Baking 19 to the dozen

Today we spent a good protion of the day with Tammy and Sam, doing more of Tammy’s full on prairie muffin baking. Kids had a ball, as ever. I do love my local HE friends and i do appreciate the way Tammy takes my rabble in and does things with them without so much as batting an eyelid. :)) I don’t think we left her with much useful baking but the Mint Chocolate bark was very yummy….

We’ll gloss over Amelie deciding to ignore me and pelt at full speed towards a busy road, thus turning me into a bellowing fishwife (much to Tammy’s horror i suspect; it’s a nice neighbourhood!) Amelie did stop with about a pavement between her and a busy road and then got well and truly lectured, thereby ending the visit with her being transported home weeping 🙁

Ah well.

Back home the girls set about the playdough that Sam gave them until it was Rainbows/Brownies time. i parcelled madly again and spent another £50 on postage- i suspect the bulk of the ordering is over now, but i’m pleased, it’s been a good month. I could do with about another £300 worth of orders, just to fix me nicely; i’ve sent a newsletter out tonight so here’s hoping. I’m definitely going to do a business blog next year; i think next year will be make or break for BM so it would be good to focus on it.

Tomorrow we have a MP party then the girls are off to my mum’s. Josie will be here so we have lots of shopping to do and tidying to get on with rather than relaxing and romancing. Ah well, there is time…. I’ve left my ebaying a bit late i think but i’m planning to get a load of stuff photographed and weighed so that i can list it quickly in the New Year.

Did feel really thrilled yesterday when Js was listening to fran read and said “she’s a good reader, isn’t she?” – YEAH! And loved listening to Maddy too – she is almost 6 and that is when i started pushing on with Fran and reading a bit but Maddy seems to have a much better grip already than Fran had. She likes the Ladybird Tom and Kate books so i am hoping to do a few of those with her over the Christmas break. (Funny how has/had has been difficult for both of them…)

Actually, i ought to add in for posterity that Amelie is doing that familiar “waking up” thing at the moment; lots of questions about the world and how things work or why we do what we do. Plus she seems to be developing a real ear for words; i’m not surprised, she has always been into books even as a tiny but she is listening out for sounds, rhymes, words within word (“Chris is in Christmas” being todays one) and a variety of other things of that nature. I’m so looking forward to her being a 4 year old, i found that was the age where me and Fran re-emerged as friends and i badly want that with Amelie again. I might joke about our relationship, or her demon-like personality, but it is just front – i do feel very sad that she and i have not really been close so far. It’s the same as it was with Fran and that phase of “at odds” time with her gives me considerable regret now. It was all my failing, as it has been with Amelie.

I’m feeling much more at peace with my family size at the moment. I’ve not had “baby” thoughts for a while (at least 4 days 😉 ) If i get through this year, i reckon i’ll be over it 😉 It IS quite nice having big girls. I love having big girls; i don’t wish for them to be small and helpless again, knowing Kate is a very good reminder that we should be careful what we wish for. I would quite like an endless stream of small tinies to come along, with me always enjoying it this much. But you know, i know it won’t be. I don’t mourn for the babyhood of these girls, just for a bit of motherhood that has passed now. I know of, and look forward to, the next phase as well.

Josie hasn’t fed for 2 days. Gulp.

Anyway. That’s it.