Abi & Izzy - the next 5 years

I hope our daughters appreciate just how lucky they are... Glenn has been looking over the past few months for a buggy for the girls (well, he says it's for them, I'm not quite so sure) and came across a complete bargain on Ebay so snapped it up.  So on Friday they came home to a fully fledged, petrol engined 80cc buggy - you should have seen Abi's face! I'm not so convinced but that seems to have fallen on deaf ears.  Within moments they had jumped in and with Abi driving, set off around the garden.  First it was all quite sedate but after a few circles Abi got the hang of it and before you could say "There goes the Stig" she was off.  Much as I think they are going to wreck the lawn, I had to smile as they raced around having so much fun together.  Izzy is still too short - she can't see over the steering wheel and get her feet to the pedals at the same time so Abi has to help - health and safety nightmare! So that was Friday.  On Saturday they got up ...

You know you are an adult when your birthday passes by as just another day.  I woke up to a chorus of happy birthday from Abi (obviously it was way too early for Izzy) and when I asked as a joke whether I should expect to go down to a kitchen full of balloons and flowers, it was pointed out to me that I needed to walk Scooby so that cards could be written... Both girls quickly got into the spirit and I came home to a whole selection of cards, bought and hand written and all lovely.  We then had a conversation about what I might want for my birthday to which I answered "I don't need anything".  Abi said something which I misheard as "All you need is a 'warm moment'..." and actually that sums it up perfectly - my ideal present these days is as many warm moments with my family as possible. This week has been gloriously sunny and the house is really coming into it's own.  The garden is bathed in sunshine in the morning and the terrace is a s...

I know though experience that our girls are unfailingly honest and just say what they see. The filters clearly come later and have to be taught. So they have learnt not to call out the old person or the person with the wild dress sense, but unfortunately such filters don't appear to count for those of us closer to home. Abi arrives at the kitchen table this morning, takes one look at me and asks "are you really wearing those trousers to work?" This was followed quickly with "they look like the trousers Fifi wears to do the animals". Ouch. Needless to say I went upstairs and got changed. In their defence they also react positively when they feel it is warranted - I came downstairs last week to comments of "perfect" from Abi and "beautiful" from Izzy - how to make Mummy feel amazing!   The house is progressing in fits and starts and pre-Easter holidays we are having a push on decorating. This means the entire contents of the living room and ...

Yesterday was the first day of Spring (officially), and for 24 hours it actually looked like it as well. In true Drinkwater form, the doors were flung open, everyone stripped down to no more than 2 layers and we made the most of the beautiful weather.  This meant immediate demands from the girls to have all meals outside (which we duly did, admittedly in our coats), both Glenn and I getting out on our bikes for a decent ride, and the girls playing outside for most of the day and loving it.  It felt wonderful... it's amazing after so much rain just how fantastic sunshine feels on the skin, and how much easier it is for the kids as they just head for outside, no questions asked. So, after that brief respite, it was back to normal today - heavy rain was forecast and it arrived on the dot of the scheduled hour, and we were back to a day of the girl's winding each other up as they stared out of the window asking what we're doing today.  After listening...

I can't believe that half term is over already - where did the week go?!? I seem to have failed completely to recharge the girl's batteries as we have had a lovely but busy week.  We have seen friends and family, been to museums, walked a lot, played in the sunshine (yes - sunshine, who remembers that after all the rain?), been to the panto and just hung out together at home - lovely. It was a bit of a shock to the system to get all the school stuff sorted this afternoon, particularly when Glenn opened Izzy's spelling book to see she has a test tomorrow - oops!  Let's hope the panic trial run this evening and a run through tomorrow morning will be enough! We have come to the conclusion this week that Abi is destined for the cadet force as soon as they will have her.  We visited the Royal Marines museum and Abi went off on the cadet challenge which she absolutely loved. She was the only girl in the group (Izzy opted for colouring, a cup of tea and cake) but t...

It's half term and the girls have had a friend over to play and I can attest to the fact that things are moving in the right direction.  They played together all day and we only had one "she won't play with me" and one injury resulting in tears.  We have had multiple injuries which needed medical support, but I think that is far more to do with the fact that Aran turned up armed with a new packet of plasters than any actual injury - what a treat for 3 medically inspired little girls!  Instead they have spent the entire time role playing hospitals, nursery and school, with multiple staff meetings.  I had to do very little, and in fact have managed to get on with some admin and household stuff - perfect.  More than this instead of the normal fuss over "I don't eat [list a long and ever changing variety of foodstuffs]..." I made a chicken casserole and they all demolished what was on their plates - amazing! The rain has just started to...

Oh my goodness it is raining and its seems like it will never stop.  According to the news this is the wettest winter for some 250 years (to the extent its possible to tell this), and it certainly feels like it.  Everywhere you go at the moment there is flooding and the worst area to have been hit is Somerset.  The Somerset Levels have been cut off now for over a month and the rain just keeps coming.  The news is full of pictures of flooded land, rivers bursting their banks and houses full of water.  People are asking what can be done but its so hard to do anything other than hope it all stops soon. Thank goodness Mum and Dad have been OK so far but we worry about them everyday and the girls ask every time we speak whether its all still dry.  Abi is at the age now where she understands some of the impact this can have.  We watched a video together of flood pictures and as she rightly said "this makes me sad".  I just hope it is a ...