MOVEMBER '07

Thought I would quickly post the results of MOVEMBER in our family....It's gone where all MO's go at last...Under the razorand down the sink!

FESTIVITIES..

And so begin the festivities of the season...Sanat visited us this year at the BDMBA picnic and the girls went 'butterfly' crazy...

TRA LA LA LA LA LA.....LA

It's December! Yay! Santa's have appeared, the girls marvel at the street decorations and I have even seen some houses already lit up!

Well thankfully I had my Chrissy shoot done and dusted before the end of November. Ieven had my cards made...Although I haven't sent them or written and addressed them as yet..

So these are my some of my successful photos from that day. My absolute faves are on the card..So I won't post them yet...

I LOVE my new camera.. I have mentioned that lately???

It ain't sprinklers..

But it will have to do...Drawing with chalk on Gran and Grumbles driveway..A childhood pastime that stands the test of time...I hope that when you are grown you can recall some of these times and smile....xxx

A 'Blue' photo shoot!

I had the lovely honour of snapping some shots of my good friend Kirsty's 3 little boys...She's just like me, twins plus one...But she has the opposite gender....

I do get a kick out of photographing little boys...They are so easy to work with and give such natural smiles..Plus it makes a nice change from pink!!

It was also my first photoshoot with my new camera...I am still navigating my way around it....

Introducing, Alex, Ben and baby Samuel.....












Thanks Kirst....

scrappy things..

Just thought I would post a few layouts I have done recently. Haven't scrapped this week though...CAn't seem to find the energy required...
The first is from Father's Day this year....

The bottom 2 are the first layouts from our Goldcoast holiday. We really didn't have that great a time at the Dubbo Zoo...Too hot and Grace was quite sick..But Rodda seems to think the layout makes it look as though we did! Must be good photos and materials hey?
Hope is all the right way up in your world....

MY NEW TOY!

Having mentioned to Rod a little while back that I might like a new lens to go on my Nikon...He shocked me by suggesting that we simply upgrade instead???

What planet was I living on?? Naturally I smiled sweetly and agreed completely! So began the saga of research (thanks Cindy for all you advice!)and getting ourselves a reasonable deal!! I also had to be able to sell my current camera!

So began the sales pitch! It eventually worked on Stacey...And she is the proud new owner of my first digi SLR!! Congrats Stace!

I was cameraless for only one day and I was starting to have desperate withdrawls! Naturally that meant a shopping expedition!
So now I am the proud new owener of a Canon 400D...I have a standard lens, a zoom lens and as of today a fixed lens...Great for portraits! I have a bigger case...
I did a photoshoot today of a friend's new baby and I was madly swapping lenses!
But I will post those later...Meanwhile here are some of my first shots with the Canon..Taken on Sunday evening at the park....I am still learning the ropes... But I did feel like a private investigator..Snapping away at the girls with a zoom lens!!!

CAPTURING A MOMENT..

It's fleeting, a moment..One minute it's there and then it's gone..Another moment takes it's place..Maybe not as sweet, but another one..Life is filled with them, big and little..Wonderful and ordinary...

I captured this little moment just the other day..She was standing beside me at the kitchen bench,just an ordinary afternoon, her hair wispy and flyaway... We weren't do anything special, just an ordinary afternoon.. So much so that right now I cannot recall what we may have been doing..

But her eyes, the way they were looking up at me, and the way her hair was framing her face at that exact second I had to capture it, keep it forever..

A moment..
Click... and it was mine...
Thanks baby girl...

LOve Mama xx

PAST AND PRESENT..

Tamma getting engaged and the subsequent 'wedding fever' that has hit our household as I endeavour to assist with her planning and decisions....Meant a rummage through my wedding stuff from 8 years ago...

Needless to say, my waist was positively tiny when I tied the knot. I could not do up my dress at all...Also I was reminded that I really SHOULD get it cleaned..(insert red face here!)Might as well wait till the 10 year anniversary now...Might give me a discount - hehehehehe...

But whilst doing all of this... I came across my flower girl dress that I wore at my Auntie's wedding in....I think 1981???
It was immediately seized upon by H and this photo was the result..It fits her perfectly and brought a little tear to my eye....
So beautiful..... Past and present..

SCRAPJACKED!

I have been SCRAPJACKED! Here is my layout. All the products used are Bella!

Jump across to the scrapjacked site to see how the 'jackers' jacked me and have a go at 'jacking' my layout yourself! I love the 'jackers' layouts and can't wait to see what everyone else comes up with too!

GIRLS WEEKEND AWAY!

It's a bit late, seeing as I have been home for over a week, but it is better late then never! So here are the photos from our girls weekend away! We all had a wonderfully relaxing time in Apollo Bay and the weather was divinely warm for October!
Seeing as how these lovely bunch of ladies are not scrappers, I had a hard time initally getting them to pose on the beach for some shots! I would take a couple and they would start to stand as if I was finished!! Um...no..Girls I want at least five minutes and varying poses...I got two minutes, two poses and lots of smiles...That'll do!These ladies are all mum's to twins. This weekend was our regular multiple mum's getaway! This is the second year we have done it and it was all very civilised and relaxing - I also got a spunky new pair of shoes!! So it was good all round!
Special hugs to Helen for making the effort to come all the way from Shep. Love ya mate. Thanks girls for a fab weekend away and hope that your multiples are keeping the mayhem to a minimum now that you are home!
Mayhem?
Never!
That's just a multiple myth!

Darling H injured her 'sucking thumb'...She was devastated, as the photo atests..
BUT...HOw I am going to get her to stop?? She made me remove the bandaid for bedtime,and the injury was obviously not so severe that it stopped her from tucking it away in her mouth!!

She doesn't suck it at all at school. Rarely during the day now, except when she is extremely tired...But she is almost six.

The bear, Poppy also pictured during a stage of running repairs to her precious head (I am such a great surgeon!) goes hand in hand with the thumb sucking. Poppy doesn't leave the house. But if she is relaxed, with the bear, ingoes the thumb...

The reason I am so concerned is because of this:

I have another one to contend with! Jem is 4 now and i want her to kick the habit earlier than H! I am stressed about them having poor teeth! I had poor teeth and I wasn't ever a thumb sucker!

Any clues anyone?? I have tried covering with bandaids, gloves....

*sigh*

They do sleep well though...That's a postive of thumb sucking I suppose.....

*sigh*

BRACELETS by Dadda..

I was getting ready in the bathroom the other day and I could hear that Rod was busy doing something with the girls...

Words like, ,gold, pretty, and phrases like, "Just like Mama's" and "I'm a grown up lady" were being bandied about with enthusiasm. I knew we were in a rush to get to the afternoon tea, but I was curious enough to go and investigate without tirading about running so late.

I found them gathered around their father, each having a little gold bracelet attached to their wrists. He had used the cheapy chains I had bought him for a dress up party weeks ago..

Funnily enough I had seen that gold chain lying around our bathroom for that entire time and it had never occured to me to do that with it...

Gotta love them Dadda's with daughters....
He'll be painting toenails next!

THINK PINK!

Whilst the Little Scrapbook Shop is still running it's various Girl's Night In fundraisers, I have completed 2 of the challenges across the weekend, so thought I would give you a little looky see!

I love the innocence Of Hallie in the first layout! So at odds with her often fiery nature!
I also love the layout and photo of Grace. The challenge was to use ribbon (think pink!). Not one to shirk a challenge, I made the entire background out of ribbon!
I really like the title too! Came to me as I was scrapping it! I took the photo of it on a black background, as the arrows and some of the words come off the edge of the layout!

How the dickens am I going to put it in an album??
Hang on...I have...Just going to count them.........41!!! Cripes!
I have 41 layouts stacked against each other in tow piles on my shelf!!!
I don' think storage will be a big issue somehow!
Hehehehehehehe..
Have changed my scraproom around today too. Don't quite know what posessed me...I have mine and the girlies table joined in a L shape. Will see how it works..


Bye!

After listing all the places we went and all the things we saw on our 'road trip' to and from the Goldcoast, I thought I would list all of the little and big things that made our holiday so special...Thanks to Paul and Lisa for their hospitality, generosity and help. We had ball and in part it was thanks to you..Remember though to let the girls go to the toilet before you put them to bed!!!

Coldrock ice cream
pekaboo with Paul and Lisa
pinhead and boxhead...aka G and J
ladybugs galore
AFL grandfinal - go the cats
NFL grandfinal - go the storm
shopping in surfers
learning to spit toothpaste
collecting shells
making sandcastles
making sand angels
plenty of takeaway
Jem swimming without floaties!
visting the Lockharts
Wiggles World
bottle feeding a calf
Dreamworld
the tiger cubs
goldcoast curls
post it note artwork
drawings
doogy duck (RIP)
sand on the balcony
sand in the bathroom
sand in our beds
sand in our hair
sand in our bums (KIDS!)
indoor pool
outdoor pool
tog tan lines
whales
elevator 'duty'
Hallie eating dim sims
Late nights
Early mornings
thongs
shorts
sandals
dresses
clucky Barnasses
Hallie'shooting star
waverunning
rollercoaster
sunscreen
sunscreen allergies *sigh*
Beer
Cruisers (vodka)
Big Banana
motels
Pay TV
blinking building (point of reference for us)
endless sunny days
learning to dive
Macca's
daily helicopter sightings

Drop over to the Little Scrapbook Shop tonight. We are hosting our October cyber crop and are all busy helping raise money to fund breat cancer research. Check out the silent auction or join in and so some of the challenges. WIll post my challenge layout after it goes up over at LSBS.

Bye!

HAPPY BIRTDAY TO YOU'S!

Grace and Jemma
They're 4.
Together.
At the same time.
Minutes apart.
Precious.
Treasured.
Loved.

Four years ago our twins came into the world, in a rush and it was a really scary time. 2 tiny little bubs, one struggling to breath and the other just so pale and tiny. Wrapped in silver foil like sweet little souvlaki's, our world had been turned completely on it's head.
But they thrived and grew and look at them now!



Our angels, my sweet girls, who so many assume make our life difficult by just being 'two'.
Our life is wonderful and full and perfect because you are two... We love you...

HAPPY BIRTHDAY BABES.....xxxxx

THE RETURN OF THE WEARY TRAVELLERS..

We are home!
WE had an awesome holiday and alot of the time was spent on the road. Driving to the Goldcoast with three little girls was no easy challenge.

Along the way we've been to:

Bendigo
Shepparton
Yarrawonga
West Wyalong
Parkes
Dubbo
Peak Hill
Goondiwindi
Warwick
Broadbeach
Brisbane
Surfers Paradise
Ballina
Coff's Harbour
Taree
Sydney
Liverpool (NSW)
Gundagai
Albury
Yarrawonga
Shepparton
Bendigo
Ballarat!!!

Whilst on the road we have seen:

The big banana
The biggest oyster
A submarine
A giant lobster
macadamia groves
bananas
fruit trees
whales
Caravans
4WD vehicles
road trains
semi's
roadworks
roadworkers
The Lockhart family
sunny days
pay tv
3 motels
wide loads
roadkill
a multitude of 'golden arches'
Dubbo zoo
bushfires
the ocean
big northern rivers
dry southern rivers
purple paddocks
yellow fields
satellite dishes
two sunrises
two sunsets
The Sydney Harbour bridge
The Opera House
ferries
Manly beach
a shooting star
a pelican
mountain ranges
high rises
Movie world
Dreamworld
Shann's car in front of us!
an insurmountable amount of insects lives lost..and one bird..
heaps of DVD's
extreme speed zones
a few police cars
one large detour
very few tears
loads of artwork
long straight endless roads

Will post about our time on the goldcoast soon! I have taken heaps of shots..So it will take me a while to get them all ready.

Good night..and it's good to be back...

Celeste xx

The Lovely Listons....

Look at these gorgeous kids!!It was freezing when I took these photos and the kids braved the cold very well! The shots show how close they are! They are also close in age..keeping their Mum on her toes!

On a personal front -I can't wait to escape to warmer weather...4 days to go! It is Friday afternoon...School is finished for the term...I wish all the Mum's and Dad's good luck and a safe holiday period!

Ooh and my Mum and Dad are now online and venturing into cyber space..If they happen to find me here - HELLO!

Bye!

Well it it Monday and that means a couple of things in my world:

* Little Scrapbook Shop Sept cyber crop is almost at a close! Check out my DT challenge LO, above. I really like the way it finished up. I wasn't sure how to scrap these photos initially... That's the best part about a challenge...It makes you step outside the box a little..

* We are a week away from our first family vacation since having children...Well first serious one. Qld here we come!!

* Hallie has gone back to school....I love my child, but geez sometimes she drives me batty!

That's about it from me...Thanks for to everyone who stops by...Will post photos of the Lovely Liston children very soon..

Here you are two more for Paper Pesto. I have loved working with Scenic Route stuff! The Ashville paper series is really very versatile. I was concerned at the colours, but as you can see I have used them in girl layouts and they look quite ok...Well I think so. I get over using pinks all the time anyways!!

The 'pooped' LO is with another older photo, Jem from Christmas night. It's not a perfect shot, but one that I will treasure in later years, when the holiday season isn't such a big deal to the girls... It happens eventually hey??


Also pop over to The Little Scrapbook Shop. We are currently holding our September cybercrop and there are some great challenges! I have done my first digi challenge! A magazine cover. Very simple..But I like it!



Finally.. GO THE MIGHTY MAGPIES!!!! I'm a closet AFL junkie....Didn't you know???

A quick share..

Here is the first layout for Paper Pesto... And a card with the same Scenic Route papers and cardstock stickers and aren't the buttons just luuurvely???

It is a really old photo of Jem from Summer. It kept popping up on my screensaver and for ages I couldn't locate it in any of my files...It was really irritating me, as I love this photos of her...Needless to say I burned off SOME (hehehehehe) of the images on my hard drive in a moment of whimsy the other day..and there it was...Right in the Jan 07 file as it rightly should have been????

I added the flowers in photoshop...Love the effect!! The card is one I made the day my pack arrived in the mail...Right in time for my dearest DH birthday!!

I have 2 more layouts for Paper Pesto, done today (yay me!) and will upload them tomorrow after I have taken shots of them.

Night!

TAGGED!

Righto! I have been tagged! By Kayla two weeks ago (sorry lovey!) and then by Lisa! So I thought I had better tag five more people:

Fee, Mel, Kerryn, Nikala, Marni, Tash...Copy and paste apparently!




One of the layouts form the retreat!!! I love this photo of her!!

If anyone can help this dummy put a banner on my blog...Drop me a line!!
Thanks!