32, 33 34.........

Trying to work with a small person can be hard - I had to take Nelly to a meeting bribed her with milk choc buttons and bought the Night Garden DVD....so she played in the corner of the office and played quietly and nicely on her own!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! WHAT! don't be silly every time the theme tune for Night Garden came on she came running up to me to play! She then insisted on sitting on my knee while we looked at the screen , played cards with my colleague's assortment of client's and prospect's business cards and then dropping them all over the floor! Oh well ...trials of working heh...!

Back to London and then out for a night out in town...we had a lovely dinner with friends - and years ago we would have been up and away through the night but we left the restaurant at 11 after talking about our children the whole night...we did have a few moments about work! ! Ganka was the babysitter , she arrived and Nelly wide awake - we finally left had a a nice evening but got home at 11 30 and Nelly had been in bed for precisely one hour! oh well she needs to realise that we go out and then come back!

We had a lovely day on the Sunday with Lisa and Karen who were looking after their niece...so we all went down to the park fro swinging and sliding at 10 30 am...L and K have not seen that time for a long time! we had a great time coffee on the way to the park - and lunch in the Rosendale on the way home! if only child care was that simple every day! !!!!...


This moving thing is a pain - I have to ask myself ( and I do frequently ) what do solicitors do for their money! all I seem to do is chase them for information! we got so cross with them last week that we resorted to calling the managing partner to find out what was happening! anyway looks like we will finally exchange on this house tomorrow Friday 28th September - late in catching up ....


anyway exchange happened....we had a small party for neighbours and friends in the street on Saturday afternoon and invited the new almost owners of 54 ST J Farm Road along to meet people. All went well , the sun shone, we sat in the garden until well into the evening - we are going to miss a great bunch of people



Lisa and Rob pushing their little ones before settling down with the papers in the park!

Nelly and that cute hat again!

New Boots !! I love them ...she loves them -- well she is her mother's daughter ( she loves handbags too! )

Nelly in a stripy outfit and her favourite hat of the moment!.


Fraser and his Dad sharing a story with Nelly at a little party we had last weekend...we were still sitting in the garden until about 8pm!

Fraser and Nelly sharing a cuppa on the stairs!

Nelly and her favourite hobby - shopping! OK I made that up but she likes carrying bags and she can do no better than a Selfridges one at her age!

Cute froock and cuter Mama shades ....no wonder she has been dubbed the best dressed girl at playgroup each week! Well...what can I say!

spending time with a larger than life doll!

hbour

week thirtyone and 32 christening, the house,

The week started off at Mei's christening in Kent, Rob stayed home as he had stuff to do for the house so Nelly and I went to her first ever christening- a lovely day and she sort of behaved in the church as I read her Maisy books in the back pew! We were there with another family who were in China in January and Nelly loved playing with them and did not get too boisterous .

Also a back to school week - well classes and sanity! first week in September and all the usual groups and classes started up again. Nelly and her friends moved up a class at Gymbabes - which meant a more structured and physically demanding class. They have to move around all of the elements in sequence so it was funny to watch all the new ones just heading off as usual to their favourite bits of equipment!

Nelly went to the house with Rob and had a Daddy day as I had a meeting in Luton - when i got back I was at a bit of a loss as what to do as I am not used to being on my own for three hours! I managed to go shopping and get our good friend and neighbour lisa a 40th present, make a chocolate pavolva to take round to neighbours for dinner and do loads of emails and phone calls for work! It was lovely to see her when she got back from the house!

Week 32 - and we headed up to the house for the day - !!! Yikes are we really moving in about 5 weeks! progress has been made but it is the sort of progress that is really not too visible! Mr project manager has it all under control! Discovered a pretty village nearby with a lovely deli and some nice pubs , cafes etc ...looks like civilisation does exist up there!

Nelly has an amazing love hate relationship with her friend Fraser ( two doors away in ST J Road ) - they were reunited on MOnday at playgroup after he had been away for a week in Yorkshire - big hugs and kisses reunion, to be followed by N bashing him around the head! Poor Fraser although two months older than Nelly resorted to putting his arms up in front of his head in a defensive manner every time he saw her coming close!

Wednesday afternoon brave Hati - Fraser's Mum invited Nelly and I around for the afternoon and tea! Brave girl, brave Fraser! I thought we were seriously in the category of being one of those Mum's whose little one would never be invited as SHE is the one that hits, pushes and scratches! but they were adorable to one another chasing each other around the garden, playing football, then sat down nicely at the table in the garden to eat pasta! Hati and I were so relieved we cracked open a bottle of wine to celebrate!

Nelly enjoying the swings at the NEW house....!

The kitchen - the builders are living in the house!

One part that is looking good - gone the orange pine wood doors, window sills, skirtings, dirty carpet, black wrought iron door furniture, black curtain poles and light fittings... ..welcome new wooden floor, subtle grey doors and white woodwork and walls...!



New column radiators looking good - well we can live in this room if needs be because..............

This is the hallway!

The dining room - the next room to be finished! waiting on the new marble fireplace...

This is our office - well it is no longer black at least!

Jane Paul and Mei - at the christening we went to -
Nelly playing with Elizabeth who was in China meeting her sister Catherine at the same time as us .... Nelly enjoying juice at teh christening!

week thirty...

Bank Holiday weekend - we spent the Sunday up at the house and our good friend Emma came up to cast her eye over the place and to help consult on the kitchen! In the morning Rob had managed to grab a bargain modern four poster bed in the Heals Warehouse sale - so he was well pleased with himself. The sun shone most of that weekend so we spent most of the Sunday at the house lazing in the garden after a pub lunch in the next village. BH Monday we were back in London and were on a tile and bathroom hunt followed by lunch in a local SE27 pub!

The end of that week was a reunion of some of the families who travelled to China in January this year. It had been planned for a while, to take place in Regents Park on a Saturday afternoon. We had a lovely day with nine families turning up - so great to see how they had all changed.


















Reunion ( August DTC group ) nine little girls who came to the UK in January this year - Nelly is 4th from left with her friends Nina and Molly at 6 and 7 ( N and M are the ones we see every week at classes...) the little girl at the end lives in Oxfordshire so not too far from our new house which is nice,...

Nelly and Molly with Molly's big brothers. Nelly loves being with them all ...

Nelly and Daddy at the Rosendale on BH Monday.............

week 29

What a week that was - all rainy and horrid - it was a real taster for the onset of the winter months and how we need to keep a small but every growing in stature and personality person occupied indoors! We did finger painting, more finger painting, drawing round hands, feet....collages with glitter ! Must get some playdough!


I suffered with a dreadful cold that Nelly had and bad sinusitis, if this had been how she was feeling last week in Anglesey then I can see why she was so miserable! I too felt like pulling people's hair!

The week was made better by Ganka coming back from Bulgaria and doing an amazing cleaning job as usual, we are going to miss her when we move, but she also told me a fab remedy for the pain of sinus problems - Heat rock salt in the microwave, wrap in a napkin and press to the affected area!!!!!!! It worked it was like having my eyes opened.

Following her poorly week we had a few nights of waking in the middle of the night and getting into bed with us, which towards the end of the week turned into her going to bed at 7 30 and then waking at nine thirty and wanting to go to our bed....Time beckoned for that old controlled crying thing otherwise I was never going to get any sleep and shake off that cold! It worked and she was fine.


End of the week we had another trip up to the new house where it was not raining and Nelly and I spent the afternoon cleaning out an old sand pit and filling it with water to use as a paddling pool...It was warm enough for her to run around naked!

really not many pictures to speak of so here are a few.




Bad one of mother and child ! - Oh those sinuses!


With her new car - present from Grandma..
Enjoying one day of sunshine!