Finally got around to scrapping. Finally felt up to it again between recovery from surgery and gastro. This one came together very quickly, its a pretty simple one but my layouts seem to be heading more and more in that direction ( have I told you all this once before?).
The amazing thing is Rileys birthday is in October and its only March and I have done this page already LOL.
Helen xxxxx
Thought I would change the title to reflect how our day to day life really is.
a believe me, this is a nice way to put it!!!!!
Sort of!!!. Yesterday Steve had a day off. He was suppose to do a 12 hour shift but that was cancelled thursday arvo so we thought “beauty, catch up on some chores”. Well it wasn’t to be because I got hit by the gastro bug 
I am so glad that he was home and I didnt have to deal with constant nausea and trips to the loo as well had look after the kiddies. Feeling alot better today but still not game to head out just incase.
My neck is looking great. I had all the dressings removed on Thursday and once healed I will barely have a scar. All the pathology tests were good as well, once again confirming it was a tumor but nothing nasty YAY. Still quite sore but atleast I look and feel human again. Enjoying having showers again as well.
Miss Matilda is zooming along, changing everyday it seems. Still waiting for the horrible teeth to cut but she is dealing with it well.
She ventured outside yesterday, and enjoyed her first real taste of dirt.
I know mum will cringe at this one, but just could not resist……her first ponytail!!!!
Pretty bad I know but hey, why not???. Dont worry, I wont be taking her out like this!!!!
The boys have been busy too, check out the Kiddies Kreations blog.
Enjoy your weekend.
Helen xxxxx
As is usually the case, in the lead up to Easter we say “we are not going to buy much this year”, “We are not going to go overboard” and now that Easter has been and gone I am struggling to find a home (thats nice and cool!!!) for all the chocolate. ITS EVERYWHERE!!.
The boys are asking every 5 minutes if they can have some and I am starting to think that I should just keep saying yes because once its gone, problem over.
Easter bunny had no trouble finding us and the boys were super excited. He left quite a few eggs outside for them to find. The silly bunny forgot to leave them all so dropped the rest off at Grandmas and Opas house for them to find when we headed there for lunch!.
Matilda has her first taste of chocolate last night and lets just say it was a huge success so there is another sweet tooth in the house.
I have to say that I really do like Easter as its the only day of the year that it is perfectly acceptable to eat chocolate BEFORE breakfast.
On another subject, Miss Matilda is 11 months tomorrow, so not long until her first birthday That year went way too fast. I am starting to get organised for the big day. Finally finished off her invites, still looking for a nice party dress for her and wondering which way to go with the cake (homemade vs professional). She is getting 2 big nasty teeth at the moment so she is pretty feral. She is not making any attempt to walk and that is fine with me, anything that will keep her a baby for a little longer is a good thing.
My neck is healing well, cant wait to get all the bandages off and have a shower and wash my hair properly (a bath is just not the same and not very water wise!)
Hope you all had a great easter
Helen xxxxx
Declan took part in his first ever Easter Bonnet Parade yesterday. As you can tell from the photo he loved it though apparently it was quite cold and windy. Steve took some great shots, its a shame I couldnt be there to see him in action. He did spend most of the parade with his hat on backwards but here is a shot of it on the right way!
He also had a visit from the Easter Bunny who left footprints all over the classroom (as well as a few easter eggs). Declan came home with a lot of homework for the holidays, from both his teacher and speech therapist so no chance of getting bored over the break.
This is what my neck looks like at the moment. I have not seen what is under the dressing so no idea how big the actual wound is (dont think I really want to know).
as for the wonky smile , that is as good as it gets for now. Should improve over the next few months. Headed back to the hospital last night with a temperature but all is OK. Its more uncomfortable than sore now though the pain killers knock me for 6 so still feel pretty tired and weak. Thanks for all the lovely messages and big thank you to Caroline, Brett and girls for the beautiful flowers 
Will leave you with a nice picture I took last night of my boys. They are so excited to have daddy home for 5 days in a row.
Hope you have all been good boys and girls and that Easter Bunny brings you lots and lots of chocolate
Helen xxxxx
Just a short note to let you all know that I am home. Had the surgery yesterday and it all went well. Felt awful yesterday afternoon but much better today. Still very tired but not so sore now the drain has been removed. I will have a wonky smile for a little while but could have been alot worse so happy about that.
Steve did a great job looking after the kids and the house but is glad to have me back
Helen xxxxx
Had a great day yesterday at Crop 4 Kids (thanks girls). I even managed to get 3 pages completed, in between the chatting and shopping. Picked up a few new supplies which I just had to use.
Cant wait till next year. Hopefully we raised alot of money for the Good Friday Appeal.
Today was the day I had to catch up with some housework (yuk), and also make an Easter Bonnet for Declan ?????. Was not quite sure what to do for a boy but this is the end result. He had lots of fun helping me put it all together.
Incase you cant see, its basically a hat covered in feathers featuring some beautiful handmade paper easter eggs on the front. Riley also got creative and made some little tags to attach to the gifts for his Kinder teachers.
At this stage my op is still on for Thursday. Keeping everything crossed that it goes ahead.
Hope this heat lets up soon. My garden is just crying out for some rain. I am using as much water as I can collect with my bucket from around the house (washing machine, shower, kitchen sink), but my poor arms and shoulders are protesting about that!!!
Also trying to master Photoshop to create a couple of birthday invites for Declan and Matilda. Even giving digital scrapping a go!. More frustrating than fun at this stage, will see how we go.
Hope you all have a good week, mine is fully booked already (as usual)
Take care, stay cool.
Helen xxxxx
Here are my pics for Feb. Still going well with the challenge. Have missed a couple of days here and there but glad I am continuing with it. Dont really have the time to take beautiful planned shots but happy to get something done. It will be a good reminder of what this year was all about
Helen xxxxx
I swear that I am the worlds biggest “Jinx”. As soon as the words leave my mouth something happens and it all changes
Damn Nurses Strike.
I dont have much hope of having my op next week now
Please keep everything crossed for me that it will not be as bad as they are saying.
Oh well I guess after waiting 8 months whats a few more weeks.
Helen xxxxx
Thought I should do an update for you all. Struggling to keep the blog up to date at the moment. Its been a busy week with Steves Mum and Step Dad over for a week to visit. Had a great time catching up with them and the kids loved having them around.
School for Declan is busy over the next week or so with Crazy Hair Day tomorrow, a Fun Run on Friday (in 37 degree heat – Fun ???), and the traditional Easter Bonnet Parade on the last day of term. Have not even started to make his “hat”. I also have a meeting with the school speech therapist tomorrow. I am happy to get a chance to speak with her and will be interested to hear what she recommends for him this year. From what I have seen there are a few children who require help more than he does so not really expecting too much there.
OK now for my title.
Good – I have a date for my Op, March 20th, so all going well I will be coming home on Good Friday. This actually is a great time as its easy for Steve to take time off over Easter and I dont have to rush around to school etc the following Monday.
Great – Riley is no longer wearing nappies at night, OH YAY!!!!. Long story but he went to bed accidently without one on and has been dry every night since. #2’s were the only challenge (wont go into detail here) but we are overcoming that. Oh he is really a big boy now.
Fantastic – Matilda is now a Collingwood Member. I make sure I get in first and brain wash them so they dont even consider going for anyone else (evil I know).
So much more to catch up on but really should get back to some productive work.
Will update more with some photos soon.
Helen xxxxx
