Still alive...

Seeing as it's nearly 2 weeks since I was last seen on here, I thought I should post a few lines so my few readers don't think I've decided to quit blogging! Sorry for the lack of posts, and also sorry to anyone who's left me a comment & I've failed to respond. I am always glad to hear from you all, but the past 2.5 weeks have been quite hectic and there's lots of thing I haven't done.

The main reason for a rather difficult 2.5 weeks is that the children have been unwell (well, Benjamin in particular). Abigail was the first to get it - tiredness & a temp for a few days and then cold like symptoms - but it didn't seem to affect her that much. Benjamin got it a few days after her, with a temp for 3-4 days (once as high as 102.4F) and then he also started coughing etc once the fever left. He went off foods for about 2 weeks (really, hardly eating a drop of anything - just lots & lots of mummy's milk - which to keep a 28+lb 14mo boy from being hungry means a rather tired mummy! especially when he's not sleeping much - apart from in my arms - so that's less sleep for me too! But whenever my babies are unwell, I'm always thankful to be able to have a ready supply of something wonderfully healthy to keep their tummies full & happy!) Anyway, his coughing was really bad a lot of the time (mostly evenings/nights) and he would frequently gag and end up vomitting. As a result, any tiny bits of food I managed to get in him occasionally were usually lost. :( Anyway, by the end of nearly two weeks he seemed to finally be improving and was starting back on foods etc. - much to my relief, as I was feeling I couldn't possibly cope with many more days like that (esp since I'd now come down with a cold!). However, on Tuesday it seemed he had a turn for the worse and the cough was getting lots worse. We took him to the doctors and now he's on a course of antibiotics. I really didn't want him to have any, but since it seems he developed a chest infection and wasn't getting better, I felt it was necessary. Within 12 hours it seemed he was already improving and he's lots better now, even if his chest is still quite noisy (and nappy rash from the antiBs!). But thankfully no more bad coughing and no vomitting at all since he's been to docs, so big relief! :)

So, apart from looking after children, I haven't done a lot else! On the days that were warm & sunny we spent lots of hours outside. Benjamin is sure to always be happy if he's in the great outdoors. :) Here are some pics, taken randomly since my last post.

Playing in the garden on a particularly warm, sunny & beautiful afternoon

Riding a cow together: best friends! :)

A rather hot looking Benjamin!

A cute smile for mummy, from the opposite end of the tunnel!

At first glance you might think he's upset, but really he's laughing hysterically - they were having so much fun together!

Together again!! Colouring pictures - as you can see, they really do spend a lot of time with each other and always miss the other if one is sleeping!

Like father, like son! Benjamin wants to help with the painting .... think it would be rather messy! lol

Our little helpers - cleaning up the old chipped paint from the porch/path! And it was all their own idea too - guess they thought it looked rather a mess .... if only they had the same idea about the millions of toys, books, clothes & other items they throw all over the house! :)

Abigail showing her new hair bows

Playing with "punch ball" balloons (though the balloons didn't have a very long life!).

Well, must head for bed. Have lots to do tomorrow - will try to get something up here again before tooooo long!

Summer has arrived in Scotland!!

Yes, the title says it - summer is here! Ok, maybe only a 3 or 4 day summer, but still it's lovely & warm and just absolutely perfect weather. The sun has been shining nearly all week (I think) and the warmth just makes everything (and everyone!) come alive! :) Abigail & Benjamin have probably spent more hours outside than in! Not sure what the temps have been, but upstairs in the house it's got up to 75F, though the downstairs seems to stay quite cool most of the time.

Nothing much out of the ordinary happening - just the usual work of selling books and all that it involves. And in between book orders etc I've been spending a fair bit of time outside with the children, or nearby to keep an eye on them, and a bit of sewing too (making another skirt for Peter's mum, etc).

Yesterday was the monthly homeschool meetup in Inverness. It was nice to see everyone again and the kids got to play together with other little ones. Benjamin always has fun playing with his little friend - the boy who was born on the same day as him! :) We went through on the train, as usual. Not sure though that trains are so good for hot days - it was sooooo hot inside. The train coming back did have the windows open, but it never got going fast enough to do much good. So by the time we got back and walked home we were rather overheated! I stopped in Woolworths to get a small paddling pool for Abigail & Benjamin (in the hope that Abigail could cool down with it & stay occupied while I got the book orders packed up & post done) but she fell asleep before we even got home & slept for 2 hours! Not sure if it's some sort of illness that is making her so sleepy this week or if she has hayfever - but she seems to be falling asleep most days (and still ready to go to bed early-ish at night) - one day she just collapsed on the couch & slept for hours. She's got sore/sad looking eyes & keeps rubbing them, so I worry it's hayfever or similar allergy! :( Guess we'll have to wait & see if it continues.

So...now it's time for some photos! Probably most all of them will be outdoor shots, and all taken this week!

Always with a car/truck/train in hand! He's really into things with wheels and will spend *ages* looking at books about them!

Running in the garden - he's really getting up to speed with his walking, and very fast too!

Enjoying an ice cream on Tuesday in the hot weather.

Later on Tuesday we did some baking (changed her out of the winter dress she was wearing in the morning in the pic above!). We got a DK published Angelina Ballerina My First Cookbook from the library and it has lots of yummy treats to make. Angelina is a mouse but the book has photos of little girl's doing the baking and it's really sweet/cute - all dainty/feminine looking girls making tea-party style goodies. So we made some cupcakes!

Here's Abigail filling the cup cake papers - she started doing it *all* by herself - before I even told her what she was meant to be doing! Her stuffed cat Pilchard is closely watching her! lol :)

And the finished product! The cakes were actually very very yummy! I'd previously bought boxes of cupcake mixes for her to do (with various kiddy decorations/characters) but the cakes always tasted like paper - yuck. However, this recipe was really good and buttery! Only made 12 cakes, but really the ideal amount if you just want a quick kitchen activity with a little one. So, I'll be writing down the recipe to make another time. :)

Car in hand again! :)

Playing football in the back garden - Tuesday afternoon

Night time sky on Wednesday, I think

A funny face from Benjamin (on Thursday)

Some of you might not think this looks like Scotland (bare feet and shorts) - especially when it was nearly 6pm - but it really was that warm! Benjamin is watering some plants, with a neighbor boy looking on through the gate.

Abigail and the pool - though the water comes out of the taps *very* cold, so they weren't able to actually get in - at least not with the sun gone away by then. Maybe later today...if they wake up! Both are napping again - wonder when the sleepiness will ever go away! Well, a nap is normal for Benjamin just now - but Abigail's not done regular naps for about 5 months now!

Well, I'd better head off - need to have so lunch. Wow - a daytime post from me - might be a first! :)

Dad's Engaged!!!

Congratulations to Dad and Anna!!

Exciting news - they got engaged last night (Friday, 2 May). Some of my blog readers won't even know he was seeing anyone, so even bigger news for you! :) Anyway, no date yet for the wedding, though I'm thinking it will be sooner rather than later! ;-) Here's a photo of them below (pic taken by my sister Sarah, I think):


So now that the exciting news is out, probably no one will bother reading any further! LOL I don't actually have anything to say, as I must get to bed. But always must post a few pics of my little ones!

Here's a lovely pic of Abigail (and B in the background). Taken by Sarah when we were in Fort William last weekend.

Benjamin - isn't he beautiful?! :) He looks so grown up here - I think he looks quite like his Daddy (as a young man, rather than a baby)!

The ever climbing Benjamin - he carried Abigail's potty all around the house and finally found this ideal place to put it so he could attempt to look out the window. Poor thing - all the windows are up soooo high - and he just *loves* to look out and watch the birds. He's a bit bird crazy at the moment and would probably spend hours in a window just looking out for them!

The seedlings (and strawberry plants) which Abigail and I are growing. We've got all sorts of things growing and the warm days we've had lately are helping them to come on. At least being up on tables in the shed keeps the pests from destroying them (the back garden is *full* of slugs, snails and woodlouse - yuck!).

Peek-a-boo - can you find me?! Abigail didn't want her picture taken, so she hid behind a rose bush - the result was a very cute pic! :)

Benjamin today - sitting in a very small space!

OK, to bed I go. :)

Trip to Elgin and lots of other random photos

Seems it's been 10 days since I last posted anything here, though I'm sure no one will have even noticed my lack of blogging! ;-) Got plenty of photos to make up for it (14 to be exact!). Once again, I'm feeling sleepy (not even 9pm on this occasion - rare to have a post from me soooo early in the evening). Anyway, so probably won't be loads of paragraphs, but rather pics with a bit of ramblings below them!

Here's Abigail all cuddled up with some of her stuffed cats. Although she doesn't have naps during the day (apart from the odd time where she needs a catch up), quite frequently she likes to "have a wee rest" with various of her stuffed cats, pillows, and favourite blanket etc. She doesn't fall asleep but I think it helps her to feel more rested. :)

"Coming to get you!" says Benjamin - I think they'd spend the whole day outside if I let them. Unfortunately, I wouldn't be able to get much done in the house since I couldn't keep an eye on them, and lately we've not had *that* many days with nice weather. These photos were from a day which was both mild & sunny.

Running around outside

Smiling for her mummy :)

And my little boy also smiling for me

Benjamin showing his toy cat Pilchard his goldfish (the large fish clearly in view). Sadly however, his fish died within the next 24 hours. :( I had cleaned the tank out that evening (not removing the water, just all the plants & filter etc for cleaning) and apparently overnight the other fish attacked him. I put him in a small tank on his own as soon as I noticed it that morning, but it was too late and he died by the next morning. I think Benjamin is really missing him. He got really upset and started crying when he went to the tank the other day and kept looking at the tank saying "Bens-fei" (or something like that) which he'd always say when he spotted his own fish. It was the biggest one in the tank and very peculiar looking, so easy for him to spot. Abigail decided he could have one of her ordinary goldfish, but afraid he'd not understand since he knew when we got his fish that it was his and it looked different. Anyway, it's just a fish, but I did feel bad for Benjamin being sad about it.

A dress I made for Abigail last week. Got the pattern and both fabrics off eBay! There are some fabric stores on eBay which have good prices on their fabrics (even including postage!), so I'm glad to have finally found a source of inexpensive fabrics since the shops in Inverness can be quite expensive. Mind you, the fabric at the bottom wasn't actually cheap (it was a "fat quarter" remnant of an American fabric) but the kittens were so cute I bought it anyway and pieced it together for the bottom of the dress! :)

Elgin Cathedral, which dates back to 1224! On Monday we met Dad and the kids in Elgin. We got there at lunchtime and had a picnic in the park. It was a bit cold and windy but the sun eventually came out and it warmed up. We had a nice day together. We went round the cathedral, Biblical Gardens, Elgin Museum, and a few shops too, of course!

A family photo of us, taken in The Biblical Gardens (across from Elgin Cathedral)

Elgin Cathedral again (opposite end of it)

Abigail riding on a horse at the museum

Benjamin's turn on the same horse

I love his expression here - having a good look at a stuffed badger (in the museum)

Here is he running at me! This was taken the other night after Abigail had gone to bed. I think I was downstairs doing dishes and he wouldn't go to sleep, so he was keeping me company (or giving me more work to do, as it so happened) - he kept emptying cupboards of both food & dishes and throwing stuff in the floor everywhere. He's lots of fun, of course (as can be seen in the above photo!). :-)

OK, time for me to end this. Benjamin's still awake - guess he had too late of a nap and he keeps wanting my computer.

Sewing & A Sandy Saturday at the Seaside

It's me again, and it's not even a week since I last posted - wow! Wonder if I've ever done more than 1 post within 7 days (and to think of the many bloggers who post everyday!). Anyway, this post is rather picture-heavy (like 14 photos, I think!).

Here is Abigail modelling a dress I made for her on Friday night (she wanted her brother in the photo with her - complete with violin - and they've got quite funny expressions on their faces). Abigail was really excited when she woke up on Saturday morning to find the "bear dress" finished (I'd cut the pieces out a couple of days earlier and she didn't know I was sewing it while she slept). Anyway, I couldn't tell if the dress was going to look a bit dated (the pattern was an older Burda one that I found on eBay) but I think it's quite cute anyway. I had to hand embroidery the bear's eyes, nose & mouth, and there was elastic to put into casings in the back, etc, so not totally straight forward like some dresses - it took me about 2.5 to 3 hours in total, so not toooo bad. The pattern comes with options for shorts or trousers, so Abigail is really keen that I make Benjamin a matching outfit with the remaining fabric, but I'm not totally sure how the fabric/style would suit a little boy. Might be quite cute, but I'd probably have to make it first to see! However, I'm already starting on another dress for Abigail - another Burda pattern from eBay (this time a modern one) and fabric from eBay too. I'm sure I'll post pics of it too if I ever get round to sewing it! I've cut all the pieces out this afternoon but felt too tired to sew it tonight. Maybe tomorrow! :)

Right....sewing topic finished, now onto the "sandy Saturday at the seaside"! it was rather wet on Saturday (at least around town) so Peter suggested we go for a drive (rather than a walk, as we'd first thought of doing). He mentioned going to Portmahomack (and I thought, Yay, sand & seaside for Abigail), so I packed a lunch and off we went. We weren't sure if it would be any drier than it was here, but it turned out quite nice really. Overall, a mixture of sun & showers, but it stayed bright most of the day. So here are some photos to guide you through our outing! :)

A smiling Abigail as we begin our drive

Benjamin eating a cheesy breadstick

This is the lighthouse in Portmahomack. Benjamin fell asleep soon after we started out and Abigail dropped off too, only about 5 minutes before we got there (as seen in photo below). So we drove on to see the lighthouse while they got a few minutes more sleep. Eventually Peter & I ate our lunch while they slept, and then I fed them some food once we finished & they woke up!

Two sleeping beauties :)

A view of what's below the lighthouse

The beach in Portmahomack

How you dress when you go to the seaside in Scotland in the spring - warm coats, hats and mittens!

A funny photo with each of them looking another direction!

Thinking about heading off for an adventure on his own!

Building a sandcastle

Father & Son! :) (Peter was struggling to get Benjamin's mitten back on - Benjamin likes to pull them off the first chance he gets, using his teeth if necessary.)

They played in the sand for quite a while but eventually got too cold. So we headed off for Tain and had a wee walk around. Went in one bookshop (didn't buy anything) and then into the Blythswood charity shop, where we got a half dozen or so children's books (can never have too many of them!).

Abigail climbing down from a tall pulpit inside an ancient church in Tain

A very big oil rig that was in at Invergordon

.....and so ends the photographed adventure! It was really nice to have a relaxing day out and Abigail is still talking about the sand and the sea. :) Hopefully we'll get at least one hot day this summer where she can actually enjoy it without eventually freezing!