Smooth

I love the radio and at the moment I love Smooth Radio.

I love the DJs,the music,the lovely warm feeling it gives me when I turn the radio on ~ it's very predictable,I like the songs,I like the chatter,I just love the whole Smooth thing.

I have passed this love onto Chips,he creases me up when he yells out 'Ooo I like this one' and it's a absolute classic old tune that you wouldn't expect a nine year old to like....yep that's the beauty of Smooth...classic oldies all day long....

Then there's the Smooth bits and pieces ~ The 1000 Minute,The Golden Hour and of course Our Tune.

These are all on the Smooth Breakfast Show hosted by my favourite DJ Simon Bates.

It's such a blast from my past ~ Simon Bates and Our Tune,flippin eck I can remember being at home and listening to him and Our Tune.I think I even had a Our Tune book full of the soppy love stories and the songs that went with them.

I wake up in a morning,stumble blearily into the kitchen,switch the kettle on and then the radio is the very next thing to be turned on and Simon Bates deep voice washes over me,yep the radio and a cuppa are the two staple things in a morning that pull me through the nightmarish job of doing the lunch boxes,breakfasts,school bags etc.

I have different schedules for joining in with the radio,my normal weekday schedule where I listen to the £1000 minute and then my school holiday schedule where I listen to Our Tune and then frazzle my brain with the Golden Year.

The Our Tune slot is nice.I sit next to Chips on the sofa,dunking biscuits in my cuppa and sniffing at the sad/happy love stories....Chips can easily identify the Our Tune theme tune and knows to be quiet so that Mummy can 'listen.'

The Golden Year is much more frantic,as I pace around trying to guess the year that the songs came from.I work out in my head how old I was at the time the song was in the charts and I do some right mathematical working out,which for me is never easy.

Chips laughs at lot at this and loves me to have a go.I have even had my tweets read out by Simon Bates himself and this makes Chips smile even more!

Mostly I'm wrong but just sometimes Iam actually right!

Now Chippie is beginning to realise that there is a regular sports slot too,7.40 that is,Chips even knows the presenters name - Johnny Gould - I'm beginning to find him with his head right next to the radio,avidly listening in to Johnny,it makes his morning to listen to a dedicated sports news slot!

I listen to PatMan ( Pat Sharp if you didn't know ) in the afternoons and Smooth Carlos in the evenings.

Sharky has a right sarky tone to his voice when he says 'Oooo Smooth Carlos!

The only thing I don't like are all the adverts.

I don't want to listen to 'do you want your PPI back' or about 'dental implants' or about 'eye disease that can blind you within 3 months' but I guess it's a small price to pay and although the adverts do get on my nerves I still listen in to Smooth so they can't bother me that much.

So for the time being its Smooth Radio all the way for me....nothing like a bit of Smooth.

Dear Son Of Mine ~ Driving

Dear Son,

You are a driver!!!!

Simple as that! You can drive!

What a achievement!

What independence for you.

And how proud am I of you......

Very proud. Immensely proud.

This was my Silent Sunday photo this week

I had so many lovely people leave me a comment I was really amazed.

They noted the sunny day and the shadow of the tree on the ground and the nice quiet street and the fact that we were all feeling better because Spring had finally arrived and it's was warm.

All true facts and I agreed with them all but what they couldn't have possibly known was how I feel looking at that photo.

It sends me squidgy inside everytime I look at it. Every. Single. Time.

Because if you look closely you will see there is a car on the road and inside that car is you....driving your own car for the first time.

And I cannot describe how that makes me feel.

Let me try.

Like the proudest mum in the world,I had a lump in my throat when I saw you drive away and I felt so emotional.

All the memories of you as a newborn,toddler and little boy came flooding back to me.

I was totally overwhelmed.

And I still am!

Four days later when I look at that photo I still get the same overwhelming feelings of pride and happiness for you.

Well done boy of mine!

Linking up to Lucy at Dear Beautiful Boy for her fab new linky A Mama's Love

All That Glitters.... Or So They Say

A old post rehashed for Jaime at The Olivers Madhouse

 

Ahh Mothers Day...the day when you see everyone post about what wonderful pressies they have received and what a fab day they have had,how they have been totally looked after,breakfast in bed,dinners cooked,you know all that kind of stuff....maybe....perhaps....or even not....

You go to work and everybody says "What did you get for Mothers Day" and they enthral you with tales of meals out and jewellery and 'care' a biggie that one,isn't it, 'care,' interesting word. 

And I can instantly tell who has had a fuss made of them and who hasn't had quite the fuss they probably deserve. 

I saw more of the 'lucky,self satisfied brigade' but I also saw a few well deserving people who didn't get the nurturing they perhaps yearned for.

Im not sure exactly where I fall on this one.I love the handmade stuff I really do but if someone brought me a shiny trinket I wouldn't say no 

and I would prob go pretty squeeeee!

But is all that glitters gold....?

Let me tell you my Mummys Day story,it made me smile and warmed my heart....here goes

On the Saturday before Mothers Day Chips and I trundled off up to Morrisons to look for suitable items for the mums in our life's and on the way Chips decided he was going to chose something for me all by himself.

When we arrived there the shop was packed,lots of people were doing their normal Saturday shopping but many were out to find that last minute gift for their beloved mums.

The flower stand was crowded and so was the card stand,you had to literally squeeze in between people and hope for the best as everybody tried to get the most suitable card possible.

Young Chips found a card pretty quickly,I think he was more at ground level than all of us grown ups and could access the bottom level of the stand quite easily.

I then gave him the choice of choosing something for me,either chocolate or flowers or anything actually,as I saw how desperately he wanted to buy something for his mummy and to do it all by himself.

I gave him a couple of pounds and held my breath as he strolled off into the crowded shop,past the pizzas,past the deli,round the corner near the fish counter until he disappeared from view.

Lots of questions flicked through my mind....

Would he negotiate the crowded shop without causing chaos

Would he make his way safely back to me

What a earth would he choose!

I carried on choosing my Mothers Day cards and tried not to panic,that didn't quite work though and inside I was thinking "Eek,what an earth have I let him do"

I couldn't hear any alarms ringing though and there were no obvious crashing sounds,so perhaps things were ok.

I finished sorting my cards out and then went to find him and this is where it gets funny and to this day,about 8 weeks later,I still smirk at the memory,

he was in the chocolate department.

Yes the chocolate department!

And the chocolate department was full of half price chocolate,yummity scrummity chocolates that I loved.... After Eights,Big,Big boxes of Milk Tray,Huge boxes of Thorntons,oh I was ready for a real treat and he walked towards me clutching some precious Mothers Day treat to his chest and it was.... a packet of Twix!!!A bloomin packet of Twix and they were not even at a bargain price!!!We were going to have to pay more for Twixs than Thorntons!!!

Oh I hate to say this Chips but I could have died! I'm not even that fond of Twixes,I mean they are ok but compared to Thorntons no way!

I looked at all the delicious chocolate that I would have adored and then I looked at Chips proud face and I knew I was going to eat Twix on

 Mothers Day.

He went to the checkout and caused many a smile as he looked so proud when he stood waiting to pay,all by himself,him and them lovely Twix bars!

The cashier knows us well and she was beaming from ear to ear

 as she served him.

I meanwhile was stood at another checkout with a big box of chocs for my mum...not Twixs!

You know though,those Twix bars were special and when I ate them I absolutely loved them!And they left me with a memory that I wont forget for a long time,whereas a normal box of chocs would have been yummy but it wouldn't have had the smirk memory.

Thanks Chips you chose well and Mummy loved those golden wrapped Twix bars.

I finished this started but not finished post for Jaime and her #magicmomentslinky pop over and see what other magic moments people have been having at The Olivers Madhouse - Magic Moments

Spencer Street

I spent most of my early life living on Spencer Street.

It was my grandmas house,a middle terrace house.

It had a little yard outside and then across a gennel was a little garden.I can't remember too much about that garden except that it was overgrown and it had roses growing in it.I think that my grandma had let the garden go its own way once my grandad died and it certainly wasn't a place for

 a youngster to play in.

The only toilet was a outside one,yes boys your mum used to live in a house where you had to go outside to the toilet....even at night...even in the winter!

I can still remember how cold and scary it was to sit in the pitch black on a dark wintery night,the door had a gap at the top and you could see the starry sky as you sat there.

Not for the faint hearted is it,a outside toilet!Im not sure what my boys would make of it these days!Arent we lucky having indoor toilets!I bet my grandma would have loved a inside toilet! 

Another distinctive thing I can remember about the house was that it had closed off stairs.You opened a door in the living room and then

 went up really curly stairs.

At the top of the stairs were three bedrooms,my grandmas at the side over looking the street and over looking the back was my bedroom and further along the passage way was a closed off room.

This room scared me to death for many a long year.It belonged to my uncle who had died when he was in his early twenties,the only boy in a family of three girls,my grandma kept the room closed,locked in fact and I,Miss Spookity Dreamhead,used to imagine all kinds of horrible monsters behind that door.It really scared me to pieces.

When my grandma died I can remember that door being opened and when I peeped in there I saw it was just a ordinary room,very dusty but completely ordinary,no spooks,monsters and no ghosts!All that time being terrified by a locked room! 

I had a bedroom next to locked room and it had kitten wallpaper and I was scared of that too!I didn't like the kittens eyes!I must have been the worlds most scaredy cat child ever!

To be honest I'm still like that now!I don't like things that go bump in the night and I do find certain houses spooky.

During the previous years lots of my grandmas family had lived next to her on Spencer Street,two of her sisters and one of her daughters,but by the time I could remember anything there was just my Aunty Polly living over the road.

Lots of my earliest memories are from Spencer Street,I don't go up there very often now,when I was five I moved to a different area of town but I spent most of my school holidays and every weekend back at my grandmas house on Spencer Street.

I will always hold many memories of my time on Spencer Street,I guess even now I still think of it as home or maybe one of my homes.

Adding to Add A Memory

Currently

I saw Kate at Just Pirouette and Carry On first join in with this linky and knew straight away I would love it.Its hosted by Harvesting Kale and OT and ET and it's called Currently....you are given five words and you have to describe how you currently feel or what you are currently doing. So here are my lot for this week.... 

Wishing..... for peace of mind and organisation of everything in my scattered world of chaos.

Eating  .....well at this moment I'm eating a big chunky choc chip cookie and I'm dunking it in my cup of tea

Drinking....I'm on my last box of Yorkshire Tea and this does grieve me as I brought loads of boxes when it was half price and now it's full price we won't be able to afford it and it will be back to the cheaper stuff and now I'm more accustomed to the finer teas in 

life this will make me waaaah.

Problematic indeed.

Loving....my new notepad,it's a winner and my constant companion,it's at my side nearly as much as my phone....nearly,not quite!

And last but not least

Dreaming.....hmmm dreams lately are notso good.Im constantly dreaming I'm lost,well and truly lost.And I think I'd better leave it there or you will all think I'm maddity mad as the dreams are unbelievably intense and detailed and probably tell a story that is very real.

And that is what I'm currently dreaming,eating,drinking,wishing and loving....

See more Currently here 

 

Silent Sunday

  Silent Sunday 

Six Word Saturday

Brum,Brum,Brum,Here I Come

Guess what?My firstborn kiddo has passed his driving test!!!

Proud of him or what!!!

Here are my sky photos taken on the day he became a driver!

Now the fun starts!And the expense!And the worry!

But for the time being I'm just revelling in the fact that he passed first time and now has got a life skill under his belt that will give him his independence for the rest of his life! 

Linking up to Cate at Show My Face for  Six Word Saturday

Diversity 

There is quite a age gap between my boys.

My eldest is 20 yrs old,my middle one is just 16 and my youngest is 9.

I always wanted my children close together,three under five would have been my ideal age gap but things don't often work out as you plan do they?

In fact more often than not a curveball is thrown and life takes a much different path to what you envisaged when you were busy making plans and dreaming of happy little families and Walton type existences.

And so the story goes that I ended up with my children spaced out and I'm so glad I did!

I'm glad because it's made my time of being a mother to young children a incredibly long one.My eldest boy is not even a teen anymore (how that can be!) and yet still I have a young child in juniors.

So I'm still doing harvest boxes and Christmas Concerts and dress up days,long after many of my friends who had children the same age as T and S have stopped these kinda things.
And I think I needed this long time at mothering,needed to get it out my system,left up to me I would have had loads of children,I so enjoy them and being a mum.
The big age gap between the boys has meant that I have been able to be a mum to little ones for a long time.

I don't think I have left the school playground for long,only a gap of a year when Sharky went to comp ,this was quickly followed by Chipmunk starting nursery so I was never away for long.

And the reason why I wrote this post and started thinking about this was Saturday Night.

I had a good day on Saturday and a good bedtime with Chipmunk,it was all cuddles,smiles,I love yous and a chapter of his bestest book of the moment 'The Wishing Chair' all well and good and then I came downstairs and started with the teens.

This is a different ball game altogether 'smiles wryly.'

This is the domain of take away pizzas,tv trash,energy drinks. 

Totally different! 

 Slouching is the name of the game and everything is in easy reach,drinks,food,the remote,so they don't have to move a inch more than necessary.Perhaps this is not such a bad idea after all!
The body language is slothy but the conversation is definitely not!
Its sharp and quick witted and full of banter.

There are cups lying on the floor just waiting to be kicked over,plastic bags full of junk food,food that doesn't have to be prepared,snacky kind of food ~ crisps,chocolate,prawn crackers,ice cream which is eaten out of the tub shared between boyfriend and girlfriend.
At a push there may be micro meals,they involve work though so it depends what mood they are all in to whether they appear.

Teens come alive at night,it is the best time of day to talk to them for sure and programmes such as X Fac,I'm A Celebrity or BGT bring families together,it's a nice chance for us to sit and natter the night away.

And thats just what we did...ate junk,watched junk tv and chatted happily.

And when I went to bed that night I thought about how different the parenting here is....from my little one to my biggest one,and how both age groups intermingle in this house,quite a balancing act at times!

But with advantages too.

Having two older children made me so aware of how time flies and this in turn made me really appreciate my youngest growing up,I knew just how fleeting this time is and having a youngster around the house has bought out a level of care in the older boys which is brilliant to see and melts me.

Definitely not the age gap I would have chosen but still good and in a funny sort of way perfect for me!

Lost

Lost is a word that's in my head these days way too much.

For many reasons I feel lost.

Not anchored.

Drifting through with my head frazzled.

Definitely have a cotton wool or candyflossed brain at the moment.

And I'm physically losing items too.

Nothing seems safe anymore.

Not even in my safe places.

Coz my safe places are just places of ultimate doom.

Too many things put in there.

You open a drawer and you can't shut it again.

It's even worse if you open a cupboard,it's just a total disastrous explosion...things piling out all over the floor and you haven't got a cat in hells chance of fitting them all back in there.

No way.

I have dreams about getting lost at least once a week.

I wake up feeling like I have been dragged through a hedge backwards,wandering around in a unknown place searching for a way forward.

Totally and utterly lost.

And I don't know how to put this right. 

I lost Chippies baking apron this week.

I have lost keys,jeans.

I lose my jim-jams on a daily basis and at bedtime that is disastrous for me as all I want to do is snuggle into bed as quickly as possible,not roam round looking for lost jim-jams! 

I don't even like saying the word lost.

It rings in my head.

Take the apron incident...I had to say to Chips that we hadn't got a apron for him as it was lost.

Lost,Lost,Lost.

Another item to join the swelling ranks of lost items.

I see my families faces when I say things are lost.

 

Their expressions say it all.

Lost? Not Again?

I hear the thoughts that must be running through their heads 

"Lost....What A Shock!

I need this sorting,I cant stay lost much longer...but what to do...

Tues News

It was a busy buzzy day today,lots of thoughts whirring in my head and lots of things to do and plan.

It was Chippers first time at baking in his school Elsa lessons.He has been waiting to do baking forever and can you believe it ( you probably can if you know me ) we lost his baking apron.

That set us off on a mad scurry around the house,upturning drawers,destroying cupboards in a frantic search for the all elusive apron.Too no avail though,we simply couldn't find it and yet again I had a major fail on my hands,I'm the worlds biggest loser of items.

Luckily school was ok about it and we both breathed a sigh of relief.

Two weeks to either find it or buy another....guess I'd better buy a new one!

At lunch I was left wondering just how many pairs of shoes a teen

 can wear in one day.

It seems it's ok to wear one pair of shoes to go to school in the morning and then a different pair to go back to school in for the afternoon session.

Not much of a problem I hear you say....ah but does the said teen put any shoes away....no he doesn't!So I have discarded shoes left lying in our teeny kitchen,size 11 shoes that take up loads of room.And each time he goes out he gets another style of shoes out,hmmm!

Another thing today was the Americanising of our postie as my teen said

 'Has the mailman been yet?'

The mailman?!?

I thought we had postmen.

He's definitely been watching to much American rubbish tv,I may have to cut his viewing down,mailman indeed!

 Under The Bridge

Right it's Magic Moment Time!Linking up with Jaime who brings all our Magic Moments together.

This week I have chose a snippet of sparkly magic that happened while we were on a trip to comp.I have blogged here about Saturdays trip but I have choose this ten minutes of that trip to focus on...so here goes...

Under The Bridge

This is the bridge

and this is the child that led me to the world on the other side of the river

C'mon Mum ~ You can do it!

In all my sixteen years of living here I have always stuck to the other side of the river....why....simples....that is where there is a path,the other side of the river has no path,so why would you go there,how could you even get there....

You would follow a child who doesn't follow the normal straight route....of course...how silly of me not to know that

You would go the back way,through loads of bushes and down a steep soily banking,your feet doing that little shuffle that happens when you are going down a steep hill without anything to hold onto and you start ever so slowly and then pick up speed until your legs are going faster than you want them to and you lose control and end up at the bottom of the hill just glad to be still standing upright and not in the crumpled mess you thought you may be as you careered down the hill.

Oh the relief as you check yourself and realise you are still in one piece and relatively unscathed,well apart from the achy knees....it's a age thing!

Anyway once down we entered the world of the other side of the river.

Not many people go there,you feel quite isolated down there,all you can hear are the birds chirping and the river bubbling away.

Oh and a little voice yelling

"C'mon follow me!"

And so I followed,ducking under tree branches,pulling my feet out of squelchy,sticky mud that seemed to be getting stickier with every step we took,so much so that I began to think it was sinking mud.

And then we reached a little stream and Chips jumped over...

Now it was not a big stream by any means but it was water and to get across I was going to have to jump.

"I can't do this" I squawked to Chips.

"You can do it" he yelled back

And so I did it!And with many squeals I made it too the other side and Chips led on,looking very important in his role of leader and adventurer.

It was like a different world down there,all shadowy and mossy,damp and green.The sunlight danced on the stream and I noticed little yellow flowers clinging to the banks of the river.

And ahead of us was the bridge.

Down there I got a completely different perspective of the bridge,I noticed the other side of the bridge and the perfect circle that the rivers reflection made with the bridge.

It was so pretty!All those years and I had never looked at it like this.

Chips marched onwards until it got so muddy and boggy I had to say no and with some protests Chips did finally see that it was not wise to carry on any further.

Not for that day anyway.

Perhaps when we have wellies on who knows where we may wander and I do think I would like to see what it looks like on the other side of that bridge!

A very proud adventurer!

Fun In The Sun

It was one of those days that we had all been waiting for...blue skies and even a little bit of sunshine.

A day that begged for a walk...

And so we walked....

Down to the Comp 

Well I say walked,I walked and Chips scootered,a drink in my handbag and a new football that needed to be kicked.

We reached the footy pitches and Chips played lets boot the ball as high as I can and I sat on a bench and watched him.

I can't quite say how many times Chips shouted over to me 'Watch this' too many times really but hey wasn't I supposed to be in the zone of being present for my child and living in the minute.....so watch I did.

My little footy star kicked that ball up and down the grass until his legs ached but that has to be a good thing eh,building up muscle etc

The sky was that lovely shade of blue and there were puffy little clouds floating by,it was even nearly warm!I took my hoody off but the breeze soon made me slip it back on,brave soul that Iam.Chips didn't need a jumper on though,his cheeks were pinkity pink from all the exertion of chasing that ball.

We sat on a bench and watched the world pass by,one of our favourite things to do.A helper from Chips class came by and we had a good old natter,he had just become a grandad and he showed me his lovely new grandchild...seems like a lot of people around me are becoming grandparents lately,is this the new stage in life I'm beginning to wonder!

We then went down to the river and did more muddy exploring,it's getting quite a habit now,this slip slop muddy water play.

Chips jumped over the little stream again and climbed some trees

And then we went over a side of the stream we have never been to before.

Sixteen years I have lived here and this was the first time I had explored this bit of the comp.

Chips led the way and we negotiated muddy puddles,I have imagined us getting caught in sinking sand or maybe sinking mud would be more correct,that's of there is such a thing as sinking mud!

Next time we are wondering about bringing Chips wellies so that he can have a bit of a real explore in the stream...we shall see!

Six Word Saturday

Finally,Signs Of Spring Are Here! 

Yee ha! Spring is on its way....at long last! 

I have been able to peg my washing out and get it dry.

I have done the school run in just a hoody,no coat!

Chips has played out after tea in just his jumper.

A daffodil has bloomed in our garden,just the one mind! 

And the thing that says Spring has sprung to me is this plant,I think it's a Forsythia.

When we moved to this house many,many moons ago,it was Spring time and this flower was in bloom.I can remember looking at it and thinking how pretty it was and how lucky we were to live in such a nice area.Little did I know then that as quick as a flash the bright yellow flowers quickly turn green and the yellow only stays for a short time...so it's a case of catch it while you can.The blooming of this plant always signifies Spring to me.

Its made me smile this week as young Chips exclaimed to me that there were lots of tiny daffodils growing outside and it was this plant.I think it will forever remembered as the tiny daffodil plant in my mind now!

I hope you are all enjoying some signs of Spring wherever you are!

Linking up to Cate at Show My Face for the brill Six Word Saturday

 Icy Science

This week I decided to do a science experiment for my contribution to Jennie's Messy Play For Matilda Mae.

I told Chips that we would be doing some science and he was intrigued.

So was everybody else when I went scurrying around freezing coloured water and precariously trying to balance it in the freezer,especially when some of the coloured water was black!

The day of the experiment I met Chips out of school and it was one of the first things he said to me "Are we doing the science later?"

I was impressed with this and had a silent smile as I knew some of my aim had been achieved...I had got him thinking about something other than the x box!

So after tea we started...first filling the bowls

One had cold water in,one had lukewarm water in and the middle one had boiling water in!

We then got the ice out

and Chips had a slippery time trying to control the ice cubes.

Our aim was to see which water melted the ice the quickest and Chips was able to predict this but the fun was in the watching!

In the cold water the ice stayed in its cube shape

In the lukewarm water the ice began to quickly change shape and melt

But in the boiling water,wow,it immediately disappeared.Yep right before your eyes...gone!

And all that was left was a inky black mess.

Chips loved this!And he began to add more ice.

We found out the bigger the chunks of ice,the longer they took to melt,even in the boiling hot water!

The house began to smell of lemon and almonds as I had added essence to the ice and it smelled delicious!Even when Chops was in bed I could still smell the fun we had had!

His older brother was intrigued too and kept poking his head over to monitor what was going on.

The last ice cube left was this little blue one

And we watched it melt away until it was no more.

It was such a nice thing to do.

Yes it did take a bit of preparation and it did take some packing away and yep it was definitely messy.Someone spilt black water all over the table cloth and however we didn't have a major splash with the water I'll never know as we are messy pups but it was worth it!Chips is still talking about it now,three days later.And the language it promoted was brilliant,alongside the maths and science concepts it taught and all through play,which is the best way of all in my books. 

Linking up with Jennie at Edspire for Messy Play For Matilda Mae 

Cant wait to see what everybody else has been conjuring up this week

Splashy Smiles

Lots of things that have made me smile over the Easter hols....here goes....

Cafes... this holidays I have been introduced by my parents to the beauty of cafes...we have visited Ikea's,Asda,Jangos,the farm park cafe and Rufford Parks cafe! Normally I never go in a cafe,no time no money,but now this has changed.It seems my mum and dad never go anywhere without visiting a cafe and I have enjoyed these cafe treats.I think this hot chocolate was one of the scrummiest things ever

all squirty cream and marshmellows,just yum!

**********

Seeing little lonely only daffodils like this when we have been out walking

Just stood on their own surrounded by grass and trees but no other flower ~ lonely only daffodils as me and Chips call them.Perhaps they are the strong daffodils and can survive where no others can or perhaps they have just grown despite whatever the nearby conditions are.Normally I see daffodils in groups,so maybe that's why I have noticed lonely only daffodils this week 

**********

Last One Is Games ~ we played this game at Ikea,on a freezing cold blustery day,I would shout out 'Last one to touch the car' and we would all dive to touch the car first,think the favourite one was 'Last one to touch Grandad is the smelliest bum in the world' 

I can still hear Chipmunks shrieks of laughter now and the sound of our feet as we pelted up to my bewildered dad,all pushing each other out of the way to get the first touch! Funny! Well perhaps not so funny for my dad!

*********

Snuggling up reading ~ this has been such a lovely thing these holidays.One morning Chips and I spent the whole morning snuggled on the settee,we had Easter egg for breakfast and never moved for at least 1 and a half hours.It was total bliss and afterwards i felt so relaxed.We were reading Enid Blytons Mystery book and I think I read over 100 pages that morning,i cant emphasise enough how warm,snuggly and happy we both felt...really special.

**********

Taking Photos ~ i have taken some really nice photos these past two weeks,lots of outdoor shots,these are always my favourites.I must get my proper camera working though or the whole of Chips childhood will be on a IPhone camera and that is madness!

**********

Walking and chattering with the kids,I did this so much and it always was just the best feeling ever,nothing ever compares with talking to these kids of mine,nothing.

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This next one probably sounds very daft but it just made me and Sharky have a right old smirk attack...the amount of milk in my mum and dads trolley on the day we went Easter egg shopping,there are only two of them at home now and they had at least 8 bottles of 4pint milk!Now i know my dad drinks alot of tea but even so that is just plain ridiculous!My mum and dad couldn't understand why it amused us so much but it did!Very much so!

So thats Splashy Smiles

Project!

Guess what?

We have got another project!

Yep another project!

Now after my major fail at starting the Henry VIII project with plenty of time,I was desperate not to make the same mistake yet again!

You know the scenario...me in the playground yelping to anyone who will listen

''Next time we get a project I'm going to start it straight away.I'm never going to leave it until the last moment ever again...ever''

And they all look at me and nod and say

'' Of course,dear''

And their looks say it all.

And they are right!

Absolutely right!

 Im a last minute girl...every time...even when I so desperately dont want to be.

The nightmares I have,through being a last minute girl,nasty pasty.

So wonders of wonders,on day one I have talked to Chips and we have a outline for the project!

And its sounding pretty cool!

Watch this space!