besties

where we used to live, eldest had a bestie. she was in the other class and at break time the girl who finished first would wait at the other's classroom until they were released. eldest and her bestie would then hold hands as they walked to lunch or the playground together - they were inseparable.

last weekend, i needed a haircut so -as you do- we went back to where we used to live and the kids had arranged their sleepovers. precious grown-up time for mummy and catching up with besties for the babies. counting down the number of nights left till last saturday started when it was first arranged in the middle of august. come last friday, our excitement just couldn't be contained any longer.

then..... eldest started throwing up. it lasted the entire weekend and she can still barely keep a sip of water in. the poor girl was inconsolable: 'now i've been counting down the days till i started throwing up instead of the days till my sleepover at bestie's!'

youngest on the other hand agreed 'he was allowed on top' in his girlfriends bunk bed. when bedtime came and her mother suggested she read them a story, youngest asked 'can we just talk?' only to then correct himself and suggest 'in fact, can we both read the same book and then talk about the book - can we do a book club?'

gawd. scarred for life....  

memories of february

what a perfect month off!

making cuddly toys

'i want to make youngest happy by making him a cuddly toy'


'i want to make eldest happy by making her a cuddly toy'






ok......... off we went into town. we bought teddy fur, buttons for the eyes, bright pink sequin material for the dress, black starry material for the cloak, and big bags of fluffy stuff for the stuffing


















we had to go back again the next day because silly mummy's sewing skills are so rusty she hadn't even been able work out how much teddy fur is required for two teddies

doh!

who cares..... after all, yes please, any excuse for another stroll through that gorgeous Saatchi Gallery  :-)




(to be continued.... hopefully!)

deformity

I firmly believe the inventor of the dishwasher deserves the Nobel prize for peace. Spend hours cooking one's favourite food, eat that lovely food, and then a machine deals with the pots & pans for you? Bliss!

Recently I managed to get to the end of my stack of 200 boxes of dishwasher powder

That was such an unusual experience, and usually my mind is on other things, that I ended up without for a few days. At some point, I concluded 'well, I'm going to have to run the machine without dishwasher powder in it then & see how it goes'.

Not until 3 days later did I realise that of course, I could have done those dishes manually.

it's 11:30

we're moving house. the new place is a bit dark, so I'm having sky lights put in and am arranging it all in between the rest of life i.e. perhaps too efficiently & without getting proper references & all that

'residential' - that's too small a job for the fitters who come recommended by the sky light company, so they recommend someone else.

someone else conveniently also happens to know a roofer, a plumber, a plasterer and an electrician. brilliant. unfortunately, whenever i ask the question about costs he's a bit evasive.

me: 'right. so just to be clear I can count on the following - you all charge very reasonable rates, you're extremely reliable, show up when you say you'll show up and you're all extremely goodlooking, are you?'

someone else: 'sure. we're not here to make money out of you'

(me: 'yes you are' someone else: 'OK I admit - we can't do this entirely for free')

someone else: 'i suggest you put the diet coke in the fridge, let us get on with the job and you can decide which of us is the best looking'

huh??

OK

i suppose i asked for that....

fairy tales

tonight, youngest had another tooth on offer. under his pillow it went; placed very carefully, exactly in the middle.

half an hour later, he was downstairs again. 'i want to write the tooth fairy a letter. i want to ask her what her name is.'

'to mrs tooth fairy
thank you for coming
love youngest
ps. wats your name?'

thankfully, i discovered how one finds out one's tooth fairy's name. (how on earth did we ever survive before google?)

'dear youngest

what a lovely surprise to find your note! you are a very special boy and I adore your teeth!

my name is Fuss Icewasp. I protect the vulnerable and bring justice to the wronged. I wear red with white spots, like toadstools and I have icy blue butterfly wings. Thank you so much for your tooth!

love, Fuss xxx'

Escargots

Oudste moest 'gips happen'. Arm kind! Gelukkig was het spul roze van kleur en de mal was oranje (speciaal voor haar chauvinistische moeder). Ze vond het maar helemaal niks. Al kokhalzend riep ze: 'it tastes like snails!'

daar moest de zuster om glimlachen.

toen riep ze: 'no, it's worse! it tastes like uncooked snails!!'

de blik op het gezicht van de zuster, daar moet ik een week later nog om gniffelen.