Once upon a time .......

Once upon a time there was a very sweet Princess named Michelle. She lived in a far, far away land where the rains often fell. The Princess' family were the proud owners of a castle in another far, far away land but because they were not nearby the castle began to fall apart. The poor Princess tried her hardest to get the castle fixed again but it was not proving to be an easy task. She was very dismayed and wished that a very large dragon would appear and burn that castle to the ground!
There we go - the story of our house in Pretoria. That pretty much sums up how I feel about it right now!



Its half term this week so I have the undivided attention of my lovely children all week. By Sunday I shall be in desperate need of a coffee break on my own at Starbucks as Paul has 2 exams this week and then is off to my brother's bachelor party on the weekend.
But come Monday next week, there shall be no more football and no more university which therefore means NO MORE EXCUSES!!!!!!!!!!! I can't wait!
And to make next week even more exciting - my parents are arriving!!!!! YAY!!!! Don't you just love it when Grannies and Grandpas are around? I really do as I don't get to see my parents very often and they are a huge help with the kids.

Because of this we shall all live happily ever after.
This Princess has no servants so she's off to make a cup of tea and relax.
xxx

Another Day, Another Week .......

Another week has passed and that officially leaves us with only 106 days left in sunny (not) Wales. Can you tell I'm not too impressed with this Spring/Summer weather we're having??? I just love fetching Ross from school everyday in the rain! It just makes things such a mission - pram out, Gethin in, raincover on, Maddy out, raincoat on, stand outside classroom with no shelter waiting - they're always late, back to car and reverse the whole procedure! Anyway, its a Bank Holiday weekend this weekend and Paul says its supposed to be the hottest weekend of the year. I'm not sure where he gets his info from but I sure hope its right! We haven't got any official plans for this weekend as Paul is studying for his last two exams and life has been pretty hectic lately. Maybe take the kids swimming and do some nice outdoor activities - weather permitting that is.
On the move front, things are moving along slowly but surely! I have e-mailed the relevant authorities for the week and am hoping to lodge my application with WACOT next week when my friend has verified my certificates. I have also started making appointments for removal services so that should be finalised in the next month.
All these things make me realise that we really are going to do this, which then fills me with all kinds of strange emotions ranging from absolute fear to extreme happiness. My new philosophy is that "if we go there expecting it to be a rocky ride we won't be disappointed if things don't run smoothly straight away and if they do we can be pleasantly surprised!" It makes sense in my head!
I have done very well with our scrapping challenge this week and completed my layout a few days ago!
The single layout that says "heaven" is actually meant to read "heaven sent" but I ran out of alphabets and need to find the same ones again.
That's all folks!Have a good week!
xxx

All Birthday-ed Out!!!

I'm still here - its been awhile I know. I am officially Birthday-ed and partied out! Our baby is now 1!! I can't believe how fast this last year has gone. He had a very low key Birthday with just a few little pressies which his brother and sister gladly opened and played with for him! Ross and Gethin then had a shared party on the Saturday after Gethin's birthday. I'm not too sure Geth even realised what all the fuss was about but they both seemed to enjoy themselves and I was particularly pleased with my cake creations!! In fact, I was very impressed with myself and had loads of compliments from the other moms.
Last weekend was Ross' and my birthday which we also kept very low key as we'd already had the party. Birthdays aren't quite so exciting when you hit 34 and have children. I get more excited about the children's Birthdays nowadays than my own. But it is nice to be spoilt and although Paul isn't very proactive with lovely, surprise treats and presents on the actual day he has given me carte blanche this past week to treat myself to some new clothes!
The scrapbook challenge is still on the go even though we occasionally bend the rules ever so slightly to suit our schedules. But as Kerry said the other day, at least we're doing something which is more than we were doing before.
My brain is working overtime lately as our big move creeps ever closer. We are now down to only 115 days till we move!! I can't believe it. I better get myself into "move mode" and start sorting the more urgent issues which should not be left for the last minute. I think I may start writing the things I need to do on here so I can hold myself accountable every week. This week I need to sort out my registration with the department of education in Perth. Lets see if I've got it sorted by next week. I'll keep you posted.
On that note I shall say farewell and so long,until next week!

Compsognathus, Allosaurus, Baryonyx .......

We were traveling to Cardiff the other day and the kids were pretending we were being chased by dinosaurs. So I asked Ross what dinosaurs were chasing us, fully expecting the usual run of common dino names!! T rex, triceratops etc etc .. you know the ones everyone knows! Well, my dear son came up with some names that I couldn't believe, let alone pronounce - Allosaurus, Baryonyx, Compsognathus and so on and so on. The one name is so long that I won't even attempt to spell it. He not only knows their names but also their characteristics as well! His favourite bedtime story is a dinosaur encyclopedia from which we read about a different dinosaur every night.

On Saturday, Paul played his last home game of professional football so we all went along for moral support. The children were match mascots which made the day even more memorable for "daddy" who is finding this "end of an era" rather emotional and sad. I hope we helped to make his day a special one!!

Today, my baby is 1!! I really can't believe how fast this last year has passed. He had loads of help this morning to open his pressies and then watched while Ross and Madison promptly played with them for him! Poor Geth! He's meant to be having a routine injection today at the baby clinic but I just can't bring myself to take him on his birthday so I think we'll postpone it till next week. He's having a nap at the moment and when he wakes we might take a walk to the park and then later this evening we'll be taking Ross to his first swimming lesson. Maybe, if we're allowed Paul and I will have a fun swim with Gethin and Maddy while we wait for Ross.
The official celebrations are on Saturday when Ross and Gethin are having their party so I'll be able to post lots more birthday pics next week.
xxx

Oops!

Couldn't add the picture of my layout to the previous post so here it is!

Happy Easter!!

I have so many pictures to share this week that I think I'll keep the writing to a minimum! Its been a wonderful long weekend with plenty of sunshine, chocolate and fun!!!
Of course, I also managed to complete my layout for the week! The picture came out quite dark as the background is actually a teal/turquoise blue. Quite a nice one I think!!
The rest of the pics are from the Easter weekend. We took a trip up to Folly Farm yesterday as it was such a nice day. The kids had great fun seeing all the animals, riding the tractor and going on some rides.

We're going potty!

Its been a long time, I know! Things were a bit hectic in the last 2 weeks of school. Paul's parents were looking after the kids so I worked everyday. Goodness, I was exhausted and, Maddy and Gethin were extremely clingy after all that work. Poor Gethin, every time I left the room he thought I was going to leave him again.
In between all that I did the first carboot sale. Its quite an experience I tell you. The minute you park your car you get bombarded by people asking for mobiles and jewellery! I was sure the one lady was going to unpack the car for me. Strange people shop at carboot sales. Anyway, it was worth the effort as I made about £70. Not too bad!
The scrapbooking challenge took a break for that "busy" week and since both Kerry and I didn't manage a lo we called it quits with no fines! Nice when you can make up the rules as you go along!!!

BUT we're back on track this week with our layouts. I've just had a nice little parcel from the USA so I'm quite keen to get scrapping this week.
On the weekend my friend Tanya came to visit from Nottingham. We had a lovely day on Friday with shopping in the morning and then dinner and the theatre in the evening! Paul has done a lot of babysitting lately and seems to manage quite fine - think I may take advantage more often!
Its Easter holidays for the next 2 weeks so I've decided now would be a good time to potty train Maddy since I can stay home and its getting a bit warmer. We're on day 2 now and so far so good. She seems to be quite willing and we've only had a few accidents! Fingers crossed I'll do a better job with her than I did with poor Ross!
I will keep you posted on our progress!
That's all folks - I'm off to have a cup of tea and relax!
xxx