Can't do it...

Fly that is. After booking the tickets and having a few months of waking during the night in horror I've finally decided that I'm going to drive to SENZ, not fly. And while a huge part of me knows how stupid this is (that's the logical side!) the emotional side of me, is too freaked about being on a plane with lots of people all squashed in. Lyall thinks I should just 'try' it - bit hard if your 7000ft in the air having a panic attack, I don't really think they'll open the doors and let me off at that point ROFL. It's not like I haven't flown before, I've lost count of how many times I've flown, however not a lot of that was on commercial flights full of people. On horse flights you don't really feel claustraphobic. So I'm going to have to start desensitising myself in situations where there are lots of people and no way out...

Anyway on the plus side, I won't have to worry about what to bring back in terms of weight restrictions LOL! It's highly likely my sister will come for the drive, so that will be great. Now just waiting to hear if I can change my Prima class with Nic Howard from Sunday am to Saturday pm - this way we can take off early Sunday morning for the drive back to Auckland - no biggie if I can't but that extra few hours would be good - especially since I'm back at work come the Monday.

So there you go, no chicken noises please LOL!

Today...

This layout was my effort for last weeks Olympic competion, however I didn't get it finished in time, so finished it yesterday and here it is for your viewing pleasure ROFL! Umm I might have to pull finger and do one for the archery tomorrow since it's the last day. Will see how I go. Nearly finished Hannah's sketch challenge, will get that finished tomorrow as well, she says hopefully!

I met Mayor Tim! And he's as humourous in real life as he is on tv. We went off to the Auckland Showgrounds as there was a thing on about jobs and Southland had a stall there. Ended up that Southland had about nine stalls there. Two companies were particularly impressed with my hubby, and one of them we were particularly impressed with - so that's all good. They had a spin the wheel thing and your's truly won a box of choc's from the Seriously Good Chocolate Company, well it was that or an umbrella, HELLO, I'm going to take chocolates over an umbrella any day LOL! Now if it were cheese...

We came home and have had a succession of visitors arrive this afternoon, out for a drive in this divine weather. So that's been lovley. My DH and a bunch of them are down organising a roast lamb for dinner (should really be a bbq but too late, the lamb was out!), and I thought I'd whip upstairs and do a quick post - it also gets me out of peeling and chopping LOL! And since there's a few beers involved they haven't really realised that they're peeling and chopping...as they are to busy talking while they work!

So here's to a good week - enjoy having your children at home, doing cool holiday 'stuff' with them!

Just had to show you!

Didn't they do well! There were some great ideas for our crazy food day, and a bunch of very happy kids. Add crazy food to face painting and the last day of term and you can imagine what sort of morning we had LOL! Oh and two birthdays - we've had ten this week, that means ten off to school and ten new ones to start next term. And nine lots of chocolate for the teachers...ROFL (we stick them in the freezer and munch on them when needed!) WHAT not ten you say, well no, that's where scrapbooking comes into it - one of the Mum's I scrapbook with, so she did homemade cards, homemade fudge and a little Imaginisce bird stamp for me and a flower one for another teacher. Cool!

When I came home I found Lyall had finished work early - so together we've done all the housework, walked the dog and had dinner out (since he had to go in for Physio we had Wendy's...). Tommorrow I'm getting my hair done (because I have to look 'good' for SENZ LOL and something to do with not actually being able to see out from under my fringe anymore hee hee hee). Monday the dentist. Rest of the week scrapbooking, and gardening and getting myself organised for SENZ. I know it's still a while away but I have to work most of the second week so need to get it organised this week!

Enjoy your weekend all.

Woo Hoot Wednesday!

Well you guys just rock - I've been over to check out Lee's blog and she has nine comments, now that's a super warm welcome! Janine, I've emailed her with instructions on how to fix that little hitch, so hopefully it will be all sorted for your next visit!

Gotta woo hoot the weather, it's just gorgeous. The last two mornings have been a light misty rain and even a bit foggy, and then turned into glorious days.

We now have blossom on our trees, so it really does feel like spring.

Woo hoo for catching up with the girls at the crop on Saturday. I've decided for the retreat that I'm going to take one magazine and then scraplift everything that takes my fancy from it! That way I don't have to think too much! And I might even do some card making.

Now my hubby deserves a big Whoo Hoot! I came home from the crop to find the bathroom tiled (it had a painted concrete floor previously) and so on Sunday we grouted, he's since sealed the grout and siloconed the edges. Another job done. Oh and he put splash backs up in the kitchen. All of this with a shoulder that he's meant to be resting...Next will be the kitchen floor.

And finally WOOOO HOOOOT she yells loudly and I can hear it echoing back to me from Wellington...three days of term left! I was chatting with one of the kids yesterday and she was remembeing and reflecting on the fun we had a couple of weeks ago with Freaky Friday and asked if we could have a crazy food day. Crazy food for her beind sandwiches shaped like spiders, cakes that are upside down and ummm pink cakes (so you can see she's a four year old girl LOL!) so she helped me to type up a note and then helped to put the notes into the pockets for the parents. Now we have forty five excited kids discussing what crazy food they want to bring...Roll on Friday!

Have a great day!

A new blog is born!

A very quick post as I've got a committee meeting to attend tonight, and have to get all those after work jobs done. Like dinner LOL!

My wonderful and gorgeous friend Lee (a Southland girl!) is proud to announce the birth of a bouncing baby blog - born this morning - Mum and blog both doing well...so if you have time pop over to Lee's blog and say hello.

1. This is NZ Scrapbook shop, which is where we cropped yesterday.

2. From front to back, Rachel (who has the cat in the hat avatar on SB. The very talented and lovely Tracy L, and Michelle W (Harbourgal). All busy at work and pretending they can't see my camera LOL!

3. BOM - Something Old

4. BOM - Bad Habit

5. BOM - Life before scrapbooking

It's official, I get nothing done when I'm on a daytime crop. I managed to get one layout finished, and two started, but generally I hit the wall about three ish. On most of the other crops I've been on, that hasn't really mattered as it's about then, or not too long after that I've needed to make a move (places to go, people to see...) However surrounded by such talent yesterday, made me very uninspired with my own work, and the photos etc that I'd taken to play with, so really not much at all got done. I did buy a couple of things...I read magazines, thanks to Tracy, Hannah and Megan, oh I mean I looked at the pictures LOL!

Whereas today I finished off the two layouts that I started, have got three quarters through my Olympic one, grouted the tiling in the bathroom (that Lyall with his sore shoulder put down yesterday, why don't they listen to the Dr??), vacumned, washed the dog, mowed the lawns, weeded one garden, walked the dog, ironed, put away a load of laundry...I work best when I scrap a bit, put the washing on, scrap a bit more, hang the washing out, scrap a bit, bring the washing in...you get the picture! So for the retreat I'm thinking I'll take a heap of cards with sketches to do when I'm scrapped out! Or go for a walk with my camera. Or have a nana nap LOL!

Enjoy your week. Oh and Tracy, the worst part of my job...PAPERWORK! Bet Mandy agrees with me hands down ROFL! (I did tell her the parents were the worst part...I did tell her I was only kidding! Like any job some personalities are easier to work with than others, but for us those parents that we find a challenge move onto school before you know it -got to have a good teaching team though, 'cos we don't move onto school LOL!)

You may know this, but...

Yesterday at the crop I was having a quick chat with a couple of our fellow scrapbookers and we were talking about kids, and it got me a bit worried about the perception of bullying. Now at my kindergarten we put a lot of work in teaching the children about what is okay behaviour and what isn't - as most early childhood centres do. However these kids have only been on the Earth a few short years and learning this, takes time and practice. (Lets face it, some adults show that they've never learnt what's okay and what's not...) Up until the age of eight children can't be and shouldn't be labelled as being a bully. To be a bully you need to be able to premeditate an outcome - "my actions will result in this..." Four year olds give the occassional whack to a friend because they aren't for whatever reason getting their own way - it's not okay, but it is totally normal. Often there are other circumstances - they may be tired, Dad may be away on a business trip, the house may be for sale and so homes in a bit of turmoil - this is why a big part of our job is knowing our families well. Change can often throw kids and it comes out in behavioiur.

The whole 'she's not my friend anymore' is totally normal - it's about having power and learning how relationships work...or don't work LOL! Friendship has a different meaning for children than it does for adults. They live in the here and now, 'I'm not your friend' means right now, this game isn't going the way I want it to, therefore I'm not playing with you. Right now. Tommorrow I will. Ten minutes later I will. Again, as teacher's we role model and discuss some other ways of dealing with those emotions, but they are four years old. It takes time and practice. Don't fall out with your friends because your children are going through this.

Do you have siblings? Did you have the odd fight? The odd being shut out of each other's bedroom? Were you or them a bully? Nope, totally normal sibling and childhood behaviour.

This isn't to say that there's not some children whose behaviour isn't so great on an ongoing basis, but there's 'stuff' going on behind the scenes (in terms of family situations, special needs sometimes etc) that as teacher's we can't share with the kindergarten community. Trust that it is being dealt with to the best of our ability.

I guess what I wanted to say is that as parents of young children, don't worry about the normal childhood phases, they will work through them. Give them support and the language to use, but don't solve their problems - they need to learn the skills to do this for themselves. There's enough to worry about as a parent without all the things that make up a normal childhood. Oh, and enjoy them, they're young for such a short short time.

Right that's my Sunday morning rant, will post some photos of layouts this afternoon, when I finish them LOL

Wahooooooo it's Wednesday!

My list for this week...

Having a great package of goodies arrive from Two Peas, thanks to sharing the cost of frieght with Deb (oh and Deb, ummm Lyall is really sick today! He'll be off tomorrow too! Stop laughing now...)

Getting a lovely just because rak from the wonderful and very talented aquajogging, scone eating Vicki!

And having a package of goodies arrive from Scrappin' Patch, along with a couple of extra's thrown in for winning the last sketch challenge over there.

Having such a cool hubby. When I told him about the retreat (which is also the weekend of our wedding anniversary - fourteenth) he said, he'd change our plans so I could go on the retreat...because when we shift south I won't be able to...ummm should I tell him the truth do you think ROFL (it's allright I did warn him that they actually do these south too...)Not with Nic Howard however. I wasn't too worried about going or not. I know I won't scrap the whole time. I just can't. My eyes get sore, I run out of OOMMPH! But I can read and walk and take photos...drink coke. Meet lots of new people, catch up with others, now that's cool.

Another BOM layout almost finished. With a crop coming up this Saturday will attempt to get the other two done. That's if I can concentrate on scrapbooking with all the amazing talent around me...Hannah, Tracy L, Megan, Michelle...

A trip to an indoor playground coming up on Friday. The kids have been desperate to go here, and really it's such an easy trip (hope I haven't just jinxed it saying that!)

Recieving my SENZ class lists etc in the post. Makes it all the more real. Roll on the plane ride. Gonna damn well do it! (I've got myself all set for this, and what's the bet it will be foggy or something and I'll end up having to drive LOL!)

Homemade pizza for dinner. Yummo and so easy. And I can't eat brought ones anyway so it's the only pizza I can have!

My Tui in the tree. Took a heap more photos of Mr Tui sitting outside singing his beautiful tune.

Have a great end of week.

Sunday...

The Godson was an angel, very well behaved and too cute with his Auntie Trace, Auntie Trace...Uncle Trace...won't bore you with all the details but in my totally unbiased opinion what a honey...Oh and now Lyall is going round humming the Thomas theme music, one guess what they played this weekend!

Photos...
Uncle Lyall and Godson (who by this stage was sick of seeing the camera...)

Moody looking Rangitoto - we walked down the beach to throw rocks in the water and play at the park (had to tire him out somehow LOL!) and added bonus that meant the dog was walked too!

Hanging out the washing yesterday and the two wood pigeons were in the tree, couldn't resist taking a photo - often see one here but don't usually see two

I have a Kowhai tree outside my scrapbooking room window, and it's in full fower at the moment - hence the tui drinking...

And last but not least, one BOM layout completed, four to go, better get my act together, it's nearly the middle of the month and Tanya will be onto us soon ROFL!

Woo hooooo!

I can't believe it's Wednesday already and actually if I hadn't read Janine's blog then I wouldn't have remembered what day it was anyway ROFL!

Running through my blogs courtesy of bloglines I just found out that I won a ten dollar voucher at Scrappin' Patch, now that's something worth woo hooting about - umm soon have that spent LOL!

I've got my Godson for the weekend - love having him over to stay. Gives his Mum a break to study and just have some time for herself, and Lyall and I get to spoil him rotten, as really that's part of the Godparent's job! He's only two, so if I'm exhausted come Sunday, you know why!

A few years ago one of the children I taught left and went to school, however his Grandma has come in every Friday since and given us an extra hand. She's an ex kindergarten teacher which of course is an added bonus - it's also lovely having someone in their seventies to work with the children - an added dimension. So as a way of thanking her I'm making a mini album. I don't do a lot of these - Mrs Frizz got my last one LOL - and it's made it onto my woo hoo list, because it's reminded me of how much fun they are to put together. I've had the children draw pictures of this person, and there oh so cute! I will do some shots of it, once it's all finished - it's most likely going to end up at my LSS to as the owner wants to sell more of the albums. Funny story there...last time I had up one of my layouts at the shop (to help sell stock) one of my Mum's at work came in, and was saying how she'd been there on the weekend, as she had a voucher to use and saw this goregous layout and brought all the stuff...turns out it was mine - never laughed so much in my life - and I sometimes crop with this Mum, so we still laugh about it!

Still lovin' having my sister stay with us, nothing like dinner cooked, house cleaned...anybody jealous yet???LOL!

Worth a try...

I've never uploaded a video file to my blog before so I'm not sure if this will work or not...but for your viewing pleasure, here are my fur babies at play! Not very exciting or even that funny, but it is cute! Honduras managed to whip up a layout for the Olympics last night and get it uploaded, so here's a copy of that, not my best work, but done and dusted!

Sunday. What an exciting title LOL!

Photos...

Tui exploring the new kitchen, yep she's a cat allright. If there's something to be explored then best she check it out!

The two photos at the beach...remember that storm we had a few weeks ago? The same day I was down at Waikato Crop. Finally I've downloaded Lyall's camera, and he had a few of these shots on there. Bit rough wasn't it!

Yesterday we had to take Milo to the vet to get his ears rechecked and just by the vets is a hill. We took him for a run before going into the vet clinic and so stopped to take a few photos. Where you can see the boats is the marina over at Beachlands - Pine Harbour Marina, just to the left you can see the houses that is the township of Beachalnds.

Kitchen news...Lyall went to start on tiling the kitchen on Friday night and low and behold the benches weren't put in exactly opposite each other, there is a 25mm difference. Doesn't sound much but makes a big difference to how the tiles would look. So we've been into see the kitchen company and they are back tommorrow morning to shift the unit 25mm...and then the plumber and electrician will have to come back...

I did do a layout this weekend but aren't that rapt with it, so into an album it goes. Honduras isn't going to make it too the Olympics this time around...weather related problems. It was far too nice for me to be inside scrapbooking when I could finally get into the garden and weed the ten foot high jungle back down to something more manageable!! And mow the lawns. And get the car a warrant. And buy a new handbag. And see Dad for Father's day!

Have a good week all!

I've been thinking....

Which is a pretty unusual occurence LOL. What was I thinking about? How to fit only ten elements on a layout. Intially when I saw the latest Olympic challenge, I thought, yep, no probs, I love clean and simple. But once you've thrown a bit of cardstock, pp and photos, you're getting through a whack of your ten allowable elements allright - so this one sure is a challenge!

I promised Mandy a Puff Paint recipe, no photo tutorial sorry, too busy this week doing 'stuff' for Father's Day! And we have a series of relievers till the end of term. Mix half a cup of flour, two dessertspoons of baking powder, two dessertspoons of salt with some paint and water till you get a thick consistency, (more blobable than paintable!) about the consistency of a really thick porridge. Paint onto cardboard with it - we use paper plates as they are so easy. Throw the painting in the microwave for around twenty seconds (lots of paint, cook for longer, less paint, cook less time). And there you go, a new masterpiece, and a puffy one at that! Great idea for home as well, especially on a rainy day, as there isn't really any mess involved and the kids love working the microwave.

Have a great wahoot Wednesday, enjoy those coffee's - you coffee addicts, and I'll go have my cool refreshing glass of...water!