Pray for Madeleine

Almost a year ago this precious little girl went missing from her holiday apartment in Portugal.

As a mother, I cannot even start to imagine the pain of not knowing where your child is ~ of waking up every morning without them.

Please pray for Madeleine and her family ~ I pray that she may still be reunited with her family some day soon.

I've been tagged................

I've been tagged.......for the very first time!!!!

Dani over at 'give me a second to think about it' has tagged me (thanks Dani!!).

(I have to mention and link the person who tagged me ~ just done that!!!).
Mention the rules on your blog ~
Tell about 6 unspectacular quirks of yours ~
Tag 6 fellow bloggers by linking them ~
Leave a comment on each of the tagged bloggers blogs ~ letting them know they have been tagged!!

Anyway ~ here goes ~ 6 unspectacular quirks about me ~

1 ~ I don't like getting my hair wet ~ it goes wavy and I hate it!!
2 ~ I cannot walk in heels~ I tend to fall over (and that is before the wine!!!)
3 ~ I cannot cook ~ bake ~ sew ~
4~ I love watching Desperate Housewives ~ and am really grumpy if I miss it !!!!!!(lol).
5 ~ I am always on a diet!!!!
6 ~ I always sleep with the bedroom lamp on ~ I don't like the dark!!

Right, now that is done, I am going to tag ~

Amanda
Vanessa
e&t (that counts as 2!!!)

Unfortunately that will have to be it ~ as the other bloggy people I was going to tag have already been tagged on this one!!!!!!

That was fun ~ thanks Dani for the info on linking!!

Barnaby Bear

It was Laurens turn today to bring home the school bear, who is called Barnaby. The children in Laurens class all take it in turns to take the bear home each night, over the weekend or during the school holidays. Barnaby is a well travelled bear, he came with us to Wales when we went to visit my Mum and he has also been abroad on holiday ~ going to America last year with one of the children to Disney land.....

Barnaby has also got lots of presents which the children have given her (apparently it is a girl ~ according to lauren!!!!), when Lauren had Barnaby at Christmas we gave the bear some tinsel from the tree to wear and a festive bauble!!

When the children have had Barnaby to visit, they have to write a short piece in a diary, telling the rest of the class what they did when Barnaby stayed and include photographs.

Lauren loves having Barnaby and always writes about 5 pages in the book lol!!

MY BOY!!!!

Not wanting to be out done by his little sister ~ Daniel went to Judo today and received his orange belt, a great achievement as he has not been going for that long, maybe 8 months at the most.

Wow, what a weekend ~ talk about one proud Mummy!!!

~ Well done Danny Boy ~ keep going and that Black belt will be yours before you know it!!! XX

Exam results!!!!

Today is the day we have been waiting for ~ Laurens ballet and tap exam results......

I am pleased to report that she passed!!!!! She received a Gold pass in both exams, scoring 90 in tap and 91 in ballet. She received a gold medal for the tap and will have her gold trophy for ballet next saturday, as the trophies were not ready today (more photos next Saturday!!!).

She is absolutely over the moon and has been bouncing about the place since we got home.

I have told her to keep doing so well, then she can be a famous ballerina or tap dancer and her Mummy can retire early (ha ha!!!!)

Happy Birthday Melissa XX

Today is my little sisters 33rd birthday, so I couldn't let the day pass without saying ~ Happy Birthday Sis ~ Love you loads XXXX

Spider!!!

On the way back from the school run this morning ~ I was driving along quite merrily in the car ~ I had no children with me and the sun was shining ~ the world was a happy place.....

All of a sudden a rather large spider decided to float down in front of me, right by my face....and then out of sight ~ I actually thought that I was going to crash the car!!! I had to pull in a layby and after alot of jumping about and rubbing down of my jacket ~ I looked in the car and couldn't see it , so I got back in and drove home....

I know that my fear of spiders (no matter what size!!), is totally irrational and all the way home I was trying to think happy thoughts of the nice spider Charlotte in my fav kids film Charlottes Web.....it worked temporarily.

I am now home, have checked my jacket, hair, clothes for the spider and it's not there ~ so I am having a cup of tea and thinking more happy thoughts ~ I am going to get the Charlottes Web DVD out in a minute and watch it .......

Anybody out there who shares my fear of spiders.....please let me know I am not alone (or insane!!!), if you aren't scared of spiders ~ what else makes you shake with fear?

Tea for three

Lauren, her doll (lisa) and her puppy dog (bow) all had a tea party!!!

That set must be one of the best things she has ever done ~ it has kept her quiet for hours ~ lol!!

Tea anyone?

The tea set survived the 2 hours of baking in the oven ~ there was no smoke or fire, just a bit of a funny smell ~ but it didn't explode ~ which was my main fear (ha ha).

Lauren is so pleased ~ she worked really hard and has completed it in record time (I thought she would be at it alot longer!!).

She wants to play with it now, but unfortunately she has to go to school ~ but I am sure she will be playing with it the minute she gets in!!

Wish me luck.............

The tea set is all painted (Lauren worked really hard on it ~ bless her!!), and it has just this minute gone in the oven!! (It wasn't a good omen when I burnt my hand putting it in ~ ha ha!!)

I have re read the instructions and it actually says it has to be in there for 2 hours and not 20 minutes as I thought ~ it was bad enough thinking I would have to wait 20 minutes to see if I have totally destroyed it ~ let alone 2 hours (I will be a nervous wreck ~ )
I have set the timer, poured a glass of wine (Blossom Hill ~ my fav!!!), and am sat here sniffing the air for smoke (yes ~ I am officially a nut case!!).

All being well (and in the absense of smoke, fire or the fire brigade being here ~ mind you a few hunky firemen about the place would be an added bonus!!!!!) ~ I will be back here with photos of a pefect little tea set!!!!!

Tea set ~ update

A quick update on the tea set ~ hopefully it will be finished tonight (the fire brigade are on stand by!!). Will post more photos later!!

Sometimes you can't see what is right under your nose!!!!

These photos were taken last year, by a friend of mine ~ who was visiting. She has only just recently e mailed them to me. I have lived in this village for 10 years, but it wasn't until I opened the e mail and looked at the photos that I realised what a lovely place it is ~ sometimes you just can't see what is right there under your nose!!!!

Just a thought.....

I decided today that I really dislike Internet Banking......

I used to have to visit the actual Branch of the Bank to feel depressed....

Now I can be depressed from the comfort of my own livingroom!!!!!

Operation Tea Set has begun....

Just a quick post to let everyone know that the paint your own tea set kit has been started...Lauren made a start on it after school today ~ unfortunately my camera died after I took the first few photos ~ so there are none of the devastation and mess that was made after she opened the box!!

It is coming along nicely ~ the only bit that worries me is the 'baking' it in the oven bit ~ with my track record for baking (of any kind!!), I am seriously worried that it may be possible for me to even burn a tea set....and believe me that would not be funny!!!!!

6 Random things......

As I don't have anything exciting to post today, I thought that I would tell you 6 random things about me, that you won't already know!!
I thought that this would be very easy and wouldn't take much brain power to do, but actually it was harder than I thought ~ anyway, here goes ~

6 RANDOM THINGS ABOUT ME ~~

1. I love eating raw jelly, as in the jelly cubes before you put it in boiling water ~ my grandma used to let me make the jelly when I was younger, it never used to set because I ate most of it (tee hee!!).

2. I am currently studying for a Foundation Degree in early years care and childhood studies.

3. I am asolutely terrified of needles, going for an injection or a blood test sends me into a hysterical frenzy!!! (yes, I am a chicken!!).

4. When I was little, I wanted to be an Air Hostess ~ unfortunately I developed my dislike of flying and that scuppered that career path!!

5. I love taking photographs, I am not very good at it though!! I keep promising myself that I will do a photography course ~ to date I still haven't done it!!!

6. I can knit!!!!(My mum taught me when I was little ~ she could have taught me something useful, like gourmet cookery ~ but no, she taught me to knit!!!!!).

Anyway, there you go!! (told you my life was boring ~ ha ha!!).

Hopefully something exciting will happen tomorrow (maybe George Clooney will whisk me away from it all ~ a girl is allowed to dream!!!!!!!).

Canvas

We have had a really great day today, usually I don't like Sundays, but today has been good!!

Daniel had his usual Sunday Judo session, while Lauren and I did the food shopping (the bill would have been half what it was, if I didn't have LITTLE~MISS~SHOPAHOLIC with me!!).

We then met up with my friend Jane (who we ventured to Devon with on holiday!!), and we had lunch followed by a very long walk through the woods and area surrounding where we live ~ the weather was like a summers day and it was truly beautiful (typically I forgot my camera ~ so there are no pictures (sorry!!).

Instead of that, I have posted some photos of the canvas of the children that I ordered a while back and collected yesterday. It is the photo that was taken squint and not the canvas (or my ability to hang it ~ ha ha!!). I am sitting looking at it and it is perfectly straight in real life!!

The photo doesn't actually do it justice, it is done on canvas with a sepia effect, but my camera just won't pick that up (I need my new camera to come ~ quickly!!!).

I used to have a large picture of a lighthouse (my most favourite things!!), hanging above the fire place, but my children have replaced it (my most most most favourite things!!).

Well, have an ironing pile the size of a mountain to do ~ and two children to bath and get to bed.

My feet hurt (tee~hee), because we walked so far and I had new trainers on ~ silly!!!

Hope you have all had a good sunday too!!

NOTE TO SELF..........

......Giving Lauren camera and asking her to take photos of new haircut ~ to post on blog ~ was probably not one of my best ideas to date!!!!!!!

I don't need wine ~ to have fun????!!!!!

In my quest for a new hairstyle, I found a website called www.dailymakeover.com and have had hours of fun trying out hairstyles, some of them were so funny that I nearly fell off my chair laughing.

The dark hair colour is as close as I could find to my hair at the moment, but I thought I would try out some blonde ~ just for fun!!!!!

I don't actually think I will ask for any of these styles tomorrow ~ but it gave me a real laugh ~ you could even have blue hair, think I will try that out another time!!!!

Friday!

For some reason this week has been a hard one, I blame the fact that we were away last week, it is school holidays and I spent yesterday doing nothing but cleaning (and that damn elf never turned up last night to finish the job!!!). All week I have been waiting for Saturday when I get to sleep in until 8am - 2 extra hours in bed tomorrow morning - yipppppeeeeeeee!!!!!!!

I have got a very quiet weekend ahead - Lauren does not have ballet this weekend, so I will only have to take Dan to Judo on Sunday, apart from that - the weekend is mine (all mine!!!).

I have booked a hair appointment tomorrow - a couple of hours to be pampered - and maybe a coffee and some adult conversation too - what a luxury -ha ha. This hairdressers appointment throws up the age old question that I ask myself everytime I go "Keep growing it or have it cut shorter??????" I have had this battle all my life, when my hair is shorter - I am desperate to grow it long, then as it gets longer - I get fed up and want it short again. The only time that this did not happen was when I was at Police Training College - basically it was short and that was it (long hair had to be worn in a bun and I wasn't even going there - I was 19 remember!!!!).
Hopefully I will come back from the hairdressers tomorrow with some compromise - somewhere between long and short (it is a long graduated bob at the moment!!).

Back to today and unfortunately all it did was rain - where has spring gone? (maybe it is my fault for spring cleaning!!). We made winnie the pooh cakes today and then decided to watch a movie (alvin and the chipmunks) and eat popcorn (I like childminding on wet days - we get to veg out and eat popcorn he he!!). I then spent the rest of the afternoon making pirate hats and crowns out of paper and the children had a great time colouring them in and dressing up.

Now everyone has gone home and I have to cook tea - there is no wine in the fridge (I drank it all last night - blame the cleaning!!!), and my own 2 children are in the bedroom arguing (sweet little darlings!!??).

Another week over and another weekend here ~ hope you have a good one ~ and any hairstyle ideas will be greatly received!! (within reason ~ remember I am a 37 year old childminder and don't want to scare the children - too much!!!!) X