2011

We have a kitchen!

Monday 16th May 2011Tuesday 17th May 2011Baggie

Again it has taken me longer to update you than I had hoped that it would. This is nothing to do with the fact that I have hit the 100 mark and given up but as you can imagine it has been a busy time with a variety of demands on my time and so updating this website suffers. The demands on my time are coming from all angles. It is a busy time at work (when isn’t it?) with the end of the majority (apart from the Russian Premier League) of the football seasons (and hence much of my work – for a couple of months until it all starts again!) including the last day of the English Premier League (with the unusual feeling for a West Bromwich Albion fan of knowing that we have been safe for a couple of games and heading for a mid-table finish!). It has been quite manic with the kitchen build which has effectively turned the whole house upside down and now that it is complete, it is taking longer than expected to put it all back together again. Juggling this with the usual family commitments has not left a lot of time for dallying on the computer. In theory, therefore, this should be a fun-filled update jam-packed with interesting ancedotes. Please don’t be too disappointed.

The end of April has seen much of the country take nearly two weeks off work. This has been due to two four day weekends in succession. The first was the belated Easter weekend, the second was courtesy of the second-in-line to the British throne’s marriage to Catherine Middleton and the May Day bank holiday. I had to work the Easter weekend (football does not stop for Jesus or the Easter bunny) but managed to retain the second weekend off. Hence I could sit and watch with billions (more strictly milliards) of others around the world the first major royal wedding in a quarter of a century. We sat down as a family and tried to get Éowyn interested in this major historic event. However we were greeted with ‘This is boring. Can I have my programmes on, please!‘ We tried to explain that it was a wedding of a prince and one day they will be King and Queen. ‘No Daddy, I want Toy Story 3 on.‘ I maybe thankful of this one day. As soon as the television schedules began to return to some semblance of normality (none of your normalcy nonsense) we headed to the Stanwell Moor street party. Unfortunately it wasn’t in the street and it wasn’t much of a party, so we made our excuses and headed to Lucinda’s parents for a cup of tea and a cake. Bit of a shame really, we were hoping that it would have been a good excuse for a party. They just don’t do street parties how they used to!

The next day we headed up to West Bromwich to wish Nanny Fran a belated birthday. Éowyn was so excited to see her Nanny Fran (and Auntie Liz) and kept everyone entertained (and on our toes) for the whole weekend. Nanny Fran saw a big jump in Amélie too, for since she has been taking her solids she has really begun to fill out. She is thoroughly enjoying her food and will demolish her meals with consummate ease, even calling for seconds! She has even begun to grab the spoon and start feeding herself if she thinks you are not feeding her quick enough. She is still a little bit of a lazy minx though. She still has not begun to crawl, although with the power in her legs maybe she has decided that crawling is a waste of time and will just wait until her legs are strong enough and begin to walk. It is still wonderful to see how much Éowyn loves her little sister and will often lie next to Amélie or sit next to her or ask to hold her. To think that we feared that she might be extremely jealous and in all fairness to say that there is no hint of jealousy would be a lie but apart from always stealing Amélie’s things (‘I am sharing with her!‘), Éowyn has the makings of a very good big sister.

Éowyn thoroughly enjoyed herself at Nanny Fran’s, especially when Auntie Liz put her face-painting skills to good use and turned Éowyn into a tiger. Tigers are definitely Éowyn’s favourite animals and she will quite often pretend that she is one. With the added bonus of a stripy face we all had to endure being on the tiger’s menu. Although with her mop of hair she looks more like a lion with a rather impressive mane. One of the things to do while at Nanny Fran’s was to get Éowyn’s hair trimmed, unfortunately with the bank holidays it seemed that everyone had the same idea and with no available appointments it was left to Lucinda to hack away at Éowyn’s fringe so that at least she can now see without constantly brushing her hair out of her eyes.

The weather that had been so kind to us throughout April has continued into May. It has been a little cooler, but apart from the odd shower has been relatively dry. This has been a blessing while the kitchen has been done. It has meant they we could get out of the house and not worry about where we were going. However the good weather seems to have bought the insect life out of their winter hiding places. Wasps, and mosquitoes seem to gravitate to our house. Éowyn is not too keen on either (much like her parents) but strangely seems to detest mosquitoes more. She calls them midgiebugs and fears that they are going to eat her. Not sure where she has got that one from. However, all this glorious weather this early into the year is bound to mean that the height of summer will be a wash out.

Éowyn is now back to school and seemingly very happy there. Although before she went to school on Friday she said, ‘Mommy, I don’t want to go to school it is yucky!‘ Lucinda told her that she had to go to school and off they went. They walked into school and Lucinda took Éowyn’s coat off to hang it on her coathook, when she turned around Éowyn wasn’t there. She had wandered off into the classroom. Lucinda asked her if she was going to say goodbye to Mommy. She just turned waved and that was it. We are glad that she is happier at school and has seemingly made at least three friends. Hopefully the skills she will learn at pre-school will be easier when she moves up to school proper.

I think I have stolen enough time today so I am off to dandle Amélie while accepting pretend choclate cake and a nice cup of tea from Éowyn as I sit in her hairdressing salon.

Peace and Love

Baggie

The speed of the sponge

Pleased with the result

ROAR!

Contemplating

This is how to eat an Easter Egg

I’m hungry…

Smiler

Pat-a-cake

Cheeky!

Posing

Maddie and Amélie

Lauren, Maddie and Éowyn

I have to feed myself!

Zonked

The new kitchen

Century Celebrations

Wednesday 27th April 2011Friday 6th May 2011Baggie

The Keen-eyed among you will have noticed that this is a very special post in the history of this website. This is the 100th article written for baggieandlucy.com. Yes, 100 different times I have sat down and transcribed the latest goings-on of our little family – that’s nearly a book – and hopefully 100 times you have sat down and read them. These 100 articles consist of 9 static pages (the Major Events) and 91 posts (the regular updates); over 70,000 words, nearly 1000 pictures and have received nearly 90,000 hits. Not bad for 2½ years of stolen time. So we would like to extend a big thank you to you (our readers) for popping by and enjoying the trials and tribulations of our growing family and we look forward to the next milestone, our 100,000th hit (by my reckoning some time in late August, early September).

As if to celebrate this milestone the weather, too, has been kind to us with an early summer in time for our late Easter. Temperatures of 25°C in April are definitely unusual (hottest April day since the 1940’s apparently!) but more than welcome however it probably infers that we will have a dull and wet summer. So enjoy it while it lasts! With that in mind the Bagnalls are not shy to take full advantage. We are quite fortunate that we live fairly close to three major theme park attractions: Chessington World of Adventures, Legoland and, closest of all, Thorpe Park. Therefore when we discovered that you can trade £40 (it has since gone up) worth of Tesco Club Card vouchers for an individual Merlin Pass we jumped at the chance. The Merlin Pass is almost a must have for families in our situation, it allows free entry to the three aforementioned theme parks plus many other attractions around the country as well as giving you discounts on purchases (including food) at those places. Since both Éowyn and Amélie are (for the time being) free to enter all of these attractions, two adult passes were all we required. Thus armed we must take advantage and get our money’s worth.

The first on our list was Chessington World of Adventures. Mainly because, if you recall, Éowyn had asked to go to the zoo and see a tiger (and a giraffe(!)). Chessington World of Adventures begun life as a zoo in 1931 and although the theme park that has developed around it (since 1987) is possibly more famous it still retains an impressive collection of animals (around 1,000) including the all important tiger (two actually, Sumatran to be specific) although sadly no giraffes!

We only spent a few hours at Chessington (with a Merlin pass it doesn’t matter, you can always come back!) and only really concentrated on the zoo (and food) side of the park. Viewing the zoo through adult eyes is never a good thing and in places I felt that it showed its age and is indicative of the sorry state of zoos around the world; a male lion (albeit of the Asiatic subspecies) with a single lioness a pride does not make! But the wonder on Éowyn’s face as she saw a tiger pace inches away from her on the other side of a glass window is what you need to take away. Her fear when the male lion roared to warn the lioness away from his food is something that can not be captured in a book, or even on the best of the wildlife documentaries. There is something primeval that is triggered when you hear big cat roar, the part of the brain that remembers being on the menu.

She thoroughly enjoyed the zoo and kept talking about the lions and the tigers (‘The daddy lion roared: Get away from my Dinner! I was scared‘). Chessington also has a monorail (called the Safari Skyway) that travels over the zoo and so while Lucinda fed Amélie (who was as good as gold all day), Éowyn and I took the circular route over the cages. Not exactly the best view but it was a good trip for Éowyn especially since most of the rides in the area we were in, were unsuitable for her. I think that was the impression that we took from Chessington that it is probably a little too old for Éowyn but a good alternative than taking her to a dedicated zoo.

In order to make a Merlin Pass pay, you do not have to go to the attractions that many times. In fact for us, twice. Hence we are already in profit as the following week we headed to Legoland. Now I love Lego. I loved Lego as a boy and still love Lego now. Not obsessed by it as some people I may mention but I think it rightly deserves the title of Toy of the 20th Century, but I was intrigued on how a whole theme park based around Lego would work. Now interestly, since it was Éowyn requesting to see tigers that took us to Chessington, Legoland is actually built on the site of what was Windsor Safari Park and was the world’s second Legoland (after the one in Denmark). It is the third most visited theme park in the UK (after Alton Towers and Thorpe Park – both included in the Merlin Pass) and most importantly is aimed a three to 12 year olds. Thus making it ideal for Éowyn and her friends and more likely that we will return regularly.

Again, we only spent a couple of hours around Legoland (because we can) and thus just scratched the edge of the park (I was surprised how big it actually is). However this time Éowyn did manage to go on some rides. Far from being scared, which we thought she might be, she loved it and didn’t want to get off when each of the rides had finished. We had feared that half way around the track she would have been asking to get off or to stop the ride. Nope. Not our little Éowyn; Again!’ was the cry.

The hot weather has bought out the huge mosquitoes again. Where there is pleasure there must be pain. We seem to have a number of different species around our corner of the globe, with the biggest being close to an inch long with stripes along thieir . Who needs to go to the zoo when you have tigers in Stanwell Moor. That drone at night when you are just about to drop off to sleep is one of the most annoying noises in Christendom.

Éowyn has taken another step in her development this week. She had her first plaster put onto a cut. She fell over while out with our childminder and Jo put a plaster on her elbow. Éowyn was very proud of it and very upset when Daddy took it off to look at the ‘wound’. She didn’t cry because it hurt when I took the plaster off, as I thought she might, but because it was her plaster and she wanted it back on. I am such a cruel Daddy! Then on Good Friday Lucinda and her brothers took all the cousins to Woking Leisure Pool. A great time was had by all and both Éowyn and Amélie loved it but on leaving the pool, Éowyn slipped and cut her toe. The lifeguard was very good with her and gave her another plaster. They are obviously badges of honour now!

Before I leave you, a quick ‘Happy Birthday’ to Nanny Fran for last Wednesday, and for those of you interested we are hoping that our kitchen will be finished before Friday’s Royal Wedding. It will be bliss to have, not only, a working kitchen but the rest of our house back.

Peace and Love

Baggie

Safety first!

I like driving in my car!

Watch out!

My first queue for my first ride!

Hello Dad!

Pooped!

Wheeee!

More!

Do we have to leave?

It started innocently!

Twisted Firestarter

Now that’s what I call a fire!

Just as I was about to post this update I received some bad news, hence the slight delay. A friend and colleague Marc Aberson passed away on Easter Sunday. He had a heart attack while cycling with friends near his home in Gloucestershire. He was 48 years old (although until his memorial service we were not sure. It appears that he had told a number of different people, with different ages, that he was the same age as them. It brought a smile to our faces when we found out!).

I have worked with Marc for nearly 14 years and was a hard-working bloke, always willing to help and get stuck in. Nothing seemed to phase him at work and he always had a smile on his face. He has been a mainstay of our VT department during that time (even while he studied for his degree) and has trained many of the guys that have passed through our doors. He was a true gentleman and will be sorely missed. He leaves a partner and two sons; our thoughts are with them. Sleep well Marc.

The fourth Sunday of Lent

Sunday 17th April 2011Friday 11th May 2012Baggie

It seems a while since I last afforded you an update, this is in contrast with my regularity so far this year. For this I apologise but bear with me, I have a lot to fit in.

As you may guess from the title, the update starts with Mother’s Day (Mothering Sunday as it always used to be known). Mother’s Day (in the UK) is always the fourth Sunday of Lent. And as we all know Lent is the period of preparation that starts 40 days before Easter. Now what you may not know is that Easter Sunday is always the first Sunday after the first full moon after the Vernal Equinox. As there was a full moon just before the Vernal Equinox this year Easter (and hence Mother’s Day) was nearly as late as it can be and so Mother’s Day coincidenced with the first weekend in April. See you learn something everytime you pop by here.

Mother’s Day started off a little quiet. Éowyn (with a little help from me) made Lucinda breakfast in bed and then myself and the girls crept downstairs to allow Lucinda a well deserved lie in. Later we headed the short distance to Nanny and Grandad’s (the other end of the street) for the afternoon (and Sunday Lunch). Both of Lucinda’s brothers and their families came and so it was a house full for Lucinda’s mum on Mother’s Day – not exactly relaxing. However, it was good for everyone to be there (and I think Lucinda’s mum enjoyed it) and we didn’t see the children (Éowyn included) for the entire time we were there as the little group of cousins entertained themselves. I have said it before but it is great to see how close all the cousins are and how they include Éowyn in their games.

It has been a little eventful for Éowyn over the last couple of weeks, all of them stages of growing up. Potty training is still going slowly and we had a little set back when she suffered from an acute bout of tummy upset. I think you all know what I mean. I think that has knocked her confidence and so no big girl pants at the moment. We have also converted her cot into a bed. (For those of you not in the know. When we moved Éowyn from her moses basket we placed her in a cotbed (a cot that becomes a bed when you take the sides off) that should see her through to about her 5th year. For months we have been trying to take the side off her bed so that it was more like a big bed, however she has resisted this furiously and got quite upset whenever we did remove it.) This was mainly due to her trying to retrieve a toy that had fallen out of bed. The first we heard of her attempting to get out of bed was a loud thud followed by Éowyn crying. We rushed upstairs to find her on the floor and when we asked her what had happened she told us she was climbing out of bed. We therefore had no choice and immediately took the side off her bed. We have replaced it with a bed guard (so she is not totally exposed) but apart from a couple of half-hearted groans she has taken the change in her stride although she hasn’t yet fully taken advantage of the fact that she can get in and out of bed. We are, however, prepared for this and have fitted a child gate at her bedroom door so that she can’t sneak out of her bedroom at night.

We have also had to recently introduce the naughty step. Éowyn is not by nature a naughty child but we have had to introduce the punishment because of the seriousness of her actions. She has begun to open the front door and run off. The reasons for the escapement are numerous: ‘Just looking for some Bees, Daddy.‘ ‘I’m going fishing.‘ ‘There was a cat and I want to stroke it.‘ She has always enjoyed opening the door for guests (both arrivals and departures) and we have no problem with this as it gives her a sense of control, but obviously just opening the door and running off needs to be nipped in the bud. Hence the use of the naughty step.

Éowyn has also turned composer. She followed Lucinda into the kitchen and asked her for some crisps. Lucinda said that she had already had a packet of crisps that day so she could not have another packet. ‘But I need them.‘ she said. Lucinda again said that she couldn’t have them. ‘But I love crisps.‘ she reiterated. Again Lucinda denied the request. So Éowyn walked off to her keyboard and begun playing the keys singing: ‘I love crisps, I love crisps, I love crisps in yellow packets‘. Genius! Unfortunately we didn’t film it otherwise it may have become a bigger hit than Friday by Rebecca Black. We have recently been trying to educate Éowyn with music in an attempt to wean her off the television. Her current favourites seem to be The Beach Boys, The Monkees and Wham! (Wake me up before you go go, is her current favourite). So maybe we are nuturing a talent, one that neither Lucinda nor I have.

We do, of course have a second daughter. Amélie is now enjoying her food (well she is a Bagnall!). It was a little bit of a battle at first (which is understandable) but now she is loving the different flavours and textures and the extra intake means that she is down to four bottles of Neocate a day. She is also still sleeping through the night (no teething episodes lately – and still no teeth) which is bliss. However she is still a little lazy. She occasionally rolls, and has got herself into the crawling stance once but it is not regular and neither is she sitting. We will probably reminisce about these halycon days when she does start crawling and getting into things.

It is fortunate that she is not crawling at the moment since we are having our kitchen ripped out and replaced. There is a thin film of plaster dust that is coating everything and we are living out of one room and washing the cutley and crockery in the bathroom sink. It is not the most pleasant way to live but it is only for a couple of weeks and we are quite excited about having a new kitchen with an oven that works evenly.

Hopefully it will all be sorted by the Easter weekend and the swarm of Bank Holidays (if that is indeed the collective noun for a group of Bank Holidays) that are coming up with a late Easter, May bank holiday and a Royal Wedding. Fingers crossed the weather will stay fine and it will make the tidying up much more pleasant giving us the chance to air the house and we can send Éowyn to play in her new wendy house (photo below). For with Bank Holidays and Teacher Training Days it will be six weeks between school days for Éowyn when she returns on the 6th May!

Meanwhile enjoy the photos and look out for the milestone update next time.

Peace and Love

Baggie