Training

This week we have mostly been focussing on training.

Firstly we are trying to train Lucy to use the potty. She knows what to do but refuses to do it. On Sunday I sat on the floor while she sat on the potty. I encouraged her, even tried bribery all to no avail, in the end I gave up and put her in a nappy, within seconds it was full! She is quite happy to sit on the toilet or the potty but even so she refuses to 'perform.' I am hoping that when she does manage to go, the fuss that we will make will encourage her to continue to go, we just need that first breakthrough.

Secondly I have decided to train myself. It has been an ambition of mine for sometime to run the London marathon. I have applied twice but failed to get in, I am hoping that it will be third time lucky and that in 2011 I will be running. The last two times I applied I admit I was fairly casual about the whole thing. This year I have accepted that as I won't find out if I have got into run then until October I had better start training, just in case. So on Sunday after we took the kids swimming I ran back home, 2.5 miles in 30 minutes. I am paying for it ever so slightly today as my legs are still a little stiff but I am sure that if I do it often enough it'll get easier.

Thirdly we have been trying to teach the children to walk on the path rather than on the newly laid turf. It seems that instead they would rather trample the good grass into mush than walk a few extra steps. I am thankful for the warm weather however as it is providing the children with an opportunity to play outside, get plenty of fresh air and learn new skills without dragging half of the garden back in with them on the bottom of their shoes!

Heather has finally had one of her dreams come true, she has been horse riding, she has been in love with horses for as long as I can remember, she had a little ride on a horse on her third birthday but to get proper lessons most schools demand the age of six. I have however been able to secure lessons for her at a local school which takes children from the age of four. We had to get some boots before she could ride and when we visited the vast shop nearby to get them we were also greeted with an Olympic rider who was doing a signing. When we got to the stables and Heather was put on the pony and shown how to trot I marvelled at how confident she looked, and the smile never left her face for the entire lesson. All of us seem to be embarking on new phases, Matthew is learning tennis and football and so I guess now we'll see who managed to stick with their training their longest, and hopefully reach a goal.