Love relaxing days :)

Well yesterday was pretty hectic, fun, but hectic. The homestart center I work for had a party for all the volunteers and their families. Usually when I go to thier events I'm working as well so don't get to really enjoy it so was lovely to just be there with the kids and play :) It was a halloween party so kids could dress up if they wanted. Cameron went as his usual knight (normal dress just has a sword and shield lol) but Caitlin wanted to be a princess :) She was originally going to be sleeping beauty which she has but a little big for her, good old Nanny came to the rescue though. Caitlin was poorly again Friday night (no idea whats going on there) so Nanny bought her a Belle dress to cheer her up. It fitted perfectly and looked great with her little tiara I got from Primark :)

They both had a great time at the party. Running about like loonies and stuffing themselves with cake, hot dogs and burgers, Caitlin was obviously feeling better. We then went shopping as had run out of a lot of basics and needed to get veg as planning on doing some batch cooking this week as out of soups and stews in the freezer. Nearly passed out when it came to £130, £130!!!!! I didnt even think I'd got that much!!! Everything is just SO expencive these days, got a letter yesterday too saying my gas/electric bill is going up by £40 a month. Belt tightening going to be happening soon I think!! Well yesterday didnt manage much for the cyber crop but did get this one done saturday. Was from the class 'The patchwork papers' by Suzysnail. Was time consuming cutting up all the squares as I didn't have a punch but love the result. :) Poor photo as had to use my phone as camera is dead *rolls eyes*

This one I did this morning :) Was a class by lruk called 'our story' Mine didnt turn out half as nice as the class but still like it lol. I;m not a big fan of misting and paints as it always seems to warp my papers so only used a little. Used photos from our recent holiday to Turkey. My daughter LOVED the pancakes they made there, in these pictures my poor hubby had just brought a plate back for himself and gone to get a drink. While he was gone our daughter scoffed the lot! Obviously I found it more important to photograph than to stop her. lol

Right well off to make lunch, something warm I think as its freezing here and I'm NOT putting the heating on lol.

Cybercrop day!!

YEY! Its finally cyber crop day :) There are 3 classes and a challenge today starting at 10am, but before I can start scrapping I've got to do this

Yep more painting, bah. The landing and stairway needs to be done by mid November as thats when the couches SHOULD be coming and I want all livingroom areas done by then. BUT we really only have this week to get it done as next week is half term (no chance of painting then lol) and the week after my Mum is having Caitlin for a couple of nights so we can have her room all done and make it a surprise for her :) Poor Mum has so much overtime coming up thats the only time she could help out so got to have the painting done today!!! Not doing too bad so far, got the first coat done so just having a cuppa while that dries. Have all the windows open so its arctic in here but its helping it dry quicker so thats the main thing. Had a lovely moment this morning :) Caitlins teacher has left to go on maternity leave. She was a lovely woman who Caitlin adored so I admit I was a little worried about a new teacher coming in. I met her on parents evening and she seemed nice enough but you never know. Anyway Caitlin drew a picture last night for her. She worked really hard on it and this morning she had daddy write 'I love my family and my teacher' so she could copy it. She was so pleased with herself and was so excited to give it to the teacher. Now all other parents will know where I'm coming from here, but isn't it so scary when your child is so excited about giving a gift, just in case it isnt well received? So she walked to school with it, being very careful not to crease it or anything and walked proudly into the classroom and showed it to her teacher. At this point I'm watching in the window hiding to see how teacher reacts. She ohhed and ahhed and pointed at it obviously asking questions, Caitlin smiled away and answered back. Then when the teacher had all the kids sitting down for register she showed Caitlins picture to them :) I couldnt hear what was said but Caitlin was beaming :) Now decided I love her teacher and shes getting a good christmas gift :) :) Right wall looks dry enough now so off for coast number 2!

OMG its almost half term!

How did that come about so quick?! Half term means the end of October, and that means I should have finished the October section of my Christmas 'to do' organiser. Yeah I really, really havent lol. See now a sensible person would say 'hmm, maybe I've bitten off more than I can chew here, maybe I should look at what I can cut down?' While I say 'Oh that swap looks fun on UKS, I can add that, OH and the Cyber crop is next week! Yeah I can add that too, and batch cooking soups for Mark and the kids? Easy peasy' Yeah, see I'm not a sensible person. Not one little bit :p I probably should cut down on doing layouts in favour of Christmas crafting, but with the cyber crop starting tomorrow theres seriously no chance of that happening lol. I've got the day to myself tomorrow as Marks off to the Top Gear show with my dad :) Hes feeling better but still ont 100% but I know my dad will take care of him and they sit down watching the cars most of the time so he should be ok. Planning on getting the painting done but might slip some scrapping in there too ;) Last two layouts until the crop. Got to cut letters tonight for bunting so thats going to take an age!!!! These photos are from Turkey, while Nanny and I would enjoy an adult cocktail the kids were very entertained by these ones which changed their tongues lol. I think it was just food colouring tbh and keep meaning to do it at home but never got around to it, maybe I should add it to the list :p

I also did a pre-crop challenge! Theres still a few I havent done yet but this one is called 'The time travellers wife' with the challenge being to do a layout from an old class. I actually did a fair few of the older ones as I kinda got into it but this was the one I liked the best. Randomly its a double layout, which I usually HATE but really like this one :) Its from the 'Scrappy little Christmas' cyber crop and was 'Winter wonderland treats' by leo. I did do this cyber crop but seriously dont remember doing this class lol, so may have a similar layout in an album somewhere but oh well. These pictures were taken Christmas morning last year. Caitlin looks still half asleep bless her and her eyes look all dark and tired. Shes still happy opening her gifts though :) She takes after her Daddy, takes a while for her to wake up in the morning. lol

Well better get started on my letters. Got to do 'merry christmas', 'mollie', 'evie', 'lillie', 12 E's and 12 M's see, gonna take me a while. lol

Productivness gone

Well all that 'get up and go' I had at the start of the week has well and truly got up and gone lol. Didnt get much done yesterday but that was mainly through checking on Mark regularly. Hes a bit more with it today, still no energy but not as sleepy iykwim. Hes quite happy curled up on the couch watching TV so hopefully will do better today. That said I just can't be bothered! Its cold and very grey outside and its really just the weather I want to curl up with a good book lol. The ironing pile is shouting at me though so better get that done *sigh* First though more layouts :) This is from Thomas land this year. probably the last time we'llbe going really as think the kids are too grown up for it now. Hopefully legoland next year. :) The stickers in the corner of the photo I actually bought when we where there, then put under my seat in the car so cameron couldn't see them. I completly forgot they were there until I gutted the car a few weeks ago and found them lol

I love this photo of me and Caitlin. It was in Turkey in the sulpher (sp) bath. The kids both loved it even though it stank. It was too deep for my mum though so she became photographer. Was nice as I'm usually behind the camera so was glad to get some photos of me with them for a change.

Well it was parents evening for Cameron last night. As expected a glowing report :) Hes very bright and very far ahead in maths and english, always willing to help and listen and a very popular little boy. :) So proud! Taking Caitlin to disney on ice for her reward next week so Cameron got to pick his, a day at Kids kingdom and wants Caitlin to come too even though he's not going on her day. How sweet is he!

Hubbys home

Well got a call yesterday saying Marks kidney scan came back ok so there were sending him home. TBH was a bit surprised as Nurse originally said would be a minimum of 48 hours but suppose beds are like gold dust. His temp was up and down in the night so keeping a close eye. He keeps complaining about me taking his tempreture, swear hes a worse patient than the kids! lol. Hes still on strong antibiotics but they're oral rather than IV, but seriously look at the size of them!!!

I know he needs strong antibiotics but those a meal in themselves! lol, no wonder he has no appitite and keeps sleeping lol. Kids were thrilled to have him home :) Caitlin wouldnt leave his side. Went to bed last night to find she'd snuck in and was cuddled up next to him. they've got so close over the past few weeks, its adorable really. I didn't have a relationship with my biological father so means the world that Caitlins got such a good daddy :) Well with a poorly hubby on the couch DIY is out, so still focusing on decluttering and scrapping. Started on my wardrobe this morning; though I've been off the diet for 2 months now I've still maintained my weight (even lost a couple extra pounds :) so feel confident to chuck my 'bigger' clothes now. I seriously need to go shopping lol. All of my jeans are way too big, I was making do with using a belt but its got to the point where theres a lump of folded up jeans at the back lol. Know what I'll ask my Mum for for Christmas :) Onto the scrapping :) Still using scraps to do simple layouts, also been covering Jar lids for simple xmas gifts (more snowman soups, cookie mixes etc) SO simple to do and makes boring jars look quite cute :) Loved the backing paper on this, and it goes great with Caitlins dress so made it the focus. These photos are from Summer this year, took the kids out with Cam on his bike and Caitlin on her roller skates. Loved the bike banner at the bottom.

This is one of those 'perfect timing' photographs lol. Earlier this year when we had all the snow my Dad made 'thrones' for the kids by rolling large balls of snow and putting their sleds behind it. Got a lovely photo of all the kids on them (bar Evie who refused to look up lol) and then they asked Granddad to sit with them. JUST as I took the photo the snow he was sitting on collapsed and he fell back. All the adults were peeing themselves while the kids were concerned he was ok. They're better people than we are, lol.

Look, layouts :)

Well I did sit down intending to write this blog at 9:30 this morning, its now nearly 12 lol. Whenever something bad happens I either clean or cook. Now the freezer is stuffed so cookings out so have busied myself tidying. Think I mentioned before about the bedroom being a bomb site so I've gutted that :) Got a bin bag of scrap papers and magazines from my stash, bags of clothes for the charity shop and a box of toys for Argos and their trade in scheme. :) Really pleased its looking more organised now. Still have lots of things needing homes when we finish re-organising but feel like much less of a chav now lol. Last night I couldnt really tidy up much as the kids were in our bed so didn't want to wake them, so spent the time focusing on using up scraps instead :) I can't find anywhere for the big box of scraps so trying to use as much as possible and maybe fit it into a bag instead :s So did some really simple layouts but I like them :) This is Caitlin on the swing at my neice Evies birthday last year. God seems ages ago now as so much has happened! The large flower in the top corner was from my Christmas box swap, I think it goes perfect with the bright colours. The green semi circle with the blue gems was a leftover chipboard hoop part from another layout. I inked it green an added the gems, good way to use up all the teeny ones. lol

I love this photo of Cameron :) It was just after christmas last year and they were having a great time with their new scooters. I love the bright colours and how happy he looks :)

Theres the other part of the chipboard hoop, lol. This photo was taken the day after Caitlin stayed at my mums house overnight. Apprently Nanny showed Caitlin to put pants on her head and dance about. Why remains unclear to this day lol.

I'm so excited for Caitlin to come home from school :) Shes asked to go to see Disney on ice for a couple of years now but the bus trips were too expencive and I dont feel confident driving into the city center where they are. However my sister apprently does and is taking her two eldest for Christmas and said we can tag along :) Shes going to be so thrilled!!!! Will help take her mind off Mark anyway, she asked me for two kisses last night at bedtime, one from me and one from daddy. Bless her :)

Best laid plans and all that

Well so much for my productive day! Mark had a sore stomach last night and hurt when he went for a pee, so put it down to a simple urine infection and added cranberry juice to the shopping list. Then this morning he shouts me from the bathroom, blood everywhere! Phoned the 8-8 clinic and answered a billion questions to be told a dr will ring us back within 20 minutes but then Mark has a fever fit so I decide sod it we're going to A&E. Turned out he has a very bad infection which was on the verge of turning septic. Hes got to stay in for a few days to have antibiotics through an IV but other than that will hopefully be ok :) Was So proud of the kids though, we were there from 9 until 2:30 and they were so well behaved. Even the nurses commented on it. They were fasinated when Mark had his canular put in, and when they did the ecg and other tests. I think its a good idea to let them see it really as then its not a big scary issue if they need anything done themselves. Well thats the idea anyway lol. I did plan on photographing the layouts I've done today but didn't work out that way so thought I'd share these :) My little snowman soups to go in the girls Christmas boxes. I haven't made the tags for them yet but the punch is in the garage and its raining so there it will stay for a bit. :)

Well my to do list has got much bigger now. Looks like Mark will be in until Wednesday so hope to get the majority of the DIY done while hes away so when he comes back I can take care of him if needed. Also have lots of crafts to do but thats more fun than work, and getting ready for the cyber crop next week. Yey! :)

Love productive days :)

Today has been one of those lovely relaxed days. Well it was for Mark and the kids I've worked my ass off lol, but enjoyed doing it, :) A few days ago I got this book in the post, it was from the decorated notebook swap on UKS and is perfect for all my Christmas planning. So last night I sat down and made loooooots of lists; gifts I've bought, gifts I still need to buy, food lists, to do lists for the house, crafting lists, the lot. Took a lot longer than I thought lol. Once all that was done I made a weekly planner in the back of the book with what needed to be done each week, shocked me how little time is left!

So made a good start today :) Mark basically watched tv and read stories with the kids, while the kids were just SO well behaved! Played shops, teachers and made pretty much everything out of playdough for ages. Let me get loads done so few bits crossed of this weeks list lol. As a reward let them watch Happy feet 2 in 3D which came from blockbuster this morning. They were so cute! Caitlin kept saying 'It looks real!' While Cam yelled out at one point where a whale came at the tv lol.

Hopefully will have another productive day tomorrow. intend to finally put up te blind in the kitchen. Only been meaning to do it for 2 years so not too long!

WOYW uh, T, lol

Ok I know its usually 'whats on your workdesk Wednesday' but I forgot yesterday lol. Look I'm actually scrapping! Theres a cyber crop next week on UKS (yey!) and one of the pre-crop challenges is to do one of the classes from previous years so all the old classes have been put up. Admittedly i seriously don't have time for layouts as my Christmas crafts are rapidly piling up but to hell with it I also have a huge pile of photos to use up too lol.

In the intrest of making space I decided to use up my Christmas kits. Its by far the biggest amount of kits I have and my Christmas photo pile is my second largest, holidays being the first thanks to Turkey. So far I've done 4 layouts from the classes and really enjoying it. Hopefully will get some more done over the weekend :)

Got to stop decorating lol

Ok well Caitlin went back to school again today :) Hopefully she'll manage a full week this time! Thanks for all the get well soon messages for her :) She seems to be a lot better even with just the second day of antibiotics. Finished her dinner tonight for the first time in ages and even asked for seconds, thought it would be pushing her stomach a bit so I said no but at least it shows her appitite is coming back. Well made that 'to do' list last night and no its not really possible lol. Between illness' and decorating loads the general housework has seriously gone to pot. The ironing basket is overflowing and mine and Marks bedroom looks like a tip lol. We had a leak in the garage a few weeks back which is where we were keeping the kids christmas gifts; obviously couldnt with the rain so I pulled everything out of the bottom of our wardrobe and put it them in there. Unfortunatly everything that was in the wardrobe before, my craft stuff, paperwork etc, is still all over our bedroom. So, while I had planned to decorate more I think this week is seriously going to be more about catching up on cleaning. Ive also got to start planning my Christmas crafting as this month is speeding by! I recently did a handmade christmas decoration swap on uks and got some great decorations out of it :)

Arn't they pretty :) Can't belive how quick Christmas has come around again, will probably be even quicker this year as so busy between now and then. Very excited about it though :) lol

Poorly Caitlin

Well we're no into week three of caitlin vomiting on and off so off to the dr we went. Found out she has an ear infection and very enlarged tonsils! She hasnt complained at all! Have antibiotics now so hopefully that will get rid of everything once and for all. Other than that had a nice weekend :) My Dad and Mark watched the kids Saturday for us so me, my mum and sister could go Christmas shopping. Except for a couple little bits I am now DONE! Ok so I've said that before but serious now lol. Need to get something for my youngest niece and the traditional tree decorations I get them each year but thats not much :) Can't belive how quick this month is going! I've took on a few more hours at 'work', nothing big just another family and teaching a scrapbooking class at the center. The latter is great as Mark can come along so I don't need to worry about canceling if he has a bad day. The living room is coming on great. Painting is pretty much done, just need another coat on the stairs and then its just the radiator cover and couch to be delivered and put in. Im SO excited about the radiator cover as will mean I have a kinda mantle place to decorate at christmas. Would be nicer to have a fireplace yeah but better than nothing. lol. Will need new curtains and a new rug at later date but thats not going to be this side of Christmas anyway. Gives me something to shop for in the sale :) When it comes to crafting I've done nothing. Keep meaning to and during the day I look forward to the kids going to bed so I can sit and do some layouts but by the time bedtime comes all motiviation leaves me. In fact I'm sitting next to my mums bunting at the moment. Started it ages ago and not touched it since, really need to get it done as got lots of projects withe the Christmas deadline. I have done some swaps though :) This was what I recived in the christmas box swap, isnt it pretty!

Had some great stuff in it too, love this swap as you get lots of little bits, unlike when you buy a pack and it always comes with 6 of the same item in. Can get boring quick.

Well busy week ahead! Think I might make a list of everything that needs done and see if its even possible lol.

See!!!

Look she can smile! lol. After the palava trying to get her to smile at her photo I asked her to do one at home. I think she was surprised how upset I was when she didn't smile before so bless her she grinned her heart out. :) Think I prefer this to her school photo anyway.

Well I have a very happy household today. Yesterday Marks christmas gift came, lol. As we needed a new one anyway I got him a tv from the catalog. Wouldnt have been able to afford it outright but with buy now pay in 3 months, then 3 months intrest free think we can manage it :) Then this morning our taster box from the american candy store came.

Honestly I think if I just got two of these for the kids at Christmas they'd be happy, lol. They wanted to try pretty much everything before school but obviously said no to that one! Did try a few things over the day though lol. Skor - Like a Dime bar but softer and thicker. Very yummy even Mark liked it and hes not a big dime fan lol. Candy corn - Now this was odd, I always thought candy corn was hard, like rock. This was soft and kinda bland. Cameron ended up eating them, lol, he seems to like all the stuff nobody else does. Two tone - Strawberry flavoured chocolate with something in it. Described by Mark as 'I think its supposed to be crispy but its not' lol. Caitlin started off having it for her pudding but gave it to mark in the end. Peppermint bark - For something with 3 layers (milk choc, white choc and peppermint) this was remarkably bland! lol. Think it was cheap chocolate though. The rest has been put away for movie nights and treats :) Should keep us going for a while!!

Sketch challenge

Well this morning didnt quite go as I'd hoped :( Was school picture day, was so looking forward to it as obviously its Caitlins first school photo. While shes been poorly again seemed fine this morning and was very eager to be going back to school and seeing her friends. So got her all dressed, did her hair nice and lookign very pretty put her coat on.........only for breakfast to make a reappearance :( Got to love Cameron though, I'm holding a still vomiting Caitlin over the sink, Marks cleaning the floor and Cameron pipes up 'What do you think Mummy? Should she go to school or stay home?' hmmm I'm thinking home somehow! Poor Caitlin though burst into tears, she really wanted to go back to school. Felt so guilty but what could I do?! Decided to take her into to get her photo taken and then bring her right home. So took her in, and she flat out refused to smile. Begged, bribed, none of it, so won't be getting her photo after all. Was devistated. Going to try and get some photos of her at home but its not the same. Well just to prove to myself she CAN smile in photos thought I'd share this layout I did for our sketch challenge this month. Was a simple one as haven't done a layout in a while. Love these photos of Caitlin opening her birthday pressies this year, she showed SUCH expression.

See lol, used mainly scraps for this as still packing and sorting my stash so don't know where half of it is!

Hopefully Caitlin will be at school tomorrow. Think staying at home isnt as fun as she remembers. I'm shopping in the morning and coffee with my Mum in the afternoon. Need to try and find some shoes for Caitlin for christmas, wish me luck!

Christmas ribbon tree

Over on UKS I ran a 'Handmade Christmas decoration swap'. There were some beautiful decorations made which I'll share tomorrow but I've been asked to show how I made mine, A christmas tree from ribbon. :) Now I admit I didnt make this up myself. I saw a picture on pintrest and while I didnt 'pin' it I could remember what it looked like so just made it how I would imagine it to be done. No idea if this is how the original person made it but pleased with the results anyway :) This is what you will need: Some ribbon, Some beads, Thread, Needle Thats it! Not much really lol.

First thread a bead on the thread. You can either tie a knot on the bottom to stop it going through or if it has a big hole tie a knot and push the thread back through to catch it.

Thread through the ribbon leaving a tail behind like shown here. Add another bead.

Fold the ribbon over and thread it on top of the bead

Fold the ribbon round, a little shorter this time, and thread again, add another bead, fold back but making it shorter each time to make the tree shape.

Keep adding beads and looping the ribbon, getting shorter and shorter each time until you are happy with it.

Tie the thread at the top to make a loop to hang on the tree. Trim any extra thread/ribbon and you're done :)

See really easy :) I have tried to find the pin I saw this on but no luck, if anybody does find it please let me know so I can link it here and give credit. :)

Poorly day

Well I have two poorly kids home today. Caitlin was up most of the night being sick bless her so just let her sleep this morning while I got Cam up and ready for school. After 2 breakfasts, asking for a 3rd and then finding out Caitlin had the day off due to a poorly tummy Cameron started complaining his hurt. Yeah nice try I thought and took him into school. Got a call 2 hours later to pick up a very grey looking Cam :( So they've both spent the day on the couch watching TV. Not sure if Cam has the same thing Caitlin did though as hes not been sick. got a temp and complaining his joints ache, while Caitlin except from throwing up looks and acts perfectly fine. :S Keeping an eye on them both though. Well with them home my 'to do' list has gone to pot lol. Was supposed to be going shopping and town but thats obviously out, also had some crafting jobs to do but those are out too. Basically spent the day cleaning and a bit more painting. The day isnt complete these days until I've painted something lol. Moving into the living room now though which is exciting to me :) The kitchen and the hall were just repaints in the same colour iywkim, while the livingroom we're completly re-doing and wallpapering too so looks different :) Hoping kids are better tomorrow, or at least well enough to be dragged up town as have no milk, bread or washing powder left lol

Everyones home :)

Well this morning was a bit of a rush lol, sleep was difficuilt to come by over the weekend, friday night I struggled to sleep as with Cameron and Mark gone the house just felt too quiet, Caitlin shared my bed and snores like a hippo, plus someone thought 3am was a great time to set off a load of fireworks! Saturday night I put kids to sleep in their beds, couldnt get to sleep myself to moved them in with me :) Ok not really the best thing to do but they were fine and I slept a bit better.......untill a car alarm in the next street kept going off. This went on for about an hour, Cam woke up bless him and half asleep asked 'What do we do now Mummy the smoke alarm is going off!' the police eventually showed up then a screaming match broke out. So last night everyone was home, no fireworks, no alarms, and everyone must have needed it because we all slept in! School starts at 9, 8:30 we woke up, lol. Amazed we got to school on time. Love this picture I took of them in my bed. how peaceful do they look :)

Mark had a good weekend away, took it out of him though so hes still in bed at nearly 1pm lol. Think though his mates do slow down for him and take his illness into account they're still young lads iykwim. Sweetheart that he is he brought back some sweets for me from an american import store. I love trying new sweets from other countries lol, my mum brought me a huge bag from Australia when she went and can still remember the 'mint flake' honest to god tasted exactly like colgate toothpaste! let the kids in my class at the time try it and they all hated it lol. One way to put them off chocolate. :) So had a nice night last night watching dr who again (and crying again) and trying the sweets. This is my review: Twinkies - Nice, tastes like syrup spongecake with cream. leaves a strange film in your mouth though :S Baby ruth - Liked this too, similar to a snickers bar but the nougat is more of a fudge consistency. Jolt cola - had this this morning and OMG this was YUM! I didnt think the caffine had had any effect at first but then realised Id painted the hall, put washing out, tidied both rooms, scrubbed the kitchen and put dinner in the slow cooker and only 2 hours had passed! Milk duds - more yum, basically toffee poppets with less choc and more toffee. Jolly ranchers - hard boiled sweets which we used to get in the uk but dont for some reason now. Nice but nothing special. Twizzlers - UGH!!! nobody in the family would eat them, rubbery with very little taste. Ended up in the bin lol. Koolaid not had yet but will try later lol

More painting being done today, lol. Need to finish the woodwork in the hall as ran out of gloss last time, then the kids are desperate to help with painting again so going to very throughly cover the carpet upstairs with towels and old sheets and let them paint the hallway lol.