Even though it’s the Easter holidays and I’m pretty sure I must have rested a bit my brain fog won’t let up. 

I promised myself I’d write a blog, but my words won’t work so I’m going easy on myself and mopping up the last few holiday stories I forgot to share before x (even the word previously feels too big and clunky to use this morning).

I’ll be drinking my strength 5 coffee whilst writing so let’s see if that shapes things up a bit x 

Okay, so there we were, innocently enjoying our holiday in Fuerteventura. We’d had our all inclusive, buffet dinner and were settling in for some cards with plastic cups of honeyed rum. This we drank with ice cubes, which some people we met thought made us pretty hardcore. I’m not sure if it’s because we were drinking half pints of pure spirits or the accompanying ice made from Spanish water. 

Anyways, I am not joking or even exaggerating when I tell you that sharing the hall with us was a God damn clown convention! At least 15 of the blighters! I thought they might be there for the entertainment but turns out they were just on holiday and honestly one of them looked like It! It was a little eerie and we were sure to steer clear and it didn’t bode well with one of the Mums who had a severe phobia of clowns! 

Only we could go on holiday where there happens to be a clown convention! 

As we were in a studio apartment we allowed the boys to stay up until 10 each evening. This took its toll as we are super strict on early bed times at home. 

By the last evening Oli was having melt downs about having melt downs! 

In the mini arcade there was a machine that gave you a prize every time and cost 2 Euros. The prize was a mini plastic duck, but there were lots of different cool ones. 

Oli had saved up his last few euros to have a few goes on it and was desperate to get the Minecraft duck. The machine didn’t work and swallowed his money. The first I knew of it he was running up and down the hall wailing, literally wailing. When he finally told me what happened I came with him to look at the machine.

There was a little girl playing in there with her toddler brother. She’d pressed the button to return the money and actually came up to give it to me. I thanked her a lot. As Oli put the money back in the boy pressed the button which resulted in Oli getting a plain, yellow duck which set him off running and wailing because the boy took his turn with his own money, ( you do not want to know what spell predict changed duck to and if that had been the case, Oli would have had every right to be upset winning a plain yellow di** out a children’s toy machine!) 

Anywho he wouldn’t calm down so I gave the little boy the duck as he’d won it, he was chuffed to bits with this. 

On my way to reception to obtain more euros I passed the children’s grandparents. I went up to them to say what lovely grandchildren they had, to explain that Oli is on the spectrum and was tired and how kind the little girl had been. To be honest, it all felt a little awkward. The Grandad was smiling at me, but like a shark, the smile was not in his eyes and I think he was one of those Autism non believers and thought I was a namby pamby washout.

As I walked away I heard him call the little girl over, not to praise her, but to ask her what she went and did that for, she should have kept the euros. 

Later on she came over to give Oli a pink Minecraft duck she had won. It meant the world to him.  I found her Mum and told her and she was more appreciative of her good nature. 

The day we travelled out was my 50th birthday. I told Lee I wanted a MASSIVE 50 badge as I wanted to get loads of freebies and be made a fuss of. Firstly Lee pointed out that EasyJet did not have first class for us to be upgraded to. Secondly no one said ANTHING apart from one drunk guy in the airport and by the time we got to the hotel I remembered it was all inclusive so nothing to gain there either! 

I love the way my Lee just goes along with it and humours me. 

At the airport on the way home, of course our checking in lanes were 6 & 7, well that set Harry off! 

On the flight home two toddlers with special needs were sat behind us. We’d met them on the way out and Oli had given them some of his lollipops to suck to help with their ears, ( new ones out a packet, not ones he had sucked, that would be gross!)

Well this two year old was giving it rootitoot the whole 4 hours home. We tried to help entertain him but it was constant. The minute we landed, literally the minute we landed, he fell sound asleep, that gave me the giggles! 

I don’t know why, but the title Holiday Blog  Mop Up, , has now got me singing Beaty School Drop Out from Grease! 

Anyways, Happy Easter! I wrote this for my Dad instead of giving him a chocolate egg as he is always telling me “bunny is watching his waistline!”. No he isn’t gay, but sometimes camper than a row of pink tents! 

Love and hugs, kisses and wishes xxx 

It was 06:22, a lie in for mid week, but not for Sundays, however Matilda Mai Nippet aka Princess Fluffypants had not got the memo. 

Truth be told, both dogs were on the bed because the boiler is currently on the blink and we were using them as hot water bottles. 

Lee instantly said he’d get up, but I asked him to try and have a lie in and we could celebrate later because I truly enjoy my Sunday morning ritual. 

Barely out the bedroom door and Harry came running down the stairs to greet me. How can a boy so slight sound like a heard of elephants?  He asked me why I was up and told me the plan was to make me breakfast. I told him that Daddy had said I could get up because I really wanted to and he gave me the biggest cuddle and told me that today is all about me. 

Now I love a good cuddle, but our Harry’s cuddles are next level! Like he even cuddles you with his fingernails. I’m not sure that sounded nice, but it is!

Not even 06:30 and feel like the luckiest, most loved mum alive! 

Was getting the breakfast ready and noticed Lee had stashed in the fridge smoked salmon, gluten free bagels, avocado, eggs, yummy delicious! He amazes me with how incredibly thoughtful he can be! 

I came out the loo only to be jump scared by Oli wearing a camouflage oodie over a Pudsey onesie with minion fluffy slippers! 

He sprang out hollering “happy Mother’s Day” and unfortunately I yelled back “ ****ing hell!” Let’s just say he was lucky I was on my way out of the toilet! 

We both had a little laughing spree and fell in a cuddle onto the conservatory rattan where it became apparent I had the worst morning breath ever!  Before making his escape Oli told me that he had made sure happy Mother’s Day was the first thing he said all day although I had thought he said happy birthday x 

So I got on with doing only to notice both the tumble and washing machine had no power and had not finished their cycles from the previous night. It came to fruition that the extension lead was not working, got a new extension lead, it was not long enough, manoeuvred everything all the while singing Matthew Strider – ain’t nothing gonna break my stride! 

Side note- love the word manoeuvring, so satisfying to say, fills the whole of the mouth, you’re totally saying it now aren’t you?

Now camped out under blankets in the lounge with the boys and the fur babies. I would normally be in the bath now, but no boiler, remember? I thought it was going to ruin Mother’s Day as I dramatically said to my husband the other day, but it has made it deliciously different! 

Was just having a scroll through Facebook and happened across this beautiful story which brought tears to my eyes! 

“A story from tattoo artist, who owns a small shop…

Yesterday a woman walked in at 4 PM. No appointment. Asked if I could squeeze her in.

“What do you want?” I asked.

She showed me a photo on her phone. Numbers. Just numbers.

“392. On my wrist. Simple. Black. Can you do it now?”

I looked at her. She’d been crying. Eyes red. Hands shaking.

“Yeah, I can do it. But can I ask what 392 means?”

She sat down in my chair. Took a breath.

“It’s the number of days my daughter stayed clean before she overdosed. I found her yesterday. I want to remember she tried. That 392 days mattered.”

I didn’t know what to say. Just nodded. Started setting up.

She kept talking. Needed to talk.

“Everyone’s going to say she relapsed. That she failed. That addicts always relapse. But they won’t say she was sober for 392 days. That she went to meetings. Got a job. Started painting again. That she was my daughter again for 392 days. They’ll remember one day. The last day. But I’m going to remember 392.”

Her voice broke.

“This tattoo is proof those days existed. That she fought. That she almost made it.”

I finished the tattoo. Simple numbers. 392. On her wrist. Where she could see it every day.

She paid. Tipped way too much. Started to leave. Then turned back.

“Can I ask you something weird?”

“Anything,” I said.

“Can you keep that stencil? The 392? And if anyone ever comes in here struggling with addiction. Or losing someone to addiction. Can you offer to do this tattoo for free? Any number. However many days their person stayed clean. 10 days. 100 days. 1 day. I don’t care. Just so they know those days counted.”

She left before I could answer.

I kept the 392 stencil. Put it in a frame behind my counter. Wrote under it:

“Days of sobriety tattoos — always free. Any number. Because every day counts.”

I didn’t think anyone would take me up on it.

Three days later, a man came in. Saw the sign. Started crying.

“Can you do 1,279?”

“Absolutely. Who’s it for?”

“My brother. He was sober 1,279 days. Died in a car accident last week. Sober driver hit by a drunk driver. The irony is killing me. He fought so hard. And some stranger took him out.”

I did the tattoo for free. He hugged me for five minutes.

Word spread.

I’ve done 23 sobriety number tattoos in three weeks. Free. Every single one. 47 days. 6 days. 1,823 days. 2 days. One woman got “14 hours” tattooed.

“My son stayed clean for 14 hours before he relapsed and died. Everyone says 14 hours doesn’t count. But it does. He tried. For 14 hours he tried.”

I tattooed 14 hours on her shoulder. She sobbed the entire time.

When I finished, she looked at it and whispered, “Now everyone will know he tried.”

Yesterday someone came in and asked for “0 days.”

I was confused. “Zero?”

He nodded.

“My daughter never got clean. She tried to quit so many times. Went to rehab four times. But never made it past a few hours before using again. She died at 23. Everyone says she didn’t try. But she did. She tried so hard. Zero days sober but a million attempts. Can you tattoo 0 with a little infinity symbol?”

Because her attempts were infinite even if her days weren’t.

I cried while doing that tattoo. Zero with an infinity symbol. For a girl who never stopped trying even though she never succeeded.

A teenager came in two days ago. Seventeen years old. With his dad.

“Can you do 91 days? For me. I’m 91 days sober. I want to remember.”

I looked at his dad. Dad nodded.

“He asked for this. I’m proud of him.”

I did the tattoo. 91 on his forearm. When I finished, the kid stared at it.

“Now when I want to use, I’ll see this. I’ll remember I made it to 91. I can make it to 92.”

His dad paid. Tipped $200.

“You’re saving lives with ink,” he said. “Keep doing this.”

The kid comes back every 30 days. I add a small tally mark next to his 91. He’s up to 151 days now. Five tally marks. He’s going to make it.

The original woman came back yesterday. The 392 tattoo.

“I wanted to show you something,” she said.

She pulled up her sleeve. Another number.

“1.”

Just the number 1.

“What’s that for?” I asked.

She smiled through tears.

“One year since my daughter died. One year I’ve survived without her. Someone told me I should get a tattoo for my own sobriety. From grief. From giving up. I’ve been sober from ending my own life for one year. Because of this.”

She pointed to 392.

“Every time I wanted to give up, I looked at this. If she could fight for 392 days, I could fight for one more. So I’m marking my days now too. One year. 365 days of choosing to stay.”

I have a wall now. Photos of every sobriety number tattoo I’ve done. 47 tattoos in two months. Numbers ranging from 14 hours to 6,247 days.

Every single one free.

Every single one a story of someone who tried. Who fought. Who stayed clean for as long as they could. Some made it. Some didn’t.

But every number matters.

Because addiction isn’t about the day someone relapses. It’s about all the days they didn’t.

And those days deserve to be remembered. Marked. Honored.

I started this because a grieving mother asked me to remember 392 days. Now I’m remembering hundreds of days. Thousands of days. Marking them in ink on the skin of people who refuse to forget.

Every number tells me the same thing:

Trying counts. Fighting counts. Even if you lose, the fight counted.”

My birth Mum, Nanny Sue, (our family name for her because she did get to be our Grandma) never managed to escape the grasp of addiction and died Boxing Day two years ago. 

My adopted Mum, Nanny Jenny, did everything she could to give me the life Nanny Sue wished for me! 

To my Mum’s, both of them, who played massive roles in making me the Mum I am today. 

The sun is shining, the sky is blue, sounds like the beginning of a limerick!

We’re off to the cinema later to see Hoppers, can’t blinking wait! Making the most of watching animated movies at the cinema whilst the boys are still young so I can say it is for them, but we all know the truth! 

Love and hugs you beautiful people and may today be a good one!! Whatever you do, just make it count Xxx 

Oh the pleasure of being back in the bath! 

That gets me thinking of the poem by Robert Browning, written whilst he was in Italy and missing Englands Springtime, the Chaffinch song and the blossoms.

“ Oh, to be in England

Now that April’s there,

And whoever wakes in England

Sees, some morning, unaware,

That the lowest boughs and the brushwood sheaf

Round the elm-tree bole are in tiny leaf,

While the chaffinch sings on the orchard bough

In England – now!! “

Harry’s would be a bit more like, 

Oh, to be in England where we can flush paper down the loo! 

Of course we had a wonderful holiday, that was always going to happen. Our little family has a lovely way of making each day count, no matter what! 

Our studio was partitioned with low walls, reminded me of a biscuit selection box. The bathroom had a door though, but of course the lock didn’t work. The Spanish receptionist looked at me like I was completely bonkers when I suggested someone might come and fix the lock, as if the Spanish don’t need privacy, she most definitely didn’t have children!

The twins were most perturbed they couldn’t flush toilet paper down the toilet, especially after a number two. Oli took to showering straight after instead, almost like a massive bidet!

The website had said there were seven pools, but it turns out they counted the pools within the pools separately! Cheeky! The one with the slides was salt water and that just didn’t sit right with Harry. I made myself go in twice. Each time I tried to heat myself up first which was tricky with the 30 minutes sun we had each day, okay, that’s an exaggeration. The first time I jumped in it literally took my breath away. Harry kept asking me questions, but I literally couldn’t respond so had to swim away. I threw one of my ice cubes in the pool from my Pina Colada, I wouldn’t doubt it’s still probably there just bobbing away merrily, watching polar bears drift by.  

The food hall was very bright, with a constant mechanical whirring sound, I never worked out where it came from. I found the food quite tasty, but I’m always up for a challenge and tended to drink alcohol with it, well we were all inclusive. Lee found a random sprout in his coleslaw, I was more concerned with the constant undercooking of the chicken and the pork. Oli even gave us his finest Gordon Ramsay impression, a little too loudly, 

“It’s RAAAAAAAAAWWW! It’s ****ing RAAAWWW!!”

One of the days Oli was eating a plate of chips he’d sprinkled strawberry Millions on whilst Harry was dipping a waffle cone in his Coke for a main course, I just carried on drinking my Rose Spritzer! They weren’t injecting heroin into their eyeballs, that’s how low the bar had come! The birds loved the food and often flew in for a nibble, not so hygienic and concerning when one of the staff went after George (he was our favourite pigeon) with a rather large knife! We’ll be eating pidgeon tonight my boys! 

With the pools too cold, the weather sprinkled with showers, some containing hail and the apartment not having wifi – ooh yes, I forgot about that! Some guy was actually complaining at reception that the only place you could get wifi was reception and that was sporadic so he wanted some money off. I actually felt a bit sorry for him, where was his sense of adventure? He was on holiday! Put down the CandyCrush and get out and explore! Which is exactly what we did! 

We walked to the nearby old town with its beautiful pastel coloured buildings, gothic architecture and bustling market, it reminded me of Annecy in France. One of my highlights was sitting at a table plonked right in the centre, being hit by dazzling sunshine, drinking a good, strong coffee and watching the world go by. Even the boys managed to sit at the table and drink it all in, not coffee, sparkling water with a twist of lemon, very fancy. We’d allowed them to drink so much all inclusive Coca Cola we were worried it would start coming out of them like a fountain and felt we could count the lemon as one of their five a day! 

We also walked to Corralejo with its fabulous shops and popcorn beach. Another of my highlights is sitting at the Waikiki Bar on the beach, feet buried in the sand, drinking the best Pina Colada I’ve ever had, watching the windsurfers. Again the sunshine found us. Time was merely broken up with us shouting at Harry to not throw rocks and Oli not to stand on glass or pick up fag butts. 

The beach near us, about a 20 minute walk was very clean and the water was clear, perfect for rock pooling. Someone had kindly built a wind shelter out of rocks which I hunkered down behind whilst the boys played rugby or built sand Zombie Apocalypse villages. 

Traditionally it was thought that Fuerteventura got its name from the Spanish words “fuertes vientos”which literally means strong winds, so I suppose we shouldn’t have been surprised. 

However, all this walking took a toll on my poor old knees. We had planned to hire bikes, but would have needed a second mortgage for that plus the worry about where to leave them etc didn’t feel very holiday mode. 

One evening I got up to go to the room and my knees had completely locked up, I could not straighten them. We had enjoyed a few honey rums and I didn’t want people to think I was walking funny because I’d drunk too much, I’m not sure why it mattered so much to me, so I opted to take a practically vertical stairway to take me out of the main hall quicker. Lee thought I was mad, but there was a railing going up one side which I used to pull myself up on. Unfortunately the top was only held in by one screw. I was about 3/4 of the way up when it came out of the wall, as if in slow motion and only stopped when it hit the other side with me hanging on to it like a sloth. 

Harry came running back and shouted for Dad and then asked me what the hell I was playing at. 

I managed to push the bar to one side and crawl to the top. My boys were all very concerned, but then I got the giggles and I got them hard. How funny I must have looked. I promised Lee I’d take the long way round next time, however we found out that cabs were super cheap so travelled in luxury everywhere and my knees soon recovered. 

I’m sure there are plenty of other little stories I could share with you, but my bath is getting cold and I have a mountain of washing to get through! 

Love and hugs, kisses and wishes xxx 

Yesterday was going well, all things considered. 

To take into consideration –

1. Oli has a sprained shoulder most likely from it being dislocated. He fell from a climbing frame at camp and dodged a rope to stop himself from being hung, but folded himself in two the wrong way, like a suitcase his brother assured me and landed very heavily on his arm. If he had been a “normal” child he would probably have been hospitalised or worse, but give them their dues, the Flay Twins seem pretty indestructible and bouncy! 
2. Harry has Ringworm, another “gift” from camp. 

So we have been housebound for the last 3 days and the boys have gone feral! Trying to stop Oli from being active and Harry from bumping into him has been like trying to hold back a tidal wave and I am exhausted! 

The boys were bickering, constantly at each other to the point I told them that if they continued Lee and I would have to get a divorce and live in separate houses so they could be split up! Great parenting I know, but Harry’s response was “fine, do it!” So you can see what I was dealing with and surviving on fumes of sleep! When I told Lee he asked what he had done to deserve divorce? Fair point! I mean I hadn’t actually really thought the statement through and was desperate! You try being locked in with two ADHD 9 year olds and two demanding fur balls! 

Harry suggested we go for a nice walk to the beach, a bit of sea air, climbing on the rocks, chips at sunset, getting the juices flowing, maybe stop the dogs from their incessant barking, seemed like a good idea. 

He was very specific about the time he wanted to go, 16:35, but when the time came he had changed his mind and went full meltdown, angry mode! 

Harry didn’t want to go, Oli did, the dogs desperately needed it. 

This was all mid putting the online grocery weekly shop away. 

Harry was actually the one who made everything better by starting to help me put the shopping away as an olive branch, which led to a group hug and the incentive to go for a walk together. 

I pointed out it was a bit gusty, but Oli said that a bit of wind wouldn’t spoil our walk and he wouldn’t let up about taking his scooter. 

Everyone got changed, I grabbed Tilly’s pram and we got in the car. I realised how stressed I was by the dents my nails made in the steering wheel, but the site of the beginning of a sunset soothed me in seconds. However, when we stopped at the lights the boys asked why the car kept swaying and I answered it was the weather! It was getting to be like the beginning of Mary Poppins for the poor pedestrians, but still we headed on. 

We found a parking space pretty easily, possibly due to the fact other people weren’t as foolhardy as us! 

I gave Oli his scooter, Harry Holly (mini schnauzer) whilst I was getting Tilly and her buggy out the boot. 

Oli whizzed past me saying “look mum, I’m going full speed and not even put my foot on the ground!”

Trying to get them to the traffic lights was like trying to herd cats. 

Once at the lights a not very helpful couple just stood by us letting their big dog provoke our little ones. I wasn’t sure what they wanted me to do, I literally had my hands full and was just waiting for the lights to turn red so we could cross. In the end they walked through the car park, two steps extra to their journey, but he let me know he wasn’t pleased. 

Seriously, I was trying to unwrap Tilly’s lead from around my legs whilst she was giving it rootitoot to the big dog (who started it), whilst trying to stop her buggy run away with my other hand, whilst trying stop Oli from blowing into the road as he glided past me shouting weeeeeee, whilst helping Harry to untangle himself and control Holly who was defending us all from the big dog instigator, whilst having my hair smacked across my face and in my eyes and mouth! BUT him and his missus had to walk two extra steps out of their journey so obviously I can understand his resentment …… like heck! He’s lucky my hands were full or I might have let my fingers do the answering! As it was I just ignored him and pretended I was being the bigger person, but it really wasn’t by choice! 

We managed to cross the road only to find the sea wall was closed! How we didn’t notice was beyond all of us!

Back across the road and I decided it was time to put Tilly in her buggy to weigh it down as it had literally flown up into the air like a balloon. Every time I tried to pick her up she ran away and every time I got her the pram moved. Oli came to the rescue which was quite remarkable considering he was on wheels, like I said, not “normal”!

Harry had Holly under control, Tilly was in her pram, then the heavens opened and the rains fell!

Harry said “shall we just go home?” 

This was something Oli could actually agree on. 

Fighting the wind to get to the car was like the Michael Jackson song video to Earth Song! 

Once in the car I asked Harry what he’d been telling Holly off for. Apparently she’d had a poo. I started to tell him off for not telling me so I could pick it up (something we are firm believers in), but he said there was no point because it had blown away before he could say anything. 

Oli then giggled and said he hoped it had blown into the nasty man’s face! 

I started to tell him that we should always be the better person and turn the other cheek, to which there were roars of laughter from both Harry and Oli. 

We felt like a family again, laughing together, brought together by a rubbish walk and a dog poo! 

So maybe, upon reflection, it wasn’t that much of a bad dog walk altogether. Actually, the dogs both seemed happy with it, especially when they got to eat the left over chips! I’d promised the boys chips on the beach whilst we watched the sunset, so still went to the chippy near our house. They ate about 4 each and then proclaimed they were full. Obviously they came up to me an hour later to ask what they could eat. 

Should have ended on that good note, but this is life xxx 

Love and hugs, kisses and wishes xxx 

I haven’t written in a while, but feel I should, a few special people in my life have requested that I do. 

So I’ve upped to strength 5 on the old coffee, picked up my mobile, (apparently we don’t call it a phone nowadays? Not down with the kids and they look at you all blank like) and flicked to the notes page and here I am. 

See, writing to me is therapy, but it’s hard to pick up a pen (metaphorically, luckily the “kids” still currently know what one of those is) and write unless I’m at my tiptopness form.

Google is a constant in my life thank goodness and still not outdated. 

When I see joyful Memes, I like to send them to friends and family just to make them chuckle. There was a lovely one the other day, all pastel colours and cute pets which said – swearing – it’s cheaper than therapy! So I sent that to a few people with the simple heading – Fact!

Then my 18 year old niece responded to it with a flames emoji. 

I went in to melt down mode! What did this mean? Had I caused offence? Was she shooting me down in flames?

Now I am a firm advocate of therapy, had years of the stuff and wouldn’t be in the happy place I am now without it. However, I also love a juicy bit of top notch swearing, especially in the car, really gets the juices flowing and releases endorphins. There is a time and a place for it and the boys are allowed to swear in the car to download their frustrations of the day. 

In fact, swearing can feel “good” or relieving to kids with ADHD because it acts as an immediate emotional release, helps manage intense frustration, or provides a dopamine hit for their brain. This behavior is often linked to difficulty regulating emotions, serving as a coping mechanism rather than just defiance.

☝️just Googled it! Another reason I love Google so, search enough and you can find the answer you want whether it be correct or not. Why I’m sure I could find evidence through Google that eating chocolate daily is good for you! 👇

“Eating a small amount of high-cocoa (70%+) dark chocolate daily can offer heart, brain, and antioxidant benefits due to flavanols”

I’m cheating, I knew that one already x 

Blimey, where was I?

Recap – therapy good, but expensive, swearing free and fun in moderation. Like wine, just swear responsibly. 

So my cool and trendy 18 year old niece had put a flames emoji on the meme. 

Luckily Google came to my rescue and it turns out it meant “lit” so I was still in with the in crowd, but they know me as Lucy Potato, but that’s another story all together! 

Right, I’ve had this special shampoo on my head for far too long and it’s definitely starting to burn so I best be off!

Oh look, I did it! I wrote a blog! Until the next time! 

Love and hugs you glorious human beings xxx 

Well it’s fair to say we’ve had a rollercoaster of a Christmas break! All the exciting, fun, Christmasy bits like the baking, the Christmas Eve night lights walk, the presents, the food, oh the food! The time together, woohoo! 

But then we’ve had this pesky flu virus that zapped us of our very souls for at least 14 days! I told the boys’ barber yesterday the flu was so bad that even our fingernails ached, obviously I was exaggerating, but he took me literally which was pretty awkward. 

Ooh and I got to clean our oven! Seriously that gets a woohoo! It’s a big boy and was very dirty and very therapeutic. I gave it a wink as I finished up and said, 

“Same time next year?”

Unfortunately the flu grounded us a bit and the boys ADHD wanted them to be out and doing, but their little bodies were like, NO WAY! Which not only caused them inner conflict, but resulted in them bickering, fighting and getting on each others nerves more. 

Well Friday this reached a head (is that the saying? Doesn’t sound right, let me Google it!, be back in a sec!) Ah, things came to a head on Friday. The two of them came running up to me to snitch on each other for about the gazillionth time only Oli had a drop of blood on his lip. I saw red! Physically and metaphorically. 

It’s one thing for them to argue constantly, but it’s quite another for them to physically fight and this we will not tolerate! 

I went Sumo Mumma bear! 

I made it very clear to both Harry and Oli that I had had ENOUGH! I was very angry and wanted to punish them and as far as I was concerned, right there, in that moment of time their electronics were banned for the day! 

Quite frankly, most care givers will probably agree, but that’s more of a punishment for me taking away a form of entertainment, but I was cross!

As far as I was concerned they needed to earn them back and the ONLY way of doing this was to prove to me that they could work together as a team and they’d need to complete chores, lots of them. If the teamwork thing didn’t work out, maybe tiring them would. 

First things first, fur babies get treated to a proper walk down Bluebell Woods, this was met with quite a few groans. They bounced off me like I was wearing Batfink’s wings of steel! 

In the car on the way, I was still trying to decompress and explain to the little darlings the reason for my distress. 

“Harry and Oli, you just don’t seem to understand how lucky you are to have a built in play mate 24/7! Yet you waste it! You could be playing, but you are choosing to fight! The fact that this fighting has now resulted in actual blood shed is inexcusable and unacceptable. “

I’m really, really unsure why I said this next bit or where I was going with it, but I’d made myself all cross again. 

“ if a dog draws blood it gets put to sleep, that’s how serious it is!”

Oli “ by put to sleep do you mean dead?”

Then this little voice piped up from Harry in the back seat,

“ Mum, are you going to kill me?”

With that the three of us burst out laughing quite uncontrollably which is difficult when you’re trying to drive a Touran. 

“No Harry, I’m not going to kill you and just because I’m laughing doesn’t mean I’m not still cross, but I’m happy to now press the reset button and allow you to earn back your Xbox”

Once home and with lunch out the way I made them help me put Christmas back into a cupboard under the hamster.

I then got them to help me carry the Christmas tree out to the back garden because they wanted Lee to plant it like he did last year. 

We were on the decking, Oli at the front and Harry to the side and they wanted us to launch it only on the count of 3, neither of them let go, so they too went sailing onto the garden in their socks. 

Pine needles had been scattered in the lounge, hall, kitchen and conservatory. I gave them each a compostable dog poo bag, empty of course and instructed them to pick them up by hand. Don’t worry, I did a room too. 

They definitely worked together as a team and were even kind to each other again. So much so they were rewarded with screen time and Mummy with a boozy coffee and a bit of “me” time. 

What? Even without the Christmas decorations up it’s still technically the holidays so boozy coffees are still fair game! 

Obviously, 10 minutes in to my first bit of me time and Lee returns from work so see me sat in the lounge under a blanket with a Calypso coffee and the boys playing together harmoniously two floors up. 

Alright for some I bet he thought after a hard day at work! 

2026 is shaping up to be quite delicious! Energy back and we’ve already been to the beach and the woods and only on the beginning of day 4. Can’t write that without thinking, in the Big Brother house in a Geordie accent, if you know, you know, if you don’t, I really wouldn’t worry about it! 

Love and hugs and a very Happy New Year to you and your loved ones xxx 

I am physically incapable of writing or saying the word phenomenon without being transported to Sandra Bullock acting as a psychiatrist in the Muppet Show and repeatedly saying the word to the theme tune in 1996!

If you want to read more about Sandra you’ll have to Google it because this story is about our Harry.

Harry has been sick. Harry does sick VERY well! He goes floppy and his skin turns so pale it looks translucent and you can clearly see his veins. 

He started to feel ill Wednesday evening and was up by 05:00 Thursday with a raging temperature, sore throat and what seemed more like a migraine than a headache.

He would not eat or drink! I have a touch of Mum guilt as Tilly my 14 year old Westie was also not eating and got an emergency vet appointment, but I’m yet to even dial 111 for Harry! 

Thursday evening I tempted Harry with a cheese toastie and a bag of peanut curls. These are the most amazing crisps! You used to only be able to get them abroad. I remember trying to bring a bag back in my luggage and it exploded! They are crisps, but coated in peanut dust, same sort of texture as Monster Munch. They are also very salty which I thought would help with Harry’s temperature and maybe encourage him to drink more…..cunning!

We had another restless night Thursday and finally gave up at 05:00 and migrated downstairs to the lounge. 

Breakfast time came and Harry fancied a little something something so I made him a picky plate consisting of a Nutella bar, strawberries, fromage frais and chocolate milk. He devoured the lot! 

Woohoo I thought to myself, this boy is on the mend! 

A touch later and he turned to me again and said he was peckish! 

So relieved I told him he could have whatever his heart desired!

He fancied finishing off the big bag of peanut curls. 

Oh!

There were literally seven left and I’d eaten them. 

His eyes already reddened by the plague made him look even more forlorn! 

There’s that Mum guilt banging at the door again!

I offered to cook him a bowl of chips with lashings of salt and vinegar. It was only about 09:00 by now but I had some serious compensating to do. 

Nah, didn’t fancy that! 

But then his little eyes lit up, “cheeseburger!”

He literally only said cheeseburger but it translated to me as, I could be happy, well and love you again if only you’d buy me a cheeseburger!

So I tapped into McDonalds through JustEat and ordered him a double sausage and egg McMuffin, hash brown, tomato ketchup and a Grinch lemonade to seal the deal. 

The app is really good and lets you know when your food is on the way, it gives you a number to tell the driver in exchange for your goodies.

Well knock me sideways with a cracker if ours wasn’t 6/7! I wondered if it was an actual joke. Harry thought it was bloomin’ brilliant. 

I’m picturing Grandad reading this and looking confused. Let me see if I can Google a quick and simple explanation for the phenomenon 6/7……aah, that’s why the blog is called phenomenon! 

Explanation 

“The phrase “6-7” is a popular social media meme, primarily on TikTok, known for its lack of a specific meaning and classified by some as “brain rot” humor. Its main purpose is to serve as an inside joke or “shibboleth,” identifying the speaker as part of an online community aware of the trend. 

Origin and Usage

The number likely originated in a 2024 song by rapper Skrilla and gained massive popularity after a video of NBA player LaMelo Ball, who is 6’7″ tall, went viral reciting the lyrics. 

Despite possible initial links to police radio code 10-67 (signifying a dead body), the meme has largely become detached from any original meaning. Most users today employ the phrase precisely because it is nonsensical, often accompanied by specific hand gestures. 

We could dive deeper into other popular “brain rot” memes like “rizz” or “skibidi toilet”. Would you like an explanation of another recent internet slang term?”

Urm, that would be a firm NO! 

All of this had actually brought some life back to Harry and a smile on his face. He begged me to say the order number 6/7 in the style that is used on TikTok and with the accompanying juggling hand gestures. 

I told him I couldn’t, I’d be too embarrassed and this was where I lived so couldn’t run away, but he looked so disappointed. 

A little voice inside my mind (ooh I’m sure that’s lyrics from a song) ….. sorry, can’t continue until I finish the lyrics… 

“Said don’t look back you can never look back. Nobody on the road, nobody on the street…”

Got it! Boys of Summer, Don Henley, 1984! 

So a little voice inside my mind asked what matters more? The happiness of your poorly child or the opinion of the delivery driver you will never likely see again? 

Harry got very excited as the doorbell went and the fur babies started barking. 

“ Go on Mum! Are you going to do it? Are you actually? Don’t forget to do the hands as well!”

So I went to the door, opened it, the delivery driver asked for my code and I went all out and really loud for some unknown reason. 

“So I think I’m supposed to say SIX / SEVEN!!!!” As I bounced from side to side madly gesticulating with my hands. 

The driver kept his head down and said yes as he handed me my food and hurried away. 

I felt a wave of embarrassed excitement wash over me as I ran into the lounge to see Harry’s reaction and how many mum points I’d scored. 

He had his headphones on and was watching YouTube! 

“Are you kidding me?”

Turns out he was and he was actually watching the video he’d taken of the delivery driver laughing and shaking his head as he walked away. 

He actually managed most of that burger, but it filled him up for the whole day! Well at least he didn’t throw it up! 

Happy holidays! Xxx 

I haven’t written for a while, but feel I should, but it’s just so difficult to start.

A close friend who went to AA once told me she was given the analogy that you’ve had a massive party, you’ve got up in the morning and the place is wrecked, rubbish, dirty glasses covering every surface and it feels overwhelming. 

Just start. 

Just get a bin bag and pick up a bottle and just keep going until you’ve finished. It’s surprising how often I think back to this. Or Dory,

“What do we do we swim? Just keep swimming, just keep swimming!”

The friend was in recovery, not waiting for recovery, different AA.

My emotions are all over the place at the moment. I don”t know if it’s lack of sunshine, hormones or just sheer burnout. 

But you don’t need to hear about that! That’s boring! Let me tell you about my trip to the Card Factory with Harry last night. 

Say what you will about our boy, but he is funny, always has been. Even as a toddler, if he did something naughty, we had to tell people not to laugh because if he knew it made you happy he would repeat it over and over, even if it caused him pain.

So off we went on our mini road trip. Harry wanted to come because I took Oli with me to Asda last weekend. 

We parked up and Harry pointed out a fancy looking car. Think it might have been a Ferrari, but it just looked like a life size toy to me. 

He suddenly went to whack me on the arm and said, 

“Yellow car, no returns!”

In true dyspraxia fashion the whack didn’t land where it was meant to.

“Harry, you just whacked me on the boob!!”

Harry “at least I didn’t punch you!”

We continued this conversation across the car park and into the shop, a very natural back and forth. 

Me “ if you had punched me in the boob I would have punched you in the face’

Harry “you can’t do that Mum, that’s child abuse!”

He is a funny sausage. I’m wondering if other parents have conversations like this with their children, does seem a little aggressive, but it makes us laugh. 

In other news, there was a Brainrot admin abuse yesterday. Brainrot is a game they play on the computer and admin abuse is an event which happens once a week and gets them very hyper. 

I was next to Oli while it was happening and he was updating me every step of the way, not that I wanted him to!

Me “ I don’t understand the game, I’m officially old, you are literally speaking an other language!”

Oli “Wait mum, let me finish eating and I will explain, it’s really simple, you begin and you will need to go buy a noobini pizzanini”

Me “WHAT? You’ve lost me??! “

Oli “you start with about £125 and the noobini pizzanini costs £25 yeah? And then the brainrots come out of a tunnel  on a red carpet and if you don’t buy them they will never come back!”

Me “So what’s the point?”

Oli “So you get the money from the noobini”

Me “How?”

Oli “Because you get given a base which you can upgrade which gets bigger and you put the Brainrot on each plot and it generates money “

Me “How?”

Oli getting exasperated “Because it’s standing on the plot!!!!!!!!!”

I actually had a little chuckle to this! Oli must have been feeling like I did when he was about 2 and kept asking me why?

Oli “For example if it was a fluri flura it’d make 7 dollars a second and the money that it generates will go to a green square in front of it that all the money goes to and to get the money on the square you have to walk on it.You can also steal from other players to get their brainrots.there is also a way to get more money from brainrots and that way is mutations.”

Don’t worry if you’re not keeping up, I wasn’t either and to be honest had started losing interest. 

I had told Oli I was writing down what he was saying for my blog, at this point Oli snatched my phone off me and said he’d write it himself. 

I asked Oli for my phone back and thanked him for his dedication but he was going in to too much information and my brain had switched off, he said 

“ listen Mum, you asked me to explain it, you then kept asking me lots of question and kept saying why and so I’m writing it for you. If I was actually writing it in detail it would take until Christmas!”

Let’s just agree I won’t be playing steal a brain rot any time soon, but apparently they both need me to play so I can steal their stuff and then give it back to them. Joy! That’s how my addiction to Grow a Garden started! 

In the mean time Harry was plugged in to Fortnite and randomly shouted out – “sticking out your gat for the rizla!”

I didn’t know what it meant so decided to tell him off anyway to be safe. 

I have had to shut the bathroom window because the wind is so ferocious! There’s also a light drizzle. Lee and I are taking 8 children dry slope tobogganing today. It is going to be super slippy, they are going to go whizzing!

Of course I’ll be taking videos, might be our next 17 million viewing on TikTok! Shame we can’t get £200 anymore from Jeremy Beadle. Just did a Google check to see if it was still okay to write about Jeremy and the first search to come up was, did Jeremy Beadle die or was he a paedophile? I don’t know why, but this tiggled me. A common search it seems, people aren’t wanting to know if he’s a good gardener or baker. 

Right, now I’m waffling and I have things to do and children to throw down a hill.

Love and hugs and keep your chin up! Just keep swimming xxx

It is fair to say my brain has been absent without leave. Cluttered with the sheer horror of relocating my brother with MS and Aspergers and his carer from Weston-super-Mare to Taunton. 

You know you get those tasks you need to do and you get so worked up and all of a dither about them and then wonder afterwards why you were so worried about it in the first place?

This was not one of them! 

08:00 Sunday morning I get a call to say:-

a) the lift is out of order so the external fire escape will have to be used – they are 3 floors up in a converted hotel.

b) they have run out of boxes and are only half way through packing.

c) basically, the proverbial poo has hit the fan!

Plan A completely in tatters I drive over to assess the situation. Even though I had not slept the night before through anxiety of the removal men not turning up etc I had still not imagined the extent of absolute chaos that would great me. 

My brother and his carer are very private people and I had not been allowed access to the flat for at least two years. 

I walked in and was completely overwhelmed. I called my husband to say I did not know what to do or how I was going to fix this. I was nearly in tears. He offered to swap places and I go home and look after our 4 children, but I was already locked in and needed to complete this task. 

I sat down on the floor with my head in my hands and tried to work out the logistics of what needed to be accomplished that day. 

The removal men worked around me, all speaking to each other in a foreign language, but still making it clear this was the worst job they’d been on in a while and had I noticed that there was actually dog excrement on the fire escape?

I then received a text from my husband which read:- 

Babe I know its all gone to 💩 but you are amazing at sorting 💩situations out you are clever and intelligent you can do this if its a choice of them losing the deposit then that’s what its going to be if you need more money just ask we all love you xxx please dont over do it with your knees people are there to work for you x

It was all the sugar I needed. It literally kick started me in to action. I was in charge, I was calling the shots and what I decided to do was what was going to happen! 

The rest of the day was a blur between climbing up and down that rusty fire escape with my arthritic knees and drives to and from WSM. 

Lisa stepped in to oversee the removal men arriving her end, sprung into action like the whipper snapper she is and was ready with the most wonderful hug for my first arrival. 

I walked into the new place and commented on how delicious it smelled.

The lead removal man turned to me and in very broken English said,

“Yes, it smell much better!!”

It was literally the only thing he said to me all day and it made us all laugh. 

A stranger showered us with kindness. Joel (my brothers carer) and I had about a car load left, at least 3 more goes each up and down the fire escape, when a chap opened his back door and said to bring the final lot through his flat and use their lift and move my car to the front of his building. It saved us a good hour. I must write him a thank you note and pop a little something inside. 

I finally finished at 16:30. I realised I had not eaten or drunk anything all day. There had been opportunity on the car journeys, but I believed the emptiness was giving me the extra adrenaline and if I broke the fast the fatigue might set in too early. 

I parked up outside my front door and the thought of walking another two steps was unbearable. Lee appeared at my car door to usher me in. I was in a warm bubble bath with a cup of tea within 15 minutes. 

I actually still can’t believe that it is over. 

I have put procedures in place to make sure it never happens again, it’s the second time now and a third would definitely break me! Or maybe not, but I’m not willing to put that theory to the test. 

Lee does not have the sort of family who help each other out and I don’t have ones that are capable. The positive outlook is that it has drawn us all the more closer together, we have been there for each other through thick and thin and are blessed with extremely good friends and Grandad. 

4 days later and I’m starting to feel my sparkle come back, mainly through the Twinkles who have more love and laughter to give than I thought possible – okay, that made me feel a bit sick in my mouth, but it’s true! 

Here’s a few snippets from the boys that have kept me going. 

I had arranged for my sister from another mister and her daughter (the boys always call her their cousin) to come visit. We’d decided to keep it a surprise but I couldn’t help but tell the boys I had a secret, even though I managed to keep it and was counting down the days. 

Harry turned to me and said,

“Mum, this surprise in two days, I have to tell you, I am going to be disappointed if I have to wait two days for a toothbrush! Is it a new inhaler? Is it something medical?”

It’s easy to say my surprise exceeded his expectations and for some reason this really tickled me. 

I collected the boys from Future Stars on Monday and asked them how it went. They were both obviously very happy and Oli gave me a blow by blow account of the day to include break for snacks and what his friends had said etc. Don’t ask me because I switched off and it took the whole journey home. As we parked up I turned to Harry and asked if he had anything he wanted to add to that and he gave me the biggest smile and told me he had a mahusive poo and it had blocked the toilets. 

Before bed the other night we were watching TikTok together, part of our wind down ritual. We watched an act that had received the golden buzzer on Britains Got Talent. It was the most beautiful, diverse, group street dance performed to the song Celestial with the most amazing light effects activated in time to the music. It took my breath away and made me feel spiritual. That is until Harry started singing the song and instead of Celestial truly believed they sang So Lesbian! 

There have been some other randoms, not sure if I’ve already shared them with you? Like the time, out of nowhere, Harry said,

“ Mum, when I’m older can you not slam my head into a cake please?”

Or the fact that Oli thought sports socks were called wrinkle socks not ankle socks ❤️

Well today I have the task of making sure my brothers special bed arrives, have just read the reviews, it’s not hopeful! 

Best be off, love and hugs, kisses and wishes xxx 

So yesterday was another one of those delicious days! 

The weather couldn’t make up its mind and went from severe gusts of wind a la Mary Poppins (if you know, you know) to dazzling sunshine. Attire for football – dry robe, umbrella, sunglasses! Me, not the boys, that would definitely have hindered their performance. 

Both boys played in the first team, Oli’s debut. We’re thinking the coaches were being kind to enable me to watch them both play as the matches were at the same time. We’re hoping that Oli might have earned his spot.

Unfortunately the other side was full of rude, angry little monsters, but Worle Fc retaliated by winning 6:2. As Oli said to one of the brats he walked past “that will teach you!”

We got home in time for a quick shower, spot of lunch and family Grow a Garden event session which didn’t disappoint. 

We must have been having oodles of fun, because time flew past. 

Lee was going to a work friends wedding reception. Harry wouldn’t let me go. We’re still working on the ADHD attachment issues. 

So I planned our evening with meticulous care. We’d drop Lee in to town, then go on to pick up our Indian take away and then munch it down in the lounge watching Strictly Come Dancing. Well, Harry would be playing Fortnite but in the same room as us and they were allowed to stay up until 10pm!! Bed time is 8pm so this was a real treat. 

Everything was going well, Lee was looking a little bit too handsome for my liking and I’d forgotten to feed him something super smelly. 

Disaster hit when we stopped by Poppadoms to pick up our grub. It wasn’t ready, wouldn’t be ready for at least 20 minutes. 

It was then I realised how hungry I was!

Luckily I contained my hanger until I got back to the car.

I went into melt down mode. My brain couldn’t handle it. It was like my Tetris had got out of sync and now nothing would fit in to place. 

Harry came to my aid. 

“Come on Mum, let’s go to the beach, burn off some time, then our food will be ready before you know it”

Oli chimed in that he thought this was a good idea too so without a thought, off we went to Sand Bay.

The sun was setting and there was a row of pink fluffy candyfloss clouds. We drove the whole way along the front and then decided to pop into the first car park on the corner, mainly because Harry needed a wee. 

We were surprised there were so many other cars in there so Harry had to run further a field to find some privacy. 

We had a run around on the beach, in the wind and the tide was in so it looked all sparkly. 

There’s a bit of a drop at the beginning and Oli shouted to Harry that they should reenact a scene from Titanic, Oli getting to be Rose and Harry Jack. I wasn’t so sure I would trust a child with ADHD and Dyspraxia behind me on a ledge whilst he was mid hypo, but hey ho. 

I’m still wondering when Oli would have watched Titanic! 

Anyways our 20 minutes were soon swallowed up and it was time to head back to the car. 

That’s when I could smell the distinct aroma of weed. 

We were walking towards the cars, all in a line, facing our way, windows steamed up and some rocking. 

Oh dear, we’d hit a dogging site! 

“Come on boys, back in the car, super quick before our Indian gets cold!”

The rest of our night didn’t disappoint and it still didn’t stop Harry from getting up at 06:00!! Happy Sunday x

Love and hugs, kisses and wishes xxx 

Xxxx