(no subject)
Friday started badly, with me practically in tears making my own birthday cake, I put it down to exhaustion. The conversation with my Mum where she said she was too damn busy to come over as Ben, Peter and their respective families were coming up with no warning. Then I got a birthday cake from Lib, and the weighbridge girls, and my attempt at a sticky toffee herman turned out really well. I did get the tiniest bit of grit in my eye that took me an hour to find and remove, leaving me with a scratched cornea. Alex had a great day, two tractors, and 40 minutes out in one feeding the cows, including offloading bails with a the spike, and being allowed to steer the tractor round the field! I've never driven a tractor and it was my birthday. Pout.
On Saturday Ben and M turned up with their 3 kids and Alex spent the day chasing round with them. He had a wonderful time. He and Stijn actually got on pretty well too, for the 1st time, and there was no Granny Rage. Bram announced he wanted to build a boat out of a big pile of logs, but had no clue how to do it, so I laid out an outline with Mum's help and a mast in the middle, and they all played in that for a while! I spent most of the day in an eye patch, trying to rest a really painful and unpleasant scratched cornea, much to my brother and son's amusement.
On Sunday, Peter and Paru turned up with their 2 kids, my cousins, so I went and fetched Alex form where he was up the line feeding fires with his Dad, and he had a great morning, recreating the life of Pi staring Alex as Richard Parker, and a huge log as the boat! They then left, and after lunch Rachel came over with her 2 kids and we all went up the line to help burn more stuff. We were playing at laying coins out for the train to crush. Sam and Jasmin were fascinated, thats show and tell taken care of for them. Everyone bought Alex easter eggs, I will be rationing them for months. We all had dinner together, I made cottage pie, and Jasmin, who apparently doesn't really eat, had 2nds! I put a very tired boy to bed before drinking rather too much and having a nice evening. Rachel also bought some hand me downs, so Alex has even more toys.
On Monday Mum called, then came and collected us, and we all went to Sandsend en masse to search for fossils. It wasn't too bad out of the wind, and the kids had a wonderful time exploring all the caves. It was a bit difficult negotiating the streams with Alex in short wellies, which involved clambering over a lot of big rocks (and Alex always went for the angled ones covered in seaweed, rather then the flat non-slippery ones) but at least coming back the tide had gone out and they were shallower. We stayed for about 1.5 hours, but it really was cold. We then all piled back to Levisham for lunch, turning the cottage into a total mad house again! Poor Libby.
On Tuesday Alex and I drove to Pickering to go on with Mum and Dad to get their new dog. He is a 4 year old Jack Russell, and seems like a really good dog. We said goodbye to Ben and family, then came back to the station to run some energy off Jack, and introduce him to Meg in a big empty field. He seems Meg, child and dog proof. He ignored the cats, Jasmyn was rubbing his belly as he lay flat on his back after 15 minutes in the house and he broke up an argument between Alex and Stijn by barging between them!
We spent Tuesday afternoon walking, playing with and fussing the new dog. We did discover he likes to roll in smelly things, not good when you are doing a pooey nappy change on the floor and the dog tries to 'help'. Simon and I then went up to the Pub with Neil, Lindsey and Ivan and had a lovely evening, even if I did drink too much again.
Today Mum has been down this morning, while Simon did his re-exam, so he is now a signalman again. We took then a picnic on the train, but couldn't get a seat, so we got off at Goathland and had it on a picnic bench, while talking to John Bruce, the station master. After Alex got a quick tour of a different signal box we set off again.
At Grosmont we took Alex down to the shed, and he and Simon donned mini vests and went off for a wander, leaving me with the bags and Angry Birds! We got back to the station and he went on Lancashire Fusilier's footplate, stuffing coal in the fire box and eating the fireman's maltesers. We gave Whitby a miss as it would have been far too cold, but we managed to catch up with Weighbridge Grannies and ride back with them in a rather crowded compartment! They had been on the diner. Alex was rather tired and grumpy on the way back, not helped by a 20 minute delay at Goathland, so it was good to have people to pass him around. Luckily I had the presence of mind to call Lib and ask her to put the oven on, so dinner wasn't too late, and Alex is now crashed out up stairs. I am not drinking tonight, and hoping for a full night's sleep, which have been few and far between recently.
On Saturday Ben and M turned up with their 3 kids and Alex spent the day chasing round with them. He had a wonderful time. He and Stijn actually got on pretty well too, for the 1st time, and there was no Granny Rage. Bram announced he wanted to build a boat out of a big pile of logs, but had no clue how to do it, so I laid out an outline with Mum's help and a mast in the middle, and they all played in that for a while! I spent most of the day in an eye patch, trying to rest a really painful and unpleasant scratched cornea, much to my brother and son's amusement.
On Sunday, Peter and Paru turned up with their 2 kids, my cousins, so I went and fetched Alex form where he was up the line feeding fires with his Dad, and he had a great morning, recreating the life of Pi staring Alex as Richard Parker, and a huge log as the boat! They then left, and after lunch Rachel came over with her 2 kids and we all went up the line to help burn more stuff. We were playing at laying coins out for the train to crush. Sam and Jasmin were fascinated, thats show and tell taken care of for them. Everyone bought Alex easter eggs, I will be rationing them for months. We all had dinner together, I made cottage pie, and Jasmin, who apparently doesn't really eat, had 2nds! I put a very tired boy to bed before drinking rather too much and having a nice evening. Rachel also bought some hand me downs, so Alex has even more toys.
On Monday Mum called, then came and collected us, and we all went to Sandsend en masse to search for fossils. It wasn't too bad out of the wind, and the kids had a wonderful time exploring all the caves. It was a bit difficult negotiating the streams with Alex in short wellies, which involved clambering over a lot of big rocks (and Alex always went for the angled ones covered in seaweed, rather then the flat non-slippery ones) but at least coming back the tide had gone out and they were shallower. We stayed for about 1.5 hours, but it really was cold. We then all piled back to Levisham for lunch, turning the cottage into a total mad house again! Poor Libby.
On Tuesday Alex and I drove to Pickering to go on with Mum and Dad to get their new dog. He is a 4 year old Jack Russell, and seems like a really good dog. We said goodbye to Ben and family, then came back to the station to run some energy off Jack, and introduce him to Meg in a big empty field. He seems Meg, child and dog proof. He ignored the cats, Jasmyn was rubbing his belly as he lay flat on his back after 15 minutes in the house and he broke up an argument between Alex and Stijn by barging between them!
We spent Tuesday afternoon walking, playing with and fussing the new dog. We did discover he likes to roll in smelly things, not good when you are doing a pooey nappy change on the floor and the dog tries to 'help'. Simon and I then went up to the Pub with Neil, Lindsey and Ivan and had a lovely evening, even if I did drink too much again.
Today Mum has been down this morning, while Simon did his re-exam, so he is now a signalman again. We took then a picnic on the train, but couldn't get a seat, so we got off at Goathland and had it on a picnic bench, while talking to John Bruce, the station master. After Alex got a quick tour of a different signal box we set off again.
At Grosmont we took Alex down to the shed, and he and Simon donned mini vests and went off for a wander, leaving me with the bags and Angry Birds! We got back to the station and he went on Lancashire Fusilier's footplate, stuffing coal in the fire box and eating the fireman's maltesers. We gave Whitby a miss as it would have been far too cold, but we managed to catch up with Weighbridge Grannies and ride back with them in a rather crowded compartment! They had been on the diner. Alex was rather tired and grumpy on the way back, not helped by a 20 minute delay at Goathland, so it was good to have people to pass him around. Luckily I had the presence of mind to call Lib and ask her to put the oven on, so dinner wasn't too late, and Alex is now crashed out up stairs. I am not drinking tonight, and hoping for a full night's sleep, which have been few and far between recently.