So Long 11, Hello 12!

Goodbye Twenty Eleven! I will remember my boys swimming like guppies in the lake in Michigan and momentous occasions like Jack starting Kindergarten and Danny starting Pre-K. Craig got a new, much better job and we had a fun summer with lots of swimming and hiking. Jack did ok at soccer but the year's sporting accomplishments were definitely involved with swimming. That appears to be all that happened to us. Nothing too exciting at all!

I do hope 2012 brings a bit more pizzaz. Here's my goals (wishes) for 2012:

* To lose weight again. I am fully aware that this will require a change of lifestyle but who knows, maybe I'll get to that this year!

* To be a diaper and sippy-cup free house. After five years and a couple of grand worth of diapers I cannot wait to be done with them.

* To refinance the house, pay off my car, roll in my English pension with my American one and officially start college plans for the boys.

* To go home to England (this will require new passports for us all too)

* To get my mojo back at work. Since having the boys the passion for my career has not burned as bright as it used to. I want to go to work dressed to impress, with new ideas and the energy to see them through

* To help both boys succeed at school, even if it means sitting with them each day to do academic work (not an enticing idea I admit)

* To find a babysitter and have adult time with my husband. I have said this every year for five years and not done it. I will this year!

* To redecorate the boy's room and get a breakfast bar in the kitchen. And build a kitchen pantry. And make a new front path and step. House & garden projects never end do they

* To have fun with our English visitors (Craig's mum, dad and nephew) and make sure they have fun

* Maybe this will be the year we seek US citizenship. Maybe

That's not such an over-wheming list is it. More than anything I hope that 2012 keeps me and Craig in jobs and that we all stay healthy. Everything else is just the icing on the cake.

Happy New Year everyone! I hope you all have a great time this weekend and that 2012 is a good one for you too.

Ta-tas & a bit of Ornithology

Craig went back to work today which was a bit sad. Not just because it felt like the end of Christmas but because I knew I had the boys on my own - arghhhhh! Only kidding. It wasn't too bad and I only needed two hours on my own tonight in Target to recuperate once Craig got home. I didn't see any breast-feeding mommies in Target - not sure if they did the sit-in thing in my local shop or not. I was glad to see them taking a stand, especially since the woman was originally sat in a quiet part of the store with a blanket. She wasn't exactly standing at the checkout shaking her ta-tas. Shame on the people that harassed her.

Anyway, me and the boys had a good day. I got to do a smidgen of housework and then later they got to have fun at a local play place/cafe. At the cafe I got to chat with a local mum that's thinking of sending her kids to our Jack's school so I tried to do the big sell. I love Jack's school I really do.

Tomorrow I'm going to run a few errands with the boys but I think I have a cunning plan to stop them from being a nightmare while I'm shopping. I'm not going to say what it is though as it might back-fire horribly in my face.

As a bit of a side-bar, I saw 3 lovely birds in my garden this morning. I'm used to seeing the Cardinals and Chickadees but it took me a while to identify the Titmouse. I believe they travel with the Chickadees so that makes me fairly certain. I did not take these pictures by the way (thank you Google images).

The Cardinal (State bird of Ohio)

The Titmouse

The Chickadee

It seemed like a good idea at the time

Now I know why I gave up wine. After drinking far too much last night and then having to get up and be Mary Poppins this morning while at the same time cleaning my kitchen which looks like a gang of monkeys came for dinner, I have vowed once again never to let the evil grape liquid from hell pass my lips. It was a great day though. We had a friend's daughter and her boyfriend over for a Boxing Day lunch, then we had friends over for a bit of a "do" last night. Two are still asleep in the spare room and probably thanking the lord they don't have kids.

We all consumed far too much

Wine

Beer

Baileys

Chocolate liqueurs

Chicken & cheese dip and

English chocolate

and not enough

Water and

Vegetables

But then a great party doesn't generally involve the latter does it.

Today I have two more parties to go to but I'll be driving so I'll be good. My poor body needs 6 gallons of water and an early night. And when I'm feeling more beauty and less beast I'll post the chicken dip recipe because it was awesome!

Christmas Lights 2011

In what is becoming a bit of a tradition, I've made a little movie about our Christmas this year. It's set to the same song as the 2010 Movie but hopefully you won't mind.

We have had a great day and spent some wonderful time on the phone or Skype with family in England. The boys have had the times of their lives and are both crashed-out in bed.

Happy Christmas!

A Christmas Song & a Blooper!

We asked the boys to sing a Christmas message to you all (the idea snaffled from my friend Heather). They did a great job but the first attempt was a total blooper as you can see. I have no idea where Danny got that from!

Twas the Night Before Christmas

Today I actually feel like I'm READY! Yea! Everything is done, even my neighbour's awesome tree (photo later).

As Craig and I gazed at all the wrapped presents hidden in the back of his car in the garage last night I finally felt relaxed. I also thought that maybe buying your kid the Lego Star Wars Death Star ($400) doesn't sound so bad now that I see all the booty we bought the kids. Craig, in his infinite wisdom, said "Let's not worry about the money. This is a magical time. When they are older we won't buy them as much." Mmmm, not sure I believe that.

Jack, as I have said before, asked for a bow with five arrows in a quiver. I'm really proud of the quiver I semi-made (with a little help from the local outdoor shop). It even has his name on it. It did require the complete destruction of a handbag that I loved but my sacrifice will be worth it in the morning when he sees it.

I got all my housework done yesterday so that today I can just enjoy spending time with the boys. I don't get to do that very often as all my "leisure" time is typically spent trying to make my house look clean and catching up on ten loads of laundry. And Danny needs a bit of TLC. Last night he got whacked in the face with a ping-pong bat courtesy of older brother, then he fell off my bed (the story "Five Little Monkeys" could have been written especially for Daniel) and then he accidentally head-butted me when I put him to bed. Maybe I should have bought a helmet for him instead of his Spongebob & Patrick racetrack.

Merry Christmas everybody! I hope you have a wonderful time with family and friends and that you feel loved and happy this season. x

Crazy Mums and Elves

I read this blog post today and just had to share it. Those of you with an "Elf on the Shelf" and even those of us without one will get a kick out of this. I wish I could be as brutally honest on here as this mum!

From the blog "Poeple I want to punch in the throat" comes Overachieving Elf on the Shelf Mommies

Making the Most of the Magic

Tonight we loaded the boys up in the minivan and took them to an outdoor light show at a local state park. As a treat we let them hang out in the back of the van with their duvets and pillows, rather than strapped in their seats. Half-way around the park I had a panic attack that Danny would somehow get the back door unhooked and go rolling out, but of course he didn't!

The boys loved it and found the whole thing magical, especially when we put the Santa CD on with a personal message. Danny's just a bit bewildered with it all but Jack totally believes it all and gasps in shock when Santa talks to him. I feel like this might be Jack's most magical time for Christmas so I'm trying to make it as good as I can for him.

When we got back the four of us slouched on the couch with all the lights off except for the tree and we watched The Grinch again. Danny loves the Grinch and even sings the song. At bedtime Jack said "5 days till Christmas now Mama?" and looked like the wait might just kill him.

I, on the other hand, am having a great time with all this. Can you tell?

My 12 Days of Christmas

Inspired by The Potty Diaries , Hot Cross Mum, and Expat Mum, I have decided to join in and write my own 12 Days of Christmas song, based on my life this holiday season. So here's how things are in my house!

On the first day of Christmas my family gave to me: a cat poo under the tree

On the second day of Christmas my family gave to me: 2 boys wrestling and a cat poo under the tree

On the third day of Christmas my family gave to me: 3 dead fish, 2 boys wrestling, and a cat poo under the tree

On the fourth day of Christmas my family gave to me: 4 males farting, 3 dead fish, 2 boys wrestling, and a cat poo under the tree

On the fifth day of Christmas my family gave to me: 5 NEEDED BEERS .... 4 males farting, 3 dead fish, 2 boys wrestling, and a cat poo under the tree

On the sixth day of Christmas my family gave to me: 6 demands for candy, 5 NEEDED BEERS .... 4 males farting, 3 dead fish, 2 boys wrestling, and a cat poo under the tree

On the seventh day of Christmas my family gave me to me: 7 dust balls rolling, 6 demands for candy, 5 NEEDED BEERS ...., 4 males farting, 3 dead fish, 2 boys wrestling, and a cat poo under the tree

On the 8th day of Christmas my family gave me to me: 8 muddy paw prints, 7 dust balls rolling, 6 demands for candy, 5 NEEDED BEERS ...., 4 males farting, 3 dead fish, 2 boys wrestling, and a cat poo under the tree

On the 9th day of Christmas my family gave to me: 9 toys to pick up, 8 muddy paw prints, 7 dust balls rolling , 6 demands for candy, 5 NEEDED BEERS ...., 4 males farting, 3 dead fish, 2 boys wrestling, and a cat poo under the tree

On the 10th day of Christmas, my family gave to me: 10 loads of laundry, 9 toys to pick up, 8 muddy paw prints, 7 dust balls rolling, 6 demands for candy, 5 NEEDED BEERS ...., 4 males farting, 3 dead fish, 2 boys wrestling, and a cat poo under the tree

On the 11th day of Christmas my family gave to me: 11 chocolate handprints, 10 loads of laundry, 9 toys to pick up, 8 muddy paw prints, 7 dust balls rolling, 6 demands for candy, 5 NEEDED BEERS ...., 4 males farting, 3 dead fish, 2 boys wrestling, and a cat poo under the tree

On the 12th day of Christmas my family gave to me: 12 lovely kisses, 11 chocolate handprints, 10 loads of laundry, 9 toys to pick up, 8 muddy paw prints, 7 dust balls rolling, 6 demands for candy, 5 NEEDED BEERS ...., 4 males farting, 3 dead fish, 2 boys wrestling, and a cat poo under the treeeeeee!

A Festive Few Days

It's been a very festive few days. First I had Danny's Christmas concert at school and he did great. I prepared him as best as I could and his teacher was ready to be with him. He didn't really sing but by the end of it he was clapping and as you can see he was very excited.
On Thursday night & yesterday I volunteered with the PTA at Jack's holiday shop at school. The kids all came into the gym and bought gifts for their families (the PTA had been out and bought loads of gifts to stock the shop). It was wonderful and really got me in the Christmas mood. To see how excited the kids were and to be able to interact with them all was just magical. And knackering! I was totally done-in last night and could have gone to bed at 7pm.

But we dragged the kids out to Columbus Commons instead for the holiday fair. It was okay but I probably wouldn't go again because it was far too cold to enjoy it. Jack had a good time though and ran into a couple of his school friends down there.

He really liked feeding the goats in the petting zoo..

Today I spent 5 hours cleaning my house and trying to catch up on laundry, all the while telling the boys to clear off and get from under my feet. I wish I had a cleaner woman just once a month to come and help me because I can't cope, but it seems like something a posh lady would have and not a working class woman from Liverpool. That would be like a "fur coat and no knickers" as my mum would say.

This afternoon some friends came over to bake & decorate Christmas cookies and that was good fun. We hadn't seen them for a few months so it was great to catch-up and talk about school and kid stuff. Makes me feel like I'm in good company and perhaps not as crazy as I feel sometimes.

Tomorrow I have a kids birthday and at some point I need to go shopping for the kids presents because it's back to work on Monday. Last Wednesday when I knew I had two vacation days and a weekend ahead of me I thought I'd get so much more done.

Where does the leisure time go?

An Album for Christmas

I can't decide if I want Craig to buy me the new Amy Winehouse album or this one by Peter?

Me Figuring out Daniel

When I put Danny to bed tonight I read The Hungry Caterpillar to him which is one of his favourites. At the point where it turns into a cocoon I asked him what it was and he said "A Raccoon!" Bless. His teachers said he did "mmmm-ok" and did that little tilt of the hand from side-to-side when I picked him up today and asked how his morning had been. It's the big Christmas concert on Thursday but Mrs N assured me that in rehearsal today he did great as long as he could sit on her knee so that's where he'll be during the concert. Good. Phew. Glad he has his spot picked out and I don't have to worry about him running & screaming bloody murder from the church. Today Linda told me that during his nap-time he asked her to lie next to him for a cuddle and a chat. That's what I do most nights at bedtime so I'm glad he's interacting a bit more. Although I saw his class photo today for the first time and all the kids are either sat on the bench or in front of it, except my boy that's stood by the side, next to Mrs N.

It's taken me a long time (nearly 3 years!) to decipher his personality and to try and help him, rather than fight him. Yes, he's like a bull he's so headstrong and yes, he's very physical so I'm trying to get Jack to stick up for himself (now those are bizarre conversations) but being headstrong and physical do not pose too many challenges for him - in fact those things will carry him in life I think. His issues are his reluctance to accept change, his fear of new things and the fact that he genuinely likes playing by himself and doesn't want some kid coming up and being friendly and taking his toys, though he does have a couple of friends. All the fights in my house are about Jack trying to play with him or taking away a toy. I feel so bad for Jack sometimes because he wants to play and Danny will tell him to bugger off (sometimes Danny will follow him and acts adoringly). Danny is just really independent and not looking to other people for entertainment. I'm not too concerned about all this right at the minute - especially now that I'm figuring it out and not taking it personally (I did for a long time). He's polite and has good manners around adults and has never been mean to another kid. He's just Daniel - his own person and not willing to change and he's not barging in, telling everyone "it's his way or the highway". He's not cheeky to people or a smart mouth. He's quietly getting on with things off to the side and enjoying himself. But if you bother him, then he'll bring it on. I'm amazed by his personality and actually in awe of him. He'd rather go to bed starving than eat his dinner and he'd rather stay in time-out for an hour than say sorry for something he thinks is unfair. I'm too old and knackered for such endurance. I'd say sorry just to get my warm milk and a soft blanket and bed. But that's the difference between being 42 and nearly 3 I suppose.

I really do feel like I'm the one learning here. He knows exactly who he is and is willing to fight for it. I need to teach him how to be in life without fighting with him constantly and driving us both nuts. There's a common saying among parents that if they'd have had their second child first they'd never have another. I disagree 100%. I look at Daniel and my heart just bursts with pride at how independent he is. He's going to be amazing I think.

Never too Old to Learn

Lessons I have learned today:

1. If your nearly three-year old is stood in front of you wearing boxing gloves, don't put a cardboard tube to your eye and say 'I can see you!". OUCH! Black eye.

2. Letting your five-year old see his presents from England and putting them under the tree for another excruciating 13 days is tantamount to child torture

3. Not taking medicine all day so that the cold runs it's course is STUPID. When will I learn that I don't have to suffer and muddle along?

4. Danny will eat hot dogs! Anytime I find something to add to the minuscule list of things he'll eat it feels like I scored a major goal!

That's quite a bit of learning wouldn't you agree. Now time to take lots of medicine and get to bed...

Santa Visit 2011

I love all the hoopla of Christmas. Right after Craig's birthday we buy the tree and start to do some of our traditional things. I've also had Christmas music on the radio in my car and the kitchen but I think it's driving Craig a bit nuts as he keeps switching it back to NPR. Personally I think I get to work in a much better mood after listening to Jingle Bells than I do after listening to an in-depth discussion on the state of the economy. I've also realised that I enjoy the build up the the 25th just as much as the event itself, so I'm doing my best not to get too stressed out about mailing presents and other tasks.

We've already watched Frosty and Elf & Polar Express and this past week Craig took Jack to see the new Muppets film and they both came home singing "manamana doo doo de doo doo". It felt odd to hear Jack singing a song that I used to sing as a kid!

My neighbour has started to put the lights on his mammoth tree. I cringe watching him teetering at the top of a big ladder with a long pole, trying to get the lights up there. I'm sure all the neighbours breathed a collective sigh of relief when this thing showed up to help ...

Today we took the boys to see Santa at our usual place. It was really busy and we had to queue for an hour and I had to remove Danny and take him around the corner for a time-out at one point. He kept pulling his woolly hat down over his eyes and banging into people among other things. In his defense, having to queue for an hour surrounded by breakable ornaments is not the best scenario for a two-year-old.

They had a guy there doing ice sculptures and they give out free food and carriage rides.

Jack had written his letter to Santa and took it with him to personally hand it to the big guy.

Jack was mesmerised by him and loved every minute. We prepared Danny as much as possible as he hates new situations and I think that really helped. He still didn't want to sit near him but he did chat with him a bit and said 'Thank you Santa!" as were were leaving. That's the key I think - to prepare him ahead of time. No surprises for Daniel!

So it's back to normal tomorrow for a few days, although I am still ill and Craig has man flu. Starting Wednesday we'll have school concerts and parties and all kinds of thing leading up to the big day. Tis the season to be jolly!

Fast Cars & Candy

I've been listening to Christmas music now for about a week, mainly in the kitchen and the car, and we've got the tree up and the decorations. We still have outside lights and presents to conquer though. Both of those things are weighing on me. Still, let's bring on the music and all that comes with the season! I love it all I really do.

The boys are beside themselves with anticipation and asking Santa (us) for :

"A bow and 5 arrows and a quiver" like one of his heroes in the film Narnia (Jack)

"Fast cars and candy canes", like a young Hugh Hefner! (Danny)

Jack asked me yesterday if the Grinch was real (he loves him but is scared too) and I said No!

Then he asked me earnestly if Santa was real and I said Yes! Absolutely YES! (Let this little dream last as long as it can please). My first lie. It felt good and I'm sure there's plenty more on the horizon.

Last night I got home very late so didn't see the boys until this morning when Jack came running into my bedroom, asking where I had been. When I told him that I had been at a posh banquet he whispered "oh! Did you look beautiful mama?" and my heart imploded and I died right there on my bedroom carpet. Please don't grow up any more Jack.

Our first Christmas concert will be at Danny's school next week and I am on hooks. If he refuses to tidy up toys and goes bonkers about putting his coat on what on earth will he do when asked to perform in the church? Lordy Lordy. It's a mixture of dread, anticipation and excitement.

I keep thinking of a line Mountainear (fabulous blogger, mother of boys, including one called Daniel) said when my Daniel was born. She mentioned a religious topic called "Dare to be Daniel" and while I'm not into organized religion at all I do think that line describes his persona pretty well.

This is one of my favourite Christmas songs (But ohhh, I have many):

Happy Birthday Craig!

Happy Birthday to my husband - the skydiver, scuber-diver, hunter, canoeer, fisherman, hiker, son, brother, uncle and dad!





Craig's favourite song: I wish you were here, by Pink Floyd

Going to Keep on Rambling

That's the end of the blogging for a month thingamajiggy (hurrah!) but I'll probably keep at it since it's Craig's birthday weekend and then Christmas. I do love to keep this thing going and I know of at least two people that read it on a daily basis (note to those people; please leave a comment. I do love getting comments)

While I was working on another little project this week I went back and looked at some of my old postings and actually made myself chuckle a bit. I was quite funny and interesting years ago, before I went mental with stress. I also looked much younger and slimmer too, darn it. At the time I felt old and fat but looking back at those times I look much better than I do now. Funny how that works isn't it.

Another reason to keep blogging is that several of my family members in England refuse to go on Facebook (you know who you are!) so this is one way for them to keep up with the boys and see what we're up to. It'll be my 1,000th post soon so will try and make it a good one.

Right now I'm off to bed. Tonight I went to a work dinner and got home too late but still had to stay up and watched my recorded XFactor. I know some people roll their eyes at that and make comments about how brain dead it is but I love it and I've crossed over the line of giving a crap what other people think. Age does that. So anyway, Josh Krajcik, Melanie Amaro and Chris Rene were great as usual. Rachel was good too. I'm hoping Marcus and Astro get booted tomorrow, but would also be ok if Drew did. You don't care do you? Sorry. Sleep deprivation.

Must get some rest so I can play with my boys tomorrow night after work: Bob the Builder and his Superhero sidekick.

I'm Losing the Battle of Wills

It's a good job I have a sunny disposition because today has been a beaatch as they say in urban talk. Why so bad you ask?:

1. I have a cold

2. It's rained for the last two days, non-stop

3. I went Christmas shopping this evening for 3 hours and bought virtually nothing

4. Danny had a #2 at pre-school so I had to go and change him again, then he had a melt-down at tidy-up time and his teachers looked a bit fed-up when I picked him up. Then he refused to eat dinner or sit at the table and then he weed on the floor while he was staring at the new fish tank. Lord give me the strength not to throttle him Homer-style. I did investigate sending him to a more relaxed pre-school but they are full. *Sigh*.

So anyway, I'm going to go back to a couple of shops tomorrow night and buy Christmas presents I nearly bought tonight and then wish I'd bought when I got home. Doh!

And it's supposed to stop raining because it's going to snow

And my cunning plan is to take so many zinc tablets that my cold is gone by morning

As for Danny, I don't know. I really felt like I couldn't cope tonight and I need to get my act together. He's two for goodness sake and shouldn't be winning the battle of wills! I have no doubt in my mind that he'll go on in life and be brilliant at whatever he does - but right now he's a little terror.

Got the Dreaded Lurgi

It's a quick post today as I have a stinking cold and I feel achey and horrible. As soon as I can, I am going back to bed. Jack also has a hacking cough but Craig and Danny are okay (touch wood). I'm hoping that copious amounts of zinc tablets and Theraflu will get me over it quick.

Because even my eyeballs are aching I have not wanted to wear contacts so have been wearing glasses today which is straaaange. I look like Olive off "On the Buses" (old English sitcom) and it's very disorientating. My line of sight is not used to having just little glass squares to look through so I feel a bit discombobulated.

Two little things from my boys today that have lifted my spirits. Danny was sat at the kitchen window telling me how much he loves "schools" as he pointed to the one next to our house but was mad at me when I kept repeating the word "school". It took a while to find out that he actually meant "squirrels". And Jack told me tonight that he tripped at school and one of his friends said 'You okay bro?" and it made his day. Even when I feel ill, these boys can cheer me up.

Right then, off to Bedfordshire.

My, What a Big Cactus!

It's Craig's birthday on Friday so we'll be celebrating as much as we can this week. Last night Jack told him that we were planning on making him a surprise hunting cake which is obviously no longer a surprise! I do have a few other things up my sleeve though.

This is one of his favourite pictures, taken on our vacation out west in 2000. We drove all through Arizona, Utah, Colorado, Nevada, Wyoming and South Dakota. He left a little bit of his heart in Moab I think, which was an amazing place. We took David Grey's album "White Ladder" and every time I hear Babylon it reminds me of cruising through the magnificent red landscape of Utah, with my arm dangling outside of our gold Mustang. It was a wonderful holiday.

When we got to Yellowstone Park in Wyoming we heard wolves howling outside our cabin door and we got chased by real indians on Pine Ridge Sioux Reservation. We hiked through Arches National Park, Mesa Verde & Monument Valley. And we had a beer in the Shady Lady Saloon and brothel in Silverton, Colorado. We stayed at a log cabin at the bottom on Big Rock Candy Mountain and we camped under the stars at Devil's Tower (site from Close Encounters of the 3rd Kind). Good times.

It's the one holiday we can't wait to do again, when the boys are a bit older and not so much of a handful. I would like Jack and Danny to gaze out across the Grand Canyon and take in it's grandeur. Right now Jack would want to visit the gift shop and Danny would be trying his best to base jump from it.

Missing my Sister & Oobleck

After we FINALLY got the lads to bed tonight we sat back and looked through 300 channels and still didn't see a decent film to watch, so we watched Tosh.O for the whole night. Good lord that man is funny. I would highly recommend him to anyone with sense of humour.

It's been a good day. I rang my sister Jenny this morning and wished her a happy 46th birthday and I got to speak to all my nieces and my great nephew AJ. He had the wonderful northern England accent that I miss and wish my boys had. I love that he chatted with Jack and can't wait for them all to get together next year. I miss my family A LOT. I know I'm going home in 12 months time but times like this make me very homesick and it can't come soon enough. So Happy Birthday Jenny - I wish I could spend it with you.

What else? Well after Jack read "Bartholomew and the oobleck" we made oobleck today with him, which was great. I think Craig and I were more obsessed with it than the kids. It's a mix of corn starch (corn flour or custard powder in England), water and food colour (optional) and it's odd. You can pick it up like a solid matter and then it runs through your fingers as a liquid. Apparently you'd be able to run across it in a pool. Craig and I spent far too much time messing with it and going "I don't get it.." Our kids have no hope do they!

Black Friday without being Pepper-Sprayed

I'm glad I didn't venture out today for Black Friday, given the shootings, pepper-spraying and general stupid behaviour. People are NUTS. A couple of years ago when I was 8 months pregnant with Danny and couldn't sleep, I got up at 3am and went to Wal Mart on Black Friday just to experience it and there were grown women fighting over $3 pyjama sets. They were made of nasty polyester and 100% flammable but those women were like a pack of hyenas. I haven't been out since.

Today I hung around the house instead with the boys and then took them for a play-date with a friend of Jack's from school, which was lovely. Me and the mum got to have a nice natter while all four played well. I was surprised how comfortable our Danny was, given his tendency to hate new situations. It was a very pleasant experience indeed and as always when I meet other mums, I get some ideas that I think I can incorporate into my parenting. I need all the help I can get!!

Afterwards we went to the fish shop to buy more fish to try and kill. Our Danny was so funny in the shop and kept grabbing the sale assistant by the thigh and dragging her over to the tanks and pointing things out to her like "big pink fishy!" and "look, a blue lobster!", She was a good sport about it and we came away with a tiny catfish, yellow snail, two glow-fish and a couple of danios (how could I not get Danny-ios!). I give them a week before they're floating and eyeless.

Craig came home deer-less but I do hope he gets one soon. I would imagine that the anticipation is huge, knowing that once you shoot one you probably have to track it for a while before it dies. Then you have to call the regulatory service (ODNR) and report it and get the tag number. And then you have to field dress it before getting it to your car and to a meat processor. When I asked Craig how he'll know if it's dead he said you poke it in the eye (ugh). If I can't stomach the thought of that there's a good chance I couldn't field dress it, which entails opening it from neck to end and pulling all it's guts out. There's just no way I could do that. Not that I'll have any problem eating venison burgers, sausages, steaks and casseroles this winter I should add.

So it feels like the weekend's over but it's just beginning as we have another two days off work yet. They are calling for rain tomorrow though and SNOW maybe Sunday. Boooo! Not snow please Mother Nature, not yet!

A Happy Thanksgiving

We've had a wonderful Thanksgiving Day. This morning we went for our annual turkey-day hike and even though it was 39 degrees F the boys messed about in the streams until we had to force them home, soaking wet. We literally emptied water out of their wellies at the car!

We met several dogs & owners along the way. The black dog on the right was found at a local park last night by a woman we met. She is going to try and located the owner tomorrow through shelters and vets but thinks maybe the poor pooch was dropped off at the park as she had no collar on and was running back and to, looking at the cars as if she was saying "have they come back for me?" Heartbreaking to think that might be the case. Both Craig and I would have taken her if one of us had of cracked but I feel like our life is full enough right now. Still, she was a gorgeous dog and Cody had fun with her.

Danny was like the dog whisperer and played with them for ages.

Then it was home for our turkey dinner. I do love the American version with cranberry sauce and corn bread stuffing. And Craig's mash is to die for! Danny, not surprisingly, refused to try any of it. For desert we had pumpkin pie and ice-cream then headed back out to the park before we all fell into a turkey coma.

It'll be bed for Danny soon then we are going to watch the second Narnia film with Jack. Life is good and we are lucky. I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving too!

My Happiness List

I just finished The Happiness Project by Gretchen Rubin and while I wouldn't say that it inspired me to jump into a big project myself, it has made me more conscious each day about how my attitude affects not just my wellbeing but everyone around me. Remember the line "If mum's not happy, no one's happy?" I used to think that meant "everyone needs to make mum happy", but now I clearly see it as "mum has the power to make all around her unhappy", and I really don't want to do that.

The book made me look at happiness as a subject, which really is about what makes you feel good. So I have thought a lot about what makes me feel good and sometimes to really get to the bottom of it I had to think about what makes me feel bad and reverse it. For example, when I've lost my temper with the kids I feel bad or when I've drank too much I feel bad. The book also made me realise I've been going through life looking to the future to a time when I'll be a better mum/wife/daughter/sister/friend, because right now I'm just too busy.

So I haven't come up with a big written project, blog or list of goals but I have adopted a handful of resolutions that I will carry with me each day and try (and sometimes royally fail) to do. They might sound a bit cheesy but this is how they sit in my head so I can remember them:

1. Be Pam

2. Act how you want to feel

3. Lighten up

4. See Craig

5. Gaze lovingly

I think 1-4 are self explanatory. Number 5 is something new that Craig and I have started doing. You go into your kids bedroom and watch them for a minute as they sleep. It only takes a minute but it really helps, especially for me right now as Danny is such a handful. It makes me realize how little he is and how much I love him. As Gretchen (and every older mother on the planet) says "the days are long but the years are short" - which is hard to acknowledge when you are in the midst of toddler-rearing!

So that's it. My little 5-point list isn't very profound and it doesn't include personal health or clutter control or hobbies or other things she mentions, but these 5 things are definitely achievable for me and do make me feel happier if I do them.

Oh Christmas Tree

We spied the first Christmas tree on our street last night so pulled the car over to the house to wonder at it. Both kids got excited and were pointing at the "priddy lights" as Danny calls them.

Jack asked if we could get ours out of the box and I said that, actually, we will be buying a real tree soon because mummy always loves a real tree that smells of Christmas. Jack of course was not content with why we couldn't get one out of a box NOW, so wanted more reasons for the real tree. So I talked about the smell again.

And the needles in your feet Christmas morning
And the need to de-clog the vacuum cleaner of needles all winter
And the destruction it causes when the cat jumps into it
And the nasty scratches it gives Daddy's arms as he drags it out to the curb in January
And the fact we're just thankful it doesn't catch fire each year

At which point Craig and I looked at each other and burst out laughing. It's a stupid thing isn't it, keeping a dangerous fire-hazard in your house each year because you love the smell of pine needles. I'm still getting one though.

Or maybe we'll get one of these ....

Read all About It!

My mum sent some goodies for the kids today and included a couple of pictures of me and my sister Jenny. This was taken during our holidays at a holiday camp in Rhyl, Wales in 1973 when I was four years old.

There's two reasons I wanted to post this picture:

1. I am astonished how much Danny looks like me because I always thought he looked like Craig.

2. I have NO IDEA what my mother dressed me as for the fancy dress competition! It's pretty obvious what my sister and the Welsh girl are. I'm somewhat foggy on the scary clown-boy on the end wearing his granddad's pants. But what on earth am I?

Feel free to guess and I'll post the answer after I've asked my mum.

Sadistic Shopping Spree

It's hard to lose weight when Craig's mum sent him Thornton's toffee for his birthday. He and I attacked the bag like a couple of walkers from a zombie movie, complete with sound effects "agrhh, om om om, argh". We managed to deter the kids from having any by telling them it was coffee and they couldn't have any till they're 18. It worked a treat.

Stupidly, we took them Christmas shopping today to buy toys for other kids. Are we sadists or what? Jack spent the entire time at Toys R Us begging for toys and Danny was in some kind of sensory overload, gazing up and down the aisles and every now and then pointing at toys and whispering in awe "Ni Hao Kai-lan!". At one point our Jack got hold of a teddy bear that was bigger than him and refused to put him back so we had this rather surreal argument in the middle of a busy store with him hiding behind it and me looking like I'm telling the bear off.

So I got a teeny bit of Christmas shopping done at least. Next I'll be out looking to buy 15 boxes of Lego for the lads in our Jack's class. I got volunteered at the last PTA meeting to buy all the Kindergarten boy toys for their Christmas party which serves me right for leaving the meeting early for my XFactor party (thanks Mr's W!) I'll get reimbursed though and I'm actually quite looking forward to getting and wrapping the presents. It's putting me in the Crimbly mood!

I did however make a solemn promise to Craig today. I am never ever ever taking the kids Christmas shopping again. What was I thinking?

And we probably won't go shopping in that part of town again either. It was in the better part of town but good lord they were a miserable bunch. The parking lot was full of road-ragers and the shops were full of really angry and fed-up looking people. In my area of town, we aren't millionaires but we at least enjoy ourselves when we go shopping and we are civil when driving.

A Sentimental Old Fool

The older I get the more sentimental I'm getting but tonight I really crossed into loopy land. Remember our fish Bert & Ernie & Garrett? Well boggly-eyed Bert died about a month ago and for the last two days our orange goldfish Ernie's been looking a bit off.

It's not down to being ill treated. Oh no. This goldfish tank has been pampered to death and I feel like the only other thing I can do for them would be to take them out each evening and lick them clean. The tank cost me 5 bucks at a yard sale and the set-up has cost a small fortune. As soon as I go to the local fish shop they must nudge each other and whisper "here comes Mrs Muggins again, let's see what we can fool her into buying this time".

The last 2 days Ernie has been listless, then started hiding under the filter, then rolled upside down and finally died tonight. While all this was going on Garrett (the Plecostomus) was hanging out with him, snuggling up to him and following him wherever he half-swam, half-floated along. At one point, as Ernie was gasping for breath, it looked like Garrett was trying to blow air in his mouth.

When I told Craig all this he burst out laughing and said "Pam, he's waiting for him to die so he can eat him". Then to hide my shame that once again I'd been a muppet, I said something about the mouth-to-mouth episode which only made him smile more and ask me to look out for a book at the fish shop that talks about fish giving each other CPR. What's really sad about all this is that not only do I feel foolish but I also feel sad. I was kind of wishing that fish liked each other, you know, like they do in Finding Nemo.

When I went to the fish shop tonight to buy a net so we could scoop Ernie out and give him the right send off down the loo, I went out on a limb and asked the salesperson if perhaps Garrett was Ernie's friend or was indeed waiting to suck him once dead, and she looked at me like she couldn't believe I'd asked and said "well he aint his friend".

RIP Ernie.

Now let's get you out of there before Garrett sucks your eyeballs out.

Loss in our Community

I love our little corner of the neighbourhood. Since we have a corner lot and live on the end of a school property, we really don't have any direct neighbours but we have several houses opposite and around our property. Each one of our neighbours are great and we count ourselves lucky to be surrounded by nice people that are either retired (and therefore watch your house) or have kids to play with our boys, or are just, well, magnificent people.

Recently our little community has lost some people and it's been a sad state of affairs. Ralph was in his late 80's with Alzheimer's and recently he moved in with his sister in Cleveland and now he's in a secure locked facility where I don't think he'll last long. It's hard to imagine him, as active and strong as he was, being locked up like that. Ralph was stationed at Burton Wood Air force Base in Warrington (Craig's birthplace) during the war and he would always come over to chat with us. During my maternity leave with Danny he came over with a shoe box full of pictures from the war and we sat for a couple of hours, which is a nice memory to have of him.

Then earlier this week we lost a wonderful man, Edd, who died of cancer. He owned a landscape company and he was always coming over to do stuff to my lawn and he even gave us a lawn mower when ours broke. He was so cheery and so eager to do his bit. He would come out each winter and snow-plough the road and help the older people get their drives clear. I know his wife will be devastated. I'm going to the viewing tonight and not looking forward to it to be honest.

One of the houses has been empty for 5 years but the elderly owner living in a home won't sell it because he's convinced he's coming home one day. And our direct neighbours just inherited a another, bigger house and will be moving in the new year.

So our little group is changing and I feel sad about it. I'm hoping that new people moving in will be young with kids or just as wonderful as the people we just lost.

Things I Would Have Said

I was going to talk about the teacher conference I had today about Daniel and about how he crawls under tables when a guest speaker arrives in his classroom but that needs too much explanation

I was going to talk about how much weight I want to lose since I have become a big fattie & why Weight Watchers doesn't entice me anymore since our leader was so narcissistic

I was going to talk about the fact that I haven't drunk wine in 2 months and will never drink it again for reasons I was going to disclose

I wanted to talk about the crazy group of republican candidates and their humour value each day as I listen to their messed-up debates and see their supporters holding up misspelled, bigoted and hate-laden placards

I wanted to say how proud I am of all the Occupy people and how much I appreciate them making a stand against the greedy people that cream off the top and don't give a crap about the working man.

I was going to post pictures of our gathering last night to watch XFactor USA with people that were funny as hell and made the evening a good laugh. Best line from Simon? "The good news Stacy is that your hair looks better than last week"

I was going to talk about a guy at work who drives me NUTS

I was going to post a video of Jack singing Katie Perry's "Firework" but since the Jerry Sandusky thing I'm doubly-paranoid about posting anything on here that attracts weirdos. This breaks my heart because I have family and friends in England that come to this blog to see the boys.

So instead, I'm going to post about my beloved Buckeyes. The students of The Ohio State University that are graduating this fall and will play football for the last time on Saturday in the shoe. I will be there to salute them and cheer for them and I'm sorry that they had to bear the cross of a coach that got witch-hunted and a program that got humiliated and torn apart. Doesn't that all seem so exaggerated and unwarranted now that other universities have much bigger issues? Doesn't our boys getting tattoos and being paid $200 more than they should have seem outrageous? It does to me.

Putting the Pressure on at Five

I got a bit upset today when Jack didn't get an award at his first grading period awards ceremony (yes, there is such a thing). He got such a rave review from his kindergarten teacher Mrs C. last week that I really thought he'd be up there with his friends getting something for accomplishment or effort but no, he didn't. He got a certificate for 100% attendance which he was very proud of, bless him.

All the worries have now flooded back that I've sent him to kindergarten too soon. He's 9 and 10 months younger than his friends who got those awards today. Is he going to spend all of his school life always trying to catch up and not grasping concepts that older kids can grasp? When we got home I was probably a bit hard on him while he did his homework and I've told him he needs to buckle down a bit more. Sounds a bit harsh doesn't it, for a 5-year-old, but the standard testing at these schools is rigorous to say the least.

One bright spot of the ceremony was sitting next to a wonderful woman who lived miles away in another school district and her son travelled on the school bus to this school at 6.30am every morning. He has cerebral palsy and when he started at school couldn't talk and he sat in a chair and now he's walking unaided and speaking and taking grade-level math and science. When he got his award his mum was clapping and crying and she set me off, of course. Her son was such a bright and happy lad I felt uplifted just watching him. She kept telling me how wonderful the school and the teachers were and how she hopes her son can always attend it (she has to put her name in the lottery every year because she lives so far away). Anyway, she was an amazing lady and I've been thinking about her a lot tonight.

As for Jack, well we'll just have to help him more. Try and integrate school work into all the fun things we do and also limit telly, as that has got a bit obnoxious the last few months. I want him to be happy and to love school but I'm also going to have to make myself be more of a hard-ass when it comes to the academics. It seems so wrong somehow - to be putting that kind of pressure on a five year old. Shouldn't he just be catching frogs and saving the universe?

Wishing I had a Theme but Oh Well.....

Today's post is a bit broken biscuits, sorry.

I've been thinking all day about a "theme" for my blog - you know, about cooking or having liposuction or giving up alcohol or having a boob job. That kind of thing. I'm also reading a book written by a blogger (The Happiness Project) and thought about plagiarising her stuff but I'm too honest (ha ha ha). As it turns out, I have no themes in my life - just bonkers stuff most of the time. So there you are.

And here's my bonkers stuff ...

Last week I posted about having sniffles and starting to take zinc supplements. A professor at work told me to take them and when I acted like I didn't know about zinc and the onset of a cold he was really surprised as he thought it was common knowledge that it stops a cold, based on sound research. And that made me feel like an uneducated moron (professors do that to you) but then a colleague of mine said they didn't work. Well I'm here to tell you that they are AWESOME!!! I've been taking zinc for a week and my cold did not materialise at all. I swear. Cost about $6 for a week's worth and worth their weight in gold.

Next up, our lad Jack has been taking swimming lessons and has graduated from levels 1-3 and now they've advanced him to school level 2 - which basically means he's a fish and it's not my doing. This summer in Michigan he swam in that lake every day with his dad and that's what did it. Hurrah for dads because they are fabulous when it comes to raising a son.

Hey! I finally captured his favourite zombie pose!

And lastly, it's XFactor tomorrow night and I'm having guests over who love it like I do. We are going to howl for Josh Krajcik and Melanie Amaro and Chris Rene like a pack of coyotes ( and drink and eat fabulous food of course). Craig and I have always tried to enjoy this with a party - we may not do much adult partying these days but we do try with this one. I hope one day that Josh Krajcik does "Try a Little Tenderness"...

Tongue Twisters

Jack recently had hold of a fly swatter and exclaimed "look mum! I have a fly flopper! and no matter how many times I corrected him he just couldn't get it. Not that I tried too hard as it was very cute. The lady with us, Susan, said that for the longest time one of her nieces couldn't say magazines, but pronounced it "mazagines" which is something I can really see myself doing.

As a kid I couldn't say "car park" (the term for parking lots in England). To this day I still say par cark 90% of the time and have to stop and think about it before I open my mouth. Thankfully my gaffe it's not as rude as poor Bridget Jones when she keeps pronouncing her bosses name tits pervert instead of Fitzherbert. Jack also can't pronounce ravioli (laviloli) and think (stink - as in "do you know what I stink moma?"). And Danny can't say caterpiller so asks me in the most ridiculously sweet voice if I can read the hungry paterpiller book to him. How cute! I hope he's still doing that when he's 40, as long as he's left the house and is with someone and happy. If he's saying paterpiller and living in my basement and watching porn all day then I'll be worried.

Well that was a short post for today. I'm a bit buggered to be honest. But I would like to hear if any of you have a particular tongue-twister you just can't master.

My Little Zombie

We are home! Woo hoo! There's nothing like pulling up outside of your house after a major road trip, knowing you're going to walk into a nice clean home. We had a fabulous trip with friends that we should have made the effort to see sooner but time just whizzes by.

I laughed when I saw this picture close-up. Jack is being a Zombie and was practicing his zombie faces in the car on the way home. I told him I'd take some pictures of his different zombie faces so we could choose his best look.

A couple of things Susan and Leonard said has resonated with me. Mostly about taking time to enjoy family and friends, no matter how busy you are. They have reconnected with family after many many years and feel strongly that all those silent years were wasted. I couldn't agree more - nothings more important than family, not matter how wacky they are!

Both boys are zonked out in bed and we are watching Walking Dead before bed as we are knackered too - we had to sleep with a kid each last night because Danny refused to sleep with Jack. Both Craig and I were kept awake most of the night by the running, jumping and crazy dance moves they do in their sleep. At one point Jack told Craig he was walking on stilts while he was sleep talking!

So a great weekend was had and now back to reality. As I tucked Jack in bed tonight he whispered "Mommy, you forget to take pictures of my zombie faces". Awwww.

Nashville's General Jackson

Today has been marvelous but now I'm cream-crackered.

Due to the time change, the boys got up at SIX FIFTEEN, but then we got going and met our friends and had a smashing time in Nashville, Tennessee!

The reason for our visit: Craig's friend Leonard (& his girlfriend Susan who wasn't on this pic). They were such fantastic hosts and I can listen to the Tennessee accent all day. I can definitely get used to being called honey all the time.

They had booked us onto the General Jackson paddleboat ship for the afternoon for a lunch cruise and show.

The lunch and show were fabulous - full of southern charm and the music was awesome. The band was a music comedy groups that did impressions of famous country singers and they had a fiddle player that brought down the house.

My boy Danny. He was 110% from 6.15am until he crashed about 4pm in the car.

Once again I feel bad for saying this but these kinds of trip would be so much more enjoyable without worrying about your energetic toddler throwing himself overboard, running away and throwing his fork into someone's soup. Jack made firm friends with Susan's niece Bethany and they played all day.

Me and mine.

After the boat trip we toured around General Jackson's Hermitage and then Broadway Street downtown, The Parthenon and the Grand ol Oprey Hotel and the Ryman Auditorium.

I love this city!

Store Your Cones Somewhere Else Cincinnati!

We finally got to our hotel in Nashville after 7.5 hours of what should have been a six hour drive.

We hit horrendous traffic all the way through Cincinnati and crawled for what seemed like 50 miles. At one point we drove past 15 miles of big orange cones sat out FOR NO REASON. At which point Danny was kicking the back of my driver's seat and Jack was singing nonsense songs so I turned the radio up full-blast (hey, if you can't beat them, join them) and "Highway to Hell" by AC/DC was on, which just about summed up the moment. Next was "Shake it up" by The Cars but by this point Danny was mad about the loud music and shouted "I don't wanna shake it up!" and we all burst out laughing. Family crisis averted thanks to the Big D.

The good thing about travelling from Ohio to Tennessee is that you gain an hour so while my body says it's 11.30pm right now, my phone tells me it's only 10.30pm. Bonus!

Seriously, a couple of ciders and then bed. Boys are already zonked out. I'll post pictures tomorrow. We are here visiting friends and looking forward to some fun. Cody got left behind with our new dog-sitter that we found on Craigslist. It felt odd handing the keys of my house over to a complete stranger & I am so paranoid that I told all my neighbours to watch her like a hawk and take the b**ch down if she makes a wrong move. Ha ha ha..

Who Needs Plastic Crappy Toys?

I've been asking a man at my work to keep an eye out for great big boxes that will entertain my kids and today he came up trumps. When I dragged it in the house both boys were so excited they resorted to their evolutionary roots and ran around like monkeys for 10 minutes, clapping their hands and shrieking.

After Danny boy had gone to bed, our lad Jack pleaded to be allowed to fall asleep in the box in our bedroom and then "take me to bed when I'm sleeping, pleeeease"

How can you not let a little boy of five go to sleep in his camp, deep in the woods, while he fights off bears and only has a small LED candle for comfort? Craig and I sat in the front room and heard of his escapades until all went quiet and our little boy fell asleep.

Bless.

A Proud Day for This Mama

I knew it was going to be a good day when my first conversation at 7.15am was a discussion with Daniel that while I understood he was in fact Darth Vader he still wasn't allowed to run in the house.

Then this afternoon Craig and I had our first parent-teacher conference with Jack's kindergarten teacher and it was fabulous. To sit and hear a teacher rave about your child is a marvelous experience that actually gave me a big lump in my throat. She said that he's so cheery and keen to get involved that he helps her sort things out in the classroom (she called him her secret boss) and she kept chuckling and saying "he cracks me up!" Now, he's one of the youngest in his class and he's got some work to do to keep up but she has set us some tasks over the next few weeks to help him and he has to practice his numbers more. I asked her if I made the right decision letting him start rather than holding him back a year and she said absolutely yes - he's doing great. What a relief!

And as an update from last night. The phantom polling station nose-biter has been found and arrested and our carrot & orange soup was a bit hit! And late tonight the Penn State coach and President of the University have been fired. I know that some fans are really unhappy about that but I read the 23-page indictment and I don't think there could be any other conclusion.