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October 31 Blessed Samhain
There are many myths and traditions surrounding the festival of Samhain, or Halloween. It is the time of year for trick or treaters, black cats and witch's hats. Children dress up and terrorise the neighbourhoods, and it seems that its the only time of year that it is allowed. For the boring explanation of Samhain visit: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samhain while for a more interesting and entertaining read try: http://www.wicca.com/celtic/akasha/samhainlore.htm http://www.mythinglinks.org/Samhain.html Whatever you do, have fun, stay safe, and watch out for those wandering souls!
October 29 EBay, Pony Saddle.Does anyone out there in space want a 17inch, second hand, synthetic saddle? I have bid on it on eBay, and now I think I have changed my mind. Problem is, I'm the high bidder! I can't retract my bid, so if anyone wants a saddle like this, please bid higher than me! My highest bid is £5.68, and you will be getting a real bargain if you want to outbid me! Happy eBaying! October 27 Pumpkins (Jack-o-lanterns)My hands are aching. I have been carving a pumpkin with a paring knife, a compass and a teaspoon handle! I cheated and used a stencil; the instructions tell me to punch holes around the picture, dot-to-dot style. then carve out the picture, referring to the paper (now removed from pumpkin). It was fine until I realised my knife was somewhat broader then the fine details in the design...
It seems alright though, and I have a tealight ready to put in!
So why do we carve pumpkins on (or near) Hallowe'en?
Irish folklore suggests that Jack was a mean old drunk. He played a trick on the devil, although there are many different versions of exacly what he did, and he convinced the devil not to take his soul. When Jack died, the devil kept his end of the bargain and did not allow Jack to enter Hell. However, as Jack had been so mean in life, he was not permitted to enter 'The Other Place' either.
He called out to the devil, pleading for help, and was thrown a burning coal from hell. Jack placed this inside a hollowed out turnip and used it to light his way in the dark.
To this day he wanders the Earth looking for somewhere to rest his soul.
If you ever see a single glowing light meandering in the mists of a winters day, do not follow it, it may lead you to some dark and unworldly place...
 glitter-graphics.com October 24 Louis Is Growing Up!I am very proud of Louis, not only is he doing very well with the potty training but he has also stopped taking his bottle to bed at night! He is managing to use the toilet at bedtime, and then again when he wakes up, and he thinks it is a wonderful game. I just wish he could aim... He has gone from taking two 6 ounce bottles to bed to a single 7 ounce beaker. Which means that he is sleeping through, and his nappy isn't sodden in the mornings. Now all we have to do is convince him that he isn't going to drown if he washes his hair in the bath, and he won't get washed down the plughole in the shower! October 21 Things I Have Learnt Today
October 20 Special Kind Of StupidAs my title suggests, I have been experiencing a special kind of stupid on the streets of Sheffield lately. This phenomenon may be repeated all around Britain, but I have not ventured out of Sheffield since last week so I cannot judge.
I have checked all around my car but I just can't find the neon "TAILGATE ME!" sign. It must just be visible to other drivers. they seem to think that because my car (FLOG) is a little beaten up it is okay to cut me up, tailgate me or just pull out of side streets directly in front of me. And every single one of them looks surprised to see a young mother driving instead of some gnarly old builder. My apologies to any builders out there, no offence meant!
On the school run the other day, a bloke in a large 4x4 decided he could make it through the give way sign before I could get through the traffic lights. Which were green. For me. He did, but only because I slammed the brakes on. The problem then was that his lane was blocked up with rush hour traffic and he was stuck, skewed across the road, and blocking the lane that I wanted. Idiot.
Up at the field, there is a kind of driveway, created for the vans that use the builder's yard there. I usually park on there, off the road, so that I can safely get the children out of the car as well as the hay/water/feeds etc. nd its fine, because there's loads of places for other road users to park. So Iwas amazed when I returned to my car and found a taxi parked across the end of the driveway, completely blocking my exit. I slowly turned the car around and drove towards the road (and the taxi) giving the driver plenty of chance just to let the handbrake off and roll forwards. But he continued to read his paper. I was forced to drive over the grass verge and pull around his car without being able to see, just because he was too ignorant to move.
And to all you boy racers out there, that sit at the traffic lights revving your engines at me, it won't work. Because I am safe in the knowledge that if I really wanted to take you on, I would win. But I'm not that sad.
So, Special Drivers, watch out for the FLOG, you can't miss it. And don't ever mess with us, because you wouldn't like me whan I'm angry...
October 16 There's A Horse In My BathroomThere's a horse in my bathroom,
He's lying on the floor.
If I don't move him soon
He might stay for evermore.
There's an elephant in my bedroom,
I heard him late last night.
The cat came in and stood on him
And gave us quite a fright!
There's a monkey in my kitchen,
He's cooking up a storm.
His orange hair and singing voice
Are really quite the norm.
There's a toddler in my arms,
He spreads his toys around.
He likes to see the joy it brings
When every one is found!
Now elephant, monkey, horse and boy
Are going up to bed,
And tomorrow the fun starts over again
With Tiger, Dog and Ted!
R.N. (c) October 15 Car Boot SaleThis weekend I filled the car up to the top with bits and bobs to take to the car boot sale. I met a friend who goes regularly and she showed me the way. We went a VERY strange route, round in a big loop and I completely lost my bearings. It was still dark when we arrived so we decided to have a cuppa before we set up.
Before I had even unloaded the car I was getting offers on items, and sold a couple of big things straight away. Some people, though, are professional hagglers, and these people drive a hard bargain! We didn't do too badly, the regular car booters said it was a slow day but I still made nearly £40.
I brought quite a bit of stuff back so I'm off again next week, with my own directions this time! I discovered that there was no need for the big loop, and it actually took us 4 miles out of our way! And at 6.30am on a Sunday there is no traffic on the road to avoid.
Oh well, I will be showing my friend the new map, and see if she wants to go her way or mine...
 glitter-graphics.com October 13 Bad Hair and Poorly TummiesOK guys, I have added a new photo album to show you my new hair. I'm getting used to it; lets just say it's growing on me!
Thank you for all your concern about the children, Hannah was only poorly for the day, but Louis seems to get things a bit worse. I'm sure it's because I bottle fed him.
I realised on Friday that if I didn't rush up to nursery I was going to be late for parent group, so I bundled Louis into the car and as I bent to secure his seatbelt, I noticed something was amiss.... It seemed that the poor boy's bottom had exploded, and ASDA nappies are just not equipped to cope with things like that! Needless to say, I missed parent group, Louis was washed and changed and had the use of the spare car seat, but one phone call to the doctors got him an almost immediate appointment.
The only real problem that I had was that I needed to wash the cover on Louis' car seat. Simple, you may think. Not so. After about quarter of an hour on my hands and knees I Googled (so many brand names today!) "Maxi Cosi car seat cover removal for washing". I instantly had access to 519 sites with information. Just not the right information. The majority were reviews stating; "I never had to remove the seat cover for washing". Helpful! Eventually, I found the Maxi Cosi website that gave me step by step instructions with diagrams, only to find that it's not supposed to go in the washing machine. Oh well! There was nothing else for it, and it has come out fine. So if anyone else ever needs to remove a car seat cover to wash it, drop me a line, I know how to do it now!
Louis got his appetite back today, but his stomach wasn't ready for stew. Back to square one!
 October 10 Poorly BabiesThe 'phone rang yesterday morning, it was Hannah's teacher informing me that Han had been sick and could I please pick her up? So she came home, full of life and hungry as usual. Everything seemed fine until bedtime...
"I don't want to go to bed! I'm not ready!". Ready or not, bedtime is bedtime. Which happened to be the same time as the Hubs had decided to light the bonfire. Yes, I know bonfire night is not until next month, but (this is for you Pinky) he had already built the fire up and I had images of little hedgehogs crawling in to make a nest before the fire was lit. Save the hedgehogs!
Finally, both children were in bed, but Louis kept crying and getting out of bed, until eventually the noise rose to a terrible scream, and I dashed upstairs to discover he had been sick all over the place. After changing bedding and pyjamas, he settled down to sleep and the washing machine has since been working overtime.
I knew he was ill today as he has eaten less then a slice of toast, and was asleep in bed by 5pm. Hannah seems fine, although she too was in bed early, and she will be back to nursery tomorrow.
And it's official; after living with my new haircut for a week and listening to all the compliments, I have decided...I HATE IT! I'm so glad my hair grows quickly!
 October 05 My Busy WeekI've just realised that my life really is one big rush around. This week has been no exception, starting with gaining a second cat last Saturday night, and ending with trying to get the car MOT'd today.
As Momma arrived to babysit last weekend, her cat came with her. Bramble is one of her rescue cats, a lovely fluffy lady with beautiful black and white markings.
Bramble quite took to our house, and did not return home with Momma that night. In fact, I threw her out of the house on Tuesday afternoon at 4.30pm, only for her to re-enter at around 6pm when I arrived back home. On Wednesday night I took her all the way back to Momma's, into the house, and deposited her on the settee, which is where she stayed, at least for that night. She seems to have settled back into the right home. It was lovely having her, but she does like to play footsie at 3am...
One of the ferrets has been ill this week too, he appeared with a large lump in his cheek which has since reduced quite a lot but I'm still having to keep an eye on him.
The phone rang on Tuesday morning just as we were leaving the house, Ann from round the corner was telling me the ponies were out again. We had to rush up there, get the ponies in, get the Hubs to work, get Han to nursery and get back to sort the fence. On the way round I called The Highlander and asked him to come and check things out. Bless him, he repaired all the fence again, with barely any help. I had to dash off from there to get Han to the doctors for her MMR jab, so left the poor man to it. He did a marvellous job and the ponies are secure once again.
Hannah was very brave at the doctors, she didn't cry at all, but that night she woke up with a numb arm and was rather dubious as to the powers of paracetamol. It did work though, and she was soon off to sleep so she could be ready to tell everyone at nursery about her ordeal.
Today, a friend and I decided to try a new toddler group, which runs during nursery time. It took place at the library, and was free! We had a great time, and the little ones got some time without their big sisters telling them what to do.
This afternoon we took the car in for its MOT, and instead of waiting we (me and the kids) took off up to the Botanical Gardens and spent an hour or so chasing squirrels. They were brave little souls (the squirrels) taking food from our hands and dashing up to us with paws outstreched for more nuts. The children were enthralled. The colours of the leaves and flowers are beautiful at the moment, and I will be adding some photo's soon.
So, here's hoping the weekend is a little more relaxed, but not betting on it!
 October 03 Too Small?
I found these critters and thought I'd hatch a couple. I'm not sure what will come outbut watch this space! While I'm on a nonsensical blog, is anyone having any problems reading it? I have had a complaint that the font is too small but it always looks fine to me. Can you let me know and I can look at changing some settings. If it's not too small, please let me know anyway, and I can send Momma to the optitions! Thanks! |
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