Living Goldilocks Style

I looked at the scene pictured in the photo below this morning and had to giggle.
Having three children whether they be girls, boys, a mix.. is just like living in the storybook tale: Goldilocks and the Three Bears.

I lined up three breakfast bowls this morning.. the largest for Tayla (soon to be 8), the middle sized for Katie (soon to be 5) and the smallest for Sophie (3 yrs old).

I even managed to angle the spoons the same way. (This was not intentional!)

I then look at the three piles of clothes set out for the day, the three pairs of shoes waiting for little feet to step into them, the three beds somehow crammed into their bedroom, the three identicle dinner plates id washed up the night before so they dont argue over who has which plate, the three flask type cups for their lunch boxes, the three lunch boxes! and everything else in our home that comes in three's.

I also noticed that i have a tendency to line these items up in the age and size order. Tayla's first because she's the biggest, then Katie's and then Sophies. I dont know if i have a form of OCD but i cant help doing it this way.

Not that i would change any of it, i quite like being a modern day Goldilocks ;-) 

Halloween Pizza Party!

So tonight since dinner was late (after a visit from my mum) i decided to stick a pizza in the oven for the girls.
I had put it in, set the timer and then naughtily sat on the laptop while i waited.

When the timer bleeped i went into the kitchen and was greeted with 3 halloween paper plates from last year, each with a teddy bears picnic napkin laid out on top, along with 3 plastic cups waiting to be filled with three halloween straws inside them.
I love kids!

What can you do but smile? so i asked them if they wanted to have a Halloween pizza party and you can imagine the answer to that one.
I put out the slices of pizza on their plates, gave them all some crisps and other little bits, filled their cups and took it out to the table. 
Excuse the rubbish mobile phone photos!

:)

They were all thrilled with their 'special' dinner and i was happy i didnt have the battles over who had which plate and so on :-D

Happy Kids = A Happy Mum!

Children That Can Read Minds

I thought id quickly write about this moment before i laughed it off and then forgot about it.

My kids always hanker after some form of dessert after their dinners. Sometimes they are allowed, sometimes they are not but they usually always try their luck anyway.
Knowing we have some strawberry cornettos in the freezer, they had asked last night for one after their dinner. I told them no and like a bad parent, told them they could have one tomorrow instead, hoping that come tonight, they would have forgotten what i said.
Not my children.

I was sitting here in my now nice and toasty living room realising to my delight that bedtime was soon upon us and thinking to myself  'I hope they dont ask for ice cream' as its close to bedtime now and Sophie always gets herself covered.. and just as the thought entered my head a little voice belonging to my middle child Katie pipes up 'Can we have an ice cream!?'
Dammit.
But since i had just thought it, and she appeared to have read my mind, added to the fact that id told them all yesterday that they could, i looked at the 3 expectant faces before me and said 'oook go on then.'

Three pairs of feet all scampered off to the kitchen as quickly as they could and i now have three little girls sat on the sofa eating ice creams in their best dresses.

Ahhhh such is a life of a child :)

October Already?

Wow.. my first post in October and its already the 19th.
So we have already established that i am a rubbish blogger. I dont know where the time goes tbh.

Since getting the kids back into school and being busy with work, i havent had much time (or really anything to write about!) but hopefully i can do better from now on.
Its been one of those dreary afternoons today. The sort where i cant seem to wake up, the kids have been bickering and pestering, making me resort to wearing the other halfs massive headphones and turning the music up to blast them out of my earshot and where they get jacket potatoes for dinner because - its just one of those days.

I also sent out a SOS to my old driving instructor. I have decided that despite being taught (very well i may add) by him, i cannot park to save my life. I happily drove into a space between two cars last night only to find that when i wanted to reverse out of it, i couldnt do it. I had thought i could go back in a straight line and then steer my way out but no. The car next to me made it a tricky situation and after almost ending up in tears over the stupid car and with thoughts of abandoning it and walking home, i finally did it.
I have a lesson booked on Friday.

Its also the time of year when the heating has finally been switched on. I was trying to hold out until at least November but im sorry tight fisted other half - it has to be done now. We're going to get another winter like last year, i can feel it.
We also went to visit the brother in law at his army barracks a couple of weeks ago. We had gone to pick him up and bring him home for the weekend as he had completed part 1 of his training so it was nice to be shown around, given some demonstrations and of course the best bit! - Having a sneaky look or ten at all the lovely young men in their army uniforms ;-)  brother in law excluded of course, because that would just be gross.

So thats a basic round up of whats been going on here. Life as usual!

The Disasturous Duo

Driving is not something that comes easily to me.
I spent 5 years being deathly afraid to pick up the phone to even book some lessons.
I spent a further year learning to drive automatic as it was just about cope-able for me and then i amazed myself by passing both my Theory and Driving tests both times with very good scores.

Its already been a journey for me, so when i finally made the purchase of my very first car - a 2008 Peugeot 207 1.6 in metallic grey i was over the moon!
Finally i was free and mobile, not having to rely on anyone else and being able to take off as i wished!

Only, it hasnt been as simple as that.
I now have a new found fear, and that is of driving by myself. More so than that, having to park the car. Particularly in a space with cars either side of it.
So i havent. The only trips i have made in my nice shiny new car that calls out to me to drive it are to the school and back, which i can just about cope with because i know i can park at the side of the street easily.
My stomach is still in knots though every time i get in the car and start it up. I feel very strange and entirely uncomfortable.
I am still learning how the controls work. This morning i managed to switch the heaters on which decided to billow out blasts of cold air at me and the kids. I had no idea how to turn this feature off so off we went to school as though we were on a rollercoaster ride with the wind blowing in our faces and hair.
I did however, manage to work out how to wipe the back windscreen. This was essential as i had to reverse back a bit before i could go forward and i had briefly considered getting out and wiping it myself.

Once i was back from the school looking like id been dragged through a hedge backwards, i called the other half who gave me a lecture about not listening to him whilst he was explaining all of this to me the other day and then told me how to turn it off. I did it! Phew.
The next challenge was to go to the vets for dog food. I completed the journey there successfully, only going up the kerb a little bit when parking, and got back into my car happy that i was making some progress.
I put the key in and went to turn it but nothing would happen! It was locked in place and just wouldnt budge.
Having thought id done something wrong when unlocking the car, i then got out, locked it, unlocked it, and got back in to try again.
It didnt work. I was about to give up and walk home, leaving the sodding car where it was parked when i decided to painstakingly call the other half again.
'What have you done now?' he bellowed at me from the middle of the workshop at work. I explained my predicament and he breathed a sigh of relief. The steering lock was on.
After talking me through how to unlock it and get going i was then on my way home and happy once again.

So thats me, and the adventures ive been having in my new car. It isnt the first time ive messed up either. On Monday i decided to drive us all to the girls Parents evening at school. I pulled up along the kerb and was immediately told to get out by the other half who then jumped in and parked it himself, doing a far better job than i had done 2 minutes earlier. I was a little way from the kerb but it wasnt too bad! He clearly thought otherwise though.
The other half is also a very bad passenger to have.
He has resumed the role of my driving instructor and insists on telling me everything i am doing wrong, and also what traffic is coming my way.
I wasnt aware that i was blind, nor that i still needed to take lessons once passing my test with no minor faults on it but hey! He is a man and thinks he knows best.

The Gallery - Home

I had come on my blog to post about something different but as usual, i got caught up reading everyone elses latest posts and was immediately tempted into joining in with this weeks Gallery whose theme is Home.

For the most part, i love where i live. I have lived on the outskirts of West London all my life.
Situated somewhere between Heathrow and Watford, i live in a little village called Denham, in South Bucks.
I have very long and strong roots here. My parents both grew up in Denham, and therefore so did me, my brother and all our cousins.
It was very much a 'it takes a village' childhood and if you got in trouble, your parents would soon come to hear about it from the neighbours they had grown up with themselves.
The great thing about it is that people rarely tend to move away from Denham and so the kids you grew up with, are still here now as adults, and some are parents themselves too. It is now our kids that are going to school together and forming the life long friendships that we all have.

Denham is a beautiful place. Idylic, old fashioned and traditionally English, it is a place to be proud to call home. It has country pubs, a country park, a huge golf course, a beautiful tradtional church where many family celebrations and also sad events have taken place, and is even home to several celebrities! One being the late Sir John Mills whose final resting place is in our church yard.
My own children have enjoyed the same sort of childhood that i have, paddling in the stream, running across the old wooden bridges and partaking in the century old 'Denham Fayre' every May bank holiday.

The photos i have chosen to assist this post are ones that both made me smile and bought back memories for me, so im glad i decided to take part!

Lovely country pubs

The church of many memories

Part of the Country Park

The canal

Seeing one of these is a common occourance!

My girls collecting for Children In Need sitting in front of the War

Memorial

The large golf course

The girls enjoying a summers day

Hot summers paddling!

Exploring the wood

Happy kids on the bridge :)

Denham is also within 5 minutes drive from our local town of Uxbridge (West London) where you will find your usual city centre and everything that goes with it.
Its there that the London Underground tube lines begin and you get a bit of the city hustle and bustle that just gets busier the more into London you move.
We also have local shops! Shops that have been there for as long as i can remember. Some have come and gone but a few still remain. We have a local butchers, hair salon, newsagents, an indian, spanish and thai restaurant and a 'fine food store' that is locally known as Veeno's (which is the name of the man who has owned it for many years and is known by everyone in the community) and everyone in Denham will tell you that it is only at this shop that you can find the very best crusty rolls.
My children go to the local and very small school and nursery and they recently built a under 11's play area just at the end of my street which is popular with lots of children in the summer.

Enjoying an ice cream in the little park with their cousins

And so that is my little corner of the world! The place i have and always will call home. The place i grew up with alongside my cousins who i am still close to now and who still all live within walking distance from me.

The private jokes everyone has about the Total Garage and the various states people have turned up at it in, 'The bench' which has seen many things and would have many tales to tell if only it could talk! and the old now derelict pub where many Sunday afternoons were spent badgering Grandad for money for drinks and crisps while our parents socialised.

All of these things make up the place i call 'Home' and I always breathe a sigh of relief when having come out of certain areas of London, i am back in the safe haven that is Denham!

How The Other Half Live

Today was an experience for me.
Having met a few members of the other halfs side of the family at his mums 50th birthday party a year or so ago, i got an idea of the sort of thing we were up against.

Now my own family are very down to earth, working class, what i would consider to be normal members of society. We have normal jobs, drive normal cars and live a pretty average life.
The other half's family however, are not your average bunch.
For one thing they are incredibly rich. Each one of them has a very high powered, well paying job and the way they conduct themselves, their accents, clothes and cars all make no secret of this.
The other half couldnt be more different. His mum is an accountant, a pretty good job, but she married beneath her class to a working class man from Newcastle.
This marriage didnt last and they are now divorced but the other half and his brothers are your usual sort of people and do not take after their mothers side.

So fast forward to today. The other halfs cousin got married yesterday and we hadnt been invited. Instead, we had been invited to todays 'do' which was reception number two that began at 12pm.
The dress was smart-casual since it wasnt as grand as the affair of the previous day so after some conflicts of opinion over what was 'too' casual and a serious shoe malfunction resulting in me dashing into town on the way there to pray that Shoe Zone had some replacement sandals for two of my girls (they had! thank god) we were on our way, late as usual.
When we arrived we could see the marquee from a mile away. Bang in the middle of a quaint country village, smack dab in the middle of a large field we parked up and waited for the other half's mum to escort us in.
We even had a carpet path leading us up to the entrance!
After a bout of air kissing (on both cheeks if you please!) we stood around for a while at the free! bar which was something none of us had come across before, watched a little airshow outside, cracked a few jokes about how i was scannning the room for a rich eligible bachelor that would sweep me off my feet princess style and give me the life i was always destined for.. and then went in for the hog roast buffet.
We were served by the hired caterers that addressed us as sir and madam and were given meagre portions. Of course it would be far too rude to return to the buffet once the plate was cleared so you tried to make what was on your plate last as long as possible.
After the food was over we were subjected to more very forced, posh and polite conversation from distant relatives while the girls played with very posh distant cousins with far more impeccable manners than they possessed, and then it was deemed that we'd been there long enough to have made a good effort and could leave for home as it was just over an hour away (the girs have school tomorrow of course!).
As soon as we were out of there and back at the car, a collective sigh of relief was breathed and everyone returned to normal.
On the journey home we then all slept in the car exhausted from sitting around for the afternoon making very polite conversation with people whose worlds would usually never collide with ours and were home before we knew it.

Listography: Top 5 Celebrities Id Like To Go For A Beer With

I decided to take part in this weeks Listography so here we go:
The top 5 celebs id like to have a drink with are.....


1.

Jimmy Carr

Hilariously witty, he would have you in stitches all night with his intelligent come backs and remarks.
I am a big fan of his and love how he pushes his comedy to the extreme. I even met him at one of his gigs once!

2.

Peter Andre

What isnt there to love about Peter Andre? He is a fantastic father, a really sweet and down to earth guy and would never make you feel bad about yourself. He is so appreciative of all his fans and would always be the perfect gentleman! Plus - He's gorgeous!!

3.

Tulisa Contostavlos

My favourite X Factor Judge. I had my doubts about her initially but since the start of the X factor i have a new founded respect for her and what she does. She built herself up from a rough street kid in Camden and really made a name for herself. I love how real she is and that shes not had it easy. I also love her cousin Dappy and boyfriend Fazer who behaved like two little boys in their 'Being N-Dubz' Series!

4.

Adele

This girl is amazing! I love her voice and could listen to her all day. I plan on having her 'Make you feel my love' song as the one we dance to on our wedding day.

She is a common as you like girl who loves nothing more than a night down the pub with her mates and that makes her my kinda gal!

5.

Holly Willoughby

I really like Holly. She is a great presenter, very fun and bubbly and a really down to earth woman.

She has two lovely kids and seems like she'd be very friendly and cool to have a bit of a giggle with!

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Silent Sunday

R2BC ~ Reasons To Be Cheerful

I said i would partake in usual activities since the brief abandonment of my blog so here we go;

My reasons to be cheerful this week:

1. Just as predicted its lovely having two children in school and one in nursery for 2 and a half days per week. Its so much easier getting everything done! I have really noticed how much quicker i can go and that it doesnt get messed up right behind me 5 mins later.  Sophie.

2. I have been able to spend more one to one time with Sophie. We have play time together that we didnt have before and i have had time to teach her and interact with her more.

3. Katie has settled so well into Reception! She looks forward to school every day and wears her uniform with pride.

4. My car is ready to be collected! Unfortunately i cant do this until Saturday but its only 1 more day to wait..

5. We are all healthy once again! Our back to school colds have cleared off and everyones nose can now breathe easily once more.

Thats it for this week!

Review: Dry Shampoo by Charles Worthington

This is an independant review, i have not been asked to review this product or done it for any kind of payment.

That said, i was in my local Sainsburys last week and i stumbled across a small display of Dry Shampoo products.
In Sainsburys, this product cost a meagre £1.99 and is a small deodorant looking can.

Being a very non girly type of girl, having very oily hair that needs washing every day otherwise it looks like ive just finished a shift at the local chippy, i hadnt heard of this product before so i decided to try it out.

The day i decided to try it was one where i hadnt bothered to wash my hair. It didnt look too bad, it was just ok enough for the school run which was the only trip i was going to be making that day so i thought bugger it, it'll be ok.
I then remembered that id bought this new product and was suddenly eager, yet very skeptical to try it out.
'Apply liberally to the hair and brush through' The instructions read.
So thats what i did. I gave my head a bloody good spray (so much so that i went completely grey!) and then started to brush it out.
It only bloody worked!
Suddenly my limp and lifeless locks were transformed into healthy, shiny looking new ones and i gave myself a very smug grin.
This little miracle in a tin could just be my next best friend! If i am needing to run an errand or go on a short journey and dont have lots of time to wash, dry and straighten my hair, this little wonder could solve all my problems.
The only downside to this product is that if you arent careful (i dont know the meaning of the word) then it can end up looking like you are beginning to go grey on top.
Its quite difficult to brush every single bit out and some of it can get stuck to your parting as my Aunt ever so helpfully pointed out when she saw me.
But if you are careful, and avoid your parting and make sure you get all of the grey out, then it works wonders and i will definitely be buying it again!

Freedom is Beckoning

Hi everyone! Remember me? I started off being a regular blogger and then it fell by the wayside.
I resolve to do far better from now on.

So what have i been doing? Well you know, the usual. Juggling the shock of the School run, tending to over tired children who had a bit of a shock to their systems, endless uniform washing, sorting out of forms, parental permission slips and of course their reading homework every night.

While all this has been going on, we also managed to sort out another car. The one i had previously posted about turned out to be a little 'too good to be true' so we decided not to go ahead with it.
Instead i picked a Peugeot 307 2008, 1.6 with only 16000 miles.
Cue the grumbles from every local male on my Facebook friend list about how they would never go for a French car only to be told by me that the mileage i'll be doing really wont be a great deal and its only for a first starter car and that I like it, the other half mechanically approved it and so we will be going ahead with the sale.
It needed a couple of bits tending to (nothing major) and was supposed to be all set to pick up tomorrow morning. However, the car dealer has had a delay and unless they can get it done very quickly first thing tomorrow morning (other half is on late shift and needs to leave for work at lunch time), we wont be able to pick the car up until Saturday.
This is immensely frustrating for a person like me. I have passed my test (and got my license in the post!) and all i want to do is get moving. I very much dislike having to wait for things. I am sadly, very much a 'I want it now' kinda gal.

But nevertheless, hopefully, by the end of this week i will be FREE! No more relying on lifts from others. I can come and go as i please.
Great :-D

The Day I Passed My Driving Test!

It gives me great pleasure to announce that on Friday the 9th of September 2011, i managed to not only pass my driving test, but did so with NO minor faults!

I passed!!

What lunatic would give me a license? Was my first thought on hearing id passed.
And to get no minors atall? The examiner was surely drugged, blindfolded and gagged!
I made plenty of mistakes, i know this because i counted them as i made them. I could also hear my instructors voice in my head yelling 'Bam! You've failed' as he so often liked to do.

So how did i pass my test? My only theory is that my instructor tricked me into being very over careful, very over cautious and very over ready for my test so much so that i flew through it with flying colours, while believing that id failed miserably.
He told me he had no doubts that i would pass, so apparently he had alot more faith in me than i did in myself.
I think ive spent the whole weekend in shock and denial that ive passed my test because i keep going over it with anyone who will listen as i regale tales of my test over and over trying to figure out how i managed to pull one over on the examiner but its something im going to have to accept and of course get excited about!
We went to look at a car yesterday, i can quickly see this becoming my new 'baby'. Something i never understood before i entered into the world of driving.
It is a Ford Fiesta 09 reg, 5000 miles on the clock and gorgeous! The other half gave it a quick test drive (as i was too shy!) and declared it worthy enough to buy.
I am very excited to go and pick it up next weekend, and also quite nervous. This is it! The real test comes now that i have to drive a car without my trusted instructor sat next to me with the wonderful (or not so wonderful at times) use of his dual control pedal.

Despite me being excited and nervous all at the same time, i am in a funny way, going to miss my instructor. He of course was being paid to teach me to drive, and that was the job he did well in getting me over my absolute terror of being on the road, pushing me not only to achieve my true potential but also to force me onto a small motorway albeit in the left lane only and also get me over my fear of getting on and off them! But in the year he taught me, he also became a friend. Another outlet for me to let off steam to, chat about families, good news, bad news, and so on with. He was there when my nan sadly passed away earlier this year, he was there when i had a big fallout with the other half not long after, he was there when my baby started nursery and when my second born started reception on her first day. He shared with me his stories of his two grandaughters that he doted on and the general ups and downs of life. His previous jobs, his previous experiences and his infinite wisdom that only comes from years of life experience.
So in a way i am leaving one chapter behind and starting a new one, and this is quite an exciting, but scary prospect for me. I am a creature of pure habit and i dont often like life changes.

It is strange to know that i no longer need him or have to book another lesson up and carry on from where we left off. Especially seeing as i still feel i have a long way to go re: driving. He did say though that i am welcome to book another lesson at any time i feel like id like to brush up on my driving, parking or even motorway lessons with him and i think i will probably take him up on that.
To round things off, i thought i would send him a Thank You card. This is what the message inside said:

To <driving instructor>

Thank you very much for teaching me how to drive!
I really couldnt have done it without your patience and understanding
I have come so far and overcome a huge fear of mine that will now change mine and my girls lives for the better.
Its all thanks to YOU!

Thank you so much, please keep in touch
Nikki Goodwin

So here i am about to start on a new journey with my own car, my freedom and while its a scary prospect... I cant wait to get started :-D

R2BC ~ Reasons to be Cheerful

Here are my reasons to be cheerful this week!

1. Today is my first ever CHILD FREE day. It means that all three of my kids are in school and nursery until at least 3.15pm.
I dont quite know what to do with myself!

2. We got to complete a weekly food shop alone for the first time in i dont know how long. Oh it was glorious sailing round the aisles of Tesco without telling several children to stop, put things down and no they cant have it 100 times before we reached the checkout.

3. I got to play loud music in the car! This can never happen if we have Katie with us. She hates all loud noises and i always get shouts of 'turn it down!' followed by endless questions about random nonsesne, so today made a nice change.

4. Autumn is arriving! Its my most favourite season. I love that inbetween warm and cold stage, where you can wear a cardi/hoody/trainers or boots but not need a massive winter coat. I love all the changing colours, the starts of new school terms, the upcoming Halloween, Birthdays and Christmas. Its always got an air of excitement about it.

5. TV. I love my soaps. I look forward to them every night. I eagerly get the kids tucked in and then take my place on the sofa in readiness for that evenings worth of drama. Its good this week with a big drama in Corrie, arthur aka fatboys cute face in Eastenders and of course the X factor over the weekend. Another reason why autumn is brilliant.

So there are my reasons to be cheerful this week. If you want to join in then pop over to the guest host for this week - Bod for tea and join in!

Versatile Blogger Award

I was very kindly awarded this award by Rebecca at  Here come the girls
The idea is to list 7 things about myself and then to pass the award onto 15 other new blogs out there.
So i'll get started

1. When i first met my other half i thought he looked awful. I didnt know what to make of this strange young lad sitting next to me and (its true) i did actually think as a joke to myself - wouldnt it be funny if we ended up together? Well someone was having a laugh with me because a few months later we did end up together and here we are 8 years on!

2. I always did well in school. I wasnt top of the class but you could always guarantee that i would pass my tests and exams and was a quiet, good member of the class. I longed to be one of the naughty kids sometimes but just didnt have it in me. I got good GCSE grades and i went on to pass my Cache Level 3 Diploma in Child Care & Education in college too.

3. I actually have the worst concentration in the world. I will sit and watch something for a few minutes, or begin a blog, and then have to stop and do something else for a little bit, and come back to whatever i was doing after that. This reflects badly in my driving, or learning to drive. I find it hard to concentrate for long periods of time and my mind is always wandering and distracted. I was one of the daydreamers in class.

4. I absolutely love to read. Books, magazines, blogs, facebook walls, i can sit and read for hours. I literally get lost in a book and will be totally oblivious to all thats going on around me. Im very nosey and love to know whats going on in other peoples lives on a daily basis.

5. I dont take enough pride in my personal appearence. I am always clean, i will say that. But i wear clothes to their death. I see myself as frumpy, dull and worn. I very rarely buy myself new clothes and shoes, i just wear the same jeans and tees every day (alternated in the wash). So i always look the same as i did the day before. This also applies to my hair. It always just hangs there and rarely has much style to it. Every once in a blue moon i have it cut and coloured and vow to keep up with it but i never do. If i do buy new clothes they are worn straight away until they too die a slow faded and worn death before being replaced.

6. I am extremely unorganised. I leave everything to the last minute and often find i have thrown things out by accident, or moved them never to be found again. This gets me into lots of trouble on a regular basis. I tend to live by the day so when my motto is we'll cross that bridge when we come to it, and we then find ourselves up a creek without a paddle - its often my fault. I have a diary and i pin things to the fridge but you can guarantee that most things will be forgotten and left to the last minute and will find us scrabbling around trying to get everything done/on time etc.

7. I love food. I am not a healthy eater either. I love all the junk food going, and lots of it. This hasnt done me any favours as ive now managed to end up heavier after each pregnancy and am now heavier than ive ever been :(  Im not enormous by all accounts but i do have weight to lose. I find it very difficult to lose weight, and i have no will power whatsoever most of the time. I give in very easily to temptation and i wish i was one of those people who could just eat whatever i liked and for it to make no difference. Thats not the case for me though. I can lose 3-4lbs in a week if im good and work hard but then i can put 2-3lbs back on in the space of a day or two. I find this highly unfair. I am now back on weight watchers determined to finally stop looking at myself in disgust and get some of this weight down.

Thats it from me though and i dont know 15 other blogs to link this to but will list a few for you all ...

Meeting myself coming back
Party of five
Real Housewife of Suffolk County
Getting Through the Day
This is me - Sarah mum of 3
Two point four children

September Has Landed!

At last, after near enough a year of most impatient waiting, September 2011 has arrived.

This is the year that my second born, Katie aged 4, finally starts Reception.
She has been waiting for this moment for a long, long time. She has asked, and pleaded, and asked some more when this day will arrive, and now it is here!
Nursery was doing no more for her, she had been academically and emotionally ready for school for months. Way ahead of her peers it was just a shame that her birthday fell when it did and that she couldnt have started school shortly after turning 4 like some children do.
She will be 5 in November and to her, she has waited long enough.

After tearful goodbyes at the Nursery back in July (from me, not Katie!) we spent the summer preparing for her big day. We talked it through, we went through the school routine. We bought all her uniform, PE bag, lunch box and bookbag.
We spent all summer long counting down the weeks, and then 'tomorrow's' until this day arrived and now at last - it had.
They were all up bright and early this morning, i heard them even before my alarm went off at the earliest id seen it for 6 weeks and even i bounded out of bed with a slight spring in my step with my excitement for Katie.
Fast forward through breakfast, hair wash, make up, teeth etc, the time had come when Katie was stood in front of me fully clothed in her brand new uniform.
I looked at my baby standing in front of me and all of a sudden i didnt want her to start school anymore! Where did my babies go? I wondered as i lined them up in their respective uniforms (Sophie was also kitted out in her new Nursery t-shirt and jumper) and took the memory making photos.

My loveable little madam Katie on her first day!

And the three of my monsters raring to go :)

Katie and her cousin Hollie on the playground

My moment was rudely awakened of course by the other half insisting we were going to be late and to hurry up. So we got a move on and made our way to the school.
Sophie sailed straight into nursery without a backward glance, and i was glad id started her on 1 morning per week before she turned 3. I believe that with all my children, it has made the full time transition into nursery alot easier on them once they turned the magic funded age of 3, and it proved itself yet again to be worth the temporary break in the bank.

We then moved on to the school playground where i took another couple of snaps of Katie and her little cousin Hollie who was also starting that day and then it was time to line up.
After wishing Tayla a good start into Year 3, we followed Katie into the Reception classroom, hung her bags up, put her lunch box on the rack and sat her down on the carpet with lots of hugs, kisses and 'have a lovely day's!'. Some children were crying, but not my Katie! Having waited so long for this very moment she proudly took her place on the carpet and was already focused on the teacher before id even got out of the door.
Walking away with no children in hand, and coming home to an empty and quiet home, i whispered to John that i suddenly felt empty and that it might be time for another.
This was quickly met with loud 'No chance's' and how nice it was to progress onto older children and how glad he was that the baby days were over. The swine.

The rest of the day actually went very quickly. I went on my last driving lesson before my test, messed up miserably and convinced myself that i wont be passing my test for the first time atall!
Before i knew it, it was gone 3pm and time to do the second school run of the new term.

On arriving, Katie was the second child out. Her jumper was stuffed into her bookbag and she had a big beam on her face. After asking if she'd had a lovely day, and being told that yes she had, i noticed she didnt have her lunch box. 'My teacher said i had to leave it here' she told me. 'But what will i put your lunch in tomorrow?' i wondered out loud. I hadnt meant to sound so confused about this but it managed to gain several laughs from the other parents in the meantime.
So i went up to said teacher and asked why this was. She then informed me that they hadnt been able to find Katie's lunchbox and had told her to come back to look for it once all the other children had gone home.
Fantastic. Day one and we already had a lost lunch box.
So i did the only sensible thing there was to be done and sent Tayla in to help Katie look for it. That was when i learnt that Katie had actually placed her lunch box on the wrong rack (next to her sisters lunch box on the Year 3 rack) and that Tayla had spotted her mistake and popped her sisters lunch box into her backpack along with her own. Good old Tayla.
After a lecture about making sure to put her lunch box with the rest of her class, we got home and found Tayla's drinks bottle had leaked everywhere. Great, a faulty cup is all we need on the first day of term!
But on closer inspection i found that she just hadnt put the lid on properly. Quite why she'd taken the lid off in the first place was beyond me as it was one of those tops that you pull up with your teeth in order to drink from.
'Oh' said Tayla. ?????? is what my face must have looked like at that moment.
We then heard tears coming from the living room. 'Whats wrong?' i asked katie who was collapsed on the floor next to her lunchbox.
'I cant find my driiiiiink' she wailed. Oh no. Please dont say you have now lost your drink bottle? 'I havent had it all day' Katie protested, 'I couldnt find it'. To which Tayla quickly piped up with 'Its in the bottom of your lunch bag Katie' and resulted in the drink bottle quickly being found. Phew.
Then a thought dawned on me - If she couldnt find her drink bottle, then she must not have had a single drink all day. This was then confirmed to be true and it was then i gave a huge resigned sigh and muttered under my breath about how it could only be my children.

So the verdict? 1 lost lunch box which was then found, 1 lost drink cup which was then discovered and quickly drunk, 1 not so leaky drink bottle, 1 pair of already scuffed £30 clarks shoes, 2 very tired children but also 1 very happy to be in reception at last 4 year old!
Result!

Its The Simple Things In Life..

So today is the last Saturday before the kids go back/start school.

I had heard the weather was meant to be full of sunshine and high temperatures so we got some picnic food yesterday and planned to go to Cassiobury Park.

You can find out about Cassiobury Park Here -

http://cassioburypark.info/cassiobury-park-childrens-attractions/

However on waking up this morning, the weather hadnt turned out as promised. It was cloudy, breezy and looked as if it might rain at any second.

After a whole morning of umming and ahhing, firstly with me trying to get in at the dentist (and not succeeding) due to a half finished root canal on a tooth of mine (more about that later), we John decided that we would go to a local park nearby.

I really didnt want to go. Firstly its a small, secluded park set in a field with a little community centre next to it. It seldom has any visitors apart from when there is a function going on and its not atall like the wonders of Cassiobury Park or any other large family fun/adventure place.

But with the weather being so tempermental, and John insisting it would be ok, i begrudgingly packed the picnic and off we went.

When we got there and had set everything out, wrenched the kids off the play equipment and started to eat, the sun came out and it felt quite nice sitting there in peace.

Once everything had been eaten, the wasps and ants brushed away and the kids happily playing on the park equipment i lay back on the picnic blanket and began to relax.

The sun was out, the kids were happy, we could see them from where we were sitting, there was no crowds to worry about, no water to watch them like a hawk around, no where they could run out of sight from us and we actually managed a conversation.

Maybe this wasnt such a bad idea after all i thought to myself as i pictured the scene in Cassiobury Park; Trying to get a parking space in the over filled carpark, us frantically chasing after excited children running amock through the adventure playground, us lugging our picnic and bags around from pillar to post so the children could go and do everything they fancied, us keeping an eye on three children splashing in the pools, us then having to round them up, get them dried, dressed and back into the car amid tantrums and cries of 'Nooo! I dont want to go hooooome!' and us getting home frazzled, grouchy and tired times five.

No, this was actually quite nice. 'I could get used to this' I told myself as i relaxed on the blanket and soaked up the sun. John had grown bored of my conversation and had run off to join the kids on the slides, so for a few precious moments it was just me, and some peace and quiet. Bliss!

As i watched them all running around laughing, shouting and having a whale of a time with their daddy i had to smile in spite of myself and agree with John that it actually was alright after all, and in fact it was more than alright because i actually really enjoyed my afternoon.

John, the biggest kid of them all!

How he and Katie landed LOL

Sophie who had to walk around and eat her lunch!

Who needs a busy, stressful, chaotic afternoon trying to have fun with the kids when sometimes the simple and so effortless things in life are just as good, if not better?

For a couple of uninterrupted hours, the kids had a relaxed and happy mummy and daddy all to themselves. They got to run and play as they wished without having to wait turns or deal with someone elses bullying children, they didnt nag for the bouncy castle, water, ice creams and whatever else they would have asked for at Cassiobury Park because there simply wasnt any of this at our local park. They were simply unrestricted, free and HAPPY.

And thats really, all that counts :)

PS: Just dont tell John he was right!!

R2BC ~ Reasons To Be Cheerful

Here are my reasons to be cheerful this week!

1. The school holidays are in their last week - yipee! I am more than ready for the kids to go back to school, back into a routine and also for my 2nd born to start her first day in Reception. She is so looking forward to it.

2. The weather looks lovely for the weekend. This means an outing somewhere nice in the sunshine for the afternoon! Good times :)

3. I ordered myself some clothes and shoes today online. I cant remember the last time i did that but vow to stop feeling guilty about it and start to buy 1 item of clothing once a week (until i have all the bits id picked out) so that i look less of a frumpy, washed out mummy and more of a respectable part of the human race without it costing a fortune.

4. I am getting busier with my photography. Work has been so dead for ages now and really gets me down. I dont have that business flair that others seem to, but its picking up now and i have several shoots booked in for September and October!

5. I am going to see the Inbetweeners Movie tomorrow night at the cinema! Myself and the other half havent been out together for months years so it will be a nice 'date' for us!

So there are my reasons to be cheerful this week :-D

The Gallery: Animals

Since this weeks Gallery theme is animals, i thought i would share some pics of our own animals - our pets Mittens (a cat) and Billy (a Beagle pup)

So here they are!

Meet Mittens - as a kitten

And Mittens as a 2 year old cat

 

And meet Billy our Beagle pup as he was...

And Billy these days :)

Making Friends As An Adult?

I am the sort of person who has always found it difficult to make friends.
Im not really sure why, i just dont have that natural social flair that most seem to possess and i find myself feeling self concious and uncomfortable in social situations.

Im not one to approach a group of people, nor one to like being the centre of attention and having all eyes on me when i am speaking.

I am the one who keeps to myself, who no one really notices is there and when they do discover me, exclaim loudly that i am so quiet and kept to myself they they dont actually know anything about me!

Am i Shy? i suppose i was classed as being shy when i was younger, but funnily enough as an adult i have no problem in voicing my opinion, or standing up for myself and my loved ones. I am also pretty blunt and quite brutally honest and some people dont quite get my well meaning point. I also have quite a dry and witty sense of humour and some of the things i come out with dont always get recognised within the humour i meant them in and this can cause unintended offence.

Risking making myself sound like a socially backward fool, i will say that i always make an effort to smile at people, say hello, make small talk and so on. I am all the old ladies best friend at the bus stop and i would always run to someones aid if they were in need, stranger or not.

So why cant i make friends and relax into the comfortable friendships i see go on around me?

 Maybe its because i dont make a good friend. I dont follow normal friend etiquette. I am terrible for picking up the phone and giving people a call, and i am awful for arranging to meet up with people. I always have so many good intentions but before i know it its 10pm on Monday night and within the blink of an eye its already Friday and the week has flown by. Where it goes i dont know. Its not as if i do anything in particular with my time, i just seem to run after the children all day long and cook, clean and before i know it, the day has finished and its too late to pick the phone up as had been so well intended when i woke up that morning.

Im not very good with words either so sympathetic chats dont come easily to me. I just dont know what to say to people when something terrible has happened. I dont have those comforting words people like to hear and although i do feel for them, i struggle to get that out and worry that i will come across as cold and unfeeling.

Maybe i give off a vibe, or put up a wall. Having been badly let down through no fault of my own in the past by people i considered to be friends, i am very wary of people. Women can be extremely mean about each other and love nothing more than a good gossip and drama. I find that when i invite people into my home, i spend the entire day cleaning frantically before they arrive, and then the whole time they are here shifting uncomfortably in my seat picking faults in my home and my appearence and wondering if they see these faults too and then wishing they would go home so i can relax in my safe haven.

I never just relax back in my seat, open up and be myself. There is only one person i can do this with and thats my cousin Sian but we grew up like sisters so its bit different with her.

The reason for this rambling post was sparked by a mum i know from Tayla's school popping over this afternoon with her little girl who is friendly with Tayla. We only live down the street from each other, we pass each other at school every day, she was in a relationship with my brothers best friend, so therefore knew the same circle of people and we had always said hello, how are you? but never once had we met up, just us and the kids. Why? Neither of us could find a reason.

So over they came today, offered by me since i had heard she was having a bad time of it lately and we had tea (hot chocolate for the non tea drinker in me) and the kids played, we chatted and i think, we had a nice time.

I received a text message a little later that read -

'Thanks hun for having us over, you make a good brew so i'll be back again lol. Shame we've never really spoken before x'

That says it all really. Potential friends are right there to be made and yet i dont make them due to my own insecurities about how i look, how my home looks to the outside world and my own lack of self confidence to make a friend and then make the effort to keep in touch with that friend and make a friendship work.

So.. i think i need to give myself a good talking to about not being so lazy in keeping the relationship going, make the effort and to relax a little and just be myself!

School Uniform Shopping - Take Two!

Up bright and early, i was ready for day two and hopefully the final day of our school uniform shopping quest.
Today John was coming with us, and then leaving us to meet Sian and her two once he had to go to work.

We decided to get the worst bit over with first and went into Clarks. 'I hate this shop' John declared after 5 minutes 'Everyone hates this shop' i replied to the amusement of the sales assistant that overheard me. Oops.
Bumping into another mum from the girls school we got chatting about shoe sizes, rates children grow at and what we had and hadnt bought, where we had and hadnt bought it from and before i knew it, my ticket number had sailed past and we were now on Number 32. Our ticket was number 31.
'Dont worry' I was assured 'We'll just serve you next and then number 33 can go after you and so on'.
This sounded simple in theory but in a shop full of frazzled mothers with several children all needing school shoes at once, it was anything but.

Having single-handedly destroyed the shops ticket and queue system amid complaints and hurried explanations as to why i was being served before the lady with ticket number 33 we managed to get the girls feet measured. Tayla is a 2F and Katie a 10G incase anyone was wondering.

We were then presented with several boxes of shoes. I didnt like any of them on Tayla and only one pair on Katie. Why oh why do they insist on bringing out the patent leather and of course SHINY! shoes for small children? All mothers know that they get scuffed and ruined 5 minutes after being put on and you could almost cry as you watch your money go rolling down the drain as you trudge to yet another shoe shop for replacements.

So feeling quite daring and almost naughty for waiting in line, throwing the shop into chaos, getting the girls feet measured and then deciding to leave the shoes on offer 'To see what i can find next door' (at the local M&S) i looked around for Sophie who was wandering around just a minute ago.

On a quick scan of the shop i realised she was gone. 'Wheres Sophie' I said to John who immediately panicked and began looking around a shop that was plain to see contained no Sophie.

After a few seconds, that actually felt like hours, i spotted a blue t-shirt and brown hair running around outside the shop, in the middle of a busy high street, arms stretched out wide, chasing pigeons.

'Sh*t!' John declared as he legged it out of the shop to grab our devil spawn who had just sent another round of pigeons flapping their wings in panic into the air and i had to agree.

God only knows what could have happened to her in this day and age, and thank god it hadnt.

After a brief row about who the worst parent was, we went into M&S where John loudly wondered why they always put the Children's section on the top floor when alot of people have pushchairs. Fair point i agreed, it would make more sense to put this section on the ground floor. It would save the queues at the lift for a start.

Anyway, i managed to find the missing items from yesterday and got Katie a grey pinafore, and Tayla some white socks. During this time John left us (and his bank card) and went off to work with shouts of 'Bye Daddy!' 'See you soon!' from the girls who managed to be heard all across the shop floor and i completed our purchases.

However i didnt manage to find any better (and cheaper) shoes for Katie so meekly back to Clarks it was where i bought the original pair she had first tried on.

Our next stop was Pizza Hut, where i had promised the girls a lunch buffet. Meeting up with Sian and her girls, we got a table for 7 and settled down.

After the drink orders were done and the waitress agreeing that Sophie and Lacie didnt really need to be charged for a whole childrens meal, we helped ourselves to the buffet one by one.

I was quite impressed with what i found. There was 2 big tubs of hot pasta, 4 or 5 pizzas that were replenished as soon as they ran out, a big pan of garlic bread fingers, and unlimited access to the salad bar which was also restocked as soon as it ran out.

The girls all ate lots, Tayla went up around 3 times or more! But i only managed one plate. I was disappointed in myself but what can you do. I have more of an appetite in the evenings unfortunately as its when im sitting around comfort eating out of boredom and not when im chasing three children around trying to get them seated and fed.

The girls at Pizza Hut today

And Sophie with a bright orange face

When the bill came we were given another surprise. It was around £10 less than we had worked it out to be.

For two adults and 3 children plus 7 drinks it should have come to around £37 something but instead it was £29 something.

At the bottom of the bill we discovered they had taken off 2 more of the kids meals as part of their 'Kids eat free' offer. So we ended up paying for 2 adults, 1 child and 7 drinks all in all. Not a bad lunch if i do say so myself!

After this, Sian decided that her two were driving her too mad to continue on and so took them home while i took mine on a lunch box and school bag hunt. After trying to persuade Tayla that the Rapunzel backpack was a bit too babyish for a girl nearing 8 years of age and to please go with the far more trendy and grown up Fabulous Sharpay or whatever her name is, we ended up £30 worse off in the Disney store but came out with 1 Sharpay Backpack, 1 Rapunzel Lunchbox (Katie) and 1 Rapunzel PE Bag (Also for Katie) but no Rapunzel lunchbox flask to match the lunchbox. Out of stock until next Thursday apparently.

After a minor grumble we headed into BHS where i found Tayla a black PE bag with white hearts on it. Far better than the gaudy looking thing she had picked up and again another lecture about her getting a little older now and therefore needing to aquire a bit more taste in things.

One more stop later and we found ourselves in Next - one of my most favourite shops.

I can spend hours looking round Next at all the girls clothes, and i could easily and happily spend hundreds of pounds in there too for i do love their seasonal ranges! But i had come for one thing only, and i knew i would find it in there - 1 Peppa Pig Lunchbox and Cup for Miss Sophie.

No other lunchbox would have done and no other option would have sufficed, so with more money spent, we now had 2 children with lunchboxes and 1 without.

By now everyone was tired and fed up so instead of trudging round trying in vain to find a decent lunchbox for Tayla i decided to call it a day.

On our arrival home i ordered Tayla the shoes she had tried on yesterday in good old well known supermarket and decided to worry about her lunchbox another day.

So with one child having gone missing, a whole shop sent into chaos, and two angry bank managers later.. we very nearly, have almost finished our School shopping for this year :-D