Tuesday 30 November 2010

SNOW!!!

It started snowing a few days ago and hasn't really stopped.  It got to it's worst on Sunday so church was cut short and everyone sent home to try and avoid driving in any worse conditions.  Yesterday the schools started announcing closures because of the weather - including Kidgate, Leilani's school.  They're also shut again today.  So I am trying to keep on top of things to keep them entertained whilst stuck at home.  To top it off Tilly is sick with a horrible cold and wants lots of cuddles.

So yesterday Zach and I made some cheese scones.  I thought with all of us stuck inside so much we could do with some snacks, so I made a double batch.  Only to find out *after* we'd baked them that Lani, Tilly and Adam don't like cheese scones! So lots for Zach and me then...

Anyway, will try put some pics up when I get a few mins.  Got to go put Tilly in the bath to get rid of the glazed doughnut look!

... and now back a couple of hours later....

Here's some of my latest crochet things:



And it was Adam's birthday last week.  We tried to make his day as special as we could and got a few of his favourite things.  And Leilani and I came up with this for his birthday cake :D

Monday 22 November 2010

Tilly will finally keep hairbands in!  Most of the time anyway... 




Leilani's school had an art exhibit of all the children's art work.  These were Leilani's two pieces on the "movement" project.  The one on the left was paint and pencils for the back ground and cut out and stuck on rocks and lighthouse.  For the one on the right the sea and sky were done on the computer and the lighthouse and rocks again were cut out of sugar paper and stuck on.




Nicely playing together having turned the washing basket and skateboard into a car.

Tuesday 16 November 2010

Movie Night

For Family Home Evening tonight we decided to watch How To Train Your Dragon.  After deciding to do this fairly early in the day it left me with the rest of the afternoon to mull over it and start thinking we could make it even more fun.  I decided to turn our living room into a pretend cinema.  After dinner we got the kids in their PJs and then they waited in the dining room with Adam while I set up.  At the living room door I set up a ticket desk/concession stand and draped our red fleece blanket over the screen then called them to come queue up for their tickets.  We used Zach's play till and pennies from our penny pot so they could come buy their tickets and snacks.  Then they waited in the "foyer" (our hallway) until they were ushered in to their seats.  Once comfy I did the grand unveiling of the screen, complete with opening movie music, I'm sure you know what I mean....

Ticket and concession stand ready to open for business
Queuing up to buy their tickets and snacks before the show
The kids loved it and so did we - they giggled through all of that, telling me I was very silly as they excitedly queued up for their tickets and snacks.  It was lots of fun to do a movie night with that little bit extra, would highly recommend a "trip to the cinema" at home :D

Dry Night

We had Zach's first dry night last night :)  We got him up and took him to the toilet for the last time at about 11.30am and then I got him up again at 6am when I woke up and he had gone the whole time staying dry.  Big success, especially since it took Lani about another 2 years before she managed that.  I really hope this means Zach can crack this quickly and doesn't take such a long time like Lani did.  (She was potty trained by the time she turned 2, but wasn't dry at night til 5 and a half...)

Sunday 14 November 2010

Getting old?!?

I never really thought I'd be all that bothered about turning 30.  I never thought it would be a big deal.  But now I'm 29 I'm *beginning* to think a little differently...  Not so much about being 30, I think the actual number still doesn't really mean that much to me, but I am starting to notice a few minor signs of aging.  I guess I'm starting to realise that while my head got stuck at the age of 22, and I kind of started to lose track of my own age, when I look in the mirrow now I realise I can't pass for 22 on the outside! :)  Now, I'm not worried or depressed about it, I still think I look fairly young for my age, as I have through all my life (a cause for some concern when I was in my teens!) and I'm proud of the fact that I'm the only one of my sisters left who hasn't had a grey hair (I've jinxed it now haven't I...).  The thing I'm noticing is my skin, especially around my eyes.  Not looking quite as plump and youthful, as Davina McCall would put it in her age-defying cream adverts.  The other thing is Jess turned 22.  When my youngest sister turns the age I feel I guess it's time to accept reality :D.  Plus I remember how I felt about 30 year olds when I was 22, and they just seemed so distant and so much older! Ah well, time to grow up and be sensible... No, I don't think so, that's taking things a bit too far...

Saturday 13 November 2010

Recent bits and bobs


Look underneath - Zach wanted to climb in and lie down for the afternoon school run.  In the 2nd photos he's asleep - he ended up falling asleep for about an hour! On the right: Eating his birthday smarties from Grandma O'Gram - after he'd sorted them in to colours of course :)


Chocolate cake!

 Bonfire night at Deighton Close:




Girls night out

Last Friday I had a rare night out with the girls - Lisa, Angie, Sandy and Janine.  It was for Lisa's birthday. We went to a couple of bars in town and had a good chat and a boogie.  I really enjoyed myself, and I'm loving the fact that I didn't come home smelling of smoke as I used to in my younger days when I did this sort of thing more regularly.

Only had my phone with me, so pictures aren't great but you get the idea!











New Nephew!

Baby Samuel arrive on 23rd October 2010 and we went to visit him 3 days later.  He's soooo snuggly and gorgeous.  Here is the first pic I've got round to editing of him (only another hundred or so to get through!)

Zach's 3rd birthday

On 23rd October Zach turned 3.  Having done a big party for Leilani when she turned 3 and seeing that it really wasn't all that worth it at that age we decided to avoid the hassle and did a birthday tea for family at home.  Zach loved the whole thing.  He's been looking forward to his birthday ever since Leilani had hers at the end of August when he couldn't quite understand why Lani got so many treats and presents and he didn't.  It seemed very unfair to him when we're usually so good about them being equal :)

So he was counting down the days with us and then was soooo excited when it finally came.  He had asked for a rocket cake and this is what I managed to pull off.


We got a call from Cait in the morning to let us know that baby Samuel had arrived in the night!  We told Zach and he was so happy to have his cousin have the same birthday.  Later through out the day if people asked him "Hey Zach, who's birthday is it?"  He would say "Baby Samuel's!"  :D

Some of his favourite presents were a guitar (which he calls a kitara), a skateboard, a toy story ready bed and the Madagascar DVDs which have been on EVERY day since!  He also got some clothes for his birthday - a red Rugby shirt which he calls his team shirt and a couple of hoodies.  He asks to wear them everyday, so they are getting rotated through the washing at quite high speed at the moment :)

The next day he asked to do something to which I told him no, he was too small.  He replied "I'm not 2 small I'm 3 big!"

All watching Madagascar 2

Catch up...

Haven't blogged for a while, mostly because of Jessie's birthday present - she asked us not to get her presents but instead... actually I think it's easier if I just paste the instructions she gave us :)


For my birthday this year, I'd like to make a couple of requests, and I'm hoping that you all love me enough to fulfill them for me :D

1) I would like you to use any money you may have thought about buying me a present with on yourself. If you were not planning to buy me a present, do something nice for yourself....ON MY BIRTHDAY. not a day before and not a day late. Take yourself and a friend to the cinema (3 weeks to sort a babysitter...), or buy some fancy ingredients for a posh meal and rent a movie, or run yourself a nice bath. or buy yourself that t shirt/handbag/shoes/socks/makeup you've been looking at for a few days but thought you couldn't justify buying because now you can :D

2) I would like you ON MY BIRTHDAY to please do something nice for someone else. This needs to be a big thing, or at least something you wouldn't do on a day to day basis, like washing your kids clothes or doing the laundry (although let me say now those are wonderfully kind and loving things you do). Try to spend the next 3 weeks looking for someone in the ward, or in the neighbourhood or even in your family who has a need, a real need and one that you can fulfil, consult Heavenly Father as you do this so that you might be directed to someone who really needs you. And on November 1st, go be an instrument in the Lord's hand. Please.

3) Everyday from now until MY BIRTHDAY I would like you please to write down one thing from that day where you've recognised the Lord's hand in your life. 

4) Please tell me about it all :) I would really like it if your daily things could be shared with everyone every day if you feel like its appropriate - if you feel like its something you dont want to share you can say pass, but I need to know you're passing for a reason so I know you're giving me my birthday wishes :D 

So come on birthday fairies, share your bounty :)


So I used up all my "writing on the computer" time sending my reports back to Jess everyday of what I was doing for her birthday requests.  I enjoyed doing it so much, and what a clever sister I have for thinking of it in the first place.  We got to read what each of us were doing and it was such a lovely experience.  I was especially appreciative of the suggestion to recognise Heavenly Father's hand in our lives every day.  Sometimes it was big things and sometimes just little nudges that would have gone unnoticed if I hadn't stopped at the end of the day to think about it.