Grow Your Own

Gosh, it's ages since I've written anything. So here's a quick catch up on what's happening at chez Beech.
Hubby and I had a midweek break to Rome at the end of June. Jamie went to France with his school so we jetted off too. Rome is a wonderful place and there is so much to see but I wouldn't recommend doing it in summer. Honestly, walking around in 38 degree heat with no shade and no breeze is no joke. The heat really got to me and most days I was absolutely beaten by 3 o' clock, needing to sit and chill out for a couple of hours. The siesta is such a good idea and I see now why they do it! The sights are amazing, especially St Peter's Church, so I'm pleased we went but I wouldn't go back.
Jamie had a great time in France and has now officially left school. He went to his prom, looking all grown up and enjoyed himself immensely. He is loving his time at home, so it will be a shock to his system going to college in September.
Anyway, as to the title of this little missive, I've gone all gardener. After we've had the back garden paved over I suddenly decided to grow my own veg! So I've got all sorts of buckets and pots, full of veg, on my patio. I've already had a crop of beetroot and spring onions and believe me, they are so much better when you've grown them yourself. I have red onions, green peppers, sweetcorn, carrots, peas, french beans, rhubarb, strawberries and lettuce all growing merrily. I also have tomatoes and cucumber in my green house which have been cropping nicely for three weeks now.
It isn't really about the money saving aspect, it's about the pure pleasure of seeing the green shoots coming through, then the fruits appearing. Picking and eating veg you have grown is so satifying. It gives me such a buzz making a salad from my own veg. I've been a bit haphazard this year and haven't really planned my garden properly but I'm still pleased with the results. Next year, I'll be more organised but I know it will give just as much pleasure.
I'm not about to dig up the patio though. Container gardening is a lot easier and less backbreaking than having a veg plot. And I've proved you can grow your own even without a garden!

My Baby Has Left School!

I can't believe this day has come! Jamie left school today. He had his leaver's prom last week and thoroughly enjoyed it. He has matured so much over the last few years. I can't believe how grown up he is. I still remember the tiny, vulnerable boy he was when he first started school. At the time we had no idea what he would achieve. We had no idea whether he would ever be able to talk, walk, run and play like other children.

As he grew each new milestone was a wonderful achievement for us all. The day he walked without his walker, the day he put two words together, the day he used his first Makaton sign were all special, red letter days. He worked so hard to achieve what comes naturally to others.

Since he's been at St Hugh's Special Needs Senior School he has blossomed from a little boy into a young man. His speech has got better and better and he can now say a sentence of four words that is understandable. I know he'll never have the life boys of his age should but he has still achieved more in his 16 years than some do in a lifetime.

We attended his leaver's ceremony today. Watching my boy walk up to the stage to accept his Record of Achievement brought tears to my eyes. To see him laughing with his headmaster and saying thank you to his teacher made me want to jump up and cheer.

Now he starts on a new phase in his life. He's going to college in September, for two years, on a Life and Vocational Studies course. He'll be taught independence skills. He will never achieve total independance but hopefully one day he will be able to do simple things for himself.

I know he will never live independantly from us but my special boy will continue to spread his wings and one of these days he will soar higher than any of us ever thought possible. You just wait!

Xis for X-RAY, Y is for YAWN, Z is for ZZZZZZZZ

I'm so stuck with these three letters, I'm using them up in one go!
I've had several X-rays over the years but the two that are most recent are my ankle and foot x-rays. Both times I knew I'd broken bones because the card I had to take back to A&E was red. I was told that by a nurse during one of the many x-rays I have had to sit in on with my kids. See, I haven't just had my own x-rays, I've attended kid's ones too. The one Jamie had for a broken elbow left me with scars on my arm. Not from radiation but from Jamie digging his nails in and drawing blood! It was a case of, "Hurt me, I'll hurt you back, baby."
Yawning is great isn't it! It stretches the mouth and opens up the airways. I yawn when I'm tired and when I'm bored. I think a bored yawn is the most embarrassing. You can tell when somebody has one coming because they try to stop it. The mouth gets all twisted and your eyes glaze with the effort so you might as well just let it come and let those suckers know they are boring the h*ll out of you!
ZZZZZZZ's are the best. I love sleeping. Since the older boys have left home I have got into the habit of laying in, when John's home. He can't sleep well so he always gets up early. I stay in bed, sometimes till 11am. I just love the fact that I can! When Jamie is at respite and John's at work, I have been known to get up at dinnertime! I don't care if that makes me one, lazy hussy. It's my perogative and baby I'm milking it for all it's worth!
So, that's the end of my alphabet posts. Some are quite good, some are cr**py but hey, it's my blog and I get to decide what I write.
Now it will be filled with random ramblings and family related stuff. So buckle up all you many, many readers (HA, HA) it'll be a bumpy ride from now on.

Matthew's had an Accident!

My poor Matt had a fall yesterday. He was riding his bicycle down a steep hill and his coat got caught in the front wheel. It stopped the bike, and he went over the handlebars into a lamp post. He has five stitches above his top lip, eight stitches inside his mouth and seven under his chin. His right cheek is one big friction burn and his right arm is grazed from his elbow to his wrist. He looks like he's done a few rounds in the ring with Mike Tyson! I've brought him home for a few days to be mothered. He's very subdued and feeling sorry for himself right now.
I hate seeing my kids in pain, no matter how old they get and I wish I could take the pain away for him. You never stop worrying about them, even after they've flown the nest but we have to cut the apron strings at some point. You have to let them fly and spread their wings and trust they will soar high.
But when they do fall, mum will always be there to take the strain, kiss the pain away and make it seem a little less hard to bear.

W is for Weddings

I love weddings. I've had two of my own, have been a bridesmaid seven times and attended more than I can remember. I love wedding dresses, the big white frothy ones, the slinky, stylish ones, the short flirty ones. I love them all. I love watching weddings and seeing the bride all happy and the bridesmaids all glammed up. I love the bouquets, the wedding cakes and even listening to the speeches. Weddings are about happiness, joy and beauty so that's probably why I like them so much! I'm pretty much a romantic, as you may have guessed.
But I know a pretty wedding doesn't guarantee a solid, happy marriage, that comes from hard work, give and take and a reality check now and then. But if we can keep in mind the happiness of our wedding day, the joy we felt to be starting on life's journey together, the pleasure of choosing to be with that one person for all time, if we stop and remember that when times are rough and rocky then maybe we would see less divorce and seperation.

Trip to London

My sister, Cindy and niece, Sarah

I went to London for three days last week. I know , I know , I should have written about it earlier but I'm a bad blogger!
Anyway, I went with my lovely sister and niece for a girlie trip. We went down on the train and spent two nights there. Our first night we went to see Phantom of the Opera at Her Majesty's Theatre. The show was excellent. We had seats in the first balcony, second row up so could see everything perfectly. The music, the costumes, the sets, everything was so wonderful. We thoroughly enjoyed it.
We stayed in a nice hotel in Bayswater and had breakfast included. It was continenal style but sufficient. Our only full day was spent touring London on the Hop On Hop Off bus. You buy a ticket and the bus goes all round London stopping off at different places where you can get off, look around and then catch the next bus. They run about every 15 mins so we never waited long and got to see all the sights. There is a tour guide who tells you all sorts of fascinating facts about the city.
We went into Leicester Square that night, intending going to the pictures but saw crowds of people behind barriers. When we got there it was a premiere for the film, Leatherheads, starring George Clooney and Rene Zellweiger. We missed George but got to see Rene up close. We stood for so long we missed the start of any films so went to Pizza Hut to finish the night off and got totally stuffed!

Me and Sarah

We really enjoyed our trip and have decided to save up and go again next year.

Rene Zelleweiger

V is for Voluptuous

I love that word, voluptuous. It conveys beauty. It conjures up those rubanesque paintings of scantily clad, beautiful, large ladies that adorn all the best gallery walls. In their time, big was beautiful and to be celebrated, not to be ashamed of.
I'm now taking a leaf from that book and will celebrate my size, make the best of my size, be loud and proud of my size. No more moaning, I'm accepting the fact I'm larger than life and will henceforth be VOLUPTUOUS.
Pass the chocolate box, I'm diving in!