Merry Christmas

www.flickr.com traceyakidd's Xmas 2005 photoset

HAPPY NEW YEAR

We have had a wonderfull Christmas, just the 6 of us, we had friends round for the day on Boxing Day and then went to other friends for the evening.We have had the small but meaningfull flurry of snow which the dogs and kids loved, unfortunately there wasn't enough to build a snowman, we did manage a couple of snowballs though.
I am now back at full speed at work Andy is off until the end of next week at least we are off up to the Rugby club for a get together , it is a great night , we take platefulls of food our, own cd's , well what the kids got for Christmas and of course the kids come so it makes a great family night out. We will get home just before midnight as we love to see the New Year in at home with all the neighbours and I will probably bit a bit worse for wear to wish everyone a Happy New Year then so I will say it now.

HAPPY NEW YEAR AND WE HOPE YOU ALL HAVE A GOOD ONE AND THAT NEXT YEAR WILL BE BETTER THAN THE LAST ONE..............

Christmas wishes

I have cooked today all the meats ready for tomorrow , the crumble is made the trifle in the fridge, the veg is all prepared. The presents are all wrapped and ready to come down from the attic as soon as the kids have gone to bed, Andy and I can now quietly sit down with the kids and have a drink or two and let the evening unfold knowing all is done for tomorrow.
I hope everyone has a wonderful Christmas . We are just having a quiet day tomorrow but on Boxing day we have a housefull and in the evening we are off to friends.

I send good cheer to everyone and a Christmas Wish to you all..........

This wonderfull job of mine

I love my job except for CHRISTMAS. Why is it the normal of intelligent people turn into complete morons at this time of year.I work in retail dealing with customer returns whether they be faulty or just not wanted.I also not only just serve the adorable customer I have to either decide to reduce the item, or decide whether it should be returned to the original supplier or be written off,even send it for repair. Now when you originally purchase the item you are given a receipt , proof of purchase, why is it people cannot keep hold of the dam things , then they decide that the wonderful person who they had bought it for will not want it. So what am I supposed to do? Magic a receipt up for them, they were the idiot that lost the original one in the first place.Unfortunately I can do this as every purchase is held on record and so I get on my magical computer and find it for them.
Roll on after Christmas when we will get a mass of people coming in without their receipts.... Oh happy days........

Sparkles

It was break-up from rugby today, i was up bright and early to the club with the dogs before the pitches got full of either rugby or footballer players.It was wonderfull.the grass was glistening and crunching underfoot as i walked round the field, the dogs were going mad , they just love the crispy feel under their paws.Bruno had the devil inside him as usual, but i am onto the barking problem, I have just got another anti-barking collar which arrived in the post yesterday. I tried it out today and hey presto i had a stress free walk, he only woofed a couple of times and of course he got squirted, so i shall persevere this time and not run out of spray this time and hopefully cure him of barking at other dogs and the odd person.
For those of you who have not got a clue to what this dog's contraption is, i shall explain. It is a normal collar that fits round the neck with a special box that fits next to the vocal box, when the dog barks it squirts out a none toxic spray up into the face and should put the dog off from barking. I should stress it is very humane and doesn't hurt the dog at all and it really does work, although I'm sure Bruno is not that impressed.....

I am ready

Let Christmas come as yes i have done it again. cards are posted, presents are wrapped and bagged ready to be given out. Most of the food is bought with just the fresh to get. The decorations are up, well for as long as Bruno decides that he is going to stop trying to eat them.The drink has been got. Yes i think iam ready.
The parties have now just begun, we are out tonight for Jamies rugby do, tommorow we have a dog training Xmas do, Saturday we have the main Rugby Xmas do, the only thing we have to do now is who is going to drive and then who can drink.
Lucky Andy has allready broken up from work, but me i have to wait till next Friday, still i have 4 days off for over Xmas which is a lot better than usual.....

Why, Why, Why

Why do we press harder on a remote control when we know the batteries are getting weak?

Why do banks charge a fee on "insufficient funds" when they know there is not enough?

Why does someone believe you when you say there are four billion stars, but check when you say the paint is wet?

Why doesn't glue stick to the bottle?

Why do they use sterilized needles for death by lethal injection?

Why doesn't Tarzan have a beard?

Why does Superman stop bullets with his chest, but ducks when you throw a revolver at him?

Why do Kamikaze pilots wear helmets?

Whose idea was it to put an "S" in the word "lisp"?

If people evolved from apes, why are there still apes?

Why is it that no matter what color bubble bath you use the bubbles are always white?

Is there ever a day that mattresses are not on sale?

Why do people constantly return to the refrigerator with hopes that something new to eat will have materialized?

Why do people keep running over a string a dozen times with their vacuum cleaner, then reach down, pick it up, examine it, then put it down to give the vacuum one more chance?

Why is it that no plastic bag will open from the end on your first try?

How do those dead bugs get into those enclosed light fixtures?

When we are in the supermarket and someone rams our ankle with a shopping cart then apologizes for doing so, why do we say, "It's all right?" Well, it isn't all right, so why don't we say, "That hurt, you stupid idiot?"

Why is it that whenever you attempt to catch something that's falling off the table you always manage to knock something else over?

In winter why do we try to keep the house as warm as it was in summer when we complained about the heat?

How come you never hear father-in-law jokes?

And my FAVORITE......
The statistics on sanity are that one out of every four persons is suffering from some sort of mental illness. Think of your three best friends -- if they're okay, then it's you.

kidds are busy

It has been a bit hectic here in the house of kidd... Steph again went back to school today for a half day, she will have tommorow off , then go again friday for half a day.
Mum and Dad have been over from Portugal, My brother has also been over,it has been great fun having them all here and they all fly off on thursday morning. We wish it could have been for longer but at least they made it for a few days.
Un fortunately with them doing such a quick visit has meant i have hardly spent any time with them . They have done nothing but rush around and i could not get any time off this near Christmas. Major bummer , thats life for working in reail i suppose. We hope to send the kids over next summer, then Andy and i shall be able to go visiting friends again and do a couple of long weekend breaks.
Well bags to help go and pack, pressies to sort out for them to take back and good old bangers and mash to cook.....

poor stef

Poor stefanie is off school again, there we were thinking that she was on the mend with 2 full days at school last week. No we were wrong over the weekend she went back downhill again. Andy has been off for a couple of days so he has been at home with her and took her back to the docs again on Monday. They have said her infection is clear , but because it had caused such a strain on her lungs etc her asthma was now really bad and has left her with another attack.
We are now on an even higher strengh of inhaler , steriods are on and a cough mixture as welll, also no going outdoors. Well as you can imagine she has now been ill for a total of 7 weeks and is very tearfull and depressed, all she wants is her life back to normal . Unfortunately this seems to be a no go at the moment. Still she is getting loads of TLC from all of us.
Fingers crosed we may make a turn for the better next week and get our sunny girl back........

me and my brainwaves

We have friends coming round on Friday night for curry and a game of texas poka, so me being me decided i was going to re do the kitchen. Poor Andy got in tonight from work to the kitchen in complete turmiol, but i had been good the painting was done, all he had to do was wait for it...... Put up all my new cladding for the dining room part, cut it because i couldn't get it in the lengh i wanted. Put that up for me , as i happily stain it behind, then what happens he runs out of wood . So we do a quick dash to my favourite B.Q store. finish staining the dado rail, order a chinese and sit down.
I have given him the rest of the night off and he can finish tommorow night before he goes to rugby, then i can finish staining and my re-vamped kitchen will be ready for visiters and Christmas It's such a good job that he loves me......
Oh and on a final note steph has managed 2 full days of school, she was a bit tired today so we gave her half day and hopefully she will do another 2 full days then have the weekend to rest.......

Steph and school

Hopefully it will be a bit of a landmark tommorow, steph is actually going to try a half day at school, the neighbours are on school alert that if she can't cope they can go and pick her up if called on.Otherwise if all goes well she will be sent home at miday.
This lung infection has really knocked her for six and with over 4 weeks off school she is itching to get back and see all her friends. The school has been fantastic giving me work for her to do at home, and will keep a good eye on her when she goes back.
Me i shall be at work unfortunately, she has coped fantastically, i hated leaving her , but i am so lucky that i have such wonderfull friends that have been keeping a watchfull eye on her. I am so lucky the personality of my brave girl has seen her through this attack, which i am sure would have daunted most kids her age . No, not our steph she just gets on with it. So i wish you luck sweetheart and hope you manage tommorow. I am sure there will be several phone calls from work to school just to check you are ok........

Your Brain's Pattern

You're a simple thinker, and this is actually a very good thing. You don't complicate matters when you don't have to. You look for the simplest explanation or solution, and you go with that. As a result, your mind is uncluttered and free of stress.

What Pattern Is Your Brain?

still off school

Poor steph had another visit to the doctors last night, the lot of medicine she was given had not touched the infection at all. So here we are on yet another week off school, a change of medicine, a visit up to the school to pick some work up for her to do at home from her teacher and me feeling like a very frazzled mum.
It is so hard sometimes for us mums to work, if we are ill , we may just get paid. If they are ill, what do you do, stay at home and get the evil eye from work and not get paid , this is bacause you are not ill, forget it when your kids are.
As for me i am feeling extremely guilty at the moment,i have been going to work, unfortunately i can't take the reduction in wages. My neighbours are fantastic and been taking it in turns to check on her, I get several calls at work from her , just to say she ok, still it does not stop you from feeling guilty. I really hate it sometimes that i can't be a stay at home mum, I have to work because of the society that we live in especially in this country.....
So i say sorry to steph that i cant stay at home with her and she smiles back saying that's ok mum i've been fine i slept for most of the time you were gone, i give her a big hug and off i go to make the tea..........

Ill at home

Poor stephie is still not well, i really can't send her back to school yet.The sad thing is , she can go up to 5hrs without a cough, but then it will hit in hard , she will choke and then throw up.
She has been so brave last week with wonderfull neighbours rallying round checking she is ok, she has taken it all in her stride, but now with blood vessels blown in both eyes from choking and coughing so much , i think my sweet girl has finally had enough.
I shall again ring the school and the doctors again tommorow and get another appointment and tell the school she will be back when she can stop choking.She has had her flu jab over a week ago, but unfortunately the whole of her left bronchal tubes to her lung are clogged with flem, I'm just glad so far it has not brought on a major asthma attack, although she is on extra quantities of that medication at the moment just in case.
So my poor wee honey hopefully we will get better soon.......

Happy Birthday

To our very special daughter,our very own Steph. Today she has turned the majical age of 11.It seems like only the other day that i had a small toddler, the apple of her fathers eye.
She is smart, funny, stubborn, but most of all she has been a joy to watch growing up, everyone falls in love with the infectious joy she has. Unfortunately she has been unwell all week and has not been to school, so this has put a bit of a damper on the birtday celebrations. But hey we have a birthday chocolate cake made with real cadbury's chocolate, chocie buttons on top a true homemade cake to put the smile back on her lovely face.
We were lucky that we had her Birthday sleepover at the weekend and her friends over for pizza, i am so glad she managed that before she became ill, and so i shall now go back to the curling off the lovely blond hair with the new curlers she got and will try and post photos later.
SO TO END HAPPY BIRTHDAY STEPHANIE XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

what a hectic life i lead

I have not had time to write my blog as i have kept promising myself, so this morning i have got up early with Andy, grabbed a coffee and sat at the computer. The kidd household has just been so busy of late, but here is a quick run down....
Weekend of the 14th... We all went to Warmwell in Dorset with friends,we stayed in log cabins in the woods. The kids had dry ski slopes, roller blading rink, swimming pool, crazy golf, fishing , bike riding through a beautifull conservation area and so much more. Needless to say we all had a fantastic weekend and not to blow my own trumpet, I did the lot, you saw me on the ski slope, on the roller blades, (not my best performance). I took the kids swimming and guess who won the crazy golf ....yep me. i shall yet find time to put the photos up.
This week i have been on holiday, My very good friend Samantha and family has been over from New York. So on tuesday i left the kids with Andy and went off to Burnham-on -Sea to visit.We did a quick jaunt to Street to the outlet village and picked up a few bargins, Although it definately does not beat any type of New York shopping.We had a fantastic dinner in a real country pub, with the old oak beams, low ceilings , brasses hanging down the walls and all the old hunting prints on the walls.
The visit was over far to quick but i shall try and go over to see them next year, money permitting.
Andy and i have bought to new cars, mine is my dream car and drives so beautifully, i never realised how old and clangy my last one was untill i started driving this one. it is only 5yrs old and is just an updated version of the old one, but boy do i feel like a queen now.
So to Tysons update, he got rushed in again last saturday and has got a drain in, which should hopefully get rid off the rest of the fluid, it is being a long process with a lot of discomfort for him,but we are hoping that the new tablets will help and hopefully it shall be all over soon.

Just a quick update

... Life has been far to hectic in the kidd household to blog . But hey i'm still here it's just with Tyson and all his problems which are still on going and we all went away for a long weekend last week, it has just been urhhhh.
Anyway i shall endeaver to blog at the weekend if i get a chance, so bear with me a bit......

As you can see Tyson is such a laid back dog who likes nothing better in life than the luxuries it brings, he takes up 2 bits of the sofa and you get one

TYSON

I was sitting here just now saying to Andy what shall i post tonight. Well it has to be about my big slobbery babe Tyson.I don't know which is worse worrying about the kids or the 2 boys. You see with the kids they can tell you that they are unwell or that something hurts, but with the dogs they just can't.
Tyson was the first dog of our family kidd and has been an inspiration to us since having him at 12weeks old. He has given us so much joy and laughter over the last 41/2 years.He is a big solid old boy ,a gentle giant of a dog and such a huge personality. Everyone who has met him has fallen inlove with him even for those who have never liked Boxers before.
So we still have to wait, we visited the vets again tonight and now he has to go into the vets again on Wednesday for a biopsy, He will have to go in before 8.30 am and then i shall hopefully be able to pick him up that evening.I shall then have to wait another week to see if it is cancer.I dread the thought of maybe loosing him but i'm desperately trying to be positive.........

A rest

The weekend has now come and gone, and yes i did not succome . I refused to go into work. The thought of 3 weeks without a day off i decided was not an option i was going to take.
At some points i had only a very small thought of going in , this was when i had been cleaning the bathroom for over an hour. It wasn't because it was filthy, it was because it had not been done properly for 2 weeks. So the bleach came out, it now sparkles. Infact i spent the whole day yesterday cleaning and i can now happily say i'm satisfied with my effort.
Today was the dog class dog show and we were doing a sponsored stay for the Animal Cancer Trust, I decide to take Tyson in this as he is the best dog at not moving. We had to leave the dogs for 10 minutes without them moving, Bless him he did not move a muscle and earned himself £53 in sponsors . We should get the results back tommorow for the lump on his back. It has been the finish of a harrowing 2 weeks, heres hoping that the results come back that it is only a cist and not a cancerous lump.........

Living at work

It has been so far a hell of a week, i had to work Saturday, Rugby tournament all day Sunday then go straight to work for the stocktake, We are so short of staff on our department that i have also had to do full days. Jiggery pokery around with the schoolruns,try and cook decent dinners , catch up with all the household stuff and still be the lovable me.
THe hampster went back to school Monday morning complete, with a very near miss of loosing him on Friday.Tyson has had a visit to the vets on Monday night with a very weired lump appreared on his back. The vet took 2 viles of liquid from it and to say the least is a bit worrying. we have to wait till next week for the results. Meanwhile he is popping pills, which is a task in itself.
So the house of kidd is hoping for a somewhat relaxing weekend, I have been asked to go into work again this weekend, but the thought of 3weeks without a day off is just not an option, unbeknown to some it would seem i wqould like some sort of life....

The Hampster

Yoday had not been to bad a day untill i got to Steph's school to pick her up. She ran towards me face flushed with exitement and it went like this.

Steph... Mum, mum, mum,
Me... Yes Steph
Steph.... You have to come and see my teacher now !!!!!!!
Me..... (thinking oh god what has she done wrong now) ok why, have i got to see your teacher.
Steph..... It's parent 's evening tonight , and you have to come now...
Me ...I haven't got your slip back from your teacher yet.
Steph ... Yes you have it's in my school tray.
Me ...(Thinking yeh right i'm psyhcic now am i)Ok i'm just coming.
Steph... (Running back into school shouting back at me)Oh yes and i'm bringing the hamster home tonight.
Me ( now remembering i got a letter home last week saying the kids had a class hampster and they would be allowed to bring it home in turns for the weekend..
Me.. Steph hold on come here NOW.
Steph .. ( all in one breath)MUUUUUUM you said i could and it's my turn tonight.
Me ( great. I get the weekend of 4days as there is no school tommorow and also Monday. Teacher training.

So the Hampster has begrugingly come home with us tonight for 4 days. The dogs have seen it and Bruno has taken a great liking to the fact that there is a small rodent upstairs and is now determined to find some way of getting up there. Luckily i have a dog gate at the bottom. The only trouble is a cetain daughter has left it open so far 3 times in a couple of hours.
Wish me luck and hopefully i shall still have a Hampster to give back to her school on Tuesday....

Bruno passed

I know very boring subject for some , i'm sorry but i'm a very proud dog owner. Bruno passed his Kennel club silver Good dog Citizenship award last week and next month we can go for trials as to see if we can compete at crufts next year.
This is a big thing in the world of dogs , anyone will understand this if they own a dog, both the boys are silver award winners and hopefully Tyson will do his gold award fairly soon.
I have now decided to retire Tyson from competitions he is 41/2 now and for a Boxer that is middle aged. He will still come to the shows with us but can happily sit by and watch Bruno do all the hard work.

Chimenea

HPIM1344
Originally uploaded by traceyakidd.

For my friend Len who didn't know what one was.

Need to slow down

I have definately decided that when i reach my next birthday i am going to slow down. I am so knackered , it has taken it's toll over the last 2 weeks doing 7.30 starts at work and getting the dogs out before going, doing my other cleaning and then my own, as well as steph being away last week and Jamie having short days, dog traing.
At last i could have had a lie in yesterday Steph and i had a dog show in Chippenham at least an hour and a halfs drive away, she was shattered as she didn't get back from France till 10.45pm , then was up at 6am with me to get there. It was a good show and although the dogs didn't get placed i was so pleased with Bruno it was one of his best obedience rounds yet.
Another lie in could have happened this morning but in the world of Rugby no chance, Jamie had a match today, so again all up early, dogs and kids in the car and off we go. So it goes on weekend gone it's back to work again tommorow, but still an earlier start than usual luckily just for another week then hopefully i shall be back to normal.
So here is looking forward to my next birthday and hopefully life will get a bit easier.

As requested

My Friend Len asked me to complete this .... here are my answers


WRATH
What makes you most angry?
People taking me for granted.

Would you hit a member of the opposite sex?
you bet I would if I thought they deserved it

Have you ever been hurt but hid it behind anger?
sometimes.

Have you ever done something in anger that damaged a relationship?
I don’t think so, not I can remember


SLOTH
Do you ever promise things and then don’t follow through?
I would have to say yes,although happily not very often and it usually concerns the kids

What’s the longest you have ever stayed in bed, just because you wanted to (not counting illness)?
I wish I got to stay in bed just cause I wanted to, there is no chance of that in my house

Name a person you’ve been meaning to contact, but haven’t.
my good friend samantha, to see if I can visit next year again.

How often do you pull sickies (feign illness to avoid work)?
oh I wish I had the nerve to do it

What have you been promising yourself for ages but haven’t done yet?
to stop smoking, but I have got as far as no smoking indoors now so I am half way there

GLUTTONY
What is your overpriced yuppie beverage of choice?
baileys with ice

What is your favourite luxury food item?
king prawns with garlic

Do you have an issue with your weight?
andy would say yes I have an issue. Me I would like to loose a few pounds

What is your own special little indulgence?
Bailey’s ice cream

Have you ever eaten so much you were sick?
I can truthfully say no to that one, drink maybe but definitely no to eating

LUST
Are you shy about being seen naked?
as long as it is my arse then no

Have you ever wanted someone who was taken?
I wouldn’t be normal if I said no

Has lust ever driven you to cheat on someone you cared about?
I don’t do lust I’m afraid

Have you ever slept with someone you didn’t care about?
no definitely no

Have you ever slept with someone before knowing their name?
no

GREED
Is your debt greater than 50% of your annual income (not including mortgages)?
no , but then I do work very hard

Do you have any selfish desires that you feed to the detriment of something more noble?
the dogs I get them more toys to destroy knowing it will only take them minutes to shred

Would you sleep with someone for money?
I would say yes, but when it would actually come to doing it. I don’t know if I would go through with it. would it just be to sleep with someone?, or to have sex with them as well?..

Have you ever stolen anything?
when I was very young , it was for a couple of penny bubble gums from the lacal shop.

Have you ever exploited another person, without their consent, for your own advantage?
not that I know of

PRIDE
What’s the one thing you’ve done that you’re most proud of?
it has got to be the birth of Jamie and Stphanie

Do you get annoyed by coming in second place?
no I’m lucky if I even get in at 6th place

Have you ever cheated on something to get a higher score?
what is the point I would get found out.

Have you ever lied to make yourself seem more important?
I don’t need to lie I’m important , to me at least I am

Is your CV (Resume) honest?
too right it is

ENVY
What item of your friend’s would you most want to have for your own?
to be at least 5inches taller

Have you ever wished you had a physical feature different from your own?
bigger bust

What trait do you see in others that you wish you had for yourself?
not to be such a walkover.

Have you ever wanted your friend’s boyfriend or girlfriend?
sorry yes

Have you ever stolen your friend’s boyfriend or girlfriend?
good grief no I would be no friend if I did that

Conclusion
What’s your favorite deadly sin?
I’m sorry someone else will have to choose that for me.

iT'S VERY HARD WORK BEING 42.

Happy Birthday

Today is Andy's 42nd birthday, he has now caught up with me , well the 42 bit at least, but hey you are still my toyboy.
Poor Steph has missed it as she is away in France with the school at the moment, She did at least give a kiss before she went and he was allowed to open his card early, She was feeling very guilty about being away. But hey Dad will get over it.
So sweetheart all i can say is A VERY HAPPY BIRTHDAY FROM ME ,STEPH ,JAMIE AND THE BOYS.

B.B.Q

Yesterday it was our turn to have the annual B.B.Q. the weather stayed fine , it was just a tad windy but we had some sun. As the day progressed the drink went down well , we did the food in two lots as it was going to go on well into the evening.
The chatter amongst the grown up's flowed , the kids palyed on various computers and playstations, Dvd's were watched.
I stayed remarkedly sober haveing a few liquer coffees when it went dark along with us roasting marshmallows on the chiminea. I had bought some lovely candle lanterns earlier in the week, when these were lit in several parts of the garden , with the chiminea glowing in the corner it made a fantastic setting.
We all sat around coats on, still drinking and still the conversation went on.
All in all it was a very pleasant afternoon and evening. We rounded it up about 11.30pm, and after everyone had gone home , the kids gone to bed.Andy and i sat quietly together watching the last embers glowing, too tired we left the rest to clear up today.....

Time

With the rugby season now started , i have had just no time to blog let alone find time to do much else. I am having to cover at work which means starting at 7.30am, school runs, clean houses and do all the other things us mums are superhuman at doing. All i can say is i am totaly knackered.
I have to try and get Steph ready to go to France on Monday, get us ready for our B.B.Q on Saturday afternoon. Get to do senior kit up the club before the B.B.Q starts on Sat, Still go to dog training classes tonight and Thursday, Food shop< clean my house,cook for everyone, sort out parents and brothers stuff where they are out the country.Taxi runs for the kids to various clubs and friends.
Would anyone please like to change places with me for the next 2 weeks......

If you know the answer

Why is it these kind of questions are always the baffling ones

1...Why are public schools private.
2...Why do rubber plants not bounce.
3...Why do we press the remote button harder when the batteries are going dead.
4...Why is it kamikaze pilots wear helmets.
5...Why does quicksand go so slowly.
6...Why do psychics ask you your name..
7... Why do we have to pay for drinks in a free house.
8...Why is their only one monoplies commission.
9...When the door bell rings ,why is the dogs or kids always think it's for them.
10..Why didn't Noah swat the 2 mosquitos on the ark.

If you have the answers to these and you read my blog please let me know....

I love you and goodbye !!!

I went to a party,
And remembered what you said.
You told me not to drink, Mom
So I had Root Beer instead.

I felt proud of myself,
The way you said I would,
That I didn't drink and drive,
Though some friends said I should.
I made a healthy choice,
And your advice to me was right.

The party finally ended,
And the kids drove out of sight.
I got into my car,
Sure to get home in one piece,
I never knew what was coming, Mom
Something I expected least.

Now I'm lying on the pavement,
And I hear the policeman say,
The kid that caused this wreck was drunk,
Mom, his voice seems far away.

My own blood's all around me,
As I try hard not to cry.
I can hear the paramedics say,
This girl is going to die.
I'm sure the guy had no idea,
While he was flying high,
Because he chose to drink and drive,
Now I would have to die.

So why do people do it, Mom
Knowing that it ruins lives?
And now the pain is cutting me,
Like a hundred stabbing knives

Tell sister not to be afraid, Mom
Tell daddy to be brave,
And when I go to heaven,
Put "Daddy's Girl" on my grave.

Someone should have taught him,
That its wrong to drink and drive.
Maybe if his parents had,
I'd still be alive

My breath is getting shorter, Mom
I'm getting really scared.
These are my final moments,
And I'm so unprepared.

I wish that you could hold me Mom,
As I lie here and die.
I wish that I could say, "I LOVE you, Mom!"
So I LOVE you and good-bye.

Courtesy of M.A.D.D.
(Mothers against drink driving)

Both Back To School

Both Jamie and Stephanie went back to school today, i was hoping to get photos of them in their new uniforms,but typical English weather it was raining.When i got in from work they were both busting to give me their good news. Jamie came top of his class for English last term and was put up in his set, he will now stay in this for his G.C.S.E. Stephanie is in the top set for Maths and English so iam now so proud of my kids, Don't get me wrong , i was really proud of them before but both of them put so much hard work into their Sats it was great to see it has paid off.
I am now feeling slightly guilty as both of them got grounded on Saturday for arguing and are not allowed anyone in or to go out to play. After their results i would love to lift the grounding, but after it only being a day it really would be defeating the object.Maybe i will have a talk to Andy and we will lift it Wednesday.

dog show

It was the firsat date of the rugby season today and Stephanie and i also had a dog show. We stayed at the club and did the kit and a few various other jobs , we then met up with friends of ours to go to Boxgrove show.
The weather was fantastic, clear blue skies and lots of sun. Stephanie had several classes and she did really well, beating me again in being placed. She walked out with 3rd place in child handler under 13yr olds and 4th place for best cross breed. I got 3rd place for best condition and i got 6th in the improvers obedience class with Bruno, Iwas so pleased with him as he has only just started coming out this season. Tyson is basically retired now he just comes along for the ride, he would sulk if we left him at home.
So all in all Steph and i had a wonderfull day out in the sunshine, the boys they are happily snoozing in their beds.

Andy on day 3

This post is just to give Andy loads of encouragement. He is giving up smoking and is now on day 3. It has been a bit tense in our household to say the least , but he is trying very hard and today has so far not bitten anyones head off when they have talked to him. We are all trying to give him support, the kids have been warned that if he shouts at them not to worry he probably doesn't mean it. Little things are monumental for him at the moment.
Me i have enough to last me a week and then it will be my turn, I am cutting down and hope that we will not kill each other or destroy our kids love. I just hope they are ready for the onslaught of both parents giving up.
The dogs keep hiding and are not sure what they have done wrong at the moment so i really pity them when i have my go. I hope i can count to ten and then open my mouth, I'm sure i shall be worse than Andy.... So well done babe and keep it up.....

Bank Holiday Weekend

Andy has been off since Thursday , i'm still on my lasts weeks holday and the weather has shone. We go to friends every sunday on the August Bank Holiday for the anual B.B.Q, It's the same group of people, the pool comes out, the drink is plentifull,and everyone has to bring some sort of dish of food. Mine is the garlic bread i have to do this every year much to everyones delight ( i make a pretty mean one). I have also to make several coffee cakes to be delivered and this year i added my fruit pie. When i took the dogs out at 7am i came accross the blackberry bush. So bag in hand i picked Blackberries, I had plums, pears and apples so we had a megga pie.
A great deal was drunk, the sun shone for the first time in 2 yrs, the kids got thrown in the pool with several of the adults, those that did not go in the pool got watered down if they wanted or not.

BBQ Pics

It's a dog's life

Tyson deciding that he didn't want his bed anymore and the chair was soooooo much better.


Ok mum so what is your problem, although i do need a bigger chair.


Bruno deciding to get in on the act, ok so i'm the smallest ,but i need the settee.

Baking and the flicks

Today is a very quick update for our household as i'm on my way to dog training.......Yesterday it chucked it down with rain, Steph had a sleepover so she and Jayde decided they wanted to do some baking. Very bad move. the first mixture coffee cake and coffee and walnut cake mix fell from the worktop, splattered all up the cuboards, the window , over the dogs, on the floor in a guey mass and over me. Andy had just walked in from work said something that i can't blog and walked back out.......
We eventually made a chocolate cake , chocolate cookies


and big chocolate muffins,Baking is so much easier when you do it by yourself, but the mishaps with the kids was just so much fun.


Today we had some buy one get one free cinema tickets so we took Jamie his friend Ryan , Steph and Jayde to the flicks. Andy and I watched the wedding crashers (great film)




Jamie and Ryan saw The dukes of hazard and the girls went and watched The perfect man.It was even better when they gave us another 4x buy one get one free tickets to use another day. So i can see another flick trip coming on.......

New Lounge

This is how the Lounge looks now after all our hard work

New Lounge

Typical Weather

So typical of the weather to change , the moment i have caught up with all my jobs and spend time with the kids , it rains, boy did it rain today , the kids have only just managed to go out now at 7pm . With a quick downing of their tea, scooters and roller blades at the ready they disappear outside.
Me, i have a quiet moment to come and blog, we spent the afternoon visiting one of my oldest friends Christine , we have known each other since the age of eleven, had the kids about the same time and still live fairly close to one another. Having a friend like her is great it doesn't matter how long it takes for us to get together or the kids , it just like it was the day before. I feel very privillaged to have a friend like her.
We talked about the kids and how fast they are growng up, us getting older, the great things you can talk about over coffee and chockie muffins. The girls getting Boyfriends and are we ready for that, the lads on what they wanted to do when they left school, the two1/2 hours we were there went far to quickly, still we are hoping for another coffee on Friday.

Bowling

Daniel is going home today, so i took the kids bowling, they had some other friends go to.I had to go and see my friend Wendy so i paid for the kids to do 2 games each, loaded them up with drinks and goodies to keep them going. I then left Jamie with an extra £10 just incase they were still hungry.
When i went to pick them up 2hrs later, drinks all gone, goodies all gone and no change from the £10. |They then all came home and ate a big roast dinner, they had obviously worked up quite an appetite.
We are now just waiting for Daniels parents to arrive , so they have made a run for it to get a last play on the roller blades and scooter before going. He lives in Kent so it's a bit hard to wonder when he will be next down.

Jennifers Birthday

Use the link to see the photos from Jennifers 18th Birthday party.

Birthday Bash

We just loved the penguins

See all the photos from Marwell here

Marwell

Daniel and Steph up in the tree tops

My big wonderfull tiger

Stephanie and Daniel at Marwell

A trip to Marwell

Today i took Daniel and Stephanie to the local zoological park, the weather turned out great as you can see from the photos we had a great time. I have loved going here from my childhood and it was the first time i got to see a tiger, I have loved them ever since. It was as though they new we were coming and i got some wonderfull photos of them, the 2 cubs that were born last October even graced us with their presence.
After leaving there i took the kids to our Rugby Club to meet up with Andy and Jamie and Stephanie showed Daniel all around by the river and our new clubhouse.

Finished

The lounge is now finished and looks wonderfull , the furniture has been put in it's place , the curtains are now finished and all up. I have spent the day spring cleaning the house which is now immaculate. I haven't properly cleaned since we started decorating and was so satisfying to see my house now nice and clean and tidy again.
Stephanie's friend Daniel is now on his way to stay for the weekend so Andy and i have ordered a Chinese . We deserve it after all the hard work we have done. So i'm now going to sit down and start my holiday........

New Furniture

Yipeeeee my new furniture is arriving tommorow, we thought it was going to take a good 4wks but the furniture company rang today and they can deliver . The only problem being is we are short of one of the cd cabinets so we will have to wait a bit longer for that.
I can't wait and i will post photos of the lounge after it arrives. We have chosen an Indian Oak which has wrought iron lattice work at the front. We have had M.F.I since we got married and i wanted some kind of wood that was solid, now the kids are so much older i can basically have the lounge for Andy and I, (well exept for the dogs)
Stephanie's friend Daniel also arrives tommorow for the weekend from Kent , so hopefully after i spring clean the house and get the rest of the curtains up i shall be able to take next week off to do my holiday thing that so far has not happened yet..........l

Pressure Washer

At the weekend i treated myself or should i say i treated Andy and i to a pressure washer. So todays jobs were just as hectic as today. I moved Steph's trampoline of my decking, pressure washed that down , did the same with the fence and part of the patio. WOW i can't believe how cool this thing is , i had great fun exept for Bruno keep trying to attack it.
I have now re-painted the fence and the decking and even cleaned the windows in the kitchen so you can at least see out of them, i cleane all the garden furniture, what i lot i have accomplished over these last couple of days.
So with it now being 9pm i am going to quite happily sit down and relax........

Busy Busy Busy

I am not having a very relaxing start to my holiday so far. Yesterday i had 3 trips to the tip, i have not organised myself very well and started to sort out the attic . A very bad move,i then started to paint the trunking to cover the cables in the lounge followed by pressing the curtains and hanging the first part of them. I then put all the extra bits from the lounge that we are keeping up the attic. I cleared up the garden that has been a junk yard for the last couple of weeks. The saving grace was Jamie went to his mates for the day and Stephanie went for a sleepover at Jaydes.
I eventually stopped at 9am after Andy had been playing with my blog, trying to get that set out for me with the help of Len.
So with today i got up with Andy and decided i would help out with the ironing, Gathered up from all parts of the house we had 3 weeks worth, I decided this was a definate dvd moment and got stuck in , several hours later it was accomplished , another trip to the tip, a tidy up all round, the garden fence now half re painted ,the trunking with another coat of paint.Another trip to B&Q to get some stain to re-do the kitchen table, Which Andy and i stripped tonight and got the first coat of stain on
I will now sit down and watch Silent Witness. But i feel i have achieved a great deal so far although i will be glad when my holiday actually starts and we get all the jobs done.

Jamie looks the part

Jamie spent wednesday, thursday and friday at Martin Johnsons rugby camp, He had a great time learning new skills and had several of the England team coaching them. He got to hold the world cup and had his photo taken with Martin Johnson and several of the lads from the club.
If you go onto hubby's site there is a cracking photo of jamie in full flight dodging his oponents.

Birthday Bash

It was our friends daughters 18th party last night. We had all clubbed together to get her a day at thruxton going up in a stunt plane with an x red arrow pilot. Jennifer loved the present and we had a really great party. Poor Stephanie got a bit tipsy< will gave her a bit of punch with loads of lemonade in it , but as the evening wore on she decided to help herself, we had a very gigly girl at the end of the night.
Stephanie had left her sandles in the hall last night and when coming down the stairs Bruno had quite happily been munching on them throughout the night, so they had to go in the bin this morning . Hopefully she will remember soon that he only likes her shoes and will put them away where they are meant to go.
Andy and i have had a lazy day today we have been to the tip. I did the dogs and then we have just veged on the setee in my nice calming lounge, we have a few jobs to do tommorow with yes you guessed it another trip to B&q, a roast dinner then a catnap in the afternoon. The best thing yet i am now officially on my hols for the next 2 weeks. YIPEEEEEEE.........

Radiator

I have decided i am far to knackered to blog today exept to say i have now done the 2nd coat on the radiator, The floor has lost it's appeal to be done at the moment, and there is such a pile of ironing we think it may just hit the ceiling given half the chance.
So as you may have guessed the decorating is now taking a bit of a back burner, we need a break desperately, so to renew ourselves to get the last few bits done before the guests arrive on the 19th.
Now i think i shall give up for the day and watch silent witness.

more staining

With another trip to B&Q this morning we have now got all brass victorian switches ,sockets and the beeding for the laminate flooring. I think i should have bought shares in that place for the obscene amount i have spent in this last couple of weeks.
The lounge is now definately starting to take shape and with any luck Andy and i can take next weekend off. We have an 18th birthday to go to and some friends of our are also singing in their group on the Saturday. We have decided to go as Andy used to sing with them and we haven't been to see them in ages.
The sling on my arm is now off and most of the swelling has gone down, Tyson is now back in my good books , so i took both of the dogs and walked them down to the shore tonight for a swim.
So much for another weekend off relaxing and it's back to work tommorow, no peace for the wicked as my mum would say...............

Wall panals

I hate wood, I hate painting wood, Ihate my knees hurting after painting panals of wood.
You may have guessed it but i have done nothing exept paint 195 wood panels that go round the bottom half of my lounge. Andy has gunned them all in for me today and i have had to stain them all. Not once but twice and if anyone thinks i am doing a third coat they can go and get stuffed.
So my agenda tommorow, staining the dado rail to go on top of the panals, 2 coats of course then i can finally say that i am just about done. It will be down to Andy then to lay the flooring I'm glad i can't do that as i don't think my old knees could take it.
At least now if i get this all done i can spend my 2 weeks off on the 15th with the kids much to their delight.

My hand hurts

The decorating is going well all the painting is now done, i am ready to put the panneling on the walls and then i can varnish that. The new furniture is ordered, the curtains are being made and then Andy can lay my new laminate flooring. It is a ridged flooring at a huge disgusting price just so the dogs will not slip on it. Then we will be done....
So to the hand hurting, we were at dog class last night and after Tyson doing an exersise extremely well i let him have a play, he jumped up missing his toy and got my hand. It decided to swell up at some kind of elephant size and so it was a trip to the hospital this morning . I had great trouble trying to hold a pen and so there i sat in casualty, X-rays , but luckily nothing was broken, they decided i have got a bad case of soft tissue damage and have to keep my right hand elevated. So with my arm now in a sling which is extreamly annoying being right handed i am not a happy bunny. I have to wait 48hrs to see if the swelling goes down, and if not it's back to the docs on Monday morning...........r

Geting there

MY good hubby has now finished the kitchen floor and i must admit he has done a wonderfull job... Thanks sweatheart.
Me i have been in the lounge , the walls ,ceiling and the coving are now done. It may sound a bit of a project to you but i have been known to have a good eye for colours, I have done the ceiling a very pale creamy beige, the coving is terracotta, the 2 long walls are a very pale peach and the 2 short walls are a deeper shade of peach. I have only to go halfway down as we are wood panneling the bottom half. It is a sad and tedious job and i am now having to do it after i finish work, so this is the first time i have managed to sit at the computer.
I have the last 2 coats to do on the long walls tommorow and then i have promised Steph she can help me do the skirting boards. Andy wants to try and start laying the flooring at the weekend.
So just to end if i break another nail before we have to go to an 18th birtday party on the 12th i shall happily scream.......

As time flies

I just don't know this week has gone , the kids have been brilliant while both Andy and i have been at work. Poor Jamie is in charge unfortunately, untill the 15th August as i don't have any holiday left till then, So far i have come home with nothing broken, although i don't think my house is up for visiters at the moment. After the Bruno escapade last weekend i have now cleared the lounge and so tommorow i start to decorate. Next week will be even worse with every spare moment i shall have either a paint brush, or scraper in hand, All the lounge cabinets that Andy and i got when we first got married are now sitting in the garden,we are still debating on whether to get the new ones we have seen as they are all hand made and are in a Indian oak.
We cant afford a new suite as well and ours is only 6yrs old, Maybe next year when i ban the dogs from the lounge and i can find one that i love as much.
So off i go as my ceiling is beckoning to me to get started and paint. No doubt i will start to have a hissy fit later when i am covered in paint.........

Weekend

Well it was another busy weekend in the kidd household. We decided to go to Thorpe park on Saturday as that was meant to be the best day for weather.A great time was had by all, we did Tidal Wave twice, Nemesis 3 times and Colosos once Steph went into panic mode after that one, it had 3 loops and 10 corkscrews. I must admit i didn't like that one much as you moved in your seat and as she was the smallest she moved more than us. She is normally an adrenalin frek but this ride definately got the better of her.
The worst bit of the day was coming home to find the dogs had managed to somehow open the lounge door, They had both happily ransaked the place, Bruno had tried to eat the sky remote,then he had fun climbing onto the setee and pullin my border off the wall.
So me having been very lazy and not really getting on with decorating the lounge , I have now got to go full throttle and get it done before Stephanie's boyfreind arrives on the 19th August. His family are bringing him down from Kent, he is staying with us for the weekend while they are visiting Relatives. I know what you must be thinking she is only 10 but we have it well under controll. Will tell you more in a later blog.....

Busy Busy Busy

Wow have we just had a really busy week, Mum was over for doctors and stuff, we as usual running around like blue ass flies. Oh yes the usual rugby training as well as the dogs and then the weekend which should be the relaxing time went to pot.
Andy wanted to get his car straight, me i went to lunch with friends on Saturday and ate far too much, kids to ferry back and forth, Jamie went to weymouth beach for the day and Stephanie firmly planted herself in the pool. I spent the rest of the day feeling like a bloated whale. The diet that i keep starting every Monday has now definately started.
Sunday we all set off for the day to Chessington World of Adventures, we have all got an annual pass that will get us into all of the Tussards goup of attractions . So with a tyring day there ,i was in no mood to get up at 6am to take my mum to the station , but i did and she has now gone back home.
Today starts another week of stress so we have decided a trip to Thorpe Park will be in order for next weekend.........

10 things

10 things i would like to do before i die.

1...i would love to go swimming with Dolphins.

2...win the lottery so i would not have to work so bloody hard.

3...go on a Safari.

4... Hopefully see both my kids get married.

5...go up in a hot air balloon.

6....Actually come first in a obedience class with the dogs.

7...be able to master this computer.

8...have an extreme makeover.

9...have a job i truly love and pay weel.

10....Ride a horse through the rocky mountains.

Bruno's birthday

Today is Bruno's birthday, so in approximately 5weeks we will have had him a year....So much for rescuing this puppy and just getting him fit to give away to a good home.
We would not be without him now, he has become the joker of our family, keeping us on our toes giving us plenty of laughs with his antics. it is amazing how much your lives can change with having pets, i wouldn't be without either of our dogs, both totaly different in characters but both have the most beautiful temperament.
So a happy birthday to our little fella and no more calling you our puppy dog.

London Bombs

While at work today it suddenly flashed across the tv screens about the bombings in London,Cold shivers run through you to the utter devistation that has crossed our wonderfull capital.
Your heart goes out to those who have lost their lives.To the people who have taken them they can't have a heart or soul or one decent breath in their putrid bodies.What makes these sort of people tick, that can destroy a human life without a thought of the people left behind, people that have walked out of their homes this morning on their way to work, just a normal day in their life, never to return home again or if they survived at what cost.
I will never understand what goes through these peoples minds that do such a monsterous act on another human being.

Cheers dad.....

the kids just love their dad especially as he got them a cocktail each..

Me and Andy taken by Steph, she has yet to find the top of her Dads head...

Steph and Jamie with their huge ice creams and i didn't even get a bit.

Stephanie and i looking tanned on hols, either i'm shrinking or she is growing up far to fast.

back at home

The family kidd has at last arrived home from sunny shores. Yes we are back from sunny climates, Sangria,and long sunny days lazing by the pool with books in hand. I at long last managed to sit in the shade and read, my life was complete read and read and watch Andy frolicking in the pool with the kids while i laze back in the chair.
The beach was wonderfull, clear waters and gentle waves lapping up onto the golden sands, a gentle breeze coming up off the water. I even managed to swim in the sea as it was so hot , not a thing i usually do as i hate cold water, even the pool got very inviting and in i swam every day, we even got Stephanie to pracise her diving( Still a long way to go though).
We spalshed out and ate out every night, the restaurants were good with local wine flowing, we just wished we had hired a car so we could have explored further.
It was a well earned break and i have now come back quite refreshed, ready to take on the world again in our busy life that we lead, a little browner, but not as much as everyone else. I was very good i didn't get burnt at all, so the docs will be pleased with me, having skin cancer make you look at the sun in a very different way and i must admit i am even more carefull with the kids now.
So it's back to lovely cloudy England again and wait for the sun to appear......

incriminating photos

I thought Andy had been good so far about the holiday photo incident , but yes i was wrong. He hasn't done his blog for ages . Tonight when i came in he said he had actually put something on it, well of course i had to have a look.
All i can say is very sorry folks this does not give a good impression of me , especially if you don't know me. But hey i'm a fun kind of gal and Wendy and i are such good mates what the heck, we were drunk , we were having a great holiday, the men were playing pool, so what are you to do, we had fun.
I can definately say though i do not bat for the other side as my darling hubby may enquire and wendy is definately not haveing a quick feel..... At the end of the day think what you may and sorry to those who may read this and not be open minded.

The girls with the boyfriends. They wanted for nothing the whole of the Holiday.

Wendy and I singing "I will survive" we just about survived the first night :)

Mike being buried by Stephanie, Kim, Jamie and Leanne

Here we are on Hols, halfway to wrecked, Wendy, John, me and Andy

Dentist

I had to visit the dentist today, to get my tooth filled back up after i lost half of it when i went to Scotland last month. I hate to admit it but it is one of my few fears, as i sit there shaking he keeps putting more and more clamp things in my mouth , of which i may add bloody hurt. I had to sit there for over 45mins, not good for the old heart rate i can tell you. At least it is all done now and feeling very pleased with myself i only jumped at least 4 times.
There are still no holiday snaps as i just haven't had time to get Andy to show me where they are on the computer after our major crash the other week. Hopefully i shall grab him tonight and put some up.....I now have to go and see if i can drink a cup of coffee through one side of my mouth, maybe i shall just grab one of the kids straws.........

Happy Happy Hols

Last week we went to Camber Sands near Hastings, all i can say is what a fab time we all had. The weather was fantastic, we did the beach, the kids went bodyboarding,built sandcastles,buried poor Mike completely. Everyone played rounders me included, i haven't played that since school.
There were 4 adults , 3 boys and 3 girls although we did not see much of the kids, there was just so much for them to do on camp that the older ones took the younger ones off and left us adults to veg. Boy did we do that i can honestly say that i haven't consumed that much alchol in years. I'm sure Andy would tell you some stories but i just can't put those type of photos on the blog.
So it is back to work this week but with only another week till we go to Spain, i really can't get into work mode that well. will put photos up when i can find them on the computer.

Happy Holidays

After a very tiring week at work i had my final shift today. Yep tommorow morning we are off on our 1st of 2 holidays this month. The kids have just had half term but i am taking them off school for the week, sats are over and it is basically the run down for the summer.
We are off with friends, John,Wendy and their 4 kids. All we have to hope for is a bit of decent weather to help us on our way. At the end of the day it is a week off work so who cares.
With any luck i may have a mate do a blog for me or two if they can, but hey if they don't thats ok it will give the computer a rest, it has done a major crash last week with the kids going on all their games, so i lost it for a couple of days . It then took me ages to read all my mails.
So with hols on my mind i go and finish all the odd bits to do before we leave.....

busy busy busy

What a very busy weekend we have just had , it has been a bank holiday as well as having my cousin Donald and his wife Joy to stay. We had a lovely time catching up on all the news, far to much to eat ( bang has gone the diet in readiness of our holiday next week)big platefulls of homemade Lasagne, salad , cheesy potatoe wedges homemade chocolate strawberries, crunchy profitta rolls, need i say more, so much for getting my stomach flat.
We have promised to go and visit during the summer holidays as we will get the dogs looked after.Jamie will be able to have his re-match of chess.
On Monday we then had a B.B.Q with friends who we are going on holiday with next week, Andy doing his cooking me sipping the odd bottle of wine with Wendy, John and Andy on the beer and the 6 kids quite happily bouncing on the trampoline, so more wine more food and now feeling desperate with only a week to go before i should have lost the weight. It has definately been a bad week.
MY DIET WEEK
Monday ....good
Tuesday ....good
Wednesday..meal with freinds... Chinese buffet (pigged out)
Thursday... Lunch meal with freinds... Mexican buffet.(pigged out again)
Friday ...end of hard week we always have take-out. Indian
Saturday...Toda in the hole....fairly good.
Sunday....forget total pigout...
Monday.....Steak from the B.B.Q etc plus pudding (pigged out again)
Tuesday now desperation has set in so atkins till i go away.
How long will i survive as i sit here i am starving.

we passed

Bruno and i had our kennel club bronze exam on thursday night and as i had allredy done the bronze and silver with Tyson, i decided to give Bruno a go.
Well you may ask what is she going on about now?... The kennel club for dogs have "good citizenship awards " that you can take with your dogs, this basically is an exam that shows your dog is well behaved and that it is under controll, questions are asked to the owner on care and knowledge of looking after your dog etc.
We basically had to get our dogs to come back to us on command, greet people nicely and not jump up,hold conversations with a group of people and the dog stay quiet, stay and not move untill told with the dog away from you, goom them while they stayed still, go through a door without rushing through, walk by your side and not pull etc.....
I am so proud of my little fella we passed all tests and he is now classed as a good citizen in the dog world. well done Bruno and i. We also get a certificate from the kennel club and a bronze badge that i can wear.
As i look over to the chair next to the computer my heart fills with pride as he lies curled up in a ball oblivious to all he has acheived, little snores grumbling from him as the sun shines through my lounge window and goes onto him.........

SLEEP

After doing the 10 questions Len quite happily sent me to do. I have decided there are an awfull lot of smutty people out there.
The 2 men thing ok , but the operative word there was sleep, not what some of you may or may not have thought.
This in mind please be aware that i am over 40 and have had a bit of a life so anything could be possible. As for the comment from my hubby Andy you know what that truth is ....love you sweetheart......

10 things I have never done

ok here are ten things i have never done as asked for from len...

1.... never walked on a tightrope...
2....won first place at a dog show with one of my dogs....
3.....had a fight with someone who i did not like...
4...slept with george clooney( although i wouldn't say no if asked)
5...wrote an autobiography
6....slept with another person of the same sex.
7...had sex on the qe2(never been on it to try).
8...driven a ferrari although have had lots of rides in one.
9...hurt people for my own gain.
10...slept with more than 2 men at the same time.

TRIP TO SCOTLAND

Well i'm back from my wee trip to bonny Scotland. we had a nightmare getting up there only took us 13 hrs. We went to the champ dog show at The Highland Centre in Edinburgh which is right next to the airport.
We did really well at the show getting a 2nd in best puppy dog and then a first in Junior so it was well worth the travelling and being totally knackered. This means that we have now qualified for Crufts dog show later in the year.
We travelled up all day Friday and then set off Saturday afternoon to come back , we had brilliant sunshine to start as we came through all the lovely rolling hills watching all the new lambs and calfs. the rivers flowing over the fields. It was great to go for the quick visit as my mum was born here and all her family come from Scotland and as we drove further down coming to Lancashire it was great to be home , this is were i first started to grow up and was born. then we travelled south to home now eventually getting in at about 11.30. 9oo miles in 2 days .
So today is a lazy day for me catching up on the e-mails and the kids, then dragging Andy out to walk the dogs and see the Queen Mary 2 docked. The lovely thing of where we live is we can see all the big liners come and go. we are only 5 mins walk from the water and can see them all from our upstairs window........

Off to Scotland

I am quickly posting as i'm to Scotland this morning for the weekend, Andy has the kids and i am off to a championship dog show with a freind.The weather looks grim as it is chucking it down with rain here in the not so sunny south. but after looking at the forecast i am heading to better things. Namely thunder storms, what joy i findin that knowledge,Here is me being sarcastic.
we shall be back on Sunday so lets hope we do well and qualify for crufts next year.......

Nothing but payout's

I look forward to pay day most months but having just got paid and done my accounts have found as it seems more than often at the moment, Yep i'm broke. They tell you as your kids get older it gets easier , what they did not tell you was that it just get's more expensive.
With Jamie it is paying for a ski trip next March, with Steph it is a trip to Normandy in September, and with me it is desperately trying to get some spending money together for our holiday next month.
This is normally not to much of a problem exept for the fact of Andy still being self employed there are no wages , with that he is only working for about 12 days for the whole month.
Why can't someone be nice to me just once and let me win a bit of the lottery, i would not want it all but a million would do just nicely..........

Sun Shining

Today we were all mean't to go to another dog show but i took the weather report as gospel and as it said it was going to rain, we decided to cancel. I then was asked to have my freinds kids for her so we did , we woke this morning to glorious sunshine which has stayed all day. Typical while freinds went to the show i stayed at home and worked in the garden , thinking i could have been at sherbourne castle having a wonderfull day with the dogs , visiting the castle and beloved grounds. instead my garden is tidy and i am now up with all my jobs and Andy has done all the ironing.
Just wait for the next weather report and i will quite happily tell them what i think of them.......We did so well at the show last week, Steph got 3 placings and i got 1. Oh well i'm off to a champ show in Scotland next weekend.......

Happy 14th Birthday Jamie

Happy Birthday

Happy Birthday to Jamie who has turned 14 today, i cannot believe that i gave birth to him some 14 years ago. How time has flown, he has turned into the most remarkable of kids of which i am so proud.
He has a rough time growing up having being diagnosed with Asthma, several allergies and as a result of the medication he has been on i s rather small for his age. This has never daunted him he makes up for it being the inspiration to us all. He has a cheeky nature, very loving even at this age, he is loved by everyone, he is bright, considerate to his younger sister Steph and never in trouble that i would need to worry about.
He is my wonderful Son and i have such love for him it is hard to describe. He is just one of the big loves in my life.
So for 14 years you have been an inspiration to me and a wonder and to loads more a Happy Birthday.

Last but not least at the end of the day in my very sexy marshals suit, and having to wear one of those helmets all day was pure hell, you could not breath in them, but i wouln't have missed it for the world...the things us mums do just to get a photo of their kids.....

Roll out them smoke grenades boys...

Andy nearest and then Steve hiding behind the trees. their team won the day so the greens won. yeh this made Jamie's day as he was on that side

Jamie is to the left defending his fort....

Poor Andy he got shot in the eye...

Jamie ready for the off for the first game

The lads ready for the off.

paintball day

Today we took 6 lads painballing for jamies birthday, which is on monday. He will be 14 , Andy joined in with our freind Steve and i went along as a marshal, this was very brave of me with paintballs flying all around and me stood in the middle of it but it was the only way to get some photos.
A great day was had by all and we are all totally knackered now. Here are some photos of the day.......

Boxgrove

What a busy bank holiday weekend we have had. Mum arrived on Thursday, boy did i need her help getting my house back in order. now it is immaculate again. Thanks mum i love you lots......
Saturday Andy and Jamie went to last game of the season at Quinns unfortunately they lost by 1 point and now have got relagated.
Sunday we had a sevens rugby tournament up at Alton. We did well and got a try in each match but lost, but hey the lads played well as they have never played sevens before.
And last but not least Steph and i went to the first dog show for this year.Loaded up with both the boys we set off, it was a glorious day, picnic in the car and girls together, it is not often i get the chance to have one of the kids with me but we had such a good time.
Bruno at 10mnths old now, did his first obedience round and although the round was not at all good, he did not run out of the ring, off lead and he did not bark so i was really chuffed with him.
Stephanie bless her decided she wanted to do a class so i put her in for the best child handler with my big boy Tyson, a big hefty lad of 36kilos of solid muscle and 6 stone Steph holding on. Tyson being an old hand at this strutted his stuff ....... guess what she came 5th... proud mum ...proud mum, that was me, photo to follow later with her rosette she came home proudly with her rosette and took it to school to show everyone.
we came home tired , happy and with our two very tired dogs and the rosette now proudly placed in her bedroom.....

DAY OFF

Boy did i do good yesterday, i emptied all the cabinets in my lounge ready to start the re-decorating. 8 bags later of rubbish, bin bag size and i have done exept one essential drawer. Andy wants to get rid of all my display cabinets and for the few bits left put my lovely solid wood shelves back up. this is ok , but as yet i cannot find anything i like to replace. I would love an oak merchants chest but again i haven't found one i like. I just hope we will find one before the room gets finished.
Now don't laugh but i haven't got a clue as to when this new project will start, i have bought the flooring but as i am such a fussy moo it's a bit hard to say when , plus i have to be in the right state of mind and lay of work a bit to do it. Oh yes the paint got bought last August so this will give you some sort of clue. Still the hall took all my holiday up last year so this will be weekend project work. This years holidays i am planning on doing just that" HOLIDAY "no decorating in that word......

nothing to say

I am just so knackered there is nothing to say exept i need a new body as this one does not seem to want to work. I have just had to do a stint of 15days on the trot and i have had enough i need a service and a full m.o.t.. Other than that a nice weekend being totaly pampered at a health spa would be nice
I am now carless so i have to take tommorow off, and with that i shall catch up on all my household duties. take a leisurley walk with the dogs and maybe just sit a while and drink a hot cup of coffee......

Anniversary

Well it was mine and Andy's wedding Anniversary yesterday. 15years and we are still going .
we have as most people had our ups and downs with a bit of a sabatical inbetween, but we are still together with two wonderfull kids. The typical family 2 kids and 2 dogs, a unit that is as srong as it can be.
So a little mesage just to say HAPPY ANNIVERSARY sweetheart and to say " see how many more we can do" XXXXXXXX LOTS OF LOVE MUNCH

Knackered

Have you ever felt that the light at the end of the tunnel seems to get further and further away. Well thats my life at the minute. Work, work and more work, Andy is doing his normal job and then going straight from there to do our friends tiling for her kennels, Amongst all the other things he is trying to do like end of year accounts ,rugby training, agm's organising an evening out for our 15th anniversary on Thursday, spend time with me and the kids. Heck there is not enough hours in our day. Me i have had to work all weekend so it is12 days without a day off, Helping with the ironing and my 2 other jobs as well as house n stuff, I have now decided the pair of us are well and truly knacked out.
The kids have 2 school trips to go on Steph is off to Normandy in sept and Jamie is going sking next March.So needs must and work it is.Still we have 2 holidays in june to go on. One cheapie caravaning with friends and then 10 days in spain, basking by our pool reading books, eating out and no work BLISS is the word i am thinking. The only bad thing for me is i got told i had skin cancer at the end of last year and although it is a bit better i am no longer alowed out in the sun, so take a bit of pity on me and think of me while i sit out under the biggest brolley i can find.....

triumph

Good news my wonder dog Tyson actually completed the task i set over 3 years ago. He has acomplished it, i sent him away at last night's class, standing roughly about 10feet away from his blanket,In order of events....
1....I put his blanket on the floor.
2...we walk back about 10ft.
3... took of his lead (praying silently it would work).
4...Gave him his command....AWAY.
5...Off Tyson trots toward the blanket....
6...Gets to the blanket.
7...I command...DOWN.
8...My wonderfull, brilliant, beautifull,handsome beast drops down and waits patiently for me to go to him.
I know i am a very sad person, but hey to me it was like watching your child take it's first steps. Boy am i a very proud mum.......

Dog night

Here we go again it is dog training night tonight,Andy and Jamie have gone rugby training and Steph and i shall be off soon with the dogs. I have been busily practicing all week with Tyson a "sendaway down" which basically means i send my dog away from me and get them to drop when told and stay there untill i say move. Well we have it at home and on the field , so tonight is d-day i am going to try it in class. Now the thing with this is, they do it everywhere else but where i need them to. So wish me luck and i will post tommorow if we manage to do it......

Swimming

I have a dog walker that does the dogs for me during the day, On arriving home today i came across two sopping wet dogs. On first reflection i thought what on earth had they been up to . On second reflection noticing the leads on the kitchen table,looking out from my lounge window the tide was in.
Yes the two horrors of mine had been in the sea.Salty sea water,sand and soppy blankets in their beds. I have now got the blankets drying on the line, the dogs toweled dry and am desperately squirting air freshner around.
Yes if you have dogs , wet ones especially that have been in the sea they can smell the house out.I have to get rid of the smell before Andy comes in, still the dogs have great fun, me i am happy the dogs have now had 3 good walks today and are happily snoozing in the lounge with the sun filtering through the window, big zzzzzzz's and snores. Peace will reign for at least an hour........

My feet hurt

I did it i went out last night with the girls , i boogied with the best of them, i kept up with the drinking , but boy by 1.30am my poor old feet had died a death,The body could have kept going but the feet said they had had enough.
I was pretty impressed with myself being the eldest there out of the bunch , but luckily i did not feel it, we drank and danced till the end, i am just very glad i was not on the lookout to find a fella, Some of the men who to say the least were into their later 40's jigging it around on the dance floor trying to impress all these young girls and were not getting the hint that they were just not interesting was a lesson to be learnt.
Gone it seems to be in the day when a fella came and asked if they could dance with you, now as it seemed last night was to just grab your hand and away you go, well i can tell you for quiet a few times my hand had to be quickly prised from a few of the opposite sex. Still it was nice to know i could still attract .
After eventually arriving home in the very not so early hours, i got greeted with a " hello dirty stop-out". I had woken Poor Andy up . Well what is a girl to do at that time in the morning, i decided to keep him up for another hour or so.Still i'm sure he will think it was worth it exept for the fact he had to referee a rugby match this morning , me i got a few comments to the like of " Bit of a late night was it last night Trace". Still i thought i looked pretty good considering i am usually asleep by 10.30.Go girl at 42 i can still shake my bootie.....

At home

After a busy week and getting everything ready for the kids to go back to school, i have found a few minutes to blog.
Andy and Jamie have gone to watch Quinns play, they have decided to drop their season tickets next year, so that means a bit more whole family time together.i have done the chores, even a bit of ironing for Andy , cooked the meat for tommorow and will now have to try and make myself beautiful for going out tonight.
It is my friend Wendy's birthday tommorow and so their is a girlie night out tonight. A crawl around the pubs in Southampton and then onto a club for the over 25's.I am looking forward to the night out but not the time of arriving home at god knows what time, and then having to be up for Rugby in the morning.Gone are the days when i could party all night and get up at the crack of dawn the next day. Nowadays i like my bed by 11pm or being able to go out as a couple with friends, then i can handle a late night. Still no doubt after a few drinks i will be well into the party and will tell you about it on Sunday......

What a good Dad

Andy is having his hands full this week while looking after the kids while i am back at work, he has done the baking with Steph, the choc brownies were scrummy , shame there is none left. I think another baking day is on order for tommorow.He has taken the kids swimming today with Steph's friend Leanne, who slept over last night, he has even done the dogs for me.
Today i got in from work ,all the ironing has been done the house all neat and tidy , he has now gone off to help my friend Angie tile her dog kennels.Me i am quietly catching up on my e-mails and may in a while start on our tea.
It is not many woman that will have a hubby who will help out and muck in when needed and for that i am now very lucky, our house is filled with love and partnership, bit rocky at times but on the base of it pretty solid as solid goes.
Just to say thank you sweetheart i do appreciate it xxxxx

Dog show

Today i had a day off from Rugby, the kids and my dogs,instead i went with my friend Angie to a Championship dog show.We had great fun and got placed fith which wasn't to bad. It has been a glorious day, but now i'm happy to be home, and try and get my head round to go back to work tommorow.
Andy has got next week off so he is in charge of entertaining the kids with also a sllepover for Steph tommorow night. I think it is also baking day so hopefully i shall come home to choc chip cookies and fudge brownies. It is so great now to have a hands on dad, he then has swimming planned for Tuesday, car serviced Wednesday and Rugby training and a game on Thursday, so if i finish early enough i will go over in the afternoon and watch. Anyway i have to go now as the ice cream van has just come and i want to eat my strawberry cornetto.

Last day of my hols

Today has been a bit of a girlie day here, Steph and i went to have our hair done,Steph feeling very special as she was at last allowed to have layers put in her hair. It is now near enough the same as mums , so we are feeling very grown up and continuosly fiddling with it.
We have now dropped her off to a friends for a sleepover giving me and Andy a rest so leaving Jamie to look after the dogs we are off out tonight for a meal with friends.
Today has been full of sunshine and i have at last finished all my jobs that i had to catch up on. The kitchen door is now painted and i have even helped Andy out by doing some of the ironing, i had forgotten what that was like, don't think i shall do that again for a while......
Bruno is now recovering well form his castration and was allowed to go on a walk today, he hates not being able to go out and so i can now start training again tommorow, he has his first obedience show in May so are busily tuning up on things.So far he has gone through 2 pairs of sheepskin slippers this week, his favourite toy which he loves to chew. Thank god he has never chewed ours although i am geting a bit low on the supplies now.

Holls

I just love it when i can spend time with my kids. I have taken a long weekend and turned it into a week, so far i have managed 3 lie-inns untill at least 8am, i have done 3 sleepovers , i have done the flicks with the kids and watched Miss Congeniality 2. We have had DVD days, baking, and cooking lessons with Jamie.
Have i been busy or what !, i think with now only a few days left a few house chores are now in order, but at least i will still be at home. I still have the kitchen door to paint which was left over from last year when i did the hall, but as usual it became boring so i left one side and now it really needs to be done.So off i go with again a housefull of kids i am going to do a bit of painting and stop the squabbling between my two darling kids.....

Happy Easter

This Easter weekend has been glorious, the sun has shone, I sat out yesterday in the garden and ate my breakfast, Peace and quiet except for the birds and a wet nose or two from the dogs to say where is our breakfast. Andy bought me out my coffee and I sat in peace while reading the paper, I don't often get to do that.
We then went to friends to a B.B.Q, we took the dogs as they have a huge plot of land and let them run, the kids had great fun . It was just a shame that it was not hot enough to go in their pool. Today is still hot and is being a lazy day in our house except for me who is doing a full turkey roast with all the trimmings and home-made apple crumble for desert. With my mouth now very much watering I am going to finish it off so happy Easter and have a good bank holiday.

Tarts

My friend Nicky sent me a mail with a tarts test on it which Andy and i decided to have a bit of fun and have a go at. Me well i am a good girl i was only 35% tart, Andy on the other hand was 65% tart. Yes it is sad to say but i have a tart as a husband.
On another note Steph and i made Chocolate bread today , the whole house was filled with the scrumpcios smell of breaded chocolate. It was so yummy a definate must to make again exept for the old waistline.

Crufts

yes i am back, not that most people will notice , but here i go writing to myself again.
I went to crufts on Saturday for the day, Andy had the kids and did baking with Stef, boy was she made up. They made cheeseand marmite straws, needless to say they did not last long.
Crufts was fantastic i spent far to much money on the dogs , but if you like them it is a definate day out, not for kids though it just gets far to busy and you just get them lost. Seeing all the different breeds of dogs is just amazing. We watched the obedience and also the good citizen dog awards( i do this with both my dogs and Tyson has his silver). I have decided to possibly take him next year so just might see my big boy showing himself off.
It is so much cheaper to buy things up there with all the help and advice, they have just brought out a new food which has been extensivley looked into for Boxers . I have now got some on order, we will have to see if it as good as they say, Tyson certainly seems to be liking it.
I shall have to start saving now for next year.....

FED UP

I have decided that i am not really going to write anything today as all i can say is life basically sucks.
Besides being a good mum and working all the time and doing everything for everybody else , it would be so nice, just for once to have a bit of luck come my way.
I have decided that i must have done something really bad at some point, cause someone sure does not like me up there.

Long Wekend

After having to work all through the last school holiday in February, Stephanie has the day off on Friday for teacher training. Why this has to be done in term time i don't know. When i was at school many moons ago i cannot remember ever having these kind of days off.
Well to get back to the point of my day , i have decided to take the day off, yes the whole day ,no cleaning other peoples houses , no cleaning mine. Nothing, I won't get a lie in as Andy and Jamie still have to get up, the dogs will need to be walked but after that i am going to spend a girlie day with my daughter.I didn't do anything with her in the hols and feeling a little guilty as us mums do, her choice we are going into town with friends and go shopping,then possibly a Mc Donalds. I can't think of anything better Shopping with 3 fashion conscious girls, exept maybe on the 29th March i have to go with her and one of the girls Leanne to a Peter Andre concert, Wendy my friend and Leanne's mum are only going to see if we can see his 6pack.

jamie has chosen

Jamie has now chosen his options, what a relief that is. He has decided to take the following.
English
maths
double science
tech design
geography
history
ict
buisiness studies
Luckily these are all good subjects for him and he gets high grades in all of these ,i just hope when the time comes it won't be too much for him to cope with.Gone are the days when choosing your options was simple. We now have to wait to see his head when he will get his own option interview,I have decided to take the time off work for that ,just incase he may need a bit of back-up if he can't do the subjects he wants.