A hairy detour

Well that was an adventure!

Tonight - whilst driving home from our regular trip to Fife, we chanced upon a huge traffic jam and decided to take a detour home. BFS drove past our normal turning and used his sense of direction to choose another route. All was going well, and I even managed to pick up our location on my map on my phone to confirm that we were heading in the right direction when - just at the approach to our final junction - the road was closed! A quick u turn found us depending on my map to find an alternative route. I found a wee track road which would take us cross country to meet up with the original road we were aiming for. Perfect. Well, that was until we turned into it and BFS looked at me dubiously enquiring if it was in fact a road and not just someone's drive. I reassured him and we set off along a track which would could make a lot if money on a 'learn to drive a 4x4 course' our freshly cleaned lower sitting rear wheel drive German estate wasn't best placed to deal with such a contoured muddy track. It was hair-raisingly slippy at some parts and eventually, at the top of a hill of mud which had us travelling up mostly losing the back end and sliding sideways, did we get stuck in a trench of mud. Errrr maybe my map wasn't the most reliable tool, but it was definitely a track - just not one for actual cars! 

Anyways - my heart started to beat again after (admittedly) some very skilled steering work from BFS released us from the grip and we set off again along the final stretch of the track. Tracking our movements as I encouraged him that we were just about at the junction...we both looked with despair at what we could see in front of us - a couple of feet back from the road, denying us of our freedom was a flipping rusty gate, with an even rustler chain wrapped around it and the post, tied shut with not one, but three teasingly gleaming padlocks - aaaaaaarrgggh. We attacked the gate at the hinge end, but nothing was shifting this bad boy. The lane wasn't wide enough for a 3 point turn and we both knew how slim the chances were of us making it back through the muddy swamp which we'd already grooved even deeper trenches into with our previous spin of wheels. Sheepishly I returned to the car, rather amazed at how calm BFS was - considering! He plonked his bum back in and then proceeded to start what must have been about a 15 point turn which had the front and rear of the car climbing up the embankments in turn until we finally set free to attempt to retrace our steps and try and make it back with us (and the car) in ine piece. As we approached the squelchy pit and it came into view BFS hit reverse and took an effective 'run at it' - woohoo, we made it through first time. It was a white knuckle ride down the hill though as he just went for it - intent on not getting stuck. He saw that I was in mild panic and pointed out at that point in time he wasn't caring about the car - I pointed out it wasn't the car getting knocked about that I was worried about, it was more us sliding down a ditch at the 'road' side! Anyways - we made it in one piece with lots of 'wow, wasn't that an adventure' to make light of it to the kids, so they couldn't see just how stressed we both had been!

The ride was ever so slightly hairy - not one to repeat, that's for sure!

Oh and we did have a wee casualty - apparently the mudguard that's been hanging off for a bit, decided to stay behind as a little souvenir of our adventure for someone to find one day!

Miner minor

It's amazing how small things can bring such joy and wonderment to toddlers. CC chanced upon my headlamp today (normally worn around my neck whilst night-walking) and decided to adorn it at the table to 'read' his books. Mildly amusing - until that is, he refused to take it off (or turn it off). 

We had a few things to do which brought us out and about in the local towns. He turned heads wherever we went (the local tip, supermarket and council office) where the looks ranged from mild amusement to looks at me as if I were a moron to let him wear it - even a few enquiries as to what it was ?!?!? Pretty self explanatory I thought. The bright light beaming at them being a giveaway methinks...

We then had to take LL to his dance class and go shopping in Tesco's. By then CC had developed his own technique of clicking down the lamp to reach the on/off switch so was showing it off to anyone who would grant him an audience.

Anywho's he's seriously chuffed with himself and off to read under the covers!

On another note I was saddened and very angry to find that BB had been back to his old tricks of helping himself to goodies from the pantry. I am at my wits end as to how to get him to stop, short of putting a lock on the door. After each subsequent episode He has had snack taken away for a week, his Lego boxed up and hidden for over two weeks, banned from attending his beloved beavers and nothing has worked. He just can't help himself, even though I've told him that if he asks he would probably get. It's not the food that is the problem anymore, it is simply the trust and doing what he is told issue. 

Today I laid it on thick as the calm softly softly approach hasn't worked. I very angrily told him that what he had done was wrong and naughty, he didn't think to apologise, so I pointed this out to him. Once he'd said sorry, I asked him to explain what he was sorry for and explain what he'd done wrong. I then told home that I was worried that if he was doing this now and couldn't tell the difference between right and wrong then I was scared that when he was older he might do something worse that was naughty and then he might get taken away and I wouldn't get to see him. 

Really frustratingly after all of this his only response was 'can I make a salt dough sculpture' and when I said there was no way he flipped his lid. Said it was to cheer him up!!! Completely didn't get the point! I stormed out of his room and told him that he was a spoilt brat and that it wasn't all about cheering him up and what was going to cheer up his mummy after finding out that she had a naughty son? 

After I calmed down I went back and explained that it was my job to teach him right from wrong and that I needed to know I was teaching him right as I heard last week about a local boy who's just been caught burgling and he's been taken away from his parents. (True story - but he is 18, a fact which I omitted) and I didn't want that to be him when he's older.

Annoyingly he's otherwise a great kid.

I really hope that something I said to him resonates. What I do fear is that he is just like his Dad because if that's the case,(from what I've been told) I doubt that any of it will...

Campbell's longest sentence

This morning CC just said to LL ' LL make me breakfast' 

To which LL replied 'only if you give me a hug'

CC then ran into the room, gave the biggest hug and they both strolled off together towards the kitchen.

Sweet

A Halloween of many firsts