England Day 37

I thought I would make a note of our time in England which is as important if not more so than our forays into Europe. Life at home with my Mum and PoppaD is just great. Their house is lovely and really well equipped for the boys - bikes and paddling pools, basket ball hoops and toys galore. So the boys are settled here and recognise it as home at least for the time being - this is important as although we have only been away for 37 days it feels like a lifetime. Four countries, currencies, time zones, languages, hotels, maps, food etc I sometimes do not know which way is up!

Most of the time we are recovering from our travels so stay quietly at home with a daily walk to Roundhay park and the kids play ground, or tropical world to see the fish and lemurs, or up to the shops for a bit of retail therapy with our pocket money! We have done a few sight seeing trips. Once to York to visit York Minster - there was a fabulous kid's trail around the cathedral that Zac, Mum and I enjoyed. Yesterday we went to Skipton castle where we looked into cold damp dungeons and considered sending Zac up the chimneys with a brush to earn his living! Martin, PoppaD and I have been to see Fahrenheit 9/11 which I would highly recommend.

The boys are coping fantastically. Maxi is doing really well, he is young enough to live completely in the present and just takes life as it comes. I have managed to find a creche for him here in Leeds so he has contact with other little people and lots of new toys - he told me the was "really lucky!" He is going there for three hours a week - when we are in the country on a Wednesday (so that is about three times!) He is talking heaps and heaps and has a huge vocabulary. His pronunciation is hilarious particular for hard words like caterpillar and semolina. He is missing his NZ creche and talks daily of Callum McKenzie, his best mate there.

Zac is good too and recognises that he would rather be away with us than back home at school! However we do have a few fights and I can't tell whether it is him growing/not eating(as usual)/testosterone surges/ boredom or whether he is just plain homesick. I know he misses having his friends his own age to talk to and play with. Maxi walks up to kids and says "hello me Maxi" and that is usually enough for them to start playing. It is harder when you are 7 to do that. We have put Zac is a summer swim programme for an hour a week but he has yet to make friends. Instead he now tortures maxi on a regular basis and they have to be separated when to going gets too tough. Hopefully Turkey next week with the cousins (Josie age 5 and Kimi 2 1/2) will provide some distractions.

Martin is getting some work done - it is a struggle for me to get on the computer as he takes precedence all the time. He has just had a paper accepted in a journal and has met with his old PhD supervisor in Sheffield. As for me I am enjoying being with my Mum and being in England in the summer (which believe me is not that warm) and coping (not always successfully) with the demands of being a full-time Mum. So I am off to do some more washing and more packing ready for our trip on Monday.

Love to you all xxx