Petits Haricots

Well, we started the year with key aims
1. to have another child [and started, finally on the clomid since I had got down to BMI 30]
tick!!! We welcomed Alys into our family in November
2. Me to get a consultant post, ideally in Leeds, and a 4 day week
tick, cross, cross. However, started in Sept in Cambridgeshire and is a great job. Hours are far too long though, and now must move]
3. Think about Elinor’s education
tick - here we are!

So,additional good things - continued health of us, a good holiday with Chris’s parents in Wales, some lovely family visits, getting my research published, and presenting at conferences - including Athens where chris and Elinor came too, and we exposed her to the cradle of civilisation! Our house finally looking nice. Elinor being 80% gorgeous and only 15% frustration and 5% up the wall!
Sad things - luckilly not many. My Nan’s breast cancer recurring. Mum’s heart attack scare - turned out to be fibromyalgia. Living in hospital accommodation in Huntingdon for 8 weeks with Elinor and Chris just visiting at weekends [hopefully we will never live apart again]

Today we took advantage of the sun and went to golden acre park.SB getting far more confident with bike.

Got back home from Xmas Wednesday night, but not blogged yet.

But I just had to share this lovely photo that I managed to take of Alys over the break. It’s probably the best photo of the either of the girls I’ve taken. (looks even better as an 8×10 print)

is my Mum’s mum, and we visited her at Aunty Margarets today. She is looking v well, though this latest course of radiotherapy has been tougher than previously [recurrent breast cancer]. SB is v gentle with her now, mostly reading books together and ‘look at me’ play and games. oh, and eating the yummy cakes she bakes!
Nanny has a really soft spot for SB, as she saw her when only 3 hours old, and was the ray of sunlight in the year she was diagnosed with breast cancer, and originally told by junior doctor to abandon all hope. [luckilly excellent consultant at Norfolk and Norwich turned this around, but after SB’s birth].
BB went in for the ‘ I’m anybodies, cuddle me’ approach, which she does v well.

We went to my parents for xmas, after visiting Chris’s parents - so a bit of a royal review of loyal subjects! [obviously ELinor and ALys’s loyal subjects, not ours!!]. my sister and her family also stayed with Mum and Dad, so a jolly household.
Xmas worked really well, got on OK, no rows. part of the ease I think came from the fact that this year us adults opened our presents Xmas eve after children in bed, to Xmas carols, mulled wine and nibbly bits. Made it v relaxed, and got to enjoy own presents rather than keeping eye out on what youngsters ripping open!
Also, when children opened presents the next day, there seemed to be the right number. enough to play with, without having too many, or feeling extravagant. The grandchildren played beautifully together.
Cheers to Mum for catering, and all there for such a lovely time. Cris will no doubt add a few photos and says he’s written a bit too.

Ok, I’ve just added a couple of piccies to yesterdays blog, took this one last night when Stringbean had finally got to sleep of her and some of her ‘cuddlies’ - her cute name for them.. Yes there is a small child in there somewhere………

Sorry Alison, haircut pics will have to wait

Ok, really is time to get sorted so we can head of on our xmas perambulation of the parents. Have fun you bloggers and Happy Xmas everyone.

Stringbean has found todays chocolate on the advent calendar, so looks like she’s sussed what the Twenties’ look like.

Boiled egg and pickled onions is what Stringbean had for breakfast yesterday. She has eclectic tastes in food

Had a half written blog for the weekend last night,but somewhere I los t it. So this will be shorter version.

Butterbean hit 4 weeks on Saturday, and continues to grow in gorgeousness, she often has smiles. She continues to eat for England, and grow similarly (must be well over 12 lB now) - she certainly is a chunky monkey . Her muscles have grown much in strength, she kicks and pushes with here legs and can lift and hold her head up for sometime. She’s taking a fair bit of notice of what’s around here now, looking at things moving here head to track things.

What has been pleasing is how well SB has responded to her, she shows her such affection, and care that it is wonderful to see. Yes of course there are little moments of the jealousy, but nothing more thna you would expect. She loves to help out with bathing, nappies etc. and would help out with feeding if she could. We thought she probably would as she seemed so excited about it and said she wanted a baby, but it’s so nice to see it action.

The other night she was cuddling up on Mummy, when I brought BB in, she said something to the effect that she wanted to cuddle mummy by herself, so me and BB went off and had a cuddle and a doze on the bed ourselves, which was nice.

Saturday SB and I went to the library and took back some rather overdue book. She loves the library and choosing books, though she tends to be a bit random in her selections - if it has a nice picture on the front it’s fair game. They had some free bookmarks on the desk - she wanted to know what they were - I explained about them being used in longer books to keep you place - she took one and then wanted to find a book for it. So she found one about a boy who is in coma after his dog was killed and he was injured in a road accident - a cheerful subject for a 3 year old (though it has happy ending). She insisted Helen start reading it too her, much to Helen’s dislike. I did try to leave it behind, but she wasn’t having it. I had more in mind the rather nice Winnie the Pooh collection the Bookpeople are doing at the moment (£10, 30 quid in Waterstones) . We did also have an educational bit though, we paln to vist the Jovik Viking Centre in York early next year, so are going to do a bit of something on Vikings so got a couple of books, a DK Viking one and a story book/tape about a Viking who got sea sick.

Did a bit shopping, including getting some bits for making Ice cream Sundaes This all started the other day when SB was doing a maths CD - Jumpstart Maths or somesuch - with a daft bunny called Hopalot. Anyway, they had Ice Cream Sundaes in it somewhere, she wanted to know what they were, and then we decided to make some. Cue getting ice cream, chocolate sauce and various sprinkles organised. We had fun making and eating them later (I like this HE lark…)

Sunday Aunty M, Uncle M and Mark coming round for Mulled Wine and Mince pies in the evening. Me and SB made mince pies. She looks very much the cook now, and can actually manage to do some of the bits herself quite well, which is big change on last year. Cutting out, sticking the tops on she can manage especially well. We had to cut out little stars and hearts to decorate the tops for extra fun though.

A bit of manic cleaning/tidying up and then BB was introduced to her Uncle Mike (well Great-Uncle really) and Cousin Mark. Mark has just the odd piercing, which SB found intriging. Much mulled wine was drunk and food munched.

Monday Nursery day for SB, given the late night she had I’m surprised we managed to get up in time. I went shopping, bit busy but ok, managed to survive a quick hit and run on Ikea and a quick viist to town, I fripped in Waterstones on audio books (Winnie the Pooh, Some Mog stories and a kiddies songs CD) I even got a hair cut All set for Crimble now I think. Helen did some packing - we head of on our Xmas perambulation tomorow.

When I picked her up from nursery, SB was going ‘Ooo Ooo’ at me, and pointing - ‘Look all the rufflies have gone!’ (I’d had a shave as well….) Got to 20 on the advent calendar, she knew it came next, but didn’t remember what it looked like. Last night she complained that her pyjama trouser legs were half way up her legs - so I bought her some more, this time managed to find some reasonable one in Asda, last time I looked they all seemed vomit inducinglly pink/princess/barbie/disney type efforts, managed to find some better ones this time, cute, girly ones but not offensive. SB was pleased anyway.

Helen went out for a meal tonight taking BB with her, she seems to have behaved well. I was uspposed to have tidied packed sort for tomorrow, but SB didn’t get to sleep until 1030 or later,so scuppered things a bit (she came down about 10 saying she was hungry and wanted some cold spaghetti hoops - so she finished off a tin and went back to bed.

Then I wasted the rest of the time writing this…….

Could add some piccies, but must do something useful maybe another time.

Well if I could be bothered I’d be an atheist, so not exactly accurate , but then I do like carols, including this one - 15 years of Baptist church attending I guess.

You are ‘Hark! The Herald Angels Sing’. You take
Christmas very seriously. For you, it is a
religious festival, celebrating the birth of
the Saviour, and its current secularisation
really irritates you. You enjoy the period of
Advent leading up to Christmas, and attend any
local carol services you can find, as well as
the more contemplative Advent church services
each Sunday. You may be involved in Christmas
food collections or similar charity work. The
midnight service at your church, with candles
and carols, is one you look forward to all
year, and you also look forward to the family
get together on Christmas Day.

What Christmas Carol are you?
brought to you by Quizilla

You are ‘Adam Lay Y Bounden’! Ah, you appear to be
something of a Christmas snob. Whether you are
a musician who has sung one carol service too
many, or merely someone with very highbrow
views on music and culture, you shudder at the
thought of piped music in lifts, wince at
endless repetitions of Jingle Bells and have
put out a contract on Rudolph. While you agree
that some of the well-known carols are lovely,
you are more drawn by the really obscure
medieval carols, or the ones arranged by Bach.
You also know parodies of several carols - a
legacy of excessive carolling, or perhaps just
the product of an enquiring and slighly cynical
mind… Try to enjoy Christmas, anyway.

What Christmas Carol are you?
brought to you by Quizilla

Actually do love medieval carols [including this one!], but love most christmas carols. hate christmas ’songs’ - so am a snob. love the whole snow, holly winter candle thing - mix of yule etc - mostly family and carols and nippy weather rather than religion. could even not miss the presents!

Spent a while writing that last post on the laptop - a little while after posting it I noticed that for some reason it was made twice. I deleted the second copy (from the desktop upstairs). Meanwhile a little later, Helen looked at the pageI had left showing on the laptop, saw the copy, deleted what she thought was the copy, only to realise that there was only one now and she had deleted that………..

Luckily I found the text of the post by going back in the browser a few pages

Women bloggers eh? - Ducks and runs for cover….

‘Oh Wow!’ being Stringbean’s favoured statement of exclamation when she finds something surprising, exciting etc. I love it, it seems to sum up so much of the wonder and excitement in some much in childhood.

Playing catch up again, why does my mind seem to be such a blank when I sit down at the ‘puter?…

Thursday first

Helen was doing another all day course in town, so the day was arranged around getting her fed. Luckily, Butterbean is less fussy about the bottle than her sister was, and though she’s not exactly a fan, will drink well enough from a bottle (given that this is only the second time that she has had to have one). If anything there wasn’t enough in the bottles to fill her up, but it was enough to keep her happy when she wanted a mid morning feed.

The girls and me went into town and met Helen so that Butterbean could have a good fill up. They had three xmas trees at the place we had to go, which impressed Stringbean – she loves to go up and touch the various decorations for some reasons, then pottered about until she finished. It was cold and windy, Butterbean was wrapped up snug though and kept me warm (!) in the sling. We went to the German Chriskindle Market nearby that is here every December. Bit too cold for browsing really and not exactly busy on windy Thursday. But Stringbean went on a Carousel and enjoyed it (last time she saw one she wanted to go then changed her mind) – she was the only one on it – not a good day for trade me thinks. Some lovely wooden toys - I mostly restrained myself. She bought a little wooden decoration on one stall, and I bought a wooden jigsaw type thing of European countries. The jigsaw isn’t that hard and she can do it ok, but I thought it might be a good way to learn the countries. All the names are in German, so extra education value there as well

Here she is playing with it later:

It was too cold to sit outside munching the enticing looking Garlic bread so we headed off to a café for some lunch. Stringbean amused the till lady, she likes to pay for things at the moment, so I gave her a tenner to pay. She took the change, went to give it back to me, then changed her mind and said, ‘it’s my money now’ as she pocketed the change…

Anyway, nice ‘Happy Mummy’ moment after we got home:

And I cooked roast Potatoes and roast Parsnips with dinner – yum-yum. And Stringbean munched happily on the Parsnips, which I don’t remember her doing before.

Friday

Had vague plans to maybe go swimming with Stringbean this morning, but she got up a bit later than normal, and I’d already started trying to sort out the disaster that was the kitchen, so I carried on with that through the morning, while playing with Stringbean, helping her out etc. played with her Europe jigsaw, made couple more cards by herself, made various ‘constructions’ using the card blanks, general playing. Whenever asked if she wanted breakfast she was ‘too busy’, we eventually had brunch of baked beans on toasted with sautéed cold baked potatoes at about 11.30. She cut up the potatoes into chunks mostly by herself, though with close watch taken by me as she wielded the sharp knife. She does know how to use it safely – keeping her fingers out of the way etc. but of course a 3 year old ‘knowing’ something and ‘applying’ that knowledge aren’t the same thing. It would probably scare some people, but I’d rather she know how to use a knife safely, and to respect them (she knows not to touch the sharp knives if one of us isn’t with her). It’s only fairly soft things she can cut any at the moment really anyway.

Once Mummy was up (Butterbean wanting to feed much of the night..), she had to tell endless stories involving the stuffed animals off of the mobile above Butterbeans cot, afternoon involved tidying up the living room and back room where most of the toys live, doing some maths – adding up, she can 3 numbers up now – as long as they are small enough and we have been reinforcing the ‘teens’ using the Advent calendars though she does pretty much know them as far as I can tell., some letters – words that start with certain letters. It ended with cuddling time. I took Butterbean off for a nappy change, when I came back Stringbean was lying on top of Helen, and said that she wanted to cuddle Mummy herself -she has probably feels that she has missed out bit here, so me and Butterbean went off again, and ended up snoozing on the bed together which was nice

Browsing the web later, I was reading some stuff on the Well Trained Mind website and came across this. Posting it onto the Muddlepuddle list lead to some discussion, as well as on ‘A patch of Puddles’. Not sure really what I think of it at fisrt glance it seems a bit intense, but re-reading it probably nor more so than any other home with 4 kids all doing stuff, maybe it wasn’t so much the amount of work they were doing, but the kind of work and the approach.

I feel that I want to spend sometime reading and thinking more about what sort of approaches we might want to take with Stringbean, just doesn’t seem to have been too much time for that this year, we just want to get on with moving down south and get on with life – just the small matter of selling our house…….

Well my aim was to get today blogged while it was still today - almost managed it, maybe I’ll fiddle the posting date

A bit of an addition to Helen’s post and a few piccies.

Yes, today was fun, most of the kids were still not yet mobile, so weren’t able to create too much havoc, and Helen (mostly) cooked a nice meal. Stringbean and another little girl Amelie got on well and played nicely together - Stringbean likes having someone to boss about (like mother like daughter…..). Lots of baby talk (it was all Mum’s except me) which is probably better than doctor talk. and plenty of little cuties

Anyway a couple of piccies. I love the first one - they can hardly believe their eyes

And lots of bubbly fun at Gym:

Got up too late to tidy house, and dashed to gym for SB’s last class. great fun, as a party session. Got 1 more badge to get, which we should do before the move. [they get 1 a term]. have some nice piccies, and nice for her to be centre stage.
Dashed back in time for all my old work colleagues also on mat or annual leave to come for lunch - 7 adults, 2 ‘pre-school’, 6 babies. v noisy, but lovely!
whats more, BB sleeping not feeding!!!!

Well, having fed and fed and fed BB all night, SB went to nursery in the morning, Chris did some tidying, and BB and I snoozed. Recently SB has had this fascination with death – at least since the summer. She draws and paints dead things, and rather upsettingly wanted me to tell her a story about her dying last week. I explained it would just make Mummy cry, but she reassured me it would just be pretend! I asked at nursery whether they had ‘done’ death perhaps. Apparently one of the lads there had a baby brother who was stillborn, and the anniversary was a month ago. He often mentions it to the others, so maybe that’s where she got it from? Anyway, although I am happy to talk about death in the abstract, am certainly not going to make up stories at the moment! Also, not being religious, it does take away a measure of the comfort. When my sister’s mother in law died suddenly, they told him that there was some stardust in everyone, and when you died, the stardust went back – occasionally he speaks to the stars. Think I may go with this, as some basis of truth??? What do others not religious in any sense do?
This afternoon we went to a soft play centre with my old postnatal group. The full crowd there today, very nice. The children play well here, as nicely designed, free soft drinks for children [weak juice] and earl grey for mummy! Some more sweetie making this evening [Florentines], a bit of a tidy up, and then loads of BB feeding. We got a Thai takeout as a treat!
Having read Merry’s goals for the New Year, and being a bit of a listmaker, I am trying to do similar for SB. Its quite nice, as can develop themes etc. Of course, in my heart, I do know that we will be mostly autonomous – especially at this age –so may not do any of topics, but helps to think of what she can do and how to build on it. Bite sizing home-ed makes it much more achievable too. Anyway, main definites are to go to Eureka in Halifax, and to Yorvik Viking centre before we move.

This piccie is of moment of calmness, when had both Guinness and BB as hot water bottles

Monday

Been a bit late with the Christmas tree this year, with one thing and another. Had intended to have a family trip out to Bolton Abbey and get one from there - one of those places you can go and get your tree from the field, but to much happening last week, so it didn’t happen. Shame as Stringbean would have enjoyed it.

Anyway, I got a tree yesterday from a local DIY emporium. I did the manly bit of putting the tree and lights up, Helen and Stringbean did the girly bit and decorated the tree while me and Alys looked on. Stringbean actually did most of decorating with a little bit of guidance. It’s not quite up to the normal ‘Tasteful’ standards of Helen’s trees but then that’s a 3 year old for you - Stringbean is into lots of tinsel and sparkly shiny things. It’s looking good, we still have the angel we made last year from the Muddlepuddle list xmas craft kit so that went straight on top. Entertainingly, she also made and Elf and a Father Xmas - these are stuck on the end of branches (she didn’t want to hang them) sticking out at an angle. I put some dangly lights in her window which she loved - they have little blue stars on the end and are ‘beautiful’.

Stringbean and me had quick glitterfest after dinner and made some more xmas cards for her friends at nursery. I made some stamps of a bell and tree out of potatoes, we dipped them in PVA glue, stamped the cards and the glittered away madly. One of the pleasures of having a young child is having an excuse to play with glitter etc. again . We’ve now made over 50 cards this year, not bad going.

I’m going to post this then maybe do Tuesday in bit. Helen has been feeding Alys for most of the time I’ve been writing this – where does she put it all?

Oh….!! Part wrote a post when the machine hanged and I lost it…..

Try again.

Oh……. !!!, I started trying to write this 2 hours ago – crashing machines, then Butterbean insists on wanting a feed every hour (or less) and has spent the last 20-30 mins fussing and crying as Helen is busy. Write this or be even later to bed……..?

Keep it short I guess, anyway, plenty of nice things ahve been created in the kitchen this weekend by Stringbean and Mummy, Coconut Ice and Peppermint Creams yesterday, Chocolate dipped Brazil nuts and Crystallised Ginger today - mmmm!. Stringbean of course enjoyed cleaning out the chocolatey bowl…

Other than that - on Saturday, boring things like housework, going to Sainsburys etc. Stringbean isn’t too bad when shopping as long as we don’t take too long. Of coiurse she is now getting to the stage of wanting all sorts of things, which we won’t normally buy, but takes refusal withotu any great fuss as long as you give a reason. And I leap at any chance to give her a choice about things - what fruit etc., and she loves being able to choose some bread. Bumped into a work colleague with her two kids (about 6 and 3). They were debating which flavour Fruitshoot drink to get. Stringbean, in best pretentious girl mode stands there going

‘ We don’t have those, we just have water or juice‘

She likes to help with putting the stuff through the checkout, at the end, she kkept complaing that the little conveyor belt thing after the checkout wasn’t going (’cos it would all build up), that the checkout woman turned it on, made her much happier. We left to remostrations as too why we were going to the cafe………’ Just for a bit’ , ‘just for snack…’

Ended the day playing with her Happy Street stuff -of which there is enough for small conurbation (mostly 2nd hand due to Helen’s Ebay habit…:-)). Me and her set it all out over the back room floor before she went to bed, so that it would bethere in the morning. (reminds me of being a kid, when my Dad would get finish getting all the toy cars out for me, so they were all out on the floor in the morning) She was quite excited when she got up to find it al there and spent ages playing with it, she is just at the right age now, and comes up with all sorts of increasingly complicated scenarios and stories - we spent ages togther palying with it. Certainly encourages her imagination.

Sunday morning, she had a go at giving Butterbean a massage, with Helen’s help, both seemed to enjoy it. Helen used ot take Stringbean to Baby Massge classes when she was little. She was already sitting up by then (she was sitting well by 4 month) and while all the other babies were lying down, Helen would have to try to massge Stringbean with her sitting up as she was such a nosey baby

She didn’t want to pull a sensible face for the cmaera though - this si the better one….

Amusing Moments

1. Elinor stomping backwards and forwards on Saturday evening, hands on hips going ‘ You are a boy, boys have to do what girls tell them’.

2. A couple of days ago, running around naked after her bath, singing her own made up ‘Merry Christmas’ song - the pleasures of being 3 years old……..

Tiem for bed - Butterbean is still awake, has been since mid evening - must be on the 10th feed of the night or something already…..

Chris is writing most of the Blog, though we have a very combined approach to parenting. A lot of this is about to change though. i am on maternity leave, and at the end of this we will have moved to a new area and I will start work full time [having been part time before]. Chris will be the prime carer, and although I know he will be great, and the children happy, I can’t help but wish we could have continued with status quo. I have the next 4 months to make the most of, and then try hard at work to try and reduce hours and make the absolute most of all the time at home. Maybe the baby blues are making me more miserable about this, or lack of sleep - however, actually on the whole don’t feel blue like last time with Elinor - maybe because I knew to expect no sleep, and although Alys feeds all the time, at least breast feeding not so hard as last time!
Anyway, this is last maudlin post, and when chris goes to work after xmas, will try and do blog to , of Helen’s mad dash!!
Tody fun though [though I spent a lot of it with an attachment! Also the Lakeland order finally arrived with card making extras - though we’ve now made so many out of whatever we can find, may be saved until next year. Have I don christmas shopping? no! Am I panicking - not yet, as I think book vouchers or m and s vouchers with home made jams/jellies and chutneys may be order of the day! -H [must go, poopy nappy alert after all this bf!]

ooh, a PS. thankyou for the muddle puddle cards so far. Stringbean keeps asking what the card senders looklike and how old they are - so struggling as bit, so say we are all going to meet next feb - everyone is going, aren’t they??

All home, parents tired (Mummy from feeding lots, Daddy is full of cold, and general lack of sleep) trying to veg out in the sitting room - of course Stringbean seems to have plenty of energy….. Getting mummy to recite the ‘Princess and the Pea’ while she sort of acts is out (well a variation, Mummy’s version seems to contain a ‘Grumpy Prince’). We just got ‘The Cat in the Hat’ film on ‘Video on Demand’ for her - seems to have worked. she’s settled down on the sofa as well with dolly.

Been out today to a local Home Ed group meeting, luckily almost just down the road from us. Unusally, we all went as a family, normally Helen has been at work. We were supposed to take some sweet things for sharing. We were going to make some muffins yesterday but didn’t get round to it. But Stringbean and me decided to make some this morning before we went – we just about had them made and cooked in time – luckily they are quick and easy to make. Lots left as well, as there were loads of cakes and cookies, so plenty to nibble on - Banana and Chocolate - yum, yum.

Had a good time there. Some crafty bits first - painted a candle (didn’t know you could get special candle paints), made a little magnetic picture frame – with the essential glittery bits of course and then made a crown with plenty of stuck on bits and pieces. When ever she is doing stuff like this she always knows what she wants to do, you have to be careful if you help and not get it wrong or there can be all sorts of fuss.

Followed by lunch, followed by cakes. Followed by various party type games Stringbean always seems a bit dopy when it comes to such things about what she is supposed to be doing, but I guess she is one of the younger ones - she does like standing like a statue and running about and screaming though, and there was a fair bit of the latter

Amusing moment of the day

Stringbean siting on the sofa next to Mummy this afternoon, (who was feeding Butterbean) ‘breastfeeding’ her dolly.

Still behind on the rest of the week, may go back and post a bit on previous days of the week,

Feel a bit better now rested, time to finish getting dinner ready.

After nappachino rang for an appointment to register butterbeans birth. Realised that if didn’t do it that afternoon, we may not make it in the 6 week window! SO a rapid turnaround and dash to registrar. I always look like a criminal, as use married surname for nothing apart from family envelopes and a as a group name! So on certificate has both my names with an otherwise known as! Afterwards Stringbean could smell ‘a lovely chip smell’ so decided to follow smell to find a café, where we all had teacakes. A stop at lovely bakery for cakes, and we were set up! God thing I don’t breastfeed and diet at the same time! -H

In a moment of madness, decided to host nappachino at our house – coffee morning for cloth nappy users, and those considering using them – for the local real nappy network. Cue manic tidying up, and closing of all non-essential room doors to hide up the piles of tidied away things! Lovely Christmas nappy I bought for Butterbean displayed!! All the children that came with Mums of toddler age, so Stringbean a bit disappointed, but shared nicely and played well with them. -H

Rampant Butterbean growth continuing - no wonder I’m permanently ravenous! 11lb 4.5oz!!! Unfortunately grown out of lovely newborn kissaluv nappies, and at this rate will soon be out of 0-3 month clothes.
Stringbean in nursery in the morning. Afternoon spent at local childrens farm with playbarn with my postnatal group from first time. that meant stringbean had manic time running about with friends, and I got to do the look at my gorgeous new baby bit while drinking tea. 8 adults and 15 children, 7 within a few months of stringbeans age, and the rest younger. Almost relaxing!

Did it make stringbean easier to get to bed?? No! Nana and Grandad French go home tomorrow. - H