Purple Dragon

Well, A has had a cough for over a week and this morning was choking with it, so I decided to make him an appt at the Drs.

R started coughing last night, and hers has grown enough in 24hours that I can't lay her down to sleep. She had to sleep sitting up in the buggy.

So, I made an appt for tomorrow morning, which is a total pain, because the appt is at 10.25 and A's school does the end of term church thing at 9.30, and he is singing in it And the surgery doesn't have any other appts until next week. Typical.

Fortunately, L isn't showing any signs of it. I wonder if they picked it up from her recent croup/cough thing she had going on.

And poor little R is breaking her first tooth, so she just isn't a happy baby.

Well, this is now teatime and I'm taking a few minutes to write something down. Only problem is, everything I've thought of writing has flown out of my head, and now I don't know what I was gonna write

The solicitor still hasn't got back to me about the offer agreement. I'll phone her again tomorrow.

The mortgage wife has juggled her figures around and saved us a couple of hundred quid a month. Nice one

I am considering buying the kids a shetland pony. Know nothing about them, and haven't ridden a horse for 25 years, so I've forgotten more than I ever knew about them. I'll have to look into it, and see.

I have spotted a fabulous wee statue (just over a foot tall) on eBay, and totally love it. It's made of concrete and somehow made dark. It isn't dear, but there are two different types, and I want both, and can't decide I suppose I could afford both, but I don't want too many things cluttering the place, and I already have the three gargoyles.

Mind you - I suppose in 2 acres, one can manage an extra statue or two ...

I'm too busy right now to sit and write anything down. I'm typing this over breakfast, with a piece of toast-and-peanut-butter in one hand.

Work is a nightmare - these accounts are a pure shambles, but I'm starting to make headway. However, every time I achieve something, something else rears its ugly head.

Oh, well - it will either get sorted or it won't.

Had a bizarre dream last night.

I dreamed that I was due to go out with the girls, and was waiting for G to come home from work. He phoned to say he would be back in 5 minutes, so I thought it would be okay to leave early. After all - I would only be leaving the kids alone for 5 minutes, after all. (This is bizarre straight away as I would never leave my kids alone for ANY minutes!)

The dream then switched to me coming back, and finding that G hadn't come home after all, and that we had left the children alone. All night. Right up until L went out to find someone to give her some supper, the neighbours found out the kids had been abandoned, and called social services.

That was the point I woke up, standing in my front door crying because they had taken my children off me.

So - 2.15 in the morning, and I'm wandering around my house, checking my children were asleep in their beds, all warm, comfy and well fed. And mine.

I still feel a bit sick.

Tonight was the Gala Fancy Dress competition.

I spent an hour this afternoon making A's costume .. he was gonna go as a laundry basket. A friend of his popped in before we left, and wasn't impressed, so A decided to change his costume to a shop bought one instead. Oh, well. His choice, I suppose. He went as a wizard in the end.

L was dressed up as a fairy. Her dress was shop bought as well, but she looked totally adorable. I blushed her cheeks, sprayed glitter in her hair and on her arms, and put her hair in a topknot with a white glittery bobble. The dress is net and chiffon, white, with glitter and sequins. She kept going up to folk and saying "I'm SO pretty!"

I dressed R in her Santa dress and hat, along with her new red shoes. She looked adorable too. Hated the hat though. What is it with babies and hats? I suppose it is a bit like a horse and saddle..

Anyway, my guys didn't win anything, but they did have a brilliant time, which is the point of it.

My friend S's smaller son won his age group - she sewed purple balloons to a lilac pillowcase and sent him as a bunch of grapes. He looked brilliant. Her other son went as Elvis and came joint third with a highrise apartment building. She has great ideas every year, and generally wins something.

She is one of those great Mums who manages to hold down an important job (I wouldnt do her job no matter how much you paid me, BTW), is decorating her house, manages the gym at least twice a week, and still manages to be a fair and loving mother to her two boys. And she cooks. Makes costumes from scratch.

Me - I can barely manage to get up in the morning lately.

We did the football finals last night. A's team lost by one goal. Don't ask me the score though - L needed the toilet, and (as anyone knows who has a two-year-old) she couldn't wait for the 2 minutes left in the game to cheer him on. Fortunately, G was there, and took over cheering duty.

My friend S was reffing the hockey matches. Better her than me! She did a good job, though. I was impressed

Anyway, because the girls were fussing (tired) G wanted to leave as soon as A finished his game. I was fine with it, although I would have stayed till the end, for no other reason than S's son won his game. However, we left. And it turned out that the prize givings were straight afterwards instead of Gala Day, like I thought, so A missed getting his medal. Fortunately, someone kept one back for him, and it was on the doormat this morning when we got up. I was gutted when I saw it. He *did* miss getting his picture taken with the team though. I feel so bad every time I think about it.

First, I gotta say - who the heck is reading this blog? I've had 45 hits so far, and I have no clue who it it who is reading it! It's a bit bizarre really - not knowing. TALK TO ME!

Anyway, that aside, last night G & I went to the folk who are doing our new mortgage last evening. AM looked after the sprogs (God bless her!) and we were out for a good couple of hours. Just *how* boring are mortgages and life assurance! And she felt the need to explain it all. For God's sake - we NEED the insurance - don't tell me what it does - just tell me how much it is, and give me something to sign. It was all so dull I nearly fell asleep in what has to be the most uncomfortable chair on the planet.

Same chair I nearly fell off when she *did* finally spill as to how much it was all gonna cost us. I would just like to make a quick thank you to the inventor of cigarettes, who would have saved us £90+ if they hadnt!

Oh, well - at least it is sorted, and that is that for another three years.

I live in a street that has no pavements to walk along. You have to walk along the side of the road.

Most of the houses have front gardens laid to grass, but there is one that is gravel, and they use plant pots for their greenery.

Today, L walked across their stones, and the woman banged on her window and shouted "Come off my garden!" When I got to my house, I looked back, and she was actually in her 'garden' moving her stones around with her feet, presumably making sure they were in the right place or something.

Honestly - some folk are totally off the planet! Thank goodness we are leaving soon. New house = NO neighbours = YAY!!!

My stitches were supposed to dissolve within a week.
Well, it was two weeks ago on Monday that I had my operation, and they didnt show any sign of disappearing, so yesterday I took them out.
I couldnt be bothered to make an appointment with the surgery nurse.
Man, talk about give yourself the collywobbles.
Yeuch disgusting.

Well, in addition to being a full time Mum, I now have another job.

G's accounts are a complete and utter shambles, and he has to get it sorted.

So - who gets lumbered? Me. Serves me right for admitting to him that I watch Big Brother. :-) He thinks I've gone brain dead and need mental stimulation, so here am I trying to reconcile 18 months worth of accounts.

I've reconciled this years sales ledger as far as I can, although there are some completely bizarre figures in there. I expect it will all come clear when G comes back & we sit down together to sort out what is left over.

The girls are being watched by V. She is working extra hours (9-3) each day for two weeks, so I can concentrate on the work. R won't eat anything, and keeps crawling over and climbing my legs. She is totally confused as to why V is playing with her, instead of me. V has taken L along to her house while R is napping, so they can take her dog for a walk in the woods. She wasn't too sure about going off with her, but she went. It is good for her, anyway - she has to let go and trust that other people can look after her ... and so do I!

Anyway. This is now gonna be my job. I will do all the accounts from home. Actually, I have really enjoyed it. I won't tell G, but he was right enough - my brain really has enjoyed the exercise

The wee one had her 6-9 month assessment yesterday. Apparently, she's average. 50th %ile for weight, height and cranial measurements. She ahead with her crawling and cruising though, and she is a happy wee thing.

Last night, A had his friend C round for tea. Poor child. I decided to do a barbeque, and G usually does them, so I'm not familiar with the thing. What a disaster. Poor child was probably hungry when he went home. Isn't it weird how the stupid things get you down? I was really happy all day, and then I messed up the food, and got mega depressed. I could have sat down and cried. I feel like I let A down - not entertaining his friends properly. He is always well fed when he goes to their houses, and I can't even manage to do a simple meal.

Today was the start of Gala Week in the village. We started with the pet show, and then the kids did their races.

I managed to talk A out of taking Noodle becasue I didn't realy want to be lugging a rabbit around as well as keeping track of 3 kids. Also, there were dogs there, and too many folk, and I think he would've been scared.

Obviously, R is too wee to participate, but she enjoyed watching all the children. She loves to watch things.

A took part in his two races - flat and egg & spoon, and did well, although he tends to watch how others are doing, rather than concentrating on what he is doing, hence no wins. He ran well though.

L took part in her Under 5's races and came 1st in the flat, and 2nd in the egg & spoon. I was so proud of her. She thoroughly enjoyed herself. Had no idea what a race was, of course. She thought she was just getting to run, and have people tell her she did well. I'll put her winnings in her money box

It is the Summer Solstice today, and the weather is behaving accordingly. It has been muggy all day, threatening to rain, then the sun breaking the sky. I slapped the suncream on the kids, and they never burned at all, but I think I must've done R's arms wrong. I think I creamed one arm, then did it again instead of doing the other one, because one arm has burned. Poor baby. She doesn't seem to mind too much, but I bet it is sore. It looks it.

A had his dance recital last night.

When I took him up to the changing room, he started getting pensive and quiet (not like him!) and I think he was starting to get a bit stage shy. The assistant asked me to leave in the end, because she felt i was coddling him too much and making it worse.

Next thing - I found out that when they had the dress rehearsal last week, they took photos of all the kids, EXCEPT MINE! Man, was I mad. Nothing I could do about it, though. He was in the group shot, so I bought a copy of that.

The actual recital was pretty abysmal. The little ones were adorable, and you couldnt really criticise them. Just getting up on stage when you are 3 years old is an achievement in itself, let alone remembering dance steps. However, the older ones were stiff, and the choreography was dreadful. I can't understand it, because Miss M is a good dancer herself. Maybe she didnt really have good material to work with.

Anyway, when it was A's turn to go up, my heart was in my mouth. His group was great (yes, I know, I'm biased). A was standing on the stage, though, with his hands shading his eyes, peering into the audience looking for us. He got direction from the wings, and started doing his dance. Next thing, they came back on stage and did another dance that all the others seemed to know, except him. He just stood there looking embarrassed. Poor little love.

I was still proud of him. Standing up there at 5 years old, in front of a couple of hundred folk, takes a lot more that I've got - you wouldnt have dragged me out of the wings

One the way home, he told me that he didn't want to continue with his dance classes. I think he enjoys the dance, but doesn't enjoy getting up on stage. Which bodes ill for his competitive gymnastics.

He says that he will try the Highland Dnacing when we move, though. I think he will enjoy that more anyway.

A had his school sports day yesterday. Political correctness gone bonkers.

it was held on the playground, rather than on the playing field, and I mentioned to a friend that I hoped none of the kids fell over when racing, because they would lose half the skin off their legs.

I needn't have worried - they weren't allowed to run. They were split into teams, and the teams were assigned tasks, like walk a ball around some obstacles, pushing it with a hockey stick. There was no competitiveness at all.

In saying all that though, A enjoyed himself, and the girls and I got out in the sun. G managed to pop back to watch the kids, and A was dead chuffed about that.

The Gala Week starts on Sunday, so we will have races and so on then.

Having gone on and one about the type of dog I want, I've completely changed my mind, and decided (for now anyway) that I want a Rottweiler.

I have hunted about, and found a breeder in P who has puppies that are nearly ready, but not ready enough to view and choose. They are only a couple of weeks old, and the breeder wants first choice because he wants another show dog. So. Now I have to wait a few weeks before I can choose our new family member.

On another note, we had B come round today to view the house. He is wanting to rent a place, with a view to buy, and as he lives next door to the MIL of one of my best friends, he got first viewing on my house.

I have spent the whole freaking day cleaning the place so that it was halfway presentable for him to view. My God, we are clatty folk! I will probably have to get the place professionally cleaned before anyone moves in. The skirting boards are a disgrace! L has drawn all over some walls - you just can't give that girl a crayon without her drawing over something. She found one in the garden this afternoon, and I caught her drawing on the patio windows. Took it off her, then heard a huge banging, and found her bashing on the same window with half a brick. My daughter. God help me.

ANYway. I also think we have a mouse dead under the washing machine. The utility room STINKS I am gonna have to wait til G is in the house next before I can get it dealt with, coz a) the thought makes me want to barf and b) the machine is too heavy for me to pull out. Luckily when B was here earlier, all the doors and windows were open. By the time he (or anyone else) moves in, it won't stink anymore, so...

Well, because I am gonna be in the house myself most of the time, I have decided that I need a dog. I spotted a breed called a Labradoodle, which is totally adorable! I've been hunting for one ever since.

Managed to find a breeder just a few miles away, but she said they dont breed true, and not to get one. She's stopped breeding them, and gone back to Poodles. I'm not a fan of Poodles. Silly looking things, IMO.

However, I've just received a return mail from another breeder who just had puppies and she had three left. Black ones. They are just absolutely adorable.

I've also looked at Labs, Golden Retrievers and Border Collies. I've gotta say - for adorability, the Doodles win hands (paws?) down.

G wants to get a breeding pair, and start breeding them, to try and earn some extra money. I think it's a good idea, but think that there must be more to it than throwing two dogs together over drinks, and hoping for romance to kindle. Otherwise everyone would be doing it.

Mind you, for £5/600 a throw, I guess not a lot of folk have that much disposable income. I guess you could just have a pair of dogs, and keep them in the house, breeding from the female once a year or something. I know you can overbreed a dog. I also know you cant take two dogs from the same kennel.

Anyway, I want to go see the three options (Retriever, Colli and Doodle). They all have puppies available now, but I have to wait till G phones to see if I have the disposables to go get one.

Early June and we drove back up the road to see the house again, and to visit A's school. This time, we packed batteries for the dvd headphones! They had Shrek on the way up, and Monsters Inc on the way back down. Whoever invented in-car dvd's has my vote, for sure :-)

Half way up, I realised I had forgotten to pack any shoes for L, so we had to buy her a new pair. Idiot.

We popped into the house to have a quick look again, and P gave us a dozen of the eggs from the chooks.

We stayed in the hotel in the village. G switched on the heated blanket, and we couldnt find how to switch it off, so we cooked all night. I was in the double bed with L & A, and occasionally R (although we had her travel cot), and G was in the single, sometimes with A. Musical beds.

Got up the following morning for a shower, but couldnt get any hot water out , so I quit that idea I hate not getting a shower in the morning. G was not a happy bunny because the milk in the room was off, so he couldnt get his morning coffee.

First off we visited the toddler group that R will be attending. The folk there were so friendly and welcoming. It was great. Even tried to rope me into the committee! Knowing me, I shall probably allow myself to be roped :-)

Then we had hours to kill, so we drove around the local area, had some lunch, drove some more. Banff is gorgeous.

Later in the day we drove back to the school to meet with them. A & L werent the best behaved, but it was hardly surprising after all that driving everywhere. Again, the school were brilliant. They actually spoke to A, rather than about him.

I'm very much more positive about the move now.

2pm - Saturday 21st May 2005.
This day we travelled up to view the house. 3.5 hours in the car with the sprogs, and we still havent replaced the batteries in the headphones for the in-car dvd player.

We made pretty good time, although getting through Aberdeen was pretty dismal. The village - CSTN - isnt the prettiest on the map! I think someone had a dearth of breezeblocks! However, the house location was fantastic. Sitting on the side of a slight hill overlooking the valley and the village.

P&P (who are selling the house) were very nice, and very accommodating. We descended on them with the three sprogs, having trunded them up in a boring car ride. I think they behaved not too badly, considering. The kids, not P&P!

I really liked the house. The kids thought the family room and the garden were brilliant. I can certainly see myself pottering around in the garden, growing veggies and feeding my chooks.

We talked about it on the way back down, and decided to make an offer.

Well, after being blown out of the water on the house in the next village along, G found a great house for us - only catch - it is 150 miles north

It is a great house though - 5 bedrooms, family room, living room, dining room, well equipped kitchen, utility room, 3-person sauna, part floored loft, double garage, storage unit. Outside has an enclosed play area, polytunnel, vegetable plot, oil tank, 2 composters, 2-storey childrens playhouse, chicken house and fox proof run. Complete with 4 chickens ! All set on 2.4 acres of land, mainly laid to grass.

So, we've looked online, and decided to go up north and view it.