What is it....

...with the weather. This morning it was peeing down and this evening it's glorious! I take the kids to nursery in summer dresses only for them to come home in winter coat and furry hat! The weekend felt like it didn't exist. Pete wasn't well, I was tired and the house was full of exciteable kids and therefore me and Pete seemed to pass each other like ships in the night. Not fun when you only have a couple weeks left to spend together. So off he went back to Gosport on Sunday night and to be honest it didn't feel as though he'd been home. Luckily this is last week of course and although we don't really know whats happening next as to when he rejoins the boat, as far as we know that's him off work now until the 13th and 14th May.

I have done a little more scrapping but really have to get to bed early tonight as it was 4am and 3am respectively that I went to bed the last two nights and that ISN'T healthy. I did manage this layout. It's pretty simple really but I love the way the photo pops off the black cardstock. Plus I really love this photo of Freya. Sorry about the flashlight getting in on the action but the light at the back of the house isn't too great. I've been working on some unfinished projects too which I hope to share over the coming week.

We did have an unexpected visitor this evening. One of the neighbours kids knocked to say there was a hedgehog asleep in our front garden and there the little fella was, rightout in the open having a snooze. It lasted just long enough for me to grab my memory card (why do I never put it back in the damned camera) and get a shot. All the commotion of the kids in the street coming over to check out what we were looking at woke him up though and he's now scuttled under some brambles (must get Pete to chop them down this weekend!).

So that's it for today really, hoping to get ontop of the housework tonight and get a little scrapping time done after the kids go off to bed.......don't think it will be that straightforward though.....it NEVER is!

Not been feeling the best the past few days. I don't know if it's extreme tiredness or what but I've had lots of dizzy spells and constant migraines. It's been a busy old week though. On Wednesday, just when i felt at my worst, I went to the school that Emily will be starting in September for a 'shared learning' experience. It was the first time that Em had been to the school and she didn't want to come home. She loved the amount of space for them to play in, lush green fields, a 'reflection' area, balance beams, monkey bars, climbing frames, slides, little houses....it was fantastic to see her run around like a loon. When we got back into the car she asked when she would be getting her new uniform. They were given a choice of bags, each with a book and an activity in. Each Monday, between now and the summer holidays, they will go in and exchange it for another at lunch times to get them used to going into school. She's already asking every day if it's time to go and change it yet.

I'm definately getting my scrapping bug back again, especially knowing that Pete will be going away again soon. I only discovered it just before he came home from his last big trip so I'm definately going to make more of the opportunity for guilt free scrapping while he's gone. It keeps my mind focused and helps me get through each day at a time.

I've kind of mixed up all the Bad Girls kits that have been sat waiting for my lust for papers to come back. I completed a layout this week though which i'll share with you.

I have scrapped this photo in a different format before but it's one of my all time faves of Emily. It's quite basic but i'm building up my confidence again so will be hacking into it all a bit more after the weekend.

I also did a couple of 7 gypsies projects. A portfolio and a file folder for recording and documenting Xmas stuff. I've not done these before but i've kept the template and I'm going to make a few more for gifts with the vast amounts of scraps that have accumulated which now fill seven pizza boxes brimming with left overs

This morning was Freya's counselling appointment. It really helps Freya to open up to someone completely neutral although I'd love her to be more open and honest about her feelings with her dad as this is now the only sticking point in the whole 'dad moving to France' saga. She was told today that it's alright to feel angry sometimes and it seemed to sink a bit more when it was coming from someone else other than me as i've been telling her this for weeks now. There is such a maturity about her now though and everyday she's changing into a young lady which has brought about a lot of other changes that are sometimes quite hard to get my head around. It still seems like only yesterday she was colouring in and now she's experimenting with make up and stuff. Scary really how fast they grow.

So this weekend will be a manic one. I've got my neice and nephew staying tomorrow night which will mean six kids in the house........nothing two large pizzas and a few disney DVD's can't solve i'm hoping. Freya has her first Stagecoach session tomorrow too. I was planning on going to Mass tomorrow evening as it's been something that i've been working up to for some time now but I don't think Pete will cope with all the kids on his own so I've managed to put off the scariness for another week at least! Hope everyone has a good weekend. X

Time flies!

Yup it's been a VERY long time from someone who promised to blog more regularly but things swing from chaotic to manic in the Farrell household and there is rarely time to chill. When that time does occasionally come along it's more a case of making the most of every minute because it never lasts long! The news that I had been dreading reared it's unwelcome face again. Pete rejoins the sub next month and goes away to sea immediately afterwards for two months, home for a month and then away for another three months. I knew it was coming but it didn't make it any easier when i heard it. In the past six years he's only had 12 months alongside in Plymouth, and that was over three years ago now. The girls have never known daddy to come home for tea after work so it's what they're used to I suppose, but having just had Pete home on leave for two weeks it's kind of spoilt them a bit and there were lots of tears when he went back to Gosport last night.

I'm trying to console myself with thinking that at least he'll be home for some of the school holidays, plus I'll have lots of scrapping time. I'm gutted that he won't be home for our birthday (especially seeing as it's the big 4-0 this year!) so I'm hoping we can do something when he gets back at the end of the year.

The past two weeks of him being home has been lovely. We had loads of plans to decorate the hallway but in the end didn't touch it. I guess I just wanted to make the use of some down time and spend it chilling as a family. We've spent a few afternoons sat down on the waterfront with the kids, splashing in the water, watching the boats, finding shells, and in Emily's case...scaring the crap out of the swans! I don't think I could ever not live by the sea, I just love it down here so much that it would be a major blow to move away. The girls shell collection in the playroom seems to get bigger every week.

So it's been a busy month. Last time I blogged it was just before Freya's 10th birthday. We had a tea party and most of the evening was spent singing along to High School Musical on the Wii and gorgeing ourselves with cake and sushi. Our easter holidays were early this year compared to a lot of the country and unfortunately it didn't coincide with Pete's leave so Easter was fairly quiet and yes, there are still eggs left (as there is EVERY year). I've also had a lot of work on which has kept me so busy.

Freya spent most of the holidays with her dad in France. It was her first chance to see him and the rest of her extended family since he moved in February and it's really done her the world of good to understand that it isn't a million miles away and actually takes less time than going up to Wigan to see all Pete's family. It's made her feel a lot happier with the situation now and if she's happy, then so am I. She's a busy girl at the moment, doing some extra work to see if it's worth trying out for the 11+ exam, keyboard lessons, school trips, football practice, choir and then this weekend she starts at Stagecoach. She's really excited about it all though. Plus she got a super new haircut this weekend which she loves. Photos are a little blurry but then I'm well out of practice at the moment, not having picked up a camera really since Xmas.

It's shocking just how quickly she is growing up. I was completely on edge when she flew out along to see her dad (although they have a chaperone to get them on and off the flight until they meet their alloted family member). She, on the other hand, thinks this makes her super cool and grown up.........

This past weekend was one to celebrate as it was mine and Pete's wedding anniversary. We managed to get all the kids elsewhere for the night and make the most of it. A gorgeous meal at Yukisan again and we really pushed the boat out. Lobster and Oysters, scallops, steak and plenty of saki! A few more drinks on the Barbican and then it was home for several nightcaps. The wierd sense of coming back to an empty house though.......and not have to listen to the girls stirring at some ungodly hour of the morning on Sunday.

I was rather stunned to be given a gorgeous present before we went out. It's unusual for Pete to be home for our anniversary and as we were having a major night of it, a present wasn't really on my mind and I certainly hadn't got one for Pete so I was choked when he gave me this beauty. I adore Amethysts and this bracelet is beautiful.

So as Pete is back to work now, it's time to get my scrapping head back on. I have played with a few things lately, mostly little projects that I can't share incase of prying eyes but I'm hoping to share a couple projects with you tomorrow. That's if I can get the playroom tidy enough tonight to fit in a new sofa bed tomorrow........i have NO idea how the thing will even fit through the door but I can only try......could mean that we have an extra sofa in the living room and just have to climb everywhere until Pete comes back at the weekend.