I don’t seem to have blogged about anything home eddish for ages and i can’t possibly remember what we’ve done either, so i don’t think i’ll try. I know we’ve done some more war stuff, lots of music, loads of reading and plenty of Fimo, beading, drawing, playing in the garden, cartwheeling, dancing, seeing friends. We’ve done maths, we’ve done history, i did a little booklet about The Earth with them and everyone has been generally so busy and happy that days have bumbled past without tv or DS or boredom.
We did go and spend a day picnicking and parking and then seeing Prince Caspian with Charlie and Claire, which was lvoely and all the kids enjoyed the film very much, as did i (and Calire i hope!) Josie did very well being in a cinema for so long. I thought the film was great, a very enjoyable version of the book and elegantly done.
The big girls also got the rest of their room done. This is Fran’s end…
I shall have to do better photos though.
Maddy has exactly the same but in blue, but it works very well i think.
Max and i had a night away for our 10th wedding anniversary; we’d planned to go to France for our long awaited honeymoon but there isn’t time this summer for my parents to have them for the 4 days or so they’d be happy to be left (too much golf being the main problem i think!) and there are a few other things that make me think maybe we’ll be better off celebrating next year instead.
Fran took her cello to mum and dads and played with my mum
She started learning Edelweiss, which is a fair bit further through the book than she has reached with her teacher, but with some help from granny, she is doing very well. She won’t have any lessons for a few weeks, so it is fun for her to be working away at a challenge for a while.
My mum was made a Professor at her university and i’m incredibly proud of her for doing so. I feel (i could be wrong i suppose!) that she belongs to a generation of women who have been held back in their careers just for being women in a way that will never happen again; to have stuck out 25 years in academia working for and waiting for the right to have a title she richly deserves and would have been awarded to her as a man a long time ago, takes the kind of grit i will never have. She’s an inspiration to me in many ways, even if i would never follow the path she followed to achieve her goal. I admire her determination very much and i’m glad that she’s got what she wanted so badly. It’s something that all of us have given a bit for in some ways; my brother, sister and i had a childhood very different (no worse, just different, it isn’t a criticism) from many of my peers because my mum was so focused on her career, my dad moved away from his journalistic career to be at home with us so that she could do what she was so good at and for her to reach this peak of achievement is precious to me. I can’t explain it in the way i’d like without seeming to take something away from it or have some axe to grind (which i don’t); i suppose i mean it is vindication and acknowledgement of the path she chose to take and the way it shaped our family life.
Anyway, i’m proud of her, in the way i hope my children will be proud of me if i ever turn my busnesses into a household name.
We had planned to go to the Lakes with The Portico but with the weather looking rather inclement, we decided to do things differently and went down to spend a few days down with them instead. Along with a lot of playing, much karaoke (i think i might get put on special measures for that!), much bouncing and children who rather remarkably now seem to be capable of putting themselves to bed, we had some lovely days out, which Mr Portico has captured rather wonderfully.
We spent a day at the Imperial War Museum, which i mainly wept around and which was perhaps a bit much to take in in one day but the kids have talked lots about the machines they saw, the costumes, the snippets of history that they recall and the fact that the 1940’s house was exactly like one we lived in. I really enjoyed having some time looking at certain displays with the eldest 3, Violet, Gwenny and Fran who loved the SOE stuff, the First World War trenches and the Children’s War. I did (ahem) have to talk a certain girl down off the edges of the trench display as she wanted to climb up and look over the top and see if there was a real No Mans Land there. Ahem!!!! 😆
On Saturday we went for a walk (in between torrential rainshowers!) at Windsor Great Park where i eventually had to let the side down and commit treason by nipping behind a tree. I did try to hang on, but pushed the strength of c-section scar tissue to the point where i suddenly thought i was gonig to faint (or burst). I hope the Queen will forgive me 😆 The kids, as the clouds gathered, started to shriek “The Darkness is coming!!!!! in true Dr Who style!
On Sunday we all spent the day at The Cotswold Wildlife Park, which was also a really great day out but possibly my favourite thing was how much the kids just enjoyed being together, even after 4 solid days. I can imagine them all arranging camping trips in the not too distant future and begging me to let the 12 year old Josie go with them because the “won’t let her drink any cider at all” 😉 Josie spent about 25 minutes hanging over the wall of the penguin enclosure, utterly enraptured by them (even if they were South American and slightly brown and pink not black and white!) He face was just a picture; i must take her to see more. That was my favourite bit of the day because it was just her and me (she and i… she and me???) and she was just so happy, like i couldn’t have laid on a bigger treat.
We came home via Grandad’s where all 4 children spoke to Auntie L at once and tried to stroke the cats and i’m not sure who was more scared!!!!! 😉
Yesterday was mainly ordinary stuff and then Jazz and Gym – all 3 girls passed their Level 5 in Gym and Fran did some cartwheels off the beam which pleased her mightily. Today she did Sudoke on the way to see Kirsty with M and A and SB and BB over at The Beans and then they ran riot in the garden all day. Some time towards the evening they quietened down a bit and did some Bindeez packs that are for making larger pictures than last years packs. I like them, i think we’ll be doing more. Lovely day anyway, for all of us – great to see friends and see them seeing more friends!
We repatriated our fish, who has lived healthily in primordial soup on the window ledge in a tiny bowl for 18 months completely neglected and ignored (and often not even fed) in perfect happiness. He was moved to a happily, healthier tank of rainwater/soup mix and began to live an outdoor life back where he started. I checked on him before i left to come home. We’ll say no more. :/
Your not-a-holiday does indeed sound lovely. That cloud gathering picture is amazing.
Have to admit to being slightly apprehensive as to what I might see when clicking on the Windsor pic link 😉
Love the big girls room too, it looks great and Fran just looks so grown up with the cello!
Cotswold Wildlife Park was one of my favourite places when I was little, we used to go at least twice a year and now its one of Charlie’s favourite places too. I was obsessed with going into the house to do the brass rubbings!
oh no the fish!!!!!!!
I’ll help look after the girls if you want a honeymoon!!!
You are a sweetie 🙂 But really, have yours first!
just thought – did you do this just to get out of my party!?? 😉