September eh? How and when did that happen?
It’s a strange old month. For me, it marks the end of Summer and the beginning of the slow decline into Winter. I feel as though I’ve entered an odd sort of limbo, one that will persist until the clocks go back… because only then will I start getting excited for a more festive season.
For Leila, however… September isn’t the end of anything, quite the opposite infact. I can clearly remember starting the new school year myself, the satisfaction of a clean exercise book, delighting in a bunch of new teachers to annoy, and later in my school life… the annual frustration that the Summer break hadn’t afforded me the opportunity to return to school less ugly duckling and more beautiful swan. Again.
You’d think that now I’m older, things might have changed… but no, I still had that “damn, I didn’t lose any weight over the Summer holidays” feeling as I walked Leila closer to the school gates last week.
You may have noticed that I’m still struggling to find room for Lipglossiping in my life. I’ve come to the harsh conclusion that anyone who blogs regularly, and has more than one kid, should probably be reported to social services for child-neglect. Either that, or my baby boy is particularly high-maintenance. Come to think of it, he is much more of a diva than his sister ever was.
However, I did manage a FOTD and some other blog photos this morning, feeling terribly guilty all the while, as it meant that Mr. L had to stop his work to afford Joe the kind of attention to which he has become accustomed. Having said that, things are on the up! This mother/baby thing is finally becoming a two-way street – oh, how rewarding a little interaction feels after four months of dead-behind-the-eyes newbornhood. Some people love the very littlies… me? I’ve always felt much more fulfilled (and happy) as my babes have grown older, even if it is more tiring!
It’s our 10th wedding anniversary next week and I’ve nearly burnt myself out trying to organise something to celebrate. We never celebrate anniversarys… it’s a rare thing for us to even exchange cards, but 10 years does feel kinda special and I wanted to mark it somehow. To be honest, we’ve (I’ve) gone from the sublime to the ridiculous. To begin with, I stupidly thought that we might be able to escape for a couple of nights to Barcelona. I bent poor Karleigh‘s ear on Twitter about the city’s highlights, found some cheap Ryan Air flights and a hotel shortlist but alas, I conveniently forgot about having two children. I would have gotten away with it if it wasn’t for those pesky kids!
Then, my cousin stepped in and offered to have Joe for a night and I immediately hit Google up for the plushest, most loveliest hotels in the area. Key criteria: food-to-die-for and spa facilities built by angels. I’d even talked Mr. L into having a massage, and that’s no mean feat! Having now realised that I’ve left it quite late and found the proverbial inn (Botleigh Grange Hotel) to be closed, I’m scuppered. And this is where the aforementioned “ridiculous” comes in…
…I’ve booked 3 nights in Pontins, Camber Sands.
FML
You see, Leila has an inset day on the Friday (long weekend) and I’d been feeling pretty guilty that she hadn’t had an actual holiday this year. I figured that I could cope with Pontins on the premise that I would be well prepared, having been massaged into a long-lasting sublimity earlier in the week. But now, I just basically want to kill myself.
And that, ladies and … err, ladies… is my life, lately.
Looooooool! Aww man, I was so excited for you to be going Barca, I told you, leave the kids with him indoors and we can have a proper jolly
PONTINS. Is that where you get Shane Richie-esque entertainers? AT LEAST LEILA WILL LIKE IT.
Wow, sounds like you have been busy. I have two little ones and yes it is a struggle to do it all. I do hope you and your hubbie enjoy the time away.
http://palsywalsyblog.blogspot.ca/
Sounds like a pretty perfect life to me… Congratulations on the anniversary and have fun at Pontins, it’s totally the new Barcelona…X
Enjoy it, all the muddle and the ups and downs and the forgetfulness because one day they go – my daughter is off to university this weekend, she is eighteen, where did that go? My eldest son is back from university and desperate for a job, any job, and my middle son has defied all expectations from everyone and overcome his dyspraxia and is a commis chef. It is so physically hard when they are little but suddenly they aren’t and you aren’t the centre of their lives any more. I am thinking of you, with more than a little envy. Jan xx
Hi Jan,
Lovely comment 🙂
I am loving it, it’s easy to forget how hard it can be too though… I’ve forgotten so much about tiny ones in the short 5yrs since Leila was this age! Well done to your babies (they’re still babies regardless of age, right?) – it sounds as though you did a magnificent job. Grandchildren next? My sister has just become a Grandma and she’s loving it.