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"