There's always a solution

I wouldn't call myself lazy or anything but I certainly like to indulge in a bit of shut eye.

Nap? Yes please.

Early Night? You betcha.

It's always been with good reason though; shift work, heavy going studies, pregnancy, disturbed sleep (thanks to the A-Bomb), dodgy thyroid. But now I find myself all out of excuses.

It was a few weeks ago that AC, fed up of spending his evenings alone playing scrabble and listening to Enya, raised his concerns about my having the same bed time as the kids. I gave him the 'I look after three young children all day' speech but he responded with the 'There's always a solution' speech.

A couple of days later came my inspired solution. First chance I had I told AC of my master plan: I go for a jog in the early evening to revive myself... and you put the kids to bed while I'm out! AC thought it a great idea – GET IN.

So most evenings, adorned in my Edward t.shirt, I escape the chaos of bedtime and jog to the Headington roundabout and back (thats a whopping 1.6 miles). My favourite part is the wonderful architecture that marks my half way point, not to mention the 'wonderful' smells that waft from it.

Our Local

I arrive back home feeling rejuvenated and ready for an evening with AC, playing draughts and listening to Barry White. My master plan has indeed proved masterful and my bed time is now a more normal 10.00pm.

AC's Obsession

It started last summer, we were going to see how things went with just the one, but one thing led to another and before I knew it he had loads of the things. Their all over the house, their taking over the bathroom, outstayed their welcome in the kitchen, and their scattered around the garden. He talks about them, reads about them and dreams about them. He bathes them, prunes them and sculpts them.

"Love me, Love my Bonsai"

I think the Bonsai are here to stay. It could be worse though - he could be into football.

The Special Visitor

At Christmas time it's Santa.

At Easter time it's The Bunny.

At 1-3pm on a Tuesday Afternoon it's the Asda Man.

My kids LOVE the Asda Man.

1.00pm

When the kids find out he's coming the kids celebrate with a dance. A tribal-esque routine whereby they hurl themselves around the room stamping their feet as they go.

1.10pm
They're calling his name at the top of their voices and ask "can he hear us?"

1.15pm
Convinced that the Asda Man can hear them they assume their meerkat lookout post on the window ledge taking it in turns to watch.

1.30pm

They begin to grow impatient for his arrival (as do I, I need a chocolate fix) and the tribe turns wild. Scaling the walls, random screams, toys strewn all over the place.

1.52pm
They collapse from exhaustion and just as they begin to doubt there's such a thing as the Asda Man they hear the hum of a the van outside. Then Silence. Overcome with excitement they freeze.

1.55pm

Thankfully it is the Asda Man. I open the front door ready to receive our goods. The tribe stampede toward the door and it takes all my strength to stop them escaping. The A-Bomb manages to squeeze his head past me. Worried that the Asda Man might not be able to find us he gives a deafening yell  'we're over here'. The Asda Man is taken back a little as he's already putting our stuff down on the doorstep for us.

2.00pm

Once everything is inside we say our farewells. As you would expect the tribe are just as zealous in their goodbyes. Fanatical waving, shouts of appreciation, jumping all over the place. The door closes and the kids mount the window ledge once more to catch a last glimpse of the Man as he drives away.

Now it's time to unpack. Immediately the tribe begin to rummage through the bags in search of treats. Of course they have to wait until everything has been put away. Or not.... rather under the guise of helping me bring the food through to the kitchen they sneak what delights they can from the bags and disappear. They reappear only once they've run out of supplies. They come in search of another treat and I oblige because I want a treat too. We all sit on the sofa enjoying our long awaited reward.

Dinner Time

Ever had a Burger King?  Did you like it?

Ever had a Burger King HORN?  You would LOVE it!

One of the perks of having such a distinguished name is the novel meal time possible by a subtle word-play.

Okay, so the kids don't really know what Burger King is so it's really just for us (the parentals). AC's a big fan of Burger King-horn!

With Crowns on and forks to the ready you'd expect our little animals to eat the animals. But they don't. Vegans in the making they eat all but the burger. How utterly disappointing, not least to the animal who sacrificed its life to the burger.

Naturally, AC is happy to mop up any leftovers. 

The most special thing about Burger King-horn isn't the crowns or the carefully prepared food but Daddy's Special Strawberry Milkshakes.  Made with Nesquick Strawberry powder and ice cream - its the closest you can get to drinking plastic.  Best of all it has every e-number a child requires to stunt their growth.

What a hunk of meat.

University Parks

With nothing else planned for the morning except housework, we took a trip into the city centre to explore University Parks.

A view across the park with the chapel of
Keble College in the background.

It had all the necessaries to make it interesting for the kids.... pushchair friendly paths, hiding places galore,  pond with ducks, people walking their dogs, a bridge, squirrels, flowers, mud. All much more enjoyable than tidying the house.

North Walk

We tried to conceal Shemily in this tree but she was having none of it.

The highlight of the trip - The High Bridge.

Admiring the snowdrops.