LawyerLow Diaries

So here we are. Back into lockdown and childcare arrangements thrown into chaos. I suppose we’ve had our chance to see grandparents and extended families and we’ve risen once before to the challenge of living life without them. Having said that I really hope it doesn’t last as long this time!
I had big plans to strap back on my running shoes today given the gorgeous weather but some pesky work got in the way so I guess my recovery from last Sunday continues. Who knows what might happen tomorrow!
A quick fire top 5 for tonight:

1. M was lucky enough to get to spend the day with Steph as it her day off. There were lots of stories going on as we try to keep encouraging him with his speech. He seems to have mastered “tractor” but “Mammy” remains a challenge. The health visitor also called and one question was about whether he knew the words “under” and “above”. Steph gave him a duplo piece and asked him to put it under the table, which he did but only after matching it with the connecting part. Such a clever boy! 🤓
2. E was asked what had been going on at school today. Apparently they did RE. If you believe her this comprised watching the Gruffalo movie. And afterwards they wrote about the mouse but “just the mouse Mammy, nothing else.” I really have no idea what the connection is to religious education but clearly it made an impression on my daughter! 🐭 
3. E’s other activity at school seemed to involve lollipop sticks and pipe cleaners. She showed me tonight that it was all about families and how we are bound together. One stick was me (coloured blue), one was her with a tiny M drawn on the back, and the last was Mammy with roller skates on because “she needs something to make her fun”! 🍭
4. M approached me in the garden this afternoon carrying a snail. For a change it wasn’t being poked so I told him to show his Mammy. Off he trotted and of course I ended up hearing a scream a moment later. The poor snail ended up being lobbed over the fence and I just hope there wasn’t a runner or cyclist going past! 🐌 
5. I can’t believe that I’ve found water on the kitchen floor. A bit of manly investigation including removing of a few panels shows we have a flood under the dishwasher. Or is it coming from the washing machine? What a pain! Dirty dishes and dirty clothes until I get it sorted which, based on my track record, will be a good three months. Perhaps additional restrictions have come at the right time for my family!! 💧

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

Well unbelievably we’ve made it to the six month anniversary of my little diary. So much has happened in that time and I now have an amazing record of it. I made the decision a while back that the half year point was a sensible time to stop, or at least cut down the frequency of my diary as life was beginning to return to normal. The irony of the fact that today saw the first confirmed Covid-19 case at my daughter’s school or that the North East is about to be subject to tighter restrictions is therefore not lost on me!
But before we get into that, let’s just have a good old fashioned top 5!

1. We had a long lie this morning. Amazing, unexpected and cherished! The kids ploughed straight into their chocolate based breakfast and bounded into the cars for school and nursery respectively. After drop off we headed home to do some side by side #RemoteWorking. Such is life and I think the ultimate test of a marriage. And a test we are passing with flying colours. Well, that’s what she has told me to write! 😝
2. E happily took a couple of packs of blu tack into school and apparently the teacher was delighted with the donation. In your faces, you pesky kids who keep taking it home to build your secret blue snowmen! Those gorgeous artistic displays have been saved and can now be stuck around the school in the way they were always intended! 🖼
3. Another nursery pick up for me and as always another clipboard and pen waiting with the incident form filled in ready. Sadly another biting incident and once again my little boy was the victim. Boy was it a doozy! I’m pretty sure I could identify the perpetrator just by his dental records. Everyone knows the way to deal with it is to bite him back but I appreciate nurseries in 2020 aren’t really allowed to do that. I take some reassurance from the fact that M doesn’t seem to be in the slightest bit bothered! 😬
4. A huge highlight of the day was E’s surprise ride home from school. Grandad was in sole charge and took her bike so they could ride together all the way from school to our house. It’s really quite far especially after a long and tiring day. But she was great and there were no falls, no tears and no injuries. Until she got home and ran around the garden celebrating her amazing achievement and somehow smashed the top of her head off a bird feeder. Bless her. Where was that pesky helmet when you needed it!? 🚴🏼‍♀️
5. Apparently it is exactly 100 days to Christmas today. A tad early to mark it, even for me, but for some inexplicable reason Steph has bought some mince pies. Inexplicable because she hates them. But to cheer E up after her head bump, the two of us sat together to enjoy the first taste of Christmas 2020. They were lush! She started telling me all about her letter to Santa which apparently she’s already begun and she soon forgot about her head. The magic of Christmas eh? In September!!! 🎄

• 

• 

• 

• 

As I stumbled out of bed this morning I couldn’t help but wonder how long my DOMS would go on for. Today it is my calves which appear to have shrivelled up overnight. My very wise next door neighbour suggested I should walk down the stairs backwards to stretch them out but I don’t think he realised I was going into the office today. I had some very strange looks from my coworkers! 
I’m really hoping I’m over the worst and you never know I might even go for a run sometime before Christmas. I have no doubt you’re fed up hearing about running and my associated recovery so I promise it doesn’t feature in today’s top 5! Instead it’s all about the chats the girls in my family have, especially in the car! Here we go…

1. On the car journey to school this morning, they clearly decided to start as they meant to go on:
Mammy – “E, you know Coronavirus is still here and we are having to do some things differently. Well we might not be able to do the things that we want, like have people stay.”
E – “oh, that’s sad Mammy, I like it when people stay.”
Mammy – “well the people are trying to keep us safe by making these rules.”
E – “like who Mammy?”
Mammy – “well the government for one…”
E – “…and the Queen (pause) and the police.” 👮‍♀️ 
2. As they pulled up at school this morning, it continued:
E – “Mammy, Mr Baxter is at the gate again. That’s because Miss C is poorly. Do you think she’s poorly or do you think she dead Mammy?”
Mammy – “she’s not dead E, she’ll just be poorly.”
E – “Mammy don’t laugh, don’t laugh at me.”
Mammy – “I’m not laughing at you, I laughing because of you!” 😵
3. After dropping E off this morning, Mammy could hear her speaking to Mr Baxter over the school fence but not what was said. Clearly it chewed her up all day so she was desperate tonight to asked what they were talking about. 
E – “I asked him if he liked my hair. And he said ‘Yes I do, do you think your Mammy could do mine?’ So I said ‘that’s silly, you have no hair’!” Poor Mr Baxter isn’t even her teacher any more and still has to put up with her cheek! 👨‍🦲 
4. This one is another conversation which started before school but didn’t end there!
E – “Mammy I found this blu tack can I take it to school to give to my teacher?”
Mammy – “erm no but why do you want to?”
E – “well, my teachers say the kids take it home with them”
Mammy – “well, you can buy packets of blu tack”
E – “can we buy some then?”
Mammy – “ok, but we have to check with the teacher first.”
E – “ok Mammy I will ask”
And she certainly didn’t forget!
E – “Mammy I asked my teacher about the blu tack and she said no, but then I told her that I would get a packet of blu tack and she said that would be lovely!” 😇 
5. Just so as not to exclude the little man entirely from tonight’s entry, the poor guy was dragged to Sainsbury’s by his Mammy and Grandma. I don’t envy him one little bit. In the car park another lady went past with a girl a similar age to M. She told her daughter to say hello and so she did. Just to be polite, Mammy told him to say hello back and wave, fully expecting him to ignore her or just make some silly noise. Imagine her surprise when he smiled sweetly and said “hello” clear as day. I’m pretty sure he pretends he can’t say words just to wind us up, but when the chips are down and there’s a girl to impress he just can’t help but show off. Little flirt! 😉

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

A baking hot September day which was something to savour. Unfortunately it coincided with some delayed physical reactions to my run yesterday which have wiped me out big time. I suspect the last of the adrenaline has left my body now and I’m back to being a mere mortal full of aches and pains.
The kiddies were at their respective educational settings whilst Mammy and Daddy were #RemoteWorking today and even emailing each from separate rooms. This new normal can be extremely weird at times!
A bit of a slow day I thought but still enough to write a top 5:

1. The day started on a real high and went downhill pretty fast from there. It was still dark outside as I felt the first warm caress on my back quickly followed by a nuzzle into my neck and, to my surprise, a little lick of my ear. I was immediately awake and rolled over to see the face of the dog staring back. He had clearly enjoyed his last night of his holiday with us! I disappointedly rolled back over just in time to hear M crying and of course he ended up in our bed with his Mammy. I ended up on the couch and E on the floor beside me. What a start! 😴
2. I had the joy of taking M to, and picking him up from, nursery. He’s getting much better at going in and took great delight at showing his new haircut to all the staff. He’s such a flirt and just loved the attention. No idea where he gets that from! When I picked him up he seemed very happy to see me. Unfortunately there was yet another clipboard and pen and an apologetic looking member of staff talking about an “incident”. Once again I jumped to the wrong conclusion as once again it turned out my little boy was the victim. A wooden block to the face but a cold compress and a cuddle apparently did the trick. They were shocked that he then started finding the whole thing hilarious and couldn’t stop laughing. I think that’s what you call bouncebackability! 🤕
3. After picking E up from school I was told all about her superstar sticker which she earned today (for doing amazing work!) and her lunch of sausages and Yorkshire pudding (which she knows is my favourite!) but when we got home all she wanted was to ride her bike. I helped her with her helmet and boy was that not coming off. She did her homework with it on and even ate her tea with it on. I only finally got it coaxed off her at bath time, thank goodness. She is clearly remembering my “safety first” message and taking it a tad too literally! ⛑ 
4. We’ve always had our little girl as the performer in our house but perhaps she has some competitor. M went to the biscuit cupboard tonight dragging Steph with him. So she told him no no, no no no no (to the 2 unlimited song No Limit) to which he replied yes yes, yes yes yes yes using the same tune. Such a clever boy, with impeccable taste in music! 🎤 
5. Another classic E chat tonight:
“Mammy can I have the treats I found yesterday?”
“No.”
“Daddy can I have the treats I found yesterday?”
“Maybe after your bath if your mam says yes.”
“Mammy can I have the treats I found? Daddy says I have to ask you.”
“What did you promise David?”
“Nothing just that she had to ask you.”
“Right. E if I open them then your Daddy is going to eat them all!”
“Why can’t Daddy just not eat them all?”
<Secretly thinks ‘because Mammy has no self control when it comes to chocolate’.>
“Well why don’t you have these chocolate fingers instead when M goes into the bath.”
“Daddy, I had the chocolate sticks and I now have chocolate fingers just like Mammy said!” 🍫

• 

• 

Race day!!! I suppose it all came down to this and despite having no real expectations other than wanting to finish, I had real butterflies before the start. It was really hard going but I’ve completed it and am really proud. Squeaking just under 2:20 will do me just fine considering it was my first ever half marathon.
The rest of the day was spent recovering and sending messages thanking everyone for their sponsorship and support. On that note if anyone would like to sponsor me, it’s not too late 
www.justgiving.com/fundraising/DaveLow
I’ve decided for the top 5 today just to run through the things I learnt on my run:

1. Setting out too fast is a fatal mistake especially when you realise afterwards that the first 2 miles were a PB. That was just ridiculous and I dread to imagine what I would have done if there had been a crowd there cheering me on! I think the tailwind helped a little but it certainly came back to haunt me! 💨 
2. Despite reading and being told by those in the know that the third quarter of this distance is always the hardest, I passed the half way mark with a spring in my step. It sadly didn’t last for long however as it turns out all the advice was correct and I hit the wall. I’ll remember that if I ever decide to put myself through this again! 🥵
3. It is unusual that you can choose your own route in these things but when you do, don’t be so stupid as to put all the incline in the second half, including a ridiculous climb at mile 10. I mean, why would anyone do that, instead of picking a nice flat route perhaps with a bit of gentle downhill? I guess you live and learn! 🏔 
4. As well as the usual physical side effects of a weird toe blister, a bit of chaffing and some very tired legs, apparently a swollen tongue and pins and needles in the face are also something 13.1 miles do to my body. Oh and don’t even get me started on nipples… 😲
5. I really don’t think I could have made it through the last third without the support of my amazing wife and children. Seeing them with their signs and smiles just gave me that boost to keep going. They have had to be very understanding with all my running during lockdown so perhaps I can give them a break. Or perhaps not… 🤔

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

Today was all about final Great North Run preparation. Got my go faster stripes at the barbers, a bit of protein and carb loading and a cheeky bike ride with E to loosen the legs. The only thing I had to do was not get injured. So why am I sitting here with an ice pack on my knee, I hear you ask? Well read on to see what the top 5 has to offer:

1. It wasn’t a great start to the day as the littlest monster awoke at 4.30am and insisted on some attention. My long suffering wife went to deal with him and tried to get him back to sleep, but he refused to do so unless it was in our bed. Just after he dropped back off at 6, his big sister arrived and lay on top of my legs using my backside as a pillow. Never before have I wished I had eaten a hot curry the night before!! Suffice to say, not much sleep was to be had after that but we did get a lovely family cuddle first thing! 👨‍👩‍👧‍👦
2. Whilst I was getting rid of my locks, Steph plucked up the courage to go for a walk with both kids and the dog. She didn’t even strap the boy into his pushchair. She’s certainly braver than me! E was in charge of the dog and did a good job. Except when she wanted to look at the sheep and so just handed the lead to Mammy and told her she had to take over. A lady passing even commented that she seemed to have her hands full. It turns out that they averaged a speed of less than 1mph, not that it was a race of course, but I suspect with M there wasn’t a lot of walking in a straight line! 🤪
3. My darling son was in a very strange mood today. He’s a terrible 2 and so we have to deal with it every day but he’s taken it to a whole new level. He started in the bathroom, filling the toilet bowl with toilet paper and then starting to line up tubs of breadcrumbs around the rim. Next we found pieces of apple he had snuck into the living room, hidden amongst the toys. Finally Steph was at the toilet and heard him and E shouting Trick or Treat! She came out to find that they had climbed into the high cupboard and pinched the treat bucket (which is a Halloween pumpkin bucket). They had taken it upstairs and were sat outside the bathroom divvying up all the sweets and biscuits between them. I suppose he has found a less than ideal role model who seems quite happy to facilitate his tinkerish behaviour! 😈 
4. I had promised E I would take her for a bike ride today and so we set off this afternoon. The only requirement she had was that I had to take jelly babies for our half way stop! As usual she somehow managed to talk the whole way explaining to me at one point that she had a “hair emergency” which apparently is when her hair goes into her face and she can’t wipe it away so we need to stop. The only slight hiccup today was on the way back when we were cutting through a gate with a narrow gap. She decided to go through at speed and misjudged the angle so smashed straight into the gate post. We had tears and a bit of wailing but I calmed myself down and checked on her and she was fine. She wasn’t so convinced however and all the way back she was saying she needed hugs and a bandage and special tablets. When we got home she announced that she had broken her waist! There wasn’t even a mark! Our rides are never boring, for sure. 🚲 
5. I just can’t believe I’ve hurt my knee. I really can’t! I popped upstairs and noticed the kids had dragged out a bunch of toys and left them on the stairs. I shouted down about moving them but of course nothing happened straight away. So when I came down I had to pick my way around them and somehow managed to smash my knee into the windowsill half way down. It hurt. A lot. I assumed it was just a bump and the pain would pass but it’s lasting a lot longer than I expected. I’m staying confident that it’ll be fine tomorrow – if you haven’t already don’t forget to sponsor me if you can. It would be hugely appreciated!! www.justgiving.com/fundraising/DaveLow 🦵

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

Done! Finito! Another week successfully navigated or at least survived. And as we hurtle towards another tightening of the lockdown restrictions I remain blessed to have such joy and happiness within my little family of 4. Even if we are all isolated in our homes I certainly won’t be short of entertainment! 
I’m not wasting time on a Friday night so straight into the top 5:

1. The delightful dog is far too pampered and loves to sleep at the bottom of our bed when he comes to stay. No matter how many times I push him off he just gets back up. This morning I gave him a nudge and to my surprise it was actually E who had snuck in and was lying across the bottom of the bed. Before too long M also joined the party and the day was well and truly begun. E proceeded to tell me all about a dream she had which sounded pretty intense. Apparently “it made my heart explode… with blood… all over my body!” Fortunately she confirmed she was only joking but what a vivid imagination!! 💗
2. E was telling Mammy all about her experiences at school and one particular activity has really caught her imagination. It’s a game called Cherry Pie. Now I’ve never heard of this but apparently someone in the class is picked to whisper the words cherry pie and someone else has to guess who said it. Unfortunately for her, my daughter was picked to be the whisperer and was immediately identified by her ex-fiancé. She was told she didn’t have a quiet voice and was a “loud girl”. I think her new teacher has got the measure of her already!!! 🥧 
3. Steph tried her very best to get some more information out of E about what she did at school but apparently she’s a teenager already so it was just the old ‘blood from a stone’ cliche. “How am I supposed to remember, it was hours ago” was the protesting voice until she was reminded she had only been picked up from the school gates 15 minutes before. She then went on to tell Grandma on our FaceTime call this evening that she was being starved and hadn’t been fed. The list of snacks and meals she has had are getting longer and longer each day. She really doesn’t know she is born! 🤔
4. My boy has had another brilliant day with his Mammy. He got to go out with the dog, made all of his jigsaws and generally kept her company until the rest of the family finished their day. My personal highlight was the singing and dancing session when I arrived home from the office. He brought his Trolls toy through into the kitchen and started playing the music so he could dance around. Mammy and Daddy soon joined in and we had so much fun dancing away. He then wanted his Frozen 2 tracks on so her could dance and sing at the same time. There’s something about the little man belting out “Into the Unknown” on a Friday night which just warms the heart. Oh to be 2 again when life is marvellous and stress free and joyous. No wonder his sister wants to be Peter Pan! 🕺🏼
5. For some unknown reason Santa was back on the menu tonight. E announced that she thought I was Santa. Cue panic stations until she followed up that she thought I went round all the houses and delivered presents to all the children of the world. When I reassured her I didn’t have time to do that(!) she then asked what the point of Santa was. This led to a very surreal conversation about what the elves and reindeer would do if Santa didn’t exist (help out at the school and live with the unicorns respectively if you wanted to know). Fortunately she was distracted by something else and we moved on but I do worry this is getting harder!! 🎅🏼

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

Thursday ✅ another day another dollar and we are very nearly at the weekend. Daddy was #RemoteWorking whilst E was at school and Mammy was having a fun day with M. I say fun, but I guess only certain people enjoy going around to do the weekly food shop.
I did the school run and had a lovely chat with E on the way. Apparently her brain is getting smaller because that’s what it does when you get older, hence why older people lose their memories. She simply would not accept that at her age her brain is getting bigger and being filled with important learning. We still have a way to go there!
Right top 5 here we come…

1. Today was the big trip to the barbers for M. His golden locks have been a feature of our lockdown and this diary but a little trim couldn’t hurt, could it? I was working so Steph did the honours. Due to Covid-19 he had to sit all by himself and the barber tried to snip a little off. Unfortunately (as was always going to happen) he moved and a little more was removed than planned. In the words of the barber “well, it’s all going to have to be like that now!” And so we have a well sheared boy and he loves it! He keeps stroking his head, presumably looking for the missing bits and is loving showing it off to people. Little legend that he is! 💇‍♂️ 
2. Mammy had a cracking debrief with our eldest this afternoon, and 2 topics make the top 5! The first one went like this:
“So E, Daddy says you have a boy friend.”
“Yes.”
“Now is he your friend who’s a boy or a boyfriend?”
“A friend whose a boy, but I asked him!”
“You asked him to be your friend who’s a boy?”
“No a boyfriend!”
Grandma wades in at this point – “have you kissed him?”
E – “NO!!”
Mammy – “what about the other boy?”
E – “I’m not marrying him anymore.”
Mammy – “why?”
E – “but…because, and he doesn’t want to marry me now. He wants to marry someone else.”
Young love!!! 💔
3. The second chat was shorter but no less surreal! E – “Today Mammy Mr Baxter says he has fish but the Gruffalo keeps trying to eat them.”
Mammy – “so is that why you want for your walk? To find him?”
E – “don’t be silly Mammy, we were looking for leaves!”
Coupled with the discovery of a dead pigeon in the playground yesterday (which appears to have caused a lot of excitement!) it really is all go at that school! 🐟 
4. After thinking we were having a bit of family time this weekend with no more house guests I discovered we were dog sitting! When Steph picked up Buddy he decided to sit on Steph’s lap, which is unusual. He then decided to recline, exposing everything under his tummy. E noticed this and said “what’s that pink thing?”
“his tail” came Mammy’s reply. 
“but why is it pink?”
“because it his tail”
“that’s disgusting Mammy but why is it pink?”
“because it is E and I don’t want to talk about it any more!!” 🐕‍🦺
5. Well I’m delighted to report that my penultimate run has been chalked up and I can look forward to two days of rest before the big one. I decided for run 39 to just do a nice, steady 5k. Steph told me to take it easy and just make sure I didn’t get injured this close to the finish line! Of course I didn’t listen and weirdly felt really strong so pushed on and somehow managed to get a new PB. I’ll definitely take that as final preparation! Run 40 is going to be tough and thank you to those who have already sponsored. Here is the link again and don’t be shy! www.justgiving.com/fundraising/davelow 🏃‍♂️ 🦈

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

I was home alone today and it was eerily quiet. Productive of course. But quiet. I’m mastering the art of completing some unplanned chores during my breaks from #RemoteWorking so that when Steph arrives home I have brownie points falling out of my ears!
Sadly I also attended my first remote funeral today which was just a weird experience. A lovely service and organised very well considering all the obstacles these days, but it did feel strange watching over a webcam rather than being there in person.
So a bit of a mixed day but what made the top 5?

1. Run 38 is done and I’m still on track to complete my challenge on Sunday. I was giving things a lot of thought during my run and have finally decided to have a go at a half marathon on Sunday to finish with a bang. I hadn’t told people I had secured a place in this year’s Great North Run to raise valuable funds for Brain Tumour Research and of course it has been cancelled now. But I’d still like to complete it even if it will be on my own! I’ve reopened my fundraising page and whether you sponsored me earlier in lockdown or not, any contributions would be hugely appreciated. I’ll need some encouragement to get through those last few miles on Sunday!! Click here if you can spare a few quid: www.justgiving.com/fundraising/davelow 🏃‍♂️ 
2. After appearing to run a hair and beauty salon with her Aunty over the last few days, it fell to Mammy to do E’s hair for school this morning. It’s so long as a result of lockdown but that does mean there are lots of options (apparently!) Personally I thought she did a cracking job. And so they headed off to school with clips and hairbands and bows in place. I’m told the teacher at the gate commented on how nice E’s hair has been this week, but of course my daughter would blurt out that her Aunty had done it for the last 2 days. My poor wife never gets any credit! I was on plaiting duty tonight so hopefully that works out in the morning! 💆🏼‍♀️
3. M was in fine form this morning and for a change seemed very happy to get ready for nursery. Mammy was in charge of pick up tonight and found a very smily boy who had really enjoyed his day. This perfect moment was shattered however when the staff took Steph to one side to explain there had been a biting incident over the use of M’s favourite slide. Our immediate assumption was that our little man was the perpetrator given how boisterous he is (although not a biter) but it turns out he was the victim. We even got an information sheet about what steps are taken by the nursery to deal with children who bite. I now just feel guilty that I jumped to such a quick (and negative) conclusion. 😬
4. I was once again in full charge during bath time and even managed to get M out in double quick time and before he had the chance to soak the bathroom as per usual. So once he was in his pyjamas I returned to sort E out. She had already washed herself but was standing up posing in the nude. I asked what she was doing and she started telling me that she had perfectly clean private parts. And that they were beautiful and shiny. Oh and sparkly. And she wants the most beautiful, shiny, sparking private parts in the whole world. It’s not often I’m stuck for a response but this was definitely a time!! 🤨
5. I overheard a conversation between my wife and daughter in the kitchen tonight as tea was being cooked:
E – what’s that?
Mammy – duck
E – what! Chicken duck? 
Mammy – no duck duck, “quack quack”
E – will you turn into a duck? 
Mammy – no
E – do we eat dead chicken? 
Mammy – yes, but that’s dead duck
E – ok, but you won’t turn into a duck
Mammy – no 🦆

• 

• 

• 

Today has been a good day. Tuesdays normally are particularly as I get to see my team in the office. One thing lockdown has taught me is that I’m quite a sociable being so a socially distant bit of human contact goes a long way! I guess that might explain a lot about my two little terrors!
After an extra early start, and a long day in the office, I got back home to find two rather hyperactive children charging around covered in glitter. I never did find out how they ended up like that but all is quiet and they are fast asleep now. Clearly time with Mammy is far more exciting than I give her credit for!
Time to jump into the top 5:

1. M was super keen to get going this morning and started lobbing books over his baby gate just before 5am. I put him in our bed and after a bit of kicking and squirming he eventually went back to sleep. I was then up again at 6.30am for an early morning run with our guests before their departure. An unusually humid morning made for a lovely scenic run just to tick off number 37. I feel like I’m nearly there and am hoping to squeeze in number 38 tomorrow. Fingers crossed the weather holds out until Sunday! 🏃‍♂️ 
2. When we got back from our run, it was all hands on deck getting the kids (and ourselves) ready. Good old Aunty Lucy was on hand to style hair and generally chivvy the kids along. I always try to do my little bit and without even being asked I packed E’s school bag with her freshly cleaned and filled water bottle and chopped up apple for her healthy snack. Thinking I had helped I then headed upstairs to get myself ready before coming down to find Steph packing a banana into an empty bag. It turns out the littlest monster had gone scavenging and found the apple so tucked into his second breakfast. The little tinker! You’d think we didn’t feed our children! 🍏 
3. One would imagine that after his early start this morning, M’s energy would wane and he would be looking forward to his afternoon nap. Oh how we were wrong! Normally a very short journey in the car or pushchair does the trick and he drops straight off. Steph decided to take him with her to pick E up from school. Unfortunately he stayed awake until they got in sight of the school and then he immediately recognised it and got very excited about the prospect of seeing his sister! Any chance of a snooze, however short, was gone and he’s just run on empty ever since. I suppose the silver lining is hopefully he won’t be tempted to get up so early tomorrow! 🥱
4. As my readers have probably noticed, M is in desperate need of a haircut and today was the big day. I left it in my wife’s capable hands and she took him to the barbers this afternoon. It was closed when she got there. She only had one job! Maybe it just wasn’t meant to be and he’s going to grow it as long as his sisters! 💇‍♂️ 
5. Steph treated her mam to an afternoon tea today as a birthday present. They had it as a takeaway and boy did they get a lot of food! When I arrived home from work I was promptly reminded of one of the reasons I love her so much! Her weirdly fussy nature of picking and choosing food meant there was a whole plate of savouries and sweets for me to have for my tea. It was lush!! I suppose it meant she didn’t have to cook either so perhaps we both saw it as a win! 🍰

• 

• 

• 

• 

•