Bandwidth Exceeded. Again.

When you have a website, you get to know all about things like MB, bandwidth, FTP, etc.

Basically, when you have a site, you have set amounts for things such as the amount of info your site can hold, and the amount of bandwidth your site can use. I have exceeded my bandwidth for the month already. Everytime you look at a page or image etc, you use badnwidth that that site has to pay or allow for. Now, somehow, my web hosts statistics show that on the other day, "someone" viewed 20700 pages in one session! Now I have no more bandwidth which means my site is down and cant be accessed until the 1st of next month! My lovely host gave me a bit more space, but now thats gone too. :(

If you're trying to go to Scrap Yourself Silly and can't, sorry guys!

Did we control the action?

Today was the anniversary of my OH mum's passing, one year ago, and we went to Jamberoo Recreation Park today, down south. We were to meet my OH brother and his family, and our friends G and K and their kiddie winks.

We arrived at the same time as G and K (after the dependable toilet stop (but only one of these this time!) and also stopping by my dads to pick up my camera that was somehow found in their sliding bikkie storage thingy in their kitchen... The weather was actually okay, and not too hot or too cloudy. We went to the family area first (Billabong Beach), but we were a bit miffed 'cause you are not allowed to take food or drink into this area. Our eskys and food bags had to stay in a pile next to a bin, next to the lifeguards, and if we wanted to eat or drink, we had to leave the area! It was a great area for the little kiddies though, except Jo kept wanting to go up the stairs to come down the waterslide... arrgggh!

We knew it was time to move out, when Jo started eating some old sultanas he found off the deck chairs... LOL!

So we sat in a grassy area, and later moved to Outback Bay, where the wave pool is. One of the rides we went in/on was the taboggan. I took K up in the chair-lift, and tabogganed back down. I was more scared of the lift up, and was jabbering away to K, trying to calm myself down! LOL! Somehow I managed to take 30 seconds worth of video! And the ride down was no trouble, except that about 10 metres from the end we had to stop and get out as it started to rain a little.

It was a nice day though. But its hard to go everything with little kids. J really wanted me to jump of the 5 metre rock like she did, but we just couldnt coordinate timing and kids ect properly. Oh! One thing though, was the flys! Never seen so many in one place for soooo long! In fact, in the arvo, one of the life guards was stopping by different families having a little chat, and when she came to us, I asked her about the flys. She said it was normal around there, and that they had installed fly catchers everywhere, but it didnt seem to make much difference (, um, obviously!). Also, the CSIRO had recommended Dung Beetles to attract the flys and somehow this is supposed to help get rid of the flys... Im not quite sure how? And that in summer, its common for people that work at Jamberoo to eat at least a fly a day. Ooookkkkayyy!

We left at 5.30 (so it was a long day!) and took a drive through some of the country. It is gorgeous! So green and lush! And K and KK and I got out to look at some moo cows up close. The kids (all 5 of them) passed out for some of the trip and heres a pic of the little ones.


Of course Maccas scored some more of our hard earned dollars for dinner, and then the kids were in bed by 9.30. They actually all want to stay home tomorrow and just chill. Fine with me!

One of my Chrissy presents

was a Dymo labeller...

But it's bizarre; it seems if someone askes "so, what did you get for Christmas" and I say "A Dymo labeller" they say "What? Why would you want one of those for Christmas?" or "Great Christmas present!" (loaded with sarcasm). My girlfriend Tania can empathise with me though; she knows how invaluable they can be... John bought one home from work a while back, and Ive been asking for one ever since!


Anyway, I love my Dymo, and if its what you want, who cares WHAT the present is?

So much to do...

and so little time!

I really shouldnt be typing away here, but I need a breather!

Tomorrow is the anniversary of my mums passing - it will be FIVE YEARS! I cant believe it! Love you mum! So, my nan and pop and uncle come over, as do my step-dad and brother, for a get together. At first, my pop didnt want to do the "present thing" on that day (in years past), but I reckon mum wouldnt want us moping about. It makes sense to enjoy the day with people you love and that cared about mum too and also do pressies! We usually have at least one thing that mum loved, and this year Im making a pavlova! (as well as all the other food LOL!).

Tomorrow will also be thinking of one of the SYS Creative Team members, Mel, who is having a memorial service for her little girl Rani, who passed away recently. Hugs to you and your family Mel.

Also this year, after consulting with Colin (my step-dad) and my nan and pop, I have invited Barbara, who was my mums best friend since high school. I dont know if I mentioned her anywhere else in my blog, but we've been in touch off and on over the years. So she is coming too with her hubby Gary and two grandsons. Hmmm. Full house...

So Ive got to make the pav base, make some Kotletty (polish mini rissoles), and finish making my nan and pops memory album and journal. Arrrgggh. It's already 9.40pm!

Will do a catch up re Christmas soon. Hopefully. LOL!

We had our first Street Christmas party last night, and I think it all went just fine! It was due to start around 4pm, and wouldncha know it, 3pm it poured down with rain! Jo from across the road came over around 3.30 when it had stopped. We tried to decide what to do, and asked a few neighbours as well what they thought, and they all agreed that it should go ahead anyway, even if it just ended up being a meet n greet thing, and Kris Kringle for the kids. Turned out it didn't rain again though til 9.30pm which was fab! Not as many neighbours came as we would of liked, but there's always next year. Perhaps the weather put them off. One of the neighbours somehow had a Zebra suit from one of the Optus ads, and wore that with a Santa cap, so he was the Zebra Santa, and handed out the pressys. Everyone bought a plate of something, so there was plenty to eat. At 8.30 though, my family and I felt like something a little more substantial, so I went home to put Joshy to bed, and to cook chicken snags and steak. Just as I was putting Josh to bed though, john and the other kids came home, and said the party was wrapping up, so I was a bit upset it finished so early, but then again, it was probably "that time of night" for everyone. I didnt get to say bye either :(.

One of the girls across the street I had noticed lately "looks" different, and I could put my finger on what it was except the other day at a school assembly I saw her playing with her eyes. "That's it! I thought. She's plucking her eyelashes out!" And I watched as she collected them in her other hand. Hmmm. I don't know whether to say anything to her mum or not. I'm sure she would know. Its kinda obvious. After googling it I think the condition is called Trichotillomania. It's not really any of my business, and we should just accept people the way the are, but on the other hand I'm concerned there may be an underlying reason as to why she does it, like nerves or being bullied, or something.

Any ideas?

Well, that's it for now... it's Christmas Eve, the boys (2 littlies AND John, are having afternoon naps) and I need to finish making beds, cleaning the house, preparing food for tonight's get together at my FIL, and feed and pet the bubby bunnies we bought Kayla and Paris for tomorrow.

Also, a huge congrats to Crissy and her hubby Scott for finding out theyre pregnant!

Merry Christmas everyone!
and a very
Happy New Year!

3 more sleeps

til the fat man in the red suit comes and eats cookies and drinks milk in my kitchen! Yay!

As I type this my 3 littlies are eating their dinner - it's an easy one tonight; baked beans, boiled googies and toast. John had his work party on today, and tonight he's out with his dad, sisters and bro having dinner. It was his mums birthday today and instead of remembering her on the day she passed, they'll remember her on her birthday instead. Funny how Ma passed 4 years and a day after my mum...

I went to the park this morning with Kathryn and her two kiddies. So hot! Joshy just wanted to walk off everywhere! When you have little kids, and you meet up with friends, its not like its a relaxing experience. Too much going on! LOL! Anyway, they've just bought their house in Castle Hill, so its great they'll still be so close. 6 weeks til they move.

Our Christmas Street party that Jo across the road and I have organised, is on tomorrow night! The first one in years apparently. We live in a cul-de-sac, and we;'re actually about 4 houses from the top, so good location. Looking forward to that, but also a bit out of my comfort zone as I'm not comfy in crowds with socialising. But am trying to break out of that. I'm actually happy to be in a group, but I don't really say much, which then makes me feel that perhaps I shouldn't be there... I'm sure it will be fine. :)

I have made 3 journals and a matching box or jar for them, to give as Chrissy presents. This one below is for my step-mum. The other 2 are for my nan and pop, but I haven't quite finished yet..

I kept the jar basic as I figured if I embellished the lid too much, all the stuff might come off. The questions in the jar are just ones like "Do you have any regrets and if so what?" and "What is one place you have always wanted to visit but havent".

It's funny how you learn from what you do, hey? I havent made anything like these before, but already I know how I'd make if differently next time. The idea is I can do some scrap layouts on the journalling, I can learn some stuff about my dads wife, and I can pass it on to my little bro, their adopted boy, when he's old enough to appreciate it. :)



Come visit Scrap Yourself Silly - theres some great challenges and classes happening! The site is getting more and more visitors everyday and everyone that does drop in is lovely!

I wont say Merry Christmas yet, because I know I will be back soon.

Dreaming...

of my mum...

I dreamt about her the other night... I remember I was looking for her, and I went through this tunnel - a huge cobblestone tunnel like you see in Sydney made of cobblestone, and a railway or something overhead. There were people going past me in the opposite direction, and then, I saw she was one of them, walking in her usual way that I remember - eyes ahead, fast and determined. "Mum!" I called! She wore apolo-type shirt with thick pale green and white stripes, which was not her style at all, and she looked thinner in the face, and older. Perhaps how she may look now, 5 years on from when she passed.

We sat down on a bench, and I knew I wanted to ask her something (I just can't remember what it was though :( ), and she opened a big box and we looked inside. I think there was a pair of shoes.

Anhow, she answered my question. I felt happy in the dream, and she was too. I know I certainly woke that way!

That will make it about the 3rd or 4th time (that I actually remember) that I dreamt of her. The last time she had the message for me that I was pregnant (which I was, with Josh and didnt know it yet). Thankfully there was no message like that this time!

LOL!

Sunday

We (or rather John LOL!) laid some new turf in our front yard yesterday, and the whole place is coming together nicely. The weather was crappy, which was good in a way, but meant that we were going "somewhere" today, no matter what the weather was like. Thankfully, it was a gorgeous day, so we headed up the coast.

We went to The Entrance, and the kids had a bit of a play in the sand and sand dunes. Jo was happier to walk up the stairs and along the footpath to see what else was in the world, so my OH and I took turns walking with him. Its bloody hard though watching out for each kiddy, and watching to make sure noone takes your bags ('cause it had wallets, and phones, and keys, my watch - that sorta stuff). You just wanna relax and play with the kids, but you have to sit or stand in such a way that your "stuff" can be seen.

Anyway, the sun must of burnt us before we even put our sunscreen on, 'cause we all got a little burnt, and P ended up like a beetroot. Im not happy about that! But shes about to turn 10, so really she knows how to look after that side of things herself!

Then we went to the main part of The Entrance where they have this waterpark thing. J was in her "I dont want to get my hair wet" thing, so didnt "swim" all day. KK wanted "shoes on", Jo kept wandering off elsewhere, and K was cold. P was the only one who had fun! We got KFC for lunch and it must have been the salt air that increased my apppetite 'cause I ate 3 pieces of chook, and I normally only eat the breast. Afterwards we went for a walk around the shops, and then sat in the park and watch the kites flying and at 3.30pm we sat in the arena and watched the pelicans being fed.

We then rang R and asked her if we could pop in; she lives about 40 mins from The Entrance in Umina. Only P and J were home with her, but D and A came home from somewhere just before we left. I hadnt seen J since she was about 2 weeks old (about 3.5 months ago). Shes gorgeous!

So anyway, it was a nice day out, and tonight, as is often the way with me, I got my second wind, and have been working some more on these journal / memory albums that I am making for Liz (my stepmum), Nan, and Pop. Im quite happy with how theyre turning out and cant wait to post some pics.

Mel decorated some craftwood letters which I posted on the SYS site, and that reminded me that I had some extra "HO HO" letters, so I set to work tonight decorating mine. I covered mine with a patterned paper. Will sand tomorrow, and post a pic.

Remember we are looking for Creative Team Member number 4!

See here for all the details!

Well, thats it for me, except I wanted to show you a beautiful Christmas pic that K did last week. Mind you she's 3, turning 4 in April!

She's such a great art-eest!

Year 6 Farewell

Last night my eldest dd had her year 6 farwell dinner and dance. The girls looked absolutely beautiful!

Heres a pic of my growing princess, and some of the girls shoes (gotta have one of those pics, hey?).

I dont know how people keep so up to date with their blogs. I mean honestly. As if theres not enough to do! Those of you who do, youre good little chookens.

Some great stuff happening over at my site. Crissy, Elisabeth and Mel are showing their creative genius and coming up with some great ideas, and its so very cool to have their talents on SYS. In fact Crissy made it to the Scrapbooking Masters shortlist. How fab is that? Well done!

Theres still the Cybercrop to report on, but suffice to say (for now at least) that all went well, and have now posted the CC dates for the next Four months. No excuses now! Plan your weekend, and write it in your diary!

Made a couple of banner ads to promote around and about. Not bad for a 10 minute job!

lol

Time to catch some zzzzz...

Need to update...

But not right now! Am too tired.

Wanted to share something though.

I few weeks ago, my daughters - 9 and 11 - had their school disco on, and we went shopping and bought them a new dress each. Just a simple, nice casual but cool, dress. My 9yo, P, gave me something the next day - a card. It was a "thank you for the dress" card, telling me how much she loves it, and with lots of hearts, and kisses and stuff. Very sweet.

And my 11 yo, J, also has her year 6 graduation dance next week, and she needed some more dress shoes, as shes outgrown her own. We looked through my cupboard, but my shoes were either too high, or whatever. Today I found a pair of shoes that were a style I thought she would like. Right colour, right height etc. When J came home tonight, she came running out of her bedroom saying "Theyre perfect! Theyre perfect! Thanks mummy!"

My little KK, whos almost 3, learning to talk... today, for the first time ever, he actually told me that a cow we saw was Black. He said "Moo. Back". But thats a sentence for him. I was very excited. And then he whispered "Pie-da!" I worked out he meant "Spider"! Go KK!

Jo is 16months and the sweetest thing ever. He is gorgeous and so happy! Thank you! :)

And K. Well, actually, I didnt get to spend too much time with her today, as she went to preschool, and when she came home from there, she went with Poppy in his car back to his house, and then when they came back, I had to go out to J's High School Orientation night.

Makes it all worthwhile!