Another milestone

Yesterday was Stephen's first day at university.

Here we are outside the King's College library...



Coincidentally, this weekend also happens to be the weekend when many buildings of historical interest which are usually private are open to the general public, so we were able to tour the library. Pretty amazing...

We were in London by 11, and while Steve got his room key and started unpacking, Bobby and I went to what was billed as an orientation session for family members. Afterwards we met up with Steve again for lunch.

.

His walk from his hall of residence (hall = res for SAs, dorm for US people) to campus is quite spectacular - along the Thames, opposite the Houses of Parliament, past the London Eye and over the bridge to Somerset House.

There was lots happening along the river on Saturday - street art -



someone juggling a glass ball



dancers taking a break - I liked the juxtaposition of the African dress and the Houses of Parliament in the background -



and people blowing bubbles.



This is Stephen's hall - Brian Creamer House. It's in the grounds of Lambeth Palace, and very close to the Archbishop's Park. Because it's set back from the road and hidden from public view it feels very tranquil, despite being so central.



After we'd eaten, we walked back with him and picked up a few groceries on our way - the hall is self-catered; each group of four students has a kitchen to share. A far cry from the pampered existence Bobby and I had, back in the day! And then we said goodbye. He had a party to go to, and we had to get home to the girls.

The day was too busy to feel much sadness. But today all the emotions have hit hard. A mix of happiness for Stephen - the start of a whole new phase for him - and apprehension - how will he cope - and sadness - because we're going to miss him.

This is the end of an era... Of course he will come home... often, I'm sure... but he's now officially a young adult, living on his own. Very bittersweet... Bobby is also quite emotional - I don't think he'd expected that Steve's starting uni would feel quite this momentous, but it does. It really does.

Wow!

Emily got her GCSE results today: 6 A*s and 5 As. (She took an extra subject last year; hence the 11th result).



We're going out tonight to celebrate.

Up and down

Up: my mum-in-law and sister-in-law have arrived. It's lovely to have them here, and we've been sightseeing and doing touristy things. Tower of London, boat trip on the Thames, Greenwich market, Hever castle... And the weather has been gorgeous. Hot and sunny; most un-English.

Down: Bobby has swine flu. He's quite ill. High temperatures, muscle aches, sore throat, sore chest ... generally miserable. I think he is starting to feel a little better but it is a nasty flu. The NHS system has worked very smoothly; we picked up his Tamiflu as soon as he was diagnosed so he could start it promptly ... and we didn't have to pay a penny for it...

Up: Stephen got his A level results today. He got his predicted grades so he can take up his place at King's College and start his philosophy degree in a couple of weeks. So all that hard work has been worth it. He's excited; so are we. Excited and proud.

Yawn

Sophie had her birthday sleepover last night, so we had five extra twelve and almost-twelve year olds in the house last night. Activities included giving each other facials, watching girly dvds, making pizzas (I bought ready made bases and they put their own toppings on) dancing, and giggling. Not a lot of sleeping, though. They were up by 7.45, which surprised me, as they had still been awake at 1 last night, when Bobby and I went to sleep. And they were dressed and ready for the day by 8.30 (much spraying of Impulse and use of hair straighteners involved in the getting ready process; between the body sprays and the hair products it was fairly hard to breathe for a while...) After breakfast they went to the park. Well, five of the six of them did. The sixth wasn't allowed to go without an adult being present. Which I think is utterly ridiculous. But her mother won't allow her to go anywhere at all unchaperoned; apparently it's because her two older sisters went off the rails during their teens so her mother is determined that the youngest will have no opportunity to follow in their footsteps. Doesn't seem like a very good strategy to me, though. Stopping her daughter from doing totally innocent things now is surely going to lead to major rebellion later on?

I'm glad the sleepover went well, but I must admit I'm also glad it's over. Six 12 year olds is 5 too many for one house, really.

Can't believe Sophie will be 12 tomorrow, she still seems like my baby girl... She's asleep on the bed next to me right now, looking very small and young... Hmmm. Ems seems to have passed out too. It's amazing how many people can fit onto one regular-sized double bed. Ems is also growing up far too rapidly. She and her friends spent yesterday shopping on Oxford Street... I wonder if the poor child who wasn't allowed to go to the park will ever be allowed to venture out on such trips?

I am relieved that I managed to sort out the car today; its MOT is done and its car tax is paid. I found the whole process very stressful; dealing with forms always panics me far me than it ought to.

Stephen is stressed too, I think. He needs a part-time job as he has to earn some money before he starts uni at the end of September, because he's run through every penny of the money he'd saved up. And so far, he's had no joy in finding one. I feel very sorry for him, but I also feel incredibly frustrated and annoyed that he quit the job he used to have on the spur of the moment, and that he's spent his savings and has hardly anything tangible to show for it. I suppose this misery is the way that people learn the consequences of their actions...

Anyway, no-one's allowed to be stressed tomorrow, because it's Sophie's birthday and we're going to Thorpe Park to celebrate. And the next day, I and however many of the children wish to accompany me are going to Beccles to spend the day with my folks. Looking forward to both events greatly.

double ow

So we did end up going out last night, despite my messed up back.

We drove to the station - felt rather pathetic to drive, but I couldn't walk. Only problem was, there ended up being more walking than I'd counted on at the other end. I had taken a large dose of ibuprofen before we left so it wasn't as bad as it could have been, but it was still pretty unpleasant.

We ate at Mirch Masala - the choice of the Indian couple we were with. They seemed to feel that the food was pretty much what they would have got at home, so they were happy. They don't seem to be terribly adventurous when it comes to food - their main aim seems to be to find food as similar to what they have at home as possible. If I were them, I'd be eating at as many different places as I could! Anyhow, it was an enjoyable evening overall.

When I woke up today I felt like my back was a lot better - sadly, that turned out not to be true. It's really, really sore tonight. Sore enough that, now that I am in the bedroom, I'm not going to go downstairs again this evening. Stairs really hurt me at the moment, so the two floors between me and the living room are an impassable barrier right now. I am wondering whether I should go to see the doctor tomorrow, but I strongly suspect that she'll just tell me to take some ibuprofen and rest, so it might be a pointless trip...

In other news Steve put our new bookshelves together today; it was quite an undertaking for him. They look really good; can't wait to fill them up with books! Speaking of which, if by some miracle I wake up in the morning and am fine, we are going to go to the bookstores on Charing Cross Road, and maybe Camden market. Cross fingers...

The only downside to the new shelves is that the TV is stranded in the middle of the carpet, awaiting a cable extension so that it can be moved to the opposite corner of the room. We ignored the bookshelf boxes for four days till Steve caved in and assembled them; how long will we manage to ignore the beached-whale TV? However, aesthetics aside, I'm in no hurry to get it reconnected - with the TV in its current unwatchable state, Sophie can't indulge her addiction to ghastly reruns of 8 Simple Rules. Heh.

Time flies

So Emily is all done with her GCSEs. She wrote her last exam yesterday, and now she's on holiday till September, when she'll start at sixth form college. The same one I teach at - though she's not taking either of the subjects I teach, so we won't intersect much. (She's going to be doing Eng Lit, Biology, Chemistry and History. Quite tough courses, but I think she'll do well.) Meanwhile, she has three months of holiday. As will Steve, after he writes his last exam on Thursday. Lucky things. I am hoping that they will put a little of their spare time to good use and turn the house into a gleaming paradise while I am at work. Like 1950s wives. It's not just a pipedream - Ems did in fact do some housework this morning, and Steve baked cupcakes, so there is hope!

Unexpected enjoyment

Our garden has been completely and utterly neglected for lo these many months, and it has been annoying all of us, in a low-key sort of way. We keep making vague noises about sorting it out, and never get around to it. Rather pathetic of us, seeing as our garden is a teeny tiny patch anyway! This afternoon, though - a beautiful sunny afternoon, by the way - the kids offered to tackle the weediest, biggest flowerbed if we could get buy some flowers to plant in it. So Bobby and I went down the road to the garden centre and bought some marigolds and some begonias and some lobelias, and a lavender bush, and when we got home the kids had indeed made substantial inroads on the weeds. Between the five of us, we finished weeding the disaster zone, did some pruning, planted out the baby plants, and put some veggie seeds into seed trays. And everyone enjoyed it, and the barbeque that followed. Even Roly; he loves it when everyone is out in the garden with him. Odd how the nicest family times happen by accident.

The only bad Friday...

...is the last Friday of the holidays. Back to work on Monday - oh the horror.

It's not that I don't like my job, I do. But these next few weeks are going to be grim. I am slogging my way through my PGCE assignments, I have two lesson observations, and it's three weeks till my students write their exams. So I am stressed. I have a tension headache pretty much all the time...

And my stress is nothing compared to Bobby's. This new role is really not what he signed up for. He worked 18 hours yesterday. Eighteen hours! So much for the better work/life balance we wanted! He's going to have to work those kind of crazy hours for the next ten days; by the end of next weekend he should know if all his hard work has paid off. He's finding it massively stressful, not so much for his own sake, but because he feels responsible for the other people working on the project. If it fails, they will lose their jobs. I can see why he feels like this; on the other hand, though, he's only been involved in this project for a few weeks - the problems weren't created by him, and he hasn't got enough time to fix them. And it won't help anyone if he burns himself out completely...

We are both still running three or four mornings a week to try to counteract the stress. It does make for a good start to the day, being out in the fresh air, listening to the birds and watching the bunnies in the fields. But once the run is over the stress comes back...

Poor Steve is stressed too. It's the final runup to his exams and he has a lot of work to get through. And a lot riding on these exams.

At least the girls are well and happy. Sophie had a sleepover here last night (much giggling; I'm glad our bedroom is up in the loft - they were up later than Bobby was!) and is seeing a movie with a different friend this afternoon. Milly has been doing a version of Come Dine With Me with her friends; it's her turn tomorrow night so she's been trialling her dishes on us. They are delicious (prawn curry puffs for the starter, tandoori chicken for the main course, and mini mint chocolate cupcakes and chocolate dipped strawberries for the dessert) - let's hope she can recreate them on the night!

Ugh. I'm cold... And it's grey and horrible and drizzly outside today, which doesn't help my mood. I had better get on and finish up the lesson preparation I've been procrastinating; I know I'll feel better when it's out of the way. If I can just resist the temptation to have "just one quick round" of Scramble ... I curse the day I installed it on my iPod, it's freakishly addictive.

This American Life

Mondays are my favourite walk-to-work day, because that's the day I listen to the This American Life podcast. Today's episode was intense. It was a story about how things can go wrong in families, told by a mother whose daughters rebelled against her, ran away from home, started using heroin... Hearing the pain in their voices - mother and daughters - made me realise just how easily things can go wrong in ordinary families; how seemingly simple decisions can trigger reactions that spiral out of control.

The episode seemed particularly poignant, since yesterday was Mother's Day here. I was thorougly spoiled - and the gifts were all the sweeter as I hadn't realised that the children were planning anything.

So the weekend was lovely. Blue skies and gold daffodils everywhere, and good family memories. But work today was rather exhausting, to the extent that I'd happily go to bed right now if I didn't have marking to do and - if I can keep my eyes open long enough - the episode of the Ladies Detective Agency that I missed last night to watch. I plan to get up early tomorrow morning and go for my run, though, tired or not. I started the last week of the couch to 5k program on Sunday; I'm now up to running for 30 minutes. And the weird part is, I actually enjoy it! Hope it lasts!

Got it!

I got the job.

I'm so relieved.

And happy.

The interview was quite tough - two sessions, back to back, each with two interviewers who'd been told to ask challenging questions so as to be able to differentiate between the candidates. There was one question that caught me on the back foot but most of them were manageable, and some of them I aced.

Waiting to hear the verdict was horrible. I thought I'd done well, but obviously one never knows for sure. The relief when I finally found out was immense.

We went out to dinner tonight, to celebrate. It was a very nice family evening; the children have become such interesting young people.

I think I will sleep well tonight. These past couple of weeks I've been so tense that I've barely managed 3 or 4 hours a night.

I plan to get up early though, and go for a run. I'm up to 28 minutes now; not bad, considering I started at intervals of 90 seconds!

Lazy afternoon

I have spent this afternoon lying on the bed, enjoying the afternoon sun coming through the loft windows, and reading Tea Time for the Traditionally Built. It has been extremely pleasant to spend a whole afternoon doing nothing much. I think the last time I enjoyed this particular luxury must have been in the summer.

I did get up early this morning though - early enough that the ducks and swans were all still asleep when I ran around the pond - and I tackled the last run of week 6 of the couch to 5k program. (That's the day that requires you to run for 25 minutes without stopping.) And I did it! Slowly, mind you ... but still, there's absolutely no way I could have done that six weeks ago. So I'm pleased about that, and looking forward to next week's runs.

After breakfast I had to go shopping for a new interview outfit. On the plus side, I did eventually manage to find an outfit I liked. I couldn't have done it without the girls - they were a great source of moral support and helpful advice during the choosing process. I'm so glad I have daughters as well as a son. On the minus side, the shopping took up the whole morning. Ugh. Oh the stress... I have an interview, not this Tuesday but the next one, and I would very much like to get the job. I feel anxious and butterfly-y and sweaty palmed just thinking about it...

Anyway, so this afternoon has been a much-needed antidote to all the work stress.

Tomorrow's going to have to be a work-day, I think; I have masses of prep to do...

A ghost? A monster?





No, it's Bobby, changing the duvet cover. It's his own method. Can't think why more people don't use it.

There's been much toing and froing this weekend - various kids have had parties to go to, sleep-overs to not sleep at, and friends to visit. So, busy, in a pleasant but not-very-interesting kind of way.

I didn't get nearly as much work done this half-term as I'd planned to. I feel a bit guilty about that, but on the other hand I really did need the break, and it's been wonderful to have this time to relax with the kids. I may pay for my relaxation this coming week, though... I made the mistake of checking my work email earlier this afternoon, and it made me really anxious. So many things to take care of - none of them unmanageable on their own, but taken together quite daunting. I'm not looking forward to going back to work tomorrow morning. Ugh.

Bobby and I went for a walk in the fields five minutes south of our house this afternoon, though, which helped with the anxiety.





These past two days it's felt like Spring is coming. There are so many more birds around, and it's been so much warmer. This afternoon we saw pheasants, and rabbits... And the snowdrops are out.





And this was the sunset when we walked home.





I really like living where we do.

First birthday of the year

Happy birthday dear Stephen!





We took the train in to London so Steve could spend his book vouchers at Foyle's. It is really pleasant doing stuff in London on New Years Day as there are always far fewer people than usual about.





While in London we took a stroll down to the Philosphy building at King's College - if all goes according to plan, that's where Steve will be studying next year! Bobby and Steve outside the Surrey Street entrance...





...walking down to the Embankment





... girls outside the Embankment side of the university...





Buses on the bridge...




and the London Eye...





Reading on the train on the way home...





Emily is racing through the Twilight series; wish I could find a new author I liked as much! Perhaps best I don't, though, I have an awful lot of work to do this year..

Me trying to stave off death from hypothermia in the dreaded depths of East Croydon station. Am surprised that, in my weakened state, the exorbitant cost of the inferior coffee didn't finish me off once and for all.





I could go all mushy and write pages about Steve at this point but I won't because he wouldn't care for it. I will say, though, that I love him very much.

Sweet Sixteen

Sixteen years ago, on a hot, humid, cloudy Pietermaritzburg summer afternoon, Emily was born. It was a beautiful, completely natural, labour and birth, with a fantastic midwife and our family doctor, who was so excited to have (literally) caught a baby that he dashed home to fetch his daughter so she could meet Emily. Emily was a peaceful, contented baby, and she has turned into a wonderful young woman. We are so lucky to have her in our lives.

Her sixteenth birthday began with hot chocolate in bed, followed by her paper round. It's a measure of her tenacity that she does her round every single morning, no matter how dark, cold and generally grim the weather may be.





I went with her this morning, and it was icy - but beautiful. Frosty holly...





... and an icy churchyard.





She opened her presents when we got home.





Roly couldn't stop himself from pouncing on the necklace...





At around 11, Bobby scraped the car (which, by the way, has recently developed a horrible squeak, which is going to be seen to on Friday, doubtless at vast expense), and we set out.





Stephen looked happy at this point in the back of the car; by the time we got to the restaurant, though, he was feeling queasy.





He has always been a horrible car traveller; lucky for him we don't need to use the car much these days. Fortunately he recovered in time for lunch at Jimmy Spice's, where we ate a totally delicious meal. Here we are, happy but faintly nauseous after having eaten quite a bit too much.





Then we walked down the street to see Twilight. I was not expecting to enjoy this movie in the least, but actually it was pretty good. I still have more than a few feminist issues with it, mind you. But I've told Em I'll read the second book as soon as she's done with it (she started it this evening) so we can talk about it.

And this evening we hung out, played a bit of Wii fit, and watched Juno (because we've been meaning to watch it for ages, and it's the latest of our Lovefilm movies to arrive.) Sweet and funny, though again, I have a few feminist issues with it.

It's just about midnight now, and Emily has just gone up to bed. She likes to get the maximum mileage out of each birthday, which makes sense, seeing as she only gets one a year. She enjoyed her day, and we enjoyed sharing it with her. We are so lucky to have our sunny-natured, kind-hearted, super-organised Emmy; I can't help wishing that she wasn't growing up quite so fast.

The best laid plans...

Sophie came down to breakfast this morning, took a sip of her orange juice, and dissolved into tears. Our first thought was that something had happened at last night's party to upset her - but she said not. And when she threw up a few minutes later, we realised she was ill. (We're insightful like that). Steve only had to go into college for the first half-hour of the day, so he looked after her for the morning. He's a sweet boy, I must say. I'd been going to go to the work Christmas lunch, but when the room started spinning around me when I was teaching the first lesson I realised I was sick too. I managed to get through the morning's teaching, then walked home (veeeerrry slowly) and climbed into bed with Sophiepie. Ugh. No work Christmas party, and no trip to Ikea tonight. Think we might reschedule my birthday too - I want to go ice-skating and considering I can't even walk properly at the moment, that's clearly not an option. Unless I wake up tomorrow feeling perfect again... Bobby's being awfully sweet, has brought us dinner in bed, and my computer, and paracetamol ... I do have a very nice family.

Life in fast-forward

Last week flew by in a stressful blur. The actual teaching was fun, but the admin stuff was not. And now, before I know it, the weekend's almost gone too. I spent a good chunk of yesterday helping Stephen with his UCAS application. At this stage of the year, students in the upper sixth form are required to choose what they want to study at university, and short-list five universities. It's quite an anxiety-provoking process, as there are such big decisions to be made. Steve wants to study philosophy, and, on the one hand, while I think that he should follow his heart, I do wonder just how employable he'll be four years hence.

At least the weather let us get outdoors this weekend. I took this picture on a foggy early morning cycle ride yesterday.





And then, while we were cycling, the sun actually came out...




Emily had a party in the evening; one that required a formal dress and heels...





And today we went and had coffee in the park. Sitting in the sun felt like heaven.





As for this evening, I have lesson plans and marking to do. And ironing. And then it all starts again next week. I hope I can figure out a way to include more enjoyment in my work-week, because at the moment I feel like a bit like a stressed-out mouse on a treadmill.

One down, 10 to go

Next May, at the end of Year 11, Emily will write 10 GCSE's.

She'll end up with 11 GCSE's altogether, though, because she wrote one this year - Classical Civilisation. (Some students at her school were offered the chance to do an "extra" GCSE, starting in Year 9.) So for two years, Emily has spent an extra hour at school on a Monday evening. An extra hour that meant that, during winter, she had to walk home in the dark. So, a big commitment, a lot of work. She got her result today - A! Well done, Milly!

God, I've just realised how fraught next year is going to be around here. Me finishing my PGCE, Stephen doing his A levels, and Emily with her GCSEs. Better enjoy the calm before the storm...

Results Day

I had to go in to college early this morning for the dreaded Results Day, and I realised I've lost the hang of the whole morning routine thing. I struggled to get out of bed on time, I couldn't find my bicycle lock, and - the bit that really brought my disorganisation home to me - I had just stepped out of the front door when I realised I hadn't put any shoes on.

Ah well. I still have 11 days before I have to return to my tightly-scheduled, too-busy-to-think term-time life. For now, I'm going to enjoy my barefoot, non-clock-watching existence.

My students' results seem pretty good as far as I could tell from running my eye down the lists. A few who've underperformed, several who've done unexpectedly well, and a lot who've got what I expected them to. So that's reassuring.

And Stephen's results are great. A's in Media Studies and Philosphy, and a B in English Lit. He's slightly disappointed, as he missed an A by 9 marks in Eng. Lit, but I think he's done wonderfully. One more year and then he'll be off to uni ... It seems like just days ago he was toddling across the lawn outside the library on the Maritzburg university campus.

Growing Girls

We've just about recovered from Sophie's birthday sleepover. I find these things slightly stressful - am always worried that someone is going to feel left out or miserable or otherwise unhappy - but it all went perfectly as far as I could tell. We packed a picnic supper (bread rolls which they'd each made with their choice of fillings, and crisps and juice) and took it, plus the new ice-cream-maker (early birthday present for Sophie) down to the park.





Making the ice cream was fun (Andrea, you are right, though - it definitely does require lots of energetic people!)





and so was eating it. The girls all ate theirs too fast for me to get a picture of them; not sure why Bobby is looking so dubious about it here because it was really yummy.





The girls are at such an inbetween stage at the moment. Still love playing hide and seek on the playground, but also spend ages texting (and texting boys at that!)




They only went to sleep sometime after 1am, but nobody was irritable in the morning; in fact, after breakfast they went back to the park on their own to enjoy the glorious weather before coming back to the house for lunch. I love living somewhere where the children can have this kind of independence; wouldn't have been possible in either Durban or Florida.

Not sure how I feel about the amount of independence that one of Emily's friends is allowed, though. Like Emily, she's 15, but unlike Emily she's had a boyfriend for the past few months. Said boyfriend has just moved into her home and will be staying there for the summer. It all just seems so dismal. Setting aside the question of whether 15 is too young to be having sex (and I think it probably is), living with someone is supposed to be about independence and romance and growing up and excitement and passion - not about making space in your closet so your boyfriend will have somewhere to put his clothes when he moves into your childhood bedroom, in your parents' house, with his x-box. Ems says the rest of her friends are also shocked, which is good to know. I'm so glad that Emily seems to be in no hurry to rush into anything similar herself. She's looking pretty grownup these days though - we saw the endocrinologist yesterday, and she's now officially taller than I am! She's 1.62 m tall, which puts her at a hair about 5'3 - so a hair above me! And her weight's improving too - she's out of the red "way too skinny" section on the chart and now, although still very slender, has a relatively normal BMI of 16.6. She's very, very, happy. I am so grateful that she was diagnosed growth hormone deficient; without treatment she was predicted a height of 4'6 or 7. The consultant told us that when she stops growing, she can stop the shots for 3 months, then they'll do another stim test to see if she's making enough growth hormone on her own to maintain healthy heart muscles etc. So we'll see what happens. Meanwhile, I'm supposed to planning next week's break, when Bobby is on leave. (What, do most people decide on these things more than one day in advance? Surely not!) We might go to Hay-on-Wye; we might go to Edinburgh, or we might just have a stay-cation right here.

Days of whine and rages

Teenage tantrums are very, very, similar to toddler tantrums. Only even more exhausting. And much louder.

Emily was grounded today. A bad combination of undone chores, massive additional mess creation and general obnoxiousness led to her being forbidden to go out as she'd planned. Tears, screaming, slamming, stamping (literally) ... not pretty. She doesn't often go off the rails, but when she does, she does it with a vengeance. The neighbours must have wondered what on earth was going on in here. She'd recovered by this evening though, and even went so far as to bake a (very nice) cake for dessert.

Despite all the drama, I managed to get my two essays done this afternoon. It was like pulling teeth; each sentence came so slowly, and so painfully. Every fibre in my body wanted to abandon my books and go outside - it was a stunningly beautiful day - but I had to get the essays done today, because we're going to Beccles tomorrow to visit my parents.

And, I also managed to do all the ironing today. So I can relax and enjoy tomorrow with a completely clear conscience, knowing that everything is ready for next week.

Next week is going to be tiring. Crawley on Monday night, so I'll only be home at around 10pm, and the second parent's evening (for the M's to Z's) on Tuesday night. But, the week after next is half-term. Can't wait!!