Completely forgot that today is Apollo's 10th birthday and Lucy's 20th. She getting seriously senile...

Brought the ponies over to their new field yesterday, after all the stress and messing about over the past 4 weeks it only took 2 phone calls and the job was sorted. I found out on the off-chance that there is such a thing as a 'horse taxi' (!) so I phoned Horse and Rider to get the phone number, they were very helpful and gave me a couple of options. I played eeny, meeny and chose one, called him and he said " How soon do you want it doing? Today's better for me!" FANTASTIC! So for 50 quid the ponies were on the move.

I warned the bloke that Win had only ever been boxed once and Apollo never had. He shrugged a bit and said to put the best one in first. (?) After some whispered conferrings between myself and Rachael, my brother's girlfriend, we decided on 'Fearless AP'. A couple of minutes and a rattled feedbucket later Apollo was in and fastened. All this, of course, was watched intently by Win.

Winston's turn. Rach led him over and he began to quiver. This horse believes gremlins live everywhere, especially grates, plastic bags and horseboxes. There was no way he was going in there. What did we think he was, stupid? Rachael expertly led him in a small circle and somehow ended up further away from the box. And he still wasn't budging. After much rattling of meadowmix in a bucket, it slowly dawned on us that this wasn't going to work. I took over from Rach and tried all the tricks I know, including approaching from a different angle in case it looked any better that way! Eventually the stubborn animal got right to the bottom of the ramp with 4 of us working at him. I had his head, Rach and the poor horsebox bloke had a long rope around Win's backside to stop him backing up and Steve had the feed bucket just out of reach inside the box.

The only way to go on was to lift Win's hooves onto the ramp and hope he kept walking. It just about worked and Winston suddenly rushed into the box after his bucket of feed.

They were in. And if they had been any other animals, the injuries (to us) would have been a lot worse than a few aching muscles.

The trip after that was uneventful but I am told that the boys bit each other for the full 8 miles.

Thanks to everyone involved and if any of you ever need a horse taxi, go to horsetaxi.net

I'll tell you about the senile cat some other time...

OK, so maybe suggesting that the ferrets had settled down together was a little presumptive of me. There has been quite a bit of squabbling amongst them and I have never known an animal scream like Wanda does. Hannah explained to the neighbours in the special way that she has that the ferrets were just playing and causing me trouble. That'd be about right. So I've been standing outside at all hours watching these creatures and trying to determine the actual cause of the horrific noise. My conclusion? Absolutely nothing. Wanda seems to like the sound of her own voice, especially if she thinks that Istnofret is too close to her bloke. Eventually they sorted things out between themselves with Fret and Rambo in the main bed and Wanda making herself a nest in another area. Peace reined.

Then the rains came down and the hutch got damp. From my cosy spot in the kitchen I could once again hear the melodious (!) tones of Wanda's screaming. Due to the rain I decided to leave them to it. I'm kind like that. As long as I could hear the screaming I knew nothing drastic was happening.

Returning home from nursery I realised that all was silent. Venturing outside I peered cautiously into the hutch, fearing the worst. There, in the main bed, were the rather soggy forms of all 3 ferrets curled up together, blissfully snoozing.

So it took a downpour of rain to cause the critters to all pull together and realise that bickering is bad, especially over a male that is equally happy with either (or both) the girls, and sleeping together is good! Make love not war!

My wonderful husband and my brother spent this weekend battling throught thorn bushes and brambles to erect a 150metre length of fence down the side of my field. Obviously, somewhere along the line, the measurements had gone somewhat awry and we ran out of stock fencing, staples and cable ties. However we manged to get the majority of the field looking good and patched the rest with pallets and bits of left over barbed wire. Its a horsey thing! All this meant that by Sunday we were ready for the horses arriving, only to find that the horsebox we were going to use was broken down. So, no transport, no horses.

Added to all this was the fact that upon arrival at the field on the Friday, we discovered that some bright spark had put a squeeze gate at the bootom of the path that runs alongside the field. The field that we have paid for because it had direct access onto a bridleway at the bottom of th path. Only now it doesnt. And its still paid for. And they wont take the gate back out.

On a completely different tack, I spoke to some lovely neighbours of mine a little while ago about getting a ferret. My little Istnofret was lonely and needed some company (preferably male). On Saturday I got a message to say that a male had been found and could be with us the next day. Shortly after, another message arrived to say that a jill (female) had also been found and did I want her too? Of course I did!

So on Sunday my 2 new creatures arrived together and after much squealing on Wanda's part and much chuckling and wombling around on Rambo's part, the 3 of them seem to have settled down together. Bless!

Its been a great week! I can drive my car wherever I want because now I've got my keys back! I can drive to nursery and toddler group and the shops and even round to my mums even though she lives on the same road as me! Wow! Don't think I can get many more exclamation marks on this paragraph, but I'll try!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Desperately hoping the ponies are going to get over here this weekend but that remains to be seen. Hannah's getting so excited about it because they'll be near to nursery and she can take all her friends to meet them and show off. Little girls seem to be good at that sort of thing.

Meanwhile Louis has just been eating and sleeping and growing. He's getting such an attitude when he doesn't get his own way and has just discovered tantrums. Its all I can do not to fall about laughing when he throws himself on the floor and screams while looking aroung to see who's watching. If theres not enough of an audience he'll move somewhere else and try again. Highly entertaining!

Toddler group tomorrow, taking Han's friend from nursery so she's got someone her own age to play with and I've got someone I know to talk to. Should be a good day for all of us, especially as I've got my car back! Yay!

Ohmygodicantbelievewhatsortofaweekivhad! Lost the car keys Tues pm and didn't find them til this (Sunday) morning. Obviously they were in a place we'd both looked several times. Found plenty of other things along the way as well...

Losing the keys in the first place meant walking to and from nursery twice a day (about a 20-30 min walk) with small child and pushchair. And believe me, its a big hill! By pick up time Fri I'd started to wilt  and had to call on Momma to give us a lift. In between these walks I was pulling the house apart looking for the keys. There isn't an inch of this place untouched, including all the garden, kennels (yes, we have 3 kennels in the garden) and even the ferret hutch. All the kids toys that come apart have done just in case anything was lurking in there, and I even spent a day following Lou around to see where he puts things!

However, during this extremely stressfull time I found: my chequebook, my paying in book, the dog's halti, a cabbage patch kids outfit (no more naked baby), several pens, hannahs photo album (needed recently for a nursery project), 2 odd shoes, a tumble dryer hose and the battery pack in a hand puppet!

So in the end, I can blame Lou for the keys missing, cos no-one else would put them in the nappy box would thay? But at least I found all those random missing items (that I didn't actually know were missing) and this episode drove me to actually put the cupboard locks on, much to the kids' frustration.

Apparently losing your car keys is as stressful as crashing your car. I can fully believe it, having been looking for my keys since 8:30 this morning. Why is it always when you are running late and really need them that they disappear?

For that matter, why is it always one sock, one glove or your most favorite handbag that goes missing, until such time that you dont really need it anymore? Is there some sort of evil, invisible force at work that picks on us when we are at our most vulnerable?

So, any ideas where the car keys might be? And no, clever clogs, I dont have a spare cos my car is not designed to run when you use a spare key. Clever, I know.

I have looked in the kitchen, living room, bathroom, all 3 bedrooms. Under the sofa cushions, under the sofa. Under the table, on the table (since thats where they were and where the rest of my stuff still is). In coat pockets, in jeans pockets, in bags. And yes I've looked in the door. And the car. And the garden.

Seriously running out of ideas now.

HELP!!!

Well the christening went well, everyone was ready on time, Hannah rushing around shouting about her pretty dress to anyone that was listening (and a lot that weren't). Louis just squeezed into his wedding suit (with waistcoat unfastened) and looked a proper thug with his big bovver boots on. Only hitch was that the godmother got hopelessly lost and we nearly started without her. Should have told her to arrive half an hour before it actually started! Expected Lou to cry throughout the ceremony cos it was his nap time but he managed to put on a big smiley face as everyone cuddled and passed him around.

Got Hannah fitted for a riding hat yesterday, £40! Decided not to pay that much, moved on to the next shop and found a more adjustable hat (more wear time) for £10. Guess which one I'll be choosing... Even had them in different colours so she can pick her favourite. Pink was winning it yesterday, surprise, surprise.

Bought the fencing for the field to get the ponies over here, just need some posts now. And more time. And willing victims, um, sorry, volunteers, to help put it up. But all in all, thing going well!

As i am down to 1 ferret now i thought it was time she moved nearer to us and became 'Pet' (as i think i mentioned before). This said my wonderful husband set about constructing a hutch out of old packing crates. Hmm, sounds a bit dodgy i know. The result was incredible. A luxury 2 storey ferret apartment with room for a friend to stay over if i buy her one! Kids and dogs alike are now absolutely fascinated with the new construction in the yard, with Hannah shouting 'she's got a new house! i need to paint it!'

Louis has discovered playing outside and is loving it, only coming in when turning blue, Hannah constantly asking when the ponies are moving over here.

Looking forward to Lou's christening next week, but keep forgetting to invite people! Not going to be very popular!

Cat gone completely do-lally,  keeps forgetting she's been fed and yowling all night then demanding to sleep in Han's room. I suppose at 20 years old she's allowed to be a bit daft tho

My life is never easy. Had to get Lou his MMR jab after being told off about it by health visitor last week. Have no problems getting him the jab but was waiting for reminder to come thro before i took him. Lou being an xmas baby tho gets missed somehow and never gets reminders of any sort. So then i got told off by the nurse giving him the jab cos i should have taken him for it when i got the reminder. Hello, i didnt get a reminder! Dont these people communicate?

Anyway, everything worked out fine there, Lou in high spirits and doesnt need any more injections for about 2-3 years. Just Han's next year before she starts school. Bet i dont get a reminder for her either...

Apart from all that kerfaffle, lost more ferrets, one more died and one ran away. Dont blame him really, they're dropping like flies at the mo. Suddenly realised that apart from my 2 youngsters they'r all about the same age, and thats ancient! All this means that i'v been wandering around the garden at wierd hours shouting 'Ozymandias?! Come home!'. My neighbours must think i'm so odd! If Ozy doesnt come back then its just Istnofret left and she'l be upgraded to status of Proper Pet, getting a hutch and everything. Cant let the poor girl get lonely tho...

Then i had to wait for the delivery men to bring mum's sofas and surprise, surprise, turned up just as i left to fetch Han from nursery. Told them to wait; 'no love, cant do that'. Hmm, not a happy bunny. Told them they would cos i was fetching my daughter and i had their money! After that i couldnt fault them, such nice polite gents and they did a wonderful job!

All in all quite a mad week!

Found a new toddler group for Louis, in the afternoon so Hannah can go after nursery. This resulted in 2 extremely tired kids that were in bed for 5:15pm yesterday! Not seen Louis so happy before. He's so independant he needs somewhere to go and be himself. He got bashed over the head with a toy car by a small boy but just glared at him, totally unnerving the little bully! Seems to think slides are for climbing up not sliding down and ball pit should be devoid of all balls but thats pretty average for a 14 month old. At this age they might as well be teenagers!

Both kids had their reviews from health visitor, didn't learn anything new. I already know they're big for their age, eat well and are sociable. I live with them!

Spent last 2 days running around like a lunatic, nursey, toddler group, health visitors, vets and in between all that cleaning up after the dog that thinks its great fun to spread as much mud as is physically possible. Lovely.

My life is so hectic. Would I change it???

Cake! We like cake! At least the babies do. Or more accurately, they like licking out the bowl that had the cake mix in it. Was slightly concerened at one point as louis tried to get into the bowl, head first and following with feet as hannah clutched at the bowl shouting 'no louis!'. Needless to say the end result was a sticky mess that the dogs enjoyed once the kids were finished with it. Is there a particular reason babies like thing that are sticky and spreadable? Sometime i dont know what i'd do without the dogs. They can clean up messes that no amount of hoovering or mopping would sort out!

On a completely different note, i'v discovered (after several months) that chloe, the lastest foster dog can actually run and play without having a heart attack For all her (many) failings she is capable of acting like a normal dog and enjoying herself out on a walk. Unlike Jasper, who has much to learn. Like not chasing cars. Or magpies. Maybe when he's old and decrepit he'll be able to walk off the lead too. Probably not.

Why doesn't anyone tell babies about weekends? They seem to think its ok to get up at 6:50am as usual and immediately demand breakfast/nappies/toys etc. Which is not fun when the baby in question doesn't sleep at night. Which means i dont sleep at night. No, definitely not fun. As you can probably gather, Louis still screaming at night, had to get advice off parenting website (since i cant get hold of a health visitor for love nor money). General consencus was either comfort baby or leave him to cry. I'd got that far on my own! I need to know which option is best! And how come he can be that awake at night and still his usual self during the day while i'm like a zombie with a permanant coffee fix in my hand?

Anyway, Han back at nursery tomorrow and maybe (hopefully) things might settle back to normal. Whatever that is.

For some strange reason i want more babies. Someone tell me why?

Trying to organise Louis' christening service  which is infinately more difficult than it should be.

2 godparents who dont know each other + both sides of family + various friends + a church = complication!

Oh well, as long as i can get the camera working again it should be a good day...

How come my 3 year old is telling me how to look after my 1 year old? does she understand what he is saying? anytime he cries she knows just what he wants and even has her arms out to cuddle him before i can get there maybe its just my prowess as a mother that she's picked up on or her toddler insight understands him better than me! either way its quite infuriating having a 3 yo tell me what to do! bless her, at least she's trying to help and not just getting under my feet all the time. unlike the dog.

in all my years of owning and looking after dogs (i used to work in a kennels) i have never known anything as fat or greedy as my latest foster dog, chloe. i understand that she used to live in a pub and get treats regularly but come on, a saggy belly is not a good look on a ten yo german shepherd! she is forever getting under my feet (or under the highchair) in case of anything at all being dropped. the poor starving girl will eat anything that fits in her mouth, with the exclusion of spiders!

oh well, cant complain, at least they all give love back to me in bucketloadsand thats what a family is all about.

Happy Valentine's Day everyone! I know most of you think its just a marketing scam but there is some sort of history behind it, even if it is a bit lost in the haze. apparently Valentine was a priest who defied his roman emporer and continued to preside over marriages although the single men made 'better soldiers' and marriage was outlawed. He was killed for his trouble.

Anyway, on a happier note valentine tea tonight was a success, at least once the baby stopped screaming!.

Enjoy your night everyone!

It started to be one of those day from shortly after midnight last night. Not a good start! Lou had decided it was getting up time and was leaping up and down in his cot shouting for dad. This went on for quite some time but i actually managed to get to bed around 2:15am. I stupidly assumed the nights antics would make baby sleep longer but no, right on cue (7:15am) he woke up and immediately started his baby talk singing. Again quite stupidly i ignored this and went back to sleep. Big mistake! Lou has discovered how much fun it is to create a really stinky nappy, take it off and spead the contents far and wide! Talk about sharing! This included cot, windowsill, blankets, hair, face, legs and, obviously, fingers. Bathtime! Took 2 baths to get him cleaned up and a lot of scrubbing to get room back to former glory. All this before 10am!

The rest of the day was a mixture of screaming, squabbling, barking dogs and very, very tired children. It certainly made me realise why i'd given up work. If i cant handle being up til 2:15am i'v got no chance working til 5am then looking after the kids!

Oh well, its 9:30pm now and peace is finally restored. I think i could sleep for a week. And looking back, it wasn't really one of those days, it was only a morning!

Just thought i'd stick in some piccys of the wedding last september.

for anyone out there planning a wedding you dont need to spend a fortune! we had a tight budget but everyone pitched in with handmade dresses, borrowed cars etc and the day was perfect. the kids were impeccably well behaved, so much so that louis slept thro the ceremony!

massive thanks to the angel at woodhouse for being our reception venue - great job!

everyone thats important to us made it to some part of the day and my wonderful cousin nicky sang both at the church (fields of gold-sting) and at the reception for our first dance (i'll be your shelter-the housemartins) 

Lynne, you were fantastic, the dresses were beautiful, i cant ever thank you enough for the hours you put in making them, especially while you have my father to deal with!

 

I've become a stay at home mum fairly recently and its driving me mad! don't get me wrong, i love being at home with the kids but sometimes i just need a bit more adult conversation than the bit you get at the school gates (hannah is at nursery now, just finished her first half term).

Had a complete meltdown the other evening, kids whinging constantly, and i just thought I NEED TO GO TO WORK!

Those of you that know me know wot i did and can possibly understand that it helped me let off steam! those of you that don't know me seriously don't need to know wot i did but i was forever being told it was a strange job for a 5'2" blonde woman. still, i like to surprise people and it certainly did that! Anyway, if you're reading this Martin, give me my job back!!!

thinking about taking up karate again too, got some serious flab to lose after having louis (over a year ago) but i'm not sure that i could train under anyone else after running my own club...

i'm just not good with authority.

hopefully getting the horses over here will mean i can ride more but looking at the state of the fencing in the field its going to be a huge operation! not to mention that i dont actually have a horse box to bring them all the way across town. need to speak very nicely to the right people methinks.

Just in case anyone is wondering about the vast amount of animals i seem to have, they'r not all here now...

Caddy and Ron have sadly passed away, both from old age. Zeke was living with us while his family got a new house and has gone back to them now. i miss him the most. Jasper is our dog and Chloe is our foster dog from Thornberry Animal Sanctury.

Lucy is my 20 year old cat and Ozy (or Ozymandias) is one of my 3 ferrets.

Obviously theres Winston and then theres Apollo. His real name is Apollo's Fir, an anagram of April Fool as he was born on 1st April. no-one even knew his dam was pregnant and the poor girl had a jumping lesson the day before giving birth

OK so i have got loads of animals, but they're so much fun!

Anyway, got stopped mid flow there while the washing machine flooded all over the kitchen

Carrying a 13 month old child around a steep field in the snow aint my favorite pastime, and its not made any easier having a 3 year old contstantly asking "mum, wots that?", "mum, wots dad doing?". (as it happened i didn't have a clue wot he was doing as he had disappeared down the hill, into some trees and was nowhere to be seen).

 not that you really want to know any of this but sometimes a rant is a good thing.

the main thing is that 'the boys' should soon be brightening the hearts of the old folk at woodhouse with their antics, and best of all theres MILES of bridleways without ever touching a main road. bliss! its something neither me nor the boys (thats the ponies by the way, Winston and Appollo) have ever known.

as soon as i can i'll add some pics of the boys cos they'r so beautiful. dont tell anyone tho, cos i'v not let our yard owner know we'r leaving yet...

Spent dinner time traipsing around a frozen expanse of field in the shire brook valley, seemingly just for the hell of it! got wierd look from an old bloke walking his dog so spoke very loudly about mending fences, because actually it wasnt all for no reason, hopefully the horses are moving home and coming to live near us. we'v just discovered that its much cheaper to rent our own field than to rely on livery from someone else, even with the inconvenience of having it for 11 of the 12 months in a year!