Calm before the morn......

Am high-fiving myself like a freakin' lunatic.

(Singing)  "I got the kids to bed by 8pm, yeah yeah,  Shimmy shimmy, go me." (Circles around the kitchen, shaking an almost six month bump that looks about ready to reveal another baby who will kindly gift me more grey hair. Not at all attractive).

We've been too relaxed in the holidays on the bedtime front but the Prince starts school tomorrow......don't, I shudder just thinking about it. I shall be the one in black, weeping behind Jackie O glasses. He and I have a lot of fun.

He drives me nuts when he hits me with his light sabre ("oh it wasn't ME, Mum, it was Darth Vader") and shares a bath with me before announcing he is doing a massive wee. But he is wonderful and I am blessed. He is also besotted with his big sister.

Everything she does:

He does:

He walked into our bedroom this morning and climbed in for a big hug with the Husband and I. Then he told us that he loved us "too much", and then trotted merrily into the Princess's room to cuddle her. "What do you want, pea brain?" she growled and crawled back into her pit. Such a tweenie already.

But away from my watchful eye, she hugs him, does his hair, tells him they are best friends and is his greatest protector. I sometimes wonder where on earth the third baby will fit into all this chaos and love.

She's loved him really (even though she often pretends she doesn't) from the very second she first clapped eyes on him.

Yep, my legs were still akimbo...the midwife had just done some...ahem...embroidery.

See? Besotted...(or knackered from his incessant crying)

Anyway, I put the Princess to bed tonight and read her a chapter of St Clare's by Enid Blyton (we love all the boarding school tales) and she asked that frustrating question, you know, the night before she goes back to school from a six week summer holiday: "Mum, will you text some of the other mums to see if they know whether there was any homework?"

Gah!!!! I have no more to give. I am exhausted. As if I'd start looking into that at 8pm tonight.

Anyway, onto other things. On a totally different tangent, I have passed three cool vans recently which amused me. One was an ironing service called De-Pressed (genius), one was for a tattoo parlour called Pimp My Hide and then I actually had the camera when we passed this one.

Great name. Wonder if the boss is Mick Wagger........sorry.

Talking about Pimp My Hide, I have completed Project Pimp My Shed. Actually I must confess, it was a joint effort between me and my bearded beauty the Husband.

Before (obviously.  Imagine if this was "After"!!!!)

My little falling down rickety beach hut. LOVE!

Anyway on another tangent, I have found a cool shop full of treasures, namely Ladybird books. I shall blog about them next time.

In the meantime, I shall leave you with these. The kids stole my camera. They are SO mindless.

Back with a new post after school.......I shall be a wreck tomorrow morning. :-(     #mustmanup

Staycation

So there I was, picnicking with a friend and her three very demure children...(a little TOO demure for my liking, as they put my two crazy coconuts to shame). We lazed under a shady tree and put the world to rights while the kids ran off to explore.
I was eating for two, maybe three, possibly even four, but basically was in food heaven. It was divine.
All we could hear was the breeze through the trees, birdsong and...SPLASH!!!!!!!!!
The minute I heard it, I just knew. Call it mothers' intuition. I then heard a girly scream, one that is overly dramatic. I paced round the corner to find the Prince had pushed the Princess into a big fish pond. Thigh high water with mahoosive fish.
And the Princess was being dragged out of said pond by a stranger.
And I felt like a rubbish mum who should have been paying more attention.
The Princess, who lost her shoe in the process, was sodden from head to foot and the Prince looked all triumphant and said: "Told ya! Told ya I would actually push you in."
I dragged them both back to the car, one soaking and limping (never did find the shoe), the other declaring he was the winner.
Welcome to the summer holidays.
Just two days left before the little darlings wear their school uniform and allow me to hoover the  aftermath of filth up. Apart from the fish pond, and a few other incidents, we've had an absolute ball.
We saw Cuckoo who came to visit us with her brood for the day:

Prince, Princess, Big Cuckoo and Little Cuckoo

They all bonded over chips!

We had a really lovely day and the sun shone brightly!

What else have we been up to?

There has also been a lot of night time cuddles as the Prince keeps falling asleep during the day (after charging around on the beach) and then refusing to sleep at night. Gah!

Spot the stroppy one...

Umpteen moments in the library.....

LOVING the Birdman event - that is Warwick Davis on the big screen (my little crush....no pun intended)

We celebrated our 11th wedding anniversary. Sadly forgot to get a pic of me and the husband, but we all went out for a slap-up lunch to celebrate. Fab, it was.

Oh and here is Bluebell, the most gorgeous cat who has adopted us. Can't have her in the house due to my asthma but she is flipping lush.

She just needs to avoid the Prince more often. Poor cat. I've told him Bluebell isn't a horse...

Glorious days on the beach, daring to laze in deckchairs (wonder how much longer they will hold my weight for....)

I was lucky enough to spot a water vole. Only I keep getting it wrong and calling it a water VOWEL. So embarrassing........

You can call me Consonant

 The skies have been dreamy...

Went to a little festival with friends

The kids weren't so keen on staying out after 9pm, poor mites.

Cherry tree cardie, natch!

The Princess has perfected her body boarding! Can't keep her out of the sea.

More beach loving.

Love his little hand

 Then my oldest best friend came to stay with her family for a few days. We've been friends since we were three and she is 8 weeks more pregnant than me!

I'd love us to have the same sex baby
but am guessing she is having a girl and I am having a boy.

We both ate all the pies ok?

 Had an impromptu day at a beach in Dorset with my family. Here is my sis with baby William. Oh I could eat him.

Then we travelled back to Berkshire and stayed with friends for a couple of nights. We went to a pub and meet loads of our old friends which was just wonderful.

My lovely French Sophie moved to Zurich a couple of days later.
My top and necklace are cherry tree, darlings.

The Princess had fun with one of her BBFs.

I popped over to see my dear friend and her new addition. Ooooh it gets me so excited!!!

Look at his little munchkin-ness

 Catching up with more Berkshire buddies

The kids enjoyed their sleep over.

How I miss my hostess with the mostess, she's a diamond.

Then we went to Whitstable to house-sit for a few nights. Twas lush.

We had fun.....the kids had fights.

Cherry tree hoodie of course

Always love to pop in for a browse when we pass the W.P.

HOW bored does the Prince look?!?!

 Mooched around:

The view from the bedroom window.

We went to Broadstairs for the day:

More fighting I think

 Then we went to the zoo.

King Kong ain't got nuffin' on me, y'all.

Think I spotted Simon Cowell in there......

But this is what won me over.

Isn't he gorgeous?! I had a tear in my eye. 

We enjoyed coffee in the sun

Hmmmm I wear that dress far too often.....

And now the Husband has grown a beard after not shaving for a fortnight and I think I fancy him even more but now the holidays have come to an end and he is back at work and I have the blues.

But that just goes to show we had a brilligog time. I shall reclaim my house from Thursday, but will also spend time mopping up my face as the Prince starts school. It's the end of an era and I shall miss him desperately.

Loving my Digital Detox by the way. Don't miss Facebook or Instagram AT ALL. Have so much more free time, I may even come off Twitter as hardly use it. I feel happier, more content with life and wish I'd done it sooner.