The Adventures of Tom and Dan
Yes, my two little munchkins have been at it again! The joys of boys...

In case you can't tell, the first picture is of our kitchen fridge DISMANTLED! Thomas managed to pull the front coloured panel out. Luckily, he didn't break it and we have put it back in...but tomorrow is another day!

Then tonight I was in the kitchen preparing dinner and the boys were running around. Suddenly, I realised that all was silent and I just knew there was trouble brewing! The laundry door was closed. Trouble for sure. I walked in to find them both sitting over the open floor drain peering in (see picture below).

And what were they peering at? Can you see what that is? A pair of socks!! And I didn't put them there, that's for sure!

Another thing I was certain of was that I wasn't going to stick my hand down into that disgusting water. So I found a pair of tongs and fished them out... 4 pairs of socks and a single one for good measure!

I also struck something else that was brown so I dumped that back in and quickly closed the drain! I have a feeling I should keep those tongs handy (and don't worry - I won't be serving food with them)!

Absolute little rascals they are! No bigger than grasshoppers but into everything!!!

Gone Dotty

This is yet another card and matching hand made envelope - again, not for sale, but given as a gift. I love the look of the envelopes...not sure what others think...?

BIRTHDAY PARTY!

It was a long, exhausting day but lots of fun (and well worth the effort)! Here are some photos from the day.

Sign made by my sister and cake made by my sister in-law - thanks guys :) And thanks to all my other sister in-laws, niece, Mum and Mother in-law for helping out with the food and dessert :))

The family photo (Thomas was happy ~ he likes the cheers at the end of 'Happy Birthday').

The completed noodle boxes aka party favours.

Sparkles the Clown was brilliant and kept the children well entertained with games, face painting and balloon sculpting!

Family and friends can view more photos of themselves and the party at Flickr (I'm registered as Scrap4U if that matters - I'm new to Flickr so still trying to work it out myself).

NOODLE BOXES AND STRAWBERRY KISSES...

Just finished the hundred and one (well ok, not quite that many) lolly noodle boxes for my son's birthday on Sunday! Phew! Tomorrow I have a ton of last minute things to do along with a trip to the election booth to vote...

Here's what my sister in-law received as a birthday gift - purchased from Rock 'n' Wrap on Etsy. It's even more beautiful in person. "Strawberry Kisses" is the second pendant I have bought from Elle at Rock 'n' Wrap and I highly recommend her products :)

BIRTHDAY BOY!
On Tuesday my baby boy turned 1! Can't believe he is one already :) My sister and sister in-law baked his very special first birthday cake (pictured). The photo is a bad angle - it had lolly cars on it and it was like a race track. Maybe one of them can send me a better pic. My other sister in-law is baking his circus themed cake for the party this Sunday...hope it doesn't rain!

Normal people don't do this...I stayed up late the other night getting his party lolly boxes ready - I bought plain white noodle boxes and painted them...I have yet to fill them and place labels on!

November has been filled with birthdays and today is my sister in-law Carmelina's birthday - below is the card and matching envelope I made her...you can't see it in photo, but little green rhinestones decorate some of the swirls. Have yet to do anymore of these for my Etsy shop... do you think there would be a market for specialty cards and matching handmade envelopes? I like them...and am having fun making them!

Part of her gift from my sister and I was from one of my favourite Etsy jewellers...but I'll post the photo tomorrow (just in case she happens to read this before we go over).

SECRET DESIRE...
Lately I have been nursing a secret desire to SEW again! I used to sew (under the guidance of my Textiles teacher and my Mum) way back when I was in high school. I used patterns but I managed to sew together tops, skirts, dresses (including an embroidered baby one) and even a lined jacket! It has probably been 16 years since I sewed (yes, I'm old!) but surely it's like riding a bike ie you don't forget?

I don't so much want to sew clothes (although making something for my boys would be a thrill)...I have always wanted to learn how to quilt!! How could I fail to be inspired by works like the quilt pictured (made by Natalie of Go Mama! - click on the pic to see more details on the quilt)!?

Then yesterday when out shopping, this beautiful hand operated antique looking sewing machine caught my eye! It's only $130...I love the look of it but would I really use it? I imagine it would be hard to hold fabric down whilst madly turning the wheel... but oh, it looks so nice!

Then this morning I saw a "normal" sewing machine - great brand, moderate size but with heaps of different stitches (might come in handy for my scrapbooking) and it's only $148 or something like that.

I think I'm crazy...maybe it's time to lock me up! As if I'm not busy enough, without learning a new craft!

Back to reality - I have forgotten to update on all the new babies: At the end of September, I became an aunty again to the lovely, gorgeous Victoria. Then a few weeks ago, friends of ours gave birth to their third child - after 2 boys, a girl named Chiara. And yesterday, after much anticipation, other friends of ours gave birth to their 2nd boy, Noah James. Makes me all clucky again (sort of).

And finally, this article appeared in yesterday's newspaper. Apparently, there's hope for my children...lol

GLASS...it breaks!
Just thought I would share that for those of you in the dark about glass.


Regular readers of this blog will know that glass breaks all the time - and with 2 toddlers roaming about the place, it also seems to break at inconvenient times and inappropriate places. I have had more broken glass in this house this year than in all other years combined!


The other night I did it again by dropping the glass lid of a Corningware dish... you know, that slow motion drop where you know the thing is going to shatter but your brain doesn't cause your hands to move quickly enough to save the day and you find yourself hoping it will miraculously bounce and stay in one piece...but of course it doesn't.


Then this afternoon my two year old broke an ashtray outside (husband is an occasional smoker) and when I went to turn on the lights in the kitchen the last remaining globe in the light fitting exploded. I'm becoming an expert (almost) at sweeping up glass whilst trying to keep two toddlers away from it!


Oh, and to top the night off my almost 1 year old decided to throw up...in my handbag!! Just lovely... I figure his tummy must have been a little upset after he snuck on to the lounge, stood and then sky dived off it onto the small children's lounge! He learns so many great skills from his big brother!!! Boys will be boys...



P.S If breaking a mirror is supposed to be bad luck (and they are specific with the mirror part), then surely breaking household items, windows and door panels would have to mean lots and lots of good luck?!

Cartoons from cartoonstock.com

ACHIEVEMENTS FOR TODAY
Haven't blogged in a while but today I...

* Sorted through a pile of mail (bills and more bills...and election stuff)
* Found a drive through cake shop (brilliant idea!)
* Spent the day with two great friends and our 7 children (who had a ball and were surprisingly well behaved)
* Didn't panic when my two year old did a Houdini act and got his arms free from the car child restraint on the way home (just calmly pulled over and fastened the belt again)
* Got home and prepared some flyers to take to the daycare centre tomorrow before work
* Didn't get mad when my two year old decided to spray cordial all over the floor (in several rooms) just so he could run his feet through it! Joys!
* Fed the kids (always a good thing lol)
* Bathed the kids (and managed to get them out of the bath water without too much hollering)
* Did a couple of loads of washing in between other activities
* Put them to bed (and didn't lose it when I had to spend nearly an hour running from one child to the other as they tag teamed crying)
* Collected the bins
* Packed the kids bags so they are ready to go in the morning (no doubt I'll still be running late!!)
* Did some research for an invitation enquiry I got tonight
* Made mango mousse (I think I actually pulled it off!)
And now I'm off to iron clothes for tomorrow and have a shower.

For once, I am very proud of myself. I feel like I have had a productive day!!!

RIDE OF HER LIFE
This is Deb Warren - I passed her as I drove home from work. She was tandem-riding a bike and it was the support cars at the front and rear of the bike that caught my attention. One had a sign saying blind tandem bike ride and the other had a website address - ride of her life. I was intrigued and looked it up.

What I discovered was an amazing story of a woman who has been blind since she was a baby, who has also beaten cancer, and is now in the process of doing a 700km 10 day tandem bike ride in order to raise money for a charity organisation and celebrate "the parts of her that work". If you want to hear more from the woman herself, you can watch her You Tube video (sorry didn't know how to post the visual link).

Truly inspiring.

MY LATEST...
(and famous footballers)

This is my latest attempt at a greeting card and handmade envelope set. This one isn't for sale although I'm thinking of duplicating it. It is a gift for my niece who turns 14 on Friday. I absolutely fell in love with the paper as soon as I spotted it. I was in the scrapbook store to buy some cardstock for the hamper tags and I just had to have this patterned paper - what does everyone think?

(Sorry, the photography isn't too great)

p.s. Also forgot to mention that today was Melbourne Cup Day - the biggest horse racing day on the Australian calendar. The Melbourne Cup is known as the race that stops a nation because no matter where anyone is in this country, young and old stop to watch this race and it's the one day of the year when almost everyone has a bet of some sort or another (even if it's just an office sweep).

Anyway, that's the background. My husband was taken out to lunch at a pub and of course just made it home (early I must say at 11pm) and he was just telling me that he was having drinks with two rugby league players from our favourite team (I won't name names). He even showed them the photo in his wallet of him and our boys all in their football jerseys!! I shudder to think what else he did or said as he sure couldn't keep up with them in the drinking stakes! Yikes!

HAMPERS HAMPERS HAMPERS!
We spent today filling a couple of large early bird Christmas orders for Homestyle Hampers. Pictures of some of the sealing, shrinking and packing are below.

All I can say is thank goodness we invested in a professional sealer/shrink wrap machine rather than going with our original idea! Even though we had kind of worked it out with the original idea, having the professional equipment makes it look a lot more, well...professional!

If you live in Sydney or know someone who does why not order some hampers to spread the Christmas cheer?! I promise you won't be disappointed - the hand made truffles in particular just melt in your mouth (I've tested all flavours)!

RECOVERY AND A NEW PRODUCT

My husband is slowly on the mend (with only a few complaints along the way) but it's my little man I'm worried about. The huge bandage has come off and when he has shoes on he can walk, run and climb with no worries at all. However, as soon as the shoe is off, he drops to his knees, refuses to put his foot on the
ground and begs to be carried. I'm not sure if this is because he is still in some pain or whether it is because he sees that the nail is black and remembers what happened...just hope it heals soon.
In other news, I have listed this cute gift card set in my Etsy store and I'm very excited about it because it is the first time I have made my own matching envelopes :) I want to try some larger ones soon. Just wish I had the time to devote solely to crafting!

If anyone is interested in a closer look at the gift cards, simply click on the picture.