Learner Drivers - When Your Children Turn 17

Maybe one day!

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In the midst of finishing my degree my eldest son turned 17.  For Connor this is incredibly exciting as he can learn to drive, counting down over the past few years to this moment.  Whilst learning to drive seems a right of passage the moment you turn seventeen, it is certainly an expensive one.  Driving lessons are not cheap, to the extent that I slightly envy a driving instructors wage.  Although in all honesty I could not teach people to drive! A single hours lesson seems to be avoided these days, with a compulsory two hour lesson, preferably on a weekly basis.  Block bookings are no longer encouraged with no discounts for booking ten hours in advance.

But the spiraling cost does not stop at the lessons.  Before even booking a lesson Connor of course needed a provisional licence. Next up was booking his theory test, thankfully that was only £25. After just four hours of lessons, his instructor told him that a total of 30 hours should see him to pass his driving test.  Which actually isn't to bad as I think the average is about 40, so hopefully saving us £250.  Extra practice time in my car will help, so today I will be contacting my insurance company to see how much this will add to my monthly direct debit.  

Whilst the pounds vanish I keep reminding myself how important learning to drive is, especially to Connor, who has eagerly awaited this moment for a long time.  Giving him the freedom that a driving licence provides is essential, especially when we live in the Suffolk countryside.  He will be able to drive to school, to a part time job, to help Andy and I with the various drop offs and pick ups of his siblings.  Having not learnt to drive until I was 33, having not managed to pass before heading off to uni at 18 then never quite getting around to it in the following years, I know the freedom that being able to drive provides.  So for the next few weeks I will smile as I hand over another bundle of ten pound notes!

Until next time, take care.
Zoe
xo

Growing Into Our Home

I know people tend to say that you need to grow into your house, before making it a real home.  Well we have certainly done this.  Having moved here three and half years ago, we whizzed through, making quick updates to a very tired old decor, replaced the kitchen and had central heating fitted.  Then we stopped, not quite sure what to do next.  Slowly we have changed different pieces of furniture to better fit this house, made plans for different rooms.  But in the past couple of weeks, perhaps as a distraction from my huge workload, Andy and I have been thinking hard about how to make our home work better for our family.  The children are getting older and over the next few years we will be waving them goodbye as they head off to uni and then to grown up lives of their own.  This is quite a scary thought, my babies are not little anymore.  

However this has had an impact on our decorating ideas, on how we plan to utilise the space we have.  Whilst I hate thinking about my little birdies leaving the nest it is also quite liberating to know we can choose furniture that doesn't have to be toddler friendly.  For years we have had a lovely leather sofa, partly brought due to the easy cleaning option, but now I find myself looking wistfully at fabric upholstered sofas and chairs when we visit the huge Next At Home store down the road in Martlesham.  

We know our plans will take a couple of years to come to fruition, time and money restrictions slowing us down.  But this also means we can indulge in the planning stage, so I am sure I will be adding plenty of inspiration to my Pinterest boards over the coming months!

Are you busily planning a revamp in your home, making small or dramatic changes? Exciting isn't it?

Until next time, take care,
Zoe
xo