ARRIVAL PRESENT FOR BABY JAMES

Little baby James is now nearly three weeks old but we held on to the present so that we could give it to Jo in person. My Auntie Jan (Jo's Mum) had told me in advance that Jo was decoration the nursery with the Next baby bedding that had the animals on it in the lime green and yellow gingham, so I dove into my Next Catalogue and used their images as a starting point for Jo's present. I did a tin last year for my friend Hilary when her little boy Corey was born and she seemed to quite like it. My Mum filled the tin with the most gorgeous baby gros, teddy, bib and socks. I think Jo liked it, I certainly have fun making these tins as each one is so different.

A Little Zebra

A Friendly Roaring Lion

A Cheeky Giraffe

and A Stripey Blue Elephant

All tins can be made to order for special occassions but because of the labour time and materials costs there are not cheap . Please email me for a quote.

HAPPY 93RD BIRTHDAY (GREAT) GRANDMA

Granny celebrated her 93rd Birthday yesterday. I had everyone around at mine to give her a surprise - ish party. We had told her we were having a tea party to celebrate her birthday but didn't tell her that her 6 great grandchildren would be there including the newest addition James Francis Price who will be three weeks old on Friday. She had a lovely time and thoroughly enjoyed all the attention. The kids all get on so well. Jack and Emma are so fantastic with my three, I think Maddie is secretly in love with Jack as she didn't let him out of her sight for a minute. Euan, Ellie and Maddie made Great Granny a heart cupcake cake stand with their own little hands.

Little James is absolutely gorgeous and I think Sharon and I could have got quite broody if we had wanted to but reality struck and I remembered how much work they are and that it is now a medical impossibility for J and I to have anymore - phewwww said my Mum I can't cope with any more!!

Well straight after the party the kitchen had to be cleared so that the flooring guys could come in this morning and start to lay the slate floor in the kitchen. I can't tell you how thankful I am that this is finally going ahead. Not only did the concrete look unsightly but it means were are one step closer to getting things straight in this house. AAAHUMMMMMM did I just say get things straight sorry I meant finish something of the massive to do list I have. Right best go I am off on a Mother's Night Out to the Priory in Tetbury tonight which will be lovely. J doesn't look to amused that he will have to cook his own tea and bath the children but hey!!

BIG THANKYOU TO GRANNY AND GRANDAD SCOTLAND

The Children had a lovely surprise from Granny and Grandad the other week they sent the children and early easter card with some easter money in it. It was burning a whole in their pockets and Euan had already worked out what he wanted to spend his pennies on. The photos show their ill gotten gains. I must admit that it has kept them quiet for the whole afternoon. Euan is majorily into his planes at the moment and we are getting quite a display now. Miss Ellie got herself some rather jazzy glasses for the summer posing and Miss Maddie has some more Barbie bits.

MESSY BUNNY

Yes sorry folks it has been a while again since I have blogged. I seem to have my wheels spinning but not getting anywhere just recently. We had a lovely Easter the weather down here is absolutely gorgeous Euan is already turning a nice brown and I have a watch strap mark already!! The Easter bunny managed to find us in our new house which the children were relieved about. How will they find us they asked? The Easter bunny knows where all the children are said Mummy. "Is the Easter Bunny male or female?" Ellie asked?? Answers by return please couldn't answer that one. Gut instinct tells me female but then the mess they leave behing could indictate male!!

We put our Easter Tree up as usual but I had to use Hawthorn branches this year as I couldn't find any other ones that were sturdy enough. Rather prickly unfortunately and the beautiful blossom did keep dropping all over the table! I would also recommend a very large based pot as I started with a vase first and we had rather a lot of tipping accidents.

We popped over to Granny and Grandads on Easter Day and Mummy used the opportunity to pinch a few more plants from Granny's borders to stock up her front garden. I have spend the week digging over my front and have now managed to plant it up with mainly blousey cottage plants which should hopefully fill the area. The path is flanked by lavender plants again as I felt this worked really well in the last house. I have also bought a Prunus Tree which was a must really since this is Prunus Cottage. It had the most beautiful blossom on it last week. I will post some photos of it once I get chance.

TUDOR DAY AT SCHOOL

I have quite a lot to post about but since I haven't worked out yet how to get the photos up in the order I want I will have to do them one at a time! Wednesday of this week was Tudor day in school were class 2 and up had to dress up in tudor costume and take in a tudor lunch box. Now you might think that a simple make do costume would do? Oh no we got sent home a full set of instructions on how to sew your own tudor costume!! I had a quick look on the net for fancy dress but all were coming in at around £16 minimum to buy. Me being me thought I can make it for less than that since I can sew. Hmmmmmmmmm Bad Bad Mistake. By the time that I had been to the charity shop to buy a white linen blouse to adapt and a faux suede skirt to make a waistcoat I was already up to £10! and I still had to buy fabric and feathers for the hat!! It took me an evening to make the waistcoat which I will say turned out ok thank god since I was making it the night before he had to wear it. Bless him though he was suitably impressed with my efforts and went off to school wearing my creation with no tears. Lesson learnt, order online early and swallow the cost soooooooooo much easier. Ellie had to go in as her favourite story book character which of course was Cinderella. (Sorry no photos). Last week was Red Nose day and Maddie had to wear her pjs and the older two had to go in red clothes and red hair. I was away in London with my Mum to see the Country Living Fair that day so I had to get them organised before we left. It was also the day that the cakes had to be taken in for the cake stall and each child had to have money for red noses and dressing up. I think poor John got a bit confused and had to do several trips back and forth to school before he got everything where it should be. I tell you the kids are keeping me busy even though they are at school all day.

I had a lovely time with my mum at the country living fair, unfortunately there wasn't much that captivated me, or rather fortunately for J and his bank balance!! Some of the jewellery was nice but the rest has all been seen or done before. I did manage to get Mum some glass baubles for Mothers Day to hang on her tree outside which were a bit different. Well I shall sign off this post and go and make the kiddos some dinner. I shall attempt another post later tonight.

New Hair Cut and Shoes

What more could a girl ask for? Yes I finally went and got the hair chopped a little bit today and feel alot better if not poorer (if that is a word?) I also managed to get myself not one but two pairs of shoes. I have been having problems with very sore heals now for a while and have worked out the that the black higher heeled shoes are doing in the outside muscle of my feet and the slip ons are damaging the muscles under my foot as I am scrunching up my toes to keep them on. With a trip to London to wander around the Country Living Fair on Friday I couldn't possible make the 5 hour shopping marathon with the current shoe state. So I now own a pair of lime green shoes and a pair of very comfy slip on trainer, sport shoe. I also managed to get a few bits and pieces for the kids for easter. The girls have got these great felt flower pots in a range of colours to put on their window sill to brighten things up. Yes John just shock his head. I got Euan some more Lego as he loves it and then I picked up a present for Al and Niki who have just given birth to a little baby boy called Kyle.

All in all not a bad day!

Tomorrow I have had my arm twisted to go to Laura Ashley with a girl from preschool gosh it hurt ;) I have some vouchers to use up so as long as I am controlled I shouldn't get in much trouble!! Me controlled yeah well the thought was there. The kids had their parent teacher evening tonight. Miss Ellie is getting on really well she just has a few gaps in her word construction. Euan is doing well in maths and reading but his writing is a different matter. Apparently he is a reluctant writer?*! The teacher thinks he will catch up but he is a long way behind at the moment. I am not sure how I feel about this. Part of me would like to see him go back and repeat the year as the Scottish and English systems are so different, however the other part of me says he will get on fine. I don't like to think of him struggling with things when I know he can get on fine as long as he is given the right instruction. I can't believe that we live in the same country and our teaching systems can be so different. Oh well I am sure it will all work out.

Well I had best go to bed I suppose. My husband went up ages ago so I am sure he will be snoring away by now. I have finished Maddie's very pink shelf I made on Sunday so just need to put it up now. Ellie's bed canopy is pinned but not sewn. Tomorrow I need to clean the house and do these drawings for the Village Ball as well as shop. I used to be quite good at getting things done in the evening but these days I just seem to be so tired.

Sleep tight don't let the bed bugs bite!

Girls Nite Out!!

Hello my lovelies yes I have finally got around to taking the photos off the camera! sorry but the nite out photos aren't that great if any of you have any thing better please can you email me them. I am glad to hear that you have been going out without me - how could you!!!!! no really keep it up and hopefully we might be up in May to say hello and get a nite out.

Look at these little cuties, Maddie misses you so much and you Keir, she wants to know when she will be coming back! Hope all is well Eileen and I will call soon.

Not bad for 92 years old. This is my Gran, my Mum's Mum. She had a lovely day the other week when she joined us for lunch and sat colouring with Miss Maddie. The kids all really love her which I think is fantastic as some times the older generation is a bit scary for the little ones. Euan is sweet he says he is sad that he never got to meet Great Grandad and that he misses him. Sometimes he can be so sensitive and other times I could kill him.

Sorry about the randomness of the blog just thought I would get the photos up instead of chocking up the system trying to email them to everyone. Love to all

SOFT, CUTE AND CUDDLY!

On Wednesday Maddie's nursery had a visit to a local farm where they some lambs were being born. When we got there we saw some absolutely gorgeous ones who were only a hour or so old. Maddie had a wonderful time looking around and cuddling them all, she also

bottle feed them which she particularly liked and

hand feed them for a while until one bit her finger bless her. She hasn't quite got the knack of keeping her fingers straight yet! but I must say who can resist the little cuties. These are apparantly Texel sheep which are raised for the meat and boy were they stocky little things with wide backs. The pregnant mums looked like they were two sheep stuck together. Maddie is definitely enjoying her nursery and has made a few new friends. She is going to play with her friend Molly next week which is really nice. I often feel Maddie misses out because she just picks up the older twos friends but with being at nursery on her own she has a chance to make her own mark. Apparently this year is going to be a big intake at the School so hopefully she will have a lot of companionship.

Okay so I am hopeless

Yes I know I am a hopeless blogger, I do have one excuse the first two weeks after the move we weren't on the phone or online. We had an absolute nightmare with BT trying to get the line connected. The first day it was supposed to be connected nothing happened, I rang and asked them what was going on and they said they would ring me back on my home number when they knew what the problem was, OK BT step one if I didn't have a fault and my phone was usuable would I be ringing you? Next day an engineer called but couldn't fix the fault because it was underground and he didn't go underground! Day three engineer two, no the fault isn't underground but up the lamp post over the road and he wasn't allowed to go up the lamp post?!! Day four, engineer three and four together, sorry love the fault is underground and we can't do that because we will need to get some traffic lights to look in the box. Alright I have had enough, use your initiative you have two vans, park one either side of the box with your hazards on and I will go and make you a cup of tea, if you manage to fix the fault I will even give you a chocolate biscuit. Amazingly we were connected in half an hour, never say the great british workers tea break isn't effective bargaining tool!!

Well we have just about settled in the rooms are slowly starting to come together but we are rather squashed in, boy do we miss the space of our last home. Storage more than anything is a problem. I have just about finished painting the children's rooms. Miss Maddie is pink (surprise surprise) Ellie is lavender blossom, lilac to me purple to John and Euan is Eau de Nil or green. We got him a cool duvet set in JOhn Lewis (yes I have been shopping!!!) which has planes, scooters and cars on in a combat style colour. We have painted him a massive target on the wall above his bed and are in the process of putting up a pinboard and magnetic board for all his bits and pieces in a bid to stop him using blue tack which usually gets stuck in my carpet. I will post pictures once I get chance to empty the camera.

Everyone in the village seems to be fairly friendly which is nice. I have been invited to a book club which is great, Sarah don't laugh! I am already on book three in two weeks so I have been productive just not in the right areas!! I have also been asked to join Friends of Crudwell School which is the board that does the fund raising for the village school. Could be a bad move we will see. I don't want to get to involved as I really need to start getting on with some work.

The kids seem to have settled in well after a few hiccups to begin with. The schooling system is very different here than in Scotland. Euan was in the year directly above Ellie in Scotland but here there is a year between them which was a bit confusing. Ellie as usual was doing fine but Euan was struggling with everything. Speaking to his teacher they reckon he is two months or so behind so we have some extra work to do with him. I did suggest putting him back a year but they don't think that is necessary. We shall see. Miss Maddie started Pre school last week and loves it. She goes for five sessions as in Scotland but because they are only open three days a week she goes two full days and one half day which is fantastic. It gives me a longer stab at things at home. She will start school in September which is so odd because she would have had another year in nursery at Angus. She seems so little to be starting school but I am sure she will do just fine.

Fergus seems to have settled in well to the new house, I was worried because there isn't really anywhere for him to look out onto the front of the house but he seems OK. We have a walk directly opposite which is great and it takes you nearly round the village on one side.

Not surprisingly I haven't done any work yet, I will promise Hilary! I am hoping to get the rest of the curtains finished in the next few weeks and then paint the living room as we already have the paint for there. After that it will be as and when we can afford it.

Love to all and we miss you all in Scotland, especially me and all the girls. Will hopefully post with some photos soon.

Moving House -Dislikes

What do I hate about moving house the most? oven cleaning, oh I absolutely hate that job. I managed to gas everyone out the house tonight while using ammonia to clear the inside of the oven. It did manage to clear that big old ugly stain at the bottom of the stove which was good but my poor eyes and throat are now paying for it. Each time we move I swear I will get oven-nu in to clean but can never swallow the cost involved. Still job done except the shelves which are outside steeping in the bin bags with my ammonia cloth. Tomorrow the packers arrive to start the mammoth task of packing all our bits and pieces up. I still need to make sure I have enough clothes, shoes et cetera to do us and the children for the next few days of school and travel. I am sure there must be a better way of doing this but not much longer and it will all be over for move no 18 of my life.

I tried to make caramel shortbread today to give the teachers a treat to say thank you for all their time and energy over the last year, but as usual when you try to rush something it didn't work. I have never had a problem with my caramel before but today when I am trying to make four trays would it go right - grainy caramel and no amount of heating and stirring would clear it. Give up it is to difficult they will just have to have a box of chocolates instead!

I am still waiting on my scrap booking parcel coming from the States for my course. It should have been here over a week ago but as usual in a hurry no show. I haven't had any chance to catch up on my assignments either as my work room is now totally empty. Wow what a lot of stuff I managed to cram in there.

Miss Ellie has picked her fabric for her room. She has gone for Flutter by flower from the Liberty range at Osborne and Little. She also wanted the voile net to hang down by her bed, so cute I couldn't resist, now just need to sew those too!! That is me up to six pairs of curtains to sew at the moment.

I had a fabulous weekend, on Friday my friends from the nursery all came out for Dinner at the Strathmore Arms in Glamis. We had a lovely dinner with lots of laughter, rude talk and fun. I tried to teach them how to eat their desert Korean Rule style but only two out of nine would attempt it, the others looked on in horror!! Would I let my children behave like this, NO but hey I don't get out often! They all clubbed together and gave me a beautiful necklace and bracelet (thank you Leslie for choosing it) which was so thoughtful of them. I am really going to miss their caring thoughts, laughter and company, especially you Eileen you get where I am coming from!!

On Friday afternoon when picking the children up from school Michelle gave me a lovely picture frame and beautiful card to say goodbye which was totally unexpected. Thank you.

Saturday was spent clearing the garage which was great (not that it is a task I like but one that needed doing desperately). We managed to get rid of two tables and a bulk load of wood we didn't need to Eileen and Adam -thank you again you saved us several trips to the dump! We did however managed one massive trip to the tip with an assortment of stairgates, wood and sundries. Sunday we took our last walk in the woods with the children and dog. Maddie pronounced "you have a baby in your tummy Mummy" - ok J and I now look worried at this point. "No Sweetheart I don't" "Yes you do Mummy" and off she trotted. J I love you but I would kill you no more children please. John by the way looked equally horrified.

Today was spent trying to make the ill fated caramel shortbread and visiting a friend for lunch at Dairsie Manse. Biz and Guy have the most spectacular house in Dairsie which they are in the process of doing up. It has a beautiful walled garden which will look amazing in years to come when they have restored it. They also have outbuildings which I would die for. The best bit though for me had nothing to do with the house but all the spring bulbs which were popping their heads above the ground. The snow drops where just stunning. Another sad goodbye at the end of the day to Hilary and Biz, will miss you lots but hope to catch up soon. Helen and Chris popped by to pick up the tumble dryer and very kindly brought us a Fisher and Donaldson carrot cake, YUMMMMMMMMMMMMYYYYYYYY you really know how to grab a friends heart! Totally delicious but now I feel sick as a had another piece after dinner. We hope to see you both again soon, you just know that you will end up down by us next year. The house next door is really rather lovely!!

Well I think the fumes have died down now so I shall shut the window down and head to bed as I am knackered. Love and wishes to all Stay safex

What will we miss?

Moments like these! and the beach - oh the beach, it has become one of our favourite Sunday past times to go to Broughty Ferry beach, collect peebles, take photos (Ellie had a new camera for Christmas) and then head down to the Glass House to have a hot chocolate or lunch. Definitely going to miss the icecream sundaes on the pier in the summer. St Andrews beach will also be missed as one of the best places to play rugby. Yes I hear you John I need to improve my catching skills! Fergus will miss the doggy communication with all the pooches running in and out of the waves. I know we will have Westonburt but nothing is the same without the sound of the waves and sand underfoot. It always manages to relax me, clear my mind but most importantly wear the kids out!

John and Euan on the Dunes at St Andrews.

I think we are all looking forward to finally be back together as a family but this home has provided us with a very happy existence over the past three years. The ability to just walk out the door into the countryside will also be sorely missed. Friends I will really miss you all, our drinking nights, cinema nights with Eileen and our coffee mornings at Abernyte Antique Shop will leave a vacant hole but I am sure I shall get one with things at the new place.

I started a scrap booking course with Big Picture Scrap booking that John gave me for Christmas. It is a year long course called a Year to Remember with Heidi Swapp as the instructor. It has been great to get me sitting down at my desk to scrapbook rather than just thinking about it. The brief for January was to pick a goal that I could achieve in 2007 and to scrapbook it and five reasons why it was important to me. I have picked to get my Christmas stock done by August - yes those who know me well can stop rolling around on the floor now, how many years have I been saying this? but it really is something that I need to get a grip on and start to get organised so I don't get so stressed so close to Christmas (for my sake and the families!). Hopefully a few months after the move when everything has settled down I can get into a routine of getting things done. Maddie will not be going to nursery in the mornings when we move because it is all privatised down there, she will start 1/2 day school though in September and then go full time in the term that she is 5. I cannot believe that she is already so big. I have made a steady income this year and I will miss the client base that I have managed to build up over the past few years but needs must and I will have to start again. I have just uploaded Flickr to my blog so I can start to slowly add all my pictures of stock and commissions. It will have to be done slowly as you are only allowed a certain limit to stay within the free limit on the account. Hopefully this will allow people to see what I have been up to and allow them to order direct by email if there is something they see they would like. Make sense - apologies if is doesn't my brain is fried!

Well as usual two posts in one day hopefully it wont be as long before the next one, I shall try and make an effect to update more regularly. Love to all Hx

NEW HOUSE!!

Well I can hardly believe two months have gone by since I posted here but I haven't been idle. We are in the process of buying a new house in Wilthshire called Prunus Cottage and hope to be moved in on the 2nd of February, English Conveyancer willing (can you tell we have been having problems with an inept solicitor!!) We cannot wait to be back together again as a family, the last year has been somewhat trying to say the least for all involved particularly Euan.

We had a good but quiet Christmas and New Year with a few friends and family. Most of John's leave was spent clearing the house of excess stuff for the move. I think at last count we got rid of 41 bin bags to charity, tip and the local nursery!! We were slightly concerned we were going to be over the baggage allowance for the move but thankfully due to getting rid of all our old appliances in the garage (the new house has all built in) we managed to scrap under the limit. The new house is great but smaller than this and I think we are going to struggle with storage initially. The kids are all going to get their own bedrooms which will be great and they have already picked their colour schemes. Surprise surprise Maddie has chosen pink, Ellie purple and Euan blue!! Mum has yet to work out all the other colour schemes but she has got the fabric for the livingroom curtains. John is pleased with the new place as it has a wood burning stove so he is happy. It is in the village of Crudwell which has a lovely little primary school, riding stables (sorry John you know it is inevitable!) and three pubs. We have already checked out the Wheatshef and it has very nice food. So if you are in the area please stop by for a cup of tea, I cannot tell what state we will be in but a hand with unpacking, painting, turfing, fencing et cetera would not go amiss.

Miss Ellie's Ladybird Cupcake Decorating Party

We started with musical bumps, statues, pass the parcel and best dancer competitions and then onto the mandatory party food!
A Ladybird cake had been requested and duly produced although I kept wondering what the face reminded me of and I have finally worked out it is Shaun the Sheep from Wallace and Gromit in a head on wind rush! I should have made the antennae with pipe cleaners rather than licorice as they weren't strong enough to hold the icing bobbles up. Nevermind the birthday girl didn't seem to notice. I also forgot to put it on a bigger board so I could put the ladybird candles around it, so they got a cake stand all of their own.

The party invites and party bags all followed the theme. I couldn't find Ellie's box it has been whisked away into her burrow never to appear again I think. Each little girl got to take home a ladybird purse and ladybird mechanical toy which is rather good fun, it runs about and turns itself over on its back and spins circles (adults can be children at heart to. J and I didn't fight over which colour we got to play with!) They also had foilwrapped chocolate in ladybird designs, rather nice but rather pricey! sorry J with birthday cake and a sheet of what else but glow in the dark ladybird stickers!

I can't believe our Miss Ellie is nearly 5 (officially her birthday on Monday). After the food J and Euan bogged off to the rugby leaving myself and a fellow Mum Angelia (sorry if that is spelt wrong) to the cupcake decorating part. Each child was given 5 plain cupcakes and let loose with a bowl of icing to mix and colour and then to decorate away with as many toppings as they desired. I did set them challenges such as the best looking ladybird, butterfly, most colourful, best pattern et cetera with which they could win a prize. I was so involved in supervising I forgot to take pictures of the process or the end product which is a bit of a shame. Still after all the girls had gone I asked Ellie is she enjoyed her party to which she enthusiastically said yes especially the cupcake part. Ah bless a mothers duty is done. The party was followed by a manic clean up by Mum as we had two viewings that afternoon. Why is nothing ever stressless in this house. Well all I have to do now is design the thank you cards. Hmmmmmmm.

Auntie Helen and Uncle Chris came over this afternoon and brought Ellie her present which was lovely. Helen did a bit of buying damage with my christmas stock, nice for me!I have just finished wrapping the gifts for the offical birthday tomorrow so all in all the girl has done rather well. Now back to these damn christmas cards, number 93 and 10:10pm!

SLOW PAINFUL DEATH BY CHRISTMAS CARDS

Yes you guessed it, it is that time of year again where I ask myself just why do I like to design and print my own christmas cards? Last year I printed them on 6x4 cards and the printer took them like a dream, this year I designed an image that had to go on 5.5x5.5 cards which the printer hates. Yes every single one of the 120 cards I have to print for our own personal list has to be hand fed into the printer with quite a few rejections. The air is rather blue since I started at 6pm and it is now 9:10pm and I am still only on number 76. I hope those of you who read this and receive a card will appreciate it in a new light!

The smiley face stickers next to the cards are definitely not the way I feel right now. They are in fact for a good behaviour chart which was started on Monday with a reward of Pizza Hut on Ellie's birthday if they can get twice as many smiles as sad faces. It has had the desired effect and behaviour has improved and John will be able to tick off another thing from Euan's list - being a family trip to PH for tea with Dad!

We have had a busy weekend with Ellie's Party and 3 house viewings. John decided to escape the mayhem and watch rugby with Euan at Murryfield coming home in more Scottish Rugby parafinalia - sorry Dad I do try to avoid it. My works in progress for the craft night on Thursday had to be moved from the dining room table back into my work room, which also received a major makeover for the viewings. All this was rather frustrating as all I really wanted to do was get on with some work not fiddle faddle about for time wasting househunters, yes one couple were just checking what was on the market as they hadn't yet put theirs up for sale - arrrrrrgh I could seriously swing for them especially at this time of the month! Still I have a clean house so I should be able to get on now without quite so much distraction. I have no where near enough stock for Thursday but it has been a rather silly year. I wish I could get out of this cycle of manic making just before christmas when I still have so many things to do for the family. My children are still waiting for homemade christmas stockings. Looks like it could be another year of J's flying socks waiting at the bottomof the kids beds for Santa!

We are still no further forward in the search of or sale with our house. We are still waiting for the elusive proposed offer by the Strachans and are still standing with startled bunny eyes at the prices down south. We have found two that we quite like but they both have disadvantages of either busy roads or having to walk through a bedroom to get to another. John is going to start viewing when he starts in London in two weeks time and I am going to be down at my Mum's at the end of the month. It will be interesting to see what Fergus and Leo make of each other. Right back to the cards and a very late night at this rate.

A Fun Afternoon at the Coast

Uncle Chris with his godson and terror sisters posing in the ruins at St Monans Castle.

We had a fantastic walk along the coast at St Monans to see the castle ruins and have a play on the beach. Ellie was particularly taken with all of the underground rooms at the castle as I told her they would probably have been the children's bedrooms and how would she like to have a room like this? Mean old Mum! she decided she liked her bedroom better but was still fascinated with it. Fergus the kamakazi dog had a whale of a time jumping up and down the cliffs into the sea and up the banks, Mum meanwhile was having a heartattack every time he lept off a 10ft drop!

Euan and Uncle Chris playing statues in the afternoon light.

The light yesterday afternoon was just amazing and the coastal wind was quite warm, a rare treat for the end of October. We were all quite hot in our fleeces but it was just a bit nippy without them. We came across a very large dead seal on the beach which was sad but very educational for the children.

I will desperately miss the sea and beaches here when or rather if at this rate we move back down south. There is something quite magical about the seaside with its noises and calming effect on the soul. The children went out like lights last night when I put them to bed, I always feel like they have been exposed to something special and healthy when we have had a walk at the seaside. The evening was rounded off with fish and chips sat in Anstruther harbour courtesy of Chris and Helen (thank you very much!) which the children devoured, even Maddie took the remainder of her chips home in the car to finish!

Today was spent getting covered in orange paint with the nursery children and then over to my friend Hilary's house for lunch. I got a wonderful cuddle with her little six month old Corey who is just edible, you want to squeeze him and kiss him constantly! Tonight I have finished painting my robins and twisted their wire feet. 20 more Cranberry hearts have been threaded and Fergus has been sneaking cuddles on the sofa all in front of a wonderful log fire, quite devine.

Tomorrow or should I say today nearly as I am always late to bed must be a work day as I need to get some crafting done. Thank you to those who responded to my email about the blog, I hope I don't bore you to death over the coming months.

Sweet dreams to all and to all a good night.

Anyone who is crafty and fancys doing an ornament exchange this christmas check out this.

HOUSE FOR SALE STILL

Okay it has been 7 months now since we have put the house on the market, fate possibly has kept me here while John has been away in the Falklands. I'll be honest it has suited me not to have moved yet. I have a good set of friends who are there when things get to bad and my inlaws have been coming up once a week to give me a hand and a break. I have even managed to let them help me with things (don't faint) yes I am learning to ask for help and take it! Finally got around to taking some fresh pictures of the house yesterday, up a ladder to get the height and have sent them off to the estate agent with a note to drop the house price by £5,000. We will see if it makes a difference. I hope so because I am sick of trying to clean the house to show, I have wasted so much time this summer cleaning and clearing the garden, shouting at kids to not mess it up again before the viewing. Poor little devils don't understand what is going on either.

LESS THAN ONE WEEK TILL J GETS HOME!!!!!!!!!!!

I can't believe that we are almost at the end of this 19 week stretch, I can't wait to get J home, the poor man is going to be hugged to death by the family when he gets off that plane and probably for the next week! Euan has been writing a list of things he wants to do with Daddy when he gets back, I think he is up to number 30! Ellie has plans for baking cinnamon rolls and sunflower seed rolls and Maddie I think she is still to young to understand. Me I just want some crafting time and a break from the day to day stuff like cooking and cleaning.

Talking of crafting I have finally got around to making a few things. I have a sale scheduled for the 15th of November at a friends house. I figured I had better set a date or I would never get around to doing anything this christmas. The house sale and J being away has really drained me more than I thought it would. Work in progress below (excuse the quality of the photo) has now been finised. 26 penguins inspired by the Falkland visit were completed, 15 sold already argh maybe I wont have stock. I have since made 15 camels (2 gone), 18 tissue holders (2 gone) and 20 christmas puddings. I have some wooden and fabric robins in the pipeline, around 10 peghooks half completed and a few bird index boxes constructed but not painted. Poor old J back into the fire when he gets home.

Well I had better go and get out of my pj's since it is 11am and we are heading over to Auntie Helen's and Uncle Chris's this afternoon for a trip to Anstruther harbour and a fish and chip treat for dinner. Oh how I love not having to cook! I also need to prepare the art projects I am doing with Maddie's nursery this week as I am in two days this week instead of the usual one. We are making pumpkin paper plate masks and halloween ghost footprint cards (Messy but fun!). I will post some pictures of the completed works when I get chance (um could be a while my to do list is so long!).

Missing Photos!

Daddy and his Jet
Gentoo Penguins at Sandy Bay, Bleaker Island

Yeah I think I might have got the photos where i want them. Surely there is an easier way to get the photos were you want them without uploading them first? Oh the joys of computers and a very limited knowledge!

Well I suppose I had better get dressed as we have a busy day planned, making toiletroll tube penguins, dog walks and then the girls are coming for wine tonight!!

Looks like another grey day here John so you are not missing anything.

Things have been rather busy round here!

Well the plan of keeping a blog while John was away in the Falklands seems to have fallen by the wayside but hey life with three children is never predictable! Less than three weeks now and John should be flying home - Yeyyyyyyyyyy can you tell that we have done 16 weeks on our own, possibly the twitch in my eye and the fixed grin/grimace lets it slip. All in all the kids have been okay, poor old Euan has struggled with his Daddy being gone and we have had a few temper/behavioural issues but whos to say we wouldn't have had them anyway.

The visit to the Falklands was a resounding sucess. I was rather concerned at taking three young children on two 9 hour flights back to back on my own but they were fantastic. Yes we did have a few spilt juice issues and some tired babies when we landed but I didn't see too many people getting off giving us dirty looks. I was really glad I went to see the Falklands it is a bleak and yet beautiful place. We had a helicopter ride (Euan grinned from ear to ear) to Bleaker Islands where we stayed for two nights. Bleaker's population is 2 and rather a lot of sheep and cattle! Euan loved the Sei whale bones found on the beach and the plethera of skulls around the island. The girls liked the forces ration hot chocolate!! Our departure was rather special except for the two hours spent sat on the runway because the pilot had gone down a taxway and got stuck (would this worry you?). John managed to get airborne and fly along side the 747 in his jet and wave us off, the kids thought it was amazing, Mum thought it was lovely but heart breaking at the same time. Then home for a further 14 weeks of solo parenting.


Unfortunately for me I picked up a bacterial infection on the flight which was quickly followed by a sinus infection which took two sets of antibiotics to clear. I still seem to have a cold lingering.

Okay I am having a problem getting my photos where I want them and now I can't seem to find two, hmmmmmmmmm. Oh why couldn't this be simple! Right I shall post this and see what comes out.

Wooden Angels

This is one of my wooden angels that I create for the wall. They come with all sorts of different wings, tin straight or curvy, gilded in bronze, silver or gold, paint effect to look like tin. You can have them in almost any colour you wish. I make them with wire hair with beads or sequins in, tin star or heart halos, tin twig hair or natural twigs. If you want a slightly flirty one you can have an ankle bracelet! The decoration on the angel can vary as they are all tin decs (which I buy from the US). I have painted some in two colours to create a contrast so the weight of colour and added embellishments sits at the bottom. One lady had me adapt the design to create a mermaid and another a fairy godmother for a little ones christening! Each angel is stamped with a number, my name and comes with a tag to explain the care and its originality.