Wednesday, 23rd October - a good day

Yesterday, after a series of knock-backs and hits from negativity, Paul and I took the boys for a walk in the beautiful Centenary Park near Mum and Dad's home of Bald Hills in Brisbane's northern suburbs. 

The Pine River adjoins one side of the park, and feeds into a lake which hosts a plethora of wild life - black swans, ducks, fish, and even snapping turtles. 

After a stifling hot day, it was so beautiful to be out in the fresh air with a very healthy breeze blowing off the river, and for the boys to enjoy some outdoor time in the local park. 

It was the second day Lewis and Henry have been able to climb up onto the slippery slides on their own, and Henry even tackled the metal grid to get up to the other slide. 

Lewis, yesterday you said "Dandad" which made Grandad very happy, after weeks of "Mummy", "Daddy", or "Mama".  Henry, you said "bless you" to Grandad after he sneezed, and we all thought it was very funny. 

Yesterday morning, before the sun got too hot, you boys were helping Grandma to water her garden with the washing water.  Seeing that Queensland is in the middle of a drought, every bit of water is saved and  re-used where possible.  You both put your hats on in anticipation of getting outside - it is quite a routine now, and you have been known to even wear them at night! 

 

Henry in this photo of you, you had a sticker on your face. I had recently bought you both sticker books for $1, and you love playing with them. They end up more underfoot and are tracked throughout the house, but such is life!

 

We gave you buckets and containers for the water.  More of it ended up on both you and the patio, but not to matter at all! 

 

 

Lewis, you love being out in the garden when it is not too hot and I often find you in one corner or cranny examining things in minute detail. You love playing with dirt and scoop it from one hand to the other. You don't ever seem to get bored with this kind of activity and can repeat this kind of thing over and over for a seemingly long time.

Daddy and I made more progress on the job seeking front at lunchtime, and after the official business was done for the time being and you got up after your sleep, it was then nearly time for the evening meal.

 

Daddy bought some chicken and cheese rissoles, and I decided to experiment on you, but it was a good meal night and then we went for the walk. It was the second time you had eaten corn on the cob, and you both loved it.

 

 

About 5 o'clock, the sunlight streams in through Mum and Dad's back windows but then it doesn't take long to transition into evening.  It is pitch black by 6:30 - there is not much twilight here, and once the sun is over the horizon, the night sets in. 

 



Last night, after the cobwebs and the bad stuff had been blown away, I ordered some good luck for all of us.  Today is the start of it! 

First Weekend in Australia ....

After a long and seemingly never ending journey which of course did eventually finish, we arrived in Brisbane on Thursday evening, 12th September to record winter temperatures.  Our first outing was to my brother-in-law Michael's birthday party on the south side of Brisbane on Sunday evening, 15th September. 

I think we were all still in the depths of jet lag, and I was developing a nasty cold, but it was wonderful to have such a family orientated function on our first weekend in Australia.  With two brothers and a sister, and numerous nephews and nieces, an O'Shea gathering means lots of noise and movement, but this time the Brierley side of the family was more represented with our additional presence.  Food is done on a LARGE scale, and a definite highlight was the butterflied shoulder of lamb on the barbie - DE-LIC-IOUS! 

 

Grandma Brierley and boys.  Their first experience of an Aussie barbeque! I think their personal favourite was strawberries with marshmallows on skewers - I think I will be leaving off the marshmallows!  

 

Bronwyn O'Shea with Lewis applauding the happy birthday singing to Uncle Michael and Benjamin! 

 

Lewis approving of Uncle Michael's caramel birthday cake with Michael's mother, Lee O'Shea.  Michael's brother, Chris, in the background with Lachie at the side. 

 Michael with Ryan (his younger son) preparing the birthday candles and anticipating that caramel cake .....

 

 

 

Watch out, Uncle Michael .... here comes Lewis!  

 

 

 

And here's Henry with Aunty Nerida, joining in with the birthday singing. 

 

Our first week was full of the jobs which took priority - applying for our Queensland drivers' licences, signing onto Medicare (the Australian health system) and getting our bank accounts sorted out - all of which took a LOT of time. 

 

It was therefore especially significant to escape the bureacracy to spend some time with family - and what is more Australian than a large-scale, noisy barbecue?  Looking forward to much more of the same in time to come. 



 



August Scrapology Card Challenge - Milestones

Hello everyone and welcome to the August card challenge for Scrapology.  This month, Sandra challenged us to make a card with the theme of "milestones".

Well, a close friend and former colleague mentioned on the phone that her 40th wedding anniversary was coming up - and I thought it would be nice to send her a card.  Great coincidence that it could also serve dual purpose for our challenge!

Red = "ruby" so I searched through my scraps bag and found this piece of patterned paper.  I do really like monochrome cards and find myself making them quite often. 



I have also been turning to my Creative Memories square punch quite often and have used this fundamental design as a basis for many cards.  The hardest thing is to properly align the squares of paper to the card so it doesn't look like a botch job! 

I know this card will still be too busy for my friend, as she told me that she likes very graphic designs with lots of white space.  So I have left it very simple - added a strip of wide coordinating satin ribbon and softened the edge with my Martha Stewart iron fence border punch. 

I stuck most of the flowers down with glue dots but the leafy flourish, the numbers and the flower centres with wet glue. 

I had made the card and took a photo - and realised that I had attached the ribbon with a crease in it!  Normally I don't worry too much about that kind of thing, but this time it really showed up in the photo much more than in real life - so I very carefully got out the iron, and dealt with the crease.  I was a bit concerned before I started that I would damage the card more than fix it, but luckily the iron did its job with no detriment and this time the photo was greatly improved. 

I hope my friend likes her card but more importantly, has a lovely celebration!

Supplies:
Patterned paper -
Bazzill cardstock, white and red
Creative Memories Square punch set
Plastic numbers
Various flowers
White bead flower centres
Die-namics My Favourite Things Leafy Flourish die
Spellbinders Nestabilities Labels Four
Wide Red Satin Ribbon
Scrappy Glue
3d Foam
Glue Dots

Why don't you join in with our challenge and create a card with a "milestones" theme?  As usual, there is a fab prize to be won!

Lewis and Henry - 2 years and one month update

Dear Boys -

Saturday 6th July:-
The actual day of your 2nd birthday was a pretty low key affair, being that Daddy was working nights this week - so it was a highlight that we spoke to Grandma and Grandad Brierley in Brisbane on Skype, and then Grandma and Grandpa Jones came and visited us and played with you for over an hour. 

Monday, 8th July:-
A good friend, Gill Parry, came to visit us - now only to meet you for the first time, but to say goodbye.  You have both just woken up from your nap, so were uncharacteristically shy, and took a while to warm up! You eventually felt more at home so we were able to take some nice photos. 

10th July - Today being Wednesday, we went as normal to the Maple Cross Community Centre where the Rickmansworth Children's Centre host the toddler group. July has progressively gotten hotter and hotter as the month has passed, and we are now experiencing a heat wave.  All the activities were based outdoors in the field, and you were both in your element, running around in the sun, and getting drenched in the baby bath filled with blue gel. 

This morning, Henry - I was thrilled when you picked up a rubber duck - and said "duck!" Another word in your increasing repertoire. 

Lewis, you are responding more to direct requests - you are finally grasping that when I point to things, you should direct your attention to them.  This has taken a little while for you to understand. 

Saturday, 13th July - the day of your second birthday party dawned bright and hot, hot hot!  It has since been hotter, but it was 31 this day - we were very grateful that Tara and Ian brought their gazebo for the children to play in during the party. 

I was mostly in the kitchen, or buzzing around cleaning up, but each time I turned around, Henry - you usually had a cocktail sausage in one hand, and a mini quiche in the other! People tell me that Lewis, you were eating quite a lot too.  I do remember seeing you with a dollop of dip on the end of your nose!  I know you both enjoyed your cake, because your faces were smeared with blue icing. 

Friday, 19th July - my colleague and friend, Paul Cave, came for a visit and to wish us well.  He had great fun playing with you both, and I know he was delighted to see how much you had grown!  He saw you at 6 months when I took you for a visit to the office at Southall.

Henry, as each day progresses, you are picking up more and more words.  Saturday, 20th July - you now can say "chicken" even though it comes out more as having a heavy scouse accent. 

Wednesday, 24th July - Today was the day we exchanged contracts on the house - at nearly 4:00pm, after being on the market since 29th September.  Daddy and I were very happy on this day, as it meant we could book the flights to Australia and confirm that things were definitely on the move.  This was also the day Henry, that you put your little bear in the highchair after breakfast and tried to give him some water.  So adorable!

Thursday, 25th July - Henry, when you were in the bath, you stood up and tried to wash Daddy too by rubbing his arm with the washcloth. 

Friday, 26th July - Henry, when you run around with your hammer from your workbench, you point to it and say "am!".  In Operation Aeroplane, I give you puzzles to do whilst in your highchair - Lewis, you call puzzle "diddle".  AAaaawwww! This has now been adopted by Henry. 

Friday, 1st August - we took you to the dentist for the first time.  It all went quite well, considering.  You both sat on me in the dentist's chair, and Dr Adam Deitsch tried to take a look in your mouths.  At least there were no obvious holes, and that was a good thing. 

Sunday, 3rd August - We had a family day out to Beale Park - our first one.  We had only been in the park a matter of three minutes, at the most, when Henry, you decided to take a dip in the coy pond. It was terrifying, as you went in well above your head, but luckily Daddy was able to fish you out before too much time had passed. We went on a lovely train ride around the site which you boys loved, and you had lots of funs on various swings etc at lunch time.  We then went to Grandma and Grandpa's for a visit afterwards. 

 

At the entrance to the Park ...

 

On the seesaw ...

 

 

 

Lewis and the lion ...

 

 

 

My boys

 



You both walk down the stairs now, holding my hand.  It is how you are learning to count - each time we go up and down, there are 14 steps to count.  As the month has progressed, you are both starting to walk up the stairs rather than crawl.  This time next month, we will have left the UK and be in transit to a new adventure in Australia.  All change!

Love always
Mummy xxxx

52 Card Challenge UK Scrappers Week 15 - Make the Words the Focus

This week, Nat set the challenge as "Making the Words" the focus.  I pondered about this challenge for a while, and then took the brief literally. 

I had this glossy orange paper sitting around and rather than waste it, I backed the card with it and "patched" the background together where I had cut away from a sheet of paper.  I had previously cut an orange frame with Spellbinders, but it didn't look right, so coloured the frame and the flower with a black Promarker.

I have decided that rather than wait for the right time to cut into papers, with the amount of papers I have - just do it! So I am making cards for friends to give them messages before I move to Australia.  This one was for my lovely friend and neighbour, Roberta. 

I then coordinated the card with black and white.  I had the remainder of a Prima "Say it with Gems" black swirl, so used it here.  It adds some sparkle and dimension in real life, though you can't really spot it in the photo.  I used some black card candy in the middle of the flowers, and then covered it with orange Stickles, as I did with the word I wanted to accent, and the main flower. 

I can use the remainder of the lace paper in my Project Life pages, as we have just had the boys' second birthday party/our farewell do.  I think the message on the lace paper is pretty apt!

Supplies:
Orange glossy craft paper
ki memories black glitter lace paper
Orange Stickles
Black and white flowers
Black card candy - Craftwork Cards
Prima black "Say it in Gems"
Black button
Assorted flower

52 Card Challenge - Week 29 Nordic Theme

This week, for the Week 29 challenge over at UK Scrappers, Nat set the participants a Nordic inspired challenge. 

 

As I am actively trying to use up anything "snowy" related, this Basic Grey Eskimo Kisses paper jumped out at me as the perfect main ingredient.

 

 

I am also trying to use up odds and sods of this and that - just so I transport a pared down and more cohesive scrapping stash. 

 

I added an oddment of red satin ribbon, and some cotton lace and just a few tiny spots of red Stickles on the middle of the flowers to add a little bit of sparkle.  A Hero Arts greeting matted on green Bazzill completed the card. 



 

Supplies:

Basic Grey Eskimo Kisses Powdered Sugar

Red Satin ribbon

Cotton lace

Hero Arts "Miracle of the Holiday"

 

 

 

 

 

 

52 Card Challenge UK Scrappers - Week 25 Sticker Sneeze

Nat set an interesting challenge this week - get out some of those old stickers and get using! 

I know for certain that I wouldn't have been as productive without this challenge - it really pushed me to stop thinking about the product and just get on with it!

I had half a sheet of Rusty Pickle "Grinchmas" stickers left.  They really looked awful sitting side by side - the colours clashed and I had kept shoving them aside in favour of other things. 

 

First time I used my Spellbinders Pointsettia die - I cut a flower from Basic Grey "Scarlet's Letter" range, and then used the die to outline flowers using my Inktense water colour pencils and coloured part of two flowers in.  I really like the end result!

 

 

The bling really made the difference to this very simple card, the sticker of which was outlined with Silver Icicles - the thicker Stickles. 

 

Went to town a bit with all the embellishments above - quite a busy card. 

 

I like the simplicity of the one above - I used the robin from a set of Christmas stamps and just added some felt ribbon. 

 

Even more basic - just added the bit of left over felt ribbon, and a couple of stars punched out from glitter paper and a few little gems as accent. 

How satisfying - all those stickers are now used up, as is most of that Basic Grey paper. 

Supplies:
Rusty Pickle "Grinch-mas" Stickers was the common elements in all these cards. 
Papermania felt ribbon
Basic Grey Eskimo Kisses "Powdered Sugar"