Tag, I'm it!

About 2 weeks ago now I got tagged by Mamachristina and it has taken me this long to do it so here goes:

Eight things I'm passionate about (in no particular order):

1 - My husband - he is an amazing father and I love him so much, he makes me feel good about myself and I love the way he looks at our children
2 - My children - however much I whinge about them on this page I adore them and my life would not be complete without them
3 - My Faith - what more can I say
4 - Reading - when I get the chance I love to read, it can be anything, magazine or book I don't care I just love it
5 - Trying to find bargains, lots of people tease me about this but I hate paying full price for anything especially clothing
6 - Chick flicks - especially when I am ironing there is nothing nicer than watching a girly movie while doing the most boring job in the world
7 - Blogging - I know that is really sad but I love it. It's a window into other peoples lives and it is a great way to vent
8 - My friends - I have an amazing group of RL friends and I am so lucky as are our family.

Eight things I'd like to do before I die:

1 - Go on safari
2 - Go on a balloon ride
3 - Take my children to Disney with my in laws
4 - Own my own home in full
5 - Have a really cool car
6 - Be able to go on a clothes shopping trip with no restrictions
7 - Maintain my goal weight!!
8 - Watch my children grow up secure in themselves and happy

Eight books I've read recently:

1 - Secret of a Slummy Mummy
2 - The Bible
3 - If you could ask God one question
4 - Puppy care
5 - Blowing it
6 - Keeping Faith
7 - Captivating
8 - Good Housekeeping/Easy Living and Oprah magazines

Eight bloggers I'd tag:
1 - Anne Elizabeth
2 - Joy
3 - Jewels
4 - Elizabeth
5 - Clarabelle
6 - Moomin
7 - Marissa
8 - Hubby

That Friday Feeling!!

Morning all, this is just an update as I don't seem to have posted for a while and Hubby is on hols for the next 2 weeks so not sure what we will be doing apart from I'm going to see Bonjovi tomorrow night..yippee

Big massive news though is that we are getting a puppy!! I know we are mad but really, when is a good time to do it..we pick Mabel up on the 21st July and are VERY excited. It does mean that we will be doing loads of stuff to get ready for her over the next 2 weeks, I am currently making lists at the mo of jobs!! So far it includes but is not limited to: Paint conservatory (inspired by Joy who is always decorating, Freecycle lots of stuff that I didn't sell at the car boot, have a good clear out in the part of garden that is going to be for Mabel which will involve MAJOR tip runs for hubby oh how he loves the tip!!, Sort out the children's toys so that we can make room for Mabel, sort out the girlies room once the Futon has been Freecycled....then maybe we can actually have some fun days out too.xx

Bubbs has got a couple trial days coming up at his new 'Big' school, so he is quite excited about that and they are while Hubby is off which I am really pleased about too. We might even try to get a day at Ikea as they have really cute pet stuff and we need a bed and things for her.

I am sure there is loads more to say but I just can't think of anything so am going to leave you now to go to the hardware store with the girlies at pick out some paint....yippee

Wedding Bliss

Wow, what an amazing weekend!.. Yesterday we went off to the wedding, I had to sew the elastic on the ballet shoes and iron the girlies dresses all before we left but we did it. We finally pulled up to the hotel after 2 hours in the car most of it on the motorway at a standstill with a VERY grumpy Moodle who decided she just didn't want to nap. Anyway, once we got there we checked in and went up to our room with all our children. I wanted to take a pic of the room as it was so cool and don't think I have been in a hotel quite so lovely before (it is described as retro chic) and I loved it, but before I even managed to get the phone out the children had trashed the place by bouncing on the bed and generally having a blast. We were starving by this point so went down to SoozJims room and hung out there with everyone all getting ready while the children trashed the 2 rooms they had.

More importantly the wedding. What a beautiful day, the bride and groom were gorgeous and such a lovely day was had by all. The children were all amazing and Bubbs simply rose to the occasion when he had to walk down the aisle first with the ring pillow. He had spent the previous 10 mins saying how he didn't want to do but as soon as the door opened he just went for it. I am so proud of all of them and you can see from the few photos I have below how gorgeous they all are.

My amazing friend showed up at 530pm to take the kids home and she got to come into the reception so she got to see how gorgeous they looked. (I know I am biased but bless) From then on we were free. We got to eat a meal without any interruptions and we played the night away at the reception. How blessed are we to have amazing friends like this. We also got to sleep in and have breakfast with papers and conversation. Till next time
xx
My beautiful girlies
My gorgeous boy with his Chandler smile (we so rarely get a pic with his real smile)
My doomin with his girlies. (note the 1 shoe missing, she went down the aisle like that bless her)

The beautiful Mr and Mrs P!! (Bubbs and Moodles godparents)
xx

Police visit

Today started really well, the children slept all night, I managed to get a shower before they were up and about and apart from the girlies being rather whingey today all was well. UNTIL - cactus hour, which is what I like to call the time after tea until Hubby comes home (from about 5pm till 6.40pm). I was finally upstairs filling the bath for everyone to get clean ready for the wedding tomorrow when the doorbell goes. I rush down to open the door to 2 community support officers (not quite police but to me they are just the same), they open with the line....we have had a complaint. To start with I am just relieved they are not delivering bad news as that is always what you see on TV, I let them in to Bubbs shouting 'finished' which basically means he needs his bottom wiping as he is done pooping! I let them know I will be down shortly, honestly it was a farce. When I finally get downstairs they fill me in on the fact that a 'concerned neighbour' has complained as we have a ladder outside the side of our house on our drive that is not secure so could be stolen and used in burglaries. OK, I completely understand where they were coming from and promised to get is sorted straight away then proceeded to chat with them amiably for about 15mins. As soon as they had gone I go straight back up to sort out bathtime in which time Bubbs decides he is not having a bath and starts to go downstairs but trips and somersaults to the bottom. Luckily he was fine apart from shaken and a bit bruised, but I start to cry as it suddenly dawns on me that we have had a complaint lodged against us by a neighbour.....why couldn't they just ask us directly, we hardly bite...anyway as you can imagine it kept building up until my dad calls about it so I let rip at him about something completely different, then my mum calls and I do the same to her and then I just can't stop crying!!!!! I have finally managed to stop even though it has taken me ages, how ridiculous is it!

Anyway, I was going to do a tag that I have been tagged with and I also want to do the real life thing but just can't today as it is too late and I still have to sew the elastic on the ballet shoes for the girlies outfits for tomorrow. I will do both of them if I can on Sunday.

Have a great weekend one and all and I'll post photos of the kids in their gorgeous outfits when we get back
xxx

Hubby

He's done it, he now has a blog. Check it out, he is training for his first triathlon so doing it for that really but I love his writing so am really looking forward to reading it. The only thing it does mean though is less blog reading time for me so sorry if I don't comment as much!!

Had a good couple of days, packed as always getting ready for the wedding at the weekend. I'm not sure that I have even blogged about this but we are off to our children's god parents wedding on saturday, all the children are participating in some way so it will be so much fun. But this is the best bit, my dear friend V is coming to collect the children before the speeches and the evening meal to bring them home and look after them for the night, THEN, another friend is going to have them till after lunch on the sunday. Oh my goodness, any of my readers that have children will understand the excitement we are feeling right now. We are staying in a fairly posh hotel, for the night with NO, yes that is right, NO children......and we can have a lie in and breakfast in bed. I think we may actually be more excited than the Bride and Groom.....who'd have thought it.

I am actually quite nervous because it doesn't matter how well you know your friends they never know quite how your children really sleep and I am so hoping the girlies sleep well for her and she has a lovely time rather than one she would rather forget!! Bless her, I can't express how grateful I am and will be for a good while to come.

Nothing more significant to say apart from Thanks for all the encouraging comments on the weight loss issue, I am rather expecting to have put it back on again on monday what with the wedding and all!!

Ooh and the girlies are just spilling out more and more words and Moodle is stringing them together as well. How amazing is that! Today, she brought me over a really cute book about bears and said "Teddy....book" I know it is only 2 words but still she is so cute. Jim Jam does far more physical stuff and can actually jump with both feet off the ground and is very nearly hopping properly too, Bubbs himself only learnt to do that about 6 months ago.

Cute pix

Not got loads to say today, went to WW last night and I lost 2.5lbs, yeah so quite pleased but man its hard!! Had a lovely day today spent with good friends and really just want to show 2 of the cutest photos I took today. The one below is Jim Jam feeding Moodle breakfast! This one is Bubbs asleep, he was reading and we went up to find him hugging his favourite library book of the moment. As Hubby then pointed out, for all the hard time we go through while we look after them day to day moments like this make up for all of it. God has truly blessed us with our family and sometimes I need reminding of that.
Night all.xx

Hubby!

This one is for you Hubby. I love you being the father of my children. We never thought we would have any let alone 3 and 2 at one time at that. You adore them and they adore you. You are a great father and a great husband, we are truly blessed to have you in our lives. Thank you for being you and for loving us as you do with all your heart. I hope you enjoy the memories. Happy Father's Day
xxx Bubbs with Daddy minutes old
Gorgeous Easter Day photo
Daddy sharing his passion with Bubbs
Daddy can be goofy with the rest of them
Hubby with his gorgeous babies, Bubbs thought this was amazing as he got to hold one too.

Thanks babe, we love you
xxx

Fathers Day

What a day! Girlies woke at 530am rather loudly, not sure why but I managed to give them their bottle of milk and they stayed quietish till 7am when we got up.....I just couldn't face the day properly starting at 530, also gave Hubby a bit of a lie in and Bubbs stayed sleeping too. Once the boys finally came downstairs Bubbs gave his daddy his gift, the mug he painted at my work, Hubby loved it and has drunk his tea out of it ever since. I also made Hubby his fav brekkie of scrambly eggs, bacon and toast. Lovely. We went off to church after this and it was a great service, it also gave my hair its first outing and it got lots of comments. Most people didn't recognise me. We also sang my most favourite praise song today, 'In Christ Alone' so we both sang our hearts out, albeit a bit out of tune but do we think God cares, no just as long as we are praising!

After church we were off to my grandparents house which we nearly couldn't get to as getting petrol was a challenge in our town and many others because of the strikes. Finally found some and it cost us £70 ($130) to fill up our car!!!! Wow. My sis was at the grandparents aswell as my mum and dad and we just had the nicest day. We enjoyed a wonderful roast dinner with trifle for pudding, how british can you get. Then the children spent the afternoon out in the sunshine in the gorgeous garden. We finally came home at the childrens bed time which is an hours drive and the kids didn't even fall asleep! Anyway, enjoy the pix below I finally managed to get some of my nana with the children, yeah
xx
My nan and gramps with Bubbs
My nan with the girlies
Nan with fidgety Jim Jam at milk time this evening
Hubby and sis with girlies, they loved playfighting up there and thought it was hilarious, you should have heard them laughing
Just a very cute one of my dad and Jim Jam
xx

Haircut!

I had my hair cut and coloured today. I decided to have a fringe (bangs) and here is the result. It is a bit bouncy as I only had it done today but I think I like it!!

Great-Grandparents

How cute are these pictures of my grampie, the girlies adored playing row row the boat with him in my laundry basket but as you can see from the next picture it really tired him out!! Bless he's a bit tired here.
I had to post the next picture as it is of my moomin, my girlies and my grampie. Just lovely.
We had such a lovely day when they visited with my mum and dad but I found I didn't have any pictures of my nan. I think we are going to their house tomorrow so I will try to get some then.
xx

So much to do so little time!

Hey all, it is now tuesday and I am already feeling like I have done a weeks worth! I am working tomorrow night and my parents and grandparents are coming for the day to visit. Sometimes you just don't feel as though your feet touch the ground at all.

On sunday after the walk we just hung out as a family as we were both quite exhausted because on friday night I went to see a friend and watched 'August Rush' and chatted till midnight while hubby was at home playing Guitar Hero with her husband until 1am, then after a full on day saturday we had a couple over and played or rather sang 'Sing Star' until 1am!!! Then I did the 5K, what was I thinking :-)

Monday was back to normal and we have been having some fab weather, hot for UK and I walked to town and the Docs for the girlies whilst Bubbs was at nursery as they are both really chesty and struggling to breathe at night. They both needed their inhaler upped to twice a day again, I am sure it is hayfever/allergy related. Luckily, they don't mind taking it at all and run for their 'haler' as they call it, morning and night. We then had a playdate with some friends and all the children played out in the garden which was just lovely, but I still ended up with just as much mess to clear up inside as well as outside so I don't really understand that. Monday night I had to do a bit of ironing as I have been so slack recently. I keep it on the back of one of our sitting room chairs and when it landed on my friends head I figured I better try to make a dent in it.......

Today has been another hot one and we have had people in and out all morning playing. We also had our prayer triplet this morning too which was really needed for all of us. We have been pretty slack in meeting recently so we had a really good catch up and vowed to become more consistent. We then spent the afternoon at someone elses house which was just lovely to come home and just do bath and bed as all the children had tea there.

Hubby came home with news that a school has offered Bubbs a place, it is a small country school where I would have to drive everyday but he wouldn't start till January. Anyway anyone who has read the unrest this whole school stuff has given me will understand what putting this into the mix has done. But, hubby and I still feel confident in our choice so are going to decline, we need to stick to our decision now so as not to confuse Bubbs as he gets it now, he is old enough to understand. Also, with petrol prices as they are I don't think we could afford to drive to school everyday let alone the effect it has on the environment and I am rather proud of the fact that I rarely use the car and can pretty much walk everywhere with my family.

Seem to have really babbled on as usual but needed to, off to catch up on bloggy friends now.....oh having my hair done on saturday morning so will have to do a before and after pic...thinking of having a fringe (bangs for US) cut in....
xxx

Race for Life 5K

Well, today was our Race for Life 5K. It was 23 degrees here so not the coolest of days but it was brilliant. There were 4207 women taking part and it was amazing. It was so emotional reading everyones dedications on their backs, and the ones that got me where the little girls doing it with their mums....bless. Anyway, my friend R and I had decided we were only going to walk it this year and wanted to do it under an hour, well, me being the overexcited one that I am got us to walk/run it and we came in at 45mins...I am so proud of us both as this is a real achievement. We have said we are going to do it every year now and next year want to come in under 40 mins, we have also said that when the girlies are 4 we will take them, R has a little girl the same age so can you imagine how wonderful that will be and it's only 2 years away. Below are some before and after pix and I am also going to put a link to my sponsor page because we can still raise money so anyone that would like to sponsor me please do...thanks. Fresh faced before the race!
A very proud me after showing off my medal!
A proud R sitting resting after we've finished.

By the way I have raised some money already but just made a sponsor webpage that gives me a widget, check it out!!

Wonderful Grandparents!

I always feel so blessed when my parents come home. The kids just adore them as you can see from these photos. It is unusual to get one with my dad so I had to post it. He spent alot of time reading to them over the last couple of days as it is their most favourite thing to do. Moomin had all of them at one time, which is so sweet and you can see the joy on all of their faces which is just beautiful.
The parents left yesterday so this morning was our first morning to ourselves. I decided to have a breakfast picnic......so lazy I know and they are even watching TV here, but don't you just love the way Jim Jam is copying the way Bubbs is lying. It was so sweet to watch. They spent the rest of the day in the garden as the weather was great and we got a wendy house for the garden which they ALL love and for me it means I have somewhere else to store toys..yippee xx

On the Weight Watchers front, I so can't get into it. It is going to be so soul destroying going on Monday and not having lost a pound and could even have put on. Why is it that you so have to be in the right mind frame to do it. I just can't get it round my head!!!!!!!!!!!! HELP!!

Weight Watchers!

Or not as in my case. I went back today with a good friend of mine who is just starting and I have put on 7 pounds over goal.....That may not sound much but when you have finally reached goal it is just as depressing as having umpteen amount of stones to loose. Anyway, I am back and on it again so will keep you up to date as it gives me a bit more incentive if I know people are going to be reading about it aswell.

On the fitness front I am doing a 5k sponsored walk on Sunday for Cancer Research, hopefully it won't rain but even if it does at least it is for charity. The hubby and the children will be at the finish line which will be sweet.

Talking of sweet the girlies are really learning to talk now. They say so many things and Moodle is really doing brilliantly.. They think Apple is the best word ever at the moment and any fruit apart from a banana is an apple. I do have a problem with them saying bath though as at the moment it comes out barf!! The don't seem to have cottoned on to each others names though and call each other Sissy, they do recognise their names when we call them though.

My moomin and dad are back for a couple of days before going to my nana and grampies and Bubbs came down this morning to find them asleep in the living room and he just loves it when that happens they pretend to be asleep and he leaps on them. It is great and the girlies are getting excited now too which I just adore watching.

Off to catch up on my blog reading now as I still have so many to catch up, sorry for not many comments
xx