A blog post by Lauren ~ about Fairies!

Today I have handed the blogging reigns over to my sweet little daughter Lauren........
She is fascinated with fairies at the moment and wanted to do a post all about them ~ so here goes (I have no idea what she will say ~ as she has the controls for this post ~ so here goes......)


FAIRIES

Hello this is Lauren typing on Mummys blog (well Mummy is typing and has promised to type exactly what I tell her to!).........

Today I am going to tell you about fairies and what me and my friend Libby have been doing at school.

When we were at school, Libby found a wing in the playground ~ which we think may be a fairy wing, we are not sure. So, I have been trying to get pictures and find out where fairies live.

I have found out that they live in woodland gardens and Mummy has printed off the picture that is showing at the top, so I know what they look like.

If any of you have ever seen a fairy or have any stories about fairies can you tell me them on Mummys blog and I can tell them to Libby at school.

Well, let's get on with the fairy telling.

At school, as you know, Libby found a wing and it was by some logs that had been cut down. We have been searching on the mud by the logs for ages now for a fairy. We have seen all types of things ~ that could be clues ~ like a piece of blue shiny paper that they could use as a dress. We found some steps by the logs and I have found a little hole in the logs that we think fairies may live in. we are going to carry on looking for the fairies and Mummy will let me tell you on the blog how we are getting on.

Thank you for reading my blog about fairies.

Lots of love from Lauren XOXOXOXOXOXO

PS ~ if somebody does not believe in fairies ~ just laugh ha ha ha ha.

These little wonders....

These two little people mean the whole world to me ~ I love them more than life itself.

They are a constant source of fun and wonderment in my life ~ they love me totally ~ unconditionally ~ as I do them too!

They have been there when times have been hard ~ making me smile ~ cheering me up with their funny little ways ~ doing sweet little things for me ~ they have been my Rocks ~ one stable and firm point on the horizon ~ when the seas of life have been a bit choppy..........

They are two wonderful little people who never cease to amaze me..............they are precious and I thank my lucky stars every day that they came into my life ~

I love you both very very much, and I always will XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Happy Little Birthday To Me......

It was my birthday on Monday and I reached the grand old age of 39!!
For some reason this birthday has caused me quite alot of stress and an untold amount of soul searching too! I do not know what it is ~ but maybe my Mum hit the nail on the head when she said it is because it is my last '30' birthday!!!??

Well, the day has come and gone and I feel pretty much the same (ha ha ) ~ nothing awful has happened and I have not suddenly got 30 more wrinkles and there doesn't seem to be any bad effects so far......I will keep you updated on that one ha !!

I had the most wonderful day ~ the best birthday that I have ever had ~ a totally spoilt day that I will remember for a long time!

Andy had taken the children out the weekend before so that they could buy me a card and a present ~ they got me a gorgeous body shop set (unfortunately I do not have a photo as I have already used some of it!!).

Andy was very naughty and treated me to something that I have wanted for a very long time............my very own Blackberry.




I may atually get myself together now and be organised ........or maybe not!!!
He also took me out in the evening to a wonderful restaurant and we had a delicious meal (the diet has soooooo gone out the window ha ha ) ~ I even had a few glasses of Baileys over ice ~ which is my all time favourite tipple!! All in all it was a very nice day ~ I was totally spoilt and felt very very special!!


The suprises and feeling special did not end there however. I received a totally wonderful gift from my Dear blog friend Dani (over at Give Me A Second To Think About It) ~ she sent me this gorgeous bracelet watch ~ which was very personal to me ~ it had beads in my favourite colours and a little silver boy and girl ~ representing my Dan and Lauren ~ and it also had 2 silver stars ~ which is just perfect for my blog name Twinkle Twinkle ~ it was a very special gift ~


I have worn it non stop since opening it on my birthday and I love it so much ~ Thank you Dani ~ from the bottom of my heart XXX

I also received another snail mail package yesterday from another wonderful blog friend ~ Amanda over at Penny and Pounds. She sent me a totally wonderful bracelet in similar colours to the bracelet watch Dani sent me and a kitchen shopping list magnet ~ perfect for sticking on my fridge and noting all the bits that I need!!

Thank you Amanda ~ your gifts were so lovely and I am very grateful.

Amanda and Dani are such special blogging buddies to me ~ it always amazes me how blogging has brought me to so many wonderful and special people ~ who although I have never me them ~ I have the privelidge to call FRIEND XXX

Finally ~ my friend Joan made a cake just for me ~ for my birthday!

Andy and the children sang Happy Birthday to me and I blew out my candles ~ the perfect end to a perfect day!! I wish it was my birthday every day!! (or is that just a bit too greedy ha ha ).

So, that is my birthday over for another year ~ and next year is the big 40!

I will just have to see what that will bring!

Thank you to all of you that have left such nice birthday messages on my blog ~ it really did mean alot to me XXX

Happy fathers Day....

To My Dad.

On 6th August 1994 ~ the man who I absolutely adored and loved beyond belief died, at the age of 43. The world lost a great man that day and I lost my Dad ~ the world has never been the same since......

Sending Happy fathers Day wishes up to where you are Dad ~ I miss you so much ~ and I always will XXX

Happy Happy!

I know..... I know ~ I have now officially turned into the worlds worst blogger ha ha !!
I have had the busiest of weeks ~ I think that I deliberately kept myself busy so that I wouldn't miss my boy too much.........it didn't work ha ha !!

Dan is back now ~ I picked him up yesterday and he was a little bit tired and a little bit emotional ~ but he has had the most wonderful week and as predicted ~ has come back with the most fantastic stories and memories that will stay with him for a life time.

It is quite strange ~ he seems bigger ~ more grown up ~ more independent ~ which I suppose was the whole point of the week ~ to give them a chance to team build and find their feet a bit more before they all make that huge jump up to senior school in September.

He brought back the biggest bag of dirty washing that I have EVER seem (tee hee!!) ~ and believe me I mean DIRTY!! They have been doing so many activities and have been outdoors in the gorgeous weather all week ~ so his clothes are going to need washing about 50 times to get them clean! Never mind ~ he has had fun and that is what matters the most.

Well, I have quite an easy day today ~ apart from Laurens dance classes I do not have alot else to do ~ so I fully intend to sit down with a cup of tea and catch up with all my blog friends (I have been so bad lately that this could take the whole day to do ha ha ) ~ I need to find out what has been happening in your lives ~ as I have felt lately like something has been missing ~ blogging is a huge part of my life and I cannot deny that I have missed you all soooo much!!!

Laurens preparations for her summer dance show are in full swing ~ I cannot believe that it is almost a whole year since the last one!! That is the thing with blogging ~ you have a record of these milestones and then you also have the realisation that time just rolls on by so quickly.....this year is shooting by me exceptionally fast ~ someone press that pause button for me PLEASE!!

I must also share a little something with you all ~ as I know that I am amongst friends (please be kind ha ha ha !!) .............I will be 39 soon (very soon) and I am having a total and utter crisis about it! Do not ask me why ~ I have no idea ~ I just woke up a couple of days ago and thought 'Oh my God ~ where is my life going ~ where the hell have the last 20 years gone.......what the hell will the next 20 years hold?' and then I had a total meltdown (I am such a wally ha ha !!).
I do not know why 39 has caused me so much stress ~ I am 40 next year and that doesn't worry me at all (Weird ha!!!) ~ maybe it is just the realisation that this is the last '30' birthday that I will have ~ I do not know!!!

Anyway ~ I am sure that I will be ok ~ and that this crisis will pass ~ they usually do (ha!).

Will be back again very soon with Daniels photos from his week away ~ the only problem is that he used a disposable camera ~ so we have to get them developed and then I will have to scan them into the computer............you all know that I am slightly challenged where anything technical is concerned ~ so the results could be......well ~ er ~ interesting??

Hope you are all well ~ look forward to my cuppa and catch up with you all later.XXXX

One whole week.....

My gorgeous boy goes away with the School tomorrow......for one whole week!

He is very excited, he has everything packed (and I mean EVERYTHING!!), he has his pocket money and his games and bags of sweets ~ he is all set!!

During the week they will be staying in a Guest House and taking part in lots of fun activities ~ they will be playing games and putting on a talent show.

I know that he will have a wonderful week, another step towards independance ~ another sign that he is growing up ~

He will be fine, he will have fun and on Friday he will come home with lots and lots of stories.......

AND ~ for one whole very long week.........his Mummy will be missing him very very much XXX

My little sister.................

You are someone that I have known for ever ~ you have always been there ~
we have had good times and our fair share of the bad ~ we have seen each other at our lowest ~
and love each other no matter what......

Now we are no longer children and there are hundreds of miles between us ~ I sometimes feel like our special bond has somehow been broken ..........that the closeness that once was ~ is there no more..........no matter where you are ~ no matter what you ever do ~ you are my little sister.....and I will always love you XXXXXXXXX

Down on the farm!!

Yesterday the children and I met up with my friend Jane and her children ~ and we ventured over to visit another friend of ours ~ Sasha ~ who lives locally on a farm.

The children love to visit the farm ~ they always get totally covered in mud and muck and have great fun just roaming about, looking at the animals and just being children ~ no worries ~ and not a care in the world.

We had a really great time ~ the children did not want to leave ~ infact we had to chase them and round them up at the end of the day ~

Here are some pictures from the farm ~

Sasha has some little calves in her barn at the moment ~ they were so sweet and very cautious of me when I was taking this picture ~ when the flash went off they all ran backwards!


This is me taken in Sashas kitchen with her dog Farley ~ who is so soft and affectionate ~
The little puppet in the picture is called Louis ~ he belongs to the Nursery where Jane works and
as they are doing a topic on farms ~ he came with us and had pictures taken all around the farm.


Here is Sashas farm house ~ we love visiting here!!

A little chicken (or hen!! Not sure which really) ~ the kids spent ages following it about!

Some geese ~ they were not very friendly at all ~ and I kept away from them. The last time that

we visited the geese chased me and it was not fun ha ha !!!!!

More chickens and some little baby chicks!

When it was time to go home the children were covered in mud and muck and lots and lots of hay ~ as they had been playing on the hay bales and were throwing hay over each other.

It was straight in the bath for them (you should have seen the bath when they got out ~ I am sure that they took most of the hay home with them ha ha !!). While they were in the bath I had to clean the car (which was also full of hay ~ mud and some chicken poop ha ha !!) ~ I am glad to report that it is now sweet smelling and clean!!

It was a great day ~ the kids had so much fun and Jane and I managed to catch up with Sasha and have a good natter! Hopefully it will not be too long until we are back on the farm again! XX

Toothy Tales

Those of you that have been reading my blog for a while will know that my sweet little Lauren knocked her front tooth out when she was approx 18 months old. We were living in our old house at the time and she ran down the front path (like she had done millions of times before!), she tripped and hit her mouth on the front step ~ when I picked her up there was blood everywhere and she then proceeded to spit out a tooth!

A slight panic followed with Lauren being taken (with said tooth safely stored in a cup of milk!) ~ to the local A & E department ~ and 4 hours later ~ when she had been examined by the paediatric Doctor and a facial expert had also had a look ~ it was decided that as it was a milk tooth ~ it was better to leave it as it would be more of a problem for Lauren to have it put back in!

What followed were various visits to the hospital ~ as they were worried that she had damaged the gum tissue and may need some kind of surgery ~ thankfully this was later decided to be unnecessary. We also had lots of visits to the dentist ~ who decided that there was indeed another tooth there ~ but he was unable to tell us if it would ever come through ~ and indeed if it did ~ he was unsure whether it would be discoloured or weak or damaged!

We have since played a waiting game ~ with Lauren losing various milk teeth and getting new ones ~ when she lost the other front tooth and a new one grew in, we all held our breath, waiting to see if this kick started the missing tooths growth ~ but it didn't. I cannot deny that I had almost given up hope (and accepted the fact that my girl would have to go through dental surgery!) ~ WHEN.......all of a sudden ~ look what appeared!



Lauren had been complaining that her mouth was hurting ~ where the missing tooth was ~ this has not been unusual over the last few years ~ but nothing has ever happened. Anyway ~ this time I had a closer look and could see tiny white jagged edges poking through. I actually did a dance of joy ha ha !! The tooth is here at last!

It is taking a while to come through ~ but it looks fine ~ not discoloured or damaged ~ just a perfect little tooth! It is quite strange to see Lauren with no gap and I cannot wait until it is all the way through ~as I am sure she will look different. She has already said that it is strange not being able to put her tongue in the gap ~ but I am sure she will get used to it!

Needless to say, we are all so pleased that the tooth has arrived ~ I look forward to posting more pictures of my little star with both her front teeth ~ in the near future!! XXXX

A great day out!

Today was the annual Collingwood show ~ which is held at one of the local Navy bases. We have been in the past quite a few times, but I think that the last time that we went was when I was still married to my ex and Lauren was an itty bitty baby!!

We had a wonderful day there ~ it was warm ~ but not too hot ~ there was lots to do and the kids had great fun! We all ate lots of bad things ha ha ~ including candy floss and lots of sweeties ~ so I am back onto the healthy eating in the morning!!

Here are some pictures from our fun day!!

Here is Lauren with little Alfie ~ we went to the show With Alfie and his Mum Tracy (Tracy is a good friend of mine and I used to look after Alfie).
Lauren got to ride in a Fire Engine, she was especially interested in the walkie talkies ~ could she be headed for a career as a fire fighter I wonder?????

Looking very impressed with herself ~ she even got to set off the sirens and blue light!!

We had to que for about an hour for the kids to get on this bungee ride ~ Lauren loves these things and did not want to get off. Unfortunately my camera battery gave out just when Dan got on ~ so no pictures of my bouncy lad I am afraid!!

Daniel wanted to go on one of the fast roller coaster kind of rides (which his mother does not do ha ha !!) ~ so he went on with Tracy ~ here they are just before it got up speed and started to spin!

My little Dancing star ~ showing off as usual!!!

My other little star ~ fed up that his mother had her camera out AGAIN!! tee hee!!

A bit of helter skelter madness ~ Lauren would have gone on this all day and literally had to be dragged off it ha ha !!!

All in all we had a truly wonderful day ~ more great memories made!

I am totally exhausted ~ as we were on our feet all day and must have walked miles ~

the kids were in bed quite early and I am headed there now!!

I managed to get some pictures of Laurens new (and much anticipated ) tooth today ~ so I will try and post those tomorrow!!

Night Night!!

Happy Birthday wishes to Tanya xxx

Today is my blog friend Tanyas Birthday ~ Please click HERE and visit her and send her your very best birthday wishes xx

Happy Birthday Tanya ~ my dear friend ~ me and my little stars are sending you all our love on your special day. I hope that your day is filled with happiness and smiles.

You are a wonderful woman and I am so glad that I can call you my friend.

Enjoy your day ~ Love and huge big hugs ~ Tabitha, Daniel and Lauren XXXXXXX

Another year......another school photo!!

I know that my blogging has been a little sparce recently ~ so I am here with an update of what we have been doing.

Firstly ~ above is the 2009 school photo ~ which is Dan and Laurens last school photo together, as Dan moves up to senior school in September. It is quite sad that they will not have another one done ~ and when I look at the 3 photos that they have had taken together, I can see how much they have both changed and grown up ~ it has been quite a journey. I will try and get the three photos uploaded and let you have a look for yourselves.

The childrens weekend with their Dad went ok and was uneventful ~ I hate it when they are not here with me and I did worry the whole time (hey ~ I am a Mum!!!) ~ but they came back safely and had enjoyed themselves ~ so that is all that matters. I have no idea when they will be seeing him again ~ he has said nothing of his future plans ~ so we have to play the waiting game again!

The weather has been totally gorgeous and hot ~ I am afraid that I have to admit to having sun burnt shoulders and back ~ very silly I know. I went to a friends house and was so busy plastering all the children with sun cream, I totally forgot to keep putting it on myself ~ much as I regret it now!!

We have been busy with all the usual stuff ~ school, work, dance classes ~ you know the routine.

I am still very happy and things are still going very well on the relationship front!

We are off to the Collingwood Show at the weekend ~ which is held at a local Navy base ~ there are displays and entertainment for the children and lots to do and see ~ so that should be good fun! I will make sure that I take my camera and get lots of pictures to show you.

I also need to take a picture of Laurens new front tooth ~ which is still steadily making its way through ~ she looks different already ~ and I am so relieved that it decided to grow ~ the alternatives were not good!! Especially since Lauren is just like her mother where needles are concerned ha ha !!!!

I feel like I have lost touch with all my favourite blogs ~ so I am just off to catch up with you all again ~ while I have been away ~ my friend Danielle has had her baby boy ~ please click here to go and send her your best wishes and Erin announced some very special news here so it is babies all round ~ I am so looking forward to following them both through the very special journeys that they are both embarking on.

Happy Belated Birthday Dear Dani xx

A Special Birthday goat just for Dani !!!!!!

A special cake for a special friend!! (It took me hours to bake this Bahahahaha!!!)

I have been such a bad blogger recently ~ life seems to have got in the way big time !!

I am sad to say that I have missed my wonderful blog friend Danis birthday ~ which was yesterday! I feel so awful that I was not here yesterday to wish Dani well on her special day!

So, Happy Birthday Dear Dani ~ I am so so sorry that I am a day late! Please know that these wishes are sent from the heart.

I hope that you had a truly wonderful day ~ surrounded by the people that you love the most ~ and that the day was filled with lots of love, laughter and happiness.

You are truly a wonderful person and a wonderful friend and you mean the whole world to me XXXXXXXXXX