So grown up

We've definitely moved into the 'settled children' stage of the holidays, i.e. those final few days before they go back to school when very one is completely in rhythm and there very little intervention required. Over the past 2 weeks the girls have been making the most of the dry, sunny weather and have barely been inside. Last week was a stonking 25 degrees (obviously marking the week after I went back to work...) and between this, and the multiple fun places to pay in the building site that is our garden, they've had a lovely Easter break.

Izzy is mainly to be found at the moment in one or other pile of sand / earth / stones as the patio nears completion. She is happiest just sitting and playing mudpies, chatting to herself as she digs a hole or fills one in. Simple things in life! We had to smile as we were watching Sean pointing the new paving, with Izzy sitting next to him companionably chatting away, telling him all about the party she is having next week. Abi is mostly to be found driving her electric car around the new 'road' aka our garden path. As this isn't yet completed and is essentially a bare earth strip, it's being used by everybody for different purposes. The dogs roar around it at great speed, and yesterday I looked out of the window to see Glenn riding his mountain bike around in...in flip flops!

While I could despair its so nice to see the garden taking shape and even more so to see everybody using it. The patio stretches on forever and has completely changed the way the house sits in the garden, as per the plan. When it's fully planted it will be a fantastic space. I could also despair at the dust being traipsed into the house (thank goodness for all the dry weather we've had) but life is too short. We now accept the fact that it's not going to be spotless all the time and just clean up at the end of the day.

The girls do understand that they need to think about what state they are in before coming in. Last week after playing outside I found them doing 'pedicures' for each other... naked pedicures! That's Izzy all over, still happy to get naked at the drop of a hat. Today I came back to find them all dressed up in 'work trouser', smart tops and my shoes. Abi looked about 5 years older than normal - arghh!!! Between this and the fact that she's only 2cm off not needing a booster seat for the car (legally anyway, not sure how I feel about that), she's growing up so fast. Alongside this both of them are very interested in how their bodies will develop and (it had to happen) how babies really get here. Both have been avidly reading 'the book', the one I bought to help explain all of this. Both have focussed on different sections - Abi is most interested in how she will find a boyfriend, and what happens once you are pregnant. Izzy is interested in the bit in the middle, and has concluded that a baby brother will be forthcoming if 'Daddy rolls on Mummy'. Abi, ever practical, has pointed out that there will be a delay, but agrees its a good idea. Luckily we are still in charge of some aspects of our lives, so it's not happening!

Bertie continues to make his way into our hearts, even if we have had one or two mishaps. Last weekend it's was 'the nut fiasco'. He decided in his wisdom to eat 3 large packets of nuts, along with a number of packets of crisps. I came down to find both that he had messed, and the devastation of nuts and crisp packets everywhere, along with 2 very guilty looking dogs standing in the middle of the debris. Only a parent I suspect can assess a situation like that with a completely level head and (relatively) calmly get on with sorting it out. We all saw the funny side as poor Bertie dealt with the aftermath of 3 bags of nuts rapidly passing through him, little ones first then bigger and bigger until the Brazil nuts popped out, still whole, 24 hours later. Deep breath, it's all wipe clean!