Abi & Izzy - the next 5 years

So after another wet August week its back to work with a bump tomorrow - ugh. I've just logged on and looked at the pages of emails with a falling heart... I know there are no show stoppers in there as I've been vaguely keeping watch, but there's probably a whole bunch of stuff that I need to do something with. My strategy is to 1) scan for anything from clients (very little as they had the good grace not to email me as they knew I was on holiday); 2) scan for anything directly related to this week's meetings and 3) wait for people to come back to me on everything else - if it's important it will rise to the top naturally. Oh, and 4) keep my fingers crossed that my strategy doesn't come back to bite me. This week we have mainly been exploring craft activities. With the lovely August weather keeping us more house bound than normal, we have been knitting, sewing and drawing.... well, Glenn and I have anyway. Abi and Izzy have been alternating between asking to...

I couldn't just squeeze our new addition into a paragraph of another blog, so here's an extra little update to introduce Digby, the latest creation from Glenn's handiwork. No wonder Abi and Izzy think Daddy can create anything from his garage - this magnificent example was as a result of Abi saying her toy horse (made by him from an old bed, a set of casters and some imagination) was a bit small and kept falling over. So we did a bit of research on the Internet, I found a training aid for polo players and hey presto, he'd adapted and built this! The girls spent a good while settling on the right name. Nelson was a close second but Izzy didn't like it, and Digby seemed to fit. Now you might think this is a wonderfully cheap way to amuse 2 pony mad children - think again! Wood is eye wateringly expensive these days and it's had to have a bridle, numner, saddle and other accessories. I'd like to make the point that I (successfully) customised a picnic bla...

So what ever happened to summer then? The weather over the past 10 days has been pretty mixed at best, although at least it hasn't been as bad as today where it's has poured down all day. Just perfect for my week off. Despite the weather we had a lovely week in the New Forest with Amanda and the boys. We managed to get away with no major arguments (kids or us!), and saw enough ponies and donkeys to last everyone for a little while. We played on the beach in both sunshine and rain, investigated with enthusiasm a dead barrel jellyfish (sticks were used until the risk of being stung appeared minimal), swam, cycled, walked and lounged. We had fish and chips on the pier (we all agreed the idea was better than the reality) and on our last night a lovely meal in The Ship pub on Lymington Quay. The highlight for all of us was probably hiring bikes and doing a 13 mile ride around the forest tracks from Brockenhurst to lyndhurst and back again. Apparently 1 in 50 hire bikes have a pu...

Hip, hip hooray - we are on holiday! Having had to push back my holiday by a week because of work it felt like I was never going to get here, but Friday finally came round and now its 2 whole weeks of freedom - yeah! Thank goodness I'm lucky enough to like my job 95% of the time - I can only imagine what it must be like if you don't - holidays must seem like an age apart. So, this time round no jetting off to sunnier climes - we are braving the August weather and staying at home. Actually we are heading off to the New Forest with Amanda and the boys and everyone is just a bit excited. Amanda and I are planning long walks, plenty of fresh air, relaxing and chatting while the kids play happily together.... Let's hope this isn't too far from the truth! If history is anything to go by they will get on brilliantly for the whole 5 days - with my two already angling for 'sleep overs' and midnight feasts. I did have to ask what constitutes a sleepover given we are a...

As the summer progresses the pressure increases, along with the sense of injustice. Abi cannot understand why she can't have a horse, now! This week they have mainly been messing about at the stables with a 3 day pony camp at a local riding stables. This is a different one to that which we all go to on a Saturday which felt a bit traitorous but we have a summer to fill and all's fair in love, war and summer activities to fill the days. They have absolutely loved it - 6 hours of cleaning tack, washing ponies, learning about all thing equine and a bit of riding thrown in. This culminated in a gymkhana where Abi won a 1st in the show jumping and Izzy a 3rd. You can only imagine how chuffed they were! The instructor unhelpfully suggested Abi should be thinking about competitions, which she took to mean she will need a horse in order to take part. Agh! I found her afterwards putting into my web browser 'child desperately seeks horse' - poor deprived girl! On the plus sid...

Oh the wonders of the British weather. A week ago the forecast for today was heavy rain and I was a gnats whisker from cancelling the kids party. Today the sun shone from morning till night and we had a fab afternoon of bouncy castle, space hoppers, fake tattoos and other random party activities. For once it all went our way, how lovely when that happens. The party didn't necessarily start this way - the girls had been good all morning, very chilled out (in fact they didn't get dressed until midday - bad parenting...), all of which changed into fever pitch excitement when the first guests turned up. Cue excitement from Bertie also, only to be met with screams from the first child. I made the (reasonable I thought) comment that she would need to calm down and get used to them as they weren't going anywhere, only to find her mother is just as bad. I did what every party host does in such circumstances- suggested they both sit on the bouncy castle as he's not allowed o...