HOSPITAL VISIT :(

My husband and 2 year old son were both referred to the hospital today:

* My husband for a suspected broken rib after over zealous soccer playing last Tuesday night (silly man!) - luckily the x-rays showed it is simply bruised and inflamed. It kills for him to even sneeze but he'll be fine.

* My son injured his toe (we suspect he ran into the brick mini bar wall after smashing a beer bottle and trying to do a runner). He absolutely screamed the emergency department down every time someone even mentioned his toe. My husband and I, along with a doctor, had to hold him down for an x-ray (that was the 2nd attempt after I could not hold him down on my own). He was found to have a hair-line fracture. They drilled the nail to drain the blood and release the pressure (also requiring holding him down - they didn't want to give him full anaesthetic due to his age) and eventually bandaged it up. I never want to go through that again! He can't walk on it at the moment. I feel really sorry for him - poor baby :(

I must say that the hospital staff were great and we were in and out (for both patients) within about one and a half hours. So for all the bad publicity surrounding public hospitals, it's comforting to know that some emergency departments are still getting the job done despite the work loads.

The birthday circus is rolling into town again (soon...)

Worked like crazy yesterday to get these finished. Not the clearest pic but you get the drift...

WHAT THE...?

Yes peoples, I've managed to get myself into yet another disaster! The picture is of the huge bandage covering half my face, and specifically my eye. For the second time in about 8 months, I have failed to look after my contacts properly and have succeeded in scratching the cornea of my eye. And let me tell you, it's bloody painful!!

Which leads me to the following: I've been tagged by the super talented Natalie of Go Mama! (thanks for the blog link Natalie!)

Here’s how it works:

1. Players must list one fact, word, or tidbit that is somehow relevant to their life for each letter of their first or middle name.

2. When you are tagged you need to write your own post containing your first or middle name game facts, word, or tidbit.

3. At the end of your post choose one person for each letter of your name to tag.

4. Don’t forget to leave a comment telling them that they have been tagged, and to read your blog.

5. If I’ve tagged YOU (see below), please join in on the fun!

C Clumsy (obviously). I think I have been to the Doctor more times this year than in my whole life! Whereas before it was the odd tripping over chairs in the classroom or running into tables, it has now progressed to accidents requiring medical attention! Let's hope I am a little less clumsy in 2008!

A Artistic lol! Well that's what people think because I do scrapbooking and other bits and pieces but I never really considered myself artistic...maybe I am in a weird sort of way?

T Teacher. Not only to my boys but also by profession. This was what I decided I really wanted to do after studying and (briefly) practising law. It's a job that can drive you crazy and completely exhaust you but it's the best job in the world. Extremely rewarding!

H Health-freak (only kidding!) - I can just see people who know me doing a double take! I'm lazy as when it comes to exercise and I love my food too much to ever be a health-freak (said in the nicest possible way). Hungry is probably a better adjective - yes, I'm always hungry lol!

Y Yellow? Yucky? Yummy? Yawn!! Trying to think of a "Y" word. Yes, yawn is a good one because I'm always tired - always up until all hours doing a million and one things. And "Yes" would be another good word because I find it hard to say no to people...

Okay, now I tag Kim, Desirai, Jodie, Helen and Stacey

If you guys have already been tagged (very likely) then just post a comment here with a link to your tagged entry.

GIRL'S NIGHT OUT ENDS IN HORROR FIND

(not as bad or dramatic as it sounds,

but sickening nonetheless...)

We had a long overdue girl's get together last night. We went to dinner at a fairly new restaurant. The food was okay, the atmosphere was less than cosy with bright fluoro lamps bearing down on us and the staff were "interesting". But we really didn't care about any of that - it was just a chance to catch up, gossip and laugh!!

After being kicked out of the restaurant at around midnight, we went back to a friend's place and continued to chat away. Living the furthest, I didn't get home until just past 2am.

I was pleasantly surprised to find my husband had managed to not only put the kids to bed but himself to bed too (that is, he wasn't snoring away on the lounge with the TV blaring).

But (and there always seems to be a but) I was absolutely disgusted by the discovery in the laundry. I was drawn there by a light that had been left on and a fan trying desperately to suck the stench out of the air...

I found a pile on the floor consisting of cot sheets, doona, pillow, pyjamas, socks and two teddy bears covered in (and I'm sick just typing this) chunky vomit!!!!! I couldn't bear to deal with it so I left it until the morning (bad mistake).

So you can imagine what today was like as I cleaned, freshened etc all the while trying not to throw up myself. Apparently my eldest had just thrown up soon after going to bed and he managed to strike just about everything in the cot!

To my husband's credit, at least he cleaned up what he could in the cot and didn't ring to say "what do I do?" or even to report what had happened...

It was an excellent, funny night - I just could have done without the "surprise" find at the end!

ANOTHER ALBUM COMPLETED...
Have to work at my day job tomorrow, so stayed up late to complete this special order - an altered photo album for a Confirmation. I also managed to embellish a couple of hampers that my husband put together... productive but late night... let's hope the boys sleep through tonight or I'll be a walking zombie tomorrow!

UPSIDE DOWN NUTELLA SUNDAE
Sorry, I don't have a pic but I'm sure your imaginations can conjure up a suitable image... this one courtesy of my friend Cherie (Dessert Queen Extraordinaire):

Place as much Nutella (chocolate spread) as desired in bottom of cup.

Melt in microwave (not too long or it will burn)

Add lashings of vanilla ice-cream.

Mmmmm....enjoy :)

GOLD DIGGER


I had never before met a real life gold digger... but now I know exactly what one looks like (extraxts from Ludacris' song lyrics below say it all)

She's dangerous,(Uh huh) super bad. (OK)
Better watch out she'll take ya cash.She's a gold... digger. [x2]

Yeah, shes a money magnet, smell a dollar bill in ya clothes.
Gold digger signs from her head to her toes
You hear me sayin no don't mess with the stress
She's out to get ya dough nuttin more nuttin less
Shes lookin' for a prize, man you killin me
Actin like you don't see the dollar signs in her eyes
She wants her nails done, and her hair, too
Plus a diamond necklace, thats all on you
You still can't see it, yeah you a sucka
If you do it homeboy man i couldn't be it
Hypnotised by her good looks?
Yup maybe, but a victim for a good crook? Nope not me!
Consider yourself warned so you can stay.
Or you can stick to my rhyme and get the heck away!
Either way, go.. figure, shes a gold.. digger.
Gettin' close as your bank roll grows bigger

Infatuated way with a beauty
Intrigued with a brain
When she look at you she only see "ching-ching"
A mill around your neck,a mill around your arms
A championship ring, she must be a bowla huh?
She turns on the meter, as soon as you meet her
And when you bite the bait, you hook line and sinker
When money talks she tap like F.B.I.
waiting on her sheriff to handcuff the right guy
Look you in the eye, and tell a boldface lie.
Schemin on the way to run yo well dry
Guess its a game now, gotta watch who you trust
Like her because she's only out for your bucks
Yes sir, shes all about getting paid
Adgenda everyday its to find new prey,What more can i say?
but to wise up some
Better watch out, she'll leave yah with insufficient funds
She said fancy cars.she said movie stars you better watch your back or
She'll be spending up your check

Cartoons from cartoonstock.com

THE GLASS IS OUT!!! WOO HOO!!!
A brief re-cap for all those who have missed the drama:

1. Stupid me smashes glass door with bare hand in order to escape after being locked in study by 2 year old ( http://scrap4u.blogspot.com/2007/07/broken-glass-what-week-i-have-had-it.html)

2. After 6 weeks of pain and a return to doctor, an ultrasound finally reveals what I suspected all along - I have glass embedded in my finger!
http://scrap4u.blogspot.com/2007/09/there-is-glass-in-my-finger-im-typing.html

3. Doctor tries to remove glass under local anaesthetic but fails. Sent to specialist and pay a heap of money to be told that I should leave it in (the alternative - surgery under full anaesthetic)
http://scrap4u.blogspot.com/2007/09/medical-disasters-how-bad-have-i-been.html

4. That was quite a few weeks ago - my finger has been getting worse - it was swollen, sore and area where glass embedded was turning a nasty colour. Was thinking I might go to another doctor to see if they could get it out rather than doing the whole hospital thing (seemed so drastic for a little piece of glass).

Then yesterday a little blood started oozing out... then tonight I felt something sharp coming out of my finger. With my husband's help and some tweezers, we managed to pull the glass out!! I was worried we would snap it but luckily we got it out! It was as big as they said (0.6cm) and pointy (now I know why I was in so much pain at times).

I FEEL FREE AND MY FINGER CAN MOVE WITHOUT PAIN!!
WOO HOO!!

(moral of the story: never, ever smash glass with bare hands)

THE GOOD IN TODAY...

Inspired by Bonghi Vestiti's post "The Rose" I have decided that instead of thinking about how I feel like a zombie today (my sons woke at 2am and 4.45am respectively), I will focus on the good...

1. I have two gorgeous sons. I know people who would give anything just to have children (no matter what time they wake).

2. God has given Sydney a beautiful day - blue skies and sunshine.

3. I have a nice house that I really like and despite the fact that some parts are a mess at the moment, at least we have a roof over our heads - some are not so lucky.

The above was the post I started yesterday but never got to finish...nevertheless, the sentiment remains the same - stop and smell the roses. There is a lot of good in life, but often we are so caught up in the negative, that we fail to appreciate what we have.

P.S. My friend is pretty sick from the chemo but is stoically taking it one day at a time. We're planning a girl's night out soon so really looking forward to having some laughs!

CHEMO

My friend starts her chemo for breast cancer today - a scary thing for anyone to have to face, but moreso when you are only 29 years old and have two young children. I first wrote about her diagnosis on September 18th so it has been a whirlwind rollercoaster ride!

However, I have no doubt she will face this next step with the same courage and determination she has shown throughout this fight. A couple of weeks ago she had the affected breast removed along with all her lymph nodes. The thrilling news was that the cancer was contained to the breast and had not spread! So the chemo is more a precautionary measure.

I'm in awe of her strength! Please keep her in your thoughts today as she begins this difficult phase.

And being Breast Cancer Awareness month, please donate generously by clicking on the link below or even buying a small piece of fundraising merchandise at your local shops - 1 in 8 Australian women will have been diagnosed with breast cancer by the age of 85 - a scary statistic we need to change!

BRUXISM
Have I got your attention? Do you know what this is?

I am guilty of doing the one thing that most doctors now rate as the most annoying trait in their patients - Googling their symptoms and self-diagnosing their conditions. Although lately I have been trying really, really hard (well as hard as one can when one is addicted to Googling everything) to not do this! The reason I am trying to resist and doctors want their patients to stop is because we end up with a zillion hits giving us a load of crap info - most of which doesn't even relate to our individual condition and we end up in a state of sheer panic!

Anyway, I digress. Tonight I googled "baby grinding teeth" because my 10 month old has been grinding his (cute) little teeth...and since my husband is a teeth grinder and has worn down some of his teeth, I thought I should avert another disaster (and possibly astronomic dental fees in the future).

Alas, all is okay according to Google! He grinds his teeth - a condition known as Bruxism - and apparently it's quite normal in babies. He may be getting used to having teeth or be in a bit of pain with the teething, hence the grinding (I ruled out stress as a cause - although with a slightly older brother always ready to rumble him, anything is possible)! According to Google, he should stop when his baby teeth fall out (!) if it even lasts that long...

I should be in bed. I have no idea why I shared all of the above. If you are still awake, thank you for reading this post :)

I FINISHED AT 1AM!!
After much procrastination, I finished the guest book below at 1am this morning! I was so tired!

It's for a wedding this Saturday at a luxurious location in Oyster Bay. Hope they like the book ~ I couriered it off today to the friend who ordered it for the bride and groom.

I'll have more pics of the book on my website later this month :)

Procrastination
Not even sure I have spelt it correctly because I am so tired and can't think straight...but it's an awful, awful thing! I have "wasted" 2 hours (yes two whole hours!) reading blogs and posting comments. I say "wasted" only because I should have been spending the time working on a guest book that I have to have finished before Saturday (it's for a wedding).

I want my bed...I'm tired...but alas I must keep plodding along!

More recently completed projects...

Guest book, letter art and altered album.

October Feature Artist
Sheep's Clothing

Artist: Stacey
Age: 36 years old
Star Sign: Virgo (and claims this does not mean she is neat and orderly!)
Location: Melbourne, Australia
Interests: Knitting, family, tennis, food and wine, reading, antiques.
Blog:
http://sheeps-clothing.blogspot.com

This month's feature artist is Stacey from Sheep's Clothing in Melbourne.
Stacey has been married to a lovely man for 13 years and they have two sons.

Sheep's Clothing, like so many home-based businesses, was born from a frustration of not being able to find a quality product. When Stacey's boys were babies, she searched high and low for quality knitwear that was also stylish but could find nothing but acrylic pieces.

It was at this stage that Stacey, herself from a long line of knitting enthusiasts, began to experiment with different styles of beanies and scarves. Her creations got a great response whenever her boys were wearing them and Stacey knew she was onto a winner. And thus Sheep's Clothing was born - a business specialising in "quality hats, scarves and hair accessories hand knitted using 100% Australian pure wool".

Stacey says she always uses "the highest quality pure merino wool, some of it dyed by hand". She "loves the luxurious look and feel of pure wool" and says that working with "such a lovely raw product is the favourite part" of what she does - that, and seeing her creations worn by others.

Stacey's signature line of beanies and scarves was quickly expanded to include hair accessories like those pictured. However, she says no matter how hard she tries to convince them, her boys aren't too keen on the hair accessories!


Editor's Note: Click on the featured pictures to visit the Sheep's Clothing store. For those in Australia, it's an opportunity to buy something luxurious for next Winter and for those in the Northern Hemisphere, it's a chance to own an authentic little piece of Australia.

P.S. I just LOVE the colours in this last featured scarf!