We saw Marcos and Barbara today for lunch and a trip out to the park. They are wonderful with our kids and it was wonderful spending the day with them and the food was brilliant too. Wow even Jessica ate more than usual.

Today we had a wonderful time just spending a day with another family with kids the same age. In the morning snakes and ladders at Syon Park, then picked up lunch from Ham Parade and Kingston Market before off to see Stardust. I loved it, but I always love that kind of movie. My son was of the opinion it was boring as there was not enough fighting in it. I am going to send him to WWE next time. Then off to Wagamama's for supper. We all came back full and happy.

If you are going to the best toy shop in the world everyone thinks of Regent Street. For the big kids according to Chris there is the Apple Store, but to everyone else there is Hamleys. We had a good day out with my Father visiting the two european bookshops and Hamleys. My son has made it clear he is following his parents into loving computers and gadgets, also Ben 10 is up there with them. My daughter, it was obvious loves painting and cuddly toys. She cuddled all the cuddlies she could find and came away with more paints, (and I thought she had loads of both already.)

My daughter and I have come to a compromise, she will get warm in our bed if she watches Miffy at the same time. Chris's Mac is big enough for me to have the other side of the screen, so we are all happy.

I logged in to email someone, about bits I had found in Kingston, when I saw I had an email. How to make my day an email from Rich this morning and one about ten thirty. I guess being a full time mother means just any communication with other adults cheers me up.

I think we are accepted by Timothy and Matilda they are both purring in their sleep on our bed.

We went to Wokingham today. We saw the Aunts, cousins and of course Nanny in the afternoon, then we got invited to P and Rich's for supper where we discovered that our sons are remarkably alike. From Pokemon to having their photo taken. The boys seem determined to keep in better touch than us parents. Lets just wait and see. Then we dropped in the last of Tiggie's bits in on Dad and Carol and the kids were so pleased to see Tiggie again.

My son has asked for a while for a game of Old Maid / Donkey. I now know why, he beat me twice. During the second game my daughter came in, so for the third game I helped her, as we played go fish. I won three, and the kids won five each. I guess it is not my game.

It has been a plan for a while, to remove the conifers at the end of the garden. So yesterday we started digging round the roots of the one by the garage door. Then last night Chris put the fuses back into the lighting circuits and discovered the kitchen light was still crackly (after my daughters efforts with the water). So this morning, Church got ditched to catch up on the jobs around the house. So Chris removed the strip light in the kitchen, followed by more water pouring from the ceiling and when homebase was open we all went and bought a new light for the kitchen. So after a late lunch and a new light in the kitchen we all set to work on the tree again. It felt like we were recreating a mango grove tree with all the roots being exposed. The kids seemed to think that pulling a rope or watching nick jr was more interesting. So when the last root was half cut through, being under the tree, it was left to Chris push/guide and me to pull the tree down. Sadly the apple tree had to get pruned to allow it down too, as the conifer was growing between the apple trees branches. But we achieved the two main jobs this weekend that we had to do, lights downstairs and a tree down. I just hope the green bin men are kind in a week and a half's time as our green bin is overflowing and so is the black recycling bin.

As we are going to give up the allotment, owing to me not having enough time to get both the house and allotment done during the week. We are going to transfer the plants to the flower border on the left. So today is the day to clear some of the left hand border, mainly one conifer tree.

My son's version of tidying is interesting. He picks up all the towels off his floor and dumps them in the bathroom, he then picks up all clothes (clean and dirty) and puts them in the laundry basket. Then collects the Beano comics and puts them on a shelf. There done (except everything else left on the floor). For once I was grateful that he had been tidy last night and put the towels back in the bathroom. It meant his sisters flooding was not as bad as it could have been.

Today we were going to have my daughters particular friend over after tots and tamers. But owing to earlier actions I called her Dad to cancel. I could hear her friend in the background repeating mine had been very, very naughty. By the end we were both in giggles. When repeated by a two year old it sounds very funny.

My son had Harvest Festival in the church associated with his school today. It made me smile to see him bouncing to the song he was singing but also trying not to.

We opened the cat flap after we found Matilda, and showed her the garden via the patio door. As she was hungry she came straight back in after a quick sniff and explore. Timothy has made it out from under the cupboard. He came out of the kitchen just before supper and got sworn at by Matilda. We shut our bedroom door last night and when we got up we found Timothy being a carpet on the stairs. When everyone started getting up he dived for cover under our bed. So things seem to be going well.

Matilda and Timothy arrived today. Where as Tiggie was a kitten, these two are siblings that know their own minds. They immediately went to ground under a cupboard.

Tiggie went home today, and my daughter in particular really did miss her. She had, had Tiggie asleep on the end of her bed, most nights for the last three weeks.

My son has really taken to beavers. (Scouts for youngsters). I has just done enough work to get his first badge with a cardboard box - aircraft hanger and paper airplanes.

We got the treasure box down and my daughter discovered that it is stuffed with enough semi-pressious stones to make rainbows and practice telling me the wrong names for all the colours.

Usually on a week day morning all three of us walk down the road to walk to school with our friends. Their youngest goes to school by scooter and my daughter brings it home. Today my daughter must have seen the mist around Ham. She requested to watch Dora instead. So my son and I left her and Chris tucked up in bed watching a new Dora DVD. Only one small hiccup, under the plastic some one had left the security seal on. I am surprised the alarm did not go off, but it was one of three in a metal packed lunch box. After about five minutes they got to watch and we left for school. Well at least they are on DVD and she did not do her usual and ask for Blues Clues.

I have finally got round to joining Facebook, so you can now add comments on my wall.

The kids went to play with friends as I needed to go to the Friends and teachers association meeting. Our treasurer is now at work and so I am helping her. Back to the same jobs I had two years ago.

Since we now have some more dresses we are trying without nappies during the day. Wish us luck.

Yesterday while my daughter was at Acorns (afternoon nursery), I walked down to the parade. As doing the jobs I went down to do, I ended up in the card and gift shop. It is a wonderful shop and as well as other bits I came home with a helium balloon. Both kids loved it and this morning even Tiggie thought balloons on ceilings with ribbon hanging down were good.

My son and I were chatting about drinks and then which drinks he associates with his family. Chris has white coffee, his sister has apple juice, him pineapple juice and me Katy Cider. When I asked why, Chris will not get up without coffee, his sister calls all squash and juice apple juice and I make a point at the beginning of each month to pick up one bottle of Katy cider for the month!

Since Tiggie arrived, I have spotted our spider population has gone down. I think we have lost all the large ones I know about.

Our church had it's 20th birthday party today, and after we all sat outside Elliott's School eating spit roast pork. A brilliant time to catch up. I was asked to look at the vogue.com website and see if I could replicate any of the designers pages, as there may be a website like them needed.

Happy Birthday Roisin, Thank you for a wonderful party with really tasty food. Sadly I did not realise it would have been outside otherwise I would have wrapped up warmer. By the end of the evening I had my leather jacket with Chris's long woolen coat on top.

Both Jessica have really been a blue lately. Chris put it down to summer holidays. We have been cat sitting for almost a week now. His morning he had to admit he thinks we do miss our Tig (Tiglington for long), and cat sitting Tiggie has pulled us out of our blues and the house looks tidier!!

The barter system seems to be well alive round here and I am working on extra points. Well that is how I feel at the moment. I have had a friends kid for a couple of days (child-minder was not available) and my daughters reaction was now Abigail. I feel as if we have had all her friends over for some reason or the other in the last two weeks and she thinks this is wonderful and is trying to book up more. I am really looking forward to Saturday a morning where I can be the kid and not be the responsible adult.

Callum's challenge for today was to learn how to spell Library. So now test him when you next see him.

I do like spell checkers as this morning almost every other word has a red line under it. Except this line.

I am coming to the conclusion that parties are like busses. You don't have one for years and then two the same weekend. Chris is on support and cannot get out of it, so we can only go to one. This one is fancy dress, cowboys or angels. So as I am going to a Vampirates / Justin Somper show in the morning (yes I am escaping) dressed as a pirate, I will be a pirate called Ma Kettle to the evening party as well. Especially as the pirate flag on the back took about four hours to sew on.

Saturday worked out really well actually. I was a bit worried. I went over in the morning and then just before lunch we all met up for football on the common. Then four kids back to the friends house for lunch (while Chris got our house sorted). All four play really well in two groups. Then when their Mum arrived home we walked back to find Gramps and Nai Nai had arrived with Tiggie. This allowed Tiggie a bit of time to get used to the house before we descended.