The final Countdown

Is it really only twelve more sleeps until I have to summon the courage to brave Gatwick airport with three littlies and what may well be a grumpy Mr T? Now the reality and enormity of the actual getting there is starting to dawn on me!

It isn't as if we have a relaxing lead in to the holiday, this week alone is Matthew's final week of pre-school and then we have parent's evening tomorrow, sports day on Thursday and a dance performance today as well the usual toddler groups to attend. Next week is even worse there are haircuts to be had, a day out for me at Wimbledon (v.v.v.v. excited about that one!!) and a three foot festival filled with children and entertainers to wade through as well! Not to mention getting Matthew sorted out with shoes and trying on his outfit for my friends rapidly approaching wedding!

I have optimistically pencilled in times to pack and do the washing and ironing, but who knows? This weekend I took care of all the school related things that needed seeing to, the teachers have presents and cards ready to go, I have handed in my CRB form so that I can help out at the school next September and the forms for the poetry collection and extra curricula activities have been delivered to the right places.

I have to admit I nearly cried with relief when a friend told me we would be able to retain the buggy until we got to the gate, and that we might even be able to be reunited with it as we leave the plane at the other end. That will save my back and my patience no end. I have to be honest though I do not really like flying, I am a control freak it has to be said. I will stubbornly insist on driving the entire six hours plus to my Mum's in Cumbria just because I don't trust anyone else to do it, and so eight hours on a plane over which I have no control is not a great prospect for me. Added to that is the anxiety of not having flown with any of the children and having no idea if they are going to scream 'I want to get off as soon as we start to taxi!' (if they do it may mean less queueing on holiday I guess!)

I have prepared for the flight, each child will have a goody bag and I will have enough snacks to feed a small army so as soon as the moaning starts I can bribe them with food, very bad I know but I expect the other 200 people on board will be grateful, Matthew alone is piercing enough to scale kettles and when you add Lucy in to the mix I think everyone would have a headache by the time we were an hour in!

Then when we do get there, we have to locate the car hire place, drive on the right side of the road and then try to contain the hundreds of questions that will be coming our way as we try to navigate to the hotel and check in! Still once we are there I can start to relax, let the kids enjoy themselves until it is time to come back again!

One sad little story, over the weekend we found what appeared to be a birds egg which Heather immediately christened EggBert! She wanted to take it to bed which we refused and this morning she wanted to say Hello, and you've guessed it EggBert turned to yolk all over the floor and Heather dissolved into tears all over me. We have managed to convince her that she hasn't murdered a baby bird as we are fairly sure there was not much in there this late in the season and at the bottom of the tree.

Lucy is not a toddler and it seems an expert climber, stair gates have had to be put in place to keep her safe as she climbs ever upwards unchecked!

My First Award

Thank you to Katherine for my award, her blog is well worth reading to so why not head over and have a look.

I've been tagged, pass it on...

Thank you to Mel ROxx who tagged me, here goes;
Here are the Rule’s

1. Mention the person who tagged you.
2. Complete the lists of 8s.
3. Tag 8 other bloggers & let them know.

8 things I’m looking forward to:

1. My evening bar of chocolate once the children are in bed,
2. My holiday in 17 days time,
3. My trip to Wimbledon on 3rd July
4. When Matthew finally starts sleeping through
5. Spending some quality time with the children over the summer
6. A very good friends weddding
7. Sunshine
8. Some time reading and writing

8 things I did yesterday:

1. watch the television
2. took Lucy to Tumble Tots
3. moan at the kids
4. cook dinner
5. wrote 1000 words on novel#2
6. murdered ants
7. read some of my current book
8. played with the children encouraging Lucy to practice walking

8 things I wish I could do:

1. know what the lottery numbers will be in advance (just once)
2. have more time to write
3. have more time to read
4. but a bigger house so there is enough room for us all
5. lose half a stone overnight
6. find time to do more exercise at the gym
7. have time to do my make-up and look after my skin
8. keep up with everything

8 favorite fruits

1. strawberries
2. bananas
3. melons
4. grapes
5. banana
6. raspberrry
7. kiwi
8. plum

8 Places I’d like to travel:

1. South Africa
2. New York
3. Monaco
4. Australia
5. Las VEgas
6. Edinburgh
7. Ireland
8. Rome

8 places I’ve lived in:

1. Cambridge
2. Basildon
3. Central London (Pimlico)
4. Isle of Dogs
5. Brentwood
Sorry didn't get to 8 not that exciting

8 People who I’ve tagged:A LIFE IN THE DAY OF
Are We Nearly There Yet Mummy?
Being a Mummy
Blog to Fit
bringing up charlie
Christine Segina
CRIME FICTION
Frog Blog by Frog in the Field
I promise that I will do my best

Puppy Love

We had a lovely weekend, the long awaited return of Mr T finally happened. Matthew was a little underwhelmed as he rushed into the living room and removed his shoes and then back out again without even noticing that Mr T was sitting there reading the paper. Heather on the other hand came rushing into the room, stopped in her tracks and just stared not too sure whether to laugh or cry. The shrieks of 'Daddy' began and a round of hugs followed.

We had a relaxed afternoon in the sunny garden, the air punctuated with shrieks of laughter as the kids spent their time on the swing. We also discovered that after just a week of being a bike owner Matthew has become an expert bike rider. He is not afraid to go slowly, he whizzes along legs going ten to the dozen, Mr T having to run to keep up. Heather on the other hand, very girly, very prim and proper riding at a sedate pace with me beside her pushing Lucy in the buggy.

Sunday was sunny again and so we had a BBQ, the children sat at their table outside covered in ketchup, in fact after we had finished I think there was more ketchup on them than was left in the bottle! Still we let them race about a bit to ensure they were fully tired out before they were dunked into the bath, to be honest we weren't that eager to deal with their ketchup, mud and other debris streaked clothes and faces.

Eventually we took the plunge, the bath was run and we were on the round up, Heather was captured and in, Lucy despite her protests was also ready to be plonked in, but Matthew was nowhere to be seen. I wondered if he had managed to disappear back into the garden but no, he wasn't upstairs or hiding behind a door or under his bedclothes. I admit I was beginning to panic, perhaps he had gone out of the front door, I checked and his bike was still in the garden, phew!

No shouting produced an answer and by now even Mr T was helping, I re-checked upstairs, was the back gate shut? Maybe he had hurt himself, fallen and unable to call out. Then I heard Mr T calling me from the kitchen so I rushed in, heart thumping. 'Look' said Mr T pointing and there in the lean-to was Matthew. The lean-to is the den for our two labs Milly and Tessa. Matthew loves the dogs and he is great with them, he likes helping to feed them and tries to boss them about. Unfortunately he also likes their food, and what was he doing in the lean-to, he was helping himself to the food in the bright pink bin that their food is stored in! He looked very pleased with himself and me, well I was just relieved he hadn't escaped the house.

Matthew turns three in a manic week!

What a week that was, I am glad I have survived to tell the tale. Mr T told us he had to go to New York on Tuesday until at least the weekend, it is now Monday again and he won't be home until at least Wednesday!

Back to last week...
Monday saw Lucy having her MMR, I was dreading it as she has become a little bit of a drama queen, tantrums involve kicking your legs in the air whilst screaming loudly and rolling about a bit for extra effect. Despite my fears she was an angel, not a sound did she utter although she did give the nurse a good stare. Not too bad.

Tuesday was meeting day, I had to return to the school for a meeting about Matthews entry into the school. It is a chance to meet the other new parents and be reminded of all the things we are supposed to be doing. It involved a rather quick turn around from the school run leaving a long suffering Grandma in charge of the hordes!

Wednesday was a day I was dreading as it was Matthews turn to visit the school. He was ever confident knowing the teacher, several of the children and the layout of the school. He charged around the place making himself at a home and I only had to pretend not to know him once, when he decided to take a plastic shopping trolley down the slide, it could have been worse. On the way home his 'I had a lovely time' told me that it was unlikely he would have many problems settling in come September.

Thursday was my little boy's third birthday. He opened his presents and cards enthusiastically and was exceptionally pleased with his Fireman Sam vehicle set courtesy of Grumps. He was eager to get on his bike so off we went to the park which has a generous cycle track after Heather was safely at school. His smile said how much he was enjoying himself. Next on the list was casting my vote in the election, sadly Matthew was a little disappointed when we got to the vote as he thought we were going to the boat! Lunch came next and then after collecting Heather from school we had more visitors and presents. Tea was provided by Domino's Pizza and the Roary cake his Daddy had lovingly prepared went down very well with all parties concerned.

Friday tested my resolve it has to be said as Heather burst into tears at the school gates, she didn't want to leave me, missed her Daddy and was having had a busy week overtired. She was eventually prized off and coaxed in and I managed to hold myself together until I got home and had a strong cup of tea to cry into. Tumble Tots tackled, and the discovery that Matthew, now having reached three was being promoted into the big boy's group where the mummies sit and watch filled me with a little dread! I'm sure it'll be fine! Gulp!

We then went to have dinner with friends and we had a lovely dinner watching the kids wear themselves out with very crazy dancing and laughter! The weekend was a blur of organised activities and visitors and fun was had. I have to say I am looking forward to Mr T's return, partly as Heather and Matthew have really missed him ,as have I but also because I always seem to be more on edge when he is away, at night noises that are normal, take on more sinister meanings, things that annoy me seem magnified and I feel the weight of responsibility heavily on my shoulders.

In other news Lucy is finally finding her feet and has managed to stand up by herself and has even walked ten steps without falling over! Soon she will be running all over the place and I will be moaning about that then. Here's to a quieter week!