Road trip to Holland and Belgium summer 2016

We have brought Dylan over to Holland to spend a month with Tristan during the school holidays.  The dog has come too and it's been an experience to say the least! We are getting the hang of it though and he seems to be taking everything in his canine stride :)

We had a lovely afternoon all together at Haarlemmermeerse Bos (lake near Hoofddorp) and walked the dog all the way round before having a nice dinner together at our hotel.  

After a rather emotional and weird good bye which was really hard, we got on the road today and drove south towards Utrecht and then Culemborg to meet my friend Diana for lunch. Wow is all I can say. It was the most delicious pasta meal I have eaten. Chicken, Gorgonzola and herbs. Lemon maybe?  Anyway very good indeed.  The building was cool and unusual. It used to be the station house and is now a cafe called Una Volta, which also rents out work space and meeting rooms complete with table tennis - and a swing! The area is called gelderlandfabriek. 

Here are Joseph and Diana 

We then walked around the local area and saw how the local people live in 'hofs': groups of houses arranged around a communal garden where inhabitants each share an interest and responsibility for the gardens' upkeep.  The houses have solar panels and some are built into the ground or have walls made from hay bales. It's meant to make their inside temperature more regulated in both summer and winter. 

We then drove south west towards Antwerp to the Novotel where we are spending the second night of our trip.  It's not a very pretty city but it was on the way and is fairly cheap.

 The dog can stay in the room and since neither of us fancied the dish of the day "Dutch weed burger" we decided I would venture out to Albert heijn and buy food (salads and crisps) and drinks to bring back to the room.  I'm exhausted now and although I know Dylan will have a wonderful time and holiday with his dad I do miss them.  But for now, it's time to have some quality time with J and he is doing so well so far on this trip.  More pics and updates to follow.... 

I passed my degree!

Haven't written on here for a month but am absolutely thrilled to say I have achieved a 2:1 (upper second class honours) in my BA in Education. 

It's been so hard to juggle everything and I've worked long nights and early mornings and nearly gave up at one point last December when I reached my lowest point.  Luckily I decided to extract myself and go to Mallorca alone for a few days' rest and thinking time.  Then I carried on with the course determined to finish it. 

Graduation is 28th October and I will invite my mum and dad to come and see me in my cap and gown. 

Sam the dog

We have collected this lovely little boy, Sam. And he's made such a big impact on us already. He's lovely and "a cute guy" (Dylan)  and we have got both animals under the same roof tonight with no hissing or growling.

  Early days and we are learning to be dog owners but it's all been good fun so far and great for the boys too.  

Look forward to first Parkrun with dog tomorrow - that is, me park run and the boys take Sam to the play area for a run around. 

Marathon Woman!

I have done it!  I've run a marathon. Never thought I'd actually be able to say that but I managed it - on Saturday 4th June from Brighton to Eastbourne in just over 8 hours. 

The route took us through farmers' fields, past sheep, lambs, cows and calves. We dodged cow pats and rabbit poo.  We jogged the slopes and flats and walked up the steep hills - of which there were many.  Seven sisters and Beachy head being very dramatic.  But it's over and I raised over £300 and it's still coming in. 

We got medals and champagne and a tshirt when we arrived back at the red tent where our families were waiting. 

I feel very proud of myself now and although the legs and arms ache like mad, I would do it again! 

New addition to the family

We are all very excited about Thursday this week ... We are adopting a new pet .. Golden Labrador retriever puppy called Sam!   He's adorable and very bouncy but also soft and he's going to be huge company for us all. 

This little chap 'Sam'

Going to see this lovely little boy tomorrow afternoon ...  

Dissertation finito!!!!

Yay! The final piece of work for my 3 year degree is finally done and submitted to college. I can't believe it. I have my life back now :)   

The topic was summer born children in education. I wrote over 10,000 words on 50 pages of A4 and four pages of references.  Whilst having a family, working pretty much full time and managing a split up.  But it is done now and the relief is enormous. 

Well done me. 

I will post the grade I got in July - I'm hoping for a 2:1 or above but I need at least a 2:2 to get into the teacher training course in September.  

I've worked bl**dy hard for this for the last 2 and a half years!