Holidays

Well I can't believe it has been a whole month since I posted on here, I can feel the tumbleweeds blowing through. I do have a good excuse though, two weeks in Florida, a week of day trips with the children on holidays and Heather's 6th birthday.

Florida with three young children was hard work but rewarding at the same time. We were able to book meals with many of the character which meant that we didn't have to chase them around the parks and stand in a long queue for hours on end. We did however have to queue for those with whom we couldn't eat, this was mainly the newer toy story 3 characters, although in the main we were lucky, catching them before the queues were too bad.

Whilst we were soaking up the sun, Heather had her 6th birthday, she loved wearing a badge that meant everyone said Happy Birthday to her as they passed. As a special surprise we booked her into the bibbidi bobbidi boutique. It is a girly girls dream come true. We had booked the top package so Heather had the works her face was priceless when she realised what she was going to be doing. First of all she chose the dress she wanted and after a few minutes she was shown into a dressing room. Laid out for her were the dress, shoes, tiara, wand with glowing blue bits and gloves and handbag. She dressed with only a minimum of moaning about how itchy the dress was. The next job was having her hair done, she chose a style she liked and even had her nails pained and make-up. A stick on flower was placed on her cheek and finally before her new look was revealed she had to close her eyes, make a wish and whilst this was going on green pixie dust was liberally applied to her head, this got everywhere over the course of the day.



All of this was followed by a photo shoot where Heather who now had a badge declaring she was a princess and a beauty bag with all the bits and bobs in was able to try out a variety of poses. Lunch was hosted by the princesses in Cinderella's castle and she was given a cupcake as a present and a card signed by the princesses. She did miss having her birthday at home, and on our return was delighted to be able to open all the bits we hadn't taken with us but she did enjoy being a princess.

In the evening she was taken back to Magic Kingdom by Mr T so that she could watch the fireworks and electrical parade. We did have a magical time, our most successful days were those that we pre-planned what we were going to do, the kids would happily have disappeared in different directions and as there are so many shows, parades and rides to fit in we found it helpful to only attempt a few rides each day.

The holidays seem to have flown by but with only two full weeks left before school resumes we are starting to wind down a little. The children have joined the library summer reading scheme and have been doing the homework they were given, we still have a few trips planned but not such a hectic schedule as before. I am looking forward to finally getting some writing done again as they have other things to occupy them.

The house seems to be finally getting somewhere as we had an offer on ours, this in itself makes you think more about the tasks ahead but until everything is signed I am trying not to think about what lies ahead! Still I guess it'll all be worth it in the end.

Holiday Shopping

This weekend I decided I needed to finish off the holiday shopping, I hate leaving things to the last minute, with the kids things tend to crop up out of thin air if I do. So with a fortnight to go I was starting to get jittery, especially as the remaining days are filling up with appointments, yes I am actually braving a visit to the dentist tomorrow with the kids!

So on Sunday after taking the kids swimming and running home, no I wasn't left behind I am madly running every week at the moment, Heather and I jumped into the car to the Lakeside. We had to brave the M25 for just one junction, and sure enough as we got within two miles of the junction traffic ground to a halt. Unfortunately the car behind me didn't stop so promptly. Apart from a loud bang there was no damage but it did shake Heather up, it is the first time she has experienced anything like that and she was very worried we would get into trouble despite the fact that the other car had bumped into us!

We arrived without any further incident and we both had fun trying things on and messing about. Heather had another first, an eye test, she was a little unsure about it but did complete the test and luckily not anything to worry about, despite the fact that she regularly reads at all hours in low light! We did manage to get most of the things we went for and I then hit the internet to get the things we hadn't been able to get.

So now I am itching to get the suitcases out and deprive the kids of most of their wardrobes so that I can pack up but I am going to wait, until next week at least!

School holidays are here

How quickly has July come around this year? The kids have now broken up from school and before us stretches two, yes TWO whole months!

It took a whole hour for the children to start arguing over toys, who was going in the garden and who was having what book. Before the weekend was over Lucy was running a temperature and on Monday Heather was complaining that her ear was hurting. Great start!

We have only three weeks until our holiday, the nappy battle is continuing, Lucy knows what to do, how to go to the toilet and so on but she refuses to do so unless we take her nappy away, and even then she'll take her opportunity to make a mess of herself. She is just so stubborn, can't think where she gets that from!

In other news we have had quite a few people come and look at the house, and even a couple who want to come and have a second look, and even more exciting had an offer accepted on a property that we really like. The problem is now, that if we don't manage to sell our house quickly we will probably lose the house we want to buy and be back at square one. Still never mind, all fun and games.

I have also had lots of appointment to arrange, we are all paying a visit to the dentist next week as well as the hairdresser and Heather is hopefully going to have her very first opticians appointment as well as trying to get the holiday shopping done.

Still things can only get better, the sun is still shining and hopefully we can get out and do a few things once the kids perk up of course.

Alas, poor blog and moving

I have to apologise (again). I have been busy, very busy and as a result the posts here have been far and few between but here are just a few of the reasons why I have been run so ragged;

We have taken the plunge and decided to sell our house in the hope of finding a bigger one. This is not without risk and has meant a lot of soul searching and thought. We love our house, we have pretty much made it all our own and it is in a lovely location. But it is just too small for all of us now and we need somewhere bigger. Having accepted this we had to decide on a budget which is in part determined by what er can get for our own house and thus the hand wringing began. Eventually we found an agent we liked, with a good valuation and thus we are now on right move etc.

Now we have started viewing which is great but tiring, especially with the kids whose sole idea of viewing a house is to see how many times they can race around whilst we bellow at them, hmmm... Then the whole shall we live near the school debate began. Originally we wanted to be near the school, within walking distance and then I realised that with all the after school clubs and activities the kids do this may not be as practical as we first thought, plus the kids need a break when they came out of the school. Plus they have so much holiday that although the journey can be a pain it isn't for that much of the time.

So now we wait for an offer whilst we consider making one.

School is winding up for the summer we have had reports, Heather and Matthew have both done well and I was really proud of them both. This was quickly followed by parent consultations and again pretty good. Matthew has had a school trip and as it involved trains he was happy, Heather's is coming up. They have met their new teachers and we have had the summer sports event, a dancing show and Matthew has his first chance to experience school dinners on Tuesday. Not to mention that Matthew has a teddy bears picnic on Thursday, his last day in nursery class, hard to believe that he will be at school all day from September like Heather!

Anyway summer approaches, I am trying to watch as much of Wimbledon as possible as it is my last tennis hit until the hard court season begins. The Florida countdown begins now as we are off for a fortnight soon.

Think I might need another holiday for a rest!

Trying new things

Half term is upon us, we are lucky this time around as Mr T is on holidays from work but the week is slowly working itself towards the pinnacle of Matthew's birthday.

Monday resulted in a trip to the shops as we thought we ought to get him a few presents, Heather helped me to choose and then we had to get provisions for his party which takes place on Saturday.

Tuesday was more about crowd control as the day was grey and wet, miserable in fact. The children wanted to run around and have fun but the limited space offered by the house prevented this. As a result we did have a game of piggy in the middle in the hallway. Not something I am likely to repeat but then we did try.

Wednesday provided some relief as the weather was drier and after Mr T had given the grass a haircut it was dry enough for the kids to do their worse. Heather has trampolining which she loved. I then took the plunge, I had my eyebrows waxed for the very first time, this has followed quickly on my very first facial which I had on a spa day last week. The initial terror of someone coming towards my face, indeed my eyes with hot wax quickly abated. It resumed with the words 'Are you ready?' which I knew meant it was ripping off time. I have to admit although there was an ouch moment it went away rapidly and afterwards I have to say it was worth it!

Today I took Heather on a hack, a whole hour in the sunshine on horseback, it was peaceful and warm and a little slice of paradise, now for a peaceful hour or two while I get my haircut and prepare myself for the onslaught of birthday mania!