Yesterday, January 28, was the third anniversary of us 'coming home'. I'm not quite sure where this past year has gone. The first part of the year was consumed with buying the house and moving, then getting settled in, the kids birthdays and the summer holidays. All closely followed by Beth starting school (and Toby starting pre-school) and finally a rather busy end of year with nativity plays, Christingle, trips away and me (sort of) getting back to work.
The getting back to work thing has been on the edge of my consciousness for a while. Toby is only at pre-school for five hours a week but by September he'll be going every morning so I really need to be thinking about work . . .
Despite editing being my preferred area, I got commissioned to write four books (any of you TCMers will know, this sounds far more glamourous than it actually is!) and decided to try my hand being an author. Taking this on at the beginning of December probably wasn't the brightest move - I didn't look too closely at the schedule and didn't really think how tight the deadline was; all four books to be finished by mid-January! Never mind, apart from neglecting my Christmas cards and being 'unavailable' for intellectual conversation, I think I muddled by okay and got them in a whole two days early.
I think before I take on any more work I'll have to do a bit of a survey among mums who freelance from home. Not quite sure at what point you can justify additional childcare - at one point I was in the kitchen with the computer on the counter and jumping between writing and cooking the kids tea. Not sure that I did justice to either effort with my mind/body split between the two!!
Overall a great year with a nice mixture of family and friends, old and new, a new home and a new village. Definitely a positive move as we're very happy in our 'location' even though we do still miss our CA/US friends and hope that perhaps 2011 will be the year that we get to see some of them again in person.
Saturday, 29 January 2011
Tuesday, 25 January 2011
Happy Birthday Cousins!
During the week we were away, it was cousin Adam's 5th birthday and cousin William's 2nd birthday. Poor William had chicken pox, Adam managed to 
avoid it and on Sunday had a party to celebrate (his birthday, not the fact that he didn't have the pox!).
As with any party, Beth was very excited at the prospect especially as it was a fancy dress party with a magician. Normally Beth would just wear a party dress and a tiara and be a random princess but this time she went as Snow White. She has always wanted a Snow White dress but every time she has tried one on it bothers her. For anyone in close proximity of Beth, this wouldn't be a surprise. We have a 10 minute 'dance' every morning where she goes through the same routine of "will my pants stop bothering me?" then "will my t-shirt stop bothering me?" followed by "will my socks stop 
bothering me?" until she has gone through every piece of clothing. I'm not actually sure anything bothers her but she's got into such a habit that she does it anyway.
Well, for Christmas grandma whipped out her sewing machine and threw together a non-bothering Snow White dress. Thankfully (as I think it might have taken a bit more effort than I indicated here) she liked and was happy to wear it. The outfit was made complete with a school hairband and her sparkly Dorothy shoes from Auntie Liz and Uncle John.
Toby was going to be a wizard but again, as with any fancy dress parties, decided to go as Toby. Adam looked fab as Batman and William (whose spots had scabbed over) was cute as Mr Tickle.
The magician was very good and managed to deal with the 5-year-old hecklers in a very dignified manner! There was also a surprise guest appearance by Bob the Builder, Spider-man and a rather sinister Batman. The cake also reflected Adam's love of Batman.
avoid it and on Sunday had a party to celebrate (his birthday, not the fact that he didn't have the pox!).
As with any party, Beth was very excited at the prospect especially as it was a fancy dress party with a magician. Normally Beth would just wear a party dress and a tiara and be a random princess but this time she went as Snow White. She has always wanted a Snow White dress but every time she has tried one on it bothers her. For anyone in close proximity of Beth, this wouldn't be a surprise. We have a 10 minute 'dance' every morning where she goes through the same routine of "will my pants stop bothering me?" then "will my t-shirt stop bothering me?" followed by "will my socks stop 
bothering me?" until she has gone through every piece of clothing. I'm not actually sure anything bothers her but she's got into such a habit that she does it anyway.
Well, for Christmas grandma whipped out her sewing machine and threw together a non-bothering Snow White dress. Thankfully (as I think it might have taken a bit more effort than I indicated here) she liked and was happy to wear it. The outfit was made complete with a school hairband and her sparkly Dorothy shoes from Auntie Liz and Uncle John.
Toby was going to be a wizard but again, as with any fancy dress parties, decided to go as Toby. Adam looked fab as Batman and William (whose spots had scabbed over) was cute as Mr Tickle.
The magician was very good and managed to deal with the 5-year-old hecklers in a very dignified manner! There was also a surprise guest appearance by Bob the Builder, Spider-man and a rather sinister Batman. The cake also reflected Adam's love of Batman.
Friday, 21 January 2011
Sneaky Holiday
We're just back from a sneaky holiday to the Centerparcs near to our house with grandma and grandpa. It's only about 20 minutes away but 
once you go in and dump the car, you could be anywhere so it seemed daft going to any of the other ones.
It was a great time to go, pretty quiet after Christmas, and we had fantastic weather (for January) with no rain
and lots of sun. It was a little chilly but there was definitely a Spring-like feel to it all.
We went to the 'subtropical swimming paradise' every day. There was a lot to do, loads of slides and rides, wave machine and pirate ships to explore. Toby definitely loved one of the slides the best and would have done his
slide circuit all day had his legs not given up with all the climbing stairs that was involved. Beth liked most of it but I think her favourite bit was the outdoor part of the pool, despite the temperature being below zero one morning! The water felt quite warm and there was a ledge she could play on and jump off. The rest of us adults rather liked the whirlpools. :)
Although there are lots of activities you can pay to do, the only 'extra' thing we did was bowling. Neither of the kids had been before and they both seemed to quite enjoy it. I think they found the wait
between goes a bit long but thankfully Beth won so she was happy. The rest of us played pretty crap - seemed harder than playing it on the wii in my pj's!!
The rest of the time was spent playing in the woods, walking, relaxing in the villa and
visiting the nature centre. Both of the kids seemed to really enjoy watching the birds from the hide. Think I'll have to swat up on identifying birds as since we've come home, Beth wants to know the name of every bird in the garden.
It was a lovely week - perfect to get away from the January blues. Think we'd better get something else booked to look forward to . . .
once you go in and dump the car, you could be anywhere so it seemed daft going to any of the other ones.It was a great time to go, pretty quiet after Christmas, and we had fantastic weather (for January) with no rain
and lots of sun. It was a little chilly but there was definitely a Spring-like feel to it all.We went to the 'subtropical swimming paradise' every day. There was a lot to do, loads of slides and rides, wave machine and pirate ships to explore. Toby definitely loved one of the slides the best and would have done his
slide circuit all day had his legs not given up with all the climbing stairs that was involved. Beth liked most of it but I think her favourite bit was the outdoor part of the pool, despite the temperature being below zero one morning! The water felt quite warm and there was a ledge she could play on and jump off. The rest of us adults rather liked the whirlpools. :)Although there are lots of activities you can pay to do, the only 'extra' thing we did was bowling. Neither of the kids had been before and they both seemed to quite enjoy it. I think they found the wait
between goes a bit long but thankfully Beth won so she was happy. The rest of us played pretty crap - seemed harder than playing it on the wii in my pj's!!The rest of the time was spent playing in the woods, walking, relaxing in the villa and
visiting the nature centre. Both of the kids seemed to really enjoy watching the birds from the hide. Think I'll have to swat up on identifying birds as since we've come home, Beth wants to know the name of every bird in the garden.It was a lovely week - perfect to get away from the January blues. Think we'd better get something else booked to look forward to . . .
Monday, 3 January 2011
Happy New Year Everyone
Happy New Year - we hope you have a wonderful 2011!
Steve joins us in this greeting, just not in the photo - he's not much for having his pic on the blog!Wednesday, 29 December 2010
Happy Christmas!
A little late posting this - just can't seem to find enough quiet 
time to get it done. We had a great Christmas, quite quiet but very nice. Both the kids seem to be full of germs and Beth particularly is fighting off some bug. However, it didn't seem to have any effect on her ability to open presents! Toby had no particular requests for Santa but Beth was very hopeful for a Barbie doll. Thankfully Santa had
read her letter and listened
to her requests and she got one along with lots of clothes. Toby was more than happy with his Buzz from Santa, complimented with a Woody from Gran and Grandad. We had been rather mean this year with presents as they already have so much but everyone else was very generous and
they both ended the day with lots of fabulous presents. Toby was 
very happy with his wizard outfit complete with authentic Harry Potter broom from the film set! Both loved decorating their own wellie boots (thanks J & A) and Toby seemed to be having some interesting thoughts about what he could do with his chainsaw!Before I forget, I sadly can't steal the compliments for the cake, that was courtesy of Grandma. Thank you to everyone for all our lovely pressies, thank you cards will follow at some point . . .
As a little break from Christmas celebrations, we did go for a visit to
the National Space Centre in Leicester with Auntie Jane. Most of the information was way above the kids comprehension but they loved some of the experiments and the film we watched. Toby was obviously very taken with it and has been talking ever since about the rocket blasting off. :)
Thursday, 16 December 2010
Christingle
On Wednesday 15th there was the Christingle service at church combined with the school nativity play. Beth was an angel and 
looked very good in her costume (along with about four others in the same one, courtesy of the local supermarket!). Beth didn't have any lines, just 
singing and she did very well - she has been singing the songs for the last few weeks and I think I could probably have joined in with most of them.
The nativity was a slight variation from normal as it was called Angels and Aliens and was about a spaceship that landed near a school where the children were practicing for their nativity play. The school children tell the aliens the story of Christmas. I suspect it's just a way of creating more characters as you can only have so many angels and
shepherds! It went very well and I don't think anyone forgot their lines though one of the kings got stage fright and one was off ill.
All the children were given christingles, yes, even Toby!! Amazingly he seemed to appreciate the responsibility and was really careful with with it. Beth was mesmerised by hers - you can see her (fifth angel down) just gazing at it. The church looked fab lit by just the candles and it was a lovely evening.
looked very good in her costume (along with about four others in the same one, courtesy of the local supermarket!). Beth didn't have any lines, just 
singing and she did very well - she has been singing the songs for the last few weeks and I think I could probably have joined in with most of them.The nativity was a slight variation from normal as it was called Angels and Aliens and was about a spaceship that landed near a school where the children were practicing for their nativity play. The school children tell the aliens the story of Christmas. I suspect it's just a way of creating more characters as you can only have so many angels and
shepherds! It went very well and I don't think anyone forgot their lines though one of the kings got stage fright and one was off ill. 
All the children were given christingles, yes, even Toby!! Amazingly he seemed to appreciate the responsibility and was really careful with with it. Beth was mesmerised by hers - you can see her (fifth angel down) just gazing at it. The church looked fab lit by just the candles and it was a lovely evening.
Wednesday, 15 December 2010
Happy Birthday GG Harry
December 4th was Great Grandpa Harry's 90th birthday over in Northern Ireland. So, on Thursday (2nd) we dug our way out of the street 
through a foot of snow and headed over to Liverpool to catch the night ferry to Belfast.
Strangely, once we got out of our village the weather wasn't too bad and the snow gradually disappeared. Of course the kids were very excited about the ferry and loved the bunk beds. The crossing wasn't too bad though given the choice I may
choose to go first class by plane!
On Friday (and again on Sunday) we spent some time on the beach. It wasn't quite beach weather so we hadn't taken our buckets and spades, but the kids had a great time splashing in the puddles and lobbing stones into the water. Toby of course fell over at least once but thankfully, for once, it wasn't straight into the water.
On Saturday it was the party for GG Harry. The house was filled with family and friends, there to wish him Happy Birthday and ply him
with chocolates and sweets (he has something of a sweet tooth!). The 
kids loved running around, meeting new people and getting a lot of attention too.
Sunday evening we caught the ferry back home all ready for school on Monday morning. We all hope you had a very Happy 90th Birthday Great Grandpa Harry!
through a foot of snow and headed over to Liverpool to catch the night ferry to Belfast. Strangely, once we got out of our village the weather wasn't too bad and the snow gradually disappeared. Of course the kids were very excited about the ferry and loved the bunk beds. The crossing wasn't too bad though given the choice I may
choose to go first class by plane! 
On Friday (and again on Sunday) we spent some time on the beach. It wasn't quite beach weather so we hadn't taken our buckets and spades, but the kids had a great time splashing in the puddles and lobbing stones into the water. Toby of course fell over at least once but thankfully, for once, it wasn't straight into the water.
On Saturday it was the party for GG Harry. The house was filled with family and friends, there to wish him Happy Birthday and ply him
with chocolates and sweets (he has something of a sweet tooth!). The 
kids loved running around, meeting new people and getting a lot of attention too.Sunday evening we caught the ferry back home all ready for school on Monday morning. We all hope you had a very Happy 90th Birthday Great Grandpa Harry!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)