London Baby

So in this time we have had a few trips.

The first one was to London to surprise grandma Maz on her birthday.
We all got wrapped up and took the train down. Then we went across London on the tube to meet Adam who led us to their flat where Grandma and Grandad were already installed- having been on an earlier train.
As we were approaching the flat, James rang Maz (who thought Rachel was going to another birthday party) to wish her happy birthday. And as we walked into the flat he was telling her that we were just arriving at the party 🙂
A great surprise this year, and I don’t think we were rumbled!
We spent the day there. Took the kids to the park but it poured with rain so we had to come back. Then as soon as we got back the rain cleared again! So we took a nice stroll along the river in the cool afternoon sun, before heading home again.

I know, I know, I know

Sooooo erm yes its now 2014 which means I haven’t posted in approx 6 months…
As seems to be regularly the case, life has got in the way of my blogging.
I am now going to attempt to catch up on the last 6 months…….
In September, Rachel started back at school in year one. She was very happy and settled from the start, mainly as one of her best friends Mae was in her class. They had warned us that year one was a lot harder and that they would be much tireder after school, but we didn’t really take much notice. So it was a bit of a shock when all of a sudden, after about 4 years of sleeping with us, Rach finally started to sleep in her own bed!! At first we thought it was a one-off and wouldn’t be repeated. But as time went on and she did it again and again we realised that we finally had our bed back… well for now as we have yet to move Jack into his own bed – one he can escape from and get to us from!

Another notable happening from September was getting a new kitchen! We decided our old kitchen needed replacing so after looking around, we finally settled on an ikea kitchen, designed by me and installed by the builder who did out loft. Living without a kitchen for 2 weeks was a strain and the conservatory was inaceessible as it was filled with all the kitchen stuff! But the end results made it all worthwhile.

Countdown

The end is in sight! We are well into the last week of the school holidays and everyone has survived!
We have done so much and been so many places. I doubt the kids will remember any of it.. After all the only thing Rachel ever wrote about me at school last year was “I love my mummy because she buys me sweets”.
So what have we done since Selsey?
We have:
Been to the farm where we had pony rides, milked a goat, fed the ducks, played in the playground, held a bunny, a chick and a guinea pig, and Jack cried through pretty much all of it- every time an animal squeaked, grunted, moved….
Been to Ryton Pools where we built a den, had a picnic, fed the ducks, played in the playground, picked blackberries, screamed at the wasps!
Spent a weekend in manchester where we went to the museum of science and industry and inadvertently stepped into the beginnings of the pride parade where we gathered loads of free goodies, went to spend a day with my cousin and family, went to the park with them where we rode a mini steam train and played in the playground, went to the Trafford Centre.
Made our own tshirts
Done lots of giant paintings
Been to Jam Jam boomerangs with Mandy, jess, Millie, mikey, Mae and her mum.
Baked cakes
Been to Grandma’s multiple times
Been to Auntie bec becs and soft play
Generally not stopped….. and occasionally in amongst all of this I have shown my face at work!(but only occasionally!!)

Come follow the band

On the last night of our holiday J and I went to see Barnum at the theatre in Chichester.
I had seen it many moons ago as a child, when Michael Crawford played the leading role and when I had seen a news article months ago on the BBC website, saying it was being revived in Chichester this summer I had jumped at the chance to get tickets.
In the end I left it quite late to get the tickets and spent a long time agonising over whether to get the expensive seats or just go for some cheap tickets to the side of the stage. In the end, I opted for the cheapest seats, thinking that maybe the view would be compromised but to our disbelief they were not. We were 2 rows back, slightly to the side of the stage and the view was fantastic. The show was brilliantly done and the end of the show was a dazzling display of circus skills, acrobats and people dangling from ropes in the stage and also out in the audience. It really was brilliantly done and although on a smaller scale than the Palace theatre in Manchester, it was no less of a spectacle. We really enjoyed it and I hope that they continue to do the show and take it around the country as it is well worth seeing for any musical theatre fans.
And so ended our holiday.
On Saturday we packed up the cars and headed home. Rachel and Jack came back with grandma and grandad after a detour to say goodbye to baby Zach. Of course Rachel was very sad to say goodbye and told me later that evening, whilst sobbing a little, that she was really going to miss seeing Zach every day and that she wished she could live with Auntie Sarah! This was only to be expected though given how much she loves babies in general, and how earlier in the week she had said to me, in total earnest, that she really loved me, but that she loved Zach more!! I wonder whether she will always feel that way, even when he grows up to be a big boy like Jack.
I haven’t really said much about Jack and his holiday memories. We walked on the beachfront, we built a sandcastle, we got our feet wet in the sea. He too loved seeing baby Zach and helping Rachel to feed him and he loved being surrounded by everyone. But the lasting memory for Jack will probably be on the day of the barbecue when, before lunch, a slightly hungover Uncle Addy stripped down to his pants and took a dip in the sea.
“What did Uncle Addy do at the seaside Jack?”
“Uncle Addy taked his pants off!”
And so this will be forever remembered as the sun sets on our British beach summer holiday.

BBQ king

On the Thursday J’s uncle and family had arranged to come down to visit us. In order to celebrate Uncle John’s upcoming birthday we had planned to hold a BBQ. And miraculously the weather on the Thursday was perfect. The wind had dropped, the skies had cleared and the sun was shining.
It was flawless.
J, my BBQ king set about organising the food whilst Rachel and grandad headed over on an emergency mission to Sarah’s flat with her car keys that grandad had managed to bring home with him the night before…
Speaking of which I have not yet alluded to the fact that having booked this holiday last year, expressly so we would be close to Sarah, Adam and baby, just over a month ago they moved back to London!
Luckily they still had access to the flat so Sarah and baby Zach managed to join us for the whole week, with Adam joining around work.
Rachel was particularly overjoyed at seeing her baby cousin and so we all ensured that she got to spend every moment possible with him and Auntie Sarah. She gave him cuddles, fed him his baby mush and milk, helped to bath him and played with him. She was in heaven.
Anyway back to my BBQ king. Everyone arrived at midday, from all directions and J served us up a storm. Burgers, sausages, marinaded chicken, potatoes, salad, crisps. Fantastic food, weather, company and I even cracked open a bottle of Crabbies.
After lunch there was the handing over and opening of gifts for Uncle John followed by the fantastic cake that Maz and Rachel had made for the occasion.
Then J, Rachel and I braved the sea. Of course Rachel wussed out as soon as a bit of sea water got on her face and in her mouth, but she sat wrapped in her towel on the beach watching her parents amusing attempt to look cool in the surf with body boards to complete the craziness!
And no day is complete without being nagged to paint Rachel’s face – although the more I do it the better I get!
And then to finish off a beautiful day we had curry on the decking as the sun lowered itself to bed.
Beautiful.

Oh I do like to be beside the seaside.

We have just returned from one of those holidays that inspires a nostalgic sigh.
We spent a week in a bungalow by the sea in Selsey. The idea was that we would be on the seafront, near Sarah in Chichester and would take the in-laws as their Xmas present. Dad was meant to be looking after the dog but as his dog sitting services were no longer required we invited him with us too.
The name “bungalow” doesn’t really do the place justice as it suggests a small , flat house but it was enormous.
5 bedrooms, 3 bathrooms, a games room in the converted garage, a massive kitchen, lounge-diner and 2 garden areas. It had panoramic views over the sea and steps down to the shingle beach. Fan-blooming-tastic.
Had we had the weather of two weeks ago it would have been totally heavenly for me anyway.
The kids seemed to enjoy it and were generally fairly well-behaved. They got plenty of fresh air, although there were a couple of ridiculously windy days, and being by the sea we had no shelter, so they couldn’t play out much on these days.
J, dad and I took them to Peppa Pig World on the Wednesday. PPW was already really packed when we got there and after queuing for the best part of an hour to get on George’s Dinosaur ride we decided to take a look at the rest of the park. A great idea as it turned out as the rest of the park was much quieter. Jack loves roller coasters, a real adrenaline junkie but hates the people dressed up as characters…Rachel is totally contradictory and loves flying high on the swing rides, no longer likes the roller coaster she loved last time and screamed in complete fear on the log flume but then got off and claimed she hadn’t!
Later on we returned to PPW and it had quieted down a lot, so we managed to get on a couple more rides in there and the kids played in Mr Potatoes playground for a while before we had to head back.

Milestones

So we tried potty training Jack this week and tbh have had mixed results.
The thing is he knows what a potty is for and has used it numerous times over the past year or so. He just doesn’t yet get the timing right. So we have about a 50% success rate….
This afternoon I caved and put him back in pull ups. I am not completely giving up, just putting it on hold for a few days and then we will try again but this time we may try the training pads that we used with Rachel at night times. These are small triangular pads (sanitary towel stylee) that stick inside their pants. They absorb the occasional accidents but they can still feel the wetness, so in theory it helps them get used to that sensation of having a wee and therefore recognising that they need to use the potty…
So we will see.

Rachel finished her first year at proper school. I actually felt a bit like welling up (and not just because it means I have both monsters to look after for the next 6 weeks!!)
Yesterday she brought home some of her schoolwork from the year and it was quite interesting to see the changes and development over the year. When she started in reception she could only write a handful of letters. And now, now she writes in sentences and even short stories. Of course the spelling isn’t quite there but mostly you can tell what she has written and why she has spelt it the way she has.

Heat wave, holiday friends, graduation and school report

This week we have been in the grip of a super hot heat wave. It’s been brilliant – except for the lack of swimming pool, air con and occasionally having to work.
I attempted to keep cool in the kids paddling pool but it turns out a little 3 ring paddling pool is not big enough to fit a hot and bothered mummy. I did find a nice position lying on the grass with my feet dangling over the side of the pool!
Last weekend our “holiday friends” came to visit. And amusingly the weather was as beautiful for us as when we were with them in Crete! So we were all wearing the same outfits!! Rachel had a great time playing with Chloe, splashing in the paddling pool, taking her up to her bedroom and generally holding court. Jack also had a fab time as he loves Chloe too! As for the adults we enjoyed piña coladas on the decking followed by a sumptuous barbecue served by my personal chef! It was genuinely one of the best days we have had as a family since getting back from Crete -although it did start me off looking for next years holidays again!- and it was really sad when J had to take them back to the train station.

It’s been lovely not having to wrap everyone up and doing the school run in vest and shorts and still sweating….
The afternoon pick up however has been fairly unbearable in my aircon-less car, with the temperature rising to 38 in there on a couple of occasions…
Wednesday was Rachel’s “graduation” ceremony. Ironically falling in the same week as the real graduation week at work.
The kids all had gowns and caps and they received scrolls, handed out by the head teacher. That’s probably where the similarities end – from what I saw on the big screen at work, the university graduates didn’t sing songs about bugs or show off their models of bugs or seaside pictures! It was a lovely assembly. Everyone I spoke to afterwards asked if I cried. Maybe if I ever stopped to savour these moments I would be tempted to but I was so busy videoing and photographing the event as well as stopping Jack from taking part!
After school on Wednesday we got Rachel’s first proper school report. By all accounts she is very quiet at school and who “lacks confidence in her own ability”. She is a “well mannered and caring little girl who is developing a good sense of right and wrong”.”Rachel understands the importance of physical exercise and a healthy diet”… So who is this Rachel? Not the one that fights with her brother and deliberately winds him up, and certainly not the one who hardly eats her meals but will happily fill up on sweets,cakes and biscuits!!!!
She is within “age-related expectations” in all areas of learning so we are going to spend the summer turning her into a genius!
The report was accompanied by a letter explaining that the government will no longer allow head teachers to grant leave for family holidays. And unauthorised absence will incur a fine. So my guess is, from September, more people will be ringing their kids in sick from airports/train stations/holiday homes!

The ups and downs of parenting

So this week we got to see some of the worst and some of the best parts of being a parent.
On Tuesday morning after dropping Rachel at school, I took Jack to the park. We had a nice half hour there and then went to Sainsburys to get some bits and bobs. As we went around Sainsburys Jack started to get tired and he kept leaning his head up against me from his seat in the trolley. I thought this was unusual but it didn’t really worry me too much. After all his sleeping and routines have been a bit off kilter recently. When we got home he laid on the carpet and said he didn’t feel very well. I gave him a small snack but he didn’t really want it so I popped him up to bed early. I then sat down to call Auntie Bec bec before thinking I might have a nap too. But whilst on the phone to Becci (who was at work) she took a call on her work phone, which turned out to be the school calling for me, and when she came back on the line she said “I’m afraid Rachel’s poorly”. My immediate reaction, assuming it was work-related was “who’s Rachel?” Oopsy!
So Becci zoomed over to watch over the sleeping boy while I went to get Rach. The teachers weren’t sure what was up with her and wondered, I think, if she was making it up. But she was very clingy and kept saying she felt sick.
I took her home and we cuddled on the sofa for a bit til she felt a bit better and asked for some food. I gave her plain toast and she seemed to perk up.
J who had meant to be going bowling after work came home as soon as he heard, which was lucky as not long after Jack got up he was sick all over me and himself! At the time we had an electrician there installing a new ceiling light for us, with me wailing in the background “help I’m covered in vomit!”!!
Anyway jack was ok then, until bedtime, when he was sick again all over his bed and dummy bunny. Poor little man.
Of course yours truly got the bug 3 days later from the little darlings ( well we are teaching them to share) and on Friday was sick – a lot – many many times. Joyous times!

By Sunday I was almost human again, in time to take Rachel to her first gymnastics competition. She did so well and I was so proud of her. She rushed the second half of her floor routine a little so didn’t win any medals or get a place on the podium, but it was a tough category for her, as she was one of the youngest in what was quite a large group (28ish 5 year olds) – only 6 weeks ago she would have been in the 4 year olds group of which there were only 8 or 9! Anyway she got her certificate and enjoyed herself which is all that matters (for now!)

http://youtu.be/eL90h9CHfWY

http://youtu.be/i5enCBhmbWY

What’s gone wrong??

So my perfect little sleeper has suddenly become a nightmare.
Every night Jack plays us up at bedtime, crying and demanding more stories, more milk, to go in Rachel’s bedroom, to sleep in the big bed, to sleep with mummy and daddy and on and on it goes. He also wakes up in the middle of the night and cries too and is then repeating the bedtime tantrums somewhere between 1 and 4 am.
Both bedtime and middle of the night episodes can last anything from 5 minutes to 3 hours…
We have no idea why this started but it has now been going on for nearly 2 weeks. Basically ever since he had his progress review with the health visitor.
The worst thing is there doesn’t seem to be any obvious reason for this. In the past the only times his sleep was disrupted like this were when he was ill or teething. Well he has all his teeth and is not ill.
He goes down fine mostly for his afternoon nap so its nothing in his room or bed that I can think of. We are trying to let him cry it out but sometimes for the peace it’s easier to give in. I can’t stand to hear him crying at bedtime and J can’t stand the middle of the night tantrums.
It is also disrupting Rachel who is now going to bed beautifully although she does still end up in our bed at some point during the night.
Aaaaaaaarrrrrrrggghhhh!
It does not help that it is busy at work with all the end of year events and open days etc. Sunday I spent 15 hours in a field in the rain and wind for the work Summer Party event so I am trying to catch up from that which Jack is not helping with!
I think from tonight we will have to start to be more tough and not give in to the tantrums, to set some ground rules down and remind Jack of his routine. I am also going to try to bring his nap time forward a little so that he is not under tired at bedtime…
The joys of sleepless nights – and there I was, complacently thinking that those days were all past! And we haven’t even moved him into his big bed yet when I guess we will have to go through this all again. Assuming we manage to fix it now!