Happy New Year to those that make it!

Back to nature!

After the Xmas indulgence of rich food, excessive drink....please champagne & orange juice for breakfast..such a lush! Not to mention the humungous chocolate overdose, lazy mornings with Sir L's freshly whipped coffee lattes served in bed....none the less! It was time to gulp in the fresh wintry air, stretch those sleepy muscles & hit the ski slopes!

We have had about 24 inches of snow so far this month....it was so time to go & abuse it!

We all went which took approximately 1 1/2 hours to pack & get into the car. Can someone please tell me how a 4 year old can have broken 2 pairs of ski pants in the past 2 days & I did not know??? Oh yes the new ski pants zipper had broken...the spare pair... the buckle had gone missing! Where who knows!!! I was not going to dig up the back garden....all 5 acres of it with 24 inches of deep snow... so a good knot did the trick!

Forty five minutes later we were at the slopes... heavenly!

Now let it be known that I am not a particularly good skier & on average I only go a few times a year which is a disgrace considering where I live!

Today's experience was just magical.

It was "cosily warm" &, sunny with azure blue skies. No queues or lines, great snow with just a little crunch and no ice which I detest! The best part of ski-ing is the peace & quiet & being at one with nature. Not for long. That is until the 4 year old has a temper tantrum as he wants so badly to go on the ski lift.

Eh hello... he has only skied twice in all of his life....he can do the pizza with his ski's but that is it!

After carrying him, ski's a kicking, goggles flying, curse words beng muttered &, dropping hats, I admitted defeat & we went inside.

The peace was nice whilst it lasted!

A Merry & Peaceful Christmas to everyone.

Size does matter in one thing only!

Most things in America are bigger...however thank goodness that English Cadburys can beat the size of the American chocolate bar!

So much snow!

I guess that birds need snow shovels too!

I cannot believe yet another snow day for the kids!

We must have had at least 10 inches today on top of the base of nearly 2 feet!

Definitely a white Xmas!

Da, da,da, da dahhhhhhhh!

After much blood, sweat, tears & multiple bad words it is finished!

Thanks to Mme L for her telephone counselling & encouragement!

Snow, snow, snow!

So far this week we have had 6 inches!

Now we are waiting for a huge Nor'Easter... which is supposed to dump 12-24 inches of snow!

Ginger bread Houses

Today's project was a success!

I have to tell everyone that I bought these gingerbread house kit's from B.J's for $9.99 each. They go together easily, the icing is already made & in a bag... you just squeeze & pipe.

There is tons of candy so there is plenty to eat & use, plus left overs!

What a great evening & happy kids!

I have to say that this is a fun Xmas activity that I did not adopt or even hear of until I came to America!

Now it is a family custom!

I'm going mental!

Oh my goodness everything is going wrong. First of all this darn computer is having surges so sometimes it will connect & sometimes not! I would not mind except for the fact that it is a new PC, so it has no excuses!

Then my new knitting project which is extremely mentally draining so much so that I can only knit in total solitude with no interruptions...as my friends will confirm I will not (well more like I am incapable) of taking calls unless I have finished a row! I have gone seriously wrong & I have had to undo the blasted thing. A whole 3 days worth of work.

I am using the new PC which is a laptop & I am struggling with stroking this little silver square to get the mouse to work. It just seems to be a little pervy to me! Anybody know how long it takes to adapt??

I guess I do not like change which confirms that I am old & grumpy today too!

Oh yes, we put the Christmas tree up yesterday & all the lights would not work so Sir L gave the kids a lesson on how to use a multi meter. The result was to go & buy new lights as it was cheaper than buying replacement bulbs. Now how can that be when we are all becoming so recylingly conscious?

Enough grumbling maybe tomorrow will see me knit the whole hat, mend the PC all by myself...(would take a b...dy miracle) & write a letter to the lights people demanding a breakdown on price, profit etc!

Bye folks from a grumpy Daffodilly!

Snowboarding little'uns!

On a happier note. We had 10 inches of snow today so school etc was cancelled. I had 8 kids in the garden as we have a great sledding hill that ends in dense woods.

I popped my head out of the door to check to see if they were all alive. Then I spot number 3 who is 4 years old whizzing down the hill strapped to a snowboard that is bigger than he his!

Now he has skied only once in his life & has never been on a snowboard.

To my astonishment he stayed upright & glided down ending with a small crash. ... a natural! Watch out for him on Ski Sunday!

Dogs.

Last year we lost our dog Hamlet who died at the ripe old age of 16 years old. We brought him with us from England to USA and he was our first born.

I have been dilly dallying about getting a new dog for quite a while but for some reason I have been holding back. We explained to number 3 child about heaven & that was where Hamlet went when he died.

Well the reason for the background information is that I was just looking at dogs on Pet finder.com & I saw a puppy that looked like Hamlet. Number 3 pipes up from over my shoulder "are you looking at all the dogs in heaven mummy?"

My reply a quick outburst of tears!

One reason why you should bring in the kids clutter before the end of November!

Lethargic already!

OK so tonight is a wino night. After holding a "Grand Lunch" for the pre school today, clearing up, food shop, basket ball & year book I have to admit I have had a couple of glasses of Pinot Grigio or two!

I was trying to check number 2's homework but that appeared to be too much of a challenge today.

All my intentions of writing Christmas cards, doing my knitting that unfortunately I had to undo yet again (however I am desperate to get into it) even on line shopping as I need to ship to the UK in the next week are totally out of the window.

Tonight is a chocolate & TV slob alot night!

Oh dear old age is approaching way too quickly!!!!

Oh White Xmas!

Yesterday I took number 1 & 2 kids to Boston to see the theatre production of White Christmas.

Superb!

You have to understand being country bumpkins going to the city is a biggie for us. Oh yes no ripped jeans & matching underwear ( I still have 1 special set after all of these mummy years!).

"We have to look like we fit in & please do not ooh & aah at the skyscrapers or our disguise will be ruined" I advised the kids!

The last time we were in Macy's they played on the escalators until a tight lipped sales assistant spoiled their fun. It is one weird feeling watching your kids being fascinated at the ages of 9 & 11 by an escalator as I grew up in suburbia.

Anyway back to the theatre. Oh it was so beautiful. Excellent acting, singing, dancing & costumes. I even had brimming eyes at the end. Two old ladies in front of us were bawling their heads off... that will be me next year!

It was the last scene when the General opens the barn door & there is the snow.. always a tear jerk er. The snow even came down into the audience!

So if you are a local I highly recommend a visit to the Wang Theatre & if you are not.... tough!

7 Things about Me!

Thank you so much for tagging me! I feel so honored that someone other than paid or bribed visitors visit my site. However still being a learner on the blog thing I have come to a decision that I need HELP! I have tried to create a link.....other than messing up my blog after an hour I have had to admit total defeat.

So here are my 7 I am thankful for things:

1. I am thankful for my family who do not give me a minutes peace whilst I try & educate myself on the pc.... my excuse for being pc illiterate!

2. Thankful for my kitten (soon to be cat)as he will catch all the chipmunks that eat my seedlings every year!

3. So, so, so, so incredibly thankful for English chocolate.

4. Pinot Grigio... need I say any more?

5. Our adopted family that feed us a yummy meal every Thanksgiving.

6. Knitting my winter hobby that I am still trying to master.

7. Thankful for blogging as I love it!

However I may have bitten off more than I can chew trying to learn to blog,create links & master knitting patterns all in one weekend!

The above is a hat that I knitted whilst being home bound with 3 kids for 3 days due to a huge Nor Easter snow storm las t year.

I did not have the correct sized needles, so I am improvised & VOILA!

What a creation!!

Number 3 loved it & even wore it to bed! I told him it was made with love!

This photo was his reaction when I told him I was going to make him another one that would fit properly!

I will take orders!! Many colours available!!!

New England Weather!

Sometimes you really wish that you had brought in all the garden furniture & kid clutter at the weekend..... alas we did not!

An all over the place blog!

I have just cooked a most scrumptious dinner... even if I do say so myself! Roast lamb in garlic & freshly chopped herbs from my pot, roasted potatoes, garlicked sweet potatoes and good old cabbage. Yummy, yummy.

It reminds me of home & the Sunday dinners that we would always have. Speaking of the Brits there has been some severe marketing over there this year for Xmas. I have been swamped with requests via e-mail & telephone as to what the kids would like for Xmas. My sister in law stressed that there were only 5 weeks left before Xmas!!! To me that is more than plenty as I have to buy, wrap & post for both Sir L & my family. Mailing normally only takes 5 days too. We have been threatened that if we do not respond by the end of today we will all get coal! I did comment that I would prefer oil as it is a silly price at present...

So the mad frenzy has begun....shop, spend, wrap= lots of stress. Why do we do it?

Enough moaning. What a beautiful weekend we have had again even though it is just above freezing, the sun is out (always makes for a happy Daffodilly!)

Spinning away on Saturday morning my mountains had snow on the top...that did not stop super spinner Daffodilly this weekend! Even Lance Armstrong would have struggled to keep my pace. There was a guy in the class who continually sets world records for spinning/cycling for numerous days at a time & when he pedals quickly he looks like road runner off the cartoon. His legs go so fast you cannot see them. I was very tempted to push him off his bike... show off!

My mind sems to be jumping all over the place today.. is it hormones or the strangely shaped moon that we have at present? Maybe even both!

Careers

What is it that makes us all want to have a fulfilling career? I blame it on going to an all girls grammar school from the ages of 11-16 years old. We were educated in our little Madeline uniforms... blazers,berets & brief cases! For goodness sakes the briefcases were bigger than us! We were the new women of the 21st Century.......supposedly going to be CEO's, directors, doctors, lawyers etc.

We were told that if you were not good at french you had to learn typing as it meant that you were on the path for a secretary's job. I felt so superior as I was OK at french... how little did they know that typing was an essential once the computer age hit! So much for speaking "oh la la!" So all the supposed to be secretaries are all managers & the french speakers.....well probably working at M & S.

I have had a variety of jobs ranging from hotel manager, sales support, buyer, health club manager until I moved to NH. Little did I know that on arriving in USA I was pregnant with number 1. I thought that I was stressed & the water did not agree with me! More like the result of too many emigrating parties & having to empty the drinks cabinet as we could not bring it with us!

Where I live is beautiful & very rural. Lots of sun & lakes in the summer & snow in the winter however the job market is abysmal. I have been a waitress, account manager, tele - marketer .. (I know it sucks), cleaner (well it pays well!), personal assistant & now I am trying a new career as an assistant teacher.

As I lay on the floor surrounded by 3 year olds pretending to be a kernel of popcorn about to pop I could see my dad sitting on my shoulder saying " what the hell are you doing after I paid good money for your education?"

So let's see if this is the new career for me or if I should go back to cleaning. Can you believe that you can get $25/hour for cleaning here & only $9/hour for being a teacher? As they say is Yorkshire " there's money in muck!"

Lavender Oil

Well last night was not too bad however I was still up with my little barking seal 3 times. I did try a new treatment last night out of sheer desperation as I could not face going back into the shower!

I read an article that if you massage the child's feet with lavender oil it helps them relax, therefore they do not cough as much which then should lead to a peaceful nights sleep.

I used some baby oil with lavender in & massaged his little feet & yo & behold the coughing stopped! Apparently the smell & the massage is the trick so no more steroid treatments for my little munchkin anymore!

The Croup!

Any mothers out there will know the horror of croup.

Why I hate the croup?

• Listening to your child bark like a seal... totally unnatural & places doubt as to where your or more likely his genes came from!
• Holding their exhausted limp sweaty body to comfort them as you feel so helpless.
• Spending hours in the bathroom.... you know how a slug feels continually damp & moist due to living in the shower.
• You are in the shower for so long you discover how filthy your bathroom really is, why do you never wipe the paintwork, all the cups they play with are dirty.. how can that be they are in the bath?

The most worst part is that as soon as it has stopped you put them back to bed, climb into your own bed & just as you have dried off & are about to nod off .....then the barking starts again! Then it is back to the beginning again. Shower, steam sleep. After multiple hours of the same routine it is morning.

Your child gets up , you drag yourself through the motions of waking the household & getting on with the day. The barking seal of the night before is a normal child in the daytime..rosy cheeked, eats & drinks well maybe only a little tired.

Was it all a dream????

Oh no the proof is looking at the parent. You have red veiny eyes, limp hair from the continuous steam sessions, your pimples have been popping beautifully... but you forget to clean your face due to other priorities so now you are looking like a hormonal teenager called Spot.

Exhaustion is just not a strong enough word for how you feel.

It is going to take more than a glass of wine & English chocolate to get me through today!

Let's hope that tonight is not a repeat as my whole face may explode with zits!

Foreign Foods

I took number 2 child shopping for winter boots today. As a treat we went to a Thai restaurant and ordered a Poo Poo platter. It came with the usual crab rangoon's, spring rolls & other fried stuff......one of which was fried tofu.

Personally I detest tofu as the texture makes my knees tremble! Number 2 had never had eaten it before so not wanting to ruin his appetite I let him be the guinea pig & sample the big T. He had a bite and said "Emmm." I asked him what it tasted like... his response " like fried chicken fat!"

That just about sums it up for me too!

The last of the leaves...after Noel!

So here is what remains of the leaves on the tress after hurricane Noel.....not very much especially if you were hoping to have a family portrait with the fall colors! C'est la vie!

Last night I took a spinning class. I have to take a photo of the view as it is all mountains. As I am pedalling along in class I am Lance Armstrong at the top of the mountain even the one with snow on....Mount Washington! Here is today's happy moment ..I really am lucky to be able to live here as how boring would it be to look at roofs, chimneys & pollution pouring out of factories... all grey & gloomy whilst sweating & spinning away! I know I am a spoilt brat!

Well enough of Pollyanna! What shall we all do today as Sir L is still in Italy on business. I could bring in all the summer clutter... chairs, tables, swing seat, football net, numerous bikes, scooters, balls etc that my kids cannot seem to live without yet are unable to part with! Or even rake the 500 hundred, billion, trillion leaves that are all over the grass.....out of stubbornness ( who knew that there were 2 n's in this word?) I cannot do it! Raking leaves after all I wanted was a family photo with them on the trees. It feel s like the trees have had the last word!!!

Anyway I still have 4 bags of leaves in the garden left over from last year that are probably ready for my compost heap! I have to expand a little here.....we live on 5 acres so even though we do have a little bit of what we call "the woods" we have a lot of grass to cut (2 hour job) or hours worth of leaf raking to do! Any volunteers?

Other alternatives I may take (drag) the kids hiking as there is a frost in the air and these days are numbered with the winter about to pounce in. The last hike to the fire tower is still memorable for my 4 year old....every mountain we see he says "I see the tower on the climb that we did." Please bear in mind that we live in New England & are surrounded by the White Mountains! So I hear this statement on average 5 million times a day & do not forget that he is in school most days.

Or I could do all the mundane stuff...laundry, cleaning, wash the car blah blah blah!

I guess it is decision time.......let me have one more coffee to think on it!

Jack Frost is out!

Today I woke up to a crisp frost covering the ground. My heart sank & my shoulders scrunched as I could feel the iciness chilling my bones. I went to advise my kids... "dress warmly!"

As I told each one of them they jumped out of bed all excited......to my utter shock!

They then had breakfast, got dressed & ran outside to play in the frost! My crazy genes have come into play at last!

It made me think about how we all respond differently to life. Here I was all miserable & feeling chilly as all I could think of was after the ice we get the dumps of snow! The children were all excited as they wanted snow!

I have to admit that I am now going to change my outlook on life & try to look for something positive each day. Knowing that Sir L. is in Italy this week on business is a little sickening however on the bright side the weather over there is the same as here at the moment!

I am not sure that I could handle him coming home with a tan!

The weather is against me yet again!

So here I am about to celebrate Guy Fawkes night tomorrow.. OK I know it is a day late!

For those non Brits this is an English celebration where we have bonfires, fireworks, treacle toffee, toffee apples & all huddle together to keep warm. It is all in honour of a man who tried to blow up the houses of Parliament many many years ago!

Strange really, but as my gran always said " there's nowt as strange as folk!"

Back to my original statement. We have planned a big fire, food, fireworks etc. & today the weather is glorious! Tomorrow we are expecting the winds & rains from hurricane Noel!

There is definetly an issue with the weather & our Saturday plans.....is this a coincidence or is life just against us????

Who cares anyway right????

The morning after!

Continuing on from the last post.....I was still awake at 3am on Saturday morning.....guilt is a hard emotion to sleep on!

I was awoken by my forgiving 4 year old. As I opened my eyes, there he was with a sticker in hand saying "this one is for you mummy." I guess that was my award!

I promise to be the best mother ever from here onwards.......just as well it is not his birthday coming up as I would be tempted to take him & his pals to Disneyland for a week!

I have just won the "worst mother of the year award!"

I have had a terrible week which has just ended on me shamingly earning the above award.

First of all let me make my excuses otherwise you will all think that I am being a drama queen!

This week has entailed being stabbed viciously in the back by a best friend which set me back, working all week, car issues, PC issues, kids off half a day for conferences, husband travelling away, one of the kids was & still is sick to name just a few issues.

We are having a family portrait taken tomorrow and as the photographer had not contacted me I called in to his office. I wanted a photo of the lake & trees (with leaves on) he asked me to find a tree or spot to take the photo! Bearing in mind it is 1pm & I am on my way to an appointment, then school & daycare pick up, ending with traipsing off to the mall to buy my daughter (who is at the age of being very opinionated on even a pair of socks) a sweater to wear for the clan photo! I have not one minute to look for a leafy tree...is that not his job???So I was in mission mode!

I pick up the kids at school & then head to the daycare. When I arrived there were cars everywhere that lead into the road. My first thought was "a gunman had been on the rampage".. being dramatic & all! So I ran into daycare to find all the little sweethearts dressed up in Halloween costumes!! Of course my little one was dressed in the day cares "dress up" fire fighter outfit.. as wonderful mother had totally forgotten all about it! He came right over & told me so in front of all the other doting parents! Bless him.

Next problem, how am I going to tear him away from the party... all the tables were set with plates, party favours etc! I had a sick son waiting outside in the car so we could not all come in!

So I did what every desperate mother does.. I told him we had to leave & that there was a surprise in the car for him! He willingly came with me, jumped into his car seat & gobbled down a Popsicle. Then he said "thank you so much mummy!" I could have cried!

Feeling less guilty we arrived at the mall. After a couple of stores one of the store keepers tells me that at 5pm all hell will break loose. I asked "why?" It was only trick or treat night! Bang on 4.55pm hundreds of kids were running around in costumes! Needless to say we had to get out of there pretty quickly too. Talk about adding insult to injury!

We get home & I cannot sleep hence posting a blog at 1.38am! Why can I not sleep?

My husband arrived home an hour ago, the kids are all asleep......guess what?

"It is raining!"

So after all of this, the family portrait will probably be cancelled!

AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!

Family fun.

We are having the most glorious weather at the mo. Today it is a hot 84 degrees which is extremely rare as normally it is in the 50's by now. I do love the global warming today!

Yesterday I was determined to have a family day & to do something healthy, including lots of fresh air that did not include PCs, TVs & all the "stuff "that kids these days seem to crave. Hiking filled all these categories so off we went.

The sun was pelting down & the trail was a lot steeper than I anticipated too but the Daffodilly clan were not to be defeated! After a few meltdowns from the 4 year old that were appeased with a shoulder ride...thanks to Mr. L & the odd candy we made it to the summit.

These photo's are the view from the top of the fire tower which were gob smackingly gorgeous!

We all marched up to the top of the fire tower which is one health hazard. Despite the fact that it is about 200 feet high it is rusty with rotten wooden stairs & no fencing to stop you being blown off! Believe me it was blowy!!

It did pass through my mind....here I am a sensiblish mother of 3 & a preschool assistant teacher who insists that they wear bike helmets & seat belts etc. risking their life's for a photo shoot!

Ahh the price of fame!

Despite this we all survived to tell the tale & to sign the photo's for our fans.

It was a 3 hour hike all in all.......

Rewards.... gorgeous view, English chocolate at the top & 3 exhausted kids who went to bed early!

What more can a parent ask for? (besides a nanny!)

The Meaning of Change.

Today I sat on my spinning bike at the gym forcing my weary limbs to push the darn pedals around & around so that I looked just like everybody else!

Meanwhile my mind was a wandering!

I watched a small maple tree whose leaves were a fiery red and bright yellow swaying as the wind consistently blew at its limbs causing the odd leaf to flutter down. At that instant I knew we had something in common.

"What you may ask?"

Let's pretend that we are a tree spending countless time & energy growing green leaves & then changing them to red & yellow a few months later... to have it all destroyed by the weather within a few weeks! Its a hard life!

"Have you ever cleaned a room in the house until it looks "just right?" Only moments later had a herd of kids plus the odd animal trek through & cause instant devastation?"

OR

"Typed up a huge speech which took hours" to have it re-written five more times?

OR

"Sat on a spinning bike at the gym wishing you has stayed in bed & had one of Mr. L's frothy cafe lattes?"

Yes, yes, yes!

Why do we change everything all of the time?

We choose to do these things to improve our bodies, have a clean habitat, or just to indulge.

The meaning of change is " to radically alter something" as the radio advised me on my way home from the gym.

"So why do we fell the need to continually change things & lifestyles?"

I do not know!

It is getting chilly!

It is that time of year when the lake water is warmer than the air & we get an eerie looking mist covering the lake which means that Halloween is a coming. To think that only a month ago I was wallowing in these waters to try to keep cool!

Oh summer where have you gone?

Pumpkin Time & Breast Cancer Walk!

There is something about lots of pumpkins hanging out together that gives me a cosy feeling with a slight daunting feeling all at the same time. They are gob smackingly beautiful however you know that once they have gone, it is time for the bitter weather of New England, which is when one wonders "why the heck do I live here?"

Today cannot go by without me mentioning the "Breast Cancer Walk." I lost a close relative to the disease 4 years ago, which left two young children without a mother which just breaks my heart. I also have lots of friends who have been touched by the disease therefore over the past 8 years I have raised money by joining the breast cancer walk in October. It is so heart warming & always moves me to tears when I see all the walkers. The survivors who get to wear special sashes are so respected by everyone. A police lady who was controlling the traffic said to my friend "congratulations on being a survivor" which says it all. The solidarity hits hard. Let's hope in the very near future they can kill this disease with a less harsh treatment & totally eradicate it!

The things we say!

I am now working a couple of days a week at a pre-school as an assistant teacher in the "3's" room. As any of you who have kids know this week is fire prevention week! Well we had a local fireman come into the classroom. He was dressed in his fire suit, boots, hat and even his breathing apparatus and he asked the children "what do you think I am dressed for?" "Ready to paint" came the reply. As they say "out of the mouths of babes."

New England in the Fall

At this time of year I have to say that the sights around here are more than breath taking. I even drive around with a camera in my car hoping to catch a good photo to reveal the splendor of the magical colours. Yes all of this is on my front doorstep.. I know I am spoiled however it does come with its set backs too e.g. no curry houses within an hours drive, no trendy stores, no good theatre to name just a few. However today it feels like it is all worth it!

Burnt Fish Smell

The other day I came home with the kids & as I was on the driveway I could smell burning! I drove into the garage where the smell got stronger so I dashed into the house where the smell was intolerable. I shouted for my MIL and asked "what is burning." She nonchalantly said "the fish pie spilt onto the cooker & it burnt". The smell was so strong I opened all the windows & doors & then opened the cooker. It had thick lumps of burnt, black, crusty crap on it. There was the fish pie triumphantly sat there as if to say "look what I did." As my MIL likes to cook, let it cool & then re-heat for dinner ( trying to give us all food poisoning!) the cooker was obviously going to be on again in an hour or so. At this time it is 4.30pm I need to leave the house at 5pm to get my son to soccer & then we are having relatives for dinner at 7pm so the pressure was on.

I made a statement that we would have to clean the cooker since it would need to go on again in an hour or so which went down like a lead balloon! Thankfully a friend called me so I had a moan on the phone whilst MIL tried to repair the damage to my cooker. At 5pm I had to leave with the kids & go to soccer. The stench in my house was still terrible!

On returning home to a very pungent home my MIL put the cooker on to re-heat & poison the family! The next minute the smoke alarms kick in as there is black smoke billowing out of my cooker. Oh yes did I forget to mention that it is a NEW cooker that I have never even cleaned yet?

Then our guests arrive....the smell is so bad we have to have fans blowing the air around inside the house. The word "ticked off & highly stressed" will not even come near to my emotional state.

Let's recap here, smelly house, smoke everywhere, alarms going, guests arriving & fans running! I hasten to add that chocolate & wine are not even going to settle this one!

The fish pie was OK & after some wine I did soften a little. All I can say is 3 more days before she leaves & the fish pie can go with her!

How cool is this?

1. Look what I found at the garage today whilst waiting for the car to have a $600 essential pair of new boots fitted.....well hello this is New England!

2. No it is not just an ordinary painting it goes around a VW van.

3. I have to apologise for this third photo as I was balancing my 4 year old on my hip as he had no shoes on ( I cannot afford to buy shoes for him & the car!) I was also squashed between two cars as you can see by the bonnet of the one on the right.. I could hardly ask the dealer to move the cars around for a photo shoot at 4.59pm!

4. Finally a great motto for a great van the NH "Live Free or Die!

Be grateful

Well I was feeling a little down hearted and lethargic yesterday but I have pulled up my pants & I am starting a fresh with a new outlook on life! Let me explain why.

Terrible news today some friends of ours who moved here from Mexico lost their house & all of its belongings. The husband was cleaning his prized car with gas & the light he was using fell & ignited the gas. It even set him on fire. He did manage to escape as did his wife & luckily their 3 children were all at school. He did have minor burns however they lost all of their possessions.

Within 12 hours they had been re-housed and people were bringing them furniture, clothes, personal items, linens etc, a fund was set up for them at the local bank & 2 fund raisers have been organised for this weekend. The family are being very brave and are absolutely stunned by the generosity of the locals here in NH. You are the best New Hampshireites!

It really is warming to know that in an emergency the people of NH dig deep into their hearts to assist those in need.

So the reason for my strong title today is "be grateful" as there is always someone in the world who is worse off than you!

16 Days!!!

So this is the countdown of my mother in law who arrived on Thursday for 16 days. Why 16 days you ask? I ask myself the same question on the hour every hour! It is rather difficult to do stuff & type idea's whilst someone is looking over your shoulder..

Please do not get me wrong I love having company however my fellow Brits who come to visit seem to come for long extended visits & they tend not to drive so they need ferrying around. On the other side (as I am trying to be very nice) they do bring in the booty... lots of yummy English Cadburys chocolate & gummy sweets that Sir Lancelot is rather fond of!

I should really be doing something productive like cleaning, laundry or applying for jobs but the mood is just not there today. I just want to mooch before the clan return and we have to feed, do homework and rush out to soccer yet again. Oh well "C'est la vie!"

I love chocolate but only the good stuff!

Last night my mother in law arrived bringing with her 12lbs of the yummiest English Cadbury's chocolate.... the only way that I will let her through the doorway! Please note the stressed English Cadbury's chocolate as it is soooo different, creamier & addicting as the American version use molasses which is too sickly for my palette. We have some very dear friends of ours American born & bred who denied that this chocolate was any better than Hershey's (toxic waste!) . Please note that after many years of socialising with us they have come to their senses & have now joined the English chocolate addicts club (ECAC).

I do admit that even our children crave the stuff. In fact at pre-school my youngest drew a picture of me surrounded by chocolate....

And life goes on

Well the next part of my job saga is here....I know you were all waiting with bated breath.....(I still have no comments as of today's date!) My darling hubby who we shall call Sir Lancelot for the time being came to my defense regarding the job shun. He e-mailed an extremely blunt yet also cutting letter to the HR and the Sales Director who jumped around probably like the nits on my nieces head a few weeks ago! Sir L works at this company & has done for 15 years and he is known for not loosing his temper....not anymore! Attack his maiden and he is off on his charger.

The nit dancers were apologetic blah blah blah & tried to blame it on each other. So watch this blog for further news.

Enough corporate crap now on to nicer things like children. As I have mentioned before I do daycare & watch ages newborn up to 11 years old. We tend to get many toddlers which are a handful but so cute. They pronounce my name "Awwy". Today feeling rather brave I decided we would paint caterpillars as this weeks letter is C. As I was pulling all the gear out of the cupboard the room filled almost instantly, suddenly I had 9 toddlers!!! Anybody else would have put the paints away & played games.....not Awwy! I had to let them do free painting as I could not get 9 caterpillars drawn in the 2 seconds that they gave me. The result lots of dark looking painted clouds......no chance of a Michelangelo in this lot!

Kittens wanting to be cats!

Well here he is our "Mittens" how cute is he?

He is being a little tinker at the moment as he so desperately wants to go outside and enjoy the fresh air, chase squirrels & climb trees ....however it cannot be. He is still only 4 months old & as we live in the boonies with a pack of coyotes who roam the back yard it cannot be until he is at least one year old. Every time that the front door bell goes his ears prick up as he senses the second that the door opens he has a 2 second interval to dash for the outside world. Five times today he has made it & even the Friskies do not tempt him back in! It would be quite amusing to video the family trying to corner him in an open back meadow as he manages to slink by us all some how or other.

I loathe corporate companies

Well listen to this. I am not a happy lady at all. Last week a company that I worked for 4.5 years ago called ME & asked ME to do a maternity coverage & could I go for an interview now. At the time I had just picked up my 3 kids who were happily munching down on chocolate... so thankful was I that they were quiet whilst I was on my cell phone. They said to bring the kids with me.....the first sign that they were foolish people. Then I got a return call 2 minutes later ( they had obviously heard about my darling kids reputation's especially after a good dose of chocolate!) how about meeting the director of sales for a glass of wine later on. Now that certainly appealed to me! (the wine part.) So I rushed to the farm where we do a co-op share to pick up my yummy organic veggies & to let the kids pretend to be Laura Ingalls & pick flowers to their hearts content. May I add that is an hour trip in total. Went home made dinner, threw lipstick on & rushed off to the interview....Miss Queen Multi tasker all by 7pm!

The interview went well, they offered me the job with flexible hours.. no problem at all. I just needed confirmation from HR. This did not happen for a few days in fact 8 days in total. So being efficient & slightly ticked off I chased them up. Anyway to cut a long story short I received a call today advising me that they could not offer me the job as they wanted someone who could work full time plus stay until 6 maybe 7pm at night without any notice i.e.a slave!

I am so angry I want to write nasty e-mails to everyone. However being mature & 2 glasses of wine later I have decided to wait until I have cooled off a little. Instead I feel very rejected, used and useless. Woe is me! But it is there loss right??

People that bug me

I have come to the conclusion that there are some things in life that are cruel and that some people enjoy using them & being darn right Orrible!

1. Why do people say "I cannot believe that you have never heard of that?" This makes you feel like the president of the oddball club & puts them in the god I am so kin clever club! I vow I shall never do this to people ever, ever, ever.


Oh OH about to have a power cut will post NOW.

Home Alone at last

So all of our company have left ..let us hope that no little nits were left behind. I have bought a superdooper washer that is probably on the verge of a nervous breakdown as it has been on a hot wash cycle at least 4 times a day since Sunday.

OK careerwise....what do I do?
So I do work a few part time jobs. Today it is the PA job which was fun a couple of years ago however now it is boring and mundane. I also work as a daytime provider at a local gym which I do enjoy yet now I need another little something to boost my brain into action. I was hoping that writing a blog would help but as I am still trying to find out how to get people to respond &how to add a photo... it may take a while.

My boss has given me the Quickbooks manual to read.......not a good idea as I do not do well with manuals. In fact I still have not read how to use your cellphone or how to use my digital camera manual....this was my New Years resolution. One can only hope that if I sleep on the book tonight maybe a little will seep into my brain cells via osmosis.

The world is against me

So my saga continues... my SIS & niece got delayed by 9 hours in Newark which made their arrival time at our house 3am. My husband had to go & pick them up at 1am so he was totally wrecked & crabby yesterday. The washer is dead & I am in mourning. Seven people in my house creating tons of dirty laundry via swimming in the lake, painting, food spillages etc etc. & no means of resolving the issue. So today all 6 of us are going on a trip to purchase a new washer... just what my english relatives want.. to go sightseeing at Home Depot & Lowe's.

Then I was informed that my niece is just getting over a long period of nits! Now I am not religious but please have mercy.....do not let my kids or my hubby & I get them. I do not even have a washer to kill the little tikes with. Off to buy tree tea oil shampoo & if that fails a shaver to shave everyones heads with.

One Deep Breath & Here We Go

Well I have hummed & ahhed for many a month about doing this. I know it is not a big step for you experienced blogger's posting your thoughts & lifestyles on the web...however for an immigrant from England it is a huge step flashing myself on the worldwide web. Gulp.

Interesting day today. Just shipped my mum & 11 year old nephew back to England & now waiting for my next arrival sister in law (SIS) & 12 year old niece to arrive from the homeland. During the 12 hour changeover period my washer has gone on the blink... leaving me with loads of grubby bedding etc. However the good news is that the SIS flight has been delayed giving me time to bash the sheets on the rocks by the lake just like the original pioneers. A bit worried that she may not make it here in time to babysit my 3 kids tomorrow whilst I work which opens up another issue.

Our faithful dog Hamlet, but more commonly known as Hammy died last Fall so I have been on the look out for a new dog. I went to our local Humane Society & wanted to bring them all home. In fact there was such a choice that I could not make a decision & my 11 year old persuaded me to get a kitten. I do like kittens however I did want a dog. Now I do have a chipmunk issue, (they are always eating my seedlings) so the thought of a kitten that would grow into a ferocious chipmunk chaser was very tempting. In fact too tempting as I brought one little fluffy tabby kitten home. It was going to be called Emma...( I have always wanted a 4th child .. my husband cut me off at 3...meanie) On checking underneath his tushkie....he was a boy. It was to late to exchange him so with great disappointment I let the kids have free rein on his name & we ended up with Mittens. Sacre Bleu.