Finally, some peace and quiet and ability to have a lazy Sunday! I used to hate Sundays when I was young, found them so boring, but now they are filled with yummy laziness, coziness and warmth, amplified by Autumn.
Today will be filled with delicious family time and most definitely a dog walk on the beach.
Do love to batch cook on a Sunday, especially listening to BBC Radio 2.
Some might say, you’ve already said you’re doing a dog walk and batch cooking and you’ve already been up 3 hours and it’s only 9 in the am, what’s lazy about that? The fact it was my choice, I didn’t HAVE to do any of it and it wasn’t time bound. I’ll just drift from one activity and melt into another.
With everything going on with Grandad I haven’t had a chance to give you some funnies from the twins. Don’t worry, I did tell Grandad, next time you’re feeling like you’re not getting enough attention, you don’t need to be so dramatic about it. Less of the near death experiences and just pickup the phone!
So back to my bunions, as I lovingly call them! Luckily they haven’t switched on yet, unlikely to know what a bunion is at the tender age of 8.
I was getting the boys to bed, this was a few weeks ago now and Harry had lost a tooth and been reimbursed by the tooth fairy. I was just pottering about getting their sleep lighting and tunes sorted out and overheard the following conversation between the two:-
Harry rummaging around his pillows “Tooth fairy stole my £2!!”
Ollie as sharp as a tack
“SHE GOT A DEAL! she got a refund and took your tooth!”
Harry sounding disgruntled,
“Probably sold it on eBay!”
Ollie,
”Who wants to buy a dirty old tooth on eBay?”
Harry,
”Probably some smelly old man who likes eating teeth! Mum some people eat their teeth it’s true, saw it on YouTube!”
Google does not agree with this Harry fact and I have requested he does not show me the YouTube short!
Oh go on then, I have time for one more!
Do you remember the storm a few weeks ago? When a ridiculous amount of rain fell in a very short space of time? I know I’m getting old because I remember thinking, ooh this will be good for my grass! ( I have a patch of grass in the garden, long uninteresting story, but a fact.)
It had been a rough old night before the rain. Holly had managed to throw up neatly on one of my shirts so I’d got up to clear that up and got back to bed about midnight.
I woke to bedlam. Lee was by my side saying the conservatory was flooded and Oli was up. Must remember that Oli likes it spelt this way. Well it was a compromise because I really don’t like Oly. Spelt like it should be pronounced by Popeye.
I digress.
The conservatory floor was indeed a wash! Lee had thrown aside the rattan and flung down any blanket or towel he could get his hands on.
The next thing I was outside, balancing on a chair, in my pyjamas, being slapped hard by the wind and rain checking where the leak was. Luckily it was coming through hard in one spot due to afore mentioned rain dislodging mud and debris into the gutters. Easy fix when you have a handy husband like mine, but I cleared some mud to try and temporarily stop the flood for that night.
I agreed to sleep in with Oli as the howling wind and rain can be a bit overwhelming in their loft room. It was about 02:00 by now.
We both found it hard to sleep until I suggested trying to imagine that the storm was an event in our beloved game Grow a Garden and we were actually in it.
Well that did the trick until Harry woke us up with his sleep talking. Luckily he was happy and having a giggle with whomever it was.
Needless to say, my Fitbit told me off for having very little sleep.
Harry woke bright as a lamb! He must have had a good solid 10 hours sleep. We are very strict about bed times, sleep is a must for their little ADHD brains.
So there I was, barely able to unstick my eyes let alone muster the energy to raise my head from the pillow when Harry is next to me, full of energy and inquisition,
“Mum, what happens if it’s -4? Would we freeze? Would we die? Would our heads fall off? Would our eyeballs freeze? Mum what would happen??!!”
Me “I’m not Google!”
I sent him off to start getting ready for school, just anything away from me.
He came running back upstairs,
“Mum, are we moving? “
“ No Harry, you slept through a massive storm and the conservatory got flooded!”
Harry “ no way! Really? Cool!”
Me “not so much!”
Right, I’m off x love and hugs and may today be kind to you xxx
Well, I’d been poorly, but this story isn’t about me, it’s about my Dad and one he has encouraged me to write.
It was 4th September, the Twinkles first day of year 4 and I wasn’t feeling ill enough to still be off work.
We’d had a lovely night with Grandad the night before. I hadn’t had the energy to take the boys to football so we’d eaten dinner together at the table and then opted for a popcorn pudding whilst snuggling up in the lounge to watch Bad Guys 2. Once the boys had gone to bed, Dad and I opted for a peppermint and licorice tea instead of our usual bottle of pink fizz, that tells you how poorly we were. Dad reminisced about a trip to Tuscany with Mum and shared an album which contained some fabulous photos of sports cars, a story for another time maybe.
It really had been a delightful night.
Fast forward to Thursday morning, the boys were ready for school and I had taken the obligatory first day back photo. Harry kindly reminded me that the year before they hadn’t played ball and I’d got so cross I’d thrown my mobile on the floor and stormed out. Listen, two things, we are all entitled to a tantrum now and then and I have an indestructible mobile phone case.
I took a cup of tea up to Dad and he was strangely sat on the side of his bed. He said he’d been finding it uncomfortable to lie down so I plumped up his pillows for him and demonstrated how he could be comfortable and upright, but I was in a bit of a rush.
I remember thinking that he looked like a cross between a slim Santa or that Fisherman off the advert for fishfingers, Captain Birdseye? Ooh I could murder a posh fishfinger and tartare sauce sandwich right now, but I am fasting, again, a story for another time.
Of I went to work a bit dazed and confused.
It was just after 09:00, 09:10 to be precise and I received a call from Dad which lasted 21 seconds.
He said he was struggling to breathe and thought he might be in trouble.
My Dad tried to drive himself to hospital the first time he had a heart attack so this call meant business.
I called 999 whilst trying to pack my work stuff up and turning to my colleague and saying I needed to get home. Nicky jumped to action and ushered me out. I’m not sure if I actually packed my laptop away it was a blur. My concern was that Dad was in the bedroom upstairs and the paramedics would not be able to get in.
I was still on the phone to emergency services whilst trying to get the bloody NCP app to work to get into the car park to retrieve my car. Once in the car it wouldn’t transfer my call to handsfree so I was shouting over speaker and she then also wanted my Dads mobile number. For goodness sake! I did not have the hippy, hippy, shakes!
I called Dad back and he was on the line to the ambulance crew who had called him.
I drove up to the house (now singing the theme tune to The Fresh Prince of Bellair – I pulled up to the house about 7 or 8…..) and noticed the porch door was closed, but the front door open. I thought, well done Dad. But it went further than that. The man, the legend, the Grandad had (whilst struggling to breathe) got dressed including his boots, made the bed, washed his cup, put the dogs safely in the kitchen, opened the front door and found his car keys and placed them on the mantle piece. The twins were most impressed with this and relayed it to their school class the next day.
I came into the lounge and sat next to him. He was REALLY struggling to breathe. I tried to calm him with some breathing techniques we use for the boys ADHD. I just kept talking to him and holding his hand but he was getting worse and rattling, they call it the death rattle.
At 09:29 I called 999 again. The guy asked if it was my Dad rattling in the background he could hear down the line, it was. He was starting to get agitated and tried to stand up, he got a proper telling off for that. Then all of a sudden it looked like his tongue swelled up and was filling his mouth. He had to force himself backwards to try to get air in.
I shouted at the emergency person, “he is literally dying right now”
We were on the line for a very traumatic 7 minutes until I heard the ambulance crew arrive. I yelled, they’re here and threw my mobile down, thank heavens for the indestructible case.
It was like Dad gave up and his head just fell to his chest.
They were two slight females so I helped them pull Dad to the lounge floor as I am built like a brick outhouse and strong which has its uses.
He was not responding. He was not breathing.
I shouted at him,
“Come on Dad, you can do this! You are strong, you are stubborn, you are resilient, do it for the twins!”
With that he squeezed my hand, only gently, but definite pressure.
I could tell the paramedics were concerned. They called another crew with better gear who turned up in minutes.
I had been at Dads side, holding his hand, but with 4 paramedics they needed room to work, so I offered to leave and strangely also offered them a drink, which they declined as they were a tad busy.
Don’t we do strange things when we’re in shock?
I went and sat in the conservatory with the dogs and burst into tears. I text Lee to let him know what was happening, but told him there was no point in him coming home and to just ask work if he could leave early to collect the twins from school later. He told me not to worry, he had our home life covered and kept supporting me through text as and when I needed it.
Dad’s heart had stopped, but they managed to get it going again.
One paramedic then came and told me he was too sick to take to Southmead hospital in Bristol so they would take him to Weston to “stabilise”.
Getting the stretcher out the house was a veritable assault course as it couldn’t get through the front door so involved ripping the dog gate off (not even being dramatic), throwing obstructions out the way, moving the hot tub, calling the husband to ask where the key for the side gate was etc
With everything going on I remember the dogs being so good. I’d put them on leads and were dragging them all over the place as all the doors were open and then giving them cuddles intermittently.
Dad was in one of the ambulances and I just needed to get the house back into lockdown mode, but the paramedic made it clear I had to be quick. I couldn’t go in the ambulance, I knew I would need my car.
I wasn’t going to admit this bit to my husband, but I was out of diesel. He always tells me off for this, saying, what if there’s an emergency?
So I took a detour to Tesco to fill up. I remember thinking what a lovely sunny day it was.
I made it to A&E and was told by a frosty receptionist to sit in the waiting room as my father had only been there 19minutes! I told her I was only doing what I was told to.
Within minutes she came round to walk me to the relatives room, through a burrow of winding passages. Her demeanour had softened and she said they couldn’t have me waiting in the main area, to which I was sure they were going to tell me he’d died.
I asked her if she could please get me the name of the paramedics as I wanted to somehow thank them and for them to get recognition from the NHS for how professional, kind and nice they had been.
I was then alone in the small room and realised I had Dads boots on my lap and his bag. Somehow I’d thought to grab it all in case they needed to know the medication he was on.
The lights went out. Awkward. I had to wave my arms to get them to go back on.
Then a new receptionist came in with the names of the first responders. She went on to say that they were near by and should she send them in??? She then said I could go out and see them. I must have looked a picture just sat on that small two seater clutching my Dads boots. I said I was very sorry, didn’t mean to seem ungrateful or put her out but I just wanted their names to be able to thank them which she then gave me and walked off.
The light went back out luckily as then one of the earlier paramedics walked past and must have assumed the room was empty, I didn’t feel like chatting.
A doctor came in to see me. Dad’s heart had stopped again in the ambulance and was only operating at 20% and had likely been like this for a while. I could see he felt uncomfortable so I assured him he didn’t need to sugar coat anything as Dad had been preparing me for this for a while and only last week had texted to say he was 83 and had had a good innings. I also told him he drives a convertible sports car which made him smile. I should have also told him that he’d had 17m views on TikTok!
They needed to see how he responded in the next 30 minutes. Thankfully this then flourished into the next 24hours.
I went to see him. It was now about 10:17. I held his hand and said my goodbyes and made sure to tell him all the wonderful things I might regret not having the chance to say. He kept squeezing my hand. It was time to text my brothers and let them know the score.
They needed to do something medical so I was back in the relatives room.
Then two ladies and a handy man turned up. They had some art work to put up and one of them was the actual artist who was called Kate, had been inspired by the flowers on Brean Down and had a fat cat who does not like to go outside.
I offered to leave, but they said they didn’t want to disturb me and I should stay. Then the handyman actually started to drill! I could have poked him with my foot he was so close. It actually made me smile. I was still holding Dads boots.
I found a seat and sat in the corridor and that’s where Ella, one of the nurses found me. She smelt delicious of caramel. Apparently it was from Lush. Dad had managed to tell her he’d had a previous heart attack and had literally seen the light so was not worried about dying. I talked to her about this some more as she’d not had this experience before and wanted to be able to reassure her patients moving forward. She also gave me a bag for the boots which was handy.
We spoke to many doctors. Many nurses tried to take Dads blood and failed as there was not enough pressure to push it around.
I left him to go on a mission to find a Pepsi Max. I hadn’t eaten and needed the caffeine. I think it was around 14:00.
I got lost, but luckily bumped back into Kate the artist who walked me to reception and a shop.
I also got lost on the way back but a jolly nurse in blues walked me back to my Dad.
My brother Nick showed up soon after 16:00.
Dad had stabilised enough for them to move him to a respiratory ward. They’d determined he had pneumonia which was the route of all evil in Dads body.
They tried to swap his oxygen for a potable machine and Dad grabbed their hand and fought them off. I stepped forward to reassure him that they weren’t trying to murder him and it was all above board. I had also heard him tell them not to vaccinate him with anything, so he definitely seemed to be improving.
We made it to the ward and Dad was in and out of consciousness. The antibiotics were starting to work and his tongue had gone back to normal size but there was no way he was able to breathe without the machine.
The latest verdict is that he has made it through the first 24 hours, is responding to medication which is drawing the fluid off his lungs and out of his body, but he is still too weak to breathe for himself so not out of the woods yet.
Yesterday I took the boys to their first football match of the season. This was important to Dad as he had a love for football and used to be a referee. He asked me to take pictures and videos and said if he died while they were playing at least it would be while they were doing something he loved. I didn’t relay this message to his Grandsons.
We have had a chance to have some really good quality time together. I told Dad he didn’t need to go this far for attention! We also snickered that I’d told one of the many doctors I was his sixth wife when he rudely demanded who are you?!
Yesterday Dad asked me to wash his pants and socks from the bag I’d brought in just in case he makes it out, good thinking. I grabbed them and stuffed them in my bag. On the way home I decided to go via Nect to return Ollies faulty trainers. I don’t know why, it just seemed important. Maybe because it would feel normal. I hadn’t eaten or slept again and the cashier was being difficult and asking a lot of questions. We got it sorted in the end but as I went for my purse Dads pants fell out of my bag and onto the counter. We both looked at them and then each other. In what felt like slow motion I reached out and put the offending article back into my bag, thanked him and left!
Right, I’m getting tired and need to get on with the day so I can go back and visit Dad.
Love and hugs, kisses and wishes and make the most of every little second you have with your loved ones, you never know how long you actually have xxxxx
So I have a confession to make. I think I might be addicted to Grow A Garden (a game on Roblox).
The thing is, it’s just so nice to be good at something the boys enjoy and to feel that connection to them. To have something they want to do with me and we play as a family with Lee. It’s turned in to my new happy place, but don’t worry, it’s not replaced the beach, Bluebell woods or the hot tub!
So I told myself this morning, you are not allowed to go on Grow A Garden with the boys until you have written your blog! And I was VERY stern about it! I would add a young lady at the end, but we all know that’s not true!
I was feeling floopy the other day. I think that’s a word I made up but best Google it in case it’s rude or I’m admitting to being a devil worshipper (I’m not).
Floopy” is a misspelling of the word “floppy,” which describes something that is soft, limp, and hangs loosely, such as a floppy hat or a dog with floppy ears. While “floopy” is not a standard English word, it may also refer to a feeling of confusion and inner turmoil, a meaning popularized by the character Phoebe on the TV show Friends.
Oh, so my subconscious stole it from Phoebe! Yep, all of the above, to me floopy (a word I did not make up) means floppy, mopey, definitely with a hint of inner turmoil!
So it had been one of those long, hard days at work (it’s one of the things that makes it worthwhile), the boys had the “can’t help its” (a young persons version of floopy) and my brain had decided to tell me I was unloved because it’ a jerk like that and then Lee came home from work.
He said hello to everyone, started decanting his work day stuff and then got in to a spritely game with Holly the mini schnauzer.
I sat down at the dining table, all woe is me and said,
“I think you love that dog more than me”
He thought about it and turned to me and said,
“ would you like to play hide and seek as well babe?”
Well this gave us both the giggles and then everything was okay, sealed with a cuddle. I can’t believe we celebrate our 7 year wedding anniversary Monday, wowser!
Harry has been on form with his strange out comings. The other day he asked me when it was Easter, I asked if we could just get through the Summer holidays first. He was also VERY concerned to feel his heart was to one side and wanted me to take him to hospital as he believed it should be in the middle. Luckily we have been given a few good books by friends, thank you, so I could show him diagrams. He got side tracked by an outline of a willy and got the giggles. He’s 8, willies are funny. Just had to Google plural of willy. Woe betide if my mobile ever gets seized and my search history looked at!
But I think his best one so far this holiday was yesterday when we were clearing his shelf and came across his adoption certificate for a stuffed octopus and he yelled in disbelief,
“I’M ADOPTED????!!!!!!”
Me “ no Harry, that’s your writing, you adopted Octopants!”
Not that there’s anything wrong with being adopted, its worked out jolly nicely for me.
Ollie has been his usual happy bubble self. Helping wherever he can and giving sage advice, especially about clothing. It was lovely to walk into the lounge yesterday and have him tell me how pretty my dress was and how nicely it went with my baby pink Crocs.
Listen, love Crocs or hate Crocs, they soothe my stupid arthritic knees so I’m all in, however I haven’t succumbed to giblets yet. Oops apparently they’re called Jibbitz, another one for the search engine!
However he has been a little run down. Think they’ve both been a bit beasted at their holiday camp, dance comps, water fights, copious games of dodgeball, arts and crafts etc
So Ollie, although he has told me that he now goes by Oly, had a large ulcer, it was a doozy to be fair. He chose to do the salt water option over the “banana” Bonjela. He really is quite theatrical and had to psych himself up by doing push ups and pumping his weights. It worked and the ulcer has gone, but he said that gargling with the salt water was the equivalent of Superman being hit in the face with kryptonite, no worse! I chose to pick my battles and just agree and tell him he was a champ!!
Right, that should do it, the twins are calling me to play GAG with them. Gosh, I best not shout that out! Like when I told my boss I was planning a days paint balling and just really wanted the opportunity to shoot my children!
Ooh a quote for you,
“Never let the sadness of your past or the fear of your future destroy the beauty of the present”
Love and hugs, kisses and wishes xxx
The space in the middle was for me, our evening ritual of feeding our friendship pots xxx
I know I should write a blog, but I’m just not feeling it, but I told my friend I would to cheer her up.
To be honest, I feel like I’ve been slapped around the face with a frozen tuna, a whole one, have you seen the size of those things? I’m not talking in a tin.
As much as I love the Summer holidays they are non stop, especially when you’re trying to keep up the day job.
I’ve raised my coffee strength a couple of notches. The accompanying heart palpitations are reassuring and give me an in house beat to get things done to.
Tuesday and Thursdays we have off. Tuesdays tend to be decompress, Thursdays tend to be with friends.
This Tuesday was a dream, blissfully slow and lazy.
We’d had a wonderful weekend in Kent at a “framily” (friends who have become family) annual bbq. We took shots the minute we arrived Friday night, including Ollie who decided he preferred Archers to Cointreau. At 8 years old that’s good to know! Harry abstained, but settled for a sip of Corona with lime.
“Life should not be a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well-preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside in a cloud of smoke, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming ‘Wow! What a Ride!” As written by Hunter S Thompson.
We’re not going to go as all out as Ozzy Osbourne, bats in our garden are safe, but we’ll give it a good beating!
I went to get Harry out the bath last night and caught him farting into an empty shampoo bottle and sniffing it. He’s a curious boy!
Tuesday morning we gave the dogs a walk at Bluebell Woods. We pretty much always have it to ourselves and it’s a magical place where there always seems to be a breeze rustling through the trees, makes me feel like I’m in the Hobbit.
We’d barely made it out the car before Ollie got fresh in his pants as he likes to call it. If Ollie ever makes it big I imagine him strutting round his condominium wearing nothing but a leopard print banana hammock, a massive feather boa and a shiny cowboy hat sipping on some kind of cherry spritz or something like that.
Harry will be the more sensible, dependable and solid one, but they’re good together.
I tell them daily how lucky they are to have each other, really want to hammer that one home!
Just read the bit to Ollie about his attire and he completely agreed, but wanted to add that if he became rich he’d have a room filled with teddies and squishymallows and a giant teddy he could beat up if he was feeling angry. Now I’ve got to take him shopping for some leopard print pants because he thought they sounded great and would like to find a matching oody!
Best be off, it’s friends day today and I also have to pack for the weekend! Beachfest in Bournemouth, can’t wait for that!
I can’t write that ☝️ without automatically thinking Lou Reed & All Stars. Probably be humming it all day now, shame it’s such a dirge!
Anyways, our plans had changed on account of Harry impaling himself on his handlebars the day before. It sounds more dramatic than it really was, but it was super sore and he handled it like a champ in front of the big boys. Between you and I, once home, he was acting delirious until I reminded him he hadn’t banged his head, but it still warranted 24 hour monitoring.
So we got up, always a good start and it was raining, great. See, rollercoaster already!
Harry was still in pain but didn’t want to let his team or Ollie down so agreed to play the football match and what a good one it was! Very exciting! I wasn’t sure Ollie would take to football, but he really gave it some beans, both inside and outside the goal. I remember his first match when a coach said to act like a crab and he took it literally with an added touch of jazz hands. Harry went on to receive Man of the Match, most definitely worth going!
We had a spot of lunch and waited for Lee to come home from work.
The weather couldn’t make up its blinking mind. Definitely layers and waterproofs, but that doesn’t help with footwear, can hardly wear one Croc and one welly.
But it was ideal for not feeling guilty about plonking ourselves on the sofa and having some screen time.
A while back, Harry asked me to play Grow a Garden on Roblox with him. I just don’t get Roblox so wasn’t in a rush, but he asked a few times.
Well it is wonderful! Born from kindness, the creator Jandel was just hoping to make some money for a friend who became homeless (so the boys tell me) not knowing how incredibly successful it would be become.
One has a virtual garden, you can buy seeds and are rewarded for working with friends and watching your garden grow complete with mystical pets.
There was an event due and the boys had asked if we could do it as a family, yes, they’ve got Lee involved too and we saved a spot for their big sister.
It did not disappoint. I thought Ollie was going to self combust. Travis Kalice made a guest appearance, there was loads of free stuff, banging tunes and stunning visuals and Ollie became a billionaire, in sheckles. So much fun and so lovely to be invited into the boys world. The twins keep commenting on how many likes I have on my garden and not going to lie, that makes me feel kinda cool!
After all that jazz we needed to let off some steam. Harry was desperate for a decent bike ride. Lee takes them out a lot and they LOVE it!
I bought a bike, about a year ago. I bought a helmet, last week. I don’t mean to go all Phoebe on you, but I didn’t have a bike as a child on account of living on a main road and probably lack of interest. I decided yesterday was the day to go for it. It was probably my sixth ever bike ride in my life so I was a tad nervous. It didn’t help that Lee teased me that my helmet looked a bit army. He adjusted my seat for me and off I went. I did a practice run down our cul-de-sac with Ollie frantically peddling along side me shouting “are you okay Mummy?”
Well I didn’t fall off and my brakes worked so I decided to go for it. Lee suggested we do a shorter route to bed me in, but Harry looked at me with his big, blue eyes. I suggested we go for the long one and I’d yelp if I couldn’t manage, Harry hugged me and told me I was the best Mum EVER!
At the first major crossing I heard Lee telling the boys that I’m an adult and to just worry about themselves and not me, yes, that’s how bad I am.
We got on to the cycle path and it took us past fishing ponds, fields, subways with magnificent street art, it was blooming brilliant.
Ollie decided to put us in buddy groups as Lee and Harry are a lot faster and he knew the route, which he keeps pronouncing “rowt”, too much American YouTube.
We were whizzing down one bit and I was giving it root-de-toot and Ollie kept slowing down to ask if I was okay. I promised I’d scream if I needed anything and he said that I was so I explained that was elation not annihilation, there’s a big difference.
We caught up to the others as Lee was in hero mode and fixing a random teenagers bike, think his chain had come off.
We hadn’t had to stop so far. I idled up to the others, tried to put my foot down, legs had turned to jelly, brain had switched off and somehow I managed to fall directly into a muddy puddle bottom first in slow motion with 8 eyes on me.
It was nice to have a sit down.
Harry rushed over, well as quickly as his Dyspraxia would allow him and pulled my bike off me. Took him about 26 attempts to put the bike stand down so between us we were a bit of a comedy duo.
I’d fallen so slowly I didn’t even have a bruise. Not even my ego as I was still chuffed to bits that I was able to do something active with my family and arthritis hadn’t got in the way.
Lee suggested we could turn round on ourselves and head back and I said to carry on which resulted in another giant hug from Harry. Ollie wasn’t so pleased as he’d decided his legs were hurting, are you kidding me?
We stopped at Tesco Express and Lee treated us all to a drink. Best 7Up EVER! By now I was getting tired so the others took pity and allowed me to take a family photo.
A toddler cycled past, with her Dad, obvs and her bike was bubblegum pink and mint with the full works, tassels, basket, teddies etc I told Ollie I was going to do that to mine as it is technically my first bike and I’m going to paint flowers on my helmet. Apparently he is going to go all out and join me!
We made it home, 90 minutes round trip. I checked my Fitbit and it literally told me I should calm things down a bit!
Harry told me it was the best Saturday he had ever had apart from his birthday Saturday. Wasn’t entirely sure what he was talking about, but decided to top it off by making a cottage pie as my boys like a bit of traditional stodge. I smugly ate an omelette and gave myself a pat on the back for being so good on my diet, but blew it later after half a bottle of Prosecco, but hey ho, that’s a balanced diet isn’t it?
It was magical. It’s been a lovely week. I can’t believe the boys start camp tomorrow, I’m going to miss them so much. 4 weeks until we have another week together, I can do this xxx
So, pretty much like anyone in the UK at the mo I am pooped and melting! Having two energetic / germ filled 8 year olds does not help.
Let me give you a break down of a typical morning, this all happened before I started work at 08:00.
I’d literally just woken up, hadn’t lifted my head off the pillow when Harry snuggled in next to me and asked
“What happens when we die?”
You might think I wouldn’t have the answer to this but GranDad swears he died and came back again. He says he indeed saw the light, felt weightless and there was no time constraints, no responsibility, he could be completely selfish and he started drifting towards the light.
Of course, he could have been off his face on morphine, there’s an option.
Anyways, I told the boys the former and Ollie, who had joined us by this time agreed he liked that.
Harry asked if we get reincarnated although I think he worded it more like,
“But do we come back, as a slug or something”
(This could be my fault, I might have caught him thinking about being mean to a slug a few years back and told him not to in case it was a relative) How does he remember that?? But not to put the lid down and flush!
Anyways, I replied that in my opinion our souls stay somewhere nice, let’s call it heaven, and when we’re ready we have another crack at life.
To which Harry asked
“What if you come back as someone with a brain tumour?”
And I replied,
“It’s 06:25!!!! Let’s get up!”
Before I had a chance to lift my cold blanket (they’re really good fyi), Ollie went on to talk about doppelgängers. He informed me that if he saw his he would punch it in the face! I said that was a bit harsh and asked why to which he responded they were fake! I think he might have been talking about clones.
Still trying to edge out of bed, Harry wanted to show me something about his new pyjamas. He rolled on to his back placing his knees behind his ears and showed me it was possible to see his dinky (that’s what he calls it) hanging out the side. I requested that when we have sleepovers, maybe he doesn’t do that or wears pants underneath until he gets into bed when he should let it breathe.
With an ok Mum, Harry jumped out of my bed and proceeded to kick the bejesus out of the laundry bag which was waiting to be emptied and distributed.
He walked past me stroking his jaw line and asking if I was “sigma”, replying to his own question out loud to say that apparently I don’t have a jawline.
I retorted that I do.
Ollie backed me up to say I did have a jawline, but not a very good one and that it was called “mogging” and went off to clean his teeth.
I felt somewhat bamboozled.
To be fair to them though, we’d finished getting ready and you know how you call your children sweet things in the moment like “sweetie”, “cutie pie” or “snuggle bunny” etc, I heard myself say,
“Come on crackheads”
And then quickly changed it. However I do often call them my bunions which they still seem to like and I’m still getting away with calling Harry Gollum.
Breakfast, pack lunches, morning palava done, I was off to work.
Harry ran out to hug me, but in an alarmed voice said,
“WAIT! MUM! You’re still wearing your pyjamas!”
Well I didn’t need to ask him his opinion on my new, wide legged trousers then!
With that, I’ll bid you adieu, love and hugs, kisses and wishes xxx
Good morning me babbers! I’m not feeling the passion for writing at the moment, but I’m making myself do it, so I hope it isn’t a chore to read as well!
Right or write! Let’s cobble together a few stories.
The difference between the twins is remarkable. They could not be more different if they tried, looks, likes, personalities! The one thing they have in common is a kind heart and I’m grateful for that.
We were getting ready for school the other morning, well I wasn’t, I have a big girls job. That is, job for grown ups not for wide loads!
Harry came wandering in to my room to inform me he had nothing to wear. What a cliche! But you have a whole wardrobe full of your clean school uniform? I had to put that in there to sort of show off at the fact it was all hung up because to be honest, the majority of the time the washed washing is emptied onto the spare bed and it’s a clean free for all. I always have good intentions to go through it and hang it up, put the socks in twos, distribute to the rightful owner but it’s just plain boring and time consuming.
Back to Harry and his clothing quandary.
He was sure that he had nothing that fit, sounding more like me every day!
It turned out that he was reading the hangers. Because some said 4-5 or 7-8 he took it as verbatim.
He really is incredibly literal. I had to talk to his football coach the other day because he kept telling the team they couldn’t head the ball and Harry kept responding that he could. I suggested he tried saying they weren’t allowed to.
Meanwhile, on the hanger front, Ollie was tickled pink that he believed his hanger was covered in fairy dust!! It wasn’t, obvs. It was just that fluffy stuff that some hangers have to protect the trousers. Blimey, I don’t think I’ve ever used the word hanger so much.
Ollie has his own trials and tribulations to be dealing with at the moment. Not only is he a germophobe but he’s a smellaphobe too! He was unable to eat his yoghurt covered rice cake snack the other day because Holly the miniature Schnauzers beard smelled too bad!
Pardon me your royal highness!
Yet I was having a random chat the other day about which of our dogs would be best to eat. Not Tilly because she’s nearly 14, full of fat and gristle. Harry thought the more fat the better and Ollie concluded that Holly was young and still had a lot of life left to live which sort of took the fun out of it.
I think the boys are having a hormone dump at the moment and certainly a growth spurt, that or they have a tape worm.
Harry was lying on the bed next to me, apparently starving, talking to himself in full on ADHD fashion!
“I want to eat dog food, cat food, hippopotamus food. Wait I can’t eat tiger food because then I’d have to eat humans”
Not much you can say to that. Ollie pretty much agreed as long as there were no strong smells or things that didn’t look quite right like the odd blueberry he won’t eat out of a handful.
We had the most wonderful day yesterday! Our school has to do those sports days where the children aren’t allowed to win. Where’s the good in that? They’re putting out the fire in their bellies or the enjoyment healthy competition brings with it. Each year we literally sit in a field with no shade, forced to eat lunch at 11:30, then watching our bored, hot children repeating “games” over and over again, not knowing when they’ve actually finished or started and then being trapped in said field until the headmistress decides we can go!
Not us! Not this year!
How frustrating it is when your child has had a mini stomach upset and aren’t allowed back into school for 48 hours.
So we used it to our advantage.
We picked up their best friend and my Westie Bestie 10:30ish and headed off to the front where there is a park with a water section. The place is usually heaving to the point it is hard to find a seat on the grass. Well, because it was term time we pretty much had the place to ourselves and boy did our children have fun.
The weather is due to turn next week for the worse, of course it is, it’s half term, so we made the most of the brilliant sunshine.
The boys ran, threw balls, climbed, played music, hide and seek and laughed.
When the sun ducked behind a cloud we moseyed down to this fabulous ice cream place where they do flavoured Mr Whippys, my beautiful husbands treat. They were wonderful and I said sod it to the diet and don’t regret it for a second.
We drove home with banging tunes and the boys shouting “chicken jockey” out the window to random strangers.
They then had the opportunity to go on their Nintendos and play Fortnite but opted to play Fortnite in real life instead, running round the house and garden with Nerf guns.
It was a day to remember and warmed my soul and reminded me just how lucky I am!
I’m afraid this blog should come with a health warning. It’s not your typical happy go lucky account of what our pesky twins have been up to, more a reflection and a share to possibly help others. A warts and all account.
Last Friday night, 25th April, I climbed into bed and turned to my husband and said,
“I am too young to feel this broken”
I bet you thought I was going to say something fruity, he possibly did too, disappointment for both of you, apart from my Dad when he reads this.
It had been two weeks with my mental health at the bottom of my boots with the fur.
I’d got myself stuck in a very viscous circle.
I was desperately tired, in constant pain and snappy which then lead to me really hating myself and feeling like a toxic cloud polluting anyone who came into my proximity.
I wasn’t living life, I certainly wasn’t enjoying it, I was merely existing.
ENOUGH!
My husband rolled over to get to sleep knowing this was a no action zone and I turned to the notes page of my mobile to write me a list, gots to love a meaningful list.
I named it Escape Pain.
Actually, I’m going to be super lazy and cut and paste it here 👇
Escape Pain!
Continue to lose weight on Keto diet. Get to **St**lbs (totes not ready to share that yet!)
Drink aloe Vera every morning
Have Warrior protein for breakfast
Cycle 10 minutes every day
Do exercises twice a week (Tuesday & Thursday)
Log food every day
Get a suitable knee brace (s) – measure properly
Use sleep knee cushion so it is in the correct place
Use cooling knee pad for 20 minutes before bed
I have arthritis in my knees, bad enough for “them” to want to give me some funky new ones, but that doesn’t fit into mine and the boys game plan yet.
I was introduced to the Keto diet by a friend at work. I wasn’t willing, in fact I flat down said NO WAY JOSE! He’s actually called Lee, but I’ll continue.
Now I’m not saying Keto is the way to go for everyone. It suits me well because it is an inflammatory diet and gluten free. So you do which ever diet works for you, even if it’s a crisps and Coke diet (the drink, not the powder) You do you, I’ll do me x
My insides have always hated me. Possibly on account of being born an addict. I was a pretty hardcore baby born to a mum who didn’t get the same help I did (because I was adopted) and never escaped her drink and drug addiction. But if all I’ve got to complain about from that is a bit of constipation, I’m laughing. It certainly didn’t stunt my growth! 5ft11! Some say I’m built like a brick 💩 house and I’m finally proud of that! Anyway, my saviour is pure Aloe Vera juice, a shot every morning gets the plumbing working and the cranberry one tastes bearable.
Warrior Whey Protein is the yummiest I have found and I enjoy drinking a cold shake for breakfast. Fills me up until lunch. Also helps with muscle function etc and boring stuff. Blah blah blah.
I can barely walk and when I first do I was told I look like a duck from someone at work, thanks for that. But I can swim and I can cycle and 10 minutes a day is a SMART goal! Specific, measured, achievable, realistic and target driven. Not only does it help with my knees, but towards the weight loss and creating those happy endorphins to aid my mental health.
There’s a brilliant exercise app from the NHS called Escape Pain with lots of brilliant workouts on it. My aim was to do two of those a week, I haven’t done one yet, but it’s been blooming hot and I’ve been a melted mess! Actually I might do one after I’ve finished writing this and then I can be smug about it!
I have a Keto app, it’s very good. I find if I write what I eat down as I go along I am less likely to be naughty. It truly works, when I remember to do it! (Have just logged my breakfast….and last nights dinner if I’m being honest, go me!)
Lee keeps telling me I need to get better supports for my knees and at least ones that match (I have one pink and one black). Don’t tell him, but he was right! I did A LOT of research into what would be best for my knees and it was the ones that help take the load of the knee with metal dooberywotsits (technical term darling) on the side. I even measured my knees and everything, I meant business. Well they arrived and they’re brilliant and I should have done it sooner!
To make me sound even more youthful I am also going to inform you that I’ve been suffering with a pain in my hip and sciatica. I got to thinking that it might be because of the wedge of a pillow I sleep with between my legs and decided to invest in a proper leg cushion and then remembered I already had one equipped with its own cooling pads that I’d just forgotten about. Turns out it did the trick! I mean, I’m not saying I’m now spiritedly, but in less pain for sure.
What’s the last one on the list? Oh yes, cooling pads before bed! Totes forgot about that! Will start that this evening then! Alexa is on board and reckons she will remind me, nice to not be arguing with her for a change.
So, all in all, it’s going pretty well and I’ve certainly broken the cycle and on the way to being a lot happier and healthier.
At the end of the day we are on our own. No one is coming to save us. We have to take things into our own hands and want to be happy and the only person who can do this for us is us. A good list is a fabulous place to start!
Right off to do these blinking exercises before I change my mind or it gets too hot!
Lee’s alarm didn’t have to go off until 7am this morning, what a luxury. Unfortunately he had to work.
Harry had strict instructions to stay in bed until the sun came up on his bedroom clock, allowing for toilet trips of course.
I heard Lee whispering to Harry to go downstairs with him to allow me a lie in, bless him, but that was never going to happen.
Like Harry, I am one of those annoying morning people too! Literally, every morning I wake up with a song in my head and ready to go, going back to sleep not an option.
I’m just happy to be alive and don’t want to waste it.
So Harry slipped in to bed with me and we decided to treat ourselves to some TikTok action. Ollie soon joined us.
We happened upon a lady riding a scooter saying the best thing she ever did was name her brain. She named it Becky and made it clear she had nothing against Beckys of the world. When she had an intrusive thought she’d tell it off by saying things like,
“Not today Becky, we haven’t got time for this and we’re going to have a nice day”
Well I quite liked this idea so asked the boys to name their brains.
In a heartbeat Harry had named his Chicken Nugget.
Ollie was more interested in naming mine, but they were all incredibly long. He settled for Rizz. I just Googled it and this is what it means,
Meaning: “Rizz” is a slang term for style, charm, or attractiveness, particularly in the context of dating or romantic interest.
Whilst rather nice I’ve fine tuned it to Iris. So a nod to him, but also a name that I don’t know anyone with.
Ollie is yet to name his brain, they both seem quite over it, but I might persist because I think the lady in the pink jumper could be on to something.
Our timer had gone off a few times and I suggested to the boys it was time to go down for breakfast, nothing, they wanted to stay snuggled watching TikTok with me until Harry remembered they are allowed to go on Fortnite once they’ve eaten, everything! Just loving those bribes!
As we got up, Keisha popped into my head and I sang,
“Wake up in the morning feeling like P Diddy”
Well the air went electric!
Both boys wanted to know how I knew who P Diddy was. Then it dawned on me that he’s in prison for being a very naughty man so I wanted to know how THEY knew who he was.
Ollie piped up with that he loves baby oil, has killed a woman and built a tunnel which led under Rihanna’s bedroom and her and Eminem wrote Monster about him.
Gosh!
Note to self, need to check parental controls on their YouTube and have a check what they are watching.
It’s so hard navigating being a parent, but we’ve made it to 8 and a half and my fur baby to 13 and a half. Before that I struggled to keep a cactus alive, not even joking! Ooh and I also seem to be doing well at growing a Peony! Man I’m getting old!
Actually there was something that resonated in a romcom I was watching the other day. No, wait, it was This City Is Ours, couldn’t be further from a romcom.
So this lady was complaining to her partner about being old and he turned to her and told her to make the most of today because in 5 years time she would be 5 years older and able to do less things.
So I’ve decided to get the kayaks out! Chilli and Pepper (they look like red chillis).
The first bit of sun we have I’m grabbing my husband for a paddle on the Taunton Bridgwater Canal which is by far my favourite session to date. It’s just beautiful! Lovely scenery, usually dog walkers walking up the side, fresh air and wildlife. I did actually get taunted by a swan one time which I thought I might have to beat off with my paddle because I’ve heard they can break your arm, but I was then worried that might be illegal because all the swans are owned by the queen or something. Well there’s a king now, but I digress and I still won’t be beating swans.
So, on that note, I’ll bid you adieu xxx
Love & hugs, kisses and wishes xxx
Our family are very good at snuggling up and looking forward to snuggling up to daddy when he gets home from work xxx
We just seem to be melting into this holiday and it’s wonderfully delicious. I was going to call this piece Break, but thought it might have less relaxing connotations and take us down a different path.
I worked the majority of last week, yes, when it was sunny, but do you know what? The weather has given us an excuse to be lazy and it’s doing wonders.
I always feel Mum guilt at inactivity, but sometimes doing nothing, is still doing something.
Let’s take yesterday for example. Of course I had a to do list, I write one every morning. It’s not so much the control freak in me, but I like to have a plan and some structure, however I’m quite happy for it to change or adapt, but it just needs to be there to start with.
It was due to rain, the sky was littered with dark grey clouds so we grabbed the dogs and whizzed off to Bluebell woods with our anoraks, which of course Ollie left in the car.
It was busier than usual, as in, we could actually see other humans so we dipped another way, the opposite to our usual route. Yes I walk the same way round every time, taking the same paths, but hear me out on this. We’ve been going since the twins were 4 and a half. By taking the same route every time it is so ingrained into their brain, they could possibly walk it in their sleep, although I’d prefer they didn’t. So should we ever get split up (highly unlikely) they can make their way to the car which has always been covered in flower, heart, butterfly and bee decals so it stands out to them and me. I once lost a hire car in a Spanish IKEA car park just hours before I was supposed to get the plane home, it was traumatic.
We were only there 20 minutes before fat raindrops started to fall on our faces, but they still had time to find treasure.
We are part of a Facebook group called Weston-super-Rocks. We paint and hide rocks for others to find. Some we keep, some we rehide.
Once home the boys had earned some screen time, which is also a nice way for them to socialise with their friends whilst training their brains and give me a break.
This gave me time to go through all the information given to me from the doctor TEN days ago!
I am always learning through the boys.
School believes Harry has ADHD with a side of Dyspraxia and Ollie ADHD with a side of Autism, from a fancy Autism menu.
The more I read, the more it makes sense.
We’ve caught this young so I’m hoping we are able to navigate through it and alleviate symptoms without the need for medication.
Ollie has been feeling down because Harry hurts him on a daily basis and Harry feels down because he has a kind heart and it is mostly by accident.
So I talked to them both about it. It was hard work, like trying to herd cats. They both fidget so much and you never really know if they’re actually listening or taking it in. Half the time I was talking to Harry’s bottom (he likes to be upside down) and Ollies back (he likes to spin), both behaviours exacerbated with the anxiety of having a semi serious conversation.
We devised a plan whereby Harry has an imaginary rubber ring around him to help him keep within his own personal space. It actually worked and there were no accidents or arguments yesterday. We’ve just got to keep up the momentum and hopefully it will become a habit.
I then managed to start filling our memory wall. Can’t believe it got to April before the first photo went up.
We have three large pin boards in the dining room. These get filled up with photos throughout the year and then taken down on New Year’s Eve to be stored in an album of the year.
I also managed to do a photo album from our holiday in March!
All so wonderfully therapeutic.
Then the heavens really opened!
The house is lovely and clean because Lee gave it a massive going over at the weekend when I was at work even using a sanding gadget to clean the bathroom tiles. When our man does a job, he DOES a job!!
I’d cleaned out the hamster, the dogs were happy, nothing needed my attention so I made a den in the lounge out of our 7 seater recliner sofa, oodles of blankets and a smattering of cushions.
I whacked on the heating, how decadent of me.
Then the three of us camped out on the sofa and took part in an awesome paintball challenge on Roblox it was wonderful.
Poor Lee came home with a banging toothache and poorly head so we shoved him in a bubble bath, my remedy for pretty much anything!
Then a family game of Monopoly, Taunton version to try and chill the twins out before bed.
I read somewhere that bananas are great for regulating, so they had a banana with a side of strawberry and banana smoothie. I might have slightly overdone this one as poor Harry had to keep running to the loo, but that sort of wore him out too!
To be honest I also have a throbbing head and sore tummy so hopefully this hasn’t been a boring read.
Happy hump day you lovely lot! It’s Wednesday for those reading at a later date so hump day as it is all down hill to the weekend baby!
A cheeky little Twinkle update xxx 