Wednesday 29 July 2009

Build a bear Bankruptcy..


Today me and Mr Bold took the girls for a treat to the trafford centre, since all the free options like feeding the ducks and going to the park have been exhausted and also the weather was not permitting to out door activities. After lunch at TGI Friday's, which was very yummy by the way, we took the girls to build a bear.

O.M.G. Have you seen the extortionate prices they are charging for basically baby clothes you could buy for a few quid in Ethel Austins,i mean £3.50 for a pair of cotton knickers for a bear? I don't think so! The kids were in their element and i let them pick an outfit and shoes for each of their bears at home. Mia chose the Hannah Montana outfit and Fi wanted the princess fairy outfit with ballet pumps to match. The spending didn't stop there though as they also wanted matching backpack baby carrier thinys and matching sunglasses and handbags for their bears, i buckled i had no reserve left and just wanted some piece and quiet. The poor twins didn't get a look in....god help me when all four are asking for outfits, accessories and Bears to boot I'll be bloody destitute. So for all you parents out there who are lucky enough to be oblivious to the whole build a bear phenomenon...do not do it, don't even go there......believe me your bank balance will thank you for it!

Tuesday 28 July 2009

Lovely sisters..



These lovely pictures show how two sisters are enjoying their first whole week playing together, not sure how long it will last, but at least i have photo's to prove they do actually like each other! I think I'll be needing these by the end of the six weeks when they are both tearing each others hair out and ripping limbs of each other's barbie dolls!!!

Monday 27 July 2009

Not another MEME

Yes I'm sorry but the lovely Amy and clareybabble have tagged me in the blame Tara meme that's doing the rounds, and i just couldn't refuse such lovely Lady's and well i love nothing more than talking about moi ha ha.

1) Who is the hottest movie star?
I would have to say Matt Damon in the Bourne trilogies he has pecs to die for and Andrew Lincoln, i know he's not really a movie star but he was in the movie LOVE ACTUALLY!

2) Apart from your house and car, what's the most expensive item you've ever bought?
My wedding dress, even though i have now gone off it completely and it is lying gathering dust in my attic.

3) What's your most treasured memory?
Ohh i have so many but i suppose the birth of my children and my wedding day top them all.

4) What was the best gift you received as a child?
Madonna's immaculate collection LP and a brand new Hi Fi system to play it on....i danced for hours to "like a virgin" and "borderline."

5) What is the biggest mistake you've ever made?
Not completing my university degree, i took a gap year and never went back much to the disappointment of my parents.

6) Four words that describe you?
Messy, Caring, daydreamer and chocoholic

7) What was your highlight and lowlight of 2008?
My highlight was seeing my big girl Mia start school in her new crisp uniform with matching ribbons in her hair, she looked amazing and i was so proud of her. My lowlight was the death of my mother in law which happened on Fi's 3rd birthday.

8) Favorite film?Pretty woman and dirty dancing - i know I'm such a girl!

9) Tell me one thing i don't know about you?
I suffered a panic attack yesterday....i used to suffer from them as a teenager and now they have come back to haunt me when i least expect it...they're just awful and i feel like I'm going to die.

10) If you were a comic book/cartoon character who would you be?I'd love to be Jessica Rabbit...those curves and eyelashes are unreal!!!

So now to pass this meme on to 7 deserving blogs, well almost all the blogs i read have already been tagged so forgive me if i have missed anyone out it is completely unintentional and feel free to play along! The seven blogs i pass this onto areas follows and please will you all go and check them out as i think they are fab:

The Dotterel

moaning mum

lost in translation

The private diary of a chic mum of four

Hot cross mum

Selina Kingston is forty

Some mothers do ave em

Thursday 23 July 2009

C'est Catastrophe


As promised i am about to regale you with the tale of our epic adventure across France, those who scare easily should avert their eyes now...it doesn't end well, hence the title.

So back in February it was half term and Mr Bold had a light bulb moment that we should up sticks and move to France for a better quality of life for both us and the kids. I being somewhat passive and in need of change ANY change in my humdrum life, decided to go along for the ride. I mean who doesn't love a bit of Merlot and brie, i have a penchant for garlic flavoured anything and what better gift for the kids than a second language.....yes you see i had really given this monumental step some serious thought.

We googled a few small towns and found some quaint pretty hamlets within close proximity to a few airports that the budget airlines frequented, and within the space of two weeks we had arranged to view no less than eight houses/barns. So with all the viewings arranged and a lovely little gite for us to spend the week in all that we needed to do was book the flights. Simple enough right? Wrong, so wrong. I, yes I take full responsibility, at the last minute suggested it may be a lot less hassle and much cheaper if we were to drive instead. It solved the problem of car rental and child car seats that was such a pain on our last holiday in Spain, and well it sounded like such a family adventure not to mention the ease of just popping the luggage in the boot and unloading right outside our gite door.

The nightmare began thirty minutes into our journey to Dover, i somehow overlooked the fact that Fi suffers form terrible travel sickness and just as we were batting down the M6 she spewed everywhere followed by Belle who we have since learnt is also afflicted with the travel sickness gene. Unfortunately Belle was too far back in our seven seater mum bus for me to reach and so she stayed sat covered in sick for over an hour until we reached Dover as we didn't have a minute to spare if we were to make the ferry in time. The smell was putrid and although belle was sick only once Fi carried on approximately 16 times in our 12 hour car ride and went through no less than TEN plastic bags!

We stupidly assumed that the worst was out the way, we invested in some travel sickness pills and a few packets of ginger nuts and began to settle into our beautiful but freezing Gite. The next morning when one of our tyres blew out
on route to our first viewing,we should have realised that La vie en Rose was just not meant to be for us, but still we soldiered on and after nearly two hours struggling to fit the spare tyre and investing in a Majorly expensive replacement we all had a rather jolly time. The french way of life looked to be just what we needed, a slower pace of life and taking time to stop and smell the roses seemed to be within our grasps. The kids had a wonderful relaxing time playing in the open fields and crunching all the leaves and on our penultimate day we found our "dream" home, well Mr Bold did, i preferred the larger, more expensive, already renovated to within an inch of it's life barn we had seen the day before but what did i know and with a gentle nudge in his way of thinking i was on board planning the barn renovations and A chicken coupe.

We had such a great time that on our last day it was decided we should drive to Paris via "Disneyland" and extend our stay for the night. This was where it all started to go down hill, the Disney hotel wanted just short of $600 Euros for one evening and that did not include entry to the park, so we drove around some more until we found a much more reasonably priced establishment which had it's own children's play area, ball pool and gift shop and was not to shabby for the Bolds. On awaking we were met by the drizzling sound of rain tapping on our windows, the first drop we had seen all week, and so we decided to just head for the Disney village and treat the girls to a toy instead of blowing $200 for two hours as we needed to leave sharpish to catch the ferry home.

Mia picked a lovely princess tea set and Sofia settled on a Minnie mouse backpack, the twins were happy with a stuffed teddy each. So with the kids sorted and none the wiser, (poor mites thought that they were actually in Disneyland )we had told them Micky and Minnie did not like the rain, we all had a lovely lunch and set off on our journey home. About eighty miles away from Calais we made our last toilet stop, only there were no toilets just open space and Fi decided she needed a number two......argh. Back on the road and only five minutes later the car, in the fast lane doing eighty miles an hour, decided to conk out!!!!

After veering over to the hard shoulder and escaping death by a whisker, we proceeded to try to alert the attention of passers by, in vain, for over an hour. Eventually Mr Bold Found one of those emergency phone thingy mybobs and another thirty minutes later the most ignorantly rude french man ever came to our rescue and towed us to the safety of a VERY remote town. I know what your thinking why didn't you have breakdown cover? Why didn't you have your mobile phone???

Firstly Mr Bolds mobile died about thirty minutes prior to the breakdown and mine was never ever charged, it was lying dead at the bottom of my handbag where it had resided all week. Secondly we have UK cover but had somehow made a HUGE oversight and forgotten European break down cover....believe me you only ever make that mistake once, we have certainly lived and learned...c'est la vie.

You would think that was where our bad luck would end, oh no that was just a prelude. The company that towed us to safety could not fix the car so we had no choice but to stump up some cash to pay said nasty french man for his troubles and leave all our possessions bar essentials to head on foot with four kids for the bus station! Humbling to say the least. We did not have a double buggy as we had hired one from the Gite to save car space, so we waited over an hour, with four very tired and hungry children for the peasant wagon to transport us to a town that actually had a train station. Once we arrived we waited another fifty minutes standing in line for our tickets. After much deliberation we decided the best thing to do was head for Dover rather than take the euro star. After two train changes and a taxi ride we finally arrived in Calais just in time to board the last ferry accepting foot passengers. The poor kids were absolute angels and we tried our best to convince them it was all a big adventure, us adults on the other hand were hoping to catch a break for Christ sake. Finally on board the ferry the kids got some much need food and with the help of some very lovely and kind staff we desperately tried to arrange some sort of transport home form Dover. As we live in Merseyside we had quite a long journey ahead and finally managed to arrange for one of the staffs neighbours , whom was a taxi driver working nearby, to take us to Oxford services for £250. We waited for the taxi for over forty minutes and once at oxford services My father in law was waiting to drive us the remaining three hours home!! We arrived in our house at 5:30 am after what was one of the most stressful days of my life........NEVER EVER again will i suggest driving anywhere abroad, easy jet all the way.

To add insult to serious injury, we now faced the torrid task of getting our poor broken car home so after twenty four hours rest Mr Bold and his dad embarked on a repeat journey to Dover to catch another ferry and bring our car full of dirty laundry home. All did not go smoothly, Mr Bold had borrowed a towing dolly from a friend, which snapped after he'd spent two whole hours trying to attach it. He then had to think outside the box and use some rope to tow the car instead but with only forty miles left to Calais the french police flagged them down and ordered them off the motorway and down a country lane. This resulted in my father-in-law panicking and going straight into the back of my now completely wrote off mummy bus! SO Mr Bold arrived home Twenty five hours after he had left, empty handed and with the task of getting our car back onto British soil still ahead. We finally admitted defeat and hired a firm to collect our car which arrived two days later costing £700 and in need off a complete overhaul which was an absolute fortune!!! NEVER AGAIN!!!!!!

Wednesday 22 July 2009

Weepy Wednesday

Gossip Girl is over...weep, School is out for summer....triple weep and i have no chocolate left in the house for a bedtime treat....WEEP! So i thought i would cheer myself up with saying a big THANK YOU to my lovely blogging mum chums for thinking of me and Awarding me with a MEMEME award. Cheers Muddling along mummy, Caution....woman at work and baby baby for kindly giving me a reason to rest my ickle brain and just follow orders.

The rules are i must list 7 personality traits:

1)INDECISIVE - I am incapable of making any sort of decisions even simple inconsequential ones like what sandwiches to make for Mia's packed lunch.

2)STUBBORN - Yes i will always cut my nose of to spite my face, must be a taurean thing

3)LOYAL - I will always stand by a friend no matter what!

4)FRIENDLY - Even when people aren't that nice to me i can't help myself, i love to chatter and i can't stand awkward silences.

5)DISORGANISED - My life and home is complete chaos. I never put the laundry away, am always late for everything and can never find my car keys or important paperwork.

6)PASSIVE - I hate confrontation and let most people make the decisions for me out of fear of "rocking the boat", anything for a quiet life.....yet it still alludes me!

7) HONEST - I am a terrible liar it's just not in my nature and even little white lies i cannot get away with. So this one's kind of a double edged sword. I cannot abide liars though and as Sophocles once said "a lie never lives to be old."

So i now i have to pass this onto 7 other deserving blogs but my bed is calling so i will post those tomorrow.......... night night everyone x

Monday 20 July 2009

Happy Anniversary!

"Those who in July do wed must labour for their daily bread"

Today i am celebrating three years of wedded bliss and sometimes Hell. Yes three years ago today we declared to forsake all other and be Husband and Wife forever till death us do part....yikes put like that it's a wonder we've even made it so far. Having reached the seven year itch mark in our relationship we decided with sheer defiance to get married instead of itching the proverbial scratch.

The wedding took place in Florida at the beautiful celebration golf course, with a select number of close family and friends. The weather was glorious and in the end it turned out to be a lovely day, although me being the queen of drama it did not go without a hitch or ten. Firstly the hairdresser was hopeless and after three failed attempts at getting my hair right i had to settle for an awful up do that did me absolutely no favours, a few tears were shed but i got over it until me and my Mother in law were left stranded at the hairdressers by a taxi firm.

Fortunately my guardian angel was looking out for me that day and with the help of a complete stranger who worked at the local Wal-Mart i arrived back to the villa with only eight minutes to spare. I had to get my dress and make up on and have pictures taken in under ten minutes but we all made it in the end.

After our Al fresco ceremony we headed straight back to the luxury rented Villa and consummated our marriage in under five minutes while waiting for our guests to arrive, we then spent the rest of the afternoon splashing in the pool. In the evening we all went for a lovely slap up meal and then spent the remaining week of our holiday traipsing around various Disney parks in horrendous heat. All is well that ends well.......i think.

Sunday 19 July 2009

Leather Anniversary?

Tomorrow marks mine and Mr Bolds third year of marriage together and what better way to celebrate our little mile stone than with the gift of LEATHER. Yes apparently leather is what is traditionally received as a present on your third anniversary, but unless you are some weirdo into S&m and gimp masks (which for the record i most certainly am not), then i can't see how this gift is supposed to enhance or cement your marriage. I'm struggling to come up with any type of gift other than maybe a wallet?

Below is a year - by - year list of the traditional anniversary gifts:


First: paper

Second: cotton

Third: leather

Fourth: linen

Fifth: wood

Sixth: iron

Seventh: copper

Eighth: bronze

Ninth: pottery

Tenth: tin or aluminium

Eleventh: steel

Twelfth: silk

Thirteenth: lace

Fourteenth: ivory

Fifteenth: crystal

Twentieth: china

Twenty-fifth: silver

Thirtieth: pearls

Thirty-fifth: coral or jade

Fortieth: rubies

Forty-fifth: sapphires

Fiftieth: gold

Fifty-fifth: emeralds

Sixtieth: diamonds

How lame are some of theses ideas and to think i have to ride it out for at least thirty years if i want any sort of "decent" present, I'm hoping i have the stamina to see in my fifty fifth wedding aniversary as Emeralds are the only appealing gift on there. No wonder so many marriages end in divorce.........TIN for a decade of compromise and slanging matches i don't think so!!!!

Friday 17 July 2009

When it's all just poo much.....

Poo seems to have taken over my life, not only do i have to wipe 3 yr olds bum after every toilet trip(she's surprisingly capable at nursery though), check to see if there is any trace of poo left on four year olds botty after her number 2s as she likes to be doubly sure, i also have to clean up little treats left for me all over my floors (the twins like to surprise me by ripping off their nappy All the time)!

All this and i still am greeted by the stench of stale turds every morning courtesy of Eva's new party trick and no amount of masking tape can deter her. So when Mia "accidentally" stood in dog poo right outside her school gates yesterday on our way home, it was the last straw! I was furious at the skanky dog owner who let their mutt shit of all places outside a primary school and didn't pick it up, i mean how inconsiderate and down right disgusting is that?

So Mr bold had the pleasurable job of cleaning Mia's school shoes - i draw the line at human poo and only baby poo at that! With all this in mind i am contemplating commencing "operation potty training" with the twins - i know i must be certifiable, but i had intended to make use of the summer holidays and all that glorious sunshine (yeah right) to try and get them into some pretty knickers, I'm just not sure i am mentally strong enough to keep it up as there are TWO of them and I'm only used to doing one at any given time! If anyone has any advise on how to potty train multiples i would be very grateful.

Monday 13 July 2009

Damsel in distress


Did you think I'd fallen off the edge of blogshere? Probably not as i don't think anybody would have actually noticed...weep, well i on the other hand have felt like my right arm has been sworn off, it's scary how addicted i have become to blogging in such a short amount of time - how did i ever live without it!

Nothing much has changed in the bold house I'm sorry to say, yes i still awake to poo smeared in Eva's cot most mornings in spite of the masking tape i have resorted to using in the hope she may not be able to rip it off and the house is still a tip, however all that is about to change now i have joined Flylady.

You all will have probably heard of the wondrous and annoyingly organised Flylady, she sends you daily emails and tips on how to tackle your cluttered home and become a proper housewife with a gleaming home starting with a shiny sink! I have tried this once before pre twins but failed miserably...so hears hoping second times the charm.

Organisation skills are something i am seriously lacking and today was no exception, even with flyladys help i managed to be late for the school run AGAIN only this morning to add to my many stresses it was Mia's end of year assembly and i was already five minutes behind my extreamly tight schedule when i spotted a toad in my car next to the seat belt i was about to fasten. Yes a big slimy fat green toad - i froze with fear and even the thought of missing Mia singing twinkle twinkle in Spanish was not enough for me to overcome my irrational behaviour and flick the toad out. Eventually and after a rather pathetically frantic call to Mr Bold, who just sighed and told me to deal with it, a knight in shining armour appeared from nowhere to save the day. My prince charming was fifty something, stumpy, balding with yellow teeth (at least they were his own) and was walking a German Shepard not riding a powerful white horse....... but this damsel in distress was grateful anyways and beggars can't be choosers. Who said chivalry was dead eh?

Monday 6 July 2009

They love me, they really love me....


I have finally been awarded the "F**$ing fabulous" blog award and i am mega thrilled!!! I know it's rather juvenile to take delight in the use of obscene language but hey it's my blog and I'll effin swear if i want too he he. Thanks to the very witty "maternal tales" for bestowing such a wondrous accolade upon me, i do apologise if i am rambling a Little too much but i have polished off a whole bottle of rose and am struggling to type through the hiccups ha.

The wine is in aid of self medication as i have had the day from hell yet again with the terrible twins .....they have not stopped screaming and I'm at my wits end, I'm hitting the bottle in the hope of numbing the pain and deafening the constant ringing in my ears from their high pitched incessant cry. I have awoken to poo nearly every day for the past ten days in a row i kid not. I am not talking metaphorically i mean literally poo!!! Eva for some strange sadistic reason is taking great pleasure in ripping her nappy off at the crack of dawn and shitting all over her cot, some times she is kind enough to not stand in it and walk it in to the ma tress...but 8 times out of ten i find her smearing it everywhere with her feet!!!! Anyway I'm digressing sorry...

So back to my award, yeah me!! Now as i am slightly intoxicated i cannot recall what i am supposed to do with it so i will kindly pass it on to five "F$**ing Fabulous" Blogs that i love to read, if i am not following the correct protocol i do apologise but hey I've had a few bowls of loud mouth soup what the hell do ya expect. So here are my chosen five in no particular order..............

Metroplitan mum

Dancingfairy

Domestically challenged

A Modern Mother

My guide to surviving and enjoying life's mundane

Well I'm off now to try and post a comment on my chosen five's blogs, however my computer or the virus is still not fixed so i may need to email them all.....

Thursday 2 July 2009

THE interview - my girls on their mummy


After reading the lovely Susanna's blog recently i stumbled across a post in which she had interviewed her children, asking random questions all about her (their mum), the answers are so cute that i have decided to follow suit with my very own interview. Here's how it went.......

1) What is something mum always says to you?
Mi - "STOP!" and "ooh no"
Fi - "Don't hit the babies"

2) What Makes mummy happy?
Mi - "giving you kisses and when Daddy gives you flowers"
Fi - "When we bring you flowers from Nanny's"

3) What makes mummy sad?
Mi - "When we smack you and when we are naughty at someones house"
Fi - "When we be naughty"

4) How does mummy make you laugh?
Mi - "When she tickles me"
Fi - "When you pull funny faces"

5) What was your mummy like as a little girl?
Mi - " Was you nice to uncle A and auntie S? (no comment ...cough)
Fi - "You ate chocolate balls" (really????)

6) How old is your mummy?
Mi - "Are you 100?"
Fi - "seventeen"

7) How tall is your mummy?
Mi - "ten feet tall"
Fi - "Longer than auntie S"

8) What is her favourite thing to do?
Mi - "clean" (does she not know me at ALL?)
Fi - "Work for jobs" (???)

9) What does your mum do when your not around?
Mi - " I think you feel a little bit happy"
Fi - "You bake my dinner"

10) If your mummy became famous what would it be for?
Mi - "Fashion - you would be on Gok"
Fi - " You would dance in X factor" (i don't think soooo)

11) What is your mum really good at?
Mi - "Tidying up"
Fi - "Printing out the tweenies papers on the computer for me to colour"

12) What is your mummy not very good at?Mi - "Dancing" (True, very true)
Fi - "Baking pizza cos you burnd it" (Spot on)

13) What does your mummy do for her job?
Mi - "look after her children"
Fi - "She goes to shopping"

14) What is your mummy favourite food?
Mi - "salad because it's in the fridge" (Yeah it's the only thing that's ever in the fridge because i NEVER eat it, i just buy it to make me feel better about all those chocolate purchases)
Fi - " 'biscetti' bolognaise with mushrooms in it"

15) If your mummy could have one wish what would it be?
Mi - "A bike"
Fi - " on a shooting star for a Hannah Montana book (wtf?)

P.S Just to let you all know i am having major problemos with my stupid computer, which is allowing me to write posts but not comment on mine or any other blogs arrgh. Please don't think I'm being ignorant i appreciate all your comments and will be returning the favour as soon as this laptop is fixed...fingers crossed it's soon!