Welcome to the madhouse!!!

They've heard what their French counterparts had to deliver to us this week and are getting worried !!!

Mike phoned me at work on Thursday lunchtime to say the postie had left a "we called but you were out" slip and that they'd tried to deliver a parcel weighing - 51kg !!! We decided it had to be a competition win - a TV maybe ??? - unles it was someone who wrapped themselves up in a box to save on airfare !!

He managed to take delivery on Friday and it was ... a pallet full of toys !!!

The garage when I got home from work !

Just about fits on the settee !

The toybox - soon to be transformed into laundry basket in our bedroom !

Uh oh, here come the girls !

It's like Christmas morning !

Mike's attempt to get it all on one photo ! (He's very impressed but wants me to win a TV next time !!)

Sophie's favourite - Dora the Explorer My First Scrabble (and she beat me fair and square earlier ! )

Juliette's fave - the interactive ride on toy (and the shot's out of focus because she wouldn't sit still for a second !)

The full list of toys :

games :
Scrabble Deluxe
Travel Scrabble
Pictionary
Tumblin' Monkeys (travel)
My first digital camera (real one - quickly stashed away for Sophie's birthday next month - extra pressie as I'd already bought something !!)
Dora the Explorer my first scrabble
My 1st scrabble
Junior scrabble
(call us the scrabble family !!! )
Tumblin' Monkeys (full sized game)
Magic 8 balls (pink and black)

Little People :
Pirate Island
Animal fun bath bar
farm animals - touch & feel
3 pack of figures
fire engine
zoo abc (with cool mat that does the alphabet and words)
whale watching (bath toys)

Imagnext (dinosaurs) :
Mega T-rex (brilliant - scary noises, moves about and red eyes light up - but scares Sophie to death !!! )
kentrosaurus
pachyosaurus

Fisher Price :
amazing animals tiger
musical animals train (what she got for xmas unfortunately ! Bet I know what Morgane will be getting for xmas !!)
laugh & learn interactive sporty ride on toy
push & pull zebra
monkey friends tote

Polly Pocket : (wonder how many bits will get vacuumed up in the next week !!! Might persuade Sophie to use some as party game prizes next week ! )
Hula-licious
snow very cute
shake n sort set
paw spa
shopping spree
lila
polly flower friends
poolin' around
horsin' around
groovy glam pony

Hot wheels : (more for ebay or party prizes!)
raptor rampage
batman blaster
truckin' transporters
hot wheel 10

And here's where I won it - a photo competition decided by a jury on the theme "playing games together as a family" - http://www.journeesdebonheur.com/k_concours/gagnants_jeux.php

Impressed ?!! (Just as well it was a French win and not a UK one - it would never have all fitted in the car !!!)

Oh and speaking of prizes, it's the last few days for voting for Sophie in the secret agent competition - and she's well in the running to win the holiday if she can get a few more votes ... http://www.cherubcampus.fr/fr/detail/mission-174-et-que-ca-saute-1000-fois.html and click on the last star once a day !! Thanks !!!

Oh I lied, you get a couple of Sophie teaching Juliette to walk down the stairs by herself too (after teaching her to bump down the stairs on her bum - and numerous other things I'm sure I haven't found out about yet !! ) Isn't that what big sisters are for ?!!

Look Mum, hee hee hee !

Bonk - owwww !

PS Blimey, that door needs painting !!! Never noticed that before !!!

Flogged them in our local discount store for €5 !! Chocolate fondue anyone ?!! (And the first one had the forks and the bowl missing - the second one didn't work when I plugged it in !!! But Ifigured it was safer if it stayed cold and melted the chocolate in the microwave instead !! The girls still enjoyed it ! )

Happiness is - a slice of apple dipped in sparkly hundreds and thousands !

Yummmmm !

"Mum, will this make me have pink sparkly poo ?!!!"

Here you are Mum, you have one too !

Getting messier !!

More tonsil inspection !!!

Had enough yet ?!

Right, I've been serious for far too long !!!

Just call me Strawberry Shortcake !! (Shhhh she might remember she won a Strawberry Shortcake CD that drives me round the bend - come back Hi Five, all is forgiven !!! )

She's certainly not camera-shy !!

Ummm should I tell her they're upside down ?!!

Peek-a-boo !

Here I am !!

I can see you, you know !

What else can I do to make Mum laugh ?

Nez, nez !!! Hee hee, that works !!

With their new cousin, Morgane (Anne-Laure & Ludo's baby)

I threw out this suggestion earlier and had Sophie crying because she didn't want to go down to the underwater seal bit and Juliette gooing "paaaark" so - guess where we went ?!! Went to a different park though so na na na na na !!!

Not sure where the monkey genes came from - maybe I ate too many bananas while pregnant !

Check out the ponytail !!!

That's funny, fête means party in French, never thought about that before !!!

Anyway, it's almost the end of the year, I've done my last bit of marking, report writing and the end of term class meetings start next week so the kids probably won't come much more - where's the sun ?!!

Anyway, it was Sophie's "kermesse" on Saturday and the rain just about held off. She complained about her dance because she had to pose with Théo Rodon as if they "amoureux" (in love !!) and she said she most definitely wasn't - plus they were supposed to be paired up by size and because she's the biggest, she had to go with him and "now it looks ridiculous because he's already 7 so he's at least three heads bigger than her !!!" I thought they looked very cute !

Where's Sophie ?

Oops, lucky we didn't eat beans for lunch !!

As soon as the sun comes out, the girls start asking me to go to the park - even Juliette has learnt to say "park" and go and start pulling her coat off the hatstand !! How can I turn them down ? So lots of photos will start to look the same - just look for the changes of clothes !!

Who'd believe this is the same pair that have sisterly scraps when they're tired and grumpy ?!

Never one to do things the easy/boring/safe way !

Race you to the top !!

Her cheeky "I'm doing something kinda naughty" face !

I'm the king of the castle and you're the dirty rascal !

"Mum, take a photo of my new gap to show Nanny and Grandad and Emily on the blog !" The gap is the second tooth that came out, the "jagged" tooth (they call it "lace" in French, apparently) is the new adult tooth that's already almost as big as the old ones !

And teletubbies love each other very much - big hugs !!!

"Come on Juju, I'll help you up !"

Sophie has a Tarzan moment !!

She'll turn my hair grey !

Copying big sister

Still too small for the climbing frame but I'm sure it won't be long !