It's been a while! ...

Hi! It's been a while since the last update. I just couldn't be bothered tbh! I thought I would come here and chat about nothing. I always seem to think I haven't done anything. And I keep forgetting to take pictures gah!

Monday 10th May:

Today mother in law goes back home from her "surprise" visit. I take a couple of piccies of buttercups whilst out on school run. They are one of my favourite summer "flowers". So bright and cheery! And it makes me smile when the girls run it under my chin and ask if I like butter. Anyone else remember that from their childhood? I found this from an article on The Guardian website: "Do you like butter? Hold a buttercup under your chin and folklore says if there is a yellow reflection on your skin it means you do. But the real reason the flowers seem to shine with an intense glittering yellow is nothing to do with butter but about advertising the plants to insect pollinators from a great distance." 

So there you go! It's to attract little flying things. Love it! I still like the folklore tradition though. It fills my head with happy summery memories!

In the evening I come and write to the blog.

Tuesday 11th May:

I don't have any pictures from this date so guess it was just a standard affair!

Wednesday 12 May:

Today is swimming lessons again. This time we sit in the car on phones, with word searches and a book. I can't wait for it to be over as Sophie went in crying lots so want to make sure she is ok. I know she will be. But hey ... mummy instincts are strong! Got a bit peckish so tucked into a box of biscuits I packed! 

Thursday 13th May:

A mummy friend messaged me to say that her daughter had been shown the words "sexual intercourse" in the school dictionary! This is at aged 8-9. I then had to go and get the school dictionary they use and check it for myself! I do admit to having a moment inside of *snigger*. Takes me back lol! Not sure what I would say if Jess came home and had found it! Although I really don't think she would be bothered. She found and watched a cartoon version of the real thing on you tube when she was 7. So she knows what happens. There is one thing we haven't spoke about and that's the clitoris! I'm still not sure what I would say if asked lol. I guess I just need to be matter of fact about it! 

Sophie found and brought home a massive pile of blossom off the tree. Literally 2 hands full! She dumped it on great grandmas old unit and then chose the best to put in a pot of water. 

Friday 14th May:

Walking home from school and spotted this little fella hiding in the grass! So cute!!

Today I get my second coronavirus vaccine. It's booked in for 950am. We then go to Brambridge garden centre to look at sheds. But we go the back and outside and all the sheds had disappeared!We were annoyed. Assumed they had shut up shop so went home! I was still annoyed about it so messaged them. Apparently there is a sign on the door of the building saying they had moved out front of the centre. I never saw any sheds there. Apparently they aren't all put up yet but will be over the next few weeks. So might have to return again gah! 

Saturday 15th May:

Well no lasting injection reactions. No real aching, Just ever so slight aching but nothing major. no headache, fever or chills this time though! I take a paracetamol just in case and feel normal after! So we go and collect a courgette plant I got from someone off facebay. Too wet to go in the garden so the nearest I get is watering my veggies!! Oh and since I got that plant ... My own damn courgette has now sprouted so I have 2!!! I got it because mine was in for 2-3 weeks and nothing from it!

Courgette plant above in the car. Do you think it's enjoying its ride?!

Lettuce plants (bottom) - Beetroot (top) 

Pic above. Brocalli (bottom) and Cucumber (above)

Bottom right Tomato. Other 3 cells there are Sweetcorn.

I plan to plant other stuff later on in the season but will try and plant straight out. Like more carrots!

Oh on the way home from school yesterday Sophie picked up a purple flower and a buttercup for mummy so both are in a little pot here. She's cute!

Sunday 16th May:

Weather is discusting so no garden today! Only highlights are Sophie having herself a spa day!? Face mask anyone?! And my courgette plant coming up after me getting one from someone else - argh! 

Right that's it peeps! We are in the last week of school and hubby is taking the kids up north to mother in laws house on Saturday. I have effectively kicked them out lol! I've never been away from both kids since i've had them over night. And only away from Sophie once over night. And only once by myself with Jess away. So it's looooong over due. It's been 9 long years!!! So I plan to do lots of gardening, house catch up, and go out shopping and just chill. It's going to be weird as hell and so so quiet but also so so needed! I'll most likely have time for a blog post or 2!! Right i'm going to dip off and read some book before bed. Still reading the Between book about 8-13 year olds! Joyful ...!! Lots of love to all. Love from The Mad House Xx

Blog Update

Here's another bloggy woggy update! I've some what cheated as i've written this over 3 nights! I usually do it all in one go. A good job though - as whilst not as bad as last time - I am feeling somewhat ropey from having my 2nd covid vaccine today! Just mostly body aches and head feeling light headed and off - a bit of a headache but tbh it's mild over all. Took some cocodamol initially as my back was hurting so bad and I thought it was the sciatica mucking around. But once the pain spread around my body I realised it most likely wasn't that! Still i've had a good tea and a jam donut hubby got me from Waitrose so all is good with the world all in all!! Now onto last weekends action: 

Saturday 8th May:

Well today was a blurgh day! I am well and truly into Sophie's cold. I wake up sneezing 1000 times and nose running like a tap. My head is pounding and I feel like to death so reach for the beechams capsules. 

I give them an hour or so and then drag myself up to get my summer clothes out and put my winter ones away. I don't get on with my mother in law - like so many wives don't lol - so this is my way of keeping myself to myself and avoiding conflict. Call it self preservation for my mental health! When we got back from MIL's house at Easter I moved my case to Jessica's room in a "I need to do this job later" fashion. However I am now forced to do it! A) for the above reasons and B) Because I need to move my case back to my room so I can sleep in J's room - and there is no room long term for it to be a job "sitting in waiting"! By the time i'm done it's time for a lemsip and a sit with facebook. I'm not even sure drugs are touching this I feel so rough but I chuck them down any way! Sophie comes to sit with me and wants to do some knitting. She doesn't know how to knit and soon get's frustrated! 

After this I check on my seedlings I put in a few weeks back (or was it last week?!) I forget now! Any way this is where we are at ...

So it looks like we have a couple of Tomatoes popping up, Sweetcorn, all 3 Cucumbers (I only want one!), Beetroot, Lettuce and Brocalli (in all my years gardening I am yet to get one survive!!)

In the evening I write to the blog :-)

Sunday 9th May:

Well today is hubbys birthday. I slept in the big bed better than I thought I would for being poorly! Got up to hear hubby being forced to open presents in Jessica's room so thought I better relocate. 

After all the excitement we got dressed for the day and I headed into the garden. I was feeling miles better than Saturday. Still streamy but much less deathlike!

First job was to put some more wire about these raspberries as they are now showing fruit and going a little wild!

Second job was to get hubby to bash down fence 2. It was hanging and flapping around and getting in people's way. The junk in the back is the neighbours in the passage way! 

Mother in law brought a plant at a train station. She doesn't know what it is or if it's for indoors or out. I think outdoors but have no idea where I am going to put something that is going to grow into a large bush when we are trying to make the garden borders smaller.

Now onto the blinking stoney area. I am sick of this now but if I want to grow veg on my new veggie patch with nice bark instead of stones then I need to make it what I want. Here is the current progress. I am going up to this line of the sleepers as around here will be where the new path will be. My flower pots are the rough boundary line lol!

Here we go ...

These big boxes are trampoline boxes that my neighbour gave me and do the job really well!! Right up to my line - Perfect! 

It starts to rain lightly on me but it's not too heavy so I keep at it. I now want to cover the board in all the bark that I have. There is one 100 Litre bag outside the front door that was left over from last year. This took me 3 trips last time. I had to open the bag and take out 1/3 into my fold up wheelbarrow and wheel it round the street and down the back passage way! Did this 3 times. By the end it was pouring with rain. But I wanted to complete the job lol! I thought oh well i'm already wet so a bit more rain won't matter! I soon realised the wood was growing some kind of mould from being in the bag and out all winter but it looked furry like it would dry out so I chucked it down any way! 

And here's the end result. Need to buy or dig from old veggie patch - More bark!

Here I am at the end of it! All soggy doggy and muddy! 

Sophie was playing with a balloon that she insisted hubby blows up for his birthday lol! How on earth this didn't pop i've no idea!!

Right that's it all caught up! Hope your all well as surviving! Nothing else to update on here so i'll trot off! Lots of love to all. From The Mad House Xx

Pigeon Obsession!

Hello All!

Time for another update. I'm almost caught up - Yippee! ... 

Monday 3rd May:

Today is bank holiday! Yippee! No need to get up! Unfortunately the weather is pants so we end up spending the day indoors doing nothing but playing computer games! Sophie is absolutely full of cold so it's a good job today is not a school day! However this did not deter her from the following ... Sophie ...  who wanted to catch a Pigeon for Jessica. They are apparently her favourite animal so Sophie set up a little system. She had string from the dining room all the way up the garden. This was tied to a plastic box which was wedged above a plate of bird food. The plan was to yank the box down on the bird when it came under the box. She got bored of holding the string indoors in the end and that was the end of that LOL! Good idea though!!

Tuesday 4th May:

Today is inset day so no school til tomorrow. Sophie is still full of cold and has a bit of a fever but not as bad as yesterday. We dose her up with calpol and she really, really wants to go to town! We go for a late visit to town leaving at 3pm with the plan of having Mcdonalds for an early tea in town. We got off after the train station and walked round to the library. We looked at a few books and chose a couple to bring home with us. Then we went to WHSmiths for birthday cards for daddy at the weekend. Then we had a look in poundland at garden stuff. But mummy had forgotten what she wanted to look in there for! So we went off to the toy shop and brought 2 toys each. Sophie brought a boy LOL Doll. And Jess chose - what mummy thought - was a sea dragon that you put in water and it grows bigger and then you have a toy. Well we got home and it seems that this sea dragon is lots of sea dragons and they are some kind of pet that grows and you have to feed food!!!https://www.therange.co.uk/toys/playsets-and-toy-figures/mini-figures-clip-on-toys-and-blind-bags/coral-sea-dragons/#350157

Whilst in here mummy's tummy started to feel somewhat queer so we ran for the loo's downstairs where mummy was held up with an IBS attack for a bit. Couldn't sit long though as the girls were literally killing each other outside the loo door. So I got up pronto and ignored the tummy ache and marched us off to Mcdonalds. Needless to say mummy ordered food but didn't eat it until we got home just in case! Kids at some whilst waiting for the bus at the bus stop. This soon stopped however when some pigeons marched by and the kids tried to chase them. Jess seemed obsessed with chasing pigeons round town lol!

Wednesday 5th May:

It's Wednesday and it's back to school day! On the way home from school the girls collected blossom from the blossom tree and handed them to me as love gifts lol. Unfortunately I had to get them to carry them as my hands were full of school bags. Once home we put them in water.

Speaking of water and kitchens - Who likes my kitchen roll? It's very me don't ya think?!

Today is also swimming day. The kids are in the pool getting wet and i'm in the car not getting wet ... in pouring rain and hailstorms!

The evening was spent on here writing another post!

Thursday 6th May:

Mummy has the start of a sore throat .. Oh joy! ... It disappears a bit so I manage to enjoy my walk home from school run. Jessica also has a sore throat! Look at these gorgeous Tulips, blossom and bluebells! 

Friday 7th May:

Waaah my throat is as raw as a brillo pad! I'm so coming down with kid germs! I was awaken at 3am by Sophie whose leg was hurting and she had tummy ache. Tummy ache scares me as I immediately think vomit! I was dying for a pee so we went to the loo together and that seemed to sort that bit! Then she wanted a hot water bottle and to sleep downstairs with me. So I had to sneak into Jessica's room (who had had a hot water bottle at bed time for comfort) and steal the bottle. Unfortunately I woke her up in the process of doing so. She leapt up and told me not to leave her! I had Sophie waiting on the sofa so I told her to go and sleep with daddy lol! So she then woke daddy up to sleep with him so that's the whole house awake at 3am ..! I moved the old cot mattress down for Soph to sleep on and bedded down on the sofa. Here she is in the morning - aaah! In the morning Jess felt worse with her throat and had a headache so I opt for letting her stay home, It's borderline as she would probably be ok but Sophie had this as a heavy cold, it might get worse as the day goes on and well it's Friday and Jess is hardly ever off sick so I let it slide and she stays home!

On the way home from school Sophie wants to climb a tree. Or attempt ...!! As it's just me and her I let her! 

4:30pm and the doorbell rings. I answer and low and behold it's the mother in law standing there suitcase in hand saying she is coming to stay! She wanted to surprise us as it's hubby's birthday on Sunday. I wasn't impressed at all as I much prefer to know when people are coming! This is where she usually sleeps and as I couldn't be bothered to rearrange the whole bedroom she ended up sleeping on the sofa! 

Oh here are the sea dragons I was on about earlier! There is a video of them here: https://photos.app.goo.gl/o5MyH45pDqoTefMf9 - It's a bit jerky as my phone camera was having issues with the macro lol! But they are clear enough to see!

 

Right that's it for this week! Plan to get in the garden this weekend but we shall see what the weather does! Hope your all hanging in there as usual! Lots of love The Mad House Xx