Helping your children get dressed "against the clock" is hilarious and somehow enables their hair to defy gravity even more than normal. :-)

We are approaching Xmas 2015 and the kids are in the full swing of it (though the grownups are a little more reluctant)

Little AG is now now a full-blown reader who is proficient enough to decode what we're saying when we s p e l l  t h i n g s  o u t so any time we've secretly tried to discuss winter ice-skating (which is high on her "bucket list ") she join in with trying to persuade her reluctant mother.

Mr T is also quite a personality, when we went to the local farm shop a magician was there selling his wares, so impress was T that he grabbed the cars remote and would show anyone who'd listen how he could unlock the car " with the power of my mind"

Luckily for us their teachers are impressed with their precocity, I feel like one lucky daddy.

Ten months on

My last post was in February which makes me A. Guilty B.Thinking how time flies.

I am currently writing this sitting in the dining room of my parents house where we are living, firstly, don't panic, we havn't lost the house, we sold it and bought a new one. This of course will need to lead to the question, if you have bought a new house why aren't you living there? Well, it's because it not actually a new one its 80yrs old and needs a bit of work!

I guess at this point we should rewind a bit, we lived in a little house in Beckenham and we loved it, the area was great, the neighbours were great, everything was in walking distance, but......

Well I guess you knew there was a but coming, simply put, though we knew this wasn't our forever house we knew it'd fit our needs for a couple of years, but then in came time to choose schools, I know it doesn't seem like it, but AG is now 4 (going on 14) and it is time to choose schools and it turns out that the school catchment areas are so small we didn't get a choice!

Well, for us "no option, is not an option" so we have to move, I know it sounds like a big thing to do with so much going on in our lives but thats our crazy life.

Anyway, to cut a long story short we found a lovely old house in Hayes, its not the house we had our eye on but the estate agent showed it too us first and it felt like home.

A quarter way through

Inspired by reading about Robert Llewellyn's empty nest I thought I should give this diary an update.

AG has just had her 5th birthday, and whilst standing in the middle of a draughty church hall surrounded by screaming kids hyped-up on hummus that I am a over a quarter-way through the nurturing part of my journey with her.

wow, that was quick.

My dad will be proud

One of my dad's hero's is Frank Whittle, the pioneer of the modern of jet engine, so I can't wait to tell him AG's latest trick.

Thanks to her brothers love of the book "Amazing Aeroplanes" she now recites from memory the basic principles of their engines and wings!

I am now planning my retirement based of the future income of my little aerospace engineer....

Worrying silence

I was home alone with "Mr T" when I was called away from the kitchen to a call on the computer.

During the call I realised there was what you would call a "worrying silence" I hurried to the kitchen to find he'd taken advantage of the gate I'd left open to try and start the microwave!

This morning, it got worse, I found he'd loaded a bowl of lego into it!

Having a pile of melted danish construction blocks would been bad enough, but he'd also chosen a bowl with a foil rim so would of had his very own firework display too!

Trying out an eighties artform

I'll admit it, I grew up in the eighties and one thing I loved was alternative comedy, and one aspect in particular, the long-form insult.

For those not aware of this craft, and it was created by comedians Rob Newman and David Badiel playing the part of dusty old professor's in a late night TV show called "history today", The two would ramble on until they eventually came to verbal blows using crafted insults that ran over several minutes.

Anyway, it seems the 3 year old has the knack, as the other day she turned to her mother whilst I attentively listened and said "mummy, I don't like my daddy anymore, will you please ask him to go, so you can get me a new daddy", ah bless, and makes you feel proud....