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!

See thaw

At last the thaw has begun in earnest. The temperature is forecast to be higher for just a few days but hopefully that will be enough to clear some of the snow. Already the driveway and roads are looking much clearer, although some of the mounds of snow, especially the two metre high one at the end of the Terrace, are likely to remain with us until springtime. It was still treacherous down by the school, trying to park and walk along the icy pavements. Sean slipped and feel but fortunately didn't hurt himself.

Last night was rather disruptive for Sharon as time and again, great avalanches of snow thundered down the roof, waking the boys. Rowan was distraught, sure there was a lion in his room! He has been up in the night a lot recently, claiming to "have had a bad dream" or some such reason for not staying in his bed. As ever with Rowan, he isn't quiet about it either, be it 2am, 4am or 6am. I have to confess to sleeping through the thunderous plunges of melting snow and ice. All the fresh air and exercise has led to me sleeping very soundly.

Sharon splashed out on ski socks, salopettes and thermal underwear for the big three yesterday. This caused great excitement as they tried them on last night before bed. Of course, Rowan was complaining at having to put on the salopettes this morning, despite having been moaning about being cold every time he's been out in the last fortnight.

Flaked out

Just when it looked as though we were over the worst of the snow and were hoping to see soem clear roads and pavements, it returned with a vengeance on Monday. I had driven in but the sky soon took on that leaden, purple-grey hue and the flakes began to fall. I walked up to Standard Life House for some meetings but as the snow got heavier people started leaving the office in droves. That wasn't the best move, as the buses had stopped running, so I kept faith in the forecast that said the snow was due to stop in the afternoon.

It did stop, but with another six inches on top of last week's fall, the journey home was likely to be a slow one. I walked up to Churchhill where I was fortunate to get on a recently restarted bus to get me home to a freshly snowbound Swanston. Our snow shovel had tragically splintered on Friday, leaving us with the back-breaking effort of trying to shift snow using a normal, short handled spade. Just as well I had cleared a lot of gravel encrusted ice from the drive at the weekend, along with Sharon, so we were able to scrape tracks away through the new fall before it froze hard too.

So began another week of late starts as school, trying to get everyone dressed, trying to get the car near enough to school so that I could take the boys through the drifts and then traipsing to a bus stop. It's not been productive on either the home or work front. One morning I just decided to walk from Greenbank to SL House. At least we're getting some exercise!

Deep and crisp and even

And then it really snowed! Over the last three days we must have had close on two feet of snow. I have never seen the like. Last winter was the heaviest and longest lying snow that I could remember, but this latest snowfall is without doubt even deeper than that. Sharon and I have been taking turns to get out and clear the paths and driveway and pavement, and help our neighbours too. There is definitely more of a community spirit in times like these. You see more of your nieighbours than you ever would normally.

The pavements are near enough impassable with the depth of snow, and the roads aren't much better. It's also too deep to play in. Sean came out on the Sunday afternoon and we built the beginnings of a snow cave and a snowman with apples for eyes (there are still apples on the tree) but by Monday these cerations had been obliterated by a new fall of snow. Rowan was watching Finn and Sean from the upstairs window and was bemoaning the fact that "he wasn't brave enough" to go out. Given his propensity to get cold and have a meltdown (oxymoron intended), it's probably best he stays inside. Sharon took Angus out and dropped him into the garden drifts: it was almost up to his chest.

The Powers came round for cake on Sunday afternoon but all other plans are in disruption. The schools are off and I haven't attempted to get into work for the last two days, although the main road is now passable and buses are running. It's been more critical to try to dig out the snow engulfing our house and help Sharon out with the boys. Sharon and I have trekked to Morrisons for food essentials, with Sean and Finn occasionally coming along for the adventure, but it's a big effort to march through the deep snow. Where it has been churned up it's like cake mixture, to quote Sean.

Cold snaps

Less than eight months have passed since I was surveying the snowy scene from the boys' bedroom window on my birthday. And here we are again, with snow in November. Sean has been desperate to see snow, despite me warning him that he'd soon tire of it. As we looked out last night, Rowan asked if it would be Christmas tomorrow. Not quite, and the danger of snow too early may mean the boys peak even earlier than usual with their Christmas excitement.

It was a bit icy underfoot as we trod into Loanhead Miners Welfare Society to get a professional family photo taken by Jon Savage. Trying to get the four boys to form some kind of order, with smiles on all our faces, was a challenge. Rowan was a whirling dervish, Angus was wriggling worse than a bag of eels, but at least Sean and Finn were diong their best to keep an eye on the camera. By the end, only Finn hadn't burst into tears, Sean having been mauled by Angus at some point. So, when we see the prints, we have to bear in mind the context!

A slip in the shower

It's officially the coldest winter of my lifetime, since 1962/3. And to underline that fact, the snow returned midweek, once again coating the Pentland Hills and leaving us with a snowy driveway. For the first time this winter Sharon was trapped in the house - by a snowplough! For some reason it pushed the snow up the road for about 40 metres and left it as a 2 foot high barrier across the road. Sharon couldn't take Rowan to pre-school and had to leave him in front of the telly (no complaint there) and Angus asleep whle she went out and cleared a path so she could collect the big lads from school. Not very happy!

Rowan has started swimming lessons at Gracemount. We may look to switching them all as Sean and Finn don't seem to be progressing now at SwimEasy and the ratio of teachers to pupils has dropped as they have advanced to yellow hats. If we can get Rowan to wear goggles and lose the dread fear he has of getting his face in the water (Finn was the same at his age) then that'll be a major hurdle overcome. We'll have to ferry Sean out on a Wednesday afternoon though, as Rowan's class starts at 1530 and Sharon can't wait to pick up Sean.

My new Canon 500D camera has arrived! I've been meaning to get a Digital SLR for some time, as I miss the quality and control that an SLR affords compared to a compact. So, with a wee bonus from my work on the sale of Standard Life Bank burning a hole in my pocket I thought I'd treat myself. I promise to be more timeous in getting the photos up on the site!

Sean was very pleased to get his gold merit certificate at school, which, given it's just past mid-term in the winter term, is a very good achievement. They may drive us daft in the house but we cannot complain about their behaviour at school or when they are out visiting friends. Finn got his sliver merit certificate and said he was really happy that he's never lost any golden time. Finn's writing is very neat and he's steadily improving his reading and spelling, but he's yet to develop the real interest in reading that Sean has.

I had a nasty fall in the shower this morning. My left foot slipped and turned and the toes bent right under as I crashed on to my backside, grasping for a handhold which was not forthcoming. It hurt a lot. With Sharon out, the boys occupied on the Wii and Angus asleep, I had no option but to pick myself up and hirple downstairs. It does make you wonder about the consequences of such falls in twenty years' time. Our neighbour Neil, who is a GP, checked my foot and ankle out later in the afternoon and decided nothing was broken. It was fairly throbbing as I sat in the Odeon in Lothian Road, having taken Sean and Finn to see the Princess and the Frog which was a very enjoyable animation from Disney, a more traditional cartoon in the Jungle Book style.

A cold snap

As the south of England is literally frozen in the grip of its worst snowfall for 18 years, we've not had it so bad. The snow came yesterday and went overnight although some more is forecast. It wasn't even the worst snowfall this winter. The drive home was arduous last night though. Traffic was tailed back from Comiston all the way to Forrest Rd (that is a very long way if you're sitting on a 23 bus) for no discernible reason other than it was a bit slippy. I had to manoeuvre through the rat-runs of Bruntsfield and Morningside to escape the worst of it but it still took almost an hour to drive home. Mind you, last week I walked to work from Buckstone shops. Sharon dropped me off there and, as a bus wasn't due for 12 minutes, I began walking. I was at Luca's at Holy Corner before a bus from any route passed me. So I kept going, to Standard Life House, since I had a meeting there and was able to get the company shuttle bus back down to Dundas House where my car was parked.

Sharon was down in Manchester at the weekend to meet up with Ruth and Susan so I was in charge of the three lads. We had a relatively quiet time, with Lesley and Stuart round on Saturday afternoon and a trip out to the partially closed museum on Sunday. The boys enjoyed their play in the science exhibition and especially enjoyed the cakes and hot chocolate across the road afterwards.

Finn wasn't at his best today, managing to break the frame of Sean's glasses with "a punch". Ross was here today after school, so, despite Finn having had Zoe here for lunch, it smacks of him being jealous for Sean's attention. Sean has enjoyed watching cricket with me the last couple of evenings. Whether this interest will last, we shall see, as he has little enthusiasm for sport. It's not a help that his brothers are younger than him (Rowan has a good kick on him though and was doing well hitting the football with a plastic golf club) so any time Sean and I kick a ball up and down the hall there is usually unwelcome interference from Finn or Rowan wanting to sit on the ball.

Return of the snow

Here are a few snippets of the mundane happenings that I sometimes forget to post.

Rowan is now out of his infant car seat and into a booster seat. It has been an increasingly hard job to get his buckle fastened over his winter attire so he has now graduated to a "big boy seat." Still no sign of him progressing to a potty or a bed yet. If anything he has been regressing on the nappy front, in complete denial that he has done a poo even when people in the library are slumping over the bookshelves in a dead faint with the smell. Like Finn before him, Oxgangs Library seems to have a laxative effect.

I received a citation for jury duty last week having recently wondered if I would ever be called again as it must be 15-20 years since I last attended (and was not picked). I didn't even make it past the front door this time. On phoning the information number I learned my number was in the range that didn't have to attend and that my citation was at an end. It makes you wonder how many people they need for trials each year.

Sean and Finn are back at swimming lessons with Sean now in possession of his yellow hat. They are at the same lesson, at 4.40 on a Monday, so Sharon has her hands full, although Rowan went to his pal Duncan's house today to ease the dressing room chaos. Finn was doing good backstroke using his arms and Sean did as good a front crawl as Sharon has seen him do, using his arms and doing underarm breathing.

Sean has been discharged from the Eye Pavilion. There is no noticeable improvement in his weak eye since the last appointment but at least the patches have improved the amblyopia and the weaker eye can be countered with glasses. He earned his bronze merit certificate at school and has moved on to Stage 12 in his reading: chapter books! He has been wading through plenty of library books too and is currently excited by a natural history book. Sean, Finn and I had a good chat about fossils before bed tonight.

The snow returned today. Finn and Zoe had a good time making big snowballs in the garden. Sean evidently had a great time with Lewis after school: he was soaked through when Sharon picked him up for swimming.

Sharon did a couple of big shows last week: one in the evening in Lochwinnoch then another the following morning in Balerno. Good to see her back on the circuit! Her team is still growing and she has great plans for 2009.

42 - The Meaning of Life

I'm still waiting on Sharon writing something about the skiing day at Chamrousse. Maybe sometime soon...

I passed another birthday last Thursday, breaking the prime number sequence of ages in the family as I move serenely into my early forties. The afternoon was spent in the company of my old Uni pal Scott, playing golf at Murrayfield GC. He won 4&2 but I played reasonably well for my first outing of the year, shooting around 83 (a few generous gimmes in there) and striking the ball quite well. Scott and his new wife-to-be Zoe are expecting their first child in September: changed days indeed from nights of Scrabble, Minstrels and nonsense.

Snow after my birthday is a rare event but the boys were out playing briefly on Saturday morning as the garden was blanketed in white. Cold and a few ill-advised snowballs drove them back inside again. The Lasts came over on Sunday afternoon with the boys immediately getting into playing with Morven despite it being months since we last saw them. Rowan was in full charm mode, entertaining us all with some of his new words, dancing and smiling his dimples off. He repeated the act yesterday as the Warners came to stay overnight, having been visiting the Harrises up in Ceres. We met both parties for dinner in Falkland on Sunday night, at Warbecks, which had an excellent approach to gluten-free food.

Sean and Finn are back at school and pre-school. Sean got his Bronze Merit certificate for good behaviour (over 50 merit points) and was very pleased. Unusually for him he couldn't get to sleep last night so he may be tired today. Finn has been playing up too, slyly pushing Rowan over when he thinks no-one's looking. Again, tiredness seems to be the key. Rowan has been cutting about four teeth, molars and eye teeth, so he hasn't been at his best during the night but his increasing mobility (climbing to the top of the helter-skelter slide at Morningside Park and throwing himself down it) and chat continue to brighten the day.

Au revoir for now

We're home again, safe and sound, after a splendid week in France. I did Finn a disservice at the end of the last entry. Not only did he fly down the slope on the sledge, he finished the week with a two hour lesson at ski-school alongside his big brother! I'll let Sharon do the ski piece as it was a real delight for her to get back on the piste after 7 or 8 years.

On the Tuesday the snow was melting away at Corenc round about the Harrisons house (about 350m) but there was still enough on the mountain above so we drove up to 700m or so and had another sledging session. It was a great sledging slope, probably about 80-100m long and with a drop of about 20-30m. Sean wanted to go right to the top but we persuaded him to start about halfway down. He could fairly whizz down on the plastic sledges and almost overshot the upslope and flew into the car park at one point.

Finn surprised us by giving it a go too and was equally adept at bombing down and steering between people, possibly more by luck than design. After one wipeout he had snow stuck behind his glasses and requested that they be put in the car. He fairly enjoyed himself. Even Rowan had fun getting towed about and had a few free runs himself; a blond-headed figure strapped in, one mitt in the air with a receding cry of "wheee!" as he travelled 20m on his own.

On the Wednesday we drove up to Annecy to meet Andie and Andy who are enjoying life in France with their two chalets in Chamonix. Their two boys are either side of Rowan so we walked briefly by the lake, let the boys play in a playpark then had a snack in the Vielle Ville by the pretty jumble of buildings along the rivers that drain out of the lake. It hasn't changed much since I was last there in 1989. That evening we dined at Niamh and Manu's house back in Grenoble. It was relaxing to be away from the children for a spell!

On Thursday we repeated the trip north east, passing Annecy to visit Ruth for lunch. Stef's parents arrived for dessert while I played with the boys indoors and out. Friday was our day in Annecy, the highlight being a trip up to the Bastille in the "boules", little round cable cars into which we all just squeezed. The views from the Bastille over the city and to the surrounding mountains were quite spectacular. Our restaurant lunch was decidedly average (the best food we had on the trip was all home-cooked) and, after Rowan had a sleep and the boys had another playpark play, we returned on the tram to Grand Sabon where we had parked the car. Unfortunately Sharon didn't really get a chance to show me some of her old haunts.

It wasn't the most relaxing week, with the six children all up early and very lively from the start of the day, which led to some rather tired and fractious behviour by the end of the day and tumultuous mealtimes, but the company was excellent (further visitors, Andy and Sue, arrived from the Thursday to the Saturday) and the location and views fantastic. Andrew and Alison were extremely generous hosts and the boys had a fantastic time playing with the girls. Finn and Sean were chipping in with their "merci beaucoups" and, given another couple of weeks, Rowan would have been trotting out a "bonjour". His gibberish was starting to sound French by the time we left!

Bienvenue a Grenoble

We are holidaying at the Harrisons' house in Grenoble, 1000ft above sea level, partway up one mountain with a fabulous view across the valley to the range to the south. It was snowing for a couple of days but has thawed here at the house although there is plenty snow higher up the mountain. Sean is in his element. He said he wished he could stay for three weeks. He can hardly believe Catriona lives "on a mountain" (the house is on the edge of Grenoble and the mountain behind us is higher than Ben Nevis) and he's never seen so much snow in his life. He asked Sharon whose idea it was to come for a holiday here and said it was just the best idea ever.

Finn has been a little out of sorts and saw a doctor today. She thinks he may have impetigo, which isn't great news as it can be quite infectious. He's enjoyed playing with the girls though and especially enjoyed the chocolate Easter egg feast which greeted us all on Sunday when we arrived.

The trip here was going swimmingly until we picked up the hire car, a Citroen Berlingo which was an ideal size for our family and luggage. At the first peage (toll) I was struggling to get the window down. We then spotted the button on the dashboard to do this. Unfortunately, as I pressed it to close the window it was pushed inside the dashboard to disappear into the inner depths of the car, behind the fascia. We couldn't get the window closed. Sharon found this initially hilarious but she wasn't the one driving along with the wind and snow shower blowing in her ear. We missed a turning as we kept trying to locate the button inside the hole and decided to return to the airport as we weren't going to be able to lock the car in its current state. The boys were all asleep since we had been up at 0530 and duly woke, rather confused, as we arrived back at the airport. Fortunately there was a replacement car available and we transferred and made the journey to Grenoble with a minimum of extra bother.

Ruth, Stef, Niamh and Manu and their respective children arrived later in the day and we met them all for lunch in Grenoble yesterday. Table for 18? It has felt like living in the middle of a kindergarten over the last few days, especially in the mornings when everyone has been up far too early and making an unholy racket. Still, the children are having a great time and we've got the odd moment with Andrew and Alison to ourselves without having to feed, clean, tidy up toys, bath, change or entertain.

Rowan has been eating like he's fearful that each meal is his last. Once he wakens up and Sharon gets back from his walk we're planning on finding some snow for sledging. Sean went sledging yesterday and Sharon reckons it was the happiest she'd ever seen him as he came hurtling down a long slope on a flimsy stretch of plastic. We'll do well to convince Finn to do it, but we'll see!

A bientot!

In the bleak midwinter

My goodness it's cold! This house seems to have walls like paper. It's fine upstairs in the evenings but that's of little use when you're trying to eat, watch TV or generally live your life the rest of the time!

The snow made our local roads very treacherous for a day or two. Sean and I were making our way to the school gate on Tuesday after I had parked my car to be alerted by a shriek. My car was on the move! Fortunately it stopped sliding after a couple of feet but I had to quickly move it before it carried on its merry way to collide with something expensive.

After the snow came high winds and then very heavy rain. So it's been a right miserable week back at work. Sharon and Marie missed the worst of the first fall of snow on their drive home last Friday and the boys were very good albeit a bit befuddled at the late arrival home. Sean has settled back into school, his new swimming class at George Watsons and a new ball sports class at Pentland. Finn only has two days left at playgroup before he starts pre-school nursery.

Rowan has been advancing at a tremendous rate, both on his legs and with his communication. Recognisable words such as "hello" and "down" have been augmenting his signing. He can manage a passable "ank u", "ham", "buk" and various mama, dada, nana sounds. Help us all if he turns out to be another talker like Finn! Rowan has hardly eaten a mouthful of meat or fish the last two or three weeks and has become very choosy over what he eats. If he wants it then it has to be served up now and it goes quickly (broccoli is the latest favourite). If he doesn't want it, which covers most of the meals we've made for him of late, then you are left in no doubt that to persuade him otherwise would be folly.

Sharon drove off to Pampered Chef Leadership Conference down in Manchester today.

Winter wonderland

Happy New Year! Few people probably experience the luxury of using a plane like a bus, simply hopping on and off without any baggage - or children! How much easier it is when travelling lightly. I flew back from Dublin two days ago to return to work
(allegedly). I've been having it easy, taking in the sales in Edinburgh while Sharon and Marie are battling through blizzards and rain over land and sea, hopefully to return safely tonight in the car.

The sudden appearance of snow was a bit of a shock, and our elevation (570 feet above sea level) always makes for some interesting contrasts between the centre of town and our snowbound street. Navigating in and out of the drive has been interesting the last two days. I fear the snow will have gone by tomorrow and Sean will be disappointed, especially after last winter's lack of snow.

We had a quiet New Year, driving up from Tuam where we had spent the night after celebrating Granny Gormley's mass. Rowan was the star of the show, toddling all over the place, not bothered by the 30 or 40 people and hoovering food from all angles. Sean and Finn warmed to it too, although Sean dropped his new camera. Whether I can reset the now squint and stuck telescopic lens remains to be seen. The bells were quiet enough but Sharon, Adrian and I managed out for a drink on New Years Day. It's fair to say Athlone is a bit sleepy over the New Year!

Another wedding

Congratulations to Susan and Dermot who did the honourable thing in New Ross, Wexford. I apologise for almost stealing the show by wearing my kilt but Mrs. Wallace would have him wear it for going to the shops if she could so she wasn't going to miss an opportunity. Or Mrs Hunting-Wallace, as someone thought she was called, because I said I was wearing the Hunting Wallace tartan.

The snow was very bad but we just managed to out-run it, first from Athlone on the way to New Ross and then on the drive up to Belfast. Glasgow was like a ghost town, with cars abandoned in week-old drifts in the centre of the city.