I’m sure holidays used to be easier than this August 24, 2010

This week, the party bus has moved to Stow on the Wold. We are having a few days en famille, before heading back to the sandpit at the weekend. It was supposed to be an excuse for some ‘quality’ time together. A holiday for just the five of us.

Now I’m sure I remember a time when holiday’s involved nice restaurants, great bars and the only consideration of a morning was “pool or beach?”. Days passed leisurely with no thoughts of whether or not the day’s bistro would have baby-change facilities, or if high chairs were freely available. Come to think of it, I don’t remember ever seeing any children on the holidays we used to indulge in. We were more discerning than I’d given myself credit for.

Things have definitely changed. This morning, we were woken by the sounds of shouts various coming from the children’s bedroom. We are staying in a beautiful Cotswold stone cottage that was designed and built for a family of munchkins. It is cute and quaint but the novelty of cracking my skull every time I walk upstairs to the one and only toilet in the property, has well and truly worn off.

There are two bedrooms, so the children are all in together. This has worked very well in the past as they seem to amuse each other. However, for reasons best known to the little people, this morning, no one was enjoying anyone’s company.

We thought we’d solved the problem by separating no. 1 son from the twins. He came into our bed and we left the girls to go back to sleep. No. 1 son then proceeded to kick and wriggle for a full hour before we admitted defeat and told him he could go and play downstairs.

Still hopeful of a tiny bit more shut-eye, we tried to ignore the wailing from the girls room but after another 20 minutes, admitted the inevitable and plucked them from their cots. Their mood hadn’t improved much and there was a fair amount of grizzling before milk arrived.

Getting them dressed proved more of a challenge than usual and once clothed, twin 1 decided it would be great fun to start battering her sister with a book. Twin 2 wasn’t amused. Twin 1 swiftly moved from paperback to hardback and before we could say “Maisy Goes to Playschool”, twin 2 had taken a vicious blow to the nose.

The wailing was instantaneous and we were ready for it. What we weren’t prepared for was the sudden rush of blood that followed. The poor girl had a nose bleed and dear God, was it messy. Twin 1 sat in bemused silence as twin 2 sobbed with all her might, which was perfectly understandable, but just served to hasten the flow of blood that by now had spread way beyond her pjs, soaking her father and heading for the lovely pale blue White Company bedding.

Did we leave a deposit when we booked?

I glanced over at the clock. 8.17am. I hope the next 10 hours are a little less fraught.

Secrets August 19, 2010

The brunette and I have a naughty secret. She sleeps very lightly, and most nights when I creep in to kiss her and the blonde goodnight before I turn in, she stirs a little. Sometimes, she opens her eyes briefly but then slips back into sleep without a sound. Other nights, she stands up, surveys the scene, and then snuggles back down into her cot.

However, in the past week or so, we’ve slipped into a dangerous new routine. When I go in to see the pair of them before bed, the brunette is waiting for me. She checks it’s me, then clambers to her feet (not all that easy when you’re enveloped in a sleeping bag) with her arms raised. The message is clear. She wants a cuddle.

So we have a secret cuddle in the dark. I pray her sister won’t wake and see me there, giving her twin an additional and definitely extra-curricular hug.

The brunette loves this little ritual. She puts her head flat on my shoulder and snuggles close and it’s like cuddling a live dolly. She’s quite a dainty little thing and weighs far less than the blonde so I don’t get that dead arm feeling after 45 seconds and a desperate urge to dump her back down. For those few minutes, I actually feel like staying in her room all night.

But then reality dawns and I realise I need to retreat to my room and let her go back to sleep. And this is the strange part. The brunette has always had a tendency to shout whenever I leave the room so this is a tricky moment. Will I be able to get away with settling her back down into her bed and creeping out of the room without a high-decibel revolt?

And the bizarre thing is that so far, every night that we’ve had our secret cuddles, she’s let me pop her back into her cot without so much as a murmur. It’s as if she knows that she’s onto a good thing already and that kicking up a stink wouldn’t be in her best interests.

So I check her sleeping bag is straight, and that Miffy is at hand. And then with a little wave I creep out of their room and touch wood, don’t hear another peep until the morning.

It can’t last long, so for now, I’m just going to enjoy our secret rendezvous.

And not tell the blonde.

Reasons to Celebrate April 7, 2010

2010 is rapidly becoming celebration central. Both my parents will celebrate their 65th birthday’s this year as well as their 40th wedding anniversary.

I think it’s officially a ‘ruby wedding anniversary’ but frankly, I think you deserve a darn sight more than a ruby for surviving 40 years of marriage.

My grandmother used to say that only ‘ladies of the night’ wore rubies. I was probably around 7 years old when she passed on this valuable insight and I have to say, I was perplexed as to why you’d put on your best jewellery to go out into the dark. It took a few years before the penny dropped!

In addition to my parent’s significant celebrations, we will celebrate our 10th wedding anniversary. I’m not actually sure what 10 represents but I’m thinking that if it’s only a ruby for 40 years, I’m probably looking at Lego or MDF for our meagre achievement.

My sister and her boyfriend will both turn 30 this year. I’m obviously incredibly envious. 30 seems like a distant memory and sounds so young. I now have a significant number of friends in their 40s and even, dare I admit it, a few in their 50s. Moving swiftly on…

Back to the celebrations. We’ve already celebrated the twins 1st birthday a couple of months ago which was another great excuse to crack open the champagne.

Neither my husband nor I achieved any milestone age this year thank goodness. Gone are the days when ‘big’ birthdays are looked forward to. They are now viewed with trepidation and in some cases, vigorously denied!

My son thinks every birthday is a major event so I’m sure his 6th birthday in July will be a serious social occasion. He normally starts planning his birthday as we’re taking down the Christmas tree and this year was no exception. I have almost weekly updates on where might be a good party venue, or a suggestion for the gift list.

So, let’s be honest, we weren’t exactly short of events to look forward to.

And then my sister announced her engagement!

This should hardly have come as a surprise as the happy couple have been together for years, but somehow when you get that phone call, it seems as though it’s the most amazing, unforseen announcement ever. My husband and I enjoyed a sneaky glass of wine with lunch to toast the happy news and not for the first time, wished we weren’t so far away from home.

Now, sandwiched between the big birthday’s and various anniversaries we have an engagement and a wedding to look forward to.

I’m fairly daunted by the thought of all the thoughtful, imaginative and original gifts that will need purchasing before the many parties take place, but on the plus side, what a great excuse for new shoes!

Great Excitement March 21, 2010

One of the great benefits of being an expat is that people come to stay with you and invariably, you end up enjoying real quality time with friends and family as they tend to stay with you for far longer than they would back at home.

Coupled with that, the fact that you’re living in a hot country means most people really feel as if they’re on holiday when they come to visit. We have become very used to the guaranteed daily sunshine, but for anyone who’s been in the UK for the last 6 months, sunshine is something of an alien concept.

Landing in Dubai to anything less than 30 degree heat is a rarity so by the time people walk through the arrivals hall, a broad grin is normally in place.

In our household there is great excitement as ‘the grandparents’ are staying with us.  For my son this means 10 days of stories on demand, help with key Lego construction projects and much unauthorised chocolate consumption.

For me, this means two extra pairs of hands to help with the twins. The novelty of feeding them, taking them for walks and playing with them will almost certainly last for the duration of their stay meaning I should have a relaxing few days with my feet up. Well, perhaps not, but surely it won’t be quite as manic as normal.