Abi & Izzy - the next 5 years

And so we say goodbye to yet another year! As ever the year has flashed by and I'm sitting here wondering where it's all gone. This has certainly been a year of big events - Kerrie's wedding, Mum and Dad's new house, decisions on senior schools for the girls and not forgetting the fact that in a few short months I will be starting a new job. I sat down this week as I always do at this time of year to pull together the photos for our annual album and was amazed by how much we have packed in. Rome in February, Skiing in March, Kerrie's wedding in May, France in July and Kent in August to name but a few of the trips, let alone days out, trips to the theatre and days seeing friends and family. I also got hold of the memory stick for the wedding and made up an album for Kerrie and Ryan which was lovely - brought back loads of happy memories even if it's only the female side of the family who can be bothered to look at it! I do wonder for next year whether I wil...

It's Christmas eve eve already and thank goodness we don't take it all too seriously. Friends are running around getting last minute bits and pieces, while we had to make a dash out today because I thought we'd run out of baked beans. Turns out there were some in the garage (of course) and so I needn't have worried. As with last year we are planning on taking kids and dogs to Salisbury Plain after we've done presents to blow out the cobwebs before home for ham, egg and chips and a bit of TV. Obviously there are moments when I wonder whether we should make more effort, and whether we are creating a new generation of Christmas Scrooges in our kids, but mainly I'm just pleased that we have found a balance whereby everyone is happy - surely that is what Christmas is about after all. This year the girls have had Christmas upgrades on bikes and bike equipment. This is basically timed to coincide for Christmas rather than be a surprise because quite frankly it...

The good news is that after last week's post where everyone was a bit fed up of me being so present, it seems we have normalised and now I'm feeling the love (at least as much as I'll ever feel it with 2 pre-teen daughters!). The last week has been a bit of a whirlwind of travelling from one place to another to see various family members which has been lovely. Even more lovely (I probably shouldn't say this but I will) was that we dropped the girls off with Amanda & Alex on Saturday afternoon, only to not retrieve them until Tuesday lunchtime from Kerrie and Ryan - bliss! I discovered that actually there is no need for a spa break when you have kids - instead you pack them off somewhere else and then revel in the time, peace and tidiness of a house free of your own children. We had a lovely few days pottering around doing bits and pieces but mostly enjoying the fact that there were no children to chivvy along (shout at) at every stage. This included collected o...

So this week I have had to deal with such direct feedback as "Gosh Mummy, you're around a LOT at the moment..." My reply (naively) was "Yes, that's a good thing right?" to which of course the answer was "No! Daddy shouts at us more when you're here!" It seems I upset the equilibrium of the morning routine and everyone would prefer I just shut myself in the study until the kids have gone to school, at which point it's safe to come out. I did point out that come March who knows where I will be, but to no avail - I'm definitely in the way when it comes to a school morning routine. In more positive news, Glenn likes me being around the house, the girls like me being here when they get home, and the dogs LOVE me being around as it means they get more walks and more treats. That is why we have animals - they're always happy to see me even if everyone else thinks I'm in the way. It's that time of year again when PlayStation (or...

Winter is now upon us, in terms of amount of daylight if not in terms of temperature. The weather is actually very mild, however the rain has been relentless over the weekend and doesn't look like it will ease up for the coming week. Poor dogs are once again having to get used to being jet washed after every walk, and I've come back like a drowned rat on more than one occasion. Having said all of this I managed to get out for my weekly long run today in between rain clouds and actually saw sunshine - that made the effort (up to 9.5miles this week!) all worth while. All week I've had it in my mind that I wanted to try and get down to see Mum and Dad this weekend. No particular reason, it's just been ages and sometimes a phone call just isn't enough. Having checked they would be around we went from me going on my own for Saturday evening, to it being all of us for the afternoon, to in the end it just being me and Glenn for lunch and a walk. The kids were coming bu...

Where on earth is this year going? Suddenly it's a month until Christmas, the kids have less than 3 weeks left at school and I'm starting to panic that having got this new job I'll be a bit rubbish at it and why did they think I'd be any good anyway?! Luckily this last one I know is just me having a perfectly normal crisis of confidence - everybody I work with now has said how much they'll miss me and that I will be fab in my new role so I should take confidence in that. It's been so long since I've had to actually work a notice period that I'd forgotten that the more time between accepting and starting there is, the more scope for doubt to creep in. It helps that pretty much every day something happens at work to remind me why I made this decision in the first place - lucky me I only have to endure 3 months not 12!  Thursday was a really long day for me - on the train at 7am and then a full day followed by a retirement do which meant I didn't ge...

We are currently experiencing the extremes of pre-teen sisters with the girls either absolutely loving each other or barely tolerating each other. To be fair there's probably more in between the extremes than I've cared to notice because mostly it seems to be all one way or another. Last weekend Abj was off at Angie's, supposedly her birthday weekend but once again they'd forgotten she was coming, and so Izzy had us to herself. She made the most of this by inviting her friend Jessie over for Friday night where I'm embarrassed to say while I ran 5 miles on the treadmill they made themselves a snack of 2 jam donoughts, a packet of cheese quavers and a handful of haribo... I just hope she didn't mention how great the food is at our house! They then slept outside in the pod, something Izzy has been itching to do but needed a friend brave enough to do it with her! Sunday was 'long' run day - actually I'm nowhere near a long run yet doing just less t...

These days if there is ever any doubt about where the kids are, you can almost guarantee they'll be in their beds. They seems to spend at least half their waking leisure time back in bed, lounging. At least the new beds weren't a waste of money! I was reflecting that you spend the first few years of their lives wishing they'd spend more time in bed, then suddenly you can't get them out of them - I suppose this is the easier end of the deal (as long as it doesn't drive us nuts - need to work on that one!). The bedroom thing is partly that it's their space, and partly that they seem to live online like many kids these days. This isn't just YouTube and the like, it's the ever more constant FaceTime with their friends. We hear talking and go upstairs to find one or both of them chatting away to one or more friends. This is the future - and at least they are talking to people they know. On that note I was very pleased to find Kerrie saying she stalks th...

An old one to remind myself how cute they were! Sunday evening, back to school after half term and the normal shouting match ensues as we ask where all Abi's kit is and she shrugs and says "it's not my fault..." There are a number of aspects that drive us nuts here - first that her immediate response is denial and abdication of all responsibility, the second that she genuinely doesn't care and the third that it still doesn't help is with where her (mostly new) sports kit is! While this is going on we have Izzy sorting her kit out while weeping quietly because she has decided (18 months after we said goodbye to him) that she misses Scooby! We decided it was just easier to suggest everyone gets an early night and packed them off to their rooms - there really isn't an answer for some of this I think! This week has been a mix of school testing - the kids went of to St Gabriel's for their tests on Wednesday, Abi riding, Izzy doing her gym practice and...

This weekend we have mostly been visiting people - it seems like the end of the first week of half term (and my week off) has culminated in a social whirlwind. Obviously not all of this included all of us - it's rare it seems that we all arrive and leave somewhere together, but that's fine. The visits started on Friday with a trip to see friends Simon and Sarah. Their daughter Ismay was in the same class as Abi at St Gabriel's and hence it was a good chance for them all to catch up, particularly given the plans for the girls to go back there. The star of this show however was their pug puppy Bear who is a complete sweetie and mean't the kids have come home with every intent that our next dog (preferably next week) is a pug. They've even named this imaginary pet, despite us saying it's not happening - pets are on a 'one in, one out' basis from now on! From here on Saturday me and the girls packed our bags to head off to see Simon and Sharron this ...

So its half term yet again - the weeks pass more and more quickly, I can hardly keep up. This time we have 2 weeks at home, one of which I'm off for and the other the family will have to amuse themselves - cue digital babysitting I suspect! This weekend we ended up with both the girls having friends over on the Friday. While this was fine in principle,  I was conscious that both Glenn and I had plans for Saturday morning which meant leaving them on their own for a short while. Despite my fears that they would fight and create havoc I came home to the four of them lying in the sunshine on the front lawn chatting together happily. Turns out they are more sensible when left alone than when supervised.  This peace was in contrast to the night before when I took them all to Pizza Express and Abi was showing off in front off her friend. She wasn't being rude so much as just pushing me ever so slightly with every comment - it drives me to distraction! Today was a similar story....

Aghhhhh - after years of trying to get in on the ballot I got a text from Glenn on Thursday to say this had arrived!!!! Eek - just when I had made the decision that I was never going to do a marathon I'm in for London this year. Having had that "Will I, won't I" moment, I knew of course I'm going to give it a go - there was never any doubt. Last time I tried to do this (for Barcelona) my knee blew up when my training got to 16 miles, so this time I'm hoping that a combination of a 28 week programme, lots of strength from yoga and a sensible 3 day a week running plan will get me further. My goal is to get round without doing any damage - any time will be a PB after all. Fingers crossed!!! I ran 5  miles this afternoon easily so I'm starting from a much better base than many... wish me luck. This weekend was no less mad than last, however at least this time it's been full of activities centred around the house and so we haven't been racing around...

Arggh - what a busy weekend, I need a break before I go back to work! Friday was my somewhat dreaded Byte Night sleep out, something I have not been looking forward to. I'd done OK on the sponsorship but it was the thought of sleeping outside in a park in Reading that was filling me with cold shivers, not helped by the knowledge that I'd be bedding down with 11 of my work colleagues! The evening started with food and entertainment in the nearby church. Action for Children were hosting as the sponsoring charity and we hear lots of harrowing stories about why we were fundraising. It certainly brought home just how grim a situation some of these kids find themselves in - forced onto the streets through desperation and home lives that are a million miles away from ours. At 10pm the fun ended and we headed outside, armed with a groundsheet, a hat and a hoody. Reality kicked in as we went into the park to find a spot to bed down on - our only real decision being how far from the s...

Sunday evening, phone goes ping and it's one of the Mums in Izzy's class asking if anyone has the Latin prep for the test tomorrow. "What test?!?" I ask Izzy, "Have you learnt yours?" "Oh, I don't know where my sheet is" she says, like that's OK! So I duly print it out (thank goodness for someone having mentioned it) and within 2 mins she has run through it and is pretty much word perfect - I guess that's the verbal bias kicking in then. Abi also has a test on Tuesday - science - and also seems not to know where her sheet is to revise. Why do neither of my children see the need to bring these things home - it's not for want of us telling them how important it is! This weekend Abi has been off hunting at Angies and so Glenn whisked her out of school on Friday a bit early (missing games not science) and so as to miss the traffic. They've developed a bit of a routine for this - Glenn now takes her on the back of the bike and ...

 It's raining, what else do you do but go outside! Just when you think you have it all squared away, some new piece of information or event comes along and throws up everything into the air. This week it was the next school debate being re-opened for all the wrong reasons. Abi has been now for a few weeks saying she doesn't want to go to a boarding school. It's not so much the boarding aspect, but the fact that boarding schools are 6 days a week and quite frankly she has no desire to spend 6 days a week in school when there is an option to only be there for 5. It's also not that she doesn't like school it's just that she values her time away from the classroom and has other things she loves to do over and above team sports. I've been quite clear, if it's not Pangbourne College (which I thought we had all agreed on) then it's back to St Gabriels - the only sensible day school choice for us. That would mean going back to an all girls school, but...

Ah, this is not uncommon these days - leave my phone for a few minutes and someone has nicked it and taken a variety of selfies! I'm not sure what the joy of a selfie is really, but that might be because I no longer have perfect skin and a perfect smile. Actually I don't mind, I love coming across these little moments of happiness and as long as its only 3 rather than 300 photos I can live with it. This week has potentially been one of cross roads. I've been meeting a few people with a view to taking on new roles or responsibilities and so I've been very focused on trying to be the best I can be, at least while under interview conditions! It's also meant that I've felt quite a lot of pressure so the bits of light hearted relief we have managed to get in  between has been just what I needed. On Monday this included a quick trip to Somerset to see Mum and Dad in the new house and allow Glenn to top up the chutney stores. We had to laugh on arriving to find th...

OMG what was I thinking allowing Izzy to talk me into hosting a disco for 25 10 and 11 year olds without any back up?!?! Utter madness! This all started fairly simply with "I don't want any fuss, just music and lights and my friends...." and ended up with requests such as "Can I have a red carpet?" on Thursday morning having already bought balloons, room decorations, food etc etc and hired lights suitable for the hall we'd had to hire as the normal one was already booked out. I was still relatively calm about it until Saturday afternoon when Abi seemed to have disappeared, we hadn't fed Izzy and I was clearly going to have to do all the set up pretty much on my own. Glenn was doing man things (in charge of setting the lights up) while I was single handed blowing up 60 odd balloons and putting down the essential red carpet. It's amazing what you can get in 24 hours armed only with the internet and a debit card. The appointed hour arrive and bang ...

Argggghhhh - give me strength! 9 weeks I've been saying "where is all your uniform, have your tried it on, what needs replacing?" The stock answer - "it's all fine Mummy, stop being so annoying" Cue this evening and (a) we can't find half of it and (b) the half we can find doesn't bloody fit. I don't know why I bother. I have one in tears (Abi) and the other (Izzy) faring better because of course she can just inherit all of Abi's cast offs. To top it all Abi has also just informed me the school shoes she has had for no more than a week are too tight. I may explode. Having just gone to the school uniform supplier's website they are also out of stock of everything we need. Abi will be going back in whatever she has to hand. It doesn't bode well. h well, iof I can't buy it at least I don't have to go through the whole conversaton of how they can justify charging so much for a school shirt - I'm about to start campaigning f...

I'd love to say that this post will have loads of pictures of the kids together given this week has mainly been dominated by Ben and Laurie's visit, but no - getting a photo of all of them together now is almost impossible... and a photo of them all smiling together is definitely impossible. Givent his we have settled for a photo of Izzy and Chloe at the football, but more of that later. So despite misgivings from Amanda and Laurie (Ben was super cool about the whole thing) - the boys got on the train at Taunton and concentrated very hard on not missing their stop in Newbury. Thank goodness it all went to plan and they arrived safely on Wednesday lunchtime to much excitement from the girls. I had already decided that they could make camp in the playroom and all sleep in there, so without further ado they set to sorting out beds and bedding with no help from me - surplus to requirements!  I was very clear - just remember Glenn has a short fuse and running around inside...

Another whirlwind of a week - I'm looking forward to everything settling back to normal so that I (we) can all get some routine back in our lives. This time last week we set off on a bike adventure, the first proper one since before the kids were born. We headed to France with Simon and Sharron, only for she and I to discover that our first stop was actually Belgium. We should have clocked this - after all we knew we were going to go to the Menin Gate - but somehow neither of us had realised that this was not France... good job we weren't navigating! The weather forecast had looked poor and Glenn was in a quandry before we left as to what combo of gear to wear. I only have one set of bike clothes so for me it was a much easier decision. As it was although we left in rain by the time we reached the M3 it had dried up and by France it was warm again. We finished the journey complaining about being too hot - just can't please us! The Menin Gate was a really sombre...