nearly normal

Aggie has finally got his old laptop working again and given it to me, so hopefully the posts will become a little more regular again:-)

I've been a bit off colour with some stomach bug for the last couple of days. I'm not sure what it was as it was basically just stomach cramps, but none of the icky stuff;-) Actually it felt like braxton hicks, but that's definitely impossible! Maybe it's just a reaction to getting my body back, because it certainly seems to be improving - the tiredness & snapping is getting better. There's still a way to go - by the time the kids bedtime rolls round I'm desperate to have some quiet time.

School starts back on Tuesday. Hurrah!

It's LMB's birthday tomorrow. Sister S & cousin G are coming down for the weekend, so I've had to quickly improvise a party for her - I've invited a friend with three kids nearly the same ages as mine - instant party:-) Once that is over, life should get back to normal again.

I'm looking forward to normal:-)

Losing it

I never used to get too ruffled by the kids. I could calmly sit through the most horrendous tantrms and screaming fits. I would patiently answer "why" for hours before giving the stock answer "just because". I would benignly smile down on them as the trashed the house playing rugh & tumble together.

Nowadays, I want to throttle them all at least once a day, and seem to end up yelling at the top of my voice most evenings. I don't know if it's just me being snappy, them being more annoying, or just a long, long summer holiday. But I do know I am desperate for term to start again, and to get back into our normal routine. Not just getting rid of Mstr A all day, but going out every day & seeing different people & places.

Still another two weeks to go though:-( Although we're off to Caerphilly in the 14th century again tomorrow, so at least i get to have some different conversations. However, CQ will be there trying out th hobby, so LMD will pobably scream the whole weekend:-(

Poor Pluto

So poor old Pluto has finally been given the boot and no longer counts as a planet:-( Ahhhh! I'm sure the solar system shouldn't be shrinking!

And, just as we've taught Mstr A all about the planets, and he was given loads of great books for his birthday, which he's been reciting to me! Now they're all out of date! Bastard bloody scientists. I'm sure they're just doing it to sell more books!

Thursday 13 - round-up

Thirteen Things about My life 1. I've been really snappy & stroppy recently. This has been for a number of reasons, but hopefully I have rectified them all and will start to be a nicer person to be around soon. 2. I went to bed at 6pm last night. I didn't actually intend to, but was so totally exhausted that I pretty much just passed out! 3. I'm not sure why I was so tired - the kids all sleep through the night now - but I have been seriously knackered for a few weeks now. I think it started when I had a urinary infection a few weeks ago, and I just never really gave my body time to recover. Hopefully 12 hours sleep will have done the trick! 4. I went to the dr's and had my coil removed on Tuesday. I have hated it since it was put in about 6 months ago. It gave me permenant PMT which is no way to live your life. 5. It also increased my periods from 1-2 a year (lucky me) to 1-2 a month! No fun at all. 6. plus I've had more infections etc in the last 6 months than in the rest of my life put together. 7. So hopefully, letting my body get back to normal will help me feel more normal too. 8. We bought one of these last week. (THIS is quite definitely a picture of a bike trailer cum stroller type thingy. The ones that you tow on the back of your bike & hold two kids. Honestly it is. As soon as blogger gets it's pictures working again it is anyway!) 9. It is so we can ride to & from Mstr A's new school when he starts in September. 10. His school is less than 2 miles away, but when walking at LMD's pace it would take over half an hour. And I have to do it 6 times a day - there & back in the morning to take Mstr A to school, there & back at lunchtime to take LMB to pre-school, and there & back in the afternoon to mpick them both up. I don't want to be spending over three hours a day walking backwards and forwards! 11. I am absolutely terrified of using it! I'm not a natural cyclist in the first place, and I scared that I'll forget hoe much wider & longer it makes me. I'm hoping to get a few trail runs (with it empty) done next week before having to subject the girls to it. 12. I am hoping that cycling 10 miles a day will return me to sensible fitness levels, as I haven't done any physical activity (other than run around after the kids) since leaving work in February. 13. So come Christmas, i should be fit, full of energy, happy & thin. Yeah, right!

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Is there anybody out there?

Hello?

*tap, tap* Is this thing working?

Is there anybody out there?

I'm feeling a bit abandoned atm:-( Nobody came to say happy blogday to me:-( And Aggie has been spending every single waking second trying to fix the old laptop up for me (and mostly failing.) Although admittedly he's being playing Eve at the same time - but I can't even complain, cos he is doing useful stuff!

But basically it means I haven't had an adult coversation for days:-(

Well, my mother phoned, but that doesn't really count;-) Plus she phoned with bad news: she is a casualty of the NHS re-organisation (rightly so imo), and will be redundant by Xmas. It's not a catastrophe, as she was talking about retiring soonish anyway, but it's not nice either.

umm, not really sure where this post is going. But I'm feeling a bit out of sorts today, so it's probably best if I just stop.

Happy blogday to me

Yes, it's true. It's been one whole year since I started this blog! I can't believe it. I was sure I'd get bored within weeks if not days. My record for keeping a paper diary had previously been four days! It's the comments that make all the difference, so thaks to everyone who has commented on here (well, actually, maybe not everyone! But certainly everyone who hasn't actually suggested that I should be tortured or killed, which is nearly everyone!)

Things have changed alot in the year. I've left my employers. I've started and finished a college course. I no longer have a baby - but do have three fighting fit kids now! I've built bridges with my mother. We have sped along an incredablyt steep learning curve with Mstr A, and had a host of ideas about him, but progressed solidly in the right direction, including sorting out a new school for him to start in September. I have "met" loads of fascinating people from across the globe, and found out more about people I already knew too.

Auspiciously, I was contacted today by a journalist for the major local paper, who is thinking about featuring this blog in an article soon. Cool or what (if it happens)? I shall be prepared for my readership to explode exponentionally for a day or two, then fall straight back down to the 5 regular readers who make the effort to visit every day already:-) Still, 17,000 readers in a year aint so bad imho! Thanks to all of you - and especially the commenters.

I wonder what I'll be writing about in another year?

Because sometimes you need to

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR- GGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHH- HHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Sizzle

It's BBQ time at castle Aginoth:-)

We usually do a few BBQ's during the summer, but this year has been pretty busy re-enactment wise, and we've been particularly broke, so this is going to be the one and only. We always do one on this weekend as it is the "between birthday BBQ" The kids are getting too old to want a bunch of oldies hanging around their parties anymore, so it's a good excuse to have an extra party where we get to invite who we want:-0

Most of the crazies are coming (RCA is standing us up for a night with the Rolling Stones and her beloved. Pretty poor if you ask me*grin*), a bunch of re-enactors, and some people from a couple of playgroups, plus a couple of old friends & relatives, so it'll be interesting to see how they all mix.

I've bought loads of sausages, burgers, & accessories. Aggie's cut the grass & readied the two BBQ's (one meat, one veggie). There's music blaring out accross the garden. I've got beer in the fridge, wine, pop & juices galore. The kids have kind of tidied away many of their garden toys. Now we just have to tidy the house a little bit, and statrt drinking:-)

Oh, it's forecst to rain again today, but we're using the power of positive thinking (or studiously ignoring it) to keep that away. Although we have hedged our bets by putting the gazebo up over the BBQ's:-)

Almost certainly a bad idea!

We have a new lap-top. Horay! Although I'm a bit concerned about it tbh - I let Aggie go and "look" at what one would cost on his own last night. He phoned to say he's found a lovely one and it's in the sale, can he buy it? I specified an upper limit for the monthly repayments, but failed to dictate an upper limit for the whole computer, as we'd agreed, we didn't need anything too exciting - just enough to run email & internet, and maybe powerpoint if possible.

So he comes home with a £900 HD dual processing piece of brand new technology, with seperate graphics card so he can play games! It's very nice and all, and yes, it is only £25 per month, but........

It also means we will almost certainly still be payimng form it long after he has decided that it's out of date and he needs a new one. Hmpfff! He's stuck with it for at least 4 years now:-)

Oh well. It is nice. And it means all the other computers get to shift down to the next person in line now:-) I get the old lap-top (if and when it gets fixed), LMB gets Mstr A's old desk-top, which is good cos she keeps using it and there have been some arguments, and Mstr A gets the lap-top we aquired a couple of weeks ago - when Aggie configures it. Hopefully, when LMD wants to start using the computer properly in a few months she'll share with LMB (yeah right!).

Although I've just joined Freecycle - something I've been meaning to do for ages, and stuff comes up on there quite regularly, so maybe we'll get the really old desktop working again for LMD?

The Book Meme

This one is doing the rounds at the moment, with a number of my fave blogs posting it, so I thought I'd have a go....

One book that changed your life?
Hmmm, actually changed my life? That's a hard one. I'm not sure if any single book had that much influence over me, but I guess I'll go with three: The Phoenix and The Carpet by Nesbit: as my introduction to fantasy & escapism, it certainly changed the direction of my life as a young child. The Canterbury tales by Chaucer: I was introduced to Chaucer on a course when i was 17 and loved it, making me decide to take English at University. It was the wrong choice, and one that I would probably not have made if I hadn't attended that course. I'd have done Law instead, got rich & lived happily ever after;-) Finally, i suppose I should mention The discworld books by Pratchett - well the first three of them anyway, which was how I met Aggie. He had come on a first date with my flatmate, she got cold feet & asked me to gooseberry, and then Aggie & me spent the whole night chatting about books & pratchett while she looked completely lost:-)

One book that you have read more than once?
This is impossible to answer for me, I read most books more than once as I tend to speed read/skim through the first reading, then if it looks good, I'll go for a proper second reading immediately afterwards.

One book you would want on a desert island?
A very big one;-) If it was for a specified period of time (ie: I'll be marooned for one year, then guarenteed to be brought home again) I'd say the bible, cos it's the only way I'd actually sit and read & learn the whole thing - which can be useful. If we are talking about being indefinitely marooned, I think i'll go with something a bit more interesting - maybe the complete works of Shakespeare. Or Chaucer. Hmmm, or Plutarch - do you think i could teach myself to translate them? That would open up a whole new range of fascinating books to get lost with:-)

One book that made you laugh?
Good laughs or bad laughs? I have to say Pratchet here. I find him laugh out loud funny in nearly all of his books. Although the bible is quite good for a giggle every now and then too.

One book that made you cry?
None. I have never cried at a book. It's just a book, it's not real life people! My mother never forgave me for not crying when ginger died in black beauty (apparently she was unconsolable for days!). Not only did I not cry when Ginger was sent to the Knackers yard, i didn't even realise it was supposed to be sad until she asked me if I cried! I do remember a few books that made me sad in an intellectual type of way. Does that count?

One book you wish had been written?
A contemporary account of pre-Roman British life. I'd love to have some real knowledge of what it was like, who the druids really were, and what kind of society the Romans destroyed.

One book you wish had never been written?
Well, obviously the bible, cos I think the whole concept of monotheism has been bad for humanity.

One book you are currently reading?
The Perfect King by Ian Mortimer, a biography of Edward III. Also Jonathon Strange and Mr Norrell by Susan clarke, and re-reading the Otherland series by Tad Williams.

One book you have been meaning to read?
Oh, I can't rememeber! I'm terrible at planning my reading - I just grab whatever comes to hand. I do check in the bookshop regularly for what new books are out, but I never remember them by the time I get home! I would like to read soem of the famous intellectual books, such as The Blind Watchmaker or A Short(er) History of Time

Alone again

Aggie has gone swanning off to some posh hotel in Andover for work again, so i'm home alone once more. Just for the one night tho - actually I'm quite looking forward to getting some reading done then a long soak in the bath and an early night:-)

Nothing much going on here recently - I traipsed up to The Mall in bristol to buy all the kids new shoes - that's £100 gone! It really annoys me as there is a Clarks shop in Weston, which i go past every Monday, and regularly go into to try to buy their shoes - but as they all have narrow feet (F fitting mostly) the weston shop doesn't stock their sizes most of the time. I have pointed out to them that I've lived here for 5 years now, and with three kids, coming in approx. 4 times a year, thats some 40 pairs of shoes they've missed out on selling, but all they say is "sometimes we get them in, you'll just have to be lucky". Obviously I'm not the only one hoping to be lucky because they NEVER have them in when I try!

The weather has gone decidedly grey and wet - just in time for me to have the car for two days to take them all to a couple of holiday attractions! And in time for our big BBQ event of the year on Saturday. Typical.

Otherwise, nothing happening. Perhaps it's time to change the name of my blog to surburban boredom, or hopeless housewife. Not alot of juggling going on anymore:-(

I miss my laptop:-(

I always used to blog every day. It was a good way for me to sort out my thoughts at the end of the day (or let of steam, rant at the world etc), and I know that I'm not very good at doing things intermitently - i either do them or i don't, and I really want to keep this blog going properly as I find it very useful.

BUT, I know, it's been getting pretty damn sporadic over the past few months. But really, it's not that i don't have time, or anything to say, or the inclination, or any of those usual excuses. No, it's because i am too damn lazy to get off my comfy sofa and walk into the back room where the computer lives!

See, I used to have a lap top, with it's very own broadband connection, so i happily blogged from the sofa each evening. But when i left work, they did kind of want it back:-( So then I hot lap-topped with Aggie, using the home connection. But his lap-top has died a complete and blue-screened death:-( it was pretty old when he "aquired" it. We have aquired another one, but it's not configured yet, and I'm not sure it will hold a BB connection anyway:-( So i am reduced to using the desktop, which is located on the desk, in the back room, and I just don't always make it in here at the end of the day.

Ho hum. I shall try harder, cos I kind of miss it really:-)

Happy Birthday

It's Mstr A's birthday today. He's 6 years old! I can't believe it's been 6 years!

Happy Birthday Mstr A

We had his birthday party yesterday, because Saturday's are easier for visiting relatives, and because there are two other children in his class who have birthdays within the next couple of days, so we try to arrange the parties around each other. Not that he was invited to either of theirs this year:-( But still.....

He had a bowling party. It's what he really wanted. I was a bit dubious about a bunch of 5 and 6 year old boys having a bowiling party, but I was even more dubious about having it at home again after last years debacle: We've always had his parties at home, in the garden previously. we have a big garden, with loads of toys, and in mid-august, the kids would play with water, run around, climb on the climbing frame, eat rubbish, play two or three party games and go home, leaving us adults the evening to BBQ, drink & chat. Last year I had 12 4 and 5 year old boys turn up expecting the same, and it rained all day. It poured down, in fact, it fell down in massive sheets of water. So I ended up having a dozen excited 5 year old boys rampaging through my house for three hours. I swore that I would never have his party at home, ever again:-)

So, we went bowling. Much to my surprise, it was a big success. Most of them hadn't bowled before, but they soon got the hang of it. With bumbers up, and Pixar bowling balls, they all hit something most attempts, and that's all that mattered! the staff were pretty good, and gave us a full hour's bowling, even though we started late:-) The kids were all fed, and recieved party bags and balloons, and Mstr A got a Crazy Frog soft toy as a present, and I didn't have to do anything other than bring a cake - nothing got damaged, ormeswed up, and I didn't have to tidy the house before or after:-)

The only problem arose right at the end, when one child was still there 20 minutes after the party was finished! He only lives a few houses away from us, but I was in a bit of a quandry about what to do. Should I wait there forever in the hope that dad was running down the road towrds us? Or should I take him home in case mum was wondering what had happened to him? At 25 past, I plumped for no.2 and started walking him home. It's about a 15 min walk with the kids. We met mum just as we turned into our road - she had been called by a frantic dad who had just arrived at the bowling alley! Fortunately, mum was quite happy, and said it might teach dad to stick to times in future;-) But it was a bit stressful!

Couisin G has been visiting all weekend too - she came with grandma (my mother) not her mum, and although she has stayed the occasional night with grandparents, this is the first time she's properly stayed away from home on her own so we were a bit unsure how well it would go. Fortunately, she has been absolutely fine:-) She and LMB have just dissapeared off into LMB's bedroom and played all day quite happily:-) It's actually been easier having her here than normal! And three year olds do say the funniest things to each other!

Way-Hey Mstr A!

It's been a day of Getting Things Done around here. It seems a bit of a waste of a beautiful day in the summer holidays, with both parents around to have fun, but then again, things really did need doing! So today we have put new tyres on the car, taxed and MOT'd it. We have complained about being sold a leaky pot. We have tried to discover why our bathroom floor (YES the one I've only just laid!!!) was soaking we while we were away. I have finally been to the Dr and got some antibiotics for a urinary infection I've been trying to pretend will go away for the last week. Aggie has got his expensive new drugs, and been taught how to inject them by a nice nurse (not that much different to injecting insulin really - but bigger needles). I found another couple of jobs to apply for.

Oh yes, and Mstr A learned to ride his bike. I took him over to the local car park, and stuffed him into helmet, knee pads and elbow pads, then braced myself for an afternoon of screams, tears and blood, just to watch him pick it up pretty much immediately! No falling off required! He had a bit of a crying moment when I insisted he tried turning corners (well, bends), but basically, within an hour he could start, stop, ride forwards and round bends, and even rode most of the way home alone. I know he's almost 6, but I was expecting alot more drama:-) I remember my first attempts, and have since taught four younger siblings and a couple of friends to ride, and all of them were harder worjk. Yay Mstr A!

We're going to have another practise tomorrow, but I think he'll be a biker in no time;-) Now just to sort out LMB a bike, and we'll be ready for school.

Home again

It's nice to be home - especially as nanny A came round while we were away & tidied it all up for us;-)

The week in London went remarkably well - Mstr A & my mother got on quite well, with no arguments or even uneccesary dicipline from my mum. Mstr A still did some of the things that drove her so wild last yera, but either:

• she's mellowed,
• she's accepted he's a boy and sometimes they are boisterous,
• she's accepted that he's not "normal" and perhps her version of discipline won't work too well, or
• she's just got deafer and more self absorbed & didn't notice so much.

I don't know which one, or if it was a combination, but it was a well behaved and quiet week all round.

We went off to a music session on Thursday morning. Open to 2-6 year olds, there was a guitarists/singer & a drummer, who tried to encourage the kids to sing a bit, play a bit, learn a bit etc. Mstr A was entranced, and was right at the front as soon as it started, being the first to volunteer to assist the leader, the loudest at answering questions, and the most exuberant dancer. I'm starting to revise my posible Asberger diagnosis, as that doesn't fit at all. Asbie kids rarely join in & never put themselves forwards to demonstrate a new thing. They are too concerned about what others will think. Mstr A seemed to be completely oblivious that the other children were there, and behaved as though the whole thing was just him and the leader - doing the bits he wanted as loudly and continously as he wanted, then, when they danced the conga (which he wasn't interested in) he just sat on the floor and played with some bells, oblivious to the other children trampling all around him!

The girls both loved it too. LMB adores the musicians at re-enactment and just assumed this was an extension of that, and LMD copies everything that Mstr A does:-) Cousin G wasn't so keen, and hid in her mummy's lap for ages before finally being convinced to sit with LMB, which is weird really as she goes to nursery every day, and always takes the lead when she and LMB are playing.

We went to a few other places. the only interesting one was my BiL's birthday party on Saturday night. Aggie wasn't feeling very sociable cos of his psoriasis, plus he doesn't get the whole london drugs scene, so i went on my own. It was nice to get out and just be me for a night without worrying at all - I knew Aggie could cope however horrible they were:-) It was amazing to see so many people I left behind half a lifetime ago. All still doing the same things, although mostly with different partners;-) I had a good moan to my sister about life, and she agreed it was unfair:-) I watched too many people pass out and heard about how many of the old "gang" were now dead. Most are in their early 40's!! I remembered how easy it is to get hold of expensive drugs in London, and how often they are passsed around - and baffled everyone by saying that when we moved to Weston 5 years ago we never bothered to find a dealer, so couldn't get anything anymore even if we wanted. This naturally resulted in a flurry of offers:-) But I have to say for them, there was never any pressure, not then and not now, when I refused. I'm not morally against most of the drugs being handed out there, but i had to get up early to take my mother to a car boot sale, I had to drive home, and I had to be responsible for three kids. And the party was dominated by the death of F a couple of weeks ago. She weighed less than 5 stone when she died at 41 years old. T died a few years ago, from an OD. he wasn't even found for three weeks. He was 36. They nearly all have kids with partners that they never see, except for the ones that have kids they never see. It was all a bit sad and false when I was 17. Now it's just depressing watching them all! It was a good reminder of why i dislike London so much, and really don't want to bring my kids up there. I still don't understand why so many people do!

Trains, swings and buses

It's been a busy couple of days. grandma is determined to spend the whole time the kids are visiting "doing things with them". Of course, we had a long conversation last night about benign neglect, how boredom is a vital part of the human psyche, and how children who are constantly rushed from one activity to the next are seriously missing out on some important lifeskills, but she still insists we have to do things all the time!

today we all took the bus up to a park about 5 miles away. On Wednesdays my mother looks after my neice, so there was an extra child in tow. Fortunately she is only a couple of months older than LMB and they get on fabulously, so in some ways it's easier to have her there than not. Apart from the fact that I had to remind my mother how to get there (despite the fact that she has lived within 10 miles of where she was born for the whole of her 65 years, and I left london half my life-time ago!), the day went well. We got to the park without incident, and the kids were more than happy running around, climbing rocks, hiding behind trees, watching the ducks (Mstr A aquired some bread to feed them from some unsuspecting woman), and generally doing what children in parks do. Then we found the play area, and they spent even more time happily playing on the swings and climbing frames etc, with only one minor incident when Mstr A felt he had missed his turn (well, actually, the other boy DID push in front of him, but since there were more empty swings, it wasn't really such a big deal!). Mstr A doesn't approve of other people breaking the rules of fair play - although he is not adverse to doing so himself on occasion!

Anyway, after a couple of hours, we headed back to the bus stop. I got told off by my mother for going to the wrong stop (not that she knew where the right stop was, just that the stop I went to was too far to walk - that's because last time I caught a bus from there, that housing estate was a bus station!), so we missed the bus and had to wait *gasp* 15 mins for the next one, which gave all the kids time to walk along, and fall off, a little brick wall! A few scrapes, grazes and screams later, we returned to Grandma's house and avoided having to eat her abysmal cooking by buying burgers on the way.

Still no arguments between my mum and Mstr A. It's a miracle!

it's all going well

So far!

We made it here without incident. All the kids were really well behaved on the train - and even on the tube despite the raging temperature:-) Mstr A had a fantastic time learning to read the tube map and telling the whole carrige about the different lines, which station would be next, where you could change and where we were going:-) My mother met us at the station and we took a bus the last couple of miles to her house. ~I would have walked personally, but she thought it needed a bus - that's because it's free for her;-) By this time LMD was getting a bit clingy, so I held her, my bag, and the pram on the bus and left my mother to keep an eye on the two older ones. It was only four stops after all! When we got off the bus at her stop, unfolded the pram, sorted out LMD, put all the bags back on it & made the bigger ones hold on, I looked down and asked, "where are their bags?" and watched in dismay as the bus went speeding round the corner away from us!

So a quick jog to Grandma's house, where she jumps in her car and goes haring off after the bus to collect said bags, leaving me to sort out all the kids, bags, food etc.

She caught the bus at the station & returned with both bags, so alls well that ends well. But I managed three trains,, four hours, and three kids on my own without mishap. I let her take charge of two children and two bags on one bus, and she fails. Oh well:-)

Anyway, we had a nice afternoon/evening. She even commented on how nice and well behaved Mstr A was! Now if only she's stop coming in and spying on what I'm doing on her computer, we might get along well for the week;-)

Lovely london

I'm off to London today, to spend some time at my mothers. Aggie has buggered off to Newcastle for work, so me & the kids are going up by train, and he'll meet us at the weekend & bring us all home. Lucky him!

I love my mother, but she really does drive me nuts sometimes, so i'm approaching this week with a bit of trepidition. last year the week at my mothers started with a blazing row where she told me that she didn't want to see my kids again, and I said that we came as a job lot, and that if she wanted me to chose between my children and my mother, she could guess who would win! I came back from there so stressed out that I started writing this blog to vent - so at least something good came out of it;-)

The weather is expected to be very changeable all week too - with rain most days, which will limit what we can do, but hopefully I'll be able to keep the kids occupied enough that she doesn't have to interact too much with them *sigh* At least mstr A can sit and read a book now.

Anyway, she doesn't know about this blog, but does have a decent internet connection, so hopefully I'll be able to update daily still. First I have to sort out what to pack into one very small bag, and how to manage three kids, one pram, and two bags on the train & London underground!