Brothers

Leon and Reuben are interacting more and more, Reuben wants to do whatever Leon is doing, preferably at the same time which Leon finds very frustrating to say the least. Leon got the point where if Reuben even looked in his direction, he would winge 'Reuben no!' It was getting be be a right pain in the ear drums; Reuben would touch Leon and he would cry like he'd been thumped. I have introduced the reward system for Leon whereby if he wants a new toy he has to earn one by getting 10 good boy points which are collected on his chalk board in the form of smiley faces and he also gets a sticker per point. So far he's 'earned' a lorry and a Rosie engine for his wooden railway. At the moment it's for a turntable for his railway - one I picked up for a couple of quid on Ebay. Food bribing wasn't working but for toys he will behave himself, try to use the potty, put toys away and now....be nice to Reuben! Offering him good boy points for being gracious towards Reuben and not screaming the place down every time he comes near him is working and I even have photos to prove it!

Wells Next to Sea

Just spent the day at the sea side today. First time this year, it was great! Reuben ate a stone, I'm pretty sure, I spent half the afternoon either fishing them out of his mouth or him giving them to me. The beach was nice, we were in a stony bit but we know where the better sand is now, Also we had the buggies which don't do well on sand so we couldn't go far but next time we will probably do with just the back pack one for Reuben.
The weather was amazing, clear bright blue skies, not too windy, just a light breeze. I took lots of clothes for the boys but didn't need to change their clothes in the end, it was good to go prepared. The whole set up of the place is great, really good for a weekend away, there's a nice campsite close to the beach, I'm seriously considering camping which is pretty amazing for me. The place has a really lovely holiday feel.

Gardening

I'm really getting into Gardeners World at the moment and have received my Dig In seeds. I planted the carrots and lollo Rosso salad yesterday among other things. I'm getting quite involved these days - yesterday I re potted a dozen baby lavender plants I've grown from seed and I'm hardening off some delphiniums and Echinaea, also grown from seed. I've been using the conservatory as a green house and I've now got loads of bigger pots in there with coriander and basil plants getting larger (also from seed!). Then there's the sweet peas in there too, The pots are quite big but maybe not as big as they'd like, they are the biggest I've got at the mo.
While I was out there Sunday, I heard someone shouting from behind the garden, at first I didn't pay much attention but then I realised he was shouting 'can somebody help me!' I dropped what I was doing and shot through the house mobile in hand, told Tob that there was somebody shouting help me and ran round the back to see where it was coming from, half expecting to find someone stuck on a roof or something.
It was a very old gentleman, in his doorway. His wife had gone for some chips 2 hours ago and not returned, he was blind and he said she'd got memory problems and might have forgotten how to get home. I asked loads of questions tried to find out if he had any family in Ely and ended up calling the police to see if they had found anyone or if they could send someone out. They didn't really do alot, they don't seem to think 2 hours is really missing but for an 80 year old blind man this must have seemed ages. He was very upset and very worried about his wife. I spent about an hour trying to call their kids and friends to no answer, the out of hours doctor and eventually just tried to settle him down with a cup of coffee, finally after about an hour she walked in through the back door! Phew! She was a bit puzzled about the commotion but admitted to him she'd walked too far and had to sit down for a rest. She was also 80, very fit 80 and if she's able to walk for a couple of hours that puts her fitter than most of the adult population! It was quite upsetting to be sitting there with a lovely old man who could no longer see and was completely reliant on his wife. Luckily she's fit as his he, but the saddest part was finding the address book and there being only one page with just 6 numbers on it, their 2 son's, a doctor and 2 friends.

Reuben discovers the stairs

It's a good job the stairgate fittings arrived yesterday, just in time!

Playing in trees

At the weekend, apart from Eel Day on Saturday, which was OK - it's one of those typically English things, where we hang around for the day in a park, drinking real ale, listening to Folk in one ear and Hip Hop in the other ear while some 7 year olds prance about. Then watch some pretend vikings pretending to kill each other and after a town crier contest, the finale, a flotilla of decorated boats go by. This bit was rather an anti climax as a handful of cruisers with a bit of bunting would have been more accurate.
On Sunday we went round to Fiona's for a BBQ, it's nice having Fiona back in Ely and as you can see Leon had fun with the bouncy castle and in their tree.
Yesterday I broke my record for the most amount of shopping on the trailer! There was a special offer in Waitrose on Nappies so I bought 6 packs which should sort the boys for the month. I got many impressed smiles as I cycled out of town with my full trailer.

Up up and away!

Well, I didn't get the job, as predicted the letter arrived Saturday morning saying I didn't make it. I am gutted, however, I didn't think the interview went well so if I can improve that side of things then all the better. If I'd have thought it was a great interview it might have been worse. I said some really stupid things, I turned into Caroline Quentin in some embarrassing sit com. Things like when asked how would I deal with situations like if customers started argueing instead of saying something sensible like I would deal with the situation calmly and professionally and if need be call the police, I said. Well I'm a big lass and I've stopped a few bar fights in my time. What on earth was I thinking???
Anyway, keep trying.
Reuben is a proper pain in the ankles at the moment, in a good way and he's into everything, climbing up to standing on anything that will (almost) hold his weight. The funny thing is, he uses not only his arms and hands to pull himself up but his mouth too.
It's a lovely day and I plan to get all the sheets done as the forecast is dry and windy.
I the picture Reuben is standing up and holding on with one hand while eating a rusk. Show off!

Ups and downs

It's been a funny week, I still haven't heard about the job, this probably means I'll get the letter confirming I've not got it tomorrow in the post as they would have rung me by now. I had this in the back of my mind yesterday and had a terrible day. Leon picked up on me not feeling great and behaved, well, like a two year old. I think we both ate too much chocolate as a result.
Reuben is coming on a treat and on the whole, I think things are good. I really really feel the pull to get part time work now. I think Leon needs to go to nursery which won't be free until next January so I need to be working a bit so we can pay for it. The garden is coming on a treat, lots of beautiful stuff planted by the previous owner, there's lots happening in this garden, I love it.