Welcome to the weekend of madness!!!

Today was the start of the weekend of total dance madness. Lauren had her dress rehearsal ~ which was excellent ~ all the cute little girlies (and boys) dancing about ~ it was so sweet!!
I had my camera all ready to take lots of exciting photos ~ and guess what ~ the camera battery was not actually in the camera (ha ha ) ~ it was at home here charging ~ so no photos I am afraid!! I promise that there will be loads of photos of the dress rehearsal and the show tomorrow and sunday!! Lauren was a little star ~ dancing away and looking very pleased with herself ~ she was very sweet!!
Tomorrow we have to be at the dance venue at midday and the show ends at 9.30pm ~ BOY ~ it is going to be a very long day ~ infact it will be a very long weekend ~ as it is the same on Sunday!! I will not be doing alot this weekend ~ apart from this dance show!! On Saturday night Daniel and I will be in the audience watching Lauren and the show ~ but on Sunday I have offered to help out and my offer was gratefully accepted, I do not know what I will be doing ~ something backstage I would think ~ there is so much to do ~ hair ~ make up ~ costumes ~ making sure everyone goes on at the right time!! I don't mind what I do ~ it will be a bit of fun!!
I actually love doing things like this ~ I loved dancing when I was little and that feeling of being part of something ~ and I don't mind one bit that it is taking up a whole weekend ~ not if it makes my little girl happy!!!

Just as a little bit of fun ~ I was sent this via e mail from my sister today I have tried it about 5 times and each time it has come out correct ~ see what you think!! You will need a calculator (if you are rubbish at math like me ha ha !!!!) ~
It is called the age calculator and will be able to tell you your age ~ so here goes......

First of all pick the number of times that you'd like to eat out each week ~ more than 1 but less than 10 .

Multiply this number by 2.

Then add 5.

Multiply it by 50

If you have had your birthday already this year, then add 1758.
If you haven't had your birhday yet ~ add 1757

Now subtract the four digit year that you were born.

You should have 3 digits left.

The first digit is the original number you chose (ie ~ how many times you would like to eat out!!) and the second 2 numbers are your age!! (oh yes they are!!!)

2008 is the only year that this will work ~ so pass this on while you still have the chance!!!

Hope that keeps you wondering how it works ~ just like me (tee hee!!)

I will try and get on to post something over the weekend ~ between trying to grab a quick bite to eat and getting some sleep!! ~ if not, there will be lots of pictures next week XXXXXX

Day 1 ~ and we all survived!!!!

Today is day one of the school holidays ~ it was the hottest day that we have had this year ~ by far!!! The sun shone and shone and shone some more!!! Between us today, my friend June and I had 10 children!! There were the odd moments of madness ~ the odd arguement ~ the odd thing that didn't go quite as planned ~ BUT all in all the first day of the Summer holidays was excellent and best of all ~ WE ALL SURVIVED IT !!!!!! TEE HEE!!!!!

The children have had a fantastic day ~ playing in the pool, skipping, playing football ~ sliding down the garden on the water slide ~ having a picnic lunch under the shade of a huge tree and then all collapsing inside to watch a DVD and cool down a bit. This is what Summer is all about ~ fun fun fun!!!! I took some really great photos ~ but as I do not have the permission of ALL the parents ~ I cannot post any of them ~ but they were good ~ all the children (almost) in the pool and some action shots of them flying down the water slide!! All in all ~ today was a totall success ~ only the rest of the 6 weeks to cope with now (!!!!!!!).

I have to take Lauren for her dress rehearsal tomorrow afternoon, so that she can have a full run through for the show and she will also collect her costume ~ which she is quite excited about. I have to get her hair all done and gelled back off her face and up in a bun (that is the bit that she hates ~ as she says it hurts her!!!) ~ she also has to wear her full dance school uniform ~ which she is looking forward to aswell (she does like to show off !!!). I am really looking forward to her doing the show ~ but I know that this coming weekend is going to be a bit mad and we are going to spend the whole weekend rushing around ~ just to get everywhere we need to be at the right time. I will post some photos of Lauren in her uniform and in her dance costume ~ when she has it tomorrow!!

I have still been humming all the ABBA songs that were in Mamma Mia last night ~ it was so good that I wish I could go and see it again ~ I know that it will be one to add to my collection when it comes out on DVD.

Before I go and fall into bed again (I am getting old!! I have a night out and then have to go to bed early the next night ~ I am soooo tired ha ha!!!!) ~ I would like to say a big THANK YOU to Karen over at Loved and Engraved for the lovely award that she has given to me. I have displayed it on the sidebar and would like to pass it on to everyone that visits and reads my blog ~ you are all wonderful and I couldn't possibly pick only a few of you ~ so you can all have a copy if you would like one!!!!!!!! Please display it with pride!!

MAMMA MIA!! WEIGHT LOSS AND GOING TO MY BED!!!

Thought that I would just update my blog and let you know that Mamma Mia is totally fantastic, there were moments when I laughed (lots of them!!), moments when I had tears in my eyes (a few!!), and moments when I wished that I could jump into the screen and take Pearce Brosnan home with me ~ because he was very yummy (and Colin Firth was yummy too!!!). I have had a fantastic night, it is just so nice to go out ~ be me ~ not 'Mummy' (not that I don't love my children dearly ~ but some ME time is just so nice!!!). I have just got home after dropping a couple of my friends off and I am just about to fall into bed. There are still about 3 million things that I need to do,but they will just have to wait until tomorrow!!

I went to get weighed earlier tonight (prior to going to the cinema!) ~ and I am sad to report that I did not loose the 3 pounds I wanted to ..................................I lost 4 !!!!!!!! YIPPEEEEE!!!!!!!!!
Yes, as you may have gathered I am a little bit pleased ~ as that means that I have now lost 3 stone and 1 pound (or to put it another way ~ 43 pounds!!) in the last 12 weeks. I at last feel that all the hard work has been worth it ~ all the power walking ~ all the nights where I have laid in bed ~ dreaming of fruit and nut chocolate (and Brad Pitt!!) ~ have so been worth it!! I still cannot quite believe that I have actually managed to do it ~ but there is still a long way to go ~ so you will have to listen to me go on about dieting for a while yet ~ at least until Christmas (which is my target!!)......sorry about that ha ha !!!!!!
I had better be off now and go to bed ~ my eyes are not going to stay open much longer ~ NIGHT NIGHT XXXXX

I AM SOOOOOO EXCITED!!

I am going out to the cinema tonight with a few friends to see the film Mamma Mia!!! I am soooooooo excited!! I have been to the cinema alot ~ but it is usually with the children ~ the last film I saw was Kung Fu Panda ~ which although I really enjoyed ~ would obviously not be my film of choice!!

Today is the last day of Term for the children ~ they have both gone off this morning ~ happy, but a little subdued ~ they both love the teachers that they have and will be sad to move on ~ but that is life ~ I know that they will both be just as happy with the Teachers that they have next term!! They took their cards and gifts with them and they will be having a fun day ~ as they don't usually work on the last day of term ~ they play games and finish off all the loose ends!

The weather is gorgeous again ~ this morning I put on a pair of trousers that I wore last summer and they fell down!! I thought that they would be ok ~ as they were quite tight last year ~ but no, they will have to be packed away!! I get weighed tonight and pray that those 3 pounds have left ~ if not, it's not the end of the world ~I will plod on!!! We are planning a day in the garden today ~ so that the children can play in the pool and enjoy the sunshine. My friend June and I have 5 children between us today ~ so we will be making the most of it ~ the calm before the storm!!!!

I will hopefully be back with an update on the weigh in and the film later!! Bye bye for now XXXX

Another day filled with sunshine!!

My prayers have at last been answered and we have now had 2 decent days of sunshine ~ today actually being sooooo hot that we had to bring all the children in this afternoon as they were all wilting a bit in the heat!! (See ~ I am never happy ha ha ~ when it rains I moan and when it is hot I moan tee hee hee!!!!!)

Tomorrow and Thursday are also meant to be gorgeous ~ with a storm breaking on Friday ~ aparently due to the heat (great!!). As it is the childrens last day at school tomorrow, they have been busy wrapping their gifts for their teachers and writing cards for them too ~ as they will both be moving up a year and onto a new class teacher. They had their school reports yesterday which were both excellent, I am very proud of them both ~ they are doing well and most importantly of all, they are both happy!!!

I spent today at my friend Junes house. June is also a childminder and I have known her for about 10 years now ~ we get together with the children that we care for ~ probably most days and especially during the summer holidays when we could have 10 children between us (yes we are insane!!!). As the weather is looking good for most of the week ~ we went and bought some new garden toys and pumped up the swimming pool and filled it with water ~ ready for a swim tomorrow!!




This is a skipping game ~ 2 people hold the ropes and 2 people skip (June and I had a go ~ but we laughed so much we nearly had an accident ~ if you get my drift!!!)

The pool all pumped up and ready to be filled with water ~ the pumping up part took AGES ~ as we couldn't find the electric pump, so we had to do it with the manual one!!!!!

Filling up nicely ~ while we have a little rest ~ pumping up pools is tiring work!!!

A football game for the boys ~ we had a go on this too (ha ha ) ~ I preffered the skipping!!!!
These are Junes Guineapigs ~ since our rabbit died, we have adopted the white one (she lives at Junes though!!) ~ and her name is Pearl. The other 2 are called Candy and Tamba!!
Daniel and Lauren are looking forward to it being their last day of term tomorrow ~ but they are a bit sad aswell, that they will be leaving their teachers and moving on!! I will be glad of 6 weeks with no school runs ~ no racing to be out of the house at 8.30am on the dot ~ no school uniform and no packed lunches to make!! Instead the children can lie in a bit and we don't have to rush around (much!!) ~ so things can be a bit more relaxed!!

Lauren has her dress rehearsal on Friday and then her show is over the weekend ~ she gets more excited by the day!! She goes to her dance summer school from 4th ~ 7th August and then after that we are hoping to get away for a break to my Mums for 10 days or so. I really really need a break ~ just from everything ~ and my Mum lives in a beautiful place ~ close to the sea, with lovely countryside and plenty to keep the children occupied!!!! So that will be a nice break ~ before I return to work and all the madness again!!!!