Monthly Round Up (July '10)

Where did July go? :-O One minute it was just starting, and here we are with it almost gone. I think the lovely hot weather we've had for some of the month has helped - apart from anything else, we wear less clothes, which means less washing and ironing. I'm sorry I haven't posted much; once the kids are off school, there seems to be even less time than there is when they're out at school for the day.

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You know how when your own kids are tiddlers, you get to hold lots of other tiddlers too? Because you invariably have friends who have little ones of their own, etc. Well when your kids get bigger, there are less and less opportunities for holding a baby in your arms; and before you know it, you realise it's been years since you held a little person. Well this month I got to hold one again for the first time in aaaaaaaaaaages. It wasn't even one I 'know': I was at No.1's friend's house, having a chat with the friend's mum, when another mum turned up to pick up the friend's brother. (Are you still with me?!

Said other mum had 10 month old twins - oh my goodness, you would not believe how cute they were. She passed one twin to No.1's friend's mum, who then had to go and get something, so passed him on to me. :D He was gorgeous and chuckled, and looked at me and said 'dada' (note to self ... check facial hair situation). I didn't even mind that he had the stinkiest nappy (he was teething). It made my day ... one of those little unexpected pleasures in life which lift one's mood.

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The kids have been doing stuff again this month. No.1 played in a concert organised by her music teacher, to raise money for Helen & Douglas House. Said teacher had asked me to 'do the photos' and I happily agreed. We had to be there at 6pm for the sound check(s), with the concert starting at 7pm. I thought it would last a couple of hours or so. Do you know what time it finished, Dear Reader? 11.30pm, that's when. I was taking shots for 5½ hours, and have over 8GB of RAW files to process. I think it's going to take me some time! No.1 played well with her (two different) bands, despite being extremely nervous and the weather being so hot that along with the instruments, there were electric fans on stage. There was a light show, there was dry ice, and it was L-O-U-D.

She has been told that the band(s) will be performing again at a public event in the town centre in the middle of September. There's no doubt that this new teacher of hers has been brilliant at giving her the opportunity to experience performing live music.

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No.2 has had a couple of tournaments this month. The first was a footie tournament at which his team came joint 5th (out of 18 teams). The weather was bright and warm, but not too hot, thank goodness. I spent a while watching the 'Official Photographer' at work. He was a Canon man, and used a monopod rather than a tripod, and I must say it seemed to be working well for him.

I'd be interested to ask other photography types out there - do you have and use a tripod? I used one for the concert (mentioned above) because I knew the lights would be low thus requiring longer shutter speeds; but I don't ordinarily use one.

No.2's second tournament of the month was a cricket tournament, which took place on a Sunday morning. The cricket ground at which he played has really lovely views across local countryside:

He complained that he'd been put in a "cr@p team", as they didn't progress further than the initial stages; but enjoyed taking part all the same. Yet again I had a few minutes reflection that my dad would have so loved seeing his grandson play the game in which he himself took part every weekend for many, many years.

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Both the kids finished school for the summer, earlier this month. Switching off that morning alarm at the end of the summer term is one of life's real pleasures. they both had school reports which were pretty darned impressive.

No.2 has been 'with' his teacher for the past two years, and it's quite clear they've had a mutual appreciation going on. In fact the teacher told me that No.2 is just like him when he was that age. No.2 wanted a special gift for his teacher at the end of the school year, and asked for a monkey. I haven't made a monkey in so long (I got monkey burnout :( ), but deemed this to be a situation worthy of remonkeying. The teacher supports Nottingham Forest FC, and thus this monkey was born:

I have no idea what Mr O (the teacher) will call him - or even if he likes him, as he didn't open his presents on the last day. He did tell me at the last parents' evening that No.2's presents have always been brilliant (mind you, he might say that to all the mums).

I have still got my 'monkey list' and assure you that if and when I get back to monkeying, I will contact those on the list, in order, to see if they still want a monkey.

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No.2's final report from Mr O was really good ...

"[No.2] is a lively member of the class and fun to have in it. He is a confident boy who is popular amongst his peers and teachers. ... He isn't a boy who bothers himself with silly and petty arguments and is someone who other children respect as a loyal friend. I have really enjoyed having him in the class over the past two years as he is a happy boy who makes me laugh and tries hard to produce a high standard of work ..."

This though, under the PE heading:

"[He] always gives his best and has performed well for the school team, especially when you consider he watches Liverpool for inspiration!"

The cheeky thing :D For getting such a good report, I said I would buy him something. This is what he chose:

As you can see, it is hanging on the shed door, and on the shed door it is staying. I'm not having darts flying around the house. One of his friends has already thrown a dart over the garden fence - whoops. And a couple of times I have had to get out the stepladder to retrieve darts from the roof of the shed, but never mind! Not only is he enjoying the darts, but in the adding up and subtraction involved in the scoring process of the game, he is practising his maths as well.

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No.1 got her report a little before the end of term. Her tutor for the past two years will not be her tutor next year, as she and her year group transfer to a different part of the school. Instead they have two new tutors who are sharing the duties of tutoring her form. It would seem the kids aren't thrilled about their new tutors, so let's hope it works out better than they anticipate. Anyway, her (old) tutor wrote some nice stuff about No.1 in her report ...

"... Although she is a naturally quiet person I am delighted with her efforts to try and overcome her shyness ... In the two years that she has been in my tutor group it has been a pleasure to see her develop from a shy girl into a more responsible young person. I hope she will continue to work hard to achieve her potential."

Naturally quiet?! Erm ... are we talking about the same person?! This bit of the report did make me smile:

"[No.1] is aware of the need to behave well in lessons. I hope she will continue to stay focused in lessons and make sure that she is not distracted from her learning by too much chatting."

My school reports from my teenage years always mentioned my love of chatting, so I'm not really in a position to criticise No.1 for showing the same social leanings, am I?

Like No.2, No.1 also had a treat for getting a good report - she got to have a modest splurge at one of her favourite shops

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The highlight of my month was having a weekend in Eastbourne with my lovely Flickr/Bloggy/Facebook/Forum friend Lily-Wren. I have so many photos, I intend to make a blog post devoted just to that weekend away. Thanks for your company Lily (and for doing the driving!) ... I had a really lovely time :) x

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I'm not sure how much I'll be posting next month, what with it being the school holidays ALL month, and the fact that we're going away for some of it. I'll leave you with another shot taken this month, of a rose. The roses seem to be glorious this year - they must have liked the cold winter and warmer summer we're having.

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