10 minutes

They were bickering within 10 minutes of being re-united when Second Born returned from camp. That's probably a record, actually - last time SB was still on the steps of the bus when FB started on him.

Second Born had a whale of a time at camp with all the tree-climbing and kayaking and making water filters out of moss and bracken and general running around in the forest. Astonishingly, more than half of the clothes I had sent him with came back unworn AND CLEAN. First Born, when he went, brought back unworn clothes but packed said clean clothes under and around some very unclean wellies, thus negating the benefit. Second Born was at least smart enough to quarantine the wellies thus earning some brownie points from Mum.

The weekend was equal parts lazy and manic. Saturday was relaxed and lazy. We did little other than eat and read and SB and I watched Strictly Come Dancing (our joint guilty pleasure). We compounded the couch-potato-ness of the day by obtaining our dinner from the chippie.

Today has been a bit more hectic. Birthday party for SB in a laser quest sort of venue near Portobello (where I am sure the only females who ever set foot are mothers of small and not-so-small boys. No girls have been spotted voluntarily entering the premises any time I have been there.) SB was eating a Mars bar with a knife and fork when I arrived to collect him. Either the tail end of a party game or his friend's mother is really strict about table manners.

The party was followed pretty much immediately by a little mini-celebration for the husband of my mother-in-law (I'll call him E) who was 86 today. He is in terrifyingly good shape and is probably fitter at 86 than I am now, at 42. Husband had come up trumps with a birthday gift for E - a DVD about the aircraft of the Fleet Air Arm in WWII. E was a pilot in the Fleet Air Arm so the present really hit the spot - he was itching to put the DVD on before we even left after cake and tea had been consumed.

I spent the rest of the afternoon making dinner for all of us (roast chicken, stuffing, roast potatoes, sweetcorn, bread sauce, gravy and Yorkshire puddings. My children now insist we have Yorkshire puddings with any sort of roast dinner, not just beef.) The boys are now in bed and in between reading blogs and writing this, I am nosing around on the net looking for a cottage to rent for the school October week holiday. We are thinking of Yorkshire somewhere - fairly easy to get to, lots of nice walks and I really quite fancy visiting Whitby, given my fondness for Dracula.

Off now for a cup of tea before bedtime. Sadly no cookies though - I cannot bake at the moment having accidentally melted my kitchen scales. I have ordered new ones but until they arrive, no baking is possible. My children are not happy.