Party of Five

Photojojo has some of the funkiest and freshest ideas for your digital photos. Suffice it to say that I save their mail shots - I delete most other stuff.
So from them this week is this - how to make colouring pages from your photos. Great for the holidays and also birthday cards and thank you cards for younger children. Although saying that I'd be pretty stoked if I got to colour myself in on a card. I'd finally get that pink and blue hair that I wanted.
Oh and how about this - making your own journals from photos and scrap paper - my kind of project again. Fototiller is going on my favourites straight away.

School holidays - a time of spending too much money in sports shops (just got back from JJB £150 lighter) and too much time infront of tv (Ben 10 - cartoon of the moment). We actually go on holiday in August to here - we consider it to be the most beautiful spot in England, you'd be churlish not to agree a little bit.

I've got out of the blogging habit, especially during July which has been busy this year. One nieces 21st, anothers wedding, Munch turning 5,making the teachers presents etc etc. Once you get out of the habit it's hard to get beck into it. Much like WW. My eating is spiralling OOC (out of control) these past 2 weeks and I need to get back to some sort of normal.

Planning for the Summer is never easy what with the weather, lack of funds, age gap of kids and stuff. Tiddly is doing tennis next week whilst Me, Munch and Pip secretly go swimming because if we told Tiddly he'd do his nut. Then we have lots of time with Papa because he's angled some down time between jobs, good old Daddy!

There is a crop in amongst it all too, but I haven't scrapped in ages. I made bags for the teachers though, that was hard work but I loved creating things out of fabric, I'd do more if I didn't have to wrestle with everything everytime and then I have to clear the dining table for tea!

Pip is doing well walking, it's second nature to him now and I've sort of figured out how he operates. He's one of lifes observers. He studies things, finds out how they work or tick or move. Then he quietly tries it out - if it's not perfect straight away he'll leave it til he's watched some more and then give it another go. Once he's got it there's no going back and he's like a total pro. I am convinced he won't speak until he's 4 and then it'll be in straight sentences.

Sometimes I wonder whether he'll ever reach the next birthday milestone, given that he's a bit of a risk taker, but he made it and it was fun.



Here he is punching his brother at his bowling birthday party. Don't you just love that sibling love?

I knew I'd be blue. But is is accurate? not sure about the tackiness but the rest of it sounds familiar.

I'm blue but now 14lb less blue than I was 7 weeks ago.

Munch learned to ride his bike at the weekend, pics when I can catch the little rascal!

What color is your soul painted? Blue Your soul is painted the color blue, which embodies the characteristics of peace, patience, understanding, health, tranquility, protection, spiritual awareness, unity, harmony, calmness, coolness, confidence, dependability, loyalty, idealism, tackiness, and wisdom. Blue is the color of the element Water, and is symbolic of the ocean, sleep, twilight, and the sky. Click Here to Take This Quiz

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Pip tolerates a haircut

I am trying to hone my face painting skills for Saturdays Fun Day

This was the boys at 4am this morning after 'I've had a nightmare' wakeups for those that can speak. They thought it was party time, I thought about ringing their necks.

not sure why I have that song in my head as it's a. old and b. not my thing music wise. I'm also not sure I should admit to liking Natasha Bedingfield, but as her music is on every beauty and cosmetic related advert on tv it's either a love or hate thing really.

We are back in the swing of things with school and gym. It's a bit sad to say that I am quite glad that the boys are back at school, but it has saved my sanity. It must drive them nuts as well being at home all day with boring Mummy and Pip who needs a 2 hour sleep at lunchtime, but I'm sure I am not the only one.

Running wise I'm struggling, but when have I ever done anything else but struggle. Sharon will tell you of the time in 1988 when she ran round the block with me when I was trying to get fit for my RAF medical (I passed medical, but failed Officer interview) when she thought she might have to dial for an ambulance such was my sorry assed state. I was 4 stone lighter then as well. Scarey huh?

I am managing to run for 6min, walk 2, run 5, walk 2, run 5, walk 2, run 2, collapse. I think being so heavy is not helping progression so I am going to stick with run 6, walk 2 three times till I have lost some weight which will be hard given I've eaten badly for much of the week. I am wondering how I can get out of going to WW on Monday, am thinking of feigning diptheria.

I did lose 2.5lb last week bringing the total up to 9.5lb so it's not all bad.

I am feeling more organised than I was, which basically means I've either used some material that has been hanging around for about 28 years, or I have done some crafting, or that I have tidied up. Seeing as you know about the bag and only 1 card has been made then I must have tidied up. Doesn't happen often but I am getting very fed up with clutter and lego. I am sure the kids think lego is a short name for lego as they hear it mostly referred to as 'bloody lego' but I am old and my tolerance is not high. No excuses. Their recklessless mess making drives me crazy, their infringement of Pip's space (his room) and their disregard for their poor aged mothers frayed nerves as they race through the house with swords or balls or knives. Again, I know I am not the only one.

We have had some lovely weekends recently, not least last weekend which was frighteningly civilised and the kids managed not to break anything of note.




When Hubby went to Windsor he actually took some nice 'scrapping' images, I was deeply impressed.






of course, I take better photos...

I am never making cauliflower and broccoli soup again, it is the rankest of the rank. Even ryvita seems attractive after eating that green goo.

Also in other other news I have moved from the couch to 5k running plan to Bob Glovers running plan as it was kinder and 2 weeks longer (I need kindness and those extra 2 weeks believe me).
Last week I ran:-

• warm up 5 min
• run 5 min
• walk 2 min
• run 5 min
• walk 2 min
• run 5 min
• ring 999 and ask for oxygen and defib.

I only managed to get to the gym once this week (Hubby said I needed a break - he doesn't understand what sort of break I need!) but ran 5 min/walk 2-3min repeated 3 times without too much discomfort. On Monday (weigh in day Have lost 8lb so far having missed last weeks session dur to choc fountain in Staffs) the plan is to:

• run 6 min
• walk 90 sec
• repeat twice more (total running 18 mins)

this should put me on 3.5k. It's a tall order though but I am finding a strict routine is working better than listening to my 'body' - my body has been lying to me about needing chocolate for 30 years - it's not going to tell me the real deal with running now after 4 weeks now is it?

just be grateful I am not allowed to take my phone in the gym so I can't take a pic of my beetroot face after all that exertion (maybe if the locker room is quiet i will give it a go on Mon)

Remind me to not touch glue from a hot glue gun. It blisters and removes skin.

The result was worth it though as it helped to transform a black plastic and very cheap (£3) Ikea chair into a still cheap chair that now looks cheerful!

pics later

• 5 min warm up


• 90sec running, 90 sec walking


• 3 min runnung, 3 min walking


• repeat

It's a great programme as it pushes you to just your limit and then lets you walk. Yesterday I could just about do it, I normally jog at 7.2kph (most pple walk faster than that) and I did that bar the last 2 minutes running where my legs felt like jelly, I had to slow to 6.9kph. But I don't feel a failure as I still completed it, albeit slowly. How can it be failure when i am hauling my lardy arse around for 30 minutes? I feel good about it and good about myself doing it - this doesn't happen very often, so pat me on the back when you see me.

Week 4 looks very scarey as I have to run for 5 minutes straight. I may repeat week 3 again if I am not happy on Friday (my last gym session of the week).

Tiddly is in biggo trouble, he logged into an online kids chat room that he is addicted to but as one of his friends. He typed out a swear word and got his friend banned for an hour. This is not good and he had been punished, but it is getting harder and harder to make him care. How do you make them care? he simply could not give a hoot. Maybe he likes the attention? who knows. I know that 8 year old boys are a tricky bunch to fathom and I'm going to have to do it twice more!! Munch is a peanut and actually saught out a maths book to complete yesterday, Tiddly used to run as far as he could from them, but little Munch, the boy who struggles to be understood, who can take a beating from a friend or brother and not moan about it, who struggles with his core words all the time who forgets them as soon as he's seen them, he actually loves numbers. Pip is a little pip, learning from his brothers, getting into all sorts of scarey scrapes considering he's only just 1 and not yet walking - his favourite being getting into places where Mummy can't reach him. Fun game that, usually played near electrical sockets during dinner preparation when I am at my most hassled. Pip loves to be read to, particularly a little book given to us by the Health Visitor which in this early reading book sheme. It's called 'I love it when...' and inside describes a few scenarios with penguin illustrations. Ok it's cute the first time, but not so much the 101st time.

Tiddly was a Lion in his class assembly - he's wearing Munchers t-shirt, much to his chagrin!

I have been going to the gym and trying to run on the treadmill whilst maintaining my eating frenzy at home, I came to the unedifying realisation that nothing is going to change unless I take drastic action. Normally I shy away from drastic action as it's all too much like hard work, but I know what has to be done I just have to knuckle down and do it.

So last night I went back to WW, a horrifying weigh in that was treated with tact and discretion and the company of a very good friend made it ok. I hate having to plan food like it was a military operation, but my problem is I eat and eat and eat, I forget what I've had and eat some more. Token efforts down the gym aren't gonna fix this Big Momma, no siree Bob.


Other triggers for action are:-

• had to take a self portrait for a online photo course I am taking and could not get one decent one, even after copious rearrangements of my form


• my niece is getting married in 10 weeks, if I want to enjoy myself without feeling like a fat bird in a fat birds dress I have to get my groove on and stop eating so much.

Hubby is supportive but busy with lots of other things, kids couldn't give a monkeys what I look like and I've run out of people to moan to.

So, here's to Day 1 of taking myself in hand.

I also plan to run 5k around our school playing field to raise money for charity, not run fast or anything but run without stopping, obviously it's an organised thing, even I do not have the chutzpah required woblle along on my own.

At the gym today I went onto week 2 of the couch-to-5k plan (I sort of did week 1 during the last 2 weeks):

• run for 90 seconds walk for 2 minutes for 20 minutes.

Sound easy? not on your life! maybe it's the bulk I am having to run with but I really suffered. The good thing is that it made me realise that I work best working to goals - lose weight for the wedding/run the 5k at school etc etc. It would have been really easy to give up or to take it really easy, but no-one ever said that running was easy, especially at the start and I am now one determined lady.

In other news....