Beans recommended by Otto

It snowed during the night and it carried on for the rest of the day. Mid morning there seemed be a good dumping which settled but late on, there wasn't much accumulation at all. By evening it was thick and settling plenty.

Small walked to school by himself to get to basketball practice. I think he is now on the team as his teacher said he could give him a lift back after the game to get to ski club. Well done Small. The only confusion this causes now is whether I have to drive him to the game or not. I left Small with a note for his bag tomorrow to call me with some answers. Smallest went on the bus and I went off to work.

Today we were in the Greenhouse which is good because it's freezing!!! We potted up many plants but had a lovely lemon and poppy seed scone and coffee at break. Yum yum.

I got back at lunchtime when Huffle got a whole hour off and we watched some more of New Life in the Sun. Afterwards, I went shopping for food and bumped into Otto who shouted 'hey neighbour' and his little daughter (I think she's about 2) also shouted hey neighbour every time I passed them in an aisle. He even recommended some baked beans for me to try at just 87c - bargain!

Back home I FaceTimed Moo before putting my shopping away, sorting out the fridge and making a start on dinner. I made Breaded Chicken and Fish.

The boys came home in a strange mood. Smallest was tetchy with Small and Small was grumpy with me (mainly because of the chore I gave him). Both did piano practice before going on their tablets.

This evening I gave Huffle a night off and let him stay home and play XBox with Small while I took Smallest to football practice.

 

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Clip On Cheese

I was rudely awoken at 7:45am by Smallest who was very apologetic because he had forgotten me. I didn't sleep well last night, it was too hot, my mind was too full, I heard noises......

Small put on his newly ironed shirt and waited for Huffle to rise to put on his tie for him. Lunches were made and the boys played on their tablets until it was time to go. I waved them off from upstairs as I needed to get to early too.

Mr smart ready for his graduation photo

Today I taught my first crochet lessons to three ladies from knitting. Bernard, Miche and Mims. I took everything I have ever crocheted (and not given away) including baby blankets (crocheted by Grandma too when Small was born), toys and hats. Just to show them what could be crocheted and what the different stitches looked like. We started with a basic chain and then I taught them to turn and complete rows. They were very excited and eager to learn. Mims knew how to crochet but needed a refresher and some direction. We all think she will have a complete blanket by next week. I started Miche off with a hat to continue whilst at work, plus her blanket and left Bernard with her starting blanket and a book of instructions. I had several texts saying how lovely it was and they can't wait for next week. Today was hosted by Bernard and next week will be at Mims. I was worried about nothing. It was excellent.

I managed to get home in time for a quick bite to eat with Huffle while we watched a small part of New Life in the Sun (BBC). Then I ran off to my Monday exercise class. I was the only one there again today. It was fun but hard and the hour flew by really quickly. She made me use a heavier weight today so I may not be able to lift my arms tomorrow! I have never been able to do press ups (push ups) so ExerciseNic has a plan to teach me. She makes me try one perfect one (or as close to) each time. I am doing better but am not there yet.

I came home showered, put away my crochet stuff and tidied up before the kids and MrsPiano arrived. Smallest came home with his Ukulele and played me a tune and taught me the notes too. I played it a bit but it's not easy on your fingers - now I know what he means. He brought home his French that he had marked which was a A- plus another one which was a B-. Considering he only started this term, he's doing really well. Small had homework and told us all about his photo which he said was ridiculous. All the different poses he had to do but he promised me that he tried to smile nicely. While Smallest was messing in the kitchen with his ball, he found a Christmas present for Small. At Christmas I always hide some of the kids presents to make them last longer. I never know where they are or how many are hidden so it's not a surprise that they turn up at odd times (though it IS nearly February). His present as a pair of joggers. Typical that we bought hima new pair this weekend!

MrsPiano came and Smallest started learning The Entertainer (one of my favourites). Small is going to learn House of the rising Sun when MrsPiano brings him the music next week.

We all had dinner and then we took Smallest to Cubs where they were Sledging and Skating at one of the leaders houses. Small stayed behind to finish his homework and Huffle and I went for a very cold walk around the Hamlet for 45 minutes until we picked up Smallest who had had lots of Sledging fun, a hot chocolate and got to hold the flag for the investiture.

 

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Don't get shirty!

Smallest decided on a 'List Day' today and started writing the list while we were having breakfast. Everyone added something and we started with my new game I got for Christmas from Suffolk. She actually bought it for me because (a) she has it and she thought I would like it, (b) she knows I play games with the boys, (c) she thought we might be able to understand it and help her and family play it better........ it was quite a complicated game, based on Dungeons and Dragons but much simpler (apparently, I am not geeky enough to know THAT). The game took almost two hours and I have to say I was quite confused for most of that though I was winning at one point. Small won in the end, like all strategy games we play! By the time we finished it was in fact lunchtime so we chose to finish the Harry Potter film (this time without Huffle falling asleep) and eat our lunch too.

To get back some energy we payed a table tennis tournament in which Huffle won. Those boys are so good now, I actually have a bruise where Small hit the ball so hard and it hit my arm! Next we played MarioKart. Once again I lost terribly. I can never see the roads! I can't remember who won that but it was either Small or Huffle.

One of the games we got for Christmas was a card game called Wizard where you have to guess how many tricks you are going to get. Guess what? I'm not very good at that either. Huffle won.

On our list was iron Small's shirt for photo day and choose a tie. This was a perfect time to teach Small how to iron. Huffle and I have decided we will have our own version of Cubs/Scouts and call it SCOOTS and give them badges for new things learned. However, as Small was trying on his shirt, we realised Huffle had picked up the wrong size yesterday when exchanging it for one that didn't have marks on it. BUGG3R. Huffle and Small hurried out to the shop with minutes to spare before it closed. Smallest played on his tablet after helping me empty the dishwasher and I sorted out my crochet stuff for my first lesson tomorrow (EEEEK).

The shirt was ironed (partly by Small and finished by me) and a tie chosen which was a plain red one. We are hoping the photos are first thing so he can change later because we are not sure how smart he can stay, plus who wants to wear a tie all day!

The boys played on the XBox while Huffle FaceTimed Grandma and Grandad and I started dinner which we then ate whilst watching The Ninja Warrior UK and The Voice.

 

 

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Personal Pancake Pizza

A Saturday with no football - hurrah. Smallest was glad of the break too. The boys and I watched Spy in the Wild (BBC) very interesting and a bit funny. Huffle joined us for a short while before we made personal pancakes (instead of a pile of small ones, we had one bigger one each). Smallest and Huffle played Chess.

We sat and wrote a list of what we needed to do today and made Small try on Huffle's shirts and ties. On Monday he has Graduation photos and he has to wear a white shirt and a tie and they get to borrow a graduation gown for their photos. I find it all a bit silly but that's what they do here. The shirts were too big for him so we put shirts on our list. I also made him try on his jeans as he has lost lots of weight, or grown taller, or both recently so his bigger waisted jeans are too big and his smaller ones now fit him again. However he needed black trousers and white shirt for Band too.

Armed with our list, we headed out. First stop was The Tire where Huffle brought a windscreen wiper for his car and I got a replacement bird feeder. The kids played tig (is it tic or tig, I can't remember) and we popped to Walmart (eeeuuuggghh hate the place) for a rug for under Huffle's desk in the loft and some toiletries.

Next stop was Small's shirt which we got and a pair of chino style black trousers with 'flex' so he can't moan about not being able to move in them, and a new pair of joggers. By this time everyone was hungry so Huffle took us to the Pizza place where we went with Moo when we went for a huge walk New Years Day. We all had personal Calzones which were perfect and lovely though Smallest and I had to bring some of ours home as we couldn't manage it all.

On the way home we went to Bulk Barn for sweets for the kids, nuts for Huffle and Flax Seeds to make a new Heaty wheaty bag (one of those bags filled with wheat or on this case flax that heat in the microwave) that I am planning to make. We did our research this morning and Flax is good for retaining heat and small enough to mould on your body in a bag. We bought easily enough for one bag and it only cost $2 (just over £1).

Back home the kids were separated and sent to read in their rooms to stop annoying each other, I knitted and crocheted and Huffle tidied. Later we all started watching Harry Potter (the first one).

 

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Are you an optimist?

No early sports practices to get to today so the boys left for the school bus together after a good play on their tablets. Small dropped his IPad today and cracked the screen (argggghhhh).

I had a call yesterday saying that Small was being given a Character Award in morning assembly. Huffle couldn't make it as he was busy, so I went along by myself. He didn't know he was getting an award but he guessed once he saw me walking through the playground. His award was for teamwork and was voted for by his classmates. He shared the award with one of friends - Bogie.

The assembly was short today, thank goodness, and I was out of there by 9:40 so I popped home to finish my coffee before heading out again for my knitting group. I was supposed to be meeting Suffolk there but she got waylaid. I managed to start a heel on my sock but learned I had to undo part of it so abondoned it. A couple of the ladies asked if I would do a crochet class and I agreed - we are starting on Monday. Originally it was just two ladies at one of their houses, but later another one asked to join too. I now have to work out how much to charge and what to do as they want regular weekly sessions. I think we'll see how the first one goes before we start planning too much. I am now doubting myself and my abilities!!!!!

I did meet up with Suffolk for lunch and I had an Orange, Carrot and Ginger Soup which was very gingery. We did a bit of window shopping and ended up in the Quilting shop where I picked up a pattern and some material for a project (can't say any more yet).

I came home and watched the Leicester City game and undid my knitting until the kids came home. I made dinner and hurriedly ate mine. Tonight I went out with Suffolk to a Wine, Women and Wellness evening. We paid $15 for the ticket and it certainly wasn't worth it. Neither of us could drink (I was driving and she can't drink at the moment). The food was minimal (fruit sticks, popcorn, tiny bits of pizza, minuscule cup cakes). There were ten vendors ranging from a gymnastics school doing aerial hoop displays, a massage therapist offering 5 minute mini massages, an essential oils diffuser seller selling $150 diffuser packs, a running club giving 25% off shoes tomorrow only, a stall giving vitamin B12 injections there and then and a couple more. The room was really small and there were only so many times we could walk around. We were expecting demonstrations and talks but you had to literally walk up to the stall and ask questions. It was rubbish quite frankly. Suffolk (who is very British and doesn't normally say boo to a goose) asked if we could take our wine home (it was in a can). They ummed and ahhhed and said yes if we put it in our bags and didn't make a big thing of it, so at least we got our wine for later. We stayed for about an hour and half which was impressive all things considered, mainly because one of the volunteers was a friend of ours and we got to chat to her (though she was the one that talked us into going!). I stopped at Suffolks for a cup of tea and finally came home.

Both boys were in bed though I got to see Small before he fell asleep.

 

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Medal for Long Service

I definitely did not want to get up this morning. Smallest woke me from a dream where the whole house (of people I don't know) was preparing for a dinner party and lots of different people were cooking in our tiny tiny kitchen. I was just sweeping the floor when the guests arrived............

Small didn't want to get up either. He had had too many early mornings, sports filled days and late nights. The boys went off to school and I took my poorly car in to the garage. This time Huffle followed behind to give me a lift back as it was snowing quite heavily. The snow carried on all day but didn't come to anything.

I went to Suffolks for a cup of tea and a chat before popping to Taff's to pay for a ticket for an event I am going to tomorrow evening. I knew the name of her road and I have been to her house twice but didn't know the number. I drove around the crescent but gave up and just parked on someone's drive ready to ask them. There can't be that many Welsh people on one street I thought. I can't believe it but I picked the right house and it knew that as soon as I saw the welsh flag outside.

Next I went to our doctors where I visited the Nurse who looked through the kids immunisations to check if they needed any extra injections. Our Health Department sent us notes for both boys. One of them asking if Small had his Pertussis (I believe this is whooping cough) vaccine in 2007 and the other stating that if Smallest had one of his vaccines before he was 1 yeas old in the UK, then it is not valid here. She left a note for the doctor to check if it's ok for her to give them the vaccines needed and said she would call me back.

In the meantime I picked up a prescription and recieved a call from the garage saying that my O2 sensor wasn't working and it needed a new one. This will then hopefully stop my computer messages coming up. I drove home (I borrowed Huffle's car today) and had lunch with Huffle who had moved his desk into the loft. Looks much better but we'll have to see how it works out when we have visitors staying up there.

My car was ready after lunch so I walked to pick it up and brought it home. This afternoon I slowly made dinner and listened to the radio waiting for the new Jamiroquai song to come on. I was a little disappointed as we have been waiting for them to record new stuff for ages. Oh well, I still look forward to the new album. They probably won't Tour over here. BOOOO!

Nice hat Jay

The boys came home. Both did a chore and played on their tablets before dinner. Huffle and Smallest played table tennis before Huffle took Small to football. Smallest and I stayed at home and also played table tennis and then watched Trolls.

 

HAPPY ANNIVERSARY TO GRANDMA AND GRANDAD for tomorrow. 46 years? We phoned the Medal Police.

 

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Basketball, Snowboarding, Pigs and Ukulele

Small set his own alarm for 6:45am. I drove him to school for his 8am basketball practice armed with all his Snowboard stuff for Ski Club later. I drove back, had my breakfast and waved Smallest off on the bus.

I drove my car to the garage, dropped it off and walked to my exercise class. OUCH! Today's class hurt a lot. I am still aching from Mondays class and we counted up that we did 185 squats. Now that will hurt more tomorrow. I walked home tentatively and I just got my coat off and I got a call from the garage saying my car was ready. Ooohhhhhh. Huffle went up into the loft for a call so I went out and walked back to the garage. It was a bit easier as I was looser from my walk home.

The garage have said that it was a computer error possibly and they reset it and asked me to bring it back when and if it did it again. They mentioned there could be a problem with my emissions but as I have just had a test, that seems unlikely. I came home and had a shower and then lunch with Huffle.

This afternoon I swiffed and mopped downstairs and took off the old shoe rack and cupboard from the sun room as our new show shelf is working beautifully. I made chilli for dinner.

Smallest came home from school by himself as Small was at SkiClub. He brought home a French paper with an A on it and was very pleased. He had also done his 3 little pigs play today and the silly wolf blew down the brick house. He was disgusted and they had to re-film it. He brought home a Ukulele to practice on. He says it hurts his fingers.

Huffle took Smallest to football practice where the boy that caused all the trouble in the first place, and who was supposed to have a three match ban, was there today. The new Coach wasn't there and neither was the old coach. One of the Dads was coaching (who we think has been lined up to take over) with MrSchmooze. Smallest wasn't overly impressed with the practice.

I stayed at home and watched The Halcyon and rested. When Smallest came home we realised the shower was broken and wouldn't produce any cold water. MrBasement has to come on Friday to fix it again. He came round about three months ago to fit a new cartridge which are given away as they have a lifetime guarantee (but obviously don't last very long).

Huffle picked up Small in my car (all the symbols came back and now I have to take the car back to the garage tomorrow). He had had a good Basketball session this morning and a good snowboarding lesson this evening. He is now an Intermediate.

 

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Every muscle hurts

Small woke me from a dream about elephants in a lake near an office block........... I did not want to get up this morning, I was sooooo very tired. I'm guessing Smallest was tired too as he didn't get up at his normal time, subsequently Small was up late too. Poor Small had to get to school for 8am for a basketball practice (he still doesn't know if he is on the team yet!). He wanted to walk so I quickly made his lunch and sent him on his way. I then sorted out Smallest's lunch and waved him off on the school bus before quickly eating my breakfast and going off to work in the Greenhouse with Jan and Jeff. We made hundreds of Begonia cuttings today. It was nice to be back in the Greenhouse and hear plans of what is going to happen to the future of the garden centre.

At coffee break, MrsM served me my coffee in a Leicester City mug which she gave to me as a present. I love it.

I left with a begonia plant for the house and my new mug and came home to lunch made by Huffle. What a lucky lady I am. We watched A new Life in the sun and Huffle went back to work in the loft as the sump pump was noisily busy in the basement.

I FaceTimed Moo whilst sorting washing and then I made fish cakes for dinner which we had later with cous cous. I ache so badly from yesterday's new exercise class, I can hardly move my legs and arms and stomach and bum, well everything really.

The boys came home. Smallest is finished in Tchoukball tournament and is still waiting to hear if he is on the Dodgeball team. He made a bit more of his castle using gears and pulleys and is very pleased with it.

It snowed for most of the day and settled a little bit but didn't come to much in the end. Hopefully there will be no school bus disruption and consequent cancelling of ski club etc. I have to remember to take my car in to the garage on my way to my excercise class (groan).

 

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New try out

Small woke me. I didn't sleep very well and neither did Huffle. Not sure why. It was cold in our room but warm too, which makes no sense. I sorted the kids and waved them off to school on the bus, had a quick breakfast and got myself ready.

This morning I met up with Suffolk in Port Perry and we had a nice cup of tea and a wander around the shops. We didn't have too long because we both had something to get to at lunchtime. I went to Tim Hortons (not a place I go to too often but I was in a hurry) and I thought about going through the drive through but chickened out. I have never ever been through a drive through (apart from the time I tried to drive through it backwards to get to another shop). I ate my bagel on the way home with three different lit signals in my car. 4WD, VSC, Check Engine. Huffle checked when I got back and it meant that I had a fault and needed to take it to the garage.

I took it to book it in on my way to my new exercise class and it will be looked at on Wednesday morning. It felt weird going to a class in the middle of the day and when I got there it was just me and ExerciseNic. She made it fun and we did a kind of circuit using the treadmill as well. It was much harder than my Wednesday class with the seniors and I certainly worked hard. I will definitely feel it tomorrow.

At home I showered, watched Call the Midwife and then made a Carrot and Tomato Soup. The boys came home fighting over who should shut the back gate. I told them if it broke because the wind got hold of it then I would make them both pay for a new one. Small stomped around saying it wasn't him who came through last and Smallest laughed saying he came through first. In the end Small begrudgingly shut it and stomped around a bit before eating his yoghurt (that he never eats at school) and going off to do his homework.

Smallest helped me make cheesey scones for dinner to go with the soup and then both did their piano when MrsPiano came. Both boys are sounding really good and have new songs to learn.

This evening we left Small at home and took Smallest to a new football club for a try-out. He did well and worked very hard but said he liked it. The Coach will let us know by email. It was about 35 minutes drive away which is further away but in a nice dome with plenty of space. We'll see what happens. We didn't get home until 8:45pm so Smallest was in bed late by the time he'd had his shower. We have said he doesn't have to go to football practice tomorrow if he is too tired. He also scraped his arm falling.

 

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Organising

My morning, with Smallest, started with two games of Robin Hood which was hard because we haven't played it for a while and I couldn't open my eyes properly after Huffle rudely woke me with his snoring.

Sunday..........a time for relaxing and sitting around enjoying the weekend? Well that's what we thought we were doing except that I seemed to get the urge to DO today. After a lovely waffle and fruit breakfast, we went into the basement to sort out the games shelves. I wanted to see if we could get rid of any games that we didn't play or want anymore plus clean the shelves while they were empty. We only got rid of three games in the end but the rest are sitting in a clean place and are nicely organised. We had a pile of games we weren't sure about so put them out to try later. While we were down there we swiffed and cleaned the rest of the basement and organised the XBox and TV cabinet. Looking smarter.

The boys did such a good job that we allowed them XBox time while Huffle and I moved a huge wooden blanket box from downstairs to our bedroom (ready for me to bump into on my way back from a middle of the night bathroom trip no doubt). Because we moved the box from the Sun Room we started talking about the need for some kind of shoe storage as we have a lot of footwear and it all looks a mess. We had a general tidy up and then the kids came up and we played Pictureka card game. It was very silly.

For a mid afternoon dinner, we made our own pasta which was delicious. The boys helped to roll out the dough in the machine. Someone posted, on our local buy and sell site, a huge shelf unit that was perfect for our shoe needs. Unfortunately it was too large for us to get in my car so we asked for DonNoQuotey's help. He was more than happy though had to help much more than we originally anticipated. We gave him beer for his help in carrying it from the other house, putting it on his truck and helping us carry it into our house. He only wanted one beer but we gave him four as we felt guilty. Much later Huffle and I put it in place and put our shoes on it. Perfect.

The boys had a couple of games of Chess (which didn't end brilliantly but was good while it lasted) and then we worked our way through three different Lego games. One of them we decided we would sell and the others we kept. We ended the day with another Pictureka! card game but this time whilst relaxing in the living room. It was even sillier this time and took forever.

I forgot to put my step counter on this morning and despite being on my feet and 'doing' most of the day, it seems I have only done 7,000. Well I know I have done plenty today. Tired now!

 

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Decorate the forest

Another lie-in. Lovely. We had heavy fog and localised fog warnings until tomorrow morning.

After breakfast, all the boys watched Stoke draw against ManU BOOO! I sat upstairs and watched the end of The Queen which was disappointing.

For lunch we went out and had a lovely dinner with rubicks cube solving and a game or two of Monopoly Deal. We wanted to go to the cinema to watch Fantastic Beasts but it was only showing at 7pm so we went for a walk instead.

Huffle drove down to the lake and we started walking at The Mushroom House. Smallest took a bouncy ball and we bounced and then Huffle and Smallest started playing Human Bowls where they rolled the ball towards Small and I and it had to get close without hitting us. We ended up on the beach again (my fault this time). It was very eerie as the fog was coming down quickly. The boys threw stones and sticks in the water and we wandered along the beach until we hit a river coming in to the lake and we couldn't cross.

Along the way we spotted some random things:-

Decorations randomly in huge trees, an abandoned kids wagon and a fully decorated Christmas tree

We played Pooh Sticks and turned round to walk along the other way. It got too stoney and rocky so we went back onto the trail and continued playing with the ball. Eventually we turned round and walked back. I think we walked over 3.5miles and I definitely did over my 10,000 steps.

Back home we watched Pete's Dragon, had tea and watched Ninja Warrior UK.

After th kids went to bed, Huffle and I watched the film Arrival. It was really good once we figured out what was going on.

 

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3 miles in the kitchen

I had the best lie-in this morning. I woke up before 8am but just snoozed on and off until just after 9am. Lovely. The silly boys were waiting for me to have breakfast with them. Huffle started work at the kitchen table, then moved to the computer room when we joined him and then into the loft when Small joined him.

Today Small had an essay to do on Marine animals in captivity. He worked very hard on it. Smallest and I played two games of chess. One stalemate again and one I won without even realising. Smallest and I then decided we would go out and do a quick shop. He was my handy pick up man and I dodged all the silly people in our way. I left my debit card in the car and had to leave Smallest behind with the shopping half scanned while I got it. He was a very helpful young man and very good company too. We laughed a lot.

Back home he helped me to put away with Huffle's help too. Small came down for lunch with us (Huffle had to disappear back in the loft) and we watched a bit more of Toystory2. Small carried on with his essay while Smallest and I played Mastermind and StackEmUp. I did washing and drying and left Smallest playing on his tablet. I put the bread machine on to make some pizza dough and then thanks to JacknJill I did my first 3mile walk video in the kitchen. I knew I wouldn't get my walk in today with the kids at home so I thought I would give it a go. It was excellent and increased my steps and my heart rate and I felt like I did a good workout. https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=wuDp6v_oL34.

Small finished his essay and rewarded his hard work with playing on the XBox with Smallest after they finished laughing at me 'walking'. I watched a Great Interior Design Challenge and then made a start on dinner when Huffle finished working. Between us we made Personal Calzones and we all sat and watched Ninja Warrior UK.

I've had a lovely day with the boys home today, though mainly it's been Smallest because Small has been hidden away on the computer working on his essay which was really good.

The boys like to shut themselves in the corner cupboards. Silly b*ggers

Small thought I had stopped taking photos of him but I caught him in the act

 

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Driving on water

I was woken by Smallest crawling in to bed and trying to warm his freezing cold hands on me. Brrrrrrr. He had already had breakfast and collected his stuff together but was looking for someone to squeeze the toothpaste for him (it was at the end of the tube). Small didn't want to get out of bed this morning apparently. Too many early mornings for him lately. Oh well, it's another PA day tomorrow so kids are off from school. Really? They've only just got back from Christmas.

I really really ached from yesterday. Shoulders, bum, abs, quads. OUCH OUCH OUCH? The only thing that made me feel better was that ExerciseNic also felt sore! I had a lovely slow easy morning as the bus was running so I didn't need to get dressed (though I did take Small to school yesterday in my PJ bottoms, eeeugh, not just my bottoms). I waved the little darlings off, had breakfast, cleared the kitchen of everyone's debris and watched Unforgotton. I even had time to straighten my hair, make my packed lunch and a mint/chamomile/ginger tea to take with me later. I also finished off the family Christmas Jigsaw all by myself WHOOPS.

Late morning I drove to school and collected four Dodgeball kids (Small included) and headed to Port Perry for the tournament. Their first game was at 12 in a small gym split into two. Our school had two teams and they played on different ends and different sides so it made it quite difficult to watch. It was extremely noisy and there were not enough seats for everyone to sit.

Therefore, I left and walked around the lovely town of Port Perry. I happened to text NoCustard just to see if she was around and luckily she was sitting having coffee, so I joined her. She was with some friends but I scared them away and we sat and chatted for a while before she left and went home for lunch. I decided to stay and walk around, say hello to MrsM, buy some British items for the kids, visit the wool shop, peruse a couple of other shops and walk to the lake to take some photos. The lake was frozen with huge puddles of wet on top. I wasn't sure whether it was pure ice underneath until I saw a car driving on it. What an idiot! I watched for a few minutes and then left as I didn't want to watch them fall through the ice!

I went back to the tournament to see the team play their last game. They came seventh out of fourteen. It was their first tournament so it wasn't a bad performance. I drove them all back to school where they had around 30minutes left of school and I came home for a cup of tea. I'm feeling a bit fed up (probably hormonal), I don't know if it's because I find the other mums distant and not overly friendly or if it's because I don't feel like I've done much this week, I don't know!!!! I had a FaceTime with HB and Aunt Pear which cheered me up.

The boys came home and practiced piano for HB and Aunt Pear as HB decided that would be their chore for going on the XBox. I made dinner and Huffle and Small went off to football practice. Alfie got 1 goal. The goalie was CoachOlDHead. Huffle has sent an email to a different club asking if Smallest can try out for their team and we are hoping to go on Monday. Smallest and I stayed at home and played chess (it was a stalemate) and finished watching Paddington and started Toy Story2. So busy.

 

 

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More ice, more cancellations

Small woke me early and once again I got lunches ready while the boys got themselves together. I took Smallest to school for his 8am basketball practice and we bundled in his Dodgeball kit for the tournament and Snowboard stuff for Ski Club later. However, there had been a freeze on top of the melt yesterday so everywhere was covered in a film of ice. I dropped him at school and met the Secretary who told me there would be no Ski Club and no Dodgeball either (I should have driven the kids there today for their tournament which was postponed from yesterday).

I brought his Snowboard bag home and parked towards the end of the drive thinking it would be safer to walk close to the grass (or where the grass is when it's not under four foot of snow) but I couldn't move or get a grip and for every step I moved forward, I slipped backwards two more steps. It was very frustrating but Huffle was still in bed and Smallest was inside with the blinds shut. I was almost in tears because it was just impossible! Once inside I found out the bus was officially cancelled and I had two phone calls saying Ski Club was cancelled and then a call later from Small officially telling me Dodgeball was cancelled but on for tomorrow if I could drive. (I can but I had to cancel other things!).

I drove Smallest to school and sat in ExerciseNic's drive catching up on emails, Facebook, etc until she turned up. Today I gave out my lemon curd, though one of the ladies wasn't there so I delivered it on my way Home. It was tough today as I didn't get much sleep last night and I feel exhausted physically and mentally, from all the cancelled clubs and rescheduling etc. Still, we did well and I'm glad I went. So glad in fact that I signed myself up for another session on Mondays. I may regret this ha!

At home I facetimed Moo while Huffle went out and renewed his Health Card. All news caught up on, I had a shower and then lunch with Huffle when he returned.

This afternoon I tidied the loft. It was a huge mess from Christmas present wrapping but it is all ship-shape finally. While I was up there I listened to my music very loudly and Facetimed HB. It was nice catching up with her. Recently we have had lots of silly snapchats but not proper talking. Unfortunately I lost the wifi signal in the middle of our call but the boys snapchatted with her when they got home.

I jigsawed until it was time to pick the kids up and I drove again, which they were pleased about. Homework was done, dinner was eaten and Smallest and I played a game of Chess and he beat me (the little stinker).

I took Smallest to football practice tonight to give Huffle a break as he has been very busy working this week and I feel like I have mainly sat on my big bum waiting for things to happen that have been cancelled or postponed. This evening, our fired coach appeared to be coaching the team and the newly appointed coach was texting on his phone and asking fired coach what to do next!!!!! Interesting. At the end of the game, fired coach called me over and said he had been approached by another club (and here I am unclear as to whether he has been approached to Coach or just bring his child and others from our team). He said he would call Huffle to discuss as I thought the club he mentioned was a little to far for us to travel to several times a week. He also gave Smallest and Small an indoor football ball (with a tennis ball coating) - maybe we are being "buttered up".

 

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Frozen talking stew

Small woke me early this morning. The bus was cancelled due to the threatening freezing rain which was due at 8am with a 100% chance. I made lunches for all three of us and Small decided he wanted to walk this morning in order to get to his basketball practice. I was kind of happy not to have to drive him in my PJ's but also a bit worried that he would get there. I know he's 13 but I still worry about him, despite him being very sensible.

At 8:45 I decided to drive Smallest and MissMoll to school. The freezing rain did indeed arrive at 8am as forecast and although we have had it before, it truly is THE most weird thing to happen to the weather. The rain falls like normal rain, but everything it touches turns to ice. Everything in fact is encased in ice. The drive was a pure skating rink and even though I had my snow boots on, I had to slide in order to get to the car without falling over. The car was covered in ice and the windscreen iced over every time my wipers moved. I had to get the ice scraper out between here and MissMoll's house which is three houses away. Crazy! I managed to get the kids to school safely and watched them help each other in. I then parked the car and went into school to check on the Dodgeball situation that I was due to drive to later. It was cancelled. I spoke to Small's teacher about the conflict between ski club and basketball and we agreed Small could miss a few games and not be off the team. However, later, the basketball had to be moved to accommodate the Dodgeball and then the Dodgeball was moved to accommodate the Ski Club. Arrrrrrggh I can't keep up!!!!

I also made a decision not to go to work in the Greenhouse today as the roads were incredibly slippy and scary to drive on. I came home, called in to say I wouldn't be there and agreed to go in next Tuesday instead.

For Christmas (before I got ill) I was going to make treats for the ladies at exercise but I ran out of time. So today I made them Lemon Curd. I got six small jars made which was perfect and decided to take one of them to MrsRoyal as I never got a chance to make her anything either. The walk there was treacherous and the road was even worse than when I drove earlier. I was just in time for coffee and stayed until lunchtime chatting with TheRoyals. I had to borrow MrsRoyals YakTraks (ingenious things that go over the bottom of your boots to stop you sliding on ice) to get home and later on used my own to take her boots back and get my own back, plus deliver the newspaper that gets thrown onto their drive.

Huffle and I had lunch and watched another First Dates Hotel and then I cleared up the kitchen and made dumplings for the stew and blended the soup I made for Small and I which had Carrot, Butternut, Potato, Lentils and cumin. A kind of veggie stew soup.

I picked up the boys and MissMoll from school. Piano practice, collecting of bonuses on IPads, chore and XBox.

Smallest and Huffle went off to Football practice and Small and I stayed at home.

Tired!!!!

 

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Turnovers

Small woke me this morning and I made lunches and got them mixed up and sent the kids off to school. I read a fascinating article on Autism written as an assignment by a friend. Clever lady MrsG. Mid morning I went off to Costco and met up with Suffolk. We shopped and browsed and stopped for tea and a banana at Starbucks before browsing a little more and finally coming home (she went off to school).

Huffle had waited for me to have lunch so we managed half an hour watching First Dates Hotel before he had to go and answer many emails and telephone calls.

I made a Tuna Bake for tonight's dinner and started on tomorrow's dinner. Tomorrow is busy as I have to get Small to school for 8am for basketball practice and then to work in the Greenhouse for 9am. At 12 I have to take Small and his team to Dodgeball and bring them back later in the afternoon. However, all this relies on not getting the 1cm of frozen rain we have had forecast.

At 3pm I went for a walk with ClownRose and LittleFin. It was a beautifully sunny day but cool. We walked until the bus came and brought our kids back. I finished off dinner while the boys had their piano lessons and prepared a casserole for tomorrow plus a soup.

After dinner, we took the boys to Cubs and Scouts where they had a demonstration in First Aid and learned what to do themselves. When I asked Smallest if he could save my life he said "yes if you are unconscious". I asked what he would do and he said "turn you over". Oh well that's okay then!

Huffle and I walked for an hour and a quarter on really icy paths and roads. It got very cold very quickly but we persevered.

Steps for today 21,000+. Wow.

 

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More calories to eat

Pancake breakfast where we realised we were cooking enough for six! Need to reduce that recipe though the boys eat them up during the week anyway. The kids played on the XBox for most of the rest of the morning while Huffle and I changed bedding, washed and dried and cleaned and tidied. He helped me to clear my wardrobe of Summer items and clear out stuff I don't use anymore. We must have left the kids playing too long because Smallest came and found us in the end.

We had lunch and then put on our coats, hats, gloves etc and drove to the lake front for a walk. As Small is the only one in the house that doesn't like walking, we gave him the decision of where to go. He chose a point between the Mushroom House and Rotary Park and the road we drove on ran out somewhere in between anyway so we parked and walked. Small took a Super Bouncy Ball he got for Christmas and we bounced it along the path. Smallest took a tennis ball and played catch with it.

It was much colder than I expected and silly Smallest left his gloves in the car. Huffle and I lent him one each until he was warm again. Our walk took us one way for about ten minutes and then we turned towards Rotary Park. On the way I decided I wanted to go on the beach to check out the ice on the rocks and we chose to walk along and sit while the boys smashed the ice with sticks and rocks. It was lovely once we got warm.

Eventually we turned around and made our way back along the path. I don't know how far we walked but my step counter is at 15,500 at the moment and it's only 5:30pm. I can't imagine we will do much more though as we are all tired and hungry which is why we came home and made a start on dinner. Small watched TV in his room whilst tidying it and Smallest lay on the sofa under the blanket, watching the same thing as Small but possibly different episodes (The Simpsons).

Ninja Warrior UK finished our evening.

It's cold!!! Brrrrrr. Steps today : 16,800. Just realised that the calorie counter isn't telling me how many calories I've burned but how many I can have. Bummer, the other day I thought it said it said I could have another 2,000. That's another whole day ah ha ha !! Silly billy

 

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