Back to May...hip hip hooray!
| Published: 4th June 2008 21:56 |
I'm Lauretta - a 30-something mum to three year old Luis and eight month old Nadja. I'm a journalist and have lived in Petts Wood for the last 6 years. I'm married to Jamie - a great husband and father - and we now work together in offering you this site. Oh, and we've just started to offer local businesses speed networking events. My 'mum blog' as I call it, shares the stresses, strains (and the joys) of family life...
Saturday 31 May
I must have been the luckiest girl in Kent today! I took a ride in a hot air balloon - and not before time! Jamie had bought this as a surprise for me back in 2005 - the event had been cancelled 4 times due to either the weather or me being pregnant (twice). For our 2nd year wedding anniversary he had rebooked it, but the day came and again we couldn't go up because of the weather. Then out of the blue this morning they called to say they were flying this evening and that there were spaces! It was superb and I must have taken over 100 pictures. The highlight for me was flying low over the countryside mansions of Paddock Wood and Tonbridge, taking in the gleaming pools, stables, countless cars in the drive and beautifully landscaped gardens. Nice!
Friday May 30
We took the little man to Diggerland today to celebrate his 3rd birthday. How times fly. Three years seems like a year and a half - and although my memory isn't quite what it was a few years ago I remember as clear as crystal the day he was born. I expect most mother's remember it in fine detail. I would choose to forget most parts of the two day labour I faced. I cannot imagine that I would face anything that gruelling for the rest of my life. I digress. Diggerland was superb, although Luis did throw a tantrum when he was told he was too young for the go-karts. Meanwhile, I enjoyed regressing to my youth as I span round in a huge bucket driven by a 17 year old. It made me feel old.
Wednesday May 21
I've been watching The Apprentice and I'm hooked. It's one of those programmes that I wish ran throughout the year rather than a few months - 13 weeks goes so quickly, which I take as being a very enjoyable show. I must admit I don't watch a lot of TV but this one has got me hook, line and sinker. Another programme I watch is The Bill. I remember when AboutMyArea first launching we invited Alex Wilkinshaw - AKA Smithy from The Bill to make a guest appearance. He lives locally (Bickley) and I've seen him shopping in Petts Wood so he knows the area. Unfortunately on the day in question Smithy was going on holiday - just as well as it poured down that day and the turn out to the Latin Quarter Market wasn't exactly buzzing. Must have been fate!
Saturday May 17
We took the kids to The Spinning Wheel today. It's a hidden gem this place as it meant that Jamie and I could enjoy a nice sit-down lunch while the kids happily played in the soft-play area and on the rides. What a fantastic idea - kids happy, parents happy. I only wish many more establishments realised the importance of being child-friendly. It certainly means that now we've discovered the place we'll be frequenting it quite often.
Monday May 5
What a glorious day we had at the May Fayre! It was a superb turn-out and I got some great pictures. It's one of those events that you think you'll pop along to for an hour or so and the next thing you know 3 hours has whizzed by. Jamie and I had our stand in place bright and early and our Treasure Hunt went down a storm and ended up running out of them, so we did our bit for the environment and ended up recycling used copies - the kids didn;t care - as long as they got their "treasure" at the end of it. We must remember to do that again next year - which reminds me the commitee meetings for next year's event start in just 4 months - you wouldn't believe the preparation that goes into making these events a success. And if anyone's reading this and wanting to volunteer to help out on the day - even if it's just for half an hour - we'd love you to get in touch. You can email me at lauretta.wright@talktalk.net
