Sleeping policemen

I am absolutely shattered. I shouldn't really be writing this but I must. I should be snuggled up in bed with my cats, snoring gently. But if I don't post today, you will have the longest essay tomorrow, and you won't bother reading it! So this has been my week;

Monday morning J was up with the larks, she's been unbearable waiting for Monday to come. So excited that her friend was coming up from Somerset to stay for a couple of days. So in actual fact I was more than happy when Monday came too! So eight o clock there was J baking chocolate cupcakes to go with the biscuits she had made on Sunday!! And by nine she had laid the table for lunch, complete with lavender to keep the flies away, glasses neatly placed at every setting and pretty kitchen roll squares folded as napkins. The cakes and biscuits were laid out on doillies and covered with cling along with a jug for water and a bowl of crisps. Later we were to make sandwichs and fruit.

Just as we were discussing how much longer they would be we had a phone call saying they were just leaving Bristol!! Oh no! I had to put up with a couple more hours of over excited 10 year old! So I distracted her with making the sandwichs. Eventually they did turn up, and friend's dad immediately fell in love with area and we had a lovely lunch and then a cup of coffee in the garden. That evening as I put the chickens to bed the wind picked up and the storms came. We had one at 7 and another at 12. No more glorious sunshine. Just as well though, I got burnt to a crisp on Sunday while the kids were out with my sister!

Tuesday was just appalling, storm after storm, torrential rain and wind. So the girls swam! We went to our local pool for an hour's free swim and then to the other pool for Aqua Splash. Then a McDonalds. So they managed to have fun in the wet after all. Wednesday they were happy to spend time together at home and go swimming again, which was just as well as the weather was terbile again and we didn't manage to do half of the things we wanted. We had planned picnics on the hills and days at the river but the rain was just too much.

Yesterday we made the journey back to Somerset to take friend home again. We arrived at about lunch time, had a quick bite to eat then went surprise visiting. We hadn't told anyone we were coming so we had a bit of fun dropping in on friends who certainly weren't expecting us. The we went over to my parents and did the same thing. The look on my dad's face when his youngest grandchild just waundered into the lounge was priceless. I can also report that my mother looks a hundred times better and her facial bruising has almost completely gone. We stayed there for tea, which was lovely, my mother hates surprises that mean she has to magic up food but she did a great job! We eventually left at half eight which was probably far too late but I had to admit it was hard to drag myself away. I have only seen my parents for odd hours here and there since we moved and it is a big difference compared to when they were only three miles away.

The girls slept most of the way home, they had had a few rather late nights with friend staying over and it was beginning to catch up! So they didn't notice that in the rather dingy, rainy weather I could have sworn that the dry patch under a bridge on the M49 was a speed bump!!! I even slowed down, until sense kicked in and informed me that they don't generally place speed bumps on motorways! I guess I was a bit tired too. They didn't notice when I had to carefully judge my path to avoid squishing frogs that were happily hopping across the country roads in the rain. They didn't notice my battle with huge puddles that had formed on the side of the road, threatening to drag me into the hedges and then throw me back into the middle of the road in front of oncoming traffic. And they also didn't notice when I came round a corner, about a mile from home, to find the biggest bale of hay right in the middle of my side of the road! I'm glad there was nothing coming the other way, because I had to swerve to avoid it! The girls obviously assumed it was just my crazy driving and slept through it. Needless to say, when we finally arrived home at 11.15pm I gave the local police a ring to ask them to remove just the last part of the assault course to ensure that someone wasn't unluckier than I.

The kids woke up at half past twelve this afternoon!!! My God they were tired. I don't think any kid in the world has slept that late before. We had a lot to do today but I just hadn't the heart to wake them. So when they did finally wake up we had a busy afternoon preparing for tomorrows show. We went to town to buy ingredients for J's layered dessert and A's pizza, then went to the river to pick flowers for their 'display in a welly'. Once home A did her collage of the Cypriot flag. A back ground of cut up doillies to represent the lace which is famous in Cyprus, the yellow country shape has two large lemons amongst scraps of yellow paper, and we found two little leaves to make the olive branches. I have to say it looks rather good. J made the most amazing chocolate and fresh strawberry layered dessert. Then A made a pizza with four different toppings which we need to cook first thing in the morning. After all that the flowers were arranged in the wellies!! Blimey, at one point I didn't think it would get done. A really should have done her collage sooner but good old mum lost the glue! J has already written ten proverbs in her best handwriting.

So tomorrow will be a busy day and I will be knackered again. I will post pics tomorow and let you all know how we get on. Wish us luck!!