Last night, my son came in screaming moments after he'd gone out to play across the road. He'd been so preoccupied with a gift he'd just received from his aunt that he walked out into the road without looking, and...

Well, you can guess what happened.

He was so SO lucky to have come out of it with only bruises and a sore leg! The driver of the van was so concerned and stayed until he was certain my son wasn't badly injured. I hardly remember what I did, except that I sobbed and insisted on stripping him to his underpants right in the open doorway until I knew for certain nothing was bleeding or broken.

So so lucky. And so unlike my son to cross the road without looking both ways first! I've installed road sense into him from the moment he could walk, so I can only believe he must have been too excited about his gift and the impending holidays.

I thank God that he is safe and well. Heaven knows what I'd have done if he'd been seriously hurt, or worse... I'm so glad that the driver had enough sense to drive through our road with caution and safe speed, since there are almost always children playing in the street. If the car had been one of the "boy racers" who speed through the road at night, I certainly wouldn't be here writing this post now.

Thank God for small mercies, and for keeping our children safe.

Today I took Dad to hospital, where at present he's being prepared to have major surgery on his spine. I hated leaving him there alone and nervous. These days, he seems so weak and sad, and pained. It hurts me to see him this way, so I know the operation he's having can only make him more comfortable than he is at present.

The picture above was taken when Dad was feeling much healthier, and this is always the way I remember him: seemingly invincible and happy. I do hope he's well enough for me to visit tomorrow evening during visiting hours. Now I feel so guilty that we're going on holiday this Saturday, as I won't be able to visit him after tomorrow, and I'm really anxious about him. If it wasn't for the kids, I'd have cancelled the holiday and stayed at home instead to be there when he needs his family close by. At least I'll be in Sheffield when he comes out, to help him at home while everyone else is at work.

Miss you Dad!. All my love and hopes for your swift recovery!

Today my little man spent an "induction day" at his new comprehensive school. I was so nervous for him! He still seems too young and small to be attending comprehensive!

But he dispelled all my fears when he met me in the car park at 3pm, all smiles and gossip about how much he'd enjoyed the day. He;s already made friends with some of his classmates and feels he knows his way around the maze of corridors, which is no small feat considering the size and scale of the school!

Only six weeks of holiday to go now before he's there full time! Still, we have to get through a summer of rain before then...

Technorati Tags: comprehensive | school | education | induction+day

Today my little man spent an "induction day" at his new comprehensive school. I was so nervous for him! He still seems too young and small to be attending comprehensive!

But he dispelled all my fears when he met me in the car park at 3pm, all smiles and gossip about how much he'd enjoyed the day. He;s already made friends with some of his classmates and feels he knows his way around the maze of corridors, which is no small feat considering the size and scale of the school!

Only six weeks of holiday to go now before he's there full time! Still, we have to get through a summer of rain before then...

Technorati Tags: comprehensive | school | education | induction+day

• Sheffield United F.C. Open Day - Bramhall Lane, Sheffield on Sunday the 29th of July 10am-3pm
• Flood Benefit Gig, Little Man Tate - The Plug, Sheffield, on Saturday the 4th of August.
• Floodstock Charity Weekend - The Leadmill, Sheffield on Saturday the 11th and Sunday the 12th of August.

Technorati Tags: chariband | charibags | sheffield | south+yorkshire | flood | appeal | charity

• Sheffield United F.C. Open Day - Bramhall Lane, Sheffield on Sunday the 29th of July 10am-3pm
• Flood Benefit Gig, Little Man Tate - The Plug, Sheffield, on Saturday the 4th of August.
• Floodstock Charity Weekend - The Leadmill, Sheffield on Saturday the 11th and Sunday the 12th of August.

Technorati Tags: chariband | charibags | sheffield | south+yorkshire | flood | appeal | charity

Despite today being so gloomy and overcast, I took the kids to Stannington Carnival for a much deserved day out. Here's some of the pictures I took with my cameraphone (apologies for the poor quality!):

Despite today being so gloomy and overcast, I took the kids to Stannington Carnival for a much deserved day out. Here's some of the pictures I took with my cameraphone (apologies for the poor quality!):

We were hoping to be able to spend our summer holidays in Tunisia this year, staying in our "holiday home" with all the kids (as my stepchildren haven't been with us for a couple of years now). But when we saw the prices for the flights, we were absolutely shocked! For a flight only from Manchester to Monastir during the summer holidays, the price is TRIPLE that which my husband paid to go last month, and double that of going the week before (thus missing a week of school).

Can you believe this???

I had hoped to take a photo of the websites we'd looked at in order to demonstrate these prices to you, but unfortunately it seems there are no longer flights available to Tunisia during the summer holidays (if I can get these up in the future, I will edit this post to include them).

Honestly, I am shocked that airlines can do this. I wouldn't want to take the children out of school to go on holiday, as they'd miss too much of their education. But the difference in cost for us is well over £1000 for the flights. Money which we would have wanted for spending money while we were there.

Travel-Rants.com includes a post about this, demonstrating an example of the rise in costs during the summer holidays most parents face. It's awful that holiday operators manage to get away with this,. Travel-rants suggests we band together to put pressure on MP's and airlines in the hope of changing this situation.

Unfortunately, we'll have to forgo Tunisia this summer. I am rather disappointed, as I was looking forward to seeing my Tunisian sisters (in law) again, and spending time away from this awful weather in the sun. I guess we'll have to look a little closer to home for something much cheaper instead. Either that, or we'll go in the Autumn half term instead, though from what I've seen so far, the costs will rise slightly that week too...

Technorati Tags: school+holidays | prices | tour+operators | flights

We were hoping to be able to spend our summer holidays in Tunisia this year, staying in our "holiday home" with all the kids (as my stepchildren haven't been with us for a couple of years now). But when we saw the prices for the flights, we were absolutely shocked! For a flight only from Manchester to Monastir during the summer holidays, the price is TRIPLE that which my husband paid to go last month, and double that of going the week before (thus missing a week of school).

Can you believe this???

I had hoped to take a photo of the websites we'd looked at in order to demonstrate these prices to you, but unfortunately it seems there are no longer flights available to Tunisia during the summer holidays (if I can get these up in the future, I will edit this post to include them).

Honestly, I am shocked that airlines can do this. I wouldn't want to take the children out of school to go on holiday, as they'd miss too much of their education. But the difference in cost for us is well over £1000 for the flights. Money which we would have wanted for spending money while we were there.

Travel-Rants.com includes a post about this, demonstrating an example of the rise in costs during the summer holidays most parents face. It's awful that holiday operators manage to get away with this,. Travel-rants suggests we band together to put pressure on MP's and airlines in the hope of changing this situation.

Unfortunately, we'll have to forgo Tunisia this summer. I am rather disappointed, as I was looking forward to seeing my Tunisian sisters (in law) again, and spending time away from this awful weather in the sun. I guess we'll have to look a little closer to home for something much cheaper instead. Either that, or we'll go in the Autumn half term instead, though from what I've seen so far, the costs will rise slightly that week too...

Technorati Tags: school+holidays | prices | tour+operators | flights

Today we went shopping for my little man's birthday presents. Since much of Meadowhall is still closed due to the recent floods, it was rather busy and I had to park in the multi storey. You may be wondering why this is such a big deal for me? Well, unfortunately I suffer from vertigo. Such an irrational fear, I'm sure you'll agree! But each ramp we climbed to find the empty spaces my heart beat faster, my palms became more sweaty... By the time we found a space on the roof, I almost felt sick!

I wasn't always so afraid of heights though. In my youth, I was always the one wanting to go on the highest roller coaster, climb trees, fly in planes... Vertigo seemed to suddenly creep up on me, and I didn't realise it until one Christmas when my little man wanted me to take him up a fairground slide (the type which goes round and round a small tower). When we reached the top, I almost collapsed with fear. I felt dizzy and strangely frightened, while my son happily climbed up and slid all the way down alone. He asked me then, as my little Angel did today: "Why are you so scared, mummy?"

So I tried to do a brave thing, and walked to the edge of the car park to take the photograph of the city you see above. Just to show my daughter that there really is nothing to be afraid of!

Technorati Tags: vertigo sheffield fear+of+heights

Here in South Yorkshire so many families have been devastated by recent floods. Many are still homeless as their homes are uninhabitable.

Chariband, who raise funds for a number of charities in this region, will be donating 25p of the sale of each Charibag sold to the Lord Mayor's Flood Appeal funds. This fund will be used to help local flood victims rebuild their lives and homes after this terrible event.

A wide range of bags are available, from reusable shoppers in many colours, to student bags and even child school bags. A new range will also be released on Friday 27th of July at Crystal Peaks shopping centre in Sheffield. Charibags are available to purchase online, and cost as little as £2!

Why not head on over to Chariband now to see the full range? Not only will you be getting a great new bag, you'll be helping a very worthy cause!

Technorati Tags: chariband | charibags | sheffield | floods | appeal | charity | lord+mayor

Here in South Yorkshire so many families have been devastated by recent floods. Many are still homeless as their homes are uninhabitable.

Chariband, who raise funds for a number of charities in this region, will be donating 25p of the sale of each Charibag sold to the Lord Mayor's Flood Appeal funds. This fund will be used to help local flood victims rebuild their lives and homes after this terrible event.

A wide range of bags are available, from reusable shoppers in many colours, to student bags and even child school bags. A new range will also be released on Friday 27th of July at Crystal Peaks shopping centre in Sheffield. Charibags are available to purchase online, and cost as little as £2!

Why not head on over to Chariband now to see the full range? Not only will you be getting a great new bag, you'll be helping a very worthy cause!

Technorati Tags: chariband | charibags | sheffield | floods | appeal | charity | lord+mayor

Over at Rocks in my Dryer, Shannon has posted her "5 question" meme, which I thought would be fun to answer here. So, here are my questions and answers, some of which were a little tricky to answer (especially with the kids arguing in the background!) but here goes:

If you could only eat one food for the rest of your life, what would it be?

Um, I'd hate to have to eat only one food forever! That would be so boring, not to mention unhealthy! But if I have to choose, it would be "Lift": it's a Tunisian dish made with meat, lots of spinach, garlic, tomatoes and chickpeas. Can I still have some French bread to go with that..?

What's the most nerve-racking "close call" you've ever had?

This would probably have to be an incident which happened some years ago when my little man was still a toddler. We'd just moved into a new flat after some troubles, and were both exhausted. Since I didn't have a cot or proper bed for my little man to sleep in, I tucked him up in my double bed and went to watch some TV in the lounge. I was so so tired that I fell asleep right there.

When I woke up a few hours later, I went to check on my son. But he wasn't there. I called his name over and over, and when he didn't answer I began to panic: it was a new place for both of us, and I was worried that he'd done himself a mischief. Then I noticed the front door was slightly ajar. I ran out onto the landing and started screaming for him, running around the block like a madwoman thinking someone had kidnapped my son. Eventually, I went back inside to call the police when I noticed a lump in the bed covers. Upon checking it out, I realised my little man was just huddled beneath, and he'd been there all along! I felt like such a fool!

Name five features your ultimate dream house would have.

The dream house we'd build when we win the lottery? Oh yes, I've already thought this one through! We'd have:

1. A bedroom for each member of our family, plus two guest rooms, each with their own en-suite bathroom.
2. A huge library with a domed glass roof and shelves ceiling to floor.
3. A basement "cinema"
4. A wonderful huge garden including a labyrinth and secret "wild" area.
5. Staff to cook, clean and do the gardening

Perhaps too much to hope for, but I can dream...

Who has been the most influential non-relative in your life?

It's hard to define just one, so I'll have to make three: my English teacher at school, who I will always remember fondly; my tutor at college, who taught me to think for myself academically, and my good friend "C", who despite being my senior has taught me much about life and loyalty. If I could pick the most influential family member, it would have to be Dad!

What one non-physical feature would you most like to change about yourself?

Sometimes it would nice to be more selfish! I'm often told that I'm too apologetic, and always put others before myself, no matter what my feelings may be.

If you want to answer this meme yourself, head on over to Shannon's post and leave your link in her comments. Thanks for reading my answers!

Over at Rocks in my Dryer, Shannon has posted her "5 question" meme, which I thought would be fun to answer here. So, here are my questions and answers, some of which were a little tricky to answer (especially with the kids arguing in the background!) but here goes:

If you could only eat one food for the rest of your life, what would it be?

Um, I'd hate to have to eat only one food forever! That would be so boring, not to mention unhealthy! But if I have to choose, it would be "Lift": it's a Tunisian dish made with meat, lots of spinach, garlic, tomatoes and chickpeas. Can I still have some French bread to go with that..?

What's the most nerve-racking "close call" you've ever had?

This would probably have to be an incident which happened some years ago when my little man was still a toddler. We'd just moved into a new flat after some troubles, and were both exhausted. Since I didn't have a cot or proper bed for my little man to sleep in, I tucked him up in my double bed and went to watch some TV in the lounge. I was so so tired that I fell asleep right there.

When I woke up a few hours later, I went to check on my son. But he wasn't there. I called his name over and over, and when he didn't answer I began to panic: it was a new place for both of us, and I was worried that he'd done himself a mischief. Then I noticed the front door was slightly ajar. I ran out onto the landing and started screaming for him, running around the block like a madwoman thinking someone had kidnapped my son. Eventually, I went back inside to call the police when I noticed a lump in the bed covers. Upon checking it out, I realised my little man was just huddled beneath, and he'd been there all along! I felt like such a fool!

Name five features your ultimate dream house would have.

The dream house we'd build when we win the lottery? Oh yes, I've already thought this one through! We'd have:

1. A bedroom for each member of our family, plus two guest rooms, each with their own en-suite bathroom.
2. A huge library with a domed glass roof and shelves ceiling to floor.
3. A basement "cinema"
4. A wonderful huge garden including a labyrinth and secret "wild" area.
5. Staff to cook, clean and do the gardening

Perhaps too much to hope for, but I can dream...

Who has been the most influential non-relative in your life?

It's hard to define just one, so I'll have to make three: my English teacher at school, who I will always remember fondly; my tutor at college, who taught me to think for myself academically, and my good friend "C", who despite being my senior has taught me much about life and loyalty. If I could pick the most influential family member, it would have to be Dad!

What one non-physical feature would you most like to change about yourself?

Sometimes it would nice to be more selfish! I'm often told that I'm too apologetic, and always put others before myself, no matter what my feelings may be.

If you want to answer this meme yourself, head on over to Shannon's post and leave your link in her comments. Thanks for reading my answers!