2016

Amélie’s first visit from the Tooth Fairy

Sunday 30th October 2016Sunday 30th October 2016Baggie

With a recent general write up; a write up for Éowyn’s birthday and one due for the return of the Badger Moot you may not be expecting me to spoil you with another at this time and you would be right. However, as I am sure you can tell from the title, Amélie has recently had one of those special moments that deserves to be relayed without delay to you and it doesn’t seem right and fitting to squeeze it on the end of the Badger Moot – it is much more important than that.

So as the title suggests, (well, more tell you outright rather than suggests) Amélie has lost the first of her deciduous teeth. If you recall, Éowyn lost her first tooth at the beginning of June 2014, 5 months younger than Amélie was on the 28th October 2016 when she lost hers, under more dramatic circumstances (this is Éowyn we are talking about). Éowyn wasn’t mentally prepared for the loss of her tooth that came out while she was eating a corn on the cob for she had not noticed it was loose and so when it came out it freaked her out completely. It took a phone call from Daddy (who was still at work) to calm her down.

Amélie, on the other hand was more than prepared for the loss of her tooth. She had noticed it was wobbly on the last day at school a week before it actually came out. However, this caused Amélie some major concerns mainly because her tooth had become wobbly the day we were due to go to the Badger Moot in deepest darkest Dorset, so if it came out while we were in Puncknowle how would the Tooth Fairy know where she was? (Indeed, who else would know where Puncknowle was?) I am sure, therefore, it was sheer willpower that meant that we had to wait an entire week and our return to Bagnall Manor before her tooth came out. We didn’t have to wait long, it was less than hour after we returned that the tooth fell out. She had obviously dropped the effort of keeping the tooth in and although she had eaten 23 meals since she had noticed it was wobbly the first meal back home finally caused it to fall out. The offending article was a piece of chicken in yellow bean sauce from the local Chinese takeaway that was our welcome home meal.

I was half expecting the spare ribs to be the culprit but as she bit into the chicken it must have loosened because she suddenly spat it out complaining that there was something hard in her chicken and there in the half-chewed meat was her tooth. There was then a moment of panic where she thought that she was going to bleed to death (Amélie can be a little dramatic – but not as dramatic as Éowyn!) but when she realised that she wasn’t bleeding and that it didn’t hurt, she became excited that she was going to receive a visit from the Tooth Fairy.

During the week leading up to the loss of the tooth, Amélie had asked me why do Tooth Fairies collect teeth. This caught me on the hop and I wasn’t quite prepared for the question, so I turned it back round and asked the girls what they thought they did with the teeth. Now I was probably expecting answers such as:

They turn them into money
They turn them into stars
They build their houses out of them
They make them into jewelry
They plant them and grow fairy flowers
They grind them into fairy dust, which they use to fly
They give them to new babies who don’t have any
Or they just collect them

I wasn’t expecting the answer that Éowyn gave: ‘They grind them into powder which they give to the Sleep Fairies who sprinkle it in your eyes to make you sleep at night.‘ I quite like that answer and is far better, or at least more kid-friendly, than some of the ideas that were going through my mind. I have encouraged Éowyn to turn that idea into a story.

So, with her tooth wrapped in a square of toilet paper Amélie was quite happy to take herself off to bed in anticipation of the booty that the Tooth Fairy would bring. She was not disappointed for this was her first tooth so the reward was greater than it will be for subsequent teeth (as it was for Éowyn – you’ll be glad to know that Brexit has yet to affect the tooth exchange rate). Indeed, the next morning Amélie awoke to two shiny pound coins (so shiny they looked like they had been dipped in Cillit Bang) that lay under her pillow in place of her tooth (the Tooth Fairy must have run out of two pound coins). She was delighted with the cash and squirrelled it away.

Amélie’s permanent tooth has already erupted from her gum so it won’t be long until her gap is no more and indeed as it grows out it might push some of the neighbouring teeth out. Will she catch up with Éowyn, who has only lost 4 teeth to date? You will have to keep popping by to find out, for if that happens you can rest assured that I will let you know.

Peace and Love

Baggie

Éowyn’s Eighth Birthday

Friday 28th October 2016Baggie

As you can probably ascertain from the title above, it has been eight years since we became parents welcoming Éowyn into our lives. Yes, our eldest child has completed her eighth circuit around the sun and as the tradition dictates she is entitled to a write up all of her own; this is it. It has been slightly delayed due to the lack of internet in deepest darkest Dorset – but more of that in its own write up.

Éowyn’s birthday fell this year on a Monday, a school day and a Brownie meeting day and unfortunately a day that Daddy was unable to get off work. Therefore, and Amélie had set the precedent three weeks previous, Éowyn decided to stretch this birthday out to encompass the weekend before.

As you may recall, when we had asked the girls if they wanted a party for their birthdays, Amélie had jumped at the chance while Éowyn was nonplussed. Therefore Amélie had her pool party for her birthday celebrations and although Éowyn came she was not allowed to invite any of her friends. Instead, she wanted her two best friends to come for a special party: a trip to the cinema followed by pizza and her only stipulation was that Amélie and Ezra were not invited.

Although I was working on Éowyn’s actual birthday I was off the weekend before. So Éowyn’s birthday celebrations started on the Saturday lunchtime. As luck would have it Ezra had been invited to his own pizza party that Saturday, by his girlfriend for her fourth birthday. So while Mommy took Éowyn and her two best friends: Kavya and Aaliyah to the cinema to watch Storks and Ezra was enjoying his girlfriend’s birthday party, Daddy took Amélie for a special pizza date of our own.

Éowyn and her friends thoroughly enjoyed the cinema but drove Mommy a little crazy at the pizza parlour afterwards as they were hyper on excitement and sugar. Indeed I think Mommy was glad when they had finished their meal and could walk Kavya back home before returning with Eowyn and Aaliyah, as Aaliyah was having a sleepover. They dropped Kavya off and began the walk home when the heavens opened and they were drenched by an Autumnal shower. This drenching did not calm the hyper mood that the girls had got themselves in and we were quite glad when they finally went to bed.

Amélie and Ezra woke at their usual early hour, but thankfully Éowyn and Aaliyah were a little later to rise. Nevertheless they were all up and ready by the time that Nanny Fran and Auntie Liz made their way through the rain and down the M40 to join the second day of Eowyn’s birthday celebrations. Auntie Mary joined us a little later. We allowed Éowyn to open the presents from her Bagnall relatives.

Éowyn has always shown an interest in taking photos. I think I have ruined her chances as a model as I have taken so many photos that she no longer enjoys having her photos taken. Taking photos, however does interest her and she has a natural flair for taking photos. Obviously she has to learn the technicalities but she has an artist’s eye and will quite often take unusual photos because she found the angle interesting. We bought her a kiddie camera a couple of years ago but Nanny Fran thought that it was the right time to buy her a ‘proper’ camera. She had asked Éowyn if there was anything she wanted her camera to do and all that Éowyn asked for was that it had a zoom and it would be nice if it was waterproof. Amazingly Nanny Fran managed to tick both boxes and it was blue! Éowyn was over the moon and immediately began to take photos.

She then wanted to open a few more presents so we allowed her. Taking the newly opened presents she disappeared into her bedroom with Aaliyah to play with her latest bootie.

The third day of birthday celebrations and her actual birthday was the Monday – a school day. She got up early and got ready in double-quick time to open the remainder of her presents before going to school – it is a good incentive.

Now she is 8 and in year 3 it is no longer the done thing to hand out birthday sweets on your birthday so there was no need for Lucinda to meet her at the end of the day with bags of sweets for her classmates. However, after school was her usual Brownie meeting and it is somewhat a different rule: it is expected to bring some treats and fairy cakes fulfilled that criterium.

So although Éowyn did not have a big celebration it was definitely a case of quality over quantity with her best friends and family and presents that she really wanted. Perhaps it is a sign of getting older that she is becoming more discerning. Don’t grow up to quickly Éowyn!

Happy birthday Éowyn

Love Mommy and Daddy

The girls in Staines Upon Thames

The birthday girl

At the Pizza Parlour

October update and a weekend in Bath to celebrate a Silver Anniversary

Friday 21st October 2016Baggie

The three week gap between Amélie’s and Éowyn’s birthdays is usually barren on this website unless there is a major event (and there have been a small number of such instances over the last eight years). This year I thought I would treat you to a bonus update because I am feeling generous, however time has crept upon me so it doesn’t actually bisect but has been snuck in just before the birthday update, and just before the half term holiday.

So, as half term looms into view it is probably a good time to reflect on the school term so far. Both girls still thoroughly enjoy school, although the new school year has taken them both a little time to settle in. Amélie because, as mentioned in a previous post, as you enter year 1 you have to leave the childish ways of Reception behind and become much more disciplined in your learning. So, instead of learning through play and breaking up the working day with unscheduled play breaks, year 1 is much more regimented in lesson structure and it wasn’t just Amélie that was struggling with the change in regime.

Éowyn struggled in the first few weeks for a completely different reason. The school had decided to completely mix up the classes of her year as they moved from year 2 to year 3. Unfortunately for Éowyn, nearly her entire circle of friends were split up (probably because they all talk too much!) and she had to forge new friendships as she entered junior school.

Nevertheless we have just had our first Parents’ evening of the academic year and both girls are doing well. They have no problems with Éowyn’s work and she is an intelligent, enthusiastic girl who always wants to take an active role in lessons, however she is prone to bouts of silliness and talks too much! We will work on that! Amélie, on the other hand is top of her class in everything, exceeding expectations in everything and is a ‘delight’ to teach. I think Lucinda and I are both guilty of thinking that Éowyn is the clever one (and she is naturally very clever and is very questioning, it is just that she has a tendency to laziness mainly because she doesn’t need to try so hasn’t developed the tools to motivate herself to learning) while Amélie is just quiet and gets on with it. Amélie means ‘hard-working’, and Iris means ‘angel’ and she is our hard-working angel!

It is not just school that starts up afresh in September. Both Éowyn and Amélie are part of the Girl Guide movement. Éowyn is in Brownies and Amélie attends the local Rainbow group. They both thoroughly enjoy their respective evenings and neither are ever in a rush to leave the respective church halls at the end of the meetings when we come to collect them. There must be something in the blood both Lucinda and her mum loved Brownies while Nanny Fran was a Brown Owl and a Rainbow leader.

It is not just school that Amélie has had to get used to but as you may remember she is now bespectacled. None of our fears of bullying or resistance from Amélie to wearing her glasses have materialised which is a worry off our mind and we now have a confirmed appointment for the ophthalmologist to start the treatment for her amblyopia. Lucinda did have to do some negotiations with the hospital bookings team however as the first date given coincided with the special something that was alluded to in the post Half term and a trip to Nanny Fran’s but you will have to wait to find out exactly what that is. She was initially told that if she couldn’t do the date given we would have to go back not he waiting list but she explained why we couldn’t make it and they relented giving us an appointment for the following week. Well done Lucinda!

It hasn’t just been school, swimming and girl guides though. Those of you that know me, know that I read Electronic Engineering at Manchester University in the early 1990’s (I, know, I don’t look old enough!). In my final year I shared a house in Longsight with four other lads. We have kept in touch through the years attending each others’ weddings, however that excuse to meet up has dried up and so if we don’t make an effort then the years will pass us by and before you know it a decade or more will have passed.

Life is busy and it can be difficult to arrange these meet ups but inertia is the biggest obstacle. Once the notion has been sown we are all happy to become involved, we just need someone to take the upper hand and start the ball rolling. Up stepped Karl and Sara (in fairness to Karl, mainly Sara) who set up a WhatsApp group, found suitable accommodation and donned the cloak of debt collector to ensure that we all managed to pay on time.

The choice of location was the town of Box, just outside of Bath, in a lovely luxury home called Shockerwick Lodge. Four bedrooms in the main house with a fifth in a log cabin in the garden, it fitted the criteria perfectly. A large lounge and an equally large kitchen completed the layout with the added bonus of not just one but a pair of hot tubs!

We hired the house for two nights and could take ownership on Friday afternoon and had to vacate by Sunday lunchtime, so to make the most of the time I decided to take holiday on the Friday so that we could head down the M4 as soon as the girls left school. This meant that the girls could not attend their Friday after-school clubs and Amélie could not go to Rainbows. In addition they missed their Saturday morning swimming lessons but all were a small price to pay for a weekend of fun, or at least we hoped it would be for the children as much as it would be for me.

The decision to leave as soon as the girls left school was a good one. We missed the heavy Friday night London traffic and it meant that we arrived at the house while it was still light. We were the first ones to arrive and so had the choice of bedrooms and we had the opportunity to explore the house and garden before night fell. Gradually the house filled and the weekend celebrations began.

Although we do not see each other that often it wasn’t long before we were all chatting and mickey-taking as though we were 20 years old. Indeed we sat up until the early hours discussing Brexit, Trump and reflecting on our time in Manchester. I crawled into bed around 03:00 leaving some of them still putting the World to rights.

There was no lie-in for the Bagnalls on Saturday morning though, not with Ezra! So, we were first up and washed and dressed and gradually we all arose proving that we still have the stamina to drink to the wee hours and be up and functioning at a reasonable hour. Which I think surprised us, as much as you dear readers!

A fairly relaxed day followed with the kids getting on extremely well. Éowyn and Amélie got on extremely well with Andy’s eldest daughter, while Ezra latched on to Charlie’s youngest mainly because he had lego and a lightsabre. This definitely puts him high in Ezra’s estimation especially since the lightsabre was modelled on Kylo Ren’s lightsabre replete with the cross beams. (Although Ezra’s current favourite Star Wars character is Darth Maul – I am concerned about my youngest!). Advantage was taken of the hot tubs – mainly by the children but we didn’t just stay in the house. Karl had done some research and found that we were not too far from the Avon and Kennet canal and so we headed in convoy the couple of miles or so for a pleasant walk along the canal looping back to a pub (it would be rude not to!). Then we headed back to house for a repeat of the previous night of drinking and chatting.

Again, we were woken early by Ezra and got up and begun the tidying and packing ready for leaving the house. Éowyn was extremely upset to leave her new friends and we have promised that we will meet up soon, especially since Andy and his family only live a dozen or so miles from us. It is nonsense really that we don’t meet up that often – but,as this website is testament, life can just be a little busy.

Andy and Máire had to leave to get back home but the rest of the party decided that we would try and find somewhere for the remaining 8 adults and 5 children to have Sunday lunch. That proved to be a little difficult, nevertheless we found somewhere along the way and so decided to take a punt. I think it was probably the worse Sunday lunch, if not Pub grub that I have ever had. We waited for what seems like an eternity to receive our food after we ordered it (in reality it was probably close to two hours!) and when it arrived it really wasn’t worth the wait. We were all so hungry that it didn’t matter I think we all managed to eat it and Ezra invented a new favourite. His garlic bread was so dry and hard he dipped it in the gravy boat. Garlic bread and gravy – a winning combination!

We first met 25 years ago and we have all done pretty well for ourselves putting our degrees to good use and I truly believe that we will since be friends in another 25 years we just have to keep this momentum up and not leave it too long before the next Manchester Alumni Moot.

Before I leave you just a quick funny from Ezra. When you are getting him ready for bed he has a tendency to hide, usually under the bedclothes. So the game commences and you loudly province ‘I wonder where Ezra is?‘ And then you eventually discover him under the giggling lump of bedclothes and he thinks it is brilliant. I was playing this game the other night and I loudly pronounce ‘Who is this under the bedclothes?‘

‘Not me!‘ came the reply. I am not entirely sure he has got this hiding malarkey down to a tee yet!

Stand by for an Éowyn birthday write up and see you soon

Peace and Love

Baggie