Brandon the Sleep Walker

It looks like Brandon takes after his old man with sleep walking habits!!! Just lately we have had 2 or 3 very weird incidents of sleep walking with little Bee, one of which could have ended badly with me clumping him up!

 

The first two incidents occurred at around 11pm whilst we were downstairs and the kids were all in bed. On the first occasion Brandon walked in to the living room, eyes wide open and started accusing Joshua of soaking his school bag. The second time was another weird one where he was sleep walking and looking for Mum worried that she had been left behind on a water slide. On both occasions we have quickly realised he was sleep walking and safely ushered him back up to his bedroom.

 

The most recent incident really got my heart racing though. We always double lock the doors downstairs when we go to bed and also put the house alarm on to alert us if any intruders were to ever break in. Well it was 1:15 in the morning and everyone was sound asleep. All of a sudden the house alarm goes off waking everyone up in a panic. I quickly jumped out of bed (completely naked) and ran to the top of the stairs in the pitch black where I suddenly heard footsteps coming up the stairs. A chill went down my spine and my heart rate shot through the roof as I thought someone had broken in and was heading upstairs. So I loaded up in a fighting stance ready to throw everything at the oncoming intruder just thinking that I had to protect the family and that I would have an advantage being on higher ground. Then who comes walking (sleep walking that is) around the stairs - yes Brandon!!!! He had sleep walked downstairs setting off the alarm and was heading back to his room still asleep. If only he knew how close he had come to being "Lamped" by his old man.

 

The next morning we had a laugh about it and Brandon had no idea what had gone on or that he had even got out of his bed, let alone his bedroom.

Joshua's Star of the Week for Concerntration

At Joshua's last parents evening the biggest criticism from his teacher was that he is easily distracted and does not concentrate and apply himself as much as he should. After the parents evening we was a little disappointed with these comments and told him that we want to see a change before Year 5 ends and want to hear from his teacher that there has been significant improvement.

Needless to say I am super proud that today he came home with the Star of the Week Award and when you read what he got it for you will notice it says "For having a great start to the new term and showing focus and concentration". So it looks like he took on-board our comments and has turned things around, lets see if he can now maintain this until the end of this school year.

Joshua gets Star of the Week for focus and concerntration - who would have thought?

District Cross Country Finals

So today was Brandon's big day as he competed in the district cross country finals over at Hadleigh Cycle park and he best part was that I had arranged time off with work so that I could be there to cheer him on.

I felt sorry for the kids as cross country should be cold, wet and muddy and instead they had one of the hottest days recorded in April in something like 40 years! to make things even worse Brandon's race was scheduled to start at 12 lunchtime - so peak sun.

I told Brandon that he has done amazing to even make it to the District Championships regardless of the outcome. There was 130 kids in his race so the start line-up was a bit manic as they all dashed off up the hill. Brandon got shut out a bit at the start and also had a little stumble which left him trailing somewhere near the rear 20 places, but he dug in deep and clawed back some ground to finally finish in 45th place. Brandon was disappointed as he wanted a top 20 finish but I told him that to place in the top 1/3rd was an amazing achievement anyway.

In fact out of the four Abacus kids that went to the Districts, Brandon placed highest as the others were 46th, 48th and 90th. So overall I couldn't have been more prouder of Brandon. He ran his little heart out and gave it everything. The only downside was that my arms and face got sun burnt standing around watching him.

Brandon all dressed up in the school track gear ready for the Districts. The track suit didn't stay on long given the heat outside.

A manic start line with some 130 kids ready to sprint off up the hill.

And they are off, Brandon is in that pack somewhere wearing black shorts and a purple shirt.

Coming down the hill and Brandon opens out his stride like I told him and overtakes a few people.

Brandon doesn't like sprint finishes but you can see here that he was giving it everything towards the final straight. (Auntie Lisa - wasn't you saying you always wanted a shot of you running with both feet off the ground? I nailed it with Bee). 

45th place out of 130. Well done Bee.

To cool off in the mid day sun Brandon tipped my drinking water over his head.

Me and my little man after his race. Super proud of him.

Holly's School Placement Confirmed

Some great news for Holly this week as on Monday she had her official letter confirming her acceptance in to Abacus Primary School starting this September. I think I have mentioned before that she is so ready to start school now and is really, excited about joining her two brothers come September. Unfortunately she will only get one year in Primary School with both Josh and Brandon as Joshua will start Year 6 and then he'll be off to Secondary School.

Our next challenge is to try and get her to stop farting and picking her nose and to act more like a lady before she starts school!

Happy Holly with her school place acceptance letter.

District Cross Country Training at Hadleigh

Today Brandon had to meet one of his teachers and 3 other kids from his school over at Hadleigh Olympic Cycle Park for a training session in preparation for the district cross country championships which take place next week. Whilst Brandon was training I used the opportunity to take Joshua and Holly around some of the various cycle which was a little muddy to say the least.

 

After Brandon finished his training we had a nice picnic and then all 3 of them enjoyed another couple of hours over the park doing more cycling and playing in the play areas. Holly is still on stabilisers and so I was pushing her around which makes for a good workout. She also loves going through muddy puddles which means I ended up with very wet and muddy feet.

 

At one point Holly cycled into a huge puddle and got stuck there with her back wheel spinning like a water wheel. Everyone was laughing and wondering how she was going to get out of the puddle and she just jumped off with a huge splash and pushed the bike out herself.

 

At the end of our cycling the kids all wanted an ice cream to finish off and Holly woofed down a lemonade ice lolly. Joshua and Brandon got a pot of black current ice cream of which Brandon didn't like so I ended up eating it and buying him a replacement Magnum instead.

 

Joshua and Holly doing some mountain biking whilst Brandon was training for the district cross country.

Holly is starting to pedal on her own now so fingers crossed I can try and get her off of stabilisers later this year.

Joshua on the stunt track.

Another action shot of Joshua.

Meanwhile Brandon was out running the hills and getting some hard training done.

This was the rather large puddle that Holly got stuck in.

Nice shot of our 3 babies playing nicely in the play area.

Holly is now big enough to do the rope ladder on her own.

Holly on the stepping logs. Again no help needed now.

Brandon found an innovative way to swing his brother and sister, he jumped on the back as it swung towards him so his whole body was hanging in the air with his weight pulling them down.

Brandon cycling after he had finished his running.

Just a little bit of mud. How am I going to get all this back in the car without needing a full valet afterwards?

More action shots of Joshua.

Brandon getting muddy and riding through all the puddles.

And just look at the end result of Brandon's cycling. There is no way in blue hell he is getting in my car like that!

Half Term Activities

I have had a lovely week off of work for the second week of Easter and have been trying to spend quality time with the kids. Keeping them entertained and amused on a limited budget has been challenging but we have managed well and the kids seem to have had a good half term.

 

Earlier in the week I dug out the old easel and paints for Holly as she wanted to do some paintings. Tina would never do something like this with the kids as she hates the mess, needless to say Holly loved this and made four huge paintings.

 

We have also taken the kids to the Colchester Leisure World swimming pool which has the water slides, lazy river, pirate ship etc. What with swimming and having the jacuzzi setup again it seems like most of the week we have been soaking in chlorine!

 

We also managed to sneak in a quick game of bowling earlier this week at the Hollywood Bowl in Festival. Joshua was leading all the way until the last round when he came under pressure from Holly who scored a strike with her final ball. She went from last place to finish on 83 points, just 2 behind Joshua.

 

Messy play as Holly does some painting during half term.

She absolutely loved the painting and did 4 big pictures in the end.

We tried various different brushes and stamps to be as creative as possible.

The kids enjoying a pitcher of slushie before starting their bowling game.

In order of how they finished, Joshua just beating Holly with Brandon coming in last (but still smiling).

Holly meets Skye from Paw Patrol



Today was my 46th Birthday and the day started with an hour and a half Crossfit followed by about an hour in the Jacuzzi. As I have taken all week off work for half term it was a nice chilled morning until the 3 kids all woke up and then joined me in the hot tub.

 

The rest of my Birthday was pretty low key as I desperately need to save pennies to cover my Budapest Crossfit competition in about 4 weeks time. So after breakfast and Holly's swimming class we nipped in to Basildon to do some shopping, grab some lunch (Taco Bell) and then Holly went to meet Skye who is one of the characters she likes from a Children's programme called Paw Patrol.

 

Despite really looking forward to meeting Paw Patrol characters she actually went all shy and wouldn't her picture taken unless I went with her. After meeting Skye Holly also got to do some Paw Patrol crafts and made a little Paw Patrol sign with some cutting, sticking and colouring.

 

 

Spending my 46th Birthday meeting Skye with Holly.

I think the over sized character was a bit intimidating for little Holly.

But Holly really enjoyed her Paw Patrol arts and crafts.

And here w=is her finished craft activity.

Me, Holly and Bee blowing out the candles on my birthday cake. The Superman shirt was Holly's birthday present to me.

Tina ordered a football cake, but Tesco's delivered a Batman cake. Still we got it free of charge due to their mistake.

Out Comes the Jacuzzi



After months of nagging from Holly we finally got the jacuzzi out this weekend. Now that spring us upon us, the sun is threatening to come out, temperatures are back in double figures and more importantly the heating is turned off - it was time to get our Intex out of the shed.

 

New for this year is our half hexagon decking step which I built with help from Holly. Its incredible that I have two strong, fit young boys who would rather play on the PlatStation than help their old man, yet my little 4 years old girl was happy to get her hands dirty and help me build the step. Mind you I guess it is only right that she helps given that we built it mainly because her little legs struggled to climb in and out of the jacuzzi last year.

 

Yesterday was the first day it could be used after letting the chlorine settle down. So as soon as football was over we was all in there. Then late in the evening as the sun was going down it was time to put on some music and chill in the hot tub. I'd forgotten just how much I enjoyed spending the evenings soaking in the tub and listening to some tunes.

 

 

The hexagon decking step that Holly helped me to build. I think we did a pretty good job on that.

 

The kids couldn't wait to get back in the hot tub. And no PlayStation in site!

On go the bubbles for the first time in 2018.

Me and my babies enjoying family time in the hot tub. I think we overfilled it a little!!!

Holly's School Uniform

Well we are only days away from the 16th April when we find out what Primary School Holly will be going to. Although if ever you wanted to place a bet on a "sure thing" then you wouldn't go wrong with betting on Abacus. Given that Holly's two brothers both go to Abacus and it was the only school we added to her application form - then it should be a dead cert.

 

In preparation for starting school in September Holly has already received some uniform from some of Tina's friends who's daughters have outgrown them. Holly was dead keen to try on the school dress and cardigan and I have to say it is shocking just how grown up she looks. Where has my little baby girl gone?

 

Holly looking very grown up in her school uniform ready for this September.

Lamborghini Picture



I keep forgetting to post this touched up picture of the boys with the red Lamborghini which was taken recently at the Cubs hall.

 

Southernd Pier Easter Egg Hunt

On Easter Bank Holiday Monday we were in two minds whether to actually bother leaving the house as the forecast was rain all day. But surprisingly once breakfast was out of the way it actually looked OK outside, albeit a little overcast. So we decided to take the kids to Southend Pier for yet another Easter Egg hunt. We have been promising them that they could go on the train to the end of the pier for some time now so this seemed the perfect excuse.

So we jumped aboard the Sir John Betjeman train and chugged down the 1.33 miles to the end of the pier. I think it must be well over 20 years since I have been to the end of the pier myself and a lot has changed – but I guess that’s a result of it burning down 4 times! I had no idea that there was a Jamie Oliver restaurant on the pier along with loads of very colourfully painted beach huts. We also got to see the RNLI lifeboats and a large Dutch sailboat which had anchored up at the end of the pier.

The Easter Hunt was pretty cool and the kids had 10 eggs hidden all over the pier to find which referenced wildlife that you can see from the pier. As a reward they received a certificate and a Cadbury’s Cream Egg (not bad for £2 each). After the Easter Egg Hunt we had a picnic inside whilst the kiddies (and adults) all did an Easter colouring competition. Brandon absolutely nailed his Easter Chick / Egg picture by using the RNLI them and colours – surely he is on to a winner with this.

We arrived at the right time for the train as when we came back the queue was huge.

Holly enjoying the weird concept of travelling by train over the sea.

At the end of the pier and the Easter Hunt begins.

Congratulations on reaching the 1.33 mile end of the pier (oh and finding the first Easter Egg just above Brandon's head)|.

Not too many people ventured out in the morning. Notice the Dutch sailboat anchored up as well.

Another Easter Egg found on the buoy.

We visited the RNLI at the end of the pier where I was ended up spending some of my hard earnt money on toot for the kids in the shop (still I guess its a good cause).

Loads of little birds camped up on part of the pier.

Holly was gutted as none of thew ride-ons seemed to work (maybe they hadn't been converted to the new £1 coins).

Joshua and Brandon actually struggled to find all 10. This wasn't as easy as the other Easter Hunts we have done.

Holly and Josh by one of the colourful beach huts.

Holly liked the rainbow and sparkly gold on this one.

Quick family picture at the end of the pier.

Warming up with a picnic and some colouring inside.

Brandon submitting our entries to the competition wall.

Brandon's rather clever RNLI themed Easter colouring.

Joshua's was neatly done and the colours went well together.

Like Brandon by colouring was themed (Southend United FC) in hope of getting a few extra votes. Not sure 45 year old men are allowed to enter the kids Easter colouring competition!

More colourfully painted beach huts on the pier.

And at the end of a fun afternoon it was time to catch our train back again.