A new discovery

Thanks to a friend I have discovered www.lakenheath.bookoo.com, an online yard sale site that a lot of americans based in and around Lakenheath in Suffolk use to sell their unwanted items.  I thought I'd check it out will let you all know how I get on.
Dave is still wearing the earring I made him yesterday!  I will make him a proper one at some point and also get a photo but he's being camera shy right now!
Anya is still screaming and crying every time I leave her at Playgroup even though she's upbeat before I am about to go.  Any ideas about this?  I've tried bribery, getting her attention taken away by distraction, staying for a few minutes and starting an activity with her, I'm totally at a loss now. I feel like a really mean mummy when I leave and can hear her still crying as I walk out of the gates and back to the car.  I know she's ok while she's there when she has calmed down and has a lot of fun but it is little comfort when my baby girl is sobbing cos she doesn't want me to go.  All the ladies that work there are lovely people and I have friends who's children have been there and are going there so nothing odd going on. I'm just baffled and frustrated by her behaviour.  I hope that someone can give me some advice before I break and stop taking her.

component jewellery???

Ooh not feeling to well today but at work anyway.  Caught a bit of D & V I think but it'll pass so I'm not signing my will just yet!
Dave's been on and on about some jewellery he has seen online that people have made out of electrical components such as resistors.  I had a moment of inspiration today and made an earring for him with 3 different coloured resistors.  I will post a pic later when we are at home and I have the camera.  Quite proud of myself as I only used the resistors and some hot glue.  Obviously if I were to do it properly and not on the spur of the moment the piece that goes through his ear would be a proper silver-plated earring piece and not one of the legs of the resistors that I cut off pinched and glued to the back and then bent into a hook shape to hold in!!!!
well better get back to work...

Starting to get the hang of this

Cardigan....sort of!

This knitting lark isn't so bad really, the picture is of Anya's cardigan so far.  Sorry about the lighting I only had the lamp on.  It's a weird shape I know but hopefully when sewn together it will look lovely.....

It's a pale purple colour, not exactly lilac but I can't think of the colour right now at 1 in the morning!  I'm very proud of myself as the last time I was knitting was when I was about 10!  so 22 years of not knitting and I'm having to re-learn the basics as well as learning to read patterns and new techniques like the wrapping and turning I had to do on this to shape it on the bottom right.  I am finding myself thinking more and more about crochet though....will have to try a simple square and then maybe a flower sometime soon.
Anyhow, my other knitting project as I mentioned before is my scarf:

Scarf....

Again sorry for the dark photo, the bottom colour is a kind of grass green and the next colour I have started is a deep crimson with purple flecks in it.  They look great against each other and I have a third colour to add which is a dark purple and I'm going to keep alternating colours until I've used them all up or I get some more that will fit in with these colours :-)  This is just an in-between project for when I get fed up with following a pattern and just want something that I don't have to think to hard about lol!
Tomorrow I will be at work but when I next get some free time I'll be turfing out all of Dave's and my clothes that no longer fit or are a bit shabby and I'll be mostly cutting them into strips to make rag rugs, If Dave has any shirts that no longer fit they will find themselved turned into dresses for Anya (see my Sewing board on pinterest for a link to the tutorial for this).
Anyhoo I'd better get to bed, got kids to get ready and work to go to in the morning.  Just hope I can stop thinking about crafting long enough to drift off......Oh and have I mentioned Mod Podge and the home-made versions of it yet??? Well.....
Oops!  Off I go up the wooden hill to bedfordshire....here I come pillow soon to be without pillowcase as I'll probably turn it into a dress for Anya as well in the near future......

Pinterest!!!!

Right, well, car probs have calmed down a little so other than to say I love the space  and driving it, I'm not going to mention the car in this post today.
Knitting.....trying to knit at least!  Going much better than previous attempts I have about half of the first part of Anya's cardigan done with very little trouble apart from when it came to shaping under the sleeve holes.  I had to watch 3 tutorials on you tube before I got wrap and turn down.  So got a delivery of some chunky wool from ebay and started knitting a scarf for myself with it.  first time I have changed colours but it seems ok so far.  Only started it so I had an easy(ish) project to go to when I got frustrated with the cardigan ;-)
I will post pictures on here when I get a bit of time (and piece and quiet!) to do it.  I am very proud of my work so far.  Also trying to learn crochet - never one thing at a time eh?
Found a great tutorial on pinterest (look on my knitting and crochet board) on how to make a rag rug using single crochet.  It is a very clear and very easy to follow tutorial for a round and an oval rug.  I will be on the search for old sheets, curtains etc that I can rip into strips and use for that.  Watch out everyone I will be digging through your laundry lol!!
Another thing I found on pinterest was a very elegant and rustic looking wall mounted shelving unit made from a wooden pallet!  Look out work - Dave and I will be upcycling a couple of the pallets you have laying about outside not being used.....
I cannot believe that I have only just found out about pinterest - how have I managed to exist without it?  The hints, tips and ideas on there are amazing.  It is full of a wealth of knowledge from all over the world.

Anyway have to go now as got food to prepare and Anya trashing my non-toy space with toys because daddy doesn't tell her not to so that makes it ok. Grrrr!!!

Why me?

Car developed a horrible noise when leaving work.  Got as far as Waterbeach before it got really bad.  RAC towed car home.  Calling garage and Warranty peeps tomorrow.  Clutch f****d.  Not a happy bunny.
Really lovely couple invited us into their home (we were in waterbeach to buy a radio for Dave that we had won from ebay - was supposed to be a 5 min stop on way home as we'd left work a little early especially) gave us coffee and kept the 3 of us warm while we waited.  There are some genuinely lovely people still left in the world.  As RAC guy (Ben) couldn't fit us in his van, Terry (radio man) offered to drive us all the way home!  How unbelievably kind! 
I need to make a special mention too for my super childminder Jessica and her husband Arron for hanging onto our other 2 until we got back and I could run the other car over to collect them.  So glad we didn't part-ex the Brava!
Now got to battle on phone tomorrow to get it fixed.  So going to have nightmares about this tonight.  Oh well here's to a restless nights sleep and a terrible morning.

New Year New Car!

Hi everyone it's me again!  Well I found the christmas spirit eventually, it was hiding in a tin of Roses chocolates lol!!!  Seriously, we did have a lovely christmas and new year with Mum and Dad and my sister and her family.  Presents were great - none that I even slightly considered exchanging!!!  Dave will tell you all that I am extremely difficult to buy for and very hard to surprise but he managed it this year!  Must be something about being married now but not only did I love all of my gifts from him, I actually had no idea what any of them were! Well ok, maybe a sneaking suspicion about a couple but normally I definitely know what most of them are but not this time!  Children loved all of their gifts too (I assume Quinn did anyway he didn't actually say much.....) and have played with ALL of them and are still playing with them.  None are left forgotten and cast aside in the corners of the living room or bedroom as is the case occassionally with some children (I have heard tales....) so needless to say I am very happy with the way things went.  Then out of the blue we get a phone call from someone who shall remain nameless (some of you reading this will already know who this is but they have asked to remain anonymous for fear of reprisal) saying that they would like to give us some money (GIVE not LEND) to get another car as the one we have is unreliable and a bit too small for our growing family!  OMG!!!  I'm not speechless often but this time I actually was - so much so that this person had to ask if I was still there and if I'd heard what they had said!  Then the thank you's and the tears flowed.  After the call the shock and disbelief set in.  The next day we were sure it was a weird dream that we had both somehow had at the same time but no, it was very real.  We are the luckiest people and very very grateful.  The hunt for a suitable car began in earnest but there wasn't really that much about (and still isn't) with our criteria.  Now all we wanted was a car that was newer than out current one and had either 3 separate back seats or an MPV (7 seater).  Dave has a thing against most French cars so that was a no-no.  We decided a while ago that we liked the Fiat Ulysse MPV's and so with that in mind we trawled the internet and car sales places.  At last we found one in Peterborough and one just north of Bradford.  We decided to look at the one in P'boro as it's closest.  Very Long story short, we liked it, got the cheque, banked it, waited for it to clear, went back today in the snow and bought it!!!  I feel very lucky and very happy right now.  Even though I have a stonking headache as I'm writing this.  I am fed, I am warm, I am loved an awful lot by my family and friends and we have an 8 SEATER CAR!!!  I ask you - How lucky can one person be?

been a long time!

Hi everyone!  I know I haven't posted since August but a lot has been happening - the christening of my youngest son, Quinn, a trip to Las Vegas with work and planning a wedding and finally getting married to Dave!   Phew glad it's all done now but it seems that christmas has sneaked up on me!!!
I know everyone celebrates differently and has their own family traditions been passed down and also some new ones that you started when you started your own families, and that some love to get their decorations out as soon as the clock strikes midnight on 30th November and others leave it until a couple of days before Christmas day to put them up....BUT don't you just find it a bit too much sometimes?  I'm not saying that every year I feel like this and it's probably just because I've had a lot on my plate, but this year I don't really seem to have the christmas spirit.  I've lost it!!!  The decorations and trees are up, the lights are up and presents are being planned and bought.  Christmas food plans are being planned and negotiated with mum and sleeping arrangements are being arranged as for every other year, so why do I feel a bit flat this year?  I normally love sitting in front of the tree at night with the twinkling lights wrapping presents but I found myself hating it!  WHAT IS WRONG WITH ME???  We've been to see 3 different santas and some real reindeer which was lovely but no mounting excitement, no warm fuzzy feelings, nothing.  Why is it more stressful this year than any other?  I only have one more child and he's only 6 months so doesn't have a long list, neither of the others have reeled off a shed load of stuff they want either.  Maybe I'll get into the swing of things after I've had a day christmas shopping without the kids?  Who knows.  All I know right now is that it all seems to be a huge stressful rush for one day of frantic unwrapping, pigging out, watching tv then squeezing some more food in before bed!  I don't want to sound Bah Humbug at all I love seeing my kids faces light up when they get downstairs and see their presents and I love giving people presents and obviously receiving them!  I guess it's just taking me a little longer this year to get christmassy!  I hope none of you are struggling this year to find your christmas spirit, and don't forget that one well chosen present is much better (no matter how little it cost) than lots of little things that your children will play with for maybe a couple of days then discard.  I've learnt that lesson the hard way!