Moves

This week has been an emotional one as we made the decision to put our house on the market and downsize. The children were upset to begin with but having spoken to them I think they understand our reasons for doing this and have accepted that it is what will happen. We now start the round of viewers coming in to see the house and eventually we will have to go out and view other houses. At this stage we don't know if we will go straight into buying again or whether we will rent for 6 months to give ourselves more time to see what's available. After the first viewing today it's brought back what it's like to show people round your home and I, for one, will be glad when the house is sold and we can move forward. Whatever happens, it will be the start of a new chapter in our lives. Iain and Louise have also moved into East Grinstead now and are renting a house near Mum and Dad. Faith will no longer be staying with us and the house will no doubt seem a little emptier without her as she has been with us for 4 months. At least the family is now in the same town which makes it easier for visiting. Another new start! I will try and write more regularly and keep you posted on how things are going. Take care xx

I'm behind

Tonight I feel behind! I am demo-ing at Creative Pastimes tomorrow. The clear stamps I'm supposed to be using were posted out to me yesterday so I would have a chance to decide what I would be doing and what I would need. They didn't arrive!! I will just have to take a selection of tools and photos and hope for the best. I'm sure it'll be fine. I'll try and remember to take some photos while I'm there.

Today, after lunch with Louise and Faith, I went and had my hair cut. I have been growing it for a while but finally decided that if all I do is tie it up each morning, it's not working for me. So, I've had it cut into a shoulder length bob. It feels better and hopefully will be more manageable.

That's all for tonight, I must go and get organised.

xx

It's Friday again

First week back at school over and we're looking forward to the weekend.

This morning I picked up Mum and Dad and we went to Wakehurst Place. We haven't been there for a while and every time I go I think I should go more often. Today was no exception. It was so nice to just walk around the gardens and get some fresh air. It's so peaceful (well it was when we went just after they'd opened =o) ). We enjoyed seeing all the new leaves on the trees and the bluebells were starting to come out. It's such a pretty time of year. I love the seasons in England after South Africa where it used to be virtually summer all year round (though I miss that too!). We've been here 16 years now and I still love seeing the changing seasons. I love Spring because it's bringing the warmer weather and the plants all come back to life again. But I also love Autumn and seeing the leaves changing colour - just don't like the fact that it's bringing the colder weather too.

Anyway, enough ramblings and a few photos from this morning.

And no, I don't know who the little children are but they were cute regardless =p

Have a good evening

xx

Today I've ......

• Taken Claire to the bus stop
• Done the school runs (morning and afternoon)
• Done 3 loads of washing
• Defrosted the fridge
• Tidied Claire's bedroom
• Picked up in Emily's bedroom
• Done the ironing
• Made 2 cards
• Cooked dinner
• Loaded the dishwasher
• Written a couple of emails
• Glanced at blogs to see who's updated (for reading later)
• Spent some time with Jon
• Made sure the cat's had his tablets (he had a big abscess at the weekend)
• Made a few phone calls I'd have liked to put off!

I think that'll do for now. I'm just about to get Emily upstairs to start getting ready for bed.

I will try and post more often and take some photos!

Have a good evening

xx

We had visitors today

Guess who came to visit today?

Yes, Theresa and Tyler popped in to visit us after they'd been to the clinic this afternoon. I can't believe that Tyler is nearly 3 months old and now weighs 12lb15oz. He's so sweet and took a shine to Emily, giving her lots of smiles. We also got some "conversation" from him today =o)

Here are a few of the photos I took this afternoon - more on the website on Sunday!

Watching Mummy

Smiles for Emily Far away!I'm sure there'll be plenty more walking with Emily in the months to come.

Have a good evening
xx

Bear with me ....

I know I haven't been very forthcoming the past couple of weeks but it's school holidays! Please bear with me and I'll try and get back to blogging once the schools go back next week. Until then, have a good weekend xx

Guess who just turned .....

Happy Birthday Claire!!!

Claire said that she'd wait until 10 o'clock before opening presents this morning, but by 9 o'clock she'd had enough of the waiting and was ready to go...
Enjoy the rest of your birthday Claire!

We love you lots
xxx

What makes me smile ...

Jon's grandson Joshua's 5th birthday today! Hope you had a great day Josh and we look forward to hearing about it.

Seeing the girls outside in the sunshine today - riding bikes, taking photos and messing around, makes me smile!
Sitting outside in the sun to sort through the washing
Hearing that the good weather is going to last through the long weekend really makes me SMILE!!!

Hope you all have a good weekend

xx

Wednesday

It's getting late and I don't really have a lot to say. Went into Crawley this morning and took Mum and Dad and Emily. We basically did what shopping we needed to do and then came home again. By the time we got back we were all ready for a quieter afternoon.

I spent a large part of the afternoon going through some of my photos. Found Claire's prom photos from last year - I need to do a scrapbook page! I've printed the photos off and have been playing with them, will let you know when I've finished. Have a few others I'd like to do pages with as well so I guess I better try and sort myself out and find the time!

I also need to celebrate the friends that I have. This photo of Liz and myself was taken when Emily and I went over to Chicago last summer. I love looking at those photos, it was such a good holiday - so relaxing just hanging out with Liz, Simon and the "children". My album is nearly finished, just a few pages left to complete.

I shall be going to bed soon, have a good night

xx

What's happening with the weather?????

Yesterday was a beautiful day and I got to sit outside reading my book for an hour or so. I had the washing on the line to dry and I thought this would be it for at least a few days. Today we woke up to more cloud! I went to pick Mum and Dad up to take them to a garden centre and it was positively chilly, had to borrow a scarf from Mum because I was wearing a low cut top! I just wish it would stop teasing us with the odd sunny day and then more freezing ...... I have chillblanes - haven't had them all winter but I've got them now! and they are sore!!!

Enough complaining .... on to the garden centre!

It was lovely to get a chance to walk around and see the bright flowers on display. I love the violas and these yellow ones had pretty "faces".
Little orange trees also caught my eye. I couldn't help wonder how such little trees could hold so much fruit!

This was a lovely colourful display of ceramic toadstools and little ladybirds at the bottom.

Finally, I bought myself some spring onion, chive and little gem lettuce seeds and am going to attempt to plant them in pots and see how they get on. With luck, I could be picking my own during the summer.

Enjoy the rest of your day

xx

PS. Had an email from Theresa to let me know that Tyler got the all clear at the hospital yesterday - really good news. He's to go again in October just so they can check that his eyes are still fine.

A quiet day

Today has been a quiet day. Woke up at 5.45am to make sure Claire was up and ready in time for us to leave at 6.15am. She got her train up to London Victoria without any hiccups and make it to the coach station in plenty of time. She phoned at around 2.20pm to let us know that she was safely in Blackpool. Chris had warned her that he would be working when she arrived so his friend Christof would meet her at the coach station. They were in slightly early so Claire collected her luggage and had just sat down to wait when she got a tap on the shoulder. Turning round it was Chris who had come to pick her up instead (his little April fool joke!). Needless to say she was very happy to see him and he won't be working while she is up there this time. Hope you both have a lovely week together. I was shattered after only 5 hours sleep so when I got back I ended up snoozing on the couch. Not sure how long I dozed on and off for but once I woke up and had a shower I felt much better. Faith is back for the first week of the holidays and she and Emily are busy doing something on the computer. I am about to go and make myself a cup of coffee and sit and read my book for a while! I do like holidays =o). Speaking of holidays, Norma, I hope you have a relaxing time down in CSF. If you're on the internet let me know and I'll drop you a line. Till tomorrow xx