Kids, cars and all the rest

Well for starters Chloe's been sick, just a dose of the flu so nothing too serious but it has been a lurgy filled week.

She better now and thankfully back to school in time for her trip to Carrickfergus Castle because her teacher has a good two weeks of lessons planned around that one trip.

The car went in for MOT and failed, our little darling of a car which never fails us and never lets us down is in a bad way. This led to a week of

1. panic
2. phoning around for quotes, including our car guy and all mechanics in the family
3. concluding that we couldn't afford to have it fixed
4. considering whether we could fix it ourselves
5. that would be a no
6. SORN the car
7. apply for a tax refund
8. and relax, because
   
   we're not exactly in any dire and desperate need for a car at the minute and I'll be able to put my hands on something with four wheels for Totally Bazaar next month.
   
   Speaking of which, I'm very nearly ready at the minute, always good to be finished with three weeks to spare. Think of all that lovely time spent panicking that I haven't enough stock or the display looks like guff and all the fiddling and fidgeting and general faffery I'll get done between now and 3rd April:)
   
   I've just the giveaway to put the finishing touches to now. Totally Bazaar is on Mothers Day this year so I'll be giving away free entry with every purchase to win a gorgeous handmade bath and bedtime hamper. As I say, just a few finishing touches and I'll give more details but suffice it to say, it's proper "send the hubs to the cinema with the kids, pop on some music, grab a book, wine and lock the front door so they can't get back in" luxury.
   
   All the cats in my neighbourhood seem to have taken up residence in my garage since we put the cat flap in for our cat.
   
   I'm a bit sick and tired of chasing cats.
   
   Some of these cats really should be on diets, a big ginger one in particular. If I can't get hold of a car for Totally Bazaar, I could probably ride the cat stock and all, it's that big.
   
   We've whittled Chloe's birthday party back somewhat. She originally wanted a big party but after we went to a big party last weekend it quickly became apparent that Chloe prefers smaller groups. She got into it eventually and really enjoyed herself but she probably doesn't want to spend the first 20 minutes of her own party locked to my hip so we're having a smaller do at home with about 10 of them and her teacher's happy to let them all have cake pops on 4th in school so we're all good.
   
   And finally ... I had Chloe's parent teacher meeting on Wednesday (her first day off sick, she can pick her days let me tell you). The good news is that it's all good news. She's really come out of her shell this year and volunteers to speak to the whole class more often than she used to. Her attention can be a bit off at times but her teacher said that's a bit like pointing out that kids like sweets, she's definitely not the only one in the class and she's improved since before Christmas. She's had a dramatic improvement in her reading level, though admittedly she still doesn't enjoy it as much as other subjects but the best news is that she's way ahead, a year or twos lessons ahead in maths. I couldn't have hoped for better news, but we will keep working on the attention span.