CharlieBeth's "My Life As Mumma Walker"

Daddys boys , a photo by chiggster on Flickr. It's Fathers Day! So have treated us all to a Frankies & Bennies over in Morecambe.... and very yummy it was too (blown the diet on dough balls, woops!) Mark got his £18 mixed grill for FREE since we're a family of 4, even Jack (fussy-bum-non-eater) scoffed all his pizza and Tom nashed most of his pasta. Still a touch pricey, but if you can't spoil a daddy-of-2 on fathers day when can you?

Any one else seen these photos and said "That is simply awsome" I don't want to detract from the misery it must be causing people to live and work in the region, or around the world.... But WOW! All credit to the photographer that captured these shots.  http://totallycoolpix.com/2011/06/the-puyehue-cordon-caulle-volcanic-eruption/

Back in the day.... when I was still young and single (well, unmarried at least), and most of my friends where in the same situation, there would be late night phone calls of "Oh he's such an arsehole!" or "He's left me!" etc which would result in a banding together of friends with booze and chocolate and cigs. I thought those days where behind me. It's always seemed to me to be a teenage thing. Looks like I was wrong! I now seem to be entering an age where couples are splitting up. At 31 I have friends who have been divorced for some time, and some even more than once! I have friends who are now single parents. It's all a bit scary, and I wont pretend that me and hubby are 100% all the time (but who is?). I got a call from one friend the other night (lets not embarrass her by naming her in these days of Google searches etc) not long after my boys were in bed. The ex had been round to put their kid to bed and had been pretty unpleasant with my

Tom's big family part at my mums house went really really well. I am SO happy! It could have gone horribly wrong as both my mother-in-law and my father-in-law and family were in attendance... and there are issues there. BUT everyone behaved them selves, and (since my mum has a lovely big house with plenty of room) the two factions stayed in different room out of each others way while the rest of us milled happily between the two. It was all very diplomatic! :oD Tom got some lovely presents, cars and book and toys. All the things he really enjoys. Not to mention the BIG bags of choccy buttons! My mum and John know how to look after people too, there was loads of yummy food and plenty of drinks and things. Some of Johns family where there too; his aunt Joan, Joanne one of his daughters, her partner and their daughter Elissa. We have lovely weather too (good job coz it's raining hard today) so the kiddies could play out side, mainly Jack, Meggie and Elissa. Tom and Ben are

Awwwwwww! My Wee Tomska is a whole year old today! It's gone so fast, too fast. Isn't he a cracking lad though? Almost toddling too. He's had a fab birthday. Kathy and Jen came over for the day with their kiddies - it's half term so that made it even better. The 2 lads from across the road that are Jack's friends came over for a bit too. Tom seems to love all his presents. We gave him the Yojojo and Tinga Monkey toys from his Mame & Pape (they gave me the cash to buy him something he wanted), he got a car & garage set from Uncle Bob, Aunty Rach and Cousin Ben, Kathy & Katie (by coincidence) bought him some cars that are from the same set. How perfect is that? Jen, Adam & Conner game him a ride-on car that he already loves shuffling about on. From us he got mostly Weebles, along with a book and  DVD. He's played with everything and loved it all. Jack and the bigger kids spent most of the day chasing each other round and round. Tom and the y