too much time on my hands (or 'i'm bored')

David's playing on the xbox360 with Nat and Zach and I'm tinkering away on the laptop.......

Anyway, I wanted to share some cool pictures with you. I love old pictures, especially of family. So prepare for a visual feast :)


First up here is a picture of my maternal grandparents. My grandma passed away when I was at BYU but my grandad is still going strong at the age of 87. I LOVE this picture. There's something about it that just attracts me if you know what I mean! Not sure what year this is from, but i LOVE it!!







Next up we have a picture of my paternal grandma. When my dad was little his family emigrated to Canada. There were there for a few years but then had to come back because my grandad got sick and couldn't afford treatment there. This picture is from Canada. My grandma is still alive and my boys go visit her every Saturday. My dad is the little boys stood by the tree.






Now, brace yourself! This one is of me and my twin sister Claire when we were little with my dad. Not sure where we were. On holiday somewhere. This is really just to embarrass my dad :) I'm the one on the left with the little off the shoulder number!







And we can't leave the rest of the family out can we. This is my little sister (well she's now 25) Helen. Can you see why we occasionally called her 'mushroom head'. How cruel were we? She was actually a very cute little girl and has grown into a beautiful woman!

And one of my mom when she was a young thing. Look how skinny she is and she'd had twins!!









And here's a recent one of the old folks. Don't look too bad still huh?!?








And here is a recent one of Helen....

A Welcome Change of Plan

David went off to work this morning before me and the kids got up. I managed to drag myself out of bed (I LOVE my bed - being warm and cosy) and got Nathaniel ready for school. Zach didn't have nursery today so was having Sammy over to play. I was just about to leave the house at 8.45 when who should arrive at the door but David! He had 'won' two holiday days from work in a prize draw and had taken today and tomorrow off! Yeah!

So we decided to take Zach and Sammy out and get some fresh air rather than sit in the house. So we decided to go back to Freeport and get more bargains! I got lots of delicious girls' clothes (plus the only age 6 boys' shirt they had for Nat - very cool it was too, reduced from £16 to £2 :) ). When I got home I calculated that I'd spent £50 for £336 pounds worth of clothes. Very happy with that! Some are for gifts and other people's kids etc.

Sammy and Zach were so well behaved. David took them into the toy shop and bought them Power Ranger style light up laser style guns. They loved them! He them took them into the playground. I think it's such a fab idea to have a play area in the middle of the outlet so dads can take kids there and leave the moms alone to shop!! They do get in the way otherwise (the dads and the kids!).

We then had lunch and headed back home. We passed Rick and Cait on the road so she's definitely home now! I'm sure she's so glad to be home after being in the hospital since Sunday evening.

Since then we've had a lazy afternoon! It's good to be able to just chill and enjoy being together, even when you're not necessarily doing anything!

Nathaniel is sooooooo excited for tomorrow. He's been giddy thinking about it all week. You know why? Because it's the 1st of December and he can open the first door on his advent calendar!!! They have Transformer advent calendars this year filled with chocolate. To be a child again and be excited about such simple things.......

Having Pictures Taken

If you know me, you'll know I hate having my picture taken. Some people are just not photogenic and I'm one of those! Plus, I'm not a skinny minny anymore (I blame the kids!) and am not particularly happy with the way I look. The picture at the side is quite an old one, taken before the kids were born (as evidenced by the non-haggered look!). I really don't have any recent ones so have decided my project this week is to try and get a decent picture of myself and put it on here (I wouldn't want to scare anyone! lol ). [eta: i've since changed the picture on my profile and it's now one I took this weekend. with my woolly hat on and glasses that I don't normally wear!]

I did find these two pictures. One is at my parents two years ago. That is my grandad Charlie at one side and Nathaniel at the other. I look a little startled. But I guess that's what happens when you are happily eating your dinner and someone sticks a camera in your face and starts clicking (yes dad, I think that was you!). The other picture is either last year or the year before at the primary Christmas party. I was helping Zach with pass the parcel. Nathaniel is on the left side of me. Gosh, you think his mother would have gotten his haircut!! So these are the least scary pics I have of myself. If your eyes are bleeding, don't sue me! :) You have been warned! Plus, remember I have to see that everyday in the mirror! Pity me :)

Run of the mill day........

My sister in law, Caitlin, is in hospital with possible kidney stones. She is pregnant with her first child so I was relieved to hear that her hospital stay was not related to the pregnancy! I was going to visit her, along with our friend Jannine, but they closed the ward to visitors due to a sickness bug that's going round. Poor Cait's been stuck in hospital without visitors! Luckily they allowed her husband in after 6pm!

Jannine picked Zach up from nursery at 11.20 and took him to play with Sammy. That mean't that David and I could go out shopping without the distraction of children! We went to Freeport (a shopping outlet) for when it opened at 10am. I went into the Next clearance shop and was excited to see that all children's clothing was £2 or less. However, there was racks and racks and racks of girls clothes and baby clothes and one tiny rack of boys clothes that consisted of a bunch of ugly yellow polo shirts. How typical! You can guarantee that if I had girls then they would only have had boys clothes!! I got a few baby items (a couple for girls and a couple for boys since I don't know what Cait's having) as they were too cute to resist. The total price should have been £36 and I got them for £8 and anyone who knows me knows how much I LOVE a bargain!! Seriously, there's no bigger thrill :) They had some totally gorgeous little girl dresses. White cotton ones - plain white cotton layer underneath, white broderie anglais style layer over the top with a wide belt. Reduced from £22 to £2 !! Got two age 6 ones for my friend for her twin nieces birthdays. When I got home I wished I'd bought more of the cute girls clothes to put on ebay. I'm now tempted to go back tomorrow but I don't think I'll have time!

After Freeport we went to the farm shop at Hemsworth and got some groceries. Picked up some lunch and then called by another grocery store to get some milk and bread that we couldn't get at the farm shop.

We then went back and picked up Zach from Jannine's. He loves to play over there. Sammy is coming over in the morning to play as nursery is closed so that the new starters can go in and visit. Jannine and I didn't realise this until today. Neither of us remember any letter or note home about it. I'm sure they never sent one out.......

Got a few chores done this evening but am going to do most of it tomorrow. Luckily Zach and Sammy play really well together and so I'm free to get things done.

If anyone is reading this and has stayed awake up til this point, well done! :) I know this is not an exciting post, but this is what real life is like :)

Great Family, Great Friends, Great Food!

Yesterday and today I was able to do my regular mornings helping at the boys' school. I go into a Year 1 (5-6 yr olds) class on a Tuesday morning and then into Nathaniel's Year 2 (6-7 yr olds) class on a Wednesday morning. Zach is in morning nursery so I am free at that time. I love going in and working with the children. Teaching is the BEST job ever (aside from being a mom!). Those sweet, innocent children are such a joy to be around. And when you see a lightbulb go off in their head and those wide smiles when they understand a concept you are teaching, well that's just priceless.

Today was my dad's birthday. After school I took Nathaniel and Zachary over to my parent's home to await his return from work and give him his gift. Zachary had been excited all day to do this! They spent a couple of hours running Nanna ragged first though! Where do they get that energy from?!?!? Unfortunately my dad was late home from work so we didn't get to spend much time with him. Enough time, however, for the boys to help him unwrap his presents (well I say help, they actually did most of it!). We also got to sing 'Happy Birthday' to him and Zach helped him blow his candles out on his cake. As usual it took a lot of persuading to get them to leave and get into the car to go home!

We got home about 7.30 and I got the boys to bed. David has been off work today but he's not been feeling too good so he was having a rest of the sofa. I then went and got showered and changed because I was going out with friends from church for dinner. Deb and Louise are my visiting teachers and they spoil me by taking me and Lisa (who they also VT) out for dinner and do the visit there! We went to Louis' (our usual place!) and had yummy chicken nachos. They really are the best! Deb goes there so often that the staff know her well :) It's so great to spend quality time with these wonderful women when we can really talk and enjoy each other's company. Sundays are just so busy (Deb is counselor in RS, Louise is Primary Pres and I'm Primary counselor) that we just don't have the time then. I'm so grateful to have many wonderful friends in my ward. They really are the best!

And talking of friends, I'm so grateful for a new friend, Karli. For her honesty and integrity. She really is a wonderful person and I'm so excited to get to know her better :)

So I dedicate this post to Great Family, Great Friends and Great Food :) What more could I want!

T'Internet

Isn't the internet such an amazing thing, really?!?!

I go on the internet almost everyday and I'm never bored by it! I keep up with lots of blogs, visit several forums (mainly twopeasinabucket, moneysavingexpert, ukscrappers) and my new obsession, facebook.

Yes, I've succumbed to the world of Facebook. My friends/family have spoken of it for a while now and when I was asked lately whether I was going to get on Facebook and finally decided to take the plunge. And now I am slightly obsessed. I was hesitant at first thinking I was 'too old' for things like that (all those I know who use facebook are generally at least 10 years younger than me). But I'm glad I did it!! I've got 19 friends on there already and have managed to hook up with friends I haven't seen for absolutely ages!! Today I made contact with Sarah Hines who I went to school with in Stavanger, Norway. I lost touch with her when I was about 20, so 14 years ago!! I was soooo excited to make contact again and we are planning to talk on the phone soon and hopefully arrange a visit. Sarah was such a great friend when I lived in Norway that I'm really happy to have made contact again. I've also hooked up with cousins who I've not seen for ages (my wedding 10 years ago!).

So three cheers for the internet, hip hip hurray, hip hip hurray, hip hip hurray :)

I'm finally getting back to full heath, yeah :)

David was at work today and Nat and Zach went to my mum and dads. I managed to get quite a bit done too which was great as I'd been on a go-slow recently! I ran some errands, went to my MIL's to sort out a flyer for a bag-a-bargain shopping event we are hosting on Dec 12th. I also spoke to Helen for a little while which was fun :)

This afternoon I decided to pop along to Country Baskets to grab a roll of cellophane to wrap my Christmas gifts. Well manic is too mild a word to describe it! I've never seen it so busy, but usually I go during the week and never so close to Christmas! The car park was totally full so we had to wait until someone left before we could get a space. I managed to get my cellophane and a few other bits and pieces. There's always something to buy there!!



I didn't write about the very excellent Thanksgiving meal I had on Thursday night at Deb's house. There was over 30 of us there! Mad!! It was a fun evening with great food and even greater company! And I got to talk to Sam in New Zealand which was wonderful!! So 'hi' Sam if you ever look on here! I wish Cait could have gone but I think she was too tired after work to make it.

Gone Fishing!

Well after having a yucky cold for 10 days I have now developed an ear infection. Actually it started in my right ear and after two agonizing days (hardly sleeping at night due to the pain) I've also developed it in my left ear. Excellent!! So here I am, on a Saturday afternoon - shattered because I didn't get to sleep until 5am this morning and in more pain. I've taken as many painkillers as I can take without ODing!. I've been really blessed that David has been off work the last few days so he's been able to take care of the kids. In fact this morning he took them on a walk which was at LEAST 5 miles! Way to go boys!! It's now 5.30pm and David and the boys are playing games while I'm trying to distract myself from the pain. Yep, I'm having a pity party!! I'm supposed to be doing CTR Sharing Time at church today but have had to ring my friend Jannine who is the Pres and let her know I won't be there! I hate to let people down, but what can I do???

Well this sure has been a busy week! Last Tuesday I went into school to help out as normal but by the afternoon I knew I was coming down with the cold bug that's going round right now. So I had a quiet night in (although I managed to make 10 Christmas cards which I'll add later).

On Wednesday I took the boys to my parents after school for trick or treating. My parents love to take them around their neighbourhood and I stayed at theirs to hand out treats to other kids. My boys just LOVE halloween! They both came back heavy laden with goodies. And I've even managed to ration them to 2 pieces a day (plus a little help from me and David!). They still have some left almost a week later! The pictures above make it look like it was light when they went out but it wasn't! My dad took the pictures and didn't think they'd come out because of the dark, but his flash certainly worked!!

On Saturday we went to a Bonfire and Fireworks display at Thornes Park for Bonfire Night. We went to the park earlier so the boys could play in the playground, then we looked around the funfair, got some food, then watched the fire and fireworks. We spent a whole 5 hours down there! Fortunately the weather was quite mild, otherwise I wouldn't have managed that amount of time outdoors!!

Last night, Monday, we had the Ward Fireworks at the Beaumonts. We went earlier to help get the food ready. We had all the traditional bonfire night food (baked potatoes, sausages, pork pies, mushy peas, baked beans, then parkin, flapjack, toffee apples). It was well attended and enjoyed by all. As a Ward we are so blessed to have the Beaumonts who are so willing to open up their home and garden for us all to use so frequently! We share the our ward building with another ward and so they were using the building last night for their activity.

And this stinking cold still hasn't gone! It's getting better but not gone completely. Hopefully by the end of the week I'll be back to full health, yeah!