Last week Fran had to have her repeat operation; last year she had a bone graft from her hip into the space in her mouth. It was a horrible op, with lots of pain and bleeding and she took a long time to recover emotionally from it, mostly i think because they didn’t call us back quickly enough after it and she woke up without us and on top of that, they hadn’t given her enough pain relief and took a long time to get it for her, so they whole thing was very traumatic. She had a lot of very uncomfortable packing in her nose, the wound bled a lot for more than 24 hours and then on top of all that, it didn’t work.

So we had to go back and with that experience in the recent past, she was far more anxious about it. We did our best to make it easy for her and treated her to lots of attention the night before with both of us going to gym to watch and then a slap up meal after at a favourite pub. She was a pleasure to be out with and we had a nice time. Next morning we had to get up at 5am and were at the hospital for 7am; luckily she was first on the list and so there wasn’t long to wait. She went into theatre at .30am, the only child on the ward to get their op that day as there were then two car accidents that filled the theatres with emergencies

I took her into theatre as normal; she’d asked for gas to put her out but for some reason the theatre nurse insisted on peeling off the cream patches on her hand before she went off to sleep and the hurt really upset her. I’ve done worse (holding her down) but she got very frightened and upset in the last few moments. Yuck.

This time it was all very different. The floor of her nose had stayed intact and so didn’t have to be redone which meant no packing and no bleeding. When we went into recovery to see her she was still sleepy and dizzy but telling her that (she had rather hilariously sat bolt upright the moment she came round) did make her smile, which was lovely. Having been primed by Helen to be demanding, i’d insisted that lots of pain relief was given while she was in theatre and they did, so she was very comfortable and positively rattling when she woke up.

Within an hour she looked like this

and had eaten a large plate of mashed potato and minced beef.

She whipped Max 11-3 at Rummy

and eventually had to be put in a wheelchair and be taken to the shops as the 24 hours bed rest was proving too much of a challenge!

She was home the next day, a little more puffy and with a little more pain once all the local wore off but otherwise fine.

I managed to keep her off gym till Wednesday She did have a bit of a flag on Monday and worried both of us quite a bit as she got a temperature, a cough and flopped but then recovered. I think she has a cold but thankfully not flu

I was very grateful for the night i got to spend with the Old Manor Borns and all the lovely comments i got from friends wishing us well. It makes a huge difference to know people are thinking of you. The other 3 kids had a wonderful time at my parents house.

So, by Tuesday we thought we all needed a morning out so we took Josie to Gymmies. Josie had a nice time, Maddy stayed with a neighbour as we were only going to be an hour and Fran did a little bit of gentle exercise. Amelie was very excited as her coach was there and said they could have 10 minutes on the br at the end. As Josie and i were finishing off, Fran suddenly ran over to say Amelie was hurt :/

She gone to do a straddle undershoot on the bars (split leg standing on a head heigh bar, while holding on, then you swing under and dismount.) She’s done it loads of times before and her coach was watching but not right by her (slight improvement on my initial fear that she’d done it without permission). Unfortunately Amelie was too quick for R to get there and a bit over excited and not concentrating. She got to the top and pitched forward instead of swinging back and from what i gather, panicked, let go and pitched forward on to her outstretched left arm.

Which, naturally enough, broke

Poor Amelie; she was very upset and frightened and in a lot of pain and knew straight away wheat she had done wrong, which made her immediately very angry. Luckily Max was just round the corner at work and ran round, Fran was brilliant at keeping Josie calm and occupied and off we all trotted to casualty.

We arrived there at the same time as a bus crash full of old people and a dog attack on a child, so were slow to be seen but once she’d had morphine she perked up a lot. Several x-rays, lots of pain killers and lots of books and people later, she had a temporary cast on 2 broken bones in her lower arm, fortunately, incomplete green stick fractures. Unfortunately they were not happy to set them in casualty, so we had to spend the night on the children’s ward. We were very grateful for the hospital bag Fran packed for her – she knows exactly what to pack.

She had to have a general anaesthetic to set them (twice in a week, argh!) but was very brave, very good all night and home the next day.

Where she has been milking it ever since

Twice in the last few weeks we’ve had the opportunity to go into Cambridge and experience The Cloth Place, a completely hands on, creative soft play area that has real life items alongside handmade cloth artifacts. Split into several areas, the kids had only 2 rules – not to hurt each other, or themselves. Otherwise they could do what they wanted – there was sol to dig, straw to move, washing to hang, animals to play with, splinters on a shed, food to serve, clothes to dress up in, shopping to explore.

It really was the most extra-ordinary place and the children adored it. I saw at least one little girl leave in tears because she jsut wanted more. One of the things that was the greatest joy to me, and i think many of the parents, was the way our kids were within the space; considerate, imaginative, thoughtful, imaginative and so completely and thoroughly at home with just enjoying it. Several of the staff mentioned how different they were to some of the school groups, who mainly just ran around screaming to start with. Ours just seemed so…well socialised Right now, under accusations of hidden away children who aren’t getting real life experience and who aren’t in good hands if they spend their days with their parents, people who compliment them for being well adjusted and normal are a blessing.

I was even happier on the second trip when an older man on the bus in caught my attention and talked to me about why i had them with me, roundly complimenting them for their manners, conversation, bahaviour and interest in what they were seeing. When i told him they were HEed, he nodded and said “you can tell”.

The photos below are a mix of both trips.

We had a pleasant weekend with 2 enjoyable days out. First was orienteering in Hinchingbrooke Country Park which we all did and had an absolute ball. With my careful curriculum planning done a year ago, it fitted in neatly with Maddy’s map project and she was very good at it; so was Amelie. I think, when it comes to maps, Frances and i are better followers than leaders

Sarah, you would really like it. It has clocking in gadgets, timing, competition and trails in all sorts of places. Even league tables

We managed the easiest 2 trails, Fran and Maddy went round on their own for the second and after Fran started listening to Maddy, they got on fine Fab maps to use that really helped with the key reading thing we’d been doing and they all got the hang of orientating their map so they knew where to go.

Lunch in the park.

And then a last walk for some playing in the trees, which they all loved.

Rather spookily, this did appear to be the very spot where this photo was taken – rather a long time ago now. (Hope you don’t mind Tech!)

She’s changed a bit.

To the Head of Year 7 Admissions regarding Fran,

Thank you for the welcome you recently extended to our daughter at your Year 7 Admissions Day; she had an interesting and thought-provoking day. However, on balance and following an equally interesting and exciting half term taster at *****, we have decided, in consultation with our daughter, to make alternative arrangements for Frances’s educational provision which will suit her aptitudes and abilities more closely.

I would be grateful if you could confirm that Frances will not be added to the school roll in September so that we do not have any confusion with the LA as to whether or not she should be attending.

Dropping it in this morning with her. Thank goodness for that.

I had a morning off everything today as i had a chiropractor appointment (back now pretty much completely fixed) and then needed to go and buy some dancing things for a show (white catsuit, glad it’s not me!), pop into work and then go into town to the one remaining, almost entirely inaccessible, branch of our bank. I sent a few emails for work, things that i needed doing for the site and other admin bits and then went into town.

I don’t often get to listen to the radio these days as the girls prefer cds and moan, so it was pleasant to be enjoying the sun, the window open and the peace. Three songs came on – Heaven is a Place on Earth, Spirit in the Sky and Cruel Summer. All have particular memories for me and i was smiling, thinking of the people i remember because of them and rather enjoying the fact that not one of them makes me think of anything sad. I was thinking that Cruel Summer would be a great blog post title, but that for me this summer has been pleasant and enjoyable and that i’d have no reason to use it. And that made me think of people i care about who are sad and of how moving it was to bike ride around Ferry Meadows this week behind the Race for Life people, reading their dedications, pinned to their backs and seeing their passion and determination. And of all the people who, in small ways, make differences.

And then i reached the car park and checked my phone, only to get an email telling me that a close professional colleague, someone who has worked for us on project for the last 2 years has died unexpectedly, leaving a wife and daughter behind. Someone younger than me, with so much going for him and such a massive part of our team of strangely linked work acquaintances. But unusually in website land, someone i had actually met and whose geographical closeness was part of choosing to use him because it was good to be using the skills of another local small business.

K was a really lovely bloke to work with; professional, courteous, polite, local and happy to come out to see us or work over the phone with us. He was quick and accurate, creative, thoughtful and helpful. He was charmingly, tear-jerkingly in love with his wife, thrilled to be a new dad and the pleasure that brought him simply bubbled over into the hundred of emails we exchanged over our working relationship. He made an enormous difference to our business and to many other businesses and i know he’ll leave a huge hole in our team and in many others. And the thought of his wife and daughter left without him is simply ripping a piece out of my heart. I’m stunned.

God bless K. Thank you.