In Vogue

The moment breakfast was finished Missy disappeared up to her bedroom and into her 'changing room'. She reappeared a few minutes later adorned in this seasons most sought after outfit - The School Uniform. To Missy's dismay the school dress code prohibits the wearing of jewellery, but being the trend setter that she is (to her sister), Missy accessorised her latest ensemble with the help of a permanent marker. She 'tatooed' her freshly bathed body with thick black markings. Thankfully most were hidden by her cardigan because not even wet wipes could remove her rebellious scribblings... so it was with high spirits she finished readying herself for her first day of school.

The walk to school was a pleasure. Despite being along a main road, the only collision was between the scooter borne A-Bomb and the pavement.

Once in the school playground it was as though I had released a captured guinea pig. Missy vented her excitement by scurrying around the playground at high speed. You would have thought she'd be hard to keep an eye on in a playground full of children dressed exactly the same, but her high pitched squeals made her easier to track.
The school bell rang.

It was with a twinkle in her eye and a tear in mine that we parted. Missy is not naturally confident in new situations and seeing my little girl so full excitement in spite of her apprehensions left me bursting with pride.

The Alnwick Garden

We decided to take the kids somewhere special, somewhere other than the play park, the garden centre, or the nearby field. We had our sights set on The Alnwick Garden. But it's hard to 'big up' an outing to a garden to a 2, 3, and 5 year old. Our announcement of this special trip went down like a lead balloon.

Once there, our first stop was The Serpent Garden; a winding of bushes with a different water sculpture around every bend. It didn't take long for the kids sullen moods to give way to pure excitement.

"In some species, mothers eat their young"
Quote by AC

Once the kids were sufficiently soaked we went in search of more fun, though nothing could compare to the enjoyment they found in being cold and wet. The rest of our time was shared out between The Bamboo Labyrinth, The Rose Garden, finding discreet places to let the children wee, and The Cherry Orchard.

But we couldn't take the kids home without first letting them partake of the fun to be had on the diggers. This was easier said than done. There were eight diggers to be shared amongst the thousands of visitors. Kids can be savage-like when put under such strain. Thankfully The A-Bomb is no different and he was able to secure himself a digger.

Literary Classics

We're keen readers in our house. The most sought after books in our home at the moment are: North and South by Elizabeth Gaskell, Moonfleet by John Meade Faulkner, The Troll by Julia Donaldson, and The Great Tiger Rescue by Missy Kingprawn.

This weekend we discovered a hot new favourite... 

The Argos Catalogue

He's rather protective over it, spends hours browsing it, and even requested  it as his bed time story this evening. 

Infestation

Despite having lived in this house for nigh on 3 months, The A-Bomb is still getting use to it's layout. Yet again he ran full speed into one of the walls and banged his head. I scooped the little blonde bullet into my arms and took him for a cuddle on the sofa- not that he needed it (his head has taken harder knocks than that) but I'll take any excuse for a cuddle.

September 2010: The A-Bombs head did this to the car windowscreen.....
no tears were shed.

On inspection there was no sign of any injury, but there, amongst his soft blonde locks was a HEADLOUSE. Whilst informing the A-Bomb of the discovery Missy informs me that "I had one of those in my hair and I just flicked it away".  Whilst congratulating Missy on being so pragmatic, I immediately checked her hair.

I had identified the host.

I was feeling a little flustered. I knew this time would come but still felt the shock that comes from discovering your childrens heads are infested with blood sucking insects.
It was moments later that I evacuated the kids into the car and departed for the pharmacy in search of a cure.
Walking out of the store with a bottle of Hedrin left me feeling slightly relieved, but I was itching to get this stuff on the kids heads and eliminate the parasites.

I had to bide my time though because it needed to be left to work over night and it was not yet time for bed. In the mean time I put the comb to good use. The A-Bomb didn't yield any more. The Host however needed alot more attention. Each comb rendered a good haul. Great satisfaction comes from capturing the mites and I soon found that I was actually begninning to enjoy the task and it was with a bit of annoyance that I had to stop due to Missy's protestations. It had been like an hour or something though.

As bedtime approached we prepared the kids for what lay ahead. Missy loves creepy crawlies and couldn't understand why we would want to rid her scalp of the friendly woodlouse.  Bless. The A-Bomb was petrified and the only way to get compliance was with bribary. Shemily didn't have a clue what was going on and smiled the whole time.

Once the kids heads had been doused in Hedrin and they were tucked up in bed it was my turn. AC did the honours.  Having my hair combed and then having the lotion massaged in was heavenly, I felt like I was being pampered at some expensive la de da spa. I could of let it go on forever but it obviously wasn't the same relaxing experience for AC. Once the job was done things came to an abrupt stop.

Summary:  Headlice aren't too bad- there are some subtle perks.  More irriating than the headlice was parting with the £12.73 for the Hedrin Lotion. 

Opposites Attract

I'm a Southerner and I married a Northerner. We've had to work even harder at our marriage to overcome the differences that result from being raised at opposite ends of the country. We've managed to adapt and respect each of our respective heritages and associated attitudes.

As far as our children go...

Missy was born in South Shields yet is decidedly Southern. She speaks like the Queen and corrects her auntie's poor sentence construction. This pedantic use of the English language and articulate expression is one of her more southern qualities.

The A-Bomb was born in Milton Keynes General Hospital yet displays a host of Northern characteristics - he is gregarious, boisterous and loud.

Oxford born Shemily is in the early stages of construction and we cannot determine at this stage any indication of her character preference. We will refer to her simply as 'The Hybrid' for the rest of this entry.

Having only just relocated to the Durham the differences between the North and South are that much more perceptible...

Although Down South we have regional accents, someone from Welwyn Garden City can still understand someone from The Big City (London). But up North, living more than 10 minutes away from someone can render them incomprehensible. 

Since arriving in Durham, Missy with her 'posh' pronunciation, has encountered her own problems in understanding the local dialect - she starts school in September and this will surely help her to become more fluent in what she calls 'Durhamish'. The A-Bomb on the other hand has already adopted the use of 'mam' rather than 'mum'. The Hybrids infantile mutterings cross all langauage boundaries and she continues to melt peoples hearts regardless of their faith, race or origin.

A common trait of people living this near the Scottish border is how friendly they are to strangers. Southerners are admittedly a bit more reserved; appreciative of one another's privacy we are more cautious in our conversational gambits. As refreshing as the camaraderie is, it takes a bit of getting use to. Whenever addressed, it takes me by surprise, my only response is to stare back with a blank expression. If the addresser maintains eye contact long enough I can usually manage a smile.

As you can imagine such friendly people produce great customer service. It's like having your own personal shopper in every store I go into. Friendliness is part of every job description up here -  to be a checkout assistant requires that you be able to hold 10 minute long conversations with people you don't even know (All very well and good unless your the next person in the queue and in a rush).

The A-Bomb fits right in- the little socialite revels in the attention he can get from total randomers.

Another major difference is the price of stuff, especially food. Not good for my waist line! Down South a large bap for £4.00 will satisfy only a toddlers appetite. Whilst Up North a  medium sized stottie filled beyond any Southerners imagination for the modest price of £1.60 can keep an active adult full from lunch until supper. Bargain.

Houses are more affordable Up North