An inbox surprise!

Imagine my surprise when i checked my emails this morning and found an email from the ever so lovely Ron over at Troubled Ramblings. I opened said email and this is what i found:

He (in my humble opinion) is a talented artist, i love the way he can capture the eyes in his drawings. So to say i was shocked and delighted hardly does it justice!
So lovely Ron, thank you so very very much, Becky is as delighted as I am that you took time out of your busy day to draw her. Thank you doesn't seem quite enough. WOW.







On an extremely sad note a baby girl "Tuesday Fiona Witt" passed away yesterday. My thoughts and prayers are with her family and loved ones at this very sad time, she was only 2 years of age.

Pop Quiz!

Q: What do you do when you put two of these:into one glass of this, 3 times a day:

and feed it to this cute but poorly child?:A: Buy more of this than usual &

get the school to issue one of these
rapid response cards!!it reads: Please allow Becky to leave the lesson AT ONCE
if she shows this card!

Yes my friends my middle babe has been a poorly bunny this week. I had to collect her from school on Tuesday and she went back on Thursday after being prescribed the above meds and allowing them to "kick in" for 24 hours! She has been "bunged up" since pre Christmas, poor girl. Things are now moving along nicely if not a little more rapid than we anticipated! I love the red card the school nurse supplied her with and the fact that our Doctor said to give her the meds with full fat Coke to take the awful taste away!

Way back When-sday!

Cheryl over at Twinfatuation started this awesome weekly photo sharing day. Why not go and see who else is playing along!

The three amigos. June 2002.

I love this pic, they look so happy. It was taken on a school day. Yep we let the kids skip school. We took them to Beaulieu (Bee-you-lee) for the day. You see we were celebrating, the headteacher gave her blessing and off we went.

Sorry? What were we celebrating? Silly me..it was the week that Daddy returned from Iraq. We wanted to spend some time together, enjoying each other and being a proper family agin. This photo makes my feel whole, complete. Amazing how a picture has the ability to do that huh?

Welcome to Not Me! Monday! This blog carnival was created by MckMama. Why not pop over to her blog and check out who else is Not me Monday'ing!

So this week! WOW.

I did not wake up really early on Saturday with my Lovely husband and we definately did not make the decision to stay in bed till 10am! Not with 3 kids, not us!

I did not ask my 13 year old to make my breakfast because i was writing a cheque for my 12 year olds school trip.

I did not feed the family pizza for tea while i ate a bag of Monster Munch (beef) and 2 doughnuts!!

And i definately DID NOT drive the car with the low fuel light for 23 miles today, that would be silly.

Oh and i definately DID not do this last Tuesday. As if!

Baby Picture Sunday!

Loved the idea of this one so here goes ;) Since this weeks theme is "Bundled Up" this pic had to be used! My wee man looking a lot like Maggie Simpson!! But i do love this photo.

Tagged on a Sunday!

The rules:

1. Each blogger starts with eight random facts/habits about themselves.

2. People who are tagged need to write their own blog about their eight things and post these rules.

3. At the end of your blog post, you need to choose eight people to get tagged and list their names.

4. Don't forget to leave them a comment telling them they're tagged and to read your blog.

5. For the recipients, leave a comment for the person who tagged you, so they can go and read your answers.

***********************

1. I am left handed but do some things like baseball / shooting guns / knitting right handed!
2. I suffer from foot in mouth disease all the time, see!
3. If i pick up a good book I'll stay awake all night to finish it. I have no patience waiting to see what happens, i want to know NOW!
4. I can't "cook" but i bake a mean cake! (good job i have a hubby who likes the kitchen).
5. I have written reminders everywhere, so i am on top of things..and i still forget stuff!
6. When i put shoes on i always put my left foot first, no idea why, just do!
7. I was 21 when i had my first baby, family complete when i was 25!
   
8. I have 2 tattoo's on my back and my left shoulder!

There i think i'm done!!

So who am i tagging??

1. Ron because he is so witty, and thoughtful.
2. MckMamma because she cracks me up and inspires me.
3. Jamie, she is a great Mom and writer!!
4. Beccy, my best mate who i know will love this!
5. Gen because she is a lovely lady with the cutest children ;)
   

Lazy lazy Saturday.

Today has been a lovely do nothing hang out together lazy day. Long may it last :)
The best thing about today, well the best two things..were the girls baking fairy cakes together and hearing the laughter emanate from the kitchen. Magic. I love that the two of them get along the way they do. And the second was hearing David and "his" Daddy building a remote controlled rocket and discussing the "high altitudes" that David is sure it will make! So sweet to hear him telling Dad that Grandad always knows what a boy wants and picks the best presents. Oh "And Daddy if the men are in space will they see my rocket flying up there?"

(I'm not telling him it might only reach 100 feet!!)

Way back When-sday!

Taking part in this from TWINFATUATION, why not pop to Cheryl's blog and have a go :) This is my first time :D.


This adorable little guy is my one and only son David! This has to be one of my favourite photos of him way-back-when!
The year was 2001, Summertime, we lived in Fallingbostel, Germany. It must have been nearly bedtime as he is in his jammies! I just adore the pleading look and lip he is giving to his Grandad!

Not me TUESDAY

because this won't wait till Monday!

Today i had my appointment with the specialist at the hospital.
I went with Beccy, my best friend, for support...

I did not introduce her as "my partner"(i did not think that the word friend sounded weird) , I did not then try to recover by saying "erm not my partner...we're married!!", I did not then try to recover even more by saying " to different men!" No, not me, would never do something like that!
So we started out on a goooood footing! Lucky for me she had a great sense of humour which helped me get over that 'special' moment!

It seems i have poly cystic ovaries and a cyst the size of a chicken egg living on my right ovary (rent free i might add). So i am waiting for an appointment within the next 11 weeks to have said cyst and right ovary evicted and re-homed elsewhere, preferably a bin!
But at least now i know that my problems losing weight are down to my poly cystic ovaries and not all the chocolate i ate at Christmas!


Just a quick note at the bottom to wish Barack Obama a successful presidency. Let's hope he does good for all in America.

Not me Monday!

Welcome to Not Me! Monday! This blog carnival was created by MckMama. You can head over to her blog to read what she and everyone else have not been doing this week.

So what have i been up to this week? I'll tell you what i haven't done...

I did not spend Saturday so engrossed in a book that nothing else got done..at all, all day!

I did not buy some bits at the shops thinking they would make great presents for Christmas '09!!

I did not give the car to my lovely husband with no fuel in it..knowing he would fill it :D!

I did not eat the last of the chocolates in the tin because they were there ;)

oh and I am definately not nervous about going to the hospital tomorrow ;)
What didn't you do???

Wii-kend fun.

Well we popped over to my good friend Emma's house today as her hubby is off to America for a week and mine was working. She allowed the kids to play on her new Wii! And what fun they had. I am totally on board with having one!

So we are on another week. Tuesday sees me at the hospital again seeing the specialist and then hopefully getting the news of my op, how and when!
Then hopefully in the evening i am going to a bone marrow registration evening. You never know i might be able to help somebody's loved one. I know i'd wan't help if it was one of my kids!
Speaking of which, i have placed 3 buttons on the side of my blog, Abby, Abbey and Harper. Please click on them and visit the sites. These families need our support and love right now and it only takes a moment to tell someone you are thinking of them, and it doesn't cost a penny!

Have a great week all.

Picture this!

David was sat contentedly playing with his bubbles (which i think is both cool and sweet since he is nine!!), and being the Mum i am..i got the camera out! This is my absolute favourite one.

Last night i was watching Rae at her school Jazz Cafe where her school, another local school, the 6th form college and Hampshire Youth Jazz Orchestra were performing a number of sessions for us. It was such a great night - photos when i get the paper, we weren't allowed cameras :(.
Rae is going to go along to the 6th form college to join their youth orchestra which is pretty cool!

Thank for the comments on the E book, some great reasons for and against ;) Maybe i will find room for both!!

To "E" or not to "E"

Of course i am talking E books here!! You see friends, my dear Dad bought my lovely Mum an E book for Christmas. This is an all singing all dancing new whizzy reading implement! My Mum raves about it. "It came with a CD that holds 100 classic books, i can just download new books online etc etc."
I had a look at the new gadget that had my Mum all gooey eyed and was fairly impressed i have to say.
Black and silver, lightweight, slimline and you can change font size as you age and your eyes begin to fail you!! (hehe)

I thought about this gift and how it was actually quite cool. So i mentioned it to my best friend, we are always swapping books together and chatting about the latest read we have on the go!
I really thought, as a keen reader, she would be as keen as Mum and I on this new toy. But no, she was not as taken as us, even a little bit.

And so, our first "debate" of 2009 has begun! To E or not to E.
We daily come up with reasons for and against and upon sighting each other we call out our latest viewpoint!

So the FOR's:

1.Lightweight!
2.You only need ONE hand to hold it, thus freeing your other to hold coffee/chocolate!
3. Saves the trees with the obvious lack of paper.
4.It automatically saves your page! How cool, to fall asleep and not lose your place!
5.When you have a holiday you can take it and know you WILL have more than enough books!
6. With it's back light you CAN get under the covers, yes with both shoulders my friends, to read.

Ok the AGAINST's:

1.Not tactile, no page turning!
2.You can't swap it or share it with your mates.
3.You don't get to read all the blurb on the back cover and peruse the bookshops/library.

So everyone, help me out, i am for this cool item but i do agree with some of the Con's. How do you readers out there feel about the E Book?

100 things!

AVT coach has a list of 100 things you may have done or wish to do on her blog. I thought i'd play along and see if i had done any!
The ones in BOLD i have done, in Green i would like to do one day!

AVT coach has a list of 100 things you may have done or wish to do on her blog. I thought i'd play along and see if i had done any!
The ones in BOLD i have done.

1. Started your own blog - yes

2. Slept under the stars – yes in November 91 and it was freezing!

3. Played in a band

4. Visited Hawaii

5. Watched a meteor shower

6. Given more than you can afford to charity - yes

7. Been to Disneyland/world

8. Climbed a mountain - yes

9. Held a praying mantis

10. Sang a solo – yes if the shower counts ;)

11. Bungee jumped – yes and i was terrified!!

12. Visited Paris - yes

13. Watched a lightning storm at sea - yes

14. Taught yourself an art from scratch - yes

15. Adopted a child

16. Had food poisoning – haha was in the Army once so YES!

17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty

18. Grown your own vegetables – yes if tomatoes count!

19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France

20. Slept on an overnight train – yes

21. Had a pillow fight – loads!

22. Hitch hiked

23. Taken a sick day when you’re not ill - erm yeah!!

24. Built a snow fort – who hasn’t?

25. Held a lamb – only one i could eat :S

26. Gone skinny dipping - yes

27. Run a Marathon

28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice

29. Seen a total eclipse – yes sun and moon

30. Watched a sunrise or sunset – yes both

31. Hit a home run (on a Wii maybe) - yes

32. Been on a cruise

33. Seen Niagara Falls in person

34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors

35. Seen an Amish community

36. Taught yourself a new language -yes

37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied – yes but it was pre-children!

38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person

39. Gone rock climbing – yes – army days again!

40. Seen Michelangelo’s David

41. Sung karaoke – haha yes, badly.

42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt

43. Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant

44. Visited Africa

45. Walked on a beach by moonlight - yes

46. Been transported in an ambulance - yes

47. Had your portrait painted – only if a cariacature counts!

48. Gone deep sea fishing

49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person

50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris – stood at the bottom but too scared to go up!

51. Gone scuba diving or snorkelling - yes

52. Kissed in the rain - yes

53. Played in the mud – yes – army again!

54. Gone to a drive-in theater

55. Been in a movie

56. Visited the Great Wall of China

57. Started a business

58. Taken a martial arts class - yes

59. Visited Russia

60. Served at a soup kitchen

61. Sold Girl Scout Cookies

62. Gone whale watching – yes and it was awesome

63. Gotten flowers for no reason - yes

64. Donated blood, platelets or plasma - yes

65. Gone sky diving

66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp – yes, very sad, Bergen-Belsen.

67. Bounced a check – yes!

68. Flown in a helicopter

69. Saved a favorite childhood toy - yes.

70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial

71. Eaten caviar

72. Pieced a quilt

73. Stood in Times Square

74. Toured the Everglades

75. Been fired from a job – yes!

76. Seen the changing of the guards in London - yes dated one of them!!!

77. Broken a bone - yes

78. Been on a speeding motorcycle - yes

79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person

80. Published a book – yes!

81. Visited the Vatican

82. Bought a brand new car

83. Walked in Jerusalem

84. Had your picture in the newspaper - yes

85. Read the entire Bible

86. Visited the White House

87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating – yes, and i hate Rabbit!

88. Had chickenpox - yes

89. Saved someone’s life - yes

90. Sat on a jury

91. Met someone famous - yes

92. Joined a book club - yes

93. Lost a loved one - yes

94. Had a baby - yes

95. Seen the Alamo in person

96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake

97. Been involved in a law suit

98. Owned a cell phone - yes

99. Been stung by a bee - yes

100. Acted in a play - yes

WOW i am seriously surprised by all the things i have done!! Some are virtually impossible for me living in the UK but i so wanted to play along!

What have you done?

This man.

This man is my best friend.
He is probably the only person who truly knows me, what makes me tick and how to read me.
This man believes in me, whole hearted, unquestioningly.
This man can make me laugh or giggle like a school girl, he can make me cry, he frustrates me, he is my everything.
This man's hands have held mine, they have held me, they have reached out to me when i needed them to and they have just rested gently on me when i needed to know they were there. They have written to me from Iraq, Canada, Poland and various other places. Letters i still hold dear and read from time to time.
This man's hands fix things, they make things and they were the first hands to hold three small babies when they made their way into the world. This man's hands hold my heart in them, so strong and so gently that i know it is safe there. This man, the father of my children, is my reason for being. He is my reason for smiles, laughter and love. He is my soul mate, my best friend and my lover. This man, this lovely gentle caring man is everything and more to me. I do not tell him often enough how he really makes me feel. Our lives so busy with working and raising our family. So my wonderful man, thank you for loving me the way you do, thank you for our lovely children, thank you for just being you...my husband. I love you.

New year photos

Obviously i took the opportunity to take soem pics of New years Day. Mainly of the kids but there is one of Beccy and myself that we are happy to have on here...lack of chins on show!! LOL

David & Stephen show off their go-go's!

Rae on her flute.

K and his lovely Katie sharing a tender moment.
(i just love this pic)

My two girlies.
(Another pic i simply love)

Yes! The corners of the heads of two best mates!

Am i too late

to wish everyone a very happy new year and all the very best for 2009? Gee i hope not!
It has as always been manic off the new year starting blocks, no excuse for me lack of posting i know, but i have just been enjoying evenings with the kids on the sofa. We have been watching the diary of Anne Frank, which has been raising questions and debates, that have just been wonderful for us to enter into as a family. I guess learning doesn't always stop when the school day does! The kids have been thoroughly moved by the story so we are now getting the book to read. They were (i hesitate to use the word delighted or pleased) proud to know that they have been to Bergen-Belsen where Anne and her sister, Margot, died. They (the children) were very small when we took them, but it was an experience we wanted to share and since we lived near there at the time we did not pass up the chance.
And that my dear friends is where we are at up to this point in the new year!
We did start the year with our very good friends and as usual it was just a wonderful day. Chilling out, relaxed and just enjoying each other. All children are back to full health and we are looking forward to a lie in tomorrow!! (Still not too used to these early mornings!!).

Pics of Bergen-Belsen as requested by the girls:

Main Entrance:

reads: Here Lay 500 Dead. (so sad, R.I.P)
Looking at the wall with all the names on it.
Becky laying a stone out of respect.