Hospital Bags

Its ironic how when you are expecting your first baby, you go into the birth , however it happens, with excitement, anxiousness, and thinking of nothing other than your baby. Your husband gets to hang around, eat there, take photos, greet your visitors.

Then... with your second baby (or babies, like it was for us) the attention shifts to your first child. Making sure they are ok, settled, looked after, adjusting and coping with Mum being in hospital.

And then.... comes the next one. To say that I am nervous is an absolute understatement!! Not for my kids care, god they will be with my Mum when I am delivering and a few hours/ first night, after, and there is no one I would trust more with my kids, but for me. Nervous because I am THE WORST person to spend time away from my cherubs. I hate it. I cry. Alot!! Remember our Bali trip in May? hmmm SOOK!

And nervous for my little people, Stella will be fine, she LOVES her Grandma and Poppy and is old enough now to be super excited over her baby coming and understands why I am going to hospital. The twins however, are too young to know a thing! They have been patting my tummy, saying "babbbbbby" but they don't know what is actually in there! And they will be devastated and quite unsettled with me away.

Hell, they don't like me leaving to go to the shop! BUT.. they may surprise us and be absolutely fine, and we can only hope!

AND.... its not for long, they will survive and so will I!! Yes Liz, you will!

Anyhoooo, to make the hospital visits a little easier, more entertained and most importantly (for other patients ) QUIETER, I have put together some simple bags for the kiddos. Its another big worry for me about hospital, the fact that the other patients may not appreciate my 3 making noise, especially if they are first time Mums!!

So I have organised a bag for each child. I have had these bags in my sewing stash for a while. I originally purchased them from Target for 99c, with full intent on appliquing something cute on the front. Hmmm, into the box they went. So its nice to have a use for them. Stella is pink, Max is blue, Lacey is orange.

This is a peek inside Lacey's bag. Just a few things to occupy them, I don't know how the twins will go, but I think that if Stella is looking at her books etc, they will want to copy too!

Contents; A Wiggles Sticker and Colouring  book, Strawberry Shortcake Sticker book, Meeting the New Baby Activity book, a pencil case with new pencils and a small book to read. I have also got a few bags of lollies, and I will seperate into little glad bags for each visit. If all else fails, go the lollies!

This is the "Meeting the New Baby " Book. I bought it at Crazy Clarks , I think it cost about $4 , (actually all of the sticker books etc were either Crazy Clarks or Red Dot , I am a cheapskate, haha). I also managed to get one for School next year for Stella and a "Staying with Grandma" as the kids have never slept at my inlaws and Stella has only had a handful of sleepovers at my parents and most of them was when I had the twins last year.

Inside, they have activities about bathing, dressing, meeting your new baby and spaces to put the stickers provided. I think Max and Lacey will just like the stickers!

 

There are a few pages of the cool stickers too!! I couldn't believe my luck when I found these books, and I am going to keep them as a momento, so I am hoping they are a hit!

And the contents of Stella's bag, as its a bit fuller!

She has a Dora sticker book aswell, and her book is more age appropriate, and a pencil roll ( I also bought her a pencil case, just in case, she is sure to want one if I didn't buy it!)

 

Pretty simple, but these bags will stay at the hospital with me, and hopefully have some novelty effect and make the visits for Noel and the kids a bit more tame and bearable. I want Noel to be able to have quality time and cuddles with our bambino, and not have to make the visits quick because of the kids, darling husband will definately be feeling it and miss both me and the baby!!

Another First..

A few weeks ago, I was bullied (yes bullied!! ha) into giving our little poppets their first haircut!! Lacey didn't really need one, but it never hurts to trim baby hair and she did have a bit of a long bit at the back. And Max, well he had a curly, mullet that I just LOVED, however, his Dad and Grandma, did not. So.. the decision was made to make our little baby boy, look like a big boy!!

They were both, so so good. Sat in the highchair, with their little heads poking out the top of the cape and enjoyed all the attention they were receiving!! It does help to have their Mum cut their hair, for calming purposes! And I must admit, their hair is alot better since, but I do miss Max's curls, and I hope they come back soon!

So excited!!

Sitting so still while her heffa Mum cuts the back bit off!

And Max, the big boy, loved it aswell!



Max , too busy looking around!



Sweet boy

Another first to add to the list, and another tear to wipe away for me. Sniff Sniff, my babies are growing up, and I am sure in the next few days/weeks, I will realise , just how big they really are! x

39 weeks....

Wowzers!! I have made it!!

39 weeks.

Time has definately flown by, but then at the same time, boy has it dragged!!

I am big, like HUGE!

I have been for some time now, mostly due to the lack of ANY muscle tone in my stomach, and the seperation of the muscles from my last pregnancy with the twins!

So really, I didn't think I would make it this far into the pregnancy, and I don't think many of my friends and doctors did either! ( The twins pregnancy was very hard on my body, and I have only realised that in the last few months)

My pelvis has seperated again, and I am wearing a brace, but has felt better in the last few weeks, surprisingly.

I have constant, atrocious heartburn, and my back is aching.

WHINGE WHINGE WHINGE!! haha

But all in all, I feel pretty good, and if I didn't have to run around , pick up and constantly search for 2 little, devil 18 month olds, everything would be A, ok! Yeah right.

But , I am excited. Like crazy excited .

 To meet our little babe.

To find out what sex it is.

To see its little face and who it looks like,

To have newborn snuggles and not have to hand it back.

To have just one baby to feed, cuddle , worry about ( as much as I loved having twins last time, having one baby is very exciting!)

And for our 3 little people, to finally meet the bump in Mum's tummy!

Oh and to be comfortable again.

To have energy again.

To sleep again. ( As much as you can with a newborn, but probably more than what I am getting at the moment with Insomnia!!)

Not long now! Eeeek

Halloween Crafting

Earlier on in the week, we had a little Halloween painting session. First up we did some Pumpkins (just orange circles then the leaves and stalk were handprints) and they look fantastic, but are still in progress! Then the kids painted these cool masks. I saw the printable on Pinterest, and knew it would be perfect, and easy!! There are 4 different types to choose from -  a pumpkin, an owl, a cat and a ghost.

And here they are finished!! I just glued them to some orange card and cut around them again. I also just used ribbon to tie them , instead of Elastic, my kids tend to not like elastic and it freaks me out a bit!

So very proud!! Lacey did a fantastic job painting this time, she dipped her brush and stroked. She is really getting it , and loving it too. Max however, hmmm , he likes to finger paint, have a taste and just make mess!!

 The masks-  Stella's Lacey's and Max's -  after they have finished playing, I will just adhere them to some paper and put it in their art folder!

              If you are interested in creating some yourself, the printables are available HERE.

10 Things About Me- Tagging Game

In this wonderful world of the internet , I have met (virtually of course) , some VERY talented and wonderful women, and I have been lucky enough to be tagged by two of them to participate in a Tagging Game. Thanks to Clare from The HOME She Made  and Bianca from A Little Delightful. I LOVE these girls blogs, so please spare a minute to check them out for yourself!

WARNING: you may need several (hundred) hours for perusing past posts!

Right, back to the 10 Things About Me, hmmm such a tricky one, believe it or not! Trying to think of quirky things about yourself, I should have asked my Hubby, however, I am sure he would have thought of all the negative things!

Here is goes;

1) I am a bit of a clean freak. I like a clean floor and benchtops, everything to have a place and I tend to put the toys away in the Toy Room hundreds of times a day. It makes me feel better, thats all I can say! ha. My house is along way from immaculate, and it could always be cleaner and more organised, but I think its pretty good for the chaos that reins here on an everyday basis!

2) I am 26 (and a half) years old. Have done a Hairdressing Apprenticeship, owned a salon for 5 years and am now a Stay at Home Mum, so much in such little amount of time. No wonder life was crazy!

3) I hate custard!! Seriously. That warm, yellow, gooey stuff nearly makes me gag! ICK. VERY very rarely, something sweet might be around and if I feel like it, I might try it, but as a general rule. I just don't like the stuff. Crazy I know! And cream?! Only on scones, that is it!!

4) Like SO many other people participating in this tagging game, I too, have a "Foot thing". I may of spoken about it before, but my feet are a bit precious to me. haha. I can NEVER, EVER go to bed with dirty feet. Even in the good old nightclub days (very few of them mind you) but I would shower when I got home, or at least wash my feet in the bath. NOTHING worse than going to bed with dirty feet, yuck! 

I moisturise them every night, and if I have to get out of bed for some reason, I have to re apply the cream. EVERY. TIME.

I also sleep with one foot hanging out of the covers, all the time. Rain ,hail or shine. The foot is out.

Weird huh!

5) I know in my last post I spoke about my special friends, but I am also blessed that I have 2 gorgeous friends, that are always going to be in my life.

My husband- met him at 17, engaged at 18, married a month after I turned 20 and our first bub at 23 (and now 3 babies and 3 years later) , He is honestly my best friend. LOVE him to bits, always will, and I really treasure that we are best friends and partners. I think its so important that you have great communication in a relationship, and we have that! xo

My Mum- She is my rock. The hardest worker I know (apart from my Dad) , she thinks about EVERYONE before herself, is always there for me and I can tell her everything, well nearly ;)

6) One day, I hope to be a teacher. I would love to study, Early Childhood and be a kindy/Preschool/ Year 1 teacher.  One day

7) I love summer, hate winter. Can't stand being cold, and love spending time outside and the beach! However, its strange that I have a really HOT body. Always have hot hands and feet , and its rare that I wear a jumper in winter, but I hate it all the same! If only I had that perfect bather body, not likey from this little duck!

8) I am impatient. Like the most impatient person you will ever meet, and unfortunately , it seems all our kids have inherited this from me ! Oh dear! Lucky for us, Darling Husband and Dadddy, is VERY patient, and helps to even things out a little ;)

9) I like cheesy TV series, chick flicks and trashy shows. Not that I get a chance to watch them anymore, but give me a disc set of One Tree Hill, 90210, Better with You , all that teenage/predictable stuff and I am in heaven! Hmm Now to organise something to watch when feeding in the middle of the night . Normally I watch Sex and the City, for like the 100th time, season by season, but its time for a change!

10) Last but not least, I am a compulsive washer! As in doing the laundry. Everyday. If its laying around, it gets washed. My husband has taken to hiding things so they don't get washed and get a good wear first! I just hate baskets full, nothing better than washing on the line, folded and put away in the same day!!

Now that would have been negative thing my DH would have suggested!!

So I am now tagging a few people to continue the game; Quite a hard task as everyone seems to have already participated! But passing on to
The wonderful girls at Ollie Rose   and
Mandy from A Little Space Like Home

Anyway, small, trivial and uninteresting, but about me all the same! Now you can't get those 10 minutes of your life back, but I hope you had a good chuckle!

Friends are like gold

Well true friends are. And all the So-Called friends, or ones your finally find the truth out about, make you appreciate your TRUE friends, all the more!

I have had this post , sitting, half written since mid September.

Today , I erased everything.

A few different things have taken place in my life in the past week or so, nothing major AT ALL, but small things that have made me realise just who my real, true friends are!

I am truely blessed to have 2 different groups of friends, each with some absolutely amazing women.

However , within these groups, are a few very very close friends. Good friends.

The type of true friends that know you well.

Well enough to know when you are down and out.

When you need help, a meal , some timeout, or a coffee and debrief.

The type of friends that invite you to events and playdates, even though you have 3 crazy kids! ha

And in return, they are the friends you think of when you are falling asleep at night, sitting idle at the doctors surgery or stopped at a red light.

How are they?

How is she coping when her husband is away?

Does she need help?

A hot meal?

Some time out at the gym, a baby sitter?

How was the drive home with 2 grumpy kiddos/

No wonder I have insomnia!!

I have one beautiful friend, whom I speak to EVERYDAY. Not a day goes by that we don't talk.

Normally text message, but alot of them. Sometimes nothing major, just to see how her day went,but its nice.

And if I don't talk to her, I feel a bit lost!

Strange but beautiful.

My wise father has always said, that you can count your TRUE friends on one hand! And I believe him!

I am a lucky girl and can fill a hand.

A handful of TRUE friends, the others, they are gorgoeus, lovely company and all contribute to making me appreciate life, however, some of them also are fake.

As sad as it is to say, but why do we bother with people that talk about us behind our backs, yet act nice as pie to our face?

Why bother with people that think its ok, to invite everyone else to something, and not you?

Why bother?

Is life too short?

But you know what?! These people make us appreciate our true, beautiful and amazing friends, all the more!

So they do serve some purpose! haha Even if it is just for entertainment value, because for me , the negative, hurtful things they do, don't bother me, but rather them more!!

When I left school, at the age of 16, to start my Hairdressing Apprenticeship, I fought hard to maintain my highschool friendships. Its easy to drift apart as a teenager , when you friends are at school, and you are all of a sudden working with adults, walking the walk and talking the talk.

I grew up, and fast!

Suddenly all the things they talked about seemed trivial.

However, I did keep 2 close friends for years to come.

Yet now, we don't speak. Different things happened, people, times , events and our friendships severed. Call it drifting apart, call it juvenile, but it is what it is.

I hope that when the girls look back on our friendship, they do so with fondness, as I do, however I am almost glad that we are no longer in company for the reasons of our seperation, are quite pretty poor.

Suddenly, when you have kids, your life changes and you reassess everything. I am hoping they too have the lightbulb moment when it happens to them. Maybe, maybe not, purhaps it was going to happen eventually anyway. Either way, lessons well learnt.

But now, I am a lucky girl. My friends are in the same frame of mind, some life style and situations.

A month or so ago, when I first started to try and write this post, a group of my friends, all got together to organise a surprise respite for me!!

With the decoy of a morning tea at a beautiful ladies house, I arrive, only to be told that I had an appointment for a pregnancy massage, in 15 mins. They were going to look after my tribe, while I went and relaxed!!

Gorgeous or what!!

Not only that , but when I got into the treatment room, I was presented with a beautiful bunch of flowers, a gorgeous card and some choccies! SPOILT!!

A know that a few of my true friends were definately responsible for co ordinating and organising the whole thing, and that is why they are so dear to me.

They know I needed it. And I will be forever grateful. But how to you repay someone for doing such a thing?

The best way I know how....... To be a good friend in return.

Its not hard.

Offer help, be there when needed, think outside the box and your little house and life, and generally just be a good friend.

So... to my special, true friends. I hope you know who you are.

I am forever grateful and appreciative for your friendship, and hope it continues for years and decades to come. I feel blessed to have you in my life, and hope you feel the same.



My gorgeous flowers from my friends!

So, sorry for the long winded post/vent but I know that after having this lightbulb moment, I feel great. Relieved, and completey grateful, for realising that I am so lucky to have the friends I do, and all the others are a bonus! haha
I hope that you all can take a little from this, even if it is self reflection, what sort of friend are you?


Nearly 18 months

And LOVING cake!! Actually any food for that matter!

Can you believe it?! Max and Lacey are nearly 18 months old!!

Full of cheek and bravado, happy as larry one minute and cranky as anything the other.

They have started to fight like cat and dog, and the next minute, be tackling each other for cuddles.

Quite the little self feeders, and the mess is definately decreasing (thankGOD!)

Lacey LOVES strawberries and kiwi fruit, Max doesn't

Max LOVES apple and pear, Lacey doesn't

Lacey's witching hour starts at 5pm,

Max's starts at 4pm, (haha)

Lacey's favourite word at the moment is "Playschool"

Max's is "hat"

Lacey loves handbags , dolls and necklaces,

Max loves hats and shoes.

LOVING Chocolate cake!

And painting on the window with the icing!! hmmmm

And saying "CHEEEEESSSSEE" for Mum!

And saying it with a choc cake face aswell!

They are the most emotional, lovable, affectionate little people EVER!

                                    Their bond is growing more and more each and every day,

They give each other a goodnight kiss , each and every night.

They stroke each other when upset or sick

Bu they also like to steal toys off one another, on purpose, just to stir!!

Max and Lacey really are a gift. A special little surprise for our family, and there is not a day that goes by that I don't think (usually when they are sleeping ) that we are the luckiest parents, and family

IN THE WORLD!!

And just because he is CUTE! Max is loving his big sisters scooter, and has such confidence when using it!
Since when did my little babies grow up?  It only seems like yesterday that they were born,and I wrote THIS POST and yet, we are expecting another bub within days/weeks!!

 

The feelings I am having at the moment are definately mixed ones.

Excitement for finally being able to meet the hyperactive bambino inside,

Anxious of the labour / or possibility of another Caesarean Section

Concern about life afterwards with 4 kids under 3 1/2 years!! (ARGH)

Worry, about my little ones while I am in hospital, they will be well and truely well looked after by their father and Grandmother, but I will miss them, and I am sure they will miss me! ha

And now, the top of the list, exhaustion. This baby making bizzo is hard work, I have insomnia and am VERY uncomfortable, let alone running after, cleaning up after and performing damage control after 2 very active 18 month olds!

But we love them to bits!

xo

A spooky house!

October is the month for Halloween, albeit on the 31st, but thats ok. Considering we are due to have our bub on the 28th, I decided to get in early with a bit of Halloween decorating and organising!

I know that Halloween is an American tradition, however, I believe its important for our kids to know about and understand traditions from other countries as well, and hey, its just a bit of fun!!

Our display this year is pretty simple, and VERY cheap to put together, but I have just purchased a few goodies from Pottery Barn Kids! eeek

Alot of my inspiration and decorations were found through Pinterest, with heaps of free printables available. I had all of the frames already on hand, so it was just a matter of printing, cutting and filling them. Sometimes I get the printables done at the camera shop, they are much better quality and colouring than when done on my home printer obviously, but these don't look too bad!!

This awesome Trick or Treat Print is available HERE, I decided to stick with a basic colour theme , and it made it alot easier to decide on what prints to use, there are soooo many out there, the decision was VERY hard!!

The Subway art Print in the frame on a stand is from HERE

And the Eat , Drink and be Scary Print is from HERE

The Owl is a tealight holder and actually always sits at the entrance, the pumpkins are plasic and from Red Dot, I think there were $2 each and the little spiders are confetti, bought in a pack on Clearance at Spotlight after Halloween last year ( I have a box labelled with the different events , Ie; Fathers Day, Easter, Halloween etc and I just add to them when I pick up things cheap along the way.

The spiderwebs were just bought in a pack from Red Dot. You just pull it all apart and hang where you wish. They come with a spider or 2 in the pack, but I bought a pack of spiders last year after Halloween on clearance at Spotlight, so I added them into the web aslo.

You will notice that everything is towards the back of the buffet!! I am not Silly!!

Having two 18 month olds aroung, you learn to not put anything within reach!! They have Go Go Gadget arms!!

There you are, a little welcoming Spookiness at the Morrison house, and just yesterday we did a few craft activities , when they are finished, I will share!!

The Neutral Nursery

So I am up, its 2:02am and I just can NOT seem to fall asleep, so in fear of copping another grumpy outburst from darling (snoring!!) husband, I kindly removed myself from the bed and retired to the couch for some web action. Any entertainment will do!!

Why is it, that if I lay my head down during the day , I can fall asleep within a split second, yet at night time, when the house is still and quiet and its the perfect time for sleeping, I just can not. Insomnia sucks!!

I even watched the Episode of "One Born Every Minute" that I missed as I was out tonight. (Its a series on childbirth , set in a UK hospital at 8:30pm on SBS). It was purhaps, most definately, something I should not have viewed at this point in time, however there is something about childbirth that just reels me in. The emotion, the reactions, everything. So maybe the Insomnia isn't so bad after all?!!

Anyway, here to share some little bits of our VERY gender neutral Nursery. We have left the sex a surprise for our final addition to our family, and I just can't wait to find out!! So I decided to strip back the nursery, take off the decals and just go with a beige/white look with hints of green. All perfect for a little baby blue or soft pink to be added when the occasion calls!!

We are lucky enough to have borrowed a cradle for the bub to sleep in, seeing as though our cots are in use for the time being! Thats another job on the list, putting the twins in beds, but they are too mischeivious for their own good !!

My gorgeous chair that has lived in our room, in a new home. with some burp clothes waiting on the sidetable.

The changetable, pretty simple, the BABY sign I bought when I was expecting The twins, and its from Bed Bath and Table.

And the toiletries caddy. I bought this at a market about a year ago, and am finally finding a use for it. This way all the bubs essentials, will be easily transported to wherever needed , however most of the time it will live on the laundry bench)

As I said, very simple and neutral, I am desperately waiting to start creating and decorating for our new addition. Or more I am desperately waiting for our new addition!!!
Hmm off to try and catch some Zzzzz's!

Scrapbooking Storage

After sharing our family Project Life Album (who am I kidding, the album is ALL about the kids , but hey, thats our life , right?!) , I figured the next step would be to share my new scrapbooking space.

Normally when you get a "new space" its a new, improved and more functional version than that of your old one. Hmmm not so much here, but the things we do for our darling cherubs!

Since our spare room was my Craft Room, for sewing , scrapbooking and storing all my bits and bobs, and now we have a had a room reshuffle, to make a nursery waiting to be filled, I had to be creative with storing 'stuff' . Many may have seen our big, beautiful Liatorp TV unit in our open living area, and that is perfect for storage of our computer, printer, equipment, cords, papers etc. And the other side is great for my sewing machines, buttons, cottons, patterns etc, but where would my Scrapbooking things go?

An Expedit to the rescue!!

Thankfully, this is repurposed from my Old Craft Room (and Originally from my salon) but it fits perfectly on this odd shaped wall ( the entry is on the other side where the Buffet is), and snug behind the door. So its not unsightly when you walk into the room ( I would have preferred a white one if so, and purhaps doors on each cube to "hide" things).

These nifty units are the perfect size for storing Scrapbooking albums and I have managed to squeeeeeezzze ALOT of other things in too!

On the top , the white basket is a good dumping spot for all things that need to be put in albums, so Birthay cards, tickets, brochures. Even the kids drawings when they have come down from display etc. That way its all coralled in the same spot and every few weeks I go through and put them into the appropriate spots.

Also my PL tin, and my scrapbooking bag behind and the 4 boxes hold photographes waiting to be Scrapbooked!! YIKES!

Top left - is Wooden Stamps, Ink Pads and Punches
Right- is some divided boxes with Embellishments, Brads, extra tapes, etc and the 2 Green albums are 8,5 x 11 for the Kids craft, paintings and drawings.
Next Row Left - Our Project Life Albums (2 of them) and a General scrapbooking one and a spare ( I plan on moving the General Scrapbooking to another colour and using the 2 spare Buttercup ones for PL for next year)
Right- Files with Rub ons, Lettering, sticker sheets etc, and an album
Next Row Left- 4 Albums, one for each child for their Becky Higgins Baby Kits
Right - 2 Boxes for Paper storage ( I am still after the perfect storage solution here) and 3 x small 8 x8 albums for the kids.
Bottom Left - Some MDF kits for me to create with (drawers etc), Each childs left overs from the baby kits ( I haven't even started the twins but its all in the albums waiting to go ) and Magazines.
Bottom Right - A basket (From Target) that I pop different bits and pieces I find around for Embellishing. You know when you find a cool tag, or some ribbon that you think, " I could use that" well this is where it goes. Complicated hey?! ha

A closer view of a few shelves and following , the white boxes, all labelled and full of Photos. The labels are, Project Life, Baby Kits, Holidays and General Scrapbooking.

And just because its too gorgeous not to brag about, my new Scrapbooking tote. Complete with a lazy susan on the bottom!! Uber gorgeous, LOVING it!

Right, that is it. Seriously. Nothing to brag about, but you know what?! It works!

I have an area to store my goodies, away from little fingers, where I can close the door and not worry.

Where do I scrapbook? Well lately its been on the floor , right below the shelves. Yes I am telling the truth!! I can spread everything out, its more comfortable for me (with a big belly and I am a floor person anyway) and I just use a big chopping board to lean on, and have my trimmer on etc. Other than that, I take everything to the dining table, as I like to still be around Noel at night time if I am scrapbooking.

Its not pretty, its not fancy, but it is working for me, so I am going with it!

And you know what? Since moving to this space, I have completed about double the amount of LO's and organised other things like the Baby Kits, than I ever did when I had a whole room dedicated to it!

So, the moral of the story? It doesn't matter what space you have available to you, as long as its organised and you make it work for you, you can still achieve great things, and can never use the excuse, I don't have the space, or the time!! Its about making it for yourself!

Project Life Update

As previously mentioned, my nights of late have been filled with some serious Project Life catching up!!

I am now proud to say, I have only September to print and journal for. Yippeeeeee!

Then , before we know it, the baby will be here and the months will fly by and I will have millions of photos to scrap and fill my binders with!

To co-incide with my PL motivation, I have also started Scrapbooking classes , every fortnight. I am seriously loving it!!

I get to walk out of home, usually just as the kids are getting into their beds, and spend the next 2 hours creating a beautiful Lay out and learning some pretty cool new tricks!! I just needed something for me, we make time as a family for DH to go to sport training, games etc, but this is my time.

Anyway back to Project Life.  (Warning, this is where the photos begin, yep, photos of photos, who knew!!)

 Seeing as though so many people that I know have made the decision to do PL for next year, and a few have asked me about my album, I thought I would share some here.

Our year has now spread over 2 albums, first and second half of the year. Its pretty much our only way of documenting our photos for our family, other than my Scrapbooking layouts (which I use the really good pics for ) and our Holiday Albums (where I scrap and journal on our holidays as there is always alot of photos from them)

Not everything is up to date. I have a fair few spots that need photos (its a matter of going back through and finding them on the computer and getting them printed) and doing some special Lay outs for them (there may have been quite a few photos from an occasion or day that I want to show all of them on a full layout). But these can all be done anytime, and as long as the journalling and dates are done, I am set!

An enlargement from Australia day, with a bifold journalling card trimmed down . Note behind, I need to finish the
Aussie Day Layout.

I like to save alot of bits and pieces from the year, like this cutting from the Newspaper of Noel playing waterpolo, so this is a 12 x 12 LO and on the reverse is another clipping (he had a run in the media!!)

A layout from our Trip to Perth, throughout the album I have used the PL paper but also some from my stash to mix it up a bit!

Our Easter crafting page. I wanted to document all of these photos, and kept it pretty simple, just with a few chipboard stickers. I leave all the fuss for my Scrapbooking Layouts, PL is just about documenting day to day life for us.

An 8.5x 11 Page with a bit of extra keepsake stuff from the concert. Ticket, brochure etc, the reverse is more photos!

An 8 x8 Page, with some pretty cool photos!!

A few 5 x 7 Page Protectors (these are actually from Kikki K and are a bit stronger than normal PP, perfect for harder things like cards) for my Mothers Day cards. Cute hey!

To the left an 8x8 Page of the kids watching Dad mow the lawn, and a 8.5 x 11 on the right with some sister love!

On the right , is a We R Memory Keepers Page Protector , which come in handy for all of those vertical photos that you end up with, and after a day in the sun, I had plenty!

And a We R Memory Keepers on of Horizontal photos (on left) , all the same day so no journalling needed.

A weekly starter card, but this one is for the start of August. So I added some simple stickers and a little journalling to sum up the month that was!

And some Project Life essentials, if you are participating next year. My PL tin, with all the things I need, (Amazing Idea from Jade for SOM) and a few sticker books from Kikki K.
I have used the lettering, stickers,  corner stickers and borders from these books to just jazz up a few layouts and weekly starter pages. They are good for anything , and better still Kikki K has a sale on at the moment, but you have to be a fan of their Facebook page!

The tin is great, as sometimes I journal whilst sitting on the bed , and spread everything out or do it in another room, so I can easily transport all the spare Journalling cards, pens, sticker books , everything!

And just a few Layouts from Class, I LOVE these pages!!

And a few I did at home, by myself. Self Motivated and everything!! Proud of myself! ha

Well there you have it, hope you like our album so far! Its still a work in progress and VERY simple, but as I have said, its simply a way to document our life for the year 2011, moments big and small. The kids love it, I love it and its so nice to look back on!!
Do yourselves a favour and order it!!