The Spain Family

Mom's obituary

2011-07-11T02:49:00.002+01:00

Laugh When You Feel Like Crying

2011-07-07T19:08:00.005+01:00

I was challenged to provide a spiritual thought the other night for a meeting I had to attend at church. I chose the following from the book Small and Simple Things by Marjorie Pay Hinckley:

Elder Neal A. Maxwell once said, "We are here in mortality, and the only way to go is through; there isn't any any around!" (Ensign, May 1998, 9). I would add, the only way to get through life is to laugh your way through it. You either have to laugh or cry. I prefer to laugh. Crying gives me a headache.

Laugh, and the world laughs with you;

Weep, and you weep alone;

For the sad old earth must borrow its mirth,

But has trouble enough of its own.

Ella Wheeler Wilcox, "Solitude," st. 1

Hinckley, M.P. (2003). Small and simple things (p. 126). Salt Lake City, UT: Deseret Book

I am trying to remember this as I face the reality that my mother's days on earth are few and only God in Heaven knows how long she has here with us. Trying to remember the happy times and the realization that life on earth is but a moment in the scope of eternity. Love you mom!

Oh, What Do You Do in the Summertime?

2011-07-07T15:55:00.003+01:00

1. Oh, what do you do in the summertime, when all the world is green?

Do you fish in a stream, or lazily dream on the banks as the clouds go by?

Is that what you do? So do I!

2. Oh, what do you do in the summertime, when all the world is green?

Do you swim in a pool, to keep yourself cool, or swing in a tree up high?

Is that what you do? So do I!

3. O, what do you do in the summertime, when all the world is green?

Do you march in parades, or drink lemonades, or count all the stars in the sky?

Is that what you do? So do I!

Words and music: Dorothy S. Anderson b. 1927

Now that grad school is finished for the summer, we've been trying to make the most of this week before we travel off to Ohio. We had hoped to spend as much time in the pool as possible but thunderstorms moving through the area have limited that. The kids don't seem to mind all the mindless TV watching but I do worry about their eyeballs falling out.

We are travelling up to Ohio/West Virginia to see my mom while she is in the hospital at WVU. You can get the updates on a blog we set up for her updates at hopeformargie.blogspot.com. My aunt and uncle in Danville have graciously offered to hold summer camp for the kids so they can get to know their cousins for a few days. I am grateful for this because my mom is in ICU and the children would not be able to go into visit her, nor do I want them to see her in her current condition. Prayers would be greatly appreciated.

So it's been almost a year...

2011-05-16T00:41:00.004+01:00

Life sure has gotten crazy and I seem to have forgotten that I have this blog. We have been up to a whole lot of stuff in the last 11 1/2 months since I last posted and because life is soooooo crazy, well, blogging hasn't been a priority. I am going to try and change that.

As part of a course requirement for my master's degree I have to keep a blog where I can reflect upon the weekly reading assignments. That blog can be found at firstandmost.blogspot.com. I decided this would be a great opportunity to start blogging here again as well. So my goal is to blog at least once a week here just to let my one reader that I am alive. It will also be an opportunity for my to practice my writing and to continue the record of our family adventures of country living (in which I never thought I would enjoy, but I do). So here is my first attempt. This post will serve as a quick (and I mean quick) catch up from the last year.

Shawn - Shawn is getting closer to his retirement, he is now only a year away. We are sorting out what we need to so that he can prepare for the transition to civilian life. At church he serves as the ward executive secretary.

Karen - I am in my third semester (of five) of graduate school studying elementary education. With the economy the way it is, there do not seem to be many music teaching positions open so I felt it would be a good opportunity to become more marketable. Also, while living overseas, I committed the cardinal sin of an educator... I. LET. MY. LICENSE. EXPIRE! So I really didn't have much of a choice; if I want to work as a teacher, I need more education. I am also serving as secretary in the Relief Society presidency at church.

Natalie - Natalie is in the 2nd grade and she loves to read. This year she has read Little House in the Big Woods, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, Diary of a Wimpy Kid and numerous other books that I can't even remember. She also loves to read scriptures to the Bishop at church because he gives her candy. We are helping her prepare for her baptism this summer when she turns 8.

Robbie - We've had an up and down year with Robbie. He started out the school year behind in reading and fine motor skills and he was having behavior problems at home and at school. This spring he was diagnosed with ADHD and we made the difficult decision to have him take medication. We are happy to report that he is now a star pupil and no longer needs reading intervention and is a whiz kid in math!

Clayton - What can I say about Clay, he just turned 2! He is into everything and has tons of energy. He commands the house, but his cuteness and ability to love is what makes it all worth it.

Oops, forgot about this

2010-06-29T17:44:00.009+01:00

I have been a very bad blogger indeed! It has been 6 months since I have posted anything on here but I thought for the 3 of you that look here from time to time who aren't on facebook (which is were I spend more time than I should), I should post some more current pictures. We haven't been up to much, just keeping up with the daily life of 3 energetic little children and the comings and goings of everything. The kids are getting big, Natalie will turn 7 this summer and Robbie is getting ready to enter Kindergarten at the end of summer break. Then it will just be me and Clayton, that will be weird! Here are some pictures from the first part of 2010.

Snow in February

Happy Birthday Clayton, March 17.

Natalie's vegetable stand, she sold 3 radishes from our garden for $1.

Our attempt at taking cool pics of the kids, not very successful.

Trying to get a pic of his first teeth, but I am just getting smiles, so not a total loss.

Our chickens, 2 weeks old, Easter.

Today at about 3 months old, yummy! We have 7 hens and a rooster. We are hoping that they start laying soon.

Cuddles.
Our new puppy Maisy, we got her on June 1st.

They lurve eachother.

Clay and his crazy beach hair, he is apparently terrified of sand and waves and sandy water so I put him in the beach chair and he didn't move at all, very uncharacteristic of him :)

Robbie, he was afraid at first but once he relaxed he had a blast!

Natalie is fearless! She is such a little fish and would still be swimming if we let her.

Merry Christmas

2009-12-21T23:48:00.002Z

Never mind all my good intentions, I never did get my Christmas cards sent out. I usually make hand stamped cards and just didn't have it in me to do them this year. I did get a new digital program and this was my attempt so I thought I'd post it here and if you usually get a nice handmade card from me and you don't this year, it's nothing personal, no one is getting one :)

It's been a long time!

2009-09-07T04:46:00.005+01:00

I don't think I can even begin to think about all the catching up I need to do on here, it's been a LONG time! I think a brief update is all I can manage for the moment.

I guess the biggest news is that we have moved halfway around the world. When I say we, I mean the kids and me. Shawn is still living it up in Cornwall. We bought our very first house in the middle of nowhere Virginia (aka Carrsville) and when Shawn is finally able to come and be back with us at the end of the month he will be working on the main Naval base in Norfolk. Carrsville is barely a blip on a map with a handful of houses a post office and an elementary school. Why did we decide to live outside of civilization, you ask? Let me tell you why... We wanted a great big house on more than an acre of land in a community with a great elementary school. I think we've ticked all those boxes with the house we've found. The sacrifice we've made is Shawn's commute time to the base.

The house is great (click here for pics from when the sellers lived here). We have 2500 square feet on 1.2 acres. Carrsville Elementary has a 9/10 great schools rating and has a reputation as one of the best elementary schools in the state. The house has a lot of character too. It was built in the 1920s (with a few additions added over the years) and also has an 1800 square foot "store" on the property that served a Daughtery's General Store in the late 19th century. My dad thinks I should knock it down and he fears the next major hurricane may actually save me the work. This was one of the selling points for the house for me and that would break my heart! Anyway, back to the house! When we were doing our prelim online house searches this one kept coming up and I kept brushing it off because I didn't like the kitchen. But I kept going back to it. Then one day I noticed something I hadn't noticed before... As I was looking at the pictures that were hanging on the walls, I saw a few that I recognized painted by artists that belong to my church. These are paintings that are pretty specific to Mormons too, lol. Then I realized that I must actually know the sellers because the house sits within the boundaries of the ward (congregation) we attended as newlyweds. So as any self respecting person would do I sent a message on facebook to some people on my friends list that could give me more info. As it turns out, I did know the sellers and because of that Shawn and I agreed for me to take a trip to the states to view the house in person and here we are.

I moved into the house about a month ago and had been living on air mattresses and borrowed furniture until last week when we got our household goods. I have managed to get the living room, dining room, kitchen and kids rooms in a good place and now have to sort out the den, playroom, guest room, master bedroom and garage.

Once I get everything the way I want it I'll post the after pictures. And one of these days I also take some pictures (or upload from my camera).

Sunday Pictures

2009-06-28T20:01:00.003+01:00

Clay at just over 3 months old

Robbie absolutely HAS to wear a tie on Sunday. We asked him if he wanted to take it off when we got home from church and he said, "I can't it's still Sunday!" Do you think it will be that easy to get him in a tie when he's 12? It's a shame he's at an age where he won't cooperate for pictures and always has to pull a face.

Natalie is in high spirits in spite of her trip to the ER last night. She was goofing off in the bath and fell on the spiky holder for the shower sprayer and got a 1 in. deep puncture wound in her thigh. No stitches which I thought were inevitable, but steri-strips instead and I was quite surprised at how little it actually bled.

Random pictures (yet again)

2009-06-21T14:00:00.004+01:00

What happens when dad does the laundry and gets the kids dressed, Robbie ended up wearing Clayton's shirt (size 3-6 month). When I called him on it, he said, "I was wondering why it was so hard to get over his head."

Clayton and some tummy time
Jaden's last day of school, I'm gonna miss him and his family!

Clayton sitting up on the couch

Robbie being put to work helping to make dinner. When he was finished peeling this carrot, there was practically nothing left!

Clayton borrowing a friend's bumbo seat and he fell asleep.

Trip to Virginia

2009-06-21T13:27:00.003+01:00

I did manage to squeeze in some fun on my trip to Virginia. It was great to see my sister Jane again and to also catch up with my friend Jessica and her sweet little family.

A self portrait of Janie

Pictures of a luau we went to that was a fundraiser for the Pacific Islanders Group. Janie really enjoyed this and I think she secretly wishes she was Samoan!

Jane, Jessica and me with the kids

Jessica, Clayton and I at Jessica's mom's house for dinner

We are officially soon to be homeowners!

2009-06-21T12:31:00.005+01:00

Well the house hunt is over. I can really tell that Heavenly Father had a hand in bringing this house to us. Things worked out so easily that I can think of no other explanation. We contacted a realtor a while back and we were just going to narrow down some choices from homes we liked online to view when I got back to the US at the end of July. Well I found a house that I fell in love with and felt an urgency to go back to the US to see it. I mean, I was panicked that someone else was going to buy it before we had a chance to see it. So I checked online to see what airline tickets were going to cost us. I swear, we were taking a huge risk, but I feel we were blessed to be able to find a way for Clayton and I to go without going into debt. Our flight to the states was manageable, my sister drove down from Ohio to keep me company so I didn't have to pay for a rental car (I just covered her expenses), and my friend Jessica insisted we stay with her so no hotel to pay for! Everything just fell into place so easily. The only glitch we had on the whole trip was that Jane accidentally grabbed the wrong suitcase from baggage claim, but we got that easily sorted!

We set out to view 4 properties and after we saw the second one (the whole reason I flew 6000+ miles to the US) I decided there was really no need to see anymore. It was reconfirmed to me that THIS was the house. We are so excited. We made an offer and it was accepted and we are just waiting for closing on July 30th and the kids and I will move in the 3rd week of August. The best part is that we are friends with the sellers and I trust them. I do hope they still like us after all this is over! We will be going to church with them and they have lived in and loved this house and made it their home for 11 years. It seems like a great place to raise a family and the school is one of the top elementary schools in the state. It's in the village of Carrsville and it sits on just more than an acre of flat land, perfect for the kids to play and Shawn to have his garden, chickens and a couple of sheep or goats (not really my idea of fun, but gotta let have Shawn have SOMETHING!).

Here are the pictures...

From the front

The entry hall
The living room

The dining room

The kitchen. I had big plans for the kitchen, but had a wake up call as to what we can actually really afford so we may just have to settle for new counter tops and a new fridge. The floors are about a year old and if we put in new cabinets, they would be inferior in quality to what is in there, a few coats of paint may be all that is really needed to freshen up the room.

This is the den or family room and it is currently being used as a bedroom

The sun room, we'll probably put the kids toys in here for a playroom

Downstairs bedroom, we'll use this as a spare room/craft room

Upstairs bathroom (there is also a full bath downstairs)

Master bedroom
Nursery for Clayton
Natalie and Robbie's room
This may look like a dangerous eyesore, but this was one of the selling points on the property for me. I've always loved old things and I have always wanted to have something old that I could restore and this really excites me! From what we were told, this is the oldest standing commercial building in the southern part of Isle of Wight County. It was Daughtry's General Store in the late 1800s. It has 1800 square feet and has a lot of potential even though it has hurricane damage. We want to get it registered as a historical place and restore the exterior while at the same time making the inside a modern and livable dwelling. I'm thinking 2 bedrooms, 1 bathroom and an open plan living area with a kitchenette and big enough for me to have a spectacular stamp/scrapbooking classroom and studio. I am sure it is going to years down the road and it's going to cost A LOT of money, but in the end, I am sure it will be worth it.

these always make me cry...

2009-05-25T19:13:00.000+01:00

Fun day out

2009-05-25T17:27:00.004+01:00

We had it all planned out... Every so often, we get a magazine from Natalie's school outlining all the different things to do as a family here in Cornwall. On page 4 there was an advertisement for "Dr. Who Day" at Treasure Park. Perfect! The park isn't too far from home, parking and entry are FREE and the kids and Shawn are obsessed with Dr. Who and they were going to have Daleks and Cybermen and the Doctor and it was going to be great. I was so determined that it was going to be a fun day that I kept it all a secret from the kids until this morning in case something happened I wouldn't have two grumpy kids on my hands. The drive there was nice and the kids were excited.

Then we get there and there is a sign that read, "Due to unforeseen circumstances... Blah blah blah BLAH BLAH! Oh the shame!

There was a backup attraction of Sci-Fi and Superheros, but it WASN'T Dr. Who. We still had a fun time though and Natalie got to have her picture taken with Princess Leia and both kids had their picture taken with Spider Man (I'll have to scan that one because it's the one we had to pay for). We tried to get Robbie to pose with Darth Vader, but that wasn't going to happen. I was in heaven because it basically is a HUMONGOUS jewellery store. There was loads for the kids to do, but even though "entry" was free, most of the attractions were not and of course, the jewellery was all for sale. Oh, well we ate some yummy food, kids did a bouncy castle and a merry-go-round, we made our very own Cornish teddy bear, we painted ceramic animals and finished up by having some ice cream.

Natalie with Princess Leia

Shawn and Robbie with the time machine from Back to the Future (they also had James Bond's Ashton Martin from Goldfinger)
Robbie's penguin (that Shawn did most of the painting on while Robbie tried to eat the paintbrush)

Natalie's unicorn that she painted all by herself with NO help from anyone else

Clay's turtle that I painted

and lastly, Kernow, our Cornish teddy bear that we made all by ourselves.

Our garden

2009-05-25T17:13:00.002+01:00

On Friday evening, we spent time cleaning up the garden and planting some flowers. Now, I know what you are thinking that it is silly to plant flowers 2 months before moving, but we enjoyed it, we still have 2 months we can enjoy the flowers, and having a clean and tidy garden area will make spending time outside more enjoyable. We had a lot of fun and the kids love to water and weed.

The front of our house.

One of my hanging baskets that I planted.
Our herb bed.

Rhubarb
My favorite thing, fresh clean diapers hanging on the line. A must in our new house is a clothesline in the backyard. (ignore Robbie scratching his bum)

Blackmail photo :)

2009-05-25T17:06:00.002+01:00

The other day, we bunked the kids' beds so now Robbie and Natalie share a room. I had a feeling the first couple of days would be an adjustment and we would have "slumber party syndrome" to deal with and I was right. The first night we put the kids in their room and in bed at 7:30 pm and I go in at almost 9:00 pm to investigate the giggling I heard. This is how I found Robbie...

Video of Clayton Giggles

2009-05-23T16:56:00.001+01:00

Random Pictures

2009-05-23T15:54:00.004+01:00

I've been such a slacker! It has taken me 2 weeks to get Clay's blessing on here and then there are all the other things I'm sure my mom wants to see :)

Not much is really going on here other than we finally got our orders to move to Virginia, we knew back in October we were going to VA, but the official paperwork finally came through this week so we can get the ball rolling and get organized for the move. I can't believe it's already time and even though 2 months feels like forever away, it will be here before I can blink! There is so much to do and I am terrified of going back to the states with 3 kids aged 5 and under by myself all the while Shawn gets to stay here an extra 2 months. Then once we get to the states, we need to find a minivan (for less than $10,000 so if anyone has one they'd like to sell us let me know!) and a house and register Natalie for school and beg a school to allow Robbie to attend preK. Kids and I ship out the end of July because my visa expires 3 August :) .

Yesterday we cleaned up our garden, it looks so pretty now. It seems silly though that we planted some flowers, but we can still enjoy them for a couple of months and our landlord will appreciate them when he moves back in after we leave. Then today we bunked the kids' beds in Natalie's room so the big kids are now sharing a room and we moved the pack & play into Robbie's old room so Clay can try to sleep on his own in his own room. He's been sleeping 8 hours at night now so we'll see if I can now get a better night sleep. It worked with the other 2 so here's to hoping!

Here are some random pictures from the last few weeks.

Last week I bought some fruit. I found the most beautiful, juiciest strawberries and they were HUGE. I just don't want to know what chemicals caused this to happen though because it just doesn't seem natural. Here is a comparison with a Royal Gala apple and a normal sized strawberry.

Another of Natalie's outfit choices. She does have shorts on and NO, I did NOT let her leave the house looking like this! The coat is still too big, but she got it as a hand-me-down from a friend she worships so she just HAD to wear it NOW.
Clayton's smile :)

Robbie's creepy face

Robbie took this picture of Shawn

And this picture of me

Robbie trying to hide from the camera

Natalie trying to hide from the camera

More smiles

See, it does get warm enough here to go swimming (ignore the mess in the background). Funny thing is, it's was only like 70 F and we were hot, we've gotten too used to the cooler weather here and we are going to be in BIG trouble dealing with a Virginia heat wave when we come stateside!

Clayton's Blessing Day

2009-05-11T15:39:00.003+01:00

What a wonderful Mother's day! We were able to have Clay blessed and it was such a nice blessing and he was completely silent through the whole thing. I was a little panicky just before as I was getting him dressed because I didn't realize how much bigger Clay is compared to Robbie at the same age and Robbie's outfit barely fit him. I squeezed his big cloth diaper bum in as best as I could and it was all good. He was really grumpy at the end so I wasn't able to get a good picture of just him in his outfit so I'll have to try that another day but enjoy the pictures I was able to get.

Chugga Chugga CHOO CHOO

2009-05-04T20:27:00.005+01:00

Today we went to Lappa Valley Railway. Robbie LOVES trains and has been begging to ride on a train for a LONG time. It's ironic though because when we first moved to Cornwall we lived just a 10-15 minute walk from this place and we never went. Boy, we missed an opportunity and we had such a nice time. We got on the little steam engine train, just like the ones I remember from the zoo when I was little and it took us 3 miles to another little station where there was a boating lake, a really nice playground, a maze, a nature trail, 2 other train lines with one to a soft play area with trampolines and ball pit, and crazy golf. In total, the kids got to ride 3 different kinds of trains and we had a great afternoon out. Robbie was in heaven and Natalie enjoyed herself as well.

Our littel train

Robbie anticipating the ride
Natalie anxious to go

A rare picture of me (sorry you can't see Clay)

One of the spare engines

Natalie insisted on taking a picture of the ticket and MADE me put this here on the blog, she was excited to because the guy came just after this and punched our ticket like on the Polar Express!

A tower

A really cool maze made from bricks, Robbie cheated and didn't really finish

The trampolines & ball pit

The kids were acting really silly on the ride back from the trampolines. Robbie with his Home Alone face

Natalie too

Creepy eyes, yuck

Clay loves his swing

2009-05-04T20:18:00.004+01:00

Random pics of Natalie and Robbie

2009-05-04T20:09:00.002+01:00

Here's Robbie with one of his favorite poses. He's sucking his thumb with a finger up the nose, gross! Then he has to play with his belly button. At least his "free" hand (the one playing with his belly button) isn't down his pants playing with something else, if he wasn't in a diaper, that is where it would probably be. How do I break him of this?
Natalie in another interesting outfit choice.

Cloth Diapers

2009-04-24T17:34:00.005+01:00

When I had Natalie, I never thought that I would EVER try cloth diapers. I just thought it was gross and to be honest, the first thing that came to mind were the flat squares, pins and nasty rubber pants. They have come so far in recent years and just as easy to put on as disposables even Shawn can do it! Now I'm a convert and I'm bringing others in with me. I really wish someone would have shown me how much they've improved sooner.

We've only used disposable diapers for the first week and a half (once Clay's belly button and circumcision had healed) and have been full time reusable diapers ever since.

Here is what we've been using,

At home it is

-gdiapers with cloth inserts (that I got from two work at home mom online stores, http://www.nappyshoppe.com/ and http://www.cottonwoodbaby.com/ ). My favorites are from Nappy Shoppe called the g-flapper made with Bamboo Velour, Bamboo Terry and Hemp. They also have adorable diaper bags and other cloth diapering accessories, it's my one stop cloth diaper shop except for the gdiaper "little g" pants and flushies. I just stocked up on the medium size so when Clay outgrows the smalls, we are ready.

-Fuzzi Bunz size small with the inserts they came with(or g-flapper inserts), I got these super cheap because they are second hand, I know it sounds gross, but they were very well taken care of. I doubt I'll buy size mediums but they are great for newborns and they are good small babies.

-Bum Genius 3.0 one size pocket diapers - these are my favorite night time diapers because now that he doesn't poo at night, this will hold all night so I don't have to change in the middle of the night - HUGE plus for me! I have used both inserts that come with them for nighttime SUPER absorbency. I am slowly increasing my stash of these because they are so versatile. We are now phasing out the horrendeous pull ups for Robbie and he can fit these as well so it will be great until Robbie is able to stay dry at night.

When we're out and about it's the gdiapers with the flushable inserts. I got a ton of the flushies for my shower and gdiapers will exchange for the next size up if I still have unopened packages.

Here is what I love...

-I have NOT had one single BLOWOUT since saying goodbye to disposables! You know, up the back and out the legs and everywhere. With Robbie, every time he fed, he blew out all over himself and me. It was horrible. I can't tell you how many times I had to give him a bath in the sink when we were out (nearly every week at church) because he would get it all the way in his hair. Hasn't happened at all with Clay once we switched, even when he's been strapped in the carseat!

-No rashes

-Saves money - I figured out that I have spent nearly $6000 on diapers and pullups in the last 5 years for Natalie and Robbie. So far I've spent a lot of money, about $700, but I won't have to buy anything else and when we have baby #4, I've already made the investment.

-Don't get caught running out unexpectedly with a need to run out to the store, just do a load of laundry!

Also, it's only increased my laundry by 2 loads a week, but it's evening out because I haven't lost outfits to poop stains all over the legs and back. I thought the laundry was going to be too much for me, but it isn't. Washing diapers is so easy. I just put the soiled ones in a dry pail (no messy water soaks required) and I wash every other day. I have a front loading washer and I'll do a cold wash with no detergent to get the poo off, followed by a hot wash with 1/4 of the amount of a "free & clear" detergent without additives (no bleach, fabric softener, fragrances, brighteners, etc.), sometimes I add BacOut or OxyClean if I feel they need it and finally a cold wash without detergent to make sure there are no more bubbles so I know all the detergent has been rinsed out. Then I dry on low or hang them. Did you know hanging in the sun works better than Clorox?

The thing I hate most about laundry is the folding and putting away, but I am not finding that to be a problem with a diaper load because everything goes to the same place.

I will say, that except for my night diaper, you can't leave these on for more than about 3 hours with out leaks (which it isn't good to even leave a sposie on for that long either), but I am finding that I really like these and I don't see myself going back to disposables ever again!

Photo Shoot

2009-04-22T21:34:00.005+01:00

I need help deciding. I am getting ready to make Clay's birth announcements and I am having a hard time choosing the picture. I took over 30 pictures and here are my 6 favorites. Which one do you like most?

Natalie

2009-04-22T21:12:00.002+01:00

Don't you just love some of the outfits 5 year olds pick out for themselves. It actually doesn't look that bad in the pictures as it did in real life.

My little spiderman

2009-04-22T20:59:00.003+01:00

Robbie has been obsessed with dressing up lately. All last week while we were off of school, he had to dress up. Spiderman was his costume of choice and spent most of his time in this one, but we also saw him as Dr. Who, a Dalek and a pirate.

Also, I don't know if he has OCD (he's doomed because my dad has OCD characteristics and so do I so it's in his blood) or if it's just typical 3 year old behavior, but he would get really bent out of shape if the middle of the "web" on the mask didn't hit him right in the middle of his nose. The face he's making looks like a smile, but he is really gritting his teeth because he's frustrated.

Clayton at 1 month

2009-04-17T21:21:00.000+01:00

Seriously, the last month has been a complete blur. I can't even believe it's been a month since he was born and he is changing so much every day. Things are calming down and we are trying to settle into a routine. He's been sleeping about 5-6 hours at night and last night was from 10:30 PM until 4:30 AM, so we are all feeling better. I'm not exactly sure how much he weighs now, but I'm guessing he'll be over the 10 pound mark when we go in for his 6 week check-up. He is already growing out of clothes and he seems to be getting really chunky!

Clay at 4 weeks

2009-04-14T21:17:00.000+01:00

Happy Easter

2009-04-12T16:10:00.003+01:00

Happy Easter. I hope all have had a very uplifting day remembering Christ and his atoning sacrifice.

I thought I'd share some pictures of our Easter. We don't do traditional Easter baskets as we don't like to have a lot of sweets around the house. Also, it is so difficult to get my kids to eat healthy in the first place, the last thing we need is for them to be filled with unhealthy food and not want to eat the good stuff. So each kid only got one sweet, a chocolate egg. These eggs came in a gift set that included a ceramic plate and mug, a plastic knife and a "toast stamp". You press the "stamp" into the bread and then toast it and you can see the design in the toast. Natalie got a Little Miss set, Robbie got a Thomas the Tank set and Clay got a Whinnie the Pooh set (even though he can't eat that yet, we asked the Easter Bunny to bring him one so each will have their special set). The big kids also got a paddle ball and an Easter character with Play Dough inside (thanks to my friend Rhonda from Canada!), 2 hard boiled eggs (which Robbie didn't like and Natalie tried to eat with the shells still on, lol), 2 story books and a DVD. Clay got 2 books and a stuffed chick.

Natalie's place

Robbie's place
Clay's spot, lol

The books and DVDs and Clay's chick

Natalie and her stuff

Robbie and his stuff

Here are the kids all dressed up for church.

Natalie in her new dress that Auntie Janie sent to her
Robbie looking smart in his tie (he just loves wearing a tie and won't go to church without one now)
Clay looking so grown up, he is changing so much everyday!

Roberoony's Dancin' Moves

2009-04-10T17:05:00.000+01:00

A couple cards

2009-04-07T16:04:00.003+01:00

It's been a while since I've posted anything crafty. So I thought I would take pictures of a couple of cards I've had to make over the last couple of weeks.

This card was for a 6 year olds birthday. I tend to be really good at making "girly" cards but I have a harder time coming up with boy cards.

Supplies:

Stamps - Prehistoric Pals & Family Phrases

Card Stock - Chocolate Chip, Tangerine Tango, Very Vanilla

Ink (all classic pads) - Kiwi Kiss, Baja Breeze, Chocolate Chip, Tangerine Tango, Old Olive

Technique - Direct to Paper... You rub the stamp pad directly to the paper like I did for the Baja Breeze "sky" and Kiwi Kiss "grass"

This card I did in "MASS PRODUCTION." I needed a bunch of them because people have been so generous in bringing gifts for the baby and making sure we are taken care of. I made some extras too, in all I made 20 of them in less than an hour (seriously!). This was an inexpensive card because it's not complicated and doesn't have accessories on it. It's just paper and ink.

Supplies:

Stamps - Manhattan Flowers & Thank You Kindly

Card Stock - Baja Breeze, Chocolate Chip, Very Vanilla

Ink (all classic pads) - Pacific Point, Baja Breeze, Kiwi Kiss

Are you sick of pictures yet?

2009-04-07T15:50:00.002+01:00

Well, tough if you are, no one's making you read my blog. I know my mom will be pleased.

I can't believe how quickly Clay is growing up. He is not looking so miserably unhappy anymore and is more awake and aware of what is going on around him. Now if we could just get him to sleep at night! I can't believe he's 3 weeks old already. The last 3 weeks have been a blur, by the way!

Random Pictures

2009-04-03T15:26:00.002+01:00

We had the camera out the last couple of days and I thought we would post pictures.

The first two pictures are from when we were taking Clay's passport pictures, they weren't right for the passport because they didn't meet all the insane criteria for a passport for an infant (they have to have their eyes open, can't be crying, can't have anything in their mouth like a binky, you have to see both ears, can't have funny shadows, it has to be 2 inches x 2 inches with the head being between 1 inch and 1 3/8 inches - so you can see, for a newborn of less than 2 weeks old, this allows for a very small window of opportunity), but they show how cute and chunky he is. Oh and he was weighed on Wednesday and is up to 9 pounds already!!!

Natalie took this picture of him in his swing. He's not really a fussy baby, but it is nice for him to be in the same room as us when we eat dinner.

Finally a better picture of the two of us, I wish I knew how to get the date stamp off of the picture so I can frame it, I usually just crop it out but that would take out half of Clay's head.

OK, I had to throw this one in because it shows how thin I have gotten (still not where I want to be, but compared to the size 22 I was when I was at my heaviest and the size 16 I was when I got pregnant this time around). I went out and bought new jeans the other day and I am so excited because the were a UK 14 which is a US 12. I haven't been this small since College and just 10 more pounds to lose and I will be at my smallest adult weight.

Finally a picture with Daddy

2009-04-01T14:45:00.003+01:00

I was finally able to get a picture of Shawn and Clay together. Don't they look cute? Oh, and Shawn doesn't know I took this picture because he is still in there sleeping, hehehehe!

Clay's bath

2009-03-30T11:34:00.003+01:00

Ok, so this isn't Clay's first bath, he had that the day we came home from the hospital because here they don't clean the babies off before they give them to you, so I got handed a yucky and bloody and gross baby in the hospital and had to dress him that way, ick! Anyway, during his first bath, I decided he needed to go in the baby tub because he was 24 hours old and still hadn't had his first pee so my instincts told me to put him in the bath to see if that would help. As soon as I was finished and wrapped him in the towel and he calmed down, he peed all over the towel and SOAKED it. I was home by myself with him and Robbie so I wasn't able to document the occassion. Don't pay too much attention to me in the pictures, I had just woken up and my hair is a mess and I'm still in my jammies, but alas, they are the only pictures that I have thus far with the two of us together.

Here he is at 8 days old getting a sponge bath. As you can see, he does NOT like this...

Trying out the fancy gDiapers for the first time. This didn't last long as his little legs are too skinny and when he pooped, it nearly came out of the legs.
All dressed and warm.

Ahhh, a happy and warm baby.

Soaking in some sun so he can look a little less pumpkin like.

Another cute picture of Clay

2009-03-30T11:30:00.002+01:00

Thanks Abi for the outfit. I have been so blessed by some of the friendships I have made here. When word got out of our little surprise in having a boy, I had several people come over with blue clothes so he would have something other than pink to wear.

Through Robbie's Eyes

2009-03-30T11:17:00.002+01:00

Somehow, Robbie found my camera that had been telling me for 3 days that I had dead batteries and he managed to get it to turn on. When I took the memory card out to download the pictures, here are some of what I found. It really is interesting to see what is important to a 3 1/2 year old little monster!

The tray to the chalkboard

DVD players
His shoe on the floor of MY bedroom (where it does NOT belong)

My dresser

The playroom (I am assuming he was running while taking this picture)

Pictures and birth story...

2009-03-22T10:50:00.006Z

Well, I have a few quiet minutes so I'll share the birth story with you.

I mentioned in a previous post that my contractions started on Monday, 16 March just after I picked the kids up from school. I had walked 3 miles to and from the school that day and as you read on that day, I tackled a very large to-do list. It was my intention to help the labor start and it worked. Throughout the evening, the contractions continued but were tolerable and irregular, about 20 minutes apart and I still managed to do all that I need to get done. About 1:30 in the morning, the contractions woke me up and they were getting stronger and about 11-12 minutes apart so I called the midwife and as expected, was told I had to wait a bit longer before they would assess me. So I had a miserable night sleep and took little cat naps between contractions and called back in the morning at around 6:00 am as the contractions were still 11-12 minutes apart. Again I was told to wait a bit longer.

Meanwhile, Shawn is getting ready for work as usual and I asked the midwife if she thought that was a good idea and she said she thought it best that he stay close by me. So Shawn called and started his baby leave.

We then got Natalie and Robbie ready for the day and we walked to the school as a family to drop Natalie off. We had to stop a few times on the way and back to let a contraction pass, but I felt like I needed to "do" something and not just lay around. I continued to keep busy when we got home and gave myself a pedicure (yes I was able to reach my feet), vacuumed the living room and dining room and cleaned up the kitchen.

My friend Abi came over and kept me from going crazy and her son Sam and Robbie happily played while Shawn supervised them. My contractions were getting very irregular and spaced out funny. I would go an hour where they completely stopped and then they would be like 6 minutes apart and then a half hour. Then at about 1:30 - 2:00 pm they started getting stronger and more frequent so Abi told me I should perhaps call the midwife again and she finally said I could go in an be assessed at the hospital. At that point they were 8 minutes apart.

We got in the car and they started coming at 5 minutes and by the time we got to the hospital (half hour drive) they were 3-4 minutes apart. I had 2 contractions on the way from the car into the hospital and one while I was waiting for a room. Once I was settled into a room and got all the exam stuff done, it was about 4:15 pm and my dilation was checked and I was still only 3-4 cm, but fully effaced so the contractions were doing their job. I got aquainted with the Entonox (laughing gas) and was told how to use it and it was taking the edge off the pain. An hour later I was dilated to 6 cm and was extremely uncomfortable and was told I couldn't have an epidural because I was progressing too quickly. That made me grumpy, however, my epidural with Robbie didn't work so I don't know why I was surprised.

It finally got to the point where I wanted to push and my water broke and I was ready, and he came out quite quickly after my water broke, only 2 or 3 pushes. After Clay was born, I was still sucking on the Entonox and feeling a little drunk and I remember looking at him wondering what didn't seem quite right and it wasn't until the midwife told me it was a boy that I realized that what we'd been calling Penelope for the last 21 weeks had a penis! So Clayton Ezra Spain was born and I had packed nothing neutral for him to wear. I had a couple of onesies and a white blanket, but everything else had pink on it. Finally in the middle of the night, one of the nurses told me I had to just put him in pink because he was going to get too cold! I felt so bad.

Shawn was given instructed to bring back something suitable for him to wear home so he came home in a yellow sleep gown with little frogs on it. Shawn and Robbie came to pick us up and bring us home and that is where we are now, just settling in and learing how to be a family with 3 kids.

Here are some pictures of the last couple of days...

BOY! Was that a surprise!

2009-03-18T13:35:00.003Z

Clayton Ezra Spain came to join our family on Tuesday 17 March 2009 at 6:26 PM, he was delivered at Royal Cornwall Hospital Treliske. He's a big boy and weighed in at 8 pounds 4 ounces. We're home and recovering and hoping to get more sleep than we did last night. I'll update more when I have more energy.

I got it all done!

2009-03-17T06:00:00.002Z

I did finish my to do list yesterday and feel quite proud of myself too. It seems that my plan is working, however much more slowly than I'd like...

I started having contractions last night just after I brought the kids home from school and they started out to be about 20 minutes apart. I managed to get some sleep for about 3 hours and the contractions woke me up at about midnight. They increased to about 12 minutes and I called the midwife that told me I needed to wait until they were more frequent so I am continuing to wait. They are getting more painful but haven't gotten "regular" in frequency so we are just waiting. I've not gotten much sleep because as I would start to fall back asleep, another one would start. It's been about 14 hours now and I can definitely tell things are happening.

I'll wait for the kids to wake up and call the midwife again and let her know the contractions haven't stopped and they are getting more painful, but not more frequent. Shawn seems to think he should go to work and leave me to get the kids to school and all this on my own.

Still no baby!!!

2009-03-16T07:04:00.007Z

Well, my due date (13 March) has come and gone and little Penelope is being stubborn. However, with what we've had going through our house over the past few weeks, maybe she is being wise. Natalie had complained of a tummy ache, then Robbie had a tummy bug, Natalie had strep throat and I had a tummy bug over the weekend. I guess I can take another day or two to get things reorganized and disinfected again.

Believe it or not, I am actually caught up on laundry. I think I may even get away with only doing one load today. The kitchen and dining room are spotless as I cleaned those pretty well after dinner last night. I didn't have much choice as Shawn made tacos and Robbie with shredded cheese leaves quite the mess that I didn't want to leave until today. I just need to do a quick tidy up of the other rooms, sweep and vacuum. I would like to tackle my craft room, I admit that I've been closing the door and pretending it doesn't exist and there are a few clutter hot spots that could use some attention that if I don't attack before baby day will likely never get done.

So, instead of laying around all day feeling sorry for myself, here is what I plan to accomplish today. (I'll come back throughout the day and check things off, stuff that's done is Green)

Make beds & get everyone dressed
Get breakfast ready for the kids and clean up after
My 1 load of laundry put in the washer
Walk Natalie to school (1/2 mile each way)
Take a little rest
Play with Robbie
Tidy up and vacuum of living room
De-clutter bench in entry way and sweep
Move laundry to dryer and fold what's in dryer & put away
Robbie's lunch and clean up after
Walk Robbie to school (1/2 mile each way)
Take a little rest
Vacuum bedrooms and playroom
Clean toilets and sinks
Fold laundry and put away
Start to organize craft room
Take a little rest
Pick kids up from school (1/2 mile each way)
Start dinner (beef stew)
Natalie's homework
Play with kids
Dinner and clean up after
Family Home Evening
Bedtime routines
Crash

Maybe keeping busy will help little Miss Penelope come a little quicker!

Mormon Messages on YouTube

2009-03-13T14:47:00.002Z

Natalie's story

2009-03-12T19:29:00.001Z

Meet our house guest...

2009-03-07T18:04:00.007Z

***Update*** The links now work!

It's not often that we get visitors from the United States here in England. Actually, during the 7 years we've lived in Europe, we've only had my Mom, sister Janie and cousin Melanie come to visit us, so to our surprise, on the 6th of March 2009, we had a guest come nearly 4500 miles across the Atlantic Ocean and all the way from St. Clairsville Ohio. His name is Flat Stanley and he was encouraged to visit us from my little cousin Ben. Ben is in Mrs. Wallace's 2nd grade class at St. Clairsville Elementary School and he wanted Flat Stanley to come and visit us in St. Columb Major, Cornwall, England so he could learn all about where we live. Flat Stanley chose to visit us at the perfect time of year too!

See, we live in Cornwall which is the county which is in the most South West part of England. On 5 March 2009, we celebrated St. Piran's Day. St. Piran is the Parton Saint of Cornwall and according to legend, he was a Celtic monk who sailed from Ireland on a millstone in the 7th century. The town we live in is St. Columb Major and our town is famous for Hurling. Hurling takes place twice a year, first on Shrove Tuesday and then again on the Saturday the following week (10 days later). It is between the Town People and the Country People, where the teams try to keep or take possession of a small silver ball and it is really exciting to watch. Our house is in the perfect place to watch as we live in the town center and we can watch all the action from our upstairs windows. It can also be dangerous and all the homes and businesses in town protect their windows to prevent the silver ball or team members from being thrown into and breaking them. Today 7 March 2009 is the Saturday match for Hurling and were were very excited that Flat Stanley came to visit us for this event.

Here are some pictures of some of the things we've done with Flat Stanley while he was here visiting.

Just arriving to our home.

That long trip made Flat Stanley hungry so we went and had a Cornish Pasty for lunch. A pasty is a pastry filled with beef, potato, onion and swede. It was so yummy.

Now that we had our yummy lunch, we have the energy to visit around the town. Here we are in front of the bell tower at the parish church. This church has been here since the 15th century and the bell tower is 80 feet high.

If you look closely, you can see Flat Stanley at the war memorial. This is a Celtic cross to honor the memories of those that gave their lives in various wars. Every year in November we place Poppy Wreaths in front of the memorial. The church is in the background.

Flat wanted to make a phone call, so we took him to the phone box.

You can't come and visit England without having a traditional take away dinner of Fish N Chips!

He can hardly wait to take a bite!

Here we are getting ready to watch the hurling.

Isn't it exciting!?

Now it's time for Flat Stanley to return back to St. Clairsville and back to Ben so he can finish his school project. It's a good thing he's flat or he might not fit in the post box. Oh, did we mention that we live IN the Post Office? The house is made of 2 foot thick stone and has been here for 200 years and during WWII it was the telephone exchange. It is listed on the historical registry. Oh, and Ben, the next time Flat Stanley comes to visit us in England, please make sure you pack his wooley jumper (sweater) and a rain jacket as it can be quite chilly and rainy here.

Here is a video of the hurling so you can see for yourself.

No baby yet

2009-03-04T13:45:00.003Z

Still no baby and not really feeling anything worth writing about. But this may be a blessing in disguise.

Robbie has been home from school with a tummy bug. Today he's feeling MUCH better but school requires 48 hour sick free before they can return so we are having a "stay home and play day".

Natalie had complained of a tummy ache the weekend before last and went 2 days without eating, but nothing really came of it. Today she said her tummy hurt again, but then I gave her toast for breakfast and she inhaled it and asked for more so she went to school. I figure if she really is sick, the school will call and let me know.

I had a midwife appointment yesterday and it looks like I may have a UTI, yuck! I've been feeling weird for a couple of days but just thought it was stress from a sick kid (those who know me well, know that I don't do well with anything to do with vomit!), being 38+ weeks pregnant, and just plain old tiredness.

So I guess I'm glad that we can get all these sicky bugs out of the house before we bring a new baby home.

Oh, and because I am way too organized, I will probably go overdue. The hospital bags are in the car along with the baby seat and the kid's bag and sleeping bags are packed and ready to go, so of course all the early preparation will be in vain and I will either go overdue, or will likely be home while Shawn is at work with the car and will have to get to the hospital some other way and won't have my stuff anyway.

I've been through this twice before and this time is weirdly surreal to me for some reason. I have everything ready but it still hasn't really hit me that in just a short time, we will be bringing a new and tiny newborn home to join our family.

38 weeks

2009-02-27T22:51:00.003Z

I saw the doc on base today and I am 50% effaced and 3-4 cm dilated. So I could have a baby this time tomorrow or I can still be pregnant for 2 more weeks. I guess only time will tell. I haven't had any uncomfortable contractions yet so we are just waiting, but at least I can feel secure enough that if I do, I will be going right into the hospital and not waiting around. I don't even know what contractions feel like though without pitocin so who knows?

In this pic, it seems to look like she has dropped, but I can't really tell. Oh, and I lost 3 pounds from the last time I was in to see doc 2 weeks ago.

Hair and Painted Faces

2009-02-27T22:23:00.004Z

Ok, so this blog post is going to be kinda random, but oh well.

Before Valentine's Day, I was reading my friend's blogs and on my friend Becki's she had posted some really cute hairstyles she found on another blog and had tried on her kids. I thought it would be fun to try one of them out on Natalie and here is her Valentine's doo. Can you see the hearts? She got so many compliments on her hair and now she wants her hair pulled back every day, which is fine by me.

Then the week following Valentine's Day, the kids had a holiday from school. They were watching a TV program and the kids on there had their faces painted and Robbie asked if I could paint his face. I remembered that I had some face paints upstairs that I had never used so thought I would give it a try. Didn't turn out that great because the paints are absolutely rubbish and not worth the money I paid for them but I was talking to my sister Jane on the phone while I was doing it and promised I would post the pictures. The kids thought it was great and it was a struggle to let me wash it off before bedtime.

Here is Robbie as a lion. (wow, he looks so much like my sister Janie when she was little in this picture)

Natalie as a butterfly (wasn't exactly sure what a butterfly was supposed to look like in face paint but Natalie tells me this is exactly what she wanted)

Now onto Robbie's haircut. As you can see in the face paint picture, Robbie was starting to look like an orphan. The last haircut he had was back in November (at the beginning) and that was just a clean up around the ears and in the back for our family Christmas Card photo. It was now completely covering his ears and was starting to curl on the ends. His bangs were starting to look a bit wispy as well. So I had my friend Abi look at my "broken" clippers (I say broken because I took them apart to clean the hair out, per the instructions, but because I have no clue what I am doing in such things, I put them back together incorrectly) and I checked to see if they would cut by testing it on my arm, however when I went to buzz Robbie's head, it just started pulling the hair out by the roots and not actually cutting it. Because of that and making a complete mess of the front of his hair (poor Robbie was such a good sport about it!), we threw on a hat and after we dropped Natalie off at school, we drove to the base and had Phil the Barber fix my mess. Robbie did such a good job and sat there really still while Phil scissor cut his hair (I've been opting for clippers just because it was quicker). I think he looks so grown up now! Robbie is really showing his personality in these pictures too.

No pictures today

2009-02-21T18:45:00.004Z

I just thought I would jump on really quick and tell you all how weird my children are...

They are here playing on the floor and they have this squishy stress ball thingy that looks like the earth that they call "cuddle world". Well Natalie tossed "cuddle world" across the room and Robbie crawls over to it on his hands and knees barking like a dog and picks it up in his teeth and brings it back to her. This was all his idea with no provocation from Natalie (which is usually the cause of him being mistreated and doing such things). They have kept this up for a good 20 minutes now and Robbie is loving the "fetching" game. Now Robbie is throwing the ball and Natalie is fetching.

Also they have a new favorite TV show that they have to watch after school. It is totally not a show that you would think a 5 1/2 and 3 1/2 year old would voluntarily want to watch. It is, "How Clean is Your House?" with Kim Woodworth and Aggie MacKenzie. They hear the theme music and they stop what they are doing and come running. Robbie has endearingly started calling the show "Excusting House" (translated "Disgusting House" and is always exclaiming, "that house is excusting!"). I'm absolutely terrified if we are visiting someone he is going to say that their house is excusting (however, I have yet to meet someone here whose house is in such a state, there is a difference between clutter and filth). But I am a bit anal about my house and my friend Gena has decided to call me Monica because she says I remind her of Monica from Friends. Ok, I'm not THAT bad, but I do like a neat and tidy house and I do have help twice a month to keep it from getting ahead of me (We have a 5 bedroom house). I don't spend all my time cleaning and I have some paperwork that is starting to pile up to the point of scaring me and don't even go into my laundry room or my stamping room, I've been pretending those rooms don't exist and I could stand to vacuum a little more often. My toilets and kitchen on the other hand have to sparkle and we've had this cough going through the house so the Clorox has been brought out to clean doorknobs, light switches and other germ grabbers.

Anyway, it occurred to me the other day that maybe I shouldn't be letting them watch the show so often because as the kids were playing in the bath tub, Natalie found a Q-tip and was pretending to take swabs to check for salmonella! Also both kids are now terrified of germs and openly talk about E-coli and Listeria. We need to find a balance. I want my kids to practice good hygiene but I also don't want them to be afraid to have fun and get a little dirty.

36 weeks!!!

2009-02-13T19:13:00.005Z

Here are my 2 latest belly pictures. The first one is from Sunday all dressed up for church. It's funny, I bought the dress this time last year at a huge clearance sale. It was originally 50 pounds marked down to 10. When I got to the till to pay, it rung up at 2 pounds! I fit the smaller size, but got the next size up because it was pulling funny in the chest. And here I am at 35 weeks pregnant and it fits just fine because of how much weight I've lost and not gained back in the pregnancy. I will say that sitting down wasn't that comfortable as the material is satin and doesn't have any give in it.

This picture is from today at exactly 36 weeks - 28 days to go!!! What a difference a week can make, huh! I'm really starting to get uncomfortable and things most girls take for granted like shaving legs is starting to get intersting!

I do have to say I am starting to freak out about a lot of stupid things...

I went to the base to have a Group B Strep test done because they don't do that routinely here and I have been positive in the past but they weren't going to test me. The midwife said if I got a positive result from the base then I could have the antibiotics during labor. It's just silly though. It seems a better use of resources to take preventitive measures rather than have a baby born sick because it contracted it during birth. Babies can be really sick from this and usually spend time in NICU.

Anyway, while I was there he offered to do another ultrasound to double check to make sure she is really a girl (which she is!) so I am on the table and he is taking measurements to judge the babies size since I am measuring 3 weeks smaller. I am at 36 weeks today. So he does the head circumference and says, "Wow, this baby has a big head!" Ok, so not something that a woman a month from giving birth wants to hear! Then from the other measurements, he is guessing that the baby is already about 6 1/2 pounds and that I could expect a baby possibly around 9 pounds! Natalie was 7 lbs 1 oz at 1 week early and Robbie was 7 lbs 15 oz at 2 days early. On the brightside though, Robbie was an easier delivery (however more traumatic emotionally).

So, that is just one more thing to add to my list of things freaking me out. The others are... Not making it to the hospital (Nat and Rob were both induced) or even knowing I am in labor (I went to 4 cm with Robbie without feeling a thing), no epidural (or it not working if I need a c-section), not finding someone to watch the kids, not being able to get a hold of Shawn at work when the time comes... I could go on.

Just the irrational thoughts of a crazy pregnant woman.

Happy Valentine's Day

2009-02-13T18:15:00.004Z

I thought I would share a couple of cards I made over the last couple of days for Valentine's Day. It has been a LONG time since I've posted a project so here it goes. Also included is a box I did for my last class at the library, it's a treat box.

Treat box using the Always stamp set; Certainly Celery, So Saffron and Rose Red card stock; Rose Red classic ink; So Saffron Poly-Twill Ribbon; Scallop Edge punch.

This is a card we made for Natalie to give to her valentine, Harrison. It uses the Love You Much stamp set; Rose Red, Kiwi Kiss, and Pretty in Pink card stock; Raspberry Tart Designer Series Paper; Rose Red and Kiwi Kiss classic ink; Kiwi Kiss Striped Grosgrain and Rose Red Double-Stitched Grosgrain ribbons; Scallop Edge punch.

This is for my valentine, Shawn. It uses the same card stock, paper, ink and accessories as the card above, but the stamp sets used are Always and Frames with a Flourish.

More fun in the Snow

2009-02-03T15:44:00.004Z

Well, the snow continued to fall overnight and we woke up to a beautiful winter wonderland. The kids had their first snow day and Shawn was given the morning off (if he wasn't to be on duty, he would have been given the whole day). So after breakfast, we took the kids out to enjoy the snow.

This is looking at the outside of where we enter our house.

This is the view from the play park that is just behind our house.
This is the front of our house. We share our house with the Post Office which our landlord owns and runs. We have the whole upstairs (5 bedrooms) and half of the downstairs. The house would be absolutely humongous if the Post Office didn't take up so much. As you can see, at 9:00 am the road is still completely covered. Cornwall only gets a snow like this maybe once every 3 years so they don't have the equiptment to clear the roads.

Here is the town church and cemetary.

Natalie making a snow angel.

Robbie's snow angel.

Mmmm, snow tastes good!

Shawn building a snowman!

Finished product.

Sadly, all of the snow is gone from the roads and it's warming up and melting. However, they are calling for cold temperatures this evening and overnight so tomorrow is likely to be a nightmare with ice on the roads. Thankfully, there is nowhere we need to go that we can't walk to.

Cornish Snow

2009-02-02T17:30:00.004Z

Ok, so some of you who live in the US and Canada that get snow on a regular basis are probably going to laugh at this, but it's really significant to us.

Shawn and I were both born and bred in the Midwest, Shawn in Illinois and I in Ohio. We met and were married in Virginia. We grew up with snow and the winter after we were married, Virginia had a few really good snowfalls. Then we were transferred to Naples Italy in 2002. Well, didn't see snow at all while we were there except for when we came home to visit just after Natalie was born in November 2003. Then we came over here to the UK. Well some parts of the UK get snow regularly, but Cornwall very rarely gets a significant snowfall. We've had snow 2 previous times since we moved here in 2006, but it melted just as quickly as it fell so this is a real big deal for us. Natalie has no memory of the last snow she saw and Robbie has NEVER seen snow up close and personal so they were so excited! What is funny is that Shawn and I were out shopping today when the snow started and we were confused by it. Then we started our drive home after getting a bite to eat and fueling up the car. Seriously, if we had left to start home just 5 minutes later, we would have been in some serious trouble. We pull up to the school to pick the kids up on the way home and the roads are still really clear but there is a dusting of snow on the sidewalks and grass. We walk to Robbie's class to pick him up and it's still just flurries, then we walk to Natalie's class to pick her up and all of a sudden it's looking like a blizzard. I've not seen snow like this in forever! By the time we get back to the car not even 5 minutes later, the road is covered and there is an inch on the car. The 1/2 mile drive to the house was very interesting. The Cornish don't have a clue what to do in this kind of snow! What is usually a 2 minute drive turned into almost 15. Once we were safely at home, we let the kids play! Robbie was obsessed with making and throwing snowballs. It was so nice to share this with them and it was even better that Shawn was home too so we could play. The snow now has been scattered but there is about 2-3 inches right now and our little town is at a stand still (child's play I tell you, but when you only get 1 snowfall like this about every 3 years you don't get used to it like us Midwesterners!). Our usually busy street is really quiet and abandoned. Now we are snuggling down for the evening and we are about to have some yummy hot chocolate!

View from the front of our house about 4:00 PM.

Natalie catching snowflakes on her tounge.Robbie coming at me with a snowball.
Shawn enjoying the snow (sorry no pics of me, I was the one taking all the pictures!)

34 Weeks

2009-02-01T16:59:00.003Z

Whew, the final stretch! It seems like this pregnancy has flown by. I remember thinking during the last 2 times I did this that the time seemed to pass so slowly. I have been keeping myself a lot busier this time and I have to walk 3 miles a day to take kids to school so our daily routine has been helping pass the time. I am starting to get anxious now thinking of all that needs organized, but in actuality, I am way ahead of the game.

Provided that the ultrasound we had is correct and this is in fact a girl, I have all the clothes washed and put neatly in drawers. I've ordered the gdiapers and have a few weeks of those (still need to get some backup disposables in case this little nudger is small) and they are organized and in the changing table. I've made lists of what needs packed for the hospital for me and the baby and we are going to pack a bag for the kids as well. We have the car seat and stroller all ready and accessible. We have the swing, pack and play and bassinet all set up. Next Sunday my friends are throwing me a baby shower. I have my birthplan all typed out and with my stuff. I still have loads of time!

Anyway, here is my latest picture...

A Natalie Funny

2009-01-27T14:15:00.002Z

I meant to post this earlier but kept forgetting.

We were sitting down do dinner the other night and I had already dished out the plates and had them ready on the placemats. Well Robbie starts to dig right in and doesn't way for the blessing. Natalie offered to give the prayer and I asked her to ask a blessing on what Robbie already ate.

So this is Natalie's prayer, "Dear Heavenly Father, thank you for this day. Thank you for this food and bless it to nourish and strengthen our bodies and please bless that Robbie doesn't CHOKE! I say these things..."

It was so hard to not crack up right in the middle of her prayer. The way she said it was almost funnier than what she said, with attitude and sincerity all at the same time.

Anyway, my kids are always coming up with silly things they do and say and if I don't start writing them down, I know I am going to forget them!

I found the coolest diapers

2009-01-16T11:01:00.004Z

It almost makes me more excited for baby Penelope to get here so I can try them out! I've been contemplating for a while changing over to cloth this time around and while I was doing my research on which kinds to use, I came across a friend of a friend's blog and found these...

These are called gdiapers and they are a hybrid between cloth and disposables. I know how I am and I NEED something that is going to be convenient but I hate that we've thrown so many diapers in the garbage over the last 5 years (probably close to 12,000)! Americans put over 20 billion disposable diapers in the landfill every year and it takes 500 years for those diapers to decompose. Gdiapers are great because the dirty liners can be flushed or composted (well the wet ones can be composted), and if you do have to throw them away, they only take 50-150 days to decompose as opposed to 500 years. This saves on washing which uses up a lot of water and energy with traditional cloth diapers.

What sold me though is that in this friend of a friend's blog, the poster mentioned that her sweet son has had severe diaper rashes for almost the whole 1st year of his life and the last one contributed to a 2 day quarantined hospital stay for MRSA. Since switching to the gdiapers, they had only had one major diaper rash.

I am seriously wishing I had heard of these before and could have been using them sooner. I may even get Robbie a set to wear at night until he is dry completely through the night.

Anyway, here is a link to the website... http://www.gdiapers.com/. Go see for yourself how cool they are, and they are cute too!

Dad's Yummy, Fresh, Homebaked Bread

2009-01-15T17:54:00.002Z

A year ago for Christmas, Shawn got me one of those fancy and expensive Kitchen Aid Stand Mixers. I wanted one because it was my intention to bake more and we could have yummy fresh bread. Well, I've used the mixer for pie pastry, pizza crust, cakes, and cookies but I have yet to bake bread. I just found the whole thought of it totally too overwhelming and didn't want the mess to clean up when I was done so I kept making excuses why I couldn't be bothered.

Well just after Thanksgiving (when I used the mixer for something, I think pumpkin pie), Shawn decided that he wanted to give it a go and bake bread. I was grumpy at first because in my mind I am thinking, "Yeah, you go and bake bread and it will be a disaster and I will have a HUGE mess to clean up and I'm just going to resent you!" So I begged him to wait. A couple of days later he asked again. This time I told him he was welcome to bake bread, but I was NOT going to clean up after him and if he ever wanted to be given permission to EVER do it again, I had better have nothing to clean up afterwards. It seems like I am always feeling like I am being punished whenever he is given free reign of the kitchen. So he started with an easy recipe that you put in the refrigerator overnight to rise. It was the recipe recommended in the instruction book that came with the mixer. It turned out to be pretty good. Well, we haven't had store bought bread since. Shawn has been quite the baker and he is graduating onto more ambitious recipes, such as this beautiful loaf you see below which is whole wheat. It's made using wheat that we ground ourselves. This is by far the best tasting he's made so far and look at how beautiful it turned out! I am so proud of him! He's even made yummy dinner rolls and the best homemade pizza crust I've ever had. Maybe he's found his true calling in life? Oh, and I have yet to have to clean up a mess as a result of his baking adventures, everyone is a winner.

30 Weeks!

2009-01-04T13:49:00.002Z

Never before in my two previous pregnancies have I felt like I had the beach ball syndrome. When I got pregnant with Natalie I weighed 220 pounds and I weighed 190 when I went to deliver, and at the end of the pregnancy, I just felt like I looked fat. Then when I got pregnant with Robbie, I was back up to 206 and again weighed 190 when I went to deliver and felt the same way, just fat.

This time around I started out the pregnancy at about 185 and right now I weigh about 160ish, I've taken most of the weight off in the first trimester and I only put on 2 pounds from my 16 week and 28 week midwife appointments. If I look in the mirror front on, I am feeling pretty good about myself and you can barely tell I'm pregnant and from the side, you can definitely tell it's all baby. I can actually see my collarbones again and I haven't been able to see those in about 7 years and my legs aren't rubbing together when I walk anymore! I just hope and pray that I am able to keep the weight from coming back on after little Penelope comes. I'll just have to keep up the increased activity! Natalie's school is 1/2 mile away and we walk so I've been walking 2 miles a day and starting Tuesday I'll have to make the trip 3 times a day as Robbie starts afternoon preschool. I wonder if this will help at all during labor? We shall see in about 10 weeks!

Christmas 2008

2008-12-31T15:24:00.002Z

We had such a nice Christmas this year and Santa thoroughly spoiled the kids this year! On Christmas Eve, we played games, set out some cookies and milk and the kids got to open their new jammies.

Natalie opening her jammies

Robbie opening his jammies
In their jammies just before being banished to bed!

It was really nice because Natalie and Robbie went right to sleep and by 8:00 PM, Shawn and I were able to finish up the last minute things! We even got to bed ourselves by 10:30. Then after a very restful night sleep, we had to wake the kids up at 7:00 AM! We thought for sure that last year would be the last year we would be able to sleep in on Christmas morning! It was so nice, especially because I remember Christmasses when I was little when we woke my Mom and Dad up as early as 4:00 AM! I made a quick run downstairs to turn on the lights (except the tree because half the strand shorted out *cry*) and to get the video camera ready.

Here are the kids waiting on the stairs to see what Santa brought!

And this is what they found!

Unfortunately, the rest of the experience is on video so I can't share any of that with you just yet but Natalie and Robbie had a great time opening up their stockings and presents!

Santa Claus is coming to town

2008-12-31T15:09:00.005Z

On the 21st the base had their annual Children's Christmas party. We went to the movie theater on base and started watching The Polar Express but it kept pausing and then quit all together. It was so annoying, but then they came and explained that the machine ate the film! They tracked down a new machine and a new movie so we ended up watching The Santa Clause. The kids really enjoyed it and it's not a film they have seen so it was fun. It's the first time in a LONG time that the kids have been to a "real" movie. The only big problem we had was that both Natalie and Robbie are so small that they got folded up in the cinema seats. After the movie, Santa came to see all of the good little boys and girls! That was the most exciting part for them of course and thankfully this year, Robbie was more keen to say hello and not run away screaming!

Santa's Workshop

Frosty came to visit too! Robbie didn't think Frosty was very nice and stayed very far away!

Waiting our turn
Ho Ho Ho

Barnyard

2008-12-14T19:39:00.005Z

On Wednesday was Natalie’s school Christmas program. The title was “The Disgruntled Snowman.” Some of the characters included the Snowman, Dr. Frost, Stars, Snowflakes, Sheep, Shepherds, the Wise Men and the Holy Family. I was really curious as to how they were going to incorporate the Holy Family in with all of the other characters! It wasn’t the most reverent of Christmas pageants I’ve seen, but it was cute and the children all did a great job. Natalie was a sheep.

We couldn’t let Natalie have all the fun dressing up! On Friday night we had our Christmas party at church. We had a “Night in Bethlehem.” Shawn and I were to play the parts of Mary and Joseph (I am the most pregnant person in the ward at the moment so I look the part). Natalie was an angel (but as you can see, she preferred to dress as a sheep for the purposes of the following picture and video). We figured we couldn’t leave Robbie out of the fun so he got to dress as a donkey! Isn’t he cute? And just wait until you see the video!!! Sorry it is so dark, but it’s funny all the same. Of course when he was supposed to dress up at the church, he wasn’t going to have any part in it! It was hot and the Velcro was bugging him around his neck. Oh, if you listen carefully, you might be able to hear the kid’s Cornish accents. I’ll be so sad when we leave here and they start to sound American again!

New haircut and 26 week belly pic

2008-12-08T11:13:00.001Z

I normally wouldn't post another belly pic so soon, but I was feeling pretty good about myself on Sunday and how I looked so I had Natalie take some pictures. I had my hair cut last week too and I wanted to show it off. Don't know if you can really see it in the picture though.

Christmas Decorations are UP!

2008-12-08T10:19:00.002Z

I absolutely LOVE this time of year. I love decorating the house for Christmas and just enjoying the season. Things have been so crazy busy this year though and I was wondering if we were ever going to get them done. I like to have them up for a while so we can enjoy them as long as we can and I usually put my tree up around the 1st of December. This year that just didn't happen. On the 2nd I did manage to get everything but the tree up but we like to do the tree as a family so we had to wait until Saturday when we were all home. I didn't get to help a whole lot with the tree though because I had 7 dozen Gingerbread Biscotti to make, but Shawn and the kids did a GREAT job on the tree.

I am really going to miss decorating this house next year! It's the perfect house to decorate for Christmas because we have this great staircase with bannister and 2 fireplaces. I really wish we could take this house with us when we move, that makes me sad because I want to live in this house forever.

Anyway here are a couple of pictures of our efforts.

Our Staircase. I decided I wanted to hang the stockings here this year as we only have 3 stocking weights and we need 4 stockings this year.

My Willow Tree Natavity on top of the entertainment center.

Our tree

St Columb Christmas Lights

2008-12-08T09:47:00.004Z

On Friday 28 November, our little community had their "Switching on the Christmas Lights". It's a HUGE community event. It started at the school where the school children had a costume contest. Natalie won 2nd prize! Not bad for a store bought angel costume. Then there was a parade from the school with the Fire Engine, a vintage tractor, a steam engine, the Indian Queens Band (the one I used to play in before I got pregnant) and the school children all dressed up. Once everyone was gathered at the church steps (the church has been here since the 14th century), the children sang some carols and the band played. Then the Town Crier presented the prizes for the costume contest and the painting contest and ordered the lights to be turned on. Then there were fireworks. It was such a great family night and I love that the community gets together to do these things!

Natalie and some of the other winners

Natalie's full costume including coat because it was COLD! We attached her wings to the outside of the coat

The Town Crier

A Natalie funny

2008-12-04T21:07:00.002Z

Sorry no pictures today, but I had to make a really quick post about something cute that happened with Natalie today.

Natalie is now 5 years old and is in Year 1 at the school. Year 1 has the same curriculum as American 1st grade so she is working on phonics, reading and spellings. She has really excelled in these areas and is reading books that I was struggling with when I was in 2nd grade. She is even trying to spell more difficult words using the phonics she has learned and it is so funny to see how her little brain works. Well today she wanted to write her name, now up until this point, she has known her full name is Natalie Ruth Spain, but has never wanted to write out the whole thing. Also, I don't know if it's an age thing or a speech thing, but she always pronounces the "th" sound as an "f" sound. Can anyone see where this is heading??? So I told her to go ahead and have a go at writing the whole thing and this is what she writes... "Natalie Roof Spain" I couldn't help but just crack up laughing. I was probably a bit insensitive, but for her just using the phonics and with her saying the "f" sound instead of the "th" sound, I thought it was a good effort, especially since she has not been taught how to write her middle name. I just thought it was so funny.

I don't know, maybe you had to be there!

24 week belly pic

2008-11-23T14:07:00.002Z

Well, I am now 24 weeks along (well technically 24 weeks and 2 days as I post this). It's so nice to be more than half way and baby Penelope is getting more active and wiggly everyday. I saw an obstetrician last week. Normally pregnancy care here is only followed by a midwife and you only see an OB if you've had a previous concern or you are high risk. With Natalie I had a bad tear and Group B-strep. Also, both pregnancies, I had trouble with my epidurals. The one with Robbie didn't work AT ALL! So I was referred to the OB. The appointment went well and she told me that I can continue care with my midwife and I am low risk, however because of the Group B-strep, I need to deliver at the hospital and not the birthing center.

Anyway, onto the picture taken by my personal photographer, Natalie.

When We're Helping We're Happy!

2008-11-23T13:52:00.003Z

Ok, so I have been making a lot of cards and gifts to get ready for the holiday season and I set up a table in my dining room and people from the base and have been "shopping". I've done pretty well. Natalie has decided she wants all the cool stuff for herself and has been asking me how much so and so costs and then asks if she has enough money for it. I finally gave in and let her earn one of the handmade cards she's had her eye on. Then we had a family home evening about how helping out mom and dad is a good thing. I had to take some pictures because she was so proud of how hard she worked and she enjoyed herself too, not to mention that she is being the perfect slave to me! Here are pics of the kids helping with the laundry.

When we're helping, we're happy, And we sing as we go;

And we like to help mother, For we all love her so.

Tra la la la la la la, Tra la la la la la,

Tra la la la la la la, Tra la la la la la.

Guy Fawkes and Bonfire Night

2008-11-08T19:06:00.003Z

On Wednesday November 5th we went to the beach to celebrate bonfire night. It is more celebrated than Halloween. Below is a brief history of bonfire night, but basically it is a celebration of Guy Fawkes and his foiled attempt to blow up Parliament in 1605. Depending on who you talk to, it can be a celebration that he was foiled or that he had even had the guts to have attempted it. It's funny, the first bonfire night we celebrated here in the UK, I asked a neighbor what exactly it was we were celebrating and he said and I quote, "Well about 400 years ago a guy named Guy Fawkes tried to blow up Parliament, unfortunately he was unsuccessful." Name withheld to protect his identity.

Here are some pictures...

Our tiny little bonfire, more like a campfire. We didn't have a Guy to put on it though, but we did have fireworks. Unfortunately, my camera doesn't do fireworks all that well.

Robbie, enjoying the fireworks for the first time. Each attempt previously has resulted in cries of terror.
Natalie and her friend Jack

Natalie and Robbie

The following is from the website www.bonfirenight.net

For 400 years, bonfires have burned on November 5th to mark the failed Gunpowder Plot.

The tradition of Guy Fawkes-related bonfires actually began the very same year as the failed coup. The Plot was foiled in the night between the 4th and 5th of November 1605. Already on the 5th, agitated Londoners who knew little more than that their King had been saved, joyfully lit bonfires in thanksgiving. As years progressed, however, the ritual became more elaborate.

Soon, people began placing effigies onto bonfires, and fireworks were added to the celebrations. Effigies of Guy Fawkes, and sometimes those of the Pope, graced the pyres. Still today, some communities throw dummies of both Guy Fawkes and the Pope on the bonfire (and even those of a contemporary politician or two), although the gesture is seen by most as a quirky tradition, rather than an expression of hostility towards the Pope.

Preparations for Bonfire Night celebrations include making a dummy of Guy Fawkes, which is called "the Guy". Some children even keep up an old tradition of walking in the streets, carrying "the Guy" they have just made, and beg passersby for "a penny for the Guy." The kids use the money to buy fireworks for the evening festivities.

On the night itself, Guy is placed on top of the bonfire, which is then set alight; and fireworks displays fill the sky.

The extent of the celebrations and the size of the bonfire varies from one community to the next. Lewes, in the South East of England, is famous for its Bonfire Night festivities and consistently attracts thousands of people each year to participate.

Bonfire Night is not only celebrated in Britain. The tradition crossed the oceans and established itself in the British colonies during the centuries. It was actively celebrated in New England as "Pope Day" as late as the 18th century. Today, November 5th bonfires still light up in far out places like New Zealand and Newfoundland in Canada.

We know where we are going!

2008-10-31T13:52:00.002Z

Shawn talked to the detailer on Wednesday and was offered shore duty in Norfolk Virginia and he accepted it, so sometime this summer we will be relocating back to the US. We are looking forward to being closer to family so we are happy.

We prayed for a long time that we would be given the orders that would be the best for our family but never even considered that Shawn would have the possibility of shore duty in the US, so we definitely know Heavenly Father had a hand in sending our family back to the US and keeping us together as a family.

Another peek inside

2008-10-31T13:34:00.007Z

Not the clearest picture. The ultrasound machine on the base is really old and the resolution isn't great, but if you look closely you can see the spine and the profile of the face.

And the best news, the baby was more cooperative this time around and showed us the parts. Maybe the Coke I drank an hour before helped, haha. Anyway it's another........

GIRL!

Penelope Esther Spain

A view from the outside in case you are interested. 20 weeks and 6 days.

Edited to answer a question in the comments:

Well, for the name, we were pretty set on using Esther for the middle name as it is a family name and it fits with Natalie's middle name Ruth. We want to have the tradition of using names from the Old Testament for a middle name too (I know Edwin, Robbie's middle name, is not found in the OT but he's named after all the men on both sides of the family so being the 1st son we wanted to make sure we had all the bases covered). Anyway, we were trying to find a name that balanced out the mature sound of Esther to cute it up a little bit so we were going through the baby name book and when we came to Penelope, Shawn and I were both like, YES, that's her name. We had the name picked out about 8 weeks ago as well as a boy back up and I just didn't feel like the boy name fit THIS baby, we felt much more comfortable with our girl choice. Maybe it was the spirit or just a gut feeling. But Penelope is a name we just knew was supposed to be the name if it was a girl.

My little Daleks

2008-10-31T09:00:00.004Z

So I don't think I need to remind anyone of my kid's obsession with Dr. Who. It's what we finally were able to bribe Robbie with to get him to potty train; if he stays dry, he can watch Dr. Who. He also goes to sleep nearly every night with his (that Natalie got for her birthday but has yet to get a chance to play with) toy Dalek. So he decided he wanted to be a Dalek for Halloween. I went all over the place trying to find a store bought costume (I'd seen them previously) and after 5 stores I gave up and decided to make my own. The first picture is Robbie in the costume and the next is Natalie in the costume (she will actually be Dora the Explorer for Halloween). The last picture is what a Dalek really looks like. So how did I do? For the head, it's a knit hat with plastic cups sewn on and a blue dot for the "eye", the body is just fabric with fusable interfacing, drawn on with a sharpie and black felt spots. I had to use stuff I already had on hand so I improvised. I kinda made up that pattern as I went along and when I went to try it on Robbie for the first time, I realized I forgot to add an opening in the back so he could actually get it over his head so I had to cut down the back. A "duh" moment for sure!

My latest creations

2008-10-30T08:09:00.002Z

So I've been really busy getting ready for the Christmas season. I've been stamping away and thought I'd share some of my latest work with you.

These cards are some that I am doing for some friends. One ordered 40 exactly like this and the other ordered 50 using Baja Breeze and Whisper White instead of the Old Olive and Very Vanilla.

I'm thinking of doing a similar style for our cards to family, depending on how our photo session goes on Saturday. The picture comes out of the card with the idea that you can hang it on the tree as an ornament.

The colors are Basic Black, Old Olive, Very Vanilla and the Ski Slope DS Paper. The stamp set is "Many Merry Messages".

These are some cards I'm selling at some craft fairs. Card stock and Paper is Kiwi Kiss, Chocolate Chip, Watercolor Paper, and DS Paper (I don't remember right now which one). Ink is Jet Black Staz-On with Kiwi Kiss, Baja Breeze, Chocolate Chip, So Saffron, Versa Marker. Stamp sets are "Holy Triptych" and "Holidays and Wishes". Accessories are aqua painters, Kiwi Kiss/Very Vanilla double sided satin ribbon and Iridescent Ice embossing powder. I made 2 sets of 5 cards. If they don't sell, some of you may be seeing these again as I will be sending them myself!

These are Natural Travertine Marble tiles bought at a DIY store that I've stamped on, baked in the oven and sealed to turn into a set of 4 coasters. Below that is a larger tile that can be a table mat or a hot pad. The stamp set is a retired set "Peaceful Wishes" and I used craft ink in Old Olive and Chocolate Chip.

The picture didn't turn out so well on this one but you can still get the general idea. Card stock is Elegant Eggplant, Handsome Hunter and Brushed Gold. Ink is Gold Metallic and accessories are Gold embossing powder and Elegant Eggplant 1/4" grosgrain ribbon. Stamp sets are "Holy Triptych" and "Many Merry Messages" and the wheel is "So Swirly". These I did in 2 sets of 5 cards, and again, if they don't sell, I'll be sending them myself. They are lovely cards so I am happy about that.

This card was used as a sympathy card for a friend that lost her mother. I used the "Bella Toile" background stamp, "Holy Triptych" and "Sincere Salutations", inside I've used "God's Blessings". Card stock is Blush Blossom, Mellow Moss and Watercolor paper. Ink is Jet Black Staz-On, Blush Blossom, Mellow Moss, Close to Cocoa and Versa Marker. Accessories are aqua painters, Iridescent Ice embossing powder (on the wings but can't really tell in the picture) and Mellow Moss taffeta ribbon.

I recently acquired 3 members to my Stampin' Up! team and I am thrilled to death. I thought I would show them my appreciation for them taking the chance to become a demo so I stamped them these cards. The stamp sets are "Flower Fancy" and our "Statement of the Heart". Card stock is Pale Plum, Perfect Plum, and Whisper White. Ink is Pale Plum, Perfect Plum, Pretty in Pink and Mellow Moss. Accessories are Mellow Moss taffeta ribbon and the Stamp-a-ma-jig. I really love the statement of the heart because it's not all about sales, but building relationship with others!

Isn't he precious?! He's made using punches and dies for the big shot and is small enough to fit in the palm of your hand. Card stock is Close to Cocoa, Chocolate Chip, Whisper White and Pumpkin Pie. Punches are Curly Label Punch, Circle Scallop, 1/2" circle and 1/4" circle. Big Shot Dies are from the Birds and Blooms Sizzlets.

This little baby is a stinker!

2008-10-29T21:45:00.002Z

We had our 20 week ultrasound yesterday. We were all excited because we were really hoping to find out the sex. No such luck. Little legs crossed and tucked up under the bum. On the upside, everything was measuring fine and all looked well.

Here is the picture...

New crafty things

2008-10-11T14:37:00.004+01:00

Well, I've been stamping baby items for a while now to give as gifts and thought I would try my hand at selling them at the craft fairs I've been attending with my cards and other stamped items.

Each of the layette sets include a bodysuit, muslin spit up cloth, hat, and scratch mits. I've made a matching gift card for the 2 sets shown here, but I didn't think to take a picture of the car one and that is the one I happened to sell today.

I just bought assorted, plain white baby sets and stamped on them with Stampin' Up! craft (pigment) ink and heat set the ink with an iron to make it washable. To make the 2 sets shown and 2 bibs, only took me a half hour. It's inexpensive and quick to make but you would never know it from the end result.

I sold the car set with a greeting card today for 10 pounds ($17). One request I had was that I make some more gender neutral sets because a lot of people liked them and knew someone they needed a baby gift for, but they didn't know the gender. Another thing I think I will do next time as well, is to offer matching gift bag and tissue paper.

Supplies: Stamps - A Rose Is a Rose; Ink - Pixie Pink, Pink Passion, Green Galore, Glorious Green Craft Pads; White Baby Items

Supplies: Stamps - A Rose Is a Rose, Everything Baby; Ink - Pixie Pink, Pink Passion, Green Galore, Glorious Green Classic Pads; Card Stock - Whisper White, Green Galore, Pink Passion; Accessories - Crop-o-dile, Black Gingham Ribbon, Stampin' Dimensionals

Supplies: Stamps - By Land (retired); Ink - Real Red and Basic Black Craft Pads; White Baby Items

18 weeks

2008-10-11T14:16:00.004+01:00

Not the most flattering angle, but that's what you get when you have your 5 year old take the picture. I'm 18 weeks and 1 day along now and I have LOST 30+ pounds since I found out I was pregnant. Not exactly the direction the scale is supposed to move when your pregnant, and I am trying to eat well and enough. I have been having a problem with my blood pressure being low, on Monday my midwife came to take blood and she also did my blood pressure and it was 100/50 so that explains the dizzy spells and headaches and general not feeling well. It does frustrate me however that the first thing people say to me is, "Wow, you've lost some weight, you look great!" Under other circumstances that might be a welcome compliment, but the fact that I've felt horrible and I am pregnant, I just wonder if it's worth it. I went and bought new maternity jeans because my previous ones were too big so I got ones that were adjustable and now they are big on me as well, even after going through the dryer.

Anyway, 20 week scan will be soon and I will post those when we get them. We can't wait to find out what we are having! So do you think it will be a Penelope Esther or Clayton Ezra? Leave a comment to cast your vote.

wee wee in the toilet

2008-10-02T16:09:00.002+01:00

So it's been looking like Robbie will be going to school in diapers. The boy just doesn't want to have anything to do with learning to use the toilet. He would be perfectly happy to sit in a wet and poopie diaper all day long and hates for me to change him and runs away from me anytime he sees me with a clean diaper in my hands.

Well, today at the CDC (child development center, or fancy speak for day care), his teachers told me he was dry all morning and went wee on the toilet not once but TWICE. So at 12:15 when I went to pick him up, he was still in the same pullup I put him in at 7:30 this morning!!! I was so excited for him and he was so proud of himself so I decided that we would carry on the rest of the day to see how it went. So he went again when we got home, and 2 more times. He has had one accident when we went to get Natalie from school, but I checked him at 3:00 and he was dry and at 3:30 when we got back to the house he was wet, but sat on the potty anyway, but at now 4:15 he is still dry and we will try potty time again in a few minutes. Let's just see what happens when it's time to poo though, that might be a little more tricky.

World Card Making Day

2008-10-02T14:44:00.005+01:00

Saturday is World Card Making Day and Abi and I are collaborating our efforts and having a joint stamp camp and we are donating our profits to the Children's Hospice Precious Lives Appeal. We are each doing a few projects and for my project, I am giving two choices which uses the same template, which is inspired by stamper Carol Millay on http://www.splitcoaststampers.com/. Each card uses the Sizzix Big Shot machine with the SU! exclusive Top Note, Join the Cheer and Birds & Blooms dies. I've also used some glitter for some sparkle.

Supplies

Stamp sets- Lovely As a Tree, Fall Flair (Hostess L.2)

Card stock- Always Artichoke, Bravo Burgundy, Chocolate Chip, Sahara Sand

Ink- Always Artichoke & Bravo Burgundy classic pads; Always Artichoke & Chocolate Chip S&W markers

Accessories- Always Artichoke 1/4" grosgrain ribbon, Dazzling Diamonds glitter, Big Shot & dies mentioned above

Supplies

Stamp sets- Snow Burst

Card stock- Brocade Blue, Chocolate Chip, Whisper White, Sahara Sand

Ink- Brocade Blue classic pad

Accessories- Whisper White 1/4" grosgrain ribbon, Dazzling Diamonds glitter, Scallop Circle punch, 1 1/4" Circle punch, 1 3/8" Circle punch, Big Shot & dies mentioned above

Happy Birthday Robbie

2008-09-21T09:02:00.006+01:00

Another Birthday! I can't believe he used to be so small!

Now he's 3!

Rudely woken up by us singing Happy Birthday!

He was NOT impressed!

Until he realized we had a present...
Now he's getting into it!
Really impressed, we got him a "Ninky Nonk". For those of you who have no idea what that is, it's like a train on the children's show "In the Night Garden". His party, opening more gifts
Buzz Lightyear
Sam's helping open presents
He blew out the candle!

Card Class

2008-09-14T19:17:00.003+01:00

Every month I teach a card class at the library on base. I usually have about 10 to 15 people come and we make 3 projects. I thought I would share what we are doing on the 18th.

Pillow Box

Supplies:
Stamp Sets
Cute & Curly
Card Stock and Paper
Whisper White
Designer Paper
Ink
Basic Black
Accessories and Tools
Sizzix Big Shot Die Cut Machine
Sizzix Pillow Box Bigz Die
Sticky Strip
¼” grosgrain ribbon

Curly Label Punch

Punch Birthday CardSupplies:
Stamp Sets
Heard from the Heart
One of a Kind
Card Stock and Paper
Kraft (8 ½” x 5 ½”)
Baja Breeze (5 ¼” x 4”)
Whisper White (4 ½” x 3 ¾”)
Baja Breeze (scrap)
Riding Hood Red (scrap)
Tangerine Tango (scrap)
Kiwi Kiss (scrap)
Ink
Baja Breeze Classic Pad
Riding Hood Red Classic Pad
Tangerine Tango Classic Pad
Kiwi Kiss Classic Pad
Whisper White Craft Pad
Old Olive Stampin’ Write Marker
White uni-ball Signo Gel Pen
Accessories and Tools
Kraft Taffeta Ribbon (9”)
Small Oval Punch
Boho Blossoms Punch
Scallop Edge Punch
Aqua Painter/Blender Pen

*Inspired by the Stampin' Up! Artisan Award Winner's Showcase, Artist: Michelle Fischer

Season of Friendship

Supplies:
Stamp Sets
Season of Friendship
Card Stock and Paper
More Mustard Textured
Close to Cocoa Textured
Kraft
Really Rust
Whisper White
Autumn Vine Designer Series Paper
Ink
Chocolate Chip Classic Pad
Really Rust Classic Pad
More Mustard Classic Pad
Accessories and Tools
More Mustard ¼” Grosgrain
Crop-a-dile
Stapler/staples
Dimensional adhesive

*Inspired by the upcoming Holiday Mini Catalog, page 7 - available beginning October 1st.

Stampin' Up! and my cards

2008-09-09T16:13:00.004+01:00

Some of you may already know that I am an Independent Demonstrator for Stampin' Up! which is a direct selling company specializing in rubber stamps, card making, and scrapbooking supplies. I've had a blast over the last few years sharing what I love about Stampin' Up! but it hasn't really been a profitable business for me. Well, my friend Abi and I have been trying to sell the cards we sell and we are off to a slow start so far. We are hoping that the contacts we are making now will be solid and we can slowly build our business.

Well, Stampin' Up! as a company has just added the feature of online ordering! I am so excited about this!!! Now it will be easier for my US customers to make orders from me because they can now visit my business website at http://www.karenspain.stampinup.net/ and click "shop now" and can fill their shopping bags to their hearts delight and pay for it all with their credit card in the comfort of their own home and at their convenience. So if you are looking to start your Christmas projects or make a unique and special card for someone you love, visit my website and I'll love to help you out.

Additionally, from time to time, I will be posting some of the projects that I have been making so let me know what you think. I'll start by posting a few pics now!

This first card is the one I made for Natalie's Birthday. It uses the Dreams du Jour and Family Phrases Stamp Sets; Regal Rose, Certainly Celery, Baja Breeze and Very Vanilla Cardstock; Chocolate Chip and Baja Breeze Classic Stampin' Pads; Scallop Edge Punch, Scallop Circle Punch, 1 3/8" and 1 1/4" Circle Punches, Very Vanilla 5/8" Grosgrain Ribbon and Aqua Painters to watercolor the butterfly.

This card uses my favorite product line, Sweet Bella! The stamp sets are Thank You Kindly and Frames with a Flourish; The cardstock is Kiwi Kiss, Riding Hood Red and Whisper White; Bella Rose Designer Series Paper; Riding Hood Red and Kiwi Kiss Classic Stampin' Pads; Riding Hood Red 3/8" Taffeta Ribbon. I made a set of 10 cards and made a matching gift box.

These are 5x5 art journals that I altered using Simply Scrappin' Kits. The kits are now retired but it is still a good example of how to use our products. I tied ribbon on the spirals and used a bit of designer paper to make a matching pen. I just took the pen apart and wrapped a small scrap of paper around the "ink" part and put it back together. What a cute way to personalize a unique gift for a wedding, baby shower or just for someone that you love. These are some of our 4 1/2" x 9" On Board Clipboards. I just used cardstock and retired designer paper, Ribbon, Scallop Circle Punch and 1 3/8" Circle Punch. The stamp set is Baroque Motifs and colors are Basic Gray, Real Red and Very Vanilla. Notice again the matching pens.

Natalie's first day of Year 1

2008-09-05T10:45:00.002+01:00

Yesterday was Natalie's first day of Year 1. Here in England, children start "big" school at the age of 4 in what is called Reception, which has a very similar curriculum as American Kindergarten. At 5 they enter year 1 which would be like 1st grade in the U.S. with the exception that many of the activities are child centered and the children can choose activities at their own pace, very much like the Montessori Method (which is what I think I want for our kids when we go back home if we can afford it). Natalie was so excited for her first day when she could see all of her friends again and she got to know her teacher a little bit last year and already likes her a lot.

Robbie really liked Natalie's class as well and threw the BIGGEST tantrum that his little 2 year old self has ever thrown when it was time to leave. It was probably the most embarrassing moment of my life so far. I had to pull him kicking and screaming from the classroom with him kicking me and in the process lost one of his shoes, which I didn't realize until after we finally got him dragged out. Thankfully one of the other parents went back in to get it for me because after all of that, I was NOT going to go back in there! There was just no reasoning with him and bribing didn't work either. I ended up half carrying him and half dragging him half the way home until he calmed down to walk respectably the rest of the way. When we got home, I realized his arms got bruised from his resistance, but I wasn't about to allow him to run into the street to get away from me and be hit by a car.

Anyway, not on to the pictures, which is all you really care about anyway...

Natalie in her uniform

Again in her uniform along with the school sweatshirt
With her teacher Mrs. T

12 weeks

2008-08-29T16:47:00.004+01:00

We had our 12 week ultrasound yesterday and all was well. This little baby is going to be a quiet one I think. This pregnancy has been so different... I haven't been as sick, I mean, I feel horrible but I haven't thrown up at all so far and "knock on wood" I am feeling better and think it's behind me. Also, at 12 weeks with the other two, I was already wearing maternity clothes, and I am still able to wear my regular clothes, granted, they're my "fat" clothes, but regular clothes none the less. I did try on my maternity clothes the other day and because I weighed about 50 pounds more when I got pregnant with Natalie and about 35 pounds more with Robbie, they are not going to work. So I am hoping that I can wear my "fat" clothes for a while longer until our bank account can accommodate a new maternity wardrobe. I still have about 5 inches left in my size 18 jeans. Also, it really hasn't hit me that we really are pregnant. In the other two 12 week ultrasounds, both Robbie and Natalie were so wiggly. This one however was really mellow and taking a nap. I hope that is a predictor that he/she will be a really good child!

Anyway, enjoy the pictures (Natalie took the one of me! She did such a good job too.)

More Daleks

2008-08-29T16:06:00.004+01:00

Remember those Dalek cookies I mentioned in my last post, here is a picture.

Of all days to FORGET the CAMERA!

2008-08-20T19:52:00.003+01:00

So the last couple of days have been really crappy! We found out that someone has been using my debit card number to buy fuel in Florida. No way we could have done it from England! So we had to have the card deactivated so I have had no access to our checking account. This is the second time in less than a month that this has happened because before we went to Paris, we had to cancel our credit card for the same reasons and had to pay for the whole trip in cash. Anyway, we have money, but I'm broke because I can't use my card and because it's our US bank account, my checks are worthless here. So that has bummed me out.

Then I went in on Monday to have the annual inspection on my car (here it's called an M.O.T. but I'm not exactly sure what that stands for). Anyway, we knew about 2 months ago that we were going to need new front brakes so the guy told me what to order and we waited 2 months for them to arrive from the US. So I take the car for the M.O.T. and tell the guy that I have the new brakes, a new light bulb for the burned out headlight, and new spark plugs. I go back to pick up the car when the inspection is over and found out that the brakes didn't fail but I had a burned out headlight (didn't I tell you that already and handed you the replacement bulb!), my turn signal lights are the wrong color (so put a sticker over it like you did last year!), my fog lamp switch doesn't turn on(???), and my hand brake comes up to far. STUPID things, but I'm not allowed to drive my car until it's all fixed or I'm breaking the law! So I booked the car into the garage to have all the issues fixed including having the brakes changed. The earliest they can get me in is the 28th. 10 days without a car and no cash and no fresh groceries in the house (if I could only get to the base, I could use a different card!) and Shawn was on duty and wouldn't be home until the next day! GRRR! So I beg the guy to see if he could squeeze me in before the 28th and he said if I just leave the car there, he would try and do the work between other appointments. So that's what I did.

On Tuesday, the garage calls me to say that all of the M.O.T. repairs are all done but there was a problem with the breaks. Apparently I had the disks and shoes but not pads. I bought exactly what he told me I needed! He said he would try and find a match from parts that can be bought over here, but I'm not really confident that will happen so I'll have to wait 2 more months for a part to come from the states.

Anyway, here comes the silver lining... I have some great friends here! I was moaning to my friend Abi about it all and a half hour later her husband shows up at my door with some cash so I could at least get my kids food for breakfast the next morning and then the next day she brought her 2 boys over (same ages as Natalie and Robbie) to play and she brought lunch and ingredients to bake cookies (in the shape or Daleks, "EXTERMINATE"). It turned out to be a great day!

Then today, my friend Zoe came and picked up the kids and me and got us out of the house (in spite of the damp and cold weather). We had some hot chocolate and cookies over at her house while the kids played. Then when the rain stopped, we went to our other friends house, Phyllis and H (my kids love them so much and are like surrogate grandparents to them) and we all went down to Fistral Beach. In spite of the rain, there were still a lot of surfers in the water. I had thought I had made it clear that it was too cold for the kids to go in the water so I didn't even bring their swim suits or wet suits. We took some pails and spades though and thought it would be fun to play in the sand. The kids were dressed in jeans, raincoats and wellies (rain boots) and I figured they would enjoy the beach and be nice and comfortable. Well, the kids ended up TOTALLY drenched. Robbie decided that he was going into the sea all the way up to his waist and then fell over and got covered from head to toe, Natalie thought that looked like a whole load of fun and decided to try it out for herself. There was no going back and they both had the time of their lives. They've never had more fun at the beach! Then as we were trying to walk back to the house, Robbie had to go "swimming" in every tide pool on the way. He did NOT want to leave and we had to bribe the kids with ice cream to get them to leave. We got back to Phyllis and H's house and bathed the kids (thank goodness I had the foresight to bring spare clothes)!

Now here is the funniest part... Phyllis and H live just behind Phyllis' mother's house, they actually share a garden. Well Robbie was playing with the cat and all the adults were distracted and we noticed that Robbie wasn't anywhere to be found, so we all start looking for him, I go into the garden and start calling for him and go to the break in the wall where it leads into "Grandma's" garden just as Sister Vincent was bringing Robbie back over. Apparently he followed the cat and as the cat went through the cat flap, Robbie tried to follow. Sister Vincent (who is very elderly but incredibly sharp for her age) was in the kitchen and all she sees is a tiny little arm coming through the cat flap. She thought she was imagining things because she was unaware we were visiting. Then she heard Robbie calling for the cat and really trying in earnest to get through the cat flap! I am still laughing! I am just thankful he didn't run off too far and that it was Sister Vincent and not some crazy stranger.

Oh how I wish I had my camera today!

Happy Birthday Natalie!

2008-08-15T19:03:00.007+01:00

It seems like yesterday we brought Natalie home from the hospital so tiny and fragile!

And mow my little baby is 5! I can't believe what a little lady she is becoming and how much she has grown up.

Daddy and I woke her up this morning singing "Happy Birthday" to her and we gave her a present that she could open up.

Opening her card
Her Sleeping Beauty jewelry box that we found at Disneyland. She said that it was exactly what she has always wanted (we knew she'd love it when we bought it, but this is the first we heard about her always wanting one!).

At her birthday party. We rented a church hall just down the street from our house and I am so glad we did. There was plenty of room for the kids to run around and we could keep them contained to one room, it was brilliant! Here she is opening one of her favorite gifts (all of her gifts were her favorite gifts!).
Isn't this a great picture of Robbie!
We sang "Happy Birthday" to Natalie as we spun her in circles on the parachute! She thought this was great fun. It was all the "Busybodies" lady's idea, she provided the entertainment for the children and she was so good keeping them occupied and happy for an hour!
"Ahoy there me hardys, ARGH!"
Natalie blowing out her candles on her tower of pink cupcakes. Apparently there is a big cultural difference in American and British birthday cakes, half the kids didn't like the strawberry cupcakes. Oh well, I don't like fondant icing so I tried not to be offended. Also they were all surprised that they got to eat the cakes at the party instead of it being wrapped up and put in the treat bags.
All in all, the kids had a great time and Natalie got some really cool gifts. She was most happy about everyone giving her all the attention!

Happy Birthday Natalie and we LOVE you!

On a side note... I wanted to share these photos of Robbie from the other night. Robbie was being such a grouch that night and Shawn had just had enough of his attitude, so he changed his diaper and threw him in the bed without even changing him into pajamas. He must have been so tired because not even 5 minutes later he was fast asleep and this is how I found him when I went in to give him a hug and kiss... I love how his finger is on his nose! If you look closely, you can see his prized "Lightning McQueen" tucked in his arm. He carries that stupid car everywhere.

Happy Birthday to ME!

2008-08-10T18:11:00.004+01:00

Happy Birthday to me! After we got back from our trip, we celebrated my birthday with the kids! The video is Robbie singing to me, I know I am biased, but he's just adorable!

My cake. My visiting teacher from church made this and gave it to me the Sunday before we went out of town. I just put it in the freezer to save it for when we got back. It was so good!

Disneyland Paris

2008-08-10T17:34:00.008+01:00

On Friday August 1st (my 31st Birthday) we went to Disneyland Paris Resort. Is it mean that we decided to go without the kids? Natalie was really mad when she found out! I guess we'll just have to find a way to make it up to her someday.

The entrance to Disney Land

At last, not a self portrait! (I'm already starting to show at 8 weeks in spite of losing 6 pounds)
Me in front of Sleeping Beauty's Castle, when I went to Disney World in Orlando when I was 19, I was so disappointed that the castle was decorated like a Birthday Cake celebrating it's 25th anniversary! I was so pleased the French had enough taste to not do that to celebrate their 15th anniversary!
The Disney train, Robbie would have loved this, unfortunately, there wasn't much of a view of the park on the way.

Our lunch, he he. You have to admit, Disneyland has style!

I met Cinderella! I am disappointed though that I said I was too old to have my picture taken with her!

We got over thinking we were too old, lol, Shawn and I with Cinderella's mice friends.
Snow White and her Prince
With Sleeping Beauty and Prince

My dinner on pretty Disney china. For our dinner, we picked the restaurant we did specifically because the Princesses came to your table during dinner. It was expensive though, it was 55 euros per person so 110 euros total, in dollars that coverts to about $175. I could have fed my whole family for 2 weeks on that kind of money! But it was a vacation and the food was great!
The kids with their presents after we got home.

Paris Day 2

2008-08-10T17:00:00.005+01:00

On day 2 we first went to the Arc de Triomphe, we took the metro there and got off 2 stops down the Avenue de Champs-Elysées at the Theodore Roosevelt stop and walked the rest of the way stopping to shop along the way. Just to be silly we went into GAP to see how different it was, but it's exactly the same! We also went to the Disney store but the highlight was going into Louis Vuitton and seeing a wallet that cost more than what Shawn makes in a month. It was funny, but the only people buying anything in there were Asian. You also wouldn't believe the security guards at the door judging us as we walked in.

Arc de Triomphe

Self Portrait (I guess I feel the need to PROVE we actually were there, lol)
After the Arc de triomphe, we worked our way over to the Louvre. Under the Louvre, there is this HUGE indoor shopping mall! It was wild. That is where we decided to have lunch as they had a foodcourt with over 20 different vendors and it was soooooo cheap (good thing because dinners were costing us a fortune). We had Pizza, but there was every nationality you could think of, including Sushi, Greek, Mexican, Chinese, Sweedish, Fish & Chips, and more! We did some shopping down stairs and spent all afternoon in the museum as it was air conditioned and the temps outside reached the high 80's. Doesn't seem too bad except for the fact, we were thinking 70 degrees was hot in Cornwall! We've gotten used to the cold I guess!

Inside the Louvre, we took a self guided tour from their website which they call a "Thematic Trail". We took the Da Vinci Code tour, that only took an hour so we wandered in another part of the museum for a while longer just to stay out of the heat.

Outside the Louvre

Inside the Louvre

Mona Lisa

Later in the evening, we went to dinner close to the hotel at a local Brasserie, I skipped the starter but Shawn got Frog Legs, he was determined to try every disgusting French delicacy possible! I actually tried a taste and it actually wasn't bad, just way too much effort for the amount of meat you actually get. Then we both had steak, YUM! After that we ran back to the hotel in the rain!

Paris Day 1

2008-08-10T16:22:00.005+01:00

Shawn and I just had the opportunity to go to Paris. We used the time to celebrate our 7th wedding anniversary which was on the 21st of July and my 31st birthday which was on August 1st. We found a family in our ward crazy enough to take the kids for 5 days and 4 nights so it could be just the two of us and it was the perfect romantic get away. We were there from July 29th until August 2nd. The weather was perfect, nice and sunny, a bit hotter than what we are used to in England though. Here are pictures from our first day out sightseeing (July 30th). There was a lot more we did over the 3 days but there just wasn't room for all of the pictures so here are the highlights!

Our TINY hotel room, there was literally just enough room for the bed! Notre Dame Cathedral, it's funny, we ran into Mormon Elders inside on their P-day.
The Rose Window. Can't remember which side though.
Self portrait infront of Notre Dame, not great because the sun is behind us.
The Eiffel Tower! For lunch we went to a supermarket and got stuff for a picnic and we sat in the park to eat before we went to wait in the insanely long line.
Another self portrait, please ignore my second chin! We found another American couple at the second level and they were nice enough to take our picture if we would return the favor.

Another view from the Eiffel Tower.

After all the sightseeing, we went to the hotel to get ready for dinner. I don't remember the name of the Restaurant, But it was on Rue La Fayette. For starters, Shawn had Escargot and I had Onion Soup, but I was brave enough to try an Escargot. The flavor was nice, but the texture on the other hand was hard to swallow, litteraly. For our main course, Shawn had Duck and roasted potatoes and I had the most awesome Lamb Stew! After that I was stuffed, but Shawn splurged on Dessert and had this pineapple thing with ice cream.

Natalie the budding photographer

2008-08-10T16:09:00.003+01:00

Well you won't see any pictures of Natalie in this post because she took them all. I think she could have a nice talent developing. She even made me look cute!

Shawn and Robbie
"Exterminate, Exterminate, EXTERMINATE!" If you don't know what this means, it comes from the Sci-fi series "Dr. Who" (the new series) which my husband and kids LOVE. One of the enemies are the Daleks, and well Robbie was pretending to be one.
In case you are wondering what a "real" Dalek looks like, here they are and they have this creepy synthesizer voice and they are indestructible and nothing kills them.

Too old and out of shape!

2008-07-26T19:40:00.003+01:00

So I've been playing in a local brass band. I started out playing the E-flat bass and had to give it up for a while, but they asked if I could help out with a couple of carnival parades on Euphonium. I was so happy that they wanted me to continue playing with them even though I don't have the time to commit to two nights a week rehearsal. Well, tonight was the first of the parades and I realized a few things... The parade was only 2 miles and it was mostly flat but I am totally lacking in strength in my upper arms. The marching itself wasn't too bad but actually holding up my euphonium to play for the ENTIRE 2 miles was beyond my abilities. I made it through though and I am so thankful for that! 10 years ago, I could have done that with my eyes closed. Also, waiting until the day of the parade to look at the music for the first time... NOT a good idea! Oh man! I used to be a much better player but tonight I stunk! Next time, I'm going to know the music better so I can actually play the songs properly!

I guess I'm not as young as I used to be!

Memories

2008-07-26T16:25:00.000+01:00

Here is what you do...

1. As a comment on my blog, leave one memory that you and I had together. It doesn't matter if you knew me a little or a lot, anything you remember!

2. Next, re-post these instructions on your blog and see how many people leave a memory about you. It's actually pretty cool (and funny) to see the responses. If you leave a memory about me, I'll assume you're playing the game and I'll come to your blog and leave one about you. :) If you don't want to play on your blog, or if you don't have a blog, I'll leave my memory of you in my comments... Please Play! :)

6 weeks & 6 days

2008-07-24T17:58:00.005+01:00

I had my first ultrasound today. Thankfully there is only one and he/she has a really strong heartbeat. I've included the ultrasound pic and a belly pic. On a side note, I am officially at my lowest weight in about 6 1/2 years!!! I am down 4 pounds from two weeks ago when we found out we were pregnant, I guess a nice little side effect to morning sickness. Don't worry!!! I am eating and the baby's health is my top priority. The same thing happened during my pregnancies with Natalie and Robbie, with each of them, I weighed 25-30 pounds less the day I delivered them from when I found out I was pregnant! Pregnancy seems to be the only time I can eat whatever I want and not gain weight, weird, huh!

Robbie

2008-07-24T17:46:00.003+01:00

What can I say about Robbie? Well he is 2 almost 3, so he has his moments where he can be really cute and loving and other moments where he can be a real monster. He has this new hobby where he likes to chuck all of his toys off of the upstairs landing over the bannister onto the floor below. Let me just say, he has had 3 time outs today because of this! Here are some pics of my little monster.

Natalie's Graduation

2008-07-24T17:27:00.002+01:00

On Monday, Natalie's class had a little graduation ceremony to celebrate them leaving the reception year and going to class one. All the children got a little certificate. Then out of all the reception children (about 40 students), 5 children got a Certificate of Merit. I was so pleased when Natalie was called as one of them! The head teacher gave her a certificate and talked about how she is always smiling. She has been really popular at school and has a lot of friends and she loves it so much. After the ceremony, we had a conference with her teacher and she had a lot of really nice things to say and is really impressed with how far she has come this year. We are so proud of her!

Natalie and her class getting their "diplomas"

Mr. Phillips (the head teacher) giving Natalie her Certificate of MeritNatalie with her certificates

ANNOUNCEMENT!

2008-07-08T15:59:00.002+01:00

Due date is 13 March and after almost a year and a half of trying.

Happy 4th of July

2008-07-08T15:51:00.003+01:00

Well, this is the second year in a row we didn't get to see fireworks. They just start too late for my kid's taste and this year it rained, and when I say rained, I mean the heavens opened and I thought we were going to need an ark. All the fun stuff we planned on doing we couldn't because it was too wet, but we did go to the base where they had face painting (see pictures below), some furry little animals to pet and a bouncy castle. Maybe next year we'll have a better chance to do something fun.

Robbie as a tiger, he's growling. The artist did the best she could with the cooperation Robbie gave. He wouldn't sit still.

Natalie is a rainbow princess.

Happy Birthday Shawn!!!

2008-07-08T15:40:00.002+01:00

I'm a little late getting this up here. Shawn's Birthday was on Sunday, 29 June. He turned 34!!! We had a great day together and I cooked him a nice juicy steak and a baked potato and we had triple chocolate fudge cake with triple chocolate fudge chip frosting! We are going to get SOOOOO fat!

Hair Cuts

2008-06-15T18:47:00.009+01:00

I finally talked Natalie into getting her hair cut. It was in really bad shape and I have been begging her to cut it. It was getting really impossible to comb through it anymore and I was sick of french braiding it everyday because head lice keep going around her class (thankfully she hasn't had them). So I talked her into a cute cut.

Of course I had to include a picture of Robbie's buzzed head.

Nighty Night!

2008-06-15T18:43:00.001+01:00

Random Pictures.

2008-06-04T10:48:00.004+01:00

Natalie being scary.

Like father, like son!

He takes after Mum too!
It was really cute, I came in the living room and this is how I found them watching TV. I used to do the same thing when I was little.

Natalie on a fire engine

Update with Pictures

2008-06-04T10:08:00.006+01:00

Shawn has long come home from Florida and has even been to Italy and back since the last time I posted so I guess this is well overdue. I know my mother is dying for pictures of the kids!

We recently had the opportunity to make our first trip to London! It's amazing we have been here nearly 2 years and we have just now had the chance to tour it! So enough of my ramblings, here are the pictures.

Tower Bridge, we walked the span of walkways up at the top, it was really neat to see London from that high up.

Just a silly picture of us in the Engine Rooms at the Tower Bridge. Robbie didn't cooperate really well. The entrance to the Tower of London, I wish we got more pictures of this, but they wouldn't let me photograph the crown jewels, which is what I really wanted a picture of. Also there was a lot of rain that day and by this time, we were miserable.
On Tuesday, we ran into some celebrities that were gracious enough to pose for pictures, here's Natalie and me with Tom Cruise (he's really made of wax at Madame Tussaud's)
Shawn and Jennifer Anniston

Shawn and the kids with Captain Jean-Luc Piccard (aka Patrick Stewart) from Star Trek: The Next Generation. You've gotta really know Shawn to appreciate this!

SUPERMAN!The Tower of London from our double decker bus tour.
Big Ben
Buckingham Palace