Paper Obsession

Happy New Year!

I hope Christmas was lovely for you and that 2011 has had a promising start. I'm just so glad to see the return of bright blue skies after such a GREY Christmas! Always feel so much more optimistic under blue skies.

Haven't quite managed to tie down and commit to paper all my thoughts, goals, aspirations etc for the New Year.. but one thing I decided today was to try and take part in the 365 Project. A photo a day.. how hard can that be to keep up? LOL... we'll see, shall we?!

OK.. so here's my favourite photo from yesterday, Saturday 1st January 2011:

The boys had found a crab shell amongst the seaweed on the beach. Harry was just pulling off one of its eye-stalks to show Charlie... *sigh* boys will be boys.. Love the concentration on their faces.. wish I'd got down lower to take the photo.

And this from today, Sunday 2nd January:

Harry at Gildredge Park this morning... he's still such a little munchkin... I adore his blue eyes (and envy his long eyelashes!).. I really must scrapbook this photo.

Oooh and here's a bit of news! If you happen to see Creativity magazine this month (you know, the Do-Crafts one), check out page 111... my scrapbook club is featured.. woohoo!

Right.. time for bed.. the dining table is barely visible under all my JYC scrapbooking mess but I think it'll keep til the morning. I hope I might even be able to share a few pages tomorrow!

South Wales adventures

Last week we stayed with my parents in south Wales.. here's a few highlights of our week.

Monday.. we took advantage of the sunshine and headed to Barry Island.. recently made famous by Gavin & Stacey, of course..

   

Wednesday... Harry's 3rd birthday...

..Ogmore beach.. rock-pooling..

...Splashing in the sea.. (isn't this photo dreamy..? I just love the colours! Thanks Dad)

Thursday... Porthcawl promenade..

(been playing with the LOMO effect on Dumpr.. thanks Sian for your post on this!)

 
..the boys idolise their Grampy..

...Harry takes to his new bike..

..a rare family photo!

Now to get scrapping some of these...

Hello campers... hi-de-hi!?

Pontins.  Camber Sands.  The Sun's Holidays for £9.50.  Never again....!

We really should have done our research.. I'm all for a little faded elegance, and generally I adore period architecture and vintage decor. But our 'apartment' was something else entirely. The apartment blocks gave the impression of one of those run-down blocks of flats such as you'd see on The Bill. Yes, we'd left our beloved home in sunny Eastbourne to stay in a one-bed council flat. Happy holidays!

nice paint job..

great views of the neighbours

ok, so this is 'budget'.

The boys didn't notice our dismay and had great fun exploring our new 'home' (which took about a minute). We decided to dine out since the kitchen really wasn't up to much. After a bit of searching round the site, we located the 'Sands Restaurant' and ordered our meals. 'So is this Leigh Delamere or Membury services?' I asked Gareth.

the boys enjoying a cultural experience

After tucking the boys into bed later on, we settled down onto our sofa-bed, each clinging to the edges to stop rolling into the middle, each trying to devise ways to cushion ourselves against the mattress springs. Then a party started in the room below.. and continued til 1.30am. Aaaaargh!!!!!!

Saturday morning arrived.. and so did a deluge of rain.. absolute cats and dogs! We considered abandoning the weekend and going home.. but that would be to admit defeat, so we soldiered on. We'd heard good things about Dymchurch, a few miles away, so off we went to explore. The rain had stopped by this time, so armed with buckets, spades, wind-break and towels, we trekked through the town to the beach. And discovered the beach was made of concrete. The tide was right in, the waves lapping against the brand-new sea defences with not a grain of sand to be seen.

'Beach re-opened for you to enjoy the summer at Dymchurch', says the sign. Oh, thanks.

OK, so it wasn't all bad.. the beach at Camber Sands was indeed huge and sandy. When we visited on Friday evening, the sea was about 3 miles away, it was freezing and blowing a gale. On a good day, though, I'm sure it would have been lovely.

You call this summer?

Saturday night was better - no parties below us, and sleeping on a pillow eased the bruising from the springs. We explored a gorgeous little town called Hythe, and climbed up the huge stone staircases of Bodiam Castle (my thighs are still in agony from the descent carrying Harry). The boys had lots of fun - and that's the main thing, right?!

 

Where's the castle?

If you got this far, thanks for enduring this tale with me! :o)

We'll look back on it all and laugh one day..

We're having an adventure!

Yesterday was a glorious day of sunshine here in Eastbourne. Gareth is off this week, as we have the builders in, and it's half term so the boys are home from nursery too. Seemed like a very good time to get out of the building site that is our house and go for a picnic.

Our back windows overlook the steep wooded slope that leads on to the South Downs.. it's a stunning and enticing view. Gathering up our supplies, sun cream and hats, we set off up the hill - somewhat off the main path - and soon came up against impenetrable undergrowth. Undeterred, we perched on the hillside and ate our picnic, admiring the view of the houses below us.

Sandwiches and crisps duly eaten, we tripped back down the hill and tried another route, this time along a picturesque path through the trees. The path started to descend, though, and we really wanted to get right to the top for the best views.. so again we ventured off-piste, following a tiny trail upwards through the woods and brambles.

OK for us grown-ups, but a little trickier for a 4-year-old and nearly-3-year-old to manage. The boys were brilliant though and saw the whole escapade as a tremendous adventure. Eventually we made it to the summit - scratched, dusty and nettle-stung but elated by our efforts! And the views were definitely worth it.

"We made it!!"
 

Some sort of cattle pond I believe..

Yes, it was a most excellent adventure.

(sorry about the Bill & Ted reference, couldn't resist it..)

18th Nov = Harry's day

On the 18th of every month I try to record a few details about Harry's day and complete a page in his mini-book. It's a bit like Shimelle's 'Scrap Your Day' class but focused on the new things Harry has done over the past month, the funny things he says and what he did on this day. I do the same for Charlie on the 23rd of each month.

I am not entirely up-to-date with the scrapbooking side of Harry's minibook, or Charlie's come to that. But if I take a few photos and write down a few things, I can do the scrapping when I have time.. at least there's the theory.

Harry's day:

Morning:

• hot Shreddies and raisins for breakfast, plus 'milksnake' (Actimel + milk)
• drawing/scribbling on the dining table, occasionally on paper
• watching Postman Pat videos (for the umpteenth time)
• dragging chairs into the kitchen to help me wash the dishes (please, no)
• drinking 'pink milk' (strawberry Nesquik) and eating Humzingers

Lunch:

• 'bubbly cheese' on toast with Branston pickle and baked beans
• throwing cutlery on the floor, smearing bean-juice on face and hair
• NOT liking having face and hands wiped

Afternoon:

• taking Charlie to Nursery, riding on the Buggy Board
• NOT liking being dragged away from Nursery
• having a nap (peace at last..)
• a quick Jaffa Cake before going to collect Charlie
• splashing in some DEEP puddles in the park

• home for a complete change of clothes
• back out to the charity shop (bought some lovely eyelash wool) and newsagent (the new Craft Stamper magazine.. couldn't leave it there)

Evening:

• dragging chairs into the kitchen to help mummy make dinner (nooooo....)
• pizza, oven chips, carrots and sugarsnap peas, followed by an ice-cream for dinner (we don't eat junk food every day, honest!!)
• bathtime = let's see who can splash the most water onto the floor
• stories - 'Shhhhh, Duck - Don't Wake the Baby!' by Jez Alborough is favourite this week.
• bed at 8pm.

Harry's favourite things:

• Going to the park
• Chasing Poppy the cat
• Splashing in puddles
• Postman Pat (Po-po Pat) - he can name all the characters
• Helicopters (Ta-ta-ta), ambulances (La-la-lance) and trains
• Scooting around on his trike

I'll be back soon to share my mini-books as they are so far.. now there's an incentive to get some scrapping done! ;o)