Two children, slighty high maintenance for sale, going for a good price to the nearest bidder...

Mrs Hammond's wonderful smile may possibly be the only smile I have seen today as grumpy and grumpier are about as cheerful as the miserable and grey bank holiday weather. Suffering from a complete lack of tolerance for each other and at times personality, I am declaring the official stance that my children can go to bed in the hope they can wake up after a good nights sleep having found the mojo and smiley faces once again. If not I might have to call social services in the morning and adopt them out! Carry on like this and it is going to be a long day tomorrow. I have tried to stem the tide and provide them with entertainment on this most horrible of bank holidays with a trip to the cinema. However, this only served to take them to defcon five and even more hatred and antagonism towards each other as we walked home and began an three hour vendetta to simply wind each other up. Grghhh! I am not going to give them an excuse this time and allow them the comment they are very tired after a long half term at school, but it may be a mitigating factor that I can't really overlook. At this minute I am quite happy to throttle them both, so this will not be considered and I will not cast an empathetic eye towards them until the morning. Some days being a parent can be arduous and difficult. Thank heavens for that winning smile above.. xx

Inspirational is the only word...

Today Anna and I nipped off to Carrow Road to watch 'Jamie's game' - a celebrity and city old boys fundraiser. Apart from introducing the legends that are Grant Holt and Darren Huckerby to Anna (every time he got the ball Anna swooned!), it was a day of reflection and inspiration. Before the game loads of children with disabilities played mini matches and I cannot find the words to describe what an pleasure and delight it was to watch these children play in front of thousands of people. Their spirit and tenacity was on a level I have not seen before and I found it a very emotional experience watching them. One boy in particular, suffering from cerebral palsy, never gave up as his opponents knocked him down, up he got, puffed his chest and went in harder for the next tackle. Tears rolled down my eyes. The challenges seemed to mean nothing to him as with courage and each step he just kept going and going. I think from my end of the ground he got by far the biggest cheer as he scored a goal! I have to say after that I held Anna closer and thanked my lucky stars that my girls do not face such challenges. The best thing was that Anna spotted him first and pointed him out to me, she never once mentioned his disability - just how good he was and how hard his tackles were. I was proud of that too! A great day, shed loads of cash raised for a good cause and some quality time with daughter number two...

First we break out the ice cream and then...

We break out the blankets! Last week was unseasonably roasting and it was lovely to get out with the girls after school, hit the park and enjoy the sunshine. The weekend got even hotter and we quickly exploited the season of eating outside as a family and hitting the slabbage! A slight spanner in the works came in the form of the weather today dipping by around ten degrees and I am sitting here with a blanket on my legs and slightly cold. The real reason for my post is not small talk about the weather. I find myself with a parental moral dilemma. Lucy has requested that she does not go to after school club next year and asked whether it can be considered if she can come home after school on her own. I am torn with this. I know she is ready and is growing up, I am struggling to let go and only keep churning around in my head reasons to not agree and not looking at why this would be good for her and allow her to take the next step on the ladder to an adult. I just don't want to let go, if I am honest. My baby girl is growing up and I cannot stop the sands of time. I wish I could. I do also have the concern that she will sit on her backside and do nothing but watch television and play on her IPod! So if I agree there will have to be strict conditions in place, jobs and homework to do and some extra reading done for me to even come close. Negotiations continue and all terms will be considered...

A right posh walk!

The bank holiday weekend sunshine finally came out and off we popped to Holkham Hall for a walk around the lake with the dogs, the worlds most expensive cup of tea and cake and some adventure time on the playground. A lovely afternoon, but it all felt a little bit middle class as I observed the range of highly expensive cars in the car park! Needless to say we brought down the tone as I parked  up my Qashqai covered in bird poo! The girls had a fabulous time and for once stopped their arguments, running battle and goading each other enough to enjoy each others company for a short while, even squeezing in some piggy backs as well!  We wore the dogs out with Marley tagging along and I have to say my feet are a bit weary too. Anna has had a weekend of mishaps and there is barley an area on her legs that does not have scratches and grazes on, this time falling off a log into a puddle! Filthy, she skulked into the tearooms, looking like a street urchin from Victorian times, wet and muddy and then ordered some posh lemonade and a croissant! Preparation for Paris in October. I suppose we really ought to warn the citizens of Paris that my children are coming, it would only be the polite thing to do...

Man of the match display!

Anna's team is used to loosing - anything up to 25-0, yes 25-0! However, with a new coaching team that focuses on teaching them the basics and playing as a team, passing to each other and being organised, they seem to be making progress. After a very shaky start of conceding four goals in the first three minutes, it finally started to click and they came in with a credible 7-0 defeat, had several chances cleared off the line, hit the post twice and thundered the cross bar. What I love about Anna and the boys she plays with, they simply just go out and enjoy themselves and never moan despite the heavy defeats. They are a real credit to all their parents and to do this takes integrity and good values. Anna came off the pitch like she had won the premier league, when the coaches told her she put in a 'man of the match display' with her crunching tackles and great defending, she beamed with joy. I really enjoyed watching her and was pleased with the simple fact the score line reflected their progress and hard work. Well done all. Next stop actually scoring a goal and a victory in the league! Looking forward to the game next week and that maiden league win???

The Ipod generation!

I previously alluded to how much I love Lucy sending me messages from her IPod. Today I am not so sure I was right. Anna now has my old phone (minus the ability to call) and today I was what can only be described as spammed by my children, as both the girls continued to send me random messages and emoji (note the use of a very trendy and modern word!) that really did not have any context or meaning! They even managed to have a row by sending each other messages, my girls really know how to take things to a new level! Anna may have developed into a cyber bully in twenty four quick hours as she trolled her sister with relentless focus through out the day. Learning new boundaries within the use of technology is definitely going to have to be the prime parental focus in our house in the coming weeks. I am not sure there is much I can teach them as they already wipe the technological floor with me. Over to you Mrs Hammond....

I have to deal with so many different looks!

I am getting quite skilled if I don't mind saying so at dealing with and reading the female looks, facial expressions and cues in the Hammond house after all these years of practice. The lovely ladies in my life regularly express themselves in silent and deadly fashion. The looks can mean all manner of things and even the dog is developing a repertoire! There are 'death' stares that usually express disgust or anger at me, the 'slightly feral' stare (mainly an Anna gold star expression), the 'please can I have some money' stare, the long and lingering 'please can I have some serious cash' stare (usually practiced by Amy) and the most effective puppy dog eyes on the planet, that are Lucy's favourite weapon and one I often declare defeat to. I think I am skilled, but in reality I am probably doomed and we have not even got to the teenage years yet!