Making vodka

Yes we have decided to go from making wine to trying something new!! to be honest it isnt much stronger than the wine really but we just wanted to take that one step further to see if we could get it to work this was the first step after three weeksand this is the second step i didnt realise it would look so dark!!!

What a weekend

My boys left on friday night Jake at 4.45pm and Leon at 5.45pm after kick boxing of course!! to go camping with the cadets for the weekend they will be home in just a few hours and it will be lovely to see them and catch up on all that they have been doing but its been really lovely to have the house to ourselves too this is only the second time they have both been away at the same time since Jake was born almost 14 years ago so its a well deserved break for us i think!!!

I have felt sorry for them as there have been strong winds up to 50miles an hour here on friday and saturday but it has been mostly dry with just a few showers and the sun is shining beautifully here this morning and its lovely and warm so at least today it will be a lovely last day hopefully they were shetered even though they are almost right on the beach where they have been we will have to wait see as they are not allowed phones on this trip .

We have had a lovely time relaxing and watching dvds i did feel a bit guilty sitting watching my ghost whisperer dvd eating chocolate and drinking a glass of my home made wine just after 6pm last night while Donny was watching the footie because it seemed a bit early but it was lovely to have a bit of quiet to do it!!! we also made some peach schnapps and southern comfort which there is still plenty of but tasted really nice!!

Well im off to try and get organised because they are due home anytime after 4pm i hope you are all having a lovely weekend where ever you are and would like to wish all the american ladies a very happy mothers day xx

Watching tadpoles

Boy its been so long since ive stopped by i guess my life has more than halved the amount of time i leave myself for pc time these days with taking care of Donny and the boys and trying to get the house redocorated and the garden done before summer i guess im just too busy the only reason im sat here now is the boys have just left for school and im catching up on last nights 90210 i havent even done stitching in weeks and i feel awful as i have commitments to be met so im really going to have to try today.

This weekend was busy what with the bank holidays and the boys being home one extra day we had a busy night friday unning around from one activity to the next and saturtday while Jake was out with his friend i took Leon fishing for a while it was warm and nice to sit around the pond there was no fish caught just a million tadpoles which i have not seen for years!!!

On sunday i tried to get some flowers planted in the garden while the boys were power boating with the sea cadets which was nnice to try and get something finally done out there just hard work!! but i know it will be worthwhile. When the boys returned they helped which was great and well deserved after i had a room full of thier friends here wednesday night to watch the champions league game!!

Yesterday i continued to paint in my kitchen and its really starting to come together now at long last wont be long now i dont think!!

We were back at the hospital on wednesday too and it wasnt good news the condition is back in both Donnys eyes as we had thought so now its bac to medication in both and we were back at the drs thursday morning and he is now also on oral medication too but so far so good he is coping as best he can but the sun really isnt helping and i really feel for him and i am trying as best i can to keep his dpirits up.

Well thats me caught up for a bit i guess lol oh the boys are camping this weekend with the cadets so we are really looking foward to a child free weekend weather permiting so keep your fingers crossed for us!!!!!

Monday blues

i got up drove the kids to school as it was pouring then when i came home i managed to pick up my stitching for half an hour as i watched last nights desperate housewives im trying to get a summer exchange out its tiny but im getting nowhere at all then i changed all the beds after my dad called down to use my phone and have a cuppa then i glossed the kitchen not my favourite job i can say.

Then it was time to go back in the car to meet the boys in town after school to get Jakes glasses repaired again **sigh** i got home and had to finish the painting and then i made a chick pea curry from scratch for tea after that i put the bins out for collection in the morning then got my latest home made wine bottled.

Ive just had a bath and im going to taste my wine lol i need to relax all this work done around taking care of Donny i deserve it!!

The only bad thing is Donnys condition has now spread to both eyes again it hasnt been confirmed yet but we know we are back up the hospital on wednesday so if they give him treatment in both eyes he is going to need me more so i wont be able to get as much done but thats ok im here for him and im sure we are all strong enough to get through this together again.

Not good news

The both conditions are back in Donnys right eye along with the pressure build up and we are back to hourly meds with a cream before bed and the eye widening drops fou times a day we had a really hard time getting an appointment in our local hospital again and when we did get there we had to wait an extra 1 and a half as the person who told us to come didnt tell anyone else so the boys had to come home to an empty house im so lucky they are old enough to look after themselves they did have our next door neighbours watching over them though and my friend lives at the end of the road if they needed anything so anyway it looks like hes in for a rough time again as this is for the next two weeks at least and we are waiting on a new appointment to go back in the next week too they also have told him that this is most deffinatly a perminent thing now he will never be truely rid of it he has been going down hill slowly since friday night but when he got up yesterday morning his eye was full of blood so i knew it wasnt good. Just as it had seemed o be starting to improve too his vision was accually starting to get a bit less smudby he has now gone back to being unable to see it that eye again he was grateful it was just in one eye at the moment but its a great big come down espcially as Leon and him had both been disscussing going fishing at some point this month again .The sun has been very difficualt for him as he now and will always have the survier weakness in his eyes as the medication causes thining but they could of tried to go on a dull day now he is on the widdening drops he will be more or less confined to the house for that period and as the meds are hourly i cant go to far because i will need to rush home.

On a different note i am still working hard on trying to get my garden sorted out and trying to get the decorating done too with two exchanges needed out soon i really should think about stitching but now i cant even do that in the night as the lights need to be off and in the day im so busy at the moment it seems though it will never get done but i really need to try to find more hours in the day.

Jake got back ok from his yaughting trip tpp and had a fantastic time he loved it hasnt changed him at all though i thought it may help him grow up a bit wrong lol ah well i guess the time will come eventually!!! they are off camping again in 2 weeks with the cadets so we have a peaceful weekend with them both away. Right im off to get them out the door Liam will be here soon and at least then i wont have to watch anymore of Leons TNA lol.

Only another four days

Last monday we got a call from the sea cadets asking if Jake would like to go on a sailng trip from saturday to friday with one other boy from the unit they were to set off to Weymouth on the train from here making several stops along the way and them spending the week on a yaught sailing the english channel during the day and moaring up during the night spending the whole time on the water well he wanted to go so we let him!!! he has been gone since saturday morning we know he got there ok as he phoned saturday evening and he called again last night and it was so lovely to hear from him. I have been so good this time i guess im really getting used to seeing my boys go off on trips there was no tears but i did get a little upset hearing him last night knowing he is quite far away but he sounded fine and he will be back on friday afternoon they are leaving Portsmouth at 9am Leon is missing him and the dog is looking for him all the time but he has to make the mostt of every thing that comes his way as he may not get this chance again.

We had this years presintation on friday night too and Leon has earned two new skills he has had his certificates and once he has his badges i will be uploading the photos to share with everyone. The two boys both took part in presintations Leon did comunications and Jake did first aid all very cool to sit and watch.

I have spent the last few days with Leon we bought him guitar hero on the xbox and it has ben a whole lot of fun and we have also been having a bash at the karaoke machine i bet our neighbours are sick of hearing us lol!!! but its been so much fun and i have spent so much time with Leon which has been great and i hope its helped him deal with his brother being away.

I have also had a night out with my friend and she has been back over with me for a few drinks and a nice chat which has also helped pass the time and with the champions league on tonight and mine and Donnys team still undecided whos going through it will be a fun night at ours tonight as my team beat him last week there will be fireworks who ever goes through tonight!!!!

Well Leons just got up im suprised he wasnt up earlier with the noise of the work going on here it was way to earlier for me to be getting up at 8.30am after not going to bed until after 2am oh well i guess i will sleep tonight!!!!!

A quick update

Im jumping on quick just to try update you all with whats going on at mine so here goes here are the photos of the works so far as you can see there is still lots more to be done and everything is still such a big mess made worse today by the fact that the electrictions are here and everything has been moved and pulled apartduring all this going on Jake has decided to get the flu it started on sunday with him he got up for fundraising in cadets and was sick went back to bed at 8.30am and i was shaking him awake at 5pm he then went back to bed at 9pm and slept right through until 10am the night morning he has been coughing sneezing and looking awful ever since he has seemed to pick up today and we have been out for a walk he wants to go back to school tomorrow but we will see as he only 2 days left now before the easter half term holidays anyway

Tears and cleaning.

Last night we all went and watched Marley and me it was a fantasic movie funny but very sad it had both Leon and I in tears by the end it was just so moving now i know why i sick to horros at least they dont make tears roll down my face!!!! I t made me think of our dog who is going to be 12 very soon and that just made me cry even harder its well worth going to see this movie but please please remember your tissues!!!

Ive had a busy morning the boys left just after 8am they are off to help raise funds for the sea cadets the attend i havent seen them yet today as i stayed in bed until 9.30am and Donny got up with them to get them out of the door in time but they are meant to be finishing at 3pm so i will see them pretty soon. While they have been out i have hoovered and moped all through down stairs cleaned the leather sofas polished all through played with the dog who was most annoyed at the fact i was trying to clean and wanted to be played with lol washed and tried 3 lots of laundry which are now folded and waiting to be ironed and theres more to come and my dad and stepmum have been over i think this afternoon i decerve to sit and watch Wales play footie while i stitch what do you think??

Oh and by the way no the works still arent finished in my house so here we go into the next week which will be the third week they had better get a move on as the boys easter holidays is going up the week after next and they will be home for two weeks and i really dont want them to be still working here while they are off school.

A reminder

That its still early in spring boy has it gotten colder in the last few days it was so lovely and warm bright and sunny last week but at the moment its a reminder that its a little too soon to be putting away our warmer clothes. I dropped the boys off at school this morning as i had a follow up appointment with the nurse reguarding a lump i have had under my arm since christmas i finally plucked up the courage to go get it looked at when Leon hurt his finger i have beent o see the nurse 3 times now and she has tried different things to see if she can ruke things out well this morning i was back for blood tests and to see the dr he has told me for the time being i need to keep a close eye on any changes and i am to go back if anything does change its all so scary with all the family history and i still am taking care of my hubby so i dont need anything to go wrong with me i will hopefully find out on friday the results of my blood tests.

Wile i was sitting in the surgery for two hours i took along my ds and was banging away at my guitar heros rock tour i have become addicted to thei i have completed easy and meduim on the drums but boy do they mean hard when it comes to hard LOL i feel like chucking the thing across the room hehehe but i am so addicted i keep going back its causing havock with my stitching i have to say but i have to get some done today as it is stitch night on my board.And i do have that special project i am working on too which has now becomemore of a prioroty which to say the least is such a big shame.

They did come to my attic this morning thankfully when i was out but still no sign of the other workmen as yet today oh well i have to collect Leon from school at 4.45pm tonight as he has after school club Jake will be home as normal then there is cadets tonight so we get a peaceful evening at least. Well if i dont make a move there will be no stitching done.

Is it ever going to end?

I am getting pretty sick of not having our house to ourselves and then i got a call in tescos yesterday afternoon reminding me that we had people calling to do the insullation in our artic on tuesday which i had completly forgotten about so you know what that meant? yes i had to go climbing up in thier through all the cobwebs and dust to remove the last lot of things from the people who lived in the house before us. Now before i go on i must add the fact that 4 times already we have been up there and removed at least 30 black bags full of thing everything from baby clothes photos certificates etc well this time it was a carpet (yes you heard right) toys clothes more photos all of these things are loss mind not in bags at all toiletries clothes teddy bears cardboard boxes videos dcs books honestly why do that i mean if you dont want it throw it away not into your artic!!! we have been here 6years if she wanted it she would of been back for it so it all went down to the local recycling place honestly you should of seen me when i got there i was stinking dirty and covered in cobwebs i looked like something out of a horror movie!!! i was just waiting to see a big spider crawl down my face and if i had you would of heard me screaming from where ever you are in the world LOL

No more work has been done so far this week on our kitchen and bathroom but we have beem told it should all be complete by a week on friday fingers crossed maybe the middle of the week after i have taken some newer photos will try get them uploaded later with Leons birthday photos.

I am blessed

With two wonderful sons who i love very much. Sunday was mothers day here in the uk and on saturday my boys went out and bought me some gifts with thier pocket money that they had been saving up. The bought me a lovely bunch of flowers and a box of chocolates. They hid the flowers under the bed and gave them t me on sunday lunch time but they survived!!! They also raided my craft things and made me some lovely cards. Boys you are so thoughtful and you made my day thankyou both so much xxxxxx

Happy birthday Leon!!!!!!!!!!!

Wow i can hardly believe my baby is 12 years old today where does all the time go??? I was just sitting here looking through the window at the beautiful day we have outside (even though our home still looks like a building site inside) it is just the same as the day he was born beautiful warm and sunny it really doesnt feel like it was oh so long ago and its hard to believe that soon he will be all grown up its quite frightening!!! He has had his birthday cards this morning before he went to school but will have his gifts later this afternoon its just a shame that we cant do much with all the mess we are in i guess we are lucky he is old enough to understand that really i am just hoping he likes what we have got him as he really wasnt much help on that front!!!! we shall see :-)

Well last night we acually had a toilet that flushed!!! may not seem like much to celebrate but believe you me it really was lol and we managed to start getting our food back into the kitchen we are hopeful for our washing machine and bath back today fingers crossed!!!! Well i hope you all have a lovely day where ever you are and what ever you may be doing.

What a mess

Here is what used to be my kitchen

and here is what used to be my bathroomthere is so much mess and so much clutter everywhere all my stuff is pilled in my living room there is dust everywhere im so fed up and its only day 2 god only knows how many more days i will have to live like this so i wont be around very much at all and now you can all see why.

Just wanted to let you know though that Leon is fine after his finger and is back at school today and all went well with him at the optician and othodontist which is always good to hear.

BOYS

I spent 3 hours last night at A&E with Leon after he managed to get paint wedged under his nail at last nights parent evening (which went a whole lot better than i was especting after the trouble hes been having at school) only to be told at 10pm by the woman doctor that saw us togo home and it should come out by itsself i was so mad giving Leon his tea at almost 10.45pm last night well so much for that it was completely swollen this morning so i took him to the drs surgery this morning who sent us straight back up to A&E we were there just after 9am and when we seen the nurse after i had played hell with the reseptionist he said we would have about an hour and a half wait which didnt seem to bad. Well we went into the room to wait for the dr at 11am and waited there 40mins for the dr to come in and see Leon they wanted to give him an xray to see if there was paint in the lead before they took it out and then changed thier mind and decided to just take it out they tried as it was but it was just so sore they ended up having to give him two anasthetic injections in his finger my poor baby was so so brave with the first one but the second one was just too much and he started sobbing i was almost sobbing with him i felt so helpless but a few minutes later when it started kicking in he seemed to perk up a bit. The dr came back 10 minures later and cut off half his nail removed the paint that was stuck underneath and then the nurse came in and bandaged it up. The dr was a lovely young man and so patient and friendly with Leon he was lovely. Leon now has to take two lots of pain killers and i have to remove the bandage on sunday and see how it is. He didnt go back to school as i was advised to keep him with me and it was gone one when we got home anyway and he has to miss out on kick boxing this weekend but he has gone to cadets tonight to show off his bandage lol its on his right hand so im not quite sure how hes going to cope but i guess he will have to he informed me when we went out it was still asleep im just hoping its not too painful for him when it does decide to wake up.

Slowly typing

While i have 2 minutes spare before i go to collect Leon from yet another afterschool club. the reason for the slowly typing? I have managed to hurt my right wrist somehow during getting thinks moved and packed away for next week i cant write or stitch but thankfully i can just about to drive you would of laughed if youd seen me trying to pull my jeans up this morning LOL

I did get a suprise phone call from my very dear friend Sue up in Scotland this morning even though we have sent emails text ect this was the first time we had spoken on the phone and it was fantastic!! we had a nice long natter and a giggle on the phone which was just what i needed i havent had a good natter on the phone in ages dont get me wrong i love going over my friends too but this was great really cheered me up and made me forget how much it hurts for 5 minutes anyway i have a bandage and it better be better tomorrow ive got too much to do before the weekend!!!

The boys are busy tonight the unit has its yearly inspection so they will be at cadets all night and me and Donny will be home watching the footie its champions league tonight cant be missing that!!! with Jake at the option after school tomorrow and Leons parents evening on thursday we really do have a busy next few days.

Housework

This weeks finish just about sums up how im feeling with us getting on with getting ready for the works that are going to be done here in just over a weeks time we have been trying to sort through the *you never know we might use them** stuff and throwing them out so at least we wont have quite so much crap piled up in our living room when they are here which is a good job as we dont have that much space to begin with. Im so glad its friday tomorrow i love the weekend and i have my footie on the tv saturday and its been a while since i can say that!!!

We have been lucky this time and escaped the snow we have had a beautifully sunny day here just cold but thats ok as it stayed dry we did have a wintery shower yesterday and frost for the last few mornings but thats been it. Right the kids are off to bed so im going to try relax for a bit.

Psycho

For Lori-Ann here is Psycho these are quite old photos now and he is quite a bit bigger!!!!ill have to try get some more of him over the weekend we just fed him last night so he cant be held for a few days.

Here he is trying on my hat :-)

and exploring the sofa!!!

Who stole the sun???

Well who did it? we have had such beautiful days and then the rain came back yesterday afternoon oh well it was nice when it lasted!!!

Im glad to say im finally over the days of migraine that i have had i have had all weekend long and ive had na insight into my poor hubbys daily live with the blurred vision and dizzyness and i really dont know how he copes with it day in and day out a whole lot worse than i had it as i felt useless i really did.

Sunday was St Davids day here in Wales and the boys had a brilliant day in school to celebatrate on friday its so nice that the learn out traditions and get to celebrate our patriant saint every year i think it is just so important to do this.

Jake had a fantastic parents evening on thursday i am glad to say all his teachers have said he is very much capable of achiving an A* in all subjects and they all wanted him!!! he cant do everything though and has submitted his choices so we will find out later in the year exactly what he will be doing he is such a clever boy and if he keeps at ot he will do so well in live and we wish him all the luck in the world we are just so very proud of him good boy Jake!!!!

Well i will be off out in a bit ot get mice for Pyscho and i am waiting on a call from the school requarding Leon but hey at least its not his fault this time so while im waiting i guess id better get on!! I now have a special top secret stitchy project i am working on so i need to get a design picked out have a lovely day :-)

The weekends here again

I can hardly believe tomorrow will be march already this year just seems to be flying by so fast. We have had a busy week Leon went back to school wednesday but was then sick again that night even though he had seemed fine and he has had trouble again last night im hoping that will be the last of it though

Here us the wonderful borthday gift i recieved from Louise this week its a beautiful card she made me and the sss is something i can always use thankyou Louise :-) for thinking of me i love it all!!!

Here is my lastest finish it is by smo and brings me up to date with my monthly orniment challenege on my board ( if youd like to come join us please see my links section) i am almost done with my monthly finish too so i will be ip to date i havent picked up my needl today yet though as i have been struggling woth a migraine since yesterday which has started to slow up though so hopefully will be gone soon. I hope your all having a good weekend :-) mine would be better if we would of won the rugby last night lol oh well at least we won the footie today!!!!

Another day another hospital visit

Donny had his eye check up today but at least the news wasnt too bad this time they have decided that he should take his drops every other day for the next two weeks and then stop and see how it all goes so fingers crossed it will go better this time.

The boys went to my friends when we were in the hospital straight from school i had a text from my friend when we were on the way home to say Leon had a migraine and had been sick he was laying in her oldest sons bed when i got there we came back and he was sick again all in the car just outside the house all over the pavement and my garden i brought him in put him in the shower and to bed and cleaned up he has been to sleep and sick several times the poor love i hope he feels beter soon hes still up at the moment as hes just been sick again and its passed his bed time he may have to stay home tomorrow which wont go down well as he has rugby training as he has been picked for the a team in school to play in a tournament on wednesday we will just see how he goes through the night and how he is in the morning and go from there.

I acually managed to hold of microsoft today to register the problem with my dads xbox 360 and they are sending someone to collect it tomorrow so it will be going to Germany to hopefully be repaired it didnt go down well with my dad when i explained that he was going to be without it for 3 weeks maybe more but at least he will be able to play it again.

We have had a date now for the kitchen and bathroom works again now that the meter has finally been moved outside its 16th march this didnt go down well with Leon as its just a few days before his birthday but im sure we will still be able to do something with him even if we do it the weekend as he will be in school on his birthday anyway. We also got a call from the carphone warehouse and Leons phone has been repaired it was a broken speaker but now its all fixed!!!

I REALLY want this!!!!!

I was taking a look at 123 stitch for ideas of themes to do at the bingo at my board and i seen this and i just HAVE to have it asap!!! i am kicking myself for spending the gv that Tonya give me and not hanging on that bit longer (even though i am very happy with what i picked to buy at the time) its a shame though as its going to have to wait as the postage is nearly the same price as the chart!!! which i cant justify paying for just one chart at the moment so im a bit sad about that but at least i do have plenty to be getting on with in the meantime. I did have a little peak around and seen these too and they are all definatly going onto my wish list!!!

Happy birthday to me!!!!!!!

I cant believe another birthday has come around so fast wow where does the time go to? I thought id jump on quick and share what ive had while the boys have thier friends over and we have a busy noisy house!!!!

Yesterday afternoon the boys where upsatirs playing computer before they went to kick boxing or so i though they had acually been raiding my stash to make me cards which was such a sweet thought i didnt really have the heart to yell at them lol here are the beautiful cards they made me

the first one made by Leon and the second Jake arent they so clever? they also went shopping yesterday on thier own and these are the gifts they chose for me all by themselves and i love them :-) thankyou boys xxxxxI also had some lovely cards from my wonderful husband and friends the fist one Donny got for me along with the karaoke player i had a few weeks ago which i really love thanks so so much Donny!!!!!!! and i love it the second one is from my wonderful friend Rose who also sent me a beautiful friendship card for my wallet that i love thankyou Rose!!!!!! and the last is from my friend Nicky thankyou Nicky i love it!!!! I also had a beautiful card from my dad and stepmum and some money to buy myself smething nice :-)I also recieved these lovely gifts fron my very good friend Nicky she is such an angel and does so much for me there was no need to spoil me so much but it was lovely that she did!!! thankyou so so much Nicky!!!! Well ive had a nice day so far and i am going to have a nice evening playing with my new karaoke machine with my boys while Donny watches ufc then we are going to settle down and watch a dvd together when the boys are in bed but forst im going to have some cake the boys got me a button one when they were down tescos yesterday and make a vindaloo for tea yummy!!!!!! i have some vodka and cherryade so im going to have a few quiet drinks i hope you all have a lovely weekend xxxxx

Checkups

This week we have had a lot of appointments at different places on wednesday Donny had an appointment in Carmarthen with another dr that we wont hear from for a month so we are still none the wiser we decided to leave the boys with my Dad so i drove down and we left them there and then had an hour long bus trip up to the clinic to see the dr it was not all bad the boys had a great day and i got to get a new wine kit so it is now busily bubbling away in my kitchen so they wont be coming to fit it for at least a week!!!!

On thursday we all had the dentist but that was good news all around which was good :-) When we were still in town i picked up my phone and realised i had had 3 missed calls from my dad which was really unusual and then he phoned Donny he has had a red light come on his 360 which isnt good at all but luckily we know someone who maybe able to repair it and i am waiting to hear from him i have my Dads 360 at my house and im hoping to hear from my friend the weekend fingers crossed the news wont be bad.

I am looking foward to a quiet day today im hoping to do my ironing and maybe pick up my pheonix if not at least they are back at school next week!!! I want to say thankyou to Rose to i have recieved my birthday card this morning but ive been a good girl and i havent opened it im leaving it for tomorrow i promise!!! thankyou hun xxxxx

Half term week

Yes its half term again and the boys have been home since friday but at the moment they are doing ok not too much arguing at least lol. On monday Jake went to his friends for the day after i had taken him and Leon to kfc for dinner i didnt eat but they did!!! Iwent to pick Jake up at 6pm so they had a break from each other that day. On tuesday Leon spent the day out on his bike with Jordan so they werent together again i was phoning him at 5ish to tell him to bring home his bike before it got to dark but he treally enjoyed being out for the day.

I was given this lovely silk by Nicky from my wish list this week which is much more beautiful than i was expecting thankyou Nicky so much :-)

I wanted to just update you on my stitching i havent picked it up this week with the boys home but i have realised that i have done the border a little too low down at the top but as its not touching i have decided im not going to frog it all out im going to leave it and see what happens hopefully it will be ok.

Happy Valentines day

I just wanted to wish everyone a lovely day we dont really do valentines day at our house we never really have done we dont feel we should have one day a year when you should have to tell someone you love them and buy them a gift we believe when you love someone you should show them in little ways everyday. I did make some valentine cards and then Leon chose the first one for me to give to Donny and he made me a card aswell but thats as far as we went. We did get a take away Indian meal which we had with the children which was very nice and then Paula came over to watch the snake being fed and invited us over to thier house for the rest of the evening so thats what we did we ended up singing karaoke again for the most of the night but it was a lot of fun!!!!

I hope you all had a wonderful valentines which ever way you decided to spent it!!!

What a week...........

............ and its only wednesday!!! the boys have one more day in school then its half term so we have a week of them home it doesnt seem like theyve been in school much the last few weeks with the snow ect and they are off again!!!

We didnt get the works started on our house then they have decided to wait until they have moved the gas meter outside and we had a call today to tell us they will be doing that on monday so now we are just waiting for them to get back to us with the new date for the interier works to be done hopefully it wont be too long or wont take too long fingers crossed hey.

I wanted to share with you all jakes new certificate that he recieved for 100% attendance at school for the first term he is so proud that he made it in everyday he has several of these because he will drag himself to school no matter how he is feeeling. Leon didnt quite make it after the chest infection he had and had to stay home a few days but thats ok he cant help feeling ill.

We have had a good few days weatherwise here still very cold but at least the snow does seem to have gone but im waiting as ive known it to snow on my birthday before so we shall see.

Not much news here on the stitchy front i just havent picked up my needle since the weekend but i have kept up with my exercise a little i really need to get more done on that front to ah well im off now to watch England lose the footie lol no maybe they will win we shall see.........

What a great weekend

Well we started friday with just a few snow flurries all morning and then nothing Leons rugby training wit the school was called off because of the wether we have been having so he came home and got ready for kick boxing we were going to be finding out weither he had passed his second kata and recieved his next level belt which is yellow. Well as you can see from the photo he passed and with flying colours i was there with him when he was presented his belt and we are very proud of him. He only started kick boxing six months ago and he has already been able to pass his first two katas i hope he keeps up the good work.

While the children were at school Donny and I went out while there was no snow and Donny bought me a new karaoke machine for my birthday (yes i know its not for 2 weeks) i love it so much there is such a huge number of songs that i can get yes i still have singstar and i love it very much but now i have even more choice thankyou so much Donny this is one gift that will get well used!!!!!

The boys decided against going to sea cadets friday and in a way im glad as when Paula came over to have a look at my new machine we got a covering of snow once again so just as we thought we were getting over it it came back and hit us hard again but it was very pretty and was still there on saturday morning but it did clear up again by tea time which was good because we were having Paula Lawrance and the four kids over for the evening.

And we had a ball!!! firstly the boys watched the Liverpool match and them we used my new karaoke machine all night long it was sooooo much fun and we have a big piece of us singing taped on the pc using my webcam im going to be taking a look later and if im brave enough i may think about posting it on my multiply for all to see!!! Paula was a little worse for wear as she went to sleep on my sofa just after half past 11 so i have her photo and im thinking of posting it to facebook later she is not happy about that hehehehe teach her to go to sleep!!!! they left just after 12am to get the little ones to bed but we all still had a fantastic time.

Todays going to be a little quiter well sort of we are about to watch wales playing rugby on the telly which im looking foward to i love my footie but i really love to watch wales playing rugby it used to be great when one of the boys i was in school with was playing i used to be able to tell my boys about it its always possible to do great things in life no matter where you come from!!! Well i hope your all having a ovely weekend to say safe and warm its really cold here today and its raining too so im off to make something warm for dinner before it starts!!!

Another wintery day

Boy is it cold here today we havent seen the sun all day long .I was kinda brave this morning though and i did take the car down to tescos in the blanket of ice covered snow to go get some much needed shoping in. The kids were home again today as the school was closed due to the ice so they had to come to but we left them playing thier gameboys in the cafe which s always much easier. The roads werent too bad once we got out of the place where we live but tesco car park was still like an ice rink it was all very scary but it was ok.

When we had got back my order from 123 stitch that Tonya had given me the gv for had come along with a book i had bought from one of the girls on a yahoo group i am in. Thankyou Tonya i love my beds and threads and fabbie i bought and i feel so spoilt. The dog did attack the envelope but luckily for him the contents where intact or he would of been sorry!!!!Jake and i just took a walk with the dog and everything seems to be better with the snow theres not so much of it now and the road in my street is nearly visable which is great but the weather is warning we are to get it heavy during tonight and tomorrow so it doesnt look to promising that the children will get back to school this week but there is always hope!!! When we came in we were frozen through so we just defrosted infront of the fire with a hot chocolate and marshmallows which was lovely. Liverpool are playing on the tv tonight so im going to get on with my pheonix dragon i managed to get a little more done last night as you can see so fingers crossed it will get done in time afterall. Everyone stay warm and safe.

And it hasnt wanted to stop!!!

This is what we got up to at 7am this morning and that was before the blizzards set in if you seen London on the news yesterday thats exactly what it looked like here dark and foggy and tons of white stuff!!! We checked on the local radio stations website and of course the school was closed they all have been localy today which was just what my boys wanted to hear they wanted to go out and play in it before it was light!!! but we made them wait as it was so bad. When it calmed a little we all went to Lidls for a walk to get bread but it was really hard on Donnys eyes as the snow was so bright. We ended up in oyr friends for a cuppa on the way home which is strange as we live just a few houses down across the road from them lol but was nice to have a chat anyway.

This is the snowmen the boys built in our garden just over an hour ago we are still surrounded by the stuff even though the sun has been shining for the last few hours and they are saying we are in for a heavy freeze tonight and even more snow either later or by the end of the week the kids are hoping so id rather it go so they can go to school!!! we shall wait see we werent expecting much to start with so this has been great fun for them. And oh yes here is Leon always the show off hehehehe hes gonna kill me if he sees it here!!! oh well stay warm and safe!! im off to finish dinner and then do some more stitching i think we will give cadets a miss tonight

I cant believe it!!!

Its snowing!!!! and we never ever get snow here i think its because we are sitting on the coast.The boys have been so excited as it is so very rare we have only had a dusting mind just enough to cover the floor but its still trying to come down now . The kids are hoping that it comes down really heavy tonight so they will get the day off school tomorrow so they can go out in it but we shall see im kinda hoping it clears up but then again i dont want them to be disapointed either so anyway here are some photos they took if it gets any better i will get them to take some more tomorrow.

I went up tp the school this afternoon for a meeting with Leons head of year about all that went on last week aparantly its sorted now but we shall wait see how it goes i think.

A busy weekend

We have had such a busy weekend. We did go to our friends on friday night and we had a fantastic time we took over our ps3 to play singstar and i wish i could show you the videos they are well funny!!!! they are all coming over to us saturday all 6 of them that will be fun!! We came home at 3am so it was a late night for us all but as we dont do it very often that was ok. Saturday we were all very tired as you can imagine but not too bad Jake and me walked up to town to get him a new pair of shoes for school and then caught the bus home as we were both wiped out lol. On sunday Leon had his next kata for his yellow belt in kick boxing i got to watch him do it this time but he wont find out until friday if he has passed or not but i think he did ok we shall wait and see. When we got back me and Donny went to war as Liverpool took on Chelsea in the sunday sfternoon match and guess what i lost much to Donny and his friends pleasure and thats all im saying on that!!! (you can see im still pouting lol)

Here is what little stitching i have done over the last few hours it is the pheonix dragon by enchanting lair i am hoping to do it for Donny by valentines day as he loves liverpool and the pheonix is thier emblem im hoping he will like it.
I also wanted to say thankyou to Barb from the smo board as i have recieved the prize from her contest i am still very much looking foward to being able to get to grips with evenweave and i am looking foward to stitching this thankyou.

5 addictions and 5 fabby floggers

So JOAN thought I have a Fabby Blog and so does she but she has already been bblog awarded SO----->>>>

I am to list 5 of my addictions and list 5 bloggers who I think are fabby. So here goes.Addictions:


1. cross stitching
2. chatting on line
3. collecting stash
4. exchanges
5. Dyeing fabrics

My fabby friends fabby blogs!
1 kath
2 michelle
3. lori-ann
4. tonya
5 cathe

I did not have to list the name of their blogs but incase your are not familiar with them. Pretty impressive blogs. Well kept up with!

Now You all must do the same on your blog
Now Claim your awards

Upgrades update

Well the lady from the council did call this morning a little later than she had said but she did come and acually at the momment im pretty much still none the wiser!! She was hopeful by tomorrow we would have some idea exactly when the gass meter will be moved outside and oh yes the works will still be started on 9th february and we will be having our window measured soon to get it ordered and we will not be without a toilet 3 days all this will be sorted out when the other member of the councils team and the contrator calls out to us one day this week or next hmmm so exactly when will we know?? i mean just over a weeks time and they will have started i just really dont know where i am at all.

We got an appointment with another dr on the half term week too for Donny to assess his ability to work man it makes me laugh he still cant read his own texts on his phone the hospital records all show exactly what the condition is but they have to see for themselves im sorry but if they arent eye drs what exactly are they going to assess? its just one thing after another and then we all have the dentist the day after that im just hoping they take less than a week to do the house or what happens then?

The school did try to contact me yesterday afternoon about 45mins after school finished when i was stranded in tesco carpark as my car refused to start again which lead into an argument between me and Donny for paying out so much on it everymonth when i wont go anywhere and hes right i just cant be bothered i like being home stitching or on here when its cold and wet out doors but if i dont want to lose my car im gonna have to start dragging him out more so hopefully it will stay cludy so he isnt in to much pain. Anyway back to the point the teacher said she would call back today and she didnt bother so i have written a letter and Leon is going to hand it dirrectly into the head masters hands tomorrow so he can see exactly how the parent is treated when they show concern for thier childs behaviour at school so we will wait to see how it goes he is a new one and i havent spoken to him before but he has changed so much already so lets hope he does something about it all i will keep you updated.

With all this going on no wonder i am looking grayer all the time lol!! that reminds me will have to get somemore dye!!

On a lighter note i started a new project this afternoon inbetween playing the guiness world record game on the wii its a whole lot of fun but you get some competative you dont want to come off even though your arms are hurting so so much lol but i do have a reginal record and one world record for now yeay me!!!! Well off to make dinner Donnys just gone over to his friends across the road for a cuppa and a chat its nice for him to go out for a little while and we get a break from one another :-) then theres footie tonight so ill be glued to a screen somewhere lol

A spooky finish!!

Here is my first orniment finish for this year and my first monthly orniment exchange for my board and its all thanks to Nicky for sending me the chart which of course i love as i love all things halloween thankyou Nicky xxxx

We had a confusing day today i stayed in as i still have a niggling headache had it a few days now just cant seem to shift it but then again its not too unbearable at least.

We had a call from the school this afternoon saying Leon wasnt where he should be and may have left the school buildings well i called Leon and had a text back telling me he couldnt talk as he was in class.I called the school back and asked what exactly was going on as this isnt the first time this has happened and when they called me back they had found him its maddening why they dont know where the children are i just dont understand it as they have to register every child in every lesson on the computers in every class its enough to frighten you.

Then i acually spoke to someone from the council who are now calling tomorrow to finally discus the final arangements for the fittings that are going to be happening in 2 weeks today (fingers crossed!!!) we shall wait and see what happens next i guess. Donnys auntie called over earlier she needed help with her boiler its all new to her and we have had ours a while so i was more than happy to help she seemed frightened poor thing!! but its all sorted now.

My weekend

Yes i know its late and i really should be heading to bed as i have to get the kids up for school in the morning but i thought i would just update you sll eith whats been going on with me here. On friday night the boys had thier late christmas party with the sea cadets as the christmas party had to be cancelled at last moment and was rearranged to this week . So after i had gone to collected Leon from rugby training at school at 4.00pm to bring him home and have a shower to get him to kick boxing by 4.30pm (yes that was a tight fit) i then came home and got food started as i had to pick Leon up by 5.30pm to bring him home to have food and all of us get ready to leave at 7pm to walk to town by 7.30 when the party started and the three of us made it in time Donny really wanted to come but as it was a disco as well he would never have been able to cope with the lights which was such a shame as it would of been great to have him there with us i was lucky though as one of the dads i knew from rugby was there so i sat with him and his wife who i seemed to get along with quite well.

We had a quieter saturday my dad and stepmum called over for a bit then me and the boys took the dog for a walk he is still suffering today poor thing!!! hes getting far too old to walk to far now so we have to be careful with him. We spend saturday night as usually our family night woth a movie which was great we watched a creepy one this weekend but i was quite disapointed as it wasnt very good.

Today i sat and watched the cardiff aresnal match and almost finished my orniment for my january challenge on my board and then the boys left half way through as Leon had kick boxing but his instructor brought him home as he had another migraine he was aufully sick when he got home but i put him in my bed as i was working on the old pc in my room so i could keep an eye on him he went to sleep but then the phone woke hime and he wouldnt stop chatting so i knew he was feeling better and i couldnt get much done!!! He managed to eat the roast pork dinner i made this evening and kept it down so he will be going to school in the morning!!! I managed to get upstairs and get the ironing done while the boys watched top gear and whem the kids had gone to bed i sat and watched ghost whisperer while Donny has been watching some fighting event on tv it will be finishing soon (thbakfully!!!!!!!) and i will be off to bed or i will never get up in 7 hours.

We are so proud

Here is Jakes first qualification he has earned at school which is equvilant to a GCSE level this is stage one he has also completed stage 2 and he is on stage 3 at the moment we are so proud of him doing so well at school and we are really hoping he will keep up the good work as it will really help him with whatever he decides to do with his future. I just thought i would share with you all.

First finish for 2009

Well its taken me a while to get into a stitchy frame of mind this year ive been trying to get some fitness into my live around everything else and when im not tired or achy im in a cant be bothered mood Donnys eyes are too good at the moment either so i dont like to have the light on for long in the evenings but anyway here it is so now at least im half way to getting my own challenges done on my runboard!!! OOOOHHHH i fprgot to say this is done on one of my hand dyed fabbies!!!!!!

A wonderful stash filled week!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I havent been online very much this week with trying to sort out whats happening next with the works we will be having done to the house next month and still getting nowhere trying to wokout and spending time with my family so i thought id jump on tonight and update you all with the few things that have been going on here, In this post id like to tell you all about the wonderful gifts i have recieved this week and the fantastic prize i won at frost night on the smo board and show you the prize i recieved for my article in cross stitch gold that i have now finally got a copy of thanks to my very dear friend Nicky.

Firstly here is the prize i got from cross stitch gold some wonderful stickers and some white aida always very useful especiall as i have none at the moment lol

Secondly i recieved 3 wonderful charts from my wish list from Donna on the smo board it was very sweet of her

Next was the wonderful prize i recieved from Myrna on the smo board from her frost night contest wow there where a lot of nice things a fantastic prize

And last but by no ways least Tonys had already suprised me this week with a $15 gv for 123 stitch which there was no need for at all but when these dragon floss arrived from sew and sew this morning i was very very shocked!!! Tonya is a lovely person and has been so sweet to me i have no idea what ive done to deserve all these pressies but i am very grateful thankyou so so much!!!

Great

They came to do the insulation in the coving in my walls yesterday so at long last we will have a warmer house just waiting now for the artic to be redone and the double glazing. The real problem started yesterday afternoon with just one phone call. When they come out next month to refit our bathroom they have decided they are going to hack off the walls and replaster which is great im not complaining as we have so much condensation in there it will be a great help no the problem started when they said we wont have a bath or sink (well we knew that) or toilet for 3 days!!! 3 days i couldnt believe what i was hearing and what was worse was they expected us to move in with friends or family while they were doing it!!! yes if course i know someone who can put the 4 of us the dog and the snake up for 3 days as if what are they thinking? Its hard enough some days for Donny to get around our own home with his eyes nevermind have to sleep on a floor or something its just a nightmare they are calling back out early next week to discuse where we go from here so we are hoping for some better news there.

I was also disapointed after working out so much with videos exercise bike and ab trimmer to have lost no weight at all but to have lost an inch on my waist i just dont get it at all!!!! but im not complianing and im keeping it up i will be back in my jeans really soon i am deturmined lol but it does mean my stitching has suffered though so i need to go and try and getmy 2 challenges done for the month!!!

New uniform photo

I was asked by my dad for a new photo of the boys for his wallet so here is the one one took of them in thier sea cadet uniforms as leon has had a new one we also had one frammed for him and both my dad and stepmum loved it I just thought id share with you all.

Happy Birthday Donny

Today is my wonderful husbands birthday i hope he has a wonderful day :-) me and the boys made him cards yesterday and he had them this morning and will get the gifts we bought for him when they return home from school this afternoon. I have spent this morning in the kitchen making him a cake Leon has asked me to wait until he comes home from school as he wants to decorate it so i will do. I have also made some blueberry muffins, not so good for my diet and exercise plan but at least i know whats gone in them as i have made them :-)

I started this morning well i exercised on my bike for 25 minutes and also used my ab trimer im hoping that it will all help even if its just small bits often rather than a lot 2 or 3 times a week. Leon and i did do a dvd on saturday night itwas a lot of fun but boy did i start to feel it on sunday night there are still some parts of my body that are sore to touch LOL and Jacky has sent me a dance dvd this morning which i am going to try in the morning hopefully after the boys have gone to school and Donny will have to stay upstairs and wait for me to finish before he gets up!!!! I have to re weigh tomorrow and report to the girls n the two boards im sharing with how im doing so you all need to keep your fingers crossed for me . Leon made me laugh he made us weigh before and after we exercised i told him it didnt work that fast and mine had gone up a pound after but he was shcoked!! i told him i must of jiggled some fat loose LOL im hoping that mayb ein a few weeks it will start to show though. All the christmas stuff has nearly gone and im trying to watch what im eating as well as exercising as much as i can bare.

Well i havent done any stitching in days as ive either been taking care of Donny and the boys or exercising and then ive been sore and havent felt like it but i think i will get off here and go do some now thats my problem i guess too much time on the pc and not much elese getting done !!!!! but then agai n the last few weeks i havent been doing much of that either . I do have to go out in a bit to get a few things and it really raining out there at least the wind has calmed down it was really bad last night im glad i didnt have to go out in it.

Its the weekend again already

I cant believe the weekend has come around so quickly already!! we are flying along so quickly at the start of this new year and at long last i am starting to feel almost human again and its about time too!!! I am still having trouble walking very far or doing very much at the moment but i can hardly wait to get a start on my exercising and Leon has volentered (forcefully i will admit!!!) to have a go with me over the weekend so that will be fun!!! We also have to go out to get something for Donny for his birthday and the three of us have no ideas what we will be getting yet. They will be off to cadets soon kick boxing was canceled tonight and there was no rugby training at school i guess its because the ground is still so hard. Im not sure if Leon will be going though as he was just complaining that he has a headache so we shall see.

I must add an appology to my blog today as i had an email through from a freind whos runboard i have been neglecting as i am so busy taking care of Donny and the kids and i havent been well myself for the last few weeks that i really havent been on much just to check my emails and my board and Jackys board as we are all trying to lose weight together.Her board is so busy i didnt think id be missed but i was!!! Saying that there are a few places ive been neglecting so i will have to try make up for it now i can sit at the pc a bit longer so i am sorry to all those places i have been neglecting the past few weeks some are so quite i bet i havent missed much though lol Im even missing the smo board as i used to go there a lot longer but these days i just dont have the time.


I did start a new piece of stitching a few days ago and its almost complete so that will be my first finish for the year and my first completed challenge for the month for my board so there will be just one to go!!!

I hope you all have a lovely weekend xx

Its so quiet

Yes the boys are back at school today after the christmas holidays it was cold and dark when they left just after 8am this morning oh yes and very white we are still covered in a thick white frost everywhere we have been for days its all very pretty but so slippery still i am dreading going out driving in it soon to go shopping but hey if i dont ge there will be no food to eat tonight lol. Ive been good this morning and i have cleaned all through down stairs and mopped everyhwere so im sitting here waiting for it to dry up and taking a break as its worn me out i will be so happy when i finally get over this nasty chest infection.

We had some good news yesterday (hopefully!!!) the builders called and they are due to come out on the 9th february to replace our kitchen and bathroom i cant wait we will finally have a new kitchen floor after the washing machine florced us to rip up our laminate flooring last year we are also hopeful that our cavitaly walls and attic we be redone in the next few weeks too we are just waiting for the scafolding to be put up we should be so much warmer then oh and we are supposed to be having double glazing fitted sometime after april too so our house will finally be brough up to date we just need to get on with the rest of the decorating then

I am hpeful to try and pull my finger out later and get some stitching done i havent felt like it when ive been ill and am starting to get with drawal effects lol and i need to try and get back on that exercise bike but i know little by little i cant go down any worse than i am when i have other people relying on me.

Another cold and icy morning

Well its been a week since ive had anything much to say and its because i really havent been well since new years day ive recaught whatever it was that Leon then me then Donny had but this time its a lot worse my glands in my neck are swollan my throat is dry and my chest is really sore. I have been keeping Donny awake all night coughing i did get some cough mixture and its really helping me through the day its pointless going to the dr what with my asthma and my allergy to peacillin theres not much he can give me really.I though i was getting better until i walked to Lidl with Jake now its not even a 10min walk away from my house and i was exhausted by the time i got there and we still had to walk bnack it was fun just trying to say on our feet it was so slippery but we were giggling at each other sliding about lol

The boys dont go back to school with me until wednesday so they have a nice easy foirst week back at least. I have hardly picked up my needle this week and with Donnys birthday mext monday im really beging to doubt il have anything sewn for his card by that point but you never can tell right? I havent been online much either just havent had the strength do do anything much. I did take down my decorations on friday so the house was looking lovely and bright and tidy for a while at least!!!

This infection that i have had isnt helping my weightloss plan either its just ground to a holt as i cant exercise at the moment but im hoping to get back to it as soon as i can then restart the whole thing hopefully il have enough energy to get back on my bike by wednesday when the boys are at school. It not fair i feel like an old lady lol. At least when i do feel better i have found someone who lives just 10 miles down the road from me who wants to exercise with me and she stitches!!! so ill have a close stitchy friend which is something i dont have and i cant wait to meet her.

Id just like to thank Joan the pillow case came this morning in just 3 days from the states now that is fast!!! thanks so much hun Jake loves it i knew he would!! Well think ill go make a cuppa and try to recover from my walk i knew i should of took the car lol im just trying to walk more saying that on new years eve i walked for 4 hours with Leon looking for new trainers (sneakers) for him for school because we couldnt find a size 4 hmmm im wondering if that cold air on my chest has done this to me??