A post of tooooo many photos!

So, I should blog more often and then I wouldn't have to torture those who might be reading my blog with a post of 20 odd photos! Guess I took quite a few photos in the 2 weeks that Sarah and Josh were with us, though it seems I only have 1 photo of Josh! In any case, I've hardly taken any photos in the past 10 days or so.



At the moment my lovely Clement has:



Yep, chicken pox! If it wasn't for the spots, you'd never know he had it. He's super happy and not even thinking about scratching (which is a big relief to me, as Abigail had it when she was about 6m older than him and she scratched till they got infected!). So yeah, his face isn't too spotty in the above photo (taken yesterday morning) but it has about twice as many spots today - and of course tummy/back/bottom are covered! But as I say, he's not bothered - so it's nice to not have to worry about him having it, and hopefully in the next couple of days he'll not have to be "isolated" anymore either!

The past 2 weeks have been a bit of a nightmare though! Clement got ill first and then Abigail - a very nasty tummy bug that they had for 8 days! And just as they got better, Benjamin and I got it too. Benjamin only really took one day out though (as far as fever and sleeping goes) and has been full of energy whilst not feeling very well, which I don't think has benefited him overall. And as for myself, combined with being pregnant, I had like the most extreme "morning sickness" (except it was all day), for 3 days - and couldn't keep anything down! By Tuesday night (this week) I couldn't even keep water down and was feeling very weak. Thankfully I was feeling so much better the next day and quite normal by today, which is a big relief. It's not easy trying to look after 3 active children when you are feeling so ill. Peter has also had it, though a bit off and on over a period of several days. But it looks like everyone is finally over it - which is nice after being shut in the house for 2 full weeks with it all!

So, lots of photos here, mostly taken 2-3 weeks ago.


My boys playing in their tent together in the front garden. Clement is rather addicted to the outdoors - he just begs to go outside. He'll go to the door and near enough ask to go out - and gets very upset if anyone goes outside and doesn't include him! But he's still not bothered about trying to walk - I'd say rather uninterested even! He loves to walk along things holding on. But he refuses to try and walk otherwise. And outside, he just crawls all over the place. We have to secure the gate with a bungee cord, otherwise he's out and down the pavement within a matter of seconds! lol

Benjamin

There are 3 very similar photos here, which are to illustrate how I've lost my daughter to ... books! :-) She's doing very well with her reading which means she can just pick up any one of their books and read a number of words from them - and simple books, she's able to read the entire book! It's lovely to see her sitting and reading stories to her brother (mainly Benjamin who loves books too, as Clement won't sit still long enough! lol) So anyway, as you can see, her brothers are up to climbing and general wildness right next to her - but she's buried in a book!

And still, reading away in her book!

She never even noticed me with a camera (and flash!) - she's just totally taken up with her story! :-) I had rather anticipated that this would happen with her and she'd be buried in books. But I have to admit, I didn't think it would happen at only age 4! lol

A happy Clement clapping his hands

Again, the climbing my boys get up to! Benjamin tipped the pushchair over on its handle and then they both climbed up it like it was a fort or something! I think Clement thought he might be able to climb over the railing of the stairs!

the climbers

Sitting through the handle on the floor!

Benjamin and Clement looking very calm and peaceful in the car on a nice and sunny day! We had to get another car when our other one died earlier this month. It wasn't worth putting any money into it when we'd be needing a bigger car later in the year when the baby is born! So we went ahead and got a bigger one now - a 7 seater VW Sharan. The children get a lovely view while riding in it, thanks to large windows and high seats.

Abigail and Sarah in the back seats

The Saturday before Sarah and Josh left we went to Dornoch for the morning. We went to a farmer's market and a car boot sale, as well as taking them for a look inside the Cathedral there. Being an American, I have to say, it's quite neat to live only several miles down the road from a building with such lovely architecture!

Some of the ceilings (I'm sure there are proper names for such structures like these, but I'm ignorant!)

Sarah next to the big organ

Josh taking a photo of something else (I think this is the only photo I've got of him from his visit!).

Outside of Dornoch Cathedral

Dornoch Castle (hotel)

Some buildings along the road in Dornoch

I wanted to attempt to get a photo of the view I have from my kitchen window (though this was taken with the zoom on my camera, so my window is a few more feet away from the back fence!). Anyway, yes there are clusters of trees/bushes there, but if you look closely between the branches you'll see blue! And no, it's not the sky (though we are on a bit of a hill) - it's water! The Dornoch Firth. I love to be able to have a "sea view" from my house windows

Tarbat Ness Lighthouse, which is about 8 miles or so from here

OK, so not a scenic photo - probably boring to anyone but me! :-) This was Abigail and Benjamin's "art project" yesterday! However, it wasn't exactly their combined efforts - Abigail did one half and Benjamin did the other. Any guess who did the orderly/coordinated side and who did the more "freestyle" one? Yep, Benjamin makes sure everything is done just right! So he can make a work of art out of just about anything. Though this was a rather temporary one, as the clothes pegs soon were all put in use hanging clothes outside!

I have been planning for a couple of weeks to post something about what I've been reading in connection with diet and healthy gut, etc. It started out with online reading and then I've bought a couple of books. I was thinking about it in connection with Benjamin's eczema and suspected egg allergy and overall health etc. I thought it was quite remarkable that the same week I bought a book about it, a blog that I've followed for several months now (an American lady with 3 children who have severe eczema) actually mentioned the same book! She's now trying the diet, so I'm kind of watching with keen interest to see how she gets on. It sounds very daunting and is a complete change of diet and eating ideas. And when it's hard enough to get Benjamin to eat mashed potatoes and chips(!), the idea of giving him meats and lots of vegetables seems *impossible*! Here's a link to an article which gives an overview - very thought-provoking! http://www.westonaprice.org/Gut-And-Psychology-Syndrome-GAPS.html The book is titled the same, and whilst it focuses on disorders such as Autism, she mentions allergies such as eczema and asthma as having connections with the gut too.

So, I should get to bed! This post is long enough without me saying anything more.

Clement is 1!

My darling little Clement had his first birthday yesterday (the 11th)! :-) In some ways, he seems so big that you'd have thought he was 1 long ago - yet in other ways, the year has just flown by. It has been a lovely year though, as Clement is such a delightful little boy, always happy and smiling.

So here are some photos from Saturday, when he had his cake and presents!

Presents and balloons - the balloons being Clement's favourite. As in, he couldn't really be bothered to open any presents. Though he did enjoy playing with his new toys later in the day. And there was a wee pressie for Abigail and Benjamin too - with their names written clearly on them, to prevent Benjamin opening all the ones that belonged to his brother! lol

Looking at the rocking chair full of presents and balloons!

I like balloons! :-)

This looks fun - though perhaps the road sign was more exciting than Scoop at first!

A rubbish lorry! ... which Benjamin wishes was his - though maybe he thinks all of Clement's toys should be!

A lovely blue teddy from Auntie Sarah!

He loves small animals - especially anything in the cat family, which he thinks should all meow!

Looking very grown up - in my opinion, anyway! :-)

Enjoying his toys - a couple hours after the excitement of balloons worn off!

and again

My rather lame attempt at making a duck cake! Every time I make another cake, I think how nice it would be if I learned to do it properly! Oh well - maybe when I'm a granny someday I'll have time for some classes! LOL At least the cake was very yummy, even if the decorating was poor!

Climbing out of his highchair so he could grab the flame on the candle!! Rather shaky photo as I was reaching out to stop him from burning himself!

Going for the candle again!

Holding the candle at last, which Benjamin was trying to get!

Yummm - a piece of cake!

Which Clement really enjoyed too

Monday morning (today), Benjamin and Abigail enjoying the sunshine with their Auntie Sarah! Sarah and Josh arrived on Friday last week and are here until next week (Wednesday). It's lovely to have them here and the children are really enjoying the company!

And not exactly recent, but Benjamin on the 1st of April, with some chocolate cakes that he and mummy made!

So that's all for now! I always think of plenty of things to say, but don't have the time today! So this is a mainly photo post!

Introducing....

Baby #4:

From scan today, at 12w 3d. Baby is due to join our family in October, God willing. My due date (according to scan) is the 9th, but of course babies come when they're ready! :-) I thought it was a lovely clear photo - and I *think* even Clement can recognise it's a baby by the shape of it! He gets really excited when he sees babies in real life, as well as in magazines - and he got excited and a big smile on his face when I showed him (followed by frustration for not being allowed to hold it!) and when I told him "baby" he said "babba".

But poor Benjamin was really upset to not be allowed in while I had the scan! :-( They moved to a brand new ultrasound department in the hospital and had signs everywhere (doors, desk, wall etc) saying they didn't want children in the room, etc and for a responsible adult to watch them in the waiting room. However, the new waiting room doesn't have toys like the old one did, and is tiny, with only a table full of dodgy magazines! Grrr! So he was pretty distraught to not be able to see it on the screen - but at least the printed photo was so clear.

So anyway, a long and tiring day for us all in Inverness! We had our monthly homeschool get-together from 12 to 2pm. And my scan was at 2:15 - so it worked out well to have both on the same day (meaning no extra 80 mile round-trip to Inverness!), so we just had to leave the meet up a bit early. And then did a little bit of shopping, finishing with grabbing some food and pizzas from Morrisons to pop in the oven when we got home. But leaving the house at 11am and not getting home until nearly 7pm *is* a long day! :-)

In other news, this past weekend, Abigail, Benjamin and Clement were baptised at church on the Lord's day in the evening. It was a lovely service and a very special occasion. I have to admit that I'd been feeling rather stressed about it - not sure how they would behave (especially Benjamin, who sometimes gets anxious about things and can be rather restless in the evenings). But thankfully they all behaved very well - and Clement even managed to stay in the whole service without becoming too noisy/disruptive! We are thankful for their baptism and our hope and prayer is that they would early come to trust in Christ.

Now I must try and get the dishes done, downstairs tidy, laundry, and if I'm still awake after all this, perhaps a shower before bed! :-)

Spring weather, lovely coastal walk, etc

I think this is nearly a record (certainly for this year), to be posting my 3rd blog post in the month! I wonder if I'll get another post in before the month is out! lol

Clement's idea of a snack: a nibble of a miniature Thomas train! With his brother sitting ON the table next to him! (Yes, Benjamin seems to end up climbing on top of everything - and Clement is learning the art very quickly!)

Playing his brother's guitar

Last week we had the most amazing weather - have to say I was delighted after *months* of freezing winter. It was just sooo nice to be outside in the sunshine - AND finally be able to hang clothes (and nappies!) outside and they actually get dry - or at least nearly dry.

My darling big boy enjoying the nicer weather - not even needing a coat! Though I have to say the cold/rain has returned the last couple of days - with snow in the forecast for next week! Just hope it doesn't actually happen!

On Thursday morning last week we drove a few miles down the road and went for a walk along the coast, around Ballone Castle and Rockfield Village. It was an absolutely lovely day - bright sunshine and dry.

Looking down towards Rockfield Village. You'd never know the place was there, as it was a windy single track road through farms before here, and then a steep road down to these houses, below the cliffs.

Ballone Castle, most of it is 16th century and was in ruins until fairly recent times, when it was bought by a private family and restored. I found an interesting article/interview with the owner and tells what they did: http://www.consortestate.com/article-details.aspx?artID=1073

Up close of the castle as we walked round the grounds of it

The back side of the castle as we walked down to the coast below it.

Me and my wonderful children! :-)

Wearing Clement in the Papoozle (and me looking wind-swept, as always!)

Benjamin running ahead, along the path through the gorse

Two Pied Wagtails along the rocks. I was pleased with the quality of this photo. I tried to get a photo of another bird but it was too blurry.

A lovely photo of Abigail (which is actually a bit rare, as she gets rather camera shy and ends up making funny faces most of the time!) It's just a pity I didn't know the camera was on a "night setting", meaning the lights went funny and it's a bit blurred. But I still like it!

Speaking of Abigail, I'm still finding it hard to believe that this autumn I'll have to be "officially" homeschooling her! As in, she'll be the age for compulsory education. But she thinks she should be doing "school work" all the time, every day - already! Since she's so keen, I've been doing lessons with her most days. Mainly working through a large kindergarten "yearbook"/workbook, which covers everything from practice writing, to maths and other thinking skills. It seem she has a real love for numbers and loves doing basic sums - even writing them out by herself, nearly correctly too! She's also making good progress with reading and can read a lot of words (from working through a series of reading books with her daddy). I think my instinct would be to "let children be children" for as long as is possible. As in, she will (God willing) have enough years of studying ahead of her in her life, so there's no need to start it any sooner than you have to. But as much as she loves doing it, I though I should just go with it. After all, it can only be good practice for me getting into routine of full time homeschooling! :-)

However, Benjamin has made things slightly more complicated, as he's determined that he should be doing schoolwork too! So we've ended up buying a set of workbooks for 3-5 year old, and whilst a lot of it is above him, he's doing quite well with some of the easier pages. Most of the time he's keen to follow the instructions I give him, but he's a very determined little boy and he likes to make up his own rules! Yesterday it was some snakes he was meant to be colouring red, blue, and green. And he's learned to recognise the words red, blue, green, and yellow and knows what colour they are saying. But he insisted the snakes should have green on the tip of their tail - despite seeing the word "red" - and nothing I said could talk him out of it! Or another time it was meant to be tracing over lines and he said he wanted to circle them all - and it was impossible to get him to do anything else! So perhaps him wanting to be doing lessons is actually to give me some extra lessons in patience! lol I'm just thankful that Abigail is very good at following instructions in her books and does what she's meant to. :-)

Abigail and Clement colouring a picture together! :-)

Don't think I've been up to anything much else over the past week or so. Just been researching stuff about nutrition etc and trying to improve our diet! :-) I find the subject very fascinating - though there's often too much information available, and then I wonder who is safe to believe, etc. Of course, there are a lot of people out there, and I *know* I can't trust what they say, because of clearly incorrect information that they give out. So that's a bit easy, but a lot of it is more tricky!

A lot of what I've been reading about has focused on oils - the importance of good oils, and how bad about 90% of the cooking oils are (as in, the need for cold pressed olive oil, because sunflower & vegetable oils are all processed with toxic chemicals). Anyway, I've started cooking with an extra virgin olive oil from Lidl. Whilst it doesn't say it's "cold pressed", it does say solely by mechanical means (so hopefully that means toxin-free!), and trying to give the children plenty of butter on their bread, etc (as it's animal fats like butter that are good for you).

While I was in the middle of thinking/reading about fats and oils last week, I received a phone call from my long-time friend Jeanette who wanted to tell me about Paradox Oil, which she thought might help Benjamin's eczema! I thought it was rather providential for someone to just ring and tell me about an oil, when I'd been thinking about oils in relation to health for a couple of days. :-) This Paradox Oil is a mix of Omega 3, 6 and 9 - which we all hear about being so essential for all aspects of our health! So, I ordered a bottle of it the same night and it arrived on Monday morning (very fast service from the company in Belfast!) and I've been giving Benjamin a daily dose of it since. It can only be good for him, even if it doesn't produce a miracle cure for eczema! So I'm thankful for friends who are thoughtful enough to let me know about things like this, as it looks like a good source for these oils.

But now I think I should stop rambling and get this posted! Lately I feel as if I'm just too tired to go to bed! It's as if I get to the point where I'm so tired that I can't be motivated to finish up the chores around the house so I can get to bed! Thankfully I got everything done in fairly good time tonight - but I'm sitting here blogging instead of sleeping. So think I better move. Goodnight.