Confessions of Mother Earth

Well, what's been happening since I last visited. Well, the excitment may prove too much for you, so I'll leave out all the REALLY exciting bits and leave you with the rest LOL.

No 1 child AT LAST went back to school after the October break as did the OH go back to work. Holidays are great for the first couple of days or so, a break to the usual up at 6am, cup of tea, see to the fire, see to the kids, more tea, school run - well when I say school run what I actually mean is I stand at the back door in my dressing gown (not a pretty sight I might add) and watch as my son runs the 300 yards to school - get No2 child organised and then settle down to the real serious business of doning the obligatory pinny and doing the housework, in between cups of tea and True Movies/QVC/craft programmes/ebaying. But then it becomes irritating that hubbie is at home all the time getting in my way and "helping" by doing the housework, which isn't done the way I do it so I do it again anyway, and of course, the kids who have bedrooms full of toys and more stuff in the garden than any great theme park, telling, no shouting, about how bored they are. But normal activity has ressumed.

I've been getting organised for the school fate which is a week tomorrow (Saturday) and have been practising after last years baking disaster. I blush at the thought of last year and have much sympathy for whoever bought my carrot cakes, and hope that they didn't suffer any permanent infliction. I had the bright idea of buying the make-it-in-your-bread-maker-carrot-cake stuff from the Co-op - BIG MISTAKE. If I had make enough I could have build a much needed extension to the house with them, but I had left it too late to make anything else, so covered them with enough butter icing that would have filled the foundations of the afore mentioned extension to try and disguise the yucky taste - but I'm sure all I did achieve there was to increase the vomit factor!!!

BUT this year is a different story, I'm making sweets. Chocolate truffles and chocolate fudge. The truffles I tested out earlier, and even though it took him 10 tastings of the truffles, my hubbies comment were "they're ok I suppose"........not exactly overwhelming praise but at least he wasn't sick. The fudge is good. I used a stupid-proof recipe and it got a thumbs up all round, but it is very sicky, but then again I had scoffed three bits and licked the spoon and the bowl.......well a woman has a figure to maintain.

I've also been having the twice yearly clear out of the kids stuff, we do it once in the summer and once just before Christmas (sounds a bit like my sex life LOL). No 1 child decided this year he's too grown up for Playmobil (he's 6) and he wanted rid of it all. There are four massive boxes of the stuff, you name it it's in there. So I spent two whole days (and I mean whole days) sorting out the various itty bitty mobile phones and flowers, bandages and fire hoses. I had piles of bits here and there which the kids kept mixing up. I managed to put together the airport - that took about 4 hours by the time all the bits were found and was well chuffed with myself (and have great fun as well), when the announcement came that he wanted to keep the flipping stuff. At least it wasn't all in vain and I had something to show for it, my slipped disc was playing up again with sitting in the same position for hours on end.

Saved the best til last, I was asked recently to do a magazine article. It's for an online magazine in connection with the tiara's and wedding stationary I make. So I duely did what they asked and although they had given me a rough outline of what was required it was pretty much up to me. So I went for it and wrote a good 2 - 3 pages all abut me and how I got started etc etc, got my OH to take some recent photos of me (I HATE getting my picture taken). I took some photos of the most recent tiara's I had made, very arty ones on the glass shelf of the hall cabinet which was a really good idea until the shelf collapsed, scratching the whole inside of the unit and squashing three of the tiara's, not my best move, but anyway sent the article off. I got an email back saying how pleased they were with it and how interesting it was...........received a copy of the real deal, and they used........1 paragraph. I've cancelled the OK photoshoot for the moment.

Well, better go, my glass of wine is calling me, and NO1 child needs raced off to bed so I can either do my two essays that are due in or watch Friday night trashy telly - mind you I am a woman and can multi task - I could watch the telly with my books on my knee and pretend I'm doing background reading.......

Next on the great TO-DO list is the Christmas countdown.............can you tell I'm a Virgo????? ****Mother Earth****