X had a challenging day at school Friday...

At lunchtime he let off his trademark happy shriek in the playground. Unfortunately it was in close proximitiy to a burly child with ADHD who then proceeded to chase him across the playground and try to beat him up!

Standing between a she-wolf and her young holding an air raid alarm comes to mind. I'm sure it wasn't deliberate (40% of what X does is by impulse, I reckon - it's just the way he is). In other news he was drawing on his right cheek with a pencil in the classroom and pressed just a little bit too hard.  By the time I saw him he was sporting a six inch scar where the pencil had left its' mark. X is so different to me at that age it is unbelievable....

A.

I'm SO ready to move right now,

I feel my brain is on a sandy beach near Shanklin already, it's just a matter of tying up the loose ends.

E & D on said beach. October 2013

We're back off for another visit this Half Term. To get a taste of the IOW off season as it were. Personally, the idea of a quiet island, empty save a few locals and old people sounds just the ticket for me. I hope the reality proves to be just as appealing. Of course my main concern is the kids, X and Little D will have the time of there life for years - but what about when X reaches his teenage years and wants to see the world? I can really see him wanting to travel at 16 and (hopefully) moving heaven and earth to do it. Let's see if we can give him all the support and inspiration he needs in the meantime.

On the other hand, little D is like my blank canvas. I'm so excited about immersing her in outdoor life and everything the IOW has to offer. The girl is no slouch already. She enjoys playing with X's lego (when X isn't looking, thankfully) and seems happiest driving cars around the floor every evening. My Mum asked, with some concern 'Does she ever play with dollies?' I couldn't think of anything further off her radar, if I'm honest! Her personality is blossoming, and when you see her saying 'bye bye' before trying to climb into the kitchen cupboard under the sink it well and truly makes your day...   

In money news I'm thrilled that my matched betting is going well. Isle of Wight wisdom dictates that if you've got a job you can bring with you, you're set. There seems to be bugger all for the natives apart from working in the service sector which is dormant come the winter months. I plan my pockets to be lined with a few quid from the online bookies and a few visits to their real life counterparts in the metropolis (Newport, that is). The fact there are just five Ladbrokes branches on the entire island (and no competion) makes me realise how insular the IOW actually is. 

Anyway, I better go as D needs putting to bed. 

Bye for now,

A.

Halloween crafts and something sharp and pointy

Sunday evening, curled up on the couch with a drink. I have a few thought my weekend I'd like to share.

Diz has conjunctivitis. Have you seen conjunctivitis? It gunks up the eye with a bright yellow discharge and leaves the sufferer miserable. A gentle swipe to the eyelid will get a wince if you're lucky. D has been reacting in a much more emphatic manner.. poor little thing :(

While D and I visited her Nan today. X and E made their monthly pilgrimage to Legoland. The latter returned with yet another Lego set - spending must be well into four figures by now - his obsession knows no bounds. Still, a career in engineering may be the result, and that can't be all bad. Can it?

Life's little things give me pleasure nowadays. For instance, I was dead chuffed with my craft efforts at work. Collected autumn leaves when painted with white paint become, wait for it, Halloween ghosts! The kiddies painted their leaves (and themselves for that matter) white, black and several shades of grey on Thursday. Come tomorrow we'll draw jaunty little smiles on them and stick 'em on some haunted house type backdrop. Diz helped with the conker collecting, and I'll be skewering the little buggers later on this evening to make jewellery for the little ones next Thursday. 

Anyway, X has been safely stashed into bed now. We'll be watching some 'How I Met Your Mother' as I put some gaping holes into a bag of horse chestnuts. My life is about as rock n'roll as you can get... right? 

A.

I love running...

After a few minutes of effort all the crud and cr*p in your brain just floats away. Apathy drifts. Ideas form. You just end up feeling positive and happy. Pity that my moments of clarity happen much less than they used to. With X and D around, you gotta have other priorities. Still, with the little bunnies distracted I get my needs sorted in different ways. As I'm writing this X is at school and Little D is down for her nap. I probably have a good 90 minutes to myself to deal with my list of Stuff That Needs Doing. Frankly, planning has never been a forte of mine - but as life gets more complex I always try harder. My 'organiser' (I use the term loosely) is a battered A4 hardback pad which I scribble my weekly tasks in. Social stuff, matched betting annotations, you know the sort of thing. I've never really made long term plans and I guess that's to my detriment. My friend S swears by goals and planning, and during a tipsy night out implored me to write down my goals. And I plan to, its been a week but I haven't got around to it yet. Classic procrastination I guess...

In Mancave News, the defunct PC has now been taken apart. Dusty and unloved, it now sits in a pile on my attic desk. It has been supplanted by my brand new Chromebook! Behold! It's sleek, easy to use anywhere, and doesn't sound like an extractor fan when I turn it on.. It positively purrs instead. Already X is intrigued, he has the freedom to use most electronic devices in our house and sidles up to me looking for a go. I feel I need to make a stand on this one. The little voice in the back of my head is saying 'You Can't Play With It. It's Mine.' Maybe that's a little too selfish, perhaps more subtlety is required. If I whack a great big chain and padlock on it, do you think he'd get the message??! 

Meanwhile Diz grows at an alarming rate. She is taking steps (tipsy looking and sporadic steps) and takes more of an interest in the world every day. She sings. And really loves to sing! It raises my spirits when I hear her carrying a tune, even though most of the time it's Cbeebies themes she wants to share. Catchy bloody compositions they are too, when you find yourself singing Mike The Knight all day you know you've got problems....

Anyway, that's enough for now. Time to squeeze in a little tidying before Her Ladyship awakes.

A.