AGH! Big Mouth!

Amy has a current fixation about going to school.


She's rather miffed that she doesn't get to go.


Seeing this as a chance to move potty training along a little bit I told Amy that she would have to learn to do a pee on the potty before they would let her go to school.


'They won't let you go to school in nappies.' I say.


'THEY DO AT MY SCHOOL!' bellows Ana.


Back to square one then

Money, money money!

Yesterday The Insolvecy Service resorted our faith in Government Departments. After telling us that we should expect to wait 6-8 weeks for seeing the faintest hint of anything currency like they paid Vinnie within 4 weeks.

So now to the task of getting back to normal!

Sunshine in October

Remember those sunflower seeds we planted back in July, the ones that fell foul of the snail mafia only to rise once again from the bitter compost of defeat? No.





Well after one, two, THREE months of waiting they have finally flowered! Not the huge yellow blooms I had expected, but still beautiful none the less. Adding a bit of sunshine on the greyest of October mornings.

Well the mystery of Amy's non eating has been solved. She has come down with another cold and this one's a baddie.

She has an awful hacking cough at night. However her night time cough medicine seems to be helping with that.

She was surprisingly cheery this morning and came out with the few gems.

When daddy asked for a cuddle she said, 'no daddy, you're sad!' I don't think she meant boo hoo either.

As she was up early this morning she was watching me get dressed, when I took off my night shirt and went to put my bra on she giggled and said, 'I can see your boobie buttons!' Thats nipples to you and me.

Dearest Darling Vincent,

I love you very much and I know it's not your fault that you found yourself unemployed at the end of last month, but.

I simply cannot wait for you to knob off back to work!

I am sick of watching daytime crap on the TV. Yes, I actually do prefer Spongebob and Backyardgains!

Stop interfering in the way I run the house. I have managed it so far without the children killing each other the animals running away or the place burning to the ground, thank you very much!

Your loving, if slightly peeved wife xx

Toddlers and Eating

Amy has never been a big eater and has been fussy to say the least. I have actually let her get on with it and things have been fine, she's growing and is a healthy weight.

Over the last few days this has changed and she is eating less and less. Over the last two days she has eaten.

Day 1

Breakfast - Two spoonfuls of Coco pops

Lunch - one custard creams (she had this as a treat at 11:00am and then refused to eat lunch.

Dinner - Nothing

Day 2

Breakfast - 1/4 slice of toast

Lunch - a slice of ham (disgarded the rest of the sandwhich)

Dinner - Nothing

She is now waking several times in the night hungry, but when ever I try to encourage her to eat she tells me she doesn't like breakfast/lunch/dinner. At the moment she still has plenty of energy and I am still leaving her to it ie) not forcing her to eat but also not offering and alternative (to stop her filling up on crap).

*Oh, Vinnie has just informed me that Amy has been sucking the pink highlighter that was in the drawer, so that's lunch and dinner for tonight then*

On the road to Happy

Today Vinnie got a phone call at 5:30 pm.

He got the Birthday's job he was after and at the same rate of pay he was on at Motor World.

He starts on Tuesday!

So all we have to do now is juggle things about for the next few weeks.

We also received a letter from Housing Benefit wanting Vinnie's P45 before they pay for the two weeks he was out of work. One problem there, we have a month to produce it and Vinnie won't get it for 6-8 weeks.

'Why hello! Yes I have no money and would like to claim some benefits. Please could you kindly direct me to the nearest brick wall so I may dash my head against it? Thank you very much!'

Difficult times are ahead

Vinnie went to work this morning only to be told that the store owners have gone into administration, he won't be getting paid this Tuesday and as of yesterday he is no longer empolyed.

Thank you very much here's a letter now off to the jobcentre with you.

I suppose that's life really and it is happening to many people up and down the country, but to wait until 4 days until they're due to pay you is a bit of a bugger as those last days are always tight.

I have had a little cry, got past that now. I have phoned everyone and told them they won't be getting their money this month.

We're all alive and the kids are healthy and that's more important really, isn't it.

Charlie, Barley and Mo

So okay my husband managed to fool me into believing that he had bought me storage cabinets for the bathroom. When in fact he had purchased a 125 litre aquarium for our goldfish Charlie, Barley and Mo.

Not great picture quality, but they just wouldn't hold still!

Remembering 9/11

1st Anniversary!

Well, I never thought we would get this far (joking), but today myself and Vincent celebrated our 1st Wedding Anniversary.

On the Sunday we had a wonderful family BBQ. Shame the weather wasn't the same as it was last year.

The 'other' use for those charity bags that come through the door.

This morning we had a charity bag pop through the door. Sadly at the moment we don't have anything to give, but fear not! Amy has discovered another use for those charity bags and here it is.

If you haven't guessed she's a 'ooper hero!' Don't worry she was supervised whilst wearing it and got bored with in 5 mintues and took it off.

Richard Hamalton's summer job? A bus driver in Maidenhead

I took the girls swimming this morning, but we left early as Amy said she wasn't feeling well and wanted to go home. This is very unlike her and since it's a 30 minute walk home from town I decided to catch the bus instead.

I usually avoid taking the bus where possible. Our bus drivers seem to have little patience for anyone with a pushchair or young children. We get on the bus and I place the pushchair in the bit where you put pushchairs (what is that called?) and apply the brake (apart from the swim bag in the shopping tray of the pushchair there was nothing else in it). As Amy was feeling unwell and clingy she wanted to sit on my lap for the journey.

It was then that I experienced something I never thought I would in a bus G Force!

The bus driver took off at amazing speed causing a few of the elderly passengers still taking their seats to grab on for dear life. He flew round the corner which caused the buggy to tip over, nearly taking a little old lady with it. I apologised profusely while juggling an upset toddler and swim bag and attempted to right the pushchair.

The driver didn't stop or even slow, but instead buffered us about the bus like pinballs as I struggled to ram the pushchair into the bay bit so it wouldn't fall.

I then spent the rest of the journey trying to stop the girls being catapulted to the front of the bus when we stopped and hurled to the back when ever we pulled away.

The most stressful bus ride I have had in the long time.

My baby is no longer a baby! Big bed time.

Now I am firmly of the opinion that children should be shoehorned into their cot for as long as humanly possible or until they learn to escape.

At two years old I thought we still had a fair while before we transferred Amy from the cot to a big girls bed. That was until my DH phoned me in the middle of town to announce that he had purchased a bed plus mattress for Amy and it was being delivered that afternoon.

As Amy is likely to be my last child a tiny part of me, well, okay a rather large, quivering part of me wanted to cling desperately onto the last strands of her babyhood.

Que me rushing to get home before the bed and forgetting 99% of the stuff I went into town for in the first place. We remembered the balloon animal tiger that the clowns were selling in the street today. Most important thing I think you'll understand.

I get home and five minutes later two men man handle a ready-made up bed into my hallway where they refused to take it upstairs and told me I would have to dismantle it and do it myself. I really didn't fit in the hallway so at the risk of eyes being gouged out it had to move.

Several sweaty hours, scratched walls and swear words later I manage to get the bed upstairs and reassembled in Amy's room. After having dismantled the cot. It looks odd and Amy's room is now teeny tiny. I had to rearrange the furniture to fit it in. Oh and on a positive note Amy has learnt to say 'Oh c**p!'

I was all geared up for a terrible evening attempting to keep Amy in her new bed via the use of bungee straps. But the little stinker was out like a light!