Christmas Time in England

OMGoodness… for someone who said she was going to do a better job at posting, I have not done a very good job. Christmas has come and gone and it went way better than I expected. Last year Christmas just wasn’t very fun for us. We REALLY missed our families, and Colin was still too young to realize anything was happening. This year, we had lots of fun; we started some new traditions of our own, went and spent the day at a friend’s house, and just enjoyed being together as a family. I couldn’t have asked for a better day. I didn’t get very many pictures, Colin just wasn’t into opening presents, he was more interested in trying to eat the candy out of Bubba’s stocking (wrapper and all). BUT, lucky for you, I did get a few :)

With the New Year on the horizon, we have a lot of things to get done. 2012 is going to be an interesting one to say the least. I ask that you pray for all of us as we get ready for a really long six months. I know that God is in control and that everything will be great. I’m so thankful for things like SKYPE!!!

Hopefully Colin and I will get to do some traveling around the area and maybe some more of Europe… Be looking for some pictures of Paris soon (wink, wink)

It's Holdiay Time :)

Well, Halloween has come and gone and we had a TON of fun! Colin was so CUTE!!! We had a Fall Festival that we went to and we dressed up Colin as the Cat in the Hat. In my opinion he was the cutest Cat in the Hat ever! We then went trick-or-treating on Halloween with some friends and since it was a little chilly outside we decided to put Colin in his Bevo costume. Yes he looks less than thrilled in the pictures, but again, has to be the cutest Bevo ever!

We are now gearing up for Thanksgiving and Christmas! I’m almost done shopping and will hopefully have the gifts in the mail before I run out of time. I’ve decided that I’m going to make as many gifts as possible this year. I started with making our stockings. I think they turned out really good. I’ve already decorated the fireplace so that we can possibly take our family pictures soon. We will see how that turns out.

My Stocking

Colin's Stocking

Bubba's Stocking

On Sunday we are heading to Liverpool for a couple of days of Beatles filled fun! I’m excited to go do some sightseeing and taking a step away from chaos to spend time as a family. Can’t wait to share about it!

Oct 14-18

Since I last wrote we had a fire muster and a fire ball! It was a fun weekend but at the same time I’m glad it’s over. Planning a ball is hard work! It turned out really well and I think that everyone who attended had lots of fun. 

Me and Laura and Baby Smart :)

Bubba and Brandon

The fire muster was a challenge. We had a team of Fire Wives and we did AWESOME! We came in 4^th out of 5 teams, which means we beat a bunch of guys, GO US! We started out having to do a bunker drill, where we had to get off cots, run and put the bunker gear on (with everything buttoned correctly), and then runt to a finish line. We then did Hose Bowling, where we had to throw and unravel a hose to knock down bowling pins. Let me first say this is harder than it looks and secondly it’s very dangerous. (well at least for me it was). We then had to do a dummy drag and carry. We drug the dummy 50 ft and then put the dummy on a cot. At that point two of us carried the dummy on the cot 100ft. The next person drug the dummy 50 ft and we carried it 100ft again. Then the next 2 people in your team went. THIS WAS THE HARDEST EVENT OF THE DAY!!!! The next event consisted of unrolling the hose, joining two hoses, running back to the start, undo the hoses and then roll them back up so the next two people on your team could go. We then did the Kaiser Sled. And the last event was a bucket brigade. We had lots of fun and were able to do some of the drills our husbands do at work.

Bunker Drill

Kaiser Sled

Dummy Carry

Our Team :)

On Monday, Bubba, Colin and I went to Dover to the Castle. I love England, and the fact that we have so many different historical sights, but once you’ve seen one castle, you’ve pretty much seen them all. The one good thing about Dover is they have the secret war tunnels from WWII that you can go in. Had it not been so late in the day we would have gone, but we will go back and see those. We drove down to the ferry docks and took a few pictures of the white cliffs. I’m sure there may be a better way to see them, but that was all we could do that day.

Looking out on the top of Dover Castle... if you look REALLY close you might be able to see France LOL

Colin and Bubba on the top of Dover Caslte

White Cliffs of Dover

Running around the castle grounds

Little man :)

The ferry docks

FALL is Here :)

Fall is definitely here in England. The leaves are changing color and the weather is cool :) Even if 45 degrees is a little too cool for me, I'm loving the season.

Yesterday, we decided to take Colin to the Pumpkin Patch in Beck Row. We braved the elements (45 degrees and raining) and found us 3 pumpkins to take home. We are going to carve one, paint one and I'm going to make my own pumpkin puree with one. We will see how it turns out :) With all this cold weather, comes soup season in our house! It's about the only time that I can get Bubba to eat soup. So the other day I made an AMAZING Chicken Chili. You can find the recipe at Annie's Eats. It was delicious!

The month of October is going to be a VERY busy month for the West household. This week is Fire Prevention Week and Bubba is going to be super busy with different programs that the fire department is putting on. At the end of this week, Bubba and I are going to the Firefighters Ball. We have been on the planning committee and are very ready to see the end result. I can't wait to have fun with our friends and be kid free for a night :) I will definitely post pictures of the events and the ball.

Since this week has been fun, cold and whatever else, and this post has been all over the place. I will leave you with a couple of pictures of Colin from the pumpkin patch, and one of my favorite pictures from a photo shoot I did today. Enjoy and thanks for stopping by :)

Colin picking a pumpkin

Photo shoot today :)

    

Amazing Scones and Dr's Appointments

We are beginning the countdown at the West House today! Only 5 days til Bubba comes home :) YAY! Colin and I have had LOADS of fun the past 2 1/2 weeks, but we are very ready to see Bubba and have him back in the house.


Thankfully this week we are going to be pretty busy again. Yesterday, I had some wonderful ladies come over for coffee and scones. They were DELICIOUS and so easy to make :) I'll give you the recipe at the bottom of this post.

Today on the other hand was not so fun. Now, I know some people have some very strong feelings about vaccinations. I feel that it is necessary for our children to be safe and healthy. I'm not tying to start a debate, but I do feel every time the subject comes up, a debate starts. Bubba and I have discussed many different times about how we are going to raise our children, this includes the fact that our children will receive their vaccinations according to the suggested time. That being said Colin got 5 shots today. I felt like I was going to cry when he started crying but he is such a trooper and soon forgot that anything was done. It only lasted a little bit because he then had to get his finger stuck for some blood work. Next time Bubba is SOOOO doing the shots and blood work!!! For his appointment, he definitely did not like having to sit still and get his ears looked at but he is growing and developing right on track. He is 19 lbs 5 oz (which puts him between 15 and 20%) and is 26.6 inches (which puts him a little over 50%). Even when he doesn't feel 100% he gets into EVERYTHING :)

On a lighter note though, I have been LOVING my homemade wipes... well for the most part. They are extremely wet and I tend to have to squeeze them out a little before using them. With the next batch... which is going to be awhile, I'm going to figure out how to tweak the liquid amounts. When I figure this out and feel like I have the "perfect solution" I will be sure to post it on here.


For now I will leave you with the recipe for Orange Cranberry Scones. Not really sure where the recipe came from, but it was given to me by a friend.

For 10 Scones

2 cups all-purpose flour

10 tsp sugar, divided

1 TBS grated orange peel

2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 tsp baking soda

1/3 cup cold butter or margarine

1 cup dried cranberries

1/4 cup orange juice

1/4 cup half-and-half cream

1 egg

1 tablespoon milk

In a bowl, combine flour, 7 tsp sugar, orange peel, baking powder, salt and baking soda. Cut in butter until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs; set aside.

In a small bowl, combine cranberries, orange juice, cream and egg. Add to the flour mixture and stir until a soft dough forms.

On a floured surface, gently knead 6-8 times. Pat dough into an 8-inch circle. Cut into 10 wedges. Separate wedges and place on an ungreased baking sheet.

Brush with milk, sprinkle with remaining sugar. Bake at 400 degrees (F) for 12-15 minutes or until lightly brown.

Glaze:

1/2 cup confectioners' sugar

1 TBS orange juice

Combine the glaze ingredients and drizzle over scones. (I had to add a little more orange juice, approx 1 TBS more)

Orange Butter

1/2 cup butter, softened

2-3 TBS orange marmalade

Mix the ingredients and serve with warm scones

ENJOY and thanks for stopping by :)

 

Busy week, hats and baby wipes

So I was supposed to be able to sit down earlier this week and write, BUT that didn’t happen. This week got busier and busier as the week went along. I had a least one meeting everyday if not two. Colin was such a trooper too! He loves to be in his stroller walking around base, even though I know he loves to be at home walking more

In what little free time I had one evening I decided that I was going to FINALLY make Colin an upcycled hat from I AM MOMMA HEAR ME ROAR. It’s super cute and really easy, but I forgot to do things like, make a seam allowance, so it didn’t turn out. It was so cute too… but I couldn’t let Colin wear it out in public. LOL… I will hopefully get to make another soon, but want to go find a fabric store so that I can hopefully get it right.

I also took 5 minutes out my schedule and made some homemade baby wipes. I’ve gotten some weird looks from some of my friends, but I’m looking for ways to save money and making my own wipes is one of them. Wipes are NOT cheap… The wipes I made only cost me $1.70!!! YAY! They work really well too… so I’ve decided that I will post the recipe that I’m using. There are lots out there, but I decided I had the ingredients for this already so it would save even more money.

Baby Wipes

2 ½ cups of hot water

2 TBSP baby bath

2 TBSP baby oil or vegetable oil

4 QT container (make sure it has a good seal)

Cut the paper towels in half and place one half in the container. Pour the water, baby bath and oil mixture over the paper towel. Close the container and flip upside down. Wait 5 minutes and remove the cardboard middle from the container.

Thanks for stopping by! 

Happy Birthday Colin

This time last year I was sitting in the hospital holding my sweet baby boy.

I CANNOT believe how fast this year has gone. Where did it go?  I have a 1 year old boy who has 6 teeth, is walking, gets into EVERYTHING and babbles at me all day (as if I know what he is saying). As frustrating as it can be at times, I wouldn’t trade a second of it. I love everything about that little boy. Everyday is a new adventure and I am so glad that I have the opportunity to stay home and watch him grow.

I really believe that one of the greatest things in life is being a parent. It scares me to death everyday… but my promise to my son is that I will be the best mom I can be. I can’t wait to see who Colin grows to be! But for now I will cherish every night that I get to read him a story, every hug, every smile, every snuggle, every kiss (no matter how slobbery it may be). So Happy Birthday to Colin!!! Just remember the words from one of my favorite children’s books Love You Forever by Robert Munsch

“I’ll love you forever,

I’ll like you for always,

As long as I’m living

My baby you’ll be”

Another week gone by

I can’t believe a week went by and I didn’t blog! Compared to the week before Colin’s party, this past week was WONDERFUL! Bubba had Labor Day off, which meant we could just relax as a family. It was great just sitting at home and not doing anything.

This week was filled with a spending the afternoon with a friend, a spouses social, a 9/11 Memorial Ceremony and helping some friends move. Gotta love the England weather though, it was cold all week and then on Friday it was back up to 70 degrees… which I never thought I would say is hot, but I guess I’m becoming acclimatized.

Now we are into day one of Bubba being at rescue school. I know he is going to have a BLAST… only because I know he has wanted to attend this class since we got here. It will be an interesting 3 weeks to say the least. While he is gone, we will be busy getting ready for the Firefighters Ball in October, and Colin’s 1 year appointments… yay more shots K He is a trooper though.

I’m going to leave you with some pictures and a video from the 9/11 Memorial Ceremony that Bubba participated in. It was a really neat thing to be a part of.

 This is the video from the ceremony, that was put together by PR.

In formation

The stage

Saluting during the National Anthem

This isn't from the ceremony... it's from the back porch of our friends new house :)

Birthday Party :)

I AM SO STINKING TIRED!!! but... I had a birthday party yesterday. This week has been crazy. I had a meeting or something to attend everyday this week and Colin was a TROOPER! He has "helped" bake cupcakes, sale cupcakes, and bake more cupcakes :)

Yesterday we celebrated Colin's birthday, with lots of friends. We had everything planned... and then I was reminded we live in England... it started to rain. Thankfully, we have lots of room in our house :) It was lots of fun, and I'm so glad that our friends shared in celebrating the last year of Colin's life with up. We have LOTS of memories, and stories to tell. Here are some pictures from yesterday :)

All the kiddos... It's so hard to get a good picture of this many kids :)

Colin's cake

Cat in the Hat Cupcakes

Yummy :)

Bath time after cake

Very Thankful

Today I was told "A true friend is always honest" WOW! Thankfully I was being honest, even though it hurt to say, and even though I felt like I was being a horrible friend. I cried like a baby after I got home, I cried on the phone to Bubba, thinking I had lost a really good, loyal friend. Then when I thought it was all over, she said those 6 words to me. I'm so thankful that I have a friend that stands by me no matter what. Lately life has been anything but stellar, and she has gone through it with me. She is AWESOME :) Thanks friend (even though I doubt she is reading this... I have to say it)

I also am SOOOO thankful for my AMAZING husband. I'm sure there are days (like today) when I'm sitting on the phone, crying, that he is doing a face palm, BUT he sits there and tells me everything is going to be alright. He is truly my best friend! To my Hannah... you are almost equally as awesome. I'm so thankful that you sit on messenger with me and let me vent. AND Amber Dee... THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU!

Things have definitely been pretty yuck here the past week. I've been frustrated with things, not really knowing what to do. I've been so spending a lot of time praying, reading, and trying, oh so hard, to be positive. There have been lots of doubt and stumbling blocks in my way, but I am determined to live the life I was made to live. I'm not going to let negative attitudes and people get me down. I'm so thankful for the positive people in my life... and I only mentioned a few earlier... there are more. So thank you, to all the people in my life that lift me up when I'm down. You ROCK!!!

And now I'm going to leave you with the most adorable little boy EVER!!!