Merry Christmas to you all

Hi Everyone, Hope that you guys are well or at least starting to feel better if you've had this flu that's going around, Well it's been a while since i last got to doing my Blog as i have been really busy trying to tie up some projects in time for the Christmas hols and a whole host of other stuff as well.

I thought i would let you know how the interview i had this week went, well it was not to good my nerves got the better of me and my brain went on Holiday, and after i left i felt really angry with myself because i know that i could have done a whole lot better.

At least any feed back will help so i know where to make improvements. The kids have been ecstatic counting down the day's to Christmas with their advent calendars, and trying to talk me in to letting them open one of their presents early.

We have also had fights break out over who's going to get the biggest present. We have been doing lot's of baking as money is tight, we are giving homemade biscuits, sweets and cakes as gifts this year, and already the clothes are starting to get tight.

The thing so far that i have enjoyed the most is going to their Christmas plays, my youngest was a flower in hers and my 8 year old was Mary in hers. Last weekend we went carol singing, which i haven't done since i was a child and the kids loved it and wanted to go out to do some more.

No chance of that again this year even though enjoyable that it was i was froze by the time we got home. We have been going to the cinema some weekends as a bit of a diversion for their excitement, Odean do a kiddies club @ 10.30am on Saturdays and Sundays which is a £1 per child and one adult go's free so it's a cheap outing if you take your own popcorn.

I was also lucky and got some free tickets to see a play this weekend, which i have told them is a Pre - Christmas treat, well i had best be of so here's wishing you all a Merry Christmas and a Great New Year and that the Festive Season is not to stressful for you.

Bah Humbug

Hi well i have got to say that my head is still in the clouds this week, after the last few weeks of chaos things are starting to slow down a bit so i might be able to claim sometime to clear the cobwebs.

My daughter did well with her netball match, she scored the first goal of the match even though they did go on to lose the game but well done to them for they gave them a run for there money.
My son also did well and has got a place to run for Bristol and Avon at the cross country championships.

I haven't had much luck on the job front yet, but i am still looking and considering my options, which is part of the reason for the head confusion as i am not quite sure what it is i do want to do.
I have also recently found out that my kitchen and bathroom renovations are to begin mid February for 2 weeks.

So there is probably going to be a lot of dust, mess and most of all noise, but at the end i have a new kitchen with more space, and a shower, yippee. Well the weekend is zooming in and we have plans to go to the movies, the Odean is doing a kids club on Saturdays and Sunday mornings for only a £1.00 per child and an adult go's free.

Which is a cheap outing for us, and even more so if we take our own popcorn. Then the Kids have plans to put up their Christmas tree in their room. Ho ho for the festive season it seems it's here already or at least it will be in our house.

Christmas Rambling

Hi all, It has been a while since i last updated on my comings and goings, Well things have been hectic to say the least. I have been organising a parenting programme, i have a new one that starts this week. Hopefully all will go well.

The kids have also been busy, my son who has been doing cross country for the school has got into the finals, which happens today if he gets a good position in this he will be put forward to the championship and run for Bristol and Avon. He is still driving me nut's with his being late and lately he has been losing things.

My eldest girl has recently taken up netball and has a competition tomorrow, so good luck to her too. My two other girls are doing well, with new arts and craft arriving on a daily bases. Their getting excited about Christmas already, and they want to put up the tree as "all the shops have theirs up so why can't we" i have managed to put them off for a couple of weeks.

I'm not as together with all the present buying this year as i normally am, and I'm trying not to stress about it to much either. Aha an erratic thought i have just become a parent Governor at the girls school.

I have brain freeze trying to remember whats been happening and am now having erratic bits of information coming in in no particular order, so rather than ramble on like I'm loosing my marbles (which i probably am)i will sign off, Ciao for know darlings.

Ha Ha Happy Halloween

Hi half term is upon us again, the kids are getting excited and trying to decide what they want to dress up as for Halloween, i have decided to have a small tea party this year rather than trek the streets.

I have been taking a while getting rid of a cold that started about a month ago it subsides and comes back again making me feel a bit low and ratty, which has been difficult stopping myself from shouting at the kids. They have got their own back though as the other day i had a new skirt on and i was bent over making the beds when my son said i had a horses backside. Charming huh.

So i think during the break I'm going to tackle this thing with some rest (morning TV in bed) and good immune boosting meals and top up on some vitamins hopefully this will put things right as when the children are back at school my schedule is pretty packed and i won't have time to be feeling under the weather.

Budgeting for Christmas

Well i am back again, i can't say that all that much has happened this week the highlight of the week was the girls had won a colouring competition and received some craft books and pencils for their effort.

I have been looking at jobs and have visited the lone deal adviser who has been supportive, i did see a job that I'm going to apply for, as this is my first application in ooh about 12yrs I'm hoping to get some help from a friend.

I have also been trying to do some dare i say christmas shopping. Money is starting to get even tighter now that i have had to use the heating, on the odd occassion and with the food prices going up i started worrying about being able to afford at least a few of the things that the kids are asking for.

So i have started out by making a budget which i'm hoping to stick to as i have reduced the amount to spend on each person. I had to have a talk with the older chldren about their expectations as they were wanting really expensive items.

They went away and come back with somethings that were more workable for me and possibly them in the long run as they have really thought about what they need/want rather than what thier friends have got or wants.

Gibberish

Yippee! Have finally got the door fixed (after much complaining). I spent some quality time with my son at the weekend as i thought that that might help with his attitude of late. Which seems to be working so far, i think that he just needed some attention from me.

Which has been difficult lately as he has been really busy with commitments and spending time with his friends, which has all been his choice. We have agreed to make time every week to just mess about together.

My 4yr old has turned into a resident artist, she has taken to drawing on walls and doors around the house as she "could not find any paper" we have plenty of paper she just did not ask for it.
We have also had a problem with her swearing in Somali, which she has picked up from school and i had not picked up on obviously as i don't know any Somali, in my ignorance i just thought she was talking gibberish.

FRUSTRATED

Hi i have been having issues with my son this week, he got a detention for "play " fighting with his friend and got into trouble for not doing some homework, that was last week so i told him that he had to come straight home from school this week and that he could not go out till he had done his homework.

He came home on Monday started his homework, anyway to make along story shorter i ended up letting him go out so he could go use the computers at the library, so he could get the information that he needed. Then he has been coming home late from school because they have been going to the park on the way.

So I'm feeling frustrated, i have talked to him, but it feels like he is ignoring what i say one minute and turning it all around to suit him the next, aghhh.

Also I'm still having problems getting my door fixed, i have made a complaint and still nothing is happening, so i think I'm going to have to harass them on a daily bases till it is sorted, unless a better solution comes up.

I need some Tissues

Hi, Just a quick update as i'm not feeling to great have gone and got a cold or something. I have as usual been busy, mostly trying to keep track of my son who keeps leaving his mobile phone everywhere (very maddening) i have to ring around his friends till one of them answers their phone.

Then he moans that I'm embarrassing him by checking up on him. I am hoping that the humiliation will work better than talking to him (that didn't work) about leaving his stuff where ever he goes.

Anyway he's performing at the opening of the new Cabot Circus mall in Bristol this week, they have been rehearsing till quite late most day's and i have been hanging around waiting for him to finish that's probably where the colds come from.

My youngest is settling into school and the other girls want to have friends over all the time which is getting really tiring. Well i think that i will go know i need to get some more tissues.

Accidents, Accidents

Things have been a bit hectic this past week or so, the kids have been having an accident phase, my oldest girl had her hand shut in a door by my youngest, luckily she only had bruising and swelling.

Then my son came home from being out with friends soaking wet and covered in gashes and with a knee the size of a small football, and again luckily no bones broken. He has made me rather proud of him this week, him and his friend acted really responsibly when they found a biggish knife in the park.

They called the police, who came and took it away, when they do something like this you know at least they have listened to some of what you have been saying. My youngest started school yesterday and already i have a fridge full of her beautiful paintings

The big excitement of the week the housing association are giving me a new kitchen. I also had a viewing of a 3 bed house only the bedrooms were to small, so i shall have to keep looking.

Back to School Blues

Hi things have been all go this week, i have been trying to make up for the lack of activity for most of the holidays. We have been visiting friends and going swimming, to the park when it's not been raining and getting back into a routine for going back to school amongst other things

My son started secondary school this morning, so we had a bit of a separation situation this morning i think he was nervous and i was just being sentimental(my little baby is growing up and going to the big school) kind of thing.

The girls went back yesterday and were excited about seeing all their friends. I just have the youngest one at home for the next couple of weeks then she will start primary school and i will have some me time on my hands Yeah!

I'm feeling like i don't know what to do with myself this morning, so i have contacted some of my friends that don't have kids to see if they can meet in their lunch break for a coffee so that they can give me a talking too to get my head back on track?

Sleeping in the Car

Well so much for well laid plans, last week i did my planning for this week only to get sick and send all my organising down the drain, obviously the kids were upset that they missed out on a couple of days activities, and i had a moments thought of selfishness (what about all the stuff i have had to cancel over the years when they have got sick)?

I have managed to get the rest of the kids uniform and other bits so their all ready to go.
we are going to go on a picnic tomorrow as the weather looks good and they have been asking to go swimming again so we will probably do that at the weekend.

Aah i just remembered something i should share, my 4 yr old made a car out of a big cardboard box, and she played all day in this car with her dolls i went in to tell her to tidy up and she was asleep cuddled up with her teddy roses in the cardboard box, and yes i did leave her in there.

I'm still having issues with the repairs on the house, i was supposed to have a new door about two weeks ago and as yet i have had no reply, i contacted them at the beginning of the week and they said that someone will be contacting me in the next couple of days but as yet nothing!

I think that another call is in order. We are all starting to look forward to going back to school and having some time apart, it's been pretty full on living in each others pockets for the last six weeks!

Dummy Partys

Hi i have had a better week this week, have got quite a bit done! We did go swimming! and we will be visiting family tomorrow and a couple of friends next week! we also had a party at the weekend.

The Throwing Away The Dummy party was for my four year old whom has had a difficult time in giving up the dummy at bedtime. I felt as she will be starting school, plus tooth issues it really needed to go! so hence the party along with music, dancing, balloons, nibbles and fizzy pop she put her dummy in the bin.

She has not really missed it or asked for it, which is odd as when it would get lost she would have an almighty paddy? I have been doing the shopping for school uniform this week "nightmare" had difficulty getting the sizes needed at a price i was willing to pay and trapezing around Bristol.

To be told that i should have bought it earlier, i had to save to buy their uniforms especially my son who starts secondary school the stuff is expensive, i could have bought bits each week but that would of mean't loads of shopping trips with kids and i wanted to get it done in one go.

But in all it has been a good week, im going to make plans tonight for next week so hopfully i will have another good one?

Lazy days are over

Well another week has gone and not alot has gotten done, nor have we been able to go anywhere, most of this is due to the weather and the rest is just a laps in to laziness and a false sense of security that i have plenty of time, which we know will be gone before you know it.

So i have decided that i need to take action if this holiday is not to be a washout, we are going to go swimming even if it is raining and we will camp in the garden rain or shine i just have to water proof the tent which coincidentally needs a good day of sunshine so it can dry? we will also go and visit friends.

As i write this the kids are making up lists of other stuff that they would like to do! hopefully nothing to expensive will come up? The other things i need to get back to is getting the house sorted (De-cluttering) in the hope of an eventual move!

I nearly forgot whilst on my soap box to let you know how the weekends events went, my friends party was great had a really good time lots of dancing and only got slightly tipsy. The christening ceremony was good but we only stayed awhile as public transport on Sundays is limited and it took awhile to get there and back, sadly there was also some family tension that did not make for a good atmosphere.

Money! Bored! Money!

Hi
I,m really starting to feel the holiday stress, as the weather has not been so great we have spent a lot of time in the house this week. My son has spent a lot of his time staying with friends and this week he,s been on an activity week.

But the girls are being quite demanding as they say their BORED!! and trying to keep them from arguing with each other and giving them ideas as what to do every five minutes is starting to get on my nerves. As you know I'm the font of all knowledge and can just pull thousands of things that "THEY" want to do out the top of my head at any given moment.

We did go to the Bristol Harbour Festival on Saturday night to see the fireworks, and spent a small fortune on rides, why is it that you can't leave the house with out spending money? even just going to the park and having a picnic you would think it's free? Wrong the ice cream van comes along and bang go's another fiver.

Oh well i will get the chance to have some time out this weekend it's my friends birthday party, also it's my nieces christening so the kids will have all their cousins to play with. But honestly i am enjoying spending extra time with them even though it's stressful!!

Too-ing & Fro-ing with Soulja Boy

Whew what a week!! this is no holiday i have been busier this past week than i think i have ever been. I have been too-ing and fro-ing all week, ones doing this anothers do something else and the others are doing something else again, whilst i have been trying to sort out the house and their messy bedroom.

I'm still having home maintenance problems this week, the bottom two inches fell of the back door, at the moment i have had to cardboard it up as i await the inspector to decide weather or not i need a new door!!

Oh i just remembered! the prom thing last week went really well the kids had a great time and were well behaved, we had some good food and i won a raffle prize yeah!! have you ever seen the inside of a hummer? it's decked out like a disco inside.

The kids all screamed like mad you would of thought they were at a concert when they got in. At the disco they danced to soulja boy all night and finally got the adults on to the dance floor to teach us all how to do the dance, which is quiet difficult to do in flip flops?

We finally got some SAT results and i'm real happy as the 7 and 11 year old got really good grades, which have earned them a treat, not sure what thats going to be yet though?

Oh well best get back to the fray! Happy Holidays?

Sharks and Limos

Well just a few days and the school hoildays begin. I have been busy with end of term events. My son had his school play this week. Which he was fantastic in, he played the baron in jack and the amazing multi coloured beanstalk.

Tonight i will be helping to supervise the year six leavers at their prom. They will be driven around in a limo for an hour then of to the local hall for food and dancing.

I will then be going home to sleep in the garden?, as i had promised my girls that when the weather was good they could camp out in the tent Yippee!!

Hopefully they won't have flooded the place playing sharks in the paddling pool, this is my four year olds favourite game, which tends to soak the whole house. Last thing i need is a soggy sleeping bag.

I am starting to look forward to the holidays and getting a lie-in, and spending sometime messing about with the kids, on the downside though is the thought of no peace for the next six weeks!

Sleepless nights and packing bags?

Hi All

I'm tired have had little sleep for the last four nights. Last night i was packing bags all night. Maybe it's a sign? if anyone knows anything about dream interpretations and can shed some light please let me know what this mean's?



Have had the kid's home for two day's this week because of the strike which has messed the week up abit. Have also had builders around as i had to have a new bath fitted. Nearly broke my neck and put my back out as they had sprayed something in their that has left the floor like an ice rink. I have washed the floor three times and it's still really slick.



I think i must be going through one of those home disaster stages you now when everything starts breaking down on you. And it always happens when your strapped for cash. The tv broke and i realised that we rely on it to much. We will have it on even if were not watching it! My chest of drawers have broke due to the weight of clothes (things just being shoved into the nearest drawer)



I managed to get out to the pub at the weekend to have a drink with some friends which was real nice to catch up and be child free for a couple of hours. No hangover this week?

Had a nice relaxing day with the kids on Sunday. We played darts in the garden. The winner got out of doing the dishes and the loser got to do an extra chore. Guess who was the winner?

Whistles and Hangovers

Hi All
Well this week has been real busy!! Apart from getting myself in a tizzy on Friday after waiting in all afternoon for the gas man that did not arrive. Complained and got first appointment for Wednesday.

Don’t you just hate it when you make an appointment with someone and then they don’t turn up? Agh… agh…

Anyway well I have been busy planning a trip to a conference in London as part of my volunteering. Lot’s of ringing around writing letters and emailing and that sort of stuff. London here we come!!

At the weekend me and the kids went to the Carnival in St Paul’s Bristol, the floats were good and all the children looked fantastic. I know regret buying them whistles as they have driven me nuts going round the house blowing them to see who can get the loudest.

It most probably was not that bad. I think the fact that I was feeling ropey from a rather bad hangover from to much celebrating made things seam worse than they were.

We also had my youngest 4th birthday this weekend. She got up early and ran herself ragged all day that once she sat down to eat her dinner she fell asleep and did not get to have her cake. Which was good for me as I got to have an early night.

Kids and their fascination for toilets

Hi All
I have been sat here a while wondering what has happened in the last week that would be worth a mention.

Well I took the kids to see the new Narnia movie at the weekend. It’s nearly 3 hours long!! I think that I spent more time in the bathroom than I did watching the film.

By the time you get through the trailers and the movies about to start the kids have polished off all popcorn and drink. They then decide to take it in turns wanting to go to the loo.

Most of the time i don’t think they actually wanted to go it was an excuse to play around with the water and hand dryers.

Have also been busy trying to tie things up as the holidays fast approach. My son starts secondary school this year and my youngest starts primary.

So I’m feeling a bit emotional at the moment and wanting to spend time with them. Also the youngest has her 4th birthday this weekend. Time flies by so quickly!!!

OTT with the sticker charts

Hi All
Have had a pretty non eventful week the kids have been at each others throats (nothing out the ordinary there) so have been acting as referee most of the week.

On the upside though I walked in to a conversation between my seven and three year old were the seven year old was saying to her younger sister

“Well done you have completed the top line that means you have been really good”

I asked what they were doing and the seven year old said “I have made her a sticker chart because she keeps being naughty and I want her to behave”

I thought this was funny and sweet then later wondered if I had been going a little OTT with the sticker charts.

Oh and I have been trying out giving my son a bit more responsibility which I’m finding difficult (it’s not easy letting go) but it mean’s that I have more time to do other things like putting my feet up!!

My first blog!

Hello my name is Sally and I’m a single parent with 4 children.

I have a boy who’s the eldest at 11 and three girls at 9, 7, and 3 years of age. This keeps me rather busy, but I like to keep active and I love a challenge!

It’s important to me to stay in contact with my friends and family. So I try to see them all regularly. I would love to travel but with 4 kids it’s too expensive so I have to stay close to home (UK only)!

I get titbits from those that do go places and dream and plan for my future travels! I reckon I have about another 7 years to wait!!! Ye…. ha…! By then my son will be old enough to baby-sit!

I’m an avid reader and will read most things. I like to share my experiences of parenting and life in general.

I do quite a bit of voluntary work that has helped me in a lot of ways. It’s given me adult conversation and a bit of time away from the kids so, especially when they were little, I could recharge my batteries!

I have also gained several qualifications and tons of experience whilst volunteering as I am able to be flexible, it fits in with my kids and school but the main thing that I have gotten from volunteering is confidence!

Join me next week when I will let you in on some of our weekly antics and goings on!