Well it's been a while

Since I last posted...  That's what happens when you move house!!

So, we're now in a house with a functioning bathroom (yay) but no storage.  And strangely, no temperature markings on the oven - which makes cooking interesting, to say the least!

But, it's a much nicer house (which wouldn't be difficult!) and the kids/cats are all happy!

Thank you NHS...

...for the special miracle that is my eldest child. This time seven years ago I was in a slight state of shock & gazing in a combination of awe & utter fear at a tiny little scrap barely clinging onto life, covered in tubes & wires & looking more like something scraped off the road than a baby....  It had been 4 hours between actually giving birth & being allowed to see him, but there he was, tiny but perfectly formed - just 3 months before he was meant to be here (& has continued being bloody awkward ever since.  Hohum)

And today is his seventh birthday.  He's healthy, happy (although you wouldn't think it from the drama queen tears we seem to get at least once a day) cheeky, gorgeous, extremely clever and more importantly, very much alive.

So thank you NHS.  (Although, I have to admit that some days, when he's been severely trying my patience, that does get said around gritted teeth....  but in all seriousness, I wouldn't be without him at all....)

Happy Birthday little soldier....

All hail September

The kids are back at school!!!  They were getting so bored, bless 'em so of course their behaviour was deteriorating...  But thankfully, they're back.   Of course that meant The Woo complaining about "I don't like school, I'm sleepy" this morning but his complaints didn't stop him skipping off with his girlfriend when his class were taken through...

Poor E tho has suffered rejection... When I picked them up this afternoon he told me quite sadly that "L isn't marrying me anymore because I've got brown skin"  poor bairn....  apparently he has a new girlfriend already tho!  Oh to be almost 7 when things are that easily solved!

Tidge starts nursery tomorrow - he's not old enough to be starting nursery...  It's not right I tell you.  What on earth I'm going to do when my little Bo-Bo starts in 16 months is absolutely beyond me.

Hohum.

So the results....

of the Great St Swithins Day Experiment...

(remember it was mixed weather here in South-West Wales)

So, we had 7 days of mixed weather, 10 days of rain & 23 days of dry weather.  Now, I'll be the first to admit that those dry days may not necessarily have been full of blazing sunshine, but they were dry & it was warm & there were several days where it was absolutely glorious...

So ya boo sucks to all you out there who've been trying to claim that we haven't had a summer!!!  Go away & find something else to complain about!!!

Well that was a shock...

When the landlord came round on Friday to tell us to leave by 1st October, I asked for it to be put in writing, fully expecting that it would never happen...

Well, today, I got a letter from them putting it in writing.... well knock me down with a feather!!!!

So what now?  I'll be phoning up tomorrow asking for an appointment to see a housing officer next week & hopefully we should now get priority status, but of course it still all depends on a suitable house coming up....

And typically, we've finally got to the top of the waiting list for an NHS dentist (only a year & 2 months after we moved here!!)

Weather been glorious today - lovely late summer day.  Will look at the results & post them tomorrow...

"Don't worry, it'll be alright"

That was the comment from the lovely lady who sorted out my change of circumstance form today....  I "know" it will, but it's still hard to face homelessness when you look into the eyes of your kids who trust you to look after them.....

So now we've got to hope that a) the form gets processed quickly & b) something lovely comes up because I really would like a house in a nice area (although if it came down to it, of course I'd take a house in a rubbish area - my kids need somewhere to live...)

So lots of vibes needed please people...

Right, weather (I think tomorrow's the last day - must check)  chucking it down this morning but ended up glorious by this afternoon (& now of course the sun's blazing through the baby's bedroom window, so he's not going to sleep.... hmmph)

Boxes, boxes everywhere....

The extension seems to be full of fruit boxes (one of the 'perks' of Hubby working for a supermarket?) 2 of which are now filled with books.  (and having discovered that we had £31 of credit on Green Metropolis we've just ordered 2 more books - doh!  We're meant to be taking the opportunity to declutter, not to add more stuff that will have to be moved with us!!!)

We've been up in the loft & started sorting through up there (1 bag filled for charity & a winter coat found for Toby - result!) and now I have a heap more stuff to list on Netmums/Ebay/Freecycle... (oh & I've just sold the buggypod so am very chuffed with that - 1 less unwanted thing to move & money in my purse!!)

Weather-wise?  It's been quite nice today - some sunny spells & no rain (hurrah)

Rain, rain go away

It's been raining for the past 3 days, although it appears to be brightening up now...  typically of course, it was bright sunshine first thing this morning, so I jumped out of bed to put the washing out...  It's still out there cos it didn't start to rain gradually - oh no, the heavens opened & a veritable deluge came down so I figured I'd just let the clothes  have an extra rinse....

We've had some good news & bad news yesterday.  For the good news, Hubby has a new job....  Yay...  Unfortunately, that's been outweighed by the fact that the landlord came round to evict us.... poo...  I know the house is horrid & needs serious improvement, but it would have been nice to have had somewhere to move to before we have to leave....... grrrr. 

So now the extension is full of boxes.  Oh well...... onwards & upwards.....

Fantastic Day

We've had visitors from "home" today.  (I say "home" because I mean Nottingham, which is obviously hubby's home town (almost) but with me being a North-East lass, it's clearly not mine, despite living there for 11 years)

Anyway, some friends came down on holiday, so we took them out to Clerkenhill Adventure Farm today.  Our boys loved it, their boys loved it, us 'grown-ups' got to catch up (been years since we last saw them) & chill, we even had sunshine!! All in all, a good time was had by all...  Hoping they come down again more often - missed them!

Then I had a really good pole dance class this evening - I managed to get the reverse-grab down.  I've been struggling with that one for weeks - just couldn't quite get the hang of it, then it suddenly all clicked tonight & now I love it!!  Also started learning a new trick - the 'toothbrush'  and Jamie (instructor) has taken my inverts up a level - I'm now working towards getting the 'scorpion' and another one whose name escapes me right this moment (but it's really pretty!!)
(oh also working on some stuff I just can't get the hang of at all, but we'll not think about those just now!)

I really, really love days like today! :-)

(Oh & as I already mentioned, we've had glorious sunshine today!!)

Spider Spider in the bath....

2 huge spiders have taken up residence amongst the bath toys that are currently littering the bottom of the bath...  And I mean mahoosive - leg span easily the width of my hand...  I wouldn't care, but I hate spiders.

So no bath for my children tonight, hohum.  (yes, yes I could have stuck them under the (separate) shower but I couldn't be doing with the argument & screaming from Toby....)  so they'll have to have one in the morning before we go out (once Sir Galahad has removed said spiders from the bath!)

I'm struggling to find my birth certificate atm & I need it for a job interview.  I have decluttered the desk in the extension (am now sat surrounded by pc games that I need to check to see if they actually work/are worth keeping, having gone through the recordable cd's/dvd's earlier)  I'm not looking forward to going through the box files & decluttering them, but a) I need to find this flaming birth certificate & b) it needs doing anyway...
Mind you, I did procrastinate a tad earlier (bit like I'm doing now!) & inspired by my friend Caz, I've decluttered baby stuff to give away....

Weather miserable today - grey, gloomy & on/off drizzle...  hoping it's better tomorrow as we're meeting up with some friends from Notts who are down on holiday.

Little flaming monsters.....

oh how I scuppered myself yesterday when I mentioned to a 'friend' (a mum from school!!) that we were halfway through the holidays & I hadn't yet killed the children & the hols were going super-fast...

They've been a mare today -  the house is an absolute tip, they've been screaming & shouting & fighting & bickering & running up & down the stairs..... And to top it off, the baby won't go to sleep. *sigh*

Went to Colby Woodland garden yesterday - really nice there.  Not my favourite National Trust property (that's Belton House in Grantham) but as we don't really have any Houses round here, mainly coastline, I'll just have to make do!!  In fact, I don't even know where the nearest "proper" NT property is (discounting the Tudor Merchants House in Tenby, as although that's lovely, it's not a stately home!!)  Having searched, it would be Dinefwr Park & Castle in Llandeilo.....  which I guess isn't actually that bad as Belton was a good 90 mins away from us when we lived in Nottingham....  will have to go check it out again.
Our next nearest would be Llanerchaeron in Ceredigion.  Could we combine a trip there with a trip to Aberystwyth I wonder?  Hmmmm....

Anyway, weather has been glorious the past 3 days.  Just starting to drizzle a bit now, but still warm.

Friday 13th madness...

first of all, the baby kept me awake from 3am-ish.  (partly my own fault because I completely forgot in my 3/4 asleep state that I wasn't breastfeeding him at night anymore & started lifting my top up for him, which of course upset & frustrated him...)

then, I had a job interview today, but because I have no passport & couldn't find my birth certificate, they wouldn't interview me (I took my driving licence & other forms of id but nada....)

And we found a tick on the baby this morning - grrr..... I think they're all coming from the extension as I'm decluttering in there & there are tons of fleas (itch itch itch....)  We don't use the extension as anything other than a junk room in case anyone thinks I'm being a particularly slack housewife.... lol!!

Had a Lush delivery yesterday.  I'd cheekily put in a request for samples of 2 products & ended up with samples of 4 products - yay!!!  and am hoping that the babybot bath bomb I ordered puts the baby to sleep!!!

Weather report - yesterday was glorious & today, although slightly drizzly ended up lovely too!

off to eat pizza & chocolate (but not at the same time!)

ooh I ache....

been to my first pole class in a while tonight - missed the last 2 weeks what with being on holiday & then hubby's work putting him on late shifts...

a couple of spins I was struggling with last time, I seem to have figured out subconsciously whilst I've been missing - so that's pretty cool.  And I learnt a new trick (rather I learnt how to make one I'd already been working on look prettier!!)  Still got to work on quite a bit though...

Environmental health have been round as well - apparently the ceiling's fine but he's definitely not happy with the extension roof & agrees that the bathroom really needs ripping out but like me, he doesn't think the landlord will do it...  (& as long as the toilet's working it's not enforceable..)  BUT, I've found out that the saniflo system should only be installed if there's an alternative toilet that can be used.  Just waiting back to hear if that's a legal requirement or just a recommendation....

Weather's been glorious so the bathroom carpet is on the front yard drying out but I rather suspect it won't be going back as the underlay was horrendously mouldy & the carpet grips were rotten....  wonder how long it will be before the landlord replaces it?

Good Grief...

Well, first off, the baby only took 4 minutes to settle last night, then slept till nearly 5, had a drink of water & didn't wake up again till gone 7.30!!!  Yay baby!

Secondly, the plumber returned (eventually, at around 1pm after 2 phone calls by environmental health to the landlord & me sending the landlord very irate texts) apparently the leaking was caused by the trap under the bath not being properly sealed, so that's sorted... as for the saniflo not working properly, he's sorted the blockage but I'm not convinced he's actually been inside the unit (the small puddle on the top of it that's still there tends to give it away) but at least we have a (semi) working toilet again.... (till the next time it breaks down!)

Carpet needs replacing as it's absolutely sodden but bet I end up having to blot it with towels & get the hairdryer on it, as landlord not replied to my text enquiring about it....

Thirdly (& scarily) I have an interview with Marks & Spencer on Friday morning.... aaarrgghh!!  I only just completed the online application tonight!  Working in Cafe Revive....  fingers crossed cos it would be perfect training for running my own little teashop...

OK, the weather - chucked it down this morning, glorious this afternoon.

Can nothing go right?

Good news & bad news today...

lets get the weather out of the way first - rain rain & a bit more rain (although it was dry & sunny for a couple of hours this afternoon)

Good news - the baby was nowhere near as bad last night... He came in with us at around 11.30, screamed for an hour, then slept till 4.45.  Had some water & slept for another half hour before deciding it would be best to play a little game with Mammy.  Get out of bed Daddy's side, walk round, get back into bed Mammy's side.  Repeat till 5.30, then sleep till 7.30!!!


Bad news - the saniflo system in the bathroom has finally given up on us... it now refuses to flush - in fact we have sewage in the bath & the shower as a result & it appears that there's a leak somewhere under the bathroom floor as we can now paddle in the bathroom.... 
The landlord reckons he'll "try to get a plumber out tomorrow"  I wonder if this is the same "tomorrow" as the one he's been talking about for over a year?

Luckily, we have Environmental Health coming round on Wednesday but I think calling them first thing in the morning's the way forward.....

I shall repotr back tomorrow...

Oh what a night....

and not in a good way...

We've decided it's time Nikki started sleeping through (at nearly 2 it's well past time!) and last night was the first night of him not getting boob in the night.....  oh the screaming, the kicking, the flailing, the headbutting...
Hubby took him downstairs to calm down at about 2.30.  All well & good till he brought him back upstairs when he started again.
He finally went to sleep at about 4.30....
Hubby got up to go to work at 6.15....
I got up at 7.20...

Needless to say we're both shattered now.  Hoping tonights a better night and he's more accepting.

We're following this method if you're interested http://drjaygordon.com/attachment/sleeppattern.html (except I've missed the first 3 nights & started on the second 3 nights)

Weather - nice & sunny today...

Night all!

Ooh - how exciting!

Since I discovered how to add a count-thingumyjiggy to my blog (technical term, ya know!!) I've had 23 people come by & now have 2 followers!  And I feel that my blog's so boring - especially compared with the likes of Slightly South of Sanity.  The delightful lady who has that blog makes me howl! 

Anyhoo - a big shout out to everyone who's taken to stopping by!!

Right - today, I thought I'd introduce you to my cats.  I have 3 of them (I did have 4 but my gorgeous Madwam (real name Heidi) died a couple of years ago ) 

I've got Tyla - a big ginger tom, named after the singer from the Dogs D'amour.  He's a big bruiser, not afraid of taking on all-comers but when it comes to humans, unless I've invited them into the house, he doesn't want to know.  Probably cos the poor love was beaten up by some "kind" human when he was a kitten.

Then I've got his brother Doodah (I didn't name him - that was my ex-boyfriend!) They're litter-mates & they've got very similar markings, but Dude's tabby.  He's another bruiser.  The pair of them are the Mitchell brothers of the cat world!  Mind you, they're getting on a bit now - 14 & they are starting to lose the occasional bout...

Finally, I have (or should I say my hubby has) Razzle (named after the dead drummer from Hanoi Rocks)  She's a tiny little black & white kitty (with small cat syndrome!) who we found in a cage in a pet shop with poo on her tail.  We couldn't leave her there, so she came home with us (expensive bloody stanley knife she was - that's what we'd gone out to buy & had only popped in to the pet shop to price up catflaps!!  ah well, she's adorable, if rather stand-offish!!)

Right, nothing really to report from here today.  The youngest monkey has really hit the mardy terrible two's and spent quite a bit of time this afternoon screaming at me.  The rest of them spent today slumped in front of the tv (lazy Mummy I am!!)  that's about it. 

As for the weather - rainy this morning (on & off) cheered up a bit this afternoon....

ttfn!

The things we tell children!!

So the eldest has just woken up crying because he had a bad dream.  A tiger ate him....
So I've had to tell him that he has a bad dream about tigers again he has to shout "bad cat", smack it's paw & open a tin of catfood...  This is along with bonking monsters on the head, feeding crocodiles chocolate until their teeth fall out so they can't bite you, shouting at bad guys to go away....

etc etc etc!!!  And then we parents tell our children not to lie with perfectly straight faces!!!!  I suppose the difference being that those are dreams, not real!

Anyway, I was supposed to hear back from a job interview by the end of the week.  I'm guessing that if I've not heard anything, I've not got the job.  ah well.

Weather's been pretty horrid today - on off rain.  Still warm though.

In todays news...

not a great deal happening...

HSE contacted, they're going to write to landlord asking for proof of a gas safety certificate.  Haven't contacted environmental health yet - will do tomorrow, but not holding out hope of them being particularly helpful...

the boys found a wallet today on the way to the library, so off we all toddled to hand it in (all £1.90 of it!)

weatherwise, yesterday was warm but cloudy & it's been pretty much the same today too....

So, the landlord

came round to collect his rent (Sunday, first of the month - huge shock, it's normally something like the 20th!!) & was all prepared to leave without mentioning the issues we have....  Finally mumbled something about getting it sorted on Wednesday.

Today, he came round with his brother (in law? cousin?  who knows) who faffed looking at everything AGAIN & went off mumbling about "trying to get something sorted out"  TRY to get something sorted out?  you blimming well WILL get it sorted out....  Sooooo how long to leave it till I call the HSE/environmental health....

Anyway, job interview today.  No idea what to think of it, lots of questions about teaching etc (this is for a reception/admin role) but we'll see what we see...

As for the weather - hot hot hot again (but overcast)  how many days after St Swithins is it now?  totally lost track!!

Hot, hot, hot...

it's been so hot & sticky today.  Still really hot now (8.45pm)  It's not helping the baby sleep - he's currently screaming his head off up there.....  Probably not helped by 2 doors down having yet ANOTHER party & blasting the music out...

House is now going up for auction.  It's been reduced down in price by the estate agents while we wait for it to go to auction but unless we get a buyer, it'll be in the auction on the 14th September - hopefully we can finally be rid of the damn thing...

We're all going on a ....

...Summer Holiday!!  Or getting back as the case might be!  Not sure that the St Swithins Day experiment will fully work if I've been in a different county for a week but never mind, we'll carry on regardless!

So, a week in West Cornwall.  Stuck in horrendous traffic on the way there (& the way back for that matter) & the weather didn't bode well - rain & fog.  We couldn't see the sea from the house - & it's right on the coast!

Sunday didn't start out too hopeful, but was glorious sunshine by the afternoon - necessitating a walk down to the beach (where Nikki decided to attack every dog he saw!)
Monday was similar (although not as hot) & although the kids weren't the best behaved, we did discover completely by chance the Godolphin estate which is really nice.

Tuesday - cloudy, but warm.  Off to Paradise Park in Hayle, which is absolutely fantastic - so many different birds & we got to feed Lorikeets too - they just come & sit on your hand!

Wednesday - into Truro.  Another cloudy day with threatened rain.  hohum....

Thursday - fabulous weather, brilliant blue sky & blazing sunshine.  Off to Lands End (after visiting the Merry Maidens, where Nikki insisted on touching every stone) for the RNLI/Navy open day & air/sea rescue demonstration.  Loved every minute of it.  The boys were thrilled at getting to sit in a fire engine, & they loved the demo!  Nikki got agitated in the queue for the 4D film but fell asleep pretty much as soon as we got in there - how he could sleep through being sprayed with water & buffeted about I have no idea!

Friday - last day, boo.  Went to St Michaels Mount, which we've been meaning to do for years. It's quite a climb up to the castle, but well worth it!  Weather was again iffy but  no true downpour.  We also discovered another circle which we'll have to investigate properly next time (as the kids were asleep in the car & it's quite a way from the road)

Saturday - well, as I said earlier, we managed to get stuck in horrendous traffic again.  Weather - hot & humid & by the time we got back to Pembs, it was well & truely raining....  Been nice today tho.....

Right, now to work out how to put pictures in my posts....

grrrr - bloody children

free to a good home, 1 little boy who won't sleep....

Earlier on it would have been 3 little boys who won't sleep, but 2 of them have succumbed.....

I realised earlier that I didn't say what the weather was like when I posted yesterday.   Started off a bit dismal, but ended up very sunny.

And exactly the same today.  Hoping it lasts through next week...

Awwww - a brand new baby cousin!

First off, huge huge congratulations to my lovely cousin Mary who's just had a baby girl!!!  That makes her my first cousin once removed?  My second cousin?  who knows!!

"Cricket check" day, as head lice checks are known in this house...  How come 3 of my boys were completely clear, but one was riddled?  hmmmmm.

And I really can't believe the arrogance of some people - someone pulled up outside our house, blocking the drive to use the phone (plenty of room behind her).  Glen needed to go to the shop for something, so he made a big song & dance about getting into the car - nope, steadfastly refused to look out of the window.  He turned the key in the ignition & got the engine going, nope.  Put the car in reverse, uh-uh.  He used the horn - 3 times, leaning on it the final time.  No, she still was refusing to look (who doesn't look round when a car beeps next to them?)  I ended up having to go & knock on her window (earning myself a glare in the process & an "I'm on the phone") to get her to move - in her own time of course.....
She should count herself lucky I didn't get her reg & take pics of her in the car to report her to the police really....

Ah well...

Bring me sunshine...

Much nicer weather today....  didn't start out too promising, in fact it was raining whilst we were eating breakfast.  But since around 10am it's been lovely sunshine.  Hoping the sun stays around for a while.

I'm now covered in new bruises after flinging myself round a pole (& it hasn't helped the eczema on my armpit) but I'm hoping I'm showing improvement...  I can't spin to save my life but I seem to be ok with tricks!

Only a couple of days till we go to Cornwall now - can't wait to stuff myself full of cream teas, icecream & pasties!

Rain rain go away...

Day 5 (or is that day 4 or 6?  I lose count - already!)  more rain... It did try to clear up for a while but to no avail...

Baby Nikki has learnt how to say "No" rather than simply shaking his head - so he's now going round shouting "nnnnnnooooooo" at everyone & everything.  Which is cute - wonder how long I'll be saying that for?

That's pretty much it - nothing to report today.  I'm going to have to find interesting ways to write about my daily life!!

Schools Out For Summer!!

So that's it - the eldest 2 have broken up for the next 6 weeks...  Let the chaos commence!

Weather-wise, it's day 4 & it's been overcast with on/off showers all day....  According to Len, the guru of weather predictions here in Pembrokeshire, it's going to rain tomorrow as well....

Still waiting for the landlord to ring.  They've managed to cash the rent check of course....  And now, along with the saniflow system spurting foul-smelling liquid out of the basin, the unit's started to leak.  Great.

On a more positive note, the estate agent dealing with the sale of our house rang to let me know we have a potential buyer....  He knows the house needs work, is quite prepared for that & is just waiting to see if he can get a mortgage.  If he can he is likely to put in an offer apparently.... Please Goddess let it happen!!!

er -you're not alone...

Day 3 - mainly dry but overcast apart from a brief 10 minute deluge.  Does that count as a dry day or a rainy day?

Nothing interesting going on with the household  today...  Youngest son extremely clingy & stressy.  Number 2 son full of temper tantrums including one at bedtime when he was sent to brush his teeth.  Cue wailing & foot stamping & declarations that he was going to be lonely in the bathroom... prompting the eldest to tell him "er, you're not alone"!!

But that's pretty much it for today...  Golly gosh, we're wild & crazy here!

"Mummy, why do we have elbows?"

That was the question posed by my second-eldest in the middle of Tesco!!  When told it was so we could bend our arms, he replied "Oh yeah" in such a funny tone of voice (oh yeah, of course it is, silly me!) that we couldn't help laughing at him - a lot!!!

Anyway.  It's Day Two.  The weather has been absolutely wonderful all day (bit windy, mind) despite Len our local weatherman saying it was going to be raining this afternoon.....  He rarely gets it right, bless him!

Still waiting for the landlord to call back...  I'm not holding my breath that he'll call at a reasonable hour....

Ah well.  Steak with philedelphia sauce served with potato rosti for dinner & I think I'll watch Angels & Demons as well.

Day 2 in the St Swithins Experiment

Weather was horrendous this morning - absolutely chucking it down & windy (apparently it was Force 10 last night)  By this afternoon it was gorgeous though....  so far it looks like as the weather was changeable on St Swithins day, it's going to remain changeable for 40 days...  mind you, it's only the first day of course!

Waiting for the landlord to call me back about the horrid problems we have with the house.  I texted him this afternoon & so far no call.  He has so far tried calling after 10pm.  Wonder if he's ever going to phone at a decent hour?

St Swithins Day

Well, here we go. It's been a long time since I kept a diary (getting on for 12 years actually)

I've just not felt the need at all. I'm not a teenager full of angst & I've just not had time to be scribbling (well I probably have had but I've filled that time with other stuff!)

But lately I've been starting to feel the pull towards writing about things that have happened and St Swithins day seemed like a good time to start.

So, allegedly, whatever the weather is like on St Swithins day, that's how it will remain for the next 40 days.... So let's keep tabs on it shall we?

Today in Pembrokeshire, it started off overcast with a bit of drizzle. Turned sunny towards the early afternoon (so I put the washing out... big mistake) By the time I was on the way back from picking the boys up it was absolutely hoofing it down (see why it was a big mistake?!)

So is it going to be sunny for the next 40 days, raining or just plain changeable?

I guess we'll have to wait & see!