Thursday photo #227
This has been one of those weeks that has run away with me. For the past couple of weeks, Lia has only been going to school for half days. Yesterday was her first full day and Libby was off school because she had to have two teeth taken out at the dentist. Add to that a wonderful but full-on weekend adventure and it has been rather chaotic.
The weekend
A few weeks ago, I posted about a competition to win a Spirit Sleepover. At the time, I was wishing my two could enter because they love the Spirit Riding Free television programme and the prize sounded incredible.
Amazingly, they got in touch and asked if my girls would like to go along. Of course, the answer was yes. The only drawback was that it was up in Newcastle. So it meant a five hour journey up on Saturday to get there in time for their horse riding lesson.
From then on, the weekend just kept getting better and better – until the train delays on the way back of course. I will be writing about the weekend in due course but I think this face should give you some idea of how much they loved it. It really was every child’s dream come true.
The river is getting chilly
One of the things I’ve been looking forward to when the children went back to school is getting back into the river. I didn’t manage to swim much over the Summer and really missed it. As you can imagine though, the river in September is a little cooler than it was when I last swam in July. I know it will only keep getting colder but it’s not putting me off.
In fact, there’s something relaxing about swimming in icy cold water. While you’re in there, you can’t think of much other than the water. It’s essential to focus on the way you’re feeling and make sure you don’t become hypothermic. We might be talking about work or what the children are up to, but we’re really focussing on keeping on swimming and ensuring we don’t get into trouble due to the cold.
For us, there seems to be a second wave of cold. You feel chilly when you first get in, but it’s some time later that you start to get shivery and feel cold again. Before the Summer break, we were managing an hour and a half but this week, it was just under an hour. From next week, we’ll be cycling after swimming to try to get warm and get some extra exercise in. I’m not sure how long into the Winter we’ll manage to keep going for, but at the moment it’s an exhilarating way to start the week.
The dentist
Several years ago, Libby smacked herself in the mouth when she fell out of Lia’s cot. We took her to the dentist at the time and they said it could get infected in the future. Fast forward a few years and Libby had an abscess on her gum. She was booked in to have it taken out but in the meantime, another abscess developed above the next tooth along.
So yesterday, Libby had a day off school and I took her to the dentist to have her two front teeth removed. It’s quite sad, particularly as she’s probably 12 months away from her big teeth growing through. But, she was a star at the dentist and they whipped them out with just a local anaesthetic, no sedation and no fuss. It was a horrible experience for her, but I’m so pleased that the abscesses should be gone in a few days and won’t end up causing her any pain.
Thursday photo #227
Our Thursday photo could only be one from the amazing weekend we’ve had. Here are two little girls waiting to go horse riding. Lia managed to trot for the first time ever and despite a few wobbles, she managed the whole lesson.
Some of my favourite childhood memories are out with the ponies, roaming the fields and getting into mischief! The last time I was on the back of a horse was that time we went out on the old hills! How long ago was that?
Libby is SO brave. I had some work done last year and hated it. Although my dentist was amazing. I listened to my own music and he talked me through everything that he was doing. I hope she feels better soon x
Ahh wow, I’d forgotten about that! Actually, I’m using the same riding school for the girls because I thought they were so good there. Good idea on listening to music! Libby’s dentist put some music on too but with all the noise going on I probably should have thought to take headphones. She is fine now thank you, it’s amazing how resilient little ones are.
Nat.x
I can’t wait to read about the Spirit sleepover! And I’m massively impressed at your river swimming 🙂
Thank you, I am loving the river swimming even more now it’s cold! And the sprit sleepover was amazing, I can’t wait to share what they got up to.
Nat.x
What an amazing weekend for the girls! They look so happy.
Ouch to the teeth! But how brave to only have them taken out under local anaesthetic. When my younger son was nearly 6, he half knocked his two front teeth out on the trampoline. They were too far gone to save, but he was so distressed that the only way to remove them was under general anaesthetic at the hospital the next day. His new ones took a long time to grow back, so he had his big gap for over two years.
Ahh bless him, I think Libby will have her gap for about a year. I think she was less distressed due to the fact that the event that knocked them out happened such a long time before she actually had them taken out. I should imagine the trauma of the impact plus the tooth removal was a bit too much!
Nat.x
I’m so glad the tooth extraction went well! I hope the rest of the train journey wasn’t too bad for you. We were completely exhausted so I can only imagine what a few more hours on the train must have felt like!
Thank you. We had another couple of delays due to missing our connection unfortunately. It was nice to get home!
Nat.x
Hi Nat, your girls looks so tiny on those horses, but their faces say it all. I much prefer admiring horses from afar and would never be as brave as your two were… I’m hoping to get in another swim or two in the sea before the weather turns and as chilly as I expect it to feel, I expect it’s a bath compared to what you’re swimming in! Swimming in cold water for over an hour? I’d die, seriously, just the thought is bringing on an asthma attack. But I can imagine how wionderful it feels. Just look at those surroundings! And having someone to chat away with must help keep you focused.
Ahh I don’t think the rivers get quite as cold as the sea. Even when I’d got used to swimming in the river, the sea was a bit of a shock! The girls love being on a horse and it’s great to see their confidence improving each week.
Nat.x