Half a cup of coffee...

New Moon

Oh yes, New Moon is out and I going to see it tonight. I cannot wait, I am just a little bit giddy with excitement! Think I'll squeeze in some time this afternoon to watch Twilight on the laptop, just one more time.

I even more giddy with excitement because I wasn't due to see New Moon until next week earliest. You see my fellow Twilight friends live in Northern Ireland, I live in England, not very easy to go out to the cinema together, not when there's flights involved and I did check the prices of flights. Then a little while ago I found that a friend and fellow Mum from school loved Twilight too. But by then she had already booked tickets to see the premier tonight with some other Mum's from school, but agreed to see it with me another time. Then this morning I got a phone message, someone can't get a babysitter, there's a spare ticket and I'm in. Woohoo, excited was an understatement.

So have a very good night, I certainly will.

She's here!

I own a VW Beetle. I have dreamt of owning one, but never truly thought that I would. We have been considering what car to get to replace my 8 year Vauxhall Astra. We considered a Toyota Auris and a VW Golf, but my heart wanted a Beetle. One day, a couple of weeks ago Jeff came home from work and I said "I decided we should get a Toyota Auris", it was afterall the sensible car to get. But then Jeff threw a spanner in the works and said "Yeah, but sometimes in life you should go for what you really want". Well, there was no going back, my heart jumped and I blurted out "OK, I really want a Beetle!". What a great husband I have. Really, truly, I am so lucky and grateful, thank you honey.

And look the number plate even has 'JO' on it. It was meant to be. BTW It's not a personalised number plate, just a happy coincidence.

Callum wasn't quite so happy to have a new car. In fact he cried and cried as we left our old blue car behind and drove away in the new silver one. I had my old car for nearly 8 years and it was all he and Matthew have known. Callum seems happier today, I think it's growing on him.

One month on

Wow, one month has passed since I last updated my blog. It's been a busy time. We went on holiday to Majorca, had Jeff's parents over to stay, I've had 5 fairs, Matthew has lost another two teeth and Halloween has been and gone.

We stayed in a lovely part of Majorca called Puerto Pollensa, which has a very pretty pine walk along the seafront. We had a mixed bag of weather; rain and glorious sunshine. The boys had a great time at the beach, going to Kids Club and seeing Thomson the Dog. Jeff and I had a lovely time enjoying each others company for the 2 hours that the kids were in Kids Club!

     
  
  

For those who have read the Sookie Stackhouse books or are watching True Blood you might notice the book I'm reading in the photo above, Dead Until Dark by Charmaine Harris, the first book in the series. Yep moving right on from the vampires in the Twilight saga to the vampires in True Blood. Oh and hey New Moon is out end of the week.

The kids had a great time at Halloween. We carved pumpkins, made creepy crawlie cupcakes, made bat and pumpkin decorations, had sparklers, greeted Trick or Treaters, played a Mummy game and let the boys go Trick or Treating around the close. They had decided they were going to dress up before we even said they could go Trick or Treating. Matthew had chosen a Wizard costume that I had made 2 years earlier and Callum wanted to dress up as Buzz Lightyear, his favourite dressing up outfit.

  
   
 
As I mentioned I've had 5 fairs since my last blog update, so there has been alot of crafting going on, especially the week before last in preparation for 3 fairs in one week.

On our return from holiday it was evident that Autumn was in full swing. The trees in the garden had lost their leaves and we saw this beautiful tree in the Winter Gardens in Bournemouth in it's full autumnal splendor. Luckily Jeff's parents were there to take some photos as my camera battery had died.

 

I am getting (fingers crossed) a new car tomorrow (new to me that is). I should have picked it up on Saturday but my insurance certificate has been delayed / lost in the post and without that I can't get the car tax. I have been assured that I'll have it tomorrow by guaranteed delivery...I'll keep you posted, so to speak and hopefully next time I can show you my new VW Beetle (insert a happy dance here). 

For Today...Friday 16th October 2009

I've been meaning to blog before now but yet again I seem to have been so busy that I just haven't got around to it. Then today whilst I ate my lunch I read Ali Edwards blog, she had done this 'For Today' post. Well that was just what I needed to jump start a quick post.

 

Outside my window... Blue sky with quite a lot of grey and white clouds. In the garden there are several roses still blooming but other than that the garden is looking a little sad.

I am thinking... about all the things I have to do today - I have a craft fair on both Saturday and Sunday  (several things I still need to do / make) and my in-laws are coming to stay 2 and a half weeks tomorrow, I have lots of tidying to do too.

I am thankful for... my Mum and Dad looking after the kids this morning whilst I got to have a golf taster session. (The boys are off school due to a staff training day). I'm also thankful for my parents lending me photos to scan (see below) and for my Mum giving me crysanthemums from her greenhouse which will brighten the house.

I am wearing... Fat Face jeans, a white long-sleeved t-shirt with a blue Fat Face short sleeved t-shirt over the top. I am a jeans and layered tee's girl.

I am remembering... lots of memories from my past as I look through and scan old photos for the Yesterday Today class I'm doing with Ali Edwards over at Big Picture Scrapbooking.

I am going... to cut Cath Kidston fabric and make some kids aprons after I've finished this post.

I am reading... Breaking Dawn, the final book in the Twilight Saga, about 80 pages left to go. I'm sure I don't need to tell you how much I love this series of books.

I am hoping... the boys continue to play nicely and allow me to get some work done without me getting stressed.

On my mind... my friend PJ.

Noticing that... I need to be much more organised and that time is flying by.

From the kitchen... plan to bake a wholemeal loaf this afternoon. The loaf I baked yesterday has nearly been eaten all up and my father-in-law loves fresh bread, it's a pleasure to bake bread as I know he'll appreciate it. [edited to add - so busy I forgot the loaf was in bread machine, it's not as good as it should have been]

Around the house... the washing machine keeps beeping (another load has finished), I have a green felted bag drying on the radiator (yes the heating is on), should be dry to take to the craft fair tomorrow. The boys are playing in the lounge making a game on the rug. I am in the dining room sitting at our oak dining table with my laptop, a scanner and old photos, soon to be cleared to the side and be replaced by material and sewing stuff.

One of my favorite things... is being creative, whatever form it may take.

A picture to share...

 

a photo of my family in 1975, the baby is me.

 

Have a great weekend.
 

School Photograph Day

Some of you may remember last years performance on school photograph day when we tried to get a 'nice' sibling photo of the boys. Click here to see the full post. Well this year went fine, individual and sibling photos were taken in school. With Callum now being in school with Matthew the school took care of getting all the siblings together for photos. I haven't scanned the teeny proof photo's from this year yet, they're are certainly not 'Janine Boyd' standard that's for sure! However, this year the occasion will be remembered as the day Matthew's top tooth came out, thankfully after the photo's had been taken. It came out before dinner when he kissed Callum (not something he does very often). Poor lad, he couldn't manage his dinner, so I gave him tomato soup and he drank it through a straw!

The photo above was taken an hour or so ago when he was in bed. I had forgotten to take a picture of his new smile but the opportunity arose just now when he screamed for me from his bed. He had knocked the envelope containing his tooth from under the pillow and down the back of his bed. I retrieved it, luckily it hadn't fallen out of the envelope and we decided to tuck it into the little 'cars' pillow on his bed.

When his very first tooth fell out a long while back he got really worried that the tooth fairy would take it away with her. So we wrote on an envelope to ask her to kindly leave Matthew the tooth behind. So far this has worked and she has indeed left the tooth behind along with a coin.

Have a nice night, hope somebody leaves you some money under your pillow too!

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Addicted

This is me this morning, sitting in the warm sunshine in our front garden with a coffee, the boys playing and me reading the next book in the Twilight series; New Moon. I started it friday night at 11pm, right after Jeff had gone to bed, I was up until 1:30am reading and now I am over 2/3rd's through it. I've got the next book in the series Eclipse waiting and ready to go. But I know that I must order the final 4th book, Breaking Dawn tomorrow so that it has time to be delivered before I've finished the 3rd.

About three things I am absolutely positive. First, I have two fairs next weekend and I need to make lots of things. Second, I have entries to write for my Me, the abridged version online scrapbooking class with Cathy Zielske. And third, I am unconditionally and irrevocably in love with the Twilight series. [If you've read the book you'll understand that bit]

As soon as I finish one chapter I can't bear to close the book, I start to read another chapter...and another. When I'm not reading it, I thinking about what might happen next, when will Edward reappear? Or I am watching the Twilight dvd on the laptop whilst I'm cooking dinner or sewing fabric. Yes, I am addicted.

So, seeing as I have torn myself away from the book I must get on with something constructive, like sewing or writing for my class before I become sucked right in again!

Welcome Weekend

It's been a busy week what with getting back into the swing of school life, especially with Callum starting too. He got through his first week with no tears and each day when he came out he excitedly showed me the new book he'd chosen. I'm looking forward to next week when he will go in the mornings for 3 hours and maybe I can achieve a little bit more at home whilst he's there.

  

For now I'm enjoying the weekend, taking it easy staying at home with the kids playing out the front with the neighbours kids. It is also the 12th, which means photo / scrap project today so lots of recording everyday life, like this...

...waving goodbye to Daddy as he leaves for a golf competition...

and this...

...building houses with the neighours kids out the front...

and this...

...yep, that's Callum having lunch in a cardboard box!

One morning last week Callum and I went to the coffee shop, something that we would do every so often in the morning when Matthew is at school. Whilst we were there it dawned on me, this would be the last time Callum and I would do this, next week he'd be at school in the morning. I had the camera with me, so I was able to do a layout about it too.

I am loving the vintage look right now, the spotty patterned paper is from Lily Bee and the alphabet paper is from Creative Imaginations. I also used some stickers and a ticket from Creative Imaginations, the letter stickers are American Crafts and velvet star brad is from Making Memories.

A couple of weeks back I made a double page spread about our trip to the Giants Causeway in Northern Ireland on a little steam train, in the rain. I took the colour inspiration from our train ticket and added a leaflet about the railway onto the layout too.

Presently occupying my time is writing entries for my Me, the abridged version class on Big Picture Scrapbooking with Cathy Zielske and reading this...

Now, it has to be said that I am not a reader, I hardly ever read a fiction book, favouring magazines and non-fiction books for my chosen reading material. But I decided that since I had joined the library with the boys back in the summer holidays I should make some attempt to read. The Twilight Series of books by Stephanie Meyer had been much hyped by my friends and on blogs that I read, I thought I should at least give it a go. And now I can't put the thing down! I should also mention that I don't like thriller movies or scary stuff, so I'm not entirely sure why I can't put this book down. I guess it has something to do with wanting to find out more about the mysterious Edward Cullen.

That's all I'm going to say right now, I'm going to get a coffee and read some more of the book whilst the boys are happily playing outside in the sunshine. Ahh, welcome weekend.

1st Day of School

 

Callum started school today, can you believe it? He looked gorgeous and didn't shed a tear, so brave, so grown up. I hope he's enjoying it (yep he's there now, whilst I'm writing this!).

 

This week he has afternoon sessions; 1pm to 2:45pm - that's not very long is it? Next week he begins morning sessions; 8:45am to 11:45am - that's more like it. He'll continue to do these morning sessions until Christmas, then from January he'll go all day.

Today the boys also begin football after school at the local leisure centre. They will be in different groups, Matthew's groups starts just 5 minutes after Callum's finishes. The sessions last 45 minutes so it doesn't leave much time to come home before I have to return. Today I will stay and next week I'll probably come home whilst Matthew's session is on. I foresee that Mondays are going to be very busy days from now on!

Well better get this posted, got to go in 10 minutes to pick up Callum, fingers crossed he liked school.

Posting from the road

...or rather from the sofa of my friend Sara's house.

Making the most of lazy saturday mornings after a lovely evening out with Sara and Tracey (friends since our ante-natal group in 2003).

We went to The Belvedere Arms near Ascot and it was packed, definitely the place to be on a friday night, no sign of the credit crunch there!

When we got back to Sara's we had a game of bowling on the Wii. Usually when I come up here with the kids Sara and I never get near the Wii as the kids are always playing on it (we don't have a Wii at home).

This morning, after a very long lie in we had a lovely breakfast (whilst watching Soccer AM), thanks Sara, you are a very good host.

And later we plan to have a go on the Wii Fit - there will be no photos of that! Followed a little spot of shopping.

Have a good day everyone.