The tree is up

The rapid thaw (not rapid enought to remove the massive, dirty mounds of ice fringing most roads and pavements round our way) has left the roads in a poor state. Sharon crunched through a pothole on Saturday which led to yet another flat tyre (near-side rear as opposed to the off-side rear recently replaced). It's not been a good year on the car front. My heatnig has gone on the blink too, which proved challenging driving back from Lesley's last weeked in a minus six degree temperature with a windscreen frozen on the inside.

Finn and Sharon tried kick-boxing on Saturday. Both seem to have enjoyed it. Finn tends to be the least active of the boys, in terms of running about and dancing, so we're hoping to encourage him to do more things like this. He's started reading the Faraway Tree trilogy which is great to see.

Rowan and Angus had a great time at soft play last week, Angus running about kissing everyone. He's been getting fed up with the palaver of getting dressed up in so many layers to go out in the backpack, so he enjoyed being out the house for a change.

I just realised this will be the last Christmas with a child in a cot in our house. Sharon bought a nice tree on Friday and I put it up and decorated it with the help of the boys over the weekend. As usual, they are delighted to see the decorations come out the loft. If anything, Rowan is even more excited than normal which raises him to unbearable levels of screechiness and, when he doesn't get his way, whinginess.

Sharon was away working yesterday with Julie who had stayed over on Saturday night, so I had a tidy-up day for the most part, trying to get the rooms in order before the next wave of toys and packaging sweeps in over the festive season. In the afternoon I took the boys into town to see the lights at the Dome and Jenners and the Fayre on Princes St. They were very good at staying together. We had pizza and bolognese in La Rusticana without major mishap. Sometimes you just have to test yourself that you can go out and do "normal" family things, even when you have four children to contend with!

Getting dirty in Dalkeith

We had a fine time this afternoon down at Dalkeith Country Park. Team Wallace (that's Sharon's extended Pampered Chef team as opposed to a new name for our family in the wake of Team GB's success at the Olympics) met up for a picnic and for the collected children to have a good romp around the adventure playground. The sun even came out for once.

Rowan went down the big slide but Sean and Finn wasted no time in going down the really big slide. Rowan was the leader as we all followed him around the treetop walk and up and down steps. Sean had a good time on the flying fox then we all walked down to the stables courtyard for an ice-cream and a bit of chasing, with me doing the running around.

Once home I gathered a good number of plums with Finn's help then cut the grass. Altogether a more fruitful day than yesterday when Sharon and I both felt rotten. After Lesley and Stuart came for lunch, Sharon took the boys to a birthday party in Bonnyrigg while I took my old faithful Philips TV to the dump. 17 years old, it went phut! last week. Farewell, old pal. These new-fangled flat-screen LCD jobs won't last half that time, I'm sure.

Sean had good news last week. His latest eye test showed a marked improvement in his amblyopia to the extent that they said if his right eye had been that strong when he was first tested then they wouldn't have started him on the patches at all. That said, he's down to three hours a day, from six. It's a great relief that his right eye has improved as we feared he was borderline for being able to improve, having been detected so late. First chance we get, Rowan will be getting tested.

Marie and Michael have returned from living it up on a 40th wedding anniversary cruise around the Mediterranean. Mallorca, Monte Carlo, Rome, Sardinia and then a week in Mallorca to finish: I think they rather enjoyed it!

Breaking the bank

Saturday was our day for doing the touristy bits of Monaco and Monte Carlo. Given the rather small nature of the Principality, one day is really all you need to see all the sights. Eschewing the bus we walked down the hill and around the harbour, passing the gleaming white ships, some with jacuzzis and pools built in to their upper decks. Very few of the vessels could be classed as yachts although there were a couple of lovely wooden yachts amongst the fibre-glass and chrome.

We climbed up through the gardens to the palace and old town area, thankfully a bit quieter than the hustle and bustle of the main quay. The palace is fronted by an open square in which a band clad in starched-white uniforms played a fairly jazzy repertoire in advance of the changing of the guard. The sun was fairly beating down and we sought the cool shade of the trees that stood guard behind the cannon that lined the battlements, looking down to the smaller of the marinas far below. We nipped into the palace for a look round at the collected finery of the Grimaldi family. There was a rather odd portrait of Prince Rainier, Princess Grace and the children painted in a seventies sentimental "Sound of Music" style amidst the usual small, high, uncomfortable-looking four posters and ornate reception rooms. Little chance of stepping on an unseen bit of Lego in these rooms.

Back in the sun we meandered down the narrow streets, bumping into the odd Pampered Chef party as we sought out a restaurant for a light lunch. We settled for some salad and aubergine parmigiana then stopped in at the cathedral where the Grimaldis were married. Sharon was always a fan of Grace Kelly and loved the fairytale princess story when she was little so she enjoyed seeing the site of the wedding. Both Princess Grace and Prince Rainier now lie entombed, with the Grimaldi forebears, behind the altar.
Flagging in the heat, we sat in the park in the shade for a while, looking out to the blue Mediterranean and doing absolutely nothing. Ah, the joy of holidaying without children! There are a lot of impressive sculptures dotted about Monaco and, unlike France, a conspicuous absence of dog poo! We caught a bus back to the Hotel Hermitage and read and relaxed (hard work) before dressing up in our glad rags for the Gala Dinner at the Hotel de Paris.

We all paraded round to the hotel, stopping the traffic, for a drinks reception in the gardens, before entering the grand Salle Empire. Lesley got recognition for being a Level 3 achiever on her first attempt and Sharon duly took to the floor as the number one points earner. That's my girl! The food was good without being wonderful (given the Hotel de Paris restaurant is currently ranked number four in the world) as catering for the masses generally outweights quality. We did have a good dance afterwards, as an excellent band played into the night. The visit to the Casino after that was predictably lacklustre. It's a fine building but houses an activity that probably is better suited to smoke-filled bookies, wet March afternoons in Hexham or neon-lit Vegas warehouses. There is very little glamour about it: mostly tourists and shabby chic high-rollers soon parted from their cash, and croupiers that verge on being infamously rude.

Sunday was always looking like a dead day so we took advantage of the suite and sat in the sun or snoozed on the bed before taking a stroll to the east of the hotel. In truth, there is little to see other than apartments and closed shops with the busiest place being the Cafe de Paris, because it was open. After our expensive refreshments and a wander through the modern-art strewn park in Casino Square, we returned to our rooms and awaited the arrival of Lesley and Paul. For the final night we were allowed to do our own thing, with a 50-euro-per-head sweetener, so we tcuked into the wine and then sauntered down the hill, opting, on the recommendation of the Schultzes staggering up the way, to go to My Sushi. It was a fine choice as we each tucked into a box of exquisite raw fish and light rice, ordering more instead of a dessert. And wine of course. And more wine in a quayside bar as we watched Spain knock Italy out of Euro 2008 on penalties. And more wine back at the hotel. All in all it was a fine end to the four nights away.

Monday was more of a chore (see all the wine, above) although once you accepted that it was just going to be a day of iterating through waiting, queueing, sitting and flying, it was a question of being patient and getting home. We managed that. Michael and Marie were still in one piece, just, and without their great help we wouldn't have been able to enjoy ourselves the way we did so a big thank you to them!

Greetings from the suite

Is 13 euro too much for a beer? It certainly would be if you were drinking a few, but we can perhaps allow the suite winner the exception of one. Our four days in Monte Carlo was enjoyable, more for the break and the company than the location itself. Sharon coming out on top and clinching the sumptuous 750 euro-a-night suite certainly eased the "pain" of having to spend so long in a tax haven where the local shops were either selling Cartier or Ferraris.

We met up in Jury's Inn at Hatton Cross last Wednesday night, Sharon having had a great time meeting up with Katherine for the first time since just after the Athens Olympics. After a decent kip we headed to Heathrow and met up with some of the other Level 3 achievers who were flying out to Nice. The transfer to Monaco brought the first glimpses of the Principality. It is very built-up and much steeper that I thought, especially for somewhere that hosts a Grand Prix. We wandered round the block on arrival and found a cafe for the first of several (tinned) tuna nicoise salads (as we discovered in Grenoble, French cuisine may be much lauded but gluten-free food seems to be a challenge they haven't risen to). As we checked in back at the Hotel Hermitage, the receptionists muttered amongst themselves and went to fetch Vanessa, Denny and Chris who led us to the suite amidst much excitement.

The suite was quietly situated down in the basement with a spacious private terrace. The only downside was the lack of a view but given the two large cranes between the Hotel Hermitage and the harbour, this was no great loss. The suite was very tastefully decorated in creams, limes, browns and purples, with a large sitting room, bedroom and separate changing room and bathroom. But no bidet. The terrace proved to be ideal for relaxing before dinner, especially once Sharon asked for the mini-bar to be cleared and we re-stocked with wine, olives and garlicky octopus from a local supemarket.

Cafe de Paris was the venue for the first evening, rooftop drinks overlooking the famous Monte Carlo casino being followed by an excellent meal, the highlight being a sea-bass fillet with broccoli risotto wrapped in a parmesan crisp. After a brief look at some of the fancy cars parked out front we headed to bed early. Bars and nightlcubs hold little appeal at the best of time these days: even less so when they are charging a fortune for a drink. The following morning we caught the train along to Ventimiglia in Italy for the Friday market, an extensive affair featuring all the usual fakes, tablecloths, old-men trousers, shoes, household goods and so on. As ever, the best bit for us was the food market with a splendid variety of fruit and veg - courgettes with wonderful flowers; round, plump aubergines; fat fennel - and some fish stalls that would bring a tear to a glassy swordfish eye. The variety of squid and local fish and shellfish makes you wonder why, as an island nation, we really have to seek out the few places that sell quality seafood. After a leisurely mushroom risotto lunch we returned to Monte Carlo to greet the second wave of arrivals, which featured two of Sharon's team, Morven and her husband Gordon, and Sarah. Lesley, who was also there, had made Level 3 and was with us from the start, along with her husband Paul.

That evening we entertained the Scottish crowd (mostly) on the terrace before we all bussed along to the Beach Resort, a palm tree fringed sun-deck arranged around a 50m pool in the east of Monte Carlo. The increase in numbers from 80 to 300 meant a more boisterous atmosphere and correspondingly poorer fayre but no-one ended up in the pool which was an achievement in itself. The open-air setting for the meal was quite spectacular as the lights came on in Monte Carlo.

Off to break the bank

Just a quick entry before I dash off to the airport to fly down to London to join Sharon who flew down earlier today. We're off to Monte Carlo in the morning! It's been a hectic few days (so what else is new?). Olivia flew in for cover as Sharon undertook the Moon Walk on Saturday night. It was dry but cold and she completed the 26 miles 385 yards in 7 hrs 47 mins. She looked very washed out and was feeling faint when I collected her in the morning but she has recovered quickly without any physical hangover. Born with stamina that lady!

I took the boys away to St.Andrews for the day to let Sharon recover. With Olivia, they had made a "Well Done Mammy" banner for the front door. Sharon just about raised a smile; she was dead beat. Once in St.Andrews the boys had a great time romping about the Cathedral grounds, clambering over (and in Sean's case, reading) gravestones before we had our picnic. We then had a play down on the Castle Sands before moving on. The boys all fell asleep so I just drove home at that point.

Last night I was through at Glasgow to see Whitesnake and Def Leppard rocking the SECC. Whitesnake were disappointing: a poor set selection of mostly "metal" tracks, a rotten drummer and too much distortion on the bass and drums all detracted from 56-year-old Coverdale's working of the crowd. Def Leppard's sound was much better, thankfully, and they were very efficient at playing their catalogue of hits (you know more Def Leppard songs than you think you do) but it was very much stadium rock: tight, professional with a good show, but not that memorable.

Nana and Papa are in place to deal with the three lads so I'm off!

18 months old

One and a half already! The twinkly-eyed, dimpled demon that is Rowan Wallace celebrated this landmark by shouting a few of his new words - [s]pi-dah!, coat!, kick!, a-bo (apple) - and then negotiating the front steps without crawling down backwards. His mobility is great and he's keen to climb and get on things like cars and tractors. He was delighted to see a Little Tykes car and Wendy-house appear on the patio on Friday; second-hand purchases from one of Sean's school-friends. Finn and Sean have been warned that they are primarily for Rowan to play with. Sean already had half the roof off last night: "it was too dark" complained Finn.

With the sun beaming down yesterday we spent the Bank Holiday at East Links Farm Park. Us and a couple of hundred other families. I have reservations about the place. The animals and birds seem increasingly irrelevant to the playpark aspects of it all, and it isn't cheap. As Sharon said, us paying £8 each for the privilege of minding our own children (£7 each). But the boys had a blast. Tractors, trampolines, the train ride, the maze through the trees, the hay barn (we are still picking hay out of Sean and Finn's hair), climbing frames and milk-churn skittles - each of the lads found something to their liking. We demolished a huge picnic (took me about an hour to make it in the morning) and dozed on the way home, except for Rowan who had already had his nap.

Finn was hampered a little by a sore leg. He seemed to develop a problem behind his left knee last week after jumping on the trampoline, more likely after falling with Sean on top of him. It gave him bother for a day or two but then eased off but on Saturday he woke crying with pain once more. He had been bouncing on the trampoline that afternoon. Sharon took him to A&E on Sunday but they couldn't find anything amiss. You could tell Finn was hurting when his leg was being manipulated however. He's a wee trouper that lad, doesn't show pain like his whingey big brother, just gets on with it. Sean has a bad cough (passed on from Finn) and Rowan was wailing in the night after being right out of sorts a couple of nights last week. He may have had a bug. Disrupted sleep has been the order of the day (or night).

Sean is getting used to his glasses and we're getting used to him wearing them. His right-eye lens is +6.5 Dioptres, so he really does have a problem there. He says he is starting to see a bit better from that eye and isn't closing it to look at things quite so much. His other lens is only +0.75D.

Sharon's April onslaught has come to an end with her recording a record month of sales and finishing her points-gathering for the Monte Carlo trip on her highest total yet. Will it be enough to earn the suite in Monte Carlo? Time will tell. Edel is in Nice just now and visited Monte Carlo. She reported that it is "opulent". Shame we'll have to get the train along to France to be able to afford a pie and a pint.

Busy Bee

The reason I have been missing in action, so to speak, on the blog for the last month, is that I have (stupidly) made the decision to go all out to earn this suite in Monte Carlo. Going down to Leadership Conference in January and learning I was, at that point, top in the country on points for MC was possibly the worst thing that could happen. As then I didnt want to lose that top position. So having had a pitiful February in sales, in March I pulled out the stops and sold over £5.6k, and then April was the last ditched attempt before points ended on midnight on the 30th of the month. I should do 14 shows, projected sales should be over £6k, all going to plan. And I hope thats enough to snaffle that blasted suite. We wont actually find out till we are in Monaco in June, but I should be in with a reasonable shout, I hope.

On top of that, Lesley and I have been trying to get in training walks, into already busy weeks, usually three a week. I've really been enjoying the training, the activity, the outdoor element of it, and the fact that it forces me to have some "me" time, something I am not very good at doing otherwise. But that has gone a little (lot!) pear-shaped for the last two weeks. I've developed shin splints in my right lower leg, and its been very painful. The name is misleading, it just means the tendons and musclature on my lower shin and around the back of the calf have become inflamed and tender. Sadly rest is the only treatment. And given I am keen to get upping the miles, this set back has really hacked me off and I am getting increasingly frustrated. If it continues any further, I might need to look at the physio option.

Ian has been saying that I might have to face up to the fact that I might not be able to do the walk, but I refuse to see that. I am not a defeatist in attitude, and never have been. I WILL do the walk, come hell or high water, as I said I was going to. It may take me a long time to recover from it, but complete it I will!