Briarbank

On the 8th of November we moved into our new house! I can see why moving home is counted as one of the most stressful things in a person's life. I heard that getting divorced may even be LESS stressful. I had it in my head that because we were moving within 3 minutes walk of our old house that the process would be somehow less difficult... I'm 

certainly glad we didn't have to move City/country,I can't imagine how difficult that would be! 

Still,we're here now, and whilst it doesn't really feel like home yet, we're slowly getting through the boxes and mess to make it more pleasant to be in. 

Here's some photos of a few of the rooms to give an idea of the new pad!

There is quite a lot we want to change about it (starting with the green carpet.!) But I think it will be a slow process to begin with. 

Spring time

I feel like Spring time has finally arrived, and I think I'm really going to enjoy this one. Olivia is now properly walking and really enjoying toddling along when we're out and about, and Hannah is now much less afraid of walking on grass/coming across insects, both of which means we can enjoy the Great Outdoors a little bit more! 

Yesterday was a beautiful day in Edinburgh so we took advantage of the sunshine and went for a walk along the canal. Olivia LOVED it, as it's really the first time I've let her toddle along without holding onto her hand due to traffic, or needing to hurry somewhere. And Hannah decided that a fallen tree was an excellent place to spend the morning!

However, today the weather was back to normal - freezing Scottish rain and wind. 

We spent the afternoon making Play Doh biscuits and "baking" them, and then having a tea party. Olivia LOVED this game too. We got this tea set when Hannah wasn't much older than Olivia is now, so it was nice that she's reached the age that she can use it too.

Going back in time - here is a video of Hannah using the tea set, she was about 22 months old at this point... 

And here is Hannah and Olivia enjoying Afternoon tea today. Olivia was all about the sugar and not much tea. (Just incase you're wondering why Colin is sitting there semi-clothed, he had work to do, and claimed that the house was "roasting". I'm taking him to the doctor on Monday as there's clearly something wrong with his thermostat.) 

Rainbow cake

On Friday we had Hannah's 3rd birthday party at home. When I asked Hannah what she would like for her birthday, all she said was "CAKE!" And that's the answer she has continued to give whenever anyone has asked her. So I thought this year I should try and make a special one. (I imagine from now on, Cake won't be enough to satisfy birthday present wishes!)

A friend had recently passed on a recipe she had taken out of Making Magazine. I have to say, it was a fantastic recipe, it tasted great and wasn't really THAT complicated to make! Here are some photos of the progress.

The only problem is, we now have loads left over! And being the baker, I know how much butter and sugar went into it, so I'm a little reluctant to just sit there scoffing it. I'm sure Hannah will be happy to give me a helping hand!

Long overdue update

It has been so long since I have blogged. (October 4th was my last entry apparently!) I'm blaming a mixture of knitting projects, tiredness, getting through eight seasons of 24, and ridiculously time consuming e-learning modules since returning to work in January... However, only the tiredness remains, so I shall begin as I mean to go on and make a blog entry!

Here are some recent videos of the girls, whose personalities are becoming more and more amazing as time goes by....


Here is the girls practising the piano. Some work to go until the Young Musician competition, but they are enthusiastic at least...

Olivia is in the process of cutting out her morning nap, but some days she just can't stop herself...

Olivia has a very strange personality trait... When ever she finds a piece of string, rope, wire or in this case -- hair, she runs it through her fingers whilst making a very strange repetitive noise. I think it's hilarious, particularly when the hair is still attached to my head. As follows...

And the latest piece of news, is that Olivia has learned to both walk and crawl in the same week! She is better at the walking than the crawling, in true Armstrong style, but I'm sure with practise both will improve soon. Time to babyproof!

Baby Sophie!

This weekend, I flew down to Rugby with Hannah and Olivia. 

We went to visit these two...

Who have recently made this...!

Little baby Sophie!

Sophie is a real sweetie, she seems so tiny next to my two (although Olivia suddenly seems huge compared to this time last week!) Hannah was absolutely besotted with her, and spent lots of time giving her kisses and cuddles and doing little dances for her. Olivia was very interested, but didn't really know what she was. 

Hannah's first go at holding a baby! 

Unfortunately it was nearly impossible to get a sensible photo of the three of them where they were all looking at the camera and smiling nicely, but we certainly got some entertaining ones.  

See no evil, see no evil, speak no evil! 

Some arm flapping from the babies in the room

And to finish, a little video of Hannah spending some quality time with Sophie and Lee before we headed home. And if anyone wonders what she's saying at the beginning, she is calling Sophie "Little sausage", her new affectionate term for anything smaller than her! 

Things I've made

I've been a busy bee recently, hence the lack of blog posts since August! 
I have become quite addicted to knitting, and found inspiration in Laura Ashley a couple of months ago, where they were selling cable knit cushions for £55!!! I thought to myself "I could do that for much cheaper!" It turns out that yes, I can do it for much cheaper... but if you were to pay me by the hour it would end up costing you a LOT more than £55. Perhaps I'll get a bit faster with practice!

I made this for my mum to have in her living room, and I think it's a fairly good match! It's very satisfying to have been so productive with my evenings.

I also made this little Mary Jane shoes for 
Olivia. I got this wool from the pound shop to practice on so they are not that great quality, but it's nice to know the patterns work out well! 
Incase anyone is interested, I get my patterns from Ravelry.com . It's a website from which you can get free patterns (and some not-free ones too!) And also knitting advice and information. It's great!

And finally, a chocolate and vanilla buttercream cupcake, made for Isabelle's 2nd birthday party today. I just took this picture before I ate it for my pudding. It was fairly tasty, and very sweet. Perfect for a little girls birthday!

A laugh in the bath

Olivia is starting to find the world around her very interesting, but in particular, Hannah is a great source of entertainment! We had a great time watching them both in the bath this evening. Of course the best of the laughter wasn't caught on film, but you get the idea!