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

No more chocolate...please!!!

The world's biggest chocoholic is giving in...my mouth is still too sore to even enjoy one of the many, many eggs we have in this house:( I have lived on a diet of cake since last Tuesday; anything harder to eat makes my jaw and ear throb;I have convinced myself that not all the tooth has come out, but Rob has had one of his back teeth removed and he is sure that this is a normal feeling!!Hope it starts to feel better soon...probably just as the Easter holiday ends, knowing my luck!!!
Had a funny old first week off..finally had my hair cut and coloured after waiting since February for an appointment...I think I go the only part time hair salon in Wales...Jackie only opens every other Saturday, closes every Monday and does one late night every fortnight...and when you work full time this makes it pretty much impossible to fit in a three hour colour unless you book 6 months in advance!!! So now I am short, straight and golden for a few days at least. Rob was off on Friday and we braved a walk at Roath Park,along with everybody else!! It was the busiest I have ever seen it...poor old Phoebe had no chance to ride her bike without stopping every few yards to let the crowds pass. William moaned all the way around...he is just like me...walking holds absolutely no appeal to us at all..by the time we got back to car, he had had 3 paddys, refused to walk any further 4 times,slipped and fallen backwards in a stream and asked to go home at least 10 times!!!Happy days!!
It was mum's birthday today and Rob cooked a fabulous lunch with frisbee Yorkshire puddings(!!) and then we filled the chocolate fountain with bars of galaxy for an Easter treat. The challenge of the day was to fully coat a piece of madeira cake with chocolate and then try to swallow it...without needing a glass of water!!!
Photos today from our walk in the park and mum and dad in the garden...yes, William is dressed in his very favourite dressing up outfit...a blue Cinderella dress and matching make up...I am hoping that he gets this all out of his system before he reaches 5!!!!
Dawnx

Ouch

Whoops there goes another one... a tooth that is!!! After debating the decision of extraction or root canal treatment for the last few weeks, I bravely went to the dentist today, having decided upon a go at tolerating a root filling!!! But the dentist was much more concerned about one of my back teeth that was slowly crumbling away. So, we decided to leave the temporary filling in place and tackle that back tooth before it started to give me any jip!!! BUT..I may have weak crumbly teeth, but those roots are firmly in there!! Nisha ended up drilling and cutting my gum to get the tooth out-and the dental nurse had to hold my head to stop me moving away. I had cramp in my hands from gripping the chair and then the blood would not stop. 30 minutes later, I was just about able to walk to the car!!! No wonder I hate going to the dentist!!!
Rob has been down to the BUPA hospital in Cardiff this afternoon for some minor out patient surgery-he had a blood vessel trying to escape from his shoulder!!!That was cut away, along with a cyst on his back...lots of big plasters and painkillers needed when the anesthetic wore off this evening:(
Had a great start to the holiday...a whole scrapping day yesterday...although I only made 3 layouts, I had time to get the sewing machine out, so stitched everything in sight!! Love the new Cosmo Cricket papers-think I might try Dutch Girl tomorrow!!!!

Lost weekend

Not the best weekend of my life...in fact, it ranks right up there with the worst...the ones you just want to draw a curtain around and forget...so that is what I will do...even though I am the world's worst at moving on!!!But as they say, what does not break us makes us stronger...so now I am ready to carry anything!!!
It was our monthly crop on Saturday, but it passed in a blur...poor Jo had double shift to do! We were bursting at the seams with another three new ladies-that means we are a regular 30 with a possible 40 each month. We had three layouts this month as there was so much paper in the packs, lots to do, but everybody seemed to get through the day without too many accidents!
Haven't done any scrapping this week-it is that time of the term when I really need a holiday-and this is a hard school week with parent consultations and Easter parades:)And I am on junk modelling-my absolute pet hate!!!I have to fight every urge to add bits to make the pile of boxes really look like the robot it is supposed to be!!!Phoebe has that awful temperature thing again-this is the fourth time since last September-Grandad had the same bug over the weekend and hopefully it will go as quickly as it started-she is so lethargic and tearful, I feel so sorry for her:(
I'll add the layout from last weekend-using the gorgeous new Scenic Route papers and arrows. It is William last summer-he totally refused to stay still for any nice family portrait...but this is the real William-as John next door calls him..."Batteries included"
Off to make a boys Easter bonnet for Will-wish me luck!!!
Dawnx

My girl...

My girl and the precious pressies!!!!

Happy Mother's Day!!!

After a shaky start...it was so windy through the night that both kids ended up in our bed, and four bodies just don't fit in our bed, so mum moved out into Phoebe's bed!!!!...., I have had a really lovely Mother's day. Phoebe made me my breakfast in bed-a huge bowl of Sugar Puffs (to be eaten with a tiny tea spoon!) and then I had my lovely gifts. Phoebe's school had a fund raising bring and buy stall last week so she took in her saved pocket money and came home with an abundance of pressies.The teachers wrap up the gifts that the children choose and add gift tags so they were a real surprise:)I had a mug filled with chocolates, a book(!), a hair brush (not used, thank goodness!)and a bottle of Touch (bought by Rob!!!!). William had made a teapot card in Nursery and was so proud of this!!
We set off early this morning to visit our mums, armed with roses, slippers and moisturizer!!!!Rob is now cooking up a storm in the kitchen-he makes the best roast beef dinner in the world (if he is not distracted by the computer in between!!!!)
I have ironed and prepared for the week ahead...Gabbie is on work experience in our school next week and is staying here for the week...Pheebs and Will are so excited to have their cousin staying for five nights.It is almost as exciting as Christmas, I swear!!!
Think I need to finish the perfect day with a little scrap!!!!
Dawnx

The Big One!!

We love Comic Relief days in our house...Phoebe has clear memories of the last two days, so was full of excitement for the big one this year!!!!She has spent the last week planning which of my tops to wear and finally settled on a delightful floaty purple number!! Trying to get three of us ready with big red hair was a huge task at eight o'clock on a Friday morning, but we got there!!! Phoebe watched some of the live show when she came home from Kate's birthday party and I hope it really made her appreciate how hard life is for so many people in this world. I am always so moved by the films they show through the night, but after two hours of intermittent crying, I have to turn over! School was great fun, every child had made a great effort, we had red nose cakes at break time and a parade in the hall!!!
Dawnx

One year ago today...

we had such a shocking day in school.The parents on the yard were crying in small groups and then the news came to us that the chair woman of our PTA had died in the night. Her husband had taken her to hospital early in the evening and she was gone by 11 o clock! Unbeknown to every one (and I mean everyone...not even her best friends knew)she had been fighting breast cancer that had spread very quickly to her brain. The day before had been a school disco and she had failed to turn up for it...leaving the other parents to moan as she had all the equipment, prizes, snacks, etc. All they knew was that she had a headache!! She was a lady who loved to be in control...loved to tell us our jobs(How many times did she chase me up and down the corridor, asking ridiculous questions!)...loved to know everything that was going on...but most of all she loved her two boys to bits. Her whole existence was to make her boys happy and safe. Alex is in Phoebe's class and he is truly one of the nicest little boys I have ever met...kind, caring, gentle, sensitive, clever...everything you would ever want your child to be. Ben is in Nursery with Will and is turning out to be every bit as gorgeous as his big brother.The boys are such a tribute to their mum and dad, their grandparents and families...It is on a day like this that we should all hug each other tighter than ever before!!!
Debbie...we will never forget you xx
Dawnx

And more...

Two more from this month's gallery...

Spring has sprung!!!

Had an urge today...to tidy the garden and sort out the pots!!!! And Jo was on hand to capture this unheard of event with her camera phone!!! I love it when the garden is all nice and tidy, but I hate taking the risk of meeting bugs and worms. Rob insists they won't hurt me, but I am unwilling to take that risk!!!! We have a teeny tiny garden, that suits us just fine, but the lawn is always water logged due to crap drainage. And covered with leaves from the trees over our fence...so it never looks tidy at any time of the year!!! It was nice to feel the sunshine though:)
Rob set off for Birmingham yesterday to meet up with the lads that he plays on line games with...to spend the afternoon in an internet cafe playing the same old war games!!!! How odd is this???? But as he(and lots of other non-scrapping friends) pointed out-not really that much different to me going off cropping for a day or a weekend!
The mayor is visiting school tomorrow..not a longed for visit, as the current lady mayor threatened members of staff several years ago when we were opposed to the opening of another nursery in our area. We knew that this would seriously affect our numbers and would cost us jobs (which it did!!), but were warned by this councillor (as the mayor was then)that if we did not stop our protests, then we would be shut totally!!!Unfortunately, these comments were made in the school corridor, off the record, so are not minuted!!But we are a group of women with very good memories...and when the Mayor's office phoned to book her visit, our head said "No, thank you" But after her going through solicitors, Directors and council leaders, we have been told we have to let her visit!!! How thick is her skin?????
Gallery is up over at A Trip Down Memory Lane...New Basic Grey...yum, yum, yum!!!!
Dawnx

Always on a Sunday...

I have got two very, very tired children here...Phoebe had a sleepover at Georgia's last night-and we always pay for it when she returns from a night out!!!Trying to persuade her to read has been a challenge...she is not keen on school reading books...she'll read Fairy books, Horrid Henry books and Tiara club books until they are coming out of her ears, but trying to encourage her with scheme books is another battle...and one that I always leave until the last minute!!! William had a sleepover down Nanna's last night too...Nathaniel was staying, so they probably spent hours on the X-box, although he was asleep when I rang granddad at 10 to remind him about the Lunar eclipse.Never mind, they are bathed and fed, ready for an early night(in about five minutes!!!)
I had lots of fun last week, taking part in Kelly's Mojo challenge ...such a simple but fabulous idea-Kelly chooses a layout each week, which she and her team then lift and post every Friday at 11 o'clock. I LOVE scraplifting-someone else has done all the hard work of the page design-leaving me to do my favourite part of scrapping-choosing the papers and titles. It has taken me a few years to realise that these are my favourite parts of scrapping...I could spend hours going through my stash and quite often do!!!! As long as the original is always credited to the designer, this is probably the best way to shake yourself out a rut and try lots of new things...go on give it a go:)The original design of this layout was created by Liane!I have added the link to the left hand side of this page, after trying 10 times to add it to the text, I give up!!!!
Dawnx

Last one

Will and his bestest friend, Emily!!!

More photos

For some reason, Blogger is layering all my photos on top of each other...so I'll try again!

Happy St. David's Day!!!

How different was it to last year...that was our unexpected Snow day when we woke to blizzards. Today was a stunning Spring day,blue skies and warm air, everything was looking beautiful...especially the children in my house and my classroom!!! Every child in my class turned up in some kind of costume...totally unheard of and never achieved before!!! The two hour Eisteddfodd (!!!!) passed by quite quickly-for some unknown reason, we have a tradition of undertaking a formal competitive event in our school-with competitions in singing, recitation, poetry, story writing, painting and on and on...all watched by an audience of anxious parents...and when you think we are an english speaking Infant School, you can imagine what a performance it all turns into. We have practised every day this week, spending hours in the hall...thank goodness for the bribery power of a box of Welsh cakes, I say!!!
It was Will's first experience of the day and he coped really well. He hid behind Emily when it was Nursery's turn to sing, but sat over on the other side of the hall from me and even managed a little smile when they left half way through the morning.Phoebe was not impressed that the new Head of her school wanted all the children to dress up for a parade around the village...she was very reluctant to wear her hat so I had to soften the blow by letting her wear her new sparkly top underneath the shawl!!!! A very glamorous Jemima Nicholas if I say so myself!!!
Here are some photos of my two gorgeous Welsh children!!!
Dawnx

My turn!!

To have a bout of the lurgy!!! I feel so peely-wally-not really ill, but out of sorts!I have been sleeping for Wales and then finding it hard to wake up...i just knew this would happen-after the children and Rob's trips to the doctor-it was only a matter of time. It seems to be settling in my throat today so at least I will have something to tell the doc-if I can get an appointment next week!!
Not even wanted to scrap at all-managed to shop a little though-got some gorgeous new Cosmo Cricket on its way from Mel and Jill.
Rob had a few days off at the end of half term, but Phoebe wanted to go the pictures with Maddie and with me being so lethargic, we just spent our time together potching around the house.Never mind-only 5 weeks until Easter!!! Training Day tomorrow at New Inn-not looking forward to it as it is the annual cluster Training Day-when all schools in the area train together-a day of total irrelevance to our setting!!Six hours of "Effective Questioning Techniques" which will be totally dominated by the comp teachers and their issues-if the past few years are any thing to go by.
This is a real moany post so its best I stop now and see if my mood improves through the week!!
Dawnx

I love my Robbie

After having a really frustrating week with this computer...it was taking 48 minutes(I counted!!)to start up and then cutting out for no good reason...my geeky husband has changed my over worked and crammed full hard drive for a fabby new one...it is huge and boy oh boy does it make a difference!!! I know I always moan at Rob when he spends hours and hours fiddling, but I really appreciate him today!!!!
Had a shopping day out in Bristol today with Jo, Mads and Phoebe...Phoebe was in a really difficult mood...although she is only 8, she is desperate to be 15...so there the battles began. We eventually managed to reach a compromise and found jeans, a top and a dress/top that we were both happy with...although I did give in to the flip flops in the last shoe shop-she had worn me down by this point.It was really warm in the Mall and by the time we got home, my head was pounding and I had to lie down for a little while. Poor old Will had to make do with a prize of a colouring book and some new felt pens-but he was thrilled with these-he is always so grateful for any little thing:)
Half term is passing so quickly-it has rained every day, so lots of scrapping time!!! Been playing with the new Basic Grey and just cannot stop! Phoebe just seems to match every photo in my pack-the colours are fresh and beautiful-and the patterns are so appealing...especially the birds (just for Jo!) Been trying to work my way through the masses of chipboard that I am saving-for what I don't know!! It is hard to use it-but I am determined to use up some of the clutter in my room. Just a little peek at the layouts as they are for the March gallery at A Trip Down Memory Lane!
Dawnx

Way hey!!!!

Don't you just love the video below-from San Diego-The Wrong Trousers-it really should not work-but it does!!!!!Rob and I have been "oh..oh..oh.ohh"ing at each other all week!!!
Finally, it is the Sunday before Half term-and I am so proud to have completed my first half term without a sick day since last Easter!!!! Hopefully, I have broken the pattern-and it will be onwards and upwards for the rest of this year:) William and Phoebe are finally over their infections, but Rob is still suffering with his throat-he has now had 4 lots of antibiotics since Christmas-I have passed the sick note onto him!!!
Anywhoo, last week was uphill all the way as the last week always is. The Early years Advisory team came on Friday for a lookie at our outdoor play setting-not much to see or photograph as there was torrential rain and we could not even put the equipment out under the canopies!! So, that just means that there will be a return visit in March.
Valentine's day came and went-with the usual slushy card from Rob-he does not say the the words-but he does love to write reams in cards for me-wonderful, until my mum decides to read the cards on the mantel!!And he topped up my saving fund and put the rest towards my new camera-so I am now the proud owner of a Canon EOS 400D-it is so fabulous...I love it!!!Just need to work out how to use it:)
More exciting news...the new Basic Grey papers arrived from Mel and Jill at A Trip Down Memory Lane...I say it every time, but this time the collections are out of this world!! I think Phoebe (as it would be) and Perhaps are my favourites, followed by Scarlet's Letter and then Stella Ruby. Not that I don't love the last two, but I think they will be the ones that grow on me!!
Yesterday was Crop Day in New Inn-very full this month,lots of new ladies and no spare papers in case of mistakes!!!I lost track of how many times we said...there are no mistakes in scrapbooking!!!And then tried to piece together strips of paper!!! It is a fantastic day-lots of wondeful home made cakes (not by me!)and good company-just how a day should be!!
The gallery went up on A Trip Down Memory Lane last week-this was the month for Karen Foster papers and the matching stickers-now these were a challenge for me-I don't think I have ever used stickers-I tend to cut elements from the patterned papers and use those as embellishments. So, to have prepared pieces was a bit of a luxury...