I can sit....

After a few weeks of performing impressive yoga moves by lifting his head and legs at the same time, Charlie has finally mastered the art of sitting. Monday he managed to sit unsupported for over 5 mins before launching forward flat on his face (he was on the bed so no injuries) Now all he wants to do is sit as he realised that the world looks quite different from that angle and every time he does he looks so pleased with himself. He is just so lovely.

Birthday Celebrations

As is usual for us we have strung out Mike's birthday over the course of several days. On his actual birthday last Thursday, I took him for a surprise trip to Brighton, somewhere we haven't been for a couple of years. We had a great day and managed to go on the pier through all the amusement arcades and Charlies face was agog with the noises and flashing lights of all the machines. Lunchtime I had booked a table at a wonderful little tapas restaurant called Casa Don Carlos, I would highly recommend it, the food was amazing, authentic Spanish home cooking. As is the case with us, we totally over ordered and even Mike struggled to eat the enormous portions that just kept coming. It was fabulous and a real treat. In the afternoon we walked down the laines, browsed in the shops and did a spot of people watching. Brighton really has some weird and cool people and a complete contrast to the Chavs who were all on the pier pouring money into the machines and stuffing their faces with chips and donuts.

Saturday we took Charlie swimming and had the pool to ourselves which was brilliant, he loved it and and was squealing and laughing as he swam around on his back. In the evening my brother Rob and new girlfriend Tay came over for dinner and we made the most of the warm weather and sat outside gorging on grilled crevettes and Thai beef noodle salad. Last night 16 of us descended on our favorite restaurant Wheelers for the usual culinary delights that they serve. A rowdy evening ensued with much wine and chatter. Today we are feeling rather jaded and nursing sore heads.

Sleep

Charlie has been teething for the past week which has been waking him in the night and he has also taken to swinging himself around 180 degrees with his new found yoga moves and getting stuck in the bars of the cot. It's a killer being woken like that especially as we are now so used to sleeping soundly. The best thing is Charlie gives us the biggest smile in the morning when he wakes and all is forgotton. So this weekend there has been no parties, no festivals, no gardening, just sleep and lots of it.

The Good Life

It's official. Mike and I have become Tom and Barbara (although Mike says I am really more like Margo as he thinks I am part of the net curtain brigade) Our journey to self sufficiency has taken another giant leap when we found out that our names had come to the top of the allotment list. Saturday morning we took a look at the 30 foot square piece of land we now have which will eventually yield all of our fruit and veg.

The great thing about the allotment is that is also located right next to the cemetery where Ruby is so we will be able to grow tons of flowers and then just walk down the hill to visit her. We feel we have put in enough ground work at home with our amateur attempts at growing a small selection of greens and this year I am very proud of the carrots which have overtaken last years very stumpy crop. Ruby's sunflowers have also faired better from planting in the ground and the immense amount of rain and produced an amazing and constant supply of beautiful tall red flowers.

The allotment does need a fair bit of work before it is ready to plant so we will have to wait until next year, however, we did spy 4 mature apple trees laden with fruit and immediately Mike was putting in plans for some cider making and getting very exited. Here come the hangovers.....

The Ravers

Last Saturday, Mike and I went off raving to The Electric Gardens Festival which was being held in the beautiful grounds of Mount Ephraim just down the road from us. This time it was a child free zone as we didn't take Charlie but to make sure he wasn't missing out we did dress him in his festival outfit. Charlie was having a treat and spending the day with my parents and after leaving them a long list of instructions and going over a number of points with them we finally left. They must have thought I was going completely bonkers with my list and forgetting the fact that they have raised 4 kids had obviously slipped my mind. The day was perfect, the sun was shining, not a cloud in the sky and we arrived at the site early and met our other friends there. There was a mixture of music from dance to indie to rock and we spent the day moving around the different tents and stage listening to various bands. In the evening Mike and I went our separate ways as he saw the last act in the dance tent, I was with the girlies watching Supergrass who were brilliant. As the weather was so hot and scorching, we found one of the bars which was selling pints of Pimms. As you can imagine, they slipped down very easily and perfect for the sun drenched day. The evening ended early and we were lucky to get a lift back and arrived home before midnight full of beer and pimms, giving us the mother of all hangovers the next day.