I swear the world is out to get me some days.
Last Tuesday we had a power cut. After about an hour we thought we should check with our neighbour just to make sure it was a proper power cut and not just our house having problems. On the way out, Liam and I put some celery into the guinea pig run for Scratch as he loves his fresh salad-y treats. We spoke to our neighbour for a few minutes before returning.to discover the celery still in full view upon our return. This is out of character for Mr Scratch but it made me think that when I filled his normal food bowl that morning there wasn't the normal squeaking scurrying noises. On closer inspection, I discovered a hole under the edge of the run.
It's not that clear here but....
I can get my hand under the run....
More than that, I can get a good part of my arm under....
Where I have smoothed down the grass you can see just how big the space is.
Now, we had Scratch for about 4 years. He first came to us from a pet shop with his friend Nuzzle. Nuzzle died shortly after we moved house and he had been living a solitary existence for about 2 years.
Well, it appears, that enough was enough for a guinea pig when there was a big wide world out there to explore. The high winds and rain of late meant that our back gate had not been shut (yep, we get better as irresponsible pet owners) and well, Scratch's last hours were in a bid for freedom. I hope he enjoyed his little guinea pig self running around the fields behind our house and did not venture to the road. I just don't think he would have survived too long with the dogs, cats and foxes nearby so I hope he got to enjoy a little of the big wide world before he succumbed to nature. Even if he did survive for longer, then who knows how or if he was getting fed/watered.
The kids took the loss of Scratch well. Liam loved that animal the most but took it just as you would expect a 2 yr old to take it. "Scatch gone, go pet shop" were his exact words which to me says he accepts he's lost a pet but it's ok as we can get a new one. You just have to love the logic of small children!
There has also been some signs around the village saying a pair of ferrets had escaped from their enclosure too. So we aren't alone in the runaway animal predicament.
Since the rodent disappeared Liam has been playing with his toy "Scatch" much more which is incredibly sweet.
We won't be getting any more pets in the short term. We have said we will probably wait a couple of years until Liam can get more involved with the pet care. I would actually like a rabbit or two and a pair of hens. Yep, I am getting to be a really country girl wanting to have freshly laid eggs every morning.
The weekend was good. I got to spend my clothing vouchers. I bought myself two dresses and a handbag for a bargain £31. You have to appreciate half price sales! That just says to me that Autumn clothing is on it's way in even though we are only just in July.
I had been feeling rather run down, exhausted, suffering from Hay Fever and generally not myself for the past couple of weeks but today I woke up much brighter and confident today was going to be good. Right up until the arrival at school, the Monday morning feeling was a good one.
When dropping James at nursery Matthew comes running in crying and saying he needed his swimming stuff. This had caused a minor argument this morning with Matthew adamant he did NOT have swimming. I swore he did. In the end, he left his swimming gear behind despite me telling him to take it in case. At first I downright refused and told him to wait outside while I sorted out James. By the time I got out, Matthew was getting a lot of sympathy and attention from other mums. So I changed my mind and said I'd get it back to the school as quick as I could. A very nice fellow nursery mummy lived just round the corner and offered me her sons to save me doing a 40 minute round trip for it. I was very grateful for this and after a little chat outside her house took it to the school for Matthews 10.15am swimming lesson.
We then had a couple of jobs to do in the village shops and stood talking to the bakery woman in the large store about said swimming gear incident when another mum comes in and says it has once again been cancelled as the water was green. All that worry and panic for nothing once again. This is EXACTLY what happened last time Matthew forgot his swim stuff. The school pool is a joke it really is. No wonder half the kids are ill and highly prone to infections when they can't get it under control. I still think that's where Matthew picked up Hand Foot and Mouth Disease last year and since the infectious bug has resurfaced this summer shortly after the pool was opened I hasten to add, the more it puts me off allowing to have Matthew swimming there. Let alone the younger 2.
The more cancellations happen and the more ill kids get over the summer term the less likely we parents are to pay for the funding of the pool as we have paid for the term to have the lessons halved. I paid the first year and last but with so much of it being cancelled last year, I was among a number of others that chose not to pay the "voluntary contribution" of £3 per week this year. It's the first year I haven't paid and so far I am glad I haven't. They only get 1/2 hour at a time and by the time they warm up to swim it's time to get out. I won't be disappointed if they scrap the pool altogether next year.
So, that is hopefully the most stressful day of the week sorted with the most stressful situation of the week over. So I hope.
Things need to get a bit brighter for my own sanity but I am sure the rest of the week will go much more smoothly.
Last Tuesday we had a power cut. After about an hour we thought we should check with our neighbour just to make sure it was a proper power cut and not just our house having problems. On the way out, Liam and I put some celery into the guinea pig run for Scratch as he loves his fresh salad-y treats. We spoke to our neighbour for a few minutes before returning.to discover the celery still in full view upon our return. This is out of character for Mr Scratch but it made me think that when I filled his normal food bowl that morning there wasn't the normal squeaking scurrying noises. On closer inspection, I discovered a hole under the edge of the run.
Now, we had Scratch for about 4 years. He first came to us from a pet shop with his friend Nuzzle. Nuzzle died shortly after we moved house and he had been living a solitary existence for about 2 years.
Well, it appears, that enough was enough for a guinea pig when there was a big wide world out there to explore. The high winds and rain of late meant that our back gate had not been shut (yep, we get better as irresponsible pet owners) and well, Scratch's last hours were in a bid for freedom. I hope he enjoyed his little guinea pig self running around the fields behind our house and did not venture to the road. I just don't think he would have survived too long with the dogs, cats and foxes nearby so I hope he got to enjoy a little of the big wide world before he succumbed to nature. Even if he did survive for longer, then who knows how or if he was getting fed/watered.
The kids took the loss of Scratch well. Liam loved that animal the most but took it just as you would expect a 2 yr old to take it. "Scatch gone, go pet shop" were his exact words which to me says he accepts he's lost a pet but it's ok as we can get a new one. You just have to love the logic of small children!
There has also been some signs around the village saying a pair of ferrets had escaped from their enclosure too. So we aren't alone in the runaway animal predicament.
Since the rodent disappeared Liam has been playing with his toy "Scatch" much more which is incredibly sweet.
We won't be getting any more pets in the short term. We have said we will probably wait a couple of years until Liam can get more involved with the pet care. I would actually like a rabbit or two and a pair of hens. Yep, I am getting to be a really country girl wanting to have freshly laid eggs every morning.
The weekend was good. I got to spend my clothing vouchers. I bought myself two dresses and a handbag for a bargain £31. You have to appreciate half price sales! That just says to me that Autumn clothing is on it's way in even though we are only just in July.
I had been feeling rather run down, exhausted, suffering from Hay Fever and generally not myself for the past couple of weeks but today I woke up much brighter and confident today was going to be good. Right up until the arrival at school, the Monday morning feeling was a good one.
When dropping James at nursery Matthew comes running in crying and saying he needed his swimming stuff. This had caused a minor argument this morning with Matthew adamant he did NOT have swimming. I swore he did. In the end, he left his swimming gear behind despite me telling him to take it in case. At first I downright refused and told him to wait outside while I sorted out James. By the time I got out, Matthew was getting a lot of sympathy and attention from other mums. So I changed my mind and said I'd get it back to the school as quick as I could. A very nice fellow nursery mummy lived just round the corner and offered me her sons to save me doing a 40 minute round trip for it. I was very grateful for this and after a little chat outside her house took it to the school for Matthews 10.15am swimming lesson.
We then had a couple of jobs to do in the village shops and stood talking to the bakery woman in the large store about said swimming gear incident when another mum comes in and says it has once again been cancelled as the water was green. All that worry and panic for nothing once again. This is EXACTLY what happened last time Matthew forgot his swim stuff. The school pool is a joke it really is. No wonder half the kids are ill and highly prone to infections when they can't get it under control. I still think that's where Matthew picked up Hand Foot and Mouth Disease last year and since the infectious bug has resurfaced this summer shortly after the pool was opened I hasten to add, the more it puts me off allowing to have Matthew swimming there. Let alone the younger 2.
The more cancellations happen and the more ill kids get over the summer term the less likely we parents are to pay for the funding of the pool as we have paid for the term to have the lessons halved. I paid the first year and last but with so much of it being cancelled last year, I was among a number of others that chose not to pay the "voluntary contribution" of £3 per week this year. It's the first year I haven't paid and so far I am glad I haven't. They only get 1/2 hour at a time and by the time they warm up to swim it's time to get out. I won't be disappointed if they scrap the pool altogether next year.
So, that is hopefully the most stressful day of the week sorted with the most stressful situation of the week over. So I hope.
Things need to get a bit brighter for my own sanity but I am sure the rest of the week will go much more smoothly.
gotta chime in about the TX allergies.
ReplyDeleteThey are kicking my...booty too.
here's hoping for a great week for your family and mine.
xo
MizFit