Well i’ve just come back from a bike ride! Not a pushbike, a motorbike! My neighbours who are friends of mine have one and they go off of bike runs most nights. Natasha has been asking me to go for ages but I wouldnt, since losing Mark on one they have scared me. But tonight I felt like I had to push my limits, so I went! There we 12 of us all together, I was on the back of Rick’s bike and it was A.M.A.Z.I.N.G!!! I’d forgotten just how free and alive I felt on one! The last time I was on one was years ago when I used to hang out with some bikers back home in the Midlands. I think we must have clocked up a good 100 miles in all! Now my head is feeling like its just totally buzzing and wide awake. I’m going again later in the week, next time its to Swindon which is about 100 miles away, there’s a bike rally going on and since I found that I knew four of the girlfriends I figured ‘why not?’ So i’m looking forward to that!

Kirsten has finally decided she would like to be baptised! I have a problem with them being baptised at 8 years old so I have not pushed it with her. After doing family home evening yesterday about being baptised and what it means etc she left me a note in my bag which I didn’t find till earlier, to tell me that she would like to start making plans and is ready to set a date! This is just so cool for her, i’m alredy excited!
I done my workout earlier and I think i’ve pulled something out in my hip! I haven’t been able to put my leg straight since and its giving me some real jip! Not a lot I can do about it but i’m not giving up tomorrows session, just take it easy is all!

The packing is almost done now thankfully, I still cant believe how much stuff I was hoarding! All I will need to do now is pack up the stuff we use regularly when we finally get a date to move out. The last two houses have fallen through pretty much at the last minute, which ticked me off cos both were just a few days before we were meant to move!

I decided to sit out in the garden to just enjoy the quiet while I have it, no sooner had I got comfy on my chair did it start to rain...but rather than be defeated i'm going to take a walk down the marina...that seems to be my favourite place to go right now...its quiet peaceful and just lovely to walk down.

Will be taking my camera to see if that boat 'sparkle' is back yet :)

Debsxx

Sun, Smiles, Rain and Radical Moods!

This side of the motorway we've had all sorts going on here, rain, sun, smiles and yeah, radical mood swings by all! I hold my hands up, I joined in at one point when I was feeling totally hacked off...I ended up winging a book across the room in sheer frustration!

I'm trying to get to the end of the GCSE maths course i'm doing, even though I struggle with dyscalculia the tutor has set me for being able to achieve a grade C but possibly a B if I 'put in the extra effort'. Apparently that's what my assessment has predicted...and i'm struggling to keep the level. It's not that I cant do the work, heck yes it is! I cant get my mind to comprehend many of the sequences and it makes me feel like i'm stupid and just want to quit. It doesn't help when Scott makes jokes about it, he's a whizz in maths but instead of answering me when I ask a question he tells me the answer, and thats not what I need! If I didn't need this so much i'd have sacked it ages ago. It just doesn't seem worth it in my world. But on I will plod.

My IT course is now complete, i've passed all the units and now just waiting to sit the exam which can take up to about 8 weeks. I'm not too concerned about that one funnily enough!!

Maybe I just need to get away for a day or so and think about something totally different?

Kirsten was off school today with a sore throat, so she spent most the day on the sofa sipping iced lemon water and dangling that imaginary bell! Charley was a little darling and kept going over to her and reading one of his books in his language! He would come into the kitchen to me, get some raisins or fruit or something and go take it to Kirsten, I think it was his way of taking care of her!! Then he decided to wash his hair...with kitchen cleaner! Two sprays and his lil curls were all bubbly, he couldn't figure out what was going on!! Then he thought it was great to bring all of his toys from his room downstairs...one by one wanged over the bannister...I tell ya, I just dont know what happens in his head sometimes!! LOL As my sister said about one of her sons once 'i'm sure he's wired wrong'! LOL Sometimes I think Charley is...especially when he's insisting (and I mean really insisting) that the fly thats buzzing happily round the room HAS to go in the garden, so i'm there then dancing round with a cushion or towel flicking the darned thing towards the door or window!! I wonder who's the cracked on in our house!! :)

Mood swings have been high this last two days in my house...Scott had a very late night at his friends on Saturday, didn't catch up with sleep yesterday so today he was grouchy, Kirsten had a sleepover on Saturday and hasn't caught up with sleep either and me, well you already know about my tantrum! Very mature I can tell ya!

Tomorrow i'm off out with my friend Zoe for a couple of hours...just because if I dont I swear i'm going to go nuts!!! :)

The pictures from hsms will find their way on here soon as I pull my head together...then I can also catch up with some blogs! What a neglectful blogger-buddy I am eh? :S

Right, enough of my moaning, i'm off to bed! :)

Debsxx

Her space, My space catch up

My catch up attempts at the hsms photos. My 'shell' is a picture of Charley hiding in the dryer when he was about 18 months old. His favourite place to sit and play for ages!

Todays is 'hat'. This is one of the cutest pictues I can think of with any connect to a hat!
Hid daddy was packing to go to work in Dubai for a month, so Charleys way of helping was trying out his hat, sitting on the suitcase and babbling away!

Thats all from me, I have a full day today but I might come back later if I get chance and just waffle on a bit! Do what i'm best at eh?!! LOL

Debsxx

None stop day

It's been a funny ole day today. Got up this morning well before the alarm, which is so unlike me! After just four hours sleep I was surprised to find I felt wide awake and ready to go!
So at 6.30ish I was doing Charley's ironing then went on to complete three more modules on my course before I needed to get the kids up. Kirsten was up before her alarm too...scared the life out of me when I walked into the bathroom and there she was!! :S Charley woke up with a temperature again, i'd left his fan on all night cos I suspected he wasn't quite right. We sat on his bed for a wee while and just cuddled. He likes that when he wakes up. I decided to keep him home today even though he seemed ok he was quieter than he usually is. Within ten minutes of taking Kirsten to school he took himself off to bed again. I left his door open, got his drink and waited for him to come down but he didnt, not for four hours. He still has a bit of a temperature but its come down a bit. He was only up for a couple of hours and he was back to bed again for another few hours. I called the GP who has said to take him in tomorrow lunchtime, he thinks he needs some more antibiotics. I'm not happy with this so I'm going to request some tests, whatever this virus is its just not leaving his system and a fifth lot of antibiotics in as many months is not good. So I feel we need further investigation.
I tried to get him into his Thomas the Tank Engine train set or some books, but he just wasn't interested at all, and thats not like Charley. :(
Kirsten was good though, she came home from school with a certificate for her violin. She's now on Level 2 which isn't usually achieved till high school! Thankfully she's going to carry on with the lessons when she goes up in September so I said if that's the case then I might extend her music lessons to flute as well, she's been wanting to play that for ages, but we'll see, I dont want to overload her, she has enough going on with Guides and church as it is!
The Flour Baby is doing really well! She has stopped asking me to babysit, though she does slyly leave him by me when she goes out to play!! Lol I found myself putting clothes aside for it today! Duh What is it with these mothering instincts??!! LOL
My course is coming on well, i'm actually ahead of the time frame i'd given myself so I decided to sign up for an Emotional Intelligence course that will contribute towards the 6 qualifications I need to get to the Fitness Instructor course I intend to do before going on to a Personal Trainer Diploma. All in all it should take me about 4 years to achieve it all if I put the hours in.
I have four courses currently in progress, all are just to put qualifications to what I can do, for the purpose of my cv but as each one is completed I shall be taking on another, I really want to get to the Diploma level and get into the fitness lifestyle.....cos then i'm going to go on to finish the A level psychology I started a few years ago but didn't finish. So its going to be pretty tough going for a while but I dont mind, I need a focus to move on from this stage of my life.
I had a job interview today, my friend called me yesterday asking for my cv as there was a receptionist vacancy at her work so I sent it over to her, not long after I had a call inviting me for an informal interview! I was so chuffed! :) The interview went really well, the girl there was well cool, we even chatted about our kids and the 'fun' of having teenagers!! Lol I'll hear next week how it went. The job itself is pretty straight forward and I don't think i'll have much problems getting into it if it were to happen! Wish me luck, I could do with some good stuff happening at the moment! :)
Other than that not much else is happening here, I didnt do the hsms photo today cos I noticed it was 'boat' and I really wanted to go down to the marina and get a picture of the gorgeous one there called 'Sparkle'....but the heavens opened here all day today and there's no way I was taking Sam out in this weather!! (Sam is my camera if you cant keep up!!!) I might take a walk down tomorrow though and see if 'Sparkle' is there.... :)
I had a funny thing happen to me today, I went to get some stuff from the supermarket, as I was looking through the kids magazines I heard someone talk to me, I turned round and it was my neighbours friend. I was asked out! Me, asked out on a date, can you believe it!! LOL
I didn't accept though, it wouldnt be right. But I walked away feeling good about myself thats for sure!! LOL Now I just have to face him when he goes to my neighbours! Might have to become one of those curtain creepers!!! Lmao Yeah like he's really gonna stalk me or summat!! ROFL
Right, now i'm off to bed, I have another busy day tomorrow.

Debsxx

Making a memory

I've just had a fantastic afternoon!
Charley and I sat at the table doing his 'mess' which is painting to the rest of us. We got some empty boxes, made models, covered them, painted and drawed on them then got a roll of old wall paper and pinned it from one side of the dining room to the other so he had his own paint wall at his level!
I cut shapes out of potatoes for him to use as stampers, he done his footprints, handprints and scrunched up paper to make different effects.
When that was over with he had a shower, got dressed and lay on his bed. I sat by him and he said 'mummy 'ead it' (read it) and gave me his little Bible stories book along with two Postman Pat books. We lay there for over an hour reading and talking about the pictures. We ate chopped fruit and cream, drank banana milkshake and just enjoyed Charley and mummy time. It was just so lovely.
When Kirsten came home he was flat out again so I suggested to her that we do something and she can choose. She wanted to make some crystals from a kit she had a couple of weeks ago. So thats what we done, before making some cinnamon bread and a banana cake!
When she decided to go watch tv I figured I'd push the boat out and see if Scott wanted some mummy time too! As he's leaving home on saturday I kinda figured i'd push a little bit harder than I normally do when I wanna spend time with him...but he was having none of it! 'Oh mum!' he said and rolled his eyes! So I plonked myself on his bed, flicked through his Xbox 360 magazine and mumbled that its a mum thing and he should be used to it by now. Then he done something that he isn't known for doing, he stood up, aske me to stand by him and he hugged me so tight I was almost out of air. My boy stands over me by about 12" or so but thats ok, cos to me he's always going to be my baby, just like Jaymie who is just as tall and more independant. Boys never stop being mummies boys, but I think mine have it in the right context compared to some!
So now i'm sat here on me own...wondering what to do now. I can do more packing, I can do some scrapbooking or I can do more on my course work...but to be honest, I just feel like having company and a good ole chat. Think i'll run up my phone bill and call a few friends and see what they're doing!! Hehehe (Look out Em....it could be you!! :P)

Debsxx

It's a happy day!

Today's word on hsms is Hand...so this is mine...doing what it's spent most the day doing...writing!!

Today is a happy day here, not too sure why exactly there hasn't been any life changing events but everyone was up full of life this morning...even the neighbours cat came in to say hi!
Kirsten is avidly enjoying her new role as a mummy and constantly has the flour baby with her! Yesterday she went swimming, so I was put in a situation where I HAD to babysit!! Doh So there I was sat at the side of pool reading my book and now and again glancing over to see if this darned bag of flour was ok! It was a while till I realised I was getting the raised eyebrow glances! How glad was I when I stopped myself from straightening out its top and tapping it!!! Lmao Ditzy me!!

Kirsten has signed up for a week of football (soccer to my US friends) training, this hacked her off when she realised it coicided with the week she is supposed to be going to stay with my oldest son down in Brighton! Now she's torn what to do so i'm trying to juggle the dates around to see if I can fit in all the plans we've made still! At this point she may have to sacrifice one or two of her activities, she already has a week away with the Guides booked, a week with her Nan and two weeks with Jay. That leaves two weeks for me which is looking like i'll get one of the weeks where i'm booked to teach scrapping for 4 days! Then we have to go get all her uniform and various sports kits for the new school...so my plan to go camping in the Forest of Dean might not happen! More thoughts are probably needed, I dont want to give that up if I can help it!!

So, today i've had a fantastic visit from my Visiting Teachers from church, both are my closest friends so they knew exactly how to 'enter with caution' with all the packing, sorting and cleaning going on! Plus i'm trying to get ahead with two of my courses and finish off the lesson i'm teaching on Sunday! They are good though, it's very relaxed and easy when they come round! The only thing is after i've had a visit like that I find i'm full of questions so have to go find the answers...so I then spent a while doing some scripture study...and yes, I did manage to find the answers, and amazingly enough I found I am 'allowed' to relax a bit...I dont have to achieve everything today or this week!!
The message they chose was from April's General Conference was about 'Gratitude', this seems straightforward enough? I thought so, but I doubt I'd have given much gratitude for my challenges!! So after listening to Bonnie D Parkin this is the bit that made me think:

Blessing Basket

Let me share a sweet story with you. A family was going through a difficult time. It was hard for them not to focus on their challenges. The mother wrote: "Our world had completely crumpled, so we turned to Heavenly Father for guidance. Almost immediately we realized that we were surrounded by goodness and were being cheered on from every side. We began as a family to express our gratitude to each other as well as to the Lord daily. A close friend pointed out to me that our family's 'blessing basket' was overflowing. From that conversation came a sort of game, which my children and I grew to love. Before family prayer each night we would talk about how our day had gone and then share with each other all of the many blessings that had been added to our 'blessing basket.' The more we expressed gratitude, the more there was to be grateful for. We felt the love of the Lord in a significant way as opportunities for growth presented themselves."

What would a "blessing basket" add to your family?

This I could relate to completely but i'm always inspired to realise that there's always a way through, even by the seemingly small things we can make almost any challenge somewhat more bearable! One of the things I already do is when I find I am angry or annoyed at someone in particular I will sing one of the childrens hymns to change my mental attitude! Sounds daft but it changes the negative to a positive and I dont feel like i'm any less of a nice person for it! The Lord can and will help any of us if only we ask Him and listen for His quiet spirit to guide us!

Thats my spiritual thing happening for the day and something i've set myself to work on...amongst the thousand other things!! LOL It's all good stuff though and an effort that i'm happy to make for the best of my family and myself if nothing else.

Now its bucketing it down with rain here, been red hot this morning so I figured i'd take Charley down the river to feed the ducks, but its not worth it now! That'll please him when he wakes up! Not!

Ok got more course work to do so i'm off for now.
Debsxx

Not going to do todays hsms photo...purely cos 1. the only 'tired' thing I can think of today is me and 2. cos I refuse to post myself on here two days in a row!!
But i'll be going through the girls blogs later to see what they've come up with!!

The Grandma thing had me crying with laughter yesterday...no I didn't babysit...nor did I accept the 2nd time when she went off to Guides!! I did however offer to have 'him' in my room but thats only cos Kirsten slept in my bed again!! LOL
I really hope i'm a better Grandma to a real child than I am to this one!!! LOL

I went to my friend Becky's last night for a few hours, we had so much to chat and laugh about it was great to just relax and forget the serious side to life. Becky is going to come and be the photographer for the scrapbook weekend retreat (more details to come in the next few days), then she will submit the best shots to a variety of publications to promote the craft, I will do the write up for it so i'm looking forward to all that. Finally we have decided when we are going out and its going to be a great occassion to really dress up and be girlie....I love dressing up and being girlie!!! Photos will be taken on the evening as its a ball we're going to!! :)

Even though time was getting on when I got home, I managed to complete another unit on my course, out of 6 modules there were three that I just couldnt get my head round and it was starting to bug me. However, as my tutor was online at the same time he helped me comprehend it and eventually I got it done. The problem I have is that I have dyscalculia it takes me quite a while to comprehend numbers, yet strangely enough i've always worked with money and figures and even though it takes me longer I do get there and my end results are seldomly wrong or far out!! But there ya go, a diagnosed dysfunction!! :) This course is a great challenge for me but one that, if I get the qualification will be recognised through most parts of the world, so who knows, maybe one day Superman might come along and whisk me away to Hawaii, Tahiti or Bali or somewhere equally as exciting!!! Dreams are ok you know!! :P

Today i've had my check up with the doctor about the meds i'm on to keep food down, the tablets are making me ill so I told him i'd rather just be without them and deal with it. However, he has decided that i'm losing too much weight too quickly and now i'm anaemic he feels I should go see a dietician. My arguement is that I eat healthy anyway, i'm no expert but I do know something about how to eat, when to eat and what to eat! I've had an internal scan to see whats happening and that showed nothing so its an unconfirmed conclusion its just my bodys way of dealing with all the challenges that i've faced lately. Anyway, it could all be worse so i'm not going to focus on this particular challenge. I had the same thing happen after I had Scott, it lasted 6 months then out of nowhere it put itself right, so now i'm 3 months into, if history is anything to go by then I have about 3 months to go!!! LOL Ho hum!!

I had two online interviews today...dont ask how that works, i've never heard of them like that before. Both were with the same company but different departments, one is in sales and the other is a PA. Not sure how its going to go but time will tell. The postman bought me a letter from a previous interview that told me that I am 'over qualified', that was for a PA job that seemed to be titled wrong, it was more like an office dogs body with a title!! Still, a job is a job and this one has gone.

So, what else can I ramble on about? The sun is out again today, I am currently sat in the garden enjoying the birds that are feeding and washing in the bird bath, never really been into birds but I had to admit that i'm appreciating just sitting and watching them, we get some really pretty coloured ones around lately. If I could be bothered i'd get a picture...but I cant so I wont!! LOL

Now i'm off to do more packing, still have lots to sort through which i'm finding quite exhilarating throwing stuff that for the life of me I cant figure why I have it!!

Have a great day, whoever you are :)

Debsxx

New baby in the house and another leaving home!

The theme for Y6 kids in Kirsten's school is Flour Babies...a charity week where the kids make a baby out of a bag of flour and treat it as a real baby for a whole week.
So now i've just realised i've become a grandma at a mere 38!!! Oh how Kirsten is laughing!!

Ok here is Jack...minus his hat which he has lost somewhere round school already!!!

So, now Kirsten has a 2lb flour baby called Jack, he is she smallest in the class and is officially premature!! LOL She has Guides tonight so Jack has to go with her...now she's digging through Charley's old baby stuff to see if she can find the baby carrier! She is then covering a box to make a little bed and even managed to get a blue dummy to attach to its wrist!
Tomorrow she is planning to get Charley's baby toys for him, and possibly convert his bed to double up as a car seat! To add to its 'fun' she has put together a variety of Charleys stuff such as a cup, a muslin, bibs, blankets and even a tiny teddy bear!! She even wanted to get some glasses so he'd be the same as Charley!! Lol Bless her! I'm intrigued how long this will last though, as good as she is with Charley I cant see her taking it everywhere with her for a full 5 days!!!


I have to say, she's done a pretty good job making him, but i've warned her, if he moans like she does they're both in the shed!! She finds it all rather amusing when I call her from her room to say she's forgotten her baby, or i'll say to her 'can you please comfort your baby, his crying is very peircing!!' Well responsibility and all that eh? :)
So, to combine this with todays hsms photo of the day here is me playing Grandma, and I tell ya...I'm not that impressed just yet!! LOL

I dont think i'm looking very amused huh? LOL

I've had a pretty calm weekend this week all things considered. I had planned on sorting out the rest of my office and the washroom ready for moving house, but it was so hot there's no way I could lump boxes and stuff about so I focused on getting all my paperwork sorted, got a class for my site researched, almost finished my lesson for next week in Relief Society and got to spend lots of time with the kids. Charley has become the Mega Mission Destruction Machine, he is so happy just getting all his toys out and doing his own thing in the garden but he leaves a mega trail behind him! He decided that it would be a great idea to share his raisins and chopped carrots with the fish! I'd love to know what goes through his head at times!
This week i'm trying to get myself in gear to achieve a million and one things. I seem to have a growing list of essential to do's but one pair of hands just aren't fast enough!
Scott has decided to go to college for the remainder of his A level studies, but that means that he's now leaving home...on Friday/Saturday! I tell ya, it was hard last year when Jaymie left home, I thought I was going to hyperventilate with panic but having two kids leave home is getting rather personal!!! :P No, Scott is moving in with my brother who is a Uni lecturer and Microsoft Designer and able to get Scott some fab on the job training and experience before he goes to uni next year. I know he'll be ok up there, (Grant lives about 100 miles away) but still, this is my 6' baby we're talking about! I dont believe I ever signed up for my kids to leave home!! Lol
Next week will probably have me all tearful...its the mother hormone stuff going on! Isn't it supposed to be better after the first one? All I can think is that i'm thanful I have at least 7 years before Kirsten thinks of leaving home!!
Hmm...kids have a lot to answer for!!

Debsxx

Update: Within minutes of posting this, Kirsten was invited to go down to the marina with our neighbours...the first thing she said was....'mum can you babysit?' Need I say more? :)

Question

I have a question for anyone that might wanna offer a response.

I am teaching next sunday and the lesson is about Integrity. I have my lesson stuff already and a partly prepared draft BUT i'm wondering what your take is on the subject....
what does integrity mean to you?
how do you achieve it?
etc etc
I know there's some of my family and friends that read this but NEVER comment (and yeah i'm hinting at ya!! :P) so I dont mind if you email/phone/msn/yahoo/text, darn it even VISIT me and tell me what you think!! Ok for my families sake....I live at least 60 miles from my nearest family member...and I guess visiting goes both ways...BUT THATS NOT THE POINT HERE!!! LOL
So, back on track, if you have any thoughts, opinions, ideas etc on any aspect of Integrity....then come share em with me...i'm interested what other people think.

Debsxx

It feels like forever

It seems like its been forever since I was here...even though its only been a few days.
My laptop had to go the computer hospital to receive treatment...Beau was diagnosed with exhaustion!!! Seriously, cos of all the stuff I have and do on here it was a having a few minor issues that I didnt want to get any worse...so Tim at church had it for me and made him all better! Now it doesn't take 10 minutes for Power Point to open up!!
My lil dude is up and running at full steam again thankfully. The temperature broke a couple of days ago and he hasn't stopped since! He's like a recharged power tool on a mega mission! My poor fish are fed up eating raisins and carrot sticks that he threw in for them, next doors cat has gone awol since he jumped out on her and as for toys, i've never had to tidy so many up in one day!! Not that I mind of course, i'm just glad he's better!
I am too tired to even bother here tonight, the sun has zapped me! What would I be like if I lived somewhere hot? Useless is probably the right word!! Lol
Enough from me. Scott, Kirsten and I are having an Indian take out tonight and watching some of Scott's choice dvd's. As he wanted to spend his birthday with his friends I made a comment the other day that I felt i'd missed out on him turning 17. I wasn't moaning just stating a fact, so he suggested a night in....me I had a night OUT in mind but I guess its his call!! I wouldnt mind but i'm not even keen on Indian food, far too spicy for me! Lol BUT its Scott's night and i'll endure if that's what it takes!! Lol He just makes me feel like i'm too old to be seen out with or something!! LOL
I guess he's just at that stage where he's defining his area's, and I have my place firmly in view....indoors!! Lmao Good job I luv 'im innit?!!
Right, i'm definately going now, I have been nominated as the one to order the food, pay for it, dish it up and THEN give him a shout...the whole 60' away to his room!! Nice!! :P
Whoever is reading this, have a great weekend!

Debsxx

Scared its meningitis

Today has probably been one of the worst days i've had for a long time. Charley got up around 8, he was so hot I couldn't touch him so I got him in a cool bath to try and bring his temperature down. This worked for a while but a couple of hours later it was back up again. He bought up his two lots of meds and struggled against the spacer for his inhaler. By midday I was in tears with frustration at not being able to help him, I hate it when he's ill and I cant do anything for him. He cuddled up with me on the sofa and watched Dora about three times before nodding off on my chest. I daren't have moved cos I know that while he's sleeping he's healing so I was stuck there for about two hours! I was wet with sweat from him. He picked up for about half hour so I took the opportunity to get a drink and see if I could get him to eat anything, all he wanted was some juice which he polished off a good amount of it.
Scott came down to have him for me so I could get a shower. He carried Charley upstairs to his room (what is it about big brothers rooms that are so much more fun?!), Charley lasted about two minutes before he came into me, give me a kiss and toddled off to lay on his bed! I sat by him and asked if he wanted to lay on Scott's bed, he shook his head and cuddled into his Bob the Builder fleecey blanket. He didn't even ask for the tv to be on, he just cuddled up, closed his eyes and dosed off. I left the door open, kept Scott on 'Charley alert' and had a quick shower. Charley slept for another four hours! I called the doctor to see what he suggested as I knew the temperature wasnt coming down regardless of what I done (fan on, damp cloths and cool bath), it would take a good 24 hours for the meds to kick in and all my boy could do was wimper and sleep.
When he woke up I got him his meds which lead to him throwing everything up. All over me, himself and Kirsten. Stripping him off I noticed a rash inside his thighs and on his chest so I done the glass thing, the skin went white but I still called NHS direct to get their take on it. The doctor on call phoned me back and suggested I carry on doing what I am doing for as long as he remains the same or gets better but if he shows any signs of getting worse before tomorrow morning I am to call 999 and get the paramedics to him. I'm not sure if i'm ok with this but I know i'm doing what I can.
At the moment he's back in his bed with his Bob flannel on his face and the fan on. I've left his door open and got the spare mattress out the loft so I can sleep next to him tonight.
I decided to call a friend from church who promptly got company to come and give Charley a blessing. Immediately before Noel and John got here Charley was running around! I was optimistic with this even though he still took himself off to bed ten minutes after they left. I am hoping and praying with all I have got that he is not going to get any worse, as brave as he is its just not something his little system can cope with. This is the second time he's had this temperature thing and i'm sure there is something causing it. We are booked in with our GP next week to get a full mot on him and a blood test, surely something is causing this.
Anyway, thats my day today, hopefully Charley will break this thing in the night and get back to his normal self tomorrow and go back to getting out the paints every time I turn my head!!!
Now i'm taking time out to chill before I go curl up besides him...so i'm off to see what the photo is for hsms!

Debsxx

Just sharing

I figured i'd stick some piccies on here while my lil man is still out for the count. I guess while he's sleeping he's healing. I just want to cuddle with him though and see that he's ok. I hate it when he's ill life is so much quieter (and the house tidier!!!) than it should be.
Anyway, here goes....this is Kirsten's very own flan that she volunteered to make for dessert last week. It didnt last long through between the three kids and myself!!

Below is the flowers I bought for Relief Society two weeks ago. I absolutely love the vivid colours, they make me feel so happy just looking at them. Each week I try to get the happiest looking bunch of flowers I can, cos thats how I see our RS girls and me thinks they are a great lil reminder that we are 'beautiful' people. They are still going strong now, sat on my living room window. Good job they arent planted in soil, I kill those without any effort at all! Lol

When Kirsten gets the baking bug who knows what she will come up with! The plan is usually for me to help her or at least share in what she's doing but she's just excelling at this cooking lark. This is her batch of cookies, she was proud of these cos for the first time I didn't hover over her with the oven...1.2.3 steps and she was on her own.

This made me laugh when I saw it. I decided to buy some new usable (dont use many of my candles) scented candles for my living room. When I went back in the room this is what I found...I only meant to let them burn for a few minutes but an hour later I think I'd finished them off!! That'll teach me for not using a proper base underneat eh?? Lol

Last but not least is my dream car! We all have to dream eh? But I am determined that one day I shall have this, or a new dream car when the kids have left home...unless I hit it lucky before but we'll see!! Lol A convertible Vauxhall Tigra...in electric purple or azure. Thinking about it, I might just make it my treat in two years time if my plan is followed through!! Nice thought!!

Guess I should stop before I get too carried away!

Its good to share though right! :)

Debsxx

Basket Case?

Todays hsms word is very appropriately chosen for me today...a rough night sleep and a poorly two year old makes for a pretty good basket case I can tell ya! :)
Charley and I saw Scott off to his first exam, Kirsten off on her school trip before we spent the morning just cuddling on the sofa watching Dora, Fifi and Bob on tv! His temperature shot up, he threw up and has refused yet more food as well as drink. Luckily the doctor saw him for an emergency appointment and agreed that we need to get control of his temperature now in case he has another seizure and ends up in hospital like he did a few weeks ago. He's laying on his bed now with the fan on over him, looking like a lost soul. I have the baby monitor on and his door open so he can come down if he wants to. I hate to see him ill, he's just so knocked off his feet when he's unwell. Hopefully the antibiotics and the ibruprofen will kick in soon and I can have my cheeky lil dude back. Its not the same without the real Charley!
I couldn't resist getting a picture of him though :)

Isn't he just so cute? Ok so its a mummy thing!! :)
Ok, so now the lil guy is resting I decided to get my picture in while I can...and i've chosen the basket under my desk where I keep my altered books...and anyone that saw my ribbons post wont be surprised to find that even this has ribbons on it!! LOL

Last night saw me walking round Tesco at 10pm looking for a rucksack for my (not so) darling daughter! Having about 12 various bags she decided it HAD to be a rucksack that she put her stuff in for her school trip to The Welsh Museum of Life in Cardiff. Of course I knew about it weeks ago and was totally prepared, lunchbox, raincoat, sun hat, cream etc etc and after many debates we agreed she'd use one of the bazillions of bags she already has, then at the last minute she gives me the letter from her teacher...rucksacks only! I was mega p'd off I can tell you! So off I went, like a good lil mummy but they dont do rucksacks...every other kind yeah. So today she's gone to school with a note for the dragon of a teacher telling her that 1. a note the day before the trip is not acceptable, 2. dictating what bag she uses is rude, 3. if her current bags offend her so much SHE can freely go and purchase one for her, 4. that I do not take well to being told how to equip my daughter and 5. its my daughter that struggles with the whole weight thing with rucksacks therefore she hasn't had one in years! I politely added that a sore back doesn't justify a class of children that are to LOOK the same for visual security and maybe she should increase adults if that is the issue. Heck I even offered to go myself, but as yet i've not had a call ..... hmm...wonder why that is??!! LOL
Yeah I have a problem with this teacher, its just one issue after another with her. I'm not the only parent either but this is her last few weeks in primary school so I promsed Kirsten i'd be good!!! Lol
Ok, thats me waffled for the day, now its time to go checkout the other blogs I like!! :)

Debsxx

Monday morning catch up!

Happy Monday! But is it? I have established a great relationship with the love of hate for Monday mornings...they come so fast and last so long...I hate Monday mornings so passionately...and why is it that every Monday morning, regardless of the time I go to bed i'm ALWAYS more tired than any other morning? Hmm something to think about there!! So, on with the day and on with why i'm here!
I have a camera called Sam...who has one BIG attitude since I dropped him on his lens...he does not forgive easily I tell ya! Sometimes he'll play and sometimes he wont and I am getting rather frustrated cos I feel like i'm missing out on some good pics!! However, he has indulged me with some pictures over the last day but would you believe it that I didn't find any of those cute or funny things to photo? Pure conspiracy i'm sure!! :)
Anyway, this first picture is todays hsms prompt 'lid'. I have chosen the lid off a keepsake tin I made for a friend who had a baby girl a while back.

Well here are two of my catch up photos from hsms...Bob's back again measuring up with 'tape' :) Hope he does a better job of it than I did when I measured for my kitchen a few years ago!!! Not much out, only 2' each direction!! LOL Wouldn't mind but I checked it twice and made the same mistake both times!! Ok its a chick thing!! LOL

I couldnt resist this one for 'fruit'. Whilst I was browsing round for something interesting, this is is what was facing me in my fruit bowl....courtesty of one 2.5 year old who goes by the name of Charley!! LOL Kids, dontcha just luv em?!!! :)

So, that's my lot for today I think, I have a man to see in Worcester about a venue for a certain retreat I'm working on!!

Have a great day!
Debsxx

Happy Sundays :)

I'm having a happy Sunday, the only downside is there was no church today cos it is Stake Conference. Lds will know what i'm talking about! So i've just gone through my day relaxed, chilled and happy that there's no clock to watch...at least not till the kids need to get showered and ready for school/nursery tomorrow but thats ok.
I've spent almost hours on the phone, replied to a fab email I was surprised to receive and finished two layouts. The first lo is titled '5' which is what I challenged my teamies to on uks. This is my interpretation of it.....


The next lo is one that is long overdue. I just couldn't decide how I wanted this one to be scrapped, as Kirsten is boyish enough I wanted to avoid a typical football lo so when I went through an old kit from Scrapagogo I found the perfect papers! Now I think its just right for her and not too boyish.

Now i'm off to get pictures for the hsms prompts...whatever the missings ones are anyway.

Debsxx

Girlie days and my camera :)

I woke up this morning feeling like I had only just gone to sleep, I hate early mornings!! Very reluctantly I got my butt into gear and got ready for the day. Charley was going out with his dad for the day, Scott was off shopping with his friends and Kirsten and I planned a girlie day shopping!
Out come more summer clothes, the shopping list and one or two optional extra requests from my darlin' 10 year old!! Girls are sooo expesive!!! LOL
So, we went round town, browsed one shop after another picking up little things here and there, done a little shopping (the boring stuff!) and picked up some flowers that I like to buy for Relief Society and a pretty bunch for Kirsten. Walking home we ate prawns, giggled and moaned about how its too hot to walk (town is a 5 minute walk away!!), totally lazy and typically british to moan about the weather!! Lol
I think Kirsten had a great time though, she got to spend her money, and chose well I was pleased to see, I treated myself to a photography magazine and some vellum glue!! Yeah, big spender me!! Lol
Now she's out swimming with her friend and stopping off for chips on the way home before i'm subjected to an evening of her and her friend painting my nails, doing my hair and using makeup on me! She seems to like making me look old, daggy and downright silly!!! LOL But I dont mind, its all in good fun and we do have a giggle!!
Well, my friend called earlier, who is sounding much chirpier today so that was good to hear! I dont envy the challenges he has but its nice to see a guy that isn't afraid to challenge himself to get to where he wants to be!! I had to gasp and giggle when he told me about a conversation he had with his daughter....she was very supportive of him and hischoices, this touched him...I love hearing him talk about his kids. This one daughter, S (not going to use her full name) sounds awesome, I'd love the opportunity to get to know her, maybe even convert her to scrapbooking and I could have another buddy to conspire with about stash, colours and techniques!!! Now how cool would that be??? LOL
Anyway, she'd probably think I was a nutcase so I wont put that on her!! LOL
Ooh I can see the heads nodding in agreement there!! LOL :P
I miss the smilies on here...blogger doesnt have them and I love using them, especially the cheeky ones!
So...her space, my space...I have so missed doing those pics. I have to stop planning things on a morning!! Hehehe So today, as I have some free time I figured I would go play with my camera and see how many I can come up with! For now though here is the last couple of days....

~*~Pegs~*~


This is totally boring, I was going to do my dolly pegs with pretty ribbons on but I really couldnt be bothered to move and go to where I keep them...so I aimed my camera through my conservatory window and took this instead!! Lmao At least you see that I do my washing though!! LOL

~*~vegetable~*~

This onion is made me smile, it was wedged in the corner of my veggie basket all on its own, lost and lonely! Could do with Suzy's touch now though....shall I tell ya what Suzyb does to onions? This is a true story...
Last March I arranged a weekend scrapbooking retreat for our then team. The day before Suzy text me and asked if there's anything I wanted her to bring, but as I cant help but wind her up I said 'yeah, can you get a red onion'. Bless her, she didnt ask why but dutifully picked one up...but left it at work! I didn't need a red onion or any onion for that matter and I had the whole day to rib her over it!! But she got me back because she posted it to me...with cute matching prima flowers adhorning it!! Oh how I laughed when I got it in the post!!! So our Suzy definately won the star of the show!!! LOL
Now I can never look at any onions without thinking of our Suz!!! :P

Todays is tape...so now i'm off to find something and do something to photo and hopefully it'll be a bit more exciting!! :P

Debsxx

What a day!

Today has been a rollercoaster of a day! Scott, Charley and I decided to go to Cheltenham instead of Worcester, a lil disappointment on my part but it was ok it was Scott's day. We had a great time together, that time with Scott was rare and fantastic! Charley handled it all very well but got a bit tired and restless around 4 so we decided to bring him home. Scott was so chuffed when he found that his friends hasn't let him down at all but just changed the plans to add an element of surprise for his birthday. They took him bowling, then to Pizza Hut then gave him gifts, cards and hugs. He came home around 11 just so happy and full of himself, it was lovely. I'm so glad he is blessed with such friends that appreciate him so much to make his day special!
I have a friend, i'm not going to reveal who it is yet, but this friend is also someone special. This person has had a very raw deal in life of which has left him stripped of many of the things that I take for granted. I am not getting into specifics nor will I make judgements but the person that I care a lot about has so many challenges just to feel like they can function like a normal, regular person its actually heart wrenching. We have spent many hours on the phone, talking about all kinds of things and regardless of it all they only speak positively, upliftingly and hopefully. This is an amazing inspiration to me I can tell you. So I wanna tell this person just how special they are, to me and to Heavenly Father and that we both have faith in you and want you to become all the things you righteously desire to become. I am here for you in all the right ways I can be.
Learning to find who you are when you have children that are adults is not an easy thing for anyone to do, but from what i've learnt of my friends children they are people to be proud of and a great inspiration that will keep him/her going and striving for all the right things...especially now he/she has realised they DO have to strength and inclination to overcome the challenges.
My hope and prayer for my friend is that he will find peace with the one person that has apparently had a major contribution to the debilitation of his/her personality/confidence and self esteem. I hope that this person will find peace within themselves and learn to be happy and a way to enjoy the blessings they have.
It can work, the hardest of lifes challenges can be mostly overcome with the help of the Lord, I know cos i've had to call on him more than once for something major and He's never let me down.
Anyway, I just wanted to let my friend know that I do have faith in them, i'm routing for them and I'm here for them.
Debsxx

No more the sweet 16!

Well my Scott is 17 today...so my next sweet 16 year old is Kirsten...in 6 years time!
There's something about having a 16 year old, they are on the threshold of adulthood yet not children...in many ways they are at an exciting place in their life...or was that just me when I was that age? Hmm go figure!

So, Scott is 17 today and i'm just a little overwhelmed with it. Dont ask me why, it was only 4 months ago that I had a hard time when Jay turned 18!! I guess I just struggle with the fact that my kids are growing up so quickly, i'm worried I missed too much of their childhood and wont see enough of their future. Its tough being a Mum!

Scott thinks his friends have all let him down. He had arranged and booked to go to TGI Fridays for a meal with about 10 of his friends but one by one they have cancelled. The truth of it is, his best mate has booked the night to take Scott to the cinema and then for pizza...his two favourite things! Scott and I are off clothes shopping today...he is a kid with a specific style in clothing and woe betide anyone who complains!!Lol So we're off to worcester on the train, (thats Scott's treat for Charley) and we're going to have lunch out then Scott will go choose what clothes he wants. As yet he thinks he's spending the night at Chris's house with a dvd or two!!!
Wish I could see his face when he finds out he's been set up!! Lol

I'm disappointed his driving licence isnt here in time. I've had to cancel his surprise driving lessons which is annoying cos its the only thing he really wants at the moment. Hopefully it wont be too long away though.

He starts his exams next week, A levels so there's a lot of pressure on him right now. I think he's getting fed up of continuous, gruelling school work cos he's been talking about taking a gap year. I dont mind this if he's going to do something specific but not if he just wants time out.

He has suggested us all taking time out for a few months in California...double reasons there but i'm not going into them both just now. Scott wants to see what the state is about, he's always wanted to go since he was offered a Microsoft Scholarship if/when he gets the right grades after university. I must say i'm very tempted to say, lets go! Lets go have a year out of life over here and experience life, another way of doing things, different people and stuff. They have schools over there and i'm sure after living in Arizona that Kirsten and Charley will be assessed accordingly to get into the right grade classes. Me, i'd get a work visa and have my own experiences.
Sounds great when you put it like that eh? But lots of thought still to go into it yet before we make a final decision.

Right, enough of this for now, I have an early start tomorrow getting Scott's birthday breakfast ready and getting the clan sorted and organised!

Debsxx