all done and dusted

The inspection went really well yesterday. The inspector said she was very impressed with my paperwork, the resources I had and the standard of safety in my home, and that she wouldn't think twice about sending her children to me. She also said that if I continued with the same standards that I would get an excellent on my next inspection in 7 months. So all in all I am a little bit chuffed with myself:)

Now I have to tackle the huge amount of scrapping stuff I have got to finish... I have a mini book for Scrapfairies to complete tonight... then I am off to mum's at the weekend, where I will have to finish the doodle class for Carolinez Crafts... nothing like leaving things until the last minute eh?

But for today, we look at bristles... the texture over at HSMS. I could have taken a piccie of Rob, who is in desperate need of a shave, but he is off earning pennies to keep me a sahm. I then thought about my hairbrush, but would have to de-hair it before taking a piccie, and I couldn't be bothered to do that... so we resort to a paint brush. This is the brush that is kept in my pen pot at my scrapping desk. I use it mainly to add acrylic paint to LOs... somethings which I should actually do a lot more often.

I had better go and make the most of the short time I have whilst Niblet is asleep...

Have a great day

X

Smoothly does it

Today's HSMS prompt is 'smooth'. I decided to take a piccie of this statue we have in our bedroom... you have probably seen them before, I think it was an Ikea buy... just for a change!!!Will be back later after inspection to let you know how it went... and to catch up with blogs:)

Have a great day.

HSMS mini catch up

Hello girlies... not been round to play, but managed to get a couple of shouts done today. Tomorrow is inspection day, so hopefully I will be back to joining in with the daily prompts and catching up with your blogs.

So we are concentrating on textures this week. Yesterday's prompt was 'wet'. When I had a spare 5 minutes to take photos, I was limited to where I could actually go... Reuben was asleep in the kitchen, so I couldn't go in there or get to the back garden. Harry was asleep upstairs so I didn't want to be faffing up there in case I woke him up... I didn't want to go out into the front garden as our nosey neighbour would likely pounce wanting to know what I was doing. So after looking around in the living room, the only wet thing I could find was this nappy all tied up in a nappy sack!!!

Today's prompt was much easier... we have loads of rough stuff in this house... me and Rob could both count due to lack of sleep, thanks to Oliver's continual waking through the night!!! I decided to take a piccie of my BG precision file set... I bought these, thinking that perhaps it would prove to be another fad buy... but I use them all the time, and I love them. Mum was impressed with them too, but wasn't prepared to pay the price. She got a fab set of 8 mini files from a pound shop... very good, but not pink!!!

Will catch up with you tomorrow... hope you are well. Big (((((hugs))))) to Anita at this difficult time, my thoughts are with you.

Bad blogger!!!

I haven't blogged for so long... I haven't had chance to play along with HSMS :( All I seem to be doing is preparing resources for Ofsted, who are coming to inspect me on Wednesday. I think I am about sorted... just need to get some ickle screws to fasten locks to the cupboard doors that don't have them on already, then need to swat up on the national standards. When I sent the application off, it said to expect the inspection to happen about 4 weeks later... not so in this case, I only got a weeks notice!!!

Feeling a little bit stressed at the moment... not because of the inspection, but because o everything else. I have scrap stuff that I need to get done for Scrapfairies and also a class to do for Sprinkles, and just feel that I am spreading myself a bit thin... maybe I have bitten off more than I can chew!!! I know everything will get done... it might just mean a few late nights!!!

Yesterday was crop day, and I must say that I actually the least productive I have ever been on an all dayer!!! I got most of this LO done... spending an age cutting the title so that it looked right... it was pointed out to me that I could have just printed it off the net and stuck it on, but then it wouldn't have been touchy feely like it is now. You don't really get the effect of this LO fully as the blue bazzill bling doesn't show too well on screen.

Got home to read brilliant news on the blog of Ms Stubbington... I am soooooo happy for the whole family, and send out HUGE congratulations. It's always such good news when fertility issues are beaten and you hear of a BFP.

I went for a scan this morning to see what's going on, or not, with my excuse of a reproductive system. It wasn't the most pleasant of experiences, and the sonographer was one of the most abrupt women I have ever met. She didn't give me any indication as to the result of the scan, so I guess we will have to wait and see.

Right off to separate too fighting boys... Oliver has his best friend over to play, and I think it is now time to take Adam home... the petty bickering has stepped up a gear!!! Two tired and narky boys after an afternoon at Kiddy Chaos!!!

Oh what a night!

We went to see Mika at the Manchester Apollo last night, and OMG!!! The guy is amazing. Now I was a fan before, Rob wasn't... but he was blown away by the performance too. I have been to concerts before and been a little disappointed with the live sound, but not last night. His vocal range is fantastic, it was obvious he was enjoying what he was doing. The props and the shadow puppet show were hilarious, and the girls from Shameless appeared for a couple of songs too. The atmosphere was electric and the finale was brilliant. Lots of massive balloons being bounced around above the the crowd and ticker tape snowing down everywhere. We only had 3 people in front of us, so we were really close to the front and had a great view... sometimes being tall has its advantages. Unfortunately my point and press camera is well and truly on it's last legs so the piccies I managed to get are not very good... but good enough for me to look back on one of the best nghts of my life so far.

It is official.... I love Mika.

Update on Harry... he is much better now. He was at his worst on Thursday, then he got a rash, but once that appeared he started to feel better... the rash has almost gone and normality has returned to the Stevenson household... well as normal as our house ever gets that is!!!

A new craft forum has officially opened it's doors. The Craft Diner is looking pretty good. I was invited to be a pre opening diner, and must say it has been a lot of fun. Go and check it out...

I am so fed up

With having a sick baby! He really is practicing to be a man and milking it now for all it's worth!!! I don't think there is anything seriously wrong with him... I think it may be his teeth coming through causing him to feel off. Obviously I want to make him feel better with huggles and kisses... but OMG how much noise can one baby make by whinging....LOL!!! All I have had since Sunday is constant whinge whinge whinging, even when he is asleep he has to whinge about it!!!

Then Oliver comes home and thinks he has to compete to be the loudest...then Rob comes home and has to talk louder than usual thinking I can hear him... this house is turning into a madhouse!!!

If Harry doesn't buck up soon I am resigning from the post of mum...LOL!!!

Anyway, rant over... God I feel better for that. You feel guilty for moaning when you are in the fortunate position to (a) have children and (b) are able to stay at home with them... but I am human, and I just want a break from it... just a little one.

Today's HSMS prompt is miniature. I knew exactly what I was going to do as soon as I saw this... my miniature worry dolls. You can get these everywhere now, but when I got mine they were quite unusual. I got them from Shared Earth in York in 1994. I know this as I got them in my first week of being a student there. The dolls are from Guatemala, and the belief is that if you tell the dolls your worries, then put them under your pillow whilst you sleep, they will take your worries away. Never tried it so don't know if it does work... although I guess they work on the principle that a trouble shared is a trouble halved.

I didn't get round to visit blogs last night as once I had got in from the meeting and had a drink, it was 9.30pm, then I had Gok Wan to watch... that man is a genius, I think I need him to be my style guru. So tonight I will get round to everyone... probably during Waterloo Road... like the programme but laugh at how unrealistic it is compared to the schools I have worked in!!!

HSMS

CollectI don't actually collect anything as such, unless you count stash...LOL!!! I know I have a momiji doll from my mum for christmas, so I could well start collecting them, as they are so cute. We have the usual CD and DVD collections, but again I wouldn't say I was a collector. Then as I was sat scrapping this morning, my Sarah's cards loyalty stamps caught my eye. I collect a stamp for every complete £10 I spend with Sarah... and we all know how easy it is to spend in a good shop. I have almost filled a card, and know that as Sarah seems to be expanding the shop again, it won't be long until I will be forced to spend more pennies...LOL!

So we still have a poorly Harry bear... don't know what is wrong with him. He hasn't eaten since Saturday, but is enjoying his milk. He just wants to be huggled all the time and he is sleeping more than usual... although not at night time which is typical!!! I managed to scrap a LO this morning with him asleep in a baby sling, so he thought I was still holding him... the LO is of Harry and Reuben taken a few weeks ago. The title and journaling is about how I just wanted a nice piccie of the two of them sitting and looking at the camera... but oh no... they weren't going to let that happen!!! Quite like the LO, and I am really enjoying mixing papers from different manufacturers at the moment.

My college course has finished now, although I have a meeting tonight and one next Wednesday that I need to attend to get another certificate... then I can expect a visit from Ofsted... eeek!!!

HSMS

and the word for today is 'snip'. As Jen commented the prompts do seem to be harder now that Anita is back... so for today my photo is a really dull scissor and ribbon shot! The only other thing I could thing off is when I snip my own fringe... but it doesn't need doing so I'm not going there... walked round looking for things to snip, and couldn't find anything interesting!Managed to finish this LO last night... very simple one as I didn't want to distract from the photos too much. Love the dark turquoise with the rusty browns... could be my fave colour combo of the moment.... well until tomorrow when I discover a new one...LOL!

Winter is here!!!

It is a lovely day here today... really cold and crisp and lovely. I don't mind cold when it is dry... and today feels like winter... a perfect day for a nice walk. It took us ages to get to school this morning as Oliver had to blow 'smoke' all the way...LOL!!!

Last night I got a LO and half done, using the photos I took yesterday. Here is the first one of all of us... I just love the October Afternoon papers and add in a bit of Rouge de Gaurance too. I am so pleased I actually got a decent piccie of me and the boys... normally one or both are looking in the wrong direction or crying!!!

And to Suzy B... I wish my DH looked like Robert Carlisle!!! It must be a trick of the light... he doesn't look like him... he resembles the Grinch more...LOL!

HSMS

Anita is back from her holibobs, and put this prompt up today.... almost.

Difficult one... looked all round downstairs for something that was 'almost', but couldn't find anything... went to look upstairs and found this... Oliver's undies almost in the wash basket!!!

Right off to get a few jobs done whilst Harry and Reuben are asleep!

Have a great day

X

Fresh air needed!!!

To blow the hangover away...LOL!!!

Bargain Booze has wolf blass wine on special offer, 2 bottles for £10 where they are usually £8 each. A bargain not to be missed... only the second bottle was intended for consumption next weekend.... but oh no, Rob opened it, and we drank it!!! Add that to the fact that we didn't go to bed until 2:00am, then Harry and Oliver were up at 6:45am... two very fragile parents!

So after a hangover quorn burger with spicy tomato relish in a soft white cob (YUMMO) off we went to Bruntwood park. Isn't fresh air amazing stuff... we both feel much better. Not 'let's have another bottle of wine' better, but better all the same.

I went armed with camera to get autumnal shots... have some gorgeous Bo Bunny papers from Sam at Scrapfairies, and now have piccies to use:) I took over 100, but here are a few of my faves from today.

The last photo is my favourite... I just think it captures Oliver so well. I really like the second to last too... just annoyed that the pushchair is in the shot... anybody any photoshop tips to get rid of it???Just had a quick go with the clone tool... not perfect but better:)

Self portrait Saturday

It's that time again... time for my ugly mug!!!This was taken this morning, before the stress of coat shopping!!! Last weekend I tried on a coat and really liked it... stupidly I didn't buy it there and then. We went back this afternoon... lots of the coat, but none in my size. So we get the girl behind the cash desk to phone a few other stores... no luck there either. So after trying on so many other coats which were not right, we come home empty handed. I went online and found another store which we hadn't checked with... phoned them and they had a coat...YEY!!! So off I trek to Middleton, never been there before so amazed that I didn't get lost... bought the coat and three tops also fell into the basket too....LOL!!!

Also picked up a few more bits and pieces for christmas... it was so good shopping with no kids in tow... no dragging things off rails with the pushchair, no constantly saying 'stay here, don't touch, no you can't have XYZ!!!'

Right off to print off photos so I can get something done tonight... was too tired to scrap last night, but tonight it is scrapping to high school musical... got to see what all this fuss is about!!!

Anxious!!!

Is the prompt for today on HSMS. I get anxious about the usual stuff... but decided to take a photo of what made me anxious this morning. I always ask Oliver and Rob to keep the corner of the kitchen clear... but as you can see it is full, and not a tidy full I might add!!! So why does this make me anxious? in that corner we get a HEOUGE spider that makes a web/nest, and when I go to clean the floor/move the shoes etc it comes running out looking for food!!! It has got to the stage where I clean the floor, but leave that corner... just in case...LOL!!!

I did this LO last night as a confidence boost for Oliver. He got really upset about going to school on Tuesday... proper full on hysterics!!! We got to the bottom of it, and it all came down to him not knowing his words for the week. Each week they are given 3 words in their word book that they have to learn to read... normally he manages to learn his words no problem... but this week he keeps getting stuck on 'everyone' and 'very'. I reassured him that it didn't matter if it took a little bit longer to learn these words as he had already learnt so many words since being at school. We then had to count up the words in his book that he could read... and once we'd done gone through the whole 'no, Harry can't read any words, and I bet you can read better than grandad' he felt a lot better about things. I really don't want him to start getting worried about going to school... not at 4, there's a lot of years ahead yet...LOL!!!

Right, off to take Harry to clinic to see how much he weighs now, have a great day

X

HSMS

Confused?!?!? most of the time yes...LOL!!! And always when confronted with one of Oliver's transformers toys!!! OMG how hard are these blimmin things to transform from vehicle to robot! I have long given up with the instructions as they are about as clear as Ikea instructions smeared with mud!!! This afternoon, after 15 minutes of bending plastic this way then that way, trying to get this bit to fit inside that bit... Oliver patted my hand and said sweetly 'it's ok mummy, I'll get a grown up to help'. I kid you not, those were his exact words! I am now thinking that maybe it wasn't a good idea getting more transformers for christmas.... oh the joy that awaits me on christmas morning...LOL!!!

I feel so saintly!!!

My house is super clean and tidy, the wash basket is empty, the washing line is full, the veggies for tea have been prepared, there is a joint ready to go in the oven and I have baked rock buns for Rob.
As soon as I open the front door the autumn will come in so the floors will no longer be sparkling and clean. As soon as child number one comes home, the wash basket will have a dirty uniform thrown into it, once the washing line has been emptied the ironing basket will be full, once the dinner has been cooked the pots will need to be done, once Rob has eaten a rock bun, there will be crumbs in places where crumbs shouldn't be!!! But for this short moment in time I am basking in the glory of being a domestic goddess!

I also managed to do a quick LO whilst Harry and Reuben were asleep. Now this is unheard of for me... I normally faff for hours and it takes an age for a LO to be completed. So today I decided to do a Jen, and get a LO done in super quick time... must say I am quite liking the end result too. Now if only this speed scrapping could be done all the time!

HSMS

I haven't done this since last week, and have missed the daily prompts. Yesterday Kirsty started the new theme of emotions... easy right? well not so when you add to the equation that you can't take a photo of facial expressions! Yesterday's prompt was sad, quite appropriate really as this is how I have been feeling the past few days. I have decided to combine the prompt with today's 'excited'.

I am having a bit of a personal trauma at the moment regarding work and children. I am so lucky to have been blessed with my boys, both of which were the result of taking the drug clomid. I am also really lucky that I am a sahm so get to be with Harry all day, and take and fetch Oliver to and from school. I am at the stage now where I am thinking that I would like another child... just one more, but then I think that maybe I should just be grateful for what I have. With two children we can afford for me to stay at home until Harry goes to school full time, but if I had a third then I would have to go back to work. Part time Art teacher jobs just do not come up, so going back to work would mean full time, which I know would make me sad as I would be missing so much of the children.
So I have been prescribed clomid. And this little box of tablets has been sitting in the kitchen all weekend. There is one part of me saying take them... you know you want to. Then there is the other part of me saying that I shouldn't take them.
I am so sad, confused, excited, happy, scared and unsure... I really do not know what I am going to do!!!

Had a great weekend.

Mum brought Oliver home on Friday... something he always enjoys as it means a trip on the National Express... most people hate coach journeys but Oliver LOVES them!!! very strange!!!

We had a nice weekend, with a few fireworks on Saturday evening, lots of mini book crafting once the boys were in bed... and a wee bit of shopping adding into the equation too...LOL!!!

Well I can share the LOs with you now that I did for the Scrapfairies October gallery. I tried to do different subjects so that people don't get fed up with seeing LOs of Oliver and Harry all the time. So how different can you get... a sleeping baby, stick insects and a Jen and a Jems!!!

Be back later to have a proper catch up... hope you are all having a fab weekend.

HSMS

This morning our fridge was bare... but now I have been shopping for the week ahead it is full. I should have taken a before and after photo, but didn't think of that until just now, so you'll have to make do with the before shot!!!We are lucky because we have two fridge freezers, just as well really considering the amount of fromage frais, cooked meats, milk and juice we get through in a week!!! The freezers are always full, usually of BOGOFs from Morrisons, but today I started to get the frozen stuff for christmas dinner... how organised am I?!?!? Sounds a bit sad being this prepared, but I got caught out one year leaving the shopping until christmas eve only to find no roast potatoes or parsnips in the supermarket. Roast dinner isn't the same without these, so I always make sure they bought in good time!!!