Bye bye Banner

Today was a sad day. We fly back to the UK in two weeks today (eek!), so unfortunately Big Girl's pride and joy, her beloved pony Banner, had to go to his new home :-(

Have you ever had a day when you feel like the meanest mummy on Earth? Well I did today. She put on a brave face as the big horse truck came to fetch him, as we decided it was best not to get upset until he had gone in case he sensed something was going on. But as soon as it was driving away she burst into tears. 

For the 18 months or so we have had him, they have had great fun together, and she has learnt so much having the freedom to go out into the field whenever she wanted, and a lot of the time simply rode him bareback with a just a piece of string round his neck to steer him. She has sat on his back, reading him stories and just chatting, whilst he was busy munching. Two friends together. 

God, I feel mean. 

I bought her a silver locket which I gave to her a few days before he was due to go. Inside is a picture of him on one side, with a few of his tail hairs on the other. So she may not have him anymore, but at least she has a part of him with her forever. 

When you take the foam out to remove the necklace from the box, I had put another surprise underneath. Another photo of him!....

So I guess a necklace doesn't compensate for a real live pony, but it's the best I can do, and she loved it. She wore it all today. 

He has gone to a home which sounds great. It's an equestrian centre, where he will be used for advanced beginners and will also get to hack out by the river, and do Pony Club, ribbon days etc. So he will have heaps of young girls and boys loving him and fussing over him! Plus we can follow him on Facebook, and the owners have promised to keep in touch with updates. 

He left at 7am this morning and we got a message this afternoon to say he had arrived safely and was happy munching grass with another horse. 

Stay safe, be happy gorgeous boy

Xx

More boxes, no car and a big bill

Yes I'm still here, still packing. I found a free calendar I had, cut out October and stuck it on the fridge. It's now a scary reminder every time I cook or make a cup of tea of how fast the days are flying by...

I have lists of lists, lists in my head, lists on my ipad, lists on scraps of paper. 

We are gradually getting to the point where we are packing things we are still using. Who needs a bedside table when a packing box does the trick....

To be honest I actually prefer the box, it's bigger and a better height than the old bedside table!

Big Girl is camping in her room on a blow up bed with a sleeping bag, as we sold her bed on the weekend. She's quite happy actually as she says now there's space in her room to do gymnastics!

 I'm also chuffed to bits we have just sold the car, one less thing to worry about. The very nice man who has bought it said we could keep it until the weekend so we can have one last trip to the beach (cross your fingers for a nice weekend for us). 

So I'm madly planning everything that needs doing this week whilst I still have transport. It's a fifteen minute drive to town and we aren't on the bus route. Recycling, taking leftover toys/clothes etc to the charity shop, Little Boy needs his hair cutting. We'll be 19 days without a car - bummer! It's a shame as once all the packing etc was done it would have been nice to spend maybe the last week doing lots of fun stuff. Guess we will just have to sunbathe in the garden!

Did my last big shop at the supermarket yesterday.....

Did you notice the toy Land Rover perched on top? I didn't notice it at the time, and Little Boy was quite pleased his favourite car was in the picture! OH is sorted for the next three weeks - he has beer

 :-)

It was scary when I got to the till. I don't think I've ever spent that much on food in one go before, or had a receipt as long....

Luckily we have been selling lots of bits and pieces that we don't want/need to take back with us, so I had plenty of cash to get rid of. 

Big Girl's pony goes to his new home next week, so she will be sad. He's going to a great home though and they are going to keep in touch with his progress. Even worse she won't be able to go back to school after half term, as I can't get her there. So I'll have two children stuck at home with no toys, no transport and for the last few days - no tv! No, we don't watch that much, but I'll be honest I have been a bad mummy and used it as a babysitter over the last few weeks whilst I have been busy packing. 

Right, Little Boy is having his afternoon siesta, so I'm off to do more sorting, packing, and more lists!

Xxxx