Awww my little girls are growing up so fast. Today Lucy turned 4! We had a little party for her on Saturday. I'd sent some invitations out to her friends and nursery school but not one of them turned up :-(
She did have a few friends turn up though and she didn't seem bothered at all about the ones that were missing, she had a great day. The weather was lovely too which meant lots of playing out in the garden.
I made a pinata out of papier mache. The party was High School Musical themed so the pinata was a megaphone. Well, it started out as a balloon, then I tried to turn it into a megaphone but it just wouldn't work, so I decided to make a large microphone instead, but that just looked daft. So, dismayed I decided to decorate the balloon and just leave it at that. Then Graham came home and within minutes he had a megaphone made!!! All I had to do was decorate it. I do have photo's but currently I can't find my connection wire from my camera to the computer. I haven't used it in ages because I can just slot the memory card in, but for some reason the memory card decided to not work on Saturday. So photo's will be added later.
Back to today. Lucy still doesn't get the anticipation before an event. She knew it was her birthday today but she wasn't excited last night and went to bed and to sleep with no problems. Leila, however decided to wake up at 11.30pm and wouldnt' go back to sleep until 3.30am. Then Lucy woke at 4am and wouldn't go back to sleep until 5.30am. She said she was cold, her leg was aching, she had an headache. I thought maybe she just wanted to start her birthday early but when I asked if she wanted to get up she said 'no'. Very puzzling. Anyway, after she went back to sleep I finally got to go to sleep myself until 7 am.
I bought Lucy a Nintendo DS for her birthday which she loves and hasn't put it down hardly all day! I also bought her a singing Gabriella from HSM and some games for her DS.
Then we got the news that Graham had lost his job, he was being laid off because there was not enough work. That's really depressing as we are only just finding our feet financially. Ah well, at least we never got around to feeling comfortable, so the struggle continues.
We cheered ourselves up this afternoon by going geocaching for the first time. I'm not going to talk too much about that here because I have a shiny new blog which I'll be dedicating to my geocaching adventures. You can find it here but it's very new so bear with me.
Monday, 24 August 2009
Sunday, 16 August 2009
Visitors
I had quite a busy week last week. Currently Cassie is away at Ayacon, Britains largest and oldest anime convention. Remember the dress I bought her for her birthday? Well, that is one of the outfits she will be wearing. I just hope she takes lots of photo's. She travelled with two friends from Scotland who came to stay with us earlier in the week. They were two lovely girls (even if I did have a little trouble understanding their accents, I'm sure they had just as much trouble understanding me). I don't mind overcrowding my house when the guests are pleasant.
Craige was a big surprise, he was really accomodating. He even gave up the mattress on his bed and then slept on the floor. He spent less time locked away in his bedroom and was nice to his sister. I knew there was a real gentleman locked away in there somewhere :-)
Thursday was nice and sunny so I took the girls to meet some friends on Birmingham beach for the day. Such a brilliant idea having a beach in the middle of the city. You can just lie back in a deckchair and imagine your somewhere nice while the kids play in the sand. The only thing missing is the sea. I guess that's the closest I'll be getting to having a holiday this year.
Craige was a big surprise, he was really accomodating. He even gave up the mattress on his bed and then slept on the floor. He spent less time locked away in his bedroom and was nice to his sister. I knew there was a real gentleman locked away in there somewhere :-)
Thursday was nice and sunny so I took the girls to meet some friends on Birmingham beach for the day. Such a brilliant idea having a beach in the middle of the city. You can just lie back in a deckchair and imagine your somewhere nice while the kids play in the sand. The only thing missing is the sea. I guess that's the closest I'll be getting to having a holiday this year.
Tuesday, 4 August 2009
Leila is 2!
Ok, I'm a bit late telling you about Leila's birthday, any later and I'll run the risk of merging it into Lucy's birthday! I think part of the reason for not blogging about it straight away is that it's taken a while for it to sink in. My baby is 2 years old! She's not a baby anymore, I don't have a baby! And I won't be having any more. It's a difficult thing to accept. That and how quickly it's come around. It really doesn't seem that long ago when I spent nearly two years just trying to get pregnant with Lucy, now Lucy is off to school in September and Leila isn't a baby anymore. Where does the time go?
Anyway, I decided to have a BBQ party to celebrate my little girls birthday. It was a little selfish because all along it was going to be more of an adult party, I really wanted the chance to have a drink and enjoy myself. So a BBQ seemed the ideal way to go. We had lots of kids around and everyone made a fuss of Leila so she was ok. Although at 2 she probably didn't have a clue really. She did learn how to sing 'Happy Birthday' though :-) The BBQ was on Saturday 25th July, now you probably won't remember but it was actually a sunny day slotted inbetween two miserable rainy weeks. We were incredibly lucky. We were actually able to hold the party in the garden, although the kids had run of the house. (Boy did they make a mess! I tried to ignore and did quite well apart from clearing up the toys from all over the floor and shoving them upstairs.) The day went well, and I had a few drinks. One of the last to leave (apart from Gray's dad) was my friend from my last job (which was 10 years ago now) We hadn't seen each other in quite a while, I'd had to cancel our Christmas meet up because of mum. I really enjoyed catching up with her.
Leila's actual birthday was on Monday 27th July and she was a bit bewildered as to what was going on. She loved opening her presents though and was excited about her birthday cake and candles. I can see I will be having two very excited little girls come Christmas time.
I'm already planning Lucy's birthday party, which will be much more child orientated. Fingers crossed for another sunny day as I'd like this one in the garden too.
Anyway, I decided to have a BBQ party to celebrate my little girls birthday. It was a little selfish because all along it was going to be more of an adult party, I really wanted the chance to have a drink and enjoy myself. So a BBQ seemed the ideal way to go. We had lots of kids around and everyone made a fuss of Leila so she was ok. Although at 2 she probably didn't have a clue really. She did learn how to sing 'Happy Birthday' though :-) The BBQ was on Saturday 25th July, now you probably won't remember but it was actually a sunny day slotted inbetween two miserable rainy weeks. We were incredibly lucky. We were actually able to hold the party in the garden, although the kids had run of the house. (Boy did they make a mess! I tried to ignore and did quite well apart from clearing up the toys from all over the floor and shoving them upstairs.) The day went well, and I had a few drinks. One of the last to leave (apart from Gray's dad) was my friend from my last job (which was 10 years ago now) We hadn't seen each other in quite a while, I'd had to cancel our Christmas meet up because of mum. I really enjoyed catching up with her.
Leila's actual birthday was on Monday 27th July and she was a bit bewildered as to what was going on. She loved opening her presents though and was excited about her birthday cake and candles. I can see I will be having two very excited little girls come Christmas time.
I'm already planning Lucy's birthday party, which will be much more child orientated. Fingers crossed for another sunny day as I'd like this one in the garden too.
Tuesday, 28 July 2009
Grave circumstances
Yet another blog post about the grave. I may as well give up and become a goth!
A few weeks ago I visited the family plot and it was full of fabric flowers. Now, they were very pretty but we had come to an agreement as a family that it was going to be real flowers or nothing. My first instincts were that they were put there by someone else, I don't know who but strange things arrive there on a regular basis and without a surveillance camera I have no idea how. (Maybe I should see if I can move into one of those houses that were built practically in the middle of the cemetery, I've always had an urge to live near a cemetery....oh no! I am a goth! I remember when they first built those houses, they were built on an incline and some of the bedroom windows are directly in line with the grave stones. Nan always joked that she wanted to live there so we wouldn't have far to carry her when she 'went')
Back to the point, about the fabric flowers, I phoned my brother and asked him about them and he was pretty miffed and told me to get rid of them. So I did as I was told and they ended up in the bin. I'd actually left the grave by the time of the call and sent Graham back to do the 'dirty' deed. The next day I got a call from my auntie who was really upset. They were her flowers. Oooops! Well, I said I'd binned them and I was really sorry and wouldn't do it again. She said in the future she would only put them in nan's vase (her mum). The next time I went down there were new fabric flowers in nan's vase but nothing in mum's or Sim's. I left them.
Then yesterday I got another call off my auntie, she was really upset and told me she was going to talk to her sister's about getting nan moved to plot of her own !!!!! I had visions of what nan and mum would say if they did that, I can't believe my aunt could even think of it, if there is a way of meeting up with loved ones after death then I'm afraid my aunt is in for a roasting, no doubt about it. The reason for this? Well, the fabric flowers had gone again. Obviously she'd thought it was me again, but I insisted that I'd kept my word and the flowers in their pot. So she said it must be my brother. I called him and, big shock, he confessed he hadn't been down to the grave. No not in the last few days, or weeks, but ever! Not since the funeral!!! So I called my nephew but he hadn't been either. Someone else does go down besides my aunt and me, that's for sure. I know my cousin goes down but he's my aunts son so she would know if it was him. So, who took the flowers this time? I guess it's a public plot so in reality it could be anyone at all.
Who would think that a grave could cause so much hassle?
Oh and a brief mention of my little girl's 2nd birthday, boy doesn't time fly? I will blog about that later.
A few weeks ago I visited the family plot and it was full of fabric flowers. Now, they were very pretty but we had come to an agreement as a family that it was going to be real flowers or nothing. My first instincts were that they were put there by someone else, I don't know who but strange things arrive there on a regular basis and without a surveillance camera I have no idea how. (Maybe I should see if I can move into one of those houses that were built practically in the middle of the cemetery, I've always had an urge to live near a cemetery....oh no! I am a goth! I remember when they first built those houses, they were built on an incline and some of the bedroom windows are directly in line with the grave stones. Nan always joked that she wanted to live there so we wouldn't have far to carry her when she 'went')
Back to the point, about the fabric flowers, I phoned my brother and asked him about them and he was pretty miffed and told me to get rid of them. So I did as I was told and they ended up in the bin. I'd actually left the grave by the time of the call and sent Graham back to do the 'dirty' deed. The next day I got a call from my auntie who was really upset. They were her flowers. Oooops! Well, I said I'd binned them and I was really sorry and wouldn't do it again. She said in the future she would only put them in nan's vase (her mum). The next time I went down there were new fabric flowers in nan's vase but nothing in mum's or Sim's. I left them.
Then yesterday I got another call off my auntie, she was really upset and told me she was going to talk to her sister's about getting nan moved to plot of her own !!!!! I had visions of what nan and mum would say if they did that, I can't believe my aunt could even think of it, if there is a way of meeting up with loved ones after death then I'm afraid my aunt is in for a roasting, no doubt about it. The reason for this? Well, the fabric flowers had gone again. Obviously she'd thought it was me again, but I insisted that I'd kept my word and the flowers in their pot. So she said it must be my brother. I called him and, big shock, he confessed he hadn't been down to the grave. No not in the last few days, or weeks, but ever! Not since the funeral!!! So I called my nephew but he hadn't been either. Someone else does go down besides my aunt and me, that's for sure. I know my cousin goes down but he's my aunts son so she would know if it was him. So, who took the flowers this time? I guess it's a public plot so in reality it could be anyone at all.
Who would think that a grave could cause so much hassle?
Oh and a brief mention of my little girl's 2nd birthday, boy doesn't time fly? I will blog about that later.
Thursday, 23 July 2009
Tired
Lately I've been feeling tired. I'm not sleeping well again, although I am sleeping more than I was a year ago. I just long for a night long sleep. I've forgotten what it's like to go to bed at night and the next time I wake up it's morning. This week we got a new bed, the last one was getting really uncomfortable. I was hoping this would help me sleep but so far all it's done is make me want to sleep even more.
The tiredness slips over into the rest of my life, I swing from being so tired I can't care less to be being so tired everything is just stressing me out.
I don't like being tired, things get blurry.
The tiredness slips over into the rest of my life, I swing from being so tired I can't care less to be being so tired everything is just stressing me out.
I don't like being tired, things get blurry.
Sunday, 12 July 2009
High School Musical and Emotional Maturity plus Boogie Pete
A short while ago I was worried about Lucy's development. I'd always had small niggles but they were excerbated after talking to her teacher at nursery. She claimed that Lucy lacked emotional maturity and was unable to feel empathy for her peers. She had problems with interacting and communicating with her peers and lacked imagination. I started keeping a tag on her development and watching for signs that something wasn't quite right.
Then, along came High School Musical!
Lucy is a little young to be interested in these films which are aimed at 6 to 12 year olds, but she kept on going on about High School Musical so when I noticed the first two films were being shown on the Disney Channel I decided to record them. Lucy absolutely loves them. She's already learning all the songs and sings along. I've had to buy her a Gabriella doll and now she wants a Troy one. She has also requested a High School Musical birthday party.
So what does this have to do with her development. I'll give you a simple example. In the second film Gabriella decides to leave Troy as he has upset her. Of course she leaves with a song. Then just before the end of the movie, Troy is singing on stage when Gabriella (in hiding) starts singing along. Then she appears and they sing together. Altogether now, ahhhhhhh! I looked at Lucy at this point and she was crying! I asked her why and she said she was happy because Gabriella had come back to Troy! Emotionally immature? I don't think so! In fact I've been suprised how much she actually does understand about the films, she gets the plots and when she's not been sure what's happened she asks questions. To me it's a really good sign of emotional maturity.
She is very musically talented my little girl, apart from being able to sing in tune and remember all the words to songs she is also a pretty good dancer and able to follow instructions. On Saturday we went to a Cbeebies event where she joined a group of children to dance along with Boogie Pete from Boogie Beebies. Standing right at the front she copied all his moves and really got into it. I'm thinking that maybe I'll find her a dancing school as I'm sure it's something she would enjoy. Maybe it would also help with her clumsiness?
To finish here is a photo of my little star with Boogie Pete.
Saturday, 4 July 2009
Yankee Doodle Dandy
"Yankee Doodle went to town
Riding on a pony
He stuck a feather in his hat
And called it macaroni"
Mum always used to sing Yankee Doodle to Simeon because he was born on the 4th of July. I don't remember him having many birthday parties, especially not when he was older, no 18th or 21st. I do remember his 3rd birthday though. It was a gorgeous hot day and mum made a marquee in the garden out of sheets. We had two big dining tables set up and I think she invited everyone she knew. Simeon had a white 'police' pedal car which he loved as his main present. I remember it like it was yesterday not 32 years ago.
I remember the day that Sim was born. I was waiting at home with my aunt and uncle. The phone rang and all my hopes, wishes and prayers were dashed as I was told I had a baby brother. I already had two brothers why couldn't I have a sister? I told them to take him back and they had better not bring him home. Then I was taken to the hospital to see him. He was so tiny, even smaller than my Tiny Tears. I don't remember his exact weight but he was under 6lb and quite poorly. I saw him and instantly fell in love. I begged to be allowed to name him and mum said what would you call him. I said Simon and she smiled. How about Simeon, it's very similar. Ok, I agreed. Simon with an 'e', I was happy. It was quite a few years later that I learnt she'd planned to call him Simeon anyway as it was my dad's name, but I didn't know that because no-one ever called dad Simeon, he was always called Fred! I guess mum had been really pleased I'd come up the the name Simon, she didn't have to dissapoint me.
Happy Birthday Simeon. I miss having a baby brother.
Riding on a pony
He stuck a feather in his hat
And called it macaroni"
Mum always used to sing Yankee Doodle to Simeon because he was born on the 4th of July. I don't remember him having many birthday parties, especially not when he was older, no 18th or 21st. I do remember his 3rd birthday though. It was a gorgeous hot day and mum made a marquee in the garden out of sheets. We had two big dining tables set up and I think she invited everyone she knew. Simeon had a white 'police' pedal car which he loved as his main present. I remember it like it was yesterday not 32 years ago.
I remember the day that Sim was born. I was waiting at home with my aunt and uncle. The phone rang and all my hopes, wishes and prayers were dashed as I was told I had a baby brother. I already had two brothers why couldn't I have a sister? I told them to take him back and they had better not bring him home. Then I was taken to the hospital to see him. He was so tiny, even smaller than my Tiny Tears. I don't remember his exact weight but he was under 6lb and quite poorly. I saw him and instantly fell in love. I begged to be allowed to name him and mum said what would you call him. I said Simon and she smiled. How about Simeon, it's very similar. Ok, I agreed. Simon with an 'e', I was happy. It was quite a few years later that I learnt she'd planned to call him Simeon anyway as it was my dad's name, but I didn't know that because no-one ever called dad Simeon, he was always called Fred! I guess mum had been really pleased I'd come up the the name Simon, she didn't have to dissapoint me.
Happy Birthday Simeon. I miss having a baby brother.
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