Abi & Izzy - the next 5 years

Having avidly watched the weather forecast for Tenerife over the past month we are finally here and actually it doesn't matter anymore, all that matters is that we are together and I can stop for a few precious days. After an early start yesterday for a 7:30am flight we arrived to a cloudy warmth which was lovely despite it not being wall to wall sunshine. In fact when the sun is out properly it's still really hot so a bit of cloud is a nice compromise - spot the Brit abroad. Each time we do something like this I  see the change in our babies growing up. This time they got the fact that we had an early start and so after a late tea they both snuggle down to watch a bit of hotel TV and then went off to sleep with no complaints (other than a last min bed change so Abi was with Glenn and Izzy with me). When they woke up again it was very easy, everybody did what they needed to and despite having not bothered with iPads for the plane, survived the 4.5 hour flight with no cross wo...

The end of another lovely weekend where the sun has shone and everyone is happy, somewhat helped by the fact that we appear to have made progress with the dog. On Thursday the dog fence went in and Bertie was educated as to how not to zap himself on an hourly basis. To his credit he seems to have got it pretty quickly and is now paranoid about the white flags which are fluttering around the perimeter of the garden. It has resulted in some silliness. In the early training stage (first week) you are supposed to either drive or carry your dog out of the gate so he doesnt think he can continue to walk (bolt) out at will. I refuse to drive him out of the gate only to then get out and walk, so this means we have been carrying him out. He weighs a fair bit and so what we've swapped in stress we are making up for in aches and pains from heavy lifting! Top tip - when you take off his collar to take him out the gate, don't hold onto the electrodes yourself and walk across... it hurts! ...

Who'd have a puppy? The last few weeks have definitely been more stressful than not where Bertie is concerned. He is a dog that likes to wander, and despite trying to be super vigilant at all times, you turn your back for a second and he's gone. Up until now that probably means he'd have popped round to the neighbours, but over the past week or so, he's been missing for up to a couple of hours - not great for anyone's stress levels or sense of humour. Add to this a muddy corner that's developed in the bottom of the garden that he keeps diving into then roaring back into the house, a tendency to take off when we are walking if he sees another dog / person / animal - it's all got a bit much. This has led to lots of shouting at him, which in turn has made him anxious, which has resulted in him going back to having accidents in the house. Give me strength. Over a long discussion with Mum (still always there to share a problem with, that will never change) we...

So, I've mentioned just how well the girls have settled from a personal perspective into Thorngrove, thank goodness. It seems like they've been there forever and they have both made firm friends in very little time. What we've also been really impressed with however is just how much more structured and organised the school work seems to be. Abi now brings a different school book home each night and each is neatly laid out, her work is marked and commented upon and she is obviously making a big effort. As I write this it seems a bit silly, surely this is what I should expect from a fee paying school. It wasn't what we experienced previously though and I'm doubly pleased as I feel vindicated that we made the right decision. It's difficult to tell whether this is what we would have seen anyway with year 4, but the bits and pieces Izzy has brought home (no prep until after Christmas for  her, a much better idea than hitting them with it from day 1 of year 3) also...

It's been a weekend of celebrations which have spilled into this week and carry on for another little while yet, all to mark Glenn's big 50. It's fair to say none of us feel like he should be 50 - surely that's the age old people were when we were young, but if it's true then let's make the most of it. The party started on Saturday afternoon when friends started to arrive for his birthday bash at the local pub. We had 30 friends from all over come and join us for a lovely evening of food, wine and music from the last 5 decades, all courtesy of Glenn's play list. This meant quite a lot of reminiscing. Not just from him but everyone else. We rolled home just before 2am having had an amazing evening. Given the abstention on my part of late on the alcohol front I decided to drive in the end, proving to myself I definitely don't need to have a drink to have fun. It also meant I was hangover free on Sunday morning, a good job as someone had to walk the dogs ...

Pencil cases packed, name tags sewn, kit all sorted...new school starts tomorrow. Tonight we had 2 slightly apprehensive children given it's all going to be new and they don't quite know what to expect. Abi had another run trial try on of her uniform and decided the culottes weren't quite so bad after all, while Izzy made a special effort to wash all of her hair extra well to make sure she was 'all clean, all over'! I shall be avoiding posting 'first day at school' photos all over Facebook tomorrow regardless of how clean and smart they may look. With the best will in the world only we care whether they look cute or not before they head off, and maybe grandparents. Other than that its just depressing to see how many of my friend's children are heading into secondary school - scary! This weekend we seem to have been running one child down most of the time, always a bit strange. Abi was thrilled to be invited over to a friends house for a sleep over i...

So after another wet August week its back to work with a bump tomorrow - ugh. I've just logged on and looked at the pages of emails with a falling heart... I know there are no show stoppers in there as I've been vaguely keeping watch, but there's probably a whole bunch of stuff that I need to do something with. My strategy is to 1) scan for anything from clients (very little as they had the good grace not to email me as they knew I was on holiday); 2) scan for anything directly related to this week's meetings and 3) wait for people to come back to me on everything else - if it's important it will rise to the top naturally. Oh, and 4) keep my fingers crossed that my strategy doesn't come back to bite me. This week we have mainly been exploring craft activities. With the lovely August weather keeping us more house bound than normal, we have been knitting, sewing and drawing.... well, Glenn and I have anyway. Abi and Izzy have been alternating between asking to...