Tag: Blog

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!

Snow Globe Alert

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!

The Challenge ahead

Usually at this time of year I waffle on about resolutions and how life is going to be much better as a result of them but this year I’m not doing that, partly because resolutions never last the distance and more importantly because I have realised that life just doesn’t let you do as you plan as much as you might think! Planning to eat less, exercise more and so on are all well and go until something happens…

Towards the end of 2013 Pixie had a nasty accident that resulted in a broken collar bone which meant six weeks of pain, frustration and learning how to tie slings, at about the same time my seven year old Imp started to limp. We had two dr visits which yielded a diagnosis of strained muscles, not too unrealistic as he is active and may well have pulled something. After the suggested rest and pain relief he was still limping and a MRI scan revealed he had something called Perthes disease!

To say I was all at sea would be an understatement, myself and Mr T were both hoping that it would be something called Irritable hip which is self limiting and lasts only a few weeks, Perthes is self limiting but much longer lasting and getting the right treatment is paramount to avoid problems in later life. Perhaps this is the most difficult part. He is in the group of 6-8 year old boys which show the most variability. We meet with an orthopaedic doctor tomorrow and I have everything crossed that he is in the group that require watchful management, maybe some physio, regular scans but no ‘active’ treatment. Depending on the severity however he could require crutches or even corrective surgery, some of it may be further down the line.

Perthes is a new disease to me, so lots of research has been done but until we know exactly what is happening with Imp we have no idea how high the mountain we have to climb is! Basically at some point the blood flow to the femoral bone was interrupted causing it to die, it basically rots is reabsorbed and then regrows so recovery is possible. The whole process can take from a year to three of four. Depending on how the bone regrows is how aggressive the treatment needs to be, as well as how much of the hip is involved in the initial phases.

Cruelly for young children the best treatment seems to be rest, particularly from sports such as football and rugby. In all probability he will need to avoid football, rugby, go-karting and so on for at least a year, swimming is in and hopefully some of the other things he enjoys. Telling him he can no longer go and do things he enjoys has been difficult and in some ways we are looking forward to the next appointment and getting a better idea of what we need to be doing. Perhaps the hardest things however is watching him limp and being in pain and knowing there is absolutely nothing I can do about it! I can’t take it away or make it go faster and we have noticed that instead of telling him no to run about we’re asking him how bad the pain is today?

Currently the weather is helping, running about and going to the park is out but at the moment the X-box and games are providing the entertainment and we are keeping it together. One of the saddest things so far happened when we were on the way to an appointment and we passed the local park and he said, ‘sorry I can’t come to the park at the moment because it hurts!’ Questions start to pop into your head as well, what about the holiday in October, if he can’t currently walk to the local shop and back without being in pain, how will he manage the theme parks? Will he be able to go on any of the rides? What about other trips we have booked, will they be affected and school, what about games and all the stairs in the building?

I know there are far worse conditions out there but at the moment this does seem dreadful for him, we also know there is a genetic factor so we are watching the girls for signs of the same problem, luckily Hpops with all the activity she does and being 9 already should be OK, Pixie however is coming into the age group where things start to develop!

So there are things I want to achieve in 2014. I want to finish the kids books I have been writing for ages, the sequel to Tumbling and to finish the book I began for NaNoWriMo, but mostly I want to take advantage of good opportunities that come my way, enjoy my family and try to make success of my job. Wish us luck as this is an adventure we weren’t really counting on!

Stress

NaNoWriMo is over and I have ended up with about half to three quarters of a first draft of a novel which I intend to finish and at some point publish, hopefully in the New Year quickly followed by More tumbles, coming to a Kindle near you by Easter life allowing.

When I decided to take part in the novelly writing month I had no idea how stressful life was about to become. Pixie had an accident at school resulting in a broken collar bone and humerus. This meant watching her in pain and having to try and dress her and manoeuvre her without adding to her pain burden, this did quickly ease and we fell into a routine. We had several scares when she was knocked or fell over and I am sure I was guilty of over parenting! I think one of the hardest things was watching her in her school Christmas performance, her class were being stars and were dancing to one of her favourite songs Shine. She was able to take part and they covered her chair in silver foil and we decorated her sling with silver stars as well as making her a silver wand to wave about. As she joined in I did feel a lump rise, partly pride that she had coped so well with an injury I am sure would have made me moan a lot more than she did, partly just being upset as she couldn’t join in, in the way she would have liked. However the big smile on her face as she took part convinced me that she was enjoying herself. A few deep breaths later and her song was finished and she was off and part of the choir again. The thing that really undid me was the end when she was given a special bow, was happily waving her wand in the air and beaming at me. Tears flowed and for the first time in a long time I cried at school. This was not made any easier by the fact that I was surrounded by friends, colleagues and other children, so a few sobs in a corner and rubbing of the eye and a much appreciated hugs from a couple of friends and I was OK again.

Whilst all this has been going on our much loved chocolate labrador was diagnosed with cancer, I feared the worst as she is 11 and had another problem which required surgery but she came through the first one with no problems and during this tests were carried out revealing no spread of the cancer. Last week she had the second op and is due to visit the vet this Friday to hopefully be officially discharged from their care. Pixie should go back to the fracture clinic on the same day and also be discharged.

As the saying goes it comes in threes and on the same day Imp will be having an MRI scan! At around the same time as Lucy was having her accident he was observed to be limping, his teacher was concerned and so after this had persisted for a while we took him to a local minor injuries unit, they thought it was muscular so we took him home, convinced him as much as we could to rest for a week and then allowed him to resume normal activities. Within a couple of days we were back to the dragging of the leg and limping so we returned to the gp and were again advised he probably has some inflamed muscles and to use ibuprofen and to rest for a week, he did and the problem returned as soon as he began exercising, which when you are a seven year old boy is very frustrating. We returned to the gp, were referred to a consultant and saw him at the weekend. He believe the problem is in the hip and therefore the scan is to determine exactly what is going on. I am hoping that the scan come back clean which means that he has an irritable hip which will heal by itself but have to admit I am terrified it is something more sinister, either something called perthes disease, a growth or a dislocation, the dislocation is more easily fixed than the others but I am trying to tell myself not to panic before I know there is something to panic about! My first problem is to get him to lie still for long enough for them to take all the pictures during the scan!

Still hopefully we will at least have some answers soon and once we know what we’re dealing with we can work towards a goal, in the meantime Imp is fairly pleased to be told that when school is finished he doesn’t have to go and do too many chores but can watch TV, play in the x-box and do quiet activities! He isn’t so keen on my suggestion to read books and practice his handwriting but I guess I’ll have to try and convince him!

I have at least started my new job and it seems to be working out OK, I am enjoying the interacting with the children in a more relaxed setting as being a librarian gives me the opportunity to talk to them in a way that I wouldn’t be able to in class. The administrative side has been a steeper learning curve but I am getting there with that and have managed to track down most of the books that were deemed lost or missing or hiding in the library somewhere! I sometimes wonder why I keep the blog, a catalogue of times of things that have gone wrong or a basic moan, but I think to some extent it keeps me sane. I’m not looking for sympathy or pity but it is a way for me to get it all out, and in part to process in my own mind what is happening, a written way of thinking it all through if you like. Hopefully the lead up to Christmas will be more fun than fear, presents are wrapped, tree is up and the kids are eagerly counting down the day to the visit of Father Christmas, hopefully by then they’ll be ready to have a lovely time. Merry Christmas to you all and keep smiling!

LIfe at Full Speed

Half term has come and gone and despite the weather’s best attempts we did manage to carry out some activities. We visited Southend in fairly windy conditions but this did not deter the children from the rides! The highlight for them was carving pumpkins. Thanks to the supermarkets selling them fairly cheaply we were able to purchase one each for the children. Designs were made on paper first and then drawn on to the pumpkin. The messy and smelly job of removing the innards was everyones least favourite part of the job. The carving on the smaller pumpkins wasn’t too bad and Hpops produced a brilliant witch. Imp and myself did traditional jack o lantern designs and Pixie carved out shapes. On the night of Halloween we lit them using Halloween scented candles which smelt of candy and were quite enticing. We didn’t have many trick or treaters, although the kids were happy as that meant there was more Haribo left over for them!

We tried apple bobbing which proved to be amusing and difficult, none of us managed to get an apple out despite numerous attempts. The dogs on the other hand were able to get them out as quickly as anything as they simply got on with it! The kids went back to school happy after a great fireworks party. They got to eat pizza, watch fireworks, play with sparklers (gloves on both hands of course) and Hpops was engrossed in a Harry Potter quiz which demonstrated that she had read the books.

Now we are nearly a week into the new half term and I am sure the road to Christmas will be a busy one and I get to start a new job on Monday as a librarian, 15 hours a week that on the whole fit around the kids which leave me plenty of time for writing. Talking of which I have discovered that setting myself challenging writing targets works as I have been taking part in NaNoWriMo, (National Novel Writing Month), so far since the 1st November I have written at least 2000 words a day and having the target imposed means I have ensured that I have been hitting the targets as a result I think I will do this most of the time and I might even get the book I have been planning for years finished! Wish me luck.

NaNoWriMo approaches

For those of you who don’t know NaNoWirMo is national novel writing month and you sign up online. The idea is that you write 50,000 words during the month of November, and this year I have decided to take part. There are on-line local networks so you can meet up virtually with fellow writers and some areas organise writing events so you can get down to writing with people of a similar frame of mind. It is a challenge to write approximately 1500-2000 words a day, especially, as at the moment I am failing to write even 1000, and perhaps this was the impetus. The first draft on the children’s novel is nearly ready but even this has been slow going, too much prevaricating, time wasting and general distractions. NaNoWriMo then could be just the stimulation needed to kickstart the novel. There are two novels i have had planned for far too long, the sequel to Tumbling Through Life and a new novel with a theme that explores friendship and yet I haven’t managed to sit down and write them yet.

I have explained it away to myself, trying to find a job with a regular income, dealing with the children and various appointments that just have to take priority, but the truth is in reality fear. What if no-one reads it? What is people read it and hate it? Should I use a non de plume just in case? Whilst all these thoughts are going around the writing is stilted and messy and although novels are planned no real work other than research has happened as yet, a few false starts and then the impetus runs out. SO I have decided that one of the novels is going to get written in as much of its entirety as it can this November, strangely for me straight onto the computer and hopefully at the end of the month I will be uploading it to the NaNoWriMo site to get an official word count, editing and publishing for Christmas.

The days of waiting for an editor to pick up the manuscript are over, I am going to take my chances with Amazon Kindle and let the work speak for itself. Fear will no doubt mount up but in the end my ambition has never been to be a bestselling author, just to maybe touch a few people or allow people to lose themselves in my story and characters for a few hours I still haven’t decided whether to add my own name but it’s time to be more confident and allow let others to decide if they want to read it or not! I am hoping that NaNoWriMo will re-establish my daily habit of writing every day for better fluidity and getting rid of those lazy and bad habits that develop, as most teachers of creative writing will say it is best to write every day wherever possible. As I have made this promise to myself, to just write for me without worrying ideas have been flowing, notebooks being scribbled in before the idea that arrives flees just as quickly.

Perhaps I want to take on the challenge as well to show the children how practice makes perfect, or at least a bit better than you were when you started, starting a task and finishing it. They are all working hard at school and this term has had a few surprises. Imp ran in a cross country team and has been going to running club, something I never thought I’d say about any of my children, and Pixie took a little time to adjust as it is the first time she has been alone in a school now her big brother has moved onto Year 3! Now she seems settled but we’ll see what happens after the half term holiday! Hpops meanwhile seems to be as forgetful as ever, we have already had to scour the house and school for glasses, violin and various books that she has managed to forget or lose! Pixie seems to have found something that interests her out of school as she has started to attend a stage school where she is enjoying learning to sing, dance and act, not that she needs much help with the latter as she has always been a drama queen, I just hope we’re not creating a monster!

Then there was me…

The holidays, for once seem to have flown past and the house is less chaotic, slightly tidier and a lot quieter. It was strange dropping them off today, smart, with hair done but yet, true to form Hpops had managed to leave her pencil case behind having taken it out to put something in and then rushing out the door! Imp, slightly nervous and looking very small in the playground enters his junior years, but soon found a friend to chat to. As I have made my way home and carried out the housework unimpeded and in half the time it has taken over the last few weeks I have thought about them, hoping their days are going well and that they are enjoying their day with their new teachers.

This year as well for a change the weather was fabulous for the holidays, at the beginning of them each child made a list of the places they would like to visit or the activities they would like to participate in and this helped shape our action plan. Visits were made to Frinton, Legoland and Chessington World of Adventures. We have been to London several times so Imp could walk along Pudding Lane and go up the steps of the Monument as his imagination had been captured after learning about the Great Fire of London. We saw great theatre shows; Wicked, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and Stomp as well as attending a prom at the Royal Albert Hall aimed at children and getting to meet Tony Ross afterwards. There were the usual squabbles, he said, she said, kicking balls over the fence and a few rainy days, not to mention the more boring tidy ups, clean outs and school shopping trips but all in all this holiday I felt the best able to cope. The kids now seem more compliant, slightly less likely to disappear and more likely to be interested in what is going on around them. They have enjoyed the days out as well as the more simple trips just riding their bikes around and playing with their friends.

This year we stayed in the UK for our holiday and spent five lovely days in the New Forest. We cycled, trekked, canoed and hiked. The kids got to learn about cars, hold non-stinging (yes they exist!) jellyfish and see wild animals in a natural habitat and they loved it. They fished in rock pools, unsuccessfully, ate too much junk and got to do their first coastal cliff walk, although Imp and Pixie had to be held at all times – no telling with those two then they will decide to do something daft! So all in all when school finally rolled around today it was with a mixture of pride and sadness that I wished them a good day, one of those bittersweet moments of parenthood when they see one of their friends and rush off without a care, having been holding your hands nervously just a few moments before.

I have started a new adventure as well, teaching two days a week and aiming to write a couple of days a week with a bit of study and family admin in between! The story I have been writing for the kids is almost completed in first draft and the sequel to Tumbling Through is roughed out and ready for work! I am slightly nervous about teaching on my own but have prepared and I am sure once I get there and start talking it will all be OK! One of the things that the children did love was going into school with me a couple of times whilst I was preparing, a few of the other staff were about but the playground was deserted! As we all make a new start this September I look forward to the future, but can’t help feeling a little sad that the kids are growing up so fast, roll on next summer for more timetable free adventures, for now we are on school time!

Heatwaves, thunderstorms and royal baby

It can’t have failed to come to the attention of anyone above ground that the last couple of weeks have been exceptionally hot. It seems that in this country we take great delight in cataloguing all the different weather we are experiencing and discussing it at a national and even international level! From the first flakes of snow paralysing the transport system to the first rays of the sun causing a rush on bottled water as we all forget we can get it out of the tap! Then there are the inevitable thunderstorms that follow the heat, although here it seems more humid after the storms than it did before they started! I was quite disappointed not to be abel to watch the storm but the arrival of a frightened five year old put paid to that but it was nice to listen to the rain! Thankfully the child who is the most scared by thunder managed to sleep through it somehow! The eldest didn’t want to come in but instead camped out on the stairs with her bedding and a book and then promptly fell asleep again about an hour before I needed to get her up for riding!

All the children were pleased that a royal baby has been born, it is exciting that a baby that will be king one day has been born and I can understand why people are excited all around the world. Indeed I did feel happy and patriotic last night at the news and hope that the duchess isn’t in too much pain after the delivery as he was rather a big boy. Now the speculation about how and when they will leave the hospital, when official photographs will be issued and what his name will be has started in earnest. The news have filled hours with telling us over and over again what has happened and what might happen, but like us, they don’t know yet! In this age of instant news I was pleased that the couple were able to keep the news that the baby was here to themselves for a few hours. Having said that the children are guessing the name Imp thinks he will be called Henry because then that will make 9 and apparently that is a world record, Pixie thinks he will be called Jack and Hpops has yet to comment. Pixie is keen to meet him as her main ambition is to grow up to be a princess so who knows…

I worry for the poor child though growing up in the spotlight although William seems to have managed, I do hope that despite the furore concerning the family they will still have time to be themselves and enjoy the child growing up. I can only imagine how hard it must be for Kate having given birth just yesterday to appear on the steps of the hospital with her precious new arrival and ‘show him off’ to the media and public. For any new parents it is a time when they want to be surrounded by their own loved ones, get to know their baby and bond as a family. You often feel like you’ve been hit by a bus having just given birth, having done it three times all I wanted to do was shuffle down the corridor and into the car, shuffle into the house and recover slowly and in private! I was lucky to get anything remotely sensibly fitting on so to have to face the media would not be top of my list of things to do 24 hours after giving birth. Yes be excited, wave flags, fire a gun to salute and visit the special golden easel but remember that at the heart of the excitement is a family and we need to be careful not to overwhelm them with out desire to know what is going on with the baby. Being a parent for the first time is difficult enough without everyone wondering when the prince will walk, when he will have his first solids and whether his first will be Mum or Your Majesty!

I hadn’t really thought about what it felt like to be patriotic until recently. The wedding and the Olympics as well as the birth have all made me pleased to live in Britain. As a country we do have a number of problems but having looked at other places there doesn’t seem to be anywhere on the Earth that is ‘perfect’, or at least not for long. I have heard people saying we should abolish the Royals but imagine if we did what we’d lose, not just the excitement of weddings, births and pomp and circumstance but the years of tradition, the tourist lure. So many buildings and gardens and feelings of good will exist and if there was one person many of us would like to see up close it would be a member of the royal family. They are our figureheads and we should feel proud of the positive image they present to the world! At the moment the country seems to be on the up, the cricket team are 2-0 in the Ashes, Andy Murray won Wimbledon and Froome won the Tour de France! Now if we could just get over the heat and thunderstorms and have a nice steady 20-24 degrees everything would be perfect -for a while!

Life lesson #37 Remote control + water = tears

You can tell it is the Easter holidays when we’ve done battle with Lakeside shopping centre, have cable ties from toys all over the place and the sound of whinging is replaced with inventive play with the newest additions to the toy cupboard! That happened on Monday when we, perhaps, ill advisedly battled the Bank holiday traffic to go to the shops to finally allow the children to spend the vouchers they had received at Christmas. The girls settled for dolls and build a bears, Imp on the other hand chose a remote controlled Sebastian Vettel remote control vehicle! We were a little unsure about him having it as he doesn’t have a wonderful record with them as my skirting boards can attest!

Once home it was out of the box, batteries inserted and whizzing around the place crashing into toes and any other debris that happened to be lying about! It was going so well, we only had to take it away once, due to the fact that he had rammed it into something and smashed one of the wing mirrors off! ‘It’s OK,’ he said, ‘He can still see out of the other one!’

I didn’t really suspect anything was up until Tuesday afternoon when I was informed by Hpops that the car was no longer working. this needed a little investigation. I suggested that perhaps the non-stop use had worn out the batteries the car had been supplied with. This seemed a good idea until Imp said;

‘The tyres might still be wet.’ I of course asked why and was informed that in his wisdom and desire to keep the car looking sleep Imp had decided to wash his new car. Of course the car had not taken too kindly to this as it transpired that it had been fully immersed. We hope that if we dried the batteries and terminals the car might be reincarnated but further inspection proved that the circuit boards inside had reacted badly to the soaking! This caused many tears not least because he had a stern talking to about appropriate use of water, the dangers of putting anything in the water and respect for property. Despite his pleas for a replacement and his insistence that he cannot possibly be happy again if he doesn’t have one he has now come to understand that it will not be replaced. The plugs have since been removed from bathroom other than the main one to prevent any of the children playing with water when they shouldn’t be, not least because the leak we had recently caused by the water tank is enough to deal with for now!

I have to confess I do feel a bit sorry for him, we have convinced him to keep it as a model for now and as his birthday is in June we may be able to find something similar, we’ll see. In other news the little two have adjusted to their new beds well. Pixie is delighted to have a ‘big girls’ bed and says it is snuggly and Imp having had a cabin bed which he decided he didn’t like had the legs shortened and is now much happier. In a happy development he has spent much of his time reading by himself, something I never thought I’d be able to say! He has discovered the Tom Gates books and has read two in less than a week, indeed when I got up today to do breakfasts and stop the children fighting over the remotes and so on I found two children still in their rooms, one sleeping, one reading and the third was the one who had asked for food! A very pleasing development!