Oh, oh, oh

I just have to get me some of the new Urban Lily stuff. I'm loving all their new ranges but if I had to choose then I'd say definitely the Doodle Daisy and Baby Lily collections.

I've been avoiding all links to CHA sneak peaks as I really, really cannot justify buying anything more. I need to use my current stash first. However, I am a sucker for Urban Lily and happened across yet another link today and, I don't know, but I'll blame the heat, I just clicked and well, now I know I have to have these papers.

Someone talk me out of it, please....

Time to update

I'm getting very close now to my one year blogging anniversary. One year. A whole year. 365 days.

Never in my wildest dreams (and I have some pretty wild dreams) did I ever imagine I'd still be blogging a year later. I often start things and eventually lose interest or move on to something else. A bit like all the hobbies I've tried in the past. But blogging, like scrapbooking, seems to be a stayer.

I'll be making a few changes to the blog over the next couple of weeks. I've already started with a new profile photo, taken ooh, 5 minutes ago. I'm getting a dab hand at taking self portraits. I'm going to give the site a bit of a face lift, something a little more summery. And I'm going to sit down and finally get my head around HTML and CSS and see if I can make some bigger changes. I know how I want my blog to look and work it's just getting it to do it.

I feel I should mark the occasion some how. Perhaps a little challenge or something? Maybe a prize or two? Hmmm, I'll give it some further thought but watch this space.

Waiting for a bus syndrome

You know what I mean. You wait nearly an hour for a bus and then 3 turn up all at the same time.

This is what my life is like at the moment. I've been bimbling along for ages now, not much on, which is good considering the weather we've been having (more on this later) and now last weekend and pretty much this week I have got soooo much on. It just isn't funny.

Last Saturday, for example, I had a very, very old friend visiting (Laura, who I've know since we worked together when I was 19). As I haven't seen her in nearly 4 years I was very excited. But before Laura was due to arrive I had to make the salad for the lunchtime BBQ (Taco Salad, yum, yum), go to the local village and buy some material to make Katarina's costume for the school play, then pop in to town and buy Harriet's costume, take Katarina to her Latin American and Ballroom dance classes, whilst Katarina is twirling around the floor go to The Little House Party store and finalise details, pay deposit etc. for Noah's birthday party, go back and pick up Katarina and then finally return home. All in time for Laura to arrive for lunch.

And that was just Saturday. Over the weekend I had to prepare a scrapbooking class double LO, complete with instructions and sketch and this morning I was up at 7am (not a time I usually see) sewing together Katarina's skirt. I have to admit to getting a 'little' stressed over the class I designed but it's done now and hopefully people will like it. In my mind I'm a simple scrapbooker and I worry people will be disappointed.

I have yet to complete my last circle journal (but it is in hand and I'm hoping to post it tomorrow), I have already received the next circle journal and I still need to do something about end of year gifts for the children's teachers. Oh, and I forgot I also need to write out Noah's invitations and I'm sure there are other things that have temporarily slipped my mind.

And the thing is, I don't want to do any of that. It is just too darned hot. When I got in the car at 9am this morning the thermometer was already at 24° and by the time I picked him back up, at 12pm it had risen to 31°. The BBC Weather site is predicting yet another hot week so I probably won't feel much like doing anything later in the week either. I predict lots of time spent in the pool.

So proud

Of my girls.

Both of them came home after school yesterday with their school reports and SAT results.

How clever are they? A result of 2B is the nationally expected standard for most 7 year olds (2C being below the expected standard and 2A being above) and a level 3 is even better. Harriet got a 2A in mathematics and 3s in English Speaking and Listening, Reading, Writing and Science.

Katarina, who's in year 5, took optional SATs (not sure what was optional about it as I don't think she had a choice LOL!). The expected level of attainment for a child at the end of year 6 (so in Kat's case the result she should be expected to attain at the end of NEXT year) is a level 4. She's hit that figure out of the ball park already this year and achieved 4As in English Writing and Reading (just 1 mark off achieving a level 5 in Reading) and got a 5C in Maths!

When we had parent interviews at the end of last year both girls were not performing at the same levels they were before we moved to Canada. Both of them had dropped down below the levels they were achieving. Richard and I were not overly worried and knew that they would pick things up fairly quickly and these results have proved just that.

And their actual reports? That was all good too. Apparently Harriet has been a pleasure to teach and played an excellent role as a spoilt queen in the Christmas play. Katarina is an enthusiastic, positive learner but needs to learn more how to compromise!

OK, proud parent moment over. For now at least.

Worth every penny

I ummed and ahhed over whether to buy a pool for the garden. Will it get used? Will the water be too cold? Will it be a pain to keep clean and healthy? Will the children be safe? What about Noah?

But you know, it was the best £125 (plus postage and packaging) I've ever spent. The children LOVE it. Forget the children, Richard and I LOVE it. It's got a heater so the water is never too cold, sometimes too hot but not so much now we've worked out the best temperature for it to be at. Yes, we have to keep the chemicals topped up but to be honest it really only takes about 10 minutes to do that. The biggest pain is the scooping out of all the leaves and stuff that falls in to it but I'm currently trying to sort out some sort of alternative to the net system.

Kat is a mermaid anyway, loves the water, can't get her out of it if ever we go near some. Harriet has come on leaps and bounds with the pool, even to the point where she swims under the water! And Noah has so much confidence. The only problem is he thinks he can swim. Just the other day he was refusing to put on his armbands and said 'look, see, I can swim, mummy!" followed by a glug, glug, glug as he disappeared under!

And most importantly my safety concerns have been fine. I am vigilant. I am careful. I wouldn't let Noah go out in the garden by himself, well not with the pool now anyway and I've watched him and he doesn't take much notice of it when we aren't all in it.

It is such fun and worth every penny. And at the end of a long, hot day, a dip in the pool is just what you need.

Too hot to scrap

Uggh. I'm hot, I'm sticky and I just don't want to do anything.

Getting in to the car over the weekend was like getting in to an oven. The car showed a temperature constantly over 30º all weekend, going up as high as 35º.

I know, I know, you can never please some people but I have to be honest and say I've never really liked it hot. Probably why I loved the winter in Canada so much. All that lovely cold snow!

I had to scrap yesterday though as I needed to get a LO finished ready for submission to the Scrapbook Inspirations magazine. It seemed really strange doing an autumn LO in the heat and I really didn't enjoy the process as I kept sticking to every surface I touched. Yuk.

I finished it though and have to say even though it's simple I really like it. And guess what? I used peel-offs too!!!

To all my Canadian friends

HAPPY CANADA DAY

Hope you all have a great day today and enjoy all the celebrations.

Here are some pictures of our first Canada Day celebrations in 2004. When we first arrived we were renting a gorgeous cottage just 5 minutes from the beach in a little place (and I mean little) called East River. Our landlords set up a weiner roast on the beach, some ice cold beer, it was fab.