To celebrate his birthday in style yesterday (more to follow on that - obligatory cake photo etc) boy no.4 really pulled out the stops.


He's bored, stuck inside all week while his brother complains that things are touching his chicken pox spots. We've missed all the super exciting parties and groups just before the Easter break, the weather has been dismal and we're all full of colds, so it's been a bit pooh.

I went to answer the door to boys no.1 and 2 who were coming back from the Dentist. Seriously, how long does that take? They live here, I only opened the door! I returned to the living room and what greeted me was this...


That is 2 full pots of fish food in a fish tank - this is enough for 6 months, it will kill them.

I spent far longer than I'd like rubbing my head trying to think what to do next and wondering if it would look better if I left the room and came back. I tried a few times just to be sure, but it didn't (damn it).
Organising my head, then 10 minutes running about like a crazy thing trying to find the bucket to put the fish in with absolutely no success. Why is it that you trip over something every day for weeks, and then as soon as you REALLY need it, it's gone? I finally spotted a plastic tub which would do just fine (and the Playmobil is handier when it's chucked out onto the floor anyway).

The fish we have are Silver Sharks. They're not small, they're very quick and they can jump about 30cm. I haven't had to catch them for a while, but it's a 4 handed job. Lacking the extra appendages of an octopus I passed the job on to boys1 and 2 while I sat on the floor ready for the inevitable catch. Stunningly this did not happen. Remember that fact because it's a moment to be proud of in this story - we never once dropped a fish.

We now have the fish decanted into the Playmobil box and the task of emptying the tank is underway with jugs and the household 'sick bowl' because that's the closest we can find to a bucket. There's a trail of water the full length of the house because naturally the best place for a fish tank is at least 100m from the nearest sink or drain. Boy no.4 is having a whale of a time (excuse the pun). This is THE most exciting thing that's happened all week, he can hardly contain his excitement and is desperate to join in. He's running about laughing with spoons and beakers dipping them into anything he can find.


Boy no.3 obviously feels a bit left out by all the attention the fish and his brother are getting, but hasn't the energy to join in, so he secures his position in the pecking order by lying down in the middle of the living room floor and going to sleep.

Boy no.4 is bored with being told off and manhandled away from the action, his brother can't even be suitably poked any more and decides instead to help by getting us some more water for the Playmobil box. He uses the water dispenser on the fridge and the biggest beaker he can find, with which he manages to jam the switch. Water cascading down on him isn't his favourite, so he takes all his clothes off and comes back to harass us again instead. Fortunately boy no.1 spots the new indoor swimming pool before it reaches the edge of the lino, removes the beaker and starts mopping. Doorbell rings. Ah, yeah, Tesco.

15 minutes later we have £200 of  food balanced on the kitchen table, sopping floors throughout, Silver Sharks in a Playmobil box full of tap water, 10 quids worth of fish food goo blocking the drain, a 3 year old birthday boy wearing only a Mike The Knight helmet (presumably to protect him in case of another indoor shower) and a 4 year old with Chicken Pox asleep in the middle of the living room floor. 2 fed up teenagers and 1 Mum who is wondering if there can be any job harder in the entire world than that of parent.

My partner comes home from work...."so, how's it going?".....



I've cheekily added this to Actually Mummy and Just a Normal Mummy's 'What's So Funny?' linky - although it was us asking the question and him answering....

Finding something for a little girl to wear for a special occasion is really easy in my experience, for young boys I've never found it so simple. A nice pair of jeans and a cool t-shirt looks great, but it lacks that special something. It works for a party, but I want something suitable for a wedding. I want to make a special effort. I'm not the sort of person to put their children in bow ties and waistcoats, it just isn't me (or them) so I've been looking for something semi-formal for them to wear.

alexandalexa sell some of the most gorgeous designer children's clothes. They have clothes from all kinds of designer ranges including Chloe, Boss, Burberry, Fendi and Paul Smith. From casual and sportswear through to formal you can find something for every occasion all in one place.


This pale blue Armani Junior pinstripe patterned cuff shirt at £77, or the Junior Gaultier white shirt with tie stitch at £80 are both ideal for an important wedding. I love the idea I could get boy no.3 and boy no.4 into crisp light shirts - and hopefully keep them clean at least long enough to get through the service and the photo's!

I do love little boys in shorts and the Il Gufo navy chino shorts at £53 are really smart and would look lovely while remaining slightly casual. If it's not at all warm then these Tom & Drew smart dress trousers are half price at the moment at only £30 and would really look great on my little boys.

Of course I couldn't resist looking at girls clothes and while there are heaps of beautiful dresses for little girls I did finally remember my teenagers.


I absolutely adore this Monnalisa polka dot cotton dress at £142, but sadly while 2 years ago my girls would have worn it, I think now they'd prefer something more 'teenage'.

The Dino e Lucia cream sequin dress is available for half price at the moment at £86 and the US Angels dropwaist chiffon dress is also half price at an unbelievable £27. Both of these would be really dressy and make the girls feel special without being too 'cute'.

On the website home page they are showcasing the Autumn/Winter 2013 collections which will be available to order later in the year. I'm hoping someone else decides they want to get married later in the year to give me an excuse to treat everyone again!

Alexandalexa offers free postage on orders over £30 and free returns. In addition to designer children's clothing they also stock school and home accessories, children's toys and designer baby gifts.

Fifteen year olds are not meant to stand on toddler toilet steps.

Six foot tall hairy adult sized young men can't stand on a toilet step and jump about, not even if it's making their little brothers laugh, because it breaks into a bazillion pieces - and has a big foot hole where the bit for standing used to be.

We need a toilet step. Boy no.3 and boy no.4 can't quite reach to pee without it, and taking off their trousers so that they can climb up onto the loo is not ideal, especially not at 3am, so boy no.2 had to replace it - immediately. With his own money.

Off he went, head down and annoyed to the nearest shop likely to sell a toilet step, and returned with something beyond our wildest expectations.


The King of all toilet steps, in a beautiful blue with a big smiley face and 2 huge foot-controlled buttons. It plays music! It has a button for teeth cleaning which plays a 2 minute tune, and a button for hand washing which plays a 30 second tune. The boys think it's fantastic, they love it, it's amazing, it was even "awesun". It's also incredibly loud at 1am when everyone else is asleep and I (being only 5 feet tall with little short legs) put my foot on it when I go to have a wee before bed. Techno it may be, but it's lacking a 24 hour clock....


Obviously I have the guilt now because I'd expected it to cost him about £3, and he had to use all of his hard earned £10. But there's a big lesson learned there, not only for him, but for all of our lot.....

Still.....I might let him sweep the drive later for a fiver if he's lucky......

Finally boy no.3 has caught chicken pox. It's taken years of trying and of course it happens exactly when we have outings and parties planned, it's the last week of pre-school before Easter and there is loads of fun stuff to do....and it's 3 days before his little brother's 3rd birthday.

Last night ~ Day 2

I don't really want boy no.4 to have chicken pox on his birthday, but that is kind of outweighed by a desire to get it over and done with......

It would be really handy if they both caught it from the same source and it's only a matter of hours before boy no.4 joins his brother on the sofa not wanting to touch anything. What's more likely however is that he'll continue to be fine and want to play fight four times every fifteen minutes and will spend the next six days leaping on his sore brother and removing the tops from his spots via the power of friction, scraping every available inch of skin as he jumps up and slides down him, grabbing at his arms and anywhere else that is already acutely painful.
He'll want to play and go do loud things, and his ill brother will mainly want to read books and watch movies and we'll have a week of trying to keep 2 little boys busy at both ends of the table.

This morning ~ Day 3

Boy no.3 is being the stroppiest, whiniest, grumpiest and mardiest he's ever been, which is standard for Chicken Pox, and combined with his brother wanting to invent another 15 wrestling moves before lunch isn't going too well, but thankfully he's not really very ill, just a bit hot and tired and feeling very sorry for himself  (Calpol and Piriton are doing a great job).

I've never had to look after a chicken pox child while I have another at home who wants to harass them the entire time. I wouldn't recommend it.

This afternoon ~ Day 3 ~ Lets hope his brother leaves him be for an hour

Obviously in order to draw out the agony to it's fullest extent boy no.3 will just get better and we'll have a couple of days of normality, but not quite enough to get back into the swing of things before boy no.4 develops spots and then I'll have the entire thing in reverse......

On Thursday we took boy no.3 and boy no.4 to the Legoland Discovery Centre at Manchester Trafford Centre to see a preview screening of the new Lego 4D movie which is officially released this weekend.


We've been to the Lego Discovery Centre many times, we bought Annual Passes last year and used to go in and have a coffee while the little ones and boy no.2 played and the girls went shopping - something for everyone. We have never been at night though, and we've never been on a school day. Boy no.3 knew all about it, and was incredibly excited, he had even explained everything in great detail to his pre-school teacher and the rest of the Foundation Stage (age 3-5) children.

When we got upstairs I was delighted to see that not only was Pippa aka Red Rose Mummy there, but I also got to meet two other bloggers who I've harassed with inane comments several times - Jen from mymummiespennies, and Laura who doubles up as Tired Mummy Of Two and Blogs Up North.

My boys are very used to the 3D glasses, and because of our prior knowledge we knew where to sit in order to get full benefit from the 4D special effects (i.e. we sat at the front because we don't mind getting a bit wet!).


The film was brilliant. We've been waiting for a new film for a long while now, and it didn't let us down. The story was fairly basic and straightforward enough for boy no.4 to follow easily, but interesting enough to hold an adult's attention. It features a tour of Chima by 4 young animals and their guide which starts out as a normal tour but they become increasingly involved with other characters in the land. There was action and there were jokes (watch out for the skunk) and the 12 minute film introduced a lot of the Legends of Chima characters and Lego sets, including a great Speedor race between Cragger the Crocodile King and Laval the Lion Prince.

This time the film seems to have made much more use of the lighting on the walls at either side of the room, using it to enhance what is happening on screen, depicting water, greenery and the special powers that the Chi Orbs have. The 'snow' 4D effect seemed much better done than before, it covered the crowd much more thoroughly and floated down really effectively.  Be warned there is a lot more water than in the previous movie and although you will still be dry after 5 minutes you might find tiny children aren't impressed and it's better to sit further back than the first 5 rows!

We had a great time and I have no doubt it won't be long before we're back again....

The Legoland Discovery Centre is at Barton Square, Trafford Centre, Manchester. It is open daily from 10am all year round and is entirely under cover. Until 2nd June there is a special Star Wars miniland display and special events include a Star Wars weekend May 18th & 19th.

I have hundreds of 7" and 12" vinyl records, I even have far more than my fair share of 10" vinyl.I have picture discs and shaped discs and discs made from paper and recycled bottles. I have a big collection of CD's and tapes (tapes, for goodness sake, the kids would think we were insane).

I used to work 3 part time jobs when I was at College, and if I didn't spend it on booze and fags, I spent it on music.
I used to buy a new CD each time I did the weekly shopping, now I order online for delivery and rarely even venture into music shops in town.



I'm actually quite annoyed at myself for the lack of interest I pay in the new music. Maybe it's just the natural way of things, but I'd rather fancied myself as still giving more of a damn about the charts when I'm 60 than most people do when they're 30 and I am beginning to realise that just isn't going to be. In some ways I've 'passed the baton', my older kids all grew up going to Glastonbury and other festivals and have really eclectic musical taste, my eldest now works part time at a big music venue and hopes to do Event Management at University. The children have all dabbled with instruments and we have a budding bass player in my 15 year old. There is music played in my house all of the time, but it's usually not my choice!

Sadly I haven't had anything that plays vinyl out where it can be used for the last 6 years, I only play CD's, so mostly I don't play any of my old favourite music. I may not be using it, but it's occurred to me several times that maybe I'm storing my pension in the loft (or maybe I'm fooling myself and it only has sentimental value). I know there are a few rare ones in there but I wouldn't ever sell any of them unless I had to. Vinyl really does have a special something, it's sexy and sleek and it's huge, so the cover artwork is poster-sized. You have to care for it or you break it. It has a special feel and the ritual of removal from the sleeve and putting it onto the turntable is one that CD's have never managed to replicate.

I do play CD's though, and when I came to live with my partner we had a lot of musical taste in common, so we have a few duplicate copies of albums, mainly from the last 15 years. We also have a lot of CD's that were bought on a whim and we've played once and won't play again. I do not have the same sentimental attachment to CD's as I do to vinyl at all, so I've been meaning to have a look through and sell some on for the last 6 years, it's just one of those things you never get around to - until today. I had a look on Music Magpie to see what my haul might be worth. It was really easy and took seconds, it even totals it up so that you can see at a glance what reward your unwanted duplicate or rashly bought CD's can realise in total. It's not going to make me rich in a hurry, but I'm not doing anything else with these discs and they're just sitting gathering dust, so it really is better to clear it out a bit - everyone keeps telling me that if you haven't used it for over a year then you don't need it, and while I wouldn't ever agree about vinyl, I think they may be right about CD's!


Come to think of it, I can also trade in some of those old Wii games.....

Boy no.4 is only 2, but he has excellent speech and can hold a conversation with anyone, so it's a rare one for us for him to not be able to explain himself.

One whole hour of crying and sobbing and asking me where his sta-danger was and I felt like a failed parent. 

Later we picked up 4 year old boy no.3 from pre-school, brought him home and I asked if he could try and work it out. "Can you tell what your brother is saying, because I can't?"

Boy no.3 says "I'll try Mummy".

Boy no.4 pipes up "Yes, I've been looking for the blue power ranger everywhere and I can't find it. Do you know where it is?"

Way to make Mummy look stupid....

I've spent the majority of my Mother's Days over the last 20 years feeling a bit conned. You got your 'day off', but the fallout is all a bit hard work....

On 'Mothering Monday' as you're sweeping, washing pots, washing 3 extra loads of clothes, finding a hidden broken plate and picking up 27 different bits from jigsaws and box games, it's hard not to wonder why you didn't actually do a bit more on Mothering Sunday in order to protect yourself...... I think that's why we get all the chocolates and flowers, it's to distract our attention - and gives us something to nibble on while we sit in a corner sobbing for 2 hours.

My lot tried this year, they tried really hard and I had a lovely lazy day (well, after being woken at 7.20am because the little ones were so excited to open my chocolates). I got a lovely pile of gifts, certificates and cards. I had chocolate brownies cooked for me, takeaway for tea, pots were washed, toys were picked up. I got 3 coffees without even asking. No-one argued. It was a very good day.

Today I got everyone off to school and came home ready to face my task, prepared for a long day. It actually wasn't so bad, in fact it wasn't really any worse than a regular Monday morning. Apparently it really does get better as they get older. To all of you with only young children ~ do not give up hope.


To my children (and my partner) ~ thank you xx

I am terrible for shoes - and not in the way you'd expect. I don't have any! I have a selection of wellies and flip flops and my trusty 12 year old boots, but no shoes. I'm terribly lazy where footwear is concerned and am happy to be barefoot whenever I'm at home. I've not bought any actual new shoes for years and I've always made do or worn a really long skirt to hide my feet. I have been invited to a wedding this summer and really want to find something special and dressy that I like. As I'll be spending a fair amount I want to be able to wear them again later with a selection of different outfits for different occasions. One place I've never bought clothes or shoes from before is John Lewis. I've never really browsed the clothes in store or online, and I can't think why it didn't occur to me because their range is huge and has everything you could need for any purpose or occasion.

There are heaps of brands represented, but it was really the LK Bennett shoes which took my fancy on this occasion.


These Sally suede scalloped leather trim ballerina pumps in black are on offer at £75, are lovely and pretty without being too girlie and will work with a skirt, dress or trousers. They'll be appropriate for any meetings I might have to go to and will add  little touch of femininity without losing any of the sophistication.

The Linn leather Mary Jane flat pumps in brown snake finish are on offer at £95. They are a bit quirky and add a textured element to any outfit. I love the variety in the shades of brown and tan. They would allow me to choose from any length of skirt and an outfit in any of the earthy or neutral shades.


 If I was feeling brave and daring I could even go for heels. I've never really worn them, but these Freda suede point toe kitten heel court shoes at £95 are subtle and small, and will suit me as I am not tall. The shoes are classic, yet have detail on the toe which adds a little interest and makes them more special.

These Florrie Leather Cut-Out Ballerina Pumps at £165 are my absolute favourite. Although they aren't very formal and wouldn't match with every outfit, they are pretty and they really are very 'me'. They'd be perfect for every event I might wish to go to during the Summer and I have a gorgeous 'oyster' coloured skirt with a cutaway pattern down the centre which would match perfectly. These would be absolutely ideal for completely spoiling myself!


John Lewis has department stores all over the UK. They offer delivery on most items for only £3 and free delivery for orders over £50. There is a Click and Collect service whereby you can collect the next working day from any of a list of 234 John Lewis Department stores and branches of Waitrose, and they are expanding this service in the near future by working with ConnectPlus, which will allow customers to collect from a network of 5000 local shops at a time convenient to them at a cost of around £3.

We did it! With RedRoseMummy in 6.9 degree temperatures we raised over £100 for comic relief. Thank you to everyone who sponsored us, and everyone who made it possible. The children had the best day ever.....although none of them fancied getting in with us....hmmmm


And if you wish to donate -   Our Red Nose Day giving page

Thank You!