I've been clicking in and out of this post for weeks - I'm really struggling to put down anything about my life, it's not so much that there aren't funny, happy, positive things to write (although daily life does seem to have been grinding me down recently - the unending groundhog-dayness of school/work/tea/household chores/bed cycle) more that I don't really know why I do this blogthing and who reads it?
I started it so that the grandparents (both sets live too far away to be a daily part of life) could get a flavour of what we're all up to, but I'm pretty sure than neither set has clicked onto here for a very long time (may be I'll be surprised and they'll leave a comment - no prompting ba bags!).
I had a little wobble over wanting to get as many followers as possible for a bit and got upset when people disappeared. I took part in a few memes to up my visitor stats - I put one of those ticker things on the bottom to track who read my mutterings - it became a popularity contest that I could do without. I'm long since over the wobble and although it's nice to notice that someone has spent a minute of their life being here, it isn't an obsession.
So what is the point? I found that this blogthing is a fantastic way of recording family history, pretty pictures, funny things, who's doing what and silly little everyday type details that will disappear down the back of the sofa if not stored somewhere special. It's nice to time travel and see where the Overtiredfamily were at any point in the history of here. So it hit me that really I'm just doing this for
me, but may be one day the smaller members might like to time travel themselves (leave me a comment if you've come back from the future - and if I didn't tell you today "I love you more xo!")
So after a mammoth wittering I need a mega catch as I haven't really done any packing away of memories for ages - I have far too many photos on my camera to down load and sort so that's a job for the next post (apart from the clever one above - see what I did there?) but for a wordy type catch-up:
- we went to the Cambridge Festival via Suffolk in a campervan
- GG came to stay and Patch went on two wheels while she was here (made both their days)
- we had another damp cold summer relieved by an amazing
- 10 days in Cambrils, Spain with hot days, balmy nights, great company, happy children, lushious limes from the tree and too much gin
- we celebrated the baby Jacob's christening
- Tim coped better than I did while I went on a four day course in Bristol
- we went to Aston Villa and Anya got her shirt signed by Ashley Young
- saw our first 3D film (since the days of one blue lens, on red lens)
- have lived with a toy story obsessed growing boy (in the words of the other two - not again!)
- coped with two lots of fireworks with out anyone (including dog) crying - a major development.
- Tim got a camera for his birthday and has become the new family photographer
- lots of other fabulous stuff that will come to me once I press the publish post button....
And so to the old regular bits...Quotes of the summer - in the car after Tim had a moan at us. Patch - "I think you should find a new husband and take me with you", me - "What about Anya and Euan?", Patch - "Anya can come but leave Euan because he's a pain". Have been on the look out for a new model, I'm wondering if this young man is free - think I must be getting old as I'm not normally a gorper but just look at that tummy. To give him a name he's True Blood's Alcide Herveaux played by Joe Manganiello.
Patrick has worked out that if he feels ill he gets let off school. Two attempts so far - "I had too many sweets, I feel sick", "Shall we go to the doctors?", was dressed in his uniform in the blink of an eye. Second attempt - called by school as he told the dinner lady he was ill. When I got to school he was doing PE and quite happy. I asked what was wrong, answer "I felt pale".
Thought of the summer - "If you were going to die soon and had only one phone call you could make, who would you call and what would you say? And why are you waiting?" ~ Stephen Levine
Like all siblings my children have their spats, they rough and tumble, they have been known to have a bit of a kick out at each other and there is definitely some teasing and name calling going on. If they did this to other children I would be called into school on a regular basis, and rightly so, but is this wrong when it happens at home?
A study on family life by the Institute for Social and Economic Research at the University of Essex indicates the fewer siblings children have, the happier they are. The report says that one of the reasons only-children appear more confident and content is they do not have to deal with ‘sibling bullying’, with almost a third of those with siblings saying they are regularly hit or shoved by a brother or sister. Many children with siblings also complained of their belongings being stolen and being called ‘nasty names’ by a brother or sister.
