Potty training on hold

Iris didn't want to put pants on this morning, she asked for her nappy, so seeing as we are away for a few days in France it didn't seem fair to inflict wee wee puddles all over grandma's house.
We will try again next week, hopefully.

Iris ignores Potty and wees in pants

Iris has mostly wee'd in her pants today, she has ignored her big potty, our toilet, her travel potty and even her little friend's potty, and just wee'd in her pants instead.
She even wee'd on the way home from Daisy's school and had to continue walking with wet tights on to a friends house where we were going for tea, lucky i took lots of spare tights and pants.
I have to say that wet tights didn't really seem to bother her that much.

Here she is with dry pants on, clutching a packet of mozzarella cheese, ready for Pizza's tomorrow night, with Auntie Vicky.




I hope more wee's end up in the potty, and less wee's end up in her pants tomorrow.
I guess she'll have to wear pull ups on our journey to France on Sat.

Ho hum, things can only get better.

Iris is in pants today

Not sure this is a good idea at all, seeing as we're flying to France on Saturday and our washing machine is broken so extra washing (in the wee stained tights department) is not my idea of fun, but hey she seems keen so we've got to go with it.

Happy Birthday Auntie Emma

This is Auntie Emma

Or Daisy's representation of Auntie Emma, she is wearing a pretty pink dress and holding some sunshine sweets.

No updates.

I am sorry if you have come here looking for the usual rubbish ramblings, and strange photographs, that appear on this blog, but you see my computer is right next to a window and it's super cold next to this window and my right hand (that uses the mouse) starts to freeze up.
In fact it's freezing up now, so i'm going downstairs in but a moment.

When we move house, i am going to put this computer in the cosiest corner i can find.

The things they say - storytime

I feel a new series coming into fruition, obviously it cannot replace the "Hackney streets" series, but perhaps it can ease the way into the new (fingers crossed) "Evercreech - currently undecided series"

It was bed time, story time and Daddy was doing the reading.
It was Iris' turn for a story, cos Daisy had had her 'Folk of the Faraway Tree' fix already.
Iris turned to me when i suggested Daddy could read her chosen story, and said "No, Daddy can't read it, he hasn't got boobies!"

Soup

Both girls like home made soup, so i have been trying to make soup as often as i can.

I now have a few soups in my repertoire which have come from my mums way of making home made soup (boiling up the bones) and also from Grandma's recipes of pot and leek soup.
I also make the lentil and bacon soup from the Delia website, without the cabbage.

Today, I found lots of chicken bones in a bag in our freezer so i cooked them up today and added lots of vegetables to it (all i had was carrots, parsnips and onion) Then after 90 mins i strained out the bones and added leek and potato and bacon and it all turned out very nice indeed.

The soup wasn't as thick as it sometimes is, so i ended up spooning the soup into Iris's mouth (she's a lazy, picky eater, but that's a different story) but she suddenly said to me.

"That's not soup muma, that water"

cheeky monkey.

Stuff you find on Hackney Streets - a pair of shoes

Yes a pair of black fake leather shoes. Note how neatly they have been placed together, as if the owner took them off before bed time, perhaps if i'd looked harder i might have found some man snoozing under a bush, then again perhaps it's best i didn't look.
It looks like there is a pine wardrobe back there too, in reasonably good condition, i wonder if this household has heard of freecycle.


Other "Stuff you find on Hackney streets" photographs

Daisy's first day at school

Daisy had her first day at school today in reception.
She was very excited about going to big school this morning, as soon as we got there she got stuck right into a project of painting her name on a big sheet of paper to go up on the wall, at this point me and Iris ran away quickly.
When we arrived to collect her for lunch, she was very cross and grouchy and grumpy with me, she wouldn't tell me anything, and then she dissolved into tears when we got home, telling me she didn't want to go back to school this afternoon.
However as i suspected, she just needed food, and as soon as she started eating her sandwich she completely changed and started telling me how she was looking forward to this afternoon and wondering what they would all be doing.

Note to self, bring a banana along when picking her up.

Here is Daisy in the playground with her friend Nieve, who is also in reception but in the other class.

Here is Iris getting in on the action.

Christmas Tour - Saltash - all the girls

Here is a photograph of all the children staying at Rachel and Josh's over New Year.
Roni (9) is smiling whilst she is cuddling baby Tom (6 weeks) and Iris is having a little cuddle too.
Ruby (7) is trying to assist with baby Tom, i think he was gradually slipping down at this point.
Daisy is a little unsure of Pippa (2) who has fallen asleep on Daisy.
Freya (4) is busy watching Nanny McPhee on DVD, on the computer.

Christmas Tour - A walk in the Saltash countryside

Lots of photos to come that might get made into a small book.

Christmas Tour - The pantomime.

We went to see the Torquay pantomime again this Christmas (our third in a row)
This years star was that fella who used to be in Brookside, Popeye or Sinbad, yes Sinbad that was his name in the show.

There is a rather funny photograph of Sinbad in his costume below, it is rather revealing in that his trousers are perhaps a little bit tight, maybe he had too many cream teas whilst in Devon.

Reviews:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/devon/
http://www.thestage.co.uk/reviews/

Daisy enjoying herself at the pantomime
The Dame who had truly fabulous outfits
This little line up of classic pantomime peeps included from left to right: Mark Jackson, Phil Randall, Emmerdale's Stuart Wade and Michael Stark (otherwise known as Sinbad)

Here is the actor Michael Stark (otherwise known as Sinbad) with rather strange trousers.



The next day i even saw "Muddles" Emmerdale's Stuart Wade in Sainsbury's in Torquay, he was at the checkout in front of me, i wouldn't have known it was him at all if the checkout girl hadn't asked him what he would be doing for New Year and he hadn't said well i'll be in panto doing Snow White.
I at this point immediately started talking to him, telling him that we had gone the night before and that we had really enjoyed it, which was a slight exaggeration, but i couldn't exactly tell him that it was quite similar to last years and the story was quite loosely based around the original disney film of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. But hey i enjoyed seeing him in the flesh, he
was quite shy and a little bit handsome.

Christmas Tour - Grandad Tony

Here are a few photos from our visit with Grandad Tony and Grandma Helena on the 29th December.

Not too sure why the girls look so sullen, they were enjoying themselves, honestly.

As you can see from this photograph.

Iris is tickling Helena under the chin here.

Here they are sitting on the bottom step, i like them sitting on this bottom step.

Here Grandad Tony is doing a little rhyme with them that involved tweaking different parts of the face, they liked it so much ...

... they then went on to do it to him.

Christmas Tour - Bella's party

We went to Bella's 3rd birthday party on the 28th as well, she is Daisy and Iris's cousin.

This is the only photograph i took of Bella, she is dancing with cousin Poppy and can you spot Daisy behind as well.

This is Iris having a little cuddle with cousin Poppy, Iris liked Poppy.

This is Poppy's little brother Oscar who is 3, he is very sweet.

This is Auntie Polly and her friend Ellie who were at the party as well.
Polly and Ellie wanted to make it clear that they are not gay, they obviously have a bit of complex about this because they are flatmates and they do everything together.

Christmas Tour - A walk around Battery Gardens

We actually spend Christmas eve, Christmas day and boxing day at Auntie Emma & Uncle Paul's house but for some reason i failed to get any even reasonable photos of anyone, but we did have a fabulous time, with lots of presents and food being enjoyed by everyone.

Then on the 27th we traveled down to Nana and Grandad's house to stay with them for four nights and again i didn't really get any photographs down there of anyone, what is going on with the lack of photos.

These three photos were actually taken on the 28th when we went for a walk with Tilly Dog to Battery Gardens.
This link will tell you all about how Battery Gardens was first used as a battery in 1586 during the war between England and Spain.


Tilly dog is actually looking out over Fishcome Cove which is part of Battery Gardens.



It was very cold and although you wouldn't think it, Iris was actually thoroughly miserable throughout most of this walk, which was why i didn't really get a chance to take many photographs. Daisy did enjoy herself quite a lot, she was with Marc who was down on the beach taking photographs for a photo synth he is working on.

Home again, home again, jiggidy-jig

Oh my, it has been such a long old trip.
We left early on Christmas Eve and we arrived back today at 2.30, and obviously it's been a lot of fun, and lovely to be visiting everyone, but it is so so nice to be back home.

Tons of photographs to follow, once i've waded through them and edited them down to a dozen.

Oh and who out of all that we visited gave me a cold?
I don't remember anyone particularly having one, other than Iris who seems to have had one for weeks, but now i have a disgusting cold.



It appeared almost within minutes of arriving at Emma & Pauls yesterday later afternoon, and it is still here.
YUK.