CC06

where do I even start with this amazing weekend? Once again Kiwiscraps have outdone themselves with the most well organised scrap event in the Southern Hemisphere (probably the world going on some comments I have heard)

After doing 6 classes at CC05 and being completely knackered I decided to ease off a bit this year and only booked 4. On Friday I did Ali Edwards Favourite Photos class, still have to finish off the album, just a few last minute things, but all the photos are in and will need to do some journalling. She is one super relaxed chick and her class was great to do. I haven't taken any photos of this yet, but Andrea has emailed me photos of hers so she may end up posting them on her blog.

After killing a couple of hours inbetween classes (wandering Lambton Quay then hooking up with Tana) we did Nic's Passport class. My fave project class I've ever done. That chick is awesome, she is up there with the international tutors in my eyes. Her little passport album is just the coolest. I finished mine at the Megacrop, although still not decided exactly what I'm going to put in it, so it's ready and waiting for photos and journalling. The colours were awesome. Nic's got photo's of it on her blog.

The Mega Crop was a bit of a blur, everyone tired, not enough room to scrap properly, but still managed to finish off my Passport journal so that's good (I'm usually the queen of unfinished projects lol) All the other girls were staying at the Intercontinental but I decided this year I would just go home and come back in the morning so I could get a good sleep.

Went back in at midday on Saturday and had two Cathy Z lectures. I love that woman, and her classes were so inspirational and funny.

Had a cool dinner out with the some of the Kiwipeas at the Loaded Hog. They all learnt what it's like to be with Tan1a when she doesn't get food at a reasonable hour - not a happy girl. I am a grazer and had not eaten since midday, and dinner didn't get to our table till 8.45pm, luckily I had a stray muesli bar in my bag to eat at 7pm cos I nearly couldn't stand up. Not good, but man I perk up fast as soon as I hoovered my dinner up in 2 minutes flat lol.


Had loads of laughs, Lucy freaking out a poor young waiter who she dubbed McHottie by telling him how cute he was, poor guy was so flustered he dropped a plate on Kathleen (note, the guy in this photo was NOT McHottie lol)

(photo kindly taken by Kathleen's son Jonathan, thanks dude, and hope you've recovered from spending a night out with a group of oldies lol, (sorry girls I speak for myself of course, and definitely not Tana)

Had an awesome weekend. It was so cool to catch up with Lucy, Nic, Tana, Andrea, Lesley, Kate, Kris, Kathleen and Tracy again. Jo, Ruth, Annie & Jan we missed you girls so much last weekend. And there were so many other scrapper friends there that I chatted with/saw across a crowded room, wish I'd had more time to catch up with everyone properly.

And Evana had her baby boy that night too! We were sitting in the restaurant knowing she was in labour and Nic constantly checking her phone for news. We hoped she would have it while we were having dessert so we could celebrate. She ended up having it at 10.50pm so close enough! Huge congrats Evana and family, Joel is gorgeous.

Still recovering from CC06, I need to clear my head so I can get some of that inspiration out. Looking forward to CC07.

Tania

your worst nightmare

Tuesday 8 August, we woke up to hear on the news that 4 houses in Kelson were on the edge of a gigantic landslide. Kelson would end up being the lead item on the national news for the rest of the week, felt quite bizarre to keep hearing our tiny suburb's name continually.


we couldn't imagine what it must be like to have to evacuate your house and watch it teeter on the edge of destruction. Kelson was like a media circus all week, with roads closed off, emergency services and demolition equipment up and down the hill. Finally one house was demolished and collapsed down into the gully. Our thoughts are with these families.

Hang Dog

One of our recent Kea sessions was at the Hang Dog climbing wall in Petone. We were amazed at how quickly the kids took to this. They were scampering up and getting to the top in no time

Connor wasn't too confident on it, but we may take him back on his own and he may give it a crack when there's no pressure.

Happy Birthday OJ!!

my nephew Oscar had his first birthday on Thursday, happy birthday little man!

My Bandit Moment

So 2 weeks ago I had a scrapbooking revelation (which I would learn the following weekend from the amazing Cathy Zielske that it was probably my "Bandit Moment" which I will explain later)

I was organising some photos for CC06 the following weekend (yes I am a lastminute homework doer lol) and found a photo of Finn taken the week before he was diagnosed as a Coeliac. The photo grabbed my heart and I realised I had to get that story written down before I forgot all the details. I am usually not an emotional journaller and find it hard to start writing down a story. Then I remembered the latest dare from the No 8 Wired ladies which was the topic The Chaos Within. This gave me some direction, and it all came pouring out. I wrote the story first then scrapped it in the afternoon and didn't stop till I had the page finished. I felt a huge relief in doing this page as Finn's illness was a turning point for our family, and it also seemed to unblock something within me that will now mean my journalling might hopefully be a little less "who, when, where, why"

Here's the journalling:

This photo was taken on 10 December 2005. I can see in your eyes the chaos that was going on in your mind & through your body. We were about to learn that our lives were going to change forever, but it would be for the better eventually.

You had been sick for a few months – getting worse as every week passed. The GP was baffled by your symptoms. You lost nearly 5kgs over 3-4 months, down to a frightening 14kgs. You had so many blood tests & samples, & were hardly eating a thing (ironically only Weetbix, which were unknowingly making you sicker). Finally we were referred to a paediatrician, & things happened so quickly after that. Dr Shaw had her suspicions (some terrifying ones which thankfully she kept to herself for a while), one of which was something we had never heard of before, & had no idea how to even say or spell it! {Coeliac} We had to research it at home on the internet just to get our heads round it. A sensitivity to wheat & gluten - it seemed to cover just about every food we ate, how would we cope with that?!

So more blood tests were ordered, & while we waited the 2 weeks for the results you were on Losec in case it wasn’t coeliac. That was a drama in itself, you hated those pills, & I spent hours sprinkling the contents of each pill on your food & trying to convince you to eat it. It just made you eat even less. You were like a little skeleton. You were completely withdrawn at crèche, no energy to play with your friends & clung to me every day when I dropped you off. This was the worst time of our lives to see you so ill & unhappy, & having no idea what to do.

Then came that phone call on 15 December 2005 – the blood tests had shown coeliac disease. I was at work & the relief I felt was unbelievable – lots of tears! Strange to think that we were relieved that you had a lifelong food intolerance, but it was infinitely better than some of our worst fears.

Robyn Shaw was able to pull some strings to get you booked in for a gastroscopy the following week at Bowen Hospital, as you couldn’t start a gluten free diet until after the diagnosis was confirmed. You had the operation under general anaesthetic, Daddy went into the theatre with you as I wasn’t brave enough to see you go to sleep. The doctors & nurses at Bowen were amazing, they did everything to make it not so scary for you. The surgeon said he could see enough to make a positive verbal diagnosis so we could start the new diet immediately. The official results would end up being a month off as everything shut down for Christmas.

The gluten free diet is a huge learning curve, & our lives seem to revolve around food, but look at you now after just 7 months – all the weight back on (and more), rosy cheeks, 2 terms at school, a changed little boy!!

As it turns out this was a blessing in disguise, since then Connor has also been diagnosed as a Coeliac too (it is hereditary), & he is much healthier too. We are all eating a gluten free diet & feeling better for it. The food you boys eat now is amazing compared to last year, no junk food, loads of meat, & heaps of my yummy baking! I think it is making me a better mother too as I am now more aware of food & cooking in general. It is very time consuming, but so worth it when I look at how much healthier my boys are now.

We just don’t know what is going on inside our bodies, & how fast lives can change.

And endless thanks to all my family and friends (especially my awesome Kiwipea chicks) for all the feedback about this page. It was quite personal for me and to hear them all saying they were moved by it really made it special

So for all the people who didn't do Cathy's class last weekend I know you're thinking what on earth is a Bandit Moment? Cathy explained it was the time she realised she had to move from event scrapping to non-event scrapping. She did a page about a dog she had as a teenager called Bandit, describing his effect on her life and her memories of him before he died. Doing my Chaos Within page made me realise too that even though I need to continue doing birthday parties, school trips, and Christmas pages, I also need to get more stories written down before they are forgotten forever (and believe me the way my brain is feeling lately, that is already happening lol) More about Cathy's classes and CC06 in a later post.

where do the weeks go?

in catchup mode again. The last couple of weeks have gone by in a crazy blur as usual.

Mum & Auntie Sandra got back from Rarotonga. They had a great time but unfortunately it rained most of the time but it did stop for Adam & Barb's wedding luckily

2 days later Mum was back into Granma mode again. Natasha & Colin moved to Nikau Valley in Paraparaumu (their house is another story for further along in the catchup lol). Mum had Darcey & Oscar for 2 days while they were shifting and I took Darcey for the Friday. This was the first time her and I had spent some good girlie time together. She came up to school when I dropped the boys off, sat on the mat with Finn for roll call and wanted to stay, she looked so cute.

It was a very different experience to have a little girl in the house. Connor & Finn are always off occupying themselves building endless lego creations and other boy stuff. Darcey followed me around the whole time wanting to help me with what I was doing. She is also very independant now and everything was "I do myself". She helped me bake bread, entertained me with her singing and dancing during the Wiggles (new to me - my boys have never been the singing/dancing type lol), had a wee bounce on the tramp - "I bounce high", and if I disappeared for more than a minute on the computer or something I could here this little voice "where you Taya?" she was a total joy to have and I can't wait for the next time.

Oh and luckily she loves having her photo taken!