We had the last meeting with the “Wedding Coordinator” (get me!!) and finalised the last itty bitty details.

Last time I saw it - the weather was wintery and the grounds looked a little bleak. I found it hard to imagine what it could possibly look like when it reached summer again.

I was not disappointed. It’s still gorgeous. I got all goose bumpy every time I realised that the next time I was here it was going to be ‘The Day’.

That’s a weird thought…

This is the conservatory… the back of the room that we’ll have the reception in. The garden next to it is open for our guests as well and hopefully the weather will be kind!

Getting excited for me yet?

The weather was gorgeous and they ran around the big garden until they were dead on their feet.

It got to the end of the day on Saturday and Rowan asked for a cup of tea.

She loves tea.

She hardly ever has it… I won’t allow her to have it too often cos of all the caffeine and that jazz that’s bad for kids.. blah blah.

This weekend - Ella decided she would like to get in on the act..

They drank tea and beheaded gingerbread men

They dunked

Rowan found a surprise in her cup

They were both impressed

Rowan taught Ella that there were things to look forward to in the grown up world of tea drinking.

Rowan and Ella are watching Peppa Pig - and learning the rules of Hide & Seek…

This is how they play it:

One of them hides behind the door whilst the other counts to 10. The seeker runs to the door and shouts ‘FOUND YOU!!’ and then says ‘MY TURN!!!’ before they swap places.

This all seems to be going well for them until it’s Rowan’s turn to hide….. and Ella decides to hide under the table at the same time.

This game could go on for a while!

Tonight I managed 26 push ups!! How cool is that?!

Coo-ell I can tell you - considering that a week ago I couldn’t even do one!

So… we are continuing with the push up mania and although I’m not currently brave enough to show you a video… I may dangle the carrot that for every encouragement I receive, the more likely I am to consider posting one….

In other parts of life - we’ve had a lovely weekend away for which I’ve taken lots of photos for a bloggy catch up tomorrow…

That is all for now

I showered Ella first (our hot water is still absent - can’t afford a plumber so we’ll have to do without) and Rowan was running backwards and forwards between me and BN with his suggestions of take away.

I think he’s had one of those days where the kids have perhaps been less than angels as he certainly was somewhat rough around the edges mood-wise.

He’s a quick fix demon and there’s nothing that cheers him up more than comfort food on a day when the girls have been taxing. He’d already made ooh yummy noises at the thought of a Dominos.

Anyway he and Rowan were finishing the bedroom nighttime tidy up & Rowan ran up to me in the bathroom and said something along the lines of::

‘what do you want on your pizza, mummy?!?!’

BN had already been told - take away is not an option!! I have a couple of weeks left to lose 6lbs and pizza and takeaways will not be helping that cause!

‘STOP IT!!!!!’ I laughed at her and she ran down the landing giggling her head off - her little naked bottom bobbling off down the hall way to have more naughtiness whispered in her ear.

She ran back:

‘Fancy a chow mein?’

‘STOP IT!!!!!!’ I bellowed - laughing at them …. BN was doing his Muttley laugh and Rowan and Ella were in hysterics.

She ran backwards and forwards for 5 minutes or so, offering one type of fast food after another…

Fancy garlic bread with your pizza? Duck pancakes? Chicken strippers or wedges? How about a Chicken Curry?

NOOOOOOOOO!!! STOP IT!!!! NAUGHTY!!!! I was shouting

She was having the time of her life practically and Ella was just running into the bathroom periodically shouting ::

‘Tidy that mess up’ and then pissing herself laughing.

BN started to run out of take-away food and the game was drawing to a close… he whispered something in her ear and she ran in to the bathroom where I was getting her shower ready ..

‘You wanna … want somorasasmamums?’

WTF?

She looked uncertain, shifted her legs & ran back to daddy for a pep talk - he was laughing and whispered back in her ear… she ran back to me ::

‘Fancy bhaji and shambozies?!?’

=============================

I thought BN might bring on a hernia with laughter.

I always like some shambozies with a good Indian Take away… and from this day, thou shalt be

Shambozies

My.oh.my.I.Ache.

I’ll all be worth it - that’s what I keep telling myself anyway… waiting to see if Suburban Mum is taking up the challenge, pre Wii Fit allowance?!

Come on!! You know you want to!!

Other than that… boring day.

Slightly potential sticky moment when someone replied to my question ‘are you coming to the wedding?’ and they said ‘oh yes! Me and my other half are both coming’….

Only thing is - this person hadn’t been allocated a guest as they were part of a family invitation… how do you explain that gently and without causing a family feud!?

I have no room for an uninvited person!

Everyone is coming!!

Aargh.

It’s unfortunate for me that I can almost never pass up the thrill of the challenge.

It only takes someone to mention the 50 states of America challenge and I’m sat down with a pen and paper writing them down alphabetically. I just can’t help it, it’s a *me* thing.

I am like that episode of Friends (yes everything really can be compared to an episode of Friends) The bit that is me… Challenge Extended…!

Friends - The One with the Quiz

So

Thanks to her, her and me and him here, are down on the floor doing this and this - three times a week and the aim is to look like this before we reach the end of 6 weeks.

OK - maybe not that….. but less like this.

I may just laugh myself to sleep

K?

Ray Mears Clare Balding

• type your answer to each of the questions below into Flickr search.
• using only the first page, choose an image.
• copy and paste each of the URL’s into the mosaic maker over at FD’s image maker.

The questions:

1. What is your first name?
2. What is your favorite food?
3. What high school did you attend?
4. What is your favorite color?
5. Who is your celebrity crush?
6. Favorite drink?
7. Dream vacation?
8. Favorite dessert?
9. What do you want to be when you grow up?
10. What do you love most in life?
11. One word to describe you.
12. Your Flickr name.

I saw this over at Flutter and I had to have a go! I love the idea of trying to label your life. The whole of my life I have seen people trying to categorise each other. Label. Box. Compartmentalise.

It is tiring to try and fit others’ ideals of what they think you are - what, if anything, in your behaviour doesn’t match your ‘type’.

I am a mum. Of two. I’m a ‘mum’. A producer. A wife, of sorts. I go out and get drunk. ‘I don’t care enough?’. I love to stay in. ‘I’m boring’. I work. (More than) Full time. I don’t see them enough. ‘I’m a career type’. A career type that shuns the conferences and the meetings with free hotel stays so that I can spend time with my kids. At the expense of the networking.

Oh, the networking.

I cry at everything. As we know. I am fiery. Rotten temper. Firework. Cool down faster than a cup of tea in a Little Chef. I am emotional. Sensitive.

When I had to choose one word about myself I chose Passionate. I think that compartmentalises me. If you needed to know.

Everyone have a go - particularly Hojo, Vic and Sub Mum

mwah!

First our oven broke, then the element in the hot water heater bust. So we have no oven and no hot water.

Then this.

Our house is shite. We know this. It’ no great surprise. The whole house is damp, we have a nightmare problem with the outside of our house because the whole of one side of it is only one brick thick. It’s to do with the next door house being knocked down years ago.

Consequently, we have mould issues which I’m sure doesn’t help Rowan with her ears and chest problems.

The windows have always been rotten. We hate them but annoyingly - although we’re really great at spending money on crap and stuff like getting married - we have never managed to scrape the 3k together that most vendors seems to think it would cost to double glaze our house.

Consequently - after 5 years or so of living here - this is what happened the other day. BN opened the window and it just kinda - gave up.

It’s rotten through. To be honest, the only reason this hasn’t happened in the dining room is because we don’t open the window for just that reason.

So - if any of you happen to be someone that make windows, ovens or hot water tanks…. would you drop me a line?!