yes..life is chaotic!!!

We are off tomorrow (6 am) to the Peaks for our camping holiday and yes the sun is going to shine! (I've decided!!!)

But before that today we had 10 children, 6 adults and a dog round for lunch!!!

Lucia managed to find a lovely squishy muddy puddle and got totally plastered up to her waist...her nice pink trousers were black!!! But thanks to good old persil and vanish they are now pink again!

So see you in a week!! enjoy the sunshine!

how many activities!!!!!

lets see today we have.....

* played Lego
*computer games
* made a yogurt exfoliater
* buckaroo
* made cakes
* tidied up (me)
* played playdoh
* tidied up (me)
* made an avocado face mask
* iced cakes
* more play doh
* made rose water eye masks
* more play doh
* enforced play in the garden (with doors shut so I had some peace!)
* spinning paintings
* blowing paint pictures
* babies
* repeat all beauty treatments
* more Lego
* oh and more tidying up for me...how fun!!

holidays are here eek!!!

Monday....I am trying to be positive about the holidays. I love them really but they can be quite exhausting epecially when it is RAINING!!!!
Ok so I decided that as we go on holiday next monday I would start the packing today! First job was to clear the car out...then it was entertaining the children while it bucketed down.
That was solved by putting up a beach shelter tent in the lounge and they played camping..lasted for ages and kept them all occupied.

Tuesday...IT WAS SUNNY!!! they all slept in and we had a slow start but while it was sunny went to the park....as you can guess it was heaving! Everyone had the same idea..but it got them out and exercised. We are also feeding Liz's cats..yesterday one of them decided it would be nice to bring in a half daed bird..thanks I really needed that!

Wednesday...more rain! I had made my mind up that if it rained we would get all togged up and go out in the rain and jump in puddles but it was that horrible rain which is fine, very wet and makes absoluteley no puddles. So we went to M&S for Phoebes uniform and then Tescos for the rest of it. We only made it through with the *incentive* of doughnuts. (found out it is not *bribing* bc bribing is giving someone a reward to make them do something against the law but an *incentive* is giving them a reward to get them to do something which they need to do...I like this!!!) We then visited Emma R for the afternoon..thankyou for letting us come...it was so lovely getting out of the house and..... you just rock!!!

don't you just love inspiration...

I was reading Phoebe her bedtime story and we had such fun looking at the illustrations. I have always like the *Charlie and Lola* books bc their illustrations are so quirky and funky. I love the way patterned paper is used and the mixture of collage and pen lines. I am going to try to do a Charlie and Lola inspire page ...and it has just got to be about Lucia. Also the stories are really funny!

Also noticed Basic Grey have got another new line coming out just revealed at CHA called *Periphery* oh so good ...their stuff just keeps on getting better.

little pickle....

what can I say .... as fast as I tidy up, sort out, put away, Lucia with her charming smile and blond hair comes and tips out, messes up, and generally destroys.

I have never known a child quite like her (although she does remind me of Elisha) the only word to describe her is marauding. She wanders round and meddles with anything and everything she can find....So this week we have had

* a whole box of honey puffs tipped out on the floor

* turn the washing machine on with nothing in it

* tipped out a box of toys I was sorting twice

* taken the cushions off the sofa more times than I can count

* raided the pringles

* pulled all the heads off my geraniums

* thrown numerous things on the floor

* refused to eat dinner and thrown it on the floor

* escaped from her buggy with alarming speed

* poured water all over the kitchen floor

* eaten a whole box of jaffa cakes with Ewan

* thrown a soft dolly in a swimming pool

Say no more I think that is quite enough for you to get the picture!!!

I am getting quite worried about the holidays...she might just drive me a little crazy! Any ideas of what I can do?

Summer Inspiration...

Yes I am doing scrapbooking but I can't show any of it..yet. So just to give you something to look at why not check out Heidi Swapps new website. Its full of layout ideas and instructions of how to do things. Check it out and have fun playing. She also has this fab kit every month full of her products....and she has just has baby number 5 who is just adorable!!!

Angels...

I read this and knew I needed to pass it on. It is an auction of *angel art* in memory of a girl called Brianna. You can read her story here.

The angel auction is running for a week from July the 9th. All the art work has been donated by different artists.

telling the stories....
I have been doing this album for some friends of mine to celebrate their 20th Wedding Anniversary. The only thing is... I can't show any of the layouts online in case they see them.

One layout I did do was called "In the Beginning" or it could be called "The First..." This one has a photo of them when they were first together and tells the stories of...the first time they met, the first date, when they got engaged.

It was such fun that I am going to do one about me and Colin and then my parent and Colin's parents.

These are the stories we should be preserving, the *bread and butter* relationship stories about our families, stories which make you smile and laugh.

I have been wanting to record things about my family tree but it has seemed too much and I have not known where to start.

This is a great place to start as it is easy and very specific. Why not have a go. See how many people in your family tree you can find these stories for and then....

*tell the story*

I would love to hear them....

Woo hoo!! Sunshine all day!!!

What did you do? We finally got a chance to put up Jamie's tent in the garden. He has been waiting since May. And have the first BBQ of the year (for us) we just thought make the most of the sun!

just love this...

was reading some other people's blogs yesterday and I came across this post about *idleness vs industrious* and just thought it was great. I have felt so tired that although I have wanted to create I have not had the energy....there is the answer I just need to be a little more idle.

So tonight I was! I sat down and watched TV without anything to do while I was watching (yes Liz I did!!)

I'm sure I could have done many more useful things or more interesting but I just needed to sit down with no agenda. And I feel better for it.

So my advice if you are too busy find some idle time!

Love this picture of Jamie taken at Virginia Waters (no! not taken this month as you will notice he is not in waterproofs!!!)

rain, rain go away....

is it just me or is anyone else just a little tired of all the rain?

I had to take one of our cars for an MOT today which meant walking everywhere (got my exercise today!!) I was hot then cold, coat on coat off, brilliant sunshine....chucking it down with rain. We (me and the children) went to the park after Phoebe's ballet as it was earlier today.

There was blue sky and bright sunshine...thay had so much fun and then suddenly the clouds came over and it tipped it down. We walked home in the rain, which was quite fun as it was warm! But just so unpredictable.

I wish I had had my camera as Lucia was prancing around the playground in a spotty tutu and pink sparkly wellies!! I must get a photo of that!!

So what have you all been doing I haven't heard from anyone...anyone been away somewhere nice? or going somewhere on holiday? let me know!