We are back!

Its been an age - posting photos here, chatting to my friends, catching up ...well they say "better late than never".



Its only taken me two weeks to trawl through the 600 or so photos we have taken between us. Its hard choosing which to print, you cant print them all - nor do you want to.



For those who have been asking where the photos of the blue sky and my where my white bits are ... you have to wait. First thing first!


My Grandmother has knocked on deaths door and so far has been refused entry this week. The poor lady is clinging on to life just now, after being given the news earlier this week she wouldn't make it ... she is still here. The doctors are saying "pray"!


Sol went to see the neurosurgeon also, I think I will cover that in another post.



The cat has been to the vet (rolling eyes) AGAIN!! Well good news this time, good news for her, she is now allowed out of that tiny cage she has been in for two months. Her healing has gone way beyond what anyone expected, even though her leg is still dragging she definitely has some muscles in it now.



Sol has started playgroup, again, so to speak. Sol went to playgroup for three days before our holiday, she wasn't toilet trained so it wasn't really official if you know what I mean. WELL - our girl has done us proud and is making real efforts to keep dry now.



Before I get onto the sunny photos, and believe me there are loads I have to share this first.

It was our eldest boy, Mag's, Birthday on the 6th while we were gone. We arranged a cake for him and the girls who ran the kidzworld cooked up a surprise.



This is Mag showing off one of his cards ...



By the way, he is mad on cars.






He was unaware that we had ordered a cake and we just spent the day doing normal things you do on a birthday, swimming in the pool, relaxing ... just like we do back hone (not).

We had planned on going to a cabaret show that night, it turned out to be a really good show with some quality acts. Anyways we got there to find a table decorated for Mag just to put him in the party mood. We were served chicken in a basket with fries.



This is what Seb thought of it all, well actually it was just a long day for all. Seb fell asleep during the show and missed the whole birthday surprise for Mag.



Half way through the cabaret it was announced that there was a change to the program. The compare asked if there were any 'special people' in the audience - and got Mag up on stage.



After wards they gave Mag a cocktail called Harry Potter which was right up his street. (Mum and dad had a few cocktails too)

Empty Fridge Syndrome

We have no perishable food in the house, none! Yesterday we were fed up with having nothing nice the children decided to 'bake'.



They made TOPHATS, which to the person who doesn't know how to make them simply melted chocolate poured into the base of a paper bun case, a marshmallow added and a little smartie or jelly tot stuck on the top with a little more melted choclate.



This is Hollie and Ellis showing off their buns!






On to the topic of why we have no food .... I haven't bought any!



We are going on holiday tomorrow, and I must say out of all the holidays we have ever been on this is the one I am most looking forward to. Like you couldn't tell we were looking forward to it, we have bored everyone with our talk of escaping.



Before I start I shall express my sympathies to anyone suffering severe weather like Hurricane Gustav, or any other extreme weather.



The weather here in Northern Ireland has been down right depressing. I am not talking about miserable, I am talking months and months of heavy rain. The dry days this summer can be counted on one hand, even during those dry days it did rain at some point. I myself suffer in the cold weather, I have health problems which make my joints sore and that alone is making me down. I am not one to complain, but I tend to hibernate in the winter but this year it feels as though I have been hibernating all year.

Just now I look out of my dining room window and the sky is grey, the grass is green through all the rain, and the driveway is pretty much one giant puddle. The children are fed up as they cannot go out side and play on their lovely new garden toys that they got this year.

The only saving grace for us is that we are leaving it all behind for a couple of weeks - and for that reason we are all entirely ecstatic.

We had made many plans to go out an about this summer; meet friends, do the garden, paint the house, go cycling ... well as you can imagine they all went out of the window because of the weather (or is that a lame excuse?). I feel guilty I hadn't made more of an effort but my other half assures me that no body minded too much and it seems that no body in the house is going to hold it against me. Just as well I reckon.









Funny quotes this week



The children were talking about dieing.

Seb says "I wont die as I dont go into the kitchen"

Toni replied "Awe Seb, everyone dies once in a while".

ME! I had my hair chopped.

I am posting this so those who know me in real life or otherwise can see my new hair!

My baby started playgroup!

Well I am chocked .... for a few days my baby started playgroup. Well she did, but I dont know if she will or can stay as she is not potty trained fully yet. Thats another story I guess and it does not take away from how I felt this morning taking her.



She went in to play, no tears, in fact she did not even want to kiss me good bye!



Here she is ....





Oh - and the reason she has a red jumper in one photo is that she did start off wearing it then she decided to be sick and we had to change her into her blue top.

Bits and pieces

Random photos of our walks into the village the last couple of weeks.





This was taken from inside the little thatched cottage which is in our village - I just love all the old crockery.

okaaaayyyyyyyy - boring day today

I have to say the sun is shining down on us just now.

Today we just won another holiday!

7 whole days away in the sun with a couple of choices of destinations, and the only requirement is that we dont travel during school holidays. Well the school holiday bit is not hard as we dont do school. Now ....hmmmmm where shall we go?

Nystagmus

Nystagmus is one of Sol's eye conditions - for those who know me I thought this might be insight into what is happening with Summer.

Info reproduced with permission from Nystagmus Network, UK. www.nystagmusnet.org

Nystagmus is characterised by an involuntary movement of the eyes, which often seriously reduces vision. Many people with this condition are partially sighted; some are registered blind; few can drive a car; most encounter some difficulties in every day life - both practical and social - and some lose out on education and employment opportunities.
Depth of field vision is reduced by nystagmus with a result that sufferers may be prone to tripping or clumsiness. Co-ordination is usually adequate for most tasks, but nystagmus sufferers are unlikely to excel at sports needing good hand to eye co-ordination.
Incidence. Experts agree that nystagmus affects about one in a thousand people. One survey in Oxfordshire identified one in every 670 children by the age of two as having nystagmus. The flautist James Galway, our patron, is probably the best known person in Britain with nystagmus.
Causes. Nystagmus may be inherited or result from a sensory problem. In some cases it occurs for no known reason. It can also develop in later life, sometimes as a result of an accident or a range of illnesses, especially those affecting the motor system. You should always consult a doctor if you or a member of your family has nystagmus.
Effects. Nystagmus affects different people in different ways. While there are general patterns, good advice for one person may be inappropriate or even bad for another, especially where other eye problems are present.
Glasses or contact lenses do not correct nystagmus , although they should be worn to correct other vision problems. Nystagmus often affects the nerves behind the eye rather than the eye itself.
Nystagmus suffers are not simply 'short-sighted' . Many can and do register as partially sighted or blind. In Britain, few people with nystagmus can see well enough to drive a car.
Vision often varies during the day and is likely to be affected by emotional and physical factors such as stress, tiredness, nervousness or unfamiliar surroundings.
The angle of vision is important . Most suffers have a null point (by looking to one side or the other) where the eye movement is reduced and vision improved. Those of us with a null point will often adopt a head posture to make best use of our vision. Sitting to one side of a screen, blackboard, etc. often helps.
Small print . Many of us can read very small print if we get close enough or use a visual aid. However, the option of large print material should be available and all written matter should be clear. It is very hard to share a book with someone because it will probably be too far away or at the wrong angle.
Good Lighting is important. If in doubt get specialist advice, particularly as some sufferers are also light sensitive.
Computers are used by many people with nystagmus, who benefit from them as they can position screens to suit their own needs and adjust brightness, character size etc. However, some find it difficult to read computer screens.
Reading speed may be reduced by nystagmus because of the extra time needed to scan, but it should not be taken as a sign of poor reading.
Balance can be a problem, possibly because of poor depth perception, which can make it difficult to go up and down stairs.