No stopping her..

Well around 6 this evening, Sam drove to a local pub, by HERSELF to meet up work friends for a meal (and yes and NO drinking) ...

She phoned to say she got there OK,

Just hope she remembers where the lights are when it's time to come home, otherwise I will be getting another phone call, lol.

Sam's loose on the road

Yep, got her Insured today, took me a few weeks as again with Clive being away, (don't like to change things without checking with him first), our insurers wanted an extra £450 to insure Sam but managed to get it for just over £481 and that was for all 3 of us with the same bits that my original insurer did, so does pay to shop around.

Well, then it was not worth starting it till now, as Sam works just down the road so does not need it for work and lately making the most of life and been out most weekends so she would not be able to drive. But as she has a long weekend with the bank holidays this weekend went for it today.

She decided to go out at lunch time with an old college mate, whose been driving for 3 1/2 years, I drove to our local gym and left them there in the car park, hopefully to give Sam time to get used to the car, before starting out onto the road. She said she would keep in touch, and I walked home, quite a nice day, dry, sunny but very blowy.

I had my first phone call to say she was down my parents and felt sick, then another phone call to say she was now down the seafront, and was shaking as well as still feeling sick, (had stored loads of times, and have had people shaking their heads at her, and cutting her up).

Then a few hours later another call, she is at Fareham, followed by another at Waterlooville and then Emsworth, visiting friends. They ended up staying there for tea, then she phoned to say she was on her way home, by the time she came home it was 10'o'clock and the car that I had filled up with petrol the other day, was down to 1/4 tank. As it was dark I asked if she knew where the lights were she said no, but luckily her friend did, lol.


Looks like not only does she need to know where the lights are BUT ALSO the petrol tank!!!.

It was nice seeing how relaxed she was when she came home though, she even said she MIGHT drive round to see her cousin tomorrow, ON HER OWN...


....and that is when I start worrying even more.

I got plastered

OK, well not me, but my lounge ceiling,


Last Friday I got a phone call, well a 3 way phone call, cos the plaster that I use is deaf, so he has to make calls through his children.

Since the dining room was done, I had decided that when we have the lounge ceiling done, I would do it when Steven was at overnight respite, as now with Clive away, meant it would be left to me to move everything, and so with this in mind, the phone goes Friday tea time, from our plaster to ask if he could come this week on the weds and Thursday, So what on earth processed me to say 'yes' that was OK!!

So Mother's Day what was I doing, well I was in the garage, plaining down some wood, as in our lounge we have some new pipes going up the wall, and they had to be boxed in, (had new central heating fitted a few years ago, when we had a shower room fitted downstairs) yet again it was one of these jobs that 'we will do next week' and then never got done. But with the plaster coming, and Clive going back to Swansea on the Monday, and we were out visiting friends all day Saturday, (too late to get out of it) so Sunday it was. Clive cut the wood, I then plained and rubbed it down, we were lucky as my mum and dad were going for a walk, so they offered to take Steven with them, otherwise would have been doing it well into the evening, if we had to take turns in looking after littlen.

So Clive disappears on Monday to Swansea, and I'm left with moving all the furniture and sorting out Steven, story of my life. Tuesday evening I started taking down the shelves and moving some of the units, including Steven toy box, so on the weds when Steven got up was not impressed seeing thing were NOT how they should be, but managed to get him washed, fed and watered and out the house in record time.

After seeing Steven off on the school bus, came home to finish moving the 3 piece suite, all the shoes/coats etc. out of the hall, well by the time he arrived at 9, I was shattered, but it was done.

I am lucky because all the people that come and work here, usually do it round Steven, and was finished by 3, with coming back today for the odd finishing touches, so all done by 10.30 this morning, then it was the fun bit, the cleaning, the dust got everywhere, even upstairs.

Was hard work, doing it when Steven was home for the night, as he did have a major paddy, but surprisingly I was calm, and at least it is finished.

Road are not as safe as they used to be...

....COS......Sam passed her driving test today,

so am one VERY PROUD mum (maybe she is mine after all, lol).



She is now nagging me to get her insured now, (she will have to share Clive's car, as Stevens is Stevens). This is a girl that I had to bribe and push into taking driving lessons, she chose the first instructor, yes I said first as he turned out to be a complete b******.

As I said, I had to encourage her to drive, she does lack a lot of confident, and it got to a stage he would bring her home early as she got upset when he shouted at her, and I mean shout, he even said she was wasting his f******* time and what a waste of space she was, WOW, I was lived, he was lucky that Sam was so upset and did not want me to take it further, cos I wanted to report him, that would have been AFTER I throttled him, (even thinking about him now, makes me so angry).



Well you can imagine, I had another job trying to get her back to learning, but a friend gave a name of someone else, I was a little worried as her daughter is totally opposite to Sam, got lots of confidence, but in the end persuaded Sam to give it ago, by taking one lesson at a time, he was great, really took his time.
Sam still did not like driving and moaned every time a lesson was due, but we got there, and yes she did it today.

So now having to sort out some insurance in the next few days, otherwise think my ear drums will burst if she does not shut up, lol.

Don't think Sam is mine

I have a very strong feeling that my daughter was swapped at birth.


A few weeks ago, she had a day off work, and I dropped her off at Fareham to do some shopping, while I went off to a review about Steven then popped back, met up and had some lunch with her. It was then that she told me about the bits she had bought, (she is now enjoying life, spending her well earned money on herself and not her ex).

Well she had bought a couple of tops, pair of boots and pair of shoes, it was then that I realized she was not mine.

She said while in the shoe shop, they had one shoe of each size on the shelf with a sticking saying buy one get one free on it, so what did my 'so called' daughter think and do, yep, she actually asked the sales assistant if it meant you got the other shoe free, in other words you buy the ONE shoe from the shelf and the other ONE was free.

I could not believe it, I asked her if she was serious did she know know shoes/boots come in PAIRS.


The conclusion I have come to is, either she was swapped at birth or I have been buying her clothes and PAIRS of shoes far to long.

no hubby...

It's been a busy few days, hubby left to work in Swansea on Monday, has not been too bad, apart from littlen on Monday, kept calling his dad and was a little disappointed that he was not here, but yesterday and today, has been fine, trouble is he is due home again tomorrow and away again next Monday, so think the next 8 weeks are going to be fun.

The other thing I find is had a vets visit (20 mile round trip) and had to take Steven with me, also tonight when Clive is normally putting him to bed, I will have to drag him out to pick Sam up from college. Could be worse, he is not having too many paddies, I try and get his mind off them, by asking if to do or find something, sometimes it works, other times it don't, saying that it could be because he is getting most of my attention as hubby not here.

I've had a head cold since Saturday evening, but am feeling better today, got a lovely red sore nose though. It was great fun as this week managed to paint the ceiling, (five coats in all), so I've done a good workout with going up and down the ladder for a tissue, and drink, then the loo, and of course the paint, surprisingly I never had the time or energy for the gym. Saying that I did go today, but stuck to the treadmill and some weights as don't think my arms could cope with the cross trainer. Am hoping to go for a little workout again tomorrow before coming back to paint the coving, then that will be the dining area ceiling and coving finished, HOORAY I say, as a little rest from painting, as the lounge has not been done yet. Not managed to fit the plaster in as half term, appointments etc. saying that got appointment as school on Friday, hence why I'm going to the gym again tomorrow, as when I logged in today, I had not been since the 14th Feb. Well it's because of half term and I was doing other things like, bowing, the penny arcades, visits to bottle banks, and the best, pub lunches with Steven, well we've out grown McDonald's, lol.

While I'm typing this, I have Steven lying across me, watching Balamory, great the one day I have to keep him up, he is tired, why is it always the way, he could be in bed by now and I could be making a Mothers Day card. Also mums Birthday on the 14th March, in fact have 7 Birthdays next month, oh well, that's life, going to see if I can incise him into playing with his cars to wake him up a bit.

Think I've lost it!!!!!

In an earlier post 'In shock' I said romance was not dead even after nearly 20 years of marriage, sounds OK but we've been married 23 years in August, LOL...

All I can think of is that it's been so lovely that some of the years rolled into one (or 3 in this case), lol. The reason I remembered was talking to someone the other day, saying 2010 is a BIG year for us, starts off with,...

My nephews 30th Birthday in the April
My mum and dads 50th wedding Anniversary in the May,
Clive's 50th Birthday in June
Steven leaves school in the July for good (am not really looking forward to that one though),
Our 25th Wedding Anniversary in the August
and..
My nieces husband, will be 40 in the September.

Thinking that about it, it was the year 2000, when it was another BIG family year, as all the Birthday people were 10 years younger, also my daughter was 13 and my niece was 18 in the Sept.


That was the the year we all went on a BIG family holiday to Orlando, it was my children's first time aboard, I know!! they were deprived as Sam turned 13 while on holiday and Steven was 9 1/2, and lots of people take their children a lot younger than that, when they are babies in fact, but we could never really afford it, and I won't borrow money to go on holiday, we only go when I've saved the money up. Since that first time, we tend to do a BIG holiday every 3 years (that's how long it takes me to save for them, LOL) and little ones in between,

In 2003 (the year Sam left school) we went back to Orlando for a week, we also swam with the dolphins while there, then flew up to San Fransisco, stayed there for 4 days and did all we wanted there, then flew on to Hawaii, which was fab, out of this world, am hoping to go back there.

Then in 2006 did a Caribbean cruise which took in Grand Cayman, Jamaica, Haiti and Mexico, the latter two did not do anything for us, but would LOVE to go back to the Grand Cayman, and parts of Jamaica (Steven was poorly there so did not see everything we wanted to).

As yet this year has not been sorted, but to be honest now Sam is older (but mainly because she's got rid of that boyfriend) we don't mind leaving her here alone, so think we will take things as they come along, also with Sam I never took her out of school for holidays, but with Steven it's a little different, as he's learning 'social skills' all the time, especially when we are out and about, so he is always learning either while he is at school or with us, also if the place is less busy, he learns more.

There are things and places on my 'to do' list like.... see New York, go through the channel tunnel, Copenhagen, Portugal to name just a few, so we'll just have to wait and see what comes along.