Dear blog, forgive me for I have sinned.

I have neglected you, failed to tend to & nurture you. Let me offer up an explanation to see if I am worthy of forgiveness.

1) Easter holidays - consisted of sun, the gnome reserve, chocolate, a trip to Atlantic village to experience the pirate ship (twice), a day with my eldest to Westward Ho! in sweltering temperatures using up our 2ps in the arcade & eating chips on the beach, (does anyone know the relevance of the explanation mark after the name of the said ho!) Glowing with pride watching the London marathon knowing that thedaytodavis was running her little cotton socks off in aid of the NSPCC, gave my Music Train equipment a thorough clean as I moved out of the old and into the new. Ate more Easter eggs, caught up with friends although not as many as I'd have liked. Had a bit more chocolate, visited the library ***note to self remember to return books this Friday***, slept under canvas in mums garden, got sunstroke after a day out at Crealy (Exeter)....am I forgiven yet?? Nope, okay then, lets also try.....

2) Last week - The small matter of the Royal Wedding to watch. Couldn't tear myself away. I wouldn't want to be in Kate's shoes for all the tea in china but she looked stunningly beautiful, and I felt they looked very much in love. I just hope they are allowed to enjoy their life and love together without too much press intrusion - here's hoping. The boys and I made our own flags early that morning and whilst I was glued, they dipped in and out of it, Jamie more than Stanley.

Then there was a trip to Hertfordshire for the topic box meeting accompanied on the journey by my mum. We ran into a man (not literally) at a petrol station on the outward bound journey who is definitely famous but neither of us can recall exactly who he is. Guess he can't be that famous then. Also for a bit of light relief after washing my hands at said services, I noticed the strength of the hand dryer was unusually efficient and caused the skin on the back of my hands to contort in all sorts of weird and wonderful shapes. It got me wondering as to what other parts of my body may look like being blown by the Dyson. Answer is flipping terrible but it made mum laugh. Upper arms or should I say slowly developing bingo wings were wobbled profusely, as was my tummy when I limboed underneath it. Never trying that again.

3) This week so far - Did all my lesson prep, and taught the 6 classes for the first time in my newly smelling, beautifully painted and it has to be said very welcoming new premises. The feedback from the mummy's have been very positive which is also so far my experience of all who work there. The room is very light and airy and I have more space here to store my equipment which is great for me. Saves my back and means I am driving less of it around in my car which can only be a good thing as far as fuel consumption goes. I have also been working hard to get photos and blurb done for Deans new website ready for the launch of COASTAL CARPENTRY......watch this space. All this whilst still living with my parents while the renovations trundle on - 4 more weeks and Id like to think we would be able to start thinking about moving back home again.

4) Finally, tomorrow I have a wedding with a difference of my own to attend. What sort of people let me know they want my attendance the day before the event? How well prepared can the bride and groom be at such sort notice? What the hell am I going to wear when most of my clothes are buried in the back of the lock up unit? And what will Stanley have to wear that is suitable for him being the pageboy? I'll tell you. Stanley's pre-school are holding a mock wedding in our village church hosted by the local vicar and we are all invited to celebrate the occasion. Should be quite amusing I'm guessing, very cute and I cant wait to see who is actually getting married. That'll be one for the Parish News.

Happy 'present' day Stanners

Such a run of birthdays this time of the year and I cannot believe that my baby is now 3.

I say baby, Stanley, you were one of those who seemed to stay a 'baby' for a very short time. Your independance and strong character along with your willfill mind and determindness means that you have felt like a young man (and actually often like an old man who has been here before) for a very long time. Today we celebrate your spark, your cheekiness, your curls, your charismatic charm, your energy and your go get 'em attitude. Love you lots little man. Here's your life in pictures..

A blog full of absolutely useless information

The Ayres' have been truly engaged by various forms of written prose recently. Cuddled up on the bed during Jamie's bedtime story tonight 'Not bad for a bad lad' by Michael Morpurgo, with my voice cracking I said "oh silly mummy, I cant read properly because I'm crying". His response was "I think I am too". We both sat there with tears silently rolling down our cheeks, enthralled and sharing that special moment. It is an inspiring tale about what happens when you show someone how to follow their dreams - with some gorgeous illustrations too.

Here's a list of our top books of the summer so far :-

JAMIE - Aged 7
All kinds of feelings - Emma Brownjohn (A lift the flap book with game at the end-great for encouraging children to observe the feelings of others and recognise changes in their own emotions-**HIGHLY RECOMMENDED**
Not bad for a bad lad - Michael Morpurgo
You're a bad man, Mr gum

STANLEY - Aged 3
Pirate Pete - Kim Kennedy
The huge bag of worries -   (great for encouraging children to look at and help discuss their emotions)
The troll - Julia Donaldson (author of the Gruffalo)
Peter Pan - JM Barrie

HAYLEY - Siblings without Rivalry - Adele Faber & Elaine Mazlish
How to talk so kids will listen & listen so kids will talk - Adele Faber & Elaine Mazlish
Playful Parenting - Lawrence J. Cohen

DEAN - Homebuilding and renovating magazine

Inspired I believe by our trip to a small planetarium on the Isle of Wight, Jamie decided that he wanted to write a Space project over the Easter holidays. So we visited our local library and found a great book unsurprisingly called SPACE! 1000 facts by John Fardon. Sat around the table after dinner one evening once the children were in bed with my husband, parents and youngest brother, I thought Id flick through the said book to brush up on my skills and hopefully impress the mind of my ever enquiring 7 year old. Well, the whole evening turned into a debate largely going something like this :-
* My brother decided he felt The big bang theory was very wishy washy
* I was mortified to think that in five billion years time, the sun will have burned out and the earth will have turned to a cinder long before, meaning life as we know it will be wiped out including all my family (my brother was keen to point out that that far down the line, my extremely distant relatives will probably resemble an electronic droid or something similar)
* We all had a big laugh at the name of the astronomer 'Nicholaus Copernicus' - Childish I know, but funny at the time
* We tried to recall the last time Halley's comet passed through (which after researching was 1986)
* We remembered that we had all watched a satellite last summer passing overhead in the evenings
(..................................this drivel went on for some time) and we finished deciding to obtain and watch together Apollo 13.
And at risk of boring you to death, I hereby endeth the lesson

Time waits for no man (or woman)

The days are flying past so quickly at the moment, I don't feel like my feet are touching the ground.

With Music Train last week, the term came to a crescendoing climax seeing each class celebrating the forthcoming Easter holidays sharing hot cross buns, ginger bunny biscuits and chocolates kindly left by the Easter Bunny. It is so strange to think that potentially I would have finished teaching the last of my Bude classes and yet here I stand sit, with a re-jigged plan and I now need to get my head around re-booking forms, class numbers and a brand new venue for May. I am really looking forward to teaching Peter and the wolf next term. Written by Prokofiev in 1936, it is a piece of music I remember first being introduced to over 25 years ago at junior school

Prokofiev was instructed to write a musical symphony for children with the intent to cultivate musical tastes in children from the first years of school. It is scored for flute, oboe, clarinet in A, bassoon, 3 horns, trumpet, trombone, timpani, triangle, tambourine, cymbals, castanets, snare drum, bass drum and strings. Each character in the story has a particular instrument and a musical theme. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ILI3s7Wonvg I have lots of puppets with this topic which always goes down well with children so I am looking forward to having lots of fun. Class numbers continue to grow with 2 new families joining us at the end of last term and three new babies joining at the beginning of next. I really feel that Bude has truly taken Music Train to its heart and for that, I am very lucky.

The weekend saw '21st!!' birthday celebrations of a dear friend from the village although the evening saw me driving which is a rarity (thank goodness). Still, great fun was had by all and Helen carried off the black wig (that looked more like a mangled guinea pig) and pink gaudy birthday cake classes beautifully. Is there anything that lady wouldn't look stunning in? And here is the picture to prove it - ONLY JOKING HELEN ;-)

The order of the day today is fun in the sun so lets get up and at em and see what the day has in store for the Ayres family......

A bit of all Wight

A rare treat - 4 days away enjoying quality family time. We set off for the ferry in hot pursuit of The Day To Davis and her family and what a fantastic time we had. A jam-packed extended weekend enjoying fishing, swimming, a model village, several ice creams, penny slot machines on the pier, the cinema, an aquarium, planetarium.....we really did go for it! Amongst the day trips, some of the bits I enjoyed the most were activities around the caravan. Our accommodation situated side by side, meant it was perfect for toy exchanges, book and story sharing, bed hopping (by the children I hasten to add!!!) and Dean and I were spoiled with fine cuisine cooked by the highly skilled and very talented Mr D from www.thecastlerestaurantbude.co.uk/ Smoked haddock risotto washed down with a glass of Rose was just what the doctor ordered.

We have shared some special times making many a happy memory. Here are just a few snap shots.....

HALT

My life seems to have been an absolute emotional rollercoaster over the last three months, and it's not going to stop here. Having agreed to make the move back to Hertfordshire, transferring schools for Jamie wasn't as straight forward as Id have liked. So we have decided for the time being to slow the move right down and Dean has agreed to commute for a while so that he can assess the work situation before we all jump ship. The children can continue at their school and pre-school respectively which they both love and I too can carry on with Music Train. I will be able to remain around my tight network of friends and have the nearby support of most of my family, and on Deans weekends home, we will be able to enjoy quality family time together. We will be able to enjoy our home together once the refurbishment is complete (we're still on schedule for June) - it has been no fun for anyone living on a building site for the last 18 months and although a commute is far from ideal, it will at least give everyone some breathing space and time to make sure decisions aren't rushed. So that's things as they stand at the moment........  

Where did those 7 years go?

7 years ago on 31st March I was about to embark on the most amazing journey-that of motherhood. When I think back to your arrival into the world, and how tiny and fragile you were, I can still hear those sounds you made as you were struggling for breath. A brief cuddle and you were taken from me into the unfamiliar and somewhat frightening surroundings of the Special Care Baby Unit where you stayed for 10 days. You were a mass of wires and sensors and I had to wait a further 5 days from the evening you were admitted before I could have another precious cuddle!!

Fast forward seven years, I love the way your beautiful big blue eyes twinkle when your favourite piece of music is played, the way your soft creative hands resemble daddy's, the way you tell me you love me right to the moon & back. The way your smile is changing as your big teeth emerge, the way you can pick up your guitar and naturally keep rhythm and can play more chords than I can, your honesty when on the rare occasion these days we go clothes shopping and you advise me on an outfit in the changing rooms. The big bear hugs you give me, when we walk along holding hands and at 7 you still don't mind doing so (I feel my days may be numbered there).

Happy birthday big boy xx