What have we let ourselves in for?

Well, I have some exciting news for you all and I figure my Blog is as good a way to spread the news as any :)

There is a new little McGinty on it's way and is due for arrival on 20th December this year! I hoping it'll be a bit late and I'll get to have my Christmas dinner in the Ulster Hospital instead of having to cook for the rest of this lot. I have been keeping ok - really tired and a bit nauseous but nothing too serious.

We headed out west to Mum's this weeked for a woman's conference in Leckpatrick. Really great time and came away feeling very blessed. Great to see my wee baby grand-neice (Oh, I really am that old!) Lydia who is getting more like her mummy every day - hence, more and more beautiful.

We have also booked out accomodation for France. We are staying in a campsite called Des Ormes just outside Rennes. Had intended on staying in two different places but seeing as I'll be a little less mobile at that time, we're just going to stay in the one place.

Not much else news - Going to take the kids out for a walk - it's either that or lie down for a power nap!

Another Bin to fill

Well, yesterday afternoon, our local council kindly gave us another bin to fill. We already have blue and black ones, but this time it's Green. It's just for garden waste, weeds and the like, and if you've seen my garden recently, you'll realise that it would take me a long time to fill it based on the weeds I pull!

However, it did inspire me to do something so I hit the "vegetable patch" at the back of our garden. I say vegetable patch but it's actually just a 5 foot square patch of grass with a few raspberry plants which seem to thrive despite the hardship I put them through. Well, now that the kids and I have attacked it, it's more of a patch of soil than grass. I think I'm too late to plant much this year so I'm just going to content myself with keeping it weed free for the rest of the year.

Dave's in Leeds today for the day so we all treated ourselves to lunch in McDonalds (I know - I'm such a bad mother) Made me so happy to see Rachael actually eat something after 10 days of a hunger strike, so I didn't care that it was McChicken nuggets! Did some mystery shops today too - been a bit slow on the mystery shopping front for a while but I'm determined to find some more, the amount of time I spend on this computer!

So thats about it - going to bath and bed the kids and clear up the mess that is my kitchen.

Gone AWOL

My goodness - it has been so long since I posted - way before Easter! We had a great time in Bushmills over Easter with our lovely friends, Julie Anne and Noel and their kids. It was so much fun.

Then, since we came back, I've had a pair of sick kiddies on my hands. Rachael hasn't ate properly since last Tuesday which, for her, means it's serious! She is like her mummy, in that the eating is the last thing to suffer! Anyway, after a marathon throwing up session last night, I think she may be on the mend today - she has lost a load of weight though.

Here's some pics

Fresh Bread

I forgot to mention on my last post that I won £100 of vouchers for amazon.com for doing a survey. I was so excited because that meant I could buy a bread maker. I have been thinking about getting one for ages but I've also suspected that it's one of those things that could well end up sitting gathering dust so I didn't want to spend too much money on it. Anyway, now I've got it effectively for free - Happy days!

And I still have about £60 of credit left on my voucher so there are more shopping sprees to come.

So here is a picture of my breadmaker and my first attempt at a loaf beside it. It was a packet mix so my next attempt will be to make from just yeast and flour - no cheating!

A little disturbing...

Just watched a programme on BBC2 with Louis Thereoux visiting a church/cult in America called Westboro Baptist Church. They preach complete hate and condemnation against everyone except themselves that it made me feel disturbed. It's so far from the love and grace of God that I almost cry for people who watch it and come away thinking that is what God is like.

Anyway, on to more positive things - Sorry I have been AWOL but we've all been out west in Strabane. Not that that is any excuse now as Mum is fully kitted out for blogging with her laptop and wireless network! However, for now, I think she will stick to reading my Blog rather than writing her own.

More glorious weather over the weekend, went for a lovely walk with Heather and Peter and got to see wee Lydia - the newest family addition. Almost makes me broody again - I say almost so don't expect any announcements guys!

Got Dave at home for a good amount of next week as he's getting a bit of work in Belfast. Rachael has her MMR injection tomorrow morning - Ouch. She will cope with it infinitely better than I will though.