Simply the best!

Wow, wow, wow!

What a brilliant, lovely, cool Christmas we had. My sister in law, Debbie picked Ethan and I up on Christmas Eve, it was great to see a a happy smiling Joshua, looking very festive in his little red outfit. My brother had been called back off-shore the week before, so I knew that we would not be spending the day with him. I was a little sad that he wouldn't be there for Joshua's first Christmas, but at least he would be too little to remember. So we get to their house, and I am cooing over my gorgeous little nephew and in walks my brother!!!!!! He arrived back on Monday and my entire family had kept it a secret from me, what a lovely surprise, I burst into tears!!! So that was the best Christmas present ever, to have us all together was brilliant!

So we got the little ones to bed, Ethan in his new PJ's (i have a little tradition that he gets one Christmas present on Christmas eve, new jammies, so that he looks all smart for photos in the mornings, ha ha!!) and Deb and I got busy in the kitchen, making profiteroles and trifle... yum.
Quite surprisingly, Ethan didn't wake up until 8.30 on Christmas morning, so we all had a lie in, lol! Then it was presents galore .... Father Christmas was very good to Ethan .... he must of been very well behaved all year! Debbie and Geoff gave him a Wii, so he was particularly taken with that (as am I, my arms are aching from the boxing, lol!). After our yummy meal .... oft, sooooo much food, all the rest of the family and friends came up. We played Buzz and singstar, hilarious, (I have lots of it on video .... mmmwwwhhhaaaaarrrr), it was lovely for us all to be together! One of my favourite bits was seeing Logan (dressed in the Sporticus outfit that E and I gave him for Christmas) doing press-ups and star jumps, hee hee, if you have never seen a 3 year old doing a press-up, then you should, so so funny! We have been chilling out the last few days, and enjoying family time. We were over in Edinburgh yesterday and out for dinner. We had Nanny to stay last night, Ethan tried to get her on the Wii, hee hee!

Not sure what we are up to today, but it is bound to be lots of fun. One thing my family do well is Christmas, chilling out and spending time together (and eating and drinking!!) is always so much fun. There was talk of a walk through Falkland wood today, so I had better get my boots out! My uncle and little cousin arrive tomorrow, he is 5 and more energetic than Ethan , if that were possible, so i had better fit a little recharge in somewhere!!

Right, I am off to make pancakes for breakfast, well it would be rude not to entertain my house guest!!
Enjoy your day everyone
em xx

Christmas mania ....

Yes, that is what is going on in our house ....

So school is out, I went up to the nursery on Thursday at the end of his Christmas party, just in time to see Father Christmas arrive and give all the children an early gift, Ethan got a remote controlled car, which was a huge hit! All the children were very hyper and the teachers looked like they were looking forward to a nice rest!! I had some nice presents and cards for the staff as they do such a great job of making my boy so smart.

Ethan's 'wife' (whilst in the home corner, they seem to like playing at getting married, and E is always the groom. I think it is because he is the tallest in the class, and has a gaggle of girls wanting to marry him. But Raigan appears to be the favourite. Her mum told me she can't stop talking about him and says he is her prince!), a sweet little girl called Raigan, was desperate to give him a hug goodbye, but by this point Ethan was very distracted with his car!

Then I did the Christmas food shop .... a tad stressful, but it is done now! So now my kitchen is bursting with yummy treats ... mulled wine and a slice of dolcelata anyone!!

Then on Friday morning I had to take Ethan to the doctor as he didn't seem right at all, he has Broncilitis (sp?) and the dr said it is worse at night. Hence the nigthmares and high temp, and his 'hurting heart' as he kept telling me, will be heartburn. I felt particularly bad as Dr Bee said he has swollen glands like golf balls, I hadn't even noticed! Once the meds had kicked in, I was able to take him to the Singing Kettle (he was past the contagious stage, lol!), which is a great way of taking the Christmas spirit up a notch!!

Ethan is away with his dad until tomorrow afternoon, so I am trying to get all the wrapping done and tidy the house in preparation for the toy explosion due to hit on Thursday!! I was out with all the girls on Saturday night. A great night, although I didn't like it when we ventured into town (I prefer the smaller, more intimate pubs, lol!), so I was back home and in bed by 11.30!! Well I am getting old, lol!

I am going into town later with Marion and Nanny ....... I must stop buying for Ethan ... I just keep seeing little bits for this stocking ... he is going to need a skip!

I have loads of pics to show, but haven't uploaded them yet. Promise to try!! Also my next SA submission was sent off last week and we have out next package and challenge instructions already, so need to find some time over Christmas to get scrapping!

Hope you all enjoy the next few days!
Chill out and relax.
Em xx

Phew ....

Well that is all the cards for my friends and family made, written and addressed! I have another load to make for Ethan's nursery and my neighbours, but I will just run them up quickly with some cheaty toppers I got form work and a bit of matting and layering. I have been working on these ones since Saturday night .. I have cut 72 felt Christmas trees, sewn 24 sequins, 72 pearls and 48 beads... was a total production line and I may have gone a tiny bit blind as a result, but I am v happy with the end cards. I will take some pics tomorrow when the light is better.

I will also take some of the tree (a 7ft beauty!!) and my Martha Stewart-Esq home decor .... am into green gingham ribbon in a big way! Ethan and I made gingerbread men to hang on the tree yesterday so the living room has a wonderful gingerbread and pine needle aroma... so festive, I love it!! Was very funny as we had Rachel and Logan around for dinner last night, and after they left I found lots of maimed gingerbread men ... who were obviously a casualty of Logan's nibbling!!

I need to put the finishing touches to my next SA submission, as I want to get it posted off asap to avoid and Christmas madness. I also need to do some baking tomorrow as Hils and Stru are coming for tea .... so need to keep my favourite blond curly imp sweet!!

Ethan hasn't been very well this week, he was off nursery on Monday and Tuesday with a cold, but has perked up a bit now. He also got 2 birthday party invites today, one of them is a trip to the Singing Kettle, so he is very excited!

I can't quite believe how quickly Christmas has come around, but at least I am organised, just need to do my wrapping (I have lots of lovely gold organza ... see I am just like Martha, hee hee!!). We had our annual visit to see Father Christmas in Jenners and a jaunt round the Winter Wonderland in Princes Street last week, and also Kerry and I enjoyed our annual mulled wine in the German Market .... mmmm I love mulled wine!

Anyway .. I am off to watch a bit of Dexter ,,, it is the penultimate episode ... then to bed as have a busy day tomorrow, I need to do some baby business stuff before our visitors arrive.

So good night. Will try to remember the photos tomorrow!!
Em xx

The voting has begun ....

So this is where our fate lies in your hands ... yikes!!

Yes voting is now open for the first challenge of The Scrapbook Apprentice, there is so much lovely work, from some very talented ladies and lots to choose from, but if you like mine, then please vote here! Thank you, thank you!

So it is also December now yayyyyyy!!

But also, can someone please tell me where or where has this year gone?? We have nearly been here a year and I have still to paint my bathroom, ha ha!! But it has been a great year, so many wonderful things have happened, so many blessings and I am really looking forward to Christmas. My shopping is pretty much all done (just waiting for deliveries) and I am hoping to get the tree this week, then I can get the house festively decorated and ready for Father Christmas!

Right, i am off to bed... Don't forget to vote (for me!!!)!

Night ya'alll
em xx

I Heart Aga's!!!

So our retreat was amazing, wonderful, loads of fun, and to directly quote Jo and Sonia 'great food, great location and great company'!! Our house was in fact a mansion, but was so homely and perfect. The kitchen became the central point (well that and the barn with our huge scrapping table!) as it was lovely and cozy thanks to the fabulous aga (i seriously have to add one of those to my dream kitchen wish list!!).

We have loads of photos (we also managed to fit in a proper photo shoot, thanks beckie!!), I will add some soon (or look at Hils blog as she has some up already). It was really strange yesterday, not to be surrounded by them all, missing you all already ladies!!

The gold star goes to Hils, she is the most efficient, prolific scrapper I have ever seen. I didn't do as much (although **coughs** I was the only one who managed to alter my reindeer, ha ha!!), we had a couple of lovely mini book classes, thanks to Sonia and Beckie, although I have now crossed a BIA off my wish list as it totally stressed me out!!

Anyway, it was a total blast, I loved it (even if I was ill with the cold throughout, hope none of you get it!!) and we are already planning our next trip!!

But back down to earth with a bump .... charlie is ill... so I have given him some chicken and hope that it settles his tum.... I am working today and then I have Greek and we are out to dinner, so I can really do without a trip to the vets! Charlie hasn't been ill for a year, but when he does get ill he goes all out, unlike his sister who has the constitution of an ox!! Thank goodness for cat insurance!

I also came to a decision yesterday about the baby classes... I have had a lot of demand for the Saturday morning one, that i was going to start later on next year. But after giving it some thought, and after having some time to myself this weekend (which I don't get, as I either work, have Ethan all week or work weekends!) I have decided to be brave and make the jump! I emailed all my interested mums and already have 4 confirmed spots, and that is without my marketing assault which is starting this week! So from January onwards I will have Saturdays free YAY!!! I can't wait to get to the farmers market, hee hee!!

Right, I had better get moving... ohhh before I forget, my second box of SA goodies was waiting for me when i got home ..... so my mind is buzzing with ideas!!
ok, am defo going now!
em x

One more sleep!

Ooooh what a couple of weeks I have had!!

Basically, I had a long checklist of jobs to get through and I was a tad stressed and daunted by all the work I had to do and how I was going to get it all done in time, but I have done it! I've still got a long list left, but for now I can take a break. My UKS teamies and I head off to our retreat tomorrow, for 3 days of fun, gossip and scrapping! You should see all the food we have, think there is going to be as much eating as there is scrapping. Plus Bex is going to teach RP class, am really looking forward to that!

My SA Challenge 1 work has been submitted (phew ... although I loved working on it, I definitely like working to a deadline and under pressure ... i am not so sure about my blood pressure, lol!) although I stupidly forgot to take any pictures .... duh!

I have also made lots of progress with the baby classes (launching in January 2009!!!!), been doing lots of marketing, development, planning and training. Lisa and I are going to spend all next week doing a big leaflet drop, and get posters up all over Kdy! It is basically going to be non-stop, well I guess that is what it is like if you are running your own business. But I am really pleased with how it is going, it is very exciting!

Well I am all packed, although I haven't picked any photos to take..... will do that in the morning as I am really tired. Then Hils, Beckie and I will load our totes and head off onto our road trip adventure to our Cottage in the lakes, I wonder if we could get a starbucks on the way ......!!?

Will update you all with photos and gossip next week!
Night night ... don't let the bed bugs bite!!
Em xx

Bad Blogger!!

Sorry, sorry, sorry!

I haven't written for ages. Loads going on and I am really busy (and a tad stressed out, ha ha!!).

I am very excited to announce that I have been picked as one of the 12 Scrapbook Apprentices, we are all really busy completing our first challenges. For more info check out the Creativity Life blog.

I am also really busy as I am launching my baby sign language classes in January, which is really exciting. Plus I am demonstrating scrapbooking at work on Thursday night, so have loads of prep for that to do. All this along side everything else, so I am a bit tired at the moment! But on the upside, I am babysitting Joshua on Sunday evening, can't wait. I will be poking him to wake up so I can have a cuddle!!

Here are some recent pics, as it has been so long ...

OK, better get going as need to do a ton of work today!

Em x