Elan Valley Trip in a Winter Wonderland

 Many who know me will have heard me refer to this place as heaven on earth, Well to me thats just what Elan Valley is, no more so than today, as we drove up the mountain road which takes you along side the dams, the first dam was over flowing a sight i have never seen, but what a sight it was, totally spectacular. We parked up and walked along side it, Today was Dukes first visit here with us and he loved it he was dashing around like  mad thing. This is a great place to visit with a pushchair as here are tarmacked paths along side the dams making walking easy.

 In the summer the visitor center is open, there is a lovely cafe here its a great place to stop and refresh.

 Today we headed out locally to walk the dogs and take int he fresh air, despite the weather being very windy it was a lovely walk. Llanymynech Heritage Center is a great place to visit if like us you like history and walking. After we finished look around the Site that is the old Limestone Quarry,We took the boys to run free in the fields. Muzzy loves having a new friend and Duke is loving living with us, He loves looking after the children, Especially following Kellyn around they are great friends, its lovely to see him finally finding security in his life and a loving home where he is well loved and looked after.

After coming home we snuggled up on the sofa Arrianna enjoyed her bottle and Kellyn, Ceienna and Myself, enjoyed Hot Chocolate topped with cream and chocolate sprinkles and marshmallows, Yummy.

today has been a lovely day despite my girls being under the weather we still had a lovely day. Ceienna was awake most of the night so she was cuddled up with me all night. As morning broke we were join by Kellyn and Arrianna, Arrianna still has a cough and cold, but is loads better. Today she has been getting excited and smiling once more which was wonderful seeing her back to her normal self was wonderful. Even though we not been anywhere nor done anything it was nice to spend time in the children s world. Talking about things they like Ceienna and i talked about Peter Rabbit, a current favorite with my girls and Kellyn has a major interest in Titanic and Sherlock Holmes at the moment. He was also showing me how good he is on the DS, very impressive. Due to the way his brain works getting games for him is hard as he completes them very quickly. Its nice to see this house back to smiles, fun laughter and valuing each other.

Unfortunately Arrianna is poorly at the moment with a Chest Infection, At 12:09 As the sounds of Fireworks echoed around the village where we live, i jumped out of bed to the sound of Arrianna lying in her cot struggling to breath.  The sound was horrible, i struggling between knowing what was best to do to help her and no panicking. Kellyn and Ceienna were sleeping in my bed that night, It seconds felt like hours waiting for Arrianna to breath again, My heart pounding i grabbed Arrianna out of her cot, Lucky picking her up was enough to start her breathing again, but i could see she was struggling. I wanted to put her in the Car and take her straight to Hospital, but i am a single mum and i had two other children asleep upstairs, i never felt so scared and alone. I just didnt know what to do and i was fighting not to panic and stay in control. Making Arrianna comfortable on the sofa i grabbed the phone, ill never forget the look in her eyes i could see how afraid she was and she was cliggling hold of me not wanting to let go. I called Shrop Doc and explained to the call handler what had happened and made clear that She Has Down Syndrome only to be told " What has this to Do With It " it took me a few seconds to stay calm before i could answer, i stayed by the phone waiting hour after after for a reply, but did not get one, the next thing Kellyn was coming down stairs so i gave up waiting for the doctor to call. Arrianna was poorly but was now breathing normally. A few times through that day she was struggling again as i stayed up by her side most of the night cat napping here and there and was on the phone to the Doctor the next morning for an emergency appointment. it was such a relief. She is now on the mend im not used to my children being ill for so long, but i guess this is one difference with Arrianna which add's to Arrianna being Special.

Derwen Garden Centre, Welshpool

 Today the Children and i visited the Derwen Garden Center, located just a few miles from Welshpool, it is well sign posted from the main road. When you get there it is easy to park, though there is no parent spaces. The Centre is easy to get the pushchair round and well layed out to keep childrens interests going. The themed gardens are wonderful full of inspirations and ideas.

Happy 2012 Everyone

Well Happy New Year Everyone.
As normal we took our decorations down on New Years eve, i never feel happy having the decorations up for a new year.

Once again New year brought sadness to our family and all the plans we had made for New Year disappeared very quickly and our hearts turned to ice once more. Still to try to cheer up the children, We grabbed loads of treats and headed for our safe place, Mummy's bed, we snuggle together and watched a Dvd. It was so important for us to be together and to be close. The children slept in my bed that night, they need to feel safe.

As Midnight hit, i was woken up to the sounds of Arrianna gasping for breath, It was the most horrible sound , i was so scared. As i grabbed her from her cot she took a deep breath and clung on to me with all her might, she was so scared to, She needed lots of reassuring that she was ok. I spent the next 3 hours holding her hand, her chest sounding terrible, but she was settling.

We spent New Years day having some simple fun, The girls and i played with Ceienna's New horses she had for Christmas, Then later we got out the play dough, we made characters, which was fun and again wanted lots of films together and spent lots of time talking things through as both Kellyn and Ceienna had heads full of Questions.

I have made a wish list for this Family this year there is lots on it, I am determined that this year will be so much fun for us, full of memories. I have been told the Children dont have fun with me, Well watch this space this year, 2011 showed me how much i could achieve, the best thing i did was life coaching. Our family was blessed with the birth of my beautiful little girl Arrianna, This has completely changed me and my life, I have met and made so many wonderful friends who i value. and the best memory i will take away is Camping with the children at Elan Valley and touring Mid Wales. This year 2012, i aim to do more touring, make more friends and just live life to the full, no more excuses not to do something but to just get out there and do it. No i am better from my depression life is beautiful, Every morning starts with a amazing smile from Arrianna and though i may be alone and i may be a single mum, i am going to achieve so much this year cause i want to see just how much we can achieve no matter what happens. 

Arrianna's First Christmas

 Arrianna's First Christmas was full of firsts. This is the first Christmas i have done on my own with out the help of their dad. It was hard in my heart not having him by my side just to talk to and ask if our children would like the particular present i was buying or to put his finger on the wrapping paper while i got the tape, Just the simple little things made me miss him being there, but still i did it, all the presents were wrapped and the children had everything they wanted and more. I was so impressed with the Christmas decorations this year especially the tree was my greatest success. Arrianna loved ripping off the paper and trowing it around and spent most of the day playing with the paper.

Boxing day our home was opened up to our family, another first was me cooking the dinner for the first time ever, I brought all the meat and vegetables from a local farm and the difference was amazing.  I did a choice of Beef or turkey but Everyone tried both, Arrianna especially liked the beef. Even though i had family around the dinner was a heart wrencher, For the last 6 years the children s dad had always done our Christmas Dinner, he was always very good around the house, Though we did have him part time through Christmas  it made me realize how much we all miss him, spending Christmas nights alone is terribly lonely. Still we had a lovely time with our family, it was great to spend that time together opening presents and the children all playing together. The girls looked totally stunning in their Pretty dresses, i was so proud of them all.