnant?????

I was immediately off the phone and on my way down to the supermarket...funny thing is it never crossed my mind until that phone call...i spent the whole time until seeing the test saying I'm not, don't get hopeful (we had had so many high hopes dashed during that time in our lives)

I peed on the stick and then wondered off to do some other things including a phone call to your god mother and forgot about the test sitting on my toilet floor, still on the phone i went in to the test not expecting anything when there it was....2 LINES!!!!!!...2 lines...i dropped the phone and couldn't speak when sam asked me what was wrong i told her i had just done a test and it was positive....it was positive....i was FINALLY pregnant....at this point i really couldn't believe my eyes i almost hyperventilated i was in total SHOCK. when i rang my mother back i just said its positive and she didn't know what i was talking about for a second. This night...BEST IN MY LIFE, it is on a line with Lilly and Emily's birth but i will never ever forget this one moment that changed my world forever...there were alot of tears that night...tears of shock, disbelief, complete and utter joy and then some of fear as well.

lillys pregnancy didnt go without complication however and she was born a month early and low in birth weight (5pound 6) there had been placenta issues as well as my own high blood pressure issues and her birth while natural was with assistance and extremely scary....amazingly she recovered so quickly and so well that we were only seperated for a few hours (i wonder if its this experience even just a few hours that it was is what makes me not enjoy being away from my children...we dont do the baby sitting thing very often at all...i like having my kids with me or with at least one parent in general...funny i think im actually proud of the fact that they dont get watched by others very often except for the neccessity of day care for when im at work, we are very hands on parents i think or i hope)



after a rocky start...4 years down the track and my big girl is amazing. She is so independent which i would say she gets from me, she likes to do it herself (that is so me lol) She is kind and loving but strong willed and well can be stubborn...something else she gets from me hehe...and my beautiful girl used in the right way these things r so assets..: ) believe me i know. I cant believe how beautiful my girl is (both of them r actually) ringlets of curls and eyelashes most of us need to use fake ones to get, she is tall and skinny and has so much energy and generally loves life. I have loved being home for the last 12 months as it has allowed me to get to know my big girl and the child she has become in a completely differnet light. She LOVES being outside running around playing in the sandpit or her fort and chasing the dog. She LOVES craft and art she call s it all making lol. She pushes and challenges me to be the best i can be . She is daddys girl always has been there is just something between them that is so special and its really nice to watch them together :) Lilly is such a girl, she loves clothes (god help me lol) and hair pretties and rings and bangles all that dress up stuff but is a shocker at cleaning up and keeping her room tidy (something else im also hopeless at you should see this room lol) Both my girls may look like their father but this post has really shown me how much lilly and I are alike as well...its amazing really

I LOVE YOU BABY

BIGGEST HUGS

HAPPY BIRTHDAY BIG NUMBER 4!

the birthday express

i have to say i love august...its my favourite m onth

we celebrate the birth of both our beautiful girls in august...and while its my fav month and one i prepare for months in advance with present shopping and layby where neccessary by am i glad once its all over

my big baby lilly is turning 4 on wednesday...i cant actually believe she is 4...this year she is really into the whole birthday thing....for months she has been talking about it and looking at the birthday cake book and talking about having a party. Never having had a birthday party for her (except the first one) we decided a little party would be nice...lilly asked for a princess fairy birthday party...we made crowns and wands and ate a toads stool cake..lilly was beside herself which makes all the getting ready worth it doesnt it...her face once she got home from swimming lessons this morning to see our house (sadly inside) decorated with hellum filled pearly pink and purple balloons with fairy dust on table clothes of fairys with fairy cups and plates and a princess balloon that has been singing happy birthday to her all day was a priceless experience.

Well this before the party and look at that face hehe....i think she has looked this exicted all day even now when she is beyond tired she is still on that happy nice place high.

Why do kids always pick the cake u really have to think about...but thankfully she was very happy my the jones version of the cake lol

This is my larger open living space....thankfully it can accommdate a party who knew lol....the rain the rain im a little sick of it even thou i know we really need what we r getting scary that it really is only a 3 month supply...anyway...i have to cutest photo of lilly upon walking into the room all set up for her party...eyes as big as saucers.

Making crowns...the concentration...she kept going back and adding things to her crown and wand all day and she was so fantastic with the glue and the craft that im thinking its time to add at home glueing and making into the daily routine (we do craft all the time paint and stuff....)

her finished wand

Blowing out the candles on the cake. the cake took me all day yesterday to bake, cool and ice and well we do have half left but five seconds after the song its all over, u would only do it because u love your children hehe

well its after 7:30 now and both my beautiful girls are in bed with no tears or dramas...they were both very tired girls i think hehe

i have to say hellum filled balloons esp the singing birthday one - well worth the money...they have kept children amused all day and much of the night in this house...and the best part we have enough hellum to blow the big one back up again before the tank goes back on monday....however it has had a quick hole repair tonight lol so i hope it lasts...they say u get 50 plays of the song and i must say we have to of had ALOT more than that out of it

now she has to wait until wednesday for her first real B _ I _ K _ E, for that one i cant wai tto see her face

congrats to everyone that got a masters call i cant wait to find out what happens now...whatever it is all my things are at sm as we speak

a big good luck to heidi swapp on her big move to china

and a WOW how exciting to kate mason - twins

and to the millar family...thinking of u guys...happy birthday angel princess rani

a reason to save

there is nothing like a great reason to save is there

last week my parents (dad and step mother) were telling us of their plans for the france holiday they have booked for a little over 18 months from now. They have decided to rent a large house (they plan to be away for a while i think), and are going to hire a van type transporter van...im going ok...interesting and looking at them sort of werid i have to say...what would 2 people want with that....the next sentence i had to ask them to say twice! lol they have invited us and the kids of course to go with them and my step sister and her partner and kids as well and the best part and the part i had to ask for twice...all we have to do is pay for our flights and have spending money...YEH!!!!!

so france here we come....we started saving this week...how exciting is that

we have been before but stayed in the main areas of france...the tour towns...paris, nice etc u know the ones... :)

everyone is discussing the location of the house at current and if we just go for one location the whole time or go for two locations...im with my step mother in saying we go for two locations so at this stage everyone is going towards a house in the country side but close enough to paris to come in for the night once or twice and then into wine country

it will be so interesting to actually be in the smaller towns and part of the life over there for a few weeks and will be very different to the france i saw from the hotel point of view so we r very excited here...

dan and i r thinking of either going home via london or america for a quick visit...probably london...the euro star was suggested and then a few days in london and then fly home from there....dont know we have done london...I LOVE THE PLACE...but would also love to go to newyork and then florida (have family there) and then home....will be fun with a 5 year old and a 2 1/2 year old wont it lol

seeing a pic on kerrins blog just before made me think wow we will actually get to see that again and i will ge tto take the sorts of photos i want this time

u know the bit that is very exciting...a french mark in my passport....u pretty much have to fly into france to get one...when we came over from the uk its this sort of no big deal thing which is sad and u dont get stamps anymore as it sjust one big thing now...so i will finally get to add a french one to the lonely uk and swiss ones in my passport hehe

taught at blossies in morayfield yesterday....it was lovely...a great bunch of ladies who worked at the project so well cause we had to move quick. here is the project

its a large canvas...we turned it around and used the back of the canvas...its a tops idea isnt it...i wish it had been mine but alis no...i saw a lady in nz do it first...i sadly deleted the name but and cant remember otherwise i would plug her work it was beautiful. Im working on doing a few canvas's like this as gifts in the next few weeks too...its so clever! i have to admit i was just thinking derrr when i saw the effect...i love that it has a frame

hope everyone had a great weekend

enjoy your week

jacqui

a great week

well it started off with dread
emily turned one
but i bravely went there and dealt with it all well
and then i have followed on to have the best scrapbooking week ever plus so other great things hehe
after years of sm masters submissions i finally got in the top 100...but oh the packaging up of those articles is not fun, im so worried its going to get damaged on the way and not look the part on arrival...but still to have gotten this far is fantastic as i had decided not to do it again if nothing came of it this year...but im kind of pleased i can try again next year now hehe
that was monday or tuesday...tuesday i think

then wednesday my dh said the words every woman wants to hear....i will do the housework for u for the next 2 days...WOOOOHOOO lol....my dh always helps out int he house...with whatever he is really pretty good...the last few weeks he has been working ALOT...out the door by 9 and not home until after midnight (he is a chef...and a very good one at that) in that time we ordered garden mulch and things to finish off our main part of the backyard and well its lucky im not frightened of hard work cause u know who had to do all the work....ive been so buggered i havent scrapped much at all...i often wonder if my dh notices the house is generally clean and tidy and the clothes washed and put away etc etc...and well the answer is YEP he does... :) so that was nice
then
my face cleanser fell and broke on the floor...dan didnt notice it and showered while the container filled with water...and well that just wasnt going to wash my face was it...to my delight upon walking into myers yesterday where i left $300 dollars lighter in the pocket...it was clinque gift with purchase time...WOOOHOOO so i replaced all my skin care items which were looking just a little bit sad (I have to say i hate it when everything runs out at the same time thankfully it doesnt happen often) and came home with a little gift...and the lip plumping lip gloss is worth a go ladies....oh it makes your lips all nice...not big but u end up with no cracks in your lipstick...oh i love products hehe

after i got home yesterday after a lovely morning tea with my friends Chris , sal and julie (during our lovely morning tea we got in trouble by these cranky old ladies for making to much noise...how rude is that) sitting in my inbox was a message from kim archer tell me i had made the short list in her search for a miss september comp for Kim Archer at home

so while i havent won anything its not about the winning is it...sometimes its just nice to know your up there in the right place with your work

thanks for reading my ramble hehe...clearly i have nothing worth while to talk about lol

hope you all have a great weekend

heres some pics of my miss emily on her birthday ps im not a good dig artist hehe...but it was all so pretty i had to use it...the kit is downloadable from www.shabbyprincess.com and it is called spring breeze

a call

i got a special phone call yesterday

what were u doing 12 months ago tonight

I can tell u i wasnt blogging!!!

I WAS IN LABOUR

my older daughter had been just picked up by my mother for the night, and my dh and i were settling in for a rest as we knew we were in for a big night!...all day doctors had been trying to start my labour with no luck. At 7:30 it was on....and i dont get that lovely build up....i start with contractions 5 minutes apart and STRONG! I was so hopeful of natural birth at that point....it didnt end up that way at all...in the early morning my labour stalled because emily wasnt engaged she just couldnt get down there (she had been in a funny position for days)

I have to tell you tears well when i think about this night and the fact that it was actually 12 months ago...i remember like it was yesterday the c section and the jokes to ease my nerves by medical staff and then the beautiful baby and the calm 10 minutes that followed where i just got to tell her i was her mum (unlike lilly who was whipped away in an emergency and the frantic minutes that passed where i couldnt calm downuntil i heard her cry, we didnt even know if she was a girl). Her birth was not what we planned on AT ALL....and i was so scared of that op, but in the end it was beautiful and a miracle and calm

well that baby, my beautiful emily is one tomorrow. ONE! and im dealing with it no better than i was 8 weeks ago...tonight i put to bed an 11 month old for what i expect for me the last time tomorrow i put to bed a one year old

it really is unbelieveable how fast a year really does go

so as i try to keep my emotions in check....here are a few things about our miss em!

She has the funnies little personality that I just adore, she looks so much like her sister at the same age but they are so different. My baby girl has a beautiful soft nature. She is a mummies girl (and secretly I LOVE IT hehe) she always likes to know that i am near by, and during the day if im watching tv or reading a book she just comes up and leans on me for no reason other than being close and saying HI. She has in the last week developed the ability to fake laugh...its so funny and give the biggest cheezy grin showing all her teeth. I would love a photo of this its SO CUTE, she screams when she doesnt get her own way or when u take something away from her lol....its a short bursting scream and its very funny. Our girl now goes to sleep on her own, still in mummy and daddys room (we have a main bedroom the size of 2 rooms and its all the way up the other end of the house...great for teens not so for babies) but not for much longer as soon as we get the free time to dismantle the bed in her room she is moving into it...she waves and claps and likes to dance with her older sister. She is walking but its not the main mode of transport just yet and she gets so EXCITED when she walks. Emily loves toys and plays with them in the way they are intended (i know im strange for the last one but lilly isnt really a toy kid....she has millions of them but she just doesnt play with them really.,.so when we see emily we really notice the difference in the way she plays...its funny isnt it) she is saying mumma, dadda and bubba and knows who they belong too and this morning lifted my shirt up for her drink when i wasnt quick enough lol

ok well thats it...i will have more over the next few days im sure hehe...im off to make birthday cupcakes before falling in a heap as lilly has been sick and kept us awake for most of last night

but i leave with u an emily layout from last week...its for aussie scrapjack...the photo is only from last week too...so this is my baby at 11 months old...tomorrow i will have number one photos... :)

goodnight eveyrone havea great weekend

watercolours...lO VE THEM....i have had these watercolour pencils since i was an art student at school it was nice to get them out after all these years with a good worthwhile use ofr the too..: )

Tagged

thanks chris for tagging me
The Rockin' Girl Blogger idea originated from Roberta Flanaghan
now to tag five people

so i tag...michelle grant, kate mason, lisa walker, mel millar and nat mardon (and i know im to lazy to do the links sorry lol

not much going on here....i wont a little rak on michelle grants blog and i will have a brand spanking new banner made by michelle here soon, michelle is so clever so i cant wait to have that up, still working on a new photo from this including one of me dont die of shock hehe

i also won a layout scrapped by sheree mcgee on scrap jacked so thats pretty exciting, i sent her a pic this morning, the layout i won with is the green one with the transparency flowers below.. : )

what else

dt work for scrapbook stuido (formally scrapbookingbydesign)

crate paper stuff...very nice

what else...emily will be one in 9 days....pretty scary really!!....we have been working up a storm in our garden to try and finish off our landscaping so that its pretty for the party month from hell starting with a first birthday party next saturday, a 4th brithday party 2 weeks later and then emilys baptism FINALLY!!! I will share some photos of the finished yard next week when we have mulched and the deck is finished (ON SATURDAY WOOOHOOO only about 3 months after the thing was started but thats what happens when your father builds it)

have a nice weekend everyone.. :)

5 steps

well she did it....yesterday morning took emily took first steps
i nearly missed it!, i was folding the washing (see u should never do housework) and my dh was on the floor playing when she stood up and took that first step into his arms...it was amazing
my dh works such long hours that i cant believe he was here for her first attempt. Of course because i nearly missed it we made her do it again lol and again and again. Last night she was up to 5 steps in a row! lillys first steps were at daycare and while we were still excited about them at the time, this was so different and amazing. I will never quite get over seeing your kids do those first things, its pretty amazing!

scrapjacked

Its been a few months since i did a scrapjack, been to busy creating for other things...but when i saw this months layout done by sheree mcgee i knew i would just have to find some time to play along.

so here is my layout...iknow its nothing like sheree's but i love the way it turned out and sheree's layout was the perfect inspiration for this photo that was already bright and colourful. www.scrapjacked.blogspot.com

the photo is lillys kindy pic taken by too cute! photography, lets just say with that background im so happy we sent her in pink and green that day and not red! lol. But i do love the photo of lilly so CUTE!

ok so now im off the the sketches blog to do kates sketch this month!

She can do it herself

we had a big wow moment today and i almost missed it!!!!!
miss emily (11 months) has been trying to stand up on her own for a week or more, she gets 3/4 of the way up and then just cant quite work out what to do about the stuck leg, so cute, and the facial expressions she gets lol....today she has been such a time waster lol, at about 10 this morning she really starting trying and i held my breath a few different times thinking this is it this is it, i was sad but so excited for her, the closer she got the more excited she got, it was very funny until she give up, later in the afternoon after her nap it started again, stuck in the same place but same excited cheeky grin on her face lol....this went on for about 15 minutes until she got bored and moved on, to a ring of toys her older sister had put on the floor, not for emily so god knows why they were there lol....i was watching silly sitcoms that r on in the afternoon, and all was calm, when all of a sudden she sticks her bum in the air and gets her legs straight and stands up on her own...she didnt even know she had done it for a second i dont think, when me and lilly clapped for her she got the shock of her life to be actually up in the air lol and of course fell on her bum a second later...well miss 11 months now thinks she is oh so smart and has spent the night standing up all over the house lol, she has no idea what she does now just that she is up, i love firsts
and we have had a few this week
this was one first i was jus tplain thankful for
My baby girl is a cuddler, and likes to be rocked to sleep, you know at first i had no issues, whatever i love it too, until she weighed in at 8.5 kg, i then started to think this has to stop, i think she was about 9 months when i said this. So we started some form of sleep training, i dont do controlled crying well, i hate it i hate it i hate it, i just cant cope with them crying when i can stop it (but thats me i know plenty of people that do it and do it so well their children get the idea straight away) with lilly we control comforted which is the same basically as controlled crying except with more holding and comforting the baby, emily didnt really gel with this method she was confused nad really learnt how to push my buttons to come get her, so we went back to holding and nursing her to sleep!...at about 10 months i hit the wall after a 2 hour session of its time for bed and let her cry that night for the first time ever, i would like to say that solved our problems but no way, i then found out a little bit of info from the baby whisper that i liked - so we put some of emilys play time in her cot during the day so she saw it as an ok place to be and she learnt she was safe, and then i moved play time to closer to nap time, and she started to fall asleep on her own during the day, with a little 5 second cry just before dozing off, i went yep i can cope with that, but we were still having no success at night, i was desperate forher to learn some self soothing, but not to harsly, about a week and a half ago i went right this is it, im going to be strong with my own feeling about the crying, i have prepared her for this its going to be ok, that first night she cried for 30 minutes, i was in and out of the room (hate to think what the neighbours thought of me lol) and then the next night only 10 mins and its been just 10 mins every since, i can cope with 10mins, and its now not crying its that whingy cry they do, i dont want to be here cry, which is nice after the hystrical cry we had before we did the play in the cot thing, then last night quite out of the blue i poped her in her cot, said good night and she rolled over and went to sleep and that was that!, let me just say WOOHOO!, everything about her sleep patterns int he last 2 days has changed and in all positive for me ways too lol...she is waking less (not at all atm) and sleeping longer during the night which means i so hope an end to 5am mornings!!!! no one should have to get up at 5 in th emorning!!!! lol it looks like the middle of the night so yep there is so much sleep info out there, and when i finally took it serious and pieced together a plan that fit in with us we got it done and quickly..: ) and if your like me and not a controlled crier, its harder but you can get the same result with other ideas and a little more effort - our key to was consistency, we do it the same everynight and day, even whenw e r out in the pram, i lay it down and cover the front
our other first this week
feeding herself, lol, so much mess and the high chair - gross items!!!
i tell ya all these firsts are so lovely, but i think someone is going to have to sit and explain to me where the first year of her life went and why it went so quickly!

Joining the Digital Age

i have to admit i have stayed away from digital scrapbooking...i had enough trouble turning my photos black and white in the beginning...but over the weekend i had a cold and didnt want to do anything of much at all, and well i started playing with digital stuff!....i was more interested in making banners for my blog and for More than just scrapbooking than anything else. I then surfed on to find some of the most fantastic downloadable kits and these were free ones...papers WOW i so wished they were real papers i liked them so much. Dont u just wish u could design some of the stuff that is out there...well i wish i could.
I settled on a downloaded kit from www.theshabbyprincess.com all the credits for the digital elements are sitting at the bottom of this blog if your interested in what it is. I love it...im right into these colours atm. Thankyou to all the digital designers that have samples of their kits out there for free, keep up the fantastic job, you did enourage me to really give digital a go.
and i know that banner will be changed again in about a month, I seem to get bored with the banner easily, and like to keep the pic updated too.. :)

GUEST DT SPOT

This month i had the pleasure of being a guest dt on scrapbooking downunder I got to work with some around the block papers and embellishments. Beautiful papers to work with.. :) Thanks to tina and her team for having me this month

This is what I created for Tina....i had the challenge of my layout being based on this quote.

Kind words can be short and easy to speak, but their echoes are truly endless." Mother Teresa

my layout contains some hidden journalling for my girls to oneday find

"This quote when I thought about it , really made me think of parenting and how true it is here. We have bad days like any family but I always tell my girls how beautiful and kind they are (especially to each other), I always say they are special and tell them I love them. Aand on those bad days they have learn't adults say sorry too!"

this was a great layout to do , really made me think about parenting and how i speak to them

the photo of my girls is only about 2 weeks old too..> :)

i thinki had one of those parent/family moments today that you dream of when you dont have a family. Lilly my eldest has 3 favourite books, we must read them at bed time each and every night...Toffee in trouble, Come on, Daisy and Who sank the boat (only recently added to the list of nightly reading)

Tonight emily was awake at bed time so i had lilly bring her books out to the lounge cause if i leave emily that close to her own bed time she SCREAMS THE HOUSE DOWN!....we the nightly reading saw us all tucked up under a blanket so sweet

after i finished reading to lilly...lilly wanted to read them to me...she is 4 so i really thought she would just talk about the pictures and lose track half way through and wander off....but no she didnt...she remembers the stories by heart and reads them with the right pictures...it was the cutest thing, she even used all the big hard words and i could see her thinking about what she was saying, and the cutest thing of all...i always talk to her through the books about why toffee is in trouble...one if daisy is scared being all alone...she asked me the questions! so sweet i love this time of night!...i just had to share...i am shocked by now much she has learnt in her day to day life with what feels to be no effort on my behalf....my dh would tell u that isnt true as im always talking to her and asking her questions like what colours she is looking at or numbers etc, but its nice to now that little effort is paying off.

EEEEK

I just recieved a development email that i was getting while i was pregnant with emily and then it changed into child development
anyway
it just told me in just over a month i will have a one year old!
now im a little sad, its ok that lilly will be 4 just 2 weeks after emilys birthday...it is not however ok that my baby is going to be one!....where did the first year of her life go...its like i went to sleep and woke up the mother of a nearly one year old! When your feeling that your family is complete im more emotional about her turning one that I ever thought I could be. I want to celebrate it, but there is this part of me that is breaking and going this is the last time...:( I have so loved this stage of my life. Having babies is wonderful...but i feel like we have what was meant for us. We have to work so hard to get pregnant and then i have such issues in the last month as the baby gets bigger and my body packs it in and i cant lie and say its been easy as i get older (Emily is a dream baby or was a dream baby) but i have felt every single sleepless night this time around. for me right now...there is just something very bittersweet about this birthday all the first she has shared with us over the last year there isnt many times in your life that you get to do all these things is there.
anyway my dh doesnt get it...he is happy to move into the new stage in her life and celebrate it...i want to be ok but im sort of greiving i think this part of my life was a dream come true, i guess its now time to live the dream in the next chapter

some news

Some news was announced this morning over at memory bugs
I made the 2007 DT...so im looking forward to doing some aussie dt work this coming year. Congrats to the other girls that made the team with me. Looking forward to getting to know you. and a big thankyou to the outgoing team, boy do we have some shoes to fill.

Ive been doing some work for a guest spot i have coming up, but i cant share yet. And some work for scrapbooking by design, which has a monthly kit that this month features lil Davis papers and they r NICE!

So pretty and all double sided too. Loving double sided papers atm. Heres what i created with them. I love this photo of youngest and dh.. :) The quote reads loving a child is circular business, the more you give the more you get and the more you get the more you want to give. Sourced from two peas. and my tip for doing any circular sewing on the machine. I stitched the flowers around and around first before i stuck them down...it was so easy i was saying drr jacqui

a winner and my weekend!

first up the winner of my little RAK
was shell honig
Shell if you want to email me on morethanjustscrapbooking@gmail.com with your details i will get your little note book in the post.
thanks for all the tips people put in the comments it was interesting to read what other people wanted in classes. Something i took from the weekend at the convention was that a little give away was nice!.

my weekend
off to the convention on saturday. I had a great day. Got there about 9 and wondered off to find my classroom. Dumped my heavy bag and had about 15 minutes before class started. I found the scrapbook creations stand with the display of colour competition layouts in it. And to my delight i found my layout to be up on the wall as a finalist and the comp, along with chris millar and michelle grant. Michelle was a runner up...congratulations michelle your layout was beautiful.
Here are the pink and green layouts up on the wall

thats my layout in the top row to the left. me and my beautiful lilly. (thanks to chris for the pic of the display its nice to have.) these are the pink and green finalist. see the green and black on chris's blog . Heres a close up of my layout

its given me a vote of confidence one needs before sending in your masters entry!

until next time

jacqui

oh ps anyone in the flood zones i hope your all ok and things are starting to improve for you

new blog

check out this new blog
www.morethanjustscrapbooking.blogspot.com

its a chance to share all those btp projects we do
competition and prizes coming

A RAK

well ive never done this with my blog

but i was doing a scrapbooking class on journalling tomorrow that was cancelled due to numbers and i had made these felt covered notepads for the people in my class. Anyway when i have classes cancelled it always makes me ponder what i can do to reinvent my classes so that people enjoy them more and get value for money.

so instead of just thinking about what i like in classes im asking you guys. Leave me a comment before 10th june on what you like in your scrapbooking classes and i will put everyones name into a hat and draw out the name of someone to recieve the little felt notepads i have.

Im a little sad that i cant give these notepads to the people intended but thats ok, i will have 4 left after this little rak so i think i might lucky door them at the next class i have so that my class girls still get to enjoy them...i love felt atm its so fun to work with

remember i will do the draw at some point on the 10th june

Teeth

well our house has finally seen the arrival of emilys teeth

about time we r saying at nearly 10 months old

but she has to be an overachiever doesnt she...we have gone from no teeth to 3 in less than a week!!!!!....lots of sleepless nights in this house

i did this layout last night

using the sketch on the ozsketches blog...thanks girls

scrapbook creations

scrapbook creations...has been our now for i dont know how long

ive been very slack this week...2 sick kids and a sick mummy in this house has made our week start out very slow!

anyway

i had this layout picked up by sc and finally its out

i was just on their website and its a project in their project gallery as well

lilly has changed so much since these photos...about 12 months old now..: ) how time goes so fast....she will be 4 so soon...she is such a rascal and keeps me on my toes...r all 4 year olds like that??? she is really pushing limits this week and being sick i have a short fuse for it too...but am finding that if the house is clean and tidy and not in caios she behaves much better and today was great but im buggered keeping her entertained while she was stuck inside all day! thankgod for water colour kids paints...lifesavers...and dvd's also lifesavers on rainy inside all day days and for her cool little wheelie bug thingo...its a ride on toy for inside...its on casors and scoots and spins on the tiles she loves it and on a stuck inside day it uses up lots of energy i also thankgod for tomorrow and the luxury that is kindy! when i will be able to sit like a slug and get over my cold for part of the day anyway....will still have emily home