2011 round up

1. What did you do in 2011 that you’d never done before? Became landlords.

2. Did you keep your New Years’ resolutions and will you make more for next year? My new years resolutions last year can be seen here and i kept them until i got pregnant (february) and then everything went to pot. I will make more for this year.

3. Did anyone close to you give birth? Oh my goodness where do i start? My sister had Harry (jan), Bev had Lola (april), Becky had Ella (may), Becky F had Fyn (july), I had Aaron (october), Amanda had Hannah (nov)and Sheryl had Judah (dec).

4. Did anyone close to you die? No

5. What countries did you visit? Just England. We went to the Lake District in May and i went to Hayes in August.

6. What would you like to have in 2012 that you lacked in 2011? A flat stomach and my fitness back

7. What date from 2011 will remain etched upon your memory? 12th October - the day Aaron was born. Also, My 30th birthday on the 1st March and my fab party on the 12th March. It meant so much to me to have a roomful of people who had made an effort to come and party with me! I had school friends there  from London that i hadn't seen in over 10years. 

8. What was your biggest achievement of the year? Growing and giving birth to another beautiful boy!

9. What was your biggest failure? Being useless during pregnancy. I felt like i failed my boy when i was forced to work full-time and had to put him in nursery 4days a week.

10. Did you suffer illness or injury? A few minor illnesses. I got Labyrinthitis in September which has left me with permanent tinnitus and partial hearing loss. 

11. What was the best thing you bought? Our beautiful new home!

12. Whose behaviour merited celebration? As usual, my husband's. He's great; kind, patient, rarely angered, calm and so tolerant. He did EVERYTHING involved in renting out our flat and in buying our house. Im useless when pregnant. 

13. Whose behaviour made you appalled and depressed? Whoever's decision it was not to let me work part-time and giving me the option of full-time or redundancy.

14. Where did most of your money go? On our new house

15. What did you get really, really, really excited about? Getting pregnant, my nephew being born, my son being born, the royal wedding, my 30th and seeing old friends

16. What song/album will always remind you of 2011? Adele's 21.

17. Compared to this time last year, are you:

happier or sadder? Happier

Thinner of fatter? Fatter :-(

Richer or poorer? Poorer

18. What do you wish you’d done more of? Exercising

19. What do you wish you’d done less of? Working. Those 6 months were hard going. 

20. How did you spend Christmas? Christmas morning opening pressies just the 4 of us. Down to my mum and dads at 1pm to open more pressies with my sister and her husband and my nephew and then a yummy dinner. 

21. Who did you spend the most time on the phone with? My husband

22. Did you fall in love in 2011? Oh yes, with my new baby Aaron

23. How many one night stands in this last year? None

24. What was your favourite TV programme(s)? Im a celebrity get me out of here (!), The Good Wife, Desperate Housewives,

25. Do you hate anyone now that you didn’t hate this time last year? Hate might be too strong but i strongly dislike some people i had to work with. 

26. What was the best book(s) you read? I read a lot of mindless chick lit this year, it was good but no best stands out!

27. What was your greatest musical discovery? Adele

28. What did you want and get? A new house!

29. What did you want and not get? To sell our flat, but at least we have a tenant

30. What were your favourite films of this year? ......im having to think about this for too long so obviously nothing stands out.

31. What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you? I was 30 and i went to Edinburgh zoo with my husband and son. Then had a party on the 12th.

32. What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying? Not having to work fulltime for 6 months.

33. How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2011? Maternity. Baggy. Ugly.

34. What kept you sane? Days off work

35. Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most? Mark Wright? lol

36. What political issue stirred you the most? The daft tory/lib dem coalition government. The SNP landslide. I dont want an independent Scotland.

37. Who did you miss? The 2 Sarahs; my best friends. We live too far apart. 

38. Who was the best new person (people) you met? Aaron and Harry

39. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2011. A cliche but life is indeed short and precious. In 2011 my ex-boss got mouth cancer, a friend of mine in her early 20's discovered she had leukaemia, 2 friends had miscarriages, and my best friend lost her brother right before Christmas. It makes you think and value life.

40. Quote a song lyric that sums up your year?

"Seven days of saturday is all that I need" Bon Jovi

Over for another year

To quote my dad immediately after all the presents are open (said every year since i can remember) "well, that's it for another year!" We had a lovely Christmas. We spent Christmas Eve having our traditional Chinese takeaway at my sisters house and Christmas Day at my parents. Last year Caleb was the only kid on the scene. This year, my nephew Harry (11months) and Aaron (2 months) were added to the mix. Good times!

I finished my ornaments for the boys (on boxing day). I'm feeling slightly guilty that son number 2's looks a bit small compared to son number 1's. Im quite sure neither will mind/care!

I fully intend to keep my blog more up to date next year (and even maybe more interesting) and keep up to date with all the blogs in my Google reader; it contains about 500 unread posts at present!

Today i'm enjoying a toddler free day which is, quite frankly, bliss!! One baby=easy peasey, despite his ridiculously short naps.

Cheesey Christmas Jumpers

Happy Christmas to all! Thanks to everyone/anyone that reads my blog!

Nearly......Simon Cowell's birthday?

2 days to go! I have a lot of wrapping to do in the next few days. I have finished the stitching on both the boys ornaments now. Here's how Caleb's looks

Now i wonder if i'll get these made into ornaments in time for Christmas day?? Hmmm.

Advent Blogging

Day 21 - We watched Curious George - a very Monkey Christmas.

Day 22 - Caleb went to play at his friend Canaan's house. He was supposed to decorate a gingerbread house but preferred the toys so will shall attempt to decorate it tomorrow hopefully!

Day 23 (today) - Caleb is in nursery all day. I have a few last minute bits of shopping to get. When Caleb's home we're going to read his new nativity book that he got at our church service last sunday. Jesus is the reason for the season, lets not forget! I was watching something on TV the other day and in a survey of 1000 kids, a high percentage (cant remember the figure) thought that Christmas day was to celebrate the birth of Simon Cowell!!!!! Can you believe that? And that Obama, Beckham and a few others were reindeers! And that Gary Barlow, Mark Wright and Prince Charles are the 3 wise men??! Oh my goodness! Says something about today's culture/education system! Read the article here. My children will grow up knowing the real reason we celebrate Christmas, whether they believe it or not is up to them!

Advent pictures

Jeez this new blogger is not easy to work.

Anyhow, the last few advent days in pictures....making salt dough ornaments, meeting Santa at playgroup and painting salt dough ornaments

Stitching for the kids

Lo and behold i've been stitching again! I try to make a Christmas ornament every year with a nice personalised message on the back. I stitched this for Caleb last year and this the year before. This year, with time being scarce and two kids to stitch for now, im keeping the ornaments simple. Ive just picked out some motifs from a JBW Christmas stocking. Here's Aaron's (stitched in my favourite DMC 115):

Advent catch up:

Day 17 - Aaron went to his first ever birthday party, his wee friend Athan. Caleb stayed at home with Daddy. Daddy and Caleb had to come and rescue Mummy and Aaron when they got stuck on icy roads. Daddy also had to rescue Mummys friend Becky who also got stuck. The Salt dough never got made. Whoops.

Day 18 - Christmas service at church. Boy did Caleb have a blast and he even stood on the stage to sing! The kids were so cute holding hands, i think my favourite moment was when Isla started singing Jingle Bells in the middle of Away in a Manger. Too too cute! Nice memories.

Day 19 (today) - Caleb is at his playgroup Christmas party and ive to go back at 11.15am to watch him get his present from Santa. We are supposed to be painting our salt dough ornaments today but seeing as we never made them in the first place thats not happening! We will perhaps try and get them made this afternoon!

Days 10 - 16

Wow, ive been a rubbish advent blogger. I just dont have enough time!! (and i like to sleep more than i like to blog).

So, whats been happening. I'll go backwards this time, because i like to spice things up....or more because the latest is the freshest in my increasingly forgetful mind.

Today, day 16 - Caleb is at nursery all day and Aaron and i will be going up later this afternoon for his Christmas party!

Yesterday, day 15 - We had a Christmas picnic. Whilst Caleb was at playgroup i set out a quilt on the floor, put out some goodies for lunch and gave Caleb a nice surprise when he got home. He loved it! Cookies, crisps and tzatziki, cheese, pancakes, cucumber with hummus.

Needless to say, he had the white chocolate chip cookies before anything else.

Day 14 - We made paper snowflakes. Or mostly i did, and Caleb wondered around the house finding other things he could cut with his cool new scissors. Did i mention my boy isnt really into crafts? LOL, i think i need to change up these advent activities next year. He did like sticking them on his bedroom window (i love the view out of the back of my house, a footpath and the forest, lovely)

Day 13 - FAIL. We didnt watch the Santa DVD because i couldnt find it. It'll be in a box waiting to be unpacked no doubt. Caleb was at nursery all day anyway. I went to toddlers and then Christmas shopping, which is now complete, hurray!

Day 12 - Make Christmas decorations. FAIL. I bought a kit out of Tesco but didn't realise everything required sewing or glueing. I didn't have any glue, i couldn't be bothered and Caleb wasn't interested at all. Again, less of the crafts next year!

Day 11 - We to his friend Isla's birthday party and then by chance, Elf was on the tv when we got home! Good job because like the aforementioned Santa DVD, i wouldn't have found that one either.

Day 10 - Our church went to a restaurant for a Christmas meal and it was fab!! We had our own room, the food was amazing and the kids all had a blast playing together. Our church has had some tough times over the last year so it was really great for everyone of all ages to be together socially, having a lovely time. More of that to come in 2012!

Hurricane B***** and more catching up

Day 7 - we made 3 Christmas cards for Gran and Papa, Grandma and Grandpa and Lainey and Andy (pretty good for Caleb, he is not the arts and crafty type at all).

Day 8 - was crazy mad storm day otherwise known in Scotland as "Hurricane Bawbag" A name which i still cannot stop laughing at and if you want to read more about, follow the link. Anyway, the storm kept us inside all day, nervously watching the trees and the back fence. Fortunately there was no damage here. Oh yeah, and we made paperchains

Day 9 - Caleb is in nursery all day and so i took the opportunity to do some Christmas stitching (photos to follow in another post) and done some Christmas shopping. I didn't make the Elf yourself video as intended, but i will at somepoint.

Day 10 (today) - our church is having a Christmas lunch in a local restaurant, so we're looking forward to that. I have the boys Christmas jumpers all ready, oh how they'll love me for this when they're older lol

Advent activities catch up

I loved reading all your comments on my last post about Christmas stresses! Its good to know im not alone LOL

I knew i'd never get round to blogging everyday of advent but hey, i never promised to! Lets see what ive missed

Day 4 - a much more successful day of Christmas decorating. The tree is done, the lights are up inside and outside the house and look super pretty. Yay! This was mainly achieved because my parents took Caleb for a few hours, which i know defeats the point of the activity but he had a nice surprise when he got home :-)

Day 5 - We wrote and posted a letter to Santa. Royal Mail have this great scheme where you post a letter to:

Santa/Father Christmas,

Santa’s Grotto,

Reindeerland,

SAN TA1

and you might even get something back! I took a picture of Caleb's letter but i dont want to post it here as it has our address on it. He asked for a new bike, some new dvds, a gun (!) and "a drill like they have at playgroup." We went to the postbox (in the snow!) to post it away to Reindeerland.

Day 6 - When Caleb got home from nursery he got his message from Santa video. Check this out here, Calebs video message from Santa. If you have kids you've got to do this, its so cute! Portable North Pole TV. Love it!

Today we will be making Christmas cards.

Christmas cheer?? Not here!

"Tis the season to be Jolly"..........tis it heck.

Today our Christmas Advent Activity was to get the trees up and start decorating. I had visions of laughter and Christmas music and all things merry....HA. The toddler was in a foul mood all day, the husband wasn't much better and we generally spent the day dealing with the toddler and bickering with each other. We couldn't agree on the tree. We couldn't agree what room to put the tree in. We couldn't agree where in the room the tree should go. The toddler threw the decorations around, had more tantrums and so the day went on.

In conclusion, it was a crappy day. We got the main tree up but its not decorated yet and neither is the house. We now have boxes everywhere having brought all the Christmas stuff in from the garage...which also has boxes everywhere as we haven't finished unpacking from the move.

Now, with the toddler in bed and the baby fairly settled, we are having some mulled wine; the one good thing to come out of the day.

Gotta laugh! "Its the most wonderful time of the year" hahahahahahaha

Wooden Advent Calendar

This year i bought a lovely wooden advent calendar from Next, with little drawers for each day of advent. Today (yes, im a day late) i filled each drawer with a slip of paper which has our activity for that day written on it. Ive planned our activities around things we have on already and busy days (like the days Caleb's in nursery) have less time consuming activities.
1. Hang up 'Cars' Advent Calendar

2. See the lights switch on in the village and Wooden Advent Calendar

3. Get the Christmas trees up and start decorating

4. Continue decorating the trees and the house

5. Write and post a letter to Santa

6. Message from Santa video

7. Make Christmas cards

8. Make paper chains to decorate bedrooms

9. Elf ourselves

10. Christmas meal at a restaurant

11. Go to a party and watch Elf with mummy and daddy

12. Make Christmas decorations

13. Watch Santa dvd

14. Make paper snowflakes for windows

15. Have a Christmas picnic

16. Christmas party and Santa visit at nursery

17.Make salt dough ornaments

18. Go to Christmas service at Church

19. Paint the salt dough ornaments

20. Ribbon and hang the salt dough ornaments

21. Make star shortbread

22. Go on wintery walk for pine cones and holly

23. Read a Christmas book

24. Make Gingerbread men and read the Christmas story from the bible

DeBloAdMo

You may have heard of NoBloPoMo? Well, last year, my friend Lori invented DeBloAdMo which stands for December Blog Advent Month. It's basically a Blog Advent Calendar. Copied from last years post..... "Post every day in the month of December until Christmas one special idea you can do as a family, a couple or a group of friends. Or if you're really clever, post a wee thought each day about Christmas or something."

I can pretty much guarantee i wont blog everyday in December. Ive only just managed to blog this now. However, we will do a special Christmassy activity each day. I have my list of activities ready and will post them tomorrow (maybe).

Today's activity was an easy one....hang up the chocolate advent calendar, explain the advent calendar i.e. *we only open one door a day* and start the Christmas countdown yay!

I actually want to stitch something

Well lo and behold im actually having an urge to stitch again! Its been a looong time, maybe 7 months or so. I need to find something to stitch for Aaron. Any suggestions? This is what i stitched for Caleb here. I stitched it again for my nephew but i haven't finished it yet, hopefully by his first birthday in January! So im looking for a birth sampler for Aaron...just cross stitch, no fancy stitching. Suggestions welcome! I want it to incorporate his name, birth weight and date of birth.

My boy is doing great. Breastfeeding well and sleeping well. Im a happy mummy! Im laughing reading back on some of my old posts when Caleb was born in 2009. We found it so hard and were so exhausted. How did 2 adults not cope with one baby? LOL. We were so unsure of everything with Caleb, kept trying to put him in his crib when he looked asleep (then he always woke up), sat up all night trying to feed him, made sure his nappy was changed before every feed, spent hours researching the pros and cons of dummy use, agonised over giving him one bottle at night. Of course Caleb got some viruses early on which made things more stressful but generally im so much more chilled with Aaron. Lets hope it continues! (My hubby goes back to work on Wednesday, im anticipating my meltdown at some point after that LOL)

Proud Mum

I couldn't be prouder of my oldest boy. He has been amazing since Aaron's birth. You hear all these stories about jealous siblings, hating the baby or hating mum/dad but so far (!) Caleb has been the best big brother. He loves to show him toys, read him books and keeps asking if he can look after Aaron and mummy and daddy go away! Ha! Im very proud of him. Caleb wasnt the easiest baby, Aaron is a dream in comparison, but boy, he's been a great toddler. I just wanted to write a wee post to say how proud i am of him!! Love my boys very much x x x

Baby boy!

It's a boy! My beautiful baby Aaron Matthew was born at 12.46pm on Wednesday 12th October weighing 7lb10oz. He's just gorgeous and we are smitten by him.

So he's officially one week old today. So far he has been a great baby. He's feeding great and sleeping great. What a difference compared to last time!

p.s. im on twitter now if anyone wants to follow @cmcathomas

Long overdue blog post

Gosh, i didnt realise i last updated in July. How my blog has been neglected! Life has just been too too busy.

Firstly, for all my blog friends that i have neglected over the past few months, i apologise! Let me know if you're on facebook though (and how to find you)! Thats the best way to keep in touch with me these days. I have it on my phone so its a lot more accessible.

So here's a bullet point list of all thats been going

- I was working fulltime, which i hated

- I stopped for maternity leave last week. Hurray, a whole year off and i will not be going back fulltime.

- We have a beautiful new home which we moved into at the beginning of September. A sparkly 4 bedroom new-build. I love it. We had a lot of work to pack up the flat, clean and tidy it and get it rented out.

- I am having a baby on Wednesday. Yes, Wednesday! My due date was the 25th but the baby has been breech and hasnt turned so im having a csection on the 12th. Scary Mary. Caleb was an emergency section so i know what to expect but this will be quite a different experience. I had a labour etc last time and the section was the last resort. It'll be weird going in cold to have a baby.I am looking forward to it though, im done in. I know a baby and a toddler will be hard work but pregnancy has been hard going and im looking forward to getting my body back to "normal."

- I got Labyrinthitis (an inner ear thing) on the first day of my maternity leave. Talk about bad luck! After 7 whole days i still have a high pitched ringing in my right ear which is torture. Mental torture.

So today is my last day on my own for a long time! Caleb is in nursery on a Friday. He's doing great, such good fun and making us laugh constantly with the things he says.

Im off to get organised for this baby.... I will leave with a picture of my beautiful new home

p.s. its probably been about 6months since i stitched!!!

Free to a good home....

Im still here! Its been a crazy few months. Nothing wrong, just working full-time, having an exhausting pregnancy, just generally trying to keep on top of life. Oh and on top of all that, buying a house, trying to rent out our flat and an upcoming move within the next month. Did i mention im also due a baby in 12 weeks?? You can see why blogging has sadly been pushed aside!

It was funny when i logged into my google reader there. I assumed i'd have 1000s of unread posts but there's not been so many in my absence. Looks like quite a few of my blogging friends have been taking a break from blogging recently.

With the upcoming move ive been having a clearout; ebaying like crazy and lots of bags of "stuff" to charity. Im just wondering if anyone (in the UK) would like this kit? Everything included...threads, aida, chart etc It has been started and i don't know what the stitching looks like because it was back in my early stitching days (and i cant be bothered to open up the kit to have a look), but i know i will never stitch it. Its a shame for it to go to waste. Its going free to a good home anyway! Just leave me a message if you're interested.

Halfway through pregnancy!

So here's baby number 2 at 19 weeks. Love that little face! Im half way. Hurray!

I haven't been on my blog in so long. I haven't stitched in months. I gotta apologise to Kathy and Suzanne who im supposed to be SAL'ing with but life has just got in the way. Im really sorry ladies. Im hoping my stitching mojo will return one day soon!

Pregnancy + fulltime work + toddler = exhausting. I get up at 6.30am, i get home about 6pm. Im in bed by 8.30pm. Thankfully there is light at the end of the tunnel though! I get to cut down my work hours from the end of July and i leave on 30th September. More hurrays!!

So there's my update! Im hoping to be back around more when life gets a little less busier.

Away for a week

Tomorrow we are off to Center Parcs in the Lake Distrcit for a week and i can't wait! This is our accommodation.The last few months have been hard going with the pregnancy and work stress and getting our place up for sale so a break from the everyday norm is just what we need! We're hoping to do lots of biking and swimming amongst many other activities. Caleb's going to love it. Im looking forward to quiet evenings watching films, reading and stitching (no wine unfortunately). I wanna finish that birth sampler for my nephew.

Beautiful days....

So, who watched the Royal Wedding? I have to say, i loved it. What a beautiful couple. What a fab day to be British. I know a lot of anti-monarchists but as a History graduate - i love the monarchy. The century-old traditions, the pomp and circumstance. My highlights were seeing the dress, the balcony scene, the view of all the people down The Mall (i love London) and then when they drove to Clarence House together in the Aston Martin, what a lovely modern twist!

I celebrated by having some friends round for a Royal Wedding tea party. There were also 4 toddlers and a newborn baby so we didn't get much peace to watch, but it was good fun. I even got the Denby teaseat out which i havent used since i got it as a wedding gift over 7 years ago lol I watched the ceremony again at night in peace and quiet when it was just me and a cup of tea!

So, what else has been happening?? We had a lovely Easter weekend last week. We finally bought a bike trailer for Caleb and got to use it last weekend. He loved it. We're hoping to go out again today seeing as another sunny weekend is forecast (yeah!)

On Easter Sunday we had a bbq after church, then we made our hard boiled eggs, decorated them in 30seconds and had good fun rolling them down the hill to see who's would smash up first. Im not sure who/if anyone else does this?? We always did it as kids. I (think) it's to symbolise the rolling away of the tomb? Anyway, the dog got mine lol

Thank-you for all the congrats on my pregnancy. I have good days and bad days. I havent stitched at all, it makes me feel really nauseous but i remember that from last time and it did pass. I havent been sick yet today so maybe things are turning round....it is only 8.20am though lol

Happy Bank Holiday Weekend (boy do i appreciate these now im working fulltime)!!!

Baby number 2

My excuse for being such a bad stitcher/blogger/emailer/sal partner!! Baby number 2 due 25th October!

So this, on top of working full-time has just about annihilated any life i had for the time being! Im 13 weeks now so hopefully energy levels will pick and nausea and morning sickness will go soon....ppllleeaassee!

Look at that wee arm up in the air! I love how he/she gave us a little wave whilst we were having the scan. Amazing.

So, its Easter weekend which means time off work!!! Yeah! Then next weekend is the Royal wedding so more time off work. It is the best feeling. Some quality time with Caleb is definitely in order. Happy Easter all! We sure are celebrating the joy of new life here in the Thomas household :-)

Work sucks

Well.......i got the job. So i really should be thankful for that, yes? Im not. They refused my part-time request and i get the job only if i work full-time. Which i don't want to do, but i have to. If i don't i would effectively be resigning and would get no redundancy and wouldn't be able to get benefits in the immediate future. It makes me sick because i feel like they've tied my hands and i've been left with no choice. In this economic climate and the sector i work in, who is going to say no to a job?? I could be out of work for months/years. I love my job and im good at it, i just dont want to do it full-time.

BUT.....i really need to be grateful. A lot of people have been made redundant through this merger and will now really struggle to make ends meet. I did really well to be offered a position, it was a very competitive process. My boy loves his childcare. My part-time request will be looked at again in 3-6months. SO....this is a short-term situation and i need to accept that, deal with it and be thankful for what i have in life.

For my SAL partners

I've started 2 new pieces recently which i'm stitching alongside some stitching buddies. CCN's snowflake serenade with Kathy and CHS Alphabet Sampler with Suzanne. This is a picture for them to show that i am stitching along!

Kathy - i told you my progress has been slow. I will be stitching on it more today!

Suzanne - i made quite a good start this weekend. More than i thought i would manage anyway! Its fun to SAL with you ladies, i really need that kind of motivation!

CHS Alphabet Blocks is huge!! We are aiming for a block a month so that will make for a finish in May 2013 LOL I hope i keep up! I am stitching mine on one BIG piece of linen, because i have no imagination. Suzanne is making a book! So impressive!

No news on the job front. I felt my interview went well which is all i could hope for. Normally i am a disaster in interviews but this one was good (in my opinion). As i've previously written though, it may be the hours that'll be my downfall. Its a full-time job and i only want it part-time so that could lose me it. Then i will be made redundant. I will probably hear today......eeeeek!

Hello Spring

It was a beautiful sunny spring morning when we got up 4 hours ago but now it's looking a bit grey....aaah scotland ;-) I stitched this little pincushion for my Spring exchange partner over at the Friendly stitchers yahoo group. Its a Lizzie Kate freebie, there's just pink flowery fabric on the back, i didnt take a picture of that.

Havent blogged in a while, i nearly forgot my password to sign in here. Im fine, just shattered and got a lot on.....a looming redundancy etc etc Our charity is merging with 2 others and i think there's about 40 people for 18 jobs. Its crap. Plus they havent offered any part-time posts so im kinda screwed. I had to apply for a full-time one (because if you didnt apply it would be assumed you were resigning and then there would be no redundancy money) and i will request part-time hours at the interview. Its been a long screwed up process with some shocking things happening along the way. So my interview is on Wednesday but from the way things have been so far i get the feeling its all pre-decided anyway. Its all so unjust.

On a more positive note, i had such a great 30th birthday party! There were about 100 folk there and i loved it.....so many people made an effort to be there flying in from all over the UK and it meant a lot to me! I was very touched. Some friends from school came (i hadn't seen one of them since we were 18) so we had a lot of fun catching up and dancing the night away! So much fun! Here's me getting my cake alongside my wee family :-)

So thats about all. Ive started a SAL with Kathy but i've made such miserable process it's not even worth documenting it with a picture yet. Also about to start a SAL with Suzanne. Be back soon....

In my next decade

Well, as of yesterday, i am officially in my 30's! I had a lovely birthday. DH took the day off and we went to Edinburgh zoo. Caleb loved it, especially when the penguins came out their enclosure and took their walk right past him. Here is 30 year old me with my 2 year old. Happy times :-)

and here are Caleb's friends the penguins. He laughed so hard everytime they made their noise!

When we got home we got a yummy Indian takeaway and chilled out for the evening. Big party next on the 12th! Ive got over 100 people coming and i can't wait!! Hope everything goes to plan!

Monday morning bliss

Considering i managed to blog every day in December i've done pretty poorly ever since!

Monday morning, my precious time! Caleb is over in the community centre at playgroup, its snowing/raining and super windy so im not going running; what a great excuse to chill out in peace and quiet :-)

The inlaws have gone back to Canada. They were a great help with the wee one but boy, i did breath a sigh of relief when they left. It was all just a bit too intense....too many people not enough room. We will hopefully get over to Canada in September.

Ive been working away on the birth sampler for my nephew. Here's an update

Im putting it aside for a few days to work on a Spring themed exchange for Jo over at Friendly Stitchers

I am in the last week of my 20's!!! A week tomorrow i will be 30! Ergh, i have a thing about 30, it just sounds a lot older than 29. Im having a big party to celebrate though. Since i was a teenager ive always wanted a big bash for my 30th. I've invited lots of people, im having a disco, ive got a gorgeous party dress and i can't wait! It's not til the 12th so i'll need to plan something to do on my actual birthday.

Off to get another cuppa....i love Monday mornings :-)

Stash

I got some stash this week! I havent bought anything for absolutely ages but i seen this on sale at Thread Bear (a fab store) and couldnt resist it! CHS Alphabet Sampler and i also got this one....just because it's pretty and im going to SAL with Kathy!

Ive had a busy week this week. Im working 3 days a week for the next month as im doing a Charity Law training course. Also, my inlaws are over from Canada. This weekend we have a wedding tomorrow and a 21st birthday party on Sunday. Good job these Grandparents are here, babysitters on tap ;-)

Got my redundancy letter yesterday which sucks! Its more a formality as we have a merger looming at work and we can apply for jobs in the new regime but i dont know if i want to. Anyway, im starting to look for jobs and aiming higher. Im a Development officer for a charity but im going to start looking for Project Manager positions. I do have management responsibilities as part of my current remit. My boss is encouraging me to aim high and i know she'll help me with it. I could do it, im just wary of the huge responsibility that comes with Project Management of/in a Charity and the kinds of stress/pressure that could bring.

As an update to my previous post....bad ass stitchy woman removed herself/was removed from the group. Thank goodness!

Bad ass stitchy woman

Thanks for all the good wishes on my previous post regarding the birth of my little nephew Harry. He's doing great and is a very good baby! Lucky Mummy and Daddy!

I havent got much to say, just thought i'd check in and say hi. One thing i have to mention....i've read on blogs over the years how nasty people can get on email groups/exchange groups etc etc but i had never experienced that at all! Stitching women turn nasty?? Surely not?! WELL.....a yahoo group i belonged to just got a new moderator and the woman sent out some pretty awful emails. Its a charity stitch thing....send in a square as and when you can. However, the new moderator went all bad ass and is berating people as selfish and slackers and we shouldn't just be stitching when "we feel like it." I cant do justice to the nastiness of her emails, really, it was awful. I was actually livid when i read it and left the group immediately.

So, there you go, my first experience of nastiness in the stitching world. Ergh, it was horrendous. I hope she doesn't read my blog, she scares me.....

p.s. i will carry on doing some charity stitching as and when i can, but i'll find a nice new friendlier group to stitch for that's for sure!

My new nephew

Meet Harry. My new nephew. What a little cutie! Born on Wednesday 26th weighing 7lb5. My sister had a rough time delivering him, too rough i wont even write about it. It would be a good contraceptive to hear it though, so mail me privately and i'll tell LOL

Progress

Thought i'd better post again quickly so that my "Moany" post doesn't end up being at the top of my blog all week, that would be depressing!

I got more selfish me time this morning so i dont know why im being moany anyway! Caleb started playgroup this morning over at the community centre. £6 for 3 hours = bargain!!!! He has a busy wee schedule now i tell you. Monday's playgroup, Tuesday is mums and tots at church, Wednesday he's at Gran and Papas all day (im at work), Thursday he's in nursery in the morning, Friday he's in nursery all day. Its good, he has a lot of energy and is learning fast and loves to go to things.

Made some progress on the piece i'm stitching for my nephew, who still hasnt arrived. You're a week late baby, come out soon, we want to meet you!

Moany

There are some days i just want to do nothing. Nothing being no interaction with anyone, like, lie in bed and read my book, for as long as i want, then maybe go back to sleep again for a while. Or sit on the couch in my pjs, stitch and watch boxsets all day. I reeeallly miss those days sometimes. Dont get me wrong, i love my boy and am privileged to be a mum but there are things from my "past life" i miss LOL. We have our vegging out days but its not the same you know.... it still requires interaction ;-)

Today i got some me time. Matthew took Caleb to church and i stayed home. I went for a 25minute run, i had a long shower, i bought a Sunday newspaper and sat with a cup of tea and read it. It was BLISS. I needed that. Then i got a text from Matthew to say Caleb was going to his Grans for a couple of hours after church yeeehaaaaa.....however, we're gonna make the most of that time and try and blast through the rest of the painting of Caleb's bedroom. We are in the midst of decorating to get our flat on the market. Painting everything plain old Magnolia. Its a drag. My place is a mess. But it needs done.

Did i mention the inlaws from Canada will be descending on us soon?! Yes, they are. Joy of joys.

Im very moany today but it's good to vent. Now to drag my butt into that room to paint.

p.s. so sign of my nephew yet. That's my sis a week overdue!

Happy 2nd Birthday!

My boy is 2 today. I cant really believe how fast the time has gone. Wow, they sure change quick in the space of 2 years! I remember his birth day like it was yesterday!

He's the best. He gives us a lot of laughs, a lot of joy and im very thankful for him. Im constantly amazed (and amused) by him. Happy Birthday kiddo, i love you very much!

New stitchy start for 2011

My new start for 2011 is a baby sampler for my sister. Her baby (boy) is due one week today! Very exciting. It will be great for Caleb to have a boy cousin so near and so close in age.

Ive decided to stitch the same piece i stitched for Caleb. Remember it? I am still very proud of it, click here. Anyone else ever stitched the same big piece twice? Im finding it ok as it was 2 years ago since i stitched it for Caleb. Here's my progress so far. My sis knows it wont be ready for babies arrival haha but she's moving house on Friday (crazy right?!) and i've told her to save a space on the nursery wall :-)

Mum and Dad have Caleb for a wee while on a Monday morning. Its amazing how productive i can now be with a spare few childfree hours!! Ive checked email, read some blogs, been for a run, showered, made a chicken casserole and blogged.

Please remember our friend Cam today in your prayers. He is undergoing major brain surgery to remove a tumour he has had for years which is now just too big. Cam is the dad of one of Matthews close friends in Canada and Matthew has known him all his life. Surgery is at 12.45pm GMT, 7.45am in Canada. We will be on our knees.

Another winner

I dont do the following thing with blogs. Only because i don't know what it means and how you then "follow" a blog etc etc Basically if i find a blog i like, i copy and paste the link into my google reader and follow from there. It highlights when there's a new post. So don't be offended if i'm not your "follower," it's just because i don't know what it's all about! I don't even know if its people that actually read your blog regularly or if its just something people do, or if its to draw attention to their own blog. I dunno. Whatever. Its nice to have "followers" none the less.

Anyway, i've been watching the number of "followers" of my blog creep up and i decided secretly in my head that i'd maybe do some kind of giveaway when i got to 100. It just so happened that it coincided with my 4th blog birthday giveaway! So Cole was my 100th follower and im going to make her a gift. Dont expect it anytime soon Cole, i'm a slow stitcher lacking in free time!!

My nephew is due to be born one week tomorrow.....exciting!!!!

And the winner is

.......Barbara!! Congratulations! My husband chose a random number for me and Barbara was that 11th person. Yeah! Barbara's blog was one of the first i started reading 4 years ago and i still do to date. I love it. I do not know how she has the time to do everything that she does though!! Barbara, you sound like an amazing woman! I promise to send you something before my next blog birthday :-)

Im having a good day. It was a really nice morning and we've had a dusting of snow again so the three of us went for a walk. After our walk i made potato scone rolls yum yum then, whilst Caleb napped, i went on my exercise bike for half an hour. The pavements were too slippy to go running. Now Matthew and Caleb are out running some errands and i've made banana loaf and prepared tonights casserole. Im feeling very productive!

TV has been so crap recently that we're back into watching films again. I hardly watched any movies last year. We're on a Godfather fix at the moment. We have the trilogy lined up to watch. 1 down, 2 to go. Ive heard The Godfather II is brilliant. I really enjoyed the first one so that bodes well. Last night we watched most of Slumdog Millionaire (still half an hour left to watch)....so far, sooo good.

4 years...

I started my blog 4 years ago today. I was reading back on some of my early posts and remembering what life was like back then!

So, 4 years, go me! Im going to try and post on my blog more this year. I was pretty bad at it last year, sometimes just once a month. Everyday blogging through advent has renewed my interest though.

I have "met" some lovely people through blogging......Rowyn, Suzanne, Hazel, Lynn, Kathy, Donna, Michele, Erna, Vonna, Maggie.....to name but a few, maybe one day we'll meet in real life! That'd be great. There are other blogs i've followed for years and then suddenly all posts stopped and theres been nothing since. I do wonder about those folk....Mercy, Kim, Sue, Jamie, Lesley, Stephanie are just some names that pop to mind.

Anyway, as is tradition, i will be having a "blogiversary" competition. Not really a competition, I'll have a draw and send a wee something to one lucky person who comments on this post. No other conditions attached to entering you'll be pleased to know :-) It'll be open until i post again....who knows when that will be ;-)

New Years Resolutions and reflections on last year

Happy New Year folks! Wow, 2011. We spent New years eve with lovely friends and had a good time whilst my parents stayed home and babysat :-)

Some big things ahead in 2011.....im turning 30 in 2 months (aaahhh) and planning a big party, my mum will be 60 in September, we're hoping to put our flat up for sale, we're hoping to go to Canada, my sister is due a baby in 14 days time!!!!! Exciting!!!

My new years resolutions:

-To be more motivated (especially around the home)

- To make and put up a meal planner inside one of the kitchen cupboards

- Cook more recipes

-Maybe go back to my chore planner thingy

-Keep organised to-do lists

- Spend money in shops other than Tesco (i was nearly sick one month when i seen how much we earn goes to Tesco..ergh, i hate that they have the monopoly over everything) In particular buy from our local butchers which has amazing stuff.

Wow, that all sounds so 1950s woman. Other non-housey things will be

- Go running more (regardless of the weather)

- Finish my essay for my Leadership and Management qualification

It was funny reading back on my answers to these questions last year (they mostly revolved around sleep deprivation), here's this years

1. What did you do in 2010 that you’d never done before? Entered and ran in two 10K races!

2. Did you keep your New Years’ resolutions and will you make more for next year? My new years resolutions last year can be seen here and i think the only one i kept was to take vitamins daily. I have made more for this year.

3. Did anyone close to you give birth? My friend Amanda had Eilidh and Sheryl had Kayla and right at the end of the year, one of my best friends had her still-nameless little girl on new years eve!

4. Did anyone close to you die? No

5. What countries did you visit? Florida in June, England trips: Stratford in May, Appleby Magna in July, Hayes in August and Clitheroe in November.

6. What would you like to have in 2011 that you lacked in 2010? A house

7. What date from 2010 will remain etched upon your memory? Calebs 1st birthday on 18 January, Sarahs wedding on 10 July, the birth of Sallys daughter on 31 December.

8. What was your biggest achievement of the year? Running two 10ks in September! Yeah!

9. What was your biggest failure? Crying down the aisle at Sarahs wedding....i so didnt want to cry

10. Did you suffer illness or injury? A few minor illnesses nothing major

11. What was the best thing you bought? My blackberry

12. Whose behaviour merited celebration? My kind, patient, slow to anger and rich in love husband. My boss at work who has had to deal with some amount of crap in the last year and has ended up being screwed over for it. She has stayed strong and true to her morals and values even though it has cost her.

13. Whose behaviour made you appalled and depressed? the scoundrels at the local authority where i work where the "boys club" ruled over big decisions and made sure their friends were appointed to posts and made terrible decisions to the detriment of the voluntary sector

14. Where did most of your money go? To Tesco

15. What did you get really, really, really excited about? Being a bridesmaid for one of my best friends in July!

16. What song/album will always remind you of 2010? "Feels like home to me..." Dont know who its by but it will always remind me of 2010 and Sarahs wedding...the song we all walked and cried our way down the aisle to.

Somethin' in your eyes, makes me wanna lose myself
Makes me wanna lose myself, in your arms
There's somethin' in your voice, makes my heart beat fast
Hope this feeling lasts, the rest of my life

17. Compared to this time last year, are you:

happier or sadder? The same really

Thinner of fatter? Thinner

Richer or poorer? Poorer

18. What do you wish you’d done more of? Hanging out with friends

19. What do you wish you’d done less of? Moaning

20. How did you spend Christmas? Christmas morning opening pressies just the 3 of us. Down to my mum and dads at 11am to open more pressies with my sister and her husband and then a yummy dinner. Was loaded with the cold though unfortunately.

21. Who did you spend the most time on the phone with? DH, during the days when he's at work

22. Did you fall in love in 2010? Not with anyone new but love grew

23. How many one night stands in this last year? None

24. What was your favourite TV programme(s)? The Good wife, One tree hill, Glee

25. Do you hate anyone now that you didn’t hate this time last year? Hate might be too strong but those scoundrels at the local authority where i work

26. What was the best book(s) you read? I read a lot but there isnt one that immediately stands out

27. What was your greatest musical discovery? Erm....dunno

28. What did you want and get? A new phone (blackberry), which i now cannot be separated from lol

29. What did you want and not get? A new house

30. What were your favourite films of this year? Dont have a favourite that comes to mind but i'll remember Eat, Pray, Love as being the worst

31. What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you? I was 29 and i went out for dinner with friends (and Sarah was up from London)

32. What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying? A new house

33. How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2010? Samey....Skinny jeans, Ugg boots and long tshirts.

34. What kept you sane? Going to work!

35. Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most? David Beckham, as always

36. What political issue stirred you the most? How can the general election last year and its shocking result ending in the crazy conservative/lib-dem coalition (shame on your Lib-Dems!!) not stir anyone

37. Who did you miss? My bezzas (best friends) who are scattered over the UK now

38. Who was the best new person (people) you met? My boss probably. She gave me a great job, has given me fab opportunities throughout the year and has inspired.

39. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2010. Treasure your true friends, be wary of the others

40. Quote a song lyric that sums up your year?

"Friends may come and go and storms may sweep our skies but i'll be there for you"