Ben

The best news ever...yesterday my sister had her baby! A nine pound bouncing boy called Ben...he was brilliantly overcooked at 15 days late and is wonderfully aware and so sweet and calm. I have had my first adventure as an auntie - feeding, cuddling and then giving him back! (now I know what my sisters have enjoyed with my two)....Gorgeous. It was quite emotional knowing that he had arrived as it makes it very obvious that Dad is missing from the fun and love - I know he is watching so only had a little cry.

Alfie and Charlie did a star turn today and dressed up in their best clothes, including ties for them both and school cap and blazer for Alf, to go an meet their little cousin. Good to know that the need to wear the right attire for the right circumstance is flowing through them even down to the socks they chose.

Susie and Simon look elated and tired and it brought it back seeing Susie struggling to walk properly. I cuddled as much as I could before having to hand him over - would have been there all day.

This exciting news was slightly better than the middle of the week...

Jeff has been clearing the garden like a demon in preparation for a company that (weather permitting) arrive tomorrow to take the top 16 inches off the land. You may recall I put my back out badly attacking the brambles - but this was nothing on what happen to J...

On Wednesday he was outside, covered properly and wearing goggles as he used the full- powered strimmer on the brambles - all was going well until his goggles fell off. As he bent down to pick them up a stringy and violent branch snapped forward into his face. Eyes wide open...the thorns hit him square in the eyeball. Ouch I hear you cry! and ouch indeed.

He spent 3 hours in A & E whilst they put dye in his eye and washed them. 4 thorns in the eye that hurt and 2 in the one that didn't. He has been in horrible pain, which seems to be subsiding now - but being a man on a mission this hasn't kept him off Jack...

The land is now completley cleared of the detritus that was scattered everywhere - from old burnt out bonfires, brambles (long may they burn!) and every bit of nonsense we had been left. It looks so different - and massive! Even taking down the wire fences has had an effect on the scene around us. We have also found another shed - that is 5 now.

Tomorrow - as long as the gale doesn't arrive and according to Metcheck (our new best friend) it won't - we will have a gang of men coming to take the top soil off, add drainage and then leave us with a very muddy plot of land to re-sow with grass seed. This should hopefully stop the land feeling quite so bog-like and make it easier to manage in the future. We also have the iron railings arriving en masse tomorrow ready for Jeff's next great adventure of putting in paths and lines of demarcation in. All go here...

We have had the plans begun by the guy that did our last two houses and have decided to put in for a 4 bedroom house using the existing footprint of the house - effectively going up a level and adding a bit to the downstairs. The front of the house will appear as a 1 and 1/2 storey with small dormers whilst the back will be glass dormers across a proper second floor. Jeff and I normally bicker at this stage as to what we want with loads of tooing and froing - but there has to be something about this place - independently we both drew the same plan. Consensus hits the household.

We also played guest to twin 5 year olds this weekend for a sleepover. Wonderful - all in one room. The twins in the boys' beds and the boys sandwiched between Jeff and I. At 7 o'clock this morning one of the twins opening words were 'when can I get on the tractor jeff?' Priceless fun!

Muddy children, muddly dogs and muddy us...can't get much better. Oh yes you can-became Auntie Mimi!!!