2 More sleeps till the big day :-)

Well its been busy busy busy here, but i guess its the
same for everyone! Lewis had a trip to see Santa
at the children's farm with his nursery, then came his nativity
at the local church and then of course his party! Holly
also went on the trip and she had a party at the Toddler group.
In-between times I've been writing/posting cards, making food
lists/shopping, wrapping presents as well as trying to keep
the laundry down and the house tidy Phew!!!! All done now though :-)

Saturday i allowed myself a day off and we all went to
Cadbury World in Bournville. We've been before, but i must say
they've made a lot of improvements and we had a great time!
Here are the cream egg cars.

Lewis found a friend in the 'History of the Cocoa bean section'

Holly wasnt keen on the dark though

In the village of Victorian shops

The ride there


The computer interactive room. Lewis is the one with his arms out :-)

Here they had to jump on pictures of chocolates that
appeared on the floor and when they did they either unwrapped
or smashed to pieces! If you look in the mirror behind, both Lewis
and Holly are mid-jump in these pictures lol


The shop and Holly ready with her basket lol

Lewis by the disply in the reception

The park


A good day for a reasonable price, i would definatly recommend going
if you can!!

Here are a few more pictures :-)
Nanny's visit!


Our outside tree!

And a collage from Holly's Christmas party!

Well i think that's it for now! The next time i post will probably be
Christmas Day. Merry Christmas to Everyone :-)

I cant believe how much time has lapsed since i
last wrote here *blush*

Well i suppose my biggest news is the decision to stop trying
for another baby. I am sad, but ok with it at the same time!
I looked at the facts, 4 miscarriages in under 2 years,
the fact i don't seem to ovulate without clomid any more
and perhaps more seriously, i seem to be having the
symptoms of ovarian cysts, so yeah, i am a mum of 7 :-)
and i am going to enjoy my little ones to the
max for those special months before they start school.

Also Lewis has had a birthday, he is now the grand age of 4!!
i did a joint party for him and Holly as their birthdays are so close.
(Holly will be 3 on the 15th Dec)





Oh and Christmas is a coming *doing a silly dance*
my favourite time of year! how can anyone NOT enjoy it???
I shop all year round, basically picking things up as i see them.
I've tried the last minute thing, but that creases us financially
and i can never find anything for anybody under pressure.
Our Decorations generally go up early and Andy is just as
'kid like' about it all as me, which is lucky lol







We have lots of traditions, like Christmas eve, we always
watch a family movie whilst peeling the vegetables and making
the stuffing for the next day, then we leave a carrot and a
mince pie out for Santa, and a card signed by all the kids,
then they trot to bed with a sack.
Christmas morning they open their stocking presents and run
in and out each others rooms, but they know NOT to go
downstairs until i call them.
I nip down first and put the fairy lights on (and the kettle lol) and
down they troup. They have breakfast first, THEN they are allowed
to open their presents. One by one with everyone gathered round
from eldest to youngest until they are all done (i have to make sure
each child has an equal amount!)
My Dad used to visit at this point, but since his illness we have left
the younger ones with the older ones and drive to his house instead
(he only lives 10 mins away), where we exchange presents and have
a drink. Then its back to check on the dinner.
By about 4pm we just collapse in the chairs and watch the
kids playing with their new things.

People say we spoil them, but heck if that's what i want
to do :-)

Someone asked about potty training??
To be honest i dread it each and every time, but its never
as bad as i imagine. To start I leave a potty around the
place for quite a while before i plan to train, and if they
want to wear it as a hat, that's fine too lol
at least they know its nothing to be frightened of.
Then on or around their 2nd birthday i start letting them
run around with nothing on and sit them on occasionally.
Most times they will do nothing and just get up again,
but if they manage something i praise them to the hilt
telling them how clever they are, and eventually they
seem to get the message.
One thing i don't do is scold if they wet themselves
or do it where they shouldn't, Its a case of, oh well it
doesnt matter, just do it in the potty next time :-)

Well that me for now, hope i havent bored anyone too much!!

2nd October 2008

Well i had my 24 hour BP machine fitted today! I had the reading
of 170/100 at oneof my doc appointments and 165/99 at the
next, so as you can imagine shewas a little concerned!
I was quite apprehensive, as i've never had one of these contraptions
before but all it is, is a cuff on my left arm with a tube going round
the back on my neck leading to areader/pack which is attached to
a belt which i can either wear around my tum (yeah right hehe) or
like i am as a sash (over my head and through one arm) and its
sitting on my hip.

There is nothing uncomfortable about it, just a bit odd when it
inflates by itself, you get a little tingle just before, so at least there's
a bit of warning. It takes it every half hour during the day and every
2 hours in the night, 1am, 3am, 5am and 7am, so thats going to be fun!

I have it taken off at 11.30 tomorrow and they plug it into
their pc for the results. So far itsbeen 145/85 ish, so nothing to
worry about :-D

First entry, let me introduce everyone!

Well i suppose i had better say welcome! i am notoriously bad at writing in my real-life diary, so lets see how i go with this lol A few introductions:

I am Helene, i am 44 and i have 7 children, 3 from a previous marriage and 4 from this. Ive had various jobs over the years, mainly in shops/restaurants, but i've also worked at a college teaching adults with learning difficulties which i loved and hope to go back to once the youngest are at school.


My husband is Andy, and he is a tester and commissioner on the railway, working various shifts including weeks away staying in paid-for hotels. The money is good but you can never plan anything as his firm can swap and change things at a moments notice, even annual leave on occasion grrrrr! He loves the kids and is a real hands on Dad, and even though he doesn't always get things right, he tries bless him.


David (23) is the most serious of my children, very hard working and loves anything to do with computers and is our own personal IT engineer lol
He works full time for National Coaches and has a strong network of friends.


Michael (22) is my sensitive boy, very loyal, trustworthy and always thinking of other people's feelings. He has just finished a college course and is now working
as an office junior. He has a girlfriend and a lovely group of friends whom we often have here for parties/BBQ's.


Jessica (20) is my independent girl! She always wanted to do things for herself, even as a child and now she has her own place, a full time job at NEXT in the city and she has just passed her driving test. She has been in a steady relationship now for 8 years with Anthony (yes she was 12!!!) which concerned me in the beginning, but they are still going strong and are very good for each other.



Stefan (16) has severe ADHD with Autism, and was VERY hard work in the beginning, but he has come on leaps and bounds. He has officially left school now and is waiting to hear if he has a place on a horticultural course. He loves his youngest siblings and even though he tends to get them excited, i can actually trust him with them.



Charlotte (12) is my clever one, she is self-concious and sensitive, but excels at her lessons. She was in the gifted classes at her primary school and is in the top sets at secondary level.
She has just a few good friends, but really prefers to stay around the family and loves her little brother and sister.

Lewis (3) is my cheeky one, he was born after a tubal reversal and
we are very lucky to have him! he has that glint in his eye, a great sense of humour, and is fun to have around.

He starts 'big' school in September and
although there are some concerns about his talking and mixing with others i'm
not worried and think he will over come these things in time.

Holly (2) My 2nd TR baby is an independent little miss, adorable, but such a busy bee lol She is here there and everywhere talking to her toys and making up stories. No time for cuddles in fact she jumps right back down. She has a place at the nursery in September and she can't wait!
And thats us!! from here it will be our boring day to day life......