Using it all up

Like most people, I have q number of hobbies. These include:
Reading
Scrapping
Jigsaws
Cross stitching
Now with only a small house the sheer amount of STUFF can be very over whelming. Particually with all the kids toys and all Marks warhammer stuff (which he never does anymore but dont get me started on that! lol) So I tend to feel quite under pressure to use up my bits. Jigsaws and books for example I very rarely use again once done so will sell on/donate once finished. I always feel good when I've finished with some books or whatever and they're all off to a new home. :) This week I seem to be going through a book/jigsaw phase. A carrier bag of books and a jigsaw have both been sold. :) Last night infact I couldnt sleep so finished this one in one night. lol.

So this will probably be on facebook for sale tomorrow. lol. Pretty much sold all the stuff I did have up so will be hunting for some more during the week. :) I find it strangly fun selling bits, plsu all adds up for the holiday :)
Adding to the pile of scrapping stuff though is this. :) I ran a kit swap on uks and this is what I received. How yummy is this paper!!! So thrilled with it, hoping I go through a scrapping phase next week to use it up :)

Feeding the ducks

On Thursday I took the kids to the boating lake to feed the ducks and play at the park. We didnt get to the park in the end thanks to the drunk teenagers there (at 10am! phoned the police, lol) but they enjoyed feeding the ducks anyway :) I didnt take my camera with me but took this with my phone.

It wasnt until i got home that I remembered Id took a very similar photo 2 years ago.

Amazes me how much Caitlins grown since then while Cameron looks about the same size lol. Think I'm going to edit the new one a bit so its black and white and landscape like the other and do a comparason layout. I love the way it shows that although 2 years has passed, not much has really changed :)

Psychic, spoooooky

I've been meaning to blog this for ages lol, but you know what I'm like. I went to see a psychic at my mums on Saturday, was pretty impressed! We all had individual readings done and it was strange how similar mine and my mums was at points. She went after me and the psychic didnt know we were related. (mum removed all photos from the house lol) While she was doing my 'reading' she wrote down her predictions, however I'm bound to lose the paper sometime during the year so thought I'd put it here to give me somewhere to look back on. Some have kinda already come true so I'll put notes next to it too :)

1 - Watch my car keys, dont go locking them in the boot! (yeah sounds very much like something I would do, lol, locked Caitlin in our old car once, had to smash the kitchen window to get the spare key lol)

2 - Lucky numbers 2, 3, 19, 28 (I turn 28 this year, Caitlins born on the 3rd, no idea about the rest)

3 - I will get surprising news in February.

4 - In March someone will get a cough. This will worry me badly as it seems a very bad cough but with antibiotics it will be fine.

5 - I will either move, or discuss moving this year (cant see that, spent a fortune on doing this place up and its right next to cams school)

6 - There will be words and a general unease between me and a selfish family member in March. (hmmm, wonder who that could be!? lol. She also told mum there will be family problems involving a solicitor this month.)

7 - My hours of work will change (I'm assuming my voluntary work, otherwise any hours of work would be a change lol)

8 - A nice, kind male from my life will have some bad news about someone close to him. This will lead to a very low time in his life but he will be ok. (Marks mum has been poorly recently :( )

9 - There will be wedding news, it will be a happy occasion (I think i made a face because I thought about my sister lol) The number 13 will be important (I was married on the 13th)

10 - I will take a journey in May. She can see I'm worried about it but it will be fine and the place I'm going is beautiful. (she told mum this too, we're going on holiday together)

11 - A female close to me is hating their job, tell her to hold on it will all change in summer. (told mum her job will change this summer, lol)

12 - Check the cooker, its a minor problem but could get much worse if not checked.

13 - There are health concerns regardning an M in my life. There will be ups and downs for a while but all will lift in the summer (Marks had some problems with his bloods recently)

14 - I have a good relationship, my partner has a kind heart and is a general good guy. Our kids are very different, the older loves their studies while the younger is more laid back (thats an understatement! lol) but will both grow up their own way and will do fine in life.

15 Now this is the big one, she started with this prediction and came back to it twice, adamant its going to happen. Yeah apprently Im having a baby late this year! Ok I SO cannot see this happening but everyone I've mentioned it to has said 'Yeah I think you'll have another one' lol. Well, we'll see.

Since the reading its weird how much has come true for the other girls. Katie was given a lucky number she put on the bonus ball at work and won £125, she was also told her daughters would be invited to a party short notice and she'd be travelling to leicester soon. Lorraine was told a close male friend would move over seas, one of her friends has just had an offer to work in america, she told my mum her dad had an illness in his arm (thats where his cancer is) and said plenty of accurate things about my sister. I think the strangest one is one of the girls was told she'd have a baby boy. After the reading she admitted shes already 7 weeks pregnant! lol. We're all waiting for the scan now to see if shes right. :) Bit of a way to go granted. lol

WOYWW

Been a while since Ive done one of these. :) Usually because Ive no idea what day it is, lol.
As usual my desk is a mess. Ive given up saying I'll tidy it and scrap on it rather than the floor because to be honest I know I wont. lol. Not only is it pretty dark under the stairs but I like to watch a film or something when I scrap, and since my pc gave up the ghost only option is our TV, which I obviously have my back to on my desk. lol.

These were also on my desk lol but just discovered half of them this morning. Because I don't have a huge amount of storage, all my spare alphas are kept in a box in the garage. As a result if the alphas I've put in the kit I'm using (I make all my papers and bits into kits)don't fit the layouts I've done, the layout gets put in a pile to finish later. This pile can get pretty big before 'later' comes along, theres actually one there from November. lol.

Well today is a bits and bobs day I think. Floor needs done, toys need sorted, but both kids are home so not like I can focus on one job and get it done! lol. Oh well, going to the cinema tonight to see Cronicle hopefully :) Not been out since before christmas so should be fun!

ohhhhh so excited :)

Tonight I'm going to my mums house, nothing too exciting there lol, except tonight she has a tarot reader coming. :) I LOVE all that psychic stuff and apprently shes really good so im so excited! Even if shes not that good will still be a good night out, :) A few of mums workmates and one of my friends are coming round too and we're all bringing a bottle so will be a good laugh either way. :) Really got loads to do today before I go and I've done none of it! wheres the morning gone?! I think I spent most of it uploading things for sale on facebook. Mum and I are clearing out garages and lofts to raise money for our holiday. Going ok so far though my mums got a bit of an inflated idea of how much people will pay for things. £15 for a second hand coat is a bit steep IMO even though it is still new. lol. Funnily enough when I convinced her to reduce it to £7 it sold right away.
On that note I still have these stamps for sale. Now £4 including post. :)

Hope everyones having a good weekend, will be back tomorrow to say how I got on. Think I could ask her for the lottery numbers? lol

Tummy bugs are no fun

Well yesterday I had that horrible winter tummy bug. :( Well I dont think it was the full blown one as only lasted 24 hours but what a horrible 24 hours it was! Ah well its good for the diet as still no appitite lol.
I managed a bit of scrapping the other night. :) My mojo was back and was really enjoying it, unfortunatly Cameron wasn't in a sleepy mood (sore legs, head, eyes etc) so that kinda interupted me. lol. It got to 9:30 and I'd had enough of going up and down the stairs every 2 minutes so I just brought him down and sat rocking him on my knee until he fell asleep. Which ment I couldnt scrap. :( Infact the only thing I could do was browse on the internet using only the mouse. Spent a couple of hours watching film clips on IMDb before I got bored and went to bed! lol. I did manage one though.

Took this photo 2 christmas' ago. It was the first time the kids were old enough to really understand the whole thing and put a snack out for santa. :) Made it all the more magic for me. lol.
Well Caitlin was supposed to stay at my mums tonight but didnt want to go as she'd miss me (awww) so both kids are tucked up in bed with a film each after playing games together. Not sure what I'm going to do tonight as its cold!!!!! might just curl up in bed and watch tv :)

Cakes never last long in this house

It never fails to amaze me how quick they get eaten. I did a batch bake yesterday of blueberry muffins, and strawberry fairy cakes. I let Caitlin put buttercream and sprinkles on the strawberry ones as I dont like them, lol. I think my floor was covered in the sprinkles more than the cakes granted but she had fun. :)

I think they look quite pretty considering a 3 year old did them. :) We had Camerons friend Zoe round for dinner which the kids loved. Was nice as she went to nursery with both Caitlin and Cameron so was happy to play with both of them. Tired poor Caitlin out I think as she fell asleep on my knee not long after Zoe went home. Was nice having her cuddled up fast asleep on my chest. :) Horrible part of the kids growing up, they grow up!

Feeling good. :)

Not sure why, not that I shouldn't feel good mind you but I've just woke up in a good mood this morning. Ready and raring to go, lol. I think I'm annoying Mark a bit as hes really not in the same mood lol. Poor guys walking about like a zombie yawning away and I'm singing and listing all the jobs I want to get done today, which unfortunately involves a trip up town. lol. Hoping the roads arnt too bad after yesterday, but will just take it slow. Caitlins home too as I think shes still ill. Her temperature is gone but shes sleeping loads, not eating much and crying at everything, so still not herself. Going to wrap her up warm and hopefully the fresh air will help.
Still havent done much crafting recently. its bad really as almost makes me feel bad that I have so much stash just sitting there. I will have to make my mum a mini book for mothers day though so my mojo better come back soon! lol. I did manage this one the other night though. Last christmas Cameron woke up way before Caitlin, after waiting nearly an hour we decided to wake her, much to her annoyance. lol. I love how these photos show her yawning and looking deeply unimpressed with the gifts in her stockings. She was happier when she got downstairs though :)

Love this felt stocking, so cut out a few gifts to go inside. :)

Right better get on and head into town. :)

Its snowing!!

Lol, pretty sure most people have snow today, amazing how yesterday there was none, then overnight its just everywhere! Must admit I was probably more excited than the kids, lol. So off we went with our sledges. :) Poor Caitlins still not too well so just wanted to walk with me and hold my hand but Cameron was quite happy to be pulled along. lol

We met up with my Mum, Dad and Mollie and Evie at the park. Caitlin and Evie decided sledging wasn't for them so built a snowman instead while the daredevil kids went down the hill. lol. I did try and help them but apprently I was doing it wrong. :s

We couldnt find any twigs or rocks to make a face so after a quick trip to my mums we decided to improvise with some mushrooms. lol I think they made our snowman look miserable but the girls were happy with it, lol.

Got to love my dad, he never just does what everyone else is doing and this time decided a snowman was boring, he was going to make 4 thrones. lol.

Unfortunatly Grandad was a little big for his throne.

Well after all the fun in the snow we're now home for lots of tea, tv and baking this afternoon. :) Hope everyones staying warm and safe!

New week, new start

New week, new start, no more moaning, time to get on with it. :) Had quite a nice weekend, didnt do much Saturday and went to a party Sunday. My 'work' homestart had a fun day for the kids so took my two along. They had a great time playing with all the craft stuff and games. There was a lady there doing circus tricks and teaching the kids too. Was nice to see them playing together and having fun. Cameron was so tired out from the day he was asleep on the floor by seven. lol.
Havent done any crafting yet, still reading and doing puzzles, lol. Did do this last week though, wasn't going to show it yet as its for an upcoming challenge on UKS, but decided I didnt like it and did another one. lol. So will show this one but won't tell you the rules. :p

Love these flowers. This is the newest Sarahs card kit and had a sheet of these in it. basically a sheet of pop out flowers you twirl up to make 3d ones.

Ironing to do today, then doimg a roast for dinner tonight as kids were so stuffed on party food yesterday they didnt want dinner! lol

Thank god this week is over. Last money post I promise

I said at the start of the week I had a bad feeling this week was going to be rubbish. Oh how right I was! As well as the number of problems we had with Cameorn and school, and my Grandad having scans to see how far the cancer has spread (Wont find out until the end of Febuary!) we got a letter from the benifits office yesterday cancellning marks disability, so we are now £740 a month down. :( We rang around and canceled some luxuries, cut down on what we could and it should be just about manageable, just nothing left for emergencies or treats. :( Mark can't work, all of his drs agree so looks like I'll be looking for a job! He can't deal with the housework either, really he should be on his own for too long as he does stupid things like leaving the oven on, or leaving the door wide open when he goes to the shops. So god knows how we're going to cope. :( We'll manage though I guess. we always do. lol

catch up

Ok, this did start as a post about my determination to catch up with all the bits and bobs I havent done recently, but now its a bit of a rant (yes another one) about modern technology. Ok I'm going to sound about 99 right now but I HATE all this new stuff! Take Marks new Christmas toy for example, I got him a external hard drive. We can store all the kids dvds on there he says, can stream them to the tv wirelessly so we don't have a big box of dvds beside the tv. Great, except sometimes the file isnt recognised, and if the internet drops out halfway through the film stops, and sometimes the sound isnt synced right to whoever is talking!!! He also suggested putting all our photos on there to keep as a back up. Now I'm really anal about my photos on my computer, all are organised into folders based on year taken, and all are titled with month and place of taking. Somewhere between copying from my computer and putting it on this thing half have got lost and the rest have lost all their titles and folders! They're still on my computer than goodness so will try and figure out how to fix it, lol. And these Ipods which download the whole flamming album when I just want one song, I miss cds!
Well back to my original blog post topic, lol. Recently I've been SO tired and drained, I think its been all the rubbish lately has taken it out of me, so a lot of little 'to dos' have fallen by the wayside. One thing on the list is to make notes of ideas to scrapbook about. Usually I just look at a photo and base it on that, but sometimes the kids will do something, or I'll think of something I want them to know should I not be around when they're older and I never remember it when it comes to scrapping as theres no photo to remind me iykwim. One thing I made a note of is how quick the kids grow, I know everyone says it but you really don't get it I think until you have kids of your own. Well it made me think of the photo I took of Cameron when he was 6 months old

Not a happy bunny is he, lol, but it was more the size of the 360 controller I thought of, compared there to here

Much more happy with it now playing with Daddy last week, lol. So much has changed between those two photos, but honestly doesn't seem that long. They grow up so fast! lol.
Well didnt get anything done today, Cameron was off school again so made some blueberry muffins at home with Caitlin as obviously missed the cooking class. Were a bit doughy as Cait was a bit heavy handed with the milk but most have been eaten so cant be that bad, lol. He WILL be going tomorrow though so hopefully will be able to do a lot of the little run around bits I need to do. Fingers crossed!

bleh, moany post, feel free to ignore

Sunday night I told my mum I had a bad feeling about this week. So far I've been proved right, lol. Cameron was ill yesterday with a sore throat and temp so he stayed home, this morning he went to school but not without a few tears, the social services meeting was a COMPLETE waste of time, sister had a big hissy fit at me as I said I wasn't prepared to babysit her kids anymore if it involved contact with mine. OK sounds harsh on the surface but last Saturday I was supposed to be babysitting Lillie. She was supposed to be here at 12pm and my two were so excited! 1pm still no sign so I rang my sister to find out I was no longer needed. I was pissed off she hadn't even told me and Camerons was gutted he wasn't seeing Lillie. Wednesday we were supposed to be going to cooking groups with caitlin and Evie. Another last minute cancellation from sister, though she did txt me this time so improvement I guess. Then Saturday, she begged me to bring the kids round hers as she last saw cameron in July. Again cancelled last minute, two gutted kids. So kinda had enough now. My two see the girls quite often as when my mum has them I take them round, and we go swimming with them every Wednesday, so no harm for them, just sister. Mark discovered another health worry to add to the pile and then Cameron was sent home early from school feeling ill. :( Tomorrow is busy but hopefully better. I've got a cooking class with Caitlin first thing in the morning, volunteer work then town with and drs with Mark. eugh ignore me in tired and cranky, lol.

Nice relaxing days. :)

Yesterday I was supposed to go to my sisters but she had to go to town. The weather was dreadful but wanted the kids to have some fresh air so thought we'd take them to the shops/library on their scooters. Its only a 30 minute round trip walking so didn't think would take too long. Oh how wrong I was, 2 hours and many many puddles later 4 very wet but happy members of the household came home. lol. We'd got lots of books and some chocolate biscuits from the shop so changed into comfy jammies and settled down to a relaxing afternoon reading and playing games with the kids. :) As the day had been so nice we decided to get a Chinese as a treat. We always order a bit more than we need so it usually does Mark for lunch the next day. We ordered it at 5, an hour later it shows up freezing cold. So we complained and they sent out a second order for free! Mark was a very happy bunny, his pile of food was stupidly huge, lol plus plenty of leftovers for dinner tonight :)
All this chilling out seems to have done my mojo the world of good too. lol. Managed 3 layouts last night, can only show you two though as one if for an upcoming challenge on UKS.
This is the first one I did from my new SC kit. I was going to save them up for the retreat but I loved this one so had to use it lol.

I loved this title and thought it went well with most of my photos but picked this one. lol. It doesn't show up too well in this photo but all of the papers used are embossed. I loved how textured the papers were in this kit, I admit I often find it hard to get texture on my layouts without ripping or distressing so this makes it so much easier. lol.

This is the layout I started the other night. Its from a kit I got in a kit swap ages ago and as I'm hosting a new one I thought it would be nice to use up my old one. :) The photo is of Cameron playing on a huge sheet of bubble wrap. I ordered something around Christmas, cant remember what, and he spent ages just jumping about on it. lol

I used up loads of little bits on this layout. There is a whole sheet of rub ons used on the blue paper at the bottom, and lots of diecuts to frame the photo. I love how bright it all is.

Not doing much today. Have to clean the kitchen cupboards but other than that more chilling is needed! I got lots of books yesterday much to marks annoyance as I still have a big pile beside the bed I've not read, not to mention the ones on my kindle lol. but what can I say, I just love books! lol I do read fast which helps, couldnt sleep last night so read one of them then, lol. A few more days of insomnia and I'll be done im sure. lol

More scrapping. :)

Well a little bit anyway, lol. As I enjoyed it the night before I decided to do some more last night. Got all my stuff out, picked a photo, put a layout together, then went to bed. lol. Honestly was 9pm and I couldn't keep my eyes open! its all still on the floor so just needs gluing together then done. lol Won't be doing it tonight though as out for an Italian with my mum and some of her friends from work. Should be nice. :)

Also this came this morning. This months sc kit and I LOVE it! Kinda want to stay home tonight and use it, lol. Its got a textured pink woodgrain paper in which I think might join my 'too pretty to use' pile.

Had a nice morning this morning. I admit I'm usually one of those 'I'll play with you in a moment' mums. Unless I've set aside some time to do an activity with the kids I don't often play with them on the spur of the moment iykwim. If I do its usually only for 10 minutes or so before I have to rush off and do the washing or something. Yesterday though I hurt my back, it felt a bit better this morning so I did the cleaning including the floors which obviously put it back to square one. lol. As I result I was stuck lying in bed. Caitlin decided to join me to read books and watch a dvd. Was really nice! I couldn't get up to do anything so all my attention was on just time with her, made me realise I dont do the simple things enough. We go to the park, swimming, childrens centers often, but sometimes they just need some quiet time with Mummy.

Ive actually scrapped, and liked it!

While I have done some scrapping since Christmas, I didn't really like the layouts I'd done. I think i made the mistake of using my 'odd bits' while I didn't really have much mojo. So last night I sat down with a few kits and used those instead. :) Granted I only got one done as poor Cameron was up a lot with sore legs (growing pains we're thinking) but like the one I did. :)

This is me on our 'honeymoon' years ago. A few weeks before we were supposed to be married Mark was very very ill and we were told he wouldn't survive the week; so we cancelled our big wedding and honeymoon and just had a rush job at our local register office. Obviously he pulled through lol but by that point we'd lost thousands. We'd also been trying for a baby for a while, we knew from Marks previous marriage it would be difficult as his illness had caused problems for him, but apparently it had got so bad we had a less than 1% chance of ever conceiving naturally. Obviously this was all a big shock so we decided to blow the last of our savings and have a late honeymoon to get away for a bit and take stock of the past few months. This is me on the balcony of our hotel. If I look a bit green its because I was ill the whole time we were away. I thought I had food poisoning. Mum thought different and the day after we returned I took a pregnancy test and discovered I was pregnant with Cameron. :) To say I was shocked was an understatement! So love this title, as I really had no clue how much my life was already changing when this photo was taken :)

sleepy monday

OK, I admit it, the words I planned to alter over the weekend look the exact same today as they did on Friday. lol. I did do a bit of scrap booking though so that's something :) More importantly, guess where I was last night! Here's a clue :)

Yep I went to see Billy Connolly live! It was amazing, really good seats near the front, so funny. Was quite surreal actually. Ive been watching him on tv as long as I can remember so to see him actually live in front of my just seemed so strange. My mum watched the kids while we went so considering we weren't back until 12 I bet shes shattered this morning bless her. I cant really remember much of what he said as he did his usual thing of starting one story, halfway through starting another and then going back to the first story an hour or so later. lol. One of my favourite jokes I do remember though was this one. I removed the swearing, lol. (if you're religious don't read!)
A couple is on their way to their wedding when they unfortunately crash their car and die. At the pearly gates they see St Peter and ask if its possible to get married in heaven. He tells them to wait there while he goes to find out. 3 Months pass and he returns to tell them yep its fine no problem. 'Sorry St Peter' They reply, 'We've been thinking about it and maybe eternity together is a very long time, is it possible to get divorced in heaven?' St Peter throws down his clipboard in anger 'Look! Its took me 3 months to find a priest in there you want me to go try to find a lawyer?!' lol. Well I found it funny. :)
Lots of ironing to do today, plus taking Cameron to a friends house to play tonight. His first play date with someone from school, god I hope he behaves!

Square toast

One quirk I love about kids is how different forms make things MUCH more appealing. For example, normal pasta, Cameron wont touch, however if its in the shape of a train, then it turns yummy, lol. Its similar to what I call the 'Nannys house effect' where chocolate moose here is horrible, but yummy at Nannys house, carrots here Caitlin will eat a bowl full, but wont touch them at Nannies; oh and they HAVE to be cut into circles, carrot sticks, triangles, anything but circles changes the taste somehow lol.
Now toast, psychologists have probably done a study somewhere to see how you like your toast cut reflects your personality. I did google it to see if they had but only came up with lots of wedding toasts. lol. However in case any psychologists with spare time are reading this this is how toast is cut in our family.
Me - Toast cut in half into two rectangles.
Mark - Doesn't cut it, just one large slice.
Cameron - Cut into four squares.
Caitlin - Cut into four triangles.
Why?! Seriously why does it matter? lol. Ok the adults are not as fussy as the kids, I will eat toast in squares or triangles but the kids, noooooooo, toast HAS to be in those shapes or it will not pass their lips. Suppose it could be worse, Caitlin went through a phase of wanting hers cut into circles with the cookie cutter. Thank god that's over!
Well doing a lot of jobs out the house today. Christmas bits to return, shopping, booking kids birthday party (for April, lol, how prepared am I?) then meeting mum for either a coffee or glass of wine depending how her day has gone. lol. Its Caitlins turn to stay at my mums tonight so will be having a nice night just us and Cameron too. :) Also hoping to do this sometime over the weekend

Mum bought me the Welcome word for christmas. I love the green as it matches my hall so planning to add a bit of bling or some flowers to make it stand out a bit, then paint and alter the photo frame to match. :) Not got a clear image in my head how it will turn out but hopefully will figure it out as I go along. lol

Grrr cant I home school?!

OK I know I can't really, well I could do the teaching part but if I home school will hardly solve the issue. lol. The issue being other kids. :( I'm sure all mums feel the same, all the ones I've spoke to have done anyway lol, but I HATE the idea my childs being left out. Camerons been crying every morning before he goes to school, not just whinging but full on heaving sobs, breaks my heart. Been asking him why and he just says he doesnt want to go to school, which is odd because he used to love it. This morning he wouldnt go and play with anyone saying his best friend wasnt there and he went into school all alone and looking so sad. :( Turns out theres also been another party he wasnt invited to. it wasnt just him there was a load of other boys too but still I think its harsh. For Camerons birthday in April I'm booking a big hall and inviting everyone to make sure nobodys left out, just seems sad to be so selective at this age when really very few of them are going to have select friends. Going to have a word with the teacher tomorrow and see how he is in class as he comes out of school happy enough so might just be a morning thing.
Anyway on a happier note took the kids swimming yesterday. They loved it. :) We've never been in the pool since it was all rebuilt and its pretty good. Caitlin as usual put her armbands on, chuck her in shes off lol. Camerons a bit more careful lol. Was great though as by the end of an hour he was in the deep end 'swimming' with me holding him up lol. Going to make it a weekly thing I think as want Camerons confidence built up before the holiday in May.
Right well off to a mum and baby group with my sister today then off to my grans after Cams school, hopefully a busy but a nice busy day. lol

Getting there and stuff for sale. :)

I think that's going to be the mantra for the week lol.I've said it before and I'll say it again, it never fails to amaze me that despite having frequent 'decluttering' sessions theres always more to chuck next time I do it, even if I've bought nothing new in the meantime!! This week I'm focusing on the kitchen cupboards, and my desk. Marks even getting into it by clearing out a load of his stuff from the desk too. :) As a result it looks loads better already!
I'm being really strict with myself too, getting rid of things I've had for ages but never used or not used as much as I thought I would. One big thing on this is stamps. I'm always getting stamps I think are pretty, but I never stamp! Never got on with it, lol. So I've given all my part used ones to a friend and selling these ones as still in the packet. Anybody want them? Only asking £5 including UK post.

Also selling this. Its been on my shelf for ages as I really like the whole grunge look, but to be honest its just too much work. lol. I did it once but have to do all my inking/painting outside which is just too cold and too much hassle. £6 including UK post.

Well cameron went to school again today. Still a bit subdued about the idea but no tears so thats a big improvement on Friday! Hoping he'll get back into it soon as he's always loved school. Caitlins home as no nursery today but bribed her with some sweets and Tangled on the tv so I can continue with the decluttering. tackling more of the desk today plus a couple of kitchen cupboards. Not looking forward to that one! lol

Eastenders has nothing on my family

Seriously sometimes I feel like I'm in a soap and nobody told me. Honestly its like one drama after another sometimes. Friday was a perfect example, Here was my day:
5am - Up playing with Caitlin who decided it was morning and wouldn't go back to sleep.
6:30am - Caitlin goes back to sleep
7am - Wake up a very tired and pissed of Caitlin for nursery, Wake an even more pissed off Cameron whos a little shell shocked at going back to school after the holidays.
7-8:30 - Deal with Cameron crying about everything from there being too much cereal in his bowl to the fact his best friend isnt in the same group as him at school.
9:am - Pour a strong coffee down my throat and drag a still crying Cameron to school. Home to do quick housework.
9:30 - Off to social services meeting RE sister. Grab a kitkat for brekkie.
10-12:30 - Meeting went not too bad. More information about new years came up, namely that he'd battered her so hard he'd perforated her eardrum. Explains why she wouldnt see me the next day. End result was that Nicolas got to continue to go to groups, and its going to be put to the courts that the girls are removed while she gets the help, then returned later. Not sure how I feel about this at the moment to be honest.
12:30 - talk to gran about grandads appointment. We found out he had cancer just before christmas but they didnt know what type. Were supposed to find out that morning which obviously has had everyone worried sick. Nope, no information yet going to be another two weeks (AHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!)
1pm - Meet mum for Coffee to go over this morning, starving by this point on having caffeine shakes but nowhere seems to sell bloody sandwiches!
3pm - Drop mum at home, collect cam from school then go home to make dinner.
4:30 - just as dinners coming out of the oven, get a frantic call from mum. Social worker has rung her saying some evidence has come up and the girls have to go see a dr in northampton that night to be examined. So dinner abandoned, run off to mums to deal with 3 hyped up girls, their scared nanny and very angry mummy and her partner.
5pm-9pm - Go to see specialist dr with the girls. Wasnt actually as bad as I thought little darlings took it all in their stride. All tests/interviews came back fine. Big sigh of relief.
9pm - Home to reheated dinner and a glass of wine.
See why I say my life is like Eastenders! This week brings more meetings, volunteer work and taking my sister and youngest nice to mother and baby groups. So plan for today is chilling!
Another plan for today is to tackle this:

One of my new years resolutions is to scrap more, but over Christmas my desk is just been a dumping ground for anything without a home, probably gonna take a while but got to at least start sorting this mess! lol Hope every ones having a great weekend :)

Too many hobbies

As problems go, its a pretty nice one to have, but I seriously have too many hobbies. lol. I promised myself in the new year I'd do more crafting, but I also want to read more, play computer games, cross stitch and jigsaws, oh and puzzles from the magazines I get each week. With kids and housework, theres just not enough time in the day! lol.
Still havent managed any scrapping, been reading lots lately; but these are some more I found on my desk.



Short post today as to be honest my mind is elsewhere. Have a few things going on tomorrow which can either go really well, or really bad. FX for at least some good news! lol

Woops. lol

Well I haven't managed any scrapping yet, I did plan and cut a layout, but not stuck anything down yet, lol. However while tidying my desk I found a big pile of layouts I forgot I'd done! Now theres a good chance some of these are gonna be scrap lifted as they're from my sc kit, but as I did them back in November I've no idea which ones are or who did them first. Sorry!!
Been trying to use up the really old photos I've got still waiting to be scrapped, so this one from two years ago now needed to be done. It was around Christmas at my mums so obviously loads of photos were being taken. Cameron was getting a bit bored if you can't tell. lol

This one I know was scrap lifted but cant remember who did it. I loved the way they'd used all the rub ons on the one page though for journalling prompts. Its quite a simple page but I really like it :)

I think everyones got these, and the title pretty much sums it up 'Bad photos but great memories' I took these the first time the kids were playing on kinnectimals, they were having so much fun but unfortunately were in front of a large window so they came up really dark. I still wanted to document it though so used the photos anyway. lol.

Love this photo of Caitlin, we bought this dora doll offline and was amazed how big it was since I was expecting a normal sized doll and it was huge!

Thought this big flower went well with this as obviously huge like the doll. lol. It was a bit plain however I blinged it up. lol.

Well as usual im running late. Money came out of my account this morning and I'm currently on the phone to the bank trying to find out where it went. Typically the guy I'm talking to doesn't know much english and is reading from a script, shoot me now. lol

Back to normal, well kinda, lol

Well Caitlin's back to nursery tomorrow, and Cameron's off to school again Wednesday and I'm back to 'work' too so things are starting to get back to normal after the Christmas break. I do love Christmas but after all the hype its nice to calm down and get things organised again. Hardest part is always finding places for all the new stuff! lol. I've sorted out pretty much all the toys, its getting harder now as the toys seem to be getting bigger as the kids get bigger. lol, so just sorting out the adults gifts and housework today. The kids have loads of crafty gifts for Christmas so think I might get some of those out and leave them to it. :)
Typically as I had a lot planned I woke up this morning full of the cold. Been feeling a little rough lately but all stuffed up and yuck this morning. Bleh, so a big cup of coffee needed. :) on that note, look what santa brought me! (and yes that is my to do list on the bottom corner. lol)

This is my Keep cup. :) Its actually one of my favourite gifts even though I think it was one of the cheapest. lol. I admit I'm a huge coffee addict. I love going to costa and wondering about the house with a cup during the day, so this is ideal. :) I can use it for takeaways and it saves a disposable cup, and it keeps my coffee warm for longer and its less likely to spill. Both are big issues any mother will be familiar with! lol. Cant wait to take it on the Sarah's cards retreat as I go through stupid amounts of disposable cups while there. lol.
Staying on the gifts theme here's another gift santa (and by santa I mean of course mark, lol) brought. :) Ive wanted one of these types of frames for ages, and some people may remember me making a paper one ages ago. safe to say this one is nicer. lol. This is due to go up today but still not sure where. lol.

And of course Christmas wouldn't be Christmas without craft gifts! Admittedly I picked most of it out myself but Mark got me the stickers by himself. :) With his problems obviously he struggles with choosing gifts but bless him he did well this year. :)

Look, new dies! Just need to start scrapping again to use them. lol. Also love these felt embellishments, the snowflakes are so cute and quite detailed considering how small they are. :)

I would say I'm hoping to scrap tonight but to be honest since I haven't scrapped in so long my desk has just become a dumping ground for letters, forms and anything else with needs a home over the past month, so got to start sorting that first! lol

New year :)

New year, new start as they always say. Well i was hoping for one but that got shot in the foot lol. 1 hour my sister lasted into 2012 before getting into trouble, chucking a hairbrush at her bfs nose and getting arrested. *sigh* oh well obviously starting as she means to go on! So woke up to a txt from the bf at 3 saying he was in hospital getting his nose sorted, went to police but couldn't get any info so home again to try and get some sleep. Just lucky really the girls weren't there. We also found out a few days before Christmas my grandad has cancer in his arm. But as we wont know details of that until the 6th, we're trying to stay positive.
OK so that's all the bad news out of the way! All things considered it was actually a really good Christmas/new year.
The Friday before Christmas I took Caitlin to see Cinderella at our local theatre. She did NOT like the ugly sisters but other than that enjoyed it. If I'm honest there were a few too many smutty joke for my liking but obviously they went right over Caitlin's head, lol.

Christmas morning went as expected lol. Lots of squealing, paper flying everywhere and very happy kids. :) Cameron was in such a frenzy and loving every gift that when he unwrapped his car track which was in a plain white box, he screamed 'look, Santa's got me a box!' lol.

Caitlin was a little calmer than him, but I love the differences in them. Cameron will just unwrap everything madly without fully looking at anything until its all unwrapped, while Caitlin will unwrap one, want to play, and actually need encouraging to open the next gift, lol.

After gifts were opened we went to my mums for breakfast and gifts from Granny. Grandad didnt feel up to coming up which was understandable but obviously sad. The kids were already flagging by this point so we brought them home to play with thier toys. :) Was the first time Ive not had dinner at my mums house for chrismtas which I thought would be weird but to be honest it was really nice it just being the four of us.

I didnt bother with a big roast dinner and just made a little buffet instead which went down well, and we played with the kids new toys and games. We got caitlin the Doggy doo game she wanted. Oh my god what a gorss game. The dog doesnt just poop it makes really discusting noises while its doing it! The kids (and daddy) found it very funny though so thats the main thing. :)

Well hope everyone had a great christmas and new year :) Will be blogging more now things are getting back to normal. Well, hopefully normal, you never know whats around the corner do you! lol