Well to say today has been busy is a bit of an understatement! From lots going on in our street over the last 24 hours to my relay teammate becoming a dad for the second time overnight that would be just about enough. But throw in the last leg of our relay marathons and Bank Holiday fun in the garden and I’m definitely ready for an early night.
I have a three day week at work this week so surely that is manageable for half term! Not that we’ve told E that it is half term and we’re likely to keep cracking on with the #HomeSchooling. Her teacher phoned today for the weekly welfare call and I must say a call on a Bank Holiday Monday is pretty impressive. Kudos to the teachers out there who are still doing their thing under very difficult circumstances.
A busy day so lots to cover in today’s top 5:
1. I have to start with the end of the Lawyers in Lockdown charity relay. After my leg injury which has held me back on my last two legs I was very apprehensive about today as I really wanted to run. My Facebook memories have reminded me that by a complete coincidence today is the one year anniversary of my first ever Parkrun! I knew I would be elated crossing the finish line and as some of my ex-swimmers have reminded me recently, I used to trot out the cliche of “no pain no gain” to them mid way through a particularly tough session. So I set off with a light jog and actually it wasn’t as bad as I had though so with increasing confidence I clicked off the miles. The only problem was that the huge head start Steven Allan gave me in anticipation of me having to walk. I therefore had to slow down after half way and then stop completely with a mile to go as we had planned to run that last mile together (but virtually of course). To be fair he had been up all night supporting his wife who gave birth to gorgeous Sophie so it’s been an even more special day for him! It is done now and we’ve raised nearly £2000 for Brain Tumour Research which is brilliant. The link is here if anyone is still wanting to sponsor. A massive heartfelt thank you to everyone who has been so generous and has sent supportive messages over the last 30 days. 🏃♂️ 🦈
2. It was a bit of a toasty day so Daddy was dispatched to cut the grass and get the weeding done before a bbq for tea. It also gave us an excuse to get out the paddling pool for the kids which was suitably freezing for them. M didn’t last long as all before he turned blue, whilst E manned up and stayed in much longer than was really necessary. My freshly cut grass is now saturated and my kitchen floor covered in grass from all the comings and goings. It was a lot of fun though! 🏊♀️
3. I received a very kind gift of a Pub in a Box to mark the end of my running challenge, which included a keg of lager. This was perfect for the garden this afternoon but it was clearly an item of interest for the kids as a keg is not something they are familiar with. M was shooed away and went off in search of some poor defenceless snails but E wanted to know all about it, how it worked and what was in it. The next thing I know she has taken out a little cup and helped herself to some to sample!! Fortunately, and as I had expected, she took one sip and declared that it was yukky and Daddy could drink it instead! 🍺
4. Tonight was the second instalment of our street quiz where Steph and I took a solid 3rd place. Before the next one we know we need to brush up on our knowledge of all things octopus related as well as movies generally. I’m delighted to report there was no falling out this time and we simply designated a captain to each round who had control of the answers. I led on sport, geography and flags whilst Steph took over for cartoons and soap operas. That seemed to work well as we just stuck to our strengths. Neither of us see octopuses as a strength though so still work to do! 🐙
5. After a very sensible suggestion following a previous diary post when I was complaining about how early the kids were getting up, we have presented E with the gift of a GroClock. We snuck into her room last night to set it up and it has worked an absolute treat! When M got up this morning, E let him out of his room and then when I got up to take him downstairs E refused to come as the “sun hasn’t come up on my clock yet” and returned to her room until 7am. She pressed the buttons tonight before bed to set it up and change it to the night setting so hopefully tomorrow morning will be a repeat! We just need to keep M asleep a little longer and then we’re onto a winner! ⏰
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