It's been one of those days...

What a mixed bag this

What a mixed bag this last few days has been. Thanks for your comments on the last post, I'm still not over it!

What has taken up a lot of time in the last few days for me? Read the whole long story here . Nutshell for those that don't want to click the link is that the whole of the Queen & Co Dt artwork went missing at CHA. Not fun. Annoying and frustrating actually.

Mum and Dad are back!! YAY!! You didn't know they were away? No, that is because I didn't mention it, but they were away for a month and Abby and I spent a lot of time together :o) Love the girl. But she loves having Nannie to play with too :o)

Shark boy had his tooth out the other day. It was a quick fix, he braved the injections like a trooper, left the tooth out for the tooth fairy, she left him $1 and no glitter and he woke in the morning, didnt say a word, just put the $1 in his money box. Kids can be so different!

Ok so I have a few more BG layouts to share. This one is of Aden, my nephew. It is done with the new Recess papers from BasicGrey and this layout was on display at CHA. This is one of the favourites out of the layouts I did for them, I think.

I have another to share with the Mellow line I think. I can't find the jpeg right now. It's filed somewhere safe.

Laters

What a mixed bag this

What a mixed bag this last few days has been. Thanks for your comments on the last post, I'm still not over it!

What has taken up a lot of time in the last few days for me? Read the whole long story here . Nutshell for those that don't want to click the link is that the whole of the Queen & Co Dt artwork went missing at CHA. Not fun. Annoying and frustrating actually.

Mum and Dad are back!! YAY!! You didn't know they were away? No, that is because I didn't mention it, but they were away for a month and Abby and I spent a lot of time together :o) Love the girl. But she loves having Nannie to play with too :o)

Shark boy had his tooth out the other day. It was a quick fix, he braved the injections like a trooper, left the tooth out for the tooth fairy, she left him $1 and no glitter and he woke in the morning, didnt say a word, just put the $1 in his money box. Kids can be so different!

Ok so I have a few more BG layouts to share. This one is of Aden, my nephew. It is done with the new Recess papers from BasicGrey and this layout was on display at CHA. This is one of the favourites out of the layouts I did for them, I think.

I have another to share with the Mellow line I think. I can't find the jpeg right now. It's filed somewhere safe.

Laters

Is it just me...

Is it just me or does the world move too quickly? Just 6 months ago it was the Summer holidays and I had an extra 'son' almost permanently in my home. He was a neighbour, 12 years old, and he came with all sorts of tricks and games. As the youngest in the family by quite a while he enjoyed being the big kid. He taught my boys how to play some amazing games. Instead of just playing with the b.d.man, he pulled them apart and set up a b.d.man warehouse and he taught them an imaginery game to win them back, piece by piece. He played yu-gi-oh cards. He wrestled, he taught them touch rugby, he even taught nearly-3-year old Abby a few things. Mostly though, he taught my boys respect. For each other and for their toys. How to count the balls in the b.d.man so that they knew to find them all at the end of the game. How to count the yu-gi-oh or Pokemon cards and locate them at the end of the day so the deck was always full. He showed the boys how to save up to buy something. His pride being a 'drift' remote control car. He loved that thing. Tamagotchis. Those boys were obsessed. All 3 of them.

I guess I got used to having him around.

So he started high school this year and I knew it would happen, things started changing. He tried to sell my boys his Tamagotchi's in March, I said no - secretly hoping he would realise in time he doesn't have to go along with the high-school-cool thing. He turned 13 in April.

Tonight he rang and asked the boys to go over. My boys were in their pajamas at 6pm but trotted over, so cute. They both came back with boxes of toys.
They tipped them out and squealed with delight as all their favourite toys fell over the floor. The b.dman that the neighbour boy had bought with his Christmas money. The decks of Pokemon and Yu-Gi-Oh cards. The McDs Pokemon toys he begged us to grab when we were taking the kids there for dinner one day. My mouth dropped open as I saw his drift car.
And there at the bottom of the pile were 2 dead tamagotchis.

My boys were in heaven. So many toys. they couldn't wait to put new batteries in the Tamagotchis. I really don't know if they realise what it really signifies. I sit here with dinosaurs, b.dman, pokemon stuff all over the floor and can't help but feel incredibly sad.

laters

Is it just me...

Is it just me or does the world move too quickly? Just 6 months ago it was the Summer holidays and I had an extra 'son' almost permanently in my home. He was a neighbour, 12 years old, and he came with all sorts of tricks and games. As the youngest in the family by quite a while he enjoyed being the big kid. He taught my boys how to play some amazing games. Instead of just playing with the b.d.man, he pulled them apart and set up a b.d.man warehouse and he taught them an imaginery game to win them back, piece by piece. He played yu-gi-oh cards. He wrestled, he taught them touch rugby, he even taught nearly-3-year old Abby a few things. Mostly though, he taught my boys respect. For each other and for their toys. How to count the balls in the b.d.man so that they knew to find them all at the end of the game. How to count the yu-gi-oh or Pokemon cards and locate them at the end of the day so the deck was always full. He showed the boys how to save up to buy something. His pride being a 'drift' remote control car. He loved that thing. Tamagotchis. Those boys were obsessed. All 3 of them.

I guess I got used to having him around.

So he started high school this year and I knew it would happen, things started changing. He tried to sell my boys his Tamagotchi's in March, I said no - secretly hoping he would realise in time he doesn't have to go along with the high-school-cool thing. He turned 13 in April.

Tonight he rang and asked the boys to go over. My boys were in their pajamas at 6pm but trotted over, so cute. They both came back with boxes of toys.
They tipped them out and squealed with delight as all their favourite toys fell over the floor. The b.dman that the neighbour boy had bought with his Christmas money. The decks of Pokemon and Yu-Gi-Oh cards. The McDs Pokemon toys he begged us to grab when we were taking the kids there for dinner one day. My mouth dropped open as I saw his drift car.
And there at the bottom of the pile were 2 dead tamagotchis.

My boys were in heaven. So many toys. they couldn't wait to put new batteries in the Tamagotchis. I really don't know if they realise what it really signifies. I sit here with dinosaurs, b.dman, pokemon stuff all over the floor and can't help but feel incredibly sad.

laters

Well we've done it. We

Well we've done it. We hit the negative outside temperatures this morning. The sun is just coming up and I expect there is some wicked frosts forming as I type. Should make for great photos. Should make for a cold walk to school. One son will love it. He will revel in the cold. He will jump in the ice and laugh at his foggy breath. The other will whine and moan all the way how cold it is. I will secretly agree in my mind but pretend to be brave. Abby will be so rugged up in the stroller she will have no idea it's even cold.

I didn't share much from the last box of Tarisota I worked with. It was the "Life is beautiful" Collection and here is one of the layouts I created.

That's an old pic taken down in Wellington years ago. That is still my favourite jersey. How sad is that?

I have the August Collection of Tarisota with me now. It's more my colours and I'm excited to play. Sneak peeks are on Tarisota website already.

My big mission this week? Finalising classes for Canada.
Also pulling together my products and finalising details etc for Crafting Connection Nov 2007.
If you are thinking of going to this, register as soon as you can. At this point the classes are normally evaluated and some are made bigger, some are made smaller, swapped around within the venue etc it all makes a difference to what product I decide to grab in for the classes.
I have been asked personally what my fav of my three classes are. With Freestyle I had a definite favourite. This Crafting Connection I am thrilled with all three classes and seriously couldn't pick a favourite. I also think I'm more excited about this event than I have been with the other Crafting Connections. The way it is structured, the time left available to socialise, how flipping confident I am in my amazing classes. lol. It all helps.

Happy crunchy frosty morning to you. Do I light the fire now while the kids are home and they freeze their bu tts off more when they go to outside? Or do we all sit in this freezing home and bear it until the kids have gone to school and I can light the fire. Ahhhhh dilemmas.

laters

Well we've done it. We

Well we've done it. We hit the negative outside temperatures this morning. The sun is just coming up and I expect there is some wicked frosts forming as I type. Should make for great photos. Should make for a cold walk to school. One son will love it. He will revel in the cold. He will jump in the ice and laugh at his foggy breath. The other will whine and moan all the way how cold it is. I will secretly agree in my mind but pretend to be brave. Abby will be so rugged up in the stroller she will have no idea it's even cold.

I didn't share much from the last box of Tarisota I worked with. It was the "Life is beautiful" Collection and here is one of the layouts I created.

That's an old pic taken down in Wellington years ago. That is still my favourite jersey. How sad is that?

I have the August Collection of Tarisota with me now. It's more my colours and I'm excited to play. Sneak peeks are on Tarisota website already.

My big mission this week? Finalising classes for Canada.
Also pulling together my products and finalising details etc for Crafting Connection Nov 2007.
If you are thinking of going to this, register as soon as you can. At this point the classes are normally evaluated and some are made bigger, some are made smaller, swapped around within the venue etc it all makes a difference to what product I decide to grab in for the classes.
I have been asked personally what my fav of my three classes are. With Freestyle I had a definite favourite. This Crafting Connection I am thrilled with all three classes and seriously couldn't pick a favourite. I also think I'm more excited about this event than I have been with the other Crafting Connections. The way it is structured, the time left available to socialise, how flipping confident I am in my amazing classes. lol. It all helps.

Happy crunchy frosty morning to you. Do I light the fire now while the kids are home and they freeze their bu tts off more when they go to outside? Or do we all sit in this freezing home and bear it until the kids have gone to school and I can light the fire. Ahhhhh dilemmas.

laters

Shark Boy

Yes. I found the glitter. I used my best non-detectable tooth fairy skills to create a masterpiece on the note. I spread a little glitter around his bedside table and on the floor. And then once again I hid the glitter in a very safe place. And I washed my hands of the evidence. Again I felt like some sort of glitter criminal. The night's work was done. This was Monday night. TUesday morning was greeted with smiles from Jacob.

On Wednesday morning I was standing in the kitchen making the school lunches and I turned around and there was Jacob standing there, with tears rolling down his face and his hands on his hips. -frightened the heck out me -"THere is NO tooth fairy!!! YOU are the tooth fairy!"
Immediate thoughts of how I could have failed tooth-fairy-glittering-101 went thorugh my mind - I was so thorough.
"I put a tooth under my pillow last night and didn't tell you and there is no money or glitter because the tooth fairy is YOU!!!"

What is a mother to say?
To say nothing of the fact that this is the teeth he wouldn't leave out because he didn't want the tooth fairy to take them away. If there was a referee watching this match I'd have called unfair on that one - I was totally set up.

So I used my best telling-fibs-mother-skills and told him perhaps it was because she had already paid for those teeth - or it wasn't on the note - or whatever?~! *shrug*

So again, last night, we had the tooth fairy note out. And again last night I glittered and took teeth. And prayed to the God Of good tooth fairies that I got it right.

And this morning was met with smiles from Jacob. *phew*

Now i do need to add a little disclaimer here. Jacob is my perfectionist boy - I cringe addressing any of his extra-needs on this blog so I don't often do it. He has Asp ergers Syndrome and obsessing about such things is his speciality. When he was 5 yo he was so obsessed with the tooth fairy and the possibility that she could come into his room at night he was having nightmares. After battling his fears for weeks I told him at 5 yo that she wasn't real and his anxieties settled.

Come time when his first tooth fell out 18 months later, he remembered that Mummy had told him the tooth fairy wasn't real and he came to me and asked "Mummy, did you just say that to make me feel better?" To which I answered that I did and that she was a real fairy. His answer at this point was that he thinks the fairy is in fact kind and gentle and pretty and leaves glitter around the room, and this makes him feel OK about leaving his tooth out. The whoooole tooth fairy problem grew from there.
As I said. Anyone with a child on the autistic spectrum will understand the obsession, and the need to have anything - including the process the tooth fairy has to go through - perfect.

Ok so let's hope the story ends there for a while - I'm sure you all prefer to see layouts etc?!!

But it won't. Because I have another son, Braden. Currently we call him "shark boy". You know how sharks have two sets of teeth, like one set and then just inside they have another?
yep. Like this.

Those front teeth aren't even wiggly. So today we made an appointment at the dental nurse because he needs a few of the front baby ones pulled out to make room for that adult one to move forward. We hope. Injections and all. Poor kid.
The good news is that he is a no-fuss kid. He'll leave the tooth beside his bed and be happy there is a $1 coin waiting there in the morning.
The tooth fairy thanks him.

laters

Shark Boy

Yes. I found the glitter. I used my best non-detectable tooth fairy skills to create a masterpiece on the note. I spread a little glitter around his bedside table and on the floor. And then once again I hid the glitter in a very safe place. And I washed my hands of the evidence. Again I felt like some sort of glitter criminal. The night's work was done. This was Monday night. TUesday morning was greeted with smiles from Jacob.

On Wednesday morning I was standing in the kitchen making the school lunches and I turned around and there was Jacob standing there, with tears rolling down his face and his hands on his hips. -frightened the heck out me -"THere is NO tooth fairy!!! YOU are the tooth fairy!"
Immediate thoughts of how I could have failed tooth-fairy-glittering-101 went thorugh my mind - I was so thorough.
"I put a tooth under my pillow last night and didn't tell you and there is no money or glitter because the tooth fairy is YOU!!!"

What is a mother to say?
To say nothing of the fact that this is the teeth he wouldn't leave out because he didn't want the tooth fairy to take them away. If there was a referee watching this match I'd have called unfair on that one - I was totally set up.

So I used my best telling-fibs-mother-skills and told him perhaps it was because she had already paid for those teeth - or it wasn't on the note - or whatever?~! *shrug*

So again, last night, we had the tooth fairy note out. And again last night I glittered and took teeth. And prayed to the God Of good tooth fairies that I got it right.

And this morning was met with smiles from Jacob. *phew*

Now i do need to add a little disclaimer here. Jacob is my perfectionist boy - I cringe addressing any of his extra-needs on this blog so I don't often do it. He has Asp ergers Syndrome and obsessing about such things is his speciality. When he was 5 yo he was so obsessed with the tooth fairy and the possibility that she could come into his room at night he was having nightmares. After battling his fears for weeks I told him at 5 yo that she wasn't real and his anxieties settled.

Come time when his first tooth fell out 18 months later, he remembered that Mummy had told him the tooth fairy wasn't real and he came to me and asked "Mummy, did you just say that to make me feel better?" To which I answered that I did and that she was a real fairy. His answer at this point was that he thinks the fairy is in fact kind and gentle and pretty and leaves glitter around the room, and this makes him feel OK about leaving his tooth out. The whoooole tooth fairy problem grew from there.
As I said. Anyone with a child on the autistic spectrum will understand the obsession, and the need to have anything - including the process the tooth fairy has to go through - perfect.

Ok so let's hope the story ends there for a while - I'm sure you all prefer to see layouts etc?!!

But it won't. Because I have another son, Braden. Currently we call him "shark boy". You know how sharks have two sets of teeth, like one set and then just inside they have another?
yep. Like this.

Those front teeth aren't even wiggly. So today we made an appointment at the dental nurse because he needs a few of the front baby ones pulled out to make room for that adult one to move forward. We hope. Injections and all. Poor kid.
The good news is that he is a no-fuss kid. He'll leave the tooth beside his bed and be happy there is a $1 coin waiting there in the morning.
The tooth fairy thanks him.

laters

Mother stuff

Nothing like the pressure of being a fabulous mother, but this tooth fairy thing is harder than I thought. Jacob is on tooth number 6. The very first tooth he lost he left a note. I didn't answer the questions on the note, I just left a lot of glitter around the place. This is where the pressure starts. Jacob is a child detective. If he even sees glitter in my scraproom that mildly resembles the tooth fairy glitter, he will click. So I hide the glitter.

I remember where glitter is hidden for tooth number 2. I hide it again afterwards, I feel like some sort of criminal sneaking around spreading tooth fairy glitter around the place.

Tooth number 3. Jacob wants to keep tooth. He doesn't leave it for the fairy.
I am let off.

Tooth number 4. Repeat of tooth number 3.

Tooth number 5 he looses yesterday. He decides to leave all 3 teeth out for the tooth fairy but leaves a note for her only to take 2 of them. He still wants the money.
I am tired last night and get it wrong. I couldn't find the glitter but at least I remembered to leave the money.
He wakes and starts to cry because obviously she did not leave glitter because she is trying to tell him she doesn't care anymore. Really she was too freakin tired to go looking for said glitter.

Tooth number 6 is lost today and I suspect he is having tooth fairy hangover and that poor tooth was ripped out before it was really ready.
And so follows the note left beside the bed:

Dear God. May I find the tooth fairy glitter tonight. May I draw a heart in the space set aside for my name without somehow giving away that the heart looks like one that Mummy might draw. I pray that you let me get the glitter spread and put away without leaving any tell-tale signs around the place. May I do so quickly and quietly and without being busted by the year old child tooth detective. Amen.

laters.

Mother stuff

Nothing like the pressure of being a fabulous mother, but this tooth fairy thing is harder than I thought. Jacob is on tooth number 6. The very first tooth he lost he left a note. I didn't answer the questions on the note, I just left a lot of glitter around the place. This is where the pressure starts. Jacob is a child detective. If he even sees glitter in my scraproom that mildly resembles the tooth fairy glitter, he will click. So I hide the glitter.

I remember where glitter is hidden for tooth number 2. I hide it again afterwards, I feel like some sort of criminal sneaking around spreading tooth fairy glitter around the place.

Tooth number 3. Jacob wants to keep tooth. He doesn't leave it for the fairy.
I am let off.

Tooth number 4. Repeat of tooth number 3.

Tooth number 5 he looses yesterday. He decides to leave all 3 teeth out for the tooth fairy but leaves a note for her only to take 2 of them. He still wants the money.
I am tired last night and get it wrong. I couldn't find the glitter but at least I remembered to leave the money.
He wakes and starts to cry because obviously she did not leave glitter because she is trying to tell him she doesn't care anymore. Really she was too freakin tired to go looking for said glitter.

Tooth number 6 is lost today and I suspect he is having tooth fairy hangover and that poor tooth was ripped out before it was really ready.
And so follows the note left beside the bed:

Dear God. May I find the tooth fairy glitter tonight. May I draw a heart in the space set aside for my name without somehow giving away that the heart looks like one that Mummy might draw. I pray that you let me get the glitter spread and put away without leaving any tell-tale signs around the place. May I do so quickly and quietly and without being busted by the year old child tooth detective. Amen.

laters.