tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-48744249045704322422012-01-29T21:36:12.625+10:00Rachael Bhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15559545591925028550noreply@blogger.comBlogger1941100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4874424904570432242.post-78734860677908902012012-01-29T21:14:00.000+10:002012-01-29T21:14:59.158+10:00

The children and I are planning many visits to the theatre this year with many performances in the first half of the year being aimed at children. In the last week of the holidays, Penny and I attended a performance of Cinderella danced by the Ballet Theatre of Queensland. It was beautiful as well as highly entertaining and Penny wanted to stay on for the night time performance. We have tickets

Rachael Bhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15559545591925028550noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4874424904570432242.post-54558058724425466322012-01-25T20:15:00.001+10:002012-01-25T20:15:13.204+10:00

It has been pouring with rain here for 2.5days. Thank goodness we've had a reprieve late this afternoon. Many of those flooded last year must be feeling a touch of deja vu and very anxious. It has been taking me 55mins to get to work which is double the time. No accidents just slow moving traffic in the rain and also return to school traffic. Nick and Penny are going well at school but glad to

Rachael Bhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15559545591925028550noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4874424904570432242.post-7364480444545857592012-01-23T21:12:00.000+10:002012-01-23T21:12:41.611+10:00

Nick and Penny headed back to school today. Nick is starting Year 4 and Penny Year 1. They were looking forward to seeing all of their friends again but Nick, not so much the learning and hard work thing. Penny is not too interested in 'serious' homework as it may cut into her afternoon play. All in all they seemed to have a good day, particularly Penny. Nick is not so sure about his teacher

Rachael Bhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15559545591925028550noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4874424904570432242.post-77144006707736774332012-01-02T19:58:00.000+10:002012-01-02T19:58:37.070+10:00

Well here it is, my one little word for 2012 is:                                                     MOTIVATION This is almost a polar opposite to 2011 word - RELAX. I don't think that I relaxed so much as fell into a bit of a rut. So onwards and upwards with some motivation to kick start my positive thinking, exercise, eating well and learning to love life again. I think lists are also a

Rachael Bhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15559545591925028550noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4874424904570432242.post-78340216528180484602012-01-01T14:20:00.000+10:002012-01-01T14:20:05.863+10:00

We've been away, hence my lack of posts. In the week prior to Christmas we had Craig's sister, Annette fly in from Cairns to stay for a couple of nights. She looked after the kids whilst I worked which N and P loved. They went to the movies, shopping and ate yummy Cold Rock ice cream - she spoils them. We don't see each other often so it was lovely to spend some quality time together. We

Rachael Bhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15559545591925028550noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4874424904570432242.post-9962304519646924902011-12-15T13:38:00.000+10:002011-12-15T13:38:27.827+10:00

This morning we had our sweet Himalayan cat, Holly put to sleep. After fifteen and a half years her heart had decided that it was too tired to go on. We feel so sad and have such heavy hearts at present but are remembering what a beautiful natured cat she was. In the early days of her life she was a little neurotic and used to go and hide in the drains. She would travel through the drain

Rachael Bhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15559545591925028550noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4874424904570432242.post-87023654976769310582011-12-13T20:21:00.000+10:002011-12-13T20:21:42.521+10:00

for the kids anyway. The end of the school year went well. Nick had a good report and Penny a good teacher interview. They have great teachers for next year. Penny's dancing concert was lovely. The costumes were so pretty and she was so excited to get a trophy. It was a huge day (2 concerts) and we didn't get home until 11pm! My parents came up from Adelaide for her concert which she was very

Rachael Bhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15559545591925028550noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4874424904570432242.post-48435371551572346382011-11-28T20:24:00.001+10:002011-11-28T20:43:32.850+10:00

Life is a little manic at present as I am sure it is for most. Penny spent all of Saturday morning at dancing practice and then we went to the dress rehearsal on Sunday afternoon (5hrs) for her concert which is on this weekend coming. I am one of the dressers so stayed to help dress the girls in their various costumes and apply and reapply make up. We came home feeling rather tired but

Rachael Bhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15559545591925028550noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4874424904570432242.post-53132520293522898642011-11-20T20:12:00.001+10:002011-11-20T20:56:40.988+10:00

Today, Penny and I cooked doughnut cakes which are absolutely calorie free (in my mind). They are delicious and so easy. We enjoyed a delicious lunch out at a local cafe today so no doughnut cakes until we got home. Nick and Penny have made friends with the kids over the back fence and they have a pool so N & P were over there for 2hrs this afternoon swimming and playing. They did same last

Rachael Bhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15559545591925028550noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4874424904570432242.post-63484439753556758702011-11-06T17:18:00.001+10:002011-11-06T17:19:02.149+10:00

through term 4. Kids are tired with so much on in this term. Penny is almost too busy for school with her social commitments! She attended a birthday party and Halloween party last week and has another birthday party next week. Her dancing is also getting busy with 4.5hrs of dancing on a Saturday for the next month on top of 1.5hrs on Thursday in preparation for her concert in early December. She

Rachael Bhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15559545591925028550noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4874424904570432242.post-52614683908163260582011-10-26T21:24:00.000+10:002011-10-26T21:24:07.773+10:00

Our darling daughter turned six on Monday. She had a wonderful 4 days of birthday festivities which included three cakes. We had a birthday party for her on Friday after school with eight friends. We decorated crowns, played pass the parcel and pin the tail on the pony amongst other games. I made the pony cake that Penny had found on the internet which looked easy but took me quite a bit of

Rachael Bhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15559545591925028550noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4874424904570432242.post-19927074039951699902011-10-16T20:20:00.001+10:002011-10-17T18:49:54.248+10:00

Our weekend kicked off with a birthday afternoon tea at our house for my niece Alex on Friday. Cake and cordial for the kids and champers and sushi for the Trudie and I. It was also a celebration of my finishing 2wks straight of work. I am glad I achieved it but am quite happy to be back to 3 days this week. Saturday morning started with a ripper storm which woke us up at 5am (2nd Saturday in a

Rachael Bhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15559545591925028550noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4874424904570432242.post-40173742458389298792011-10-12T21:42:00.001+10:002011-10-12T21:42:21.623+10:00

is in full swing. Nick is busy preparing talks every week and Penny's latest school activity is skipping (they're all mad keen on it at Sherwood) and being a social butterfly attending many birthday parties. I had a lovely 5 days to myself in which I worked 3 of them. It was good to get the house back in order before I flew to Bundaberg to join the family. It was lovely to catch up with friends

Rachael Bhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15559545591925028550noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4874424904570432242.post-151797714806020282011-09-26T21:18:00.000+10:002011-09-26T21:18:55.393+10:00

Goodness this blog really is suffering from neglect! The children are having great September holidays. They spent the first week with Granny and Gramps who were up visiting from Adelaide and they are spending this week with Daddy and Grandma in Bundaberg. In the first week they went to see Spy Kids at the movies followed by McDonalds and a shopping expedition. They also went ten pin bowling with

Rachael Bhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15559545591925028550noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4874424904570432242.post-77231973602531856222011-09-11T20:09:00.000+10:002011-09-11T20:09:10.130+10:00

for another post. I was waiting until I had edited some photos but I haven't 'found' enough time. Poor priority of time is probably the answer. What have we been up to? Well I have worked 9 out of the past 10 working days due to holidays and illness of other sonographers at my practice. Of course Craig has been away. Penny has been busy with ballet exams and thoughts of aspiring to a stage career

Rachael Bhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15559545591925028550noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4874424904570432242.post-75574886408629217742011-08-15T19:20:00.000+10:002011-08-15T19:20:17.585+10:00

Here is our little tap queen who did her exam last week. She loved it and was not nervous at all. Bring on the ballet exams in September. Craig and I enjoyed a trip away to Cairns over the weekend thanks to his company. I travelled up with Craig's boss' wife on Friday. After a beautiful dinner on Friday night we  ventured out to the Innisfail race day on Saturday. Whilst we didn't come away

Rachael Bhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15559545591925028550noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4874424904570432242.post-55800465065714135732011-08-02T21:12:00.000+10:002011-08-02T21:12:59.583+10:00

First up are flowers. I am buying flowers for my kitchen every week. As a child, our house was always filled with roses for most of the year as Mum had over 100 rose bushes and when they were dormant we had daffodils. These roses are from the flower markets just down the road bought for me by my good friend, Joanne. I also have 2 African Violets in my kitchen that sit by the sink in front of a

Rachael Bhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15559545591925028550noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4874424904570432242.post-12593152602251408142011-07-31T21:13:00.000+10:002011-07-31T21:13:32.866+10:00

I went to see Dr Zhivago this afternoon with my friend, Penny who lives around the corner and I have to say it was superb. It was so sad and stunningly beautiful. Anthony Warlow was supreme as Yuri Zhivago as was the beautiful Lucy Maunder who played Lara (Yuri's mistress) and the pretty Taneel Van Zyl as Tonia (Yuri's wife). The special effects were brilliant incorporating a little

Rachael Bhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15559545591925028550noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4874424904570432242.post-38849874726830469712011-07-17T19:14:00.000+10:002011-07-17T19:14:04.766+10:00

School is back in and the holidays seem but a distant memory. On the last weekend of the holidays Pam came back to look after the children whilst Craig and I attended the horse races at Eagle Farm. It was a cold day and we didn't come home winners but a fun day out with friends. We then picked up Pam and the kids and went to watch the fantastic Rugby Union Reds game on our friends' Pay TV. I

Rachael Bhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15559545591925028550noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4874424904570432242.post-24621844347546308122011-07-06T21:00:00.000+10:002011-07-06T21:00:01.750+10:00

We have had a great holidays catching up with Bundaberg friends. On Thursday the children and I drove up to Petrina's parent's beautiful place near Mt Nebo for delicious afternoon tea and a play with Petrina's kids and their cousins. They had a great time digging worms out of the garden and feeding them to the chooks next door and playing in the mud. On Friday the Petersons came to stay with us

Rachael Bhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15559545591925028550noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4874424904570432242.post-80472442279500876392011-06-28T22:35:00.000+10:002011-06-28T22:35:31.271+10:00

We began the winter school holidays with a bang. We took the children on a surprise visit to Seaworld at the Gold Coast. They had no idea until we drove into the car park and were so excited. It was the most beautiful sunny day and such a lovely day to spend outside. We attended 4 of the shows and the kids could not single out their favourite, they enjoyed them all! We went on rides and attended

Rachael Bhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15559545591925028550noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4874424904570432242.post-54555896895992831942011-06-19T20:49:00.000+10:002011-06-19T20:49:09.071+10:00

Today was very cold to start with but with the sun shining brightly, we all soon warmed up. The weather has been quite dry too. We didn't receive the predicted rain last weekend for the Queens Birthday w/end thank goodness. Last weekend, my good friend Petrina from Bundaberg came down and we attended the Scrapbooking and Papercraft Expo which was being run concurrently with the Textile Expo at

Rachael Bhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15559545591925028550noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4874424904570432242.post-89421599172288700912011-06-05T21:16:00.000+10:002011-06-05T21:16:11.025+10:00

Our nights have started to get quite cold now and this is usually what drives me to bed at night. The days are still quite pleasant though. I recently scrapped this LO of Penny's Christening and was pleased to get so many photos on the page. Many of the photos are less than perfect but tell the story of a special family day. I even made the flower on the right hand page! I was also thinking how 

Rachael Bhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15559545591925028550noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4874424904570432242.post-76050908900629075632011-05-15T15:51:00.000+10:002011-05-15T15:51:38.054+10:00

Do you like my new blog header? I created it all by myself! I find digital scrapping quite difficult and have no plans of switching over! After a tutorial by Petrina at the retreat, I decided I should put what I learned into practice. Unfortunately my brain had become a little cloudy since the tutorial but I got there in the end after 3 hours. We are all recovering from a head cold but everyone

Rachael Bhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15559545591925028550noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4874424904570432242.post-22226285634891204672011-05-10T20:26:00.000+10:002011-05-10T20:26:19.454+10:00

We have had celebrations for the last two weekends. On Saturday 30th April Nicholas turned 8. He was so excited to receive a Nintendo DS and is loving learning to play the games. Some of the games are a little complicated so we have had to sit down together and go through the handbook. I'm an expert on Pokemon now! Nicholas had a few school friends over and his cousins, Alex and Lachlan for a

Rachael Bhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15559545591925028550noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4874424904570432242.post-38762336969697883742011-04-28T20:35:00.000+10:002011-04-28T20:35:32.597+10:00

Here are the LO's I completed over Easter. I think my favourite is the one of Penny and I. It is an unusual colour combination which works well. The return to school has been good although the weather has been a little miserable. Penny had her first tap and jazz lesson (in Brisbane) this afternoon and thoroughly enjoyed it. Ballet follows on and I was a little concerned about her

Rachael Bhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15559545591925028550noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4874424904570432242.post-32731079001864851202011-04-26T19:15:00.000+10:002011-04-26T19:15:25.597+10:00

Our Easter break and holidays are drawing to a close but we all feel well rested. Our Easter has not been overly busy - just the way we wanted it due to the hectic 3wks prior to the weekend. We had a lovely seafood feast with the Gowdie clan on Good Friday which was a lot of fun. Craig cooked up calamari and reef fish caught on a recent trip to Bundaberg and I made a marinated prawn and avocado

Rachael Bhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15559545591925028550noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4874424904570432242.post-27442221108160667602011-04-21T19:03:00.000+10:002011-04-21T19:03:38.810+10:00

The layouts I promised to post. Some from the retreat and some after. The holidays are flying by. The kids have had good play dates at friend's houses whilst I worked, Grandma came down for a long weekend and we had some little friends over today. Very busy but fun. Nick is well again. Have a lovely Easter holiday and I hope the Easter bunny remembers you. Rach xx

Rachael Bhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15559545591925028550noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4874424904570432242.post-35511872485299908882011-04-15T17:00:00.000+10:002011-04-15T17:00:09.988+10:00

to let you all know that I am famous again! Finally, after 11mths my LO was published 3 times in Scrapbook Creations #86. It was supposed to be in the mag last year and I felt some disappointment when it wasn't in the appointed issue. With our move I was worried that I might not receive my layout back so on contacting the editor she told me it was in the current issue. Whoops! It's quite obvious

Rachael Bhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15559545591925028550noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4874424904570432242.post-45994921003062949172011-04-11T21:31:00.000+10:002011-04-11T21:31:09.797+10:00

Wow! I have sat down to write a blog post so many times over the last month only to find something else needs to be done. We have had a busy month which included me turning another year older celebrated with some great friends from Bundaberg who came to stay and also with my SIL and niece and nephew at a delicious lunch in St Lucia. We also returned to Bundaberg for a long weekend to visit

Rachael Bhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15559545591925028550noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4874424904570432242.post-22991671291189926002011-03-06T12:34:00.000+10:002011-03-06T12:34:57.458+10:00

-what a wonderful stage show. We were taken to a beautiful Italian restaurant and then onto Wicked by one of Craig's suppliers last night. The story was very clever and complex. The lighting and costumes were amazing. The actors and their voices were superb. The show really is worth seeing if you have the chance. We have just been busy with routine life. I have made a quick 9 cards loosely

Rachael Bhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15559545591925028550noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4874424904570432242.post-18252927317961047532011-02-21T20:57:00.000+10:002011-02-21T20:57:51.393+10:00

I have just begun my third week of work. I work 3 days a week (5hrs per day) and am really enjoying the challenge of working in a new place. The people whom I work with are great and very helpful. Life is getting back to normal and routine has returned which makes us all feel more settled.Nick received an award at parade in his second week of school for settling in well and working hard which he

Rachael Bhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15559545591925028550noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4874424904570432242.post-10425546364889621752011-02-06T14:03:00.000+10:002011-02-06T14:03:43.689+10:00

This week has been incredibly hot and humid but we shouldn't complain as our north Qld folk have fared much worse with Cyclone Yasi hitting the coast. Yesterday Craig pulled out the kid's water slide which we thought would work a little better in our new yard as we have a slope but as all our outside taps are run off water tanks, the pressure was very poor. Craig stood with the hose directly on

Rachael Bhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15559545591925028550noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4874424904570432242.post-53909968125231725422011-01-24T20:26:00.000+10:002011-01-24T20:26:39.705+10:00

Today was the first day at a new school for Nick (Yr3) and the first day ever for Penny. Don't they look cute? All went well. Nick settled in and had a little boy take him under his wing. He has a lovely teacher whom he raved about when he came home Penny did not have any tears although came close.  She was not going to let me go for anything when I suggested it might time for me to go but when

Rachael Bhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15559545591925028550noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4874424904570432242.post-86172614576900642112011-01-21T15:38:00.000+10:002011-01-21T15:38:17.392+10:00

Well after last week, we have had a much happier and less worrisome week. The clean up effort after the floods has been amazing. So many willing volunteers as well as tradies giving up their time for free. It is amazing how they have cleaned out and dismantled the inside of houses so that only the shell remains and now they are on to rebuilding. Whilst the city has miles to go to recover the

Rachael Bhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15559545591925028550noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4874424904570432242.post-3907129938235338862011-01-13T20:09:00.000+10:002011-01-13T20:09:02.931+10:00

Well I can assure you I have had troubles sticking to "relax", my one little word this week. Whilst we have been so very lucky so many down at the end of our street have been much less fortunate with water up to their roof tops. (photo above) The devastation is enormous and very depressing. Craig helped some people down the street move all of their furniture out yesterday. We had Craig's work

Rachael Bhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15559545591925028550noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4874424904570432242.post-66494900526125513352011-01-01T20:15:00.000+10:002011-01-01T20:15:25.898+10:00

It seems the trend for the New Year is to choose one word to aspire to. I have given this much thought and have come up with many words but one that shines bright. My word for 2011 is:************* RELAX**************As many of you may know I have a very control freak personality, almost bordering on OCD. This year I am not going to be stressed if the kids aren't in the bath at 5pm or the dinner

Rachael Bhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15559545591925028550noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4874424904570432242.post-81581437709728068332010-12-30T22:05:00.000+10:002010-12-30T22:05:14.500+10:00

We spent 5 days in Adelaide over Christmas, visiting my family. Most of the boxes were unpacked so I was ready for a relax. The weather was topsy-turvy as usual - 30 degrees one day and 19 the next! We managed to visit the beach where the children bravely entered the water. Too cold for the adults but the children had a lovely time. Christmas day was spent having a long lazy lunch/dinner at my

Rachael Bhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15559545591925028550noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4874424904570432242.post-45397388545114675332010-12-23T15:42:00.000+10:002010-12-23T15:42:43.575+10:00

Well we made the big move to Brisbane last week. All went really well. The removalists were great and didn't break a thing. I have most of the boxes unpacked and everything in its place. The kids have coped well although are feeling a little cabin fever from waiting around for me to finish unpacking. We ventured out to the shops and the local library yesterday. My favourite scrapping shop had its

Rachael Bhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15559545591925028550noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4874424904570432242.post-5237517220187257042010-12-11T20:19:00.000+10:002010-12-11T20:19:42.577+10:00

I really am missing my scrapping at the moment. I haven't scrapped for a month as I packed all of my gear up. I even handed out bought thank you cards! I am having a bit of a break from cleaning and thought I'd have a look over the LO's I completed in 2010. I came across these 2 that I haven't shown yet. In other news we are right on track for the truck to come and collect our gear on Tuesday

Rachael Bhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15559545591925028550noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4874424904570432242.post-21732787551890235852010-12-05T21:29:00.000+10:002010-12-05T21:29:06.128+10:00

Penny had her 3 dancing concerts this weekend. She performed the 3 genres in each concert. It was a lovely concert as any biased mother would say. Penny loves performing on the stage and was very sad to find out that dancing is over for another year. Much to our relief (and wallet) she has decided ballet is where her heart lies and so we will be in search of a ballet school in Brisbane.In other

Rachael Bhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15559545591925028550noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4874424904570432242.post-85260005992300701372010-11-14T20:50:00.000+10:002010-11-14T20:50:21.779+10:00

Today, I sadly attended my last Sunday scrap with the Simply Crafty Club. The sneaky ladies had organised a scrummy lunch of quiche, salad, sandwiches and chicken wings not to mention delicious desserts. They also presented me with a lovely card, Camera House vouchers and each lady made me a lovely tag to remember them by. I was completely overwhelmed and will really miss the friendships I have

Rachael Bhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15559545591925028550noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4874424904570432242.post-8395986278782631092010-11-03T20:55:00.000+10:002010-11-03T20:55:40.751+10:00

To all of my scrapping friends, I just wanted to post a LINK to a blog with a great competition to win a set of newly released 148 Pro Marker pens. They are from a UK based company and are alcohol based ink pens great for colouring in stamped pictures that blend very well - same as Copic but cheaper. Just leave a comment by 14th November. In other news I am starting to get organised and am

Rachael Bhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15559545591925028550noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4874424904570432242.post-28194579664512325132010-10-24T20:04:00.000+10:002010-10-24T20:04:08.718+10:00

Our princess Penny turned 5 today. She has had a very happy day with a party for 15 friends, presents, lollies, presents, afternoon tea with Grandma, Nan and Ted and Aileen and presents (did I mention those). She didn't need much convincing to go to bed tonight. Photos below of her cake which I created with a little help from the Women's Weekly magazine and also our take on "pin the tail on the

Rachael Bhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15559545591925028550noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4874424904570432242.post-34025607779612273942010-10-20T20:23:00.000+10:002010-10-20T20:23:03.741+10:00

Today we farewelled our dear Labrador, Zoe. She was 11 and 3/4 yrs old. Zoe brought us so much love and happiness and we all have such heavy hearts at present. We know that it was time for her to go as her cancer was advanced and making it difficult to walk. She wagged her tail until the end. We like to think that she is cancer-free and running and sniffing around a huge park in the sky. Rest in

Rachael Bhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15559545591925028550noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4874424904570432242.post-76174418130322532612010-10-18T20:20:00.000+10:002010-10-18T20:20:57.031+10:00

My LO is in Scrapbooking Memories (V12N11; p83) which I received today. I was thrilled to see it in print and they even did a bit of a write up to go with it because of the way I had incorporated the journalling. I had a good few days in Sydney. No time for shopping but attended an excellent echocardiography conference. I stayed in luxury at the Shangri-La at The Rocks and woke up to a view of

Rachael Bhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15559545591925028550noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4874424904570432242.post-31267602689671555142010-10-12T22:18:00.000+10:002010-10-12T22:18:44.327+10:00

My sweet niece, Alex is turning 11 on Thursday. She had major surgery last week which she has begun to recover from very well. So much so that she will be able to leave hospital tomorrow after 5.5wks. Home just in time for her birthday. Have a lovely day Alex - you deserve it. Thank you to all of my friends who have sent well wishes for Alex. She has needed every little prayer to get better and

Rachael Bhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15559545591925028550noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4874424904570432242.post-19421085051001743672010-10-05T20:05:00.000+10:002010-10-05T20:05:46.919+10:00

Someone has made us an excellent offer on our house! Woo hoo! Craig keeps telling me not to get too ahead of ourselves and the contract could all fall through but it's hard not to. These people don't want to move in until mid December when we were planning on moving out. Is something too perfect about all of this? Should I feel as though something is going to go wrong? Well I've decided no and am

Rachael Bhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15559545591925028550noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4874424904570432242.post-20258084679714552062010-10-04T21:01:00.000+10:002010-10-04T21:01:13.224+10:00

That was quick. We all had a good break though. Our mad cleaning frenzy has not been in vain. We had people through the house this week. I like my tidy, clean house. I had mentioned to a friend about 12mths ago that I needed to move to have a good clean up and out. I looked through the cupboards again today and I don't think that there is too much more that I can get rid of. I have a few things

Rachael Bhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15559545591925028550noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4874424904570432242.post-47584288639714774872010-09-26T19:38:00.000+10:002010-09-26T19:38:58.827+10:00

We have recently returned from 7 days at Yamba on the northern NSW coast. We discovered this lovely seaside town last year and decided to return for a longer visit this time. We stayed in a townhouse at The Sands which is right on Pippi's Beach. It was beautiful and the complex included 2 pools and 2 tennis courts all for a very reasonable price. The weather wasn't fantastic and included a few

Rachael Bhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15559545591925028550noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4874424904570432242.post-22773273941460596742010-09-15T19:26:00.000+10:002010-09-15T19:26:35.040+10:00

to my niece, Alex who is battling illness and has been in hospital for 10days with more to come. She is being very brave and is coping with all that is dished up to her. Keep fighting little one. I went to scrapping on Sunday afternoon and decided to complete a LO with baby Penny and little Alex. Nicholas lost another tooth on Saturday night. He lost the upper tooth to the right of his front

Rachael Bhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15559545591925028550noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4874424904570432242.post-12361541882314737722010-09-06T22:44:00.000+10:002010-09-06T22:44:43.235+10:00

Well the dentist was so right. He indicated 2 wks ago that Nicholas would lose a tooth very soon and hence the photo shoot just over a week ago. Tonight Nicholas lost one of his bottom front teeth. He has had sore, wobbly teeth for the last few days and whilst cleaning his teeth tonight, one popped out into the basin and he assures me that he only just stopped it from going down the drain. The

Rachael Bhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15559545591925028550noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4874424904570432242.post-7661423171481936332010-08-30T20:22:00.000+10:002010-08-30T20:22:35.420+10:00

OMG. Three weeks since I have blogged! We've been busy meeting real estate agents and the bank. Also going through all of our cupboards to find things for the garage sale which by the way was very successful. We made close to $400 which was only made possible with the help of my friend, Shane - she's the garage sale guru! Amazing how one person's trash is another's treasure.Last week we had a

Rachael Bhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15559545591925028550noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4874424904570432242.post-24709897723348465642010-08-08T20:10:00.003+10:002010-08-08T20:38:02.785+10:00

have been made around here recently, hence my absence from blog land. The big announcement which many of you already know is that we are moving to Brisbane. Craig has received a promotion in his job which will require us to move. So many more decisions need to be made before our move in December. Will we rent or sell our house? What to keep and what to dispose of. We've been in our present house

Rachael Bhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15559545591925028550noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4874424904570432242.post-57302481333904442262010-07-26T20:37:00.003+10:002010-07-26T20:54:46.849+10:00

Not much to report here. Just very busy with work, Craig being away and school and day care. We are all looking forward to our holiday away to Yamba in eight weeks time. We'll be in need of a good break. My slow cooker is getting a real work out as there's nothing better than getting home at 6pm with 2 hungry children and a meal already cooked. I've made a few batches of pea and ham soup (aka

Rachael Bhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15559545591925028550noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4874424904570432242.post-38982321391692595782010-07-13T18:56:00.005+10:002010-07-14T09:49:57.835+10:00

Can you believe that it is a month since we visited Adelaide? I had some photos from our trip printed today. Between Dad and I we took some lovely photos. Nick stuck many of the photos into the diary that he wrote each day and his teacher and class mates seemed impressed. I had planned to do another post with more photos, so here it is. One of the many miniature steam trains. All aboard! Face

Rachael Bhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15559545591925028550noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4874424904570432242.post-58433079312768203152010-07-13T18:31:00.003+10:002010-07-13T18:55:52.537+10:00

On Sunday, I went to my monthly scrap group get together and the theme was "Christmas In July". We had a great afternoon with Secret Santa gifts, Christmas packs to create some LO's, and more party food than we could consume. I made the Christmas cupcakes which were a vanilla cake recipe with butter frosting and red smarties and halved mint leaves. I had to buy 2 bags of smarties to get 34 red

Rachael Bhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15559545591925028550noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4874424904570432242.post-87650483372349859442010-07-10T12:17:00.002+10:002010-07-10T12:24:22.793+10:00

Here is the sneak peek as promised. Aren't they lovely? They'd not only look good on a scrapbooking LO but also on a hairclip or even a jumper or t-shirt. There are many more designs. I'll have them at our Simply Crafty get together tomorrow afternoon (Sunday) if you're interested.Happy Saturday.Rach xx

Rachael Bhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15559545591925028550noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4874424904570432242.post-14460683718605230512010-07-06T08:56:00.003+10:002010-07-06T09:12:37.591+10:00

Today is a lazy day. We are enjoying sitting around doing colouring in, dressing up and chilling out. We went to a bowling and leisure centre for lunch and a play on the weekend and enjoyed playing with the neighbour over the back fence. The kids have always talked through the fence and it has never gone much further than that until a few weeks ago when they discovered a loose paling on the fence

Rachael Bhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15559545591925028550noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4874424904570432242.post-5216902403153843202010-06-30T13:52:00.005+10:002010-06-30T14:20:15.864+10:00

My big brother is another year older today. Hope you have a great day Richard. The secret I alluded to in a post prior to our holiday can be revealed. It is 2 LO's that I created as instructed by my good friend Petrina who conducted classes at the Scrapbooking and Papercraft Convention over the June long weekend. I had to test the instructions which were excellent and needed no changes. I hear

Rachael Bhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15559545591925028550noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4874424904570432242.post-32821704507672705642010-06-27T13:59:00.002+10:002010-06-27T14:15:47.285+10:00

We returned from Adelaide on Monday and stayed in Brisbane the night before driving home on Tuesday. The children and I really enjoyed our stay although the first morning was the coldest in 2 yrs! We found the cold very difficult to adjust to but luckily it wasn't quite as cold by the end of our stay. We had many rides on miniature steam trains and played in some great playgrounds. We visited my

Rachael Bhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15559545591925028550noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4874424904570432242.post-67794972083976249422010-06-10T20:29:00.008+10:002010-06-11T19:45:55.198+10:00

Nicholas is the 'Worker of the Week' and received his ribbon in front of the whole school this morning. He certainly has been trying hard at his work lately and continues his good record of top scores in his spelling. Craig has finally got his dream boat. He took ownership of a 6mtr Kevlacat called Catapult on Monday and the monstrosity has been sitting on the driveway this week. Unfortunately I

Rachael Bhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15559545591925028550noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4874424904570432242.post-66805797220209504492010-05-30T20:41:00.004+10:002010-05-30T21:21:07.225+10:00

I've had a good week this week in that I have achieved so much but have felt relaxed. I managed to churn out a newsletter article for the educational ultrasound newsletter that I put together, a couple of LO's (only one photographed), designing for my June cards done and cleaned up the house.We had show holiday here on Thursday and had a lovely relaxing day at home with a trip to the park where

Rachael Bhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15559545591925028550noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4874424904570432242.post-62567897008632842372010-05-25T20:16:00.003+10:002010-05-25T20:31:47.241+10:00

At last I have got back to my blog. Such a long time between posts but busy family times have seen my computing time dwindle. Mum and Dad spent 6 nights with us last week. We had fun finishing off both cubby houses - one distinctly girly and one that required secret men's business! I'll post photos of both later in the week. We visited an aerial museum which was fascinating. It was a very restful

Rachael Bhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15559545591925028550noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4874424904570432242.post-63097385428821409452010-05-10T20:43:00.003+10:002010-05-10T21:06:58.423+10:00

I hope all of the Mum's had a lovely Mother's day yesterday, I certainly did and was spoilt rotten. The presents - homemade cards, keyring and homemade writing paper, chocolates, long stem red roses and an automatic coffee machine. The food - restaurant breakfast at the beach with Craig, Nicholas and Penny; lunch with my scrapbooking friends and dinner with Craig's mother and grandmother at home

Rachael Bhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15559545591925028550noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4874424904570432242.post-73153823504492817682010-05-03T13:41:00.004+10:002010-05-03T14:09:26.912+10:00

On Friday, Nicholas turned 7. I was an exciting morning despite Daddy's absence. He enjoyed opening his presents which included a Wii game, board games, card games, chapter books, Avatar DVD, soccer ball and towel. Then it was off to school where he shared 25 cupcakes with his class that I had cooked and iced the night before. He also received some Lego and Wii games and we have to visit the post

Rachael Bhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15559545591925028550noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4874424904570432242.post-56477013090857920302010-04-23T19:25:00.004+10:002010-04-23T19:38:10.868+10:00

I am getting published in Scrapbook Creations magazine again! I have removed the LO from the previous post but some of you may have seen it. Whilst I receive many knock backs from the magazines, it is such a thrill to have some of my work published and get paid for it too! Getting published is not the reason that I scrapbook, otherwise I would've given up long ago, but it is like the icing on the

Rachael Bhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15559545591925028550noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4874424904570432242.post-36775982943294079672010-04-20T20:53:00.006+10:002010-04-28T14:37:33.170+10:00

Here are some of the LO's I completed at the retreat on the weekend. Nick enjoying a dandelion wish. The children sharing lunch at sportsday.Fun with cousins in Brisbane. Backyard fun. Straight haired Penny. More to come. That's enough for tonight.I've turned into a mad cleaning woman and have cleaned 12yrs of grime off my garage walls. It's always had a basic clean but nothing like it has had

Rachael Bhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15559545591925028550noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4874424904570432242.post-16022865823242998172010-04-19T20:00:00.003+10:002010-04-19T20:18:16.169+10:00

As usual I had a great weekend away with some scrapbooking friends (13 all up) at lovely Chaverim. We had a lot of laughs, fantastic food (as always thanks to sweet Pamela) and 10 scrapbooking LO's completed which is a record for me. On Friday night we saw an echidna on the veranda and all weekend we saw wallabies on the front lawns and cows out the back. It is such a relaxing weekend and I am

Rachael Bhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15559545591925028550noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4874424904570432242.post-34497105621677458572010-04-12T20:31:00.003+10:002010-04-12T20:46:11.605+10:00

Four more sleeps until I leave for my annual scrapbooking retreat with a great bunch of ladies. We stay at this beautiful country location and the food is delicious. Good old fashioned country cooking that I don't have to prepare or clean up from. Craig will be home with the children and besides soccer I'm not sure what they have in store.Nick is going back to school for Term 2 tomorrow. It has

Rachael Bhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15559545591925028550noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4874424904570432242.post-34064538024722746362010-04-09T20:25:00.002+10:002010-04-09T20:39:38.519+10:00

It was my Mum's birthday yesterday. Penny and I had a great chat on the phone to her last night and will see her in 5 wks when she and Dad come to visit. We are then visiting Adelaide in June. Above is the card I made for her at a Stampin' Up party a couple of weeks ago. I also stamped the envelope which Mum and I thought looked most effective.Below is another birthday card that I made for my

Rachael Bhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15559545591925028550noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4874424904570432242.post-30373446174934889982010-04-06T12:43:00.004+10:002010-04-06T13:13:34.860+10:00

At the beach the other day, Penny thought she looked pretty cool in Mummy's hat. I love the thought that she still thinks Mummy is lovely and cool and knows everything. It won't be long and she will think I know nothing and am so uncool. We had a good day yesterday starting with a drive to a remote camping spot on the beach. It was a lovely location but I am unsure whether I could be without the

Rachael Bhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15559545591925028550noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4874424904570432242.post-12436403855026675202010-04-04T14:42:00.003+10:002010-04-04T15:10:28.326+10:00

This morning we were all awake at 5.30am and the children had already cased the backyard from the back windows for evidence of Easter Bunny's visit. The hunt got underway at 6am and was completed by 6.05am with 2 happy children having scoured the backyard for 30 eggs (15 each). Mind you I think they wished the hunt would never end with a continual replenishment of eggs. The children then came in

Rachael Bhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15559545591925028550noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4874424904570432242.post-52428266693589906762010-04-03T12:27:00.004+10:002010-04-03T13:45:35.569+10:00

Here is sweet Penny in her hat which we cut out on the Cricut along with the shapes and then we spent a morning painting them. She had a lovely time at day care on Thursday. She won a prize for her hat in the parade and received an Easter present from her special friend, Angus. Easter bunny visited Nick at school on Thursday, evident from the eggs in his basket after lunch. Nobody spotted him

Rachael Bhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15559545591925028550noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4874424904570432242.post-37505631310950306662010-03-31T11:24:00.002+10:002010-03-31T11:44:42.720+10:00

in the land of blog again at last. I don't like my blog staying the same for longer than a week but I have been too busy with other tasks. One of which is helping the children to make their Easter hats for day care and school parades. I only have a photo of Nick so far as his parade was last week. Auntie Trudie sent us some great chicken and eggshell cut outs which were great. We then cut out

Rachael Bhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15559545591925028550noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4874424904570432242.post-71806274516997817782010-03-17T21:48:00.003+10:002010-03-17T22:15:42.107+10:00

Poor Nicholas was hit in the side of the eye with a tennis racquet today. I had to go across to the school to make sure I was happy for him to return to class. He was lucky that he didn't have a head ache! He is sporting some very nice blue, pink and purple eyeshadow, a swollen eyelid and a blue/purple lump with a red stripe through it at the corner of his eyebrow. He went onto swimming and

Rachael Bhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15559545591925028550noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4874424904570432242.post-6137572702554070502010-03-17T21:39:00.003+10:002010-03-17T21:48:37.995+10:00

Here is the slice recipe that I promised. I made a half batch and it worked well.375g butter1.5 cups soft brown sugar4.5 cups plain flour3tsp baking powderTOPPING4 eggs2 cups soft brown sugar3tabs cornflour1tsp baking powder3cups coconut2 cups chocolate chipsPlace butter and brown sugar in saucepan. Heat until butter melts and then remove from heat. Mix in sifted flour and baking powder until

Rachael Bhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15559545591925028550noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4874424904570432242.post-84297636741849602322010-03-16T20:03:00.003+10:002010-03-16T20:26:16.367+10:00

I had another birthday on Saturday but had very little time to commiserate about getting older as we had the usual tennis and dancing. Saturday afternoon was spent adjusting the children's costumes before attending the school fancy dress ball on Saturday evening. Nicholas went as a knight of Camelot and Penny, as Cinderella. The children had a good time. Nick had fun playing tiggy on the dance

Rachael Bhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15559545591925028550noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4874424904570432242.post-70251954340747290422010-03-08T20:41:00.002+10:002010-03-08T20:54:37.347+10:00

I made the best Thai fish cakes I have ever tasted tonight and thought I should share the recipe. Unfortunately I forgot to take a photo of them. The recipe is adapted from a few recipes from Super Food Ideas and Taste magazines. Blend together 8 green beans, 2 shallots, 400g white fish, 6 green prawns (Craig reckons he couldn't taste these but I could), 1tsp green curry paste (more if you like

Rachael Bhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15559545591925028550noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4874424904570432242.post-9001914992760420802010-03-07T20:21:00.003+10:002010-03-07T21:01:35.490+10:00

is what we will have if this rain continues. It rained all last week with a break yesterday allowing me to get all of the washing for the week done. Back to same old same old last night and today with steady rain most of the day. Pity we can't send some to WA and SA. We bought a Wii game console about a month ago and it has received a good work out today!Penny had a visit to the doctor last week

Rachael Bhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15559545591925028550noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4874424904570432242.post-5462054756631443152010-02-28T20:21:00.005+10:002010-02-28T21:00:50.043+10:00

the circus is in town! On Saturday afternoon, the children and I attended the Lennon Brothers' Circus. I had only told them I had a surprise for them if they were good. Penny's face lit up when we arrived as she's never been to a circus. Nick was a little unsure as the last circus he attended didn't have animals which he found a little boring. The children loved the 1hr45min show despite the hot,

Rachael Bhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15559545591925028550noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4874424904570432242.post-59659097088151891812010-02-22T21:14:00.002+10:002010-02-22T21:35:38.465+10:00

I had a lovely weekend away with friends, old and new in Hervey Bay where we attended a photography workshop. The photographer was the very talented Janine Kaye who was once a radiographer/sonographer like me and is now a full time photographer with a studio and very busy business. I never thought that I would be able to use my camera on the 'M' mode (manual) as it required too many complicated

Rachael Bhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15559545591925028550noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4874424904570432242.post-48307793524083152772010-02-17T20:07:00.002+10:002010-02-17T20:33:04.385+10:00

On Sunday, I took along caramel brownie slice which was obviously a hit as I came home with an empty plate. I had many requests for the recipe, so here it is:INGREDIENTS:250g butter1/4 cup golden syrup1 cup soft brown sugar4 eggs, lightly beaten1 1/4 cups plain flour1 tsp baking powder1 tsp vanilla essenceCARAMEL ICING1 1/2 cups icing sugar2 tbsp butter, melted1 tbsp golden syrup1/4 tsp vanilla

Rachael Bhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15559545591925028550noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4874424904570432242.post-36717962342766856292010-02-13T20:09:00.005+10:002010-02-13T20:49:04.993+10:00

My first ever published LO is in the magazine Scrapbook Creations #75 which is currently in store. I was quite lucky to get a full page spread and was thrilled to see it in print.We've had a huge week here this week as I worked for 5 days straight. I don't think I have done this in 7 yrs and we all felt a little pooped today. No time for sitting still though as Nick had his tennis this morning

Rachael Bhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15559545591925028550noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4874424904570432242.post-31512523346133037882010-02-02T20:09:00.003+10:002010-02-02T20:28:15.721+10:00

We have had about 7 inches of rain since Sunday. It is lovely to feel a bit cooler and for the grass to be soft under foot again. Hopefully we don't get too much more this week as the ground is rather water-logged.Happy 8th Birthday to my nephew, Lachlan. He's the one on the right in the photo above (taken May 09) with Nicholas in the middle and my niece, Alexandra. We had a good chat on the

Rachael Bhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15559545591925028550noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4874424904570432242.post-25468165644178651602010-01-30T15:38:00.002+10:002010-01-30T16:01:39.064+10:00

Nick had a good first week of school and really likes his teacher. His teacher is in my scrapbooking group and attends the retreat. She is a motivated teacher and a lovely person.We are busy signing the children up in their various sporting activities this weekend. Nick went along to tennis hotshots for an hour this morning and really enjoyed it. It was even better because he discovered one of

Rachael Bhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15559545591925028550noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4874424904570432242.post-44466530133269352062010-01-27T20:49:00.004+10:002010-01-27T21:08:14.520+10:00

Our Australia Day was a quiet day at home before the big return to school for Nicholas (yr2) today. The last few days have been particularly hot so yesterday the kids decided to set up the water slide and cool off. Nick has no troubles surfing down it on his belly but Penny is a little more timid and has to go down on her knees first. They then had a run through the sprinkler. Last night we had a

Rachael Bhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15559545591925028550noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4874424904570432242.post-8212108522565897872010-01-22T21:32:00.005+10:002010-01-22T21:59:38.758+10:00

Last Saturday, we ventured down to Caloundra on the Sunshine Coast for a few nights. We stayed at the lovely Rydges Resort which was very family orientated and although not right on the beach, it had plenty to offer. The kids enjoyed the swimming pool and playing tennis. On Sunday morning we walked to the main street of Caloundra which was blocked off for the all day markets which were quite

Rachael Bhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15559545591925028550noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4874424904570432242.post-18545588704906268902010-01-12T20:33:00.005+10:002010-01-12T20:52:38.195+10:00

I have completed 3 LO's and a card in the last few days which is pretty huge for me. I had a good afternoon scrapping with my friends at our first club get together for the year. I started all three LO's there but find it hard to do the journalling then so waited until Sunday evening. Two of the LO's are from Christmas morning 2005 where the photography leaves a little to be desired but the

Rachael Bhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15559545591925028550noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4874424904570432242.post-15942321945180773202010-01-09T15:01:00.002+10:002010-01-09T15:22:03.032+10:00

Here is the LO of Nick that I finished earlier in the week. He was 2y8mths and so cute and mischievous and absolutely besotted with Thomas.I have been planning some LO to do at club scrapping on Sunday afternoon. Can't wait to catch up with girls. I've also put my hand up to help in the Southern Cross Kids Camp Page Drive which I did last year (LINK to previous post). We produce 20 6x6 inch pages

Rachael Bhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15559545591925028550noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4874424904570432242.post-49815084495912485152010-01-04T20:08:00.002+10:002010-01-04T20:20:09.934+10:00

Our labrador turned 11 today. The children were quite excited about it so we made MINI caramel cakes when we came home from the gym as I'm sure cake is not too good for dogs. We sang Happy Birthday to her whilst she was salivating over her cake. She is such a good friend to all of us and we just love her so much. She has absolute unconditional love for us. Bit like a baby is to its mother but

Rachael Bhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15559545591925028550noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4874424904570432242.post-24644748408354574212010-01-03T20:16:00.002+10:002010-01-03T20:38:34.383+10:00

Well it didn't take too long for my first LO of Penny when she was a few months old. I am enjoying doing these photos as I kept a monthly journal of Penny's and Nicholas' progress for her first 9mths. I now wish that I had kept it going as it is very funny. Whilst my blog is good for remembering events I don't tend to put deeply personal bits and pieces on it. Maybe it is something I could begin

Rachael Bhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15559545591925028550noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4874424904570432242.post-83860004674287505352009-12-31T19:27:00.003+10:002009-12-31T20:15:52.838+10:00

What a special decade it has been for us with the birth of our two children. We have also endured huge loss with the death of Craig's father. It's hard to believe that this time 10years ago we were wondering if our clocks would stop or our computers would crash. Looking back, what a silly concept! I haven't achieved all of my goals for this year but I wouldn't want to make it too easy. While my

Rachael Bhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15559545591925028550noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4874424904570432242.post-22675887446191058552009-12-28T20:07:00.004+10:002009-12-28T20:19:42.385+10:00

Penny received this dress up outfit for Christmas from my brother and his family and she just loves it. We think she looks pretty cute in it too. She has had it on at least twice a day since she received it. Nick has even had a try!! We almost bought the same outfit from a market stall in Coffs Harbour.Here's a picture of our furry daughters having a smooch and face wash. Holly (cat) was

Rachael Bhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15559545591925028550noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4874424904570432242.post-75920877629113307992009-12-27T14:33:00.003+10:002009-12-27T15:09:31.106+10:00

Sanat's been!!!!It is amazing how much preparation goes into this one special day and it seems to pass by in the blink of an eye. I think I started about 6 weeks ago but I felt pleased with how much the children enjoyed their day which is probably the most important part of Christmas for me. The children were up at 5.30am but we managed to get them to wait until 6am before we went out to see if

Rachael Bhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15559545591925028550noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4874424904570432242.post-12733900396438951452009-12-24T20:37:00.003+10:002009-12-24T20:52:08.921+10:00

This is one of our favourite Christmas stories which we read all year round but not tonight. We read a beautifully embossed story book about Santa's toys and a little fir tree. The children enjoyed it immensely. The reindeer food and water has been put out the front and Santa has a beer and biscuits under the tree. Sleep was not hard to come by for one little boy but as usual Penny is a little

Rachael Bhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15559545591925028550noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4874424904570432242.post-87730429907476790332009-12-16T20:03:00.002+10:002009-12-16T20:25:26.626+10:00

My children have plenty of it at present! They are very excited but on the down side get quite testy at times. Nick was very happy to finish school last Friday and has been quite happy to do things around home. He is very interested in Pokemon books at present and has been writing about them which is quite pleasing. Penny is unsure of having Nick home as we don't have our girl time but she is

Rachael Bhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15559545591925028550noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4874424904570432242.post-25342738800785812932009-12-06T20:27:00.005+10:002009-12-06T20:47:25.801+10:00

Penny performed in her dance concert (x3) on the weekend. She danced in 3 concerts, Saturday matinee, Saturday evening and Sunday matinee. We watched her today. Penny's act was 3rd from the beginning so she was able to come in and watch the rest of the concert which was 3.5hrs long. She loved it all. Nicholas was quite interested too and didn't want to return home at interval time with Craig.

Rachael Bhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15559545591925028550noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4874424904570432242.post-43699104379459502742009-12-06T20:17:00.002+10:002009-12-06T20:27:20.126+10:00

entered our busy household this week as I mentioned in the previous post. Firstly, a visit to Santa in which I didn't need to be in the photo with Penny. She was quite happy to go and climb up on his lap. Santa is being much more environmentally friendly this year by giving out tomato seeding kits so that the children can grow tomato plants for the reindeer to eat. Good idea but unfortunately

Rachael Bhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15559545591925028550noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4874424904570432242.post-77901966141992698592009-12-03T21:18:00.004+10:002009-12-03T21:35:47.578+10:00

This week would be the craziest with a Santa visit and swimming on Monday, parent-teacher interview and Christmas tree decorating on Tuesday, dancing rehearsal on Wednesday, work today, dancing dress rehearsal and work tomorrow and 3 dance concerts on the weekend as well as a 40th birthday party to attend. I'm just taking it one day at a time and it's running pretty smoothly. I think our little

Rachael Bhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15559545591925028550noreply@blogger.com1