Grace in Small (Eating) Things

We have been away for our weekend and had a really fab time (thank you Mum and Dad, I know the kids ran you ragged!).

On the way back from Bristol this morning I was reflecting on how much I have to be grateful for right now and more than anything my eating and problems around food are at the forefront of my mind.

So here are a few things that I am feeling extremely grateful for -

1. I have not eaten chocolate for over a week and not even missed it There have been no overwhelming cravings for it.
2. I have been away to a 4* hotel which had the most fab breakfasts and I did not gorge myself. I ate a filling and moderate breakfast each day. Today I did not even bother with the cooked. Never would I have thought that a free breakfast would be available and I would not take it up.
3. Both Sat and Sunday I have not had a snack. Normally I plan my meals and plan in fruit, yogurt of something healthy but the last two days I have not really thought about it - ohh to be serene and happy every day. I assume my tummy must be shrinking inside.
4. I can see I am losing weight and I feel good for it.
5. I needed some tea last night and where we were, there was just fast food places and a supermarket and I opted to go to the supermarket and get a salad rather than have chips - I just did not want them.

I know all these things to be miracles as I can not do them alone, especially when it is that time of the month. So thank you Lord for taking the time to be interested in my small problems.

The Simple Things...

It was JJ's sports day at school today and I was not particularly looking forward to this - think two 2 year olds crossing the spectator line and running across the course and tripping up some of the competing kids! this was the little vision I had in my mind but I really should have trusted God more and been a bit more chilled out as my girlies behaved just lovely and flirted with all the daddies there.

Then to top it off JJ went and won his first race. Neither he nor I would have expected this. He has always been far taller than his peers and much more like Mr Bean or Phoebe from Friends when he runs so we sort of expect him to come near to last (but of course we do not say this). So now I am in that wonderful place of having my heart swelled so much that it may just burst. I am so so happy for him, it has made my day. Isn't it funny how something so small means so much when you are a Mummy. You could give me a £1000 and I would not be happier than I am right now.

So come on share with me, what makes you a proud Mummy? Seeing as I am in this lovely sunny mood help me keep it alive. I used to moderate a twins chat forum and I was known there for my feel good posts, so why not bring it across here to.

I look forward to hearing about the simple things that make your day.

and lastly, here is my little man running along - he is the tallest one!

Blog Rolls - Love Them or Loathe Them?

Boy has my world changed in the last few months! My thinking space used to be taken up with kids, food, God and a few other things and do you know what the number 1 filler is nowadays? Probably blogging. I go to sleep thinking about posts I will write or some I have read and what I want to do to change my blog if only I had the time, money, energy, inclination etc etc (insert your own excuse here).

So one of the things I keep pondering over is my blog roll. I set this up about 6 months ago when I first started publicly blogging and now I keep thinking that I must update it. I have a personal hate of blog rolls that have loads of blogs on them that have not posted for yonks (don't you just love that word? lol I have not used it for ages!)

Anyway what I wanted to know was how you manage your blog roll. Is it something you did once and have forgotten? Do you have a regular maintenance plan to keep things up to date and tidy? If another blogger pisses you off and never appears to visit your blog/ comment etc do you take them off?

Brenda over at MummyTime is a real advocate of marketing and promoting other peoples blogs. I think she says something along the lines of promote them 7 times more than your own. Her logic being that all that positivity will pay dividends for you in the end and I do like this philosophy ( I hope I have got that right Brenda, lol) but what about you, what are your thoughts? Come on share them with me.

The Gallery: Creatives

Three different interpretations for this weeks prompt from Tara.

First up, a creature you may not of met before -

Latin Name - Pesticus Son
Distinguishing Features - approximately a good foot taller than all the other animals in his class, trousers can be seen hanging off the bum, top is constantly dirty and can he be heard yelling 'MUMMM'
Life Span - hopefully a real long time
Endearing Qualities - tells me I am pretty and I look nice, gives great cuddles and has an amazing sense of fun
Habitat- Lemur enclosure at Paradise Park, Herts

Then my son the falconer. Isn't is amazing how brave these kids are age 5!

and lastly this is JJ's idea of a fun photo, poke your tongue out and pretend you have a trunk!!!

Thanks Tara for another great prompt. I have been looking at some of the gallery posts this week and the are great. Use the cup link on Wednesday and pop over to see Tara and Sticky Fingers and view all the fab gallery posts.

Our weekend in pictures

It has been a lovely weekend. Fun, family and friends - just how it should be! (and now I need to do the ironing! lol)

We took a walk round the local lake and we bumped into loads of babies...

Had fun at a summer fete at a local school (the kids got temporary tattoos - the best 25p I have ever spent -so happy, does not even describe it!)
Worshipped at Church, the girls enjoy some flags!
and some junk modelling to finish off the fun...

Notes from the Heart... (update on Miss E)

Dear Doctor,

Thank you so much for listening to me today and referring Miss E to the paediatricians at the hospital for a full investigation for her passing out/ fitting when in pain. Thank you also for not making me feel too much of a bad parent as I listened to myself explaining what has been happening and realised I should have bought her to you before now.

A grateful Mummy

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Dear Miss M,

Boy was that a tantrum today! WOW WEE to use your own words. You just do not get it, do you? Sometimes we have to be somewhere at a specific time and it is not all about you! Jacob had a swim lesson, which he loves and which cost Mummy and Daddy lots of pennies. I am very glad you conceded to calm down after 20 minutes.

Did you feel you achieved anything by this mass let off of steam??

Still love you Diva, Mummy xxxx

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Hey JJ,

Mummy is very proud of you this week. You have tried so hard to be a good boy and to be mindful of your behaviour and your effect on others. Your teacher is also really pleased, your smiley chart at school has been far more happy than sad! Keep up the good work, especially the great progress you are making with your swimming. It won't be long now until you have your appointment at the hospital for your aspergers assessment at the communications disorder clinic.

Love you my big boy, Mummy xxxx


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Dear Lisa, Laura and Lorie (the magnificant 3 L's!)

I am on countdown, only 1 hour and 20 minutes until we will be sitting together in the Indian restaurant about to order our scrummy meal. A night out with the girls for good food and chat is just what I need!

Love you all, Mich x

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Dear Mum and Dad,

This time next week it will be you here dealing with my rabble and me and dh will be down South having a lovely romantic weekend away together. We are so grateful for this opportunity to spend some time together and just can not wait....

Mich xx

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Dear most excellent readers,

You know I keep setting myself little targets to gain followers, well I am now up to 57! Thank you very much, I am nearly at my little target of 60 by the end of June! Just three more to go.

I hope you all have fab weekends, sending you fun and serenity.

Mich x

Summer is...

Today is a good day. No scrap that, today is a great day! Today I love my husband more than I did yesterday. Today I am thankful for such amazing parents. Today my kids are wonderful individuals who make me so proud. Today I am joyful for the recovery I have made, thankful for who I am. Eternally grateful to the 'Big I Am' for His part in all this.

Today my heart is nearly not big enough for all the love I have............... and you know what helps me to feel like this? IT IS SUMMER! Yay

So in the spirit of those greeting cards that were around when I was a kid. Do you remember the cartoon characters and the caption 'Love is...' and then a corny line. I am going to make my own corny lines and use the caption - 'Summer is...'

Love is... the reason we're here on earth! ahhh

Summer is...

... feeling the cool breeze coming through the open patio doors

... listening to the squeals of laughter from the garden as the kids spray water at each other

... burying Daddy in the sand at the beach

... wearing bright colours

... wearing sandals and flip flops

... the smell of fresh cut grass

... that cut grass getting trodden through your house as the kids play chase!

... a glass of rose enjoyed in the garden after the kids are snoozing

... big brother on in the background (but not for much longer!)

... pic nics in the park

... feeding the ducks

... bare bums jumping on the trampoline (the kids, not mine!)

... going on a family holiday, enjoying time together

... air conditioning in the office at work (thank goodness)

... yummy ice creams

What does the summer mean to you? I am sure I will think of loads more as soon as I post this. Isn't that always the way! lol

This post was written for the Mummy Bloggers Carnival which will be held on 22nd June over at SnafflesMummy.

Also, go visit MummyTime and check out FlogYourBlog Friday!!!

Wordless Wednesday: Sums up how I feel today!

The kids have summed up perfectly just how Mummy feels today!

Bleurrrr

My Poppet Keeps Scaring Me!

Dear Miss E,

Darling, do you not realise that you keep giving Mummy heart attacks? Thank goodness your Daddy has been here when you have been doing these things.

Come on, explain to Mummy. Do you have a very low pain threshold? Is this something Mummy should be worried about? Do I need to take you to the Doctors? Are you just a bit of a drama queen? (we all thought Miss M had that base covered).

Let me tell you that when you hurt yourself and then cry so hard that you hold your breath and then either pass out or fit it really terrifies me. You are my little poppet and Mummy hates to see you in pain. At least tonight you did not go not shock like last time, it was awful to see you white as a sheet but with red blotches across your body, cold sweaty head and eyes rolling behind your closed lids as you came in and out of consciousness.

It has now been 3 times that you have done these things and I must say I am temped to be a needy Mummy and to take you to the doctors later in the week when I am off work. Can it be normal for a little person to hurt themselves and to have such an adverse reaction?

I love you so much my babe, please stay well and stop doing this.

Mummy xxx

Anyone have experience of their little one passing out, fitting, going into shock when they hurt themselves and not particularly seriously? The kind of thing that just makes other kids cry. I would love to hear from you. Cheers Mich x

The Gallery: Motherhood

What a lovely prompt this week. Tara has directed us to show a photo which to us epitomises motherhood. Here is mine:

Disclaimer: Now before you call Childline I was right there taking the photo one handed while my other hand is just below the pillow under JJ's head. I also just want to add that I do not mean motherhood is being on the PC and leaving the kids to sort themselves!

This is JJ when he is just a few weeks old (why he has a pink dummy I have no idea, bad Mummy!) and on the computer screen is Babycentre, this was my lifeline when JJ was small. I met so many fab women on there, many of whom I am still in contact with 7 years later and some I still see.

You know when you are a first time Mum and you have no idea about the constant dribbling, the crying that won't spot, the spit up that ruins your clothes, the lack of sleep at night, the rash that appears from no where etc etc - you get my drift. Babycentre was were I went to get the answers and reassurance that I needed. I did not really have any real life friends with small babes at first so I turned to this fab group of women and then later met friends with babes. Nowadays you can start a blog but when JJ was born in 2003 I did not even know what a blog was! lol

So that was the start of motherhood, learning to share every little part of my life with other women to learn from them and draw strength from them and then as I learnt, offering that back to others and helping them to feel confidence and enjoyment in their parenting. So today as well as motherhood I am part of a special gang: the Sisterhood, all us Mummies have to stick together despite our differences because we are on this long difficult but joyful journey together!

Kiddie Smiles & Motivation by Praise

Today has been a lovely day! yay

Enough said, end of post!

No only joking, just been chatting to some friends online and they have got me in a silly mood. Isn't it great to catch up with friends. We are a bunch of diverse women with one thing in common, we are all twin mums and they never fail to make me feel good and happy. Thanks POPOTOMS, I can not wait for our August girlie night away.

Anyway, back to the matter in hand. My little people..... isn't it amazing the simplicity of some things that will brighten your child's day? We took JJ for his swim lesson today and afterwards as we were tight for time I said we could have a McD's and do the drive through. We sat in the car and ate our food waiting at the station for Daddy's train to arrive. They could not of been more happy anywhere else in the world. Me, dinner at a nice London restaurant would float my boat. But fast food from the box in the car with an ELC car music CD blaring did it for them! lol

We were tight for time as we went to a wedding earlier this evening, so normally at 7pm I am getting the kids in their PJs and tucking them up in bed. Tonight they were getting in their glad rags and heading out to dance, and dance they did! Cheesy music and a bottle of bubbles can delight even a stony faced 6 year old!

So much of my day has been good, as I have been on form. I am doing a parenting course at the moment and yesterday was about choices and consequences and getting your little ones to do the things you need them to do rather than going their own way. The way to get them to do this is to offer the choice for taking a bad action and point out the negative consequence and highlight the positive reward for the right action. It is lengthy and takes some thinking about but I can see in one day that it works. Long may I remain this Mummy who has the time and energy to think before she speaks.

Some of the other things we have been covering are family rules, kindness charts and rewarding children by positive reinforcement. So tonight since returning from the wedding I have made a starry night chart, which basically is a family kindness chart. When anyone in the family does something good and worthy of praise anyone else can give them a star and the aim is to fill the starry night sky and then the whole family get a reward together. So there is no competitiveness between the kids, everyone has to work together and they have to share why they are placing a star on the chart. One of the other women started this last week and it has worked wonders for her, so wish me luck here!

I also made some 'Mummy's Special Award' certificates. The idea is that each week I will give one to each child and there will be a reason why they get an award and this positive reinforcement of the right behaviour should result in me seeing more of it. I will let you know how I get on with these initiatives.

Notes From The Heart.....

Dear amazing bloggers from Australia, New Zealand, America, Canada and anywhere else miles away that I have not mentioned.

Months back I saw Brenda as a blog of note and went to visit her, since then I have happily followed her growth and success, in doing this I have met so many amazing bloggers from Oz and NZ.

Also a few months back I visited Kat and this opened up a whole new wealth of US and Canadian blogs for me to visit from her Dear So and So linkys.

I just want to thank you all from the bottom of my heart for taking the time to come and visit this Brit and sharing your blogger love with me. I probably get just as many non UK comments now as I do UK ones.

You all rock!!! Mich x

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Dear House,

You are looking all nice and tidy right now, could you please try and stay like this for at least 48 hours. What, oh it is not you I should be addressing this note to. OK I will ask the kids.

Cheers, Happy House Owner

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Hello Mini Me's,

Can the three of you please try and keep Mummy's house looking nice for a while? I find it so satisfying to see it clean and tidy. I know it is part of your job description to wreak havoc but if you all behave nicely Mummy and Daddy will take you to a wedding tomorrow night and you can dance to as much cheese as you like.

Looking forward to it, love you all Mummy xxx

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Dear Mich,

Why are you being disobedient at the moment? Come on girl, you were doing really well with your eating. Why have you started to pick at 'no' foods? I do not understand you sometimes woman!!

Angry self!

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Dear Readers,

All of you, whether you come from the UK or somewhere else, thanks as always. I am really enjoying blogging right now and you help to make it fun and guess what I wanted to get to 50 followers by the end of June and I now have 53. So me being me I have to up my game and say 60 followers by the end of June. So help me with my little good natured challenge.

Thanks again, Mich x

Can you help me get some perspective please?

I am hoping you can help me. Would you mind giving me your perspective in the hope that I might actually gain some perspective on my life? Go on, pretty please.

I have blogged before that I have a problem with sitting still and relaxing, it is not something that comes naturally to me. I am very good at writing lists and achieving targets, getting things done basically. It is as if, when I am just relaxing or playing with my kids or such I do not feel there is any value in what I am doing and I start to feel as if I have achieved nothing in my day. This is bad as those play times or times of stillness might be when I teach my kids a valuable life lesson or recharge my own batteries. I can tell you what the books say; that I have to get a balance and enjoy some down times but the bit I cannot work out is what is a good balance?

I really enjoyed my weekend. The boys were away and the girls and I had a nice time. I did a few chores on Saturday morning and then we went into town to cross a few more things off my list and have lunch. Tea and bedtime was a nice relaxed affair and then my friend came over for a DVD, Indian takeaway and good chin wag. Sunday was Church in the morning and then we went to a fete and car boot before collecting the boys from camp late afternoon. See a totally chilled weekend and I enjoyed it, the girls behaved so well – probably because I was physically and mentally available to them much more than normal. Minimal chores were done, everyone was fed, washing was done and the kitchen kept clean but that was it. So what is your view – was I lazy this last weekend? Or was it good that I had a nice relax and enjoyed my kids and Church.

I suppose I ought to give you the backdrop to this question and describe a week day for you. Monday and Tuesday I work a full day and then here is my day from yesterday –

• Got up at 6.15am and showered, dressed and did my daily readings
• 7am got the kids up, gave them breakfast and got them dressed (dh helped)
• Dropped JJ to breakfast club at school, dh at the station and the girls to nursery before going to work
• Work from 8.20am – 12.30pm
• Lunch on my own – 20 mins to myself!
• Collect girls from nursery and head home
• Tidy the kitchen, full clean of the bathroom, wash all the towels, clean the downstairs toilet
• Make all the beds and tidy the kids rooms
• Did my daily bible reading
• Hemmed some work trousers
• Put another wash on
• Collected JJ from school
• Got the kids back and sorted with drinks etc, unpacked JJ’s bags
• Folded the washing and put away, put another wash on
• Spent 40 mins blogging – bliss
• Got the dinner ready
• Collected dh from the station
• Came back and finished dinner and we all ate together (then dh went out to do cubs)
• Got the dishwasher loaded and on, cleaned the table, hoovered the dining room, tided the kitchen
• Bathed the kids and did bedtime stories with them all
• Folded more washing and put it away
• Kids all asleep – yay. Went on the computer and surfed, answered emails etc (2 hours to myself)
• 10pm got the ironing out and ironed until 11pm
• Then relaxed for ½ hr with the PC and bed at 11.30pm

Now I am pretty sure that by anyone’s standards this is a busy day but this is pretty much how most week days are for me. So by writing this I think I am answering my own question, if I do nothing much on a weekend after 5 days of this full-on sh@t then I am pretty justified – right?

Technorati Claim DS3SC6MU36M3

It's me! Yes this really is my blog. Come find me please Mr Technorati!

Ignore this post, cheers Mich x

Cos you is a laydee Mummy!

Do you ever have a day when you have tons of ideas buzzing around your head and you can not wait to blog as there is just so much you want to say? Well today is one of those days, I will have to sit on my hands so I do not chuck out post, after post, after post today.

All these ideas and what have I decided to grace my lovely blog with? Well, I think it is important for everyone to have smile on their face on a wet Wednesday afternoon, so here is a conversation that Miss M, Miss E and I enjoyed earlier today in the car on the way home from work and nursery.

Miss M: My play on the trampoline when we at home

Me: Lovely darling

Miss M: It was broken yesterday, you fixed it Mummy

Me: Yes I did, but we have to be very careful as I have not properly fixed it yet

Miss E: You got no tools Mummy

Me: No sweetie, I haven't got any tools

Miss E: Daddy got tools Mummy, Daddy fix things, he a builder

Miss M: You not a builder Mummy

Me: No, I am not a builder babe

Miss M: That is cos you is a laydee! Said in full David Walliams/ Matt Lucas voice. They both joint in with my chuckling but of course had no idea what it was I was laughing at (I do stress she has never seen Little Britain! lol)

So here you are, something to make you smile. Emily and Florence take afternoon tea, as all true ladies do!

Enjoy...

Getting it off my chest in a stolen moment!

That title really could mean something quite exciting couldn't it? If you popped over here hoping that I might be going topless and baring all then I have led you astray.

What I need to get off my chest is a grrr rather than my bra. Today it is just the girls and me and I have to say that life is infinitely easier with 2 kids than 3. Do not get me wrong I would not give up any one of my gorgeous babes but some days less is more, if you know what I mean?

We ventured into town to do some banking, birthday shopping and have a spot of lunch at John Lewis, well you know when the boys are away the girls will play! We had the chat in the car about how mummy needs the girls to stay close to her and not run away and how happy that will make mummy so happy. We then had the more effective conversation about how the girls could have an ice cream if they behaved whilst in town. No, I am not adverse to a bit of bribery.

There we were in John Lewis after our lunch and I thought I would browse the handbags, it must be that time of year again when I need a nice new bag. I was modelling a gorgeous hot pink one to myself in the mirror, when I turned to check where Miss E was and as I did Miss M took a handbag off the shelf and copied Mummy, having a look in the mirror. At that point, frosty old bi*ch assistant came over and asked me to kindly stop my children removing the bags from the shelf. I apologised and took the bag off Miss M to put back and the lady sternly told me 'I'll take that!'. I was so hurt by her tone and accusatory voice that I forgot to ask her if she thought shopping and parenting toddler twins was an easy task. We promptly left JL with me muttering about how we were not welcome. If only I had the energy to complain about her. The lovely £100 pink bag is back on the shelf in JL and they missed out on that purchase. I would not mind but at this point my girls were being angels.

I did learn today as well that even though they are female and my daughters there is only so much shopping that 2 year old girls want to partake in before they start playing hide and seek under the dress rails. Embarrassed in Monsoon - who me? never. I can not wait for the time when my babes want to have a girlie shopping day and we do it until we drop like I do with my Mum - bliss.

In all, for being out for about 4 1/2 hours the girls did really well. I got everything that I needed to, we had minimal whinging from Miss E, Miss M listened extremely well and we all enjoyed ourselves. I think the highlight for the girls was sitting on the lawn having their ice lolly, notice I said they had a lolly. I did not even feel deprived and I stayed away. At the moment I am feeling a real freedom from food obsession and it is wonderful, thank you Lord, long may it last.


So now I better end this stolen moment, I am tapping away in the front of my car on my driveway as the girls have fallen asleep in the car on our drive back from town. I do hope this does not put their bedtime out too much as my friend is coming over tonight for an Indian, DVD and general catch up - a perfect end to a good day.

Mummy Things That Make Me Smile

Spurred on by reading my friend Ela's Facebook status today, I thought I would share some of the little things about being a Mummy that make it all worth it!

• My twinnies holding hands and walking along together giggling.
  
• JJ waving me off tonight as I left him at camp ‘I’ll really miss you Mummy’.
  
• Miss M’s new use of the word actually, for example ‘I am not making a mess actually, Mummy!’ Add you own 2 year old teenager attitude here!
• Miss E’s joyful giggle as you push her ‘higher, higher’ on a swing.

• When the bedroom finally goes quiet at night and both babes have fallen safely to sleep.
  
• Seeing my little man look so grown up after having his hair cut.
• Watching dh today with all our children, his love and patience shining through.

• Hearing my kids showing their good manners. Miss E is the example to the other two and she has a delightful way of saying ‘yes pleeeaasse’.
  
• Hearing JJ read to me and watching him trying to use different voices and expressions for the characters.
  
• Singing our hearts out on the way home to the most cheesy CD alive. Yes, I thoroughly recommend that if you have young kids you go and buy ELC Pop Party. We were happily doing the actions to Superman and 5,6,7,8!
  
• All the kids playing together nicely and giving me 5 minutes peace to read a chapter, jump on the PC or do some housework.

What about you? What are those special things that warm your heart and bring a smile to your face?

Notes From the Heart.....

Dear Blog,

Notes from the heart..... seems to be becoming a weekly feature. I obviously like it!

From, the blogging queen!

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Little mouse in my garage,

How dare you get in the garage and up on the table and eat the rest of my kiddies Easter eggs! even through the boxes.

I can not believe your audacity! Now leave my house immediately before I set a trap for you.

Mad Mich

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Dear dh and JJ,

I hope you have a wonderful time this weekend camping with the cubs and I pray that the weather stays nice for you.

Enjoy your boy time. Mummy xxxxx

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My beautiful twinnies,

We have a girlie weekend ahead, lets enjoy it! If you can do as Mummy asks life will be much simpler and Mummy will appear much happier. Do you think you can manage to listen for a few days? (are you listening Miss M?)

Love you both, Mummy xxxxx

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Dear Readers,

Each day I seem to find out about more and more of you. I get texts, facebook messages and emails but come on show yourself on here. Be brave, leave me a comment or put a follow on me, you know you want to help me get to my target of 50 followers by the end of June!

Cheers, much obliged. Mich x

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Dear warped mind,

I am so grateful to have been abstinent from compulsive overeating for the last couple of days. If you could please stay sane for the foreseeable future I would really appreciate it and my fat body would also like to shrink a bit.

Thanks, Happy Mich x

The Gallery, Wk 14, Still Life

This was taken last week at my of my favourite places to go with the kids. We are lucky to be far enough out of London that we have lovely big free parklands close to us. Tomorrow we are off for a pic nic, play in the park, to feed the ducks and some hill rolling to here, Stanborough Park.

This Heron certainly knows how to stand still.

Visit Tara at Sticky Fingers to see all the other fabulous pictures for this weeks gallery.