Month: March 2019

Clearly it was not! John visiting his mum Hazel in Dublin for the day, back later on tonight. Quite the fleeting visit and the children and I have had a relative day of leisure. Several visits to the ‘Thinking Chair’ for the little ones and the girls gorged on their mass of birthday gifts. Many craft oriented presents, so our weekends will be busy for the foreseeable future, but of course, they wanted to open and start them all today. Did I tell you that Tara lost her first tooth this week?

Anyhow, the day was busy and now they are asleep, I have a few moments to write this. But it is now getting late, so I will make it brief. Lots of happy and not so happy screams today. But we had lots of fun in between the dramas. John is hopefully back from his day trip to Dublin soon. No doubt quite exhausted from the day. Wishing his mum Hazel (pictured above) lots of love from us all. Nite nite xx

Saturday, the ‘Big Party’. The day started early. There was excitement in the air. A bed invasion at 6am and soon after a breakfast of pancakes with Dadda’s home made mango jam drizzled liberally with a splash of lime juice. Come 9am Sindy and sister Sally arrived to prepare the party lunchboxes. I on the other hand had just finished the triple later chocolate cake that was sandwiched together with Strawlime Berry Jam and heavily entombed with homemade chocolate ganache fudge icing. The top was laden with home moulded white chocolate pyramids and squares. The ladies made Jam and ham sandwiches for the lunchboxes, the jam on this occasion was black grapple. I cooked a mass of perfectly cooked basmati rice in the microwave. Please read a previous diary entry for the method of guaranteed perfect rice every time. Things were on track. Our three veg curries were pre cooked and bagged up in the refrigerator (Mutter, dal and chana) and 30 chapattis were dry cooked on the griddle. Wrapped in a wet tea towel and polythene bag to keep moist, they were added to the bags of food that were set to leave with Sindy and sally for the setup at the hunting lodge where the party was being held. We all arrived later to meet Thea and hubby John (Pips parents) who were also helping to set up. Within 15 minutes of our arrival the party was in full swing. The wild animal lady entertained the little ones and everyone had a great time with the myriad of surprisingly scary insects and small vertebrae! The children consumed their lunch boxes and the grownups devoured the ‘Pur Veg’ curries with gusto. Sindy and Sally were brilliant as were our fellow hosts. A brilliant venue and we left with a happy crowd having appreciated that it was a more inclusive affair – the grownups and their enjoyment are often an oversight at these events. Catering for 40 adults for a tenner went down well I think. And a few of them even thanked us for a party that was a party for all and not just the children. Job well done! The other matter was my shock at the gratuitous amount of presents and cards this year. I just counted sixty cards between the twins and as for the avalanche of presents on the dining hall table – unbelievable!

Some words on Sunday later this evening.

It is 9.30pm and the children have only just settled. Largely because I yet again had to play ‘Bad Cop’. John, just in from work one hour now and still glued to his iPad replying to his daily emails. I put the children’s ballistic goings on down to the excitement of tomorrow’s big celebration of the girls (and Pips) ‘Official Party’. It’s been a couple of days since my last diary entry and to be honest, we are still all in party mode. How did the magnate of this phenomena come to be? In my day we had a birthday, invited a few friends on the day itself or maybe the closest weekend, we were given a few crappy gifts, danced to pop music, played ‘Pass the Parcel’ and that was that. Anyhow, the second big cake ‘Bake Off’ happened this afternoon with a triple tier chocolate cake, internally moistened with Dadda’s home made strawlime berry jam and frosted externally with home made ganache. I even made homemade white chocolate pyramids to adorn the top! Bloody hell, how times have changed. Renting a hunting lodge, hiring an entertainer, catering for 40 adults to luncheon for under a tenner (that was my cost saving initiative, it can be done) and picnic lunch boxes for the mass of children. It seems that all of us parents have to participate in this frivolity when it comes to the ‘Special Day’ that it’s a birthday party for our child or in the case of twins, children. Moving on, Sindy and sister Sally are coming in to make up the lunchboxes at 9am tomorrow and Pips mum Thea is joining them at 11am to dress the venue with a multitude of animal related decor and an explosion of balloons. I had the biggest surprise when Sindy arrived back this afternoon clenching a handful of helium filled number balloons. Please reference the picture above. And NO, we have not invited the Anti Christ. The cake pic will be showcased tomorrow once the pyramids have embellished the cake, as will any comments on the official 6th birthday party of Amritsar, Pip and Tara. Happy Days boys and girls! Did I say I spent numerous hours preparing vegan curries for under a tenner – it’s just as well I no longer put an hourly, monetary rate on my time invested in the things I do. I would sorely be disenchanted, wouldn’t I? Welcome to parenthood. Oh – the 45 hand wrapped, personally printed ‘thank you’ chocolate bars look well, wouldn’t you say?

The girls were born six years and one day ago, in Mumbai, India. I was very sadly not allowed to see them on their day of birth. John was unable to be with me due to the Indian High Commission in London not issuing his visa, even the surrogate Rehanna would not have been allowed to pick up the girls and touch them. There was only me and due to red tape at the hospital, it was not until the following day that I got to see the girls in the neonatal intensive care unit and have their tiny little fists clench my outstretched finger. I felt very alone when I had to leave, but when I spoke to John later that day, we were both close to tears as I told him all about the girls and how beautiful they both were. Back then, I did not know what lay ahead. I could barely imagine six months, let alone six years. Yet six years have flashed before me and here we are today. We both made the decision to become parents and thanks to that decision, our two amazing daughters exist in ours and so many of our loved ones lives. Though we no longer have any contact with the surrogate Rehanna and never met our anonymous egg donor, we do thank them both for playing their part in delivering us Amritsar and Tara.

The girls awoke this morning one year older. They are very happy indeed to be 6 years old. We are having a small celebration today, but ‘The Big Party’ is being held next Saturday in conjunction with a school friend, Pip. Sindy has just headed off to collect then from school and then an hour in the park. I on the other hand am dressing the kitchen table for our ‘6 Today Extravaganza’. Their main gifts from John and I are new tablets, since all four devices we have (the children’s that is), are now broken and will not charge. We just realised that this might be partially down to them having been given headphones and they have tried to plug the jack into the wrong hole. A circular peg does not fit into that of a rectangle.

Anyhow, the ‘bad boys cupboard’ has been raided and the ‘pork products’ are a plenty. Just the finishing touches to add – oh f**k! I have still to decorate their birthday cake. I have been far too busy this afternoon cutting open Tesco 200g bars of dark, milk and plain chocolate for rewrapping in foil and applying our thank you message to give as a going away gift next weekend to the ‘Big Party’ revellers.

The theme is ‘Wild Animal Party’, though I think the entertainer is just bringing a rabbit and a parrot! I don’t really know what they are bringing to be truthful, but it had better be enough to entertain 40 children for at least 2 hours. Phew, more on that next weekend.

Today I am just looking forward to seeing the girls faces as they unceremoniously tear the paper from the pile of gifts in colour coded paper. Hopefully daddy will be here early to see them do this.

An update later perhaps.

A meal out was had at a Michelin starred restaurant in Wiltshire named ‘The Harrow’. An absolutely amazing taster menu and extremely friendly staff and management. They do a boiled egg course. I can’t say what they do with it, but it’s a real treat! Nikki babysat and we were home before 11pm. Only one mishap Nikki informed us and that was Thor walking about looking bemused. Not sure what he was bemused about, never mind.

The terrace has had several hours attention over the last couple of days. Getting it ready for the summer has been some considerable work, but it is beginning to look like a place where we can enjoy what the summer has to offer. Lots of warm sunshine I am hoping. It’s a great place for barbecuing and chilling. Fingers crossed on the weather front. Pics to follow when some of those spring buds have blossomed and bloomed.

Craft time was had this afternoon in the kitchen, raiding the recycle bin, Tara became a fairy with a green crown, Amritsar had a complete meltdown as Tara used up her green ink on her five coloured pen. Finally she is settled, but she is still steaming underneath. Thor said loudly in the thicket of it all ‘Amritsar’ he exclaimed, ‘I am getting a head ache, please be a bit quieter’. Daddy lost his temper at one point, she was told to go up to bed but refused and just continued to scream – god when she wants to be a complete madam, Amritsar does it for England.

Caleb is back in a nappy. He has drenched two sets of clothes so far today. Sorry Sindy, but he is back in a nappy until Monday afternoon. I don’t think that he will be ready to start ‘Big School’ in September. I really hope I am proved wrong on this. It would be sad if he had to be held back for a year. But the girls teachers confirmed at the parent teacher meeting earlier in the week that he must be confident using a toilet, plus he needs a basic grasp of things like queuing at lunch time and eating without spilling his food everywhere. At the moment it’s all still too much a struggle for him. He’s only truly happy when he is nestling on daddy’s lap. All day and every day if he had what he wanted. It’ll get better I’m sure – five months to go before September. Let’s wait and see.

Well today marks the first day of Spring. The Winter has finally come to an end and as I can see in the garden, life is reasserting itself. I am reminded of my first Holi (the Hindu festival of light), that I celebrated back in 2013 in Mumbai, just before the births of Amritsar and Tara. This year I was reminded of the Spring Equinox this morning by Raj, a friend from my time in Nepal. In return I am wishing he and all of his family a very ‘Happy Holi’.

Now not being in either India or Nepal, this years first day of Spring saw me spend some time in the garden, in awe of some of the budding shrubs, beginning to loosen their tight grip on the new life and growth within, pushing so hard to spring forth.

Last nights dinner was seafood once again. With the boiled potatoes left over from the children’s dinner, John and I enjoyed cod, salmon and shrimp with a very flavoursome lobster bisque, made with the shells of lobster, prawns and tomato purée that I had previously made and placed in the freezer.

Tonight’s dinner was somewhat more frugal. A simple bowl of Dal and 2 chapatti. Just me here tonight as John is visiting his mother Hazel in Dublin. She has not been feeling so well, so sending them both lots of love. It’s funny, when John is not here I either go for simple Indian ‘pur veg’ or a Cornish pasty! Both no no’s for Johns, a good Irish man, loving his ‘meat and two veg’. Though I do tell him that a pasty is just that, but he does not listen.

Everyone was happy here at home today. Caleb is now wearing pants in the afternoons and practicing his potty manoeuvres. Two pees and a poo! Good going Caleb. We also looked at photo prints that arrived today from ‘Snapfish’. You get to print 50 photos a month for free with the snapfish app and so far this year we have printed 150 pictures from my phone for free, just paying the postage. Rock on!

Off to bed soon, an early night. All is quiet upstairs, down here as well, the hounds are both snoozing. I love it when they are finally settled – the dogs that is. Well, come to think of it, everyone really. I am also worried a bit about Gracie coming into season. Given the hormonal intensity, Remus goes even crazier than his normal self, if that’s possible. But she is showing all the signs! Oh well, more tomorrow, though tomorrow’s full moon would mean that I am going to publish chapter one of ‘Eighteen Moons’ (my novel) on here. I hope you enjoy it… that’s all for now.

These little beauties, I picked from the bottom of the garden this morning. The largest morel came in at 14cm. Very large specimens that will prove themselves to being a gastronomic pleasure when it comes to the actual consumption. So, after a couple of hours in the dehydrator, these fungi, now dried, are residing in a Kilner jar at the bottom of the provisions cupboard.

Talking of the dehydrator, I have to add that recent weeks have given me time to concentrate on the production of candied fruits. My latest assertions are a long, long way from my earlier attempts, late last year. I am now producing world class confectionery using just pure fruit and sugar. Dadda’s Jams have truly extended the concept to include the most pure and elevated sweet treats on the planet.

I have just decided that ‘Dadda’s Jams’ will take a stall at the local village ‘Easter Egg Hunt’, so onwards and upwards!

Totally unrelated – but Caleb had a ‘Big Boy’ moment earlier and wore pants for the last hour or two before bedtime. When asked if he wanted to use the potty, he replied yes and progressed on to have a pee and a poo! Well done Caleb. Thor and Aaliyah have gone without an accident in months. The only way is UP…

What with no sickness on Sunday, it was a return to normal this morning. Though the only outstanding casualty it seems is the screen of the television. On Sunday evening we enjoyed a roast pork dinner before bath time and bed. Aaliyah, pictured below, looks as if butter wouldn’t melt in her mouth. But I fear we will have to keep a close eye on her mischievous misguiding’s.

Moving on, there was a parent teacher meeting at school for the girls today, so we had a picnic in the kitchen at 4pm, waiting on daddy’s early return at 4.30pm before a trip to the school to meet the girls teachers and see this years work books. Overall we are very pleased with their progress, well obviously! One of the fellow mums asked if ‘Dadda’s Jams’ was up for a stall at the ‘Big Easter Egg Hunt’ at one of the local villages, I said perhaps, so I will have to get back to her in the next couple of days and make a commitment (or not)!

I spent part of the day candying melon and kiwi fruit for later confectionery assertions. I will fill you in on that at a later date. But all is quiet now, John has drifted off to sleep on the sofa after a dinner of Argentinian Red Shrimp Thermidor with French fries and fresh fruit salad for dessert, consisting of, you guessed it, fresh melon and kiwi fruit. We go to bed contented and happy the quarantine of these last few days is over and our lives have returned to normal.

Happy Days!

7.30am here and most sensible households are just waking up on this sunny Sunday morning. On the other hand, everyone here have been dressed or dressed themselves twice already in their new clothing purchased yesterday. Breakfast has been had (dry toast for Aaliyah), John has hoovered the living room floor and he has taken the bin / recycling up to the bin area and finally, Aaliyah’s bed has been stripped and remade, due to another outbreak of ‘The Tummy Bug’. The pile of stinky bedding awaits its turn in the already full washing machine. Caleb is yet again attached firmly to Daddy’s lap. He’s holding on tightly.

I have just been reminded that it is St Patrick’s Day! SO ‘HAPPY ST PATRICKS DAY’ TO EVERYONE.

The television is on and the sun is reflecting off of the screen. I am reminded of Aaliyah’s destructive behaviour of yesterday. The entire top third of the screen was scratched deeply with a blunt pencil. It’s almost unwatchable and the deeply set scratches are really off putting. Tara wants a new TV. Aaliyah had a very good talking to once she was ratted out by Thor. I pulled up a chair and had a really stern talking to her when she spent the 20 minutes on ‘The Thinking Chair’ yesterday just after the incident. She has done the same to the Aga fridge and the Aga label on the cooker itself was broken and snapped in half by her mischievous hands. She knows when she is being naughty and always says that she wants to be good, but there is never any true remorse, the cycle just repeats itself. Anyhow, 8.00am now and a full load of washing to put out. Lets hope there are no more gushes, only dry toast for Aaliyah today. She does look sorry for herself now, but that’s just the tummy bug. Updates to follow.

 

I woke up this morning with thoughts of Venice in the back of my mind. I felt compelled to look back at my camera roll and guess what? One year ago to this very day, John and I were hurtling over the lagoon in a water taxi, destination ‘The Hotel Danieli’ in Venice. The above Canaletto image sits on the wall in our living room. Well, at least a Fake, hand painted copy of the old master does. This image of the Doges Palace and St Marks Square, as seen from the lagoon, actually pre dates the building of the Danieli! The world famous hotel was built on the far right hand side, in the space occupied by the three smaller buildings, flanked by the two slightly larger warehouses. Today the two larger buildings are also part of the hotel. We were lucky enough to have a lagoon facing room in the larger building on the right (first floor). Yes, I can actually see the double windows where we enjoyed such an amazing view. Whenever I see our copy of this famous painting, I always remember our visit, immortalised in oil paint. You kind of feel personally connected with it. Anyhow, one year ago to the day, that is where we were. The 5* restaurant is located on the roof of the other larger building on the left of the hotel. There is an amazing outside terrace, though on our visit it was wet and cold I remember. We dined there one night – bloody hell it was expensive for what you got, over €300. But that is Venice, the food was good, not great and the prices were brinking on extortion. We did read a review that mentioned that you should not look at the prices. Just eat and enjoy, just pay the bill and not to worry until you got home about how over priced even the most basic restaurant food was. Breakfast was also served in the restaurant. I nicked a really cool ashtray from the terrace on our final morning, just after breakfast. It was freezing and on the cusp of snowing (I believe there were several inches of the white stuff back at home). The ashtray is used outside on our terrace now and that also connects me to that scene in the Canaletto painting. Yes, one year ago today…

The girls and I started the conversation about their surrogate a few weeks ago when we unveiled their baby pictures that were entombed within the old hard drive from my dead Sony Vaio laptop. It wasn’t until today at the dinner table that Rehanna was mentioned again. We promised ourselves that when the children were old enough to ask questions, we would be as honest as possible. Tonight we continued the conversation about babies and the tummies that they grow within. Yes, the girls are aware that it is only women that have the ability to grow babies in their tummies and that their two dads are most certainly not women. The conversation was light and enough was included to make no secret of the special way that the girls came to us. Rehanna was our surrogate in India and is certainly part of our story. The clinic who created our embryos using our ‘Dna’ and the anonymous egg donation, paid the surrogate about 35% of the overall fees, a significant and life changing amount, equivalent to several years wages in India. Today the girls got very inquisitive about their origins and brought up the name Rehanna. I was open and used the word ‘Surrogate’ to describe her participation. The girls are very aware that Daddy and Dadda planned to have children and that babies grow inside a woman’s tummy. It takes three elements to make a baby! Even if you are a regular couple, an egg, some fertiliser and a tummy. In the case of a boy girl couple, clearly the girl adds twice, but in our case, a third party initiated the element of the tummy. To be honest, I didn’t imaging having ‘The Conversation’ quite yet, but questions need answers and today we answered just a couple of those questions. I certainly don’t want any animosity or feelings that we had held back the truth to our children in later life. Thor and the younger twins surrogates were also mentioned by name, Ausa and Susheila. I thank all three of them from the bottom of my heart. I would also like to add that all three women already had children of their own. Our full uncensored story, ‘Eighteen Moons’ is available through Amazon Kindle.

P.s. I have mentioned that I will share the story of how we came to be through this diary. So, if you did not want to purchase the book in its entirety, I will be publishing a single chapter at andiwebb.net each month on the day of the full moon here in the U.K.

Post ‘projectile vomiting’ on Sunday, the week began with calm before a realisation. Thor’s being sick was not just down to his extreme gorging, rather a stomach bug that had been introduced into the delicate eco system that is our family home. Monday passed by with no symptoms, however Tuesday morning was quite a different affair indeed! Thor woke me at 5am saying that his bed was wet. I checked and all seemed fine. But I turned to see the entrance to the girls room and noticed Tara debunked to the floor. Thor returned to his slumber and I headed in to see what was concerning Tara. ‘Kit Koala is wet’ she informed me and then she ushered my hand to feel the bedsheet. It was slightly damp, so I offed the sheet in an instant to reveal a myriad of books and nicknacks beneath her duvet. The duvet was dry as was her pillow. I set her up a bed on the fluffy carpet and inquired as to her stash of bed clutter. She had nothing to say in her defence. A few mutterings but basically all were comfortable, though I didn’t check Caleb as all was silent in the semi darkness of the boys room.

Sindy arrived in at 7am and ascended the stairs. Twenty five minutes later she returned to the kitchen clutching Tara’s bedsheet plus all of Caleb’s bedding. ‘You should have seen it’ she remarked, ‘like third world war’ she added, ‘His bed was completely pebble dashed’ she concluded.

Day one of lockdown had begun…

At the breakfast table everyone enjoyed their cornflakes though Tara and Caleb were slower eaters than normal. It was first Tara to look to the floor and empty her stomach. In very quick succession Caleb followed suit. Both Sindy and I jumped to action and calmed the two before cleaning up and disinfecting the said areas. The others looked on in astonishment. That’s a day home from school I told them ‘me too, me too Dadda’ Thor piped up! ‘I don’t think so’ I added. The healthy three all went off to school with Sindy and we at home settled in with Netflix. Within half an hour Caleb had vomited on himself twice and the large cushion they sit on besides the television, thrice. Happy Days.

Day Two. So far today, all is well with the two in quarantine, signifying a return to school tomorrow. I am at present sat on a train on my way up to London to see a dental specialist regarding my tooth ache. I am showing no signs of the contagion. All will be back to normal tomorrow I am sure. Oh I almost forgot to add that Sindy had them all declutter their beds yesterday afternoon, so all is well on that front too. Happy Days indeed.

Sooner or later there had to be an entry with the word vomit in the title. And on this occasion, I refer to Thor. At the party yesterday, he ate and ate and ate. He came home and devoured his sweeties from his party bag and then he devoured a cheese and ham roll. There were chocolate cupcakes, but as they were all full (especially Thor), they all had a taster bite of one cupcake divided into five. Post bath time, Thor, sat on the chaise and looked blankly into space, his tooth brush was in has mouth, motionless. Within the blink of an eye, it had fallen to the floor and gush after gush of sick, oozed onto the dark oak flooring , splattering as it did so…

A mammoth washing day today what with the soiled towels and masses of children’s clothing. All put out to dry now and I am sat down at the kitchen table, awaiting their homecoming from their preschool trip.

Another breakage this morning. Caleb killed the Robot, Johns vacuume cleaning birthday present. He came in from the living room, clenching the robo vacuum cleaner tightly and then he decided to throw it onto the kitchen floor. Pieces of it scattered and he just looked at me with an almighty grin on his face. ‘Why did you do that’ I inquired, ‘Sorry’ was his shamefaced reply. His two favourite words are ‘Sorry’ and ‘Okay’. Thankful the robot was pieced back together, but believe me when I say, everything gets broken, sooner or later and with the not so famous five, sooner would be a more probable outcome.

What with the three little ones at a birthday party earlier, the girls and I made chocolate cupcakes this afternoon. It has been a tentative day in the wake of yesterday’s troubles. I think we’ve moved on, though Aaliyah on the other hand, has been a bit of a madam. I think the girls realise just how much they upset me yesterday. Amritsar has been the model citizen. Now back to chocolate cake. The girls did all the mixing and in payment enjoyed all of the ‘Stick Licks’. Bowl and spoons were fully pre washed before the dish washer did it’s magic. Amritsar, Aaliyah and Caleb have just followed me upstairs and the girls are now playing ‘Let’s get Caleb’ under the duvet in our bedroom. I might have to make today’s entry a little short as the shouting is getting rather loud. They have just left, the bed is a mess, but I managed to wrestle the Bubble liquid (party bag) from Caleb’s tiny hand just before he has an accident. Phew!

At present lots of shouting and screaming with John and the children in the living room. He always seems to psych them all up around this time! And time after time he doesn’t learn that this formula does not tire them out, it merely notches them up a gear. I am hiding in the kitchen as the games next door commence. I can hear him now saying that ‘We are not going to get boisterous, just before bed’, but they are and completely ignoring him at this point.

Amritsar has just started screaming the house down regarding a broken bracelet. A very loud return to the awful behaviour of earlier today!

Some of today’s naughtiness can only be described as completely ‘loco’ (Spanish for crazy). It is now time to dress for bed so I will come back to this shortly…

The main commotion of earlier began in the garden. Daddy got them all in shoes – I think every single pair in the shoe cupboard was strewn throughout the ground floor and then some more. Look, it’s not like I’m complaining about picking up! It’s part of the job. I do it constantly and seldom complain. But I do tire of the sheer volume that seems to be normal at the weekends. Anyhow the garden got grizzly. John left them to their own devices and surprise surprise, the water they were collecting from the downstairs W.C. Was for mud pies. Not any old mud pies, rather bubble mud pies. John remarked that they said that I had said that it was all right to use the soap dispenser. And he believed them!

Tesco home deliveries arrived with a rather large order. Sixty 200g chocolate bars arrived in preparation to be rebranded for the girls birthday in a couple of weeks! More on that at a later date. Plus a shed load of other stuff, including £10 worth of ingredients for the adult catering at the party. ‘Indian Veg Cuisine’ is the theme for the grownups nosh and I am planning to cater for 40 adults for just a tenner.

By the time I had put the last thing away, I looked up and saw Tara and Thor running around half naked, covered in water and mud and soap. Amritsar had a bucket of water and was about to pour it over Tara’s head… they were corralled and went upstairs to shower. At this point, Sindy our nanny rang the doorbell. She had very kindly sewn on ‘Chicky’s’ hat (Caleb’s soft toy) and was delivering him back to us. She entered and looked on, aghast at the extent of the turmoil. She went upstairs and gave John a hand for the next fifteen minutes. At this time Remus began projectile vomiting his dinner around the living room floor. My head just sank into my lap!

I did notice a rather large apple stem in amongst the kibble and crunched up apple when I cleaned it all up, so I know the cause of the problem at least. Less can be said for the other mess. Roll on tomorrow, hopefully less ‘Loco Commotion’.

With the week almost at an end, apologies for my relative silence. What with a tooth ache and another cold that seems pretty ferocious, I end the week with a snotty nose, tooth ache and a general feeling of fatigue. We have had our moments, both ups and downs. No pun intended on Caleb really going for it in the video I posted. We were all so surprised, his vigorous stomach crunching came completely out of the blue! We have always played the game of sitting on a lap, holding on and hanging upside down for a bit until returning to an upright position. But Caleb certainly brought things to another level.

The little ones are at present upstairs, refusing to have their little nap until 2pm. I have been up twice now – first time spent getting Caleb back in his nappy, after him peeing on the bathroom floor and splashing Thor’s snowman toy. At least with him back in a nappy, Sindy won’t come into a big shock when she returns. I did say that their nap time won’t be forever. Sometimes they snooze, but others they just won’t settle. I might have a another look up in a minute.

Aaliyah had a small poo incident this morning. Her nighttime nappy was off and her bedding was covered, so Sindy marched her into the shower rather briskly.

I’m looking forward to the weekend. Who knows what may be in store. I’ll keep my diary posted. And hoping yours is a good one too!

Hats off to Thor this morning. So, Please send me any other contender photographs for ‘The Biggest Snot Bubble Ever’ competition. Just who will be crowned? Good luck to everyone…

Okay, it has been a while (like a couple of years since my Sony Vaio packed up) and the replacement external hard drive casing was rubbish – it simply didn’t work. Another ‘made in china’ disappointment, so apologies for great Japanese design (Toshiba hard drive) and a reality check that it is always down to the weakest link – the Chinese made casing.

Okay, let’s get a few paragraphs down about what that computer hard drive has held for these last six years. Photos of course, pictures of the girls as babies and videos aplenty. Now our other guys (as small new borns) are all represented on my iPhone, thanks to the cloud concept, a new iPhone downloads your previous phones data. But the girls baby pics were backed up on my old Sony laptop – And today we retrieved all of the memories.

I was honest, reactionary and truthful. We sat there for an hour or so and were aghast with each and every file (full of baby pics) that we opened.

Too many memories flooded back for me, yet it was all new and exciting for our two beautiful daughters who are about to celebrate their sixth birthday. Time has flown by and yet, I always seem to coexist with the memories of it all.

It wasn’t always like that – when I returned from India five years ago – all I wanted was to forget those agonising reminders of the anguish I had to go through to get our girls home. But we did get home after eight long months. And here we are, a very happy family, filled with affection for one and other. Gonna well up soon – so these are a couple of our long lost pics of the girls and I when they were about seven months old, stranded in Mumbai.