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.