Whilst the cat's away...

But before the cat went away, we all trooped down to Birmingham for my niece's wedding. Travelling with a 2 and 4 year old can be an epic affair, so the journey was staged over 2 days and we allowed for most eventualities. That said projectile vomiting strawberries and orange juice 5 minutes from your destination can really test your patience. 

One major clean up later and we made the end goal however and a ball was had by all. It was a wonderful day and Emily was particularly excited about going to her first 'proper' wedding. She even got to try on the veil. It was like fairy AND princess heaven in one; which is apparently in Birmingham of all places.

Massive thanks and congratulations to Ruth and Keiran for a truly memorable day; and thanks to Edward and Ewa for putting up with us (twice).  

That's the only veil she'll be wearing for at least the next 30 years

Now back to that cat. The cats in this case were the Gurney's who were off enjoying the delights of France. And, whilst the Gurney cats were away, us Rooke mice decided to invade their kingdom and have a jolly good play around North Berwick, instead of returning home post-wedding.

 The majestic Tantallon Castle

And we had a lovely week - there were trips to the Seabird Centre, Fairy Woods (two different ones), Gosford Park and Tantallon Castle, an ascent of The Law,  and a bbq on Seacliff beach to top it off. It was at times a little crazy with a pair of very early risers but coffee saved the day, and Mummy and I also managed to get a couple of nice meals all alone which was heaven. Highlights for me were definitely seeing Niomi bounce her way to the top of The Law and the beach bbq despite not ideal conditions. Thank you Gurney's for our holiday!!

 Two little Rooke mice

A stoll through the park

Topped out on The Law

The beach to ourselves (that's the girls on the right)

Daintily dipping their toes before falling in

Wahey - happy bbq faces

Uh-oh, Dads' in charge...

It was always going to happen sooner or later. A momentous occasion. The great day when I got trusted to look after the children, not just for a few hours but for a few days. And not only that, but I got to spend it with the brother-in-law John, who was also being entrusted to look after his children, whilst Tanya and Layla swanned off to Rome.

These were going to be great times. And with great expectations comes great responsibility. Oh how we would rise to the challenge. Fish and chips, pizza, ice cream, films, tv, beer and wandering round in our pants...all of these joyful experiences awaited. We would be kings of our own destiny, spoiling our girls rotten, filling them with sugar and trash tv, and with no chores to be done we could do whatever we liked whilst the (lovely) wives were away. Nothing could go wrong. Or at least not that much in 4 days...

 John gets his chore list texted in (I showed him the joy of delete)

Food sorted for 4 days

Intricate plans were made, supplies bought, and, after the wives were packed off at 5.30 am, we cracked open the first beer and sat back to enjoy. This was going to be a doddle.

And so we had a marvellous 4 days. We coped and thrived - well at least some of the time. There was fish and chips, ice cream and burgers. But there was also fairy trails, castles and (some) sunshine. There was game playing, dancing, face painting, music and dressing up. There was laughter...and tears. There was control and madness. Salt and vinegar. Calmness and stress. It was a wonderfully challenging journey of adventure, bonding and discovery. Read into that what you will...

I did however learn some important lessons in my 4 days flying solo:

Lesson 1: It's important to be prepared for every eventuality and for a wide range of needs and situations. Always being on the next page to your children helps, and is a valuable skill to learn.

Lesson 2: Niomi is very tiny; she loves being outdoors far more than inside; it was very windy. These 3 things together didn't make for a good combination.

Lesson 3: Niomi can eat an incredible amount. Eating an incredible amount leads to an incredible amount of poo and nappy changing.

Lesson 4: It's important that children get enough sleep. Continually being short of sleep just makes them grumpy.

Lesson 5: It's important you get enough sleep. Continually being short of sleep just makes you grumpy.

Lesson 6: Sugar has a place. It can perk a child up when tired, but can also send them completely bonkers.

Lesson 7: If you take them somewhere where they can spend your money, then they will.

Lesson 8: Who needs the wives? Well...we do. Mums do a wonderful job. Treasure and respect them - it's not easy.

On the trail for fairies

Through the door to fairy land

Fairy discovery

Every picture tells a story

 Arm painting

Oops - we shrunk the kids

 Child tossing

Child chasing

 Sister bonding

Ice cream eating...

 And smiley faces :-)

Picnic eating...

And smiley faces :-)

 Peace and quiet on the loo

And relax...