Goodness me, its been a while. To be honest, I don't know if I have any passion left for blogging. I sometimes feel that I'm simply repeating things others have said before, and far more eloquently than me. I feel not all stories need to be told, and yet, here I am, not sure why, but here.
The twins LOVE nursery, and even in just a couple of months have come on leaps and bounds. The staff are wonderful, and overall, I couldn't be happier. Gareth is still a chatterbox, and when we walk to nursery, and pass the Primary School, if there are children out playing, he'll say 'Hi kid, what you doing kid?' Molly is shyer, she talks away at home, but rarely outside. Her grandpa commented the other day that he's never heard her speak. She's started talking a little at nursery, and one of the staff was delighted to tell me that Molly told the class 'my daddy is from America'. Both kids have been assessed by speech and language therapy, and they said everything was fine. We took Molly back for an assessment on her own, because Gareth kept answering for her. She did extremely well, and displayed the understanding of a six and a half year old. It's funny now listening to them have actual conversations with each other, conversations that range from 'Hey! That's mine, get off!' to 'You alright? You need a cuddle?' I don't know where Molly gets her girliness from (it's not from me, that's for sure), but she was inconsolable a couple of weeks ago when her daddy tried to pair her owl top with a pair of leggings instead of the pinafore it goes with. She has also been known to dismiss outfits with a wave of her hand, declaring 'No, not this, it's not perfect.'
Other things, well, we're decorating the living room. I got an absolute bargain of a suite on Gumtree, and it was the push I needed to start tackling the living room. It's all stripped, and my husband has almost finished putting up the lining paper, there's just the fiddly bits round the window, etc left to do. I got the paint half price in a sale (woo-hoo!) and I'm excited about it all getting finished. We're undecided about replacing the carpet, that might have to wait a while. The garden has been sadly neglected, mostly because of the amount of rain we've had. I'm hoping to build a couple of raised beds for veg, and plant some fruit trees and perennials. The roses need cutting back, but I'm not sure where to cut them, and unbelievably, in November, some of them are still blooming. I'm also hoping to take cuttings from some of them, and gradually replace the specimens that are getting past their best. Out front, it's just concrete, but I've planted some containers with layers of bulbs for the spring (never done this before, hope it works), and dressed them with winter-flowering violas and variegated ivy for a little colour in these drab months. Eventually, I'd like to get a large planter, and grow a climbing rose by the front door, underplanted with other things for year round colour. It lifts the spirits.
My husbands employment situation continues to be up and down. At the moment, he's out of work, but has a temporary job lined up for December (thank goodness). We realise that although it's not ideal, it might be that I'm the one who has to work full time (or at least more than I am now) so I'm also looking and applying for jobs. I'd like to try something new, but I'm lacking confidence, so, we shall see. I'd thought about retraining, but in what field, I have no idea, and honestly, while it might sound selfish, if I was to study something, I'd really like to do it for me, for fun.
So, playing, reading, cleaning, cooking, planting, laughing, praying, loving. The pattern of family life carrys on, day by day.
Wednesday, 5 November 2014
Wednesday, 3 September 2014
Nursery and Using that Time.
The twins started nursery a couple of weeks ago. They've settled in well, and both love it, during the settling-in period, they cried when I came to pick them up, they were loving what they were doing so much. Gareth, our little extrovert loves going 'to see friends'. Last week, his key worker told me that he was a lovely boy - one of the little girls in his group was crying, and he was stroking her hair (He calls this a 'nice and gentle') and saying 'You alright'. He's a kind boy. Molly is less vocal, but she also clearly enjoys nursery. I can see that its going to really benefit both of them. I love all the simple things about them going, like the fact they know where there own peg is in the cloak room for hanging up their coats and bags, and the art work we get home at the end of the week.
Usually, I'm terrible at finding fun things to do as a family. I'm not much of a one for fun, and usually think time should be spent doing practical things, with maybe a trip to the park, where I pray there won't be other people there. Last weekend, though, we went to the open day at the local community farm. The funds raised from this go towards feeding the animals in the winter, and to paying for repairs that were needed due to storm damage last winter. We all had a lovely time, the twins loved seeing all the animals, and running around a gated play area where there are toys and sand, and a slide. They were both very taken by the farm yard cats that wander around there, although Gareth didn't like it when he was eating his hot dog, and one was right under his feet waiting for bits to drop. There were pony rides, Molly didn't have a ride, because when she was sat on the horse, she refused to hold on, and burst into tears, I think it was all just a bit new for her. The girls were really nice about it, and didn't charge us. Gareth loved it, and keeps telling us that he liked riding on Jack the pony. Gareth and Molly loved seeing the animals, and getting a hot dog and an ice cream cone, complete with raspberry syrup. I got lucky at the tombola, where I won some body lotion, a hand bag, and a bottle of Cava. Three wins from five tickets, not bad for £1.
On the days that I'm not at work, I've been using the kids nursery time to do some clearing out. I've gutted the toy cupboard, and got rid of broken bits of toys, and have large bag of things they've outgrown ready to be donated. I've cleared and organised our bedroom, putting paperwork away in a folder, tidying away my sewing and knitting things (I am determined to do some sort of simple sewing project over the autumn and winter), and clearing out clothes, books, and DVDs. I have things in a bag, and I should just get rid of them, but I wonder if I've been a bit hasty. No room for sentiment in a clear out though. The DVDs included a couple of belly-dancing workout DVDs. I don't have the coordination, and I'm far too British for that undulating, so keeping them hardly seems sensible. There's a top that's a little too fitted (i.e. tight) and low cut, a dress that I like, but haven't fit into in about 2 years. There's the fluffy robe that's covered in blue paint from when I painted the front door, I'll get rid of that, and just wear a cardigan over my pj's if it gets cold, or my satin robe if my husband requests it, although I don't like wearing that too much, I'm always worried I'll drop something on it, I'm more of a flanelette than a satin girl. In that vein, I'm also turfing any non-practical nightwear. Sturdy pj's from now on in, if it's not something I would wear during the evacuation of a building, then out it goes.
These last days of summer, and the early days of autumn will be spent preparing the garden for next year, working out the best way of doing big jobs like chopping and uprooting some hydrangeas, and moving patio slabs by myself. Deciding on what changes, big and small, need to be made, and what will be planted where. When that's done, and the rain and wind and cold come, I will retire indoors, and enjoy the cosy activities of autumn. The baking, the curling up with a book, the crafts. I will find ways of staying busy, and making myself useful. I will earn my keep, and, maybe it's time that I looked for a second job.
Usually, I'm terrible at finding fun things to do as a family. I'm not much of a one for fun, and usually think time should be spent doing practical things, with maybe a trip to the park, where I pray there won't be other people there. Last weekend, though, we went to the open day at the local community farm. The funds raised from this go towards feeding the animals in the winter, and to paying for repairs that were needed due to storm damage last winter. We all had a lovely time, the twins loved seeing all the animals, and running around a gated play area where there are toys and sand, and a slide. They were both very taken by the farm yard cats that wander around there, although Gareth didn't like it when he was eating his hot dog, and one was right under his feet waiting for bits to drop. There were pony rides, Molly didn't have a ride, because when she was sat on the horse, she refused to hold on, and burst into tears, I think it was all just a bit new for her. The girls were really nice about it, and didn't charge us. Gareth loved it, and keeps telling us that he liked riding on Jack the pony. Gareth and Molly loved seeing the animals, and getting a hot dog and an ice cream cone, complete with raspberry syrup. I got lucky at the tombola, where I won some body lotion, a hand bag, and a bottle of Cava. Three wins from five tickets, not bad for £1.
On the days that I'm not at work, I've been using the kids nursery time to do some clearing out. I've gutted the toy cupboard, and got rid of broken bits of toys, and have large bag of things they've outgrown ready to be donated. I've cleared and organised our bedroom, putting paperwork away in a folder, tidying away my sewing and knitting things (I am determined to do some sort of simple sewing project over the autumn and winter), and clearing out clothes, books, and DVDs. I have things in a bag, and I should just get rid of them, but I wonder if I've been a bit hasty. No room for sentiment in a clear out though. The DVDs included a couple of belly-dancing workout DVDs. I don't have the coordination, and I'm far too British for that undulating, so keeping them hardly seems sensible. There's a top that's a little too fitted (i.e. tight) and low cut, a dress that I like, but haven't fit into in about 2 years. There's the fluffy robe that's covered in blue paint from when I painted the front door, I'll get rid of that, and just wear a cardigan over my pj's if it gets cold, or my satin robe if my husband requests it, although I don't like wearing that too much, I'm always worried I'll drop something on it, I'm more of a flanelette than a satin girl. In that vein, I'm also turfing any non-practical nightwear. Sturdy pj's from now on in, if it's not something I would wear during the evacuation of a building, then out it goes.
These last days of summer, and the early days of autumn will be spent preparing the garden for next year, working out the best way of doing big jobs like chopping and uprooting some hydrangeas, and moving patio slabs by myself. Deciding on what changes, big and small, need to be made, and what will be planted where. When that's done, and the rain and wind and cold come, I will retire indoors, and enjoy the cosy activities of autumn. The baking, the curling up with a book, the crafts. I will find ways of staying busy, and making myself useful. I will earn my keep, and, maybe it's time that I looked for a second job.
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