Catherine's Birthday

It was a very special day for Catherine, her tenth Birthday. Strange to think she is ten already when it wasn't too long ago that she was Lucy size. 

Of course Catherine was first up, although she wasn't so bad as to come and wake me up. She just waited to hear me moving before she got out of bed. She couldn't wait to get to her cards and was soon asking for her big present, her first mobile phone. She been talking about the phone for months and she knew exactly which model, network and price plan she wanted. It was great to see her eyes light up as I gave her the box. Now she has a phone she feels so grown up.

After getting Emily and Catherine off to school I set about sorting out Catherine's phone. Registering the hand set, getting her credit and sorting out the price plan. There was just time left to have a very quick shower before getting our Lucy from her mummies.

Lucy and myself came home for a bit to get her changed before heading out to Oakham park for the morning. She had great fun there as always and when she got hungry we headed off for a special treat at the Castle Cottage Café. She was rubbing her tummy saying it was hurting so I knew she needed food. 

At the café I order her a sandwich and a chocolate milkshake while I had a lovely pot of tea. I had never been there before but passed it many times. I must say it lived up to expectations. The food was a bit pricey but the quality was excellent. Lucy was very good at the café but she tends to be very good where ever she is so that wasn't much of a surprise. It was funny when she finished her milkshake and rubbed her tummy and said "all better now". It one of those special moments of fun that remain with you. It was a bit at the end when I came to pay. The woman I gave the money too was amazingly nervous. She was physically shacking. Not sure what that was about, but it was rather odd. Any way we had a great time.

When we returned home we had a party to get ready for. The first thing to do was baking a birthday cake for Catherine. Lucy starting to love making cakes, it is all the licking the bowels out at the end, she full of enthusiasm with anything to do with cooking. I put that done to her mummy who use to bake cakes for school. I try and do that but I don't have the time to bake for the school, although I do bake with the girls.

After the cake was in we started making all the other food and preparing the hot food that would follow the cakes in the oven. Soon we had a complete birthday dinner that we put on the ready to  eat.

Unfortunately Catherine's couldn't come to tea but we had a lovely time munching on all the food. It is nice to do something special and I was so glad that they were altogether for Catherine's Birthday. I know Catherine was so pleased that Lucy was there and that she got a card from Lucy's mummy and and of course dear little Mary. 

The food went down very well and so did the cake. At Lucy's home time we wrapped a bit of the cake Lucy helped make for Mary. I hope she enjoyed as much as we all did. 

I know Catherine had a great party and Birthday weekend. She really enjoyed herself as did everyone else at the party with all the finger food. It great to see them so happy. I love them all to bits.

Rest Day

After the excitement of yesterday the day has been really quiet. The girls really didn’t want to do much but chill out and rest. I guess it not surprising after yesterday,  it was pretty much full on fun.

Catherine and Lucy were up first, Lucy by a long way as she woke at six in the morning and ended up in my bed until nine. I had to get her out of bed in the end or she wouldn’t have slept for her mummy at bedtime. When they got downstairs they settled down to breakfast made by Catherine’s fair hand before heading off to the family room to chill together in front of the TV. Eventually they were joined by Emily after Lucy insisted that she needed waking up and join them. All they did was lazy and play. It is lovely to hear them so happy while I cook with a little help from Lucy.

For lunch we had roast pork and all the trimmings that was enjoyed by all. Lucy seemed to love the pork scratchings which she couldn’t stop eating. I love our Sunday lunches together they mean the world to me.

After Lunch it was more lazing around and playing for them all. Lucy played with the trains for a while and Emily and Catherine had some computer time before they all started play together again before Lucy went back to her mummies.

Dinner was a simple affair after the big meal of the day. Bacon sandwiches for Emily and myself and cheese sandwiches for Catherine. I love bacon sandwiches especially in the morning with loads of mushrooms in fresh crusty bread. It is one of my comfort foods from the past.

With Catherine over excited about her birthday tomorrow the girls went off to bed and talking about the coming day. 

Twinlakes Take Two

With Catherine's tenth birthday now a few days away the plan was to have a special day out with all the girls. Using the free tickets Emily managed to get to Twinlakes, it was easy to keep the cost down and have a special treat. So that is just what we did and boy was it fun. 

The morning begun slowly with everyone having bit of a lie in, but then there was nothing to get up for in a rush like on a weekday. We couldn't really start the day until after 10 o'clock when we had got Lucy from her mummies. Picking Lucy up seemed rushed today. I still feel it is a shame it has to be like this when it could be so much different. After I got Lucy we popped to the supermarket to buy supplies for our day out, mainly drinks and food, which included ice lollies that Lucy insisted upon. As we were driving home Lucy spotted her sister Mary going towards Tesco's and waved and shouted but I don't think Mary saw us. It was nice yesterday when I got the chance to talk to Mary for a while, I always want to tell Mary she is welcome to come and play, but something stops me. I know she is always welcome here.

When we got home the order of the day was making up the picnic and trying to cool down the drinks as quickly as possible so we had something cold to drink. The weather was set to be hot and sunny for the whole day. Thankfully, as it turned out, there was the occasional cool breeze. Without the day would have been a real roaster. 

Once everything was done and I had drunk my coffee, which the girls always joke about, we set off in the car for Twinlakes listening to music as we went on our way. 

On our arrival there was a massive cheer from Lucy. She must have remembered the place from the last time she went there. Quickly we unpacked the pushchair and loaded it up with Lucy, food and drink. Other than getting Lucy to the entrance, the only use the pushchair served was to carry things around as she didn't want to use it all day. I'm not sure how tall Lucy is, but she can go on a lot of the rides now, but by wheeling her in, nobody seems to question her size so she gets in for free. Rather handy when your working to a tight budget. 

We decided to get eating out of the way quickly so they could all get on with having fun, rather than having to start and stop. So it was off into the shade and out with most of the food and some of the drinks. Lucy seemed too excited to eat and wanted the fun to start straight away and hardly ate anything. I had planned for this and there was snack food for her for later.

We first headed off to the Excalibur Adventure area, there is a soft play area for Lucy and the Spinning Tea cups for Emily and Catherine. Lucy knew exactly what she wanted to do when she saw which part of the park we were in and soon found the curvy slide. She took her shoes off and quickly climbed the stairs to be sliding down seconds later, which was followed by a big splash into the ball pool. She did this again and again and again. At one point she was joined by Catherine before she headed off back out into the sun. After we finished in the soft play area it was out to the swings and the slides with all three girls for a bit. One of the few times they were together all day. After that Lucy and myself headed up to the top of the big castle with me carrying two mats. Last time I went down the slides with Lucy, this time I was going to let her go down on her own. When we got to the top of the slide I put the mat down and showed her how to get into it and what to hold. Then she shuffled forward and off she went down the slide. She was so proud of herself and her little face beamed. The last thing we did was to go on the horses and she queued so well for someone so young and really enjoyed the ride.

With the weather being so hot we all decided to visit the farm, then headed inside for a bit away from the burning sun. When we arrived at the shed where the animals are kept Lucy instantly grabbed her nose and said they smell. It really was a funny sight and she didn't let go of her nose until she came out of the shed. Despite the smell she loves the animals which is clear from all the visits we have to make to the farm to see the piggies. She especially likes the small animals as do all the girls. 

Once we had finished at the farm we headed to the barn containing the Trauma Tower ride. Emily and Catherine love the Trauma Tower while Lucy loves the slides, so while they went off to be thrown up and down Lucy and myself went off with two mats to play on the slides. After successfully doing the first slide on her own we worked our way up to doing the big slide that goes from the roof to the ground by doing several runs of the smaller blue slide. It didn't take her long to become very confident and so we were soon at the top of the big slide and shooting down together. After we had finished with the big slide we took a rest from sliding and Lucy spotted the swing carousel. She watched the other children for a little while and then I asked her if she wanted a go and she said yes with a big smile. So we joined the queue and she was soon sitting on the carousel and flying through the air with a big grin. Eventually Emily and Catherine found us both and took Lucy off me to play on the blue slide again. It was great to see them all coming down together. Eventually Emily went off exploring with Lucy, while Catherine took some time out for a drink before going off to find them again. It took Catherine ages to find them both. They were so high up in the maze of passages and twists and turns. Before leaving for some more fun outside Emily had a few more turns on the Trauma Tower while Catherine went on the swing carousel with Lucy.

On heading outside Emily and Catherine made a beeline for the big swinging boat, while myself and Lucy headed off for the caterpillar roller coaster. We sat right at the front when we got on the coaster, it was great fun. Although it is not very fast it is just right for smaller children and Lucy loved it. We went on several times between Lucy playing in the sand pit and making new friends as she always does wherever we go. She can charm just about anyone with her cheeky little ways and her big soulful blue eyes. At one point she had a older boy helping her climb up and down things she couldn't quite do herself. Every so often Lucy would spot Emily and Catherine on the swinging boat and start to shout their names and wave at them. I'm not sure how many rides they had on the boat but they were on there for an age. It was really hard to get them off when it was time to move on.

From the swinging boat area Emily and Catherine headed for the buffalo coaster while I headed for the bouncy cars with Lucy. Lucy loves the bouncy cars but I'm not so sure what I think about it other than I always end up thinking I wish I hadn't drank so much fizzy coke, but she loves it so on I go. We all met up again at the boating lakes. With a quick check for height it was on with the life jacket and into the boat for little Lucy and me. We were shortly followed on the water by Emily and Catherine in another bumper boat. Soon we were chasing each other around and bumping into each other. It was rather fun once you got the hang of controlling the boats and theie electric outboard motors. Next time we go I'm going have to go on the bumper boats again. They are just great fun. Soon it was time for the last ride of the day. Emily ran off to the buffalo coster and Catherine off to the big raft slide. Lucy and I decided to watch Catherine as she got a push down the slide from a park warden which sent her on her way.

After all the rides were closed we made our way to the exit, stopping off at the assault course and the arial runways. The girls had a lovely time at Twinlakes and to make it easy for dinner we all had hot dogs for dinner as a special kiddy treat. It just rounded of the day nicely. It is lovely to have them altogether and having fun. 

I know this will never happen, but ages ago I had invited Mary to come to Twinlakes before we went in May. I never did get a reply but I didn't expect one. Maybe they will meet again one day and have fun again. I hope so for them. 

Friday Fun

The weather has been really good for most of the week and today was no exception. When I woke up and went into the bathroom the sun was streaming into room. It was just the sort of day I wanted to have our Lucy to visit. 

The morning was spent playing in the garden with Lucy, mainly on the tricycle and her small red car. Recently she has started pretending they are real cars and the need to be filled with petrol before they will go any where. It quite sweet the way she plays on her own now she is growing up. It is lovely to sit and watch her and be there when comes over to give you a hug.

After lunch we had Birthday shopping to do, so it was off to the Melton Mowbray to go and get a present for Catherine who is 10 on Monday. As always she was really good around the shops and never seems to complain however far you walk her. While on the way home she she managed to get herself covered in chocolate, so much so that her hands were covered as well as her face dress and her legs. She was a sticky sight to behold and so proud of herself. I cleaned her up as much as possible but it was clear there was nothing that could be done about the dress other than putting it in the washing machine.

After taking the shopping home, and picking up a clean dress, we headed back out to the farm for afternoon tea and of course to see the piggies. As soon as we arrived she was off down the path to the find the little piglets which are still growing at an amazing rate. Of course we first had to pass the two Daddy Pigs who always get up and greet her before moving on to the next pen and the little pigs. 

After the pig we went off to see the rabbits who were just having their drinking water changed. The lady changing the water asked Lucy if she wanted to give the rabbits some carrots and stroke them. After getting over her shyness she said yes and the lady went off to get some carrots. As soon as he got back the pen was open and Lucy was standing inside pen with the Lady offering the boy rabbit a carrot, who came over to have a sniff and a nibble before getting stroked by Lucy. They then moved onto the girl rabbits who were completely uninterested in the carrots, so with carrot in hand Lucy found another pen of rabbits to give it to. 

While looking at the rabbits and talking to the woman we discovered they have some baby guinea pigs which are shortly going to need a new home. Knowing that Emily really wants some guinea pigs I going to look into the implications of keeping them with a mad westie that loves chasing rodents and rabbits!

After cleaning our hands it was off to have afternoon tea and a play with the toy farm yard and although her smile didn't get her a bit of cake this time, it did get her a big bag of carrots for the Donkey and the horse. 

With the bag of carrots in hand we wandered in to the fields to find the donkey and the horse. As she ran towards them they came to the fence. The bag contained five carrots and the winner was the donkey winning three - two, mainly on the grounds that the donkey can eat carrots at over twice the rate of the horse and it never looks like it might bite your fingers. As the farm walk was open this time we got to see the goats. Lucy run down the side of they fence urging them to follow her while holding a handfuls of grass. The goats, not being totally stupid to the idea of food followed her and were reward with getting to eat the grass. She love the way the goats do as she tells them and as she hands out the grass she makes sure they all get there far share.

It was soon time to go home for the return of Emily and Catherine from school. The welcome was so warm and full of hugs as always. They all played so nicely in the garden and in the house while I cooked the dinner for them all. After dinner it was soon time for Lucy to leave and home she went, all dressed in her clean clothes. 

It was a lovely day with Lucy and with Emily and Catherine after school and tomorrow is going to be even better...

Poor Emily

Emily had a trip to the Rutland Memorial Hospital today. She was playing football at lunchtime and while in goal decided to stop someone scoring with her nose. This is NOT a recommended method of saving goals and resulted in a nosebleed that lasted half an hour. On checking her nose the first aider decided it needed checking out so off to Hospital she went. Thankfully the nose is just busied and no harm was done this time.

The Case Of Missing Swans

The case of the missing swans continues. There were a pair of swans and their babies on local fishing lake near the level crossing just out side the village which was once part of the Oakham to Melton Canal.

The jury is out in what has happened to them. The babies couldn't have been more than a few weeks old so it is unlikely the adults would go to far from the fishing lake. I have checked both sides of the fishing lake and no swans. So where have they gone?

Plans and Parties

Quite a busy time coming up with Catherine's Birthday and trips out to be had and some special trip to boot.

Looking towards the weekend we have Catherine's Birthday. On the Friday night she is having a sleep over with her friend and on the Saturday we are off to Twinlakes if the weather forecast holds out and the day is fine. On the Monday we are going to have a birthday dinner with party food and cake. It has really worked out well as far as having Lucy is concerned since it is my weekend with her. It makes up for not seeing Lucy on fathers day as I know how much enjoyment Catherine will get on having her here over birthday weekend. Only one thing would make it better and that won't happen, but that is life. 

Next month there is a special treat for Emily and Catherine and we are off to watch the formula 3 racing at Rockingham Speedway. That should be fun as it is a big girls day out and rightly so. Taking Lucy with all the noise wouldn't be good for her delicate ears and I can't see her wearing ear plugs for hours on end.  

I'm sure between the big things lots of little things will happen too. 

A Monday in the Sun

It was a lovely sunny morning when we all got up and the girls left for school. Not to hot and not to cold and the longest day of the year to boot. Catherine was off on a school trip photographing Rutland as part of a school project and Emily had a normal day at school, her sailing trip isn't until the next week.

I got Lucy as usual on Monday from her mummies and we popped to the shops before coming home to play. She chatted all the way home and I noticed she is starting to get a feel for time and knows some of the days. She told me a few of the things she had been up to which was lovely. In the morning we played dressing up games and outside in the garden on her bike. She really is getting good a peddling her little tricycle now. She loves to park it and fill it full of petrol. It is lovely to watch.

For lunch we had Lucy's favorite "eggies" this time with crumpets and lashings of butter. She loves eggs and tried to eat all my mine too. She seems to like crumpets equally as much, so we can add them to our lunchtime menu. After a lunch we had a drink before heading out for the afternoon.

The destination of our afternoon trips is starting to get predictable. When I picked her up this morning she asked if we could go to the farm, and I said yes, so that is were we headed to see the piggies. We equipped ourselves with an Apple and a carrot for the donkey and the horse and off we set. As soon as we got there it was off to see the piggies, which are really starting to get big now. The bigger pigs were very interested in her little treat collection. Before they ate her apple and carrot we set off to give the donkey and the horse their little treats. I just adored the way she told the horse that he couldn't have the donkey's carrot when he tried to take it off her.

As soon as they were fed it was time to get some juice. So off we headed for the teashop, stopping on the way to fuss Holly the farm dog that was laying in the sun. It is lovely there. The girl that serves us recognised us immediately and proceeded to ask Lucy all kinds of questions about the farm which Lucy tried to answer the best she could. Once inside Lucy head off to play farms with the toy farm yard while she had her drink. Just before we left Lucy spotted some new toys to play with. She was really good when I said we had to go she happily left to go and see the animals again with another apple in hand courtesy of the girl at the tearooms, which was shared between the donkey and the horse. 

After we left the farm we had a little bit of time to spare so we headed for Langham park where Lucy played and played until it was time to go home for Emily and Catherine's return from school. 

It's always a special "coming home" for the girls when Lucy is here and Catherine got an extra special welcome today. We heard her coming towards the house and and as Lucy heard her open the back door she rushed at Catherine and gave her the biggest hug and said "I love you Catherine" over and over again. It was so lovely to see. Emily got similar treatment when she got home without the surprise run and hug. They all have fun together and today was no exception. Today's play included hanging the naughty teddy bears and soft toys on hangers in the wardrobe which was rather amusing.

For dinner we all sat at the table down to a Sunday lunch to makeup for missing out on Sunday lunch yesterday with them all. They all had a lovely time saying what they had done and eating their food. 

Time passes to quickly sometimes and the it was far to soon for the rush of getting Lucy ready to go home. It doesn't matter home many times I do it, it has to be one of the hardest things I have to do. I love her and all her sisters to bits and I feel bad that they can't all be together. But, any way home she had to go and with a kiss and a cuddle from Emily and Catherine we went on our way. There was just one thing different tonight. I had found Mary's picture of her Dad in a broken frame a few days ago and I had fixed the best I could. It was still delicate but I returned to little Mary. The smile on her face was enough to light the whole of Oakham. It was the first time we had spoken in ages. God bless her and her Lucy.

A Quiet Fathers Day

With Emily and Catherine being away most of the day and not seeing Lucy at all it has been rather quite fathers day. However I got some lovely cards and presents, so thank you girls. You are all special to me. I hope next year we can all have a special day together or at least see you all together even if it is just for the afternoon. Looking forward to having them all tomorrow!

Early Presents for Daddy

Well it was a dull start to the day in Rutland but that was the only thing that was dull, that is of course if you discount England in the world cup which was worse than dull.

The Day started well with Emily and Catherine getting to school on time. A rare event for both of them to make it in on time despite the fact they live 2 minutes from the school. Emily was last out after finding the well hidden hairbrush that Catherine had carefully concealed around the house as usual.  After they left I enjoyed the peace for a while before having a shower to wake me up.

I picked Lucy up from her Mummies at 10 as usual. It was lovely to see her gain. I miss her so much so much and I feel I miss out sometimes not knowing what she is doing, but that can’t be helped I guess. There is nothing I can do. Anyway I have gone off the point. This time was different. She had with her with her a bag of Fathers Day presents. She gave me the bag and I gave her a hug in return. I really just expected a card so it was so nice to be thought of. The presents were really well chosen. I love the picture of her in the “I Love Daddy” frame. That will always be special to me. I got a similar one for her Mummy on Mothers day. Then there was the lovely mug and of course the socks. I always love socks you can’t have enough of them.  These ones said Super Daddy. It was a lovely moment and another one to come later on Sunday from Emily and Catherine.  Lucy, bless her kept saying it was my Birthday. Not sure she has got the Fathers Day bit yet.

Before we set off from I walked to the car with her and I told her how proud I was of her and her potty training, and as I got her in her seat I gave that big hug I promised myself I would give for her hard work. She growing up, bless her, and I love her.

We first set off to the supermarket to get something for Lunch and Dinner and not forgetting the all-important pull-ups. I want to carry on the potty training that she has started with her Mummy. We have had a potty for ages all are missing here is the training seat for the toilet. Today she pushed the trolley and helped pick the dinner. I was looking at doing something with chicken and she picked a whole chicken. So it was decided, another Roast Chicken Dinner it was. Although this time, unlike the last one, we had this one was with Yorkshire puddings. Good thing Emily and Catherine both like my roasts.

When we got home it was play with George time. She really loves George, which is rather wonderful. I guess in many ways they were puppies together and they seem to share a common bond. She is always trying to pass him bits of food when she thinks I’m not looking even if she know they are thing he really shouldn’t have. He is always following her around on the off choice there might be food on hand. While she was playing I managed to send a quick email off to Lucy’s mummy thanking her for her part in the presents. 

For Lunch we had bacon sandwiches. I use to have them many moons ago for breakfast and I have been missing them recently. They are rather yummy and always make you feel good. I know many a vegetarian who went back to eating meat because of the smell of bacon sandwiches. When she is older I will have to introduce her to the delights of kippers.

After Lunch I said we are going out and instantly she wanted to go and see the piggy’s again. It was part of the plan so it was lovely she suggested it to so off we set. It is only a few minutes drive to the farm and Lucy chatted all the way. I love the way she has started chatting. It is lovely.

We arrived at the farm and as soon as she got out of the car Lucy matched off to the pigs. She has learnt the way and was urging me to be faster, which I found rather amusing at the time given how much faster I walk. When we arrived at the pigs she said hello to them and climbed up the steps to see the baby pigs. She couldn’t quite see the mummy pig and started ask where she was so I lifted her higher to see her. She really loves those pigs. It is lovely. After the pigs we headed off to see the rabbits and play with the stuffed rabbit on top of their cage. She loves showing the real rabbits the stuffed toy and pretending it is real.

It wasn’t long until she remembered the teashop and off we headed. As soon as she got in she said hello to the lady that had given her the cake the last time we were there. Lucy sat down at the table with the toy farm and started to play. This time we didn’t get free cake but we did get an apple to give to one of the farm animals. Lucy decided it was the donkey’s lucky day but the horse ended up eating it. Unfortunately it started raining as we fed the horse and we did get see the goats. She was quite upset but I said we could see the baby swans instead.

Getting back in the car we headed off to the fishing lake just outside Langham near the railway crossing once part of the Oakham to Melton Canal. About a month ago we discovered a pair of swans had made a nest on the lake in the reeds and we went to see the signets. The last time I had been with Emily and Catherine, about four days ago, they were under their mother’s wing hiding away. This time I hoped I would see them with Lucy to make up for missing out on the park because of the rain and see them we did. The Mother was at the side of the nest and the father near by and all the little signets were in the nest. It was a lovely sight, they were brown and fluffy and Lucy seemed to love them. We didn’t stay long because of the rain but I’m sure we will see them again soon.

We arrived home with an hour or so to go before the Emily and Catherine came home so we sat down and watched “Peppa Pig” then moved on to playing in her bedroom. When the girls came home they both got the biggest of hugs with lots of I loves you’s. It is really lovely to see them greet each other and run off to play. They have such a great time together. Today they all spent sometime looking at some old photo's together for a bit. I joined them for a while but in retrospect that was good idea.

Dinner turned out to be lovely. Lucy turned up as usual just as I was carving the chicken for a bit of the skin and a taste of meat. This seems to have become part of a ritual for her every time we have a roast. Once I had finished serving the dinner we all sat down at the table and tucked into our meal. As always Lucy kept trying take everyone’s sweet corn but we are trying hard to get her to stick to her own food which she is starting to do now. It was a great meal and loads of happy faces at the end, but there always is when Lucy is at the table.

Just as we were about to leave, Lucy was playing with Catherine in my bedroom and managed to get hold of an old bottle of Karvol from the bedside draws and was shaking it about after undoing the top. I think she thought it was perfume and managed get a drop in Catherine’s eye before she could get the bottle off her. Emily quickly stepped in and took Catherine off to the bathroom to wash out her eye while I quickly checked Lucy for damage and got her shoes on so we could quickly take her back to her mummies and get Catherine off to the hospitial.

At the hospital Catherine was a dream. Doing all the nurse asked of her without compliant as they washed out her eye several times. Karvol being oiled based is harder to get out than something that is water based so they had to check the eye was clean several times just in case some had been left behind. Thankfully there wasn’t so we avoided the 20 to 30 mile drive to the nearest Accident and Emergency. After 30 minutes of going into the Minor Injuries Unit in Oakham Hospital, most of which was spent in the treatment room, we headed off to the shops for a treats for Emily and Catherine being so good and then we all returned home to watch England play football.

It been a lovely day and the only boring thing was England playing football. I’m going to miss them all on Sunday. It is fathers Day and although I get to see Emily and Catherine in the evening I won't Lucy all day.

Well Done Lucy

This is a special post for our Lucy. I'm so proud of her. I got her a email from Mummy and she has done five wee wee's in her potty today. I hope she is proud of herself too...

Cakes

Just a quick update on what has been happening on the days while I work. 

Well with the weather being fine I haven't seen much of the girls. They have both been out most of the time enjoying the lovely warm weather. 

On Tuesday Emily took part in the Rutland Schools sport event and I took I decided that it would be nice for Catherine and me to do some baking so we made a chocolate  sponge cake covered in milk chocolate. They both loved it and saved some for their packed lunch the following day.

Wednesday was a quite day at home after a long day at work. Both girls spent most of the time outside having fun. Although emily fell out with Charlie, but that is nothing new. Sure they will be best of friends again soon.

Today it was Emily's turn to do some baking and we made another sponge cake this time covered in icing. We did this while Catherine played with her friend that she had round after school. Catherine had a great time with her friend and I tasted some of Emily's cake and it was lush.

Sometimes I wish I could do more with them on the days I work but I know they know I have to get up early and I'm generally tired so I can on do what I can.

Back to the Farm

The sun seems to deserted us again for a while after briefly showing it face yesterday between the clouds. Not the sort of morning that makes you want to jump out of bed but I had to get up to get the girls to school and in any case Lucy was coming for the day.

The Emily and Catherine got up late compared to normal for a school day with Catherine appearing first just with enough time for breakfast, while Emily lazed in bed until the last minute. I think they made it to school on time just. Hopefully they will be better at getting up for the rest of the week.

At 10 I went off to get Lucy from her Mummies and we head off to the shops to buy something for lunch. We had a lovely time in the supermarket. Lucy sat in the trolly pretending to drive as I pushed her round as fast as was safe making the noises as we went round the corners. Not sure what the other shoppers make of it but most of them seem to smile and it makes Lucy and myself happy and we didn't crash. 

When we got home we started to play trains for a bit, then she played a game of chase with george in the garden before she finally settled down to do some drawing with some pens she had found. I made the fatal mistake of not watching her for 2 minutes with the pens while I cooked her lunch and when I returned she looked at me, showed me her arms and said doggie. She was covered in spots and looked a dalmation and was quite proud of herself. Thankfully the pens are water soluble and it soon washed off and I quietly explained that it really wasn't the thing to do. I think one day I will have a go at face painting with her I think she will love it. 

After we finished our lunch of bacon sandwiches we had a drink and got changed to go out of the afternoon to the see the piggies. She wanted to go yesterday afternoon but there wasn't time and I promised her we would go today. So off we went singing and seat dancing in the car.

Lucy loves the piggies. She headed straight off to the barn as soon as she got out the car. Like the last time we were there they were all having a midday snack of mummy pigs milk. They all look so cute and I can see why she loves them. We must spent a good 15 minutes looking at them and the three pigs in the pen next to them. She wanted to go into the other barn where the other pigs are kept but that was closed so off we went to see the small animals before we headed of the tea rooms. 

In the tea rooms I ordered a coffee for me and a squash for Lucy and we picked a table and waited for it to come. Lucy in true form charmed the girl that served us and managed to get herself a slice of free cake without really having to do anything but that was not all. The girl came back with the cake, a map of the farm with the names of the animals on it, a apple for the donkey and a carrot for the horse. She asked Lucy to feed them for her because was busy in the shop. lucy face lit up at the prospect of feeding the animals. While we drank our drinks Lucy spied a toy farm on one of the tables and quickly went over to play while I finished my coffee and the cake she had left. I must say the cake was very very yummy!

After we finished in the tea rooms we headed out to the farm with our apple and carrot in hand to find the donkey and the horse to feed. Lucy wasn't sure how to give the donkey the apple but in the end I got her to just show it to him and he came over and took a gentle bite from the side of the apple as I stroked his head. The horse we were told could bite so we were much more careful with the carrot. She held it right at the end and pushed it through the fence and the horse took a big bite. She really loved feeding them. We couldn't leave without doing two things. One was go to see the goats and have them follow her around and the other was to see the piggies and say bye bye to them. 

After washing our hands we got back in the car and headed off to see if we could see the baby swans. Unfortunately they are still so small they spend most of the time under there mothers wings and we couldn't see them. So in the end we walked down the bank of the lake a bit with Lucy throwing in the occasional stick while looking at the other birds on the water.

When we got home there was just minutes to wait before Emily and Catherine came home. Emily arrived first and Lucy gave her a big hug and said she loved her and Lucy then repeated the whole process when Catherine came in through the door. All three headed off top the family room to play before lucy came back to me and wanted to watch a little bit of peppa pig before dinner. 

Everyone tucked in to there meal. I must say I love sitting at the table with all of them. Although dinner was a little late it wasn't rushed and we all had fun as we always do. 

The time with lucy passes to quickly for me and today was no exception. I know Emily and catherine feel the same but we make the most of the time and I hope she knows how much we all love her. 

Anyway, it is now time to look in the cupboard for things to make cakes with..... that is part of the plan for tomorrow!