In an attempt to get a bit more exercise, a while ago I put a daily 5pm reminder onto my phone to remind me to get some exercise - even if just running a few laps around the garden. With a decent-sized garden, trampoline, and soon-to-be-warm-enough pool, it seems ridiculous not to be able to get fit without joining a gym. (I don't much like gyms anyway, even if I did have time to go, which I don't, unless I'm prepared to drag three children off to the gym creche for 40 minutes three times a week.) I even have an indoor exercise mat that Peter hopefully bought me for my birthday (any day now it'll make its debut appearance).

I have found that I can get a bit of exercise in more easily if I do it with the kids - and we sometimes think up some creative alternatives. Like yesterday, for instance, we had a game of Fireball. This consists of trying to wallop each other with a couple of old half-deflated soccer balls (the fireballs). If any part of your body other than your hands (you can hit them away) makes contact with the fireballs you immediately have to drop everything (including any fireballs you might be about to hurl) and dash to the sprinkler to douse your on-fire self. By 6pm most of us were totally soaked. The perfect game for a cold, damp, grey afternoon.