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Sunny autumn days

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 sky. After a horribly wet day yesterday I couldn't wait to get outside and so it was a quick bike ride to blow out the cobwebs before heading out to rake up leaves. Now we have all kinds of gadgets to do this, leaf blowers and suckers (take your pick) but I like nothing more than to do it by hand. I'm under no false illusions - if I had to do it all by hand every weekend it would be a chore, but because I don't I love it. There's something very satisfying about seeing the piles of leaves ready to be collected up. This afternoon's efforts yielded 4 dumpy bags full of leaves and it barely looked like I'd done anything - oh well, not the point!

While I was doing the leaves the dogs and kids were running around also making the most of the sunshine. The 4 of them (ours and various friends) plus next door's puppy headed off into the woods at one point and only Izzy and Basil came back soaking - not a bad result given the amount of water after yesterday! By this time Scooby and Bertie were inside after an earlier mishap. I was sweeping up only to hear a crash. I turned around to see Bertie flat out on the floor looking very dazed. I didn't see it but this has happened once before when he misjudged a jump and winded himself. We gathered around while he lay on the ground looking very quiet, me silently panicking that his heart was about to give up. After about 5 minutes he finally got up and walked into the house. I couldn't work it out until Glenn got back and pointed out the washing line. We think he and Scooby came hammering up the garden as they do and forgot to swerve at the last moment and Bertie crashed into the metal pole - stupid dog! He was back to his old self within 15 minutes so I'm hoping no lasting damage done.

So next weekend we are down in Somerset for Abi's birthday. As is the norm our movements are dominated by the kids social life. They are doing the Hugh Ropes course at Vivary Park with Ben and Laurie before heading off of Kerrie's for a sleepover on Saturday night. How times have changed! The following weekend we are riding at Angie's and then it's December - eek! I'm in denial that Abi will be 10 - double figures! I really am making the most of every minute she's still our baby - even if the clock is ticking...

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