Now that the festivities are over, the left overs are either eaten or in the freezer and we've found a home for all our new goodies my daughter is BORED! Her constant question is "what can we do today?" I wish I could come up with loads of exciting, creative things to do but my mind goes blank and I can usually only manage "read a book" (she would rather poke herself in the eye than read a book!), "play on the computer" (oh no she can't do that I'm on here!), "go and play with a friend" (they are all off skiing or similar!) so we end up either hanging about getting on each other's nerves or going somewhere that requires me to spend money.
Why can't I think of more interesting (and cheaper!!) things to do? I think the problem is when I was her age reading a book was something I loved to do. I can't understand why she won't sit and read. Every now and then she will pick up a book and read but only a few pages and she stops. She did once finish a book and say she'd got involved in the whole thing and it had felt "real" which is what I believe a good book should do but for some reason Allie can't quite get involved in a book like that normally. I think part of the problem is that she does have such a vivid imagination that any books don't quite meet up to it plus it all has to be done quick - she can't get to the end fast enough because she just can't physically read that fast.
So what can we do today? Well at 10.30am she's still fast asleep upstairs LOL But when she does get up I have nothing to offer other than a trip to the bank to pay in her Christmas and Birthday money. OK that will be fun for about 10 minutes but then we are dangerously in town where she could spend money (and it won't be her money safe and sound in the bank!).
Was it easier when she was little? I don't think so. I signed her up to Stagecoach not because I wanted to create a little stage star but because it gave her something to do for a few hours on a Sunday. She's an air cadet not because we want her to be a pilot but because she gets away from the TV or computer at least twice a week (and weekends when there are camps on).
I've tried the "planned" days out with picnics, visits to parks, gardens, stately homes etc and yes we've had fun but usually I've had to pay out money somewhere (even if it is just for an ice cream LOL) and Allie never seems to have had as much fun as I had hoped.
Am I missing something on what teenagers do with their spare time these days or am I setting my own expectations too high for her to have a good time?
Well she's now out of bed and prowling the kitchen like a hungry bear so I'm off to find her breakfast (should that be brunch?) and then I am sure her next question will be "what can we do today?".............
Wednesday 28 December 2011
Monday 26 December 2011
Let's try that again...
I am so bad at keeping up this posting lark! My friend Karen has really put me to shame this month by journalling all the fantastic things she's being doing in preparation for Christmas with her two children and I envy her blog .... is that a new "sin" - blog envy? LOL
So I am going to make a New Year resolution to attend to this blog much more, take more photos to blog about and write more about what's going on in my life to remind me when I'm older.
One thing that made me think about having reminders of my past is visiting my grandparents who have recently moved in to a care home. They used to live with my parents and since they couldn't take a lot of stuff with them to the home my mum and dad have spent the last month trawling through masses of papers and photos (my grandad is a bit of hoarder to say the least - we even found the notes he made about how to use the guns whilst on board ship during WW2!).
Dad has gone through literally thousands of photos all neatly stacked in their little packets - mainly of back gardens in houses none of us remember, cakes and meals laid out for special occasions we can't remember and the odd one or two of people who we don't know the names of. In the end he kept the ones of people we did know and just had to throw out the rest. However, photos are still a big part of our family and as a Christmas present for my grandparents this year I have made them a little stand with pages of photos that flip over so they can see different pictures whenever they feel like it (bearing in mind they don't have much room in their new home to display many things). I went through my photos on my drive and picked 12 that span mainly over our daughter's life (14 years now!) making sure they all had family members in them.
When we visited Gran and Boo Boo today he liked the photos but my Gran seemed fascinated by them. She suffers from Alzheimers and her memory has been getting steadily stuck in the past - she took these photos and looked and looked and looked - every time she got to the end, she went back to the beginning and went through them again. She didn't ask any questions as to who the people were so I think she recognised them but it was as if she was willing herself to remember the events around the photos. it made me realise how fragile our memories can be and how important it is to scrapbook, journal, blog and write about what we are doing now so we can remember it in the future. Our lives are made up of moments that make us smile, laugh, cry, come together as family and friends or just be alone with beautiful views and thoughts but if we don't capture them what is left?
So I am going to make a New Year resolution to attend to this blog much more, take more photos to blog about and write more about what's going on in my life to remind me when I'm older.
One thing that made me think about having reminders of my past is visiting my grandparents who have recently moved in to a care home. They used to live with my parents and since they couldn't take a lot of stuff with them to the home my mum and dad have spent the last month trawling through masses of papers and photos (my grandad is a bit of hoarder to say the least - we even found the notes he made about how to use the guns whilst on board ship during WW2!).
Dad has gone through literally thousands of photos all neatly stacked in their little packets - mainly of back gardens in houses none of us remember, cakes and meals laid out for special occasions we can't remember and the odd one or two of people who we don't know the names of. In the end he kept the ones of people we did know and just had to throw out the rest. However, photos are still a big part of our family and as a Christmas present for my grandparents this year I have made them a little stand with pages of photos that flip over so they can see different pictures whenever they feel like it (bearing in mind they don't have much room in their new home to display many things). I went through my photos on my drive and picked 12 that span mainly over our daughter's life (14 years now!) making sure they all had family members in them.
When we visited Gran and Boo Boo today he liked the photos but my Gran seemed fascinated by them. She suffers from Alzheimers and her memory has been getting steadily stuck in the past - she took these photos and looked and looked and looked - every time she got to the end, she went back to the beginning and went through them again. She didn't ask any questions as to who the people were so I think she recognised them but it was as if she was willing herself to remember the events around the photos. it made me realise how fragile our memories can be and how important it is to scrapbook, journal, blog and write about what we are doing now so we can remember it in the future. Our lives are made up of moments that make us smile, laugh, cry, come together as family and friends or just be alone with beautiful views and thoughts but if we don't capture them what is left?
Allie with Gran Gran
Allie with Boo Boo
Saturday 30 April 2011
Royal Wedding Fun
So Friday 29th April 2011 was another little bit of history to go in the diary - the Royal Wedding of Prince William and Catherine Middleton. I remember 30 years ago sitting glued to the TV watching Prince Charles & Lady Diana get married and like most young girls dreamt of a big white wedding to a prince for myself. (I did get my prince but it was a rather less grand wedding with a red dress LOL).
We spent the Wedding Day at my friend's house - TV was on from early morning and then we set everything up for an afternoon BBQ and the weather was so kind to us and kept the sun shining. It did get rather windy and we took down the gazebo before it blew away! We had a lovely afternoon of drinking, eating and chatting and then some bright spark decided to play some games - so drink and wheelbarrow races - do they go? You tell me from this picture of my best mate Kath who didn't get very far down the garden LOL
Oh and the Royal Wedding itself? Well the dress was beautiful, the kiss on the balcony expected but still classic and the bride and groom radiated a glowing love for each other which quite frankly never seemed to show up in Charles & Di's wedding (or indeed their married life afterwards). I think William will make a fantastic King with the grace and empathy he gets from his mother and Kate is going to be the perfect consort alongside him supporting him and showing her own graciousness as well. It was a lovely wedding day but I'm not sure A had quite the same dreams as I did 30 years ago - think she may have missed a step or two in the process! LOL
We spent the Wedding Day at my friend's house - TV was on from early morning and then we set everything up for an afternoon BBQ and the weather was so kind to us and kept the sun shining. It did get rather windy and we took down the gazebo before it blew away! We had a lovely afternoon of drinking, eating and chatting and then some bright spark decided to play some games - so drink and wheelbarrow races - do they go? You tell me from this picture of my best mate Kath who didn't get very far down the garden LOL
Oh and the Royal Wedding itself? Well the dress was beautiful, the kiss on the balcony expected but still classic and the bride and groom radiated a glowing love for each other which quite frankly never seemed to show up in Charles & Di's wedding (or indeed their married life afterwards). I think William will make a fantastic King with the grace and empathy he gets from his mother and Kate is going to be the perfect consort alongside him supporting him and showing her own graciousness as well. It was a lovely wedding day but I'm not sure A had quite the same dreams as I did 30 years ago - think she may have missed a step or two in the process! LOL
Tuesday 19 April 2011
A Day at the Zoo
The recent weather has been so gorgeous and I have been able to spend a couple of days off work with A to enjoy school holidays. We had a busy day yesterday of bowling, swimming, lunch with friends and shopping and then today we went to Chester Zoo. The sun was beating down but we put on the sun cream and comfy shoes and walked, and walked, and walked...... My legs ache so much! But we had a fun day.
As she grows up (she's now 13) I love spending time with A - she really is becoming a friend as much as my daughter. She has the same wicked sense of humour as me and although we wind each other up (on a regular basis!) we can always "kiss and make up" with a laugh and a hug. We talk about all sorts of things and sometimes we can have huge philosophical discussions about the strangest of things.
Today was fun when we went to see the monkeys - one was picking his bum (and eating it!!) and another couple got a little, er, "close" - A's face was classic when she realised what they were doing LOL She's still my "baby" but I guess she knows about the birds and the bees .... and the monkeys!
As she grows up (she's now 13) I love spending time with A - she really is becoming a friend as much as my daughter. She has the same wicked sense of humour as me and although we wind each other up (on a regular basis!) we can always "kiss and make up" with a laugh and a hug. We talk about all sorts of things and sometimes we can have huge philosophical discussions about the strangest of things.
Today was fun when we went to see the monkeys - one was picking his bum (and eating it!!) and another couple got a little, er, "close" - A's face was classic when she realised what they were doing LOL She's still my "baby" but I guess she knows about the birds and the bees .... and the monkeys!
cute baby elephant!
who's watching who?
like mother, like daughter!
Saturday 16 April 2011
Some odd working weeks!
The next couple of working weeks are going to be a bit odd because of some time I've booked off and because of the many Bank Holidays we are now about to embark on.
I have taken next Monday and Tuesday as holiday, then in the office for 2 days, off 4 days, in 3 days and off 4 days again - I could get used to those sort of working weeks if I got paid the same money!
Just been into town to take back some books to the library and they have had the new "self service" machines put in - no idea why as there were more staff showing people what to do than there ever were when they served us!
On the walk home A announced she wanted to sort out her bedroom and .... wait for it .... actually get rid of some of her more baby toys!!! I nearly fainted mid-step LOL So we have decided on Good Friday we are going to have a really good sort out - pull everything out and put it all back nice and neat and start a couple of piles of stuff to go to charity and stuff to go in the bin. Must go and take photos as this will be perfect for my portfolio of "organising" someone - only taken me 13 years to persuade her :-)
I have taken next Monday and Tuesday as holiday, then in the office for 2 days, off 4 days, in 3 days and off 4 days again - I could get used to those sort of working weeks if I got paid the same money!
Just been into town to take back some books to the library and they have had the new "self service" machines put in - no idea why as there were more staff showing people what to do than there ever were when they served us!
On the walk home A announced she wanted to sort out her bedroom and .... wait for it .... actually get rid of some of her more baby toys!!! I nearly fainted mid-step LOL So we have decided on Good Friday we are going to have a really good sort out - pull everything out and put it all back nice and neat and start a couple of piles of stuff to go to charity and stuff to go in the bin. Must go and take photos as this will be perfect for my portfolio of "organising" someone - only taken me 13 years to persuade her :-)
Thursday 14 April 2011
A re-vamp
I had some spare time on my hands this afternoon so I decided to re-vamp my blog - it is just a different template but I like the new look - still pink! Over the next few months I am going to start using my blog in a different way. After many years of wondering what I want to be when I grow up I have finally decided! It has only taken me 25 years of working in offices to realise I am a born organiser and therefore I am going to become a Professional Organiser. For the time being you can receive my organising skills for free as I need to build my portfolio, so if your house is full of clutter, your office is overloaded with paper and you are drowning in a sea of tasks that never get done drop me a note and in exchange for a few "before and after" photos I'll come and help. In the meantime I am looking for names for the business ..... any ideas?
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