Coincidence

An extra day deserves an extra post!

Wednesday 29th February 2012Friday 2nd March 2012Baggie

It only happens once every four years, and it is the first time that it has happened while I have been writing this blog, so it deserves a whole write up to itself. As you may know the leap day is an extra day added to most years that are divisible by 4 (except, of course, ‘end of century‘ years that are not divisible by 400). This is to take into account the fact that the Earth does not take 365 days to revolve around the Sun. In fact, the Earth takes 365 days, 5 hours, 49 minutes and 16 seconds to complete its journey around our local star hence the need for the additional day to keep our fragile grasp on notional time in sync with nature. Therefore our calendar repeats itself every 400 years, which is exactly 20,871 weeks which includes 97 leap days. These 97 days are divided thus: 13 times on a Sunday, Tuesday or Thursday, 14 times on a Friday or a Saturday and 15 times on a Monday or a Wednesday. In 2012 we find that the leap day is on a Wednesday, which I suppose is statistically most likely.

This is also Éowyn and Amélie’s first leap day and thus the first one I have celebrated as a father. I have celebrated nine previous leap days and have not given them much thought but as I enter double figures and because this website is all about our children and our growing pains of parenthood, momentous occasions, like a leap day should be celebrated.

So what happened on Wednesday 29th February 2012?

Our first family Leap Day found this Bagnall enclave in four different places. Lucinda at work (Heathrow airport), Amélie at Nanny and Granddad’s (Stanwell Moor), Éowyn at pre-school (Staines) and once I had dropped the girls off I headed to work (Chiswick). Lucinda had a 0530 shift start so was up at 0430 and out the house by 0500. Amélie decided that the house should all be awake at 0400 so Lucinda missed out on 30 minutes of sleep and I on 3 hours. Amélie seems to have fallen into the habit of waking up early and then crying. We have tried the controlled crying (which is difficult because listening to your child crying is never easy and her cot is still in our room) but Amélie notches it up a gear when that doesn’t work and issues forth the most piercing scream that is only usually heard when you trap your fingers in a collapsing deckchair. There is nothing wrong with her, she just wants to be cuddled. We need to address this before the lack of sleep causes us severe problems! We have a plan!

The dull overcast sky did nothing to help with the monotony of the drive into work and the heavy eyelids fighting those missing three hours of sleep however as I came off the M3 onto the A316 ahead I saw a Honda Civic. I recognised part of the registration plate as one of my colleagues and a quick hands-free conversation later he realised who was tailgating him and we continued the journey in convoy. I like the coincidental nature (possibly even synchronicity) of this seemingly mundane occurrence. For not only were our cars half a second apart (and in the same lane), we both drive the same make of car and we sit on adjacent desks (and until recently did the same job on opposite shift patterns). He drives in from Southampton and thus doesn’t really have a choice regarding road into Chiswick but I have 3 main roads I could chose from and the M3/A316 combination is the longest of the three. However, I had heard that traffic was particularly bad (it is always quite heavy heading into London at rush hour) on the alternatives so I went for the long way round, trusting that it would be the quickest, I wasn’t expecting to see anyone I knew. I have no idea of the odds involved but I would hazard a guess that they are exactly one million to one for as everybody knows (thanks to Terry Pratchett’s novel Mort) that million to one chances happen nine times out of ten.

Unfortunately nothing quite as exciting happened for the remainder of the day and after a very meeting-centric day at work I headed home really feeling the continuing lack of sleep. So once the girls were abed (after I had to play fairies and Peppa Pig with Éowyn – she has taken to wanting us to play with her and her toys before going to bed rather than having a story read to her) myself and Lucinda sat down for about an hour before heading to bed ourselves. It is all glamour and parties in the Bagnall household on a Leap Day, don’t you know!

This is a bit of a diversion from the usual write up and so there are no photos I’m afraid especially since it is only a couple of days since the last update and 18 photos! (Hey, it only happens once every four years). I will leave you now and go and put some of The Monkees’ tunes on to celebrate the life of Davy Jones, who died of a heart-attack at his Florida home on this Leap Day aged 66. Our thoughts are with his family.

Peace and Love

Baggie

Not the Pox you are looking for…

Wednesday 13th July 2011Thursday 14th July 2011Baggie

With renewed determination another update appears. The key, I have come to the conclusion, is not to wait for something interesting to happen and then write about it; rather write about what happened and try to make it interesting. That may seem like just semantics to you but it is actually a complete change in direction. Let us see how it works in practise.

Following the great kitchen upgrade, we have decided that the dining room and lounge are in need of some TLC. With a quote for flooring under our belt, we have decided that before the new flooring goes down the walls (and ceiling) need a lick of paint. One job leads to another though and in order to paint the walls, the furniture needs to be moved; in order for the furniture to be moved, they need to be emptied of stuff. The big question is where do you put the stuff. That is where we are at. Plastic boxes of stuff with furniture in the middle of the room, with newly painted walls. All this while entertaining two small children and still doing all the things that one has to do (go to work, cook meals, go shopping, etc).

Fortunately, we thought, Éowyn is at school and so with some fortune, Amélie will be asleep and we can crack on with it. However, those plans were scuppered before they could be put into action. Friday morning Lucinda took Éowyn to Playbox, as usual, however it wasn’t long before she received a phonecall. They had noticed that Éowyn had a rash across her chest and abdomen and were concerned that it was Chicken Pox. Lucinda was asked to collect her and keep her at home for the next couple of weeks. Obviously concerned it was Chicken Pox we stocked up on Calamine lotion and waited for the spots to scab over and the itching to start, not to mention worrying about whether Amélie was about to come down with it too.

We kept an eye on the spots but when they did not develop as we expected our concern changed and with our doctor’s surgery closed for the weekend we phoned NHS direct. After going through Éowyn’s symptoms it seems that she has still avoided Chicken Pox and was diagnosed with a non-specific viral rash. Very common (and something Éowyn has had before – but not on the scale she had at the weekend) among toddlers (in fact a child of a friend of ours, also had one over the same weekend!) it was just that Playbox were duly concerned and the rash seemed to emulate the initial symptoms of Chicken Pox (i.e. similar looking spots, in the same areas that Chicken Pox begins). The spots began to fade by Wednesday (as we were told they would) and so Éowyn is still waiting for her first childhood illness and we have an unopened bottle of Calamine lotion.

With Éowyn (and Amélie) in the clear Lucinda and I could take advantage of an offer I received with my car insurance. In order to retain my custom, my car insurance firm offered me a night in a hotel to be taken by the end of July. Unfortunately most of the hotels in the scheme did not include weekends, however we found a hotel in Didsbury in Manchester. I spent three years in Manchester (at university) and so thought that this was a fortuitous coincidence to show Lucinda my old stomping ground.

Nanny Fran and Auntie Liz kindly agreed to look after Éowyn and Amélie so we could have a child free night! Therefore we headed up to West Bromwich after I finished work so that we could spend one night with Nanny Fran and Auntie Liz before abandoning the kids! Éowyn was extremely excited about seeing Nanny Fran and tried to stay awake for the car journey. However, we told her that we would wake her when we arrived at Nanny Fran’s so she would drop off. That placated her and she duly fell asleep. There was no need to wake her when we arrived at West Bromwich for as soon as we came up the ramp at junction 1 of the M5 a little voice in the back piped up, ‘Are we at Nanny Fran’s?‘

We had one errand to do before leaving for Didsbury, which was to open a bank (well building society) account for Amélie. This took longer than we expected but found ourselves on the road for about 1130. Coincidentally one of Lucinda’s university friends, Ruth, was getting married. She lives on the outskirts of Chester so we had toyed with the idea of dropping off her card and pressie and spending the afternoon in Chester before heading across country. However, fate intervened and plans had to change. A lorry jack-knifed on the M6, shedding its load and closing the motorway. Our route north was blocked and the surrounding A roads were congested. After sitting in traffic for 90 minutes we happened across a pub and decided to refuel (ourselves) and take a break. An hour later we rejoined the congestion and finally arrived in Didsbury over 5 hours later, a journey that should have taken just over one hour. Not a great start.

We checked into the hotel and headed to the room. Imagine our disappointment when we opened the door to find the pokiest little room this side of Europe! After the journey from hell it was the last thing that we wanted. So we headed for reception and inquired about an upgrade. Twenty pounds was the fee to change and aren’t we glad we did. The room we were upgraded to didn’t even look like it belonged in the same hotel as the first: a spacious room with a four poster bed and a generous bathroom. A score well spent!

We decided that we would spend our night of freedom having a meal and a night at the cinema, simple pleasures that are usually denied to us due to requiring a babysitter. We wandered into Didsbury and found a promising looking Thai restaurant (The Laughing Buddha – would highly recommend if you are in the area, we thought that the service was excellent and the food divine) and not too far from the cinema where we booked tickets to see Transformers 3 (in 3D) – not the most intellectual of films but good fun nonetheless.

Saturday morning we took the number 43 bus into Manchester City centre. The route took us down Wilmslow road into Oxford Road, through Withington, Fallowfield, Rusholme (the curry mile) and the University itself, my aforementioned stomping ground. Obviously this is out of student term time so the hustle and bustle of those areas was missing but it brought back memories even though there are a number of new buildings that have sprung up in the intervening decade(s)! Lucinda was impressed with Manchester City Centre and even begun talking about going back for another visit. It has changed since my days but there was enough that remained (of the layout and my memory) for us to explore without getting too lost! We ended up in the closing down sale of Habitat (one of those retailers that have gone to the wall in 2011!) and there were four oak dining chairs. With the dining room upgrade very much on our brains and such good quality chairs going for a bargain we ended up parting with our hard earned cash.

So a quick bus journey back to Didsbury to pick the car up and then we drove into Manchester City Centre to pick them up. Thankfully we didn’t have the kids in the car, else they would not have fitted. So, I can see the question that is forming, how did we gt them back home? The answer is not yet. After an uneventful journey back to West Bromwich (it really only takes just over an hour) via the Trafford Centre (just for a look!) we parted company with the chairs (thanks again Nanny Fran!) and swapped them for the children!

While we were in Manchester Éowyn and Amélie had a whale of a time with Nanny Fran and Auntie Liz. They went to visit their Great-Grandma, this really cheered my Nan up and thoroughly enjoyed holding Amélie however Éowyn was not so compliant and acted all shy around her ancestor, refusing to go and sit with her. She can be shy and she so rarely sees her Great-Grandma so perhaps it is understandable. Something we will have to try and rectify. Nanny Fran then took Éowyn for a haircut, well trim at her local hairdressers and a treat with a trip to Sandwell Valley Farm.

Although Nanny Fran and Auntie Liz enjoyed looking after the youngest members of the Bagnall family, they were undoubtedly glad to hand them back so that they could get some rest.

Although the trip wasn’t as relaxing as it should have been (over 5 hours in a car to complete a journey that was going to take just over one hour); we didn’t get to surprise Ruth and on the journey back to the Moor noticed I had a slow puncture, so have had to fork out on new tyres we want to thank Nanny Fran and Auntie Liz for giving us the night off and a lie in! We had a really nice meal and got to go out together (without children) for the first time since Amélie was born. So thank you. (and thank you for storing our chairs until we get our dining room sorted!)

Enjoy the photos and hopefully update you soon

Peace and Love

Baggie

Look at me!

What you doing?

Where’d she go?

Hmmm, Smarties and Ice-Cream!

Maybe it’s big horse I’m a Londoner!

Why the big bird?

Hello Great-Grandma

Leave me alone!

The Rabbit!

Enjoying the summer

Enjoying cake!

Enjoying life

Daddy!

I’m incognito!

Snoozin’

The clocks go back

Tuesday 2nd November 2010Wednesday 3rd November 2010Baggie

The last Sunday of October always heralds the advent of winter, the annual flip back to Greenwich Mean Time and darker nights. It can be no later than it was this year, Halloween, but it still doesn’t sweeten the fact that end of another year is hurtling into view. The end of British Summer Time usually means an extra hour in bed, but as anyone with small children will confirm the juvenile circadian rhythm is oblivious to the precepts of the human construct of hours, minutes and seconds, especially for anyone under the age of 13!.

Quite possibly, some of you may have noticed that October 2010 contained 5 Fridays, 5 Saturdays and 5 Sundays and you may have received an e-mail or a well-meaning associate may have informed you that this combination only occurs once in 823 years. If you still have it, take a peek at your 2004 calendar or indeed wait until you receive your 2021 calendar you will find that the Octobers of those years also have 5 Fridays, 5 Saturdays and 5 Sundays. Indeed any month that has 31 days has three consecutive days that occur five times that month. Don’t believe me? Check your calendar out. ‘Ah!’ I hear you cry, ‘But not Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays!’ Look at January 2010 I cry back! It is not as rare as you think. Coincidentally October 2004 was the month that Lucinda and I met, but enough of these temporal tidbits and horometrical hypothesizing and back to the matter in hand.

I have now been back at work for a fortnight and although it is difficult spending all day at work then coming back home and helping look after the kids and the house, I think that Lucinda has had the harder task. Looking after two small children on your own is not easy and work, though manic, is not in the same league as looking after two small children. At least I get to have adult conversations (most of the time) and don’t have think and do everything for others, OK at least I don’t have to feed them!

Michaelmas half term, is traditionally the time of the great Puncknowle family holiday and this year was no different, except that the Bagnalls were not there. Unfortunately as I have only just returned to work and the latest addition is not a month old we decided not to go (at least there would be another bedroom available for others). However this meant that there was no close family support for Lucinda, something that did concern me.

A solution did present itself though. My sister had already taken the week of half term off as holiday and with my mom still not back at work a trip to Nanny Fran for my girls beckoned. This meant that Lucinda had some support, my mom and sister got to spend some time with the kids and I could spend a week concentrating on work trying to catch up with thousands of e-mails I had received whilst off on paternity leave. I think that it all helped and by both of us recharging our batteries (in different ways) it makes the challenge of raising two children seem a little easier.

It helps too that Amélie, is increasingly sleeping between feeds, especially at night. Not every feed and not every night but enough for us (and by that I mainly mean Lucinda) to be able to grab 2 to 3 hours of sleep between feeds. Hopefully this can only get better.

As I mentioned in the opening paragraph, this last weekend was Halloween. Éowyn, being the popular child that she is, was invited to two Halloween parties. Hence she needed an outfit, please see below for her Pumpkin outfit! Amélie had to have one too, but I think she is a little young to appreciate it!

Éowyn’s speech is extremely well-developed, she strings quite complex sentences together and apes whatever she hears. You have to be conscious of this, especially if cursing but with any colloquialisms, because Éowyn will repeat it a couple of days later, much to your horror. She is also very adept at reading. OK, I say reading she recognises some words (17 on her flash cards – and a number in books) but she will pick up books and point to the words and read them out. Whether this is reading, or just excellent recall is debatable but nevertheless she will pick books up, point at the words she knows and read them aloud. She will turn the pages, and either recall the story that you have previously read to her, or make one up using the pictures. Sometimes the story that she retells is completely different to that in the book, but they always make sense and with regards to some of the ‘In the Night Garden’ books her stories are quite often far better.

OK, it has been a while so I will stop there and let you enjoy the photos.

Peace and love

Baggie