I'm still here!!

Oh my goodness, I can't believe how long it's been since I last blogged! 3 months!!  I wish I could say loads of things have been happening in my life since then, but sadly it's been mainly work!  We have had time for some fun though.  

Back in June, PJ was selected to represent the school district for the county trials in triple jump.  He did really well and came in 3rd place overall.  Although he didn't get a place in the county team, I am so proud of him for getting that far.  At sports day last month he also went on to win 2 silver & 2 gold medals in different athletics events. :-)

Last month hubby and I took a whole weekend off from being mum and dad and went down to Wales for a friends wedding without the kids!  I don't know if I was more worried or excited about the prospect of leaving the boys at home with my sister for a whole weekend, but when it came to it, we all had a great time.  

The wedding was beautiful and it gave me and hubs a great opportunity to really spend some time together while the boys had a blast at Chessington with my sisters.  On the Sunday, me and hubby took a stroll down the Mumbles and had some fun in the arcade at the pier.  We also stopped off for an infamous Verdi ice cream as well.

The week after the wedding was my sister's baby shower.  It was organised by our friend Sarah, who did a great job of it all.  As well as a fab cake and decorations, she had us sniffing nappies to guess the smell (luckily all chocolatey products, but we weren't too sure at first!!), using our taste buds to try and guess the baby pudding and also our artistic skills on designing a bib for the baby.  I think my sister had a great day and we are all now waiting (im)patiently for the little one to arrive!

Other than the fun and games we have been having, we have also had some appointments through for Aled.  We finally have an appointment for an ADOS test for next week with Aled.  Hopefully we will finally get the diagnosis that we need for him.  His behaviour both at home and at school has taken a turn for the worse and the tantrums and stubbornness is becoming very challenging for all involved.

Noah is set to celebrate his 4th birthday at the end of the month, so I am busy planning his Spiderman party.  He also starts full time school in September, which is something that I am both happy and sad at.  It is exciting that he is going to school full time, but at the same time, I feel sad that my baby is growing up so fast!

Well, I'm sure I have bored you enough now.  I will do my best not to leave it three months until my next update!

Jackie. x

Party Time!!

On Friday we celebrated my middle son's 5th birthday.  It's mad to think that it's been 5 whole years since he barged his way into the world 5 days before my planned c/section date!  Creating drama from the start with a prolapsed cord and being rushed into theatre for an emergency c/section, sometimes it feels like I haven't stopped with him.  Still, I wouldn't have him any other way!

On Friday my mum and sisters came round and we had a bit of a family tea party.  We bought Aled some games to go with the second hand Nintendo DS that my mother gave him.  We thought it would be funny to give him the games before the DS.  Along with the DS, my mum also gave Aled a little case to keep his games in and an embroidered t-shirt.  My sister Susan gave him a t-shirt she brought back from South Africa and my sister Helen gave him a Lego Darth Vader torch.

After some snacks, we brought out the cake.  Aled is really into the Lego Batman game at the moment, so I baked a rectangular and a round cake and hubby shaped and decorated it to look like the character Harley Quinn from the game.  Judging from Aled's face, I think hubby did a good job!!

Yesterday we had a birthday party with some of Aled's friends.  As the boys are huge fans of Lego and of Legoland, we decided to hold the party at the Legoland Hotel.  On booking, I checked what was included in the price and although at first glance, it appears quite pricey, I was surprised at just how much you get for your money.  We got 2 hours in the hotel restaurant, table decorations, a buffet for the children, party bags and the cake!  When you think about adding that all up for a standard party in a hall, you would be looking at roughly the same cost, so I thought this was fantastic value.

Having already been pleased with my choice of booking the party here, I didn't expect to be completely bowled over with what we received!!  We got up to the restaurant and was shown to our own cornered off section of the restaurant.  One of the most child friendly things that the restaurant has (other than the play area in the middle of it) is the tablecloths.  They are like a giant colouring in sheet and with crayons on the table, the kids got stuck in! 

We then let the kids head off into the play area.  They all had a great time running around and with Xbox's set up with Lego games, the boys were in their element!  Our host was always around making sure that we were happy with everything and even offered teas and coffees for the adults.  So often at children's parties the parents are forgotten, so this was a really nice touch. 

When I gave the nod, the food was brought out.  I have been to parties at soft play centres before and have never been that impressed with the spread, but this one was fantastic.  There was plenty there to eat for not just the kids, but also for the adults as well.  I had booked for 12 children but only 9 turned up, but even with 9 kids and 6 adults there was still loads left over!

After the kids had finished, we let them go back to play.  Hubby took some of them to the outside play area and they had a great time running around out there.  Before we knew it, it was time for the cake.  Our host came out with about 5 other members of staff and we all sung happy birthday to Aled.  The cake not only looked fantastic, but I can confirm that it also tasted wonderful as well!

The cake was then taken off to be cut up for the party bags, which were also provided as part of the package.  Inside the party bags, we had a Lego mini-figure and Legoland pencil, notebook and rubber.  We did add to it a little by putting in a bag of Haribo and box of raisins. 

I would like to say a huge thank you to Legoland for making my son's party such a fantastic one!  I would recommend them completely to anyone considering where to have a birthday party in the local area.  

Jackie. x

Good days and bad days

On Sunday we had a really good day and after days like yesterday and today, I think it's important to remember the good days as sometimes the bad ones take over when remembering back.

The two little ones had been invited to a third birthday party on Sunday, so I had taken the day off work to take them.  We were all looking forward to it, the boys for the party and I was looking forward to catching up with some friends I haven't seen for a while.

After finding my way to Camberley, we managed to get there with about 10 mins to spare.  That's really good for me, as no matter how much time I give myself, I normally end up getting lost and running late!  The party was the most relaxed kids party I have ever been to!  It was in a leisure centre and there were 3 staff members there to look after the kids.  I was actually able to sit and talk to my friends without having to run around after the boys or break up any fights!  The boys also seemed to be on their best behaviour.  Even at the end of the play session and they had to get their shoes on to go to the party room they did it with no fuss or tantrums!  The party continued in this manner and when it was time to go home, they came along nicely!  Wow, who's replaced my two boys!

We got home at about 3ish and found the flat empty.  Hubby had mentioned that he might go to the gym while we were out, so I didn't think much of it.  I let the boys play with the goodies in the party bags and eat some of the sweets.  I then texted hubby to let him know that we were home.  It turned out he wasn't at the gym at all, but in fact in the pub with some of his mates.  I decided then that seeing as he was out and about, we were all having a good day, it would be nice to go out for a family dinner somewhere.  We very rarely get the occasion to go out, so it would be a nice change.

I texted PJ and hubby to let them know of the plans and off we went to the nearest Harvester.  We all had a good time and the food was nice.  The service was a little slow, but that's to be expected at 4-5pm on a Sunday.  All full up, we came home and the little ones went off to bed not long after.  Once they were settled in bed, PJ, hubby and myself all settled down with a couple of beers (not PJ!), popcorn and a film.  All in all, a very good day all round!

Now, as I sit here listening to the screaming fits and arguments of the littlest two, how I wish days like Sundays could be a much more regular occurrence!

Jackie. x