Day 164: Wednesday 21st August

Busy day of to-ing and fro-ing, but all in good spirit.
C1 and C2 are happy with their new school uniform bits and bobs - larger sizes, and new shoes. £116 spent, but not too bad. Thank you Mr Tesco - your school shoes are fab!

Unbelievable though it may sound, apparently I am losing weight a little too fast at the moment. This is easily explained by my innards' total inability to hang on to anything I eat for longer than 45 minutes. 

I am using all my Severn Trent User Vouchers at the moment - flushed away!!!!

Still, it could be a lot worse.

Managed to get into THE PINK JEANS today. This is only meaningful to a few friends and my children. It is an awesome personal achievement, however, and I am suitably chuffed. So are C1 and C2. They have announced this evening that they much prefer the 'new slim mummy' and like my dress code a lot more. There is less black, and a lot more colour, and as there is a lot less of me, my wardrobe favourites are either a bit too loose, or extremely comfortable to wear!

I foresee a new swimming cozzy soon though. Indecent bagginess alert!

Soon there will be a need for some new underwear, and having checked out the charity shop provision in our home town, the possibilities of some honed down jeans, and other items, at knock-down prices, is getting exciting. All 'big' clothes are being designated to the charity collection bag as soon as possible.

Had a fruitless search for amalgamating tape today - the washing machine has decided to spring a leak, and the fix is going to be a taped up exit pipe. NOT a new washing machine!!!  Will continue the search tomorrow, perhaps. No more washing until it is fixed though, as there is now quite a lot of water travelling down the middle of the garage and across to the road outside, whenever I perform my laundry duties.

Perhaps I should use some amalgamating tape on my own exit pipe!

On that note, I will sign off, and go and enjoy a film with C1 and C2, peppermint tea for me and C1, hot chocolate for C2. Joyful moment.

Day 162: Monday 19th August

Hello Houston. We appear to have a problem.
Gut lining has taken a battering via microbes, holiday crisp-eating, a small intake of wine, and some 'fizzy' hummus that should have gone in the bin.

Yes - I tried it. 
Yes, it was fizzy. 
No, I haven't learned my lesson. 

In the words of Mr 1957: Stupid is as stupid does. 

Again.

I am still feeling quite unsteady, but putting on a brave face.

We had an extraordinarily good holiday in the Fens. The caravan was clean and comfortable.

So were C1 and C2.
Auntie Jill was with us for most of the time, apart from when she had to put on her professional hat for 'results day' to mop fevered brows and wipe away tears as her pupils approached the Clearing House website to sort out their futures.

C1 and C2 (and for the first part of the week, C1's BFF Hatster) even swam in the pool in the pouring rain. Once wet, you're wet, apparently!

A day at the beach brought more rain, but rain did not stop play. 

It did bring about some unusual summer fashion statements, however, 

including the 'picnic blanket rain mac', 

and the stolen cap to disguise the caffeine overdose,

Happy to be home, but we had a lovely time.

Day 152: Friday 9th August

Eeeeuuuuuugghhhhh!

Yesterday's headache progressed nicely into a full-on migraine, so all plans to see Daddy, have a nice time, and relax, disappeared down the porcelain telephone and I ended up sleeping it off. 

Ah well.

Today is being taken up with packing lists, making a cake, checking the bank balance and collecting C1 and C2. Then it will be one more sleep till Lincoln.

Not feeling holiday-ish at all at the moment. Hopefully this will change once I have managed to squeeze the luggage, supplies, 3 children, me, and other sundry holiday paraphernalia into Daisy Skoda. 

Back soon.

Day 151: Thursday 8th August

What a day so far...

Insomnia struck again - so at 3:30am I was sorting out my wardrobe and filling binliners with clothes that no longer fit me. 5am decided to try for some more sleep, only to be woken by a vomiting cat on my windowsill.

Braced myself to face the long to-do list for today - beginning with C1's bedroom. Unearthed many items of dirty, stinky clothing, all bundled up with clean washing which was supposed to have been put away. This resulted in a cross mummy pulling the lot out of all the drawers, nooks and crannies, regrouping, applying Surf, and putting the remaining items away in the right places. Grrrrrr. 

Washed 3 loads of her stuff, pegged it out, to find that half an hour later the clouds are black and it looks like rain. 

C1's stash of laundry!

Mowed the lawn, in the hope that such activity would send the clouds away. No luck with that so far.

C2's bedroom was a doddle. He appears to be unable to put his clean clothes away either, but at least he is efficient at dumping his dirty laundry in the basket. The poor laundry fairy here has a tough time of it.

However, C2 and his buddy are in a teeny bit of bother due to the state of the trampoline and the garden after their water-bomb-fest. Broken balloons everywhere (causing lots of back-bending before I could mow the bloody lawn) and the trampoline net broken yet again. 

Balloon Hell.

Have managed to cross off 3 major things off my to-do list so far, but time is running out. And I have a headache. Just got a shower, a charity shop drop-off, someone else's pets to feed, Daddy to visit, 2 job applications to complete, a financial annual review to suffer, and an invitation out to tea, and my day of rest (!) will be complete. 

Tomorrow will bring some serious packing for the caravan experience, shopping for the caravan experience, doctor appointment for some painkilling mega-drugs, collect kids from BabyDaddy, and hope for some sleep somewhere within the next 48 hours.

Looking forward to arriving in Lincoln on Saturday afternoon for a week of pool, seaside, wine and catching up with Lincoln Jill. Should be able to put everyone else's problems on hold for a few days, and just be me, with the kids and my buddy. 

Not the actual caravan, but similar, minus the wet towels and scooters!

To  complete the grim-fest, I now find a small river running down the middle of the garage floor, coming from behind the washing machine. 

For Goodness' Sake!

Day 149: Tuesday 6th August

Yes - August is well underway, and this is my first bit of blog since the end of July. Sorry - it has been somewhat full on in the world of Sooz.

I have found that I have too many things to do, to think about, and to deal with sensibly. Therefore, there has been a small adjustment, which seems to be suiting all. Including me!

The trip to visit S2 and his family went very well, and we were sorry, as usual, to leave. We left our departure until as late as we could, and arrived home, with C1 and C2 nested in the car, with pillows and sleeping bags. It was a doddle to transfer them into their beds, and all was well. 

Visits to Daddy have increased since our return, as he is only a 5 minute drive away from our house. This is working well, and it is certainly nice to be able to sit with him every day, and try to take the pressure off Mummy a little. Daddy is still suffering with a chest infection and a water infection, which is making him quite unwell, though. His stay at the Holiday Home has been extended by a week, in the hope that the 2nd round of antibiotics will knock both infections on the head and allow him to regain his confidence and increase his mobility to the level that it was before he got there. 

My visit to Joe Physio on Monday went well, with further zapping from the sonic screwdriver, some knee-massage, a telling-off (for attempting mountains and undulating surfaces in Wales!) and instructions to give myself a break and rest my knees more regularly. I have an appointment with my GP this week to discuss better pain management and an increased prescription. Ah well. The looks on the faces of C1 and C2 as I appeared over the top of the mountain was worth all the pain afterwards!

Today is the 2nd 'at home' day of the school holiday - it feels very welcome indeed! It's nice to get away, but equally nice to be able to spend time at home.

We have C2's buddy Ant here for a sleepover tonight. 
After a visit from Jools and her boys, coffee & walnut cake, a trip to the park.....

... and now we have balloon water-bomb wars in the garden. 

Cold roast chicken and a shared bag of chips for tea, then the blow-up bed will be sorted, a film will be selected, and C1 and I will leave them to it and go and choose toe-nail colours in the safety of her bedroom. 

Ho hum.

Day 143: Wednesday 31st July

Last day of July, and it has rained for all of it.

5 loads of washing sitting here, spread all over the place, just making the house more humid. 

As we are heading over to The Principality again tomorrow, I have asked S2 whether we can bring the damp laundry with us, and hang it, in stages, above their AGA. He has agreed, so all is not lost.

Spent a couple of hours with Daddy today in his holiday home. Back there in a short while to say goodnight. He enjoyed his manicure this morning, and once we had cracked the 'how to stay awake long enough to look at the laptop photos of Elan Valley', things shaped up really well. 

Had 2 fab visits today... the lovely B and her 2 children O and L came over, lots of green tea with mint was consumed, the Lego came out, the wet trampoline got bounced on, and all went well. Then Mrs Chinn and Alice came over too, armed with knitting corrections, funny stories and a late birthday present for me! Lots of projects to be added to the list now. It was a book crammed full of knitting patterns. Yippee!

Thanks Rachel...

C1 is on a sleepover tonight, so C1 and I have enjoyed a 99p pizza together, and are looking forward to a sofa snuggle and a film, after the 'good night' pop-in to Daddy.

Tomorrow will mainly consist of packing a bag into the car, including wet washing, sleeping bags and pillows, wellies (going to Wales, after all!) and my crochet bag, picking up C1 from her friend's house, dentist check-ups, then hit the M5. Aiming to sit down to lunch with S2 and his lovely family by about 1pm. There is a bell tent in the garden, which can contain 7 children, so all being well I may have a bedroom to myself tomorrow night while all 5 cousins sleep outside. 

August starts tomorrow... just saying......

Day 142: Tuesday 30th July

Warning: when making plans for a relaxing, peaceful and tranquil short break with a pal, in a place with no children's playground or other entertainment, make sure that your children have other things to do, other places to be, so that the above can take place.

 
Otherwise, the full amount of stress, tears, frustration and inability to even walk across a field without a hanger-on attached to your t-shirt takes its toll of friendships, family harmony, and the bank balance.

What should have been a weekend of bike riding, a pub meal, quiet contemplation of beautiful views, and basic field accommodation for a fiver a night, watching red kites from the back of the trailer tent, is now, thankfully, over.

C1 and C2 are happily installed on the sofa with the telly, the washing machine is on overdrive, I am here, being ignored (why couldn't they ignore me while we were away?), Mr 1957 is back at his, and the situation is never, I repeat, never, going to happen again.

There were some lovely times, 

but these were over-shadowed by 'I'm bored', 'I'm hungry', 'she did this', 'he did that', 'can I have' and 'how much longer are we here for', in close competition with the weekend winner - 'do we have to do more walking?'. It started 10 minutes into the journey, as C2 proceeded to throw up spectacularly all over himself and the rear passenger seat.

Ah well, in the words of Mr 1957, 'stupid is as stupid does'. 

Day 137: Thursday 25th July

Happy 54th Wedding Anniversary, Mummy and Daddy!

I think Year 54 has comprised a lot of tolerance and tenacity. Well done, both. 

Our day started at the same time as a normal school day, due to an appointment at 9am. Once installed in the waiting room, we realised that the appointment was actually for 9:30am, so I had to go and feed the parking machine with another pound. 

On leaving, we were going to go on a mission to find worm tablets, travel bands, socks, crop tops and some sandals. I consulted the Parking Fuhrer, asking him whether the fact that I had parted with enough coinage to allow me 4 hours on the car park, but both tickets were for similar expiration times, would allow me to use the full value. His rude and curt reply was  something along the lines of 'should have bought the right ticket in the first place, buy another one' so I decided not to engage in further discussion, but walked away and took us off to a different car park. 

Both children were shocked at how this jobsworth bloke had spoken to me.

They were even more shocked when, as we mooched around the shopping centre, clutching our list, we witnessed a child/mother with a screaming toddler, a baby buggy, and some nasty language. I was ready to step in and offer some kind of help, but the screaming woman/girl was so intent on abusing her terrified child that I don't think she would have noticed me. Walking away made me feel awful. C1 put it very well. 'If she's like that in public, what must that poor baby have to go through at home with the door shut?'.

Shame on me, I thought. She had gone by the time I had thought it through.

Onwards to the old house, to collect a parcel that had been sent to the wrong address (we have only been gone from there for nearly 2 years, after all), which was kind of emotional (old bedroom door with C1's sticker scars still showing - chucked onto a scrapheap outside the front). Hard to see, but easy to walk away from.

On to the parents for afternoon tea. Scones, jam and clotted cream. Yummy, but all too soon proved that my dairy intolerance is still alive and well! 

Packing lists printed and distributed as soon as we returned home. C1 and C2 are now adept at packing their own bags - just pillows and a toothbrush to add to the mix in the morning.

The forecast looks fairly promising. All good.

Day 136: Wednesday 24th July

Holidays are comin', holidays are comin'.......

At last. 

C1 and C2 are so tired - we all need a break from getting up at stupid o'clock, getting out, getting in, and getting back. Looking forward to 41 days off!

Last day in Year 3

Last day in Year 6

 Tears on the playground, tears at home, friends moving on, and a lesson on how 'real friends' never stop being friends no matter how many miles there are between them. 

On a different level, I had a lesson this morning from C1 on how to apply eye-liner correctly. Shock horror. My daughter is more adept with face-slap than I have ever been!

Like this, Mummy...

The day was spent being busy, and breathing the last peaceful air for a while, due to the schools breaking up today. Mr 1957 and I have packed the trailer tent, done the shopping, done a list, and now just need to wait for departure day. 

Ready.....

C1 and C2 are anticipating the thrill of a chemical toilet, fetching all the water we need from a stand-pipe, and playing wild and wonderful games in the fields and woodland around Nantserth. They were not originally included in the plans, but now, they are in the thick of it.  Ha ha!

I have Mummy and Daddy to thank for the years of experience gained from caravan holidays through my childhood. Memories of queuing up for a go with the winding tool to get the legs of the caravan down (jostling with my brothers for the prime job of setting up!), pitching the toilet tent....

... fresh air, no technology, no electricity, torches, outdoor cooking, French cricket, and being forever amazed at how comfortable and homely our little pitch could become, in the space of a couple of hours. I hope and pray that C1 and C2 continue to get the same excitement as I did. 

Simple living. 
No more, no less.

And tomorrow is Mummy & Daddy's 54th wedding anniversary. Respect to both of them. Afternoon tea with scones, jam and clotted cream is on the cards for tomorrow. There will be love all around. 

Day 134: Monday 22nd July

School academic year down to 3 days left. None of us can wait for the holidays to begin. 

Spent a lovely day mooching around Evesham with the lovely, inspiring H, looking at house clearance emporiums and charity shops, with a major coup achieved in one of the many charity shops there...

2-layer stainless steel steamer pan with a lid. It matches my other 4 pans exactly, is something I have wanted/needed for a long time, and I got it for the princely sum of £1.50. Joy. Steamed veg-fest - especially now we have new potatoes, peas and runner beans!  Result! And only using one gas ring!

C1 and C2 are too hot to cook for, so sandwiches are the order of the day for tea. Good. 

Having 'discussed' his current frame of mind, I have taken the decision to keep C1 and C2 with me this weekend, instead of sending them to BabyDaddy. 

They will now be accompanying me and Mr 1957 on a wild camping trip to a field with a stand pipe and a chemical toilet waste disposal point. Nothing more. And a tent. And a football, an I-Spy book, some string and the potential for picnics, walking and some Red Kite spotting. Oh, and a day at Elan Valley. I reckon they won't have the time or the inclination to say the dreaded 'I'm bored' mantra even once!

Had a good conversation with SallyBally, who is currently unavailable to work due to poking herself in the eye with a bit of laurel twiglet while pruning. A&E trip later, and we both now have gruesome 'eye injury' stories to tell squeamish people. 

Tomorrow is Mummy & Daddy day, with haircut, garden stuff and some quality time.

Let the holiday countdown continue.

Day 133: Sunday 21st July

Sunshine, happy places and peaceful thoughts. 

The weekend passed so quickly.

C1 excelled herself in the Victoria Sandwich department.

The day was spent somewhere else - best laid plans etc. It was decided by all concerned that a day at a steam fair would be expensive, a little testing on the attention spans of small people, and it would be altogether a better plan to spend the day at a play area with a picnic.

This turned out a whole lot better than we expected, as we arrived to find a community activity day setting up, and stayed for most of the day! C1 and C2 had a go at a climbing wall... both seem to be natural, fearless climbers!

Then, as the heat continued, a visit over the road to the Co-Op proved the point that we are, actually, experiencing a heat wave!

Once we had exhausted the options, we made our way to Golden Valley, to look at swans, ducks, mud and stuff. C2 appeared to sprout horns, until I realised that he had acquired a couple of goose feathers!