Loving my new camera ......

I am very much still learning how to use my new camera. I have done some basic reading and tried to read the manual and have now the book on the camera. So many things to learn. But i am having a lot of fun trying things out. 

Old friends of mine came over from the UK this weekend. And so i got to take a lot of photos. These are some of my favs.

We are having the most amazing weather here at the moment. Over 30 C and so spent the whole day yesterday at the park. But its not meant to last - cooler weather and rain is on its way. 

My layout that I made from my blogpost yesterday. 

It's someone's birthday ......

Today is my lovely husband, Rolf's birthday. He is an amazing person, Papa, Husband and friend. He even doesn't mind at all that I have some great friends popping over from London for the weekend. 

So in honor of this special day, I have been working on this list. Think i will have to make it into my layout of the day today!

38 reasons I love you, Rolf Reinhard.

1. I love how you get up to the kids in the morning when they deceide to get up early. You even close our door so that they don't come in a wake me up! 

2. I love that if you brush your teeth before I do you put toothpaste on my toothbrush.

3. I love that you work so hard and set a great example for others

4. I love that you try your hardest to get home before the kids go to bed - so they can have some Papa time

5. I love that you are a great Papa - the best and the kids love you for that. 

6. I love how you take Alexandra to the driving range even though you know you won't get any practice in. 

7. I love that you take the rubbish bags down (I hate doing this)

8. I love that you will take the kids out of a Sunday afternoon if it looks like i "need" to scrapbook

9. I love that you have never complained that i go out too much

10. I love that you never complain about the amount of scrapbooking supplies I have - or buy. 

11. I love that you encourage me to go home to Australia every year even though it makes out budget a little tight. 

12. I love that you will spend time with my Grandad chatting about anything he wants to talk about. I love that and it makes me happy to see you two get along so great. 

13. I love that you are really into a sport i totally understand!

14. I love that you will come to all those kids birthday parties and will watch the kids so i can chat with my friends!

15. I love that you see how important that the kids learn english and have made it our "family" language!

16. I love that you love watching Charlie and Lola with the kids as much as I do! 

17. I love that you read Alexandra a story every night you are home - she loves her Papa time. 

18. I love how you sing the Goodnight song on Cbeebies 

19. I love that you try and have Breakfast with us as often as you can - and I love that Alexandra LOVES this part of her day. 

20. I love that when you print something out for me you put it into a folder so its already for me to use 

21. I love that you never comment on how bad a i look, or how tired. 

22. I love that you helped me out so much when i had back issues. Holding my hand at the DRs. Driving me to the physio or for injections

23. I love that you were with me for the birth of both of our kids! Helped me to keep on going when giving birth to Alexandra and holding my hand during the c section with Dylan 

24. I love that you didnt let Dylan out of your sight after he was born. 

25. I love that you change as many nappies as I do! 

26. I love that you think every piece of art Alexandra brings home from school is a Master piece in your eyes

27. I love that you are great on the BBQ!

28. I love that you try and bring as much as Australia into our life in Switzerland as you can

29. I love that you got our flag pole fixed and that you only ordered an Australian flag. 

30. I love that you are a fantastic cook and that you clean up after you cook!

31. I love that you put my grandparents and my family first and chose to get married in Australia with none of your family present

32. I love that you never complain that I haven't ironed. 

33. I love that you love quality things and try to buy local as much as you can

34. I love that you try and buy as much fairtrade products as possible

35. I love that you take Alexandra to church

36. I love that you donate to special causes and don't tell anyone about it. 

37. I love how you help out people in need with your finanical knowledge and expect nothing in return.

and most of all  

38. I love that you married me!

Happy Birthday Rolf - hope that you have a really special day!

Love you heaps!

xxxxxxxx

Amazon box has arrived!

These are the two books that arrived today. 

I am really excited to get into the photography book. My class is still a month away so want to try and get to know my camera a bit more before than. Perfect holiday reading material. 

Looking forward to looking through the type book. I had never really wanted to get it but saw it on amazon and thought hey, havent bought a scrapbooking book in awhile. And also the pink cover is a little cute. 

Have you bought any books lately? 

So what have i been doing ....

So i really do need to update this blog more with some of my scrapping projects. Cause that is the whole reason i started this blog in the first place. So as I have mentioned this is a busy month for me - soo many projects going on. Firstly I am doing LOAD (Layout a day) Challenge, then there is my LOM class and Everyone can write a little class at BPS and then to top things off there is a Color Class I am taking. So there should be lots to share with you, shouldnt there ;). 

So here is a little peek at what i have been up to ....

I just have too much stuff

Today I am so frustrated with my scrap space. I have now outgrown the storage I have in place and I am unhappy with how my embellishments are organized. But currently do not have the energy to do anything about it. 

Not sure if it is the mess from making a layout a day and then not tidying up afterwards or maybe its the box of things i bought when i was in  Australia that arrived today that has made me felt like this but I am feeling a little uninspired. 
Anyone else feel like this? I love my space and I am so so lucky to have it and all the stuff but I am unsure where to go from here. Can't say this to my husband, then he will know how much i actually buy ;) .

So what happened to the spring cleaning ....

.... well it went out the window. 

I did manage to do most of this place with the exception of our bedroom and a good clean of the kids room but i am happy with what i did for now. We have a couple of huge weeks ahead of us so I am just happy with what i got done. 

There is a ton of ironing though piling up now. And of course there is my new camera to play with. Figured out today that the old lenses from my Grandad's old SLR work with my new baby - so i have gone to having one to three lenses! I just cannot wait for class to start

My new baby

No I did not miraculously give birth today (although a good friend did - congrats Kimberly!), but I did pick up my new camera yesterday afternoon and my new lens arrived this morning.

The only problem is that the manual that came with it is only in german, french or italian so need to print out the english version (over 200 pages though) soon. It was not the best of days today so i didnt get to have a real go of it outside but did take some photos around the house. 

 The first ever photo taken with it - my little boy. Did i say that i am using a 50mm f1.4 lens. 

A self portrait. It is much heavier and larger than i thought it would be and will take awhile to get used to - but i hope to sell my old camera and with the money from that get a tiny camera to keep in my bag all the time. 

My mother's day flowers - still surviving - just. 

And Dylan - being Dylan. He is now climbing up all over the place - on top of the tv (yes we still have an old fashion tv) on the kitchen table, in the dolls house, over the couch. 

Hopefully tomorrow I will get a good chance to go outside and give it a good run. I am so excited!!!!

The playroom .......

I am a couple of days behind the Spring Cleaning Party. Life has gotten in the way and also my hand has been cramping a bit - so you will have to excuse me. But today, instead of going to Mums and Kids I stayed home to tackle the playroom. You probably know that the playroom is shared with my scrap room - it's divided by the couch. We have the mattress on the floor there cause the kids love to jump on it - but it does make it hard for them to play as there isnt much floor space. (we do intend to buy Alexandra a new mattress sometime in the future and we will put her old smaller mattress in here) The toys have been hard to control considering the good storage we have here. So it was a big job - and a 4 year old and 18 month old arent the best of help. 

Here is my before photo

The after photos:

I don't have one of the entire room as my daughter loved the fact I had tidied up all the toys and wanted to play in there straight away. But hey, I have now made great labels - that have been on my to do list for a long long long time. Finally took the time to do it today and happy with the results. 
You can see how happy she is with all the labels on the front - its like i have done something special for her. 
Each box has a photograph of what is inside the box. From top to bottom, left to right: Puppets, Wooden Train Tracks, Barbies, Music, Shopping, Baby Things, Duplo Grocery Store, Make Believe, Wooden Train Blocks, Duplo Zoo and Bus, Duplo house, Cars Trains and Planes.

These look a bit empty but I didnt get to take a photograph before Alexandra took things out. From top to bottom - Little People 1 and 2. Food and Kitchen, Sesame Street, Alexandra's things, Wooden Animals, Dylan's things and the box that is missing is for soft toys
I love this idea I came up with. I have made a drawer each for Alexandra and Dylan. This is for things that don't fit into the other categories, and once this fills up we will go through it together and get rid of things. 

So how is your kids room coming along?

What have i done .....

.... I have gone and bought a new camera. 

I actually chose the Canon EOS 50D instead of the new Canon that has just come out. Sounds crazy at first but when i saw the small difference in price, i new i wouldnt regret it. So hopefully will be able to pick my baby up tomorrow or Thursday. And while i was at it i bought a second hand 50mm f1.4 lens!!!! Saved a packet and hopefully that will come asap so i can try out my new camera on the weekend. 

I AM SOOO EXCITED. 

Baby Shower present

Here is a Diaper (well Nappy cake depending on where you are from) Cake I made today for a friend's baby shower. Another friend bought some presents to go on it. I am so impressed with how quickly I got it together and how great it looks. I even used my AC baby pattern paper. I made it in about 30 mins in between the kids screaming. Wondering maybe this could be my new business idea. Have rarely seen this in Switzerland

Spring Clean update:

Not sure what I am going to do today. I am still at a loss as to where to put back some of my things. It is really frustrating and I think I am going to need to wait for a second opinion - or at least someone to bump ideas off.

Spring Cleaning Day 3

Today was an amazing day, weather wise. We woke up to blue skies. Not a cloud in sight. Not the best weather to want to stay in and spring clean. So instead of doing that this morning we went to the park with all our Mums and Kids friends. We had such a nice time. 

But when i got home it was back to work. Today is the first day working on the kitchen and at first I was going great. But as 5pm came and went I very quickly lost my steam and had to stop for the day. 

Here are the before photos:

Looking to the kitchen from the office area. 
Looking to the kitchen from the dining area. 
I have tapped up the "kitchen" section from Simple Mom's e-book. It was a great help being right there for quick reference. 

So two hours later.........

The counter is now spotless - all sorted out and only what i need on top. The outside of all the cupboards are all cleaned too. I started to take out all the food, snacks and baking supplies but i slowly got stuck with putting them back. Can not figure out how I want to do it (as my tuppaware and baking supplies were not working where they were) So I am going to sleep on it and work on it tomorrow morning. 
Another look from the office area. Love how clean it looks!

Spring Cleaning and Eye for Design

So today hasn't worked out how i wanted it to :(. My 18 month old has decided to cry - allllll day long and now has left me feeling drained and tired - so today will be an official break day for my spring cleaning. I have done all the work on the living area so i think i deserve it! Tomorrow starts the kitchen (my worst nightmare - and even thinking of changing out the days of the bathroom and kitchen) 

Anyway, yesterday I did this layout for my Eye for Desing (Color creative) class at Got crafts? with Chritsy Thomlinson. 

The sketch I used was from the Scrap Review (i think). I drew inspiration for my color combination from this ad from Home Depot in an old Real Simple. I used more muted tones. This ad really grabbed me when I was flipping through the magazine and it has been sitting on my bedside ready for me to be inspired to use it. So glad I am taking this class!

Spring Cleaning Day 2

Yesterday I actually worked so hard on doing as much as I could around the house. So after picking up the rubbish etc and going through and decluttering the open surfaces i continued on to the living areas. 

We have a really open living space so the dining, lounge and office areas all blend into each other (The kitchen does too but i didnt touch that yet!)

Here are some before photos - looking from the lounge area over to the office area
The office area is the place where most of the clutter gathers, including our recycling and lots of toys and anything that doesnt have a home.

I almost dont recognize the office space now. Looks fantastic. I am going to buy some baskets to fit into the glass shelves so i can store things better without making it look messy. I usually collect our recycleable papers here. 
The lounge room looks great. I really cleaned and tidied EVERYTHING. Went through all the cupboards and drawers and got rid of things we dont use. 

This is looking over from the dining area over to the lounge and office areas. Looks so great. Wouldnt let the kids play there in the afternoon at all - wanted to savour this clean and decluttered space as long as possible. 

The dining room wasnt hard to do. Just a good clean and dust. I went through the books in the cabinent and got rid of some of those! 
The only thing I have left to do in this area is to clean the windows - any guess what, thats not my job to do! hopefully Rolf will do it on the weekend - otherwise my Father in law (who usually does it this time of the year when we are on holidays!) will do it. Lucky me!

Spring Cleaning Day 1

So today start's my Spring Cleaning. Have you ever been over to simplemom.net? Great blog and she is motivating us all to get on the spring cleaning band wagon!  

My tasks today

- Go through the entire living space of my apartment and pick up any rubbish. 

- Go back through the entire living space and see if I can get rid of anything - Do i love it? Do i need it? If i answer no to both then it goes.  (Thank goodness the dumpster is still outside ready for my junk and the bags to go to charity havent gone yet)

Do you want a before photo? I am a little embaressed at how bad this place has gotten since being back from Australia. We have too much stuff for this apartment. 

Just full of clutter and not a relaxing place to be. So off I go. Wont post any photos from my work today - not sure you will see the difference, but from tomorrow I will

May is a little busy ....

As usual I have probably taken on more than i can chew this month. 

I am still doing Library of Memories with Stacy Julian at Big Picture Scrapbooking. 

We are currently still on break week until Thursday. I have a lot of things to do still. Today I am planning on finishing up my category drawers. 

Then tomorrow this new class that I radomly came across on a couple of blogs and figured I just had to try it out. Eye for Design (color creative) with Christy Tomlinson at Got Crafts. 

I have never taken a class at Got Crafts but i am sure it is going to be great. I am really interested in learning more about color and color combs, so hopefully at the end of the class I will have learnt a lot. 

Then in just under 2 weeks, Cathy Zielske's class Everyone can write a little at BPS is starting! 

Again, super excited about taking this class, cause Cathy is a fantastic teacher and very entertaining! 

Then there is LOAD

So all of these classes will keep me busy so that I can keep posting a layout a day over at the LOAD group on Flickr. 31 layouts is going to be more of a challenge than just 28 like in Feb. 

My layout today

From Jessica Sprague's free class on her website. 

Also there is my Gratitude Spinner Class from Ali Edwards that I need to start at some point, but think that might just have to be a June project!

So what do you have planned for May? Anything exciting? Lots to do. 

Oh and I almost forgot that I am trying to do the Spring Cleaning this next weeks. Now I am going to be super busy!

My little girl is 4 years old

Here she is a couple of hours old

Here she as an 18 month old - same age as Dylan now. 

And she is last week with her friend at her first sleep over. 

She is really growing up, so fast. We all woke up and had breakfast together. Alexandra requested Fairy Bread for breakfast (For those of you that dont know what it is thats bread with butter and sprinkles - an Aussie Party must) We then opened presents with Aunty Mellie on Skype. Then after Papa went to work we iced the cupcakes and headed to her playgroup. 

Also a layout a day challenge starts back up today. Very excited but its daunting at the same time - May is not a slow month by any means so it is going to be a challenge to keep up this time. But fingers crossed i can.