Paid for our Hols :-)

It has taken over two years of hard saving, and even then we got so very close to having to cancel when Mr Messy didn't have a new contract! But today we did it :-) We paid the balance on our Disney Holiday - balance owing £0.00 YEAH :-)

Look out Mickey we are coming to see you soon :-)

Poorly Mr Messy

Mr Messy went to the Doctor's while I was in Legoland - it must have been serious for him to go without my nagging him for days, although the Big Girls did say they nagged him instead lol. The Doctor wanted to send Mr Messy straight to hospital (diagnosing either pneumonia or bronchitis), but he refused to go, and was given antibiotics and instructions to return to the surgery if he didn't feel better after the weekend. The antibiotics helped a little, but Mr Messy was still struggling this morning and made an appointment to see our regular Doctor. The Doctor confirmed that it definitely was pneumonia and said Mr Messy should take at least 4 weeks off work. That's pretty difficult when you are self employed and the sole provider for a big family, and Mr Messy won't be able to take time off :-( We will all do our best to take as much of the work and stress off him as we can, but there isn't that much that we can do :-( I'm very worried about Mr Messy as he has been pushing himself so hard for a long time, he has a full time IT Consultancy job and his Photography Business to run and he has just got the latest assignment in his OU Degree Course! He is trying to do too much and burning himself out in the process :-(

Everything is Changing!!

I've just come back from visiting a very well recommended child-minder's near to OUR shop. I am getting desperate to get some time to myself, to catch up on housework and to do something I enjoy (crafts) that I've decided to see if Princess Lollipop will settle there and give me that much needed break. Princess Lollipop LOVED the setting, its like a nursery in a home, but with much fewer children, and played really happily while I chatted to the Owner. She is booked in for an hour long trial tomorrow afternoon, although when we left and I said she could go back tomorrow without Mummy she wasn't very keen on the idea!! We'll see how she goes tomorrow... If she settles then we'll try her for a full 4 hours and then I've got to decide how many mornings I want her to attend!! Five is tempting, but that's just the "end of Summer Holiday stress" talking, and I'll probably enroll her for just 2 or 3 mornings per week.

That's not the only change! Mr LMS has had his fingerprints taken over in the US, and sent off his Visa Application with the extra payment to expedite the decision. This means that once the file reaches a case worker's desk they will have a decision in 15 working days or less!! Mrs LMS is getting more and more stressed by this, and can't seem to let herself believe it will be a positive decision :-( I am sure it will be, as they deserve to be together after all this time apart, and they have followed the application procedure to the letter.

In preperation for Mr LMS's arrival Mrs LMS had been looking for a flat for them both to move into. Its been frustrating for her, as she doesn't really know when he will get here (it depends on the Visa Application) and she wasn't sure where to look. If she lives in a village near us, then it is a much nicer area, but they would need a car, an added expense they are trying to avoid. If they move into the town where her job is, they would get "more flat for their money" but the area isn't as nice. My best friend Mad Cat Lady, has two properties that she rents out and on the off chance one might be available Mrs LMS asked me to talk to her. One of her properties was available, but it is a big house and the rent is well over what Mrs LMS can afford (she has to work her budget out on just her earnings as they don't know how long it will take Mr LMS to get a job). Oh well back to the drawing board. But not for long :-) Mad Cat Lady got back in touch, to say that she could drop the price to what Mrs LMS can afford, and rent it directly to her instead of paying Estate Agency fees. It also solves a problem Mad Cat Lady is having with recent tenants, well its a problem with the neighbour who is so mean and nasty that people move out again as soon as they can!! Mr LMS is well over 6ft tall and very protective of Mrs LMS, so I don't think the nasty neighbour will take him on and try causing any trouble!!

Another change is our cars!! A friend of Mrs LMS was selling his sporty car, as he is a personal trainer and can't fit all his gym equipment in the boot!! Knowing that Mr LMS would love a car like that, and liking the price, Mrs LMS arranged to buy it!! She sensibly asked the friend how much he had to pay in insurance for it, and he told her £700 which was high, but not ridiculously so and so she went ahead and bought the car. Once she had all the details and started to get insurance quotes she found a HUGE problem. Due to her and Mr LMS being under 25 she couldn't find insurance for less than £1500, and that was without even putting Mr LMS on the policy!!! She spent hours on the internet and on phone calls trying to sort it out, but it turned out £1500 was about the cheapest insurance she could find, and many insurance brokers refused to even consider insuring her or Mr LMS!! So Mr LMS has decided to give her his car and let her take over running that until they find a car they like and then sell it/trade it in and he will have the sporty car! Is this his mid-life crisis car lol??

Baby Sis's Baby's Baptism

Well isn't that a tongue-twister of a title lol. Mr Messy and Mrs LMS had left yesterday for a business meeting near to where the Baptism was going to be, so there was no point them coming home and they stayed over there. Mr Messy in a Hotel and Mrs LMS at my Baby Sis's house, so that she could help Baby Sis out getting the room ready for the after Baptism Party. Apparently Baby Sis turned into a Baptism-zilla and had everyone jumping out of her way to get things done!! I wonder what she will be like when it gets closer to her wedding date lol - I'm glad we live so far away!!!

Drama Teen had arrived back from the celebration meal last night feeling very unwell and had gone straight to bed, poor thing. And when I woke her up she didn't feel much better, so unfortunately she wasn't going to make it to the Baptism. She did manage to look after the Littlies for me while I got our outfits ironed and helped me get both the Littlies ready - thank you Drama Teen :-) Once we were all dressed up in our smart clothes we loaded the car up and set off. As Little Prince had had his medicine he was pretty calm in the car, he played on his gameboy and Princess Lollipop watched various DVDs. The Gameboy and DVD Players are a godsend for long journeys, and I don't think I'd manage to take the Littlies very far at all without them!!

We got caught in a traffic jam entering the motorway that delayed us for ages, and then we got stuck behind a line of very slow traffic once we'd left the motorway - so we were late! Luckily it was a fairly modern church and they'd left the doors open, and we could sneak in and see most of the ceremony. I got quite emotional seeing my Baby Sis stood up at the front, all grown up with her own Baby! Goodness knows how many tissues it will take me to get through her wedding!!!

After the Service, I asked Mrs LMS to come in my car to the Baptsim Party - so that she could look after the Littlies while I dashed in a shop to get some wrapping paper for the present!!! I'd forgotten the day before!! Little Prince decided to go with Daddy to the Party, so it was boys in one car and girls in another lol. I whizzed round the Supermarket and managed to grab suitable wrapping paper, wrapped the present when I got back to the car and then we drove to the Party. Baby Sis had arranged to have a Bouncy Castle at the Party Venue, as there were so many children attending. And we hardly saw either of the Littlies the whole time we were there!! One of Baby Sis's friends had made her lots of beautiful cupcakes, some even had Baby's picture on them, with an icing flower placed in her hair - gorgeous but I couldn't bring myself to eat one!! The ones decorated with pink icing and flowers were delicious though :-)

It was lovely to see all our family and to finally (after NINE years!!) meet Baby Sis's (almost) Mother in Law - she seemed like a lovely lady and doted on Baby Sis's Baby :-) The other shock was we met Mr Messy's long lost God-daughter!! Her Dad had been Mr Messy's Best Man (Mr Messy had been his Best Man too) and they had been friends for years and years. However, he and his wife went through an acrimonious divorce at the same time we moved house and we lost touch. Through the magic of social networking we found out just before the Baptism that God-Daughter was a friend of Baby Sis and Mr Baby Sis!! It was fantastic to see her and catch up on years of happenings in her family and ours!! We'll be making a trip over to see them when Mr Messy can fit it in his busy schedule!!

Little Prince was supposed to be going home with Mr Messy but changed his mind at the last minute and refused point blank (and had a huge meltdown) to go in the car with Daddy, saying he had to be with Mummy. I'm beginning to feel so suffocated again!! At least its only a week till school restarts!! I wish I could be like most of my friends, and dread the end of the holidays and being apart from the children - but I can't wait :-( Little Prince is so hard to deal with and the long Summer holidays make it all so intense and difficult that I just need some time for myself :-(

Anyway enough moaning - all the very very best wishes for a long and happy life to one of my precious little nieces. Happy Baptism Baby Sis's Baby xxxxx

More Catching Up!!

LAST WEEK - MONDAY

I spent the morning running round like a lunatic, getting packed and ready to pick up my friend S and her son Y, to drive down to Legoland YEAH :-) I had left everything to the last minute, so we were running late, as usual! Just as we were about to get in the car I got a phone call from S, to say that Y had insisted on waiting in the garden for the last half an hour, and when was I going to arrive, as she was cold?? So we piled into the car and picked them up, then I realised I had forgotten my camera, so we went straight back home again to pick it up!! We finally set off an hour later than I had hoped!! Little Prince and Y played on their Gameboys together, they teamed up somehow on Lego Star Wars and played happily for hours. Princess Lollipop watched her DVDs, I had hoped she would have a nap, but she was too excited to sleep and stayed awake the whole journey! We had to stop a few times for "my weewee's coming" but not too often thankfully. Princess Lollipop also decided that she would use her "suitcase potty" which she had adamantly refused to use up till then!! It did make stopping for "weewees" a lot easier :-) On one of our stops at a garage, we did find the most yummy sweeties - Wine Pastilles (like Fruit Pastilles but softer and sugarier yum yum) I think me and S are addicted!!

The journey was hot and sunny, it was sweltering in the car, especially as the children complained when we opened the windows, that it was too loud!! We were all relieved to get to the hotel, unfortunately as we were getting the suitcases out of the boot, Little Prince and Y ran off! Little Prince had been cooped up in the car for far too long, and his medication had run out so he was HYPED to the max! He ran over to the hotel's decorative pond and bridge, and refused to come back. By the time I'd convinced him to come back Princess Lollipop had run off dangerously close to the pond and I had to try and get both of them away from the pond and into reception! Little Prince "doggied" (he jumps around on all fours acting like a puppy dog) around reception making a lot of weird noises as we tried to check in, I ignored him as I'm used to it, but I think S was embarrassed.

We went up to our room, with Little Prince trying his best to run away the whole time, and left our suitcases there while we went out to eat. On our previous stays at this hotel we have driven to a shopping centre where there is a Frankie and Benny's Restaurant, which all the children enjoy eating at - and its so noisy there anyway they don't disturb the other diners! Little Prince wasn't much calmer during our meal, and spent a good measure of the time under the table! We did manage to get all three children and ourselves fed before returning to the hotel for a good nights sleep. Unfortunately I didn't get a good night's sleep as Princess Lollipop (who was sharing my bed) was very very wriggly, and it took hours to get Little Prince settled down to sleep. I had realised too late that we had run out of his Melatonin (medication which helps him sleep) and his prescription wouldn't be ready until we returned home!

TUESDAY - LEGOLAND DAY

After yesterday's gloriously hot weather, we couldn't believe it when we woke up to rain! S had forgotten to pack raincoats for her and Y, although looking at the size of her suitcase she had packed everything else!! Something we were going to be thankful for later in the day!! We had a lovely breakfast in the hotel, Little Prince wolfed down his English Breakfast but Princess Lollipop fussed and didn't eat very much. She had a few spoonfuls of her breakfast and refused to eat any more, but screamed the place down when the waitress tried to remove her bowl!!! They soon learnt not to try and touch it lol.

The children were all excited when we got in the car to drive over to Legoland, it is only a 10 minute drive from the hotel. The traffic was clear until we got to the drive into the Legoland carpark, where we had to queue for a little while, I chose to pay for the "preferred parking" which is slightly more expensive but much closer to the entrance - something you really appreciate when leaving the park after a long day!! As it was still raining once we had got in, S bought herself and Y a bright yellow Legoland poncho. Y made a huge fuss and didn't want to wear it, but S made him as he was already getting fairly wet! He got used to it pretty quickly and stopped complaining :-) We hopped on to the Hill Train to take us to the bottom of the steep hill, Legoland would be much nicer if it wasn't built on the side of a hill!! Of course the boys then decided they wanted to go all the way back to the top to go on the Viking Ride!! Urgh!! I got a day long workout pushing Princess Lollipop in her buggy up and down that hill!! The park wasn't very crowded due to the weather, and because of the "Exit Pass" hand stamp Little Prince gets we managed to ride every ride the children wanted to go on, without much queuing to wind Little Prince up. We also discovered that Princess Lollipop is a total thrill seeker!! The faster the ride the more she loved it!!! S discovered I wasn't joking when I told her that almost every single ride in Legoland gets you wet!!! She never took her poncho off!!

It was getting near to the end of the day when the boys ran off in front saying (I thought!!) they were going to "Look at the water!!" When we finally caught up with them they weren't looking at water - they were IN water!! Despite the rainy weather, they were playing in the "Kids Wash" a water play area which shoots water up from the ground and sprays them from above with fountains!! Both boys were in there fully clothed and DRENCHED!!! After I got over the shock and encouraged by S to see they were having loads of fun, I stopped being cross and left them alone :-) They had a whale of a time, and played there for well over an hour :-) We tried putting them in the electronic drier when they'd finished playing but you could still wring them out!! So we went to the nearest shop and bought towels, and dry t-shirts (S had spare trousers and shorts in her bag) and got them changed. The young assistant in the shop was wonderful, he let us sort out the boys and get them in dry clothes before paying for the items. And he found paper and pencils to keep Princess Lollipop amused while we dealt with the boys. The boys trainers were obviously drenched too, Little Prince agreed to put plastic bags on his feet and then put his trainers on, but Y refused point blank to do the same. So his Mum carried him on her back all the way back to the front of the park - she is only tiny and Y is nearly as big as she is, I really don't know how she managed!!! Near the entrance there was a cafe, so we called in to get the children something to eat before returning to the hotel, we were all so tired we didn't fancy going to the hotel getting the boys sorted and then going out again! Little Prince was at the end of his patience and his medication had long worn off, so he was very shouty and angry while we ate. And when we finally left the park and were walking to the car he was overcome with wracking sobs, saying he wished Tummy Mummy could be here with us and that he missed her so much. He was totally overwhelmed by his feelings and we couldn't calm him down at all :-( I breaks my heart to see him so so sad and not be able to do anything to help him :-(

It wasn't any easier to get Little Prince to sleep, even after being at Legoland from opening till closing time! Nothing tires out my boy - he's my energiser bunny he just keeps going!!

WEDNESDAY - DRIVING HOME

We all slept in on Wednesday morning and were in no hurry to get ready, we were still too tired from the day before!! By the WILD while we tried to check out, he kept trying to go into the closed lounge next to reception, and screamed and kicked when I brought him out. It was extremely difficult to get the check out process finished while also trying to wrangle WILD Little Prince, and Princess Lollipop who copies everything her beloved big brother does :-( We eventually managed to get sorted out, and the receptionist gave us directions to a Beefeater Pub that served breakfast - off we went. Little Prince had a HUGE tantrum at the Beefeater, as I'd not heard him and ordered him the wrong drink!!! After a lot of persuasion he did eat his food and drink the wrong drink!

It was a huge relief to have all the children strapped in the car and set the SatNav for home :-) The journey wasn't as calm as the journey down to Legoland, Little Prince and Y kept arguing over what game to play and Princess Lollipop got caught up with all the negativity and joined in!! We stopped for some late lunch, at a Service Station with Mcdonalds thinking that would suit the children. Ha!! Little Prince got in a total strop because we didn't sit in Costa Coffee on the comfy armchairs, he sat under the table refusing to speak or eat, despite being "starving" moments earlier! I bought him something anyway, hoping to entice him to eat and eventually after a lot of fuss and kicking he did eat something, while staying sat under the table. I had been pushed to the edge by then, and burst into tears, S was lovely giving me a hug and then finding some Wine Pastilles in the shop as a gift :-) She was so sweet, I think I might still be there drowning in a flood of tears if it weren't for S - thank you so much. There wasn't that much driving left before we were home, it was so nice to be home in my own house, with my own bed to look forward to :-)

THE REST OF THE WEEK

We didn't get up to much on Thurs and Fri as I was recovering from all that driving (its soooo tiring!!) and the stress of trying to deal with an overly hyped up Little Prince. On Saturday I realised I had done too much "nothing" and that I'd better go shopping for Baby Sis's daughter's Baptism present!! I got Drama Teen and her Boyfriend to look after Princess Lollipop at OUR shop and just took Little Prince with me. Its easier with just one of the littlies, and I couldn't have taken Princess Lollipop as I'd forgotten to clean her buggy after she had a weewee accident at Legoland! Me and Little Prince rushed round the shops to find a nice present, we also picked up the filled buckets for outside Princess Lollipop's playhouse. I'm not overly impressed with the flowers used to fill the buckets, as I'd asked for pastel, pretty and girlie colours - and instead I've got big showy bright coloured flowers!! We managed time to get a lovely lunch at the Town Art Gallery, although Little Prince was upset we didn't have time to look round the gallery itself as we had to hurry back to pick up Princess Lollipop.

When we got back to the shop I dropped Drama Teen and her Boyfriend off at his Mum's house as they were all going out for a meal to celebrate Boyfriend's great GCSE results. It must be getting to be a serious relationship if Drama Teen is now being included in family events!!

The last week

I was feeling quite down over the weekend following the "Hardest Day" and we didn't get up to much. Mr Messy went on a photographers get together on Saturday, and seemed to enjoy himself :-) Drama Teen went to the shop with Mrs LMS in my car, so me and the littlies had a day at home. It was a quieter day as I insisted that Little Prince have his medication. We were invited to a friend's housewarming party, but didn't make it as Little Prince was still quiet hyper. I think he needs a few days on his medication for it to have full effect on his behaviour!

On Sunday Mr Messy took Drama Teen and Princess Lollipop to a big town on the train, which Princess Lollipop loved, to shop for some knee high Converse boots for Drama Teen. I was shocked when they didn't come home with new Converse boots for Princess Lollipop too!! Me, Mrs LMS and Little Prince went to a local outlet centre, where there is a playground for Little Prince to play. Mrs LMS watched Little Prince play in the playground while I went to the lingerie shop to get measured and treat myself to some new pretty bras :-) It took ages, but Mrs LMS seemed to cope fine with Little Prince. We then took Little Prince to the Clarks Outlet Shop to have his school shoes checked, they were new not too long before the Summer Holidays and luckily they still fit. We were early enough in the Hols that it wasn't crazy busy too, phew!! We then went for a cake and drink before coming back home. It was a very nice day :-)

I don't think much happened on Monday, and if it did it must not have been very exciting as I can't remember at all anyway lol.

On Tuesday me and Princess Lollipop had early morning appointments at the Dentist for a check up. I have to have a filling, but Princess Lollipop's teeth are perfect. My appointment isn't until October, as they couldn't fit me in any earlier, and I did request it to be after the holidays have finished, so that Mr Messy would only have to look after Princess Lollipop.

Wednesday and Thursday were also quiet at home days. The littlies played in the garden. Sometimes they even played nicely!!! The neighbours 3 year old boy, climbs on our wall and wants to play, it can't be safe as its well over 6ft high on their side!!! And then the trouble starts!! He and Little Prince play throwing balls over the wall to each other, and Princess Lollipop either gets knocked over by an over excited Little Prince or gets hit by the ball when its thrown into our garden! Its a LOT more peaceful when A isn't there, and Little Prince and Princess Lollipop play a lot better together without him!!

Today, Friday, another quiet morning at home. And I'm just about to take Little Prince to OUR shop so that he and Mr Messy can for lunch together.

The Hardest Day of the Hols so far :-(

Today started out alright, I accompanied Mrs LMS to the Post Office to post all her lovingly collected documents to Mr LMS in the USA, so that he can finally apply for a Visa to come over to the UK and they can start their married life together. She was so nervous that she couldn't even fill in a very simple form!! The form asked her to write who the parcel was TO - she wrote her own name!! Then she realised her mistake and put her details in the correct place, but managed to forget her address, well you can't blame her she's only lived her since she was 9 years old!! I got another form from the Post Mistress and filled it in on Mrs LMS's behalf - she was in no state to be writing her own name and address lol. It cost a HUGE amount to send the fastest and safest way possible, about double what Mrs LMS thought it was going to be!! Between us we had enough cash to pay this HUGE amount and the precious parcel was handed over to the care of Parcel Force!! Mrs LMS admitted she didn't know if she felt better or worse that it was now out of her hands!! Fingers crossed that it reaches Mr LMS safely and that the Visa Application goes through quickly and smoothly.

Then we picked up Drama Teen and the littlies and dropped Mrs LMS off at work. Before going to see Little Prince's ADHD Specialist at the hospital near Mrs LMS's office. It all started going downhill when I parked at the wrong end of the hospital and we had to walk all the way round the connecting corridors, hurrying to get to the appointment in time. I had to carry Princess Lollipop up the stairs, and she wanted to walk up herself!! She SCREAMED all the way up the stairs and most of the rest of the way to the ADHD Dept!! Little Prince was obviously worrying about his appointment and was running ahead shouting and making strange loud noises and generally acting very stressed. When we finally got to the Dept both littlies were upset, and getting out of control!!

Little Prince and Princess Lollipop started arguing and fighting over the table football, which culminated in Little Prince trying to ram one of the sticks into Princess Lollipop and getting into trouble. Little Prince was called in to be weighed and measured and have his blood pressure checked. He has grown slightly, his blood pressure is fine, but he has lost a small amount of weight (10 oz!!!). We were given a mood chart to fill in, but then the Specialist called him straight in for the consultation. Little Prince (who hadn't had any medication) started playing up even more, he refused to put his shoes back on after being weighed, and threw them across the consultation room. He then sat down to fill in his mood chart and ticked "very grumpy" for everything. Then he noticed it asked about his moods during the school day and started shouting he had done it all wrong. He went to the other side of the room and started hitting himself and saying he was stupid and wanted to die!! Eventually between talking to the Specialist and trying to calm Little Prince down, I managed to get him to come and try to fill in the mood chart again. He only managed half of it before having another massive meltdown!! At least the Specialist saw him as he really is!!!

Because of Little Prince's weight loss the Specialist said he would have to take him off his medication for three months!!! WHAT?!?! NO WAY!!!! I just looked at him open mouthed and refused to accept that!! There is absolutely no way on earth I can go back to trying to manage an unmedicated Little Prince :-( I also told the Specialist that school had noticed a difference in Little Prince's ability to concentrate last half term, and had asked me to mention this to the Specialist. In the end the Specialist said we could try a different kind of medication. This is a quick release version of Ritalin, that only lasts for a limited time. The Specialist has prescribed two 4 hour doses and one 2 hour dose per day, but asked us to try to limit its use during the Summer holidays so that Little Prince's weight gets chance to catch up again.

The consultation seemed to take forever, and Little Prince obviously felt it took too long as he demanded to leave part way through and went back to the waiting room to play with Princess Lollipop under Drama Teen's supervision. When I got out of the Consultation Room I found both Little Prince and Princess Lollipop sat on the floor howling at the top of their voices over some argument or other!!! I bet the staff were glad to see us leave!!!

We made our way back to the other side of the hospital to get Little Prince's new medication from the Pharmacy. Unfortunately there was almost an hour's wait for the prescription to be filled, and as I didn't fancy coming back to the hospital on another day I said we'd wait. It was the longest hour of my life!! Little Prince spent a lot of time screaming, or rolling around on the floor, or hiding under his chair or hitting himself. Luckily (for the other patients) we were sat in a small alcove where his behaviour couldn't disturb too many other people. For part of the time I took Little Prince outside to play on a verge near the entrance, but I couldn't stay there with him for too long as Princess Lollipop was getting upset as she wanted her Mummy and she didn't want to share me. They are tearing me in two :-(

When we finally got Little Prince's new medicine I took the three of them into town to get some lunch. Both littlies had a huge meltdown when we walked past Mcdonalds!! But I was NOT giving in, and dragged them kicking and screaming (literally!!!) to a nice cafe round the corner. We had to change to the second cafe as Drama Teen couldn't see anything she liked on the menu at the first cafe we tried. We sat down, cue lots of fuss from Princess Lollipop who to sit NEXT to Mummy, but Little Prince had already claimed that position!!! It took ages for everyone to decide what they wanted to eat, and as soon as it arrived it was pronounced "EWW" by Princess Lollipop who refused to touch any food whatsoever!!! She also demanded that I hold her glass of milk, which was impossible over the table with all the plates of food in the way!! We finally persuaded her that it was ok if Drama Teen held the glass!! But still couldn't persuade her to eat anything. Little Prince on the other hand ploughed his way through most of an adult full English breakfast!! After the meal both Little Prince and Princess Lollipop demanded lollipops, which I said an emphatic no to, and we set off for to complete the rest of our errands.

We had to call in at Bodyshop to buy some more Shampoo and Conditioner for Little Prince. Far from just walking in and picking up what we needed, paying and leaving, no it couldn't be that simple could it?! I had to listen to the whole product spiel from the saleswoman about how they had taken out the parabans and all the other bad stuff, I DON'T CARE RIGHT NOW!?!?! Just give me the bl**dy stuff and let me out of here!! Couldn't they see my mad kids running amok round their shop?!?! Little Prince stuck his finger in all the lipsticks and daubed it all over his face, and Princess Lollipop was shouting and running about too.

Next was the Kodak shop, to get a Passport Photo of Drama Teen. As is traditional she hated her photo, but it fits all the complicated criteria and should satisfy the Passport people!! And guess what while this was happening Little Prince and Princess Lollipop were yet again running amok!! In the centre of the shop is a bank of four computerised stations with little cubby holes underneath. When Little Prince just hid himself in the cubbies it was fine, when they started to play hide and seek and run round and round the consoles it got overly manic again!! I was so pleased when we'd paid up and could leave! It was only a short walk back to the car, but it felt like a marathon!! Little Prince kept running off and making his loud noises. Princess Lollipop dawdled but still demanded to hold my hand, even though I was miles in front trying to keep up with Little Prince!!

On the way home I pulled over and rang Mr Messy, who offered to have Princess Lollipop at OUR shop for the afternoon, to separate the warring siblings and give me a little break!! I could have cried I was so relieved :-) After dropping her off I called at the shop and loaded up on the C's - chocolate and coca cola :-) I needed them, I really really needed them!!! And after stuffing my face with all the chocolate I felt soooo much better :-) Drama Teen who had tried her best to help me with the two maniacs this morning got a break too, and I think she needed her Boyfriend's sympathy when he arrived soon after we got back. Thank you for trying your best this morning Drama Teen, I really appreciate it :-)

I then had to spend over half an hour on the phone sorting out the new car insurance. I can't believe it took so long urgh!! When it was finally sorted out, I got Little Prince to rush round getting his swimming bag packed ready for his swimming lesson. Its a good job I had a quick listen to the answer machine messages, as his teacher had left a message cancelling the lesson!! Little Prince was not happy at having plans changed right at the last moment, but as he'd had a dose of his new medication he didn't kick off too much.

I then had to try and get hold of Mr Messy who was waiting at the swimming pool to drop Princess Lollipop off with me, so that he could go and pick Mrs LMS up from work! I tried every method of contacting him that I could think of and it still took ages to get hold of him!! When we eventually managed to speak to each other, we decided I'd go and pick Princess Lollipop up from OUR shop and take her with me to pick Mrs LMS up, I could hear her screaming for Mummy in the background!! She screamed even more when I picked her up and Daddy fastened her in her carseat when she wanted Mummy to do it!! However she fell asleep within moments and I had a peaceful drive to get Mrs LMS. Princess Lollipop managed to sleep through me having a major whinging session to Mrs LMS about how horrible my day had been!! It felt good to get it all off my chest and have someone who knows what it can be like sympathising with me, thank you so much Mrs LMS.

On the way home I made Mrs LMS go to the shop to get me some MORE chocolate - yes today has been THAT bad!!! She was also kind enough to cook for the littlies and not get upset when neither of them would eat!! And then she cooked a roast pork dinner for the rest of us, yum yum :-) Food always tastes so much nicer when its cooked by someone else :-)

Little Prince had quite a few major tantrums in the evening and kept slamming upstairs to his room. I think today has been too much for him too, poor lad. We are going to have a few days of him taking his new medicine so we can all calm down after today's disaster before I let him have another few days off medication. Princess Lollipop was also very easily upset and tantrumming over every little thing, so I took her upstairs for an early night. She calmed down pretty quickly but took ages to get to sleep. She slept better last night and her cough didn't wake her up so much, hopefully she'll have another good night and we can all have a good rest and wake up feeling better tomorrow.

My plans for tomorrow are to have as stress free day as humanly possible. Hopefully the weather will be nice enough to take the littlies (and Drama Teen if she wants to come along) to the National Trust-like property where there is so much room to run around, a fantastic playground for them both to play in and fresh air and freedom to counteract today's restrictions.

This Week

Monday was a quiet day, especially for Princess Lollipop who kept falling asleep. I think she was either knackered after her weekend of hardly any sleep, or she was so relieved to be home she just relaxed completely. Shortly after getting up in the morning she fell back to sleep, spread eagled on the floor in the lounge - she looked like she was hugging her house!!! She woke up briefly and then fell back asleep stood next to me with her head/body on the sofa and her feet on the floor!!

Luckily Mr Messy was able to come and pick Little Prince up after an early morning photo shoot, so I didn't have to disturb Princess Lollipop. Mr Messy deposited Little Prince at his friend's house, and they played there until mid afternoon when I had to pick him up again. Little Prince had a fabulous time, he really misses his best friend E (he moved to a neighbouring village and changed schools) and loves it when they can get together. We'll be having E round to play at our house next week, and Little Prince can't wait :-)

On Tuesday morning Little Prince and Drama Teen had an early morning appointment at the Dentist for their check ups. Little Prince's teeth are strong and healthy, Drama Teen has a small cavity that her orthodontist noticed at her last check up, and the Dentist agrees it needs filling. I agreed to let Drama Teen be treated privately for her filling, so that she can have a "tooth coloured" filling instead of the horrible black ones. She will have to go back in a couple of weeks to have that sorted out. In the afternoon Little Prince's friend J came over to play and they played beautifully together - absence makes the heart grow less argumentative?!?! Normally when they play together they have a least a couple of stand up rows!!!

On Wednesday evening me and Mrs LMS waded our way through a mass of paperwork that I'd been putting off dealing with. However, its all now sorted out and out of the way. Thank you so much Mrs LMS I really couldn't have done it without you.

Thursday (today) I couldn't leave it any longer and had to bath Princess Lollipop and sort out her hair. She was NOT happy, she still isn't feeling well and isn't sleeping and didn't co-operate at all with the conditioning and combing! It took ages to get it all done, but I persevered and got there in the end. After that I had to take some paperwork over to the Post Office to have the Post Mistress certify it (certify it was a true copy of the original and confirm she'd seen the original too) for Mr and Mrs LMS's Visa application. Mrs LMS has been working on this (and stressing over it all) for weeks and weeks now, but tomorrow could be the day when it can all get posted over to Mr LMS for him to actually lodge the application :-) I can't tell you how happy Mrs LMS is to have finally got to this stage :-) Fingers, toes and everything crossed it all goes smoothly and quickly and that Mr and Mrs LMS can be together again soon.

I made an appointment for Princess Lollipop to see the Doctor this afternoon, her cough has been getting worse, she is off her food and is finding it very hard to sleep. It was a total waste of time!! The Doctor examined her thoroughly and could find nothing wrong, so said it must be a viral cough and there was nothing he could do!!! I know there isn't a medication for every cough, cold and sniffle, but she seems so out of sorts and not herself that I really thought there must be something that could be done to help her feel better :-(

When Mr Messy had collected Mrs LMS from work, he came back home and picked up Little Prince (who Princess Lollipop has been picking on all day) and took him with them back to OUR shop to give Little Prince a break! Princess Lollipop sobbed and sobbed and then fell fast asleep! Which will probably mean yet another disturbed, sleepless night, but there was no stopping her falling asleep!!

The Weekend

So much went on that I can't write it all down! It was a wonderful, fabulous weekend and we all had enormous fun. Little Prince loved the HUGE garden he could run around in, and the nooks and crannies and various rooms in the house he could go and curl up with his Gameboy when he needed some peace and quiet. There were a few children his age to play with and they seemed to get along very well together, although I think they took turns playing with Little Prince - as he tired out one another would take their place lol.

Princess Lollipop didn't have such a great time :-( I'm not sure if its the fact she has since come down with a viral cough, or the fact that she found being surrounded by so many Ethiopian children quite scary (she hasn't been around that many Ethiopian children since she was in the orphanage). She definitely wasn't herself over the weekend, she was very very clingy, her sleep was extremely disturbed (and therefore so was mine and Mr Messy's as we were all three sharing a double bed) and she refused to eat very much at all. She is very sensitive, so it could have been a bit of both (sickening for her cough and being in the company of so many Ethiopian children) causes that made her like she was.

Me and Mr Messy had a great time, I was a limpet post for Princess Lollipop who mostly wanted to be attached to me and not stray more than a few inches from my lap. Mr Messy spent the weekend taking some fantastic photos of all the children and their families, most of the parents were astounded that he managed to take such great photos without any fuss or bother :-) He's just that good :-)

We've already set a date for next year's gathering and I can't wait :-)

Friday

In the morning Princess Lollipop had her 2 1/2 year Developmental Check-Up with the Health Visitor. As expected she was at, or mostly exceeding, her developmental milestones :-) Her speech especially is very advanced, which is to be expected when she has so many people to talk to and with!! After the Check-Up I had to go to the opticians for a contact lens check up. After the trouble I had with the last set of lenses, this new set was fantastic :-) The optician agreed and my lenses have now been ordered and will be posted directly to me, glad that's all sorted out now! I've hated having to wear my glasses!! Much too vain for that!!

After lunch me, Mr Messy, Little Prince and Princess Lollipop set off on our long drive to see our friends for the weekend. Our friends have kindly (or madly!!!) invited lots of families with children adopted from Ethiopia to stay with them for the weekend and I'm really looking forward to catching up with old friends and making new ones, and cooing over all the babies and children of course :-)

The journey seemed to take forever, but was actually a very pleasant, non-motorway drive :-) We had to stop a few times for "wee breaks" for both Little Prince and Princess Lollipop! The first few stops, despite her obvious need, Princess Lollipop refused point blank to use the travel potty. It was only when she was much too desperate to do anything else that she agreed to use it. And that was the one and ONLY time she agreed to use it!! The most expensive "spend a penny" EVER!!!

We checked in at our lovely B&B and then nipped over to our friends to spend a couple of hours with them, before returning to the B&B for the night.

Thursday

This afternoon I took the littlies out with my friend J and her three children. The weather has been awful all day, so we decided we'd have an indoor play somewhere. Last time we took the children out together we went to an Indoor Play Centre, and J's two boys (who are about Little Prince's age) didn't want to let Little Prince join in with them in their games. This obviously upset Little Prince and he got quite upset about the whole thing. The Indoor Play Centre's play areas were too old for Princess Lollipop and she didn't cope with the whole thing very well either. So thinking of this, when discussing with J where we should go, I tried to steer away from going back to that same Indoor Play Centre. In the end the only thing we could think of was to take the children to the cinema! Princess Lollipop is only 2 1/2 and has never been to the cinema before, so I wasn't sure how it would work out, but thought we could give it a go!! It had to be better than the Indoor Play Centre, right?!?!

The only suitable film at a suitable time, was Zookeeper, not what I would have chosen to see as Princess Lollipop's first time at the cinema, but hey, go with the flow... Me and the littlies arrived a few minutes early, and J and her three arrived about 15 minutes late!! Little Prince was fretting and convinced we had the wrong time, the wrong cinema or had missed them and J and the kids were already watching the film!! When she finally turned up we got our tickets and sweeties and took our seats. Not for long, Potty Training Princess has a new trick to get Mummy jumping "My wee wee coming" and off we trot to the toilets. Again. And again. And Again!!! On the 4th or 5th trip, I told her this was ridiculous and she had to stop being silly!! And she managed to stay in her seat till the end of the film after that!!

When the film finished we took the children outside and let them run around and play on a field next to the cinema. At first the children played well together, but after a while Little Prince tired out J's boys and they didn't want to run around and chase with him any more. Instead they decided to fight with each other!! Little Prince was getting fractious and we decided to call it a day. J took her children home, and I took the Littlies to a fast food place to feed them before going home.

When we got home Princess Lollipop told everyone about her day. She told them about the "Giant TB" (giant tv) and about "going toyut lotta lotta" (going toilet lots and lots) and "Mummy say it rid-sticy-lus and my stop it" (Mummy said it was ridiculous and I had to stop). She talked about the "giant TB" a lot, I think it made a BIG impression, although she doesn't seem to remember anything about the film lol.

Wednesday

Wednesday was a pretty boring day. We didn't do much during the day, the littlies played in the garden and didn't do too much arguing and fighting either!

In the early evening I had arranged for a joiner to come and check out some jobs I want him to do. I need him to make a new door and window for the cottage at the bottom of the garden, and also to make the Playhouse door into a stable style door, and put architrave round the door and windows of the Playhouse - its got to look pretty!! We went inside so he could measure up to make a redundant airing cupboard into some useful shelves, and while we were inside the heavens opened! It rained so hard the raindrops were bouncing back upwards!! The rain wasn't the only thing bouncing, Little Prince and Princess Lollipop were bouncing off the walls too!! Little Prince doesn't cope well with "intruders" in his house, and because he was hyped up getting crazy, Princess Lollipop joined in!! I think they scared the young (probably childless) joiner to death!!!

Mr Messy had taken Drama Teen with him to collect Mrs LMS from work, and then take both of them to the optician to have their lenses checked. Drama Teen's lenses are fine, and a three months supply has now been ordered. Mrs LMS on the other hand has been having a lot of trouble with her new trial lenses, and a different type has been ordered for her. On the way home they called at the Chip Shop and brought tea home with them, I like no cook evenings :-)

Tuesday

Mr Messy spent the morning fixing Drama Teen's Boyfriend's damaged 'Ped, he seemed to enjoy tinkering with it :-) Little Prince was interested for a while then gave up and said it was too boring and came inside to play on his Gameboy instead. Mr Messy didn't have the right glue, so he and Drama Teen went out to the DIY Shop to get some more. They had a good look round, but decided against buying a plasma cutter!! It sounds like something off a science fiction programme, and I have no idea what it actually is, so I'm glad they didn't buy one!!!

Drama Teen fretted until she'd heard from Boyfriend, who had a lie in and only started texting her later in the morning. She calmed down considerably once she was back in touch with him :-) When Mr Messy had finished fixing all that he could on the 'Ped, he went out to OUR shop. Drama Teen was still in a tidying up mood, so she did all the washing up and had another go at steam cleaning the shower. We'd eventually found the "small tools" we needed - in the obvious place - a compartment on the steam cleaner itself!! The steam cleaner worked a LOT better once it was being used correctly, and the shower looks so much better now!!!

When Princes Lollipop had her nap, me and Little Prince had a play on Lego Star Wars on the Wii, although once again it was Little Prince playing and me looking up how to find the minikits on the computer. Just before she woke up Mr Messy arrived home from OUR shop, he'd had no visitors all day and OUR shop was hot and stuffy and he was fed up.

Monday Visitors

Mr Messy went to OUR shop with Drama Teen, and Mrs LMS drove herself to work, so it was just me and the Littlies in the morning. Then at lunchtime Mr Messy brought Drama Teen and her Boyfriend home, and Mrs LMS finished work at lunchtime, drove over to the Train Station and picked up Baby Sis and her Baby S :-)

Baby Sis and Baby S had come to see us this time :-) Little Prince and Princess Lollipop were thrilled to see one of their baby cousins again :-) Little Prince was thrilled that Baby S watched whatever he did, and when he sat next to her she would hold onto him :-) Princess Lollipop wasn't too pleased that Baby S kept trying to grab her hair though!

When it was both baby girl's naptime, Baby Sis got her baby to sleep in her buggy and I took my baby Princess Lollipop to her cot. She fell asleep pretty quickly, the trouble is so did I!! I was so embarrassed, I don't get to see Baby Sis that often and didn't want to be upstairs fast asleep for her visit!! Princess Lollipop wasn't asleep too much longer, and was fairly grumpy as she hadn't had enough sleep! When both babies had woken up we took them in the garden Baby S had her first experience of sand, and found she didn't like how it tastes!! Then she, Princess Lollipop and Baby Sis went on the trampoline, I'm not sure Baby S know what was happening to her, but she seemed to like it lol.

All too soon it was time for Baby Sis to go home :-( None of us wanted her to go, as we were enjoying hugging Baby S too much! Mr Messy was just getting ready to take Baby Sis to the station when on the spur of the moment he decided to drive her all the way home instead. I liked that idea as I had loads of outgrown clothes to give to her again, I ran upstairs to sort them out ready to go. I had started a bag to send already, I just had to sort out the rest of the clothes, as Princess Lollipop generally has a LOT of clothes it took me quite a while!! I filled a bin liner to overflowing, and still haven't gone through the pyjamas and the tights!!

Later that evening when Little Prince and Princess Lollipop were tucked up safely in bed, me, Drama Teen and her Boyfriend decided to tackle some of the clutter in the kitchen. Well to be completely honest it was Boyfriend's idea, we just tagged along!! Me and Drama Teen tried to work out how to use the new steam cleaner, to get the shower sorted out, while Boyfriend sorted through the mountain of receipts and coupons that were piled on the kitchen worktop. Boyfriend had the easier job, we couldn't get the steam cleaner to work properly at all!!! We finally worked out we needed the pack of "small tools" which we couldn't find anywhere, so we gave up!!

Just after Boyfriend had left our house on his 'Ped Drama Teen got a phone call, one of those that starts "I don't want to worry you, but..." He'd come of his 'Ped just as he was leaving the village!! Luckily he wasn't hurt, well he had ripped his jeans and scraped his knee! But he was very worried about the state of his beloved 'Ped, (Evie) :-( He'd already rung his Mum and his Step Dad was on his way to pick him up, so all me and Drama Teen could do was sit at home and worry!! Then we got a phone call from Mr Messy, he'd come across the stranded Boyfriend on his way home and he and Boyfriend's Step Dad were bringing Boyfriend back here. They drove one in front of Boyfriend on his damaged 'Ped and one behind him, both with their hazard lights flashing as the 'Ped's headlight had been damaged. Boyfriend was fairly shaken when he got here, so we got him a cup of tea as we assessed the damage to the 'Ped. Mr Messy (who used to ride a motorbike years ago) said it was only superficial damage and would be easily fixed, much to Boyfriend's relief :-) The 'Ped stayed here for a sleepover, and Boyfriend and his Dad will be round tomorrow to pick it up.