Season of mellow fruitfulness . . .

It's the autumnal light and leaves making me feel all poetic - definitely my favourite time of year. Until the mornings get really dark that is. I cannot believe another week has passed and that Miss A has been at school for almost a whole month now, quite amazing. It's been a good week:
Monday - Miss I and I (yes, that is right) went swimming for free at the leisure centre courtesy of the Family Centre. Strictly speaking I suppose not much swimming took place for either of us but we enjoyed a splash around and a sociable hot chocolate afterwards.
Tuesday - Miss I and I entertained friends E and E, who brought home made tomato chutney and cavorted around the house and we set the world to rights
Wednesday - Miss I and I joined a select group of Reception mums (it was all mums) at the leisure centre for the first coffee morning to get to know each other. A great idea, we hope to rotate the day too - and we've even got an evening out planned as well - my social life will improve!
Thursday - today was a cycle ride to the canal to meet J and S, and enjoy a morning up in their new cafe which is lovely. The volunteer staff there suggested the venue could be used by a mother and toddler group - immediately my mind started pondering - could it be a Young Transition meeting place or a green parent gathering? All these possibilities!
In the evening I had an exciting outing to Littlehampton to talk with the NCT about setting up a Cloth Nappy Library in Chichester which is very exciting, and I will be promoting it with Transition Chichester. Apparently nappies are now cutting edge - imagine!
Friday - Back to Maraca Jacks which Miss I enjoyed, actually I think she enjoyed the gingerbread theme the most as she got to eat one at the end. After school Miss A tried her new ballet class which was very exciting and she really took to it, so we have signed up for the rest of the term. I then had another night out (yes I know, two nights in a row), this time to the Guide Leaders Division AGM in the local village hall, with a great quiz (we came second!) and a ploughmans and pudding, and I was finally awarded with my 20 year service badge, so really thrilled about that.
Saturday - all these late nights catching up with me, but we pottered to the market and our favourite local tea room, and then in the afternoon went to Bognor to meet B, E and P for scooting and fish and chips - such a perfect afternoon for this. And then a third night out (I need some sleep now) with friend H in the Ship Hotel - very civilised and 3 hours of gossiping.
Sunday - this morning was swimming with Miss A, who is still enthusiastic about it, and then a trip up to the Open Air Museum for duck feeding and seeing the new house they've built.
Everyone will sleep well tonight I think!
The week ahead doesn't look much quieter but I'm pleased that it's all things I enjoy and have chosen to do.

Almost the weekend

I am feeling rather fit this week. Lots of walking and cycling to and from school. And despite the rather torrential rain we had on two days this week, still managing to use the bike trailer which fortunately keeps both Miss I and Miss A cosy and dry. Today I walked to and from school, then cycled up to our Family Centre (for singing with signs), in the afternoon walked around town with Miss I in the sling for almost an hour, and then cycled up to school for pick-up. I think therefore I deserve the bag of Montezuma's dark chocolate buttons I have just opened (oops, I appear to have eaten half the bag all by myself). In other news this week:

Delighted that I won the Arun Speakers Humorous Speaking Contest last night - with my speech titled 'Let Sleeping Husbands Lie'. It involved screw drivers, the milk man and a smoke alarm that kept beeping. The next stage is the Area contests in October. I've entered the other type of contests before but never this one, so was surprised and pleased to win.

Looking forward to Saturday, when Transition Chichester host their annual Green Fair, and I will be part of the inaugural Speakers Corner, giving a presentation on Green Parenting. Must practise!

Pleased to have got tickets to take Miss A to see 'How to Catch a Star' at the Havant Spring Arts Centre in October. She's enjoying the book from the library.

I was amused at our trip to the Dentist this week. Miss A coped with the dentist inspecting all her teeth and was pleased with herself that she passed with flying colours. She took along Zippy (with the zippy mouth) and presented him to the dentist. The dentist entered into the spirit of things and duly inspected Zippy's mouth.

Less amused that my waterproof coat seems to have developed a significant leak in the shoulders, which is unfortunate when riding a bicycle as you get rather wet. Or, VERY wet. I will be having a chat with Rohan about this issue.

I thought she'd be tired

The school run!

Everyone said she'd be tired when starting school. Could someone tell Miss A that she's meant to be tired please? Into her second full week, yesterday she bounced home and initiated a party to celebrate Miss I turning 11 months. Attired in a 60 year old bridesmaid dress. Miss A, that is, not Miss I. She found her book on world flags and started reading it to me. 'Mummy what is this country?' 'Kazakhstan'. 'What's this one?' ' Turkmenistan'. 'And this one?' 'I've no idea'. It was Kyrgyzstan. I am choosing a different page next time.

Today in the pouring rain I did take pity on her and took the bike trailer to pick her up. After school then we had to make and play pass the parcel while Miss I gazed around and wondered where her peace and quiet had gone.

Tomorrow we have the dentist. I wonder who will show the dentist the most teeth? Miss I has 3 now.

In other news: TH (that's Tolerant Husband, also now know as Absent Husband) is in Solihull on a work conference. I have dreams of a night or two in a hotel, with a gym, where someone else cooks and serves dinner to me. Bliss.

Tonight I have made date and walnut flapjacks, and a chick pea and potato curry (with hidden spinach). I see on the BBC that infants (aged 4 - 6) are to get free school meals from next September. The thought of not having to make packed lunches every day is appealing. But having seen some of the school dinners at Miss A's nursery, I am not entirely convinced of their nutritional value, certainly the vegetarian options are unimaginative and fairly unbalanced. And I cannot understand why they need pudding every day. Maybe if more people are using them the menu will improve.

Peace and quiet

They are lovely, really they are. But it's so peaceful when they are both asleep!! Today was another good day all round. We managed the walk to school (it's 1.25 miles each way so Miss A is doing well), and then I stayed for the Friends Coffee Morning - I had to do a good impression of being a grown up responsible type of mother. Fortunately there were several other mothers also attempting to make this impression and it was quite sociable. Miss I enjoyed an illicit biscuit and threw some bricks around. After a nap (bliss) and lunch we walked into town - I'd forgotten quite how easy it is with one in the sling - you can walk as quickly as you like and go to whichever shops you want. I could even get into Montezuma's - and they said 'would you like to try some chocolate?' - what a silly question!! After school we went to the park and then it was home for more blackberry picking before tea and baths.

I went swimming tonight which was lovely and peaceful, hadn't been for ages and a quick 30 minutes does make you feel more awake. While ploughing up and down the lanes spent my time usefully pondering where to go on holiday in February half term. Having just booked our French cottage for October half term it pays to plan ahead for these things! TH (who I am now going to refer to as the Tolerant Husband) is on about booking the ferries for next August - now that's forward planning. By the way, while I was swimming - TH (got that?) was left in charge of the girls - he went into the garage, shut the door and embarked on some welding on the Minor van. Does the baby monitor work with a welding mask on??

Now to retire with the latest issue of the Green Parent magazine and some Montezuma's dark chocolate buttons (does this count as product placement? will they give me any free samples?).

Back to school

It's taller than Miss A!

In our case, not so much back to school as starting school. But there is a certain familiarity about September, and a new term, and getting back into a routine which suits us all. I have been so impressed by Miss A's enthusiasm for her new school and really hope it continues. She has managed PE, eating her lunch, remembering to bring her books home to read, learning the names of her new friends in the class, she chose something for 'show and tell', and is now confidently going in by herself each morning. Yesterday apparently she was Class Monitor. She'll have them organised in no time. At the end of school she came out wearing her swimming goggles (from show and tell) as she'd run out of hands. She looked very funny.

Meanwhile Miss I has been making the most of the peace and quiet. We have tidied the house which was looking a bit worse for wear of 6 weeks holiday. Yesterday we returned to our normal Monday morning playgroup and lunch with J and S. It was so quiet!! It's so wonderful when she has a good long sleep at home and I can actually get caught up on things.

Good things about this week:
It's sunny again.
The plums are finally ripening on our tree so we can share them with the neighbours.
I almost have a social life again! Last week I went to one of the Transition Chichester Eco-cinema talks to hear Nicola Peel speak, and on Wednesday it was the first meeting for Arun Speakers. On Sunday we went to see Alpha Papa, and on Thursday we're off to the Festival Theatre to see Neville's Island. This season of films at New Park looks like one of the best ever. I plan to be there a lot on the darker evenings.

Not so good things about this week:
Miss A has already ruined one of her new polo shirts with some unidentified orange stain. It hasn't come out in the wash. Oops. We've also lost one of her new socks. And a water bottle.
The smoke alarm battery went off at 2am last night. Because it's linked to the mains, it keeps beeping and getting louder and louder until you change it. It's very persistent. The girls slept through it.
Miss I is teething with her two top front teeth. We've seen each other a lot at night.
Miss A hoovered up her new school hair ribbons. Cue tears. Fortunately Daddy was able to persuade the hoover to return the ribbons to their rightful owner.