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. :)

I will!

Ok well today has been a very draining emotional day. My work was really hard and upsetting but hopefully did some good, and I kept rowing with my mum which did NO good lol. I currently have a splitting headache so off to bed but said I would blog every day so I will :) Even if just to remember that today was a hard crappy day, but its over and tomorrow will hopefully be better :)

WOYWW

Well mine is more of a workrug than a workdesk but still :) Got a bit further with the bunting but having Cameron off sick and then family drama means its taking a bit longer than I thought! Almost done though. I've also got the rest of an old page kit out that I want to do some layouts with.

Well Mark woke up today feeling ill so didnt make it up town. Didn't do much of anything today except tidying and clearing the garage. We had a leak in there before Christmas which ruined a lot of stuff but at the time just closed the door and ignored it lol, felt good to get some sorted though :) Having a bit of a down day today so hopefully a better mood tomorrow!

Oh well lol

For valintines day I ordered mark a box of sweets form the american candy website. As thier boxes have their logos on the side I asked for it to be delivered to my mums but they went to the wrong door. Rearranged to deliver today but they got lost and rather than phoning my mobile like I told them to they phoned the house and talked to Mark who promptly gave them our address to deliver to. So he now knows his gift and has been stuffing his face all night lol. Oh well at least I know he liked it!
Quick photo of what we got, and yes, that is a 'french fry' flavout lipbalm there. Random! Got to love americans lol, think Mark might give that to Caitlin lol

Well last night me and my mum had a big row about Nicola and everything. It used to be that each of the grandkids took a turn spending friday night sleeping at hers which they loved. However a few weeks back Cameron came home and told me that Lillie stayed too. Mum refused to tell me why until a few days later I saw my sister and her face was all messed up. Turned out she'd got wasted and her friend rung my Mum to tell her to come get Lillie. So dad got lillie and nic and took them back to mums. To say I was angry that a drunk/stoned/very vocal pissed of Nicola was in the house with my son and NOBODY told me was an understatement. I've been around her when shes in that state and more than once the police have been called to deal with her so as a result I stopped my kids sleeping over. Mum was fine with that which I admit hurt, anybody tried to stop her seeing the girls she'd hit the roof but not too fussed with mine. Anyway yesterday I messaged my sister and asked what she was playing at which resulted in a rant from my Mum telling me to keep out, so I told her not to contact me again for a while. got to love the fact though that got an abusive text off my sister saying to keep out of her life, then another text this afternoon asking a favour. yeah, seriously. lol. So to keep my mind off things I pulled out an old jigsaw. Managed to do a 1000 piece jigsaw in one night so kept me busy!

Tomorrow we need to go up town. Got lots of boring little jobs to do and a few things to return so dull day ahead!

On and on and on

Ok moaning first so if you can't be bothered to read my rant skip down this paragraph lol. Well the news i got yesterday was that my sister had yet AGAIN met up with the violent ex and got in trouble with the police. So this morning went to social services to fill them in and yet again beg/yell/cry at them to get them to do something. Nope still doing nothing. So thats been one year four months since she's been told if she goes near him the girls will be removed and time after time shes been near him and even moved him into the house and the girls are STILL there!!!!!!!!!!!!
Ok rant over. After our very pointless meeting mum and I went to Asda for a coffee and shopping, then tesco for coffee and shopping (rock and roll lifestyle we lead lol) Tescos has been opened for only 5 days now and reading their facebook page has proven to be SO funny! The amount of people kicking up over the daftest things, seeming to take actual offence because they don't stock something they think they should is honestly mental. One reacurring topic is Lucky Charms cereal. I'm sure this was out when I was a kid and I dont remember it being very nice, obviously I'm wrong on this as they sold out of it within an hour of opening and theres been a pretty much constant 'when will there be more?!' conversations on facebook since! On Saturday they posted they had actually sent out a van to get more and apprently they managed as this was there today.

£5 for a box of cereal?! Is it just me or is that a bit much? lol. I was half tempted to buy some just to see what the fuss is all about but not at the price.
Well I have a pounding headache and a busy day tomorrow so early night I'm thinking!

mess/tidy

I started today with good intentions, I wanted to tidy out the wardrobe then get my scrapping stuff in from the garage to put into the space. Well i got everything out the wardrobe,made lunch and did a jigsaw with Cameron, got some of the stuff in from the garage and dumped it in the bedroom, rememebred I had craft stuff in the drawers, got distracted going through the drawers, realised it was time to start dinner, did dinner, mum came round, did bath, homework, beds, and now here I am. Theres craft stuff all over the bedroom and livingroom and nothing is where it should be.

Oh well, I had good intentions lol, and I did tidy out the drawers pretty well so thats something. I'm under no illusions that tomorrow will be better as had some news today that needs handled first. Will see how that goes before I say more on it.

Challenges

Ages ago I used to go to a crop once a month, when money got tight at the start of last year though I just couldnt afford to go anymore :( Instead one Saturday a month I set up in the livingroom and while I'm still there to take over if needs be, the kids are pretty much Marks problem lol. I haven't managed to do it in a while so as cameron was happy on the computer I got caitlins playdough out and started scrapping :)
Another thing I used to do was the challenges on UKS but for some reason that stopped too, new year new start and all that so decided to catch up on those.
This was week 3, rules were:
Use sketch provided - Done
Use stitching - Theres faux stitching around the edge of the brown tags.
Use paints/inks - Used the blue paint in the background.
Use a lin or quote from a poem - Theres loads of poems called Dream :)
This was a photo taken in Turkey, we were on a trip to a local market but stopped off at a Turkish rug facory first. OMG the prices were insane! £250 for one the size of a doormat lol. Dad nearly passed out! Got some nice photos outside though :)

Challenge week 2, rules were:
Use sketch - done
Use new stash - The brown background paper was in a pack I got for Christmas.
Use 5 of somthing - Used 5 sitckers.
journalling reads, 'Mud, wellies, the great outdoors; your Nanny has often said you two should have been born on a farm. So camping out in one one weekend was right up your alley!'

Challenge week 1, rules were:
Use one large photo - Done
Use scraps - The paper and photo are all from my scraps to be used box.
Use a meaningful quote - Not sure if 'I love you a bushel and a peck' counts but I think its meaningful :)
Struggled with this one as I never know what to do with big photos. Dug out this paper from a page kit from last March and thought it was nice enough to not need too much more.

Still have the house challenge to do but think the kids and Mark were patient enough letting me do these three. Had a lovely relaxed day :) Rounding it off nice with fish and chips in the oven (pizza for fish allergy Caitlin lol) and some dvds tonight.

Bargains :)

Today I met my Mum for coffee before going to the Social services meeting (uneventful really) While at town mum had to go to Wilkinsons to get a couple of bits so I tagged along. Glad I did really as there was a big section where all their christmas stuff and little stocking filler gifts were all reduced to 10p! I grabbed some bits which can be used in crafting and really were bargains. I love the little wooden shapes, 3 for 10p, :)

You can't see it in the photo too well but there is also a bottle of gold stickles there which I think was accidently labeled so I grabbed it lol. I don't use gold that much but for that price I wasn't complaining :)
Tonight was family night and we all cuddled up on the couch and watched 'Arthur Christmas' bit past the season granted but still fun lol. We'd bought the kids some sweets and Caitlin was amazed at how big the Yorkie buttons were. To be fair they are pretty big! I was expecting something along the lines of chocolate buttons but these were the same size as her palm! Considering the amount of snow thats coming down again can't see us going far tomorrow so chilling day I'm thinking :)

Winter crafting

During the summer I have no issue sitting on the floor and scrapbooking. When its freezing cold however I'm more likely to be curled up on the couch under a blanket in my dressing gown lol. Kinda hard to scrapbook then! So the past few days I've pulled my cross stitching back out.

This has seriously been going painfully slow, lol. I actually started this during the last few weeks of my pregnancy with Cameron! It's not something I do constantly however, I find it difficuilt to get into as once its done theres not really anythig to do with it iykwim. Scrapbooking yeah it just gets stuck into an album but its part of my kids history, while cross-stitching is just a pretty picture. Its relaxing though so nice to sit and do, :) Maybe I'll keep it and put it in my grandkids nursery or something lol, at this rate it should be done just about in time!
Poor Cameron was still off school today, think he will be tomorrow too as he actually asked to stay home, told him he'd be missing forest schools and he cried and said he just felt too poorly. :( Poor baby. Tv and duvet day I'm thinking! I've got to go to a social services meeting in the afternoon which isn't ideal as Mark will have to drag Cameron out to pick up Caitlin but can't be helped. Family night tomorrow night too so looking forward to that :)

Big red X

Think we need one of those on our door, lol. Mentioned yesterday Cameron was being a bit off, well he's got whatever Caitlin had. :( Poor boy had a high temp last night and is not a happy bunny this morning so is asleep on the couch. Hope he's better for Friday as it's his turn at Forest schools at school and he LOVES it! Don't know if I've mentioned it before but they basically go to a local nature reserve, play in the woods and get caked in mud. Right up Camerons alley :)
Well obviously due to having another poorly baby home not much is getting done again, certainly not crafting, but I wanted to share this with you in the meantime. :)
When we re-did Caitlins room before Christmas I saw a picture in Next which I liked, it was a smallish white frame with lots of 3d hearts inside in different sizes and colours. While it was really nice it was very pricey at £30 and I wanted butterflies. So like all crafters do i decided to do it myself lol. Unlike many things I think that about I did actually get it done an I think it looks really pretty. Took me ages punching out all the butterflies and positioning them then gluing them all down. love the result though :)

Well tomorrow we have GOT to go shopping! No milk, no bread and no washing powder at all. Thinking we're going to have a look at that new Tescos which opens tomorrow.

So cold!

I think I have spent most of today with either numb fingers or numb toes lol. Well today was both kids back at school, yey! Caitlin was quite excited to see her friends but I think cameron was hoping for another snow day, oh well! I for one was quite happy to get back into routine. This morning I was helping a friend who struggles to get about, obviously in the snow its 10x worse so we took her eldest to school, then I dragged (and I mean dragged)her youngest in her buggy to asda to go shopping. We have a massive new Tesco store opening on Thursday and Asda seem to be going a bit mad with the big banners and thigns in store showing promotions lol. was an interesting trip trying to get the buggy and the trolley around all the ladders and cages of food that filled all the isles.
It's seriously sad how much I'm looking forward to tesco opening on Thursday. I love supermarkets. All the different foods (yeah bit surprise I like food :p) and all the other products they sell these days. Crafting things, household stuff, and I love looking at the foods and sweets from other countries. My Mum always jokes about me being in Asda all the time, looks like I'll have another place to go now lol.
Camerons friend came for dinner today, same one who came on Saturday to play.Its great to see Cameron having fun, though he was a bit weepy, think he's getting what Caitlin had :(; but am I the only one who struggles with having other peoples kids in the house? I don't mind with my neices and close friends kids as I know how they behave and I feel ok telling them not to do something if they do something they shouldnt. but with a child and I don't really know the parents..... it just feels wrong! Don't get me wrong I'm not shouting at any of them or anything but it was like at dinner the wee boy was talking with his mouth full. My kids I'd tell them to swallow first but I don't want cams friends going home telling their parents I told them what to do. See these are the stupid little dilemas nobody tells us about before we have kids!
Still watching Greys anatomy. Halfway through season 2 now. Poor Marks losing the will to live I think.

Snow day!

Remember how I planned to have the alphabet bunting done byt tomorrow? This is how far i've got. lol

Yeah not the best. but both kids were off school today which pretty much shot in the foot all my productive ideas lol. They had a great time though :) Caitlin is back to her usual self which is such a relief, they spent most of the day playing a game where they both lived in space and went from the moon to mars. At one point Cameron, who was playing the king, forgot to get the food for dinner, so caitlin, the queen, kicked him out into space. Harsh but bet he won't forget again!
Still watching greys anatomy. I don't know about others but sometimes if I'm watching a show and theres a guy I like in it, who does something stupid I don't just get mad at him, I get mad at all men pmsl. Poor Mark knows and understands this. Well for those of you who don't watch the show theres an intern Dr called Merideth who on the first episode sleeps with a guy she meets in a bar, next day she finds out he's her new boss. Drama! But he's a sweetheart and they fall in love. All good! At least until his cheating Ex-wife comes back into town and he decides to give it another go. Drama x2 and I'm now in a bad mood with men, lol. Now I know they get back together because in the season on TV they're married with a baby but obviously I'm going to hate men in the meantime. I did expect it to be quite soon, so watched another few episodes but no, hes still with the ex! So I cheated and googled it, 23 episodes to go!
Poor Mark. lol

Lots of snow!

Well Caitlin woke up today a lot happier. :) She slept from 5:30 to 11:30 only waking and being sick once so i think that really helped. She's been running about today and playing with Cameron so much better. Planning on keeping her off tomorrow (assuming schools are even open) so she can get her appitite back and get to hopefully 100%. Thinking it was sending her to school Thursday that set her back as it did.
Showing how well she was Caitlin was really excited to go out and play in the snow :) She was only out for about 15 minutes and was bundled up as much as possible but had great fun making a snowman.

I was amazed how deep it was! I know its been coming down a lot but its not really heavy just pretty constant so seems to have built up quickly. Think I'll be taking the sled to Morrisons tomorrow lol.
Well again not done much at all today, played with kids, read a bit, cleaned a bit. I have GOT to start the alphabet bunting for homestart though as due on tuesday!!

Still poorly :(

No photos and a quick post today as I'm SO tired!!!! Poor Caitlin is still not feeling 100%. Temps still a tiny bit high but nothing compared to how it was before. Shes basically just sleeping constantly, blocked nose and coughing. Poor baby has eaten nothing but Jelly today and is in a right mood with me because I won't give her a yogurt. Hoping she will be better by Monday as we need to take Mark for a medical assesment which is a couple hours drive away :(
As we knew we'd be pretty much stuck in this weekend we decided to take up the Lovefilm instant 30 day free trial on Friday. After MANY issues we finally got it sorted this morning and personaly I hate it lol. Its so tempermental and nothing has subtitles so not great for me. Hopefully Blockbuster won't go under and we can keep with them but will wait and see. While we have it however I'm making the most of it. :) I recently watched the first couple of episodes of greys anatomy. Seriously how have I not watched this before?! Ok I'm a fair few seasons behind so catching up on instant as we speak lol.

Cleaning

I don't know about in your house, but here there are different levels of 'clean'
Level 4 - Kids are up and playing. Toys everywhere, probably a collectiong of cups on the table where they have drunk half a drink then gone and got another one.
Level 3 - Kids are at school - Toys where they should be, dishes all done, floord cleaned but a couple of rooms probably still need dusting, or the ironing needs done or something. This level I call 'the calm before the storm'
Level 2 - Mum coming to visit - One toy each child out (or mum will moan they're bored) on the surface everything spotless but my bedroom will look like a bombsite with everything without a place shoved in there last minute.
Level 1 - Someone visiting your house for the first time. Also known as panic level. EVERYTHING must be cleaned, sterilised and put away out of sight. Windows cleaned (I dont care if its snowing outside) Toys all put away (Just sit on the couch kids, dont touch anything!) New air fresheners in every room, kids all clean and looking tidy in nice clothes.
Right now we are attempting level 1 lol. Camerons friend Jack is coming to visit and play with his Mum tomorrow, assuming they can manage it through the snow, so been cleaning like a nutter all day lol.
Caitlins been off poorly again today, no temp this time but all snotty and full of a cold. She's been up in my bed with her also poorly Daddy though so still managed to get everything done including making a card for my friend.

I'm dreadful at cardmaking but didn't think it was too bad. Worried it might be a bit of a waste though as with all the snow coming down I might not make it to the party!
Also got this layout to share. Was a seriously quick one I did the other night. I did do two others but haven't titled those yet so can't share them. These are pictures of the kids in the stocks at the farm when we went camping. Cameron thought it was the funniest thing ever lol.

Right well back to cleaning!

Scrapping instead of cleaning!

Ohh scrapping :) As I'm so tired at night lately and I'm up to date with the housework (before I start decorating Camerons room next week, eeek!) I thought I'd chill out and do some scrapping this morning. :) I'm lucky that although I don't have a desk anymore to scrap on, the kids are really good at being careful around my bits if I keep them on the rug, they often have games actually where the rug is the 'lava' and they need to avoid it lol.
One thing I need to make is a card for a very special person. When Mark was sick, I had a newborn (caitlin) and a very poorly toddler (cameron) to care for and I was only 24 myself it was seriously the worst time of my life. My health visitor connected me with a family support worker called Yvonne and I genuinly think Mark and I wouldnt be together if it wasn't for her. She came every week to the house to see me and it gave me someone to vent at and to give advice. I remember on one bad day I was angry at how much I had to do, Cameron was suffering from colic, night terrors and petit mal epilepsy and caitlin was only a couple of months old so I had a lot on my plate, due to Marks illness he was more like another child and absolutly no help. I was really upset and ranting at how unfair he was and why wouldnt he help, when she simply said to me 'Maybe you're asking him for something he just cant give' it was actually like a lightbulb had gone off, it was just suddenly an omg shes right moment. I suppose I'd been so tired and so stressed I had focused on what Mark WASN'T doing when it was more Mark COULDN'T do it. Obvious now but then I didn't really get it. At the time we didn't know quite the extent of his illness which didnt help either. Anyway thats stuck with me since and at the time really changed my attitude towards him.
Anyway, since then things have got better, I started doing volunteer work in the same building as Yvonne and she trained up as a social worker. She is now leaving us to hopefully go on to bigger and better things, theres a little leaving party for her tomorrow so need to make her a long overdue thank you card .:) I've already bought her a Yankee candle set with a candle and a little shade over the top to light up when the candle is lit, and an extra candle called 'A childs wish' which I thought was particually apt :)
Managed a few layouts so far, rug is completly covered lol

How is it wednesday?

How is it Wednesday?! Wheres the week gone? Got a busy day ahead today, shopping, cleaning, bills etc. Caitlins still off today, she went to bed ok last night but woke up at 11:30 burning again. Gave her some neurophen and tucked her up with me and she slept a bit better than the night before. This morning shes still not 100% but seems a lot brighter so hopefully thats the worst of it done now :)

Haven't scrapped in ages! Well Saturday but seems ages lol. Been meaning to but by the time night comes I'm no good for anything except collapsing in front of the tv. i've been asked to make some bunting for our local homestart center so need to do that. I've also got to prepare a presentation for Ofstead for tomorrow with the aim of starting a crafting class at the children center. Slightly nervous but hopefully will go well. Short post as haven't really done anything of note! My mum made me laugh though:
Txt from dads phone - Hiya its mum, whats Nicolas (my sister) number, its not on your dads phone.
*Ring mum*
Me - Its ********** Why do you need it anyway?
Mum - *stressed out* Well your Dad doesnt have it on his phone and I don't remember it and I left my phone at her house, so need to ring her to tell her to bring it round.
Me - If she has your phone why didn't you just ring your phone?
*Pause*
Mum - Because I need to ring you for you to tell me to do something clever like that!
I was still laughing about half an hour later.

Poorly baby :(

Well Caitlin was still poorly this morning. :( She was better than last night, not shivering and wasn't complaining that her legs and arms hurt so that seemed an improvement. She did scare me though as she had spent pretty much the whole day on the couch, then got up to get a tissue and suddenly sat down saying she felt she was going to fall down. I took this to mean she felt faint so bundled her back up. She slept most of the day and is drinking loads so will see how she is tonight to see if she needs to go to the Dr tomorrow. Certainly she will be home from school though.

Well I finally remembered to photograph the layouts I did at the weekend. :) This is one of Caitlin at turkey. I was SO proud of her as she was determined to swim around the whole pool. Poor baby was paddling for all she was worth with Daddy and grandad walking along side her but she refused to give up :)

This one is a bit different, I had this lace snowflake paper for ages but never used it because it was too nice. However I've had it for I don't know how long now so got to use it sometime! I wanted the paper ot be the main focus of the layout so just added some paper and 2 stickers around the photo, and added some stickles to tie them in.

The photo is from Caitlins old ballet classes when she was a snowflake fairy, so perfect for the paper. :)

Well tomorrow I have SO much to do! Didn't get much done today as I admit I fell asleep on the couch with Caitlin lol. Really need to get some shopping so asked my Dad if he'll watch Mark and her after work so I can go in the afternoon with my Mum, poor Camerons favourite onsie broke yesterday and he was inconsolable! Keeping fingers crossed I can find him another one!

What a difference a day makes!

Rememeber I was asking where the snow was? Well it turned up! lol. There was a small amount at night so a sprinkling when we woke up, but it came in full force during the day. We took the sleds when we picked up the kids and took them over to the park to play.

Cameron was a little daredevil as usual but was quite surprised how brave Caitlin was! She doesn't like falling, its a big no no, but she didn't care and had a great time.

After getting soaked and cold we went home to heat up and get some dinner. caitlin was being really whingy on the way home and then constantly complained she was cold. Even with fluffy pjs, dressing gown, blanket etc, however she scoffed a whole pizza and banana so thought she was just playing on it. Gave her a hug at bedtime though and OMG her temp had shot up! Got the thermometer and it was 41 degrees. :( Gave her some calpol and settled her in my and marks bed. She came down about an hour later though crying she was all alone :( so shes now sleeping on the couch. Apart from the high temp and feeling cold though she seems fine so hoping she'll feel better tomorrow.

Well had planned to craft but oh well! Tv night I'm thinking!

Wheres the snow?

So much for this huge snowfall we were predicted this weekend lol. Lovely and sunny outside. Cold still though! We had planned to take the kids to east carlton park but they wanted to ride their bikes so took them to the park instead. Was a nice relaxing day really.

Managed a little bit of scrapping tonight but will photograph and share tomorrow. Have been asked to make some bunting for the homestart office so will hopefully use up more scraps lol. Have brought in my stash from the garage and put it in the bedroom for now so got to try and organise that tomorrow too! Keeping fingers crossed for a snow day :)

Oh well.

well today started off great, kids slept in so didn't get up until almost 10, then I left them in bed with mark watching TV while I made a mega breakfast for them. :)

They were so excited and I was called 'awesome' more than once. Go me! lol. I admit I had a few bits too but OMG the toast was amazing! It was hedgehog bread from asda and toasted with butter and jam was so yum. We have a freezer full of it from Christmas eve where asda had them all reduced to 5p. 5p for HUGE loaf, wasn't saying no to that!
During our nice relaxing morning however I got a call from Homestart. They needed some help and were desperate, would only be from 1-3 would I come in. 5pm I was home lol. hopefully tomorrow will be a bit more to plan!

Woop woop!

yey its the weekend! Meeting with cameorns teacher went well. She was svery supportive and explained all the steps she was taking to be sure the incident wouldnt happen again so feeling much better now. She again praised Cameron for his behaviour and hard, so all in all a good meeting :)
Tonight was 'family night' and typically the boys played computer (well Cameron did Mark watched lol) and the girls did crafting :) Caitlin had a box of different crafting kits from a friend for christmas so she decided to do one of those. they were really nice kits, all different things including one where you used a seclection of foam stickers to make a picture. she needed help with this one as it had a lot of layering but turned out pretty cute :)

Well have a nice, relaxing weekend planned. Have pancakes and some pastries for brekkie tomorrow, yum :) And think more crafting with Caitlin is on the cards. Yey!

Almost the weekend :)

I'm really excited about this weekend. :) Tomorrow Cameron is going to 'Forest schools' which is a weekly trip with his class to a local animal park where he goes in the woods, gets muddy and learns about nature. To say he's excited would be a GROSS understatement :) After school we're going to my Grans for dinner which the kids always love then home for family night. Caitlin wants to do more crafting and Cameron wants to play the computer. Fine with me lol. Saturday is usually a relaxing day, playing games and doing whatever takes our fancy. think the kids will need a chill out day after the first week back at school, usually they're up way before us but every morning this week we've had to wake them. lol.
The only blip on our weekend is tomorrow after school, we have a meeting to go and talk to Camerons teacher. Yesterday he came home saying that a girl had punched him in the ear twice. There was a little in his bag confirming this and stating a cold compress had been applied and the situation dealt with. However this girls name has come up a number of times in the past with violence against Cameron and also talking with other parents she has been violent against their children. Now I know kids can be kids, Camerons come home loads saying 'so and so' pushed him in the playground but this is a different level and I admit its concerned me. Cameron doesn't seem to be bothered, he was more surprised that a child would do that as its been drummed into him so much that hitting is wrong! But talking to the teacher would put my mind at ease if nothing else. Hopefully will go well and I won't come across as one of those mothers who is a little TOO protective of her child lol.
Quite fittingly I've been reading this on my kindle. I've just got to a part where the boy in the story has been excluded from school for excessive violence which while unexceptable was simply learned from his horrible home life.

I don't know how it ends yet but I've been told to prepare myself for some shocking revelations. I love all these kinds of books, having worked with so many children from very difficuilt backgrounds and all kinds of abuse, and also working with their parents I enjoy reading about others who have similar experiences. If Mark wasn't so ill I would love to be a foster carer myself but as things stand I couldnt give the time or attention a vunerable child would need. Maybe one day though :)
Well that was a bit of a depressing post. :S Wasn't meant to be lol. Hopefully have some happy layouts to share tomorrow :)

YEY!

Marks results all came back fine :) Hes got to lose weight which will help his bones a bit but his liver is doing well so YEY!! Happy bunny here :)
Well this morning my niece is coming for visitation with her Dad, We usually do it Saturday but Paul felt ill so moved to today. Currently Lillie is 'making dinner' for us in the toy oven, which seems to consist of banging pots and pans around lol.
Last layout I did with Caitlin, with the weekend coming up sure I'll be doing more soon. :)
I love these background papers, the colours and patterns are just my kind of thing so wanted to make them the focus rather than lots of embellishments. They are brighter in real life this isnt the best photo lol.

These photos Mark took last summer, was supposed to be getting a nice photo of Cameron but in true mark style had to make some a bit silly. :) the little blue cat was originally a keyring Cameron won in a 2p machine on holiday.

SO boring when Pauls here, I need to stay in the living room so can't do jobs and nick jr isnt my kind of tv lol. Thank goodness for pinterest!