Three!

Well Colin has taken our four design guys away to Farnborough Air Show so I have had a day in the office with Kate helping man the phones..as we have 3 lines in ..and just me to answer calls today!

Jamie sent me this message with a picture Of three of them....He said its his first selfie too!

Another three.. Zac's friend Sean passed his Oral exams so that's number 3 of the little crew of 4..just Zac left now and his exam is next week.

And my photo is showing the three lots of gel nails Kate did this evening.  My fingers and toes... .and now her toes.. its such a nice thing to have her do.. I was just saying to her that as your children get older you are a bit less physical with them. ...less cuddles and carrying.. and it is kind of a nice closeness to have her tend my nails..

I found this little gem the other day.. Jordan's 4th birthday.. and her cake!

Now she is making the cakes! Lisa is still holding the baby ;-)

Relaxing Me!

My Colin is good at stopping and relaxing..much better than me..I think he knows he needs it and instead of racing about he can chill and often it does involve technical things..Moto GP..Airplane programmes ..or documentaries about the wars..or big ships..

This evening we were in the office til 7.30pm catching up on all the jobs you want to have done before a few days away...then a snack tea and catch up with the girls and Pops..before the heavens opened again with sunshine and a downpour!

I must have been tired because Kate did my nails and eyebrows and I just relaxed and stopped chatting .. For once!!

..and I took these pics...

Windows : Traditional

 We always had sash windows in our house when I was a kid. I wanted them in my house but when we moved in 17 years ago they were wood and rotting and in some cases they would not open.

So we replaced them.. with PVC ones but they are sash and also open and flip so I can clean the outside from the inside.  they actually look good and from outside they could be wood.. but with so much less maintenance.

Some of you may have seen these pictures before. Kate modelling for Jordan and then Jordan photo shopping a beach scene outside.. I wish it was High Res and I would have it on my wall.

Resolutions: Family

This year is the year Kate will learn to drive..The last one in our family.... it's Colin's job here as I have done the homework, the school plays and the general 'motherly understanding' (Kate's words)

First lesson ..clutch control forward and reverse...

December Daily : Day 10

Kate's Ice Queen photo shoot at the weekend x

Tuesday..

Well I am here again. I want to share a great picture from last week.

Col and I had been on a splash and  dash week to the sun.. and how lovely that turned out to be.. warmth of an early British summer and most importantly reliably so.. Tenerife .. all inclusive relaxing and G&T before noon.. just what the doctor ordered.  I had ticked all the boxes and done as much work as possible so not too many glitches to leave for everyone so I was as happy as Col to relax.

Whilst there I had a note asking if Kate wanted to be in a photo shoot the evening we got home.. In Plymouth..which meant a drive home from Btistol Weds and then back up there for 6pm.  Of course she would be interested .. and that's what we did.. A whole bunch of girls getting their faces made up and then photographed ..to be used in a anti human trafficking promo on a specialist TV channel.

The girls were lovely and we all enjoyed the chat, the coffee and the choccy biscuits...despite a drive in horrid rain and Plymouth rush hour! This is how Kate looked .. she was happy to have this done and also happy for me to show this here ..not on Facebook though!
The idea is that the person is a human not a commodity..hence the bar code.

It was a good lesson for Kate that in modelling it may not all be big hair and posh outfits ..and I learnt that she is happy to be included here for my family blog .. xx

Tonight's picture too.. We have the fire lit again and it has brought our sitting room to life again after the summer.

Time flies! Picture heavy post!

I feel so bad for not joining into the challenge I set, I had so much to say about jobs and things and this week I love B&W pictures, Lynne's prompt was so clever.
i have added in some of my pics and hope they link in okay.

But we have just had a really busy time of it. I can't quite put my finger on what we have been doing but here I am two weeks later and no posts with news since 18th..

Soooo.. Kate got her GCSE results!  She did good.  My main aim was for her to get the C or above in Maths & English so she wouldn't have to slog away at these again once she starts the beauty course.  Well there was that B for maths in the bag last November so I was hopeful and sure enough she made the English a C and the box is ticked.   She got B equivalents in double dance and then a bunch of Cs in Science, Textiles and Childcare.  

I am a happy bunny, she had some teen angst (read boyfriend troubles) all through the exams so it must have been her coursework which pulled her through (not like in our day when it meant you had to 'pass' exams and wrote til your arm ached essays for about three hours at a time)

She is fun.. the other day she was saying that we should have a mother / daughter tattoo! So I go along and chat about it, no intention really...but as we left for her results i threw into conversation that the tattoo was a Go if she got an A .. now you have to realise I know how much she studies and my skin is safe!But she did get an A* in one piece of Childcare, I think coursework, but for me it shows that if she ever did want to turn on the exam ability then she does have it.

For now though she has 4 different jobs.. working at the Chinese, the Chippy, an Avon round and a few nights at the Indian which is next to the Chinese.. anyone in her town will definitely look twice when she pops up at the next eatery! She has a good work ethic and will never go without, I am content.

..these pictures of her prom day really do look different in B&W.. I had to use the 'overexposed' edit on my phone so it makes them quite extreme!






We have had the girls over quite a bit, April does a great job entertaining them, home made play dough, gardening, little sleeping beds for Joey the cat (who they were both terrified of a couple of months ago!)

Jordan has done her bit, she is baking Auntie!  Lyla is turning very funny while Lilly is quite mature and takes the big sister (disapproving sometimes) role quiet seriously!







We have eaten outside quite a bit and the kitchen is close (we had a bit of a glitch with the adjustment needing a fresh eye ) and Col just needs to do the plumbing in for me..






oh and here is an alternative August Mount View.. I was down there one evening and they floodlit the castle so this is another sad phone shot!

Just to keep it posted and up to date.. this is the local paper bit about Jordan and her pals..note that she has already inherited the Jones trait of 'relevant information / BS' as her A in Fine Art was an AS and she left out mention of her less satisfying English!  She will go far in sales and blarney xxxx


Lastly these shots of Col & his dad with Annabelle one evening when we had the girls over.. again a not great effect mode on my phone as I have no PC indoors to tweak pics on at the moment!

.. definitely a different viewpoint when you look at the two pictures Lynne x

Mornings..

Ross should be a Gemini! Come the morning he is either dead miserable, taking a good while to 'come to', we call him Cornflake Man, you know the one who is like a caveman growing more like us as he eats his Kelloggs... or he is so perky he makes you want to lamp him!

I came down yesterday morning and he was on perky mode; to be fair he has been this way since he started his school job, it is a half hour drive in and he likes to be on time, so he gets going early...unlike the rest of us..urghhh,especially when you have had a late night over the weekend! Kate in particular isn't great in the mornings, school days especially, so tMonday she was chasing Ross about giving him grief for being so awake!

Famous for her dry sense of humour Kate observed as she was eating breakfast..

'if Monday were a pair of shoes it would be a pair of Crocs!' 

(Now I know they are very light, very versatile and an addiction once you have some..I may have alienated myself from half my 'readers'  but you have to admit it was funny!,)

I think they take after me, I never was a morning person, always got in trouble with Mum for saying some of the words you shouldn't say when we overslept and I was grumpy!

This morning I woke early, unusual for me, but it was a lovely morning, lovely enough to take this picture across the yard..I made a coffee and went back to bed for half an hour, suddenly I get why people like waking early.

This is the view from my other bedroom window, down into the extension. Concrete for the slab arrives Thursday and you can just see the utility around the corner..can't wait.. well, yes I can.. that's something I have learnt about myself., that whilst I feel nervous and excited about something and think that maybe I just can't do it, (childbirth, moving homes, dentist, anything which gives you that unknown pit-in-your-stomach kind of feeling), but when the time draws very close a kind of composure sets in and I can !!!                                                                        

                    

The story of the maths exam and the fake baby!

Our Kate finishes school this year and we will be happy for her. She hasn't enjoyed it much at secondary school, not that many of our children have. I think we have treated them all honestly and pretty fairly in a grown-up kind of way and the herding around and being spoken to in a nice but patronising kind of way hasn't really cut the mustard with them.   They have all done okay when exam results have been turned in, but somehow I think they should have enjoyed it more and come away more often excited by what they had learnt and wanting more.  I'm not sure if it says more about us as parents, our kids or the school system.. but hey..

Anyway, yesterday Kate got her GCSE results for the Maths exams they took in November. The idea was that they take it early with a chance to retake in the summer if they wished, but pssibly being able to finish with Maths now and have a good result under the belt almost a year early... so she set off hoping for a 'B' but expecting a 'C' .. she text me at 9.30 and I was braced for the 'C' .. and this is what I got..

    .................' Got a 'B' : Xxxxx'

                                     I was so so so made up for her!

This evening she told me that she can choose now between extra revision on weaker subjects (but maybe subjects she isn't very keen on) .. or she can do more maths (maybe the last proper maths she will ever be taught) and even try for a better grade at retake.. oh whichever, the B is in the bag and I am so happy for her.. it will, as Zac says, look good on a CV and for me, most importantly it might just give her the confidence to realise she can Do It!

As part of her Childcare course Kate is minding what I have been calling 'the fake baby'. It is a strange thing, a fairly heavy baby doll which cries at will and need to be handled gently and you can do things to stop it crying, like 'feed' it, change its nappy, keep it comfortable.. so tonight I am babysitting whilst she works!  (If my calculation is right and true to babies the world over it will sleep all evening and be awake at 2am.. when I will be fast asleep!)

I know it's not in the spirit of the thing to do it for her but hey I wouldn't do it if she wanted to go to a party!  I am a sucker for a baby I guess... but it is kind of surreal especially since we will have a new real live baby on Tuesday...we are all finding it kind of strange knowing the day the baby will come, not having any previous experience of a c-section, but so long as it is all okay.

Colin however is mortified, not least of all when his Dad and a pal came in for some supper. He told me to put it away, in a drawer or something... yeah right!  And who explains that...apparently it has some sensors so can tell the way you handle it and stuff..or so they say til she takes it back and we've both been 'had'!    So as they came in for supper the thing was crying and I was cradling it in a bundle!  Add to that a need for an explanation of the chrome pole in the centre of our kitchen and you can imagine the looks he gave me...well, like I said you never ever know what goes on inside four walls! ;-)  .. and after all there are ladies who have those life like baby dolls full time.. and it sure beats a puppy to clean up after!

I think he can't believe Kate volunteered for the baby, especially if there was a choice; he thinks they are really made for teens the schools think are at risk of having children too young! .. but she did and I'm rolling with it... but I have got thoughts of putting it out under Ross & April's bed so it wakes them at 2am!

Not sure any of this qualifies as a serendipity moment but after seeing everyone else getting into the art journals and stuff for our challenge I am hoping to join them, after all it's only one page a month...will keep you posted if I can get something produced through the week! x

.. I have been scrapbooking today, a small crew but very enjoyable. We have been together as a group for almost five years and it is warming to spend time together. We often chat away the first hour without even getting our papers out!

We did some nice layering layouts and I was happy because I had lots of the latest photos to include.. Holly Tree Cutting Day and Baking JB on Christmas Eve. These two layouts do need a bit more work, a little extra bling or maybe a grungeboard swirl, but who knows when they will come..so here they are for now...

365/333-7 Another chasing of tail!

Catch up time again I'm afraid. I have been busy and even writing comments has been very scarce on the ground.. sorry everyone!

Day 333 Wednesday.. planning to go away the next day, my fruit was well stewed in the red wine and then the Cointreau (which I have just discovered is a great addition to a mulled wine / punch type hottie at this time of year!! )  So I set to in the morning and made my Christmas cakes, one for us and one for Pops, all gluten free. They look good so far!!  This is the whole cake before baking!

Day 334 Thursday ..Col and I set off mid morning (after I had done a hours work, oh how it comes in just as you are leaving the office!) with Kate to go to Watford for the final photo day for the Teen model competition she was in.  Long drive but nicely interspersed with a quick MacD and a shop (in Lipsy... ohh the gorgeous dress she bought at Col's choice.. so so gorgeous!) at Cribbs.  We are kind of deprived from decent shops this far west so everyday shopping at Cribbs for some is a real treat for us girls!  Nice when we can get it!

Years ago Kate cleaned the office and the loos and joked she felt like Paris Hilton on the Simple Life and came in wearing elbow length rubber gloes holding a bucket at arms length.. ever the diva.. so we booked into the Hilton!!  Well it wasn't much more than the Premier Inn and when the guys took her bags to show us the room she was really impressed.. here she is in her room at the Hilton.. not too much debris (yet)but she had only just arrived ;-)

But this is the kind of debris the rain keeps leaving in the lane just outside our yard!

Day 335 Friday .. Col and I did some nice browsing and some actual shopping in Watford (!) while Kate had her day.. a lot of hanging about, but nmaybe that's a taster for modelling , who knows.  We went back for the catwalk bit and the 14 girls all made such an effort, looked amazing and some of the shoes were .. well, for fear of sounding like my Mum, I don't know how they walked in them!   Kate didn't make it to the last three who go to the Clothes show next week but i would not have wanted to choose either. She wasn't down hearted, just wants to do more and have something else to aim for, so that's cool. All a good experienece, she met some great girls and we took some well deserved and enjoyed time out! 

I thought she looked fab, even here at the services on the ride home!

Not much assymetry in nature to be seen on our way home but here is a Cornish hedge, the trees are always screwed to one side with the salty southwest winds which prevail (bit of geography there!)

Day 336/7  Sat / Sun.. back to normal, but a bit like in the summer. Just me and Col, Kate seeing pals and working,  Ross away seeing mates and Zac, and JB back working in St Ives.  Healthy eating back on the menu next week (JB made some fabulous breads which put paid to my good habits!)

The fruit bowl over floweth at home...

 

and for Sunday I must show the random assymetrical orchid which is still flowering ..almost two years now..xx

Oh and as for Story Telling Sunday.. I may just be out of words.. it has taken me two hours to transfer some pics to G+ to solve the storage issue for my pics!!

365/317-8 Refreshing-thoughtful

Monday was crazy as usual at Lisa's so I collected Lilly from school.  i just adore picking her up and seeing her so pleased to see me.  We bought some goodies and came back home here and she had boiled egg and soldiers, here with Jordan (who rather untrue to form said she would have one too!)

When I dropped her back and came home Jordan had started tea, lovely stir-fry and salmon.. good girl!  We had been good, on salad and stuff all day so I had a refreshing guilt free wine and soda! 

(We won't mention at this point the two, or almost three of JB's baking I have 'tested' today..she baked fab banana muffins which would double as puddings and some with sultanas which were F-A-B.. also some gingernread cupcake which I adore..!!)  My excuse is hormones and since I didn't have a rush for chocs at the weekend I must be due for some treats of the sugary kind today!  ;-)

Today I have had Kate's pals back for tea.. not very thoughtful of me to take their photos .. but maybe I made up for it by giving Lowena this copy of Dawn French's book.. she is a huge fan and is going to a book signing on Saturday,.. she smiles for England and I think she has a look of Goldie Hawn about her.. all Private Benjamin and that.. such fun too! 

A lot of thinking and pondering will go on here in the next couple of weeks as Kate has the finals of a Teen Model competition coming up at the end of the month.. how to get there (Watford!), what to wear, what to say (and not to say) at the interviews and what if.. what if.. she gets to the last three and goes to the Clothes Show on 7 December where they choose an overall winner. 

She is nervous but excited, as am I I guess, we haven't really dabbled in this much and the opportunity would be to then use the 'being in the finals' to add to her experience when applying for model jobs next year.  It is so hard to decide which way to go with it, she is young yet we need to move it forward to see if it is feasible.

I am not big on promotion of the kids, I just want them all to be happy and doing something they enjoy, but she loves this and does take a gorgeous photo... and she is very tall and lean..so, maybe it will happen.. and hey, I can maybe spend the day Christmas shopping in watford.. yay!

PS do you like my new look blog.. well slightly modified, a little redder (as is my want) and a little wider (as is my need), but it feels more bouyant and positive for a new challenge next year, or it may change again......

365/224 Gold..

.. writing in restrospect, the most golden thing on the day around here is Kate's hair... another Boardmaster's pic.. all the things a girl needs to take to her mate's so she can be sure to look perfect.... straighteners, curling tongs, extensions, tights, leggings, shorts...tops to swap cardis to borrow or lend..

She was chatting with Col last evening and I commented on how alike they were looking.. she even allowed this picture.. awhh sometimes teenagers make you go all gooey inside.. and other times... !  ;-)

365/166 Face

Well I have enjoyed already seeing some of the faces I haven't seen before (Jen.. we have a similar blonde in our house as you know.. they are such a joy.. mostly!)

My Col is due home soon, it has seemed an age since he left on Sunday lunchtime, perhaps longer because his Dad has been away too so not so much catering required here at all this week.  I kind of like that for a week now and then, but inside I think I may be a 'feeder', like my Mum used to be, always trying to give food to people when they come by..like my whole existence is justified when I am catering for people!

.. the weather has turned really grim and I need to go to get 'fridge food', so it was lovely when Col suggested picking up fish & chips on his way back...and in he just walked with them and.. for JB's test passing, celebratory Krispy Creme donuts!

(small eating interlude)

Face...couldn't really not do Kate could I?
She has been here this evening entertaining us with tales of her job at a local Chinese... a classic moment was when she said that she asked a lady from Manchester if she was from Liverpool.... (bet that went down well!) and when the Chinese guy (from Newcastle) she works for was trying to teach her to speak properly..!!

We tease her because she can be quite calm, even shy but when she's on a roll a mini version of Stacey Solomon appears..

I told her I needed some 'face' pictures so she gave me the middle two, but wouldn't be serious so I have added the first and last snaps from her photo session we had in Watford in March..

365/162 Neglected.

Our laburnum tree in the garden is losing its colour now so it looks quite neglected, but I did take a picture of it a while back when it was looking good...

.. my craft room got its make over so it is no longer neglected.. and I feel so much happier..it is a small room next to our bedroom and I see the chaos every time I pass the door. I have rationalised it a bit and the desk now has stuff I use on it..so despite Col having to go off today for his early start tomorrow I did get something out of the empty afternoon...

It was quite strange when he was leaving as he took his Dad with him, to visit his brother, so the place is really quiet today. Kate spontaneously hugged Col..(it doesn't always happen.. you know, teen girls and their Dads..sometimes they each think the other is an alien!).. but it was real nice and they cuddled so I commented I should have it in a picture.. so they posed.. just look at those eyes.. she isn't going to be neglected is she!

JB, Ross, April and I had tea late on and I am waiting now to fetch Kate from her job (did I say she had a job at the Chinese in town close by.. it pays for the evening twice what the hair salon paid in a whole day.)
I know she should be home in bed ready for school tomorrow, but hey she would be watching TV or chatting to someone on FBk if she was home, so I am cool. And if she falls asleep in a lesson its not that far from not listening is it.. I am sure you will all be frowning, but she's our last babe and I really have thrown away the parental angst and swapped it for some chilled out Mum potion!
Other news on the Kate front is that she got through to the finals of Miss FreshTeen a teen model competition under the Miss England umbrella.. so we are hoping that goes well later in the year!

Now, to the word of the day again.. 'neglected' .. well I have neglected to mention of late that our Jordan is making herself a bit of a name in the custom sunglasses world.  And what world is that?.. well she has a FaceBook and Etsy site so you can see for yourself..

http://www.facebook.com/shinebrighteyes

http://www.etsy.com/shop/ShineBrightEyes