Photo madness!

Hello! - well it's been a while - We've been very, very busy. In fact it's all been a bit of a blur and I have no idea what has actually really happened over the last month!
Holiday = No,
Days out = No,
Birthdays = No...

I have no idea - this reminds me of when I'm driving sometimes and I end up at my destination with no recollection of how I've got there, it's like I've been in a trance, a trance that's aware of other cars and pedestrians (the best kind).

I have been taking lots of photographs, I do know that! Here are some I've taken of Grace
& Archie.


Archie can now walk, he's walks like he's drunk, only he puts his arms in the air too (must get that from me)

Grace has started to sing all the time, only she can't sing (must get that from me too) - Here's a little bit of her singing below :)


.

Websites bought = 1

Archie walking accidents (usually include head banging - not the punk type) = 14

Haircuts = 1

Wine consumed on school nights = I don't get under the affluence of Incohol.... EVER ;)

A little bit of peace and quiet

I've lost my voice - When I do attempt to talk I sound like something of Jurassic Park, my throat has been bad all week and I've not been very well really. Either way, the world carries on and I'm trying not to let it bother me. What does annoy me though is Dean keeps shouting from the other side of the house, and I can't shout back!

The World Cup is on, and I've been left numerous time on an evening sat by myself watching Gok whilst Dean's in the kitchen or bedroom watching the football.

Mum asked Grace the other day if she liked football, she replied, 'No, Daddy likes football', Mum then asked her what Mummy likes... I became anxious, she replied 'Mummy likes Gee', she means Glee, and she's right, I do.

I've been busy taking photographs and getting myself rather booked up for the next month or so - Have bought some hats from Merry Berry to use as props, they are lovely.

We're having a family day tomorrow and I cant wait!

Oh Archie can nearly walk! That's when the fun begins!



Number of football matches watched = 2

Haircuts = 1

Cheesecake, Cameras, Creative-ness and Camels, yes, Camels.

What a week! - I feel like I've not stopped, and, I've loved that.

We went to Knowsley safari Park on Sunday and we had a fabulous time, Grace absolutely LOVED it and has been telling us how the monkeys jumped on our car, she forgets we were there... Archie looked slightly confused, moreso when we nearly ran over a camel. We had a fun day though! Who ever knew Meercats were so small, not me.

I've been baking cheesecake with Grace, she had the tantrums behind me whilst I did everything else, she wanted to play with eggs... Now, I'm not strict but even I could see it wasn't a good combination, cheesecake was medium, so a few days later I made another... Mmm I'm not one to like defeat!

I've been feeling very creative again and made my lovely friend a canvass, for her new home, I'm going to make one for our house too just not sure on the lettering. Whilst I made the canvass Grace was painting, in the end i'd taken that long she'd resorted to painting her hands, arms and face, even her mouth, not inside luckily...

Had a lovely day yesterday with family, taking photos of both my neice (shown above, Emily & Maisie), going to get snap happy again tonight with Grace and Archie...

I really feel like fish and chips this afternoon, I have no idea why, then a cup of tea (TEA!? I'm an avid coffee drinker) maybe a nap... oh no, Is this what old people do? There's no hope.

Trevor has had his weekly bath, I put Johnsons baby conditioner on him, he said he likes the smell you see, and he certainly does smell lovely now!

Off for Fish and Nips, maybe scrappy scraps.



Number of cheesecake slices consumed = 5, oh dear!

Tantrums = 3 (getting better)

Early morning wake up calls from Grace = 4 (this is because the birds sing outside our windows, why do they do this, what's so cheerful about 4am!!)

Mums Lasagne!

I'm cooking this recipe tomorrow and it's the best Lasagne I've ever had, Mums recipe is from her Mum, and hers from her Mum... blah blah, you get the idea. So, I thought you should all know it...

LASAGNE

Meat layer -
2lb Minced beef
2 Cloves garlic
1lb Chopped onion
2 OXO cubes
2oz Streaky bacon
1/2 tsp black pepper
1/2 oz Flour
1/2 tsp salt
2 Sticks celery chopped
2 tsp basil
3/4 pint water
2tsp oregano
7oz tomato puree
1 tsp italian seasoning


White Sauce -
3oz butter
2oz flour
2pts milk
1tsp mustard
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 ground black pepper


Cheeses -
1lb grated cheddar
4oz emmanthal or gruyere
(grated)

2 packs of LASAGNE SHEETS

DIRECTIONS - Cook meat and bacon and drain fat. Add flour, stir, add all other ingredients. Bring to the boil. Simmer for approx 1 hour...

Then make white sauce; Melt butter, add flour and stir, add milk and other ingredients, bring to the boil. First layer = WHITE SAUCE then
CHEESE
MEAT
LASAGNE Repeat, finish with white sauce on the top, cook in oven for approx 1 hour until golden. Gas 3 -4 Electric 225.

Mmmmmmmmm!!

What a scorcher

It's May... not even summer, and we've had temperatures up at 28 degrees!! - A very hot weekend, so in true Australian style we decided on a barbie... (that's BBQ, not the blonde plastic type).

Trevor annoyed everyone running around, but finally settled on a place next the the BBQ, only for us to find he'd been licking the fat from the floor... Mum warned us it might give him an upset stomach, he's had a slice of bread all day and as mean as I feel, he's not having any tea, I don't want to get home from work to what I did today.

I ran the Race for Life on Sunday at Broughton Hall, in memory of my Uncle Dennis, and all proceeds will go to Cancer Research UK when all you scrooges have paid me! It was red hot, I've burnt my shoulders and back but managed a decent time in the circumstances.

Archie has had his injections today, he didn't like them, not that I was expecting otherwise.

Grace has been a madam to the full this week, she'd argue black was white, it's been very testing, and she's been put back to bed on numerous occassions. 2 year olds are so hard to reason with, I'm sure I was never like that! If i was, Mum, I'm sorry.
The saying 'when she was good, she was very, very good, but when she was bad, she was horrid' is very true!

(pic to the right is my nephew Joshua)

BBQ's - 1

Tantrums - 32

Sweets offered as bribes for good behaviour - 3 *shame*

Fun in the forest...

We're back. I'm a year older, well, not a year only a couple of weeks but I'm now 27 and to me, that's old.... It means I have to act responsibly and can no longer use my age as an excuse.

Whinfell forest is a wonderful place, took us the best part of 3 hours to get there! Maude, the Sav Nat (that's what she's been named) is, an idiot, in actual fact I'm starting to detest her, she avoids motorways at all costs, on our return journey, instead of going down the M6, she took us to Hawes, near the Wensleydale cheese factory - driving on country lanes through the Yorkshire Dales National park for approx 2 hours, we made a left turn, upon which Maude announced we were on this twisting country lane for the next 26 miles... I hate you Maude!!!

Anyway, we did make it home, all feeling sick.

The Forest was fantastic, utterly magical, I forgot my good camera though (gutted) - so I can't show you! - The children loved it, the fresh air, animals running around, little robins singing in the garden, felt like I was in a disney film... We all miss our holiday house, we had so much fun, just wish I was still there.

Dean quote of the year - Upon spying a pheasant on the roof of a lodge we both agreed that we'd never seen one flying, conversation as follows;

D - I didn't know they could fly..
E - Yes, they must be able to, I'm sure penguins are the only birds that can't fly.
D - Penguins.......penguins CAN fly.
E - They can't, I'm sure.
D - Then how do they get on roof tops?
E - Penguins?
D - Oh, no, sorry, I was thinking of pigeons.

Grace and I have spent today doing nothing, other than painting. We've bought Uncle Ross a bird house for his garden (for his birthday, I'm a twin) and Grace has been painting it, although she mixed all the colours together and it's now a mucky purple-ish colour!

My darling bud of May...

May is here! The best month of the year.

We've had a very busy week, Trevor is 'no longer a man' after his visit to the vets, he returned feeling very sorry for himself, I could tell by the look in his eyes.

It's Archie's birthday today and we've had a lovely day - I still can't believe he's 1, the last year seems to have flown, and I've realised my baby is a baby no longer, my 7 week old neice was very cuddly today, made me feel very broody, although there's no chance of any more (Dean is 'no longer a man'). The picture above from L to R, my nephew Joshua (my bros little boy), my neice Emily, who's holding Maisie (Deans sisters children), then there's my two, Grace and Archie!

Archie got some very lovely presents :) and clothes, that we can take on our holiday!!

Dean has been very funny this week - he announced the other day ' Do we have the same pulse throughout our body'...

The children have been as entertaining as ever - Archie still very happy, Grace getting rather bossy at the moment, if I sing she tells me to stop, I swear I'm a good singer.


I've decorated at the top of the stairs, it looks lovely, Cath Kidston wallpaper (Love her!) - Just decided on Tuesday that neither of us really liked the paper we had, especially Dean, so within two days, paper had been ordered online and delivered and I'd stripped the wallpaper and put up the new, with help from Grace, although to be honest she was more of a hindrence.

Trevor would love it upstairs, I've painted the skirting boards and the doors in white... not sure if he's keen on eggshell though.

Anyroad, I'm off, to drink wine and Thomas the Tank Engine birthday cake :)