Diamond Jubilee

Today is the first of two bank holidays for the queen's diamond jubilee.

The castle in our city was having a crown making session for kids and my sister-and-law and I were going to take our boys to it. I got to the castle a bit early and took Izzy on the playground to play for awhile before finding out that my sister-in-law couldn't make it at the last minute due to a family emergency. So it was just me and Izzy but that wasn't going to stop us from having fun!

After that we walked over to the castle for the crown making session. I didn't get a picture of him making his crown though!

Then we went into the city centre. The Early Learning Centre was having a little hunt in the shop. If you donated £1 to charity then they'd give your kid a little shopping basket and they could go around the store looking for little Happyland people. Once they collected five people they could turn them in for a goodie bag. Izzy reall had fun with it.

And there was a music festival going on in the city centre so we listened to one of the bands play and Izzy was dancing in his stroller. It was so cute!

He looks very serious here though, doesn't he?

Last night we drove through to the Whitehaven Festival so he could see the Red Arrows. It's the Royal Air Force's aerobatics team. He LOVED that. He's been talking about it ever since and laying in bed using his hand as an airplane to fly around while he was making noises. So today I bought him a little die-cast airplane. Hubby also ordered him a couple online last night. He's obsessed with things flying though. For months he's been making his cars and things fly and making the noises for it.

If it doesn't rain tomorrow then we're going to take him back thorugh to Whitehaven for the carnival. They had some rides that I think he'll really like but they were closing down for the night when we were there yesterday so he missed out. 

Five Question Friday {7}

1. What were you scared of as a kid? 

I was scared of a lot as a kid but one of my biggest fears was my parents being killed. I used to have nightmares about it when I was young and can remember a lot of them in detail to this day.

2. Do you sleep well in a hotel? 

I usually sleep fairly well. The only thing that ever causes me problems is if the bed is uncomfortable or the pillow isn't soft/fluffy enough. Otherwise, I'm not bothered about sleeping somewhere else. I'm comfortable in hotels but maybe it's because I've slept in a lot of them!

3. If you could meet any celebrity, dead or alive, who and why? 

I don't really have a celebrity that I am dying to meet so I'm not sure on this one. The first person who comes to mind is Russell Brand because he's freakin hilarious, incredibly intelligent and I imagine him being a lot of fun. But that would be in a dream world where I had the self-confidence to be comfortable and be myself around someone like that.

4. It's a hot summer day. Do you prefer to be pool side or at the beach? 

Definitely the beach. I'm not into laying by the pool and tanning. I'd either be in the pool or at the beach. But yeah, definitely prefer the beach. I think it's relaxing and rejuvinating at the same time. I love going in the water and I love laying on the beach with a good book.

5. What is your favorite summer dish? 

There's nothing I really think of as being summery. The only thing that really comes to mind is like, barbeque food and in that case, I'd say my mom's macaroni salad and potato salad. I haven't had them in like 10 years and they are both really tasty!

Izzy Says

Last night Izzy and I layed down in bed to go to sleep. 

I said, "Mommy is tired, sore and a bit burnt."

He reached over, rubbed my head, and said, "All better."

Not much going on

I've been playing a lot of Fallout 3 lately. If you aren't familiar with it, it's set 200 years after a nuclear apocalypse and you've come out of a fallout shelter into the ruins of Washington DC to try to find your dad who has run off. It's really a lot of fun sneaking around with your gun trying to scavenge and survive.

I'm used to spending most of my spare time reading so it's been a nice change just to sit with my laptop lost in my game while Izzy is sleeping.

Wednesday night Izzy and I went on a little mother/son date while Daddy was at home trying to get some coursework done. We went to McDonald's and had dinner, then we went to Asda and played with some toys and tried on some ladies summer hats! After that we stopped at the pet store to look at the gerbils, rats, guinea pigs, rabbits and fish. Talk about a fun, cheap evening!

Unfortunately, I didn't really get any decent pictures. We were having too much fun looking at and talking about the animals!

The End of My Sponsored Slim

My 3-month sponsored slim ended two weeks ago today.

We collectively lost around 250 pounds! It was an amazing journey and I ended up with some really lovely friends as well. I've just felt so honored to be a part of it all.

Last weekend we threw two fundraising parties in one day. We had a childrens party for two hours in the afternoon and it was great. We had an entertainer there playing music for the kids to dance to and to play games with them. There were loads of other games like a tombola and lucky dip. We had cake, and party bags and face painting and so much more! It was so cool. Izzy really enjoyed it and so did his cousin.

In the evening we had another party with a DJ, dancing, a silent auction, a huge raffle, sponsored waxing for the guys (funny stuff) and more. I spent three hours selling raffle tickets there. Even the staff at the club got involved with bidding in the auction and buying raffle tickets.

Next week we should have a total for how much money we've rasied. We've got it figured at somewhere between £3,000 and £4,000 ($4,800 - $6,400)! The newspaper did another article and even though Nic gave them the estimate of £3-4,000 they published "over £4,000."

Here is the article anyway:

More than £4,000 raised for stillbirth charity in memory of Alfie-Joe

By Pamela McGowan 

Last updated at 12:56, Wednesday, 09 May 2012

A Carlisle community has raised at least £4,000 for stillbirth charity Sands in memory of a baby boy.

Alfie-Joe Pattinson was stillborn just over a year ago. To commemorate the anniversary of his death friends of mum Kirsti Harrison and her partner Ashley Pattinson launched a fundraising campaign.

It culminated on Saturday with a children’s party followed by an auction night at the Railway Club in Harraby.

Organiser Nic Grierson said it was a huge success.

“We’ve raised about £4,000 but still have some more to come in. When we set out we only thought we’d get a few hundred.

“But it has just grown and grown. It’s just been amazing how much support people have given us. We’ve all been overwhelmed,” she said.

The children’s party was attended by about 50 youngsters with entertainment provided free by Glitter Cumbria. There was a disco, games, puppet show and face-painting, along with an appearance by Mickey Mouse.

The room was donated free so more money will go to the charity Sands, which supports families affected by stillbirth and miscarriage.

The auction night was also a great success, with men in the audience having body parts waxed to raise extra cash. Auction prizes included an afternoon recording a single to be released on iTunes and a signed Carlisle United shirt.

At the end of the night Kirsti released balloons in memory of her baby son.

Any items that didn’t sell will be auctioned on eBay with profits being ploughed into the total.

Other funds have come from a sponsored slim, which saw more than 20 of Kirsti’s friends together shed a total of over 19 stone.

Bikers from Hein Gericke motorbike accessory store in St Nicholas Street, off London Road, also held a memorial ride out on the anniversary of Alfie-Joe’s death and collected donations along the way.

But Nic said it is not just the money that has made a difference.

“It really has helped Kirsti and Ashley get through the first anniversary,” she said. “Kirsti has found it a real comfort that people are now talking about Alfie-Joe, saying his name.

“While we’ve been doing this we’ve realised just how many people have been touched by stillbirth or miscarriage. They have really started opening up, which is how it should be. They are still mums and dads.

“It’s great to know that all of that money is going to help other families. I just can’t believe how much of an impact this campaign has had.”

I Won a Contest!

Yesterday I won a contest that Pocky at Living Apockylypse was running! I won my own copy of My Memories Suite! I've got it all installed now and I've had a quick look at it. It seems to be a little more complicated that I was expecting so I'm going to have to have a good play with it and then I'll post some of my creations!

A big thanks to Living Apockylypse and My Memories!!!

Five Question Friday {6}

1. What advice would you give a couple getting married?

I'm awful with giving advice and hate receiving it as well! I guess my piece of advice would be, before you do it, make sure your partner is your best friend because you will need that friendship to carry you through the tough times in your marriage.

2. If you could tell your 16 year old self ONE thing, what would it be? 

Not to worry so much about everyone else and what they think of me. It's pointless and I would have had more fun if I had relaxed and just done what made me happy.

3. What do you do to keep cool in the summer? (AC, windows, fans, swimming, etc.) 

I'd love to say A/C but mostly we just use open windows and fans. If it's unbearable then I'll put a wet town around my neck or head and point a fan at myself. 

4. What did you (or your wife) crave most while pregnant? 

McDonald's cheeseburgers. Nothing else from there... just the regular cheeseburgers.

5. Who is your favorite TV mom? Why?

We don't get proper TV so I don't watch much and can't really think of one. The only TV mom that's even coming to mind is Roseanne! I always liked that show because the family reminded me of mine in a lot of ways.

Izzy Says

Izzy just built this.


Izzy: Fire!
Me: Fire?
Izzy: *holds it up and sings* Happy birthday to you, happy birthday to you!
Me: Awww!
Izzy: *blows out the "candles"*

Five Question Friday {5}

1. What did you wear to prom? Include a picture if possible. 

I have a picture somewhere but it's not on this computer and it will take me way too long to find it. But I wore a black gown with white lace-type stuff around the neck. Nicer than I made it sound!

2. Would you rather be on the biggest loser or a food eating challenge? 

Food eating challenges gross me out. And plus, I could use The Biggest Loser! I'd love to be on that show. Team Bob, please!

3. Done fave sonic drink? Refreshing summer drink? (Hey, Kristina...was that a typo, or some "done good" Southern thing?) 

I think I went to a Sonic once when I temporarily lived in Indianapolis but I can't remember it enough to tell you what my favorite drink was. Plus, I probably would have just ordered Diet Coke anyway! 

4. What was your first car, and what did you call it?

My first car was a 1985 Ford Tempo. I hated it. I had been saving money for a car since I was 13 years old (had a job since 12) and was so excited about buying my first car. But while I was away on a school trip, my dad used part of my money to buy me a the Tempo. I cried when I saw it. It was a grandma color and not at all what I wanted. This isn't the actual car I owned, but it was just like this one. My friends just called it "The Temp."

5. What's one thing your child or spouse does that sends you over the edge?

I can't actually think of anything at the moment. I think the thing that gets on my nerves the most is when Izzy whines. I can't stand whining. Funny, because I do a lot of it myself! 
 

Newspaper Article

We had another article in the newspaper today about the ride-out that the Hein Gericke bikers did for us.

Also, Izzy had run of the Hein Gericke shop on Sunday and thought it was amazing!