Weekend with my cousins

We had a lovely weekend this weekend.  Saturday was a little bit slow to start with as I was cooking huge amounts of food for the weekend.  Matt and Tom went down to the school with a load of jumble and white elephant stall goodies as it was Autumn Fair in the afternoon.  We then went out for lunch and waited for the Branches to arrive.

An Amber Tiger

They arrived about 15 mins before a party we had all been invited to, Tom and I went ahead as we were transporting some others along with us and then they came when they were ready.  It was Charlie and Harry's birthday party.  As we expected it was a mega party.  There were loads of craft activities and a bouncy castle.  As expected Tom didn't even look at the crafting and spent the whole time bouncing.  We told him before Jake and Amber arrived that he would need to look after them as they wouldn't know anyone there, he was true to his word and spent the whole time with Jake.  Amber, spent an age waiting patiently for her face to be painted and ended up a lovely looking tiger.

By the time food was served, there were two very hot and sweaty boys at the party - guess who?  We all blame Pop Pop for that.  They had their fill of food (Jake even ate some bits and pieces that he normally refuses - it's amazing what you will do when you aren't in your comfort zone isn't it), then some more party games and home.  A good time was had by all.

3 in the bath...

We then returned home for crisps and G&Ts for the adults whilst the children played.  We had worked out that it had been 17 months since we last saw each other (bit naughty).  There was every reason for the children to be shy etc, but they weren't at all, they instantly got on with playing.  It was as if they had last seen each other last week sometime.  Great for all concerned.

They all got on so well that they all slept together in Tom's room after only a little messing around - result.  (In fact it was only Jake and Amber messing about - Tom fell asleep whilst they were messing around, lightweight!) They did get up early though, after a while I gave up, got up and put Frozen on for them.  Funny... at school Tom hates Frozen because it is too girlie, however, when his cousins are here he loves it!!!!!

We had breakfast and then headed out to Malham for a walk.  It was bright sunshine in Ingleton, but as soon as we left the mists descended and we couldn't see a thing.  I was beginning to get worried that the trip out would be a waste of time, however, the mist started to clear as soon as we arrived, meaning we saw the scenery with an eerie ghostly misty side.

The children had a good run to Malham Cove, a scramble over the rocks at the base of the cove and then decided to climb up the steps to the limestone pavement.  Amber started to fade half way up the steps so Clare had to give her a piggyback up.  Wow Clare is fit these days, as is Jake - he just doesn't stop - wanting to be in the front the whole time.  We had a slight clamber on the limestone pavement, but Clare was a little nervous of the edge and with Jake being desperate to explore, wouldn't allow him, in case he went too mad (echos of Simon at the same age?), so we headed back down and walked back to the village where we sat outside one of the pubs for tea and a bun enjoying the winter sunshine.  Amber by now was very very tired and lost it over not being allowed her own hot chocolate.  Dad came to the rescue and took her away to calm her down.  The boys however, were still full of energy and ran round, skidding on the grass.

Clambering

We returned home the scenic way,  Amber slept the whole way and the boys sang the whole way.  When we got home Amber continued sleeping whilst the boys played outside and I made a roast dinner.  We then sat down, ate loads of food and then said goodbye to everyone.

This was the most relaxed meeting between the two families we have ever experienced.  Helped by the gorgeous weather I'm sure, but if every time we meet up the atmosphere is similar, it might just happen more often.  I guess with the children all being a little older it helps, they certainly played together very well.

Liverpool!

We had a very busy weekend this weekend.  We decided as we had both days free that we would have a day out in Liverpool.  We've been meaning to do this for ages as there is a very big model railway shop on Penny Lane none-the-less for the boys to visit and a Pepperbery/Bravissimo for me to spend vouchers in.

Very disappointed not to find a fish and finger pie!

Ferry cross the Mersey.

The day didn't look great to start with - dark, miserable and raining, but it didn't matter as most of the day was going to be inside.  We got the train to Wigan and then on to Liverpool Lime Street (can't get a through train from this direction yet...).  By the time we arrived in Lime Street, it had stopped raining and was beginning to cheer up.  Matt and Tom got the bus to Penny Lane whilst I went in search for Pepperbery (get this - I bought a dress!!!!!!)  We then met up in the main shopping street and looked for somewhere for lunch.  We found an American style diner, we couldn't pass it, having watched so many episodes of Diners, Drive ins &
Dives.  It was good too.  Fired up we then walked to Pier Head and got ourselves some tickets for the Ferry Cross the Mersey (another Tesco Boost day trip).  The sun had now come out, so we got a really nice view of the iconic skyline.

The Skyline

Tom Lennon?

Next stop was the Pier Head Terminal which had a really good Beatles shop in it.

We then headed over to the Museum of Liverpool, the newest museum in the UK.  It was big and bright and bold.  They had put lots in it, but being with a 5 year old we didn't get to read much.  There was a section about the Liverpool Overhead Railway which was interesting, a train from the original Liverpool to Manchester Railway, 2 cinema experiences, one on the Beatles which we saw - Tom was air guitaring to the music so he enjoyed it and another about football, which much to Tom's disappointment we didn't see.  We all had tired feet by then so had sit down and a drink before heading out for a lap of The Albert Dock.

Tom and a Super Lamb Banana

NOTE FOR NEXT TIME: There is a Miller & Carter in The Albert Dock.

Although we did get distracted by the Miller & Carter, we didn't go in as we had a date with Etsu - our favourite Japanese restaurant in the UK.  We arrived just as the doors opened at 5pm and ordered all our usual favourites: edamame, ebi tempura, gyoza, tofu, soft shelled crab etc etc.  We had to order more and more as a certain little someone had an appetite on him.  It was a protein heavy dinner, but so, so good.  We left with happy bellies.

We then walked back to Lime Street and got the train home.  Tom was tired, but there was too much going on in the train and it was a noisy, shaking diesel train meaning that he was far to distracted.  He didn't take long to get to sleep in the car though!  A good, busy day.

Cute look

Sunday we decided we should take it easy, so we decided to do a lap of the Dales that we haven't yet explored.  First stop was Hawes for a stock up of cheese and then we headed further down the road through the lovely scenery of Wharfedale towards Kettlewell.  We found a great spot by the river for playing and throwing stones and a great little pub in the middle of nowhere for a drink.

Pen-y-ghent

We then stopped in Kettlewell for lunch.  We were spoilt for choice - there were 3 pubs and 2 tea rooms in a village about a third of the size of Ingleton.  We settled on a tea room full of bikers (always a good sign).  Tom was on tea cake duty, Matt on bacon butty duty whilst I had a rather delicious blue cheese and celery soup.  We then continued on our lap, finding our way to Malham and Stainforth before stopping for a drink at Horton and then home.  Not the most active day but a beautiful, scenic day, just what was needed after yesterday.

Bilingual Tom

Today Tom's class had their first assembly of the year.  We went along wondering if this time he would concentrate and try to sing.

We were, once again, very pleased with him.  He still doesn't offer much in volume, but he did know most of the words, did most of the actions and get this NEVER looked behind him - ie he concentrated for the whole time and was very much part of the performance.

They sang some songs (the doubling machine & a kangaroo hop hop song - all about numbers), then some poems about animals (Tom's was about a crocodile).  Then they all sang 'Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes' in French.  Tom even had a sentence he had to say by himself "We hope you enjoy it".  He got up and sat down at the right times and didn't have to be told what to do at any point.  A real improvement.

We were so happy and proud.  Seeing the rest of the school, we noticed how big Tom now seems, the children in the huge Reception class this year all seemed so tiny, surely Tom was never that small?!

We thought you would like to see a rendition of something from today's performance so we got him to do Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes for you when he got back.  Grannie, marks out of 10 for pronunciation?

 Enjoy: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fGo6nlS72XY

Scholar Tom?

On Monday all parents were invited to see teachers to voice any concerns etc and to see how they are getting on in their new year.

We, of course went, especially after finding out last year after half the year had gone that Tom wasn't thriving or socialising etc etc.  We certainly didn't want that to happen again.  We went along expecting her to list all his faults along the lines of the conversations we had with Mrs Pickard, but to our surprise it was the opposite.

She is really really pleased with his reading which has come along big time in the last couple of weeks.  She is also really pleased with his writing.  We didn't quite believe her, having been told that he wouldn't write independently in Reception, so she showed us his work and he has been doing work completely independently and although riddled with mistakes, it is understandable.  We also saw some examples of his writing on the walls, he is not the worse and not the best compared to the others, so certainly 'in the zone'.

Most surprising of all is that HE CONCENTRATES!  She hasn't had any problems with lack of concentration with him and in fact he sits on the back row at carpet time because he concentrates so well.  He takes part in discussions and always puts his hands up to answer questions.

His maths is good too, although she suggested we should help him with this at home as it took him a while to pick up the number bonds (something we were aware of), however, he seems to be picking up new ideas well.

We were completely knocked over!  Is this the same boy that Mrs Pickard taught?

It really is amazing the difference a teacher can make.  We were very encouraged by our discussion and Tom got a huge hug from the two of us, to which he said: "I told you I was working hard!".  All I can say is VERY WELL DONE TOM X X X

Gambling Tom

This weekend it was my turn to be a single parent as Matt was on an all expenses paid trip to New York for a meeting with his best client.

We had a busy time, so hardly noticed that Matt wasn't here.  Thursday we had Caitlin over for tea (we asked Tom who from his class he wanted to invite over for tea rather than dictate to him and after a lot of thought he wanted Caitlin - I think mainly because she knows and likes Totoro and he wanted to show her his).  She was incredibly good company, chatted away, played with all the boy toys and was pretty well behaved (except at tea time when she tried to feed Tom her pizza!).  She then walked us to her house (I didn't know where she lived but her mum told me not to worry as she was more than capable of showing me the way)  She was, even telling me to cross the road sensibly and quickly etc etc.

Friday I was giving blood at school pick up time so Kate picked Tom up and took him and Finn to the park.  Luke and Lauren turned up too - it was such a gorgeous day that we didn't get home until after 5pm.

Saturday we were up early as we had been invited to the Watsons' in Chester.  Max and Phil were visiting from London (mainly so we could all meet Max's new girlfriend - who is the best friend of an old friend from Wokingham - Facebook is great for connections and coincidences).  These are Matt's friends from University, so it was their big annual meet up.  Obviously Matt pulled out last week, but I was still determined to go, I wanted to meet Helen and anyway Tom enjoys visiting Maggie, Tamsin and Jenny.  The plan was to go to the races, so we left at 9am to get to their house in time.  We didn't hit any traffic and got there in good time.

Winnings!

We got the bus to Chester, then Lisa and Cameron took us for a walk along the Roman Walls, taking in all the sights before heading to the race course.  Now, I am hopeless at gambling, having not a clue about form etc, I go on colours, names and if they are Irish or not.  I figured I would give Tom a go and I'm glad he did, we only did the minimal bet (£1 each way) each time, but Tom had an eye for a winner and chose two winners.  Not bad considering we only bet on 4 races.  One horse gave him £12 from his £2 each way bet.  It was good for him, it meant that he got a go on the fun fair as a reward.  It was a nice lazy afternoon, the sun came out, conversation was easy and the children betted well (adults were rubbish in comparison) - a lesson to be learnt: you don't need school, just bet for a career - it brings great rewards.

We got the bus back to the Watsons, where we were treated to a sushi feast followed by crumble (true fusion cuisine) before trying to stay up late chatting (we are officially now all light weights).  We then all headed off to our various spaces for sleep.  Tom was sleeping with Tamsin and Jenny, but unfortunately one of the Watson's cats got in during the night and startled him, so he ended up in with me but he was seriously down on sleep, having not gone to bed until after 9pm.

Sunday dinner for 11

Sunday we had a lazy morning.  Maggie and Tamsin went for their tennis lessons, so Tom and Jenny played with each other.  Now Jenny is the smallest of the Watson clan, having just started Reception.  She tends to clamp down and not speak when she is with strangers so I've never had a conversation with her.  Tom normally ignores her and plays with Tamsin, however, during this period he and Jenny played really nicely.  In fact we almost forgot they were in the house.

Once T & M returned we headed to the local pub for Sunday dinner.  Luckily there was a big garden in the pub, so all the children disappeared whilst we chatted.  They returned for dinner and then headed out again, returning for pudding and then they were off again.  It was a perfect situation, we actually managed an adult conversation.

Once we had finished, we returned to our cars and headed home.  Tom was asleep within 5 minutes and stayed asleep for the whole trip home.  He was then back in bed fast asleep within 2 hours of arriving home.  A good weekend.