New Blog

For various reasons I have moved!! My new blog is http://nikkimitch.wordpress.com
not much there yet but hope to update soon :)

wrong order again - grrrrrr

Just when I think I know what I am doing with blogger it all goes pearshapd. I cant get photos in the right order at all - the previous post has all the wrong info with the wrong photos so this time I am not even going to try you can just play a mix and match game and work out which photo I am talking about :)

This week Meg has decided she can manage steps - I keep finding her halfway up the stone steps to the garden room - she is fast too! and next minute she will be at the bottom of the main stairs standing and only holding on with one hand - she is growing up too quickly. She and ben had fun with an empty cardboard box - free toys are always the best. Ben got very excited when i said it was time to go to his dance class - he was getting his own black ballet shoes and couldnt wait. Meg and Sophie had fun at a party yesterday - Meg cleaned the village hall floor and Sophie stuffed a teddy. I tried to nick a sandwich from the party tea but Meg took it out of my hand and ate it.

The children love a 'sharing tray' for lunch and/or tea - saves on waste as they can pick what they want - was impressed at how relatively healthy this one was - Sophie made it.

Catch up

Phew what a week - had the children off school Mon/Tues and told Mum not to come so she didnt catch it as she is away this weekend and I didn't want her to miss out by being poorly. Not too disorganised considering I didn't have her help but absolutely exhausted :) Sophie and I had fun with the new candy floss machine I have bought to use at the playgroup spring fair - can safley say it was a hit with Sophie.
Sophie helped me make Yorkshire puddings on Sunday - John was away at the races all day so when we got back from church I rushed around trying to get a roast together - Sophie is so helpful and great company too.
Thomas was really proud of this lego model - he wanted his picture taken to send to the lego magazine - but when he saw it he didn't like how he looked so made me take it again without him in it - no matter how many times I say how fantastic he is he still has low self esteem.

Sophie helped in the kitchen again on Monday - she made everyone's lunch - tuna sandwichs - and yes she is wearinbg a nightie cos she was off school sick - Thomas was worse but as she wasn't 100% and the weather was awful she stayed off too.

Guess what?

I scrapped!!! don't know how I found time this week but I did and really enjoyed it too. For some reason Blogger is listing them without pics so no idea what order these are going in but the one of Meg is especially for Louise to show I have finally scrapped some pics before her first birthday.

 

 

 

 

Grrrr no idea what is going on with Blogger - cant get these in the right order at all - and they are naff pics too with poor crops but hey I enjoyed doing the layouts and that's all that matters right now :) Had all 4 children poorly today with coughs and colds - Meg is full of snot and coughing like a 40 a day smoker - heading for a rough night so planning an early one :)

Daily pictures 17-20th Jan

For some reason these are in the wrong order? Firstly a terrible pic of Meg where she looks positively drunk :) followed by the one I was after - one showing her 'fangs' - she has 4 teeth now but has got the top side teeth before the middle ones so really has fangs when she smiles.

The cutest picture of Ben spontaneously kissing Meg - was so glad I had my camera in my hand to catch that one. Sophie busy scrapping at Mum's at the weekend and lastly Megan about to dive on Ben's head - she rocks forward onto her feet and almost stands already - she loves pulling Ben's hair and he doesn't seem to mind - hours of free fun to be had playing with your big brother's hair!

Don't worry it isn't real!!

It's really hard being an orthopod's daughter - we don't have proper toys and teething rings Meg has to gnaw on a fake femur :)

Daily photos

 

Next lot of daily pictures - think it'll be so much easier to see what I took if I keep up to date with collages - still trying to print daily pictures from last year and only got as far as July! Again a lot of Meg and Sophie - must try to take more pictures of the boys - so taking daily photos has already helped me see where I can change things. Sophie got her first glasses yesterday and I was worried she would no longer want her photo taken but she is happy to pose :)

Sophie's new look

 

Unbelievably after the paddy on Monday when Sophie had her eyes tested and found she needed glasses she was absolutely fine when we went to pick them up today and has hardly taken them off since. She looks incredibly grown up and I am so proud of her for getting over this hurdle.

Following a link from Jems blog here is a map of the world showing where I have been so far - thinking I was quite well travelled am dismayed to find I have only visited 8% - must get the children passports and get travelling :)


visited 19 states (8.44%)

9 on the 9th

These are the pictures I have chosen to represent my 9 on the ninth for yesterday. A typical weekday with recycling, pumping the cellar and feeding children. The current book I am reading - a trashy novel and the time I went to bed. Sophie had some new clothes from NEXT to try on. Tom wasnt cooperating so doesnt appear :)

photo a day .........again!!

Happy New Year everyone :)

Really enjoyed taking daily photos last year but having accidentally missed a day in September it wasnt the same and I missed several other days after that too so decided to try again this year. I also havent done anything with last year's photos yet - with all my 'ordinary' photos there are just too many and the task feels overwhelming. So this year I am going to collage every week or so and scrap that - reducing the number of photos and also chosing and numbering as I go. So far so good - first nine done. This way also helps me see I have rather a lot of pics of Megan and little of anything else - must change that! Megan is crawling at speed now so much less easy a photo subject.

Mum and I are also doing 9 photos on the 9th as it is 2009 - these will hopefully be blogged tomorrow.

Photo fun!!

Following on from the success?? of the WI photo I decided to have a play at home with my studio lights with less than fantastic results. I was asked by the local WI to take their yearly group photo this week - one of the most frightening experiences of my life - 36 middle aged and elderly women with one very scary 'boss' - 35 copies have been ordered though so must have done something right! Not a business woman though so charged peanuts and giving any profit to playgroup - I'll never make a business out of this.

Decided to try to take a photo of my 4 - Meg was surprisingly cooperative having just woken from arefreshing sleep, Thomas was great, Sophie was moody and sensitive having fallen at ballet this morning and knocked her front teeeth - one will be out very soon. Benjamin was a typical 4 year old and in the only half decent shot he is staring at the TV screen behind my shoulder - they were not up for trying anymore :( The set up was not ideal either - there just is not enough room with all our stuff and people kept tripping over wires etc when I tried to set up while Meg was asleep so I had to move it and try again with her awake. Might try again tomorrow - but here are 2 I quite like - even managed a bit of editing :)

Journal Your Christmas

Have signed up for Shimelle's Journal Christmas online class.....WHY??....HOW??? do I think I am going to find time and energy to do this?? - last night I was woken at 1,3 and 5 by Meg - she refuses a bottle and just wants to feed feed feed from me - Sophie has been poorly and is more sensitive that usual, Benjamin is full of beans and questions from the moment he wakes until bed - he woke this morning with the statement "Remember Mummy operation is rubbish" after we got rid of the game because it really is rubbish!! Thomas is..........................Thomas :) But I felt especially at this busy time of year it is important to give myself ME time - just a little every day to keep a smile on my face and this seemed the perfect way to do it. I may not keep up, I may not even finish it but I am going to have FUN - and that is why I am doing it :)

7 already!!!

Went for a lovely family walk last weekend before everyone got poorly :( - Tom enjoyed finding the deepest muddiest puddle he could and jumped in it repeatedly then wondered why he had wet feet ! The night before his birthday - the traditional sleeping picture - in his new bedroom but still with his old covers as I hadnt Ben 10 decorated it yet - did that while he was at school on his birthday - think he was pleased - he was certainly happy to see the floral lightshade go.

Tom didn't want a cake - he asked for a Vienetta with candles - easy and tasty with no leftovers - perfect!

Feeding Meg would be easier and less messy if she didn't put her thumb in after every mouthful.

We had a Pinata yesterday as part of the 'party' Tom had invited 2 friends for the afternoon - they all enjoyed beating the living daylights out of the cardboard model until the sweets spilled out - Sophie was the hardest hitter - Ben sort of tickled it :)

Solids

Had forgotten how messy feeding is when first starting solids!! so far we have had banana, apple, pear, carrot and butternut squash - the last two got everywhere and stained but she seemed to enjoy them. We are feeding with two spoons as she insists on grabbing one!

Back from hols!!

For some reason Blogger has mixed up the order of the photos I uploaded - not helped by me trying to do it quickly with meg screaming and Tom watching ben 10 on youtube loudly beside me!! First Ben very cold in a park in Aberdeen Then the three older ones listening carefully to a presentation in the rock pools at Deep Sea World - we had great fun there and Tom was very animated and enjoyed it - great to see :)

Some very cold sheep outside james and Lynsey's house - we had a lovely lunch there when we finally made it out of the car - the wind was so strong it was difficult to get the doors open. James and Lynsey have made such a fantastic job decorating their house it is unrecognisable - especially love the living room wallpaper - soooo cool - they have great taste :)

This is the park we visited - notice noone else was mad enough to brave the cold despite the great play equipment it was empty :)

Sophie wrapped up warm and still smiling

Even the birds were cold

We got snow the next day which made Tom's holiday - he and Sophie had fun - Ben wasnt so sure it was too cold

Mum wanted a picture with all her grandchildren - this is the best I could manage - lewis was straight in from school but happily got changed - posed without moving a muscle :) shame some others weren't quite so cooperative but not bad

Wrong order again - Meg had her first solids today - she wasnt that thrilled - her thumb was more interesting but she managed about a teaspoon full

Poor car died at Gretna - had to be towed home :( waiting til Monday to get it into the garage to see if it can be fixed or if the damage is terminal

Happy halloween in Perth - we managed a couple of houses but as they were old friends by the time we had stopped for a chat Sophie fell asleep - still they looked good in their costumes and Tom said it was 'the best halloween ever' - easily pleased

And the cousins - Ben is scowling cos he didnt get to hold Megan

Weekly update!

What an exhausting week :) or two :) When we went to Mum's for tea a couple of weeks ago Meg was still in her pyjamas - luckily she doesnt mind as she was cosy and nobody knew as she had a snowsuit on top as it was soooo cold. She loves being chatted too and does her fair share of chatting back now - giving Granny Pat lovely smiles and me plenty of photo opportunities.

Her skin has been worse than ever and really disturbing her sleep - BUT we saw a fantastic doctor who prescribed the perfect cream and it is dramatically better and she is a happier baby for it - this was a bad day ....... before the cream.... Tom decided to be brave and try having his stabilizers removed - he needs a new bike his legs are getting too long - all the bigger bikes cant have stabilizers fitted so he really needs to get to grips with riding - he tries really hard but just doesnt have strong legs and finds coordinating movement difficult - he perserveres though......

Sophie agreed to have one stabilizer removed for the moment - she is pretty wobbly but was determined to do it.....

Ben and I had great fun making a rocket and some aliens. The rocket started as a house and we were going to make a road and several houses for his toy cars - then it became a science museum and finally a rocket. We had fun making potato aliens and flying the rocket round the garden. Then we made a papier mache moon surface which 6 days later is still sodden because I left Ben unattended while i dealt with the Tescos delivery and he got carried away with the wallpapaer paste!! had fun though :)

Sophie had her Promise Party at Rainbows - unfortunately her uniform did not arrive util the following day so she was the only one in 'normal' clothes but she coped well with that, she remebered her promise perfectly and had a beaming smile on her face throughout. Ben loves these glasses of granny pats she bought them when she was teaching and needed old sunglasss etc for a project - he has to be persuaded not to wear them out of the house he loves them so much!!

Unfortunately ben was poorly for Meg's Christening and so not cooperative but hopefully our photographer (James!!) got a couple of shots.

I enjoyed taking a few of Meg with her beautiful skin (thanks again Eileen!!) and took advantage of James having her set up with Lynsey holding a reflector - I am sure James version will be much more professional but I like the few snaps I got of the day.

Tom was on top form enjoying mucking around in the leaves - didnt manage to get a decent shot of Sophie - she wasnt cooperative and has been poorly today so now I know why.

Playgroup

At Ben's playgroup now they have individual learning journey books for staff to complete with what they ahve done and learnt - a way to keep parents up to date with their child's development. Parents are encouraged to put photos in from home too but I didn't want to fill the book up with photos so created this collage of Ben from the last 6 weeks - he was thrilled with the result and we will be sticking it in his book tomorrow :)

young artist!!

Thomas often doesnt get his school work finished and when he does it is full of crossing out, scribbles and mess - the ideas are there but he struggles to get them down on paper. This week they have been looking at the Funnybones books and he has had to write his own Funnybones story and make a book cover - I was amazed at what he managed to do and made sure he knew how impressed I was with his art work - Ben has asked for a copy for his wall!! sweet!

Photos and family fun!

Having fun doing another of CJ's creative photography courses - really find them good for giving me inspiration and an excuse to ask the children to let me take even more pics. Ben needed bribing with painting but had fun taking shots while he worked.


Trying to get all three to cooperate at the same time was less than easy but still got a couple of shots I enjoy even if I did miss the course deadline for uploading - the second made CJ smile :)

Went into the boys bedroom in the morning to find Sophie reading to Ben - so sweet - and Tom is now regularly doing Ben's bedtime story and really enjoying reading to him.
Ben and I did some baking - he wasn't sure about cracking the eggs and it ended up in his hair, on the walls, floor and cooker but the cakes were delicious so that is ok!

Molly obliged with a well timed yawn !

Sat in the front garden with Sophie and Meg hoping to take pics of passers by for the course - hoping maybe someone on horseback - nobody walked by :( had fun taking shots of the girls instead and some insects :)

We have been playing a lot of board games recently as the children have been unwell adn the weather pants - Splashy the Whale is a big hit !!

Ben provided the perfect excuse to sit on a bench and people watch in harrogate yesterday - I was able to get the three photos I needed for the course without looking too conspicious.

Sophie kindly posed for the candid shots - she is eating the first apple picked from her tree - the tree is called FIFI - forget-you-not!
She enjoyed holding Meg in the sling for a walk round the garden - Sophie is surprisingly strong for a 5 year old!!
At playgroup today Ben spotted his best friend who has left playgroup to go to school - they waved at each other and shouted messages from their repective playgrounds - sad :( I know Ben misses him but he is making new friends now thank goodness and really having fun at playgroup - I was Mummyhelper today and he used Megan for show and tell and delighted in telling his friends that she does 'smelly poos!!'

holiday highlights

Grandma is getting withdrawal symptoms from my lack of blogging - havent taken many pictures since we got back as life has been too hectic - so here are a few holiday highlights to keep her going :) Had planned to have some carefully edited photos to show but just not enough hours in the day so these are all - bar the last - straight from the camera - some taken by mum - ie the ones I am in or my camera is :)

Ben enjoyed borrowing my camera - he also used Sophie's so we have lots of pictures of the ground and people's bottoms - just because they are at his head height I think?? Mum took this one of him zooming in on the grass :)

A little reminder for Grandma of the ride she enjoyed so much at Paulton's park - a great day out was had by all even if she spent the rest of it looking a little green :)

The 4 rascals in the forest - took the same shot at the same spot last year so tried again including Meg - Ben didnt cooperate as well this year no matter how hard mum and I tried but we still managed to get this shot :)

Took loads of closeups of Sophie looking gorgeous.

Had great fun on a windy day at milford onsea - Mum sheltered with Meg while the rest of us braved the beach to throw stones. Tom enjoyed a game of chicken with the sea - Ben copies everything Tom does so he tried too but forgot to run from the waves and got very wet - being a photographer I took pictures rather than try to save him!

Meg having a nap at Grandma's after a tiring time watching the olympics.

Hatchet Pond (2nd visit mum :))

Tom on the rare occasion he let me take a picture without a silly face.

Sophie posing again.

Didnt manage to get any decent pictures of the girls at the wedding as was busy feeding Meg and sorting out Ben so luckily Sophie agreed to pose in the cottage garden for me.

And a couple of pictures from home - Ben being lovely with Meg.

And finally the 'ugly baby' picture - long story not worth repeating - I am really pleased with this shot and think megan is gorgeous - but I may be a little biased :)

Natalie's wedding

It was my cousin Natalie's wedding last weekend. Once Meg had finished feeding I enjoyed taking some photos as the bride, bridesmaids etc looked beautiful. I was quite pleased with some of the photos and planned to spend some time in photoshop improving them until I saw what James had taken - his photos are just FANTASTIC and make mine snapshots in comparison http://www.jameslp.com/Blog/ - BUT - I also know why James is able to take such great photos and I cant and also I got a shot he didnt :). He didn't have 4 children to take care of at the wedding, he didnt have a baby to feed, he has a fantastic new lens, he has time to spend editing his photos, he knows what he is doing in Photoshop because he has had time to
learn ........................................................................and he also has TALENT by the bucketload. He is hoping to use photography as a new career and if the photos from this wedding are anything to go by I think he'll make a great success of it. Wonder if he does Christenings???
A few of my snaps anyway - first the bride.
The pageboys in conference.

Josie looking gorgeous.
Cute pageboy - Ben thought he was hilarious and hasn't stopped talking about him yet.
Building with Jenga bricks on the lawn.

Bride and groom walking towards the photographer.
The Herricks.

And finally the shot James cant get no matter how good he is!!!!

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I have loads of other holiday photos to share but they will have to wait as Meg has woken - again (or rather Ben has woken her :()

WHY???????

Seemed like a really good idea at the time - splatter painting outside then wsh it off in the paddling pool. Tom and Sophie didnt want to join in so I just got things ready for Ben - then they changed their minds - all joined in - got very carried away and got covered in paint!! had fun though and all the clothes are already washed and luckily all the paint came off - phew!!!

Grandparents visit

Had a brilliant weekend with the three grandparents. john bought the most enormous pool - too big to be called a paddling pool - it took all day to fill but it was soooo worth it the children and a fantastic time and Sophie could even swim it was so deep. Once the children were out and it was a bit safer the adults had a paddle too as it was so hot.




Meg had several outfits on today - this was one of my favourites.

Tom and John camped in the garden - before they went to bed they toasted marshmallows - Tom got burnt twice but was very brave. They lasted most of the night in the tent but came in around 530am as the ground was too hard!!
Meg modelling one of her many hats!

Tescos sent us a '5-a-day' chart which Sophie took very seriously for the first few days. She and Tom eat a lot of fruit anyway (Ben doesnt ) but she made a point of having her 5 different colours within about half an hour of getting up each day so she could put her stickers on the chart - the novelty has already worn off!
Meg in my favourite outfit again - made a bit of a mess of uploading the photos so they are not in the right order - ooops

Meg having a cuddle in the shade with Granny Pat.

Ben paddling in the sandpit/paddling pool - we didnt realise until we took the cover off quite how much water can get in.
Meg in her first outfit of the day - a cute little number from GAP. have just been through some more of Sophie's clothes as Meg is growing so fast (despite not gaining weight) - so many of the clothes are looking old and worn - many were secondhand for Sophie - so unfortunately I will need to shop for new stuff - what a hardship :)

The children soaked John several times over the weekend - it wasnt always safe to try to catch it on camera as I got soaked too.

Grandma and Megan.

Photos of me!!!!!

Haven't been able to get blogger to work properly recently so huge back log of photos I want to get on!! Tom finally got his good school report present after losing his remote control airplane within 20 minutes. he was much happier with a megablocks dinosaur and gargoyle that he swaps the pieces around with others in his collection - much better present.

While he was at Toysrus John bought 4 new enormous water pistols 9dont ask!!!) Sophie managed but when full of water it was just too heavy for poor Ben!

Sophie and Ben had fun painting in the garden.


We finally planted out the sunflowers the children grew from kits Grandma sent at Easter - bit late so they are pretty tiny - no prizes for tall sunflowers here this year but looks like they may get flowers and the children are happy.

Let ben and Sophie lose with my camera again - quite pleased with Sophie's results - nice to be in the pics for a change :)

Had to post this shot of Thomas - he is just so fantastic with Megan - really brings out his gentle side.

Newby Hall

The first day of the holidays was a trip to Newby Hall with Granny Pat - we somehow managed to not go here at all last year so it was a real novelty. The boys had fun playing in a ditch while we ate a picnic - they both had muddy bottoms before we even got into the park.
We enjoyed the ride on the train - Ben didnt enjoy waiting and very loudly made sure everyone knew this - he was fine once we were on and enjoyed waving to Granny pat who stayed behind to look after Megan who was a star all day.

Sophie really enjoyed the new fountains - we were sad to see the old paddling pool gone but the fountains were fun too - Ben enjoyed them Tom was less sure.

Thomas devoured his enormous icecream and then ate Ben's leftovers too.
Bit of arm swinging in the long border.
Sophie smelling the flowers but she refused to pose near the beautiful roses as she once fell in our rosebed and has never forgotten being grabbed by so many thorns.

Last day of school

Aaaarrrggggh the summer holidays are here - we are one week in and I am already tearing my hair out although I was sure I wouldnt. Tom and Sophie are not particularly well so that does not help.
Tom was quite happy on the last day of school but Sophie was shattered and moody as the picture shows.

Tom was determined to get his uniform as dirty as possible - and succeeded! Sophie brightened up after tea and was a different child thank goodness.

funfunfun!!!

Cant believe it has been so long since I last blogged - sorry Grandma :) Life is pretty chaotic here at the moment so really looking forward to the school holidays. Many parents dread the weeks of having the children at home but despite the inevitable bickering I am looking forward to spending some more relaxed time with them rather than rushing out of the door to school everyday - ask again a week in and see if I still feel the same way :)

Ben is loving spending time with Megan - he sings to her and loves to do 'This little piggy' she really squeals with delight and he loves the fact that she responds now.
Took all the children to Toysrus yesterday to buy 'good school report toys' . And Megan got a 'being a dream baby toy' !! Ben chose a Kungfu panda - he hasnt seen the film and doesnt really know anything about the character but was adamant it was the toy he wanted - i was dubious especially when I saw the price but all 3 children have had a lot of fun and laughter with him already so I suppose it was ok - it certainly made Ben smile. And was better than Tom's toy - the poor boy had a fantastic report - despite his recent stresses he is doing 'above expectaions' or 'significantly above expectations' in all areas except his handwriting which is inline with expectations (better than both parents though :)) - he and John chose a remote controlled airplane - took it to the field in the village to fly it and came back after 20 minutes having lost it over a hedge - will have to buy him something else.

Sophie knew she wanted a scooter she had seen advertised - it has pink lights which flash up the sides - she plans to ride it from the car into school each day - so I get the pleasure of struggling back to the car with it and the pram - she deserves it though as her report was also great although it did describe her as being a quiet child which I felt a little unlikely :)

We spent a lot of today in the garden making the most of the good weather. John is very hungover after the schhol 'summer bash' last night - he insists it was something he ate but as he missed the food because he and a few other dads slipped off to the pub I think that is unlikely. It was the first time I had left Megan for an evening- with Granny Pat so i could relax knowing all would be fine but even so I kept checking the mobile incase she had called as I knew she would need at least one feed while I was gone and I wasnt sure how well she would take the bottle even though it was my milk. Needless to say all was fine and we got back around 1230 to her sleeping soundly - dancing was a little uncomfortable towards the end of the night but apart from that I was able to totally relax knowing all 4 children were being looked after and had a great night - thanks Mum :):).

Tom was fascinated by a beetle he found. Sophie helped me with some gardening - finally getting some veg in way too late but better than nothing - I am amazed how grown up she looks in this photo - not my little girl any more although she still managed a major paddy today :(

It wasnt that warm but the slightest sign of sunshine and they ask for the hose - they had great fun soaking each other but also cleaned the patio for me in preparation for the Pearsons visiting this week.

Tom had a lovley gentle chat with Megan.
Then Sophie decided to pour water down the slide to see if she would go faster - she did!! and shot off the end so fast it was hard to get a decent photo - Ben tried to copy her but let go off the bucket insteand of pouring the water - the bucket hit Sophie and that was the end of the fun!

Smiler :)

Just taken Megan outside for a few photos before the school run - laid her on a white sheet on the trampoline out of George's way and she loved it really playing to the camera and smiling away - what a star :) changed to black and white as her skin is red and spotty again :( but otherwise not edited as rushing out the door.

100th post!!!!

Megan is smiling a lot these days so actually managing to get a few pictures :) not the best technically but LOVE the expression :)

And for those nagging for pics of me here's two Ben took for me using my SLR (gulp!!) yesterday.

I had fun playing with dof and Megan's feet in the garden.
Thursday was sports day at the children's school - Tom and Sophie were in the same team as they have teams with children from all classes representing different countries - mine were in Canada - they put so much effort into it - Tom got a ball in the basket and Sophie came second in the running. Their team also came top and so did their house 'Matthew'. Ben tried to join the toddlers race but they started before he was ready which caused a bit of a paddy but thankfully he got over it very quickly. Megan had a quick feed at the beginning then slept once Granny Pat had rocked the pram enough for her - and as Ben managed to find some new friends to play with I was able to leave Granny Pat looking after Megan and concentrate on getting some photos of my 2 and another girl whose mum didn't have a camera. all straight from camera as life is too hectic for editing right now :)

Photo overload!!

Just returned from a fantastic weekend at Center Parcs - went to the Sherwood Forest one to make the most of the children having Fri and Mon off school for teacher training. Granny Pat came too which was great as with 4 children another pair of hands is always needed and Meg is feeding really frequently again so I was happy to have someone to natter to. John was able to get time off work so could relax and enjoy himself too. First a couple of pics of Meg from last week - thankfully her skin has almost cleared up so I am able to take and share photos again :)

She is always content in Granny Pat's arms - shame she has to go home sometimes to recuperate from the exhaustion of being with my brood!

Sophie and Thomas have improved so much in their swimming especially in their confidence so are able to enjoy the pool so much more. Ben is frighteningly confident - fearless almost which worried John!!

Megan has started to be colicky and unsettled but is also starting to real smile and take note of who is talking to her - she slept really well - all the fresh sir helped - she couldn't go swimming as had no vacs yet but was happy to watch from the side with me feeding or having a cuddle with Granny Pat.

Being in Sherwood Forest Tom was keen to get a bow and arrow - he seemed quite a natural with it which was good as I feared he would get frustrated if he couldn't do it.

We had tea one night at the pancake house - Sophie's was called Chocolate Heaven so Ben named his Milk Heaven - appropriate for him :)

Thomas enjoyed his horrible looking blue drink - tried not to think too much what the effect of all the colourings could be - he was fine of course :)

He is loving the reaction he gets from Meg now - of all the children he is the gentlest with her and she seems quite content when she hears his voice.

Sophie enjoyed getting so close to nature - rabbits, squirrels and loads of birds.

I loved seeing this woodpecker at the nature centre - hoped to get a better photo but the hide was busy and I couldnt change view point - enjoyed seeing the birds though.

Sophie and Granny Pat had a good look, Ben stayed for and while but Thomas didnt go in he was too busy following the rubbings trail.

John enjoyed looking for fish in the various bits of water.

A fantastic weekend leaving us all exhausted but happy and with a mound of washing to be done :)

Gone fishin'

Had a great day yesterday at a children's trout fishery near Grassington - long drive to get there but through fantastic countryside with magnificent views so that wasn't too much of a problem. The children all really enjoyed the fishing and all caught fish - Ben wasnt keen to hold his but he did catch one. Thomas and Sophie had no problems posing with theirs.



Sophie had quite a conversation with hers !!

Thomas finally persuaded Ben to touch a fish.

We are eating them for lunch today - they all love fish and had some yesterday at the cafe too - good healthy weekend for a change. Sophie must be the only 5 year old who presented with a plate of rainbow trout and chips eats all the fish and leaves the chips!!

I enjoyed the fishing too but also enjoyed the opportunity to take loads of photos (for a change!!) Megan was fantastic - slept peacefully in the fresh air then had a relaxed feed while the children played at the adventure playground. We also had to have enormous icecreams - a lovely day :)

Megan

Poor Megan - her face became really sensitive at about 2 weeks but then for the last week or so it has also been infected and so sore for her - took her to the GP on Monday and have been using antibiotic cream since and it is improving a lot but she still doesn't look exactly photogenic which is really frustrating as I so want to take lots of photos of her - so have been concentrating on focusing on toys and keeping her face OOF in the background and shots of hands and feet.


Granny Pat enjoyed having a play with my SLR to help me get this shot - will have a play in photoshop to change the crop slightly and may change to black and white when I get the chance but really pleased with the initial photo - so glad mum 'gets' scrapbooking and photography too as it is great to get some baby shots with me in them as well :)

Megan is really focusing now and seems to respond to voices especially mine and Granny Pat's - we sound so alike I bet it is a bit confusing for her at times when the same voice seems to be coming from 2 directions :)

Lotherton Hall

Had a great day out at Lotherton Hall with Granny Pat - Sophie enjoyed a lolly.

absolutely loved the flying fox despite a couple of accidents :)

Megan was a star and slept most of the time but fed well too.

Granny Pat bought Sophie the biggest icecream ever!! - she didnt finish it but Thomas helped out.

Ben had a couple of turns on the flying fox too - he was fine when I ran along beside so decided to try and get a photo - this was just before he fell off - oooops!! - he was fine thank goodness and seemed to bounce.

Ben and Sophie had fun with the funny mirror.

Thomas on the flying fox.
At the end we went to the little fair and Thomas bravely climbed the huge bouncy slide - when Sophie and ben saw how much fun he was having they wanted to do it too - took a lot of persuasion to get them off.

Some of the birds were a bit scabby and uncared for looking which was sad - this was one of the more attractive ones but even it decided to preen it's tail feathers when I tried to take a picture - had to wait ages for it to lift it's head away from it's bottom :)

Bank Holiday Fun!!!

Wow - exhausted after a fun packed weekend with the Grandparents :) - Sophie was busy cleaning pigeon poo off the climbing frame - she is such a great helper - wish the boys would copy her there would be no housework left for me to do!!

Next she got the hose out and cleaned all the sticky sap and leaves etc off Granny Pat's car so she could see to drive today.

Ben had fun jumping with Grandad and wore him out as he has too much energy and wanted to go on forever.
Grandad then showed his skills in hair plaiting but it didnt meet Sophie's high standards - she is getting sooo fussy!! and has started putting her own bunches in.

Tom enjoyed cuddles and chats with Grandma.

We set the wigwam up and after a disastrous snack time when George demolished the wigwam and ate all the snack while noone was looking we solved the problem with snack in boxes - the wind picked up and blew the wigwam over but they still had fun.

Daddy made the mistake of lying in the grass for a rest so the children jumped on him - without any prompting from me (honest !!)

Megan was just adorable all weekend - fed, slept, pooed and then smiled for the first time - such a star :) she also slept so well at night - 10-2am and 3am-7am last night - fantastic !!

She had her first bottle of expressed milk at the end of last week and took it from Granny Pat without a moment's hesitation - just need to find time to express again before she forgets how easy it is.

She had a 'Sendall' weekend wearing the dress that Hilary and Alan sent her on Saturday and the one they sent Sophie when she was born on Sunday - she looked soooo cute in both - I am loving letting Sophie chose her clothes and it makes a change putting her in nonpink outfits too :)

My 2 girls looking gorgeous - how lucky am I ???

Big catch up!!

Been a bit busy recently (lol) so not blogged for ages. Sophie got a certificate in house point assembly this time - for 'always being ready to answer a question' think that is a polite way of saying she talks a lot :)
Megan Elizabeth finally decided to be born - she weighed a whopping 10lb 8 oz and looks just like Sophie!
This photo was taken on the ward at 12 hours old - unfortunately the ones on labour ward need a lot of photoshopping as John forgot to use the flash in the heat of the moment.

She is soo strong and already holding her head herself.

Pretty good during the day but liking to party all night and HATES the moses basket despite the lovely pink bedding. She has such long feet and toes.

Planned a photoshoot today - she cooperated for a few minutes then wanted feeding again - fun though so will try again next week.

Got some gorgeous flowers from Joy and Mitch today - love being so spoilt :)