Delivering Presents

We have been helping Santa out this weekend delivering presents. We finally took the last ones this afternoon to Rebecca & Lloyd. It was great to see all the family again. Grandad was also there when we arrived. Max loved bossing the kids around and they were great with him. He ended up coming home with some more out grown toys. A big stuffed cockerel and a Shrek helmet LOL

Nik took me out for Sunday pub lunch today and it was lovely. I had a roast beef dinner and ate every bit, Nik had a steak and ale pie and that look yummy too. Max was a pain in the bum and hates sitting still. He thought it was like Ikea and was upset that there were no toys to play with, how can you explain why to a 2 year old?

Anyway as promised here is a photo of my Christmas cake. Hope it tastes as good as it looks.

Going to bed now so i can get another sleep out of the way before Santa can come PMSL...Bye xx

OMG! What A Day!!

Its been a totally flippin horrible day today :O(

I got up early to pack Nik some food for his trip to Liverpool (to take a car). Got Jake sorted for his last day of school and sent Dan off to work.

Half an hour after Dan had gone to work Nik came in looking odd. He told me that Dan had just rung him to say he'd just reversed into a car in the petrol station. So, before Nik could set off on his trip he had to calm down the man and explain that Dan would pay for the damage done to the mans car without going through the insurance company. He also explained he worked for a accident repair company and that it would be sorted to a high standard. So, after all that he set off on his trip.

At 9am i took Josh to college. It was his last day too and only had half a day to do. I just managed to get home and unload Max from the car and take his shoes and coat off when the phone rang again. It was Josh asking to be picked up because no one else had turned up ARGHHH! So, i put Max's coat and shoes back on, trudged through the mud and juggled him back in the car. I was about to set off when the phone rang again. It was Josh, saying he was ok now as some of the lads had turned up!! I could have strangled him. So, back in the house i went and took everything off again. Poor Max didn't know if he was coming or going.

Josh went to work with Reg and Knocker at their yard when college had finished. He has started helping them out and he does stuff like helping Knocker build his new trialer and gives Reg a hand repairing things(Reg is Knocker's dad). Its all good stuff to be learning when your a lad (or so i'm told by Nik, who did all his training there when he was a lad and Reg was 30 years younger and Knocker was just a nipper LOL)

The rest of the day was spent trying to keep Max entertained which was hard because he was having a 'pain in the bum day' and was being a little devil. At one point he took some papers out of the cupboard in the living room and i took them off him and put them back but, before my hand was out of the way he slammed the door and trapped my finger in it.

When Nik finally came home i got him to have Max while i had a shower, to give me a break. I got out the shower feeling loads better and started making dinner. I put it out at the usual time but the only diners were Nik, Max and myself. After we had finished our food i phoned everyone up and told them about dinner. Dan had forgot to tell me he wouldn't be home till 8.30 and he was picking Jake up from granny's house and Josh was working late at the yard. I was so cross with them cos they never think to give me a quick ring and its been happening a lot just lately. Does this only happen to me or is it what i've got to expect now?

Anyway at 8pm Nik went out down Clowne with all the lads from P&D trialing club for a Christmas pub crawl, so as i type i'm sat with the cordless right next to me so when he rings for his ride home i can grab the phone asap without it waking Max up.

At 9pm i heated up the dried out dinners for the three boys and couldn't care less what it tasted like. I hope it was horrible, serves them right LOL maybe they'll learn now. I guess i can live in hope.

Now its all peaceful and i thought i'd do a spot of blogging. I wanted to put a photo of my Christmas cake on here but i went to take the piccy, only to find my camera battery is dead and wants charging. I think i ought to go to bed before it can get any worse. There's one good thing (two if you count not feeling sick today) and that is, tomorrow can't possibly be any worse. Although we do have to go see the man that Dan reversed into to make repair arrangements.

My Catch Up Blog

OMG I am getting so excited about Christmas this week. Only seven sleeps left!!!

I thought i would put a few photos on my blog because its ages since i have, so here is our Christmas tree.

Here is Max with Santa. I thought this year the photo would be better (no screaming child). After we had cleaned him up, dressed him in nice clothes etc. all our efforts were wasted when he fell flat on his face in the car park on the way. He bust his lip and grazed his head (he looked a right mess) but we still had to have the photo.

At least this year he did manage a smile, even if it was forced (but we did bribe him with 50p which he has in his hand for a ride on Bertie The Bus).

We have had some guests to stay for a week. Ann's dogs, Jack and Duke. They were no trouble but they did make the kitchen smelly and the floor hairy. If ever i say i want a dog, will someone please slap me! The favour will be returned though as Ann always has Boo dog if we go away anywhere so we didn't mind.

Here are some photos of our guests LOL (Jack is the black one and Duke is brown).

Here are the Three Amigos waiting for a biscuit LOL

I'm Still Here!

OMG! I've not blogged for forever have i?

I've felt really tired and sick for the last week and haven't done anything with the computer. We have been having a nightmare with Max and his bedtime. We can't get him to sleep in the Thomas bed, he won't stay in his cot and keeps wanting to get in with us around 12-1am every morning. I can't sleep with him in our bed cos i've been having trouble sleeping too. I must get up ten times a night to use the loo and i can't seem to get comfy in bed no matter what position i sleep in and when Max is in its just an impossibility so, i've been sleeping on the sofa or on a mattress on the floor in Max's room.

So what have i been up to since i last blogged? Not much really. We fetched a Christmas tree yesterday from Sherwood Pines forrestry commission and we trimmed it up last night. It looks lovely and smells fantastic :O) I love the smell of pine trees. It was a fab smell to come downstairs to this morning.

Jake, Max and me went to the hairdressers this afternoon for a tidy up, Max having the most off. It was starting to get a nightmare to wash and comb so, i decided a good trim was the only answer. He actually sat still for Karen as she cut it, which was definately a first. He looks lovely now and was quite proud of himself for having it done.

Nik, Josh and Dan are off trialing tomorrow, They tell me its somewhere near Melton Mowbray. It'll be the first time Nik will have competed in his new trialer and Josh is gonna be his 'co-pilot'. I have packed them up a fab lunch to keep them going, so hopefully they will do well. Jake, Max and me arre staying at home. The weathers far too cold for us but we'll be keeping the home fire burning to warm them up when they get back LOL.

Jake has finally got an appointment through for the hospital. Its the 20th January, so not too long to wait. I have my scan booked for the 23rd December, and we all think its a girl this time because of how sick i'm feeling (never been this bad before) and everyone keeps saying its always bad when your having a girl so, i may have to ask the sex when i go for it LOL Its still undecided but i think i might :O) I can't stop eating clementines at the moment. Its the only thing i'm craving. I still can't eat puddings, cakes and sweets which is a bit of a bugger cos i've made a Christmas cake this year and i don't fancy it at all. I really can't cook because everything smells so disgusting, its unbelievable. I can't eat my dinner most nights as it makes me heave. The only thing keeping me alive is salad sandwiches and clementines. Fingers crossed for it to pass soon.

I'm really missing IACGMOOH as tonight is the first night without it and i need my jungle fix. I was really happy with Joe winning and i think i predicted it at the very beginning. I got to like Martina, which i never though i would and George kept making me smile. I don't think that man has a bad bone in his body. He always seemed calm and got along with everyone (good or bad) in the jungle, and for 70 something he did fantastic in his last two trials.

Gonna go to bed now and try and get a couple of hours before Max decides its time to create havoc. Night night xxx

Timmy Mallets Gone!!!

Yeay! Timmy Mallets got the boot!!! and about flippin time too. What a totally annoying man. He was cheating at the end because he was losing and he tried to distract Brian by squeezing and pinching his arm while they were eating worms!! Dirty little cheat! Good riddence.

The postman came to my house yesterday and delivered me a package from my bestest friend in the whole world! Vanda :O) Thank you Vanda (and Elena for choosing it) It contained a 3 pack of baby bibs that were absolutely gorgeous. Thank you from Peanut LOL It also had some 5p off a litre of fuel for Tesco stations which always comes in very handy. Thanks for thinking of me.

A Good Day...At Last!

OMG! I've actually not felt sick much at all today, apart from when i brushed my teeth, which makes me gag from start to finish .....euwww

Nik took me to Ikea for a slap up breakfast, which i totally destroyed! I think he's been a bit worried from my lack of appetite. We had a look round the store but all we bought were a set of underwater creature finger puppets for Max that he said he 'needed' LOL

We also had a look in Decathalon and Next but came out empty handed. I did try on some boots but they were too small and they didn't have a bigger size, so we went home via Mansfield and called in the Next there. Still no luck. So, we went a walk round Mansfield and i found a pair of boots eventually (ones like Hugg boots) in Peacocks for £10. I just wanted something warm and comfy to go with my jeans. I also treated myself to a maternity tshirt too for £5 in the sale.

I'm sat now, watching, Here Comes The Boys. Its brillant and great to see all the men are singing live. What a fab cause too. I hope it encourages more fellas to check themselves, Last week we had the girl version and that was also fantastic. For some reason women don't seem to get as embarrassed as men when finding lumps and telling their doctors. I wonder why that is? Maybe its because after having all our children, we learn to leave our dignity outside the health centre/hospital door and pick it back up on our way home PMSL I was shocked to learn that testicular cancer was most common in the 18-32 year olds. I would have thought it would be older than that.

I think i have most of my Christmas presents sorted now. I just have Glenn, Rebecca, Lloyd and dad left and of course Nik but i know what i'm getting him, i just haven't had chance to buy it yet. We are going for the tree next weekend, and i'm all excited and can't wait. I love decorating the tree :O) Its only then that it really starts to feel like Christmas.

I'm off now to watch IACGMOOH......Bye

A Bit Better Day

I have felt a bit better today. Maybe its the combination of being busy and out of the house?
I got up early cos i had to take Dan to college and Josh to the dentist for a filling. Josh had his filling without an injection, brave or what? Then we went to Asda for a spot of Christmas shopping and i managed to get a few bits as well as Laurence and Edwards Christmas pressies.

We called at the bakers and bought a sandwich for Nik, who was working at Papplewick on some farm machinery. When we got there Max got all excited about the John Deere tractors and combine harvester. So, John took him a ride in the biggest tractor and Max was in his element. He looked so happy sat with John as he drove round the farm LOL Definately a tractor driver in the making!

After tea tonight Dan nipped out to MacDonalds and bought us all a Quality Street Flurry. I didn't eat all mine but what i had was lovely.

Now i'm sat watching my favourite....IACGMOOH....bliss!

Max Makes Us Laugh

OMG! How funny is our Max? We were sat at the table having tea tonight and Max was drinking lemonade. He took a great big mouth full and he was having trouble swallowing it. His eyes were watering and he dribbled some out and down his top. We asked him if he was ok and he said, 'I'm fine, its all under control' PMSL we just burst out laughing at him and that just made him keep saying it over and over. You really had to be there LOL

I have been to the doctors today, I've felt so sick for the last two days that i had to try and get something. When i got there the doctor really didn't want to give me the tablets and suggested travel sickness bands (the ones you wear on your wrists with the bobble that presses on a pressure point on your wrist) i made her a deal. If she gave me the tablets, i'd go buy some bands and try them before the tablets. So, off i went to get my perscription and pick up a set of bands. OMG how shocked was I when i found out they were £7.99 There's absolutely no way i'm paying that for a bit of elastic with a bobble on it!! So it was a total waste of time going this morning cos i'm worried about taking the tablets incase they do some kind of harm and haven't even got any bands. I tried them on and they would have driven me crazy cos they were so tight. I'll just have to grin and bare it.

On a brighter note, the weather has warmed up a bit and i'm not feeling so cold.

Its Getting Colder!

OMG! It just keeps getting colder. Its registering at 0c at the moment but i'm sure its colder than that.

Nik had gone to Nottingham and is there as i type. Daniel and Steve (his boss) have been fitting a kitchen over there and Steves car broke down on the way back. Nik has gone to trailer them in. Hope they're all ok and are keeping warm.

I booked my ticket today for the ferry to see my bestest friends for the new year. We are leaving on the 27th December and returning on the 2nd January (hope thats ok?) I looked on the ferry website and found the prices. £68 as a special or £125. I rang them up to check which fare it would be and told them i was paying with clubcard deals and they told me it had to be the £125.40 if it was going to be in deals! How mean is that? So, i've converted my deals and all i have to pay is £5.40!! So i'm a happy bunny :O)

A Cold Day

Is it just my age or is every feeling the cold like me at the moment? I have a fire up the chimney back roaring away looking fantastic but i'm still flipping freezing! (OMG! i'm turning into my neshy bestest mate, Vanda!)

I've been to the midwife today and booked in with her, so thats a job out of the way. I also had my blood taken too.

Jake has been a sweetie today and rubbed my shoulders for ages when i moaned they hurt. Its nice to have a bit of TLC and he's so fantastic at back rubbing. It definately would be a fab career choice for him LOL

I've just watched IACGMOOH and aren't they all a bunch of moaners? I would like to think if it was me in there with someone who was driving me crazy, that i would just be able to ignore them and avoid all the bickering but probably being so close to each other and having nowhere to go for a bit of peace must cause all the arguements. I do like Nicola but i think she should try and ignore David and Timmy cos its really winding her up, especially when she was in the stinky tanks with Robert and Timmy and Timmy kept laughing that awful laugh and singing Itsy Bitsy Teeny Weeny! Arghhhhhhhhhh even i would have had to shout at him. Poor lass she looked freezing and couldn't stop shaking. I definately couldn't have done that at the moment. George gives all the arguements a wide birth while Esther seems to be coddling the upset ones a bit. I'm not sure who i want to win anymore LOL but i'm still enjoying watching it.

We tried to get Max to sleep in his Thomas bed last night and it did work for quite a while but around 11.30pm he woke up and try as we might (I had a go at sleeping on a mattress at the side of him and then Nik read to him) by 2am we gave up and put him in bed with us. Tonight he's back in his cot cos we're both too tired tonight.

Expecting The Unexpected :O)

We've had a really lovely day today.

We got up early and took ourselves off to Ikea for breakfast Mmmm scrummy yummy! We had the full monty with a round of toast and 2 cups of coffee. What a way to start a cold day :O)

Then off we went around the store for a peek. We bought a new rug for the living room (Nik had burnt the old one when making the fire *tuts*) a tin of ginger & cinnamon biscuits and a weasel LOL

Then off we toddled to Decathalon, I did hum and ah over a pair of brown boots that would have looked fab under my jeans for the winter but at £40 they weren't cheap. Eventually i decided i'd rather have a pair of trainers that i can wear all year round, but didn't buy any cos there were none i liked.

Lastly we called in at Next to get Nik a hat for the winter. OMG I never thought buying a man a hat would be so difficult!!! He tried loads on and decided he like none of them. Now, Nik doesn't need the hat for going out, basically its just for working in to keep his noggin warm. After explaining this to him and him whining that hats give him head aches he said he didn't want one arghhhhhhhhhhh! Now i've been listening to him moan all week that he could do with a hat when he's outside cos he's feeling the cold (bless him, he is getting old LOL) so i wasn't having any of it. I made him try them all on again and managed to talk him into a black (good for dirty oily men) ribbed one with a lot of stretch in it. Theres absolutely no way it'll be too tight and its very minimalistic (for God sake its only to flipping work in!!!) so should be ok. Dunno if he'll wear it, he's still deciding PMSL. Then, (now this is the newsy bit) i had a look round the maternity clothing section for a pair of jeans. Yes, the news is I'm pregnant (8 weeks and 5 days) to baby number 5! Check out my pregnancy blog here.......

http://www.mybabynumberfive.blogspot.com/

I managed to pick up two pairs of lovely comfy jeans cos although its early days and i'm not really any fatter, i've been feeling so sick and i can't stand anything tight round my middle cos it makes me feel even worse. So i came out quite happy with my purchases :O)

On the way home we decided to call in at dads and tell him the news and when we got back home we told the boys and my mum and i called my bestest friend in the whole world, Vanda and told her seven would be coming to visit for new year! PMSL (PMSL is really easy now i'm pregnant so i shouldn't joke about it) She was shocked, suprised and then happy LOL thats when it finally sunk in :O)

Tonight we have decided we're gonna try and get Max to sleep in the Thomas bed. I know its gonna be hard cos he is so used to his cot but i think its time and it will be lovely to have our room to ourselves again (well, at least for a few months). So, fingers crossed it will go smoothly.

Josh's Hard Work

Josh came home from college today with a window frame he has made. Its totally fab so i just have to post some photos of it :O)

Isn't it fantastic? He got an 8 1/2 for it but i definately think its a 10!

Silksy To Stay David Out!!!

Got To Go!!

OMG How good is IACGMOOH this year? I tuned in tonight to see two new celebrities enter. Timmy Malley and David Van Day. Now when i first saw who was going in i thought.....'Oh no Timmy Mallet, he'll be a nightmare!' but i take it all back cos he settled in easily with the rest of the camp and didn't take it personally when the original celebrities wouldn't pay the rasom to get him and David released from their overnight imprisonment. Pity David didn't take it so good naturedly and as soon as he got released and entered camp he started causing arguements with everyone about not giving up their luxury items so he and Timmy could be released. So he definately gets my ....Get him out! vote.

Oh the other hand Silksy as Joe Swash calls him, has totally gone up in my estimations! I actually felt proud of him for doing so well in his two insect ridden bush tucker trials. Good old Silksy. Can i change my mind and keep him now? LOL

I'm still wanting Joe to win with Nicola second, Silky third and Simon forth. Lets see how good my prediction is at the end of the show.

Jakes School Photo

Jake's school photo finally came and to his horror i'm posting it on here for the world to see (if they want to) He hates it but i think its quite good :O)

GET RID OF HIM!!!

I'm a celebrity wasn't as good tonight and i'm finding Robert Kilroy Silk extremely annoying. I don't know if its just clever editing to show him in a bad way or what but i had a bad feeling when i saw the first episode when they all met up in a hotel. When he introduced himself to Carly Zucker and asked her who she was, she replied 'I'm a personal trainer and fiancee to Joe Cole the football player', he stopped her in her tracks and said, 'Well we don't want to hear about that'. I was so annoyed for her. I know she's only a celebrity through her engagement (a wag as they call it) but i was disgusted at his rudeness which was so uncalled for. I definately want him to be the first one voted off.

We've had a lovely tea tonight. We had chicken salad wraps with sweet chilli sauce and chips. It was totally gorgeous. Its one of those meals that everyone eats (josh doesn't have the salad though) so made it an easy job for the chef (me) and hardly anything left, just a few bits of cucumber and a bit of tomato :O)

I'm Loving TV At The Moment

OMG! I'm loving I'm A Celebrity on ITV. I watch it every year and even though the celebrities go down a grade each year i still enjoy watching it. I'm just sat here wetting myself laughing at Joe Swash eating a crocodiles willy and testicles while crying, heaving and being sick! and his opponent Nicola Mclean eating kangaroo testicles. Totally fantastic!!! I couldn't do it but it does make great tv.

Joe Swash

Nicola Mclean

In the end Nicola (page 3 model) won by eating 3 crocodile eye balls, 5 live silk worms, 3 live crickets, a lizards foot and a kangaroo testicle. OMG how brave! Or stupid LOL

We went to McDonalds at lunch time and with each large meal you get a BOGOF cinema ticket.

You have to go to the website enter the code, select a cinema and print off a ticket, then stick your sticker on to the print out. You have till the 30th June 2009 to use it too! We are gonna go and see Four Christmases, it looked really funny when we saw the trailer and i love comedies.

We also went to Bolsover today and i called in at the Ashgate Hospice charity shop to get my Christmas cards, while we were there Max saw some books and came away with 4 which we've been reading all day to him.

Nik went to parent interviews tonight with Jake (mostly good reports, Well done Jake!!!) and while he was out we had some suprise visitors. It was George (son of Annie & Tom, who had the house before us), Dorothy and their daughter Sandy and her husband. We told them when we bought the house that they must stay in touch and drop by when passing. So, they came today because Sandy had come to visit them from Scotland and wanted to meet us all and have a look what we'd been doing to the place. I think we got their approval LOL

Here I Am!

Ok, back by popular request! ;O)

Sorry i haven't bloggled for a while but, to be honest, nothing interesting has happened. I didn't wanna bore the pants off you LOL

I have been to Shirebrook today to pay some cheques into the bank. One was for Daniel (his wages are paid monthly by cheque) and the other was for Max which was a kind donation of £100 from grandad that was given to him as a present last weekend.

We had a walk round the market and then called in to the bun shop for a cake. I got into the queue and the next time i looked up Nik was flirting with one of the girls behind the counter. I call him the Kroeneburg 1664 man (cos he'll flirt with anything in a skirt from ages 16-64) but i never mind cos i know its just 'him' and today he did really well cos, every woman love a man with a little one (ooh that sounds rude, i mean't to say little child) at the end of our trip to the bun shop she'd given him a free dinosaur biscuit for Max and 3 smartie cookies. All i had to pay for was a few teacakes and 3 sausage rolls!!

The postman has been to my bestest friends house and delivered my little present. I couldn't believe it actually got there today because i didn't post it till 4pm last night so it reached her in record speed. Maybe its cos i put two first class stamps on it (it got there twice as fast) because i thought it was quite heavy and i couldn't be bothered to queue up and have it weighed. Anyway I'm glad it made you smile :O)

A Cold Day

Today has been really cold.

The temperature registered 5c at its coldest while those lucky people near Shanklin had 13c *tuts* ( or so my laptop says) and guess what Nik decided to do today, of all days? Let the fire go out so he could give it a good clean!! Luckily it wasn't out for long so, my worries about freezing to death were unfounded LOL

It was lovely and quiet in the house today because everyone was either at work, college or school so Max and I decided today would be a good day to watch a bit of House. Actually thats a lie because Max wouldn't budge from Fireman Sam so i had House on in the kitchen. I've only got episode 5 to watch from the current series and then i'm up to date. I think for my next 'catch up' i'm gonna start with Prison Break, everyone says its good, so i'll take a peek.

I have been for my doctors appointment today. The doctor checked my heat with her stethescope and took my blood pressure, all seemed fine. It never went funny while i was with her (its just like when i say the car is making a funny noise and Nik goes to investigate, inevitably the darn thing never makes the noise when he goes to listen, and then you get that questioning look which means 'Are you stupid?') Anyway the doctor has booked me an appointment for an ECG for tomorrow at 5.45pm so will update then. I have asked Nik to remind me to put on my best lacy push up bra (instead of plain and comfy) just incase i get a cute male doctor/male nurse PMSL

Thats about it for today cos i'm in the process of cooking tea which is jacket spuds with either cheese, beans, or tuna mayo (or any combination of the three) a good meal choice for a cold dark night. Maybe if i get chance i'll have a go later at HSMSHS and post a pic, if not, goodnight :O)

Trip to Dobbies

We went to visit Nik's dad this morning. He had found me out some photos of Nik's mum, Shirley. There is some really lovely ones of her and i'm going to go to Asda and use their scanner to upload them to their photo machine and print them off. I asked him last week if he had got any of her because Nik only has a few and these were from an old undeveloped 35mm film that we found when we moved from Gorsethorpe and are poor quality. I want to get one framed so that Max nows he has another grandmother or 'Nanny' as we call her. I know its hard for him to understand so i wanted to be able to show him an album of photos of her so she isn't lost to him.

After we had been to see dad, Nik took us to MacDonalds for dinner Mmmmmm followed by a trip to Dobbies (garden centre and mini mall). They had all the Christmas stuff in so i bought a snowman sillouette for the window and a pot snowman and santa. Here they are....

Aren't they cute? I also got a Christmas tree bauble for Max with his name on and a glow in the dark solar system for his bedroom ceiling. I'm getting excited about trimming up the house for Christmas and this year i even know where all my decorations are!!!

Been suffering a bit this evening. My palpitations/irregular heartbeat has been going crazy and at one point i felt really tired and cold. Nik asked me if i wanted to go to the hospital but i didn't want any fuss. I will definately be making an appointment at the doctors tomorrow. If you imagine your heat beating

1, 2, 3, 4, 1, 2, 3, 4.

Mine was going 1, 2, (missing 3) then a big 4th beat. 1, 2, (missing 3) then a big 4th beat.

Its getting me a bit worried now, so i'll try and get it sorted but it did stop on its own last time i had it.

Gonna go to bed now cos i'm tired, hopefully will feel better in the morning. Bye for now.

Lazy Day

Had a lovely lazy day today.

Had a lay-in till 9.30! OMG! and then just rattled around the house doing bits and bobs. I don't know about everyone else but these dark nights make me really lazy. My energy levels have dropped so low i think i should probably hibernate till spring PMSL. All i wanna do is sit in front of the fire eating junk food. I'm so tired i think i could quite easily fall asleep on a washing line in a hurricane. I'm not moaning, honestly but the dark nights seem to go on forever and the light ones come and go so fast, that if you blink you've missed them. Maybe i should invest in one of those happy light thingies LOL

We have just been out to get supplies from Tesco, we did it in 2 shops to maximise our coupons. I managed to get a pair of jogging bottoms reduced from £10 to £4 and a pair of black trousers for myself. I also picked up 2 Christmas pressies for Max. A Mack lorry from Disney's Cars and a numbers puzzle. The puzzle was only £4 and the lorry was reduced to £7.49. I had seen this in meadowhall last week and it was £15, so it was a real bargain today. It was a toy he's asked Santa to get him too, so everyones happy. Here they are.

Ok i'm off now to make tea. Its shepherds pie (idea was stolen from my phone call to Vanda last night)and i'm starving.

The Postman's been today!!

I have had the best day today!

The postman bought me a parcel from my bestest friend in the whole world.

Here it is...

...and a closer one of Daniel Craig

It was a cd of James Bond tunes but she had made a new front cover for it saying, From Sandown with love and wrapped it brown paper which read, 'Top Secret' F.Y.E.O (For your eye only). Now this had my giggling straight away but the icing on the cake was when i turned it over and saw the back cover....

Vanda doesn't think Daniel Craig is gorgeous (i do) *TUTS* and she prefers (drools over) the hairy Pierce Brosnan! Can't see it myself. Anyway she calls Daniel Craig 'Mr Potato Head' so this is what she put on the back! Well i laughed so much i cried. I don't know how she thinks all this stuff up but i'm sure she has lots of help from her fab hubby Andrew.

Thank you for my lovely pressie, i think its brilliant!!! and thank you for the thank you card, not that any thanks were needed cos we loved having you all :O)

OMG! Last episode of House series 4!!

I'm sat here crying like a baby (trying to do it quietly so Nik doesn't think i'm stupid).

How totally sad is the last episode of series 4. The one where Amber dies. I was only gonna watch the episode before it, where House is in a bus crash and has head trauma but it was so gripping that i just had to watch the last one before going to bed! I had to know what happened else i'd never have got to sleep. It was so sad and such a fantastically filmed episode :O)

I will be starting on series 5 tomorrow morning.

Vanda.... you have created a monster!!!!

Why did i have to say it?

Ok thats the last time i say nothing much has happened!!!!

We had our tea early and Daniel was playing with Max on the floor in his college clothes (carpenter trousers) when Max started to scream 'somethings stuck in me' we all wondered what had happened until Dan remembered he'd left a pencil in his side pocket. This had stuck into the back of max's thigh when he'd sat on Dan's knee and the lead had snapped off in his thigh. I had to pull his trousers off and get the lead out while he was wriggling and screaming. It did all come out easily but then i was worried about poisoning from the lead. So, we phoned up NHS Direct and was told that pencils are all made with graphite now and not lead and it isn't toxic PHEW!
We put Max in a bath to soak his wound (hopefully clean it all out) and then wiped it down with antiseptic wipes. He's asleep now so hopefully he'll be ok in the morning.

I'll never moan nothing happens here again!

Look what we had for tea....Mmmmmm

Can ya tell what it is yet?

Its a vegetable omlette!!

it was delicious :O)

(mushrooms, red onions, tomatoes, ham and cheese)



I took this photo of Max while i was cooking and couldn't resist putting it on here too.

What have i been upto?...Not much!

Ok, i know i haven't blogged for ages and you would have thought that in all that time i would have done something interesting so i could share it with everyone on here. Sadly, i haven't. All i've been up to is the everyday mundane stuff. We didn't even go to a bonfire last night. I think that was probably my fault because i really couldn't get excited about going outside in the mud, fog, rain and cold to watch a few fireworks and a few bits of wood burning when, i could stay at home instead watching series 4 of House, while eating chocolate infront of my well stoked fire........see what i mean?

So what has everyone else been doing with themselves?

Nik has been working really hard making some huge double doors for a stable and going 'on site' to install barriers.

Dan has his car back now and is enjoying his freedom when he's not working or at college.

Josh is definately the star of the moment because he keeps doing the washing for me and is such a help when he isn't at college. He kept going on about wanting to learn to iron, so this morning when i had everything set up i gave him a hankie to have a go on. Sadly it turned out that ironing wasn't his 'thing' and he did make the following comment 'Its harder than it looks, isn't it?' so maybe now i'll get the appreciation i deserve when i've spent two hours on my feet with the ironing board for company LOL I'm not complaining though cos House did keep me rather good company today :OP

Jake has been doing ok lately and didn't fall back into his old self when our visitors had gone home, which was lovely. We still haven't heard fromthe hospital yet but the doctor said it wouldn't be long. He went to Newark with school on Tuesday night to the theatre to see a play called Bouncers but i can't manage to get out of him the storyline or if it was good (suppose from the lack of excitement about it i can take it, it wasn't that fantastic) but thats just Jake.

Max is always a little ray of sunshine but he still hasn't got over the fact that Vanda and Andrew has left him! LOL He can go for hours without mentioning them but then out of the blue he'll say, 'I want Vanda and Andrew back' I keep telling him we will be going to see them at their house when Santa has been but all he wants to talk about then is the ferry journey and the pirates (boats) he'll see PMSL

Well, thats it for today, no photos cos i can't think of anything for the word 'cling'. I promise i'll try harder tomorrow.

Hooray! We've gone wireless!!!

At last we've got rid of the useless dongle and gone wireless, thanks goes to my bezzie mate Andrew who set it all up for us (even though he was on holiday) and got it all working wonderfully. I should now be able to upload some photo and join in with HSMSHS.

Its been a bit of a sad day at our house because today was they day our lovely visitors went back home :O( My bestest friend in the whole world (Vanda) her fabulous hubby (Andrew) and two of their gorgeous daughters (Gemma & Elena) have been staying with us since Wednesday and we have had a great time together.

We went to Creswell Crags on Wednesday and had a lovely walk around the lake. Here's Max wearing his new winter hat.

On Thursday we went to Meadowhall and shopped till we dropped. I don't think our visitors could get over the shock of how many shops there were (they live a sheltered life on the IOW), and we tried to go in as many as possible. Max was such a good little boy for us so he got a few treats from Boots and ELC.

Friday (Halloween) morning was spent in Ikea in Nottingham. Vanda, Andrew and Elena had been before but Gemma was an Ikea virgin so we broke her in gently by taking her for a fry-up breakfast in the restaurant. When we had filled our tummies we went on a rat hunt around the store, stopping for photos along the way.

Nik as Mickey Mouse

Max in the trolley

Me, Max and Elena
Andrew relaxing

ElenaThen we had a bit of a halloween party and did some apple bobbing!

Nik

Josh & Max

Saturday was a visit to Hardwick Hall and a trip to the cinema to see James Bond's Quantum of Solace, which was fantastic!

The Gang!

Vanda

I love this photo of Vanda, smiling, happy wearing more layers than an onion and with her camera in her hand. MY BEST FRIEND! Love ya lots sweetie xxxxx

So thats what we've been upto, since my last post. We all had a great time :O)

OMG! How much do I hate this flippin dongle. Its pants, total and utter pants! Arghhhhh! I can’t get photos to upload and I have some fab ones and it takes me forever to sign in to blogger and then the connection goes up the swanny. So, here I am writing this in word and hoping that I can copy and paste it speedily to blogger before the signal disappears again *tuts* Roll on Tiscali!!

Today I fetched my new glasses, don’t get all excited about seeing them on a photo cos its never gonna happen (see above reason) and I love them, they are really comfortable. My darling Nik bought them for me (isn’t he a sweetie?) but nearly died when he found out the price £249. I didn’t intentionally pick the most expensive (honest) but I was having a problem getting a pair that was comfortable, because my right eye sticks out more than the other and I have a lump growing on the side of my eye socket (the sphenoid bone, I think its called) all the frames were either tight to my head and were cutting into my lumpy bit or they fitted too close to my eyes and my eye lashes on my bad eye were touching the lenses. So the lady kept getting more and more expensive ones out until the perfect pair came along, then you have to add the price of reactors and scratch coating and all that rigmarole and voila £249 is the total. It did make me laugh when we picked them up because the lady gave me a special cloth and a spray cleaner for free, like she was trying to justify the £249 spend LOL

I’ve been busy in the kitchen again today. I made a death by chocolate cake Mmmmm (Nik said it should be entered in the Southwell ploughing match cake competition, because it’s a winner) and its fabby dabby. I also harvested my beetroot and was sadly disappointed that I’ve only managed to get two jars full (all done by my own fair hands). They do say its quality, not quantity don’t they? Well its totally organic and pickled before the soil on it could dry. Can’t wait to try some on a cheese sandwich. Will post about it when I do. They recipe for the vinegar was meygrannies, passed on to Auntie Jean and now me, so I feel quite privileged ;O)

We had a curry for tea, Nik totally amazes me because he’s getting quite into it. When I first adopted him (normal people call it – ‘becoming a couple’) he only ate plain bland food, traditional English food etc…. but now he munches spag bol, curry, ratatouille, sweet n sour and I’m so proud of him.

We sat down after tea to watch Hugh Fernley-W’s River Cottage Autumn. Its my favourite show on tv at the moment and I can’t get enough of it. I would truly love to live the life he does. He makes it interesting and worth while. I loved the spring series where he got together with some people and helped them take over some waste ground near where they lived and turn it into a small holding. This time next year I should be the proud owner of a well stocked poly tunnel with vegetable coming out my ears. I hope i can do as well as he does but its definately harder than it looks.

Pardon the garden

In the Daily Mail today there was the following poem which i just loved and reminded me of my garden.

Credit goes to Mrs Pam Davies Abbots Langley, Herts.

Pardon the garden.

My garden is a picture (i was thinking of The Scream).

Though things i haven't planted are the biggest ever seen.

My nettles are magnificent, my dandelions prolific,

My pots attract a multitude of flora, non-specific.

I swear i only turned my back a moment, no more.

And there it was, wilderness where garden lay before.

Once the lawn was benign, not something to be feared.

But now its got so long and next doors granny's disappeared.

Something black and slimy, and reared on steriods by the size,

Is aiming for my marigolds, I can't beleive my eyes.

Should i call the SAS or RSPCA?

Or shall i be humane and let it slither on its way.

I need a reaper and the grimmest would be best,

To get to grips with all this grass before the woodcocks start to nest.

Somewhere underneath it all, ants must surely lurk.

I don't think i'll discourage them, i know they love to work.

I'm thinking Serengeti when i cast my eye around,

So no suprise if Yeti or wildebeest is found.

I blame the weather centre for their lack of rain control,

It started with a shower or two and ended on a roll.

All i really wanted was a dahlia or such,

Maybe some lobelia, some heather, just a touch.

A lawn where i could sip tea and eat a cake or two,

It can't can't be all that much to ask, I'm not expecting Kew.

But when they hold the contest for the garden of the year,

I'll send them up the road because, they'll never find it here!

Laurence

My Sunday

Sunday started with a trip to the car boot sale where Max found loads of cars all for 50p each which was a hugh bargain as they are usually £3 each. Each one was like new so they were a fab find.
We then went to visit Ann, Glenn and the twins Laurence and Edward. We took some photos of Max holding Edward.
On the way home we called in at a ploughing match and Max got to sit on a Massey Ferguson tractor. He loved looking at all the different tractors working hard to make their competition acre the best.
Nik must have caught the bug while he was there because when he got home he went out and rotavatored the land to the side of the house. I'd had enough of the cold weather and wind at the ploughing match so i stayed inside and did a bit of baking. I made a totally gorgeous chocolate fudge cake (even though i do say so myself!) and some swirly biscuits as well as all the usual stuff. Nik came in and stoked up the fire and we stayed in front of it for the rest of the night all snuggly and warm watching tv while the wind howled outside.

My Sunday

Max holding Edward

Max's car boot finds

A quiet day

Been busy round the house today. Cleaned, dusted, tidied all the usual boring stuff along with doing 4 loads of washing and 3 hours of ironing. So i really haven't much to type about today...LOL

Daniel did go out for a drive in his car and he came home with a suprise for me.... A Wispa bar of chocolate, which i thought was really sweet of him. Dad (Nik's) came up to visit in the afternoon and we showed him all the stuff we'd been doing in the house. He loved Max's new bedroom and what we were doing in the conservatory.

I made ratatouille for tea served with chicken breasts. Jake finally came round to my way of thinking and asked if he ate his chicken would he be allowed back on the computer (the nice boy we had last week has returned again) so i said yes and peace and harmony was once again restored in our house (TFFT!) All the rest of the day has been spent chilling in front of the tv with Nik and Max :O)

Dan

Here is a lovely photo of our Dan. He's never seen without his hat but it was a lovely photo and i just wanted to share it. You can even see his dimple in his cheek, which i love to tease him about.

Max in the bath

I took some lovely photos of Max in the bath tonight. He had us in hysterics because he kept lying down and saying he was a 'hipopotarus' wallowing in the mud. I asked him to show me his 'happy' face and this is what he did. He was also calling us nasty ogres and telling us to go away and kept roaring like a lion too. I am bias but he is gorgeous and he gives me such pleasure.

We've ordered Tiscali today!!!

We've ordered Tiscali today. Wow!, about flippin time i hear you say ...LOL . Thanks to the wonderful advice and suggestions from our Vanda, Lisa & Liam. Took us most afternoon as we had to do internet and telephone research on a few companies for price comparisons. Tiscali finally won, so next week we should get delivery of our router and away we'll go.

Today on HSMSHS the word is 'bake' so here are my 3 photos. Not as good as yesterday but i can't be sexy everyday! PMSL

Todays word is 'Hold'

I hope you like my interpretations of 'hold' (from HSMSHS).....ROFLMAO how rude am i? I must be getting brave in me old age, i must admit i am quite impressed with the outcome! but Nik does seem to have a bigger cleavage than me which is slightly worrying LOL

Not really done anything super interesting today, just cleaned, cooked and went to Mr T's. Was really upset to find that the Mansfield stores have changed their MOC policy again :O( The latest in their many rules are ONLY 5 MOCS ALLOWED PER TRANSACTION!!!!!!! I went armed with £26 pounds worth and was only able to use £9 worth (one of them was for a £6 airfreshner). I did manage to pick up 2 pairs of trousers for myself reduced from £10 to £6 and a pair of slippers too. Max got a toy car so, that was both of us happy LOL

The day was going ok till Jake came home and laughingly announced that he doesn't wanna eat meat anymore but, did not give us a reason as to why. I already cook at least 3 different dinners at teatime so i wasn't well pleased. Then he managed to rip the bin bag on the way out of the front door, dropping cottage cheese all over the place. All was well after that until i shouted everyone for their tea. Jake asked what had i done for him (oh god! i really can't explain the tone he asked in) and i immediately saw red. I said sweet 'n' sour chicken and boiled rice. He went on to say he didn't want to eat meat and that he'd just have rice, so i told him to eat it or lose the internet. He chose to lose the internet and is now making our lives a misery. I think he may even be on a food strike, but i am totally sick of him and his stinking attitude so i am not pandering to his latest whim or the fact that he loves to try and make my life difficult at every turn. Anyway enough said, rant over LOL I keep smiling.

We have been looking in to getting a new internet connection/provider and God is it a flippin minefield. I have some compare printouts that i got from the internet and i'm still no wiser arghhhhhhhhhhhh!!! I didn't realise there was so many different download speeds and limits. I think i'm gonna have to give the man who fixed my laptop in the summer a call cos i seriously don't get it at all (must be me age).

I think Nik's a bit miffed cos the Vanquish recovery has been cancelled, and he was looking forward to it, i think. So sorry Andrew, no photos of James Bonds car for me blog :O( The man went yesterday to fetch it himself.