Amy Archives - Page 2 of 3 - Journeys Are My Diary

Week 33 – Monday Round-up

August 17, 2015 by Bel

As always, another busy week here in Casa de Smith-Lecoat. It’s been a good week though, so no complaints!

On Monday the kids headed to their dads and I ended up reading ALL day, despite having loads I should have been doing. I was reading John Green’s Paper Towns and since I was enjoying it do much, I didn’t want to stop. By late afternoon I was finished but since I had a bath that night, it sort of sucked I had nothing to read. Instead I caught up on some short stories relating to the Sanctum, Fractured and Chaos series I had been reading.

Tuesday I picked up the girls and we went into town to get change for a carboot sale and then had lunch in Subway. We did a bit of shopping too but afterwards I came home and tried on my Belle cosplay costume, just to make sure everything fitted. The evening was spent making my apron, so that everything was complete.

On Wednesday the girls and I did a carboot sale at Torksey. It was so warm and nice, though it meant we got really hot. We made almost £50 and had a lot of fun, but afterwards we were exhausted. After coming home we all just collapsed, which was rubbish as Chris had been sent home from work ill and so we were all just done!

Thursday I spent the whole day making bows. I started the morning by watching some YouTube videos and then once I decided I knew what I was doing, I made bows. I also succumbed to a guilty pleasure, putting on Glee to watch while I was crafting. I haven’t seen past Season 4 so I decided it was time to catch up. Though Chris headed to bed fairly early, I worked on bows till gone midnight before heading to bed myself.

On Friday, Amy was due to arrive but because of crappy trains, I headed out to intercept her at Retford. We came back via Clintons, stocked up on Tsum Tsums and then came home. We spent majority of the day sat at the dinning table chatting, my mum came to get the girls and later Amy and I headed out for dinner. We went to NYC Bar and Grill as we’d planned, having four cocktails between us, burgers, fries and coleslaw but still not managing to fit in a dessert! We came home, sat for a while longer and then headed to bed!

The next day was SFCC (Sheffield Film and Comic Con) so we were up early and getting ready. We finally left at around 10.30am, getting to Sheffield for around 11.30am. We had a lot of fun at SFCC, bought loads of Pop Funkos, met up with Kariss and her boyfriend Harry and then even fitted in time to pop to the Disney Store and Starbucks. Finally we headed back and picked up the girls from mum, before coming home and collapsing. While I’d planned to cook steak and chips for dinner, I was too exhausted to bother. Instead we ordered pizza and just did nothing! Amy and I spent the evening chatting again before we all finally headed to bed.

Sunday was spent lazy for the morning, then taking Amy to catch her train at lunch. In the afternoon I worked on some blog stuff and also tried to relax. Chris was finally feeling better so we managed a nice meal from M&S which I’d bought a few days before, and then just spent the rest of the evening doing our own thing.

Another busy week this week and my store opening on Saturday. I hope to update you all next weekend as to my success and of course the rest of my week ;)

Week 30 – Monday Round-up

July 27, 2015 by Bel

This week has been a fab week and I’m hoping there are more to come! I’ve been very well behaved with my diet which is giving the motivation to continue and that in itself makes some days easier! Also the kids broke up from school this week and that has been so nice, spending loads of time together but more importantly, not even needing to get dressed on some days!!

On Monday Megan didn’t feel very well and so the girls didn’t go to school. Sure it was a little naughty to keep Lily off too but we were all wishing we were on Summer Holiday already that we probably needed a day! We were incredibly lazy and did nothing all day. It was actually very nice. However I did manage to get some sewing done and finally finished the Briar Rose cosplay outfit I was working on for Amy.

On the Tuesday, the girls went back to school and Chris was off work so we had one of those days when we got all sorts of little bits done. We took his drum kit to a friend’s house as he was selling it, we went shopping, we went out for lunch and eventually we headed back to pick the girls up from school. It was a nice day but I’d hoped to get loads more sewing done and that didn’t happen! I did however manage a lovely long bath in the evening, a read of my book and an early night.

Wednesday was the girls last day at school, so we headed out with presents and cards galore. Chris was at work all day and I had website training for the Saxilby School website, round at my mum’s house. The training took all morning and then after everyone left, Mum and I had lunch. In the afternoon we headed down to storage to sort it out, as we’re hoping to hand the keys back next week. It didn’t take half as long as we expected so I headed back to mum’s for another cup of tea before eventually going to get the girls. Once I picked them up we popped to the post office, to get petrol and then eventually to Pizza Hut. This is fast becoming our end of term/summer tradition as we’ve now been to Pizza Hut every summer for about the last five years!

When we were finished, we headed home and it was still pretty early (especially since the girls were now on holiday time bed time) and we all settled down to chill. Lily went on her computer, Megan her iPad and I sat down to finish off the book I had been reading on Kindle. When it was time for Lily to head to bed we read some James and the Giant Peach which was the current bedtime read. Megan went a while later and eventually Chris got home from work and we headed to bed not long after.

On Thursday we were all wanting a lazy day (though Chris was at work) and so we did a whole lot of nothing till midday. However we got lunch, got dressed and headed out in the afternoon to get Megan’s ears pierced. She was incredibly brave and I was honestly so surprised. I bought her some extra earrings for when her ears are healed and she is allowed to change them, and also some magnetic ones for Lily so she didn’t feel left out.

Since we’d paid for parking anyway, we went to get coffee from Costa. Megan had a Mint Choc Chip, while Lily had Belgian Chocolate, mine was technically the only coffee as I had a Caramel Latte. We shared a mint choc chip cake too and it was delicious. After we finished out coffee we walked around for a little bit but then headed home. Once we were home we unpacked some boxes from my car and started to go through them. They were a mixture of photos, scrap books and cuddly toys, as well as a box of my old memories, dating right back to school and including school reports and letters I’d received from friends.

The rest of the day was just spend doing out own things, relaxing or getting work done etc. Next came Friday and that started off fairly lazy too. However both the girls needed showers as they were going to their dad’s house and we weren’t sure what the situation was with showering there (they just moved house!). We grabbed showers, packed a bag and then their dad arrived to take them away. Next came a message from Amy to say her and Liv were on time with train and since Chris was going down to catch the train they were getting off, I walked down with him and waited at the station.

Once Amy arrived (and Chris left), we went to Aldi on the way back and then came home. We didn’t do an awful lot with the day, just occupied Liv and chatted to catch up on the last few weeks. Eventually Liv went to bed, we had jacket potatoes for dinner and then chatted some more. The wine came out and Chris arrived home with even more for us. We all sat watching YouTube videos for Five Nights at Freddy’s and it was really nice.

The next day I woke up because Chris had a driving lesson. I got up and started to make some bows for the girls to wear to the cinema that day, but sadly it didn’t work out! The day ended up a bit rushed – heading out to get the girls from their dad, mum getting a flat tyre, coming home to get changed and heading out to the cinema again. However in the end it all worked out and we made it to the movie on time!

Everyone loved Inside Out and I was so glad we’d booked to see it early. To be honest I wouldn’t be surprised if we ended up going to see it again! Once it was done (we stayed till the end but there was no extra clip!) we headed out and went for a walk around Scunthorpe. It wasn’t somewhere I had been before and I was curious as to what shops were available. We popped into Primark (and Chris did CEX) and then wandered back to the car. Even better it was free parking all day Saturday so I think it’s somewhere we would go again.

Picture taken from @livvybirdadventures Instagram

We came back home and once we’d settled, ordered takeaway. It was our one weekend treat but it was so good. There were burgers, chips, pizza, garlic bread and donner kebab. I was stuffed afterwards and knew I’d have put on several pounds! In the evening once everyone was in bed, Amy and I relocated to the dining room and I made the finishing touches to her Briar Rose dress (the zip and hem). After that we were all tired and so headed to bed.

In the morning, the kids all got up and since I stirred I figured I would get up too. Amy and I sat chatting as always and Chris went upstairs to play on his computer. Eventually I had to get the girls ready for going back to their dad’s for the day, so we left around 10.30am. By the time I came back, there wasn’t long before Amy needed to go, so we measured out the Wendy dress pattern so I could get on with that and figured out what else needed doing to her Snow White dress. After that I took Amy and Liv to the station, it was pretty miserable as it was raining. Once they had left, I went to Tesco and did some shopping, coming back and getting myself upset about how empty the house was!

Chris humoured me for a while so I wasn’t lonely but in the end I settled down to do absolutely nothing and just mong on my computer. The girls were back earlier than expected, so I had to figure out dinner for them. Chris went for a bath and the girls and I just spent the evening together. Finally the girls went to bed and Chris and I watched TV (well he did and I continued to do nothing on my computer). It was a nice end to a nice weekend but I’m looking forward to continuing on these nice days, for the next six weeks!

Week 26 – Monday Round-up

June 29, 2015 by Bel

Another busy week but I’m actually getting around to doing this post early (it’s Sunday night!). Monday to Friday the kids were at school but Chris was off from Monday to Wednesday. After taking the kids to school on Monday, I settled down to finish of the Murder Mystery I’d been working tirelessly. It took me all day but I finally managed it by about midnight! Obviously I picked up the kids, had dinner etc. but for the most part my day was solely spent doing this.

On Tuesday Chris and I took the girls to school and then headed to the storage unit. We needed to grab a few things, including the futon, which meant taking furniture to pieces and packing it into the car. After that we headed back home but we needed to go to Tesco and visit Chris’ nan too. We decided to go to Chris’ nan first and stayed for about an hour, we then went shopping and did a good weeks shop. Finally we got back home and Chris offered to put the futon back together while I took a bath. For a change it was a really long bath, because I got quite into the book I was reading. When the girls got home from school, via their few hours with their dad, I managed to catch him about Megan getting her ears pierced. He agreed and she was thrilled!

On Wednesday I took the girls to school and Chris was out on his driving test (sadly he failed). When I got home, he arrived shortly after me and while we wallowed for a little while, he soon headed up on his computer and I got sewing for the day. I picked out a pattern to do, traced it and cut it out. I then stopped for lunch with Chris before heading out to Boyes and buying some material. I got back and cut out my pattern pieces but then it was time to pick the girls up from school. Megan was having her friend Elizabeth back for dinner and so that pretty much took up the rest of my evening.

Thursday Chris was back at work but my mum was coming around for the day so I still didn’t get an awful lot done. She read through my murder mystery completely though (noting the odd mistake) and she liked it, so that made me feel positively about the party on Friday. She stopped for lunch and didn’t leave till I went to get the girls from school. After school we went into town and made an appointment for Megan’s ear piercing. We also picked up the Snow White Tsum Tsums which had just been released from Clintons. In the evening I had my nephew (or sort of at least) overnight as my brother and his girlfriend were working the next day when he was off school and they had no one for the early part of Friday. The kids didn’t get that long together but they were no trouble. Once they were in bed I baked some cakes, trying to bake them flat for the first time ever. It was definitely an interesting experience.

On Friday morning I had three kids to get up and ready but again they were no trouble. I took all three to school with me, met up with mum and sat with her and Charlie to watch Megan’s assembly. After the assembly finished, Charlie and I headed off so I could take him home, via McDonalds for breakfast of course. By the time I got home, I had ten minutes to grab my breath before heading out to meet Amy and Liv. I walked down to the train station to meet them and then we all headed back to my house. Since the girls were going to my mum’s that night, we didn’t need to go out and get them from school. In the end we all just chilled out together, headed in to town for a little while, played with some Tsum Tsums and watched Walle. After Olivia went to bed, Amy and I got ready for the murder mystery and finished the cake.

The evening went really well and it was nice to hang with friends. The murder mystery worked fine too so that was a relief, though not having rounds of food to break it up with, meant that it all went pretty fast (we were naughty and ordered Dominos!). Even once we finished though, we all sat around chatting and since we were a small group, that was nice too. In the end we headed to bed around midnight.

In the morning, I managed a lie-in till 10.30am but I still felt tired! The kids arrived home around midday and since they all pretty much occupied themselves in the afternoon, Amy and I spent time together in the dining room – researching everything from Paris accommodation to cosplay ideas. We were still in the dining room when Chris came home from work at 10pm, though obviously we’d got the kids dinner and fed ourselves too. We headed to bed a little earlier than usual as we were pretty tired. However I managed to lie-in till 9am again the following morning!

This time the girls got up and occupied themselves quietly until we were all up. Then we all just sat together, had cups of tea and chatted. I took Amy and Liv to catch their train at 1pm, then came home and helped Megan with her homework. Chris and I spent the afternoon strimming and trimming the front garden and it took ages! Finally I came inside, hoovered around and then ended up sorting all my jewellery supplies out. After getting everyone (and myself) dinner, it wasn’t long before the girls headed to bed. I spent the evening cutting Chris’ hair and then when he went for a bath I watched Holby City while writing this blog post! We’re now settling down to watch Humans and I’m scheduling this post and turning off my computer. I imagine we’ll head to bed after one episode as I have to be up early in the morning!

Hope you all had a good week. See you again this time next week!

Is it cool or uncool to wear glasses?

June 17, 2015 by Bel

When I was at school, around thirty years ago (yikes!) it was definitely uncool to wear glasses. Words such as dork, nerd and so forth are often associated with people in glasses, not to mention the more meaner four-eyes or specky. People like Clark Kent never really helped this image, even if he was technically Superman (after all, Superman didn’t wear glasses, just his alias!) If you’re tired of wearing glasses as well, why not find out more on how to restore your vision.

Over the years however, certain celebrities have definitely tried to make wearing glasses cool or at least fashionable. Let’s face it, some people consider it straight out sexy for members of the opposite sex to wear glasses! Specsavers Opticians actually run a Spectacle Wearer of the Year competition. It’s not just for celebrities either, just your regular Joe can participate too! So why is it then, that some people still choose to hide the fact they wear glasses?

My mum and dad were both every day glasses wearers. My brother and sister also wore specs as kids, though neither of them are very good at remembering to wear them these days. I was always quite proud of the fact I didn’t need oakley lead glasses, even though secretly I wanted to have to wear them – so that when I was in my teens I could have this beautiful reveal where I went from super nerdy to super beautiful!

Even now, I don’t really need glasses though I was once given a pair of prescription glasses, to help with the headaches when I’m using my computer a lot. I’m terrible at actually remembering to wear them and honestly I feel a little self conscious in them too. It’s funny really because I’m the first to throw on a pair of glasses when it comes to dressing up. When it comes to fixing your glasses frames there is always a shop near glad to help.

Each person is different I guess – even my two best friends. Amy wears her glasses with pride, while Nat will wear hers if she has to (but prefers contacts) and confesses to not feeling herself when wearing glasses. My partner Chris uses both contact lenses and glasses – originally because he couldn’t wear his glasses when riding his motorbike. It’s a good thing that there are now fashionable glasses and contact lenses that you can order from an optical boutique in your area including Gucci glasses.

I guess for people who really don’t get along with glasses, there will always be other options, such as laser eye surgery. If this is something you’re considering, look for licensed eye surgeons to do the surgery. Companies like Optical Express offer these treatments, if you’re brave enough to have them! For me personally, I don’t know how I would feel if I absolutely had to wear glasses, all of the time. A part of me feels like it shouldn’t be about vanity (though you can also look great wearing glasses) and a part of it is about the hassle of remembering to wear them. I’m not really good with hats, earrings or even my handbag – so I don’t know how I would feel about having to wear glasses day in and day out!

Week 19 – Monday Round-up

May 11, 2015 by Bel

All weeks seem very samey at the moment so I’m sorry if these posts are a bit of a bore. Monday this week was Bank Holiday so it was a short school week and that’s always nice. The girls were with their dad on Monday and so after he picked them up, Chris and I went out for the day. We started by going to visit his Nan and then headed over to Lincoln where we were going to the cinema to see Avengers again and then on to Pizza Express for dinner. It was also May Fourth which for most means Star Wars Day, but for me it’s my dad’s birthday and since he died, its always been a day for reflection. It was nice to keep busy though and have a sort of “date day” with Chris. We ended our day with an ice cream and a walk through Lincoln, before meeting the girls and their dad to switch and go home. Once the girls were in bed we spent the evening catching up on TV like S.H.I.E.L.D., Gotham and Game of Thrones.

Tuesday was back to school and back to work for everyone, including me. Chris was on an early shift so he was out of the house early, but the girls and I headed to school as normal. After dropping them off in their classrooms, I headed to the office to help out. I stayed the whole day and even ended up covering a lunch shift in the dining room. After school the girls and I headed home, getting dinner and then getting homework done. The girls also had a bath because it was class photos at school the next day. When Chris got home, he had dinner and then we spent the evening catching up on Arrow together.

Wednesday was a nice relaxing day, spent catching up on blogging and everything around the house. Chris was at work and the girls were at school, so it was nice to have time to myself and I even started the day with a bacon butty and a cup of tea. I made curry for dinner, so it was easy when we all got home and once I’d picked up the kids from school it meant we didn’t have much to do. Again once Chris was home, we caught up on Arrow, trying to make sure we’re up to date by the finale!

On Thursday Chris was on a later shift and so once I took the girls to school, he was still here when I got back. He did have a driving lesson though so he wasn’t around for long. Once he was gone, I settled down to watch all my TV shows. I kept meaning to go and vote but ended up procrastinating the day away. In the end I collected the girls from school and then went to vote instead.

It was actually pretty interesting going with the girls as it sparked some conversation between us, making it really good fun. We came home and had dinner, before tidying up the girls room – putting away all their clothes and giving the room a hoover. Nat came round in the evening and we spent the evening catching up and having a gossip.

Friday came really quick and once I’d dropped off the kids at school, I came home to spend time with Chris before he went to work. I then made some jewellery orders and tidied up the house. Finally I went out to PC World to do a Mystery Shopper visit and then on to the girls at school to collect them. On the way home we stopped at Aldi and it was there we met Amy and Olivia who were visiting for the weekend. We all went back to our house and hung out, Olivia going to bed first, followed later by the girls. Amy and I ordered Indian takeaway and spent the evening chatting, then when Chris got home we looked for the most awful thing we could watch on TV.

In the morning we all got up and got ready, heading out to Nottingham where we would see Disney on Ice. Chris didn’t come as he had work but the rest of us went to Capital FM Arena in Nottingham, for the show at 11am. Everyone really enjoyed it and I got some lovely pictures. I even posted about it over on Twice the Mum. The show took us up till about 1pm and we’d already decided we’d go to Five Guys for lunch and then on to the Disney Store in Victoria Shopping Centre after that. It was about a ten minute walk for lunch and then another ten minute wait in the queue. It definitely wasn’t as nice as in America but it was still good. After lunch we all headed to the shopping centre but to be honest there wasn’t an awful lot we wanted (I just placed a Disney Store order last week) so we just picked up a couple of Tsum Tsums and then headed back to the car. On the way home we decided we fancied Starbucks so swung via Lincoln. We stopped to get drinks and by that time it was 5pm so we knew it would be almost bedtime for the girls by the time we got back and settled. Olivia had some toast before heading to bed and the girls waited a bit longer to make sure she was asleep. Amy and I ordered a pizza to share and then sat chatting and watching rubbish TV again for the evening.

On Sunday morning, I managed a bit of a lie-in but mostly I was awake and just too lazy to get out of bed. However I did get up and made everyone a cup of tea/coffee and then we all sat relaxed. At midday, Megan and I took Amy and Olivia to the station. Lily stayed at home with Chris. After dropping them off, Megan and I went to Aldi and did the week shop, making sure we got stuff for a roast dinner that day too. The afternoon was spent just hanging out together as a family, relaxing and not doing much. Eventually though Megan and I got up to make dinner and then we all sat together and ate. Afterwards we had waffle with ice cream and chocolate sauce, along with a glass of wine for Chris and I. It was really a perfect evening. The girls headed to bed and Chris went for a bath so I went on my computer for a while. After that we watched Dredd and then S.H.I.E.L.D. before heading to bed.

Another nice week that seemed dull at the time but always seems fuller when I write about it. No idea what this week will bring but I’ve got a feeling it will be a busy one.

Week 11 – Monday Round-up

March 16, 2015 by Bel

Another quickie round-up this week as I’m watching The Walking Dead and apparently it’s a good one! After the girls had a late night last weekend, this week has felt very tiring generally. Megan was okay for the most part but Lily suffered pretty badly with tiredness and that was a headache in itself. They both had school Monday to Friday as normal, Singing Stars on Monday, at their Dad’s on Tuesday and Red Nose Day on Friday. Otherwise everything was fairly standard. Monday we were supposed to be having curry and beer for dinner but when the girls requested croissants and pain au chocolat, Chris and I were swung by that too. Instead Chris and I had curry and beer on Tuesday night, when the girls were out with their dad. Wednesday after school, Lily decided to grow her own prince. it was pretty funny as we’d had this frog thing for about 3 years and never done it and she randomly came downstairs wanting to do it. The frog disintegrated and left a tiny prince, who we were assured would grow full size (full in the sense of the full size it was meant to, not life size) within 72 hours. Sure enough it did and by Saturday she had a not so handsome prince.

On Wednesday I made a skirt for Amy, in the space of about 3 hours. I was pretty pleased with it too! I did learn a few things and next time I will be making it both longer and gathered, but she seemed fairly happy with it and that’s what mattered. That same day I started on Amy’s cake and sadly it all went a bit wrong but I didn’t have time to do anything about it. On Thursday I carried on with the cake but I also had cleaning and tidying of the house to do. Finally it was Friday and I had so much to do. A huge shop and leaving my bank card at home wasn’t the best start to the day but it turned out okay. I came home and started to cook – lasagne, macaroni cheese and profiteroles stuffed with butterscotch instant whip. After lunch, Amy and Olivia arrived and I sat down with them for a while before we all headed out to get the girls from school. When we got back, I had more cooking to do, including butterscotch creme brulee. Lily then helped me sort out the dining room and set the table as it was her murder mystery party that night. Everyone got ready and then people filtered in from 7pm onwards. We got started around 8pm and I served dinner and then dessert. The murder mystery was pretty basic but it was meant for kids – Lily seemed to enjoy it and that’s what matters. Afterwards the girls went to bed and everyone stayed for a cup of tea/coffee. My mum, brother and his girlfriend ended up going home after a little while but Amy was staying here and Tom/Nat stayed a little longer too. Once everyone was gone, we all stayed up to try and see Amy’s birthday in but gave up at 11.30pm. As it happens I was still awake at midnight so I text her and then went to sleep!

In the morning I was up and got Amy’s present, cake and balloons ready for when she came downstairs. We didn’t really do an awful lot that day to be honest, but it was nice and relaxed just sitting around. We headed out around 2.30pm as we had a dinner reservation over in Lincoln at 3pm. We all ate out at Damons and it was a really lovely meal. There was me and Chris, plus our girls, Amy and Olivia, Nat and her son Harry and our mutual friend Jon. It was nearly 6pm by the time we left though and that meant that once we got home, the girls went pretty much straight to bed. At around 7.30-8pm, Nat came back over to us and as Jon was still here, the five of us spent the evening playing Cards Against Humanity. It was a fun evening and after everyone was gone we managed to stick it out till just gone midnight and see Amy’s birthday out before heading to bed.

Sunday was Mother’s Day and the girls and Chris brought me breakfast in bed and some beautiful cards and a gift. I then got up and tidied up the house, before taking Amy to catch her train and popping to the shop for some food. I came home and cooked lunch for my mum who stayed for a few hours over lunch and left around 4pm. The girls got their homework done and then somehow it was pretty much time for them to go to bed. I was incredibly tired and just spent the evening monging out on my computer and blogging. It was a crazy sort of a week but I imagine the next two will be as well!

Week 8 – Monday Round-up

February 23, 2015 by Bel

Once again I haven’t managed to keep on top of my week, so I’m writing this all from memory after the whole week has passed. It’s been a really busy week and I honestly can’t believe how tired I’ve felt every day, but its been a lovely week, full of surprises and unexpected plans!

Monday began with a lie-in, because both the girls had stayed at their dad’s the night before. Chris was working at 12.30pm though so it did mean we had to get up eventually. While Chris spent the first part of the morning on his computer, I spent mine watching TV. Chris then came down and joined me, while getting himself ready for work. A parcel arrived in the post and it was a HUGE Hot Topic order that I had placed at Christmas and sent to my friend who lives in the USA. She had finally got around to mailing it to me and I was so excited to get it opened. However Chris was just leaving for work and I was running a bath so I only looked at it briefly before saying goodbye to Chris and then going for my bath. I had my new Unicorn Horn in the bath, a little late for Valentine’s Day but good nonetheless. Afterwards I went to get dressed and ended up trying on all of my Hot Topic dresses!

Without really meaning to, I ended up texting Amy for the majority of my morning and into the afternoon. We discussed her birthday, Florida, Hot Topic and even all my new dresses. I even ended up sending her pics of me wearing each dress! Eventually I went downstairs again and Nat arrived to spend the afternoon with me. We didn’t really do much but we sat and drank tea, chatting and catching up, planning what we might do to earn us some money! It was actually pretty late on by the time Nat left, I would guess around 7.30-8pm and so I fixed myself some dinner and settled down for the evening. Next I knew I was making plans with Amy for her to come and visit the very next day! Chris arrived home eventually and we sat down to watch the next episode of The Walking Dead. It was almost as dull as the week before, though the last five minutes was marginally more interesting. We headed to bed as we had lots to fit in the next day and already I was realising it would be a busy week!

Tuesday we got up around 9am, still no kids to wake us! We got ready and dressed, heading out to the Plumb Centre in order to get a part for mum’s sink. We then headed over to mum’s house and fitted the pipe for her. It didn’t go 100% to plan but we got there in the end. Not long after we finished, mum turned up with the kids. She’d picked them up from their dad’s and taken them to see some mutual friends that morning, but I was collecting them from her and then going to pick up Amy and Olivia from the station. We headed straight off to get Amy and arrived a little early so had to wait. However at around 12.30pm they arrived and we all set off back to Gainsborough. When we got back, we headed to Tesco as we needed a few essentials, along with some food for dinner and also ingredients for pancakes (Tuesday was Pancake Day!). Finally we got back home, unpacked and relaxed for a while but then I remembered I needed to go into town and everyone bar Chris decided to come too. After going to the Post Office, we went to buy Tsum Tsum’s for Amy and Liv, but Lily ended up getting some too. We then also went for a wander around Gainsborough before eventually heading back again. I cooked Lasagne for dinner which we all ate and then after Liv was in bed I made pancakes for everyone. I was so stuffed and well over my calorie allowance for the day!

Lily went to bed too and Chris was upstairs on his computer with his friend Jon. Amy and I sat chatting for the evening, eventually sending Megan to bed around 10pm. I don’t honestly remember what we chatted about but I know it mostly revolved around Florida. Either way the evening went fast and it was gone midnight before we were heading to bed. On Wednesday we all got up and Chris was getting ready to go to work, while we were planning the first of Lily’s birthday celebrations. Unfortunately her best friend is away over her birthday (a week each side), as is my mum, so we’re really limited by what we can do and what she’ll enjoy. Instead of having a party without her friend, we decided to have a day out in half term with Ciara, then a meal out just me, Megan and Lily on her birthday, then a small party/murder mystery a week after that. Ultimately she’ll be celebrating over a period of about a month but I’m sure she won’t mind! Anyway, we booked Orange Wednesday tickets for 6 of us, meaning we only paid for 3 and then tried to book ASK for lunch but unfortunately it wasn’t open before the time we needed to leave the house. We headed off out around 11.30am and went to pick Ciara up from her house in Saxilby. We then went into Lincoln and parked the car, heading to ASK for lunch. Unfortunately they claimed to have no room for us (depsite being half empty) so we headed off to Prezzo instead. I was a little upset by this as I’d converted all my Tesco vouchers into ASK vouchers, in order to save myself money and instead had to pay out full price in Prezzo and have ASK vouchers I couldn’t use. Luckily though I found a 25% off code for Prezzo on my phone and the three younger girls all ate off a kids menu that only cost £3.50 anyway.

Though it felt a bit rushed, we headed out of Prezzo and over to the Odeon. We were in plenty of time for the movie though and all settled down to watch the trailers. All of us loved the movie as we were seeing Big Hero 6 again, though it was the first time for Lily’s friend Ciara. By the time the movie ended, it was almost 4pm. We headed out to the car and then drove Ciara home. After dropping her off we were all so exhausted that we barely spoke on the way home and Liv even fell asleep. When we got back to the house the girls had to fit in their Disney task – which was dress up Disney. Amy didn’t think that Olivia had the energy to participate but as soon as my girls were dressed as princesses, she wanted to join in too. After that it was a case of basic but fast dinner for the kids, so Liv could get to bed, shortly followed by Lily and then Megan too. Amy and I spent a large part of the evening on phones/computers, barely talking as we were both tired. Eventually Chris came home from work and joined us so we put on some TV, just to chill out. First we watched Ramsay’s Kitchen Nightmares, then came Beauty & the Geek and finally we watched a ridiculous program called Virgin Coaches. It was 1am by the time we all headed to bed which was ridiculous considering how tired we had all been!

On Thursday we really did an awful lot of nothing. Amy was heading home that day but not until 4pm. However this sort of made it feel like we couldn’t do anything for the day so instead just lounged around. I don’t think any of us really minded as we were all still tired though. After lunch Megan started to get a headache and so she headed upstairs for a lie down. Eventually Amy had to leave and so Lily and I went with them to the station. There was nowhere to park at the station though and we very almost missed the train for them! Once they were safely aboard, Lily and I went to Tesco again. We bought a few bits we needed but also some things for Megan with the hope she would feel better soon. In the evening we caught up on Hunchback of Notre Dame and then the girls went to bed. I spent the evening catching up on my blog and trying to fight off tiredness that eventually led to an early night!

Friday we were all going to Meadowhall however Chris had woken in the night with a terrible sore throat and had ended up downstairs for the majority of the night. Though it woke and disturbed me at the time, it actually lead to me sleeping a little longer in the morning so I woke feeling very refreshed. At 9am I made sure the girls were up and ready, dressed and had breakfast. Mum arrived for us at 10am and all four of us set off, along with mum and my sister Pippa. We arrived at Meadowhall around 11am and agreed to go our separate ways and meet for lunch at 12.30pm. The girls, Chris and I headed for Next as both the girls had vouchers to spend and then we went next door to Primark for the bulk of their shopping. At Christmas I had bought the girls a lot of new dresses and am also making them some Disney themed ones too. As such we were only looking for cardigans, shoes, sunglasses and sunhats. Even still it took the whole hour and a half, meaning we had to rush to meet mum and Pippa for lunch. When we found them, they were ordering jacket potatoes so we found a table and then Chris and I went to get our lunch. Me, Chris and Lily all had Pizza Hut Express, while Megan had McDonalds. After lunch we nipped the shopping to the car and then went back to where we left off. We made our way all around the top level of Meadowhall, before then tackling the bottom level. Mum text to say she was done and waiting in the car but not to rush. In the end we were about another hour after that. When we got back to the car, mum drove us home and when we got there we were all exhausted again. However we needed to have dinner and watch a Disney movie so while we sat and did that, I sorted out all the clothes we’d bought.

While the girls just had a microwave pizza (Lily) and toast (Megan), Chris ordered chinese takeaway for us. I had a little but I was stuffed really fast so I left the rest for him. While we had been out that day, I’d had a parcel arrive and be left in the back garden. Turned out it was a mannequin that I’d ordered so Chris very kindly put her together for me and while I was so tempted to get using her, I was exhausted. Instead Chris went on his computer and I sorted out the clothes and suitcases with the kids. After they were in bed I went for a nice relaxing bath and then laid on the bed for a while, playing on my phone. Eventually I came downstairs and watched some TV, Chris coming downstairs to join me. We didn’t stay up late though as he hadn’t slept well the night before and he had work the next day.

Chris woke at 6am and sneaked out fairly quietly to head off to work. I managed to get straight back to sleep and it was about 8.30am before I woke again but I managed to doze until about 9.30am. Eventually I got up and got the girls ready. Mum was calling for us at 11.30am and we were all going out for lunch to celebrate my sister’s birthday. The morning flew by and I didn’t even have chance to get a cup of tea. In the end I grabbed a can of diet pepsi as we left the house and then mum drove us all to Scunthorpe to meet with my brother and his girlfriend. We then headed out to a pub in pretty much the middle of nowhere, where we almost enjoyed a lunch together. Afterwards my brother and his girlfriend headed off and mum had to take Pippa home. Obviously we went with her as she’d picked us up but afterwards she drove us into Gainsborough so I could pop to the Post Office and go and collect Chris’ contact lenses from the Opticians. We then came back to the house and mum came in for a cup of tea and a chat. She ended up staying way longer than she intended to and Chris was arriving back from work just as she was leaving. Once mum was gone and Chris was back, it was time for the girls to have dinner and Chris was going to make himself some food. I had a bit of a headache so between Chris and Megan, they made me a cup of tea and organised both girls’ dinner. Chris then sat down with his food and we spent some of the evening together, before I headed upstairs to put Lily to bed. Once she was in bed, Chris went for a bath so Megan got her homework done and I sat on my computer. Once Chris was out of the bath it was pretty much time for Megan to go to bed and so she did and then Chris and I watched TV together. I was too tired again to do anything constructive so I ended up turning off my computer and just watching TV snuggled up with Chris. In the end we headed to bed though as we were both exhausted.

Finally it was around to Sunday and none of us had to be up but it was also the last day of half term so I wanted to make the most of my time with the girls. Chris spent majority of the day upstairs on his computer but I spent the day making sure Megan had got various homework (and blog posts) done and Lily helped me tidy and sort out clothes. We had lunch and watched Monsters Inc as it was our Disney task of the day and by the time we were finished it was late in the afternoon. The girls went for a bath and then had dinner, before sorting out their room, their clothes for school and eventually getting them to bed. Chris and I spent the evening watching TV before eventually heading to bed.

It’s been a good week and I’m actually sad that half term is over. However there’s definitely something to be said about the routine of a school week and time flying by. There is now just over 5 weeks till we go to Florida and I can’t believe how fast its all going. I have so much to do still but at the same time I can’t wait!

Week 4 – Monday Round-up

January 26, 2015 by Bel

It’s been a pretty good week. I can’t quite put my finger on why, but its definitely felt it. Perhaps every week just feels better now that I’m not working! Anyway, its been a regular sort of a week – with everyone at school and at work. Monday was normal – Chris out of the door by 7.30am and me and the girls on our way to school by 8.30am. After dropping the kids off, I headed back to Gainsborough and got the weekly shop out of the way. It was probably about 11am when I got home and then I proceeded to tidy up and get some things listed on Ebay. Majority of the day was spent on my computer, until I went to pick the kids up from school. We came home and the girls went for a bath, before getting out and having dinner. Afterwards they played on Disneyland Adventures together, until bedtime. I cooked Chris Shepherd’s Pie for dinner and made sure that was ready when he got back. I spent the evening writing a blog post and then watching TV, right up until heading to bed.

Tuesday was pretty much the same start, except that I headed straight home after dropping off the girls. I listed a few more things on Ebay and then I went up to my room to sort through some t-shirts and came up with the idea of T-shirt Tuesday. I also decided to work on some t-shirts as projects, stitching them into dresses perhaps. Anyway, it was a productive sort of a day until about lunch time when I started to get a really bad stomach ache. In the end I sat on the sofa for a while with the hope it would go and when it didn’t, I went for a bath. Sadly that didn’t help much either but once I got out, I got into my PJs and just waited for Chris or the girls to come home. When the kids got back I read a bedtime story to them and Chris came home just as we were taking our group picture, so he joined in! Luckily there was still Shepherd’s Pie left for Chris to have for dinner as I wasn’t up to making anything, but I did try to get some more work done on Olivia’s dress and Chris kept me company by playing on the Xbox.

In the middle of the night, I was awake feeling unwell. I ended up playing endless Tsum Tsum and Frozen Freefall for about 3 hours, before finally falling asleep on the sofa. I woke just before my alarm went off at 7am and before I knew it, Chris was coming downstairs. Kindly he made me a cup of tea before leaving for work and the girls got ready while I just lay on the sofa. However I ended up getting ready and taking the kids to school. After that I had to call at my mum’s to drop off Megan’s iPad and help her update her SatNav. I was there till gone midday, before heading back to Gainborough, popping to Boyes for t-shirt material and then heading home. After getting some lunch, I started to work on my t-shirt. There was exciting post in the form of my Memory Maker from Disney World and then I FaceTime’d with my friend in New York, to open a belated Christmas present that he sent. At the end of the call I was beginning to feel a bit worse for wear again. I curled up on the sofa again and that was the end of my productive day. As the girls were at mum’s, I didn’t need to turn out for them so I just waited for Chris to get home. As he knew I wasn’t feeling very well, he came back with a bunch of flowers again – this time pink roses.

The evening was spent with Chris, snuggled up in front of the tv. We headed to bed fairly early as I’d obviously lost a lot of sleep the night before. I slept incredibly soundly and since Chris was at work in the morning and the kids weren’t there, I managed to sleep on until 11.30am. When I did get up, I was feeling better again. I had parcels to wrap, in order to post and it was a rush to get organised and get out of the house. I had to call at the Post Office and then at my mum’s, all before picking the girls up from school. When we got home, it was time to make dinner – Turkey and Bacon Hotpot for Chris and I, along with whatever the kids had. I then cracked on with Olivia’s cake, baking and decorating for majority of the evening – mostly with Megan’s help, at least until she had to go to bed. Eventually I had to call it a night and head to bed myself.

On Friday the girls and I got up and dressed, Chris headed out to work. I had numerous jobs to get done that morning including post office, shopping, parcel collection etc. Once all those things were done I had to head home and get some things around the house done. I had some lunch and finished off Olivia’s dress, all before heading out to pick up Amy and Liv. After letting Olivia open her birthday presents and see the cake, we settled in for the rest of the day – the girls picking to watch Peter Pan as their Disney task for the day. For dinner I made all three girls some fish fingers and chips, before eventually it was time for Olivia to go to bed. Chris arrived home from work and I made Spicy Chicken pasta for me, Chris and Amy and not long after that, Megan and Lily headed to bed too. Chris went upstairs to play on his computer and Amy and I spent the whole evening planning our Florida trip. By about midnight we were all knackered and headed to bed.

On Saturday morning, it was hard to get a lie-in. I heard the girls get up and while they were all very quiet, I heard noises every now and again, stirring me from sleep. In the end I got up and though we’d originally had a few things planned for the day, we actually did very little. The three girls dressed up in Disney fancy dress and for majority of the day they occupied themselves with various things. Amy and I spent the majority of the day just hanging out and chatting, while Chris spent time on his computer as well as going for his driving lesson. In the evening I made pizza for the girls and Boozy Beef with mushrooms (and rice) for me, Chris and Amy. Again Chris spent the evening on his computer and while Amy and I had intended to watch a movie, we never actually got around to it.

On Sunday morning, I slept a little longer but not much. The morning was fairly lazy, especially knowing Amy and Olivia were leaving at lunch time. We drove them to the train station and saw them off, popping to Asda afterwards as the girls had asked for a sandwich. We headed back home and when we got there we settled down to watch Alice in Wonderland. After that the girls had a bath and then had dinner. Once they were done, Lily played on the Xbox for a while and Megan did some blogging. When Lily was in bed, Megan went on the Xbox and she played on that till bed time too. Once they were both in bed, I tried to actually get some stuff done, but didn’t really get that far. I went for a bath and Chris kept me company, eventually swapping and having a bath himself. I went to read my book and when he got out, we both watched TV until heading to bed.

Like I said, it was a good week but for no particular reason. It was lovely to have Amy stay for the weekend, even if it does make the weekend go by so fast. Already into the next week of course and so far its been a little strange. Fingers crossed for some normality come tomorrow but I’ll let you know next week!

Megan’s Birthday

December 15, 2014 by Bel

I’m going to post later on today with my weekly round up but I felt like Megan’s birthday (and the celebrations generally) deserved a post of their own. Megan turned 10 last week and it feels like we were celebrating all week! The first sign of her birthday came on Saturday 6th, in the form of her birthday mystery party.

If you read my blog regularly, you’ll know I have been working on Megan’s party for quite some time. Not only did I agree to write her a murder mystery (without the murder) but I also ended up making four out of the eight costumes (four and a half if you count the costume my mum and I part shared). The first week in December was crazy busy – with the first 3-4 days being filled with writing the party and the rest being spent finishing off costumes that I’d been working on for weeks.

Though Lily’s didn’t quite get finished, Megan and Lily were young Anna and Elsa. I was pleased with their costumes and while I have a few additions to make, the girls were really happy to have “young” costumes, instead of the standard shop bought ones.

For Nat’s costume we had the great idea to do her costume part pink and part blue. It wasn’t quite how I pictured it but it turned out okay. Sadly Nat’s definitely didn’t get finished as it was missing sleeves, collar and the waist band. However it still gave the effect and I have promised I will finish it for her!

As Amy’s was the first I started, it was also the most finished. Missing only the collar piece, Amy’s dress for Snow White was otherwise complete. I was really pleased with it, especially the sleeves and I hope she was too!

Finally, my mum and I shared costumes. For Nat’s birthday, I had been the Evil Queen – knowing she would be the Evil Queen a week later for Megan’s. As such I was responsible for getting the cape, crown, balaclava etc. I didn’t really make any of it, except for ironing on white for the collar, to cover up the purple.

I didn’t get as much time to work on the food as I’d wanted – but we had a rough theme. There were Anna’s sandwiches, Anna and Elsa’s chocolate stack, Olaf”s carrot dip etc etc. Anything without a theme, feel under Sleeping Beauty’s bites. Megan asked if we could put blue food coloring in the lemonade and so that was our drink. As a “party bag” we bought Disney themed mugs for everyone (since everyone was a Disney character) and then placed a lottery scratch card in each. Sadly there was only one win and that was for £1. Megan’s Uncle Chris was nice enough to give it to Megan too.

The party went well and while it didn’t go quite as smoothly as I hoped, Megan and Lily enjoyed it and that was the main thing! That saw the end to Megan’s party, but certainly not the end to her celebrations.

On Thursday of last week, it was Megan’s actual birthday. Despite giving her free reign to wake me whenever she woke, it was only 6.45am when we got woken and we’re usually up at 7am anyway. Chris and I got Megan an electric keyboard, some Frozen loom bands, a Where’s Wally book and a Hidden Mickey’s book. Though it didn’t arrive until later in the day, we also got her a new set of headphones and a bag for her iPad. Lily bought Megan a Ravenclaw scarf and honestly she’s barely taken it off since.

As well as that, she got quite a lot of money from people, largely in dollars – ready for our Florida trip. I think at last check she had just over $200. On top of that she got a year’s membership to Movie Star Planet, a new dress, a novel, £20 for Next, £20 for Toys R Us, a board game and £10 in cash (I think that’s everything!!).

The day was spent at school and work but afterwards we all went out to Pizza Hut for a family meal. There was ten of us in total and actually it was really nice.

That saw the end of Megan’s birthday itself, but the celebrations still weren’t over!

On Friday night, Megan had her friend Katai over for a sleepover. Katai recently moved to Zambia, but she is back for Christmas. As such it was Megan’s one request, to have Katai over for the night and then spend the day with her on Saturday. The weekend started with popcorn, crisps, chicken strips, cheese bites and cherry coke, while watching movies. First we watched Enchanted and then The Game Plan. After that the girls went to bed. The next day we had a very chilled out morning and finally around lunch time I sent everyone upstairs to get dressed. God knows how, but it took them an hour to get ready and it was about 1.30pm before they were ready to go! We headed over to Lincoln with the plan to get dinner and then go bowling, but in the end it didn’t work out that way.

We went to a pub called Woodcocks for lunch and even though it was 2pm, the pub was still incredibly busy. It took an hour to get food and then because we ordered dessert too, it took almost two hours in total. When we eventually left, we went over to my mum’s for a little while, just so Megan could have longer with Katai. However we headed back after that, dropping off Katai on the way home. This officially saw the end to Megan’s birthday celebrations and now we’re moving on to Christmas! I can’t believe its only a week and a half away now!

Week 48 – Monday Round-up

December 1, 2014 by Bel

Once again I haven’t kept up with my round-up post this week, so I’m going to make it a quickie. As you’ll have seen, I haven’t been very active on my blog this week and that’s because I’m still super busy making costumes and writing a mystery party – not to mention organising the Murder Mystery party we had on Saturday just gone. I know this coming week will be just as crazy so I’m hoping to get some post scheduled and not neglect my blog quite so badly this week!

Monday to Friday was work and school for everyone and honesty it dragged so much. In someways I was thankful because it meant that having so much to do, I actually felt like I had time to do it, but at the same time a week of work seemed never ending! Not only that but I started to feel sick towards the end of the week and that made everything worse!

Megan was actually off ill on the Monday and Mum had to look after her for the day. This meant that Lily didn’t end up staying for Singing Stars after school – which was nice as we all got straight home. I spent the evening working on costumes (as I did most evenings this week) and of course catching up with X Factor and I’m a Celebrity. Lily had pizza for dinner and we got to use our new Slice Sabre which I have to admit is very amusing. It comes on promotional boxes of Chicago Town Pizza and there are two different versions. There is even a game to while away the hours, once you get bored of playing with the pizza slice itself!

By Tuesday Megan was back to school again and feeling a lot better. The kids were with their dad so I was home a little earlier than usual. I spent the evening doing more dress making – this time concentrating on Nat’s Aurora dress. Wednesday was Megan’s class assembly and I got permission to be in work half an hour later, in order to go. It was a very funny assembly based on I’m a Celebrity (but I’m a Criminal) and was all about past punishments through the ages. Sadly I had to head to work afterwards but the day did feel a little shorter at least. That evening I attempted to start on Nat’s birthday cake but sadly it all went a bit wrong and I sent the cake with Chris to work the next day!

The following day was Thursday and I had Parent’s Evening after school. Mum met me there to look after the kids and I had my appointments at 4.45 and 4.55. The kids are both doing great and not a single bad word was said about either of them. I was absolutely thrilled and a very proud mum. After Parent’s Evening, the girls and I headed to Nat’s because it was her birthday. I’d bought her some Harry Potter stuff which you’ll soon find in a Hot Topic Haul additional post! We stayed for about an hour before heading home and then I spent the evening re-trying to make cake. This time it was successful though so at least I knew I was on my way in the huge process that is cake making and decorating! While waiting for the cakes to cook, I started to print out the murder mystery, ready for Saturday. Unfortunately the printers (both of them) didn’t want to play and I gave up as a bad job. I decided that buying a new one (especially in Black Friday sales), was probably the best way to go!

Friday I was so pleased to see, but at the same time I knew I’d not got as much done on costumes as I’d wanted to. Megan and I sat together and picked out some ribbons to order on Ebay before school, but then we headed off – knowing the evening would be a busy one! After work I headed into town to get a new printer and unfortunately got caught in traffic. I called my mum to get the girls from school and it was a good job I did as I was almost an hour later picking them up from her house. With my new printer, we headed back home but then decided at the last minute to head to Tesco for some icing (for the cake). While there, we had the brainwave to shop for the following day’s party while we were there and racked up a shopping bill of over £100!

That evening I started to work on my cakes and Megan made a Little Red Riding Hood to top the cake with. I also set up my new printer and got the murder mystery all printed out – killing both my new cartridges. I headed to bed at a fairly reasonable time as I’d been feeling quite rough all day and didn’t want to feel bad the next day. Unfortunately my internal body clock had me awake at 8am the next day and so I figured I’d just get up and get on with things. My voice was terribly croaky but luckily I didn’t feel too ill in myself. I wrote a list of everything I needed to do that day and then proceeded to get dressed and pop to the Post Office for some parcels and then to Boyes for a few bits of material. After that the day flew by with party preparations, cooking, cleaning and tidying – and of course Amy arriving. Everything went fairly smoothly and at about 8.30pm our Murder Mystery began. It was a fun evening and I was glad to see everyone and catch up. I didn’t drink as I was worried about feeling worse the next day but I didn’t really mind or care. It was well past midnight by the time we all headed to bed though and sadly I was awake at 8am again the next morning.

Finally it was Sunday though and the end of a long week – if not, the start of another busy one. I officially lost my voice though and spent majority of the day whispering to everyone. Funny thing – when you whisper, its almost certain people will whisper back! The whole household was whispering all day. I spent majority of the morning watching I’m a Celebrity as we had 4 episodes to catch up on. However I then had to take Amy to the station and then girls and I popped to Argos back in Gainsborough afterwards. Though I had big plans for how I would be spending the afternoon, none of it got done. I spent majority of the afternoon helping the girls finish their top secret Disney Project (all will be revealed later) and watching more I’m a Celebrity and X Factor. Afterwards I had some dinner, then a bath and finally spent the evening blogging while Chris was on his X Box. I have so much to do but being so ill I knew I needed some time out for me. However that now means I have Monday-Thursday evenings to get this mystery party sorted, not to mention all the costumes finished. It’s going to be a stressful week but fingers crossed I’ll get it all done!