We’re going on a bear hunt

The panda bear I’ve had since my first memories – and possibly a few years before, has been given a new home.  He now sits on a bar stool in the dining room looking out over the front gate.  This isn’t because we were worried he wasn’t getting enough natural light but as part of a neighbourhood “Bear Hunt” activity.  With lockdown in place and people being advised to only go out once a day, people are coming up with ways to make the daily walk around the block as fun as possible for the little people. And so, in houses around our little patch, there are teddy bears looking out of windows.

In recent months Bean has taken to sleeping with Panda at night.  He has a huge pile of teddies in the corner of his room and whilst Bug has 3 favourites he rotates between, Bean is much more random.  Sometimes he insists on snuggling with a solitary lego figure, other nights he’ll take somebody like Panda who is half the size of him.  So often over the years I’ve wondered why I’ve held onto some of my childhood bears – I’m certainly not engaging with them at all.  But then, every now and then they get chosen and in emotional pang the makers of Toy Story would be proud of, I see my child snuggled up with my childhood favourite and all is well in the world.

Just keep laughing 😆

From Bug 

And Bean

Mini beast adventure

With the government asking people to only go out for one walk a day we’re trying to make our excursions around the block a little bit more fun than the “let’s just do this as quick as possible” approach which has been the norm after months of rain.

Yesterday, cold but sunny, we headed out with snacks, pencil and paper for a family bug hunt. Bean had already decided he was going to be a baby woodlouse for the day (after spending a large chunk of his third year declaring “I’m a chicken” we now get a new announcement each morning. Sometimes he’s a baby hedgehog, baby wombat or baby chameleon. Or maybe a monkey, a bulldog or a frog. It’s all very random.) For Saturday, he was a woodlouse and we headed out in search of his friends.
Thankfully the woods near us are damp, cold and have plenty of large branches hiding from hundreds of woodlouse under them. As I added to the tally on the sheet Bean would stand over the log, one hand on hip the other pointing at each woodlouse individually as he bellowed “get that one down mummy, get that one down”.
As well as many a woodlouse we spotted millipedes, centipedes, slugs, snails, bees and even the occasional John Beetle!

Taking hand washing seriously

Today was the first day schools were closed to all but key workers.  Whilst our friends across the country tried their hand at homeschooling, our boys headed back into school to be two of the 20 children still in lessons.

Bean was not at all bothered by the new set up.  He had a good few friends in, they ate left over birthday cake for a morning snack and made their own Easter cupcakes in the afternoon. They spent most of the day running around with teacher's and students adopting a very holiday club style approach to the day as they celebrated bright sunshine after months of rain, rain, rain.  It was still pretty chilly outside but, all in all, a pretty epic day if you are four years old.

Bug was not quite so keen on the new set up.  His best friends weren't in, they were limited in where they could play during break times, had to sit further apart during lunch time and, the new rules that children have to wash their hands at the end of each lesson meant that he came home with very sore hands.  I've promised that tomorrow he can take in a football, frisbee and pot of hand moisturiser for fear of his hands turning reptilian before the week is up.

Sore hands 

Today the government banned groups of more than 2 people / family groups from socialising, closed all stores except those selling food, petrol and medicine and generally told everyone - very firmly, to stay home.  I'm surrounded by incredibly successful and hard-working people.  As grateful as I am for the child-free hours I enjoyed today which allowed my team to really get through some key work, I do struggle with how divisive the current situation has the potential to be.  For now, we're taking each day at a time. Thinking too far ahead makes my brain spin.

What a difference a month makes

 When I first started this blog it was to keep the hubby up to date while on tour. Young babies change so quickly that developments are tracked in weeks rather than months and the rate of change seems never ending. 

The young baby days are well behind me - a vague collection of smiles, tears and baby classes all merged in a sleep-deprived blur that spans the first two years of both boys’ lives. However, the recent weeks definitely have the feel of those early years. A month ago we were on the beach at Lyme Regis ending half-term by retracing Mary Anning’s footsteps collecting ammonites on the sea front. Now we’re practising social distancing. My office has been packed up and my home office reestablished as we all do our best to keep contact to a minimum. Easter plans have been cancelled and social events postponed as interactions now come via the phone and WhatsApp. 

With both of us authorised key workers the boys will be back in school for the final week of the Easter term. There will be twenty of them instead of the 250 the school normally has. And then we’ll enter a mix of home working and home schooling. My teacher friends are keen to point out that with Easter holidays looming we don’t really need to be doing anything but I think establishing a good routine in order to protect our sanity is at the front of everyone’s mind.  I’m keen to end the challenges of Covid-19 with my job intact, my mental health together and my children still liking me. Wish us - and everyone else out there, good luck. I have a feeling we’re all going to need it. 

Highlight of the trip for the boys - an evening at the arcades 

Bug proved brilliant at finding huge fossils 

Having found a near perfect tiny ammonite, Bean gave up fossilling for drawing on the sand

Fossils, fossils everywhere! 

These boys...little smile makers

15 October.

Smalley Bean was super excited when I picked him up from school and was desperate to show what was in his bag - his first ever reading book. He boy couldn’t have been more proud. During the walk from the classroom to the car he told me five times how it had come about - having correctly read the sounds on the board he was rewarded with his first book! The book is the letter ‘p’. As soon as we came in the door he asked to read it. He reads ‘p’ and then the pictures he sees: pencil, penguin, pear.. Bug thought he was reading all the words and was amazed, Bean didn’t care. He read his 10 letters as though it was a prize winning novel.

Bug meanwhile also demonstrated himself as a star too. I had a message from one of the other mum’s writing: Hi  Had to pass on my son's lovely remarks about your boy today. Apparently he was ‘completely selfless’ in a pass he made to R in rugby allowing him to score a try - what a very kind team player! 

R has only just started at the school and until a few weeks back had never played rugby - but is a whiz at football. He hadn’t yet had the chance to score in a match so as Bug approached the try line he decided to pass instead to R instead of claim the try for himself. 

As I say, these boys are smile makers.

This week is a good week for a good week

A post from mid October when Mark was away and life turned rubbish for a bit.

Hubby has been away for four weeks. The first week was rubbish. Yes the boys bring smiles and all the hugs but overall it felt like a week of disasters: the garage flooded, the car had a flat tyre noticed as we were rushing out the door, I forgot school kit and had to fit an extra school run into an already packed day, I smashed my phone so completely I could only see a quarter of the screen and there were so many tears from the boys it felt like plates were just smashing around me. 

Of course when tested we get to witness the best of people; my parents wading through the water to save the contents of the garage,  making no fuss at then having to navigate the obstacle course that the house then became when the garage moved into the ground floor. 

The man at the garage was my hero when I drove in with my flat tyre replugging the air from the huge piece of kit they were using it on and getting me road safe again. 

And my community being there for late night calls to work through challenges as a supportive, reassuring voice. 

And the boys. The boys being patient and calm when needed, standing back and playing beautifully as I did the overwhelmed mum routine. 

But then a revelation. I saw a poster recently that made me smile. In bold rainbow colours it announced: Today is a good day for a good day. 

Well that Sunday evening I decided Monday morning would show that the next week would prove a good week for a good week. And so far, so awesome. 

The boys had Monday off school. Once we got my phone fixed we hopped on the train to London and spent the day at the Natural History Museum admiring fossils, gem stones and all sorts of stuffed species. We found Andy’s clock, walked under dinosaurs and stood on an earthquake simulator. 

And - biggest success of the day - we were back in home for tea (although we ate chips and bagels on the train so even bigger win as I didn’t have to cook!!) 

And since then it was pretty much plain sailing. All kit in school on time, uniform cleaned and dried and cleaned and dried on time, smooth journey to Scotland and back and another generous garage worker changing my tyres free of charge. 

Week three proved more challenging; a weekend of disturbed sleep nursing a poorly dog meant I started the week having clocked only 11 hours sleep over three days. However, the tyres stayed pumped, the garage didn’t flood and home work and kit we’re all correct and nothing got lost! (Or at least no knowingly). 

One dog themed birthday party later and we’re into the final stretch!! Knowing my love will be home soon has put a spring in the step this week and given the energy needed to get over the final hurdle. Once again, I’m embracing the idea this week is a good week for a good week.