The £20,000 question… how would I spend it ?

Wow, so you get asked how you'd spend £20k and does the brain start doing cartwheels or what ? I have at turns thought, a new car for the family, a new kitchen, rebuild the garage, a school fund for my son and so much more besides. It has taken time and some consideration but I've managed to come up with what I think is a definitive idea of how I'd spend £20k - given the chance - there has been some deliberation so bear with me please.

Firstly we've never decorated our son's bedroom as I didn't want to choose a theme only for him to change his mind later. When we lived in our old house his room was our spare room so it has floor to ceiling fitted wardrobes. In this house his room has lots of walls in neutral magnolia and I feel bad about not having decorated now as he does have some interests including sports, and transport. My bedroom had Barnaby the Bear wallpaper - I loved him when I was about 3 - until I was around 12 and my sisters' room had clowns on the carpet (which was a bit unsettling when I moved back in after Uni and had to use their bedroom). As the boy is going to be 3 in a few weeks I think I have a good idea of the kind of room he'd like now and he will certainly tell us if it's not to his liking. 

I'd also take a portion of the money and distribute it to a few charities that mean something to us. We have friends and loved ones who have been affected by cancer so I'd donate to Marie Cure Cancer Care and Macmillan Nurses. The list is endless, but some others I'd love to give to include; British Heart Foundation, Diabetes UK, British Kidney Patient Association and Great Ormond Street Hospital.  I know it would be small sums, but having worked in the charity sector I know how much any amount can mean to a charity. It's also nice to be able to make a donation without having to dress up as a fairy and run 5k or jump out of a plane. 

So finally to the big spend part. We've talked about taking our boy on holiday and have some destinations in mind. With the thick end of £20k (what's left after the bedroom and charity donations) I'd pay off enough bills and mortgage so we could take 2 months off work and go on an extended holiday. As our boy hasn't started school yet it would mean we could go on a long break and see a bit of the world with our little traveller. It's the round the world trip that I never got to do in my twenties (don't ask it makes me cross to talk about it). 

We'd start off in San Francisco - which we love - and Hubbie can take the boy to watch a baseball game featuring his team, the Giants. I love the ocean and when we went on a road trip before we were married we had a wonderful time in California where we have friends who kindly put us up and gave us great tips for our first US visit. This time we could stay in an apartment and hire a car so we can take the boy to the Golden Gate Bridge and visit Fisherman's Wharf where he can see the seals sunbathing on the pier and ride the amphibious vehicle that's like the duck bus in London. If we took a road trip along the coast we could take him to San Jose, Santa Monica and some other lovely places that we've been to and liked including Carmel-by-Sea where Clint Eastwood was once the mayor. If we went during the right season I might even be able to go skiing at Lake Tahoe which would be fab and I could introduce my boy to his first experience of the white stuff too. 

From here we'd pop over to Hawaii so we could learn to surf and I can stalk search for Steve McGarrett  from Hawaii 5-0. While there me and Hubbie can renew our wedding vows on the beach and watch the sunset on a white sand beach that we've seen on so many tv shows. It is a close run thing between Hawaii and Argentina actually as Hubbie loves Buenos Aires so if he could take the little man to watch Boca Juniors he'd be a very happy man indeed. I would love to catch up with my lovely yoga friend Rebecca who lives there with her hubbie and gorgeous baby boy who I've not met yet. 

Next on the itinerary is going round the back of the world to Australia where we have family and friends in places as far apart as Brisbane, Melbourne and Perth. I'd also like to visit Sydney - well why not if you're there anyway ? It has been years since I've been scuba diving so if I could find a location where it was undertaken in a responsible and eco-friendly environment (rather than the Great Barrier Reef which is all but dead now from being over handled) I'd love to go diving. I'd pop in on my friends Nichola and Hannah who are both POMs who live there now and we could visit Hubbie's Auntie Joan who was a £10 POM fifty years ago and has lived there ever since. 

Our last stop would be India. Of course as soon as my family know we're on the continent we have to visit them so we'd take our boy to meet all of my cousins, aunties and uncles for the first time. He'll get spoiled and fussed beyond belief and if he doesn't already feel like a movie star he will once he's been to Bangalore !! Our actual final destination, however, would be Kerala and specifically Isola Di Cocca or Island of Coconuts, an ayurvedic resort. I can practice yoga every morning at sunrise and the boys can swim and play by the pool all day. There are boats that take you along the backwaters to the lovely places to eat and relax and it's a haven of peace and relaxation. The perfect way to end our special family time together. 

If I had £20k this is how I'd love to spend it. On a once in a lifetime holiday for my family, a new bedroom for my boy and some money for charities. If there was anything left over for a new cooker, well that wouldn't be such a bad thing would it ? 

This post is an entry for BritMums #Spend20K Challenge sponsored by The National Lottery, with more ways to win more money on the new Lotto game. Find out more about new Lotto, which starts in October, here – www.national-lottery.co.uk

 

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The Sporting Life

It's a rite of passage for a boy to watch football with his father. We know this because it's the basis of Nick Hornby's Fever Pitch and Russell Brand's autobiography refers to his love of West Ham coming from the time he spent with his father Ronald going to watch matches at Upton Park. My son started going to football with Hubbie when he was a few weeks old. In fact I had to go with them the first time as I was still breastfeeding and had to be there to provide a half time snack for the boy.

I owe a great deal to sport as when my boy was first born Hubbie used to stay up late to watch the San Francisco Giants play and he would take the baby downstairs with him when he woke up at night for a feed. It meant I could do a sleep feed and go back to bed while they boys watched their team eventually go on to win the World Series. Hubbie is convinced that our boy broke the Giants' 30 year losing streak although I draw the line at keeping him awake to repeat the feat again this year.

They don't just watch sport together, they also go to a football activity for toddlers on a Saturday morning and this week I took the little man to an Easter camp where he played football, tennis and basketball. I've mentioned before that he has bundles of energy to burn off and it's lucky that Hubbie loves to do these activities with him as I have zero interest in any sport at all.

Since the early days we have fine tuned the Saturday morning routine and have narrowed it down to the trinity of essentials to keep our boy happy for the afternoon: Snack bag, snowsuit / suncream (delete as seasonally appropriate) and spare clothing. This way he has a snack at half time and is prepared for any weather conditions which considering when the football season falls is pretty important.

Aside from the bonding between father and son this regular activity has given my boy an impressive repertoire of football chants which thankfully are still repeatable in front of his grandparents. He has a friend who he plays with during the match and has been known to snaffle a biscuit from the board room during half time. In later years I expect he'll sample the delights of the snack bar and come home holding his belly and groaning. Today he took a new friend to football, a dog that he has named Woof Woof, and impressed his pal Freya who has been going to matches since she was a week old.

It was a conversation with Freya's mum that first made me realise how beneficial this whole Saturday football could be for me. I asked what she did while her husband and daughter went out and she said, "I have a bath, read the paper, go shopping. Anything I like really." The lightbulb lit up over my head and I realised that the faff of getting the boys organised was more than worth it for the sake of having an afternoon all to myself.

My usual Saturday afternoon is spent catching up with friends or having some pampering without having to rush home to feed anyone. Today I was massively productive and managed to go for a run, clean the bathroom and fridge, have a pedicure and baked some cookies. I also indulged in some kitchen porn and added a dishwasher, washing machine, cooker and fridge to my John Lewis online wish list. It's a far off dream, but when there are no distractions from the boys miaowing for biscuits, whining for milky way stars or asking me what's for dinner I am free to meander online and plan my ideal kitchen.

The season was due to finish in about a month, but the weather has been so bad that there are a few postponed games to be played. I have to make the most of my beloved and precious Saturdays until then or hope that something else takes the place of football once the season does finally end.

I have my fingers crossed for baseball and good weather :o)

We could be heroes… just for one day.

In a previous blog post I mentioned that I was disappointed to not have the chance to go to more events at the Olympics having been to just the beach volleyball and given my tickets away for the hockey. It was purely because Hubbie said I'd love the Olympic Park and it would be worth going to see it. So imagine my joy when he told me he had tickets for us to go to the Paralympics.

A friend of mine was at the Olympic Stadium last night as Jessica, then Greg, then Mo won gold medals and caused uproar all over the country as households watching on TV shouted, leapt up and down and felt patriotic all at once. I can well believe that it was an electric atmosphere and that there will be nothing like it again.

However, I'm not being bitter when I say that I'd rather watch the athletics at the Paralympics - I genuinely would prefer it. Of course it is a stunning achievement to make it to the Olympics and then to break records and win a gold medal all at once. It's also very gratifying to see that Team GB is represented by so many different people from backgrounds that are not traditionally 'British.' All the more enjoyable as only yesterday morning the BNP leafleted our house and I'd love to ask them how they feel about Britain being represented by people they would have 'sent back' or as the Daily Mail would have it 'plastic Brits'.

I'd prefer to watch the paralympics because there is an element of the athletes being superheroes. I don't mean this in a condescending way. After all the possibility of disabled athletes competing alongside their non-disabled peers is closer now thanks to Oscar Pistorius or the 'bladerunner' who will be the first person to compete in both the Olympics and the Paralympics. Equally South Korea's Im Dong-hyun who is completely blind competed in the archery at the Olympics.

This inclusion has to be a good thing for all involved in sport as it opens up the world of competition to anyone willing to put their effort into training for a world class event. What distinguishes a disabled athlete from the rest of us is the same as what distinguishes any athlete from the rest of us. It's not their disability it's their ability to train, commit and work hard enough to be better than the rest of us at something.

What I do hope in taking my son to the Paralympics is that he understands that disability is just another facet of life. That he will grow up to know that someone who is different in one way can still do amazing things and achieve great awards. I also want him to not feel embarrassed about disability in the way that so many people still are. Once I asked a colleague if he had been injured skiing as I hadn't noticed he walked with a stick before. He told me he had polio as a child, no big deal and we moved on. Another colleague was embarrassed on my behalf, which I just don't understand. Why is it not ok to ask a disabled person a question ? Surely better to ask and know the answer unless the person being asked is not ok about it.

A paralympian is as exceptional compared with any disabled person as Jessica Ennis is compared with me. Of course the latter is an unfair comparison as even if she weren't a lot younger and fitter than me Jessica still has the ability to be good at more than one sport while I struggle to just learn the rules.

So from a total sport-phobic I'm now an (albeit temporary) fanatic. It won't last so rest assured that I'll be back to talking about cakes and chocolate again before too long.

"Stop going on about pants" (Hubbie to me during the beach volleyball)

By now you've probably watched the Olympic opening ceremony. You may even have been in it in which case well done, unless you're the woman who infiltrated the indian team and caused an international incident. For my part I loved loved loved the whole thing and - as I commented on Facebook - the only way it could have been more spectacular is if it was an Indian wedding organised by my Mum.

It's out of character for me to take any interest in a sporting event and even more so for me to choose to go to one. So being excited about the beach volleyball yesterday morning took me by surprise. The last time I chose to go to an event with Hubbie was when we saw the San Francisco Giants at the SBC Stadium while on holiday in California. That was a long evening made manageable only by the constant entertainment and the organ that does indeed go "dah dah dah dah" like in the movies between innings.

I'm as interested in sport as Hubbie is in weddings. While I'm oohing and aahing at the dresses and flowers he's checking the sports results on his phone. In fact at his brother's wedding - which took place during the Ashes - the photographer had to keep sending his assistant into the bar to retrieve all the male guests (and groom) so the photos wouldn't just have women in them.

Likewise when sport is on I'm checking my email, facebook, twitter or blogging. I don't watch the BBC during Wimbledon fortnight as I have no interest in tennis and when the world cup takes place I spend a lot of time shopping or baking as I don't want to deny Hubbie his footie fix. Every Saturday during the football season the boys follow their team Fisher and I get to see my friends for lunch or catch up with the cleaning. Before we were married I used to attend one game a season, I'm now officially a Fisher widow which I much prefer.

Like almost everyone else I applied for tickets to a lot of sports in the Olympics without any genuine interest in them. I got tickets for the Beach Volleyball and Hockey and it's only the former that I was bothered about going to. It was as I expected unreconstructed sexim (complete with Benny Hill) and audience participation not unlike the baseball. It was fun and almost held my interest once Hubbie explained to me how the scoring works.

Now I regret that I'm not going to more events over the next fortnight - maybe all sports are like this and I'm missing out on something ?