I normally never go into a shopping mall, certainly never on a Saturday, and definitely not just before Christmas. However, we will often do anything for our children and so I violated all of those rules last Saturday.

I had to park miles away, it was incredibly hot and I was dripping with sweat by the time I got inside. The air conditioning in the mall did not seem to be working as it was so unbearably hot.

However, I tried to focus on the positive. I stopped for petrol on the way and the petrol attendant said to me ‘wow you are so beautiful, you look very nice today’. I laughed and said he made an old lady happy. He said ‘noooo you are not old!’ and I said I am a grandma! He was a youngish lad probably in his 30’s so that was a bit of a boost and assured him a tip.

Then while I was standing inside the doors of the mall to message Caitlin, a lady came up to tell me my dress was beautiful. These things both made me smile and lifted my anxiety a bit.

I found Caitlin and Bree and we went off to look for dresses for Caitlin. She needed something to wear to a wedding she is attending and she wanted something new for a work function. I pushed Bree around in her pram and sang to her, we danced to the music playing in the shops, and she munched on grapes, oranges and a blueberry toddler biscuit. Caitlin found 8 outfits in one shop that had a buy 4 get the cheaper one for free so she got 2 free outfits. They all looked adorable on her and are comfy and cool for the summer holidays. We then went to another shop and Cait got a cute pair of wide legged trousers and a cute T-shirt to wear with them. She made out like a bandit!

Bree was perfectly happy until the blueberry biscuit was finished and then she kept making the sign for ‘more’. Caitlin has taught her a few basic signs and for ‘more’ she touches the fingertips of her hands together. She kept signing ‘more’ and getting annoyed that we had no more biscuits for her. By then we had been there for over 2 hours and I was getting very hot and tired too. We both headed home.

Our internet was down which left me at odds of what to do with myself. It meant no social media, no mindlessly watching videos, no doom scrolling, and no telly. I just chilled on the day bed with Poppy enjoying the light wind blowing in from outside. It was kind of nice to rest and not be glued to the telly.

I had seen that Massimo’s had mussels on special so for dinner that night Norm went out to get a pizza for himself and the mussels for me. They were yummy, I could have eaten about 3 portions of them. But it came with fries and I dipped them in the delicious sauce and that filled me up.

That night Norm got Netflix to work using a hot spot from his phone. I have no idea what he did, but it worked. We started watching a new series called Mr Mercedes. It stars Brendan Gleeson as Bill Hodges, a retired detective. Gleeson is a brilliant actor. The killer who toys with Bill is played by Harry Treadaway, a very talented British actor.

We have only started so I will give you my rating once we have finished watching it, but I really like it so far. It has a bit of blood and gore but I can close my eyes for that. The worst of it was in episode 1 but I gave it a chance and it redeemed itself.

The series is based on the Bill Hodges novel trilogy by Stephen King. It touches on many different issues, parental sexual abuse, mental illness, hate crimes, even senior sexuality.

On Sunday it was baking with heat and there was not a breath of the crazy winds we had prior to this week. I decided to swim and Caitlin was going to bring Bree around to join me. Norm opened the pool cover and found it was green again. This pool is the bane of my existence. Pool date cancelled. That afternoon the repair guy came to fix the internet. Turned out to be the cable from the street into our house was broken.

On Sunday once it cooled down Norman cooked dinner for us. He made one of our favourite summer combos: fillet steak and fried halloumi. I made a salad to go with it.

We sat at the table since we were eating at the same time. Many nights Norm is not ready to eat as early as I am so I eat on my own at my desk. It is nice to chat over dinner.

On Monday I had been craving pulled pork so I actually phoned Render Smokehouse to see if they were open. You know I am desperate if I pick up my phone. It was so worth it. The wraps are very generous in size. Their onion rings are the best I have ever eaten.

Last night we were booked to babysit Bree so that Caitlin and Wes could go to their office drinks. Caitlin had bought a cute outfit to wear on our shopping trip and looked very adorable. We arrived by 5.30pm as requested and I got left there and Norm dropped Caitlin at the office to join Wes. I was given instructions to feed Bree dinner, give her a bottle and that she would be ready for bed by 7:30pm.

First Bree kept wanting to go outside but the sprinklers were on so she got soaking wet so I put on the baby grow that Caitlin had left for her to sleep in. She seemed to be hungry as she kept signing ‘more’ and did not want to drink water. I popped her in her highchair and she wolfed down the first bits of sausage, halloumi and broccoli eagerly, but then she started to throw her dinner on the floor. She pretended to be a dog and ate directly out of her bowl. She then wore her bowl on her head. She kept pointing to my bottle of water so I gave her some water and she chucked the entire cup of water all over the floor. I then received a call to say there was a delivery so I popped her on my hip and we went to the gate. It was then I realised she had leakage out of both sides of her nappy and I had pee all over me thanks to my dodgy nappy application. When I changed her I discovered that she also had a huge green broccoli poo. I had to change her baby grow again (first I had to find one in her overflowing cupboards). She then decided that she was going to amble around the house to drink her bottle. She spent ages kissing herself in the mirror. I said ‘Bree!’ and pointed to her and she pointed to herself and said ‘Bee!’.

Caitlin had said she would be sleepy but she was not appearing sleepy. She was playing her musical toys and dancing around. She had the keys from when we went to the gate and kept trying to fit them into any hole she saw.

About this time Norm arrived back and he helped me to get her into her sleep sack. Those instruments of torture did not exist when I had babies. It was like trying to dress a rabid raccoon while blindfolded. Norm took over and rocked her until she seemed to be sleepy. He popped her into her crib and we watched her on the monitor until she fell asleep. First she carefully placed her teddies into the positions she wanted and hurled herself on top of them. It was absolute chaos and I loved every second of it. I am so grateful to be near enough (and trusted enough) to look after this beautiful little clone of her mother. I am so blessed.

This week I finished all of my Christmas shopping. I chose a gift certificate for Wes, ordered clothing and toys for my granddaughters and clothes for my soon to be born grandson. My daughters chose a few dresses which my Mom ordered. Trevor chose some things which I have ordered. I ordered all of the gifts for everyone so they should arrive just after we get there and I won’t be spending my holiday perusing websites and panicking about my packages arriving before we travel home like I usually do.

I have packed for my trip. I packed light (I always try to do that but never succeed). I packed one pair of jeans, 2 pairs of leggings, 3 long tops, 2 cardigans and undergarments. I will borrow PJs and everything else from my Mom. It is very cold there at the moment but I will wear layers when we go out. It is only cold going from your car to the place you are going, everywhere is heated, usually over-heated for my personal preference.

This post will be my last for a while as I will be away and I am not taking my laptop. Typing on my phone is not an option, it would take me a week to write one post. Voice to text is always hilarious as my southern accent makes words get misinterpreted and then output completely wrong. Tonight we fly to Georgia in the USA to spend Christmas with my mom.

We have a big burly boxer as our house sitter in case you think that is an opportunity to rob us. Of course Finn is here to eat the left overs from the house sitter’s ass whoopin’.

I hope life treats you well until we chat again. Until then, Kisses from the Kitten xoxoxox