Blogger got a bit overexcited!!

& published 2 posts!!

Oh well!!

Roll on 2007!!

Hopefully, I'll be able to figure out how to do a blog banner!! LOL!!

xx

End of year post.

What has made 2006 for you!??! What has made you smile, cry, laugh, reflect and what have you learned?

This year has been a bit of a weird one!! At times it feels like its been non-stop & time is flying by....& other times it feels like nothing is happening (IYKWIM!)

A big thing this year has been seeing the difference in my girls. Megan started nursery school, & I was so worried about how she would cope as she had never been to playgroup, she had always been with me, I didnt know how she would cope with being around strangers, plus she seemed too little to go to school!! Little did I know those sleepless nights were in vain, my little girl was a star!! She has blossomed so much in the last year, has learnt so much, has made lots of friends, & made us so proud!! Im slightly worried about her starting full time school next week, but I think Im gonna be more upset than she is as she cannot wait to go back!!

As for Keely, well, she turned 2 in May, but was still not walking & talking. I was trying not to worry, kept thinking that each child was different (Megan was walking on her 1st birthday), but after her 18-24 month check it was decided that she should see a specialist. I was imagining all the worst case scenarios, esp. as it was a 4 month wait for an appt! Then the summer hols began & with Megan home to keep her company all day, things changed & one day my little one got up & walked for the 1st time!! A few weeks later, her speech had improved so much that she was able to ask for things, by the time we saw the specialist, she was running around the waiting room!! They have confirmed that her development is delayed, but its not a major issue, esp. when you compare the difference in her now to what she was like last year.

Sometimes I cannot believe that these 2 beautiful little girls are mine!!

So, I guess my girls have made 2006 for me, they have made me laugh, smile, cry, reflect & bang my head off a wall quite a few times!! But I wouldnt change a thing......& Im so looking forward to seeing what 2007 brings!!

Happy New Year.

xx

End of year post.

What has made 2006 for you!??! What has made you smile, cry, laugh, reflect and what have you learned?

This year has been a bit of a weird one!! At times it feels like its been non-stop & time is flying by....& other times it feels like nothing is happening (IYKWIM!)

A big thing this year has been seeing the difference in my girls. Megan started nursery school, & I was so worried about how she would cope as she had never been to playgroup, she had always been with me, I didnt know how she would cope with being around strangers, plus she seemed too little to go to school!! Little did I know those sleepless nights were in vain, my little girl was a star!! She has blossomed so much in the last year, has learnt so much, has made lots of friends, & made us so proud!! Im slightly worried about her starting full time school next week, but I think Im gonna be more upset than she is as she cannot wait to go back!!

As for Keely, well, she turned 2 in May, but was still not walking & talking. I was trying not to worry, kept thinking that each child was different (Megan was walking on her 1st birthday), but after her 18-24 month check it was decided that she should see a specialist. I was imagining all the worst case scenarios, esp. as it was a 4 month wait for an appt! Then the summer hols began & with Megan home to keep her company all day, things changed & one day my little one got up & walked for the 1st time!! A few weeks later, her speech had improved so much that she was able to ask for things, by the time we saw the specialist, she was running around the waiting room!! They have confirmed that her development is delayed, but its not a major issue, esp. when you compare the difference in her now to what she was like last year.

Sometimes I cannot believe that these 2 beautiful little girls are mine!!

So, I guess my girls have made 2006 for me, they have made me laugh, smile, cry, reflect & bang my head off a wall quite a few times!! But I wouldnt change a thing......& Im so looking forward to seeing what 2007 brings!!

Happy New Year.

xx

End of year blog prompt

What are you doing now, or what have you done this year, that a year ago would not have seemed possible?

I guess the first thing that comes to mind would be scrapping, I wanted to try new things last year, & Id seen scrapbooking in magazines but wasnt too interested in it. I then found UKS which totally changed my perspective, & I was soon addicted!! My 1st LO was absolutely c**p in my opinion, but my work has definately improved. In the last year, I found a new hobby (addiction!), a forum that Im almost constantly logged into!, Ive made new friends (online!), taken part in a cj, applied for 2 Design Teams, rejected by 1, accepted by 1, all thanks to scrapbooking. (BTW The above LO isnt my first, its the latest thing Ive done, not sure if I like it or not!!)

The second thing that did not seem possible last year, is that this year I have people in my life that I would consider friends, now I know that makes me sound really sad, so I'll explain, after having my eldest DD, I drifted away from my friends as none of them had kids, we didnt seem to have anything in common. Ive lived in this 'village' for 3 & 1/2 years now & for the 1st 2&1/2 years I knew 2 people to say hello to & 1 person, who was someone I could actually speak to. I hardly ventured out of my house, I lived miles away from my family & had no one here to spend time with. I couldnt face the local toddler groups on my own so it was just me & my girls for those years. Anyway, last Jan, Megan started school. After about 2 months of smiling & saying hi to other Mums, one of the Mums began speaking to me, from this we began meeting at each others houses, to going on a Mums Nite Out with the other Mums, to braving Toddlers together, to going for a coffee (or hot choc with whipped cream & a cake) after dropping the kids off at school, to going on days out to the zoo..........all of this did not seem possible this time last year, to now say I have friends, people that I can talk to, spend time with, is something that this time last year, I wouldnt have imagined happening.

Because of both of these things, Ive become much more confident within myself, I find it easier to walk out of the house......& that is a huge difference. But I still have a long way to go, so I wonder what will be different this time next year?

150 Things Done In A Lifetime

Ok, heres a list of 150 things people have done in their lifetime, Ive highlighted the things Ive done already:

1. Bought everyone in the bar a drink 2. Swam with wild dolphins 3. Climbed a mountain 4. Taken a Ferrari for a test drive 5. Been inside the Great Pyramid 6. Held a tarantula 7. Taken a candlelit bath with someone 8. Said “I love you’ and meant it 9. Hugged a tree 10. Bungee jumped 11. Visited Paris 12. Watched a lightning storm at sea 13. Stayed up all night long and saw the sun rise 14. Seen the Northern Lights 15. Gone to a huge sports game (and survived the crush afterwards) 16. Walked the stairs to the top of the leaning Tower of Pisa 17. Grown and eaten your own vegetables 18. Touched an iceberg 19. Slept under the stars 20. Changed a baby’s diaper 21. Taken a trip in a hot air balloon 22. Watched a meteor shower 23. Gotten drunk on champagne 24. Given more than you can afford to charity 25. Looked up at the night sky through a telescope 26. Had an uncontrollable giggling fit at the worst possible moment 27. Had a food fight 28. Bet on a winning horse 29. Asked out a stranger 30. Had a snowball fight 31. Screamed as loudly as you possibly can 32. Held a lamb 33. Seen a total eclipse 34. Ridden a roller coaster 35. Hit a home run 36. Danced like a fool and not cared who was looking 37. Adopted an accent for an entire day 38. Actually felt happy about your life, even for just a moment 39. Had two hard drives for your computer 40. Visited all 50 states 41. Taken care of someone who was drunk 42. Had amazing friends 43. Danced with a stranger in a foreign country 44. Watched wild whales 45. Stolen a sign 46. Backpacked in Europe 47. Taken a road-trip 48. Gone rock climbing 49. Midnight walk on the beach 50. Gone sky diving 51. Visited Ireland 52. Been heartbroken longer than you were actually in love 53. In a restaurant, sat at a stranger’s table and had a meal with them 54. Visited Japan 55. Milked a cow 56. Alphabetized your CDs 57. Pretended to be a superhero 58. Sung karaoke 59. Lounged around in bed all day 60. Posed nude in front of strangers 61. Gone scuba diving 62. Kissed in the rain 63. Played in the mud 64. Played in the rain 65. Gone to a drive-in theater 66. Visited the Great Wall of China 67. Started a business 68. Fallen in love and not had your heart broken 69. Toured ancient sites 70. Taken a martial arts class 71. Played D&D for more than 6 hours straight 72. Gotten married 73. Been in a movie 74. Crashed a party 75. Gotten divorced 76. Gone without food for 5 days 77. Made cookies from scratch 78. Won first prize in a costume contest 79. Ridden a gondola in Venice 80. Gotten a tattoo 81. Rafted the Snake River 82. Been on television news programs as an “expert” 83. Got flowers for no reason 84. Performed on stage 85. Been to Las Vegas 86. Recorded music 87. Eaten shark 88. Had a one-night stand 89. Gone to Thailand 90. Bought a house 91. Been in a combat zone 92. Buried one/both of your parents 93. Been on a cruise ship 94. Spoken more than one language fluently 95. Performed in Rocky Horror 96. Raised children (or…raising children) 97. Followed your favorite band/singer on tour 98. Taken an exotic bicycle tour in a foreign country 100. Picked up and moved to another city to start over 101. Walked the Golden Gate Bridge 102. Sang loudly in the car, and didn’t stop when you knew someone was looking 103. Had plastic surgery 104. Survived an accident that you shouldn’t have survived 105. Wrote articles for a large publication 106. Lost over 100 pounds (cumulatively, if you count pregnancy! lol!) 107. Held someone while they were having a flashback 108. Piloted an airplane 109. Petted a stingray 110. Broken someone’s heart 111. Helped an animal give birth 112. Won money on a T.V. game show 113. Broken a bone 114. Gone on an African photo safari 115. Had a body part of yours below the neck pierced 116. Fired a rifle, shotgun, or pistol 117. Eaten mushrooms that were gathered in the wild 118. Ridden a horse 119. Had major surgery 120. Had a snake as a pet 121. Hiked to the bottom of the Grand Canyon 122. Slept for more than 30 hours over the course of 48 hours 123. Visited more foreign countries than U.S. states 124. Visited all 7 continents 125. Taken a canoe trip that lasted more than 2 days 126. Eaten kangaroo meat 127. Eaten sushi 128. Had your picture in the newspaper 129. Changed someone’s mind about something you care deeply about 130. Gone back to school 131. Parasailed 132. Petted a cockroach 133. Eaten fried green tomatoes ... yum! 134. Read The Iliad - and the Odyssey 135. Selected one “important” author who you missed in school, and read 136. Killed and prepared an animal for eating 137. Skipped all your school reunions 138. Communicated with someone without sharing a common spoken language 139. Been elected to public office 140. Written your own computer language 141. Thought to yourself that you’re living your dream 142. Had to put someone you love into hospice care 143. Built your own PC from parts 144. Sold your own artwork to someone who didn’t know you 145. Had a booth at a street fair 146. Dyed your hair 147. Been a DJ 148. Shaved your head 149. Caused a car accident 150. Saved someone’s life

Well, I think Ive got some catchin up to do!!

How many have you done??

Xmas!!

Merry Christmas!! Hope Santa bought you all you wished for?!

Christmas Eve was pretty manic, tracking Santa, preparing reindeer food (see above pic of Megan with said food, how cute does she look in her new dressing gown!), wrapping presents (thats just the presents for the girls at our house, they still had a huge pile at Nanny & Grandads!).

Keely woke up just before 7am, whilst opening her stocking I noticed a slight rash on her cheek, upon further looking, I discovered her whole body was covered in said rash. Unfortunately she had an allergic reaction to her new xmas pjs, so she didnt have the greatest xmas, luckily the rash has now gone, but we did have to get her to a doctor that evening.

Apart from that it was a pretty good xmas, I was completely spoiled (will post pics later), as were we all!!

Have included a sneak peek of my xmas exploding box, inspired by a challenge from the Fairies with 'Tude blog, must get that finished today!! Papers are BG Blitzen (yummy!) & letters were a bargain found in Hobbycraft, just wish Id bought more than 2 packs!!

xx

Xmas Eve!!

Sunday Blog Prompt: What are your plans today!?

Well, after bathing the girls this morning, we decided to pop into town to pick up the last few bits of stuff we needed. Popped into a jewellery shop to pick something up for someone & while we were waiting to pay I spotted a white gold, pink diamond ring.......well, to cut a long story short, said ring is now on my finger whilst Im typing!! Yay!!

We've been tracking Santa for a while now, getting very excited!! Soon we will be putting out the reindeer food, snack for Santa, hangin up the stockings, putting our new pjs on & having a hot chocolate with marshmallows & squirty cream!! Then once the girls are in bed, I shall be wrapping pressies!!

So, I shall sign off by wishing you a very Merry Xmas!!

xx

Almost ready!!

Have spent the whole day cleaning!! & now Im sitting in a lovely, warm, clean house, that smells of baked apple & spices (scented candles that is!!) Still have a huge pile of ironning to do, but Im sure I an find somewhere to hide that till after xmas!!

Still not feeling Christmassy!! Hate not being excited, usually by now Im worse than the girls, but this year, Im bah humbug!! Am planning on spending my evening wrapping ALL the presents accompanied by a bottle of wine & Love Actually on DVD......fingers crossed that'll awaken my xmas spirit!!

Have got Santa tracking saved to my faves, Megan cant wait to see where Santa is!! If you havent seen it, go here:

http://www.noradsanta.org/en/default.phOk,p

Ok, thats it from me, for now!

Xmas Preparations

Sunday Blog Prompt:
Its the 17th today.. only 8 days till christmas... which begs to ask the question:"Where are you in your christmas preperations!?, have you finished? tree up? pressies wrapped?, turkey defrosted lol!?? - whats left to do and how do you feel about this time of year?!"

Where am I in my xmas preperations? DONT ASK!! LOL!!

The big tree in the front room is up & decorated, the little tree in the kitchen still needs to be decorated, have got pretty much all the presents bought for the girls, however still need to get the family ones sorted. No pressies wrapped yet, no xmas cards made, so will have to buy some & get them written asap! Bought the turkey, the biscuits for xmas morning, & the After Eights!! Still have to get the rest of the shopping. Im such a bad Mummy, that the girls havent even written to Father Xmas yet, so will have to do that tommorrow (that gives me time to write the letters back!!)

For some reason though, it doesnt seem remotely like xmas, keep waiting for the excitement to hit!! Might have to go & purchase some new xmas cds, see if I start to feel more christmassy!!

Busy.......

Busy, busy,busy.......!!!!!

So much to do!! So why am I blogging??

Still havent finished my xmas shopping! Was all prepared to go out Thurs evening, got to Toys R Us & it was empty, so got everything I needed & was out of there in 10 mins!! Feeling very pleased with myself, I proceeded to the big Argos store where I had reserved 3 of the main pressies I needed to get, it was 7:15, & they shut at 7pm!!!!!!!!! Aarrgggghhhh!!!!!

Managed to get 3 more pressies crossed off my list after that, but then I bumped into my Dad who ordered me to go to the pub with him, & you cant really disobey your dad can you?? LOL!!!

So, still have shopping to do! No idea when Im gonna get it done, as I have sooooo much to do! Fingers crossed, will be going to my Mums tommorrow to finally meet Connor!! Yay!!!

Have a good Saturday!!

Xmas Sunday Prompt No.1

Heres Sundays Prompt(a day late!!):

Christmas .... what is your earliest christmas memories?What made christmas for you as a child?If you could have anything for christmas what would it be?

Wow, earliest xmas memories? The one thing that always made it feel xmas when I was growing up was the Market. I grew up near Paddington, central London, right by Church St Market. Every xmas all the stalls would be decorated with lights & tons of tinsel, & I used to love going through the market & seeing all the stalls. Esp. when we would go out with my Dad to pick the xmas tree, every year, without fail, we'd buy one that was too big & we'd have to cut the top off so that it would fit!! Decorating the xmas tree was always a favourite! The best ornament would be a set of 3 baubles, each one decorated with part of a xmas train, in fact I loved it so much that its now on my xmas tree!! I also loved the little china Nativity scene we had, dont know what hapened to that, so this year, I bought one for us, just a little one from Woolies, but Megan absolutely loves it! Esp. as she has just done her Nativity play with Nursery. Wish I could upload some pictures but the pc is playing up, so maybe next time.

Making paperchains with the girls this afternoon, should be fun!!

I love Xmas!!

1st December!!

Happy 1st December!! Havent put the decs up yet, only have the advent calendar & nativity scene up so far! Am totally loving this calendar! £20. from Costco, what a bargain!! Megan has been so excited about this, she has been waiting for about 2 weeks to our this up, then when she came home from school today, it was sitting on the fireplace waiting for her. She was equally excited about the Nativity scene, as she is currently practicing her Nativity play at school, she is a star, in fact she is the 'brightest star that shone about the stable', I think its a new style Nativity as Santa is in it(?), cant remember that from the Nativity plays I was in, but no matter, cant wait to see it!!

Ok, well we have a busy weekend ahead of us, cleaning, shopping, looking for xmas tree & decs, an xmas party, putting up said xmas tree/decs, secret santa shopping, mini book to start, cj to complete.........aaarrgghh!!!

Have a relaxing weekend.

xx