That which doesn't kill us, makes us stronger. No?

Poor Little Fink, bunged up, sniffing, sneezing, coughing.

"what can I do to help her feel more comfortable?" I thought. "I know, I'll put some Vick's on her chest to help clear her blockages."

So I usher the snot laden child to the bathroom, lift up her jammy top and slather the Vicks all over her chest.

A short while later, she is at the coffee table with her laptop and I note the improvement in her breathing.

"Mummy." she says, little face screwed up against the vapour,

 "I can't see." Ah bless.

Mr Fink now has the dreaded lurgy and was unable to attend the first celebration in the annual calendar of Christmas. Last night it was the gathering of the Fink clan at GWTBO house, this consisted of take away, jokes, fun, babies, Death by Pictionary (terrible amount of cheating from SOME people. One person who will remain nameless, shamelessly whispering "Think Paris" as a clue to the word Eiffel Tower. Shame on you) and lots and lots of laughter.

My favourite comments of the night were....Woogie talking about a hirsute GWTBO, "Grandad wasn't born, he was knitted!" and Blitzen (Doner's girlfriend) when playing Pictionary trying to guess a US President, "Is it John Bush?" (But she more than made up for not knowing him name with her enthusiasm and air punches when her team were doing well!

The babies were beautiful and full of beans and everyone had a brilliant time. Thank you.

A Bit of a Do.

This weekend, Mr Fink, Little Fink and I travelled to Hastings for a gathering of the clans. Mr Fink's brother was getting married. This brought about another addition to the number of women in the country with the same name as me. There are now 5 Mrs *****'s! 3 of whom stayed in the same Travelodge for the wedding, hence the following confusing phone call from GWTBO - father of the groom. As we were travelling past Battle en route to Hastings, Mr Fink's phone rang, it was Grandad With The Beard On,

"Where are you staying?"

Me (as Mr Fink was driving)"Travelodge, Hastings."

"What name have you booked the room under?"

Me.............................."?", "I'll give you three guesses, and the first two don't count!"

Anyway, it turns out he was only aware of 3 rooms booked under the family name, his room, Woogie & Nancypants' room and Doner (Woogie's brother - he has been given the 'nom de guerre' Doner as they both look rough on a Sunday morning) &AB's room.

"I booked the family room for us." I said.

"Oh, I'm standing in the family room, drinking the coffee!"

Anyway, the rooms were sorted, I asked for some bed linen for Little Fink and a duvet cover and pillow cases for our bed, as they only had white cotton 'protector's on, when the lady arrived she only had linen for Little Fink.

"I was hoping for a duvet cover and pillowcases for the bed."

"You've already got them, we only have the cheap ones here!" Ho hum.

We went off to the wedding, the groom was nervous and the bride stunning. I was fine until the Bride started to say her vows, her voice wobbled with emotion and that was it, all the women in the room were toast! The reception was lovely with children enjoying themselves, lovely food and good company.

I jitterbugged the night away with my father-in-law, GWTBO and a good night was had by all.

The next day we had breakfast and arranged to take the Silver Surfer (Mr Fink's step dad) and Astral (Mr Fink's mum) home with us, so we quickly had a walk along the sea front at Hastings before setting off. We decided to stop off for lunch and went to the Airfield Pub in Hatfield.

The meal was well received and the bill duly arrived. Now I don't know about you gentle reader, but us Finks are plagued (in a good way) with friends who won't take no for an answer! Mr Fink was going to pay for this meal as a parting gift to Astral and SS before they returned to Spain.

SS offered to pay but Mr Fink said,

"It's ok, I'll pay, it's not very expensive." he might as well have said...

"Next time we go out you can pay and we'll go somewhere NICE!" good ole Mr Fink always got at least one of his feet in his mouth!

A wonderful weekend, spent with wonderful family and friends. The stuff of life. Bring it on.