the wife of Bath

Hot Baths are my favorite thing in the whole world, that and chocolate! Combined i am in heaven and i like nothing better than a red hot steaming bath full of bubbles and sitting in it for hours topping it up with more warm water and reading a good book or just thinking.

Unfortunately this little luxury is a rare occurrence, my house is filled with little people who although are in bed at the time I'm running my bath have the habit of waking up once i put the first drop of bubble bath in and refuse to get back in bed and go to sleep. These days i have to make do with a a quick two minute shower in between dressing my girls and changing mountains of nappies. So imagine how chuffed i was to be sent the latest short Story by Kathy Lette written for the Radox "Be-selfish" campaign, it's completely water proof and is dedicated to ‘all stressed women everywhere’ and encourages women to be selfish and enjoy some “me” time!

All Steamed Up is a comedic take on all those Vesuvial moments in a woman’s life, from pregnancy to the agonies of childbirth, the mind numbing tedium of looking after small children and the chaos of trying to juggle kids and career without dropping anything - to the indifference of busy husbands and finally the ironical heartache of empty nest syndrome. The story finds Katie Love escaping into a bubble bath and talking to the tap as the only way to stay afloat.


So if you want to find out more and bag yourself a copy of the novella click here

Go the Mass has ended.......

Guess what i spent my Sunday morning doing? you'll never guess? oh alright i suppose the title is a bit of a giveaway, yes i attended Church. I have been meaning to attend our local R.C Church once a month for the best part of three years however life keeps getting in the way and well I'd much rather lounge around in my Pj's and read the Sunday paper....I'm going to hell aren't I?

I have never been particularly religious or a devout Catholic but i have been Baptised, confirmed and attended Catholic schools all my life, so i have the guilt instilled into me and i like some of the old fashioned values too. My life has been lacking a little direction of late as have the kids who's attitude and manners are preposterous at the moment, so i thought now was as good a time as any to seek solace in the Church (it's so much cheaper than therapy) and will put the fear of god in the kids, morals and discipline never hurt anyone right?

I was pleasantly surprised at the turn out and the pews were not just filled with pensioners as i had assumed, no there were lots of families just like mine and lots of kids too, even babies. So i sheepishly asked how i go about getting the girls into Sunday school and was told by a very stern elder that "It's liturgy not Sunday school and Father John will announce it once the mass has begun" oops!!!! I was not making the best first impression ever, but i have to say everyone else was lovely and friendly.

The problem was that i have taken the kids to a local Sunday school sporadically that is protestant and lets just say much more child friendly. I don't know what i was expecting from "liturgy" but it didn't live up to the kids expectations, Mia moaned that "It's not as fun as the village church where we played and sang last time, it's boring". Unfortunately i have to agree with her, it was dismally boring and crammed, not geared to inspire the children to want to keep attending, the lady was enthusiastic and up beat but it was lacking the fun factor and instead of lasting nearly the whole of the mass it was only 15 minutes long, so i was left to sit with two fidgety kids for 50 minutes asking every two minutes "can we go now mummy?"

Mia is not enthused and refuses to attended again next week even with the promise of malteasers after, Fi is willing to give it another go mainly due to the Malteasers. I don't want to have to attend the local village church as Mia is a pupil at the catholic school attached to the church which we were at on Sunday but i don't hold out much hope for our Sunday ritual of family Mass if the Church doesn't up it's game surely a little thinking out side the box is aloud if it means more bums on seats?

Better late than never...

This week i have been lucky enough to receive two very sought after Awards (ok so i made the "sought after" bit up) but I'm very grateful none the less.

Firstly my bestest blogging buddy Amy at and1moremeansfour has bestowed me the "bloody brilliant" award pictured above and so I'd like to pass this onto four blogs i think are brilliant too (sorry if you already have them):

* Brits in Bosnia

* Kelloggsville

* Time management mum

* yummy mummy flabby tummy

Secondly the very talented Sally over at Who's the mummy and the wonderful Linda who blogs at Gotyourhandsfull have very kindly given me the "Zombie chicken award" which is a lot more flattering than it actually sounds :)

The blogger who receives this award believes in the Tao of the zombie chicken - excellence, grace and persistence in all situations, even in the midst of a zombie apocalypse. These amazing bloggers regularly produce content so remarkable that their readers would brave a raving pack of zombie chickens just to be able to read their inspiring words. As a recipient of this world-renowned award, you now have the task of passing it on to at least 5 other worthy bloggers. Do not risk the wrath of the zombie chickens by choosing unwisely or not choosing at all.



So after much consideration i would like to chose the following five amazing blogs that always bring a smile to my face or a tear to my eye - i am in awe, i think most of you probably have the award already but this just means your twice as fab:

* Maternal Tales

* Not waving but Drowning

* Rebel Mother

* MBNAD Woman

* rosie scribble

Thirdly the new and funky Very bored housewife who is a English mummy living in Spain has generously awarded me the lovely blog award and Widge who blogs all the way over in New Zealand gave me this very pretty award - thanks hun:)



Now I'm sorry to go on and on and on and on.....but I'm not finished yet! I have been a major slacker of late and a terrible blogger, i received a few awards a couple of weeks back that for one reason or another i haven't got round too ( I'm just Lazy). So to show my appreciation and sincere apologies for my rudeness i would like to, instead highlight the lovely bloggers who kindly passed on the awards and ask you all to pay them a visit:

Really Rachel - She is a wealth of knowledge on all things techie and i bow down to her endless techno talents she has so many tips i can't keep up!

Hot cross mum - This blog is very funny, especially her tales of how domestically challenged she is and don't miss the hysterical weekly installments Top of the tots!



Insomniac mummy - Yorkshire lass who is so sleep deprived it's amazing she functions never mind writes a bloody brilliant blog full of amazing posts, puts me to shame.



Four down mum to go - Having the male version of my clan instantly drew me to this fab blog. She has four boys including baby twins and still manages to blog insightful and profound posts all the time - she's great!




chic mama - This Chic is raw and honest, she is busy tackling the huge task of bringing up four kids alone whilst dealing with her troublesome ex husband, and she manages to do so with a great sense of humour - inspiring.



Just to recap that's ten awards I've been hoarding, I'm useless i know, so a big sorry to you all for being such a big slacker and if i didn't pass the awards your way it's probably because you already have them (it's hard to keep track they're everywhere) or I'm seriously tired and still catching up on all that holiday washing, it's nothing personal so please forgive me....phew thank god that's over with it has taken my very tired brain FOREVER!

wordless wednesday: Back from our jolly's and we had a ball!

Is Anybody out there?

First of all i would just like to say a HUGE thank you to all those 16 wonderful people who have left such lovely, touching comments on my last post, each and every one has meant so much to me and i really appreciate it. Unfortunately i have just spent the best part of an hour trying and failing to share some bloggy love, i have read every one of your recent posts hoping to leave a comment only for blogger to F*$$ up on me completely. I can't even leave a comment on my own post!!! So i hope you are all reading this "Thank you" and i will be returning the favour once blogger gets it's act together.

So back to my post, i was just about to tell you i spent last night board out of my brains attending an audience with "Lisa Williams" (Famous Psychic) in Blackpool. She wasn't up to much but then again I'm only saying this because i never got a reading, no "Spirits" came through for me and my hubby. Before you all start thinking I'm some loony who loves nothing more than trying to communicate with the dead in my spare time, I'd just like to say it was Mr Bold who purchased the tickets. He has been struggling since the loss of his mum 10 months ago and finds comfort in the thought of the afterlife, something which i do believe exists although i have no desire to ever actually come face to face with a ghost/spirit etc...oh my god just the thought makes me want to hide under my duvet, I'm a major wuss when it comes to anything like this. Anyway his faith has been a little shaken by last night and although i feel extremely sad for him (he desperately wants to believe in all this) i am secretly a little pleased we may not have to sit through back to back episodes of John Edwards every bleeding night!

I have been to see a medium twice now once about a year ago and again a few months back after my mother-in-laws death, and both times the lady has been spookingly accurate. I can't deny there must be something out there but at the same time i fear there are lots of charlatans taking advantage of very vulnerable people, which i find sick yet hardly surprising, it's the same in every walk of life form doctors to accountants! What about you, do you believe in the afterlife?

Well I'm off to bed now as it's very late and my back is aching from all the ironing i have been doing all night long, one more sleep to go and I'll be off to Spain for a few days holiday. I'm getting excited now, i have had my hair chopped off into a neat bob and I've even applied Fake tan.....this time tomorrow I'll be sinking a few sangria yippee! Bye for now and I'll see you all next week :)

I can't go on, i'll go on....

There has been much strife in the suburbs over the past weekend culminating in an almighty domestic, which has left me wondering if my marriage can withstand the test of time. I can't go into too much detail as it wouldn't be fair to my husband, there are after all two sides to every story and as i still want my marriage to work i don't want people to think bad of him.

Lets just say my husband, for all his wonderful qualities such as being an amazing father to our beautiful children, a loyal friend to me and an excellent provider, has one major flaw - he's very controlling! I on the other hand am rather passive which makes for a quiet sort of life most of the time until i wish to exert a little of my independence. I find myself constantly having to battle with him if i want to have a social life outside our little family unit and in the past it has proved too much hassle and i have given up trying just for an easy life. Now though i can't seem to do that anymore and i am fighting my corner much to the annoyance of my better half.

As the calm descended on Saturday morning i needed to get out, so i took my big girls to the cinema for the second time in a week! This was only their second ever visit and they are becoming seasoned pros at inhaling popcorn, thankfully they will get a new set of teeth in a few years to offset all that sugar :) I had hoped to make the Saturday special, kids can watch an older movie for just £1, but the viewing of Charlotte's Web had already begun so instead of my little trip costing a bargain £3 it came to a whopping £16.80 for three tickets to "Bandslam" and then i had to buy food on top!!!!

the girls were very excited about watching "Gabriella" from High school Musical in the movie but it wasn't exactly what i had imagined and not really suitable for a five and three year old. Bandslam was a cross between Camp Rock and Dawson's Creek (which i happened to LOVE as a teenager) full of teenage angst and social misfits, who are trying to win the coveted prize of a record deal. I stole the title of my post from the name of the band in the film, it seems rather apt. I sat there silently crying into the kids popcorn pondering the fate of my marriage and i seem to have found my mantra for now at least........I can't go on, I'll go on.

Bad Mummy ruins back to school day!

Today was Mia's first day back at school, she's now in class 2 and i can't believe how quickly her first school year flew by, this was her exactly one year ago to the day, fresh and ready to start her school career...



This time last year she cried all the way to school , sobbing , sniffing and clinging to my limbs refusing to go into that big busy classroom without me. This lasted for 4 whole weeks and i didn't think she would ever settle, that is why today was so momentous for us, she happily strolled from the car to the school gates and before i could give her a good luck kiss she was off playing with all her class mates whom she had missed so much over the holidays and she hardly even glanced at me when the whistle blew for her to line up and enter her new classroom. I should have been pleased as punch, but although i was proud of how far she had come i was also sad that my little girl was growing up so quickly and becoming so independent, not needing me in the way that she had before, i suppose i better toughen up because I'll have to go through it all again next September when Sofia starts big school and before i know it the twins will be needing a uniform too.

As usual i left everything until the last minute and i only purchased Mia's uniform yesterday! I made a mad dash to M&S and got her absolutely everything from underwear to shoes and shirts, i even bought her the most gorgeous school coat ever and this morning when she was all dressed up she looked absolutely amazing in it. Last year i made the mistake of buying all her uniform from the school, only to discover i had paid a fortune for shirts that shrink and cardigans that fade after two wash cycles!

We had a little bit of drama last night when Mia still on holiday mode refused to go to bed, this carried on with me up and down the stairs trying and failing to get her to sleep until it had gone 10pm and i had lost my patience. I stormed up the stairs and gently flung her onto her bed, only for her to bounce back and catch her lip on the side of the bed! I promise i was very gentle and i was completely horrified and guilt ridden, i cried, she cried and i had visions of social services banging down my door!! Me dramatic never, anyway she was absolutely fine this morning, but i wasn't, i didn't get a wink of sleep worrying about her and feeling so guilty, i don't think I'll be winning mother of the year anytime soon, but lesson learned - keep my cool. So after last nights events i have been trying to compensate with lots of ice cream, banana and custard and lots of pink milk, i feel awful, like it has ruined my fresh new start to the school year. This has put me on a downer all day, sitting in the house watching the rain trickling down the windows eating industrial sized packets of biscuits with tea, trying to make myself feel better!