Annual loving

Come on, 'fess up. I am surely not the only person to have read Bunty comics in secret aged 16. Really? Oh. That's awkward.

All the other girls were lost in the world of Mizz and Just 17. And those Problem Pages. Involving sex, kissing with tongues and fancying your best friend's older brother, to name just a few. I seem to remember one of my friends reading a particular Just 17 problem page which featured a rude mishap with a Biro, but let's not go there.

So while just about every girl I knew was reading something in a teen mag to prepare them for future shenanigans (by the way, I  pronounce this "Shen-on-eee-gon" as if I was French and posh), I was lost in the depths of Bunty. Cut out wardrobes and tales from the Four Marys. Get in.

It became an embarrassing habit but I couldn't give it up. Every week my dad would go to the corner shop, pick up his paper, my Bunty and my brother's Beano. And I would lock myself in my room to read it and didn't tell a soul outside the family.

So imagine my pleasure when I spotted this in the Scope cherry tree shop this week.

I tell you what, I always look out for Bunty annuals and never see them. This is the only one I've ever come across.

Please someone confess to also reading it, so I don't feel like a loon.

In other news, the husband and I have been having some pleasant times together while the kids are at school and pre-school. Good chats by the sea really do wonders for the soul.

Oh and I grabbed this from another cherry tree shop this week, 50p for another cute Peter and Jane Ladybird book to add to my collection.

Here is my friend and I, in the interval of our children's choir concert. We sang along (sometimes a bit too loud) and were gushing with pride at it all. She is a diamond and we are dragging our husbands out for a curry next week. They live a few streets away from us and apparently the curry house round the corner is amazing so I am really looking forward to a laugh and a quick stroll home!

So the kids have broken up for the Easter hols and on Sunday I can trough chocolate again after 6 weeks on Lent. Never again though, same weight as when I started!

To kickstart a lovely Easter, the ever so beautiful Ashley, she of the Country Rose blog fame, came over for lunch today. I got to squidge baby Arthur and the Prince got to romance Rose.

We first meet exactly a year ago with the two delightful Sarahs or Annaboo and Shabby, as they are better know. We normally all get together but this time I am seeing them all individually and then we shall reunite with chips and a coke on the beach.

12 months ago. FLOWN BY!

Ashley's two beauties and my clingy boy.

We had such a lovely afternoon, I got masses of Arthur cuddles and now I am clucking. A lot.

My parents are arriving tomorrow for four days. On Saturday they are babysitting as the husband and I are going to celebrate 17 years together. SEVENTEEN. I can't quite believe it. We celebrate our Snogging Anniversary properly, like we celebrate our wedding anniversary. I love him more than Bunty and Bon Jovi (ish with the latter).

Dressing up a few years ago

My heart still skips a beat when he returns from work - although that's probably because I often mistake him for a burglar when I hear him crash through the door at 2am from his night shift .......

Wibble Wobble

No No No. The title of this blog post does NOT relate to the sound of my thighs as they sashay along the promenade.

How very dare you.

Indeed not. Although they probably do make some sort of sound but let's not dwell on the dulcet tones of my pins. Let's concentrate on Treasures from the Cherry Tree. You with me? Goody. Thanking you muchly.

I have bought some gorgeous glass jelly moulds and I secretly love them more than I should.

They were sitting in the cherry tree shop window and I had to have them both. It would have felt wrong to separate.

£8 for so much pleasure. The kids LOVE the wobbly goodness.

It reminds me of a joke my lovely Bampy told me as a child: "One day a little boy went to a birthday party and the host asked him what he would like to eat, once they'd sat down for the party tea. The little boy said: 'I would like a plate of that wobbly stuff please.' The host said: 'Don't call it wobbly stuff, that's rude.' And the little boy replied: 'I'd like a plate of rude please.'

Boom boom. But I seriously laughed my guts up every time he told me it. Bless that lovely man, how I miss him and his funny ways (ie calling a dinosaur a "dinner sour" as that's how he pronounced it. Oh and a "hi-fi" was pronounced differently too. Yep, he was always listening to music on his "hee fee").

So my lovely jelly moulds. I love them both dearly.

I get very attached to certain (ok, all) inanimate objects. My sister is the same and we crack up at our weird little foibles. Sometimes, if I've eaten an apple, I can't throw the core in a bin if we are in an undesirable area. I prefer to keep it and throw it in a field. Where it will be....errr... happy.

Hmmmmm. Wonder how many readers I just lost. The Husband thinks I am nuts, but my sister agrees with me (she does the same). We are just caring. And how do we all know apples DON'T have feelings? We don't know for sure.

Moving on......unless you're gagging to see more jelly mould pics. There are more. Believe me.

This time last week I had two of my neighbours over for a quiet drink or two - we had such a blast. Suddenly it was 2.15am and we were all absolutely blottoed. Felt a bit bad when the Princess came down at 1am, scolding us and telling us to be quiet!

This was after about 80 takes..........

The Husband came in from work at 1am and we turned out all the lights and kept quiet. When he walked into the living room, we shrieked with mirth and I actually thought he'd gone into shock. Never seen him look so stunned. At the sight of three wild women with mad hair, he quickly made his excuses and exited to bed. Oh the hilarity. #childish

Wrecked. Spesh her in the middle. Ha!

Mind you, I went to bed already hungover, which didn't bode well for the morning. And indeed, last Saturday was a wipe out. Mother of all Headaches chose me as her victim! So this weekend is going to be calm and cleansing.

In other news, the Prince took part in his Easter bonnet parade today. Just brilliant.


He sauntered around like some catwalk male model, hand casually in pocket, sweeping his way across the floor, working it totally. GAGGING to put the pic on but I can't because other kids are right next to him and the pre school policy doesn't allow it. Fair enough.

But I can post this one. A pic for his 18th party me thinks. How he will love me. His eye is healing after the shenanigans of crashing into furniture and being rushed to A&E, by the way. Can't remember if I mentioned it in my last blog. Think I did.

Mind you, we bumped into my next door neighbour in Lidl this week (not one of the drunken girls above, but another one who stayed into the early hours when we hosted dinner) and he climbed onto the side of her trolley (I was choosing something so my back was turned...I will obviously never learn). The next thing I heard was a giant crashing sound. He'd pulled the trolley over, it tipped on top of him and ALL the food fell out (also on top of him).

 You literally couldn't make it up. Much screaming, Lidl staff racing over mildly panicking that we may sue over a broken leg. Bruised and battered but fine. Need to wrap an extra layer of cotton wool around him I think.

A man came up to me, moments after, and said: "That was bad. But it could have been worse. I have been through worse. I've travelled to seven countries. I've seen a gun."

I was like "Byeeeeee" and exited swiftly.

Been busy on the work front. Lots of new job offers too which is brilliant. I just need more hours in my day. And on that front I am heading for a bath with a lovely new magazine.

Tis the simple pleasures.

Ladybird Ladybird Fly to My Home

I've done four weeks of Lent. Lent Schment. Not lost any weight at all. At all. Not an ounce. Yet not one biscuit, cake, chocolate or sweet has touched my lips in a month. In fact the only pounds I've lost are in the cherry tree shops.

It's been a good week on that front. I found SEVEN Ladybird books in one shop yesterday on the way to toddler group. I practically squealed when I walked past and saw them in a box in the window. (Tell a lie, I actually DID squeal but didn't want you to think I am barmy...)

I raced in, all breathless (can Ladybird books actually bring on an asthma attack?)

"Sandra!" I gasped, as I know the staff in Scope now and they see probably me more than they see their own families.

I reminded her of my leetle obsession and she grabbed me the box, in case someone beat me to it. I had all the other books in there already but I am over the moon with the seven I found.

Didn't feel like the best mum in the world yesterday #shoutyshouty

I even bought the Princess and the Frog, which I'd actually bought a couple of months ago while shopping with Sarah but the cover was slightly different and the one I found yesterday is the one I really wanted although the cover is battered and drawn over by its previous owner.

Bad boy Dominic......

Then my heart broke.

Sandra said: "Course there were masses more Ladybird books in there, but someone came in ten minutes ago and bought a load."

Imagine. It's the equivalent of someone buying all the shoes in some bargainous sale and leaving you with the last few they didn't want.

I started thinking about all the ones that could have been mine. But since then, I have manned up and moved on.

I have also bought a couple of other things which I will blog about another time. I am running out of blogging minutes as have two neighbour friends coming over tonight for some glasses of pink fizz and want to get the house straight (which always takes longer than I think).

We are fortunate to have brilliant neighbours who we get on well with (we weren't so lucky in the past). We have dinner with the ones next door and then I'm friends with two girls around the corner so tonight should be a giggle.

The Prince and Princess have Sweetie Friday each week. We spend an age in Tesco while they panic over what to choose and then opt for the same choice each week. The Princess ALWAYS has Fruit Pastilles or Shoe Strings and the Prince loves Skittles. I also treat the Princess to a magazine of her choice once a month (makes her behave well!).

Moshi Monsters mag.

I believe these things should be an indulgence and not a habit, otherwise things aren't appreciated. I try to live by the same rules (unless it involves Ladybird books).

And so tonight we can watch Comic Relief and guffaw and cry all rolled into one. The Princess had to wear red to school today and looked cute and very much like Annie, much to her disgust, when it was pointed out!

"Tooooooomorrow, tomorrow...."

Looking forward to a quiet weekend. We are usually so busy and often have people staying (our families aren't local) so this weekend will be en famille, just us four.

Other things: here are some of my Mother's Day roses still going strong. They have a very delicate scent. I love roses - can you tell?!

The other exciting thing to happen is that we got snowed in on Tuesday. The snow came down thick and fast. All the schools shut and we played in the snow and had snowball fights with our neighbours.

The kids in their cherry tree shop hats behind a REAL snowdrift!

Very confusing for the poor daffs!

And that's it for tonight. I shall return soon with other nice cherry tree treasures!

Mother's ruin

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