LawyerLow Diaries

As the 25th week of my daily diary comes to a close, I’m sitting writing this watching yet another game of Rummikub playing out before me. It’s the last night with our visitors before they continue north and it’s occurred to me that after a glut of increased contact, we have very little plans for the next few weeks. And that’s okay with me. A little bit of time just the four of us as we continue to settle into our new routine with work, school and nursery.
Today also saw my mother in law’s birthday, and as I say to her every year, I’m so lucky I found Steph as Dawn is definitely the best mother in law I’ve ever had!! So a special birthday top 5:

1. After being bounced on at 6.15am, with M somehow managing to wedge a toe up my right nostril, we dragged ourselves into action and got ready for the day ahead. Aunty Lucy was a big help, with a full blown pamper session taking place to sort out E’s hair and remove her nail polish before school. We got her brother delivered to nursery in one piece before heading to the school gates. During this drive we heard a lovely story from E about something she had been taught at school last week. Apparently her teacher had been explaining that everyone you love is connected to you with invisible white string, from heart to heart. This means that even if you are in a different place you can still feel them and remember them and love them. She was telling us this because she said she missed her brother when she’s at school, but that it was okay now because she could still feel him all the time through the string. I’m not crying, you’re crying…. 🥰
2. After a busy day at all our various establishments, the family gathered again together the evening. We do try really hard to stick to a routine but lets be honest, it doesn’t always work! Tonight’s plans were somewhat stretched particularly after E decided she wanted to go for a run “just like my Daddy”. She donned a ribbon headband and started jogging round and round the kitchen in a comical style. What was even funnier was the ridiculous heavy breathing she adopted, which presumably was mimicking me. It’s lovely to have such support at home! Sadly I haven’t made it out meaning I’ve still got 4 runs to go in 6 days…🏃‍♀️ 
3. After her “run” E was really keen to help make the tea. She even wanted to eat what the adults were having rather than insisting on something far less tasty from the freezer. So she cut up the mushrooms and the chicken and tried some before I cooked it (the mushrooms I mean not the chicken!) We were half way through the cooking when Mammy opened the cream cheese to find a new species growing inside. After threatening to scrape it off and use the rest anyway, I was quickly dispatched to the shop for a replacement tub which with hindsight was probably a good idea. A very tasty tea and a full set of empty plates with Uncle Jonny polishing off seconds. Emma even ate the cooked mushroom although she said it didn’t taste like chicken. A very astute little girl! 🍄 
4. As my readers will know by now, Monday night is always yoga night in my new strange world, but there was a big difference tonight. My yoga teacher was in my living room watching my every move, circumventing my usual trick of positioning the camera strategically so she can’t see certain positions. Joking aside it was a completely different experience as I wasn’t constantly peering into a screen and the feedback received was incredibly useful. Apparently my downward dog is really coming on, and my twists could be much deeper than I thought. It was also really interesting to have a “behind the scenes” view! E also received a private lesson so all in all we’ve never been so flexible and spiritually centred as a family! 🧘‍♂️ 
5. I have been contacted today to inform me that sadly I have made the headlines. Once again! You just need to search my name and “assault” and sadly the top link is an article in my home town newspaper from today featuring my namesake who is very nearly the same age as me as well. I should make clear it’s definitely not me and I definitely have never punched any of my cousins in the face over £40. I’d maybe do it if they owed me £50 (joking of course). I never knew my name was so common, nor that my namesakes were so violent! They sound like interesting characters however so maybe I’ll have a look for their online diary! 📰

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And as always the end of the weekend has arrived far too quickly and a 5 day working week looms (my first for various reasons in a month)! Today has been a bit of a pain with the drizzle as we’ve tried to get the kids outside. We’ve definitely found a correlation between the amount of fresh air and the number of hours sleeping.
But we gave it a good go and ended up getting a fair bit of exercise. And it worked as they are both now flat out and I don’t feel like I’ll be far behind. Before my head hits the pillow I’ll take you through the day’s top 5:

1. Much to my amusement the deal struck last night for the 7am wake up call was completely ignored by E as she headed into Aunty Lucy’s room at 6.27am. Apparently she saw the “7” on her clock and assumed she was good to go. Of course she released her brother from his cage (sorry, baby gate) first and he headed into our room just to make sure all of the adults in the house started their Sunday nice and early. Whilst I understand E actually snuck in and went back to sleep with her Aunty, we were not so lucky and just got punched and kicked in the face until we took him downstairs. What a lovely start to the day! 😫
2. After loading up our iron levels with black pudding (both my kids have now decided it is the breakfast of champions) E and I headed out for a nice bike ride with my sister and brother in law. She once again did a fantastic job and is really getting the hang of her gear changes. Unfortunately she has developed a habit of stopping completely when passing though narrow openings, meaning she blocks the entire path with inevitably coincides with a runner or fellow cyclist being stopped from passing through. We only had one road to cross and of course E misjudged the dropped kerb completely and ended up being dragged off the road by a rather stressed Aunty Lucy as a car was approaching and showing no intention of slowing down even though there was clearly a little girl struggling to get her bike up onto the pavement. A sneaky jelly baby at the half way point spurred the girls on and we had a much faster return trip. 🚴🏼‍♀️ 
3. As soon as we got home I decided that the bike ride would be the warm up and so I headed straight back out again for a 5k run. I actually did the reverse of my run earlier in the week so had to pass through the sheep field again. They were much better behaved this time and kept their distance from that pesky sweaty Scotsman. I’m delighted that I’m down to 4 runs to go in my final week of the GNR solo challenge and am feeling like I’ll definitely get there – just got to avoid any silly injuries and I’ll be able to cross the finish line next Sunday. E still tells me I’m disgusting every time I get home (not a fan of sweat apparently) but I know she loves me really! 🏃‍♂️ 
4. After a double dose of exercise, there was definitely a call for a chilled afternoon. The kids had a nap whilst my wife and I continued to explore the delights of Netflix. We’ve had so many recommendations from people; thank you all! When our guests returned just before tea, there was a quick game of frisbee in the garden and all was well. Until we lost M. I mean we could hear him but just couldn’t see him. His sister knew exactly where he was, and took great pride in explaining that he had squeezed behind the new shed. Now that’s a pretty tight gap and when we discovered him, we found his foot trapped and was well and truly wedged. A bit of careful manoeuvring by Uncle Jonny managed to free him and he is unharmed. He always seems to find himself in tight spots, but some pizza and beer and he was right as rain. 🍺 
5. E wanted to play Rummikub tonight and as it has a long history in our family we agreed. That led into a whole series of games even after the kids went to bed. Why wouldn’t you spend a Sunday evening drinking french martinis and trying to match colours and make runs!? Of course being a competitive sod doesn’t help and given I failed to win a single game today I’ll probably end up hiding the box away so no one remembers to ask for it out again tomorrow! I didn’t realise family board games could even be played outside of the Christmas period! 🌝

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The excitement was just too much for my children and they bounded into our room at 6am demanded to see Aunty Lucy! The temptation to immediately direct them to the guest bedroom was very strong, but like the good brother I am, instead I took them downstairs and kept them quiet and occupied until our visitors emerged at half 8! Apparently there has been a negotiation and E is allowed to go in at 7am tomorrow – long lie for me!
It’s been a really fun Saturday, and I’m looking forward to doing it all again tomorrow. But before then, let’s run through today’s top 5:

1. After running solo so much over the last 6 months I’ve forgotten how different it is running with people. To be fair, most of my running since I started the C25k has been solo so it’s a bit of a novelty to have company. I headed out this morning with my sister and brother in law and completed 6k in some glorious sunshine. It was lovely! A sensible pace, even managing some chat on the way and the inevitable sprint finish just to remind ourselves that the lifelong sibling rivalry is undiminshed. Only 5 runs left now, and 8 days to go… 🏃‍♂️ 
2. After being dispatched to the butcher, the baker and the candlestick maker (the co-op), I was left in sole charge of the BBQ lunch. There was tennis on the lawn, fairy garden construction and Grandpa even turned up to add an extra dimension of company. After a somewhat barbed comment last night from my sister, expressing surprise we had planned a BBQ because “I thought you always cremated the food” I was determined to do it right and refused to leave the food unattended. I didn’t even have a beer in hand! And it actuallly worked! Perfectly cooked burgers, sausages and koftas and all was well. Until half way through the meal when Steph noticed the BBQ was on fire. I mean properly up in flames. The temperature gauge on the lid was showing 450 degrees Celsius; it was only meant to be burning off the grease. Fortunately I managed to disconnect the gas bottle and there was no explosion but E was determined to find out why I had tried to burn the house down. 🔥 
3. The post lunch matinee today was Grease. Steph had decided that it needed to form part of E’s education. As with any new film, no matter how good, she was very initiallly resistant but then became hooked when the musical numbers kicked in. Steph asked me how long it had been since I last watched it, and I genuinely can’t remember ever watching it. Does that make me a bad person? I’m sure I’ve seen bits of it but don’t think I’ve ever sat down and watched the whole thing. So I paid attention until half way through when Emma decided she didn’t want to watch any more and forced us to put it off. I’m now going to have to sneak it back on sometime so I can watch the rest! 🍿 
4. After a busy afternoon playing together, the cousins all had their tea together and then insisted on having a bath together. They were incredibly cute and E always likes to play the older cousin role, keeping the others in check. M also seems to have a soft side to him which we don’t normally see, and when he accidentally bumped into R and she fell over, he went in for a cuddle apology and a full blown smacker on the lips. As E kept shouting, that’s his first ever proper kiss (excluding of course his immediate family). I had to add that into the top 5 just so I have a record of it for future reference! 💋 
5. Tonight we hosted a small gathering of the ladies of Steph’s family and a huge amount of gin appeared on our kitchen counter. I made myself scarce (I know my place) and ended up watching Invictus. All seemed to go very well and to my surprise there was not as much overindulgence in the other room as I had feared. I suppose that means they can be invited back on a future date but perhaps I’ll try and coincide it with my first trip to a pub! 🍸

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Another working week completed and even though it was a 4 day week, it felt like a lifetime! A long mediation today just added to that but a successful outcome, a happy client and back home just in time to see my kids before bed. 
Aunty Lucy and Uncle Jonny are spending the weekend with us so the kids went to sleep all excited about what we will get up to, knowing they would be here when they wake up tomorrow. M also weirdly decided to pretend to be a baby this evening and wanted his milk feeding to him. He loved it! I guess we all like to be less mature than our age sometimes. 
So for tonight’s top 5 I’ve decided just to share 5 things that came out of E’s mouth during the course of today. All genuinely true, so enjoy!

1. Daddy, I love your tummy. It’s still a little bit… you know… fat… I mean I don’t like that word but you know what I mean. I really love it though. It’s very wobbly and I like the wibbly wobbly. It lets you give the best hugs. 🤗 
2. It was fish Friday today Mammy. No I didn’t have fish for my lunch. I had what I always have. Fish fingers. I ate them all up but there was no ketchup. I didn’t like that but I coped. What does cope even mean? 😂
3. Mammy, I saw the new girl in my class again today. You know your hair Mammy? Well her hair is like that but with bits of blonde in it. Not bits of purple like you. And yes I’m sure she’s real. 🤔
4. Ewww. Your breath stinks Daddy. I brush my teeth every day so they sparkle. Do my teeth sparkle Daddy? Do they shine? 😁
5. You need to carry me to bed Daddy. I’m so sleepy. It’s really tiring in my life but you are strong. So just carry me. I’m your daughter and you love me so just do it. You know you want to. 🥱

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Well, Thursday nights always feel like we are nearly there and all is calm in the Low household. The kiddies are tucked up asleep after a busy day and the Netflix subscription continues to be heavily used!
Before we start getting too excited about the forthcoming weekend, we need to rattle through today’s top 5. Lets go!

1. E’s class had the day off today as part of the coronavirus measures so Mammy decided the two of them should have a special girly day. I asked E this morning where they were going and received the response “you know Daddy, where the cafes are”. I was a bit confused by that and said I thought they were going to buy some bath bombs and possibly some new clothes. “Yes Daddy, the place with the shops and the cafes. It’s called the Metrocentre you know!” She must think I’m so out of touch! 😟
2. Steph was helping E into her dress this morning and suddenly E said “oh I feel like a woman”. Steph said “do you?” and E replied “yes, I feel like I should be going out for wine”. Now I have a lot of questions about this exchange, particularly around my daughter’s understanding of what Mammy gets up to in her spare time. I pulled her up about it and asked whether she had really said that she thought she should have wine. To my surprise her response was “yes Daddy. Wine or Gin, I don’t mind which!” 🤪
3. Poor M was dragged around two supermarkets today and he clearly resented the fact I had allowed it to happen. I’m not sure how it was my fault as I wasn’t present for either of the outings but I could just tell by the look on his face that he held me responsible. After the dirty looks came the refusal to eat his tea. I tried everything but he just cried and ran off. His sister went after him and the next thing I knew he was sitting nicely eating up his food. When I raised an eyebrow at E she just smiled and said “it’s easy Daddy; you just ask him nicely.” The flood of different emotions in that moment is hard to describe but I just smiled back through gritted teeth! My kids are such monsters! 🛒 
4. I managed to get out for run number 34 this evening and I’m still on track to finish my challenge. I managed to avoid the sheep and indeed any other livestock, meaning it was pretty uneventful. I didn’t fall, I didn’t get lost and I didn’t injury myself. And the only profound realisation on my way round was the fact that I breathe really loudly when I run which is probably pretty disconcerting for anyone passing me, or perhaps even more worryingly for people I overtake. Hearing a man’s heavy breathing approaching you from behind whilst you’re walking alone on a path during the evening isn’t pleasant at the best of times! I suppose when they turn and see me they realise that I’m just an old chap out running not quite as quickly as he thinks! 😤
5. One of the most important purchases today (apparently) was the bag of bath bombs. They are a definite favourite of our kids and I’m all for it given the enthusiasm with which they rushed upstairs for bath time. Personally I’m a fan of only putting the bath bomb in once I’m already sat in the bath – gotta love the fizz! But E chucked it in and we had a peach coloured bath. The only problem was that neither kid could leave it alone and whilst M rubbed pieces into his hair, E rubbed it into her hands so they are now bright pink and it won’t clean off. Talk about being caught red handed! 🛁

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So the big day is finally here and E took her first steps back into school in nearly 6 months, as she began Year 1. Boy was she ready and just couldn’t wait to see her friends!
We’re so proud of her confidence and independence and seemingly unshakeable ability to take things in her stride. A positive start to the new academic year then thank goodness but what else made it into today’s top 5?

1. Despite having everything looked out, labelled and double checked last night, we apparently still had to be up at the crack of dawn to make sure E was ready for school and M ready for nursery. They both bounded out of bed and were full of the joys. E loved getting into her uniform and recording her traditional first day video – M was just desperate to get in on the action in any way he could. For the first time ever in our family, somehow we managed to be perfectly on time and dropped both kids off at exactly the time we had planned. The only fly in the ointment was the little man getting a tad upset having to go into nursery without his big sister to keep an eye on him, but apparently he got over it very quickly once he realised he was getting a second breakfast! 👩🏼‍🎓
2. I thought I’d make a bit of an effort for doing the school run and so donned a pair of jeans and a casual shirt. You never know which mums you might bump into at the school gates… Well this did not go unnoticed by my astute daughter who asked what I was doing today. I explained I was worked but she retorted “but you’re not dressed for work. You normally wear a proper shirt and cuffles and a bow tie.” Bless her. She hasn’t mastered my #RemoteWorking set up yet even though I’ve been in shorts for most of the last 6 months! 🩳 
3. When E came home from school we tried hard to pull teeth and find out what had gone on. Don’t get me wrong, she volunteered a few bits and pieces and told us all about the stickers she had earned, but the details were harder to ascertain. Apparently they were taught all about germs and saw pictures of them. Pretty standard stuff these days I guess. The weirdness started when the Mums’ chat group started in earnest about the new girl in the class. Basically we can’t work out whether this person is real or not. Some of the kids have told their parents that there was a new girl but others said that the teacher just called one of them the wrong name. Is this person imaginary or real? We asked E to describe her and we were told she was small with brown curly hair. But then another kid has told her mum that she had blonde hair. The mystery continues so watch this space! I’m secretly hoping she’s imaginary as I’d find that completely hilarious!! 🤔
4. After trying all day yesterday and most of today, I finally got out for my 33rd GNR leg just as the drizzle started. Only 7 legs left to do in 11 days to complete my challenge – I suppose I’d better get on with it! The only interesting part of today’s run was my crossing of a field which fortunately had been fenced off with the sheep on the other side. Except the three I almost ran straight into as I turned a corner. The dirty looks I got were unbelievable and when I tried to return them, one of the fluffy beasts just slightly cocked a leg and emptied her bladder, presumably trying to splash me on the way past. I suppose it helped me run a little faster as I leapt over the stile, a little too exuberantly! 🐑 
5. Our new sky box was delivered today. An appointment had been set for any time between 8am and 1pm. Of course the guy turned up at 12.58pm meaning he had 2 minutes to talk to me before the first of my afternoon conference calls. To be fair to him, once he was here the installation went without a hitch and we are now the proud owners of a brand spanking new box. The only problem now is that many years after most other people we have Netflix. Box sets galore and the binge watching has already started (The Crown). I suspect we might never have a social life again, coronavirus or not! 👑

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And in a flash weekend becomes weekday and days with the kids becomes a day in the office. Oh how quiet and peaceful! 
Tomorrow sees the big return to school for E and she can’t wait. But before then let’s have today’s top 5:

1. Nothing like leaving things to the last minute and so today was the day when Steph got the last of E’s new school uniform. M insisted on having a try too, just so we can see what he’ll look like in a couple of years. Super cute is my take on that. I’m sure we’ll be taking the official first day photos tomorrow morning, the same as parents up and down the country! 📸 
2. E got a special package in the post today with a letter from the Queen Fairy. She had sent another elf to add to E’s fairy garden together with some little treats. She is so lucky to have received so many contributions to her little project and gets so much pleasure playing out in the garden with them all. Mammy even managed to capture a dusk shot of the finished garden with the lights on full display. Definitely time well spent! 🧝‍♂️ 
3. Steph has to take the larger monster to the shops this afternoon and of course she wanted to carry the basket (not Steph you understand). It was too heavy so a compromise was struck whereby the monster got to carry Mammy’s handbag instead. She changed in an instant. “I’m the Mammy now so I get to pick what we buy…” Apparently biscuits were suddenly on the list! When they got to the till Mammy asked if E was paying and quick as a flash she replied “yes of course as I’m the Mammy but I’m using Mammy’s credit card!” 💳 
4. After M’s bath I caught a whiff of something pretty unpleasant. I thought he must have filled his new on nappy but it did stink big time. When I had a look it was clean as a whistle so I assumed it was a really bad pump. Like ones that creep out after a big bowl of brussel sprouts or cabbage and are impossible to hide. I then smelt it again and assumed he must have a wind problem but knew he was clean. He was not. The first whiff was just a warm up apparently and I genuinely cannot believe something that size can come out of a little 2 year old! Anyway you don’t need to know any more as you get the picture! 💩 
5. I hate leaving things until the last minute but it seems to happen more than it should, despite my best efforts. I am determined not to let my kids fall into the same trap particularly with things like homework which I know you just have to keep on top of. How it’s even possible to find out the one piece of homework E had over the summer hadn’t been done on the night before school starts when she is already bathed and in her pyjamas, is beyond me. But sure enough there I was sitting with her tonight trying to list out the things she is most looking forward and what questions she has about returning (everything and nothing respectively). We must to better!!! No last minute homework is my new school year’s resolution! 🤔

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The last bank holiday Monday of the year – that doesn’t sound good does it? But at least we got some decent weather for it. As we launch head first into our 8th year of marriage, yet another month comes to a close and we have lots to look forward to in September. But before we get there, we have a top 5 to run through for the last day in August! Here goes…

1. What a blissful morning, with no screaming or demanding children waking me up too early. So what did I decide to do after waking up in a hotel room? Go for a run of course! Now I needn’t have left the room for that given that it was nearly 2k from the bed to the bathroom in our humongous room but since the sun was shining on the golf course I decided to wander outside. I had planned a course but got very lost very early on and ended up at the bottom of a field of wheat. I eventually found my way to George Stephenson’s birthplace and back on track. I really need to remember than when I’m running with my sunglasses on I need to take them off when in the woods as I managed to wipe myself out today for the first time. A stone on top of a tree root formed an insurmountable hurdle especially when I didn’t see it at all. I’m pretty happy nothing is broken and the golfers were all looking down the fairway and didn’t notice my lying flat on my back in the trees! 🤕
2. When we made it home after breakfast, we had to say a fond farewell to Grandma as she headed north (again!) Poor E was inconsolable and in floods of tears. She decided she needed to do something to take her mind off of it, and when the Disney biscuit didn’t do the trick she wanted to try and build a Bunchems Princess Castle instead. When I say “she” clearly I mean myself as I followed the instructions whilst both kids threw those pesky little plastic balls at each other. The end result is below and I was quite pleased with it. She didn’t care at all as by the time I had finished it was lunchtime so she had moved on! 🏰 
3. We headed out in the car after lunch and the kids decided to each wear one of the monkey velcro bands which are meant to be on M’s car seat. E was in charge of attaching them to their wrists and between them they decided they were secret walkie talkies which could be used in cases of emergency. All the way down in the car she referred to him as Captain M and apparently they were practicing in case of a real emergency. I suspect this was all inspired by Paw Patrol but I don’t mind as I quite like the idea of my kids saving the world from various different apocalyptic threats like the Mayor losing her pet chicken. 🐒
4. Our car journey took us to the park and we had a really good time hissing at swans and generally causing mayhem. E brought her bike so she got to ride around except when it was uphill and then Daddy was on pushing duty. We did also let M loose at parts but it is exhausting trying to keep up and he’s also very unpredictable. Anywhere near open water can cause frequent heart stopping moments. We all made it back to the car in one piece and dry which I class as another win. We also got to pack E off for a sleepover at Aunty Nic’s house tonight which counts as a double win!! 🦢 
5. Everyone knows that when kids go back to school or nursery they pick up all the coughs and colds going. Only 2 days to go for that but somehow we have managed to get ahead of the game and we are all blocked up already. Except for Mammy who seems to be made of sterner stuff! I have been forced to resort to some whisky to clear up my sinuses – and yes, that is my excuse and I’m sticking to it! 🥃

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Tonight’s diary entry is super short but I make no apologies. Today is our 7th wedding anniversary and to be frank, I’ve spent all day trying to work out how Steph has stuck with me for that long. Happy Anniversary my darling and I hope you’ve had a lovely day! 
I do always love our anniversary however as it lets me reminisce about our wedding day and what a brilliant day it was. I’m sure everyone thinks the same about their wedding (well, most people) but it’s the little things you remember. The nerves on the morning when what is about to happen hits you, the sharp intake of breath when you see her at the bottom of the aisle for the first time, the joyous faces of all the friends and family who have gathered, the murmurs at the quality of the fillet steak being served to 150 guests, the heat in the Great Hall as the ceilidh really gets going… I would do it all again in an instant! 
I’ve still got a top 5 but I’m rattling through them in double quick time so I can reassure my long suffering wife that marking out special day is more important than writing my diary!

1. After the shed was successfully completed yesterday, today was all about emptying the garage trying to sort out what was going in the shed and what was getting taken to the tip. It turns out we need a bigger garden. It was packed full of junk from the garage which somehow I’ve managed to convince Steph (and myself) we needed to keep. But anyway, it was job done and I’m really chuffed with the end result. She’ll be wanting that utility room built now… 🤨
2. The inevitable consequence of having a full garage clear out is that a tip run was definitely required. Now I quite enjoy a tip run as there’s something satisfying about throwing things down into the skips. There’s also an art to getting the right item into the right skip as there are very complicated but definite rules to follow. Imagine my surprise when I found that the Covid-19 changes meant that I was told to toss everything into the general waste skip. Until I started and then the man was shouting at me that the metal desk with a small wooden top should have gone into the wood skip. Who knew? Too late now however and it was still nice coming home with an empty car. I’m sure I took Grandma with me however… she didn’t end up in general waste did she? 😝
3. E has been on a go slow today, as whilst everyone else was getting going and chipping in with all the garage clear out jobs, she just swanned around in her Frozen 2 pyjamas. Heaven help up on Wednesday when she has to be ready for school! She eventually got ready in a beautiful dress meaning that she couldn’t really roll up her sleeves and help out. A calculated plan if you ask me! It didn’t stop her bossing the rest of us about, sorry, supervising the rest of us. She’s definitely destined for a management role when she grows up. 👧🏼
4. I had completely forgetter that last night E put a pair of her pants on her little brother, over the top of his nappy. You can be rest assured that I got quite a shock when I went to change him this morning. He seemed pretty unbothered by it all and just wanted to swing them around his head once I had taken them off. Not long now until the potty training begins and then we’ll see who is brave enough to swing his used pants around their head! 🥴
5. I always take my wife away for our anniversary and this year we are at Close House. Now my golfing skills are sadly very lacking so we really came for the break and some tasty food. Grandma drew the short straw and is in charge of the cherubs! The views are spectacular with the only downside being that the restaurant seemed to be full of groups of lads, clearly here for a bank holiday golfing trip. But the food was very good and the prospect of having no one barge into the room early tomorrow morning making “birdie” noises or wiping “bogies” on me makes it a win from my perspective! 🏌️‍♂️

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I can now declare that henceforth the 29th August shall be known as Shed Day. It is with no small level of relief that I say that as this job seems to have taken over my life for quite a while now.
It won’t come as a surprise that the big shed construction exercise makes today’s top 5 but what else made the cut? Read on to find out….

1. After the stress of yesterday, finding out that the shed was stranded in a broken down lorry somewhere, I was delighted to receive a call at 8am this morning to say it was on its way. It meant we could get building at 9am, just as the light drizzle started. The manufacturer suggested 8-10 hours to construct and boy did we use all of that. To be fair the actually construction took considerably less time but the readjustment of the doors to make sure they actually closed took a good couple of hours! A big job completed and I think I might just stick a bunk bed in there and ship the kids out so we can have some peace and quiet. I suspect Steph won’t agree and my clear out of the garage will be under way shortly! 🚪
2. Whilst we were out doing manly things, the women and children were inside amusing themselves. I didn’t really have a clue what was going on but found out later that a whole day of activities had been planned. High on the list was some baking with Disney lemon biscuits having been requested by E. It seems to be that Grandma did nearly all of the rolling out and cutting but E did help too. She ate most of them before anyone else could get a look in! 🍪
3. The kitchen floor needed a good clean today and with Mammy’s new fancy mop available, E was super keen to volunteer. She actually did a really good job and didn’t complain at all about having to do some housework. I certainly got a dirty look when I came in to use the toilet with my muddy shoes on. She is also keen on our Dyson and takes great pride in tidying her bedroom and helping out generally especially if there are fairy garden points on offer. It is great for us as we feel we are winning as parents, but we are a tad concerned that when she goes back to school and is asked what she’s done during lockdown she will answer that she’s been Cinderella. I’ll just wait for the phone call from the Head Teacher… 🧼 
4. It is well recorded that M is a bit of a jigsaw fiend and so it didn’t surprise me to see a whole series laid out on the coffee table at lunchtime. I didn’t know that there had been a number all mixed together so M and Grandma had been working together to separate all the pieces. They were nearly finished when they stopped for lunch. You can’t take your eyes off that boy for a second. He excused himself and was next seen looking very proud of himself with all the jigsaws pushed onto the floor and mixed together again. In fact the only time I’ve seen him prouder was when he learned how to pick his nose and then smear it in his Daddy’s arm! What a lad! 🧩 
5. Tonight was a very special evening as Mammy headed out for a girlie night. A very deserved one at that! So I was in charge of feeding the kids and getting them ready for bed. All went pretty smoothly and after M was tucked up in his bed I agreed to play a game of Rummikub with E and Grandma. Now E has only watched us play a couple of times before but was insistent she wanted to play by herself and knew what she was doing. I kept an eye on her and couldn’t believe she knew what she was doing. But she did. Boy, did she! A win for E in her first ever game and Daddy and Grandma were left pretty red faced. I thought I’d have a few more years before my kids would start beating me at things! 🌝

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