how?

Oh boy - I really got quite mushy and sentimental when I was doing up my DT layouts for Handmade by Suzanne this month! For the best example of this, see the layout I posted last week here. But this layout comes a close second on the cry-baby front :-)

Once again I've journalled all about my impending return to work and how much I loved spending the year off with my girls and how amazed I am at how quickly and wonderfully they are growing.
But since I was in the mood for doing girly and sentimental layouts, Suzanne sent me the perfect products in these gorgeous Basic Grey Olivia papers and the American Craft foam Thickers that coordinate so wonderfully with them.

I also got these cute little half-pearls in my package, and although they can be a little bit fiddly to use (I found the best way was to pour some liquid glue onto a plastic lid and dip my pearls in them - holding them with my tweezers) they add so much more shine and texture and dimension that I fell in love with these as a fabulous extra detail. I ended up using them on every single layout I did, and not just one or two, but a heap! And the best thing is, you get a minimum of 100 in each packet for under $2 which means I have a tonne left over for lots more projects!

Yes it's true - I love clouds on my layouts, and I love sunrays (which I created with some Glimmermist and a handmade stencil). You may have noticed this trend on my blog? :-) And these kites I made just seemed to finish it off perfectly. Aren't they fun?!

So now I've been back at work for a little over a week. It truly breaks my heart to leave my girls behind and to have to say goodbye as I'm peeling Munchy off from around my legs, or to spend an hour settling Moodles down at night even though she's never previously been a fussy baby. Not to mention the hard work and stress of having to move house the weekend before I started :-) I have found slipping back into the work routine has been fairly easy. Apart from having to do night duty one night a week, I get a reasonable amount of time off on my roster too so it's not so bad. And although starting at a new hospital always comes with the extra challenge of finding out how everything works and what the hospital policies are everyone is being quite patient with me and I'm sure it won't take long before it's all second-nature again.

Thanks once again to everyone for their kind comments and well wishes. I love coming home and tuning into my blog world at night once the kids are in bed. Soooo relaxing. Thanks for making it so much fun for me :-)