I'm Getting A Brother!

No, my mum hasn't decided to take notice of my nagging as an 8 year old and bless me with a baby brother! ***SHUDDER***

No, I was stood in Tesco on Friday having an argument with Rob about swiss roll tins (I kid ye not!), when my sister texted me from The Dominican Republic with a picture of a nice shiny rock! Must say, it was a bit of a surprise; Gemma's always protested that she'd never get married; and once I said accidentally to Dave 'You see what you've married into', where he positively turned green! But, a nice surprise it is anyway!

Not sure where , when or how as far as the big day, but a couple of things I'm certain of. First of all, it won't be a Saturday as Leeds Utd play every Saturday, and neither of them would miss a match, even for their own wedding! And, another reason it probably won't be on a Saturday, Leeds will be too busy playing on the Elland Road pitch and I get the feeling that there will be a certain ceremony taking place there, so we need to avoid any off side, tackle dooberies!

Oh god I just thought, if it is there, will I have to start going before they let me in, you know how they make people go to church before they get married, christened etc!!

Anyway, congratulations to Gemma and my soon to be bruv Dave!!

A Lovely Christmas!

We've had a lovely relaxing Christmas! Christmas Day was a nice chilled affair; with lots of toy playing and eating! The kids got some fabulous stuff; Emily got lots of High School Musical and craft stuff; and Xander got great boys toys: planes, trucks, rocket ships etc. We got a Wii so the remainder of the week has been spent playing on that (and getting our behinds kicked by Emily!).


Anyway, here are a few pics of our Christmas...

Emily sprinkling reindeer food for Rudolph on Xmas Eve

The kids haul!Emily finally gets her Hannah Montana wigXander with his truck, one of his many 'boys toys'Rob having a National Lampoons moment and carving the turkey

Garden Grottos, Big Toes & Pink Wigs!

So, we've had a lovely Christmas weekend! Yesterday we went to Steve and Allys' for a supposed trip to see the reindeer. However, it suddenly decided to rain, after weeks of dry weather; so we decided that, even if we did manage to wade through the mud, the reindeer would probably be hiding anyway!

So, we had some mulled wine then headed off for a curry. On the way, we went to their next door neighbour's house, who have dressed their front garden up as a little grotto. It was lovely and the girls thought it was great. The curry was fantastic, apart from Xander's 'throwing everything on the floor' tantrum; but the food more than made up for it!

So, I had an interesting morning. Xander was having yet another tantrum at naptime, and I'd come downstairs to get a teething ring. In my haste to get back upstairs I got my right big toe caught in my left pyjama leg and was left sprawled on the stairs! Rob was trying to climb over me and the safety gate to get to Xander, but I couldn't move my toe and so was stuck there for a while. Anyway, I eventually got downstairs (with Emily offering to carry me, bless her) and Rob got it strapped up for me. I think it may be broken but the thought of facing A&E 2 days before Christmas, just to be told that you can't put a pot on broken toes, just wasn't worth it!!

This afternoon we've been to visit Rob's mum, grandad and Zoe for a bit of a Christmas get together. We had a lovely meal and then we let the kids open their presents from mum and Zo. Xander got a Bob The Builder beanbag chair and a toddlers Etch A Sketch (which Rob spent hours amusing himself on by writing 'ploppy pants'!). Emily got a bow & arrow so she can pretend to be on Narnia; and a Stephanie dress up wig. Needless to say, the wig has been a big hit with everyone; especially Zo who is hot footing it down to Argos tomorrow to get herself one!!

So, only 2 more sleeps to go and it'll all be over! Good job and all, my jeans are already far too tight and we haven't started the proper eating and drinking yet!

The Camera Never Lies...Well This One Does!

So, the week before Christmas just what you need is your camera finally giving up the ghost isn't it! It went completely kaput yesterday whilst I was trying to photo some craft stuff (I didn't think it was that bad but obviously the papper objected!!). But hey, who needs a camera over Christmas...oh yes, we do!!

So, last night we spent ages researching cameras and trying to find a new one before Xmas. So, we found one with everyone's favourite, Argos. Tried to find one in stock at a store, all out of stock. So, we could get it delivered; hooray! But they gave us a time of 7am to 6pm on Friday; hmmm, between school runs, hairdressers and food shopping, that wasn't going to happen! So, I rings mum, yup she'll be in, so I put down hers as a delivery address. So, we go through the checkout, add a memory card for good measure, enter the credit card details and get the confirmation: they'll be delivering the memory card on Friday at a delivery charge of £4.95, but the camera's out of stock!!

So, there were phone calls; no Mrs Argos lady, we don't want the memory card without the camera, no we don't want to wait until the New Year for the camera, yes, we would like a camera at Christmas!

So, eventually we cancelled it all and started the search again! We've reserved one at an Argos near Rob's work; why do I get a horrible feeling he's going to come away with just a memory card sized carrier?!

Shingle All The Way!

So, my mum's only gone and got herself shingles hasn't she?! For some reason, it always reminds me of Lou Beale; I have a vivid childhood memory of watching Eastenders when she caught it! Now, in any other circumstance, I'd be over there with Xander and attaching him to her (mum, not Lou Beale!) so we got chicken pox out of the way sooner rather than later. However, thought it might be a bit cruel for him to wake up Christmas morning covered in the pox!! So, Grandma is off bounds to old Billy Jim at the moment.

In other news, we have a knew Christmas ornament...

The silly moo even fell asleep in there last night...
...who on earth sleeps in a Christmas tree?! So between that and Xander's constant 'oooh, shiny bauble, let me hide that in my toy box', I have been threatening to take the blooming thing down all day!! Yup, bah humbug Lou is slowly creeping back in!!

Fröhliche Weihnachten!

For those of you not in the know (which face it, was me until I Googled it!) that is German for Merry Christmas! The reason being is we've been all Christmassy today and gone to the German Christmas Market in Leeds.

Rob's dad has been up for the weekend so we thought it was a good idea to drag our hangovers down there. Mind you, the hangovers didn't stop us having a lovely mug of mulled wine!

We also enjoyed German hotdogs (though Xander seemed a little unsure!) and afterwards, Emily and I took our full bellies on the carousel; not such a good idea!Rob bought a German salami which is just sat in the fridge begging to have huge lumps hacked off it over the next few days; so we can continue our Weihnachten at home!! Anyway, a really lovely Christmassy day all in all!

A Very Busy Christmas!

Well, the last 24 hours have been chock full of Christmas stuff! Yesterday afternoon was Emily's school play and she was a star. You know how there's always one child who messes about, looks at the ceiling when they should be singing, prods people with their prop, picks their nose etc? Yup, that was my daughter! She did do some singing and did a very good twinkly star dance on the stage, but needless to say she'd had a concentration bypass yesterday!!

Then we took both kids to visit Santa. Emily talked to him but from 2 feet away, there was no way she was getting any nearer to that beard! And Xander, well he took one look and screamed! We did manage to get a picture but probably a bit of waste of £7!

This morning has been Xander's toddler group's Xmas party and it's been fab! They were asked to go in fancy dress so it was a good opportunity for him to wear his Xmas pudding outfit; he even kept the hat on for a whole half an hour! They had a party tea (pizza and buns at 10am, yum!) and Santa put in yet another appearance...and guess what? Yup, Xander screamed again! I'm just glad he'll be asleep when Santa makes his annual trip on Christmas Eve!

Anyway, we are now all well and truely into the festive spirit!

Christmas Past

I found some photos on the computer the other day of Emily at Xmas '04. Can't believe how young she looks; and in turn how grown up she looks now!!

Xmas '04

Xmas '07

Video Evidence!

Blimey, 2 blog posts in 1 day!!

Well, I finally got Xander walking on video today. It wasn't difficult; he's suddenly grasped what it's all about and has walked everywhere today! So here is Billy Jim's wobbly baby steps!!

Oh Christmas Tree Oh Christmas Tree!

So, I've finally had to stop being bah humbug and admit that Christmas is going to happen whether I like it or not!! So, on Saturday we put the tree up. Didn't exactly go smoothly, Emily got too excited and was trying to put baubles and tinsel on before the tree was actually up; and Xander kept paddying because he wasn't allowed to chew the lights! But, eventually the tree was up and so far it's still standing (OK, it's tied to the radiator; between Xander and Cindy we were taking no risks!!).

This Yorkshire Girl's Been Lancashired!!

First of all, for anyone that reads Marie's blog, this post is virtually the same as hers (except no hobnobbing with the stars here!) and the pics are the same because I stole them from Marie!

For everyone else...we had a great night on Saturday! We went over t'Pennines to St Helens to see my old pal Marie, who was taking us to see one of her favourite bands: The Lancashire Hotpots! For anyone not familiar with their work, their a comedy band who sing such classics as Chippy Tea and Shopmobility Scooter...

Well, I've not laughed so much in a long time!! They were hilarious, and with names like Dicky Ticker and Willie Eckerslike, they couldn't really be anything else could they!

Even though Rob's a southerner, he had a great time...

It was also great to have a few drinks with the one and only Mariek!! We've never actually had a tipple together, just tea and cupcakes, so it was nice to let our hair down together! Also, her 2 friends Karen and Denise came along; who were both excellent gig going company; and made it even more enjoyable...

(me, Karen, Denise, Marie)

Anyway, I'd definately recommend checking the Hotpots out, you can find them here:

http://www.myspace.com/thelancashirehotpots

I dare you not to laugh!!

All These Channels And No Bob The Builder?

So, Xander's been coming on leaps and bounds lately. Today he's been doing tonnes of walking; mainly when he thinks no one's looking, but he's suddenly got the idea of toddling! The talking is going a bit slower, but he's getting there and sounded like he said 'here you are' (well, 'hee ya') earlier. He also has a grand total of 7 teeth now so is enjoying chomping on all sorts, including mummy's fingers!

He's had a fascination with remote controls for a long time; but today he decided he wanted every control in the house! Unfortunately Bob The Builder was nowhere to be found, but he finds the tv guide on Sky very entertaining; and loves boogying to the elevator music on there!!

The illness is still well and truely resident in the Gillard household. Rob took today off today so he could look after Xander while I went to bed and tried to shift this cold once and for all. All it seems to have done though is give him a cold! Great! I'm really hoping we're better this weekend as we have a trip across the Pennines planned tomorrow; Rob and I are supposed to be going with Marie and Kendo to see the Lancashire Hotpots tomorrow night while Rob's mum babysits. It's our only night out this Xmas so I really really want to go, so anti cold vibes would be very much appreciated!!

Poorly Sick!

Ok, this cold isn't funny any more (actually, it was never funny in the first place!). I've had it now since Monday and it just won't go. I've tried everything (even a few glasses of vino at Sam's Virgin Vie party last night!!) and it's not budging! So, anyone with any ancient cold remedies; send them this way, I'm desperate!

Of course it's been passed on by the snot monster himself: Xander Billy Jim but he seems to have got over his now. He's also had to contend with 4 new teeth in the past 10 days and taking a few more steps so he's been a busy boy!

Right, off to bury my head in a box of Kleenex!

Congratulations Jess!

Just a quick congratulations to my baby cousin, and regular visitor to the blog, Jess; who passed her driving test on Monday!! Yay, well done Jess!!

She's after a pink beetle! I think Emily will be her number 1 best friend if she manages to get one!

Just realised, she's not so much of a baby cousin anymore...**sniff**!

One Small Step For Babykind!

For those of you that I didn't text manically on Saturday morning; Xander took his first steps!! Yay!! There were only 2 of them but they were beautiful!! The funny thing was he was stood in the exact same place that Emily took her first steps too. So, anyone wants their baby to walk, just send them round and I'll rent you the square foot of carpet in question!

He hasn't done it since but he's poorly at the moment so anything that's not a 'lying down, dummy in mouth' position isn't going to happen!! Will post a photo as soon as he gets motoring again.

Gymnast Of the Week!

Well, we waited long enough for this one; 14 months to be precise; but last night Emily won Gymnast Of the Week at gymnastics! Yay!! To say she was excited is a bit of an understatement; positive giddiness round here yesterday evening! She was so excited that she tripped up the steps on the way out of gymnastics and broke the thing. But, a spot of superglue later and it was as good as new (and judging by the other bits of dried glue on the trophy, I don't think she was the first to do it either!!).

So, here is a picture of out little superstar...

Roundup!

So, I tought I'd do a quick update on things here; not too much happening, just a quick roundup!

Xander's well established in his new routine of nursery on Tuesday and my parents' on Wednesday. I'm really missing him on these days but it's so good for him to have different environments. We've also been going to a toddler group on a Thursday morning for a few weeks which he loves! He had a booster jab today; which he was NOT pleased about! But the crying only lasted 10 seconds then he was back to shouting 'Hiya' to all and sundry again! He also has had a tooth surge and has a grand total of 5!!

Emily is doing well at school. Her reading's suddenly coming on in leaps and bounds and she's reading paragraphs all on her own! We had parents' evening last week and her maths is excellent and she seems to be taking in a lot of facts in all her subjects.

Rob is just Rob! He's job hunting at the moment as it turns out he works for a set of numpties! One good bit of news though is that, with interviews coming up, he's finally cutting his ZZ Top beard!

And as for me, well I'm really enjoying my course. Some of it's taken a bit of getting into but I really look forwad to my studying time; though I'm sure that novelty will wear off! I've also got loads of craft stuff done lately; made lots of Xmas cards and done some more scrapping. So, couldn't possibly leave without giving you a LO; this is my latest of Emily on our jollies!

Love to all!

Freckles!!

So, this afternoon, me and Emily had a bit of a crop! For those of you not in scrapbooking circles, a crop is a getting together of scrapbookers to scrapbook together! Anyway, my crafting buddy Kim had set a challenge to take a white piece of paper and some pictures, and add just 5 other things to the layout.

I've done a bit of a challenge within a challenge here; as the picture is one I did for a photography challenge in the summer. I've been meaning to scrap it for ages and had a bit of inspiration today so went ahead. Anyway, it speaks for itself, not much explanation needed here!!

BTW, my 5 additional elements were: the brown paper, the pink spotty paper, the ribbon, the chipboard letters and the handmade embellishment in the corner!

Remembering Auntie Rene

So, it's a while since I posted a scrapbook layout. TBH, I've not been happy with my stuff lately so haven't felt brave enough to share! However, mum has bought me a lovely present of a monthly scrapping kit from Scrapping Angels and the first kit has given me loads of inspiration!

So, I've had this picture in my scrapping pile for a while. It's of my Auntie Rene, who died this February. She was really ill when this picture was taken last year, but she always managed a smile when I took Xander to see her. Emily remembers her but unfortunately Xander never will so I wanted something in his scrapbook as a momento of her.

I also wanted to do something different for his scrapbook, so I went for this old fashioned type paper from the kit, and the flower for a very unboyish bit of controversy!!

And the good news is, I still have enough stuff in the kit for another 2 layouts! Better get my thinking cap on!

Elvis Lives!!

Well, I never thought I'd be able to say that I'd seen Elvis live, but now I can!!

My neighbours Jill, Sam and I bought our other neighbour Margaret some tickets for an Elvis tribute for her 65th birthday in the summer; and last night was the night! It was actually really good and very entertaining. Margaret, a big Elvis fan, had a whale of a time and was singing along to everything! There were a few there who were taking it a tad too seriously; I'm not sure they realised it wasn't the real Elvis; but it was amusing to watch them!

So, for now, the king of rock n roll lives! Viva Las Elvis!!

Student Days

Well, Xander's doing much better. He's still not 100% but he's back to his old smiley self again and his pirate ship is seeing some serious usage once more! Thanks for all the get well wishes, I'm sure they've helped a great deal!

So, today I officially become a student. My first course with the Open University starts today (weird day to start a Saturday I know), so I'm sat here at 7.30am printing out my first assignment. Something to do with Victorian women in novels (can't actually see properly to read it this early!). Anyway, we're driving to Northampton for a family do today so I'm hoping to read it in the car. May be a little difficult with High School Musical blaring out though!!

Have a good weekend everyone.

Poor Baby!

Poor Xander's not well! He's been poorly with a bad cold and cough since Saturday, but over the past few days it's got worse. I took him to the doctors this morning and he has an ear infection (in both ears!) and tonsillitis (just had to Google the spelling of that!) and so is now on antibiotics along with Calpol, Ibruprofen and Snuffle Baby! Poor little love looks so sorry for himself and his throst is so sore he can't even cry properly.

So, can you send lots of get well vibes to my little man? Hopefully soon he'll back to playing pirates and tormenting the cats!!

Are You Right Or Left Brained?!!

Just found this link on Jaime's blog and it's had me fascinated! Look at the woman and see if she's going clockwise or anti-clockwise. Rob sees clockwise, I see anti but then look away and she's going clockwise! God knows what that says about my brain!!

http://www.news.com.au/dailytelegraph/story/0,22049,22535838-5012895,00.html?from=mostpop

Snug As A Bug In A Rug Part 2!!

Made a couple more quilts lately. The first one I made for Evie's birthday present, if you look carefully it has her name at the bottom. The second is one I made for Emily, I also made her a matching pillowcase.

Today I'm having a scrapbooking day. I've completed one for Xander's book and am now scrapping Emily's 6 week holidays but have a serious case of scrappers block! Hopefully it will clear soon and I'll be able to crack on!

Center Parcs!!!

We had a lovely week down in Center Parcs, despite me spending the first day and a half in bed due to a very bad night with my toilet on Sunday night! Getting me in the car to actually drive down there was a challenge in itself, and when we got there, I went straight to bed and stayed there!


Anyway, the rest of the week was great, lots of swimming, cycling, pancakes, ducks, swans etc! The kids had a great time and were exhausted by the time we got home! Anyway, here's a few pics of our week...

Happy Birthday Evie!!!

Yesterday was our favourite little lady baby's first birthday party! Yay, happy birthday Evie! We had a lovely afternoon, lots of lovely food, party games and bubbles! I've attached a few photos including the blowing out of the candle (which Evie tried to extinguish with her fingers!), Xander taking Evie for a walk plus Uncle Gary and his Mini Me chilling watching Ant & Dec!!