Advice for Henry the Cat

Dear Henry 

Now before I start, this goes no further. The Cat next door would never run from me again if he found out I was running a cat advice clinic. But I feel sorry for you, so thought I would just explain few things that might make your life a little easier. 

                                    

                                    

Firstly the Fat Lady, she is called Mummy, I know this because my Mummy tells me all the time, and I have had 4 of these. The first one was mean. When I lived with her I was very hungry and my fur fell out, one day a man came with a van so I decided to escape with him, he didn't seem to mind, he made me better, gave me food and got rid of the scratchy things on me. The second Mummy was fussy, she said I made to much mess and was smelly, how very rude! So the man came again and I escaped. My next Mummy was nice but she got sick and had to go the hospital, when my mate the man come he said it wasn't my fault, but my fur made her sick. Then I met this Mummy, her house is noisy with messy boys so she says I fit right in. At first I thought I might as well escape sooner rather than later, but she kept catching me and bringing me back, I decided she must like me so I don't leave her side now.  

I have had to work quite hard training her but she seems to be picking it up now, if I sit and roll over she gives me food, she is very clever as when I do this she realises I fancy a snack. If I cry at her it means I need a cuddle and again she is picking this up rather quickly. Also if I take her out, I can let her off the lead and she doesn't leave me, this has taken a while to master but she is getting there slowly.

Belvita Morning Victories and the Christie Family Morning Failures

When I got the opportunity to write about Morning successes I must say I did giggle to myself. You see the first day of term this year was an epic fail. I wasn't ever going to share this. But I am finally getting over the trauma somewhat, and now and feel ready to talk about it.

So I take you back to Friday the 5th of September at 8.20am, I must say, at 8.15 I was feeling pretty smug. Jack had gone off on the School bus on time, the house was tidy, lunches were made and we were ready to leave. We were just waiting for Emily to arrive (our neighbour who I drive to college)

I was pottering in the kitchen when Joe appeared in the doorway hunched over making an odd noise, I quickly realised he was choking; I ran to him and patted his back. Fortunately he stopped after a couple of seconds, but what felt much more like minutes.

He looked up at me panic in his eyes and said "Mummy I have swallowed it," he was a bit of a grey colour. "Swallowed what I said". It seems he had swallowed a pound coin, but now felt it was stuck in his throat; he said he could feel it lodged there. I gave him water but he still claimed it was there.

Pendle Tractor Run

On Saturday night more than 100 farm vehicles took part in this year’s sixth annual Pendle Charity Tractor Run, which celebrates the life of local farmer Andrew Nutter.

Andrew who farmed Sabden Old Hall Farm with brother Brian and mum Ruth, died of cancer in 2009 aged just 40. The tractor run is held in his memory and the proceeds donated to cancer charities, this year proceeds will be divided between the chemotherapy unit at Blackburn Royal Hospital and Rosemere Cancer Foundation, which fund-raises to bring world class cancer care to patients from throughout Lancashire.

It is something you really need to see to believe, and is worth traveling to see.  It has become a family tradition to watch the tractor run, and one that the boys really look forward to. It consists of all types of farm vehicles new and old, some vintage. Local farmers really get into the sprit; even putting tailors onto the back of huge tractors and combine harvesters, which they decorate and fill with their families, children and pets. 

Why Children Should Always Wear Helmets When Riding Bikes

Thank god I am finally blogging back on my I Mac and not trying to blog from my I phone! We have been away for just over a week and had a wonderful time. I have so many stories and reviews to share. However an incident that happened on Sunday has taken precedence over it all. 

We have been to CenterParcs, Woburn forest. I will add a review of our wonderful time there later.  We had bicycles for our stay, as our lodge was quite far out. Living on a country road, Joe doesn't get the opportunity to ride his bike outside alone. People drive like maniacs on our road so I do not feel it is safe.  He has to wait for family walks to ride his bike. 

When they got the bikes they argued that as there were no cars on the road at Center Parks, they did not want to wear their crash helmets. However I was insistent they wore them. And must say I was quite surprised at how many children and teens were not wearing helmets. I felt like maybe I was overacting a tad, but decided to stick to my guns. You hear to many horror stories don't you?

100 Happy Days eeeek Day 97

For today, day 97, I am panicking now, I don't want 100 Happy Days to end! I have chosen this picture of me and my two brothers Stephen and Terry. I came across this when I was looking at my phone today and it made me smile. 

I love that fact that they are both still part of my life even though we are dotted all over the county. When we get together it like we have never been apart. I have had to put the photo on small as its so old and grainy. Well not that old really just a year or two.Joe looks so like both of them it a bit scary actually.

 

100 Happy Days, Day 84, My Shadow.

For today I have chosen this picture of  the shadows Toby and I cast as we were on our walk today. Firstly and most obviously, because you only get them when the sun is out. That makes then quite precious doesn't it? 

And secondly we call Toby my shadow at home; if he is in the house, he is always one step behind me. Sometimes he is so close he trips me up. In fact some mornings when I wake up he is sat next to the bed watching me, waiting for me to wake up. So here are me and my shadows, shadows. 

My Kitchen Story, the Centre of Family Life

 When I was offered the chance to write about my kitchen by the lovely Fairy Platinum and Brit Mums https://www.facebook.com/fairydish, and how it is the heart of my home. It got me thinking about what an integral part of our home our kitchen is. Some people’s kitchen is somewhere to cook and make a drink and really that is it. Our kitchen is the centre to our daily life, the hub of our home.

We inherited this kitchen when we moved into our home, it looks lovely when it is clean but trust me it is soooo high maintenance the black gloss cupboards must be cleaned 3 times a week to keep them looking shiny. Every finger print shows, and it seems not one of my family understands the concept of a door handle.

I like to keep it light and bright by adding a little bit of colour. I love cup cakes so I bought a cup cake canvas, which is so colourful.  I also like to buy fresh flowers; I love lilies, and always have an orchid on my windowsill to add a little extra colour.  


The little chicken egg is a real egg that Joe decorated last Easter. I dread to think what would happen if it broke, the smell would be horrific but I just can't bear to part with it, it is so cute.

The black and white pictures are photo's we have taken on our family travels, each one has a special family memory attached to it. A bit of a photographic diary of our travels.

We spend most of our time in the kitchen when we are at home, in fact we don't venture into the lounge until around 8pm at night or later. We tend to chill in the kitchen; the boys do their homework, research and listen to music. Joe will often sit and draw. It's a place we all congregate and chat, we always eat together in the kitchen, giving us time to catch up on each other’s day.

We all like cooking and baking often try out new recipes. The boys are much more likely to bake cakes than a healthy snack. Chris is an excellent cook and has always been the main cook, purely for the fact he is much better. 

I have developed a real passion for cooking over the last few years, and have really started experimenting with my cooking. I put it down to the fact that I love spending time in the kitchen, it's such a lovely room to be in, and well laid out, making it easy to cook in.

It's also a great party room and is the hub of our social life, we have built a network of friends with children, so tend to visit each others homes, rather than getting babysitters and leaving the children behind. It's great as our children enjoy being part of this; we often have visitors and have had some memorable evenings with lots of laughing with all our wonderful friends and family. And trust me after nights like these the fairy platinum really has it work cut out.  

So yes our kitchen is definitely at the heart of our family and social life, it's a family area, research and homework space, it's a great social area, and a chilled out haven after a long day at work. Probably the most important room in our family home. This post is an entry for "My Kitchen Story" linky challenge, sponsored by Fairy Platinum.