Things that make me happy......

You all know that I am an Autumn/Winter girl at heart, that doesn't mean I don't LOVE hot weather, because I do and these first hot days are making me very happy. I love the fact that it is not hot and sticky, just lovely and sunny. I am loving going to the market (Bury has an amazing market) on a Saturday morning and picking up cornflowers and fruit......... and it is making me very happy!

This half term has been quite relaxed, Henry and I went to the cinema and saw Night at the Museum 2 - very good! And we've caught up with friends and spent time in the garden - perfect !
Yesterday we went to a friends for lunch, they have just moved into their stunning new (old) house, which is still being renovated, but is now live able! The children had a fantastic time and I love the fact that they find a swimming costume for Evie and get her changed and take her outside to play with the hose. This ends up in the mud and we have to strip them all off and very carefully carry them upstairs (without getting mud on the new carpet) to have a bath together!

And you can see how much these boys have in common!Not been doing much crafting, although made this cute card a couple of weeks back with a cupcake template.

Have this gorgeous Mosh Posh kit ready to get started on very soon........

And this is the clothkits skirt kit mum and dad gave me for my birthday.......
To be honest, crochet has taken over, thanks to Attic 24! I had really forgotten how much I love to crochet and am making a variety of cushion covers for Evie's bedroom (when I get around to decorating it) this is the first and I am very happy with it!

Have a great weekend xxx

Changing plans

This year is definitely a case of 'expect the unexpected', and not necessarily in a good way! We, along with alot of other people, have had to cut down our staffs hours on a temporary basis, hopefully short term. May already seems busier - let's just wait and see! This means I am on standby to work whenever required, and when Jonathan gets a call from his brother asking him to go down and look after his parents, who are unwell, for a weekend, that's what he has to do! So once again, I call on my amazing parents to have the children whilst I get over to our shop. It is not the way we hoped to be spending the bank holiday weekend, but, at the moment, it is how it has to be.

On a happier note, Henry had a teacher training day yesterday and so he, Evie, me and my Mum headed off to Legoland with the Tesco's tickets my Mum had managed to get for us and a picnic! We had a great day, was busy and some of the queues were just too long, but the children were so well behaved and Henry came back pleased as punch with his 'Indiana Jones' style hat Nana had brought him and a new Star Wars Lego set. The hat has hardly left his head since, he even hung it on his bedhead last night!

I am so pleased it is half term, we have no real plans, but Henry has just finished his SATs - the teachers were very good at not worrying the children and just making it all into a 'competition', but he is tired now and he had a sickness bug last weekend. His best friends mum Emma had very kindly taken him to a party that they had been invited to and Henry was sick all over the floor after a few mouthfuls of food, but came home hungry and seemed fine, so I put it down to over excitement. The next day we went to friends for lunch, they live in Wisbech which is just over an hours drive form us and he was sick one minute from home, Jonathan's car still hasn't recovered! So he spent Monday with Nana (again) recovering whilst I had to go to work.

Evie is also tired after a half term of three pre-school sessions a week, we have had a couple of very bad days of tantrums and then she has fallen asleep in front of the TV at 5pm! But unfortunately keeps waking up at 3.30am and then again at 6am.

Today was great, we planned to spend the whole day in the garden, but Tina and Simon arranged an impromptu barbecue - always the best kind! They have a fantastic water centre that the children spent hours in, Simon cooked on the barbecue and we managed a water fight with poor Tina coming off worse - but at least it was her house so she could - and did - change into dry clothes! Fantastic fun was had by all!



So Jonathan is home tomorrow and we are off to friends in the afternoon, no plans for half term, but fingers crossed this weather continues.

Have a good one all

xxx

Camp Cowboys!

Yup, that was us, the 'Camp Cowboys'! On Friday Henry and I eventually got to camp on the school field - it was third try lucky, but we did it, and we had so much fun! For me the huge jugfuls of Cosmopolitan Tracy made helped - mixed of course with the company of some very good friends! For Henry, staying up until 11pm, sitting on an airbed with friends, playing on his DS and eating chocolate - all at the same time, did it for him! Lisa also organised a quiz and a Treasure Hunt in the dark - of which we won both!

So this was our pennant, attached to our very cosy Kath Kidston tent...........

Here is the afore mentioned tent!

And here are our two tents next to each other with drinks and food area set out between - we were collectively known as the 'Party Tent'! Where do we get these reputations from?

and lastly, a shot of me, kindly taken by Simon. As you can see we wrapped up to keep cosy!


Onto Sunday, which was my brother birthday. He invited a few friends and family over for drinks and nibbles and luckily the weather was gorgeous so we were out on his roof deck which over looks the Abbey Gardens. This is him with Henry............

and then with the fantastic t-shirt that we got him, we often called him Danger mouse as he has the same initials, so couldn't resist - not sure he was so keen!

Daisy, Evie and Theo couldn't keep their eyes off the cake, actually, Theo couldn't keep his fingers off it - bless him!

And then a great deal of fun was had with a pink blow up sofa (can you see the Abbey Gates in the back ground - really AMAZING views)

More fun had with the sofa, that's David's legs sticking out from underneath!

And Evie with her Auntie Rox, I know it's a silly smile, but that's all I could get (from Evie - not Rox!)

And apart from that I have worked, so nothing else to report. I hope to get the sewing machine out very soon, and I have ordered this kit from Mosh Posh, so really looking forward to getting some of these pictures scrapped.

Have a good week xx

May sunshine

May the 1st saw Sebert Wood doing some May Pole dancing - but without the pole! This is Henry's class...

and this is me holding Evie's hand whilst the pre-school have a go!

Another trip to Margate last weekend, we went out for a while on Monday, a little bit of shopping was done at Westcross Shopping centre and then off to Ramsgate for a bracing walk along the front, lunch at an Italian where Henry ate a most amazing seafood and bean salad with lots of mussels, prawns and squid - he really was in seventh heaven and then Jonathan took us all to Pelosi's, which is the most amazing 1950's style ice cream parlour.

The ice cream is so delicious and it is served on little silver dishes. The whole place is immaculate and the walls are covered in all the awards they have won. Anybody heading to Ramsgate I recommend you pop in and grab yourself a couple of scoops!

Henry played on his DS alot and I started some crochet - something I haven't done in a very long time and I loved it - watch this space for some pictures!
Have I told you about Evie and Claire? Claire is Evie's Uncle Philips girlfriend whom we met at Margate at Christmas and have seen alot of since when she has been visiting on the same weekends as us. Evie idolises Claire, honestly, she hardly leaves her side! And of course Claire is wonderful and plays with her loads...........

I also managed to get a shot of Henry, Evie and Jonathan with Jonathan's parents - Grandma and Grandad.
Henry and I are supposed to be camping on the school field Friday night, but the weather forecast is not looking good at the moment, I am wondering if it will be cancelled - this is the third time they have tried to organise it, so we are really keeping our fingers crossed that it is fine as it should be really good fun!

Well, gotta get on with the bookwork, ironing, shopping list etc etc!

Thanks for stopping by x

Bit and Pieces

On Saturday evening our friends Jon & Bev arrived for the weekend. Sunday was such a gorgeous day we went off for a walk and showed them the 'bat'

Then after a hearty beef stew we headed to town to watch Henry march in the 'St Georges Day Parade' this is one of the most important dates in a Beaver Scouts calender, after marching past the Abbey Gardens they sat through an hours service at St Marys church. Henry is used to spending most of a Sunday Service in the tower making things at Sunday School, so I was pretty impressed that he sat still through the whole service!

Bury Sixth Beaver Scouts

The rest of this week has been back to normal routine, which I have to admit I love! Although not so keen on all the book work I am having to catch up on - end of year and VAT - Yuk!

This weekend we are off to Jonathan's parents in Margate again, keep your fingers crossed for sunshine so we can spend time on the beach.

Hope you all have a great bank holiday weekend.

Like buses..........

I know, I know, I don't blog for ages and then I manage twice in one week - just like buses, nothing for ages and then two come at once!
Well, I had a great birthday, the children came into bed with me and passed me all my cards one by one whilst I also had a go with the new camera lens Jonathan had given me

we then headed downstairs for chocolate pastries and orange and mango juice for breakfast...

after school run and a supermarket trip (life has to go on!) Evie and I headed to my brothers new pub, 'The Cadogan Arms' to meet up with Anna and Katie and Ashlea and Nella for lunch, it was fantastic to be able to sit outside and eat in the sunshine whilst Evie and Katie played.

Back to collect Henry from school and then to my mum and dads - they had got me a new bicycle! so I went straight out round the block to test it out, then back for some cake, with these little munchkins....

I got loads of lovely presents, cards and messages and Jonathan managed to get home to time for us to go out and have a bite to eat and then off to the cinema to see 'The Boat that Rocked' which I would highly recommend!

A great day with lot's of lovely memories

Just a reminder - Dawn Inskip is doing a demo for Amanda at Your Touch of Craft tomorrow - if you can get there pop in and see the lovely stuff she is making!

xx

Where oh where?

has the time gone? sorry this post has taken two weeks - life is stressful and hectic, but we at least got back to normal today with the first day of summer term - I love routine - I'm sure I have told you that before! Evie had her first swimming lesson without me going in with her and she was fantastic! Fingers crossed it carries on that way.

So what's been happening? well in no particular order, I took Henry to A&E last Friday morning when he managed to cut his thumb whilst chopping himself up an apple - lot's of blood and screaming and fuss, but they put steristrips on it and bandaged it well. He has to keep it dry and is very protective of it, we have an appointment with the nurse on Friday to remove the dressing and hope it has healed okay.

We spent Easter weekend back in Margate and had a few hours out, playing in parks, looking at viking ships and playing with Easter toys

When we got back home they started the eggs, these two crack me up how they just take a huge bite rather than breaking pieces off

The weather has been so good, and yesterday we went to WestStow park and met up with friends, this is Evie making sand angels! - yes the sand was everywhere!

Last week we went to Nowton Park for a fire building activity. It was good fun and we got to cook both sausages and marshmallows.

I have also been crafting! This is the dt layout I did with the Marrakesh range for Your Touch of Craft

and I managed to pack up a few projects to take to Margate to keep myself amused in the evenings! These are a selection...

Today I have labelled and organised my scrapbook shelves, they look gorgeous. It is in my spare room and we have friends coming to stay this weekend, so I am trying to get the room looking good again!

Poor Jonathan is now on his fourth trip to Margate in the same number of weeks, it was a bit last minute and as it is my birthday tomorrow he wasn't happy about it, but he got me to open my lovely presents from him before he went and he is hoping to be back in time for going out tomorrow night.

Think I have remembered everything to tell you!

Catch up sooner next time I promise

xx