Party boy .....

Didn't make it to the markets. That would be because I didn't get up until the afternoon, and that would be because Samuel thought 1am to 3am was a really nice time to have a party last night. Little bugger. I tried 3 or 4 times to get him back to bed, but he was wide awake and stubborn, so in the end I decided to sit up until he tired. He didn't... instead he put his wellies on then played with anything he could find, intermittently coming up to me and giving me his best 'aren't I cute?' face. That will teach me for saying he is cute in the last post, LOL.

So.... we had a home day. Which was lovely and much needed. It seems like ages since I have had nothing planned to do for a day. I felt like scrapping so I scrapped. It was a lovely day.

My niece Beth is coming to stay Tuesday night. This is an old layout of Beth - easier than resizing a photo, LOL:

Then Wednesday morning she flies off to Costa Rica in South America for four weeks with a Uni trip. Seems like yesterday she was my flowergirl, now she's tripping around the world! My nieces and nephs rock.

It's going to be hot tomorrow. I don't do hot well. Lucky I have to sit in the airconditioning and work (is that lucky?).

Night lovelies, have a great week.

Claire and Co xx

Cute little bubba .....

Love this picture of Samuel and I. Rach (as in Leeke) took it this time last year. He's such a cute looking cuddly baby. The quote on the flower stems is that Sammy Davis Jnr one I love 'savour the moments which are warm and special and giggly'

The boys and Paul are still at the Lilydale show. I had to pike out early. Up late last night, gone for work at 7 this morning and straight to the show when I got home. Our friends are staying for a BBQ and we should have a good view of the fireworks from our front step (Josh isn't keen on the noise). It's all happening out here in the 'burbs. Lilydale Vegas I say...

Off to the scrummo farmers markets at Yering Station tomorrow. Berry season - yummmmmmmm.

Night lovelies xx

Healthy again ....

Touch wood we all seem to be relatively healthy again. Samuel has started to eat again and today has been back to his best ratbag behaviour. I tell you this one is going to turn me greyer than Josh ever did, I can just tell it by the glint in his eye! He cracks Rachel our nanny up because he has worked out how to flutter his eyelashes at her. Josh is loving being back in kinder and being kept busy with all the craft especially.

I am still flat out with my contract. One more week of writing to go and then the report and I will be finished Dec 8th. The person who was coordinating it for the paper fell ill so it got a bit messed up but apparently is going to run in the new year. It's been great exposure for me to new corporate customers, and I am getting lots of positive comments on the writing, so that's nice. The cruel irony is that with me working working nights writing about healthy family eating, our own family eating has gone a bit haywire!

Paul bought me home the new CSIRO cookbook - am loving the new recipes in this one. Yummmm. I am starting to get very inspired about food again living down here near lots of regional food producers. I didn't know until a few weeks ago that Yarra Valley produced so much of the states strawberries. I have a 2.5kg container of strawberry jam to prove it:

I have also been reading the new Foodies guide to Melbourne by Campion and Curtis and am planning a leisurely drive around all the local haunts very soon, starting with the Yering farmers markets this weekend. Big weekend down here in Lilydale as well as we have the Lilydale show. Woohoo. Love all this little town stuff and being able to walk down the road to it.

Just one layout - sort of hard to scrap while you are chucking.... This was a record of when Josh was sick a few days after he was born. That's his paediatrician holding him bottom left once he was all fixed and ready to go home. I still get chills when I remember them putting that IV line in.

Finally a pic from last week. I snapped this the night after the boys started chucking, it pretty much summed up how we all felt last week!

Night lovelies xx

Sad irony ....

Feeling so sad about the news of Belinda Emmett dying. So young and so in love. I can't imagine what her family are going through. Can't believe the irony that Kylie's comeback concert falls on the day she died as well. I hope they find a cure for this awful disease one day soon. Heaven has another angel. She was so beautiful, and so was their love story. In a world of terrorism and craziness, it's stuff like their love story that made people feel good about life.

I think I can finally say I am getting over my bug (seems so trivial to write that after my first paragraph). I thought I was going well on Friday and soldiered on to work only to have to turn around half way there and spend the next day and a half in bed. This afternoon was the first time I have eaten anything since Wednesday night (unless you count gastrolyte and lemonade icypoles). It's a very vicious gastro wog. I would hate to pass it on to any of my scrapbooking friends and their children, so I am staying home from my monthly crop at Scraptacular tomorrow. No-one needs this bug, trust me. Kimmy has promised to name one of the flowers on the wall Claire for the day, and Brooke has promised to put her phone on speaker phone for the day. Now if I could just get Jodie to pop over mid morning with a bowl of lollies and a truckload of supplies to oogle over, I would be a happy girl :)

That's all for now folks - can't believe the time, but then I have been in bed sleeping for three days. thanks goodness Paul was able to stay home.

Sleep well and be happy,

Claire xx

Exciting baby news ......

now that I have all your attention (LOL), I am going to be a great Aunty! My sister Kate's son Daniel and his partner Jamie are expecting their first baby. How cool. Daniel is such a big softie and a real little homebody and he will make a great Dad. So exciting to have a new baby to look forward to (and so exciting to be able to call Kate 'Granny Kate', LOL.

The less exciting news is that Samuel Josh and I have all had gastro this week. It was a very quick but vicious strain which resulted in me vomiting for 8 hours straight with hardly any sleep. In the end we called a locum doctor who was absolutely brilliant - drove to Lilydale in middle of night, great bedside manner, gave me an injection and set us up with medications and then just bulk billed us! I would take this over sitting in an emergency waiting room any day. The good news is he has assured me I will perfectly fine to go to Sensational Sunday at Scraptacular on Sunday without risk of passing it on now. yeah!

That's about all my news for the week, the highs and lows. Night lovelies,

Claire xx