William Hague made me cry...

I can't quite believe it as he has one of the most unemotional voices in the world...but I had just picked up Toby from nursery and was listening to the news at 1 on the radio - they were, of course, discussing the incredibly sad news that David Cameron's son Ivan had died that morning. They had suspended Prime Minister's Questions and the House was offering condolences. Hague thanked everyone on behalf of David Cameron and said "Ivan suffered much in his short life, but he brought joy and love to those around him and, as David himself has said in the past, for him and Samantha he will always be their beautiful boy." I couldn't help but cry, sitting there at the traffic lights.

I can't imagine their pain.

Jade Goody's story has also been a constant reminder of the cruelty of life from the other perspective - a parent dying - and how awful it must be for her to leave her two little boys.

There seems to be a lot of sadness around for everyone at the moment. And I had to mark it but don't know how.

So I'll light a candle tonight. For all the parents grieving, for all the children grieving, for all the sadness in the world. And hope that little light spreads out somehow.

PLEASE do this for my cousin

You may have read/heard about "the best job in the world" - they were advertising for someone to work on the Barrier Reef...and she's applied.

My cuz is amazing - as you can see if you watch her video and RATE IT PLEASE!!!

http://islandreefjob.com/applicants/watch/eWM8Q3m8vOA

She honestly would be perfect for this job - she has a degree in Enviromental Management, has worked in so many jobs all over the world - she's a wonderful wonderful woman and could do amazing things if she had the opportunity. And she's all chilly up there in the Alps! So please - spare a moment, watch her vid (she talks very quickly in it but she only had a minute!) and rate her - she's TOTALLY worth it!

Thank you!!!

Having a nervous breakdown!

It's been a tough few days here....starting with Friday 13th - both boys possessed by demons methinks....had a really stressy day and then as I was going out the door to celebrate with my bff Claire's birthday, Toby took a flying leap off a stool and ended up with a horrific nosebleed. He was fine - I did check before I went out (still went out though) but it was awful. Saturday was valentines but I really wasn't in the mood.....

Both of them played up at the weekend - the only highlight was Oz's Ben 10 adventure on Sunday

I won tickets for him on the Cartoon Network to go to the premiere and party for Ben 10 Alien Force. He and Rob went up to Old Billingsgate market and had a fab time - got loads of toys and goodies and a unique experience. Toby and I didn't get dressed all day (Oz wore his spacesuit as you can see)

Toby hasn't been sleeping through for ages - keeps waking up like clockwork at 2 and 4 which has been wearing me down. Sunday night Oz woke up too, with a tummyache (probably from all the free sweets at the premiere). Monday - first day of half term - wasn't too bad - spent the morning in a soft play place (actually that was bad - SO much noise) then went to the park...

Tuesday I'd planned to do aquafit and had booked both boys (and paid for both boys) to go into the creche. For some reason forgetting that Toby was at nursery.....waste of money. Then once I'd got there, got Oz in the creche, got into the changing rooms, I realised everyone was in the water already and looked a bit sweaty - so I'd got the time wrong. I do aqua every week and it's 11 till 12 but for some reason my sleep deprived head had booked 11.30-12.30 and so I missed it.

Really bad night on Tuesday - Toby had one of his croup attacks - it's happened before - spasmodic croup where there are no symptoms or fever, just sudden onset croup. So I spent an hour and a half in a steam filled bathroom, walking him round, trying to ease him - it sounds so horrible, like a bark and a really loud wheeze when he breathes. Last time it happened I called an ambulance but now I know it sounds worse than it is. Unfortunately it meant hardly any sleep as the cough keeps Toby awake or wakes him if he's sleeping as it's so loud.

He was bright as a button in the morning so I took him to nursery. I asked Claire to take Oz so I could go to my chiro appointment which I really needed as my back was in agony after carrying Toby half the night.....got to the chiro. The appointment is today, not yesterday. I felt like a complete plank.

Played at Claires in the afternoon - she's such an angel, feeding us and keeping up a constant caffeine flow for me. Rob rings to tell me he didn't realise but he wasn't going to be home till late as he had to work an event at the Planetarium. I'm so exhausted the idea of putting the boys to bed on my own isn't great but I keep thinking of a hot bubble bath and an early night myself...

Boys are playing around at bedtime, fighting in the bath....I am managing to keep the peace. Get Toby out and put him in his pjs - I have a cot-top changer that Toby is a bit too big for but makes it easier to dress him in his night clothes. He loves, at the moment, to roll off the changer once dressed into his bed. He was quite manic last night and in an early roll attempt, while I was putting his trousers on, managed to whack his lower face on the end of the cotbed.

Blood everywhere. Oz is still in the bath. I'm on my own. Wipe the blood away and comfort the screaming child. His nose was bleeding, then I saw blood in his mouth. A lot of it. I checked his teeth and his tongue - both ok - but then pull his lower lip out and see a bloody great hole - not through to the front of his mouth but a really open gash. Tell Oz to stay in the bath and carry Toby downstairs to find a phone. Ring NHS Direct who were very quick to put me on to a nurse who said to take him to casualty. Oz is still in the bath. I'm on my own. Argh!

Rang the amazing Claire who came straight round. Oz got himself out of the bath and into his pjs and into bed (he was a little star). Took Toby to Casualty - he proceeded to run amok - having a great time climbing up on chairs, trapped his finger in a drawer and needed a plaster....all the staff were asking me what I was feeding him....he was full of beans. Didn't like showing the doc his wounds - but I held him hard and the doctor checked him out. He was fine. The lip, though deep, will heal - mouth injuries heal quicker than others. And he checked his nose which was also fine - not broken or bruised. It felt like a bit of a waste but we were only there for just over an hour so it could have been worse.

Don't know what I would have done without Claire - I'm so grateful.

Last night was another bad one. I think Toby's lip hurt him as he kept waking and screaming his head off. I'm so exhausted. Oz has gone to a daycamp today and Toby is at nursery - I should try and get some sleep this morning but I've got the correct chiro appointment soon and the house is a sty. I'm sort of beyond it now - an hour's kip wouldn't fix it. I'm brewing coffee instead.

Argh. What a horrible few days. I'm really missing my Mum too! She's on a boat in the middle of a tropical ocean - they don't get back till the end of next week.....

Tagged by Jemma

The lovely Jemma in her new home on Blogspot has tagged me!

“Open the 6th picture folder on your computer, open the 6th photo and blog it. Write something about it. Then tag 6 more people to do the same”

OK - this is Rob and I in Antigua in May 2003 - our one and only proper holiday abroad in 18 years as a couple! Our honeymoon back in 1996 had been a complete failure and also in Kiev, not exactly sunny or romantic!

We went to Pineapple Beach resort which was all inclusive and it was lovely. Only complaint was the coral reefs were all dead so the snorkelling wasn't great...we both got sunburnt and I also got my hair corn-rowed the day after this pic was taken! It was wonderful - everything a second honeymoon could be....and I'd be pregnant by the end of the year so who knows when we'll ever get back to the Caribbean...maybe in 2043!

Ok I tag.....Moxie, Clare G, Poppymom...everyone else I know doesn't really blog much anymore (it's all about Facebook) so if FB people read this - Esther, Jai, Kirsti.....think that's 6! Thanks Jemma for the memories!

Snow Day Part 2

We're all going a bit stir crazy. We had a quiet Saturday cos of the cold and although we went out on Sunday, Toby didn't. And now we can't even go anywhere....which makes us want to go out more!

The boys went in the garden again. And Toby killed Mr Carrot Nose the beautiful snowman. (Oscar helped!)


Then Rob and Oz had a snowball fight....
Then they started eating snow!
So I decided to do what my sister had suggested - make snow ice cream a la Little House On The Prairie! Kirsti sent me a recipe from here and here it is

Ingredients:

• 1 cup of milk
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
• 1/2 cups sugar
• CLEAN Snow

Preparation:

Go outside and get 4 - 5 cups of fresh, clean snow. Don't pack the snow! Bring it in the house and set it in the freezer until you need it.

Mix together the milk, vanilla, and the sugar. Stir this mixture until the sugar is dissolved. Slowly add the snow to your mixture, stirring constantly, until it is as thick as ice cream! Eat up!

So I made it - as you can see

We added more snow to the bowl above as it was too runny and it looked right....Oz wasn't sure about it...
But sweet tooth Rob liked it! It was very sweet....and not a strong enough vanilla flavour for me but I didn't have any more vanilla extract so it had to be as it was!

There's Jamie Oliver Squash and Pancetta bake in the oven - I think that will be more popular (except with Toby)....

Snow Day!

They are calling it the blizzard of 2009 on the radio and we woke up this morning to a white world - no cars on the road, no buses, snow snow snow snow snow! The boys are so excited - we've been out already in the garden.....I'm so glad I have a fancy coffee maker, a good gas fire and plenty of food in the house!

Chinese New Year

Yes I know it was on Monday - but the celebrations in London were today so despite it being literally freezing, and snow starting to fall, Oscar, Rob and I ventured up to London. Toby was happily watching Dora the Explorer with Mum. Oz was very excited. He was also being Ben 10 for most of the journey - showing passengers on the train his omnitrix and confusing everyone.

We got up there and it was packed - you oould hardly move. Rob doesn't really do crowds very well.....so we elbowed our way into Chinatown, Oz saw three dragons who were going from shop to shop - I think they were blessing each building. We got some food from a street vendor - char sui pastries, sui mai dumplings and hot dogs in sweet chinese buns for Oz and Rob. The lanterns were beautiful but it was just too crowded so we headed home after about an hour. Which was enough in zero temperatures!!

On the way back to the Station I got to do something I've been wanting to do since Oz was born - got a picture of him with my favourite statue in London. It's Oscar Wilde (as you can see) reclining on a plinth with the immortal line "We are all of us in the gutter, but some of us are looking at the stars" at his feet. Every time I walk past it, which is usually every time I'm up in town, I always grab his hand for luck. Oscar wasn't exactly named after Mr Wilde but I like to think the old rogue inspired me somehow. So here is Oscar meeting Oscar for the first time. Precious....he was so excited to see HIS name on the statue now that he's learning to read and all....Next Sunday is a bigger adventure. I entered a competition (in Oscar's name) to get tickets to the British premiere of the new Ben10 series. And we won. So next Sunday Rob and Oz will be off to a location in London to meet Ben and Gwen and get goodies galore - very excited - Oz doesn't know yet but considering you can see his Ben10 watch in every picture (he even sleeps with it on), I think he'll be excited....

Living in london......

...you hear on the news almost every weekend that someone gets attacked or hurt or stabbed. On Friday night, on his way home from work, Rob got assaulted. He's fine - don't worry it wasn't newsworthy - but it scared and infuriated both of us.

He'd lost his back light on his bike so he was half riding, half walking it home on the pavement. 2 young lads were there and said something to him he didn't catch - he said pardon and then the larger of the two called him a prick and punched him in the mouth. Now Rob is 6ft 4 - they probably didn't realise that as he was hunched over his bike - and Rob has a very scary temper. I have only seen him lose it a handful of times in 18 years but as our mate Trace says - he goes HULK. So they picked the wrong guy. He hit one of them with his bike and shouted at them - who do you think you are? Asked them if their mums knew what they were doing and gave chase. They ran off but the younger one dropped something and Rob thought it was a knife.

It could have been so much worse. I don't think they expected a reaction like they got - they probably thought they could kick some poor blokes head in for a laugh. I hope Rob scared the shit out of them. We reported it to the police and they've rung us three times over the weekend to take more statements from Rob but we haven't seen anyone in person and I think they're just form filling.

Rob just didn't want some other poor bugger to get a knife rather than a punch. He's fine -his lip is a bit bashed. He was FURIOUS though and it took a long time to calm down.

The world outside that we see on the news doesn't often touch us - but it feels like it has now. Maybe this is our time to be a statistic and I'm grateful that it's just a punch. That I'm not one of those people shocked and grieving - like the father stabbed in front of his daughter just half an hour away from us in Croydon. I do love living in London - we're off to the Chinese New Year celebrations this afteroon - but there is a darker side and it came a bit too close this time.....