Abi & Izzy - the next 5 years

Finally little Izzy has lost a tooth and she is SO proud! Having been away with work last night I got home today and she came racing up to me proudly holding her tooth with a "Look Mummy, I pulled it out!" Unlike Abi who immediately demands her £2, Izzy was keen to go through the ritual of tooth under the pillow at least once, so upstairs the tooth went. By lights out however Izzy had become a bit less sure and so has gone to sleep with her tooth in a box and a note to say "Dear Tooth Fairy, please don't take my tooth... Love Izzy" Bless her. The big excitement this week is that the girls are going to stay with Simon and Sharron straight from school. They have pizza, ice cream and a late night planned. Let's hope no one is expecting a lazy morning... Won't happen! This is all because Simin, Glenn and I are doing our first sportive of the year (bit early in the season but good to get the legs turning) and so Sharron  very kindly offered to have the gi...

This time last week I was felling grumpy about a very busy week ahead and 3 nights away / late home. Blink and it's over and as predicted it wasn't anywhere near as bad as I thought it would be. I'm remembering that while I hate the thought of being so busy that I barely notice the days passing, I actually enjoy the individual parts of each day and so it's never terrible. This week looks just as bad - only one night away but already I can see that the week is silly busy and I'll have no time to catch up on myself. Is this the same for everyone? The flip side is of course that we have lots of fun stuff planned for the weekend because we can. This weekend was riding (of course) on Saturday morning followed by Mum arriving for her Christmas present - Queen and Adam Lambert at the O2. We set off at 3.30pm with the plan of up to paddington, tube to Embankment, spot of dinner and then Clipper to the O2 followed by taxi home. Travel logistics went like clockwork and we...

Poor Abi, she just doesn't make it easy for herself. The dreaded homework challenge has raised its head again after coming home this weekend with not one but four pieces of homework as well as a project which will last through the term. The problem arose when it became clear that at least one of these was because she hadn't finished her work in class so it's rolled over. Up until now if she didn't finish something it was generally either considered done or completed at another time in school. Not any more and that's a bit of a shock. So, we sit down together and instead if just getting in with it, we have tears and general procrastination. The whole thing is supposed to take 30 minutes but after 43 minutes all we've managed to do is regroup upstairs where Abi has taken refuge under her duvet to sob her heart out that "homework just isn't fair..." Maybe not but we've got years of it ahead so it better get used to it. I started this episode p...

And so 2014 ends, and what a year it's been. The beginning of the year brought uncertainty, threat and then confirmation of redundancy, the challenge of deciding what direction to head in work wise, and the challenge of then finding the right job. It also brought space and time, a wonderful period of rest and reflection, an opportunity to plan for the future. It brought space for Glenn and I to debate and decide on the changes to our home, and the money to be able to do it earlier than expected. It brought lots of happy hours being Mummy to my lovely girls without the pressures of a commute or work. Also lots of time to cycle, walk, swim and be strong in body as well as mind. Cycling Ventoux was a high point, quite literally, but the whole period is full of happy memories of time well spent. The second half of the year was a complete change in gear. Starting a new job with the resolve to create a mode of operation that is sustainable and works for all of us. The challenge of ma...