Getting ready :)

Quick post as I'm getting ready for my weekend away!!!! Freezer is full of food, kids have games and dvds, babysitters sorted and I'm off after Marks hospital appointment tomorrow!!!!
Only light packing of course lol. The little pink bag at the back has my clothes in it, the rest is stash and food :)

Also proud of Cameron, hes star of the week so in achivement assembly tomorrow :) Sadly I can't go but Mum and Mark are there to cheer him :)

Pins

Well a little bit of crafting done :) I made these for a pin swap I'm in over on uks. You had to decorate a pin, then make a pretty holder for it.

To be honest I did cheat a little with this, I think we were supposed to do the whole pin ourselves but when I signed up I didn't realise and thought you just had to buy them. I has a stash full so thought no problem but nope, I need to do it myself with beads, great I have no beads. Luckily Caitlin was very obliging and managed to break her bracelet that afternoon so yey, beads! lol. Its supposed to be a monthly swap but there were only a few of us this time so can't see it taking off unfortunately.
Other big news for today, my kitchen blind is up! Ok that might not seem a big deal but when you considered I bought it to put up in 2009 and its sat in the kitchen ever since you can see why I'm excited lol.
Camerons big news is this

Yes its a brand spanking new 3ds :) We were going to wait until after the holiday but a friend told me our local argos clearance warehouse was selling them for £99, and since we made £240 selling old toys and things we thought we'd treat him. Told him he won't be getting much when we're in Disney but he was fine with it. Makes nannys job this weekend much easier!

Wobbly tooth!

This mornign cameron complained when his teeth were being brushed. Nothing new there! But this time he was really going at it so I had a check and he has his first wobbly tooth! He was so excited :) Last year his cousin lost her first tooth and Cameron asked when he would lose his, as Mollie was 5 at the time the obvious answer we gave him was 'when you are 5' mistake! As soon as he hit 5, 'when will I lose a tooth? When will I lose a tooth?' Now it's changed to 'When will my tooth fall out?' so at least its a little variation lol.

Still not been crafting lol. After those two layouts and a few other bits my mojo has gone on holiday again. Hoping it will come back for this weekend!

Yey! good post :)

Another surprise this morning lol. Was getting kids ready for school and sent Caitlin to get her shoes, she comes running back with an envelope. I was surprised as I hadn't heard anything and post doesnt usually come till around 11 at the earliest let along 8:30! So opened it and found this :)

Yey its Camerons passport!! We only sent away for it last week so pretty impressive to get it back so soon :) I was 99% sure we'd get it before the holiday but still worried something would go wrong so feeling much better to have it in my hand :)
This is his photo lol. I think he looks really suspicious, as though the camera is going to attack him lol. He was really confused by the whole 'don't smile' prospect as usually I'm begging him to! Its an improvement on his last one though where he had a cold so has his mouth open to breathe and his tongue hanging out.

Finished sorting all my papers. This is every piece of 12x12 paper I have. Seriously not that much is it! Easy to store though so thats one good thing. Easy to take along this weekend :)

Quote of the day so far has to go to my poorly hubby on the couch. Was watching tv when the clip of Jennifer lawrance tripping at the oscars comes on. 'Gutted' mark says 'She should have just span round and set it on fire' How does his brain remember silly little trivia like that, but not important things! lol

Surprise!

Had a couple of surprises today, lol. first was when Mark took Caitlin to dads group. I've mentioned before about the group which is a lifesaver in letting me get some time to myself, and Mark some time with the kids in a safe environment. Well this week I think they wern't watching close enough and this photo popped up on facebook.

I nearly hit the roof! Caitlin and one of her friends found the face paints and got busy, her clothes were COVERED in black paint by the time she got home. Did give her a quick bath but the pink paint around her eyes wouldnt budge so she looks like some kind of 80s reject lol.
Another surprise was when we were driving home. Look who was parked outside a new shop opening :)

Cameron was SO excited to see the 'real' lighting Mcqueen :) Was a really well done copy and they got to sit inside and pretend to drive too. Mark was impressed to see he had a decepticon symbol on his steering wheel lol. Dont remember that in the films!

If you're going to MB dont look! lol

Ok so I know I said I couldn't blog some of the things I've made but I've decided to be naughty and do it anyway. :) I know I'll just forget to do it later as I often do and then kick myself later.
Next weekend I am going on a retreat with friends. Mum and dad are watching the household, kids and Mark to give me a bit of a break. As a treat we've all agreed to make a little homemade gift for each other, it's a lovely idea really as we all do different crafts so will be interesting to see what everyone makes. :) I struggled really as I don't make many things which can be given as gifts, but then I remembered the little chocolate molds I used at Christmas. :) I've seen 'choc a block' spoons in the shops loads of times, little plastic spoons with a chunk of chocolate at the end sprinkled with various toppings, and often thought 'I can do that'. So decided thats what Id do. :) The ones with gold ribbon are topped with fudge pieces, the pink are white chocolate curls, red are chocolate covered cereal pieces and the blue are just plain. The idea is to get a cup of hot milk and stir the spoons in melting the chocolate and flavouring it too. Or you could do what Cameron did and just stick the spoon in your mouth and eat it. lol

Today has been a boring/relaxing day. We got a new computer game rental from Lovefilm, mario party 9, which Cameron loves! Its different to the other ones in the way its more teamwork rather than fighting against each other, which with 2 competitive kids is good! Much to my shame they wipes the floor with me lol. There was one game where you had to jump on different platforms to get to the top, picture me shouting 'what button is it?! What button is it?!' Mark yelling buttons at me and me yelling back 'Im pressing that nothings happening!' while the kids calmly jump to the top and win. Its a rubbish game I hate it, lol.

Another layout

Not quite as productive as some other crafters I know but certainly an improvement on my usual scrapping lol.
This was using the kit again, still plenty of it left too! These are pictures from breakfast in Turkey, Caitlin for some reason wouldnt eat the cereal, crossiants, or any of the stuff she usually eats at home and would ONLY eat the baby biscuits and chocolate spread. Cameron would eat the crossiants until they came out of his ears and more than once we had to run back to the room to get them changed as they were all sticky. It got to the point where we covered them in napkins before they ate! Thats why I picked the title 'Classy!' as we certainly wern't!

I have actually spent the whole day making things but unfortunatly can't share them as they're all for swaps or gifts. Also started sorting stash for my retreat next weekend! So excited!!!

Karate night

Well camerons at Karate lessons again tonight. He loves it which is great, Caitlin not so much lol. She's usually fine but tonight is really missing her brother. :( Had a cuddle, and she stole my snack which seemed to cheer her up lol. Shes cuddled up on the couch with her Lamb teddy so shes ok at the moment.

The snack she's eating is actually cereal, lol. Shes on packed lunches this week and saw these in Tesco £1 for a multipack. I think they're still just single servings of cereal but whenever I get it they just eat it dry so I'm going to be really odd and put them in her lunchbox as crisps :) Maybe a bit odd but its hard to think of new things to put in each day, particualy with Caitlin who can't have a lot of fruit.
As well as being karate night tonight is tv catch up night! Love thursdays as Mark goes to his friends and I can watch all the tv shows that he hates. To be fair he doesn't mind me watching them when hes here but I know he hates them so feel bad doing so. Most of the shows I like, Greys anatomy, criminal minds, chicago fire etc, are all on Wednesday but last night we watched Looper. If you haven't heard of this its basically about Joseph Gorden-levitt who plays a guy called Joe. Hes a 'looper', someone who works as a contract killer but the twist is they kill people the mob sends from the future. They're given a time and place to be, a guy appears from the time machine, they shoot him and get paid. They're called loopers because if they're still alive in the future, to keep things quiet the mob will send them back and they kill themselves and 'close the loop'. However when old Joe comes back, young Joe doesn't kill him and he gets away. Old Joe decides he wants to kill his future boss, who is only a 10 year old boy in young Joes time and young Joe sets out to stop him. hard to explain but was really a good film. Ending kinda sets up for a sequel which I always find irritating but was still worth a watch :)
Well Camerons home now! Off to put kids to bed and chill out with some tv, might get another pack of cinnimon squares now Caitlin won't steal them lol

WOYWW

Well whats on my workdesk has actually changed since last week lol. Only done one layout and planned another but still something :) This is still from the Quirky kit, loving the little polorid frame. It came with some tissue type paper too which I decided would look nice misted. It may have worked except it got caught in the wind while doing it outside and it smudged it everywhere! So re thought using it as the background on this one and might make some little flowers with it instead.

Super quick post tonight as kids were up till gone 12 last night :( Cameron was complaining of sore legs again and then Caitlin started the same thing! Not sure if she really did have or was just following Cams lead but either way everyone needs an early night lol.

First class!

Look I did a layout! lol. The kit seems to have got my mojo going again which is good as its been gone a while now! this layout is about the first time Caitlin went on a plane. I called it 'first class' because while we wern't actually in first class (I wish) caitlin told everyone we were!

Hidden journalling reads:
The first time you went on a plane we were going to Turkey. You were really scared when we first went on, mainly because we had to walk past the engine to board and the noise really paniced you. Once we sat down however Camerons excitement soon rubbed off on you and you certainly enjoyed tkae off and looking at all the clouds. I did manage to get you to have a nap but it only lasted about 5 minutes before you woke up again!

Had a better day today than yesterday, kids had swimming lessons and while they do seem to be doing a little better they both still begged not to have to go so gave in and canceled them after next week. I don't want to force them to do it and make them hate it, Caitlin used to love going to the pool but dreads it now. Will try again when they're older. :)
No plans for tomorrow so going to get stuck into the ironing. After sorting out the kids clothes in the next size up the ironing basket is full again. Feels like my life has been all about clothes the past week! lol

My day

Well today has been a looooooong day. Didnt start off too great as as usual after half term Cameron was weepy about going back. :( Once again Caitlins hot dinner order didn't go through so had to piece together a lunch for her, thought she was happy about it at least lol. Getting home I got the mail and things went from bad to worse.

That is the over payment we apprently got from benifits back in 2009. We apprently appealed it and this is the total we now need to repay. I don't remember any of it to be honest but at that time Mark was at his most poorly so don't remember much lol. We're now repaying it at £40 a month so will only take 6 years to pay off, lol. Ah you need to laugh don't you, oh and to add to the fun Camerons DS broke so the £140 we made selling stuff will now go on replacing that. If he broke it himself I'd make him wait but the battery has just stopped holding a charge so think its just wear and tear.
We sent off for Camerons passport though so pleased with that :) Mark bless him bought me lunch too to cheer me up. He's obviously not allowed a credit card or accsess to the money because he has no memory as to what needs to be paid, what he has spent or anything. I remember when we were living apart I checked his bank statement to find over £400 had been spent in HMV and he had NO idea what it was spent on or where the items were! He is still a grown man though so I give him £30 a month to spend on what he likes. This time he insisted on buying me my favourite coffee and cake to cheer me up. :)

Afternoon was spent tidying, collecting kids and the usual dinner, bath, homework etc. So after such a long day think I'll relax with the scrapbooking I left out from last night lol.

I have a kit!

Well I got it yesterday but with one thing or another didn't open it till today lol. I haven't subscribed to a kit since sarahs cards stopped theirs back in July, but I really missed them so after looking about decided to try 'quirky kits'. Its only once every second month so is cheaper and less overwhleming as if I'm honest I still have some sarahs kits I havent even touched yet lol. Well this is the one I got this month.

And tonight I actually sat down and scrapped! I managed to finish one layout I'm pleased with and half finished another, but that used mists so had to wait for it to dry so hopefully finish tomorrow. My living room was tidy this afternoon, not so much now lol.
Ugh not looking forward to tomorrow. kids go back to school which on one hand will be nice, they get to see all their friends again and housework becomes much easier, but I love having them home. I'm one of those Mums who loves having everyone under the same roof, feels wrong when we're not all together. I've also got to go to the post office to send off Camerons passport form too and lets face it on Monday morning the post office is a fate worse than death anyway! Will be worth it when we're all at Disneyland though :) managed to make a bit of money over the weekend selling stuff so will help towards spending money. When we booked it money wwas much less tight but wasnn't about to cancel it if I could help it! Kids are so excited and they deserve a nice holiday, they put up with so much with Mark being poorly and they're still such great kids. Cameron spent most of the afternoon reading Caitlins magazines to her so she could do the puzzles, then at bedtime poor Cameron woke up crying because his legs hurt (he gets really bad growing pains at times) while I was calming him down Caitlin came in and gave him her favourite teddy to make him feel better. So proud of them both :)

Pirates

Well this morning we had a great time. :) There was a 'Wildlife watch' group at a local nature park and at £1 per child I thought it would be a cheap way to entertain the kids. the weather was a lovely too, cold but sunny and dry. Ended up getting covered in mud but really enjoyed it. :) Kids loved it and were really well behaved too, they seem to be great outside, then when we get home start the fighting and whinging. lol.
We started in the big log cabin they have there, I used to camp at the park when I was a kid and we had our meals in there, seemed huge then! Anyway, they had lots of craft stuff set out for the kids so we made pirate hats for our treasure hunt, there were clues all over the park that we had to follow to find the treasure. We got very muddy, lol. I was surprised at how much Cameron was able to read and work out too, thought 'traditional' and 'hibernation' would be too hard but he had no problem. :) Was a bit of a disapointment though as when we got to the end someone had stole the treasure! They gave us some free sweets from the shop to make up but sad to think someone had stole a kids treasure.
Kids were exsausted when we got home so had a nice relaxing afternoon decorating biscuits and watching tv. :)
Caitlin came out with a funny comment:
Caitlin - Chocolate spread isn't healthy because it begins with a C.
Me - But carrots begin with a C?
Caitlin - Yeah but those are orange!
Got to love the way their minds work.

Distracted

A common situation in this house is me, last thing at night, completly exsausted (lots of red squiggles, yeah I can't spell lol) standing at the foot of the bed thinking 'I havent stopped moving all dya, HOW is the house still a mess?!' Now a big part of that is the little whirlwinds known as Cameron and Caitlin. I can tidy the kitchen and come into the livingroom to find a bomb has hit it. A bigger part however is me getting distracted by every little thing lol. This is an example of my day:
Start in the living room, tidying up and pick up the breakfast dishes,
Take dishes into the kitchen, notice there are no clean tea towels,
Go to the bedroom to get one from the clean washing basket, notice the basket is full so sort the washing,
Put the first pile of clothes away and notice kids beds are a mess, make beds and find dirty pjs and socks in the bedding
Take dirty clothes downstairs to put in the wash, its now lunchtime
Make lunch for Mark, take lunch dishes into kitchen.
Now notice we're now into the afternoon, I only have a couple of hours before I go and get the kids form school and the dinner/bath/homework/bedtime routine starts and the living room is still a mess, washing is in piles on the bedroom floor and nothing is finished. See I know I'm doing it, in fact as I type I'm thinking about the piles of clean ironing I did yesterday still waiting to be hung up. Not that I'm going to do it right now granted because I can't be bothered, but at least I acknowledge it. :)
Anyway I say all this because that is exactly what happened yesterday. I started by tackling the HUGE ironing pile that had built up over half term. When putting away the marks jumpers I noticed there was not enough room in the wardrobe. So in my wisdom I decided to sort through the box at the end of the bed. This is a huge wooden blanket box we originally bought for Camerons nursery, I love this box as it is seriously solid and actually looks better with all the scratches, marks and scuffs its got over the years. :) Until yesterday it was home to all our old Summer clothes I was keeping in the hope that some would be useful to us this year.

WRONG! I spent 3 hours sorting through all the clothes but all of Caitlins beautiful outfits are too small for her now, :( someone needs to find a way to stop kids growing. :( On a happy not though the majority of the clothes for me are too big now :) There are a few tops that are still ok but I no longer have a pair of shorts to my name. Good job we're not going anywhere sunny this year!
So thats why the ironing still hasn't been put away, yesterday was spent sorting out the clothes, then today was spent listing them for sale! Hopefully will make a few extra pennies.
Oh these are the cards the kids made for me :) Caitlin made hers at school but Cameron made his with some of my scraps when I was in the bath one day. Shows how much I love him and the card that I dont even mind he got the wrong box and used the last sheet of my pink metallic cardstock, not my scraps lol.

Valentines day

Well today is valentines day :) I admit I don't really celebrate it, not because I don't like romance or anything but it's too much hype for me. Mark however doesn't agree and bless him got me these. :) I'm pretty sure they're from poundland but tbh I love them! Will be great if I ever get back into crafting again. lol

I also got some very sweet cards from the kids but as they're in the bedroom and Marks currently having a nap I can't photograph those yet. Bless them though they're really excited and apprently Caitlins teacher told them that Mummy doesnt do any jobs at all on Valentines. Not sure how accurate that is but hey I'll take it lol.
Nothing big planned for the day, Camerons friend Jack is coming to play so mainly keeping the house tidy and not too chaotic. We've got a supermarket takeaway for tonight and the new batman film so that will be nice. :) Fingers crossed kids go bed as they havent been sleeping much recently !

WOYWW

So what's on my workdesk today? The exact same thing as last week, lol. Ok so a few papers may have moved about a bit but I have made NOTHING! I have got no mojo lately. Half term hasn't much granted but seriously need to get started on some projects as deadlines are coming up. One I've kinda abandoned lol. Some friends and I are getting together to craft at the start of next month (wow thats coming up quick!) and since we don't get together often we're all making a little gift to give each other. I was making little baskets to put sweets in but Cameron managed to spill juice on them so back to the drawing board! I know what I'm going to make instead but some read this so shhhhh I can't say anything lol.

Pancake day!

Rant first so skip if you like but today has seriously SUCKED!!!!!! Everything that could go wrong has and I'm doing the usual 'oh yeah I'm fine it's no big deal' smiley face when really I'm ripping my hair out inside. Why can't anything just go the way it's sodding planned!!!!!!
Ok done, Well good points. My neice Evie stayed over last night which the kids loved. They camped out downstairs on their mattress and slept VERY little lol. I made pancakes for breakfast (obviously) which Evie had with syrup, Caitlin had jam and cam had chocolate sauce. My livingroom floor is now very sticky in places but didn't get a chance to mop up as had to go town and do about a million little jobs.
Kids also had their swimming lessons which went really well :) Caitlin is doing much better using the little square floats rather than the huge pool noodle and Cameron jumped in all by himself! Might not seem a big deal but before Christmas if he got water in his face while I was washing his hair he would FREAK! So this is really a big deal :)
On kids insistince I made pancakes for dinner lol. Same recipe as breakfast but instead of jam and choc spread they had veggies, cheese and ham. Mark oddly wanted cheese, garlic and soy sauce. Now I think odd cravings is something to do with his meds because he often asks for weird things since his transplant. Sometimes its really discusting and I'll make him eat it upstairs, this time however it was really yummy! was like doughier spring rolls. I did try and get a photo of both kids eating their pancakes but apprently in the time it takes to put the food in front of them, return to kitchen to put marks together and return, Cameron had scoffed his so just Caitlin lol.

Well tomorrow I've got to paint Camerons room and try and make some projects I'm seriously behind on! The kids friend Zoe is coming to play too and Caitlin has dancing in the afternoon, oh rubbis I forgot to get money out to pay for her exam, oh and get her new shoes!!! Ahhhhh!!!!!! Add trip to cash point to my list *rolls eyes*

Lucky charms

I mentioned a while ago that our new tesco sold Lucky Charms for £5 a box and people were going gaga over it! Seriously the first weekend they had to send a van out specifically to get more. I kinda remember having it as a kid and it being nothing special (not compared to coco pops anyway, chocolate milk people!) but with all the hype wondered if I was missing something. I wasn't about to spend £5 on a box but £1.50 for a tub was more reasonable lol.

Now the first thing I noticed was a warning on the tub, 'May affect attention and behaviour in children' Seriously!! Think thats the first time I've ever seen a warning on a cereal box lol. Second thing was that I can see why so many Americans are obese, this tub was supposed to be one serving. I put some in a bowl for Caitlin, some in a bowl for Cameron and this was what was left. More than enough for me, :)

Was actually ok, the cereal was nice, tasted like cheerios, the marshmallows were ugh, I thought they'd be soft but they were kind of gritty. Think Caitlin agreed as she picked hers out. Cameron however scoffed the lot. Wonder if it will affect his attention lol.

Caitlin's crafting

Well did ok for January then missed one yesterday lol. Oh well. Today went well I think :) wasn't so hard to get to the testing center and the kids were so well behaved :) mark was tired from the trip but think it went ok. Managed to get the shopping done too with a few treats from the reduced section :)
Caitlin's been busy crafting! She loves making things now and I love watching her do it too. Shes not quite as picky as me and still won't let me help her but shes enjoying it so thats the main thing. I sorted out some of my craft boxes today and gave her some bits I wasn't likely to use which she was thrilled with bless her. Most got stuck on right away btu shes put a few bits in her box for next time. :)
This is a photo from when we went to see disney on ice. Stich was her favourite charecter there so she took loads of photos.

This is me and Caitlin on her first day of school. She used a lot of my random alphas here, not actually making any words though lol.

Well everyone's tired after a busy day, apprently we're getting lots more snow tomorrow so thinking a quiet day at home will be a good idea :)

Proud Mummy :)

Well Cameron LOVED his karate lesson last night :) It was so cute seeing him sticking his tongue out from concentrating so much. Hes really excited about going back and even got a certificate for doing so well!
Well other than that I've been really boring and doing nothing. Housework and visiting my Gran and thats about it. lol. If I'm honest I'm really distracted anyway as have Marks employment support allowance assesment Sunday. I've NO idea where abouts the assesment center is and as it's Sunday I've got to take the kids which I'm not looking forward to. I hate these assesments. All his drs say he can't work and shouldn't be left alone so hate having to go in and feel integorgated like we're making it up. Ugh, got to be done though I guess. Next week is half term so getting sunday out of the way then looking forward to the week with my kiddies :)

Little girls

Sometimes I feel sorry for Caitlin, theres a little girl in her class who is such a little drama queen. Anyone who is friends with this girl isn't allowed to be friends with anyone else unless she says so, not allowed to play with anyone else unless she says so and if they do she throws a fit. I get its probably about low self esteem, shes insecure and worries about missing out or that if her friends make other friends they won't like her as much anymore. Either that or shes just a mini control freak, lol. Makes me feel bad for Caitlin as sometimes she'll want to play but the girl won't let her, and tbh makes me feel a little bad for the girl as the teacher says the stronger willed kids in class are starting to run away from her at playtime as they don't like being told what to do. Didnt have as much of this with Cameron! Boys are easier, I think all of this 'dont play with them play with me!' attention seeking, toys out of the pram kind of rubbish is mainly little girl behaviour.
Well Cameron started karate tonight :) He seems to really enjoy it which I'm thrilled about :) I think he's doing really well too but being his mum I'm a little biased lol. Will ask his teacher when hes done and see how he thinks he did. While hes busy doing that I'm having a look though this :)

Hoping it will kick start my mojo as so much to do and no motivation to do it!

Kids are expencive!

While we're never flush, we do sometimes have times when we manage to put a little aside for something nice, like a takeaway for valentines, or mothers day or something. It's usually times like these where an unexpected bill comes up lol. Today Caitlin was put forward for a dancing exam with her lessons. Great except it costs £14! Fair amount to us. Hoping shes ready for it as she refuses to show us anything at home. Her teacher says she is but since shes the one getting the money I don't really trust her judgement iykwim. So dancing, plus swimming lessons, plus Cameron now joining karate (£70) has took every spare penny we have!
Love it though :) I love to swim but as Mark can't its actullay cheaper and SO much easier to get the kids lessons rather than teach them myself. I think it's so important for them to learn just for safetys sake and once they're past a certain age it will be harder to teach them. It's a shame really as I remember going for lessons with my school when I was a kid but they don't seem to do that round here anymore, cutbacks I guess.
Thrilled with Cameron starting karate though, he doesnt do much outide of school, besides swimming but he doesnt enjoy that, and gymnastics was just too far away. He needs something structured as football was too random. We told him the aim was to get the ball into the net, so he couldnt understand why he had to pass, kick it about and all that before putting it into the net lol. So thinking karate, which is so structured and black and white will be great for him. That said he's never done it before so fingers crossed he enjoys it as I can't get my money back!

Weekend roundup

I love the weekend :) I love spending time all four of us together. I know how lucky we are to do that and trust me I treasure every moment of it. :)
As well as our day out Saturday me and Caitlin have done lots of crafting together. Mark bless him has rested a lot so Cameron has been sitting with him and playing on his DS too. It simultionously breaks my heart and makes it swell with pride how the kids seem to know when Daddy needs quiet time and base their actions around it.
Caitlins been working her way through a box of different crafting activities she got for Christmas; she's already done some painting, foam pictures and foam figures and this weekend it was paper bag puppets and pompom animals. I love crafting with her as it amazes me how different she thinks. As adults we see inside the box most of the time, eyes go where eyes go, feet are feet etc, Caitlin however used eyes as flower centers and feet as wings for her pompom chick. She has certainly inherited her Mummys love of making things :)

Today has been freezing! Was fine all day though until I left for the school run when it suddenly started seriously snowing. Caitlins class was last one out as usual so couldn't feel my fingers by the time I got home lol.
Well tonight is Marks night at his friends, and I've just realised its only a little more than a month till mothers day so better start making my mums mini book!

Good with life, not with TV

Not to be big headed but I am really good in a crisis. I've worked with terminal illness, sexual abuse, domestic violence, sat with kids while their interviewed by social services and picked my sister up after shes been battered and bruised. Thats easy I can deal with all that. Sad tv, no chance.
Today I was sorting washing and finishing off bunting while watching Greys anatomy. Two characters (one dying of cancer) got married suddenly, that started off the tears, then my fave guy George dies!!! I didn't see it coming! OMG I couldn't breathe I was sobbing so hard into a pillow. lol. Honestly anything happy or sad on tv im a mess! Poor Mark just sat and hugged me telling me it wasn't real lol, feels real to me. I'm not mad honest :p
On a crafting note I did this layout for the sketchy scrappers group on UKS. It was my turn to set the sketch and this was the layout I did.

When at a christening for my cousins twins Caitlin stole my camera and took some pictures. They were actually quite impressive for a 3 year old I thought lol

Story telling Sunday

Well its storytelling Sunday over at High in the sky again (
http://fromhighinthesky.blogspot.co.uk/) I still cant do links lol. Anyway, the theme is something precious to you and this month I picked my patient Eeyore.

Isn't he cute, he has a little hospital coat with a heart on the back as I'm guessing he needs a new one or something lol.

I picked this for this month as I've noticed some newcomers to my blog and as I'm often talking about my husbands illness I thought it would be a good idea to go through the story again for anybody who doesn't know us that well yet. Sorry for any spelling mistakes lol, and dont worry this is the short version.
When Mark was 13 he was diagnosed with immunosupressant hepititus. This basically meant that his body thought his liver was a virus and was attacking it. This was managed with steroids and other medications untill 7 years ago. We were due to be married in a few weeks and I noticed Mark was acting odd, talking about things that wern't there and not acting like himself. Things got worse until one morning I couldn't wake him and he was shaking like he was having a sezire. We rushed him to hospital and were told his liver had given up and he wouldnt last the week, they stabalized him and we had a rush wedding as no matter what I wanted to be his wife. Obviously he did pull through and we managed to hobble through the next 2 years until he was given a liver transplant. During this time he suffered a number of episodes of hepatic encepolopothy which is where his liver couldnt filter out every day toxins so it caused problems with his brain. We were really lucky as it is often fatal. Since he has been given his transplant he is a lot better than he was before but being on steroids for 30 plus years has caused osteoperosis in his bones, and he has unknown damage to his brain which affects his memory and daily function. I'm his full time carer to make sure hes ok and safe and generally we function well together :)
Anyway the story behind this is that years ago I used to collect Eeyores. The room which eventually became Camerons nursery was full of all different teddys, keyrings, figures, everything. When Mark first got seriously sick he was in and out of hospital pretty much every week. To stop him getting too homesick I used to spray this Eeyore with my perfume and he would take it with him. he then became Marks little good luck charm and anytime he's had to go into hospital since Eeyore has gone with him. I've sold most of my other Eeyores due to space but this one will always be special.

Great day :)

I love it when a day turns out really well :) When the kids are well behaved, or do something particually good, they earn a button. Every weekend they can cash in the buttons for a treat, ranging from time on the computer to a day out depending how many they use. This weekend Caitlin wanted a movie night and Cameron wanted to go out to dinner. As it was a nice day we decided to go to a local wood and hunt for bugs, then go for a take away afterwards. Cameron, randomly, loves The harvester. Most kids fave places to go would be Pizza hut or Mcdonalds, my boy loves a steak house lol. I think its mainly to do with the fact they have a all you can eat salad bar which includes pineapple. However its bloody pricey so bit out of our budget at the moment so decided on mcds instead.
Bug hunting was SO much fun! Kids played happily at the park while me and Mark relaxed with a cup of tea, then we went hunting. There are loads of benches in East Carlton which is great because mark could take regular rests while me and the kids lifted rocks and looked under leaves. We found loads and I went into 'science teacher' mode apprently lol.

After hunting, covered in mud and pretty shattered we went to.....The Harvester lol. I have NO willpower when it comes to my babies and I managed to find a voucher online to get 25% off so wasn't too bad. Was such a nice meal and if I'm honest really bloody funny. See with Mark, he can have many levels with his illness. Physically its easy, if hes having a bad day we stay home, he rests. Simple. Mentally however its a whole other ball game. Simply put it can be:
+ Mentally well - Normal guy, thinking normal. Not often hes like that lol.
+ Angry and agressive - Usually when hes tired and over stimulated. I can predict these a bit more now but when hes like this he shouts lots and snaps easy. Luckily not often as I send him upstairs to rest if I see this coming on.
+ Thinks hes mentally well when hes not - Oh I hate these ones. When he thinks he can cook, or do all the things he really cant and I spend my time following him about making sure he doesnt hurt himself.
+ Drunk - This is the rarest one now thank god, but when he was really sick it happened often, Mark doesnt drink, but there are occasions where his liver couldn't filter out everyday toxins and he would seem drunk when he wasn't. Still happens to a lesser degree when hes had a rough few days.
+ 10 year old Mark - This is how he is pretty much all the time now lol. For the most part hes like a pre-teen, great as a daddy and easily handled. Except for getting him to eat his fruit and veg, seriously its easier getting the kids to.
10 Year old Mark was well and truely more like 5 year old today. I think even with the rests the morning was too much for him and by the time we had got to dinner he was over tired and over stimulated. This resulted in him using a wooden skewer to hit glasses and try and play 'Happy birthday'. Using 2 wooden skewers and parts of Caitlins melon to make feet and walk around the table, and the best bit, stabbing all the packets of butter with the skewers and when I told him to stop wasting food he shouts 'But I just want to watch the world burn!' I nearly peed my pants. Love that I'm now at the stage where this is funny rather than mortifying. I took the skewers off of him and it was pretty uneventful after that. Except for him moaning 'Why are they runing my ice cream with this healthy rubbish?!' Apprently the title of 'Banana and toffee sundae' didn't give him enough of a clue.

Valintines day

Ok an early post of it but I was talking about it to one of my friends the other day and it made me think, we both HATE valintines day. She hates it now because this is her first year single but we've both always hated it anyway because its such a con! Flowers, chocolates and dinners will cost you twice on feb 14th than they will on feb 15th, so I hate spneding the money when not needed. However I also hate th look people give when they ask 'Oh what did you get? Oh nothing? What a pity my partner bought me a boat/car/something else stupidly pricey' Ugh. Dont get me wrong I'm all about the love and romance, just not on that specific day. As a result, I thought I'd list the top 5 things Mark does which makes me feel loved :)
1 - Hes a great Dad. Not about me I know but all Mums will know how lovely it feels to see your partner playing happily with the kids. He can't do as much as other Dads obviously but he'll sit for hours playing dolls with Caitlin, or making up sums for Cameron.
2 - Makes me tea. He can't cook, but for some reason his tea always tastes better than mine, so he always does it :)
3 - Watches all the rubbish tv I like. I'm a bad wife in the way that I hate all his sci-fi stuff, and I won't watch it, I won't. Mark on the other hand will watch endless hours of greys anatomy, criminal minds, The good wife, even though he hates it lol.
4 - He pretends to be interested in things I like. I'm currently obsessed with Greys anatomy. If I cry over it, he cuddles me and acts concerned about the people on tv. he even pretended to be all excited one of the guys were getting married because I was.
5 - he is always 'too full' for the last crossant. I LOVE them, and whenever we get them theres 8 in a pack. That obviously works out to two each, but mark always gives his second one to me :)
He does loads more, but those are the first that come to mind. :) We probably will spend Valintines day with dinner and a dvd. Pretty much what we do every Friday night. Works for us. :)