Shades of Brown

Friday 18th of December

noreply@blogger.com (Nicole aka nicrus) — Thu, 24 Dec 2009 05:02:00 +0000

~ William has his final Speech Therapy of the year. He will have 1st term off next year so he can settle in to school and then we will re-evaluate how he is going.

~ It was pouring with rain most of the day so we had a very lazy afternoon watching the Dark Knight.

~ Last swimming lesson for 2009.

~ And... Miss Katrina comes over for the family hair cut.

Does one ever look more attractive then when they get their hair cut?... I think not. Well, as it applies to me anyway.

And that was the Friday that was :)

Thursday 17th of December

noreply@blogger.com (Nicole aka nicrus) — Thu, 17 Dec 2009 10:33:00 +0000

What a day... Williams last day of pre-school. There is no turning back now. Next year he is off to big school whether I like it or not. I know he has to go (apparently it's the law lol)... but a piece of me wants to keep him right where he is... safe, protected and loved.

Try as I might this morning William wouldn't participate in any of the photos I had planned. It was only after much bribing that he posed with Helen and Rebecca who have been his 2 main teachers for the past 2 years. I am grateful for those.

When I picked William up I was a big sook... I cried as I said my goodbyes & thank yous to each of the teachers and staff... they also shed their tears. It was hard to walk away, and now it's time to think of what the future will hold and how best to walk through what lies ahead.

It was also William's pre-schools Christmas party this evening... so it was back to the scene of the crime! As usual the staff did an amazing job with a bbq dinner, jumping castle, show bags, raffles, and of course Santa!

Once again I've uploaded all the photos in the wrong order... I will get it right one day... until then, here's a look at what went on today...

Refreshing & recharging!

The disinterested older sister

All action stopped and Russ had to read his new book to him right there and then

YAY! A book! About a fish!

Loving Santa

Waiting patiently for Santa to arrive

Catherine, Anna and Natalie

With Rebecca

With Helen

And a new chapter begins....

A post by Miss Caitlin....

noreply@blogger.com (Nicole aka nicrus) — Wed, 16 Dec 2009 06:58:00 +0000

Hi Everyone

Welcome to my mum's blog. Plese tell this joke to everyone you know...

"Doctor, Doctor, I been feeling like a frog"

"How long have you been feeling like this?"

"Since I was a tadpole"

I wish you a merry Christmas and a happy new year!

from Caitlin

Wednesday 16th of December

noreply@blogger.com (Nicole aka nicrus) — Wed, 16 Dec 2009 06:07:00 +0000

Caitlin's last day of school... her last day in year 2... her last day in Infants! Where has the time gone?

A massive thank you to Mrs Rainert... you simply couldn't ask for a better teacher.

Tuesday 15th of December

noreply@blogger.com (Nicole aka nicrus) — Wed, 16 Dec 2009 04:25:00 +0000

The kids took their presents in to their teachers today. They just couldn't wait until the very last day of school.

I made Caitlin's teacher a recipe book and included 20 of my favourite recipes to bake. All year she kept asking me to make her copies of the recipes for the yummy things Caitlin would take her and I kept telling her to wait until Christmas. She loved her book and it totally blew her away... she even shed a tear! Now let's see if she actually does some baking!

After I dropped William off and he handed out his pressies of handmade Christmas ornaments, I went back to Caitlin's school and did craft with the kids. We made these awesome paddle pop stick ornaments, which are a really crude take on these gorgeous ones I found on this blog http://vivikas.wordpress.com. The kids had an awesome time... regardless of the outcome lol.

Caitlin also found out she will be in 3W next year and have a teacher who is brand new to the school, Mrs Bergman. I hope she is nice and has a sense of humour!

When I was putting Caitlin to bed she started to reflect on her time in infants... she got all teary talking about all the great things she'd done in K, 1 and 2. She really should be so proud of herself and her achievments. I know I am.

Russ took the kids out for a quick drive to check out some Christmas lights. I love that the kids still love going to look at them. They get so excited. Especially when they were on both sides of the road! lol.

Monday 14th of December - Quick Bits

noreply@blogger.com (Nicole aka nicrus) — Wed, 16 Dec 2009 04:23:00 +0000

~ Attended Caitlin's end of year mass, followed by the parent helper morning tea.

~ Caitlin received her Premiers Reading Challenge Certificate for the 3rd straight year.

~ Sharon has shingles!

Saturday 12th of December

noreply@blogger.com (Nicole aka nicrus) — Wed, 16 Dec 2009 02:53:00 +0000

Today we had a big gathering at PT and Carolyn's to catch up with the 'mob' before Christmas. It was a great day, and the highlight for the kids you'll be surprised to learn was the pool. I think they were both in the water for about 6 hours! They loved it.

Here's a couple of snaps from the day....

The Babies...

The Brides...

The Blokes...

2 soggy kids...

Thanks PT & Carolyn for hosting a great day x

Friday 11th of December - Quick Bits

noreply@blogger.com (Nicole aka nicrus) — Wed, 16 Dec 2009 02:51:00 +0000

~ My car clocks 100,000 kms while taking William to school. It's a 1997 model so it really was about time!

~ Russ walked Caitlin to school and she had a much looked forward to lunch order.

~ I brought my very first maxi dress... woo hoo!

~ Caitlin gets 'Star of the Week' at swimming lessons. YAY Caitlin!

Thursday 10th of December

noreply@blogger.com (Nicole aka nicrus) — Wed, 16 Dec 2009 02:41:00 +0000

William has been begging to wrap presents so he could put them under the tree... the only problem was that I didn't have any gift tags! So with some quick thinking, a piece of cardstock, a stamp, some glimmer mist, kindy glitz, my trusty stapler and trim I solved the problem in 15 minutes!

Tuesday 8th of December

noreply@blogger.com (Nicole aka nicrus) — Sun, 13 Dec 2009 11:18:00 +0000

You've got to love Tuesdays. Aunty Rae comes over... sometimes we are joined by Kylie or Sharon or a number of other people depending on what's going on... and we scrap... well, sometimes we just end up talking! Either way I love Tuesdays.

Today I finally managed to get my Cybercrop challenge done for Little Scrapbook Shop. The Cybercrop has been on all weekend, and you have until Midnight Monday the 14th to upload your work, so if you want to know more about my challenge or any of the others, jump on over to the forum and check them out.

The other great thing about Tuesdays is the Bachelor is on Go!, and following that is Tool Academy. OMG! I laughed so hard watching Tool Academy I fell off the lounge! If you want to see some reality TV at it's absolutely best, then this is the show for you!

Sunday 6th of December

noreply@blogger.com (Nicole aka nicrus) — Sun, 13 Dec 2009 10:44:00 +0000

You've got to love a hubby that lets you have a sleep in... and takes the kids out to buy your Christmas pressie while you're still tucked up in bed.

What you've got to dislike is that your gorgeous hubby who thinks he's doing a top job buys the kids Playdough!

I did actually ban Playdough from the house many many years ago, but sadly it has made a return. I can only hope it dries out soon and they loose interest.

On the other hand... the kids have spent a lot of time creating all sorts of things together which is really nice... but then I had to get all those little bits off the floor and table cloth and chairs when they had finished... not so nice.

Ah the joys of Playdough!

Just Hanging Out...

noreply@blogger.com (Nicole aka nicrus) — Sat, 12 Dec 2009 08:51:00 +0000

Some photos from our day at Tracys on Saturday the 5th of December. Love hanging out with Tracy and Kylie... scrapping... eating... scrapping... swim.... eat... scrap... and so on and so forth.

Williams Graduation

noreply@blogger.com (Nicole aka nicrus) — Fri, 11 Dec 2009 23:58:00 +0000

The 3rd of December... and we are off to Williams Graduation Ceremony. It was such a special night... both for him, and for us.

I didn't just shed a tear... I sobbed and filled my handbag with soggy tissues!

William did so well. He sat still... when his name was called he walked up to centre stage and collected his scroll and graduating Koala. He shock hands and then took his place on the stage.

When all the kids had been presented they sang us a song about going to big school. They were awesome.

Here's a few snaps from the night... in the wrong order, but it doesn't matter...

A massive thank you to the teachers and staff for putting so much effort into this wonderful evening. You will never know how much I have appreciated everything you've done for William.

And the Christmas Tree is up...

noreply@blogger.com (Nicole aka nicrus) — Fri, 11 Dec 2009 23:41:00 +0000

It did go up on the 1st of December, as always. As if the kids would let us get away with not putting it up on the 1st!

The kids helped Russ build the tree, and then we left them to it with the decorating. It's quiet spectacular!

It was Caitlins turn to put the star on the top. A prized job to have in the decorating of the tree!

And so the season begins...

Kaiser Advent Calendar

noreply@blogger.com (Nicole aka nicrus) — Sun, 06 Dec 2009 08:13:00 +0000

I know, it's missing a finishing touch in the bottom corner. I have played around with a few different things, but just can't seem to get anything to work.

I loved making this. It was so easy and it looks so good! The kids bust at the seems to open the little drawers each morning to find a little choccie and a note.

Thanks to Sue Lowe for the inspiration with the Nutcrackers... they look tops!

End of Year School Disco

noreply@blogger.com (Nicole aka nicrus) — Sun, 06 Dec 2009 06:36:00 +0000

Is there an event more anticipated than the end of year disco? The fashions, the music, the glow sticks, poppers and chips! I think not, and Caitlin definately thinks it's the place where the 'cool' kids go!

Here's some quick snaps taken out the front before we left....

'Strike A Pose'

When I asked William to get ready for a photo, he took it upon himself to pose like this... I have no idea where this pose has come from, but it seems to be his favourite lol.

Little Scrapbook Shop Cybercrop - 11th December

noreply@blogger.com (Nicole aka nicrus) — Mon, 30 Nov 2009 23:02:00 +0000

Graphic 45 - Domestic Goddess

noreply@blogger.com (Nicole aka nicrus) — Sun, 29 Nov 2009 11:04:00 +0000

I love love love Graphic 45, and the Domestic Goddess range is unbelievably beautiful. I think I could scrap, scrap and scrap with it for quiet some time.

Here's 2 layouts I've done with it already, and I think I can feel a 3rd and 4th coming on soon!

Memories of Yesterday

So not happy with the title of this one, but I just couldn't come up with anything else.

The photo was taken at my Grandparents house. It's of my Nan and Pop, and my Nan's brothers, sister and their partners. I don't know which one of them brought the caravan and plonked it in the yard.

To make this flourish stand out, I used dimensional magic to change the look only slightly.

Domestic Goddesses [NOT]

A bit of tounge in check action here lol. I originally was going with the title 'Circle of Friends', but changed my mind as soon as I picked up these papers. I made this flower embellishment out of and old sewing pattern I picked up at an Op Shop for 50c. A quick spray with Glimmer Mist and it came up a treat!

So there you go... 2 down, and many more to go... I love Graphic 45, just in case you didn't already know that!

Graphic 45 - Renaissance Faire

noreply@blogger.com (Nicole aka nicrus) — Sat, 21 Nov 2009 12:15:00 +0000

I love papers with maps on them. I have no idea why I do, but I do. Now the tricky bit... I never quiet know what to do with them. I don't want to cover up the beautiful images on the paper, but what's the use of having them if I don't use them?

When I saw the Triumphant paper by Graphic 45 I set myself a challenge to use it. It took me a minute, but once I found the photo I instantly knew what to title it and how I was going to put it all together.

The next really tricky thing was matching it up with some cardstock. After having 3 people head to the cardstock tub on my behalf with varying degrees of success, I was 'awakened' to the fact that Graphic 45 had the perfect match sitting there waiting and I didn't need cardstock after all.

So in the end I managed to come up with this...

The photo is of my beautiful cousin Fraya (who is now a young lady at Uni) and her dad, my Uncle Terry on the Harbour Bridge. It's such a sweet photo.

And if you are looking for Graphic 45, then head over to Little Scrapbook Shop and grab some. It's so yummy!

Quick Bits

noreply@blogger.com (Nicole aka nicrus) — Sat, 21 Nov 2009 12:07:00 +0000

~ Shoe shopping... with Caitlin... omg! 2 and a half hours of my life I will never get back! It is almost impossible to find a sensible, yet appealing sandal for an 8 year old. We did it... not quiet what I wanted, and not quiet what she wanted, but a great compromise in the end.

~ On the upside of the shoe shopping, we popped into Best and Less and I picked up a pair of Bulldog pjs marked down to $10! When I brought them home Will was a bit upset that they weren't for him lol. Mind you, he already has a pair. I love a bargain!

~ I bit the bullet today and went through all of the school clothes I've been given for William. It made me a little bit sad... especially when he donned a winter uniform and was so handsome, and looked so grown up! I discovered I have no summer uniforms in all those hand-me-downs so it looks like I'm off to Lowes to do a bit of uniform shopping. Does he really have to go to school?

~ A busy week coming up with Caitlin's school disco on Wednesday night, and I'm off to the ARIAs on Thursday night with Dannii. And why am I going to the ARIAs?.... Cause Robbie 'the Hottie' Williams will be there! A girl can hope... can't she?

The 45 Minute Challenge

noreply@blogger.com (Nicole aka nicrus) — Sun, 15 Nov 2009 08:49:00 +0000

I love a 45 minute challenge... it's amazing what you can do in that time, and it's always great to see what the others taking part in the challenge do as well.

At the recent Scrap Girls retreat we had a 45 minute challenge on Saturday night. Here's my creation...

The photo is of my Aunty Rene, Aunty Les and Aunty Pam outside of the house they were born in. I even had time to sew around the edge!

If you're looking for a scrappy retreat to attend, you have got to get on to Scrap Girls and book one in now! The 2010 schedule is up on their website ready for your viewing pleasure!

It's Cybercrop Time At Little Scrapbook Shop

noreply@blogger.com (Nicole aka nicrus) — Sun, 15 Nov 2009 08:36:00 +0000

We kicked off and Friday night, and as there's not 1, not 2, but 8 challenges, plus one for the juniors the cybercrop is running until midnight on Tuesday so you still have plenty of time to join in all the fun!

I set 2 challenges for our Crafty Christmas Cybercrop. Here they are...

Challenge 8: create a layout that reflects GIVING

Challenge 5: decorate 4 individual canvases in a Christmas theme and join them together to make 1 canvas wall hanging.

Want to know more? You'd better pay a visit to the Little Scrapbook Shop fourm to find out all the details.

Oh, and there's a special Carol Christmas offer too!

I Hate Midgies!!!

noreply@blogger.com (Nicole aka nicrus) — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 07:33:00 +0000

You can't see them... but they're there.

It's only after the event that you realise you've been attached by a swarm of them. Red bites all over your body that seem like they will never go away!

It's almost 2 weeks and I still have lumps and bumps... the red dots on my legs look disgusting.

I hate Midgies. The end.

Gorgeous Gear

noreply@blogger.com (Nicole aka nicrus) — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 05:00:00 +0000

This post is for my gorgeous cousin Sandy who I am missing so much after our catch up in October... in fact I'm missing everyone!

This layout is of Sandy's boys, Callan and Kyle. They are all grown up now, but how cute are they here!

This is Callan and Kyle all grown up with their dad Lachlan.

And here's their gorgeous mum, Sandy.

Miss you guys x

A Bingo Card Card!

noreply@blogger.com (Nicole aka nicrus) — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 04:39:00 +0000

I love designing for Scrap Girls, and in the last challenge kit I got there was a bingo card. I've used these before on layouts so this time I wanted to do something different, hence I created a bingo card card!

This time with the kits, Miss Kylie asked us to do mini project sheets for the ladies on retreat so they could take them home and have some very handy ideas at the ready. A great idea and the ladies loved them.

So if you want to make a bingo card card in 3 easy steps, here's how...

Step 1. Decorate your bingo card.

Step 2. Cut a piece of cardstock twice the size of your card, and score down the middle.

Step 3. Adhere your bingo card to the cardstock and add a sentiment inside the card if you would like.

That’s all you need to do to have a unique, and very cute card! Too easy.