Moths, child of the week and SATS!

We don't have fairies at the bottom of our garden (well not that I have seen anyway!) but the night of Sunday 3rd May we set out to see if we had any moths. The trap was set at dusk (8:30ish) and the mercury bulb gave Blackpool illuminations a run for their money!! Bright and early on Monday 4th May the 7 us us (the Savages plus a sleepover friend each for the big two) went to discover what visitors the night had brought. We had three brimstone moths and a three spotted .... on the ground near the trap (one met an untimely demise thanks to Jez's large feet! - eek) and in the trap we had

GGG

Dave had a brill time on Saturday on his Indian Cookery Course. He came home with not only dinner for Saturday, but also dinner for Sunday too!! He has all the recipes so we are looking forward to lots more currys! GGG is ginger, garlic and green chilli which is the basis for most of the recipes. Alex did really well as the meal on Saturday was quite spicey but he managed to eat it all.

On Sunday Jez had the Hampshire final for the chess challenge. He had entered 2 years ago and although he had enjoyed it there were a lot better players than him there (despite him being the school champion beating everyone else at Titchfield in the years above him!) This time he knew he was a bit better and had enough confidence to say in advance that he would really like to get through to the next round which he did winning 4 out of his 6 matches. He has a great rosette as a prize and is looking forward to the southern final now which he is quite realistically realising that he probably wont get through (but he will have a good try anyway!) There were two other boys from school both year 5's who enjoyed the day despite not getting through to the next round. I think using clocks was a big surprise for them (as it was for Jez first time he went). I hope someone takes on organising the chess at school from Bill as it would be a shame for Ben to miss out as he is a nifty little player too.

Fond Reunion

The visit to Ben went really well last night. It was lovely to see him and we had a really warm greeting. A massive hug and he even shed a tear (I don't think he was overly homesick or had missed us that much, I think he was just genuinely pleased to see us - and very tired). We had the guided tour of the site and all the facilities, played some ping pong, went on the adventure playground and bought a souvenir to bring home. Ben has spent all his money on sweets and the arcade! I am sure he must have had more sweets this week than in the last year!! I am looking forward to collecting him later and having him home again (even if it does mean we don't get out the door as early in the mornings!!!)

On the way back from the visit last night Dave dropped me off in Highlands road and I jogged home. I am so unfit that I was wheezing and spluttering by the time I got home. I measured the distance this morning and it was 0.7miles and I did it in around 7 mins. I am feeling grotty today (nothing to do with the jog) but I would still like to try and do some more running... got to get fit somehow!

The photo below was taken on Wednesday 8th April (Ben's birthday) and is the latest photo of the boys with their cousins. Sam is now taller than me (just).

Stabilize!!

Do you remember the Bee Gee's song Staying Alive? "Ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh Staying Alive, Staying Alive" Well Alex has replaced the Staying Alive with "Stabilize"! It sounds really cute.

We are off to visit Ben tonight at his residential that he has been at all week. It seemed strange that we would go and visit the eveing before he comes home but actually I am really looking forward to going and to seeing what he has been doing all week. They have had amazing weather all week with stunning sunshine and blue skies. I'm sure Ben will be shattered when he comes home tomorrow after a week of late nights and lots of activities. The week before he went away was quite manic too with badminton 3 mornings, a visit to Grandad Ian and Grandma Rogerson, a day with Nana Sue and our first trip out in the caravan. The campsite (Black Knowl) was great and the fact that it had a one way road going around it was great. The children on the site cycled round and round in circles. This was great as a motivation for Alex to want to ride his bike. He has nearly mastered it several times before but not quite. After going round a few times with me he set off by himself and with a bit of determination and encouragment from his brothers he gradually got it. By the end of the day he was cycling by himself and more importantly getting foing by himself. By the time we left he had made it all around the road without putting his feet down despite a hill (down and up!) Mind you the hill has a lot to answer for!! Alex was going down the hill quite happily when he caught his tyre on another bike and came a cropper. A kind father of 3 boys brought him back to the caravan for us carrying his bike, Alex blood pouring from his nose and alover his hands. As always it looked worse than it was (although it was quite bad!) He was very brave and it hasn't put him off getting back on his bike :)
We came back to school to some very sad news. Jodie who was a mum at the school passed away during the Easter break. She had been battling against cancer for a few years but it still came as a great shock. She has two young children who are really going to miss their mummy. She will be missed on the playground too... she was always a very cheery, smiley mum who always had a happy 'hello' for those she passed going up and down the path. I didn't know her more than to say hello to but she was a warm, personable character who brightened up the school community.

Rainy days

Well it's Bank Holiday weekend and it's raining. secretly I think this might be a good thing. We need to relax and unwind and spend some time tidying and sorting and some family time too. This morning we have been busy tidying and cleaning. We even pulled the bed out and did under the bedside cabinets which doesn't happen very often. Ben has started making his Lego model he got for his birthday. It looks like it is going to be big so goodness knows where it will go when it is done. Alex has put in his request for Spaghetti Bolognese for his birthday tomorrow (and a big birthday cake with Happy Birthday on the top!) Dave has been trying to sort the internet out for a couple of hours so that both computers work at the same time but to no avail, at the moment it is one or the other. Right I've got about 1 1/2 hours to do some work before cooking tea.

8 Weetabix!!

Yes 8... that is what Jez had for breakfast this morning! I can see our food bills going through the roof as they get older!

The boys are really excitied as their cousins arrived last night. They haven't seen them yet as they arrived at nearly 10pm but they are coming to pick them up from school tonight so there will be a lot of excitement on the playground. Also it is the last day for Jenny Antony who has taught at the school for 35 years! Yes 35 years! And the amazing thing is that she is one of the best teachers in the school, no staleness or loss of enthusiasm. She is the only teacher that I have never heard a negative word about. All other teachers manage to do something that someone doesn't like but Jenny is so docile, calm and lovely that everyone thinks she is brill. She will be doing some supply teaching which is great as the kids will miss her. On the flip sode it is a male teacher that is replacing Jenny which is going to be great for Ben in the last term of the year. It will be really interesting to see how he responds to a male and I hope he is really challenged.

Ben hasn't been chosen for the school netball team which if I am honest I am surprised about. I think probably his gender went against him as they are only allowed 2 boys per team and there were more boys who were good than girls. They have probably struggled to find the girls and had a glut of boys. Ben was upset not to be chosen and I have spoken to the teacher as she hasn't seen them play really but has gone on the other teachers recommendation. She is going to have a think about it and perhaps give Ben a trial. I don't want to be a pushy parent but it seems a shame that those who don't quite make the mark don't get to do the club at all. She wanted someone else to run another club but there isn't anyone to do it.

We have bought our bookcases for the top of the stairs from Ikea... here's hoping they are as good as they look in store!! (and easy to assemble!)

Happy Birthday to me!

Well yesterday saw me celebrating my 35th birthday! Because of the clock change the boys weren't up in time in the morning for me to open any cards before school so I saved them all to the evening. I had planned to spend the day crafting but ended up packing orders and placing orders with suppliers and I had to leave early for school as Ben's class were doing a brass concert. I did manage to start a layout in the evening which is a page for the America album and also a class for our crop. Two birds with one stone. I only have a few pages left to do for the America album and I am keen to get it finished before we go away this year so I am concentrating on it at the moment. It would be brill to get it all finished as it is will be the first album I have completely finished!! I also want to sort out all the other layouts I have done as they are all just a uddle of pages at the moment. I was thinking of an album per year so I can add the pages to the albums as I do them. I am definately in Spring Clean mode a the moment and am desperately trying to sort and clean through all the stuff whilst keeping on top of the daily chores. My theory is that if I sort more each day than is messed up then I should eventually get on top of it all!!

Mothers Day

Yes I know it was a few days ago but I haven't had 5 mins spare to add to the blog and I want to add this date so that when I do the scrapbook page I can know when it was! I have just finished a page of a different visit to Grandad Bert and I haven't got a date for it so I'm going to have to do some research to try and find out when it was! This trip we were all able to go down in one car now we have the Saphira which was fun. Grandad Bert is doing really well. He is 93 and is still completely switched on mentally. He didn't get out of the chair while we were there so I don't know how he is doing on his legs but he was all there to talk to and it was lovely to see him so happy laughing and joking. Colins sister (Sylvia) and her family popped in too (for 5 mins literally!) which was intersting as I have never met any of them. Dave's cousin seemed really nice and she has two children a little older than ours (15 and 11) and a new husband (her first husband dies a couple of years ago. The comment of the day was when she saw Dave and said "Cor you've grown!" Not surprising since she hasn't seen him since he was a teenager!!

On a different note despite the garden seriously needing attention there are some lovely sights with the Camellia in flower, the wisteria in bud and the hellibore in flower too. Might have to take some photos later.

The Savage men! Aged 93 to 5!!

4 Generations Layout. Photos from 2004 I think!!

Burn Baby Burn

Dave has had a metal barrel he got from work in the garden for a couple of months now. He got it to use as a burner for all the garden waste etc. With the hedge we took out down the bottom there was a lot of stuff waiting to go. Well this weekend we continued our sort out which culminated with the boys all having fun (and getting very smelly) burning everything. The burner worked a treat and fun was had by all. The workers of course needed sustenance so had crumpets and muffins while they worked.

We also put up the awning which was surprisingly easy to erect and is great. Jez can fill the water by himself so that will be his job when we are away. We sorted more toys through to Alex's room and although it is starting to fill up there is still space so that is brilliant. It is amazing the things the boys have played with since moving rooms and sorting the toys. Jigsaws, marble run, thomas track, lego have all been rediscovered.

Jez had a sleepover on Saturday night for Daniels birthday and while Jack and Sam snored away Daniel and Jez decided to try and stay up for 24 hours. They nearly made it but not quite finally falling asleep at 3am only to wake again at 6am. As you can imagine Jez is more than a little tired!!

I have finished my second class for the crop. I go between really loving it and not being sure about it!! We will have to see how it goes down with the ladies.

Legs Bums and Tums

Having missed body jam yesterday I gave legs bums and tums a go this morning. I very nearly didn't go as I had quite a lot of work to do but I went for it and I'm glad I did. It was a really good class. A mix of aerobics, a real heart racing section and then an abs workout on the floor. I struggled with some of it towards the end but that will give me something to work towards. So hopefully with a possible class on a Thursday or a Friday I will make it most weeks.

I have been working on classes for our crop on the 7th. I have nearly done the layout class although I have asked someone else to teach it for me (they haven't replied yet!) and I have ideas for the other class but I haven't had chance to play yet. Here is the boy layout class and there is an equivalent girl one.

Scouts

Jez had his first session at Scouts last night. He really enjoyed it making green pancakes (yuk!) and apart from a few faces that he recognised there were lots of new kids to get to know which is great. He said they were really welcoming which is brill. I stayed for a bit just to make sure he was settled and to see what they were doing. I didn't realise that they raised the Union Jack at the beginning of the meeting. It was quite a formal procedure but a great tradition to uphold. I slipped out as soon as they got started on the activities only to find Wendy Wyatt in the car park and talk to her for half an hour and then meet Trish and Phil from down the road who were doing dog training. It is such a community sometimes around here, something it would be good to foster. Ben has Cubs tonight which I am sure he will enjoy just as much and he had Matthew Webb his best friend there to show him the ropes.

Treasure Chest

I have just taken photos of Bens treasure chest finally to put on UKScrappers so I thought I would add them here to. This is a treasure chest that I made for Ben for Christmas. I am really pleased with how it turned out and Ben loves it (so much he takes it to bed with him!!)


How did I do it?

Step 1.

Ink up a clear stamp with a paint dabber. I used one of the Fancy Pants stamps and a blue dabber.



Step 2.

Once the dabber is completely dry using an ink blending tool and distress inks blend colour onto the box. I used 3 colours on the box and then I used a fourth darker brown to go round all the edges. The dabber will resist the ink so you will still see the image you stamped underneath.

Step 3.

Ink up a stamp with the dark brown distress pad (again I used a Fancy Pants one) and stamp directly to the bottom of the front of the box. Don't leave it on for too long as the ink will bleed a little into the wood.



Step 4.

Colour the grungeboard hinges and lock with the same dark brown distress pad. Add eyelets and fix in place.



Step 5.

Paint grungeboard skull and crossbones with a black dabber and glue film behind the eyes. Stick to side of box.

Step 6.

Varnish box with several coats to protect.

Naughty but nice

Well plans for dinner all went a bit awry last night as I had forgotten Jez had football and by the time we got home it would have meant a late dinner if I had cooked something. So there was only one thing to be done... no not take away! Pancakes. It was Shrove Tuesday after all. The boys had 4 each, Dave 3 and me 2. I think we will have to make more mix next year!! So as the title says naughty but nice! I don't normally give anything up for lent but I think I will try and cut back on the chocolate and sweets as I have got into a bad habit of having something nearly every evening. I'm not going to cut it out all together but definately cut back.

I am looking forward to Body Jam tomorrow. After having 3 weeks off because of being too snotty I am keen to do some exercise again. I am still a bit snotty but I'll just take some tissues and hope for the best!

Have a bad day!!

Charming! Those were the last words of Ben as he said goodbye to me today. He was in a strop because I wouldn't give him money for a snack at school. The reason he got so stressed was that he was going to take his own money and then I said he didn't have to take his own money I would give him some. Then in the car on the way to school all 3 boys played up terribly and so as a punishment they all lost their snack. Ben was not a happy camper!

Mind you he was in a strop earlier too because I had thrown his beloved Canada trainers in the bin. They had been falling apart for a while and yesterday they finally gave up the ghost and his toe was poking through the side. According to Ben they were still 'perfect' this morning!!

I think an early night is called for tonight!!

11 Today

It has become a little family tradition that on a birthday (and Christmas) the children join us in bed for the birthday celebrant to open their presents. It is great, we all snuggle up and everyone can see what is going on and what they have got. I think Jez was pleased with his pressies. He had some lights for his bike, some money, a game he had asked for the Playstation and to share with his brothers a pair of portable DVD players for the car. We really struggled to know what to buy for him this year as he is growing out of 'toys' but hasn't yet got many interests of his own that need things buying for (apart from the pc). Hopefully that will change as he starts scouts and hopefully trys some new acitivities at secondary school. We hear about his place a week from today. How exciting :D

Early Birthday

We have celebrated Jez's birthday today as he has school tomorrow and swimming after school and I am out working in the evening so we thought we would make the most of it today (apart from the presents). We went out for lunch to the Bun Penny which was really nice. The food was great but the service wasn't brill. Colin and Ann came too. Ann had made a cake for Jez and we were so stuffed from lunch that we just had that for tea.

The other thing that the boys are very excited about is that the drum kit is all assembled and ready to play. The boys enjoyed having a bash on it this afternoon. I hope it isn't too noisy for our neighbours!

New Room...

Well I am sitting here feeling rather tired but satisfied as Alex has now moved into his new room. It is a little tight between the bedroom door which goes against the wardrobe and the bed but hopefully we can leave it as it is. It is looking good although we have only transferred through a fraction of the 'stuff' and the storage space that I thought was going to be brill is rapidly filling up. We have thrown away two massive piles of books and I have two bags of clothes to go too and that's just from sorting through his shirts!! Lots more sorting to do tomorrow and the boys are desperate to have the drum kit assembled so hopefully we can do that too. It would also be good to put up the awning on the caravan to work out how that goes and I'd like to go to the kids club film and we need to sort Jez's birthday present and get Alex's passport sorted. So how much of that are we realistically going to fit into one day!!!!!

I have started to put a few bits in the caravan today, just to see what we have and haven't got. We are doing quite well for bits and bobs. Need to buy another chopping board but we have most of the other equipment we need. The boys had a great time playing out there while I sorted. They loved closing all the curtains and making it dark! I can see we are going to have fun.

Eeek... Ben has homework to do before he goes back to school and he hasn't started it yet. The beginning of the holiday was so nice and relaxed and then the last 3 days we have had a different reli visiting or doing something with the boys each day which was great but also meant we haven't got some of the things done we should have!! Never mind!

Memories

Last night I was busy painting the woodwork in Alex's room and despite Alex being in bed the house was full of sound. They were the sounds I hope to remember right into my old age when the boys are all grown and have their own families. Alex was in bed as I said singing a song to himself. Not a quiet little lullaby but a rip roaring tale. Even now I can't remember what the tale was about but he was singing his little heart out bless him. This was intermingled with the sound of laughter from downstairs. Dave and the big two were having a game of Uno Extreme and it was obviously a great game as every so often all 3 of them would burst into laughter. Hearty male laughter, it makes you smile just to think about it. I didn't know Uno could be so funny!

Well the dying of the voile curtain was a disaster, it didn't take at all. I had suspected it wouldn't take well but not at all :C On a happier note I also dyed the sofa covers (well half of them - doing the other half today) and they seem to have taken better. I am just waiting for them to dry so I can put them back on and see if the problem areas look better! While they are being done the boys are making full use of the cushions from the sofa. They make great defences for their pretend games. Alex is at this moment forging metal balls!!

Grandma Ann is taking the boys today so I am looking forward to finally finishing the decorating and getting some work done. Got kits to make up and a newsletter to write (Dave has been nagging me which I need!)

Spring has sprung?

Well yesterday really felt like the first day of spring. The air was warm, the sun was shining and the birds were singing. I managed to get the first load of washing on the line this year (I still had two loads go through the tumbler!) and it was nearly dry by the end of the day too. How exciting!!!!

Jez has nearly finished his third book of the holiday. It is the third in a series called The Shapeshifter by Ali Sparkes. We lost Jez for most of yesterday as he disappeared in his books. I remember those days... I only get to read a few pages before sleep these days, as long as I'm not too shattered by the time I get to bed. I loved reading at Jez's age too although I was more into Enid Blyton and Judy Blume!!

I asked the boys if they wanted to do anything today and the answer I got was not go out anywhere and stay here and play all day so that is what we will probably do. I might drag them down the park later if the weather is good again!!

Persistance!

Well after both boys refusing to back down I was ready for a battle of wills this morning but amazingly (and thankfully) Alex admitted that it was him who had been lying so we can get on with our holidays without any further reprisals!!

Why is it that during term time I have to nag the boys to get dressed, have breakfast and get on whereas in the holidays they do it without being asked? Both Ben and Alex were dressed and getting on with their breakfast before I came down at 8am this morning. Jez was still snuggled up in bed with a book, but it's great to see him reading again as he hasn't read as much for a while.

I've got all sorts of little jobs to do today including buying some dye to change a curtain in Alex's new room from lime green to blue. I'm also trying to decipher the agreement for the lease car. I wish they could use language that everyone understands!

Wow how easy was that!!

I can't believe that I have put off creating a blog for so long. It has taken me just 5 minutes to make this blog... now that's easy. Just got to play now and work out how to make it look pretty and how to upload images etc.

I might as well be brave and add some family news as I'm hoping to use this blog as a tool to help us keep track of what we have done as a family. We have just had a lovely day at friend's Chris and Traceys... a really scrummy lunch (lasagne) and good conversation. We haven't seen eachother for a while so plently to catch up on. The kids dissapeared as soon as we arrived and we didn't see them for the 4 hours we were there!! Well apart from Serenity their youngest (14 months) and the only girl.

The fun of the day was spoiled a little tonight when we had an incident at tea where Alex said Ben kicked him and Ben flatly denies it. Well one of them has to be lying but what do you do? We have tried to instill in them that the truth is really important and that they won't be in trouble for telling the truth. Neither would back down though and now we will have to carry this on tomorrow. If anyone has a magical solution to lying please let me know :D