The countdown has begun

So we have managed to reach day 5 out of 47 and we are all still alive. I have reached a critical point though. I don't like being a referee. Thank heavens for the sun and the garden. At least there can be more distance between the boys.I had started to think that the rain would never leave and I would have to deal with them all summer fighting over the TV.

It is in excess of 80 degrees. I have one outside in the paddling pool and one in the dining room playing CBBC website. They are both bored. Neither will do what the other one wants. When one chooses a TV programme, the other gets upset. Depending on which way round this is, the older one will moan, whine and maybe even cry about it until I tell him to watch in the other room or play something else. If the younger one is losing out, then he will pinch, kick, punch and grab the older one until I step in and physically separate them.

We have had a couple of so called quiet days this week. Partly to relax after finishing school and also to build myself up for taking them out - alone. This quiet week will consist of a visit to the library, visiting Great Grandad, cinema, Pizza Hut, playing in the garden, 2 days of cricket and a sleepover at a friends house. I am finally sitting down for an afternoon -

if only this involved no interruptions. One will want a drink, so I ask the other if he would too. No is the response. Not 10 minutes later I get asked by the other one for a drink. Then it's food, clothes, toys, building a bug hotel, finding a Lego piece...

This morning I went back to school to collect the things left behind by older son on the last day of term. Neither wanted to go, but it was their fault.

The happy pills must be doing some good, because I don't think I would have reached this far into the holiday without them. 42 days to go and what joy will that bring I wonder? And how far will I get before I break?

SLEEPY (already)

On family members...

So we all have families. We all have extended families. Whether we like them or not is personal preference. And whether we like other peoples really doesn't matter. What does matter is that we care about each and every member of our family in some way or another.

People treat pets as members of the family too. And so they should. They should be loved and looked after as if they were born to you. Personally I wouldn't have furry pets. I'm not an animal lover, but I wouldn't wish harm on any either. 

There are however some people who, I feel, need parenting lessons when it comes to animal care. 
Would you let your baby poo on the pavement outside someone's house and then proceed to walk away without clearing it up? I would hope not. But there are some who feel it is acceptable to do this with another member of the family, the pet pooch.

I thought dog's were members of the family and so treated with the same care and respect as any other sibling. 
Do I really need to play "dodge the poo" on the way to school? I've counted at least 6 different mess piles in the space of 20 houses to the end of my road. Telling the children to "mind the poo" every few steps is not a fun walk to school. 
If only I knew who the perpetrators of this disgusting act were. I would personally collect up the poo left behind by their incorrigible act of negligence and leave it outside their house on the pavement.

Take a moment to think of the poor council workers who have to come and clear up the offending matter. Why should they have to? We could save money on our council tax by not employing people to do this. Oh, I forgot, it seems my council doesn't anyway, as some of the piles of mess have been there for weeks turning whiter and flakier by the day.

Do people not care about their surroundings anymore? Do they care so little about their neighbours that they are happy for a member of their family to leave faeces outside their house? Come on. You know who you are. Show some consideration, as most dog owners do, for other people and their noses. Take a pride in your surroundings and respect for those who clear up after you.

SNEEZY

On parking permits...

Why is it that the law abiding public get punished and the criminals, scroungers and layabouts get everything on a plate?
My Mum has just had her disabled badge application declined. She paid her renewal fee, went for her assessment and got refused. So it seems having three hip replacements and a bout of pneumonia, walking with a stick forever more, not being able to put your own shoes and socks on and off, being unable to reach the ground or twist, walking no more than 5 minutes without needing a rest and being only able to drive an automatic car doesn't seem to be enough to warrant being allowed a parking space nearer the doors of the supermarket with more room to manoeuvre in and out of the car.

So how is it that someone who builds loft extensions for a living, climbing on scaffolding and up ladders day in day out, can display a disabled badge in his pick up truck whilst he is on a roof to allow him to park in a residents only bay?
And why does it entitle the Mum and Dad who are perfectly fit and healthy at the local school to park their car or work van on the double yellow lines and run their children across the road into the school gates every morning and leave their vehicle in residents bays when at school meetings or performances while the rest find legitimate parking spaces in other roads?

I'm puzzled that someone who has worked their entire life paying taxes into this country and never claimed any benefits of any description can be declined a little something that would make their life that little bit easier when doing the shopping. Yet there are people out there who have claimed everything they can and then are given these privileges no questions asked. All they seem to suffer from is lazyitus or sticky bed syndrome.

How does this encourage anyone to do the right thing? Are we not supposed to set an example to our children? Should we be teaching our future generations that you can have what you want if you lie and deceive at every opportunity? If we don't are they going to get left behind and forgotten about? Left to rot in the gutter whilst the good poker players win.

Is anyone going to stand up for good citizenship and honesty before it's too late?

GRUMPY