First Week Back

The first week back has been a bit of a whirlwind.  Getting Tom ready to go to school, sorting out Bob and getting work done as well.  It all got done, just have had to get used to a new routine and working out the best way to do things.

We got back on Friday evening, Jon Radda picked us up and dropped us off at home.  We then made various phone calls to Jude and Bob to find out what had happened.  Bob was still in hospital, and quite immobile as his leg is in a cast and he was finding it hard work to get around with a walker and impossible with crutches.  He was also very short of sleep and in pain.  After a restless night worrying about him, I said to Matt that the only solution was to have Bob here.  If he was to be here we don't need to worry about him at home, we can stay as a family and he can be looked after, have company and not worry about all the humdrum of running a home.  Matt agreed, offered our home to Bob, who then said the hospital were happy to let him out to come to live with us.  So, Matt went to collect him, whilst Tom and I changed the guest room round to give him as much space as possible.

It was a bit of a trauma to get Bob into the house, no matter which way you enter the house there are steps to negotiate, the only way Bob can do steps is on his bum and as it was his first time and Matt and I had no idea what to do, it was a bit of a fumble, but we got him in.  Poor Bob was very sleepy, couldn't eat much, and really just a sorry sight.  He asked to go to bed at 8pm, once again it took quite a while to get him up the stairs, but we got there and he went to bed fully dressed - too exhausted to change!

Sunday Matt and Tom went to play cricket for the afternoon - so it was just me and Bob.  Bob spent most of the afternoon snoozing, I spent the afternoon making sweet peas for a wedding cake going out on Friday.

Monday - Tom's last day of holiday.  We still haven't been able to get him any new PE uniform.  We discovered on Sports Day last term when kids went to school in their PE uniform that his was all too small - he looked like a 1980s football player!  I was hoping to get second hand, but had failed in my quest, so reluctantly took Tom to Preston to get some.  Always a pain going to Preston - I don't like the place and find the roads extremely confusing.  I know where the main car park is, but find it so difficult to get to.  Had the same problem again this time, the centre of Preston was dug up and the sat nav tried to take me down a bus lane!  We then followed signs to a car park for it to be permit holders only.  I then stopped a postie for advice - we could see the car park, but he said that I would have to go right round the centre to get to it.  Oh joy - I drove in a random direction hoping I would find some sort of car park, it worked, we found a multi-storey and it wasn't that far from the high street - a normal stressy beginning to shopping in Preston.

We got to Monkhouse and I bought the biggest PE uniform I could get away with.  Then we headed to M&S to get some underwear for all 3 men, as we were looking it up, Tom noticed that there was a Mowgli next door - oooooooh!  We do love Mowgli.  Preston suddenly looked better...we went to Mowgli, got in and ordered yoghurt bombs, sticky wings and fenugreek chips - we were in heaven.  The conundrum now was - do we tell Matt or not?  We knew he would be upset to find out we had been without him, but we didn't know it was there...  No matter it was a perfect end of holiday treat for Tom.

We bought the underwear and then I decided to check out a shopping centre we hadn't been to before...inside was a Kawaii shop - called Kenji - full of Japanese cutie products - wowzers, Preston is even better.  I got myself a froggy tape measure for my cakes.  Perfect.

We came home, confessed to Matt about the Mowgli trip - seems he is keen to join us on school uniform shopping trips now!