Having spent all weekend packing up the house

And moving to our new rented house

We were all exhausted before the day was begun

At 7.30am I drove the children to our home from home

As we pulled up outside the house

So did the Sainsburys van with our weekly shop

As I unpacked the shopping

I discovered a leak in the ceiling of our newkitchen

Our temporary kitchen

I keep telling myself

My beautiful children are incredible easy to please

Resilient and strong

With Peppa Pig on DVD

A breakfast of Alphabites and melon

They were looking completely at home

Before too long

I on the other hand

Was struggling

With the new, temporary, kitchen

The cupboards open in funny ways

Everything feels awkward

Nothing is clean

If you use the oven the TV trips

The toilet leaks and the shower has no power

The next few months are going to be hard enough

Without a broken, leaking house

Thankfully the landlord is friendly and fast acting

He is on the case to fix the faults

It is very strange moving into a temporary, rented house

I feel a bit like we are camping

Though we do have lots of our stuff

We do not have it all

And it is not really about belongings

It is about belonging

We do not belong here

Thank goodness children are so adaptable

They are all having a wonderful time

William has turned his new bedroom into the land

Of World’s Strongest Engine

Esther has had fun making toy animal beds

Out of my socks

Bea has been enjoying exploring a new space

We were really not at the house for too long

Monday is a busy day

We dropped Bea off at Granny’s

Then drove to Esther and William’s swimming lesson

Then we went back to Granny’s for a bit of lunch

Before heading over to our old house

Bea and William stayed with Daddy

And the building crew to play in the garden

While I took Esther to her first ever ballet lesson

Which she loved

Mostly as she got to dance on a real life stage!

The ballet school she has trial sessions with

A performing a show

Esther is too late to take part

But she is loving joining in with the practice!

After ballet it was back to the old house

Collecting Bea and William

Before driving back to the new house

The temp house

For a pancake tea!

I have done more driving today

Than I think I have ever done

Certainly the most miles I have ever driven in one day

We had a busy day

And the builders did too

David is project managing the build

With our fantastic builder

And he is also helping with the physical work

He was really not sure what to expect today

And I definitely did not have a clue

It was amazing to see the progress made in just one day

And I know that not every day’s work

Will be quite so visible

But today it started

Today it was begun

Today they …

Took away a big section of ceiling in the playroom

To look at the connection between the ceiling joists and the wall

Took up all the carpets

Investigated the damp beneath our lounge floor

Decided to remove the rotten floor

To be replaced with a concrete floor

Potentially using rubble from the walls that are coming down

Took out the fire place in the lounge

Looked under the floor boards in the hall

And did lots of other investigations

Different bits of exploratory work

Tomorrow we have to take down Tilda’s tree

The children and I are going to watch

It is an old apple tree

Outside the playroom door

Where I used to lie with Tilda when she was tiny

We had wind spinners in the tree

And she used to stare at their colours

Twirling in the breeze

It is a lovely tree

Beautiful in full blossom

But it stands where our extension will be

And though it is a thing of beauty

It is also a potential cause of harm

It attracts a lot of wasps

In a place where our children like to play

The rotten apples on the floor

Fill with wasps

So we cannot let the children play barefoot

Which they all love to do

It is the right decision for the tree to go

David is going to use the wood to make a storytelling chair

And tomorrow we will all be there

To take Tilda’s apple tree down

Now the sun is setting

On the end of day 1 of our project

David and I are exhausted

Our very excited children are finally sleeping

Esther and William, in their new, temporary beds

I am feeling itchy

I am wondering if the house has dust mites

It is such a dusty, dirty house

Anyone who visits my house

Will understand how dirty it must be

When I say I have cleaned every drawer and cupboard

Before putting our things in

It is going to be a long and winding road

As we journey to our forever home

Making the most of our temporary one

But today …

Today it is begun!