Petits Haricots

So it’s just as well we are having one

We head off tomorow morning, feel dreafully disorganised, but have a nice pile of bulging bags in front of me so must have most things. Anyway we are staying near Venice - here.

Looks nice and warm, though the BBC is not quite so warm.

We are camping, Helen’s Mum and Dad, Sister, BIL and the nephew and neice are coming as well, so family time. Nephew is 6 months older than SB, so they will have a ball together

We’ve had busy few days, today H had a pretty crap day at work by all accounts, and they managed to cock up her pay and under pay her by a significant amount. Yestderday her Nan came home from hospital, we took our freezer down for her to put in porch, she was originally meant to have been home by about 2, but in the end it was past 5.30 pm. If we’d known we’d have gone and got her. Anyway she is looking well, and will hopefully get on ok. Theu keep changing what they are saying about exactly what support she will ahve at home to start with. I don’t tthink she really needs much help really, esp. with all the friends and family to help out etc. but it would be good if they could just say what they intend and stick to it.

So didn’t really start packing and sorting until yesterday, so quite please I managed to get it pretty much finished tonight without to much hassle.

SB went with my parents to visit the Raptor Foundation Saw various birds of prey, watched them flying, had a owl or something perch on her arm, sound like she really enjoyed it. Though when she spoke to me on the phone, she told me about some feathers she had found bought a big rubbery Eagle toy thing, which she used to chase all the other kids around with at nursey this morning Though she did go on about them eating bread (as we feed the birds in the garden) so an essential fact seems to have passed her by……….

Well time for bed and a good start in the morning, y’all have fun now ya hear. Might even do a holiday blog or two if there is internet access, otherwise see you in 2 weeks.

As we have done rather a number of photo posts!
I’ve enjoyed reading all the hesfes blogs, and look forward to going when SB about 6. Certainly looking forward to Kessie beforehand, even though it will be a bit manic for me!
On duty again - sigh as spent a lot of the day trying not to let the N and N discharge my nan home today and then give her a zimmer / handles for loo etc tomorrow - what a crap idea! Also, that we do not live locally, so where is she supposed to get bread/ milk etc, and fridge empty. Hmmm they said. And what about home visit? well she doesn’t need any - Hmmm said I!! After lots of humming, she is staying in until at least tomorrow, when I can do emergency dash after 24 hour shift. Though they won’t use the community action team, they will get the red cross hospital leavers programme in - as I begged -which is 2 weeks of a daily visit and a minor shop if needs be. Also, will assess house properly. At moment she always eats in dining room - now bedroom, so will have to carry tray of food to sitting room instead - but how with zimmer?? Espec as by end of next week hopefully wont need zimmer. We need to see how to rig things up. Anyway, lots of grumblings, and they are rethinking, and i will hear outcome later today.

SB had a glorious weekend - as quickly blogged, and enjoyed Monday too, as Nana F and grandad, as well as pam and robert visited. lots of attention! Lots of general playing really - and you’ve seen the pciture of the bath.

Must do list - pack for hols
- get insurance for hols
- sort out relocation expenses
- empty upright freezer and give to Nanny
- talk to her about combination microwaves
- weed garden/veg beds
- second sowing french beans and sweetcorn [courgettes ahven’t germinated, dammit
- craft with SB = making moved cards
- oh bugger, tell all and sundry our new address!!!

and for completeness

Originally uploaded by Scrumbledelicious.

and the amswer would appear to be no! Ifairly certain who this is by the clothes, but will add another rellie for similarity conteat!

guess who?

Originally uploaded by Scrumbledelicious.

aged 2

And i think we have deserved one!

Went to Stagecoach [drama/music/dance] in the morning, and SB really enjoyed it this time, and was happy to let me wander off with SB rather than wait outside [good as it was tipping it down!] Whilst waiting for it to start, I had chatted to a few other parents and B had learnt their children’s names.

got home, and a black hole in time so very late setting off for the ruby wedding. Got to chris’s aunty Pam and uncle roberts in time for chinwag and catchup and then off to barn dance to celebrate Uncle Ivor and Aunty barbara’s 40th wedding anniversary. We had a great time, doing the dances with SB, she also made some friends - so easy socialising at events like this, but more nervous when a larger group of same age?? most knackering moment came when SB wanted to dance tango with me, but insited on being carried - that def is more of a Chris thing! I was proud of the way she swapped partners in some of the dances, and really loved it.

Today we did more chatting and setting world to rights, also inviting back to our house tomorrow for a nose. The lovely lunch at a restaurant in Harlow. SB and BB were great kids the whole time, and it is great to have a chat and catch up with chris’s family. In between times, SB has asked loads of questions about how to be a doctor, what different doctors do, if she could work with me. Also read some more of the usbourne pocket science - a real fave! We did the illness one to tie in.

Best SB line was when we were discussing foods and if you could work out what they were made of - weetabix has wheat, what is in cornflakes…wheat…no corn……what is in rice crispies…… ah, crisps so that means potatoes……….very good thinking, but no, rice! We had been having a convuluted conversation about wheat and not everyone being able to eat it, saw it growing in a field, what it was used for etc as well.

Feel have done lots of on the hoof ed, lots of socialising and being jolly. A weekend I really needed. Connected to my family [and chris’s]

read the roald dahl poem book at bedtonight - also enjoyed! BB played with an apple for almost 10 mins with a look of real concentration - rolling it, fiddling with the stalk and trying to eat it!

My Nanny improving, Guinness still not found though. Supposed to be writing a teaching on preterm labour [sigh] / tidying house/ squirtling/ thinking of holiday packing. Ah no, bugger it, I will blog instead! Also think I will send up some piccies!

As have loads and loads to do as going away fo weekend, then going on hols next week - panic panic!

BB update
She did her first half roll today from back onto side - tada!!! I know she is 6 months tomorrow, but she has a good bottom on her, and its hard to shift!! 2 teeth, sits beautifull, reaching and grabbing things - always with an eye on food. Getting through various fruit and veg purees and some finger foods to slobber with. infectious smile and giggle, and is a real bundle of love. Not so keen on her nipping me while feeding, and wish she would take more than an ounce from a bottle. Oddly, when she was sick last night it smelled of asparagus, so perhaps that wee thing happens to milk too? Also she now feeds too much at night! I think increasing solids will do the trick there. She is happily zzzz-ing in my arms as we speak.

SB update
I think she is getting more settled. having a friend at nursery v helpful. I am trying to be fullon Mum when at home - knackering, and life events ruining this a bit. Although this has been a settling in time, i feel we have lost momentum with ed. partly as we are not really organised enough for crafty things to happen, and cos chris adapting to having both. lots of being read to though, less maths and no phonics. Although autonomous does seem to be working on the reading of loads of the usbournwe science though!

Welcome back all ye hesfessers, and partic award of merit to Nic’s blog!

going to get beans and then we’ll investigate!

Written much later after read SB to sleep - and yes, even more made up maggie and the ferocious beast stories. I am running out of plots!

The usbourne pocket science books really are a big hit, and we read the bees one tonight. Especially good in view of our bees nest and the dead bees in the conservatory, so may get round to printing off some of their bee pictures. Might make a nice picture collage of bees. Might hide away the baby one until I am asked though [feel some reluctance on my part to have SB asking all the ‘awkward’ questions in her piercing voice at chris’s family ruby wedding celebration this weekend - what a coward!]. The new books have pretty much taken up all our time from this post to bedtime. I can’t remeber when SB last asked for TV either.

and then 3 blogs all come along together . A bit of tandem blogging it would seem. Read down for Helen’s take on the day, and some piccies.

its Helen, I just had to edit title as the grammar was distressing me! ANd you’ve sent my piccies to the bottom, so no-one will look at them - and my post!!!

It seems likley that Guiness has been spotted. Someone rang up the yesterday (who lives not far way on the otherside of the main road through the village) to say they had recently seen cat matching his description/demeanour a few times recently near their house. It seems she and another neighbour put out food, so he may have been eating that. It will probably take sometime to actually track him down, but it’s good to ahve some positive news.

So what have I been doing as I’ve been a bit absent from the blog? Today was another ‘Clap and Sing’ session at the local village hall Stringbean enjoys this, and so does Butterbean I think. ‘Homedad’ from down the street (as Helen has christened him) wasn’t there so I was the only Dad. Now that’s ok, I often find other men want to talk about something boring like football or F1 anyway, but I do find it a bit sad that more men are not taking a more upfront childcare role. And there something undefinably ‘odd’ about being the only Dad in roomful of mums and tots. I guess lots of women are used to something similar in male dominated situations.

Went to the playground nextdoor afterwards, SB got to play for ages on the see-saw with a little boy. Then just as we were goingto go (and it takes ages to prise her away from a playground) a boy she had met before turned up, so I let her stay for a bit longer (another 1/2 hour….) before heading home. He wa runnign around and climbing on the Slateboard/Rollerblade ramps, of course it ended in tears when she tripped and fell and got a really nice graze on her knee. Will ahev to try and enforce trousers only rule on there I guess. Pottered back home with SB riding her bike, and met H just home from work which was nice.

It’s good to be able to just walk to so many places around the village.

Lunch and bit of family time followed. The conservatory is nice place to sit SB and H did some more of SB’s clock kit thing she got at Melrose. Later me and SB went for a little walk. The COE parish church is behind our house and she has been on about going to see it. so we walked round to it. Had little look inside - it’s a pretty typical small old country church, at first it was ‘Wow!, it’s beautiful’ (yes really ) and we had little nose around, and I told her what the various bits were. But she then got diasppointed because there weren’tmore bits to investigate - I think she expected it to be like a ruined castle/abbey etc.

We did spend sometime outside though lookingat the gravestones which she still seems to find fascinating. I think we will go and do a bit of rubbing at some point.

H had long (but successful it seems) evening meeting at work. So me and the beans had tea, baths etc. All went well SB was settled in bed at which pijt of course BB decided wake back up. she had’t filled up when she ahd the chance earlier, so spent the next hour or so moslty making fuss about this, seeing as she still will not drink enough from a bottle.

I don’t think I’ve quite got the whole me, SB, BB altogether at home all day quite sorted yet. time seems to disappear at times into an even bigger blackhole than just with SB. And at times when BB is making fuss and not drinking from her bottle, it’s quite hard trying to give SB any attention. I’ve had to a couple of time to tell SB she has to go and find somethign quiet to do out of the way as otherwise she just ends up distracting BB. I don’t like it, becuase SB dotes on BB and she loves helping out, but sometimes its’ the only way I can get me and BB to concentrate. Thinking back I guess I didn’t have SB for such amounts of time at this sort of age, as H didn’t end her mat leave until over 6 months,a nd I worked fulltime until about 10 months.

Oh SB just woken up, time to go.

[edited this one’s title grammar too!! - H - might even be drive to doing a spelling check!]