The Only Thing January Is Good For is The Sales !!!!!

Today's blog comes to you all from the warm and toastieness of my sitting room on a dull, cold and quite frankly typical January Saturday afternoon. The Teenager is out today, the Whirlwind is playing with his Lego, the Husband is in the conservatory making the before mentioned Lego and I am sitting with my glasses perched at the end of my nose looking like some top novelist tapping away on the computer. The dog who has become my best critic (because he doesn't comment)  keeps looking at me as I read back the things I am writing.

I have decided that when I am finally made Queen I am going to get rid of the month of January as its just far to depressing. Its the only month in the whole year that I just don't like. I think its because as many of you already know I just love December, if December was a person it would be my best friend in the whole world. I was particularly domesticated this Christmas as I had a whole lot more time to spare since escaping from the clutches of the PTA. I even baked my own Christmas cake.......OK OK I didn't actually technically bake it but I opened the box and tipped the prepared ingredients into a mixing bowl, stirred then cooked. I did however ice the thing which I did alone once all the family had gone to school and work. I put my pinny on and chatted to the dog whilst sprinkling icing sugar on the work top ready to roll out the royal icing. It was all going very Nigella when I suddenly caught my elbow on the sieve which was full of icing sugar and up it went like the first snow of winter.
Unfortunately what goes up must come down and this involved covering me, the kitchen and the once black dog. I think it was the way he just continued to sit there that made me have a complete attack of the giggles, once he had moved there was a perfect dog bum shape on the lino.
It has to be said that at least I had a go. I have watched The Great British Bake Off religiously since the beginning and I am not sure I qualify just yet. I have thought about having my own on line show involving showing mums on the run how all cakes can come from a box kit and taste just as nice, I wonder if Mary Berry would come and judge my cakes, can you imagine her face when she says "well, what are you making today?" to which I would reply "well Mary, I am using a real homemade recipe involving this box and a bowl, and can you believe all I have to do is add an egg......bobs your uncle........a perfect cake". Hmmmmmm not sure whether she would be interested in that one.

So December came and went all to quickly and I had to welcome with heavy heart my not such a good friend January. The Husband went back to work and the kids went back to school. The one big change is that The Whirlwind is now walking himself to and from school which was organised like a military operation including a mobile phone and many instructions about not getting into strangers cars or thinking that I wouldn't mind if he went back to a Friends house without telling me. It is all dare I say  going very well apart from his overwhelming embarrassment when i wave from not only the front door but the back window just in case he hadn't been embarrassed enough.
I realised it was time to get him ready for big school when he announced one day before Christmas when walking home from school with me and The Teenager that "mum, you will have to get me 2 lunch boxes when I start big school". "Why"? I replied. "Because I will need one for my lunch and the other one for my Lego". I remember feeling a mixture of sadness and complete panic all at the same time which if any of you have ever experienced it is a very strange sensation.
He must of sensed the look of horror on my face and asked "can i take Lego to big school?". "Not" replied The Teenager "if you don't want to get your head kicked in". OH GOD OH GOD OH GOD!!!!!
I swear that raising kids is like trying to nail jelly to a tree sometimes.
So that was that, both kids all independent and me left waving them off like something from The Walton's.
I do quite like this whole not going to school everyday thing but I do miss saying hello to everyone and having a chat at the school gates, theres a lot to be said for playground mums. I reckon we could all work for MI5, we have to ability to not only watch what our kids are doing but hold a conversation and listen in to someone else's conversation all at the same time without anyone noticing. There is a lot to be said for Mums and Dads who bravely enter the primary school playground.


So that's all for now folks, I know some of you have been asking for this blog and I hope that it has satisfied you and put a smile on your faces. I'm off to pick The Teenager up now and then get ready for our mammoth shopping trip in the morning. If there is one thing that January is good for its half price handbags and shoes.


Happy January To You All


Love You xxxxxxx