Lesson learned...

A couple of days ago I read a great post over at Nichole's blog where she wrote about her children whining, my pet hate!!! Nothing annoys me more and she said she had always told her children to take a deep breath and then they would feel better... Great idea, I thought! Have to try it!

So, day after and Freya goes off on something and starts whining, aha! My plan can be put into action - "Freya, calm down, take a deep breath and you'll feel better"...ok... she looks at me very sceptical first but does it - Wow! It worked! Yay! Nichole, I love you!!!

A couple of hours later and the dogs keeps eating the poor cat's food so I tell them off in a slightly annoyed voice... well what I didn't know was that Freya was standing right behind me and she pulls my trousers and says "Mamma, deep breaze (=breath) - better!?" LOL

Lesson learned - Live as you preach and walk the talk!

Well, it's "weekend" here again - honestly, where does time go!? Unfortunately little ones have caught a bug (might be the one I had last week...). Both coughing and very blocked up but they don't seem too bothered - full action as usual!

Freya had a birthday "party" to go to yesterday. She was soooo excited and had to wear a necklace and have a handbag just like Mamma...

She was ready to paaartey!!!

Actually it was only her and the birthday girl, who turned 3, and they had a fab time! We went to the Ceramique Cafe to do some "art". The girls LOVED it!!!

It said that you should only do two layers of paint not to have it crack after burning...well, hmm... try and tell a 2 and 3 year old that!

Freya's plate with colors got all mixed up fairly quickly...will be interesting to see what bunny looks like when it's been in the Owen!

This was my plate... I bet you, her bunny is going to turn out fab and my coffee mug rather boring...

After all the artsy activities we had to have cake and the birthday girl is totally into dinosaurs at the moment so she had wished for a green dinosaur cake........isn't it Awesome! It was super yummy too!!! We had a GREAT day - Thank you, Jo and Isla!

On a scrapping note....

There is some super exciting things going on over at Catscrap, TaylorMade Designs are guesting for the whole of May!!! There will be loads of fun and she's made a FAB new kit for the occation "Composure" make sure you stop by and check it out!

Here's two of my pages

I know, isn't this kit just FABULOUS!!!!???

Have a nice day!

Soaking in life...

I was going through my pictures this morning and found this photo of Freya from last month on the beach and I really wanted to scrap it. I love how she's just walking, totally carefree and enjoying life. I needed some inspiration for the page and looked in my Favorites folder and found this stunningly adorable page by Pixiedust called Princess, here's my version!

Santa cruz

...is the name of Creashens beachy new fab kit and I meant to post this several days ago but time just seem to disappear! Here's a page I did with it

Cheeky boys and funny girls!

One of my favorite times of the day is the mornings, the kids comes into our bed and we have our "coffee" in bed, me and Sean have the coffee and the children a bottle of milk each. We sit there tucked up together against the headboard and Freya sometimes plays this game, asking me if different body parts are OK, like "Mamma, tummy OK?, Foot OK? etc etc and if I say "Oh no, mamma's finger ajaj..."she'll then replay "Oh poor mamma, Freya bow" (= blow) today she added a new body part, pulled out my T-shirt looked down it and said "Mamma's boop ok?" turns around to Sean, looks at his chest and says "Daddy got boops too (puts her thumb and index finger together) and says - tiiiiiny one" *LOL* - she is 2...where do they get it from!?

At the moment she's coming up with new words and phrases by the minute and she's so funny to listen to. Whilst I was doing dinner last night she came up to me and asked what I was doing. I replayed I'm making soup for dinner, she went quiet for a few seconds then said "mamma soupa fast" *LOL* She doesn't know what soup is but she knows "super" !

Kian is trying so hard to talk and we can't understand a single word but the face tells it all and he's totally figured out what gets his sister going. Yesterday I saw him watching Freya as she was sitting in the sofa with her blankey in her lap. He very slowly moved towards her, moving backwards the last few cm until he stood beside her leaning against the sofa. He looked at her face then snatched her blankey and RAN!!!! Laughing!!!! The guy is 14 months and soooo cheeky! Obviously Freya went after him screaming and he just kept smiling - I was trying soooo hard not to laugh having seen it all and how he "planned" it. Can only imagine how it will be in a years time or even a couple of months from now...

The cause - Mr Cheeky

The result - Mrs Grumpy

Thanks everyone for your comments on my "Old me" post - it feels better knowing it's not JUST me! I have a "plan" and I'll get back to you on that one when I got it all in place! ;-)

Have a nice day!

First haircut and Goodbye old "me"!

It was time... I've tried so long not to do it but Sean finally convinced me that it had to be done... My boy's first haircut! I thought we were going to have a major struggle but no, we placed him in his highchair in front of the TV watching Baby Einstein, a bottle of water and it was done in less than 10 min!!!! Here's the result...

Before

After

Ok, so I'm not a qualified hairdresser, as you can see... At least he's happy!

Well, our weekend is over and it's "Monday" and back to "work", actually it doesn't really work like that being a SAHM does it... weekend or no weekend we're still "on duty" aren't we!? I find this subject rather intriguing. Before I became a mother I envied mothers who was able to be "at home" all the time and "do what ever they wanted all day" (... if someone came up to me a told me just that, I think I'd punch them right there and then!) Don't take me wrong, I do feel privileged to be able to be home with my children and all that, BUT I miss "me"... You know, the intelligent, -10 postpreg kg woman who went to work, used her brain in intelligent matters... well, obviously that depends on how you define intelligence but I'm talking, numbers (not just 1-5..), meetings (not the ones you have under a sheet in the closet) business lunches (not the ones where food is all over the floor and you need to threaten fellow eaters with what could happen if they don't eat up...) I miss ME!!! I love my children to death and wouldn't change a thing but where am "I"!? Will "I"ever return? I doubt it, actually I know that "I", as I know it, is gone and "Me now" need to get on with it - but first I think i need to have a "Goodbye do" and a "Welcome do" to take farewell of old "Me" and celebrate new "Me" (though I wish the +10 postpreg kg would leave at the "Goodbye do"...) Anyway I'll stop rambling now. Anyone with a suggestion for a good Goodbye and Welcome do? May be there is like a "mothers ritual" I haven't heard of. Any suggestions - send them my way!

Have a nice day!

Super exciting news!!!!

I'm so excited and very honored to have been choosen to join Fei-fei's Stuff' creative team!!! I mean, look who's on it! I'm totally starstruck!

Thank you, Shaui!

Mojo is back!

Got some more pages to share today, this time it is with the ADORABLE new kit "Explore the jungle" and the super cool "Pop twirls" from Fei-fei's stuff at Oscraps

TFL!

New wordart fran Jopke designs!

"Just so you know" - Available now at Digi Top3
And here is a page from me using it... TFL!

My first ever layout!

Diana has invited me to play a game, I love games!
This is the game:

A little game for you my friend!

1. Show us your first scrapbook page
2. Write a couple of lines about the scrap - associated with your feelings, your thoughts and when you did it
3. Pass the game on to 5 person and leave a comment on their blog....

I'm passing it on to:
Annika
Helen
Shen
Jopke
Ashley

And this is my first page ever:
My sister Annika, had been scrapping for some time and made this gorgeous book for her daughter and she had tried soooo hard to get me into it as well. Being pregnant with a 6 months old toddler, I had other priorities with the spare time I managed to get at the time. Anyway, in September 2008, she managed to persuade me to try and enter a challenge on a Swedish site. The topic was to scrap a titel out of Per Gessle's (lead singer in Roxette) songs and this one is called "Lay your hand in mine" Well, I downloaded the 60 days free trial of Photoshop Elements 6.0, tried to figure out how it worked, downloaded some freebies on the web through the IKEA Goddess blog and bought my first kits on Catscrap, Creashens Fall Back and As I am. I won the challenge and got totally hooked on scrapping!!!

Have fun playing girls! Will be interesting to see your pages!

"Supa Cool!"

It's weekend!

Thursday and Friday in Oman is weekend and Saturday is our Monday... I know, very confusing and it took me a couple of years(!) to get "into" it and still get it all mixed up now and then but Hey, if I can throw the laundry in the toilet...

Ever since Freya and I was home over Easter and she saw her cousin having a "computer" (the toy version that's tells you the alphabet over and over) she's talked about having her own "puter" so today when Sean and I was out on our monthly "husband and wife only" Thursday we bought one for her. She is ecstatic !!!

I didn't think a 2 year old could want something so badly but she's over the moon. She says it is "supa cool"!!! LOL! She sees me sitting in front of mine for hours and want to copy down to the smallest details even my glasses (yes, I'm getting old... )Is she "supa cool" or what!

They are retarmacing the road outside our house and Kian is stuck to the window watching the digger! It must be something boys are born with... I thought having had a girl first that Kian sort of would follow in her footsteps and like the same things, Oh so wrong I was!!! He is a total opposite! It is all hard toys, anything with wheels and the noisier the better!!! Quite intriguing! This is his version of heaven! Mouth full of dirt and playing on daddy's trailer!The little ones does keep us very busy and sometimes we seem to forget about our four legged children, our dogs, Safi and Tabu... this is how they protest...

after all they where our "first" babies...

Btw, my mojo is back! I've been scrapping all morning! Yay! Can't post anything yet but you'll see it soon!

Have a nice day!

Chocolate or no chocolate, that's the question!

Today has been a good day!
The internet provider decided to take my word for it and "unblock" my scrapping sites, yay! I've also got some SUPER exciting news but can't share that just yet...
Still got my pounding ear but it's getting better..or I'm getting used to it, either way it's not bugging me too much.

I want to scrap but I've lost my mojo... I need my mojo!!!!! Have some gorgeous kits to use and still I just can't seem to be able to get it right!
Another problem of mine tonight is that beside me, on the table, is a bag of mini Twix... shall I or shall I not... since this seems to be my biggest problem tonight (except for the loss of my mojo...) life can't be that bad.

Actually...I'm sure my mojo would reappear if I took a chocolate... yes, there we go! Just the thought of it and my creative juices starts flowing...or is it just me drooling over the Twix...

Life is too short - enjoy it whilst it lasts!

Have a nice day!

I'm loosing it!

Today has just been one of "those" days.
Really started yesterday with me having to go and see the doctor and get some medicine for an eye/ear/throat infection.
I felt pretty sorry for my self and went to bed after taking my medication hoping I would feel better in the morning. Well, that didn't really happen. I woke with a pounding ear, no voice and a closed left eye! So much for a quick recovery!
Anyway, got the family ready, had breakfast together and drove DD to her nursery, still feeling pretty sorry for my self. I had brought my computer so after dropping her off, I could go to a coffee shop, sit down, have a cup and go through the galleries...well, when I've got my coffee, sat down, switched on the computer, logged on to the Internet - the main Internet, the only Internet, provider here in Oman has decided that the scrapping sites I normally visit are "inappropriate material" and they've blocked them!!!! Now, I'm not in the mood for jokes and sent them a LONG email complaining and explaining.
I still can't get to the sites at this very moment!

After a disastrous morning, I picked DD up from nursery. Went home, had an afternoon with the children, watching Barbie movies, Barney and played with Lego until the weather had cooled down enough for us to get out and play. Sean, DH, arrived home at 5.30pm and I started to tidy the house before dinner time...this is where it gets scary!
As I'm tidying, I came across some dirty clothes and went to the bathroom to put them in the laundry basket... I open the lid and throw them in... to the TOILET!!!!! Honestly, what was I thinking! Obviously not at all and my first reaction is "strange, why is there all this water?" and then I snapped out of it and quickly removed the clothes from the bowl and swore never to tell anyone... well, that didn't work either now did it!?
Started dinner and spilled a whole cup of boiling water all over my left hand!!!

So, I'm sitting here with a burned hand, laundry down the toilet, pounding ear, sore eye and no voice!?
I've had better days!

On a happier note, I managed to do the first plaits on DD! Very cute! She was very proud and kept saying she was Rapunzel.... Don't think anyone would manage to climb these plaits though... LOL!
Whilst outside playing this evening Sean tried to make her say "What's up douwg - Freya's in the house" (obviously watching too much American Idol) and she did the hand gesture and all but very politely told him that Freya was not "in the house" she's outside!!! Later when we're in the kitchen and Sean asks her what she's doing, she does the hand gesture and says Freya's in the house - and busy!!!...as she continues to empty one of the kitchen cabinets... LOL!


In the end of the day it's the little things in life that makes it all worth it even if it sometimes feels like I'm loosing it.
Have a nice day!

GSO!

I'm featured on Gallery Standouts with this page today, yay!

Welcome, I've got my own!!!

Can't believe it but I finally got my own blog!!! Yay me! I always thought it would be sooo complicated but I did it in a morning! Ok...so there is a lot to wish for here but slowly does it and I'll get there in time... Now I just need to figure out all these gadgets and stuff... I can see some long nights coming up! I'm so excited! Any tips...feel free to send them my way! Hope to see you here again soon!
/Maria
xoxo