January's Crochet Project.

One of my Goals (not resolutions) for 2011, is to complete 1 large project a month. For Januarys project, I decided to ease myself in by aiming to finish an ongoing project, that was started at some point last year (I'll have to do some investigating to find the exact start date. I really should take more note of the details, LOL!) Anyway, this was destined to be a Granny Stripe blanket for my bed. I started it with the best intentions....... only to realise about 5 stripes in exactly how big a project it is, & how much wool/yarn it will take. Especially as a 50gram ball makes approx 2 stripes & costs about £2.50/3.00 a ball. So, after some thinking (not tantrum throwing as Im far too grown up for that!! ) I decided to instead make a runner for the bottom of my bed.

I'm about halfway through...........What do you think?  I should have enough wall to finish the number of stripes I'm aiming for, but I'd like to do a scalloped edging (if I can figure out how to do it, I have an idea, I just need the correct number of stitches on the side) so I'll probably need a ball or 2 of the chocolate yarn.

I'm loving it so far!!! & I'm planning on starting a Ripple for Feb's project!!

I also plan to Document 2011, following Shimelle's Document 2010 freebie class. I've loved seeing other peoples versions, especially Laura's. I managed to pick up a couple of American Crafts scrapbooking kits the other week, so have planned to use the pink album for this project. Will post a pic soon.

As for today? Well, it's a lovely sunny Sunday (although a bit chilly), Hubby has had to work :-(  & Keely, who has only just gone back to school after missing most of December due to a nasty bug wiping her out, is poorly again. So, our plan for today consist of :

Blogging
Having a quick tidy up of the house.
Laundry (it's never ending!)
Doll making with the girlies. (EPIC FAIL!!)
Watching one of the Harry Potter movies (Keely has the deciding vote on which one)
Making blueberry muffins before the blueberries go off
& maybe a lemon cake too?
Crocheting some of this months project
& maybe a star or 2?
Dinner
Sunday night bath & hair wash for us all!!

Have a good Sunday.

xxx

3:02pm Update: House cleaned (although it pretty much got messed up again straight away!), muffins & cake cooking, now about to settle down to make our dolls & watch HP.  :-)

4:25pm Update: Doll making attempt abandoned due to dolls (that are for kids to make) being too difficult for an adult to figure out, let alone teach a child to do & said children become frustrated.  :-(

Fave Photos of 2010

I was going to do one of those 2010 re-cap posts, I've been enjoying them so much on others blogs esp Lucy's. But when I sat down to start planning said post, I realised that 2010 had been a pretty rubbish year. Lots of stress, upset, confusion........not really want I want to blog about!!

So, instead I picked out my fave photos of 2010, & you'll get to see them instead!!

I have to admit I was very glad to see the back of 2010. Dont get me wrong, there were plenty of good times, unfortunately they were greatly outnumbered by the bad. 2011 hasnt started brilliantly, but it can only get better?

2010 was taken over by health & social issues for one of my girls. Fingers crossed we will soon start to finally get some answers.

My creative side, understandably, was put on a back burner. It occassionally poked its head out. I learnt to crochet!! Which has got to be my creative highlight of the year :-) 

But, I've come to the conclusion (actually it was pointed out to me) that I need my 'Me' time to be able to function & cope with things. Therefore Im aiming to waste less time watching rubbish tv & spending too much time on the net. I love the net for the amount of creativity out there, but at the same time, it depresses me as I find myself getting jealous of people who manage to acheive so much but stay in control of their lives, family & home at the same time.

I've got some ideas, that I need to put into motion. Some small, some big...................but that'll be another blog post!!

xxx

Merry Christmas!

I hope you had a Magical time?

Our Christmas started well, LOL! On Christmas Eve, we went for a drive in the afternoon, grabbed a Gingerbread latte from Costa & headed into the countryside to find somewhere to sled. Everywhere was absolutely covered in a blanket of snow, it was a beautiful sight. We found a hill, & all 3 kids had 1 go on the sled, only 1 go because it was absolutely freeeeeeeeezing!! We came home, had dinner, then watched Prep & Landing, before putting out a snack for Santa/Father Christmas, sprinkling the reindeer food & making sure the Magic Key was on the door as we dont have a chimmney. Unfortunately Lilly-Rose did not join in as she was beginning to feel unwell & therefore spent that time crying because she wanted to be picked up, then crying because we had picked her up, then crying more because we put her down  :-(

Once the kiddies were in bed, Hubby attached some little bells to a long pole & put them up to the outside of the girls bedroom, letting them occasionally ring. He also threw a football onto our roof (it's a sloping roof) so that it would bounce down the roof. This resulted in 2 older girls announcing that the noises must be the Prep & Landing Elves arriving to get our house ready for the Big Guy's arrival (so sweet!!)

I'd spent the previous evening wrapping presents while watching Love Actually, so this meant for once my Christmas Eve was free to relax instead of trying to do the last minute bits!!

Unfortunately the relaxed evening didnt last & it was soon apparent that Lilly-Rose had caught the bug that her sisters had. Very little sleep was had that night.

Finally we gave in at 6am & let the girls go downstairs to see if there was anything for them.

All the stress was worth it to see the joy on their faces while they unwrapped their gifts!

I'd hoped to capture these moments but my camera didnt not wish to play :-(  About 90% of my photos have come out blurry.

The rest of the day went downhill from there. Lilly-Rose was not well at all, & although she loved playing with her toys, she spent a large part of the day crying as she felt unwell & didnt know what she wanted. The older girls arent quite over the bug either, so that coupled with the excitement of the day, resulted in a few meltdowns & arguments. Plus Hubby, who has been working nonstop for the past month or so, started to come down with the same bug which resulted in a few meltdowns from him as well.

Boxing Day traditionally is spent with my family, but due to everyone being sick, we had to cancel. It was the 1st time in my whole life that I havent seen my family at Christmas. Instead my day was spent looking after my poorly family.

So, that was my Christmas. There are the odd moments that Im holding on to & trying to forget the rest. We didnt manage to make our Gingerbread house, so Im wishing that everyone feels better today (including me) so that it can be something nice to finsh our Christmas off.

Bah humbug! LOL!

xxx

Merry Christmas Eve Eve..........

........to you!! (Quote taken from Phoebe Buffay)


Still trying to find my xmas spirit, however I have 3 little girls who will probably burst with excitement by tommorrow!

Busy day today, we have to go to the shops to get the final foody bits for our annual xmas day fry up (we dont have turkey on the day as we go to my Mums on Boxing day & have a big turkey then), make more gingerbread!!, try & get all the washing done & keep the house tidy, finish the crafty presents, & occupy 3 hyper, overexcited girlies!! Oh, & catch up on the December Daily!!

& after spending some time on This lovely blog this morning, I have decided to photograph our day. (In fact, I just took a photo!) I really do not take enough photos, probably because I dont get on with my camera (it's a Fuji S5600, thats over 4 years old, & doesnt seem to focus very well anymore & takes sooooooo long to take a picture, that with 3 very fast moving children, I miss a lot of moments.) But, one of my goals for 2011 (not resolutions!) is to learn more about photography, grasp how to use Photoshop & eventually get a SLR camera!!

Anyhoo.......things to do!! Have a fantabulous Xmas Eve Eve!

xxx

Catch Up Post - Pt 1.

The weather has been rubbish, but I got to wear my new boots!! Yes, I finally got wellies........& pink with polka dot ones!! Just the thing to brighten up the school run  :-)

The miserable weather resulted in many, many cups of tea being drunk. (& 1 or 2 biccies)

A new crochet project was started. So far, I'm loving it!!

Somebody who shall remain nameless, refused to wear her gloves (or hat, or blanket) outside, but was more than happy to wear her sisters ones inside?

This Diva (who now 'poses' for photos!) began Rainbows for the first time & loved it!! She has been waiting for a space in the local group since January.

The same evening, her Big Sister (who for some reason now pulls faces when the camera is pointed in her direction) finally made her Promise at Brownies, something she has been waiting to do since Easter!!

That evening was very busy & stressful, but fun at the same time!!

& this Little Madam turned 2!!

& enjoyed her cake!!

(I'll do a seperate post about her cake later!!)

xxx

Happy Halloween!!

To you!! It's been a pretty quiet one here, Megan & Keely both dressed up as witches & went with Daddy to a few neightbours houses, then later on we had 3 or 4 groups of kids knock here, so they were given the task of opening the door & handing out the treats. We locked the gate at 7pm, so that the girls wouldnt be disturbed in bed by people knocking (& so I can eat the rest of the sweets........LOL!!)


I have a few pictures of them dressed up & of us playing some games, but I dont have the energy right now to go through the rigmarole of uploading them off the camera, then editing as my lappy is sooooooo slllooooowwww. Instead Im going to go & play with some felt, stuffing & embroidery thread for a while then head of to bed as school starts again tommorrow.


xxx

Sunday

Well, we woke up to amazing Autumnal weather on Sunday, so it was decided that we would definately make the most of the day & get out of the house. We loaded the kids & dogs up in the truck, & headed off to Salcey Forest, firstly stopping off at Pets at Home to grab some new collars for the dogs & to say hello to the rabbits & bearded dragons, then grabbed McDonalds for lunch. We got to Salcey Forest & unsurprisingly it was busy!! Luckily having a 4x4 truck means that certain parking spaces that normal cars could not manage are very accesible to us, LOL!! We chucked the wellies on Hubby & the kids (Note to Self: Buy Wellies!!!) & off we went................................................................

"Come On Mum!"

We collected a few conkers

We went that way!

We saw how beautiful Autumn can be :-)

                                         & we jumped in muddy puddles a la Peppa Pig style!!

                                             Well, the kids did......must buy myself Wellies!!!!!

                                            

  All in all, it was a good day. Didnt manage to complete my

list of things to do this weekend, but thats ok.   :-)

                                                                      xxx

Saturday so far.......

NOTE: Please excuse the rubbish photos, there has been hardly any light in my house today, it's normally a nightmare to photograph anything here on a bright day so today has been a struggle. :-(

........has been good.

Only managed 2 of the activities I spoke about in the previous post:

All 3 girls painted, Lilly-Rose loves to paint!! Just like her sisters :-)

& the finished masterpieces!!!

I played too!!!

                                    & the finished result, which I'm really pleased about!!!!!

 
                                                                  Close Up

 We also managed to watch 2 of the Harry Potter movies, forgot to add that!! So thats our Family Movie, although Daddy isnt home yet.

So now I'm off to put the kids to bed, then I have an evening of crocheting ahead of me!!  :-)

                                                         xxx

Our Weekend Plans.

Well, so far my weekend has consisted of waking up with a nearly 2 year old climbing on me, making breakfast for everyone, lunch for the Hubby who has to work today, then about 4 cups of tea whilst catching up on some blogs. The weather is miserable, not raining fortunately but grey & so dark, that I still have the lamp on & it's 10:45am!!

I decided late last night that I would photograph & blog the weekends activities, which seemed like a good idea!! So far however, no photos have been taken!! LOL.  But I will continue with this plan.

Our weekend activities are looking like this:

- Some crafty time for the older girls, which will involve a very large piece of paper, as well as glue, glitter (probably) & maybe paint.
- Some painting time for the younger one, as I finally got her some paints this week.
- Some creative time for me!! Yay!! I really need to get on with the crochet squares for my scarf, which could be done this evening whilst catching up with the Bones episodes I have saved in prep for the new series starting next week :-)
- Maybe even some scrapbooking for me? Havent scrapped in over a year, but I have soooooo much stash that needs to be used!! & I have even printed photos in preparation for this!!
- Baking a delicious looking chocolate cake!! & maybe a strawberry flan too???
- A walk in the woods, to collect leaves, conkers & other Autumn things, to craft & decorate the house with.
- Maybe a family movie night? We watched the Tooth Fairy last week which was very good, even though the kids played up & were sent to bed half way through leaving the adults to watch the rest. Heres hoping this time goes better?!
- A crafty project involving some gorgeous postcards I've wanted for ages, some frames from the £shop, some paint & ribbon.

Sounds like a good weekend, so I'd better switch off the 'puter & get off the sofa so I can do all the boring housewifey stuff first!! Then we can get on!!! Yay!!


What are you up to?? Have a good one.

xxx

It's been a long week........

.........& a challenging one too. But I'm not going to bore you with that. Lets just hope next week is easier??


Please!!

LOL!

In the meantime, I'll leave you with a photo of Miss Lilly-Rose, having a whale of a time playing with the box of beads that Mummy (being the meanie that she is!!)has never let her play with before. This photo was taken a week or so ago, when I was having a migraine, so it was definately a case of anything to keep her occupied! Once she was bored with the beads, she dumped a bag of sequins on the floor. We are definately magpies in this family with our love for shiny things.

Now I'm off to curl up on the sofa & read the Sunday papers, whilst the girlies trash the house!! Happy Sunday everyone.

xxx