Wot no Seany?

So we were all excited at the kids' uncle Seany coming to visit. Then we got the call. Seany was not well. "He'll probably be here tomorrow" we said. Tomorrow came, and still no Seany. Seany was still not well. Poor Seany :o( We were all very disappointed, especially when Seany said he probably wouldn't make it at all this week and would probably forget about it this time and maybe come another time. Time for drastic action. I phoned my mum. No one argues with my mum. She phoned Seany. I think Seany will be here sometime tomorrow. Cool. Little sisters still get their own way, even at the age of 32!

She passed !

Little Z has been waiting for 6 weeks for the results of her Primary ballet exam. Today the phone call from the ballet teacher came. She passed and apparently was only a couple of points off getting a merit. I'm so pleased for her. She worked very hard to practise for the exam. She can now go into the Grade 1 ballet class which means I don't have to get up early on Saturday mornings any more as she will go on Wednesday evenings. I will probably still be at work when she has to go to ballet, so PP will have to collect Little Z from school, Big J from nursery, feed them both and get Little Z to ballet class all on his own. As husbands go, he is actually very good at helping around the house (actually, he does most of it and I do the helping) and at doing the "dad" thing. However, I feel a few stressful evenings coming on!

Well Done Little Z !

Here comes the bride...

Two of my friends have got married in the past month or so and it has made me think about when I got married. I was only 20 at the time and many people warned that we were too young and it wouldn't last. The postie and I will celebrate 12 years' of marriage this year, but, you never know, maybe it won't last !?

My friend, Ali, got married on Saturday at Christ Church in Bournemouth. After several days of heavy rain, I wondered if she was going to have rain on her special day, but for the important parts of the day it did stay dry. From start to finish it was a really lovely day. Ali looked very happy, as did her new husband, Stu. I spent a lot of the day asking little Z to stop touching Ali's dress. At one point Ali thought her veil was caught on something and turned to find my little one holding it. Little Z and I thoroughly enjoyed the day and after this and Sarah's lovely wedding a few weeks ago, I am waiting to see which of my friends will be next down the aisle...

Stray Cats

For about 5 weeks we have had daily visits from a lovely grey and white cat. I don't hate animals (contrary to what some believe!) but I don't consider myself an animal lover either. Gradually over the last 5 weeks this cat has pushed the boundaries more and more and we are now at the stage of buying food for it. It also has its own bowls, a new collar and the children have named it fluffy. Little Z insists it now belongs to us, but how do we know if it actually is a stray? I feel like we are stealing the cat from someone. It doesn't look particularly scruffy which makes me think that prior to coming to us it has been well looked after, so how can we be sure that it doesn't still belong to someone else?

The other issue is that little Z is allergic to cats. I know what you're thinking, why take on a stray cat when one of our children (and, incidentally, the children's uncle Seany) is allergic to cats? Well, I quite agree. That doesn't stop the cat from coming here every day and even if we refuse to let it in the house it doesn't stop the children from playing with it (or, in big J's case, trying to ride on it) in the garden. In any case, like most people, we like to leave our back door open during the nice weather and the cat doesn't ring the bell.

My solution is to give the cat to my mother-in-law who will take in any stray animal, but I am fighting a losing battle getting Postman Pat (my husband) & little Z to agree.

Books, books & more books

Having got no closer to getting the house tidy, (although the floor is pretty clear in case Big J is too engrossed in playing to notice that it's potty time) I did the sensible thing today and went out and bought lots of books. We are not short of books in our house, in fact that is a gross understatement, we already have more books than anyone could read in a lifetime. But despite having 2 large bookcases full, and the children each having a shelf full in their bedrooms, I continue to buy books with the hope that I will find somewhere to put them. Books are great though, aren't they? I think it is good for the children to grow up with a love of books and to have plenty of books at their disposal. My children love books. My youngest likes to see how many pages he can pull out before my 6 year old notices and shouts "MUM!" but at least that solves the problem of where to put that one!

Summer Holidays

Six weeks seems like such a long time, doesn't it. Having said that, I can't believe we are in the middle of August and it's not long before the kids go back to school. And if you're a teacher, you go back to school too. It's like Bagpuss and the Mice on the Mouse Organ.

I had so many plans for these holidays. I have lots of reading to do, I want to teach little Z (my daughter ) who is 6 to ride her bike and to tie her shoelaces. We have started both, but are not getting very far. I also promised to take her swimming, which just hasn't happened. I have started to potty/toilet train big J (my two-year-old son) who finds it very funny to wee on the floor and then paddle in it (boys are just not like girls!).

I would like to be able to tidy the house and have it all organised for when I start teaching in September, but as quickly as I tidy, the children are busy untidying behind me twice as fast. I'm sure I will look back on these days and long to have them back when the kids are all grown up and living away with their own children, but right now I would do anything for a tidy house.

life changes

tAfter many discussions with my brother about how great his blog is (judge for yourself) and how bad mine was (I have now deleted it), I decided to take the opportunity of having 6 weeks off this summer to do something worthwhile. I also decided to start a fresh new blog!

It can be a scary thing to make a big change to your life, especially if your life is actually okay. In November 2004, after returning to work after having my second child, I realised I could not suffer my job any longer. I left my job and did a Primary PGCE at the University of Southampton..

I am lucky to have a very helpful, hardworking and supportive husband as the course was extremely difficult and at times I really wondered if I could cope with family pressures as well as the full time PGCE. Somehow, if it is something you really want, you do it. I look back at it now and let out a huge sigh of relief that it is over....or is it?

I now have to complete my NQT year and that is not going to be easy. But first things first, I have to get a job for September. Supply agencies here I come...