We got our keys!

Finally after much stress and loads of issues that I could not even be bothered to blog about, today I opened our front door and let myself in! (and the tile delivery to) Ikea are delivering this evening and Richard wil be there to greet them - think he might hyperventilate when he sees just how much I bought! (13 pallets + sofas in a separate delivery!) I'm out to dinner tonight to celebrate the end of term with the staff from school, plays were today and were fantastic!!! (even if I do say so myself) J5 stolethe show with their self written play "the R factor"

More soon and pics I promise!!!

I'm Still Alive!

Haven't posted in so long thought I'd better start somewhere. We still haven't moved into our new house - fingers crossed we will be in in about 5 weeks! After 6 weeks living in Richards parents house (with a week in Sicily in between) we moved into a short term rental now just 3 mins walk from work. (and yes you can read between the lines there~!)
Kids are totally settled in school now and Matthew has started french horn lessons as well so I'm on the road most afternoons with both of them but they are loving it.
Richard bought me a gorgeous new macbook last thursday so I could get properly back online so I am having loads of fun setting it up and playing around with all the new programs - I have remembered why I alwasy loved Macs - so so easy to use! Thankfully we have wireless here in the apartment so as I type the kids are in their bedroom watching a dvd, richard is studying in the living room and I'm sitting at the kitchen table with a cuppa! Chill out time!!!
I have so many photos to share but haven't got them on this machine yet, loads from Sicily and Ronan and Aoifes wedding - which was without doubt the best wedding I've been at barring my own. Some of the photos are on my facebook if you fancy a look.
Crafting wise I haven't done that much at all recently with most of my stuff being in storage but I have been going to Loras every tuesday night and getting to scrap at least once a week, I even started some christmas cards :-O
Anyway am going to get back to setting this baby up (my mac book really deserves a name - answers on a postcard please!) and I'll share all my photos as soon as I get the loaded up!

OH and A BIG TOOT TOOT to the best young scrapper in Ireland - Bronwen Howley who appears in this months Scrpabook Inspirations - remember her name you will only see more of it, If I only had her talent.......................

the destructive power of a 3 year old in 5 mins

I just had a call from a moving company to give a quote and showed him round our tidied up for the occassion house. We came downstairs for him to calculate the quote and left Abbie washing her hands in the bathroom, she arrived downstairs five minutes later, nacked apart from a coating of white paste all over her body and I ran upstairs to see what she had got at to see this sight!

Its amazing how muchmess half a tub of johnsons baby powder can make - this photo was takn with my phone and doesn't show the trail of white footprints left all over the house!

I suppose I should be greatful that its just a mess and not another trip to A+E! Still I could strangle her sometimes!

What a week!

Where to start? Well Richard left last Sunday week at 3.30 am to go to the states and I was all set up for loads of treats for the kids for the week. On Monday we went to see Surfs up in mahon point which Abbie loved and was asking for surfing lessons on the way home, loads of popcorn and even some Hagen daas were consumed in the cinema! Tuesday we headed for Killarney to see the west end touring production of Annie, which was fantastic. On the way there Matthew said that he thought that he mightn't enjoy Annie as much as Fame or Mamma Mia but 20 mins into the show both him and Abbie were singing tomorrow at the tops of their voices and Matthew was trying to work out how many good parts for males were in the show. At the moment his ambition is to get a part in a west end musical - Oliver would be his number one choice followed by Chitty Chitty Bang bang and when he is older he wants to be Joseph in Joseph and his amazing Technicolor dreamcoat. Abbie has decided that she is now an orphan just like Annie and has taken to sitting on the laundry basket in the bay window upstairs looking mournful and singing Maybe!
We arrived home from Annie after midnight on Tuesday and we were chilling out at home pottering around on Wednesday when I went into Abbie’s room to tidy up and found her with a bottle of Zirtec that had been full (only 2.5mills gone) now almost empty, She looked very guilty and admitted to drinking it. Panic set in and my heart was going at 90 miles an hour, I grabbed the phone and rang the GP - engaged, rang Tracy who immediately rang her father (a gp) on the other line and he advised that we get to A+E ASAP. Tracy and Conor headed straight there from there house and I drove with the smallest regard for speed limits directly to A+E - all the while talking to Abbie to keep her awake - in the meantime Conor and Tracy had arrived at the hospital and were waiting at the door of A+E so I could jump out of the car and Conor would park it and Tracy had also phoned her sister (a hospital doctor) to let her know so she had let A+E know. Abbie was seen instantly when we arrived and after a few doctors consulted and a call to the poison clinic in Dublin they decided as she was awake and in fact Hyper at this stage that the best thing would be to leave her be under close observation. Looking back at it now Abbie was very entertaining as she used the curtains around her bed as stage curtains and kept closing them and shouting "LADIES AND BENTLEBENS isssss ABBIE" she was totally hyperactive and also very wobbly - she appeared as if she had downed a good few bottles of vino but over the next few hours she started to calm down and return to herself - she even managed to flirt with the lovely aussie doctor. Conor had taken Matthew back to their house to watch TV and chill and Tracy stayed with me the whole time and kept me in one piece. The whole time we were there I was beating myself up for (as I thought) not putting the cap back properly on the Zirtec bottle and when I mentioned this to the doctor he handed Abbie the bottle (closed) and she opened it in about 5 seconds flat - childproof lock and all!
Thankfully Abbie is fine now and there are no after effects other than to my grey hair count.
On Thursday we headed to Dublin to get Abbies shoes for Ronan and Aoife’s wedding and after finding the perfect pair in Mothercare Ronan treated us to dinner in Cactus Jacks – Thanks again! And also put Abbie to bed for me when we got back to their house. Both kids love visiting Ronan and Aoife’s and were very upset when we headed home. I can’t believe that their wedding is getting so close – just over five weeks away now with a stag and hen party to fit in between now and then.
Richard arrived home from the states (via a night in galway) on Saturday evening and while he didn’t have much free time there he did manage to buy the kids some clothes and toys (including a talking my little pony for Abbie which is a HUGE hit!) and he managed to buy me a perfect fit pair of jeans and some tops and a Huge bundle of craft mags. We all chilled out on Sunday and had a long walk on the beach in the evening as all the crowds were leaving.

Today I spent chasing my tail over the kitchen in the new house and it is very nearly sorted now and Matthew has gone off to Dublin with his granddad for a few days to visit his great granny so the house is fairly quiet. I took some great photos of the kids last week and managed to leave my camera charger in Dublin plugged in along with my phone charger in Ronan and Aoife’s spare room so no camera until they come down at the weekend.
I’m off to lismore tomorrow evening to Lora’s crop for some much needed crafting time – I haven’t so much as stroked a piece of paper in the last three weeks!

AAAAARRRRRRRGGGGGHHHHHHH

Just having one of those days, everything is getting on top of me today and I am taking EVERYTHING personally! Do you ever hear something and wonder if it is a direct dig at you? but if you ask you will be the person causing the argument rather than the other way round?

I need to go and get me a life!

Update!

Once again it’s been an age since my last post! Things are really moving on with the house move now and our living room is filling up slowly with cardboard boxes and we have a big planning chart on the wall in the kitchen to help keep us (read me!) motivated!(thanks Richard!;-) )As it turns out the next few weeks are probably the busiest few weeks we have had all year even without the house move but isn’t that always the way. Matthew has the National Optimist sailing championships starting on Wednesday until saturday Richard is off to the states for a conference on Sunday for a week and has to go to Galway for another work thing the following weekend so will end up going direct from Shannon to Galway. We then have one week when he gets home before I am back to work, Abbie starts preschool and Matthew starts in his new school too – so much change. We are back on the 3rd of September and moving out of this house on the 7th (to live with Richards Parents for a while!)! Then the weekend of the 7th is my brother’s stag party and the following weekend is Aoife’s hen, we are off to Sicily on the 19th for Richards Dad’s 60th and then Ronan and Aoife get married on October 5th! – I just want to go to bed even after typing all of that and even after all that we still won’t have moved in to the new house yet.
I was down at the site last Friday and got to have a peek inside and came away reassured that it will all be worthwhile! Here’s a peak at the outside view of the house – it’s the second house from the left in the photo


and if you take about four steps back from where this photo was taken and turn slightly to the right here is the gorgeous walkway that will eventually link up with the crosshaven railway line walk

I can already picture many photos of the kids here for LO’s!

I have done NO crafting at all in the last while – and I even missed Lora’s scrapaholic class last Sunday – Richard and I had three days away on our own at a wedding just outside Newry which was lovely but Abbie really missed me lots and played up loads when we got back which ment I couldn’t leave her again on Sunday – funny how Daddies can go away for nights and just get loads of hugs when they get back but when mummies go they pay big time!!! Even though it is nice to know I was missed!

We took Abbie for her first proper sail last week as it was a gorgeous day and no sooner had we got out near Roches Point than Thunder and Lighting started and we had to abandon sail! I did manage one photo though as we headed for home!

Just a quick one

Up the walls here but just had to pop in and say


We sold our house!!!!

Well accepted an offer and the paperwork is being sorted as I type!!

Will update with more later and reply to all emails and pm's that I have neglected in the last few days!!!

Busy Busy Busy

Where is the summer going? I can't believe that we are almost at the end of July and we have had so little beach time. Matthew is sailing all day every day though and loving it-I realised just how much he was loving it when he chose to go for a sail on saturday in the pouring rain AND left his harry potter book behind for a few hours. I don't think that he has had a conversation with anyone other than his sailing buddies since friday - he is coming home every day at around 6 shattered tired and starving and as soon as he is fed he takes off to his room with the book - I haven't even heard anything about the book yet!
Abbie is missing Matthew lots too and throws herself at him for a big hug (much to his embarrassment) when we collect him every day. She did have a great day out in fota last week though with Ruth and her two gorgeous kids Tom and Anna and we have a few playdates lined up this week too.
The house is still on the market but there were some more viewings yesterday so fingers crossed that we get an offer soon.

I have loads of photos to upload but I have to replace the USB cable for my camera this afternoon so will hopefully get at them tomorrow!

Oh and Lora – I updated!!!!! Lol!!!

I'm gonna Live forever!

The song that Abbie is playing on loop since we saw Fame at the INEC in Killarney last saturday, in fact last weekend was a real 80's weekend with Duran Duran in the marquee on friday night and Fame on saturday, Abbie has her own words though - "I'm gonna live forever, I don't know how to fly FAME, I'm gonna be a big brother, baby remember my name!" no ammount of convincing will persuade her that these are not what is being sung on her CD!
We had three viewings for the house yesterday so fingers crossed we get an offer asap - I can't cope withmuch more tidying up for viewings.
I was at the Crop in the craft mills last night and managed to not only get there on time but also complete a whole LO - must photograph it later to post up, I managed to come home with some twinkling H2o's and fairie glitter as well as the stamp of the month which is a fantastic box stamp - having fun playing with them this afternoon! Lora has started a blog too so check it out here.
Better go and check out what Abbie is upto - the music has stopped and she is being suspiciously quiet - can't be a good sign!

xxx

Half my stash is gone!!!!

But only up the road, the auctioneer is coming in the morning to photograph the house for the brochure and I have had to pack half my stash off to Richard's parents house for a little holiday! As I was packing I spotted the tiggeroo drive up and Janet, Bronwyn and Issac arrived with my CD from Kirsty. (thank you so much Tigger!) Unfortunately one of the photos on the CD is corrupted so I have to email Kirsty about that but her is a peak at some - I have converted them to B+W as I was very tired on the day so it looks much better like this!
No other news really, just busy with end of year stuff in school and cleaning the house! Am going to a gig tonight with Tracy so might even have a few drinks!

DIY and Cleaning

The title says it all - thats all I've been doing for the last week. The house is now looking so good we almost don't want to move! (well not really! lol) We had an auctioneer come round today and we have decided that the sign will go up on monday week (after the election!) so hopefully the politicians will have sorted out the stamp duty issues by then! On the plus side though wehada sneak peek at our new house on friday last and OMG it is gorgeous! The space and light are just fantastic and I am full of ideas! As for the view from the top floor -well its not the sea - but it is fantastic - 100 year old trees and horses grazing in green fields. The house is ahead of schedule so it looks like we will get in in september at the moment!

Crafting wise I ahven't been doing anything at all other than sorting all my stash - I have to send some on holidays to richards parents house so have to decide what goes and what can stay and still have the living room clear for viewings - I can see myself taking lots of trips up to blackrock to retreive some esential item! I must make Abbie's birthday invites though before I pack it away - I can't believe that she will be three in less than two weeks - where is my baby going? I took loads of photos of her in the last few days but I can't get my camera and pc to talk (once again) so will have to upload later - Richard is going to buy me a laptop for my birthday so hopefully that will be more cooperative! I might even manage to wangle it as an early present!

I was sorting through Abbie's birthday photos from last year and I found this photo that I love but haven't scrapped yet taken in fota last year - Abbie(wearing the flowers) is holding Richard's hand and Paul (Emily's dad) has Ciara by the hand with Emily being Miss independant in the middle!

Daddy's girls!

I'm still alive!

Its been so long since I last updated here I almost don't know where to start! - Grab a coffee this could be long! ;-)
Crafteire seems like an age ago now and it was a blast. I managed to do nine classes (yes I am mad) over the two days and managed a LO and a flag book in the cropping room too! One of the classes just didn't do it for me at all but the rest were all fantastic! I LOVED Jane Deans travel journal class, in fact both of her classes were fab, managed to complete two gorgeous LO's in Ambers classes (yummy cherry arte papers!), Beckies Basic grey class turned into a gorgeous birthday card/pressie for Tracy and I have yet to capture a suitable photo of Richard for her metal class but I will! Kirstys classes were packed full and could have done with more time but I managed to complete the bones of both classes and now just have to finish them, I loved what she did with the glossy accents on acetate - will def use that again!
I had the BEST roommates too - thanks girls - even if they did snore! lol!

Since I got back things have been manic with both school and the house and it all got on topof me last wednesday evening and I fainted on the kitchen floor! Ended up inbed witha temp of 103 and was rambling and then noticed that I had developed another coldsore on my eye so had to visit the eye clinic on friday! Have to go back for a follow up visit tomorrow but I think the drugs have worked as my face is almost back to normal now!

I took Abbie to Disney princess on ice last weekend and she loved it so much that she almost stopped breathing - seriously at one point in the show all she could do was point at the ice rink and shake while holding her breath i ended up having to blow into her face to get her to breath so we didn't have to leave, when it was all over we were walking back to the car and she jumped into my arms and gave me the biggest hug and said "My Best Mummy Ever" - my heart just melted! We are off to see high school musical in the everyman this week so I wonder if she will have the same reaction - I currently am in possession of 72 tickets for the show - thekids in school went mad for it when I organised a group rate - I expected that about 20/30 max would go (bearing in mind that there are less than 150 in the entire school) should be a fun evening! I'll probably be singing the songs all weekend afterwards!

Beckie droped over the kids today - she and Ali are here packing up the last of htheir belongings - much to Abbies delight, Matthew was being a bit teenagery (is that a word??) at first and went off to the boat with Richard while I crafted with the girls but had a ball with Beth later on!!!
Beckie and Ali came over for a yummy chinese when they collected the girls and we had a great chilled out evening, Richard and Ali were chatting away like long lost buddies within seconds of meeting leaving Beckie and I to talk craft and the kids to play away - we did all have a laugh when Matthew dashed pastus at one point quicklyfollowed by Beth saying I'm trying to catch him to kiss him! Matthew and Beth also managed a dinner for two at the coffee table while the rest of us were around the kitchen table!

We decorated bags today and Beth and Eilidh made gorgeous bright bags, Abbie insisted on only orange flowers for hers! Here is a peak at the girls work, Beckie got some great photos of the girls modeling their creations which I'm sure she will upload when she gets back to the highlands!



Haven't had much time (or energy) at all for scrapping lately but hopefully might get some time during the week, the next lot of Design collective classes arrived last week and are fab - I really love the giant pegs! Must get me some!

Have also paid my deposit for Lipstick 2008 so better start saving now - it is expensive but not when you look at what you are getting - 5* hotel with all meals included and 18 classes and 6 extra kits! - that what I'm telling myself anyway!

Better hit the sack here, Matthew is going to be calling me bright and early in the morning as he is off on his school tour to Oysterhaven!

Back to school in the morning

Can't believe that the holiday has gone by so fast, thanks to the great weather the kids spent most of the time outdoors and they have healthy glows in their cheeks going back to "real life" tomorrow!
I had a busy but fun week last week too, contracts for the house have gone to our solicitor to be reviewed and hopefully will be signed asap so their was allot of sorting out there. Our own house is being painted and decluttered too and we loaded all the boxes into the attic today and our bins are full too! This term is going to be a busy one for me in school - in Rockboro we have two piano concerts (half the students in each), an open day, piano exams, feis performances and hopefully a trip to the theatre to fit in in the next eight weeks as well as communion and confirmations to celebrate (and teach music for too!). In Pres We will have a performance for the parents to showcase what we have worked on since January too! Matthew and Abbie will be performing in the everyman palace theatre at the end of may in the CADA end of year show - can't wait to see Abbie's reaction to being on stage - she will love it, Matthew is an old hand at this stage lark now! Matthew also has a feis and a karate grading coming up too so it will be busy for him!

I did a scrappy party on Saturday with Sarah who had booked me for it last September and was so so excited! We did canvases using the scrummy Basic grey Gypsy papers and some Huge Heidi swapp blooms and the girls did a fantastic job - they were working so hard all afternoon and their wasn't a sound in the room other than - "can you pass me the circle cutter" and oohs and aahs over each others work - some of them used their left over papers to make a bag too that was inspired by the bag template I found HERE (challenge three) but I have adapted it a bit to make it slightly smaller and without the insert bit too - one of the girls has the bag as well as her canvas in this photo - check out Karyn and Kerri's work these two girls were the youngest at the party at only 7 and 9 and worked so hard! . Here are the next generation of scrappers!!! By the end of the party they were using words such as "brad" "eyelet" "cropadile" and "Layout" like seasoned scrappers!




Only five more sleeps to crafteire - I'm getting really excited now - must sort out my photos tomorrow evening, am doing classes with Beckie (my roommate for the weekend too!), Jane Amber, Kirsty, and Annamarie as well as meeting up with all my favourite crafters - I can't wait!!!

Belated Happy Easter!

The weather for the weekend was fantastic and we spent loads of time in the garden. Mum, Dad and Ronan came over for lunch on Sunday and the kids had great fun with Dad in the garden racing on the hoppers. Ronan took loads of great pics too -really love his camera!!

Just some here to show, will post more later!

Abbie's novel way of climbing on her hopper!


The race in progress


its a close call!



We also took Mum, Dad and Ronan to see the house, well the site really and they were impressed! The house is looking on to an equestrian centre and Matthew decided that when we move he might take up horse riding - just to add to his already huge list of activities and he has already applied to take up the French Horn next September!

I spent all day today sorting through all my stash into stuff that can be packed away until after we move (ie Christmas stuff mostly) and sorting my totes into as Richard put it Business and Pleasure! even managed to sort out my eyelets and brads into separate colours again! I can't wait to have my own space! Not to have to clear away all the time would be fantastic!

Am off to Lismore tomorrow for the day and going to meet Janet (aka Tigger) there with the kids and check out the craft shop too, Matthew is so excited because Benjamin is coming back with us to have a sleepover, we have made him do so many jobs for us over the weekend on the strength of this - we are such evil parents! LOL!!

Better hit the sack here as I'm sure Matthew will be calling me bright and early in the morning!

the decision has been made

Tomorrow we go and pay over the deposit, I'm getting a craft room! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


Oh and we are buying a house too! lol Can you tell which excites me more!
Here are the floor plans for the house and my craft room is the room on the first floor with the balcony - stupidly referred to as bedroom 1 by the developers - don't they realise that they would sell way more houses if they marketed them properly!

Will try and get photos tomorrow of the house as it is at the moment!

I think we have found our house!

Fingers crossed that by the end of the week we will have a deposit down on our new house! Don't want to post the link to it until it is all finalised but I am so excited!!! It is a new build and won't be finished until november and it is GORGEOUS - the craft room even has a balcony - so loads of light! Have phonecalls to make in the morning and a final viewing of the showhouse on wednesday but it looks like it will happen!

Watch this space!

My wonderful Bro!

I'm so so proud of my little brother today! (all 6ft 6 of him!) He is in second year in music college (just 19 years old!) and he has always been a high achiever!
I met him for pizza today and he told me that he has been accepted as a deputy on the European Youth Orchestra - considering that there is usually only one/two Irish members in the orchestra and it goes up to age 25 AND that he as a french horn player was competing for one of eight places this is a HUGE achievement! Most of the french horn players in the orchestra are finished their degrees and some even finished their masters! He also has been accepted as a deputy player for the National Symphony Orchestra of Ireland - a fully professional orchestra!AND as a member of the world symphonic wind orchestra who will be playing in Ireland (Killarney) next summer!
Big toot toot for Conor!!!

Now comes my dilemma, Conor is playing in a very big bursary competition in Dublin next week the night before a crop that I am running, if he wins this will really set his career off and I would love to be there to hear him play, so do I cancel the crop and go or stay and run the crop??? At the moment I am leaning towards cancelling but is that unfair on the other crafters?? I could drive back early on Saturday morning but that would mean leaving Dublin at 6am and being really stressed out trying to make it back! (also if Conor does well there might be celebrations!)

Might see if I could change the crop to Sunday, will check out if the hall is free then tomorrow!

Still haven’t got to my mothers day card, but am working on a LO using the left over Junkitz papers from the canvas! Waiting on paint to dry so probably won’t get to post it until tomorrow! Must take a better photo of the canvas then too – it is far more 3d than it appears in the current photo!

Off to watch paint dry and clean up some of my mess!!!

Canvas

Still haven't got to the mothers day card, got sidetracked by this canvas!!!

Lots of 3d paint going on in this!

Need to get a better pic of it later but wanted to see if i could manage to post a pic here!

First post!

Finally decided that I should go and get me a blog so now I have yet another addiction to eat into my crafting time! Have spent about the last 15 mins playing with the set up, just enough to realise that it will take me HOURS and I still won't be happy! lol!
Joined the design collective today and can't wait to get started on their classes, all that talent in the one spot, almost too good to be true. My aim is to try and do as many as possible while buying as little new stash as posible, we are trying to move house at the moment and the thought of moving all my stash is frightening so if I can reduce it somewhat over the next month or so it should make the move all the easier.
One of the essentials in the new house is going to be a craftroom, even Richard agrees - I suspect that the piles that gather all around the house get to him even more than he lets on at times, thankfully sailing gear can live on board the boat and in the shed otherwise we would be completely overrun! Abbie's craft piles are even starting to take over now, she has one in her bedroom next to her easel and another in the kitchen next to my desk - she really does take after me in that way, I even caught her the other day trying to "borrow" a 12x12 of some urban lily paper that I had given her a scrap of, she claimed that her offcut was too small!! LOL she really is starting young!
Off to try and make a mothers day card now for the pre class challenge on the design collective and might even get a start on some easter cards for the school fair too! I have a suspicion that I might get sidetracked though, I have had the idea for a canvas going round in my head for the last few days and might just get to try it out this evening,
Watch this space!!!