A tale of two beds

It's a long story, so I'll try to keep to the point.

In the summer we decided that Charlie and Woody would share the largest bedroom and Lola and Dora would have a room each (Dora was having problems settling when we tried to put her in Lola's room). This involved a massive reorganisation of the upstairs ( I called in the A team - Mum and two sisters!). We eventually got it sorted and the end result was that the boys had new wooden bunk beds, Charlie's metal high sleeper was put in the Garage, Woody's single bed was given away to a friend, Lola kept her white 4 poster and Dora was still in her cot.

I've never been entirely happy with the boys' bedroom, it's always seemed really cramped and childish so last week I decided to do something about it. The old cogs started turning and I had a (not so) bright idea.
Dora would have Lola's bed as she is getting restless in her cot (Lola was in a bed at 13 months)
Lola would have one of the bunk beds (they split into singles)
Charlie's high sleeper would go back in their room and the other bunk would go under the high sleeper at a 90 degree angle. The other side of the high sleeper has shelves and a desk.

Plan worked out great in my head - not so great in reality!

Lola loves her new bed - Dora hates hers!
Charlies high sleeper was pulled in from the garage, lugged upstairs only to find out that we'd thrown all of the screws and bolts away (Mr M was not happy!) So we had to go and buy a new high sleeper (we tried to get replacement bolts etc but couldn't get any anywhere!)
High sleeper in place and low and behold the second bunk bed (single) wouldn't fit under (AARRRGGGHHHH). No amount of pushing, pulling, squeezing and swearing could get the darn bed to fit (Mr M was not happy!). So.....we had to go and buy a single bed (metal to match the high sleeper) for Woody. However, despite all the problems, their room looks fantastic and surprisingly there is so much more room!

Moral of the tale - Mrs M needs to think things through before taking the plunge and throwing the whole house into chaos, Mr M needs to chill out and not say 'I told you so'!!

Resolutions update

Remember this?

Just thought I'd update you on my progress so far:

I started 2009 determined not to buy anything that I didn't need and not to replace anything that wasn't broken. I've now come to the conclusion that in making these resolutions I have Jinxed myself.
So far I have had to replace the boys' beds (a full post in itself), the washing machine, Iron, TV and just this morning the dishwasher went capoot! rather than being quids in, I'm now completely brassic and waiting (not so) patiently for pay day, hoping and praying that nothing else breaks between now and then.

The season has started - Minnie says so!

Minnie has officially declared open season on BM - so let the BM Bash 2009 begin. Not one to be rude, I feel I must partake in this sport so I'll load it and then I'll fire it!

So where do we begin? After the farce of Christmas (on Cruella's part) and the irresponsibility of New year (letting a 10yr old stay up and text Mr M at 02.40hrs) we had the feeling that 2009 was going to be one of those years!

Sunday 4th January 2009 - Cruella thrusts a tatty envelope at Mr M before storming into her car and pulling off at break neck speed. The contents of the envelope...... £25 and a signed authorisation for Charlie to go on a school residential trip for 3 days in June. What she had failed to tell Mr M was that she expected us to pay the other £25 (the deposit) and that it needed to be paid no later than the morning on the 5th - 12 hours away! If thats not enough she then expects.......wait for it...... us to pay half of the remaining £232 that is due in March. WTF? A three day school trip that costs £282 - oh did I forget to add that this is a camping trip no more than 60 miles from our home? So with no time for discussion and Charlie in tears - Cruella has had this letter since the begining of December and told him he could go - we pay the remaining £25 (obviously I changed the envelope).
What really freaks me off isn't so much the cost (ok, it is! When you consider all six of us are travelling to France for 9 days in August for £580 total!) it's the fact that she didn't even have the decency to pick up the phone and talk to Mr M. She is such a piece of work - she's fat, lazy and darn right rude - Thank goodness the boys take after me!

Your choice

Prompted by Two moms with a Plan :

If you could only save two items (non-living/breathing/human/animal....) from your home, what would they be? Please leave a comment & I'll put it all together in a later post.

I'd take my lap top as it has all of our photos saved on & would be easier than trying to grab photo albums and memory cards. I'd also save Lola & Dora's memory box as it has all of their special stuff in right from their pre-pregnancy, pregnancy and 1st year journals, birth related stuff, 1st shoes, photos etc.

I've just asked Mr M the same question and it's so funny listening to him change his mind - I must note that there is no mention of photo's, or memory boxes- must be a man thing!

Cheers Honey!

The delightful Just me honored me with this shout out. To carry it on why don't you check out these ladies when you get a chance:-

Minnie - The hilarious Mrs BS
Jenn - Getting to grips with a newborn and a toddler
Kami - My Dear Sweet Mimi
Crys - My bag is a tardis too!

I hope you enjoy reading their blogs just as much as I do. Please feel free to check out the other blogs I follow - I'm sure the ladies won't mind you stopping in.

So freaking angry.

I've been fuming over this since Sunday and only now feel calm enough to blog about it.

The boys had been telling us for months that Cruella was buying a shared Christmas gift for them and Randall's two children - she had told them that they were having Guitar Hero* for the PS3* - The one with the guitar, Drum kit and microphone. That was their main gift as the family had just bought a new 50" Plasma TV for the lounge (they were lucky enough to get a free LCD 19" TV in the bargain).

So Christmas eve comes and the boys were with Cruella, they opened their present and low and behold it's Guitar Hero. They have a few other stocking fillers and are generally happy boys. They were with us Christmas day and Charlie spend most of the morning checking his mobile - he had text Cruella to enquire what gifts Randall's Children had recieved but never got a reply.

So the boys returned on Sunday and I was horrified when they blurted out that although they had been given the Guitar Hero* - it was expected that they share it with the other two. Fine, it's good to share. But tell me how Randall's daughter is going to share HER PSP (£160) and his son share HIS mobile phone (about the same price)?

Is it just me, or are they way out of order on this? I am gutted that the boys have been given something thatis obviously meant for all 4 kids, and yet the other two have very individual gifts.


Oh, hang on - I forgot that they boys were also given the Free LCD TV as a gift between them!

Resolutions.

So I've finally come up with several resolutions that I am determined to follow through 2009. After much thought and soul searching here's my list:-

* Not to buy anything that I don't need

* Not to replace anything that doesn't need replacing (there goes the new curtains!)

* Decide on a career pathway and make a 5 year plan (I've always just bimbled into jobs and promotions and have no idea where I want to be next week, never mind next year!)

* (After devising a career plan) Look for a job closer to home.

* Save at least 1/6 of my monthly wages (there goes the new curtains!)

* Continue with my free therapy (blogging)


So, I suppose there is nothing earth shattering in my resolution list, but to be honest most of my life is great - I guess I should add to my list:-

* Be thankful everyday for Mr M, the children, my family and our friends.