Not a lot to report...

Time moves on...school is good, kids are good-apart from Will's chicken pox (!), lots of excitement coming up in next few weeks, but for now the weeks are just whizzing past in a blur of daily nothings!!!
Will had his fifth birthday-never have a huge bouncy castle in a small hall with 30 4 and 5 year olds!!!!


Yet another new car...but hopefully Rob will be happy now we have the super fast little mini and the big old trusty diesel bus that I have been nagging him for:)
Dawnx

A Little list...

So many days have passed since my last post, it will be much easier to write this as a list...and I do love a list:)
1.Last week of the summer hols sped past as it always does...yet more dental work, the second part of the root canal treatment was much, much more painful than the first, but at least the nasty part is over...just have to let the filling settle then the crown can be fitted...yeah!!!!
2. First days of school...Will first on Monday

He was so much better than his first day last year-even had a smile for me
Phoebe was really really nervous and was not in the best of moods for her first day on Tuesday...this was the best photo she could manage.She was much happier when she came home after finding her seat next to Melissa

3. School is fabulous this year,a class full of real little characters-after all the problems and aggression in the class last year it is such a relief to teach children who want to play rather than fight and hurt each other.MInd you, there is only half a class in each day...might change my mind by the end of next week.
Dawnx

Why...

do holidays always seen to speed up as you reach the end of them? The last week has gone so quickly and I am finding it hard to think of what we have actually done these past seven days!!!
I am persevering with my series of dental appointments-last week was my first root canal teatment-Nisa removed the nerve ready for the filling ready for the new cap-and I must admit it was not the worst experience that I thought it would be-it felt like a raging toothache for 10 minutes but then it was fine. Knocked me flying for the next few days though-when the anaesthetic wore off, the pain went up into my eye, so I did what I always do in times of pain-I went to sleep :)
Monthly crop in New Inn-much calmer after last month's crazy packed out day-we could actually move around the hall to talk to people this month-we used Scenic Route papers again and added lots of hidden journaling .

This one was Jo's class-I love how she has used the patterns in the paper to create those fabulous flowers!


Uniforms and shoes, bags and lunch boxes have all been bought-even new knickers and socks are ready for September- and double cost this year as William starts school on Monday 3rd September-I just cannot believe 5 years could pass so quickly. I have had to shake myself and finish the layouts from September last year!!!
Dawnx

Love you , Robbie!!!

12th August 1995-so that makes it 12 years-well done Robbie, you've made another year-love you with all my heart,
Dawnx

I love belt sanders!!!!!

How brill are those tools-it made all the difference borrowing Dad's belt sander-it whizzed through the old varnish and etched names, a quick rub down, some rubbed in wax and hey presto...Not sure it would pass too many close up inspections-but it still has loads of character-and the knobs from Equinox in Tenby -are absolutely gorgeous. Just need to make the labels to go in the holders and ...job done:)
Dawnx

Summer project!!

This is my project for the long hot summer days- I hope to transform this old science cupboard from school into useful scrapping drawers!!!! It is covered with nasty red sticky back plastic and has delightful bleach stains along the bottom -but in its defence-it has the sturdiest dovetail joints on each drawer-has been in the school for years and survived hundreds of infants!!! Well, we'll see!!!
Dawnx

Happy Birthday to me!!!

I had the loveliest 39th Birthday last Wednesday-it was definitely the year of the Radley bag-with two gorgeous body bags to add to my collection:)I also had new crocs Mary Janes from Jo and the Daleys, money from mum and dad to pay for the new Basic Grey collections,lots and lots of chocolates and a ticket to Never Forget-the new musical based on Take That songs, from Linda We went there last night and what a fabulous night that was too-cheesier than a bag of Wotsits, but a show full of energy and so funny that we laughed out loud lots of times. Jo made lunch for us on the day of my birthday. The kids had a fab time in the pool and all the grown ups ate lots of delicious food and cake.
In the evening we went to a Greek restaurant in Chepstow for Mezze and cocktails-that was another late night-followed by a heavy head on Thursday!!!
So thats it for this year..one year to fit in all the adventures to cover before the big 40!!!!
Dawnx

I did it!

Oooh, get me...I've worked out how to add a list of blogs...very pleased with myself!!!LOL!!!
Dawnx

Wet.,Wet ,Wet!!!

We are home from a wet and very windy west Wales...and I have again come to the conclusion that I am not a caravaner!!!! Very little sleep and howling winds do not make a very happy mummy-Phoebe could not sleep through the noise of the rain on the caravan roof (and there was lots of it every night),so she thought it was a good idea to wake me every few hours to tell me it was still raining.
Actually it was only really wet one day of the week, so we managed to get out and about every day-even if we had to start the day in the afternoon,after allowing the storm to pass over us.We visited Folly Farm, St.Davids,Saundersfoot, Tenby,Tenby Harbour,Broad Haven,the Blue Lagoon-the little mini did us really well as we didn't need to carry lots of beach bits around with us!!!! The beaches are truly beautiful and ,with a bit of sunshine,there really is no nicer place for a holiday, but it is so unpredictable in this country!! Phoebe was not at all worried by the rain during day light hours and went in the sea every day-William was not so hardy and much preferred to climb the rocks or build sand boats!!! Got loads of photos to scrap through the rest of the Summer holiday-just need to order some more photo paper and ink and I'll be well away!!
Dawnx

Thanks, Sarah!!!

...for the tag-took me hours to get it on my blog-and then Rob had to help me:) Will try to link to the originator of the "Rockin Girl Blogger" tag, but this could take a while too!!!
http://www.robertaferguson.com/2007/06/18/why-not-start-something/
-this is the link to Roberta's blog-I hope-just need to know how to name it-this is going to be one of my holiday to do projects-to learn how to add more bits to my blog,complicated things like links and other blog addresses!!!!!
Need to tag some others-but think that is just too hard on my brain at the moment

Week gone quick!!!!

Phew, glad to see the back of that week-all gone quiet (touch wood) in school, concert over,and Parent's consultations finished:)The week just whizzed by though, so that is one benefit!!
Phoebe had her Sports Day on Monday and despite her moans, I think she quite enjoyed it-especially since her house won the overall cup:)But, horror of horror,I forgot my camera and so have no photos at all!!!! William was a little star as Doctor Evans calling on Miss Polly with her sick dolly-he even did all the actions for the rhyme with a huge grin on his face:)
July gallery is up on ATDML-super gorgeous Crate papers-the tags and bands that come with the paper are so useful-I love them:)
Be back tomorrow!!
Dawnx

Lots and lots happening at the moment-school is ending with a bang-we are having our annual run in with the LEA big wigs-and I don't think we have heard the end of this particular episode-I keep joking about getting sacked, but I am hoping it won't be a cruel joke that comes true!!! As a staff we have dared to question the service provided by certain LEA departments and this has not gone down well...but we really feel strongly about some of the new policies and we are becoming quite militant in our old age.If it ends with all our children getting what they are entitled to, then it will all be worth it (but I still have to pay my mortgage!!!)
Fete day on Saturday-Will turned into the cutest tiger ever-his Nursery report was so good-he has settled really well now-I think he will be ready for Reception in September.
Phoebe's report was excellent too-lots of waffle about things they have covered this year, but the personal comments made me so proud...she has really bloomed this year and become so much more confident.I love this photo of her-goofing around,with her bobble earings and cocky eyes, but still looking cute!!!!
Dawnx

Job Done!!

Reports completed and sat on Head's desk, ready for Monday morning...time for flip flops and sun hats...I am in holiday mode already!!! Still got another three weeks left, but this is the fun time of the year...teddy bear picnic on Tuesday, concerts and prize giving!!! We are doing an under fives concert again, but we forgot that there would be 13 three year olds in this concert that had not started when we did the Christmas concert...so we have a total of 71 under fives in one concert...all good fun though-especially when we all sing different words to the songs:) William is going to be the doctor who calls to Emily's Miss Polly -they are so cute during their parts-I cannot wait to see him in his costume!!
be back later
Dawnx

Found!!!

It is amazing how quickly a mojo can return when you are faced with 32 blank end of year reports that need to be filled in:)To be fair, I have completed TWO!!! so I don't feel too bad....haha..at this rate the children might get their Reception reports when they take their A levels. But am I worried?..nah...I have scrapped and really really had loads of fun!! I am trawling through my huge pile of photos that are already been printed and making myself ignore the new photos on my computer...and I am using some of the beautiful papers that have been sitting in my box for weeks...recklessly cutting them and using the matching letter stickers...wowee!!!
The new Elsie range is totally fabulous...you can make a really busy page that looks like you have taken hours in minutes...she has done all the hard work for you.
And I really love these Fancy Pants papers and chipboard flowers...yum!!

All quiet...

Nice and quiet in the Evans house this last week-just how I like it-well, not all the time, but I have enjoyed the normality of this week compared to the mad rush of last week! Nanna is back to feeling well again and that makes my life is whole lot smoother as I know Will is cared for every afternoon. We have been so so lucky having my mum as our childminder these past 9 years-I know that I would not have been able to hold down a full time job if it wasn't for this and for this I am so grateful:)
School is winding down and becoming frantic at the same time...SEN/classroom support was worked out last week and once again there was absolutely no provision for Reception-this is becoming a bad joke in our school!!! When I taught Year 1/2, most of the classroom support was down in the early years, with just a skeleton support further up. Now I am in Reception, it has reversed and the support is placed in Year1/2!!! I think it is a case of flog a willing horse, but I have made my opinions quite clear this week (and with a little bit of sulking), I have managed to persuade the powers that be to agree to one morning a week support!!!! As Rob pointed out it wasn't much to celebrate, but I was thrilled!!!! And with Jo (otherwise known as the best NNEB in the whole wide world!!!) taking on three extra mornings in the Nursery, next year can only be much better for all of us:)
June's gallery is up at "A Trip Down Memory Lane".This month we used the elegant black and white Luxe papers-adding various different colour cardstock totally changed these papers. And the rub ons are the best I have ever used-they went on really easily:) The little quote book combines two of the projects that we taught at the New Inn crop over the last few months. We made the little maze book in April and this time it worked so well with the Luxe paper. Last month we made a Cosmo Cricket quote book using the journalling cards in that range, so I used some of the spare quote sheets to complete this little book.
Off to put the kids in the bath and then battle the bedtime hour(!!!)-I cannot wait for the dark nights to draw in!!!!!
Dawnx

Going, going...

Gone...managed to fit in a long overdue trip to the hairdressers last night and went for a much shorter cut than usual...ready for the warm days ahead in June and July!!! I will probably regret it when I try to straighten it myself next week and I end up looking like a big frizz bomb, but for now it feels so light and shiny!!!
Busy busy in school as the end of this year draws closer at a scary speed-we even had the meeting for new Reception parents this week-looks like it is going to be a good year as around 22 out of a possible 27 parents turned up-this is a huge number compared to our usual 15 or so. It is going to be a real boy heavy class, but with no where near the challenges that I have faced with my class this year-in fact, this has probably been the hardest year for me so far, but also probably one of the most satisfying and enjoyable years too:)
No time at all for scrapping, but I have finished the 12 squares I have been working on as part of a friendship quilt project. The idea behind this is that 12 people each choose an up lifting quote or word and then creates 12- 4" x4" squares representing the quote.Everyone then receives one of everybody else's squares that can be pieced together to create a wall hanging or little book. I was a little daunted by the size when I cut the card-I love the space of a 12 x 12 -but then really enjoyed working on this scale.
Back off to bed for a few hours-even though the dawn is breaking:)
Dawnx

Lucky me!!!!

Here are my beautiful flowers, Maria-I know you will be so impressed with my arranging!!!And Phoebe and I have just devoured the chocolate discs...yummy...but you really shouldn't have...but they are gorgeous:)Thank you very very much!!!
Another busy day here...now the garden has been planted up for the summer-I admit it is nothing to do with me, but my fabulous daddy, who spends hours in his THREE greenhouses, growing trays and trays of flowers which are very gratefully received in the Evans garden. Now the challenge is for us to keep them alive through the next few months! William started off a willing helper until he got distracted by looking for bugs and beasties.
And after a good few hours of planting, dad then had to build Will's new bunk beds which arrived this afternoon in three tiny boxes-there must have been 500 pieces of tubing to put together-3 hours later, I thought the children were going to burst with excitement when they could finally climb the ladder!!! William has been upstairs all evening-waiting for bed time!!!!
Dawnx

Shhh...

Scared to say anything...but I am feeling so much better after only a few days holiday...we have had a few lie-ins and real lazy, hang around the house days-and I have loved every minute. It has rained buckets...but again this suits me...I much prefer wet and windy weather to any hot, sweaty bright days...odd for a Leo!!!
I have been busy though, in fact Rob is convinced that an alien has taken over my body...I look the same, but I have cleaned and tidied everything in sight!!!My pine dresser is now polished and decluttered-the bric a brac stall has gone.Now, my gorgeous Bridgewater is shown to all its glory...without having to battle the pile of bills, old films, bobbles, foreign coins, birthday cards, etc that have built up over time.In fact, there is room for more china now...hint, hint,Robbie!!! And the spare room is now a bedroom, not a chuck it in and quickly close the door room!!!And I have made 50 Christmas cards
Rob is packed and ready for the off in the morning on his annual pilgrimage to the Isle of Man for the TT races...I say packed but this just means clean pants and an extra t-shirt!!! And this means loads and loads of scrapping time over the weekend:)
Dawnx

And now....Owwww!!!

I don't know what happens to me at this time of year:( Now I have the most excruciating pain in my neck -around the back-it is so painful-my head feels like it is too heavy for my neck to support it!!! I missed Al's crop yesterday-my monthly escape-as I literally slept 20 out of 24 hours-I could have cried every time I turned over...but at least my tummy has settled back down following last week!!! Hopefully that is my dose of lurgies for the next few months ...I don't even have the energy to scrap or even think about it.So I have returned to my first love and bought some new books for the holiday week-I have started with Gordon Ramsay's autobiography...already i know it is going to be one of those un-put-downables that come along every now and again.The last book like this for me was "Memoirs of a Geisha"-in the days before I discovered scrapping!!! I read it through in almost one sitting and immediately started it again.
That's it for this time-neck cannot take any more!!!
Happy half term!!!
Dawnx

Bleurghhh....

One of the hazards of teaching Reception children is the inevitability that I will pick up all the nasty lurgies that they carry around on their unwashed hands and coughed in my face germs!!! And this week I have picked up a real good one. On Monday as I opened the door at 9 o clock, I was greeted by at least 8 parents telling me that their children had had a sickness and diarrhea bug over the weekend...I lasted until 2:45 p.m and then I started and I can honestly say that I have lost the last 36 hours of my life down the toilet(Too much information!!!) At one point I was writhing in such a delirious state that i don't think I knew my name. Not such a good way to lose weight, but my PJ's are decidedly looser!!!
And we had had such a great weekend-it was our 1st Birthday crop on Saturday-we started last year with 16 scrappers and now we are bursting at the seams-there were 34 of us there-if we had any more tables we would be even bigger:)I took along my camera, but only managed to snap some photos of the girls playing reverse bingo...last one standing wins the prize!! The funniest thing about these photos is the dedication-even when they are standing up, the scrappers are still cutting out!!There is a real mix of people at the crop-mostly our own family and friends,and friends of friends-but also some people that we would never have met if it were not for this wonderful hobby. We have lots of ideas and plans for the next year-but we really do need to decide upon a name!!1
Dawnx

So sad.

The search for little Maddy is still on going, but it has been 10 long days now since that poppet disappeared. Whatever your opinion is about the responsibilities of her parents, there is still a missing 4 year old who should have been safe in her own bed.I have hugged my own 4 year old so tight these last few days as I try to imagine how you would ever cope with the nightmare that those poor people are going through-I hope with all my heart that there is a breakthrough soon and that Maddy is found safe and well...
Work is pretty challenging at the moment-it is that time of year for Performance management observations and interviews-my turn on Tuesday-roll on 11 o'clock when it will all be over for another year!
This month's gallery is up at ATDML-gorgeous 7 gypsies again this month-Mel has totally converted me to these papers-I love the muted colours and patterns, which really are much better in real life:) The colours on "Perfect" are absolutely awful on the scan-they coordinate IRL, honestly they do!!!!
Dawnx

Hello Thumper!!

Here is the latest addition to the Evans household!! Phoebe has been saving for weeks for a rabbit and had managed to reach £40 by the beginning of this week.Then, she brought home a letter from school to say that she had been elected a "Best Buddy" by her classmates-which involves being part of an anti-bullying team!!! She has had her "training" and is now ready to play her part!! I am so proud of my little girl...she is so shy and quiet that this is a big step for her. Her job involves looking out for classmates at playtime and being the person that all the children know they can go and talk to about anything that is worrying them!A very responsible role for an 8 year old!!! So, I talked Robbie into putting some money towards her savings so we could get a hutch etc and reward her achievement this week:)
Only one problem...the pet shop had run out of rabbits and all we could get was a fab new empty hutch!! They had a new delivery tonight, so we went and chose this beautiful rabbit that Maddie and Phoebe decided would be called Thumper.William preferred Dotty , but the girls out voted him!!!
Dawn

Busy, as ever!!!

Whew, where did that weekend go? Our crop on Saturday was packed out-we had pulled extra trestles out from under the staging (thanks to Jo braving the spiders!!), there were crop trollies everywhere, but there was still such a friendly atmosphere in the hall. It is our birthday crop next month and we are busy planning party bags and games!!
William has had a new bike helmet this weekend and so Rob tried him again on the tag-a- long on the back of his bike. We bought it last year and Will was just that much too little and wobbly for it...but this year he is off...I'll try to attach a photo later of his great big beaming smile.
Phoebe had a sleepover at Maddie's house last night.She has come home trying to convince me to have another baby as she has decided that she does not want a brother any more and would like to have a sister instead. I hope that I have persuaded her that Mads could be an honorary sister.She was in her element when Carl and Emma called round this afternoon with little six week old Charlie...Phoebe nursed him on the sofa for an hour!
Had a fabulous delivery from ATDML this week-the new Crate Papers-tried to choose just one or two of the new releases as we are supposed to be saving(!!!!), but could not-so spent all of my stash budget this month on them-and I am so glad I did!They are out of this world-although they do have that strange Crate Paper smell!!! Just need to find some energy and time to actually use them-until that wondrous moment I think I shall just take them out of their packets and drool!!
Off to decide whether or not to order the Birkenstocks I have sitting in my shopping cart at QVC-cannot decide whether to go for the toe posts with the gorgeous pattern that will probably rub, or the one straps that are not so pretty, but will be more comfy, but more flappy (IYKWIM!!)
Dawnx

Back to it!!!

Should be planning for next week really, but cannot shake off the holiday mood!!!It has been a beautiful weekend-really warm but not too hot that I am moaning-I could really live in this temperature all year round:)
Not done too much scrapping, but have had the sewing machine out to make tents for school-I have a plan to attach them to the new wooden posts and the wooden fence that goes around my outdoor play area-not sure if it will work-but it looks good in my head!!!Just need to persuade Terry the caretaker to drill lots of holes for me now-hope he is in a good mood tomorrow.
Had the in-laws up for lunch today-a perfect excuse to get the chocolate fountain out of its box again-discovered mini doughnuts in Galaxy today-who needs strawberries and bananas???
This months gallery over at ATDML was using the new A2Zpapers-they are totally stunning, but very heavily patterned and very scary!!! Everyone used them in such different ways-the gallery is really spectacular this month.I found this giant peg down at Hobbycraft-it makes a perfect photo holder!!!
Rob is off on a car hunt again-he has had the Audi for 6 months now and is bored already...he has an urge for a Mini-so we will be going from a huge boat of a car to the smallest car in the world!!!!
Must think about planning something now, but at least I am ahead of the ironing for a few days!!!
Dawnx

Glorious days!!

What fantastic weather for a holiday-we have managed to fit in almost everything that we has planned to do this break. Rob took the kids to see Mr Bean yesterday-all on his own-I am so proud of him!!!At the same time, I took Mum to Ikea...what an experience-I had the devil's own time trying to convince her that she did not need to buy everything in the shop! I did get another shelf for my scrapping room and then spent a fab few hours last night sorting through the clutter that has built up in the last few months...just wish I had some time to scrap in it now!
We set off to the Roman Museum in Caerleon this morning to make a start on Phoebe's latest school project. It is a really difficult concept for eight year olds to understand, so hopefully visiting the barrack rooms and amphitheatre will make it a little easier-although I must admit, Phoebe was only really interested in the gift shop!!!
Dawnx