This year we were lucky enough to go to Euro Disney for a long weekend just before Christmas. It was the first time we have been out for an extended time as a family without the wheelchair. Imp managed very well with all the exercise and for us that is a huge improvement. He had been having some pain in his ‘good’ leg and we were growing concerned that it would turn out that his Perthes would be bi-lateral. At the moment that worry has abated somewhat, not entirely, time will tell.
We had a lovely time, thrill rides aplenty, we had tears from Pixie as she was too small for Space Mountain whereas during our trip to Florida she had been big enough. However, she was big enough for the Rock’n’Roller coaster which she wasn’t big enough for in Florida. She has now ridden a coaster which did a full loop and she loved it! We waved at Anna and Elsa as they preceded the Disney Christmas Parade which featured loads of the kids favourite characters and of course Father Christmas himself.
We had fantastic meals at the Rainforest Cafe, Planet Hollywood and fun filled character encounters at Chef Mickeys and the poshest restaurant in town in the company of mice, princes and princesses. The kids loved it and in the main were well behaved. Mr T got to put the world to rights in the Eurostar terminal as it was proven how terrible queue organisation can be, but that’s a whole other story.
We (and that is 19 of us or a whole boat on It’s a Small World) were all there thanks to the generosity of a very special friend. To thank her before the trip we had all agreed we should get her a suitable gift to say thank you and to give her a memento of the trip. It was decided that we would get her a snow globe, it featured plenty of Disney characters and played music and was a lovely piece. I ordered it, it arrived and was wrapped and placed in our luggage so that the recipient wouldn’t see it until the appropriate time.
Well that was what we thought… 2 out of the five of us had to be wander and patted down, luckily it proved to be nothing other than shoes and jewellery upsetting the scanners. As I walked over to the scanner to retrieve the bags I was asked if one of the bags was mine. Mr T stepped in to confirm that it was and it turned out that it had set the machine off. They sent the bag through again and I knew straight away it was going to be the globe but after they confirmed that as far as they were concerned there was something amiss the bag had to be unpacked. The items were put into plastic crates and sent back though until they confirmed that it was the rather large box, wrapped in heart paper that was setting the machine off.
We explained what was in the parcel and why it was wrapped and so on but they didn’t believe us, and kept telling us under their terms and conditions they could unwrap a preset. Eventually unwrapped it had to be. A few minutes later the wrapping was off, the box was open, the globe out and swabbed for explosives. Another machine then tested the swab and confirmed that indeed the globe was safe. Obviously I was ecstatic that the Disney product I had bought to thank our friend for our Disney holiday, and that we were planning to present her with while we were there surrounded by kids was safe. Several minutes after that we had re-sealed the globe and box and repaired the paper and re-packed the suitcase! Needless to say the others in our party had wondered why we were so late getting though and all found it hilarious once the globe was presented and the story told!
The fireworks show was great, images projected onto the castle featuring Olaf were wonderful and the music accompanying it made Pixie’s newly acquired light up Minnie bow change to an array of rainbow colours. Thanks go out to that special friend who took us and the rest of the group who helped us all make such wonderful memories.
Christmas pretty much crept on us this year. I had done all the preparations before we went away. As we were having dinner away from home for the first time in ages Christmas Eve comprised a trip to the cinema and a game of Trivial Pursuit, as well as catching up with friends and family. The children had a lovely time on the big day itself and were once again spoilt with lots of wonderful presents. We watched Dr Who in the evening and enjoyed another family day.
Tomorrow will bring yet more excitement. Following the sad loss of Tessa in September we had been considering what to do. We came to a decision in early December and our puppy B will be joining us tomorrow afternoon (weather permitting!). We have spent a fair amount of Boxing day making sure we all know how to deal with him and help to train him and ensure that our other older dog M doesn’t get forgotten and is established as top dog!
It is both exciting and daunting, we know he will be a lot of hard work but at the same time rewarding.
Imp’s hip is now in the re-growth phase of Perthes. This is good news and the operation to removed the metal plate in his leg has been moved forward to April. This will hopefully be the last op for a while and will not be as extreme as the others he has endured. This time there will no plaster trousers or prolonged wheelchair use. He played Joseph in the school Nativity and had to sing a solo which melted my heart, the video of which I have replayed on my phone time and time again!
We are all hoping that 2015 will be a better year for our family than 2014. Generally it doesn’t seem to have been that positive for many of our friends either as many have endured losses, illnesses or accidents that have had negative effects for them and their families. I take this opportunity to wish everyone a happy and healthy 2015.
If there is one thing I have learned from the events of this year it is to take as many chances as you can, yes it might go wrong but better to regret the wrong choice then miss out on the opportunity altogether. We are going to see Disney On Ice in Jan and April and Olly Murs in May as well as Take That in the summer, and if I have anything to do with it there will be some tennis viewing as well.
I am now back to writing having finished teaching for a while in November. Having committed to the puppy a couple of opportunities have arisen but I have had to say no as the kids have different hours and trying to manage them and myself adds more stress and by the time I have sorted someone out to look after the kids and the puppy there is very little money left. I have two novels in planning, a kids novel and one which I stated to write for national novel writing month. I am also in the process of editing the first draft of my first book for children and finishing the first draft of the sequel to Tumbling! This is a bit of a gamble and I am hoping that once the puppy is settled and Pixie and Hpops are secure in their new schools in September I can pick up some supply work or part time work around the writing.
My big dream is to write a couple of books for children that do well enough to mean that I don’t go back to conventional teaching, but instead go and run creative writing workshops for primary school children as this will allow me to write and teach.
The next few days should be interesting, and once the kids go back to school I am sure I will be able to blog more often as I intend to be writing every day. Watch the book shelves!
