A Horse for Hoovy Sunday 21 June 2009

Seeing as this trip to Israel will be the first time I have gone away for more than a night (and I haven’t done that in years), I decided to make a present to give Hoovy before I leave. Well if truth be told I have bought a few wee things for Daddy to give her while I am away but they are just little things and I wanted something special to say “I love you”.

With that in mind I set about turning a free pattern I downloded last year to make “Zeek the Zebra” into a horse. Now all the years I have been sewing, I have avoided making stuffed toys because I find the instructions to be indecipherable and the pieces too small with too many sharpish turns to make. But seeing as this is kind of a big thing (maybe even a milestone?) I decided to give it a go.

Using left over flannel sheet bits from when I made myself warmy pyjamas last year, I cut out the pieces and started trying to work out how the puzzle was meant to go together. Eventually, after sewing a few bits together, I worked out that 4 of the pattern pieces were supposed to be joined together in pairs BEFORE cutting out! Since I had used tiny stitches and it was flannel I stood no chance of unpicking the seams and making it work so had to cut them out the right way and start over. Luckily I still have a fairly big piece of the fabric left and those bits which couldn’t be rescued were cut up and used as some of the stuffing.

Before sewing this time, I remembered having some fluffy light pink wool (or yarn for the Yanks!) and dug that out. The instructions said to glue the mane on but I opted to stitch it into the seam instead as it will last longer that way (plus I hate using glue if I don’t have to).

I used part of an old pillow that I had washed and used for stuffing last year. The horse seemed to require loads but somehow still have 1/3 of the pillow left to pook out and use for other projects. Anyways, after stuffing and sticthing up the final bits, I realised why it took so much … this is one fat horsey! Fat but VERY cuddly and uber soft and will no doubt be loved to death. I have said elsewhere that if I was a bad Mummy, I would pack it in my suitcase, take it with me and keep him for myself. But I am not evil and instead am anxious to give it to her on Sunday!

So, without further ado, here he is … The Horse for Hoovy!

And the close up!

Okay I know he isn’t perfect but that is the point for me. See his little ears? I left the edges raw so they will fray over time

Red Nose Day 2009! Friday 13 March 2009

Today, Friday 13th March, is Red Nose Day for Comic Relief! Always fun, always silly and always for good causes. This year’s theme is “Do Something Funny for Money” and has brought the usual paraphenalia in the form of badges, noses, cookbooks, etc. As always, Hoovy’s school got involved and for a minimum donation of £1, the kids and staff could “Dress Funny for Money”.

Cairistiona choose a fabulous ensemble! An outrageous red wig (the cost of which went to Comic Relief) coupled with red face paint, her pajamas and pink ugg boots. The following picture was taken this morning just before she left and I immediately set it as my desktop wallpaper because it is so cheerful!

Hope you enjoy it as much as I do!

RND 2009!

Brave Little Hoovy – An Update Tuesday 16 December 2008

Well today, Hoovy braved the doctors again & went to her Fracture Clinic appointment. We set off from home about quarter past 1.oo so as to allow for time to find parking (it’s about a 20 minute drive to hospital and her appointment was for 13.55). Anyways, we turned onto the road the hospital is on at 13.46 and had to stop. Traffic quequed up both ways trying to get into the dinky car park. Whilst I had taken money for parking, it was only in bills & no coins so I couldn’t turn around and park on an adjacent street We finally managed to inch our way up to the barriers and waitedly somewhat impatiently to get a ticket before parking at 14.13. In the meantime, I got Derek to call the clinic and let them know why we were late. There are two floors to the car park and I opted to try and get one on the ground floor – up one row and down the next then STOP! I spotted one & nearly drove right past it. Of course it was the most awkward place to try and get into but in these situations you just know if you don’t do it then you could be circling around for ages trying to find another empty spot. So with 3 reverses and adjustments, I squeezed past the concrete pillar on the left and just missed the stupidly oversized Lexus on the right (who by the way was nearly on the white line and obviously can’t tell where his arse is because he/she didn’t pull in far enough – and yes, of course, moron had to reverse into his/her spot with the car he/she cannot park properly). Anyways I got my car in there and off we went to the clinic.

We get there and discover we are not the only ones running late, the clinic is too. Cairistiona hates waiting and I’d forgotten to take anything to entertain (bad Mummy!!!). We saw a Nurse Practitioner and found out that not only has she broken her collarbone, she also managed a hairline fracture in her wrist. So she’s trussed up in a sling with a wrist guard (splint) on. She goes back for another check-up in 3 weeks (6th January). But, much to her pleasure has been told she can go to school if she feels up to it – especially as these last few days won’t exactly be hard work. So we have agreed she will go in tomorrow for just the afternoon for the class xmas party and then if that goes well she can go in Thursday and Friday as normal.

In the meantime, she has upped her fruit and vegetable intake and making sure she gets enough calcium as she is determined to get back on a horse asap. This is, naturally, great for her but I am knackered! So much for my well-deserved break – I’m running around like a headless chicken tending to Little Madame’s every need on very little sleep. She fidgets like mad in her sleeps! Last night, she was raising her legs up in the air grumbling “Get off” over and over. I asked what was wrong, she sadi “They’ll only take pictures of legs!”. Naturally I just went back to sleep unable to think of any response to that one!

News Flash! The 6 week countdown begins! Sunday 14 December 2008

Well, this was not the post I had planned next but life doesn’t always go according to plan!

Cairistiona has now officially become a ‘proper’ rider thanks to first first experience with a horse called Molly. At approximately 11.30 am GMT, Hoovy and Molly jumped a small fence. Then it began … Molly bucked several times and I was just thinking how good she was doing to stay on and slow the thing down when Molly gave another buck and Hoovy flew into the side boards. By the time I got around to the arena’s opening, Molly was running about jumping, bucking and having a great time while poor Hoovy was on the floor, crying (not wailing) and in pain. We moved her indoors (it’s bloody freezing outside this time of year!) and called an ambulance. She was pale, feeling faint and her right shoulder hurt. At the hospital, she was given Ibuprophen and Paracetamol (Tylenol) and had her first ever x-rays of her shoulder and her wrist which by that time was hurting too. In the end, it turned out she had broken her clavicle (collarbone). The doctor even let her see the x-ray showing the break.

Sadly, as I well know having broken mine years ago, there isn’t much they can do for it. They trussed her arm up in a sling and booked an appointment for her to go to the fracture clinic on Tuesday. By that time we were both starving and the medicines had kicked in so she was only in mild discomfort. So we stopped and ate Burger King on the way home.

So 6 weeks until she can ride again – this is like cutting off a normal persons legs to her. Unhappy about that, she is also disappointed that she’d can’t suck her thumb (apparently the left thumb just cannot compare to her right one!). She’s managed to swindle Derek’s half of the bed so he’s relegated to the couch since her own bed requires climbing up a ladder to get into.

Over the next few days it will dawn on her that she also can’t do this and that … such as play on her Wii and Nintendo DS. She can’t write or draw either. For her this is going to get very boring very quickly as she’s such an active little girl!

However, to be honest, we are surprised she hasn’t broken anything before now but somehow I seriously doubt it will put her off horses and riding them!

Warning! Sunday 28 September 2008

This is a warning for anyone who does not yet have children – THINK! Think before you decide to embark on this uppy-downy path of life. It can often be quite a rollercoaster ride. When one begins to think of churning out offspring, one tends to do so with severe short-sightedness through rose coloured glasses (or in my case lavendar since I love purples). Images that come to mind are of sweet little sleeping cherubs accompanied by that distinctive baby smell which is so soft, gentle and makes you want to cuddle the baby so you can breathe it in. Cooing sounds, tiny, adorable baby clothes and tiny hands clasping huge fingers. It may even extend to imagining baby’s first steps. However, the vision rarely (if ever) goes beyond the toddler stage into proper childhood, pre-teens, tweenies, teens, etc. No it tends to linger in those very early, short years that make up a fraction of the child’s life. This aside, the vision also neglects the realities of all the equipment needed and certainly never includes the cost of all thi stuff (moses basket, cot, car seats (yes, plural as you need more than one), buggy, highchair, play equipment, toys, bathing tubs, the list could probably go on indefinitely!).

Don’t get me wrong though. I LOVE MY CHILDREN & WOULD NEVER REGRET HAVING THEM. But I do wish I had received some sort of warning, even the tiniest peek of what to expect or more poignantly what was to inevitably come. At least I could have been better prepared – for this …

Puppy Head

After insisting that I pretend to be her kitty, she tortures my head with a brush and a hairband to get it into this style (btw my hair isn’t really long enough for this so it was a bit painful!). As a parent or even as a human being, we will never know what logic there is in a child’s mind at the best of times. However, calling me kitty, having me meow and then making me look like a Yorkshire Terrier … well that just doesn’t make sense!

So YOU at least have been warned! Do you already have a sweet little baby or toddler? Your time will come

Hoovy & Bold – A Beautiful Combination Saturday 16 August 2008

Cross-Country Warm-Up

Originally uploaded by Psaryce

Well this week’s biggest news has to be Hoovy’s competition day at the end of her riding holiday. She looked after Bold all week long and they certainly developed a great bond. They looked good riding around for their warm-up shown in this photo captured on a mobile phone.

The real surprise was when they began their round. I have never ever seen her ride so beautifully. Unfortunately they had a hiccup so only managed 4th place but her posture, confidence, fluidity and focus was amazing to watch.

Later in the showjumping round, they had another hiccup as Bold seemed determined to return to his fellow horse friends before he’d finished but again they rode so smoothly. I even heard other parents commenting on her style and how beautifully she sat.

This has lead us to begin discussions on where to go with her next. Her local stable is no longer what she needs to continue to develop her skills. We know there are many routes she could take but have to discuss it further amongst ourselves, with her and her instructors before making a decision.

This is a little girl who at the age of 3 first sat on on a horse and wanted the adults to let go of the reins and that she wanted to jump! And she was being very serious at the time. Over the past 6 years we have had the pleasure of watching her grow as a rider and her determination to be a very competitive rider is still there. As parents we always had a niggling concern that she would ‘go off’ horses but we are now convinced that she is one of the lucky people who know exactly what they want to do in life at a very early age.

Hoovy’s on a Horsey Holiday! Sunday 10 August 2008

Well today is the day she has been waiting all year for … the start of her week long residential riding holiday! She is so excited that she doesn’t know what to do with herself. Since school broke up 3 weeks ago, I have managed to keep her distracted by taking her to Apple Summer Camps (2 on the second week and 2 on this week just gone). They were great – 3 hours long, they taught the kids how to use Garage Band to make music, digital cameras and iPhoto to work with images, video cameras and iDVD to make movies and the final one was making a presentation. She enjoyed them so much that while she was still looking forward to her holiday starting, she was more immediately looking forward to attending the camp sessions.

However, since the last one finished on Thursday, she’s been stir crazy. The weather hasn’t helped as it’s been rainy and yucky. With nothing to distract her attention, she has been worrying about every little thing holiday-related. Starting with a full day and a half of “when are you getting my suitcase out” followed by a panic caused by me attending a sewing event yesterday (took me away from the more important task of packing her stuff). By a miracle, even though I was away yesterday, the suitcase is nearly packed, only a few shirts to add. Then we’re off to Tesco’s to stock her up on snacks and away we go!

Btw, D’s skipping today’s fun by going to a football match at Wembley. I’m not bothered because I wasn’t the one who had to leave the house at 7.30am!

Horse & Rider Sunday 6 July 2008

Hoovy and Star 1
Originally uploaded by Psaryce

Well, perhaps that should be “pony & rider”. Today was an Open Day the stables where my brilliant little rider goes for lessons and pony club meets. She was asked to give a demonstration and eagerly agreed. She was so excited! She got little notecards from the stable and gave one to everyone she knows to invite them to come along and watch her ride. She gave one to all her friends (at school & in the neighbourhood), her teacher, the Head Teacher, had them put one up in the staff room and took two to the school office so they could post them on the noticeboard displaying the front & back of the cards.

Needless to say she’s been anxiously awaiting the day. A minor scare happened on Thursday evening when she fell off her bike … scraping her right elbow and palm and bruising her left thumb. She complained so much we let her wear a sling for the right arm – even to school on Friday.

But this shouldn’t have been a worry. After all she would try and ride even if she’d chopped an arm off. Oh yeah, I haven’t previously mentioned just how horse mad my little rider is – she has it very bad! So in short nothing aside from unconsciousness or prison would stop her from riding.

And rode she did! Perfectly I might add without any bias. While she would have preferred to give the demo on jumping and is perfectly capable, she does have one small disadvantage – her height. She is too short due to her age to ride the horses in the right group for her skills. So she gave the demo on gymkhana – games to the non-horsey people out there! It is like a race between two groups of riders/horses that includes a few obstacles and challenges. For this display, she had to ride under one pole, trot over a flat pole, then jump the crossed fence, bear left, collect the flag (which Star is terrified of!), ride back down the arena, hop off the horse, lead it back to the start while stepping on some “stepping stones” and place the flag in the stand.

She was cool even though she hasn’t ridden such a small pony in ages. Even though Star spooks at the flags, she wouldn’t let the cheeky pony run away from it. In the end her team (of which there was herself and another girl) won vs. the other team of 2 riders. Yippee!

So I suppose it really was worth the week of excitement and anxiety followed by 6 hours this morning of “what time is it?” and “That means we have x hours and xx minutes to wait right?” Just as well I love her!

Went to the dogs Friday 27 June 2008

As part of a football club promotion, we got tickets for free entrance to the dog races this evening. I’d never been to a dog race (been to plenty of horse races though!) and neither had my daughter. She had a good time. Before the racing began, she went through the card and picked one for each race. D placed her bet on the first race … and it won! Return for the £2 bet was £5. So we told her that it was best to stop while sh was ahead. But she enjoyed just watching and seeing if her other predictions had been right or not. To be honest, out of the rest, one won and the rest all came second! We didn’t stay for all the races though because it is a chilly night and the wind is quite vigorous. But for a free night out, it was good fun and if it ever warms up again, we might go back another evening.

btw: If you haven’t figured it out, I’m still trying to get my head around WordPress and Flickr so this is a work in progress!