Highlight

We went to Grandma and Grandpa’s for lunch today.  It was a bit of a family get together with two uncles and three aunts (one of them honorary but still very much an aunty) also present.

The children were initially shy but soon warmed up to all the people they could show off to.  They had a lovely day.

Grandma had some gifts for them (she is a very thoughtful Grandma and they’re lucky to have her) including a pair of battery operated bubble blowers (mini-hairdryers to you and me).  They went down a storm (not just with the children, I might add).

A Nod is as Good as a Wink

She’s learnt how to wink and keeps doing it for no obviously apparent reason.  Apparently I randomly over-expose pictures as well but I think it works on this one.

Also, she’s gone all grown up.

A Different Sort of Ending

It’s nematode time again.  I find it slightly disconcerting to open the fridge and see this.

Cucumbers and Butterflies

No, really.

We brought in our first cucumber today.  I had some of it for lunch in a pitta bread with some ham.  It was so much more tasty than anything you’d buy in the shops.  A great deal knobblier too.

I also took the kids to the Natural History Museum today.  We had a lovely day.  Even though there were queues for everything, the queues were constantly moving and there was enough to see and talk about while you were queueing that my two were fine.  They were awestruck by the dinosaurs and quite taken aback by the size of the blue whale (especially when I explained that blue whales are still alive today – I think they expect anything huge or out of the ordinary to be extinct).

It is free to get into the Natural History Museum and because of the boy we’d taken a picnic so hadn’t had to shell out loads for lunch.  As I’d spent so little money and they were both so good I offered to take them into an exhibition that we’d have to pay for.

There is a “Butterfly Jungle” set up outside (on what I was later to learn is the East Lawn, they’re a bit posh then) and they’d both been really excited about it, so I agreed that we could go in.  I explained before we went in that they were to watch where they were putting their feet, not to touch the butterflies and if one landed on them not to go off on one (all of which I expected to happen at some point).  From the moment we walked through the door though, they tip-toed around, almost silently, eyes wide, occasionally whispering that they could see a butterfly, or one had landed on me, the girl or the boy.  It was an amazing transformation.  The next time we see a butterfly enclosure we’re going in, come hell or high water.

In fact, they were much better behaved than me.  I have to admit that when I saw this

I shouted at the member of staff nearest to it.  I appreciate the sign (I didn’t know what a peanut bush looks like until today) but really I would have liked to have known before we went in.  In fact, what I’d really like is the ability to make an informed choice before I hand over my money.  I managed to corner a manager as we were leaving so my point has been well and truly made but I will be writing to them as well.

So, rant over!

I took lots of terrible pictures of dinosaurs (I’m not confident in flash use and still haven’t read that manual!) today, some cute pictures of my children (but you’ve already seen one of them) and some quite good (I think) pictures of butterflies.

Here’s one.

The Beginning of The End

Life will be very different in September.  The girl starts big school and this will change our daily timetable fairly comprehensively.

Today we had our first last time of doing something.

The girl has had the same swimming teacher, H, since she was 6 months old.  H has given her confidence in the water and confidence in herself.  H taught her that she can float, and that if she slips it is easy to get back up again (a concept that she really struggled with when she first went into the pool without me, I was never very good at letting go of her).

It seems like lots of little things have upset the girl today.  Falls and bumps have been oh so traumatic.  Her little brother has apparently been a bit more irritating than usual.  Actually, I think it is just the one big thing.  Having to say goodbye.  She’s never had to do it before.

She and I left the boys at home and went out for cake and a smoothie this afternoon.  I think it made both of us feel a bit better.

Lush

A hasty iPhone post today as I’m trying not to miss any more days (this is supposed to be a 365 after all) and I’m off out with LNFATR and another friend in a mo.

We have got courgettes coming out of our ears, loads of tomatoes waiting to ripen, sweetcorn possibilities, some cucumbers and the onions are coming along nicely. Not to mention the wild blackberries growing at the end of the garden.

I’m very pleased with our little patch.

Precise

He spent a good half an hour arranging these cars.  Anytime he plays with cars he is very precise.  The cars have to be laid out just so.  Woe betide the person that knocks one a teeny bit out of place as they walk past.

Tired

We took the kids to the Ben & Jerry’s Sundae Festival at Clapham Common today.  I’m sure I should have put in loads of links there but we’ve just put the kids to bed* and I’m knackered a bit tired.  Would you mind googling anything you want to check?  Just this once?  Thank you.

It was a bit odd for me.  We went last year, just before the boy’s allergy became apparent.  At 21 months I was worried about him in that sort of setting.  Worried about him running off and getting lost, or getting sunburnt or over tired.  What I didn’t worry about was what I would feed him.  We could always grab something on the fly if we had to.  Last year we took a picnic lunch and grabbed something on the way home, safe in the knowledge that we could stop anywhere we wanted to.  This year we had lunch at home and took a picnic tea with us.  I still worried a bit about him wandering off although I think it’s unlikely.  I didn’t worry about him getting sunburnt because he had sunscreen and a hat on and we’ve done lots of days in the sun now.  I didn’t worry about him getting overtired either.  I knew he would and that we’d deal with it as we have on past occasions.  What I did worry about, as I do any time that I’m not at home, was whether or not I had enough to feed him if we were later back than we’d planned to be.

I remember going to Brighton to see my big sister a year or so ago.  We went to do some shopping, which we don’t normally do.  The boy was still small enough to be in the pushchair willingly and the girl had reins on.  I watched my sister and her two children walking along the road.  There was no constant physical contact between them and sometimes the children would walk behind her so she couldn’t see them.  Her two are much older than my two.  I remember wondering when I would feel comfortable walking along with my two not in direct sight.  Nowadays I wonder when I’ll stop feeling anxious about food.

As you can see, I don’t seem to be transmitting my anxiety to him just yet.

* I started writing this 2 hours ago and got distracted half way through.  I’m not putting them to bed at 11pm, honest.

Scanning

When I went to Somerset a month ago (without the children) I stayed with my mum.  It hadn’t really occured to me until then, but since I got married I haven’t spent very much time with her on my own.  There’s usually been someone else around, mostly my children.

The first night I was there we stayed up stupidly late, talking (and possibly having a small glass of wine, ahem).  The next morning we agreed that we wouldn’t do the same that night.

After tea on the second night, I reminded her to let me have some photo’s she wanted scanning so I could take them home with me the next day.  She only really wanted a few but by the time we’d gone through all her photo’s (a) it was stupidly late again, (b) we’d drunk quite a lot more wine and (c) I’d purloined most of her photographs to scan in.

It was a lovely evening with lots of laughing over some very funny photos and lots of stories of the pictures of her life (and if she doesn’t write them down like she said she would I’ll be very cross).

This is a self-portrait, not only taken by mum but developed by her as well.

Clever and beautiful.

Juicy

These are growing at the end of the garden.  We’ve started harvesting them already.  I feel an apple and blackcurrant crumble coming on.