I'm BACK!!!!

Hi guys, I'm finally back on deck! Had a FABULOUS weekend last weekend out at Raincliff at Scrapbooking Camp, but of course, what goes on camp stays on camp, so shhhhhh!!!!! Ask no questions, I'll tell no lies, ha ha ha! I managed to get the four layouts done for my design team submission, which was a HUGE ask for me, as I really didnt like many of the papers, they were just not the kind of papers I would choose myself you know?








To be honest, I really dont like the last one - 17 years young... (I think it's the patterned paper that irks me), but I love the one of little Oliver, and of course the Buzz Lightyear one of J - that photo cracks me up every time I see it!!!!!

I also got some layouts done for me, with papers etc that I CHOSE (heehee) - my favourite for the weekend is the one I did of my Dad. I like the fact that it helps me to share how I feel about my Dad when as a rule I'm not all that good at telling him. I mean, he knows I love him, but it's nice to kind of pay tribute, you know? Anyway, I am stoked with how it turned out. I think I am getting better with using different techniques now, like sewing, paper curling, stamping, stapling etc. Check it out...




I was also really pleased with how the double layout turned out - I had kinda planned that in my head before camp so that I had the right number of little photos to go in the frames, but don't talk to me about that Klick'nKut machine huh Rach?! Arrrggghh, I am SURE that bloody thing doesn't like me!!!! Ha ha ha.

Anyway, camp is over for another 6 months, and I have D back from Aussie, so back to normal in the Caithness household for a while... phew!

Oh, and I am an auntie again - sister-in-law Bron had a baby boy by caesarian on Monday - Cameron James Lister, weighing in at a healthy 8lb 7oz. He's the cutest little bundle at the moment (but aren't they all?!) Sometimes its a shame that they have to grow up!!!!!

Oh well, busy busy busy for the next few weeks around here... I think I counted two weekends out of the next two months when we DON'T have something on - most unlike us actually! We have two weddings to attend, I have two to work at, we have barbecues to go to, first birthdays coming up, and we still have to do all the usual eating, sleeping, washing, drinking etc etc etc - looks like there might be quite a bit of the latter coming up - oh no, hangovers :( Ha ha ha.

Wel, I'm going to get moving - I have washing to hang up and some photos to check on the computer before bedtime, so I'm outta here.... Toodles, B x

Blast from the Past...

OMG - have been going through photo albums looking for a baby photo for the work baby photo guessing competition, and decided on this one...

Ha ha ha - check me out, I'm a little fatty!!!!!! He he he. Am hoping the the fact I am wearing a blue cardy will fool the people at work :) Yes, evil I know!

Also found this one in the bottom of a box, a true blast from the past - me at age 17 (nearly 17 years ago, ie HALF MY LIFETIME ago)

Woohoo - well that's it from me for now, am done reminiscing... Toodles, B x

The end of the weekend.....sigh

Hi de hi campers... well, it's pretty much the end of the weekend now, dammit! It's been a strange one - really awesome but really sucky also....

OK - the awesome part... Jake stayed the night at Auntie Gem's flat for the first time on Friday night. Gem and DJ picked him up from daycare at about 4pm, then they watched dvds and ate popcorn and lollies until Jake went to bed. The little bugger didn't even wake during the night or get up hellishly early like he does at home! (Just kidding, its great that he was good for them). Gem went in to see him at 9am because she hadn't heard from him, and he was just lying there awake waiting for someone to get him up! UNBELIEVABLE! So WE had a lovely sleep-in on Saturday morning - in fact we didnt wake until 9am! D got up, but I decided to stay in bed with my book, and D made me a cup of tea (good husband!). I can proudly say that I didnt get out of bed until half ten - woohoo!!!!!! Love it! We went out to do a couple messages, then grabbed a toastie at Sopheze for lunch before Jake came home at half one. Talk about a cruisy day!

The sucky part.... Spent the latter part of the day getting D packed to go to Aussie for work on Sunday. TOTALLY not cool.

This morning (Sunday) we got D's stuff finally sorted, then headed round to the school for J to have a play on his bike and scooter for a bit. He just LOVES going round there! Unfortunately he only knows two things about riding a bike - you ride it flat out (without training wheels of course), and you skid to a stop! We came home and said farewell to D at half ten, which was real hard. J gets upset everytime he goes away, he's such a Daddy's boy. This week is not going to be the easiest me thinks. Bugger.

J talked Grandad Jim into meeting him back at the school this afternoon to have bike races (how cute is that!). The two of them rode around and around and around and around (you get the picture?) for about 45 minutes while Granny Rose and I sat in the shade with Billie and watched! Ha ha ha. He was well knackered after that so we had a very relaxing afternoon at home, then back to Grannys for a BBQ tea. YUM. Back to work and daycare tomorrow, ho hum. Did I mention that I am going to enrol to do my Legal executive papers this year through the Open Polytech? I'm really excited and really scared all at the same time - keep wondering what the *#$% am I doing?! LOL

Oh well, time to get off to bed, always takes me ages to wind down for the night when D is away, I'll probably end up reading until the wee small hours, so may as well get started on that now huh?! Toodles, B x :)

The modern marvel of MAIL!!!

Well, we had one of those really 'CUTE' moments with J last night.... He came home from daycare with the cutest drawing he had done of a whole bunch of little stick people that he called his 'famiwy' (read FAMILY, lol!). He told me he had drawn it specially for his cousins, so I asked him if he would like to post it to them in the mail (I know, SO old school!)

I wrote their names on a piece of paper, and he then wrote them onto the envelope (with a little verbal coaching from me), I addressed the rest of it, and he wrote his name and a couple of kisses on the back ('one kiss for Brianna, Mummy and one for Alex' awww). I let him put the stamp on it, and then we walked round the corner to post it in a REAL mailbox.... I know, REAL mail, not EMAIL!

So.....being the good scrapbooking mother that I am, I didn't let all this happen without taking photos for a future layout!!! How adorably CUTE is this envelope? I just LOVE it!

See...... just TOO cute!!! Ha ha ha! Oh well, that's it from me, earlier to bed tonight, because I am SO NOT a morning person at the moment when it is time to get up and go for my walk! Oops :)

Toodles, B x

Back to work again tomorrow, sigh....

Well, we had a lovely evening for our barbecue last night, and I think everyone had a lot of fun! J fell into bed at about 9pm, but do ya think we could get him to go to sleep? Arrggh! Consequently he woke SEVERAL times during the night (overtired me thinks), and has been a right grumpy bum all day today :( Fingers crossed he sleeps much better tonight! I am going to post a pic of him eating tea last night with his cousins, Brianna and Alex - he LOVES having them come visit!

Oh, and I have just finished the page I started at Rose's on Thursday night - is a bit different to the style of canvas I did on Wednesday huh? I'm still pleased with it all the same....

I used my warehouse circle cutter (thanks Rach), then hand-drew in all the ink dots/circles. I went nuts with multi-coloured buttons, freehanded the scribble border around the photo, then glued beads all over the show (see below). Am loving that Scenic Route chipboard lettering at the moment.

Oh well, is nearly 9pm, and D and I are gonna watch a DVD, so I best skedaddle. Toodles! B x

Ah, it's SATURDAY!

Hello again... yay, it's Saturday! I spent some of last night sorting out the photos on my laptop, so I now have some 'out of sequence' photos to include...

First of all, there is the Crop Night Christmas Barbecue that we had at our place before Christmas, which was a complete BLAST! Lelia sounded put out that she hadn't featured on the blog yet, so especially for you Lelia, here you are... LOL!

Back: Jen, Lelia, Gina
Front: Michelle, Beck, Rose

Not only did we FINALLY get a shot of all of us together, but got a couple of snaps of the kids having a ball - we had a treasure hunt (looking for chocolate bars, yum!) and then had a lolly scramble...

I also found some great shots of our New Year's Day at Lake Opuha - particularly of D waterskiing. I think I might have to get one blown up for the wall! Check it out...

Not bad huh?! What you don't see are the several hundred photos taken with half a head, or half a body, or no water-skiier at all - it's not easy using a telescopic lens in a boat that is bouncing around on the choppy water! Ha ha ha! They only got to see the inside of the recycle bin!

I also found some snaps on D's camera of our trip down to see Kim and Sarah - we stopped off at the Oamaru Blue Penguin colony (where J bought a toy penguin originally called Nigel, but lately called Cody, out of 'Surf's Up' movie), then we stopped at Moeraki for a bit too....

So, that's about it for all the latest pics - you are officially now UP TO DATE! It's a lovely day here today, and has been a busy one... D helped Dad put new brake pads into Gem's car, which took a while, then Dad and Gem (with a little help from me) put a new Buzz Lightyear border up in Jake's room. I have spent the rest of the day cleaning, making a pav, making a salad and generally preparing for the in-laws to come for tea! It's about quarter to six at the moment, and I think they are starting to arrive, so I'd best get going..... Have a great weekend, toodles! B x

Back to work....aarrrgghhh!

Well, I have survived the first stint of being back to work already... feels like I never even left, lol! Sorry for the delay between posts, I'm still trying to 'find my rhythm' again between work and home life - it's not always easy!!!!


I have already had to have a day off this week....Jake had to stay home yesterday as he is on antibiotics for another earache, which meant a 24 hour stand-down from daycare, dammit! Here's hoping that this doesn't mean another set of grommets required for this winter.... there's always something, huh?


Jake now has some amazing drawers in his room thanks to Auntie Gem's artwork - she painted an awesome rocket on the front, and Jake just loves it - in fact I had to take a photo specially this morning and print it out so that he could take it to daycare and share it for 'news' !!! How cute is that?! I will post photos soon.

Yesterday at home wasn't SO bad - J was a whingy whiny little @#$!? in the morning, then happy as larry when Daddy came home for lunch (of course!). After lunch he watched a DVD, then we popped over to see Rachel, and he ended up watching ANOTHER DVD there with Abby. I was about to take him home when Rachel said "Let him watch the rest of that with Abby, I'll drop him home when it's finished - you go home and get scrapping!"....... FANTASTIC!!!!!!


I started out doing a page of our wedding photos, but ended up converting to a canvas - looks great, will post pic tonight. Am well stoked with the outcome.

Well, best dash, will catch up again soon - off to Scrapbooking tonight at Rose's, so will probably be tomorrow before photos get added.


Toodles! B x

Phew - the party's OVER!!!!

Well, the party is over, and we are all absolutely knackered! Jake has had a blast today though - he was excited about the party from the minute he got up (at 7.15am!!). I will post some pics of the cake, I was really pleased with how it turned out in the end...

He and his little friends had fun playing in the paddling pool, in the sand pit, on the trampoline and throwing water balloons! We played 'Pass the Parcel' (of course!), and ate copious quantities of party food - chippies, lollies, cheerios and cake! YUM!!!

Check out MR COOL posing for DJ holding the camera! Ha ha ha :)

The Space Rangers at our party: Oakley, Arthur, Jake, Oliver, Jakob (mischievous looking lot, huh?!)

Well, it's 9.20pm, and Jake has only been asleep since 9pm, so I'm picking it'll be a quiet day in the Caithness household tomorrow, because everyone will be tired and grumpy - yay! Besides, have to be bright-eyed and bushy-tailed to go back to work on Monday anyway, dammit.

That's it from me, I'm going to get myself a long cool drink (did I mention it was about 36 degrees here this afternoon? Too #$%?!$% hot for this kiwi!). Till next time... toodles! :)

Nearly Party Time!

Well, I have spent a fair bit of my time off this week at home with Jacob organising things for tomorrow's Buzz Lightyear birthday party ... I have even dabbled in a bit of sewing (most unlike me!). I have made little Buzz Lightyear tops for each of the party guests, kind of like the old netball-bib type of top. I am impressed with myself at how they have turned out, as I am NOT a gun seamstress by any stretch of the imagination! I started out with a pile of cheap fabric, Jake's Buzz toy and an idea in my head......

and ended up with.....

Not too bad huh?! The rest of today will be dedicated to making party food and birthday cake, although I am off to town for morning tea at the Red Rocket shortly, and have to pop out for a family tea later for Grandad's 84th birthday today. I have a list of things to get done in between times, not sure how much I will manage! Baking, cleaning, wrapping pass the parcel, blowing up balloons, making crepe paper streamers, supermarket shopping, etc etc etc, PHEW!

Oh well, best get off my @#$!#? and get going.... toodles!

Our baby turns 4?!

Really? I guess so - unbelievable really to think that it was 4 years ago he was born, sad but true. He had a great birthday at home, with lots of visitors which was awesome. I don't think the phone stopped ringing all day either, and he loves talking on the phone :)


We got him a T-ball set, and he got lots of lovely other things too, including (unfortunately) a mega-horn from my grandparents (thanks Nan!) and a battery-powered damned noisy guitar from my parents - just lovely - NOT!!! Here he is playing the infernal guitar while wearing his Buzz suit that Santa got him for Christmas (now that's cute!)

We made a simple cake for his actual birthday because he is having a Buzz Lightyear birthday party on Saturday with some of his little friends, so he helped me cream a supermarket sponge and then ice it with chocolate icing. He put the icing and chocolate hail on it himself, then blew out the candles and cut himself a MASSIVE piece of cake! (Why not?!)

Erm, the last photo here would be of the cake monster that resides in our house from time to time - attractive little beastie isn't he?! Lol! Only a mother could love that face!

Oh well, that's all from me for now, gotta go get some stuff done around here... Toodles! :)

Brighton

We spent three nights in Brighton with Kim, Sarah, Josh and Brodie last week - had a ball. On Saturday morning we went into Dunedin and saw the butterflies at the museum in the Tropical Rainforest Exhibit - they were beautiful, but MAN was it hot!!!! After some lunch at the Meridian and a sleep for the Young kiddlies, we headed off down to the beach (all of 50m from the house) and hung out for a bit. The little boys had a blast being towed at speed on their boogie-boards by the big boys - see?

The weather was just gorgeous, and the water in the lagoon that the kids were being towed is was probably warmer than bath water! It was great to see Jake playing in the water, as that had become a bit of a battle lately, although it would have been a different story in cold water me thinks :) Anyways, it was lots of fun!

It's ok - I am still here!!!

Hi there - we have had a crazy few days since my last post... This is coming to you live from Brighton (about 15 mins south of Dunedin).

We are staying with our friends Kim and Sarah until Sunday, hoping to spend some time on the beach and just chill out for a bit.

What have we done over the last few days? Well, New Years Eve was a bit of a disaster for us - we got invited to a barbecue, and after only an hour or so there, Jake was sick and we had to go home, dammit! I think we were tucked up in bed by about 11pm, so I wasn't even awake to see the New Year in - how sad is that?!

New Year's Day we went up to Lake Opuha to hang out with D's family and get in some waterski-ing.... D had 3 skis I think, before landing in about a foot of water and hurting the bottom of his foot. As we speak, it is a nice purple colour on the bottom where his arch used to be (not an arch at the moment due to the swelling, ouch)

When we came home from the lake we brought our niece home with us for the night. D towed the boat back with his ute, so I had the two kiddlies in the back of the rolls (my Corolla) for the trip home. It's only a 45 min trip, but I had to stop twice.... Once because J was threatening to be sick, oh joy, and the second time was to scare the crap outta the kids for being naughty - I had warned them that if they kicked each other one more time I would stop the car and someone could walk home, but would they listen? NO! Well, when I stopped the car, they looked a bit scared, uh-oh, they said, she's serious! No-one wanted to walk home from Albury, so they behaved after that, thank goodness! Ha ha ha! Method in my madness, that's for sure.

January 2nd was spent in partial chaos while J played with cousin Brianna, and we tried to kinda tidy the place up a bit behind them as they went. I had to shoot out at 3pm to take some photos for a Temuka family, and by the time I got home at half five, Bron had arrived to collect Brianna and take her home. Of course, by then neither child wanted her to leave - isn't that always the way?!

January 3rd (yesterday) we were due to head here to Brighton about mid-morning-ish, but J woke up with a splinter in his foot and couldn't walk on it, and we also hadn't packed anything yet, so leaving in the morning was never really on the cards anyway, lol! Dr Rob was fully booked, so we took J to A&E like he suggested, and an hour or so later we came out with a splinter-less son (after several tears, screaming bouts and rugby-tackle-type holds to hold thim still!). We managed to hit the road about lunchtime, and after a stop off at the Rainbow Confectionery factory in Oamaru as well as the Penguin Colony and the Moeraki Boulders, we arrived in Brighton about 5pm. Must admit, it is a lot nicer travelling with an almost 4 year old that you can reason with for a change.

Today is the 4th, and we haven't a lot planned. Cruise into Dunners and get some groceries and of course Coke to go with the Wild Turkey and Kahlua (not in the same glass tho, lol!), then maybe head on down to the beach if it warms up a bit.

Hope everyone else is having a nice New Year so far..... will post more later maybe. Till then, toodles! :)