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.

christmas eve @ oma & opa's

a carrot for Rudolph, a mince pie and... errr.... what's that?! not a beer, but a cup of warm milk for Father Christmas (only one minute in the microwave - it doesn't take long Father C - just be patient)! Now wot on earth would have prompted that.............?

Enchanted Christmas at Westonbirt

what a fairy tale we went to see this evening! a lovely start to the christmas holidays....

sometimes, the illuminations were interactive
there were bubbles
disco balls
fairy lights everywhere
a snow queen fairy on stilts (?!)

and then we had mulled wine / hot chocolate
listened to christmas carols by the choir in which my friend sings (beautifully)
the kids went on the merry-go-round

they're reading the 'enchanted wood' books at the moment

so tonight's experience couldn't have been more magical :-)

my highlights of this season

include

stir-up sunday

eldest's birthday

a glass of mulled wine, poured out for me by the people who sell me the Christmas tree

that hat....

(clickerdecklck ;-) )

the kisses youngest, and the cuddles eldest treat me to whenever any of us feels like standing under the mistletoe

and youngest in beaming at me throughout his nativity performance (with apologies for the poor photo quality...)

instrumental tuition annual report 2011-2012

'Eldest has been a delight to teach this year. She is by far the smallest bass player I have ever taught but she is certainly meeting the challenge head on and plays with enthusiasm and true determination! etc etc etc excellent excellent good good excellent...'

and:

'I look forward to seeing Eldest in orchestra next term'

so tonight we had a beaming eldest :-)

tools of the trade

it's that time of year again - presents for the teachers. my friend A. kindly collected £218 from all parents and proposed to buy £60 vouchers for the 3 teachers plus £20 each for the 2 teaching assistants plus £18 to spend on thank you cards (don't get me started on the English & their cards) & gift bags. the email has gone out to all parents but apparently i'm the only one entering into a correspondence with her about how the numbers don't add up and how to split the funds otherwise. it ends in a phone call - £50 each for the teachers, £25 each for the TAs and then a bit for gift bags and cards. Sorted. A. says that's why they made me a professor and her redundant. Yeah right.

Conversation turns to my children. I try not to, but sometimes i still do, worry how their unfavourable circumstances might impact on their happiness as they grow up. they're happy enough now, but what if / when they're teenagers and..... etc. At which point, A. reminds & silences me. of course in an ideal world you want to shield them from anything bad - but that's not possible. the human race is very resilient. my children are incredibly grounded and sensible. so - as a mother i provide stability and give them the tools of the trade for coping with life as it happens - and i have just entered into a life changing thing that will create even more stability. chances are, they'll be fine. 

we made a pact. i'll check her numbers, she'll provide my wisdom. sounds like the perfect deal to me :-)

potpourri

ideale oma

i can cycle without stabilisers

 ideale peettante

 het is geheel wederzijds... heus!

i'm a super goalie!

vlierbessen siroop

eindelijk eindelijk ben ik zo georganiseerd dat ik de schermen op tijd heb weten te plukken. dat is nl nogal een uitdaging - een mens moet tijd hebben om te plukken, de juiste plek weten te vinden waar voldoende van die dingen bloeien en er geen auto's langs rijden, het moet een paar dagen niet geregend hebben en een lekker zonnetje en dan moet een mens ook nog 48 uur op ongeveer dezelfde plek wezen voor het hele proces van vlierbessensiroop maken. pfieuw! ik geef het u te doen.

vandaag was ik op visite bij vrienden die een 'landje' hebben. hartstikke dol, echt zo'n totaal overgroeide wildernis van zo'n 6 hectare waar de kids niet verdwalen omdat er overal zoveel brandnetels en bramen staan dat ze braaf op de drie vierkante meter aan het begin blijven. daar zag ik in de verte de vlieren welig tieren. ha! zei ik en ging onmiddelijk asociaal met een tas en snoeischaar het veld in op vlierbloemenjacht.

36 buitelingen in onverwachte kuilen, door prikkende bramen en onder de brandnetelblaren later was ik wel mooi een grote dikke plastic tas met vlierbloemen rijker. het hele huis is nu gedrenkt in de heerlijk subtiele geur van vlierbloesem. ik maak er dit jaar geen vlierbloesemchampagne van, alleen siroop - verukkelijk met prikwater, een ijsklontje & blaadje munt. niet veel mensen maken het met sinaasappel maar het schijnt dat dat het geheel echt totaal niet te versmaden maakt - dus daar zijn we dit jaar dan maar voor gegaan. ik kan niet wachten tot ik mijn eerste glaasje kan proeven!

my lovely postie brightens up my day...

onder moeder's vleugels

eldest has a tendency to panic when i should be around but she cannot see me. this panic expresses itself as a massive howl, big tears that refuse to be dried for at least 5 full minutes, with quite a bit of gentler sobbing to follow. i heard such a howl the other day in the supermarket. she and youngest had run off in an attempt to hide from me and i merrily went on to the vegetables isle, knowing that youngest usually finds me and if not, then i'll find them easily enough.
howl!!
(ah - had forgotten eldest does not feel quite as confident just yet)
so i explained that honestly there is nothing to worry about, you must just search all the isles systematically and also, i will always find you and if you really are scared or worried or you really cannot find me despite searching very carefully, then you can always ask the people in the orange & brown outfits to talk through the microphone and tell me i need to come & collect you - and then they will tell me where they are with you, and then i will come and find you. OK? ok. eldest sniffed, calmed down now, but remained close by my side for the remainder of the shopping expedition.

i should have seen it coming...

youngest, as usual, clearly had had his ears peeled when i was having my little chat with eldest.
next thing i know, person in orange & brown outfit comes up to me, points at eldest, and asks: 'do you have another one of those?'

gawd! of course. youngest had immediately concluded this whole idea of mama being summoned up via microphone was mega exiting & he decided to try it out straight away. he had basically raced to the other side of the supermarket, beamed at orange & brown person and told her he'd lost his mummy. not quite as convincing as the howling for some reason...

rules are there to be broken

a friend of mine looked after my kids at the post-olympic torch picnic for 20 minutes until i could join them and kindly treated them to an ice-cream. 

friend: 'what kind would you like, youngest?' 

youngest: 'please may i have a double ice cream with a chocolate stick?'

(typical - trying it on with a stranger to see whether he gets away with it)

eldest: 'youngest! we're only allowed a normal ice cream! those are mummy's rules!'

(typical - definitely do not live dangerously)

(and in case you're curious:

friend: 'good, because those are also my rules!'

poor deprived babies of mine.)

toasters and rabbits

went to see this play today; 'in the next room or the vibrator play' - did you know that about 100 years ago, vibrators were used to treat women for hysteria?! apparently in around 1910 there were more vibrators than toasters in American households - makes me wonder what the statistics are today

it was beautifully done - fabulous acting, which must have been a challenge because the play contains a real mix of hilariousness and serious undertones set against a backdrop of early 20th century goings-on. apparently theatres in london are interested in hosting this performance - i hope they do; this evening out was such a treat! 

eldest in the morning

she has more important things on her mind than to get ready for school. she gets up and starts to draw pictures, write poems, play the piano or her brother's guitar until i tell her it really is time for breakfast now. then she cheerfully gobbles up her porridge, at her own pace, brightly chatting away to us. at some point i feel the need to suggest she gets dressed, brushes her teeth, her hair, puts on her shoes, puts on her coat. 

'mum-my! don't  - just - keep say-ing that!'

(she hates being told what to do. now who does that remind me of?)

'yes darleenk but if i don't say it you don't do it and then you're late for school'

she's not happy

'how about we make a deal. instead of saying what you need to do, i simply ask you whether you're ready yet'

it's a deal.

it works.

(7-year old in schooliform with hair & teeth brushed, no shoes on)

'are you ready?'

(severe look of serious concentration - then face brightens up)

'no! i have to put on my shoes!'

(rushes to do the same)

off we go to school. life is bliss.

grow your own palmtree

today, for the second time in my life i was confronted with an instruction manual that was headed 'this needs to be erected by at least two people'. this was followed by increasingly scary threats, basically along the lines of, if i didn't follow these instructions to the letter then it would be the end of me. and my children. and parents. and pets. and my house might fall down.

hmpf! couldn't they have told me that when i pressed 'confirm order' on my little laptop?! luckily, the children came to the rescue and held up various quite heavy pieces of metal. (they didn't die in the process) with my new hammock stand (plus the lovely hammocks i've had for ages and hardly ever used because of a lack of suitable trees), i am ready for the summer and i don't need to grow my own palm tree. :-)