Seaside Life

Our Trip Down Under

2010-04-22T14:21:00.000-07:00

Charlie and I have just returned from an amazing trip to Sydney, Australia where we stayed with our friends Kate and Rob and their girls Scarlett and Flo, in their beautiful house in Lilyfield. We had an easy flight over with Charlie enjoying the fact that he had his own TV whilst I indulged in films, reading and sleeping. We arrived to a warm balmy Sydney evening feeling remarkably refreshed and awake to copious amounts of champagne and wine chilled nicely by Kate and Rob.

We stayed in the Duthies guest room located in the garden and on first inspection round our lovely bedroom I found we had a large Huntsman spider also making his home in there too. I was fine with that until i woke in the middle of the night only to find it had moved. So i then spent the best part of an hour locating it - sitting spralled out in full glory (8 inches or so) on the bathroom door. So then after finding a suitably large container to catch it in and stealthily capturing the spider he then spent the remainder of the night safely inside and i got some well earned sleep.

The holiday was so relaxing and spent mainly on the gorgeous harbour and ocean beaches of Sydney, with glorious weather and warm water to swim in. We had a great day out Kayaking and after a rather shaky start from me canoeing stupidly in the wrong direction and Charlie feeling a bit nervous about he whole experience we eventually headed out across the sea for an hour of peace and tranquility.

Having become very well versed in all the Australian native creatures prior to the trip Charlie was in awe to finally come face to face with most of them. He was particularly taken with the crocodiles and kookaburras and having also visited a museum on a wet day we spent quite some time discussing the difference between dead, alive and pretend things.

Kate and Rob and I spent many evenings eating lovely food cooked by Kate and drinking large amounts of wine and recounting stories. Bed was often quite early as a result. We went out for dinner one night to great restaurant called La Scala where Kate knew the chef and were treated like royalty and showered with free appetisers to the point where we were really quite stuffed by the time our main courses arrived. The food was fabulous but we all laughed at the fact the all of us struggled to read the menu without our glasses and couldn't hear each other talk as it was too loud. Being over 40 really has taken its toll.

Easter Sunday Kate threw a fabulous lunch for some of her friends complete with an Easter egg hunt in the garden. I think we should have won an award for the most appalling diet you can give your children as we watched them all consume chocolate from dawn to dusk without any other food groups being involved. The result - 3 very tired and 3 very hungry children the next day. It was great to meet lots of the Duthies friends though and it was a really enjoyable day.

We had lots of other lovely days out at the local pools and parks and Charlie really loved doing so much swimming. The trip to the fish market was great too as was the journeys on the ferries and trams. We did pack alot of activity into the time we were there and have come home feeling relaxed and refreshed having narrowly escaped the volcanic airline disruption as we would have found ourselves stranded in Abu Dhabi which bearing in mind the amount of alcohol consumed may have been a very good place to dry out.

Bowling and Balloons

2010-03-08T13:29:00.000-08:00

It has been a busy couple of weeks. We braved the harsh cold wind on the beach to finally let off the lanterns that i had ordered for Ruby's birthday. They were amazing, great big red hearts which Mike lit and let off across the beach. Unfortunately as novices of these lanterns and not reading the instructions properly, Mike managed to get hot burning wax on his coat and face (no scars thank goodness) Anyway we eventually lit them and it was great to see them floating off up into the clouds.

The following weekend we had a fabulous day out with the extended family as a pre pre wedding get together. Lunch at pizza express where you just can go wrong followed by bowling. This place was like an Aladdin's cave for toddlers where every corner you turned there was a machine full of sweets in a giant fish bowl, sparking and beckoning. So after a handful of jelly beans Charlie set to to show off his bowling shoes and bowling skills. It was great as he was able to let his ball roll down the assisted chute and managed to knock a very impressive amount of skittles over.

A Very Happy Thomas Birthday

2010-02-17T13:32:00.000-08:00

Charlie turned 3 last week and to celebrate he had a very heavily themed Thomas the Tank engine birthday this year. It started with a lively party at Jungle Jims activity centre with 12 friends complete with Thomas cake. Then back home for a family lunch and a ridiculous pile of presents which consisted of several Thomas trains to add to his collection.

His favourite present was however was his very grown up bike which he mastered pretty quickly and was soon whizzing up and down the hall.

The following weekend we had a sleepover at my friend Michelle's to celebrate Max's 3rd birthday which we did by a trip to the Tenterden railway where Thomas and his friends were waiting to take us on a ride. It was a freezing but brilliant day out complete with the Fat Controller on the station waving us out. We had to walk back through the shop to get out so it was impossible not to buy something and so Charlie left like the cat who got the cream with yet another train for his train set.

Happy Birthday Ruby

2010-01-09T13:12:00.000-08:00

Another year has passed and we celebrated Rubys 4th birthday yesterday in the snowy blizzards. It was a wonderful day and in fact the snow made it even better. After a lovely long lunch in Zizzis we headed onto the beach to look at the snow. It was incredible, the most snow i have seen since we lived in Whitstable and dotted all along the beach were a range of snowmen in various poses.

The weather was really glorious as the sun was so strong and the snow so gleaming white. After a long walk back home we jumped in the car and headed to the cemetery to put some flowers on Ruby's headstone. By this time it was snowing heavily and the sun was setting so it was a beautiful scene to wish our beautiful girl a happy birthday.

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year

2009-12-30T13:03:00.000-08:00

Christmas this year kicked off with a trip to Bodiam Castle to see Santa Claus. The castle looked absolutely beautiful surrounded by the snow and the day was picture perfect, sunny blue skies, quite breathtaking. Father Christmas was waiting in his enchanted cave, complete with the Snow Queen in tow. So once Charlie put in his requests for Thomas trains we made our way cagily down the hill to the cafe for a bowl of homemade soup and a large glass of Merlot.

Christmas Day arrived and Father Christmas arrived in abundance. Charlies face and reaction this year was brilliant. As usual he got far too many presents but was amazed to see that Santa had listened to his requests for Thomas Trains and brought him several. We had a great day at my parents with a large crowd of 10 for dinner with other family friends for drinks in the afternoon followed by visits to Mikes family for more lovely food and drinks.

We also had many day trips out making the most of the time off work. We visited the London Aquarium at the request of Charlie and despite the drizzly rain we braved the queues and waited patiently to get in. Charlie got himself a seahorse tattoo on his arm which he thought was fantastic and a ride on a merry go round and for the first time didn't try to launch himself off as has happened in the past. We had lots of lovely lunches out and braved the bitterly cold wind on the beach so that Charlie could take his scooter out. This of course was followed by another large glass of warming shiraz in the local wine bar.

On New Years Eve the 3 of us went for a gorgeous meal at the Crab and Winkle restaurant early evening and then headed off for some friends who live in a tiny village about 10 miles away. Their house is so unusual and quirky. A tiny little cottage that has been added to with many different rooms including the attachment of a large caravan. Seriously, they had used the caravan that they lived in for many years as an additional 2 more rooms to their cottage. In fact you would never know on the inside as it just flowed very easily into the main body of the house. It was a lovely evening of chatting and laughing and 6 of us saw the new year in with the kids all tucked up in bed. We then bundled Charlie into the car and drove home, only to find i had left my bag there with the door keys in so we headed back through the country lanes to pick up the bag and eventually got home at 1.30am

A Beautiful Memorial

2009-12-17T13:07:00.000-08:00

Last weekend marked a significant point in our lives when Rubys headstone was finally put into place creating the most beautiful and special memorial to remember her by. It has been nearly 4 years since she died and her burial place has been marked by a wooden cross since then. Over the year the cross has become worn and faded and so to see this shining headstone there instead of the dark cross represented a time of lightness, beauty and joy. The words on the stone made us feel so emotional and so proud and seeing her name carved into the stone was such a tribute to her. It truely is Ruby's special place now.

Dancing Queens

2009-11-23T12:59:00.000-08:00

We have had a busy few weeks socialising. Cousin Stella and her mum and dad came for lunch. I cannot believe how much my little niece looks like my brother, she really is the spitting image of him. We all went for a walk into Whitstable after lunch and she looked so cute in her baby sling and hat and drew attention from many passer-bys. There is an old fashioned sweet shop in Whitstable which was used to furnish the re-make of Charlie and Chocolate Factory. It is an obvious claim to fame of the shop owners who got to meet Johnny Depp on the set when they were supplying the film with all their sugary delights. I have taken Charlie in there loads of times when he was a baby but somehow managed to avoid it over the past year or so but this time there was no stopping him. It really was the epitome of a child in a sweet shop - eyes wide open, mouth wide open and almost transfixed to the spot. Not for long...we managed to escape with a quarter of white mice and some sherbert pips for me.

The following weekend, my sister and I donned our dancing shoes and took off for the Salsa Club night in Canterbury. Every since Strictly has been on the TV i have always longed to go back to my childhood passion and get dancing again. So I found a company who run salsa classes and club nights and we turned up having had a couple of glasses of wine and feeling a bit giggly. The classes started and they divided them into 4 groups and beginners were in the bottom corner which consisted of just me and Lou. However, not to be shamed into the new starters we were lucky to get a one on one lesson from the instructor. Dave was not your average salsa dance instructor. Think of Joe Pascale and an east kent accent and there you have it. He was brilliant and taught us so well. After the lessons, the 'freestyle' session started where you sit around the edge waiting for the men to ask you to dance like something out of the 1950's. It was important to adhere to the etiquette which meant that you could turn down the offer of a dance due to a) poor dance skills, b) poor looks, c) poor hygiene however you could not then take up the offer from someone else. It was hilarious as both Lou and I got asked to dance by many men, some of the instructors who were so excellent and quite literally spun us around like nutters. It was a brilliant and hilarious night.

Finally Charlie had his best friend Niamh over for a play date on Saturday and i couldnt resist putting this photo on as it makes me laugh so much.

Bonfires and E numbers

2009-11-11T11:56:00.000-08:00

Charlie had his first experience of full blown full on E numbers at a child's party a couple of weeks ago. Held in a church hall, 30 or so kids were running around to the dulcet tones of Loopy Lisa who talked so fast and so loudly it was a wonder if any of the kids understood her let alone found her remotely entertaining. She bounced around the hall gathering the children round to watch her balloon bending tricks and magic show. I have to admit i looked on feeling rather bewildered at her skills and delivery of this. Still the children seemed to enjoy it.

The E numbers had actually kicked in by this point as Charlie had consumed large numbers of biscuits, chocolates, skips and cheesy wotsits all washed down with a large carton of blue bubblegum flavoured drink. It was a far cry from the usual falafels, hummus and elderflower water that he usually requests. And so i watched as Charlie got faster and faster on the dance floor spinning round and round like a loon, it was hilarious. And the grand finale, a large party bag full of haribo sweets (of which Charlie has not experienced) given directly to him. So with much bribery i was able to get him in the car seat with just a couple of cola bottles and wriggly worms. Unbelievably, that night he got into bed and was completely comatosed for 13 hours as obviously the descending sugar rush had rendered him devoid of all energy.

Last week we had a great bonfire party here with friends and neighbours. We had bowl fulls of chilli, hot jacket potatoes and gallons of mulled wine. The men did the macho thing and lit the fireworks which i have to say were really good and we stood around with the kids waving sparkers. It was a great evening and a late night for the children. It was brilliant though as we were able to watch the fireworks displays on the ebach from the lounge window and so were treated to a double show.

Birthdays and Bookclubs

2009-10-16T06:28:00.000-07:00

Its been a busy week of celebrations and get togethers. Last week I celebrated my birthday with a number of events. I had dinner at home with my family on the night of my birthday and then Saturday had lunch out at Pearsons, a really fabulous restaurant on the beach in Whitstable. It was such a beautiful day, blue skies, sunny but really cold and so after lunch we all headed down to the beach to throw stones into the sea. It was a great birthday and I received some really lovely presents.

This week I hosted the first evening of my book club. It is something i have wanted to do for sometime and after quite a lot of organising, Wednesday night there were 9 women gathered together in my living room excited at the prospect of doing something new and different. It was such a brilliant evening, the 9 of us didn't all know each other so it was great to meet new people, the only thing we had in common is that we were all mothers. As the host of the first evening I had prepared drinks and nibbles and printed out the synopsis of the 6 books shortlisted for the Man Booker prize for our perusal. Even though the winner had been chosen i thought it was a great starting point. After much deliberation we went with The Quickening Maze by Adam Foulds, a dark and atmospheric book set in an Asylum and following the lives of poets John Clare and Alfred Tennyson.

We had a hilarious evening and much wine was drunk as we determined the ground rules for our book club and came up with some ridiculous names for the blog that i am going to set up. We have 6 weeks to read our book before we meet again so I am off to the bookshop this weekend and cannot wait until we meet again.

Happy 70th Birthday

2009-09-29T13:22:00.000-07:00

This weekend we celebrated my Mums 70th birthday. It's hard to believe that she has entered this new decade as she really lives life to the full and has such a positive attitude to everything which is a quality i really admire in her. In order to give this milestone justice I decided that we should celebrate it in style so i arranged for a surprise family get together on Sunday. After a free range fry up at my parents house on Sunday morning we bustled my mum into the car, drove to Bromley South station and picked up the train the London. My Mum had no idea where we were going but we managed to get her Knightsbridge tube to meet everyone. Once we had all assembled all was revealed. A gift voucher to spend in Harrods followed by afternoon tea in their tea room.

We all split up to go shopping and so my sister took my mum off to spend her voucher and my Dad, Charlie and I headed off for the toy department. Charlie was totally awestruck, he really couldn't believe his eyes as he went from shelf to shelf taking it all in. He was so well behaved and amazingly did not ask for any of the toys. He was quite overwhelmed when we entered the soft toy section as there was a giant gorilla, giraffe and lion. This led very neatly into the pet department which i have to say was something else. Designer clothes for your pets in great abundance. So if you want a Robert Cavelli bath robe for your chawawa its a snip at £300 or a chaise longue for your cat £1000 or a 3 wheeler buggy for you pet or even a real live cat for £900 etc etc

We met at the tea rooms which was a bit of a disaster as they had no record of our booking and after several heated discussions with the manager we left and headed for Pizza Express round the corner. We were disappointed but you really cant go wrong at Pizza Express and we had a really great meal and celebration. The best bit for me was getting a black cab back to the station and watching Charlies face as he held his head out the window mesmerised by the lights of night time London. By the time we were in the car going home Charlie was completely sparko and it was the end to a really fantastic day.

Cousins and Castles (again)

2009-09-22T12:41:00.000-07:00

The other weekend Charlie had his first real opportunity to get properly acquainted with his new cousin Stella. We went to my parents house and met Jo and the baby and Charlie had a chance to really take a good look at her and give her a kiss, a cuddle and a custard cream. He asked if he could hold her, so we sat him on the carpet and he carefully held Stella on his lap and then to my great horror and surprise did a judo throw like maneuver and launched her onto the carpet once he had finished his cuddles. Stella was not amused and I leaped to her rescue feeling rather anxious and concerned. Needless to say she was fine, thanks to my mums deep pile carpets....

The next day we had a girls and kids day out at Bodiam Castle. Paula and I had planned to go camping for the weekend but due to a number of obstacles in our way we decided against it and just went for the day. We had brilliant day out, a great picnic in the grounds whilst fending off the ducks and the weather was glorious. The kids had a fantastic time in the castle and there were various people dressed up in Medieval costumes doing talks and demonstrations. The cookery one was brilliant and Finn, Lyra and Charlie thought it was great and all took turns stirring the big pot of stew. After ice creams in the cafe we took a leisurely drive home listening to the children giggling in the back of the car reliving the ghosts and monsters they had seen.

Parties and Pottys

2009-09-09T12:41:00.000-07:00

Over the last couple of weeks we have been socialising and enjoying the wonderful sunny september days that we have been lucky to have over the weekends. The bank holiday was packed full of social events. Charlie and I had a trip to the Isle of Sheppey to stay with my friend Michelle and sons Max and Freddie at their newly built house for the night. The boys had a great time playing together and once in bed Michelle and I had a great evening consuming wine and chatting until late. In the morning we walked down the quiet country lane where they live to feed apples to the horses and watch tractors chug up and down, it was a blissful start to the day.

Sunday I hosted a BBQ for my new niece Stella and we had a garden full of friends and family to celebrate her arrival and welcome her to Whitstable. It was such a lovely day and great to meet friends of Jon and Jo's and catch up with Rob and Marianne. Charlie, having spent the previous night vomiting several times and going through several changes of duvet and pyjamas woke feeling somewhat subdued but was raring to go at the sight of his snowboarding pals George and Frank and wasn't seen for much of the day.

Monday was spent on beach fishing for crabs and seahorses (my son is incredibly ambitious) followed by an indulgent whirly whip ice cream complete with flake watching the tourists in Whitstable walk by. Dinner in the Pizza parlour and a sneaky beer on the beach saw the end to such a brilliant weekend.

Last weekend was the moment of truth and the start of Charlies potty training. With bribery of chocolate buttons and constant seating onto the potty he soon got the hang of it and is very proud to be wearing pants. I am sure that it wont be plain sailing completely and am armed with my new going out kit of portable potty, spare pants, trousers, shoes, wipes........and of course chocolate buttons.

My friend Natalie came over for coffee Saturday and her son Morgan is already well trained in the potty area offered just the right amount of peer pressure for Charlie who already is attempting to do a wee with 'bubbles in it like Morgan' whatever that is......?

A new addition to the family

2009-08-23T14:55:00.000-07:00

August 11th saw the entrance into the world of my gorgeous little niece Stella Winter. She arrived in splendid fashion at home following a water birth with not a drop of water spilt on the carpet (my brother has an obsession with water leakages) She is very tiny and very cute and certainly is her fathers daughter. I have had lots of cuddles and cannot wait for Charlie to meet her as he had to miss out on the first visit as he had chickenpox. She will be coming for her first outing to the seaside next weekend for a BBQ and i hope she will be wearing her party frock.

Old Friends and Castles Galore

2009-08-10T12:43:00.000-07:00

July was a busy month of socialising and holidaying. We were very excited to see our great friends Kate and Rob who were over here from Australia for a month. We had a great afternoon at Kate's Dads house sipping wine in the sunshine and reminiscing with old friends from our heady days in London. It was a brilliant day and Charlie got to meet Scarlett and Flo and discuss the joys of being 2.

Then Charlie and I had a few days away with my parents in Dorset staying in a fabulous boutique hotel near Corfe Castle Village. We spent a couple of afternoons on the lovely sandy beach in Swanage which Charlie adored and took me back to my childhood of making giant sandcastles and boats and generally chasing Charlie up and down the beach, it was wonderful. We also visited 2 castles, first one being Corfe Castle which was an amazing ruin sitting on the top of a mound and once at the top the views were spectacular. I have never known a 2 year old be so fascinated with such a piece of history but Charlie found the whole experience so brilliant and loved running at full speed down the hill to the cafe at the bottom.

The next castle was Lulworth and more of a stately home than a castle but did come complete with a 'fearless knight' and had very smooth wooden floors throughout which were just right for running around like a nutter (me not Charlie) Outside we found ourselves in the rain and heading for the smelly animal farm where we were deafened by the abundance of peacocks who were parading about the place. A quick tour of the farm and back to the hotel for dinner and a lovely bottle of local wine.

The following weekend was spent celebrating my sisters engagement to her boyfriend James. The threw a lunchtime party at my parents house and it was a great turnout of friends and family, lots of food and wine, good weather and a great celebration.

A few days later Kate and Rob came to stay and we had a great few days at the Oyster Festival, barbequing at home and spending time at the beach hut. Much wine was drunk and many stories told. Kate and I found our refereeing skills coming into play when having to break up the many fights between Charlie and Flo over who had what toy and Scarlett kept us informed of the situation by giving us regular updates of the state of play throughout the day. It was so fabulous to see the Duthies as always and we were sad to see them leave. However, Rob left us with a lasting impression of him encassed inside a red tunnel looking somewhat deranged and scary.

London to Brighton

2009-06-28T13:19:00.000-07:00

Last weekend, Mike achieved a personal goal by taking part in the London to Brighton bike ride. He set off at 8am Sunday morning on Clapham Common being waved on by myself and my brother and headed through London out towards the Surrey borders. Meanwhile whilst Mike bravely pushed his way through crowds, up and down hills I was racing back down the M20 towards Maidstone to pick up Charlie and my parents to make the journey to Brighton by car.

After several phone calls to Mike en route it became apparent that despite the 56 miles he had to cover on 2 wheels he was in fact going to arrive in Brighton before us. We on the other hand were stationary in Brighton waiting to move a couple of feet in order to get to a suitable place to park. At 1.00pm Mike crossed the finishing line after 4 1/2 hours of pedal pushing, using the last of his energy to get up Ditching Beacon, the infamous last leg of the ride. I however, was to be found running through the streets of Brighton desperately attempting to make it to the same finishing line with camera in hand. Alas it was not to be, however Mike was awarded with a big hug from his son and a bottle of champagne from me.

It was a marvellous achievement and not only has he raised a tidy sum for the British heart Foundation, it was also personal acolade for Mike as main reason for theride was in memory of Ruby.

My type of camping

2009-06-11T12:53:00.000-07:00

27 degrees heat, permanent sunshine, no wind, and a fabulous campsite, that is my type of camping. We had 4 days at a brilliant farm with brilliant facilities, random camping pitches and to top it all the luxury of having a camp fire. Park Farm in Bodium, East Sussex was the best campsite i've been to in this country and being only a fair weather camper the weather was more than just a bonus.

Days were spent lounging around in the sun by the tent, bike rides along the river to Bodium, lovely pub lunches and a tour round Bodium castle. Charlie absolutely loved it and spent the days running around in pants (we have started to tentatively potty train him, taking advantage of being outside for 4 days) he loved his new Lightening McQueen ready bed and generally running around the campsite barefoot. Saturday night on the campsite did resemble a festival with the site being packed and a large group of party people having an all night shindig, luckily for us was in the adjacent field. Sunday the campsite was quiet again with most people having left and we had quiet nights sat round the fire drinking wine and eating BBQ food, dry and warm.

A busy social calendar

2009-05-29T14:00:00.000-07:00

Life in the toddler fast lane is hectic and Charlies social diary has begun to get busier and busier. Parties, sports day and a trip to the zoo no less all the space of a week. Sports day was great, the nursery laid on events in the school sports hall for all the kids, however bearing in mind the age of them there were no rules and it was a bit of a free for all. I was very impressed though with the mini gym equipment that Charlie to a shine to although having a mini treadmill and cross trainer for toddlers is somewhat slightly weird. The zoo was great and although we have taken Charlie to lots of wildlife parks this was the first trip to see the really big animals. He loved the gorillas and tigers but his favourite part was his giant ice cream that was a special treat.

We had to say goodbye to all his nursery friends this week as it was Charlies last day and it was a bit of a tearful day. He is moving nurseries to a more local one around the corner from us. This will enable him to make some local friends and in the summer he will be able to go to the beach straight afterwards which will be fantastic for us all. We are off camping this weekend and the weather is on our side and set to be glorious making me look forward to peaceful nights without having the noise of torrential rain battering the tent walls and keeping me awake. Suntan here we come.

At last the sun...

2009-05-10T11:49:00.000-07:00

At long last we have had some consistant weeks of sunshine and good weather and over those weeks we have been out and about doing various things. Last weekend, Mike and my brother headed off with a group on a cycle ride across Kent starting in Medway and ending at campsite in Wye near Ashford. Whilst on route, Jo and I took Charlie to feed the ducks and headed off to the campsite to make a start on preparation for the BBQ. It was a gorgeous day and the field was full of kids running about and having a great time. All the men arrived back after a couple of hours of off road cycling to some cool beers and a sausage or 2.

The beach hut has been dusted down and aired and we have been down there making the most of sunny afternoons and evenings and Charlie has enjoyed having his dinner picnic style, usually consisting of quiche and falafals (his current favourite). Now he wants to walk everywhere, what should have taken 10 minutes to whizz home with the buggy turned out to be nearly an hours meandering across the golf course saying hello to every bumble bee we came across (and there were many) We also had our first BBQ at home last weekend and grilled some gorgeously fresh asparagus also enjoyed by Charlie (his other current favourite) Hopefully this good weather will be here to stay so we can get out into the garden and down the beach as much as possible.

Celebrity Spotting

2009-04-13T11:47:00.000-07:00

Over the last month or so I seem to have spotted a number of celebrities whilst out and about. These include, a comedian, film star and political satirist.

During lunch at Wagamamas in Canterbury there was Vic Reeves, his wife Nancy and their twin daughters sitting behind us. He looked so old but then i remembered that it was 20 years ago that i had seen him in his live stand up show Big Night Out so i do not know why i was surprised to think that he had aged, sporting grey hair and looking rather tired. Perhaps having 2 lively 4 year old girls was enough to send any man grey?

A few weeks later i found myself queuing in the food dept of M&S and standing in front of me was Richard E Grant no less. This i think tops my celebrity spotting, he is A list, with an amazing repertoire of films and with the most fabulous voice that i could listen to all day long. So there he was standing with his basket of M&S lunch products (yes I did survey all that was in it) and proceeded to pay at the checkout. The woman on the till was hilarious, saying 'so i know you, you look really familiar?' He replied saying 'i don't live round here' she said, 'well you must have a double then'. And off he went. When i got to the checkout she said 'who was that man?' 'Richard E Grant', i replied, 'it wasn't she screamed' Oh yes.

Then last weekend at the hilarious stand up show of Ross Noble that a crowd of us went to see for Jo's birthday, who should be standing behind me in the queue to get to the bar but Ian Hislop. He is a very very short man with a very child like face. We got chatting at the bar and i offered to buy him a drink which he declined??? Clearly he was not impressed.

So the challenge for me in the next month or so is to find a musician, TV star, sports person and author.

Wild Wood

2009-03-22T14:43:00.000-07:00

We took the opportunity when the weather was good to take another trip to Wild Wood. As we are members entrance is free and it is only 15 minutes away so it's a great place to go for a lovely walk. It is such a well run place where they have many wild native species of animals like red squirrels, badgers and beavers and have created a natural habitat for them to breed. Charlie loves this place and is usually the popular choice of outings at the weekend.

Finally Spring is coming

2009-03-15T13:39:00.000-07:00

Today it was so lovely and warm, I opened all the windows in the house and welcomed the sunshine in. We have had a very low key weekend as Charlie has had stinker of a cold, with a constant stream of snail trails running down his nose and also his arm as he constantly wiped it. So despite the sunny weather I found myself on the sofa with him watching Finding Nemo and Cars on a constant loop. By Sunday evening he had perked up enough to venture out into the garden and have a good jump about on his trampoline and help me water the plants.

Charlie's 2nd Birthday

2009-02-25T12:05:00.000-08:00

Following on from Charlies first birthday party in France we arrived home safely on the Saturday night and Sunday afternoon found our house full of friends and family and a host of children to celebrate again. It was a lovely afternoon with plenty of food and wine and chat. the kids all had a great time racing up and down the stairs playing hide and seek whilst Charlie's pile of presents grew and grew. As a result we took the remainder of the week to open them all with him. It's hard to believe that he is now 2 and a very articulate and strong willed little boy who is full of love and arguments and an absolute joy to be with. Roll on the next year.

Snowboarding 2009

2009-02-16T15:40:00.000-08:00

What a fantastic week we have had in the Alps boarding down snow-laden slopes, blue skies and the sun beating down across our faces. Perfect weather for our annual trip to the slopes. This year we found ourselves in Morzine again, in fact we rented the same chalet due to its convenience to all the amenities and its 24 hour heating system which even i who always feels the cold felt somewhat overwhelmed by at times. It was a great week, Charlie spent some of the time in the creche and some with my parents who came out too. The rest of the week was spent with us and his new found buddies George and Frank. In fact there was a lot of hero worshipping going on with George as Charlie followed him everywhere and squealed and shouted at his every move. The boys shared a bedroom which was a rather loud experience both at the beginning, middle and end of the night when a variety of voices were heard calling for either Mummy or telling Charlie to be quiet.

The snowboarding was amazing and improvements to techniques and fear factors were made all round as we managed to board across the majority of the runs obviously stopping for a mulled wine or 2 on the way. We took the toboggan out several times and introduced Charlie into the thrill of skidding and sliding down the snowy slopes. Morzine is a fantastic resort as most of the runs weave through the fir trees and so it is incredibly picturesque and magical. But strangely one day when Mike and I were out we came across a stray pig just wandering around the slopes dodging all the skiers and boarders.

Evenings were spent cooking hearty big meals washed down with beer and local wine and a cheese board. One night Rob cooked the local dish of fried potatoes, bacon and reblechon cheese, known as tartiflette. It is absolutely gorgeous but guaranteed to raise your cholesterol levels to unknown heights and very very cheesy. In fact we all woke the following morning having all had a terrible nights sleep and weird dreams proving the theory about cheese and sleep disturbances. What with the immense amount of cheese we ate at lunch i think we really did overdose on the stuff.

Friday, we celebrated Charlies 2nd birthday with a pizza party and a very expensive birthday cake bought from the local patisserie. He is getting used to having his birthdays in the snow and in France as we did exactly the same last year. We had to travel back on the Saturday, Charlies actual birthday arriving home early evening which saw me hot hoofing it up to the supermarket to buy all the things we needed for Charlies other birthday party the next day....

Happy Birthday Ruby

2009-01-08T14:49:00.000-08:00

Today we celebrated Rubys 3rd birthday and took the day off work to go for lunch after releasing 3 balloons on the beach as we have done in previous years. It was a very very foggy day and the mist hung low over the beach so watching the balloons sail off into the sky was really lovely as they disappeared into the clouds. We took lots of gorgeous flowers up to the cemetary and spent the rest of the day in front of the fire. Lots of thanks to all our friends and family who sent cards and houghtful words to us today we appreciate it. Ruby is never far from our thoughts and she will always be in our hearts.

New Year Celebrations

2009-01-07T12:17:00.000-08:00

Our celebrations post Christmas and over new year were rather more energetic and required less tissues and medication than they were over the Christmas period. We had a great time seeing lots of people. We had lunch with old friends Jim and Kirstey who we have not seen for some time as Jim had recently donated part of his liver to his 2 year old daughter who had a rare liver disease.the operation was a success and both father and daughter have made a great recovery. We had dinner at Mikes sisters one evening which was great to catch up with them and their 3 boys. That evening resulted in games on the Wii and hysterically laughing at Nicolas stance on the10 pin bowling game.

New years eve was a great evening. We hosted a dinner party with friends Jane and Giovanni and Luca, sister Lucy and boyfriend James and neighbour Becks and and son Harry. I cooked Jamie's fantastic fish pie which was fantastic as always and champagne cocktails and cosmopolitans flowed freely. After dinner we spent several hours playing the Wii and engaging in the difficult game of baseball. We saw the new year in with Elton John and his celebrations at the O2 and a very silly countdown with sparklers and party blowers. New yeas day we met up with Charlie and Spencer and my sister for a freezing cold walk on the beach and dinner which as such a great day.

The following day Mike and I took Charlie to Wild Wood - a nature reserve where they breed wild animals although due to the extreme weather most of them were hiding in their boxes. What we did find there was a fantastic play area for the kids and in true Charlie style his ambitious nature took him to the over 5s section where he found these amazing tunnel slides to go down and we had to tear him away kicking ad screaming when it was time to go. It was a lovely sunny day out.

Sunday before we went back to work my brother Jon and his wife Jo came for lunch with other friends Rob and Marianne and their boys George and Frank. We are all off snowboarding at the end of the month and had another freezing but gorgeous walk on the beach followed by lunch at our local pizza place. During lunch Jo announced that she was 11 weeks pregnant the baby is due the end of July which is fantastic news. We all came back here for coffee and Charlie and boys had a great time talking and watching Cars. It was a great end to our Christmas break.

Christmas Greetings

2008-12-28T12:37:00.000-08:00

Christmas in our house this year has resembled the local sick bay. All of us have been laid up with the lurgie, Charlie with a 100 a day cough and chest infection, me with the flu (not man flu but actual flu) and Mike with a cold and general aches and pains (aka man flu) So having eagerly waited to finish work so i could sit back relax, drink and eat to my hearts content it actually consisted of taking all manner of concoctions of pills and cough mixture, orange juice by the gallon and not much food as i felt like i had razor blades down the back of my throat. However, regardless of this we did celebrate and spent the course of 3 days opening the mountain of presents that Charlie had been given. He thoroughly enjoyed it and got right into the concept of present opening telling Mike when asked what do you want for breakfast today replied "more presents" horrified that we are bringing up a spoilt brat we have now saved some for his birthday which is only 6 weeks away.

We have seen a number of our respective families and Mike cooked a fabulous turkey on boxing day. We also treated ourselves to a Wii and so our days will now be spent doing virtual bowling, golf, boxing, tennis and all manner of activities available from our front room. Hilarious stuff. We have a few days quiet now before we have a few friends over for dinner and cocktails on new years eve with illnesses gone it will definitely be a more raucous occasion.

Fish

2008-10-22T12:40:00.000-07:00

Last weekend we had a belated family day out in London. We had planned to do this a couple of weeks ago but the first winter colds got the better of us and we decided against it. The reason for the trip was firstly to see the Francis Bacon exhibition at Tate Britain, followed by a trip to the London Aquarium. The day started out in a rather fractious way when we arrived at the train station only to find that there was works on the line and a shuttle bus in operation. That didn't matter too much except for the fact that the train times did not correspond to what I had on my timetable. So after much ranting at the poor bus driver and anyone else who would listen we headed back home to pick up the car so we could drive to Bromley to pick the train up there. Finally after driving around the entire one\way system in Bromely looking for a car park that you could park in for more than 4 hours we finally parked up, purchased tickets and were eventually seated on the train and heading for the capital.

Charlie loved it on the train and the tube and was wandering around the streets of London taking it all in. By the time we arrived at Tate Britain it was time for lunch. We had a fabulous meal in the Tate restaurant and Charlie was so well behaved and enjoyed flirting with all the waitresses. Full of gorgeous food and wine we set off towards the exhibition with Charlie asleep in the buggy. It was an interesting and rather grotesque collection of paintings showing just how eccentric he was, not really what you would want hanging on your living room wall, but an interesting character nonetheless.

Once we had had our dose of art we headed along the embankment towards the Houses of Parliament and over Westminster bridge and arrived at the London Aquarium. It was great fun and having been to several aquariums around the globe I had not actually been to this one. Charlie was quite awestruck by it all and very annoyingly insisted on being carried around. I kept running off away from him trying to encourage him to actually use his legs as God intended. The Manta Rays and the Sharks were of great interest and we spent quite some time watching them gracefully gliding round the huge tanks. The favourite of the day however were these peculiar fish that looked liked a cross between a fish and a lizard and swam with their huge eyes poking out of the watching so they amusingly became the fish with the googly eyes of which Charlie thought was absolutely hilarious. Tea was taken on the platform of Victoria Station courtesy of M&S and we arrived home in time for Charlie to sink into his cot dreaming about fish.

Birthday Celebrations

2008-10-16T11:57:00.000-07:00

I cant believe that it is a year since the big celebrations of my 40th birthday took place. Although this year was rather understated in comparison, celebrations were still the order of the day. As is often the case with my birthday, the weather was absolutely glorious and in fact it was probably one of the hottest days we have had in over a month with temperatures soaring to 20 degrees. So a group of close friends and family headed for the Grove Ferry Inn, a beautiful hotel and family pub situated on the banks of the River Stour and was a perfect setting for the day. A big slap up sunday roast was had by all and pudding in the garden to make the most of the sunshine. I was thoroughly spoilt with lots of lovely presents and the wine was flowing well. The kids really enjoyed themselves running in and out of the bushes and sitting in the little house.

Camping - part 2

2008-09-10T14:11:00.000-07:00

Our second camping trip this time was a very wet and a very windy affair. So much so that we had to abandon the tent after the first night. Mike and I were awake all night listening to the rain battering across the tent and the wind blowing the sides in and the tent pegs out. The light that we had rigged up was swaying across the ceiling like a scene out of Jaws and the noise was quite incredible. I awoke in a very bad mood the next day shouting many many expletives and repeatedly saying we should have gone to Spain.

However, a log cabin on the sister campsite was a welcome relief and we soon had packed up the tent in the small window of dry weather and headed off to our compact chalet. We did manage to see most of the new forest, the horses and ponies although it was in the rain and so most of the pubs too. It is a very beautiful part of the south and even in torrential rain we could still appreciate the chocolate box thatched cottages with horse roaming all over the villages. Wet through most days we came back to a warm cabin and were able to make use of the campsite facilities and swam in the pool and cleansed ourselves in the steam room. The next camping trip will definitely be abroad.

Camping

2008-07-23T13:38:00.000-07:00

Mike and I have just had a weeks holiday and spent the last 4 days camping. We found a camping site in the Guardian which hosted a field of Tepees which you could hire and another field for those wanting to bring their own tents. We took our newly acquired tent and in between rainstorms managed to set up camp at the same time trying to prevent Charlie from pulling it down. We had a great time, Charlie loved camping and slept so well. The weather was not on our side but with cagoules at the ready we still went out and about. We spent an afternoon at Camber Sands which was a trip down memory lane for me as it was beach that I used to go as a child. It is quite a magnificent beach, very very long and wide with huge sand dunes at the back. When we got there it was so ridiculously windy that I had to put my snowboarding hat on to stop my hair blowing everywhere and Charlie nearly go blown over.

We had a great trip round Rye one day with my brother and his wife and a lunch in a lovely bistro and made the msot of the few hours of sunshine that were poking through the clouds. Back at the tent we cooked up steak and chargrilled vegetables on our little camping stove, drank loads of wine and had a very long scrabble competition. It was a great trip.

Fabulous Farms

2008-07-15T11:59:00.000-07:00

Over the past week or so we have been overloaded with farm filled adventures. A week ago we took Charlie to Farming World, only 10 minutes down the motorway and you find yourself surrounded by farming excitement. And excitement it was indeed. As Charlie now knows most animal names and noises he went absolutely mad on seeing the sow and her 10 piglets and the miniature goats and sheep. This was swiftly followed by the chickens, cockerels and then the piece de resistance was the amazing owl collection. After saying twit-twoo over and over again the adventure playground beckoned. However in total excitement to get to the slide, Charlie did an amazing slide himself right across the pavement grazing his nose and lip in the process. Not to be deterred, the amazing jumping dome saved the day, for Mike more than Charlie I think.

Moving onto last weekend which found us at the Lounge on the Farm festival which we attended with friends and family. It was a brilliant day, listening to the bands and DJs, eating lovely festival food and drinking beer and pints of Pimms. The weather held out for us and in the end turned out to be brilliant sunshine. Highlights of the day were a band called Sonny J, a friend of our neighbour, a really funky dance band with infectious music and then towards the end of the evening a rare treat The Mike Strutter Band. Yes, I have never heard of them either but the lead singer was no other than Paul Kay aka Dennis Pennis. This was his spoof band, with him as lead vocals playing the part of New York Italian mobster turned singer., It was absolutely hilarious and brilliant, playing punk and 70s covers it was totally full on and all in a little tent holding a mere 100 people.

Charlie really embraced the festival spirit eating Moroccan food, dancing in the fields, stealing peoples drinks and generally going wild. Exhausted he fell asleep in the buggy at his usual time and we wheeled him into the cow shed to listen to the grooves of Sonny J at full volume and not a stir was to be heard. Not yet a true festival goer but one in the making.

Radiohead Rocks

2008-06-27T13:01:00.001-07:00

This Wednesday, Mike and I had planned to take the day off work to go and buy and tent and all the paraphernalia that goes with camping. Unbeknown to me Mike had also arranged a surprise for us that day and after constant badgering from me he eventually succumbed and told me that day before that we were going to see Radiohead at Victoria Park, London. I was so excited and shocked as I had gone on and on and on and on about seeing them over the past couple of months and Mike had managed to fob me off with excuses like he didn't want to have to deal with all the crowds and mess about running for the last train. I was thinking what is the matter with him, I am the one who is 40 not him. So gullible and easily convinced - yep that's me. Glad I was though as it was such a great surprise. We headed off on the train mid afternoon afternoon a fabulous lunch at a local pub. The sun was shining, a glorious day and we were on a high before we even got there.

The gig was awesome, so atmospheric, they are an amazing band and everything was perfect. The night stayed warm and the light show was incredible. We pushed our way into the crowd for the first half of the set but after drinking a couple of pints of beer the toilet beckoned so we nipped off and then stayed at the back where the view was better and the sound just as good. We haven't been to a live gig like that for sometime and it was so uplifting and such a great day to be out. I love Radiohead they are truly one of the superbands and put on an incredibly memorable show.

Happy Fathers Day from Mr Cool

2008-06-17T14:10:00.000-07:00

Mike had a wonderful fathers day on Sunday, the weather was amazing so we set off mid morning to the beach hut where I cooked us up a lovely fried breakfast and big mugs of steaming fresh coffee. Charlie played happily with the pebbles on the beach which he loves. He had a growing collection of stones now. He has also taken to wearing his sunglasses and ours and now refers to himself as Mr Cool. Back home in the afternoon we finished off the last bit of planting up our Mediterranean garden and rounded off the day with perfectly cooked lamb steaks and a bottle of wine.

Allotments, who needs them?

2008-06-10T13:56:00.000-07:00

After licking our wounds and consoling ourselves about our shameful eviction from the allotment, we decided to go on a mega spending spree at the weekend and bought lots of lovely big and luscious tropical plants to put the final touches on our garden project. With Charlie sound asleep for most of the afternoon, Sunday saw Mike and I digging and planting like crazy people to get all the plants in. In fact I was rather lax in the digging area and was more of a delegator and organiser instructing where and which position the plants should go in. 4pm job done, gin and tonic in hand and time to sit back and admire all our hard work.

Evicted!

2008-06-07T05:07:00.000-07:00

Liz and Mike Bailey you have been evicted from the Big Brother Allotment.

Yes that's right, we have been evicted, off our plot, never to go near a compost heap again. The members of the Whitstable Allotment Society did their regular walk rounds inspecting all the plots and found no 39a to be seriously under par in the growing department and so we were issued with warning number 2. We were somewhat aggrieved about the accusations made about our lack of planting and wondered where freedom of choice and democracy entered into the minds of those running the empire of said allotment society. Power crazy or a secret plot to throw us off as we did have the neatest and sophisticated looking site. Yes, we had nothing growing but our plot looked good.

And so the Tom and Barbara of Whitstable are now back growing a few pots of tomatoes in our garden, our grand plans of becoming self-sufficient down the swany but a feeling of some satisfaction as our complaint letter makes it way to the local council for unfair treatment of its residents.

Welcome to Club 4-0

2008-05-28T12:08:00.000-07:00

This month saw 2 of my closest friends reach the dizzy heights of the big 4-0. At the beginning of the month celebrations were happening on the other side of the planet where Kate and her family said goodbye to her thirties in a sunny and tropical style on the most fabulous of places Lord Howe Island. Obviously we had planned to quickly nip over for a glass of bubbly or two but found that viewing her photos of the lavish place was a much better idea and considerably cheaper.

Last weekend we celebrated Jane's birthday with a friendly bash of drinks and dinner in a good food pub in the country. A lovely evening with plenty of wine saw Jane enter into the world of the responsible adults......

A Tribute to Ruby

2008-05-19T13:08:00.001-07:00

Yesterday, Mike and I attended the annual memorial service organised by the Hospital Chaplains. Over 100 people were there who had lost their babies. The Rev Paul Kirby who did Charlies baptism, had asked me several weeks ago if I would speak at the service and recount our story about Ruby. I agreed but was nervous about talking so publicly about what happened in an environment that was so highly charged with emotion and wondered if I would be able to hold myself together. However, I did speak without breaking down in tears although i did have a little wobble when I spoke about how amazing Mike had been. I was so glad I did it and felt that if I had brought some comfort to some of the people there it had been worth all the nervousness and heart pounding. Afterwards we spent time talking to many of the couples who were there, hearing their stories and offering them the hope that life does get better and that they will get through the dark times. It was a very emotional day and one that gave us special time to think about Ruby and share her special life with others.

At last the sun!

2008-05-06T13:02:00.000-07:00

At long last we finally made it out of our house, feeling like we have been trapped indoors for months and got out in the garden and down to the beach hut with yes no socks on. The flip flops were on and sunscreen applied and we had a fantastic few days over the bank holiday weekend doing outdoors things. It was so satisfyingly good to do weeding and mow the lawn with the sun beating down on us. Charlie was embracing his new environment and toddling up and down the grass with his newly acquired spade and rake. He also found, in true boy style, that putting his hand over the top of the spout of the water feature a great way to pass the time. Wine and beer was flowing well and like a broken record we repeatedly said, 'how nice is this' We are now reaping the rewards of all our hard work last year in our fabulous Mediterranean garden. More wine please...

Happy Family Days

2008-04-21T12:50:00.000-07:00

We have had such a lovely weekend. I had Friday off and spent the day with Charlie and my friend Michelle and her son Max. We talked for hours catching up on life and work. Saturday Charlie and I had a day on our own so made the most of the dry weather and had a wonderful walk out through Whitstable doing a bit of shopping, Charlie shouting loudly to every passer by. We ended up at the park where I let Charlie loose on the slides and swings. He is now confidently walking and in his usual ambitious style has taken to now running everywhere. So as the excitement levels stepped up as we arrived at the park he took off at a fast pace heading towards the slide. A few moments later was flat on the floor face down on the AstroTurf. He was easily consoled and a ride on the roundabout did the trick.

Sunday we had a great day at Mikes sisters who is due to have her 3rd baby in the next couple of weeks. We had fabulous roast beef and watched all 3 boys playing in the garden with the football. Charlie once again took off running around after his cousins caked in mud having the best time ever.

Dining Out

2008-04-16T13:18:00.000-07:00

Last weekend was our wedding anniversary, 6 years in fact. To celebrate we took Charlie off to my parents for a sleepover at Grandmas house. We then headed back down the motorway to a shopping extravaganza in Canterbury. We had a fantastic day buying clothes and music and lunch out in Wagamamas. Back home we had an afternoon snooze then got dolled up for a night out at a Michelin star restaurant in Canterbury called The Abode www.abodehotels.co.uk. We started with cocktails in their champagne bar and then were seated. The restaurant was very classy and we were pampered by the waiters. The menu was a select few dishes of modern English cuisine and although they were incredibly delicious we were rather disappointed in the very slow service. We waited over an hour fro our main course by which time we had consumed nearly all our bottle of very sumptuous wine and were feeling decidedly drunk. However, we had such a great evening and it was great to go out and treat ourselves. We finished the weekend off having a lovely long lie in on Sunday morning before heading back to Maidstone to pick up Charlie who had had a wonderful time.

First Steps

2008-03-30T12:11:00.001-07:00

Last weekend began and ended with probably one of the most momentous stage of your child development. Having spent the last few weeks cruising round the furniture, walking everywhere holding our hands, this week has seen Charlie progress to holding with one hand and then Hurrah! he took his first tentative steps on Saturday. Then that was it, he spent most of the weekend launching himself across his bedroom ending on Sunday night with him walking almost halfway across on his own. He is also chats non-stop in his own language with the odd word starting to become clear. Mike and I were welling up it was so amazing, such a proud moment to watch your baby growing into a walking, talking little boy.

As well as all the excitement of Charlie walking we had a packed social weekend which could have ended in disaster. We had friends over for dinner Saturday night and Mikes mum over for Sunday lunch. So having planned 2 scrumptious menus and splashing out on lots of gorgeous ingredients I was somewhat shocked to find that when I opened the oven the door fell off in my hands. So a dinner party times two and no working oven a disaster surely. Luckily my fabulous husband came to the rescue with a makeshift stick and book combination to prop up our broken door. And voila, we produced our fabulous meals and had a brilliant weekend.

Planes, Trains and Automobiles

2008-03-26T13:05:00.000-07:00

Charlies obsession with cars seems to have branched out into trains now since my mum bought him a wooden train set sometime ago and Mike decided to get it out and put it together. He loves it and together with that and his cars it seems these really are his favourite toys. I was surprised at the skill and dexterity that Charlie showed in pushing the trains round the track and over the suspension bridge, considering it said on the box from aged 3 years. Obviously a child genius in the making.

Party like you just cant stop

2008-03-26T12:49:00.000-07:00

Saturday night Mike and I really felt like we had gone back to our heady days of late night partying when we went to our friend Nikki's 40th birthday gathering at her house. We were sent masks to decorate with our invitations and so began the competition between Mike and myself of who could come up with the most original decoration. I went for an arty montage of Charlies face and Mike made his mask into a piece of french polished burr walnut. It was good night of catching up with old friends some we haven't seen in over 2 years, dancing in someones dining room to old house tunes and after many cocktails and glasses of champagne we finally made it back to my parents house at the unearthly time of 3am. Luckily they were on breakfast duty which meant Mike and I could have a lie in and they could indulge Charlie in his morning escapades. We emerged from our bed feeling surprisingly ok but sunk lower and lower into a horrible delayed hangover as the day progressed. Once home from my parents we consoled ourselves with scoffing Easter eggs in the evening before hitting the sack at a very early hour.

The Good life - part 2

2008-03-16T13:49:00.000-07:00

Yes, we are onto the second stage on our quest to be Tom and Barbara. Having acquired our allotment some months ago work has begun on cultivating the land in preparation for the inevitable planting. It was a bit of a dumping ground when we got it and after only a few weeks of taking over the tenancy we received a rather officious letter from the Whitstable Allotment Society threatening us with the possibility of redeeming our plot if no action was taken within a couple of weeks. So having to hastily do something about it we paid our lovely gardener friend Lee to clear the site ready for Mike to fit the raised beds. Now those beds have been fertilised and dug over we set off to the local garden centre this weekend to purchase our first batch of seeds. The dining room table has now been turned into the germinating centre as we planted our selection of legumes in little seed trays. We have a busy time ahead but feel confident that we will reap the rewards of our hard labour as the summer progresses. In the meantime I am still busy saving the NHS.

Big Changes

2008-03-03T13:20:00.000-08:00

It has been an emotional week or so starting with Charlie having his settling in days at his nursery last week. There were tears when I left him for the first time, with Charlie not even giving me a backwards glance. An hour later and I was back and he had had a wonderful time. The following day he already had his name in the accident book having crawled into a chair. He seems to have settled well so far and is by far the most vocal and adventurous member of the snowdrops room.

Sunday we had a lovely day out for Mothers Day. The sun was shining, the sea looked amazing and we walked down to a beach bistro where we stopped for lunch. Charlie managed to devour a banana and strawberry smoothie taking a particular liking to the straw and had us in hysterics trying to suck up the liquid. Back home we relaxed reading the paper and I started to watch 'The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie' starring Maggie Smith. It is a fabulous film, full of classic lines, a wonderful film.

Then today I returned to work. Having had 13 long and lovely months off, it was time to get back to reality and life in the NHS. It was a day of mixed feelings, I left Charlie at home with Mike having his 'Dad Day' but strangely it was Ruby who was on my mind. Feelings of letting go and memories of returning to work before were surprisingly overwhelming. The day passed ploughing through the ridiculous amount of emails that were sat in my inbox and booking various meetings and then suddenly I found myself whizzing back down the M2 on my way home to see my boys. Its going to be a weird few weeks and will take a bit of time to adjust but we know Charlie will flourish in the nursery and I will eventually clear my emails.

Boys and their toys

2008-02-26T05:37:00.000-08:00

At the first sign of warm weather this weekend, Mike and I were out in the garden admiring all the hard work of last year. We realised that now we have this perfect putting green like lawn that it had in fact grown rather a lot since it was first laid. We also realised that we didn't actually have a lawnmower either with which to cut it. So with that in mind we trotted off to B&Q to make said purchase. Whilst there we spied a rather nifty pressure washer too, ideal for our very dirty decking and back patio. With purchases made we arrived back home and Mike set to mowing the lawn, feeling impressed with his efforts and the skill of pushing the machine over our lovely long green grass. Job done and the lawn was back to its original velvet plush green carpet. Mike's excitement was building now to fever pitch as now was the turn to put the pressure washer together and hose down the patio and decking. It's funny how excited someone can get with a small plastic nozzle and a length of hose. Still, it did do a fantastic job and the once tired and dull looking decking now has a new lease of life.

Charlie on the other hand is becoming more and more familiar with domestic household equipment and all my efforts to teach him how to become self-sufficient are beginning to pay off. The washing machine is top of the pops at the moment, the dishwasher is not far behind. However, in true male style, it wasn't long before the novelty wore off and he was back to his cars which really are his true favourite past time.

Charlies 1st Birthday

2008-02-16T12:31:00.000-08:00

In true Bailey style, Charlie succeeded in celebrating his 1st and momentous birthday twice and in 2 countries no less. His first party took place in Morzine, France on our snowboarding holiday. We took him out sledging in the morning and then had a gathering of the chalet dwellers in the afternoon. As France does have the best patisseries going, a large chocolate gateaux was purchased along with some other gorgeous pastries. Balloons decorated the chalet, presents galore and the celebrations began. Luckily with my musical family in tow, a very hearty rendition of 'Happy Birthday to You' was played out on the guitar and accordian to accompany the roudy singing. Charlie had a fantastic time eating chocolate biscuits for the first time and other french delights. Round two was a party back in Whitstable, UK with family and friends, a banana cake and more wonderful presents. Charlie is indeed a very lucky boy and we are so proud of him and it marked the end of a wonderful first year of our new life with our wonderful son.

Snow Beautiful Snow

2008-02-13T01:23:00.000-08:00

This was the beautiful scene that your eyes could feast on once up on the slopes and what a view. This amazing vista never ceases to fill me with awe and wonder. This was Avoriaz, the resort where we boarded for most of the week. An what a week it was. Day one, I tentatively strapped myself onto my fabulous christmas present and headed off down the run. What ensued was a ride of thrills and spills, I have never been so fast in my life or experienced the unexpected mogels which popped up out of nowhere launching me into the air at one point, expletives exploding out of my mouth. The boys looked on in surpirise at my advanced boarding skills and I like to think were impressed with the ease and grace with which I Ianded. Mike had an unfortunate stack on the icy red run on day one resulting in a very black and swollen knee. Undeterred he carried on boarding the rest of the week, boarding better than he has ever done.

Charlie absolutely loved the snow, on his first venture out he just couldn't contain his excitement, he promptly sat down, picked up a handful and started eating it. One day I took him up in the cable car, buggy in tow and pushed him through the thick snow that was falling really rapidly. He loved it and I feel sure will take to the slopes as soon as he is able. We hired a sledge one day for him and took him up the nursery slopes and let him go he thought this was hilariaous.

We had a brilliant week all together, evenings spent cooking large quantities of wholesome food, silly games and general story telling oh and of course plenty of wonderful french wine.

Preparing for Snowboarding - stage 2

2008-01-28T07:17:00.000-08:00

This Sunday we had my brother Jon, his wife Jo, friends Rob and Marianne with their 2 kids George and Frank over for lunch. The dinner invite was two-fold, partly to celebrate Jon's birthday and also to make some final plans for our snowboarding trip this week as we are all staying in a chalet together. Mike and I cooked a fabulous beef casserole followed by scrummy Eton Mess. Charlie was in his element with his new found friends aged 2 and 5 and followed them around everywhere wanting everything they had. As it was such a beautiful day, after lunch we went for a walk on the beach and Rob produced several skateboards he had secured in the boot of his car. One was custom made by himself, long enough to lay a small child on and that's exactly what he did. So 2 year old Frank laid face down on the board as Rob pushed him up our road towards the path across the golf course. George was off on his own board and Jon was reliving his childhood on the third one. As expected it all ended in tears as Franks board went one way and his face did a spectacular grind along the road. Despite the injury he picked himself up and after a cuddle with his mum was soon back on. By this point we had reached the golf course path which has a slope and there we stopped to launch Frank and George down the hill this time without injuries. Rob was on a roll and spied another slope which headed on to the actual course itself and was soon speeding down it himself only to hit grass and in another spectacular fashion fell coating himself with mud. Not one to missing out Charlie had his own turn of perfecting his stance on the board and we could already see the potential in him. We eventually made it to the beach and let Charlie had a trot about on the pebbles, tasting a few here and there and as if not to be left out again, did a spectacular nose dive onto the shingle with bread stick in mouth. A small amount of blood shed and a few tears later and he was soon back on his feet. By this time the sun had set and it was getting cold so we hot footed it back to the house for a lovely cup of tea. Bring on the snow.

Like mother like son

2008-01-20T12:11:00.000-08:00

Despite Charlie being a bit of a daredevil, crawling about over any obstacle in his way, bouncing on the bed like a loony and generally loving being turned upside down by his legs, he is in actual fact a bit of a bookworm. Like me he loves books and will sit for ages on your lap reading, turning the pages and lifting up the flaps. He also loves to read on his own and we will often find him sitting quietly looking a one of his many favourites. Like me he also has a key nose for a drop of good vino and now he can can pull himself up on almost anything he has found the wine rack and today saw him sifting through our meagre collection of wine reminding us to go and stock up asap.

She rides again

2008-01-20T11:51:00.000-08:00

Having not set foot on a snowboard in almost 3 years, Saturday night found Mike and I in the living room putting together my fabulous Christmas present. A lucky girl indeed, with a brand new snowboard, bindings and tool set. So, I donned my boots and climbed on. A perfect fit and a cool board means hopefully I will be carving down the slopes like a pro. Hmmmm, my legs were aching from just standing on the board and waving around on the living room rug and as I said proudly to Mike how strong my arms were from carrying Charlie around he was quick to remind me that my arms were actually the least used bit of my body and my legs were the key to staying upright. Luckily Charlie had bought me a full body massage for Christmas which will be a well needed remedy on our return. Morzine here I come...................

Happy Birthday Ruby

2008-01-08T10:48:00.000-08:00

Today would have been Ruby's 2nd birthday and we cannot believe that 2 years have passed since she came and went into our lives with such an impact. This year has gone so quickly with the arrival of Charlie and he really has been a ray of sunshine in our lives since Ruby left us and we feel he carries a little bit of Ruby with him too. Today we released balloons like last year but this time let off 3, one for each of us and then had lunch out. We had a beautiful bouquet of red roses made for Ruby which we took to her grave this afternoon. It was a lovely family day but as always tinged with so much sadness at the loss of our wonderful daughter. We want to thank all our friends and family for all the wonderful cards, flowers and special memorials that they have sent and we know Ruby still lives on in everyones hearts.

New Year up North

2008-01-04T05:44:00.000-08:00

After a couple of lovely christmasy days at home, we packed up our car and headed off to Cumbria to stay with our friends Kellie and Gareth. After a long journey we arrived in the pouring rain, put Charlie to bed and sat down and opened a bottle of bubbly and sat up talking until the small hours catching up on news and gossip. Unfortunately the rain persisted during our stay so we couldn't leave the house but it was great to spend some time together and Charlie had a thoroughly fab time with their girls Poppy and Daisy knocking down the Lego castle that they built, again and again. The girls were really sweet and spent lots of time playing with Charlie. As we stayed indoors, we also all got to watch the Simpson's movie which was hilarious.

Two days later we packed up the car again and headed further up the country to Scotland to visit our friends Moira and Fraser. Again the weather was not being kind to us although instead of torrential rain, it was beautiful and misty over the hills and mountains as we drove towards their village. We had a brilliant time, and celebrated new years eve with a dinner party with some of their local friends. Moira cooked a fabulous meal and the biggest beef wellington you have ever seen all washed down with a magnum of vintage champagne brought by one of their friends. Games followed dinner and it was such a hilarious evening. It kicked off with the newspaper game, where we all had to tear a piece of paper into the shape of an elephant in the dark. The results were ridiculous, particularly mine which bore no resemblance to the big beast whatsoever. Mike's was outstanding and was promptly awarded the winner. Next was 'Who's in Hat' describing as many famous people to our teams. The finale was our own version of Mr and Mrs with questions set by Moira and myself for the girls and by Mike and Fraser for the boys. It was so funny and some of the answers given by everyone were outrageous. A very very funny evening.

The following day, nursing very bad hangovers we braved the weather and went for a new years day walk to a national park which was just the tonic. It was very misty and eerie but very beautiful and a much needed cure to the headaches. After an easy evening in front of the TV and an early night we set off the next morning for our long drive home. A fabulous trip away.

Charlie's 1st Christmas

2007-12-27T11:51:00.000-08:00

What a brilliant couple of days we have had celebrating with our families. Charlie was so over excited and totally over stimulated by all the presents, paper, Christmas tree and seeing so many people. We had a great day at my parents with just my brother Rob and his girlfriend Tay as Lucy and Jon were away at their in-laws this year. Instead of having crackers this year I brought a lucky dip full of old fashioned stocking fillers. As usual, the childish side in us all came out when Rob picked the whoopie cushion and Mike had the hand buzzer. Dad got some magic balloon paste and won the prize in blowing the biggest bubble of them all. Charlie was given some great presents but he particularly liked his new walker which within a matter of days had figured out how to use, he loved his guitar that we gave him and a small stool that he has been using to lever himself up with. He also found he has a liking for a drop of mulled wine - good boy. Exhausted he and all of us finally flopped into bed Christmas night for a lovely nights sleep.

Candlelit service

2007-12-18T04:48:00.000-08:00

We went to a beautiful candlelit service on Friday organised by the Neonatal Unit where Ruby was. It was a very emotional afternoon with carols and wonderful poems and readings. It was also a really good time to stop and reflect about Ruby and for everyone to remember their lost babies. At the end of the service we all released white balloons which glowed in the dark and it was such an amazing sight to see them floating away. It was great to see some of the staff again, who tell us that they think and talk about us all the time. They were so pleased to see Charlie and hear all our news and Shelley the paediatrician still has Charlies photo on her desk.

Fantastic Fish Pie

2007-12-11T12:02:00.000-08:00

We had friends over for lunch on Sunday to kick off our Christmas celebrations. We had a brilliant day, champagne, plenty of wine and great company. We decided to make fish pie, courtesy of Jamie Oliver. It is always a winner, homely, filling and very very tasty. It has also been on the menu for Charlie. So much so he has taken to only wanting fish pie to eat. He has flatly refused, lips pursed shut, to eat anything else. But offer the delights of Mr Oliver and he is there mouth wide open, almost begging me for the pie. So not only did I make a giant one for our Sunday guests, there are now hundreds of mini pies stashed in the freezer for our fish loving son.

He's off

2007-12-05T12:22:00.000-08:00

Yes it has begun. Charlie is officially on the move. Last Friday after a successful Christmas shopping trip, Mike and I returned home to get Charlie in bed and whilst running the bath, he crawled very effortlessly across his bedroom floor to get to his basket of books. It was an amazing thing to watch, one of those proud parent moments you wait for. The camcorder came out and there was Mike and I making Charlie do laps of his room so I could film him in action. Since then, he has gone faster and further and in fact although it may have seemed a nightmare in terms of not being able to leave him alone for too long, however, he is so less frustrated as he is now free to roam around and get to the things that he wants. Its brilliant.

Pedigree Cats

2007-11-28T08:23:00.000-08:00

We spent this weekend at my brothers house in Tunbridge Wells. Saturday afternoon was spent browsing round the most fabulous toy shop that cannot fail to impress any adult let alone any child. We purchased an amazing mini red guitar for Charlie as he has become obsessed with Mikes and anyone else guitars, constantly gesturing towards them, arms held up wanting me to take him to them. He seems to have already mastered the strumming technique and will carefully swipe his hand across the strings almost melodically if you really image hard. So this cute little red guitar was the perfect Christmas present for our budding young musician.

After settling Charlie in bed we tucked into a sumptuous roast beef dinner, expertly cooked by Jon and after several glasses of wine we got onto the subject of cats. Mike and I had seen the most gorgeous one lolling around on the beach the other day. What was striking about this cat was it was huge and very lion like in its appearance. So that set Jon off on a mission to find out what this breed was. We discovered it was a Maine Coon and was indeed a giant breed (see pic). And so the evening progressed into a cat googling time trawling through the internet and laughing hysterically and childishly at some of the most ridiculous breeds ever seen. A very good weekend.

It's Freeeeeezing

2007-11-20T06:12:00.000-08:00

Good God, it was like ice station zebra this weekend, icy icy north-easterly winds blowing in from Scandinavia and the sky looking like snow was imminent at any moment. So the weekend was spent indoors on Saturday just reading the papers and playing in front of the fire with Charlie. It was the first time he had seen the fire since he was a little baby and at first glance at the roaring flames he looked as if he was about to burst into tears, but in fact he was totally mesmerised. To pass the time we also spent a while amusing ourselves trying our hats on Charlie but he really wasn't that impressed.

Sunday saw us go off to my sisters new house for lunch. They were obviously feeling the cold too as their house was quite literally like an oven and soon I spied Mike, eyes drooping as he sat on the sofa feeling completely cocooned in the heat. We decided to brave the weather and headed off for a short walk, so wrapped Charlie up snugly and tramped out up a few of the winding roads. However we were walking straight into such a biting wind that the only thing to do was to turn back and head back to the warmth of Lucy's house. To say our faces were paralysed with cold was an understatement and so relieved we were to get back and thaw out.

Going Commando

2007-11-12T01:55:00.001-08:00

Over the past few weeks Charlie has been attempting to master the art of crawling. He has been trying out a variety of positions and techniques and the floor has been headbutted several times resulting in tears and frustration. This weekend he finally developed his own unique style and has taken to using the commando crawl and going backwards.

Not content with just crawling he has also taken to the old army assault course favourite and trying to scale the bars of his cot. So now is the time to really do some surveillance of the house and move any dangerous objects because he is so keen to get almost anything he sets his sights on, including door knobs, flowers and Mike's guitars. With Christmas only a few weeks away we are preparing for shifts on keeping guard of the Christmas tree and all its decorations. Let the fun begin....

It's Finished

2007-11-05T11:36:00.000-08:00

After 18 months of hard grafting, digging, bricklaying and precision planning we have finally finished our garden. We started this project a few months after Ruby died as a way of channelling our energies and creating something new and we have now realised our vision and it is fabulous. The lawn is so flat and so green it looks like a plush carpet that we feel we are not worthy of walking on it. It has been edged with blocks and slate coloured gravel and the borders are filled with top soil ready for planting in the spring next year. The Mediterranean chill out area was finished in the summer and is the perfect setting for all the greenery. The whole garden captures so many of the places that Mike and I have travelled to and were the inspiration behind our creation. Roll on the summer we say.....

Farewell to my old companion

2007-10-30T07:35:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I had to say goodbye to my lovely old cat Emily. I bought her when I was 21 after a champagne celebration with my flatmate Moira. On the walk home we went into the pet shop and saw this little ball of white fluff and I just had to have her. Emily's life has been full of experiences and she certainly has used many of her 9 lives. Whilst living in the flat in London she managed to fall down the rubbish chute, out of the bedroom window and crawl up the fireplace. The fireplace seemed to be a favourite of hers as she had a similar experience here at our current house and emerged looking like a very black cat instead of her pristine white coat. She has been a fabulous companion and seen me through the majority of my adult life, lived through many parties and enjoyed every roast chicken that we have ever cooked. She will be remembered with love and very sadly missed.

Charlies Christening

2007-10-30T07:18:00.000-07:00

Sunday we celebrated a very special day for our gorgeous son, it was Charlies Baptism. The service took place at our local church but instead of the vicar taking the ceremony, we asked the Reverend Paul Kirby, Hospital Chaplin at the William Harvey Hospital, Ashford. It was a great privilege for Paul to take the service as he had been with us the day that Ruby was born and had baptised her and also performed her funeral service and so we thought only fitting that he was there to welcome our son into the world. The service was very emotional for Mike and I as it symbolised such a happy occasion for us and by having Paul there made us feel that Ruby was also part of it too. We chose our dear friends Charlie and Spencer and neighbour Becks to be God Parents and Charlie was so well behaved. In fact he loved the water being poured over his head and lay back very willingly with a little smile on his face.

Afterwards we had a big party back at our house with champagne and a cream tea of homemade scones, clotted cream, jam and a selection of fabulously indulgent cakes. Instead of a Christening cake I made a tower of iced cupcakes which were very quickly snapped up by all the kids the moment they got through the door.

Charlie was a very lucky boy and received some wonderful gifts including a silver compass from Tiffany's, a train spelling out his name, a pewter half pint tankard with his name engraved on it, an a amazing book of parents memories, the donation of a teacher to the third world plus a large sum of money to buy some premium bonds.

It was a fantastic and emotional day and one that we had been waiting to celebrate for so long and we were very proud of our lovely boy.

Very very funny

2007-10-22T02:39:00.000-07:00

Last night, Mike and I went out again on a belated birthday present for Mike. This time to see Alan Carr, comedian and host of The Friday Night Project. He has been described as the spiritual son of Frankie Howerd with his camp gestures, ooh matron voice and cheesy innuendos. He was hilarious, Mike and I laughed continuously for 2 hours, my jaw was aching by the end of the night. I did feel slightly nervous though at the beginning of the evening as I had forgotten that I had booked seats right at the front so we were in direct eye contact with Alan and I squirmed around for sometime hoping that he wouldn't pick on us. Thankfully there were many other loud and bolshy members of the audience touting for a bit of attention and Alan focused his bitchy jokes and jibes on them instead. Phew.

Thoroughly Spoilt

2007-10-15T12:07:00.000-07:00

Well, what a very lucky woman I am. Turning 40 is the best and this weekend has had me surprised and overwhelmed. My wonderful husband took me to London to an amazing hotel called The Rookery. This 17th century abode was nestled down a narrow street in Farringdon. Several times on the journey up there, I asked Mike why he had chosen this place only to be given the answer, it seemed like a special place. And indeed he was right. We had the best room, complete with a huge roll top bath in a bathroom accessed down a set of stairs into another room. With champagne chilling in the fridge Mike said lets go out for a walk and have a look around. As we crossed a couple of streets, I suddenly realised exactly why we were staying at that hotel. Yes it was an amazing hotel but was also round the corner from Hatton Gardens, home of the diamond merchants and abundance of jewellers. My last and final present from Mike was to spend the day choosing an Eternity ring. I was speechless, then the tears came, then it was time to shop. Mike had allowed all day for me to find the ring of my choice and although we did look in every shop, strangely enough we ended up in the same jewellers where we got my engagement ring 6 years ago. It is a beautiful diamond ring which fitted perfectly between the other 2 rings and I walked out of the shop clutching my lovely little bag of bling feeling on top of the world.

We returned to the hotel opened the champagne and spent the rest of the day being together. That evening we went out to see 'Stomp' an amazing show of music performed by the cast with an array of common objects such as dustbin lids, newspapers, matchboxes and old kitchen sinks . The evening was so uplifting and very funny. Afterwards we headed towards China Town for a good old Chinese meal and more wine. We had a fantastic evening and so brilliant to have some time alone. A quick stop at Greenwich Market on the way home and we returned to find our beautiful boy having a whale of a time with Grandma and Grandad. A beaming smile greeted us and was the perfect end to a perfect weekend.

Fabulous Forty

2007-10-08T04:52:00.000-07:00

Yes, I have finally made it. And what a celebration I have been having. Sunday I had a lunchtime party at one our favourtie places, the Hotel Continental. 50 guests came, friends, old and new, family and a whole host of children too.

It was a fabulous day, starting with champagne and canapes followed by lunch. We had the whole restaurant to ourselves which was so brilliant as it meant everyone could circulate between and after courses and the children could run around without bothering anyone. It was so great to catch up with friends I havent seen for a while and some had travelled down the country to be there. It was a rowdy afternoon, the kids were out on the beach having a great time and the wine was flowing. Charlie was somewhat overwhelmed by the whole day and combined with his terrible teething that he is going through at the moment wavered between tears and laughter as the day progressed.

Monday night I was showered with presents from Mike, lots of luxurious gifts and some Chanel lipstick from Charlie, confirming that he is already got an eye for classy goods. As a surprise gift, Mike is also taking me to London for the weekend to a swanky hotel followed by a trip to the theatre to see Stomp and then dinner. I am one very lucky woman.

Mojito Mondays

2007-10-02T02:14:00.000-07:00

Last night I had a girls night out at one of the bars on the seafront that has recently changed hands and turned itself into a relaxed lounge bar complete with cocktail menu. I was so excited that we now have somewhere to drink cocktails in Whitstable, it has been a missing element of our town for sometime. The 4 of us have been trying to arrange a night for a while and so we settled on a Monday night where it was 'buy one get one free' on the mojitos. We had a blast, it was such a hilarious evening and the mojitos were going down a treat. It has been a long time since I have been out on a night that like and it was brilliant, we all had a such a great time and vowed to make it a regular occasion. Surprisingly, for those who know my alcohol tolerance is quite pathetic (video of honeymoon in oz as evidence) I managed to sink several lovely concoctions and made it home in a straight line without feeling the need to sing songs from the sound of music and Mike was very impressed with the sober state I appeared to be in on my return. Bring on the Mojitos I say........

Happy Retirement

2007-10-02T02:06:00.000-07:00

Sunday saw our whole family get together for a birthday celebration for my Mum and Dad and also to celebrate my Dad's retirement. He has loyally worked for the same company for over 40 years and now he has hit the golden age of 65 has reduced his hours and taken semi-retirement. We all went to a fabulous place for lunch, Eastwell Manor near Ashford. It is a grand manor house set in amazing gardens and we sat down to a scrumptious 4 course lunch in their restaurant complete with pianist playing an interesting medly of tunes in the background. The food was superb and everyone was very impressed with size of giant yorkshires which arrived on the plate with our roast beef and the mouthwatering puddings were to die for. It was a great day and good to get everyone together to celebrate.

Best Mates

2007-09-26T12:13:00.000-07:00

Today Charlie had his friend Max over for a play date and a chance for me and his mum Michelle to have a catch up. They were so funny sitting on the floor together grinning at each other and watching each others every move. Once they had got past the awkward first stages of being in each others company, checking each other out, there was no stopping them. Charlie was screaming like a banshee and Max was shouting at the top of his voice. In fact the competition for air time was getting quite heated as Charlie vied for an interlude in Max's very long repertoire in order to get himself heard. Then started the bubble and raspberry blowing and tongue protruding from them both and then they were off again. Michelle and I literally had to shout above them both to continue our conversation in fact we thought it quite rude of them to be taking all the attention and laughed in about what a couple of menaces they are going to be when they start walking. There may be trouble ahead........

Sunsets

2007-09-17T01:58:00.000-07:00

Thanks to the good weather we have been able to get to the beach a few times this week. On Wednesday Mike came home early from work and we went down there for the evening to have our dinner watching the sun set. And we were not disappointed, as it was a corker. This time of the year we can often see these amazing formations on the skyline and that night was a perfect example of the views that inspired Turner and his paintings. Over the weekend we were down at the beach hut enjoying the sunshine and having fun with Charlie. He absolutely loves the sea and gets very excited when we take him to the waters edge to watch the waves. He loves the noise they make and is mesmerised by the rolling water. We have come to the conclusion however, that he is starting to go through his anarchic rebellious stage already at the ripe old age of 7 months. Swilling beer and wearing dark glasses has become his latest pastime, playing the drums and stage diving we feel sure is not far off.

Hanging Out

2007-09-10T11:30:00.000-07:00

Now Charlie is well and truly on the move, having found him sandwiched up against the door frame the other day, we decided we needed to make some more space for him. So we have turned half of our dining room into a designated play area so he can roll around without getting into too much trouble. He seemed very excited at the new playground and Mike spent Saturday afternoon hanging out on the floor with him. Sunday was spent on the beach having a BBQ, enjoying the sunset and making the most of the warm evenings before they disappear. A very chilled and lazy weekend.

I can sit....

2007-08-29T13:58:00.000-07:00

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

2007-08-28T02:23:00.000-07:00

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

2007-08-19T23:54:00.000-07:00

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

2007-08-12T12:23:00.000-07:00

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

2007-08-08T01:40:00.000-07:00

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.

Yummy Banana

2007-07-31T02:46:00.001-07:00

"Yummy banana", "more" and "here it comes" are the new phrases I have added to my repertoire since Charlie has started on solid food.
To say he has taken to it well is a bit of an understatement. The food hardly touches the sides as he gobbles it up. His current favourite at the moment is butternut squash, which he will scream quite loudly at me when he has finished the bowl and I walk away, leaving me hurriedly trying to defrost another ice cube to satisfy his incredible appetite. I am sure he will get through the entire range of root vegetables by the time he is 6 months. He does sometimes like to go a bit tropical and is partial to a bit of mango for breakfast. He also likes to hold the spoon when I am trying to feed him. Looking forward to when he can throw it.........

Acoustic Rock Week at the Orpheus Centre

2007-07-31T02:16:00.001-07:00

Last Friday night I attended a very special show, performed by the students at the Orpheus Centre. These were no ordinary students though, these young adults all had disabilities of varying degrees and were attending the acoustic rock week. This workshop is on every year and run by Russell Barrow with Jon and Jo as the other tutors and other brother Rob as one of the enablers. All week the students work with them to write and compose their own songs and then Friday night is the big performance.

It really is the most amazing show. The songs the students wrote were interesting, funny and some of them very moving. Many of the students were unable to actually sing their songs due to their disabilities but joined in other ways. Other students not only sang really beautifully but also played a variety of instruments. I was particularly impressed with a guy called Andrew who played the keyboards, Hammond organ style so brilliantly, he really was a very gifted young man. There was also Sam on the drums who kept the whole night going with his rhythmic beats. I must admit I did spend most of the show welling up as I found the whole event so moving and very humbling. Music is such a powerful medium and a way of bringing a lot of joy into peoples lives and to be able to write, compose and perform your own song in front of a large audience is a major achievement for anyone but if I could have bottled the positivity and happiness the evening projected I would be a very rich man.

Telegram from the Queen

2007-07-25T01:38:00.001-07:00

Yesterday Mike's Gran celebrated her 100th birthday and to mark this special occasion all her children, grandchildren and great grandchildren took her out for lunch to The Grand Hotel on Folkstone seafront. It was a trip down memory lane for her as this is where she used to live and her late husband was one of the chefs in the hotel when it was in its heyday. It was an amazing day, and the first time Gran Bailey had met Charlie. It was quite emotional watching her with him and he was such a star chatting to her and squealing when she spoke to him. She thoroughly enjoyed herself and it was a really momentous day.

Neptune is alive and well and living in Whistable

2007-07-23T07:00:00.001-07:00

Yes the good old God of the Sea made a grand appearance at the opening of this years Oyster Festival. It was a somewhat creepy sight though to see this 12 foot mannequin slowly moving through the crowds on the harbour, what with that and the loony Morris Dancers with their scary horses heads made me feel like I had just stepped into the house of horrors. A good day was had though and Mike, Charlie and I spent it with our neighbours Becks and Harry wandering around, having lunch and yet again sheltering from the torrential rain storms that periodically let rip.

Sunday was Harry's baptism and after the service we all headed back next door for drinks and food. It was a brilliant day, and we all had a great time meeting Becks Irish family who were hilarious and swapping stories with some of our other neighbours. The celebrations continued well into the night and once we put Charlie to bed we went back round with the monitor in tow to finish our drinks and conversations. It was great to know that we live in a fabulous road and have a great bunch of fabulous neighbours with whom we have all become such good friends. Roll on the next party.

Festival Madness

2007-07-16T12:06:00.000-07:00

On Sunday together with a huge gang of friends and their kids, we descended on the Lounge on the Farm festival, held not surprisingly at a farm in Canterbury. I was sooooo excited as I hadn't been to festival for such a long time and was eager to see if I still had my festival dancing feet. As Sunday morning dawned though, the skies opened and we watched the thunder, lightening and heavy rain battering down. Not good for festival goers or those with no wellies as mine were still in Scotland with the Mackay/McKendry clan, left behind from our trips up there in the 90's. We were not to be put off, however, although when you are also taking a baby complete with buggy and all the paraphanalia it's hard to be minimal with the packing. So off we set complete with rain cover, sunshade, bottles, blankets, walking boots, flipflops, cagouls and sunscreen and got there just as the cloud was clearing and the sun started shining.

It was an amazing day, the atmosphere was brilliant, it was very family orientated with a kids area as well as all the music tents and lots of food tents. With beer in hand we wandered around the site taking it all in. All the kids had a fabulous time, they we were all in the tents grooving with the rest of the ravers. Charlie loved all the music and spent most of the day totally wide-eyed at all the different sights and sounds. He even had time to shake a few tunes of his own with his mate Max. As the evening begun we gave Charlie his last bottle, put him in his pyjamas and settled him down in the buggy at his usual bedtime. We were hoping he would have been asleep for the main act but no, there were far too many things to see and hear and when I took a peek at him he was chuckling to himself and having a really groovy time. So we decided that we would go to see the main act anyway and wandered down to the Cow Shed where Alabama 3 were playing and finishing off the days music. The main man Dr Wayne T Love whipped the crowd up into a frenzy and the funky country styled music began. Unbelievably, Charlie fell asleep during their set. How he managed to do that was beyond me, the music was banging out of the sound system and we had to shout to hear each other.

After the main band had finished Mike and I went to look for the others and as we wandered around the sky suddenly went very black and we watched the most amazing lightning storm followed by torrential rain. We were all in the beer tent watching but unfortunately at the point of the rainstorm, Mike was in the middle of the field trying to rescue our friends belongings and sun umbrella and was left standing under this trying to shelter from the rain. It was a ridiculous idea and I ran out to get him but in those seconds out in the rain the pair of us looked liked we had just stepped out of the shower. Eventually the storm blew over and we made our way back to the car and home. With Charlie safely tucked up in bed the only thing left to do was a hot bath and a cup of hot chocolate.

Surf's Up

2007-07-11T11:21:00.000-07:00

Whilst Mike was having a nostalgic weekend at the scooter run the other week, Charlie and I drove 250 wet and windy miles to North Devon to spend the weekend with my parents who had rented out a cute little cottage in the town of Appledore. Brother Rob also came along and was good company on a really terrible drive in the torrential weather and kept Charlie amused when we were stuck in traffic. We had a lovely couple of days and Charlie was great at adapting to his first time in a travel cot, although he did wake at 5am, once he had his bottle he snuggled down with me as a holiday treat and we both went back to sleep. We had a great day out at a place called Westward Ho! (no not a typo it really has an exclamation mark) It is one of the most fantastic beaches in Devon, really long and really wide and is a haven for surfers. We walked along the beach as the tide was coming in and the wind was picking up speed and at one point we let go of the buggy and watched it as it raced along the flat sand in heartstopping fashion. It was quite exillerating being in the wind like that and I loved watching all the surfers out on the waves. Walking back was quite a struggle with the wind in our faces and battling with the buggy. Ice creams on the promenade topped off the day and we headed home.

Lazy sunny days

2007-07-09T12:29:00.000-07:00

At long last we finally had a sunny weekend after all the torrential rain and hail storms and as we were unsure whether it was actually going to last Mike, Charlie and I spent the whole weekend lounging around enjoying our new mediterraean chill out area in the back garden. It was fantastic, Charlie played happily on his mat in the shade, squealing and screaming demonstrating his new vocabularly and Mike and I lazed in the sun, lapping up the rays, drinking wine and eating cheese and french bread. Saturday evening we fired up our newly acquired cool BBQ and invited our neighbours in for a fish feast and more wine, the sunset was one of those amazing whitstable scenes, purple and red sky truely beautiful. Once it was dark, the candles we had lit gave the most amazing light and with cool tunes playing in the background it was a perfect ending to the day. Sunday we went for our usual swim and then a leisurely stroll back home found us once again in the lounging position ready for another day of sun. It was a truely blissful weekend.

We are the mods we are the mods........

2007-07-06T12:03:00.000-07:00

After months of fixing, oiling, tinkering, building and buying numerous spare parts, Mikes scooter was finally on the road and just in time for the Camber Sands Scooter Run. After saying goodbye to Charlie and then dodging the torrential rain on the way down, Mike made it to his salubrious accommodation for the night that was Pontins holiday camp. The weekend was amazing, and a trip down memory lane as Mike watched The Jam minus Paul Weller and now known as The Gift play a wicked set of all the old tunes. Much more merriment was had in the various other venues within the holiday camp particularly the Northern Soul room where DJs were spinning more musical memories. Wandering around the campsite Mike snapped pics of all the bikes that stood out as classy and brassy and picked up a cute sleepsuit for Charlie complete with vespa motif. Watching the 'rideout' the next day evoked memories of scenes from Quadrophoenia and all that was missing was the gangs of rockers revving up their bikes looking for a fight. No sign of The Face though.

Brief Catch Up

2007-06-24T11:28:00.000-07:00

Having not had my laptop for nearly 3 weeks since it went kaput and something happened to the operating system I have felt lost without it. So I have been busy this weekend uploading the many photos we have taken, sorting through emails and updating my blog.

Our garden is nearly finished, the circular borders have been rendered and Mike has cleverly laid the tiles on the seating areas so now it is looking like the mediterraean vision that we had last summer when we started this project. We will now be able to paint the borders and seat, make some lovely cushions, put the water feature in and plant. We have already christened the new drinking and lounging area with our neighbours last weekend with an evening of wine and guitar serenading from their son Harry.

We have been taking Charlie swimming as his bath has become his all time favourite thing as he goes completely bonkers in the water, arms and legs kicking and splashing. He has started lessons at the local pool and last week he went under water for the first time and came up, somewhat surprised but ok. Now we are going most sundays which means I can also get back to swimming lengths whilst Mike gets him dry. The rest of the week, Charlie and I are out and about socialising, having lunch with friends and generally having a very nice time. Tomorrow I am taking him into my office to meet the rest of my work colleagues followed by lunch out, the rest of week is meeting friends and having lunch out. Maternity leave rocks.

Fantastic Friends Reunion

2007-06-02T02:38:00.000-07:00

What a brilliant day we had several Fridays ago when our friends Kellie and Gareth came down south from Cumbria. I had arranged a get together down at the beach with a crowd of all of their good friends plus all of our kids. It was very wierd weather though as the day started with this really heavy, thick sea mist which slowly made its way in land as the afternoon wore on, it really looked like the set of some mad thriller, quite eerie. Then all of a sudden it was gone and the sun appeared and it was absolutely scorching hot.

I had such a fantastic day as it was the first day I had been able to have more than a couple of glasses of wine as I had stopped breastfeeding and so could let my hair down and indulge a bit. It was so great to get everyone together again as well and the kids all loved being with each other running around on the beach, playing Pirates of the Carribean. The BBQ got its first airing of the year and we had a great feast of food. We were also celebrating the fantastic news from our friends Charlie and Spencer who got engaged on a recent trip to New York and after being together for over 20 years, we were all so stunned that they finally made the leap into marriagedom. Hooray for them, we think it is fantastic unlike their son George who was not as impressed at the thought of watching mum and dad kissing and said that weddings are boring.

Charlie was such a good boy and drifted off to the land of nod in his buggy and we wheeled him home later, lifted him into his cot and he didnt make a sound. We love him.

A very windy day

2007-05-23T06:56:00.000-07:00

This weekend we celebrated the final completion of our beach hut with a family picnic and get together. Mike and my Dad have built the most amazing hut that is totally windproof, storage areas to house the entire family's possessions and comes complete with fully fitted kitchen. The only thing that is missing is the whirlpool bath and American fridge freezer. It was exceedingly windy on the beach and having persuaded all my family to come down telling them the weather was going to be ok and then accusing everyone of being such soft townies, I felt obliged to then brave the wind in my shorts. Eventually I finally sucumbed to layering on various tops in an effort to stay warm still remaining cheerily optomistic that is was still sunny and that the wind would finally drop when the tide came in.

The windy weather however did provide perfect conditions for a spot of kite flying and so we dusted down Mikes stunt kite and set to for some serious airtime. I have to say I was very impressed with my brother Jon's very laid back approach as he took the ropes and leaned so very casually against the groynes and flew the kite with so much ease and grace that it just danced about in the air. Mike showed off with a variety of dives and spins and at one point held the kite perfectly still above his head just hovering. Not one for standing on the sidelines, I took to the ropes myself only to find the pull of the kite so much stronger that first percieved and my attempts at even doing any kind of trick were pathetic and totally sabotaged by the wind. So the windy day did prove to be a success and Charlie even joined in with his own windy renditions and bubble blowing.

Our Giant Boy

2007-05-14T05:15:00.000-07:00

Yes, as this photo demonstrates our lovely boy seems to be growing at an alarming rate we are both sure he will be towering above me before he hits his first birthday and entering the guinness book of records for thet biggest 3 month old in history. He is changing so fast and is such a happy chap constantly smiling and laughing, he is such fun to be around.

We have had a great weekend with our friends Jane and Giovanni and Luca who came down for lunch. Despite the blustery weather we still managed a very blowy walk along the seafront and back through the town, picking up fresh bread for our lunch on the way. We managed to consume the best part of a whole organic smoked salmon that Mike and I have discovered down at the fish market and have taken a bit of a fancy to. It really is the best smoked salmon I have ever eaten and we just can't get enough of it. It was great day catching up with our lovely friends.

A Seafood Treat

2007-05-09T03:01:00.000-07:00

This weekend, my parents kindly offered to babysit young Charlie so Mike and I could have our first night out. I was very excited and immediately rang the best restuarant in Whitstable hoping they had a table. They did and so Monday night we set off to Wheelers, mouths watering at the thought of all their scrummy food. We have been to Wheelers several times over the last couple of years but I have been pregnant for all of those times and consequently couldn't ever have the full choice of their amazing menu. This time however, it was almost impossible to choose. I eventually plumped for thier fabulous crab cake with a citrus dressing and a lobster thermidor tart with fresh asparagus, all washed down with an ice cold bottle of champagne. Perfect.

Happy Family Weekend

2007-04-29T11:48:00.000-07:00

We have had such a lovely weekend at home, just us 3, no need to go anywhere, just hanging out in Whitstable on the beach and in our lovely house. We had a great day on saturday down at the beach hut with a picnic of french bread, pate and cheese and a bottle of wine. There was a chilly wind but we were luckily sheltered by the walls on the decking in front of the hut. Charlie had a fab time kicking about and cooing, in fact his repertoire has grown and he is making noises that now resemble Welsh towns and it all sounds very advanced. Mike and I sat and read the papers and chatted to the passers by and our other beach hut neighbours.

Sunday, Mike took Charlie out for a long walk so I could have a lie in as Charlie had woken several times more than usual in the night and I was tired. It was a great luxuary to wake up at 11am and I certainly felt so much more refreshed. As the weather was not so good, Mike cooked a big roast chicken whilst I pottered around in the garden planting more seed and plants for this years vegetable crop. After our big lunch we walked it off by a trip up to the cemetary to see Ruby and take some more plants for her grave. Bath and bed for Charlie and Mike and I settle down to watch Doctor Who. A perfect end to the weekend.

Giving something back

2007-04-26T13:26:00.000-07:00

This week I was asked to speak at a conference about the future of the Hospital Chaplin service and the benefits of the service. This time however it was not in my professional capacity but as a user of the service. The Chaplin Paul Kirby, who supported and helped us with Ruby was the instigator and he was able to do an interview session with me via a conference call as I was unable to actually get to the conference itself.

It felt really good to be able to speak honestly about how well we were supported and the service that we received from them. It reminded us of how special it was that we got Ruby Christened in the hospital and as a result of that we were able to ask our friends Jane and Giovanni and Kate and Rob to be Ruby's God Parents. It meant so much to us. It felt good to be able to share our experience in the hope that it may do some good in keeping a much needed service from being cut in the NHS re-structure.

Another Great Weekend

2007-04-23T13:29:00.001-07:00

As the sun was out again this weekend, Mike, Charlie and I took ourselves off the newly completed beach hut for a picnic. It was the first time this year we have used the hut and thoroughly enjoyed lazing in the sun whilst Charlie lay on his blanket smiling and talking to us. He even had his first taste of the sea when we dipped his feet in the water. The smiles however were quickly replaced by cries as it was rather cold but he was soon soothed by his Dads cuddles and kisses. It is an amazing suntrap down at the hut and it felt so hot and reminded us of all the times in the past that we were down at the beach enjoying the sunshine.

Sunday we went over to Mikes sisters for a family lunch. It was another lovely hot day and it was a chance for Charlie to meet his cousins. George and Joe really enjoyed meeting him and spent lots of time talking to him and trying to get him to play although George kept wondering why he wasn't concentrating enough. A thoroughly enjoyable weekend.

Sunday we went off to Mikes sisters for lunch and a chance for Charlie to meet his cousins for the first time. We had a great day and

I love the sun

2007-04-16T12:14:00.000-07:00

Having spent the last few days feeling on deaths door with the mother of an illness, high temperature, razorblades in my throat and tiredness that makes hangovers a breeze, I woke up on Sunday morning feeling decidely better and ready to face the glorious sunshine that I have been hiding away from in my sick bed.

We were invited to a BBQ hosted by my brother who is currently living at his friend Petes. It was a great day and a chance to show off Charlie to friends and catch up with everyone. It was so hot and we all reminded ourselves of the weather this time last year when we were all out for Jo's birthday and it was snowing very heavily. I dont think Pete has ever had so many small people in his back garden as most of the guests came laden with child/children. Charlie was so well behaved and laid on the blanket cooing and smiling. He even had his first encounter with a lady when 3 month old Eloise and him met for the first time and laid side by side. Charlie even took the liberty to hold her hand at one point, very cheeky and a bold move for a first date I thought.

It was good to go out for the day and I so enjoyed the sunshine and dowing a couple of cooling beers aswell. It feels like summer is on its way and I am so looking forward to more days like this on the beach.

Charlie goes off piste

2007-04-09T07:52:00.000-07:00

We have just got back from a brilliant weekend in Chamonix where Mike and my brother indulged in a long weekend of snowboarding. We stayed at out favourite place the Hotel Eden where we have been several years in a row. I, unfortunately could not take to my board for fear of my very neat caesarian scar ripping open in a tumble down the slopes, so instead took the opportunity to hang out in Chamonix town with my lovely boy.

Charlie and I spent the mornings preparing for my interview which was the day after we got back and then in the afternoon headed into Chamonix to indulge in coffee and cakes in our favourite patisserie. The walk down into the town from the hotel is about 45 minutes and is a beautiful path along the riverside surrounded by the slopes either side and with huge white gleaming mountains in the foreground as you head down the valley. The sun was shining and the sky was brilliant blue and I couldn't have been happier. As for the snow, Mike and Jon were in their element. Even though it was the end of March, the snow was the best it had been all season, lots of deep, thick powder at the top of the runs and warm sunny weather which makes boarding at its best.

The evenings were spent gorging on the amazing food in the hotel restaurant and drinking local wines. Charlie was so good and the Maitre d gave him his own table so we could put him in the car seat asleep whilst we dined. It really was such a brilliant weekend and so great to be able to take Charlie on his first trip abroad and for him to have his first taste of the snow.

Spring is Coming?

2007-03-20T07:47:00.000-07:00

Last week has seen some extreme weather down in Whitstable. We had days of glorious sunshine which enabled Mike and I to take Charlie out for walks along the beach and have his first proper taste of the weather. He was able to sample the sea air and feel the sun on his face, all new experiences for him.

As the week progressed we saw the winds getting stronger and stronger and in Whitstable they really are blusts of biting air which cut through your clothes and leave your ears feeling numb (even with hat firmly planted on head). Sunday was no exception but despite this Mike and I wrapped up, put Charlie in his buggy, swaddled in several balnkets and headed out for a mothers day walk. The day was beautifully sunny even with the wind and when we reached the beach, the sea was at it most frantic. Waves crashing across the breakwater and rolling up the beach at a fast pace. The spring tides had arrived. I love it when the sea is like this, dramatic and exciting. It always makes me feel like squealing.

And then came the snow.........

The Charlie Bailey Catwalk Collection

2007-03-07T04:50:00.000-08:00

It is hard to believe that Charlie is already the grand old age of one month and this week signifies a new routine for us all. Mike has returned to work after having a lovely long month off and is back to land of wood and carpentry and I have had my first week at home alone with my gorgeous son.

Charlie is growing a quite a rapid pace now which means he now has a much bigger choice of outfits to wear from his extensive wardrobe. As you can see he is sporting a variety of fashion items, his favourites being this fabulous Rocky Balboa style bathrobe, his gorgeous green number and his funky little outfit from the Duthies in Australia.

Bathtime has become a much more pleasurable experience, however I think Mike went slightly overboard with the bubbles on the last attempt. Charlie didn't seem to mind and it was an obvious choice for a photo opportunity.

We are looking forward to the coming weeks when Charlie will be getting more alert and growing and of course the number of outfits he will be able to wear will be endless.

New Experiences

2007-02-23T04:24:00.000-08:00

Charlie has turned 2 weeks old this week and it has been an eventful week of trying new things. When my brother 'Uncle Bob' came to visit he gave Charlie his first guitar less and showed him a few mean guitar chords and a bit of reverb. He has taken his first bath, which didn't seem to be the most enjoyable of experiences for him but one we hope he will get used to.

He has been out for lunch in our favourite restaurant. He was so well behaved and slept soundly throughtout our yummy meal. I was able to further indulge myself in the remaining seafood items I had yet to sample and tucked into a gorgeous bowl of crab bisque and a huge pile of mussels in garlic. Unfortunately, indulgences had a somewhat detrimental effect on poor Charlie later on that night where he found himself battling with a bad case of wind. Seafood will be off the menu for a while I think.

We also took Charlie for his first walk on the beach and to show him our new beach hut where we hope to be spending many long and lazy days at this summer.

Mike and I are thoroughly enjoying spending time with our gorgeous little man and look forward to sharing more experiences with him as the weeks pass.

Charlie Alonzo Bailey Has arrived

2007-02-15T09:41:00.000-08:00

On the 7th February at 9.31am our beautiful son arrived by caesarian section, weighing in at 7lb 7oz. It was the best moment in our lives since our darling daughter Ruby was born and words cannot describe how Mike and I felt when we first heard him cry and knew that he was alright. To top it all the most wonderful bonus is that he also looks so like his sister which made our hearts melt.

Since Charlies arrival, Mike and I have been on cloud 9 and never thought we would ever feel this happy ever again. This little man has brought the most immense amount of joy and happiness into our lives. I don't think he realise just how special he is.

We have been back home for a week now and life is just great, Charlie is eating like a trooper and sleeping for England. It is just so wonderful to have him at home and to do all the things that we didn't get to do with Ruby. Mike and I are relishing the time together at home and I have been totally spoilt by him and have been fed, lobster, brie, prawns and champagne, all the things that I have missed since being pregnant for such a long time.

We have of course taken hunderds of photos already and cannot stop looking at him as he is so totally gorgeous.

Count Down

2007-01-27T08:59:00.000-08:00

Mike and I are now getting really excited as we now have a date for the c section and can now count down to the day that we get to meet our new baby. It seems a long time ago that we were in such a dark place but since we celebrated Ruby's birthday we feel some sense of peace and are now able to look towards the new beginnings with her sister or brother.

I have now finished work and although I have no idea whether I have a job or not due to the NHS re-structure, I am glad to be able to have some time at home before the baby arrives. Not one to be putting my feet up and resting though, I have started on a cooking marathon making lots of meals to freeze to save on time when we first get home. The nesting instinct is kicking in with a vengence as I have a number of lists of 'things to sort out' and various obessive cleaning plans for every room in the house. The best thing about not being at work however, is making the most of having a lie and catching up on some well needed sleep.

I seem to have grown to gigantic proportions since we entered 2007 and am feeling and looking like I have a swallowed a giant space hopper and indeed feel like there is a giant of a baby in there. It is generally known that second babies are bigger and as Ruby was a big girlie it seems that this one is definitely in competition with her.

I guess all will be revealed in a couple of weeks time.................

Happy Birthday Ruby

2007-01-08T09:23:00.000-08:00

Today, Mike and I celebrated the birth of our beautiful daughter Ruby Jeanne. It's hard to believe that it was a year ago that Ruby came into our world and we thought so much today about how grateful we were to spend the time we did with her whilst she was here. Today though was not going to be a sad day, although a few tears were shead when we opened the many cards, messages and gifts that we received from friends and family. Today was a day to celebrate.

So Mike and I took a beautful flower arrangement up to Rubys grave and then headed back to the beach where we released two heart shaped balloons across the sea in memory of our wonderful and brave little girl. We watched them float away until we could no longer see them. Then we sat in one our our favourite restaurants and had an amazing lunch together.

Tonight at 6.51pm we will open a bottle of champagne and think about our darling Ruby and how lucky we were to have her.