Abi & Izzy - the next 5 years

I can't believe that half term is over already - where did the week go?!? I seem to have failed completely to recharge the girl's batteries as we have had a lovely but busy week.  We have seen friends and family, been to museums, walked a lot, played in the sunshine (yes - sunshine, who remembers that after all the rain?), been to the panto and just hung out together at home - lovely. It was a bit of a shock to the system to get all the school stuff sorted this afternoon, particularly when Glenn opened Izzy's spelling book to see she has a test tomorrow - oops!  Let's hope the panic trial run this evening and a run through tomorrow morning will be enough! We have come to the conclusion this week that Abi is destined for the cadet force as soon as they will have her.  We visited the Royal Marines museum and Abi went off on the cadet challenge which she absolutely loved. She was the only girl in the group (Izzy opted for colouring, a cup of tea and cake) but t...

It's half term and the girls have had a friend over to play and I can attest to the fact that things are moving in the right direction.  They played together all day and we only had one "she won't play with me" and one injury resulting in tears.  We have had multiple injuries which needed medical support, but I think that is far more to do with the fact that Aran turned up armed with a new packet of plasters than any actual injury - what a treat for 3 medically inspired little girls!  Instead they have spent the entire time role playing hospitals, nursery and school, with multiple staff meetings.  I had to do very little, and in fact have managed to get on with some admin and household stuff - perfect.  More than this instead of the normal fuss over "I don't eat [list a long and ever changing variety of foodstuffs]..." I made a chicken casserole and they all demolished what was on their plates - amazing! The rain has just started to...

Oh my goodness it is raining and its seems like it will never stop.  According to the news this is the wettest winter for some 250 years (to the extent its possible to tell this), and it certainly feels like it.  Everywhere you go at the moment there is flooding and the worst area to have been hit is Somerset.  The Somerset Levels have been cut off now for over a month and the rain just keeps coming.  The news is full of pictures of flooded land, rivers bursting their banks and houses full of water.  People are asking what can be done but its so hard to do anything other than hope it all stops soon. Thank goodness Mum and Dad have been OK so far but we worry about them everyday and the girls ask every time we speak whether its all still dry.  Abi is at the age now where she understands some of the impact this can have.  We watched a video together of flood pictures and as she rightly said "this makes me sad".  I just hope it is a ...

No pressure, but it's our weekend for the year 1 cat 'Mowser'... again.  I know for many of the parents this is the perfect chance to show just how fun filled and exciting your child's weekend can be.  Given each child gets the cat a couple of times through the year along with the Mowser Book of One-Upmanship, having done Abi last year and Izzy this year, I've run out of original ideas and enthusiasm.  The first time we had him we went to the beach, took Mowser kite surfing (queue pictures of cat strapped to a kite about 50 feet in the air), took him for ice-creams and all sorts of other fun filled activities.  We carefully planned what Abi would write in the book, printed the photo's out and lovingly stuck them in.  By this (our 4th time of hosting Mowser), we just got on with a normal weekend, managed to take only one photo and then printed it out at the last moment while I urged to Izzy "just write something an...