Hammond 'pride' week!

Oh my girls have done well and the rewards are quite rightly flowing this week. Lucy smashed her school report, I am particularly proud of her as she has coped with so much change since last November and is so self reliant and disciplined (most of the time!!) with her learning and her focus at school. She openly discusses not always enjoying Downham, since our house move, but she keep going and never complains. Well done Lucy, love the progress in your history too. Her expected grades for her GCSE's, when she chooses them, rise steadily with each term. Good work!! Anna, he says with a little surprise, smashed her SATs exams and did very well indeed. She often struggles in some academic areas and credit to her for hard work and trying her best. It paid off and there is a good lesson to come out of this for her. I personally think she has conned her mother into thinking she needed more help than she did, simply to spend more time with her!! It worked a treat and her results were very positive and above expected. Well done both my girls. Another proud dad moment successfully banked and I won't try and take any credit. This all goes to your mother for the hard work she puts in with you both x

The crazy child is eleven!!

I went to work this morning on the day of Anna's birthday with a warm glow and a lovely feeling, although I was really not up for a working day though! We had a wonderful family weekend celebrating Wiggle's big day with a football party and lots of barbecue food. With a house full of children, Amy and I finished the day a dribbling and exhausted parental mess! For me it was perfect in that we spent some time together and this seems to be so very rare these days in the busy life we lead. Watching the girls play in the garden for hours with their friends - novelty football with forfeits, water fights, chasing each other around, one child had a nap of sorts on the trampoline - is exactly what our garden is made for! Saturday we headed off to an old hunting ground for ice cream and arcades in Wells. I just loved spending time with my girls. Happy birthday to my crazy, loving, caring, complicated and wonderful baby girl. You, your mother and your sister are simply the biggest joy in my life. Have a great day and I am glad you liked your swag! xx

She may have been right....

Amy was right; having Meg is hugely positive for my well being. I love the walks we go for and this time with her. I'm stupidly fond of her already only after having her for a few months. With the recent horrific weather and constant rain, I really missed that hour in the woods and the exercise. Keep this up and I will be a shadow of my former self. A dog is a integral part of any family and just as important as any human. Meg is lovely, she is giving, playful and so very loving. She doesn't always do as she is told, but this is no different to any of the women or little ladies in my life! I love this time, with the breeze on my face, sunshine and surrounded by the beautiful emerging nature in the woods. I wish I could drum up more enthusiasm in the kids to come for the walks, but if I am honest it has become my thing and I don't like to share this time, only with Mrs Hammond! Kids, you are banned! Its time to wash away the day and breathe. I am grateful for the peace that walking with Meg brings me. Yesterday's walk was a bit emotional, as Auntie's gravestone will go in soon and it feels like the last thing I will do for her and all a bit final. Grief is a funny thing, it creeps up on you and hits you on the back like a wave, it certainly came up on me yesterday when I least suspected it. I was grateful it was just me and Meg in the woods on our own, to give me time to get myself together. Anna's birthday in a few days and can't wait to share the wonderful gifts she has got with her. She's going to be one Lucky girl!

Sarcasm and pride are layered throughout the Hammond house!

Father's day went in a flash this weekend of catching up with work, tired children after a long week at school and some not so nice weather. I got some lovely gifts from the girls, although I am truly not sure they had much to do with the purchase of them! Both girls made me a lovely hand made card. Lucy's being hilarious, sarcastic and competitive, Anna's being solely focused for some reason on me eating all the time! I am grateful for the love they show me, although intermittent at times if they can't drag themselves away from devices! Lucy won't allow me to take any photos of her at present and Anna begrudgingly obliges, so no photo of my eldest. Pictured left is Anna holding her Manager's 'Player of the season' trophy, that she picked up again this year, it's becoming quite a habit. I confess to tears in my eyes as she received it and real pride in her efforts, heart and a real pleasure to witness some of the amazing saves she has pulled off this year. She dedicated her award to her Grandma - 'would she be proud dad, would she be proud', she said in the car. A resounding 'yes' was the simple answer. She has grown so much as a goal keeper this year, she might need to actually grow a bit more ready for next year or she might just get lobbed quite a bit!!! Lucy continues to quietly excel at school, getting the equivalent of an 'A' grade GCSE in her recent history assessment. A great achievement! This makes me beam with pride as this was my favourite subject at school and I would love her to go on and choose this for GSCE. I say again, soon she will be choosing options for GCSE's!!!! Ahh - how old I must be getting to be in the position to say that. Time just keeps on going and going. The girls have kindly granted me a stay of execution and the age limit for 'pre-elderly' juice has been risen to forty-seven, two more years to go!

A very hot and tiring weekend...

How a week can change the weather. Last weekend I supported my warrior girl in back to back day long football tournaments in the searing and humid heat. It was tough going watching, let alone playing! Saturday went well with Anna and the boys credibly gaining a win and a draw in a tough group full of great teams. She made some incredible saves and managed to legally take out a lad twice the size of her. A very brave run out of her area to cut off a member of the opposition! My heart was in my mouth a bit!  Pure joy to watch. Although they did not progress to the second round, they played some good stuff. Sunday was a different story and dealt some real opportunity for some life lessons for the kids. A significant change of rules that they collectively struggled to grasp and the worlds worst referee meant things did not initially go well. I tried to counsel Anna and the team not to focus on what they thought were unjust decisions, which meant a real loss of confidence and concentration. Anna and the boys calmed down and grew into each game as it got hotter and hotter, finishing brightly and starting to play some good football in the end, with spirits raised. It was very easy for them to have a moan about the ref, not so easy to put it aside and show maturity in focusing on something else. She did well, as did her team mates in turning the afternoon around. I truly loved spending the weekend with her x

A wet and tired weekend....

It's been a strange bank holiday weekend - inclement weather, a tired pair of children, annoying practical jobs and work to catch up on and once again not much time together. With the kids abandoning us today for devices and pyjamas, Amy and I snuck out and shared a coffee and bacon roll. This may not sound too significant but we  have not had much time together for months and this was lovely in its simplicity. We also snuck in some surprise shopping for Anna's birthday as well. Hope she likes it - what a gadget for an eleven year old. She's a lucky girl indeed! I've been feeling pants for the last day or so with a cold, so have not been up to much either. Although we do now have an electronic count down for Majorca in place and I am reliably informed by the technologically advanced Mrs Hammond that we have seventy nine days to go! (Boom and counting!)  I can't wait and eyes are on the family prize, phone off, sunshine, swimming in the pool, playing cards and hopefully thrashing the kids at this, lots of eating out and chilling. I can feel the warm sun on my back now, having just had a wet, cold dog walk in the woods on this fine bank holiday! I'm back to work in the morning and Amy and the girls can enjoy the rest of half term chilling and resting which is very much needed for all three of them...

Unexpected outcomes in challenging times...

It is well documented that Anna really struggles with new things and significant things. She is a very emotional young lady and this seems to accentuate any concerns she may have or challenges looming that need to be overcome. I was worried this week as SATS arrived and four days of tests that she had been anxious about. I cannot take any parental credit as Amy worked with her on practice tests, pushed her, hugged her and supported her through this challenging week. You know what - for most of the week she was calm and coped well. Academically, she may not be quite as bright as her sister, but she is a grafter and she seems confident that she has done better than she expected. I have dangled the 'cash' incentive as I did with Lucy a few years ago and my one contribution to the party was to simply tell Anna 'I don't mind how you do with anything in life, as long as you always try your best'. I think she did and I am very proud of her for this effort and application. Well done Wiggle. Let's see how well you did and how much dosh I owe you. Really looking forward to having as higher bill as possible! xx