Much progress made...

As she poses for the photographic front cover of her new and yet unwritten book 'Toilets of the world and beyond' - a critique of public toilet facilities around the globe, I am celebrating a significant return to form for Lucy. I believe she has listened and taken note with what both Amy and I have been saying about speaking to us and good behaviour and it feels like we have our Lucy back. She has been brilliant in recent days and seems to be sustaining this. Well done darling. Of course I could be really wrong and this is hormonal and a cycle is emerging and we could be back to square one in a few weeks! Her generosity, kind nature, understanding and general happiness have returned, long may it continue. Excitement levels have now hit fever pitch in the Hammond house with only one sleep to go till Wiggle's sixth birthday. Hard to believe I started writing this blog just weeks before she was born all that time ago....

The waiting is finally over....

After nearly an eighty-two hour vigil, the most anticipated and high profile event in the Hammond household for years finally reached its conclusion at precisely 8.16pm on Wednesday 25th June, 2014. Remember this date people, it will be forever etched in tooth fairy history and folk law. It took its time coming but at last, Anna's first wobbly tooth finally came out and we now welcome 'Boxer' the tooth fairy to our family and he is already proving to be expensive! It has been an anxious few days and the tension has been unbearable with Anna experiencing pain, bleeding and worry for days. As you know, I don't do teeth, so this has been an extremely unpleasant experience for me, especially as Anna know this fact and has frequently come up to me and wobbled it as much as she can! Quite frankly she has succeeded in making my skin crawl every time, I am shuddering as I type......

They are either bonkers or very brave indeed!

Armed with wetsuits and a handful of courage, Amy and the girls braved the very cold water at Blakeney for a swim this afternoon and had a wail of a time. I did not join them for two reasons - firstly I enjoy more leisurely pursuits and secondly the general public was not meant to see me in a wetsuit - way too many lumps and bumps! It has been a really positive weekend in the Hammond house, with less conflict amongst the clan and Lucy doing really well with some parental encouragement in curbing her rude tongue and her conduct has been greatly improved. We are a long way off perfection, but things have moved in the right direction. Amy and Lucy had a girls day out yesterday horse riding, pot making and a nail pampering. Whilst her reaction to the day was very understated, I can see it was of real benefit. Anna and I hung out at the family fun day at the park with a bit of face painting thrown in, sponge throwing and spent the afternoon building Lego Star Wars toys and making spaceships. Good times! Hot news off the press! Anna's tooth fairy should be making his maiden appearance tonight or tomorrow as we have a real wobbler on our hands. She is quite apprehensive about this and has needed much reassurance for the whole day. Fingers crossed. She has already tried to negotiate a three pound fee for her tooth. Once again the Hammond girls never fail to be exceedingly expensive!

A bit of a difficult time ahead of us....

I have spoken recently within my blog of a few incidents of Lucy, in particular, being quite difficult and rude at times. This has been gradually escalating in recent weeks and both Amy and I are finding it very upsetting and struggling to handle it at the moment. No amount of discussion, coaching, talking to her or giving her a punishment is working and the behaviour still continues. She sways from delightful to having such a poor attitude several times a day. We still do not know the cause or why she is speaking to us so badly at times. She is such a good and polite girl at school (not perfect but nothing out of the ordinary) and with other people mostly such as family and friends. Amy and I have talked and talked about this and have not come up with a definitive answer as yet, more a combination of several things. Lucy has always worn her heart on her sleeve and is a very emotional human being. She could be tired - after all it has been a long year at school, we have been concerned about this 'hormonal surge' of late and erratic mood swings, it upsets me to say but she could be being stubborn and a bit of a brat whilst pushing new boundaries and she is really experimenting with skills such as sarcasm and humour that can go horribly wrong in conversation too. Is it the television programmes she watches or influence from friends at school? Her test results came in and they were not quite as good as she had hoped for, her progress has levelled off and it is clearly niggling her and worrying her, although she will not discuss it. Maybe this is just normal for an eight year old, after all I have no previous experience! At present, the problem is that leading by example does not work or change her behaviour, punishing her does not work and she has no fear of consequences what so ever. After a punishment for example, she just repeats the behaviour the next day and does not learn from this. I know that in particular, I struggle with consistency as a parent, but I have to say I have improved and worked on this over the last few weeks, but still not to positive effect. I know the answer is out there and I know that my Lucy is a good girl and we both work hard to be the best parents we can and give her a good grounding. The problem is, that if there is something that is bothering her for example that is the cause, she often will not open up to discuss it and quickly becomes upset and defensive. Who said that being a parent was ever going to be easy. The one thing I do know that is that Amy and I love her dearly and she means the world to us both and we will work through this difficult time. Any suggestions would be most welcome!! Today we have discussed as a family that things need to change and that the consequences of poor attitude and rudeness will mean a months television and gadget ban. Five strikes this week and out - I still do not know whether this is the right thing to do, but we are going with it for both girls. They have agreed and I wonder whether they understand we really mean it. I hope this supports them to understand that actions and the way we behave has consequences and we get the smile back in daughter number one....

My dad is kind and strong...

I am very flattered by the words and sentiment on my Emma Bridgewater father's day mug, Lucy made me a great key ring at Brownies (which she is about to join after a trial period in the last few weeks) and Anna crafted me a homemade lightsaber which she reliably tells me I can use when playing Star Wars! Please get the Princess Lea outfit out Mrs Hammond - anytime I am always ready! The only thing I am doubtful of is my card tells me I am 'Lord of the Manor' in my house - this might be stretching the truth a tad! After pancakes we headed off to Cambridge on the train for the day and took in a museum, a pizza, a spot of stationary shopping and discovered a massive fun fair. Needless to say I did what I always do and completely spoilt the girls with rides and swag. I thought they were supposed to be spoiling me today?!? Really enjoyed my family fathers day. Thanks Amy and girls xx

It's not in the budget!

I really do not know how they pull it off, but only my children could pose for a photo with a chip in their mouths, mischievously muck around and still look beautiful. This is in my eyes of course and my opinion will never waver. The sun was out yesterday, well for most of the day and we did what the Hammond's do best. A delightful Sunday lunch in the garden with Libby and Ben followed up by a pint at the Sculthorpe Mill in the sunshine to end the weekend. This weekend has seen new bikes all round as the girls have already grown out of their last ones, reluctantly purchased to my cries of 'it's not in the budget' and blatantly ignored by Mrs Hammond as usual! Anna did a sterling job of helping her dad recoup some of the lost funds by doing a car boot sale in the morning and even managed to get extra money from passers by without selling anything. 'Its because I am cute dad', she confidently told me. You may be right Anna, but I am not sure this should be a permanent tactic or method of raising funds. I would much prefer you work and study hard first please! Lucy has more tests this week at school so fingers crossed for positive progression and results....

Half term flies by....

With the girls now back to school, Amy at work and Lucy preparing for her tests this week, I wanted to take some time to reflect on a my first experience of a work free week half term with my family. No exaggeration, this is the first full half term I have spent with them since the girls were born! In short, it is defiantly an experience I wish to repeat, despite the miserable weather most of the week and the odd row. Each day filled with fun and giggles, many amazing meals, a day out with the Ertan girls and their mummy, a marathon game of Monopoly won by Anna in which the grown ups in the Hammond house did not cover themselves in glory, a film day at the cinema and home - three films back to back including 'Rio 2'; all finished off with roast pork in the yard with grandma, Auntie Joan and Libby and Ben on the last day. I am worn out though as entertaining two children is really hard work! Look forward to October half term now, remembering this could be the most expensive calendar week with two birthdays in the house and Libby's as well. Better get planning and saving now....