That Was May That Was

May has flown by and the start of June has taken me quite by surprise.  The last two weeks have been given over to illness with each and every one of us suffering with a rather nasty and lingering flu bug.  Poor Freddy was wiped out for over two weeks with a temperature, severe tiredness and a dose of throwing up.  Big sister Ella is still really poorly at a time when she is taking her AS exams.  She could really do without the horrible cough that keeps her up half the night and the aching rib cage that is refusing to shift.

In addition to all this, our lovely pet hamster Spinky died.  She was well over 2 years old, but she was a big part of our family life and we will all miss her very much.  Freddy was particularly devastated to lose her.  It was heartbreaking.  We gave her a little funeral, burying her in her cardboard tube, packed with some bedding, hay and her favourite chocolate treats.  We made a stone to mark her resting place. We have decided not to have any more pets...Spinky is irreplaceable.

At least the sunshine has eventually made an appearance for a few consecutive days.  The warm rays on my skin are infusing me with some positive energy and I'm hoping the unwelcome flu bug that has caused us all such grief for the last fortnight will finally pack up and leave. We have so much to do!

I've renewed my Merlin Annual Passes and can't wait to start making the most of it by visiting the attractions.  Alton Towers has its new ride The Smiler and my girls are really eager to ride it!

Freddy has got his place at the tiny village school that I wanted for him and is doing one afternoon a week for the next few weeks to get a taste of what September may bring.  I am so proud of how he is coming on.  My painfully and debilitatingly nervous child is now making friends wherever he goes.  It is a joy to see how far he has come in the past six months.  Now he is back to full health, I'm sure he'll cope with being a little school boy.

May hasn't been a complete write-off.  We had a wonderful weekend at Center Parcs Sherwood Forest.  It was lovely to have all five of our children together for a few days.  Times like this are really precious to me.  The sun was shining and we enjoyed all the facilities on offer in the great outdoors. I loved seeing my son Joe have fun with his sisters and his little brother.  We don't get to see him very often due to distance and commitments, but I treasure the moments when we do.

I also went to see the final ever UK concert in the Last at Bat Tour at the MEN where rock legend Meatloaf did his thing to the entire Bat Out of Hell repertoire.  Bat Out of Hell is the album that most reminds me of my youth.  It was the album I played on my stereo in my bedroom, pretending I was performing on stage.  Being Meatloaf's backing singer on Paradise by the Dashboard Light has been an ongoing secret dream of mine!  Sharing the experience with my two eldest daughters was just perfect.  We danced and sang along and basically had an awesome mummy/daughter date in Manchester.  Meatloaf is now a pensioner but he can still belt it out, bless him. I felt honoured to be there at this last ever live 'Bat' show.

I also had a bit of comping success winning the Silentnight Dream Bedroom competition.  A new bedroom makeover is on the cards.  It's long overdue and will really make a difference to our home!  It will also inspire us to crack on with the dining room that we keep trying to do, but never quite get round to!!

So, that was May.  June is now underway.  Let's hope it's a good'un!!