Abi & Izzy - the next 5 years

So this evening it's us plus one. Amanda, Alex and the Boys stopped by for  a whistle-stop lunch on their way back from London and somehow Laurie and Abi managed to persuade me that he could stay and I would 'drop' him home tomorrow. You can tell I'm on holiday because in a moment of weakness I said yes. So tomorrow we have Kerrie and Ryan turning up first thing on their way to visit family, then Izzy is off to see Mia and I will take Abi to Angies and then on to Taunton to drop Laurie off before heading home. If all goes well a 5 hour round trip. Hmmm. I may have mug stamped across my forehead but they've had such a lovely day and evening together it's worth it. It's definitely the job of a mother to be the weak spot where these things are concerned. I've spent much of the last couple of days asking Abi to use a different tone with me. It's bad enough that 'No' seems to be the first answer I get for everything, it's worse that it...

We've had a slightly fraught weekend all told - with most of the focus being of the canine variety. Abi and I walked the dogs together on Saturday morning and just when it couldn't feel more relaxed - up early, dry despite the forecast, chatting away - Scooby had a funny turn. I'm not sure exactly what happened but he was running up the hill when suddenly he fell over. It looked from where we were like someone had shot him - he flipped up in the air and came down hard and then with only a single wag of his tail lay motionless. If this sounds dramatic then that's about right - it was - made more so by the fact that Abi was watching it all. I ran up to him and he was breathing hard and looking very distressed. I talked to him to calm him down and then got Abi to do the same - albeit she was in floods of tears. After a couple of minutes he got up and somewhat unsteadily walked off. Not nice to see and even worse when Abi said she just couldn't get the image of him dr...

Ah, peace returns to the sitting room as the kids go upstairs and (hopefully) settle down for the night. Today has been one of those days where they have either been best of friends and playing at full rough and tumble / volume, or screaming at each other - also at full volume. I can safely say that much as I love my little cherubs, tonight I was more than ready for them to head upstairs to bed. I watch very few things regularly on TV but Strictly is one of my favourites and I'd prefer not to have to constantly say "sit still", "get out of the way"  or "shut up!" Despite all of this we have made a point of being thankful for all we have this weekend. This week 2 friends lost parents and another found out that they have a life changing illness. A little bit of good natured shouting between siblings is the least of what we suffer. It's these time that make me realise even more than ever that life is fragile and while you can't throw caution t...

This weekend has mainly been about Izzy, mostly because Abi has been off riding again and so we've hardly seen her. This has its pros and cons - on the one hand Izzy gets lots of attention and the choice of what to do. On the other she misses Abi and when big sister arrives home we have the inevitable few hours of resettling which seems to involve tears as a matter of course. I did have a moment of despair this evening when I looked across to the table just before Sunday dinner - normally a happy time - to see both of them, heads on arms, holding back tears. Luckily a bit of food and a game of 20 questions to share what everybody had enjoyed about their weekend and we kind of managed to get back on track by dessert. When asked what she wanted to do, Izzy immediately shouted "Jo Jo" so my task was to sort out a visit with Jo, the boys and Ellie. No matter how much time passes they still love to see each other and the first task is always the same. Edward and Izzy have t...

So that's it. Our baby is 10 years old and I have to admit that I have a child who's into double digits. Eek. She's had a lovely weekend and today couldn't have been nicer, except for the weather which was bloody awful. Up and down the country there is flooding and Mum and Dad have been battered by the rain and storms (I know, I tried to sleep through it on Saturday night with the windows sounding like they were coming in at any moment!). As is my way on birthdays I worked from home today - the only way to protect the time. This meant I could have breakfast and watch Abi open her presents, get lots of work done and still spend time with them both this evening. Abi's main present is her riding for next year, all 5 weeks of it, so it was a few token gifts today. Other children might have expected more but she was chuffed to bits with 2 new hoodies, the 2017 Guinness Book of Records and Ripley's Believe it or Not, and a game of Uno. We've played more gam...

Mum always says to us that it only matters whether your kids are polite and sociable when out of the house. At home it's a different ball game - parents are there to be challenged, pushed against and tried to the limits of their patience. Given all of this it was nice when my lovely neighbour turned up to see if her daughter was with us (she was), and to find out if she'd been as foul to me as she'd been all day to her. Obviously not I replied, she's been sitting at the kitchen table chatting away happily, telling me all about what school she's likely to go to and why, echoes of discussions she's had with her parents so she's clearly been listening!  I know the feeling so well - doesn't every parent? At least I could tell her it's just her, hard to hear but reassuring we are all in the same boat. Today has been one of those glorious autumn days - sunny and warm for the time of year, with the trees looking amazing and the sun lying low in the sk...

Much as we might complain sometimes about their griping at each other I've just watched the girls playing together, rolling around the sitting room floor laughing while they pretend to be a certain animal of my choice, the best of friends. It's very much on / off at the moment - only an hour ago they hated each other, an hour before that they were perfectly in tune. Mostly theirs is a harmonious relationship, hence why the bickering irritates me so much I guess! This week has been lovely, with me being off and the weather being a perfect blend of autumnal sunshine and clouds. It's been dry so the leaves are in full colour, all crispy and crunchy on the ground. I love this time of year. Glenn less so as his leaf OCD is in full swing and he spends many moments picking up the leaves until not a single one is in sight. The disappointing fact is that as soon as he turns his back they are falling again. It reminds me of the Mister Men book where they ask the question ...

All together again...perfect, well almost. Abi came back from her week away from Angie's just a bit out of sorts and the first 24 hours was a bit fraught as she and we settled back into normality again. She's so much like Glenn in so many ways - he's exactly the same when he goes away, albeit he now appreciates his home comforts enough to generally be more than ready to come home. I have had to have a number of little chats with her about the fact that she's very lucky to be able to do something like this. Her initial response - "its not fair that Usma is allowed to go for 2 weeks and in the summer she's there for 6 weeks!" Hmmm - and that's why her mum is having problems with her I suspect. I think a big part of the problem was that she was tired and hungry - more so than last time. Once we'd got a hot meal into her and a good nights sleep it all started to come back into focus. Good job really as Izzy was so pleased to see her home and to sta...

So half term has arrived at break neck speed with hardly a moment since they were last on holiday - can that really have been 6 weeks? This half term we have 2 weeks so today we packed Abi off to riding down with Angie and Izzy now has a friend for a sleepover. We rarely do sleepovers - generally (much to my relief) they go to their friend's houses. This therefore is very exciting for Izzy, and a little less so for us. Actually the friend in question, Effie, is lovely and they have eaten all their tea, watched SCD, had a bath and now tucked up in bed reading to each other. The bath did include an entire can of bath foam which turned everything pink and made them itch - lesson learned - but so far so good. All evening they've been asking if they could have a midnight feast so (against all parenting instinct) I made up a bowl of grapes, blueberries and a couple of small packets of haribo. I know, I know, its hardly pushing the boat out but really - what would you give two 8 yea...

It's not often I have a rant on here but I will because I want to look back in years to come and either congratulate myself on being right, or laugh at myself for being so wrong. Yesterday I picked up the girls from school - not a normal occurrence on any day and rare for a Thursday. I got chatting to one of the Mums who I know reasonably well and she asked whether I would be going to the Year 4 drinks later. I replied no because I have to be in London this morning for a client pitch and so it's an early night for me. She then complimented me that unlike some working parents I don't have a phone permanently attached to me - I seem to be able to separate work from home. I'm clearly not perfect and there are far too many occasions where I'm juggling kids / friends / phone / emails etc but I do try and be mindful of where to draw the line. She then started to say her husband is particularly bad at this and has his phone with him even at the dinner table. I said our...

This weekend we have mainly been doing our own stuff. Well that's if you are Glenn, Abi or Izzy. I've mainly been running Izzy around while she basks in the attention of it being just the two of us at home this weekend. According to Abi the original plan was for she and Glenn to leave for Somerset and Lympston respectively at the crack of dawn. As it was after a play date on Friday night and a late finish she couldn't quite get out of bed and so they set off about 9:45 leaving Izzy and I to our own devices until Sunday afternoon. Sunday was mostly planned - riding lesson followed by another trip to Go Ape with Izzy's friend Chloe. Saturday however was slightly more free form and our plans of getting crafty and making a notice board were scuppered by almost completing it on Friday evening. Instead we had a lazy but cathartic morning sorting through paperwork from my study, before heading off to the gym for a swim and lunch. Typically the one person we meet there is a...

Sometimes being a Mum is the best job in the world. Other times it sucks. Luckily there are far more moments like the former than the latter and that's the key to a happy life. This afternoon we had a very happy couple of hours in the garden - Izzy playing with Mia in the pod and Abi and I weeding the path (a cathartic but constant task). While we weeded we had a long talk about Abi's burning desire to be a farmer / shepardess, and how this is different to what her friends want to do. We talked about the fact that if everyone wanted to be the same it would be both boring and competitive, and she needs to be confident in her choices and ability to achieve what she wants in life. Abi often lacks confidence and so it's good to have a pep talk - she's at that age when it would be really easy to start to lose her self confidence and with it her self esteem. It was a really good discussion and she came away all buoyed up by the concept that 'this girl can'. It obv...

I'm happy to report we've had a far less emotional week, albeit an incredibly hectic weekend so I hardly feel we've paused to take breathe before its back to work / school. We dashed down to Somerset this weekend, with Glenn going to a Top Table on Friday, me heading off to see my old Bristol team for lunch on Saturday - complete with the Next Gen of Big 4 staffers - followed by dinner with George, Deb, Richie and Chloe on Saturday night and then back this morning to pick up the dogs, race round to Zsara's to admire her new kitchen and then collapse in a heap! Seeing everyone from work was fab - they've all done so well and had come in from all corners of the country (and in one case the US) to be together. We also had Charlie (9 months) and Tom (12 weeks) to play with, and try not to get broody over... Dinner was a bit emotional with Deb having not been well, but she's in great spirit and between this and other stories of the trials and tribulations that ...

Phew, back to work after a slightly emotional weekend with the kids. I don't know whether this is back to school blues or the next stage to look forward to but this weekend was definitely a bit of a rollercoaster. Back to school has gone well - both girls are loving their new classes and, interestingly, settling in to new friendship groups. The school mixes up the form groups each year and although they are with girls they seemed to be best friends with last year, both have said their 'best' friend is now turning out to be someone else. Plenty of time for that to change I'm sure. So the emotions started on Saturday at Newbury Show. Abi was bored within 2 mins of walking around the trade tents and just wanted to go home, whereas Izzy just wanted to go and see Sharron and help her out on the vodka stand (possibly slightly inappropriate for an 8 year old?). I just wanted to mooch around the tents and look at all the country-style stuff I clearly don't need but real...

Back to school and back to normal, phew! Funnily enough it's like they've never left - they ran into school, worked out where they should be and that was it - gone. Izzy didn't even say goodbye. I guess I should be pleased - I'm certainly not worried that they aren't clinging to our legs, crying their eyes out. They spent half the week cooking up a sleepover at Mia's on Friday night, what's new?! When push came to shove and I was heading home from Claire's Abi had a wobble and decided actually she was too tired to stay. So Izzy and Mia (who's in Abi's year but doesn't seem to matter) headed off giggling to the bath together and Abi headed home with us. Good job we hadn't managed to get a table booked at our local for dinner then. Abi was shattered after the week so went to bed early and we got up together on a very rainy Saturday morning to walk the dogs. By the time we got back Glenn had left for his track day and so with nothing els...

Quick blog before back to work preparation starts - ho hum. I'm not dreading it, it's only been a week, but on the other hand I'm not looking forward to the 5.15am alarm call - its dark now at that time! Today we've been living up to our new mantra of catching up with old friends when we have the chance. Instead of doing the Newbury Triathlon as originally planned (in reality both of us had gone off the idea not due to lack of training but lack of enthusiasm for the admin of getting the kids babysat etc.) we went to Fareham and had a lovely lunch with Tom, Rachel, Beth and Oscar and admired their newly renovated house. I love a good house renovation - who doesn't? We surprised them by being super-early (unfashionably so - oops) which meant we got back in good time for Glenn to see the Moto GP and me to walk the dogs then head into the garden to tackle to worst of the brambles. These are either providing plenty of free blackberries or threatening to take ov...

So the summer holidays are drawing to a close and when we look back it seems to have flown by again. I've just dropped Izzy off at Aran's party and her old school mates look so grown up - you hardly notice it when you see them week to week but my goodness its obvious from month to month. This week I've been off work and we have had such a lovely time. It seems to have been really busy - but my current mind-set is to take every opportunity to catch up with people as we just don't know what's around the corner.  This is stating the obvious but 2 weeks ago we said goodbye to 2 old friends - somewhat more distant than in the past but still both fondly remembered. The most emotional for me was to attend the funeral of my university friend Karen. It was a huge shock for me - Karen was my age with 2 young daughters and I remember her as someone so full of life. We had known she had been unwell for a long time with MS but it was cancer that got her in the end - crept ...

  Having had a beautiful week of sunshine, perfect for Izzy's week of den building and camp out, the heavens have opened this weekend and it has poured with rain. This of course is bad timing, not just for Izzy who was camping out in the shelter she and Grace had constructed, but also for Glenn who this weekend is riding from Newcastle to London - 315 miles - in 24 hours. Yuk! Not only is it wet but windy as well - poor Glenn. Oh well, its Sunday morning, we haven't heard from him yet but we are working on no news is good news. I'm sure he will come home having enjoyed the experience. While Glenn has been away we have been making the most of a girls weekend with Izzy and I sitting down to watch The Golden Compass while Abi was  at a sleepover at Mia's, and Abi and I having a lovely mooch through town while Izzy was at camp, followed by roasting of marshmallows on the fire pit in the sunshine. Izzy had an amazing time at camp, albeit it was very wet on ...

What an amazing weekend we've had, with such lovely memories to treasure. To be able to experience a conservation park such as Port Lympne out of hours and see these rare and endangered animals at all times of the day without crowds of people around is a real privilege, particularly when you can scoot around the park and take private short cuts in your golf buggy - the highlight of the trip for some! Our weekend didn't start particularly well, with the normal stress that comes with any Drinkwater trip. Glenn is not a patient man when it comes to getting 2 kids and various bits of luggage into the car, and of course it required more than one attempt before everyone definitely had everything they wanted, where they wanted it! We set off and quickly hit traffic - and so inevitably we ended up needing to stop for a comfort break (for me - rest of the family never seem to need to stop) and to feed 2 increasing snappy girls. I made the decision to take us off the route to...

The week has been mostly quiet, too quiet. We are into that phase of the holiday where the girls are off doing various activities, and for this week (and most of next), it doesn't involve us. Abi went off to Angie's on Sunday - happy as anything - merrily wishing me goodbye and saying "you don't need to ring me too often!" With Izzy joining her on Tuesday morning, her first time away somewhere that's neither family or friends, staying 2 nights and also loving it, I feel like that's going to be a habit that's hard to break. While I love the fact that we've produced these confident little girls who are happy to go and experience new things, I do miss them when they are gone. Not just the noise, the fighting, the mess and so on - clearly I miss all of this (!), but more then anything else I miss the contact and cuddles. I forget just how lovely it is to have small arms around me, holding me tight and whispering "I love you mummy" at be...

So now we are back from France it's a social whirl for the girls, and I have had to resort back to the normal summer spreadsheet to keep up! Tonight both girls are away, Abi has gone off for a second week at Angie's riding, Izzy will join her for a few nights on Tuesday, and Izzy is at Mia's - pretty much their second home these days. On Thursday Glenn needed to get into London so the girls opted for a day with their extended family, JoJo and the tribe. Regardless of the fact that they don't see them as regularly now as they used to they still love to catch up and it's like they've been together always. Abi immediately took charge of Eleanor and refused to let anyone else push her around, and Izzy and Edward were back to being as close as ever. Jo is brilliant at recreating old photos to show how they've grown - just one more to add to the picture these days. In addition to this they've been to the cinema, swimming and made the most of the generall...