rock and roll......

I couldn't resist taking some sneaky pics when I saw this...............

You can't get Jack near a disco but give him a bit of Green Day (his choice, not mine, I'm just not that cool) and his best buddy and he really lets rip. I love that these two are growing up together, neither of them fits into the mould but to me they are just perfect and watching their friendship evolve is a joy.........................

from one granny to another.............

You can blame lovely Lucy over at Attic24 for this one. She's been asking for a photo of my granny squares, so here goes, (drum roll please.............)

What do you think? I'm up to 14 squares, averaging about 1 1/2 a night, and I think I may be becoming a bit addicted. My friend Liz and I are becoming total crochet bores and every time we see each other we compare notes and often squares, in fact she even has photos of hers! Our other friends just roll their eyes in despair whenever the subject comes up. Last night Ian was away and I shuffled off to bed with a hot water bottle, my wool, hook and the radio and for two hours I was in total bliss, real champagne lifestyle I lead, eh!

Similarly to Lucy, twice a year I treat myself to a haircut, normally once the grey hairs outnumber the brown and I can't get a brush through it. My hairdresser Ian is a miracle worker and did this to me today, ta dah.................

....................not entirely sure what the mad staring eyes are all about but flip, it's so hard taking a self portrait, my arms aren't long enough, unless you want to see the inside of my nostrils (no, though not) so I had to resort to the mirror and totally confused myself with which way to look. If I was rich I would have someone to style my hair daily, I don't think my "wash it and leave it" efforts really cut the ice but twice a year Ian makes me look vaguely pretty, or as Jack put it "like you did when you were young"!!

I'll finish with this, no relevance to anything really but look at the colour, imagine how good they tasted!

.................still here!

Yes, good or bad news depending on your point of view, I am still here. I can't make any excuses, I'm just crap at this blogging lark! I can't use the "I'm too busy" excuse because I know of others who are far, far busier than me but they still find the time to blog. I have no time management skills whatsoever, I reach the end of the 6 child free hours each day without achieving half of the things I should have done. I'm the queen of procrastination, even down to posting letters, cards etc., it's always a "tomorrow" job. Can somebody give me the secret of how a fab blogger like Amanda Soule of great Soulemama fame can home school three children, write a book, blog almost daily, and manage to cook, clean and remain sane - How?? It's not that I doubt she does it, I just want to know how, I can barely organise our little family and house!

We've settled into our new routine with remarkable ease, although Kit is almost on her knees with exhaustion by the end of the week. I'm getting used to the empty house (actually I did get used to it pretty quickly, but don't tell!). I do have the odd pang when I see a mum and toddler together, from a nostalgic point of view and also because I know the baby phase has gone forever and I miss lots about it, but I love the peace that descends on the house when it's empty and I'm so pleased to see them at the end of the day, even if they're not too thrilled at seeing me.

Our mornings have begun to follow the same pattern, books in bed whilst I shower and then pancakes every day, which is a joy if it goes well but if they dare to stick I have been known to fling the spatula across the kitchen whilst screaming hysterically, causing Jack to roll his eyes to the heavens whilst entertaining us with rather energetic drumming on his practice drum kit (ie. shoe boxes) until I can take no more. At this point I normally realise that we have five minutes to get to school and teeth haven't been cleaned or shoes put on and panic ensues. I can regularly be seen giving both children a lift on my bike to school - good for the legs, I count it as my morning exercise and it means I've earned a Kit Kat for breakfast when I get back.

I've had the best week at the Literature festival this week. Mum came to stay for the whole time and we've been to lots of different talks, from the Radio 4 news quiz to Alan Carr, from Gloria Hunniford to Jean Paul Sartre. Mum is obsessed with history so we went along to a few that I wouldn't have booked for myself but they were fantastic. I feel like my little brain has had a bit of a wake up call and I've loved every minute. The children had two weekends packed with events and we're all knackered but have had a whale of a time. I will try to catch up this week with you all, but I also have to find time to fit in my new obsession - granny squares - yes I can crochet - Yeah!!!! I'm off for a boiled egg lunch now, see you soon...........