So Long And Thanks For All The Fish....

This may mean something to you if you are a Douglas Adams fan... if not I do apologise.

However, what the title is alluding to is my decision to give up this site. My reason is simple I just don't seem to have the time I would like to dedicate to it and participate properly, I seem to be neglecting loads of people and constantly feel guilty at my lack of interaction. So, I just thought I'd let you know it has been lovely meeting you all, and I will probably pop by for a nose every now and then, but I am going to take a break from Blogger for a while (or maybe longer eh?)

Thanks so much to all the lovely people who helped me and made friends with me, sorry I have been so remiss in the past couple of months

Lots of Love Karen x

Dear Lord, Please Give Me the Strength...

to not scream at littlest girly.

I shall explain... deep breaths think calm non-explosive thoughts, now I'll begin. It is raining this morning, in fact it is pouring, there is possibly an old man snoring somewhere. I decided that we would still be walking to school (much to the disgust of my newly found taxi customers) as parking near school on a rainy day is nigh on impossible, coupled with the road works all the way up to the car park I figured it wasn't my best option. Now Biggest Girly the organised went to fetch her waterproof trouser, jacket etc, I managed to dig out Youngest lads wellies and a raincoat. Myself? Well there was "raincoat" but not a lot else to protect against the elements (elephants... sorry blame my mother she brought me up to speak utter nonsense for a large portion of the time ). Little Miss M (the Moany, as I shall now christen her) had the most effective shielding from the wet in the form of a huge raincover over her most substantial and comfy buggy.

Did she appreciate the huge and effective cover? Or did she scream blue murder the whole way there saying "I need it open, I need it open"? And did she scream and cry for the whole journey there (ten minute walk, unable to see through rain soaked glasses and feet getting wetter and squidgier by the minute) and then scream and cry for the whole journey back! (This was a rhetorical question by the way, hence lack of question mark.)

Now, I have heard of the chinese water torture but I hadn't realised it consisted of getting soaking wet and uncomfortable, having stinging eyes from the rain and on top of all that have a two and a half year old scream unreasonably at you for a straight twenty minutes.

Effective though .

Time for tea methinks, ah and now there is quiet as Show Me Show Me has perked the little monster... I mean madam, up

Monday Morning And It's Dark And Soggy

however, I am indoors and sitting at my computer so it can't be all bad can it?

It was very difficult to prise myself from under the duvet this morning, this stemmed from my inability to grasp that it was indeed nearly seven o clock, it was way too dark. Also I hadn't made any lunch preparations or ironed a school jumper or two, oops, needless to say it was a bit of a rush.

I have had another busy weekend (not sure there is another type) as there was a work lunch to attend on saturday, one of my colleagues retired on friday and we all went to glare at her jealously for getting out of there... I mean, to wish her well. It was a good afternoon but of course on my return home I had to think about feeding other people, oh and my brother came for a belated Little Mans birthday visit. So, I had to go and retrieve the brother from the train station and then we decided a nice bit of steak would do for dinner. I didn't want any dinner mind you, way too full up (did I mention the caramel apple crumble and ice-cream that went with lunch?) so I just cooked for the others and felt vaguely ill for the evening. Eldest Girl had abandoned ship to go and stay at her friends house so my bro had a bed to sleep in, ok he had to share a room with a noisy Baby girl, but he can ignore these things. As I was trying to get Little Miss M to bed she decided that she simply had to stay with her Uncle for just five more minutes...of course he was very touched and the little madam got her own way. We watched a dvd and I have to say I did quite enjoy it RocknRolla, although you could tell it was a Guy Ritchie film from the off, so no surprises there then.

Sunday, myself and Other Half decided to go and choose some carpet for the living room (he's got a couple of weeks off in november and there are decorating plans afoot!!!!) so we left uncle in charge and disappeared for what turned into an hour as Other Half has most definite ideas about what he wants. Then of course it was roast dinner day so had to get on with that. Amidst all the rushing about I was trying to get clothes for the week sorted, washed and dried, get the bins emptied and generally rush about doing three things at once, Other Half saunters into the kitchen to make himself a proper coffee (with his most expensive coffee machine in the world ever ) and in the course of this he is trying to empty coffee grounds into the little composting bin I have on the side.... the bin is full to overflowing and I am watching him throw coffee grounds all over my clean draining board..."that needs emptying" (I point out the obvious every now and again 'cos people don't seem to notice)"I haven't managed that yet" I go on. Other Half finishes balancing his coffee grounds precariously on the top of the contents of the little bin and then asks "do you want me to empty it?" Mmmmm, now let me think, what shall I say? Shall I respond, as is my, instinct with cutting sarcasm and a question along the lines of "do you really need to be told when things need doing?" (of course he does I do know) or do I simply say "Yes please"? I responded with the latter for a change, but it doesn't 'alf drive me up the wall you know!

Right weekend roundup finished so I best get on with sorting some more of these clothes mountains that seem to be surrounding me .

.......................................

nothing is flowing very well today, words included it seems as a title eludes me (and I can usually find a song/film/quote to steal from someone ).

Today is my long day at work (my idea of long is six and a half hours you understand). It went well in as much as it went swiftly and I answered lots of phone calls, including one that I think was a "mystery shopper" as the query was so general and unspecific it was untrue. Suspect I waffled a lot and may have sounded slightly over the top but then that's how I usually sound so no change there then. I just hope I actually answered the question asked!

My looooonnng part of the day really got going when I picked the kids up from nursery, little Miss M was shattered, everybody else felt the need to speak simultaneously and I had a litle food shopping to do (bad bad idea). We toddled off to Morrisons to stock up on pasta and pizza as eldest girl has a friend visiting tomorrow after school. The shopping bit was fine, however on the home journey baby girl fell asleep...... uh-oh.... this of course meant that she was asleep at dinner time. I tried to gently waken her but she was zonked out. Also I must mention that eldest boy had asked if he could go out with his friends, and I agreed but he had to be home by seven... HAH! How stupid was I to think he would do as he was asked for a change?

So, we reach about half six and a small monstrous person awoke in the place of my angel baby girl. She cried for a good (bad) three quarters of an hour, she rejected every item of food or drink I offered her, she cried if I sat with her, she cried if I left her, she cried if I tried to cuddle her . She followed me from room to room crying and screaming at my inability to do what she wanted (what do you want????) and I hit the point I have never hit before with madam, I lost my patience with her! I didn't do anything differently but this was the first time I felt irritation at her behaviour, oh dear, little girl must be growing up cos I can usually put up with all sorts of behaviour when they are babies because after all they are only babies. Today I must have felt she was just in a bad mood and could possibly choose not to scream at me constantly!

To top it off my mood was darkened even further by thirteen year old phoning me at ten to seven declaring he was about half a mile away and,oh yeah, would probably be late . When he turned up at half seven little miss had managed to calm herself and was demanding a book with a cuddle.... super, just as I have more cooking to do...

Sigh, I am winding down now, but oh so knackered. Right, getting off here or I shall be even more knackered tomorrow, I know I keep saying it, but this work thing isn't half interfering with my computer time .

Overwhelmed

I just seem to be continuously doing stuff at the moment. There have been sick kids (again!!) washing that the whole street must put in my washing baskets, driving about (still a novelty and a bit scary), work (mustn't forget work), cooking, a vague stab at cleaning (that always seems to be last on the list... although the litter tray made itself well and truly known on my arrival back home this afternoon ) and of course looking after small people who are incapable of doing stuff for themselves.

And deeeeep breaths, in... and out... nope still knackered and not completely wound down yet.

Today seemed especially full to bursting. First on Karens never-ending list was having to put petrol in the car, I have put petrol in the car before but I had intended to con.... I mean ask, Other Half to do it for me yesterday, I forgot . In order to find the most empty (and therefore easier for me) petrol station I had to go in the opposite direction from work. I got to the pump and pulled up, rather neatly even if I do say so myself, got out and realised it was the pump you could use your card at, eeek, I braved the card machine thingy and was feeling even more pleased with myself. Sadly this then meant I was a little later than usual and my normal parking area was full! Uh-oh, I had to drive around a bit but did eventually find somewhere that didn't require a crowbar to get in and out of.

My work day was full of aggravating questions with no simple answers. I was unable to help as many people as I'd have liked and this always disturbs me, I seemed to spend a lot of today passing queries on to other people and making people on the end of the phone have to wait for someone else to call them back. A situation that doesn't please anyone.

I left work fairly knackered and pleased to see my car where I left it and with no additional decoration in the form of parking tickets (wasn't entirely sure I should have parked where I did ) I got in swapped shoes (there are driving shoes as opposed to work boots you see ), key in the ignition and.... nothing! OMG, no car starting up noises... now what? I sat and tried to think calm, non panicky thoughts for a minute or two. Now there were lights and the dashboard was lighting up like a christmas tree, just no engine starting... what on earth had I done? I had no credit on my phone so had to wander back to the office and ask the security guys if I could borrow their phone (I suspect they were amused at my predicament). I phoned Other Half and asked if we had some kind of immobiliser that I had accidentally activated, nope he said. I described what had happened and Other Half said "Is it in park?" Eh? "Is the car in park, it won't start if it's not in park?" Bing! Lightbulb moment! I wandered off to check, laughing with the security guys and saying I hoped it was that and not something requiring RAC men to come and get me.

Guess what? It wasn't in park... yay.. I mean oops. I won't be doing that again.

So, homeward bound, a fly by to pick up the kids, another quick fly by to a shop (eldest girlie wanted meatballs for tea) and then home. Next of course I launched into the cooking, cleaning and bottlewashing portion of the evening... oh yeah and that litter tray.

I am somewhat tired, off to bed now methinks .

That Was The Week That Was....

Blatant plagiarism, that's what we like to see. It's just sometimes someone elses words fit my blog so well!

Any hoo, hello all; I did not drop off the edge of the earth.. and I didn't run away to live in london either. What I did do was have a hectic weekend away, return to a sicky oldest boy and then got sick myself.... yay for returning to school germs.

My weekend was good, although staying at my nannys house proved interesting, I wouldn't say grandma was senile but she can definitely get herself in a tiz when things are different. Me coming to stay definitely counted as different. Poor old nanny first of all was stunned and amazed that I had abandoned my babies for the weekend. Then she was shocked and appalled that I was going out to a pub with my brother. She spent a lot of time asking the same questions again and again, and then being just as shocked and appalled when she got the same answers.

My bro and I did venture into the wilds of sunny Surbiton (not strictly London but close enough) to meet my old school friends, we met them straight from their day at the rugby and they still managed to stay at the pub til gone midnight. A good old chat and a few (!!) drinkies were had. We got a night bus or three back to my grandmas house and ate peanut butter on toast about half one in the morning.Nanny was confused and spent about half an hour trying to check the door was locked, she's not as deaf as usual in the middle of the night for some reason... we did creep in, and then I retired for the night and spent about an hour wondering how my babies were doing .

The next morning I was made scrambled egg for breakfast and was hit by the novelty of a morning without the words "mum, mum, mum..." being shouted. The train home was easy (apart from a slight platform change at clapham... I hate not knowing exactly where I should be) and then I returned to find eldest lad languishing with sick bucket on his bed.

Monday night, or should I say Tuesday morning was my turn ... needless to say I wasn't in work on wednesday...oh what a reliable employee I am.

Thursday and today things are almost back to normal apart from two snuffly girls and a sicky big lad(again!) but I have just been wiped out this week. See, a lovely relaxing weekend away just completely throws out my routine! I am looking forward to a rest this weekend, mind you I am due for another saturday night out locally next weekend, uh oh...

Hope everyone has had a good week, I am off into blogland for a proper peruse!

A Weekend Off

well despite certain setbacks and looking like it might not happen for a minute there, I am off to london for the evening.

The setbacks being of course, one sicky pup child. First week back at work and I couldn't even reach day three! Thursday evening, well actually friday morning, I was awoken by a plaintive voice (at 2:57 I think it t'was) saying "Mummmmm, I've been a little sick on my floor". Poor littlest boy had thrown up on the floor, and his bed, and of course himself (yuk). I was in my usual zombie like state, when it's that time of day I don't function too well for some reason, and on automatic pilot stripped a bed and cleaned a floor. I went in search of ye old faithful sick bucket... (mmm, clean, good!) and then got back to my bed, where I promptly lay listening for the next couple of hours in case a young man was ill again .

My lad was ill again yesterday morning, so my fleeting shall I just send him to school anyway? thought was soon dispensed with. Of course I then had to be brave and phone work to let them know that no I wouldn't be completing a full week after all. Luckily it wasn't as bad as I anticipated.

It seems that little man is greatly improved this morning though as he is declaring he feels he will be able to eat a chocolate cupcake later, I am trying to say much later.

So, I shall be abandoning Other Half and boarding a train for my old hometown to spend an evening with my brother and a couple of old school friends. I have a drinking plan in place (for the avoidance of doing an action replay of Chays night time performance) and will be eating plenty before I go anywhere near an alcoholic beverage! I am looking forward to it, but as always I'm a little apprehensive, simply because it's something different from the norm. Mind you if I think about twenty something years ago, it's exactly what I would have been doing on a saturday evening so it's not different at all!

Have a good evening all, I shall return tomorrow, probably a tired and bad tempered mummy but I shall have had a good time so that's what matters eh?