HOME FOR THE HOLIDAYS WEEK 2 CONTINUED

Well here goes - let's see if I can remember that far back now!  On the Thursday of our second week we missed Kayla's Gym Joeys class as I could hardly move in the morning.  Its not that my mum and dad's spare bed is particularly uncomfortable - my back seizes up most nights - but for some reason that morning it was particularly bad and I didn't relish the thought of having to lift a very heavy Kayla up over the equipment.

In the afternoon we went to James' friend's house (Andrew) where we met up with Kristen, David and Natalie and Andrew's big brother Ross.  Had a lovely time again and it was so nice to see the kids playing so well together.  Kristen, James, David and Andrew have all been friends since us Mummies met at the Breastfeeding Support Group in Erskine - so from around 3-5 months old!  Its been so lovely watching them all grow up together and I'm so happy that even though we're thousands of miles away we can still keep in touch.  The kids just played as if they'd never been apart - it was so nice.  

I'm a wee bit sad that they'll all be starting school in August and James will be missing that milestone with them but hey ho I suppose he's lucky to be experiencing all the things we experience over here (even if he's too young to appreciate it!)

Went out for another ruby murray (curry) with Elizabeth that night.  Miss my best buddy a lot and I know she misses us.  Me a wee bit and the kids loads!!  She's a great Aunty Lizzy to them and we're all hoping she'll come over for visit soon.  

Spent the Friday down at the coastal town of Troon with Mum and Dad.  We used to go there a lot when I was young and its also where Gabriel and I got married.  The weather was lovely again so no need for expensive days out - we just went to the playpark again and the kids were quite happy!  My Dad hadn't been feeling too well since we got home but we managed to get him to join us for our wee outing.  (Finally managed to add a photograph - yay!  See above at the playpark in Troon).

Had a long awaited get together with the Netmums girls at Lianne's house on Friday.  What a bunch they are!!  We had intended a wee night sitting out the garden with a barbecue and a few glasses of vino but the cold evening and Scottish midgies drove us inside.  Poor Lianne's neighbours - we were still gassing away and laughing our heads off well into the small hours.  I left around 1am but goodness knows how long the rest of them were there!  A good night was had by all though.

While I was out partying with the girls, James was partying with Elliot and his Mum and Dad.  They took him to Pizza Hut (James heaven), then to play on the pirate ship - complete with pirate outfits for both of them!  Joan's so good at all this Mummy stuff - she puts me to shame!!  Then home for a sleepover at Elliot's house - James had a blast.

Had a busy busy day on the Saturday.  Went over to visit my friend Karen, her husband Derrick and their three kids - Craig (19), Lisa (16) and Sarah (13).  I met Karen at my first job with the Clydesdale Bank and we've been friends ever since (23 years ago - eek!!)  Craig was the first baby I ever held and its so funny to see how much he's grown.  Lisa and Sarah are both very tall too.  No-one knows where they all get their height as Karen's not much taller than me and Derrick's a fairly average Scotsman height!  

Had a lovely lunch with them then headed over to my friend Gillian's house for her wee boy's 1st birthday (James and Kayla dressed in their party outfits above).  Gillian has two lovely wee boys - Aidan who's 3 and Kieran.  Aidan has always been a big fan of James and was asking when we were there if he could stay over!  If only we'd had time during our whistlestop tour!!

Had a wee night out with my pal Donna that night.  Went to the very yummy River Inn in Houston (more food - more weight piling on!)  We gabbed so long that we were the only people left in the restaurant and we were sure we heard the staff letting out a cheer when we left!!  Ah well - we had a lot to catch up on!

More visiting on the Sunday - this time killing two birds with one stone!  Went to visit my friend Lesley, her hubby Eoin and their gorgeous baby girl Leah who's just six months so this was my first meeting with her.  She's just lovely.  She's had a few medical problems since she was born - involving a couple of worrying operations for Mum and Dad - but you'd never know - she's just perfect.  Lesley and I's friend Fiona also came along and brought along her "new" man (not that new - we just hadn't met him!) to introduce us.  Graeme seems like a lovely guy and I'm glad she's found someone so nice.  (Picture above of them all).

Headed home for tea (Mum's excellent steak pie at my special request) then my Aunt Moira and Uncle Ian came over.  Lovely to see them as always and the kids had a good laugh with them.

Right, that's me finished boring you all to death with tales of my second week home.  Its been jam packed and next week's not much better!  Tune in soon for our goings on in our last week at home.

Catherine xx

Home for the Holidays Week 2

Well another week has passed already.  I can't believe how quickly our time here is flying by.  I'm already having to fight back the tears every time I think of stepping on the plane next Monday.  Its not that I don't want to go back to Singapore (what's not to like?) or that I don't want to see Gabriel (I miss him lots) - but I seriously just want to pack my Mum and Dad in our suitcases and take them back with us :o(

We've also had such a great time visiting lots of friends this week that its made me realise what a lovely group of friends we have here (something we probably took forgranted while we were here).  In saying that, I've met lots of lovely, warm, friendly people in Singapore too and I hope you'll all be waiting for me with a monster box of Kleenex when I get back!!

So what have we been up to this week.  (Apologies again if this makes for mundane reading but I don't want to forget a moment!)

Started the week with a visit to the kids' shoe shop in Bridge of Weir.  I love visiting this shop as its run by the most cantankerous old git you've ever met!!  I just love bantering with him - its total entertainment!  Gran insisted on paying for their new shoes so they both left with lovely new sandals for Kayla and sort of open trainer type shoes for James.

As the weather was lovely (again) we headed to Barshaw Park in Paisley where James and Kayla had a ball playing with Gran.  I love visiting this park as I used to go there a lot when I was a child.  My Aunt and Uncle lived very close to the park and when we visited them on a Saturday night my Uncle and my Dad used to take me down to play on the swings.  I loved it!  Please remember this was in the days before anyone had a swing in their own back garden and certainly in the days before two men playing with a young child in a park would probably have been considered strange.

Had a lovely Italian meal out with James' friends' Mums - Liz, Julie and Karen - at night.  Lovely to get a (rare) chance to speak without someone shouting "Mum!" 

On Tuesday I met up with the Netmums girls at the playpark at Glasgow Green.  Joan and Elliot came with us too.  Netmums is a fantastic website in the UK which gives lots of advice on babies, motherhood etc and also has a coffee house chat area.  I met a great group of local Mums on there just a few months before we came to Singapore and they've all stayed in touch which has been lovely.  It was a scorcher of a day and the kids all had great fun whilst we could relax as the playpark is completely surrounded by a fence so no need to chase stray children every two minutes!

On Wednesday I went to one of my favourite shops - Matalan.  Cheap and cheerful stuff!  Got lots more clothes for the kids and quite a few bits and pieces for me too.

Took James to Gym Joeys in the afternoon and then headed down to Elliot's house to play afterwards.  Elliot has four dogs - 3 Dobermans and 1 Miniature Pincher - and they're normally kept locked away while we're there as James is quite scared of dogs but he's definitely making progress.  Joan brought them all out one by one to say hello and James even clapped them (petted for those who are not reading in Scottish!)  Progress indeed.

Headed straight to the Equestrian Centre for dinner with my friend Lynne and her husband John.  So lovely to see them both again.  Had a great time talking about Singapore as John has been there through work so he knew the things and places I was talking about.  Still trying to persuade them to come for a visit!

Signing off now as I'm falling asleep and I've got another busy day tomorrow.  Will complete Week 2 later in the week.

Hmmm - wonder if it'll let me attach photos this week...

Apparently not :o(

WHAT A LOVELY WEEKEND

I'm sure this probably makes very boring reading for everyone but I want to savour every moment of being home so I'm recording it all on here!

Just had a really lovely first weekend at home.  On Saturday my Mum and the kids and I went to our favourite wee cafe in Gourock.  Gourock's a wee town on the coast and we've been going to this particular cafe for years and years.  Unfortunately the weather had taken a turn for the worse on Saturday and when we arrived it was absolutely baltic!  I only have sandals with me and I thought my feet were going to drop off with the cold!

After our wee outing we decided to visit the haute couture shopping outlet that is - Tesco!!  Managed to finally buy myself a few bits and pieces as well, of course, as more for the kids.  This will add to the other stuff I've bought for them from such other haute couture shops as Primark and Sainsburys!  And I've still to get to Matalan and Asda... :o)   Me thinks a bigger suitcase will be required on the way back to Singapore!

Went out for a nice ruby murray with the girls on Saturday night.  Elizabeth, Laura, Lesley, Alison and Karen all came along and we had a right old gab - fantastic!

On Sunday we went to the Singing Kettle in Helensburgh with Joan and Elliot.  For those who don't know - the Singing Kettle is sort of like a Scottish version of the Wiggles.  And for those who don't know who the Wiggles are - there's no point in me trying to explain any more!!

The show was really good.  They have a new member (the original three members must be pushing 60 as my friend Karen says she used to take her 19 year old to the shows).  The new guy was really funny so a good time was had by all.  Kayla sat mesmerised all the way through!

After the show we went for a walk along the front at Helensburgh.  Had a good healthy lunch of chips from the chippy and sat on the front eating them whilst fending off the seagulls!  Spent a while tiring out the kids by blowing bubbles and letting them chase them around then headed over to the funfair.

Joan and I couldn't stop laughing at how ancient the funfair rides were.  The paint was peeling off them all and they looked like they'd been around since my parents were kids!  But James and Elliot had great fun on the merrygoround, the bouncy slide and (along with me) on the rollercoaster (a kiddy's one - just my level!)

All that fresh air had obviously gotten to me as after we got home and had tea - I fell alseep on the couch!  It obviously had the opposite effect on the kids as I practically had to wrestle them into bed at 9pm - a full hour later than usual.  Had to get them in by then as The Apprentice final was on last night :o)

PS.  Not sure why but this daft system still won't let me post photos - so annoying...

PHOTOS!

For some reason I couldn't get the photos to attach to the last post.  Here they are...

(Ok, maybe not - either this website or my laptop are not playing tonight.  Time for bed me thinks.)

Also forgot to say that Marion dropped in on Tuesday night to my Mum and Dad's.  Came bearing gifts for the kids as usual (naughty naughty Auntie Marion!!)  Was lovely to see her and hear all about the Torran Drive barbecue - even if we did miss it by one day!!

HOME FOR THE HOLIDAYS

Well we made it!  Finally arrived in Scotland on Monday morning after a 12.5 hour flight from Singapore to Amsterdam, a 4 hour wait in Amsterdam for our next flight and then a 1 hour flight to Glasgow.  Phew!  I was very proud of James and Kayla though - they slept for 9 hours of the first flight then happily played with their colouring books and crayons for the rest of the flight.  I couldn't believe how well behaved they were.  Wonder if I'll be that lucky on the way back?  Its another night time flight so fingers crossed!

As we touched down at Glasgow Airport - James said (in the tone of a old man he sometimes has) "Mummy its so good to be back in Scotland.  Scotland's not sweaty like Singapore"!!  How true!!

Spent Monday with Mum and Dad and it just felt like we'd never been away.  My Mum took the kids to the playpark while I went to the bank and the shops - just like a normal Monday!

On Tuesday James' wee friend Kristen's mum invited us over to play in the afternoon.  The weather was glorious (very very hot for Scotland) and Liz had brought the paddling pool out.  I didn't know she'd invited James' other wee friends over too - so we had a lovely surprise when David and Natalie (and Mummy Julie) and Andrew (and Mummy Karen) turned up too.  As you can see from the photos the kids had a ball.

On Wednesday we had a lazy morning (much needed as the kids insist on getting up anywhere between 3.30am and 5.30am - aarrgghh) then took James to his Gym Joeys gymnastics class.  It was lovely to see Julie (the teacher) and all the other kids and Mums.  

After Gym Joeys it was off to the park with James' friend Elliot and his Mum Joan.  The weather was still very hot so we didn't stay long.  Headed to Pizza Hut (James has been craving pasta cheese as he calls it) where Kayla conked out in her pram and James and Elliot amused themselves for ages colouring in and giggling away together while Joan and I had a talking competition!!

Back to Gym Joeys on Thursday morning for Kayla's first class.  She enjoyed some of it but was very tired and grumpy so it wasn't a huge success!  Never mind, we'll go again next week...

I hit the shops in the afternoon while the kids stayed with Gran and Grandpa.  Shopped til I dropped (almost literally as I was so tired!)  The kids now have lovely new clothes but I still didn't get anything for me :o(

Took Kayla for her first ever haircut today to the afro hairdresser in Glasgow.  She was as good as gold.  She sat on my lap and admired herself in the mirror while the lady cut her hair.  She's looking a wee bit boyish as its quite short but at least she doesn't look like Don King anymore and I also bought some products to use on her hair which will hopefully make her curls nice and springy!

Busy day today - after the hairdressers we dropped in on friends Susan and Michael and baby Luca who was born in February.  He is gorgeous!  A real wee sweetie who gave me a big smile as soon as I picked him up :o)

Our final stop was at my best friend's house.  It was so good to see Elizabeth and her Mum and Dad.  So nice to finally have one of those hugs we've only been able to pretend having over Skype over the last 8 months!