Saving chucks....

Morning all :o)

Just thought I'd share with you what my parents are up to this week :o)

Mum and Dad have a gorgeous 3hundred year old cottage in Yorkshire with a big garden. At the bottom of the garden they keep chickens - happy, free roaming chucks :o)

A couple of weeks ago, my Mum found out about a place that rescues battery hens. At 1 year old these poor birds are culled cos they don't lay enough any more. At this point, they've spent a year cooped in a tiny battery cage, with weakened legs and their feathers all pulled out from the stress. No wonder they stop laying eh?

This place rescues the hens before the farmer kills them by buying them off the farmer for 50p a bird. People can then buy the rescue hens for the same 50p (tho, of course, most people spend more in order to support the charity).

Last weekend, Mum and Dad bought their first group of battery hens. As you can see, they're in a bit of a state when they arrive - they look ready plucked :o(

Their legs are really weak so they just kind of sit in the coop and Mum and Dad have given them this small run area to build up strength. Here's a close up of how one looks.....

poor little thing :o(

One of the hens however, is getting stronger and healthier and has now made it for a walk in the wider chicken area :o) here she is....

in about a month, they'll all be as healthy as her :o)

well - just thought I'd share that one with you cos I thought it was a wonderful thing to do! Many of the battery hens DO go on to lay again when they've recovered - but they lay like a normal hen should do, 2 or 3 times a week NOT 2 or 3 times a day as they're forced to in the battery farms. Even if they don't ever lay again, they'll have a happy retirement at the bottom of my parent's garden :o)

Love to all

Nikki xxoxoxoxooxoxoxxx

news from Snotsville...

Yep, you guessed it - the winter snotty grotties have hit again this weekend!

Poor little Iz, having only just had one bug when we were in the Seychelles, has pulled another stonker this weekend :o( Rotten cough, streaming eyes, raging temperature, sleepless nights.... started Friday evening and she was still very hot at 1am this morning. Since then she's cooled down and is now just gunky! Fingers crossed she'll be ok for school tomorrow - but we'll see how she sleeps tonight.

Aside from that, Nick and I are still busy busy busy at work - I was down in London on Thursday presenting at a national conference and Nick's away doing team development workshops on Tuesday and Wednesday. Around that, Caitlin's still loving Girls Brigade on a Thursday night and they are still having lots of fun playing with Gaby and Jess on the street :o)

Next Friday is the annual Christmas shopping pilgrimage to Leeds where Ros and I went to University ;o) Its an annual event for us to break the back of the shopping, spend a night with my mum and dad and leave hubbies and kids behind :o) For the last 2 years, my Mum has also joined in the shopping exhibition and is now one of the gang :o) So that's both exciting and very necessary cos I'm so NOT on top of the shopping this year!

One Christmas related thing was achieved today - the Christmas cake is currently in the oven and the smells on nutmeg and fruit and brandy are permeating every corner of the house - mmmmmmmmmmm ;o)

Think that's really it for now - just a quick one but I'll try and update more in the week.

Love to all

Nikki xoxoxoxoooxxxxx

news from the Joyces

Hello all

Well, Nick went away to Mauritius 10 days ago and arrives back at 10am this morning :o) He's had a busy week involving filming each of the 7 resorts (I think its 7!!) in Mauritius so not the usual "fun in the sun" (he'll kill me for saying that! He usually does work, but he also has some fun and free time with a bunch of travel agents - this time was just work!!).

So, Caitlin, Izzy and I have had 10 days on our own!

Bit of an update before that - Wednesday 7th November we had a bunch of very important visitors to the SLT dept. There's a national review of services for children with speech, language and communication needs and the politician leading it came to see how we managed our service, cos we're a bit different and don't have waiting lists and see pretty much everybody :o) He brought with him the chief executive of our professional body, the chief exec of the main voluntary charity for children with speech and language difficulties (AFASIC) and the SLT advisor to the Dept of Health - wow!! I bought a new suit for the occasion ;o) It went really well, they asked some really tough questions and, at the start of the day, simply didn't believe that we were able to do what we said we did! Still, I'd convinced them by the end of the day and I think we impressed them so that was cool - just exhausting! Its hard work having to be on your toes and give clever answers all day!!!!!!!! ;o)

Thursday 8th November, Caitlin started at Girl's Brigade at the Tab - which she totally loves! Its run by Helen (Lauren's good friend) and Caitlin loves her so that was a bonus. Caitlin went again this week - a logistical challenge cos it finishes at 7:45pm when Izzy's in bed and Nick wasn't here - but our lovely next door neighbour Jan came and sat with Izzy whilst I picked Caitlin up..... then she sat with me and we had a lovely evening of chat and some wine ;o)

Rewind then - I picked the girls up from school at 3:15pm the Friday that Nick left and we went to stay with Mum and Dad for the night. On the Saturday, we went to Cannon Hall (again!). I think this blog is full of Cannon Hall pics but we LOVE that place so much and always have great fun! Here's a few pics for you :o)

Saturday night, my friends Paula and Sam from work came to stay with Sam's 2 little girls Chloe and Emily (aged 4 and 3) so that was fun too.

Sunday was remembrance day and Paula and Sam stayed til 11:30am so we could watch the remembrance ceremony and do the 2 minutes silence together - even little Iz and Emily managed it!

Then - back to work! The girls have been really good all week and tried hard to be ready on time every morning. Caitlin went into school with all the Arabic stuff we brought back from Dubai on Friday and dressed up in her dish dash and did a presentation on Dubai which the teachers told me was fab :o) Its been a REALLY hectic week tho cos getting them home and having tea and keeping the house tidy and playing with them and doing their homework and the washing AND full time work (oh and shopping and feeding myself!!) - so I basically did all that and went to bed each day!! Sorry to people who phoned me after 9pm (or at all really cos I keep missing calls)! Izzy's also back in the habit of waking at 3ish in the night again so I've tried to go to bed early to compensate!!

Friday night this week, Ros and Joe and Finn came to stay and then for most of yesterday we had Jobe and Gaby from next door round playing on the Wii and doing our new High School Musical Sing Star!! (oh Lauren - you're going to LOVE that!!!!!!!)

That's about it I think - just off for breakfast then off to get Nick! YAY!!!!!!!!!! Can't wait to see him and the girls are excited too!

Love to all

Nikki xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxx

on another note...

I didn't want to post this in the same as below but just wanted to share something with you all - and ask for the support of all mums and dads for a couple of "friends of friends"....

Over the last couple of months, 2 of my really close friends have shared with me the news about people they are close to - the first is someone who's first baby was born with an incredibly rare genetic condition, she lived a few months and then sadly died. They became pregnant again - and against all the odds - this baby too had the same condition and they lost the baby. Just this week, another friend shared the news of her brother and sister in law who just found out that her baby has trisomy 13 - a chromosomal disorder which means that the baby may not survive birth and is very unlikely to live past early infancy. As parents, it hits close to home and we can only empathise and pray for them.

Can I ask that you keep these parents in your thoughts and prayers? For strenth to deal with what has to be endured and comfort in their grief. Particularly for Melissa and Jonathon who are currently trying to come to terms with their news.

Thanks guys

lots of love and God bless

Nikki xoxoxoxoxx

engagement news

Hey all

For those who know Lauren, our nanny for the last 2 years, well - she's engaged!! Brent proposed on Wednesday in Canada - super news :o)

We're having a MAJOR fireworks party tonight - 40ish friends and neighbours, ridiculous stack of fireworks, chilli and jackets, hot dogs and beer ;o) Should be great fun! Will update hopefully tomorrow with all the news.

Halloween was great fun :o) Caitlin went to a school halloween disco and then went out trick or treating with the neighbours. Izzy and I went out early in the evening and Izzy got LOADS of sweets - what comes of being cute and 3 and reciting the "sky is blue, grass is green" rhyme ;o)

Love to all

Nikki xoxoxoxoxoxoxxxx