Catch up

If anybody really cares, here's what we've been up to from August - October!
We got home from our holiday and it was back to Earth with a bump- we returned to a leaking Freezer, and fleas in our mattress. Both were less dramatic than they had first appeared, and were swiftly dealt with!
Mark went into school for the GCSE results, and had a bit of a clear out in their 'office' over a couple of days, while we practiced doing normal days again.
We popped to Wales for the day (again) for Sam & Oscars Christening, and more bouncing on the trampoline. It was nice to catch up with Mick & Lucy - the couple who bought our flat from us in Southampton - and to meet their kids, who are very close in age to ours. We caused a bit of a stir with our Christening gift to Sam, mainly I think because it wasn't the traditional heavy KJV bible that he received a number of! Rhiannon's Dad was really interested because he'd never come across anything like it before, I wonder if he had a look at it actually - I think it would be his kind of thing...
We scoured the DIY stores of Oxfordshire for the right bathroom tiles, then ended taking most of them back due to a slight mis-calcuation (D'oh!) The bathroom was torn out and completely re-fitted, which meant getting the baby bath down from the loft, and improvising for a couple of days. The Mayfields and the Biddlecombes showers were greatly appreciated by us too! The guys who did it were lovely, they were a pleasure to have around the house (though Elodie's persistant screaming must have driven them as crazy as us) and we got into some very intense discussions about God, and all sorts!
Caleb accompanied Mark on an educational trip to the vets to witness the cats having their booster vaccinations.
Mum and Dad packed us off for hot chocolate at Cafe Noir and had the kids for a couple of hours, which was very unexpected - and greatly appreciated - and we took the opportunity to nip to a bed shop to try out a couple of mattresses while we were out! We then went back to theirs and had a Chinese together, which was lovely. We spent most of the day and evening with them in the end - and we'd only dropped in to pop a couple of holiday souvenirs into them! Living so close, you'd think we'd do it more often, but it's quite rare that we're free at the same time, and it was a real treat.
We temporarily defected to the Oxford Church for Ben's baptism, then enjoyed an afternoon with all the Thomases and Clarkes. Ben introduced us to his hawk, and Caleb and I were both brave enough to hold him! I have to say, if it had been anyone else I wouldn't have dared, but Ben is so calm and confident with him that I didn't have any qualms about it at all. Ben's really enthusiastic about his birds, and it sort of rubs off!
Our anniversary was, as always, Mark's first day back, so we cheated by buying a pre-cooked duck and pancakes, followed by these, and spent the evening playing Wit's End, and discussing the book we were both mid-way through. It wasn't earth-shatteringly romantic, but it was wonderful just to enjoy each others' company - something that somehow we didn't feel we had done as much as we would have liked while Mark was off.
Term started - and despite frantic breakfasts etc. - Caleb's 'upgrade' to 5 mornings a week at pre-school has been marvellous! Our children are both wonderful individually, but together they are a nightmare most of the time!
September, of course always sends Mark into a frenzy, but we managed to fit a few nice things in; we squeezed in a couple of movie nights (Signs & Edward Scissorhands) with 2 of Mark's pupils who babysit for us; the kids and I went to Joe's fireman birthday party; we offloaded the kids with Lorraine, and went for a 'grown-up' lunch with my parents, to celebrate my birthday; We celebrated again on my actual birthday when Matt, Anna, Nathan, and Nikki came over for a Mexican, a rare treat.
After making the effort to make September less gruelling than usual, October has gotten off to a shakey start, with both the kids getting a gastro thing that is dragging on and on. Now they and I have colds too, and I had a blinding headache for about three days, that seems to have settled to a dull thud today. Add into this my Nana rushing to hospital, then suffering delusions, and Mark not only working like stink at school and in the evenings but also staying at school for Open Evening, then spending all of yesterday on a TEFL taster day, and you've got 4 tired Thomases. If it hadn't been for Mark taking a day off after Caleb's worst night, and my Mum stepping in to have two pooey kids while I had my hair done, I think I would have gone insane- I've barely been outside the front door in the last 10 days, and it's a bit crazy-making!
On the plus side: I think I've just about got the Christmas shopping in hand, and we've decided to go to Lille to check out the markets in the week before Christmas, so that's something to plan and look forward to. And a neighbour saved us rental costs by lending us their chainsaw, and Mark's had a go at our out-of-control garden. You can't keep us down for long!