Batman!!! :)

Hurrah Friday AGAIN!

Fridays seem to come around very quickly at the moment. This week has been hard with Lucy being ill for three days. Today they are off to their dads for the weekend and I am off to Phils.

We are going to see Sooty and Sweep on Sunday - which should be fun - do like Sooty and Sweep and I think we are on the front row - sure Jake will love that!!!!

Not much planned for the weekend - most weekends are pretty free of format - although we usually have at least one things planned for the weekends when Lucy and Euan are at home.

It is Emily (my sister's) birthday today - 37 eh!! Doesnt time fly LOL.

I treated myself to some card making scrapbook bits from money I made selling on ebay - feel very naughty but it has been over a year and I had the money!

Couldnt resist - especially with free P&P.

Have a good weekend!

Bleurgh

Winter yucky sickness has been in the house for just over a day now. Lucy has been walking around looking much like Casper the very unfriendly ghost. But as I write she is singing which is a sign that she is feeling better.

Nothing can be worse than having a sick child, and I do struggle to be the patient mum that I should be. The clearing up of mess was just too much for me on Monday night and I did get angry with her, since then she has been walking about with a bin near enough attached to her face for fear of any more accidents. I am glad to see a smile on her face as I have loads to do at work and much as I love my tiny laptop it isnt really that good for doing SQL queries and writing documentation on.

I treated us to Back to the Future 3 today - it was the grand sum of £3 and she and I will snuggle later and watch it before I got and get Euan.

Phil got treated to a massive cheesecake last night - I wasnt sure if he would eat any - but two big slices later he referred to it as "Fabulous" so hopefully that means he liked it. Receipe by Jamie Oliver - Evidence below - it is scrummy!



It does look nice - sure I will have a try later but when I am at home I tend to graze all day and as such today I have restricted my food and will maybe have a small slice later when The Apprentice is back on - whoopee - hope it will be good.

Mothers Day and Other Bits

Well thank goodness it is Friday is all I can say! Been another long and horrid week to be honest and glad it is over. Out tonight for a 40th birthday which should be good - would be better if we didnt have to get up at 8.30 to go and get the kids for our trip up to Sheffield - but hey ho - sure we will manage - I can have a nap anyway as my scarey driving is not welcome on a trip up north :)

I am being harrassed by Euan for Jungle Buzz. I managed to get it on Ebay after they had played it and loved it at Alex's. The PS2 was only £15 and the controllers and game cost me £25 but it was all from money made by selling off bits so can justify it - JUST :)



The lady posted it yesterday so fingers crossed that it comes today - but it doesnt look good based on the fact that it is nearly 11 already - I hope he forgets about it or Sunday will be very hard work :)

Just managed to find this game in last 3 minutes and snap it up too - that will keep them happy for the foreseeable future :)




Off to Sheffield tomorrow for a Carvery and to see my Mum and Step Dad who are over from Spain for a flying visit - should be great as Millie is walking and talking now and I haven't seen her for a while now.

Have a great weekend :)

Big Clear Out and Beautiful Singing.

Started work on the back bedroom last night. There are so many lovely items of clothing in there that I had when Lucy was little including Gap and Gymboree Jeans and dresses that she never wore. Have to sit down and get listing on ebay properly, even if I can make £30 a week on there with these bits it will make the world of difference at the moment, need to save up for a few things coming up and need to get kids shoes and clothes etc etc :)

Lucy sang at the Grove Theatre Dunstable on Monday night, she was in a choir made up of 3 schools choirs. Was a late night but I wanted her to do it. She was very good - you could see she was enjoying it.

It was funny really as when I told Jamie about it originally he didnt want to go as he didnt want to be there when Phil and I were there together - after the party things clamed down - but it was funny because he and me much have booked the tickets at the same time as we ended up with 4 seats together - even he laughed about that one :)

Off to the gym at lunchtime - Euan was poorly yesterday so had to miss my days work out - looked in the mirror last night - even Lucy said how shocking it was!!!

Sore Bums and Upset Tums

Been a bad day today - for poor Euan that is. He had a bad tummy last night and then this morning was sick at nursery - poor little thing - was sleeping on the sofa for an hour this afternoon and that just isnt like him. He is okay now though - some Calpol and lots of cuddles and Power Rangers and his temperature has gone and he is sleeping in his room with his sister - very happy and content.

Have a lovely weekend ahead, going to Sheffield on Saturday with Phil and the kids as my mum and stepdad are home for a few days. The kids will take their scooters with them so they can have a play in the park.

Friday night too another 40th birthday celebration which is nice and a surprise - we were going to stay in and I was going to crack out my italian recipe book but instead we are going to have a few drinks and hopefully a relax.

Then Sunday it is mothers day - will be odd as I used to get spoiled but I am lucky to get to spend the day with the kids so it isnt a bad thing and I will be quite happy. Olivia is also 5 on Sunday - so grown up - hope she is a chatty bean when Phil calls her.

Party Party

It was Olivia's Party weekend this weekend.

We had a special lunch for her at Phil's. Jake, Phil, Olivia and I plus Phil's Mum and Dad. Lots of nice presents, including a big hutch for her Guinea Pigs. She really enjoyed it and before she left in the afternoon we painted her umbrella that I got her which we all enjoyed as she made me and Phil help her!



We got the Cats and Dogs one and it looked pretty good when we had finished.

Back to the Gym!......

In 2007 to take my mind off the complexities of ending one relationship and dealing with the start of another one I used to go to the Gym. I used to go everyday at one point and I loved it. I lost nearly 4 stone that year and although it meant I was only a size 16 which is still big (apparently) for me it was a milestone and proof to myself that I could have an impact on how I felt and how I looked.

Once me and OH got together the Gym trips became less frequent, we walked and swam every week and initially played Badminton which we both loved, but as time has marched on that has had to stop as I don't have any child free nights in the week anymore and OH has not managed to 100% get over his back op and as such the Gyming had come to a halt by November last year.

I paid my subscription - kept saying I was going to go back but never quite made it out - there was always something nicer to go at lunch time, like a hand in hand stroll or some vital lunch time ingredients to purchase.

But 3 weeks ago I finally took the plunge, my membership hadnt been paid for for 2 months and I rang them in the hope they would take pity on me and let me come back - and surprise surprise they did!!

I went 4 times last week, building up again - 12K on the exercise bike last night and 1k on the cross trainer - not much - only 275 cals but something and with the 5 miles I walked yesterday too I did pretty well exercise wise.

There is something very uplifting about the Gym - it does take a bit of will power to go but it is definitely worth it - for £24 a month I can go everyday and I can also go swimming with the kids at the weekend too - better than trapsing round the shops and buying things to scoff. I have a target weight loss of 13lbs before we go away in May, very do-able. Wish me luck!

Friday the 13th.....................

Been a long day today. Had a nice night with the kids last night and finally managed to get a bath and to watch my last catch up episode of Lost, but Euan woke up at 11 so I had to trapse him back and forward a couple of times till I gave up and just let him stay in bed with me.

Today at work has been odd. Quiet and not a lot of people in. Ate a load of rubbish and now feeling really bad but going to go to the Gym after work and work off at least 500 calories of rubbish - it is always busy after work but I am hoping that Friday night will be better.

Got my car a red nose - sure that it will be scoffed at but I liked it and it is all in a good cause.

Will miss the kids tonight - funny really, a year ago I hated the feeling of being in a house, just me and them but now I actually feel like I cope quite well.

Must dash - have to change, do day end, get to the gym, get home, change and get back to hemel all by 7.30!

Wish me luck :)

Interesting

Have been talking to my friend about Stampin' Up Stamps - about becoming a demonstrator, really exciting but need to work out if I would have an outlet and what the pro-s and con-s are! Fun though and I would love to sit and chill with paper everywhere.

Been a funny week...................glad it is nearly friday! :)

I found this on the internet the other day and after reading it every word made perfect sense - all I need to do now is develop the ability to leave them to it and get on with fussing over myself - suppose after a couple of years I may learn to cope LOL :)

“The cave is critical for men,” explains Mitzi Gold, a clinical psychologist and social worker, and director of the Mars & Venus Counseling Center of Honolulu. “The cave is a place where a man likes to go to relieve stress. Men all around the planet are doing this. They need it. It’s part of their cycle.”

Gold says this is extremely important for a woman to understand. “Men need to work off the stress they experience in their life,” she explains.

Gold notes that women are always connected to relationships, so they don’t understand why men need their cave time.

“Any chance to connect for a woman sounds good to them!” says Gold. “Women want to connect more and more.”

Dr. John Gray, author of the Men are from Mars, Women are from Venus series of books, likens a man’s intimacy cycle to a rubber band.

“When they pull away, they can stretch only so far before they come springing back,” he says. “This cycle involves getting close, pulling away, and then getting close again. Most women are surprised to realize that even when a man loves a woman, periodically he needs to pull away before he can get closer.”

Gray notes that women mis-interpret a man’s pulling away because women generally pull away for different reasons, such as she’s hurt or doesn’t trust him to understand her feelings or has been disappointed.

Men are pulling away only to fulfill their need for independence and autonomy, says Gray, but once they get a little time alone, they will come back ready to love again.

Gold adds that the worst thing women can do in this situation is to chase a man into his cave. “You really don’t want to go in there anyway,” she says. “He won’t be very helpful or friendly and a woman could end

up getting her feelings hurt.”

The best thing for a woman to do when a man is in his cave, she says, is to do something for herself.

“It’s a time when he’s not available for her so she should take the opportunity to do something to make herself happy. The happier you are when he comes out of his cave, the happier he’ll be. If he comes out and just gets scolded, he’d rather have just stayed in there.”

Gold says women need to learn to honor a man’s need for space on occasion and trust that he will come out of his cave. “It’s not anything personal. It’s just the dance of intimacy for men,” she says. “They pull away, but then they come back and want to be close.”

It would be good for the man, however, to learn to warn the woman when he’s feeling like he needs a little “cave time,” even if it’s as simple as just saying those very words.

Tea Glorious Tea...........

The Tea arrived, very quick took just a day - 6 boxes of the stuff - better all get drunk that is all I can say :)

Lovely Pizza Express Lunch today to celebrate a work colleagues birthday - a week late as he was poorly last week. Then I am taking the afternoon off as I have to take Euan for his pre-school injection and am going to finally get into the gym before my sausage legs get any bigger.

Back In Touch

Hurrah - finally plucked up the courage to speak to an old online friend and am back in with the old scrappy crew - not that they are old but you know what I mean.

Been a tough week and I just wanted to imerse myself in paper and friends and blogs today - but sadly I have been pretty manic. I have a few pics to upload today - a blog is not a blog without photos - I am determined to get 5 mins to myself at some point this week and get my crafty bits out again - been a long long time.

Dyed my hair last night and went on a trip to find my much loved OH some Vanilla and Earl Grey Tea bags. Sadly there were none to be found and I had to buy some in bulk direct from Tetley instead. Been a funny two days for us - but we okay now I hope - together forever I hope.

Pics as promised :)



Christmas 2007 - just a week after getting together with OH - been snazzed up by girl I work with and I hated this hair!!



Family at Forest Vale - 2007



When Phil smiles and means it you know - I love this pic :)

Miss You Still

Not much to say - but I love this Photo and love to both my sisters and my dad at this time.




Me :)

Friday at Last!!

Been a while since I posted - again - being a bit blogging useless! But been a manic week at work with my other IT guy off with "man flu" for nearly the whole week.

A good weekend ahead, tonight I am being chauffeur to my OH and my boss, but it means I get to watch something I like on TV for most of the night as they out from 7.15 and I get to drive over to lovely St Albans for 12.30 to pick them both up - sure the only tip I will get will be to get a hoover and clean my car as it is bogging!!!!

Phil managed to snag and rip his trousers on one of the door hinges at work today - he is lucky it didnt expose his bum and undercrackers - that would have been interesting.

Off to Phil's mates tomorrow night then to his parents and back to mine in the afternoon to do some gardening - that doesnt sound like fun does it :)

Pictures of party finally uploaded!!



Lucy and her Cousin
Have a good weekend.

Bouncy Birthday Party...............

No pics yet but hope to upload some tomorrow.

Finally the bouncy castle party has taken place, and it was a rip roaring success and I think all the kids enjoyed it. Euan, Lucy and Olivia had a good bounce, Euan ran around with all his friends and Lucy played with her cousin alot.

Jake went to the Skate park but not sure if he did any skating, he loves the skates and is very good but not yet 100% confident when out and about.

Olivia crashed and burned after about 30 mins - she had been to a party the day before and been up late so she couldnt cope and ended up helping me with the drinks and then scoffing some starburst chews.

Euan got lots of lovely presents and had a great time. No one fought with anyone else - the parents all spoke - it was all very civil, and Aunty Barbara even had a good bounce on the bouncy castle.