Its all go around here... ....

Anyone with young children knows that life is always busy with them around, and even though Charlie is off to school 5 days a week, the pace is still flat out, but now out squeezed into afterschool and weekend hours. Heaven forbid when the teachers start getting tired and ask for some parent help. Although hes actually still not five (anyday now!) we had the much awaited party on friday night. Pub for tea (thats what you do here in Waimate) sleepover and Chipmunks in the morning. Since hubby was home when I started making the cake I thought it would be nice if it was a joint effort. WRONG. He of course insisted that you cant have a 2D rocket it simply must be vertical for his "boy".So we taped the handy towel holder to a plate and "erected" the chocolate logs onto it. Heres the final result....

 Ooops nearly forgot to mention the waitress lit sparklers all around the base when she brought it out so it was pretty exciting for the kids.

On the scrapbooking front most new release orders have been placed and I am just waiting not very patiently for my turn to have preorders made available. 4 new Kaiser ranges arrived since I last blogged, the latest being English Rose
Had a wee play this morning with the Bracket frame and the diecut speciality paper from the Magic Happens range and the new paper blooms (also from Kaiser)

Pretty easy really when the diecut is already the right shape (and now I have a template for cutting out the middle). The paper blooms are easy to position with the wires on the back and the variety of sizes and styles in the one packet. The English Rose range has the same shaped die cut for those of you who like soft pink and olive. I am sure whichever little girl ends up with it will be very happy (Pam and Lisa don't show your daughters this blog)
Waimate is having a womens expo this weekend, so I have a stall. I am allowed ONE WHOLE trestle table!!! What on earth will I take..... ..... ......

Kids are off to school, Mama is home alone....

That moment has come in my life when all my little birds have flown away and I am left with an empty nest. Greg and I still cant decide if we should have tried harder for number three (no pun intended) but after trying for two years and the magical "40" approaching fast we may have missed that boat.
However it is very exciting seeing your youngest starting school and absolutely loving it. Every morning he says to me "do I get to go to school again today Mama?" so cute. He's not actually 5 yet but with six kids due to start this month in his class it just makes sense for them to all start on the first day. Charlie is one of those kids who loves rules so school is perfect for him, rules and routines everywhere. Only problem is, now he and Rosie argue constantly about how things are supposed to be done - they both think they are the school experts.

On the scrapping front I have been spending about 4hrs a day on the computer trying to decide which of the new ranges to get in etc. You would not believe how hard I find this! Dont get me wrong, shopping is good fun and my husband knows I am very experienced at it, but, the difference is that I am no longer shopping for myself. We all have such different tastes and reasons for scrapbooking. I dont want my albums to be works of art, I want them to be chock full of photos of our daily life. In saying that, I love getting super creative when the mood hits and am completely in awe of all the beautiful work that I see you all doing. Therefore I love when you guys tell me what you see/want (Jo, Becks, Kathryn.....) I wont always agree (eh Jo?) and have in the past mucked up how to order upcoming ranges (still waiting for BoBunny Midnight Frost... maybe one day just to surprise you) but I will always welcome your suggestions.
This is the latest page that I have done using Kaisers Seaside Range, Martha PATP String Lace, Dusty Attic clouds and a spritz of Glimmermist.

So as you can see I'll leave the pages that take hours to complete to you experts and try to promise to actually order what I say I will.

My daughter, Rosie, has been joining me in the "shop" since being overjoyed with the scrapbook and 20 papers I gave her for christmas. I thought she was going to cry with happiness when she opened it. You never know what is going to capture their hearts do you? Any way here is her first page... and all that Mama did was cuttlebug the title.

So onto the Dusty Attic order, timed much better this time, a week after the new releases came out instead of the week before. DOH!