Puppies and Gin ....

I really don't know whose the worse, my other half or the kids!!   2 Weeks ago, our dog had her first litter of puppies. To be honest, she coped so much better than the rest of us, and I've already had 3 labours myself, so felt I had a bond with her!! I'd spent a few nights reading up on what to do when the time comes and was ready with my towels and handbook...let the welping begin.  Only, when the time came, I'd just put the boys to bed and was sat on my bed enjoying a good book and a lovely cup of tea.  Not long after, my other half shouted for me, so I shouted downstairs to ask what he wanted.  He sounded a bit panicked and said the puppies were coming, so I grabbed the towels and handbook and made my way, leisurely down stairs. As he normally has a tendancy to exagerate, I was expecting to see that Chrystal had wet herself - or even him (hehehe). So, I came into the room and said, how do you know? To which, he pointed at the sofa (where they'd been snuggling together as I'd not been there to stop them!!) and there was this cute little puppy, all wet and slimy.  Mum, Chrystal, was looking at it a bit oddly then started to lick it, so nature kicked in and took over. I used the towel's to dry his leg and the sofa!!
It went quiet then, so we called the neighbours round to a bit of support and to keep us all going through the night.  The next one didn't appear till after midnight. The other half, Steve, and our neighbour had popped out front for a smoke, Chrystal followed for some fresh (??) air.  However, the act of standing and walking seemed to trigger the movement of another puppy, so next minute I was called for, with my towels to help catch the puppy outside. Chrystal was staggering around, looking like she was having a poo, and Sarah from next door, did an excellent job of catching the slippery little pup before it hit the ground.  Steve had been there with the torch, so passed it to me saying - Here, hold this. Which I did, thinking he was going to help, but no, he finished the sentence of with - I'm just nipping to the van for the beers, be back in a second.  So, there we were, a little shocked by the next arrival and even more so by Steve's sudden desire for beer!!!
Mind you, it did keep us all going, through the final 4 puppies and eventually hit the sack at 4am.

Ryan and Tom have been a bit lacking in material for me lately, so haven't been able to update the world with their little 'pearls'.  But today, was Ryan's day.  Nothing major, we'd been watching a tv ad about teabags, the old lady was saying how she bought them for her husband. She didn't like tea, she likes gin.  Me and Steve had a chuckle about that, then Ryan asked - What's gin?. So I said it's what old people drink to make them happy. To which he said - Is that what you drink Mum?....the cheeky monkey - he was serious too!! Steve laughed and gave him a hug, I just laughed and rearranged my hair to hide the grey.....

Bonfire Night and Family do's.

What bad timing it was to be invited to a friend of the family's anniversary party on the same night at bonfire night.  The boys were so excited about taking the 4x4 out, parking on the prom and watching the fireworks being set off from the pier.  Unlike previous years, it didn't rain, so the fireworks went ahead, if a bit disappointing compared to their usual high standards.  Not helped, I suppose, by last years costly mistake of setting up the fireworks when a rather large rain storm was forecast, which then promptly soaked the firesworks rendering them useless!! The council kept talking about the cost of drying them out and re-arranging for another night, New Year was even considered - but it never happened.  So this year, I think they were being a bit more cautious and the result was a damp squib of an affair on a rather nice night!!!

So, to make up for it, we decided to go to the family party after all.  I didn't really feel up to it, so just threw on some clean clothes and made our way to the party.  When we got there, it was a typical italian family do, with lots of family, friends, food and drink!! We found our little group and went over to join them. The boys found the dance floor and started chasing the lights round and badgering the DJ for Robbie Williams.  Kept them happy anyway.

Not long after we arrived, everyone was invited up to help themselves to the buffet. It was a lovely spread with lots of choice as you would expect.  I'd only just had my tea, a pizza on the prom, so thought I'd just have a cake.  I could see across the dance-floor that Tom, Ryan and their cousins had set themselves up on a table, not far from the food. I also noticed that Tom had a lovely big slice of chocolate cake, so headed over for a closer look.  As I got nearer, Tom spotted me and said "Mmm, Mum this chocolate cake is lovely" He then started to scoop some up with his spoon "Do you want some?" he asked, "Ooh, yes please Tom." I said, to which he pointed to the table of food and said "There's more over there!!".

I couldn't help myself, I gave him a big kiss on the head, and rushed back to our table laughing!!

Those pesky slugs!!

Now that the rains have started and the creepy crawlies are coming out of hiding,  I have been reminded of something that happened a few years ago, not long after I'd moved into this house. 

I came home from work to find a note from the postman to say he'd dropped a package off next door. so I popped round, dodging a few monster sized slugs on the way.  After a bit of small talk, I mention how surpised I was at the size of the slugs round here.  He gave me a funny look and asked where I'd lived before. Not far, I said, but in flat up 2 flights of stairs, so I wasn't bothered by them there.

He said that it wasn't normally much of a problem round here, and he hadn't heard of anyone else being too worried by it. However, he then went on to say that a house down the road had been badly affected by them a few years back, mainly because of the mountain behind us.  Visions of monster slugs coming down from the mountains started to form in my mind - OMG what have I let myself in for!!!  He then went on to say that at least it wasn't as bad at the Junction, when the whole of the bottom of the hill was under water for days!!! Water??? eh???  And then the penny dropped - he was talking about FLOODS not SLUGS!!!

Was I glad I hadn't asked him too much detail about how the slugs had got into the house, so with a relieved smile and thanks, I made my exit and returned home safe in the knowledge that those pesky slugs on the path would never be coming in my house!!!

Shake what your mama gave ya!

I have always known that too much telly is bad for you. As a child you need to be up and about, exploring the garden, playing games and generally being a kid.  But sometimes, it's neccessary to press the TV button and hand the remote to your youngest and watch him masterly hit the buttons 6 2 0 and hey presto - peace!!!  Closely followed by "Oh, not this AGAIN!!!" This could come from either myself, hubby or Ryan, the eldest son (by 16 months - and don't you forget it!!!)  And so it begins....repeat after repeat of the same old kids programmes. So much so, Tom and Ryan can sing along to some of the more obscure opening credits without fault.    I wasn't too worried about the general content of the programmes as they all aim to teach you how to be a better person or how to create puss filled boils to fool your friends and family (er, thanks for that Backyard Science!)  However, I am now beginning to wish there were more interesting British programmes to entertain the boys, as they are picking up a few too many Americanisms for my liking.  (sorry, but Iggle Piggle and the Ninky nonk don't count!!)

It started off small, the odd "butt" instead of bottom, "garbage" instead of rubbish, but when Tom started asking if I used to change his "Daiper" as a baby, I realised that maybe it was going too far. And then you've got them quoting lines from films they've only seen a couple of times, but have really taken a shine to a particular phrase.  "Shake what your Mama gave ya!" is one that keeps Tom  happy for hours. Quoting it at every opportunity, which doesn't sound too bad, but then he expects you to do just that and join in the fun.  More often than not, he will do this to raise a laugh or a smile, usually when he's been a bit naughty and is trying to distract you into forgetting his naughtyness.  At first, this used to work and a relieved Tom would make a quick exit before I could remember what he'd done.  However, this is wearing a bit thin now and I can spot the signs of when he's going to try it on.  But he has now found a backup, if all else fails, he will look me straight in the eye, with the saddest face going, if he can squeeze out a tear - all the better, and in his most sincerest voice he'll say "Mum, you smell of daisies"....and with that, my angry Mummy face cracks into the biggest smile.  That boy will go far.

The things they say....

I have always disliked  the idea of being one of those Mums whose life revolves totally around their kids.  I am me, a person and a mummy, so therefore I need to remember that I have a life too.  However, I find myself on many occassions, when out with my friends, drifting into conversations about my boys.  And, as usual, I will proudly reel off the next installment of their innocent little lives.

One of the first memorable events to stick in my mind regarding my youngest, Tom, happened during his speech therapy session. At age 3, he was still getting the hang of talking but understanding him was often a struggle. So we were referred for speech therapy....oh fun!! The first therapist emigrated to New Zealand so we were passed over to a new one.  Absolutely lovely lady, very patient. This was tested during our first visit, when Tom proudly showed her his toy mobile phone. She duly complemented him on having a very modern phone and asked that he popped it in his pocket to play with later, which he did.  However, (I was surprised I hadn't seen this coming) right in the middle of a particularly interesting exercise, he suddenly reached into his pocket, looked at the front of his phone and with a very important air announced - 'I must take this' and flipped open the phone and started talking, very clearly into the mouthpiece!!! That left me and the lovely lady, sitting and staring - open mouthed - at him and then at each other!! After a quick, 'k, I'll call you back' Tom returned his attention to us, closed his phone and popped it back in his pocket!  No apology, nothing.  This will keep me going for a very long time!!!

An Introduction...

Having spent the last 2 years or so addicted to facebook, I realised that my status updates only gave my family and friends a very limited insight into the often random contents of my life.

So, I have decided to effectively extend my personal diary onto a wider scale.  I am new to this so it may take some time to build up a flow.

I will be hitting the big 40 next year and feel I need to get focused!!! Reaching 40 will also be the 10 year anniversary of my engagement, wonder if MoonPig.com does a card for that???  I have 2 wonderfully amusing sons, who as any parent will know, always manage to say just the right/wrong things as just the right/wrong times.