Petits Haricots

there were quite a few others I liked, but this was an off the cuff not looking through the view finder happy success one.

DK’s bermuda triangle and invaders from outer space. just been down wailing. not an early night then!!

with less bagginess - well for a bit, though at one point I thought chris had put BB in the cellar, and in another bit, when I said that if she continued to sprinkle playdough all over floor and not put it away, she carried a wodge of it directly to the bin and said I could throw it all away . On the whole I have tried fr a non confrontational approach in the hopes that if she doesn’t see an opening to be dogmatic, obnoxious and stubborn, then the day may pass more easily. Hmmm

Anyway, today SB did some more of her fairy stamping kit, she has got more and more careful with painting, and is taking great care. BB did 2 of her ELC make puppet spoons kit, which she and I really enjoyed together . We all spent a while playing various games. BB and I were dinosaur and monster whilst SB on ‘puter doing DK first science explorer. BB did some playdoughing whilst SB did piano practice with me. [me giving SB attention was not well received]

They both watched some magic school house when I needed a few minutes of decreased interaction. the water cycle and bee ones. SB played with her lego. Erm, i flickred. You know, the day seemed much busier than that. funny hey?

Sb has read all the amelia earhart book, lost the first 4 magic tree house books and is reading holly the christmas fairy. we also practiced the odd bit of spelling - she needed to write the words, and I got her to guess before helping her out.

Back at work tomorrow. Sigh, I have been putting off a whole heap of worries there.

I think I will go backwards, but fiddle with the time stamp thing to appear in order - very important!

I think, crucially, I need to say that BB is driving me round the bend. i think its partly because she didn’t get enough attention over Xmas, with Chris and I so busy, and now we are both knackered. But, if she tells me anything else is baggy poo poo I think I will just scream. today she has had playdough thrown away, and the didicar put in the cellar, after hours of provocation. She throws things, screams, hits us and SB and just shouts what are for her obscenities. I have tried so hard today to do wall to wall attention. Am imagining it will take a while of hard parental work to get back on track. She has always been ‘challenging’ to parent - primarily due to her desire to bully SB - but recently - aarrrgh. Of course, when she is good she is totally adorable. Mum think she prob just needs a higher level of stimulation. Deep breath.

So, today. BB and I started off with making her father christmas present reindeer fridge magnet. We then went on to painting the plaster of paris people we made yesterday [yep. will do yesterday!] Sb did some lego building with dad, and then some painting with one of her kits with me whilst BB did playdough. I then did a fair amount of legoing with SB, playing farm animals with BB. SB aso painted her suncatcher and read the whole of her childs bible. BB also did som katamino [a real hit] chalk pictures, apple tre farm reading.

We had a major tantrum from BB about some castle characters that arrived from ebay. I was goin to give them as a 12th night present, but she was wailing and wobbling over the unopened parcel she had seen, so I relented, and pointed it was to share with SB. After all the following wailing and screaming over the knights horses she did, it is lucky that all the castle stuff isn’t also in the cellar. I regained some equanimity by flickring and scrabulous, parking BB in front of NEMO. Chris and BB did more lego - it is now finished. BB and I made up, had the girls bathed and an early bedtime. Sb and I read about amelia earhart, inventing flying machines, and a bit about piston engines. We also practiced our Latin.
Chris and I should get an early night too so that we can be better parents tomorrow.

Mum, Dad and Little Nanny left on friday, leaving us all feeling rather flat. still knackered! I had a particularly poor day as BB had been a nightmare all night, so i had left chris to sleep in the bedroom, and kept BB company.

We did still manage to do some of the xmas crafts - painting the farm plaster animals and making the farmer and wife with BB, bith using their crayons and paints and playdough from a craft set. SB did lots of legoing, and reading of Xmas books. She got 3 Katie and the... books, and also read through all the anholt art books too.

We got Nanny McPhee as a christmas present for the girls. BB wildly ignoring it, though enjoying the colours, and chatting away as we did katamino - a def present hit! Sb seemed totally lost by the plot. we will have to watch it again. I rather enjoyed it. Would love to have their house and decor!

SB has admitted that the thing she REALLY wanted for Xmas was inline skates. they had been one of the many things mentioned, but not in a big way, and she is very happy with all her presents. For her birthday we are getting her a bike, but she wanted to see if other rellies would share the purchase of inline skates as they seem to be fairly expensive. We have had the discussion on where exactly would she use them…
SO… Have any of you got inline skates, or know of anyone that has that has an opinion on them?

I was looking at this shop and thinking perhaps the bronx adjustable ones looked comfortableish and adjustable etc etc? hmm, these comet ones perhaps also OK?
Any advice greatfully received

you know, it is jan 3rd, and I am about to backdate this christmas post. we read the guardian, and there was an excellent article in there by a chap, who pointed out that for his family, christmas was the family, the talking over games and the being there. i agree wholeheartedly. whatever the little niggles, I wouldn’t have wanted anyone not to have been there.

we played loads of games - mum found tellme which we used to play at little nanny’s as children [though then it was metal not plastic!] pass the bomb, taste testing, SB’s jumnior monopoly and BB’s shopping trolley. jigsaws, reading to children and general being there with the people we love.

Yep, for chris and I it was hard work, with th main helpers of mine and his mum out of action. And we would hav liked to see more of our children, and we would have prefered full health in all of our guests for xmas and the new year. And doing crafts on boxing day whilst making a roast dinner did stretch my multitasking!
but… It was great, just look at our flickr photos and you will see!! I love my family, so I love christmas

Father Xmas has overflown ritain, just finished the glazed nut topping on the Creole Fruit Cake I made, looks yummy. Now we concentrate on eating all the food. Have made mince pies, drunk mulled wine, listened to lots of carols and other xmas music, had the xmas eve massed veg prepping session, with customary debate about how many sprouts, parsnips etc. And now all is quiet, and I should be in bed.

Happy Xmas everyone.

don’t forget!!

sister and family, little nanny ad for a brief while my cousin and wife. so v lovely. i am going to work toorrow and determned to return with xmas spirit!

the lasagne were delicious, the salads and artichoke filo also. room looks lovely. and breathe!

Happy Xmas everyone

We did a very good job of cleaning the front room, and put a smidgeon of floor polish on. SB helpful and delightful.

We decorated beer glasses for FIL

my parents arrived, put down new rug in front room, and ran after daughters screeching chase me, and MIL has a colles fracture. So off to A and E. she is still in a fair amount of pain, thinks things swelling up loads and now painful again. I’m trying to work out if she means painful enough to go back to a and e, but she has gone off to bed.

I feel truly dreadful and totally lost Xmas spirit

well, nearly. we have a couple of gifts outstanding, which may be twelfth night gifts if don’t make it in time! And we have the FC gifts to wrap and the main one each for the girls - needs chris to carry downstairs, and the others need diferent wrapping paper.

So I guess with no more baking possible, and wrapping done, that makes tomorrow a tidying day for me. I wonder what the girls can be getting on with?

SB seems to have given up on the salmon cheese and chelsea version and that reminds me, she can now roll her eyes perfectly - a key life skill in this family, and one that HE particularly is suitable for imparting!!

So today has been crazy and noisy. we needed a bit of a rest day after yesterdays multi-jauntings, and BB was ‘wired’ throughout - always restful! SB - bless her - has been an angel [well nearly].

We started with making boxes for the sweeties we made last night - papier mache with tissue paper and PVA around margarine tubs. They are looking fab. Both girls had great fun doing them, and I drank lots of fluids to try and chase away a migraine. We then did a bit of a tidy up - just in time as Sainsbury’s delivered a huge order [all bar veg, bread and milk]. We were also massively organised to put all away, and our pantry looks like a dream come true. I love a pantry that can see us through a month in case of avian flu, snow drifts etc etc!! SB played shops for a bitm, and both girls helped.

Sb has also done some more piano practice, and is concert ready for good king wenceslas - even BB and I singing didn’t put her off! And she has done some maths, and BB some ‘match and sort‘ - some wipe clean books we got ages and ages ago from the book people, she was practicing writing - v cute. i have read 3 different versions of the nativity story - while the bear sleeps, usborne first nativity and a ladybird version. Obviously with added carols. The girls have spent ages playing with the farm and Bob the Builder duplo - the farm is obviously now part of the set! Shame I haven’t managed to get a duplo muck. Never mind - something to get at a later date. Both girls were also playing with a cheap not quite spirograph set. i have played scrabulous - Tim is pretty much unbeatable i think!!

We also did some fimo-ing, to make coasters as Christmas presents. SB’s got more and more elaborate. BB’s is much simpler. I am sure they will be well received. Both girls now having bath, and Chris doing it as I had reached my BB tolerance limit. Baggy poo poo being her favourite saying for anything she doesn’t like or want to do - charming!

As mentioned below, am at a bit of a loss as no room to put more baking or food in the freezer, and still have some to do. A wack of it will have come out by sun, so will prob do some baking then. Def getting excited, but can’t imagine where the time has gone?

or pantry to be more precise! We look like a shop - in fact girls been playing shops. All our food apart from veg, milk and bread now safely harvested in!

unfortunately, our freezer and fridge also completely full. We need to squeeze the milk in when mum arrives tomorrow! And also, it means I can’t do the baking for the freezer - no freezer! Nor the linda mccartney base [luckilly that is quick to cook anyway].

But have definite confirmation - sort of - that all other guests coming sun in time for lunch. woohoo!!!

Mum giving me last minute instructions - ie have the house perfect, no plastic bags for windows etc - unlikely!!!

Of course I love SB. I wish I hadn’t scratched her now…

But nearly!!

We started off being late for latin group. It is sort of latin plus craft plus science. Katy did a fab latin lesson - but we’ve lost our minimums textbook, and I have forgotten bits of it! I then - rather foolishly - decided to revisit the wreath craft!Katy’s house now full of clippings from my garden, and 3 very creditable wreaths were made - though one of those played with so much it has a bedraggled air now! What I hadn’t realised was that there would be a dearth of knot tying ability. If I had had more wire thingies, it would have been easier. [will remember that for the future! Anyway, those that did it seemed happy enough. there was also some mince pie, jam ‘heart’ and bread roll making. [oh, we were late!]

We skedaddled off to bowling at a not-so-local venue! We were early - hooray!!! We really enjoyed it, and were only 4 littlies in our lane, so nicely organised that they didn’t feel that they were under pressure! Actually with the lane bars up and the rolling down thingy, it was quite straightforward. Mind you, that didn’t stop us having to get SB’s ball rescued once, that A’s lane didn’t clear and we called an SOS. The piece de resistance goes to A and her mum though, for playing boules to knock recalcitrant stopped balls the final few metres. On the first occasion, the second ball knocked the first through, and then slowly carried on downwards to end up going through just as the barrier thing lifted - so 2 throws as one as it were. But the killer one was when the first ball went through, and the second one was flipped back by the barrier thing as it lifted, leaving us able to catch it back at our end once it had rolled all the way back. What skill!

The we dashed back for the rainbows party [late]. SB enjoyed it a lot though, so that’s good, and BB played with her new farm. When SB came back we had tea and then made sweeties for christmas pressies. The girls were very adept at dipping the ingredients into the chocolate. We will sort out the boxes tomorrow.

Today also a busy day! We did some ‘home ed’ - Piano practice [she is getting confident at good king wenceslas], maths and writing. BB did some painting. We read books together - a bit on the Saxons and Sutton Hoo with SB, and BB and I read a book where she pretended to sound out words [panic not, she was entirely making it up!]. Both girls have done a lot of singing.

We spent A LOT of time making some festive wreaths to go on various doors. SB really was pleased to do it, and didn’t make any fuss about holly - I did say it wasn’t compulsory! We also had ivy, pine and bay branches. BB decided not to make it, she did some stamping and also playing with various toys.

We then made some banana and chocolate muffins [to freeze for christmas breakfast - the list is gradually getting ticked off! Just in time for Nana and Grandad to arrive and give BB the wonderful farm for her birthday. [actually it isn’t quite that one, Merry ordered the other one for us [thankyou xx]. BB overjoyed and has played with it non stop since - as has SB.

Oh, I did manage to take some passable piccies of the girls with tree - see below! And, if you go to the pages on the sidebar, I am gradually doing a craft and bake post!

After BB into bed, SB and I have made cheese scones for tomorrow - we have a VERY busy day ahead! I am making the last curry - phew! Chris is making sausage rolls for tomorrow, all go here.

yes, we had merry and girls here today - so we hid all the boxes in case merry started automatically packing stuff into them!!

before they came, chris got the stollen started, SB and I did piano practice, we all looked at while the bear sleeps.

So lots of playing, dressing up and chatting [’mongst adults!] And some car maintenance - dunno how Merry gets hers done whilst mine languishes!! BB shew Josie all the bits on poisson rouge.
The girls all made christingles, which they enjoyed - even the little ones [who seem scarily unlittle these days]

I am in the process of making some more curry to freeze - dahl this time