Author: mel

Happy Half term

So half term has arrived and with the clocks turned back an hour the silly season is upon us. Halloween, then bonfire night and of course Christmas and New Year. As we entered the shops this week we were confronted with a variety of celebrations competing for our attention. The Halloween costumes and trick or treat sweets were stacked next to Christmas cards and wrapping paper and already e-mails with early bird offers have started appearing. Every time the kids see an advert they say things like ‘i’d like that!’

As a result we have told them that as none of them have an upcoming birthday we will be locking down on toys, books and clothes, anything they do want can go on a list for Christmas and maybe then we’ll have a good spread of ideas. They have already got a fair few ideas it seems but they are either really expensive or daft! It is hard to know what to get them as they are so lucky and seem to have so many things already. I think therefore that as we have already been collecting a few pieces throughout the year we won’t be adding too many things to the ever growing collection. Having explained this to them they seemed to understand. However as they are at different ages and stages we felt we needed to remind them that they would not necessarily get the same ‘amount’ of presents. The little two seem to have an idea that if one child gets something the others should as well! This seems to be a little short sighted on their part but I wondered if other children thought like this and if so what the parents did about it. As they are all different we have tried to accommodate their various interests. Horse riding required a lot of equipment and so when Hpops got something for that I did not reciprocate with the other children. Sadly following the closure of the riding school they attended Hpops seems to have decided not to pursue her riding further despite our offers to take her elsewhere. Similarly if Imp ever gets to the stage where he needs equipment for karting I would not purchase things of the girls.

Still half term has mainly consisted of the children carving pumpkins, arguing about what film to see at the cinema if we ever go, and visiting the Gunpowder Mills which was great fun! Imp had his latest appointment and we had good news. The femoral head looks to be growing back well in the right place and in the right shape with minimal leg length difference. Presuming this good progress continues we should be able to reduce to annual visits and again until April, unless fate intervenes, he can resume all sporting activities pain allowing, excepting only trampolining. His other leg where he has been getting some pain looks as it should on x-ray and so he is probably just experiencing growing pains.

Pixie has recovered from her tooth removal following her accident at school and it looks as if another adult tooth might finally be making an appearance. As we get towards the end of half term the kids are doing homework and music practice and enjoying the rest from the daily routine. Hoops managed to get good grades and they all have parent evenings approaching. I am still looking for a job that fits in with us but I am starting a course looking at autism with the OU with a view to extending this out to the degree or to a SENCO qualification. I am planing to participate in NANOWRIMO this year which starts on 1st November and hoping to get a way through a new novel. Halloween brings with it parties and dressing up and they are looking forward to fireworks the week after.

We have been looking at all of us trying to do something purposeful – the kids are at school, Mr T goes to work and I want to make sure that I am doing something more fruitful than watching the TV and playing games on the computer. Indeed I am teaching a bit, hopefully I can find something which allows me to teach regularly on contract so I have a bit more stability. I am doing some study and writing a bit but motivation has been lacking. That said I have noticed that I am deadline driven and I therefore need to set myself writing deadlines to ensure that I get the tasks done. As I haven’t set these deadlines I have prevaricated through years without finishing a draft properly, (other than the kids book!) and have several half finished manuscripts that could be good or not! So my first task is to finish Tumbles 2, then there is the creepy surveyor I started as well as the strange world I created for a group of characters that have to fight to stay together. Not my normal stuff and not sure where it is going but finishing it might help! So I am hoping to fill my days when the kids are at school with some of these tasks, whilst fitting in their various appointments and events so that I can once again feel fulfilled. I think I somewhat put life on hold once Imp was diagnosed as we weren’t sure how long it was going to affect family life. After two good appointments and six months without physiotherapy and everyone now settling into their new schools and routines I finally feel as if I can be me again and start over. Life is getting back on track. If there is anything I have learnt from the last couple of years it is that you never know what is coming. The best laid plans may never come to fruition but as I tell the kids -better to regret trying something that to not try at all.

The mysterious explosion!

Sometimes it is said truth is stranger than fiction! Last night at approximately 730pm that appeared to be true for those living in the Shenfield and Hutton area. Mr T had just returned home from work, the bath was running for the kids and nothing untoward appeared to be happening. Then out of nowhere there was an enormous bang, the house shook and none of us could explain what had just happened! It wasn’t the boiler, Hpops dancing or Imp and Pixie dropping something expensive!

We checked the house, wasn’t us and none of our immediate neighbours appeared to be the source either. We couldn’t smell smoke or see flames and so there was no obvious source! Neighbours gathered outside, after a few minutes we could hear sirens. We checked on those who may be alone and scared but were still none the wiser. A friend had called 101 and they didn’t seem to know what the cause of the explosion was either. They had sent police and fire services out to investigate but no-one seemed to know what was going on. There was apparently no obvious signs of damage or disruption from the source and so the whole thing was rather confusing.

What did strike me was the sense of community that evolved from the situation -maybe fleetingly but even so it was there. Neighbours checked on one another. People went to explore to see if the area was safe and fed back information to each other. We allowed the kids to go out on their bikes with us and they were all a bit shaken by the noise and wanted to see for themselves that there was nothing to worry about! Several people wearing pyjamas and dressing gowns were peering outside or looking around for an explanation. There was a brief feeling of being part of the secret seven as we explored with our neighbours areas that suddenly, in the dark seemed to take on a more mysterious air as we searched for the cause of the loud noise.

The official line is that it was a fire that someone had added petrol to causing the explosion although it seemed a lot louder and more dramatic than that! Indeed my own personal favourite conspiracy theory is that it was a jet being tested by the armed forces causing a sonic boom. The truth is no-one yet seems to know for sure – the police helicopter was out again this morning, presumably flying over the area to see if they can see any damage. Earlier reports that it was a sub-station going pop seem to have come to nothing, so we will have to await more information. Insert spooky music here and remember that the truth it out there!

Not the start we were hoping for…

Now the children have been back for a few weeks it’s time for a look back to see how things have gone. Conclusion; things can only get better. There were a few early issues, kids not wanting to do their homework, getting a bit lost navigating around the school, leaving various bits of uniform behind – all to be expected. Then there were the ones that we weren’t anticipating -losing an entire sports bag, missing a piano lesson and problems with co-ordinating extra curricular activities.

Imp has settled quickly, the only real issue with him is ensuring that he does the work he is set to the best of his ability. He tends to rush! He has however made some new friends and is starting to join in the sporting life of the school again. His main issue seems to be pain in the right knee from time to time which we will investigate with the consultant in October. Pixie is settling down now as well and seems to enjoy her lessons, but had to have two days off thanks to a pesky bug last week.

Perhaps it is Hpops who has been the unluckiest. It is she who seemed to be settling OK. Fitting in homework is a challenge as there is a lot of it but she is getting there and is embracing many of the new opportunities open to her. However on Friday she fell over in a fencing lesson and the end result was a broken finger. She has returned to school today and seems to be coping well but she now has extra homework to do as well as a school competition tomorrow evening. The weekends are filled with stage crazy and for the next few Sundays orienteering. I am sure she will recover from the broken finger fairly quickly but at the same time it means she cannot participate in everything as fully as she would like.

This was on top of the bad news that the girls riding school had been closed, initially temporarily but now looks longer term as they have had to re-home the horses with winter approaching. As Hpops has been there since she was around 6 she is reluctant to try somewhere else. Of course with her fingers out of action for the moment the issue can wait for a few weeks. Unfortunately we can’t say the same for her violin playing, she is meant to be taking her exam at the end of this term and we are not sure yet if that will still be possible!

At the same time I have been seeking a solution to the best way to spend my time. It seems as if there were more options than I thought to becoming a counsellor and so I now have a plan A and a plan B so, for the moment, I am just going to see what happens in terms of teaching and then execute one of these plans. It doesn’t seem possible that it is only a couple of months until Christmas and already the kids are on warning that no more things will be given to them until then as otherwise we start running out of options. It is difficult to work out what to get them now they are getting older as many of the things they want are very expensive or impractical!

Here’s hoping that the next couple of weeks at school are more settled and that the kids can make good progress. Writing has been going fairly well. I am making progress with typing the first draft of the kids book and have also typed and edited another couple of chapters of Tumbles 2. At the moment there are lots of distractions and every time I get a spare few days something seems to happen to prevent me doing it – but hopefully before half term I will be able to get some steady writing done.

Then they were gone

Today marks the first day proper of the new term! Obligatory photo of new uniforms taken, bags packed with sparkly new stationery that is currently all labelled and games bags with clean and tidy kit! I know the enthusiasm expressed today by them all being ready by 730 probably won’t last and that when the homework and music and club regime kicks in the moaning will commence – but for now I’ll ride the wave of positivity!

It is strange as for half the summer term we were wishing for the holidays to start! We couldn’t wait for the routine to be broken and have some time to ourselves to be a family. Then by about halfway through the holidays we were wishing the kids could go back to school! Outings were becoming scarcer and expensive and they were fed up with each other and beginning to argue constantly!

Now they have gone back and the house suddenly seems big again. Instead of being full of noise and the kids and their friends and half of the stuff in their bedrooms lying around the house seems vaguely tidy! (My house will never be show home tidy!) Gone are the sounds of the kids playing, arguing or moaning, playing on various devices. These are replaced instead by me typing with the TV on in the background! Indeed I can finally make some progress on the full to bursting SKY box whilst editing but the TV is now on more for company than wanting to sit and watch all day! And there is the conundrum! Whatever we have we want something different! When I have to take the kids to school life revolves around the school run, homework and so on. I struggle to find time to write and so on but when I don’t have to take them we still have to do things and go places but at a much slower pace and I still don’t have time to write as the kids interrupt or we go out and spend time together! This means being more organised this year and making time. I know my school hours and although there will be additional days when I get asked to work I can add these into my writing schedule. I am aiming for at least two hours a day, even if it is research or note making or doing an exercise rather than new work on the novel(s) or editing! I think that on days that are relatively clear I will edit and write new stuff and on those days that are a bit more hectic the work will be more research based. I am aiming to plan the week ahead on Sunday so I can really keep myself working hard!

Having dropped the three of them and waved them in to their new adventures I had time to do a quick tidy, completed 30 mins of exercise without being interrupted and walked the dog. He was a bit put out as it his first walk kid free for a while, and he found himself walking quicker and therefore further than he has been used to over the summer! I have been able to catch up on some admin, sort out a few appointments and still have some time to do some editing on the kids book before going to collect them again!

I think though some of the reasons that I look forward to this – other than missing them of course, is that I get to hear about their days. All of them will have done different things and after weeks of being together for most of the time they will all have something to talk about, be it good or bad. First we have to run the gauntlet of the school family photograph. I return to work on Monday and will be balancing teaching and writing as well as all the kid stuff and I know I am lucky to be able to do so. Fingers crossed all the new starters have a good first day and come out keen to go and learn even more tomorrow!

The new Term approaches

It doesn’t seem possible but in just a couple of days the children will be back at school! Two of them will be in new schools and I think it is fair to say that Hpops is having a bit of a wobble – mostly brought on by getting all her uniform sorted and tried on!

We don’t seem to have been out lots and lots this holiday but we have been to the cinema, the beach, the theatre and bowling as well as trying out mini golf, various parks and a week in the Lake District. Whilst there we were able to visit my Mum, climb 2 fells, swim, Hopos and I went on a two hour trek where she was able to canter outside for the first time, Imp quad biked and Pixie had a riding lesson, as well as the kids trying out sailing a wayfarer with Mr T and us all have a climbing lesson with varying degrees of success. I was rubbish, the kids aired with the exception of Hpops who made it to the very top with no problems at all! Mr T was good but because I was rubbish he didn’t get very far. We also explored the pencil museum and the puzzling place which the kids enjoyed.

I am looking forward to the children going back, less arguing and less moans of ‘I’m bored!’ At the same time I think we all value the routine afforded to us by school and the novel of doing what we like is certainly wearing off with the incessant rain!

I have finally been able to set myself some realistic goals; I am working a couple of days a week this term and hope that I can continue to do so in the future and I would like to dovetail this with a SENCO qualification, which when the kids are settled will allow me to diversify. This is a cheaper and more sensible option that studying for a second degree, and instead I can buy lots of books and learn that way without the time and exam pressures brought about by courses! Being a SENCO (special needs co-oridantor) has been an area of interest for a while and now seems to be the right time to explore this with the view to having it all completed by the time Pixie is approaching secondary school!

This will be combined with writing and kid stuff and I am hoping that with some teaching chucked in that will keep me more than occupied and afford me the opportunity to keep up with the tennis world and ensure the dogs are well looked after. Our ‘puppy’ who is nearly 10 months old is now high and dopey. He loves the kid and they love him but he is a disaster area, he loves tennis balls and this seems to be the only way to entice him in at times!

Wishing all those starting new educational adventures a happy settling in – do your best and be you is the best advice I can offer anyone! I am partly looking forward to Hpops starting Year 7 – new opportunities and things to do but at the same time nervous. I hope she likes it and is happy and can thrive, that she makes the most of the options she is presented with and the same for Imp and Pixie, that they strive to do their best!

Growing up!

Last week Hpops turned 11! Somehow this seemed a bigger change than reaching 10, she was already in double digits but this year seemed to mark a shift from youngster to that much used moniker tween! She is very definitely rushing headlong to the teenage years and perhaps it is the fact that her birthday is in close proximity to the new school year and the changes that heralds this year that it seems such a jump!

She has received much more grown up presents this year, gone are the dollies and large toys, in are the crafts, more difficult Lego and vouchers are for things like Waterstones and I-tunes rather than Toys R Us. She is pleased in some ways but at the same time she is worried about growing up. As the oldest child she carries the burden of being the first to do everything and so must forge ahead on her own. First one to go to secondary school, something that many children have mixed feelings about as do many parents.

In many ways it should make life easier, technically she should be able to go to school and back by herself, neighbours of ours travel by bus or walk. We will probably end up giving her a lift as the school she will be attending is in close proximity to the junior school my younger two attend. In preparation however, she now has a door key and because she may need access to money we have visited the bank and she is having her very first very own account. This is rather scary as she will have her own bank account with her own cash card and if anything goes wrong with it she will have to sort it out herself!(with help obviously!)

I think in many ways this is a good thing, she will have to be responsible for her cash card and budget her pocket money and this should encourage her to think about what she is buying and if she really needs it! I do worry though that she will lose the card, lose the key, get the phone confiscated and then she’ll be back in the 90’s like me. I used to walk home without the aid of a phone, I did have a key but not a bank account but today standards are different and hopefully by the time she gets to college, uni or whatever it is she decides to do she will already be able to budget and look after herself financially! I am looking forward to showing her how it all works and you never know perhaps before the school holidays finish she can treat me to a coffee!

Secondary school awaits us, a new adventure, bigger school, new uniform and new people to meet. Lots of teachers to get used to and learn the names of and even some new subject areas to study. I am not sure how we are going to fit everything in as she wants to try out new things and I am sure homework will build up, then there is music practice to fit in and stage crazy Saturdays! Pixie as well starts juniors and will face some similar challenges, she will have to manager her time properly as she will have more homework and new teachers and subjects as well as new activities she wants to try out.

Imp should be able to participate fully now that his Perthes seems to be healing, although I am not counting on too much until after his next appointment and he has been experiencing some knee pain after more active days. This could be his muscles getting back to fitness as he has been running about more and is hardly limping at all. It is great to see him walking the dog, running with his friends and scootering about with confidence, very different from the previous two summers and I am hoping that this means he can enjoy PE and games at school again from September. He is looking forward to resuming fencing, football and I am looking forward to children being tired out and not complaining they are bored every five minutes!

The Garden

Very rough first draft, opening paragraphs of ‘fairy’ story written for the kids that has a completed manuscript! Hpops is going to illustrate it for me!

Heather ran down the alley and out into the square of green in front of the terrace. Matthew and Lucy weren’t far behind.

‘We’re supposed to be hiding’ yelled Heather to Matthew and Lucy , otherwise known as the terrible twins. She was already fed up with them following her everywhere. Heather pointed to a row of bushes beside the next alleyway and they scurried over and ducked down. Heather wanted a good place of her own to hide in, now she was growing taller it was getting harder and harder. She raced across the green towards the old abandoned garden.

She ducked down beside the overgrown bushes and leaned against the steadfast brown gate designed to keep everyone out. As she leant against it to her surprise she felt herself pitching backwards as it swung open! Heather ended up falling through landing with a heavy thump on her bottom. She just stopped herself from crying out and scrambled over to the side before checking over her shoulder, she could just about see Matthew and Lucy. Heather was torn, she wanted to go in the garden and explore, for as long as she could remember, (about seven years, anything before the age of three was a blur), this space had been fenced off and locked away. She was meant to be keeping an eye on her brother and sister and she knew her Mum would be cross if she left them alone. Luckily just at that moment she heard Joseph, their ten year old neighbour thundering down the alleyway looking for them. She guessed she would have a couple of minutes before the others worked out where she was so slowly she turned around to inspect the garden.

Actually Writing

This week the terrible trio have been at an acting summer school 10-4 every day! This means that aside from the house work I have had a free run and I have made the most of it, using the time to write!

I tend to write my first drafts by hand so have been typing the first draft of the completed manuscript of the kids book and giving it to Hpops to evaluate. In fact she said; ‘it’s good Mummy but it’s not David Walliams!’ I am presuming she meant it as a compliment! Anyway she is making that up for me and I have also been trying to progress with Tumbles 2. I have to do a lot of updating (my own fault for taking too long in the first place,) and have been trying up the completed chapters. I have to say I was relived – It flows better than it deserves to as it has been written in such a disjointed way and as I have been typing it up I actually thought it was OK.

With their performances tomorrow I may struggle to find as much time in the day to type and write but I am hoping now that I have re-located my writing mo-jo I can keep up the momentum. I really want to get at least one of them done and dusted by the end of the year with the other not too far behind as I have been researching and planning the novel I wanted to write since I was young and am ready to go but want to finish my current projects first!

The new project is a throw back to old school detective work, think Nancy Drew, The Hardy boys and The Three Investigators. I think the main character is going to be a boy and while some gadgets are a necessity – who doesn’t have a phone these days? I want the mystery that unfolds to be solved with logic and brain power not luck and magic! Nothing wrong with any of those things but I really want to write something like I used to read and enjoy as a kid. Perhaps it will be too ‘far out’ for our technical generation but I have always written more for myself than for the market – if other people like it and want to buy it – well that’s a bonus!

I am still trying to decide what to do in September. I am going back to teach for about 15 hours a week and want to keep writing when the kids are at school but this makes the idea of re-trainign more difficult. The road is a long one and the children are concerned that I will not have enough time for them with all the things I plan to do and I can understand their fears! I wasn’t going to be teaching which makes study more feasible but I enjoy teaching and having got the opportunity I want to take that up.

Time will tell – I think if I get offered more teaching hours the decision will be made for me or if the writing takes off and the clamour for sequels is so loud that I have to spend my time parked in front of the computer! Maybe I should become a professional prevaricator – I’m definitely good at that!

A Daughter’s Secret by Eleanor Moran

I read this book in just a few days and it was one of those that you want to continue reading to find out what happens next. Mia is a therapist with great empathy, probably because she has issues in her own past that help to relate to those of the clients she sees. Gemma is a new client, caught up in a case involving some very dangerous people. She is grieving the loss of her Father, who has disappeared with the money of many innocent investors!

To complicate matters Mia discovers her own family has money invested and she is faced with an investigator who suspects that Gemma is in contact with her Father and knows more than she is letting on and is hoping Mia can help him uncover the truth! Mia of course thinks she has come to terms with her own demons, she has stopped therapy, is in love with a wealthy man who adores her. The issue is of course that his children don’t approve of the relationship and he is a bit of a control freak who is away a lot and Mia is coming to realise seems to be more in love with the idea of her than with her. She feels uncomfortable in the expensive restaurants he chooses and the apartment that she disparagingly calls The Fridge!

Her own demons resurface as therapy progresses. Her own ‘Daddy’ issues with Lorcan resurface and through flashbacks her own past with best friend Lysette’s brother and the subsequent fall out resonate with the way she deals with Gemma. Increasingly uncomfortable when Gemma shows up outside appointment times and brings her presents she begins to step out of the client – therapist relationship! As events come to a head and Mia enters a downward spiral both her and Gemma’s issues reach a resolution as their paths cross once again. A good read, well written ,sympathetic characters and will keep you guessing. 5/5

A day at the Beach

There seems to be a growing trend for those of us who can’t get to the beach to have it brought to us. Thus it was that myself, Hpops, Imp and Pixie boarded a train headed for Stratford to go to the beach. Currently at the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park there is now a beach!

It has sand for castles and the like and a paddling ball complete with squeals as you enter due to the cool temperature. There are seaside rides, as well as the usual seaside food; donuts, candy floss and ice creams. There are of course the side shows as well when you can try and win unfeasibly big ducks and minion soft toys!

We went as an alternative to Southend, made our way through Westfield and soon crossed over into the park. There is a lot of building work going on as the area is developed into housing and office buildings but with the stadium in front of us and the Orbit to our left we crossed the bridge and we were looking down on the seaside scene!

There was a lack of seagulls and the sound of crashing waves but the music, lights and food all added to the atmosphere and the three children were very excited to get to the action. Entering the beach is free and there are a few changing rooms so the kids were able to get changed and go into the paddling pool! The beach was very crowded as of course space is limited and there were a few school parties visiting. However there was large range of rides, a rollercoaster, zorbing, flying chairs, dodgems, miniature golf, bouncy castles and various track based rides as well as pay as you go prize games. To access most of the rides you need to purchase tokens from one of the two booths at either end of the park – each ticket costs £1.

This is where the catch is, each of the rides is 2-4 tokens per person. That meant that for all of us to go on some os the things would cost £16 – if we went on several things then we could have had a day out at a theme park! There is of course no obligation to go on any of the rides and to use the beach and paddling pool it is completely free. It is however difficult to convince children when they see dodgems and so on not to want to go on them and most parents are familiar with pester power. There also did not seem to be a discount for purchasing multiple tokens – something which you can often do in places like Adventure Island located in Southend which means that you can go on many rides for a one off-payment, and if introduced would surely provide better value for money for thrill seekers.

I did set a limit and bought some tokens and with it they were able to go on the dodgems, flying chairs and the zorbs! There was a range of food to choose from but another way to save a few pennies would be to bring a packed lunch or even nip back to Westfield as that could proved a cheaper alternative to some of the offerings averrable. The good thing is that when the kids had finished with the amusements, armed with ducks from the hook a duck stall we headed out to the park to kills another hour or two! There is a play park near by which can be crowded but you can stroll around the base of the orbit, walk through some of the gardens or shop at Westfield.

It was fun to go and play on a beach located just a few minutes walk from places like Canary Wharf, Westfield and other attractions in the Olympic Park. The kids still want to go to Southend, they want to walk down the pier, go to Adventure Island and paddle in the salty sea but they had a fab time at the urban beach and would be to happy to go back!