Abi & Izzy - the next 5 years

Phew, it's been a frantic birthday weekend and the girls have collapsed into bed exhausted. I think we may do the same! The weekend started on Friday morning with a very excited Abi and a very tearful Izzy. Not because Abi wasn't sharing or because she was upset she didn't have a birthday, she was just overwrought with the excitement at the end of a busy week. So, despite the periodic weeping they had a lovely start to the day of opening presents. Abi finally got her new wellies from Amanda, Alex and the boys and triumphantly turned to me to say "now I can come walking with you again Mummy!" About time - 2 weeks it's been since she vetoed all walking because I wouldn't allow her to have these before her birthday - stubborn child! Add to this new books, money and a big farm and farm animals - a very lucky and happy little girl set off to school proudly displaying her cake. This is clearly the signal for all the other children to rush up and wish you happy...

Blink and it's Sunday evening again. Where did the week go, and more to the point where has this year gone? I was reflecting on 2014 yesterday. It's been a year of so much change. Starting with all that uncertainty of what might happen work wise, the stress of finding a new job, selecting the right job, balanced by the amazing opportunity to have 4 months of freedom from commuting, being in an office and being governed by a working week. I have so many highlights from that time - spending time in our new house, Glenn and I spending lots of time together, and in particular riding Mount Ventoux, being able to cycle and swim everyday, walking twice a day with Scoobs and of course being able to spend more time with Abi and Izzy. Also the creative challenge of planning our house, the satisfaction of making decisions and getting it all sorted, seeing it all completed within a year of moving in. Being able to do it in one go has resulted in a much better, more cohesive finish than w...

The love-in continues and currently Izzy in particular wants to do nothing else but spend time with Abi. I won't complain, it's lovely to see them so close, I just wonder how long it will continue. I was listening to them in the bath together this evening - they were having so much fun, screaming with laughter as they played yet another game of make believe. This all said, goodness knows what the game was. When I came back into the bathroom after the normal mad pre-bedtime tidy up, Abi informed me that Izzy thinks she's half boy. Apparently on one side she's all girl 'long hair and wiggles' and the other side she's a boy 'with funny hair'. Without thinking I called her an hermaphrodite which prompted lots of questions - when will I learn?!? After me trying to find a relatively simple explanation Abi asked what you can do if you are born a girl and want to be a boy.... She concluded that if you have to make a choice you should wait until you're ...

So quickly it's time to go back to work / school / normality - bah humbug.  We've had a lovely week with lots of family visits and a jam packed week of activity. In fact today has been the first time in a week when we just stopped and did nothing. Izzy took full opportunity and fulfilled one of her life time ambitions.... an entire day in her PJs. Yes, I'm ashamed to say she didn't want to get dressed today, and we didn't make her. She even had a full Sunday roast at 5.30pm in her pyjamas - our standards have fallen to new depths! I asked the girls what was their favourite part of the week and  got the unanimous response of "Thursday riding!" - so much for all the people who made the effort to come and see us, the Halloween party I threw for them on Friday or the trip to London where we got VIP access to the front of the queue to see the Crown Jewels. Sorry everybody! Our trip to London was great fun even if it was an exercise in queuing from start t...

Blink and a year has passed already in our house, I guess we can no longer call it the 'new' house now. I've been madly trying to get all the last bits and pieces sorted but failed at the last hurdle. We are missing a piece of beading and a kick plate adjustment from Chris (may be a while) and we are now on our second attempt at kitchen splash backs after the first didn't quite make the grade. Jo and Matt came to fit them and as soon as they put them onto the wall Glenn started to look uncomfortable. When Jo asked what was up he pointed out the Union Jack design was painted upside down - oops. Mere mortals wouldn't have noticed but to him it's all wrong so down they are coming and the new ones are on order. It was another indicator for me that if nothing else the past year has instilled more patience in me. A year ago I'd have been very frustrated but I've learnt that these little things are first world problems and it will all come good in due course....

This weekend we have mainly been relaxing and taking it easy. The weeks are so busy that I'm reluctant to do much more than kick back and make the most of what has been a wonderfully mild October. We've started our annual leaf collecting marathon, as ever adopting different approaches. For me raking leaves is a peaceful, cathartic process where I can immediately see the impact of my efforts. It has the advantage of being active and allows me to make the most of the garden as it starts to bed down for winter. Glenn takes a more motorised approach (surprise surprise!). He starts up either the blower or the leaf pig and attacks the leaves with force and noise - not so relaxing! Saturday mornings for the girls are given over to riding. Abi can't wait and is up and ready way before we are due to leave. Izzy is torn between the chance to go on a horse and the opportunity to spend more time in her PJs, preferably watching something on her iPad or doing some colouring. Given th...

  We are at last after 6 months a skip free house - hooray! Goodness it feels like its taken an age to get here but its so good to finally feel like we are saying good bye to the various people, who seems ed to have been a permanent fixture in the house over the last months. The girls will miss them, part of the Sunday routine is to ask who will be in this week and whether they will be around after school so they can see them, but keep your kids occupied is a poor excuse for paying your builders to hang around for another few weeks so go they must! This week we have a new front door coming, the final bits and pieces of decorating and then I can safely say the interior of the house is finished, phew.  It's cost twice the original budget, but then we only originally set out to do less than half the house so that's not surprising. We've spent a huge amount but I can account for exactly where it's all gone and in retrospect we've been lucky that the only disaster...