I took this photo on North Berwick beach in Scotland last year. That rock in the background is the Bass Rock which is covered in gannets, 150,000 of them!

This week, the gloomy cold weather has taken it’s toll and, I’ve been looking back and thinking about that one happy day in August where we pottered on the beach in our shorts and took a boat ride round the Bass Rock and discovered how bad gannet poo smells.

Now go and take a look at the other landscapes in the gallery this week …

Our choices are;

Scotland – Last Summer we stayed in Edinburgh and had an absolute blast.  As well as the 6 and 7 year old we took the Teenager and her friend. Despite the age gaps (teenage and littlies) we managed to please everyone.  We spent most of our time taking in the Edinburgh Festival, which takes place in various venues around the city and also on the streets.  The street theatre was amazing and kept the children occupied for hours. We also spent a very sunny day on North Berwick beach which included a bouncy boat trip around the Bass Rock. We stayed in a  log cabin, on the outskirts of Edinburgh, with a hot tub which was fabulous.

Lake District – We’ve camped in the Lakes for the past five years.  We’ve been to a few excellent campsites and go as a group, usually with three to four other families and it is great fun. We’ve been incredibly lucky with the weather and the children have had a taste of freedom which they don’t get at home.  There’s something lovely, after a day in the great outdoors, about sleeping under canvas after putting the world to rights over a bottle of wine while watching shooting stars dart overhead.

Wales –   Teacher friend mother of 3 (soon to be 4) has been asking us to go away to a particular campsite in North Wales, right on the beach with camp fires.  It’s in the cool camping guide which means it gets booked up quickly. The only thing is, because it takes a while to get to we are planning on going for a week … which would be the longest camping trip we’ve been on.  Even I have limits about how long I can sleep on a blow up bed which deflates in the night. But after looking at her photos of her trip last year it’s definitely one we shouldn’t miss.

Cornwall – Which is somewhere we’ve never been before, as a family.  I went to Cornwall many years ago with a friend and her children.  There was so much to do and the weather was awesome throughout … and the beaches, oh the beaches *looks all wistful*.  The only thing  putting me off is the car journey from Leeds to Cornwall with a Teenager squashed between two small people.  A couple of hours I can stand, I am the Queen of distraction techniques, but even I draw the line at 6 hours in the car.  If we decide to camp, as well, that’s 6 hours, with a car packed to the rafters with stuff, a dog between my legs and a pot of chilli/curry or stew on my knee. A recipe for disaster …  but those beaches …

So, decisions, decisions … where should we go?

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The Husband : That’s because you’re like me, always over thinking. Your brother, on the other hand, is just like Mummy …

7 year old: What? Gormless?

The Husband : No, he wanders round in his own little world.

Actually, I think he’s wrong, I do wander round in my own little world but I also understand how she feels when her head is brimming.  Recently my head has been full of things that I need to do and remember, it feels like every time I stop to think about just one thing that I can’t.  It’s like a tornado in there.  And the faster the tornado goes the less likely I am to remember anything at all.  I need somewhere to store it all so I can think clearly, like an external hard drive.

When the 7 year old says she has so much stuff in her head that it hurts I get it. It makes me panicky and I wonder if I might spontaneously combust so I can’t imagine what it does to her little head.

I need an expert list writer to come and sit with me so I can offload. Like Barbara Cartland, complete with full garish multi-coloured make-up,  I could sit on a chaise longue and witter away whilst some poor browbeaten woman types everything up for me.  Hey presto a book, except the end result of my witterings would be dinner money being paid on time, school trip slips going back, review posts being written, the school bus being booked on the right days, emails being responded to, shopping lists being compiled, important social events making it into the diary, important appointments being kept, critical phone calls being made, library books, oh sheesh don’t mention the library books … it goes on and on and on.

So, people, I need tips … tips on how to de-clutter my mind … and if I’ve promised to do something for you, don’t worry, it’s coming … just as soon as the tornado slows to a gentle breeze.

Polly Price’s Totally Secret Diary : On Stage in America by Dee Shulman. Published in paperback, by Red Fox, February 02, 2012, priced £4.99

Polly Price is SO embarrassed by her actor mother, who loves to draw attention to herself and hog the limelight. Now Polly’s worst nightmare has come true as her mother heads to America to appear in a stage show and Polly has to go with her! Not only that, but she’s forced to hang around with the young stars of the show, who aren’t exactly lining up to be her friends. Read Polly’s wonderfully funny diary as she records the mishaps and mayhem backstage, before all of a sudden the spotlight is on her!

The 7 year old loved reading this “funny and exciting” book, she really enjoyed the cartoon format illustrations. Each page is set out like a diary with illustrations and handwritten notes. She found it difficult to put down, reading it in two evenings, before bed.  Since finishing the book the 7 year old has picked it up several times to read again and is now pestering me for the other books in the series … Polly Price’s Totally Secret Diary: Reality TV Nightmare … and then we’ll have to wait until August for the next one … Polly Price’s Totally Secret Diary: Mum In Love.

We would definitely recommend this book for anyone aged 7 upwards and we look forward to more books in the series.

“Paperchase” was the answer.

So we ‘did’ Paperchase.  She took her time before choosing a pencil case, book, pencils and pencil sharpener.  Then she demanded that we go to a cafe for hot chocolate and cake.  Half way through her hot chocolate, clutching her pencil case she declared it “the best day ever”.

It’s not everyone’s idea of heaven … but it’s hers.

My wife and I were very pleased to given a Morphy Richards Flavour Savour slow cooker to try out. It seemed a convenient way of cooking meals for our still busy life; despite being of retirement age I still work as a driving instructor and returning home late at night is a way of life. So it’s wonderful to walk in the front door to a house suffused with appetising smells an evening meal that is ready whatever the hour.

Our lives follow the traditional pattern; my wife cooks and I don’t. But fascinated by this new piece of kitchen equipment I decided to road test it myself. As a cook I am more Michelin tyre than Michelin Star. My signature dish is Chilli con Carne and my other edible dish is scrambled eggs.

As luck would have it Chilli con Carne seemed ideal to put the Morphy Richards Flavour Savour slow cooker to the test. Prior to my career as a driving instructor I spent over 40 years as a professional designer. With my designer head on I was struck by the elegant shape which not only makes the cooker look good on the kitchen work top (alongside our Morphy Richards kettle and toaster) but makes the pan very easy to clean. There is also the clever practicality of the way the pan can be separated from the heating component to be used on a separate hob. Although I have only delved into the manual as far as the ‘Easy set-up guide’ I found the instructions easy to follow and the digital display simple to understand with numbers big enough to see without my spectacles.

I browned the mince and onions, threw in the kidney beans and plum tomatoes and sprinkled the powder stuff gave it a quick stir and left it to slow cook and set off to visit a member of our family to help out with a small crisis. Fortunately, I had set the cooking timer for eight hours; predictably resolving such predicaments are subject to mission creep. So when we did eventually arrive back home we enjoyed a beautifully cooked meal.

While writing this I have ventured further into the instruction booklet and discovered some interesting menus which I think I will try out. Perhaps I may be awarded three Michelin tyres.

The 6 year old spent most of his time riding a small quad bike or being pulled on a sledge, by Mad Uncle A, on a big quad bike.

When the lambs arrive we’re hoping to take ownership of one. We’ll show the children, first hand, where their Sunday roast comes which should be an interesting experience …

Show your loved one your sweeter side this Valentine’s Day by treating him or her to a 100g lovetub – or  even show yourself that little bit of love! lovetub is a warm, rich, melt-in-your-mouth pudding which can be found in the dessert chiller in selected Sainsbury’s stores!

Available in both Sticky Toffee Pudding and Chocolate Pudding flavours, lovetub can be microwaved to lip-smacking perfection in just 30 seconds, and eaten straight from the tub. Usually priced at only £1.29, it’s a Valentine’s treat that’s easy on the pocket!

To celebrate the tubbing of love I’m giving you the chance to win a fantastic Valentine’s Day hamper worth £60, including Moet Chandon Champagne, Hotel Chocolat Chocolates, a £10 M&S food voucher, a bear and lovetub samples. 

All you have to do is leave a comment below.  A winner will be picked on Friday 10th of February. (Open to UK Residents only).

For a further entry tweet the following;

I want to win the lovetub hamper with @LauraAWNTYM http://bit.ly/wlFvXE #competition #win

lovetub have also just launched a promotion through Facebook to give fans the chance to get a free 100g pudding from their local Sainsbury’s store (they have 15,000 puddings to giveaway in total before the 7^th of February). The lovetub Facebook page is www.facebook.com/lovetubpuddings 

You can also now subscribe to ‘Are We Nearly There Yet, Mummy?’ using the orange ‘subscribe’ button above

Happy Birthday!

Your confidence is rocketing and you are brimming with adventure.  You’ve kept me on your toes for six whole years … Grandma still can’t watch you when you play in the garden, all that jumping and whizzing around makes her nervous.

After having your third set of grommets put in and your adenoids removed five months ago you can not only hear but you have also stopped snoring.

You like things ‘just so’ down to the sheets on your bed, which underpants you prefer to wear and where the sauce has to be on the plate.  You get that from your Dad. The clumsy bit? … that’s all my fault.

You and your sister seem to argue more often than not at the moment. Last week, though, I woke up to find you both snuggled up in your bed chatting and giggling. It more than made up for all the arguing.

You seem to be turning into an entertainer … mainly for the family.  Your confidence isn’t such that you’ll perform for just anyone yet.  You like to make people laugh while maintaining a dead pan expression. That is a good thing. A lover of slapstick comedy, you recreate amusing scenes for your sister.  It makes her laugh so hard that her tummy hurts.

School is a necessary evil, you get on and do what is expected of you, your reading has taken off and you have lots of friends.  You live for playtime, PE and the weekend. “PE is great” you said today “But getting dressed after PE is boring” and then shortly after “How many days until the weekend?”.

You enjoy your own company … taking yourself off to just be, playing a game, drawing a football match, doing stunts in the garden or playing with the dogs.

As you turn six your favourite things are: Football, the Xbox, running, jumping, being outside, pain au chocolat, planets, snooker, having your duvet tucked in a certain fashion before you go to sleep, your bike, biffing with your big cousin F.

Keep entertaining, my beautiful blue eyed boy, make people laugh until they can laugh no more. Be your own person and look after your sister. Six will be a breeze.

All my love

Mum x