A new routine

Yas and I don't always spend enough time together, what with the two younger children always demanding my attention, and Yas having the social diary of...well, of a socialite. So we've decided to have a hot chocolate together in the evenings while we go over Yasmine's literacy or numeracy exercises. We're both very pleased with this new arrangement, and happily discovering all the Options flavours.

Pretty feet

Everyone must admire these shoes, which I bought on Saturday. Aren't they great? Shiny AND pretty. And a bargain.

After I took the photo this afternoon, Tabitha tried the shoes on with great excitement (she IS my daughter) but was unable to stand up. Pity, as the resulting photo would have been far more exciting than this one.

Diverted via Hogwarts

I came home today, and delighted the children by taking this photo at the station before I left. That's my bag in the trolley basket. Other tourists (like what I am) were having photos taken of themselves pretending to push the trolley, but I thought that asking a stranger to take my photo would be a step too far in the direction of Making the Children Happy. They were awestruck anyway.

Country bumpkin...

...I am one. Visited my best friend Jenny today somewhere near London (it's all London to me, although not to the train companies!), which involved much train travel/changing of trains. I can cope with Tube trains but not those weird overground services. Who knew that you can't buy tickets on the trains in the London area? Round here, it's routine for short journeys to buy a ticket from the ticket inspector, and there's certainly no threat of penalties for doing so. I had to hop off the train in a panic when I realised I was ticketless and in danger of inadvertent criminal action.

Anyway, I got there, we shopped, and then we had yummy food. Jenny kindly agreed to model the "Free From" jam tarts that we pigged on during the day. "Yeah, that's me," she said when I showed her the photo for approval. "Might not like it but that IS what I look like". I took that as a seal of approval, so here it is.

Tractor

This is Zac on a tractor at soft play - it has pedals, but because he still (at 5!) can't do things with pedals, I had to push him around on it. Much to his glee.

We are all slightly recovered. Poor Yasmine is suffering worst - little darling. Hopefully the two medicines she is now taking will work soon.

I did nothing today - too ill - and definitely didn't take any photos.

To fill the gap, here's one of Zac and Tabitha from our Sunday walk.

School

This is one of the buildings that comprise my grammar school, which I attended between the ages of 14 and 18. We don't often walk past it, but we did on Sunday, which is when I took this photo. I always get assaulted by memories when we do.

The ground-floor window to the right of the front door is the window of the headteacher's office, and it's where I had to confess to my (strict) headmaster, when I was in the Lower 6th, that I was pregnant with Yasmine. Shudder. Shudder again.

Do not disturb

I was seriously short of ideas for today's photo (this week is not a good one - I've been stricken by tonsillitis, and poor Yasmine has been tummy-achey and off school) so I decided to burst into my husband's office and take a photo of him. He wasn't amused, although I took the photo in the split second before he displayed a lack of amusement.

I like his office - it has air con.

One day...

...I will read some of the Law Society Gazettes that regularly get thrown by me onto this inspiring pile.

Or maybe I'll just bin them en masse, like I did with last year's.

Kings and pirates

Today Tab and Zac were mostly "kings and pirates" with their pyjamas on underneath.

They were unfeasibly pleased with themselves.

Homeward bound

Took my photo nice and early this morning so as not to forget. I dropped the car off for a service on my way home from Sheffield first thing, and walked home - this is the view of my street as I turned towards my house, which is somewhere to the right out of shot.

A complimentary limoncello?

How could we say no? Smelt like cleaning fluid, tasted like concentrated Hooch, but felt brilliant due to its free-ness. Note, though, that the bill included a "service charge" roughly equivalent to three Limoncello shots!

The meal itself was delicious, though, not to mention the wine - and the company lovely - schoolfriends Vanessa and Amelia, who are truly fab. I ended up with a monster sore throat though which became a proper cold - I may choose to blame the limoncello.

"S'broken"

I never want to waste 50ps in these rides, so I always, ALWAYS tell the children they're either broken or that I don't have the right coins.

This is one of my (embarrassingly regular) cheat photos. I took it on Friday as I completely forgot on Thursday - remembered at bedtime, but it was already past midnight. Hopeless.

The car in front...

is a Mini. I was slightly interested in the fact that it had two boot doors, and was a kind of mini-van. Not very interested, but enough to take a photo, so I had a pic for the day. Phew.

Can't catch me

I was a Kind Mummy and bought gingerbread men on the school run, as a surprise for Yas and Zac when I collected them. I hardly ever do this and they were delighted. As usual, Tabitha demanded hers immediately, finished it swiftly and got irate when she realised that Yas and Zac were only halfway through theirs.

Milk and biscuits

Bedtime routine - milk and a biscuit before teeth cleaning and stories. Tabitha has only just started participating and thinks she's a Big Girl now - until last week, she had a bedtime breastfeed.

I don't know where the Jedi-esque dressing gown hoods came from, but the three of them were very happy to pose. It's also a historic record - at some point this week, various walls are coming down and the room behind the kitchen is being extended, so the washing machine and tumble drier won't be there for long.

Lazy Sunday

We didn't do an awful lot with the day - drove home from my inlaws' house first thing, I went to the gym, my husband took the children swimming and we went to the park.

On the way home, Tabitha got tired of walking....

Miss twitchett

I wanted to take a photo of the children enjoying drinks al fresco in the sun (we went to Beverley and the weather was spectacular!) or of my inlaws setting up a cricket game in their garden with much hilarity, but unfortunately I didn't have my camera or phone batteries charged. It's yet another cheat today, then - a picture of Tabby from last Sunday.

Self portrait again

My sister and me, all ready to hit the town.

Well, we hit it together, but then didn't see each other again until the next morning. My friends and I are far too uncool for her youthful gang...Six years is a whole generation gap. The night I had, with my friend Leah was fab though - lots of purple cocktails, and dancing to the cheesiest music a seaside town can offer.

(I'm on the left of the pic).

Cheat

It's happening more and more often - must try harder!

Today wasn't inspiring. Here's a pic of our friends' very pampered beagle puppy, instead, which I took last Saturday.

Sunny spell

For the first time since the children went back to school last week, we've had a non-rainy school run. Tab and I celebrated by walking instead of driving (well, she went in the buggy). It was even a bit sunny!

Replenished

Tuesday is when the organic fruit box arrives, so we have apples everywhere again. Hooray!

Yasmine has been off school all day with a tummy ache, and everyone else is a bit out of kilter too. I had a big falling-out with Zac, during which I removed one of his privileges, and when he asked for it back later and I said no he gasped incredulously "But I gave you a hug!". Hugs are currency, apparently.

Working week

Monday. Back to work. Pah.

This is the view from my office window. I'm a much sought-after colleague, as people can peek from my window to see if they've had their cars blocked into their parking spaces.

Little friends

Tabitha had a date today with her little friend J, who is just a few weeks older than her and the first non-family child she ever met. They enjoyed a leisurely hour at soft play (lingering over a bottle of water) and things were going so well that they carried on to a picnic rug in the garden, where they shared a delightful meal of roast chicken, potatoes and vegetables followed by yoghurt and fruit and accompanied by much sparkling conversation and demonstrations of tricycling ability - or lack thereof, in Tab's case.

Shopping

I escaped for a child-free shopping day and met two schoolfriends for a spending spree in Meadowhall. I bought: one leather blazer-style jacket (smells a bit too much of cow, but rather lovely anyway), one purple swingy jacket/cardigan hybrid (purple is so now, my Gok-and-Trinny-blend friend assures me), and one black lace sleeveless top with crystal buttons (chanelling goth is so right-on, and it skims not clings, same friend persuaded me). We notably could not find any large patent bags, except on the arm of a fellow shopper, and we didn't dare ask her where it came from as she was Stylish in the extreme.

Coral nails

Aren't they great? I was all dressed up and ready to go out when my friend appeared with some nail varnishes that I'd ordered and forgotten about. I did my finger and toenails and felt very summery! Pity the rain wouldn't stop pelting down long enough to let me get from car to restaurant without developing dripping rats' tails for hair. And I didn't have an umbrella. The tapas was nice though.

Something to read

I found a book on my shelves that I hadn't read yet, so I'm happy. This is it! So far, it's pretty good, although not gripping.

Back to school

My eldest two munchkins, all dressed up in smart new uniform and ready for their first day back. Zac's going into Year 1, and Yas into Year 5. They were both very nervous and excited.

Nothing to read

My bedside table (guess who forgot to take a photo until nearly midnight!). It's groaning under the weight of all the books on it, and there are more on the shelves underneath it. Unfortunately I've read them all, and until I get myself organised to buy some more and relegate these to shelves/charity shop/friends, I keep going to bed and being annoyed with myself for having nothing to read. I'm thinking that if I leave it long enough, my husband will get sick of me sighing and moaning about it, and appear with a stack of reading matter for me. Or a book token.

Friends

Although I'm back at work, the children don't go back to school until Wednesday and are wringing every last drop of fun out of what's left of the holidays. We had an impromptu gathering of their friends at our house this afternoon - they were keen to pose, and only one of the children in this photo is mine...

Sunday 31st August 08 - the end of the holidays

A grey day full of name-tagging uniforms, packing PE bags, and dreading going back to work after a blissful week on holiday.

I didn't have any batteries for my camera, and my phone battery also went too low to take photos, so today was another 365 failure. Must try harder! However, I've accessorised this entry with a photo snapped today (Monday) from the stairs up to my office. I work on the first floor, and this sign is what I see every morning, so it's appropriate to illustrate a "back to work" pondering.

Saturday 30th August 08 - home again

Hmmm - got to the end of a long, tiring day of travelling and unpacking, and realised I hadn't taken a photo. So I grabbed this one on my way to bed - a picture of my sleeping husband.