22 Foxhole East

apple_muncher

Your constant energy is a tonic! Your posts alwaysmake me feel enthused about getting stuff done. (Now if only I could transfer that enthusiasm into action...)

Sorry to hear about dh's job. Will it be any better elsewhere?

f0xh0les

I have my master list of everything that needs to be done,
then I have my what can be done for no money (cos I have the stuff already)
Then I have my what can I realistically do this month list
and my what I want to have done this week list

Some weeks nothing at all gets done, but somehow writing it down and crossing stuff off motivates me to do a bit more. Every month something gets done. And I do not feel at all guilty about not taking the kids anywhere this half term as the school trips were all so expensive, they have been away already.

But I did find myself twice, hovvering over the buy button on the YHA site for a few days in Sheringham and a few days in Edale. I forced myself not to do it.

Can't believe that this year I am going to have a 16 year old and a 14 year old.
They have both taken to their bedrooms this half term. I only see them at meal times now. Oh well, they are growing up, I suppose.

f0xh0les

Well, after confessing I had done sweet FA over the half term holidays, on Sunday morning, I leapt from my bed, brushed my teeth, grabbed a paint brush and painted DS2s shelf brackets that had been annoying me.

Then I went downstairs and had coffee and a crumpet and Andrew Marr.

But no Peston this week (boo!) so I went up to my bedroom and painted all the lining paper I had put up AGES ago and not got around to it.
3 hours later, bedroom done, mirrors put back up, it looks AMA-ZING
So DH, being the super-stud he is, had made a chinese for lunch, which coincided with my finishing the bedroom, and washing all the spots of paint of my face and hands, Honestly, you could have read me like braille.
And after lunch and a cup of tea and a completely unsuccessful attempt to steal the Johnny Depp Alice in Wonderland from t'internet, I went to the top of the stairs and painted the landing, stairs and hall bright shiny white -because the baby plasterer is coming back on Monday and Tuesday evenings to do the living room skim it needs.
All finished by 3.30 so I had a bath and watched the football and made pizza for tea, got 3 kids through the bath - I wish I had one of those scrubbing machines like in Dr NO with a conveyor belt to decontaminate them of radiation. Or a car wash.

I still had to get one in the bath this morning before school, but at least they were all clean and shiny for school this morning and they all got where they needed to be on time.

So this morning I have cleared half of the living room, and taken all the books of the new shelves, so baby plasterer can get started tonight.

Got stung last night with after school clubs - when the kids finally remembered to clear out their bags and suddenly they remembered the homework - the two smallest are awful. But I have asked them over and over, and now they have to do it after school tonight and tomorrow. They have to learn!

And don't get me started as to why DS1 thinks that doing 45 minutes revision a day is enough.
Mocks start in 2 weeks.

Gin in the cupboard, tonic in the fridge, Italy vs Holland friendly on tv tonight (probably stolen off the internet cos we don't have a smart tv - it is what cables were invented for).

CTC annual review paperwork came through at the weekend, as did the postal survey spyware to send through the post on specific days, so I now have lots of free stamps too.

Will post them to Step-Gran, she uses them on her Xmas cards and 'Sorry Bob has died' cards - her mates are all popping off at a rate of knots this year! She has been a widow for 30 years this year, and is very unsympathetic to anyone who has had a good long marriage and lost their partner when they were in their 70s or 80s. Rotten old bag!:rotfl: Nobody mollycoddled her when my grandad died. She had to get on with it. You get the idea.

So, I am very tired this morning, not due to a night of passion, but it was absolutely sweltering here last night. Hardly slept at all. Wide awake at 3 am through til 5.30 and got up at 6. I really am rubbish at sleeping.

Right, need to get supper ready to go, just to be heated up when plasterer goes. And of course DS3s athletics starts after school tonight, and DS4 is getting his brace on after school tomorrow. It all happens at once, doesn't it? Serves me right for doing nothing but reading and watching films all week for half term, and writing lists. Lots and lots of lists.

kerri_gt

I love your posts f0xh0les for some reason I picture something akin to a revamped Darling Buds of May when I'm reading about you and the family - with boys instead of girls obv, and meant in the most complimentary manner.

Perhaps you could just pressure wash the kids of an evening - get them to stand in front of the car and kill two birds with one stone?

Sounds like you've been most productive - when you've finished with your house do you fancy coming to do mine? Need some wardrobes building please

Moneyfordreams

Fab tales from foxholes as always... still grinning

f0xh0les

Grrrrr baby plasterer cancelled on me at ten to four.
He is coming tomorrow and wednesday.
He reckons he has been ill today (hungover maybe?)

Self ..... employed ...... for ...... a ...... reason..........!!!


Not sure about the darling buds, more like Benny Hill crossed with WWF (the wrestling, not the pandas)

Tonight's supper time conversation involved Daedelus, Zeus turning into a swan and ravishing women, an in depth discussion about Theseus and the relative merits of abandoning seasick women on strange islands, and whether or not wax was really a suitable glue for feathers. It was concluded that Zeus would not be a good father to have and that they preferred the one I had chosen for them, although I could not promise not to run away with Zeus given the opportunity.
We had chilli.

wishingthemortgaheaway

f0xh0les wrote: »

Tonight's supper time conversation involved Daedelus, Zeus turning into a swan and ravishing women, an in depth discussion about Theseus and the relative merits of abandoning seasick women on strange islands, and whether or not wax was really a suitable glue for feathers. It was concluded that Zeus would not be a good father to have and that they preferred the one I had chosen for them, although I could not promise not to run away with Zeus given the opportunity.
We had chilli.

And this just sums up (if we needed any more evidence) what an awesome job Foxh0les is doing as a mum. Our tea time conversation was more along the lines of 'what's that? Ewwww' (I know he's only 2, but still...)

f0xh0les

Thank you Wishing. It is not always that highbrow.
We still have 'what's that? Eeww' moments, but not as often as when they were smaller. And to be fair it usually involves DH and Okra (eewww!) or if I tell them anything is Kermit (spinach), kermit curry, kermit pasta, kermit pie.

DS4 had his brace fitted today, it is a removable one, so he now has a permanent lisp and DS3 is being a total ratbag to him about it. Brothers eh? He has had it less than an hour!

Baby plasterer cancelled on me again, he reckons he will be here tomorrow.

So, because I thought he was coming today, I hoovered all 3 floors, moved furniture in the back room, there are too many things moved from other rooms, that I need to be rid of. A round pine dining table and 4 chairs, a tv unit, two nasty sets of 3 drawers that were under a counter in the kitchen and have so far been in 4 different rooms as stop-gaps.

DHs camping stuff is all over everywhere in the back room and kitchen, and he puts nothing away after his crafting exploits. He is away again in a fortnight so in his head there is no point putting everything away, I moved one of his big wooden boxes he has brought into the back room, and it had been muddy, so he had put it on some lining paper to keep the ugly carpet clean. But as it had just got wet, and then sat, the carpet now smells horrid. I found this out when I moved it all out of the way so the room resembles a house, not a warehouse (so tempted to type wh0reh0use).
So, slightly mouldy vegetation smelling carpet in the back room. Great!

Downloaded the Dulux app that shows you what your walls would look like if they were painted in (whatever) colour paint. Wasted a good 15 minutes. Fancy going a bit wild in the living room. When I eventually get some plaster back on the soddin' walls.

Plus I washed, dried and folded about a million tonnes of laundry.

Supper tonight is something on toast, beans or alphabetti spaghetti.
Writing obscenities in pasta never gets boring. You can write some proper filth. They really should leave out the F's and U's on the grounds of public decency.

Mind you I did use it loads to teach the kids their letters when they were proper small. DS4 would not, will not, ever, eat a baked bean, but Mr H's hoops or letters are deemed acceptable. Food snob. No supermarket rip-off pasta letters for him.

I am trying to instigate a once a week 'something on toast' meal, as they do not appreciate how much effort I put into feeding them. It is always really funny when they come back from school trips overnight and they go 'Mum! You will never guess what so-and-so/ brought for lunch / ate for tea/ has never eaten
How can anyone get to 15 and have never tried an olive??
Apparently his mum tried one once, and was not convinced.
Gobsmacked!

DS1 was horrified that about 50% of the kids who did the first D of E trip brought left over last night's pizza for lunch and a pot noodle for their evening meal.

Pot noodle has now been banned as not being in the spirit of D of E.
Packet noodles however, are still allowed (?)
2nd expedition is in a fortnight.

As Baden-Powell said It's all fun and games, until someone gets pregnant or something like that. I paraphrase.

therocket_2

Foxholes - your posts make me grin massively! Your household sounds both chaotic and regimented and your progress is great! Keep up the good work!

wishingthemortgaheaway

therocket wrote: »

Foxholes - your posts make me grin massively! Your household sounds both chaotic and regimented and your progress is great! Keep up the good work!

I agree. I love the posts and the exploits. Such a witty way of writing too.

Love the DofE story, hope the next instalment is just as exciting.

Grrrr to baby plasterer