Time to do this blog and get a status update!

It's the high point of summer 2017 and of course its grey and a bit rainy! This year has so far has been pretty good all round. Loving my job and the company I work for, really is a world apart from previous companies and shows what can be done when you have a great team and management working together.

Cillian is coming along in leaps and bounds, bringing joy to our lives every day. Ever feeling down or  miserable? Play with your baby/child and their laughs, giggles, crazy antics and actions will instantly make you feel better. He is walking , chatting loads and will soon get some "proper" words out! Right now he has the usual dada, muma, oooo, ya, aha, ah and something that is very close to cat. Points a lot to tell you what he wants or is interested in. He will hand you remote controls when he wants the TV on to watch Twirlywoos or Bing, hands mummy the breastfeeding pillow when he wants mummy milk and is copying more and more actions. Using a mobile phone, brushing his hair, putting on socks or shoes etc.

We lost our two cats, Buffy and Angel recently which was really sad and upset me a lot. They were about 17 years old which is great going especially as they have never needed any vet visits during their life. Angel went first, lost loads of weight, dehydrated and sadly died on the way to the vet to get checked out. Happened when I was away in Poland, I found out in the middle of a customer install and nearly burst out crying in front of everyone. Came home, collected him and buried him in the front garden. Buffy seemed fine and showered her with affection after. We thought she looked a bit thinner than usual, but not skinny or anything and totally fine in herself. She started acting a little odd, chasing her tail at night, yowling when you were not with her, but eating and drinking normally. Then one morning I called her for her food and she started staggering , walking sideways and then nearly falling over with her back leg in the air when feeding. Still she seemed fine in herself apart from not walking or standing properly. Took her to the vet, they did tests and got inconclusive results. Something was wrong, but could have been many things. Basically any treatment would have really stressed her out and anything she had would just get worse. So end of the day we made the hard decision to put her to sleep and end any suffering. Buffy was such an amazing, affectionate, loyal, friendly cat with bags of character and a real personality. She and Angel were great around Cillian, very tolerant. So sad to say goodbye, but it felt right and it was over very quickly. Took her home and buried her next to her brother in the front garden. The house is now empty of cats and is much quieter. Miss them loads and keep expecting a furry friend to come up and start purring next to me or jump on my lap.  We will probably get another cat at some point, but not for a while. Let the house be pet free for a bit. I want either a Siamese or a Maine Coon, I do like the big cats and they look pretty cool.

Am off to Atlanta, Georgia next week with work for some training which will be good. Next month have the Velo Birmingham closed road sportive which I am kinda looking forward to, but my cycling has taken a real back seat since Cillian was born. I am going to take it easy and just enjoy it instead of pushing hard.