Rileys Party

Cant believe how long its been again since my last post! Sorry.   Steves new job is going well though it means the alarm is going off a little earlier than it use to and its killing me!. I will get use to it again but its going to take a little while.

We had a party for Riley on Saturday. The weather was nice and a good time was had by all. Thanks for the pressies everyone. I kept it pretty casual this year and to a strict budget. Had a little drama with the Ice-Cream cake (dont get me started about that one!) but other than that it all went to plan.

 

We are enjoying having mum and dad back in the country.  Still getting use to them ringing and popping in on a regular basis. They had a wonderful trip but I think they too are happy to be back.

Another busy week planned with Wednesday being the worst/best day for the week (as it usually is). As well as being Rileys actual Birthday (yes he is a Halloween baby, cant you tell!!!!), we have School Orientation, Kinder, Swimming and as a treat dessert at McDonalds.

Matilda is not sleeping the best at the moment.  She is still cutting tooth #4, forgot how long they can take. She also started solids again as she is now 6 months old so not sure if its a sore mouth or upset tummy which is casuing her to wake at all hours of the night. I can only hope this phase passes quickly and we can get back to some sort of routine.  She is also rolling from front to back now but dont think she will be crawling or sitting anytime soon. She is like Declan, very content, so not that interested in moving around.

Started Christmas shopping last weekend. As usual I have decided not to leave everything to the last minute but I know that I will still be shopping Christmas Eve.

Have a good week guys.

Helen xxxxx

I have been very busy….

so that is my excuse for being slack on the blogging front and I am sticking to it!.  Last week was such a crazy week I am so glad its over.  Steve had the week off between jobs so silly me had all these grand plans of him being around to help out and catch up on some overdue chores around the house. HA! I should have known better.

As he lost the van when he changed jobs he has been looking for a new car. He picked up a VS “S” ute (yes Steve now owns 2 BLACK cars and drives a Commodore OMG!) last week and was flat out trying to get a RWC so that he could drive it to work today. Nothing went our way but in the end the certificate was given at 4:45 Friday afternoon. Phew!.  Its just an old “hack” for him to drive to work and load up the dirt bike on weekends. Thing is this old hack is 3 years newer than my car and includes such features as cruise control, speed alert, etc etc!.  It will be my turn to upgrade next year or thats the plan atleast.  Steve enjoyed his first day, they even had a Welcome cake at 7 this morning for him!.   

Anyway because I continued with my grand plans, I ordered 3 cubic mtrs of mulch to be delivered to top up the garden before summer so we spent most of Saturday gardening. It was hard work but worth it in the end as the garden looks great.  I took some pics as it is probably the best its going to look for the rest of the year, the grass is already starting to brown off in patches.

Most of the garden is how I want it, just waiting for the trees to grow. I love lots of shade in summer so have planted 6 trees in the back garden, just have to wait another 10 years and it will be perfect!.

After all that gardening it was a mad dash to get ready as MY PARENTS ARRIVED HOME AFTER 3 MONTHS. As you can tell I was pretty excited about this.  We took the kids to the carpark under the main runway at Tullamarine to watch a few planes come in.  (if you have not been there before, definately worth the drive). Its pretty cool when the planes come right overhead. Declan and Riley were not thrilled about it and spent most of the time in the car!. Anyway we saw my parents plane come in, Caroline and I were jumping up and down and cheering whilst the rest of the carpark thought we were slightly crazy (which we are).  After waiting for what seemed like an eternity (and thinking maybe they missed their flight!) my parents finally came through those doors.

It is so nice to have them home.

In between all that Declan had his first real taste of school. He actually spend just over an hour in a class room. I think he was a little shocked as before that all he had done at school was play on the playground.  No wonder he wanted to go so badly. He did really well and cant wait for the next orientation day.

Well this post has dragged on long enough now. Another busy week ahead as we are having a little party for Riley on Saturday. My baby boy is turning 3 and my baby girl is 6 months this week  

Hopefully I wont leave it so long between updates next time

Helen xxxxx

Cheeky Chops.

Just a little Tilly update for you all .

* She is now 5.5 months old!

* She is currently getting her top 2 teeth so soon she will have a grand total of 4.

* Her eyes are still blue/grey though slowly changing. I have my fingers crossed they will end up green/hazel, just like mummys.

* She is going the reverse mullet look. Still going bald on the back but growing lots of hair on top. It is a light auburn colour. 

* She says “mum”, “mmm”, “bubble” (?), “ba” (when she sees her bottle) and Declan said today she said “dada” but he also told me she said “I want a bath” and other elaborate sentences so not sure on that one!.

* She was on solids for 2 days but was have some really horrible nights so stopped it quick smart!. Decided to wait until these teeth are through then try again.  She doesnt need sore gums and an upset tummy. Still putting on lots of weight though (as you will see below)

* She rolls but still hates being on her tummy.

* Everthing goes into her mouth at the moment and plenty of dribble

* She sticks her tongue out ALOT, not sure who showed her that trick 

* She is getting so cheeky. Was crying one night last week at 11:30pm, that was until Steve went in to get her then she started laughing.

* Has Daddy wrapped so tightly around her little finger it is not funny!.

* The boys still adore her and give her lots of cuddles and attention

* I think she is pretty special as well.

Helen xxxxx

This is so me!

Received this on an email today. Just love it and had to share.

Helen.xxxxx

Wedding LO

I finally scrapped a page from my wedding!!, (only 10 years after the event). I am always scared to scrap such important events as I worry that the LO will not turn out well and therefore not reflect the importance of the occassion.  Nothing like I imagined in my head but I am quite happy with the results. 

Took a little while to finish as I lost one of my chipboard pieces for about half an hour.  Doesnt that drive you nuts!!!!!. Anyway Steve finally found it for me, stuck to the sleeve of my jumper. DOH!!

I am so glad I got scrappy last night.  I spend all day saying “I am going to scrap tonight, I am going to scrap tonight” and then by 8 o’clock, when the boys are in bed, I cant be bothered dragging everything out.  I always regret that decision the following morning so I am going to make more of an effort to “be bothered” and get more LO’s done.

Thanks for looking

Helen  xxxxxx 

Fun (??) in the park

Yesterday started off as a beautiful day weather wise, pity the mood of my children did not match!. Jo and I decided to take the kiddies to one of the local parks to see if this would improve their mood (it did not!).  They all took it in turns to have their little moments but atleast we got to sit and chat as well.

Declan and only just worked out how to kick a footy . Do you think this kicking action means he is a future Collingwood star?

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Note the toilet roll, plastic cup and paper the boys have taped to their wrists, something to do with being a superhero (????)

We made it home just in time and then the rain started. Really enjoying the lush green grass at the moment as I know it wont be here for much longer. 

Steve has his last day at work today.  We are feeling a little sad about it all. The boys waved goodbye to his work truck for the last time this morning.  Still looking for a new car for him, he has his eye on a couple so hopefully something will be suitable.  He has next week off so should be able to organise something.

Off to get my haircut tomorrow, watch out for the addition of some colour (and dont worry you wont be able to miss it!)

Oh and just incase you were wondering…… ONLY 8 SLEEPS until my parents are home!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Helen xxxxx

Holidays are over…

Here we are, about to start term 4. I’ve said it before but I will say it again, where has this year gone?????. I spent a third of the year pregnant, a third of the year looking after and newborn plus 2 and this last third is going to be just a busy with Steve starting a new job, Riley turning 3,  school orientation, my parents returning home, the start of the car show season, holiday in Bright and then Christmas. Phew………

Another busy weekend, yesterday the boys went to get their haircut and I tried to get some housework done whilst Steve went out to look for a new car. Today was Bathurst day. It started early with a BBQ breakfast for 8 and went on from there. Declan and Riley had a great day hanging out with the men. Everyone was very well behaved and no one got drunk (thank goodness for that)

I managed to take some time out and head to the Botanical Gardens in Cranbourne, with no children and camera in hand.  I am taking part in an online Photography challenge and one of the topics for the month is Wildflowers. Here are a few pictures from today.

Really love the blue/black/green in this next shot.

Also this little guy popped out the bushes to say hello. Saw lots of beautiful wildlife but he was the only one slow enough for me to get a picture.

Hope you all had a fab weekend and to those concerned enjoy your last term of Kinder. We will have School kids next year!!!

Helen xxxxx

{Noooooooo……..}

Hes gone. I still cant believe it even though we knew it was going to happen………

Nathan Buckley has retired (sob, sob).  He was a magnificent player and wonderful captain and he will be very sorely missed. We can only hope that he will be working closely with Mick to maybe take over in the future?????.

And if that wasnt bad enough, Paul Licuria has also retired. Not only was he a great player he was also very very easy on the eyes IYKWIM (see below)

So far thats Bucks, Licuria and Clement gone. I just hope that Didak does not get traded as well.

I am sorry mum that you had to find out this way. We were also very close to getting Judd from
West Coast but he decided to head to Carlton instead.

Oh the sadness……………..

Helen

Some LO’s to share

**Warning the follow photos are really really bad, sorry** 

Its been so long since I showed you some of the work I have been doing so here it goes.  I feel that I have “lost” something when it comes to scrapping . Cant quite put my finger on it but pages are just not working out how I plan and nothing seems to “flow” at the moment.

Here is a page I did last night. Went to a crop with a few friends. It was nice to get out of the house and chat with the girls. Still getting use to doing the whole pink thing. So far nearly all my Tilly pages look the same!. Will have to try something new next time. Not the best photo of this page I must admit, there is quite alot of bling on which is not showing up. (Jane you will notice your touches on a few elements in this one!!)

 

The following page I did a little while ago and really hated it when I finished but it is now growing on me. I really love the photos used, just not sure about the colours in the LO.

I have had the guilts for a few years because I have been such a bad mum and never filled out any baby books for my kiddies. In order to redeem myself I have started a mini album for each of them covering the first year of their lives including milestones etc.  Here are a few pages from Declans book.

Again I had an idea in my head of how it would turn out and this is definately not it!. Keep telling myself it is the information its providing that is more important than how it all looks.

Helen xxxxx

Hey there!

Can you believe the holidays are almost over?. Only 1 term to go and my little boy will be starting school OMG where does the time go??.  We have had a pretty quiet week compared to the last one.

*  Had a couple of girls and kiddies from Mothers Group around on Monday.  Its so good to catch up and it doesnt happen often enough!  I had a really sore eye most of the day (not sure what was wrong with it) but thankfully its all better now.

*   Tuesday was spent at Wilson Botanical Park with Caroline and Katrina. Had a lovely picnic and the children got rid of some energy on the playground which was so so so busy. Spent the arvo babysitting Piper and Isabella whilst Caroline had some running around to do .  I dont know how people manage with 5 kids!. A few hours is definately enough!!!!

*   Bit of a quiet day with a few visitors. Seemed to spend most of the day on the phone (Whats new??) and achieved very little. Spoke to Mum and Dad which was nice. Did I mention its only 17 sleeps till they come home. Its not long now (getting a little excited!)

* Oh I did achieve something today, I got tickets to see Operator Please in November, Friday the 2nd to be exact! (just incase my babysitters are reading !!!). I am just loving this band at the moment even if they are still in their teens.  Steve and I will probably be the oldest people at the gig, Oh well we can pretend we are teenagers again. Tickets were so cheap as well, $36 bucks for the two of us!!!.

*   Bathurst is on this weekend. Steve has a tradition of inviting the boys around for the day. They cook egg and bacon on the BBQ and crack their first beer when the race starts. It is usually a very long day. 

*   Steve got a new job! Yay. He enjoyed working for Pirtek but just couldn’t stand being on call every 2-3 weeks so he is leaving there and starting at PMP Print as a Maintenance Fitter.

Sorry but no pics to post this time   Have a good one

Helen xxxxx