My Feel Good Friday

I joined in with this with Lucy but not sure if my link worked. It is simple all you have to do it just write a little blog about something that made you feel good that week wheather it be big or small.

Doing the job i do can be stressful at times but is also so rewarding. The children always make you smile. The thing that made me feel good this week was one of the babies. We have twin boys at work who were once my key children when i worked in the baby room. When i went in yesterday i was talking to them. When i walked out the room and said bye  and one of them blew me a kiss it made my day. It is his new thing and it was the thing that made me smile for the rest of the day. It is the simple things that can make you feel so good wheather it is a smile, a wave or this. So all i have to say to that is i love my job :).

Newcastle to London to Oxford and back again

Wow almost a month since i last blogged can't believe it but life has been pretty hectic lately. This blog is what i had intended to do two weeks ago but never quite got round to it but you know what they say,  better late than never.

I said in a previous blog that my sister was moving to Oxford for an apprentiship and she did two weeks ago today. Now Oxford is about a five hour drive. However, we were let down at the last minute by my brother so we had to make our own way there. We were out of our house for 23 hours and about 20 of those were spent traveling. We went in 4 taxis, two coaches, two trains and 4 underground trains. To say it was a tiring day is an understatment lol.

We had been at a wedding the night before which we had to leave early. I had debated going to bed but the thought of going to bed and having to be up again about midnight did not go down well so i decided to stay up with Larnie. We got a taxi from my house at 12:30am over to central station to get our coach to London and it was freezing. Whilst we were waiting we got our laughs watching all the drunks attempting to walk in a straight line it was quite amusing. We boarded the bus and no sooner had we left Newcastle i was out like a light. I woke up when we stopped, grabbed a drink and as soon as the bus started moving i fell asleep again which suprised me really as i sometimes find it hard to sleep on a bus properly. Anyway, woke up just as we were driving in to London. We also arrived in London earlier than we were due which was good. When we were heading out of the coach station i bumped in to my friend Angela who had also just arrived in London we had a quick chat then had to say goodbye and head off.

Once we had, had some breakfast we had to head straight to Paddington to get our train to Oxford. This mean two underground trains. Along with that we had two big suitcases, a weekend bag and our handbags so it was a bit akward but not one person offered to help just barged past which really annoyed me. We eventualy made it to Paddington in one piece think we may have ran a few people's toes over but we did say excuse me lol. The train was huge and of course we had to walk right along the platform to get on. We had reserved table seats on the train and had quite a grumpy old man sitting opposite us. He kept staring at us and gave me a filthy look because i plugged my phone charger in. Well thats what the sockets are for! Had to bite my tounge as i was tempted to say that to him.

Arriving in Oxford we did not havea clue where to start so we decided the best thing to do would be to get a taxi. The taxi driver had never heard of the place we were wanting to go thank god for a sat nav lol. We had quite a scenic taxi ride through the country and i think it was then it finaly started to sink in that we would be going home minus Larnie. After about 40 mins we arrived at the farm. We met Emma who showed us around the farm, and the cottage Larnie is living in. She was lovely and made me mum feel so much more at ease. We also met the farmer who lives next door to Larnie. We helped her unpack then it was time to say goodbye as my mum and i had to get back in to Oxford to get our train back in to London. Larnie was fine but me and my mum bawled our eyes out. Back in the taxi we got, minus Larnie and all her luggage lol. At the station we grabbed something to eat and sat and had that whilst waiting for our train. The train journey back was quiet and tiring i just wanted to go to sleep.

We arrived back in to London and went for the tube back to Victoria i feel like i have a better idea of where i am going on the underground now so it was a lot easier probably due to not having much luggage too. Back in Vctoria we grabbed a sandwhich and a drink from boots to take back on the bus with us. The station was extremly busy as was our bus. We got on the bus and headed home at 4:30pm. On the way out of London just before we got on the motorway we seen Wembley stadium and it is huge lol.

It was a rather eventful bus journey home. We had only been on the road about an hour when someone came down and said to the driver someone was trying to smoke in the toilet. He had to pull the bus over and go and sort it out. Apparently this bloke was also drinking which is against the law on the bus. We eventualy got moving again then when we got to Wooley Edge we had to stay on the bus as we were so late then they found another problem with the bus. Once it was sorted we got on our way again. By this point my legs really hut and i needed to stretch them. We got to leeds later than we should have and had to wait for another bus as there was a passanger on there that needed to get on our bus. At this point we were extremly tired and just wanted to get home. No matter how hard i tried after that i just couldnt seem to sleep any more. We eventualy got in to Newcastle at 11:10pm and jumped in a taxi home where we just fell in to bed.

As i said it was two weeks ago Larnie moved down and i don't think it has quite sunk in yet. I still expect her to come bounding in from the stables. She is really happy though and loving it. I am really pleased she has settled and i am hoping to get down in a few weeks to see her.

A New Start

I posted a blog a few weeks ago about things changing at work and how i was moving in to the 1-2 room. However since then things changed again. I was asked two weeks ago how i felt about moving in to the ladybird 2-3s room until the new member off staff starts. I went home and thought long and hard about it I use to work in there a few years ago but had issues with someone who i worked with and we did not get on. She however has left so i agreed. If i had said no it would have meant i would still be in the bumble bee room 0-1 and if im honest i was getting bored so decided it was time for a change.

Today was my first day back in the 2-3's and i feel like i have totaly settled back in. I was nice last friday as i went in for an hour and felt like i got a chance to bond with my new key children. I am still getting my head around the routine but everything else is going so well. It is also nice to see the children that have recently turned two and moved up many of which were babies when they started. One little boy this morning leant over and kissed me on the cheek. It was the first time i had met him and it made me smile for the rest of the day. A few children i had see once or twice in the garden but did not really know them properly but they all made me feel so welcome lol.

On Wednesday we are doing a sponsored walk which is our big toddle. All the children get involved, we walk to the palk, have a walk around the park then have a picnic and all the children get medal and certificate. Every year also has a theme and this year it is animals which sounds good but many outfits are not really nursery appropriate so i have done my own. I am going as a ladybird because i work in the ladybird room lol. I have a red tutu, black leggings/top and ladybird wings/boppers. All we need is for the sun to shine and i am sure it will be a lovely day :).

A new start is what i was ready for. I will miss my babies but i am still in the same building so if i get a chance i will pop in and see them. I have a health studies qualification so i am starting my nvq in childcare in 3 weeks so all is looking good.

Dancing-Annaleece and Jasmine

When i am tweeting i tend to tweet a lot about dancing and well talk a lot about dancing in general. As i said in one of my earlier blogs, my cousin Annaleece has started dancing. Thought i would write a short blog to keep you all up to date with how they are doing.

As i said Annaleece and Jasmine are going to be dancing in blackpool in october. As they will be dancing in the under tens, they will be doing Boston Two step and Lilac Waltz. Both of these are easy dances and they have picked them up really well and do them really well. However, at the end of each of these dances and many more is something called the 'Old Time Waltz' this is probably the hardest dance you learn when doing this form of dancing. They can do it but not so well and never seem to be able to go in a straight line bless them. Yeasterday was quite an amusing lesson as Louise made them go through it for most of the hour lesson. I often help her but was sitting watching yeasterday. Their facial expressions reminded me so much of myself and Larnie when we learnt this dance. She had them going through each step one by one over and over. It only consists of two steps so needless to say it does get quite boring. After going through it, they managed to do it at the end of one of their dances and were both very proud. They have also started to learn a few more dances and are doing particularly well with their 'Midnight Tango' hate to admit but i think  struggled quite a bit when i learnt that one.

I am so proud of how far they have both come especialy Annaleece as Jasmine had been dancing since she was 3 so has a bit more experience. She used to dance solo so i guess now having a partner is very different to her too. I shall keep you udated with how they are getting on in a few weeks time. I shall leave you with a few pics from yeasterday. Annaleece is dancing in her socks as she forgot her shoes!

Life-Job

Growing up i always wanted to be a nurse. I went to college straight from school and done a National Diploma in Health Studies. I applied for uni but never got in and after a placement i got a job at the nursery i am at now. Working in a nursery was always something else i wanted to do. It is something i love doing. his is what keeps me so busy week in week out working anything from 40-50 hours but it's a good job i love it.

At the moment i work in the 0-1 room which is the first room i worked in when i first started almost four years ago. I have also worked all through the nursery and ran the pre-school room for quite some time a few years ago. One of the girls who i used to work with has unfortunatly left as she is getting married and moving away. On Friday i was asked how i felt about moving in to the 1-2's room and i am extremly happy to do so. There has been a few of us moving around and i am so glad of the change. As much as i love working with the babies and enjoying lots of cuddles, it can get quite boring from time to time. I think that is why i was starting to get kind of fed up i am ready for a change. The girl i am going to be working with has worked at the nursery for just over a year now but on supply, however she starts her permenant job next week so i am looking foward to working with her. I have also been asked to take a lead in the room. I feel pleased that i am able to do so. I am also organising child safety week so visits from the police and the fire brigade.

As the qualification i have is health studies, i have decided to do an nvq and get my child care qualification. I am starting this in June. I had such a lovely day on Friday and i feel like everything is going right. I am really loving my life right now :).

Circus Hilarious

The circus i remember going to quite a few when i was growing up and so many happy memories. Well last night i went to see the circus but not your normal circus, circus hilarious and i have to admit it lives up to the title it was hilarious. My cheeks and sides hurt from laughing so much.

Every year in panto over christmas, here in Newcastle there is a father and son double act Clive Webb and Danny Adams and well circus hilarious is their own show. Seen it a few years ago and it has just got better. I had planned on getting tixs for sunday however, my mum entered a competition in the local paper and won 4 tixs so we took Nathan and Annaleece. As we won the comp we were on the guestlist and got to meet Danny and Clive which was great. Annaleece and i met him in jan he walked in to costa and she shouted 'it's Robin Hood and he hasn't got his tights on.' The panto last year was Robin Hood and their was a joke about his tights. When we met them last night Annaleece was pretending she was shy which she is far from. Nathan said to Danny 'where are your tights?' He laughed and said 'i don't where tights' Nathan of course respnded with 'yea but when you were Robin Hood you did'. Myself and Larnie just stood at the side laughing. They were great with the kids and had a pic too.

The show is not your normal kind of circus, yes the have acrobats but not so many clowns. They also have dancers and singers and of course some magical illusions that wowed everyone. It does not matter where you sat it was guarenteed you were going to get soaked. A lot of things from their show they put in the panto and it never gets old. There is a part where he drops a bomb in the piano and it is supposed to explode. Last night however it did not and as we had seen it before we knew it was not meant to happen. Needless to say they laughed so much. You have to take it all with a pinch of salt as they pick on everyone especialy bald men lol (clive is also bald). There was a man last night and sat with a face like a smacked backside to put it politley i mean lighten up your at the circus.

Well this was a bit of a random blog but you know me lol. Look up circus Hilarious and if it comes anywhere near where you live go see it you won't regret it. They even added an extra week due to a phenmomenal demand for tixs so we are going again next week.

Nathan and Annaleece with Danny and Clive

London

Capital of our country. They say it is like marmite you either love it or hate it and well i love it. I have been going to London since i was really young as we used to have family down there and i never seem to get bored of it. I went down last week with my little sis as it was her 18th on thursday. Loads of people have been asking if we had a good time and what we got up to so thought i'll do a blog about it.

Wednesday:

We normaly get the train down but it was going to be a lot more expensive than we had first thought so we decided to re-live some childhood memories and get the overnight coach down. We left Newcastle at 1:15 am and arrived in London about 8 which was a little later as the traffic was manic. We were not quite sure where our hotel was so decided to get the undeground All was going well we got to the platform, thought we were on the wrong one so crossed over to the other side only to find out we were on the right platform all along. Once we got off the underground we started walking and ended up getting lost. Turns out we were on the right road just walking in the wrong direction so we flagged down a taxi and eventualy made it to our hotel about 9:30. We got changed, freshened up and headed straight out. We decided to go for breakfast and by the time we got back in to town it was nearing lunchtime. I have never been so relieved to find a Mcdonalds. After we were fed and watered we decided to head to Harrods. We ended uppending about 3 hours in there think the best part had to be the toy department it was fab even bought a few hello kitty things for my little diva for her birthay. From Harrods we went to Harvey Nics was not really impressed tbh ended up buying a Cibata and some Biscotta which we couldnt open. Enough of the posh shops, we found H&M. I tried on 3 gorgeous dresses one was to big, the other to small and my favourite was a little tight on the chest i was gutted as i really fell in love with it for the wedding i am at in June. Looked here for one and they dont have them. We left there and started walking we ended up back at Victoria grabbed some food and jumed on the bus back to our hotel. We got back, in to our pjs and had a chilled night. Apparently i passed out in bed at 9:30 i was exhausted. I woke up about 4:30 and startd decorating our room with banners and balloons.

Larnie was moaning we didnt have a kettle, opened what we thought was a wadrobe and in there we had a kettle, sink, microwave and a fridge.

In the toy department in harrods they had a lovely moving display of steiff bears. They also had huge teddy bears. Couldnt resist having my photo taken with one.

Thursday:

Larnie's actual birthday. She woke up to lots of banners and balloons. Once she had woke herself up properly she was bombarded with pressies off me and my mum which she sat and opened. When she opened one of the bracelets off me her face was a picure. She had been looking at similar ones in Harrods the day before and i had stood laughing at her. We went for breakfast then headed straight out to Madame Tussauds and as we bought tixs from out hotel we jumped the massive que and got straight in. We made our way round and on the first floor there was a model of Robert Pattison in his own little room i'm sorry but i dont get what the big attraction is tbh. We made our way around having our pics taking with the various waxworks. We got to the movie stars part and i was in heaven there was the front of the ship and Captain Jack Sparrow my man haha could not resist having my picture with him. We continued our way around and when we got in to the sports stars had a little game of F1 and i beat :Larnie lol. We also went on the taxi ride which takes you through the history of London it had to be the best part lol. When we came out we headed for lunch, stopped off at Harrods then went back to our hotel to get ready to go out for food and to see Billy Elliott. We decided on Pizza Express it was the first time i had been and i really enjoyed it so if you have not been give it a try. We went to see Billy Elliott at the Victoria Palace Theatre it was gorgeous both inside and out. When we went in we were handed a badge. It turns out it was it's 6th birthday of being on in London which made it all the more special. The show got a standing ovation more than once through out and i would highly recomend it and am planning on going to see it again in the future.

Friday:

Unfortunatly our last day in London. We left the hotel early and headed to victoria to leave our cases and headed to Oxford street to do some Shopping. We had a browse in Selfridges and randomly bought a bottle of coke in a limited edition bottle to celebrte it's 125th birthday as you do. We made our way down one side and back up the other.We still had a few hours to spare so headed to Hyde Park. Now as it is such a big park we decided to hire a bike each. The have the bike parks all over London and it is only £1 for 24 hous. Once we got ourselves sorted we jumped on our bikes and went for a ride. We rode all over Hyde Park down by the lake and everywhere else stopping to take pictures. The sun was shinning and it was fantastic. As for sandals, a dress and leggings, not the best thing for riding a bike lol but i did get a lovely tan on my feet shame about the strap marks hehe. After out lovely ride we had to head back to Victoria to collect our bags and head for our coach. It does not matter where you go, you always get ignorant people yet down there they are a lot worse. I said excuse me to some people in the coach station yet they ignored me so i ran over their toes with my suitcase! Once we got on the que for out coach we got talking to some girls on a hen do heading up to Newcastle and we were laughing as some women was trying to push her way past and jump the que. By the time we got on the bus, we were both in really random moods and larnie was making the malteaser box talk and putting it on her head. Call it bordem but we hadnt even left London lol. By the time we got to Sheffield the coach half emptied so we had a seat to ourselves and slept most of the way back. We eventuly arrived back in Newcstle at 11:30pm and it was freezing. We stood in a taxi que with our snuggy blankets wrapped around us. Eventualy got home and flopped in to bed at midnight.

The giant Jelly Babies at Marble Arch

A very tiring but fantastc 3 days. There is loads more pics on facebook too.