Lucky Me!

Look at all this wonderful stuff!!! Last week I received 2 large boxes from a courier, I had been waiting on them, and had no idea that the prize I won was so enormous! Thanks to Christina Re, (an Aussie Designer)and Scrapbook Creations magazine, I won this in a 25 WORDS OR LESS.. competition! yeehah! I was gobsmacked. There are photo albums, scrapping albums, expanding files, portfolio's, manilla folders, storage boxes, magazine holders, scrapping goodies, (alphas, embellishments and paper kits) and ring binders, almost one in every colour. Now I have to find a home for it all. So much of it I need for my Photographs and scrapping storage, butI'm running out of space.

On a different note, since we moved to Townsville, all we seem to be doing is visiting the Doctor's. Both kids have been sick again, and Taylah has had ear trouble again, can't wait to see the specialist and get the ball rolling again for her, I really want them to put the grommets in her ears now, I think it's the solution to all her problems!
What about rain, shall we talk about that! We had about 3-4 days of sunny weather and then whammo, it's started again, when will it end??? Don't know, but it will be great when it does! The school kids have not been able to play on any playground eqipment since they started and I don't know how they re coping, the teachers would have a hard job too containing them all in underground areas during breaks, don't envy them!

More rain and lots of challenges

Just when we thought we could breathe a sigh of relief, the heavens opened again today! What a downpour it was too! Not before I managed to get Jack a little outdoors time at the playground and making sand castles. He was a brave boy today, had to have a blood test, so good! The paediatrician thinks he's too thin and we had some other issues so she is testing him for a few things as a precaution! He's just had tonsillitis again, so is looking a little on the pale side. Hopefully all is good and he perks up again soon! Taylah is going for another hearing test soon, for my own peace of mind really! She had a little friend over on the weekend, they had a great time, I went for my first swim in this pool, haven't had a chance too with all the rain! I've been scrapping my head off with all the challenges from LSBS www.littlescrapbookshop.com.au
it's been great to get the mojo back and keeping me sane!Still quite a bit homesick, miss my friends and family! Waiting for a new lens in the post that's taking ages because of the floods and oh I won another prize in a scrapping mag. A huge Christina Re pack which I cannot wait to receive. Those of you in the scrapping world will know it was an awesome prize, will let you know when that arrives! Dave is fine and working away, like a good man that he is. I was surprised with a lovely little treasure hunt on Valentine's day from him and the kids, lots of chocolate involved! Very sweet!!!
Leave you with a few layouts from my challenges! And the cover of an art book I've started for me to express myself with all sorts of scrappy bits and paraphernalia. I love the way this turned out. I used part of an old cushion cover which had the beads on it and some Kaiser paper and metal embellies. I've done about 3 pages so far, so it's a work in progress but will post more later.

Rain, Rain, Rain, more rain!!!!

I guess I should be very happy that we are not under water like alot of other people! Yes I am thankful for that. But one could be forgiven for going slightly nutty under these conditions. For goodness sakes I have lived in the tropics now for 14 years nearly, but this is ridiculous! I AM OVER IT!
Anyway, Taylah has settled in school nicely, but been off sick for the last 3 days with a chest infection, I have so needed to get out of the house, but not wanting to drag her along, so trying to cope with the 2 kids fighting. Aargh! Today we went to the shops and had a milkshake and a little retail therapy, much needed. She is feeling a little better tonight I think.
All I want to do at the moment is lock myself away in my new little scrap room and create. I've spoken to all myfriends in Port And down South and that's kept me afloat, but then Dave went and bought the Port Douglas local paper which you can get here and after reading that I got very home sick. Anyway, here I am in my office/scrap room now all ready to create and of course it's late as usual and I'm just getting warmed up. I so need to go to sleep but my body has it's own thoughts and wants to keep going. (Especially after that medium latte this arvo!)
Better get on with it then!
My layouts today are of Jack in a tree, (the first one he climbed) and I love those pics, and Taylah with a pic I took of her with my film camera recently when I dusted off the cobwebs. I just love the way she knows how to look at the camera! (She's certainly had plenty of practice in 6 years!)

Cyclone Ellie????

Well, I can't believe it's been a whole month since checking in. We've now been in Townsville for a whole month aswell. We are in a house, which took about 8 days of hunting.(A nice house, new, not as much room as ours, but nice!) Stayed in the caravan park for the first 10 days which was challenging in a small cabin for 4 people. But it was like a little holiday. The weather hasn't been on our side though. I think it has rained nearly every day we have been here and now tonight we are on cyclone alert for young Ellie, waiting for her to cross the coast sometime tomorrow morning. This has been the biggest wet season Townsville has had for years!!! (typical)

I have nearly unpacked, don't know how I've managed it but I have. Have a great multipurpose room for scrapping and computer and tv for kids to join me sometimes. May start to advertise for my Wedding and portrait photography in the near future, just want to get settled first! It's such an emotional time moving, I am all over the place, but now Taylah is settled with school, that's a big weight lifted. She was such a little champion on her first day at a brand new school. She sent us on our way with a smile and when I picked her up in the arvo, she couldn't wait to tell me she had made a new friend and she had a great day! It made me so happy!

Photos today are my beautiful little princess in her new school uniform for grade 1. A layout of Jack which I managed to complete while staying at the caravan park, proving that lack of space should never stop you scrapping!!!! :)

So over packing!!!!

I think I'm getting there, but I can still see stuff wherever I look. Only two more full days to pack before our scheduled departure date on Friday! We are leaving so much up in the air and wont be able to get tenants in the house until we find a place in Townsville, which we haven't done yet! WE are booked into the caravan park so will have a beach side holiday while we are house hunting. I need that! It's so tiring and draining. I've done it so many times before, but each time after kids, it gets harder. And then we had Christmas and Jack's birthday right in the middle of it all, so there's more stuff to pack....I will be so glad to just get there now!!!!
I can't beleive it's been a month since my last post and it will probably be that again before I get back on line, so Happy New Year everyone!!!!!
My photos this post are of my little darlings with their presents. Taylah got a new bike from Santa, and Jack is sitting on his bed with his new birthday presents, sunnies, t-shirt, truck and blocks!(Loving himself sick!!!)
The layouts are from my photo shoot at Christmas with the kids and my besties, who I am going to miss while we are away! (We got together tonight for some much needed wine, cocktails and laughs!)

Well, it's been too long since my last post, but so much happening here! We've had our week in Townsville! The kids were great in the car for the 5 hr trip. jack slept most of the way and Taylah was not a problem. They watched a movie or two on the DVD player which helped! It was great to spend the week with Dave and have that family connection again! We really enjoyed ourselves. I was a little overwhelmed at the beginning of the week in regards to finding a school and decent area to live, but by the end of the week with Dave off from work, we drove around and had it all sorted! Taylah is booked in to a lovely little school which is only a stone's throw from the Strand and probable living areas. She felt better once we had walked around and visited class rooms and talked to the administrator, I breathed a sigh of relief to have at least accomplished that much. We did check out a few rental apartments and happy that we will have a fair bit to choose from at this time of year!
There is so much to do there, we thought it was a really fun, family centred place, they have put alot of money into the town and it's more than impressive. So we are looking forward to our move now for an exciting change! Coming home was lonely and we still have 2 more weeks before Dave comes home for Jack's birthday party and then he will be home for the holidays and it will be action stations over xmas to get the house packed up. Ideally we want to be down there in the first week of January!
Other news, Taylah is still not well and her specialist now wants to do a 2nd operation and remove her tonsils, put grommets in her ears and quarterize her nostrils! I have been silently fuming over it, as she only had the adenoids removed in Sept! I am still not convinced she needs her tonsils out and have decided to put it on hold until we get to Townsville! Her ears are the main worry at the moment so hopefully a couple of months wont hurt. Poor little thing, we are so over it all!
Photos from Townsville the kids having fun at the Water playground on the Strand!
Layout was one I finished a few weeks ago!

Moving!!!

Hey all, well I'm alittle behind in Posts, but that's just because there's too much going on ! We have had to make the desicion to move to Townsville in the new Year to be with Dave. Apart from the fact it's all getting abit too hard without him here, his company have now offered packages to relocate us, until the end of July next year, which will see the end of his current project. Then, it will be a matter of being where the work is, so if there's still no building going on in Port, then we will stay a bit longer! So many families in Port douglas are going through the same thing as us, dave said the plane back to Townsville on Monday was like being on a job site, full of labourers with work boots going here there and everywhere for work! We are thankful that Dave has work and also of his promotion which occurred just before 18 men were put off from his company!!! So I am taking this opportunity to think of this as anew adventure, a big holiday! I think Taylah will be fine at school she makes friends easily and there is apparantely alot of fun things to do for the kids, which alas, Port Douglas does not have! Who knows, we may just love it down there and It's only a 5 hour drive back to port if we don't!

I have a few links here to my Tasmania pics on facebook if anyone's interested!!!

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=55268&l=7bceb&id=519111594http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=56127&l=40532&id=519111594http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=56135&l=05343&id=519111594 So in the mean time, I need to sort out birthday parties, dance concerts, Xmas and then I will be frantically packing the house to move early in the new year! We are going to rent our home out, so if anyone know's anyone that wants to rent a nice house in Port Douglas with a pool and no neighbours, let me know!!!

This post I will leave you with some fun pics I took of Jack and his little playmates at the park the other week! I love these!!!