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By Gareth, January 1, 2010 00:11

HAPPY NEW YEAR

I’d like to wish everyone a very prosperous new year, and hope that 2010 brings you all sorts of joy!

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By Gareth, December 31, 2009 22:43

Some of my favourite photos from 2009

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By Gareth, November 23, 2009 23:21

A tender moment captured on camera.

This is the moment when Liam showed that he loves his big sister. He climbed up on the sofa and gave her a big hug.

A beautiful moment, I just wish I’d been there to see it in person.

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By Gareth, November 13, 2009 23:40

On the way home from work the other night I had a near miss.

The evening was dark and wet, as you’d expect from a cold November night. For the majority of the journey things had been fairly uneventful. The moment happened just after the halfway point. After passing a fairly busy junction on the motorway, I noticed that the traffic was beginning to slow. I was travelling in the outside-lane of the carriageway and I decided it would be prudent to move to the inside-lane as that tends to be the place that idiot drivers avoid.

It turns out that it was a fantastic decision!

About five or ten seconds after moving from the outside lane, and with all the traffic in front of me practically stopped with warning lights flashing, I looked across to the outside lane as something caught my eye.

It was a car who appeared to be travelling way too fast, and I thought to myself, “he’s not going to stop in time, he’s not going to stop…”. He – I say he, it could have been a she – just carried on, and then there was that moment when they’ve realised that they are running out of road!

The car, which may have been a Ford Focus, or similar, dipped violently at the front as the driver hit the brakes hoping that they were brakes that are fitted to F1 cars. It was to no avail, as the car skidded straight into the back of the poor car who had the misfortune to be at the back of the queue.

The stationary car, which I think was a Nissan Micra, was hit with an almighty force, and it was sent off at speed through the traffic in front, playing pinball with four or five other cars. Bits of cars were flying off in all directions. It eventually rolled to a stop on the hard shoulder.

Who knows what might have happened ten seconds earlier when I was in the outside lane!

I made my way past the scene of the accident, there would have been little that I could have done, and having more cars parked up on the hard shoulder than was necessary would have been more dangerous. From what I saw in my rear-view mirror there were already the other four or five cars involved pulling over.

Driving past the scene yesterday, there was no sign that anything had happened. I can only presume that no-one was seriously hurt in the accident because there were no signs up asking for any witnesses to come forward.

It just makes you realise that you have to have your wits about when driving on the motorways. I think I was lucky this time!

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By Gareth, October 7, 2009 22:28

As previously mentioned it has been a very busy time in our household.

 We have all been very busy bees!

New Business

At the end of July, Gemma and I began our new business venture. We signed up with Kleeneze to make a bit of extra money, which in the current economic climate will be well received.

In these early stages it is a bit of hard work, but as with everything, the more effort you put in the bigger the rewards.

If anyone is , or knows of anyone who would be, interested in earning some extra money then please let me know, or visit our business website. We’d love to hear from you.

You can also take a look at the brand-new Kleeneze TV advert, which I have posted here.

Download Video

New School

At the beginning of September, Ellie began at “big” school.

For the first few days she was only in for a few hours, as they built up the confidence of the children, and it seems to have helped Ellie to settle into her routine. I think that having spent her time at nursery has helped also. Although in her second week there were a few days where she was not keen on going to school. Thankfully this little hiccup passed very quickly, and it all seems to be going well.

Ellie has her lunch (or dinner, as the Mother-in-Law calls it) at school, and seems to be enjoying the experience. She comes home every day and I have to guess what she’s had that day. It seems that her favourite thing to eat is “cake and custard” which seems to be a common answer, and anything with pasta!

Even at this early stage in her schooling, Ellie is bringing work home for her to do, at the moment they are concentrating on reading skills. She brings home a book each day, and then at night either Gemma or I read it with her.

It really does appear that she is enjoying her time at school.

Going Mobile

It has been a while since Liam got a mention on here. Since that last mention, he has found his feet and is motoring around on two legs.

It has taken a while to find his balance and the first few weeks were very unsteady, but gradually his confidence has increased and he has become very steady. As each day passes he gets that bit faster on his feet. This is really good to see as he can now chase Ellie, and play with her (and also annoy her as he can move a lot quicker now!)

We really have to keep an eye on him now as he can be off like a shot, because if you turn your back for a second he can be up the stairs before you know it!

Trouble is not the word!

Well that’s a quick round-up of what’s been happening lately, and hopefully it won’t be quite as long next time

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By Gareth, September 22, 2009 12:40

It appears that Liam has a particular apptitude for cleaning.

On Saturday, while having lunch, he managed to empty some crisps over the floor. Then after finishing the rest of his lunch, Gemma watched him stand up and walk across the room to where the toy vacuum cleaner was lying.

Liam then brought it back to where the crisps were lying on the floor and tried to hoover them all up. It was really fun to watch him being all domesticated. He spent a few minutes moving the cleaner forward and backward over the messy area.

Then he noticed us watching him, and he gave us the biggest grin, with the look of “aren’t I a cleverboy!”

Liam does seem to be a child who likes to keep (some) things tidy. He will quite regularly bring a small piece of paper or something that he has found on the floor and give it to us to put in the bin.

Another time, Liam picked up our cordless telephone and tried to place it back in the cradle, because I’d left it lying around. Granted he needed a little guidance to get it set in the cradle, but it was the fact that he’d picked it up by himself and put it back in a place on the other side of the room. He really does take notice of everything, and doesn’t miss a thing!

I doubt this will last!