At the beach with Maria

Maria came over today and we made a picnic and went to the beach. The children had a lovely time in the sea but it didn't last long as it was so windy that the lifeguard got everyone out of the water and put up a sign saying no bathing due to extreme weather.

As soon as we started eating Maria's eldest son Gary appeared, he's working on the pier at the moment.

The boys had a lovely time running around and then they buried Theo.

They decided a bit of remodelling was needed so they added a pair of breasts and various other little extras.

Fly Lady!

Lisa, http://lisanorthover.blogspot.com/ , posted a link on her blog to a website called Fly Lady, http://flylady.com/ . It's basically a really good site for people like me who really struggle to keep the house tidy. I stayed up really late reading it and couldn't wait to get started today. I showed Maria the site when she came over this morning and she got very excited too, so we've sort of challenged each other to give it a go.

If you sign up to her e-mail list she sends you daily tasks and tips. This week we're in zone 3 which is the bathroom and one other room of your choice. The task for today was to clean behind and around the toilet and to tackle a hotspot in your other room. A hotspot is any place that is always cluttered, it's like a forest fire, if you don't tackle it when it's small it very quickly spreads and gets out of control.

I have four hotspots in my house, the computer desk, the dining table, the top of my herb cabinet in the hall and the worktop in the kitchen.

The main thing she tells you to do above everything else is to clean and shine your kitchen sink.

I haven't had a lot of time today as I've been out with Maria but my toilet is sparkling, my dining table is spotless and Maria tells me she's done her kitchen sink.