Struck Down

For over a week now our household has been struck down with an awful cold and cough bug which seems to have overtaken.

My eldest was the first to get it.  Uncaring mother that I am I dosed him up and sent him into school the day after he started with it as he was going on a school trip.  When he came back that afternoon he went straight to bed (unheard of) and spent the next two days off school (also unheard of) coughing and spluttering.

On Friday he was just about fit enough to go to school but my youngest was struck down and also had a day off school.

That night we were due to go and see The Lion King at the Palace Theatre in Manchester.  We had booked the tickets ages ago as a birthday treat for my mum and no one wanted to miss it (especially after paying so much for the tickets) so off we went.  At least half the theatre was coughing and spluttering so we weren’t the only ones spreading our germs.

On Sunday my husband was struck down and my youngest was still ill so didn’t go in on Monday either.

I’ve done my best to nurse them all through it, even though I have craved the peace and quiet that is our house when they are all at work and at school and just when I got them all well again I’ve been struck down too.

I’m trying to keep going – mums don’t have time to be ill after all, but I must admit I currently feel rotten.

Let’s hope in a few days’ time I’ll be feeling more normal and next week will be full of beans and able to concentrate on some writing again.  

Another Busy Weekend

Recovering from another busy weekend.  On Saturday we travelled up to Leeds to watch the football.  Setting out from Chester it was a glorious sunny day, but just the other side of Manchester and it felt like we had entered into another world with lots of sleet and snow.  Fortunately we were prepared with thermals, hats, scarves and gloves and my new coat which comes down to my knees and resembles a sleeping bag was definitely the order of the day.

We stayed over at the Crowne Plaza hotel which is a lovely hotel with swimming pool and where the staff are so nice that’s it’s an absolute pleasure to stay there.

We got absolutely drenched going into the stadium, which wasn’t a good start but fortunately the sun soon came out and it was dry for the rest of the game.

It was a very tense game.  Leeds started out well, but then an early penalty given to Birmingham resulted in a goal and for the rest of the game they were desperately trying to equalise.  They had plenty of chances but couldn’t quite seem to hit the target.  The referee wasn’t doing them any favours either and he seemed very biased towards Birmingham, much to the displeasure of the majority of fans who made their feelings quite clear.

Fortunately about ten minutes before the end of the match Leeds scored to equalise and then seemed to get a second wind. We ended up with a draw but it was a good result considering.

In the evening we went to an Italian restaurant close to the hotel and the boys were delighted to find that two of the players, Bellusci and Antenucci were dining there.  After a discrete enquiry with the waiter, they very kindly agreed to have a photo taken with the boys.  It really made their weekend!

They Boys with Antenucci

The next morning we went for a swim, had breakfast and then went to the Leeds Superstore on the way home where the boys bought some new kits with their Christmas money.

All in all a lovely way to spend the weekend.

I Survived!

I have survived the birthday week and now life can really get back to normal!

Last Monday as it was my youngest’s birthday, we took him out for a meal at our local pub and a good time was had by all.

On Tuesday a restaurant down the road from us was having a 50% discount night so my husband booked us a table there as well – how decadent for the first week in January!  He’d told the staff that it was a birthday celebration and bless them they put balloons on the table and made a real fuss of the birthday boy.  The pudding came out with a sparkler and a song.

After eating a huge portion of fish and chips the young man found it a bit difficult to eat all the pudding so Mum had to help him out – well that’s what Mum’s are for aren’t they?

The rest of the week was business as usual but then on Friday we had a sleepover for four of his friends.  They all had a lovely time – although it was a trifle loud and not too easy to get five boys to sleep in one room, but thankfully they’d all had a busy week so eventually crashed out.

Saturday morning was more noise and then I took them to play football at a centre which has synthetic pitches.  They had a great time and I got to sit down with Writing Magazine and notebook for two whole hours – what bliss.

Then it was out for lunch and then eventually I managed to get them all back to their separate homes before crashing out on the sofa, completely exhausted.

Let's Celebrate! Again.

Yes, that's right I did say celebrate, for yesterday was my youngest son's 11th birthday.

I always feel sorry for him having a birthday when the rest of the world is getting back to normal after the long Christmas and New Year break. My stamina is usually a bit thin on the ground by this point and so I have to try really hard to make it exciting for him.

On Sunday his older half-brother took him to watch Chester FC play which he loved, despite the fact that they lost.  At half time his brother had arranged for his birthday to be announced over the loudspeaker - sadly he took that moment to visit the loo and missed it!

Yesterday was the first day back at school - a sigh of relief from me - but its a shame that his birthday so often falls on the first day back.

We went out for a meal last night though and then on Friday he's having a big sleepover - can anyone lend me some earplugs?

Apart from his birthday I've just booked an overnight stay in Leeds to watch the football (again) the following week - at least I get to stay in a nice hotel, and then the week after we're off to Manchester to see the Lion King.  

In between all that I'm hoping to get some work and writing done.

Looks like its going to be a busy old month!

Happy New Year!

Wishing everyone who is reading this a very happy New Year.

December for me is always a bit of right-off writing-wise as I struggle to prepare for Christmas and juggle everything else.  Each year I promise I won’t let myself be distracted from writing but I always am and this year was no exception.

Christmas Day passed by in such a rush I wondered, as usual, what all the effort was for and then on Boxing Day I came down with a cold/flu bug which is going around and which made me feel rubbish.

I did manage to see some family but not all although I recovered in time for New Year’s Eve.

I’m feeling very positive about 2015.  Last year, for many of my friends, 2014 was a horrible year which they were glad to see the back of.  It certainly had its down moments for me, but it was a bit of a non-descript year which seemed to slip through my fingers. I don’t feel I achieved anything I set out to at the beginning of the year.

That’s why I want this year to be different.  I have so many plans which is part of my problem, I tend to flit from one thing to another and it takes ages to get anything done.  This year I’m going to set myself a project to focus on each month, so that the temptation to get distracted is reduced (fingers’ crossed).

For January the project is a novel which is in its fifth draft.  It’s nearly ready to be sent out but not quite and so I’ve determined by the end of January it will be ready.  I’ve been working on some of the edits from my sickbed and so already have a momentum going which I hope to keep to throughout the month.

Instead of setting specific resolutions this year I only have one – and that is to dedicate more time to things I want to do not things I feel I need to do.  That’s my incentive to get writing more, to make this year count.

What do you hope to achieve in 2015?

Moving House

I mentioned in an earlier post that my parents moved house at the end of September.

It really was a momentous occasion as they have lived there for the last 46 years.

I left home when I was 18 and moved from student accommodation to a variety of flat / house shares until I bought my own house.

At that point I was “off” men and had decided to be an independent woman living alone with my cat.  Of course as soon as I made that decision, I met my husband.

Later he moved in with me. I was married from that house and brought both my babies home to it.  But when our second boy was born we felt that we had outgrown the house and moved into our current one.

Because I have moved so many times, I don’t get too attached to houses, but the one constant in my life has always been my parents’ house.

Me, my brother and sister-in-law went to help them move and said our final goodbyes.

I took a special moment to say goodbye to my old bedroom.  A tiny box room where I spent my teenage years, dreaming of my future.

My parents have moved to a bungalow which will suit them much better for the next stage of their lives.  It needs a lot of work doing to it but the house has a lovely atmosphere and I’m sure they’ll be happy there.

Now I just need to remember which house they are living in and not end up at the old house whenever I go to visit.

Sunbed Wars

Being on holiday, having nothing to do all day makes the little things seem so important – and, yes, I am talking about sunbeds here. 

Personally, just something that is comfortable suits me but my sun-seeking husband likes to achieve maximum sunlight potential.  The resort we were staying in last week only seemed to get the sun on one side of the pool so every morning it was a dash to get those towels out, even having to resort to setting the alarm.  Sheer madness!  On several mornings one of the pool attendants decided to exert his control and refused to allow anyone to put towels down until 8am.

Each family’s designated sunbed acquirer (in our case my husband) stood pacing, holding their bundle of towels until on the dot of eight, were all released and then marched en-mass to their favoured spot.    Wondering what was happening on the first morning this happened, I stepped out to see what going on and was greeted by the sight of holiday makers looking as if they were marching off to war. 

It was certainly a sight to behold – and I bet the hotel staff were laughing their socks off – but hell hath no fury like a sun seeker banished to the shade.