LawyerLow Diaries

Guess who’s back? Back again… After only 2 nights, Grandma decided that she missed us just too much and has arrived to spend another long weekend in the bosom of her grandkids.
Before she arrived Steph and I were hard at work trying to finish the working week (and indeed working month) on a high. A quiet house with the kids with their grandparents should have done been conducive to that but it never seems to quite work out. But it’s the bank holiday weekend now so time to enjoy some special family time. 
Right a quick fire Friday night top 5:

1. You will be delighted to hear I’ve finally had a wash. Connecting my showers to my runs is a dangerous game as if I don’t then run for a couple of days, the smell starts to get a little pungent. I found a lunchtime slot to sneak in a cheeky 6k albeit right in the middle of a rain shower. Perhaps I didn’t need that shower when I got home. But that’s 31 of my 40 runs completed and I’m on track to complete my GNR challenge, which I’m really chuffed about. I just wish the weather would brighten up as surely running in August should all be about hydration rather than how best to dry off before I step back into the house! ☔️ 
2. The kids have been at Grandma and Grandad’s house today but in an unusual turn of events, Grandad was in charge. Now I didn’t know this but I have every confidence in my father in law. Perhaps that was misplaced however. Steph arrived to pick them up and found M running around in just his vest and a t-shirt. Her dad said all was fine but he just couldn’t understand why we use nappy pants on the little man. When Steph queried this, her dad explained that he knew he needed to change a messy nappy but just couldn’t pull them down without making a mess everywhere. No need to tell me about the risk of poo spreading! Anyway, Steph politely explained that you are meant to rip the sides to take a dirty nappy off, hence why it is called a pull up rather than a pull down! He’ll know for next time bless him! 🤦🏼‍♂️
3. Further information was obtained about the kids and what they had been up to. They are a good lunch of sandwiches and crisps but M apparently wasn’t that keen on his sandwich. E had a cheese one so we assumed her brother got the same. That was the plan apparently until E piped up that he really enjoyed blueberry sandwiches. Now her practical jokes aren’t that obvious and so she was taken at face value. The poor boy didn’t get a cheese sandwich (which he would have wolfed down) and instead had some blueberries wedged between two slices of bread! He’ll know for next time bless him! 🥪 
4. After my smashing trip to the top of the street last night to take the recycling out, my lovely neighbour brought our bin back today. So far, so normal but weirdly there were two green glass boxes inside. Now my regular readers will recall that I had an issue with my box earlier in lockdown when it disappeared and I had to order a new one. Well, lo and behold it is back. Has it been in self isolation? Did it go to Spain and then get stuck in quarantine when it got back? And what do I do with 2 boxes?!! In the short term I’m just seeing it as a challenge to get through the bank holiday building up a healthy supply of empty wine and beer bottles. Watch this space!! 🍷 
5. The big shed construction is meant to be taking place this weekend but there’s only one small problem. The shed hasn’t arrived. I mean how can this happen? We’ve spent the whole of lockdown ordering a million things online and they seem to come really quickly. The amazon delivery driver seems to be in the street every day and in my experience most things have been arriving dead on time, or possibly even early. But never late. Except now. I have my stand ready, my helpers on hand but nothing to build. The van broke down apparently so we have been “upgraded” to a Saturday morning slot. I’m not sure how you can be upgraded to a later day than the one you were promised but it is what it is and I’m just hoping it arrives early tomorrow so we can get on with the building challenge. Hopefully I’ll have a photo for you in tomorrow’s diary entry. 🚛

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It felt like a really long day yesterday but today was even worse! Bucketing rain and I didn’t leave the house until late this evening (more on that to come…) I was determined to go for a run today but for one reason or another it never happened. Not only does that leave me playing catch up on my weekly running target but also I’ve just realised I haven’t even had a shower today. It’s like we’ve gone back to those early days in lockdown when we just spent all day in our pyjamas as it didn’t matter. Or was that just the Lows?
Anyway I guess we are one day closer to the weekend, and a bank holiday one to boot, so lets get cracking with today’s top 5:

1. The day started off brilliantly with a fabled long lie as E caught up with her beauty sleep. M was up with the larks but happy to play in his room and sing some songs so we could have a slightly more relaxing morning. One of us went for a wash whilst the other took the kids downstairs. I quickly realised M had been busy in the night and needed changing pretty urgently. I rose to the task but it was bigger than I anticipated and his vest definitely needed a wash. I threw it down with the other dirty clothes in front of the washing machine ready to get washed and carried on with my other morning chores. A short while later I reached was walking across the kitchen and felt my left big toe stick to the floor. A bit weird I thought so had a look and found I’d stood on the vest and smeared poo all over the bottom of my toe. Perhaps it wasn’t as brilliant a start to the day as I’d thought! 💩 
2. With the wet weather it was always likely the kids would get a couple of films to watch during the course of the day. The morning showing was Toy Story 4 which E kept insisting she didn’t want to watch and shouted through for Steph to switch it off. Every time she came through to turn it off she found E transfixed. She did have to stay in the room for the sad bit however as it still makes her cry. The afternoon showing at Grandma’s house was Sing which was another hit with a full blown dance routine involving both kids at the end. Considering my complete lack of artistic talent, I’m not quite sure how we’re managing to bring up kids who love singing and dancing so much! 🎞 
3. We are continuing to try and encourage M with his talking. I’m pretty sure that he can actually talk with the vocabulary of a young adult but he’s just pretending and that’s why he wears that cheeky grin most of the time. It’s the only explanation I can come up with. Steph did manage a breakthrough today however as he said, clear as day, “I love you”. It was very special when he repeated it so Daddy could hear it but I’m a tad worried that now he’s mastered that phrase, we’ll just give up as we don’t need him to say anything else! 🥰
4. After they arrived home from Grandma’s house I was called downstairs for kisses and cuddles with my little princess. M was just as excited to see me and ran round and round the kitchen a little too fast. Crash, bang, wallop and he hit the ground hard. Really hard. Face first. Blood and tears flowed. Now given how many near misses he has had in his 2 years on this planet, it’s a wonder this hasn’t happened more often but it’s still unnerving. He was absolutely fine (must be the Scottish blood in him, well what is left in there) and it’s amazing what healing powers a parental hug can have. Fingers crossed for a blood free day tomorrow! 🩸
5. My one venture out of the front door today was to take the recycling out to the top of the street. Taking the bins out is obviously a weekly chore but very much a man’s job in my house. After having visitors for the last week our glass bin was overflowing but as a typical man there was no way I was taking two trips. I was entirely confident I could balance the glass bin on top of the wheelie bin and do it in a single journey. I failed. Badly. Smashed glass on the drive, not once but twice. The neighbours must have thought there was a wild party going on here, and I was half expecting the police to turn up. And you know for a fact I’ll never learn and no doubt try to do the exact same thing in a fortnight’s time! 🙃

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Today was a sad day as we waved goodbye to Grandma after her 6 night visit. It has been lovely having her to stay and some excellent progress has been made on the garden development. But au revoirs are always tough and after the tears had been wiped away I had to get ready for work.
You know it’s been a good week when the glass recycling box is overflowing, so looking at the second pile in the garage, it must have been a really good week!
So, no Grandma to feature in the top 5 today, but what else made it in?

1. The kids have been sleeping really well recently but must have been unsettled by the imminent departure as E crawled in beside me at 3am this morning. I’ll confess I thought it was time to get up so welcomed her in and thought we could have a cheeky little snooze. But when she kept prodding me, I looked at my watch and realised it was the middle of the night. I sent her to her own bed, and then again 20 minutes later and finally I had to get up and take her through. Apparently Daddy tucking her in was all that was needed. And given that normally Steph gets woken by the smallest noise, she somehow managed to sleep through the whole thing! It’s making me think it was all a messed up dream. 🥴
2. For the last 10 days I’ve been waiting for contact from the courier company about the delivery of our new shed. It was quite clear that it wasn’t coming this week which was one reason Grandma headed north. In fact I was worried it wasn’t coming at all and is now out of stock. It was just typical that shortly after she left, I received a phone call confirming delivery on Friday. Perhaps Grandma will be back sooner than expected! Of course the problem now is that Steph is in full planning mode on what she wants to turn the garage into when all my “junk” gets moved out into the new shed. The mind boggles! 🤨
3. M was back at nursery today and seemed reluctant again to go in. But as usual it turns out he was absolutely fine as soon as we left. I had the pleasure of picking him up and his feedback for today was a joy to listen to. “He brings a smile to your face and it’s so lovely to meet a child who just loves life and whose greatest pleasure is jumping in puddles!” Oh to be 2 again! Although he does sound a bit like Peppa Pig with the jumping in puddles comment. No head injuries today so I guess that was a bonus. 😆
4. E’s feedback was a little different as whilst she also had a great day at holiday club I was told she had been crying in the garden. Now I immediately assumed it was because she was upset Grandma had left but it turns out it was because she spotted M through a window but wasn’t allowed to go into him room to see him. She apparently really misses him through the day. Their love knows no bounds. We tried to explain in the car on the way home that they are in different bubbles so can’t go in the same room at the nursery, but she didn’t really understand and just asked at the end why we were calling her brother Bubbles! It just made me think of that Little Britain sketch! 😢
5. The day ended on a high as I’ve come into some bonus cash. Windfalls are always a source of excitement and this one was particularly surprising. I’ve had an email from HMRC and I’m due a refund. A really big one. It was a bit weird as the email went to my swimming account which I didn’t think I used for personal things but it seemed genuine to me. I just had to click on the link and enter my bank details. I was impressed with the extra security, as I know there are a lot of scams out there, so they needed me to confirm some personal details like my mother’s maiden name and credit card security code and then send them a small transaction to them to verify I was the right person. It may take up to 10 business days for the money to come in but I’m spending it already! Sometimes the gift horse can look you in the mouth! 💰

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Happy Birthday Grandma! What a wonderful day to mark the occasion even if the rain didn’t let up for a moment! A day marked by Champagne, Prosecco and cake, just as any good birthday should be. 
Whilst she would say that she was lucky to spend her special day with two of her grandkids, I think they are the lucky ones having been spoilt rotten for the last 6 days. Tomorrow will see a return to just the 4 of us in the house and it will be weirdly quiet. Until of course M gets going and then it’ll be as noisy and manic as usual. 
Lets get going with the birthday top 5:

1. E was so excited to sing happy birthday to Grandma this morning that she bowled into her room at the crack of dawn. I should have apologised for the early wake up call but I was just relieved she didn’t come in to my bed as normal! Daddy cooked a tasty breakfast, complete with black pudding (M is now a fan!) and we chewed the fat about the hammering rain and how miserable the forecast was all day. So I then decided that sneaking in a 5k was a good idea and of course was soaked before I got to the top of the street. The rain wasn’t too bad, as once you are saturated it can’t get any worse, and the problem was actually the cooked breakfast which shot through my system like Usain Bolt. I’ll need to remember that as I almost ended up doing a Paula Radcliffe on the way home. 😳
2. After I had dried out we headed off to the shops and Grandma wanted to buy the kids an outfit each to mark her birthday. She clearly has the concept of present buying the wrong way round! M donned his dinosaur waterproofs and loved strolling around in the rain showing off to all the shoppers. It was mercifully quiet and us boys weren’t dragged around for too long before the purchases were completed and we could get out of there. E now has a beautiful pair of new unicorn shoes which no doubt she will insist on wearing to holiday club tomorrow. M has a lovely new top which, to be honest, he doesn’t care about as he was far too distracted doing things he shouldn’t be such as sitting down on escalators and trying to break the social distancing signs outside every shop. 👟 
3. We decided to take Grandma out for lunch and ended up at Lanchester Garden Centre. It was only the second time we have been out for a meal, and once again it felt very safe and Covid secure. E spent a few more of her points on some additions for her fairy garden, but we’ve suggested she waits until this storm passes before she ventures out to add them. Of course the big decision came at the end of the meal when we all picked a cake to take home with us. A variety of tasty puds accompanied us back to the house with us all commenting they were far too big and we would only have half. Only E was adamant she was starving and wanted to eat the whole of her salted caramel tart. As I write this, each of us has guzzled down the entirety of our cakes, except for E who sensibly only ate half and left the other half for tomorrow. How jealous will we be tomorrow?! 🤤
4. With the continued downpour outside we settled down for a family board game. E selected the sock game (always a favourite) and then Star Performer. One of her tasks in the latter was to say two true things and two false things about the player to her right. That player was me. I was pretty apprehensive about what she would come up with in front of my mother, but I needn’t have worried. She started with the safe “My Daddy is kind” and then “My Daddy is good looking”. I assumed these were the false ones but turns out she has a higher opinion for me than I deserve! The false ones were “My Daddy isn’t handsome” and “My Daddy is a car”. Somewhat unusual but upon reflection I think I should be happy with that! 😊
5. Party food for tea, bath time for the kids and a quick game of Rummikub before bed made for a pretty uneventful evening. It did however finish with the last instalment of Hamilton and I think it’s safe to say that we have another convert. It’s only the second time I’ve watched it, but enjoyed it even more the second time round. I really hope we get the chance to watch it live some time, so long as we don’t have to split it into 3 parts to accommodate Grandma’s bedtime! ⭐️

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Nothing beats the buzz of a Monday morning. Everyone jumping out of bed ready to seize the day and achieve their short term goals. Reenergised from the weekend and feeling invincible with a “can do” attitude. Who am I kidding?!? Mondays rank a very comfortable 7th in the league table of daily mornings and the uphill struggle ahead seems insurmountable for most of the day. 
Now please don’t criticise me for a negative attitude, as I’m just succumbing to the usual cliche. As far as Mondays go, this really wasn’t a bad one, helped no end by the presence of Grandma who is clearly very comfortable in her holiday home and won’t want to leave at this rate.
So what made it into today’s top 5 I hear you cry! Read on dear reader, read on…

1. The usual Monday morning routine slowly rolled into action as we tried to feed and dress 2 little monkeys in time to get them to nursery (and holiday club). It was all relatively uneventful until Steph went into E’s room to look out her clothes. Now E likes to have around a dozen teddies and soft toys lined up at the bottom of her bed (pretty creepy if you ask me as it just looks like they are watching her sleeping). But Steph found one of the stuffed rabbits with a book propped up and open in front of it. We asked E about it and she explained that she had done it as the rabbit is apparently called Belle (from Beauty and the Beast) and so loves reading books and she is reading a different one every day until Christmas. I mean that’s a unique style of countdown and one very clever rabbit! 📚 
2. Grandma was thrilled to accompany us to nursery and see where the magic happens. I do feel sorry for the staff who have to put up with our two, but at least they get paid for it and get to hand them back to the parents at the end of each day! We wandered in as usual and I was definitely ill prepared for the reaction of my little lad who, for the first time, decided he didn’t want to go. He didn’t kick off at first, instead just looking disinterested and dragging his heels. Gentle persuasion didn’t work and when I picked him up to hand him over, we got a full blown meltdown in return. The staff were excellent and I made for a hasty exit hoping that he would be fine. And so he was. Apparently as soon as I’d left he went back to normal and had a great day. But of course I spent all day worrying about him! 😭
3. After a hard day of #RemoteWorking suddenly I was back in the car with Grandma ready to pick the kids up again. Where did those 8 hours go?? I missed them really and couldn’t wait to find out what they had been up to. Little did I know I was about to find a staff member with a clipboard waiting for me. I could see the piece of paper was headed “Accident Form” and I immediately assumed M had been climbing somewhere he shouldn’t be. Turns out he knocked heads with a little girl as they were running past each other. They thought he would get upset as it was quite a knock but actually it turned out he found the whole thing hilarious and spent all afternoon laughing. It crossed my mind that they still have a lot to learn about my little bruiser, as I signed the parent notification section of the accident form. 🤕
4. When we got home the kids discovered that a little planter had mysteriously appeared in the garden, having been constructed from the spare pieces of timber not used in the platform. It was meant to be a toy box but their imaginations ran wild and in a 5 minute period it became a playpen and a cot and a pirate ship and finally a picnic area. They decided they wanted to have their tea outside and so sat really nicely in the planter eating pizza. The sun was shining and there was no sign of the promised rain. Only one thing could improve this picturesque scene and at that moment a glass of wine was brought out to me. Sheer bliss!! 🍷 
5. Monday night = Yoga night but with a bit of a twist this evening, and I don’t mean because of the bottles of wine consumed in advance! Instead of completing the class by myself, I had two fellow yogis with me which was a lovely change. It definitely added a different dimension as my ability to stay focused was pushed right to the limit. Trying to steal a glance over to see what others are doing shows why attending a physical class would be a challenge for me. To be fair both E and Grandma were pretty impressive as the photos show – downward dogs and dolphins and cobras was the name of the game tonight and I’ve managed to cave them all up again, well until next week… 🧘‍♂️

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Today felt like a bit of a carbon copy of yesterday. Starting with an early wake up call, dodging rain showers all day and finishing with another instalment of Hamilton (we might get it finished tomorrow night!) To be fair M did let me sleep in an extra 12 minutes this morning, so he presumably knew it was a Sunday. 
I’m sat this evening struggling to understand how the weekend is over already, and that is even taking into account I’ve had a 3 day one! I already know it’s going to be an incredibly busy week at work so we tried to make the most of the time with the kids today, and they were in fine form as always. 
Here we go with the top 5:

1. My big objective today was to complete run number 29 of my GNR challenge. I’ve been wanting to do a longer one for a while and somehow talked myself into doing 16k this morning. I put on my new Scotland top in the hope it would bring me good luck and shoved some jelly babies in my pocket so I could have a boost when I was flagging. The first 11k wasn’t too bad actually but when I reached my previous furthest distance the legs really began to seize up. But I completed it even though I wanted to throw up for a good hour afterwards. Perhaps that was the overdosing of jelly babies! I definitely won’t be doing that distance every time though!! 🏃🏼
2. When I arrived home, the big summer holiday catwalk show was just starting. This will be familiar to many of you, as it involves E trying on all items of new school uniform that her Mammy has been buying up during the holidays. I remember as a child having to do this and it was always a task where the focus was on completing it as quickly as possible. Not my daughter! She insisted on two yoga mats being laid out so she had a proper runway and we then had a selection of poses and pouts for each item. She is so tall these days and looks really grown up in her uniform. Only 10 days until she is back at school after nearly 6 months and boy is she excited. Pandemic or no pandemic, she is going to be skipping in on the first day! 🎓
3. The new decking is now complete and looks brilliant. It does seem a real shame to put a shed on it and hide most of the craftsmanship but needs must. I am a tad worried that the shed might not actually arrive as it appears to be sold out and I’m still awaiting confirmation of my delivery (which was due this week). The kids have enjoyed running around in circles on it and E even persuaded me to ballroom dance on it with her. In the meantime Steph has already planned out how she wants the garage to be converted into a utility room, although more extras seem to be added on a daily basis. I suppose that’s incentive enough for me to be getting on with it! 💃 
4. We had a real scare this afternoon whilst Steph and E were out to wish Warren a happy birthday. M had refused to go for a nap but was playing nicely as Daddy and Grandma were FaceTiming Aunty Katy. We both suddenly realised he had wandered into another room and was uncharacteristically quiet. Grandma headed off and having checked every room and called his name, he could not be found. I was a little surprised but not unduly worried at this point. I went off and checked all his usual hiding places yet still couldn’t locate him. The search spread further and Grandma even went out into the street whilst I checked the garage. We were adamant he couldn’t have left the house so a second search upstairs commenced and Grandma eventually found him hiding in the spare room shower cubicle, covered in shampoo and smearing soap all over the shower screen. That was most definitely not a nice few minutes although he seemed to find the thing completely hilarious! 🙈
5. Bedtime was all about kisses. E has always given good smackers but M is a little less sure. He’s learnt to blow kisses pretty well, especially given how much we’ve relied on FaceTime during lockdown, but in the flesh he’s a bit reserved. Tonight saw a complete reversal however, as after his bath he was just determined to give slobbery wet kisses. I must have had at least 30, each coupled with a strange noise which I can only describe as a crescendoing hum which reached a climax at the end of the kiss. For all that he’s a complete monster and you can’t take your eyes off of him, he has his angelic moments of pure perfection, as does his sister who promptly went to his bedroom when he was crying and read him a story and tucked him in. Being a dad is amazing! 🥰

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Life is all about balance and so after a pretty active and busy day yesterday, today was somewhat gentler. It might however just be my old age catching up with me!
Dodging rain showers appears to be the theme of Grandma’s visit and looking at the forecast that will continue for the next few days. The kids don’t care however and are just having a whale of a time. Yet again they’ve gone straight to sleep tonight so she must have tired them out!
Right, so what made the top 5 today?

1. You will be familiar with my morning routine by now, with the kids turning up in our room and me taking them downstairs to try and allow Steph a longer lie, especially on a weekend. I was sitting with them watching some nonsense kids tv show and realised that today’s top 5 might need to be a top 3. And by that I mean M’s top 3 nipples. He has developed quite a passion and keeps tweaking any that he can find, especially first thing in the morning. His favourite is definitely his own right nipple so that takes top spot. Second place apparently goes to Daddy’s right nipple, closely followed by M’s left nipple. I’m really hoping it’s just a phase and nipples don’t need to feature again in this diary! 🤭
2. We headed out first thing to do some manly DIY shopping, picking up some timber decking so we can finish the platform. It’s coming along really nicely and currently looks like a stage for the kids to perform their various dances and shows. Who needs a shed anyway when we have our own outdoor theatre?!? The kids were very keen to weight test it and ensure the construction was robust enough and it’s still standing tonight so that’s something. There are some steps to add tomorrow and we then have to cross our fingers that the actual shed itself gets delivered as no sign of that at the moment. 🏚
3. The daily walk today was led by Grandma as she took the kiddiewinks to the fairy garden and into the Wetlands. Mammy and Daddy were allowed to stay at home to let the grandchildren have some quality time. After being gone for hours, it subsequently emerged that they had in fact taken Grandma to Sweet Times for some ice cream before heading to the Wetlands. Very sneaky but I’m only saying that because I’m jealous they went without me! Disaster struck on the way home unfortunately as M went running into some stinging nettles, making him the third of our family to encounter the buggers during lockdown. E was most upset and concerned for his welfare, but in typical M style he seemed to shrug it off pretty quickly! 🍦 
4. After their long walk, M finally went for his afternoon nap and E insisted we all watch The Aristocats together. As far as a Saturday matinee goes, it certainly could have been worse! She’s a huge fan and her elephant type memory ensured we got a running commentary. M was awake by the end of the movie and soon enough the two of them were high as kites, dancing on the table and dressing up as their favourite princesses. Their energy is just insatiable and when they do go to bed it becomes so quiet in the house it is eerie. If there was any doubt as to why we are always so tired, just spend an hour with our two and you’ll have the answer! 🐈
5. Saturday night is often takeaway night all across the country and so we indulged in a curry this evening. Somehow I managed to mistake duck for lamb and served the wrong curry to the wrong person. I mean first question is who on earth orders duck from a curry house (the answer is my wife if you really want to know!) and in my defence both were so tender their textures were very similar. After stuffing our faces we retired to a comfy seat and then introduced Grandma to Hamilton (having only been introduced ourselves during lockdown). We didn’t even make it to half way before bedtime was declared so watch this space to find out if she’s another convert to the Hamilton phenomenon. 🍛

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I am exhausted! I mean properly wiped out. To be fair the whole house is and I assume that is why everyone went to bed at 9pm. I would quite happily have joined them but I had a diary entry to write! It is a proper wild Friday night here…
I had a day booked off from work so decided to spend it in the rain. Not all day, but certainly the start and end of my Friday involved getting soaked to the skin. Read on to get the full details as we splodge into the top 5:

1. No surprise that there was no long lie for the start of our long weekend as M awoke as normal at the crack of dawn. I took him downstairs to try and allow everyone else to sleep a little longer but we were soon joined by his big sister. I’ll confess she gave me a bit of a scare when she announced that she was really sad as she’d found a mouse without a head. I was genuinely concerned she’d found a mouse corpse in her room and then when she opened her clenched fish my stomach lurched. Of course it turned out to be a Sylvanian family mouse which M had decapitated. Daddy went into full vet mode and reconnected the head and all was well! 🐭 
2. So Steph has decided that she wants garden shed. She’s been talking about it for a while and as any good husband will tell you, you need to take the hint by the end of the second year of comments or else it really comes back to bite you! So today was the day that we started constructing the decking upon which the shed will be placed. Nothing but the best for my wife! Given that I have a desk job, my Fridays don’t usually involve labouring in the garden. Those who know me best will also confirm that DIY is not my thing, even on a basic level. I have been the butt of many jokes over the years. But actually I’m really proud of the new posts, concreted in and frame constructed ready for phase 2 tomorrow. I’ll confess I was very much the apprentice rather than the gaffer but that’s okay with me. Shame about the driving rain in the morning as we were trying to dig everything out including some pretty stubborn hard core but we got there in the end. I have no doubt phase 2 will feature in tomorrow’s top 5! 🛠
3. Whilst the boys grafted, the girls (and one extra terror) stayed safely indoors and found plenty to amuse themselves. The morning featured a family yoga session, with Grandma demonstrating all the positions, following by some PE with Joe Wicks and then a cooking lesson. Blueberry pancakes were on the menu and they were lush! Unfortunately no photos as they were all eaten before we had the chance. It felt a little like those early days in lockdown when we were all enthusiastic and filled our time with lots of educational activities for our children. Oh how that seems like a distant memory by day 157! Perhaps Grandma has brought that little bit of extra energy to the house which explains why the kids fell asleep so quickly tonight. 🥞 
4. E has been talking a lot today. Well, she talks a lot every day, but specifically today about going to back to school which, unbelievably is now less than 2 weeks away. She is a super confident 5 year old but thinks she should be nervous about going back so that’s what she talks about. She says she’s forgotten everything and everyone so she won’t know anyone. We did point out today that whilst she’ll be in a different class, all of her classmates last year will be moving up with her and also given the size of her school she knows everyone in every year anyway! I suspect it will take all of 2 and a half seconds on her first day to get back into her usual mode of chatterbox. Hopefully the #HomeSchooling will pay off, but only time will tell! 🏫 
5. After finishing a day’s graft in the garden all I wanted to do was have a long hot shower and a chilled evening. Pre lockdown that would most definitely have happened but these days I can’t seem to help myself and instead pulled on my running shoes for a quick 7k. Of course the brighter afternoon immediately turned into some very strong winds and lashing rain just to make sure my day finished as it has started. Wet! Only 12 runs to go now to complete my GNR challenge so I feel I’m making good progress. I’m having to be careful now as my hamstring started hurting tonight and the last thing I want is an injury on the home stretch. Hopefully proper warm ups will sort that out, with a little less hard labour! 🏃‍♂️

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A lot of excitement in Casa del Low today as after Grandpa’s short visit yesterday, Grandma was on her way to visit. Now we didn’t tell the children as we knew they would be far too hyper and instead just told E that if she was well behaved there would be a surprise for her.
Now Steph wasn’t working today so I thought she could distract the horror bags and I’d get through my work in good time. The reality of course was very different, but you’d think I would have known that this far into the #RemoteWorking lifestyle. 
A quick fire top 5 tonight:

1. This morning I popped over to the in laws with E to pick up my birthday present. I didn’t know what to expect but it turns out they bought me a Scotland cycling top which can also double as a running top. I absolutely love it and can’t wait to wear it on my next outing! I can’t help but feel I love done pretty well with my presents this year and a huge amount of thought has gone into them. I’m just a lucky boy who now can’t wait for Christmas! 😊
2. Steph headed to the supermarket when I got home and helpfully took the kids with her so I could have some peace and quiet. Now we haven’t really taken the kids shopping during lockdown so it was a bit of a treat from their perspective. After the girls wrestled M into the trolley seat they made it through the front door and he changed completely. He became a little boy again full of awe and wonder as everything in the shop seemed to amaze him. I suppose this was always going to happen given how much of his life has been spent in lockdown. E enjoyed the trip just as much as she was entrusted with the scanner. How long before we can just pack the two of them off on the bus to do the weekly shop for us? 🛒 
3. Due to Grandma’s imminent arrival there was a lot of house tidying and cleaning going on. Inevitably the kids didn’t help, partly because they didn’t know why we were doing it and partly because keeping the house tidy is most definitely an alien concept to them! When she arrived this afternoon, their faces were an absolute picture and they just stared through the living room window until E came to her senses and went to open the front door. The excitement was big and loud and certainly made it up the stairs onto my Zoom call! 🥳
4. We have a little project to complete this weekend and so Grandma brought with her a van full of materials and tools. As you can see below, M quickly decided that he loved his new playroom even though almost everything in the van is not age appropriate. Like that was going to stop him!! He just wanted to help I suspect, but we just needed about 16 hands to keep track of him and keep him safe. He just loves to explore and work out how things actually work. Perhaps he’ll be an engineer when he grows up. If so I suspect he will be a demolition expert if the state of his bedroom is anything to go by! 🚚
5. Emma was so excited to show Grandma her new fairy garden, complete with the newest additions from her other Grandma. M kept stealing all the pieces and then took to shoving them through his peep hole in the fence so they landed in our neighbour’s garden. I’m sure it was fun for him but rest assured his sister was not impressed. We then had a BBQ for tea and the kids decided to put a blanket on the kitchen floor and eat there which made it into a “proper picnic”. The smallest things can make such a big difference in their lives but I suppose that is the wonder of childhood. Who knows what adventures we will get up to over the next few days? 🧚‍♂️

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Hump day began with glorious sunshine and finished with miserable rain. It’s been a really busy one which once again began at 3am when E decided for the first time in her life that she was scared of the dark. I know I should have just marched her back to her bed but I was so sleepy I just rolled over and she climbed in beside me. The next thing I knew it was 6.30am and M was bouncing on my back.
The highlights of the day make the top 5 so here we go…

1. After having a couple of days off, I strapped on my running shoes and knocked out 7k before breakfast. Since it was such a beautiful morning I decided to take a different route down by the river. Well that was a mistake! Of course after the heavy rain overnight the river path was basically a tough mudder course and I soon found myself trying to dodge puddles, long sections of mud and overgrown stinging nettles. The run was certainly not one of my fastest and both legs were tingling by the end with the repeated stings. My daughter was very concerned to find out about this given her own experiences of nettles but she quickly decided that I was “the bravest in the house” and therefore would be fine. Maybe I’ll pick a different route for my next run! 🏃‍♂️ 
2. I dropped the kids off at nursery this morning with wellies and rain coats in hand. They both seem to enjoy having their temperatures taken at the door; I suppose it is the novelty of it all. I was very pleased to see how excited they were when the staff came to collect them. A little less pleased to see how keen they were to get away from me(!) but I suppose that is a price worth paying if they are happy in their childcare setting. Long may that continue. We also get regular updates throughout the day about key events including naps and meals and nappies. It’s a bit surreal getting a notification to your phone letting you know every time M has a wee!!! 📱 
3. Whilst nursery was doing their thing, Mammy and Daddy were hard at work in the office. I headed home in the afternoon to carry out some conference calls and to wait for Grandpa to stop in on his journey north. Inevitably I was tied up when he arrived so he had to fend for himself. Apparently I talk too much but then again I blame the profession I’m in for that! I always thought I was a shrinking violet! 🗣
4. I was lucky enough to pick the kids up from nursery again tonight and M maintained his 100% record of having to have his clothes changed immediately before he came home. It turns out that he has developed a love of sliding down some AstroTurf in the nursery garden which of course is sodden given the regular rain showers. I have the feeling the staff have found this quite amusing, together with of course all of his other quirks and cheekiness. Fortunately he was convinced to have a nap today which meant he wasn’t almost asleep on the drive home tonight. I suspect he is reluctant as he doesn’t want to miss a moment’s fun with his new friends and toys. I’m so glad nursery is going well! 💦 
5. I was delighted to receive my birthday present from my amazing wife today – a printed copy of my first 80 diary entries. It’s absolutely amazing, complete with the photographs, and will be a brilliant record of our lockdown experience. For the first time we have read some of the early entries as a family and reminisced about those initial experiences. How the kids have grown over the last 6 months and how much greyer my hair has turned!! I just need to convince her to order volume 2 for me! 📖

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