The post dedicated to gingerbread houses...

OK, so I have a thing for photos. I apologise in advance for the photo overload, but I guess if you're reading my blog you're probably interested in my life, so I guess I then retract my apology...

So this Christmas seems to have been the Christmas of the gingerbread houses. I bought a couple of house kits from IKEA at the end of last year after Christmas with the idea that I could make them this year with the kids (I of course checked their use-by dates! LOL). But then I was invited to the church's gingerbread house making afternoon. I couldn't turn that opportunity down! I did one a few years ago when we were at Ryde and it was soooo much fun! So off I went and made a house there with all the prettiness of cool lollies and cellophane and curling ribbon and friendly friends to make it with.

But what to do with the 2 kits I had left over?

Why, let the kids go mental of course!

So one day we had Alyssa and Stella (and their mum Rachael) coming over, so we planned to have a gingerbread house making day! We stocked up on lollies like M&Ms and Skittles and licorice allsorts and snakes, etc... I made heaps of royal icing, and away we went!

I haven't included the photos of Rachael and her kids cause even though she said it was fine to put them on Facebook, putting them out there on a blog is a different thing, so better to be safe than sorry! So you'll have to put up with photos of my kids instead! :D

The icing was a big hit - it got eaten straight out of the zip-loc bag piping bags...

Phillip was an expert at creating big enormous piles of icing all over the place...
Elizabeth and Phillip's creation...
Alyssa, Stella and Rachael's creation (Rachael did a good job of making it look a bit more organised than my kids' one!)...
And of course the eating part! We ate it after breakfast on Christmas morning after cherry and white chocolate pancakes...
I can see you... :D
How is it still standing???
And of course, my masterpiece! I am quite proud of this in the end. I think it looked great!

The pretty wrapping (which made sure the kids didn't pick bits off it while it was on display!)...
And all unwrapped and ready to eat...
Butter wouldn't melt in their mouths of course... ;D

Matt enjoyed pulling it apart too. It tasted pretty yum!
It took a bit, but it did fall down eventually...
And all that was left was put in a bowl to eat over the next few days...So, yes - that's the end of the post dedicated to gingerbread houses.

I'll be back in the next few days with the post dedicated to Christmas lights, and then the post dedicated to Christmas Day. Of course you are all waiting with bated breath for those posts, aren't you??? hehehehe

December Already???

Wow - was that the whole year? Really? How on earth did it pass so quickly? Is it really December? We celebrated Phillip's borthday yesterday, so I guess it MUST be December! LOL

Well, I'll bore you all with a few photos from the last couple of months...

Did some digi scrapping

In July we went to the Powerhouse Museum for the day. We took my little brother Ryan along too. It was such a great day - lots of hands-on play and learning fun. I've just finished a digi LO on it and figured I probably should share it straight away before I forget to (like all the other LOs I've done lately - I'll update with them soon enough! LOL)

It's of Elizabeth trying SO hard to climb the spider-web looking climbing thing they have in the playground. She was getting so frustrated that she couldn't climb as high as the older kids. But she stuck at it and did pretty well in the end (before she got scared of being so high and asked for help to get down! LOL).

I used a sketch from "stuck? sketches" to do this one. I almost never take photos in landscape, so I had to adapt the sketch to fit my photos. I love that about sketches - you don't need to be THAT exact! :D

Have a great weekend!

Our new house!

Well, we're getting to be pretty settled in the new place now. We've still got bits and pieces to find a new home for, and the decorating section seems to have been forgotten for a bit (note to self, a pile of photo frames on the shelves is NOT decoration!), but we're pretty set with most things. For some reason one single shelf in one of our bookshelves hasn't been put in yet. Not 100% sure why, but it's not urgent I guess, so we haven't done it yet! How slack are we??? LOL

My scrap area has been condensed onto only the computer desk, but I've taken advantage of space under the desk for some plastic drawers which are already full of STUFF! Boy, do we have a lot of STUFF!!!!

Anyway, we're loving the new house. In fine weather the kids spend almost all day outside, and when it's raining the TV reception is so much better the kids can watch ABC2 (with a whole lot of kids' programmes) whenever they want! Plus when Matt and I want the main living area to ourselves, the kids have their own rooms to play in. Elizabeth doesn't need to keep her small toys in the dining area, because she has her own desk, and she can play with her stuff whenever she wants!

So, basically, we love our new house!

Oh, and you'll have to wait for some photos (of the house, of the kids, of my scrapping and crocheting, everything)- the computer's having a little hissy fit and I can't really do photos on this laptop I've borrowed off my mum!

We're moving...

We're moving on Saturday! The owner of this place put the rent up, and while some people may be willing to pay $300 a week for a 2 bedroom townhouse with an un-useable backyard, we aren't. We'd prefer to pay $300 a week for a 3 bedroom house...

So last Saturday we had a garage sale. It was actually kind-of fun, even though it started raining in the afternoon which sent us scurrying for cover!

Our rather wet sign out the front - I reckon it just sets the scene for the whole garage sale... LOL

Where we ended up - under cover with water coming through and everything a little soggy!

Bellie getting all rugged up. It was COLD!
My funny man... He seriously needs a haircut (and a shave)! LOL
The kids trying to drum up some business by pointing people in the right direction!
So now we're packing and gradually driving ourselves crazy with the amount that needs to be done!

Wish us luck!