Peace and Quiet

A typical day for me is : drop-off at school, errands to run, meetings to go to, pickup from school...and interspersed with that is the frequent feeding, occasional nappy change, and constant amusement of an energetic and inquisitive baby. As you can imagine, this leaves little time for anything else!
I look forward to any time where I can just sit down and take 5. This doesn't happen very often, so when it does, it is much appreciated.
Yesterday was such a day and it was definitely worth documenting!

Andrew was so worn out, what with fighting the 'flu' and resisting sleep for the last 3 hours, that he napped for a whole hour!
Emily was holed up in her room doing her homework...she managed to do it all without needing any help from me.
Sarah was found on my laptop, busy with making up a script for a play she and a few friends were planning to perform during their trip to Cameron Highlands.

BLISS! No "mummy!", no arguing, no TV blaring. I managed to get a cup of tea, put up my feet, check my emails (and reply them at the same time, for a change), even get started on a scrapbook layout...and all before midnight, which is really unusual.

Peace and quiet...I've learned to make the most of it cos it doesn't last for long in this family!

Journey towards Wellness

What a coincidence! After my last post I received a link to Big Picture Scrapbooking where scrapbooking teacher Lisa Cohen, who is a personal trainer, a nutrition counselor, a wellness and lifestyle advisor, and scrapbooker ALL wrapped into ONE. The class will document the journey towards wellness in a mini-album, over the course of 8 weeks. Sounds fantastic!
I am truly inspired by the great scrapbookers out there who share their experiences and are committed to teaching us about scrapping true LIFE moments!
Check it out if you want to take your health and wellbeing into your own hands, and document your journey in an inspirational way.

Hospitals...from the other side

This has been an eventful year for our family as far as health is concerned. It seems to me that I've spent the main part of this year in hospital waiting rooms, wards, clinics, and car parks.
Now that I no longer work in a hospital, it is awful, draining even, to have to wait around in one,for results of tests, hoping our loved ones can be discharged soon.
These last few days waitiing outside intensive care, while not so long ago I was working in one, has brought home the importance of looking after our own health. We owe it to ourselves, and to our loved ones, to stay fit, stay healthy.
I guess I'm guilty of neglecting my health too... I haven't had a full 8 hours of sleep for 7 months, (and I know someone else who never gets enough rest either), I always forget to take my vitamins, I haven't exercised in months ( but I guess carrying a 9kg baby around can be counted as exercise), and some days I run on caffeine and sugar alone.
So here's my resolution starting today...eat properly and healthily, fit in a walk everyday ( carrying baby counts as weight lifting), get some sleep!( naps cos there's no chance of a full nights' sleep yet) and carve out some 'me' time everyday for my own sanity.
Make your health a priority today...don't put it off for another day...another day may be a long time coming.

Scrappers Block

I have had a pretty good week as far as creativity was concerned. I had completed my daughter's mini album, made 3 layouts, and even got started on a couple of ideas I had for classes...and then it hit me...a mental block, and I came to an absolute standstill!
I sifted through what seemed like my entire collection of papers, photos and embellishments, but just couldn't come up with anything close to resembling a half decent start for a layout.
Block...barrier...halt...stop...obstacle...all words which described what I felt very aptly.
After a frustrating couple of hours, I left everything as it was on my desk and went to bed (no pic to show you the state of my desk...way too embarassing).
The next morning, to my disappointment, little fairies (or was it elves) hadn't cleaned up the mess, nor did a layout magically appear out of the chaos. Still bereft of ideas, I decided to just put everything away.
I spent the rest of the day doing other things...playing with the kids, working on my painting, making props with the girls for their upcoming concert 'Scheherazade'...and last night when I finally sat down to look at my photos again, the glimmerings of an idea begn to emerge.
Lesson for me...walk away and stretch my creative muscles with something completely different.
How do you cope when you get a creative block???

Purple and Brown

I recently wrote a piece on how colour trends in scrapbooking follow those of the fashion world closely. The colour combination that I wrote about was Purple and Brown...yuk some of you might think...but think again! I saw these exact colours on Sarah yesterday ( she chooses her own clothes now, and I had forgotten that I had bought these. Or at least, I hadn't bought them at the same time) and thought I just had to capture it to prove I'm not completely colour blind.
Fashion trend setter? Maybe.
For a look at the full article, just go to the Smidapaper link, and look under Tuesday's 3T's.

Surprise!

We had a surprise birthday party for Emily on Saturday. I had invited 8 of her friends, and they were fantastic at keeping the secret...Emily didn't have a clue at all. I didn't even tell Sarah ( I think she was a little miffed that I didn't trust her to keep the secret).
That evening, the girls met me at the restaurant, and we waited for Emily and Sarah to arrive. Emily's face was priceless when she walked in the door and was greeted by a huge shout of "SURPRISE!". It was great, and to top it off, we went to Haagen-Daz for ice-cream and cake after.
To help her remember this special day ( and also cos I'm all out of ideas for a gift), I had all her friends write a little note to Emily, and I took loads of pics of her and her friends, and I'm putting them all together into a tiny 4"x4" album for her...B'Day Book, I'm calling it. Naturally, as an avid scrapbooker, I keep giving everyone 'scrappy' types of presents, my children included! They have long given up hope that they'll be getting a playstation, but it doesn't stop them from putting it on their wish list every year...

A Week in Our Lives

What a week it's been!
We've all had the flu, and a house full of cranky kids is not a lot of fun.
Grandparents visiting from out of town - presents all round including an early birthday gift for Emily ( a scrapbooking kit from Memory Makers!).
I've been working on Christmas cards ( in September? Yup, if we are thinking of making 200 of them) and experimenting with Ranger Distress Inks and Embossing Powders ( not my usual style, so it was quite challenging).
Emily was all nervous about her prefect interview ( the kids filled in an application form for the position of prefect and had an interview) and found out today that she had been selected! Hooray!
Both girls received star badges this week (a badge given out to selected kids each week for good work, good behaviour etc), so both have been beaming from ear to ear. A great start to the year!
Sarah is learning to play hockey, but realised that she had to give up cooking if she wanted to play soccer as well (a few tears there).
We had 9 girls at our house today for the scrapping farewell party...what a mess...all had fun...some very creative pages! Finished with pizza and a movie...a perfect evening.
I'm ready for a quiet weekend, but knowing this household, it's not going to happen, but one can live in hope...