Well here we are again lol
I've got some more photo's to share :-) We have finished the
bathroom...finally!
Its a pain only having hubby here at weekends, decorating
just drags on and on. I did do some whilst he was away, but the
minute you get any sort of paint out you have two very inquisitive
children in tow asking to 'help'
We've gone with a sea theme, not very original lol
but i'm pleased with the result.











Don't know if you can see, but the nets are decorated with dolphins, fish
and shells!



Other than that there's not been a lot going on. Lewis has
been sick, only a cold, but his breathing has been bad and
he's had a hacking cough :-(
Its been arranged that Stefan will attend school in the
afternoons only, he just wasn't coping being there for
a full day. His condition means that he finds it hard to
sleep at night and then hard to get up in the morning, and he
was absent more than he was there. This will be heaps
better and at least he will be attending regularly again.

Catch you all again then x

Pancake Day!!

I just love my family!! i hadn't spoken to my eldest daughter
for a couple of days, i hardly see Michael with his busy social
life and yet on Tuesday i had EVERYONE home! and why? it was
Pancake Day lol Its like an unwritten rule that its a family
occasion :-) I hope they keep these traditions going when they
have children of their own.
I cooked a quick tea of bacon baps, hash browns and battered
onion rings, then it was on to the serious stuff!!
Our favourite, which might seem a little strange, is sausages
with golden syrup lol, people scorn until they actually try
it! we have converted many over the years :-) Lewis and Holly
don't actually like any sort of pancake yet, even with a sprinkle
of sugar, but i don't think my others did either until they got
to about 10 or something and now they can't get enough lol Good
job we have a gadget that cooks 6 at once!!





Also, we have been decorating :-) Its the bathrooms turn for a
spruce up!Its been 6 years since we did anything in there, so
it was all looking a bit tired. So far I've scrubbed all the tiles,
which are floor to ceiling on all four walls!! so you can imagine
that was quite a job. And i've re-grouted most of it. Looks fresh
and clean. The ceiling now needs painting, the woodwork needs
glossing and all the new furniture needs to be put together and
putting in, so yeah busy busy!

I will probably post up some photos when we're done, so watch this
space :-)

xx

My eldest daughter is 20!!

Not only was it Valentines day on Saturday it was also my
daughters 20th Birthday :-)

Being a Saturday, i expected her to have plans, a meet up with
friends at a bar or something, but no, she wanted a family party
at home! Awwwww

So we had the usual present opening, a buffet tea and I'd set
up our white board for a game of pictionary for after.
I chose 'Movies' as the theme and before she arrived i printed out
lots of movie names and cut them into slips.
For those who are unfamiliar with the game here are the basic rules.
1. you choose a slip of paper, read it and discard.
2. you describe the movie using only pictures, no words
3. the person who guesses correctly gets the next go.

I can't remember when i laughed so much, some of the drawings
were really comical and it took ages to get some of them lol
Who needs tv to be entertained???

Here are some photos









Holly decided to have a go lol







A lovely evening :-)

Proffessional photos!

Finally the photos are here!! :-)
They've come in a nice consettina album with photos both sides
with a leather look cover.
They've been quite sneaky though, they have sealed the mounts
making it almost impossible to remove them without tearing it.
So...I've scanned them in situ lol The quality isnt the best
as our scanner has seen better days, but you get the idea :-)

I have 11 altogether but I've only posted my favourites here!












All change!! lol





Memories for the future :-)

SNOW! SNOW!! SNOW!!!

We had our first real snow fall yesterday since.....well i
can't quite remember when!!
Lewis and Holly have only seen snow twice before, but they
were tiny and it only lasted a few hours and it was gone.
This time they were old enough to appreciate it and had
heaps of fun throwing snowballs and making snowmen :-)

It was snowing hard and we had a fair depth so i decided
to dig out my old sledge (or as Lewis insists on calling
it a toboggan!!)
I've had it since i was a kid, so i guess
it must be at least 40 years old and its still going strong.
The look on his face when i arrived complete with sledge to
pick him up from nursery lol, he had an absolute blast on
the way home!

When we got back Jessica was there and he tried to pull her,
and he did a bit, but she was just that little bit too heavy
for him lol.





Charlotte wanted to be the first to tread in the 'new' snow on
our trampoline :-)







I sent some of my pictures up to BRMB, a local radio station,
and they published them on their website, how cool is that??

Update on the photo session

Well the photo session went well, they were very excited,
and a lot of the shots are going to be 'on the move'
natural type pics, but the lady was great and had heaps
of patience so i'm hoping we got enough decent ones to buy.
We went to a soft play area straight from the studio (yes
they still had enough energy for that lol) and to a resturant
after that. It was a lovely day :-)

I have been invited to view the photos next Saturday.
I've also decided to get Charlotte photographed then too, as
she expressed an interest. Its going to be an expensive month!!

Here are a couple of pics taken before we went, i experimented
with my programme, in making them black and white. Makes a change :-)

Nearly a month down in 2009 already!!

Soon be Christmas haha
I already have 4 presents, don't laugh i have lol

So what are we up to, well not a lot really :-\, Andy
is on a job, returning today after a week away. David
is working long hours too. Michael is here there and
everywhere with his strong network of friends. Charlotte
has finally got herself into a decent morning routine
since the Christmas break. She is mildly autistic and
its takes her a while to adjust to change.
Stefan is refusing to go to school, and i am phoning his
support centre on Monday to see what can be done.
In-between times he is home annoying the little ones, and
eating anything that doesn't move fast enough grrr
Lewis and Holly are great, getting into mischief but if
you cant do that when you are 4 and 3 when can you???

They are having their photos taken tommorrow at the local
studios. I've never had proffesional ones done of the two
of them together, so i hope the results are ok. I plan
to bribe them if all else fails lol

The rest is pretty deep *Alert*

I didnt quite know where to write this, i thought about the
forums i belong to, or Facebook, but here seemed as good
as place as any!
I am still struggling with my decision to stop trying for
another baby. I keep telling myself its the right thing
to do, after all i have 7, whom i feel VERY blessed to have,
but i still feel as if my family isn't complete. If only that
'feeling' would go away i would be ok.
At the moment i feel useless as a human being, its all I've
ever done, have and care for babies, i feel redundant, like
i have no worth any more. I know Holly is only 3, but she is
so independent, its like she's a lot older (she goes to the
toilet alone, she makes her own sandwiches and drinks ect.
I am dreading September, Lewis will be at full time school,
Holly at nursery and I'll be at home alone for the first time.
The last time i had that situation i was working, but who's
going to employ a 44 year old with no experience, especially
in today's financial climate?
I used to love my forums, but now all the emphasis is on those
who are either already pregnant or on who are still trying,
which is only right and proper but its like my opinion doesn't
count any more, I've even had the case where everyone else has
received an answer except me and this has only been since I made
my decision.
Perhaps i should find alternative forums, ones that focus on
children of a similar age to mine.
Sorry if this is offending anyone, i had to get it out or I'd
have burst!!

Boy that feels better :-)

Any one ever felt like this? did that yearning ever go away?