Today, the children all enjoyed their Easter chocolates. We all had a relaxing day together. Robert and I went on a really long walk with the dog, because the sun was out today, and it was really beautiful outside.
The girls all wore pretty dresses today, so I took the children to the park near our house for some Easter photos after church. It was very bright out, so most of them were squinting, but the pictures were pretty anyway.
Connor was determined not to let go of the little car he got for Easter, so he is still holding it in the photos.
I didn't take any individual photos of Cameron, so I have cropped his face out of a couple of the group shots, just so you can get a closer look at how adorable he is. The pictures may be small, but they still show him well.
I hope you all had a wonderful Easter and that you got to spend it with the people you love like I did.
(Please forgive the state we were in for the photos. Connor and Cameron had messy faces from having just eaten dinner, one of Isabella's pigtails was falling out, and I was having a bad hair day.)
Today is Mother's Day in the UK. Happy Mother's Day to all of the mothers out there!
My 16 year old daughter decided she wanted me to get dressed up today and go to the park so she could take photos of me. I think it was just payback for all of the times I have made her and the other kids do the same!
I actually wore a red dress too. I rarely wear red because, in general, I don't think it is a good color with my red hair and freckles. But I think it looked okay this time. The wind was blowing my hair all over the place making it look really messy, and it was really, really cold. Not to mention I did not have a red bra to wear underneath, so my black bra showed up a bit. And yes, I am very, very pale.
Before all of that though, my younger kids woke me up in bed to bring me their gifts and cards and to bring me breakfast in bed (cereal). Gabby bought me a notebook with a matching pen. Isabella bought me a little figurine of a blonde girl which had a cute saying about mothers on it, and Connor bought me the same but the figurine was of a little boy. Victoria showed up with a tiny stuffed beanie Eeyore that was wearing a dinosaur costume. I got cards from everyone.
Not one person bought me chocolates. I wonder why that is. ;)
Actually, Connor made me a little paper purse at school that had two Thornton's chocolates in it. The problem with it was that he brought it home last Wednesday and, between Wednesday and today, he ate the chocolates.
Fairy Magic Photos is giving a few people an opportunity that can't be beat! If you'd like a Fairy Magic Photo of your own, now is your chance as they are looking for 10 models for advertising. Please go to the discussion board at Fairy Magic Photos' Facebook page and let them know if you would like to be considered. Remember moms these pictures could be of your children. Or you could have a fairy photo created of you!
My husband is the artist that creates these photos, and when he decided to offer this chance, I had to share it with my readers, because these pictures are a $75 to $150 value! There are some conditions, but it's still a really great chance for a Fairy Magic photo of your own!
This is perfect for the little princess in your life!
Most of our winter has been very overcast. It’s only rarely that we are able to see the stars at night through all of the clouds which have covered the sky.
This evening, while out with her Daddy, Gabby made it clear how long it has been since she has seen the stars. The sky was clear tonight, and Gabby, Bella and Connor could see many stars in the sky. Gabby looked up at the night sky and exclaimed, “Look, Daddy! The sky has chicken pox!”
Cameron is toddling all over the place now, but usually not more than 5 steps at a time. He still prefers the speed and stability of his crawling. It isn't going to be much longer though before he'll be running around with his brothers and sisters on his little chubby legs.
This New Year's Eve had a blue moon. A blue moon only happens once every 2.75 years, but a blue moon falling on a New Year's Eve only happens once every 19 years. Even more unique, a blue moon only falls on a New Year's Eve at the turn of a decade once ever 410 years or so! So last night's blue moon was a once in a lifetime event!
I'd like to think that it means we are all going to have a wonderful year in 2010!
I asked all of my children what wild and wonderful thing they would resolve to do this year if nothing was out of their reach. Here is what they came up with:
Victoria (18 years old): I want to defy physics by growing wings and flying.
Angelica (16 years old): I want to learn how to effectively predict the future and read people's minds. I want to develop superpowers like being able to fly. I want to find a talking mouse.
Kayla (15 years old): I want o be allowed to join the police force while I'm still a teenager.
Gabriella (7 years old): I want to fight evil knights (and win).
Isabella (4 years old): I want to become a mermaid.
Connor (3 years old): I want to drive a fire engine and get a real dinosaur.
Cameron (1 years old): He's too young to choose something on his own, so I figured he'd probably like to take his first steps.
Robert: Write a blockbuster novel and make lots of money from it.
Me: Write a blockbuster novel and make lots of money from it.
We actually have more practical New Year's resolutions which are these:
Victoria:
1 - Write my book.
2 - Get fit.
3 - Join a club like archery or judo.
4 - Take dancing lessons.
Angelica:
1 - Get work experience at a veterinary hospital, farm, clinic or animal rescue shelter.
2 - Finish making my dresses.
3 - Get a part-time job.
4 - Take archery lessons.
5 - Get As in all of my classes.
6 - Find time to write stories.
7 - Find time to paint.
8 - Learn to drive.
9 - Get a microscope.
10 - "I also have 'save the world' as one of my goals, but I have mini-goals for that."
(I will stop there. Angelica actually had a list of about 50 things.)
Kayla:
1 - Visit America again.
2 - Take dance lessons.
3 - Learn to play the piano.
4 - Get horseriding lessons.
5 - Write a book.
6 - Join some sort of karate classes or self-defence classes.
7 - Find work experience ata police station.
8 - Get As in all of my exams.
9 - Get my hair restyled.
10 - Get my book published.
Gabby:
1 – Get my New Year’s pictures taken.
2 - Taste new foods.
3 - Watch new shows.
4 - Use my imagination as much as I can.
Isabella:
1 - Have my own tabby kitten.
2 - Spend more time at school, because I love my school.
3 - Get a new Christmas stocking.
4 - Get a mermaid puzzle.
Connor:
1 - Get more fire engines to play with.
2 - Get more dinosaur toys to play with.
Cameron:
Again, Cameron is too young to choose something for himself, so I'll suggest that he would like to learn how to communicate better with the rest of his family.
Robert:
1 - Spend more time writing.
2 - Save up to buy a decent graphics tablet (because mine broke).
Me:
1 - Lose the last 10 lbs to get to my goal weight.
2 - Finish my NaNoWriMo novel and edit it to get it ready to send out.
3 - Continue adding designs to my Zazzleshops and Moonduster's.
4 - De-clutter my house (one corner of a room at a time).
5 - Learn to knit. (Tried this one three years running now. Hopefully, the 3rd time is the charm!)
6 - Learn some rudimentary illustration skills to help me with my three children's stories.
7 - Finish putting together Gabby's books (from the last two years) and Bella's book.
8 - Learn some simple html skills to help make my shops more pleasing to the eye.
9 - Increase the amount of blog posts I make on my mainthree blogs.
10 - Get my new business Your Kids' Creations up and running.
2009 had a couple of good things going for it, one being all of the weight Robert and I lost over the year. But there were also some not so good things that ocurred during 2009, so I am looking forward to a much better 2010 to come.
You can see pictures of us on New Year's Eve, the last evening of 2009, here.
With the family together on New Year's Eve, it was a nice way to say goodbye to the year. The younger children had all woken up at 3:00am this morning, so they had to go to bed at their normal time rather than staying up late for the New Year, but I snuck some photos of them asleep in their beds anyway.
So here are some of the last photos taken in our family in 2009.
(Incidentally, the shirt I am wearing in this photo is one designed by Angelica and can be bought here in a variety of colors.)
Today, we all had our first visit with our dentist. We recently bought dental insurance, and we had to get registered with our new dentist by having the first visit.
On the walk over there, the children were slipping and sliding all over the place because the path was covered in ice. Kayla and I held onto Isabella’s hand to keep her from falling, and Robert held onto Gabby’s hand to keep her from slipping.
As they walked, Robert talked to Gabby about friends he had when he was a kid and things that he liked to do when he was young. She listened and asked questions and was really interested in what he had to say.
Suddenly, she said, “I can’t wait until I have children of my own! Because then I can tell them about the olden days when I was a kid too!”
Sometimes I really adore the things that my children say.
Today, while Robert and I were walking with the girls, the ground was covered in ice and very slippery. Because of this, Gabby held her daddy's hand to keep from slipping and Isabella held mine.
While we walked, Robert chatted with Gabby, telling her about his childhood and some of the adventures he had with his brother.
After a while, I heard Gabby say, "I can't wait to have children of my own! Then I can tell them all about the old days too. You know, like when I was seven!" (She is seven now.)
These kids never stop being wonderful and making me laugh!
Yesterday, still not feeling well, I walked the 3/4-mile to go pick Connor up from school while pushing Cameron in the stoller. We were out of diapers and formula, so, on the way home, I had to stop at the shops. My stomach kept cramping up badly, but I was doing okay, if moving a bit slowly. I got to the shops and went to the ATM to draw some money out. That's where everything went screwy on me.
Everything started to spin and go dark on me. I felt my legs giving way under me, but I fought it. (I had both small boys with me, so I COULD NOT pass out!) I grabbed onto the ledge at the bottom of the ATM machine to hold myself up thinking I just have to get home, then I can collapse. I turned around, leaning my back on the machine and gripping onto the stroller to hold myself up, but it was a losing battle. I couldn't see anything as everything was swirling around in front of me.
Some ladies walking towards me noticed something was wrong, asked if I was okay, and I answered "no." They helped me inside (one of the shop employees came out to help too, because I could barely stand up). One of them pushed the stroller inside and made sure Connor came in with us too. The must have gotten me a chair because, just as they let go of me and I thought I was falling, I felt a chair underneath me. I could feel sweat on my face and I was breathing hard, but I didn't feel like I was having any trouble breathing.
After about ten minutes or so of sitting, everything started to clear up. By then, the paramedics had arrived. They were going to call an ambulance, but I became steady enough to get up and walk again. Robert, because he's been home sick, came to the shops and brought our teenager who was also at home sick. She took the little ones and went to pick up my other two girls from their school. Robert stayed with me.
As my condition was improving, the paramedics agreed to let me go home. They drove me home, and did some more tests while I was there. Both at the shops and at home, my blood pressure was really, really low. Other than that, everything was fine. No fever. Blood sugars were normal and so on. They called and spoke to one of the doctors at my practice, and got me an appointment to be seen at 5:00pm (an hour later). I took a taxi there and back. My blood pressure had returned to a normal range, if still a tad on the low side. The doctor thinks I'm anemic, so I have to go in for more blood tests later this month.
Because my 1 year old and 3 year old were with me, that was one of the scariest moments I've been through. And it was so sudden!
I pretty much slept from getting home from the doctor appointment until about 6:30am this morning. Other than a splitting headache and the same tummy troubles, I feel okay today.
I was sent a free copy of the DVD "Captain Mac A. Roni - The Greatest Treasure" to review.
First off, I have to say that it is not like a Disney or Pixar movie in that it does not pull an adult's interest in, but it was created with kids in mind and attempts to teach kids about the value of love and sharing. It's a cute and simple cartoon video, and as it is aimed at children, I decided that it would only be appropriate to let my kids review it themselves.
With that in mind, I have this video to share with you. My 7 year old daughter Gabby and 4 year old daughter Bella watched the video this morning. They both enjoyed the video, but Bella had a case of shyness when I videoed her to ask what she thought of it.
Take a look at the video and listen to what they thought of it and decide for yourself whether or not it would be a good Christmas gift for your own kids. You can buy the Captain Mac.A.Roni Children's DVD here.
*I received a product for this review on behalf of the company. All opinions are solely my own. Others who may use this product or service may have different opinions.*
Cameron has been letting go and standing on his own today. Gabby mentioned yesterday that she saw him do it too.
It happens too sporadically for me to get a photo of it yet, but as soon as I'm able to, I'll share a picture of him standing on his own.
Being my youngest, I am in no rush for him to reach all these new stages of development. I am perfectly happy for him to take his time, but he seems to have other ideas.
Connor has become attached to a plastic jack-o-lantern that we had amongst our Halloween decorations. From the moment we got the decorations out (the day before Halloween), he has carried that jack-o-lantern around with him everywhere. He calls it, "my punkin."
Today, Robert caught Connor chatting with his jack-o-lantern. Then Connor put a blanket over the jack-o-lantern and pulled it off again saying, "Peek-a-boo!"
He adores it, and I have no idea how he's going to take it when we pack it away with the other Halloween decorations.
