Gales

Blimey, it's got windy all of a sudden. I'm not sure if we've been predicted gales force winds tonight, but they came on really suddenly about an hour ago. At least all my animals are in the warm. My Guinea Pigs love being indoors. As soon as you open the fridge they squeal for more veggies!

We have a new volunteer in work. She doing her NVQ in care and needed a work placement. She sounds as if she is Eastern European, and her name is Corniche, which is strange! She's a nice girl, and good fun to have around. We like cheerful people in the office. I'm taking 100 people out for a three course meal tomorrow at work, which should be nice. Pete is coming with me, which makes a change as my Mum normally comes.

It's been pretty boring here to be honest. I've started packing Ryans bag for his Mums. He's crapping his pants about going, and she hasn't been nice to him on the phone for weeks. I'm sure he's going to have fun...not!

Taylor

Taylor just asked me to take some pictures of him, so here you go;

Cheerful Taylor

Grumpy Taylor


I forgot to say, Ryan was told by some of the lads on the estate that the lad Billy, that's been causing us problems, has been arrested! Hahahahaha!

Sad :*0(

I had a call from Martin earlier to let me know that Lisa had passed away. He was really upset, which upset me more. Here is my original post on the subject if you have no idea what I'm talking about. I got a text from her sister Clare about ten minutes later, so called her right away. She was ok, fine in fact. She's in shock, but she is expecting it to hit her at some point. Clare got to spend time with her before she died, but it was her partner and little girl that were with her when it actually happened. It wasn't a nice death at all, but I won't say any more than that as I know Martin is reading this and it'll make him sad. Hi Martin! *waves*

I just can't beleive she has gone. What a massive hole she has left. I can't go to the funeral as it's on Monday and I have Jake, so I'm sending some flowers from us all. I called my Mum and the whole street where we all grew up is sending some too.

I don't believe some people! This is a perfect example of why you should never rely on anyone but yourself.

I've been down the town this morning, and didn't get in until 1pm. The two little ones went down late for their nap, so I asked a neighbor whose kid is in Taylor's class to pick him up for me. We drop her kids off for her most mornings, in fact, we dropped them this morning. When I asked her she said 'Yeah fine, no problem, you did me a favour this morning'.
So, at 3.40pm I'm pottering around the house tidying up expecting Taylor through the door any minute(he finishes at 3.10pm), when the phone rings. It's the school. No one has picked him up. I had to call Pete and he had to cancel a meeting at work to collect him. I couldn't go as the school is a 15 minute walk away so by the time I walked there it would've been gone 4pm. I'm soooo mad with this woman! Pete told me to tell her to piss off if she thinks we're taking her kids again. The woman's a bit of a nutter so that confrontation should be fun. Hahahahah!
She hasn't even knocked to see if we've got him or if he's ok, and I've just seen her walk past. She either hasn't remembered yet, or is too chickenshit to tell me. What if the school hadn't called, he'd still be sitting there.

Shop 'til you drop!

After weeks of deciding what people are getting, what day I'm buying what and which shops I'm visiting when, I finally got to go shopping yesterday for Christmas presents. Most people I know loathe shopping, but I love it, because this is the only time of year we can afford to do it. The only other kind of shopping I get to do is the weekly food shop. Thrilling.
So, I bought lots of sack presents, Isobel's Aquadraw & Fifi Cottage, Ryan's tracksuit he wanted(£60!! For a tracksuit!!), and we got the Buzz music quiz and Singstar for the PS2. Ryan came with me, and by the end of it we could barely put one foot in front of the other. And we still have another two thirds to buy yet.

In a festive mood, we then decided to put the tree up. Now, I usually do it between the 1st-7th of December, but as Ryan is visiting his Mum that week we did it last night. Ryan adores decorating the tree, and he didn't want to miss it. I can live with having mine up early in those circumstances, although it normally infuriates me. Then, we decided to go all out and wrap the presents we'd bought too. Yes, we were bored.





My friend Angela had her second son last night at 8.30pm, so I'm looking forward to lots of newborn cuddles. :-)

More fighting!

Jane came over on an impromptu visit last night, bearing gifts of wine, so I was pleased(even though it was a work night). We drank the first bottle, then went up the shop for another, which went down rather quickly too. Pete went up the shop and got us another, which we settled down to drink, when Ryan runs in crying as he's had a fight. I mentioned this boy Billy in this post back on the 3rd of November. The police went round to see him after this incident, gave us a crime number and told us to call if anything else happened and they'd arrest him. He causes a lot of problems here and the police are well aware of him and his family.
Anyway, Billy was threatening to stab these three girls, then he saw Ryan smile at something and laid into him for laughing! Ryan did defend himself but had marks on his neck and a lump on his head. Pete went out after him and asked him what was going on. The kid said 'Ryan laughed', and Pete said 'And that gives you the right to beat up my son does it?' Billy said 'If you want a war on this estate you've got one', so it looks like we're in for some fun! Yay!! I hope they do harass us, we'll get moved away. Bring it on!!



I called the police number I was given before and reported it. We haven't seen anyone yet, but are going to the station tomorrow to give statements and have photos taken. Then they'll pull him in for questioning. We are going to take him to court for assault as someone has to stick up for the kids round here and stop this little fucker from running the show.

God I love this town!

I've been up to loads this week. I've had Jake here Mon/Tues/Weds and he's been a star. We went to baby group on Monday, then had Angela and Alastair over for lunch. I made them a den today in the lounge, they had great fun.







Taylor stuck up for his friend Georgie in school today as he was being bullied and got a kicking in return. A boy called Bradley kneed him in the face. So, yet again I'm going to be having a word with someones parents. Can you believe the teacher had a word with this boy, but didn't make him apologise to Taylor? If one of my kids did that to someone else I'd drag them round there to make a public apology.

I need to have a word with his teacher next week anyway as I'm really unhappy with something she said. They were talking about people being psychic in school and she told the whole class that psychics are evil and nasty. Well, seeing as my seven year old son in her class can occasionally read minds, I'm not happy about the comment. I'm sure she'll think I'm a weirdo, but I'm not having her make Taylor feel like he's evil. No he can't do it all the time, but it's a very real feeling for him, which I've witnessed numerous times, and I won't have anyone make him feel bad for it. He's told me he reads her mind all the time, I'm sure she'll love that! ;)

Ok, the cat is weird.

We've noticed that the cat seems to teleport around the house. I know cats are sneaky creatures, but this is just strange. It'll be in the bedroom, then it'll appear out in the garden.
Well, last night I was still up at 1am on the PC, and Isla was asleep on the bed while I was surfing the net. I got up, locked the house, hung the washing on the airer and went to bed. The cat sneaked into our bedroom so I kicked it out. When we got up this morning it was sat outside in the garden, without anyone letting it out! Freaky!

I'm getting excited now. I've just been given my Xmas budget by Pete, so I've been searching and organising all evening (sad, I know). I'm a list writer you see. Everything has to be on a list. I have an Ebay purchases list, a complete Xmas present list, and a list of what I'm buying on what date. I'm a list addict. I'm buying all my online goodies tomorrow as it's payday.

I've almost completed my December Gift Exchange package. I have two more online orders to complete, and I'm waiting for two more to arrive, and I'm ready to go. I've also got to look for a gift for my secret santa at work. I got Jacqui, who I love to bits, so I should enjoy shopping for her.

I have work again tomorrow, then a weekend of manic cleaning and throwing out crap, ready for Christmas. The kids rooms all need sorting ready for more crap they don't need to be shipped in. Pete was supposed to be helping but he's now off sick with a bad back. Great timing!

Crazy day

Jake & Isobel had a lovely day today, they ran around like nutters. At about 5.45pm, just as I was feeding Jake and getting his stuff ready to go home, Ryan came in with a huge rip down the front of his hoody. This girl he hangs around with was swinging him round by the hood, he was asking her to stop and she was being an arsehole and doing it more. So it rips straight down the middle and he comes in upset to show us the damage. I called her over and Pete had a word with her, asking her to tell her Mum as they'd better pay for a replacement. She was being a bit cheeky, saying she wasn't bothered etc(Catherine Tate anyone?), so I said if it were Ryan that had done it to her we'd be paying for it and giving him a hiding for being so disrespectful. She went home, then came back telling Ryan that I'd better not go round there as her Mum wasn't in the mood and she'd have a row with me. Ryan just laughed and said "My Mum's 6ft, as if she'd be scared!. He's a cheeky bugger! I went over to speak to the Mum, she started off being all defensive, but soon changed her tune to apologetic. Ten minutes later we have a grovelling teenage girl on our doorstep with £15 in her hand. Hahahahaha! I hope it came off her Christmas present list!

We've had a busy day today. Lara came over and we went out for lunch then took the kids to Munchkins, which is like a pre schoolers version of Playtopia. Isobel likes the bouncy castle! Lara goes back to work tomorrow so I have Jake here. Good luck hun! *waves*

I let the cat out this morning not expecting her to come back, and at 4 pm she came back again. We've called her Isla, as it's the only name we liked that Isobel can pronounce. They say that every cat has two homes, so until I find her owner we are enjoying having her here.

Critter

We seem to have acquired a cat. When I got home from school she was sat purring on my doorstep, I stroked her, and when I opened the door she zoomed up the stairs. I fed her some tuna(she was starving), and kicked her back out after an hour. Two hours later she's still on my doorstep, so we've brought her in for the night. I went up the local shop as I remembered there were a few 'missing' posters in the window, but not for this cat. She has no collar, so I'll put my own found poster up tomorrow and see what happens. I've fostered animals before so we won't get too attached, but as you can see she's definitely made herself at home. Pete hates cats and even he likes her. Now to choose a name...

So tired

I'm exhausted today, and am finding it very hard to get motivated. I was up at 7 this morning not only getting the kids ready but doing extra housework. There is so much to be done and I never have the time, and no one else can see it. I spent all day yesterday following people around the house shutting doors, closing the freezer, turning off taps, putting shoes under the stairs, turning off lights and putting crisp packets in the bin. How hard can it be for these people to do these things themselves? I got Isobel ready to go to baby group this morning, then she threw a tantrum about some sweets she wanted and didn't get, which morphed into a tantrum about having her nappy back on(she actually used the potty twice this morning), which then morphed into a tantrum about wanting to wear my makeup. Pete had the pushchair in the car so she would've had to walk to baby group, so I made the wise choice to just put her to bed, where she gladly went. She loves her sleep, that girl.

I do hope I'm not getting depression again. I feel OK, honestly, but I'm just so tired. When I do get depression one of my first symptoms is this heavy tiredness. I actually sometimes find it hard to get up off the chair as my legs hurt so much. I do sometimes worry that I have some kind of fatigue problem. Surely this can't be right? I've had 8 hours sleep.

I worked all week this week so haven't been online much. I just want payday to hurry up now so I can Christmas shop. Yay!! I have a few bits that need shipping overseas, hence the early shopping. I usually leave it as long as possible, but my last postage date is the 12th December, so I must get organised. We need a new tree this year too, as ours is looking a bit old and battered.

We went to a memorial service at a church in Dagenham yesterday, for all the people that the vicar has buried in the last six months. This obviously included my Nan. It was the first time I've been to a church service since 1992. Pete has never been to a real church service, just the awful JW meetings. I joked that we'd both burst into flames when we crossed the threshold. Didn't happen. ;)

We had tea at Brenda's house before, it was lovely. I'm not sure if I mentioned her here before, but she's my Uncles ex-wife. They split ten years ago, and haven't spoken amicably in that time. It was a pretty messy divorce.
She sent a card when Nan died, and came to the funeral, and her and my Uncle Steven are now inseparable again. Not sure if they are together as a couple, or just friends, but it's been lovely having her in the family again. She's the best! They are going to America as a family for Christmas. How special for their three boys, to have their parents back together again for the holidays.

This picture was taken years ago, when they only had Danny(who's now 19), and she was pregnant with Nicky(He's 17). They have a son called Jason too, who is 14.

She hasn't changed at all, and my Uncle is now about 100lbs heavier, bless him!

Pete and Ryan are both at football, and Taylor is round Georgies, so it's nice and calm here for once.

See what I have to contend with...

Make an online slideshow at onetruemedia.com

Top ten party playlist

Dan posted his list over on his blog, 0ddness, so here I am. :)
I'm into very different types of music, so there would be two different lists. There is an MP3 player list, and a house party list.

House party list(which unless you're into House or D&B you'll have never heard of!):

So Damn Beautiful - Polaroid
Up in flames - Satoshi Tomiie
Welcome to the Factory - Angel Moraes
Born Slippy - Underworld
Voodoo People - The Prodigy
Inner City Life - Goldie
Unfinished Sympathy - Massive Attack
Valley of the Shadows -Origin Unknown
Aphrodite - Paris & Sharp
Dreaming - BT


MP3 list:

U2 - Sunday Bloody Sunday
REM -Everybody Hurts
Bjork - Isobel
Sneaker Pimps - Spin Spin Sugar
Blur - End of a Century
Chris Isaac - Wicked Game
Coldplay - Clocks
Morcheeba - The Sea
No Doubt - Just a Girl
Red Hot Chili Peppers - Breaking the Girl

Well, how different are they? I must be weird. I don't like listening to dance music unless I'm actually dancing.

Poorly girl

Oh dear. I think Ibby has Whooping Cough. She has had a fever and snotty nose for a few weeks, but has been herself really. She just woke up about an hour ago choking and nearly being sick with an awful cough. I thought straight away 'Whooping Cough' as she just didn't sound right. In almost 8 years of being a parent I'd never heard a cough like it. I called Pete(he's at a football meeting), and he rushed me back some medicine. Ryan ran me a steamy bath in case it was Croup, and she quickly settled back down. She just woke again a minute ago, but she's settled again fine. I've listened to some sound files online, and it does seem like the dreaded Pertussis.

Also, I just had a random thought, the doctors screwed up her first three sets of jabs as a baby and she was really late completing the course. She also missed her final polio dose. I've just read a study online that connected delayed immunisation with pertussis risk. Interesting.

Hopefully she won't start coughing again tonight, Pete wasn't here earlier, but he's just come in the door and he's so overprotective of her that if he hears it he'll panic.

Football and hangovers

I went out last night to meet Clare in Rayleigh. Her boyfriend is a singer with a rock covers band, they've been around for donkeys years and have quite a big following in Essex. Her boyfriend is twice her age, bless him, but he's very sweet. My oldest friend Claire came out too(we met at Brownies when we were 7), so it was like a Claire reunion. I've been neglecting my friends since Ryan came to live with us as I just don't have the time. I must try harder to see them. We went on to the Pink Toothbrush afterwards, which was a scream. It made a nice change to go to a rock/indie club. They played some Prodigy too which made me and Claire go mental. I saw one of Pete's players from his team out last night, and the first thing he said was 'Don't tell Pete I'm out drinking'. It cracked me up!
Me and Clairebear


Clairebear and Clare the twin


Me and Clare.


Taylor had his first football match this morning, so after about 3 hours sleep and too much booze,I crawled out of bed and got us all ready. They were playing a team a year older than them in a friendly, and went 2-0 up in the first half. Unfortunately, tiredness set in for our team and the final score was 4-3 to the other side. Three of the goals could've been stopped too if Taylor was in the right position and not messing around, which was a bit embarrassing. It was a fun game to watch though. Here he is in his first ever football kit!

I took all the oldies from work to see Billy Elliot the musical last night in London. It was probably the best show I've ever seen. I'll find it hard to top that. I had goosebumps through most of it, even though it was so full of laughs that I'd class it as a comedy. There was one particular scene where Billy dances with an adult version of himself in perfect time, and it was beautiful. I wish I'd videoed it.
Then when I got home Ryan had the hump as he'd had a fight with some little shit. I wanted to go round their house but Ryan wouldn't let me. This boy punched an 8 year old in the face, and when Ryan asked him what the hell was going on he headbutted Ryan. I was livid, I even called the police! Then, Sian called today and was horrible to Ryan...again! Why can't life be simple.

Today I had the day off work as I had my mole removed from my arm. I got there at my appointment time, and had to wait for an hour. The suspense was killing me! Once I got in he gave me the numbing injection, which is the worst bit for me. I hate needles! After about 5 minutes it went numb, but they put adrenaline in the drug too to constrict the blood vessels(less blood), so that made me light headed and dizzy. I laid down, he checked I was numb and then he sliced it right off. I have four stitches. Here is a gross picture, so don't click if you're squeamish!



We went to the fireworks in Laindon that my boss organises tonight, they were fantastic, much better than all the other displays. Isobel hated the noise and was happier watching them from the car with her Nanny. She didn't cry though.

Pete has gone out tonight with Bushy, so I'm at home with my Friday bottle of wine, which is nearly finished. I just called Clare, the twin sister of Lisa, my friend who is dying. We spoke for about an hour, I'm hoping to go out with her tomorrow night. Lisa has literally days left, it's just awful. She has just come out of the hospice and gone home to die. There is nothing anyone can do. The cancer spread from the mole to her lymph glands in her leg, then onto her spine. Clare and I were talking on the phone about our childhoods, we had so much fun. I can't believe she'll be gone. All I can do now is be there for Clare.

Bad influences

Just thought I'd add some new pictures I took today.

I have a bit of a problem. I have no idea what to do.
Taylor has a boy in his class called Jake, that I have tried everything in my power to keep him away from since he started school a few years ago. It's worked well so far. Just as an example, when this boy was six, I watched him spit in the face of the woman behind the counter in the shop. He also throws stones, steals, and roams the streets at all hours. He is friends with older teenagers who have been inside prison. He's an awful kid. Taylor has never been interested in him and knows not to play with him in school.

When Taylor went up to the Juniors in September, I learnt that this boy would be in Taylor's new class, so I almost moved him to a different school. That is how strongly I feel about him mixing with this boy. Then Taylor became best friends with Georgie, who's a lovely little boy, and they are in the same class too. Taylor stays over at Georgie's quite a bit, and they adore each other. This allayed my fears as I knew that Taylor & Georgie would be inseparable during school and Jake wouldn't be able to go near my son.

Fast forward to now, and Georgie's Mum(who although lovely, is a bit of a drinker and can be volatile), is dating Jake's Dad. Jake's Dad is spending every spare moment round her house with Jake. They walk home with us every day. Georgie is obviously now playing with Jake.
I now have to limit how much time Taylor spends with Georgie, as I REALLY don't want Taylor being influenced by Jake. This is going to be so hard on Taylor, no matter what I do it's going to be a nightmare. I don't even want to send him to school as I know he's going to be mixing with him at break.
Obviously I can't tell this woman who to spend her time with, but I can control who my son mixes with. I just want to move far, far away from all this shit, to a nice quiet village somewhere. HELP!!