Two for the price of one!

I originally planned to submit the top layout as my entry for this month's Kraft plus challenge, but a little birdy told me that I could submit more than one entry...who knew? I had such fun with this month's challenge.  I usually have a world of trouble selecting colours for my layouts, but not this month!

K+ challenge-March 2016

I can't believe it has been a whole year since I have been able to produce an entry in the K+ monthly challenge!! Life sure does get in the way of some serious scrapping time!! Anyway...here it is...

K+ March Challenge

Here is my interpretation of the K+ All That Glitters challenge for March.  I hope you can find some time to get on over to the blog and check out all the amazing entries this month...spectacular!

K+ February challenge

Here is my take on the Mango Breeze challenge over at K+.  I was given an 8x8 album for Christmas so I thought I would try my hand at a layout of that size.  All-in-all I am pretty pleased with the result, I hope you are too.

When Grandma went to Heaven

Up until now it has been too painful for me to write about our dear Mum/Grandma/Best Mother-in-law Ever, who lost her battle with cancer just 18 months ago.  Helen was a loving Grandmother and mother, she adored her grandkids and all things Christmas.  In July 2014 (only 2 days after I left for a trip to Canada), Helen went to Heaven.  To this day I feel guilty for not being there for my 'boys' as they dealt with the loss of their mother and grandmother.  It was the first time our little boy had lost anyone close to him, and my husband was too sad to spend much time helping Ben through his pain.
When I arrived home (after being away for a month), I was met by two very sad people.  The first night at home, while I was preparing my little boy for bed, I turned to close the curtains as I usually do.  He stopped me with a sudden "No! Don't close the curtains! Grandma won't be able to see me!!"
A close friend who had looked after Ben while my husband helped to arrange the funeral etc... had told Ben that his Grandma was now the brightest star in the sky! Such a beautiful sentiment...and Ben had taken hold of it and ran with it!  To this day, when we see the first star in the night sky, we all send a "hello" up to heaven.
We remember her fondly, we continue the Christmas traditions for her (Christmas shirts, decorations, family get-togethers), we talk to her whenever we think of her, and we will never forget her.

A little bit of medication.....and a lot of magic!

Our beautiful, bright, funny boy was struggling....really struggling.  He was diagnosed with ADHD at the age of 6, but we decided to hold off on medication and see if a change in diet and some behaviour management would help him through his school days.
Despite our best efforts, Ben was getting into trouble at school most days and was very disruptive in the classroom.  Then in July this year 2 significant events occurred....I went overseas for 4 weeks (Paul &  Ben stayed home), and Paul's mum (Ben's beloved Grandma) died.
In the first 3 weeks of term 3 Ben had 2 suspensions and 2 behaviour cards! Our boy was desperately unhappy. Now the death of a family member is hard enough to deal with, but when you are 7, your mum is away and you have ADHA....well at some point something has to give...and it did!
After a meeting with Ben's teachers I decided to take him back to the paediatrician and see if medication was the answer.  The doctor agreed that it was time to try a low dose of Ritalin.  I was nervous, wondering if we were doing the right thing.
The first day at school (on medication) Ben excitedly told me that he got to choose a sticker for the excellent work he had done that day! Wow, what a breakthrough....dare I hope that this was really the answer to our prayers?
I waited patiently for the week to end, each day anxious that the phone would ring, or a note would be sent home from school detailing Ben's unacceptable,behaviour that day....but neither came!
Today, I received a text from Ben's teacher....just to tell me what amazing work he had done today, there was even a note in his book...he even got to show his work to the principal and received an extra sticker for his efforts.   For the first time in a long time our boy was coming home from school happy and carefree...just as all little boys should!
The change in Ben's behaviour made such an impression that a girl in his class went home and told her mum what amazing work he had done today!
To say that we are proud of our boy is an understatement....we are ecstatic!
That tiny little white pill has provided Ben with a very special kind of magic.....and we are so incredibly grateful!

Kochie's a Comedian!!!

There are so many 'conversations' that I have had with our beautiful boy.  Many that I have committed to memory, and many more that I have not written down or recorded in any way, that will be lost forever.  This latest one was just too funny to let disappear!!
We were driving into town (so many of these conversations happen in the car it seems), when Adam Hills was  mentioned on a radio program we were listening to. 
Ben: "Adam?"
Mum: "Yes, Adam Hills"
Ben: "Who is Adam Hills?"
Mum: "He is a comedian"
Ben: "What's a comedian?"
Mum: "A comedian is a person who tells jokes and  makes people laugh"
Ben: "Oh! Like that man on TV"
Mum: "What man?"
Ben: "You know mum, the one on Sunrise with glasses and no hair!"
Mum: "You mean Kochie?"
Ben: "Yes that's him, Kochie.  Kochie is a comedian!!"
Once my laughter died down I had to explain to Ben why I was laughing so hard!!!
I thought that the Sunrise team would find the story amusing, so sent it through to them.  Not really sure if they will even read the email...but thought it was worth the chance!!