Cycling whizz kids!

Wiggle has achieved another remarkable feat this week, just three weeks after her third birthday she is bombing around on her bike with the stabilisers off! There have been many falls, but she is already very proficient and very proud of what she has achieved. This is the point where I simply type that I have a beaming smile on my face and that describes how I feel about this latest achievement by my youngest daughter. There has been much celebration within the Hammond house and everybody is delighted. Not to be undone, Lucy has spent the week developing her one handed cycling technique to make sure she gets a parental look in and she too has nearly mastered this. Very cool girls, very cool indeed....

School's out for Summer!

There is a slight problem with the above statement, somebody forgot to order the summer and the weather is not that great for July! The paddling pool has not graced our garden for weeks now as we battle the cold, the wind and intermittent very heavy rain. It's the first day of the school holidays today and as well as the absence of sunshine I forgot to order happy children as well. Lucy has her grumpy, I know it all face on today, Amy is so tired that she has gone for a nap and Anna also forgot to wake up with her sense of humour too. Oh happy days for the male fraternity in the Hammond house..

What a difference a day makes....

Twenty four little hours. Uplifted by the amount of drugs and ice packs I have applied to my back and feeling more like a human being as each hour goes by; I suggested that the family Hammond hit the coast and headed for sunny Cromer and it did not disappoint. We had fish and chips, ice cream, went on the fun fair rides and had a damn good time. We even escaped the weather, driving home in a thunder storm as earlier the girls had been playing on the beach in glorious sunshine. We have a picture in our house that I have always loved of two girls playing on the sand. Very simple, yet very effective and it captures the innocence and delight of childhood. I had my own picture to admire today as I sat on the pebbles watching Amy and the girls play in the sea and in the rocks pools. It was lovely to watch. Such a shame I did not take the camera and capture the moment for ever. I'll keep that one just for me in my head. Anna of course had to be naked as she legged it around, grabbing seaweed as Lucy searched for pebbles. Good end to a much better day and the drugs have not even worn off yet!

Roll on the summer holidays! (and fast)

I am frustrated to say the least today. Having worked extremely hard in the last few weeks I was really looking forward to spending time with Amy and the girls. The weather is appalling and it is chucking it down and Wiggle is the only one of us who is in good form. Might be something to do with the fact that she slept for thirteen hours last night. Great work if you can get it! I have pulled a muscle in my back and can barely do anything. I am doped up on painkillers, applying ice every hour and walking around like a ninety year old man. Amy has a stinking cold coming and clearly is exhausted after a very long year teaching. Lucy is also very tired having nearly completed her first year of school and needs the summer holidays desperately. One more week to go and the girls will have a lovely and well deserved six weeks off. Two more weeks and I will join them for my annual two week break in early August. Oh heaven. Heaven indeed. N.B. Lucy's third wobbly tooth came out yesterday and I have to say mine and Amy's track record about ensuring the myth of the tooth fairy stays alive in our house is pretty poor as we forgot again last night to swap the tooth for money. Only some quick thinking this morning saved us and we just about got away with it...

Party girl..

Now that Lucy is at school her circle of friends has widened. Which means lots of friends, lots of birthday parties. Lucy loves this. The bouncy castles, trips to mega fun, brightly coloured party drinks, party bags, new toys, large bits of cake and complete freedom and licence to run around like a headless chicken for a couple of hours. Her parents on the other hand are not quite as enamoured. We have had loads of parties in recent months and I have to say all the endless presents that we need to buy for children we don't always know is my first annoyance. All these children have cost me about £120 in recent months! Secondly, is the parties that Lucy is not quite so sure about being there on her own for. When you sit there like a lemon, the only bloke in the room as all the mums talk about mum things leaving you extremely socially isolated and bored out of your skull. Lastly is the noise level. Oh my god! The last thing you want on a Sunday afternoon is twenty five very loud five year olds. I would prefer garden, coffee and quiet before the new working week begins. Today, Lucy has yet another party and this time we dropped her off and spent time in the garden. I appreciated the whole experience more as I enjoyed listening to her tales of the excitement of the party and what a good time she had had. My kind of party - one at a distance...

Reporting good things...

The long and anxious wait for Lucy's first ever school report came today and boy was it worth the wait! It was a cracker. Lucy is evaluated utilising a scoring system out of nine for each area of development and the maximum score is '117'. I am very proud to announce that Lucy scored '99', well above average. I am simply delighted and want to sing it from the rooftops of Fakenham. In fact I already have and have shared my delight on the world wide web of Facebook! Lucy is working very hard at school and we need to keep pushing her so that there will be many more years of such good school reports and hopefully a bright future for my eldest daughter. I went a bit over the top this evening and started talking to her about university. She just wanted to have a conversation about Tinkerbell and being a fairy princess. A mild attack of over enthusiastic dad came on. Sorry Lucy, probably a bit early to heap that level of pressure on such young shoulders. I will wait till you are six before I start talking about university again!

A little birthday Wiggle!

Yesterday Anna turned the ripe old age of three and suddenly evolved into a lady of sophistication. She started the day (after delicately opening her presents) by taking a cappuccino in the bistro, then moved onto checking out the latest movie on mummy's mobile, then taking lunch in Wiveton at the poshest cafe in Norfolk, picking strawberries, visiting a farm house she wishes to rent, then back home for tea and cake in posh china cups and fish and chips with granny and grandpa! She is one classy three year old! She absolutely adored her scooter and marble run which are her main pressies. As excited as I was by the marble run, putting the damn thing together was less than enjoyable due to the low level of my practical skills. What should have taken ten minutes, took nearly an hour! Happy Birthday Wiggle! Her day was spent with friends and family she really loves and I think she had a cracking day. We love you with all our hearts.