Cousins

Don’t worry Daddy, it wasn’t a wee; it was just a fart!

Sunday 25th September 2011Baggie

You may be forgiven for thinking that I am falling out of love with this project as the frequency of updates has dropped significantly of late. There was a strong start to the year but it has certainly lessened of late. Is it the fact that I have reached the century and sat back upon my laurels? Nothing quite as prosaic; the culprits are simply the combination of work pressures and wanting to spend time with the family. Work is a necesary evil and this website wouldn’t be this website if I didn’t want to spend time with the family, but with the long winter nights drawing in and Éowyn back at pre-school then there may be more activity in the coming months.

So what has happened through the month of September so far? The month started as it has done for the last 45 years with Lucinda’s brother’s birthday. To celebrate this singular event (note for younger readers: In 1949 RCA Victor produced the first seven inch vinyl discs and because of their five minute recording length became the de facto format for singles. They revolved at 45rpm, hence the pun) the greater Cathrall clan headed into Windsor for a chinese meal. It was good to all get together but I now appreciate the a couple of things slightly more than I did. The first is how difficult it is to enjoy a meal and hold sensible adult conversations while you have one eye on one child (and encouraging her to eat) while you are bouncing the other on your knee. However it does lead to the second: the appreciation of the invention of the chopsticks. When you only have one hand free they are very useful tools for shovelling copious amounts of chinese food into your mouth.

Then came my first weekend off in two months. So it was family time and time to concentrate on sorting the finishing touches to our decoration and on helping Éowyn with her toilet training. Bar a couple of accidents she has done really well so far and wouldn’t even dream of wearing a nappy in the daytime now. Ready in time for the start of the new term and her lengthened days. Last school year she only did two mornings (Mondays and Fridays) at school. With her approaching the age of three we have decided to increase that to two full days with the idea of introducing a third in 2012. Our little girl is growing up. Last year she wasn’t always keen on school and she would often say that she didn’t want to go to school (although she always seemed to enjoy it when she got back and told us what she had been doing that day). This year she seems full of it and looks forward to it every day. This is possibly due to the fact that she is doing full days now and so can settle in more rather than just being there for a couple of hours before we came to pick her up.

To celebrate her first day back at school and her migration to ‘big girl’s knickers‘ we decided to pay another visit to Legoland (the Merlin Pass has definitely earnt its money this year). With many school children back at school Legoland was eerily quiet. It was fantastic. We decided to head straight to the newest ride (and the one that usually has the longest queue) the Atlantis Submarine Voyage. A combination of ride and aquarium with over 50 species of sharks, rays and fish. It was fantastic to watch Éowyn’s face as the submarine (or strictly speaking a semi-submersible) glided through the million litre fish tank looking as sharks swam passed the portholes inches from your face. This was the first time that Éowyn had been out on an extended day trip without wearing a nappy (we were carrying a potty around with us – but being Legoland we didn’t get any strange looks!) and so we were quite conscious of asking her whether she needed to go to the loo. So after the ride we headed to the public conveniences to ensure that it did not slip her mind. Lucinda and Éowyn were both impressed that the toilets in Legoland had smaller bowls for the younger visitors and so Éowyn didn’t feel at a disadvantage when using it.

It was approaching Amelie’s next meal time, so we headed to one of the eateries and the adults had tea while Éowyn enjoyed a glass of milk and an ice cream. Then the heavens decided to open. The UK summer has been particularly bad this year (as predicted by me in May) and so it seems a theme that every visit to Legoland has been a wet one. This one took that one stage further. The rain was literally bouncing off the ground and many of the rides closed while the worst of it passed by. We sheltered for as long as we could (and managed one more ride) then decided that once again after sampling only two rides we would head back to the car park and thence home. We are so glad that we invested in a Merlin pass, it doesn’t feel like quite a waste to turn up and go back home before you have exhausted yourself by queueing for every ride.

Sodden, we decided to head home via the local carvery and take advantage of meat and two (well 6) veg and no washing up. As we got to the restaurant we asked Éowyn if she wanted to use the loo. So off Lucinda trotted with her. A little later she is still fidgeting in her seat, so again Lucinda asks her whether she needs to use the loo. Again, off they trot to the loo. On her return from the loo and across a semi-crowded restaurant she shouts, ‘Don’t worry Dad, it wasn’t a wee; it was just a fart!‘ As all eyes turn to see who she is shouting at you have to laugh don’t you? Some people might find it offensive, but hey we have all been there and better that way around than the alternative!

Both of my girls have been on their best behaviours of late. Éowyn’s recent spell of good cheer has continued of late and her bad behaviour seems to be behind her and her sojourns to the thinking step have been very few and far between. Perhaps it is because she is being treated like a big girl with her ‘big girl knickers‘ added to the fact that we have taken the bed guard off her, bought her a new duvet and given her a night light that she can control from her bed. She is growing up fast. While Amélie is definitely growing up too. She crawls around all over the house getting into everything and emptying whatever is in easy reach all over the floor. The minx! She is also beginning to make tentative attempts to reach up so it may not be long before she starts to cruise. Then the trouble really starts!

Amélie is excellent throughout the day, and has now learnt to settle quickly at night and so by 1930 is usually asleep. However, her internal bodyclock alarm is set to 0530 and wakes every morning at that time. It is becoming a little tiresome for she will not go back to sleep after her bottle and if we are not careful her crying wakes Éowyn so it forces us to take her downstairs which means that we are up too! It is ok for me when I am going to work but poor Lucinda then doesn’t get the chance to go back to sleep for the rest of the day. Thus by the time I get home, knackered, from work and want to sit and relax, Lucinda is ready for bed because she, too, is knackered. Not condusive for a great evening.

Lucinda starts back at work at the weekend (something she is obviously not looking forward to) so with that in mind we have begun to introduce Amélie to Jo, Éowyn’s childminder. Amélie is far more chilled out that Éowyn ever was (that probably says more about us than Éowyn) and was non-plussed with being left with a stranger. Bodes well for the future. While Éowyn was quite happy being the big sister looking after her younger sibling. That is one worry off our minds and Lucinda can concentrate on getting back into the swing of employment. At least she will be practised at getting up for an early shift!

I will bid you adieu and prepare myself for the fact that my youngest child will be 12 months old next week.

Peace and Love

Baggie

Cheeky laugh!

Smiler

Amélie and Daddy

Enjoying the trampoline

Close up

Legoland (before the rain)

Moody popstar

Intense Art

Why wear one pair when you can wear two?

Look how pretty I am!

Getting ready to swing

Close up view of the fish

I hairdressered mommy!

Two more victims, err clients!

Keep smiling girls!

I made this

Look at my hair!

Gardening!

Getting the hang of it

Scootering

That’s it I’m off!

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