The amazing flying tube!

I'm a sucker for a little geek sad project to try and impress boy1 and boy2. So I was excited to see a very unusual paper aeroplane on QI the other night. This was essentially a tube of paper slightly weighted at the front end which flew straight and true with a little spinning overran throw.

As the boys have recently been coming back from school with armfuls of traditional paper darts this seemed a great opportunity and I was pleased to find a good PDF on the web which has now been printed and folded. It don't look much but it really does fly! Can't wait to see the boys reaction!

Changes...

So nearly a month has gone by since the last blog and I've been busy on the business front. A chance conversation in August has led to a very exciting opportunity to move the business into much larger and better located premise s which, I hope, should hugely increase our footfall on a daily basis.

Of course this means that I've spent the last few weeks reading 90 page leases, talking endlessly to telecoms and electricity companies (not my favourite way to spend time!), sorting signage and, not least, finding a new tenant for our existing space. So excuse me if I have not had time to blog!

Seeing (pasta) stars

Tiny pasta shapes are, apparently, a staple baby food in Italy.  And we have in the past stocked a whole selection of different shapes and sizes in the shop from a company called Plasmon. 

 

However, since we squeezed the baby food out of the current shop some time ago we have had to buy our baby pasta from other sources. 

 

Yesterday boy3 had a bowl of baby bolognese with pasta stars and I realised I'd forgotten how sticky and difficult to remove from anything the little pasta stars are!  By the time I'd finished the kitchen (not to mention the batch of lunchboxes I was also preparing) were covered in the little blighters!

 

 

A nervous month ahead...

Those who know me often say that I'm laid back and nothing fazes me. Little do they know that under the relaxed facade is often a nervous wreck. I remember the job interview for my last employed job and the hr manager said something like oh, and it all comes pretty easily to you doesn't it? To which my response was well, i'm like a swan - all serene progress on the outside whilst underneath I'm paddling furiously.

Anyway, my point for this post is that I'm having a squeaky bum moment as we've just agreed terms on new business premises which will pretty much treble our floor space in one go. Of course it also trebles our rent and increases the business rates bill massively, and leaves us with a shop unit to let out in Tavistock but I'm sure that will all turn out fine.

On the plus side it means that I'll have a lot more room to assemble our lunchboxes (check out http://www.Lunchboxesetc.co.uk) and a whole lot more room to display our ever increasing stock of quality second hand children's clothes.

Erg! (part 2)

So, boys1&2 are at a friend's house today which leaves me a chance to fall back into my term-time indoor rowing regime a week earlier that I expected.  For those who are interested I'm trying to follow a training plan loosely based on the pete plan and the wolverine plan.  This means that Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday lunchtimes when boy3 is asleep I get to do a quick session on the rower.

A couple of days ago I did a 5000m long row session. Today it was a set of 4x1000m reps.  The aim of my training plan is to do at least 3 sessions a week - one long row, one sprint reps session (500m reps) and one longer reps session (1000-1500m reps).  I'm logging all the rows on the concept2.com logbook and ranking the faster ones against the other online members on there which is definitely a good motivation tool as I can see when I move up the rankings.

What surprises me is the speed with which I can improve my 2000m pb by doing lots of sprint rep training sessions.  I guessing a lot of this is mental improvement in that you get used to going at a certain pace and know that you can carry on at the pace for a  good period.

Anyway my good intentions are now published and out in the open so I'll have to keep up with the plan won't I!

A new lunchbox design for back to school 2012

I've justed added this new poppies design lunchbox to my website lunchboxesetc.co.uk in time for the back to school rush this year!

There is still plenty of time to order a personalised lunchbox in time for the first day of term.  Just tkae a click to go to http://www.lunchboxesetc.co.uk.

A rainy bank holiday Monday

Perfect weather for preparing a bumper lot of personalised lunchboxes to go to the printers today. Although we did get out for a wet walk this afternoon. Boy3 was in the backpack, the others with full wet weather gear. No such thing as inappropriate weather etc etc .

Back to school in the shop

For the first time this year we've put a few of our off the peg lunchboxes on sale in our shop in Tavistock (just for the back to school period). Here's a little piccy to show you the first few on display.

Don't panic if you don't live near to Tavistock you can still buy these items on amazon, or on our very own website, http://www.lunchboxesetc.co.uk and there is still plenty of time to order one and get delivery before term starts again in September.

Hey hey it's the weekend

Well almost. Honestly this one and a half day working week is really starting to wear me out!

Currently sat with the printers waiting for 100 lunchbox labels to be cut to size for a clients pr launch. I'll be sticking labels on all of them tomorrow whilst listening to test match special.

Today I am mostly eating....

Tuna and broccoli in a cheese sauce with baby pasta stars!

Taking another punt on cheese with boy3 today as its been a couple of weeks since the last vomit.

Went down well but those little pasta stars are a right bugger for getting all over the place

Erg!

For the past couple of years I've had a concept 2 rower in the garage which I've used pretty regularly. Now I'm at home three days a week looking after boy3 it's given me a chance to do three regular sessions a week when he goes down for his lunchtime sleep.

Unfortunately the summer school hols has put paid to this with boys 1 & 2 taking up this precious hour that I had so I'm back to squeezing in a quick row in the evening after story time and before tea.

I'm hoping that when term starts I can get back to it at lunchtime. And by blogging about it I'll shame myself into a regular effort. More about my training efforts in a few weeks.

Boys plus face paint equals social embarrassment

This far into the summer hols and it's a bit desperation stakes as far as entertaining the boys on a long afternoon. So break out the face paint and let them loose on my face. Seemed like a good idea at the time. Just don't pop to the shops and forget that you've been made over as captain jack sparrow!

Tuesday's lunch is...

Well, apart from being prepared in all the wrong proportions, boy3's lunch today was a homemade lamb casserole with (far too much couscous).

Ironically I always seem to underestimate the amount of couscous for my wife and I but hugely overestimate it anytime I cook it for the boys.

So, once I'd chucked half the couscous away (life's too short to save leftover couscous) the rest went down very well with the little fella leaving a clean bowl (and a very dirty Highchair).

Back to school with lunchboxesetc

Our kids have just realised that there is less than a month left until they return to school after the summer holidays. I think the Olympics must have distracted them! Now however they are fully focused on the buying opportunies afforded by the start of the new school year.

Obviously new school shoes are must. However boy1 also "needs" new rugby boots and p.e. trainers, not to mention wellies for forest schools. Boy2 has a similarly lengthy list. All this is fine but I know that within a month most of the stuff we buy will be scattered to the four corners of the cloakroom like those ashes in the big lebowski.  WHy can't they take care of this stuff?

To be fair I remember solemnly, and without fail, buying a brand new geometry set in August each year and vowing that this year I would not set about punching holes in the tin with the compass until at least after half term. Yeah, that resolution really lasted.  Not good to start the school year already having a sense of self-loathing at a gross failure of will power!

I suppose at least my boys don't have to worry too much about lunchboxes. This year we are challenging them to take a photo during the holidays that they would like to have on their lunchbox. Boy1 is still using his rugby squad team photo lunchbox from last year:

and boy2 has a cheetah:

It will certainly be interesting to see what they come up with. If you want to do something similar you can order a custom made photo lunchbox from http://www.lunchboxesetc.co.uk. There is plenty of time to get an order in before term starts, as the personalisation process takes about a week.

Back to school 2012

One of my businesses is a website called http://www.lunchboxesetc.co.uk which as you might have guessed sells lunchboxes!

Uniquely we specialise in personalised lunchboxes with your name or even your own photo on them. They are a great way to make a lunchbox stand out from the crowd in the cloakroom.

London 2012 - blub count

Since my last post about crying at sporting events I've been keeping track on my reactions to GB success at the Olympic games.

Great though it was to see wiggins win the timetrial, I stayed dry eyed. Indeed none of the track cycling has induced tears yet. Not a tear was shed when greg out jumped the world, but mo made me properly tearful as did jess and, strangely, most of the rowing golds particularly kath grainger and partner.

Fun at the welsh mountain zoo!

A picture paints a thousand words.....

We've come on holiday by mistake....

This year marks the tenth anniversary of my wife and I's road trip around the world. In fact, exactly 10 years ago today we were 4wd'ing around Fraser island in Australia; definitely one of the highlights of the whole trip.

Now things are a little different. Our road trip this year was a little trip to north Wales to visit my in laws in their rather palatial new home. More on Wales later and possibly a discussion on the meaning of "downsizing".

To cheese or not to cheese

In my role as stay at home dad on Tuesday's, Wednesday's and Thursday's I get to do lunch with boy3. Today is a red letter day as we are reintroducing cheese into his meals for the first time in a few weeks.

Previous attempts to incorporate cheese have almost invariably resulting in huge vomits but we could never be sure that it was the cheese or just coincidence. Anyway, after a couple of ella's kitchen fromage frais in the last couple of days without incident we've taken the plunge with some fish and broccoli in cheese sauce.

As I write this things are going well and we've had no reappearances yet! Here's hoping that the previous vomits have not been allergy related but just chokes, coughs and the like.

Dear customer, congratulations on the purchase of...

I love the instruction manuals that come with equipment these days. The latest greatest example at home is our new copilot limo baby seat now sitting proudly on the back of my ancient Marin pine mountain. Whilst I must admit that their proud boast that the seat can be installed in 30 seconds is strictly (if only partially) true they did gloss over the traumatic experience on the preliminary fitting of the rear rack that the seat requires. 45 sweaty, sweary and knuckle skinning minutes later I was ready to fit the seat. (which did indeed take only a few seconds).

I hasten to add that all these problems are much more likely due to deficiencies on my part that any problems with the product, which appears rather excellent on first impressions!

sometimes its like a revolving door

No sooner had I taken on a new member of staff to cover a few hours a week in the shop than she turned round and revealed that she had accepted a full time job elsewhere. I suppose I shouldn't get too upset; in the current climate everyone wants to earn the maximum amount they can, I suppose and I couldn't offer her any more hours but its quite frustrating to go through all the hassle of recruiting for them to work a grand total of 12 hours before handing in their notice

Happy doors!

We saw these old warehouse doors on an evening trip to the river cottage canteen in Plymouth. Looks they were pleased to be part of the lovely Royal William yard development. Oh and the meal was fab too!

"summer" fair

Like I said the other day, it was the school summer fair on Saturday. A good time was had by all. Actually the weather pretty much held off but the beer rent and marquee were the most popular locations. Face painting was, as ever, popular with the kids with a camouflage theme winning favour with boys1 & 2:

a new lunchbox for boy2..

Boy1 plays tag rugby for the U7's at our local club.  He enjoys it a lot and I have to say, if its not raining, I really enjoy a couple of hours on a Sunday morning in the fresh air with the other parents on the touch lines. 

I thought it would be a nice touch to mark their first full competitive season (one in which they lost only twice!) by presenting the squad with a lunchbox each featuring a great team photo.  These went down really well and boy1 has been taking his packed lunch to school in his since the end of season presentation at Easter.

Of course, "you can't have anything by yourself in this house" is something of a motto in our family and if boy1 has a new lunchbox you can be sure that it won't be long before boy2 starts mithering for his own.  And so it came to pass that boy2's new personalised lunchbox was produced by lunchboxesetc.co.uk and he proudly took it to school this morning:

Of course, putting up a photo of this personalised lunchbox does rather give the game away in terms of my identity!

Its the olympics....get the tissues ready

It seems these days that I can't stop crying.  Not over important things, you understand but the one thing sure to give me moist eyes is individual British sporting success. Or failure. Or a near miss.  So, yesterday you would have found me welling up over Andy Murray (after having also cried when he beat Tsonga earlier in the week).   Even Strauss's recent century against the West Indies had me all choked up. 

This isn't such a recent phenomenon.  British medallists in rowing and cycling at the last olympics had me wiping my eyes and sniffing hard.  And you can bet it will be the same, only worse this summer with all those British hopefuls competing in London.  Go knows, if our local hero Tom Daley wins gold and dedicates it to his late dad, I'll be an absolute wreck for hours afterwards!

I'm ready for my close-up now!

This week boy1 discovered our video camera.  We spent  most of Sunday creating a stop-motion snake attack on a model village, which was repelled by some friendly dragons!  The final scene channelled star wars with a moving medal ceremony.  Impressive as this was I was still a little worried the next day to find that he was apparently recreating scenes from The Godfather:

The wettest month ever?

We live on the western edge of Dartmoor,just a few miles from Princetown which I (without fact-checking) confidently declare to be the wettest part of Great Britain.  Of course it has its advantages - we can be walking on the moor literally out of sight of any houses within 10 minutes and there is nothing quite as heart-lifting as being on top of a tor on a sunny day but really, this weather is getting beyone a joke!

Toady is the day of the Lady Modifords school summer fair.  So, of course, it has been bucketing down since 10pm last night.  No doubt the playing field will be muddier than the Somme on a particularly muddy day; never mind wellie throwing, we'll be wearing them!   Anyway, now I've downloaded the blogger app for my phone I'll be posting pics of the event later today.

Its a work day!

Friday is a regular work day for me.  Today that meant waving goodbye to everyone at 8.00am to head down to the shop.  We have a new assistant starting today so welcome Diana to the Handmedowns second hand baby clothes shop team!  Her presence is meant to free me up for a few hours to deal with lunchboxes orders, and to post new items on the handmedowns website.  We'll see, I'm pretty good at finding other things to do - like blogging for example.

Update on the souffles - they were pretty good.  Bit of a faff to be honest but tasty. Not sure that it will become a regular dish. 

Update on the sword - raging success.  Will post pics at some point.

Today's balancing act is....

So Thursday is a daddy day-care day.  And it starts a little something like this:

Wave the wife off to work at 7.45am, unload then load the dishwasher (putting back in all those dishes from yesterday that are still dirty - why can't they design a dishwasher that actually works?) wipe down the kitchen then the baby, head up stairs to get boy1, boy2 and baby dressed, teeth brushed, rooms tidied, Nintendo DS put away, back downstairs, shoes on, dinner tickets and homework into school bags, washable nappies on for a second short wash in washing machine, out of the door at 8.45am, into car, drive to school drop kids off, drive home keeeping baby awake, baby in cot for nap by 9.05am, cup of tea, blog.

Which brings us up to date.  Now things get a little easier.  This morning we head to Tavistock to 1) pick up this weeks orders of personalised lunchboxes from our friendly printers TavySigns, 2) Pop in to Handmedowns our second hand baby clothes shop to check that the girls are OK for the day before heading back home for baby's lunch. 

Also on the agenda today is a new recipe (which has been in our collection for about 5 years whithout being tried) for twice baked goats cheese souffe and an attempt to make a new sword for boy2 to complete his prince outfit for the school summer fair on Saturday!  To be continued....

Its a balancing act alright....

Life changes.  Ten years ago to the day my wife and I were in Yungaburra, Queensland half way through a brilliant gap year. Things were pretty straighforward then. Fast forward to present day and you find us settled on the edge of Dartmoor with 3 boys (7 years, 5 years and 8 months), two businesses ( lunchboxesetc -  purveyors of the finest personalised lunchboxes, and Handmedowns Devon's best second hand baby clothes shop!) and one proper job (hers!).  Balancing all these can be an interesting challenge and that's what this blog is all about - the successes, failures, procrastinations and everyday incidents of my life as a dad, husband and small business owner.