It's too nice...

... outside to be stuck in here!

Friday is nearly over, though, just a bit of admin for my studying to do and then off home to pizza, beer and my awesome family! Yeah!

The weather is amazing, so I will be out in the garden stoking up the barbeque at some point and also trying out my brand new barbeque wok! Have you seen these? They are woks with big holes in! I think it will be great. I intend to cook peppers, onion in it. I also want to try making flat bread in it too. I can't wait, but my daughter keeps on at me about it, saying that everything will fall through the holes and all I will end up with is a few burnt bits that are stuck to the wok! Guess whose sense of humour she has inherited!

I will also be giving my daughter some more bass guitar lessons. She has been selected to play bass in a band at school. They are doing a sort of School of Rock project, designing a CD cover, writing a couple of songs and then recording them in a studio. She is really excited about it and we both want to make sure that her bits go as easily as possible. I know from painful experience how awful things can get in a studio after a few dud takes...

Meanwhile, Custard, my dog, has developed a strange attitude to some other dogs. He is really friendly to the vast majority of other dogs, but will occasionally take a dislike to one for no apparent reason. I have now worked out what the reason is. All of the dogs that he decides he does not like are bigger than him! It is asthough he suddenly turns into a Chihuahua and wants to fight the big dog! Since I realised this, I have been ready for it and he has been a lot better.

Anyway! Have a great weekend!

Not here today!

I am over here, doing a guest vblog for Ali.

So get on over and find out the latest shocking news in the life of RC!

While reading a book in the bath...

I came across a wonderful, thought provoking line.

Two friends were talking and one said to the other:

"There are people out there who don't know you. What a terrible fate that must be!"

It made me think of my wonderful blog friends and how my life has been affected by knowing you all.

Well that was nice!

Well that weekend was absollutely fabulous, darling!

Wonderful weather - hot, sunny, perfect for the barbeque on Saturday, finished off yesterday with a short but spectacular thunderstorm, complete with a strike on a tree about half a mile away.

On Sunday I had a wargame in the garden, which was great fun. Looking forward to more of that this summer!

Then I had a brain wave, and dug out the figures for my 17th Century Polish army. I have had it for around 20 years but most of it is still unpainted. So I sorted out what I have finished so far (a cannon and 2 lots of infantry) and then turned my attention to the cream of this army - the Winged Hussars:

If you have never seen these guys before, they ARE real (not from Lord of the Rings!) and they did wear those wings into battle. Apparently the wings made a roaring noise when they charged, frightening the enemy and their horses, and also provided protection against the lasoos that some of their enemies used to pull riders off their horses. So, to any Poles out there - these guys are your ancestors!

This army is going to look really cool when it is finished.

This morning was not so good - the weather was what my daughter calls "drowny". I think that says it all... Not the sort of morning squishiness that I enjoy...

Weekend again!

Wow, that was a short week!

We have another long weekend , so back on Tuesday!

Weather looks very good, so it will be barbeque time again! Yay! Must get some beers in for that!

Time to run now - off to collect the kids from school - Mrs RC gets back late tonight, so my spell as Mr Mom will be over. Can't wait to see her, I really missed her. Did that sound lame? I mean after all these years we should be looking forward to time apart shouldn't we? That is what they say in the magazines anyway! Everyone seems to think you can't possibly have a relationship like ours after nearly 24 years!

But you can!

We have!

Bye!

The morning phone call...

I was expecting Mrs RC to phone me early this morning. Getting up isn't my strong point - except when I have to, such as today!

Anyway, I was up, the kids were up and dressed, breakfast had been eaten and everything was under control.

Finally, at around 7.45 (the kids leave at 8.00), the phone rang.

It was Mrs RC.

Me: Hello?

Mrs RC: Hi, honey, I was just calling to see if everything was OK.

Me: Why? What time is it?

Pause

Me: JOKE!

Mrs RC: [deleted]

I will be expecting revenge at some point...

Mr Mom - where it all began

As I have said before, there was a time when I didn't want to have children or get married.

But we change, don't we?

By the time my first daughter was born I was really getting into the idea of parenthood - knitting and crocheting clothes and blankets and rehearsing changing nappies, which I got pretty good at, I must say!

When our daughter was about 3 weeks old, it became clear that there was something wrong with Mrs RC. She had a fever and, although she desperately tried to carry on as though nothing was wrong, we eventually got to the doctors.

A quick examination revealed mastitis in both sides (i.e. her milk had gone bad and was poisoning her system - would have killed her if left much longer) and she was rushed into hospital there and then, lights and sirens going. She told me later that by the time she got to the hospital the only thing she knew was our Post Code. She couldn't even remember her name or even the fact that she had a baby!

All this left me sitting in the waiting room with our daughter!

That was the start of my 2 weeks as Mr Mom, looking after a 3 week old baby while my wife was sorted out in hospital. I think that was really a make or break time for me as a parent. If I had stopped to think about it all I would probably have turned into a gibbering wreck, but I guess I just did what parents do and got in with it. With hindsight it was a great experience for me, helping to turn me into the parent that I am now.

I have very fond memories of going for walks with the dogs, shopping, visiting friends and family, visiting the doctors to show that I was doing a good job, etc, all the while carrying my daughter, strapped to my chest in her harness. I love those harnesses.

Thinking about it, I wonder what they thought about it at work! All I did was phone up the secretary, tell her that my Mrs RC was ill, I had to look after the baby and I would return when I could. That was the last they heard of me until I walked back in the door a couple of weeks later. I don't even remember the boss asking me for more details either! Funny, he used to get really out of hand about stupid little things, but disappearing for 2 weeks was clearly OK!

So there you have it - a glimpse into my distant past... Hope you enjoyed it.

Allllriiiiiiigghhhht!

Lunch.

No sitting huddled over my notes while eating today!

No standing in line at the bank, reading Geography text books for me!

Oh no!

Today I went and sat in the Cathedral grounds, in this garden

and played guitar through earphones.

Warm sun, blue sky, small birds asking for food, while I sat there and played the blues..

Alright!

If the rest of the day is even half as good as that, I will consider myself a very lucky guy, which deep down I know I am anyway.

But the rest of the week might not be so chilled. I will be returning to my Mr Mom role, as Mrs RC heads off to visit her dad for a few days. If my next few posts sound a bit breathless, you will know why! I will be getting the kids to school, walking the dog, going to work, going home, collecting kids from school, feeding the kids, doing washing, walking the dog, doing ironing, putting the kids to bed, putting myself to bed, getting up again because I forgot something, putting myself back to bed...

Have a great day!

Exams over!

Have finished my second and last exam for the year. Didn't really enjoy it - my McBrain tried to make a reappearance but I think I fought it off enough to not fail...

Weekend was very good - my daughter had a great birthday - much fun was had with Cooking Mama on the Wii. Who would have thought it would be so hard to cut a burger bun in half?!!!

More soon.

The weekend

OK, Friday is here, the weekend approaches!

Revision is going well, my brain seems to have returned from its holiday and I no longer seem to have a Big Mac for a brain! Yay! Thanks for the encouraging comments regarding this predicament!

The weekend will revolve around the Birthday Girl, who is still not sure whether she wants to eat out, eat in, get takeaway, etc. I just hope she decides fairly soon...

I am also going to be digging out some old toy soldiers that haven't seem the light of day for too long, ready for games this summer.

Meanwhile, revision will continue at opportune moments - last night I read my notes while in the bath!

Have a great weekend!

My Brain...

which isn't totally like the one above, seems to have evacuated my skull and scooted off somewhere for a holiday.

In its place is something resembling a Big Mac - not the ideal thing for remembering important stuff for my next exam!

Unless...

Yeah, I think I am managing to wedge a few bits of info between the pickle and the lettuce!

Yeah, that's working!

Enough about me...

Thought I would do a quick update on what the RC family is up to these days...

Baby Boy (10) has just had his test scores back from school. His level is well above the expected for an 11 year old moving on to senior school. He is a very bright kid. He is still a kid, though. He will often spend time pretending to be one of these:

Wonder where he gets that from?


Daughter will be 13 on Sunday. My little girl will be a teenager! She has got so much attitude it is amazing. Pier pressure? She laughs at it. Boys? She is friendly but thinks the idea of having a boyfriend is ridiculous, telling us about friends of hers who are falling to pieces because boys have dumped them, not to mention the ones getting pregnant... She is the perfect daughter.

Number 1 Son continues to amaze academically but has also turned his hand to painting with acrylics, producing some really good stuff for a beginner. He says he might become the opposite of Hitler, someone who wants to take over the world becoming an artist, rather than an artist who tried to take over the world.

Mrs RC is working really hard at her diet and exercise these days. A couple of months ago she set herself a really ambitious target and is now, amazingly, past the half way mark. The results are incredible. Yeah. Woof woof!

Have a great weekend if I don't post again before then!

Just over an hour to go...

... until my first exam.

What was I thinking when I started all this?

Wish me luck!!!


Update:

Well thank God that is over!

Had a couple of minutes of "OHSHITOHSHITOHSHITOHSHITOHSHIT!"

Then I calmed down and started the easiest question and it all went from there. Feels OK, so long as I get at least 30% (thanks Chris) I will pass the module (thanks to stonking (i.e. really impressive) grades in my coursework).

So, it is all down to next Monday now!

I hate my brain!

Trying to revise.

Nothing is staying in my head!

Argh!

Obama...

Sorry to get political here, but my view of the new President just reached a new low.

I thought his attempts at humour this weekend were in amazingly bad taste -

Joking about the Airforce One over NY incident?

"How to shoot friends and torture people?"


Maybe if he was some sort of radical standup comedian - NOT as President!

Rant over.

Cloning husbands/wives?

My dream about having 2 Mrs RCs prompted this quick post.

What would be the benefitsproblems of having multiple partners?
(I will keep this clean, avoiding bedroom matters, OK?)

Well for a start, you could have one go out to work and keep the other at home to look after the house/kids/etc.

Or you could send them BOTH out to work and stay at home yourself!

Chores would be split, making everyone's life a bit easier.

But they might not get on very well. This could cause problems. Would they be looking for signs of favouritism, like jealous siblings?

If we are talking multiple wives, the chances are they would go through PMS at the same time, which could be really nasty! Holy crap, suddenly this is all a lot less appealing!

What about make up, clothes, etc? Would they share like twins or would they need their own? 2 of everything could make a real dent in the finances - perhaps all 3 would need to work afterall!

Zig has suggested that the chances of being caught doing something bad are also doubled, and given that this will incur the wrath of both spouses this is NOT A GOOD THING!

I just had another thought - what if they snore? (Thinking of one reader in particular here...)

So, what do you think?

Hello, Goodbye!

Saw this on the way home last night - Blue Bells with Spider...

Revision is going well so far...

Trying not to stress...

Trying not to become a Zombie...

Had a strange dream last night - there were 2 of Mrs RC! We were all living together and everything was normal apart from this. The funny twist was that they didn't like each other, and would snipe as they passed each other. I was loving it, but don't really think that I could deal with 2 wives...

More soonish...

Like this! Isn't Youtube wonderful?

The weekend and other stuff

Had a great weekend - the picnic was great, sitting on a grass bank overlooking the sea. Weather was warm but breezy. There were lots of others out walking the prom, etc, so the answer is "No", Ali, OK? ;-)

I will probably be a bit quiet for the next couple of weeks, trying to focus my old brain for exams. Not looking forward to them at all!

So, before I head off for lunch, here is a photo that one of the students took of me in Malta, mid-headbang...

Life is VERY good!

Sorry, Terri, I had to sort of steal your Friday blog title!

Just a short post to say why:

Had lunch at the pub with a very very good friend of mine. The beer was called Broadside, with very good reason! (Typos should be blamed on this stuff!)

The weather is amazing!

I got a really, really good mark for my latest assignment!

It is Friday!

We have a long weekend coming up! (May Day Holiday!)

Mrs RC and I are having a day for ourselves - bike ride and picnic - probably for the first time since our eldest was born nearly 22 years ago. Wonder if we will suddenly find out that we can't stand each other and get divorced! Only joking!!

Just 3 hours of work to go!

Last night I had a phone conversation with a very good blog friend of mine - a first. It was an amazing experience, I am sure I must have come across as a beer short of a six-pack, but it was great fun. I will not include names, but if they want to own up they are more than welcome.


Have a great weekend! Back on Tuesday!