First day on the new bikes

Garden with new turf - phase 1 complete

photo, originally uploaded by Racmol.

Half-marathon recap

Jules before the race, originally uploaded by Racmol.

So, we both survived the half-marathon, some more triumphantly than others.

Here is Jules before the race kicked off, and if anyone wants to giggle over a selection of random horrible pictures of us running, they can type our names into marathon-photos.com, under Royal Parks Foundation Half Marathon 2012.

Jules managed to injure himself about five days before the race, with what the GP diagnosed as a small tear in his plantar fascia, but then decided to run anyway and stormed home in 1 hour 55, 12 minutes faster than last year.

I thought I was going ok but I must have miscalculated the average speed I was aiming for as I ended up two minutes slower than last year. And of course by the time I realised I wasn't going to quite make it, I didn't have anything left to sprint with. So I still have unfinished business with that course - will have to train into a state of elite athleticism for next year!

It was a beautiful autumn day in Hyde Park, aside from the fact that a lot of the park has been thoroughly trashed by the Olympics and won't be returning to grass any time soon.

We have been without our living room and dining room for two weeks now and it looks like there is at least a week to go before we can move back in. Even Willy is saying things like 'I miss our old house' and 'I don't like this house - it is too stupid!' which I think sums up how everyone is feeling.

Still at least the builders have stopped hacking the plaster and covings off and have resurfaced the walls - it looks a lot better than it did a week ago.

Two months today until we leave for New Zealand!

Garden clearance - phase 1 underway

So this week we've had the gardeners in to clear our garden. It's a 3-phase plan, phase 1 being to tear down the broken fence, clear all the unwanted plant matter and convulvulus, move the roses to the side beds and turf over the old rose beds, the vegetable garden and underneath the fruit trees. Once the turf has grown in, they are removing the old concrete paths and shaping the lawn into two long ovals (a figure of 8), with stepping stones as in our old place. We are also going to get a tree surgeon to reduce the ash tree at the end by a third as it's casting a big shadow.

I forgot to take pictures of the piles of rubble after day 2 but anyway, here's the before and after of the clearance.

Obviously the before looks a lot more appealing than the after, as it's all in flower in midsummer, but it will actually be great to be able to walk from the patio onto the lawn without having to squeeze between the rosebeds and the holly tree (which has gone). And the garden feels much bigger now you can imagine actually using the back half of it.

Here's the back half of the garden, which was once covered by convulvulus.

In the ultimate dream world phase 3 the garden studio and spa pool would be where the shed and back patio are just visible at the top.

Sofia is very pleased that the heavily pruned bay tree is now climbable and Willy has been having a whale of a time, running about with sticks and 'helping' the gardeners. 

A golden day at the rowing

Jules flies the flag, originally uploaded by Racmol.

The alarm went off at 5.30am yesterday and we leapt into the shower before our babysitter arrived punctually at 6. Our timetabling was probably a bit on the paranoid side as we were in Slough waiting for the shuttle bus by 7am and arrived at the venue after a long walk through the Windsor race course just after 8.

We were greeted by armies of happy smiling volunteers and the happy smiling actual army, who performed the world's most efficient security check (take note Heathrow - it's really not that difficult!)

We made our way down to Lakeview Lodge, where there was a big woodchipped area at the edge of the rowing lake that people had set up their picnic blankets on. To get a little extra height, people had made little mounds out of the woodchips and were sitting on them like nesting penguins - I think Jules took a picture of them from the rear which I will share when we download it.

The website had gone on about healthy and delicious food being available at the venue. I did see that the coffee and donut stand had a porridge or granola option but the rest of the stands were fish and chips, hog roast, sausage in a bun and pulled pork. Delicious yes but I'm not so sure about the healthy part. And then there was this sign saying alcohol would only be available from 9.30am which seemed a bit of an arbitrary time to start drinking - not until after breakfast??

So after our healthy and delicious breakfast we made our way to our seats and then discovered the first two hours were full of the F to B finals i.e. sorting out how every boat in the competition ranked, all the way up from the bloke from Niger who finished 33rd out of 33 (to a massive cheer from the crowd) after taking up rowing three months ago.

Our seats were probably only 50m from the end of the course so we had a great view. It's a very strange spectator sport - you can't even see the boats until they're about 500m from the end.

And the rest is history - we cheered on our guys surrounded by cheering English people cheering 5 seconds behind us (ha!). Don't know which was more impressive - the distance that Bond and Murray won by or Mahe Drysdale's close finish.

Hoping to take Sofia and Willy in to watch a bit of the women's marathon tomorrow morning.

William at Stonehenge

William at Stonehenge, originally uploaded by Racmol.

Apart from everyone staying up to watch the opening ceremony, our Olympics started with this great free event at Paddington Rec - a life-sized Stonehenge bouncy castle for all the family. It's touring London's parks over the next two weeks.

My first time on a bouncy castle and I loved it!

Jules and I are off to the rowing at Eton Dorney on Friday morning. Our babysitter arrives at 6am!

Weird and wonderful features of the new house - Exhibit A

Leadlights from inside front door, originally uploaded by Racmol.

This was taken this morning from inside our front door looking out.

And then we got cocky...

And then we got cocky..., originally uploaded by Racmol.

Probably should have quit while we were ahead, rather than cycling back through the 'puddle' to get pictures for the blog!

A confident cyclist

Straight through the deepest part , originally uploaded by Racmol.

But anyway, we're taking the adverse weather conditions in our stride.

Enough with the rain already!

Enough with the rain already!, originally uploaded by Racmol.

This is what greeted us as we came through the park today after school. And before you say at least it wasn't actually raining, it had been chucking it down all the way to school and back. Very sick of wiping off the bike seat with a tissue for Madam to get on it.

Farewell banana cake for the flat

Farewell banana cake for the flat, originally uploaded by Racmol.

Jules made a banana cake to say goodbye to our flat and use some of the excess bananas at the weekend.

We still have 7 bananas and the people who were refusing them when they were just a little bit ripe are now even less inclined to eat them now they've got black spots.

Packers arrive tomorrow - my friend Ali is kindly taking W away for most of the day and Sofia has a playdate after school so it should work out ok.

Next blog post will be from the new house. Roll on Friday!

Full flight in the relay!

Full flight in the relay, originally uploaded by Racmol.

I must not drop the egg!

I must not drop the egg!, originally uploaded by Racmol.

First ever school sports day today, and despite days of pre-match anxiety, Sofia did not drop the egg in the egg and spoon race or the baton in the relay.

Her team (Saturn, the yellow house) won the overall day and although her own mini-team of four didn't place in any events, she had a good time after a few nervous tears at the very thought of the sack race.

Inexplicably, the day finished at 1.30 - all very well if you're a stay at home mum but incredibly inconvenient otherwise. So glad Mr W was at Hopscotch - he would not have coped well with 2.5 hours of not being allowed to participate.

Last chance to relax in the garden

Last chance to relax in the garden, originally uploaded by Racmol.

It's our last weekend in WInchester Avenue so we got out the sunloungers and the swingball, ready to relax and enjoy it.

The weather didn't really cooperate.

It's a bittersweet time for us - we've been really happy here. But we're all excited to be getting a whole house - roll on Friday!

Lots more photos are up on flickr - click on the photo to go straight there.

Exchange of contracts!

Exchange of contracts!, originally uploaded by Racmol.

Yay - it actually happened! This morning we exchanged contracts. Our lovely flat is no longer ours and the new house has our name on it.

We are relieved beyond words. As you can see, I stuck closely to Jules's new diet for the first course but out of shot there was a thick wedge of Brie de Meaux and a sticky toffee pudding in the kitchen. So delish!

The hard part's over - now we just have to physically move.

Willy has spent most of the day asking what is coming i.e. 'Is Mr Dinosaur coming?' 'And the cars?' 'And the toy chest?' 'And the toilet?'. I try to reassure him as best I can, but anyone can see that for him it is a huge deal.

Sofia is a bit distressed that she still doesn't get her own room (we're using bedroom 3 as a study) but thrilled about having a cat (after our NZ holiday).

Moving day is next Friday 29 June. Hooray!

Flat out Saturday

Just had a little nap while Jules did bedtime stories and woke up dazed and confused at 9.15pm, saying 'Is it morning?' Must have been a tiring day.

Started with a long run at 7.30am, then breakfast in front of the rug-berry, then off to Primrose Hill to take Sofia and Willy to best-friend Leah's Stagecoach (performing arts school) birthday party. Willy fell asleep in car so missed most of it but we had a nice walk down to Camden with the pushchair while Sofia was rehearsing the show for the parents (to be performed after the cake).

Found a completely amazing Whole Foods store where we got coffee for Leah's mum and dad and me - could have happily spent up large on the fabulous collection of champagne truffles and the like. (In what way are champagne truffles whole food? Lentils and other pulses I get, but surely some processing is involved in a champagne truffle, even if the chocolate is organic!)

Then back for the birthday cake and the show. Willy joined in the show despite having missed all the rehearsal and just sat in the middle of the floor smiling while everyone danced around - very funny. They sang 'When you wish upon a star' and Sofia couldn't stop jumping, she was so excited. Apparently she likes drama - drama day is Wednesday at school and she always looks forward to it, unlike PE day (Tuesday) which she seems to dread.

Wildlife spotting - juvenile fox in our garden this afternoon right down by the clothes line and also I saw a rat under one of the bridges over the canal this morning.

Morning visitor to our garden

Visitor to our garden, originally uploaded by Racmol.

Jules was out picking up Sofia from her sleepover, but William and I had a good long look at the fox through our french doors in the kitchen. We looked at him and he looked at us for several minutes, until Funnyfoot, our next door neighbours' cat, ran him out of town.

William and the Queen

Willy and the queen, originally uploaded by Racmol.

School tea party with Jubilee cupcakes

School tea party with Jubilee cupcakes, originally uploaded by Racmol.

View down the river over Embankment Gardens

View down the river over Embankment Gardens, originally uploaded by Racmol.

The Royal Barge

The Royal Barge, originally uploaded by Racmol.

Watching the Diamond Jubilee boat pageant

Sofia, Willy and Olivia watch the boats, originally uploaded by Racmol.

Today we all trooped into central London to watch the Diamond Jubilee boat pageant on the river from the comfort of Jules's office.

Willy fell asleep at Piccadilly Circus and woke up again as Jules put him down on a couch, having carried him all the way to the office from Charing Cross. It was quite busy but not impossibly so - I guess the rain must have kept the numbers down.

Jules's office has great long windows so even the little kids had a great view. We were allowed out on the roof terrace but I found I just got too nervous about the kids trying to climb up on chairs. And the windows near Jules's desk were actually closer to the river.

Also, when we were out on the roof terrace Fia kept saying loudly 'Why can't we stand on the tables? That man's on a table. What's he doing up on that table?' (That man was a founding partner of the firm.)

We got quite wet coming home. Now Fia has gone off on her first ever sleepover at her best friend Leah's house. Jules dropped her off and apparently she didn't even say goodbye but just squealed with delight and ran up the stairs so I think she'll be fine.

More photos of the boats to come.

Swan family on Regents Canal

Swan family, originally uploaded by Racmol.


You can just about make out the cygnet. In my defence, I only had my iphone with me on my run and they were on the far side of the canal. 

London wildlife on Regents Canal

Geese family, Regents Canal, originally uploaded by Racmol.

Lovely run this morning. Left before my 6.30am alarm and already could tell today was going to be a scorcher. Along Regents Canal I met this family of geese and also a family of swans which I will post next.

Today we walked from home to Willesden Junction with the kids on their bikes. We did stop for lunch at Gracelands and an ice cream at Roundwood Park but I still thought they did very well - must be about 4km all up.

Weekly round-up

So it looks as if we're really going to move to a new house - a proper family home with our own front door and nobody living above or below us. Hopefully we'll come to an amicable agreement with the vendors in the next day or two and then we can set a moving date. The date we're discussing is 30 June - better start sorting out our stuff.

In other news, we have a Star of the Week certificate this week (Sofia) for 'trying very hard in every area'. The scary headteacher reads this out in whole school assembly and you get to go up to the podium and collect it. We've had a few weeks of 'I never win ANYTHING!' and 'I never get a sticker' so it was great to finally get something tangible to hold onto. I might mention that she did NOT get an Attendance Award after her wicked parents took her to Florida for the last day before half-term in February!

Willy has graduated to using the big toilet instead of the potty chair and I couldn't be more thrilled. They've both just got into my bed and want to see plane photos of the plane we're going to New Zealand on so I'd better stop blogging. Our latest in-car CD is 'Kiwi JIngle Bells' - clearly we can't wait for our big holiday at Christmas...

Lovely family day out in Brighton

DSC02062, originally uploaded by Racmol.

On Bank holiday Monday we went to Brighton on the train, just for the hell of it. £10 return each for Jules and me and the kids were free.

Sofia found a £2 coin on the beach and was beyond excited. 'I'm rich, Mummy!' etc. Spent it immediately on a merry-go-round ride.

Poured with rain while we had lunch and then the sun came out afterwards and we wandered along the beach and looked at the little galleries under the bridge. Bought a little wooden pig for our new garden...more on that in the next post.

We love Minipicassos

We love Minipicassos on a Wednesday - Sofia gets to do proper grown-up painting with acrylics and canvas and I get to relax with a coffee and a book. And then we pick up Willy from Hopscotch. Win-win-win, as they say :)

Willy's latest hobby

DSC02045, originally uploaded by Racmol.

Long may it continue! It takes about an hour to do the breakfast dishes and the floor gets very wet, but he's getting pretty good at it :)

Big and Small

Big and Small, originally uploaded by Racmol.

Sofia's 5th birthday party

The Dinosaur Assembly

Princess Cake - never again

Princess Cake - never again, originally uploaded by Racmol.

If you suspect (as most women do) that Barbie's legs are just a tad longer than is strictly necessary or realistic, try making a princess cake for a Barbie doll.

So, we have a glass bowl which is a good shape for a skirt but alas nowhere near tall enough unless you hack Barbie's legs off at the knees. Which I did consider as a viable option at one point.

So then I made a two-layer cake to go underneath the bowl-shaped cake. Which was all well and good except that by the time I'd hacked them all into shape and stuck them together with jam and cream my enthusiasm was flagging.

Somehow I thought it would be quicker just to dump all the icing sugar and butter in a bowl together and beat them for the buttercream icing, rather than creaming the butter and gradually adding icing sugar.

You may remember last year Ali came to the rescue with the castle cake? This year she arrived to find me enveloped in a cloud of icing sugar with the egg beaters making an odd groaning noise in a weird gloopy icing. (I panicked and added too much milk.) She calmly prescribed more icing sugar and the day was saved. Even if the decorating was a bit slap dash by then and (the shame of it all) you can still see the layers of cake through the skirt.

We quickly decamped upstairs to sing happy birthday to the birthday girl and cut some very long thin wedges of cake. Five minutes later I looked over and noticed that the entire top layer had fallen off and was lying upside down on the table. Definitely not one for the party - I wonder if I can talk her into a simple butterfly? Once I've bought the new electric beaters, that is...

More on Florida later.

Florida rundown - Part One

This is the scene we left behind us as we jetted out on Friday. Thursday night was a bit of an anxious one as the snow was already settling on the ground before we went to bed but luckily it didn't get much heavier and the roads were clear in the morning.

The kids slept through Friday night pretty well, although once they were up at 5, they were up. Luckily breakfast started at 7 am and the shuttle to the Disney parks arrived at 8.30. It's a bit more of a mission to get around than at Disneyland Paris - we had to take two monorails from where we got dropped off to get to the Magic Kingdom, or a bus when we went to Hollywood Studios and the Animal Kingdom. Everything is much more spread out, and Downtown Disney, which was near our hotel, is not in fact right outside the parks, which are not right next to each other anyway. Still there was plenty of variety transport-wise for the transport buffs in the family - monorail, ferry, bus, taxi, rental car...



The first two days we went to the Magic Kingdom - here are the odd couple in front of the fairytale castle on Sunday morning. That day there were severe weather warnings and discussions of frost destroying crops at breakfast time. It was about 10 degrees going across on the ferry (monorail having technical difficulties) and we were wearing every layer we could think of but it soon warmed up and apart from that it was in the 20s every day.


Willy got to meet the 'real' Buzz Lightyear the first day and we all enjoyed the Buzz Lightyear ride multiple times. You sit in little spaceships that you can swivel in all directions and shoot at things with your laser as you go past.

By Sunday Jules and I were about Buzz-ed out so we rode Space Mountain with the fastpass parent swap option. Sofia qualified to ride it too, just, heightwise, but we decided she would hate it as it was dark and you got flung about in your seat a far bit. We much preferred Expedition Everest and Aerosmith's Rock n Rollercoaster at Animal Kingdom and Hollywood Studios respectively. Sofia did ride the Tower of Terror with Jules at Hollywood Studios so she has something to show off about for Show and Tell on Monday.

I'll stop here as it's time for bed really but here is a charming shot at Kennedy Space Center to finish.







  

Willy turns 3