Taming the Jungle

Karl and me tackled mum lawn this morning and managed in 3 hours to make it a lawn again from the knee high over grown jungle that it was prior to our hardwork. It is manageable once you can get that first cut done but because it can be very wet and holds on to it making impossible to get on it without quite a bit of dry weather. Anyway it looked like a lawn after Karl strimmed and edged while I mowed reducing the blade height each time eventually getting to the point where the mower was doing the work rather than me.

It was very rewarding to get it done and I know me mum appreciated it admitting that it was on her mind how she was going to get it done. The grass needs to recover for a few days now allowing and flattened grass to stand up again and then I intend to go and mow it again and once that cut is done it should just be a matter of maintaining it all season.

I just wish I’d taken a before photo because most of it was knee high and needed strimming before the mower

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Lincoln’s spreads his wings.

As his sister did about 12 months ago Lincoln came to us and asked if he and a mate could go spend the afternnon mooching around Northwich, which we had no problem with just with the strict instruction “do not let us down”. So off he and Gabe went on there own after getting dropped off by Gabes Dad to wander Northwich town centre visiting the gamine shops and cafes before Jamie went to pick them up 4 hours later. It is a right of passage I think for all kids to start testing out their independence and as parents we don’t want them to grow up too fast but are helpless to stop them also knowing that it would be a dereliction of duty not to loosen the apron strings and let them experience the world in small doses because it equips them better for the future rather than keeping them close and then expecting them as young adults to just leave school and know what to do?

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Tied Down

Lincoln seems to be having a “tough” time at school when he came home first without a tie and then he got a detention for not doing his homework add on to that he came home last week with broken headphones after a boy in Home Bargains pulled them so hard off his ear it broke the head strap.

When we heard he had not done his homework it really annoyed me because we remind him all the time so I took away his electronics for a day as punishment as well as the detention. I fixed his headphones using electrical tape the best I could so hopefully they will last a few more weeks until we can get him some more. Jamie contacted the school about the tie after he told us that his was ripped off his neck in the busy school corridor and he did not see who did it. He would get into trouble if he did not wear a tie so Jamie in no uncertain terms told the school she expects them to replace it because it was stolen not lost so he came home with a tie not a clip tie he’d lost. It crossed my mind that all these things could be caused by bullying so we questioned him about it and he said he was not getting bullied the tie was random the headphones was random and the homework was his fault…? 

Dad can you show me how to tie a tie please?

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Weather…or not?

Today although a tad windy it was a bit warmer and it made us feel better as we trundle out of April into May tomorrow and for me it is a tonic when the weather improves. We walk together now every night “getting our steps in” but it is so great to spend half an hour decompressing after work.

As I’ve mentioned it work is boring right now there is not enough work and filling 7 hours is torture I go for a walk at dinnertime and that breaks the day up a bit exploring the business park especially in the sunshine…and it ups me step count too!

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Hard to motivate

I am finding it so hard to be motivated to do anything right now least of all blog, my job isuch a huge part of my life and my new vocation is not lighting my fire at all! I have just spent a whole work day treading water because there does not seem to be enough work and it’s mind numbing to try and fill my day.

Being busy makes it so easy to breeze through a work day but if there is nothing to to unless the phone rings it is torture.

Am I grieving the loss of my old job and its variety and amount of work yes oh hell yes as I sit waiting for my turn to answer the phone…

They want us to work from home but the team are resistant to do so and right now I am thinking just let me WFH at least I could nod off between calls ffs or do something else around the house etc and it would be better!

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Reagan turns 14

OH MY GOD I have a 14 year old daughter that fact blows my mind and she is such a beautiful young girl who is becoming a young lady very quickly, and makes me so very proud every day.

Mommy promised breakfast in bed once she requested it and as we all took it to her to the tones of our traditional Happy birthday by Altered Images she such a beautiful happy smile on her face which made it worth doing!

She just knocked the shine off it with a request for more syrup for her pancakes to be brought to her  even though the three of us were trying to have our breakfast…

Opening presents can be difficult for a 14 year old when her main presents can’t be opened a day at the hair salon and day out at the Trafford Centre shopping, so she became a little upset when there were alot duplicated stuff she didn’t want although thankful she would have preferred all the money to go towards her holy grail Tay Tay era tickets.

Family time later in the day when Nannie arrived, followed by Auntie Karen and Uncle Karl bringing not only presents but also joy and for me I managed to quiz Karl about wiring me shed.

Barbie cake and lasagne happy birthday and more tears when the main was not really eaten rather chucked away in favour of cake!

Happy 14th Birthday to the BEST daughter ever, you make me proud to say I am your daddy. I will be supporting you as I have done for the last 14 years for the rest of my life and beyond.

Keep shining bright little lady you are enough!

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New routine

Getting into my new routine and although it affects the whole family everyone seems to be getting used to it too. Jamie has a Fitbit and and new incentive to eat well and get steps and I am keen to beat her which I did today after suffering a couple of losses over the last couple of days.

I get up at 6:15 and take Billy then at dinnertimes I walk for 20 minutes around the business park where I now work followed by walking with Jamie every night and apparently it is working for her and me?

Tonight ended with a game of snooker with Mike Coe, so I added a few steps walking around the table ?

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New Job Day 2

After my line managers boss dd not turn up yesterday I decided to don the three piece suit for a second day thinking you still only get one chance to make a first impression even though I knew the team and everyone else that worked in the office were probably wondering who the hell I thought I was dressed to the nines.

Anyway my boss eventually arrived at the office, wearing sweats and although he said he would have a meeting with me spent the day working in the corner of the office and left without actually ever talking to me? Very weird and awkward because I spent the whole day expecting to be summoned over but never was.

As my line manager and boss left I was able to be candid with everyone and get to know them a little but because it was 4pm when they left it was cut short as we left for the evening but I left feeling good about tomorrow and actually being able to actually do something and start to learn how the job runs at the moment?

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New Job day one

I do not change jobs very often so it was very familiarly unfamiliar to me to walk into an new office on my first day but it was really nice that the first face I saw was Jan who I have known since school but also worked with at Consulsoft before I went to the Willows. I stood talking to her for a good 10 minutes before anyone else arrived at the office by which time my nerves had subsided a little and I was a little calmer when others arrived

The team members who I had been taken o to lead arrived along with a couple of them calling in sick which I felt was not a great start and to find one had handed his notice in was also a blow before I had even officially start at 9am

My line manager arrived who I had met on video interviews but she was this “bubblyboss” type lady in person very laid back and a little too much when all I wanted was to slip into the day quietly and slowly, anyway after very little direction I was sort of left to my own devices to navigate the systems and it was not until late i the day that I felt comfortabe eneouh to ask one of the team for help because I thought I was going to be inducted more by my boss?

I did not take my hour lunch and it was refreshing and relieving to find that they finish at 16:55 and leave the office to “beat the traffic” so I was home by 17:25 and able to decompress in the usual manner with walk with Jamie tea bath bed, oh and a beer

All in all weird but successful first day

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Nervous pottering

Got home from the Lakes and had already put away me stuff, mowed the lawns and did the washing before Jamie and the kids got home from church, all because subconsciously I felt nervous about tomorrow.

I threw some darts hitting a couple of ton eighties and drank a  couple of beers which relaxed me but bed and sleep was what I needed so thatI could just get the first day over with….

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