6 Apr 2020

Surviving our first two weeks in lockdown...


I thought that these unpredented times of global pandemic needed documenting. The whole situation seemed to escalate very quickly and I think it hit us most when we tried to go on a usual Saturday afternoon jaunt to Costco, to stock up on a big bag of rice and rather optimistically loo rolls, and it was like an end of days film. Queues all the way back to the meat section, fights over queue pushing and agressive disagreements over the rights to the last bag of rice. It was insane.
A week later schools were 'shut' for the forseeable and we were adjusting to teaching online and home schooling our kids. Once the kids school shut we headed straight to Leeds train station to pick up Aunty Mara who wanted (under some pressure from us!) to lockdown with us - rather than being stuck in her poky flat in London - the epicentre of Covid-19 in England!


So we'll start with Mia the Maker - this is her new lockdown name. If there is a craft project on pinterest than Mia has done it this fortnight. Luckily our craft cupboard was overflowing, and much neglected prior to lockdown, so her options were plenty. Now all our rubbish is getting recycled - elephants made from empty milk cartons, handbags from empty pop bottles, Easter eggs from pizza boxes and everywhere is covered in a liberal dose of glitter and washi tape! Her bedroom is overflowing with junk modelling and pictures washi taped to the wall! In fact she's had tantrums when we won't let her make anything as we are too tired - we tried to appease her by showing her old episodes of Art Attack on youtube - but of course she just came away with a list as long as her arm of new craft projects she wanted to complete! Ellis is a bit concerned about her newfound obsession and accused her of, 'destroying the house with her crafts!'
Of course we're glad they've got each other but that dynamic is wearing thin as is the job of mediating their squabbles! She's very similar to me - chatty and outgoing, loves an audience - so I think she is missing her friends the most out of everyone. She loves to be out and about and is finding confinement tough - but I know she's also enjoying her time with family being creative and making everything! She's also Aunty Mara's official shadow and has been loving baking with her, giving her makeovers and crafting with her.


Ellis had also been enjoying creating things - like a Captain Underpants magazine, 'Victorian sponge' like he's made at school before and one day when Mia was poorly, with a high temperature, he made her an under the sea display in the window. Ever the considerate older brother!
I think he's secretly quite enjoying not having to go to school. He's had a few chats with his friends on facetime - this has mostly consisted of them changing their football tops five times during the chat and showing each other their karate and boxing moves! He's also been pretty good at following our home school schedule (I know there's been a lot of animsity towards these on social media but he's definitely someone who responds well to a schedule and it helps to plan our day out) - with the exception of anything involving writing - which has been the theme throughout his schooling. He's especially enjoyed competing against his classmates in mathletics.
He's especially enjoyed the arrival of Disney Plus (very well timed Disney I must say!) and the promise of an episode of Ducktails have got him through many an afternoon of homeschooling! He always claims he hates going for walks but then the minute he gets out in nature he's running like the wind and loving life. I've always maintained that young children are like dogs and they need regular walks in the fresh air to get the wiggles out. We've found our local sports centre carpark has been a good location for early morning scooting and bike riding.


Everyone should have an Aunty Mara in their lives - especially during a lockdown. I am well aware we are in a very privileged position of having three adults to two children ratio and I really feel for families who are outnumbered by several children, or who are lone parenting and lacking adult company or who are locked down in a small, confined spaces or flas with no garden or balcony. I am so very grateful we moved prior to lockdown as the extra space of the playroom and dining room has been invaluable to us.
Anyways back to Aunty Mara...she bakes, cooks and entertains the kids all day long - she's far more patient than both of us put together and the kids adore her. She's turned into a baking fiend - producing daily treats - my lips say thanks, but my hips not so much! Luckily leggings and pj pants are the new normal and are very forgiving for all those extra pounds! If there is a bakery in London offering an insta live cook-a-long she's there with our precious few eggs and flour baking up a storm. So far there's been delicious and chewy chocolate chip cookies, fudgy brownies, scones, Victoria sponge sandwiches, apple crumble and banana bread. She's also enjoying doing quizzes - guess the emojis of London underground stations, guess the London landmark from the photo and our favourite of the week - Nineties Boybands Quiz! We've also been reliving our childhoods watching Honey I Shrunk the Kid and Sister Act. Arne is officially outnumbered...


I've been enjoying wearing minimal make-up, not having to wash my hair as frequently and wearing lounge wear every day. Basically being Waynetta the slob! I do miss my me time and this lockdown helps you to realise how much we take for granted our little freedoms - like nipping to the shops, meeting a friend for brunch in a cafe or letting the kids burn off energy in the soft play. I know who would have thought it - I'm missing tacky Wacky! I am doing too much online 'window' shopping and am hoping to get some house projects sorted whilst we have the time.
My daily walks are giving me life and we're enjoying exploring more of the local area - my favourite location for a walk is the forest. We've got the tiktok app and are enjoying watching lots of the funny dance challenges and even taking part ourselves. One of our low points was a whole afternoon spent dressing everyone up as members of the Spice Girls ready to do a tiktok only for Sporty Spice to have an epic meltdown about the fact they had to perform a backflip in the music video for Wannabe and how it was, 'totally unfair as no-one else had to do hard stuff!' He also wasn't happy when we tried to put him in a tie top! I'll let you guess which member of the family it was...?


Last, but by no means least, The Belgian. He's been glued to his I-Pad replying to parents and setting virtual tasks for his classes to ignore. Just in case I wanted him to complete DIY projects he downloaded his favourite stalling platform - Football Manager. The very reason he failed two years in high school and almost failed his uni dissertation! What was I thinking allowing this? I didn't. I just saw it come up on our online banking! The dining room wall that I wanted to be painted Banana Split yellow (thanks Dulux) remained white for the whole two weeks- until about an hour ago as he didn't want to be outed on the blog! Haha nothing like the threat of public shaming to get a man painting!

He's also given himself the role of Lockdown Quizmaster and is running weekly quizzes on zoom for all our friends as a way to keep everyone is touch. He takes these quizzes very seriously and they have multiple rounds - he dresses up and there was even a Bingo grid fashioned from a pizza box in this weeks quiz. Everyone has enjoyed staying connected this way and a bit of 'friendly' competition.


I must admit it feels strange to be heading into the Easter holidays in lockdown. No visits to the local farm for lambing season and eggs hunts and face painting fun, no ridiculously hard Easter egg hunts at Rara and Granny's house, no visits from our Belgian family, no days out and picnics with friends and no cinema trips. We are having to more creative and use the resources that we've got.


I am sure, even with the underlying anxiety and horror show of the news as a backdrop, we will look back at this time fondly even though sometimes it can feel intense and frustrating and confining. Enforced family time. A chance for me to realise we don't always have to go out to have a good time. A chance to save money. To take stock. To snack incessantly. Binge watch Disney Plus. Remember what matters most is family and friends.


Stay safe everyone! I know many of you are facing uncertain times - finantial hardship, loss and heartache. I'm also aware we haven't reached our peak yet and I have so much admiration for all the key workers and NHS staff fighting this deadly virus. Those Thursday night claps also give us life and are such an emotional reminder that we're all in this together!


28 Mar 2020

Mia turns four!

Mia turns four!


Favourite things to do... You love to be out and about exploring. You love going to the local cafes - especially Temple Donut (you're obsessed with their sprinkle donuts) and Clare often takes you to McDonalds on Tuesdays when it's a Mia and Clare day. You enjoy soft plays, scooting round Yeadon Tarn, going to the library to chose new books and going shopping. I get a glimpse into the future as you sashay round H&M or Primark selecting items to try on! You do love a little wardrobe refresh. You also love in when the online food shop arrives and know exactly where everything goes and love to help me unpack everything. You have serious FOMO and if I'm going anywhere - no matter how mundane - the tip, Ellis' karate class - you've got your shoes on and are joining us for it!



Interests... You're obsessed with anything girly and princessy. Your favourite princess is Rapunzel and you love watching Tangled. You like dressing up too. You like watching Creative Galaxy on amazon Prime and then completing the craft projects they suggest. You like painting, cutting and sticking and using mummy's craft supplies.




Friends... You started at Westfield Nursery with your bestie Carmen and enjoyed sliding into the class everyday and finding your picture and posting them into the postbox. After October half term you switched to Guiseley as we moved and you adapted really well. Your best pal is called Theo and we've had a play date with him - he loves dressing up too and you seem to enjoy laughing together and have a similar sense of humour! You also play with Chloe, Bethany, Penny and Tabitha. Some of them came to your princess party. Your pre-school teachers Mrs Hinchcliffe and Mrs Bradbury are very proud of you and say they'd like to keep you for another year!





A week after we moved we hosted your Princess Party at the house. You'd planned it all meticulously - pass the parcel, musical bumps, pin the crown on the princess and then when we got desperate wink murder (which was quite amusing when none of the kids could wink!) You got some lovely presents from all of your friends including a muscial box with a ballerina, wooden food, sticker books and a barbie car! 

Ellis turns six!


Nothing like quarantine to get jobs done...So Ellis you turned six (last July!) much like the day you arrived and mummy and daddy's wedding day (four years prior to this date) it was a sweltering heat wave. So we asked you what you wanted to do to celebrate the day and you chose Pizza Express and the indoor funfair in Harrogate. Pizza Express is a family favourite and you enjoyed dough balls and crudites to start with, chicken pizza for the main course and a lolly for dessert. They sung to you and you enjoyed completing the puzzle booklet.


Afterwards we had two hours in the indoor funfair. You're quite the dare devil and went on all the rollercoaster, the chair ride, the big inflatable slide and lastly the ghost train. This was quite funny as you both insisted on going on the ghost train, but I wasn't sure if it would be too scary for Mia and couldn't see how you were finding it as you were in the dark tunnel. I was feeling a bit anxious and as the doors burst open you were grinning from ear to ear , whereas Mia was screaming and crying. You did have a supportive arm around her as you're always the protective big brother.


We decided on a bowling party this year at Shipley Bowling Alley. You and the boys were very competative as you each took your turn and were always staring at the score board! You enjoyed the time in the arcades afterwards and the food. I made you Pokemon cupcakes and you had a big Pikachu balloon for the photo op. It was a fun afternoon with all your friends - in fact it was the day of two parties as you went to Pheobe's Frozen party in the moning! Mummy found this type of party a lot less stressful than the ones she organises normally!


Your favourite things to do...you love riding round on your fancy new bike from Oma - we have a cycle path near to our house with McDonalds at the end so on a nice evening we scoot, cycle and run over and get an ice-cream. You love to read especially David Walliams books and the Beano. You are still a telly addict and love cartoons particularly Pokemon at the moment, hence why this is your party theme this year. You love a family outing to the cinema and we have seen Angry Birds 2, Toy Story 4, Small Foot and Incredibles 2. You've started going to karate every week and love your teacher Andy - you have progressed to your orange stripe belt and we're always really proud of you at your gradings. You love to build tricky Lego sets and often gets lots from all of your relatives for birthdays and Christmas. You've also got into chess at Hopscotch and the guy who runs it says you can even beat him - and he's not letting you win!


School... you've been very lucky to have a fantastic teacher this year - Mrs Nolan. She's deputy head and has passed on a love for nature to you as she's fascinated by owls and birds and even has an owl live feed on her computer. You're always telling me fantastic facts about owls and birds when we're out and about. We were so proud as you were chosen for The Headteacher's Award from your class. You smiled your coy smile as you stood next to Mrs Lowry and listened to the speech all about how wonderfully you shone, how much progress you'd made and how you'd really improved the size of your handwriting! We then had cake in the sweaty staff room with all the other winners.


You bring so much joy to our lives, have a real love of learning and love a bit of praise! We love you lots! xxx


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