Someone tell me

where this year is going...we're just about in October already! I seem to be really bad at keeping track of stuff going on this week too! I'm blaming it on the fact that the end of this week is over the page on the calender so it's been out of sight out of mind!
Both girls are busy on Friday,Holly has a school trip and Em has a charity fun run/walk.I'd made plans to take trip to The Waffle House for lunch with a friend...but had forgotten it was the same day Geoff is off work and have made (boring) plans with him too! So lunch has been canclled and I get to do exciting stuff like going to Costco to do a bulk shop instead...I also need to pop into The Paper Mill to buy calendars so I can start on Christmas presents....Seems far too early,but if I start now,I may be able to hand some over rather than spending a bomb posting them.

Still haven't sorted out my eye test so I need to do that this week so that I can stop holding things at a distance to get them in focus!I'm hoping it stays dry on Saturday as Holly wants to go for walk in the woods and it's much nicer when it's dry!
And this is the layout I got done on Sunday.I used Basic Grey Eva papers.I am really bad at buying BG papers and then leaving them untouched as I have no idea how to use them so I'm glad I used these within a month of buying them!I think Em is in shock that I've done three LO's of her in two weeks,but she has been happy to have her photo taken recently so I actually have photos of her to use. Which helps!

Blah blah blah...

...yep,sorry but you're going to have to listen to me going on about how much I love Autumn again!It's been gorgeous here again and the leaves are definitely turning crunchy :) This evening when I went to meet Holly there was definitely the smell of bonfires in the air too!Roll on Guy Fawkes and Halloween!
Today has been a day for two tired girls.First was Em who arrived home just before midday,absolutely shattered after getting about an hour and a half's sleep last night!She did go back to bed but couldn't go back to sleep.She's gone out like a light tonight though!Holly's coach arrived back just before 6pm and she was a little the worse for wear too :( She'd got a bit teary about going this morning just before the coach arrived (not like her at all!)and I spent the day hoping she was okay.On the way back she started to feel sick about half an hour away from home and had got upset.Luckily,her Brownie leaders are fab and they took great care of her and she arrived home just a bit shaky.Other than that little hiccup, it sounds like she had a great day and like Em,went off straight away at bedtime.

While I had the house to myself this morning I got my scrapping stash out ,spread it over the floor...and scrapped!I only got one layout done mind you,but I'm really slow when I'm not using a sketch!Actually,I'm not that fast when I do use a sketch either.And it sort of made up for not cropping!
This is my Pencil Lines layout for this week.
I used Doodlebug Flocked cardstock
butterflies from KI lace cardstock
MM alpha stickers
Scenic route letter stickers
KI Lace cardstock
MM glitter corners and label holder
The flocked cardstock is gorgeous in real life,really touchy feely (thanks Anna :) )
I've stuck a circle of bling on it,though it doesn't show up very well in the photo.There's journalling on the paper under the photo about how this time last year Em hated having her photo taken and how that's now changed :)

It's tradition...

Today has been one of those perfect Autumn days :) There was fog everywhere this morning and there was dew hanging on all the cobwebs in the hedges.I love it when that happens ,it reminds me of misty and cold mornings when I was little.Once the fog cleared it was a beautiful sunny day and we made our annual conker hunting trip to Ayot.It is so beautiful there but sadly the conker supplies seem to be getting fewer and fewer each year,and the trees are not looking healthy :( We managed to find quite a few,but there were practically none left on the trees still to come down so it's just as well as we went today.I think we have been there every year now since Em was about three...one day I will have to dig out a photo from each year and compare them!

It seems very strange without Em here this evening.I'm hoping she's okay,we've just realised that is the first sleepover she's been to other than staying with family!Can't see her getting much sleep and she took enough DVD's to last three weeks ,let alone one night!
Tomorrow morning I think I might do some scrapping...then again maybe I'll just get on with the ironing pile that is the result of the last couple of days of gorgeous weather!

Plodding on...

This week I have been doing little bits & pieces around the house,moving my Momiji's,changing photo frames...that sort of thing!I think I am trying to pysch myself up for the huge job that sorting my wardrobe will be! It's not just used for clothes...it's also stuffed full with photo albums, bags ,records...the list is endless! At the moment I can't get any more clothes into it which is not good news!
The whole house looks like it needs a paint job too at the moment so I'm going to start on that soon too.I can probably get the living room done bit by bit myself,the kitchen is the one I'm dreading as I'll need to empty out the free standing cupboards first and they are full too...

This evening Em went back into school to help out with open evening.I can't believe it's a year since we went round there with her.She gets to go in late tomorrow morning so at least she gets a bit of a lie in!
This weekend Em is off to a sleepover..with five other girls..I think she'll be ready to go back to bed again when she comes home!Holly is off to Legoland with Brownies,Geoff is on work so I'll have the place to myself for a few hours on Sunday:) Why does that always feel like such a 'treat' when it's on a day when they should all be here?!
I've done no scrapping this week and the camera's hardly been used either ,other than some photos I took of Holly earlier in the week, just because she looked cute!

Party party party..

..at least it seems like that is all Holly has done this weekend!Yesterday she had Brownie Sports Day for a couple of hours before whizzing off to a friends party and then this afternoon we have been over to Anna's for Izzy's Hannah Montana party :)Holly went wearing her wig,whilst Em went as herself!Geoff and I left the girls at the party and actually went to the nearest pub for a drink,something that doesn't happen very often! Once everyone else had gone home,Peter put Rock Band on for the girls as they were itching to have a go!At that point I went off for a nose in Anna's scrap room for a bit of peace & quiet!And can you believe it...I forgot to bring home my batch of birthday brownies ...sob!!Ah well, more for Peter!
On Friday Anna came over and we we went shopping for Izzy's birthday :)We also found time for lunch at Frankie & Benny's - yum!
This is my Pencil Lines layout for this week.I used a photo of Em on her first day at her new school.
I used
KI Memories La Di Da papers
Bazill brad
Prima Journalling page
Doodlebug alpha stickers
K&Co ticket

Maya Road sheer & rub on

I have decided to make more an effort to do journalling on my layouts,so the kids will know the reasons behind some of the pages I do.Most of the time I do just scrap a photo because I like it but there are others that just feel like they need more details on them.On this weeks I wanted to remember how I felt on Em's first day so I wrote some journalling on the Prima page which is hidden.Em asked if she could read it this morning and at first I said No,as I thought it might make her a bit weepy.Eventually I gave in ...and yes,she ended up having a little sob into a cushion, bless her!
Tomorrow I will be making a start on some tidying and cleaning around the place, I feel seriously behind on everything at the moment! Due the gorgeous weather of the last few days though,I have managed to get all the sofa covers washed (yes, I know they're dry clean only!)and dried,so now it's a bit cleaner and smells lovely too :)Not much else planned for this week other trying to book a haircut and making an appointment for an eye test...

Settling in

So a couple of weeks into term and both the girls seem to be settling in at school okay.I am so pleased that Em seems so happy and is joining in with lots of new stuff.She is taking part in the house drama competition and has aslo started playing hockey too.She came home in her games kit this afternoon (we are just round the corner from the school) and she looked so different and grown up!It's amazing how someone can grow up so much in the space of a couple of weeks :)Holly had her second swimming lesson at school today and was a lot happier than she was after last weeks,which is a good thing!

Geoff came home with one of these for me this evening :)It's so dinky and matches my lovely green jumper (which complete strangers keep commenting on!)It wasn't ,but I'm going to count it as an anniversary pressie as today is our 15th weddding anniversary :)
Just checked my blog from this time last year,and I'm doing exactly the same thing as then...seeing Anna tomorrow to go for lunch and shopping for bits for Izzy's birthday pressies & party!
We have had gorgeous weather here today ,it feels like Autumn is on its way! I'm so tempted to buy loads of the gorgeous Halloween stash that is around this year...but I don't think we'll be going trick or treating this year as Holly will be away on her first Brownie Pack holiday and I'm not sure if Em's that bothered!

Shopping,pressies and cake :)

Happy Birthday to me !
I have had a lovely day (off work-woohoo!)I had momiji's from the girls this morning,shortly folllowed by a phone call from Anna :).Then after taking the girls to school my lovely husband took me to Thurrock for a little retail therapy.It was really supposed to be window shopping,but it's not really that often we go there so we made the most of it! I managed to leave a few bits on the shelves in Primark as well as getting some bargain mary jane style Crocs,DVDs and a cupcake recipe book from the Works :)So apart from nearly bursting into tears in the Dorothy Perkins changing rooms (and no,it wasn't to do with my weight!)it was a good trip.I dined on a Mcdonalds for breakfast (it is too long since I last had a sausage and egg McMuffin!)and a Pizza Hut lunch...I am going to diet hell this week!
Once back home having picked up the girls, my Mum & Dad came round for birthday cake and I had more pressies,including a threading water punch and a new Mackinac Moon tote :)
I'm now looking forward to Friday when I see Anna so I can help her spend some money! As well as going for lunch....!Will pop later with photos (depending on what they are like!)

Secret Superstar...

I was going to blog last night as I usually do on a Sunday evening..but then I knew by doing that it would kind of signal the end of the weekend.And it was one of those weekends that I wanted to last a lot longer.We didn't do anything special,but it was just ...nice! I think the fact that the sun shone had a lot to do with it...life seems so much better with a bit of sunshine! Saturday evening we had a pre-birthday/anniversary meal ,finished off with drinks in the garden by tealight :)

Yesterday afternoon Em was ploughing on with homework so Holly and I went for a walk down to the lakes as she fancied feeding the ducks.We found a couple of fairly friendly swans and Holly fed them... as well as herself !Don't worry, it was decent bread, not mouldy stuff! We sat and watched the local model club racing their boats across the lake,and found out exactly what they were up to from a very friendly man that Holly went over to and quizzed :)

In preparation for Izzy's birthday party next week,Holly bought herself some Hannah Montana/Miley Cyrus wigs from Tesco's yesterday morning.Oh...my...word..we had a right giggle trying them on,yes,even Geoff and I had a try! But does anyone have any idea how to stop these things from being so static?!I have to say that the Miley wig makes Holly look like an eccentric old lady who's trying to deny the fact that she 's grey with thinning hair,and Em just looks so different with blonde hair! Roll on next Sunday...maybe Geoff and I should go as Billy Ray Cyrus and Dolly Parton?!(Don't worry...I am joking!) I have kept a load of Hannah Montana packaging from stuff that Holly has ,so look out for some HM layouts soon!

Pencil Lines went live last night with Christine Middlecamp as our guest DT.

I used Basic Grey Euphoria papers & buttons

K&Co ticket

Jenny Bowlin butterfly

Creative cafe trim

Imaginesce flower

Maya Road sheer

MM journalling page

Last night I actually did a 'just for the hell of it' layout,which,too be honest doesn't happen very much these days! I like it though and may pop it up on here later in the week.

Oh well....

..I did say I would probably blog less once the girls were back at school,looks like I was right!I have meant to update the last couple of nights,I just couldn't be bothered though!
Anyway,the week has been so exciting I can't even remember what I've done!High point was Wednesday when Anna came over to deliver a parcel :)Although we didn't go out anywhere,we had a lovely day just 'being',if you see what I mean! We sorted out some sponsorship stuff for Pencil Lines (which is so gorgeous I may just have to get everything else in the range!),went out to the corner shop to buy lunch and then sat on the floor and scrapped!

On Tuesday I decided to start tackling the mess that is my stash...at least I can get to some of it without loads of other stuff falling on me now.I need to get rid of all the cardmaking stuff as I know I will never use it.I'm hoping to take a load of it to Holly's Brownie pack so that they can make cards at christmas.
Planning a quiet weekend as Em is full of cold.The weather is supposed to be good so hopefully we can spend a bit of time in the garden too.
Scrapping wise,I got my mini book from Anna's summer workshop finished earlier in the week,filled with pics from our visit to Formby Point in August.I have to admit that this is probably only about the second mini book I have ever completed!But having done it, I fancy doing a few more of other stuff we've done.I actually have ideas for a few more Lo's in my head too, which makes a change!But I think I'll save them for when I next crop!

Sorry...

..I have no Pencil Lines layout to share this week :( I have no 'oomph' to scrap at the moment and in the end I gave up pushing papers and photos around and accepted that it wasn't going to happen!

Today Holly and I went along with the Bowkis family to Hyde Park to support Anna doing her run.Whilst we weren't blessed with the sunshine of last year and it was decidedly chillier,it didn't actually rain whilst we were there :) Being pro's at this supporters lark ;) Peter and I decided to walk the other way round the lake this year ,and by doing this we managed to see Anna near the finishing line too.I know I said it last year, but I am in awe of her (and anyone else who can run that distance !) and I know how much effort she put in.Although we arrived a bit later than last year, we just about managed to secure a place along the barriers down from the start line,thus guaranteeing a fleeting appearance on the TV coverage this afternoon! Okay, so you can't actually see 'us',but you can't miss the girls orange waterproofs and batons in the crowd! After the run, we sat by the Diana fountain to have our picnic and laugh at those who slipped on the muddy grass (this eventually included both Izzy and Lilly!) I loved being there and we will be back next year,so damn proud of you hun!

Whilst we were in london,Geoff took Em over to Watford,shopping.She had a great time and came home with some very funky new pumps. She seems to have grown up so much in just a week....

Ugh...

...I am sick of the rain,sick of the grey clouds and..I am sick of the slugs!!! The yucky squidgy things seem to be everywhere!
I feel like I have 1001 jobs to get done around the house,a million letters to read from schools and Brownies, and 101 things to pay out for.Okay,so maybe that'a a bit of an exaggeration...but that's what it feels like at the moment.And I don't now where to start!!
Reality has hit Em a bit today as she has loads of homework this weekend :( Other than that though she seems to enjoying it so far.
This weekend we are off to watch anna do her run in Hyde Park.Holly is insistant that we go, even if it's pouring with rain,bless her! Looks very doubtful that we will have the beautiful weather we had last year!
Oh, and a lesson learnt...never trust a friend not to eat the Reeses Pieces they bought you......you know who you are!!

And she's off...

..and just how gorgeous does she look?! I love how the colour of her sweatshirt really brings out the colour of her eyes :) She went off with her friend this morning so much more confident than I had expected,which I know is a good thing. As far as I can make out (why do you have ask so many questions just to get the basic info out of them?!) ,she had a good day and enjoyed herself.Her timetable is now stuck on the front of the freezer,so I guess I'd better start checking out when she needs to have her PE kit with her...

So with the kids back at school, the humdrum of normal life returns and I have very little else to share with you!

I spent the afternoon finshing off the sewing in of the name tape's into Em's uniform and am about halfway through Holly's...my fingers are sore!

One down, one to go!

Holly went back to school today in the worst weather we've ever had on the first day of term! She went in wearing winter uniform which has never happened before on her first day back:( My photos aren't that great this year,maybe she's past the age of smiling sweetly for me!

This morning Em and I went into town with my Mum for a drink at Costas (can't really say we went for a coffee as neither of us drink it!) to 'celebrate' her last day at home.She will up bright and early tomorrow morning as she is meeting up with a group of other girls so that they can all go in together.

So tomorrow afternoon the house will be mine..all mine!!

Not much else happening here really,just drawing up a huge list in my head of the all the jobs that need doing around the house.Of course,most of them won't get done and I'll be drawing up the same list agin when they go back after October's half term! One thing I have to do is sort out my papers and tote as I have stuff stacked up all over the place and nothing's getting used!

September already??

Someone tell me where this year is going!
Today has been spent doing all the last minute school stuff (yes, the stuff that I was saying I was going to do a week ago!)PE kit has been named,homework finished and trousers taken up (okay, so my mum did that bit for me!)
Our main task of the day was to decorate Holly's new pencil case.The school state that she has to have one that her ruler will fit into ,which has to be a 12" one.Of course all the pencil cases that size are plain and boring and not the jazzy HSM ones she wanted.So we bought her a plain red one and promised to 'HSM' it for her...I have trying to work out how since we bought it.This is the finished result! Amazing what you do with a bit of tracing, a permanent marker and a Sharpie poster paint pen! I am really chuffed with it and luckily so is Holly!

Holly has been a bit quiet and down today,she is nervous about going up into juniors ,brought ona bit by knowing em won't be there for her either.So to perk her up we had a little photo shoot in the garden so she could 'model' the gorgeous summer clothes that she has hardly had chance to wear ,before she grows out of them!
Fingers crossed I will get some 'first day' photos tomorrow ,but as heavy rain is forecast I'm not over hopeful :( Then we do it all over again on Wednesday when Em starts -sniff sniff! ) It will feel very weird tomorrow only making one packed lunch!