That was the week that was

Wasn't there some TV program called that, or am I just dreaming it all up.

Wish this last week could be called a dream, but it was a bit more like a nightmare!!!

It started Sunday when mil rang to say that the only two days she would have the girls was Tuesday and Wednesday. Now I've been saying over and over and over again for the last goodness knows how long that my only day off is Wednesday and that I would like to do some things with the girls on Wednesdays.

So to start with I get my pig-head on and become stubborn and say that's it their not going over there. Then I calm down a bit and think about it and realise that I'm going to be ultra busy Monday and Tuesday, so it would really help me if they did go over on Tuesday. If I have to give up one Wednesday then so be it, but that's the last one.

As it turned out it was just as well they went as I ended up with some sort of bug that started on Tuesday afternoon and my temperature sored and my throat got the green scrubbing brush feeling (still got the sore throat now).

So my delivery turned up Monday and I start getting manic to get as many pre-orders out of the door as possible - about 2/3rds went out which isn't bad if you knew how many there were. Tuesday morning sees me doing the hour plus round trip to drop the girls off before I start work :( Get the rest of the pre-orders done and all is well (except for the aforementioned temperature etc....).

Wednesday I drag myself out of bed before Gary goes to work, but decide to take the morning easy and didn't go down the shop until about 1pm. And that's when it really started getting bad!

I find that some lovely little cretinous darling has smashed the front window of the shop. Luckily it's a double glazed unit so it's left a hole and lots of cracks but has not shattered. I pay a premium to the council for the windows so I'm straight on the phone to find out what I have to do and that sets the ball rolling to get it sorted.

Then these little brats who I know range from 6-13 (one of them is in the same year as DD1 who is 6) start using the hole in the window as target practice for their football. First I tap the window and shake my head - this makes them jump a bit as I don't think they thought anyone was there. A few minutes later they start again, including punching the window. So I go out and ask politely for them to stop doing it, including trying to have a conversation about how they would feel if it was their window (one of them tells me he lives in a cardboard box - not a good sign). Anyway to cut a long and boring story short it gets worse, I ring the police - when they turn up I find that the lady in the flats above me and the lady in the house next to the shops have also rung the police as they realise that things are getting out of hand.

Trouble is although a policeman turned up, so did two community policewomen. Now I know they do a job and they have their place, but basically these kids were laughing about it all. All they did was take their names and go - they didn't even talk to any of the three of us that had called them - so what good was that.

I was told that the window would be boarded within a few hours of me ringing, however I gave up after three hours and went home to see to the girls, they turned up after 6 hours. So now it's boarded and apparently will take about 5 days to be reglazed.

I guess Thursday and Friday sort of blur into insignificance after that, but at least we are through week one of the school holidays and I still have two daughers and what little sanity I ever had.

Well done if you got this far :)

WOW that was hard

I recently sent out an open invite on UK Scrappers asking for two more members for my design team. I got loads of fantastic entries and I've spent most of today deliberating over them.

I kept going back and back elminating a few at a time until I whittled it down I to the last few - then it really was crunch time.

E-mails have gone out to the final two so I'm now just waiting to see if they want to accept and then I'll be able to announce them.

Yesterday Chrissie and Julia from Scrappers Unlimited held their Colour Seminar in the hall across the road from the shop - great day and some fantastic layouts. And yes I even managed to do most of the seminar too. Will be looking at booking another seminar for the future, but I want to get the next few weeks out of the way.

Will be exceptionally busy tomorrow as I'm expecting a delivery and I have to turn a lot of it around straight away as it's on pre-order for the UKS Summer Holiday Kits. Oh what joy, very busy day and first day of the girls school summer holidays - where did I put the prozac.

Just toooooooo hot

OMG how much hotter can it get!!

I'm not a fan of summer as it is and at the moment I'm just a little fedup with constantly being soaked.

OK, it's my fault that I'm well overweight, but I defy even the skinniest of people not to be getting a bit of a sweat at the moment.

And sleeping is a no go area unless like yesterday evening I'm so dead on my feet I just doze off.

We went over to the inlaws for lunch yesterday and then it was my youngest neices birthday party in the afternoon. Not a particuarly strenuous day, but we got back here and by the time I'd fed us and put the girls to bed I was wiped out. Went and laid down for a minute and two hours later I got back up again.

Still didn't get anything sorted out with regard to the girls going to their grandparents for a few days in the holidays - I know what will happen, it will suddenly be September and they still won't have gone. The funniest thing was that yesterday the inlaws were moaning that they'd hardly seen them this year - like that's my fault. Between DH and them it's like banging my head against the wall, probably why there's a head shaped dent in ours then.

Sorry will now step down off soapbox and shuffle away

Nobody is perfect

OK maybe a newborn baby is, but it doesn't take long for that to change.

As much as we may strive to do the right thing and live our lives to a certain set of rules, sometimes we fail. And boy do we know about it when we do, either by beating ourselves up about it or having others do it for us.

A friend of mine recently made a mistake, not a big mistake in that she did what was expected, however maybe not quite in the way it was expected so it became a mistake. She has acknowledged that she made a mistake, but has explained what was done instead. All seemed well for a short while but then BANG it's back again and again and again.

At this point I will hold my hands up and say I wasn't there so this is all hearsay, however I have personally spoken to several people who were and they have all told me the same thing. Strangely enough others that were not there seem to have a completely different story and they are being believed.

I believe my friend, not the chinese whispers hearsay that seems to be so much more agreeable to others. I have seen how much this has upset my friend, I have heard the tears in her voice when she has spoken about what has happened. Even today, a week after it all rose it's nasty little head, this has been thrown in her face again.

So just remember, nobody is perfect and everyone makes mistakes - or can you claim to be the one that can throw the stone.

It's been 9 years today

since we got married - wow is that all.

Actually we've been seeing each other for nearly 17 years which is why when I say 9 years it doesn't really feel right.

We've had our ups and downs like most couples do, but it's definately been more ups than downs which is what makes it work.

Not a lot more to say about it really, except roll on the next 9 years :-)

Another busy week over

Well this week has certainly been a bit different - what with doing things with/for the girls, the shop footfall was amazing this week.

I've also been involved in a project - sorry can't say any more at the moment (don't you just hate it when people do that), but suffice to say all will be revealed in a couple of weeks.

I'm still trying to decide about shutting the shop for an extra day during the school summer holidays so that the girls have a bit more mummy time. If I do then it will probably be Mondays and Wednesdays, but I really don't know yet.

And I really need some "me" time at the moment too - I know this because I'm getting to tetchy about everything, mind you the weather hasn't been helping that one.

Oh bless - I so love my daughters - they are currently laid back on the settee together with little Sports Relief hand fans and Alanna turns round and says "Why is there so much wind"

Right, off to sort out school uniform etc...

My girlies

When I first opened the shop - nearly two years ago now, I promised myself that I would not compromise on one thing. My family always come first !

So in the last week I have shut the shop several times to do things with the girls, last week was take Alanna on her Nursery day trip and today was for Sabrina to do her very first ballet exams.

I haven't attached pictures before so not sure if this will work.

- oooooh it did, here is one that I took of Alanna last week - not that good as she wouldn't smile properly

I like this one better as the light coming through the window just makes it look surreal - well I think so anyway - OK so I have to work out how to place them all a bit better

.

OK on to todays photo's of my little ballerina - she passed by the way and was sooooooo pleased with herself - so was I




Isn't she just so gorgeous