If at first you don't succeed.....

Stupid week!
Washing machine broke down again so bought a new one. Men who came to plumb it in and take away the broken one must have thought I was a right nutter...eleven cats running around their feet, me blabbering on about launderette prices and a five year old asking them to get on with it as he needed to get to the toaster! Good job I'm not proud.
Had to jump start the car twice this week and take it on a long run to charge the battery seeing as I don't drive it enough!! I've been walking to school for two weeks which I thought was virtuous on all sorts of levels..swings and roundabouts I guess. Made up for lack of co2 emissions with aplomb on Friday as I decided to go to a supermarket I don't usually use as it's over in the next town but fancied a change (as good as a rest they say) did the shop and as I was at the till had a mini panic that I'd forgotten my purse, all was ok though the baby was teething with it. Phew that was close I said to the cashier 'What a nightmare! I'd have had to drive all the way home!' Of course I opened the purse to discover I'd left my card at home, so it WAS a nightmare and I DID have to drive all the way home, and then back to the store and then home again. I think I handled it with dignity though, that sort of thing can usually send me into a free fall meltdown.
Talking of meltdowns did get fairly close to one halfway through the week, lost two of the kittens (we have seven at the moment plus my four cats) for a couple of hours phoned the vets and everything as the boys had left the door open. Found them snug as bugs in the back of the kitchen cupboard. Then the following day managed to catch my thumb in the slide door, lots of blood, bit of a panic but still firmly attatched.
Good news story of the week is that I finally found the owner of the cat I found last week. Seems my poster campaign paid off, despite several of them being torn down, and I recieved a phonecall from the owner. Apparently the cat goes off for two weeks at a time so she hadn't been that concerned at first, it always comes back healthy and well fed so she suspects it has another 'holiday' home somewhere local. So there may be another person out there wondering where she's got to! However all is well that ends well and I'm glad I kept at it!
Suffice to say I'm bloody exhausted. Three of the boys have gone to stay with their Dad and one is out so very quiet this evening with me and the baby. Couple of glasses of wine and I forsee an early night. Haven't really seen the news this week but I understand there are some dangerous cucumbers out there..stay safe people!

Cat watch, who spilt the milk of human kindness?

 However, it's 'The Cat' that seems to have taken the spotlight this week.
My neighbours found a very poorly cat in their back garden and thought it was one of mine. Having established that it wasn't one of my darlings I managed to move this clearly distressed cat into a cat basket and we managed to find an all night vet to take a look at it. I honestly didn't think the cat would make it at all. As it turned out the vet said it had been poisoned, apparently cat's like the taste of anti freeze, and they had to just treat the symptoms as it was unlikely they could find the cause. They didn't think she would last the night but she did and throughout the next day continued to make progress. So being the 'kind lady' I can sometimes be, I began to try and find the owner! The cat had no collar and was not chipped but was obviously well cared for. I phoned the local vets, facebooked it, put up posters all over the area and knocked on doors for hours! No luck at all. Still haven't heard anything. Sound silly I know but I'm beginning to be irritated by it. Where is this person and why haven't they realised their cat is missing yet?? What makes it worse is that some of my posters have been ripped up? Who would do that??  Kids maybe? I blame the parents. Well I am going to carry on my crusade to find this cats owner as it's doing well at the moment but the vet can only keep it for 7days and then off to a rescue centre.Decided I would try and do this blog once a week instead of daily, but now the week has gone and I can't remember half of it already! I know that on Tuesday I thought it was Friday, therefore spending the rest of the week feeling hard done by every morning. My washing machine broke down and now is mended,a fairly large drama in it's own right.

As for the rest of the week I did have my first night out since Phoebe was born. Decided to nip up to my friends house for her 40th birthday celebrations. I had the firm intention of having one or two glasses of wine and a nice early night, really I did! Well four hours and several glasses of wine later, there had been much dancing, lots of laughing and a good time had by all! All except Phoebe who fell out of bed when I was out and now has a bruise by her eye! Woke up the next morning feeling remarkably good, but as the day carried on I came to the conclusion that I must have been still drunk in the morning to feel so well and was in bed by half eight!
Half term this week, just lovely not to have the school run looming at me twice a day. Onwards and upwards..

Emo Mum Alert!

Not the best day today... had three hours sleep last night, not sure why, just couldn't sleep. Managed one dream though, it was about combing through the little boys hair to check for lice and I'd made the mistake of putting shampoo on instead of conditioner. Crazy eh? I clearly need to get out more if my dreams are that banal! So, bit of a rubbish day, baby is teething and cried pretty much all day, turns out the only thing that stopped her was fake sneezing (makes her giggle) and malted milk biscuits. With the rest of the brood I took the inconsistent and shouty approach to parenting today even applying a touch of   'sinking to their level' Yep I can do immature responses such as repeating everything they say back to them.... Became responsible adult long enough to take a  trip out to buy food, and Wellies, (field trip tomorrow for my eldest requires them, where is he off to? He doesn't know!!! A river somewhere his reply!!)
It amazes me how I can be super mum one day and less than twenty four hours later be as much use as a deflated balloon with a hole in it. Kids are great though, they were asking me about this blogging business and I said that I was feeling a little down in the dumps so wasn't sure if I would blog at all today, Eldest response, 'Uh oh, Emo Mum Alert'.  Well that's me done, ought to empty washing machine of school uniforms...

A quiet day for me!

It's been a long week this week. So Friday night was spent with a glass of wine admiring my new laminate flooring. Have had a horrid old carpet for the last ten years (which I took up by myself with a six month old baby in one arm!). I was in bed by ten last night, oh how times have changed! Up with the larks this morning, had to take 'Kitten' to the vet, she was spayed on Monday and needed a check up. Took the baby and the two younger boys with me and no drama's there. She's all good, although the vet was amazed to hear that since she was spayed she seems to have taken to looking after her auntie's new litter. It must be her hormones, they'll be all over the place was her answer. I understood.
School fete at lunchtime, left the house at half eleven to get there for twelve. Still didn't manage to get there on time, had to pick my eldest up from a sleepover, so he could come home to sleep before he goes off to a gig this evening. Managed to clean up at the cake stall, hook a duck, buy an ice cream and come home with a tattooed five year old. The baby discovered grass today, she's nearly crawling, no mean feat on a school field! One of my friends came with her partner for a cuppa and I managed to put my size sevens in it. Chatting about the childrens options for University in the area and I failed to list the University (a new ish one) that they both work at!! Think I managed to pull it back in the end. Been a very quiet evening, dozed off when putting the baby down, the eldest is off reviewing a gig in Portsmouth, my thirteen year old is playing the infamous call of duty with his dad online. And the nine and the five year old are sorting through Doctor Who cards upstairs in bed! So much for a busy and manic life, just time to take a breath have a fag and a cuppa. I'm giving up smoking next week, more on that one later!

Begin at the beginning

Not sure where to start so I just will. Entering the world of blogging is brand new for me, I'm not completely at home on the internet, I like to stay safe and stick to facebook, weather reports, banking and amazon! I have five children and am a single mum. I don't fit the usual stereotype for that last statement and my life is busy, funny, stupid, interesting, cloudy, sunny and never dull. I've been nagged at by several friends to start sharing my 'mini soap operas' with the world and decided I have nothing to lose. I'm assuming that at the least it will be cathartic, I used to write frantically in my diary as a young girl, for years I never missed a day. I've had alot happen over the last couple of years and at thirty eight with four incredible boys and a gorgeous baby girl I have some experiences to share. So watch this space and if it raises a smile at least then I'm happy to have helped.