Life goes on...

Well it has been simply ages since I last blogged. The season's festivties and then lots of socialising, as well as the evils of Facebook have kept me away from the blog. So there is a bit to catch up on...

Mitch & Harry are heading back to Kindy four days a week (2 3/4 hours a day). They are VERY excited and looking forward to seeing their friends and the teachers. We did the all important lunch box, drink bottle and school bag purchase and they are ready to go. I will miss them and our leisurely mornings - but this is all part of the wonderful journey ahead of them.

I haven't managed to do much craft, but am planning to head away with some of my girls friends for a weekend of scrapping and relaxing. I can't wait!!! Why is it that as mums and women we often feel guilty about taking time for ourselves? A friend recently had a birthday party and invited just her female friends and it was so much fun, that we have promised to do it again soon.

Kev has been away at CANCON - a convention for Wargamers. He stayed with our friend Avi and came back tired, but very happy. These special times away really help make our time together special. Besides at the moment, I really wouldn't fancy the long drive to Canberra with two small boys and having Kev preoccupied with games the whole time we were away.

So while Kev was away we went to the beach and what fun we had. The boys and I swam and walked along the beach. And Grandad helped them perfect their cycling - they were riding approx 1.2-1.6 km each time and asked to ride at least twice a day! We enjoyed fish and chips, icecreams and relaxing. It was a terrific holiday and it was lovely to share it with our family.

And so life is slowly getting back to normal after the Xmas break. Kev is back at work. The boys are heading to kindy. And I am looking forward to another year of being a wife and mum.

Hope everyone had a great Xmas time with family & friends,
Hugs,
Lisa

Help I am addicted to Facebook

Well it has to happen...
Well I suppose strictly speaking it DIDN'T have to happen...
But it was inevitable!

I discovered Facebook and I am addicted!
I love the quick updates about friends.
I love keeping in contact with my friends and family easily.
And I love wasting time playing all of the games.

So now I am addicted.
The biggest tragedy in my life?
When I couldn't access Facebook due to maintenance.
I mean... how dare they! I wanted to beat my cousin at Word Twist and they dare schedule maintenance!!! Just who do they think they are???

So there you are... I have confessed my little secret.
Now I have to fly I am heading to Facebook to play another game :-)

Hugs,
Lisa xx

Tagged again!!! Thanks Aprilyn (grin)

This is the Crazy Eights tag courtesy of my friend Aprilyn...

8 things I'm obsessed with right now
1. Gardening - it is my stress reliever
2. Scrapbooking - enough said
3. Going to the park with the boys - while they still think playing with Mummy is fun
4. Spending time with good friends - not enough time in the day
5. My new outdoor setting - finally I have one!!!
6. My new camera - I think Kev may need to get another job with all of these expenses
7. Having an organised home - well as organised as it can be with two four year olds
(grin)
8. Spending time with my family

8 words or phrases I use daily
1. In a moment
2. Harrison stop hitting your brother
3. Mitchell stop teasing your brother
4. Toilet time
5. Okay boys time to go
6. Go to bed
7. I said go to bed
8. If you don't go to bed...

8 TV Shows I love to watch
1. Desperate housewives (great trashy viewing)
2. Find my family (a real tear jerker)
3. Louis Theroux presentS (great docos)
4. Bullshit! By Penn & Teller (thought provoking tv)
5. Aircrash investigation (what can I say? I AM a ghoul)
6.
7.
8.



8 things I did yesterday
1. washing/ ironing
2. gardening
3. cleaned the back of the car... where I spilt a bottle of soy sauce!!!
4. organised the boys
5. organised Kev (or micro-managed him as he prefers to say)
6. entertained guests
7. cleaned up after everyone left
8. collapsed in an exhausted heap


8 of my favorite places to eat
1. Cafe Nova - local place with great food
2. My Dad's place - where the wine is ALWAYS plentiful!
3. at the park... so the boys can play
4. at home with family and friends
5. anywhere Thai!
6. anywhere Indian!
7. anywhere Italian
8. anywhere that I don't have to cook - all Mums would agree with this!

8 things I'm looking forward to
1. spending Xmas with my boys and Kev
2. watching the boys learn about the world and make friends
3. spending more time with Kev - there never seems to be enough time
4. seeing my Dad's new home at the beach - watch out Grandad you are going to
have lots of visits!
5. seeing Kev's mum and dad when we can
6. growing old with Kev
7. being a mum - it is more than I could have hoped for...
8. spending time with friends and family

8 things on my wish list
1. lose weight
2. get more exercise and stay motivated
3. learn to be more tolerant... maybe by the time I am 80???
4. learn photography and take some classes
5. a holiday with the girls - as many as possible!
6. help both boys with their therapy
7. get my photo albums up to date
8. get my garden looking nice

Merry Xmas

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

I've been tagged!

I have been tagged by Joanne.
You should check out her beautiful blog which is full of wonderful scrapbooking layouts ...

The Rules:
1. Link to the person who tagged you
2. Post the rules on your blog.
3. List 6 random things about yourself.
4. Tag 6 people at the end of your post.
5. Let each person know they have been tagged and leave a comment on their blog.

So, here are the 6 random things about me:
1. I love pancakes with maple syrup (but only real maple syrup)
2. I love to clean (its a curse I know)
3. I live in the town where a lot of the television series McLeod's Daughter's was
filmed (and no Pat I can't send you Aaron Jeffreys)
4. I love weeding (the results last longer than house cleaning!)
5. I have blue eyes with yellow rings around the pupils
6. I have a brand new digital SLR camera (is it wrong to love an inanimate object?)

The six people I tag are: Shelley, Aprilyn, Rhonda, Toni, Hayley & Lauren

Understanding language disorders...

As many of you may know both Mitch & Harry have been diagnosed with severe language disorders and are considered in the first percentile for their speech and language (meaning out of 100 children - 99 children would score higher than them). This is very hard for many people to understand because both boys are chatty, bright and responsive. Even doctors have questioned the diagnosis... which sometimes make it hard for us to know what to believe. But the reality is that while both boys are beautiful, loving and intelligent they do have difficulty with both expressive and receptive speech.

Here is a brief description of language disorders in children by Dr McDowell a leading developmental paediatrician...
(you may want to turn the volume up)



Here is the same doctor discussing whether language disorders can be cured...


And how inadequate speech services are within Australia...


And finally what this can mean when the child grows up...


While it may seem a potentially grim diagnosis - neither Kevin or myself view it as such. We are extremely fortunate that the boys' language disorder has been diagnosed so early and that despite their difficulties they are very happy to talk (and talk and talk). We view our role as helping the boys to develop strategies to assist them with their language. Although the boys do very well themselves. Mitch typically inserts phrases he knows will garner favourable feedback... "you are my BEST friend" and "I love you so much". And Harry talks about things he understands like numbers, the alphabet and colours - he even types his name out on the computer now. These are the ways they have already learnt to cope when their language lets them down. Best of all they are happy boys which we hope will continue as they face the challenges ahead.

Phew, now if you have managed to follow all of this my thanks :-)
Hugs,
Lisa

Turning 40 and other milestones...

Well I am on the countdown to my fortieth birthday. It is hard to believe that I am actually going to be forty! In some ways I still feel like I am in my twenties, until I look in a mirror and see an older, more wrinkled face looking back at me. There is certainly a freedom in growing older. I worry a lot less about what people think. I am kinder to myself and hopefully to others. I am less judgemental of others. And I allow myself time to smell the roses. Of course the aches a pains which weren't there 20 years ago remind me now and then that my body has aged.... but I have to say that I like growing older.

Life is good. Mitch & Harry are growing into beautiful boys with loving hearts. They are making new friends and enjoying kindy. And even the hurdles we face with both of them don't seem insurmountable. Kev is enjoying his work. He is a loving husband, a doting father and a good provider. Our home is comfortable and welcoming. And we have good family and friends.

The one hardship is that I don't have my beautiful Mum to share this time. The pain of her death never really goes away. I know how much she would have loved to be part of the family gatherings and how she would have loved to spend time with her three grandsons. Harry in particular talks about his Gran often. I realise he wouldn't have a particularly strong memory of her, but he gets comfort from seeing photos of her and talking to me about his Gran. Everything in my life has been touched in some small way by my Mum and this is what gives me comfort. I feel blessed to have had such a beautiful Mum.

So life is good. I look forward to the next forty years! And as I look of the photo of me as a little girl I wish I could say to her that life may get tough at times, but there are enough sweet moments to make the journey worthwhile.

Hoping everyone has a great week,
With lots of love,
Lisa

My latest layout...

I just wanted to share my latest layout. I love this photo - it was taken at Port Vincent as Kev walked Mitch, Harry and Jay back to the holiday house. I entered it in the Camelot Forum October challenge and won a $20 voucher to spend at the store!

Life is very relaxed at the moment. Both boys are enjoying kindy and Harry seems to be settling in (which is a relief). The garden is looking lovely. And the house is (relatively) tidy. It doesn't take much to keep me happy (grin).

Hope you are having a good week too,
Hugs,
Lisa

Camelot - lets go shopping...

By chance a few months ago I came across an online store and forum for one of my favourite scrapbooking stores in SA - CAMELOT! This shop has to be seen to be believed. Room after room jam-packed with everything you could possibly want. And just when you think there couldn't possibly be anymore you venture outside to a huge shed with row after row of paper shelves with every imaginable kind of card stock and patterned paper. It truly is like an Aladdin's cave!

Anyway, one night I was surfing the net and found their forum and so (of course) I joined. The forum is still very new and quite small. BUT the girls are lovely and welcoming and the moderators are clearly passionate about scrapbooking.

So if you are looking for somewhere to do a bit of retail therapy or if you want to find a forum to share ideas about scrapbooking and card making then why not visit CAMELOT.

More scrapbooking and an brief update...

Here is my latest layout. Each year just after the boys' birthdays I write them a brief note to include in their album. They each have an album for each year of their lives. Kev has pointed out if I keep scrapping at the same rate the boys will need a semi-trailer to take their albums when they leave home (grin).

Speaking of the boys - the first 2 weeks of kindy have been a steep learning curve for the boys and I. They have clearly found the effort of getting out the door by 8.30am each morning a bit tiring (they like long, leisurely breakfasts). A few times they have cried and asked to stay home, but we have headed to kindy anyway and then within a few minutes they are excitedly playing with their little friends. Well I should say Mitchell is playing with his little friends, who are all girls by the way. Harry doesn't seem that interested in playing with the other children and prefers solitary activities like puzzles, the computer or drawing. This is something that the kindy teachers and I are watching closely in case it becomes an issue. They are at kindy four mornings a week and on three of those mornings I go straight to the gym afterwards for 1/2 an hour. At the moment it is a big struggle because I am SO unfit, but the ladies at Curves are lovely and I hope to lose some weight and improve my overall fitness.

Apart from that I have found a renewed passion for gardening and am out in the garden most nights - weeding, hand watering or generally tidying up. The garden is certainly showing the fruits of my efforts and it looks very pretty despite the lack of rain. Goodness knows how it will cope with summer. I have found that my time gardening is very therapeutic and that coupled with my exercise my mental well-being has improved markedly. Who would have guessed I just needed some sheer torture followed by solitude to feel happy (grin)?

Well I better sign off now,
Hoping everyone has a lovely weekend,
Lisa