Leaving things behind!

Well my bags are packed and the car loaded - all ready for my trip away for a few days.
I'm heading off to spend a couple of nights with one of my scrappy friends before I make my way to Olympia - once I'm done there I will be whizzing up North to go see my Mom as she is undergoing surgery on Saturday.
I'm looking forward to seeing Mom and my Sisters - I just don't get to see them as much as I would like due to the distance between us....a distance which will soon be growing even further.
My Mom has decided to up sticks and move on. Its been a hard decision for her to make - selling off the family home of 40+ years - a place where the feeling of my dear old Dad still lingers - where the silly little reminders of him remain - but move she must and with her move we have to learn to let go.
The memories of a happy childhood spent there will always be with me - but it sure does feel strange knowing that this will be my last trip "home".

Hubs is being left in charge of the guys whilst I'm away - J isn't having such a good time at the moment and I wasn't sure if I should go away or not :( Having talked things through with Hubs we decided that the break away from home might do me some good....not that I will get chance to rest!

J is hard work at the best of times - his struggles with life do tend to become a lil draining at times - not that I mind - I'm his Mom and I deal with it in the most positive way I can.....Lordy if I focused on the negative issues which surround us on a daily basis I think I would have cracked a long time ago!
Day in day out I have to do things that most parents wouldn't even dream about - my boy is 12 but on his best days, functions as a 5 year old - it breaks my heart to see him sometimes - he looks like an other typical 12 year old - he is such a funny sweet boy - he is quirky - he sure is fun - BUT he doesn't even know the difference between night and day - which makes life interesting when he wakes at 3am and believes its time for school!

It amazes me that J can do so many things and yet cant cross the road safely on his own. Knowing your child will never grow to lead an independent life as an adult sucks!
Both Hubs and I have rebelled against those in the know - they told us J would never talk properly- ha - we proved them wrong and are now blessed with a little chatterbox! We are both 100% committed to making sure J gets all he needs to go on in life the best he can.....but sometimes that 100% drains just a little too much.
With battles continuing at school re the lack of differentiation I need to renew and refresh myself before I can continue the fight....I need to clear my head and find my inner strength to fight harder than I have ever fought before.....it shouldn't be this way - but it is - and not just for me - for hundreds if not thousands of families across the UK who have kids with special needs *sigh* I better put my soapbox away!

Me going away makes not difference to J at all - most children with ASD don't form attachments like any other child would - J sees me as an ends to his needs and so long as someone is there to feed and clothe him he doesn't care - that hurts - especially when all I want in life is for my boy to come and give me a cuddle just because.

So this week away is for me - a time to catch up on me being me - a time when I am not a human machine who spends her days teaching her son that 2 +2 isn't 22 or that when I say its raining cats and dogs, I don't actually mean that cats are falling from the sky!
This week I get to spend some time with my friends, my Mom, my Sisters and adorable nephews as well as spending some time helping a friend at Olympia.
It is also a time when I get to say goodbye to a place I have called home for almost 40 years.....a time to leave things behind and focus on the new.

Have a good week.
Enjoy.
Be happy.

T.x.x.x

Time!

Time is such a precious thing - taking time to do the fun things in life has always been my priority. Its far too easy to get wrapped up in this and that and before you know it the day has vanished into a black hole.
Ive been racing against the clock all weekend and finally manged to get everything completed that I needed to before I set off for a week away :D
I gave in and decided that a couple of things would just have to wait til my return and opted to head out with the guys for a bite to eat.
Watching the guys, as young men out and about, made me realise that these snatched moments of quality family time are fast disappearing. They have their own ever growing circle of friends and don't seem to be home as much these days....my babies are starting to fly the coop!
The popcorn is popped, the fire lit and Hubs has the DVD set to go - a night in front of the box chilling out is just what I need after a rather hectic weekend of planning, sorting and scrapping.

I'll sign off with a few sneaky peeps of my Bad Girls projects using the delish April kit





and my Pencil Lines LO for this week, which features one lil man who fills my heart with glee.

The bright and funky papers from Daisy D's are just simply divine!
I love them - LOTS!


T.x.x.x

Dreamie!

My walk on the beach cleared the cobwebs away and I'm feeling a lot brighter thanks to giving in and seeing my Doc - I hate taking antib's but sometimes you just have to to get rid of the nasties that wont go away on their own.

Our Easter weekend started off with the guys having a huge sleepover last night and the house was a real hive of activity. Loads of teen age boys just hanging out - some in the den playing Xbox - some in the lounge hogging the Tv and playing on the Wii....some chilling out watching DVD's - I escaped to my scraproom and left them all to it with Hubs on popcorn duty!
There were plenty of sleepy heads here this morning because the last one feel asleep at around 3am! They have all absconded and have descended upon my friend, where there will be a repeat performance for them all tonight! She said its like having a swarm of locus suddenly appearing! Tell me about it - what is it with teen age boys and junk food???


With no guys here tonight Hubs and I are going to treat ourselves to a night out.. I'm looking forward to putting my glad rags on - a bit of lippy and hitting the local pub!!

Here's a couple of snippets from LO's I created for ScrapGenie.


If you want to see them in full then take a trip over to ScrapDreamie, where you will also find details of the DT call!
The Team are looking for more talented scrappers to add to our bunch of busy bees- go on - submit - we want to see your creations.
I'm all for encouraging new faces - so please don't be put off applying - all details can be found here.
Not only do we have the DT call running - we also have Sarah's challenge - along with a RAK up for grabs.
GO FOR IT! - you know you want to!

I have a heavy date this afternoon with my Bad Girls Kit - *slurp* - its simply delish!
Happy Easter all.

T.x.x.x.x

Motion!

Whats that saying???

Whilst the cats away.....the mice will play???

and play they did!

Whilst I was indulging in a little "me" time at the retreat over the weekend, Hubs took the guys and their mates to Motion Skate Park, Bristol.

Its a good job I wasn't there to see for myself just what they got up to....I'm sure I would have had heart failure!

Poor Bobs is nursing some HUGE bruises and J has no skin left on his knees - but they want to head up there again this weekend so they can both show me how they can 360 tail whip into the foam pit! Yikes!!!!

They are both so passionate about Skatin, Scootin and BMXin - I just wish there were better facilities closer to home.

With BMXin now part of the 2012 Olympics, Hubs and some of his surfer dudey type pals have got together and formed a local BMX club - they have secured a piece of land and now have to battle against those "that be" to get planning permission granted for a change of use!

Red bloomin tape annoys the pants off me!

All the guys in our area need is a safe place in a field to ride their bikes - it keeps them off the streets and who knows maybe one of the local lads just might make it to the Olympic team.

Ive been busy scrapping but can only share sneakies at the moment - playing with new releases from Ki, Crate and Daisy D's has brought some colour in to my world which is feeling a little dark at the moment*sigh*

Way back I was invited to go teach at Olympia and as much as I would have loved to have been there working alongside Shimelle and Jane, I had to make a decision yesterday not to attend:(

I hate letting people down but I'm fiercely loyal to those I care about - thankfully the gals were Ok with everything and I still get to go to Olympia and will be sure to pop over and share a Krispy Kreme with Jane!

This bloomin cold is still lingering - I think I will take me off for a nice long walk on the beach - I need to get some fresh air and blow those cobwebs out!

Have fun.....bee happy.

T.x.x.x

A trip!

Fantastic!

That's the only word I can use to describe the weekend.

Fantastic company, fantastic classes, fantastic hotel, fantastic food all put together by the fantastic ladies from A Trip Down Memory Lane.

It was such good fun to meet up with so many of my scrapping buddies and share time having fun and making a creative mess together.

With so much natter going on I wasn't quite as productive as I had hoped I would be - unlike my wibbly wobbly friends Ann and Alison, who both whizzed up over 10 stunning projects each!

The drive across the UK was long but worth it - just to spend time with all the lovelies who were there.....I need to say a huge thanks to my sunflowery friend for letting me share a ride with her - thanks Ali - you are a gem.x.x.x.x

I taught a lil make and take class using papers from Piggy Tales and everyone seemed to enjoy the mini class - I just love sharing ideas and watching people put together their own interpretation.

I'm feeling totally inspired, rested and fired up to create - which is a good thing as Mr Parcel Force chappie has just delivered my Bad Girls April kit - OMGoodness its jaw droppingly out of this world - crammed packed with oddles of product fresh from the good ol US of A - its blinging amazin!

The bright and funky colours in the kit are a total contrast to the LO I created for Sundays Pencil Lines Sketch!

I used papers from Cherry Arte which I happened to find buried under a pile of papers set aside for use one day!

J was in a foul mood when I took his photograph - the old pre-teen hormones are starting to kick in and he flits from a happy smiley sunshine chappy to a grunting devilish monster at the drop of a hat *sigh*

These pre-teen mood swings really do suck at times!

Yikes! - my "baby" is growing and developing a 'tude - heaven help us!!!!!!!!!

T.x.x.x

Seven!

Well we survived the storms that battered the South West!
What with high winds, 30ft waves, floods and hail stones the size of ten pence pieces its sure been a stormy week!
All is calm now and the sun poked its head from the clouds to shine for a fair few hours yesterday afternoon. :)



Poor Bobs isn't a happy chappy - has been taking his SATs mocks this week which has meant there has been plenty of revision taking place - he hates revision - his attitude is he either knows it or he doesn't! He cant quite grasp the need to sit reading through his notes to refresh his memory! Poor thing would have rather been out skatin yesterday after school instead of revising - but needs must eh?
Ive been busy scrapping the days away and was mighty pleased to discover I had made The Cat Walk over on SiStv this week :) Ummmm - that makes 7 times now :D


I've been playing with Piggy Tales product - some I cant share just yet - but these I can.....

I really enjoy using the Slide Books from Piggy Tales - more info and images of this project can be found over on the ScrapDreamie blog :)

I used Baa Baa Black Sheep papers, alphas and ribbons along with a Piggy Tales Sliding Door to create this lil door hanger for my scraproom - it is supposed to indicate to the guys as and when I am free to be disturbed - but it doesn't work! They still invade my room to come chat and sometimes create!

And finally here is a sneaky peep of my layout for this weeks Pencil Lines Sketch

I need to go pack my bags as I'm off scrapping for the weekend and will be meeting up with some of my favourite scrapping buddies for a weekend of fun and frolics.

Don't forget to take a peep at the ScrapDreamie blog - there's a RAK up for grabs and we have a VIP making their debut on the blog today!

Have fun.
Bee Happy.
T.x.x.

Birthday Boy is TwelveTeen!

We have been celebrating today as its J's birthday :)

I can hardly believe he is 12 already - where did the years go eh?

He hasn't been feeling too well these past few days and so his Birthday treat was cancelled until next weekend.....TBH I was kinda glad because this cold has really knocked us all for six and I wasn't really feeling up to spending 8 hours sat in a cold warehouse watching the guys skate all day!

J's buddie came to spend the weekend with us and we have indulged in plenty of sofa time watching a string of movies whilst munching on popcorn and giving the old Wii a good old bashing!

In need of some fresh air J decided he would like to go and test out his new skate gloves down at the local skate park and then we headed out for lunch :)

Its been a lovely day - one filled with plenty of cuddles, giggles and cake!

I'm so excited!

Corinne Delis is this weeks Pencil Lines GDT and Ive been waiting for what feels like forever to see her LO....she is soo talented and I just adore her work and loved her sketch this week.

I used some new funky papers from Cosmo Crickets Get Happy and Cosmog collections to create my page.

The alphas are a mix of Daisy D's and Lil Davis - some Love Elsie and Cherry Arte Rubons plus buttons from Autumn Leaves Foof-a-la range.

J was having a little TLC moment with me on Friday night, when he told me - ever so matter of factly - that he was no longer young - especially as he was almost twelve teen - bless him - he wants to grow up so quickly and be "old" just like Bobs!

Don't forget to Buzz over and check out The ScrapDreamie blog tomorrow to see the first of many new projects created by the ScrapGenie DT......we have received so many wonderful and supportive emails from right across the globe since its launch on Friday - thank you to those who took time to wish us all luck with our new venture.....you still have time to leave a comment over on the blog to stand a chance of being the first lucky scrapper to win a super duper Dreamie RAK.

Have fun....BEE happy.

T.x.x.x

There's been a BUZZ in the air!

Did you hear it?
That BUZZ about Town??

Come take a look HERE - but watch out because you may get stung by the creative bug!



Have fun - BEE happy - BEE creative - and I hope you BEE inspired.

T.x.x.x

Hey!

Its been a funny few days - peculiar funny and not funny ha! ha! - although there have been moments when I have stopped and taken a few seconds to have a little giggle to myself - after all laughter is the best medicine eh?

I'm desperately trying to get rid of this 'orrible cold - one day its ebbing away and then the next *Wham* - it hits me again! My throat has really suffered over the past 24 hours - I'm not sure if its because of all the talking Ive been doing or because of this cold - but tonight I'm doing a brilliant Bonnie Tyler impersonation - not that Hubs minds ;) I suppose I could always get myself a temporary job - 0898 anyone? LOL!

Not a lot to report - Ive been busy scrapping - not that I can share anything as they are all projects for assignments for Piggy Tales and Pencil Lines. - and I have spent far too long on the phone this week chasing up pieces of paper in connection to J's schooling issues!

I hate automated services - whatever happened to the good old operator - Good grief - I sound like my mother!!!! - is this a sign of middle agedum finally catching me up I wonder??????

I finally bagged me a copy of SI and spotted my LO in there :)

I made this LO last Summer using the ever so scrumptious papers from the first SIStv kit that I purchased - TBH I was scared to death to cut into any of the PP's because I loved them all. It was also my first experince of using Hambly on a LO - I was pretty freaked out by the stuff but hey we all have to start somewhere right?

When the mag contacted me to ask if I could send in my fav LO and give a reason why I loved it so - I didnt hesitate in my choice - I guess this LO is my fav for so many different reasons - first off I loved the day I spent with my friends and their daughter, Grace - and secondly - I loved the papers and the fact that this is possibly one of the first LO's I created where I didnt use papers and embellies all from the same manufacturer.

Creating this LO was a light bulb moment when I realised for myself that actually I can do what ever I want when scrapping and I dont have to be tied to using matching this and that just because the manus want us to!

I'll leave you with my LO for this weeks Pencil Lines Sketch.

The PP's are KI Memories mixed with a lil lace cardstock and some ever so lovely Rusty Pickle trims - the photos are of Anna's two little misses - what fun gals they are too - I could munch them right up!

T.x.x.x

Snoozie Sunday.

Happy Mothers Day!
After the excesses of my evening out last night I treated myself and indulged in a lil lie in!
I don't normally lie in as I'm an early bird and like to be up and about before the rest of the house stirs.
I like to spend some time on my own - drinking Tea and waking up the house - I open the windows and the stable doors to give the house a blast of fresh air - you cant beat fresh air first thing in the morning - it certainly sets me up for the day.

But not this morning - Oh No! - last night was such good fun but the fizzy falling down water got the better of me! We ate a beautiful meal which had been lovingly prepared for us by my friend and was entertained all evening by her hubby, who is quite possibly one of the funniest people I have ever met.
We have known this couple for 18 years now and have watched each others children go through the stages of toddlerdum to teens and then on to the big wide world of college, Uni and the workplace. As their kids are a few years older than ours, chatting with them certainly helps to prepare us for what lies just around the corner for our guys.
The night came to a close and we stumbled home just after midnight!

The guys left me to sleep in this morning but by 9am they were desperate to come and wake me with brekkie in bed :)

Whilst I had been out and about teaching at a crop yesterday, the guys had gone off shopping with Hubs, so they could buy me a couple of surprise gifts to open this morning -
Higgeldy Piggeldy and Promise to add to my collection are from J and Bobs

and Hubs and the guys also gave me a beautiful Troll bead necklace and bead.

We called over to visit Hubs Grandma and stayed for a while to natter with her before heading out to my favourite local restaurant for lunch......the best nut roast ever!

Feeling slightly stuffed and a lil weary we are going to snuggle down on the sofa and enjoy the DVD Bobs also bought for me - Alfie - gotta love ma a lil Jude on a snoozie Sunday afternoon.

I have a lil toot - a while back Anam contacted me to ask if I would mind contributing to an article she was compiling about Scrappers who had tattoos!
After what seems like forever the article has finally gone to print and my LO was one that was selected for inclusion into the magazine :)
This is my first publication outside of the UK and I'm pretty chuffed :)

The journaling on the page reads -

I have two tattoo's
Both are designs that have a deep personal meaning to me
I dress modestly and no one except my husband would even know I had them if I didn't tell
I did not have this tattoo to call attention to myself
I am offended by the term "tramp stamp"
I am no Tramp
I truly have them for myself
for my own personal reasons

I hate when people judge others - no one has the right to do that to another - especially when the judgement is committed with ignorance.

Have a wonderful Mothers Day.....I'm off to bag the best spot on the sofa and enjoy an afternoon with Jude (swoooooon).

T.x.x.x

OMGoodness! This month Bad Girls Kit has just gone live and 30 seconds later - puff its gone - all sold out!

You really must go and take a peep at the creations made by the 3 newest DT members who have joined Ania, Iris, Cari, Sri and I - their work is totally amazing!

I love the quirkiness of the Daisy D papers in the kit and was fortunate enough to snag me an extra set of the PP's whilst at Stitches - I have plans to use them for a secret project Ive been working on for a wee while now ;)

They are so fun and funky to work with and perfect for attacking with the scissors.

Here's one of my LO's which I made for Bobs and J's "Friendship Album" -



I'm off to teach a class today and then out tonight on the frazzle dazzle!

Its been a while since Hubs and I went out on a Saturday night without the guys following behind us - I'm really looking forward to a nice meal and great company minus the teenage squabbles - jeez my guys have been battling it out for the past 48 hours and I'm glad I'm off out for the day - its unusual for them to argue so its been a bit of a shock to the system - poor Hubs - Im sure he will be in need of a stiff drink tonight, after spending 10 hours playing referee! tee hee hee

Have a great day - be happy - enjoy.

T.x.x