Wednesday, June 02, 2010

All roofboxed up!

We have been talking about getting a roofbox for a while now. If we go away anywhere, now that we have two children, there is no real room for luggage. Especially if the space eating double buggy is in the boot! Leigh has a company car which he can't change for 3 years now so we looked into other options - ie a roofbox. Been to Halfords 3 times over the last week to try and buy one but there have been parts not in, or men not available to fit it. Yesterday afternoon was looking like a go.

Let me preface the next bit by saying 3 things - firstly, we have found that blackcurrant Fruit Shoots tend to go straight through Zachary. And not just straight through - within an hour of drinking one, his nappy will be completely full with imminent risk of leakage and wet trousers. A doctor friend of ours told us that blackcurrant irritates the bladder and this is why is causes children to wee, and that makes sense to us! Secondly, Leo's weaning is going well but til yesterday he hadn't pooed for about 4 days. I was getting slightly concerned as to quantity when he did finally go. Finally, the boys' behaviour overall during our time at Halfords was brilliant and Zachary was very very good. It could have been a lot more stressful.

So I turn up just after half 3 at Halfords and by 10 to 4 they've made a start on the box. I'm told it'll take half an hour to 40 minutes to complete. I know that Leigh's parents will be visiting this afternoon, but they usually don't arrive until between half 4 and 5 (nearer 5 often) so I'm not too worried and think I can get home in plenty of time.

Zachary and I go to McDonalds for drinks and manage about 20 minutes there - I decide to leave after Zachary keeps sidling up to other families to say hello and begins jumping on the chairs and shouting happily. As we get back to Halfords - it isn't looking good. Neither the box nor the bars are on the roof yet, hell the fixings aren't even on and the chap looks like he's having some difficulty with one of the bits on the car... So we go into the store and buy a gazebo for the garden. As I'm a the checkout, the checkout lady is sighing that she's running around like a headless chicken because there's noone else in the shop and she doesn't know where they are. A quick check out the door confirms, yes, they're all working on my roof box!!!

As it's now been about half an hour I think we'll get in the car to wait out the rest as I don't have the double buggy with me and this is the best way to keep Zachary safe and entertained (CD player). Leo gets restless in the car seat so I sit in the front with him, with Zachary in the passenger seat. This is fine, although there's still no sign of any roof box going on, and then Leo poos. Twice. I don't have the change bag with me.

So I spend the rest of the time we are there (it took over an hour in all), feeling increasingly hot in the car, trying to close off my nose to the stench rising from Leo's nappy, checking down it every few minutes to make sure that nothing's going to come squidging out the top and becoming concerned that Zachary's likely to wee through his nappy anytime. In the middle of all this I get a call from my parents-in-law, who have arrived at the house (early for them) to find us not there. Heck.

But it all works out fine - grandparents go away and come back later, both boys manage to get home and nappies are changed before disaster occurs and the roof box is finally fitted! Hurrah! Now we can go on holiday. Now we need to book a holiday!

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