My little actor!

I am a bit late posting this today ~ I had good intentions to do this a little earlier ~ but life just got in the way!

Tonight we travelled to the Theatre Royal in Winchester ~ to watch Daniel in a performance of Joseph and the amazing technicolour dreamcoat ~ which was put on by the Key Stage 2 children in his school. The children have been rehearsing since the start of the year and have been staying after school twice a week to practice ~ so they have really put their hearts into it.

Daniel had the part of an older child ~ which basically meant that he had a part narrating and was on stage quite alot of the time. He was so sweet and did a great job ~ it brought tears to my eyes ~ I was so proud of my little lad. Lauren had already seen a performance of it in school, but she was so excited about going to a theatre and seeing it done on stage ~ we had a really nice night.

We are getting everything ready for easter ~ we have an easter egg hunt planned in my friends garden and some easter crafts ~ there are busy days ahead of us.

Tomorrow is April 1st ~ April fools day (tee hee!!) ~ so I am trying to think of a little trick to play on the children.........(nothing mean of course) ~ when I was younger I played an April fool on my sister and told her that the wash powder was sherbert.......she ate it!!?? and was quite sick (when she had stopped foaming at the mouth!) ~ obviously I got told off and sent to my room (in my defence I was only about 8 at the time) ~ I didn't bother trying any more tricks after that .......well, that is if you don't count the time me and my sister put a fake dog poo on the hall carpet and sat back and watched my Mum go balistic (bahhahaha ~ we didn't even have a dog!!) ......

Finally ~ as well as it being April fools day tomorrow ~ it also means that there are only 5 more days until this comes out on DVD.....


Oh Edward.........only 5 more days ~ I cannot wait (tee hee!!).XXXX

Rainy days and Sundays

The last couple of days have been a bit of a rush ~ I can't believe that the weekend is almost over already ~ I don't even feel like I have had a break and the fact that the clocks went forward today didn't help ~ losing that hour is a real pain ha ha !!

It also means that the children did not want to go to bed at the usual time ~ as it was still very light outside and they decided that meant they could stay up!! Eventually they saw it my way (I think the threats of no treats this week helped matters slightly!!) ~ and went to bed....

Not alot to report from today ~ I treated myself to a new cardigan this morning while we were out shopping ~ I liked the colour and decided that I have lots of tops that I can wear it over ~ so I bought it! I don't usually wear bright pink ~ but decided that summer will come (oneday) and it is quite bright and cheery and I am in need of something bright in my wardrobe.

I haven't updated since Friday ~ so just a quick update on the walking ~ it went really well, the first 2 miles are behind me now ~ it wasn't as exhausting as I had expected and it felt good getting back out there in the fresh air again.........The only very slight problem was the fact that the lovely sunny weather that we had all day on Friday ended about 2 hours before the walk ~
Then the rain started ~ followed by the strong winds ~ followed by more rain and then a bit more....(you get the picture!) ~ SO ~ we had to have a slight change of route (avoiding the woods and the mud) and stuck to a route that has a path all the way round.
We were soaked when we got back ~ all the way through ~ but it was still worth it (???).

We are sticking to just 2 miles a week at the moment ~ so no walking until next Friday ~ then we will be increasing to Mondays and Fridays.

The picture below is especially for my good friend Dani who commented on my last post that she would love to see a picture of me with my new training shoes and my PJ's (which is how I was wearing them in prior to their first outing) ~ so here you go Dani .............

They are still lovely and clean and shiny and new ~ don't expect that to last too long though!

And finally ~ here are the pictures of my lovely little Lauren with her Dance trophies and certificates.

She has now decided that she wants a shelf up on the wall in her bedroom for all her awards and wants all the certificates framed and up on the wall ~ so looks like I will be quite busy this next week ~ I am not very good at putting up shelves ~ so that should be interesting!!

XXX

3 Distincions and 1 merit

All the dance results are in ~

The final results are.........

Ballet ~ Distinction 92 points
Tap ~ Distinction 90 points
Modern dance ~ Distinction 91 points
Hip Hop ~ Merit 88 points

Lauren is totally overjoyed and pleased that she has passed ~ and better still that she has passed with such high marks ~ all the exams are marked out of 100 points ~ so she has done very well ~ then again I am slightly biased ha ha !!!

Will update this post with some pictures later ~ when the little dancing Diva is back from school ~ she has taken the certificates and 2 of the awards with her to school ~ so will get more pictures later on.

I am pleased to report that we have sunshine here ~ in anticipation of the 2 miles that I have to walk tonight ~ I was not looking forward to it if it was raining ~ but so far the weather is looking promising. I have been wearing my trainers around the house ~ trying to wear them in before tonight ~ I must say ~ they looked very attractive with my PJ's last night ~ I am such a fashion trend setter (NOT!!).

Friday is here again ~ hurray for the weekend !! XXX

Why we love children....

A woman was trying hard to get the ketchup out of the jar. During her struggle the phone rang so she asked her 4-year-old daughter to answer the phone. 'Mommy can't come to the phone to talk to you right now. She's hitting the bottle.'

A little boy got lost at the YMCA and found himself in the women's locker room. When he was spotted, the room burst into shrieks, with ladies grabbing towels and running for cover. The little boy watched in amazement and then asked, 'What's the matter, haven't you ever seen a little boy before?'

A little girl was watching her parents dress for a party. When she saw her dad donning his tuxedo, she warned, 'Daddy, you shouldn't wear that suit.' 'And why not, darling?' 'You know that it always gives you a headache the next morning.'

A little girl had just finished her first week of school. 'I'm just wasting my time,' she said to her mother. 'I can't read, I can't write, and they won't let me talk!'

A little boy opened the big family Bible. He was fascinated as he fingered through the old pages. Suddenly, something fell out of the Bible. He picked up the object and looked at it. What he saw was an old leaf that had been pressed in between the pages.
'Mama, look what I found,' the boy called out.. 'What have you got there, dear?'
With astonishment in the young boy's voice, he answered, 'I think it's Adam's underwear!'

Hope these brightened up your Thursday ~ they certainly made me smile. XXX

80.5 and 88

Incase you are wondering what the heck the title of this post is all about ~ I will put you out of your misery ha ha!!!

80.5 is the total pounds that I have now lost ~ I lost 1 and a half pounds this week (that half is very important to me tee hee!!!) ~ which is 5 stone 10 and a half pounds!!! I am so glad that the weight is on the move again ~ after a few weeks of staying the same and then the odd pound here and there. I am also back on the power walking from Friday. I ordered myself some new trainers (my old ones fell to bits) ~ and some new jogging pants (my old ones fell down ha ha ) ~ and some new sports tops ~ so I am ready and waiting for Friday! I just hope that the weather holds out ~ as we are going back to the old route we did last year ~ which partly cuts through the woods and can get VERY muddy if it has been raining. The route is about 2 miles and we were just about doing it every week night ~ so that was 10 miles a week ~ we are going to start with just the Friday night at the moment and build up from there ~ which is what we did last time.
I will keep you updated as to how it goes (if I am not too exhausted!!).

Next ~ 88 is the points that Lauren scored in her Hip Hop exam ~ which means that she passed with Merit ~ which is what she wanted. She did get quite upset as her certificate and trophy were not on the table and she thought that she had failed (bless her ~ she got quite emotional) ~ but the principle of the school had put it in with the ballet results by mistake and had to go and get it sepeartely. She is over the moon ~ she had already said that she didn't think that she would get a distinction for this exam ~ as it is the class that she has been doing the shortest time ~ but she was hoping for a Merit and that is what she got.

I am not sure whether she will get her ballet results at the class tomorrow night or whether she will have to wait until saturday ~ but I will keep you updated ~ and I will post some pictures of the ballet and hip hop certificates and trophies too.

Well, I am off to watch the Apprentice which has started a new series tonight ~ I just love Sir Alan Sugar ~ and all the bitching and back stabbing in the board room (reminds me of my previous life ha ha !!).

And the first results are in......

At last (thank you Lord for finally saving my poor ears....) ~ the first batch of Dance results are in AND.......she did fantastically well!!

In her Modern theatre Tap Dance exam she scored a mark of 90, which means that Lauren receives a distinction for this exam (I am sooooo proud)

In her Modern Theatre exam, she received a mark of 91, which also means that Lauren received a distinction (I am even more proud ha ha !!).

Here are a few pictures of the certificates, the awards and of course my little dancing star.....

The next exam results are on Wednesday ~ when the Hip Hop results are in!

Lauren is the least sure of this exam ~ she loves Hip Hop, but has been doing these classes the shortest time ~ so is not sure how she will have done. This is the only exam where she came out and said "That was hard" !!

Finally the ballet results are in on Saturday ~ and then we can sigh a big sigh of relief for yet another year.

I will update you as and when the next lot of results are in .............and hopefully I can throw the ear plugs away after that ha ha !!! XXX

Happy Mothers Day!

It is Mothers Day here today in the UK and I have had a really wonderful day.
Dan and Lauren made me cards and had also bought me a card aswell ~ I got a DVD and a book (I did make some suggestions ~ but the final choice was theres!!) ~ Dan got me a little teddy with 'worlds best mum' on it and Lauren got me a heart shaped photo frame ~ they both got me a little flower (not a real one ~ a material one!) ~ one had 'super mum' on it and the other one said 'someone special'. As we had to rush Dan to judo ~ we had a quick toast and juice breakfast (no burning was involved ~ I am pleased to report!!).

This afternoon we went around to one of my friends houses ~ and she cooked a meal for me and the children and another friend of ours and her children ~ it was wonderful ~ and made the day very special.

I have had a great day ~ with the two little people who mean the whole world to me ~ Happy Mothers Day to all you wonderful blogging Mummys out there! XXXX

Brendas photo challenge ~ The eyes have it!

It is photo challenge time again ~ I am so sorry that I am late (again!) ~ things a bit hectic here again ~ had to get up at 6am this morning to go and pick Dan up after his trip to France ~ then the usual Saturday rushing about ~ so I have literally just sat down and remembered I had to post my pictures (I am totally useless aren't I ha ha !!!???)

Anyway, back to the photo challenge ~ this time around the hostess is Brenda from What's up down south ~ and the theme this time is The Eyes Have It!

So, here are my pictures ~ not the best pictures ever ~ as taking pictures of eyes is actually alot harder than I thought!

Firstly ~ here are some green ogre eyes ~ from one of Laurens soft toys ~ yes ~ it is Shrek ha ha !!

Here are some innocent little eyes ~ my sweet little Lauren ~ doing her best to keep her eyes open ~
Some very tired eyes ~ I don't like having to get up at 6am on a Saturday ~ yes those are bags under my eyes ~ very attractive ha ha !!
Another sweet little pair of tired eyes ~ my gorgeous little chap ~ back safely after his fun trip to France.
So, there you go ~ our eyes!!

Just a little update for you ~ as I said ~ Dan is back safely after his trip ~ he had a totally fantastic time, the trip on the ferry was ok and went smoothly ~ he has not stopped talking about it since he came back ~ bless him he is also exhausted ~ he went back to bed this morning for a nap as he didn't get much sleep on the ferry!!

He loved the french food, loved visiting the D Day sites including the Pegasus Bridge and he just loved every minute of it. He wants us to go over there next, so I may just have to look into a day trip over there for the 3 of us ~ as we live so close to a ferry port ~ it seems silly not to give it a try!

My 2 little stars are locked away secretly in the bedroom at the moment ~ writing cards and wrapping presents for Mothers Day tomorrow!!

I am also apparently being treated to breakfast in bed.........hopefully the fire brigade will be on full alert ..........I could just do with a hunky fireman with my mothers day (burnt) toast......tee hee ~ only joking, I am sure that after last year they will get the toast just right!!

XXX

My day ~ in pictures....

Today has been perfect in every way ~ warm sunshine ~ fresh air and lots of laughter and fun ~ little memories that will be held in my heart forever.........wish every day could be just like this one!!XXX

Wednesday!

I am pleased to announce that another pound has waved bye bye this week ~ this was not really a great achievement after 2 weeks of losing ZERO!!! But ~ I have come a long way ~ so I should expect it to slow down a bit! Also, I have decided that after being overweight for such a long time ~ the fat and my body are really good friends now and don't want to leave each other Bahahahahahah ~ well, that is my story and I a sticking to it tee hee!!!!

I have now lost 5 stone and 9 pounds (79 pounds) ~ so I am almost where I want to be ~ originally I wanted to lose 6 stone (84 pounds) ~ so I am 5 pounds away from that now. I think that I will lose that 5 pounds and then see how I feel at that weight ~ and decide where to go from there!

I also decided to update you with some dieting before and after pictures ~ so here goes.....

BEFORE..........

AFTER (ISH!!)

ALMOST THERE!!

When I get to my target weight ~ I will do a final before and after picture post ~ and then the real fun starts (NOT) of keeping the weight off (maybe I should just have my mouth sewn shut tee hee!!!!).

In other news...............My little lad is all ready and packed and excited about his trip to France tomorrow ~ he has everything that he needs ~ and he is all set! I bought him some travel sickness tablets today, as I am not sure what he will be like on a ferry, I just pray that it is a nice and gentle crossing (for Dan and his stomachs sake!).

Lauren is patiently waiting for her dance exam results ~ they are due any day now ~ maybe this weekend ~ the suspense is killing us all (literally!) ~ she goes on and on and on and onnnnnn (you get the picture ha ha !!). Needless to say, I will be glad when they arrive!

We are currently having glorious sunny and warm weather here ~ it is great!

Only one draw back ~ I have no summery clothes that fit ~ none, not a single item ~ so I had to swelter today in jeans and a jumper ~ if this weather continues, I will have to brave the shops again and kit myself out with some summery stuff!! I may even buy a skirt (shock, horror ha ha).

Well, best be off ~ had a hectic day ~ chasing 3 little children around the garden (I love my job when the sun is shining!) ~ so am off to bed!! Must be that old age (according to my darling daughter!) catching up with me.

XXX

Friends with Florence???

Lauren asked me this morning whether I was alive in the 'Olden days' and if so ~ did I know Florence Nightingale!!! (She has been learning about Florence Nightingale at school ~ apparently!)......



Of course I informed her that I was not THAT old and NO I had never met Florence Nightingale, to which she nodded, smiled sweetly and said "Oh, of course not ~ you weren't born until the war ~ were you????"



I didn't ask which War she meant exactly ~ I just smiled sweetly back at her (from behind gritted teeth!!).



I love my sweet, darling little 7 year old, I really do ~ BUT, I think that some additional history lessons may be needed (and I am off out tomorrow morning, to buy some Anti wrinkle cream ha ha !!) XXX

An Angel by my side......

I have just been over to Dani's blog ~ where she has a great post up about her relationship with god ~ it has actually made me stop and think tonight (something that doesn't happen very often!!) ~ if you are not familiar with Dani's blog ~ click on the link above and go visit ~ she is one of my bestest blogging buddies and I love her to bits!!

What Dani wrote really struck a chord with me today ~ I do not know why ~ I have been thinking of my dad alot this past week ~ missing him alot and playing that same old game with myself ~ the 'WHAT IF?' game........what if he had been diagnosed sooner ~ what if they had tried different treatments.........what if he had stayed in remission?...........what if? what if?

This is not a good game to play ~ actually if I am truthful, it is totally soul destroying and I try to play it as infrequently as I can! BUT ~ there are times ~ usually when I am tired ~ a bit down or just in the mood where the whole world feels like an unfair place ~ where so many things go through my mind.

Reading Danis post reminded me of a time ~ just after my Dad died when I felt that there actually was no God ~ nothing ~ if there was ~ then why did a good, decent, man like my Dad have to die at such a young age? How can that be fair??
I was mad with the world ~ mad with everything ~

I remember reading a book written by Gloria Hunniford ~ about the loss of her daughter Karen to cancer. She wrote that before karen died she had conversations with her Mother about angels and how she believed that Angels would watch over her when she was gone (I believe that is correct ~ that was my interpretation of the story anyway!). When karen had passed away ~ Gloria would find perfect white feathers in the most unexpected of places ~ and took these as signs that Karen was Ok!

I decided that if god did indeed exist ~ that I would ask him for a sign....any sign that my Dad was ok ~ I was quite sceptical about whether anything would indeed happen ~ and for quite some time nothing did!!

Then out of the blue ~ something, actually two things happened............

I was going through the hardest part of my divorce ~ everything was not going well ~ and I can remember driving along in the car and saying out loud (addressed to my Dad) ~ that I had had enough and now would be a good time to prove that he was indeed there watching over me (as he had always promised me he would be) ~ nothing happened ~ no bolt of lightening ~ no booming voice from the sky ~ so I carried on driving. I stopped at some traffic lights and as I sat there staring into space ~ a perfect white feather floated down and landed on the bonnet, before blowing off on its journey. I know that it had probably fallen from some random bird that was flying overhead ~ BUT ~ at that moment ~ to me ~ it was all that I needed and gave me what I needed at that time ~ the belief that my Dad was indeed there ~ in spirit!

The other thing that happened was a few months after the feather incident ~ again things were not good ~ I can truthfully say that going through a divorce was the worst time of my life ~ solicitors, courts ~ arguements over money, pensions, the children and who got what, where and when ~ not good!

Again I was in the car ~ with the children in the back and for some unknown reason Daniel started to ask me about my Dad. I told Daniel all about my Dad (even though he already knew all that I was telling ~ we have had many many conversations about him before!) ~ how he was in the army and worked on tanks and all about how he loved to fix things ~ then Daniel said that I must really miss my dad ~ which in turn made me cry ~ and I managed to nod through the tears and reply that I did. Almost immediately ~ we drove around a bend and there was a Tank ~ yes, a TANK!!!!!! I almost crashed the car (ha ha ) ~ we do not live anywhere near an army base which has tanks and in all the years I have lived where we do ~ I had NEVER seen a tank just randomly trundeling down the road ~ NEVER!!!!! Daniel straight away said words to the effect that Grandad had sent us a tank and then both kids proceeded to wave at the tank and its occupants.............this has never happened since ~ no more tanks ~ no more feathers ~ but at the time ~ these two things that happened were all I needed to convince me that my dad was there with me ~ and better still ~ restored my belief that God is there too!!

I have never shared these stories before ~ but after reading danis post ~ I decided that I would like to share them.

I know now that in those dark moments ~ where the world is against me (in my head anyway ) ~ that my Dad is right there next to me ~ with his hand on my shoulder ~ watching over his little girl............just like he always did XXX

Gok, Gifts and Red Noses!!!

This morning we had to be up extra early as Dan was being collected by his friends Mum and they were going off to a local sports centre ~ where Dan and some of his school friends would be racing a motorised go cart that they have designed and built!! Dan has been very excited about the race and I hope that he has done well!! I haven't seen him since this morning, as after the race he is going to the cinema with his friend and is then staying there on a sleep over!!

Lauren was at a party for 2 hours today .........SO that meant that I was child free~ alone ~ just me......something that doesn't happen ........EVER!!!! I made a mad dash for the shopping centre and headed to the book shop to see if I could get the book that Dani mentioned over at her blog ~ it is called The Shack and I thought I might give it a read. Typically they did not have it ~ so I had a wander round and saw this book.........

I totally love Goks TV shows ~ love his advice and how he gets people to see that they can look great ~ just by changing what they wear and how they wear it!! I have been having a slight crisis since I have lost weight.........before I started dieting, I basically just wore baggy shapeless tops, so that I could cover up and not look bigger (this did not work ha ha !!). Now that I am almost 6 sizes smaller ~ I just do not know what to wear ~ do not know what suits me ~ I am in clothes hell (tee hee!!). I have however,been trying on lots of different styles ~ buying things that I would never have dreamed of buying before and actually really loving it!

I am hoping that Gok ~ well more precisely his book ~ will be able to further help my dilema, and will be making a note of all his tips ~ I will let you know how it goes!!!!

I mentioned in a previous blog post that I had received a Pay It Forward gift from Amanda over at Penny and Pounds ~ it is a cute Teddy keyring and at last I have got my camera working ~ so here is the keyring!! I have actually put it onto my keys now and it look great!

I was also lucky enough to win another Pay it Forward (I am not greedy ~ I promise ~ I just entered and won!!!!)

This wonderful gift arrived today from Shannon over at Tales of a misguided mommy ~
The bag is going to be used to take my lunch in each day ~ when we venture out on visits with the Childminded children.......the chocolate lasted about 10 seconds ~ I am assured that it was very tasty ~ although none passed my lips ~ and the Sunflower seeds are going to be planted as part of our "growing" project ...........after our rather disasterous carrot growing last year LOL!!

Thank you so much to Shannon and Amanda for their great gifts ~ I enjoyed paying it forward on my blog too!!



Yesterday was Red Nose Day here in the UK. For those of you lucky enough NOT to live here ha ha ~ click HERE to find out what this great charity event is all about. This year my 2 little stars were allowed to wear their pyjamas to school as long as they donated £1, they also wore their red noses to school!

My friend and I made these yummy Red Nose cripy cakes with the children ~ decorated with sultana eyes and a cherry red nose!

The children had such fun making them ~ and even more fun eating them.........

We watched the televised show on TV for Red Nose day last night and I cannot deny that I was brought to tears by some of the stories ~ I know that a fantastic amount of money was raised this year ~ and I am sure that it will change so many peoples lives for the better ~ both here in the UK and in Africa.

Sorry that this post is rather long (and painful ha ha ) ~ I promise that the next post will be shorter.....and sweeter tee hee!!! XXXX

Playing Catch Up!

Hello there!!!
Well, can you believe that it is Thursday already? I can't ~ and I have been such a bad blogger this week ~ basically I haven't posted at all!
I am not lazy (honestly!!) ~ just majorly busy. I actually half expected to meet myself on the way back this week......it has been MAD!!!

So far this week we have had a meeting on Monday at the school ~ to finalise all the details for daniels trip to France next week. Tuesday ~ Daniel had a football rally and I had to go and collect him ~ he was the goal keeper and was basically covered in mud ~ almost head to foot ~ bless him ~ I think he saved a few goals!! Wednesday was dance classes for Lauren and she is excited as they have started to prepare for the show that will be put on in July (remember last year???).
Then it was off to the weigh in ~ and I have nothing to report ~ I have stayed the same for the last 2 weeks ~ I believe that this is called a plateau........and I pray that I don't fall off ha ha !!!

Tonight Lauren had her second week at the Ballet classes that she now does ~ she is dancing with the older girls and has come home tonight with a list of new uniform that she needs ~ I think that I may need to get a second (and maybe third !!) job!!!

We also had parents evening tonight and I am pleased to report that both had great reports and are doing well. Daniel needs to work a bit on his handwriting and Lauren has her times tables to learn ~ but apart from that all is well!!

I actually managed to post off the Pay It Forward gifts today ~ so Amanda (Penny and Pounds), Tania (Little Sweethearts) and Susan (Nonlinear Thinking) ~ keep an eye out for a parcel coming your way !!

Finally I just wanted to share this little prayer with you ~ my Mum e mailed it to me today and it made me smile ~ hope it makes you smile too (I will be saying it every night from now on ha ha !!)

NOW I LAY ME DOWN TO SLEEP,
I PRAY THE LORD MY SHAPE TO KEEP,
PLEASE NO WRINKLES, PLEASE NO BAGS,
PLEASE LIFT MY BUTT ~ BEFORE IT SAGS,
PLEASE NO AGE SPOTS, PLEASE NO GREY,
AND AS FOR MY BELLY ~ PLEASE TAKE IT AWAY,
PLEASE KEEP ME HEALTHY, PLEASE KEEP ME YOUNG ~
AND THANK YOU LORD ~ FOR ALL THAT YOU'VE DONE!!

Hope your week has been going ok too XXXX

Blogging Buddies Spring Garden Party......

Dani over at Give me a second to think about it has invited all us blogging girls to a Spring Garden Party. This was great fun last year ~ we all had to pick our outfits and accessories for a Champagne Brunch last time and it was wonderful to search for the dress and the shoes ~ I had so much fun!!

How fun it would be if we could all really meet up someday......but for now ~ I am happy getting my outfit all ready for our virtual garden party!!!

I am not sure who is driving us all there this year ~ Amanda over at Penny N Pounds has been tasked with that job and I am excited to see who she will choose!!

My sweet little girl has also got in on the act this year ~ and she has chosen an outfit and all her accessories herself.....not one for the minimal look obviously ha ha !!! Believe me, she would not have stopped where she did ~ if I had not explained that she probably wouldn't be able to fit much more on !!!!!

So here are our outfits ~ mine is the first one ~ quite simple I know ~ but that is just me!!
The second outfit is Laurens creation and she will be so excited to see it on the blog ~ she has a great time on the polyvore website and wants to go on again tonight to make some more outfits!



tabitha maclennan on Polyvore.com



Laurens garden party outfit - by tabitha maclennan on Polyvore.com

Our dates for the garden party this year are as follows ~ I will be bringing Daniel Craig along this year ~ ever since our birthday dance ~ thank you Dani!! He is my firm favourite !! Lauren will be accompanied by Zac Effron ~ or maybe the Jonas Brothers....or maybe all of them, who knows!!

If you would like to come along ~ all you have to do is click here register and choose your outfit. For details of how to upoad the outfit onto your blog, go on over to Danis blog (the link is highlighted at the top of this post ) and she has instructions there!!

Look forward to seeing you all there ~ and am waiting excitedly to see who Amanda has chosen as the driver this year!! XXXX

Mum I want a puppy........

Just a quick hello ~ we have had a busy day ~ Lauren and I went to the Cinema to see Hotel for Dogs today ~ it was quite good ~ only down side is that Lauren now wants a puppy ......... not good ~ last time she wanted a puppy she went on and on and on (you get the picture) for weeks ha ha !!

Daniel has gone with his Dad for the weekend ~ I will be doing a post over at my other blog ~ so those of you with access can pop on over and read my latest rant (tee hee!!).

For those of you who won the gifts on my Pay it forward post ~ I believe it was Amanda (penny and pounds), Tania (Little Sweethearts) and Susan (Non Linear Thinking), they will be posted monday ~ they are wrapped ~ addressed and just waiting for stamps ~ so Monday morning they will be snail mailing their way to you ~ I am so sorry about the delay ~ I have been so busy and today I had them with me to post before the cinema and stupidly left them in the car (yes ~ I am losing my mind??).

I received my Pay it forward gift from Amanda at Penny and Pounds and it was just lovely ~ a teddy keyring with my initial on it, which was made by Tania over at Littlesweethearts for her etsy shop ~ if you haven't been over there, then go and have a look as she has some lovely items for sale!
I will post some pictures of my gift when my camera is in a good mood ~ it is having one of its tempremental days again today ha ha !!!
Thank you for the gift Amanda ~ it is wonderful ~ I love it and it was very kind of you.

Thank you also to everyone who left such nice comments on my last Blogaversary post ~ it is truly wonderful to have met so many wonderful people and I can't see me giving up blogging any time soon ~ if ever!!

Best go now ~ Lauren wants to watch Stardust on the DVD followed by Harry Potter (Order of the phoenix I believe!) ~ so best go and snuggle up with her on the sofa for our girly night of DVD viewing !!!! XXX

Happy First Birthday To My Blog!!!!

Today is my Blogaversary ~ I really cannot believe that a whole year has gone by since I wrote my very first post on this blog. I can remember when I first wrote on my blog ~ no one left a comment on those first few posts ~ I wasn't even sure that anyone would actually ever read what I wrote ~ and I can tell you now, I never ever in my wildest dreams EVER thought that I would meet so many wonderful friends through this blog.

I remember exactly how I came to be interested in blogging ~ I am not sure whether I have ever explained about this on here before ~

One day last year I was watching some Youtube videos ~ and somehow (I cannot even tell you how I came across it) ~ I came across a tribute to a sweet baby called Ava ~ who only lived a few short hours. I was so touched by the video ~ that I followed the link to a blog called
Untangling Knots ~ and basically spent hours reading back through all the old posts ~ learning all about Ava and her Mum Karla and the pain of Avas loss ~ together with the joy of the arrival of Karlas son Nate. The story touched me very deeply and I have followed the blog ever since.

Before finding karlas blog ~ I had never read a blog before ~ infact I had no idea what a blog was ~ or what bogging was all about ~ BUT I decided that I wanted to write a blog too. I had no idea whether it would last a day or a week ~ I certainly never thought that I would be here a year later ~ still blogging AND quite frankly loving it!!

SO ~ Happy First Birthday to MY BLOG!
It has been a year filled with highs and lows ~ happy moments and the sad ~ I have shared good news and the not so good ~ and I have always been moved by the amount of wonderful comments that you have all left ~ you will never know how much they have meant to me ~ how much they still do......
Here's hoping that there are many more wonderful years of blogging ahead ~ Thank you all so much ~ my life would just not be the same without all you wonderful blog friends and your equally wonderful blogs.......

Love and Big Birthday Hugs, Tabitha XXXXXX

What is in my Handbag??

I saw this over at Misguided Mommys blog and thought that it would be fun to take part!
So, here is my handbag ~ which I think is actually too small ~ the only problem is ~ when I have a bigger bag, I tend to fill it to the top (with junk!!).



AND ~ here is what is in my handbag..............

In my handbag are the following items ~

2 Cheque books

A picture taken at the start of my diet and my diet weight tracking card

A sewing kit (which I got in a christmas cracker ha ha )

A book of stamps

Some headache pills

A paying in book

A brown envelope (that contained some money I drew out of the bank!)

A little card that was attached to a mood necklace of laurens (no idea how it got in my bag)

My mobile phone and phone sock

A packet of tissues

A small note pad

Various papers

3 Pens

2 World book day tokens

The purse that has my change in it

A purse that holds my bank and store cards

My diary

A little tin that holds pant liners!!

2 little dogs that the kids got in Mcdonalds

A hair clip

A silver purse ~ with cards in

My make up bag

2 lip glosses

2 pant liners (you can never have enough pant liners ha ha ha !!!)

To see what Shannon has in her hand bag ~ click on the link above and have a look!

I would also love to see what you all have in your handbags too!!

Not alot happening here today ~ we have strong winds and rain here today ~ not a nice day at all.

The only bit of good news is that Daniel got into the Secondary School of his choice ~ so he is over the moon and very happy (and so am I!!). XXX

ANOTHER MONDAY ~ ANOTHER LITTLE UPDATE!!

Thank goodness!!
The bug seems to have moved on ~ HURRAY!!
Lauren is alot better ~ she has made up for 2 days of hardly eating ~ by eating everything that she has set eyes on (literally!!).
Daniel is showing no signs of getting it (HURRAY again!).
I am hoping that there will be no more puke........I hate puke.......there has been alot of puke here recently and I am so over it !!

Well, it is the start of another week ~ and it is March ~ can you believe it? I can't! I am sure that it was only yesterday that I sat at this very laptop and typed my first post of 2009 ~ and now here we are....March already ~ this year is going by way too fast.......stop the world, I want to get off!! Tee Hee!!

Daniel is excitedly waiting his French trip. We have a meeting next Monday to go over all the details ~ what time they have to be at the coach and what they need to take etc. Dan has chosen the things that he would like for breakfast when he gets to France. They have breakfast at a little cafe and then lunch at a lovely restaurant ~ so Dan is excited. He has told me he chose burger and chips for lunch (I know ~ not very French ~ but he is a creature of habit ha ha !!) ~ he has also opted for a crepe and icecream for pudding. He asked me if I knew what a 'pan of chocolate' was (bahahaha) ~ as that was what he was having for breakfast and he assured me that the teacher told him it was very tasty.........I am sure he means 'Pain au chocolate' (excuse the spelling ~ sorry to anyone French if I am incorrect there!!) ~ he is looking forward to it soooo much. Later in the year they have a weeks residential break away in a place called Swanage ~ I am sure that he will be just fine ~ but I will miss him so much that week, he has never been away from me that long before ~ not ever!!

Lauren was at dancing tonight and she wanted to know if her exam results were there ~ we have been told that we have to wait 4 to 6 weeks ~ so she has a while to wait yet.

The principle of the school had a chat with me and she would like Lauren to skip a grade in her Ballet and move up to a harder class ~ where Lauren will be the youngest ~ she feels that Lauren is not being challenged enough in her current class and she would like her in her ballet class ~ as she doesn't want Lauren to lose what she has.
Also, the dance school does shows in the West End ~ and the principle would like Lauren to start training for the West End show in September ~ and Lauren can then take part in the show when she is 8 ~ which is November.
I am so excited and proud of my girl. Please do not think that I am one of those pushy Mums who makes her child do things ~ because I am soooooooo NOT! Lauren totally loves dance ~ she is mad on Ballet and after I discussed everything with her ~ she is so excited and cannot wait. She will start in the harder ballet class this Thursday ~ so I will let you know how it all goes.

Well ~ that is all the news here in my little part of the world. XXX

Sharing the bug.....

Just thought I would update you on the 'bug' situation ~ I am now feeling alot better ~ but I was up almost all last night with poor little Lauren who was really sick (thankfully she made it to the toilet in time!!). I feel awful that she has now caught it ~ I would imagine from me and I just hope that dan has escaped. He is fine and is out playing in the fresh air with a few of his friends ~ so maybe that will help??!!

Lauren is all snuggled up on the sofa with her blanket at the moment ~ watching WALL.E on the DVD ~ she hasn't been sick since about 5 this morning ~ so hopefully that is a good sign ~ she is still quite pale though.

I know that there were at least 5 of the children in Laurens class off with the sickness bug last week ~ so it is obviously doing the rounds.

I am totally exhausted ~ so might go and lie down for an hour before dinner!!