You know it's funny... When I was a school kid the Christmas term went on forever. Yes it was the longest term of the year but it dragged. Yet fast forward to today and my eldest, Reece, is due to break up from term next week. Next week - where the hell did that time go?! It feels like only a week ago that he went back from half term!
And then it's Christmas. Now that I'm looking forward to. This is the first year where Reece has grasped the concept of Father Christmas and he is excited beyond excited. Just the other day he had a Christmas fayre at school and lo and behold Santa made an appearance. When I got home from work his face was lit up with excitement as he told me that he'd met Father Christmas - wow.. I remember that feeling... Of course with Christmas just around the corner everything is now falling into place; he's eating his dinner, he's tidying up, he's helping, he's behaving, he's saying please and thank you. Don't get me wrong he's an amazing child and does all these things normally but just recently, with the impending arrival of Santa, things have gone up a notch.
This weekend we'll be putting up the Christmas tree and decking the halls etc... and the fun will really begin. So with the decorations up and his "Playmobile" advent calendar to open every day it really will be a daily countdown.
The magic of Christmas has returned...
Wednesday, 30 November 2011
Friday, 4 November 2011
A day in the life...
Ok so it's been some time since my last blog post. There's a few reasons for this but generally it's been more down to lack of time than anything else. Despite being an expert juggler even I have struggled to cope with work, family, babies, band, The Big Story Challenge, new projects etc...
My day, like yours probably feels like one long rush from the moment the alarm goes off until I go to bed at night. If we're awoken by the 6.15am alarm we're lucky - something has either gone very well... or very badly. But whatever rings in the new day the routine and responsibilities are the same; getting our 4 year old up and dressed for school, tending to his 5 month old brother, feeding the dog and cat, getting breakfast for everyone, walking the dog, bottles, baby food, nappies, tuck for school, brunch for me, shower and then coffeeeeee! All that in 90 minutes - sounds easy huh? If they all work with you then yes...
Then out the house Reece and I go... A (hopefully) quick drive to school which always takes ages with the rush-hour traffic, a quick play with the kids at school before heading into work. In comparison work can be calmer but more often than not some disaster awaits my arrival which obviously only I can resolve. Staff, you've gotta love them...
I always pop home for lunch between 1-2pm (that's the benefit of having my business in the same town) to see Gem and Lincoln. Back to work at 2.10pm, collect Reece from school at 3.15pm, back to work for 3.45pm and then cram in as much work before 5.30pm when the clock of expectation starts. Gem has told me that if I'm not in by 5.45pm then she starts panicking - not because she is worried that something has happened to me but because she's trying to deal with the dinner, bath and bed routine of 2 kids...
So homeward bound I go. Gem takes control of baby Lincoln and I sit there persuading Reece to eat his dinner that has been staring at him for the last 45 minutes (eating... it's such an inconvenience!). Depending on how tired he is it can be a fight of wills but always ends up with me as the victor before the "on your marks, get set, go" race up the stairs to the bath.
Now this is my time with Reece and my favorite time of the day. We always have fun, we always play. At the moment he has got bath toy "letters" and we spend the bath time spelling out words and names - see, educational and fun! Then it's out the bath, "Mr Towel" time (don't ask) before pyjamas and 5 mins play with Lincoln. To get to his bedroom he always asks for a "bag". It's just a towel laid on the floor which he sits in the middle of, I then gather up the corners and carry him to his bedroom. To me it's a towel. To Reece it's a rocket - you've gotta love him... I then read him a story and say goodnight. It's already 7pm.
As I walk down the stairs another pair of patient eyes stare at me - it's Murfey, the dog. It's his time and he knows it. So donning the wet-weather gear we head out in the rain for a circuit of the park opposite where we live. If I'm lucky then by the time I get back Gem has got the dinner on and all I have to do is dry the dog, do any sterilising, tumble drying, washing and clearing up from the kids before sitting down for dinner and a bottle of the finest red wine £10 can buy..... It's now gone 8pm.
We've now a precious couple of hours to do "our" thing but by this time tempers can be frayed, patience can have run out and the effects of sleep depravation can have kicked in. A lot of the time we'll sit at the dinner table until gone 9pm, chatting about the day, the family, kids, babies, friends, work... before clearing up and maybe catching half an hour of TV. At 10pm we normally start the bed routine. That is getting the cat in (it can take either 1 minute or 30 minutes), putting the dog to bed, getting Lincolns feeding tray ready and closing up the house before collapsing into bed. It's now gone 10.30pm.
As Gem & I cuddle up in bed she looks up at me and whispers "I'm really broody - I WANT another baby"...
My day, like yours probably feels like one long rush from the moment the alarm goes off until I go to bed at night. If we're awoken by the 6.15am alarm we're lucky - something has either gone very well... or very badly. But whatever rings in the new day the routine and responsibilities are the same; getting our 4 year old up and dressed for school, tending to his 5 month old brother, feeding the dog and cat, getting breakfast for everyone, walking the dog, bottles, baby food, nappies, tuck for school, brunch for me, shower and then coffeeeeee! All that in 90 minutes - sounds easy huh? If they all work with you then yes...
Then out the house Reece and I go... A (hopefully) quick drive to school which always takes ages with the rush-hour traffic, a quick play with the kids at school before heading into work. In comparison work can be calmer but more often than not some disaster awaits my arrival which obviously only I can resolve. Staff, you've gotta love them...
I always pop home for lunch between 1-2pm (that's the benefit of having my business in the same town) to see Gem and Lincoln. Back to work at 2.10pm, collect Reece from school at 3.15pm, back to work for 3.45pm and then cram in as much work before 5.30pm when the clock of expectation starts. Gem has told me that if I'm not in by 5.45pm then she starts panicking - not because she is worried that something has happened to me but because she's trying to deal with the dinner, bath and bed routine of 2 kids...
So homeward bound I go. Gem takes control of baby Lincoln and I sit there persuading Reece to eat his dinner that has been staring at him for the last 45 minutes (eating... it's such an inconvenience!). Depending on how tired he is it can be a fight of wills but always ends up with me as the victor before the "on your marks, get set, go" race up the stairs to the bath.
Now this is my time with Reece and my favorite time of the day. We always have fun, we always play. At the moment he has got bath toy "letters" and we spend the bath time spelling out words and names - see, educational and fun! Then it's out the bath, "Mr Towel" time (don't ask) before pyjamas and 5 mins play with Lincoln. To get to his bedroom he always asks for a "bag". It's just a towel laid on the floor which he sits in the middle of, I then gather up the corners and carry him to his bedroom. To me it's a towel. To Reece it's a rocket - you've gotta love him... I then read him a story and say goodnight. It's already 7pm.
As I walk down the stairs another pair of patient eyes stare at me - it's Murfey, the dog. It's his time and he knows it. So donning the wet-weather gear we head out in the rain for a circuit of the park opposite where we live. If I'm lucky then by the time I get back Gem has got the dinner on and all I have to do is dry the dog, do any sterilising, tumble drying, washing and clearing up from the kids before sitting down for dinner and a bottle of the finest red wine £10 can buy..... It's now gone 8pm.
We've now a precious couple of hours to do "our" thing but by this time tempers can be frayed, patience can have run out and the effects of sleep depravation can have kicked in. A lot of the time we'll sit at the dinner table until gone 9pm, chatting about the day, the family, kids, babies, friends, work... before clearing up and maybe catching half an hour of TV. At 10pm we normally start the bed routine. That is getting the cat in (it can take either 1 minute or 30 minutes), putting the dog to bed, getting Lincolns feeding tray ready and closing up the house before collapsing into bed. It's now gone 10.30pm.
As Gem & I cuddle up in bed she looks up at me and whispers "I'm really broody - I WANT another baby"...
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