A week filled with a LOT of illness has had me looking back at some more fun images this weekend. After our party season its always good to find some good captionaters in the mix. What to you think is going on here?
🙂
thanks for stopping by. Be sure and see the mama of saurus as well!!
A week or so ago my girls and my OH ran the 5K colour splash run for Claire House. This is an amazing charity that works to help terminally ill children. They arranged this great run around one of the city’s massive parks with the added interest of at every KM mark the runners get doused in powder paint of different colours. I guess the idea being when they complete the race they are a rainbow of colour! Its such a lovely idea and i was keen to capture it on camera.
We were running a bit late getting to the park and so the kids and OH ran off to join the race and of course i foolishly thought that i would be able to track them down again…
Yeah…that would be not.
So my son and our two little ones jogged round to a few of the markers then gave up and headed back to the finish to wait….
Its all fun till someone gets hit in the mouth with a load of paint!!
One of the first people across the line and he got to high five the red bear!
running across the line meant taking on a LOT of paint!
My amazing girls and OH who made it round in fine style. Yes it took ages to get all that paint out of their hair!!
I endeavour to be have a ‘i don’t care much’ attitude in general to what people may think. When you have five children and can have a look of the travelling circus about you this will happen fairly swiftly. No matter how many ‘ARE THEY ALL YOURS?” comments i get, I am now skilfully proficient at side swiping that negative and brushing it off like dust from my shoulder.
But there are the occasional times and particular children that can bring even me to a standstill.
The other week for example. Me and my one remaining pre-schooler rushing through a supermarket, I am always rushing. I’m sure my daughter would tell you that i am constantly pestering her to go faster, hurry up, come on, quickly  now, say bye bye to the doggy now..type of way.
I was rushing.
I stopped to let her catch up with me and look at some of the half off items…on catching up with me she exclaims at the top of her now very indignant and irritated voice:
MUMMY I GOT SNOT!
Me an experienced mummy of five…nah thats not going to be embarrassing me..Even though, now there were at least two other people in the DVD aisles looking at her.
No. not me. 🙂
Then she does something that I can safely and comfortably say she has never learnt from me *stares at husband*
and lifts her entire dress (which has netting!!), showing her knickers and her belly and BLOWS her nose on the skirt!!
I gasp in horror, Â do a quick half-hearted eye -roll ‘kids huh?’ to the now very surprised looking on-lookers. One of whom is an elderly lady who looks like her eyebrows may have become one with her hairline.
Grabbing her (my daughter that is not the elderly lady) and navigating her away from my audience. I try to hide in the veggie aisle and start hyperventilating into a brown bag.
Normality recovered we carry on around the store and just as we are finishing and heading towards the tills. I notice the same old lady again. Wanting to acknowledge her a little in a shared ‘we’ve all been there’ sort of communicae, I was just about to give her a smile when my daughter wonders over to the shelves and picks up the biggest bottle of Jack Daniels (complete with security tag) and yells at the top of her voice.
MUMMY YOU LOVE THIS!!
I think i died a little right there.
small kid: 1 Mummy: 0
 for the record i don’t actually drink whiskey and never have!!Â
Top 5Â Family-friendly Online Games
As we are all aware, online games are a huge business these days, from using a PC to playing on a mobile phone. Children in particular are spending more time playing games online than ever before. Playing on a PC or laptop saves having to buy an expensive console such as the Xbox, however for younger children and teens it is imperative to have strict guidelines in place to keep them safe online.
There are many sites to educate both parents and children about keeping safe online. The basics are mostly common sense. They must not share passwords, post pictures of themselves online or arrange to meet people they do not know. Safe search settings and filters are available on many sites, as a parent it is your responsibility to put these blocks in place for your children. Ask them which sites they regularly visit and take some time to familiarise yourself with these sites.
So lets now take a look at the top five games available to play online for the whole family!
Candy Crush Possibly THE most popular game and app at the moment, Candy Crush is played by millions every day all over the world. A game suitable for children aged seven and over, adults also enjoy this, as the later levels can be quite tricky. Match the candies to clear the screen and go onto the next level. Players can also play via their Facebook account, which allows them to ask friends for extra lives and special candies.
ChitChat Bingo A game for the grown-ups, bingo games are plentiful and extremely popular. ChitChat Bingo is one of the best, it is easy to use, offers fantastic jackpots and you even get a bonus for joining the site. This site incorporates a variety of slot games and even has a place for the players to hang out together and chat online.
Fun Brain This educational site is fun for all the family but especially for adults to play with their youngsters. It is developed by the Family Education Network and runs in accordance with COPPA (Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act). There are math based games, reading games, books and comics, an excellent site that will keep kids amused while learning something new, perfect!
Family Feud This game derived from the popular American TV show of the same name. It’s a great game to play with all the family, where thought-provoking questions of hypothetical situations are asked. Players can go head-to-head with each other, pass their turn, steal or strike! A perfect game for a family evening indoors.
Bejewelled Blitz 3 Another hugely popular game that is appropriate for juniors through to adults. Match the jewels in different orders to clear the screen. Simple but addictive there are now various games to play such as Butterfly Blitz where you have to prevent the butterflies from reaching the top of the screen and being eaten, to Bejewelled Zen, where you can choose different biorhythmic sounds to listen to as you play endless levels and never lose a life. This game is great for tuning out and dropping in!
this is a partnered post
This weekend it has been your birthday. You have had 11 whole years on this planet.
happy birthday.
Yes i know its crap that you have to take and exam on your birthday. I know how you have curled your lip numerous times when we have mentioned the fact that you have to first do the test before the presents. Thats not us being mean btw. There just isnt enough time in the morning for you to enjoy it without rushing off. believe us.
it sucks.
really.
There is no way around it. We know the reasons, the whys the what ifs, the crazy, looney school entry system that exists here. If i had my way then no-one would have to sit exams to get into school. But…you do and it has fallen on your 11th birthday.
Thats rubbish.
BUT you can do it. Face the miserable part of the day and then embrace the rest of the day with gusto and blow a huge raspberry at the pirates that put an exam on your special day.
Go on.
We won’t look.
I have been there. You are talking to a pro. My birthday is in June. Every single year of my secondary school life i sat exams if not on, around my birthday. I know how you feel, i know you want to shout and stamp and scream ‘but it is MY BIRTHDAY!”
you can do that. You can shout it.
Doesn’t change it though sadly.
This secondary school circus is just that my boy. A circus. The over-subscribed, results driven, tutored, schooled and preened test takers can whirl parents facing the year 7 changeover into some sort of crazed, frantic fools. Forgive us.
We want the best for you and essentially that doesn’t actually have to include going to the highest league table school (between me and you those league tables are not totally true anyhow!). But we are plagued with a million different options and changing systems in education. The people who run our country who make silly decisions with a flick of their ink pen that have a massive effect on you.
Ignore all that nonsense…thats what it is.
Dont forget that you are in the massively privileged percentage of kids in this world who can CHOOSE to go to school. Who will come out of  WHATEVER school you go to with the ability to earn a living. That puts you in SUCH a blessed and lucky group.  You don’t need to sit an exam to know that. It is your right and it is one that you should value regardless of all this jumping through hoops, exam, points system craziness that might make you feel like you somehow don’t make the grade.
Its good to not loose sight of that and dont forget that it might seem all very uncertain to you at the moment as you look into a new season but the one certain thing is that we are right there behind you. We have your back.
AND… We know you are going to be great, wherever you go..because you are a GREAT KID.
xx
 
